Tag Archives: thriller movies

WRITER/DIRECTOR DAN BLAKEMAN TALKS ABOUT HIS DEBUT FEATURE FILM WITH A MURDEROUS GHOSTLY THEME

After years of writing and producing live theatrical plays, writer/director DAN BLAKEMAN has ventured into the film world, completing his first feature that has a decidedly ghostly theme – GHOST LIGHT. Maybe his theatre background inspired this story – a “ghost light” is the single bulb left burning brightly on stage when the audience and cast have left the building….it gives the ghosts of previous actors plenty of illumination in case they want to tread the paranormal boards again.

But the ghosts in this film’s theatre are not just spooky…they’re deadly! And the young actors breaking back into the place after dark to party will be met with some scary challenges that they may not all survive. Oooo….aaaaah. Saucy Minx recently spoke with Dan (pictured below) asking about the inspiration, the casting and the filming experience….Congratulations on completion of your first feature film, Ghost Light. You not only directed the film, you also wrote the script – what was your inspiration? It’s based on a play I wrote that was produced a few times in Los Angeles, which was just a goofy attempt at an environmental horror play about college kids breaking into a haunted theatre. It wound up getting interest from the film industry multiple times, which resulted in over half a dozen different screenplay drafts of the material over several years, but unfortunately never made it to production. When my partner Drew and I decided we wanted to make a feature film, it was the obvious choice.

In your director’s statement in the media kit, you say that Ghost Light is like “the fever dream of a 14-year-old who binged on the local video store’s entire horror section one weekend.” What were you favourite horror films growing up and were your parents worried about you with such scary influences? I kinda am that kid! Before Blockbuster completely took over VHS rentals, there were lots of little video rental places everywhere that had all kinds of bizarre and offbeat horror films, I’d often rent 3 a day to watch with friends or alone. I have too many faves to get into, especially since they switch up all the time, but fans like me should see all kinds of references and homages in Ghost Light.
My mom always loved a good ghost story, and used to watch the old Universal Horror classics with me when I was 5, so I don’t think that particular fixation gave her much concern. Though she wasn’t too keen on how much I loved Rocky Horror as a teen, LOL!

I always like asking filmmakers what was most difficult about the whole process? The writing process, the location hunt, casting, editing…or the post-production admin stuff? All those aspects had their challenges. Post-production was a lot slower than we wanted or anticipated due to a bunch of different issues, so that was probably the most frustrating overall.

I previously had the pleasure of working with you and your producer partner, Drew, when you presented a number of theatre productions in Toronto, again with somewhat strange themes and bizarre story lines. Did you find the shift from live theatre to film a challenge? And how is it different from a creative perspective? Even though the bulk of my experience is in live theatre, I have a BFA in Film & TV. I interned with a production company which included several commercial gigs, and we produced an award-winning short film of my one-act play Bugbaby (featuring cult movie icon Mink Stole – pictured below) some years ago. So while it’s definitely a different experience in how everything is put together, I think I’m well versed enough with both mediums to slip between them without a lot of difficulty. It’s just switching gears.Casting your film must have been interesting…your actors are young, good looking and talented, some even have several years of film experience. Did you cast within the horror genre community or did you do an open casting session? Whether theatre or film, I always open casting as widely as I can. Since we were on a limited pre-production schedule due to the availability of our location, we cast as quickly as we could. Alec, Mason and Sarah were cast from our first round, but finding our “final girl” who fit with them was challenging. That search took us up to the line – Ariel Myren, who got the part, auditioned on a Wednesday and started shooting that Friday. And you brought in a much-loved horror movie queen, Linnea Quigley, as a “guest star” – how did you meet her and secure her for a special role? Honestly, we just called her agent. None of us had a connection, I just gave our casting folks a list of four names and said any would be great. We actually secured another name first because someone knew that person, but she fell through due to scheduling. Which actually turned out for the better, because our next inquiry was to Linnea who was interested – and in hindsight a better fit for this particular project. She and her manager Judy are both just wonderful to work with. Not only is Linnea (pictured below) a legendary scream queen, she’s an absolute sweetheart, a trouper and a total pro.And renowned Harry Manfredini as your music director? He’s scored over 100 films in the horror genre incl. Friday the 13^th – how did you meet him and sign him for your film? That one WAS a connection from a guy we’ve been working with on seeking distribution. But hearing that Harry (pictured below) actually *wanted* to score it after watching it was quite thrilling for me! Working with him was a great experience as well – he’s as accommodating and fast as he is talented, and I hope we can sign him for something with a larger budget in the future.Do you intend to continue writing & directing feature films or might you return to live theatre…or do both? Right now, I’m concentrating on film for the time being. I love theatre and would love to return to it – but creating it at a pro or semi-pro level these days in LA is expensive, and audiences for smaller, edgier theatre are lacking. Film currently feels like a lot more practical way to get my stuff in front of more fans of the kind of weirdness I like – unlike theatre, you’re not necessarily limited by location or time to watch a film.Thanks, Dan, Saucy Minx was thrilled to talk with you and share news of your new film with all the horror/paranormal genre fans out there. And fans can follow the movie and watch for screening news via the Ghost Light Facebook page. Here are a few behind-the-scenes pics of the cast and the amazing special F/X make-up used…

Director Dan Blakeman (L), star Linnea Quigley (C) and producer Drew Blakeman (R)

BUSY WRITER/PRODUCER/DIRECTOR THOMAS MICHAEL JUST CAN’T SLOW DOWN DURING COVID

Back in the early 2000’s, I was privileged to promote the launch of a Toronto-based indie film production company (Five Faces Films). After several projects, the three partners split, going in their individual directions, both career-wise and geographically. Thomas Michael has gone on to successfully write, direct and produce feature films (Hank & Mike and Back Country – pictured below) shot here in Canada while living in Los Angeles where he resides with his wife and 2 children. Over the past several months, he’s been busy creating more feature film scripts and producing the chilling new feature GIRL that stars Bella Thorne, the incomparable Mickey Rourke and Chad Faust who also wrote and directed the film. I recently e-chatted with my old friend and asked him what he has been doing to keep busy over the past 6 or 7 months and damn, this man ain’t no couch-potato!

