Reflections from The Cutting Room Floor (Part V: Murder Party)

Murder Party

 

 

Holy hell, what a fun time this was. 

 

 

As soon as I had the idea for filming a horror anthology, I knew that I wanted to have the final short film be a cheesy spoof on classic black and white horror films from the '50s and '60s.  I was thinking really old school, Ed Wood and Vincent Price-type of fair, which are a blast in themselves.  The important part was I wanted to end the movie with an over-the-top throwback to horror nostalgia.  I didn't expect it to be half the running time of the entire movie, but I feel it's a great way to end the film.  After all, you want the audience to leave on a high note, so we saved the most action-packed, ridiculousness for the end.  And if you were chuckling through the beginning of the film, you should be rolling by the end (you know, when we actually intended on it being funny...).

 

 

The idea came from an actual Murder Party that my wife and I threw a couple years prior.  We'd do these theme parties a couple times a year, where everyone would dress up and then just stand around getting hammered at our place.  For the Murder Party, we instructed everyone to come as a character of their own creation, and bring along their weapon of choice, then every half hour we drew a name out of a hat and that person became the next victim.  This was part of the inspiration for the movie, and as you can see in the picture, the first time Leonard "Whiskers" St. Elliott found his way into our lives and our hearts. Chelsea Harris' character in the film, Gwendolyn Trundlebunk also originated from this evening, and even though I didn't have the Black Swan costume yet, I still went as a chick; a french-maid/runaway Nazi war-criminal named Alexandra Macedonia. I guess you could say that was part of the inspiration for Nicole Koester's character in the movie, and I suppose its debatable that she looked better in a dress than I did. Neil also crafted a unique character that will be popping up in a movie soon; a traveling Tonic Salesman by the name of Charlie Arnold.  He might even have some ties to Whiskers and -ah, I've already said too much.

 

Anyway, this script came together pretty quick, the only problem was, how much of it came together.  I think the finished script was about 22 pages, which ended up being twice as long as anything else we shot. (and I use small font so I can fit more per page).  Either, way, it was going to be a bit of a stretch to film all in one night, which was pretty essential.  In the end, we ended up having to go back and shoot the opening about a week later, but we got the majority of the film done over an 8 hour period, which was pretty astounding.

 

I think the first thing that stands out about Murder Party is the fantastic cast of characters.  As I mentioned in part 1 of this blog, the whole point of this blog was to get away from using these inside jokes that we all had and make something that everyone could enjoy.  And despite the fact that a couple of the characters in this had originated before we filmed the movie, we were able to introduce them to a brand new audience, and they really connected with them.  Everyone in the movie did a fantastic job, but I'd be remiss if I didn't point out a couple obvious scene-stealers.

 

-Troy Potter as Leonard St. Elliott is, what I believe to be one of the greatest creations Troy has ever gifted to the world.  His first child will have a tough act to follow, unless of course it is birthed with a full mustache, in which case, I suppose it would be equal to the crowning achievement of Whiskers.  As I mentioned, Whiskers had already graced our presence about a year prior, so I got a good feel for the character and everything Troy brought with it, so I wrote his part with that in mind, knowing Troy could fill in the rest.  And boy did he ever.  He actually came to set with a list of strange facts that he had prepared for Whiskers to share with the group during takes.  The story of the Hindenburg crash, along with the sinking book depository and the last full moon were all Troy, and they were marvelous.  Same goes for the parasol, the mustache comb, and all the snappy attire.  I've grown quite fond of Mr. St. Elliott, and I think audiences are in for a long journey with him.  A surreal moment happened on the night of the premiere when we overheard a little kid telling his parents he wanted to be Whiskers for Halloween.  My heart melted and exploded at the same time.

