RED VELVET

Page 1: Red Velvet Interview

UPDATES AT END OF INTERVIEW

The RED VELVET Interview
Page 2

"I think that among our community of Horror lovers, we've all got a very high standard for what we want."
- Joe Moe

Feo: Now Joe, the deal in RED VELVET is the constant surprise. You work right into the audience expectations, and then you go beyond it.

Joe: Well I am the audience! I've sat and I've watched it all and watched Horror become more formulaic. For me there were a couple of challenges. One was to freshen up the genre in a way that would surprise me. That was really fun! Push the envelope but rely on the dependability factor. Because some things are cliché because they work. But presentationally you have a lot of room to play and experiment.

Left to Right SEAN FERNALD, DINA LYNNE MORISHITA, FORREST J ACKERMAN, JOE MOE, RHONDA WONG

I started out building "dark rides" for theme parks internationally with good pal and Red Velvet co-production designer John Goss. I went to countries like China and Bangkok and built these Haunted Houses employing old-school tricks that Sean and I first experienced when we were teenagers, like Pepper's Ghosts, fog, jumps, and scares on a generation of people who had never experienced them this way. So working on this film I wondered if I could satisfy our nostalgic desires to show some tricks from the past to a new generation. Understanding that, while we certainly didn't invent them, were reviving them, and wanting to share those effects on young viewers.

On the other hand, some of the things we were trying to innovate were, well for me, what do I want our Horror film to do that truly pushes the envelope? One answer was to attempt to create an inside-out date movie. One that centers around the female character's flaws as well as her strengths. Also what is this new time our character lives in? What is unique to this generation? A sense of entitlement. So our girl meets this creepy guy and, despite all the markers, hangs with him because she thinks: "I can take this guy." The character of Linda plays like a new female anti-hero, to my way of thinking. I also think women want to be represented in fresh ways within our genre. Linda is tough but mistaken in her attitude of, "Nothing can happen to me."

Feo: And that's how I got laid!

(Laughter)

Joe: Then something DID happen to YOU!

(Laughter)

Joe: And that was the starting point for the character of "Linda." I'm happy that a lot of women have felt that this is a movie they've felt they could initiate going to. When some women recognized that this was a slasher film, they shied away saying, “I don't want to see that.” And Sean would say, “Give us a chance.” And almost in every case they came out thanking him. It is a proud accomplishment to feel that we've made a movie that plays to our sister horror lovers asa well as the typical male demographic. Even back in the day, Forrest J Ackerman, the lord high minister of all that's sinister, in his boxes and boxes of fan mail, would only get one female fan letter for every fifty from guys.

Feo: It's a fact that Horror Thriller movies with strong women characters generally tend to have the longest legs.

Sean: By the way, I want to go on record and say "Thank You Very Much" because Feo was the person who introduced me to the idea of Amazon.com as a distributor. We had a conversation about DR. HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG and Felicia Day's THE GUILD, and when I realized this "exclusive" program existed, I went out and learned everything I could about it. Amazon loved the movie, and now we have distribution. So thanks for the tip, we couldn't be happier!

Feo: Thanks for listening!

(Laughter)

Feo: Okay so, on August 28, you're going to be in this very exclusive club along with Joss Whedon and Felicia Day, exclusive distribution movie releases with amazon.com.

Sean: I think what the three films share in common is that they're very experimental in nature, they're genre bending. And I think the statement Amazon is trying to make is that they're supporting unconventional film making, producers and creators who are taking film making to the next level. So I'm thrilled! We have a 3 month exclusive with Amazon and I hope that people will enjoy it when they watch it in their living room.

"Now we have a new format, where people can watch what they want on the Internet."
- Jim McConville

Jim: Here again, what we've tried to do from the very beginning is something different: unique. If you follow the normal route in Hollywood to get your film out there, an independent rarely succeeds. You're at the mercy of the big studios. They're not giving the people what they want. The people have to see what Hollywood wants them to see. And that's been happening for years.

Left to Right KELLI GARNER, JIM McCONVILLE, HENRY THOMAS

Now we have a new format, where people can watch what they want on the Internet. And companies like Amazon give people the opportunity to see what they want to see. We're fortunate to have people like yourself who point us in directions we didn't see, but was right where we wanted to go. We're breaking new ground. From the way we made it, marketed it, and are selling it.

