David Newhoff Owner of Adastra Creative, Inc.

What is the current project you are working on?

I'm working on a narrative short called gone Elvis, which is a portrait of a homeless, woman veteran of the Iraq war.

Did you always want to be a filmmaker?

 Yes. I've always loved all aspects of the craft, but I haven't always been loyal to it.  I've embraced and rejected filmmaking in my life a few times.  If film were a girlfriend, I guess I'd have to say, "It's complicated."


What inspired you to become filmmaker?

Like most people in my generation and older, I played around with Super 8 because I liked the tools and the process.  When I was quite young and getting into photography, I thought I might be a cinematographer. What inspired me to want to direct, though, was the day I had an opportunity to watch Metropolis with a director named Nicholas Roeg.  I was 12 and didn't exactly get German expressionism.  When Nick explained the film a bit to me, I began to understand what a director does and then wanted to be one.


What is the best thing about being one?

For me, it's shooting.  I love the whole process of a shoot and really enjoy collaborating with people I like, people who care about their craft, and people who are so competent that we can afford to have a few laughs.   I also prefer being on my feet and in motion.  Editing is where it all comes together, of course, but I get antsy being inside staring at a monitor for too long.

What is the worst thing about being one?

It's a tough business in every regard.  Success comes and goes.  Film people can be great, but the industry also fosters some pretty bad behavior. Anytime that much money and that much ego is involved, you're going to have some tough relationships.

What is the estimated number of projects you have worked on?

Well, I'm re-starting theatrical after years of working in the corporate, ad, and marketing world.  In that area, the number is in the hundreds, but gone Elvis and a feature I'm developing called Shadowplay are really the first two stones in a new path.

Who is is your favorite filmmaker?

Absolutely impossible to pick one. If I'm stranded on the proverbial deserted island, I guess I'd take the films of Billy Wilder, partly because he worked in so many genres; and if it includes his writing credits, I get some other great directors in there.

How has your life changed since you became a filmmaker?

Ask me a year from now.

What is one piece of advice you can give to someone who also wants to make it in the movie business?

If you want to make movies, especially with the technology we have now, make them by any means necessary, and preferably before you have other responsibilities like a family. If you want to work in the business, like design, FX, music, etc., try to get a job working for or near someone you really respect.

What are some of your favorite American films? Foreign films? Television shows?

In no order, City Lights, 8 1/2, Lawrence of Arabia, Bluebeard's Eighth Wife, Bringing Up Baby, Citizen Kane, On the Waterfront, The General, Metropolis, All That Jazz, My Favorite Year, Arthur, My Darling Clementine, Sabrina, Woman of the Year, Tsotsi, The Kid, Sunset Boulevard, Paper Moon, 1,2,3, Notorious, Amadeus, The 400 Blows.  Tomorrow, it would be a different list, and the last TV show I watched regularly was The West Wing.

How would you describe your film education?

Ongoing.  The other answer is way too long, but I'll give a shout out to The People's Film Department of Bard College.  It was special place.

How would you describe the film "scene" where you live?

I don't know that we have a scene, but the Hudson Valley is home, or second home, to quite a few serious filmmakers in just about every discipline.  We also have wonderfully curated, small festival called FilmColumbia in Chatham, NY; and of course the Woodstock Film Festival is quite big now.

How has social media changed the independent film industry?

Having just immersed myself into promoting and fundraising via social media, my three-week-old experience suggests that it has probably changed it a great deal.  I've been amazed by the number of complete strangers, including other indy film folks, who are suddenly paying attention to this short we're working on.  It doesn't hurt that gone Elvis is about an important social issue or that our exec producer, Jeanne Bowerman, has a lot of Twitter mojo; but I really see the power of promoting through social interaction.  I can only imagine that it’s given even more filmmakers the opportunity to share their work more rapidly and for free.

What is the casting process like?

That’s a broad question, and it’s not the same for every project.  For the film I’m working on now, I knew the lead actress, Carla Duren, from a previous project and through other actor friends.  When my wife came to me with the idea of looking at these women veterans, I immediately thought of Carla for the role.  With big-money features, we all know that attaching stars is often the only way to get financing; but small films are a chance to work with great actors who are trying to build their own careers.  I actually collect actors as I meet them and make mental notes about why they intrigue me, keeping them in mind for future projects.

How does independent film differ from the mainstream?

My take is that it's not about where the money comes from per se, but whether or not the artists are in control of the project and whether or not the film aspires to be something other than just product.  There are "independent" movies that have all the qualities of a film made by accountants; and at the same time, you can't say that major studio films are never the work of artists functioning independently.  For example, whether you like his work or not, Spielberg is definitely Hollywood but can sure as hell do whatever he wants.  Is he mainstream or independent?

You could go back in time and see any classic film being made. Which film would it be?

That's a really cool question.  The smart choice would be anything by D.W. Griffith because he invented so much and every director learned from him; but I'd probably end up picking The General because it's hard to imagine having more fun than to be around Keaton and his team dreaming up and then performing those gags.

You could be any animal. Which would you be?

Peter Mayle's dog.

You could have any super power. What would it be?

Sleeplessness.  I hate being too tired to do things.

Do you believe on life on other planets?

Life on other planets isn't a matter of faith.  It's a very high probability.  But Intelligent life on planets that can be said to be our contemporaries in space-time?  I suspect that's a pretty low probability.

A big thanks to David for letting me interview him. I'll make sure to spread the word about your short gone Elvis. Check out the fundraising page for gone Elvis at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dlnewhoff/gone-elvis