SOUTHBOUND: Interview with Director Roxanne Benjamin

Director, actor and producer Roxanne Benjamin has two films at Midnight Madness this year. She's a director in the horror anthology Southbound and a producer on The Devil's Candy. In fact, Roxanne Benjamin is probably responsible now for about 30% of the Madness at Midnight Madness, you might remember a little film series she co-produced, V/H/S.

Benjamin took time to answer some questions in advance of the Southbound premiere last night. (The internet passes through Hell itself, and so, you know, the answers got a little delayed in transmission. Demons always think that's funny, that and 404's...).


How did you come to be involved with Southbound and The Devil's Candy?

Brad Miska and I produced the first two V/H/S films together. With those films, we wanted to take found footage, something that felt beat to death as a trope at that point, and find a way to make it interesting and new. With Southbound, we wanted to do the same thing with the actual structure of a multi-director narrative-we wanted to make one world-one mythology with a connected, interweaving story. Brad had been in touch with the Radio Silence boys about it, and I reached out to David Bruckner, and then we had a V/H/S reunion of sorts on our hands.

With Devil’s Candy, I was working under producers Keith and Jess Calder at the time, co-producing some of their film slate over at Snoot Entertainment and basically trying to soak up as much filmmaking knowledge from them as possible. Devil’s Candy was one of the first projects of theirs that I read, and being a huge fan of The Loved Ones (which I learned about from Midnight Madness, of course) I was beyond excited to get to work on Sean Byrne’s film.

You've been involved in many aspects of filmmaking (and tv-making) from the art department to producing and now screenwriting and directing. How did come to directing? And, is there anything you learned in the other ares of filmmaking that you've been involved in that you brought with you to directing?

Yeah. Drink a lot of water. Really though, every day on set in any capacity teaches you something new.  My route to directing isn’t the most traditional, I’ve had a little experience in a lot of different roles, which hopefully informs me as a filmmaker and producer. I think directing was the obvious transition for me after working in the anthology format for so many years now, which is so creatively collaborative by design, and you’re way more involved in shaping the overall vision of the film than in traditional features. Also, working with people better than you makes you better at what you do, it forces you to raise your game.  So I surround myself with as many talented people as possible. I’m also lucky to have some really rad director friends like Jason Eisener (Hobo With A Shotgun) and Dave Bruckner (The Signal) and Evan Katz (Cheap Thrills) that I can learn from, who have all definitely pushed me at various times to get behind the camera myself. It was definitely such an ‘Oh, THIS is what I’m supposed to be doing’ moment the first day on set in that capacity.

You've produced a bunch of anthology movies including the V/H/S series and now Southbound. What's some of the appeal of working in an anthology format for you?

Working with friends, always first and foremost. And you get to collaborate in a way that is not totally available to you with straight features. A feature is really a two to three-year process from development to the release of the film. And there’s so many great filmmakers in genre today. With these types of projects I get to work with a whole gang of talented filmmakers that I respect in that same window. Sixteen, actually, between the V/H/S movies and Southbound, which is pretty crazy. Watching the whole come together as greater than the sum of its parts--these separate visions that we’re helping to bring to screen to make one cohesive narrative--is one of my favorite things about the process. I’d also say I’ve made as many multi-director/multi-writer films as I have because of a love for the writer’s room working in TV, and the entire process of TV production. Particularly with Southbound, we were all coming up with this world together and structured production more like a TV series than a feature. We’d be in my living room once a week breaking story and talking themes, leading up to production. Same thing on set and once we got into the editing process. We’ve probably watched this film no less than 50 times through as a group since the rough cut.

What are some of your favorite horror movies, anthology or otherwise?

