Interview with Indie Filmmaker/Actor Tony Brownrigg
The Dhampir sat down with writer/director/star of the new indie film Red Victoria, Tony Brownrigg. Red Victoria (read review) has been generating a huge buzz at horror conventions where it’s been screened. It won the Audience Award at Texas Frightmare Weekend and will hopefully be given a limited theatrical release. Check out the trailer yourself to see what all the excitement is about:
Tony Brownrigg: Hmm, actually I think it’s reversed. My father’s filmmaking influenced my style. I’ve grown up with low budget film most of my life. When you do that often, you start learning tricks of the trade, physics, ways of doing things. It forces you to be more creative in some ways, and THAT has influenced my style.
The Dhampir: How is that reversed?
Tony Brownrigg: Well, my father’s style didn’t influence me as much as his filmmaking process did.
The Dhampir: Gotcha. You’ve been in 9 films thus far (Bicycle Bobby, Hexed, Children of Dracula, The Process of Creative Deception, Standing Room Only, They Feed, Equilateral and The Promise), not counting the new one. What’s been the best experience?
Tony Brownrigg: Hmm, well I’d have to say Red Victoria to be honest. It was the chance to let all the years of filmmaking on other projects culminate in my first directorial feature. I’ve had great experiences on all of them, some of them in acting, some in lighting, and some in cinematography. You remember the best experiences after all, and with RV I was able to bring in all of them at the same time. It worked very nicely, and quite a lot of fun.
The Dhampir: Red Victoria, “It’s classic horror, and that’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about today. Everyone always talks about that first film, your entrance, as it were, into the genre, but unlike other films, this one has, well I think you know what I’m talking about. There’s that big secret about it that no-one seems to know yet. Can you tell me about it?” [This is a direct quote from the film which I managed to work into the interview! It was functional.]
Tony Brownrigg: LOL! Oh that’s rich. Uhm, No, I can’t tell you about it, that would be cheating, you’d have to watch the film first.
The Dhampir: Ok so in RV, you play Jim, who in some ways mirrored you in not wanting to do a horror movie, tell me how it all started!
Tony Brownrigg: Basically from an email conversation I had with friend who used to be in distribution. I was working on getting funding for a much larger budget picture Freeborn, and that kind of money takes time. I was bored quite frankly. I wanted to be on a set. He was the one that pushed me into horror. Originally I didn’t want to start with horror because I’ve known it all my life, and not much scares me. But! He was insistent and after awhile, he pushed so much that I came up with a groovy answer to get him off my back, just a joke really. “I’ll do a horror film about a guy that doesn’t wanna do a horror film.” After thinking on it, it seemed kind of funny to me, then challenging, and I love a challenge.
The Dhampir: It seems from watching it, as many times as I have, with commentary, without commentary, that there were quite a few challenges. What was the hardest part of the project?
Tony Brownrigg: I’d have to say scheduling. Basically I tried to beat the triad, and failed at that. The triad being, in getting a project done, you have good, fast, and cheap. And you only get two out of three. We all had other jobs at the time, and finding time for Ed [Landers, who plays Carl] to come over at the same time as Arianne [Martin, who plays Victoria], or getting another talent on the same day as when I had the location available, was sometimes very frustrating. And without a First AD [Assistant Director], I was more or less just planning times as I went along. That got frustrating.
The Dhampir: How did you manage the locations that weren’t your home, like the coffee shop or the park, so that you didn’t have spectators wandering in to the shots?
Tony Brownrigg: Hehe, they did. We have lots of outtakes. Without a crew to “clear the set,” anyone that walked in, we’d just have to “cut” and wait. Heck, my house even was difficult. We have two Dobermans, when we locked them up, they’d howl, and bark. (bad for audio), when we’d let them loose in the house…well, lets just say we have lots of outtakes that include a random Doberman.
The Dhampir: Ha, Ha. So how did you come up with a “Killer Muse” and the character and name for Victoria?
