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Q- Where did you come up with the crazy storyline for Martians from Venus?
A-Well, the story evolved quite a lot since it was first written around 1985. I always wanted to make a spoof of a bad B-movie figuring it's probably way easier to create a bad movie than a good movie, and intentionally making it bad, would inevitably make it incredibly funny. Originally, the story was nothing more than the movie within the movie that you see in the film. I didn't feel the story could be sustained as well to fill up ninety minutes of screen time, feeling that it would just be another goofy movie, so the film required some elaboration.
Q- And that's where the documentary about the making of "Martians from Venus" occurred?
A- Yes, seemed the way to accentuate the humor of "Martians from Venus" was to film a documentary on the making of the movie in which all the situations were an elaborate set-up to the punch lines which are inherent in the movie.
Q- Any unforeseeable problems that occurred when transferring your written words to film?
A- Well the biggest problem was a computer crash that lost a month's worth of work along with the original outline, and a third of the finished story. I'd like to say I've gotten better at backing up my work (I haven't) but at least computers seem more reliable these days. I kept the storyline floating around in my head for years always wanting to rewrite what was lost, but never got around to it.
Q- So what made you finally decide to write it?
A- The story was actually reborn out of tragedy. With the death of my close cousin, Susie, due to cancer, I realized that life is too precious and short not to be doing all the things in life that you’d want to do, and what I wanted the most was to produce, write, and direct a feature film. My cousin Gail, sister of Susie tragically loss her own battle with cancer exactly two weeks later. This was a wake-up call to actively pursue the fulfillment of dreams and is why the film is dedicated to them and also my father-in-law Jack who died in complications following a surgery during the production. He always enjoyed a good laugh.
Q- Tell us a little about the creative thought process.
A- A couple amusing additions happened in writing the story which were purely unintended yet became some of the funniest scenes in the movie. One of these was introducing product placement. We were trying to find ways to reduce the size of the budget and figured that product placement was an option, however product placement is not likely in a smaller independent film such as this. Then I thought, what if we HAD to do product placement, and it HAD to appear in every scene of the movie, and it was something perceived as God awful. Also, in the past, I was involved in a TV commercial promoting Cleveland which was shot in the late seventies. We had a little problem with a local Union when we tried to shoot a scene at an outdoor mall. In one of our group meetings the question came up if we'd have any problems with the local Unions. Another lightbulb lit up in my head, and I thought, "What if we had a problem with a union, and what if the end result totally ruined the film? How can we deal with this? Then the character of the Union Watchdog was born.
Q- What was the length in planning, production, and posting of the motion picture?
A- Well, the first draft of the filmscript was re-written in two weeks in August of 2002 trying to duplicate what was lost in that computer crash. Luckily, it seemed more humorous the second time around. The script went through 11 revisions all the way up to the shooting date which commenced on February 4th of 2003.
The film was financed in September of 2002 mainly by borrowing against shares owned in a privately held corporation, by some sympathetic partners. (THANKS!)
In October warehouse space was acquired where the film was shot and also served as the production office. Since the film was suppose to take place in a small independent film studio space, it was a natural. The space chosen was absolutely ideal and mirrored what was originally envisioned. It had to be an older warehouse, downtown Cleveland, with lots of character, large windows, and be two or three stories above the street level. The space was perfect for the storyline. Another warehouse space about 15 blocks away contained the larger sets and the outer space backdrop.
Production wrapped around March 10th and just a couple of reshoots occurred until June. The editor, Devon Collins, had been busy with the edit for close to five months. Unfortunately, this isn't the only project he could work on during that time, so the edit ran a few months longer than originally anticipated.
Q- Could you name some of the equipment, programs and film stock used for production?
A- Well, first the film was written on Final Draft which made the formatting a breeze. As far as production, to achieve the various looks of the film it was shot in many different formats.
The "Cleveland Exposed" television show which opens and closes the movie was shot 35mm on Vision200 Kodak 5274 filmstock on an Arri BL4S. To create the undercover documentary on the making of the movie, John Turk, the director of photography switched to DV-Cam using an Ikegami HL7VS with a 16/9 aspect ratio.
Several specialized adapter lenses were utilized including a probe lens for the picture-cam as well as Tiny Ferguson’s unique camera angles. Other variations on the hidden cameras included various lenses including a fisheye adapter for the video, & probe lenses for Ken's eyeglasses as well as the picturecam.
Since the movie within the movie "Martians from Venus" should have it's own unique look, an Arri SR2 super-sixteen camera was used with Fuji 500neg 16S stock which gave incredibly sharp resolution to the film. Almost too nice. We had to degrade the image somewhat in post to give it more of the "B" movie look. Even a Sony MiniDV camera was used for some insert shots. These included Eastside Tony’s surprise appearance, the Test Dummy close-up and the commercial on the monitor above the Galleria.
