A.S.O.H. - Can you start out by just telling us a little about your new film, Beacon Point, for those who haven’t seen the Kickstarter page or movie trailer yet?
BLUE - Beacon Point is a feature length horror/thriller about a group of hikers who get lost while hiking the Appalachian Trail and stumble across a disturbing secret that threatens their survival. It's a scary movie filled with twists and turns. It's a fun ride.
A.S.O.H. - How did you and your team come to make Beacon Point? You mentioned on your Kickstarter page that this is your first feature film. Was it a difficult journey?
BLUE - Beacon Point has really been a work in progress for over 12 years. Not this story, or screenplay per say, but the overall dream of writing and directing a feature film. It's something I've been able to stay laser focused on over the years, always working in some way to get closer to my goal. I wrote Beacon Point because I wanted to do a horror/thriller type movie that could be shot in the woods with a small group of characters. This fit into our budget, and the woods can be a very scary, and interesting place. Every aspect of the movie, from the writing, fundraising, production, and post production has had its challenges, it's definitely not easy, but it is very rewarding and I love it. We began shooting in June 2013 and we are presently finishing up post production hoping for the movie to be completed by the end of summer 2014. See the link to our Kickstarter video below for more information on what we're doing.
A.S.O.H. - Already--just from watching the movie trailer--it is apparent that you have a very impressive and professional style for Beacon Point. What sort of techniques did you use to create such an exciting and high quality presentation for your film?
BLUE - Thank you, I'm glad you like the style of the movie. We've put a lot of thought and effort into how the movie would look and feel. After all, it's a movie! We began by doing a lot of conceptual work, from looking at drawings, other movies, doing location scouts, and really talking about the story and the characters to get a sense of how Beacon Point should look. Once we had a good idea of what we wanted, we did conceptual drawings and even shot a test video of key scenes. On set we used steadicam rigs, a copter camera drone and an underwater camera to really build a sense of style and remoteness. One of the biggest benefits I've had is having a great team to work with. Scott Salamon, Matt Ackerman, Traci Carroll, my wife Karen, Monica Garcia-Salamon, Jim McKinney and the list goes on and on. It is critical to have other people you trust to create the best movie you can. I couldn't have done this without my amazing team!
A.S.O.H. - What were some of your inspirations (movies, books, etc.) when writing and directing the film?
BLUE - I'm a huge fan of Kubrick, Scorsese and the Coen Bros, thought there are tons of directors and movies I admire. I like movies that make me think and don't give me all of the answers. Most of all, I always try to create a movie that is fun and entertaining, and that I'd want to watch.
A.S.O.H. - Horror movies are considered by some to be a dime a dozen in the world of modern cinema, especially in the independent film industry. What about Beacon Point sets it ahead of the others?
BLUE - One of the cool things about Beacon Point is that it breaks a lot of the clichés that many horror movies seem to embrace. When Traci Carroll and I wrote the story, we wanted to stray from the same tired story elements that seem to pop up so often. For example, our protagonist, or hero, is a woman. Alien was one of the first horror movies to do this, and even today, you don't see female hero's that much in horror movies. Mostly in horror, women play the damsel in distress and the men typically are the heroes. We also really focused on building depth to our characters and an engaging story. Horror movies are notorious for shallow or cardboard characters. We really wanted the audience to care about the people in the story.
A.S.O.H. - Why did you choose horror for your preferred genre for this film? Do you usually pick horror when writing and/or directing?
BLUE - I've done a musical, a thriller, a drama and comedies over the years. I like all genres. I've never done a horror movie. It's a genre I love, and I really wanted to shoot a movie that would grab the audience, scare them, and be a fantastic journey. Horror seemed perfect. Also, horror is a great genre for the Indie film maker. There is a huge audience, they can be really entertaining, and you can effectively produce a quality movie on a smaller budget than say an action movie.
A.S.O.H. - Modern horror cinema often tries to push the bar with violence and gore. How do you feel about violence in horror films? Do you prefer it when the violence is shown in full detail on screen or do you think it is cinematically and dramatically more effective to cut away and let the audience imagine it for themselves?
BLUE - I am not opposed to violence or gore in movies. Lots of directors use these elements effectively. However, having lots of violence and gore, just for shock value, doesn't do much for me. I don't think gore alone is scary. It's gross, or shocking, but not necessarily scary by itself. My goal with Beacon Point was to make a movie that is really scary, and suspenseful. I used violence and gore to compliment the suspense and scares in Beacon Point, but I never relied on violence or gore to be the scare. Also, for me, things that you don't see, can often be much scarier than things you do see. Suspense and scares that are manifested in the audience's mind, not just visually, are always more impactful in my opinion.
A.S.O.H. - What are some of your favorite horror films/directors? Do you borrow any elements from them?
BLUE - I borrow a lot of elements from movies and directors I love. I spend a good bit of time watching, and researching movies before I shoot. I'm not going to name any specifics because I don't want to spoil any of the fun or surprises, but you may spot a couple influences. I never want to copy a movie or director, instead I try to use their work as inspiration. I want to make my movie my own. Also, story and performance are important elements I look at when getting inspiration.
A.S.O.H. - Lastly, is there anything else you would like to tell fans and readers about your upcoming film Beacon Point?
BLUE - It has been so exciting to hear all of the positive feedback people have been sharing with us about Beacon Point. The trailer has been getting a lot of attention and praise from horror fans and I'm getting emails all the time asking when the movie will be released. We are working hard to finish the movie and hope to have it completed by Summer 2014. We are raising a few more funds to really take the movie to the next level. We have a cool behind the scenes video on our Kickstarter page. Check it out!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1603025734/beacon-point-feature-film-final-finishing-funds-ne
We are really excited about Beacon Point and can't wait for the world to see what an amazing movie we have created. It's going to be fun!