Horror movies &stuff Interviews:Producer/Director Charles Band Director/Producer Charles Bands resume of films is endless.From the old school cult classic "Trancers",to his work on the "Puppetmaster" films, to his latest project,the upcoming "Doll Graveyard",hes certainly been a part of the horror genre for awhile now. So whats he up to these days?Charles Band talks about that and more in this interview. MR H:Tell about yourself,where were you born and raised,where did you attend film school?and Why did you get into directing? Charles Band:Well I didn't attend film school.I grew up on a movieset,and I was born and raised in L.A.After that me and my family eventually moved to Europe. MR H:You have a new film coming out this fall entitled "Doll Graveyard".Can you tell us a little bit about that film? Charles Band:It basically features these creepy little turn of the century dolls,that were buried over a hundred years ago,and basically come to life and of course you know what happens next.I think almost every movie I've done I've worked with little creepy dolls or puppets and such.Wizard entertainment will be producing the film. MR H:As a film director,whats your toughest task on the set of a film?Directing the actors,shooting scenes the way you want them to be shot,or both? Charles Band:I'd say working on a small budget.We have so few dollars,and stretching those dollars is the hardest part.Being creative and positive is usually pretty easy when compared to that. MR H:Of all the films you've done in your career,which one are you the most proud of and why? Charles Band:I don't really have A favorite,but I'll give you a few I'm quite proud of."Trancers",that one turned out real well.A 3-D film I did long ago entitled "Metal Storm",although it's quite silly and dated."Head of the Family","Subspecies",the early "Puppetmaster" films of course,and most recently "Doll Graveyard". MR H:Most horror fans weren't really too keen on the last two "Puppetmaster" films.Why did you decide to go away from the series storyline in "Curse of the Puppetmaster",and why did you decide to do "Retro" after that rather than doing a back to basics "Puppetmaster" movie? Charles Band:There were very few dollars at that time.We had alot more money to do the "Puppetmaster" movies,in the early days of the series.and Since we didn't have the money at that time,we had to take a different direction.But now that I'm working with Wizard Entertainment,we have the sufficient money to put these films together,so I'm thinking about doing another back to basics "PM" movie in a year. MR H:Have you gotten a chance to see any of the recent horror movie movie releases such as "High Tension","House of Wax",and "Boogeyman"?What did you think of them? Charles Band:I've seen most of them,theres so many being released here lately.My feeling is that they are basically B movies with big budgets behind them.Like with "House of Wax",I know what the original with Vincent Price was like,but the remake lacked the spirit and overall creepiness of the original.I did like 2001's "The Ring",that was good.But in most of the recent movies,you basically see the same thing.You careless for the characters,not like in the old movies where you actually cared for the characters.The characters in todays horror films,most of them are just fodder for the creature or killer to hack to pieces and such.I just see studios putting all this money into B movies,mainly the FX.Although I will admit the FX of todays films compared to the old movies are much better. MR H:Who are some actors/actresses that you haven't gotten a chance to work with yet,that you want to work with in the future? Charles Band:Whats exciting to me is holding a casting call,and dicovering new talent.I can't afford to work with big name actors who demand large sums of money,so I try to find new talent whereever I can.Also there aren't really any legendary horror actors left that I'd want to work with.I mean back then you had Boris Karloff,Lon Cheney,but they aren't around anymore. MR H:I am a huge fan of 1999s "Blood Dolls"How did you come up with the concept for that film? Charles Band:I'm glad you liked it.I was glad to work with all of the actors involved.It was a lot of fun.I wanted it to be a twisted love story,and have two powerful characters involved.and Of course we had the dwarf and the band in the cage who played at the request of the main character Virgil Travis,The guy with the tiny