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Horror Bob:
Hello JR, are you ready for your interview?
JR Bookwalter:
sure am!
Horror
Bob:
Ok cool, first off thank you very much for taking the time to do this for
me and my site.
JR
Bookwalter:
No problem, hopefully I can clear the air on some subjects! (Laughs)
Horror
Bob:
How did you get started in the film business and why have you decided to
mainly make Horror and Sci-Fi films?
JR
Bookwalter:
Along with a junior high school friend named David Barton (who would later
direct DEAD & ROTTING for me), I picked up my mother's Super-8mm camera
and made a short film animating STAR WARS action figures. (laughs)
It was 1978 and we were bored. At that time my interests were more sci-fi
and less horror, though I did like them both. So I started at age 11 and
did a ton of short Super-8mm films over the years which led to my first
"professional" gig.
Horror
Bob:
I guess everyone starts out that way with the action figure movies
JR
Bookwalter:
Hahaha
well they're cheap actors, and quite talented.
That
Darth Vader action figure has a real attitude though.
Horror
Bob: (Laughs)
And you don't have to pay any SAG fees.
JR
Bookwalter:
Yes exactly...inanimate actors you have total control over!
Horror Bob: As
someone who has a big fan base mainly in the video market, do you find it
easier to release your films straight to video, or would you much prefer
given the chance that they go into theaters first?
JR Bookwalter:
Sadly I missed the theatrical boat by several years, certainly only
because of my age. I started THE DEAD NEXT DOOR when I was 18 going on 19,
so I don't think I could have started any earlier than that! So I never
had the choice of what market I sold to, I went with what was available to
me. Keep in mind also that the theatrical market for independent movies in
the late '80s was waning so video was really the place to be anyway.
That
said, I'd love a theatrical release...I grew up watching most movies that
way so it's still "the dream."
Horror Bob:
Do you still think Video is the place to be now.
JR
Bookwalter:
Thank God that DVD came along 6 years ago, because home video has really
flat lined in the last few years. It's gotten tough because there are so
many outlets competing for everyone's attention, pay-per-view, Internet,
video games. DVD has been a great salvation for independents because we
can load our discs with extras and compete to some degree.
Horror
Bob:
How did you end up working at/with Fullmoon and Charlie Band?
JR
Bookwalter:
After completing BLOODLETTING at the beginning of 1997, I moved to Los
Angeles with a few of the Tempe regulars to pursue "greener pastures."
Basically, anything bigger than the $10,000 movies we were already making
at the time. I had been doing some post-production work on the side for
some filmmakers in Wisconsin and because it was a 16mm movie, a director
friend of mine took notice and decided to hire me to edit SHRIEKER, his
latest for Full Moon. The irony being that this director had already seen
all the shot-on-video stuff I'd made the same way, but he was a film snob
so I guess that's what made the difference.
But SHRIEKER was edited and mixed mostly the same way that we'd already
been doing.
Horror
Bob:
So basically from there is where Fullmoon started giving you more and more
work.
JR
Bookwalter:
Yes I wound up being their post-production supervisor for the next couple
of years which paid grotesquely well but it was grueling work and not what
I wanted to do. Toward the end of that era I was managing some 20 people,
posting 3 movies a month ? editing, sound mixing, trailers, making-of
reels...it was a lot of work. So I left in September, 1999 only to wind up
getting hired to direct WITCHOUSE 2: BLOOD COVEN for them a couple of
months later.
We also never really stopped doing the post work...I moved everything back
to my place in North Hollywood and there was less work, but the hours were
better and I could pursue other things. I'm one of those people who's not
really happy unless I'm doing my own thing. (laughs)
Horror Bob:
So that's mainly why you left Fullmoon.
Because I know from looking at the Tempe site that some people think you
left Fullmoon on bad terms, But it's seems like that is not the case.
(Laughs)
JR
Bookwalter:
It went through phases...the post work was fun because it elevated things
to a different level and it was financially good because I was able to
secure a lot of equipment which I could continue to use on my own movies.
But once Charlie Band sucks you in, it's hard to get out of his grasp
because he makes things seem so tempting. Very often they're nightmarish!
Once I started producing films for them, I thought it was my chance to
correct what I saw as mistakes other filmmakers had been making in the
generation of movies before me...all the ones that were being made badly
and left for us to "fix it in post" which we would do, every month without
failing. Of course, during this time the budgets continued to drop
as Full Moon got squeezed by the market...so eventually even producing the
movies for them became dissatisfying, and even worse I started to get
accused of "selling out"!! Which to me was funny because if that were my
intention I would have held out for a better situation, right? (laughs)
Horror
Bob:
(Laughs)
Yeah the whole sell out thing just boggles my mind sometimes. I don't see
anything wrong with trying to make money off of a film that you've worked
so hard on.
JR
Bookwalter:
Yeah but it's not always just about the money...for me I just wanted to
make movies, and if someone is offering me that opportunity, why not take
it? I'd prefer to do my own movies, but that's historically been a rocky
ride so I have no problem with loaning my "skills" to another company if
there's some creative control involved, at least. And for the most part,
with Full Moon there was.
Horror
Bob: Are
there any rumors floating around the web or in the film world about you
that you would like to clear up.
JR Bookwalter:
(laughs) Yes I suppose certain people think ill of me, or I have been
accused of having many "enemies." My response to that is simple...I don't
subscribe to THE GODFATHER philosophy of "Keep your friends close and your
enemies closer."
