NEWS, REVIEWS AND CELEBRITY INTERVIEWS.

Rolfe Kanefsky: 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 from New York City. Moved to Scarsdale when I was three and a year later my father introduced me to Abbott and Costello movies. I was hooked. Started writing stories which led to screenplays after I took a scriptwriting course at HB Studios in New York at the age of 15. I got a video camera at 13 and started making movies. Made two feature-length flicks before I graduated high school. Then went to Hampshire College to major in film. Made a few Super 8 shorts while every summer I P.A.'d (production assistant) on independent features. I worked on a horrible slasher flick POSED FOR MURDER, a never-released comedy called RICH BOYS and did a stint at Troma on TROMA'S WAR. At the age of 20 myself and luckily, my parents felt that I was ready to make a real movie and in the summer of 1989, THERE'S NOTHING OUT THERE was born. I never looked back. 2. What inspires you to make a particular film? Both visually and in story. Basically my love for film has inspired all my films. So far I have only directed scripts that I have also written so I have a strong visual sense by the time the screenplay is complete. I love directors like Hitchcock and Sam Raimi and there visual style. EVIL DEAD 1 & 2 has been major influences on my career. In terms of story, I love Neil Simon plays and 40's comedies. My dialogue and pace has been inspired by them. So rapid-fire dialogue mixed with horror and suspense has always appealed to me. And of course, that all goes back to ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN. Still one of the best comedy/horror films ever made! But growing up in the 80's also has had an influence. John Hughes movies and the splatter comedies films made an impact on my style. So far for better or worse, the films that I have directed take elements from ABBOTT and COSTELLO, THE BREAKFAST CLUB, EVIL DEAD, RE-ANIMATOR, ZAPPED!, the Peter Sellers PINK PANTHER films, FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF, CLERKS, DOG DAY AFTERNOON, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, HIS GIRL FRIDAY, THE BLUES BROTHERS, PSYCHO 1 & 2, and many, many others. 3. Tell us about your upcoming film "Nightmare Man".  What was your  experience both writing and directing the film? NIGHTMARE MAN is really my first attempt to make a really scary film. I wrote the script very quickly while I was doing post work on JACQUELINE HYDE. Much of my inspiration for the script was the suspense movies of the 70's. In fact, television movies of that time. I love DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK and of course the final episode of TRILOGY OF TERROR has an impact on the film. Also DYING ROOM ONLY, a great Richard Matheson-written movie that shares much in common with BREAKDOWN starring Kurt Russell. I wanted NIGHTMARE MAN to have an unusual structure. Begin with a bang and never let up. In fact, the first half hour is designed that the finale of a FRIDAY THE 13th film. It's a horror thriller with hopefully enough action, and twists and turns to keep the audience on their toes. Directing the film was tricky but also being the producer, I had a lot more control which was nice. We shot it up at Big Bear which was great except it was summer and almost the entire film takes place at night which meant we only had 7 1/2 hours before the sun would end our day. We really had to move. On the last  day on there, we did 78 set-ups in 16 hours. I think it's my record. Luckily, we had a very strong crew and an excellent cast who were devoted to the project. Tiffany Shepis gives one of her strongest performances ever. Blythe Metz was great once again. Hanna Putnam was a real discovery. James Ferris, I love and have worked with three times now. So, we surrounded ourself with good people and made a fun horror film. It's different from THE HAZING, THERE'S NOTHING OUT THERE, and JACQUELINE HYDE but it is still very much a Rolfe Kanefsky Flick. And if you liked those films, you should enjoy NIGHTMARE MAN.   4. From your experience, what is the most important thing for a director to bring to the set? Coffee, if it isn't already there. You can not make a film without coffee. Although, I don't drink coffee but if you want your crew and cast to work hard, feed them and treat them well. Nobody's making much money on these low-budget films so you could at least treat people well! It also helps to have a vision, energy, and being extremely well-prepared. You should know your movie inside and out before you step on a set. If someone asks you a question and you don't know the answer, you didn't planned well enough. You MUST have a gameplan. You can change it and come up with new ideas but there has to be a good plan going in or you're dead. 5. You wrote, produced and directing both "Nightmare Man" and "Jacqueline Hyde".  Was it difficult to wear so many hats? Yes, producing takes a lot of work and if you're also  directing, you need help. You can not really produce and direct at the same time and give each position the proper attention. So, I had help. Gabriella Hall on Jacqueline Hyde and Esther Goodstein, my father and my mother on NIGHTMARE MAN. All movies come with their own challenges. On NIGHTMARE MAN we had the feed and bed over thirty people for over two weeks and do it on a very tight budget. We ended up renting five houses up at Big Bear to use as our main location, production office, and place for everyone to stay. Some people had fun but the work never stopped for me and Esther.

