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Everyone, welcome to the Film Element Podcast.
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I'm your host, Mike Glant, and today I'm going to be interviewing a fellow filmmaker, Jay Reed, who is responsible for the new horror thriller called Sick Puppy, which I was fortunate enough to be involved with as uh an editor, sort of an editor that came in after the process.
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So I'm gonna bring Jay in right now.
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Jay, how are you?
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Hey Mike, how's it going?
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Good, good.
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Thanks for taking the time to uh chat with me today.
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And you know, I was I wanted to have you on because well, it's kind of funny for me.
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I go through a weird experience with this podcast because people have now started to not a lot of people, but a few people here and there have told me like, oh, maybe you should like talk about this or you should interview this guy or over here.
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And it's kind of weird because I'm always in a weird position because I'm like, I only want to do this with and I want to do interviews with people that I want to do interviews with.
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Like there's no I don't have any mandate to do this.
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Um but I just thought you were you would be a great person to chat with because you know I was brought in as an editor on this film, which is called Sick Puppy, which you you wrote and directed, correct?
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Yep.
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Yeah, so um I was brought in and I really enjoyed the project, or at the very least, I enjoyed the process of working on the project.
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I think the film is works really, really well on a lot of different levels.
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It's really twisted and demented in a lot of ways, and as I'm sure you are discovering, there's an audience out there for that.
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Uh and I and I enjoyed a lot of that, a lot of those aspects of the film.
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Um, so I just you know, we'll we'll have a little chat here.
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I just want to ask you from the very beginning, like, how did you get started in film and how did you end up making Sick Puppy?
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Uh well, you know, I I think the first thing I ever did as relates to film, aside from like stuff in like high school, um, was um I wrote uh scripts at the end of my high school experience uh for the my writing class.
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And it uh it was my first script ever, and it was a horror script.
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Um sort of had a David Lynch vibe to it.
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I was big into uh Twin Peaks Firewalk with me at that time, and it was um, you know, it was like super long, of course.
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Like you're like people don't realize that scripts are like way shorter these days.
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Um but back then you can just kind of maybe not get away with it, but it it was okay to write like a 140-page script.
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Now obviously that's not a not the case.
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But uh I don't think you could have ever gotten away with a 140-page script.
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No, the guy wrote the guy who wrote Heathers, that script was like 200 something pages, and that was I mean, obviously the movie's much shorter, but like they used to turn in these things, and then people would be like, Oh, uh yeah, sure, we'll we'll we'll shoot part of it.
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Like it's pretty much like now they're just like we don't have time for that.
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So they're like, we don't even have time to read all of that, let alone shoot it.
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No, exactly, they don't even have time for like 90 pages, so I'm like handing this thing into my teacher, and then she gave me a really great um grade on it, despite the fact that it was actually quite um violent and had a lot of sex in it.
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Uh, because you know, I'd watched a lot of you know horror films growing up, and uh, you know, they tend to have that stuff.
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So she's like, and I I was a little screwed up too.
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Let's let's not lie.
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Well, well, she's you know, if I had submitted it now, they would have put me in like they would have had to call like people in.
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Which is funny to think because you were a teenager when you handed that in.
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So it's like yeah, it's like when you're a teenager, it's fine, no problem.
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This is cool, yeah.
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But as an adult who has an awareness of like artistic merit, then you're a problem.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, exactly.
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So I'm just like, I I handed in to uh her and she she really, really liked it, but she's like, you know, if I didn't know you so well, no, you're sweet, nice guy, uh, I I would have been quite disturbed by this.
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So but she's like She's like, are you a school shooter by any chance?
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I feel obliged to ask.
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Yeah, because it's like it was actually during sort of that time.
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I think like Columbine was only like a few years before, so people were a little on edge at that time.
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So I was very surprised that uh there wasn't some sort of issue, but it was kind of at that time last time where you can kind of be like, eh, the kids a little screwed up, right?
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You know, but um yeah, so uh after that, like you know, it kind of gave me a little bit of a confidence boost, and I applied to uh film school in Montreal, and uh I didn't get into the production program, but I got into the film studies program, and uh from there I just watched a lot of film, you know.
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I got to understand film a lot better from more of a theoretical standpoint, and I I made stuff on the sides, uh, you know, like just short films.
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Um, you know, I I did a little summer at USC and uh I just made films there.
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And over the you know, course of the time, I I kind of went through periods where I almost like sort of gave up on it.
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I actually became a journalist for a while.
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Oh wow.
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I didn't know that about you.
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Yeah, not not not a very long time.
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I was like a freelance journalist.
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I never worked for a paper or anything, but I'd write for like the Gazette, and then there's a indigenous newspaper in Montreal, so I I wrote for occasionally.
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Um and you know, at that point, while I was in journalism school, I met a guy who's an actor, and he's like, let's do something together, because you know, we both love film, and so we did something together, and it kind of got me back onto it, and uh I just continued working in film ever since, and then I kept making short films.
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I got you know awards for uh you know screen uh screenwriting from uh like the Quebec government and oh wow.
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Eventually, like uh, you know, like my short film got into the telefilm not short on talent, and after that I was just like, well, you know, I kind of want to just I've always wanted to do features, and nobody, you know, during that time I kept sending scripts out, nobody would want to make anything, you know, because it was either too weird or um you know they didn't know me, they didn't trust me, which is understandable.
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Uh so what uh you know, my uh one of my like good friends is also a director of photography.
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We'd worked on multiple projects together, JP, who shot uh Sick Puppy with me.
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Uh we got together and we said, hey, like what what kind of money can we earn from our regular jobs, put a little bit in, and then we can go out and try and find the rest, and and that's kind of how it went.
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And we managed to get like great actors for this because you know we made the I wanted to make like the script like you know, a good story.
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Yes, an interesting story for people.
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Even if it has like elements that are a little shocking, it it should still be a good story.
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So that's that's how come we got like beginning on this project.
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Well, and you know, I I this isn't a review podcast or like this episode isn't a review.
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Like I always I always like to approach uh talking about these films from sort of the business side outside in.
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And uh what I like thinking about now, especially with Sick Puppy specifically, you know, there's and you and I have talked about this on WhatsApp, is that now obsession, I would say very specifically, is this humongous generational runaway hit, right?
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That came out about a month ago or a month and a half ago.
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And uh to me, there are two core things that I think uh made that movie interesting and be successful.
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And I think a puppy has the uh these are two core principles as well.
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A, I actually I'll I'll bleed into almost three.
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And three is a little more like uh lowest common denominator, but I'll get to that one last.
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I think first the lead actors, the male and female, like it's about a relationship similar, exactly very similar to how Obsession was.
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And those two actors in that movie are so much fun to watch.
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Obviously, everyone's talking about Indy, and she hopefully is gonna get an Oscar nomination, maybe even win, who knows?
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And I feel the same way about Natasha and John, who are the lead actors of Sick Puppy.
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I think they're so incredibly fun to watch and engaging.
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And then you got and then the second thing is that you have this great hook.
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You know, you have this um I've heard you talk about this is sort of very, very like not base at all, but sort of uh, you know, loosely inspired by Paul Bernardo and Carla Homoka and other like Bonnie and Clyde type of serial killer relationships out there.
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But what you do is put this fun uh spin on it, which is weird to say because there are some very, very disturbing scenes in the film.
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And you and I even talked about this when I when I was editing it.
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Like there's some stuff I'm like, oh I'm like, do we have to show it?
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Do we have to do that?
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And obviously at the end of the day, it's your vision, and I understand.
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And you know, I I that's just my own personal take, but I understand a lot of people A can stomach it and B are kind of there to see people push the limits, right?
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Kind of uh exactly uh the way Obsession did as well.
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And I thought Obsession had this really great addictive hook to it, where you know it's the monkey paw whole thing.
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And that's what I think Sick Puppy and like I said, lowest com denominator baseline, as a dude, you know, I'll just speak on that.
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Number three, you have a very attractive cast, and you know I Yeah, no, I've been told that by even our distributor that uh yeah, that was I mean Natasha, I mean they're both incredibly good looking, John and Natasha, and they work together and they have this really great chemistry.
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So I think that as an editor, just watching them, it's like it just makes your job easier.
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There's no bad angle that I have to cut away from, you know what I mean?
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Like uh they just they just come alive on the screen.
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And obviously, going back to obsession, I also think that was a key to obsession success is that we just have this incredible uh new face that we've never seen, and uh the guy in it as well, you know.
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So I think Yeah, he is fantastic.
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Yeah, and I think people underestimate the power of that sometimes.
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Like everyone tries to be too high-minded about it, and then when they when they aren't, they seem to see success from it.
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But I I think you have to the the characters have to look like that in Sick Puppy in order for it to really work, because you go with Natasha's character, you go, how can she possibly be into this guy this much?
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And then he looks the way he does, and then he takes off his shirt, and then I'm like, Well, I assume if you're a girl, you know, this guy's really easy to look at.
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So yeah, but I actually never really uh uh you know tried to make you know Brett's Brett's character like uh super like bot.
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He just happened to be like that.
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Yeah.
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Like it was never like the the reason for like uh Natasha's character Charlie to be you know uh like that is actually because she was like a cheerleader and she took very good care of herself over the years and and it was like it was all character based, but it just so happens to work out quite well as far as like you know, people do like to see that.
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Uh yeah, I think especially when you're dealing with like really awful, awful characters uh sometimes like it's it's a little bit easier to stomach.
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Um well what it does, in my opinion, is that it sells you on the dream of how they ended up in that position, you know.
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Uh I believe because of how good looking John is, then I can kind of understand more why Natasha was so into him, right?
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It's like if John was like a five and Natasha and he still cast Natasha, the imbalance of that would just be harder to stomach and get over.
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But casting is storytelling.
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You know, and I can say that as a filmmaker, and that's something that people don't think about very often, is that just by casting someone that has a certain look or looks a certain way or just carries themselves a certain way, you are also telling part of the story and you are helping the audience get through um a bat a backstory that they don't even realize that they're learning just by who is doing it.
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You know what I mean?
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Like it's like it's like you can cast a guy as a cop and it's like, oh, he needs to do that, like we gotta just say how he got here, but then you can cast a guy who like delivers lines a certain way and looks a certain way, and you're like, I don't even need his backstory.
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I get who he is just by who how this actor uh is playing him and how he looks.
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So I think that was a key thing that you guys had for your casting.
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Um now I want to talk uh more about the business side of it.
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Like, I think that's how I like to approach it, uh especially during these interviews, because uh I think what you achieved here is pretty great.
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Uh uh A, because I think the film is great, but B, I think this sort of came out of thin air.
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And and I what I mean by that is that you had no real funding, like no telefil or grants or anything like that.
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It was like you guys said, you just sort of brought this money together.
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And can you sort of talk about how that ball got rolling and who you approached and how people said yes, and then you know, just sort of and give me the timeline of how that all worked out?
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Uh yeah.
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Uh well as much as you can or allowed or feel comfortable talking about.
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Yeah, yeah, no, no, I I I can just kind of break down sort of how this uh was kind of like the the funding pieces because I think that's probably more useful to somebody.
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Uh because everyone has different ways of uh you know getting money, you know.
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Some people have well, I don't know, rich uncles or something like that.
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I didn't have a rich uncle, but you know, like they have they have those sort of things, and they're able to find those.
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And uh for for us, the first money that got put in was our own.
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Like my myself and uh my director of photography, JP.
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Uh uh JP shoots like um short films, but he also shoots a lot of like ads, and he does like that type of work, so he had some money saved up.
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Same with me.
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I work in uh subtitling uh often and uh as well as uh dubbing, and so I just kind of put a little money away here and there trying to uh get it to be a decent amount, at least get us started.
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And so we did that, and then we kind of just like basically just like hat in hand and kind of crowdfunded it a little bit privately.
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We didn't do it publicly because um it was just easier and faster, and we didn't have to hire somebody for that.
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We just approached you know people on our own.
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And then uh Well, can you are you allowed to speak a little bit like who what type of people were you approaching?
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Like who were was it other producers?
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Was it people completely disassociated from the industry?
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Yeah, completely disassociated from the industry, just family, friends who like had seen like the our our work together over the years and and and put it, but like that got us, it didn't even get us to like finish you know principal photography, right?
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It got us to start principal photography.
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And just out of curious, like what were you telling them?
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Like I I've gone down that road a little bit myself, but I'm always much more self-conscious about approaching anyone outside of like really, really immediate even I I approached like a friend once, and then they were gun ho, and then that project just fell apart for various reasons.
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No real, you know, obviously there's no animosity, but I'm like, I'm so gun shy to go down that road again.
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And I'm just curious, you you got over that hump, and what was sort of your pitch to these people?
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Well, I think the they'd helped the the short that uh JP and I had done, uh, had done had gone to like telefilm not short on talent, and I'd gotten like you know, it did pretty well at the the genre festivals uh that we got into.
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It was during the pandemic, so it was a little more complicated.
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So um, but we had we had gotten into some pretty pretty good uh genre festivals.
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So I'd already had like the experience of like working in the genre space, and he he had his his own um equipment.
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He had uh he had the camera that we shot on, and I was able to kind of like pitch them like we have all these things that are kind of working for us, we have a story.
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Uh I I created a pitch deck, right?
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You know, pitch deck is a literally nobody's reading scripts, so you just do the pitch deck.
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Um and uh there's a visual style to it, you can see where I I reference movies that people understand, like Natural Born Killers or or something along those lines, and you just kind of have to get lucky, to be honest with you.
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It's it's it's a tough thing this, but you just kind of go around and you know uh get over the sort of shame of asking for money, and uh you know, knowing that you are and you the the most important thing you gotta tell them is that there's no guarantee you'll ever see your money again.
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Yeah, there's absolutely no guarantee.
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I can tell you these are the things that we're going to do to make sure we can get it back, but you know, again, the industry is so unpredictable, I can't like reasonably say you're gonna get your money back.
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I mean, I can say like because we did a you know, it's a pretty low budget still, that you there's a stronger possibility that you can, but it's gonna may take several years.
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Yes.
