I first had the pleasure of meeting
Keith when I was 19 and working in a lapdancing club in Edinburgh. My housemum
at the time asked if I'd be interested in featuring in a film (Lost Souls)
alongside her, playing the part of a porn star (Aaah self fulfilling
prophecies!) and without hesitation I jumped at the chance, although I had no
idea what to expect. The shoot turned out to be a total crazyfest of lesbian
love, bondage and a rapist gimp hiding in the wardrobe.
According to the BBC, "Keith
was an obsessive filmmaker from an early age, having been an avid film-goer and
now filmmaker. He began his Filmaking in 1980 when he was able to go out and
buy his first super 8mm camera kit."
His horror epic Sacrificed won the
New York International Independent Film and Video Festival's Best Horror
Feature. His full interview will be featured in SKIN issue 3 in what is
possibly the longest/most entertaining interview known to man. In the interim,
here's a little teaser.
Who/what
inspires you?
I carefully choose / investigate the
people who still inspire me, my daughter, and well known Film people who's work
I still continue to study. Life stories, crazy things that happen to people
inspire me to write and direct. The shitty high school I sometimes attended
ONCE did something that surprised and delighted me, they screened THE OMEN to
me and my year when I was 13, we shit ourselves.. this 18 cert film was being
screened to us!! Amazing, the head teacher would be locked away in a cell if he
was to pull that stunt in this modern day, it's the only thing I could say that
made an impact at school was that screening day. Kids were screaming, being
sick, it really fuck a lot of them up, I got a real good laugh out of the
horrible school bullies who were crying and jumping about in fear, assholes! THE OMEN so impressed me, and scared
me in a good way, that I knew I'd had to find a way to get into making this
stuff.
Perks
of the job?
Ha! Meeting new people, who become
close friends, making a film that large audiences like and respond to, and
seeing money coming in for my filmmaking efforts. Were you trying to hint that
question at a 'casting couch' situation? If so here's my response:
The casting couch scenario is a very
strange one, and was something I was not expecting to pop up, however when
auditioning actresses for our 1st Horror venture one girl pulled me aside
during her audition and whispered in my ear, "Listen, I will do ANYTHING
to get on this film!", I looked at her and thought "Hmm did she just
say to me what I think she said to me??" I was a bit shocked, as I was
fixed on the film and not shagging (just for a change). This casting thing
crops up from time to time, and for a number of reasons. On another Horror
Film, the girls on set were trying to gain 'on set' power by directly flirting
with me.
Now if anyone knows me, I am sex mad
fucker, however this lust mode is subdued during film production, cos I’m
focussed on the job, as my cash, time and future depends more than a cheap and
possibly crap shag .
On the set of this film the lead
actress said to me with the other actresses gathered around her, "What's
wrong, don't you find any of us girls attractive??" This comment was born
out of frustration on their behalf as they actually had to work hard at acting,
which is what they were very well paid to do, and by turning on their feminine
charms they thought they would have an easier time on set, and get away early
to party and shop in Edinburgh city centre.
My response to these building, and
very exhausting flirtations of sexual power, "Look (staring at them all) I
will in turn FUCK ALL of you in the ass around the clock, however WE need to
finish this film first, so put Heat magazine down, stop chatting total shite to
each other and get your fucking head into the SCRIPT!"
Things went much easier with the
production after that wee chit chat.
The Download Horror will be screened in Cineworld from June 1st.
