A: Okay, well I was in Bridgeton, New Jersey. I’ve lived in South Jersey a majority of my life, I went to private schools my entire school life. I’m no snob by any stretch of the imagine, and contrary to what many people believe, myself, and most Jersey people I’ve ever known don’t act like or resemble anyone on the “Jersey shore” TV show. Lol. I was always a huge movie fan since as long as I can remember. Horror is my favorite genre if I had to choose, I’m a big Hitchcock fan, and John Carpenter can do no wrong in my eyes. I also am a huge action and western film fan, especially those created in the 80’s and 90’s like First Blood, The Terminator, Big Trouble in Little China, the Young Guns films, Tombstone, and countless others.

          A: I had a decent job, but one that wasn’t challenging me, or any of the creativity that I’ve since unlocked in my time in the entertainment business, so I looked around for about a year for something more interesting to do. I took different jobs like security work, club bouncing, being a DJ, and finally I came across an acting school in Atlantic City, Weist Barron-Ryan. I took some method acting classes from a teacher there named JT Wagner, and got hooked. I did a number of independent short and feature films the next couple years after that, while also getting my feet wet on Hollywood sets as an extra and a stand-in. From there, I started opening other creative avenues within my brain, as I started writing screenplays and learning the production side of filmmaking. This led to me actually filming some projects, none that I would label great, but ones that I had a great time shooting and learned a lot while doing, which very much has helped my maturation process as a filmmaker.

          A: First off, The Sickness is NOT A ZOMBIE FILM!!! The Sickness has similar characteristics of a film like 28 Days Later, and has traits of a picture like George A. Romero’s The Crazies, but I wrote The Sickness to be something a bit different. It’s a story that deals with a specific core of people, and how each of their lives are rocked within the course of a day and a half by the insanity within many individuals that’s put this group of virtual strangers directly in the center of a path of utter rage that circled all around them.

          I call The Sickness a dramatic action horror thriller when anyone asks because that’s what it truly is to me. I’m not trying to make the film sound cooler, or more then it is, I scripted the film with all of these characteristics, and even some not mentioned, such as comedy, which exists due to a couple characters in the film, specifically Toby, which is played by Damien Colletti. In a nutshell, I wanted to create a project that gives a little and sometimes a lot of just about everything to an audience viewing it, and I really believe because of the very strong performances each actor has given thus far during filming, that this goal I’m setting out for is coming to fruition. People watching The Sickness will be scared, they will cheer, laugh, cry, and I feel they’ll walk away from watching this film thinking they’ve seen a film that was just a bit different then all the rest, I’m not saying better, just different then the norm, and that’s not an easy thing to accomplish these days in any genre of cinema.

          A: Wow, many years back, in maybe 03’, with my late business partner and great friend Brian L. Jones. We went to a local haunted hayride spot called Scarecrow Hollow, and on this awesome farmland property sat the most amazing looking old run down barn that at that time was being used as part of the haunted attraction. So, after we went thru the house of horrors that was created within the barn, we somehow ended up checking out the upstairs loft area, and when Brian and I saw it, we immediately said we have to write a story that surrounds this property, and specifically the barn and the killer looking corn fields right near it.

          From there, we wrote a short film tale called The Fields, and went to the owners of the Scarecrow Hollow property and asked for permission to shoot it there, and were granted it. Unfortunately, Brian was ill at the time a lot dealing with kidney issues, and not long after, passed away from kidney failure, so shooting the project was scraped until a few years later when it was a bit easier to look at stories Brian and I collaborated on, my new business partner, Amel J. Figueroa, and I decided after looking over this short script that it would be an awesome project to go ahead and finally shoot. So I went back to Scarecrow Hollow, the old red barn was still there, as were the owners who graciously allowed us again to film there, which we did November of 09’, and out of it ended up with an awesome 30 minute short not called The Fields, (due to the fact that two other films had the name at the time) so we decided to call the version of this short film The Sickness.

          A: I know it every time the absolutely stellar talent I cast sets foot on set and delivers some of the best work I’ve ever witnessed.

