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Bum Interviews:
The Jason Paul Collum Interview, Part 2 | Here's the continuation of Rufus' interview with Jason Paul Collum
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**catch part 1 of the interview HERE.
BC: Personally I liked LEECHES. Animals gone amok movies ala DAY OF THE ANIMALS have always been my favorites. From what you have told me Mr. DeCoteau is simply brilliant, and I'm sure has the bank account to show it. Let's talk about OCTOBER MOON. This is a film that is very close to you. Explain to me how the idea of this film came together?
JPC: Strange as it sounds, all of my film ideas are usually inspired by a visual...some place I'm at when I suddenly get a charge of energy and my mind starts going. In the case of OCTOBER MOON, I'd wanted to do a story based on the coming out events experienced by my closest friends. We had all “accepted" our homosexuality literally within a week of each other. None of us had sparkling experiences with it, but two friends in particular had a rough time with family and friends. One of them, the son of a Baptist minister, was outed by his father at Sunday mass in front of the entire congregation, then more or less cast out of his family. It's been a downhill slide for him ever since. So those events have been resonating in my head since the mid-90s.
That's when the concept of making it a gay horror story came to mind...probably around 1995. I should point out that it's not necessarily horror in the sense of "Boo! I made you jump!" like a FRIDAY THE 13TH movie. It's more of a "how horrific has this boy's life become as a result of his being found out and rejected." It's a dark, emotional horror more in line with the theme of CARRIE (1976). Nothing scary happens to her until the end of the movie. The first hour is basically the drama of Carrie's emotional turmoil. Scary and horrific set pieces don't occur until the last twenty minutes of the movie.
That's more what I was going for with Elliot in OCTOBER MOON. So those personal stories were my starting point years ago, but it wasn't until I was driving one day and the song "Catch Me (I'm Falling)" by Pretty Poison came on the radio. I immediately had a "flash" (as I refer to those inspirational ideas) of two gay boys on a dance floor, the song resonating around them as the one boy suddenly realized he was falling in love with the other boy, all while his girlfriend stood in the distance and watched it unfold. That scene is not only in OCTOBER MOON, but by some miracle I managed to license the rights to that song and made that scene just about as complete as I had envisioned it. The rest of the story just unfolded from there. Just about every conversation, every memory of the characters from their own pasts, and even every character, is based on actual events, conversations, and people. Marti (Tina Ona Paukstelis), who plays the naïve fiancée to Elliot (Jerod Howard), is based on my mother. My real father is gay and left us after he came out, so I went back to where my mother must have been when the truth came out (pun intended). Corin (Sean Michael Lambrecht) and Jake (Jeff Dylan Graham) and their stressed relationship and conversations are based largely and two of my own previous relationships. Nancy (Brinke Stevens) is based on my dear friends Lisa Coduto (from the original Femme Fatales magazine) and Julie King (who's one of the reporters at the end). Elliot and his experiences are a conglomeration of my three gay friends and myself. All of the bad sh*t each of us experienced during our "process." The only character not based on someone specific is Elliot's mother (Judith O'Dea). Rather, that character is based entirely on the genuine fear every single gay man and woman has inside them pre-coming out to their parents. So, basically, everything viewers witness in OCTOBER MOON has happened (short of the climax), and continues to happen in gay and lesbian lives all over America every day.
I had also wanted to make a film that straight viewers could watch, without having to be concerned about on-screen sex scenes, and learn about the gay lifestyle. Some of us "cruise" each other in public places (hence, the scene in the bookstore parking lot). Many of us have long term relationships. Many of us have long term relationships we become bored with and our eyes start wandering...just like straight couples do. Many of us, mostly gay men, have HUGE issues with growing older...turning 30 is a drastic leap downhill for our culture. You're now considered "too old to date" and haggard by the early twenty-somethings at the clubs. We also poke fun at each other...call each other girls even though we're boys...insult each other for the pure pleasure of it. There are so many dynamics to being a gay man (admittedly I didn't cross too much into the lesbian territory, because it's even more complicated), I wanted to get it on film so straight viewers could, on some minor level, start to understand us better. Watch this film with a group of gay men and women and hear the nervous laughter as each of those scenes resonates with them. The number of times I hear audiences whisper "I did that too!" to their friends never stops amazing me.
