An accomplished filmmaker with some rather acclaimed titles to his name, David Ryan Keith has moved nicely beyond his early Horror titles into more well-rounded fare with several Action features to his credit. Now, in honor of the release of his latest film "I Am Rage," I talk with him about his directorial process, the film itself, and his upcoming projects.
Me: Hello and thank you for taking the time to do this. First off, where did you get the urge to go into directing?
David Ryan Keith: As a kid growing up in the 80s and early 90s, I found myself consuming as many movies as I could get my hands on. As I got older, I started to pay attention to how the movies were actually made. I would study the camera angles and pay attention to the way scenes were edited. I think I was about 12 years old when I first picked up a camera. At first, it was just having fun with friends, making silly short films. But as I got older and began to understand the nuts and bolts of actually directing movies, I started to feel the urge to make a feature film. After a lot of short films and 10 years working for a small production company in the UK, it wouldn't be until I was 29 years old when I directed my first film. Six movies later, with a seventh on the way, and I still enjoy directing. It's obviously stressful working under the constraints of independent film, but it's also a lot of fun.
Me: Were you always into genre films growing up? What films specifically got you into this brand of action films?
DRK: I grew up watching all the classic action stars of my era, like Van Damme and Stallone, etc. I'm still drawn back to those movies; they just play differently. You could argue they are still better than the generic movies we get today. The older movies have a sense of fun that most recent action films don't. I think, in some strange way, that style and feel of those classic movies have been ingrained in my directing brain. I'm more than happy to keep churning out genre films, trying to capture that cheesy fun popcorn feeling.
Me: Having worked on various aspects of film production, do you have any particular preference for working on any?
DRK: I worked as a professional Avid editor for 10 years, but lately, I've been moving more and more into sound design. As I get older, I think I just like the peace & quiet of sitting in a dark room. It's hard work shooting an indie film, and the pressures of budgets and extremely short shooting schedules can be a very frustrating creative experience. Post-production can be a very rewarding experience if everything has gone to plan. It's also a good place to try different things and experiment.
Me: With plenty of short films and other genre efforts early in your career, what tools and skills do you acquire working on those that transferred to feature-film projects?
DRK: Short films are vital to learning what works and what doesn't work. Directing a feature film is a different beast altogether, so it's best to use short films as a sort of mini-film course. Indie films are shot at an incredible speed, so it's important you can confidently shoot movies super fast and have the confidence that you have what you need to produce the actual movie. 18 days is a short turnaround to shoot an action film, so I look back at all my terrible short films as a vital part of my career, like a training ground that prepared me for what was to come.
Me: So, this brings us to your newest film 'I Am Rage.' Where did the inspiration for the film come from? Were there any unique stories about its conception?
DRK: I Am Rage is my first action movie; my previous five films are all horror, so it was a nice change of pace for me. I really wanted the movie to have a fun hyper-reality feeling, a film that fans of the genre can shut their brains off for ninety minutes and just enjoy the crazy mayhem. You could argue this movie could have worked better as a gritty, serious movie, but I like the fact that we're almost winking at the audience. It's not Shakespeare we're making, and not all films have to be so serious. Sometimes it's good just to turn on a silly film and enjoy it for what it is.
Me: With a cast of experienced and talented indie actors, how'd you settle on the cast getting involved in the film? What were you looking for from the cast that helped you settle on them for the role?
DRK: We got asked to cast the movie in the UK, just like making the movie; it was a whirlwind experience finding the actors. We have a lot of fighting in this film, so we were extremely lucky to find the cast we eventually secured. Acting in front of the camera is one thing, but finding actors that could deliver on the physical side was something we underestimated. We have no stunt doubles in this movie; what you see on the screen was done by the actors. It's a testament to them as this was an extremely grueling movie to make physically. These movies live or die by the fight scenes, and I think they all did an incredible job.
Me: What was the set like while shooting the film? How did the cast and crew react to the type of film being made?
DRK: It was a hard shoot for all involved. We shot this movie in Scotland during winter, and our biggest enemy was the constant random snow and rain, which made the movie a sort of endurance test for the actors & crew. They keep telling me making movies is fun, but when you turn up to set to be confronted by snow, you start to have doubts. The movie was a technical nightmare and a very stressful experience, trying to battle the unpredictable weather, but somehow we managed to get it done. If it wasn't for the hard-working actors and dedicated crew, this movie could have really ended in disaster.
Me: Do you recall having any odd or funny on-set stories about yourself or any of the other cast/crew members?
DRK: The shoot was a blur of non-stop filming for me. I would constantly be preparing myself for scenes I'd, in fact, already shot. You don't get much time shooting indie movies to come up for breath; it's easy to get lost in what feels like a never-ending struggle to shoot the scenes in the limited time you have before being told it's time to shoot the next scene. We used a lot of dolly track in this movie; the grip guys got so used to it they would joke about me mulling over a camera position, as they knew in the end the camera would ultimately end up on a dolly. They really worked their asses off during the production.
Me: Lastly, what else are you working on that you'd like to share with our readers? Thank you again for your time!
DRK: Right now, I'm working on getting my next action film off the ground. It's really the first script I've done that I'm really excited about doing. You kind of have to put yourself in a box writing an indie film; you have to constantly keep in mind what you can actually achieve with these smaller budgets, so it can become a frustrating experience. I'm back in the action genre, but this time I've allowed myself a bit more creative freedom, which, in turn, has led to what I think is a really good script. Only time will tell if I get it made and if the audience agrees with me.
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