Creepshow 2 and Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, particularly the Michael McDowell segment, "Lover’s Vow." That messed me up as a kid. In the Mouth of Madness is also at the top of the ‘probably fucked up my psyche at a formative age’ list.  I probably have way less horror film background than one would expect given my filmography, ha. I was always more of a reader—I grew up on EC Comics, Stephen King, USA Up All Night, and pulp novels.  I remember biking into town to the corner drugstore to get the latest Tales from the Crypt, Haunt of Fear, and Vault of Horror issues (I swear this was the '90s, not the '50s). But I tend to be more obsessed with anything that evokes a sense of creeping dread when it comes to movies, like The Sentinel or Repulsion or Picnic at Hanging Rock. I’m also fascinated by the dynamics of female relationships--there’s so much fodder there to mine-which I don’t think is explored enough in modern horror. I guess you can see that obsession in my part of Southbound.

Exploring the dynamics of female relationships---with DANGER!

What can the Midnight Madness audience expect from Southbound and The Devil's Candy?

Complete pandemonium, hopefully? I’m actually really excited to see both of these films with the Ryerson crowd. 

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions, Roxanne Benjamin!
 
SOUTHBOUND Screening Times: Fri, Sept 18, 12:45 PM SCOTIABANK Fri, Sept 18, 6:00 PM SCOTIABANK Sun, Sept 20, 3:30 PM SCOTIABANK


THE DEVIL'S CANDY Final Screening:
Sat, Sept 19, 1:15 PM SCOTIABANK

YAKUZA APOCALYPSE: Interview with Director Takashi Miike

Through the magicks of the internet, we were able to reach out to the Legendary filmmaker Takashi Miike for a few questions. Be sure to ask yours when he comes to the Ryerson for THE FIRST TIME EVER with his brand new, insane looking film Yakuza Apocalpyse!

Am very much anticipating discovering the musical choice that accompanies this image in Yakuza Apocalypse!

MMB: As a seemingly tireless creator how do you refill your inspiration?

Takashi Miike: Movie sets are my place of peace. Sleep, wake up, eat and if I can only shoot movies that’s fine. I don't consider if my talent will dry up. The image comes to me if I stand on the location. If I lose work, I would just do other work. That's it.

MMB: We’re very excited to have you here, finally! How does it feel to be actually, physically, at Midnight Madness!? Do you have a message for the fans?!

Takashi Miike:  Feels like going back to my hometown. Toronto Midnight Madness is my very first film festival that I was invited. It was a huge event to me whom was making movie with super low budgets in Japan. Our finished movie would take us to the place we wouldn’t imagined if we work hard at our own post. Midnight Madness taught us. Colin [Geddes] and Toronto's audience who welcomed me kindly and enthusiastically are my treasure.

Well, I wonder if you would enjoy this time, Yakuza Apocalypse... I’m looking forward to seeing you at the theatre. Let’s party!

MMB: You have such a diverse body of work. Yakuza Apocalypse, seems like a return to the over-the-top style of your Dead or Alive series (absolutely Midnight Madness!) What attracted you to this project?

Takashi Miike: Freedom. Freedom that we can make something we think is interesting. And… because we made it freely, it became Midnight Madness.

A stranger appears! I wonder who is more weirded out here.

MMB: IMDb lists you as directing 98 features! Were there any unique challenges of making Yakuza Apocalypse that you hadn’t encountered before?

Takashi Miike: Every movie is fresh and stimulating for directors. We face them with an immaculate heart, like a child. I have never been conscious if I made a lot of movies. But I might never meet movie like "Yakuza Apocalypse" in the future. You would understand the reason if you see it. How do I say....

I think, "A film that gives people a fresh happiness, where they feel that this world is not so bad because such a serious and absurd movie can exist - is rarely born"

MMB: In your opinion - what’s the best defence against vampires? 

Takashi Miike: You should resolve yourself. Become a vampire instead of running. Suck, suck, and suck! That kind of life is not so bad. The person who is resolute is strong.

 Ding-ding! Mascot crossing! 

