Feature Category: Interviews

Playing like some bizarre public information film on the dangers of outdoor activities, I Didn’t Come Here to Die follows the outrageous misfortunes of a group of volunteers who set up camp in the woods to work on a project for kids. Too much booze and a bizarre accident with a tree branch spark a series of absurd events and spiralling violence. Jon Towlson talks to director Bradley Scott Sullivan about his deranged debut. Careful with that chainsaw!

Starburst: How much of I Didn’t Come Here to Die is from your own experience?

Bradley Scott Sullivan: A lot of it! Obviously the deaths and the gore didn’t actually happen. It would be terrible if it did! But the whole genesis of the movie came from serving in a volunteer organisation similar to the one in the movie.

Thought so!

The one I was doing, there were a lot more people, it was a little better organised. It had fourteen people but I had to narrow it down to six for the movie. But we really did travel, do volunteer work, we were stuck with power tools. We had a project where we lived in the woods for three months in tents and really didn’t have any towns nearby for a hundred miles or so, we really did rely on satellite phones and things like that. The characters are amalgamations of people from that and other people that I’ve met throughout life, but really the terrible accidents that happen in the film are my hypochondria playing out what could have gone wrong while we were out there! I grew up interested in films and avoided manual labour my whole life up until then. Then all of a sudden you’re thrust out in the wilderness and they throw a chainsaw in your hand and my brain just goes to “Oh, my God, there’s ten thousand ways I could die from this!” The movie’s just me playing that out in hopefully a fun way.

The situation builds in its absurdity as things spiral out of control – how did you approach the scriptwriting?

Unfortunately I’m not a very disciplined writer. I need to learn to just sit down in front of the computer and just force myself like a regular job, those hours, days of sitting there. So what I did when I was developing the movie is I would just go for walks and just think about it, play it out in my head. I probably looked like a crazy person because I’d be talking out loud or mumbling to myself. It took a while to break the story, because with it being a horror movie I said, “well, what is the element?” I had the set up and premise but I said to myself “where does the horror element come in? Are they working on an ancient burial ground? Did one of the people get possessed? Are there angry hillbillies out in the woods?” Whenever I would go down those paths none of it excited me and I would just get angry and shove it aside and say, that’s just stupid, I wouldn’t want to see that movie. And then finally I just said one day “what if there wasn’t a killer at all, what if it was just people’s own misdoings”, and when I started thinking about that and what it could lead into, it was just so much more fun to think about and write. It really wrote itself from there.

You shot the film in Texas, partly around Austin. What was behind your decision to do that?

It was just based on the fact that that’s where I was living at the time. Austin’s a very film-friendly town – a lot of people that are interested in independent film in particular live down there – and I had just met the right group of people that are interested in film. The composer I met down there. He also did the sound on the movie, recorded it on set. Everything happened to be right there. Someone knew where we could get a location. We had so little money and so little time that it just worked out that was the only way we could do it. Originally when I was thinking about it, it was to take place in a much more lush forest environment but I think Texas worked too, I think there’s a creepiness to how dry and desolate it is. So it was based on circumstance at the time.

The film is rich with movie references, one of them is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – was that a deliberate reference in I Didn’t Come Here to Die?

There are a lot of references in the film that people point out. Sometimes they’re intentional, sometimes I think they just get built into your psyche from seeing films. There’s a music cue at the end that everyone is one hundred per cent certain is an homage to Friday the 13th. I didn’t even notice it when I was watching the movie so I went and asked the composer. He said “No, I’ve never even seen those movies.” He’s not really into horror films. I don’t know what it is – everyone reads his own thing into it. Texas Chainsaw, I think indirectly. You’re trying to set up your own thing, you don’t want people to think that you’re copying anything. But anything in there from that movie in particular, I think might be somewhat unintentional, just from the sake of seeing other films that were influenced by everything and you can’t help but have little things that cross over. The films that directly influenced it are probably a little more modern. I Didn’t Come Here To Die probably comes off a little retro but some of the films that we watched to prepare for it, like Cabin Fever, there’s a couple of direct influences, an homage is in there. High Tension, All The Boys Love Mandy Lane actually shot at the same gas station that we stopped at in the beginning, and actually Danny Boyle’s movie, Shallow Grave is probably one of the larger direct influences.

I Didn’t Come Here to Die has been likened to an Israeli horror film called Rabies. Have you seen it?

I did see it. They both played at the Mile High Horror Film Festival in Denver, Colorado in 2011 so I got to see it there. I thought it was a great film, I really enjoyed it. I’ve seen that come up a lot, and also people compare the premise to Tucker and Dale and what’s tough is that I Didn’t Come Here to Die is getting distribution at the tail end of those films. It almost feels like now it’s a subgenre – ‘people undo themselves and they’re the enemy’ – whereas all the movies shot at the same time and just by nature of being independent films it takes a long time for them to come out. (The film was finished and got its premiere in Austin in December 2010 but is only now getting a release.)

Tell us a bit about your background – what led to you making I Didn’t Come Here to Die?

At 22 I decided to move down to Austin because my idol growing up was always Robert Rodriguez, and I’d known I wanted to make an independent movie of my own since the beginning of time. I was reading his book (Rebel Without a Crew) in high school, seeing those movies and listening to those commentaries. I didn’t really know what to do. I knew I couldn’t afford to go to LA and that seemed kind of scary because I come from a small town in Wisconsin so I thought “maybe I’ll make a baby step in going to Austin”. So I went out there and I worked as a production assistant on films. I was actually able to work on a Robert Rodriguez movie, a children’s flick that he did called Shorts and some other films out there. That got me some work as a production assistant in a film out in Los Angeles and because I had some of my own camera equipment I volunteered to shoot some behind the scenes on that film. By the time that was over the producer asked me “What are you doing now?” and I said “I’m going back to Austin, I really want to try to get this little movie made”. She’d liked what I’d done for their film so much that she said “I’d love to read it”. And when she’d read the script she said, “Let’s do this, let’s get this made.” I had a budget planned out and everything. That was Kim Waltrip. So she produced the movie and then we’ve worked together on another project since then.

