DJ Dodd is a Philadelphia-based producer of over 20 feature films and has also produced and developed television content for many major cable networks including Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Food Network, Travel Channel, Nat Geo, History Channel, and Bloomberg, among others. In this wide-ranging conversation, we get into DJ's backstory, his mentorship relationship with David Foster, his approach to casting major celebrities, and insights on how he's able to manage such an enormous amount of projects. Tons of insights here, DJ really is a guy who walks the walk as far as Producing and hustling, and I was super inspired speaking with him and think you will be as well. Without further ado, here is DJ Dodd. Here are some key takeaways from this interview. Overshoot with casting. When casting a movie, DJ always aims for the moon and attempts to cast actors way outside of the project's league. Though he doesn't always get them, sometimes he does. For this reason, DJ prefers to avoid casting directors, citing that many of them are too cautious and "realistic." DJ has no problem reaching out to megawatt celebrities himself and, as a result, has had many pleasant surprises leading him to have worked with a number of major actors, including Ethan Hawke, John Cusack, John Malkovich, David Spade, Emile Hirsch, Jessica Lange, Shirley MacLaine, Demi Moore, Bruce Dern, James Earl Jones, Sharon Stone, Jeremy Piven, Courteney Cox, Christina Ricci, Mira Sorvino, Selma Blair, Taye Diggs, and George Lopez to name a few. PS, if you are looking for a casting agent who's not afraid to shoot for the moon with you, reach out to David Guglielmo at Blood Oath - that's David Guglielmo. Producers solve problems. A lot of people asks what a Producer does, and in addition to the myriad of responsibilities, they basically oversee the big picture of the project and bring the many pieces together while ensuring everything moves forward on time and on budget. All of that, AND they solve problems. DJ tells many stories about how Producers need to be the ones who solve problems as they arise on set. This ability to think on your feet is critical to producing as problems will inevitably arise on set, and you'll need a sense of cunning ingenuity to solve and push through them. For more on this, check out the life stories of both Jerry Weintraub and Shep Gordon. Both of these guys have wonderful documentaries about them and autobiographies - I recommend reading and watching both as they're masterclasses in producing. I actually had Shep Gordon on this show and highly recommend that episode. Don’t wait to be discovered - bang on doors. A lot of would-be producers and filmmakers wait to be discovered - this is waiting in vain. At the beginning of his career, DJ spent all of his free time hustling, from cold emailing producers, packaging hypothetical projects, building his network, and pitching his ass off, all the time. The game of numbers ultimately worked in his favor, and he got his foot in the door, and after fortifying his mettle on movie after movie, he has since Produced over 20 projects all because he never stopped seeking out and actively pushing opportunities forward. Had he waited to be discovered, he'd still be waiting. Thank you for listening! Don't forget to subscribe. ----- Produced by Simpler Media
Randall Okita is a Japanese Canadian director and artist. His latest movie is the new IFC Midnight thriller, See for Me. See for Me is about a young blind woman, house-sitting at a secluded mansion, who finds herself under invasion by thieves seeking a hidden safe. Her only means of defense is a new app called “See For Me” that connects her to a volunteer across the country who helps her survive by seeing on her behalf through her phone. See for Me is now available on-demand and super entertaining, beautifully directed, and of the many fantastic performances, features one of my personal favorite actors of all time, Kim Coates. Really enjoyed this interview with Randall; we got into the making of See for Me, his director origin story, and as always, his advice for aspiring filmmakers. Now without further ado, here is See for Me Director, Randall Okita. Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Randall. Communicate with Music. One of the ways that Randall is able to articulate the tone and trajectory of specific scenes is by selecting songs and pieces of music indicative of what he has in his head. So many elements of cinema are nuanced to the point where they're hard to communicate with words. Sometimes you need another medium to convey the intangible details of your vision and music can be a great tool for this because it evokes very specific feelings. Randall uses music during the planning, filming, and editing of his movies and even plays certain tracks for actors to inform their performances. Find people at the right time. Randall is one of those directors who were able to get extremely high production value and excellent performances from a relatively low budget. Randall cites that a key to doing this well is finding people at certain moments in their career when they're in a position to extend themselves. This is a matter