An Interview with Scott Goldberg - By Brian Morton

Interviews: An Interview with Scott Goldberg - By Brian Morton
Posted on Wednesday, July 01, 2009 @ 23:49:06 Mountain Daylight Time by Duane

There are few filmmakers today with the passion of Scott Goldberg. I can say that after having spoken with him quite a few times and having seen most (if not all) of his films. Scott is passionate about filmmaking and about using his films to better the world. He’s not the kind of guy who wants to be the next Steven Speilberg, he’s just an indie filmmaker who wants to make movies that people will see, enjoy and maybe think about, which is refreshing today. I wanted to catch up with Scott to find out about what he’s working on now, get his opinions about the current political climate and what’s been going on with this talented, opinionated filmmaker.

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BM – The movie you’re working on now, ‘Mr. Mullen’, seems to be (on some level) a reaction to what's going on in the world today. How long did it take you to put this together?

SG - We’re still adding some final touches to it now. I had to step away from it for a few weeks and work on another film so I wouldn’t go crazy from seeing the same scenes and film over and over again. We started “Mr. Mullen” back in November 2008 and it started out as a “Rape PSA” where Chris Margaritis (whom I have been working with since “Loss of Hope”) stalks and kills an innocent jogger who was running in the woods. Prior to shooting on the day of filming Chris and I decided to use the scene as part of a bigger film, which is what “Mr. Mullen” became. It sort of always pissed me off with the constant propaganda that a lot of mainstream news throws at people so I wanted “Mr. Mullen” to feature radio caller voices throughout the film to give the people who are rarely heard a voice to express how they feel about the way the world is being run. So in “Mr. Mullen” we focus on the economy collapse and the constant printing up of money by the Federal Reserve which devalues the dollar and how one man can’t take it anymore due to losing his home and everything he had. What seems evident is that they want the economy to collapse to possibly bring upon a One World Government (New World Order) which they have been talking a lot in the last few months in recent news. The mainstream media would always call people who wanted truth from government and media “conspiracy theorists” for bringing up the term “New World Order” in the past so it’s sort of weird how they’re now using that term to explain what Obama and the people pulling the strings want.

BM – When will Mr. Mullen be released?

SG - The plan is to release it on our website in a few months, so very soon we’re starting with the musical score for the film. You can see a teaser trailer for ‘Mr. Mullen’ by clicking here.

BM – You’re very politically aware. With the change from the Bush to the Obama administration, do you think things have gotten better? Do you think they will?

SG - I think it’s the same shit as before – the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. I don’t have a lot of faith in Presidents really because in my opinion they are all actors (reading from their teleprompters) trying to sell bullshit to the American people. Most people believe that they are puppets having their strings pulled by someone “behind the curtain” which I feel is very possible. Obama pretends to promote change but what type of change is he really promoting? It is unbelievable how many people are in awe of this guy and believe that he’s their savior and it’s not their fault for believing him – he is however a pretty good liar - I think after eight years of Bush what was needed by the US Government was a face and what felt like a “new direction” for America – a new face that people would trust at first as they got their rights and freedoms taken away more and more for security. This is disgusting if you really think about it: They print up the money out of thin air, while owing money to China due to debt because of endless wars, and cause the economy to collapse – it seems like the best way for them to bring up something like a One World Government. And most people don’t seem to care because they’d rather care about the latest celebrity gossip and wouldn’t even know what the Bill of Rights are, which in my opinion is more important that celebrity bullshit. Some say it’s hopeless because the people in charge will do what they want because they own this country – George Carlin talks about this in his later comedy work. Just like him, I don’t believe positive change will come from government. It will come from the people and a revolt – a revolution if you will and I’m not talking about non-violent protesting because protesting rarely ever creates change. I don’t condone violence but with the way this country is heading, it seems evident that people may have to fight back with force, which is what “The Project” is about.

BM – Tell us more about “The Project” since you just mentioned it.

SG - “The Project” is about a Militia group and they want to be ready to fight back if Martial Law were to happen. We follow a man, Chris Romero, who is leader of the Militia and we, as an audience, hear his thoughts throughout the film on many things that he’s pissed about and that he wants to see changed. We also focus on RFID Chipping and Mind Control in the film, which are two subjects that have interested me for the last few years. We’re currently shooting the film so small and minor things may change here and there, but that’s basically what the story is about.

You can find out more about ‘In Production’ by clicking here. And you can learn more about ‘The Project’ clicking here. BM - Your movies are becoming more political, was it always your intent to move in that direction, or are you just following your heart?