You also shot I Didn’t Come Here To Die. How did you get its distinctive look?

With an indie film it’s always about working within your limits. In my head this movie was going to be my take on the ‘90s slashers like Scream or I Know What You Did Last Summer, Urban Legend and all that kind of thing, so I always saw it as a very sleek, very clean kind of movie. But then as you start realising you have less and less money and less and less time, you start working around it and so it became what it is just out of necessity. In a way that I love because I love low-budget shaky pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps sort of film-making. Would I be my own DoP again? I don’t know. There was a necessity there too – we didn’t have the budget to hire a separate DoP and I knew how to work a camera. We shot the whole movie in seven days. That’s all we had. I knew what shots we needed and what I could do in that amount of time and we did it. I don’t know if the film would have benefitted from its own separate cinematographer but I don’t think the movie would have got done had I not done that. In future films I would love to have other people stepping in to the other roles. The only thing I could see wanting to do again is edit – I love the editing process and figuring the movie out from there but there’re much more talented directors of photography than myself out there.

The actors are all strong. How did you come up with the cast?

I had only shot short films up until we made this movie and I was kind of scared to work with actors. I was always strong on the technical side of filmmaking – the shooting and the editing and the special effects – but actors, real life people, especially in today’s social media world, interacting with real people – that’s the scary part I think! Austin again is a very film-friendly town and so luckily there are a lot of outlets to go through. We posted it up on the Texas Film Commission site and some other sites, and we were able to get the back room of a coffee shop, rent it out for free and we just held auditions over the course of two days. People came in, we videotaped them and then narrowed it down. Some people came in and they were just exactly the right person, like Jeremy Vandermaus – when we saw him there was nobody else. We had a little apartment we rented as a production office and we had call-backs there and emailed the final tapes off to the producer in LA and she said “I like this one and this one”. We all talked about it and narrowed it down from there.

It’s great that Second Sight came on board for the UK distribution. What’s next for you?

I’ve got other scripts that I’d love to get on but the thing is that it’s almost been a three year full time job just trying to keep up with all the stuff for I Didn’t Come Here To Die. Now that the distributors are coming on it’s great because they’ll set up everything but up until then it’s been a one man band with me contacting festivals and doing all that stuff. It’s been tough to focus on writing or thinking about another project but I’ve got a bunch of other horror films that I’d love to do!

I DIDN’T COME HERE TO DIE is released on DVD April 15th and is reviewed here.

Starburst Magazine recently spoke to PAUL SPRAGG of Big Finish at the recent Tenth Planet event Big Finish Day 3…

Starburst: From the forums and podcasts it seems you are involved in a lot of activities at Big Finish; if there is such a thing as a normal week what does it involve?

Paul: Oh, there’s definitely no such thing as a normal week! It’s basically a collection of jobs I have to sort into some kind of order of urgency. I guess the regular things I do are organising and proofing covers, putting together Vortex , answering customer enquiries, creating information sheets for shops, wholesalers and magazines, updating the website (including creating all the downloads) and getting scripts and contracts posted out as they’re sent to me by David Richardson. But there are all manner of other bits and pieces that go through me.

You also do some production work – how does that compare?

I did produce the most recent series of Stargate and Highlander, and that was a very different experience and an exceedingly steep learning curve! I’m really, really proud of the end results and the response they’ve got, but I found the organisation and keeping on top of where everything was at quite tough. At the moment, the closest I get is my recent work on The Ordeals of Sherlock Holmes, where I organised all the scripts and contracts myself, wrangled the actors into studio through the snow, then went in and did interviews on the day. Basically, I was the David Richardson for the release!

Is production something you’d like to do more of in the future?

I’d love to, but the ranges I got were ones which were pretty much having their final fling; one last chance to see if we could find a market for them. As we so far haven’t, it seems unlikely they’ll continue. I feel I’d be a lot better at it now and more in control, but whether I’ll get the chance, I don’t know. I’m busy enough without rushing to get another producer credit, though.

Before Big Finish you were at Visual Imagination for nearly 12 years – was that a good preparation for Big Finish? Did it help with the work on the Big Finish Companion: Volume 2?

It very much was – and not just because I first met David there, so I wouldn’t be where I am now had I not been there then! I learnt an enormous amount at Visual Imagination, but it also honed skills I’ve always had. My spelling and grammar have always been very good (I even know when to use a semi-colon!), and I always wanted to write so I was confident I could do it, and make myself understood. But I certainly learnt how to write better and how to make things clearer and simpler, and all that came into play on the Companion.

Something like the recent Big Finish Day 3 must have taken a lot of planning – when did that all start and how frantic is it behind the scenes in advance?

We sensibly delegated a lot of the work to Tenth Planet Events, to be honest, though David does most of the booking and organising of guests. The headliners like Tom Baker are announced and booked early, but a lot of the others are added later. It’s quite frantic around the office the week before as David gets stock lists together and prices are decided on, but we’ve done this a few times now, so it’s a reasonably well-oiled machine.

The actual Big Finish Day 3 was an early start with a late – finish can you give a rough timetable?

Last time, I got up at about 4am so I could trek from Croydon to Barking – and it was the middle of the night, dark, and utterly, utterly freezing. This time I was a bit nearer but I still had to be up at 5.30 so I was at the school to start setting up at 7. Other volunteers start turning up around the same time, but we’re usually still in the final stages of setting up when the attendees arrive at 9. Then, after that, it’s a fairly full-on day of people selling and doing panels, with the event ending at 6 and the packing up of everything taking until about 7/7.30. It’s not too traumatic because so many of the great and good of Big Finish chip in and help, but the early start isn’t fun.