Horror Bob: (Laughs)
JR
Bookwalter:
If someone betrays my trust or makes an effort to screw me over, I cut
them off. Period. It wasn't always that way, and I used to get accused of
being too "soft" and letting people take advantage of me. Actually, when I
started with DEAD NEXT DOOR I was a bit of a little dictator...then got
soft over time...and have now come full-circle back to "Do it my way or
the highway." (laughs)
So most of the "rumors" that get started about me come from that approach
to dealing with people, I guess. I never thought I had much to offer
people in particular, but yet people always seem to want something from me
and if I don't oblige, I make enemies.
The other part of that stems from people's insecurities, or jealousy or
whatever. I guess if someone thinks I have something I don't deserve, they
have the right to trash me accordingly?
Horror Bob: It
seems that there are more and more Indie Horror Companies releasing films
out in big video chains like Blockbuster and Hollywood Video. Do you find
it hard as one of the bigger companies to compete with some of these
smaller companies, and does it effect your company in the way the video
chains pick the films they want to sell.
JR
Bookwalter:
It's funny because when I started with Full Moon and watched them get
smaller over 5+ years, I started to feel like the industry was lowering
its standards to my level. (laughs) Or maybe I was growing, I'm not sure.
But the fact is, as the video market has tightened its belt, the standards
of what's acceptable have fallen lower and lower. For instance, SKINNED
ALIVE played on pay-per-view in Feb. & March of this year, which I would
never have expected. I don't think it's our best work and it's a shoddy
movie at best, but yet it's in Blockbuster, Hollywood Video and on cable.
There's a lot of movies out there that I've seen far worse than my own
stuff and I'm just shocked that they got the exposure they did. People in
the distribution end of things always say "Nothing matters except a great
box and trailer" and I guess now it's true.
Horror
Bob:
Which film of yours do you wish you could of have made better?
JR Bookwalter:
Oh, I wish they all could have been better! (laughs) I'm my own worst
critic...part of that comes from having to make certain sacrifices because
of low budgets and short schedules. But I'm also a perfectionist at heart,
and very rarely do I think I got it just right.
It's hard for me to watch my own movies because all I see are the
mistakes. People misjudge me because I get down on my own stuff, but it's
just an internal thing...the desire to do better. I'm very happy that the
movies find an audience!
That
said, I'll be shot for saying I want to remake THE DEAD NEXT DOOR.
Horror Bob: (laughs)
Wow,
you read my mind that was my next question, "Would you like to remake any
of your films".
JR Bookwalter:
(laughs) I'm not a big fan of remakes, though there are a few that I've
liked. In the last few months, with no firm deal in place for my DEAD NEXT
DOOR sequel, I started to think that was a better route to take.
Horror
Bob:
How did you get the name Tempe Entertainment?
JR Bookwalter:
The name Tempe started as The Suburban Tempe Company and was a joke from
the opening of RAISING ARIZONA, one of my favorite films. They said
something about buying a "starter home in suburban Tempe" which was a
trailer in the middle of nowhere. I thought that was funny. But Debbie
Rochon, in writing a DVD insert introduction for me recently, hit on the
real reason...the symbol of the cactus and what that represents.
Which
is basically, survival. (Laughs)
Horror Bob:
Which do you like working with better Film or Digital Video?
JR
Bookwalter:
I think they both have pros and cons...film is something I would only feel
comfortable doing again with a reasonable budget. The reason being is that
I direct my movies with an editor's sensibility...and that means lots of
coverage and keep things moving. You can't do that by shooting on a lean
amount of footage and have it look decent.
I was pretty proud of how WITCHOUSE 2 turned out, because it was mostly
35mm and I got a lot more coverage on the same amount of film stock
allotted for most Full Moon movies.
So in that sense, DV is a better option because you can shoot a lot of
tape for pennies...though if the shooting schedule is still short, it
might not matter. So really it's not the format, it's the balance of time
and money, as always.
Horror
Bob: What’s
are you planning on doing next, are there any new projects you are working
on that fans can look forward too.
JR
Bookwalter:
I've been trying to break away from Full Moon (now Shadow Entertainment)
for the last year or so, which I have successfully done in the last few
months. Tempe scored a national distribution deal for our DVDs which will
put us out there with everybody else starting in May.
I've been dabbling in DVD for the last year or so, trying to see what
worked and what didn't, and now I feel like we can go full-force into
this, with 2 new releases a month starting in July.
There
will be 3 different labels: Tempe DVD for the "classic" flicks we've made
and ones that we will be acquiring, loaded with extras.
Splatter Rampage for the no-budget gore flicks and extreme stuff few
others would dare to touch,
and Bad Movie Police, which will take some of the worst movies ever made
and put them in a hilarious light, complete with wraparound segments that
follow the exploits of two dominatrix cops out to bust everyone involved
in making these movies.
We'll be shooting some new Tempe movies soon also, now that we have the
distribution firmly in place. It's very nice to be back in business on my
own!
Last but not least, the last film we made for Shadow is coming to video
soon from Fox Home Video. It's called STINGERS (title will change) and
sadly I was not so happy with how it came out so I won't be taking the
director's credit, although a lot of it I do like.
Horror
Bob:
Wow so it seems you got your plate full
JR Bookwalter:
Yes it's a lot of work to do but I really enjoy it so I'm happy to do so!
I'd like to once again thank Mr. Bookwalter for
taking the time of talking with me and being patient though some of my
technical difficulties with my computer. He was a great guy to talk to and
is very down to earth. I think as a Indie filmmaker he is one of those
guys who will be remembered in time as a pioneer in B-movie/Indie Horror,
Sci-fi and Fantasy. Please click on the links throughout this page to
visit the
Tempe Entertainment
Website and buy some of his films to support the Indie Horror Scene.
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