Tim Davis Sets the Record Straight … and Realizes – There is No Escape
 “I am writing roles for both of you in my next story... no escaping the acting, Tim!” indicates Kevin Collins – One Shot Productions’ mogul and mastermind. I am okay with this – and who am I? Well, B-movie muppet Rachelle Williams, to wit – and I suspect Tim Davis – One Shot stud and partner – is also okay with just about anything Kevin suggests. We’ve established that level of comfort. Which can be a great thing for stylistic purposes and perhaps a bad thing when it comes to, say … that stupendous tab at the Korean restaurant we just accumulated … who’s picking that up again? Someone ... call Tim … call anyone … ahhh, fuck it – hurry and get the car …
Rachelle Williams: Working with Peter Evanko - please discuss your rapport and style …
Tim Davis: I met Peter back in the early 90's. We originally met when he answered an ad I ran to sell celebrity autographed photos. He had joined a fantasy and horror film appreciation group I also belonged to that ran the Fanex film conventions in the Baltimore, MD area. I ran the amateur film contests a few times over the years. We discovered we had similar tastes in films and enjoyed hanging out with the group and catching movies. We have been good friends ever since. I had been involved professionally in the industry prior to that time as a special effects make-up artist with my studio Hammond and Davis Make-up EFX - and Peter had formed a movie production company with Kevin Collins so we had a lot in common. After I started production on "NUDIST CAMP ZOMBIE MASSACRE" he brought me onto his and Kevin Collins’ production of "TAKE AWAY SPIRIT" as a co-producer, location scout, special effects and about 20 other jobs.
RW: Working on "New Jack City" - obviously one of the best films of the 90's - tell us about it ...
TD: My partner Diane Hammond and I had established a successful special effects make-up studio based in Washington, DC - working in print, commercials, stage, television and film. We were expanding our business and with my partner doing union/straight make-up we were able to get booked onto some larger studio film projects, like a movie in Los Angeles starring Danny Glover - "To Sleep with Anger". We also had a motor home equipped for location make-up and I often was out with that working with stars like Charlton Heston, Johnny Depp and Christie Brinkley. We were making plans to move our business to LA but that was interrupted by my unexpected health issues. While out on a TV job I suffered from a series of blood clots stopping flow of blood to my legs and I was hospitalized facing surgery. They almost amputated both legs but after surgery to the arteries the doctors saved them. During this time my partner continued to work at our studio. My recovery was long, almost three months - and during that time we were hired to provide all make-up and make-up effects for the Warner Bros. film "NEW JACK CITY". I actually worked on the effects breakdown in my hospital bed and designed the effects make-up, some of which had to be made by artists in New York for us. When I got out of the hospital I hired a few other effects artists to assist me to create the dead body prop of Chris Rock for his death scene. My partner was on location doing straight make-up and Chris Rock's famous crack-head make-up while I finished up the effects work. After I completed the prop, I jumped on a train to New York with the dead body packed in a big coffin like box. A limo driver picked me up to take me to the shooting locations in New Jersey but he got lost and I was hours late to the set. Once there we dressed the dead Pookie prop, and Chris Rock came in to look at his dead body. The entire time I was there, Chris was telling non-stop jokes until his corpse came out, then he just stared and was actually quiet a good long while, taking in his grisly twisted demise.
RW: I knew when I met you on the “TAKE-AWAY SPIRIT” set, you would have some tricky tales to tell. So, your old magazine "MMJ Video" - do tell ...
TD: When I still was running my effects studio I subscribed to a small independent FX fanzine called Amateur Monster Maker. It was the brainchild of make-up artist Cathy Baker. With no Internet and online chat blogs, we all communicated with these fanzines. Cathy had to give it up and she asked me to take it over so I wrote, published, printed and distributed it. As it grew, it's size and quality grew. When I had about 500 paid readers I switched to offset printing and gave it a new name, Monster Maker Journal and published under that name from my home while recovering from my various surgeries after I had closed my studio in Washington. I kept that up through two open heart surgeries, a brain hemorrhage, a long term coma, and a stroke. My friend Peter Evanko assisted with the efforts to convince Draculina Publishing to pick it up and publish it as a slick, professional magazine. When I started my video production company I named it MMJ Video Productions in a tribute to my old magazine.
RW: Your script for "I Prey" - sounds neat - what is it?
TD: I believe "I Praey" is the name of movie directed by the talented film maker Tiffany Sinclair who I worked with on "Take Away Spirit". Yet, I had a script on paper for many years called "I Prey" that never got past the script stage. I would love to get it produced one day. It's about a Vampire using the Internet to find victims and a bond she shares with a young girl who has an interest in UFOs. In turn, the Vampire is being hunted by a group of priests and aliens who feed on the life force of Vampires...I got yelled at once by someone brought on to finance the project that you can't mix characters like vampires and aliens, fuck him...
RW: I agree – what an idiot. Your current movie project "Nudist Camp Zombie Massacre" - oh my god, we have to know ...
