One of the most enjoyable horror/comedies I've had the pleasure of seeing, Camp Death III in 2D, is coming soon to Amazon Prime streaming and I've been able to conduct a few interviews with the cast and crew of the production to help promote that release. Here's the last of these special interviews, with star Dave Peniuk who plays Todd Boogjumper in the film.
Me: Hello, thank you for taking the time to do this. You're known for starting a radio station with your friend as a kid. How did that come about?
Dave Peniuk: We were tired of the endless amount of commercials and crappy music they played over the airwaves and so me and my buddy decided to tape our own radio station often discussing how “hard” grade school was (we were in 6th grade at the time…ha ha ha) as well as singing along to bands like Twisted Sister, Judas Priest and Queen.
Me: Having bounced around between jobs as an adult, what drew you back to acting?
DP: I realized that every 2-4 years I was changing jobs, careers, etc and kept getting bored with them. My wife asked me one day (when I turned 40), if I could do anything in the world, and money wouldn’t be an issue, what would I do? I said be a RockStar or an Actor! She said, YOU CAN’T SING! I guess that means you’ll be an Actor! The rest is history.
Me: What did you learn from working on shorts and bit roles in broadcast TV until now?
DP: Oh, I would need a whole book to answer all that I’ve learned. Let’s just say, I am an information junkie and absorb as much as I can on every set I work on.
Me: You also worked on two Hindi features, "Sardaar Ji" and "Channo Kamli Yaar Di." What was the experience like working on these films?
DP: They were fun. Fun in the sense that there was lots of improvisation and they let us do a lot of things that you can’t do on a union network show. Like some stunt driving and fight scenes. Myself and Hans Potter (who plays Shelby in Camp Death III in 2D!) were Cops in "Channo Kamli Yaar Di" and we each got to drive police cars around some large shipment containers at full speed. And neither of us are trained stunt drivers. Man that was fun! We almost died, but it was fun!
Me: Do you prefer working on any particular style of genre of film?
DP: Comedy is definitely my gig. I love making people laugh. I recently started my own YouTube channel called “Giggle and Grin” where I release a new scripted video every Sunday. We are doing some hilarious comedy sketches on there and love seeing how people react to them. On the other side, I love doing psychological thrillers and horrors.
Me: As for your new movie, "Camp Death III," what can you tell us about your character in particular?
DP: Todd Boogjumper is the Chump in Charge. He is super optimistic about everything and see’s the world with rose-colored glasses. But truth be told, he’s an idiot. But an ambitious idiot! Todd really wants to help everyone. Help his nasty, foul-mouthed, racist, opportunistic Uncle Mel make money at Camp Crystal Meph, help the wheelchair-bound Barry Brown do a great job as head men’s counselor and help all the mental outpatients get well again at the camp!
Me: Did the character of Todd come from anyone in particular?
DP: Not really. But he was an amalgamation of all the super cheesy, smiley, do-gooder Camp Counselors from the various Friday the 13th and Sleepaway Camp movies. Every time we were ready to shoot a scene, Matt Frame (the writer, Director) would get me all amped up basically jumping around like a monkey on crack making reminding me to be super enthusiastic. Monkey see monkey do. Ha ha
Me: What is the particular mindset you get into in order to play the character?
DP: Monkey on crack…monkey on crack. Ha ha. Seriously, it was always to be as happy and cheerful and excitable as possible.
Me: What was the set like while shooting the film? How did the cast and crew react to the type of film being made?
DP: Most of the time, it was an absolute blast and that shows, I believe, in the performances of the Actors. There were really really long days (like 6 AM on set many mornings and then sometimes wrapping around 2 AM). So sometimes some of the Actors got a little cranky but that’s what Indie film-making is all about.
Me: Do you recall having any odd or funny on-set stories about yourself or any of the other cast/crew members?
DP: Too many to list! But one super funny one was Chris Allen who plays Barry Brown was bunking with me in one of the camp counselor cabins. There was a sheet of plywood laying over top of his bunk and when we finally got to sleep after the first day of shooting, Chris got up to take a leak and when he came back he fell down onto his bunk out of exhaustion but hit the side of the plywood that was overhanging past the edge of the metal old bunk bed below. He was then flung across and hit the wall and slid down the wall to the super dirty, grimy floor. I pissed myself laughing so hard.
Me: Lastly, is there a specific type of person you haven't played yet you would love to play?
DP: Bourne….Jason Bourne. But you can call me Bjorn (cause I have Scandinavian heritage. And it sounds funny)!
'Camp Death III in 2D' premieres on Amazon Prime on February 15th.
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