{"id":991,"date":"2010-10-20T21:47:59","date_gmt":"2010-10-21T01:47:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=991"},"modified":"2015-12-02T07:11:32","modified_gmt":"2015-12-02T12:11:32","slug":"dante-tomaselli","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=991","title":{"rendered":"DANTE TOMASELLI (2007)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since his first feature film in 1999, filmmaker Dante Tomaselli has been working hard to establish a career in the horror realm by creating sometimes impenetrable works which don’t follow the conventional three act template. Sometimes haunting, frustrating, and befuddling in one go, he’s made three films \u2013 Desecration <\/strong>(1999), Horror<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>(2002), and\u00a0Satan’s Playground<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>(2005) – that have augmented his stature as an independent filmmaker whose talent is slowly coalescing into a recognizable name on the horror scene.<\/p>\n

Now beginning production on his fourth film, The Ocean<\/strong>, Tomaselli’s career is the result of hard work outside of the studio system: the financing is tougher to come by, you willingly wear several hats to get the film done, and have a more direct relationship with fans and detractors, the latter sometimes vociferously launching verbal salvos with their own level of passion and glee.<\/p>\n

This interview reveals a passionate and determined filmmaker with a deep interest in experimental and surreal film, yet with each completed production, he’s a bit wiser to the vagaries of the industry, and realistically addresses the business aspects of the process to ensure each project is followed by another to keep the creative juices flowing, and the career moving full steam ahead.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark R. Hasan <\/strong>: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 One aspect that’s very challenging to filmmakers who want to produce their first effort \u2013 admittedly, partly out of necessity — is organizing the financing, because without the funds to back a production, the venture remains a dream.<\/p>\n

There are a number of methods filmmakers have used to get their productions going — selling stock, visiting every known dentist and doctor in the family, rich friends, setting up a formal business plan — and I wonder if you could compare the main steps you took to finance\u00a0your first three films. I imagine Desecration <\/strong>was the toughest, while your second and third films — Horror <\/strong>and Satan’s Playground <\/strong>— were more firmly financed because you had the beginnings of a filmography.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dante Tomaselli <\/strong>: Well, I was possessed with the idea that before my\u00a030th birthday,\u00a0my first feature would be completely\u00a0finished and distributed.\u00a0So when I graduated from college,\u00a0I\u00a0was like a horse let out of the gate.\u00a0I put all my energies into my short films.\u00a0There was\u00a0always\u00a0the intent of making a feature. I kept my eye on the prize.<\/p>\n

Throughout my late teens and my early to mid-20s, I was living in NYC, trying to survive in cockroach infested apartments.\u00a0I had many degrading telemarketing jobs, I sold ad space, shot cable commercials, I was a security guard, I did anything to pay for film stock… and rent.<\/p>\n

I remember after graduating from the New York School of Visual Arts,\u00a0just\u00a0feeling completely\u00a0consumed with\u00a0creating\u00a0Desecration<\/strong>, almost\u00a0to the point of psychosis.\u00a0The images and sounds\u00a0were pouring out of me, especially\u00a0after\u00a0my visit with\u00a0an acupuncturist\/herbalist in Chinatown who\u00a0burned my back… along the spine… in three spots, releasing… something.<\/p>\n

I had insomnia for weeks, though I didn’t need sleep… I was wide awake! I was\u00a0surviving on some mysterious energy. No. Not drugs!\u00a0Over the next few months I made a series of low budget 16mm\u00a0shorts, and started\u00a0entering them into film festivals. I sent them out everywhere, figuring something would stick, somewhere, somehow. Nothing.\u00a0No film festivals wanted them.<\/p>\n

I kept on making these\u00a0shorts,\u00a0over and over and over, even though most\u00a0people around me thought I was fucking\u00a0out of my mind! I lost a lot of friends during this period. I remember,\u00a0it was me…against the world.\u00a0You were on my side or not. I saw my future peeking over the horizon, it didn’t matter\u00a0jealous or judgmental friends\u00a0couldn’t see it.<\/p>\n

I guess they thought I was insane for making\u00a0films about a caged boy with a\u00a0deranged mother armed with\u00a0a baby bottle filled with hallucinogens (laughs).\u00a0I think eventually the shorts\u00a0improved in quality because\u00a0they started to get accepted to some\u00a0film festivals and, wildly enough,\u00a0would play\u00a0at different\u00a0S&M clubs and bars in NYC. Many times with no sound, just the background imagery. The clubs would loop them.<\/p>\n

During this time I was definitely\u00a0creatively\u00a0nurtured and inspired\u00a0by a filmmaker named\u00a0Cherel Ito.\u00a0I met by her by\u00a0chance. We\u00a0were just\u00a0magnetically drawn to each other\u00a0at a post office in the West Village.\u00a0Incredibly, Cherel was the Executrix of the Maya Deren estate! I couldn’t believe it!\u00a0Of course I\u00a0am a\u00a0huge fan of Maya Deren’s\u00a0Meshes of the Afternoon<\/strong>. Big influence.\u00a0Maya Deren<\/a> is the grandmother of surrealism!<\/p>\n

Cherel and I became very close and she definitely\u00a0helped me in many ways.\u00a0I lived on West 10th and Bleeker and she was just\u00a0down the street.\u00a0We had a\u00a0unique relationship and she kind of guided my career for a while. Cherel said she was psychic… and due to her urgings, in 1996\u00a0when I was 26, I attended\u00a0 Angelika Film Center’s Independent Feature Film Market with a\u00a0trailer for\u00a0Desecration<\/strong>. At one of the screenings I met Jack Swain, who turned out to be the main\u00a0investor for the\u00a0$150, 000 feature length\u00a0\u00a0Desecration<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MRH <\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Did Desecration <\/strong>enjoy an extensive theatrical run, and did that help in getting a home video label interested in distributing the film? And secondly, because this was early into DVD, did you findDesecration <\/strong>benefited in being among the first crop of horror films to be distributed on DVD, since it was a few years later when stores would begin a slow purge of their VHS inventory?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

DT <\/strong>: It made its World Premiere at the 1999\u00a0Fantafestival in Rome Italy, and then about six months after that\u00a0it came out on DVD through Image Entertainment, one of the pioneers of laserdisc. While all the other horror films were being released straight to video, straight to VHS,\u00a0Desecration <\/strong>did benefit from being the first new horror movie to\u00a0debut on DVD. This was 1999… a different time. Everything that was coming out on DVD at that point was established and already released either theatrically or on VHS.\u00a0\u00a0Desecration <\/strong>was a DVD debut, it was a new concept. Now you see it all the time, butDesecration <\/strong>was actually the first.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MRH <\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 During a film’s pre-production phase, do you have a specific marketing plan set up, or do you get your inspiration from the footage, the realized concept, and specific images that resonate after the first assembly edit? (Your first two films used particularly arresting campaign art, and made them stand out.)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

DT <\/strong>: So far, with all my movies… it always starts with poster art.\u00a0With\u00a0Desecration <\/strong>it was\u00a0faceless\u00a0nuns… and the\u00a0tagline… \u201dYou will burn in Hell\u201d\u2026 With\u00a0Horror<\/strong>, it was a black satanic goat in\u00a0a priest’s outfit.\u00a0\u00a0Satan’s Playground<\/strong>… the image of\u00a0woods… and dried\u00a0blood. And the tagline… \u201dEnter if you Dare.\u201d Of course, you’ve seen the preliminary\u00a0poster art for\u00a0The Ocean<\/strong>… it has\u00a0a child drowning. \u00a0\u201cA new wave in terror.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MRH <\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Have you found over the years it’s been difficult\u00a0to convince producers and distributors that it’s worth funding projects that strive to go beyond the familiar concepts and stories that assault the horror fan on home video?<\/p>\n

I ask this because there’s a number of indie labels catering to the gore market; sub-labels by secondary and major labels wanting to cash-in by making cheap, disposable films; and Hollywood studios who fund incoherent films that use loud sound design and fast editing to get around the problem of badly written scripts in place of striving for anything original.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

DT <\/strong>: It’s a complete nightmare out there for independent filmmakers. It’s a swirling mess. I hate film markets. I hate film festivals. Some directors love that stuff. Not me. You just\u00a0have to be your own riptide, follow your own path. I can’t really complain too much because\u00a0all of my feature\u00a0films got made\u00a0and\u00a0found distribution. My early\u00a0films were extremely bizarre and\u00a0low budget… and the labels \u2026 Image… Elite… especially Anchor Bay… they all did great work\u00a0releasing\u00a0them.<\/p>\n

I’ve been quietly chipping away,\u00a0making the movies I want to create.\u00a0I\u00a0guess I force these films into existence. It’s kind of a do or die mentality. Life is not worth living if I can’t make the film I want. And I’d rather live… so I’m relentless. I’m a slave to the creation of these films. There’s nothing else.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MRH <\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Did aspects of Deren and Ito’s work influence your approach to realizing your nightmares on film?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

DT <\/strong>: Yes, I learned of\u00a0a kind of trance film. Ever since I was a little boy, I was a starer, always staring. I was kind of out of control sometimes.\u00a0My mother would have to\u00a0say, “Stop staring!”\u00a0 My eyes did exactly what they wanted, though. I understood the idea of looking at something, one thing… for an unusually\u00a0long period of time, becoming fixated on it… hypnotized.\u00a0I think that’s what I’ve tried to\u00a0do with my films so far. They’re ambient horror films. Trance films. I want the viewer to stare.<\/p>\n

When I met Cherel Ito, she was editing and distributing\u00a0Deren’s final film,\u00a0Divine\u00a0Horseman<\/a><\/strong>, a fascinating\u00a0stream-of-consciousness\u00a0documentary about Haitian Voodoo.\u00a0Of course, Maya Deren’s non-linear masterpiece,\u00a0\u00a0Meshes of the Afternoon<\/strong>, was a big influence, especially\u00a0on my first film,Desecration<\/strong>. I loved the idea of a time\/space dislocation. I understood it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MRH <\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Most horror filmmakers\u00a0tend to fixate on familiar icons, stylistic conventions, and what’s in vogue (which of late, has been torture and sadism). While mainstream horror fans might regard your interest in and application of surrealism and experimentalism as too demanding, do you feel the genre needs a bit of jostling, and audiences should be accepting of films beyond the predictable studio product?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

DT <\/strong>: Oh I definitely\u00a0felt the wrath of\u00a0experimental\u00a0film haters on message boards, so I know.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0large segment\u00a0of the mainstream audience… they want to be spoon fed, they need to know what’s going on in\u00a0a movie at all times.\u00a0I’m the opposite; I like a\u00a0film to take me by surprise… I love to get lost in a movie; I love to have\u00a0no idea where it’s taking me, something like\u00a0Jacob’s Ladder <\/strong>or\u00a0Don’t Look Now <\/strong>or\u00a0Alice, Sweet Alice<\/strong>. I love to feel perplexed. I guess that’s why my\u00a0films tend to\u00a0operate on a more internal dream logic.<\/p>\n

My detractors will always be there, waiting in the wings to pounce on my movies,\u00a0saying they make no sense.\u00a0On the other end of the spectrum… there are\u00a0people who really defend my films, enjoy them… and crave more. Some of these people are pretty fanatical. I know…because I get their emails, letters and gifts. This has been happening steadily since\u00a0Desecration<\/strong>.\u00a0This intense\u00a0love-hate, this extreme\u00a0polar opposite type\u00a0energy… it’s\u00a0the ingredients for a storm.\u00a0I feel it brewing.\u00a0I do.\u00a0I’m like Damien looking in the mirror at my 666 scar.\u00a0I know my time will come.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MRH <\/strong>With each film, you’ve seen shifts in the way technology has reduced the costs and somewhat simplified\u00a0the myriad levels post-production. In addition to the obvious — an affordable work station where you can edit, mix, and master a film onto DVD — what are some of the other major advances or trends that have made it possible for you to further realize a vision, and get it to audiences?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

DT <\/strong>: Hmmm… Well,\u00a0stuff like Avid off-line editing definitely\u00a0helps. When I went to film school in the late 80s and early 90s, we were all cutting and splicing negatives.\u00a0I never liked that honestly. It seemed so primitive at the time and I knew something better was on the horizon. The fact that it’s all digital now really\u00a0helps.<\/p>\n

Actually, I think it’s the best time ever for a filmmaker to find an audience. The Internet is really the best advance, the best trend. I owe a lot to the information highway. Just do a\u00a0Google search<\/a> on my name. From a marketing standpoint, most of the sales of\u00a0my movies so far have been through the internet, especially Amazon.com. Though with\u00a0Satan’s Playground<\/strong>, Anchor Bay got it out to all the\u00a0Walmart stores, Blockbusters\u00a0and many\u00a0well-known\u00a0chains, which was great.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MRH <\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The aforementioned post-production workstation — usually on a Mac – has given filmmakers the freedom to do many things, including scoring and sound designing their films. Has co-scoring Satan’s Playground <\/strong>been a positive experience, and were you able to keep a balance between your ideas, and those of Kenneth Lampl<\/a> ?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

DT <\/strong>: Well, I tend\u00a0to have a very specific way I score and sound design my films. I plan it all here\u00a0at my home studio… and I create a demo. I have an extensive collection of rare samples,\u00a0thousands and thousands… and I have a Roland Synthesizer.<\/p>\n

Basically, I assign a sound to a particular keyboard note and I mix and play that way. Sometimes I’ll employ natural soundscapes, like earthquakes… volcanoes… avalanches… It gives scare sequences an organic feel, I think. There’s just something about the rumbling of an\u00a0earthquake or the\u00a0tremors of a landslide… you can feel reverberations of\u00a0violence, emotional violence.<\/p>\n

For\u00a0Satan’s Playground<\/strong>, Kenneth Lampl\u00a0supplied some\u00a0terrific orchestral and synthesizer\u00a0compositions… and I mixed the pieces\u00a0where I wanted them, chopped them\u00a0up, looped them.\u00a0I also took compositions from other composers and layered them with my own\u00a0stuff.<\/p>\n

I know it’s not the traditional way where\u00a0one specific\u00a0composer scores his music to specific scenes.\u00a0I don’t like that.\u00a0I like to paint with sounds and compositions… and\u00a0I need a\u00a0gigantic palette. I don’t make comedies or dramas or love stories.\u00a0They’re\u00a0horror movies. It’s all about mood. A real emphasis has to be placed on the sound. I want it to be 3-D-like, like an out-of-body-experience. [Click HERE <\/a>for a demo clip.]<\/p>\n

To me, the film’s soundscape is 50% of the film’s equation. It’s half of the movie! I like to have it mostly\u00a0planned out before I shoot. Of course\u00a0once the\u00a0picture is being edited, the demo will change. But at least\u00a0I will have that soundtrack\u00a0demo as a\u00a0kind of a road map. And we can build from it… embellish on it.\u00a0In the end, this saves money and time during the expensive and crucial\u00a0sound mixing stage.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MRH <\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Another benefit of having a complete post-production system in the office corner is the time it affords one\u00a0to refine editorial ideas, but I wonder if you found such a setup can present some unexpected issues, like giving one too much time to fiddle and settle on a final creative choice?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

DT <\/strong>: Right. Yes.\u00a0That sense of immediacy, that sense of urgency… of\u00a0being with an editor\u00a0in some expensive editing suite\u00a0and having a certain amount of time allocated\u00a0to complete something… It’s different now,\u00a0because\u00a0I know now I can just\u00a0go home and tweak and play even further.\u00a0Once home, I stare at the footage, try to learn every nook and cranny… just\u00a0let it gestate in my mind. I plan what should be done the next day, but I like to\u00a0leave it\u00a0open a bit.<\/p>\n

I cherish that\u00a0director-editor relationship… that chemistry. Although I have a very clear idea of what I want, it’s collaborative. I’m not an editor,\u00a0I respect what a good\u00a0editor can\u00a0bring to the\u00a0table.\u00a0I am, though, a musician… and\u00a0I should\u00a0continuously work on the soundtrack at home, anywhere. I’m much more anal about the sound design.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MRH <\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The most popular fantasies in establishing a film career\u00a0are\u00a0selling\u00a0a million dollar\u00a0script,\u00a0making an unforgettable\u00a0short film, or a trail-blazing feature movie, and while\u00a0miracles\u00a0have worked for a few, these aren’t the norm in studio\u00a0and independent film production. What are\u00a0the most important things you’ve learned from working your way up?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

DT <\/strong>: You can’t skip from A to Z. You have to go through the entire alphabet. For example,\u00a0some kid in film school\u00a0says with total confidence, “Oh I’ll be getting $2 million for my first feature.” The kid talks and talks and many\u00a0years\u00a0pass and… nothing. So many talkers out there. I hate talking. I hate festivals. I hate the game. I don’t want a spotlight on me. I’m a shy person. It’s not about instant fame. It’s all about the films.\u00a0With me, this\u00a0has a been a slow-burn, a real learning process.\u00a0I’ve gone from $150, 000 to $250, 000 to $500, 000.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MRH <\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And finally, what personal and professional gains do you hope to realize with your current project, The Ocean<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

DT: <\/strong>Well, with all the tools I need, great\u00a0supportive\u00a0producers in\u00a0Kindred Media Group<\/a> and the most solid script I’ve ever had thanks to co-writer\u00a0Michael Gingold, I expect for it to be my best movie. The budget is $1.8 million.\u00a0That’s a\u00a0giant step up.\u00a0Also, I\u00a0have an incredibly\u00a0loyal\u00a0creative team\u00a0that I’ve been working with for years and we’re all set to really\u00a0deliver on this film… really push the envelope.\u00a0There’s just\u00a0A LOT\u00a0of energy, a tremendous amount… like a tsunami wave building.\u00a0I definitely\u00a0believe in the power of positive visualization… that’s how I’ve done all of this so far… and\u00a0I do\u00a0see a tidal wave… on the horizon. I see it with my eyes closed. I see it with my eyes opened.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

KQEK.com would like to thank Dante Tomaselli for his generous time.<\/p>\n

Additional information on the director and his latest film, The Ocean<\/strong>, is available HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A 2014 interview with Dante Tomaselli is also available<\/a>.<\/p>\n

All images remain the property of their copyright holders.<\/p>\n

This article and interview \u00a9\u00a02007 by Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since his first feature film in 1999, filmmaker Dante Tomaselli has been working hard to establish a career in the horror realm by creating sometimes impenetrable works which don’t follow the conventional three act template. Sometimes haunting, frustrating, and befuddling in one go, he’s made three films \u2013 Desecration (1999), Horror\u00a0(2002), and\u00a0Satan’s Playground\u00a0(2005) – that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[70,60],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-fZ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/991"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=991"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12728,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/991\/revisions\/12728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}