Monday, September 21, 2009

Steve Guynn, From Hardcore Punk Rock to Indie Film and Theater Wizardry! A Modern Day Renaissance Man.




Sometimes life takes interesting routes, especially when it comes to individuals that pursue careers in the arts. For one such young man, the path began in the world of hardcore and punk rock music, before he embarked on a serious acting career that has entailed both stage and independent film.

Steve Guynn, of Lexington, Kentucky, is one of the more active individuals in his home region. When he isn't doing something like jumping out of planes (he is an active skydiver), he is working on projects, rehearsing, and honing his craft. A self-motivated individual, a necessity in the indie film world, Steve has actively toured in professional theater.

In today's IMM interview, we will be visiting with Steve Guynn as he takes us into his world, from his music roots, to stage and film (with his thoughts on the two mediums), and his plans for the future.

As intense as he was during his punk rock days towards his music, so is he towards his film and theater endeavors. Without a doubt, Steve Guynn is well on his way towards a successful acting and production career.
-Stephen Zimmer for Indie Movie Masters Blog, September 21st, 2009

SZ: You have a music, theater and film background. Let's briefly touch on your music career. Tell us about the bands you've been in.

SG: I played guitar and sang backing vocals in a hardcore band called Ungrateful. We played shows in Lexington, Louisville, Somerset, Berea and so on. We were banned from most places we played in Lexington including The Wrocklage and Alcoholics Anonymous. The Dame wouldn’t even let us in their doors. It was hard to find a venue or club we were in good standing with, though Rock Haven was one such a place, not too dirty, not too clean, just right like Baby Bear’s soup. We released an album worldwide in 1996 titled ‘Southside Lexington Hardcore’ on Sound Pollution Records. I played guitar and sang backing vocals for Retribution, though I am not the guitarist on their EP recording. Retribution, The Infected, Brassknuckle Boys and other ‘back in the day’ punk bands thank Steve Ungrateful in the thanks section of their record sleeve or cd insert. That’s me. This is strange to me because no one called me Steve Ungrateful to my face, most people on the street called me ‘Hardcore Steve’. I guess it is worth mentioning that I also played in several bands (one called Ghetto Blasters for example) that did not release any recordings. I experienced so many good and bad times during those years. The Lexington KY Punk Scene will always be a family to me.

SZ: Did your years as a touring and recording musician help in any way when you went full time into theater and acting?

SG: Yes definitely. I can always look back on all the fights (literally) and problems with the police and just know that my problems now aren’t really that bad. At least I’m not in jail for a victimless crime you know. All that I went through just to perform the music I love makes me realize that I enjoy performing for people and getting ideas out there. No matter what I am doing to put a roof over my head or food on my plate, if I am not performing, I feel like I am not contributing to the world.

SZ: What has your formal training been in terms of acting and theater?

SG: I graduated May 2007 with a BA in Theatre at the University of Kentucky. I worked full-time as a maintenance man at a private school while attending classes at UK. Russell Henderson taught me vocal production; Margo Buchanan was my acting instructor; I took a playwriting class with Herman Farrell III. It was a real honor studying under Herman Farrell III. He was the kind of professor that really cared about his students and would make time for them. That’s it for formal training. I strongly feel that every time I take a theatre contract or work on a film set I am perpetually learning about acting and the entertainment industry as a whole.

SZ: What were your experiences in professional theater like? (touring, acting multiple roles in children's theater, etc)

SG: Wow, experiences in professional theatre. My first professional theatre contract was with The Lost Colony, it was their 2006 season. I have mixed feelings about that place. It is an outdoor drama located on Roanoke Island. They housed us in these town homes at Morrison Grove, which is a beautiful place. They have their own beach there, so you can imagine how often I was drunk and naked. To sum it up, my summer 2006 consisted of acting, skydiving, surfing, fishing, drinking and some other things too. That part of it was great. Here’s the bad part. I was hired as an AT. This means actor/tech. I acted in the show and I loaded scenery in the stage left and stage right scene docks during scene changes. They had shipped in new scenery that year. Each piece of scenery weighed 1000 pounds; no I am not exaggerating. Only four of us AT’s at a time would fit on a ‘book piece’ as we called them due to the way they folded. That means 1000 pounds divided between four people, multiple times a night, Monday-Saturday, 74 performances that summer. This was probably the most laborious work I’ve ever done in my life.