          My business partner Amel, who’s a great director in the making as well, sells me on how great The Sickness can be every time he frames a brilliant shot while acting as the director of photography for the film. He has such an amazing eye, and we love a lot of the same films in the horror and action genre, so more times then not, he knows exactly what I have envisioned for a scene in my head before I even explain it, and that’s invaluable on an indie set where time is of the essence and there’s a lot to accomplish without a ton of manpower. Amel, just as much as me, will be the reason The Sickness becomes a film that many people are proud to be involved with.

          We also found a young filmmaker out of Pennsylvania named Dylan Noonan who has a very bright future. He’s been backing Amel up in the camera department, and has been doing a great job. He too has a good eye for shooting, which will make him a great moviemaker in the future.

          As for cast, I can’t express how extremely talented my female lead Laura Lynn Cottrel is, not only does she have amazing screen presence, but is genuinely one of the most nicest and most professional individuals I’ve ever met. The same goes for my young and older male leads, Matt Kent and Gary Gustin, these two gentlemen I consider astounding acting talent, but even more so, they are top notch human beings with such strong drive and determination to be great when they perform that it’s hard not to be in awe of them.

          Then there’s acting newcomer Janet Searfoss, who was a wild card to me before the short film version of this project was created, simply because I cast her for the first time ever off of the word of another actress in the film, Fallon Maressa, that saw potential in her. And Fallon was right, Janet showed up and gave a hundred times more then I was expecting to be honest. She has such a natural vibe about her that makes her portrayal of a very scared high school girl so believable, not to mention she possesses a scream that can break the strongest of glass, which is awesome in films of this type. If she stays focused on developing her natural talent, the sky is the limit for her in the biz.

          Next is Fallon, who brings such vulnerability to the table, to go with a bit of an edge, which are characteristics she personally possesses due to all she’s been through in her life, and traits that make her role in this film pop in a major way on camera. When I call “Action”, I can see that instant transformation in Fallon to someone in a bad place that’s hoping for a shot at rectifying a situation that may or may not be her fault. The moxey she shows in character clashes in a very comedic way with Damien Colletti’s character in this film, which created some really funny moments in the film.

Q: I saw that you cast Damien Colletti in your film. How was it working with him and what did he add to the film?

          A: Damien is awesome! He’s a passionate guy that definitely has big goals he plans to accomplish, and has a “don’t take no for an answer”type attitude that’s needed to make them happen. He was the last of the principal talent members I cast, and I did off the fact that he showed me when he read for me that he got who his character is from just the sides I sent him to practice. I like when an actor brings something more to the table that isn’t on the script pages, and Damien from day one delivered that. I think of some parts of his portrayal of “Toby” in the film as a version of the old WWE wrestling persona Dwayne Johnson created, The Rock. I say this because Damien took his strong gift of improv, and mixed it with the right blend of arrogance, shadiness, and humor, and that’s gonna make “Toby” one of the most memorable characters in the film to many.

          A: That information isn’t really as top secret as I wanted to keep it at one point, I’m at the place right where I just wanna make a couple deals happen with whoever on my wish list of recognizable actors so we can get the scenes with them shot. A couple names I’m in talks with about specific roles in the film include Eddie Furlong, who is an awesome dude that I worked on an upcoming post-apocalyptic thriller titled Remnants with earlier in this year, and David Deluise of “Wizards of Waverly Place” fame. Others on my radar include Corbin Bernsen (The Dentist), James Duval (Donnie Darko), Jason Mewes (Clerks), Brooke McCarter (The Lost Boys), and Rider Strong (Cabin Fever). There’s that scoop for this article, so hopefully I can sign a couple of these names, which will make me an even more elated director.

