An Interview with Ritchie Anasky (Part 3 - Future Projects) Josh Darling has been contributing to Critical-Film.com more and more frequently, including a fantastic article documenting three films every aspiring director needs to see. His first interview for Critical-Film is a three parter with independent film maker Ritchie Anasky, writer/director of Actress Apocalypse. Actress Apocalypse was one of the three focus films in Josh's fist article "Three Films for Directors", alongside John Waters' Cecil B. Demented and Tim Burton's Ed Wood. . Part One - Anasky's vision and approach to film making. Part Two - Making "Actress Apocalypse". Part Three - Anaski's future projects.

JD: What is the next project?

RA: Right now I've got my sights set on a return to the doc/mockumentary realm with a story with a 'working title' of "WHEN BLOOD IS NOT ENOUGH"....The script is currently being written by Tim Ritter (director of classic indie gore films like "TRUTH OR DARE", "WICKED GAMES", "KILLING SPREE" etc) and you can expect a keyhole peek into the madness that took place BTS on a film that Tim made back in the 80's.

The goal is to shoot the film during Feb or March 2010 but as ya know, these micro budget productions can be a bit unpredictable in regards to getting the right people, places and things all-together on the same page.

The sooner I can round up that 'right' team of people, the sooner I can get this project rolling into production.

JD: How did it all come about?

RA: I guess it was motivated by a serious NEED to get creatively active again... I'd spent 2008 trying like hell to get a project titled "KILLING SPREE A.D." rolling but nothing ever fell into place...My 'help' was really NO help at all (which is typical unfortunately) and it became abundantly obvious that the timing just wasn't 'right'...I had to stop aggravating myself and take a step back or risk experiencing another "I AM VENGEANCE-esque" LOOP where I'd just keep spinning my wheels on something that just wasn't ready (or refused) to exist... I needed to set the "SPREE" aside (for the time being) and find myself a new project to get excited about.

Keep in mind, I'd been trying to follow up my previous film ("ACTRESS APOCALYPSE") for the last few years with no luck at all... Eventually it all becomes a bit demoralising, ya know? I needed the proverbial jump-start... A way to create a new momentum for myself... Something to push me back into a state of positive forward motion where good things could have the opportunity to manifest. This got me thinking about just getting back to basics... Thinking about maybe trying my luck with another doc/mockumentary... I mean, in truth, I did 'OK' with "ACTRESS APOCALYPSE" (well, as OK as you can do while being interfered with, screwed over, ripped off and back-stabbed) and if nothing else, I figured the mock-Doc route could be a perfect way for me to re-enter the world of guerrilla film-making... It could provide an excellent opportunity to shake off the rust, re-familiarise myself with the movie-making process and provide the challenge and element of risk I tend to seek out in projects.

I then emailed Tim Ritter and pitched an idea of doing a movie that would be based on the making of one of his films... A truth/fiction hybrid which would focus more intently on the inter-personal relationships between the people involved in making the movie... Tim had already touched upon this content via his excellent independent film-making novel, "UNREEL" and his (highly recommended to anyone into indie film-making) "BLINDED BY THE BLOOD" documentaries but I wanted to go a step further... I wanted to really delve beneath the surface and get into the actual personalities of the cast and crew... The interactions and confrontations... The 'intrigue'... The dramatics... The highs and lows of making an independent horror film back in the 1980's... There was so much there to explore and I felt it would make for an ideal (and hopefully FUN) experiment in no budget/underground movie-making.

Tim was 100% with me on it and agreed to develop and write the screenplay for me and I cannot wait for it's arrival!!

JD: How did you get in contact with Tim Ritter for the project?

RA: Tim and I have been in contact (and friends) since 1996 or 1997... He's one of the directors who helped me get started in this picture makin' business. You couldn't ask for a better person to collaborate with or to talk movies or making movies with... He's seen and done it all in this scene and remains a totally cool, helpful and down to earth guy.

JD: What drew you to the project?

RA: The material has ALWAYS intrigued me and this project provides me with the awesome opportunity to make a movie about the 'making of' one of my favorite films... To kinda transport myself (and the eventual cast and crew) back to a different time and place... It's an exciting/fun challenge to look forward to.

JD: How long have you been working on this?

RA: Not long at all... I believe Tim and I first started discussing it in late August or early September 2009 and he's hoping to have the script to me by the end of October 2009 if at all possible.

In the meantime, I'm looking to gather up as much 80's related props/clothes as possible...I really want to capture the look/atmosphere of that time frame in an authentic manner. My biggest dilemma (at the moment) is whether to actually shoot the movie in an outdated format like SVHS (which debuted in 1987) to keep the look true to the time... I'm kinda worried that if I shoot it on Mini DV or Hi-Def that it'll kill the intended 1980's illusion and instantly take the viewer (assuming it has viewers of course) right out of the story... I'm fairly certain that this movie is supposed to play out like a BTS amateur (don't worry, no shaky cam!!) documentary (like "BLINDED BY THE BLOOD") so the look is very important to creating the proper vibe.

Decisions decisions....

JD: I've seen a couple of the stills from this one seems to be a lot bloodier then the other films?

RA: I "think" you might be referring to stills from "I AM VENGEANCE" as there's a lot of em' out there and there was a massive amount of blood in that one. That was a flick that I actually had to shoot on three separate occasions (between 1998-2001) with three separate casts... The madness associated with that experience is what provided the main inspiration behind my previous film, "ACTRESS APOCALYPSE".

