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Editor-in-Chief:
Kenneth Brosky
Managing Editor:
Stephanie Nolasco
Associate Editor:
Janelle Kennedy
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Tim Ritter
Interviewed by Jonathon Berry
Tim Ritter is one of the best-known cult directors in the world of
horror. Now he has even released a book entitled “The Hammer Will
Fall”. His directing credits include “Killing Spree” & the cult
classic “Truth or Dare”.
J-B: So ... Tim Ritter, how does it feel being one of the
most recognized and loved indie filmmakers?
TR:
Wow, haven't heard things put quite on those terms too often,
but it's great that some of our older and new projects have found
enthusiastic audiences and continue to sell today. I'm very happy
about that! And I'm also honoured that so many upcoming filmmakers
were inspired by what we did---in terms of just getting out there
and making a movie--- so it's always a pleasure to hear from
moviemakers who tell us that our stuff was any sort of inspiration.
J-B: So I see you've released a book now, what made you make
that leap? Was it all you hoped for?
TR:
I've always been a big fan of fiction and in particular Stephen
King, so I wanted to try my hand at writing a book. It was all I
hoped for, an exciting process where there were no budget
constraints I had to consider and I was able to get inside the
character's heads a little more than you can with scripts and
movies. THE HAMMER WILL FALL really works---especially the last 50
pages, they came off just the way I wanted them to. The whole novel
is inspired by those early Richard Bachman books by King (Rage, The
Long Walk, Roadwork, The Running Man), I just love the raw feel of
those things. I think ROADWORK would make an excellent movie,
surprised it hasn't been done! Anyway, my next book is due out at
the end of the year---it's called UNREEL and it's about a horror
moviemaker trying to make it in the shot-on-video biz...it mixes
real experiences and also goes off the deep end of
fiction...so...check it out! Both books are available through amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com, if anyone's interested!
J-B: What are some of your favourite horror films,
directors, actors etc.
TR:
Well, Carpenter and Craven, of course. They are the "top dawgs"
in this biz for me. Also love the early Cronenberg works, his newer
stuff is decent...but very abstract, hard to get a taste for it! (heh,
heh) I don't want to forget H.G. Lewis--his crude gore movies
obviously held hope for so many of us aspiring moviemakers with
super-8 cameras! I was also recently really impressed with SIGNS, M.
Night's flick. I know a lot of people are divided on that movie, but
it really worked for me. I really was able to see that "less can be
more" in a lot of areas. Actors...hmmmm... seems that Katharine
Isabelle is becoming a great asset to horror movies... she was
awesome in GINGER SNAPS, she really played CARRIE super-cool in the
TV movie remake (which I enjoyed) and she's in the upcoming FREDDY
VS, JASON. And of course, I'm still fond of the old-school scream
queens from the 80's heyday---Linnea Quigley, Michelle Bauer, Brinke
Stevens, etc. It's harder to pick male stars...no one seems to carve
out a name in the horror biz these days like in the days of Vincent
Price and Peter Cushing...I guess Robert Englund is 'da man' in
terms of A-list superstar horror actor! Gotta still appreciate
Arnold---he's back as the Terminator, so that's exciting!
J-B: How'd you get started in the biz? Is it all you thought
it would be, why or why not?
TR:
I just started making movies as a youngster with the family
super-8 camera and never stopped. It's always what I wanted to do,
to write and create and share stories with others. I achieved a lot
very fast and very young. By my third feature-length movie (Truth Or
Dare, A Critical Madness, when I was 18 years old) I was at the
"top" of the video market---coverage in Fangoria, # 6 on the
national rental and sales charts, etc. etc.---so when I didn't make
that 'transition' into Hollywood, there was nowhere to go but down!
(heh, heh) Especially when the market collapsed in 1988-1992 or
so...It was a strange experience, really, and most of my experiences
and emotions I captured in that upcoming book, UNREEL...
But to answer the question, it was what I thought it would be and it
wasn't. I can't complain, and now with all of the movies I've done,
I'm satisfied that I didn't give up, didn't throw in the white towel
like so many did who started when I did. The one thing that really
was an eye-opener to me in making and distributing the early movies
was how dishonest and corrupt most people are in this business,
especially in the distribution end. They are sharks, and despite
reading about the bad experiences filmmakers like Romero and Hooper
had with their classics...it wasn't enough to keep me from getting
ripped off dozens of times in the 80's and early 90's, before I
teamed up with Ron Bonk over at Sub Rosa Studios.
The other major disappointment has been that the 'regional
filmmaker' thing never worked out the way I dreamed it would---all
of us aspiring filmmakers wanted to do the Romero thing, to make
your own hometown a new Hollywood zone, to operate "out of
Pittsburgh," so to speak. Sadly, that's pretty much an impossible
dream, as I found out so brutally time after time. Today, it's even
more difficult---unless you're working with a major studio like M.
Night is, shooting where he lives---you're pretty much an outcast
and won't get much attention with your work...Where are the Backyard
Filmmaker heroes? (heh, heh) In Hollywood!
