Rhonda Baughman interviews Kevin Collins
So, who is Kevin Collins? Define yourself for your fans.
Well, I’ll work under the assumption that I have absolutely no fans. I seriously doubt that anybody outside of this immediate conversation has ever heard of me. At best, I think some may know me as a shadowy tangent to the latter portion of Jesus Franco’s rogue career. I’m nothing more than a workaday film producer trying to get some of my favorite stories out there on film or DVD to share with likeminded horror fans.
Quality or quantity?
Of what?
Films…
I’d like to say both. We obviously strive for quality – though some people who’ve seen our films may want to debate that point – but we have always tried to get new films out on the market, whether produced in-house or picked up from some of the hardworking filmmakers we come in contact with.
Briefly describe your involvement with TAKE-AWAY SPIRIT…
I’m all too involved, perhaps to the detriment of the project. I wrote the darned thing. I’m producing it along with my talented partner Peter J. Evanko and with special effects expert Tim Davis. I also did most of the casting and am overseeing most of the filming and the editing. I even have a small part in the film.
How did it begin?
I wrote the original story when I realized that nobody has ever truly captured the texture of Chinese horror films in the American cinema. I don’t have enough hubris to think that I could do it, either, so I just tried my best to combine elements of my favorite Chinese horror films with elements of my favorite American films, the black and white horror films from the 1930s through, let’s say, the early 1950s. I had a few very definite characters in mind from very diverse films and I tried my best to bring them all into a very unique story. Whether it works or not, we’ll have to see.
Where will it end?
I don’t know. Maybe with me in the poor house! We’ve invested a lot of time and money into the project and we’ve filmed, I don’t know, I want to say about 95% of the principal photography. We have one or two scenes left to film, some miniature sets and effects are still to be done – Peter and Tim are handling those – and we have to construct and film a shadow puppet theater. We’ve had numerous almost insurmountable hurdles thrown in our path along the way… restaurant sets that never materialized, bad weather, electrical outages, serious illnesses…just to name a few. I’d like to have it all finished and ready in time for late spring or early summer of 2008. That puts us a full year behind intended schedule. I really have to apologize to my cast and crew for that.
Who are your heroes?
Too many to list, I’d suspect. I really have some diverse interests other than films and I have a number of heroes in almost each of those fields. Sticking to film, my favorites are, of course, Jess (Franco) and Lina (Romay). They are the ones principally to credit – or blame, if you will – for bringing me into the film business from the writing field. I’ve had a long love affair with Jess’s films and Lina’s acting. I know their films are not the toast of the town in mainstream America but I’ve been mesmerized by what they can do with little or no budget. I also like much of Val Lewton’s seminal horrors from the 1940s. As a producer, his films are unequalled for portraying real horror. Catch the original CAT PEOPLE or something like THE SEVENTH VICTIM and you’ll get a vivid idea of what real horror can be like on film without relying on special effects or showing a monster. Also, anything that came out of Hammer Studios during their heyday is required viewing for anyone who wants to tell a horror story on a low budget these days. I’d like to think that the talents of Jess, Lewton, and Terence Fisher have influenced my filmmaking abilities. Although, at best, I think that I have stolen from them, not improved upon them in any way.
What was your biggest highlight of 2007?
Hmmm, that was a pretty bad year for me, especially health-wise. So just surviving till the end will be an achievement for me. Only a couple of weeks to go… keep your fingers crossed. As far as filming goes, I’ve been very impressed with a lot of the people I’ve worked with on TAKE-AWAY SPIRIT. I had a pretty good assessment of what most of the cast could do when I hired each and every one. But a few of them really blew me away when they got in front of the camera. So I’ll say that certain members of my cast have been the biggest highlights of the year for me.
What do you have in store for 2008?
I’d like to reach it, first. Besides finishing TAKE-AWAY SPIRIT, One Shot Productions is about to launch a low budget DVD distribution arm. We plan on releasing a few films from some very talented filmmakers. Tiffany Sinclair has APOCALYPSE OF THE FLESH EATERS ready to go. I think she did a great job with that. Matt Walker’s DARK SIDE OF THE LIGHT is also ready to go. That’s got Debbie Rochon in it. Other films will follow on as quickly or slowly as sales permit.
We have a couple of short films that are in early preproduction… DIGITAL DRACULA brings the classic vampire into the modern computer age. FRANKIE AND STELLA is a monster story that should please the young males in the audience.
How about career highlights?
Working with Jess and Lina, traveling the world and meeting and befriending so many talented people, getting TAKE-AWAY SPIRIT started, moving and coming close to finishing it.
And who have you most enjoyed working with?
Not to sound like a broken record but, of course, Jess and Lina, would be at the top of that list right alongside my long time writing partner, Tim Greaves. You’d know Tim as the guy who started 1-Shot Publications, which later gave birth to One Shot Productions. Working with Peter Evanko has been fun and rewarding. Peter has amazing strength and vitality. I couldn’t keep this production going without him. Although we never got to work on the film, I enjoyed my time with Brigitte Lahaie while we were planning on filming Jess’s ORLOFF 2000.
Please list some of your pet peeves…
People that you can’t rely upon. People who slow down production. They fall into many different subcategories but their effect is always damaging to a film. Petulant actors, slow crew, and on and on. If I start listing particulars I think people will start recognizing themselves. And we don’t want that.
Any advice for young filmmakers…
Well, I don’t have any tangible talent so I can’t really give anyone any advice on the art of filmmaking. But, from the business angle, I’d say that if you are still in the aspiring phase of your career then remember that less is more. Don’t spend more money to do something “special” when you can spend less money to do it effectively. The low budget film business is not where it was in the early days of VHS when anybody with a decent camera could make a film and get it distributed. Nowadays the birth of DVD and digital downloads really adversely affects the possibility of striking it rich with a low budget film. When people can easily and cheaply steal or pirate your film, you’re not going to see a lot of profit in the short run. Keep your budgets tight and don’t spend an extra penny that you don’t have to. Once you’ve bought your equipment, your money should mostly go only towards talent, whether it’s actors, techs or editing. Make the best film you can, not the biggest film you can. Get noticed. And then get going.
