Post by BIGFANBOY on Nov 12, 2009 8:56:20 GMT -5
Writer/director Michael Stokes on THE BEACON
By Gary Dean Murray
[/color]By Gary Dean Murray
Michael Stokes is making movies the old fashioned way, independent. Through Sabbatical Pictures, he with his partner Sally Helppie have crafted The Beacon a supernatural thriller that recently won two prises as the Paranoia Film Festival. The film was made in the Waxahachie Texas area and stars Teri Polo (Meet the Parents and The West Wing) David Rees Snell (The Shield) Elaine Hendrix (The Parent Trap and Romy and Michele's High School Reunion) Michael Ironside (Top Gun and Scanners)and Ken Howard (The White Shadow and Grey Gardens).
Michael who was in charge of the ghostly goings-on in The Beacon is also a Humanitas Prize-winning screenwriter. The company that he and Sally Helppie helm, Sabbatical Pictures had a 2008 release with Exit Speed, a Dallas based action film where a group of passengers have to battle an addicted biker gang in an abandoned junk yard. Exit Speed starred Lea Thompson and Fred Ward. The film was released to different theaters in the Dallas area, doing brisk business before the DVD release.
We recently had an Internet chat...
How did you come up with the idea for the story ofThe Beacon?
I love the horror genre and first played with the idea of writing a ghost story back when those so-called "ironic" fright flicks were all the rage. I hated the "we're too cool to be scared" stories that appeared after Scream was a hit. I wanted to write something that was smart rather than just clever; atmospheric rather than stylized. I wanted to write something scary. Around the same time, I had become fascinated with how certain emotions -- loss, grief, pain, guilt -- act very much the way we imagine ghosts do. I began to wonder how being haunted by emotions might make a person susceptible to other kinds of hauntings.
This is your second feature with Sabbatical . How was this time different from Exit Speed?
The Beacon is actually my eleventh produced feature screenplay and my directorial debut. Exit Speed was the first I shot in Texas. Being able to shepherd The Beacon from the writing of "Fade In" to watching the final fade out in a theater was an absolute thrill.
What were the lessons you learned from Exit Speed that you applied to The Beacon?
Exit Speed was a juggernaut. We had motorcycles, a crashing bus, a large primary cast, a main location -- an abandoned junkyard -- built from scratch (by our brilliant production designer, Eric Whitney). Add to this terrible weather, mud, man-eating mosquitoes and you begin to see some of the things I didn't want to repeat on The Beacon.
Luckily, ghost stories, by their very nature, are more contained. More personal. They're about that slithery sound you hear behind you when you're alone.
We found the Rogers Hotel in Waxahachie. It was the perfect double for the Beacon Apartments. Producer Sally Helppie and Production Accountant Jayne Royall booked out three floors. Aside from using it as our main set, we put up the actors and some of the crew there, installed our production offices plus the hair, make-up, and wardrobe departments. The actors came to rehearsal in their pajamas then went off to get ready while the crew set lights and positioned the camera.
As an added bonus, the Rogers has a reputation for being haunted. Shooting a haunted house movie in a haunted hotel was great fun.
What was the biggest differences between making an action film as compared to a supernatural thriller?
Exit Speed was designed to be a rocket ride. The main conflict is introduced about twelve minutes into the movie and from that point on the action roars along. People run, scream, shoot, die. Things blow up. Hopefully, you're sitting on the edge of your seat. The Beacon was designed to make you scrunch back into your seat. We worked hard to create a sense of dread. Instead of being a rocket ride, the movie is like crawling into bed alone and feeling a clammy hand touch your ankle. At least until the last fifteen minutes. Then it comes at you roaring.
What was your favorite moment from the production?
That's a tough one to narrow down. Certainly working with Michal Ironside, who is a long time friend of mine -- he optioned my first screenplay years ago -- was one. Then, early on, we were shooting a scene between our leads Teri Polo and David Rees Snell. In the scene, their characters are sitting on a couch late at night, discussing the loss of their child and Teri's character breaks down. The performances were just riveting. You could feel the energy in the room. That was a real high point for me.
How was the first day of shooting on the second film as compared to the first one?
The first shot of Exit Speed took place in a small motel room. There was no room for anyone but the necessary crew members. I stood outside with the grip equipment and listened to the director, Scott Ziehl, call "Action!"
The first shot of The Beacon took place in a large hotel room we had converted into an apartment kitchen. Everyone was suddenly looking at me, waiting to hear me call "Action!" It was exhilarating... and terrifying. I remember thinking "Just keep your tone matter-of-fact". Right afterward, the script supervisor, Eve Butterly, showed me the time she had logged in the first shot of our first day of my first directing gig... and then, just like that, we were on to the next take, the next set-up, the next scene.
