Here is another interview I recently conducted, this time with director CJ Goodwyn of the upcoming film GH5 (2017). Read on below.
Me: Hello and thank you for taking the time to do this. What can you tell us about your new film 'GH5?'
CJ: Besides the synopsis of the film, I can tell you this isn't just another ghost jump scare film. This film has a lot of story telling and deep meaning behind the characters giving the audience less of a horror film and more of a psychological thriller with some tense moments and great scares.
Me: Being the writer of the film as well, where did the inspiration for the film come from?
CJ: My inspiration for this film came from the classics, mainly Hitchcock. I loved how he had great story telling with his horror/thriller films like psycho and I wanted to get back to that style of horror. So with my liking of ghost style films and good story telling I decided to combine those and try to make a film that a wide audience would enjoy. Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Drama, all put into one film.
Me: Was this always a concept you wanted to work on?
CJ: No, I get random ideas about films pretty often during the day and with this one it just stuck. I couldn't stop thinking about it and every day it began to grow and grow until finally one night I wrote the first twelve pages of the screenplay and it took off from there. The first twelve pages I wrote was actually the scariest part of the film and while writing it late that night my bedroom door opened by itself which gave me some pretty good goosebumps, I guess it was a sign haha.
Me: With your brothers on board the film, did they have any input into the project or was this your creation from the beginning?
CJ: It was my creation from the beginning but I would call and talk to my youngest brother, Michael, every once in a while and bounce ideas off of him and collaborate about the script. It was nice getting some early feedback and ideas from Michael as we like to push each other until were both like yea, that scene would be awesome!
Me: Have the three of you ever worked together on anything in the past, either on home videos or other productions over the years?
CJ: No, my brothers and I have never done anything like this together before but for me, I wanted my brothers a part of the process from the beginning. My brothers are a big part of my life and I wanted to share this moment with them 100 percent.
Me: Being a first-time filmmaker, did you ever experience any unexpected hardships while preparing the film?
CJ: The main hardship was during the filming process. On a day off from filming my older brother Matt, one of the lead actors in the film, tore his achilles playing soccer and I had to change the script and also do a lot of staging for him. It was challenging but I was never going to keep my brother out of this film. I feel we pulled it off very nicely and it had no negative effect on the film. If anything it made the film stronger cause it really made me think outside the box and we were able to add some great scenes for him that we wouldn't have done if he didn't get hurt. I called it GH5 Jaws effect.
Me: During the filming of the movie, were you able to keep all the different roles you performed separately from each other?
CJ: It's definitely challenging playing a lot of the roles of a filmmaker but on a very low budget film if you want the movie to get completed then you have to take on a lot of the responsibilities and roles especially since it's your story. feel Ii was able to separate the roles pretty good but the hardest part for me individually was the acting. I had no one to direct me or give me direction while acting so I had to believe in myself that I was doing the film justice. Also since this was our first acting experience on a film, for a lot of us, I felt I had to take on the cry scenes and yelling scenes to show how serious I wanted this film to be and what everyone needed to bring to the table when it was their turn to act. Crying in front of twenty people with no acting experience was pretty challenging, haha but I'm happy to say I pulled it off.
Me: As the film is the first production under your own company, TrigoodwynProductions, what do you hope to accomplish with the company?
CJ: I want to accomplish a company where anyone that ever wanted to be part of a film in any role, Directing, writing, editing, acting, sound ect. could join one of the films in my company and get their opportunity to be part of something special. Starting out we will make films through crowdfunding/investors and anyone that works on the film will get experience, networking and a chance to get noticed through the film circuit. My long term goal is to create films that get great distribution and film circuit views that will continue to help fund the company. Our doors are open to anyone that wishes to be part of Trigoodwynproductions and belong to a team that strives for greatness through passion, dedication and teamwork. There are so many great talents that don't know where to start or never get a chance. I want to be a place they can go to get that chance!
Me: Now that the first trailer for the film is released, when can we expect to see the film in terms of either a festival screening, VOD/digital release or any physical media?
CJ: GH5 has submitted to many film festivals all over the world. Right now we wait to hear back to see if we got selected. The majority of the festivals I've entered are in October so we still have a few months until we find out if we got selected. After Festivals the film will be available to purchase off of GH5 website and TriGoodwynProductions web page by digital release. Distribution deal could take place if the right partner comes along but for now, it'll only be on those two websites.
Me: Lastly, is there any other upcoming projects you want to mention for our readers?
CJ: Well, I have two films in preproduction right now. The company is hiring all the crew members and actors at the moment for each film. I have a film about Texas I'm working on showcasing a story about true horror four men faced in the early 1800's. Born and raised in Texas we have some great history and stories we can tell and I truly can't wait to share my fellow Texans and the world this film. I'm going to show them a side of Texas they've never seen before! I also have a Prequel to GH5 in the works that dives even more into the world of the paranormal and how GH5 came to be which again is very exciting as the first story GH5 leaves a lot of doors we can travel into and right now the prequel is the one were going to enter.
Me: Thank you once again for the time, C.J. Goodwyn
CJ: Thank you for the Interview and I look forward to doing it again down the road, a fan CJ.
Here is the official teaser trailer:
Visit the movie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trigoodwynproductions/?fref=nf
Follow them on Twitter @GH5movie.
And visit the company's website: http://trigoodwynproductions.com/
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