Your Ad Here

NEWS, REVIEWS AND CELEBRITY INTERVIEWS.

Paul Tarantino: 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? I’m originally from the great state of New Jersey – it gets a bad rap, but the truth is it’s a beautiful place. As far as what made me decide to be a filmmaker, it was a combination of access to a Super 8mm camera, seeing Star Wars, Dawn of the Dead, and reading just about every Stephen King novel. Stephen King is one of the best storytellers - ever. He’s got this great way of telling a story like he’s your best friend, yet he’s always taking you to these horrific places…and leaving you there! I love him for that. He’s from Maine, but I’ll bet he’s been to New Jersey once or twice. 2. Who inspired you to become a filmmaker? The Georges - George Romero & George Lucas & George Miller. Star Wars along with Dawn Of The Dead (a strange pairing, I know) fueled many of the super 8mm films friends and I made as kids. The Road Warrior is one of the best action films ever made...no CG here. Other major creative influences have been: Woody Allen, Stephen King, Monty Python, Gerry Anderson, Pete Townshend, Spike Lee, Frank Zappa, Stanley Kubrick, Sam Raimi, Rod Serling and Roger Nygard. 3. Tell us about your latest film "Headhunter" starring Ben Parrillo and Kristi Clainos. Tell us about your experience both writing and directing it. Working as an editor had me up late many nights, working in office buildings alone – or so I thought. The nighttime cleaning crew can totally scare the crap out of you. One of the companies I work for a lot, DG Entertainment, has a copy machine that seemingly turns on all by itself at night…it’s a scary place around 3am. It’s also the place we actually shot much of Headhunter! Bless them for allowing that! Making the film wasn’t half as difficult as it should have been (I mean…it was hard, don’t get me wrong). The reason being the crew was nothing short of amazing, for many it was the first film they worked on and their professionalism and enthusiasm were inspiring to me. Then there was the cast, Mark Aiken, Kristi Clainos, Matt Bushell, Lindsey Stoddart, who all had talent to burn. Especially Ben Parrillo, who was not only the lead actor, but co-producer. Seth Kotok was our director of photography, his creative mark is all over the film as well. Vincent Gillioz, the talented composer, and Stefan Avalos who helped out in many ways including co-producer, sound designer, and over all guiding light as he had just finished and distributed his horror film GHOSTS OF EDENDALE. It’s strange being the writer/producer/director because you sometimes get a lot of the credit for the hard work of so many others – so it’s nice to tell you here at Toxic Shock about just how much everyone’s creative mark is on HEADHUNTER. 4. Tell us about your first film "Courting Courtney"? Like most first films, if I knew what I had to go through to do it, get it done, and on the video store shelves - I WOULD NEVER HAVE HAD DONE IT! There were so many moments in getting that film finished and out there where I was just so down and out. That said, making the film changed my life forever in many a wondrous way. I learned so much and every job I’ve had since making that film I can trace back to the fact that I made COURTING COURTNEY. Work begets work…so roll up your sleeves and dig in. The film festivals were probably the best part of the whole experience – it was during that period I met so many friends that I’m still very close with today. I may have said it before here, but its worth repeating, friends in this business, are the most valuable asset. 5. Along with being a Director and Writer you are also an Editor, tell us about that. Does your experience as an Editor influence your Directing and/or Writing? My training as an editor has had a remarkable affect on my work as a writer and as a director. As editor, you are essentially the absolver of the sins for everyone who came before you. You must fix problems with the story, peace together a performance of an actor, nimbly cut a scene around glaring continuity errors. I think everyone who directs a film should edit it…seeing where you went wrong makes you a better filmmaker. No one sees where you went wrong more so than the editor. Knowing those mistakes is half the work in doing it better next time. 6. From your experience, what do you think is the most important thing for a Director to bring to a set? A good team, a good attitude, comfortable shoes, coffee, and a solid plan for what you expect to get from your day on the set…but the flexibility to make changes when the proverbial shit hits the fan.