SG - I just want to see a change quite honestly as well as entertaining people through the films they watch. Also I want to educate people about things they might not know as well as things that I am pissed off about. I would never want to, on my own money, make a film like Hollywood or make a film that is to their style because that’s not me. Anyone who is putting their own money into their movies should not try to copy or be like anyone else. And the best thing is surrounding yourself with like-minded people. The unfortunate thing was that I did not always think this way. I was heading in the wrong direction, thinking fame was important and thinking that being famous was how you get your name out there but I was wrong. I was lost in the false reality that many people today are still trapped in because of either a broken heart or by eating up what the media portrays as how to make it in the business, etc. I even worked with an actor recently who is looking to break into acting who tells me that he wants to be famous because he wants to help causes that aren’t being addressed in Africa and I told him that he doesn’t need to be famous to reach people. He told, “Scott, in two years I want to be on the screen with the likes of Denzel Washington and Tom Cruise” and yet he has not been in any films other than the one we just worked on, and has this illusion that being famous is something that makes you an important person in life which is not true. So a lot of people are stuck in this idea that they need to be famous because I guess there is this illusion of what “fame” is. I sure as hell don’t want fame. I just want my films to be seen, and if someone wants to interview me about the films so I can get the message out in hopes of educating people, great. I also think what helped was that I had a lot of inspirational conversations with fellow filmmakers, most notably Chris Garetano who really helped me understand a lot of what I’m expressing in this interview.

BM - You've often mentioned Christopher Garetano as a fellow filmmaker who has inspired you. Are there any others?

SG - Well the more well known filmmakers who I really respect and admire are George Romero (Day of the Dead), Sam Mendes (American Beauty), Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood), Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind), and the list goes on. I'm inspired by anyone who wants to make good art and push the envelope in cinema. As far as recent horror films, I feel Diary of the Dead was very important film since it commented on the whole blogger generation and at the time of seeing it I really connected with it as a viewer and filmmaker because it touched on many subjects socially and politically that I was into at the time. That is what I love about Romero's walking dead films - he uses the walking dead as a basis to a bigger message. When I see great visuals in films, that inspires me to become a better filmmaker because right now I am shooting all the films I am making – which is fine and all, but I still feel like I can’t fully direct because I am wearing many different hats at once, so it would be nice in the near future to break free and work with a DP who would allow me to be more hands on with my actors and talk with the DP and work it out in rehearsal – which is usually what we do but it’s myself doing both camera work and the directing. Chris and I have had conversations about this – where you set up a shot and tell the DP how you envision it and they execute it which gives you freedom to work closer with the actors. While shooting I try to get as much footage as I can because I feel the more footage you have, the more angles you can cut with while editing your film. Also, being that we’re shooting on Digital right now, there are unlimited opportunities because you’re not burning through film stock.

BM - With Mr. Mullen and The Project, it seems that a recurrent theme in your movies is being betrayed by people who are "in charge". Is that a theme that we'll continue to see explored in your movies?

SG - I guess we keep that same theme throughout the films to some extent, but also I like to mix it up with other subjects that are surrounded by those themes such as terrorism, government control, mind control, etc. I just want to make the films that interest me and there will always be an audience there because you can have one hundred people who hate your film and twenty people can like it, and that twenty people is fine with me because they understand the film and like it. So I tend not to worry so much about who is watching the film, but what it true to the vision of what I want to put out there and share with the world. I want to see a change in this world and I hope that the films we make are changing people’s lives through the message we portray.

BM - You recently attended that Fangoria Weekend Of Horrors in New York. How did that go?

SG - The convention in itself was interesting. You never really know what to expect with these conventions. Sometimes there are a lot of people and sometimes not so much. It was in New York City which is under an hour from where I live, so I commuted every day. I remember parking my car and unloading the kiosk and equipment for the table and then proceeding into the convention center. I looked for the table and the table (which you reserve via e-mail with the coordinator) was right next to Caroline Williams (Texas Chainsaw Massacre II) and Warrington Gillette (Friday the 13th Part 2) which was pretty cool since I’m a fan of those series and horror in general. Caroline is one of the nicest women you can meet and very funny and outgoing. Every day was slightly different as far as atmosphere and the amount of people dressed up in costume and horror gear. Saturday was the biggest day out all of all three days. Paul Kratka came out to help promote his latest work “Loss of Hope”. He had flown himself out to the convention so I wanted to make sure he made money back from signing autographs which he did. His presence also brought attention to our table which helped a lot as well. What was interesting was the amount of people who came up to our table when Paul was there rather than he wasn’t there. It’s a horror convention and none of us other than Paul were horror alumni so the interest was not really there until Paul would come to the table and hang with us. As soon as he sat down, people would line up at the table and that’s when we’d do our networking. Comes to show you how powerful the presence of someone who was in a successful horror franchise has, especially at these type of conventions.