But I can't complain---live and learn, downsize expectations, and
keep going is my motto! I've worked with a lot of great people and
have had an exciting time attempting to realize my dreams, soooo,
what can you do?
J-B: When did you start to realize that filmmaking was the
thing for you?
TR:
It was in 1976 and 1977, between JAWS, STAR WARS, and THE
INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN, I knew I wanted to do this type of thing. I
guess I was about nine or ten years old then! Man, how time flies!
When I saw HALLOWEEN on TV in 1980, it opened up the serious
possibilities of accomplishing things with very little money and
special effects...that was when I started to emulate the Carpenter
classic and when I fell into the whole 80's horror addiction...
J-B: Now .... the eternal question: are you related to John
Ritter? hehehe ...
TR:
No, but I wish I was seeing that nepotism is so alive and well
in Hollywood! I see John Ritter's son, Jason, stars in the new
FREDDY VS. JASON movie, so wow, that could've been me! I always
laugh when someone related to someone says in an interview, "It's
not because JOE CELEBRITY is my dad that I got this job..." Come on,
let's get real. Hopefully the public doesn't buy that
malarkey---because it is all WHO YOU KNOW and WHAT CONNECTIONS YOU
HAVE. Sure, you have to have some talent, but more than
anything...networking is what counts. So it makes the process so
much easier if you have celebrity parents! (heh, heh) But I'm a big
fan of THREE'S COMPANY, so does that count? (heh, heh)
J-B: Out of all the films you've made what are your
favourites and least favourites?
TR:
Well, they all have good things and bad things in them. It's
really hard to look back at them and even watch them in a neutral
frame of mind...I'd do so much different now...I'd make different
decisions about how I'd pull off different things with the knowledge
I have now... If you hadn't seen any of my stuff ever and wanted to
just get into it, I'd recommend reading THE HAMMER WILL FALL and
purchasing the TRUTH OR DARE and KILLING SPREE DVDs...if you liked
those, you might enjoy some of my other junk, so if that makes any
sense... (heh, heh)
J-B: Looking back on your career, is there anything you
would of changed?
TR:
No, I think it had to happen the way it did to hopefully evolve
into future endeavours and future successes, and nothing is ever
easy or painless, nothing worth doing. And if it were simple to make
it in this business, everyone would be doing it! So I just try to
correct any mistakes that I notice and do better the next time,
really, that's all any of us can do with anything in life. Live,
try, learn, and keep moving forward. And change is good, when it
happens, go with it. There's always something new to learn, errors
to be corrected.
J-B: You seem to enjoy your indie horror too—I wonder why—so
what are some talented indie filmmakers we should be checking out?
TR:
I like indie horror, not as much as I used to, because after all I
am 35 now, over-the-hill in terms of the 18-34 demographic mark,
sooooo, who knows where things will go! But I've always enjoyed a
good, well-made indie video movie. Current people to watch are John
Bowker, whom I've worked with on a couple of movies---he made
ABOMINATION (available at Hollywood Video), SEEKERS, and HOUSEBOUND
(which I executive-produced for him). Let's see, Robert Massetti is
a great new director with vision, he made a movie called PHOBIAS,
available through Sub Rosa now, it's two wild tales in the DePalma
traditions, be's got some great new stuff coming up, including
REALMS OF BLOOD---another anthology, where I wrote one of the
segments for him, I hear it came out awesome! Also, Eric Stanze has
a great team of moviemakers over at Wicked Pixel---Jeremy Wallace is
a real mover and shaker, I think their upcoming UNDERTOW movie is
going to be a real cool flick to check out. The Polonia Brothers are
still at it, making their wild movies, they're currently doing a
Bigfoot movie, so really, there's plenty to choose from. And so many
newbies over on the web boards of b-independent.com, it's just
amazing! And another director that started out working with us years
ago, Michael Hoffman, he did SCARY TALES 1 and 2, two very good
movies worth seeing! The digital revolution...IS HERE! And Richard
Anasky, a Tampa moviemaker, he's one to watch with his upcoming I AM
VENGEANCE movie...
J-B: Modern horror ... thoughts?
TR:
Who could complain? Right now, there's something for EVERYONE of
EVERY TASTE, really! Think about it---EXTREME intelligent horror
like HANNIBAL. Slasher movies inspired by the 80's flicks and
SCREAM, which I loved. WRONG TURN, HOUSE OF 1,000 CORPSES, CABIN
FEVER--- come on, these are 80's slasher flicks, pure and simple!
Jason has never left us too long, Freddy is back on the big screen
WITH Jason...the last few years have just been a GOLDEN ERA for
horror, really! If you like it subtle, look at stuff like FRAILTY
and ONE HOUR PHOTO...if you like zombies, look at 28 DAYS LATER...I
mean, there really is something for every taste, so if you're
complaining about the state of horror right now, you're just not
looking hard enough! It's all there, right under your nose!
J-B: Over your career you've worked with tons of people but
who would you love to work with the most?