Did you get any time to do anything you wanted to do on the day or were you too busy in the gym selling CDs?

There’s not really anything I’d planned to do on the day; I knew I was there mainly to man the tables and offer help to customers. And to do the podcast with Nick at the end of the day, which is always fun. I did drop in on Nick’s introduction to the day, which was a bit of a laugh. But I know no one’s really there to see me, so I was happy where I was!

You normally do the interviews for Vortex – how is being interviewed and what question would you ask yourself if you were me (and what is your answer)?

It’s a bit strange, to be honest! I love conducting interviews, especially face to face (I’m never star struck, and I always know my subject matter), but being on the other side is a bit odd. I would ask me ‘Is what we hear on the podcasts a true reflection of how you, Nick and David work together?’ and the answer is yes, sort of. We do get on really well, and work together very well. We all love what we do. And they’re both quite rude to me at times, but I know they’re always joking. Unlike in the podcast, I do get my own back from time to time. Also, I really don’t consider myself in any way a comedy genius, but I’m happy for others to say it, whether ironically or honestly!

And finally do you have any unfulfilled ambitions at Big Finish? If so what are they?

I would love to write an audio. But I don’t think I have the ideas and the ability to do it; I can write fact, but fiction is another kettle of fish entirely. I’d really like to produce one of the Doctor Who releases too. Perhaps one day…

Starburst: Can you tell us about your system at Blumhouse for producing low budget films that started with Paranormal Activity? 

Jason Blum: It’s actually a very European system. It’s auteur filmmaking except that we set out to produce very commercial material, usually horror movies; but we get a very limited amount of money for the movies and in exchange for not spending too much I get total creative freedom and I pass it to the director. So the directors really have complete creative control over their movies. Whether it’s Scott Derrickson or Scott Stewart, they choose who’s in the movie, they have final cut, and they make all the decisions themselves. We advise them along the way and give them ideas but it’s their choice whether to take the ideas or not, and it’s a really fun way to make movies and we get to take risks. I always tell the directors to do things they wouldn’t ordinarily do. There are certain limitations but a lot of advantages to working inexpensively and one is that you can do different things.

How did you hook up with Scott Stewart for Dark Skies?

I’d admired his movies, so we had a meeting in our offices and I asked him what he was thinking about next, and he pitched me the movie, but as a found footage movie like Paranormal Activity, and I really responded to it: I thought it was a great story – there’s a great tradition of scary alien movies but I thought we hadn’t seen one in a while, so I thought that would be a fun movie to work on. The one suggestion I made to him was that we shoot it in a traditional way like Insidious and Sinister and not do it found footage. He thought that was a good idea so he made that change, but basically he wrote a script very close to what he pitched us and we were shooting it very soon – within 6 – 8 months. Again we supported him along the way. Josh Hamilton, who stars in the movie, is an old friend of mine. I produced theatre in New York twenty years ago and he was in my theatre company. So I introduced Josh to Scott. But ultimately, obviously, it was Scott’s choice. We shot the movie in the late summer and here it is. When there’s just one person at the helm, making the decision, the process goes a little more quickly.

Do you think the found footage cycle has run its course?

I think there’ll always be a place for found footage movies but my feeling about it is that unless you really can’t tell the story in any other way it’s better not to do it as a found footage. I think found footage causes more problems than it solves, and I think the audience generally prefers not to look at found footage movies. If you can tell the story one way or the other I encourage film makers to do it more traditionally.

Your horror films often involve haunted houses and the anxieties of everyday life. Is there anything that draws you personally to these themes?

What I love about these movies is the emotional stories. Every movie that we do I hope there is a theme. In Sinister it’s choosing your profession over your family, over your wife and kids, which is a struggle that the main character goes through. I think Dark Skies is about isolation in suburbia. I’m very attracted to telling stories about families with those underlying themes in them, where the scares work their way organically into the stories. The place where you talk most intimately and most truthfully is your house, so that why we end up a lot of the time in the house in these films, because that’s where people are truest to themselves and truest to their own feelings, and that’s where those conversations, more often than not, take place.

Do you see yourself following in the footsteps of a Carl Laemmle Jnr. or a Val Lewton – producers in old Hollywood who created important horror cycles in the 1930s and 1940s?

I should hope to even begin to touch either one of those guys’ careers, but I do really admire what they’ve done. The world is a different place now but I definitely have those people and a couple of others in mind, and as I go forward here I try to make the right choices – even if I could get a little bit of what they did I would be very proud of that.

Even though the films are, as you say, director-led, do you have an input in the casting and the final edit?

We have a loud voice all through it but I just don’t force the directors to do anything. I find that when it’s a dialogue instead of mandates, more often than not the directors will listen. Again, this isn’t a big deal to you guys because that’s how movies are made in Europe for the most part, but it’s not how movies are made in Hollywood. So it’s a new thing to make commercial movies but to let the directors be in charge. We are very active: I suggested Josh Hamilton, I suggested not found-footage, I suggested a bunch of cuts to the movie to shorten it – which I always do and I joke about it with the directors! – but we don’t force then to do it. I make my case as to why I think it’s a good idea but ultimately the movies that the company makes belong to the directors and I don’t lose sleep at night if the directors don’t do something that I want them to do.

So what have you got coming up next after Dark Skies?