We crossed the country for 9 months, and hit various conventions. Not just Horror conventions, but fantasy and comic conventions, and people kept telling us we were wrong not to go the "festival" route. "No, no, that's not the way it's done." But we wanted to reach the public, which is our real audience. So we showed our original movie at these shows and paid attention to the feedback. What did they like? What didn't they like? Then we went back and recut the film. Who is our audience and who are the critics? Everybody wants to critique and everybody wants to be a movie critic, but not everybody is.

Feo: Well no, everybody is. I am, you are. We see something we like or don't like and we want to tell our friends, “You should see this, don't bother with that.” It's human nature.

Jim: Well what we wanted was to reach our fans. What can we bring that they'll like? So we took bits and pieces of what people told us from across the country. It was a learning experience for us. Now I think we've got a movie that is funnier, scarier, and will keep you engrossed.

We're doing a lot of things, even in our advertising, that I think haven't been done. We're taking advantage of so many new things out there, that many people still don't understand.

"I want to make movies that people don't just herd into and then walk out, but stuff they want to talk about."
- Justin McConville

Justin: I'm excited as hell about it. We've been pushing and pushing this and now we're getting somewhere. I can't wait until people see this. We went around the country and it was one of the coolest things of my life. Because we got to meet all of these great people. We found that we weren't just promoting the movie, we were making some great friends. It was really fun. It's amazing that we're doing this. I wouldn't say we're starting a trend, but we're definitely taking a path that many people haven't done. We're not the same as everyone else, we don't want to be the same. We don't want to be the followers, We want to be the leaders, or among the leaders.

Feo: Sure. You're not sharing identities, you're sharing interests.

Justin: Exactly! Right! I think that the movie is going to be great. I think that people will enjoy it. From all of the times we've shown it, I've realized that it is not a movie we have to sell, because it sells itself. We just have to make sure people know about it. I've seen on message boards people telling each other, “You've got to see this movie.” And that's great! Because you worry if you did well. I mean, as a kid, there were movies I went to see that I was so excited about, then I came out after and I was so disappointed.

Feo: Oh yeah.

Justin: I was the kind of kid that always wanted to go to movies. And if I wasn't old enough, I'd sneak in!

Feo: (to Jim) You hear that Pop?

Jim laughs.

"I'd hear that and think, “Wow! That's from our movie! They're actually humming our song!"
- Jim McConville

Feo: Well look at it this way. Dr. Horrible, which was released direct to the Internet and then exclusively through amazon in DVDs made to order, now has its soundtrack selling in brick and mortar stores. Think of it. A movie that was never released to theaters or television, only the net, now has a soundtrack CD selling in music stores!

Sean: Yeah, that's wild.

Justin: Amazing.

Jim: Well we did a music video for our movie and we had a lot of people going crazy over it. It's a catchy tune and at the conventions afterward I heard people humming it and man, I was really happy about that. I'd hear that and think, “Wow! That's from our movie! They're actually humming our song!” It's just such a great feeling to know that you were part of that.

Feo: Okay so, final word about the direction you're taking?

Joe: You know, I am partial, but I think that among our community of Horror lovers, we've all got a very high standard for what we want. We have a real opportunity here with this new distribution model to encourage the trend that says, “There's room for everybody." Everybody has a chance to make an entry into film making. Thanks to companies like Amazon giving attention, support and availability, it's no longer going to be a clique or club but a model based on quality and pure demand that is going to determine who rises to the top. I'm looking forward to not only making our statement, but seeing what this sparks. Because as much as I enjoy watching Horror movies, I also enjoy watching people make Horror movies. It's up to our generation of Monster kids to inspire the next generation of Monster kids or grandkids that are going to continue telling these stories.

JOE MOE & SEAN FERNALD Photo by Luz McMullen

Feo: You are also starting on your first feature film as a director.

Joe: I am? Okay, I am, but it's a big secret.

Feo: A big secret? Sean had me put the poster on my website! There was a press release!

(Laughter)

Joe: It has a poster? Really?

(Laughter)

Joe: What does it look like? Is it pretty?

Sean: You need to spend more time on Feo's website!

Joe: Thank you for doing that, Feo. That's the nice thing about this whole community system of distribution. We're getting to the point where the process of making films is becoming less expensive. Technologically its getting cheaper to harness. You still need quality, but the ability to achieve that quality is becoming less complicated. And with a good design team you can actually make a less expensive product that can compete against major releases, against the big boys spending hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars to compete with us. Our creative team worked this movie from script right down to the PR. And its just really blossomed. There's a wonderful change out there, and it's just amazing to be part of that change.

END