This is PART II of the interview with director Stephen David Brooks who is attached to direct David Niall Wilson’s “Killer Green.” The first part of this interview is located at David Niall Wilson’s Website.
DIRECTING
DNW: You’ve worn a lot of hats in the film industry, but you’ve chosen to pursue directing. What is it about this particular aspect of film that draws you?
SDB: I got the directing bug when I first saw a re-release of 2001: A Space Odyssey. That was the first time I recognized and experienced a director’s vision. I related to it because that’s how I see things. I see the world through my own skewed viewpoint. Directing is a natural outcome of that.
DNW: Your debut feature, Heads N TailZ, has gotten some rave reviews. How do you take in the reactions of others? Is the sensation of accomplishment different than when you worked with visual effects, or were writing?
SDB: There have been people who loved the film and those who absolutely hated it. HEADS N TAILZ was never intended to be a mainstream movie. It deliberately presses all sorts of sensitive buttons in the audience. I just love the fact that no matter if a person loved it or hated it they still wanted to talk about it. That is what made the effort worthwhile. Visual Effects was more of a detached sense of accomplishment. Ideally when people say they loved the effects that means the movie didn’t hold their interest. The effects should be invisible.
DNW: Obviously, no matter how good the script and actors are, without the chemistry that a good director brings to a project, it’s doomed. Can you talk some about the process by which you measure and blend your talent, story, and visuals to align them with your vision of the film? Or maybe just a scene? Is there a secret, or is it always different?
SDB: Chemistry is a result, so I don’t think in those terms. If the actors find the moments that feel real, and those moments are captured on film and cut together with other real moments then the chemistry will be there. The chemistry on film isn’t the same thing as real life chemistry. I have lots of secret ways of getting the real moments, but I’m not telling…At least not in writing.
DNW: Who are some of the directors you admire, and why? Do you have obvious influences?
SDB: Stanley Kubrick, Danny Boyle, David Lean, Mike Nichols, John Woo, Sam Peckinpah, Guy Ritchie, Mike Leigh. (I know I’m forgetting a lot of great directors) I admire them all for different reasons but they all make films that are uniquely theirs. There’s no confusing a moment from a Kubrick film with a moment from SNATCH, THE KILLER, TRAINSPOTTING or NAKED.
DNW: Killer Green sort of crosses genre and reality borders…what are the special challenges you see, if any, in directing and casting a film like this. What are the aspects that excite you the most?
SDB: I see Killer Green as a crime story. A classic American road movie with some very clever obstacles and situations that taunt the lead characters. The key is modulating the tone so that the shocking gruesome violent moments are radically opposed to the more humorous moments. The humor has to come from the characters and the situations and not appear tacked on. The overall intersecting arcs of the mood and tone are going to be the greatest challenges. That relates to casting in a big way, but also to how the film is recreated in the editing room. I love the roller coaster ride that is Killer Green. That’s what excites me the most.
