As a general rule, I won’t publicly talk about movies I don’t like. I know the struggle to get made & respect the filmmaking process WAY too much to shit on anyone’s work. I find it easier to talk about films I think are exciting & fun rather than dunking on those that fell flat.
I love a good Texas switch. Here’s one I did with Aaron Eckhart jumping out of a window- landing on a car- and continuing to chase the bad guy. Behind the scenes vs in camera gives you a good look at when Aaron enters frame and the stunt double exits. 💪
School board (virtual) meeting today on school opening options. They opened it up to questions.
My favorite question came from a teacher:
“Why are you thinking about opening school while you (the school board) are uncomfortable even holding a meeting in person”
MIC DROP!
Here’s a fun BTS of how we shot the car flipping in my film Line Of Duty. I wanted my 2 leads visibly spinning in the crash. Luckily my FX team created a dope hamster wheel which allowed them to be ROLLED down the street w/ cameras attached inside. 🤘
I’ve said it and I’ll say it again.. I love slow burn werewolf films, but this is not that. I wanted to come out hard, fast, and ferocious. I don’t hide them. I don’t give you time to breathe. I don’t let up on the gas. Werewolves is a true indie monster film swinging for the
Howling into theaters in December, Werewolves stars Frank Grillo and will feature practical wolves from effects masters Alec Gillis & Tom Woodruff Jr. The premise has been described as The Purge... with werewolves!
I make LOTS of indie films. Theres been numerous times I wanted artwork in the film we couldn’t afford and I found ways to pay the artist or… we didn’t have it in the fucking movie and I had to deal with it. That’s my 2 cents.
I got to make 3 fun films w/ Bruce. We had a blast each time. People would give him shit but I knew what was up and always made him feel as safe and comfortable as possible to do the best job he could. Wishing him the best.
I was recently asked if I would cut together a reel of my action directing over the years. I may have gone bannanas but If you haven’t seen what I’ve been up to or need an introduction to my work, here’s a good place to start. *edited in
#FinalCutPro
It was 2 weeks ago when I urged my parents, who live in Fla, to wear masks and consider going out less. Their response to me was, “we don’t live in fear here like you do in California.”
Today they called to tell me they tested positive for Covid-19.
My grandma passed away last night at 93. She was easily one of my biggest supporters. I don’t know many grandmas in their 80s who would fly out to LA from FLA just to see her grandsons first zombie film in a theater. That’s just who she was. ❤️
My biggest issue when I was in film school was usually being made to feel like my taste was not artsy enough for the “film snobs” in my classes.
Don’t be afraid to be you. Create what makes you smile and make it as commercial or artsy as you see fit 💥
REMINDER: My wife & I own a boutique trailer house.
It started with TOBE HOOPER hiring me to cut the trailer for THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE 4k restore back in 2014.
My kids have only left our home a handful of times since March. So the thought of them being put back in school with tons of kids who were just out and about without restriction the entire summer is terrifiying.
This week- you will see the WEREWOLVES trailer and everything we’ve been working on. I know practical monsters are always debated on how they look. I’ll just say I absolutely love what we created. Honestly even if you don’t, I hope you still check it out!
My daughter got to be a werewolf in my upcoming feature. She had so much fun. Can’t wait to show what she becomes in theaters December 6th!
#Werewolves
Tomorrow this Werewolves trailer will drop & it would be amazing if you could share the shit out of it. Love it or hate it. Don’t care. Just please share it. We don’t have the big boys marketing spend. We just have you.
#werewolvesmovie
10 years ago today our little Santa slasher, SILENT NIGHT, made its debut. It’s been so killer to see it find an audience and be on tons of people’s traditional holiday watch list. Keep sending me your favorite kills!
#Christmashorror
When you see our Werewolves hit the big screen, I hope you remember.. it’s just a movie because
@alec_gillis
& team created some insane monsters. Cool news for the UK. Thanks
@SignatureEntUK
I don’t make gigantic films.. hell, I barely make indie films, but I do get to work with lots of super talented people on a regular basis and for that I’m immensely grateful.
