Christopher Coffel: Once SERUM is complete, what do you hope audiences take away after viewing it?
Rex Sikes: I hope they go on a thrilling suspenseful horrific ride. I hope they take away from Serum the notion that family is important, more important than anything else and that one must be wise in making decisions because the outcomes may or may not be what we hope or intend. I hope they are entertained and enjoy it as a suspense story. I do want them to feel for our main characters and be able to identify with what he goes though because many of us face these kind of issues everyday. It is fantasy in the sense that we take it somewhere wild... somewhere horrific. Since it is a pilot, if it goes to series, there are so many twists and turns in its series bible that we have come up with through the seasons. Besides Riley and his daughter, his ex-wife and other plot elements, I can't give away, there are other character stories we can cover and time frames. Serum has long legs for a project.Now, if it weren't to be a series - with a little extra effort shooting, and editing we can finish it as a feature. Then, yes, there would be a significant difference in how it plays out to the end. I have considered all this, discussed it with key crew and talent and we are good, we are in a very good place. To some of your readers it may sound like we are the project that doesn't know what we are, but frankly, we are a pilot, that can be cut down successfully to a short, or expanded successfully to feature. The success of any project, most of it, is in the planning, and we are meticulously planning. Right now everything looks marvelous and I am quite pleased. We are still shooting and attempting to schedule, with some difficulty, some key scenes before we wrap it for the time being and rough out the pilot. From there we will decide what is next. We truly did work this project from the inside out instead of normal pathways but it is working and exciting. Sam and I can up with a very good idea, a wonderful script and a beautiful movie. Sam writes very well and is sensitive to character and story I am thrilled we embarked on this journey together. I am glad that is has changed and developed and grown. These other works of Sam are very good, and as I said, I am still very interested in directing another of his scripts because it is a fascinating and horrific idea and very well crafted.
I have to say thanks to our EPK photographer/videographer Nate Whitney who has been so helpful and taking some really great behind the scenes photos and video. This is the second project I have worked on that Nate worked and I would work with him again and again. He rocks. People can check out the behind the scenes on our Facebook friends page https://www.facebook.com/SerumTheMovie?fref=ts. We also have beautiful stills lifted from our Serum footage. So be sure to take a look and enjoy.
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| The genius, Mark Maj! |
CC: You've got quite the background in various aspects of filmmaking - acting, producing, art department - but this is going to be your first foray into directing. Who are some of your favorite filmmakers that have inspired you?
RS: Some of my favorite filmmakers are Kazan, Wells, Spielberg, Scorsese, and a vast and odd assortment of others. I am influenced by filmmakers, actors, scientists, poets, philosophers, gurus, speakers and people in everyday walks of life. As an actor or director or producer, for me, it is about life, living and having a wonderful experience while on the planet. I get juice from film and filmmaking but it is not all there is - even if at times it seems like it. I get inspiration from people I meet, or see on park benches and from everywhere. People are truly one of our greatest resources on the planet and one of the biggest problems, living is beautiful and problematic, the world is gorgeous and ugly. All the shades that there are, are the ones that can influence us if we are open. If we can observe, interact, and empathize.
If we can imagine "what if?", "how could it be otherwise?", "how could it be better or worse?" we can find nuance to enrich our lives and our professions and hobbies. Life, plants and animals, the ocean, desert, the mountains, forest and big cities are my inspiration. Heartbreak and disappointment, happiness and joy are my inspiration, the news, a letter or email - anything and everything is available to be utilized creatively in some fashion. One only needs to become aware of it and become a student of successful living, to capture the moments, the essence, an idea.
Live fully and all else comes along, live fully whether poor or rich, healthy or not, live to your utmost capacity and enjoy living and you will discover many things otherwise missed by the masses who are too caught up in paycheck to paycheck and the tasks of everyday life. I say to find away to go beyond it even while in it. This is what inspires and motivates me - and makes me think.
As for "just" film - I want a story that I can feel, be involved in, moves me from beginning to the end and takes me on a ride I can't get elsewhere. I want characters I want to love, make love with, envy or be, feel for, or hate. I want real people. I want my FX like my condiments - sparingly, just the right amount and fresh. Well-done, stimulating but not overdone. I love what Scorsese does with background players - his movies tend to be alive with people and his actors act within the background or in front of it but it is so realistic, often so vast it is mind boggling what he accomplishes. Look at Hugo or Gangs of New York and there is great story in the background players. People! Again it is people! So there is much to gain inspiration from and much that influences me. I am frequently in awe of the talents of others - directors, actors and all artists - yes, but mostly in awe of plain ole people.
CC: You speak a lot on filmmaking and give advice to other filmmakers. If you could give one bit of advice for young, aspiring filmmakers, what would it be?
RS: I think I have said a mouthful of advice for filmmakers in what I just said. Be involved, get engaged, live life and learn to live life successfully. Don't be too narrow in your focus, too possessed by things that aren't important. Filmmaking, while important, is not that important. - Then again, it is incredibly important, but you need to put it in the proper perspective. Proper perspective is necessary to have a great life and that should come first. Being a filmmaker is not what gives you a great life - having a great life makes you a better filmmaker.