Tony Brownrigg: Well, when I sat down to write my “horror film about a guy that doesn’t wanna write horror,” I was posed with a problem. How do you force someone to write something they don’t wanna write? It’s not enough just to need money. I was lacking inspiration, and I thought “I need a muse on this.” Then I jokingly mocked to myself, a Zombie Muse. Then it was simple math; zombies can be evil, evil can force good to do things, Zombie Muse forces him to write a horror film. The name…the name went back and forth in my mind. I had a template for the character. My wife is a gamer, and has 2 characters she plays, one of them is an undead necrophiliac, and the other a honey-voiced madam, merging them together more or less came up with the base template. Then as luck would have it, I had just met Arianne, she possessed all the skills to play that character. I couldn’t decide between Veronica or Victoria, I wanted a Royal name, a Queen of Zombies if you will. Arianne looked more like a Victoria, than a Veronica. That pretty much sums that up.
The Dhampir: Ok, there’s a point in the film where things take a turn. Is it that Jim gets darker or Victoria becomes more normal?
Tony Brownrigg: Honestly, I love leaving that question open. I toy with it back and forth myself. I think it’s both somehow; the film surprised me in that matter.
The Dhampir: So, it’s a case of the truth is what you choose to believe?
Tony Brownrigg: Bingo. I love leaving that in the individual audience member’s hand.
The Dhampir: I understand that this was bare bones as far as budget went, but it doesn’t have that indie look or feel, and with someone like Desha Dunnahoe doing the score, how did you pull it off as well as you did?
Tony Brownrigg: Hmm, about 30 years experience in the industry, since I was 10 years old. It always makes me chuckle when someone says that I just came out of nowhere, and made this great first-time film. I’ve been prepping for it all my life practically. Desha however was pure luck. She had been talking to me about Freeborn, and I sent her the script and she loved it and wanted to do the score for it. She does studio stuff as well, and I’m just thrilled that she was able to take the time. The score is really terrific.
The Dhampir: It is! You also managed to get the band 7 Seconds of Love to contribute, how?
Tony Brownrigg: I really wish I had a great detailed story for that one. I saw one of Joel Veitch’s animations on the web, and the songs that the band he’s in 7SOL were just fantastic. On a lark, I just emailed him, said “Hey, I’m doing a low budget film, love your music, can I use a couple songs in it for credit?” He was nice enough to email me back and give me the go ahead. Great band, they had the perfect “sound” for the songs in the film.
The Dhampir: It really lightens up the film and makes it a little more fun. There are a lot of red items in the film, how many of those were intentional?
Tony Brownrigg: I’d say about half of them. Jim’s notebook was actually my scriptbook, it just happened to be red. The front door was already red, so it was easy to use. After that I’d start looking for various red accents to utilize.
The Dhampir: There are a lot of digital effects in the film, done by yourself no less, that come off seamless and fairly unnoticeable, where usually a lot of digital stuff in indie films stand out. How did you make them flow so easily?
Tony Brownrigg: Well, one of my jobs for years has been freelance visual effects. So I already had a good deal of experience there. My laptop was rather slow on render times, (another reason it took so long to get the film finished) and if it didn’t look right to my taste, I’d just redo it. Without having to worry about another designer, or hourly post house times, it made things quite a bit easier.
The Dhampir: In a conversation with a friend of mine the other day, I compared Red Victoria to the original Friday the 13th. Friday was also a project made to pass time while waiting on a bigger project and your film RV, much like the original Friday has captured fan attention in a big way and everyone who’s seen it speaks highly of it. What’s your reaction?
Tony Brownrigg: Stunned. I’m always stunned at those kinds of responses to be quite honest. I love the film, I enjoyed the film. But I’ve also seen it over 1,800 times, and know all the mistakes I made in it, and wish I’d have fixed to my tastes. Most of those are things that no one else would care about or even notice. But I still know there were things I’d wished I’d had the budget for. It’s a HUGE surprise to be compared to the original Friday 13th, I’m humbled.