of finding people at JUST THE RIGHT MOMENT when their career is about to take off when your project can offer them a stepping stone to get to where they want to be. This is a great way to give people killer opportunities while also increasing the production value of your own film on a budget. Part of this is hiring people based on ability as opposed to experience, and it definitely has its risks, but when it works, it can be a great exchange. Cast relevantly. The protagonist of See for Me is a young blind woman, and Randall made sure that he cast someone who was actually visually impaired to play the role - this choice made all the difference. Even though it's a hot topic, casting for relevance isn't necessarily even a matter of social good as much as it's a means to bring real authenticity to your performances and, therefore, deeper realism to your movie. As a result of personal experience with becoming blind in adulthood, lead actor Skyler Davenport brought a level of reality to the role and was able to channel actual experiences. This extended beyond the performance and into many other choices made on the film that were directly informed by Skyler's true-life experience, all of which served the movie's realism. Thanks as always for listening, don't forget to subscribe. ----- Produced by Simpler Media
Jim Cummings is an American actor and filmmaker. He started his career in 2016 with the short film Thunder Road, which he extended into a 2018 feature film of the same name. You probably know him best for The Wolf of Snow Hollow, which he wrote, directed, and starred in. Wolf of Snow Hollow was one of my favorite films of 2020 and was the last performance of the dearly departed Robert Forster. Jim's latest movie is The Beta Test, a dark comedy thriller about a hapless young man who unwillingly makes a sex pact and is thrown into a dark underworld of intrigue. Beta Test is super intriguing and surprisingly funny. Jim carries the entire movie hilariously, no pun intended, reminds me of a young Jim Carrey. He's a super interesting recent addition to the horror world, and I can't wait to see what he does next. Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Jim Cummings. Keep hustling. Jim wrote his first film, the short for THUNDER ROAD, on the commute to his job, and it got into Sundance and won. A lot of would-be filmmakers somehow feel the need to do something extreme, like quit their job before they give themselves the permission and validation to embark on their movie-making career. This isn't always viable or sustainable, and there are many cases of filmmakers with day jobs who get their first movies made while they're doing something else, and that's ok. What matters is that you're consistently pursuing it. There's a metaphor about two trains, where you're on one train that represents your current job, and adjacent to you is the train that you'd rather be on, representing your real passion. The more fuel you shovel into that other train, the faster it will catch up to the train you're on, and once it does, you'll know when to jump. Number 2, a natural extension after number 1, even when you get signed, still, KEEP HUSTLING! After Jim's short won at Sundance, he got signed at the very prestigious agency WME - it seemed he had arrived, but after doing a waterbottle tour all over Hollywood, talking to many producers and studios, he had no offers. Unfortunately, this is the rule and not the exception for many directors who are signed, even to major agencies - you can enter a desert and waste years at a time just sitting on your hands waiting for your agency to bring you something. I've heard of this happening to more filmmakers than I'd care to admit. Once you're signed, it's critical that you keep that indie spirit going and get your projects made. Typically agencies make a cut of the total budget of a project, so they're usually less interested in pursuing smaller budgeted indies; that's ok; you don't always need them. Despite being signed with WME, Jim bootstrapped, kickstarted, and then equity-funded his first feature, cobbling together about $200k. Only after making that movie did Hollywood really come knocking, and he was able to make Wolf of Snow Hollow for a couple million dollars. The lesson here is to never rest on your laurels and to keep pushing your movies forward with or without your agency. Find a way to pre-visualize pre-experience the tone and trajectory of your movie. Jim and his writing partner PJ do a fascinating thing with their scripts prior to shooting - they will perform the entire script, record it, score it then listen to it to see where the lulls are and what could be better. This is pretty brilliant as a way to kick the tires on your own material because sometimes you need to hear the material performed, or even perform it yourself, to know what it needs to work. Sometimes he'll rent a cabin with his friends and make an event out of it. When you're deep in the trenches of your screenplay, you'll likely get tired of reading & re-reading the same material and lose objectivity - instead, find a way to bring it to a new platform. This can counter your screenplay fatigue while bringing a whole n...