We've held 9 public screenings thus far. All but one of them had audiences yelling at the characters, screaming when they were supposed to, laughing when they were supposed to, and all followed by standing ovations at the end. The one show that didn't get that reaction was held at The Washington Avenue Room in my hometown of Racine, WI where the film was shot. The audience was, I would guess, 90% straight and were there as the result of a front page full-color story in the newspaper. Nobody walked out, but almost the entire show was silent. I was completely freaked out, thinking they'd all hated it, but afterwards each viewer came by with congratulations, and a few even told me it changed their outlooks on gay people and their relationships, and how reacting to someone coming out could affect them emotionally. So I'm not sure if they didn't "get" the movie, or if they did. I thought the "in-jokes" went right over their heads, but then one viewer who I ran into later said she thought the jokes were funny, but didn't think it was appropriate to laugh at them because she thought gay people in the audience would be offended, yet it was the 5 gay people that night who were laughing... so I don't know. I've either failed at "showing" straight viewers what gay life is like, or it's just something they're not ready to comprehend. Then again, perhaps it at least got their minds going on the subject.
BC: That was one thing that I mentioned in the review of mine. As a emotional roller coaster ride, this was a wonderful movie. The dialogue was real world, and the relationship issues that Corin and Jake were going through was something that I think everyone has gone through. As a horror movie however, it was light on the horror until the end. Let me mention briefly, after the initial viewing, how I saw this movie. One issue was the decline of Elliot's mental state. While "nerdy" and quiet, I felt that he was of sound mind at the beginning of the film. As he came to grip with "who" he was, I noticed he began to decline mentally. (Inappropriate touching, stealing of personal items, picture taking, etc.) Mind you when his family, and friends "disagree" (to put it lightly) with his feelings, he finally does snap. He was on a steady path of insanity before that, in my opinion. This is where I got the view that the message of the film was that "coming out" was wrong, or Elliot's realizing of him being homo-sexual drove him insane. Only after meeting Corin, and the feelings blossomed did his obsession begin. Do you think that other individuals may take this message away from the movie, or in this reviewer’s case, could it be an issue with looking through hetero-sexual eyes?
JPC: It's a tough one to answer. I'm not straight. With the exception of the audience at The Washington Avenue Room, the majority of straight people who have been seeing this film have been coming with gay audience members, and have likewise been a part of the standing ovations and cheers, so I guess it should be assumed they are already accustomed to gay people as a part of their everyday lives, so they too understood many -but not necessarily all- of the messages and situations. There's a scene in the film where Corin recalls wanting to be 'Wonder Woman' when he would play Superheroes as a child. My mother went up in hysterical laughter when she saw it, as did many of the other parents in the audience. It's one of those "I did that too!" or "I know my gay child/friend used to do that..." moments. They've experienced it. So does that mean that straight people who don't have a gay person in their daily lives won't get that joke? Perhaps. I'm gay, so everybody I know has had me as a part of their life.
We've only been receiving 4 and 5 star reviews across the board. I'm unsure of those reviewers sexual orientation with the exception of one who announced his homosexuality as part of the review. Reviewers have called it "compelling," "true to life," and (my personal favorite) "One of the best gay films of any genre ever made." Your review found some of its ideas potentially offensive to gays. That absolutely shocks me.
Again, Elliot is a little left of center from the get-go. We don't necessarily see his crazy, obsessive side from scene one, but you know when he's in the bedroom with his mother 10 minutes into the film that there's something a bit off. Even when he's in the car with Marti after he's been cruised, when he looks over and the gay man is gone, he has a sad look about him.
I didn't want Elliot to be full-on crazy immediately. He's just supposed to be insecure and hateful of his inner struggle. His mother is clearly oppressive. His girlfriend is just as naive as he is. His craziness has nothing to do with being a homosexual. It's how everyone he loves responds to his orientation AND how he himself responds to it. He's not comfortable with it. In fact, we show in the earlier scene where he masturbates (off screen) to the thought of Corin undressing on the beach that he's repulsed by his fantasies. I know I was as a teenager. I hated being gay as a teenager and prayed to God every night to let me wake up straight. My friend who I spoke of earlier STILL wishes he were straight. It certainly would make our lives a lot easier in day-to-day life. However, there are those of us who accept it at some point and move forward in life and enjoy just being alive and grow and find love and true friends. Those who don't are all just bits and pieces of Elliot's slow breakdown.
I should mention there is one scene which was cut from the final version because it broke the flow of the movie. Elliot's mother has a flashback to him as a teenager and she finds pictures of naked men under his bed. You can see the clip of the flashback (where Judith O'Dea is wearing a long blonde wig) in the trailer. I think that keeping that scene may have helped viewers realize that Elliot has been gay forever, he's just been repressing it. Unfortunately, from a creative standpoint, it just simply didn't work with the rest of the picture no matter where we placed it. I also didn't want the audience to know Elliot was bonkers right away, because they'd know right where the picture was going immediately. In real-life, you don't necessarily know that people are whacked until you get to know them more. That's how I wanted the audience to feel about Elliot. Plus, I need the audience to sympathize with him as well. If they know he's crazy from the first scene, they're immediately not going to like him. I need each and every viewer to attach themselves to him, so the impact of his actions later in the film are more emotional for them. It makes each viewer a participant to some degree. That's why they begin yelling at him when does do crazy and creepy things.
