An upcoming director looking to make his mark on the industry, Anthony Columbus is hoping to make that a reality on the eve of the release of his first short film, the psychological alien-abduction short "Alice and the Little Green Men." To honor that occasion, I talked with him about his early interest in the genre, filming the short, and its upcoming release.
Me: Hello and thank you for taking the time to do this. First off, when did you get into horror in general? What films specifically got you into watching horror movies?
Anthony Columbus: Thanks for having me. The first horror movie I ever watched was The Lost Boys. I was at a sleepover; I must have been five or six years old at the time. The movie terrified me! I didn't sleep at all that night, and for years after, I had nightmares about vampires. From that point on, counterintuitively, I think I was kind of hooked.
I've watched a ton of horror movies over the years. I continue to watch a lot of horror movies, probably more than any other genre. I suspect we have similar tastes in the classics: The Shining, The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, Halloween, Psycho, I could go on and on, but instead of discussing Hitchcock or Carpenter, I’ll give you a bit of a hot take.
I believe some of the best horror movies of all time are being made right now. Creatives like Jordan Peele, Jennifer Kent, Ari Aster, and Colin & Cameron Cairnes (Late Night with the Devil), to name a few, are making truly fantastic movies that are exceptionally well-crafted, thoughtful, thought-provoking, and agitating in a really outstanding way. It’s a thrilling time to be a fan of the genre!
Me: When did you first discover a passion for filmmaking? Were you always interested in the creative arts growing up?
AC: I've always loved story-telling. When I was a child, I used to make my own comic books, and then I'd staple the pages together and sell each issue to my mom for about 25 cents a pop. Business was booming! I was also very shy. Much of my play stemmed from things I imagined quietly by myself. I would construct pretty elaborate stories in my head and then execute them with action figures
Regarding filmmaking, movies played an instrumental role in my childhood, but I was born in the Midwest, so it didn't seem like a viable career option. It was out of reach. So, I don't think I began to watch movies with an obsessive (or critical) eye until my late teens or early twenties, and that was only after I met a guy who was working as a commercial editor (for an ad agency). Watching him work was a eureka moment for me; I knew what I wanted to do with my life, and I knew I had a lot of catching up to do.
Me: That brings us to your latest project, "Alice and the Little Green Men." What can you tell us about the short?
AC: It’s a horror film about alien abduction, that isn’t really about alien abduction. We just had our first screening at the 20th annual HollyShorts Film Festival, which is a pretty big deal in the world of short films, and we’re screening at the 25th annual Playhouse West Festival on August 24. So far, the responses have been positive. People seem to be embracing it for what it is…a film intended to agitate.
Me: Where did the inspiration for the film come from? Were there any unique stories about its conception?
AC: There are many different inspirations present at each level of the film. So, I typically start with the theme or an idea I want to express. In the case of ALICE, it’s ideas about manipulation and betrayal. Then I think about what vehicle makes sense to tell that story. Alien abduction checked all of the boxes, and I knew it would be surprising because, to my knowledge, there has never been an alien abduction movie like this.
Me: Is there anything special or unique that helped to flesh out the characterizations?
AC: Yes. My experiences dealing with certain people. For almost every character in a story, I start with a very strong representation of who that character is. Once I cast, the actors alter that perception or representation to a degree. They have their own experiences they're bringing to the table and their points of view, and all of that gets cooked into the final version of the characters.
Me: With a cast of experienced and talented indie actors, how'd you settle on the cast getting involved in the film? What characteristics did you look for with each performer that they brought to the table that helped bring the production to light?
AC: We had over 1,000 submissions (each) for the roles of Joan and Alice. I looked at every headshot and reel, and then we sent a select bunch (probably 60-100 people) a scene to perform and submit. Next, we narrowed it down to about 10 people for each role and conducted interviews. Finally, we looked at our top candidates and considered how they'd play off of each other on screen.
Upon casting, I was confident that Alice Skok (who plays Joan Weaver) and Ashley BeLoat (who plays Alice Bell) were at least, let’s call it, 80% of their characters. I knew they'd be able to get fully there once they were provided with character backgrounds and after some one-on-one conversations about intent.
For Walt, I found Eric Charles Jorgenson at a play in North Hollywood, and he was fantastic. So, I was fairly confident that he and I would be able to develop Walt’s character. I had feared Walt would be the most challenging to cast, so I was lucky to find Eric. For Will, I’ve known Connor Wilkins for a number of years, and to some extent, I wrote that character with him in mind. So, I knew he’d be able to execute the part.
Me; What was the set like while shooting the film? How did the cast and crew react to the type of film being made?
AC: The set was professional. Prior to this project, I had worked with the Director of Photography, AC, Gaffer, and several of the Executive Producers. So, we all know that there's a standard that must be met. We shot this at an extraordinary pace, which is a credit to the crew and actors' preparations.
When it came time to shoot some of the more provocative and disturbing scenes, we had a protocol, which included having a conversation about the content with the background actors and a series of measures to make sure that all of the actors felt safe every step of the way.
Me: Do you recall having any odd or funny on-set stories about yourself or any of the other cast/crew members?
AC: This wasn't on-set, but during a rehearsal at Quixote Studios, we (the cast and the producing team) were having a relatively hot debate about how the bedroom scene with Joan and Walt should conclude. This was about three days before principal photography. The fact that there were so many different opinions about such an important scene informed me that the way the scene was written wasn't working.
So, everyone who had an idea made a pitch about how they thought that scene should end. After hearing everyone out, I wasn't convinced that any of the new ideas were any better than what we had in the script at the time. It looked like this was going to be a real problem, then suddenly (producer) Kyle Martin said to the group something along the lines of, "Why don't you just have Walt lean in and say: Let me show you something." That line ended up becoming, "I want to show you something," but it was a simple solution that became one of the more compelling moments in our film.
Me: What do you hope to achieve in the future for the short’s upcoming release?
AC: I hope for a strong festival run to close out the year, and I hope the people who see this film feel something and tell their friends and family about this insane short film they watched called Alice and the Little Green Men.
Me: Lastly, what else are you working on that you'd like to share with our readers? Thank you again for your time!
AC: I have a unique access docuseries project I've worked on for seven years--it's a "truth is stranger than fiction" type of story. I'm also in the beginning phases of pitching a horror feature film titled "We Buy Souls," which has a lot of really smart commercial sensibilities. We're just kicking that one off. So, if anyone reading this wants equity in a high-level horror film, email me.
Thank you, Don. Let's do it again.
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