Ryan Kruger is a South African writer and director who burst on the scene last year with his feature debut Fried Barry. Fried Barry is completely bonkers in the most wonderful way. It's about a drug-addled man in Johannesburg who gets abducted by aliens. The aliens take full control of his body and we watch the title character Barry go through one insane drug-fueled and blood-soaked adventure after another under their control. It's a blast and was featured on The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs (which is unarguably the best way to watch it). This movie is one of the most original films to come out of horror in recent years which is why I was so excited to speak to Ryan. He has a lot to say on the topic of originality, true indie filmmaking, and how to market your projects. Without further ado here is Fried Barry Director, Ryan Kruger. Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Ryan Kruger: You don’t have to film in a straight line. Instead of production taking place through a designated timeline, Fried Barry was filmed on and off over the course of a few years. Sometimes, this is what you have to do for budgetary and scheduling purposes and there's nothing wrong with that. Even if you don't have your movie fully funded, start filming it. Investors are way more likely to jump on board once the train has left the station and they see that you're making tangible progress. See my conversation with William Lustig for more on this. If your production needs to start and stop, so be it, but make sure your cast and crew is aware of this and down for the ride, if only for continuity purposes. The other benefit of filming in stops and starts is it allows you as a director to evaluate your movie more deeply than you could have by just reviewing dailies at the end of a shoot day. Instead, as was the case of Ryan, he was able to sit with what he'd filmed for months at a time, and ruminate over it so he could make adjustments as he moved forward. Become a master marketer. Some filmmakers think that a movie's success will be based on its quality and merit. While both those things are critically important, your movie won't have an impact if people don't see it - therefore, you need to have a marketing plan and learn to promote the shit out of your film. This was something that Ryan was naturally very good at from the beginning. When promoting Fried Barry, he didn't do so through marketing traditional channels like media, interviews, etc. Instead, Ryan did off the wall things like making Fried Barry condoms and a relentless series of memes that featured the main character so that he could build recognition of his face on the internet. Traditional marketing channels for films are crowded and often leave you fighting for scraps of attention. Even if you can get your indie movie mentioned on Deadline, it'll soon be buried with news of higher budgeted projects and lost in obscurity. Instead, you need to come up with intelligent, creative, and disruptive marketing ideas that people will talk about. Listen to my interview with Shep Gordon for more of this, or just watch his incredible documentary Supermensch. Make polarizing work. Love it or hate it, Fried Barry cannot be ignored. It is so over the top and such a specific, hyper-individual vision that only Ryan could have made. These kinds of movies can be difficult to get approved, but they're a surefire way to get people oriented with your sensibility as a director - see Greasy Strangler for more on this. As Quentin Tarantino said, and I'm definitely paraphrasing, you should only make the kinds of movies that you were born to make, movies that only you would be capable of making instead of things that could be easily be done by someone else. Thank you for listening! Don't forget to subscribe. ----- Produced by Simpler Media
Zak Hilditch is an Australian writer and director primarily known for the Netflix hits, Rattlesnake, and 1922, based on the Stephen King novella. Zak's earlier films include Transmission and These Final Hours. Zak is a very exciting director and has a very inspiring origin story, along with some great advice for pitching producers. I took a lot of notes from this conversation and hope you enjoy it. Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Zak Hilditch. Make your feature 8 shorts in rapid succession. Hopefully, by now, you've read Save the Cat by Blake Snyder, Story by Robert Mckee, and maybe even the Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Cambell. They all feature multiple formulas, etc., but one of the simplest, arguably most elegant ways to approach a feature screenplay is to make 8 12-minute shorts. For a movie to have compelling beats, every twelve minutes should feature a mini-story with a beginning, middle, and end to keep things consistently interesting. Hitchcock was known for doing this; for another example, pay close attention to The Others. Yes, this is formulaic, and yes, it's important to be original, but it's an interesting concept to observe because sometimes you need to know the rules to break them. Prep for your water bottle tour. First of all, a water bottle tour is when typically, your agent or manager sets you up with back to back to back meetings with producers so you can pitch them on yourself and your projects all at once. Each office along the way usually gives you a bottle of water while you wait hence the name, water bottle tour. If you get the chance to do a water bottle tour, make sure to have a full stable of ideas and concepts to pitch everyone you meet. Sometimes these meetings are in the context of a specific project, but this is not the way to approach water bottle tours. Yes, arrive prepared to pitch that project, but know that they may pass on it, in which case, you need backup concepts in your arsenal to tell them about. Having multiple projects enables you to pitch your sensibility as a director because there's always a chance they like you and your taste, but that one project isn't right for them. Having multiple projects makes you way more likely to get a deal since not only do they have more options to choose from as producers, but you get to showcase your sensibility in a much deeper way so that when a