This is a true indie filmmaker, Troy Escamilla, he has wrote and directed his first film Party Night, is gaining great reviews and has started his a Kickstarter campaign for his second film Stirring a Christmas slasher. He has done this all while working not a professional filmmaker by trade just a true desire to show his idea of horror, and started his own blog and gaining ground in the horror community. These are his ten questions:
Steve (S) 1. Any formal training for filmmaking?
Troy Escamilla (TE) 1. Believe it or not, Party Night was the very first film set I ever stepped foot on. To say I was completely overwhelmed and intimidated is definitely an understatement! However, since I wrote the screenplay, I had a very clear vision in my mind as to how I wanted scenes and the overall film to look and for characters to react. I feel I was able to do a great job communicating my vision to the cast and crew and certainly learned so much about the process of filmmaking along the way that I am eager to apply to my next project.
S: That shows a true desire to make a difference in your life, trying something that you were unaware of what to do, but perseverance paid off of with your film work.
S: 2. Who was your biggest influence in horror?
TE 2. Definitely Stephen King. I started reading his novels at a very early age and was in awe of his talent as a storyteller. He's the one who got me into writing short horror stories and as kid I remember studying his style, syntax, and voice to help me improve my own writing. As far as filmmakers, Hitchcock and Carpenter are the two the I probably most strongly admire.
S: I am not a huge King fan, surprise, I prefer H.P. Lovecraft but whatever gets you into that mind set is awesome, I have been writing myself since middle school, and your filmmaker choice would be hard pressed to find any argument with them.
S: 3. Who introduced you into horror films?
TE 3. My parents took me to see Poltergeist when I was about six years old. It scared the absolute crap out of me, and I've been hooked ever since! I'm grateful that my parents are also huge horror fans and had no issues sharing the genre they loved with my at such a young age.
S: That is awesome wish I had parents like that they don't watch movies or sports they aren't normal.
S: 4. What is your all time favorite horror film?
My favorite horror film is definitely 1974's Black Christmas. I do not think it receives anywhere near the credit it deserves for its influence on the genre. It's influence can been seen in several genre classics such as Halloween, Friday the 13th, Scream, etc. For me, it truly is the perfect horror film and my next project Stirring is my personal homage to it.
S: Wow nobody has said that was their favorite, but I see your point in it's influence on modern day classics. It truly paved the way for a lot of what we see today.
S: 5. How many stories do you have you're considering for script treatment?
TE 5. I have two other completed slasher screenplays that have been gathering dust for years how. However, honestly, I do not know if I will ever pursue getting them filmed (even though one is very near and dear to my heart) simply because after making two slasher films (fingers crossed that Stirring makes it funding goal on Kickstarter!!), I feel like I want to push myself to do something different. I actual have a project in mind that is a complete departure from the slasher genre, but I'll keep it a secret for now. All I'l say is it will be a huge undertaking, but deals with a topic that has completely fascinated and frightened me for the past several years.
S: I would personally be very into something near to my heart but would hate the way people like to pigeon hole people. You can always come back to it after next features, let's get Stirring funded and filmed.
S: 6. How long have you been writing?
TE 6. I really developed my passion for writing in the third grade. My teacher assigned us to write a short story that was only supposed to be a paragraph long. I chose to right about a haunted house and my story ended up being eight pages! From that point, I began writing short stories on a very regular basis. I was one of only two students in my district selected to go to a writing conference when I was in sixth grade. By high school, I had written two stories that were well over one hundred pages (once again, about a haunted house!), I took creative writing classes in college to hone my craft and spent ten years as an English teacher teaching my students to become better writers. Writing truly has been such a huge part of my life.
S: I have interviewed an author for this very blog he teaches a much younger bunch of kids but is a great author, I never went to college for squat but I try to write stories and have wrote a short screenplay, finished, and many others that have been started I just need the equipment to film.
S: 7. Ever consider being an author?
TE 7. I am thinking that writing screenplays count as being an author? But as far as writing novels, it's something at one time I was very interested in, but since my passion has shifted to screenwriting and filmmaking.
S: I feel the same I have the acting bug, since my friends started filming and asked me if I would play a role she wrote for me, that was the best year I've had until my future woman came into my life.
S: 8. What do most people not know about you?
TE 8. I taught High School English for ten years and currently am a Librarian at a High School. I think one thing many would find surprising is that I was involved in pageants for quite a long time. I was a local director for Miss America preliminaries in both Iowa and Illinois and still enjoy judging when I get the opportunity. I know----horror movies and pageants are quite the combination!
S: That is a strange combination for sure, that is why this is my favorite question and I have to ask everyone. I get the most fascinating answers, yours is definitely up there.
S: 9. Your new Kickstarter campaign has scream queen legend Brinke Stevens, who would you love to work with if you had no budget restrictions?
TE: 9. Oh wow. What a tough question!! So many possibilities and people I want to say. Because i am such a huge 80's slasher fan and have a special place in my heart for kick ass final girls and Scream Queens, I'd say it would be amazing to work with Danielle Harris. She's a true icon in the genre and her performances in both Halloween 4 and Halloween 5 rank among the best in the genre in opinion. She genuinely has a true respect and passion for the genre, so I think it'd be awesome to create a role for her and watch her do her thing!
S: I see no wrong answer hear you made a fine choice, she has grown into such a great actress, she is a true champion of children actors.
S: 10. How did you come up with making Fright Meter?
TE: 10. In addition to being a horror fan, I am also a huge film awards buff. I am an Oscar trivia machine and diligently follow awards season. It has always bothered me massively that the horror genre is virtually ignored by mainstream awards. There have been some truly great performances in horror films—performances that rival, or are often time better than those that won Oscars their perspective years. Several years ago, I started a personal blog called Fright Meter, where I posted reviews of horror films, etc. I decided to combine my love of horror and awards by giving out my personal awards on an annual basis. After getting to know some other horror bloggers, I got the idea to put a committee of horror lovers together to help with the awards. The result is what you see currently; we have a committee of over fifty members involved in various aspects of the industry who are responsible for determining the Fright Meter Award nominations and winners each year. The awards are gaining notice and attention within the horror community and we have been able to actually award our custom to trophy to several winners including Lin Shaye, Traci Lords, Tom Savini, The Soska Sisters and Leigh Whannell. The goal is to become the premiere award given to the genre.
S: This I started as a suggestion from my woman, she said I needed a hobby, so far I have no complaints, I have met a group of wonderful people and some great filmmakers and authors, and the group still keeps growing, you included, I am going to start following your blog, not for any competition but for the growing masses of fans.
This has been an honor to interview you, I wish you nothing but the best in the future. I honestly feel you have a great future ahead of you in filmmaking cause of your desire and unwillingness to compromise. I put Troy's Stirring campaign below check it out and donate if possible........great perks too
No comments:
Post a Comment