I’ve done a few musicals. This was local work at the Actors Guild of Lexington and the Lexington Opera House. I played an ensemble member in The Music Man, this was performed Spring 2008 at the Lexington Opera House. I must say, for the finale we performed the song 76 Trombones; we had the Lexington Christian Academy Marching Band on stage, we had a chorus of 60 singers, and we had a pit orchestra, all performing the same song. I have now been part of an ensemble with a marching band and an orchestra. This was one of the greatest experiences of my life, thank you Ryan Shirar. I love musicals, although I am not the best singer or dancer.

Summer 2008 I did the show Tecumseh! in Chillicothe, Ohio. I can’t say enough good things about this place or this show. I played the lead bad guy, a character named Tompkins. A lot of stage combat in this show. I got to scalp Indians and cut off their chest skin and shoot them and stab them all summer. It was great. I was one mean dude you did not want to mess with. I want to make it clear that I do not hold any prejudice against Native Americans, I just like stage combat. Outdoor dramas are very important because they educate our youth and the general populace on American history. I have maid some life-long friends at outdoor dramas.

I worked with a children’s touring company Fall 2008 called Hampstead Stage Company. That was interesting. Some touring companies send teams of five, six or more out on the road. Some send two. That is Hampstead Stage Company. Since they only send two out, one man and one woman, both players have to play multiple roles. In the stage production of Prince Caspian I played Professor, Peter, Edmund, Trumpkin, Dr. Cornelius, King Miraz, Reepicheep and Aslan. In A Christmas Carol I played Fred, Ebenezer Scrooge and Solicitor. They send both shows out on the road. I played eleven different characters in two plays. Rehearsals drove me crazy. 11-12 hour days for a month straight. I was on ‘team standby’. This means my partner and I performed at a town hall in Barnstead, New Hampshire. We did not tour. It was very rewarding in the end to actually get these shows up and on their feet.

SZ: What do you find to be the biggest challenges or differences regarding film vs. theater acting?

SG: The challenges are very different and very much the same. In film a director wants to get an angle. In theatre a director wants to get a composition. A lot of hard work goes into both.

SZ: Do you tend to enjoy theater or film more as an actor? Is one more satisfying than the other?

SG: I get this question all the time. It’s a good question. Theatre and film are both magic to me. In a stage production, I love being in the same room as the people I’m telling the story to. In a film production, I love the relationship with the camera; it feels otherworldly. Both are my children. I love both.

SZ: You have worked with director Jerry Williams on more than one project. What were they, and what was it like working with Jerry? Did you need counseling after working on his projects?

SG: Jerry Williams is one of the most creative people I have ever worked with. Many people don’t know that Jerry has a MA in Creative Writing from Morehead State University, thus the references to myth and folktales in his scripts. In 2007 Jerry put me in Misadventures In Space as Captain Tiberius and his twin brother Jessup Tiberius. That was a blast, mostly improvised work. That same year I played a zombie in Zeppo: Sinners From Beyond The Moon! Goatboy Films recently finished production on Saucer Sex From Beyond. This piece showed at Fright Night Film Festival 2009. I play Captain RobRoy Tiberius in that. Jerry let me write a monologue for that character. This was a real privilege. It is not often in film or theatre that you get to write in your own part, especially when the writer/director has a concept for the part. I know how it is to write your own work, you do not want anyone else to change it because it is yours. Jerry relinquished that control and gave me a creative license with his work. That’s rare. Thank you Jerry Williams. I am also in several of his films that are as of yet unreleased. He’s going to kill me for posting links to them below. And yes, I am definitely going to need counseling.







SZ: What have you found to be the most frustrating elements of the indie film world?

SG: Poverty. It comes with the territory. Some think that if the independent film community had more support and more exposure then they wouldn’t be independent. I don’t know. I don’t have all the answers. I just know that I am Bum #1, you know, like Public Enemy #1, except with no money.

SZ: Conversely, what do you find most beneficial about the indie film world?

SG: A level of expression and creativity rarely found in other mediums. Most indie filmmakers are not afraid to be experimental. That takes courage and I respect that. Courage and sensibility are two qualities that distinguish a great director from a good director.

SZ: What are your career goals regarding both theater and film?

SG: I am going to continue acting on stage & film. That’s plan A. There are certain novels that, one day, someone is going to make into a stage and/or film production. When they do, I am going to be there. It will probably be in the United Kingdom. That is all I can disclose at this time.

SZ: Give us a list of your indie film credits to date.

SG The years here are during the production, not necessarily the same year as release.