We are getting to the part of the year where I see tons of "Worst of 2020" lists. Maybe this year we be more positive and just appreciate filmmakers that through overwhelmingly impossible odds get their art made.
#mondaythoughts
While laying my son down for bed, he asked me how many movies I’ve made. We counted them off together. He sat silent for a second, then just causally said, “you’re my favorite director.”
Sometimes being a dad is crazy emotional. 😍
My daughters
#softball
team this year is the Wolverines. Today they got to meet and hang with the real deal
@umichsoftball
team. So rad of them. The girls loved it. 🔥🔥🔥🤘🏼
DIRECTORS CUT FINISHED. I took on the editorial myself this round. So this is as personal as it gets. My boys
@dylansprouse
& Mason Gooding bout to come in hot. 🥵 🤘*edited in
#finalcutpro
That’s a wrap on my 15th feature film. So many people contributed to this awesome experience. So proud of my cast & crew for braving the trenches with me. Off to the edit bay I go.
@ponysmasher
The fact you even need to explain this is painful. As I do tons of trailer editing — this is common practice — mirror/flip/flop/zoom/push/ and hell of a lot more.
I missed horror. Today I get to show you what I felt was a fun return to the genre! Thanks to my amazing cast & crew for bringing this bonkers film to life and thank YOU for watching my films over the years.
MARGAUX IS OUT NOW from
@ParamountMovies
!!
REMINDER: My wife & I own a boutique trailer house & have been cutting rad trailers, such as this, for extremely talented filmmakers non stop!
Fun Fact: It started with TOBE HOOPER allowing me to cut the trailer for THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE 4k restore back in 2014.
My film I was prepping in Atlanta got pushed to summer.. yet that opened me up to start one in Puerto Rico end of this month & ultimately still shoot my Atlanta film right after. Life is funny sometimes. 🤩
Aight. My work in Puerto Rico is done. Next time I see Werewolves will be in theaters. I’m fucking tired 🤣. Here’s a great shot of Frank & I on set. We had a blast together.
I was fortunate enough to make 11 feature films in my 30’s. Some good, mostly misses— but I learned quite a bit about who I am striving to be as a filmmaker. Thanks for the birthday love and thank you for the continued support on my cinematic journey!!! ❤️
If you wanted to understand me as a filmmaker, here is a simple story:
In film school, most of my peers had aspirations to make their Requiem for a Dream or My own a private Idaho.
I just wanted to make Bad Boys. ☠️
My biggest issue in film school was usually being made to feel like my taste was not good enough for the “film snobs” in my classes.
Don’t be afraid to be unapologetically you. Create what makes you happy and make it as commercial or indie as you see fit 💥
I watched
#TheIrishman
again. Every scene is beautifully crafted and 100% needed in this film. If you think Scorsese is just leaving scenes in because he can, you’re wrong. The guy is a true storyteller and I wished it was another 4 hours.
That’s a wrap on
#FrankGrillo
. Completely dedicated to his craft but also gracious enough to let me do what I needed to do everyday. Total partner/pro on this from start to finish. We had a blast!!
#year2_film
#neversaydie
Here’s a rad BTS moment from Line of Duty. I wanted the REAL actors in the car when it crashed. We did this by making the “hamster wheel” out of a busted up fiat. As we roll the wheel, you can see what it looks like from the camera view inside the fiat.
#moviemagic
Yesterday I was in a mood about not working this past year. Then my wife made me list out my films over the past decade and realize how lucky I was to even make half of these over that amount of time.
#filmmaking
John Woo doing a Christmas action movie and calling it SILENT NIGHT should def drive the sales of my 2012 Christmas horror film w/ the same title. Thanks John!
#SilentNight
Everyone please forgive the self promotion over the next day or so. I am honestly just very proud of this film. It’s hard to get a movie made. It’s even harder to get people to see it. Please help spread the word. 🤘🏼
#LineofDuty