Hall, Robert (Lightning Bug)
You may not know the name Robert Hall just yet, but I’m willing to bet anything that any horror fan out there knows who he is as a person. He’s us. A fan’s fan. Recently Robert sat down with us to discuss his new film Lightning Bug; a semi autobiographical tale about a horror fan’s coming of age.
Uncle Creepy: So, Robert, this conversation could take any one of a hundred different turns because you’ve been in the business a while, right?
Robert Hall: Oh, yeah. Let’s see, I’ve been out here 12 years, and the first movie I worked on was a year before that. A thing called Body Snatchers with Abel Ferrara.
UC: Really? That was one of the best retellings of that particular kind of story.
RH: It’s sort of underrated and much maligned. I worked on that movie in Alabama. I drove like 300 miles from where I lived because I heard they were filming this movie there. I drove my little shitbox car and took off from the chicken plant where I was working to meet Tom Burman and hopefully get a job on the movie. It paid off, and I actually got hired on Body Snatchers. I was 18 and had a book of really shitty masks and makeups I’d done, and that was my first job. I was just out of high school. So that was 13 years ago, and I’ve been living in LA for 12 years. I guess by relative terms if you can hang in there for a dozen years or so, you’re doing all right.
UC: Now, judging by what you just told me, that’s a perfect segue into what Lightning Bug was about. Exactly how much of that film was autobiographical?
RH: It’s a lot happier of an ending than Lightning Bug.
UC: So you were the maligned kid growing up and getting ridiculed for all the shit you liked?
RH: You know, it’s funny. It was never really as on the nose as it is in the movie; again, that was something I chunked up a bit for drama. But absolutely there’s no denying that where I grew up is the buckle of the Bible Belt. It’s one of the very few remaining dry counties in the United States where they think it’s not only unlawful but un-Godlike to sell alcohol within 50 miles of this place.
UC: What an alien concept!
RH: A lot of people think I’m making this stuff up. But no, man, it’s like that to this day. When we were shooting the film there a year and a half ago, I got to basically prove it to the actors. They were going through the same mindfuck I did when I grew up. It is an alien concept and very strange, but that’s my reality! It was more of an indifference I think than a straight-up maliciousness. I think it was just more of like (in Southern drawl), “Oh, you like to build all that weird stuff. Whatever! I don’t understand it.” And then there was always a sort of muttering under the breath, “That ain’t the Lord’s work” – that kind of stuff.
UC: I think a lot of fans in general will relate. I grew up in New York, and that’s about as far from the Bible Belt as you can get, but even some of my friends and a lot of my family thought there was something wrong with me. There was not a single sports figure on my walls, but I had Pumpkinhead and Leatherface.
RH: Me too. That’s who the movie’s about. It’s about us and kids like us, which is why I think although it’s not a straight horror film, it appeals to us. I would definitely go out and get it. I was that guy with the three-dimensional little promo movie poster of Leatherface.
UC: I had it too.
RH: And Freddy.
UC: I had the Freddy one too!
RH: I used to go to video stores and beg them to give it to me when they were done. “Well, if you want it, we’ll put your name on the back of it.” I was that kid when I was 16, and it’s just funny. I’m still the exact same way. People ask me how I got into this, if I fell into it or what. I didn’t “fall into it”; I dove headfirst into it! I avoided sports like the plague and never went to homecoming games and all that bullshit. I stayed in my room and slit my own throat every night. It’s all I ever cared about.
I can talk to you about the alternate covers of Bad Taste, stuff like that, but no one else in Alabama where I was and where the movie was shot . . . Mind you, that video store is the video store I went into as a kid; that school is my school. I was the only one – it felt like within a 500-mile radius – who knew about that sort of stuff. In reality, it was probably less, but you feel so alienated, and Hollywood’s so far away when you are in not just the South but anywhere like that. I’ve talked to people in New Jersey who grew up like that. It’s the same fucking way. You just feel so far away from anyone who understands you, which is why when you get to go to the horror conventions you feel so at home. It’s like a football game for kids who like creatures and horror. You’re like, “Fuck yeah! Everybody here knows what I know.”
UC: And everyone understands too. People look at horror fans as freaks or whatever it is they want to call us, but you know what? There’s never been a friendlier core group of individuals. And they’re very intelligent too. I think a lot of people on the outside would be surprised at exactly how bright horror fans are. Like you said, it’s through conventions and things like that where it really shines. Not everyone can afford to get to the conventions.
RH: Very smart! And speaking of horror, one of the most horrific things in the world to me is a bunch of overpaid, spoiled rotten sports stars with tight little pants on getting millions of dollars a year – and fucking up like they do – with all these rednecks with no shirts on running around going, “My team’s better than yours!” and starting fires and having riots. You never see that at horror conventions.