After establishing your own Canadian production company and writing/directing/starring in a number of hilarious off-beat comedy films, you moved to LA approximately ten years ago and have been working as an actor on a number of popular tv series (Transporter, Nikita, The Listener). How was that transition to west coast working actor? I actually don’t act very much anymore. My focus has shifted mainly to writing, producing and directing. As an actor, I loved appearing in my own films or in those of talented friends, but a lot of the work I was getting was in TV shows. And coming from a place where I was used to being the writer and producer and often the director as well, I found acting in TV to be mostly frustrating and unfulfilling. I just craved being a part of the storytelling process more. As for the west coast thing, I love living in LA, but I (thus far) make all my films in Canada. However, I have a film we’re planning on shooting in Colombia coming up.All the while you’ve been guesting on tv series, have you been writing and developing scripts? And if so, can you share any news about upcoming productions? I never stop writing or developing. I have now written and/or produced 8 feature films, 2 of which I also directed. I also have a number of TV series in development. I can’t help myself. An idea for a film or tv show comes to me, I try and bat it away and tell it that I’m far too busy, but if it won’t leave me alone and keeps haunting me, then I need to exorcise it. And that means writing it. Once I write something, I then put on my producer hat and find a way to get it made.

With GIRL, you took on the mantle of Producer – was it difficult to secure funding for the indie thriller or were you able to secure support from past collaborators? I’ve always produced. Right from the start when I was 15 and was doing a sketch comedy series for a cable access station in Ottawa. That led to two seasons on the Comedy Network of a show I created and also produced. For GIRL, the project came to me from some past collaborators. It was a terrific script and I loved director, Chad Faust’s vision for it, so I came on board and helped secure some financing and dived in to make it happen.Chad Faust (pictured below), who appears in the film opposite Bella Thorne, also wrote AND directed the film…is he a friend or industry colleague? He is now both. But when I first met him, his script was brought to me. I had worked once before with a first-time writer/director on Backcountry. I felt for GIRL, as I did for Backcountry, that I could help support an up-and-coming talent who I believed in.GIRL is a very dark story, a contrast to your hilarious Hank & Mike and Running Mates films. Is this a genre that you’d like to continue exploring? To the frustration perhaps of the industry, I can’t seem to limit myself to one genre. Comedy is still very near to my heart and I have some comedies I’ve written that are moving forward. But I also love dramas and darker stories. I do believe that adage is true that if you can do comedy you can do drama, but not necessarily the other way around. I have a gritty western we’re making next year as well as a revenge thriller and a coming of age dramedy, and I just wrapped a romantic comedy. If it’s a good story and I feel it needs to be told, genre is the last thing I think about.How was the experience working with award-winning and Oscar-nom’d Mickey Rourke, an exciting but sometimes volatile actor? He has always been a favourite of mine and he’s chosen such diverse film roles – how did he approach his role in GIRL? I have always loved Mickey’s work and was very excited to watch him work. He’s very mysterious and mercurial. Sometimes it feels like he’s not doing anything at all, and then you watch the dailies and you go “Oh my God! He’s mesmerizing!”. He has an ineffable quality that makes him incredibly captivating. Singer/actress Bella Thorne plays the bad-ass heroine in the film – do you see more women taking the lead in action/crime/horror films as indicative of the more positive audience attitude towards women as “heroes”? Totally. Backcountry was a big success both critically (holding at 92% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes!) and that film featured a strong female lead. The last film I directed, “Nowhere To Be Found” was about a mother desperately searching for her missing daughter. That film won my lead actress, Kate Drummond, a well-deserved CSA award for Best Lead Performance. I have two sisters, was raised by my mom. I’m married and have a daughter. Starting out in more male-oriented teenage comedy, I take my responsibility as a storyteller very seriously in terms of how women are portrayed on screen. I’ve also been a long and proponent of working with as many women behind the camera as I could. It’s just always seemed obvious to me.You’ve worked with Paolo Mancini (stars as “the mechanic” in GIRL) for many years – as a close friend as well as actor, does he bring a sense of security to you to the set? Paolo is my long-time writing partner and best friend. We’ve been writing together since we were 13 years old. Writing is such a lonely occupation, so to be able to do it with your best friend is a joy and privilege. Paolo is also a stellar actor and I always know when he’s on set that he’ll not only deliver a great performance, but will also be a stable and solid presence in a sometimes frantic and hectic environment.

Is GIRL currently playing the festival circuit during Covid lock-down? Where can audiences find the film once it goes to general release? The film has done the rounds of Canadian and American festivals and comes out in theatres across the US on November 20^th, and then on VOD and all digital platforms on November 24^th in the US and Canada.How can fans follow your films and production activity? As you well noted, I haven’t updated my website in a little while. I need to get better at that. I guess Facebook is the best way to keep tabs on what I’m up to. I don’t post much, but when I have a project coming out, I make an effort to let people know. I focus on the making and not on the selling. I do need to get better at the selling part. Here are the official social media links for GIRL
https://www.facebook.com/GirlMovie2020/
https://www.instagram.com/girl_the_movie/
https://twitter.com/Girl_The_Movie
Official website: https://screenmediafilms.net/productions/details/3202/Girl