The Dhampir: Well, you’re welcome! There’s a potential limited theatrical release, plus a DVD release upcoming. Tell us about that, and do you regret selling copies at conventions now?
Tony Brownrigg: The original plan was just to get the DVD out in release. Simple, effective, done. But the responses have been so positive, that we’ve been approached for some limited theatrical deals. So the DVD release has been put on hold until we sort all that out. As far as the convention copies, technically that’s not distribution, so it doesn’t really hurt any theatrical deals, besides its great to get a test market to see the film.
The Dhampir: There are people, including friends of mine, who bought the film based on the trailer alone. What does that tell you about the film?
Tony Brownrigg: Hmm, not sure how to answer that one. I think the trailer turned out nice, and leaves some intrigue as to what happens in the movie. I think it’s let me know that the story is original to a degree as well. Audiences are always looking for something “new.”
The Dhampir: Speaking of new, you fall into that group of “Texas Horror,” including Parrish Randall [read interview], Stacy Davidson [read interview], Josh Vargas. What do you think about what those guys are putting out there?
Tony Brownrigg: Hehehe. I love it all. One of the best things about horror is how diverse the genre is. All our styles are different, yet there’s a market for each of them, and being as I’ve been surrounded by horror, there’s a little something for me in each.. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting all those folks, and can say they’re all great. One of the best things about Texas filmmakers is the love of the craft, without all the union, and studio complications. I’d love to work with each of them…Don’t forget Mel House, [how could we?? Read our review of his Closet Space here] also a great director. Not to mention with the kind of diverse original concepts floating around Texas horror, I get a chance to learn a few things myself from peers. I love learning new ways of doing things.
The Dhampir: I’m really into their work too! The teaser for Freeborn is phenomenal, it’s an emotional experience. I get emotional when I watch it at least. It hits hard and really grabs one’s attention. Can you talk about that project?
Tony Brownrigg: Well, the film has been in development for awhile now, in fact it was the project that got me going on Red Victoria. And oddly enough the teaser for Freeborn was two fold; one, to give the fans of the werewolf genre a sample of what the film would feel like, and two, so I could test out my theories on how the Red Victoria shoot could work (i.e. no crew, Home Depot lighting, etc. etc.) Not to mention that’s how I met Arianne. The film itself is definitely a drama, but the solution as to how that came about really goes to werewolf fans. Maegan, (my wife) and I, and Ed Landers asked werewolf fans what they wanted to see in a werewolf film. Not story mind you, but what about the genre they liked and didn’t like. Maegan, Ed, and I worked up a story. We’ve been sharing everything about the process of that script with the fans on the fly. They even have their own community website called “The Pack’s Den.” Lots of great information about werewolves.
The Dhampir: I know! I too, am a member of “The Pack.” Last question, You’ve been very proactive about promoting RV. Two interviews with me now, HMF radio a couple of weeks ago, various horror conventions, etc. What other promotional stuff do you have coming up? Where can people come to meet you and things like that?
Tony Brownrigg: Not sure. We’ve got lots of stuff coming up, but can’t spell out anything definite yet. Dubs are being delivered as we speak.
The Dhampir: Anything you want to add?
Tony Brownrigg: 483 and 22984.33 but I forgot my calculator. Yes, I have something I want to add. The sequel.
The Dhampir: Are you going to tell us anything about it, or just leave us hanging?
Tony Brownrigg: It’s a horror movie, of course I’m going to leave you hanging. Nah! But I will say it’s a good deal darker than the first, and answers many questions left at the end of part 1.
The Dhampir: Excellent! I cannot wait to see it! I’d like to thank you Tony, for granting me another interview, I know that you’re busy, yet you take the time to talk about your work, which, in The Dhampir’s opinion, makes you a great writer/director who really is in touch with what the fans want!
Tony Brownrigg: Why thank you good sir. I’m sorry, I mean Evil sir.
Anthony Brownrigg’s Official Site
Anthony Brownrigg’s Myspace
Red Victoria’s Official Site
Freeborn’s Official Site
“The Pack” Message Boards
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