 

-Paul Gothard as Ron Jacuzzi. Wow. Just wow.  Another fantastic performance, that Paul had created completely on his own a couple years before we shot this.  I've been trying to fit Cooze into a movie for a while now, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity for him to pop in and do his shtick.  I think Cooze is really the fan favorite of this movie, and Paul has everything about him just figured out and nailed down to a "T."  The majority of his lines were things that he already came up with an has been running with for a while, I just threw them in.  I also love that Cooze really contributes very little to the actual story, usually just leaning in for a non-sequitor, then backing out and accidentally killing a good guy.  While most of Cooze was all Paul, I take great pride in the scene where he unwittingly shoots Sarah in the face while trying to save her from the villain.  That scene, along with Whiskers' nonchalantly-snapping of Nicole's neck got some of the biggest laughs in the premiere, and they're too of my favorite things we've ever shot.  And no, I don't have an animosity towards women, I just think it's funny when they unexpectedly die.  (I kid, I kid.)

 

-Scott Goedert as Dr. Weisenkompf.  Another great find.  Scott played a badass zombie earlier in the film, as well as one of the hunters in Haunted, but man, he killed it as the effeminate German doctor in this.  Every delivery was hilarious, and he had the accent nailed (fun fact, apparently Scott took German in high school- or that's what he told me anyway).  Amongst a slew of hilarity, my favorite line is when he tries to conceal his secret meeting with his fellow villains and tells Cooze that he's just singing a traditional German folk song in the room by himself.  That was all I had written in the script; but then he goes on to break into 99 Red Balloons, very briefly, before just trailing off and resuming their conversation.  One of the best moments in the movie.

 

There's so many other great performances, many of which I was disappointed in how much screen time they received.  Both Alex Finch and Collins Eboh, were amazing, and brought so much to their characters (whom I gave them very little direction on), I wish we could've had them in it more.  Hopefully we'll be able to rectify this in future endeavours. Another well-deserved shout out for PK, as his character: Colonel Urban.  This is another character Paul created from his Man Vs. Kinda' Wild web series, but viewers don't need to know that going in; he's just a great Southern Military guy whom Paul has a hard on for playing.  I think he's going to be popping up again.  Col Urban, not Paul's boner.  Although I suppose it could be both.
 

After the characters, I think the second thing that really stands out about Murder Party is the awesome location.  This was one of the hardest locals to lock down because we basically needed a large building for us to have free reign in for a night.  And frankly, not a lot of businesses will be willing to do that for a group of young adults shooting a movie they've never heard of.  We were close to running out of options when PK someone stumbled upon the Kirby Building, and after a quick talk with the owner, we got the okay to film in there. The owner, Tony Pfol, was nothing but great to us, letting us in for multiple nights, and even giving the okay for future projects as well.  Hell of a guy who didn't mind helping out local artists, and we couldn't have made the movie without his help.  I mean, the building was just perfect.  And there were so many great finds that we stumbled across and were able to work into the script (ie: the strangle collection of tubs that Cooze is afraid will run him out of business).  Also, it's a creepy place. It doesn't really hit you until you're packing up to leave and you have to hit the lights on the second floor and then make your way back downstairs to the exit.  It would make a great setting for a crappy found-footage horror flick that could linger in a redbox for a couple months before being replaced by something almost identical two weeks later. 

 

God, there's so much to talk about on this one, but I'll try not to get too wordy with it.  The general plot line was always: Get a bunch of crazy characters together in a building and have them start getting killed off one by one.  Upon writing the script, I tried to think up something original, yet very familiar in the horror tropes.  I liked the idea of incorporating the Nazi war criminals (1. I'm a huge Hellboy fan, and those are Hellboy staples, and 2. because it gives it the nostalgic, retro feel that I wanted this to have.)  We wanted to have the color black and white and over and under saturated, full of grain and scratches (I'm also a huge Grindhouse fan, if you couldn't tell).  It was also a conscious decision to never really say the time period.  I wanted it to have that timeless quality, with the Nazis and Whiskers, but still show people on their cell phones, giving it this weird feeling of not knowing when the hell this is supposed to take place.  After all, it's supposed to come off as a bad movie, so I assure you, that was intentional. 

