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

Robert J Massetti: Director

1.  Give us a little background on yourself. Where are you from and why did you decide to become a filmmaker? I grew up in Chicago, IL and moved to Florida in 1992.  I’ve always been into horror films since I was little, mostly because my parents were huge horror fans so movies where a big part of my life. I guess it was only natural that I became horror filmmaker. I went to film school at Columbia College and started FEAR FILM in 1999. 2.  Who inspired you to become a filmmaker? The first filmmaker to really inspire me was George Lucus and his film Star Wars. But my major influence was Brian DePalma and Alfred Hitchcock. 3.  What has been your favorite project to date? All the films that I have made have been really enjoyable to make, so it’s hard to pick a favorite. I would have to say that my film “When Shadows Lie Darkest” would have to be my favorite only because at the time, we made the film really for my now famous Halloween parties. There was no real pressure to get it done and we had no idea that it would be shown all over the world. 4.  What has been your least favorite project to date and why? Well, like I said, I love all of my projects so I don’t really have a least favorite. I made a short film as favor to a friend that we shot in 8 hours that was really tough to make. Plus it wasn’t a horror film, so my heart wasn’t really in it. So, I would have to say that short film was my least favorite project. 5.  Tell us about your latest directorial project “Realms of Blood” “Realms of Blood” is an anthology in the same vein as Creepshow. The reason for making an anthology was because we didn’t have a budget for the film, so we had to make the film in segments using different actors that could only put in a few months of there time. When your not paying people for their work, it’s very hard to get a movie done. That’s why it took over a year to complete. Plus, the lack of money also meant that we had to compromise on story and ideas, so the movie didn’t turn out as well as I would have liked it to. But the fans seem to really like it, so I guess the film still works. It’s available everywhere DVD’s are sold and is also renting on Netflix and Blockbuster.com. 6.  What do you think is the most important thing for a director to bring to the set? Energy and enthusiasm. If you don’t, you bring your set down and that hurts the performances of your actors. They need all the support you can give them so come to your set very prepared, happy, and full of energy. 7.  What is the biggest problem with Hollywood today? The biggest problem with Hollywood is that the studio executives are so afraid of getting fired, that they green light sure things like sequels or re-makes to money making movies instead of taking chances on new, out of the box films. That’s why independent films are doing so well these days. The public wants to see something different, not another sequel to Friday the 13th.

Vampire from "BLOOD RUNS COLD"     Dana O'Dench, Sheyenne Rivers, Bob Glazier, Robert Massetti, Trish Dempsey and Amber Koshofer from "REALMS OF BLOOD"

8.  We hear that you’re joining together with ENIGMA FILMS (Tampa) and Unearthed films on an untitled horror project, can you tell us the scoop on that? Yes, you guys are the first to know about this project. We have joined with Enigma films to form a new production company called SCREAMWORKS MD. We hope to produce a number of films that will be distributed by Unearthed films, so the films will be extremely gory. The first project is still in the story development stage so I can’t really give you any details of what the first movie will be about. But we are planning a production company website to keep people up to date on films we are producing.  Keep checking the FEARFILM.com site for updates on this project for now until we can get the new website up. 9.  Any future projects in the works? We have several projects in various stages of development. We have two movies we hope to produce very soon called “The Haunted” and “Terror”. “The Haunted” will be directed by new filmmaker Luke Benedetto and I will be taking the Producing chores. “Terror" will be directed by me. Both stories are top secret for now until we can get the websites up for these films. This is only because we are still in the process of getting investment money to make the films. Both films will be a huge step up from our previous movies because we will be either shooting on film or HD. Keep checking our production website at FEARFILM.com for updates on these exciting films. 10.  Do you have any advice to aspiring independent filmmakers? Yes, go to film school and when you do, take as many business courses that you can. We found out the hard way that filmmaking is a business and you have to know how to do presentations, business plans, set up corporations, and everything in between. If you can’t raise money to make your movies, your out of business. Money is the biggest obstacle to making movies, so you have to know how get money and a business degree will help a lot. 11.  Here’s where we give you a word or phrase and you give us the first thoughts that pop into your mind. Hollywood – Too much crap coming out of that town. Give us Indy’s a chance to make some great movies. Biggest influences – Alfred Hitchcock, Brian DePalma, John Carpenter, Peter Jackson. Biggest regret – Not taking as many business courses in College. Biggest prick – People that don’t like horror The dumbest thing you ever did on a set – Used a real knife. Toxic Shock TV – Love it. Your biggest "break-thru" moment – When I walked into Best Buy and saw my movie on the shelf for purchase. You can only watch 3 movies for the rest of your life, which 3 – "It’s a Wonderful Life", "Halloween", "Dawn of the Dead". You can only listen to 3 songs for the rest of your life, which 3 – Korn "Ball Tongue" – Dream Theater " Pull me under", Metallica "and Justice for all"

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