| 1.
Could You tell us something about You? How old are You and when
Did You decide to become a director?
I'm a 34 year old teenager. I've been into
films since i was very little... my parents took me to the cinema
from the age of 4... but it was JAWS in 1975 when i was 6 years
old that really changed me... BLOOD and SHARKS and DEATH and HORROR...
i still love JAWS... So i loved film and got artistic... drawing
and writing... then aged about 10 i was given a super 8mm cine
camera and started making short films... then a few years later
early video cameras appeared and i got busy with one... as a dope
smoking teen drop out we made crazy films in squats... such as
CHAINSAW SCUMFUCK... my first offensive gore film. I went to art
college... to do a degree in painting.,.. but did some SPLATTER
FILMS instead.... namely BAD KARMA and DRILLBIT.... which both
won competitions and sold well in the underground... it was then
i decided i wanted to be a film director for real...
2. Why did You choose DANI FILTH as the
main character?
Easy... i'd directed CRADLE OF FILTH's first
couple of promos, and me and Dani got on really well... and we
both had similar sick ideas... and he wanted to be in a film...
and i wanted to make a film with him... so i wrote CRADLE OF FEAR
with his involvement in mind... he became THE MAN charachter because
his 'FILTH' commitments (gigs/ tours/ recording) meant we could
only
use him for a few odd days at a time... it would be impossible
to have him as a MAJOR LEAD role... but i think it all works well...
CRADLE fans seem pleased... and non-metal fans don't mind him!!!
3.Which are your influences?
Lots. Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson, Paul Verhoeven,
early Scorcese, Argento, Romero, Cronenberg, De Palma, Carpenter,
Fulci.... RE-ANIMATOR, MAD MAX 2, JAWS, PSYCHO (Hitchcock), THE
GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY, SHOGUN ASSASSIN,
Monty Python. And that's just some film ones... I'm influenced
by music (anything with a good beat), art, writings and philosophy
(i'm a spiritual, optimistic, open-minded, positive thinking psychopath)
4. How much was the budget of CRADLE
OF FEAR and why Did You choose CREATURE FX ?
About £35,000, not including the deferred
wages... which are about £25,000... and if you include the
initial website/ packaging/ design costs the TOTAL is about £75,000...
not fucking bad, i reckon... considering what we deliver... At
the moment we've paid back the investors and can almost afford
the deferreds... so soon we should be in profit.. and maybe i
can get paid!!!! It's a fucking hard job this... 3 years so far
and not a penny... oh well...
I've got los of mates in the FX industry... my
mate at Image FX who did the stuff on FROM THE CRADLE TO ENSLAVE
(filths 1st promo) pissed off to USA just before we were about
to shoot.. so he got Creature FX (who I kinda knew thjrough my
mate Dom Hailstone who worked with them on the Aphex Twin video,
COME TO DADDY... my fave ever promo!!) to replace him... but only
for a
couple of the MAJOR fx... namely the creature/ baby burst/ fake
stomach in 1st story... and the fake leg/ stump amputee stuff./..
we found a new guy... the excellent TRISTAN VERSLUIS to do most
all the other stuff... and my Emmy award winning mate Duncan Jarman
did some stuff too... many hands...
5. How is working with Eileen Daly?
Excellent... she's so cool and relaxed and
she just gets on with it... no complaints. She's well used to
low-budget stuff and she ain't no prima-donna... I've worked with
her before.. namely in PERVIRELLA... with sex scenes and stuff...
so it was easy for us... and very fun... Eileen is incredibly
'kooky' in a nice way... and she even makes cups of tea for the
crew!!! What a woman... her music (JEZEBEL) is pretty cool too...
i thought it was gonna be dodge... but on set i heard some...
liked it and used it in the film...
6. Is there an underground movie scene
in England?
There was... an amzingly brilliant scene... fuelled
by the best film festivals ever... at the best cinema ever...
(sadly now gone)... the SCALA at Kings Cross and the infamous
SHOCK AROUND THE CLOCK festivals... this and a shit-load of fanzines,
like IN THE FLESH and SAMHAIN really created a COOL MENTAL scene..
that we frequented and loved.... it lasted from late 80's
until about er... BRAINDEAD... yea.. Peter Jackson's (brilliant)
BRAINDEAD... was just so gory that it drowned the scene... also
in the UK we had shit censorship and draconian laws back then,
which fuelled an underground... but it's died ouit quite a bit...
and now lots more is legal and available... DVD is replacing our
5th generation video bootlegs... the festivals have got poncy
and expensive...
its very sad because i've been to other countries
recently wherte the scene and the vibe is really thriving... germany.
italy, spain and ireland to name a few... england kinda sucks.
7.What do You think about the Italian cinema
(old and new)?
I like parts of it loads. Like all cinma there
is lots of shite... but there
are Italian films i fucking adore. And directors... Segio Leone,
Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci (i have met Argento and Fulci at festivals
in uk). I met Luigi Cozzi recently in Rome.. he gave me and Dani
Filth and Ice Ferri (Bar Transylvania)a private tour... i adore
CONTAMINATION and THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE and other
fucked up Italian films... you guys can be
very sick perverts.... My cameraman on FEAR, Sebastiano Bontempi
is Italian... and I think he brought some of the flair, colour,
and style that i associate with Italian films to my project.
Oh... I love Cicciolina (have wanked over her many times).. and
any country that can elect her is very fucking valid in my book!!
All by best and BLOODIEST FUCKING WISHES to all who reads this...
thank you Riccardo... stay warped and dark and fucking mental.
Long Live The New Flesh...
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