Another question, one which we got at the premiere during the Q&A after the film: Why frogs?  Again, in Hellboy, there's a famous story arc involving a plague of frog creatures, so that was an instant nod to that.  And on top of that, because Frog zombies just seemed so retarded, we had to do it.  We already had a whole segment in the film around zombies, so the villains couldn't just be zombies.  I tried to think what would be the least intimidating animal for a crazed dictator to want to rule the world... Toads seemed like a safe bet.  Plus we could throw that cheesy "ribbit" sound effect in as much as we wanted.   (a funny side note to that- every time someone gets bit and becomes a frog monster, they all took it upon themselves to ribbit in their characters native accent.  Col Urban ribbits with a southern drawl, and Collin's character utters a very heavy French "ribet'".  What makes it even funnier is, we never told them to do that, planning all along to add all the ribbits in later when we were in post production.  Oh well, happy accidents and dedication to their characters.)

 

This movie also climaxes in typical PK fashion.  Everything else we filmed in The Cutting Room Floor was very different from movies we have made in the past.  We got to expand our horizons, try different styles, show restraint, etc.  Murder Party was our chance to let loose and just make something that was an all-out blast.  It's like we had been holding back the entire shoot, and this was our excuse to just get it all out.  From the stumbling upon a cache of automatic weapons, to a big shoot out and drag-out brawl, this is PK's bread and butter.  After everything else we've done I figured Paul would never want to edit another muzzle-flash, but we threw it all in anyway.  It's always funny how as soon as Paul breaks out all of his fake guns, immediately, the entire cast gravitates toward them to start posing and playing with.  I think as soon as we got to the building the first hour was taken up by getting into costume and make up and playing with guns.

 

Looking back, Murder Party was one of the favorite things we've filmed to date.  Partly because of the freedom you have in making an "intentionally-cheesy" movie, so you can just go all out with it, but also in the fact that it was really just getting together with a  group of friends who are all very funny, and seeing how they interact with each other on camera.  I feel like Tagged is what I would put on a resume, you know, to show that we're capable of making a taut, well-made thriller (jesus god, did I just say "taut?"), but then after getting the job, I'd be like, "Hey, you wanna grab a couple beers and watch Murder Party?"
 

 

Good times indeed.  I'm gonna do one more blog in this series, focusing on wrapping up the whole experience, and then we're done with the look back at The Cutting Room Floor.  And while we're still on the topic, and since I don't think a whole lot of people are actually reading this, might as well drop a bit of a bombshell...

 

Whiskers, Cooze, and Swan will return for THE AFTER PARTY: MURDER PARTY 2.  2013.



Reflections from The Cutting Room Floor (Part II: The Zombie film)

 

 

The Zombie Film

 

    So, yesterday I took a look back at some of the earlier movies that we all had a hand in.  It was nice.  It even made me a bit nostalgic and prompted me to consider revisiting some of them, either in a DVD release, a wider web release, or even following them up with something new.  But, that'll be later, because right now, the focus is what I've been building up to... a look back at our most recent project "The Cutting Room Floor."

 

 

 

 

Ryan and I had made movies under our Monster Club Productions title, and Paul and I had done work under his PK Films production company, but everything we made always had that kind of "inside joke" vibe.  By that I mean, they were all movies that we found funny, and our close friends found funny, and sure even a couple random strangers on youtube found funny, but they were never really made with a wide audience in mind.  And that seemed like kind of a shame, because together, we had so much talent and prospect at our disposal.  So, I got the itch to make something that could appeal to a wider audience.  You know, people who might be asking, "Who the hell is Troy Potter?"  (if you're asking this as you're reading, shame on you.)

 

 

How did we settle on a horror film?  Well, it's simple.  Horror films are easier to make, and they have the luxury of even if you failed at it, you can still fail successfully.  Some of the greatest horror films of all time have that very cheesy, B-movie quality, yet they're still a blast.  If you make a horror movie and people laugh, it can still be enjoyable, whereas, if you make a comedy, and no one laughs, you've just subjected your audience to an hour and a half of torture.  It was also a logical movie because I'm a massive horror fan.  Seriously.  Quiz me. I know it all.  Paul is more of a sci-fi guy, but try making a sci-fi movie with no budget... (which, at some point we hope to, because I'm writing something as we speak for one...)