          A: Everyone of them we’ve shot with has been great! I just directed some scenes with an extremely talented up and coming actress named Brienne DeBeau (Polanski), who I met on my first ever production job in the early 2000’s called The White Room. Brie and I had lost touch for some time, then reconnected a couple years ago, and finally got to work together again on The Sickness, which was real cool. Another actress I worked with prior to The Sickness is Suzi Lorraine (Bikini Girls on Ice). Suzi was the female lead in my first unreleased film titled Acrimony, and she did a great job in it, and I’m looking forward to working with her again in a very chaotic scene that will be apart of the opening of The Sickness. Also a long time friend of mine that's one of the most talented actresses I've ever seen, Gina Martino (Look Hard), graced me with her presence on set in some amazingly intense scenes she shot for us with actor Matt Kent. Gina has star potential, and I believe very soon she'll make the world recognize just how very talented she is, and then they'll be no telling how much her career will take off.

          A: Contrary to a lot of people thoughts, SaintSinner Entertainment, the indie company myself and Amel (Figueroa) helm, isn’t a strictly horror themed company. We have a lot of different genres of cinema scripted from different styles of drama, to action and comedy, to go along with the horror stories. And the next project on our slate proves that.

          "Next up is an 80's & 90's style martial arts action film Amel (my business partner) wrote and will direct titled Double Fury, which is gonna be a blast!" Also we’ve been in the works all year for a supernatural horror film I wrote and will direct that will shoot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana titled The 13th Gate, which is gonna be flipping insane! This is definitely a film that has the potential to garner major cult status within the horror community. I’ve been working with a producer from Florida named Peter Evans (Remnants) to make this project come to life.

          We also are in search of a seasoned television showrunner to work with in regards to a solid television series package I’ve been developing for years for an action crime drama show titled “Jersey’s Finest”. We’d like to either shoot a captivating promo for the networks we’d like the series to be considered for, FX, USA, and Spike TV, or find that right individual who will see the tremendous upside of the full season of the series I’ve already created, and finance us to shoot the pilot. So, we’ll see what happens soon with this, but this is a passion project of mine that I plan to finally make in 2011.

          Overall, a year from now, I plan to have a full slate of SaintSinner projects set to go one right after another, and eventually I’d like to collaborate with other screenwriters and filmmakers that have awesome projects that we help get created. There’s so much great work, screenplay wise, out there that is overlooked by Hollywood, so I’d like SaintSinner to find some of it, and see to it that it gets made.

          A: Wow, there’s many names on this list! Talent I’d like to work with include Johnny Depp (like every filmmaker on the planet), Adrien Brody, Rosario Dawson, Andy Garcia, Bruce Willis, Don Cheadle, Eliza Dushku, Jon Bon Jovi, Melonie Diaz, Judy Marte, Natalie Portman, Angela Bettis, John Leguizamo, Mos Def, Milla Jovovich, Thandie Newton, William Forsythe, Michael Chiklis, Roselyn Sanchez, Mark Dacascos, Gary Daniels, Anna Torv, Josh Holloway, Mark Webber, Jonathan Jackson, Stacey Dash, Tamara Braun, Jensen Ackles, Charlie Hunnam, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Shawnee Smith, Vincent Cassel, David Morse, Kevin Bacon, Chiwetel Ejifor, and Dakota Fanning.

          A: Advice, the first thing I’ll say is try to learn from your mistakes and rectify them for the next project. Be cognizant of the entire process so you can fully see what’s not going wrong to fix, and what’s going right to keep doing.

          Also, don’t be afraid to fail if you’re an actor or filmmaker because in this business rejection is a common word, so if you can’t take the heat, the kitchen with the smoldering hot stove on called show business isn’t the room you should be in. It’s not a fair business, and talent doesn’t always win out, but if you have it in you to fight for your art no matter the struggle, then wins in this field can be some of the most rewarding in life to achieve.

          Another key thing is recognizing the point when filmmaking is a hobby for you and when it becomes something serious that warrants a lot more time, effort, and dedication. If you just wanna play around with a DV camera and make homemade Youtube videos, that’s fine, and even if you just wanna experiment and make some short films that may get excepted into some festivals, that’s awesome, but when you begin to make this a business that you hope one day will help bring home the bacon, you gotta take it that much more serious, and adhere to the different things needed to be successful at it.