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So it's uh you know, it's it's just going to like those type of people, it's a little bit easier with like I would say family and or for friends because it's they're less thinking about it as an investment.
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Now from uh but we did have outside investors, but they came in after the film was done.
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Interesting.
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So when we were shooting, um we we we had enough money to kind of get through principal photography, but there's still like there was still a little bit left that was a little bit more complicated.
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Yeah.
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And we took advantage of the tax credit system uh to kind of uh help us get um money beforehand uh for the tax credits we um you know in advance on the tax credits, and we have to have you know those calculated out properly.
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You have to go through an accountant, you have to do all this stuff.
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But it we we luckily had some people, you know, a producer that was very, very familiar with that, and we were able to uh get that amount so that we can continue not lose momentum when uh you know principal after principal photography.
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As you know, some places you know they shoot the movie, and then it's just like, oh my god, you know, it's you know, they never know when you know editing is gonna start because there's no money.
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Yes, yes.
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So we were able to like we had a little bit of a delay, but uh it was like four months, and as you know, that was for other reasons, um, which I won't get into here.
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But uh, but yeah, the the um but it's definitely like that that was a part, and then also, you know, we we still needed even more money after that, uh as part of the post-production.
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Like that that covered some of it, and it also covered some extra production cost that we weren't expecting.
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But it was uh we we just went to outside investors, we had one of our producers just go, and what we did was we were able to at least that there we could just like edit the film together.
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Uh not the whole film, but just like certain scenes, like the fight scene, and then there's a couple other scenes that we we put together just to give them like a sort of pitch.
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It was like a rough, rough edit, red, rough edit, like I think our uh DIT guy did.
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And uh we did that, yeah.
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So like they just put it together.
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I I didn't even know what they were editing.
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I was like, I don't want to even look at it because it's not gonna be my edit, anyways.
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Just put something that you think they'll want, right?
00:21:58.000 --> 00:22:06.079
And so they they did that and By then we had uh we we'd got like a uh Canadian distributor which is uh Raven Banner.
00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:06.880
Yes.
00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:09.200
So that also helped.
00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:14.240
So uh them Yeah, uh you you're jumping ahead a little bit, which is which is great.
00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:16.880
So I wanna I wanna slow down a little bit.
00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:21.200
Um so you guys film in two thousand what was it, twenty-four?
00:22:22.559 --> 00:22:24.480
Twenty-three, it was like the end of twenty three.
00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:27.039
It was like October, yeah, yeah.
00:22:27.359 --> 00:22:32.400
Well, I I guess I worked on it when I came on, it was 2024, right?
00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:33.839
Yeah, yeah.
00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:35.039
Wow, that was 10 years ago.
00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:36.559
Post period that is insane.
00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:39.440
The post period was long, yeah.
00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:44.960
The post-period was super long, and then um, you know, we were very lucky.
00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:51.519
But yeah, we we we shot it in 2020, the end of like September, October of 2023.
00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:56.640
It's funny, any filmmaker listening to this, just take that in, right?
00:22:56.880 --> 00:23:03.440
We're talking about this three years since they filmed it, yeah, and two years since I edited it.
00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:09.680
And now I think the film is finally finding the legs and the home that it needs.
00:23:09.839 --> 00:23:11.200
I think so.
00:23:11.599 --> 00:23:13.440
Let's talk about that a little bit.
00:23:13.599 --> 00:23:18.799
Like, we don't need to get into the long post-process because I don't think that's a whole lot of fun for anybody.
00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:22.559
But um No, it was a very long post-process though.
00:23:22.880 --> 00:23:26.000
And uh and you were so great to work with.
00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:29.200
Like, I was I came in, I wasn't starting from scratch.
00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:45.680
Some some scenes I did kind of do a page one rewrite on, but there was there was definitely enough there that like I could piece it together and I would just go through stuff and say, Oh, okay, like this is just too long, or these jots just aren't flowing.
00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:49.039
And I know like the edit points just aren't at the right point.
00:23:49.119 --> 00:23:53.039
It's like it's like don't do it halfway through the sentence, do it at the end of the sentence.
00:23:53.119 --> 00:23:56.799
Like just all these little flow things that I'm I'm aware of.
00:23:57.039 --> 00:24:03.839
And then obviously I had my opinions too of like, hey, I don't know if you need this, or like blah blah blah blah blah.
00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:07.839
And I forget how much I actually impacted any of that.
00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:17.200
But um I you you cut out 20 minutes from the film, so yeah, I think you invite what's the running time of the film now?
00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:22.160
I think it's like uh I think it's like a hundred minutes or something.
00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:23.039
Oh, it is okay.
00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:26.000
Yeah, wow, so it was 20 minutes longer than that.
00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:30.000
I know it's uh well I always wanted it to be shorter.
00:24:30.319 --> 00:24:34.559
Like I I'm totally cool with like it being a lot shorter.
00:24:34.640 --> 00:24:40.720
Um I it could have been even shorter than that, but I think we were at that point pressed for time and we just had to kind of let it go.
00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:44.559
Yeah, I think um I think 100 minutes is okay.
00:24:44.720 --> 00:24:49.119
I think anything north of that starts to certainly pull a little a little bit.
00:24:49.359 --> 00:24:58.960
You know, I and there I've debated this with a lot of different people, and I'm having this really funny debate right now with a I'm working on uh the vampire film that I told you about.
00:24:59.279 --> 00:25:02.480
Um you know, it's like a few million dollar film.
00:25:02.880 --> 00:25:11.119
Uh really great script, uh top-notch actors, you know, people two Spielberg actors, funny enough.
00:25:11.279 --> 00:25:12.799
And uh cool.
00:25:13.440 --> 00:25:24.319
It's I'm trying to tell the director and the producers that I'm like I really want this to be shorter, and they're like, we are not going to do that.
00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:34.160
And I just it's such a weird process to me because I don't even know if I'm right about my approach in that, oh, I think this just should be shorter.
00:25:34.480 --> 00:25:40.640
I think there's certainly scenes that I'm seeing that I'm like, ah, we don't need that, we don't need that, I'd rather get to this quicker, I'd rather, you know.
00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:51.440
Um, but I think that's also how my mind works is that I'm just always I just want to get in and out, uh, especially when we're doing uh uh low cost indie.
00:25:51.839 --> 00:26:03.039
And I think especially with your project and a lot of projects that I've worked on in similar budget and scope, um I'm always like, listen, we cannot overstay our welcome.
00:26:03.359 --> 00:26:10.640
Um as good as we think the film is, let's try and they'll like us even more if we don't overstay our welcome.
00:26:10.799 --> 00:26:17.519
No you know when no one to play them and no one to fold them or whatever that uh saying is.
00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:23.039
So uh yeah, so that was important to me to get the time down.
00:26:23.119 --> 00:26:25.839
I have no idea what I cut out and how I did that.
00:26:26.240 --> 00:26:31.119
Like I said, now I realize it's been two years and you know, I was even in the editing room for that.
00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:40.960
Um but tell me more about so the film is done and it's I don't know at what point you guys colored and mixed it.
00:26:41.039 --> 00:26:43.359
Obviously, you had a composer come into the music.
00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:49.039
So that process, talk about that process, and then talk about what happened after.
00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:53.920
Was it were you submitting the film festivals, and then obviously you got into Fright Fest.
00:26:54.400 --> 00:26:57.279
So was that the first one or was that the first big one?
00:26:57.440 --> 00:26:59.119
Like, I'll let you go now.
00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:21.359
Okay, yeah, so uh after um, you know, we we kind of uh nailed the edit with you, and I think part of the which is something that continues on in the in the process, is the the one thing that you brought that was the most important was uh helping me nail the tone that I wanted.
00:27:21.759 --> 00:27:23.680
That was that because it is a tricky tone.
00:27:23.759 --> 00:27:24.000
Yes.
00:27:24.240 --> 00:27:25.440
I think we both know it.
00:27:25.599 --> 00:27:39.680
Uh there's some comedy in there, and you were right to kind of remove maybe the more overly comedic bits and stay with the more gallows humor that we were uh intending.
00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:42.960
I think um that was that was definitely a part of it.
00:27:43.039 --> 00:27:44.720
And so continue on.
00:27:44.960 --> 00:27:52.480
I I I had heard you mention that in another podcast too, and I yeah, I I do recall there was probably some broad comedy.
00:27:52.559 --> 00:28:12.400
I don't remember what specifically there was, but yeah, I remember thinking I'm like, and you when you brought that up in the podcast, I was like, oh yeah, like I do remember us having conversations saying, hey, you know, your film is better than this joke, so you could lose it and you would probably narrow down the tone even better.
00:28:12.559 --> 00:28:14.000
So it's not a broad combo.
00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:16.559
Brett and Rachel, it's a dark comedy.
00:28:16.960 --> 00:28:17.359
Yeah.
00:28:17.680 --> 00:28:25.519
Although Brett and Rachel absolutely there was a it was the joke, uh I think there were one of the jokes was with them, and they're just like, Oh, I can't believe you cut that.
00:28:25.599 --> 00:28:28.240
I was like, trust me, it works better without it.
00:28:28.559 --> 00:28:31.519
Yeah, I vaguely, I think I vaguely remember that.
00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:33.039
Yeah, there being like a couple of things.
00:28:33.200 --> 00:28:34.480
You would have gotten a laugh, I'm sure.
00:28:34.640 --> 00:28:36.720
Just like goofy chat down, yeah.
00:28:36.960 --> 00:28:38.079
Yeah, it was just goofy.
00:28:38.160 --> 00:28:39.119
Yeah, it was goofy.
00:28:39.200 --> 00:28:41.200
Because they they would also ad lib sometimes.
00:28:41.279 --> 00:28:48.400
I don't remember if it was uh I think it was one of mine, but it could have been there's there's a mix, there were some ad libs in there.
00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:50.799
Ooh, Jay's gonna throw one of them under the bus.
00:28:51.759 --> 00:28:52.079
Just kidding.
00:28:52.640 --> 00:28:53.519
No, no, no, no.
00:28:53.759 --> 00:29:00.559
I I I I'm pretty sure what you cut out was me because most of the ad libs that I remember are actually still in the film.
00:29:01.039 --> 00:29:18.640
Um, so the that's and listen, I'm I'm I'm a bit of an actor too, so it's like actors can ad lib, but they're just also just trying to work through the scene sometimes, and it's like, I guess I'll just keep going, you know, until they're stopped or someone yells cut.
00:29:18.880 --> 00:29:27.519
So they might take that as as most improv does, it's like it can go off in another direction, and then at the end you're like, what the hell were we doing?
00:29:27.759 --> 00:29:32.960
We were thinking we were like so wrapped up in a moment, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
00:29:33.119 --> 00:29:35.440
So no, no, yeah, for sure.
00:29:35.759 --> 00:29:45.279
Um, but yeah, so so you went through that process and then uh you got through the coloring, and so did that take like another year, or what what sort of happened there?
00:29:46.319 --> 00:30:04.640
Almost uh I think when you left us, it was uh, you know, as you're well aware, you were the second editor, and there there was um the that process had taken a significant amount of time, but I think we were like by the end of the summer, right?
00:30:04.720 --> 00:30:11.759
It's like I remember September, October, and that's when they started on the long process of doing like sound.
00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:13.359
Music had already started.
00:30:13.519 --> 00:30:13.839
Okay.
00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:22.559
Uh music started quite early on in during the edit, uh, because it was a friend of mine, and we were just working stuff out uh constantly.
00:30:22.960 --> 00:31:02.720
Um and then uh that so both but both of those things, I think what took also some time was also tonally as well, because sometimes they would go a little goofy with the soundtrack, and I was like, no, no, kind of bring it, bring it, bring it back down, and even the music too, uh, it would go, you know, it the music is is so unique to this film because we've spent a lot of time trying to do it, uh uh and it's it's like a mishmash of different uh styles, and so we wanted to have that kind of hit the right tone with that as well.
00:31:03.519 --> 00:31:11.279
Um like the coloring just took long because there was um you know issues with with uh timelines.
00:31:11.599 --> 00:31:21.279
Um it is not the what the work was was good, but it was just you know uh timelines were not uh not handled correctly.
00:31:21.599 --> 00:31:25.839
Did you go through a post house or did you use a freelancer colorist?
00:31:26.720 --> 00:31:28.240
Freelance colorist.
00:31:29.279 --> 00:31:41.359
Um but um in the end the work was good uh on on everyone's part, and uh that's what really matters, but it did delay us like submitting to festivals and stuff.
00:31:41.519 --> 00:31:50.079
Uh so I think the first round of festivals that we sent off to, uh I think Fright Fest was in the first round.
00:31:50.319 --> 00:31:59.359
Okay, and we we uh I was looking like I had a list of festivals that I was like gonna I if I get into any one of them, I'm like I'm good.
00:31:59.440 --> 00:32:00.000
Yeah, you know.
00:32:00.400 --> 00:32:08.240
Wasn't like I mean obviously, you know, you s you submit to like the big ones like Khan and Tiff and all that stuff, but you know, they're they're super hard.
00:32:08.480 --> 00:32:11.839
I I was really hoping for like a good genre fest.
00:32:11.920 --> 00:32:14.880
Yeah, uh and Fright Fest is like at the top of the list.
00:32:15.119 --> 00:32:15.839
Totally, yeah.
00:32:16.079 --> 00:32:22.960
And uh I I submitted to them, and like two weeks later they got back to me and they were like, we'll love to have the film in.
00:32:23.119 --> 00:32:30.559
So I was like, Alright, well, that was quick, and we I'd already gotten what I wanted, so I was like, great, that's that's awesome.
00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:40.400
And um, you know, I think some people would have liked to have maybe premiered in in Canada first and then kind of gone on, but you know what?
00:32:40.720 --> 00:32:44.640
I got to have my film premiere in the West End of London.
00:32:44.880 --> 00:32:52.240
And there's so like there's so many it's like amazing, yeah, and there's so many opportunities to screen, like it doesn't matter what comes first, right?
00:32:52.319 --> 00:33:00.400
It's like there's not gonna be overlap of people in England being in Canada, be like, oh, I already saw it, and then we're burned.