head.I couldn't decide which way to end the film,so I decided to shoot two different endings.We were actually able to make one of the films dolls into an action figure,if you remember the pimp character. Mr H:Do you see yourself doing a sequel to "Blood Dolls" in the future? Charles Band:I'd like to,the film did pretty well in sales,and we had a wonderful writer bring it all to life. Mr H:Of all the killer toy movies you've done,which one would you say was the most difficult to do? Charles Band:"Dollman vs The Demonic Toys".We were on a very small budget,and only had 6 days to shoot it.We also had to build the sets 100 times bigger so that Dollman (Tim Thomerson) and his girl would look as small as the toys in the film.I enjoyed working on the film though,but it was the most difficult. Mr H:Many people weren't happy with "Puppetmaster vs The Demonic Toys".Were you happy with how it turned out?Did you want it to be more serious like the first "Demonic Toys" and "Puppetmaster"? Charles Band:I was disappointed at what they did with it. I sold the rights to "PMvsDT" so I really had nothing to do with it.If I could go back in time,I maybe wouldn't have sold the rights, or would've tried to create a better story.But sometimes you do things because you need money.So I sold the rights to the film.But I'll make up for "PMvsDT",when I make the next "Puppetmaster" movie in about a year. Mr H:What kind of cool new killer toys can we expect to see in "Doll Graveyard"? Charles Band:Well we have an assortment of them.We have a girl doll that opens her mouth in a way god never intended,a samurai doll,a germaniac doll,and a zuni warrior doll.You can check out some pics of them at my blog and the wizard entertainment site. MR H:Do you see yourself doing anymore solo "Puppetmaster" movies? Charles Band:Yes, we have some ideas, but this early in the game they aren't very well formed.I would want to take the series back in time to the 40s,rather than doing a forced *current day* "PM" film.I liked that era of the 40s,of film noir and such.I want to do a film which takes place at Bodega Bay,and shows how everything got started. MR H:What about a new "Demonic Toys" movie? Charles Band:Maybe,possibly.But I'd want to do another "Puppetmaster" film first.I'd also like to bring back Dollman,he was pretty cool.Sort of have the right size human vs 12 inch dolls.You know what I'd like to do? Have the puppets from "Puppetmaster" fight the dolls from "Doll Graveyard".I think that'd be pretty cool. Mr H:Are there any plans for another "Subspecies" film? Charles Band:Well there are plans.But we won't be doing another any time soon,until we can get the proper funding.Those movies are expensive.We couldn't even shoot it in L.A.We do have a script written though,for another "Subspecies" movie.But we'd have to take it back to eastern europe in order to do another. MR H:What film was the most fun for you to work on? Charles Band:"Trancers",definitely.Helen Hunt,and Tim Thomerson were so great to work with.Tim is very funny,hes a standup comedian actually.Every day he made us all laugh on set."Doll Graveyard" was also alot of fun,as well as another film I did recently "Ginger Deadman" about a killer gingerbread cookie.But yea I'd say with "Trancers", I had THE most fun on set. MR H:What advice would you give to aspiring filmmakers? Well I have a DVD series entitled cinemaker,which the people and aspiring filmmakers can check out at Cinemaker.net.It details everything from pre- production,to post-production,to everything in between. I think that when making a film it shouldn't just be for money or fun,you should want to get your work out there,and showcase your talents to the world.My biggest piece of advice would be just to get out there,and get to work. Interning at a film studio can lead to many other things. Or try to get some a job on a movie set. 1 Year on a movie set can teach you as much and in some cases more than 4 years of filmschool can. Mr H:Ok that about wraps things up,thank you for your time Mr Band. Charles Band:You're welcome,and Thank You for your interest. For more on Charles Bands latest projects such as "Decadent Evil" which is now out on DVD/Video,and "Doll Graveyard" which comes out just in time for Halloween 05,or to purchase his Cinemaker DVDs,you can visit the following sites. ( Charles Bands official blog) ( Cinemaker.net) ( Wizard Entertainment.net) ( Fullmoon Direct.com) ( Back to the main page)