TR:
Man, I really want to work with David A. Hess---I had him lined
up for a flick back in 1988 but funding fell through. I'm glad the
director of CABIN FEVER is working with him---and it's so wild that
they are using LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT music in that movie, that is
very cool! But I've had so many cool people lined up in deals that
fell through---Linnea Quigley included. So I'd still love to work
with both of those actors...but who knows if it'll ever happen. I'd
also love to work with Michael Rooker, who played HENRY in the 1986
classic---he's such a good actor!
I just worked with Jasi Cotton Lanier (aka "Stuntbabe") in TWISTED
ILLUSIONS 2, so that was a real treat! She was a blast to
collaborate with. It's always exciting to work with well-known
individuals in the business.
J-B: Asbestos Felt ... man what a character! How was it
working with the guy?
TR:
A blast! Asbestos is a madman! He was as over-the-top in person
as he is on-screen in KILLING SPREE. Really a fun guy, totally into
independent moviemaking, a very eccentric, cool dude. Same with Joel Wynkoop, he's always a pleasure to work with and brings so much to
every movie and every character he plays. These are just guys
totally into the whole spectrum of low-budget filmmaking, guys whom
you couldn't make these movies without. Their contributions to the
movies are a big part of their success, an ENORMOUS part...
J-B: If you were to throw together the ultimate indie
picture, who would star and work on it?
TR:
Well, I guess I'd have to go with the people I've
mentioned---Michael Rooker, David A. Hess, Joel Wynkoop, Asbestos
Felt, maybe Robert Englund...We'd have to get Katharine Isabelle in
there for good measure! And Linnea...and although I love directing,
I'd probably hire someone better than me to direct the 'ultimate
indie picture'---someone like Robert Massetti, Eric Stanze, or John
Bowker...I wouldn't mind writing and co-producing, but I just don't
know how great of a director I am! Just sort of a fanboy
sleepwalking through a dream, really! (heh, heh)
J-B: If you had any advice for people who want to be
filmmakers what would it be?
TR:
Just get started, the best way to break in is to get a
camcorder, learn how to do everything, and do it! Concentrate on a
great story, have fun with it, and just do it! So many just talk and
talk and talk about doing things but never get out there and do
it---and it is an EXTREME amount of work, even to do a small movie.
So that's what separates the talkers from the doers, the ones who
get out there and get their hands dirty! There's no excuse not to be
able to deliver a finished project these days---even if it's a
short---with all the affordable camera technology and computer
editing that is so simple...and with all the DVDs available that are
practically free film schools in terms of commentaries and extras!
Come on, all the tools you need are THERE! The KILLING SPREE disc
has a 90 minute documentary on making the movie...and two
commentaries... and bigger movies like THE FOG, there's so much info
on how to put a project together that it's ridiculous! So get
inspired, write your script, go to DVD film school---purchase a
bunch of discs that are similar to what you plan to do---learn from
the info on them----AND GET STARTED! (heh, heh) We're putting movies
together these days for a couple of grand, so you don't need a lot
of money.
J-B: Any upcoming projects?
TR:
2004 will see the release of TWISTED ILLUSIONS 2, which sort of
started everything for us----the original movie was conceived and
made in 1984 and '85 and had the short version of TRUTH OR DARE in
it--- which led to our early successes...so we've gone full circle
here, with this exciting follow-up FINALLY coming out...we did it
just for fun, there's segments made by myself, Joel Wynkoop, and
John Bowker...we made this movie just because we wanted to, no other
reason, kind of going back to the beginning, finding the original
passion of doing what we love to do, so that was a great experience!
And working with Jasi, Joel Wynkoop, and Larry Treadway from BRAINS
ON FILM was so exciting! Truly cool people all around. The movie is
in postproduction now, and along with the UNREEL novel that will be
out in early 2004 at the latest, it kind of 'wraps up' this '20 year
era' of moviemaking for me! So it'll be exciting to get all that
released! Plus, all of our older titles will be hitting DVD in 2004,
they've been remastered and are just waiting in the pipeline for
release...it took 18 months to get all the new material assembled...
And then I hope to do a new movie in the fall, I'm working on it
now, this will be a departure and a change for me, I'll be going
into some new directions here, so we'll see how it goes. I'm sort of
shedding the old stuff, evolving into new directions, following my
instincts, and seeing where it leads. So it's all pretty exciting!
I'm glad the old stuff is over, quite honestly, and I'm happy to
look ahead to new styles and opportunities!
J-B: That should do it, thanks for the time, interview and
blessing the horror genre with some great indie flicks. Any last
words, plugs or promotions?
TR:
Thank you, man, thanks for keeping the genre alive on the web,
etc. Without people like you, who love this stuff and keep promoting
it, all of us indie players would be nowhere! I'd just like to thank
the fans, all those people who keep up on these small movies and
books, because without them, all of us wouldn't be able to do what
we enjoy doing---creating. It's great to know people are out there,
digging these small productions. So thanks to everyone that's ever
purchased or rented one of our movies!
And lastly, you can stay informed on the latest that I'm doing over
at www.timritter.com. So feel free to check there for up-to-date
info!
Thanks again, and God bless! Here's to future works!
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