 

 

Okay; so horror film it is.  What will it be about?  Right off the bat, I wanted to make it an anthology piece.  Something of a throw-back to classics like Tales From the Crypt or Creepshow, where there's one unifying story with several short, unrelated stories sprinkled throughout.  This afforded us a chance to really experiment with different techniques, actors, and themes.  I'll get to the individual shorts later next week, but the first order of business was establishing what the central storyline to hold everything together would be.

 

Well, everyone loves a good zombie flick.  Now more than ever (although some may argue that the zombie fad has worn out its welcome. Not me personally; I mean, we're living in a time when the number one show on television is a ultra-gory zombie drama... what a time to be alive!).  Anyway, we're all big zombie fans, and a zombie invasion is something everyone can relate to.  Who hasn't envisioned that post-apocalyptic scenario where you're hunkering down, fending off the undead and trying to survive from day to day?  Especially when you're really bored at work.  However, between all the zombie flicks I've seen, I didn't recall ever seeing one where the main character gets bit and is slowly becoming a zombie himself.  At least none that I recall.  So, for an original take on a familiar subject, we figured that was a pretty unique idea. 

 

We cast Neil Potter; brother of local legend Troy Potter, as the lead.  For one, he's a pretty entertaining guy, with lots of improve work. Two, he's skeletally thin and would look good in zombie make up.  With the lead cast, we needed a place for him to hide out, gradually transform, and still somehow be able to incorporate other stories.  We had always intended on premiering the finished film at Mindframe Theaters, so we decided, why not film it there too?  The owners obliged, and we had our location.  A creepy, nostalgic cinema.  Perfect place to hide out from the zombie invasion.

 

 

 

The script came together pretty quickly from there, and in August of 2011, we began preparations to shoot the first scenes of the movie.  I don't think we had all of the individual short films scripted at that point, but we had the gist of everything worked out.  Paul created a hastily thrown-together facebook group asking if any local Dubuque-ians (?) wanted to swing out and be a zombie extra in our movie.  That day, we got together early, preparing the shoot list, mixing fake blood, and helping Troy Potter (make-up effects maestro) assemble facial prosthetics.  Then, at about 11:30, we started arriving at the theater, and holy shit, were there a ton of people there ready to help out.

  

 

We were blown away by the turn out.  Close to 45 people arrived, half of them already dressed in full undead attire.  We set up a table and Troy got to work on prepping extras while Paul and I scrambled around trying to get our shots set up.  It was an experience.  All these people came out, excited to play a zombie in a little movie they had never heard anything about.  They entrusted us that we knew what we were doing, and quite frankly, that was a sobering realization.  At that moment, I told Paul, "Okay, we seriously, have to finish this film."  There was so much invested in it before we filmed the first shot.  But what a great way to start filming.  Our first real movie, and we were working with a full crew of extras, in an awesome location, with a gang of friends helping with production. 

 

We filmed well into the morning. I think we left the theater at about 5:30 am.  Even more amazing was most of the extras stayed with us until we told them there was nothing left we needed to film.  It was dedication.  There's no way we could have made the movie without everyone who lended a hand that night; it was amazing. 

 

 

The zombie portion of the film took three separate shoots.  The first night at Mindframe with all the extras.  Then a couple weeks later, we started at the crack of dawn to film the downtown scenes before traffic picked up on a Saturday morning.  Everyone met at my house and we headed down to the Port of Dubuque area to haunt the alleys of local business.  We were about an hour in when the police showed up. You know, right when two characters dressed in camo were holding fake guns.  Real looking fake guns. Thankfully, Paul had called the city the day before and alerted them that we'd be filming, and using fake guns.  The cop was cool with everything; even came over and chatted with us a bit (although I think he had to just double check that the guns were fake).  He said they had gotten like 4 calls from concerned citizens that a group of people were downtown with guns.  I can't imagine what would happen if we tried this today. 