After Dark Skies, the movie I’m really excited about is The Purge, which comes out the end of May. The trailer just went online a couple of days ago. It’s everything I just described. It’s a great, scary home invasion movie but it works on a lot of other levels, about what if the US government made murder legal for twelve hours a year? From seven at night until seven in the morning murder is legal.  So this is the story of one family that night. We also made the sequel to Insidious. James Wan and Leigh Whannell came back to do that. We’re cutting that now. That comes out in September so I’m excited about that. Needless to say we have another Paranormal instalment. Paranormal Activity 5 comes out in October. We’ve tried to do something original and unique with it, and I think people will be surprised.

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As we countdown to the Evil Dead franchise returning to our cinemas, we caught up with several key players who were instrumental in cementing the movies as horror classics. Here, we talk with Danny Hicks, aka Evil Dead II‘s opportunistic hillbilly, Jake…

Starburst: You played Jake in Evil Dead II. How did you come to be involved in the film?

Danny Hicks: I auditioned for the part. I lived in Detroit at the time, and even though I didn’t know Sam, Bruce or Robert I got the part. I found out later that they had looked in New York and L.A. and couldn’t find the right actor. Detroit was the last stop. If they couldn’t find Jake there Sam was going to play the part.

Were you already a fan of the original Evil Dead?

Don’t tell anyone, but I didn’t see The Evil Dead until five or six years ago.

Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell have of course gone on to become enormous cult figures since making the Evil Dead trilogy. What was it like working with them?

It was wonderful. I’ve worked for Sam on several movies and for Bruce on My Name Is Bruce. It’s a hell of a lot of fun working for either one of them. Bruce and I are close friends.

The Evil Dead trilogy is still phenomenally popular today. What do you think might be the key to its lasting success?

I think it’s because Sam is a genius and Bruce is insane. Sam had a perfect vision of the film. He knew exactly what he wanted and he got great performances from his people and the F/X crew were incredible. In the scene where Bruce beats himself up, he almost killed himself. It was awesome!

Do fans still respond to you and your character from the film?

Oh, Yes!

Your most memorable line from Evil Dead II is you loudly repeatedly screaming “Bobby Joe!” into the woods. Do people ever shout that line back at you?

All of the time!

What did you make of Jake’s scabby dungarees? Did you keep hold of them after the film?

I thought they were great. They were perfect for Jake. They helped to define the character. In fact they were close to what I wore for the audition.

No. I wish I would have. I don’t think I was smart enough to realize how valuable things from the movie would become.

What is your abiding memory from making Evil Dead II?

It was one of the most exciting times of my life. It was my first role in a feature film. The heat. We didn’t have to use any fake sweat, that’s for sure. The interior shots were done on the inside of an old junior high school gymnasium. The set was two stories high to allow for the cellar. It had to have been 120 degrees inside. But I think the most memorable thing was just how much fun a person can have as an actor. Even though we beat the hell out of each other, it was a blast. After working on Evil Dead 2, feature film work was all I wanted to do. It really changed my life.

What are your thoughts on Evil Dead II and its legacy, all these years later?

I have to say that I am amazed! When we were working on the movie, I don’t think anyone had any idea what to expect. I don’t think I realized just how big the movie had become until I went to a horror convention. There are a lot of wonderful crazy Evil Dead fans out there, I mean, “I’m gunna get yer face tattooed on my butt” fans. And I love every one of them. I am truly honoured to be a part of it.

The Evil Dead remake is of course due out very soon. Will you be watching it?

I will. I watched the trailer not long ago. It scared the hell out of me!

You’ve also appeared in small roles in a number of other great films, from Darkman to Spider-Man 2. Which has been your favourite? Do you have any anecdotes from those sets?

I think Darkman was my favourite. I played a one-legged guy named Skippy. This was before CGI so we designed a harness that kept my leg strapped up behind my back. It was very painful hopping around like that all day. People still ask me if I have two legs. Also we spent almost a whole week of shooting killing Skippy but it’s not in the movie. Skippy lives. Because of technical problems the whole scene had to be cut. I wasn’t very happy about that. In fact, a lot of my role in the film ended up on the cutting room floor. That’s Show-Biz. It was also fantastic to work with great actors like Liam Neeson and Frances McDormand.

When we were shooting Maniac Cop, there is a scene where I arrest Bruce’s character. I am slamming his head and face into the side of a police van. We must have shot the scene ten or fifteen times. At the end of every take, the director, Bill Lustig, would say “That was perfect. Now let’s do it again only harder!” I thought I was going to kill poor Bruce. Come to think of it, I have kind of made a career out of beating the crap out of Campbell!

EVIL DEAD 2 is available on Special Edition Blu-ray from April 15th. EVIL DEAD (2013) opens in UK cinemas April 18th.

Click on the cover below to grab a copy of our EVIL DEAD Issue!

As we countdown to the EVIL DEAD franchise returning to our cinemas, we caught up with several key players who were instrumental in cementing the movies as horror classics. First up, Betsy Baker, who portrayed Ash’s doomed girlfriend Linda in the 1981 original…  

Starburst: You played Linda in The Evil Dead. What attracted you to the film, and to the role?

Betsy Baker: I had been asked by Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, and Bruce Campbell to ‘consider’ the role of Linda. I had never done anything horror-ish before. I thought it would be a great adventure. And indeed, it was.

Were you disappointed not to be able to return for Evil Dead 2?

I wasn’t disappointed – in fact, I was asked to portray Linda in Evil Dead 2. I met with them again – and we had a long discussion – the invite was out there. But I had gotten married, and my husband and I were expecting our first child, and we all agreed there was no easy way around that! So regrettably, I had to turn it down. But we had a beautiful, beautiful daughter two months later – now who can call that disappointment!?

What are your thoughts on The Evil Dead and its legacy, all these years later?

