Greetings, all. Ambush Bug here with another AICN HORROR: ZOMBIES & SHARKS column. If you’re a fan of this column, you know I have a not-so-secret love for Bigfoot movies. Turns out this is a great year for Bigfoot films as there seems to be an abundance of them being made. BIGFOOT: THE LOST COAST TAPES is one that caught my eye earlier in the year and I had a chance to talk with director Corey Grant about the film. After the interview, I have an exclusive clip to show you from the film and look for my review of the film in tomorrow’s special AICN HORROR column. Here’s what Corey had to say.
AMBUSH BUG (AB): Hey, Corey, how are you doing today?COREY GRANT (CG): Pretty good. I can’t complain at all.
BUG: OK. Well, I just actually just about five minutes ago just finished watching the film. It’s a really cool film.
CG: OK.
BUG: After just seeing the ending and everything, it’s really interesting, the kind of turns and twists that you take with this, the whole kind of Sasquatch mythos. Have you had an interest in Big Foot films, or Big Foot in general going into this film?
CG: Could you say that one more time?
BUG: What was your interest in Big Foot before making this movie?
CG: Oh, I’ve always had an interest in Big Foot. Probably since being a little boy and seeing In Search Of with Leonard Nimoy. He had one about Big Foot, and I’m a big buff, so that was old school, plus stories on the internet, but even from when I was a little boy and watching the Six Million Dollar Man. So, it’s always been of interest to me, so when the opportunity to make a movie...
BUG: Very cool. Well, it seems like you are relying on a lot of Native American kind of folklore for this film. Is that, I haven’t seen that a lot in other Big Foot films. What made you decide to choose that way to go? CG: Well, once the treatment of the movie came about, which was written by Brian Kelsey and Bryan O’Cain…when I looked at the initial script it wasn’t really. It was kind of a more traditional kind of scary movie type of situation, and it was a little more research to rule how the Big Foot myth is very, very big and very, very particular on how this creature is portrayed. What we wanted to do was to stay as close to the legend and the honorific accounts of people’s encounters or police about this creature. The native Indians and their folklore, you’ve got people who are very, very detailed, and they’re very, very passionate about it. I wanted to try to be sensitive to what their viewpoint was and to the Big Foot community as a whole. That’s why we did a lot more research and kind of went a little bit deeper into the legend than a lot of people probably would know about.
BUG: Yeah, definitely. How did you go about getting the actors for this film? What was the interview process, and what did you tell them they were going to be doing?
CG: Well, you know, a lot would ask why [??] with various people hating. We could have went with the more known faces, but when we’re doing a little film for the genre, I think it’s always better to kind of stay with fresh faces to stay more realistic. They loved it. One of the things we looked for was somebody who was actually a good actor but also could improvise. I don’t want a fully improvised movie; I like scripted movies with improvisation. That was one of the main requirements that they could actually improvise along with the written material. That’s how we figured it down. Just when finding out we were going to go shoot on location, it was of great interest to a lot of people, but it was limited to create this role. They came in and were excited thinking we’re going to go and I wanted to give them the best chance as possible. BUG: Yeah, well that’s curious. How much improvisation goes on because it seems like in order to keep it real, it has to kind of come just from whatever is going on around them. Were you encouraging them to improvise?
CG: Well, you know the deal about it, because once you shoot our style movies, I do a lot of comedy too, which you have to have a lot of improvisation, I’m very, very detailed when it comes to structured stories, structure is very important. So, it’s probably, I would say probably 85% script, and then the rest of it is improvisation and add ons to it. There’s no, you can’t fool nobody [sic]; everybody knows this movie didn’t really happen, it’s not really a zom-, they didn’t really find this footage. So, I wanted to make it feel like a movie. You know, at the same time I still wanted to have a little spontaneity to do with it and to challenge. They had given me their stories, and the ending with Blair Witch, everybody knows these folks are not real. But you want people to feel like it’s in reality somewhat. So, I just kind of walk the thin line between improvising film and a lot at the same time a movie with a script. BUG: Well, what do you think? Do you think Big Foot is real?
CG: Oh yeah! I was a kind of a believer before we did our research and I was doing this movie. But, after traveling to northern California where we shot it, and we shot it, actually, on location in an area that’s known to have major Big Foot sightings. And then, talking to the locals, you know, we look at it like it’s a big deal, they’re, it’s a nonchalant subject to them since they believe in it, you know. Just like, you know, it’s kind of down the street and around the corner. That kind of freaked me out that they really didn’t make a big deal about it, they just believe it is. It’s a fact to them, and it was no big deal. And then, speaking with some of the Indians up there, and learning about an Indian tribe that said that they will help you and take you around to different areas of their land, but there are certain parts that they don’t want that...at all, out of respect for Big Foot. You can’t pay any amount of money to go in certain general areas that they will not go in. That kind of scared me a little bit, so I’m definitely a believer especially after doing this movie. BUG: Yeah, well, what do you think about, there seems to be a rise in Big Foot films lately. What do you think about that, or is that, at least there seem to be more high profile Big Foot films that are coming out. Do you have any theories as to why this is the time that happens?
