Wicked Splatter: Aloha Mr. Bookwalter!

Thanx for supporting Wicked Splatter and the Swedish Horror Society with this interview! I hope you have alot of things planned for this new year. First of all i want to ask you how and why you started to make horror movies?, What was your motivation?

J.R Bookwalter: My mother blames it on letting me watch DARK SHADOWS with her when I was a baby. (laughs) And that's probably true, because I watched it again in syndication when I was old enough to know what was going on, and I'm still watching it today now that they're on DVD! Through most of my childhood I was a sci-fi nut...I lived and breathed STAR WARS. So when I started making little Super-8mm short films at age 11, that's mostly what I made...animating my little STAR WARS action figures. Then in 1979 I saw the first issue of FANGORIA magazine with a little piece on DAWN OF THE DEAD...and that sort of changed the direction of what I wanted to do, seeing a full-color picture of a zombie head being shotgunned off its shoulders! (laughs) From that point on most of my short films involved mutilating the neighbor kids and not much else.

Wicked Splatter: How was it to work with Sam Raimi?, and how do you feel that he is "evolving" and making more normal movies such as "Spiderman", and the remake on Ju-On?

J.R Bookwalter: I feel very fortunate to have made my first feature with Sam...he was very kind and generous with both his money and time and of course I worshipped the original EVIL DEAD so it was a huge thrill for me. But I have to say, it was as much of a curse as it was a blessing...for many years there were wild rumors about Sam's involvement in the film. I've heard everything from he just gave me a few bucks to finish the film all the way to that he really directed the film! The truth is, when I first met Sam in 1985 I was just looking to maybe be a production assistant on EVIL DEAD 2, which was still quite far off. He watched some of my short films and we talked for awhile...he was the one who suggested that I go out and make a feature, and offered to put some of his money where his mouth was! So yes, he did wind up financing the bulk of the movie (the rest was a few bucks from local investors), he was involved from the beginning and saw it through what wound up being 4 long years of hard work. For that I'll always be in his gratitude, because the project really mushroomed over time and it wound up costing a lot more than it should have. Some people would have pulled the plug and cut their losses, but Sam stuck it out.

I have to confess I wasn't a big fan of EVIL DEAD 2, DARKMAN or ARMY OF DARKNESS...I know that's sacrilege to some fans. So I was quite happy when Sam made THE QUICK & THE DEAD and A SIMPLE PLAN...no, they weren't horror movies, but they were well-made and quite accomplished. And really, short of James Cameron, I couldn't think of a better person to helm the SPIDER-MAN films. I'm quite proud of what he's done and that I could be a little blip on the radar of his career...it's an honor. And I actually kinda dug THE GRUDGE...I know a lot of people didn't. I've never seen JU-ON so I didn't really have a frame of reference, but I think it's great that he's throwing his hat back into the horror film. Now that EVIL DEAD remake is another story... (laughs)

Wicked Splatter: You also worked with one of the biggest icons when it comes to actors in horror movies, the excellent Mr. Bruce Campbell. How was it to work with him? What do you personally think about the movies that Bruce has acted in?

J.R Bookwalter: In private, Bruce is exactly who he appears to be in public...a helluva nice guy with a great sense of humor. I don't claim to know him all that well...we met briefly when I first came to Detroit to meet with Sam in 1985 and over the long stretch it took to finish the film. He came in at the end to supervise the post sound as a favor to Sam, and really was a treat to work with. There would be times where I wouldn't agree with some decision he'd make about a particular sound effect or whatever and we'd squabble a bit, then he'd turn around and crack a joke...ya just can't stay mad at the guy. (laughs) We spent quite a bit of time together over the 6 weeks of doing that mix...Bruce also went to bat for me with Sam over the music score. I fancied myself as another John Carpenter so I wanted to do the music...I think Sam was squeamish about it (with good reason...John Carpenter I was not!), but Bruce convinced him to let me do it. I also learned how to drive a stick-shift car from Bruce...on the Hollywood Freeway! (laughs) That was a nightmare.