What was emotionally the hardest part of this film to make?
Teri Polo gives an amazing performance in this film. There are scenes in which her character is just shattered. It was very hard for me to watch her put herself out there... and then go and ask her for a second take... and then a third. A part of me felt like I was being abusive. But Teri was pro. She'd finished the scene and everyone on set would stay hushed. I'd call "cut" and "moving on"... and then Teri would zing some crew member with a funny line and the whole room would crack up.
What was physically the hardest part of this film to make?
I'm surprised any director of an independent film gets a chance to sleep. We would shoot all day or all night, depending on the schedule, and then I might have meetings with the actors or department keys or the producer to review the day and discuss the next. After that I'd get together with the director of photography, the incomparable Don Reddy, to watch dailies. I'd leave him and go to work composing my shot list for the next day. If there were no emergencies, I'd tumble into bed for a couple of hours then get up and walk through the day's location with my shot list before meeting Don for breakfast to discuss it all. Then it was more meetings with actors and keys, rehearsals, set-up and we were shooting again. After a couple of days of that, Don Miller -- who provided our craft services – became practically psychic in his ability to deliver a fresh cup of coffee to me at precisely the right moment.
Funny thing was, when I woke up in the morning, I couldn't wait to get back at it again. For independent filmmakers there is a fine line between masochism and love.
Exit Speed got a large opening in Dallas and played for a few weeks at different area theaters. What are your feelings about the reaction to this film when you first saw it on the big screen with a paying audience?
Nothing compares to seeing your movie with a paying audience. Cast and crew screenings are always fun but they're like high school reunions. Everyone is excited and nervous and you share favorite moments and inside jokes. A paying audience doesn't know -- and doesn't care -- how tough a particular shot was to get or how much it rained. They experience the movie the way it is meant to be. It's a joy when you hear them jump or laugh or scream or cheer.
Both Exit Speed and The Beacon have been very well received by audiences. Both have a scene in which something shocking happens to a character you've come to like. Hearing the audience gasp at those moments is an odd kind of high. You know they're right there, in the story, with your characters.
This film won two awards at the 2009 Paranoia Film Festival. How did you take the accolades of winning awards with just your second feature out of the gate?
Winning awards is always exciting. I won a Humanitas Prize for my animation work which was a real honor. The Beacon took Best Feature and Best Lead Actress at the Paranoia Festival. And we actually chalked up another win just recently. Sally Helppie was awarded the Best Producer prize at the 2009 La Femme Film Festival in Los Angeles. Getting that kind of recognition is always a trip. Ultimately, though, the best prize is hearing the audience respond.
How close is this finished product from the one you imagined?
That's tough to say. I can't imagine The Beacon being anything different from what it ended up being. We went to camera with pretty much a first draft and only cut a couple of small scenes during editing. The story is almost entirely intact. But it's impossible for me to think of that story set anywhere but the Rogers Hotel or the characters fleshed out and given nuance by anyone but our actors.
What is more satisfying, the imagination driven aspects of writing or the physical aspects of being a producer?
For me the creative aspects are by far the most satisfying. As a writer, I get to create worlds and fill them full of characters. As a director on The Beacon, I got to see one of those worlds fully realized in collaboration with some truly gifted artists both in front and behind the camera. I think I have the best job in the world.
What advice would you give young filmmakers?
Whatever part of the film-making industry interests you -- writing, directing, producing, editing, catering -- do it! If you're a writer, write a feature script. Make it as perfect as you can. If you have the means and the connections to send it out, do so. If not, put it on a shelf. In either case, start a second script immediately. Make that one perfect and then start a third and so on. If you want to produce or direct, get your hands on a camera and shoot something. The technology has never been more friendly and, with the Internet, distribution in one form or another is available. You can be your own apprenticeship program. There is no excuse not to anymore.
What are you working on now?
Currently, I'm the story editor and head writer on the children's animated series, BABAR. I've gone from eerie to elephants: how is that for a double life? The show is based on the classic picture books about the King of the Elephants. I was hired to develop the series and create a bunch of new characters. We've been turning out some great stories and the animation is breathtaking.
I also have two feature scripts under option in Los Angeles. One is a detective thriller set in post-Katrina New Orleans. The other is a vampire script that restores the bloodsuckers to their true place at the top of the food chain. No angst-ridden toothy teenagers here. My vampires are pure predators forced to go up against a kick ass team of mercenaries. Carnage ensues.
Check out more about THE BEACON here - www.sabbaticalpictures.com/beacon.html
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