An Interview with Will Clevinger - By Herbert M. Brindl

Interviews: An Interview with Will Clevinger - By Herbert M. Brindl
Posted on Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 04:32:55 Mountain Daylight Time by Duane

“What makes a perfectly produced movie is attention to detail in everything that you’re doing, never overlooking one area.” - William Clevinger on Producing

I met William Clevinger for the first time a month ago. It was before the screening of director Jake Kennedy’s film “Penance” (produced by Will) in Los Angeles. The following day I watched “Automaton Transfusion”, Williams first producing endeavor which was directed by Steven C. Miller. Amazed and stunned with the movie these guys came up with in only 9 days with a budget of $30.000 and it gets even better when you know that William negotiated and landed in his early twenties a major worldwide distribution deal for his “Automaton Transfusion” with nobody less than The Weinstein Company.

He later worked as Line Producer on Day’s of Darkness, as Production Coordinator on Trail of the Screaming Forehead and produced the upcoming horror film “Penance” last year. This all said I met with William Clevinger in Culver City last week, to find out more about this sympatric young man with a really impressive list of producing credits on his resume.

During a couple of Weizen beers Will talked with me about Florida where he grew up, the RedSox and his two year long fight with Lyme disease. Which was also a good thing as Will Ironically commented, because all he could really do was watch movies! There you see this man who knows even in the challenging moment of life to stay positive and work through problems. And it paid off for him, he develop the sense to take on the right projects, surround himself with the right people, and stays grounded with all his success, uncomplicated and very friendly.

From one who has seen and enjoys his movies, I am forced to say ironically:

“Thanks to this little bad ass tick that bit Will at the young age of thirteen to infect him with the film making virus and bringing him to what he is designated to do”.

Anyway, Will thanks again for the great time in Culver City, stay as you are and have fun at the Comic Con!

* * *

HMB: Fist of all congratulations to all the success you've had already in your young producing career, and thank you for giving Rogue the opportunity to do an interview with you!

WC: Thank you so very much and I am excited to be doing it.

HMB: Will, tell us a little bit about your background. Where did you grow up and what was the reason you decided to go into film making?

WC: I was born in Gainesville, Florida - Go Gators! - But I grew up in Ocala, Florida. When I was about 13 I got diagnosed with Lyme disease and was in and out of the hospital for well over two years. It was actually not that bad of a thing though because all I could really do was watch movies. I became fascinated with the whole film making process. As soon as I was well enough I made up all of high school in just over a year and a half and I went to Film school.

HMB: What are the movies you grew up with?

WC: The film that really inspired me to get into film making was Steven Soderbergh's The Limey. I still regret not buying a signed Limey poster by Soderbergh, Stamp, & Fonda. Sorry back on track. The movies that I grew up with though were a lot of classics of the late 80's and early 90's. Not so much individual movies but films by certain directors. John Hughes, Robert Zemeckis, Steven Spielberg, John Landis, Richard Benjamin just to name a few.

HMB: Will, let's jump right into the "Horror Business". In 2006 you produced the indie zombie-fest "Automaton Transfusion", starring the up and coming actors Garrett Jones, William Howard Bowman which got directed by very talented Steven C. Miller in a town that is overrun by zombies. How did you got involved in the project and how was working with Steven, Garret and Will Bowman?

WC: Steven and I went to college together. We also met Mark while in school. We all had the same passion for movies and similar tastes and wanted to work together. So cut to a few years later we both had just moved to LA and we were working for a company. Mark was already living out here and we all had reconnected. We got to a point very quickly after being out here where we just decided to go and do it. We got some money together and just went for it. I have worked on a lot of things since Automaton and by far the most fun I ever have working on projects is with Steven and Mark. As for Garrett and Will they are two actors that 10 years from now will be doing only A-List projects. Garrett's first acting experience ever in anything was Automaton and in my opinion he kicked some serious ass. Since then he now is out here in LA, found a manager and an agent and he is getting audition after audition. As for Will the guy is such a natural and he has a great presence. Anyone would be lucky to have him as part of their project. I know Will just recently got to act alongside Channing Tatum in Lasse Hallstrom's new film which is based on a Nicholas Sparks book, "Dear John." So I am excited to see Will in that when it comes out. I'm stoked for both those guys.

HMB: Can you tell us what the budget on "Automaton Transfusion" was and how many shoot days do you had?

WC: There really wasn't a budget because we made the film for the price of a BMW and I am talking 3-series. We had scheduled to shoot the film in 12 days but due to circumstances beyond our control it ended up being only 9 days.

HMB: You also played a part in getting a distribution deal for the movie with The Weinstein Company, how did that all come about and how did you get the Weinstein's interested in Automaton Transfusion?

WC: We actually got a phone call from New Line a few days into filming because we put a teaser trailer up online after the first day of filming. The very first day we shot the scene with all of the extras chasing the guys into the bar. It was pretty epic to have that as our first day. We planned it that way though because we wanted to cut a trailer to get some buzz going. Somehow the trailer ended up on Aint It Cool and that's how New Line found us, from there we started getting calls from other studios. Once we were back in LA a friend of ours, Todd Casey was helping us out in finishing up post on the movie. Todd sent a rough cut of the film to his friend Alex Franklin who at the time was over at Dimension. Alex liked it brought us in and after a few meetings and a couple of film festival screenings Dimension had acquired the rights.

HMB: Is it true that an "Automaton Transfusion II" is planed and if yes what and when can we expect it?

