#MurderSelfie - a Comedy-Horror Kickstarter Project

The team of Confine is at it again. Director Tobias Tobbell explores the theme of home invasion once more but from the comedy angle this time. The story is directly based on Tobbell's misfortune. The indie director was held at knife-point in his South East London apartment by an intruder who stole his most precious possession: his smartphone! "I think the worst part of the experience was how lost I felt without my phone, my life-line, and kind of hated and marveled at the power social media had over my life", Tobbell admitted. 

The incident contributed to inspire a short comedy-horror movie starring Bad Education’s Nikki Runeckles as the young, smartphone-obsessed female lead. When masked intruders break in and enter her property, her addiction to social media takes a whole new level...

Social media isn't only the center of the plot, it's also a tool used by Tobbell to produce the movie. You can support his project on Kickstarter for another 12 days and even choose the final mask that the bad guys will wear.

Obsessed by horror, comedy or social media? You can support the team at #MurderSelfie !

Café de Flore (2011)

Never Gonna Give You Up

From its polished soundtrack to its paranormal twists, this brilliant movie directed by C.R.A.Z.Y.'s Jean-Marc Vallée is worth watching. You're alternately taken to 1969 Paris and 2011 Montréal respectively following a single mother raising her son with Down syndrome and a family coping with parental separation and the father's new soulmate situation. As the plot slowly - Quebec filmmakers take their time - developed on a cloud of Sigur Ros songs, everything I had not expected from this movie happened. The seemingly two unrelated stories only linked by matching tunes turned out to be much more. I thought this would be a heartbreaking drama drowned in 8th grader romance and miserable fatality. It is more of a Vanilla Sky-type intrigue and quite the mindfuck. The cast is absolutely flawless from Vanessa Paradis' portrayal of a mother struggling with societal prejudice to Evelyne Brochu's character of the obviously hated stepmother and stunning new soulmate or even Marin Gerrier who plays Paradis' son. Café de Flore is everything you want in a movie and more.

1 reason to watch it: this is art.

Nous York (2012)

Les Misérables Clichés

This nonsensical empty attempt at comedy - or whatever it is they tried to do - consists in three childhood friends screaming "OBAMAAAA!" every 15 minutes. Those thirty-something immature boys fly to New York to surprise their other friend on her birthday. This leads to some existential quest for love and happiness within the family and friendship spheres. Not only has the plot barely scratched the surface but if you dug harder, there would be more surface. The poorly cast ensemble doesn't do justice to the typical French tourist and the filmmakers don't even have the slightest idea about American culture. They haven't even researched any of it and they portray the weirdest unbelievable facts. For example, every person they meet in NYC lives in some fancy 10-acre penthouse. Really? Do they have any idea of the housing market in Manhattan these days? Even Charlie Sheen's character in 1987's Wall Street had trouble paying rent for his little bachelor suite. But let's just assume that it makes sense because one of the protagonist is the assistant of some famous actor. Sure she is! How many French illegal workers in Manhattan actually are the assistant of De Niro or Woody Allen? That's right. None. Then there are the scenes regarding shoes on power lines. The three amigos first spot those in Brooklyn where one of them says it's just what New Yorkers do for fun or style. You expect a later scene in which they try to throw their shoes on a wire and a drug lord's street associate chasing them. That never happens. They end up throwing their shoes there and screaming the name of the 44th President of the USA. It is not deep, nor is it French-charming, clever or even funny. This is the last thing you want to watch to try out French comedy.

1 reason NOT to watch it: it's le merde.

Terry and Brenda: Interview with Writer/Director Jamie Hooper

Jamie Hooper shooting Terry and Brenda

Read my first interview with Jamie about his short movie Plastic Love!

The Squeerelist - It's great to have you back with another movie and witness the evolution of your work. Actors Tim Blackwell and Debra Baker starred in Plastic Love and are now Terry and Brenda. In both films you've challenged them to play unusual kinky characters. In Terry and Brenda your characters are much more twisted. How challenging is it for you to get your actors to fill those kinky and messed-up shoes?