I’m simply amazed to this day, the following that the original film had, and has. As members of the cast, the ladies of Evil Dead have been asked to appear at autograph conventions in all different parts of the world, and throughout the United States. People still come up to me and ask out of the blue, if they could hear the ‘laugh’ or the ‘song’. It truly has a cult following!

Did you have any idea, making the film, that it would go on to become one of the most influential horror films of all time?

Never in my dreams, or nightmares… I should say. It’s still hard to believe.

What do you think might be the key to its lasting appeal?

I think there was a true innocence present in making the film and shown on the screen… and in many ways, both bad and good, but all truly genuine – it shows. There were literally no computers back then, no special effects other than ones that were truly hand-made or mixed up in a kitchen pan. In many ways, I think the audience appreciates not only the occasional sense of humour that peeks through, but the real determination of young actors and creative people, and their drive to conceive their image and follow through with a finished product, bumps and all.

Here in the UK, The Evil Dead was actually banned for a few years. What was your reaction to that?

Honestly, I wasn’t consistently aware of all the bans in different countries for quite a few years.

What is your greatest memory from making the film?

I think it’s a combination of memories – the hard work, the rough and rustic atmosphere throughout – no heat on the set, no coffee, no water, many times no hot showers, the list goes on – and yet, we all supported each other in each individual’s task or crew job, whether it be a fellow actor or actress, or the skeletal crew.

Were the contact lenses as painful as they looked?

Yes. Actually, mine were probably the most comfortable – both Ellen and Theresa had some painful moments wearing them. But we often say that if you imagine a large plastic food container lid being inserted in your eyes, that’s what it felt like!

In such a visceral, raw-looking shoot, you must have picked up a few cuts and bruises?

Absolutely. I bruised my back while being hauled down the steps, ripped some skin off the duct-tape put on my back, Bruce hurt his ankle running down the hill one night… the list goes on!

Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi have gone on to become enormous cult figures since The Evil Dead. What was it like working with them?

Working with Bruce and Sam was a highlight of working on such a project. Their determination, their drive, and their insistence on getting what they wanted were pervasive throughout. Today, they are still funny and still creative.

The remake is due out very soon. Will you be watching it?

I will be hiding my eyes, I think – during most of the film. I’m not huge on watching horror movies but I will have to catch it.

How do you feel about remakes?

No comment. There. That’s how I feel! Whether it’s a romance, a comedy, a drama, or a horror film.

Are you a big fan of horror movies?

Nope, nope, nope!

What are you up to next?

Lots of projects! I just finished filming a television murder-mystery, will be seen in a new network drama called Monday Mornings in the spring of 2013, and I also appeared Oz the Great and Powerful! I am writing two children’s books – yup! And I also work with more than 1200 elementary school children each week as an independent vocal music teacher at six schools!

What are your future career ambitions?

Work more!

THE EVIL DEAD is currently available on Blu-ray (Steelbook Edition). EVIL DEAD (2013) opens in UK cinemas April 18th. Follow The Ladies of Evil Dead – Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker and Theresa Tilly – on Twitter @theladiesofevildea, or visit them on facebook.

Click on the cover below to grab a copy of our EVIL DEAD Issue!

As part of its 40th anniversary tour, actor Philip Franks is swapping the cosy Sunday night television of The Darling Buds of May and Heartbeat for the late night double feature naughtiness of The Rocky Horror Show playing the Narrator. Starburst caught up with Mr. Franks for a chat about the tour so far and to indulge in his love of horror…

Starburst: So how’s the tour been so far?

Philip Franks: It’s been great, it really has, especially Glasgow, Glasgow was brilliant.

Prior to your involvement with Rocky Horror, what was your previous experience of the show?

Well I had seen the original stage version, as in the really original version with Tim Curry, I was at school, it was 1973 and me and a couple of school friends went to see it, and the whole experience of it was like the naughtiest thing in the world ever. Then we played the soundtrack album to death and then I kind of forgot about it then, I mean, back then it wasn’t what the show is now, it wasn’t that interactive thing, it was just a show, but it was just so brilliant. And then the film came along and I saw that like everyone else did, but the show as it is now, which came to life off the back of the film, I hadn’t seen, and it came along for me to do because Chris Luscombe I had worked with doing The History Boys, he rang me up and said ‘would you fancy doing it?’ and I was so scared at the idea because I had never done a musical before, but I thought perhaps being alarmed by something is a very good reason for doing it.

So what preparation did you do for the role of the Narrator?

I’ve been luckier than most other Narrators in that I had a proper rehearsal period, I had three weeks with the company before the show went out, whereas others are given the book, expected to turn up on the Monday and that’s that, and there’s nothing more terrifying than that. So I had a proper rehearsal period where I was able to learn the lines and I am in a bit more of it than previous Narrators have been, I’m in a couple more numbers and I think there’s some material that has been reinstated, but of course what you can’t rehearse is being with the audience, who in some cases, know the play better than you do and they’re shouting at you. So when you decide who the Narrator is (because it’s not me but it’s a character) you just jump in and take whatever they shout at you.

So was there any preparation you felt you could do for the audience participation?

A little bit, we had the assistant director who very politely sat behind a desk in rehearsals and would shout something every so often because there are a certain number of shout-backs that you can predict, but there’s some, like with our initial three weeks in Brighton, you have to make up your responses as you go along. So you go along with how an audience is on a particular night. And it varies, for example in Glasgow, there is a very strong dialogue between you and the audience, meanwhile when we were in Grimsby, they hardly shouted anything.

So, moving on then, what do you think has made the show so appealing over the last 40 years?