7. Any future projects in the works? There must always be several projects in the works, it’s the nature of the business. One I presently have is a screenplay called SCARAB. It’s being currently being developed by a company, as I’m not sure how much they want to leak out about it at this point in time, I’ll just say is that it’s a sci-fi/horror/action film that really kicks ass – if I do say so myself – and I do. 8. What is the biggest problem with Hollywood today? It’s easy to point fingers, as much as all the available technology has made filmmaking more accessible it has also taken off the table excuses like blaming Hollywood – or anyone for that matter. Studios are a cautious bunch because they’re banking tens of millions of dollars on an idea (if not more)…if you’ve got a beef with that approach, put your money where your mouth is and make your own film on your own dime – it’ll be cathartic if nothing else. I’ve done it and it puts all things in prospective. 9. Do you have any advice to aspiring filmmakers? The first thing I’d say is to make sure it’s your passion. There are so many people I’ve met who want to make films to impress others, or they believe they’re going to make big bucks. The truth is there are much easier ways to make a living, and the only person you have to impress is yourself – the rest will take care of itself. Once you’ve established it is your passion…in good times and in bad (it IS like getting married, or having a heroine addiction), I’d give you the old Nike adage – JUST DO IT! I’ve met more people who’ve got a screenplay they’ve been working on for (seriously) decades, fine tuning it into nonexistence. True, there is no good writing, only good rewriting. But I argue there is no good writing/rewriting that never sees the light of day…that’s just some sorta writing masturbation. Which, hey…has it’s place. The other thing I’d say is to take the pressure off yourself, as much as we all want to make great films, your first one out of the gate might just be over looked by the Academy – but it will be a priceless learning experience for you on many levels. Making mistakes is how we learn…most toddlers crash a few times before they bolt across the yard. Digital Video and laptop editing programs available the excuse list is getting very short. 10. When all is said and done, what 3 things would you like for people to remember about you? Keeping the answer in the filmmaking world: I’ll say that I hope when all is said and done that there is a group of filmmakers I’ve left behind that I’ve helped or inspired in some small way. I know I owe that to many filmmakers who came before me…and frankly many friend’s who’re working today. It’s easy to get caught up in the dog-eat-dog world of "Hollywood" but at the end of the day we’re all in it together. No one does it alone (except that writing masturbation thing we discussed earlier), and if you can help someone – DO IT – and do it with no strings attached. With any luck, that person will be the one to offer you a hand up later on. After all, if SOMEONE’s going to make it, it might as well be the someone you know! 11. Here's where we give you a word or phrase and you give us the first thoughts that pop into your mind. Hollywood: A state of mind. Toxic Shock TV: My internet destination of choice. How better to start your day than with a hot cup-o-joe, and a Toxic Shock? Favorite Genre: The GOOD MOVIE genre. Biggest Regrets: Buying tech stocks late in the game and watching them tank. Not buying a house before the prices went through the roof. Biggest Prick: The parking enforcement dude who tickets cars on my block. The funniest thing that has ever happened to you on a set: A few months ago a friend asked me to play a cop in his short film. He’d gotten me a uniform to wear and, well, it didn’t fit. In the middle of the scene the pants fell down – I didn’t break character though! Never break character! Your biggest "break-thru" moment: I’d say it was either seeing STAR WARS and DAWN OF THE DEAD and thinking this is what I want to do…OR…seeing CLERKS and EL MARIACHI and thinking, I can do this NOW…and then following through by DOING IT. You can only watch three movies for the rest of your life, which three: I don’t really have a list of favorite anythings. But if I had to answer this, today’s list would include: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, CINEMA PARADISO, BROADWAY DANNY ROSE. Or would it be ALIEN, PLANES TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES, TRAINSPOTTING? No…wait…how about GOODFELLAS, THE ROAD WARRIOR, PLANET OF THE APES. You can only listen to three ALBUMS for the rest of your life, which three: Okay, I’m going to bend the rules a bit and pick DOUBLE albums so I can get the most listening enjoyment out of them. PINK FLOYD - THE WALL LIVE IN BERLIN, THE WHO - QUADROPHENIA, FRANK ZAPPA - SHUT UP AND PLAY YOUR GUITAR.