Jamie Hooper - Finding actors who are so open and willing to do weird things on camera is very difficult. Luckily for me, Tim and Debra are both actors that enjoy pushing themselves and exploring strange characters. Obviously it also helps that I've worked with them before and they trust me as a director. I had such a fun time making Plastic Love that I wrote Terry and Brenda with Tim and Debra in mind, thankfully they got the dark humour in the script and were excited to be part of the film. To be honest, if they hadn't wanted to do it I probably wouldn't have made it as I don't think it would've worked as well with anyone else. From my experience the darker and weirder the script the more fun it is for everyone on set. It's important to me that everyone involved is having fun and enjoying the work, otherwise what's the point? I think Tim and Debra know by now that they'll at least have fun working on my films.

Do Debra and Tim bring more to the characters you created or do they stay true to your screenplay?

The film is 100% faithful to the script. By that I mean every scene and line of dialogue that was in the script is in the film, that doesn't mean the actors don't contribute anything though. The interpretation of the characters is completely down to Tim and Debra, and I'm constantly surprised and amazed at the choices they make with my material. I usually have a very distinct idea of what I want from a scene or how a particular line of dialogue should be delivered but I'm more than happy to go in the opposite direction if an actor does something that's more interesting, which Tim and Debra regularly do.

Where do you find inspiration for characters and stories like these?

I find inspiration from anywhere and everywhere. With Terry and Brenda it came from reading a lot about serial killers, but more specifically couple serial killers, which I find fascinating. How do two people meet each other and at some point begin killing people? I think the most interesting thing to me is the dynamic of power within a relationship and how it can change a person. I like to explore the innate weirdness in people.

Your movies focus on sexuality, fantasies and kinks. In your next projects will you still draw from that bottomless well of inspiration or will you take another direction?

I'm not sure what my next project will be. I'm currently writing several scripts, some much weirder than others, so who knows? My overriding constant is a desire to tell different stories about strange but very human characters, usually with a dark and twisted sense of humour. I'm a big fan of things like Julia Davis' Nighty Night and Christopher Morris' Brass Eye, which are perfect examples of my sense of humour and the tone I try to achieve with each film.

Can we expect to see more of Tim, Debra or even Lucy Hutchinson (who plays the daughter of Terry and Brenda) in your next films?

It entirely depends on what my next film is and whether they are appropriate to the characters and story. I'd certainly love to work with all three of them again at some point. It's tremendously exciting to collaborate with talented people in all aspects of filmmaking.

Plastic Love was selected for the Cannes festival. Any expectations or idea on the fate of Terry and Brenda?

It's always really difficult to know how a film will be received. I'm hoping Terry and Brenda will play at certain festivals and that audiences will enjoy it. More than anything I'm just happy to have made the film exactly how I wanted it, which is quite rare with low/no budget filmmaking.

You've only directed short films so far. Do you have any plans on making a feature film?

The only reason I've stuck to short films so far is that all my films are entirely self-funded, and I can't afford to fund an entire feature. That being said I never say never and hopefully at some point I'll make a feature film. I'm currently developing Terry and Brenda into a feature script so you might see more of their adventures in the future.

Terry and Brenda (2014)

Love and Marriage

Jamie Hooper is coming back with a short film about what seems to be a tame middle-class couple at first. We soon discover that Terry and Brenda are kinky for better or worse. Hooper continues his work on fetishes and brings it to a new extreme. Debra Baker and Tim Blackwell are reunited as Terry and Brenda after both playing in Plastic Love and got more deranged characters to explore the second time around. The movie also stars the young Lucy Hutchinson as the daughter of the sordid couple. The best part about Jamie's movies is that he works with actors we can relate to. They're middle-aged and could be anyone's neighbors. When they do get creepy, this is what makes is so realistically scary. The intense rhythmic visuals that you could expect from Hooper and the performances are equally delightful. 

1 reason to watch: it's everything you could expect. And more.

Read my interview with Director/Writer Jamie Hooper here!