Anyway, we knocked that scene out.  Some standout moments were Andy Rang (soldier #1)'s excruciatingly long death scene, where he screams and complains about his friend leaving him to die for about a minute and a half.  All while being eaten by zombies.  His fake intestines were constructed by the Potter family by filling sausage casings with died oatmeal.  Apparently they sat around the kitchen table and did it as a family the night before. I think even their grandma was there.  I hope a photo of this exists somewhere. 

 

We finished that shoot by wandering around the deserted downtown trying to avoid getting cars in the shot while Neil journeyed to Mindframe.  A couple of us doubled as various zombies over the course of the trek, and Paul had food poisoning all morning, so the shoot ended with him rushing to the Mall to shit his brains out.  Then we all got Pancheros.

 

The last zombie portion we filmed was some reshoots inside Mindframe. We had gotten all the zombie footage we needed.  More than enough actually.  There's seriously, like 3 hours of zombies wandering around the theater on Paul's computer.  However, we didn't have time to get all of Neil's lines as he sits in the projection booth and plays DJ to the crowd of undead patrons.  So, we went back and spend another night filming Neil inching his way through the script.  In his defense, my scripts can get pretty wordy.  As we edited this, Paul told me he had to turn the volume down because Neil's blaring voice was giving him a migraine.  The Potter brothers are a loud bunch.  And very excitable.  This was also a key moment in the grand scheme of things, because it was the night Neil and Sarah first hit it off.  She was new to the group; just some girl that showed up to the first zombie shoot, but she seemed cool, so we asked her to come back and we added another part for her as a chick Neil had a crush on.  Who would've guessed they would still be together?  (well, us, since that was the plan all along.  That's two Potter's I've had a hand in setting up.  Both over the course of making movies.  (I had introduced Troy to his fiance, Chelsea back in high school while filming a movie (but that's a story for a different day (holy shit, do I have four open parenthesis going? ))))

 

 

Soon enough, we got the zombie stuff done.  Which was good, because it was by far, the most taxing to shoot.  And it was the framework for the entire film, so it was nice to have that done and over with so we could concentrate on the other three movies.  Never would've guessed that this would be the biggest pain in the ass to edit either, but it sure was.  Most of the movie Paul and I edited together in his basement, and by that I mean, I sat over his shoulder and confused him by saying, "No, move that clip over there... no before that part..."  However, over the summer Paul hit the road to film the Colts documentary, so I borrowed a computer and pieced together the entire theater sequence in my basement.  I still feel like the beginning of the movie isn't our strongest work, but it was some of the first footage we shot, and we were on a pretty tight schedule, so it's understandable.  If I could go back, I'd change Neil's encounter with the soldiers, but oh well, what's done is done... it only gets better from there.

 

One last thing to mention; the music in the movie.  Since we wanted to show this and essentially make some money for our hard work, we made sure to avoid using any copyrighted music.  Which left us having to scower royalty free sites for scores and themes.  I'm actually really happy with everything we used, but it took some time.  I would search through sites at home, jotting down title tracks and where I thought they could be used in the movie, then I'd go to Paul's and we'd start fitting them in.  One standout, is the song "Fixing My Brain," by the Canadian artist, Brad Sucks.  Brad Sucks is a one-man band who has a bit of a following.  He's released 3 albums, all of which, rock.  Seriously, check him out.  He's also s huge supporter of independent artists, so I emailed him and asked if we could use a couple of his tracks in our movie.  He responded with "Yeah, no problem."  Awesome guy.  I feel like the song really sets the tone for the whole movie, and as soon as I heard it I knew I wanted it for the opening credits.  I was originally going to have it resume again at the end once Neil goes full-zombie, but we ended up going with a badass version of the classic funeral march, which I think was a better choice. 

 

Overall, what a project. And this was just part one of four.  We still had three full short films to shoot.  And edit.  Stay tuned, because next up, we're talking about the first short: Tagged.