00:33:00.480 --> 00:33:02.640
It's like two opposite ends of the planet.
00:33:02.720 --> 00:33:03.839
I think you're fine.
00:33:04.240 --> 00:33:19.440
Um yeah, so that's great, and you had a great premiere in uh at Fright Fest, and I you know I've worked on several films that have either premiered or screened at Fright Fest, and that's always the top of the list for horror films.
00:33:19.599 --> 00:33:27.359
That's where they all want like I said, whether they want to premiere or at least screen there, that always seems to be a really big deal, which is great.
00:33:27.759 --> 00:33:39.039
So then did Raven Banner come in before that, or did they yeah, they were part of the tax credits of the Canadian distributor.
00:33:39.200 --> 00:33:41.920
Oh they they were involved way before.
00:33:42.079 --> 00:33:46.559
Um there's a certain limit on who you can use for for for that.
00:33:46.720 --> 00:33:47.759
So interesting, okay.
00:33:47.920 --> 00:33:54.079
Uh they came on before, and they're the uh they were the natural, I suppose.
00:33:54.240 --> 00:34:05.759
Um there were there were a few options, but I think um our producers had some relationship with them, so that I think that was the easy uh choice uh at the time.
00:34:05.920 --> 00:34:18.559
And at so at Frightfest, Fright Fest does a lot of like promotion, and you get a lot of reviews, you got a little coverage, they have a red carpet where like there's doing TikTok interviews and all that stuff.
00:34:18.800 --> 00:34:19.119
That's great.
00:34:19.280 --> 00:34:28.400
So we got a lot of stuff off of that, and um we didn't have a sales agent at the time.
00:34:28.960 --> 00:34:36.880
Uh so was Raven Banner wasn't your sales, like they didn't have someone representing sales for Sick Puppy?
00:34:37.679 --> 00:34:40.480
No, because they're just our Canadian distributor.
00:34:40.880 --> 00:34:46.719
Um we still uh had the we kept the world option.
00:34:47.039 --> 00:34:52.800
Um uh we didn't really have uh um anyone for the world option.
00:34:52.960 --> 00:34:53.280
Okay.
00:34:53.440 --> 00:34:56.320
So it was still open, we could go with anyone we wanted.
00:34:56.559 --> 00:34:56.960
Right.
00:34:57.199 --> 00:35:16.000
And uh yeah, so what we what happened was uh getting into Fright Fest, like you know, we had another producer come on um from um you know just like an executive uh producer who is just fantastic, he's a great guy.
00:35:16.159 --> 00:35:21.039
He's uh he's a friend of my producer Jason's and he's my friend too.
00:35:21.199 --> 00:35:32.559
And he's a new he's a nice, like he he he has a very uh good understanding of the business as well as the especially the genre side of things.
00:35:32.719 --> 00:35:34.000
And can you say his name?
00:35:34.880 --> 00:35:35.679
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:35:35.760 --> 00:35:36.480
Jason Goldberg.
00:35:36.559 --> 00:35:42.079
He's um yeah, yeah, he produced this movie called Glorious, uh, which is on Shudder.
00:35:42.159 --> 00:35:46.559
It's got uh Ryan Quantin, I believe, and um J.K.
00:35:46.719 --> 00:35:47.199
Simmons.
00:35:47.440 --> 00:35:48.639
It's a really interesting film.
00:35:48.719 --> 00:35:54.400
It was directed by, I believe, the Fangoria, um somebody from Fangoria.
00:35:54.559 --> 00:35:56.719
It was I I saw it, I I I enjoyed it.
00:35:56.960 --> 00:36:07.119
It was a really unique, kind of weird take on um, you know, uh otherworldly uh you know encounters.
00:36:07.360 --> 00:36:16.960
And it's um but you know, like so he knew him and he was able to kind of get us out there and and be seen.
00:36:17.119 --> 00:36:20.239
He liked the film a lot and he wanted to help us.
00:36:20.800 --> 00:36:28.079
And so he kind of got the film to the people that he knew that he had spent years building these relationships.
00:36:28.320 --> 00:36:37.440
And one of them, I think we got we got a few offers, but one of them was from uh Dark Sky, which I was familiar with as well.
00:36:37.599 --> 00:36:48.400
Uh, because I think when I went to my first Fantasia or my second Fantasia film, they had it was a Dark Sky film, and these guys were well known in the business.
00:36:48.719 --> 00:37:07.440
Like they they had also one of the films that influenced me the most when making this, like one of the two films that influenced me the most was Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer, and uh MPI Dark Sky actually made Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer, like they produced it before they were even a district distribution company.
00:37:07.679 --> 00:37:15.280
So uh just to just to go on that a little bit, it is strange how serendipitous that can happen sometimes.
00:37:15.840 --> 00:37:18.639
I'm literally in the same boat with my film Backpay.
00:37:18.800 --> 00:37:38.159
Like it got I tried to, you know, I hasn't done a festival run or anything yet, but um I tried to like hit up a few distributors and you know, every the ones that some like did some, you know, one gave me an offer, I wasn't crazy about it, and you know, it just it wasn't working.
00:37:38.559 --> 00:37:47.679
And then all of a sudden the company that I was aware of and I've seen their films and I thought, man, it'd be crazy if we got them.
00:37:47.920 --> 00:37:54.159
They're the ones that came on board and saw the potential of the film and whatever that they can do with it.
00:37:54.400 --> 00:37:55.920
Who knows what that'll turn into, right?
00:37:56.079 --> 00:37:56.320
Right?
00:37:56.400 --> 00:37:58.000
That's the other side of a distribution.
00:37:58.079 --> 00:38:02.480
I'm sure we're all going to you're going to understand it soon if you haven't already, right?
00:38:02.559 --> 00:38:08.320
Is that you know distribution can sometimes be the greatest thing in the world.
00:38:08.559 --> 00:38:16.880
Whoever gets your film, you know, takes it and runs with it, makes it work, or you can end up in a situation where you have to really make it work.
00:38:17.360 --> 00:38:24.000
And maybe maybe promises aren't kept, or maybe they are and expectations need to change, right?
00:38:24.079 --> 00:38:25.360
On your end especially.
00:38:26.000 --> 00:38:32.559
So but you don't really know when you're in a situation like that usually until you're pretty far in.
00:38:33.360 --> 00:38:33.599
Right.
00:38:33.920 --> 00:38:46.239
So exactly I I I got who I wanted, similar to how you did with Dark Sky, but at the same time, it's like I could look back a year or two from now and then go, nah, maybe maybe I should have gone over here.
00:38:46.400 --> 00:38:47.360
And hopefully I don't.
00:38:47.519 --> 00:38:54.719
I don't feel that's going to happen, but you know, a lot of people have been through a lot of rough situations with distribution.
00:38:54.800 --> 00:38:58.239
It's not something a lot of people talk about and they should definitely talk about more.
00:38:59.039 --> 00:39:04.000
Well, I guess they're scared that like maybe if they start badmouthing distributors, you know, nobody will.
00:39:04.320 --> 00:39:05.039
But it's not about that.
00:39:05.119 --> 00:39:07.760
Like, there's nothing to badmouth about dark sky or anything.
00:39:07.920 --> 00:39:12.480
They haven't you're in it with them and uh they're doing great things for you.
00:39:12.639 --> 00:39:17.280
Um but it's just funny how it's like how serendipitous that can happen sometimes.
00:39:17.360 --> 00:39:26.559
Because I'm sure, like you said, you might have talked to other distributors and things weren't working, and then all of a sudden the company that you want to be with is the one that wants to take your film on.
00:39:26.880 --> 00:39:30.559
So it's like you manifested it together, right?
00:39:31.039 --> 00:39:41.199
I you know, I I I trusted them, um, you know, based on they seem like genuine people, they're which is really important for sure.
00:39:42.079 --> 00:39:45.280
They're they're nice, they understand movies, you know.
00:39:45.440 --> 00:39:49.760
We like any distributor, you're not gonna agree on every single thing that they do.
00:39:49.840 --> 00:40:14.960
Yeah um, but it's it's about like the general like being okay with like the people and trusting them to a certain extent, yes, you know, as you can in this business, uh and liking the stuff they put out, and you know, like these guys, pretty much like two of the more famous films that they have there are um you know Henry and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
00:40:15.119 --> 00:40:18.000
Yes, which is my favorite horror film.
00:40:18.320 --> 00:40:28.800
So it's it's um but they also just like over the years have created these like really interesting like sort of dark comedies and horror films.
00:40:28.960 --> 00:40:40.400
They got you know like they started off like Ty West's early films, so it they really like kind of have an idea about like what's um what's working, you know.
00:40:40.480 --> 00:40:49.920
Um and that is also really important is to find distributors that understand that like would take your film.
00:40:50.320 --> 00:40:50.639
Right?
00:40:50.719 --> 00:40:54.559
Like I think a lot of people just assume any distributor would take any film.
00:40:54.719 --> 00:41:16.079
It's like no, you w preferably in my opinion, you want to find someone who can specialize and really understand what your film is rather than someone that just shotguns a catalog of different films out into the ether without really any focus on any particular genre or you know, the budget level or anything, right?
00:41:16.159 --> 00:41:19.039
It's like you want someone that understands what your film is.
00:41:19.519 --> 00:41:25.519
And isn't just taking it on to like juke up their catalog a little bit and take a few dollars every year.
00:41:26.320 --> 00:41:29.840
And and you can you can see that when they try to promote the film.
00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:30.320
Yeah.
00:41:30.559 --> 00:41:40.639
When they when you when they cut the trailer or when they kind of uh did the poster for the film, you could tell they got the film.
00:41:40.800 --> 00:41:40.960
Yeah.
00:41:41.119 --> 00:41:41.920
They understood it.
00:41:42.079 --> 00:41:50.800
Like they understood the tone, they understood everything that was required to but they also like knew how to kind of sell it in their own way.
00:41:51.440 --> 00:41:56.719
So I think that like solidified it for me because I was like, okay, they get the movie.
00:41:56.960 --> 00:41:57.119
Yeah.
00:41:57.280 --> 00:41:58.800
No, that's and that's great.
00:41:59.119 --> 00:42:08.159
So let's talk about um where it is now and what sort of the next couple of months looks like for Sick Puppy.
00:42:08.480 --> 00:42:15.119
And you know, I I I think it's been released in the US now, and then when when is it coming to Canada?
00:42:15.440 --> 00:42:18.000
Why don't you let everyone know what's going on?
00:42:18.719 --> 00:42:30.800
So Sick Puppy was released on May 22nd in the US in theaters and on uh video on demand at the same time, which is kind of like a hybrid model that uh Dark Sky often uses.
00:42:31.119 --> 00:42:31.840
It's great.
00:42:32.159 --> 00:42:49.440
Uh it was like a limited uh release theaters, but we we were in um you know a few cities, and uh uh I attended the the LA premiere with um Brett and Rachel and uh Jason uh you know uh Goldberg as well.
00:42:49.679 --> 00:42:54.159
We all uh had a great time and it was a very nice like reception.
00:42:54.239 --> 00:42:58.079
Like people really seem to enjoy themselves, which is great because it was like 10 p.m.
00:42:58.159 --> 00:42:58.880
on a Friday.
00:42:59.679 --> 00:43:01.280
So it was uh it was great.
00:43:01.360 --> 00:43:06.719
We had a moderator from Fangoria and it was uh no, it was uh it was a fun time.
00:43:06.880 --> 00:43:13.360
And um so now after that, um you know it's still being available.
00:43:13.440 --> 00:43:17.679
I don't know when it's going to hit streaming that we haven't had that conversation yet.
00:43:17.840 --> 00:43:24.159
Um and um also physical media uh that's that's on the table now.
00:43:24.320 --> 00:43:31.199
So uh we're gonna see I'll have more news about that as it as it goes on.
00:43:31.519 --> 00:43:41.760
And any word of like how it's done in the other theaters in the select uh any have you been able to find get any numbers or any any info?
00:43:42.000 --> 00:43:48.400
Well, usually usually they give you like quarterly reports and stuff, so the that'll come later on.
00:43:48.639 --> 00:43:50.000
I'll I'll figure that out.
00:43:50.239 --> 00:43:59.760
I mean it's it's hard for especially for like an indie film, like you know, you know, one of the reasons that like obsession did so well.
00:44:00.400 --> 00:44:13.280
Aside from just like having this guy having his own, you know, background and and and fan base is that you know it's like it's a bigger company that has access to more publicity, that has access to more.
00:44:14.000 --> 00:44:14.719
It's a lot of money.
00:44:14.800 --> 00:44:18.239
Like people are like, oh, this movie was made for 750,000.
00:44:18.719 --> 00:44:19.039
No.
00:44:19.920 --> 00:44:21.760
Look at what the marketing budget was for.
00:44:22.239 --> 00:44:42.880
They probably dropped 10 million and then uh and then the word of mouth just turned into its own thing, turned into memes, turned into tweets, you know, and it's like and you just have this really great lead actress who like it's like everything could have couldn't have gone more right in their uh you know in their favor, and they deserve it.
00:44:42.960 --> 00:44:46.000
The movie is incredible, so it's like you can't even argue.
00:44:46.320 --> 00:44:48.960
It's just one of these things that happens sometimes.
00:44:49.280 --> 00:45:00.639
And they have a great marketing campaign too, and it's but the those type of things require a lot of money and like indie films generally don't have that.
00:45:00.880 --> 00:45:06.239
Yeah, and and so yeah, and so like I don't know how it it it it would have done.
00:45:06.320 --> 00:45:16.960
I think there was a strong push for the the video on demand as well because a lot of people just like wouldn't have access to the film otherwise because it's only playing in select cities.
00:45:17.119 --> 00:45:20.239
So I uh you know, people are like asking about the film.
00:45:20.320 --> 00:45:22.480
I was like, I'm glad that they were able to do that.
00:45:22.559 --> 00:45:26.159
We've taken a bit of a different approach in Canada.
00:45:26.480 --> 00:45:35.280
In Canada, we're not presently planning um just yet to go on to video and demand.