YAKUZA APOCALYPSEscreens:
Fri, Sept 18, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Sat, Sept 19, 3:00 PM SCOTIABANK

Interview with GREEN ROOM Director, Jeremy Saulnier

Jeremy Saulnier hit the scene in 2007 with his set-on-Halloween comedy, Murder Party. In it, the lead character finds himself at a ‘Murder Party’, dressed in cardboard armor, trying his best to not be killed by the party’s hosts, who are dressed in sweet costumes like Pris from Blade Runner, and a Baseball Fury from The Warriors.



He then spent the large part of the next 6 years working as a cinematographer for independent films like, Septien, Putty HIll, You Hurt My Feelings, and I Used To Be Darker.



In 2013, he returned to the director’s chair with Blue Ruin, which took the revenge film genre, flipped it on its head by having its lead character be a normal guy who’s a bit inept when it comes to murder. It was beautiful, brutal, and shockingly for the genre… emotionally engaging! (Check it out on Netflix if you haven’t seen it!!)



Saulnier returns to TIFF this year with his latest film, Green Room, starring Imogen Poots, Patrick Stewart, Alia Shawkat, and Anton Yelich. He was kind enough to answer a few questions for the Midnight Madness blog.



Midnight Madness Blog: I’m thrilled that there was only a 2 year gap between Blue Ruin and Green Room, instead of the six between Murder Party and Blue Ruin. How long did you have the idea of Green Room in mind, and what do you think are its main influences (either films or events in your life?

Jeremy Saulnier: Thank you. I’m quite thrilled myself! That was certainly the mission- ride the momentum of Blue Ruin and crank out another film before I was discovered to be a fraud! I learned that lesson with Murder Party (2007), which was well received by loyal genre fans but didn’t make so much as a blip on the industry radar. Green Room was an idea that had been gestating even before Blue Ruin, so I figured it should be next. I had been in the punk rock / hardcore scene in Washington D.C. in the early ‘90s, so I knew the world and was attracted to its aesthetic. I had also been in my share of cruddy-ass backstage green rooms and thought it would be a perfect setting for a punk rock siege film. My goal as a director was to ratchet up the tension and create a cinematic experience that would elicit a physical response. Sometimes my brain gets tired and I just want to go for an insane ride with the audience. Tonal references would include River's Edge, Straw Dogs, The Road Warrior and Assault on Precinct 13.

MMB: You’re also a cinematographer, and you shot your last film, Blue Ruin. What was behind your decision to not act as cinematographer again on Green Room, and what about Sean Porter made him the right for the material? His work on Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter and It Felt Like Love is great, and I’m stoked to see that he’s shooting the new Mike Mills film.

JS: Blue Ruin was engineered as a film I could both direct and shoot. It was a single protagonist’s journey, crafted in a methodical, nearly silent way. Me viewing the action through the camera lens was both a natural artistic expression and a cost saving practicality. I knew Green Room would be a different animal. It was my first union shoot, there was an ensemble cast that deserved my full attention and the production itself was a huge technical challenge. I never really thought about managing more than one department on that shitstorm! Sean Porter’s work on It Felt Like Love and Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter stood out to me not only because they were both superb visualizations, but because they were so very different. With that kind of diversity, I knew Sean was invested in story above all else and our styles would mesh seamlessly. Also, and this is a biggie, Sean is a kind and generous human with good intentions. 

MMB: From what I’ve heard, I gather that Green Room is pretty grisly, and maybe more intense than people might be expecting from a movie starring Imogen Poots, Patrick Stewart, Alia Shawkat and Anton Yelich. Was your intention to make a really tough film from the start, and what was the casting process like, to be able to get such a great group of actors with such challenging material?

