* Tell me about yourself and how you became involved within the film world?
My name is Stolis Hadjicharalambous. I was born and raised in Queens, NY. Ever since I was a kid I had an incredible love for films. While all the other kids where outside playing baseball and other sports, I was inside watching films like "Jaws", "Raiders of the Lost Arc" I was also a huge fan of "Robocop "as a kid. I was just so fascinated by the images that were created on the screen. That interest continued all the way to high school where I attended Msgr. Mclancy High School. It was where I truly fell in love with film. After school, I joined the film club, led by my English teacher and now my DP on all my films, Bart Mastronardi.
Under his guidance we would shoot little short films of all kinds, mostly action/ horror films. Just imagine directing your high school English teacher to chase your best friends down your schools hallway dressed as a zombie, covered head to toe in blood, all this while avoiding the principal of the school. It had to be the best time of my life. I was unlocking the mystery of filmmaking and story telling. I essentially met my cast and crew for many of my future productions such as my friends William Archiello for music, Henry Borriello for acting, Chris Otis for acting/writing and Bart as my DP. From high school, I went to St Johns University and now attend School of Visual arts to study filmmaking. I decided that I was somewhat bored of directing shorts and I wanted to dive into something more challenging.
So with the help of Christopher Otis, we started to develop “Crossed” as our feature debut. Through my editing work on my short films and on Bart’s film “Vindication” , I then got the job editing Alan Rowe Kelly’s “The Blood Shed".
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* What areas did you work on in "The Blood Shed" ? (Which is a great film by the way)
Oh, thank you! We had so much fun filming it. It was a great experience for me. I was the editor, I was also assistant camera. It was a great experience working on the set. This was really my first professional shoot. and was very educational.
I was able to see the real workings of a film set. The entire process of working with all the departments on the film picking up a few tips and tricks along the way.
I also found it very beneficial to be an editor on set. Usually on most films the editor isn’t present until the post production process which is usually when the film wraps. On "TheBlood Shed" Alan and I worked hand in hand on set to make sure we got all our coverage for the scenes and asked for my input to see what will make life in the editing room easier. This helped so much in the editing room because then I knew what kind of shots we had before screening the raw footage. I was able to make a rough cut of the film in my mind as the cameras rolled.
* Share with me some insight on your upcoming film "Crossed" ?
“CROSSED” is an action thriller in which a young assassin Frank Archer (Christopher Otis) spends a lifetime searching for his father's killer after witnessing his murder as a child. Throughout his quest Archer encounters a fellow assassin, known only as The Ripper (Javier Rodriguez), who's also seeking revenge of his own against the people who tried to kill him. “Crossed” is a no holds barred, dark and gritty action film.
Scene from "Crossed"
Alan Rowe Kelly in "Crossed"
I have been wanting to do an all out action film all my life and wanted this film to really push the bound of independent action films. We are working on a tight budget and I think making an independent action film is possibly one of the greatest understakings that I've never done in my life but at the same time one of the most creative projects I have been a part of.
We pull out every trick we new in this film. I find today that action films have gotten much more tame then the action films back when I was growing up so I wanted to take “Crossed” back to that gritty action tone.
Along with creating characters that were fresh and exciting,We just shot a scene with the great Alan Rowe Kelly, who was kind enough to lend us his amazing talents for a day. I think his character Ed will be one of the most memorable characters in the film, he really knocked his character out of the ball park. Alan is just a blast to work with. At heart “Crossed” is a revenge film but we didn’t want to make just a basic one, we added some interesting twist and turns to the film that I hope will shock the audience.
The Ripper & Archer
* Is the film in production now and is there a tentative release date?
Right now we are finishing up some pick up shots. Since I edit my films, I was able to start editing while on down time from filming. I hope to be in full post production by late January’07 and hopefully be ready for a summer release. I want the final product to be the best possible and make sure I am utilizing all the great footage that my DP Bart Mastronardi shot. I love the editing process because you get to see your baby born.
There no worries over lighting or actors not showing up or any of the problems that you encounter on set sometimes. It’s just you and a computer and the footage, which you have to put together like a moving jigsaw puzzle. Luckily for me, I have the assistance of two great people, Christopher Otis, who wrote the screenplay & stars as Frank Archer and my assistant editor Dominick Sivili who helps me keep everything in order.
* Who would you consider to be some of your favorite directors and along with that name your favorite film (s)?
Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith and Sam Raimi. Rodriguez has to be my all time favorite; His films are just so out there and wild. You can tell he put 110 percent of creativity into all his films. He also embraces the independent sprit of filmmaking even though he is in the big leagues of Hollywood. He also loves to spread his wisdom on to young filmmakers trying to crack into the business.
The Ripper & Pam
His book "Rebel Without a Crew", which documented his journey making his first Feature El Mariachi is by far my favorite book on film of all time, It was one of the reasons I took a chance and made "Crossed", I figured if Rodriguez can go out and make a feature film with little to no resources, much like my situation, and do it on film no less, I figured I can do it too with my talented cast and crew. My favorite film of all time has to be "Pulp Fiction"; I have yet to see a movie that is as engaging and original as "Pulp Fiction".
* Do you have a web site where my readers can find out more about you?
Yes I have a my space where you can contact me and view some of my shorts as well as a trailer I made for crossed.