2009 Saucer Sex From Beyond Captain RobRoy Tiberius Goatboy Films

2007 Misadventures In Space Captain Tiberius, Jessup Tiberius Goatboy Films

2007 Zeppo: Sinners From Beyond The Moon! Zombie Goatboy Films

2006 The Edison Death Machine Rex the EMT Zombie Planet Productions

2005 Sirens Bobby the Manager Ever After Media/ Cineline Productions

2004 Promise Bank Robber It Doesn’t Matter! Productions

2004 Theatre Live Today Famous Guest Cindy Yu

2004 Know Your Chronic Masturbator Robbie Optimal Riviera Productions

SZ: How can people find some of your work or you on the internet? (websites, any Facebook or MySpace pages, etc)

SG: Here are some links………….

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=63331862

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=63332047

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=63332092

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=63332241

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=63332407

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=63332507

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Indie Movie Masters Podcast Episode #4 featuring Jerry Williams of Goatboy Films

Indie Movie Masters Podcast Episode #4 is now up, and it's a special one! This one features Jerry Williams of Goatboy Films, the mastermind behind works such as Zeppo, Misadventures in Outer Space, Soul Robbers, Purvos, and the new Saucer Sex from Beyond.

This interview ran a little longer than usual, and the total show is a bit longer at about 45 minutes, but it is definitely entertaining! Leave a comment and let us know what you think of Jerry Williams!

(the chant from the crowd begins..."Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!")...

Click here to listen to the podcast or download!

You can also subscribe to the new podcast series as an RSS feed here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/IndieMovieMasters

Click here to get the episode via iTunes!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Mark Racop on the Launch Pad for Starship II


Today's interview takes us to the fine state of Indiana, where director/producer/writer Mark Racop and the MagicHouse Productions team is based.

A full production house with a studio facility, MagicHouse Productions is readying an exciting new science fiction movie, Starship II. The film features an extraordinary amount of special effects elements, and returns many fan favorites from the first Starship film (titled Rock N Roll Starship).

For the indie film world, Mark Racop and MagicHouse Productions represents an intelligent approach to developing films and a production company. Mark has spearheaded a methodical path that has built a solid foundation for current and future projects, one that draws upon previous projects and has established an in-house production infrastructure. This approach enables growth in each progressive project, something demonstrated strongly in Starship II with its arsenal of special effects and increased production value.

The buzz has been building for Starship II at conventions across the country, and is well on the way to becoming a growing indie movie franchise. Working with an array of talented individuals in Indiana such as Jeff Ello (the mastermind behind the CGI) and Chuck Budreau (sound and music wizard who is also with Indy Film News, a networking and resource site for Indiana Filmmakers), Mark has worked to establish the nucleus of an outstanding independent movie team.

Mark Racop is a filmmaker to watch, and MagicHouse Productions is definitely on the indie movie map. Watch out for Starship II in the very near future, and hop on board a great new indie movie series!
-by Stephen Zimmer, for Indie Movie Masters, September 6, 2009

SZ: What is your background in terms of filmmaking/production?

MR: The filmmaking bug bit me at an early age. My father John remembers that I was interested in making movies even at the age of two, always asking, "How do they DO that?" Dad could only answer, "Trick photography." So while other children were reading short stories, I was busy reading–check that–studying Stephen Whitfield’s "The Making of Star Trek."

My filmmaking life was changed permanently when "Star Wars: A New Hope" was released when I was twelve-years-old. I knew from the first scene of that movie that I HAD to make movies. I voraciously read everything I could about movie making. As a huge1966 Batman fan, it was no surprise to my friends that I decided to make Batman the focus of my movies while learning my craft.

I collected a rag tag group of misfits from Logansport High School–and I'm quick to add myself to the list of rag tag misfits–to make my first movie in 1980, a 60 minute short film. We didn’t have a clue what we were doing when we started, but we figured things out pretty quickly. Shot on Super 8 movie film, and edited by hand with a Kmart splicer, it truly was a labor of love. It lacked big time, but as a first film, it was rather ambitious–there were several fight scenes, and the movie was made at many locations throughout Logansport, including the vault of the First National Bank. Logansport Mayor Jone Wilson even played a cameo in the film. The movie was rough, but well-received, and won some awards in high school.

Bolstered by the completion of my first effort, the following summer I made a second Batman film, a 30 minute short. The titles, fight scenes, and editing were much more sophisticated, and I was learning from my mistakes. Mayor Jone Wilson again made herself available for a cameo. And again, I received some awards.

There was little doubt that I would be going to college, and there was even less doubt that filmmaking would be the major. Majoring in telecommunications with a film emphasis at Ball State, I worked on several short films for classes, and networked with students that shared my passion for filmmaking. It didn’t take long for students to figure out that I was very serious about making movies. I was the only one that owned my own equipment.

