UHM - Upcoming Horror Movies

John Gulager was born into a family of veteran actors, so it was natural for him to get a career into a similar field. John makes his feature film debut directing Feast after being the lucky person chosen in Project Greenlight's season 3 TV-series.

Let's start from beginning -- your family has had a history in Hollywood. What's it like growing up in an acting Family?

I don’t know what to compare it to. My family has always lived a bit on the edge. My parents were both actors when I was a kid. They were on television, mostly. It was impressive to other people, I guess, but I couldn’t see that. I traveled with them when my Dad did personal appearances. I was part of the act as a little kid. When I was 5, my parents put on a huge theater in North Carolina. I acted in that, too. I was Little Jake. Look, if your Dad is an auto mechanic, spark plugs and fuel injection are in your blood. It’s part of you from day one. Same here. Show business, filmmaking…everyday and night…the conversation at every meal…for entertainment, movies. When we’d go to the movies, my Dad would say, “See the way the camera moved over the pictures on the piano and the girl was in silhouette in the background?” Stuff like that. Ultimately, we like an understated style of acting. The type that looks like nothing is happening. Also the camera should support the acting. Plot points can be conveyed by looks instead of words.

Have you ever felt that you were "under shadow" when it came to your Father's career? How is your relationship?

He’s my Dad, he’s my mentor. I’m proud to be under his shadow. We’ll work together as long as we can.

[My parents] bought me a super 8 camera in elementary school because I wanted to do animation. My dad took me to Hannah Barbara and they showed me how to draw and paint on clear cells. To this day I kick myself for losing original cells from SNOW WHITE that some folks at Disney gave him for me. I’m such a slob. Eventually I progressed past single frame filmmaking to a live action film, the big POLUTION FILM for the Science Fair at my school, Meadow Oaks. My friend Dan Kopman and I collaborated on it, but neither one of us wanted to edit our shots out so the running time was pretty epic. A lot of it was shot on the back lot of Universal Studios since my Dad could get me in. It was perfect because in the film the people are all dead from pollution so I shot empty sets. Of course this was where I learned that empty sets combined with epic running time do not make for a happy audience.

When I was in 8th grade I went to The Southern California Film Institute and studied with Don Ham. I moved up to 16mm, mostly with a Bolex and an Arri S. The school closed down shortly after and became the Tiger Den Massage Parlor (true). I would rent cameras from Lloyd’s Camera in Hollywood. This is also when I painted my room black and made my imitation 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY film. I built a lunar landscape that covered the car port that stayed there for years. A few years later I took a Cinematographers seminar at a school called Sherwood Oaks Experimental College. They would hire film professionals to teach a class in their field.

The founder of the school would constantly ask my Dad to teach an acting course. Eventually he did and I would shoot it. In return I was allowed to take any courses and use the equipment. I studied filmmaking with an eccentric wild filmmaking genius named Howard Lester. We shot 16mm recorded sound on a Nagra and edited on flatbeds. One of my classmates would eventually work on FEAST, production designer, Clark Hunter.

(END OF PART ONE, ha ha)

For those who may be unaware, how did Feast come about?

FEAST came out of a reality television show called PROJECT GREENLIGHT. It’s the show where Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Chris Moore pick a script and a director to make a film and that endeavor is documented from preproduction to the premiere. This season, the third, they decided to do a horror film and FEAST, by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan was the chosen script and I was the chosen director.

Do you feel that the genre is missing films like this?

FEAST walks a fine line. It reminds me and was partly inspired by RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD and RE-ANIMATOR. I feel FEAST follows in the tradition of those films. Funny and outrageous horror. I don’t like when the “camp” factor overtakes the film, though. We tried to keep a lid on it.

Why has it taken so long for Feast to see the light of day?

Well, that was just bad timing. In the middle of editing, the founding brothers behind MIRAMAX FILMS split from the company, taking the DIMENSION label and FEAST with them. Everything basically just stopped for a while until our number came up and FEAST was completed. Several big name films that started after FEAST were released before FEAST.

What can we expect from the movie?

As far as FEAST goes, it’s a ‘tweener’. It’s in between a horror and a comedy. If you like a movie that just starts and ends, has lots and lot of gore, doesn’t stop for sappy love scenes, actually has outrageous moments that no other movie has and a couple of pretty good one liners and scares, you’ll like FEAST.

Now that Feast is on its way out to fans, what's next for you? Will you continue to create genre films?

I like horror, I like blood and guts, I like making the hair stand up on the back of your neck…I like the whole audience gasping or saying, “Oh, god,” at the same time.

In your opinion, will this be a movie remembered 25 years from now?

I can only hope so. Better yet, would be, in 25 years, someone speaks fondly of FEAST, John Gulager’s “first” film.

Is there any possibility of a sequel?

Hey, I’m living proof that there’s always a possibility.

Do have any advice for the aspiring filmmakers out there?

Learn how to do everything…the camera, sound, editing, music, writing. Don’t depend on anyone. We’ve all heard that put down, “He knows enough to be dangerous.” Be dangerous. Also, don’t be afraid or embarrassed to call yourself an artist. The art of filmmaking is what drives your images and sound into people’s brains like a hot bullet.

Don’t be a lazy filmmaker; don’t take the easy way out. Don’t settle for just getting something done. You may NEVER get another chance. Don’t do what you’re told. Don’t be afraid of going down in flames. Don’t listen to me. Make films, videos, motion pictures. Don’t be so keen on getting the first things you finish “released”. They’re probably pieces of shit. You’ll see that if you continue to make films. Don’t be too impressed by your own stuff. Be humble, but kill the audience.

Special thanks goes out to John Gulager for the interview, and my buddy Brian "Horror Pimp" Harris.