"BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE FOUNDING FATHERS AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT."

Dante Tomaselli: Director

1. Tell us a little about your background, where are you from and when did you decide that you wanted to become a filmmaker? Well, I grew up in Montville New Jersey, northern Jersey, obsessed with horror movies, the supernatural...very much a loner-type. I had some friends and they were loyal. But outside of that, I was involved in my own artwork, my strange stories, Astrology, Ouija Boards...little horror movies I'd make. I fantasized all the time. And I felt a lot of anxiety...and repressed my sexual feelings. I was ready to burst. I felt very close to death. I thought about death a lot. I used to see multi-colored streaks in the atmosphere and I didn't take drugs. I went to art school, Pratt Institute and the New York School of Visual Arts and got my B.F.A. degree. I lived in Manhattan, in all different sections....West 10th and Bleeker... 21st Street between 1st and 2nd ave...91st Street and Broadway, everywhere. I lived in NYC for about 10 years. Then I moved back to northern New Jersey. My first feature film, Desecration, made its premiere at the Fantafestival in Rome Italy. Then it was picked up for DVD distribution by Image Entertainment. A few years later, my second film, Horror, was picked up by Elite Entertainment. 2. What inspires you to make a particular film? Both visually and in story. It's just something that comes from my gut. I can't really explain it. It usually starts with some visual, an image, a picture, and then everything forms around it. Like with Desecration, it all started with the image of a boy locked in a cage and a mother feeding hallucinogens through a baby bottle. 3. What do you think makes a scary movie scary? I like when a horror movie is totally unpredictable. Something like Nicolas Roeg's "Don't Look Now". I think it's that sense of impending doom that makes a movie scary. There's got to be mounting terror...a build-up and then some kind of pay-off. But I think the real terror is in the build-up. I like to put a giant emphasis on mood and sound design when I'm creating my films. I want it to be a trance-like experience. 4. From your experience, what is the most important thing for a director to bring to the set? A clear vision. And I think the director should make everyone feel safe. It's like a huge S&M session and the director is the Dungeon Master. 5. In most of your films you have written, directed, composed and even produced. How do you juggle so many jobs and still pull it off at the end of the day? Oh, I usually need full creative control. I couldn't imagine leaving the soundtrack to someone else. I need to have my stamp over practically everything. These are my nightmares. 6. I understand that you're a big fan of film. Have you thought about shooting a High-Def feature? Never. I only want to shoot features on film. 16 mm, Super 16 mm, 8 mm, 35 mm...as long as it's film. It's just my personal preference. I don't condemn other filmmakers working with any video format. Film just gives me the look that I am seeking.

7. Do you consider yourself an actor's director, or do you tend towards the technical side? More and more I am an actor's director. As my films improve, I get the chance to work with better performers and it's really an exciting journey. 8. Any future projects in the works? Can you give us the scoop? I should be shooting THE OCEAN in February 2006. It's about supernatural riptides terrorizing a small coastal community. You'll definitely get an Italian-style vibe. It's an original story, written by Michael (Fangoria) Gingold and myself but there are definite echoes of Fulci, Argento and Bava. Stylistically, this is my homage to those painterly Italian horror films. At the core, THE OCEAN is about a family drowning. I just set up a preliminary site for it: WWW.THEOCEANMOVIE.COM 9. What is the biggest problem with Hollywood today? Hollywood just clones movies. They are so assembly-line. I like to experience something totally different not just the same...formula...over and over again. Occasionally something pierces through, but it's rare. 10. Do you have any advice to aspiring filmmakers? Focus like a laser beam. Be relentless. Be obsessed. Be willing to walk over shattered glass for your dream. There is a lot of pain involved. Lots of pain and suffering. You do it for the glory of the end result. You keep your eye on the prize. 11. Here's where we give you a word or phrase and you give us the first thoughts that pop into your mind. Hollywood: Fake. Toxic Shock TV: Cool. Biggest Influences: My own deeply disturbing seemingly never-ending nightmares. Biggest Regrets: Hmmmm, I really don't regret anything. Everything happens for a reason. Biggest Prick: Richard Harland Smith. The funniest thing that has ever happened to you on a set: One of the nuns peed in a white paper cup during Desecration. She had to go so bad. (Laughs) It was a blasphemous sight. Your biggest "break-thru" moment: When Anchor Bay announced at the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors Convention, just a couple of months ago, that they will be releasing Satan's Playground. You can only watch three movies for the rest of your life, which three: Suspiria. The Fog. The Brood. You can only listen to three ALBUMS for the rest of your life, which three: Depeche Mode: Black Celebration. The Cars: Candy-O. Laurie Anderson: Stories from the Nerve Bible.

Visit Dante's Websites  WWW.SATANSPLAYGROUNDTHEMOVIE.COM and WWW.HORRORTHEMOVIE.COM for more info!