project comes across their desk that you're right for, they're more likely to think about you. On water bottle tours, producers meet so many people that they cannot remember most of them, so you need to leave a strong impression of yourself, your work, what you're capable of, and the kind of stuff you want to do. Keep multiple irons in the fire. This point is a natural extension to the previous one and further speaks to the importance of developing multiple projects at once. This is a paradox to the importance of focus, but the name of the game is being versatile and multi-faceted and having multiple things you're pitching at all times because you never know which one will hit or when. Zack spent years pitching one of his projects with little to no interest; meanwhile, his concept for Rattlesnake was instantly greenlit by Netflix. Hollywood is a fickle beast this way, without rhyme, reason, or logic sometimes, and it can drive you insane if you're not prepared for it. The film industry is a current, and rather than fight it; you need to learn to surf it. So get those screenplays ready, and I'll see you in Hollywood! ----- Produced by Simpler Media
Welcome to the Nick Taylor Horror Show. Patricia Day is the lead singer and standup bass player for the HorrorPops, a Danish punk band with a sound rooted in psychobilly, rockabilly, and punk rock with a horror-centric edge. I am a huge fan of HorrorPops and have been for over 15 years. My personal favorite songs are Psycho Beach, Where they Wander, Walk Like a Zombie, and Dotted With Hearts. Their sound is so cool and so much fun. They intertwine horror with 50's rockabilly with a tongue-in-cheek vibe, and I just love them. If you dig the Nekromantix, Misfits, or any horror-centric band, definitely check them out. The HorrorPops recently released their first album in over 12 years with Live at the Wiltern, a dual album and DVD that features a 68-minute concert film. As a longtime fan, I've been super excited to see the Horrorpops getting back in action. In this conversation, Patricia and I get into favorite music, what's next for the Horrorpops & her songwriting process on this episode of the Nick Taylor Horror Show. Now without further ado, here is Horrorpops frontwoman, the wonderful Patricia Day. Thank you for listening! Don't forget to subscribe. ----- Produced by Simpler Media
Christopher Alender and Marcos Gabriel are the writer/director duo behind The Old Ways; a fun and richly textured story about a young journalist who ventures into the jungles of Mexico to investigate a story of sorcery and healing, only to get kidnapped by a group of locals who claim her to be demonically possessed. Possessions, witchcraft, demons, and snakes, The Old Ways was not only a beautifully told story but a gleefully fun film. The Old Ways is now streaming on Netflix and was one of the top watched movies on the platform the week it came out, which makes sense as it was definitely one of my favorite movies of the year. I had a lot of fun with this conversation, we did the standard interview questions but also geeked out on horror, and I even whipped out my Aztec death whistle at one point. Anyway, please enjoy this fun and informative conversation with Christopher Alender and Marcos Gabriel. Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Marcos & Alexander. Lead with fresh takes on tired concepts. It is very difficult to do anything truly unique in the horror space; zombies have been done to death, as have vampires, witches, and definitely demonic possession. But what we haven't seen, or at least I haven't seen, is an exorcism movie based on ancient Mexican tradition. That is completely new, and one of the reasons Marcos' script for The Old Ways felt so fresh. Despite the fact that all of these genres have become so exhausted, it doesn't mean fans don't want more of them; they just don't want the same homogenized storylines that have become cliche. If you're approaching a well-trodden path like a zombie/werewolf/vampire movie, make sure you put a completely new and different spin on it, either culturally or socially. For other great examples of this, check out: The Vigil, The Boys of County Hell, His House, and Atlantics, all of which are awesome watches. Lean into folk horror. Just about every culture has a treasure trove of supernatural mythology, but sadly, there aren't many folk horror movies out there. When writing The Old Ways, Marcos drew upon a ton of history and mythology from the Mexican culture, all of which culminated in making The Old Ways not only unique but resonant. There's something naturally more believable about mythological archetypes and real folklore; it somehow feels familiar to people. Whether it's because these stories are in the collective unconscious or just really really cool is anybody's guess, but when integrated properly, they have a grounding effect on the movie, which makes it more compelling and believable. Dig into mythology and folklore to discover your own unique concepts. Time on set is your most valuable currency; budget accordingly. When it comes to good filmmaking, things take time; getting that great performance, lighting that killer shot, or perfecting that practical effects gag - all of these things take time to do right, which is why it's critical to make sure you have enough time on set. Indie filmmakers are typically in a constant rush against the clock, but budgeting more time on set means you can take the time to do things right because good things always take time. Chris articulated this beautifully when he made the comparison between footage versus cinema; footage can be done instantly and on a strict schedule, but cinema, the real art of film as a language, takes time. One way to save time that Chris recommended is to pre-visualize and literally pre-shoot your scenes through simulations so you can work out the kinks ahead of time. You can do this with something as sophisticated as Maya or Unreal Engine like Chris does or with something as simple as action figures. Doing these shot rehearsals can really help advise what you need to get on the day beyond storyboards and ultimately save you time on set, which, as we discussed, is your greatest currency. Your ca...
