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What sort of licenses and permits did you get to shoot?

I did not get any licenses or permits.  When we went to Hollywood to shoot some shots, we were careful to avoid the police.  We didn’t stay in any place too long.  In Thatcher and Eden (two small towns in Arizona) no one bothered us.  In Tucson we also did not get any permits.  There was no way we were going to spend any money if we could avoid it.  Of course, if a filmmaker needs to shoot a scene in the middle of an intersection, or have a person jump off a building, permits, and the such, need to be obtained.  However, when a filmmaker has no money and knows this in advance, he/she must write a script that does not require such scenes.  People continually gave me ‘advice’ on possible scenes to add, or ways to spice up scenes.  Every time, these suggestions were beyond our means.  Many people assume if you are making a movie, then you must be rich.

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Did you utilize the local film office (in Tucson or wherever)?

No I did not.  Several months before I began production, I went to the local film office and obtained a free Production Manual.  The manual was completely worthless for my needs.  You see, the people and companies in the manual wanted MONEY for their services.  Since we   were unwilling and unable to pay anyone to work on WORMWOOD, it was all a waste of time.

Also, I might add, the manual was pitifully thin.  When it comes to film production, Tucson has become a vast wasteland of inactivity and inertia. 

There is another reason I did not utilize the local film office.  I knew, once they learned of my film’s subject matter, they, like most other politically correct groups in Tucson, would not be helpful.  If anything, they might make life very difficult for us, because, after all, they, more than anyone in Tucson, want more business from Hollywood and how will it look if they help these mean-spirited anti-Hollywood scumbags?  Of course, if WORMWOOD finds any success out there, I am sure the film office will deny all this.  We don’t mind.  We  hold no grudges against the film office.  They are trying to do a good job.  But let’s face it, how good a job can you do when you’re in Siberia?

No, our best recourse was to stay low, below the radar, so to speak, and avoid any trouble.

 

 

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Do you have plans to make another movie?

Hey, we have all this equipment and I have several ideas.  Let it be said now, that under no circumstances will we ever make a fucking sequel to WORMWOOD, whether it is a success or not.  There are a lot of other subjects out there to piss people off and I can’t wait to piss them off.

 

 

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Would you be willing to return to Hollywood if given the opportunity to direct big budget features?

When I was younger I never said ‘never.’  When you get older, and wiser, you know sometimes you have to say never and I am saying NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!  I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate Hollywood and everyone in Hollywood and would never go there to make a film.  I would not go to Hollywood to take a shit if it had the only toilet on the fucking planet!

Okay, to prove to you that I am not a total son-of-a-bitch, I do have to admit that people do know how to drive in Hollywood.  When we went there in March to shoot some exteriors, we noticed how accident-free the town was.  We drove all over Hollywood continually for three days and never saw a car wreck, or its aftermath (We just missed Halle Berry ­ we arrived in Hollywood the day after her little, uh, accident).

When we returned to Tucson, we immediately saw an auto accident.  Whenever we go for a drive in Tucson we see near wrecks or a wreck’s aftermath.  Every time, without fail.  Tucson drivers suck big time.

   

 

 

 

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How much did Wormwood cost?

To date we have spent $45,000.   We owe (in deferred pay) another $43,000 to the actors and crew.  We need another $45,000 to transfer the film to 35mm.

  

 

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Are there any filmmakers you admire?

My favorite filmmakers are all dead.  I love most of the films of William Wyler, John Huston, and Luis Bunuel.  I feel the same about some of Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick, and Ingmar Bergman’s films.   My favorite films are THE THIRD MAN, THE CONFORMIST, TOBY DAMMIT (from SPIRITS OF THE DEAD), THE HEIRESS, VIRIDIANA, and THE SEVEN SAMURAI (pretty much in that order).

I admire any current filmmaker who remains independent, who doesn’t run to Hollywood to do their bidding.  I admire any independent filmmaker who doesn’t do only what is politically correct.

Most of my students (when I taught at the University of Arizona) never watched old films.  Most of them never watched any film older than, oh, let’s say, ten years.

I devised a little test for them:

I asked them to list their three or four favorite films.

If any film on their list had been made within the last two years, I new the student knew nothing about film and did not LOVE film and they were nothing more than Hollywood fans.

I would castigate them for their wicked ways.  I would tell them to go out and rent the classics.  Those who were interested would ask, “What are the classics?  How do we find these classics?”

They would ask these questions because they saw very few of the classics in the University of Arizona Media Arts Department.  Most of the so-called professors that teach in the department know very little about Hollywood, Hollywood history, or classic films.  They know a lot about experimental films and Gay and Lesbian films/videos (not that there’s anything wrong with that), but nothing about the classics.  Most young Professors nowadays attended universities for several years, received MFA’s or PhD’s, then, right out of college,  got a job teaching in a media arts department.    They basically know very little about anything that is worthwhile, and the students pay a lot of money for a third rate education, and a completely worthless degree (unless they continue on and become teachers themselves!!!).

 

So, I would tell the students that they would never learn about the classics at this university.  No, if they want to learn, they would have to do it on their own.  Now, with video stores in abundance, they could easily be the masters of their own fate.  But, to help them out, I would give them a list of 100 films I considered to be essential viewing by anyone who purports to love film.  These were not my own favorite films.  I took the list from various film history books. 

Students would complain that I didn’t list any film from the last 25 years.  I told them “why should I list films they have already seen.”

They quickly skimmed the list to find films they already knew.  The point of the list was to force them to watch great films they had never seen before, or had never heard of.   I would not list CASABLANCA or CITIZEN KANE or IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, because I knew they had already seen them.  I would, however, list other films by those filmmakers.  Some complained that most of the films were in black & white.  I would bite my lip and refrain from telling them what I really thought of them.

Some students would go out and begin to watch many of the films on the list.  It gave me great pride to know I was actually helping them learn about a subject that I loved more than anything in the world.

If you would be interested in seeing the list that I gave to them, you may click HERE to view it. It's not perfect and many films are left off, but, hey, it is a great start!!

 

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