That’s a good question, because the show itself was slung together in about three weeks. I think that it’s because it has a kind of honesty to it, it was everything that Richard was interested in. He was a lonely boy from New Zealand who was brought up on this diet of B-Movies, horror and science fiction and that yearning of that lonely boy for a tacky, yet glamorous world was all put together in this melting pot against the backdrop of the sexual revolution of the 1970s and this was what came out of it. And it’s got a lot in common with basic British panto and also fairy-tale, with this idea of two innocent kids and a wicked queen; it all appeals to the national psyche. It became one of those moments where eclectic ingredients went together as a new and exciting recipe.

Yeah, and there’s that strong element of parody as well.

Yes, it is parody but with absolute love and affection. It is a good hearted show amidst all its horror and sleaziness and ‘oh, here come the aliens in fishnets!’

So in a show that does parody horror and sci-fi film, what would you say your favourites were?

I’m a big horror film buff, I must admit that I know more about horror than I do sci-fi, but I do love the Cold War 1950s ones such as The Day The Earth Stood Still, the ones that are in all seriousness but with low production values. But I’m still, like I said, a massive horror buff.

Any particular favourites?

I am still terrified by the original Halloween, it’s an absolute classic, more recently I enjoyed Eden Lake very much. I’m really intrigued by the idea that every generation’s horror films tell you what you’re scared of. So, in America, they’re frightened of abroad, whereas in Britain we’re frightened by children. So with things like Hostel, American kids are placed in a situation where they can’t read their guide books and don’t know the language. Whereas over here, we’re concerned with feral children that want to kill us. I very much enjoyed the one that was set on the Tube done recently, but I forget the name and I’m very much looking forward to Mama. Have you seen The Bay? That’s very good, it’s by Barry Levinson, about killer crustaceans, but it absolutely references those ‘small town in peril’ films from the 1950s and 60s, and is very, very good.

We must admit we’re looking forward to the remake of Evil Dead.

Remake? Who’s done that then?

It’s a new director but Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell are both on board as producers.

Wow! I remember being in Canada, a couple of years ago and getting to see Evil Dead the Musical. And when you bought your ticket you were asked very politely if you would like to sit in the ‘splatter zone?’ and they give you a cagoule to wear and you get totally covered in blood.

So, moving back to Rocky Horror then, I know Charles Gray played your role of the Narrator brilliantly in the film, who would you like to see play the part?

Charles Gray, basically.

So Charles Gray can’t be topped?

He was perfect. He had the combination of sinister and witty, which is what the show needs. Of course he references Edgar Lustgarten and Rod Serling from The Twilight Zone. They were good examples because they were silkily funny (in a raised eye-brow sort of way) but also deadly serious. Kevin Spacey would also be wonderful in the role.

We can see Kevin Spacey doing it. One final question: one word to describe your Rocky Horror experience so far?

Exhilarating.

Thank you very much, Philip, and best wishes for the rest of the tour.

Thank you.

For more details on where you can catch THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW – 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR, visit the official site www.rockyhorror.co.uk

Starburst recently caught up with Dan Freeman, the writer, director and producer of acclaimed audio drama The Minister of Chance following the release of the fourth episode, Tiger. We discussed the past and future of this epic tale…

Starburst: How do you feel now you have almost got to the end of the series and how much does the plot for each episode still resemble your original concept?

Dan Freeman: You know I’m not sure I even remember the original concept! I think it’s broadly come out as I expected! It’s morphed and meandered as it has moved along. Sometimes characters come up and you really like them and want to do more with them, and sometimes you just drop them if you get bored.

How much of this story was even in concept back when you produced Death Comes to Time?

Again, ancient history! I think the concept was there. I wrote the Prologue donkeys years ago as a film script.

The crowd-funding seems to have been a success – would you use that approach again/recommend it to others?

I would love to do it again. It’s a lovely way to work. I was ranting about it to Jamie Anderson (son of Gerry), encouraging him to use it to complete unfinished projects of his Dad’s. Your bosses are just very generous members of the public, instead of people in suits.

Apart from the writing much of the strength in the finished product comes from the talented cast you have assembled; how have you managed to attract so many people? Did luck play much of a part or have you mostly ended up with people you wanted?

We just asked them! Clare sent them the script and they read it and agreed. Once we got Julian Wadham, we knew we were onto a winner. Phil Glenister and Jed Brophy approached us and asked to be in it, which was really exciting.

While we could single out a lot of people, we wanted to just ask about Lauren Crace who is at an earlier part of her career than many of the others. How did Lauren get the part of Kitty (which she is excellent in)?

She auditioned! Clare told me about this pretty blonde actress from Eastenders who she thought was great, and I couldn’t have been less interested. Then I met Lauren, and I was struck by her maturity and authority, so within a couple of minutes I took her very seriously. Then when she auditioned (along with some other incredible talent), and I remember literally looking at Clare and rolling my eyes while Lauren was talking, I just couldn’t believe how hilarious and clever her performance was. She makes me laugh even though I wrote the lines! The one downside is that Lauren has one of the most beautiful and infectious smiles I’ve ever seen, and Kitty never smiles!

Can you give us any clues for episode 5? Do we get more Kitty back story? Is there a deeper connection with Jenny Agutter’s Professor Cantha for example?

Yes, you do get some more Kitty backstory! It’s the end of this story arc, so I hope everything will be wrapped up satisfactorily… I will smugly say no more!

What’s next, will there be a Minister of Chance II? It seems to us that there are lots of possibilities; you have a very rich cast of characters to draw on, never mind the wider story of the Minister and his kind. Might you move into other media such as animation or novels?

We’re working on a movie – occasional concept art pops up on our FB page, that’s what it’s from. I would love to work with Lee Sullivan on a graphic novel when he has time, but for now the next step is the film.

What else are you working on apart from The Minister? What can we look forward to enjoying in the rest of 2013?

The Minister is a mega full time job! I write, produce, direct, I mail out the t-shirts… but as soon as I’ve edited and put out Episode 5, I’ll be full time on the movie. Then who knows!?

