NZ: AD, My first question is how did you come up with the idea for "The Indywood Project?"
AL: My biggest problem is taking orders, and having a boss, haha, and the idea of working my way up the filmmaking ladder over a period of years is something that just didn’t appeal to me...
My biggest role models are Howard Hughes and Ed Wood, two filmmakers that had such a passion, they just went out and did it, Howard had the money and the skill to make independent films, Ed Wood had the passion and the
determination, even though he wasn’t any good, it didn’t stop his dedication,
these 2 filmmakers are the reason I am taking the chances I am taking...
The idea of using a website to raise a movies budget, to find a cast and
crew, and then finally to distribute it, is a dream come true, and if it
works, maybe it will inspire more people to do the same, and if I can
inspire one person like Howard and Ed inspired me, then all of this means
something.
The idea for The Indywood Project came to me on Boxing Day 2006, and I
approached my business partner Andrew Cargill, to see if it was do-able, he
said it was, and within 2 hours, we were hard at work, I wanted to launch the
project on the 1st Jan, nice round no, haha, which gave us about 6 days to
do everything, we must of each put in around 14-17 hours a day for those 6
days, to just get it launched on new years eve, it was tough but we did it.
The site has basically evolved over the last 30 days, and it keeps getting
bigger...
NZ: What are your views on movies in general?
AL: I am a huge fan of the independent scene, I love to see films that take
chances, movies that are not your typical Hollywood factory made farce, its
time we had more originality... But if I am really honest, my favourite
movies are old horror Sci-Fi classics, Invasion of the Body Snatchers,
American Werewolf in London, Halloween, Dawn of the Dead, Hammer horror films, The Blob, They Live, Return of the Living Dead... but my favourite movie of recent years has to be Shaun of the Dead...
NZ: What are your likes and dislikes in what is represented in movies today?
AL: I am not a big fan to be honest, movies like SAW, HOSTEL, The new chainsaw movie, are horror films that I would class as body horror movies, they don’t scare, they make you feel sick, its not fun any more, the special fx are not convincing, gone are the days when horror was built on tension and what you didn’t see, its now all in your face blood, guts, stomachs being ripped open, faces being smashed, ankles being hacked off, its too much, these are not films I want to watch over and over again on a dark and stormy night. I want to bring back old school sci-fi horror..
NZ: If you could work with any director or actor/actress, who would it be and why?
AL: Not too sure what director I would want to work with, but I would love to meet Spielberg, Romero, Craven, Cronenberg, Carpenter, Landis, Lucas...
I do have a list of actors and actresses that I would love to work with,
Johnny Depp is at the top of my list, which is why we are going after him
for a cameo, Simon Pegg is another one, not to sure about actresses here in
the UK... there must be some good ones, somewhere, haha
NZ: Is it intimidating doing something so grand at such a young age? (He’s 28 years old)
AL: I think it would be intimidating to do something this grand at any age, I am confident with the crew I have organized, and my lead actor Jordan Rees is amazing, so I don’t have too much to worry about, its the directing hundreds of zombies that puts me on edge, I am thinking of setting up a zombie academy to get people into the right frame of mind...
NZ: What made you pursue filmmaking in the first place?
AL: I was never any good academically, so filmmaking seemed the easiest option for me. I have had a love for movies since I was a toddler, so I guess it was only natural that I would end up going down this road.
NZ: Was there a key movie that seemed to change your life?
AL: I think of recent times last years "The Aviator" is the movie to change my life, it showed me a character that didn’t care what other people thought, Howard Hughes had a passion, and he went out and did it, I see a lot of me in that character, I love the way that he started to lose it in the end, I am only 28 and haven’t even started production, and I already loosing it, but in a good way...
NZ: What is in store for The Indywood Projects future?
AL: I want to stick with a silly b-movie kind of genre, and be the next big Hammer Studios here in the UK, and if all goes to plan it would be great to make 2-3 films a year through Indywood Films, and also a few documentaries here and there, which is another passion of mine... speaking of which I am currently co-producing BEWARE THE MOON: Remembering AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, a feature length documentary that is celebrating 25 years of the movies success, with interviews with the original cast and crew, as well as well known film directors and movie stars... so that’s a really exciting project for Indywood.
NZ: Tell me about the Johnny Depp petition
AL: We want Johnny Depp to support this independent project by either giving us a quote or by becoming a zombie for a day in a cameo role, as that would really put the movie on the map... but its just a pipe dream, but on the off chance it isn’t, we have put together a petition, and closer to the shooting date we will approach his house in Bath (UK) with the full petition and see if we have any luck...
I thank AD for taking the time to give me some feedback for this article. As a movie fan and someone that would love to be a part of that industry I believe that spreading the word about things like Indywood is truly vital. That way less people will have to say “Never heard of it,” about a fantastic independent movie. It really does start with all of us I feel. I hope that this article proves to be informative and if you have additional questions for AD Lane feel free to visit the Indywood site, http://www.indywoodproject.com. As you can imagine he is quite busy orchestrating this movie, but he is very good about correspondence.
-NZ