00:45:35.440 --> 00:45:35.760
Okay.
00:45:36.079 --> 00:45:44.480
Uh we will eventually I expect, but the right now we're sticking with just a theatrical uh release.
00:45:45.119 --> 00:45:46.719
Can you take the film on the road?
00:45:46.960 --> 00:45:49.280
Can you that's that's that's what we're doing.
00:45:49.440 --> 00:45:50.320
Yes, that's great.
00:45:50.719 --> 00:45:59.280
Because I I think for a film like this, it is really hard to put it in a theater for like a week and expect it to um you know do well.
00:45:59.440 --> 00:46:08.480
Maybe down the line, maybe once it builds up a lot of um, you know, good uh positive word of mouth, then that that is a possibility.
00:46:08.639 --> 00:46:10.000
But right now it's like kind of going to be a little bit more.
00:46:11.039 --> 00:46:17.519
Especially right now, like if you're gonna go on the road with it, this is what I tell you call it the Canadian Obsession.
00:46:17.760 --> 00:46:20.320
That's all it you know put in every headline.
00:46:20.800 --> 00:46:29.760
This to me, this film is as close to obsession as anything else, so why not lean into it and why not, you know, dovetail off of that success?
00:46:29.920 --> 00:46:47.360
Um because there's a lot there's a lot of parallels and there's a lot to enjoy, obviously, in both films, but I d I think I think people are going to enjoy Sick Puppy a lot more than they expect, and I'm sure you kind of saw I'm sure the reactions at your LA premiere probably leaned into that more than you even expected.
00:46:48.159 --> 00:46:50.480
So yeah, and I was I I was surprised.
00:46:50.880 --> 00:46:56.079
Like people, well, you know, when you're sitting in the theater, especially it's hard, like drama is impossible to tell.
00:46:56.159 --> 00:47:07.599
Yeah, like you can't you they'd just be sitting there and like but you could hear like the laughter or you could hear the gasps when uh like a certain character was threatened or another one was killed.
00:47:07.760 --> 00:47:08.000
Right.
00:47:08.239 --> 00:47:10.880
You so you knew people were paying attention, yes.
00:47:11.039 --> 00:47:12.480
So that's kind of nice.
00:47:12.719 --> 00:47:18.239
Um, but yeah, the the uh we had our first screening at the Rio Theater in Vancouver.
00:47:18.480 --> 00:47:19.039
Yes.
00:47:19.280 --> 00:47:21.519
Uh so we were able to get some people out to that.
00:47:21.599 --> 00:47:37.519
It was uh um kind of uh hosted by the Vancouver Horror Show, which is like a um pretty much like the biggest like horror um festival here in in uh in Vancouver, and they were so so nice to do that.
00:47:37.679 --> 00:47:40.960
Uh the the the head David Taylor hosted the Q ⁇ A.
00:47:41.440 --> 00:47:46.000
Um and it was just uh it was great response.
00:47:46.079 --> 00:48:06.480
Like I again, like I was noticing like people had like some great questions at the end, and they had some amazing like responses, like just listening to them in the audience, which is and are you taking it if you don't mind me asking, are you taking it on the road like is Dark Sky or Raven Banner one of those people?
00:48:06.719 --> 00:48:11.679
Are they sort of you know financing this tour?
00:48:11.760 --> 00:48:14.000
Or are you sort of like putting it on your back?
00:48:14.320 --> 00:48:21.119
And then that way you get uh like I said, uh people think it's a tagging to talk about money, but this is what I would this is what I want to talk about.
00:48:21.199 --> 00:48:26.320
I want to talk about the business of film and how we make money from these great projects that we do, right?
00:48:26.639 --> 00:48:35.760
So it's like, are you are you putting it on your back, or is you know, Raven Banner or Dark Sky sort of helping finance the the tour?
00:48:37.679 --> 00:48:41.039
Because it's not cheap to travel around this country, that's for sure.
00:48:41.599 --> 00:48:49.840
No, but they they uh they are definitely supportive of um the you know the run that we're doing.
00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:50.320
Yeah.
00:48:50.480 --> 00:48:54.480
Um, you know, they promote it, uh, they help out where they can.
00:48:55.280 --> 00:49:02.400
Um, you know, as far as organizing it, I would definitely say like that would be on on my team and myself.
00:49:02.559 --> 00:49:03.280
Yes, okay.
00:49:03.519 --> 00:49:15.760
Um I I do have good relationships um with people, especially, you know, like the theaters, because I'm a huge theater goer myself, so I can basically just you know tell them the truth.
00:49:15.840 --> 00:49:18.559
Like I support your theater all the time.
00:49:18.800 --> 00:49:21.119
Let's let's let's let's do let's do this.
00:49:21.199 --> 00:49:27.119
Like I try to make sure that it's it's a good idea like financially for both parties, you know.
00:49:27.440 --> 00:49:34.480
Um rich off of this, but it's like it's it's about like making sure that we support each other.
00:49:34.800 --> 00:49:38.320
And it's word of mouth, you know, it's spreading the word about the film.
00:49:39.199 --> 00:49:40.559
Yeah, absolutely.
00:49:40.719 --> 00:49:48.960
And uh uh, you know, the the theaters I worked at have been very supportive, and they've been just especially like for indie horror film.
00:49:49.039 --> 00:49:53.280
I think that's Canadian indie horror film, like they're that's great.
00:49:53.440 --> 00:50:01.039
I'm I'm I'm very happy with how that's going, and then so we we do what we can to promote it as much as we can.
00:50:01.199 --> 00:50:04.800
Um and we're trying different methods, seeing what works the best.
00:50:04.880 --> 00:50:07.440
Uh it's it's a learning process, I would say.
00:50:07.679 --> 00:50:10.159
I mean, we're playing um next.
00:50:10.239 --> 00:50:15.039
Uh we have some uh theaters that we're talking to across Canada.
00:50:15.360 --> 00:50:22.639
Uh Next, I think made the most sense really would be to go where we shot the movie, which is in Toronto.
00:50:22.719 --> 00:50:23.039
Yes.
00:50:23.199 --> 00:50:36.880
And so my um the theater that I actually was visiting during the the filming of this movie, I would go see go there and see like Sleepaway Camp or some other horror movie, and they have a cool bar next door.
00:50:37.119 --> 00:50:38.239
I'd have dinner at.
00:50:38.320 --> 00:50:40.000
It's uh the review.
00:50:40.480 --> 00:50:50.800
And uh that's you know, I was just there, you know, to see the Kill Bill, you know, uh extravaganza uh when they put the two movies together.
00:50:50.880 --> 00:51:02.079
Uh I just saw that like in February or January or something, and I just love that theater and I'm I'm really glad that we're having kind of our uh Toronto Toronto premiere there on July 15th.
00:51:02.320 --> 00:51:06.159
Yes, I was I was about to say, let's make sure we drop the date, uh the review in 2013.
00:51:06.480 --> 00:51:07.039
July 15th.
00:51:07.280 --> 00:51:07.840
July 15th.
00:51:08.079 --> 00:51:08.960
6 30 p.m.
00:51:09.760 --> 00:51:12.559
It's there's gonna be in QA with myself.
00:51:12.639 --> 00:51:16.880
Uh I know Brett um is going to be there for sure.
00:51:17.039 --> 00:51:23.199
Uh and then we may have a few others depending on their schedules, but it's get Natasha.
00:51:23.760 --> 00:51:29.039
I think a lot of people are gonna want to, you know, get her autograph once they see this performance, you know.
00:51:29.519 --> 00:51:30.960
She is incredible.
00:51:31.119 --> 00:51:32.639
She's very very busy.
00:51:32.719 --> 00:51:33.599
She just got a new show.
00:51:33.920 --> 00:51:34.559
I know, I know.
00:51:34.960 --> 00:51:37.039
It's a big show, too, isn't it?
00:51:38.079 --> 00:51:40.159
Uh yeah, yeah, it's big here.
00:51:40.320 --> 00:51:42.719
Um, you know, I think it's Netflix that does it.
00:51:42.800 --> 00:51:43.840
Yeah, I can't remember.
00:51:43.920 --> 00:51:47.679
But yeah, I I I do she is quite quite busy.
00:51:47.840 --> 00:51:48.079
Yeah.
00:51:48.239 --> 00:51:53.440
Uh so whenever she uh is able to do it, uh that'll be great.
00:51:53.599 --> 00:51:57.519
Uh because I I do think a lot of people really want to talk to her.
00:51:58.239 --> 00:52:00.880
It's uh be like, why did you do this?
00:52:01.039 --> 00:52:02.079
How did you do this?
00:52:02.239 --> 00:52:02.960
Who are you?
00:52:04.400 --> 00:52:09.920
It's it's it's a uh a memorable performance.
00:52:10.079 --> 00:52:13.119
Uh I think that's something that's gonna continue.
00:52:13.440 --> 00:52:19.360
She'll get people coming up to her years later and being like, this is you know something special.
00:52:19.599 --> 00:52:19.760
Yeah.
00:52:20.239 --> 00:52:34.079
And I think uh the yeah, that's uh absolutely uh, you know, and and and everyone that you know, all my actors that that we worked with together, they all did the same.
00:52:34.400 --> 00:52:50.559
They all turned in amazing performances and they were such a fun people to work with and they're friends, and yeah, they're it's I'm I'm super happy that uh people are finally getting to see them in their own country, yeah.
00:52:50.880 --> 00:52:54.239
With you know, like their friends and family are gonna get to see it.
00:52:54.400 --> 00:52:56.400
Um and I I love that.
00:52:56.639 --> 00:52:57.280
Yeah, man.
00:52:57.360 --> 00:53:00.079
Well, I appreciate you talking to me about this.
00:53:00.239 --> 00:53:05.280
My uh my uh card is about to run out here, so uh thanks very much.
00:53:05.440 --> 00:53:10.400
No, but I'm gr I'm glad we got a chance to talk about this because uh I think it's important for people to hear about.
00:53:10.639 --> 00:53:24.719
And I think it's important for people to hear about a film like this, you know, which to me is uh a really you know grassroots indie success story and deserves to have the attention, deserves even more attention than it's already gotten.
00:53:24.960 --> 00:53:28.400
And uh, you know, this is this to me is what it's all about.
00:53:28.800 --> 00:53:30.159
So I think that's great.
00:53:30.400 --> 00:53:39.280
So yes, uh July 15th, uh I will be there barring some other dramatic reason, but otherwise I will be there as well.
00:53:39.360 --> 00:53:43.360
Uh I definitely want to go and support and I want to see I don't think I've seen the finished film.
00:53:43.519 --> 00:53:51.440
I I don't remember the edit, it's been two years, so I think I would remember like half of it, but overall I haven't heard the music, I haven't seen the color correct.
00:53:51.679 --> 00:53:54.800
I think you sent me a link once, but it was like really low grade.
00:53:54.960 --> 00:53:58.079
I was like, all right, no, I want to see this at least in HD.
00:53:59.039 --> 00:54:04.400
This will be the best way to see exactly with an audience, a nice 2K DCP that's gonna look good.
00:54:04.800 --> 00:54:05.360
Great man.
00:54:05.440 --> 00:54:06.960
All right, well, appreciate it, Jay.
00:54:07.199 --> 00:54:10.639
So that's been yeah, so that's been the film element podcast.
00:54:10.719 --> 00:54:13.039
Thanks for listening, watching, whatever you're doing.
00:54:13.360 --> 00:54:17.840
Uh like, subscribe, check it out, and uh we'll see you maybe next week.
00:54:17.920 --> 00:54:20.079
I don't know what I don't know when my next episode is gonna be.
00:54:20.320 --> 00:54:23.039
But either way, thanks for uh listening and watching.
00:00:05.599 --> 00:00:08.160
Everyone, welcome to the Film Element Podcast.
00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:27.600
I'm your host, Mike Glant, and today I'm going to be interviewing a fellow filmmaker, Jay Reed, who is responsible for the new horror thriller called Sick Puppy, which I was fortunate enough to be involved with as uh an editor, sort of an editor that came in after the process.
00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:29.679
So I'm gonna bring Jay in right now.
00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:31.039
Jay, how are you?
00:00:32.320 --> 00:00:33.759
Hey Mike, how's it going?
00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:34.960
Good, good.
00:00:35.039 --> 00:00:38.000
Thanks for taking the time to uh chat with me today.
00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:43.200
And you know, I was I wanted to have you on because well, it's kind of funny for me.
00:00:43.280 --> 00:00:56.399
I go through a weird experience with this podcast because people have now started to not a lot of people, but a few people here and there have told me like, oh, maybe you should like talk about this or you should interview this guy or over here.
00:00:56.640 --> 00:01:06.239
And it's kind of weird because I'm always in a weird position because I'm like, I only want to do this with and I want to do interviews with people that I want to do interviews with.
00:01:06.319 --> 00:01:09.840
Like there's no I don't have any mandate to do this.
00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:24.480
Um but I just thought you were you would be a great person to chat with because you know I was brought in as an editor on this film, which is called Sick Puppy, which you you wrote and directed, correct?
00:01:25.359 --> 00:01:25.680
Yep.
00:01:25.920 --> 00:01:35.519
Yeah, so um I was brought in and I really enjoyed the project, or at the very least, I enjoyed the process of working on the project.
00:01:35.840 --> 00:01:42.159
I think the film is works really, really well on a lot of different levels.
00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:50.879
It's really twisted and demented in a lot of ways, and as I'm sure you are discovering, there's an audience out there for that.
00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:58.640
Uh and I and I enjoyed a lot of that, a lot of those aspects of the film.
00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:03.280
Um, so I just you know, we'll we'll have a little chat here.
00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:12.080
I just want to ask you from the very beginning, like, how did you get started in film and how did you end up making Sick Puppy?
00:02:13.120 --> 00:02:32.560
Uh well, you know, I I think the first thing I ever did as relates to film, aside from like stuff in like high school, um, was um I wrote uh scripts at the end of my high school experience uh for the my writing class.
00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:37.120
And it uh it was my first script ever, and it was a horror script.
