[ WHAT’S YOUR STORY? ] ^ Basically I dropped out of school a year and a half ago to shoot my first feature. Two years into film school you know how to light films; you know how to direct actors; you know how to write the screenplay. The only thing they have left to teach the last two years is how to do it with a bigger crew and catering. So I moved back to Arizona to make, “Reynard the Fox.” It is a film that doesn’t let the audience sit safely nearby to watch the abuse. They are grabbed by the throat and dragged into the horror as well. The consensus is that it is far too abusive to an audience to be a mainstream film. We’re hoping it begins to hold a cult following of sorts. ^
[ WHAT DOES THE TITLE MEAN? ] ^ It is the name of a classic folk tale in which a fox tries to out wit the Lion King. (No Disney relation.) But often when this tale was acted on stage in medieval times, the every day Joe would become inspired and revolt against the real king of that time period. The king sent out a dozen nights to slaughter the whole cast of actors. To prove once and for all that brute strength can kick the hell out of wit anyday. The movie has nothing directly to do with the story, but indirectly it is the moral of the film. ^
[ BUDGET? SCHEDULE? ] ^ We shot it on and off for about 9 months. The actors would come out for a couple of days and we shot when we could. The video tape copy of the film only cost us $4,000. The film print will come in under $10,000. We shot it on 16MM then got it transferred to SVHS, edited on a PC, and then transferred it back to SVHS. Now it is on it’s way to be rotoscoped back to 16MM film for the festivals. ^
[ ANY SACRIFICES FOR THE BUDGET? ] ^ A band of loyal film lovers donated plasma twice a week for about a year. We made more than $7,500 that way and the rest was donated. (In cash not white blood cells.) So sure we sacrificed everything. I didn’t have a job all year because of the film, so we kept Ramen noodles in business. ^
[ WHY DID YOU DO IT? ] ^ I guess the answer is in the form of a question: What does a baker do? He bakes. I’ve learned very quickly that this is the only thing that I can do. Some people call me an artist. I think of it more as a film autism. I think completely clear when it comes to film, but when it comes to anything else I am basically a retard. So, yeah, this preacher preaches. ^
[ CURRENT STATUS? ] ^ It is on its way and being submitted to film festivals all over the country. We just finished the film and it’s only been seen by a few. The premiere will be later this month after I return from the Ukraine. ^
[ ANY ADVICE? ] ^ Don’t shoot abusive or loud scenes in your apartment at 11:00 P.M. The police will be called and you will narrowly escape an evening in jail. Well, depending on how believably you can tell police officers that the camera in your living room didn’t just shoot some sort of kinky porn scene or snuff film. Maybe this isn’t wisdom to you… but believe me, we sure as hell had to find out the hard way. ^
[ WAS IT WORTH IT? ] ^ It was worth every penny, second, and heartache. ^ [ WHAT’S NEXT? ] ^ Later this year we begin shooting our second feature, “Flutter.” If you would like any more information on, “Flutter,” or, “Reynard the Fox,” please contact us at [ Redbraille@aol.com ]
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