Even though I was ahead of my class, I still had a lot to learn. Before diving into professional filmmaking I knew I needed to learn more about lighting, sound, editing, and overall pacing. My third and final Batman film was entered in the David Letterman Scholarship Contest at Ball State, and won a $3,500 award. Logansport Mayor John Davis played a cameo this time. This film was certainly different than my previous two. Acting, sound effects, and lighting improved tremendously. I built sets for the first time, which provided for better camera angles. And the ultimate prop was added–the Batmobile. Built by five seventeen-year-olds, we transformed a 1974 Monte Carlo into the world-famous Batmobile and used it in my very first car chase.

The David Letterman Scholarship award opened a lot of doors. It gave me credibility to deal with people in Hollywood as well as local investors. Without the scholarship, I don't think I would have made it on the set of my "big break," a terrible action/terrorist movie called "Terror Squad," made in Kokomo, Indiana, in1986. The final film was horrible, but I learned so much from being on a professional set. As the head production assistant, I learned the ins and outs of just every single department. I helped the camera and grip departments lug equipment, helped stuntmen with prepping cars for stunts, built a storefront for an explosion, landed product placement for clothing for the movie’s star, Chuck Connors, and I ferried film from the airport to the editor. I learned about special effects makeup, safety requirements for explosions and bullet hits, and how the same shots can be accomplished with different camera techniques–and how to choose the best one.

I was invited to Hollywood by some of the crew from "Terror Squad," so my friend Jeff Johnson and I departed in a 1976 Dodge Colt with stars in our eyes. 41 hours later, we arrived in the usually sunny state to find that we had somehow brought snow with us. Yep, that’s right--for the first time in ten years, Los Angeles experienced snow! I spent time on several movie sets and at camera stores, and talked with professionals in the business to learn what it really takes to make it in the business. I also learned that I didn’t want to live in LA. It just wasn’t right for me.



SZ: When was MagicHouse Productions formed, and what was your mission with the company when it began?

MR: I formed MagicHouse Productions in 1987 and raised money to shoot my first professional movie, the ultra-low budget spoof, "Rock N Roll Starship." The up-front budget was $5,000, and the final cost of the film was $25,000. Dark Star and Hardware Wars were major inspirations as we put the movie together. The movie featured cheesy sets, cheesy dialogue, and cheesy acting–but it was all part of the plan.

SZ: As independent production companies often need to pay the bills while developing a feature film project, what kind of production work do you engage in outside of your film endeavors?

MR: I shoot documentaries, commercials, promotional videos, music videos, and even legal depositions to keep the lights on.

SZ: Give us a little history leading up to the production of Starship II, in terms of when the first film was produced, the response to it, and when you made a decision to do a sequel (and when you began pre-production on it).

MR: "Rock n Roll Starship" has played well to science fiction audiences across the Mid-west. I am truly amazed at our fan following. While we never received national distribution, we have self-distributed over 1,500 copies on tape and DVD, from Georgia to Minneapolis.

I am my toughest critic, and I am really tough on the film, but it is nice to see a crowd of 400 people rolling in the aisles with laughter. It helps remind me that it was worth all of the hard work.

While we were shooting Starship 1, we joked about the possibility of a sequel, and the ideas that could be incorporated into it. While everyone else went to sleep, I was writing down hundreds of tiny notes on scrap paper, napkins, placemats--anything I could get my hands on.

People everywhere demanded the sequel. The beautiful Leslie Culton is one of our biggest fans. It was really weird. She met us at a con, quoting dialogue from Starship! And then all of the planets aligned to allow us to make the sequel. I lost my job as a manager of a movie theater--and it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Chuck Budreau and I took those hundreds of scrap notes and used them as an outline to create the script for "Starship II." We finished the first draft in three weeks, and did a script readthrough at the 1998 Inconjunction science fiction convention. Actors that had moved to New York and Ohio moved back to Indiana. At a chance meeting in a movie theater in Lafayette, watching the end credits of "Phantom Menace," I found our special effects team.

SZ: For those that may not have seen the first Starship film, catch us up to speed on events pertaining to the beginning of the story in Starship II, as well as a little about the plot of the new movie.

MR: Because "Starship II" involves time travel, it is both a sequel and a prequel--making it a sprequel. Bob, Doug, and Jorge are well-known throughout the galaxy as the ones that blew up the Ramses Colony. In a freak accident, they accidentally go back in time to right before the blew up the colony. They now have the opportunity to stop themselves from blowing up the colony, and clearing their names...but you know how changing things in the past in a time travel has a way of screwing things up in the future, right? Bob, Doug, and Jorge discover that they have to go back in time to stop themselves from stopping themselves, or the entire universe will be taken over by robots!

