I grew up in a rural area in Southern Rhode Island. I was an only child with not much to do but watch movies and entertain myself. At that time movies were under a dollar and always double features so often you would find me there. When TV came along the stations did not have much to show as far as programming was concerned so they would show old movies as a fill in adding to my movie watching as well as the theaters.
I wasn’t much of a sports kid or a comic book reader so movies became my past time. As I got older my movie interest became mostly classic horror. I loved old classics and Italian horror. Trying to find something that really scared me became a challenge after a while. After my teenage years I went to Art College, and became a martial arts instructor. Films were always my passion especially well made films. I became interested in Japanese samurai films of the 60’s as well as other foreign films of the 60’s.
What inspired your to become a director/producer/writer?
As you can see I have always had a strong interest in watching films but I would have to say that I became a director/producer/writer by accident. Around 1991 I had a martial arts school, a guy named Ed walks in and say’s "I want to study martial arts but I can’t afford to pay". He was film maker and videographer. Ed told me that he could create promotional videos for me in exchange for classes. I agreed and over the next two years we produced two instructional videos and two historical videos. As Ed faded from my school I took over as producer/director/writer and gradually learned various aspects of the business. My videos were in many stores in the US as well as Europe. In my quest to eliminate the middleman I decided to go back to school and learn film making.
What types of films do you produce/direct?
Besides instructional and historical productions I have been doing documentaries as well as some short features. A few years ago I began working on some horror scripts. My goal is to produce a few short horror projects while I am working on a feature horror.
What is your latest project?
My latest project is called "Junkyard Dogs" I am planning on shooting next summer. It is about a family of dysfunctional people who live in a junkyard and pray on cars of tourist and out-of-towners. I am also in post on a documentary called "Paris of the South’ I shot two years ago in Argentina.
What qualities do you look for in an actor/actress?
In one word "natural" I think an actor needs to "become the part" not act the part. Being a low budget film maker I don’t have a lot of access to seasoned actors so I need to rely on undiscovered actors. I try to find people who have worked in a lot of films already and don’t want a lot of money for their work. I should also mention I use a lot of what I call "non actors" who I don’t give many lines to but I still feel can do the job. These people have the personality that is very close to the character they are playing so they just are themselves.
Who are your favorite directors?
Fellini, Leoni, Kerasowa, Corman, Hitchcock, Eisenstein, Rob Zombie, Bavia etc.
and which are some of your favorite horror films?
Horror films; The Exorcist, Dracula, Psycho, Black Sunday, Black Sabbath, etc.