Q-What was the budget?
A-Well, it's hard to pin down, but it fell somewhere between $120,000,000 on the high end, and $6,493.85 on the low end. Next Question.
Q-What's your background in motion pictures?
A- My brother and I have been producing short comedy films on regular 8 and super 8 filmstock ever since the early sixties. As early as elementary school, I would turn the pages of the school books into flip books and would generally aggravate and/or amuse the teachers.
In college I attended The Rochester Institute of Technology which helped develop skills in photography, cinematography, art and communications. I switched Colleges in my third year after discovering the California Institute of the Arts and it's excellent film and animation programs.
Since leaving CalArts, I formed a small freelance film studio, AGES Productions which served to produce short animated films, Television commercials, industrial and educational short films. After finding it difficult to sustain a living doing this in Cleveland I closed the doors for a few months vowing to reopen them again once I was back on my feet. Eighteen years later, I did just that, and "Martians from Venus" was born.
Q- Could you tell us about overcoming any particular problems with the film shoot?
A- The biggest problem encountered was the weather on the exterior shoot days, and the warehouse of Eastside Tony's which was shot in a creepy old former nunnery, in Tremont, that preceded the Civil War. It was one of the strangest facilities encountered with bizarre corridors and rooms which have been added to and altered over the years. Unfortunately for the film, the breathes of the actors was apparent within the building but somehow justified by being the home of "Cavelli's Frozen Italian Meatballs" after all. The weather on the shoot day stood around 4 degrees and our few propane space heaters were no match for the bitter cold of the room. We were all praying for a warm winter to shoot the film, but were instead met with the most miserably long and cold winter on record.
Another problem was the lifting stage. The production designer added onto the original lifting stage which created a more interesting stage, but also several inherent problems. It was now structurally unsound for lifting! Richard Fike, the stunt coordinator is also an expert at building gimbaled rigged sets, and by welding a foundation below the stage, the shots turned out exceptionally well.
Q-Any amusing anecdotes you'd like to add?
A- The effects department managed to set off the smoke detectors in the building when the scene of the aftermath of the test explosion of the planet of Venus occurred. When the brigade of firefighters arrived I went down and told them there's nothing to worry about, everything is under control. Naturally, I was dressed and charred as if I just went through a tremendous explosion. Kaleal Pedizisai, the assistant director frantically tried to keep me out of sight of the not amused firefighters.
Q- What are the backgrounds of the lead actors?
A- Most of the performers are actors and actresses from around the Cleveland area. THE FUNNIEST PEOPLE IN AMERICA LIVE IN THIS AREA. You’ve got to have a sense of humor to live here. Eastside Tony, who is not a professional actor, seemed right for the part. He's semi-retired and can usually he can be found at a local pool hall. A few other main actors are from the local comedy troupe of Second City including George Caleodis who played the part of the Union Watchdog as well as Nate Cockerill in the role of Larry Mosh.
Q- Who do you think we should watch for in the future?
A- Three names come to mind. First and foremost is Allen Kellogg who will become the next Tom Hanks. His facial expressions and mannerisms are so incredibly humorous. Rufus Malone, who played the part of Lou the Janitor, is outstanding with his broad range of characters and voices, and let's not forget Antionette Brown, who stole the show with her over-the-top performance of Lakeesha Jones.
Q- What comes next?
A- Well, the concept and execution of "Martians from Venus" was so funny that it deserves a sequel, so I hope to immediately begin work in the Summer of ‘04 about the making of the World's worst horror movie in which a giant mutant Sea Lamprey attacks Lake Erie and the island of Put-In-Bay. The script has been completed and hopefully will be in production soon. There are parts for every character from "Martians from Venus" and the cast from the original movie is pumped to do it all again.
Q- A Sea Lamprey? What the heck is a Sea Lamprey?
A- Find out soon, in the “Martians from Venus” sequel, “JOWLS”.
Q- Any last words for aspiring filmmakers?
A- Now is an exciting time to make movies with the technology available at a greatly reduced cost than what was utilized twenty years ago. With the success of other independent filmmakers that have started with a small budget creating films which have generated enormous returns, distributors and theaters are giving way more credence to the capabilities of the independent producers. If you have the desire and drive to make a film, you will succeed. Don't shoot for the moon (Or Venus) for your first film, but just get it shot, and make it viewable. The best way to make a film viewable is to start with an interesting story. Great stories can negate the need for a recognized actor. Get the great story. Hire the best performers for the parts. Shoot it as well as possible and don't forget to film cut-aways and reaction shots. Capture clean audio. Edit it as short as necessary to tell the story and keep the action flowing. Treat your cast and crew with the utmost respect and feed them well. They deserve it! If you follow this advice, you WILL make your dreams come true!
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