SZ: What cast members returned from the first film for the 2nd? Who are some of the key new additions?

MR: Rob Hinkle, Michael Allen Williams, and Logan Michaels reprise their original roles of Bob, Doug, and Jorge. Christopher Tracy returns for a cameo as the evil golden android Zake, and Robert Hubbard reprises his role as Leiutenant Ed.

Scream queen Leslie Culton joins the cast as the female lead, Captain Jane Wey, and we were fortunate enough to land John Astin (Gomez from The Addams Family, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes 2) as Professor Peabody. Babylon 5 alumni Jason Carter and the late Richard Biggs play Commander Deckins and Sergeant Franklin. And to finish off the cast, we hired Richard Hatch (Battlestar Galactica) to play cloned news reporters John Alpha and John Beta.

SZ: Highlight a few key members of your production group involved with
Starship II.


MR: Three people made a significant difference from the first film to the second--Jeff Ello, director of photography and also the post production special effects supervisor; Greg Fauvergue, set designer and builder; and key grip Eric Ridge, who provided camera booms, dolly track, and other great toys for me to play with.


Jeff Ello



Greg Fauvergue



Eric Ridge


SZ: What lessons did you learn out of the process of the first film that you have applied to help improve the process of making the 2nd?

MR: I am always learning from my successes and failures, and I knew that we had to overcome the shortcomings from the first film. We shot the first movie on film, and the cost was astronomical for negative and developing and transferring to video. The sets were built from white beaded styrofoam. We built the lights from foamcore and hung them from the rafters with twine. Even minor setups sometimes took an hour. We did the special effects on the Amiga Videotoaster.

The sequel had to have better sets. It had to have exteriors, and it had to have a much larger cast. We shot on miniDV with Canon XL1s and GL1s. We had professional lighting. The sets were made from plywood. Camera setups took minutes instead of hours. "Starship 2" was a radical step up from the original film, featuring a much more sophisticated script, great sets, great special effects, and most importantly, some great actors from Hollywood. The up-front budget for Starship II was $50,000, and the final budget is coming in around $100,000.

SZ: How has having a studio facility helped the process in Starship II? What has it enabled that would have otherwise been too surmounting to attempt otherwise?

MR: We bought the 8,300 square foot building a few years after we wrapped Starship II, but the studio has changed our filmmaking forever. We have shot five movies, two shorts, and several commercials at our facilities. It has allowed us to build sets and leave them standing much longer than borrowed warehouses. I hate to shoot in interior locations any more because the studio is so much more controllable. From electrical to makeup to office space and our kitchenette, everything is right here.

SZ: Your team is tackling an extraordinary amount of effect shots for a film, whether independent or not. Tell us about the number of FX shots estimated in Starship II and some of the challenges you have faced in this area of the production.


MR: Ugh! Yes, Starship II has an exceptional number of effects, that's for sure! At last count, there are over 800 visual effects shots. I made the mistake of allowing the FX guys on set. They got me so excited that we added 100 visual effect shots that weren't in the script! Raising the money to make the movie was a snap. Finding competent special effects artists that can generate usable material to assist Jeff Ello has been nearly impossible. With the exception of Staffon Norling and Ian Strandberg, he has had to scrap or completely redo almost every single effect that was delivered to him.





SZ: Do you have an estimate as to when Starship II will be finished?

MR: Jeff Ello has passed the most difficult portions of the effects work, so we expect completion "around the end of the year." In the meantime, I have worked on five more movies, and one that I co-produced, A Time For the Heart, was premiered at the Imax theater in Indianapolis this past spring to a sell out crowd. I am also in preproduction on three more films, so there is never a dull moment around here.

SZ: When finished, what kind of path are you looking to take Starship II on?(festival circuits? Distribution goals? Etc.)

MR: A successful film producer in Hollywood happens to be the cousin of my primary investor, and we expect that he will be able to point us in the right direction when he sees the completed movie. We are planning a limited theatrical run, and hoping for Sci Fi Channel or Lions Gate to pick us up. Festivals and science fiction conventions are definitely part of the future for Starship II, I'm sure.

SZ: Are there plans already for a Starship III?

MR: Absolutely! Starship II ends with a cliffhanger, so we are compelled to make a Starship III to wrap up the mystery. The script is halfway completed. And Jeff Ello has said that he didn't spend the past several years of his life making special effects for just one movie. With 90% of the effects work already done, the next movie will go much faster in post this time!

SZ: Give us some links for folks to use to find out more and connect with MagicHouse Productions and Starship II online.

MR: You can find Starship II online at: www.starship2.com, and MagicHouse Productions at www.magich.com.


(Starship II Trailer)