1) Hi Jacob first of all tell us something about yourself and your professional experience?
I went straight into college after High School and got my Associates degree in Radio and Television Broadcasting in 1998. It was a great experience, I met a lot of cool people that I'm still friends with to this day. Ma and a buddy started a little public access show and we would do crazy skits and had tons of fun with it. I went on to work at a local FOX station where I started as a Master Control Operator. Basically I just switched all the on-air programming, catching satellite feeds, switching the News. I worked in that department for a few years then moved into the production department. There I worked as a producer and editor. I would write, shoot and edit TV commercials for local businesses. I worked at that company for 8 years before accepting the job as the Creative Service Director at the Lexington CBS station. There i oversaw the creative service department where I was in charge of all commercial production that came into the station. Shortly before arriving at the CBS station I created a late night Arts & Entertainment show called The Moonlight Cafe. I was the producer, writer, DP, and editor of the show. We would showcase local and national talent. It ran for two seasons on WKYT (CBS) and featured: Lyod Kaufman, Hank 111, Debbie Rochon, Tim Ritter, Styx and Reo Speed wagon to name a few. In 2003 I formed my production company Tucky Wood Productions, LLC and have been out on my since then. I have shot and edited hundreds of TV commercials, over 40 music videos, and 5 feature films.
2) When did you start taking interest in filmmaking?
Well this sounds cliché almost, but it is true. I started making movies around when I was 8 and we got out first family VHS camcorder. I had always been into movie monsters, plays, puppets and Haunted Houses. I would build a Haunted House every year and charge my friends admission to go through them. I then started making these little backyard movies with friends and family members. They mainly had a horror theme.
3) Before this film what was your experience as a filmmaker?
Back in 2002 I did a Google search of Lexington filmmakers. One of the first people I ran across was Jerry Williams of Goat boy films. I met Jerry and we just hit it off. He pointed me in the direction of a local production going on called DANCE WITH A VAMPIRE. This movie was being made by George Bonilla. George had already made another feature called ZOMBIE PLANT. I was very excited to know that this was going on in my back yard. I immediately jumped on board to help George out with his movie, and even got to do some acting along the way as a vampire! It was great fun and I met many great friends during that time. There are many productions going on around Kentucky now, but I still call George the Godfather of Lexington Cinema. My "real" attempt into my own filmmaking was back in 2003. I shot a little film called Manic. It featured all local actors and was shot in one day in Richmond, KY. It played at a few festivals and got some good response. It was around that time that Jerry Williams had the idea for this no budget film called PURVOS. It was a wild, surreal, tripped out horror film and was shot over a few month span. We shot it with equipment on loan from the TV station I was working at. It featured cult B movie actor Conrad Brooks, from Ed Wood's PLAN 9 FROM OUTERSPACE and GLEN OR GLENDA. That movie went on to secure a distribution deal with Brain damage films. In 2004 I shot another short film called HAPPY ANNIVERSARY. It was about a scorned husband out for revenge. On this film i got to work with Billy W. Blackwell and his wife Denise. We became quick friends and they would later go onto to produce my first feature as a director STASH.
4) How the idea of this story came in your mind?
I first had the name, then I wrote a novel back in 1998. It sat on my shelf for a couple of years then over a two week period I adapted it into a screenplay.
5) Who has written the script? Tell us more about the whole scenario while writing the script?
I wrote the script. I took some ideas that I had started with from the novel and pretty much locked my self in my office for two weeks till It was done. I don't write that often, but when I do it seems to pour out pretty easily. I might write two feature length scripts in a month span, and might not write again for two years.
6) How was the cast and crew selected?
We had two casting calls in Lexington, KY. We had a really great turnout. I had a few actors in mind before the auditions so it went really smooth. Our lead character Bud was discovered by talking to one of our PA's Claude Miles about the role. I told him I needed a big burly backwoods looking guy for the part. He told me that his old roommate would fit perfectly. Claude showed me a picture of Kevin and right then I knew that was Bud.
7) While filming your movie what were the major hurdles you faced?
The major hurdle while making STASH was scheduling. Due to family and personal reasons, we could only shoot every other weekend. You tack on some sickness in the cast and your looking at a very spread out shooting schedule. It took us around 3 and a-half years to wrap up principal photography. Keeping everyone motivated and letting them realize that this film would get finished and would get out there was a challenge. I had witnessed many productions that fizzled out for one reason or another, and I was determined to not let that happen. The time that was put into this film was ridiculous. I would not even have a clue to the thousands of hours that went into this project.
8) On what location you shot the film?
We shot at many locations around Kentucky. That is what is so great about shooting in Kentucky. You can find about any type of look you want. Hollywood spends millions of dollars trying to recreate what we have in our own backyard. Our main locations were Bud's cabin and his basement. These were two separate locations. The cabin was my ex father in laws in Frankin county. It was great. It was very secluded and had the perfect look we were going for. The cabin was already equipped with mounted deer on the wall, antlers every where, deer skulls, it was perfect. There was very little we had to do to the cabin. It even had an outhouse. On the way to the cabin, when you watch the film you will see the dirt road littered with rusting cars and trucks, dishwashers, trash. There was even a crazed old man that lived next to the cabin that tried to stab us with a peering knife. He saw Kevin Taylor who played Bud packing a fake dead body down the road, and he thought it was real! You can hear more about that story in the Making Of Stash documentary on the DVD. I rented a house in Madison county for a year just to use the basement in that house. It was the crappiest damn basement I had ever seen. I knew when I saw that location that we must have it. So I moved in for a year, and we constructed Bud's torture chamber and began shooting. We were very lucky to get a real jail to shoot in as well. A good friend David Gooslin had helped out as a PA, and he was a real cop in Hind man, KY. He knew of an old county jail that was no longer being used in his hometown so we got to use it! It turned out really great and we also got some cameos in by locals The Creppy Kentuckian and Uncle Bill from Deapit.com in the scene.
9) For how many days did you shoot?
I think that was answered above
To be continued...
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