CG: I have no idea because the funny thing about it, when we decided to do this Big Foot movie, we were wondering why there weren’t any other ones. While we were shooting, our on location scout told us that Eduardo Sanchez was filming his film EXISTS around the same places. Who knows what will help us on our movie, but Finding Big Foot hadn’t even aired yet when we filmed this one. But, you know, EXISTS, FINDING BIGFOOT, had a lot of people come in to adjust to the Big Foot craze, when we got our initial concept to do it, there was no Big Foot craze that we were aware of, it was just a cool story to do. And then, now it seems there’s a resurgence, which I think is really cool. I’m very interested to see what the other takes of the legend are. I just know that we kind of took a different direction which I’m very happy about, but I’m a big fan of Big Foot, so I want to support all the good ones that are out there. BUG: Yeah, and I’ve covered quite a few, I have quite a few columns that I’ve done just on Big Foot films alone. It’s really interesting how people kind of approach this and certain creative decisions they make. Have you seen other Big Foot films, or have any of them kind of stood out to you?
CG: I mean other than hearing the incidents? BUG: Yeah.
CG: I still remember a movie, and actually I forget what the name was, but it had a little boy. I had to be maybe six or seven, and it scared me because I remember seeing Big Foot walking just somewhere in the moonlight, and I do not know the name of this movie. It had to be back in the 70s. So, I haven’t seen any yet, but I’m looking forward to seeing, I haven’t seen LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK...shame on me. I keep hearing that one, I have to see that, and I have not seen that yet. I’m very interested in seeing these movies that have been out and are going to be coming out.
BUG: Yeah, that’s a good one, LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK. It’s a classic. So what do you have coming up next now that you’ve finished this film?
CG: I’m doing another romantic comedy because I come from a comedy background, but I’m also doing another horror film called INCIDENT AT BRIDGEWATER HIGH. It’s about a high school massacre. That’s going to be pretty freaky. I’m going to start shooting it the first or second quarter of next year. It’s more of a science fictional horror, but with a twist. Incident at Bridgewater High.
BUG: OK, great. Well, it sounds like you’re keeping kind of like one foot in the comedy and one foot in the horror. Do you have a preference? CG: You know what, I’ve done action, I’ve done drama, I’m a fan of movies. And if there’s a story that I like, my sensibility, I think I have a very wide way of sensibilities where I can kind of just do movies, I don’t have to set myself in one particular genre. Although, after doing this Big Foot movie, I’m definitely going to do a lot more horror, so that’s going to be coming up often. You know, it’s a different mind frame when you do horror films. And it’s a genre that I’m still learning, but a lot of fun, and I want to do it more.
BUG: When can people see this film?
CG: This film actually is available in most, most around the country on VODs, it’s already available overseas, and it is opening in theaters in certain cities. It’s opening in theaters in Los Angeles on the 19th. On Beverly Hills and Willshire Boulevard. And then, it opens up in San Diego on the 26th, and then it’s going to San Francisco and Seattle, Portland, and I believe Austin. We don’t have any theatrical dates for the East coast yet, but it is available at the same time on Premium on Demand and on iTunes.
BUG: Very cool. Well, congratulations. This is really, like I said, this is a really fun film, and I wish you the best of luck with it. Thanks for talking with me today.
CG: Thank you for having me, I really appreciate it.
BUG: BIGFOOT: THE LOST COAST TAPES is available now On Demand and will have a limited theatrical run all through October and November. It premieres in San Diego this Friday! Below is an exclusive clip from the film, and look for my review of the film in tomorrow’s special AICN HORROR column!
Ambush Bug is Mark L. Miller, original @$$Hole/wordslinger/reviewer/co-editor of AICN Comics for over ten years. He has written comics such as MUSCLES & FIGHTS, MUSCLES & FRIGHTS, VINCENT PRICE PRESENTS TINGLERS & WITCHFINDER GENERAL, THE DEATHSPORT GAMES, WONDERLAND ANNUAL 2010 & NANNY & HANK (soon to be made into a feature film from Uptown 6 Films). He is also a regular writer for FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND & has co-written their first ever comic book LUNA: ORDER OF THE WEREWOLF (to be released in late 2012 as an 100-pg original graphic novel). Mark has just announced his new comic book miniseries GRIMM FAIRY TALES PRESENTS THE JUNGLE BOOK from Zenescope Entertainment to be released March-August 2012. Also look for Mark's exciting arc on GRIMM FAIRY TALES #76-80 which begins in August 2012.
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