When it comes to making movies and TV plan, plan, plan! You can't preproduce enough. Spend a lot of time in preproduction planning and then work your plan. You need to think about the up side (the pros) and down side (the cons). How do you want and intend your shoot to go? Okay, what if it doesn't go that way? What if it all goes wrong? What can go wrong that you never considered to go wrong? Then plan for how to correct it. Have contingencies built into your plan and your schedule so that you never get stuck. Or for when you do get stuck or struck by something you hadn't counted on occurring during production or post - you can remedy it and move forward. One of my favorite quotes is, and I don't know who said it, is "To enjoy enduring success one must travel a little bit in advance of the world."
I happen to like thinking on my feet and problem solving. I thrive on it. Still it is most important to have a great plan and then work that plan, while having contingency or emergency backups in case something comes up you hadn't counted on. This is so very wise.
Consider the sports team and coach - they drill offensively - how to move the "ball" to the goal, basket, net whatever. They also drill defensively to prevent the other side from getting to goal. They practice both over and over and over again. What if this happens, what if we do this, what if the other team does this, then what? These are the things you need to consider. What if everything goes wrong for you on first day of shooting - what would you do? Knowing in advance what you might do to solve problems goes a long way when on the set. So plan the pros and the cons, the ups and the downs, the way straight forward and for the contingencies.
If you don't travel in advance you are in unknown territory. Part of being successful is by making the unknown familiar before you go there. That is why people rely on road maps and reports and travelogs for example - to go there, at least in their imagination before they actually do. This is why we rehearse plays so the actor hits their marks, says their lines and does what they are supposed to do, when they are supposed to do it between the curtains opening and closing. Rehearsal - and I don't necessarily mean rehearsing your actors but yes there is much I could say on that too, but I mean rehearsing in your mind and on paper - plotting and planning your shoot during prepo and having enough time to consider everything you can. It will almost always be a sin of omission that snags the production, something you didn't expect or plan for, something you left out, hadn't noticed, were unaware of that catches you, surprises you and holds things up. SO prepare, prepare, prepare for you shoot. That includes your budget - budget for prepro, for your shoot, for post production, for advertising and marketing, for festival runs and travel. You need to budget for beyond the production because you will always be in need of money for you movie and nowadays you live with your movie forever.
It is not like the olden golden days when you made a movie and someone else picked it up and ran with it while you went onto other projects. NOW you are married to your project for a very long time. Plan to live with you movie long after you wrap post and plan your budget and your schedule well. Plan for all of it well in advance of actually doing any of it. You can start at the back - where do you want this movie to end up and then back track through what you need to do to make that happen. Plan for all the cash, and time and people involved along the way
Surround yourself, as best you are able, with the most qualified people in each of the positions on film crew Rely on the expertise of others while learning. If they have been doing it professionally for longer than you then they are important resources for you. On the set is not the time for everyone to be learning everything (of course for some filmmakers that is exactly how they start. They get all their friends who have never done it before give it a try. That is fine and that is where or how one can learn from the mistakes made). I am lucky to surround myself with capable, talented, creative, dedicated, loyal people who are willing to go beyond the call to help create something marvelous.
This is so important for emerging filmmakers. Recognize that it is going to be a long, arduous, costly haul and the rewards may be slim. So plan and prepare your journey (as you would if you wanted to scale Everest) your career path and then work your plan, do it and stick with it and keep doing it and you will get better and better.
It never gets easier in some ways YET it does get easier in other ways. Every movie is a new set of new challenges and difficulties and opportunities along with all the regular ones you already know about so understand that and persevere. This is a tough business and it is the last person standing who reaps the reward. And the early bird who gets the worm - so always be prompt, early and on time.
Many will drop out of this business along the way because it is too tough. But that is the game you are in - a tough game where nothing is promised and the rules may change along the way. So stick with it and plan well and you can win. Most importantly play the game well.
Learn how to live your life wonderfully, gratefully, and include all the delightful people and experiences, and places and activities you can. Live your life fully, play well and play hard, stay in it and enjoy it all along the way and you can do well.
Lastly, and this pales in comparison to my main point:
If you want to learn from professionals to become a professional then listen to my show Rex Sikes' Movie Beat. There you will find hundreds of hours of audio Interviews with professional filmmakers to learn from, articles and much more so I hope readers will go visit and check it out.
Learn what you can, read books, volunteer to be on set as PA or in any capacity, intern, work for free, listen to other shows and podcasts about filmmaking and do whatever you can to embody what you wish to become. Read books! I have a book on making movies from my vantage point that I hope to have published soon that I have been working on for sometime. Surround yourself with people, good friendly people who you are happy to have with over the long haul and then, and this is most critical - go do it. Take action, get it going, make it happen and then don't stop, persevere, stick with it whatever comes your way, keep on doing it stay open and learn each day.
Immerse yourself in what you wish to learn. Listen, learn, and put into practice what you are learning. And all the while learn to love it and enjoy it and delight in it.
http://www.rexsikes.com is official website for Rex Sikes' Movie Beat
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