TD: Back in 1995 I had directed a long segment as a 2nd unit director for the movie "ODD NOGGINS" for Oregon film maker Joe Sherlock. He had an interesting approach; he had two or three other filmmakers shoot portions of the same script in other states with characters who tie in with the others and the central story. I shot a large portion of the movie for him in Alabama with scream queen Kimberly Lynn Cole. The finished movie was very funny and it must have been a blast to throw together the video from three different directors with three different styles and skill levels. Some years later Joe wanted to try this idea again for a feature he was producing called "ZOMBIE LOVE SLAVE". Joe knew I had the ability to get the quality of actress he needed for the scene and could handle the effects make-up. The set up was simple, a scene featuring a buxom nude actress in a shower who eventually is attacked by a zombie while still in the shower. He wanted her breasts to be pressed against the glass shower door mixed with blood and water and he would superimpose the opening titles to Zombie Love Slave over that. I also had to do it with no production budget money...Simple enough - I had the actress, the make-up, cool zombie prosthetics, and the shower. Every time I scheduled a shooting day, something would happen to shut me down which happens a lot in 0 budget productions like this one. Then my health took some bad turns again and I found myself in and out of the hospital for almost a full year with severe circulation issues with my legs that required 4 emergency room trips and three extended hospital stays. This kept me from shooting for Joe. During this time he was able to complete shooting on his portion of the movie and he patiently waited for me to recover to shoot the opening. After waiting almost two years he finally had to succumb to the wishes of his other production partners and crew on ZLS and he released me from shooting the opening so I could recover and not worry about keeping him from finishing his movie. Last thing he wrote me was that he would let me keep the intellectual rights to that opening scene and if I wanted to use it for a movie I could. He had no plans to try and shoot it. That gave me the idea for my movie "NUDIST CAMP ZOMBIE MASSACRE", why not use that scene at the end of a movie instead of the beginning? So I wrote an entire script backwards from that scene.
RW: THAT is inspiration … and you know, if you need extra hooters … Playing the nudist gardener in "Nudist Camp Zombie Massacre" - Kevin tells me you have taken on this strategic role ... please elaborate.
TD: Most of the movie was shot on my family property in Stafford, VA, quite a few acres on the banks of the Potomac River, very private and secluded and a perfect spot for a nudist camp. I had shot scenes of campers around the house playing various sports and other activities but I needed shots of the camp grounds keeper cutting the grass to use as fill footage or to edit around - it was not meant as a serious part. To get it out of the way and since I already knew the lawn tractor well, I decided to play the naked groundskeeper myself. Up to that point I had only shot these gorgeous nude models and actresses. My movie nudist camp will have an odd balance of mostly naked women and few men. Hopefully that will sell a lot of DVDs. I hope my naked scene does not scare too many people.
RW: Doubtful – we know what those crazy fans want these days … Special effects for "Take-Away Spirit" - which I had a blast on ... and so, please highlight ...
TD: I supervised the building of miniature props and will be working with Peter Evanko and other miniatures plus some landscapes. I did some minor prosthetic appliance make-ups and helped with physical effects like smoke and fog. I helped with wardrobe and props. This is one of those projects where everyone did a great job and they helped out in just about every department, contributing even if it was not their job. It was more like a team effort or even a family. We crucified one actress outdoors after I had slashed her face on a December night with a wind chill factor below zero. She was very brave to be stuck up there with her shredded clothes while the crew huddled in our coats. And Tiffany Sinclair … wonderful woman! She created a cool mask for the demon in the film.
RW: What about acting in "Take-Away Spirit" ...
TD: Kevin talked me into playing, what was at the time, a very small part as Dan, a fry cook. It was, as I thought, a very small part. Since I had done some commercial and theater acting before I thought it would be a breeze. I WAS WRONG. Trying to act with others who have a professional acting work ethic and know their craft can be embarrassing and painful, especially if your own acting is really, really bad. Things got worse as Kevin continued to rewrite the script to make my scenes longer and more complicated. To add insult to injury, Kevin found great joy in imitating my performances until I was eventually sounding like William Shatner. Last time I will play a role in a movie with dialogue.
RW: Ahhhh … I see. More nude scenes in your future then! I have reviewed your imdb.com profile ... what else would you like to elaborate on?
TD: For the 25th anniversary DVD release of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, I got an IMDB listing because I was involved with the anniversary documentary. A close friend, Gene Crowell, was writing a tell-all behind the scenes book on the making of the movie and was the person who successfully reunited the cast to appear at conventions and for the taping of the DVD release commentary track. I provided photography to the documentary that was eventually edited out but my credit stayed in. It was great fun for those few years working on that project to meet and get to know the cast of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The blueberry girl made a pass at me at one meeting in Boston. I am trying to get "NUDIST CAMP ZOMBIE MASSACRE" added to IMDB, it might be on there by the time this interview runs … I am actually listed as Tim Davis IV (on IMDB).
RW: I know you love working with those One Shot men as much as I do … but, tell me how you really feel ...
TD: My association with One Shot Productions, Kevin Collins and Peter Evanko has been valuable and rewarding. I look forward to future productions together. Kevin is an amazing writer and a rare talent in the b-movie industry for many years now. Their belief in my skills as a film maker and an artist has been a help while I faced my health issues during the production of my movie. I have many other artists to thank for their help with my movie creating effects, artwork, acting, props, photography and all basically for free just because they love independent film as much as I do.
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