Ah wait, bloody stills also could've been from the "CRITICAL MADNESS" short that I worked on in 2007... That was another disappointment... We had a great time shooting that film, got some great footage, worked on awesome locations and then once we got it into post production... KA-POW!!... The editing system freaks out, we (Greg G. Freeman and myself) lose all our work and we've had no way of getting the system repaired.

I'm telling ya, these micro budget productions often play out like Greek tragedies for the film-makers.

JD: You're also working on 2 other projects (KILLING SPREE AD and HOLLYWOOD SHE WOLF) what are they about and where did they come from?

RA: I'm actually not actively working on either at the moment... The focus now is strictly on "WHEN BLOOD IS NOT ENOUGH" (again, that's just the working title) and that's where I'll be until that film is completed.

Anyway... KILLING SPREE A.D. is a collaboration between Tim Ritter, myself and Greg G. Freeman... The film will be the official remake/re-imagining of "KILLING SPREE" which Tim directed back in 1987. I actually prefer to view it as a 'reincarnation' of the original... Same 'soul' in a different body in a different time as opposed to a "remake" which basically conveys the vibe of some "worthless cash in" on a superior film... The story follows the same general path as the original with a focus on themes of infidelity, insecurity, savage jealousy and insanity...

The one thing that really held this project back was that we could never find that 'right' actress to play the demanding lead role of 'Leeza Russo'... Without the right actress in place, there's just no way of moving forward with the film. What's ironic is that Tim dealt with the same exact thing back when he did the original, "KILLING SPREE"... He came up empty in Florida on his 'Leeza' search and ultimately had to fly in an actress out of LA... Pretty pitiful when you have to go outside the state to find reliable actors (especially on a low budget project) but it's often your best option.

As for "HOLLYWOOD SHE-WOLF"... That one was written, produced and directed by "AA" collaborator, Garo Nigoghossian. I was the crew (and was handling post production) on that film and I have nothing but great memories of helping G-Rock bring it to life. The film featured a really cool/dedicated cast made up of indie film actress Jane Scarlett, "Dread Central's" Steve 'Uncle Creepy' Barton and Debi Moore as well as adult film actresses, Charlee Chase and Bridgette Lee... Garo and actress Banana Wong played the leads.

As for what it was about... It basically dealt with a down on his luck writer who sells his script to a psychotic Hollywood producer.  

As enjoyable a project as "HSW" was for myself and the majority of the cast to be part of, the same can't be said for the film's creator... Things got off to a shaky start when the producers only provided a portion of the budget they'd promised to Garo for the film. This 'shady' move essentially forced 'G' to dig into his own pocket to cover the rest (something he'd been adamant about NOT doing). He was assured he'd be reimbursed but not only was he never reimbursed, the producers ultimately made the film their 'dumpster baby' by abandoning it while it was in post production. They'd never even seen (or asked to see) as much as a frame of footage from the movie... There were no phone calls or emails to Garo (he tried endlessly to reach them) explaining their position, they just simply disappeared without the courtesy of an explanation and then proceeded to fold up their 'in house' movie production line (Atomic Erotic Films). Keep in mind that Garo and these guys were friends/buisness partners at the time!! They'd worked together for years prior with no major problems so all this came as a complete shock to him.

The screw job not only deprived Garo (and all of us involved on the film) the thrill of seeing the movie completed... The whole mess caused Garo to just wash his hands of "HSW"... He called and told me to cease all post production and declared the project officially DEAD. It was a sad fate for the movie (which was already rough cut and probably 65-70% complete) because I really believe that 'G' was on his way to having a very fun/cool film on his hands. It had this quirky Joe Sarno meets Michael Findlay quality to it that would be really tough to re-create.

There's actually been conversations about trying to re-shoot the film but thus far, it's never gone beyond the 'talking' stages.

JD: Do you find it hard to work on 2 projects simultaneously?

RA: I commend anyone who can just seemlessly go project to project (or back and forth between projects) without missing a beat because I know I sure as hell couldn't/wouldn't do it.

When I'm concentrating on an idea for a film (be it during brainstorming, writing or whatever part of the process), it pretty much consumes my every waking moment. I can barely focus on what's going on in my real life with ONE film, never mind trying to juggle TWO or more... It just wouldn't work, ya know? I'd feel like I was cheating myself and definitely cheating the films as I'd be spreading my creative energies too thin... I also believe that we can only grow artistically with a little bit of time and space between creative ventures... I think it's very beneficial to be able to take a step back to reflect on our work. 

I'm only discussing these other films (or potential films) because I'm being asked about them... In truth, I've only got eyes and energy for the new story.

JD: Many directors talk about how they miss being able to do camera work or things of that nature, yet at times handling multiple responsibilities can not only be a luxury (as in the freedom that comes with it) but also very stressful, having so many things to be mindful of. Are there any jobs that you'd want to bleed off or is that something you can't imagine yourself sacrificing?

RA: I don't know any other way to make a film other than to have my hands in every aspect of a production. I don't do this because I enjoy it, I do it because I've honestly never been given much of a choice... I've never really come across anything remotely resembling reliable 'crew' help, and this whole 'bad help' dilemma  (which often came courtesy of fellow film-makers) is actually what inspired The Golden Terror character in "ACTRESS APOCALYPSE"...

I think the only two aspects of production that I'd always prefer to handle on my own would be the cinematography and the still photography. I'd gladly place everything else in more capable hands so that I could concentrate on the directing aspects of making the film.