6. Tell us about your movie “The Erotic Misadventures of the Invisible Man”.    Just too interesting a title to not talk about! This movie was part of a series of seven feature length films produced in 1996 by Alain Siritzky. They were based on the Milo Manara graphic novels, BUTTERSCOTCH. I was one of three directors hired to make these movies. I directed two of them. The only one that has been released so far, is my first film as EROTIC MISADVENTURES... I consider these films as well as the CLICK movies I also did at the time (ROD STEELE 0014) to be sexy comedies. "RED SHOES DIARIES" meets "BENNY HILL". They are crazy, loaded with Cinemax-style sex, and very funny. When I made these films, I was given the freedom to do anything I wanted as long as it had the required amount of sex and nudity for cable. These were all movies shot in 6 days apiece on 16mm for under $100,000, I believe. It was the first time I worked with Gabriella Hall, Robert Donavan, and Kira Reed. All very good actors and deserving better careers. Robert Donavan has been in almost every movie I've made since and I'm talking about doing something with Kira again right now. There are two version of EROTIC MISADVENTURES OF THE INVSIBLE MAN available. An "R" and "UNRATED" version. Both are worth checking out since the "R" rated cut has a half hour of footage from my second INVISIBLE MAN movie which has never been released and the UNRATED version has a lot more sex and many more comdies scenes that the R version does not have. I wouldn't say INVISIBLE MAN is my best work but if you're in the right mood, it's funny and I still don't know how we pulled off a special effect-filled flick in six days. Also, all the effects are live using wires and special rigs. No greenscreen at all. Very ambitious for a cheap flick. 7. Do you consider yourself an actor’s director, or do you tend towards the  technical side? No matter what movie you're making, it always comes down to the characters. Do you like these people and do you care what happens to them? No matter what genre you're making, that is the most important aspect. So, every director should be an actor's director. I love being visual and having fun with the camera but if the people on the screen don't involve you, no matter how fancy the camera moves are, how slick the lighting is, the audience will not care. I like actors and enjoy getting good performances out them. So far, I'm been luckily to work with a lot of good, talented up-and-comers as well as some pros like Brad Dourif, Carol Kane, Alexis Arquette, Richard Moll, Dee Wallace, Jeff Fahey, Tiffany Shepis, etc.... 8. Any future projects in the works? Can you give us the scoop? I'm working on it. Right now, NIGHTMARE MAN and PRETTY COOL 2 are in post. Kira Reed is running around with some of my scripts including THE RED ROOM, a Amityville Horror meets The Entity project and I'm really trying to make NEVERMORE, my Poe-inspired flick. So, I can't say for sure what the next one will be. I may be going down to Mexico to shoot a monster movie if it ever comes together. 9.  What is the biggest problem with Hollywood today? They are too worried to take chances. Everything is remakes and sequels now. Trying to get a fresh and original project off the ground is getting harder and harder. Nobody wants to take chances. If you always play it safe, you'll never make something that breaks out. It is still the independent world were the interesting films emerge. You have to have a vision and go for it and not worry if it will appeal to every single demographic. 10.  Do you have any advice to aspiring filmmakers? Stop talking about wanted to make movies and start making them. Everyone can say that they can make a movie better than whatever movie but until you make one, you have no idea what it's like. It takes total committment and practice. You do not become a filmmaker overnight. The more you do, the better you get. And don't assume, you can make a movie just because you have a video camera. You have to work at it. 11. When all is said and done, what 3 things would you like for people to  remember about you? I hope they find my film entertaining and they felt something while watching the films. Either they laughed or jumped or thought. I hope they think I was a filmmaker who had a style, energy, and sense of fun about himself and the work that he did and that came across to the viewer to enjoy.  12.  Here's where we give you a word or phrase and you give us the first  thoughts that pop into your mind. Hollywood: State of mind Toxic Shock TV: A jolt that makes you grin. Biggest Influences: Parents, the fantasy world of movies. Biggest Regrets: My social life or rather, lack thereof. Biggest Prick: A so-called producer with the initials M.H. who made my life and almost everyone who works with him, a living hell. The funniest thing that has ever happened to you on a set: Unfortunately, it's only funny upon retrospect. On the set, there's too much pressure and stress to find anything funny. That why it helps to surround yourself with people like Tiffany Shepis. They help the day go by. Your biggest "break-thru" moment: I'd say it's still my first film, THERE'S NOTHING OUT THERE. It put me on the map or maybe underneath the map. How about next to the map? No, I got it! It put the map within viewing distance! As a director, my proudest work is in TOMORROW BY MIDNIGHT. Commercially, THE HAZING has been the biggest success. You can only watch three movies for the rest of your life, which three: THE BLUES BROTHERS, E.T., CINEMA PARADISO. You can only listen to three ALBUMS for the rest of your life, which three: I only listen to soundtracks and Brodway shows. So let's say SWEENY TODD, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, and THE FILM MUSIC OF JERRY GOLDSMITH that contain selections from "Psycho II", "Hoosiers", "The Great Train Robbery", "Total Recall", "Gremlins 2", "Outland", "The Omen", "Basic Instinct", "Chinatown", "Poltergeist"...I could go on and on. The man was a genius and there will never be another composer like him.