Terry and Brenda - Teaser Trailer from Jamie Hooper on Vimeo.

Le Fear II: Le Sequel - Interview with Director Jason Croot

Jay Croot (left) on the set of Le Fear II: Le Sequel

The Squeerelist - Your movie deals with a wide range of events that can go wrong on a set. As extreme as your portrayal of a failed production is, I can't help but assume some of it is based on your experience in the industry. How much of LeFear II: Le Sequel is actually based on your misfortune?

Jay Croot - I wrote Le Fear in 2009 partly down to experiences of my time as an actor on a film set. One example was a sound guy who was texting whilst holding the boom. With the second film I wanted to bring in different nationalities to try and show the clashes of styles - i.e. African film industry Nollywood, French Film Noir and the British film industry. I have watched many films from all 3 Countries and worked on all.

 

Some of your characters are very unprofessional. Have you worked with people that are as inappropriate as the nymphomaniac make-up artist that you created?

I have worked with a few unprofessional cast and crew. Trust me, there are a few out there but the majority are a real pleasure to work for and with. I’ve never worked with a nympho though.

 

 

Le Fear III: Le Cannes has already been announced. Will Carlos' film be selected at the French festival? What more can we expect from this movie?

We hope to head down to Cannes with Carlos - the very talented Kyri Saphiris. Without giving too much away Carlos will be taking Le Fear II: Le Sequel aiming to sell it but it would not be a Le Fear if things did not go wrong.

 

Is your movie a portrayal of a certain reality or a way for filmmakers to put things into perspective and show them that whatever their problems are, everything will be fine... Or at least better than Carlos' issues.

I read a great book called My First Movie by Stephen Lowenstein. It has many examples of things going wrong such as Barry Levinson who casted an actress who said she could ride a horse. She got on, ready to shoot the days' first shot and the horse bolted and ran off with the actress into the woods. They did not find her for hours ruining the first day's shoot, I tried to create many problems for Carlos to deal with he tries but he had his work cut out.

 

Le Fear series seems to be an important part of your career. Is there any completely different project we can expect to see you work on in the next years?

Le Fear is close to me given the first film was my directorial debut. We may stop at Le Fear III: Le Cannes or make more. We are hoping people watch them and get them and ideally like them. I have one idea I really believe is a winner. It is a film that has never been done and I can’t really say any more than it is a comedy, I’d love to make it. I really can see it working.

 

Do you have any advice to share with independent filmmakers with current production issues?

I have encountered so many problems and filmmaking is tough. I would say try to do as much in production as you can instead of leaving it to post because you can be there for years. Really take care of sound - in my opinion, it is more important than visuals. Finally vet who you work with before you hire them, I have been lucky to have a great cast and crew on both Le Fears but you can get some real pain in the butts, finally on set never panic even when things go wrong!

Le Fear II: Le Sequel (2015)

Murphy's Law

 

 

 

Imagine that you are making a movie and everything that can go wrong does. This is the premise of Le Fear II: Le Sequel. Director Carlos Revalos is talked into remortgaging his house to produce his new horror movie. On shooting day the so-called film set is what appears to be a tiny second-hand trailer parked by the busy street. The unprofessional movie crew is made of the worst people to ever be on set. Le Fear II: Le Sequel is a funny take on what can go wrong with a nymphomaniac make-up artist or an Avatar-special effects wannabe. The documentary-style camera follows the very slow breakdown of the director. The plot is original enough to surprise you at first with its bizarre characters but I believe it would have made a better short than a feature-length movie. The story drags the viewer along for longer than needed. In the beginning of the movie, I obviously rooted for the director but as he tripped over the same obstacles again and again, I started to think he deserved it. Le Fear II: Le Sequel is an unpretentious comedy made from an original and simple idea and featuring a very eclectic cast. We can only expect the worst to happen to Carlos as he will try to get his bloody horror movie selected for the Cannes festival in Le Fear III: Le Cannes.

1 reason to watch: if you are a filmmaker with production issues, it will make you put things into perspective.

 

Read my interview with director Jason Croot here!