JS: Yes, this film was a face-melter from the start. I used intense gore not for gratuitous celebration (okay, except for that one scene…), but as a tool for intensifying the action, upping the stakes and exploring the shocking brutality that sometimes accompanies basic self-preservation. The only way to make it all resonate, to make it serve the story was to assemble the best actors I could. They were all fully invested in their characters, and that creates a wonderful environment in which the entire crew can do their best work. What makes the film ‘grisly’ is the not the prosthetic makeup effects or the blood pumps, but the grounded, emotional performances that bring an unbearable humanity to this nightmare. 

MMB: Were you able to attend any Midnight Madness screenings when you were at TIFF with Blue Ruin? If you were, what did you see, and what was your impression of the audience?

JS: This will be my first Midnight Madness screening! The audiences here are legendary. Green Room was a very difficult film to make, and I’m just now starting the celebration in Toronto-- it’s the world premiere of the finished film with an entirely new sound mix since it’s Cannes screening. It’s as if Green Room was carefully concocted in a laboratory for this very audience on this very night! Muhahahaha!

MMB: I know Green Room hasn’t even been released yet, but do you have an idea what your next film might be, or what you hope it will be?

JS: Not sure yet what the next film will be, but there’s a lot of exciting projects I’m circling. I hope that, whatever it is, it will be a step up in scale and an opportunity to make a shit ton of money – err, um- I mean, to challenge myself as a filmmaker and deliver something audiences will love.

MMB: Thanks so much for taking the time to answer a few questions for the Midnight Madness blog! I’m really excited to see Green Room on Thursday!

JS: Thank you! Our entire team is grateful to be here. It’s an honor to open Midnight Madness and I only hope the fans are happy. We’ve got some amazing guests coming tonight!

GREEN ROOM screens:
Thu, Sept 10th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Fri, Sept 11th, 8:45 AM SCOTIABANK
Sat, Sept 12, 2:15 PM BLOOR HOT DOCS

THE MIND'S EYE Larry Fessenden: A Horror Genre Renaissance Man

Larry Fessenden is truly a horror genre renaissance man. A director, writer, producer, actor. Appearing as Mike Connors in The Mind's Eye directed by Joe Begos will mark Mr. Fessenden's fourth time acting in a film that has premiered at the Midnight Madness program. Larry is always a joy to watch in a film, a talented and fearless actor who puts everything into his performance.

Larry started making short films with a Super 8 camera in high school and took that passion to NYU film school. As he has said, "I was born to make movies." He was naturally drawn to tell stories in the horror genre. "I have a slightly, paranoid nature, I just see the world filled with a sense of the potential for things to go wrong. So, I kind of live in a genre reality."

His second film Habit found an audience and was critically well received. Here is a snippet of what  Roger Ebert said about the film, "Fessenden, who wrote, directed, acted, and edited this film, is a talent to watch. That he is able to see himself with such objectivity is almost frightening; there is not a shred of ego in his performance."

Some of Fessenden's other films as a writer director include Wendigo, Beneath and The Last Winter. Not content to just make a movie for the sake of making a movie his films usually have a subtext, such as, addiction in the vampire film Habit or the perilous state of the natural world and environment which propels the undercurrent of The Last Winter.

In 1985 he founded his production company Glass Eye Pix. The name was derived from a decorative glass eye a friend gave him and said, "Here's to your vision," as well as paying homage to the Jimmy Cagney film Yankee Doodle Dandy where a Variety headline appears "Sticks Nix Hick Pix." Glass Eye Pix is still going strong having been one of the companies that has produced every single film Larry has directed as well as producing many other films most notably, I Sell The Dead and Stake Land. Recently he has become a curator and producer of Tales From Beyond The Pale. Tales is billed as "Radio Plays For The Digital Age".  

It was Larry's love of acting that initially drew him into film making so it was only logical that he would continue to perform in front of the camera -- in his own films -- but also appear in films made by Martin Scorsese Bringing Out The Dead, Jim Jarmusch Broken Flowers. Holding true to his roots and passion for the horror genre Larry has supported and acted in a lot of genre films. Larry has the distinction of having appeared in three previous films that have screened at the Midnight Madness program. Vanishing on 7th Street, You're Next and the 2010 People's Choice winner Stake Land which he also produced.

