AN EARY HALLOWEEN GETTING PERSONAL WITH TIM SULLIVAN

Tonight Sunday Oct. 19th 2008 in London the first european screening of Driftwood is taking place, and we have used this occasion to talk to the director Tim Sullivan about the movie, inspiration, future projects and what will he be doing this coming Halloween. Tim is one of those directors that really knows what horror movies are about and is reinventing a genre at those times only action movies are becoming blockbusters. This year Halloween is coming early at OHLALA... BOOOO ;-)


^{Dylan Edrington and Director Tim Sullivan on the set of 2001 Maniacs}

Why Horror Movies?
When I was 5 years old, I saw the original DRACULA with Bela Lugosi and was both frightened and seduced. Let’s face it, evil can be very sexy. A Pandora’s Box most would have you leave unopened. Well , I opened it, and I saw the effect it had on others. The scarier the better. The bloodier even more so. Gore in horror became to me the equivalent of a magician sawing a woman in half, and I decided I wanted to perform that kind of magic; get a rise out of people, shake them out of complacency. I think the best horror films are metaphors for good and evil. Putting it bluntly, I truly believe that it often takes Satan fucking you in the ass before you get down on your knees and give God a blow job. I want to tell those kind of stories.



Above Ricky Ullman and below Cory Hardrict from Driftwood.



Where do you come from (physically and emotionally)?
I’m a Jersey boy who spent his formative college years going to New York University film school during the birth of the MTV generation. I wrote the music news for MTV while also being a journalist for the horror magazine FANGORIA. Rock and Roll has been in my blood forever. It’s the rebel in me. I’ve always been a “double” outsider. First off, I always preferred the guy next door to the girl next door, and secondly, I always preferred making movies to scoring touchdowns on the football field. I’ve made it my mission to succeed in passions others couldn’t understand or deemed reprehensible.



Above the cast of the movie Driftowwod and below a before and after with Connor Roos!



Tell us more about DRIFTWOOD and when will it be released internationally?
If my first film, 2001 MANIACS, is my rock and roll anthem, then DRIFTWOOD is my power ballad. Once I proved I could get beautiful people naked (both girls and boys), cover them in blood and make audiences both laugh and squirm, I decided it was time to get a little personal. I was very upset by the American trend of so called “Attitude Adjustment Camps”, these horrific juvenile detention centers where parents are encouraged to send their kids if they deem them “troublesome”. Kids are sent to these places simply because they might be gay, or into horror movies, or smoke a little weed . Basic teenage stuff. But once there, their individuality and identity is beaten out of them. Had I a different mother, one who didn’t support me, I could easily have ended up in a place like that. So it became important to me to tell a story about such a place, about a kid who is sent to one of these camps that just happens to be haunted by the ghost of a boy who was murdered there for being gay. I got an amazing young cast, led by Ricky Ullman of Disney’s PHIL OF THE FUTURE as well as Talan Torriero from MTV’S LAGUNA BEACH. Newcomer Connor Ross plays Jonathan, the kid who was murdered, and he truly is amazing. DRIFTWOOD came out in America this year and was nominated for Best Horror Film by The Academy of Sci-Fi, Horror and Fantasy. It was very validating, as it proved to me that audiences were willing to accept a more subtle type of horror film from me. I can’t wait to see what International audiences make of it.Anchor Bay is releasing it in the UK and Dublin in January. It comes out this week in Germany from Tiberius.


^{Tim Sullivan and the sexy Jay Gillespie on the set of 2001 Maniacs}

What is the movie are you working on right now?
Next up is the sequel to 2001 MANIACS called BEVERLY HELLBILLYS. More blood, more butts and more laffs! After that, it’s back to DRIFTWOOD territory with BROTHERS OF THE BLOOD, a supernatural romance depicting the love triangle between an older male vampire, a younger male vampire and the female mortal that comes between them. It will be very gothic, very Shakespearean, very bloody, and yes, extremely sensual. I’m not gonna pull any punches here. We’re truly gonna push the envelope. It will be accompanied by a coffee table book of erotic vampire photographs for which I already shot a test shoot with Victor Frolov, a young Canadian actor born in Russia who will also be in HELLBILLYS. I think these pics definitely give a taste of what to expect.