BM – Working with Paul, how has that experience been?

SG - I am grateful to be working with Paul because he’s come to New York many times from the West Coast to work on a couple of films with us, as well as promote upcoming work at a few conventions so I’ve really been appreciative of that. Paul is a very creative and straightforward guy. There have been moments, just like families have had arguments in where we disagree on things and where things don’t go as planned because you’re working on such a low budget, and that’s understandable. These types of things happen all the time on big budget productions as well so it’s really not anything new when creative people are working together. When we shot for “The Project” we both got into an argument over the visuals of blood for his death scene because I didn’t have the fake blood for the scene and he figured it might look best if we used fake blood for when he shoots himself in the film. I suppose he envisioned a blood scene for the film and I was envisioning more of a “less is more” type death scene. We went to go pick up the blood and by the time we came back, the area was bright and sunny which was opposite of how it was when we shot twenty minutes earlier so we had a hard time getting that shot. Right now, the scene shows him shooting himself from about twenty feet away which is an effective shot and serves its purpose. All in all, I feel Paul’s acting is great. I wouldn’t be working with him if I thought otherwise. I hope he gets more opportunities to work on bigger productions in the upcoming future because as he said in many interviews, when making Friday the 13th Part 3 his agent put him up in auditions against people like Christopher Walken and many other big time actors when they really should have just taken “baby steps” rather than a big jump. So I really hope these films help him build the reel that he needs to get more work because he really is a great actor in my opinion.

BM - Do you ever think you'll go back to just a plain straight-ahead horror movie? Without any subtext?

SG - I am really into horror films in general and I respect a lot of the older films that touched on the psychological aspect like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Halloween, and without those horror films I wouldn’t have experienced the horror and macabre that they produce in front of the viewers eyes. So I feel a lot of horror films whether it be Day of the Dead or Halloween, they all have a deeper subtext to them. Would I ever make a random zombie film with no meaning? No, I wouldn’t because there needs to be a driving force that makes me interested in making that certain project. I feel that’s the case for many filmmakers as well. There needs to be a connection most of the time with the work you do. You don’t want to spend a year or so working on a film that you can’t connect with.

BM – You’re working of a documentary right now, correct?

SG - Yes, we’re currently shooting for a feature length documentary entitled “In Production” which focuses on the visuals and raw footage that we’ve shot with our films behind the lens of the camera I am shooting with. So there are many points where I talk to the actors as I am shooting, and this consciously started on the first day of shooting “Mr. Mullen”. I had noticed that I was rolling a lot when talking to the actors as I was pointing the camera in their direction, giving them actions for the scene (since it was a scene that we were not using location sound for). We are also focusing on in-depth interviews in where the talent talks about the process of the films as well as behind the scenes footage and as I’ve said before, raw and unedited footage.

BM - Do you see 'In Production' as a way to show lay people what it's like to make an indie movie? Or do you see this more as a kind of teaching tool...sort of like Lloyd Kaufman's Make Your Own Damn Movie seminars?

SG - Well there’s a way to go about making a documentary where it’s not self serving. There’s a line you have to draw on what works and what doesn’t with the tone of the film. I refuse to make a documentary where the talent says, “Oh it was excellent working on the film” or “It was a pleasure working with Scott Goldberg”. To me that is a load of fabricated bullshit because the truth is, that is not what filmmaking is about. There is always something going wrong in an independent film as I can name countless things that have gone wrong on my set as well as other filmmaker’s sets – it’s just the nature of the beast when working with no budget. I also wonder that if you’re going to make a documentary, why not go for what’s natural in a documentary rather than the same garbage that a lot of these mainstream horror documentaries are coming out with. There have been some recent released documentaries about horror masters and horror series and they’ve fallen flat on their faces because it’s the same type of cut and dry interview and then a clip from the film that people have seen hundreds of time and no real substance or deep story within it. I think it has a lot to do with who is behind these documentaries. For example, I saw a ten minute clip from this documentary “The Psycho Legacy” and I was turned off on how it copied the same formula as all of these other cut-and-dry documentaries that are being made by big studios. We don’t have to copy any formula especially when self funding our own films. A documentary should be artistic in my opinion and should not fall into any formula or “right” or “wrong” way of being made. One good example of what we’re shooting for the documentary is that we’re planning on interviewing different people who have worked on the films. One of the actors, Paul Kratka will be interviewed within the next few months (hopefully in September which is when we’re planning for him to come back to New York) and we will be focusing on a lot of things that have been unpleasant for him while making the films we’ve worked on as well as his experience of working on a big budget production like “Friday the 13th Part 3” compared to a no budget film like “Loss of Hope” or “The Project”. For example, in “Loss of Hope” we shot in a basement in the winter where we could not turn on the boiler due to sound issue with drain pipes up ahead and therefore the place was freezing. That is something someone might be interested in hearing as well as seeing the process of that day and the process of what it took to make that film and many others that we’ve been working on.