WC: Yes, it is true. It's in the works and its going to surprise a lot of people.

HMB: In 2007 you teamed up with award winning British Writer Director Jake Kennedy, for his feature debut "Days of Darkness" where Humanity Makes Its Last Stand against raging Zombies. How did you and up and coming director Jake Kennedy met, and what attracted you to his story?

WC: This is a funny story. So right after I graduated college my mom had bought me a wall unit off eBay and we planned to pick it up when I arrived in LA. The person that sold it to us was actually Jake. When I got to LA and went and met him to get it we got to talking and he had mentioned that he had just made a short called We All Fall Down. He showed it to me and I dug it. He called me a few days later and hooked me up with a job at a company, of which I will forgive him for. I was getting ready to go make Automaton right around the same time as he was getting Days of Darkness together. He asked me if I would like to be a part of it and I said sure. I liked the fact that it was this character study of a group of people from different walks of life brought together by a zombie apocalypse. I think for what the film is Jake did a great job of developing those characters. It wasn't just your run of the mill zombie horror film.

HMB: Another Horror film you currently produced is "Penance" aka "The Devils Dungeon" on which you teamed up again with Jake Kennedy. Fangoria calls "Penance" already: "A beautifully brutal film, PENANCE delivers more cringe inducing terror than even the most hardcore horror fan will be able to endure. Prepare to atone for your cinematic sins of the flesh, because you won't be able to turn away from the sumptuous savagery assaulting your senses on the screen." What can you tell us about this indie project, which includes an amazing cast such as Graham McTavish, Marieh Delfino, Tony Todd and Michel Rooker and is a release date yet set?

WC: First off, I love working with Jake. He is literally one of the nicest people I have ever met. The film itself was a fun project to be a part of. Jake had an idea for another movie that we were going to do but then he went to Australia and he had heard about this OBGYN doctor who was being accused of mutating his patients. It was like over 100 hundred women over a 20 year period. Something ridiculous. Jake thought that could be an interesting twist on a film if it was made as a horror film. So he developed an idea using this doctor as a character. When he got back he called me up and said he wanted to get this project going and he had an interested investor. It all came together really quickly. We got a script done in a few weeks and I found Ricki Maslar, who is an amazing Casting Director. She got us our incredible cast and we pretty much got everyone we wanted. All of the actors did such an amazing job. It was sensitive material to deal with and the performances are great. Graham McTavish plays an absolute psychopath and it will shock a lot of people when they see it. He is freaking brilliant in the film. Rooker is great as well he plays this deranged hitman who loves toothpicks. We are basically right now just trying to find a distributor who has enough balls to release it. It's a very intense and disturbing film. It might even make your nuts hurt...

HMB: What is, in your opinion, a perfect produced movie?

WC: In my opinion two examples of perfectly produced movies are Saving Private Ryan & The Limey. Saving Private Ryan evokes so much emotion when you watch it. Every single role in that film is cast with such thought. Even the small ones have these amazing actors in them. As for The Limey it is so underrated and is looked over by a lot of people. In my opinion it's Soderbergh at his best. That film has amazing writing, acting, cinematography, editing. There is so much put into every detail in both of those films. That's what makes a perfect produced movie is attention to detail in everything that you're doing. Never overlooking one area. I love the Limey if you haven't noticed.

HMB: What are for you the greatest mistakes producers can make on their projects?

WC: Not thinking through everything. Spending too much money when it's not necessarily needed. Casting the wrong actors in roles. Those are a few.

HMB: What do you like and don't like about the business?

WC: I love the creating part and making something that will last forever. Also the people that you meet from project to project. That's the best thing about the film business is the people that you meet. The one thing that I hate is the Politics of it all, that's more on the studio level. Also the constant grind. That's something I love and hate is the daily grind. If you don't have a passion for this business you will never make it.

HMB: Some advice for newcomers in the producing world?

WC: Network your ass off and take any job that is offered to you when you're first starting out. Go buy the Hollywood Creative Directory and also go and take a small loan from a bank haha.

HMB: What's next for William Clevinger?

WC: I'm currently working on a bunch of projects with Steven. I am also prepping to do a film in South Africa that will shoot the beginning of next year. That's a bigger film and a much different change of pace for me. It's a serious drama which I am excited to be doing. I'm just enjoying life and taking it one day at a time.

HMB: Please choose 5 people out of the film business (dead or alive); you want to have at your dinner table.

WC: Steven Soderbergh, John Belushi, Marc Cuban, Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock

HMB: Your thoughts on Yankees vs. Red Sox?

WC: I don't care who I offend by saying this but I can't stand the Yankees. I hate everything that they are about. The best thing is that soon they are going to be the worst team in the AL East, with the young talent that is coming up on Baltimore and Toronto. I'm a diehard Redsox fan and I will be until the day I die. I'm also a sports nut if you can't tell. If I wasn't in film I would be working my way up and eventually would become the GM of a team.

HMB: Any people that have come along in your life that you wish to give a special thanks credit in this interview?

WC: I have a group of people that I thank on everything I do. My mom, Tony, Jordan, Aaron.

HMB: Thank you so much for the interview William and all the best for your future projects!

WC: It's been an absolute pleasure!

* * *

Links to William Clevinger:

Imdb:
http://imdb.com/name/nm1888350

Automaton Transfusion Trailer:
http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/automaton-transfusion/trailer

Penance Trailer:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid5237561001?bctid=23135921001

Days of Darkness Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkYwvpFckLc