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Elston Gunn Interviews The Producers of MTV's MY SUPER PSYCHO SWEET 16!!

Published at:  Oct 22, 2009 11:08:24 PM CDT

Hello. Elston Gunn here.

MTV is celebrating the Halloween season this week with MY SUPER PSYCHO SWEET 16, a horror film inspired by the network's reality series of a similar name (sans the "psycho," though one could contest that). The project - directed by Jacob Gentry (THE SIGNAL) about a roller rink party crashed by a slasher - is one of a slate of original films MTV is presenting in a limited theatrical release before broadcasting on television. Julianna Guill (FRIDAY THE 13th reboot), Lauren McKnight (UNACCOMPANIED MINORS) and Chris Zylka (COUGAR TOWN) star.







MY SUPER PSYCHO SWEET 16 premieres Friday, October 23, at 10pm (EST). You can visit the official website here. (http://www.mtv.com/movies/movie/436051/moviemain.jhtml)


Two of the film's producers, Chris White and Alex Motlagh, took time to answer questions for AICN.


[Elston Gunn]: What was the catalyst for this project? How did you get involved?

[Chris White]: We were looking for original event programming for Halloween and knew that an MTV branded horror film would be a great way to go. From there we went full steam ahead putting all of the elements together within a very small amount of time. One of the first steps was bringing in director Jacob Gentry and his producing partner Alex Motlagh. These guys really know how to work a budget and how to get a lot of bang for your buck. I'm a big fan of their film THE SIGNAL, which is how I met them, and it just felt right to attach them on this project. Jacob and Alex's enthusiasm and genuine love for making movies just made it even more of a reason to have them involved.

Our writers Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas did a fantastic job of turning in the first draft of the script within a month's time, which was pretty much greenlit a few days after it was handed in. It's like we were cooking this great down south gumbo where everyone was on the same page across the board on how it should be seasoned - everyone contributed such great ingredients to make it a tasty home cooked dish. I'm really proud of how it all came together, especially the teamwork from everyone involved under such a tight schedule!





[EG]: What did you think you could bring to the slasher genre that hadn't been done before?

[CW]: With this one we weren't looking to reinvent the slasher genre. This film has influences of old 80's slasher flicks with some John Hughes type elements added for good measure. It's a film you can really have fun with - from the believable chemistry and humor of the characters, to the music, to the kill scenes. But to answer your question of what we're bringing to the slasher genre… that hasn't been done before? Let's just say it involves a girl on skates and a sushi cake.


[EG]: Do you think they're going to want to continue making films like these? Any talk of potential sequels?

[CW]: Everyone here at MTV is very excited about the film. I think when people tune in on October 23 at 10pm, they are really going to be surprised about what they are going to get. Hopefully, if it does well for the network, a sequel won't be too far off. It's a very exciting time here at MTV with the network's eagerness to fully embrace the horror genre. Also, it doesn't hurt that our President of Programming Tony DiSanto is a huge horror buff himself. It's really important to have people who understand and respect the genre which results in quality content. Expect a lot more MTV horror/thriller projects in the near future both series and TV features that will be pushing the envelope.


[EG]: Okay, pitch to the AICN readers why they should watch MY SUPER PSYCHO SWEET 16 on Oct. 23 versus a new episode of DEXTER.

[CW]: That's a great question being that DEXTER is a great show with a solid fan base, I can see how it could be a tough call. So, here's an easy solution, Tivo DEXTER's new episode and watch right after they check out something new with MY SUPER PSYCHO SWEET 16.


[EG]: What are you working on next?

[Alex Motlagh]: Some very cool horror projects that are going to really get people excited.

Jacob and I have been developing a film called HONEYSUCKLE BLUES for a few years now. We've been calling it our Karaoke samurai movie. We are also working on a follow up to THE SIGNAL, possibly developing it into a television series.


[EG]: What movies did you watch for inspiration? And did you watch any of episodes of MY SUPER SWEET 16 for reference?

[AM]: We went back and watched the original, PROM NIGHT, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, CARRIE, PRETTY IN PINK, SIXTEEN CANDLES AND HALLOWEEN (the original). And yes, we went back and "treated" ourselves to marathon runs of MY SUPER SWEET 16. We wanted to make sure that we included all the iconic moments of the show that people have come to love (and hate). However, this is not a spoof of the show. The show was an inspiration for the film (because who hasn't watched some of those episodes and concocted ways to kill some of those brats) but the movie definitely stands on its own.



[EG]: What can we expect in the way of effects? How did you pull those off?

[AM]: When Jacob and I have done violence in the past many scenes tended to be implied, which works out well for television. However, we always like to have 2 or 3 great kills where you get the goods and MY SUPER PSYCHO SWEET 16 in no exception. I think people are going to be really surprised at what we got away with for television. We didn't really have to hold back too much. We had a few screenings last week and people were losing their minds at some of the kills.

With regards to how we pull the kills off, it was a combination of practical and digital effects. For the fx makeup and fabrication we worked with Toby Sells (he did the fx makeup for THE SIGNAL). All the digital effects were done by Chris Alender and his team at SOAPBOX films.


[EG]: How did you shoot it?

[AM]: We shot on the RED camera for 18 days in Atlanta GA.


[EG]: Were you surprised with what MTV would let you get away with? What was their advice?

[AM]: We were very surprised. MTV didn't want us to water down the genre. We went as far with it as we could. We had several meetings with MTV's standard and practices department before we began filming. The basic rule was no impact shots but have at it with aftermath. Pool cues through the head? "No problem!" Faces being beat in with fire extinguishers? "Can the smashing go along a little longer?" Throats being slashed with swords? "Is there anyway to have more blood spray on the wall?" I keep hearing stories from the guys over at MTV that Tony DiSanto brings everyone into his office to show off this great decapitation scene we have. Tony and MTV are truly embracing the horror genre.


[EG]: Speaking of Music Television, who's on the soundtrack?

[AM]: The soundtrack has several well known bands such as AFI, ALL AMERICAN REJECTS and THRICE. Ben Lovett, our friend and composer of the film, also sent us a ton of tracks from independent artists he knew. We selected what we thought worked for the film and MTV was very open to us including them in the film. We have some great tracks from BOOM BIP, THE ELECTRIC OWLS, THE COAST and ARIZONA.







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