You can read an interview where Mr. Fessenden talks about producing the Jim Mickle film here. Larry's fourth time acting in a Midnight Madness premiere coincides with the 4th dimension in the The Mind's Eye a film about telekinesis. Coincidence? Then the very next night Larry will appear in Southbound which will also have it's world premiere.

Here is a video interview I conducted with Larry Fessenden in 2008.



THE MIND'S EYE screens:
Tue, Sept 15, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Wed, Sept 16, 12:00 PM SCOTIABANK
Thu, Sept 17, 12:15 PM SCOTIABANK
Thu, Sept 17, 3:30 PM BLOOR HOT DOCS
Sat, Sept 19, 7:00 PM SCOTIABANK

SOUTHBOUND screens:
Wed, Sept 16, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Fri, Sept 18, 6:00 PM SCOTIABANK
Sun, Sept 20, 3:30 PM SCOTIABANK
 

5 Questions with the Directors of THE EDITOR

Adam Brooks and Matthew Kennedy lead the charge in the new Astron-6 film The Editor.  The two of them impressively split the jobs of producer, director, directors of photography and writer (with Conor Sweeney)… as well as both acting in the film!  Just a few of the many hats they wore, actually!

We caught up with them for some insights on their brand new Giallo Comedy flick!

1. What's your favorite giallo movie? 

Matthew: I like Suspiria, Tenebre and the first giallo movie that I watched which was Bava's Bay of Blood or 'Twitch of the Death Nerve'. I bought it online because I heard that Friday the 13th 2 stole some deaths from it. I didn't even know it was a giallo at the time or what a giallo was... 

Adam: Don't Torture a Duckling 

Matthew Kennedy

2. What's your favorite comedy? 

Matthew: This is really hard for me to choose but I really like Wet Hot American Summer and most films by David Wain. I'm also a big fan of all of Woody Allen's comedies, particularly Play it Again, Sam. 

Adam: Yes such a hard question... Maybe Groundhog Day or Billy Madison or Wanderlust or The Big Lebowski... The 40 Year Old Virgin... This is the End?.... I dunno... Too hard. 

3. Giallo-comedy! Where'd that concept come from? 

Matthew: We love comedy, we love giallos. Everything we do has a touch of comedy and giallos already come with their own pre-exisiting dash of comedy, I'd say. 

Adam: We like to make each other laugh, so there's the comedy element. And as for the giallo element - I think we'd like to make every genre of movie, and now we can check giallo off that list. 

4. Can you talk about your experience with Indiegogo for this film? 

Matthew: Indiegogo served us well. We would not have been able to shoot the film in 4k without that campaign. We still have to deliver some prizes that we couldn't mail until the film was finished. We were still shooting as recently as June so we haven't had a moment to breathe. 

Adam Brooks

5. How has your filmmaking process adapted from the early days of Astron-6 to your work on The Editor? 

Matthew: It has only become harder and harder and harder. Every movie we shoot is more work than the last. The early days of Astron-6 were really the glory days. It was just getting together with your friends and making something that made you laugh. We laughed so much back then, and we still do, it just comes between all the awful pain, depression and exhaustion. 

Adam: Yea I think I see where you're going with this question and I want to tell you that it's a whole new world now and we sit in director chairs and have people get us coffee. But the truth is nothing has changed except the workload got bigger. We still have to phone the actors, drive them to set, pack all the gear, the props the costumes into our tiny cars, set everything up, buy people food, pay for parking, tear down, and drive people home. Then at home we work on props or set dec for the next shoot, and play around with some editing. So it's really no different. We still shoot mainly without permits and do our own stunts too.