00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:40.000
Um sort of had a David Lynch vibe to it.
00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:48.479
I was big into uh Twin Peaks Firewalk with me at that time, and it was um, you know, it was like super long, of course.
00:02:48.639 --> 00:02:53.439
Like you're like people don't realize that scripts are like way shorter these days.
00:02:53.599 --> 00:03:02.400
Um but back then you can just kind of maybe not get away with it, but it it was okay to write like a 140-page script.
00:03:02.479 --> 00:03:04.479
Now obviously that's not a not the case.
00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:08.319
But uh I don't think you could have ever gotten away with a 140-page script.
00:03:08.639 --> 00:03:23.599
No, the guy wrote the guy who wrote Heathers, that script was like 200 something pages, and that was I mean, obviously the movie's much shorter, but like they used to turn in these things, and then people would be like, Oh, uh yeah, sure, we'll we'll we'll shoot part of it.
00:03:23.759 --> 00:03:27.840
Like it's pretty much like now they're just like we don't have time for that.
00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:32.319
So they're like, we don't even have time to read all of that, let alone shoot it.
00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:49.039
No, exactly, they don't even have time for like 90 pages, so I'm like handing this thing into my teacher, and then she gave me a really great um grade on it, despite the fact that it was actually quite um violent and had a lot of sex in it.
00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:56.960
Uh, because you know, I'd watched a lot of you know horror films growing up, and uh, you know, they tend to have that stuff.
00:03:57.120 --> 00:04:00.319
So she's like, and I I was a little screwed up too.
00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:01.680
Let's let's not lie.
00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:10.080
Well, well, she's you know, if I had submitted it now, they would have put me in like they would have had to call like people in.
00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:13.840
Which is funny to think because you were a teenager when you handed that in.
00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:18.480
So it's like yeah, it's like when you're a teenager, it's fine, no problem.
00:04:18.959 --> 00:04:19.920
This is cool, yeah.
00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:25.120
But as an adult who has an awareness of like artistic merit, then you're a problem.
00:04:25.360 --> 00:04:25.680
Yeah.
00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:26.959
Yeah.
00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:28.240
Yeah, exactly.
00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:41.759
So I'm just like, I I handed in to uh her and she she really, really liked it, but she's like, you know, if I didn't know you so well, no, you're sweet, nice guy, uh, I I would have been quite disturbed by this.
00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:46.959
So but she's like She's like, are you a school shooter by any chance?
00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:49.439
I feel obliged to ask.
00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:54.560
Yeah, because it's like it was actually during sort of that time.
00:04:54.639 --> 00:04:59.279
I think like Columbine was only like a few years before, so people were a little on edge at that time.
00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:08.879
So I was very surprised that uh there wasn't some sort of issue, but it was kind of at that time last time where you can kind of be like, eh, the kids a little screwed up, right?
00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:26.480
You know, but um yeah, so uh after that, like you know, it kind of gave me a little bit of a confidence boost, and I applied to uh film school in Montreal, and uh I didn't get into the production program, but I got into the film studies program, and uh from there I just watched a lot of film, you know.
00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:36.000
I got to understand film a lot better from more of a theoretical standpoint, and I I made stuff on the sides, uh, you know, like just short films.
00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:40.399
Um, you know, I I did a little summer at USC and uh I just made films there.
00:05:41.279 --> 00:05:49.199
And over the you know, course of the time, I I kind of went through periods where I almost like sort of gave up on it.
00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:51.439
I actually became a journalist for a while.
00:05:51.759 --> 00:05:52.240
Oh wow.
00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:53.360
I didn't know that about you.
00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:55.120
Yeah, not not not a very long time.
00:05:55.279 --> 00:05:56.480
I was like a freelance journalist.
00:05:56.639 --> 00:06:05.839
I never worked for a paper or anything, but I'd write for like the Gazette, and then there's a indigenous newspaper in Montreal, so I I wrote for occasionally.
00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:25.120
Um and you know, at that point, while I was in journalism school, I met a guy who's an actor, and he's like, let's do something together, because you know, we both love film, and so we did something together, and it kind of got me back onto it, and uh I just continued working in film ever since, and then I kept making short films.
00:06:25.279 --> 00:06:33.040
I got you know awards for uh you know screen uh screenwriting from uh like the Quebec government and oh wow.
00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:57.360
Eventually, like uh, you know, like my short film got into the telefilm not short on talent, and after that I was just like, well, you know, I kind of want to just I've always wanted to do features, and nobody, you know, during that time I kept sending scripts out, nobody would want to make anything, you know, because it was either too weird or um you know they didn't know me, they didn't trust me, which is understandable.
00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:05.519
Uh so what uh you know, my uh one of my like good friends is also a director of photography.
00:07:05.600 --> 00:07:11.120
We'd worked on multiple projects together, JP, who shot uh Sick Puppy with me.
00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:22.319
Uh we got together and we said, hey, like what what kind of money can we earn from our regular jobs, put a little bit in, and then we can go out and try and find the rest, and and that's kind of how it went.
00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:32.480
And we managed to get like great actors for this because you know we made the I wanted to make like the script like you know, a good story.
00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:34.399
Yes, an interesting story for people.
00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:39.839
Even if it has like elements that are a little shocking, it it should still be a good story.
00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:43.759
So that's that's how come we got like beginning on this project.
00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:49.920
Well, and you know, I I this isn't a review podcast or like this episode isn't a review.
00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:56.800
Like I always I always like to approach uh talking about these films from sort of the business side outside in.
00:07:57.279 --> 00:08:15.920
And uh what I like thinking about now, especially with Sick Puppy specifically, you know, there's and you and I have talked about this on WhatsApp, is that now obsession, I would say very specifically, is this humongous generational runaway hit, right?
00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:19.279
That came out about a month ago or a month and a half ago.
00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:26.560
And uh to me, there are two core things that I think uh made that movie interesting and be successful.
00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:31.839
And I think a puppy has the uh these are two core principles as well.
00:08:32.799 --> 00:08:36.080
A, I actually I'll I'll bleed into almost three.
00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:42.720
And three is a little more like uh lowest common denominator, but I'll get to that one last.
00:08:42.960 --> 00:08:51.279
I think first the lead actors, the male and female, like it's about a relationship similar, exactly very similar to how Obsession was.
00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:56.399
And those two actors in that movie are so much fun to watch.
00:08:56.559 --> 00:09:02.559
Obviously, everyone's talking about Indy, and she hopefully is gonna get an Oscar nomination, maybe even win, who knows?
00:09:02.879 --> 00:09:09.919
And I feel the same way about Natasha and John, who are the lead actors of Sick Puppy.
00:09:10.080 --> 00:09:13.600
I think they're so incredibly fun to watch and engaging.
00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:19.840
And then you got and then the second thing is that you have this great hook.
00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:38.320
You know, you have this um I've heard you talk about this is sort of very, very like not base at all, but sort of uh, you know, loosely inspired by Paul Bernardo and Carla Homoka and other like Bonnie and Clyde type of serial killer relationships out there.
00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:46.480
But what you do is put this fun uh spin on it, which is weird to say because there are some very, very disturbing scenes in the film.
00:09:46.639 --> 00:09:49.919
And you and I even talked about this when I when I was editing it.
00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:54.480
Like there's some stuff I'm like, oh I'm like, do we have to show it?
00:09:54.559 --> 00:09:55.519
Do we have to do that?
00:09:55.679 --> 00:09:59.200
And obviously at the end of the day, it's your vision, and I understand.
00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:12.399
And you know, I I that's just my own personal take, but I understand a lot of people A can stomach it and B are kind of there to see people push the limits, right?
00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:15.440
Kind of uh exactly uh the way Obsession did as well.
00:10:15.600 --> 00:10:22.799
And I thought Obsession had this really great addictive hook to it, where you know it's the monkey paw whole thing.
00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:32.080
And that's what I think Sick Puppy and like I said, lowest com denominator baseline, as a dude, you know, I'll just speak on that.
00:10:32.240 --> 00:10:49.279
Number three, you have a very attractive cast, and you know I Yeah, no, I've been told that by even our distributor that uh yeah, that was I mean Natasha, I mean they're both incredibly good looking, John and Natasha, and they work together and they have this really great chemistry.
00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:54.399
So I think that as an editor, just watching them, it's like it just makes your job easier.
00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:58.000
There's no bad angle that I have to cut away from, you know what I mean?
00:10:58.080 --> 00:11:02.080
Like uh they just they just come alive on the screen.
00:11:02.159 --> 00:11:15.679
And obviously, going back to obsession, I also think that was a key to obsession success is that we just have this incredible uh new face that we've never seen, and uh the guy in it as well, you know.
00:11:15.759 --> 00:11:17.279
So I think Yeah, he is fantastic.
00:11:17.440 --> 00:11:20.639
Yeah, and I think people underestimate the power of that sometimes.
00:11:20.799 --> 00:11:27.200
Like everyone tries to be too high-minded about it, and then when they when they aren't, they seem to see success from it.
00:11:27.440 --> 00:11:42.480
But I I think you have to the the characters have to look like that in Sick Puppy in order for it to really work, because you go with Natasha's character, you go, how can she possibly be into this guy this much?
00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:51.279
And then he looks the way he does, and then he takes off his shirt, and then I'm like, Well, I assume if you're a girl, you know, this guy's really easy to look at.
00:11:51.600 --> 00:12:01.840
So yeah, but I actually never really uh uh you know tried to make you know Brett's Brett's character like uh super like bot.
00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:03.360
He just happened to be like that.
00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:03.679
Yeah.
00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:26.960
Like it was never like the the reason for like uh Natasha's character Charlie to be you know uh like that is actually because she was like a cheerleader and she took very good care of herself over the years and and it was like it was all character based, but it just so happens to work out quite well as far as like you know, people do like to see that.
00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:36.159
Uh yeah, I think especially when you're dealing with like really awful, awful characters uh sometimes like it's it's a little bit easier to stomach.
00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:45.519
Um well what it does, in my opinion, is that it sells you on the dream of how they ended up in that position, you know.
00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:54.559
Uh I believe because of how good looking John is, then I can kind of understand more why Natasha was so into him, right?
00:12:54.639 --> 00:13:04.799
It's like if John was like a five and Natasha and he still cast Natasha, the imbalance of that would just be harder to stomach and get over.
00:13:05.200 --> 00:13:09.120
But casting is storytelling.
00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:36.399
You know, and I can say that as a filmmaker, and that's something that people don't think about very often, is that just by casting someone that has a certain look or looks a certain way or just carries themselves a certain way, you are also telling part of the story and you are helping the audience get through um a bat a backstory that they don't even realize that they're learning just by who is doing it.
00:13:36.639 --> 00:13:37.279
You know what I mean?
00:13:37.360 --> 00:13:50.720
Like it's like it's like you can cast a guy as a cop and it's like, oh, he needs to do that, like we gotta just say how he got here, but then you can cast a guy who like delivers lines a certain way and looks a certain way, and you're like, I don't even need his backstory.
00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:56.080
I get who he is just by who how this actor uh is playing him and how he looks.
00:13:56.639 --> 00:14:00.240
So I think that was a key thing that you guys had for your casting.
00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:05.519
Um now I want to talk uh more about the business side of it.
00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:14.320
Like, I think that's how I like to approach it, uh especially during these interviews, because uh I think what you achieved here is pretty great.
00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:22.399
Uh uh A, because I think the film is great, but B, I think this sort of came out of thin air.
00:14:22.960 --> 00:14:32.000
And and I what I mean by that is that you had no real funding, like no telefil or grants or anything like that.
00:14:32.240 --> 00:14:35.519
It was like you guys said, you just sort of brought this money together.
00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:47.360
And can you sort of talk about how that ball got rolling and who you approached and how people said yes, and then you know, just sort of and give me the timeline of how that all worked out?
00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:49.039
Uh yeah.
00:14:49.200 --> 00:14:53.120
Uh well as much as you can or allowed or feel comfortable talking about.
00:14:53.519 --> 00:15:05.759
Yeah, yeah, no, no, I I I can just kind of break down sort of how this uh was kind of like the the funding pieces because I think that's probably more useful to somebody.
00:15:05.919 --> 00:15:11.360
Uh because everyone has different ways of uh you know getting money, you know.
00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:15.360
Some people have well, I don't know, rich uncles or something like that.
00:15:15.440 --> 00:15:21.519
I didn't have a rich uncle, but you know, like they have they have those sort of things, and they're able to find those.
00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:27.759
And uh for for us, the first money that got put in was our own.
00:15:27.919 --> 00:15:33.200
Like my myself and uh my director of photography, JP.
00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:43.840
Uh uh JP shoots like um short films, but he also shoots a lot of like ads, and he does like that type of work, so he had some money saved up.
00:15:44.080 --> 00:15:44.879
Same with me.
00:15:45.039 --> 00:16:00.879
I work in uh subtitling uh often and uh as well as uh dubbing, and so I just kind of put a little money away here and there trying to uh get it to be a decent amount, at least get us started.
00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:07.519
And so we did that, and then we kind of just like basically just like hat in hand and kind of crowdfunded it a little bit privately.
00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:14.080
We didn't do it publicly because um it was just easier and faster, and we didn't have to hire somebody for that.
00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:17.120
We just approached you know people on our own.
00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:24.639
And then uh Well, can you are you allowed to speak a little bit like who what type of people were you approaching?
00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:27.360
Like who were was it other producers?
00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:31.440
Was it people completely disassociated from the industry?
00:16:31.919 --> 00:16:49.279
Yeah, completely disassociated from the industry, just family, friends who like had seen like the our our work together over the years and and and put it, but like that got us, it didn't even get us to like finish you know principal photography, right?
00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:51.360
It got us to start principal photography.
00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:54.000
And just out of curious, like what were you telling them?
00:16:54.159 --> 00:17:13.039
Like I I've gone down that road a little bit myself, but I'm always much more self-conscious about approaching anyone outside of like really, really immediate even I I approached like a friend once, and then they were gun ho, and then that project just fell apart for various reasons.
00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:18.880
No real, you know, obviously there's no animosity, but I'm like, I'm so gun shy to go down that road again.
