INTERVIEW: James Cullen Bressack

- By Bryan Stumpf

I first heard about James Cullen Bressack when he was promoting his found footage film Hate Crime at the 2012 Shriekfest Horror Film Festival in Los Angeles, during an interview with Dawna Lee Heising of MoreHorror.com:

At the time, I had just written The Making of Merciless, my first stab at writing a screenplay. The Making of Merciless was also found footage horror, but it was an attempt to elevate the sub-genre to a new self-aware plateau, like what Scream did for slasher horror.

Bressack’s Hate Crime was definitely a more raw take on the found footage horror sub-genre. Back in 2012, the controversial flick made a big splash in the LA indie horror scene, and definitely left its mark on the audience at that year’s Shriekfest.

After seeing Bressack’s interview, I decided to submit The Making of Merciless to Shriekfest 2013. While the screenplay didn’t make it into the top ten finalists for Best Feature Screenplay, Shriekfest’s founder/director Denise Gossett e-mailed me personally to let me know I was “very close” to being a top ten finalist. I immediately replied to Denise’s e-mail, to tell her how shocked I was at this news, since The Making of Merciless was my very first attempt at a screenplay. To this, Denise promptly responded, “Then keep writing.”

Two years later, at Shriekfest 2014, Heising would be interviewing ME, just to hear about my first attempt at a screenplay just missing the cut-off for finalists at Shriekfest 2013:

While The Making of Merciless has never been made into a movie (although due to popular demand, the screenplay was recently published on paperback - see below), Bressack, based in Los Angeles, continues to make movies under his Psykik Junky Pictures banner.

Living in LA, it wasn’t difficult to get ahold of Bressack for an interview:

At an early age, was there a movie and/or experience that convinced you to go into the film industry?

I feel like it was a culmination of many different instances. I’ve always loved film and connected with it — I grew up around it. Movie theaters were my sanctuary. A moment when I was younger that really connected me to wanting to make films was when my father fell gravely ill and was bedridden. Thankfully, he got better, but for awhile all we could do together was watch movies. I think film is such a beautiful thing because it’s something anyone can share and yet everyone has a different experience in that same moment.

Who are your current inspirations for writers/directors?

I truly love Asian Cinema. Park Chan-wook is a personal favorite. Also, David Ayer, David O. Russell, Quentin Tarantino, and Ridley Scott.

It appears you’ve written and directed more than a dozen features in the last few years. Could you talk about your process? How were you able to make so many movies in such a short period? How long does it take to write a screenplay? What’s the typical number of shooting days on one of your projects?

No sleep, lots of Red Bull! LOL. Hard work and determination. I have a one track mind. This is my life. It’s all I focus on. To answer the other questions, it really depends on the project.

While you’ve directed mostly screenplays you’ve written, Lisa Vachon is the sole writer to White Crack Bastard. What was it about Vachon’s script that made you interested in directing it?

At the time that I read it, I really connected with the piece. It felt like a story I wanted to tell. I was a huge fan of Spun and Requiem for a Dream, and really wanted to tell a story in the realm of addiction.

Could you talk a little about the production for White Crack Bastard? Were there any challenges?

I made this many years ago. It was actually the 3rd film I had ever directed. We had a very tight shooting schedule, no money, and no crew. Super guerilla. There were lots of obstacles we had to overcome to hit the finish line, but it was all worth it.

What are your plans with White Crack Bastard? Are you seeking distribution? Will it be available on-line?

White Crack Bastard came out on DVD and VOD in the USA in early 2016, courtesy of BrinkVision.

Anything else you’d like to share with The Slaughtered Bird’s primarily U.K.-based readership?

A year ago my film Hate Crime was banned in the UK. I love my UK fans and would love for them to be able to see my films. Hopefully, the BBFC allows them in the future.

LINKS:

twitter.com/JamesCullenB

facebook.com/JamesCullenB

The Making of Merciless screenplay in paperback will be available on amazon.com on July 5th, 2016.

twitter.com/MercilessScript

A review of James’ Pernicious can also be found HERE.