UC: Really, dude, I didn’t want to flip over a car outside because I liked Land of the Dead.
RH: Exactly! “That was fucking awesome; I’m gonna burn your house down! And it beats Day of the Dead so give me some money!” It’s so stupid! I’m so not into sports and that kind of thing. I just sort of went the other way. If I could get ESPN blocked on my DirecTV, I’d probably do it.
UC: I hear ya! So I think that’s really the appeal of Lightning Bug to fans even though, like you said, it’s not a horror movie per se. But anyone with any sort of love for the genre will feel an instant connection to every one of the characters in the film including the bad guys or the people who really just didn’t get it. It’s good to see a movie come out like Lightning Bug where we have something that we can relate to. That’s what you succeeded in doing.
RH: I appreciate that. It’s the reason I made it ultimately. When I started to write it, it was never about, “Oh, I need to have a directing career.” It was really about, “I’ve got this story in my head; let me get it out.” And then when I got it out, I was clearly the only person that could bring it to life. It sort of sprang out of that moment more than anything. When I put my heart and my soul and all my credit cards behind it, I said, “Well, I better absolutely make something that has some emotional resonance.” I didn’t want to come out of the gate and try to do some zombie film – although I probably will in my career.
UC: I’ll be watching!
RH: It’s not what I believed in at the time. I believed in telling this story. This is the story that I felt I wanted to tell and that I was really passionate about. People are saying that it’s serving as a good directing debut for me, and that’s great! So be it. And maybe that’ll open up the doors for me to do some more horror stuff. But I have to say it worked against me for a long time when I finished it and we were looking for a distributor until Anchor Bay stepped up. It was really hard. I had people tell me it had too much plot and too much character development. They said I should have just made a horror film. You know, guts and tits. I could have sold that easily. Seriously, I had people tell me that. It’s very strange. Also, it’s sort of cross-genre so it throws people.
UC: But you know what? Fuck all of them! The fans that see it will understand exactly what it is. Art is something you can’t expect everyone to dig. Either people are going to get what you’re doing or not. And the people who have led that life are going to really appreciate you for what you did. Besides, there’s plenty of time. It’s not like this is the last movie you’re going to make.
RH: Well, that’s who I made it for anyway, so good!
UC: Being in the business for as long as you have, how long was the idea kicking around before you actually got to make it?
RH: Quite a while. In fact, I started writing it and finished the first draft in 1999. I was 25 I think when I finished the first draft, and then I sort of went the wrong way – well, maybe not the wrong way but it didn’t work for me. It was the Hollywood way of, “Hey, head of studio guy, take a look at this script I wrote,” which is what everybody does. I didn’t want to be that guy also; I’ve been handed scripts by waiters, guys at Ralph’s when I’m checking out with my groceries, guys where I bought my last car. It gets so annoying that I kind of hid it a little bit that I had written something. I only really trusted it with certain people that I’d worked with on stuff that were heads of studios and that type of thing. So I tried to get it out to them, and I just couldn’t get anyone to actually even read it or give it a chance because I think people automatically assumed it was probably some hack and slash horror movie despite what I would tell them. It was really hard, and it was really frustrating to get anyone to give me a chance or moreover any money to make it. So it kicked around for a couple of years, and then I went off and did Angel and Buffy and starting developing some really good film production resources and friends and quite a good talent roster of actors that I knew I could count on to do it that were friends. So, I started really thinking about it again at the end of 2002, and then in early January of 2003 I went to Sundance and saw a couple of really bad movies. So then I saw how it worked; it’s really political how they were all back-doored in. So I said, “You know what . . . Now’s the time. I’ve got to make this fucking movie.”
I came back from Sundance that year, 2003, and got with Lisa Waugh, whom I’d known for 12 years. She’s also from Alabama. I said, “Do you want to produce this movie with me? Let’s start.” And we started in January with pre-production. She’s like, “Where are we getting the money?” And I said, “We’ll figure it out.” As we went along, I basically just pooled every favor, everyone that owed me anything . . . “Oh, I can get some film? Great!”. . . I put all my credit cards on the line. Everything that I had. I had my shop make all the prosthetic makeup stuff. I literally just called everyone in town that I knew and started putting this together. In April we were in Alabama doing pre-production and then shooting. So it took about four years, but we did it. And now, two years later it’s coming out on video. So that’s a six-year process!
UC: How amazing is it to finally see the finished product?
RH: It’s pretty amazing!
UC: It had to have seemed like it was never going to end.