00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:25.680
And I'm just curious, you you got over that hump, and what was sort of your pitch to these people?
00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:42.319
Well, I think the they'd helped the the short that uh JP and I had done, uh, had done had gone to like telefilm not short on talent, and I'd gotten like you know, it did pretty well at the the genre festivals uh that we got into.
00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:45.200
It was during the pandemic, so it was a little more complicated.
00:17:45.279 --> 00:17:51.200
So um, but we had we had gotten into some pretty pretty good uh genre festivals.
00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:59.519
So I'd already had like the experience of like working in the genre space, and he he had his his own um equipment.
00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:11.279
He had uh he had the camera that we shot on, and I was able to kind of like pitch them like we have all these things that are kind of working for us, we have a story.
00:18:11.519 --> 00:18:13.759
Uh I I created a pitch deck, right?
00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:18.400
You know, pitch deck is a literally nobody's reading scripts, so you just do the pitch deck.
00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:33.519
Um and uh there's a visual style to it, you can see where I I reference movies that people understand, like Natural Born Killers or or something along those lines, and you just kind of have to get lucky, to be honest with you.
00:18:33.759 --> 00:18:55.279
It's it's it's a tough thing this, but you just kind of go around and you know uh get over the sort of shame of asking for money, and uh you know, knowing that you are and you the the most important thing you gotta tell them is that there's no guarantee you'll ever see your money again.
00:18:55.519 --> 00:18:57.599
Yeah, there's absolutely no guarantee.
00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:11.440
I can tell you these are the things that we're going to do to make sure we can get it back, but you know, again, the industry is so unpredictable, I can't like reasonably say you're gonna get your money back.
00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:22.960
I mean, I can say like because we did a you know, it's a pretty low budget still, that you there's a stronger possibility that you can, but it's gonna may take several years.
00:19:23.039 --> 00:19:23.519
Yes.
00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:35.599
So it's uh you know, it's it's just going to like those type of people, it's a little bit easier with like I would say family and or for friends because it's they're less thinking about it as an investment.
00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:42.559
Now from uh but we did have outside investors, but they came in after the film was done.
00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:43.279
Interesting.
00:19:43.599 --> 00:19:58.319
So when we were shooting, um we we we had enough money to kind of get through principal photography, but there's still like there was still a little bit left that was a little bit more complicated.
00:19:58.400 --> 00:19:58.640
Yeah.
00:19:58.960 --> 00:20:16.880
And we took advantage of the tax credit system uh to kind of uh help us get um money beforehand uh for the tax credits we um you know in advance on the tax credits, and we have to have you know those calculated out properly.
00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:19.440
You have to go through an accountant, you have to do all this stuff.
00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:36.319
But it we we luckily had some people, you know, a producer that was very, very familiar with that, and we were able to uh get that amount so that we can continue not lose momentum when uh you know principal after principal photography.
00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:44.640
As you know, some places you know they shoot the movie, and then it's just like, oh my god, you know, it's you know, they never know when you know editing is gonna start because there's no money.
00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:46.000
Yes, yes.
00:20:46.319 --> 00:20:56.720
So we were able to like we had a little bit of a delay, but uh it was like four months, and as you know, that was for other reasons, um, which I won't get into here.
00:20:57.200 --> 00:21:11.119
But uh, but yeah, the the um but it's definitely like that that was a part, and then also, you know, we we still needed even more money after that, uh as part of the post-production.
00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:15.680
Like that that covered some of it, and it also covered some extra production cost that we weren't expecting.
00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:27.599
But it was uh we we just went to outside investors, we had one of our producers just go, and what we did was we were able to at least that there we could just like edit the film together.
00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:36.640
Uh not the whole film, but just like certain scenes, like the fight scene, and then there's a couple other scenes that we we put together just to give them like a sort of pitch.
00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:42.880
It was like a rough, rough edit, red, rough edit, like I think our uh DIT guy did.
00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:46.400
And uh we did that, yeah.
00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:48.880
So like they just put it together.
00:21:49.039 --> 00:21:50.720
I I didn't even know what they were editing.
00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:53.920
I was like, I don't want to even look at it because it's not gonna be my edit, anyways.
00:21:54.160 --> 00:21:57.519
Just put something that you think they'll want, right?
00:21:58.000 --> 00:22:06.079
And so they they did that and By then we had uh we we'd got like a uh Canadian distributor which is uh Raven Banner.
00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:06.880
Yes.
00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:09.200
So that also helped.
00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:14.240
So uh them Yeah, uh you you're jumping ahead a little bit, which is which is great.
00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:16.880
So I wanna I wanna slow down a little bit.
00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:21.200
Um so you guys film in two thousand what was it, twenty-four?
00:22:22.559 --> 00:22:24.480
Twenty-three, it was like the end of twenty three.
00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:27.039
It was like October, yeah, yeah.
00:22:27.359 --> 00:22:32.400
Well, I I guess I worked on it when I came on, it was 2024, right?
00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:33.839
Yeah, yeah.
00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:35.039
Wow, that was 10 years ago.
00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:36.559
Post period that is insane.
00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:39.440
The post period was long, yeah.
00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:44.960
The post-period was super long, and then um, you know, we were very lucky.
00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:51.519
But yeah, we we we shot it in 2020, the end of like September, October of 2023.
00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:56.640
It's funny, any filmmaker listening to this, just take that in, right?
00:22:56.880 --> 00:23:03.440
We're talking about this three years since they filmed it, yeah, and two years since I edited it.
00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:09.680
And now I think the film is finally finding the legs and the home that it needs.
00:23:09.839 --> 00:23:11.200
I think so.
00:23:11.599 --> 00:23:13.440
Let's talk about that a little bit.
00:23:13.599 --> 00:23:18.799
Like, we don't need to get into the long post-process because I don't think that's a whole lot of fun for anybody.
00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:22.559
But um No, it was a very long post-process though.
00:23:22.880 --> 00:23:26.000
And uh and you were so great to work with.
00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:29.200
Like, I was I came in, I wasn't starting from scratch.
00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:45.680
Some some scenes I did kind of do a page one rewrite on, but there was there was definitely enough there that like I could piece it together and I would just go through stuff and say, Oh, okay, like this is just too long, or these jots just aren't flowing.
00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:49.039
And I know like the edit points just aren't at the right point.
00:23:49.119 --> 00:23:53.039
It's like it's like don't do it halfway through the sentence, do it at the end of the sentence.
00:23:53.119 --> 00:23:56.799
Like just all these little flow things that I'm I'm aware of.
00:23:57.039 --> 00:24:03.839
And then obviously I had my opinions too of like, hey, I don't know if you need this, or like blah blah blah blah blah.
00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:07.839
And I forget how much I actually impacted any of that.
00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:17.200
But um I you you cut out 20 minutes from the film, so yeah, I think you invite what's the running time of the film now?
00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:22.160
I think it's like uh I think it's like a hundred minutes or something.
00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:23.039
Oh, it is okay.
00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:26.000
Yeah, wow, so it was 20 minutes longer than that.
00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:30.000
I know it's uh well I always wanted it to be shorter.
00:24:30.319 --> 00:24:34.559
Like I I'm totally cool with like it being a lot shorter.
00:24:34.640 --> 00:24:40.720
Um I it could have been even shorter than that, but I think we were at that point pressed for time and we just had to kind of let it go.
00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:44.559
Yeah, I think um I think 100 minutes is okay.
00:24:44.720 --> 00:24:49.119
I think anything north of that starts to certainly pull a little a little bit.
00:24:49.359 --> 00:24:58.960
You know, I and there I've debated this with a lot of different people, and I'm having this really funny debate right now with a I'm working on uh the vampire film that I told you about.
00:24:59.279 --> 00:25:02.480
Um you know, it's like a few million dollar film.
00:25:02.880 --> 00:25:11.119
Uh really great script, uh top-notch actors, you know, people two Spielberg actors, funny enough.
00:25:11.279 --> 00:25:12.799
And uh cool.
00:25:13.440 --> 00:25:24.319
It's I'm trying to tell the director and the producers that I'm like I really want this to be shorter, and they're like, we are not going to do that.
00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:34.160
And I just it's such a weird process to me because I don't even know if I'm right about my approach in that, oh, I think this just should be shorter.
00:25:34.480 --> 00:25:40.640
I think there's certainly scenes that I'm seeing that I'm like, ah, we don't need that, we don't need that, I'd rather get to this quicker, I'd rather, you know.
00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:51.440
Um, but I think that's also how my mind works is that I'm just always I just want to get in and out, uh, especially when we're doing uh uh low cost indie.
00:25:51.839 --> 00:26:03.039
And I think especially with your project and a lot of projects that I've worked on in similar budget and scope, um I'm always like, listen, we cannot overstay our welcome.
00:26:03.359 --> 00:26:10.640
Um as good as we think the film is, let's try and they'll like us even more if we don't overstay our welcome.
00:26:10.799 --> 00:26:17.519
No you know when no one to play them and no one to fold them or whatever that uh saying is.
00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:23.039
So uh yeah, so that was important to me to get the time down.
00:26:23.119 --> 00:26:25.839
I have no idea what I cut out and how I did that.
00:26:26.240 --> 00:26:31.119
Like I said, now I realize it's been two years and you know, I was even in the editing room for that.
00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:40.960
Um but tell me more about so the film is done and it's I don't know at what point you guys colored and mixed it.
00:26:41.039 --> 00:26:43.359
Obviously, you had a composer come into the music.
00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:49.039
So that process, talk about that process, and then talk about what happened after.
00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:53.920
Was it were you submitting the film festivals, and then obviously you got into Fright Fest.
00:26:54.400 --> 00:26:57.279
So was that the first one or was that the first big one?
00:26:57.440 --> 00:26:59.119
Like, I'll let you go now.
00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:21.359
Okay, yeah, so uh after um, you know, we we kind of uh nailed the edit with you, and I think part of the which is something that continues on in the in the process, is the the one thing that you brought that was the most important was uh helping me nail the tone that I wanted.
00:27:21.759 --> 00:27:23.680
That was that because it is a tricky tone.
00:27:23.759 --> 00:27:24.000
Yes.
00:27:24.240 --> 00:27:25.440
I think we both know it.
00:27:25.599 --> 00:27:39.680
Uh there's some comedy in there, and you were right to kind of remove maybe the more overly comedic bits and stay with the more gallows humor that we were uh intending.
00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:42.960
I think um that was that was definitely a part of it.
00:27:43.039 --> 00:27:44.720
And so continue on.
00:27:44.960 --> 00:27:52.480
I I I had heard you mention that in another podcast too, and I yeah, I I do recall there was probably some broad comedy.
00:27:52.559 --> 00:28:12.400
I don't remember what specifically there was, but yeah, I remember thinking I'm like, and you when you brought that up in the podcast, I was like, oh yeah, like I do remember us having conversations saying, hey, you know, your film is better than this joke, so you could lose it and you would probably narrow down the tone even better.
00:28:12.559 --> 00:28:14.000
So it's not a broad combo.
00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:16.559
Brett and Rachel, it's a dark comedy.
00:28:16.960 --> 00:28:17.359
Yeah.
00:28:17.680 --> 00:28:25.519
Although Brett and Rachel absolutely there was a it was the joke, uh I think there were one of the jokes was with them, and they're just like, Oh, I can't believe you cut that.
00:28:25.599 --> 00:28:28.240
I was like, trust me, it works better without it.
00:28:28.559 --> 00:28:31.519
Yeah, I vaguely, I think I vaguely remember that.
00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:33.039
Yeah, there being like a couple of things.
00:28:33.200 --> 00:28:34.480
You would have gotten a laugh, I'm sure.
00:28:34.640 --> 00:28:36.720
Just like goofy chat down, yeah.
00:28:36.960 --> 00:28:38.079
Yeah, it was just goofy.
00:28:38.160 --> 00:28:39.119
Yeah, it was goofy.
00:28:39.200 --> 00:28:41.200
Because they they would also ad lib sometimes.
00:28:41.279 --> 00:28:48.400
I don't remember if it was uh I think it was one of mine, but it could have been there's there's a mix, there were some ad libs in there.
00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:50.799
Ooh, Jay's gonna throw one of them under the bus.
00:28:51.759 --> 00:28:52.079
Just kidding.
00:28:52.640 --> 00:28:53.519
No, no, no, no.
00:28:53.759 --> 00:29:00.559
I I I I'm pretty sure what you cut out was me because most of the ad libs that I remember are actually still in the film.
00:29:01.039 --> 00:29:18.640
Um, so the that's and listen, I'm I'm I'm a bit of an actor too, so it's like actors can ad lib, but they're just also just trying to work through the scene sometimes, and it's like, I guess I'll just keep going, you know, until they're stopped or someone yells cut.
00:29:18.880 --> 00:29:27.519
So they might take that as as most improv does, it's like it can go off in another direction, and then at the end you're like, what the hell were we doing?
00:29:27.759 --> 00:29:32.960
We were thinking we were like so wrapped up in a moment, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
00:29:33.119 --> 00:29:35.440
So no, no, yeah, for sure.
00:29:35.759 --> 00:29:45.279
Um, but yeah, so so you went through that process and then uh you got through the coloring, and so did that take like another year, or what what sort of happened there?
00:29:46.319 --> 00:30:04.640
Almost uh I think when you left us, it was uh, you know, as you're well aware, you were the second editor, and there there was um the that process had taken a significant amount of time, but I think we were like by the end of the summer, right?
00:30:04.720 --> 00:30:11.759
It's like I remember September, October, and that's when they started on the long process of doing like sound.
00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:13.359
Music had already started.
00:30:13.519 --> 00:30:13.839
Okay.
00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:22.559
Uh music started quite early on in during the edit, uh, because it was a friend of mine, and we were just working stuff out uh constantly.
00:30:22.960 --> 00:31:02.720
Um and then uh that so both but both of those things, I think what took also some time was also tonally as well, because sometimes they would go a little goofy with the soundtrack, and I was like, no, no, kind of bring it, bring it, bring it back down, and even the music too, uh, it would go, you know, it the music is is so unique to this film because we've spent a lot of time trying to do it, uh uh and it's it's like a mishmash of different uh styles, and so we wanted to have that kind of hit the right tone with that as well.
