NOXIOUS was your first time directing a feature film. How did you transition from directing a short film to a feature?
Great Question! Yes, NOXIOUS is my first feature film. I have been making short films since I was 15 years old (I’m 31 now). Honestly making a feature is just like making a short film. If you can do one, you can do the other. The runtime is just longer.
Marquis Mosley was the writer on this film. Did he approach you with the script or did you find him?
Marquis Mosley and I went to college together. We met at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Savannah, GA. The film school there is really an incubator of talent. Mosley studied editing; However I read some of his writings and he had amazing screen writing talent. When it was time for me to produce my first feature, I called Mosley and asked him to send me something that met 3 criteria. 1. Very few locations. 2. Small cast. 3 Low Budget requirement.
When looking for your your main actress to play the role Kennedy in the film, how many people did you interview for the role and how did Olivia Brown get the role in the end?
Honestly, Craigslist. I like using craigslist for many of my casting calls. As long as I have a safe location to meet possible Actors (Usually during the day and on weekends) I usually always find great talent. Today, there is lots of talent readily available. This project is not SAG, so I was able to do business with talent that was not represented. We had over 15 headshot submissions for the role of Kennedy alone. We invited 6 to come in to Audition. Olivia is actually the least experienced actress in the entire film! During her Audition Wesley Jones, our Producer and myself, both knew we had our actress! In the special making of Behind The Scenes video for NOXIOUS we showcase our audition process. Olivias performance is amazing.
It is surprising to find that this is Olivia Brown’s only acting role (according to imdb). I was immensely impressed with how she carried the film with her acting ability. Will you be using her next for anything and do you know of any projects she is working on?
One of my favorite filmmakers is Spike Lee. I love his use and reuse of established actors he has built a relationship with. I plan to do the more of the same in many of my films.
How many days was the shoot for NOXIOUS?
Amazingly, we shot NOXIOUS in only 4 consecutive days. I had an amazing team! From My Cinematographer Aiden ‘Maccaroni’ Chapparone to my Producer Wesley Jones to my 1st AD Treyvon Thompson to Trace Garrett who was the 2nd Assistant Camera (and never worked that role before) to the actors Trent Uher who was also a first time actor to Lyric Donell who stars in my web series Valley of The Queens to our fight choreographer Derrek Hofrichter of EVKM Self Defense & Fitness in Tempe, Arizona. I was blessed with some very hard working people who believed in me as a Director, a leader and the Story.
NOXIOUS is just over an hour long but in that time you fit alot in and leave no loose ends. On making this thriller were you conscious on making something that would be short but have an impact?
The Screenplay for NOXIOUS is actually 93 pages long. In theory the movie should be 93 minuets long. What I learned about my Directing Style is that I give a lot of information away visually. As production ran, I cut many lines of dialog as I noticed just how much of the story I was telling visually. Honestly you can watch NOXIOUS with no Closed Captions and on Mute and understand the storyline. That’s what makes NOXIOUS such an amazing film! To your point of the movie being so short, I was inspired by the Black Mirror Season 3 Episode 4, San Junipero; and was not afraid to make my first feature shorter than a usual feature. I feel that the San Junipero episode of Black Magic is in fact not an episode at all. It is a complete movie. A very good one at that, with a beginning, middle and end. I feel that If an episode of a anthology TV series like Black Magic’s San Junipero can go around the world and be so well received, even tho it was intended to be an episode of a TV show, a movie could do the same thing!
What advice would you give to anyone wanting to get into filmmaking?
This is how you make a movie. You stand up in the shower, close your eyes with the water running over your back and think. What do I have access to, Who can I use to help me and how much money do I have? If the answer is, a Deli, 2 Actors and my little brother and 78 pounds, you sit down, and write a story that takes place in a Deli about 2 actors. You Pay your actors 15 pounds each and your assistant 15 pounds. You film the thing on your iPhone or android. You edit your movie in iMovie or any free application you have for video editing, you put it on Youtube, then you invite your friends and family over for dinner and you watch your new movie. Bam! Your a film maker. If you have more than 78 pounds to spend, more than 2 actors to use and more than a little bro to help you, out then your already ahead of the game!
What project(s) do you have coming up next?
I am going to continue working on my web series Valley of The Queens. And who knows what happened in that bathroom? Maybe Kennedy is going on an adventure in NOXIOUS 2? We will have to wait and see…
Interview by Peter ‘Witchfinder‘ Hopkins