RH: Yeah. The production part of it was the most enjoyable and surprisingly, especially for a first-time director, the easiest because I had seen this movie in my head for so long that that part of it was great. It did have challenges, but for the most part it was surprisingly easy. The hard part was once I got back and started putting it together, it was like the whole thing all over again with the script – trying to get it to the right people and oh, you need a producer’s rep and oh, you need someone who does this and someone who does that and oh, you need to know someone at these festivals. It was just like, “Holy shit! I made a movie; it’s not an orange juice company!” All over again, it’s product, and you have to figure it out. It’s really tough. And also my first cut of the film, probably to my detriment, was a lot longer. It had another character in it and a lot of things like that.
UC: The uncle character, right?
RH: Yeah.
UC: He was in Revenge of the Nerds if I’m not mistaken?
RH: Yes. It was one of those things where if this was any other movie . . . I think now it works to my advantage, but in the beginning before I really knew much about it . . . Writing such a personal story and it’s your first movie and it’s all your investment. It’s so hard not to be biased. It was almost impossible for me. I literally had to sit on it a year and watch it at festivals and go, “Okay, this part’s not working for me. This part I think I can live without.” Most filmmakers, especially seasoned ones and with no kind of inherent sort of coveting of the material, could very easily say, “Oh, that doesn’t work. Take that out. Take that out.” I was so close to it and meshed into it that it was hard for me to see for about a year. So that probably worked to my disadvantage as well. Once I slimmed it down and realized what I needed to do, it all sort of clicked one day. I like to refer to it as it was before as the “Dirty South Epic Version” because it was almost two hours long. But then it all just became really clear, and everything happened real fast.
UC: You can almost make a movie about the making of the movie!
RH: There ya go!
UC: What a world! It’s like a whole different planet.
RH: Yeah it is! You think I’m exaggerating, and I’m so not! Actually, you probably know. There are parts of Florida like that.
UC: Oh yeah. That stuff wasn’t in the Florida brochure!
RH: You’re probably like, “They fucking lied to me!”
UC: To my surprise, one of the most interesting things about Lightning Bug was the casting of Ashley Laurence in the role she played. I never in a million years would have pegged her to be able to play white trash so well. She blew me away! Did you have her in mind? How did you know she could do it?
RH: Well, Ashley’s my best friend. I always say that, but I seriously mean it. I have three best friends – and I don’t say that for Hollywood purposes – and Ashley is one of them. Hal [Sparks] is one of my best friends, and I have another friend who is one of the producers. Ashley I’ve known forever. We did a movie together in 1998 called Warlock III and spent some time in Ireland. We just immediately bonded and became instant friends. You know how it is; you know Ashley. She’s very easy to talk to.
UC: She’s a dynamo! She’s on high alert at all times.
RH: I know! So we just immediately became best friends, and then she needed a place to stay, and I got her a place next to me in LA so literally her back door was my side door. We weren’t roommates because we had our own separate places, but we basically lived together for three years. So Ashley was there the year I started writing the movie. She was over my shoulder the entire time. In that respect, I’ll say she had an unfair advantage
UC: I agree.
RH: Even with Hellraiser. I mean she was 17 and she’s good in it . . . she’s great in it. It’s a classic movie and we all love it, but as far as showing some acting chops and dexterity, hands down Lightning Bug is her best part ever. And I always knew that she could do it. I always knew she could pull it off, and it was cool. She met my mom and got to sort of interview her, talk to her. Ashley was always, always, always going to be Jenny. I always thought of her as Jenny and wrote it for her and tailored it for her. I worked with her on the accent.
UC: Which was totally seamless. There wasn’t a single moment that any of the accents sounded false.
RH: I appreciate that because I really wanted it to be real. I really wanted it to be indigenous. That accent in particular is pretty specific. Nothing bothers me more than to watch Forrest Gump or some of these films like Fried Green Tomatoes or Sweet Home Alabama where people have these fucking terrible accents. It sounds like they’re in the Bayou. These huge stars and they go, “Well, ah don’t know, suh. Whut dew yew think about may [me]?” It irritates the shit out of me, and I sat every single actor down and said, “Okay, this is not one of those movies. I don’t want to hear any bad Forrest Gump Bayou accents in this movie. This is why it’s important that we’re going to film it here. I want you to go out and talk to people. I want you to develop those inflections and intonations in your voice, and I want this to be real.” So Ashley fucking rocked it! She hit it out of the park. She’s incredible in the movie.
UC: Totally. I was a fan of Hellraiser and just Ashley in general; she always manages to convey a lot of screen presence no matter what role she’s in.