          This means no longer casting your friends or family, but instead putting out casting notices, checking out local theatre companies, and calling up casting directors that see some great talent everyday that’s up and coming. This will allow a filmmaker to find good talent to cast , talent that is passionate about their craft, and are looking to turn in solid work in order to help propel their career to the next level. If you cast the right talent, that can help propel you as well as the filmmaker.

          Also, avoid large crews if you can, there’s only a need to have the personnel on set that is necessary for each given job that needs taken care of. Many times an indie filmmaker does double and triple duty on set, which just needs to happen sometimes if the budget doesn’t call for a 20 or 30 person crew. I say, if you can get a project accomplished with whoever you have around you that’s gonna be there to back you from beginning to end, whether 10 people or less, then rather then waste time waiting to secure the right money and not shoot anything, just go out, bust your butt, and do it! You’d be surprised sometimes what can be accomplished from the hard work of only a few.

          A: I’d like to win an Independent Spirit Award for a film project or screenplay. I really dig that award show, and think it would be cool to be nominated and win something at it. I’d also like to win some film festivals, and it doesn’t matter to me how high profile they are, just be recognized in different categories at some of them over my career.

          I’m not interested as much in making blockbusters. I just wanna make great films that interest people who enjoy cinema. And even if a certain demographic doesn’t like horror, then maybe that same bracket will love a drama or comedy SaintSinner creates. I mean, it would be great to have a commercially successful film, but it would be cool to me if it was more of a “little engine that could” type news story like Juno and a couple others over the years . One of my favorite films of all time, John Carpenter’s Halloween, was made for a small budget, I mean the catering bill for Rob Zombie’s remake was about how much Carpenter had to make the classic film he did, and his film went on to be one of the highest grossing indie films ever. So, having studied filmmaking for years now, I know I don’t need 30 or 50 or 100 million dollars to make a great film with great talent. Why be on the hook for that kind of money that a studio wants back in theater ticket sales and every type of other sale, when you can get all you need for a modest budget, which will allow you to possibly turn a profit and make your investors happy. This in turn hopefully will push them to continue to support your creativity financially. It’s tough enough getting small investors their money they invest back, so I definitely don’t need angry Hollywood execs looking at me like they do Uwe Boll, and trying to stop me from making any more quality projects.

          A: Definitely for me Hitchcock and Carpenter’s films are a major crash courses on how to build suspense and a sense of danger in cinema. The camera work, the music scores, the powerful performances from Anthony Perkins to Tippi Hedren to James Stewart to Jaime Lee Curtis to Kurt Russell, and many more all made for unforgettable masterpieces in film history.

          Also the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Nightmare on Elm Street films still to this day are extremely effective when I watch them, which is why Tobe Hooper and Wes Craven are masters in the horror genre.

          Some horror films I think are “can’t miss” that many still may have not seen are films like Peter Jackson’s Dead Alive, the werewolf film Silver Bullet, the original April Fool’s Day, and the original Black Christmas. Newer classics in my view are films like Tim Sullivan’s 2001 Maniacs, Larry Fessendum’s Wendigo, Tobe Hooper’s Toolbox Murders remake, Lucky McKee’s May, and the foreign films The Children, Sheitan, and Haute Tension.

          A: SaintSinner has a psychological horror thriller Amel (my business partner) wrote and directed called The Quiet Ones, on the film festival circuit. The film stars horror icons Courtney Gains (Stephen King’s Children of the Corn) and Reggie Bannister (Phantasm), and is in talks with different companies regarding distribution. You can check out TQO info at the film’s official website, www.thequietones-movie.com.

          And of course, get down with The Sickness at the official Facebook page for the film, www.facebook.com/TheSicknessMovie.

          Also, please stay tuned for everything we have going on at SaintSinner Entertainment at www.saintsinnerent.com.

          I’d just like to say thank your readers for taking the time to read this interview, and that I hope to entertain many of you as diehard horror fans through some of the work in this genre that SaintSinner Entertainment creates.

          Thanks a million, ObscureHorror! I appreciate the support, Rich! Till next time! Believe in the power of yourself, and others!