BUDDING film director Glenn Triggs may just be Beaconsfield’s answer to Steven Spielberg.
Mr Triggs, 26, will fly to Los Angeles next to week to promote his feature film ‘Cinemaphobia’.
The 90-minute movie is a horror extravaganza set in a cinema, where 12 characters have settled for the night to watch an all-night horror-movie marathon.
“It’s about a guy called Joshua – he sets out to make a film during the movie marathon but he’s oblivious that a real life killer will exploit, inspire and dramatically alter its outcome,” Mr Triggs said.
“The majority of the film takes place in a cinema, where an ensemble cast are picked off one by one.”
Most of the action takes place inside the Metro Cinema in Boronia, but the opening and closing sequences were filmed in Berwick.
Mr Triggs said the plot was dramatic, with the occasional comedic moment.
“At the start the characters don’t know each other, but by the time the movie gets under way they have little connections. They are all different people, thrown together – kind of like The Breakfast Club,” he said.
The film was completed on a relatively tiny budget of $10,000.
Mr Triggs is hopeful that it will be picked up by an international DVD distribution company and he has entered the movie, which took two years to complete, in about 15 film festivals across Australia and the US.
Mr Trigg, who funds his projects through his wedding video business, said he loved the horror genre.
“I love horror films. I actually collect VHS horror films, even though most are on DVD now – just like the artwork,” he said.
Copies of Cinemaphobia can be ordered online at www.darkepic.net.
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KNOX LEADER ARITCLE - METRO CINEMAS BORONIA - 2009
A scary movie was filmed at the Boronia cinema this year and its set to screen at the Sundance Film Festival next year. Managing Director Tom Schouten said he was a sucker when it came to helping people.
So when director Glenn Trigg asked him if he could film a B-grade scary movie based in a cinema at Metro Cinemas, Mr Schouten couldn’t say no.
The horror plot involves 13 people going to watch a movie, with most in the audience getting killed.
The Dorset Square cinema is run by Mr Schouten, with his business partner Jane Taffigiannakis and their families.
Mr Schouten has worked in cinemas since 1973.
He started in Geelong, which had drive-in theatres at the time.
He then worked at most Village cinemas around Melbourne, even meeting his wife Cynthia through work. She worked for Hoyts.
Mr Schouten said of all the venues he’d worked at, Boronia was his favourite. In the ’90s he swapped the movies for real estate. But the lure of the silver screen was too great, and in 2004 he bought the Boronia cinema.
‘‘It was not a dream. I thought it would be out of reach for me.
‘‘I never thought for a moment we could do it,’’ he said.
It is one of the smallest cinemas in Melbourne and has four screens.
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DOUBLE TAKE
By Joel Curran
Two different generations of filmmakers talk about their influences, their film making experiences and the way they work.
Greg Mclean is an AFI nominated director (for Wolf Creek) who runs his own production company located in Melbourne, Australia. He has experienced both critical and financial success with his films (a tough feat in the Australian film industry) and has been able to pick his own projects because of this.
Glenn Triggs is a young filmmaker who has won numerous film festival awards and quit his full time job to focus on making films, while shooting wedding videos to help cover the costs of his films.
Both are at different stages of their careers, both with different levels of experience. And both took the time to answer questions about their passion of filmmaking.
Who are the filmmakers who influence you?
Greg Mclean: I really love a wide range of filmmakers, from Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese and Francis Coppola to directors from much earlier periods, Howard Hawks, Fellini, Tarkovsky, and currently I am really into Tarantino, Michael Haneke, PT Anderson, Wes Anderson and the Wachowskis. There are so many amazing directors, and I try to learn from all of them. Even the bad ones.
Glenn Triggs: I would say probably John Carpenter, Peter Jackson and Mel Gibson, even though he’s more of an actor than a director. I think peter Jackson was good, because he just did it from his home, that’s what it seems like, he made these really huge films from his house, or at least that what it seemed like. He didn’t really sell him self out in the States. I like the mood of John Carpenters film, they seem really simple, almost like anyone could do it, but heaps of people have tried and failed.
Like Halloween and Assault On Precinct 13. He just sets things over one night, keeps it simple and that’s what I really like about his movies.
It seems both are influenced by filmmakers responsible for large Hollywood films - Jackson, Spielberg - as well as those who remain more independent - Carpenter, Tarantino. It’s interesting that they both have diverse influences.