The only other point I can make is that there are people who are a bit crazy not as a result of being homosexual, but as a result of their outside influences toward being homosexual. If mom and dad keep making it known to you that "all homosexuals are going to burn in hell" throughout your entire childhood, that gay child is going to grow up with a very skewed vision of their own identity and relevance in the world. This is the case of Elliot and his mother.
What message will other straight viewers who don't have a homosexual friend, co-worker or family member in their lives take away from OCTOBER MOON? I can't say. I don't know any personally. I guess it would make for a great discussion board. (*Note to those who want to start up this conversation: Just please make sure you've watched the film before blasting me and others with negative comments about the topic. I have no problem with people speaking their minds and offering their opinions as long as they've SEEN what they're fighting for or against. There's a discussion board already up and waiting at Tempe's website.
BC: I think that it would be a good idea to have a board topic on this. We will also add one to our site, to discuss the genre, and OCTOBER MOON specifically. I suggest to all that want to speak with Jason directly to check out Tempe's board. Your friendly reviewer Rufus has been known to pop on once or twice also. While family or friends can be destructively negative, or warm and accepting, depending on the individuals, I felt that "coming out" would be a liberating, free moment in a gay individuals life. I appreciate you clearing up some of the misconceptions on this subject. So Jason, what can the Bums expect in the future from you?
JPC: I've narrowed it down to a vampire-ish movie. It's a more "realistic" story (nothing supernatural) about a girl and her obsession with the taste of blood. The other option is an OCTOBER MOON sequel. Right now the vampire story might be the best option. It's set in winter, so that means I'd have to get cameras rolling in the next 8-10 weeks! The script is done (I wrote it 10 years ago!) and it's a pretty grisly movie (lots and lots of gore) and is clearly a horror movie 15 minutes in.
However, that time crunch could prove to be a problem. With the praise OCTOBER MOON has received and how well the advance sales copies have been moving, it would seem I should jump on it right away. Plus most of the lead cast has been contacted about the possibility and they're all up for a return. Problem is I'm not sure that:
A). I want to go back into the world of OCTOBER MOON. It was a very difficult shoot physically and emotionally for many of us.
B). I'm not sure I want to make another gay-themed horror movie right away. If OCTOBER MOON hasn't already pigeon-holed me, I think making another gay-themed film right now in any genre would solidify it.
C). I really should wait until we get final sales figures for OCTOBER MOON, which won't happen until April 2006 at the soonest. The theatrical/public screenings we did went well and were profitable, but weren't overwhelmingly successful financially. As I said before, advance DVD sales are already impressive (it hits stores on Valentine's Day 2006) and gives us great hope that it may be Tempe's best-selling title, but (executive producer) J.R. Bookwalter, who has never been a fan of sequels in general, keeps stressing that the budget from the first film should not only be made back, but should be doubled in profit before any kind of follow up is warranted. Aside from those, I'm also hoping to complete a children's book I started two years ago. It was put on the shelf when the budget for OCTOBER MOON came thru, so now that I've finally got the free time, I really need to pull it back out and dust it off. If I ever get the ambition to update my personal website, folks can always keep up to date there (as of this writing, I haven't touched it since May 2004, but I promise to get on that in the next few weeks...no really! I am...!) If they have (*nice*) questions or comments, everyone can contact me and many of the other cast and crew members through our website. (Nastiness will be deleted and ignored.)
Thanks for the opportunity to express where OCTOBER MOON came from, and what it was intended to say to viewers. It's main, simple message to both gays and straights is this: Regardless of your orientation, appreciate what God gives you, because he can take it back at any moment, and you'll have lost it forever. Love people because you've been given that opportunity, and remember to treat each other like human beings.
BC: A sequel? Interesting. OCTOBER MOON 2: MOHAWKS REVENGE maybe?
Well, whichever project that you start next, make sure to keep BumsCorner.com, and all the Bums and Bumettes out there in the loop. I look forward to your next project and good luck with OCTOBER MOON. It sounds like this one should be a financial winner.
Thank you for taking the time to explain life, the genre and October Moon with us.
Folks, the buzz is hot on this one, and you can pick this up at Tempe's website soon. Thank you again Jason, and you summed it up best; Life is short, so love, live, and buy Bumscorner merchandise! |
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Updated Tuesday, January 17, 2006 Written by Rufus |
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