Hello dear listeners, I wanted to issue a public service announcement: this episode gets into some darker territory than most episodes do and goes beyond horror into explorations of sexual trauma. As such, I wanted to issue this trigger warning. Ben Young is an Australian writer-director whose feature debut, Hounds of Love, completely blew me away. Hounds is an extremely gut-wrenching depiction of a criminal couple who engage in serial rape and murder. I'm usually not the biggest fan of this kind of horror BUT, this movie is not nihilistic, in fact, just the opposite - despite the brutality of its subject matter, the movie itself is executed in a way that's extremely compassionate, not to mention suspenseful - the ending had me losing my mind. It's a masterful exercise in gut-wrenching human drama, true horrors of humanity, and is loaded with very compelling performances. But again, I'm going to offer a strong trigger warning up front; Hounds of Love is a very brutal movie; it deals with rape and murder, both of which we discuss in this episode. Listener discretion is advised. Always have multiple answers for 'what do you want to do next.’ Ben's first pitch to the Australian film commission was not accepted, but luckily for him, he had multiple concepts and was ultimately able to make Hounds of Love even though it was not his first choice. Many would-be filmmakers have that one script or one idea. That kind of exclusive focus is a shot in the foot for your career. When you're fortunate enough to get an at-bat with a powerful producer, they may pass on your first idea and ask what else you got. If you don't have an answer, you've blown a very big opportunity. Always be developing multiple ideas. This runs counter to the importance of focus but think of it as tending a garden of projects that you nourish and develop over time, so when opportunity strikes, you have multiple developed options. Rehearse remotely and over time. Most indie filmmakers don’t have time for rehearsals, but that’s no excuse to be pausing cameras to discuss the emotions and motivation of a character, you still need to have that worked that out ahead of time, ideally with full collaboration with the actor. Ben has an elaborate system of questions around characters and scenes that he gives to his actors via Google docs. They answer, and he comments, and together they work out the character details over time instead of through typical rehearsals. This is very powerful because, over time, these character nuances are able to sink into the actor's psyche while the director has also had the opportunity to flesh them out fully. Build trust. This is a big one. Horror typically deals with very dark subject matter, which can be difficult, even triggering for actors. A movie like Hounds of Love deals with elements of rape, murder, and slavery. The actors had to go to extremely dark places in a believable way, but they wouldn't have been able to go there without trusting Ben implicitly. Ben stated to his actors early on that he would never ask them to do anything they were not comfortable doing, BUT he would explore why they were uncomfortable and find a compromise with the actor that gave him what he needed. This is compassionate directing and can lead to not only better performances but an enjoyable and meaningful set experience. For an example of what not to do, see Stanley Kubrick and Shelley Duvall in The Shining. Thank you for listening! Don't forget to subscribe. ----- Produced by Simpler Media
Chris Baugh is an Irish writer and director who made his directorial debut with Bad Day for the Cut in 2017. His latest movie is The Boys of County Hell, a vampire film set in Northern Ireland. I really enjoyed this movie! I'm a fan of the vampire genre but prefer edgier and more unique takes on the vampire genre, and this is definitely what Boys of County Hell delivers on. The movie follows a group of road workers who have to survive the night when they accidentally awaken an ancient Irish vampire. It delivers the gore, as well as the laughs, and has some very cool mythology that involves Bram Stoker. I highly recommend it, and Boys of County Hell is now streaming on Shudder. Without further ado, here is Chris Baugh. Ground your movie in your own reality. When working within a genre, especially horror, it's easy to get stuck in cliches and create something that feels like it's been done before. Horror is becoming a sea of sameness, which is why it's important to put a deeply personal spin on your work. We've never seen a vampire movie set within Northern Ireland, and as a result, Boys From