Was there a particular moment when you realized you wanted to become a filmmaker?
GM: It kind of crept up on me. I was completing a fine arts degree and realised I was getting more and more interested in how mass ideas were being communicated in our day and age, and cinema just seemed to me to be the most powerful tool any one person could get their hands upon, so that's really how I came to it. Cinema is still, in my view, the most incredible art form ever invented.
GT: It was a hole bunch of things really, not just one particular moment, if anything it was just me thinking, I wanted to do heaps of things as a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut, I wanted to go on adventures, I wanted to do all these different things and you couldn’t do them all in one lifetime. And I thought what’s one way you could do it? You can make films about it, because you can do anything in a film, and you get to experience those things. So that’s one of the of thing s when I was a kid I remember thinking that.
(I find it interesting that Mclean originally wanted to be a painter, and was completing a fine arts degree, and slowly realised the potential for film. With Triggs, it seems like he was keen to make films from a very young age, possibly because film technology has advanced so much and is accessible to everyone.
What roles do you usual take on when you’re making a film? And what do you find most challenging?
GM: I write, direct and produce all my films. It's all a challenge but I guess anything is easy if you are doing what you love. And I've always loved doing this, being creative, working with people, trying to achieve goals together and keeping inspired. I have lots of really good people I work with also that make my job/s easier. Having people you trust is very important.
GT: Usually all them I guess, to start off with. So I usually produce and direct and write. Probably producing is the most challenging. The organising stuff I don’t particularly like as much. I would love to get someone to do that for me. I enjoy directing, because of the control it gives you. Casting is really fun, writing is fun to a certain degree. Editing is usually the better part, because you have the film shoot and its basically putting it together with one hand on a mouse, whereas if your out on location shooting there is a lot of physical work and mental stress, sometimes.
Both take on the role of writer/director/producer, which I found interesting, but because Mclean is working on larger, professional films, he can afford to have other people take care of certain aspects of the production, whereas Triggs, who works with little to no budgets does not have that luxury yet, has to cover a range of jobs, some of which he would prefer not to do.
How do you go about funding your films? And what difficulties have you experienced?
GM: With Wolf Creek, I had been rejected by every agency in Australia at some point, so I was getting pretty desperate to make a movie. I knew how conservative the bodies were, and how hard this kind of movie would be for them to understand, so we set the budget very very low, had a very committed crew and cast, prepared incredibly well, and we raised some private money, which gave the government bodies some confidence and that’s how it got started. Massive preparation, giving them no excuse to be able to say "no". And then also knowing you have the team that can pull it off. You have to put yourself in their shoes (the funding bodies) and understand what they are looking at and for in order to get through that system. Once you get that, it should be easier. And remember they are not the enemy, they are just looking for the most prepared, most exciting and most doable movie to fund!
It’s interesting that both have had problems obtaining government funding, and have looked elsewhere to finance their films. It looks as though the funding bodies are as tough on experienced directors as they are on first time filmmakers. But neither gave up when they couldn’t find the money.
How much do you like to plan what you shoot? Do you like to storyboard and plan every single shot, or do you like to make decisions on the day, or a mix of both?
GM: Since I'm a huge Hitchcock fan, I always wanted to be like him, as in storyboard and work out every detail before you get to set, see the finished movie so then you can actually focus on making the movie instead of panicking. Also, planning ahead means you can actually be spontaneous on the day because you can relax and be open and look for little surprises.
GT: Well, I storyboard everything, and then I never look at them again. Bet then when I watch then finished film and look back at the storyboards, they’re almost identical. I guess storyboards would be useful on much bigger films because you have a lot more people working on the one shot, not just you and one other person.
Do you like to work with the same crew on each of your films, or do you prefer to start fresh with new people on new projects?
GM: Most of the crew on Wolf Creek were brought back on Rogue, because they are the best around. And they performed so well on my first movie so there was no reason not to. Having said that my next movie is going to be very different and will largely have a new team attached. It's part of evolving creatively and keeping excited.
GT: I prefer to work with people I get along with obviously, but those people aren’t always available. If I had the choice, there would be people I’d love to work with all the time, but it doesn’t always happen. And it always small crews anyway when I’m doing films, it tend to be only three or four around anyway. But I’m always building up contacts with people who are good to work with.
Similar to before, Mclean can afford to bring his crew with him because they are getting paid, which is a luxury Triggs doesn’t have yet.