00:31:03.519 --> 00:31:11.279
Um like the coloring just took long because there was um you know issues with with uh timelines.
00:31:11.599 --> 00:31:21.279
Um it is not the what the work was was good, but it was just you know uh timelines were not uh not handled correctly.
00:31:21.599 --> 00:31:25.839
Did you go through a post house or did you use a freelancer colorist?
00:31:26.720 --> 00:31:28.240
Freelance colorist.
00:31:29.279 --> 00:31:41.359
Um but um in the end the work was good uh on on everyone's part, and uh that's what really matters, but it did delay us like submitting to festivals and stuff.
00:31:41.519 --> 00:31:50.079
Uh so I think the first round of festivals that we sent off to, uh I think Fright Fest was in the first round.
00:31:50.319 --> 00:31:59.359
Okay, and we we uh I was looking like I had a list of festivals that I was like gonna I if I get into any one of them, I'm like I'm good.
00:31:59.440 --> 00:32:00.000
Yeah, you know.
00:32:00.400 --> 00:32:08.240
Wasn't like I mean obviously, you know, you s you submit to like the big ones like Khan and Tiff and all that stuff, but you know, they're they're super hard.
00:32:08.480 --> 00:32:11.839
I I was really hoping for like a good genre fest.
00:32:11.920 --> 00:32:14.880
Yeah, uh and Fright Fest is like at the top of the list.
00:32:15.119 --> 00:32:15.839
Totally, yeah.
00:32:16.079 --> 00:32:22.960
And uh I I submitted to them, and like two weeks later they got back to me and they were like, we'll love to have the film in.
00:32:23.119 --> 00:32:30.559
So I was like, Alright, well, that was quick, and we I'd already gotten what I wanted, so I was like, great, that's that's awesome.
00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:40.400
And um, you know, I think some people would have liked to have maybe premiered in in Canada first and then kind of gone on, but you know what?
00:32:40.720 --> 00:32:44.640
I got to have my film premiere in the West End of London.
00:32:44.880 --> 00:32:52.240
And there's so like there's so many it's like amazing, yeah, and there's so many opportunities to screen, like it doesn't matter what comes first, right?
00:32:52.319 --> 00:33:00.400
It's like there's not gonna be overlap of people in England being in Canada, be like, oh, I already saw it, and then we're burned.
00:33:00.480 --> 00:33:02.640
It's like two opposite ends of the planet.
00:33:02.720 --> 00:33:03.839
I think you're fine.
00:33:04.240 --> 00:33:19.440
Um yeah, so that's great, and you had a great premiere in uh at Fright Fest, and I you know I've worked on several films that have either premiered or screened at Fright Fest, and that's always the top of the list for horror films.
00:33:19.599 --> 00:33:27.359
That's where they all want like I said, whether they want to premiere or at least screen there, that always seems to be a really big deal, which is great.
00:33:27.759 --> 00:33:39.039
So then did Raven Banner come in before that, or did they yeah, they were part of the tax credits of the Canadian distributor.
00:33:39.200 --> 00:33:41.920
Oh they they were involved way before.
00:33:42.079 --> 00:33:46.559
Um there's a certain limit on who you can use for for for that.
00:33:46.720 --> 00:33:47.759
So interesting, okay.
00:33:47.920 --> 00:33:54.079
Uh they came on before, and they're the uh they were the natural, I suppose.
00:33:54.240 --> 00:34:05.759
Um there were there were a few options, but I think um our producers had some relationship with them, so that I think that was the easy uh choice uh at the time.
00:34:05.920 --> 00:34:18.559
And at so at Frightfest, Fright Fest does a lot of like promotion, and you get a lot of reviews, you got a little coverage, they have a red carpet where like there's doing TikTok interviews and all that stuff.
00:34:18.800 --> 00:34:19.119
That's great.
00:34:19.280 --> 00:34:28.400
So we got a lot of stuff off of that, and um we didn't have a sales agent at the time.
00:34:28.960 --> 00:34:36.880
Uh so was Raven Banner wasn't your sales, like they didn't have someone representing sales for Sick Puppy?
00:34:37.679 --> 00:34:40.480
No, because they're just our Canadian distributor.
00:34:40.880 --> 00:34:46.719
Um we still uh had the we kept the world option.
00:34:47.039 --> 00:34:52.800
Um uh we didn't really have uh um anyone for the world option.
00:34:52.960 --> 00:34:53.280
Okay.
00:34:53.440 --> 00:34:56.320
So it was still open, we could go with anyone we wanted.
00:34:56.559 --> 00:34:56.960
Right.
00:34:57.199 --> 00:35:16.000
And uh yeah, so what we what happened was uh getting into Fright Fest, like you know, we had another producer come on um from um you know just like an executive uh producer who is just fantastic, he's a great guy.
00:35:16.159 --> 00:35:21.039
He's uh he's a friend of my producer Jason's and he's my friend too.
00:35:21.199 --> 00:35:32.559
And he's a new he's a nice, like he he he has a very uh good understanding of the business as well as the especially the genre side of things.
00:35:32.719 --> 00:35:34.000
And can you say his name?
00:35:34.880 --> 00:35:35.679
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:35:35.760 --> 00:35:36.480
Jason Goldberg.
00:35:36.559 --> 00:35:42.079
He's um yeah, yeah, he produced this movie called Glorious, uh, which is on Shudder.
00:35:42.159 --> 00:35:46.559
It's got uh Ryan Quantin, I believe, and um J.K.
00:35:46.719 --> 00:35:47.199
Simmons.
00:35:47.440 --> 00:35:48.639
It's a really interesting film.
00:35:48.719 --> 00:35:54.400
It was directed by, I believe, the Fangoria, um somebody from Fangoria.
00:35:54.559 --> 00:35:56.719
It was I I saw it, I I I enjoyed it.
00:35:56.960 --> 00:36:07.119
It was a really unique, kind of weird take on um, you know, uh otherworldly uh you know encounters.
00:36:07.360 --> 00:36:16.960
And it's um but you know, like so he knew him and he was able to kind of get us out there and and be seen.
00:36:17.119 --> 00:36:20.239
He liked the film a lot and he wanted to help us.
00:36:20.800 --> 00:36:28.079
And so he kind of got the film to the people that he knew that he had spent years building these relationships.
00:36:28.320 --> 00:36:37.440
And one of them, I think we got we got a few offers, but one of them was from uh Dark Sky, which I was familiar with as well.
00:36:37.599 --> 00:36:48.400
Uh, because I think when I went to my first Fantasia or my second Fantasia film, they had it was a Dark Sky film, and these guys were well known in the business.
00:36:48.719 --> 00:37:07.440
Like they they had also one of the films that influenced me the most when making this, like one of the two films that influenced me the most was Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer, and uh MPI Dark Sky actually made Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer, like they produced it before they were even a district distribution company.
00:37:07.679 --> 00:37:15.280
So uh just to just to go on that a little bit, it is strange how serendipitous that can happen sometimes.
00:37:15.840 --> 00:37:18.639
I'm literally in the same boat with my film Backpay.
00:37:18.800 --> 00:37:38.159
Like it got I tried to, you know, I hasn't done a festival run or anything yet, but um I tried to like hit up a few distributors and you know, every the ones that some like did some, you know, one gave me an offer, I wasn't crazy about it, and you know, it just it wasn't working.
00:37:38.559 --> 00:37:47.679
And then all of a sudden the company that I was aware of and I've seen their films and I thought, man, it'd be crazy if we got them.
00:37:47.920 --> 00:37:54.159
They're the ones that came on board and saw the potential of the film and whatever that they can do with it.
00:37:54.400 --> 00:37:55.920
Who knows what that'll turn into, right?
00:37:56.079 --> 00:37:56.320
Right?
00:37:56.400 --> 00:37:58.000
That's the other side of a distribution.
00:37:58.079 --> 00:38:02.480
I'm sure we're all going to you're going to understand it soon if you haven't already, right?
00:38:02.559 --> 00:38:08.320
Is that you know distribution can sometimes be the greatest thing in the world.
00:38:08.559 --> 00:38:16.880
Whoever gets your film, you know, takes it and runs with it, makes it work, or you can end up in a situation where you have to really make it work.
00:38:17.360 --> 00:38:24.000
And maybe maybe promises aren't kept, or maybe they are and expectations need to change, right?
00:38:24.079 --> 00:38:25.360
On your end especially.
00:38:26.000 --> 00:38:32.559
So but you don't really know when you're in a situation like that usually until you're pretty far in.
00:38:33.360 --> 00:38:33.599
Right.
00:38:33.920 --> 00:38:46.239
So exactly I I I got who I wanted, similar to how you did with Dark Sky, but at the same time, it's like I could look back a year or two from now and then go, nah, maybe maybe I should have gone over here.
00:38:46.400 --> 00:38:47.360
And hopefully I don't.
00:38:47.519 --> 00:38:54.719
I don't feel that's going to happen, but you know, a lot of people have been through a lot of rough situations with distribution.
00:38:54.800 --> 00:38:58.239
It's not something a lot of people talk about and they should definitely talk about more.
00:38:59.039 --> 00:39:04.000
Well, I guess they're scared that like maybe if they start badmouthing distributors, you know, nobody will.
00:39:04.320 --> 00:39:05.039
But it's not about that.
00:39:05.119 --> 00:39:07.760
Like, there's nothing to badmouth about dark sky or anything.
00:39:07.920 --> 00:39:12.480
They haven't you're in it with them and uh they're doing great things for you.
00:39:12.639 --> 00:39:17.280
Um but it's just funny how it's like how serendipitous that can happen sometimes.
00:39:17.360 --> 00:39:26.559
Because I'm sure, like you said, you might have talked to other distributors and things weren't working, and then all of a sudden the company that you want to be with is the one that wants to take your film on.
00:39:26.880 --> 00:39:30.559
So it's like you manifested it together, right?
00:39:31.039 --> 00:39:41.199
I you know, I I I trusted them, um, you know, based on they seem like genuine people, they're which is really important for sure.
00:39:42.079 --> 00:39:45.280
They're they're nice, they understand movies, you know.
00:39:45.440 --> 00:39:49.760
We like any distributor, you're not gonna agree on every single thing that they do.
00:39:49.840 --> 00:40:14.960
Yeah um, but it's it's about like the general like being okay with like the people and trusting them to a certain extent, yes, you know, as you can in this business, uh and liking the stuff they put out, and you know, like these guys, pretty much like two of the more famous films that they have there are um you know Henry and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
00:40:15.119 --> 00:40:18.000
Yes, which is my favorite horror film.
00:40:18.320 --> 00:40:28.800
So it's it's um but they also just like over the years have created these like really interesting like sort of dark comedies and horror films.
00:40:28.960 --> 00:40:40.400
They got you know like they started off like Ty West's early films, so it they really like kind of have an idea about like what's um what's working, you know.
00:40:40.480 --> 00:40:49.920
Um and that is also really important is to find distributors that understand that like would take your film.
00:40:50.320 --> 00:40:50.639
Right?
00:40:50.719 --> 00:40:54.559
Like I think a lot of people just assume any distributor would take any film.
00:40:54.719 --> 00:41:16.079
It's like no, you w preferably in my opinion, you want to find someone who can specialize and really understand what your film is rather than someone that just shotguns a catalog of different films out into the ether without really any focus on any particular genre or you know, the budget level or anything, right?
00:41:16.159 --> 00:41:19.039
It's like you want someone that understands what your film is.
00:41:19.519 --> 00:41:25.519
And isn't just taking it on to like juke up their catalog a little bit and take a few dollars every year.
00:41:26.320 --> 00:41:29.840
And and you can you can see that when they try to promote the film.
00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:30.320
Yeah.
00:41:30.559 --> 00:41:40.639
When they when you when they cut the trailer or when they kind of uh did the poster for the film, you could tell they got the film.
00:41:40.800 --> 00:41:40.960
Yeah.
00:41:41.119 --> 00:41:41.920
They understood it.
00:41:42.079 --> 00:41:50.800
Like they understood the tone, they understood everything that was required to but they also like knew how to kind of sell it in their own way.
00:41:51.440 --> 00:41:56.719
So I think that like solidified it for me because I was like, okay, they get the movie.
00:41:56.960 --> 00:41:57.119
Yeah.
00:41:57.280 --> 00:41:58.800
No, that's and that's great.
00:41:59.119 --> 00:42:08.159
So let's talk about um where it is now and what sort of the next couple of months looks like for Sick Puppy.
00:42:08.480 --> 00:42:15.119
And you know, I I I think it's been released in the US now, and then when when is it coming to Canada?
00:42:15.440 --> 00:42:18.000
Why don't you let everyone know what's going on?
00:42:18.719 --> 00:42:30.800
So Sick Puppy was released on May 22nd in the US in theaters and on uh video on demand at the same time, which is kind of like a hybrid model that uh Dark Sky often uses.
00:42:31.119 --> 00:42:31.840
It's great.
00:42:32.159 --> 00:42:49.440
Uh it was like a limited uh release theaters, but we we were in um you know a few cities, and uh uh I attended the the LA premiere with um Brett and Rachel and uh Jason uh you know uh Goldberg as well.
00:42:49.679 --> 00:42:54.159
We all uh had a great time and it was a very nice like reception.
00:42:54.239 --> 00:42:58.079
Like people really seem to enjoy themselves, which is great because it was like 10 p.m.
00:42:58.159 --> 00:42:58.880
on a Friday.
00:42:59.679 --> 00:43:01.280
So it was uh it was great.
00:43:01.360 --> 00:43:06.719
We had a moderator from Fangoria and it was uh no, it was uh it was a fun time.
00:43:06.880 --> 00:43:13.360
And um so now after that, um you know it's still being available.
00:43:13.440 --> 00:43:17.679
I don't know when it's going to hit streaming that we haven't had that conversation yet.
00:43:17.840 --> 00:43:24.159
Um and um also physical media uh that's that's on the table now.