BM - As a filmmaker, have you seen any of the summer movies that have been out? If so, which have you liked or disliked and why?

SG - One of the current films that is having a limited theatrical run right now is “Moon” which looks superb. Other than that, nothing has really caught my eye. I’m not really interested in seeing films such as Terminator Salvation or Transformers II or any of those big budget productions because they just don’t seem to interest me. In the past few years, there have been a small list of films that I enjoyed immensely, both in the theatres and in the home: Milk, Gran Torino, Australia, Into the Wild, The Wrestler, No Country For Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Revolutionary Road, The Cure, and so on. I try to stay away from the senseless romantic comedies - to me there is no artistry in movies such as that.

BM – A while back we talked about ‘The Forest Hills’ a film that you started in 2006. What are the updates on that?

SG - The Forest Hills was a short film we made back in late 2006 and the film never got finished due to technical issues with the editing system we were working with at the time. A lot of people had put a lot of time and effort into the film so it was very disheartening to not be able to finish that film otherwise it would have been out by now. I also learned a lot while making that film. This was also during a time when I was heavily into promoting unfinished work which I have since stopped doing. We are looking into making “The Forest Hills” again but this time much different than what we originally made it as, which was a straight-up Slasher film. The current storyline is a more in-depth story which focuses on hauntings, racism and slavery.

BM – What format are you shooting your films on?

SG - Well right now we’re shooting on Standard Definition. The big move in the last few years has been the switch from Standard to High-Def which we plan on doing, but being that we’re working on such a limited budget with our own money, the focus has been putting the cash towards the recent projects rather than saving up for a new system or new camera which would cost a couple of thousand dollars. I’d love to shoot on the RED at some point which seems to be the next big thing as far as getting great quality for the films and maybe at some point down the road, but for right now Standard Definition has been working out for us. And the interesting thing also is that you don’t need to have an expensive camera to make great art. I saw this film at a film festival a few years back and it was shot on a really inexpensive camera and the storyline was strong and intact and even though it was low budget and you can tell it had flaws with the camera work (that and being that the camera quality was very low), it was quite the tear-jerker. It’s crucially important to focus on a strong story and to work with someone who knows how to operate a camera so you’re able to fully direct hands-on without having to be behind a camera the whole time.

BM – What is your opinion on the whole ‘Twitter’ craze?

SG - Well, I feel we’re becoming needy as a human species in wanting attention for ourselves and sites like Twitter allow people to get more attention or seek more attention from others. Twitter could have been a great tool if used right for promoting of finished work for filmmakers and artists, but a lot of people seem to be using it to post useless information which in my opinion is a waste of time. I personally post on Twitter when I have a finished film I’d like people to check out but I would never post something useless like ‘I’m going to the bathroom, be back in thirty seconds’. That, to me is ridiculous and a waste of time.

BM – Back to the subject of horror films. Which Friday the 13th is your favorite?

SG - I’m a big fan of the first four but my favorite is the third installment and I was lucky enough to see Friday the 13th Part 3 in 3-D at screening with Paul back in October of 2007. It was an amazing experience because on VHS you never saw it in 3-D and even in the newer DVD releases even know they are in “3-D” they don’t technically work as well because it’s the wrong 3-D process. There is a scene after the opening credits in Part 3 where the camera descends down and shows Harold and Edna’s store - you can actually see into the windows of the store! There inside of the store had depth as if you were actually there. The perception of depth was what stuck out mostly when watching the film in 3-D. 18- With 'In Production' and 'The Project' all in the works, what else are you working on now? I do have a script titled ‘the 3’ which is a feature length screenplay I am working on that I’d love to make on a big budget at some point. The story for that really excites me because it focuses on human emotions in non-human entities. Other than that, always brainstorming and writing so maybe something will form in the upcoming weeks that will excite me enough to make a film about. BM - Once again, it’s always interesting and informative. Thanks, Scott.

SG – Thank you.

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Scott may be one of the most talented, hardest working and nicest filmmakers I’ve ever spoken to. If he or any of his films are appearing near you, you’d be well advised to get there, otherwise you can always check out what Scott’s up to at Scott Goldberg Movies.com, you can check Scott out on his Facebook page, or, if you like your updates more instantly, then you can always follow Scott at his Twitter site. Any way you do, just keep Scott on your radar, he’s a hard-working filmmaker who’s going to make his mark on this industry.