Bruce has grown so much as an actor over the years, it's really a shame he's never used enough. But I think he's got the same problem that a lot of cult stars do...the fans love him but he's a bit of an unknown to casting agents and Hollywood. That's a hard balancing act, to break out of cult stardom and move into being an A-list star. But I think Bruce is happy with who he is...he's finally landed himself in the director's chair after all these years as well, which is cool!

Wicked Splatter: Personally i have just seen the movie "The Dead Next Door" of all the movies you have made, which movie are you most proud of?

J.R Bookwalter: Hmmm, that's a tough one. I view all of my films as children, and even the ugly ones you still have to love. (laughs) THE DEAD NEXT DOOR would not be the one I'm the most proud of, sadly...it's hard for me to look back on it without cringing and wishing I had known better at the time! But it's the one that most people know of or remember, and for that I'm thankful. Honestly I'm more proud of my work on WITCHOUSE 2: BLOOD COVEN or WITCHOUSE 3: DEMON FIRE or even my older films like OZONE or POLYMOPRH...I think they're more accomplished but they don't seem to have the same appeal as DEAD.


Wicked Splatter: So you started your own company aswell?, Why did you descide to do that?

J.R Bookwalter: I'm a bit stubborn...I don't really like having to answer to anyone, be it another producer, a distributor or a financier. I like to go my own way, to do my own thing. By the end of the 4 years it took to make THE DEAD NEXT DOOR I was pretty frustrated...I felt bottled up stuck with one movie for so long so I wanted to do my own thing. Unfortunately that led to a big detour for 3 or 4 years where I wound up making shitty movies just to keep doing it. I learned something from all of them, but I sort of regret that a bit. So Tempe Entertainment became my outlet to make my own little flicks and distribute them. After all these years I don't really have much aspiration to move higher up the food chain or make bigger-budget movies...with more money comes more hassles and headaches, and who needs it? (laughs)

Wicked Splatter: Have your movies ever helped you in your sexlife?, have chicks ever recognized you and wanted to be with you just because you are "famous"?

J.R Bookwalter: (laughs) I don't think anyone has wanted to sleep with me just for making these movies, no. But certainly through doing this I have become romantically involved with a few actresses...it's a common thing because you work so closely with people and I'm sort of a social introvert anyway, so I don't really meet people outside of what I do. Really the only actress I've talked about publicly is Ariauna Albright (WITCHOUSE 2, POLYMORPH) because it's more widely known that we met at a FANGORIA convention, got involved and then broke up and starting making movies together. (laughs) For some reason that one went in reverse.


Wicked Splatter: Rumours say that you are going to make "The Dead Next Door #2" do you plan to do this?, If you are going to what will the story be?

J.R Bookwalter: I wish I could say it was going to happen and when, but the reality is it may never happen. Yes, there's a script called DEAD FUTURE and it's very good...I can say that because I didn't write it, I commissioned a talented friend of mine named Dennis Petersen and we worked on it together. There have been some offers over the years but usually either the money doesn't come through or the people with the money want to start tampering with the script...I've sort of stubbornly resigned myself to the fact that I won't make it unless I have the same creative control that I enjoyed on the original film. Otherwise, what's the point? No, THE DEAD NEXT DOOR is not a household name, but it does have a lot of fans around the world and I see no reason to make it just for the sake of doing it...it's got to be made under the right conditions or why bother?

Wicked Splatter: Is there anything you want to say to our Swedish readers?

J.R Bookwalter: Thanks for your support! If you've only seen THE DEAD NEXT DOOR, I encourage you to check out some of the other flicks like OZONE, POLYMORPH or the two WITCHOUSE sequels (I didn't direct the first one so don't bother there). And by all means visit our website at tempevideo.com and feel free to drop me an e-mail and say hello!