Exclusive Interview with THE FACELESS MAN Director James Di Martino
Josh Millican
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Available on digital this week, director James Di Martino’s The Faceless Man is an “Ozploitation” flick about a group of friends terrorized by monsters of all shapes and sizes while holidaying.
Synopsis:
Emily is a recovering cancer survivor of three years. Faced with her fear of getting sick again, her best friend Nina plans a weekend away. Six friends venture out to a country holiday house to party over a weekend. Cut off from the rest of the world they soon learn the inhabitants are unsettling red neck individuals who terrorize and humiliate travelers. At the same time a para-normal monster seen as the faceless man haunts the house pushing the friends to their limits.
Di Martino took some time out from his busy schedule to answer some questions on the acclaimed film from his native Australia. Check out our conversation below.
Dread Central: You’re a man of many talents, James. Do you consider yourself a writer or filmmaker first?
James Di Martino: Thanks for the nice comment. At heart, I’ll always be a filmmaker. But I would like to think I know how to write and pick a good story. As a director, I prefer to write and direct as no one understands the world or characters more than me.
DC: Was it always the goal, from a young age, to be a filmmaker?
JDM: When I found out you could be paid to make a film I always wanted to become one. That’s when I heard of the Director who made the film in his vision. When I got older I found a passion for writing but no one reads novels… Then I learned how to produce. At the indie level, all three skills are vital and important to realizing the dream.
DC: Did you have to work a “day job’”along the way?
JDM: I work at the university as a lecturer in marketing. Over my time with the film I had over 300 students. I taught 5 subjects in branding, marketing, research, Advertisement, and digital marketing. I was a casual worker so that helped a lot.
DC: What was your first film? How would you say you’ve improved since then as a filmmaker?
JDM: I won’t go back to the amateur days of working at school with handy cams or the fail attempt I made at a handy cam film haha. The first short film I did was in 2016 called The Lazy Barber. It was made on a budget of 70 (After equipment costs not included). I made many mistakes such as casting non-actors and working with friends. But it’s through those mistakes that you can become better and learn to improve.
DC: Where did the inspiration for The Faceless Man come from?
JDM: After my 6th short film Five O’Clock I decided it was time to make a feature film. I had two ideas. One was a horror film with a Monster and the other was a gangster film about a deadly Russian chasing after two girls who stole a large suitcase of cocaine. I realized I had to make one of these films and not write both. Thus I decided to test and see if it was possible to blend these ideas into one. That was when The Faceless Man idea came about. I was also heavily inspired by Get Out and how that was an elevated horror film. Then I started mapping the film out and wanting the film to be a unique experience. One that goes through different genres and at its core. A deconstruction of the slasher films and creature features. I wanted the experience to weave in black comedy to create a very offbeat adventure. At the same time have a looming presence of evil.
DC: Did you write the movie with a budget in mind? Or is that something you “worried about later…”?
JDM: I try and not think too much about the budget. We never had much money so I had to think about that later. Rhys, one of the producers, did point out many times when he read drafts of the script, “James, How will you do that?” I always said, “It’s possible”.
DC: Was it reasonably easy to entice stars like Roger Ward and Andy McPhee into the fold, based on the screenplay alone?
JDM: Well, I wrote the part for Andy Mcphee so I was hoping when we met that he would take up the part. I was very lucky he liked my idea and also thought the writing was good. Roger Ward was a fan of the script and loved the idea of the craziness of King Dougie. I do feel that Barry, Eddie, and Dougie all had some of my best writing so those actors all saw that and came on with no question.
DC: McPhee is especially good here. Tell us what he brings to the role.
JDM: I do think Mcphee did a fantastic job. Someone also said at a film festival that it was his best performance in years. I wrote the character for Andy after I saw him in Wolf Creek. His character in that film says “Gangbang” in one of the best deliveries I have ever seen. So I took that and multiplied it by 100 in Faceless Man, haha.
Andy is a very good actor. He’s very professional and worked on a lot of popular Australian films such as Wolf Creek and Animal kingdom. He brought a lot to the character and he had a particularly good understanding of who he was playing. I couldn’t see anyone other than Andy Playing Eddie so I was very happy he came on. I don’t know who I could have gotten if he said no.
DC: Speaking of, how long did you work on the screenplay? Did the script change much over the course of those drafts?
JDM: The screenplay was a complete C*** not lying. It went through 17 drafts and then continued to change over the course of making the film. This created problems with a lot of people. Looking back I can try and empathize that they had no idea what was going on. Only I did. On a positive note, the film you are watching is the best incarnation of the film and I am very happy with the result.
DC: Lose anything along the way?
JDM: Yes there was a lot of stuff that was cut back or changed. The origin of The Faceless Man was dropped after I watched Hereditary and thought the cult explanation was so badly executed I didn’t want to try and explain the origins in my film in a way like that. I decided to go for a much more metaphorical approach which changed things for the better. The Axe Man plotline was also very convoluted and dropped/toned down for the better. As I said the version you watch is the best version of the film.
DC: How much of the film was in the script and how much of it simply came together on the set?
JDM: A few scenes such as the dancing mask scene just came about as I wanted a very trippy mask scene. Inneke and Jody did a very good job with some of the art props and I wanted the golden masks in more. Barry’s dance sequence was a few lines of action in the script but I worked a lot on the staging and blocking that it became a send-off to Reservoir dogs as we made it. Ironically the ending on the beach was not in the script! It was originally a breakdown in a car which I felt was too dull for how crazy the film was. I do feel if my gut tells me to change something then I should! It’s hard to win over crew and cast on changes but I had to be firm and make the film I wanted to make
DC: There’s a DVD in the works I believe. What kind of extras can we expect on it?
JDM: Myself and Monster Pictures film historian Jarret Gahan have a commentary completed. I have a heap of behind the scenes interviews I need to edit together which should shed some light on the making of this film. I am pretty sure there is a feature in interviews alone. We also recorded panels at Monster Fest and special screenings with Q&As that can be included.
DC: For those reading who want to get out there and make a horror movie, what advice would you give them?
JDM: Watch a lot of horror, never give up, and stand by the film you set out to make. Many people will critique you and say you can’t do this. Don’t let that keep you from the story you want to make.
Are you excited to check out The Faceless Man? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! You can also carry on the convo with me personally on Twitter @josh_millican.
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