00:43:24.320 --> 00:43:31.199
So uh we're gonna see I'll have more news about that as it as it goes on.
00:43:31.519 --> 00:43:41.760
And any word of like how it's done in the other theaters in the select uh any have you been able to find get any numbers or any any info?
00:43:42.000 --> 00:43:48.400
Well, usually usually they give you like quarterly reports and stuff, so the that'll come later on.
00:43:48.639 --> 00:43:50.000
I'll I'll figure that out.
00:43:50.239 --> 00:43:59.760
I mean it's it's hard for especially for like an indie film, like you know, you know, one of the reasons that like obsession did so well.
00:44:00.400 --> 00:44:13.280
Aside from just like having this guy having his own, you know, background and and and fan base is that you know it's like it's a bigger company that has access to more publicity, that has access to more.
00:44:14.000 --> 00:44:14.719
It's a lot of money.
00:44:14.800 --> 00:44:18.239
Like people are like, oh, this movie was made for 750,000.
00:44:18.719 --> 00:44:19.039
No.
00:44:19.920 --> 00:44:21.760
Look at what the marketing budget was for.
00:44:22.239 --> 00:44:42.880
They probably dropped 10 million and then uh and then the word of mouth just turned into its own thing, turned into memes, turned into tweets, you know, and it's like and you just have this really great lead actress who like it's like everything could have couldn't have gone more right in their uh you know in their favor, and they deserve it.
00:44:42.960 --> 00:44:46.000
The movie is incredible, so it's like you can't even argue.
00:44:46.320 --> 00:44:48.960
It's just one of these things that happens sometimes.
00:44:49.280 --> 00:45:00.639
And they have a great marketing campaign too, and it's but the those type of things require a lot of money and like indie films generally don't have that.
00:45:00.880 --> 00:45:06.239
Yeah, and and so yeah, and so like I don't know how it it it it would have done.
00:45:06.320 --> 00:45:16.960
I think there was a strong push for the the video on demand as well because a lot of people just like wouldn't have access to the film otherwise because it's only playing in select cities.
00:45:17.119 --> 00:45:20.239
So I uh you know, people are like asking about the film.
00:45:20.320 --> 00:45:22.480
I was like, I'm glad that they were able to do that.
00:45:22.559 --> 00:45:26.159
We've taken a bit of a different approach in Canada.
00:45:26.480 --> 00:45:35.280
In Canada, we're not presently planning um just yet to go on to video and demand.
00:45:35.440 --> 00:45:35.760
Okay.
00:45:36.079 --> 00:45:44.480
Uh we will eventually I expect, but the right now we're sticking with just a theatrical uh release.
00:45:45.119 --> 00:45:46.719
Can you take the film on the road?
00:45:46.960 --> 00:45:49.280
Can you that's that's that's what we're doing.
00:45:49.440 --> 00:45:50.320
Yes, that's great.
00:45:50.719 --> 00:45:59.280
Because I I think for a film like this, it is really hard to put it in a theater for like a week and expect it to um you know do well.
00:45:59.440 --> 00:46:08.480
Maybe down the line, maybe once it builds up a lot of um, you know, good uh positive word of mouth, then that that is a possibility.
00:46:08.639 --> 00:46:10.000
But right now it's like kind of going to be a little bit more.
00:46:11.039 --> 00:46:17.519
Especially right now, like if you're gonna go on the road with it, this is what I tell you call it the Canadian Obsession.
00:46:17.760 --> 00:46:20.320
That's all it you know put in every headline.
00:46:20.800 --> 00:46:29.760
This to me, this film is as close to obsession as anything else, so why not lean into it and why not, you know, dovetail off of that success?
00:46:29.920 --> 00:46:47.360
Um because there's a lot there's a lot of parallels and there's a lot to enjoy, obviously, in both films, but I d I think I think people are going to enjoy Sick Puppy a lot more than they expect, and I'm sure you kind of saw I'm sure the reactions at your LA premiere probably leaned into that more than you even expected.
00:46:48.159 --> 00:46:50.480
So yeah, and I was I I was surprised.
00:46:50.880 --> 00:46:56.079
Like people, well, you know, when you're sitting in the theater, especially it's hard, like drama is impossible to tell.
00:46:56.159 --> 00:47:07.599
Yeah, like you can't you they'd just be sitting there and like but you could hear like the laughter or you could hear the gasps when uh like a certain character was threatened or another one was killed.
00:47:07.760 --> 00:47:08.000
Right.
00:47:08.239 --> 00:47:10.880
You so you knew people were paying attention, yes.
00:47:11.039 --> 00:47:12.480
So that's kind of nice.
00:47:12.719 --> 00:47:18.239
Um, but yeah, the the uh we had our first screening at the Rio Theater in Vancouver.
00:47:18.480 --> 00:47:19.039
Yes.
00:47:19.280 --> 00:47:21.519
Uh so we were able to get some people out to that.
00:47:21.599 --> 00:47:37.519
It was uh um kind of uh hosted by the Vancouver Horror Show, which is like a um pretty much like the biggest like horror um festival here in in uh in Vancouver, and they were so so nice to do that.
00:47:37.679 --> 00:47:40.960
Uh the the the head David Taylor hosted the Q ⁇ A.
00:47:41.440 --> 00:47:46.000
Um and it was just uh it was great response.
00:47:46.079 --> 00:48:06.480
Like I again, like I was noticing like people had like some great questions at the end, and they had some amazing like responses, like just listening to them in the audience, which is and are you taking it if you don't mind me asking, are you taking it on the road like is Dark Sky or Raven Banner one of those people?
00:48:06.719 --> 00:48:11.679
Are they sort of you know financing this tour?
00:48:11.760 --> 00:48:14.000
Or are you sort of like putting it on your back?
00:48:14.320 --> 00:48:21.119
And then that way you get uh like I said, uh people think it's a tagging to talk about money, but this is what I would this is what I want to talk about.
00:48:21.199 --> 00:48:26.320
I want to talk about the business of film and how we make money from these great projects that we do, right?
00:48:26.639 --> 00:48:35.760
So it's like, are you are you putting it on your back, or is you know, Raven Banner or Dark Sky sort of helping finance the the tour?
00:48:37.679 --> 00:48:41.039
Because it's not cheap to travel around this country, that's for sure.
00:48:41.599 --> 00:48:49.840
No, but they they uh they are definitely supportive of um the you know the run that we're doing.
00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:50.320
Yeah.
00:48:50.480 --> 00:48:54.480
Um, you know, they promote it, uh, they help out where they can.
00:48:55.280 --> 00:49:02.400
Um, you know, as far as organizing it, I would definitely say like that would be on on my team and myself.
00:49:02.559 --> 00:49:03.280
Yes, okay.
00:49:03.519 --> 00:49:15.760
Um I I do have good relationships um with people, especially, you know, like the theaters, because I'm a huge theater goer myself, so I can basically just you know tell them the truth.
00:49:15.840 --> 00:49:18.559
Like I support your theater all the time.
00:49:18.800 --> 00:49:21.119
Let's let's let's let's do let's do this.
00:49:21.199 --> 00:49:27.119
Like I try to make sure that it's it's a good idea like financially for both parties, you know.
00:49:27.440 --> 00:49:34.480
Um rich off of this, but it's like it's it's about like making sure that we support each other.
00:49:34.800 --> 00:49:38.320
And it's word of mouth, you know, it's spreading the word about the film.
00:49:39.199 --> 00:49:40.559
Yeah, absolutely.
00:49:40.719 --> 00:49:48.960
And uh uh, you know, the the theaters I worked at have been very supportive, and they've been just especially like for indie horror film.
00:49:49.039 --> 00:49:53.280
I think that's Canadian indie horror film, like they're that's great.
00:49:53.440 --> 00:50:01.039
I'm I'm I'm very happy with how that's going, and then so we we do what we can to promote it as much as we can.
00:50:01.199 --> 00:50:04.800
Um and we're trying different methods, seeing what works the best.
00:50:04.880 --> 00:50:07.440
Uh it's it's a learning process, I would say.
00:50:07.679 --> 00:50:10.159
I mean, we're playing um next.
00:50:10.239 --> 00:50:15.039
Uh we have some uh theaters that we're talking to across Canada.
00:50:15.360 --> 00:50:22.639
Uh Next, I think made the most sense really would be to go where we shot the movie, which is in Toronto.
00:50:22.719 --> 00:50:23.039
Yes.
00:50:23.199 --> 00:50:36.880
And so my um the theater that I actually was visiting during the the filming of this movie, I would go see go there and see like Sleepaway Camp or some other horror movie, and they have a cool bar next door.
00:50:37.119 --> 00:50:38.239
I'd have dinner at.
00:50:38.320 --> 00:50:40.000
It's uh the review.
00:50:40.480 --> 00:50:50.800
And uh that's you know, I was just there, you know, to see the Kill Bill, you know, uh extravaganza uh when they put the two movies together.
00:50:50.880 --> 00:51:02.079
Uh I just saw that like in February or January or something, and I just love that theater and I'm I'm really glad that we're having kind of our uh Toronto Toronto premiere there on July 15th.
00:51:02.320 --> 00:51:06.159
Yes, I was I was about to say, let's make sure we drop the date, uh the review in 2013.
00:51:06.480 --> 00:51:07.039
July 15th.
00:51:07.280 --> 00:51:07.840
July 15th.
00:51:08.079 --> 00:51:08.960
6 30 p.m.
00:51:09.760 --> 00:51:12.559
It's there's gonna be in QA with myself.
00:51:12.639 --> 00:51:16.880
Uh I know Brett um is going to be there for sure.
00:51:17.039 --> 00:51:23.199
Uh and then we may have a few others depending on their schedules, but it's get Natasha.
00:51:23.760 --> 00:51:29.039
I think a lot of people are gonna want to, you know, get her autograph once they see this performance, you know.
00:51:29.519 --> 00:51:30.960
She is incredible.
00:51:31.119 --> 00:51:32.639
She's very very busy.
00:51:32.719 --> 00:51:33.599
She just got a new show.
00:51:33.920 --> 00:51:34.559
I know, I know.
00:51:34.960 --> 00:51:37.039
It's a big show, too, isn't it?
00:51:38.079 --> 00:51:40.159
Uh yeah, yeah, it's big here.
00:51:40.320 --> 00:51:42.719
Um, you know, I think it's Netflix that does it.
00:51:42.800 --> 00:51:43.840
Yeah, I can't remember.
00:51:43.920 --> 00:51:47.679
But yeah, I I I do she is quite quite busy.
00:51:47.840 --> 00:51:48.079
Yeah.
00:51:48.239 --> 00:51:53.440
Uh so whenever she uh is able to do it, uh that'll be great.
00:51:53.599 --> 00:51:57.519
Uh because I I do think a lot of people really want to talk to her.
00:51:58.239 --> 00:52:00.880
It's uh be like, why did you do this?
00:52:01.039 --> 00:52:02.079
How did you do this?
00:52:02.239 --> 00:52:02.960
Who are you?
00:52:04.400 --> 00:52:09.920
It's it's it's a uh a memorable performance.
00:52:10.079 --> 00:52:13.119
Uh I think that's something that's gonna continue.
00:52:13.440 --> 00:52:19.360
She'll get people coming up to her years later and being like, this is you know something special.
00:52:19.599 --> 00:52:19.760
Yeah.
00:52:20.239 --> 00:52:34.079
And I think uh the yeah, that's uh absolutely uh, you know, and and and everyone that you know, all my actors that that we worked with together, they all did the same.
00:52:34.400 --> 00:52:50.559
They all turned in amazing performances and they were such a fun people to work with and they're friends, and yeah, they're it's I'm I'm super happy that uh people are finally getting to see them in their own country, yeah.
00:52:50.880 --> 00:52:54.239
With you know, like their friends and family are gonna get to see it.
00:52:54.400 --> 00:52:56.400
Um and I I love that.
00:52:56.639 --> 00:52:57.280
Yeah, man.
00:52:57.360 --> 00:53:00.079
Well, I appreciate you talking to me about this.
00:53:00.239 --> 00:53:05.280
My uh my uh card is about to run out here, so uh thanks very much.
00:53:05.440 --> 00:53:10.400
No, but I'm gr I'm glad we got a chance to talk about this because uh I think it's important for people to hear about.
00:53:10.639 --> 00:53:24.719
And I think it's important for people to hear about a film like this, you know, which to me is uh a really you know grassroots indie success story and deserves to have the attention, deserves even more attention than it's already gotten.
00:53:24.960 --> 00:53:28.400
And uh, you know, this is this to me is what it's all about.
00:53:28.800 --> 00:53:30.159
So I think that's great.
00:53:30.400 --> 00:53:39.280
So yes, uh July 15th, uh I will be there barring some other dramatic reason, but otherwise I will be there as well.
00:53:39.360 --> 00:53:43.360
Uh I definitely want to go and support and I want to see I don't think I've seen the finished film.
00:53:43.519 --> 00:53:51.440
I I don't remember the edit, it's been two years, so I think I would remember like half of it, but overall I haven't heard the music, I haven't seen the color correct.
00:53:51.679 --> 00:53:54.800
I think you sent me a link once, but it was like really low grade.
00:53:54.960 --> 00:53:58.079
I was like, all right, no, I want to see this at least in HD.
00:53:59.039 --> 00:54:04.400
This will be the best way to see exactly with an audience, a nice 2K DCP that's gonna look good.
00:54:04.800 --> 00:54:05.360
Great man.
00:54:05.440 --> 00:54:06.960
All right, well, appreciate it, Jay.
00:54:07.199 --> 00:54:10.639
So that's been yeah, so that's been the film element podcast.
00:54:10.719 --> 00:54:13.039
Thanks for listening, watching, whatever you're doing.
00:54:13.360 --> 00:54:17.840
Uh like, subscribe, check it out, and uh we'll see you maybe next week.
00:54:17.920 --> 00:54:20.079
I don't know what I don't know when my next episode is gonna be.
00:54:20.320 --> 00:54:23.039
But either way, thanks for uh listening and watching.
