Thanks for visiting my website and reading my interviews. Here's my interview with Richard Wilson from southern New Jersey who is an Emmy award winner filmmaker, writer and director. He talks about his film "The Halloween Girl" which winning some awards and receiving some awesome reviews.
Read more and see what advice he offers to someone who also dreams to be a filmmaker.
What do you love
about filmmaking?
Probably the same things I love about a great rock ’n’
roll song; the power of all this visual sound and fury just grabbing the
audience by the shoulders and cutting through all the BS! Seriously,
for me, film is just the perfect marriage of all that I love about art - it
just floods the senses and yet provides such an intimate, emotional
conversation with the audience. Anymore, I couldn’t imagine telling my stories
any other way!
Tell me about
your company, OutreachArts, Inc.. What services does it
provide?
OutreachArts actually began its life as OutreachPlays
(over 17 years ago!) - live theatre that would help break the ice about issues
that otherwise might be too difficult for audiences to talk about. The short
touring plays, which addressed various health and social issues, were very
successful and sponsors began to ask for video adaptations. Long story short,
digital filmmaking was just starting out and, naturally, I saw this as a golden
opportunity to return to my first love, film. So, for the last 15 years, we’ve
been doing just that; creating Emmy® Award-Winning dramas that are designed to
entertain audiences while addressing very difficult issues (addiction, suicide,
self-injury, etc.). Here in the States, our films have reached audiences via
Public Television, the Independent
Film Channel (IFC), public schools and even a Legislative Briefing in
Washington, D.C. (about Veterans suffering from PTSD/gambling addiction) in front
of Sen. Elizabeth Warren! It’s very fulfilling work to say the least…
Your TV mini-series “Maple Avenue” which
is an Emmy Award Winning Series, you wrote and directed it, what has been the
most rewarding about the series? I’m sure winning an Emmy was quite rewarding,
but what else?
While the bulk of our work comes from non-profits
nationwide, "Maple Ave" was designed as an in-house project inspired by the
at-risk teens and families I had been interviewing over the years. Yes, the
series’ five Emmy® nominations and the
win for "After I’m Gone" were awesome, but the teens who regularly shared their
stories with me and those viewers the show helped, that’s been the most
rewarding.
I’ve watched some
of the clips and the series has topics ranging from teen bullying, depression
and suicide and other issues that impact our youth today, was there one
particular episode that was very important for you to produce?
Actually, there are three that stand out for me; ‘The Hurting’
(self-injury), ‘Promise Me’ (parents with addictions) and our Emmy® Winner,
‘After I’m Gone’ (suicide awareness). Those three episodes really illustrate
how isolated someone suffering in silence can be made to feel. It’s funny, as
I’m answering this, I’m hearing David Bowie’s song,’Rock ’n’ Roll Suicide’
playing in my head! But, seriously, that’s how I feel when I do this
work - ‘Oh, no, love, you’re not alone…’ Never realized how much that song
mirrors my inner talk with the audience before…
Since 2001, you’ve written and produced over 40
films which have reached viewers nationally and internationally. Do you have a favorite one that you produced
?
Wow, that’s really hard! Though I think I’ve produced some of my
best OutreachArts-related work these last couple of years, our Mad Shelley
Films debut, "The Halloween Girl" has to be my favorite - very personal film
for me.
What’s your writing
process like? Do you have a favorite place to write your scripts?
I talk to myself ‘out loud’ in notebooks! I ask myself questions
and don’t censor my responses - just write it all down! (laughs) This process
ultimately leads me to writing dialogue and before long I’m typing things in to
Final Draft. Actually, I’m not very precious about the writing process - making
art is just messy - a lot like cooking really!
I have to know what
inspired you to write your short “The Halloween Girl”? From what I’ve been seeing, it has been
winning awards and touring festivals and most recent one was the Los Angeles
Independent Film Festival Awards.
Yes, the recent Hollywood screening was very exciting! In answer
to your question, ’The Halloween Girl’ was essentially forced into being after
I lost my mother in the Spring of 2014. My father had also recently passed away
the previous Fall, but it was my mother’s death that was the true catalyst for
the film. My mother has reached out to me many times since her passing and it’s
the essence of these same ‘visits’ that have provided much of the film’s
connective tissue. So, in that sense, ‘The Halloween Girl’ is very much a ghost
story within a ghost story…
Writing - ALWAYS writing! I’ve been writing since I was 10 years
old - and it’s seen me through quite a lot. Having said that, directing is
pretty awesome too - I really love working with our actors and crew.
“The Halloween Girl” is a short, do you
plan on maybe making it into a full length feature?
No, it’s really pretty self-contained - we said all we needed to
say there, I think.
What other film projects
are you currently working on?
Well, I’m working on a new Mad Shelley script now that may head
down the feature road and several new OutreachArts projects that should take
flight later this year.
Is there some advice that
you can offer to those beginning in the film industry? What would you have like
to have known when you started your company?
There are a lot of people who are wanting to do exactly what you’re
doing.
Number one, know why you’re going in to the film business
in the first place! I find most people just want to be rich and famous and they
think once that’s achieved, all their personal problems will simply vanish in
to thin air - obviously, all that has nothing to do with making films. However,
if you have a burning desire to tell stories, and that desire isn’t dependent
on big money and fame, then find your niche. For instance, what do you bring to
the table that no one else does? Who is your audience - what do they look like?
Once you’ve honestly answered these questions, then have at it and let the
journey begin. If you’re in this for the right reasons, to honestly connect
with people, have a conversation, you simply can’t fail. Besides, all the
‘glamour trappings’ are BS anyway!
What was the first film or
TV show that you wrote and produced?
Actually, I consider my first film to be "On the Job", an
adaptation of a very successful one-act play I had written in the early 90’s,
about an alcoholic construction worker and his troubled relationship with his
son. Though I’d had other work produced prior to this, ‘On the Job’ was my
first directing gig - and I never looked back.
Most of the people I look up to are long dead! Actually,
Rod Serling was a big influence because he took difficult social issues,
wrapped them in entertainment and made them palatable to an audience that might
otherwise turn a deaf ear. Really, Serling was just a natural heir to another
hero of mine, Charles Dickens - both used their art to tell stories and change
lives.
Who are your biggest
supporters?
Well, other than my beautiful wife and daughter, it’s obviously
the non-profit/social issues community for my OutreachArts work. For Mad
Shelley, however, it’s definitely the ‘Geek Girl’ contingent - I just
absolutely love them! Actually, our"Maple Ave" series was very "Geek Girl"-
centric as well - so, they hold a special place in my heart.
What are three fun facts that
you can share with my readers?
When I was little, I made Super 8 "Planet of the Apes" sequels in
my backyard w/ my little sister, cousins and the neighborhood kids - films that
you’ll never see, btw!
We shot part of "The Halloween Girl" at my old elementary school,
Laurel Springs School (NJ) - where I wrote my very first story, ‘Lost in
Unknown Galaxies’.
Received an E-mail one night from a PBS viewer who told me that
our suicide awareness episode, ‘After I’m Gone’ saved their life. Obviously,
it’s one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received…
Follow Richard on his social links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MadShelleyFilms
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