THE EDITOR screening times:

Thu., Sept. 11th, 11:59 PM, RYERSON 

Fri., Sept. 12th, 9:15 AM, SCOTIABANK 3
Sat., Sept. 13th, 6:15 PM, SCOTIABANK 4

Spotlight on SLEEPLESS NIGHT director Frédéric Jardin

 Frédéric Jardin, director of Sleepless Night
Looks to keep you up all night! 

Moments ago, I spoke with French director Frédéric Jardin about his new film action noir film Sleepless Night - which premieres tonight at Midnight Madness! Check out the full interview below!

Several French horror directors at Midnight Madness say that it’s quite tough to make genre films in France. How is the climate for action films, and how did you pitch this film?

It’s very hard to raise money for action films. My producer Marco, produced A Prophet and with the success of that, it won a prize in Cannes, so it was easier for him. This was a 3 million euro film, so it’s not very expensive film.

Tell us about how the project came together - your inspiration, your key collaborators, how you found your star in Tommer. 

At the very beginning I wanted to do an action film, so I was thinking about paternity - so that was the very beginning when I started writing - I wanted to mix action and paternity - I was thinking of an actor who was physical and emotional - Tommer moves really well, there was a lot of emotion when he ran. It’s not a just an action film, I needed the actor to feel emotion all the time, for the whole movie... this was a challenge. And Tommer loved the script.

What was the moment when you knew the film would happen?

When we found a distributor - Bacfilms - our french distributor - that was main the thing. We got some money from several TV stations, but getting this distributor was the moment that the film would be made.

What’s the biggest difference with this film from your other films?

They were more comedy, even through they are dark comedy - this is more film noir, it’s a real thriller, and a dark one. Even though there is dramatic irony, it is more serious and darker - it’s about relationship between father and son, paternity, so I wanted it to be very serious - even though it features a chase on the surface, above all it’s about this relationship.

You mentioned to me that you avoided outside influences as much as possible when creating this movie to keep your vision pure. How did you enforce that on yourself, and what did you do to cultivate your own style?

I decided for this film - to film it like a documentary - camera on the shoulder, and extremely realistic in action. I didn’t want to film the violence graphically - but instead very realistic dirty violence, with sweat- and you feel the people are very exhausted by this crazy night, and I wanted all of these things to be very realistic and that’s the style at the end. I wanted something very frenetic. Because the main character doesn’t have any time to save his son.

Making movies can be crazy and unpredictable; What was the strangest obstacle you dealt with during the shoot?

Not so much, the film was very well planned, and was always inside, and while we had a crowd - I wanted it to be very realistic but everything was planned at the same time. It seems like a contradiction but it goes in the same direction. We planned the chaos, which is quite hard usually!

What was the best lesson that making this film taught you?

I learned everything with this film, it was very new for me, and that’s a new direction that I want to continue to work in.

Writing is very cathartic, in that you can write about how you’d like to react to a situation- and that’s what I love about it. However, if you were put in a similar situation as your film’s character Vincent, how would you honestly react?

Hm. I would do the same thing as him! You know it’s hard to say, I can’t answer that - I am very close to the character, I don’t want to give it away, you to have to see the movie. 

What are some of your favorite films, and what other genres are you interested in working in?

Work in other Genres? Yeah why not - I am not crazy about the typical horror film, but every director should be interested by all genres. Some of my favorite films are- Nicholas Winding Refn’s Pusher Trilogy, Joon-Ho Bong's films Memories of Murder, Mother, and The Host. And also Hong Jin Na’s Chaser.  I love TV series like Breaking Bad, and Sopranos. 

**

Be sure to see for yourself EXACTLY what  bone-cracking extremes Frédéric Jardin would execute to save his son, were he facing the depraved gangsters from Sleepless Night!

SLEEPLESS NIGHT

Tues. Sept. 13th, 11:59pm RYERSON

Weds. Sept. 14th. 3:00pm AMC 1

Fri. Sept. 16th, 9:45pm SCOTIABANK THEATRE 11