The buttylicious Dylan Edrington in the movie 2001 maniacs :-P



What is your favorite city to visit?
Last year I went to Dublin to premiere DRIFTWOOD and fell madly in love. I truly felt at home. Just loved the vibe, loved the people. There is a true sense of the “working class” ethic yet combined with a literacy and poetic nature not often found in America. I loved it so much, I rewrote the setting of BROTHERS OF THE BLOOD to now take place there!


^{Brian Gross and Robert Englund on the set of 2001 Maniacs}

What are you doing for Halloween this year?
I will be doing touring Europe to promote DRIFTWOOD beginning with the UK premiere at the GoreZone Film Festival, this coming Sunday the 19th at 10 AM. Anybody interested should check out this link. I’m gonna be doing a meet and greet signing afterwards, so come up and say hello. Mention OH LA LA, I’ll give you a free DRIFTWOOD poster! On the 25th, I’ll yet again be in Dublin where I will be presenting a “Master Class” on Indie horror analyzing all aspects of the filmmaking process by deconstructing scenes form 2001 MANIACS and DRIFTWOOD [Horrorthon] Then off to Munich for press and trick or treating! Nothing like Europe for my favorite holiday of the year!


^{Brian Gross and his latex double on the set of 2001 Maniacs}

What do you wear when you sleep?
Depends on whether I am alone- or not! Solo, it’s black Jockey brand boxer briefs. When two or three are joining me, it’s usually nothing at all after ten minutes…



Where do you see your self 5 years from now?
In a position to make the films I want to make without having to beg, borrow or steal to do so thanks to what hopefully will be the mega success of BROTHERS OF THE BLOOD! The independent world of filmmaking is a tough one, but there is no plan B for me. I’m in it for the long haul. And I’m gonna do it my way.

More photos from the movie Driftwood after the jump + Tim Sullivan MySpace

Tim Sullivan began his career as a teenager pumping fake blood for the 80s cult horror flick Return of the Aliens: The Deadly Spawn (1983). This brought him to New York University where he studied film and wrote the music news for MTV. Upon graduation, Tim served in various capacities on 'Three Men And A Baby', 'Cocktail', 'Coming To America' and 'Godfather III' before co-producing the independent hits 'If Looks Could Kill' and 'America Exposed'.



In 1990, Tim moved to LA where he worked in development at New Line Cinema for five years. It was there that he first encountered Detroit Rock City (1999), which he eventually co-produced, finding himself yet again pumping fake blood- though this time for Gene Simmons of the rock group KISS. Having formed New Rebellion Entertainment, Tim made his directorial debut with the Lions Gate horror-comedy, 2001 Maniacs (2005), followed by the hip hop terror anthology, Hood of Horror (2006).



With these admittedly over-the-top, decidedly non-PC "Splatsticks" under his belt, for his next project, Driftwood (2006), the filmmaker decided to tackle another type of horror: the post-Columbine American trend of privately owned and operated "Attitude Adjustment Camps" for youths deemed troubled and problematic by their parents. A complete flip in vibe from previous efforts, "Driftwood" is a character driven, supernatural teen thriller starring Ricky Ullman and Talan Torriero that has been described as "Stand By Me" meets "Ghost Story". It's Sullivan's way of expressing his driving philosophy that no one should be forced to be what they are not, for if and when that does occur, the real nightmares truly do take shape. Next up, a double dose of 2001 Maniacs; first the graphic novel from Avatar Press followed by 2001 Maniacs: Beverly Hellbillys (2008), it's much anticipated and demanded sequel. After that, Sullivan will return to more subtle and elegant horror with Brothers of the Blood (2008), a haunting vampire romance starring Thomas Dekker (The Sara Connor Chronicles).