Finally, if you were able to spend an evening in the company of any one of the characters from the series, who would it be and why?

Wow… hmm. It’s very difficult for me to separate the actors from the characters! I wonder if either The Minister or Kitty would actually be good company! The Minister is pretty haughty and dismissive, but he does know a lot. I don’t think he could be bothered to tell you any of it though. Kitty’s instant response to anything is to start a fight, so again I’m not sure she’d be much fun. Ironically, I bet Durian, with his automatic charm and charisma would probably be the best company. Paul McGann was talking about the character at BritSciFi3 in Leicester, and he’s actually based on Tony Blair. He’s charm itself, even though he’s a baddie.

We suspect you’ve made the right choice, thank you very much for your time and good luck with Episode 5 and the film.

My absolute pleasure.

For more details, visit THE MINISTER OF CHANCE homepage HERE.

Acclaimed director of Kidulthood, Menhaj Huda, has recently released a new film named Comedown. Starburst catches up with him to discuss the movie, his influences and the transition to horror.

Starburst: How did you get into filmmaking? Had it always been a passion?

Menhaj Huda: I got into filmmaking through music and then music videos. I started DJ-ing in the late ‘80s and got the house music bug, but wanted to work in TV and music videos – I trained as a video editor and got my break as a director with a dance music show for Channel 4 in 1993, then moved into narrative films with my first short film in 1998.

Did you feel pressure making this film after the success of Kidulthood?

Not at all, I just really liked the script and found the setting very original even though the characters might seem similar to the Kidulthood kids.

How did you become involved with the film?

I was approached with the script by the producer Dominic Norris and decided pretty much as soon as I had finished reading it that I wanted to make it!

Which filmmakers inspire you as a director?

I’m a huge fan of Tony Scott films and was very sad to hear of his death last year. I am also inspired by Luc Besson and everything he has achieved both as a director and a producer.

In the light of Adam Deacon previously winning a BAFTA Rising Star Award, do you think it’s important to work with young, up-and-coming talent?

It has been important to me in the past as I have always supported young talent but as we all progress in our careers it’s also important to work with more experienced actors.

Have you always been a fan of the horror genre or was this a new direction for you? Do you have any films from the genre that stand out as inspirational?

I’ve always been a fan of action films, but wasn’t aware just how much I was into horrors, especially the ones from the ‘70s and ‘80s, until I started researching for this film. I realised that John Carpenter is one of my favourite directors from that era, The Thing being the film on the top of my list.

In the film, the British aesthetic, with the use of council estates and tower block flats, is very explicit, what do you feel is the main difference between British and American horror?

I think American horrors have become all about the body count and gore, and as British films don’t have the budgets to match those kinds of special effects, we have to be more inventive with our storytelling and play with suspense and creepiness! But very few horror films these days really scare the audience, British or American, they seem more intent on explicit violence and shock, which can sometimes become humorous.

What do you think is so appealing about horror films and especially teen slasher films?

It’s old school entertainment that’s in our DNA, watching people die or get killed. I guess it stems from the days when people watched hangings and gladiator fights to the death, Christians being thrown to the lions etc. Humans have evolved just enough that they are now satisfied with watching actors performing these acts rather than watching the real thing.

Do you think it’s important for British films to recognise the urban backgrounds rather than just the idealised ones?

If by that you mean, should British films be more realistic e.g. Kidulthood than fantasy e.g. Notting Hill, then that’s really up to the audience in the end because if they don’t show up to the cinema to watch these kinds of films then the powers that be will very quickly stop funding them. It’s that simple and has very little to do with recognition. So go and buy the DVD and Blu-ray now and support British film!

COMEDOWN is out now DVD/Blu-ray.

Starburst magazine caught up with Peter Davison at the recent Sci-Fi Weekender and asked him a few questions. Davison needs little introduction, he is best known for his roles as the fifth incarnation of The Doctor, as well as Tristan Farnon in the television version of All Creatures Great and Small.

What new projects are you currently involved with?

I don’t have a lot of new projects right now. We’ve just finished filming Law & Order. I’ve done a science fiction radio drama called Welcome to our Village, Please Invade Carefully, which is quite funny if I do say so myself, and that’s about pretty much it for now. There’s so many events and functions I’m being invited to this year and I don’t want to miss anything. If there’s a good job worth doing I’ll do it, but I’m currently clearing the decks.

So does that mean you’ll be involved in the Doctor Who 50th anniversary?

I honestly don’t know. I don’t think that we will be involved in anything. I’ve not heard anything, but I have got a meeting with Steven Moffat next week, but I’ve not been advised of anything that’s going on. I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re not involved. We were able to do Time Crash and in the old days we did the Five Doctors. The problem is that half of us aren’t here anymore and we should look exactly as we did when we left the TARDIS. I should look like I did in 1992, and sadly none of us do look like that. It’s slightly problematic. If they called me tomorrow, then of course I would say yes.

Is there a Doctor Who story of yours that you’d like to see redone?

No, I don’t think so. I love the writing now because it’s done by the people who grew up watching the series. They just write really good stories. I don’t think there’s any story from back then that I’d like to retell, but I’d be honoured to do one of the scripts the new team have written. I just don’t think it’s going to happen sadly. Steven Moffat is a huge fan of the classic series and probably knows more about the show than anyone I’ve ever met. You could show him a still from any of the stories and he could tell you not only what the story is and when it went out, but what part of the story the still is from. If anyone can make it work it would be Steven Moffat.

Is there a new Doctor Who story that you would have loved to have been in?

The Empty Child. It was a brilliant story. Some of the stories in the new series have been fantastic.

Are there any other sci-fi, fantasy or horror projects that you’d like to be involved with?