County Hell felt extremely unique and fresh because it had a sensibility and sense of reality that went beyond verisimilitude and felt deeply personal because it was based on Chris' actual experiences. Cast authentic characters for believable horror. This is definitely an extension of the first point but, casting people who look, act, and talk like real people, gives your movie a level of reality that makes the horror element work even better because, again, it grounds it in reality. The ensemble cast of Boys From County Hell was fantastic - not only great actors but their chemistry and camaraderie felt so real, which really made the movie sing. This all comes down to casting, specifically casting for authenticity. So look for actors who feel real and who can bring their real personalities to their characters. Always have something, even if you don't. Before Chris did his first movie, he was asked by a film fund in Ireland if he had something they could finance. He did not, but said he did and then ran home and wrote the screenplay for Bad Day for the Cut (which I highly recommend, now streaming on Netflix). He wrote it in about a month, and although he didn't get it funded that year, he got funded the year after. This is a testament to two things; sometimes, you need external pressure to get you to finish that screenplay finally, so if you have the opportunity to commit to delivering someone a screenplay, commit to it. Sometimes the pressure is what you need to bring your work over the finish line finally. The other thing is that if you have an opportunity, at all costs, take it. Even if you're not prepared, say yes and figure it out after the fact. It worked for Chris, and it may just work for you. Thank you for listening! Don't forget to subscribe. ----- Produced by Simpler Media
Brian Yuzna is a man who needs no introduction. A writer, director, producer, Brian Yuzna produced multiple movies directed by Stuart Gordon, including Reanimator, Dagon, From Beyond, and Dolls. Brian directed one of my personal favorite deep cuts, Society, which, if you haven't seen, do yourself a favor and watch it, ideally with Joe Bob on Shudder. Brian also directed Bride of Reanimator, Silent Night Deadly Night 4, Beyond Reanimator, Return of the Living Dead 3, and many, many more. He's an icon of horror, and it was an honor to speak with him. Please give it up for the legendary Brian Yuzna. Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Brian Yuzna. Focus on movies, not milestones. As Brian mentioned, many directors enter Hollywood obsessed with finding a manager and an agent. Why? When you're starting out, you don't need an agent or a manager; you need a fucking film. That should be your focus up front, getting yourself a calling card. Whether it's a feature or a short, get your name out there, and the managers and agents will follow. Careful what you wish for; higher budgets mean higher pressure. Brian mentioned an example of a filmmaker who worked up the ranks and started with an indie film and ended up with a higher-budgeted movie but found that the crew was incredibly difficult to work with because they didn't respect him. This is a hard scenario, and clearly, most professional crews would never ever act this way, but it does happen. The unfortunate lesson here is regardless of whether or not you're the director, as you move up in the ranks, you're always going to have to prove yourself and deal with people who think they're better and more experienced than you. Find ways to work through it or work around it. In the case of Brian, they pretended to wrap the movie early and then finished it with the second unit crew because they were more agreeable. Hierarchies will always be there - movie making is often less about talent and more about leadership and people management. Hire an older DP. This is a big one. You’re probably going to think that you won’t want some cool young, cutting edge DP to helm your movie, but if you're just starting out, you’re gonna want a DP who's more experienced and can act more like a parental figure who can reign you in when necessary. When hiring, your DP is arguably one of the most important hires because this is the person who will guide you on how to make the movie, shot by shot. So you need someone experienced, particularly if you’re on your first, second, or third movie. Consider hiring somebody who will keep you in line and on quality. Older professionals have this experience and wisdom and can keep you and your movie in line and on time. Thank you for listening! Don't forget to subscribe. ----- Produced by Simpler Media