RH: But admittedly, other than Hellraiser she’s never been given anything really juicy. I didn’t think so anyway, and she didn’t either. She’s always getting these scripts, and I would read scripts for her. I’d be like, “Ugh!” And I’d read lines with her. That was another thing; we developed a great relationship over the years when I was writing because I would read lines with her and coach her and sort of direct her on things she’d go in for. So we already had this artistic and friendship rapport that carried through.
UC: It showed. You can really see this was a labor of love for everyone. That kind of chemistry, that “want” to make this project as good as it can be really comes through in the film as well. You can see everybody had their hearts in it.
RH: Well, that’s all we had to buy, sell, and trade with – our hearts!
UC: And that’s also why they are reviewers and you’re a director.
RH: It’s so funny though, man. It’s new for me, and I get a little bent out of shape. The only times I get bent out of shape with these reviews and stuff is when people either lie, which has happened a lot, or don’t pay attention to the actual movie. It’s like I can show them what chapter explains what they’re talking about. It’s obvious they weren’t paying attention. Or when you can tell they’re just trying to say something snarky so that they can be against the grain and make a name for themselves. It’s really stupid. It’s a funny business because you really shouldn’t care what these hobbyist reviewers have to say. You know they’re sitting in their apartments eating Chee-tos in Ohio.
UC: Everyone’s a reviewer now!
RH: Yeah, but if you’re going to film festivals and you’re hoping people show up, and some idiot just wants to be fucking cool by having all these one-liners and funny quips in a negative review that is full of erroneous shit, it pisses you off! Because people see that. Regardless of if they’re hobbyist reviewers or not. There needs to be some responsibility.
UC: Absolutely, but horror fans are a real forgiving bunch. We sort of have a curse, and that is that we have to see everything regardless of bad reviews or not.
RH: We can know in our bones it’s bad . . .
UC: But we still have to see it!
RH: Exactly. And it’s one of those things where I’m sure in my future films it won’t bother me as much. But when someone sits there and literally goes, “Oh, my God. The movie is full of stereotypes and is so unrealistic,” I’m like, “Dude, I fucking lived it! I will drop your ass off somewhere blindfolded and come back and get your little punk city ass the next day, and you tell me then if it’s full of stereotypes.” This was my life. I’m not fucking with you here. This is true shit. So, that irritates me a little bit when people say that it’s not authentic. It’s about as authentic as it fucking can be.
UC: Well, our reviewer grew up in the South, and she said you nailed it. That’s a pretty high seal of approval coming from somebody who lived there as well.
RH: I think she’s actually the only reviewer that pointed that out. She’s probably the only one from the South. I bet she knew a lot of Earls growing up.
UC: Speaking for horror fans everywhere, I think you made a movie that any horror fan – from the South or not – can relate to, and that’s no easy task. Lord knows we’re a forgiving bunch, but we’re also pretty fucking fickle. So, what’s next for you?
RH: Well, I’m keeping the day job – as I like to call it – going. Almost Human is rocking. We’re doing a lot of movies. We stay busy and are doing all the dead bodies and makeup effects for The Inside, Fox’s new show. It’s kind of on the bubble now, but it’s coming back on August 24, and hopefully they’ll air all 13 episodes. I did some of the best work I’ve ever done for TV on that show – CSI sort of stuff, a lot of really gross stuff, which is cool. I think we pushed it a lot farther with the dead bodies than shows like CSI.
UC: TV seems to finally be loosening up a bit.
RH: Yeah. It’s like anything; you keep pushing it and pushing it. Fifty years ago you wouldn’t show a girl in a bra in a movie even, let alone TV, so I guess it’s just a natural progression. But they are pushing it, so it’s been a great thing for me to be able to flex those muscles and be totally different than Buffy and Angel in the sense that it’s not supernatural.
I’m also doing a slew of movies for the CFQ guys: All Souls Day, Room 6. There’s also The Dark Room and House of the Dead 2. I was over in Amsterdam with Rob Schneider for three months doing all the prosthetics and animatronics for the new Deuce Bigalow. That’s something different as well.
On the behind the camera side, Ashley and I just finished up our first draft for a horror film. We’re doing this film called Six Records, and it’s all about a guy’s path to redemption by playing his own records backwards. It’s pretty awesome. I’ve been working on it at the same time as Lightning Bug, and after Lightning Bug I started really trying to write it. We’re just now finishing it. Ashley came on, and we’re writing it together. I think we’ll probably wind up being in production on it . . . I’m hoping by winter. So I’m pretty excited about it.
UC: Very cool. Keep us posted!
Many thanks to Robert for bullshitting with us.
Categorized:Interviews News