I’m a big fan of the John Wyndham books, but they’ve never been done effectively on television. I didn’t really know where they were going with the recent version of Day of the Triffids. I’d love to look at classics from my childhood such as The Kraken Wakes or maybe something by HG Wells. I’d want it to stay faithful to the books. They aren’t that special effects based and I think the problem nowadays is that they want to put in all these things and it gets in the way of the story. They should have it where they need it, rather than ladle it on too thickly.

What is it like bearing the legacy of being the Fifth Doctor?

It’s very nice. I thought that when I left I wouldn’t be of any interest, being an ex-Doctor. The fact of the matter is we each were our own Doctor. There’s no real rivalry with any of the other Doctors. The only person we used to defer to was Jon Pertwee because he was such a showman.

What memory of the show stays with you today?
I suppose it was the experience of doing Caves of Androzani, because it was so cathartic. It opened up to me new possibilities for the show. We had a classic Robert Holmes script and a brand new director and it all suddenly gelled. I don’t have any regrets about the series, it’s just that with Caves of Androzani I just thought wow, this is how we should have been doing it, even with the limited resources we have. Some of the earlier stories are very static and ploddy and when we moved to a more cinematic style it simply amazed me.

Apart from Caves of Androzani, which of your stories would you describe as definitive?

From my tenure, Earthshock. From the others, Tomb of The Cybermen. I loved The Empty Child and I really enjoyed Tennant’s first story. I saw it being made and though the production values were higher than back in my day, the sense of chaos remained the same. I loved the scene at the end were he comes out with a cup of tea and solves the thing in an instant. There was such enjoyment in that scene.

Is there a none Doctor Who work of yours that you’re proud of?

A toss-up between A Very Peculiar Practice and At Home with the Braithwaites. Both had brilliant scripts. With the Braithwaites, it was tragic but also very funny and I thought how lucky am I to be working with such a script.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only have one book for company, what would that book be?

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. Just a brilliantly weird book. It’s bizarre and the scope of it is incredible. It has everything, including the devil.

Simpsons or Futurama?

My children have almost convinced me that Futurama is better. I’ve gone off The Simpsons very slightly; it doesn’t seem quite as punchy.

Truth or Beauty?

Beauty.

The Doctor’s Daughter or The Tenth Doctor?

Aren’t they the same thing? The Doctor’s Daughter. Where’s the spin off, that’s what I’d like to know.

Ross Noble is best known for being a stand-up comedian, but in his feature film debut he plays a re-incarnated clown out on a killing spree! With Stitches now out on DVD/Blu-ray, we caught up with the actor to talk about the character, the making of the movie and more…

Starburst: Stitches the Clown is a truly horrendous creation – in the best way, of course! – could you tell us about the inception of the character and your decision to make this your first film role?

Ross Noble: The actual reason I decided to do it was because it had everything in there that looked like it would be fun to do because I love horror, sci-fi and genre type stuff. A lot of the time the sort of things I get offered aren’t necessarily the sort of things I want to watch myself. The main thing that drew me to it was the physical aspect of it and the make-up and special effects which is something I really love.

And the decision on how to play the character was based on those northern working men club comics. The guys who wore ties, and had an air of showbiz about them but at the same time even though they were dressed in bow ties they would come out with this horrendous bile. They had a bit of the Bernard Manning about them. Stitches is an entertainer but also a drunken, filthy horrible creature. He’s wearing a clown face, a sort of veneer or a badge of show business that’s stuck on top of what is essentially a horrible individual.

So is horror a genre you’re particularly drawn to?

When I was a kid I was a massive fan of the Maniac Cop films. And Freaks is an interesting film, it crosses that fine line between what is a freak show and what is a circus. That has got to be one of the creepiest scenes where they’re all coming towards her at the end.

What research did you do for the role?

I used to do kids parties before I did stand up, I was obsessed with Circuses when I was a child as well. I hung around with quite a lot of clowns and professional children’s entertainers and I took a bit from there. Rather than Pennywise who is a real clown out to kill I see Stitches like they have dragged a drunk homeless man out of a ditch and dressed him as a clown. The thing about Stitches is, in terms of slasher, I like to think Freddy Krueger has gone on holiday and said to his daft mate down the pub “listen I know you’re not qualified, I know you haven’t done this before, but I’ll give you some cash and is there any chance you can fit in and no one will ever know” so he’s not an out and out killing machine, like he’s obligated to do it. The same way he’s only doing the children’s parties for the money. He’s out for revenge, not driven by anger but driven by the fact that they’ve brought him back to life and it’s just a gig for him.

The gore and prosthetics were brilliant, and it was refreshing to watch splatter that wasn’t CG heavy…

Obviously there is CG stuff in there but for the most part doing it for real appealed to me.

What are your future plans as far as your film career goes?

My main sort of passion is monster movies and creature features. So obviously there is something quite appealing about doing a film like that. I’m in no great hurry, but I’d like to do more films. You get a lot of comedians who want to be actors; they don’t care what they want to be in. I’m quite specific in the things I like.

Any directors you would love to work with?

I have a list as long as my arm. Terry Gilliam is top of my list; I love the stuff he has done. David Cronenberg and Tim Burton are favourites. Certainly Gilliam would be up there.

We know you’re into your motorbikes, where did your love of bikes spring from?

That came from shows like Street Hawk and CHiPs and also my love of stunt and action kind of came from The Fall Guy. As a kid that was one of my favourite shows. I think I have to wait a while before I get to do my own bike stunts in a film! But so far I’ve only managed to play a character whose main mode of transport is a kid’s tiny tricycle. I do like the idea that if we did do a sequel we could just do an enormous chase on a unicycle!

STITCHES is out now on DVD/Blu-ray – click on the cover to get your copy…

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