Every film requires years of commitment, how do you decide what the next project will be?
GM: Um…good question. I don't Um…good question. I don’t know. I think it's about reassessing what is really interesting for you, what you really believe in and passionately want to say to an audience, and that keeps changing. Right now I'm in the process of working that out so when I work it out, I will let you know.
GT: I remember someone said ‘making a film is like having a baby’. When you go through it, there’s so much pain, the actual birth process to make it. And you think ‘I’ll never do that again’. And then a few years later the instincts kick back in and you want to have another baby. That was a really good analogy. Because you get so over it by the end, especially when you don’t have much money and it takes ages to make and your doing most of it yourself. So I guess it’s just what interests you, and it’s always good to take a break between each film. But just a good idea, that’s what makes me want to make something. Its not much else than that, its just starts with that initial idea, and if it interests you enough to think you can make something out of it, And when you bring more things in to it, like actors and location and crew, it comes to life more and it becomes more interesting as it goes on.
It would seem it’s a passion for filmmaking that inspires both to move onto new projects, and they need some kind of connection to the project.
Greg, after the success you had with Wolf Creek, were you tempted to go over to the US, and what made you decide to stay in Australia to make Rogue?
GM: Not really, because I knew that most of my heroes stay outside the system, intentionally (Lucas, Peter Jackson, Rodriguez) because there's something great about levels of independence. It keeps you sharp, honest and working for the right reasons - because hopefully you are able to focus on the work, making great stories. Plus I knew that, for better or worse, I had to complete a project I'd started years ago, Rogue, to get that out of my system. So it was a combo of those reasons.
With the experiences that you’ve had making your films, what advice would you have for film students like myself?
GM: My advice is to understand that you ARE the film industry. There is no big bag thing out there called the industry. Just individuals who do things, and some of those things that are really powerful and well done, become what we call 'the industry". So, if you can make a good film, tell a story, and have the determination to get off your butt and get it happening, you can pretty much do anything you can possibly imagine. It's all in your hands and the how far one develops your talent is also totally up to you. It's just about taking control, not being afraid to get started by writing a script, making a short film, hell, just make a low budget feature film, and very soon you'll see what you need to work on and before you know it, you'll be an industry leader! It's all about just doing it and saying, F*&%$ IT! All those people I admire just got out there and did it! Every success story is the same. So I would encourage anyone who wants to make films to just start!
GT: I think don’t plan too much, just do things, don’t think ‘I have to do this the right way’. There’s nothing more fun than just grabbing a camera and filming whatever, it doesn’t matter what it is, because you learn from that. And even if your learning the long way, and not going to school and learning how to set up a shot and all that, you’re still learning in a different way. And it’s cheaper! Just film a lot of things, and learn as you go.
In a round about way, both seem to offer the advice of just getting out there and giving it a go. Everyone needs to start somewhere and the sooner you get out there and get experience, the more chance there is of achieving success.
So there you have it, two unique takes on film-making and the film making industry. And while age and experience offers different perspectives, especially in regards to film financing and the industry as a whole, it is clear that both have a love for what they do.
Glenn Triggs hopes to soon move from his movie-postered room at his Doncaster home to a pad in Los Angeles.
"I love the process of making films and bringing something to life," Triggs said.
"There are so many different stages to making a film, it is great when you see it all come together in the end."Triggs said the process of making a film gave him a sense of control."Although many things can change and go wrong in the filming, that's what makes it interesting," he said. It was through the Leader that Triggs came across co-director Adrian Straton, who takes care of the costumes and special effects for his films."I read about Adrian in the local paper and now we make every film together," Triggs said."We always get compared to the two guys who directed Saw, which we don't mind."
Once completed, Cinemaphobia will screen for a week at the Metro cinema at Boronia.
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NEW TRAILER DETAILS ON CINEMAPHOBIA - FANGORIA WEBSITE - ARTICLE - 2009
FANGORIA just got word that production on the Aussie indie CINEMAPHOBIA has almost wrapped. First-time feature director Glenn Triggs is currently in post on the film, which follows a "young filmmaker shooting his ‘perfect horror film’, oblivious that a real life killer will exploit, inspire and dramatically alter the outcome of his movie."
Triggs gave FANGO a look at the new trailer for the film, which will premiere on March 31, 2009 at the Metro Cinema in Boronia, Victoria, Australia - which also doubled as the filming location for much of the film.
