EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Scott Phillips Director The Stink of Flesh

Posted by:

Recently I was scheduled to do an interview with Scott Phillips at the Cinema Wasteland Convention in the Cleveland area. Unfortunately my car broke down on the second day of the convention and I missed my interview with him. Luckily I got in touch with him and was still able to conduct the interview with him.

Scott Phillips is the director behind the indie zombie film "The Stink of Flesh". The film is is a no-holds-barred splatterfest featuring non-stop action, buckets of gore and awesome digital effects by Emmy award winning artist Steve Fong. Not to mention some angry zombies. Now on with the interview.

How did you get started in film making?

I went nuts for movies when I was a little kid -- both my brothers are older than I am, and they used to take me to the drive-in all the time. Then when I was ten, I saw NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and THE THING (the original versions of both, natch!) within a few months of each other and that was all it took. Around that time, my dad bought a Super-8mm camera and I started making crappy little movies. Since I couldn't get anybody to be in them, I used to make stop-motion movies starring my STAR TREK action figures. When I was 19, I got my first job on a "real" movie -- as an extra on RED DAWN.

What films influence you most?

The answer to that could go on for a long time... I like all genres, not just horror, but some specific influences are NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, DAWN OF THE DEAD (obviously), THE CRAZIES, pretty much all of John Carpenter's movies up through THEY LIVE, Cronenberg's earlier stuff, Sergio Leone's movies (and lots of other Spaghetti Westerns), the EVIL DEAD movies, Peter Jackson's stuff, Russ Meyer movies (particularly FASTER PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL! and MUDHONEY), along with pretty much everything I've ever seen and liked. I'm sure I'm leaving some obvious influences out... oddly enough, another big influence is Paul Thomas Anderson (BOOGIE NIGHTS, MAGNOLIA).

I heard you had been renting a room from Linnea Quigley, what was that like?

I've lived in LA on two separate occasions -- the first time was in 1995 and the second was from 1998 to 2000. That first time, a girl I knew in Albuquerque had gotten to be pals with Linnea and told me that she was looking for someone to rent a room in her house, so I figured what better way to hit the ground runnin' in Hollywood? In fact, it's largely due to living in Linnea's house that I wound up selling the script for DRIVE, because Linnea introduced me to her friend Craig Hamann, who read the script and gave it to his manager Cathryn Jaymes, who also manages Mark Dacascos. So it was totally a right-place-at-the-right-time situation. Linnea is the sweetest person you could ever hope to meet, by the way.

What was your first film to get off the ground?

DRIVE was the first, although my first paid screenwriting job came from Jeff Burr (director of LEATHERFACE and STRAIGHT INTO DARKNESS). He hired me to rewrite a script called THE ARMAGEDDON CLUB -- a freakin' great script, by the way, and it's a damn shame the movie's never been made. It's kind of like LORD OF THE FLIES meets FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH. Somebody needs to make it, it'd make a ton of money.

Hmm sounds alot like Battle Royale. With Stink of Flesh why did you choose the zombie genre?

What can I say? A lifetime of watching George Romero movies and Italian zombie flicks -- which, of course, are all a result of
Romero's movies anyway. A friend of mine likes to say that there is no zombie genre, there's a George Romero genre.

True, Romero has made the zombie genre what it is today. Where did you come up with the concept for the film?

It actually grew out of another zombie movie idea I've had swirling around my brain for the last 12 years or so. In fact, I thought about making that movie, but it would've been too tough to pull off on our budget and schedule, so I took one incident from it -- the swinger couple -- and expanded that.

How long did it take to shoot?

We shot it in 12 days, with pickups the following morning for the opening credits shots. Mind you, those were usually 16-18 hour days...

When and where was the film shot?

We shot over the first two weeks of August, 2003, in Albuquerque, Placitas, Tijeras, and Carnuel New Mexico. And anybody who knows New Mexico will tell you that you're going to die of heat exhaustion shooting a movie here in August.

What were you aiming for on a visual standpoint?

I could be pretentious and rattle off some kind of "visual agenda" we had, but the truth is, we just wanted the movie to look GOOD, better than the average no-budget indie flick. Richard Griffin, my Director of Photography, has an amazing ability to make a scene look great using one light and a piece of shredded cardboard. We also share a brain, so when I'd say "I want the OUTLAW JOSEY WALES shot," he knew exactly what I meant. We're already doing that when we discuss the
next movie I wanna make, it's kind of eerie for people watching us. Specifically, though, I think the only movies we discussed trying to imitate somewhat in terms of look were THE CRAZIES and SHOCK WAVES. I don't know if either of those are apparent in the finished movie, though. Once you're on the set and you have no money and the clock is ticking, you do your best to get what you need and make it look cool at the same time.

The zombie rape scene was quite shocking. What were you thinking when creating that scene and what are the underlying reasons for including it?

I knew I wanted a naked zombie chick chained in the shed, and eventually I realized that if I was really gonna deliver the
groceries, somebody needed to have sex with her. The "intellectual answer" is that the scene is kind of the physical manifestation of Nathan's seething torment, I suppose, but the genesis of it was just me wanting to deliver the goods.

Which character in the film was your favorite and why?

Picking a favorite character would be like picking my favorite movie -- I like 'em all, and I think my cast did a great job bringing them to life. I suppose Matool is probably my favorite, if pressed. But Sassy is definitely right up there, because I love the way Kristin Hansen played her.

What has the feedback for the film been like?

It's been incredible. I never expected such a massively positive response to the movie, and it's really gratifying because I've dealt with so many producers in Hollywood who always told me my stuff is "too quirky" and "too over-the-top" and that people would never "get it." We've done nine screenings of the movie so far, and I can tell you, people GET IT. It's supercool to stand at the back of the theater or screening room and listen to people laugh in all the right places, howl with disgust in all the right places, and just have a good time with the flick.

Do you have any plans for a sequel?

Possibly. People are bugging us for one. But if we do it, it's gonna be like THE ROAD WARRIOR was to MAD MAX.

Do you have any upcoming projects?

Well, I'm currently writing a FRIDAY THE 13TH novel for Black Flame, a British publisher that has a deal with New Line Cinema to do continuing adventures of New Line characters -- Freddy, Jason, Blade, etc. My book is called "FRIDAY THE 13TH: CHURCH OF THE DIVINE PSYCHOPATH," but I think that's gonna change before publication. My
deadline for that is December 6th, and once that's turned in I plan to start writing the script for my next movie. I don't wanna talk about it right now, other than to say it's gonna be another twisted horror movie.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Distribution rights to THE STINK OF FLESH are still available! And if folks are interested in all this stuff, they can get regular updates on STINK, the F13 book and more at my website, http://www.exhilarateddespair.com.

I'd like to thank Scott Phillips for the interview and wish him luck with all his future projects. Definetly check out his site and see what he has got up next.