John Hoff III's Blog: Interview With Filmmaker Ali Scher

[caption id="attachment_21" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Ali Directing"]

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What is the current project you are working on?

I’ve just finished my USC Graduate thesis, “The Maiden and The Princess,” a short, LGBT children’s fairytale about tolerance and self-acceptance, starring David Anders of “Heroes” and “Vampire Diaries” as well as Julian Sands of “Room With A View.” Here’s a link to our kickstarter campaign:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1396193475/the-maiden-and-the-princess
We’re raising money to get the film out to festivals. We’ve already been accepted to a few but have been asked not to announce officially until the festivals finalize their programs. One is an Oscar qualifier! We are so grateful that people are responding to the project.

I’m working on two feature film scripts, a fairytale called “The Red Shoes,” and a teen comedy called “Erwin,” both of which I’m incredibly excited about. I’ve also written two TV pilots with Joe Swanson, the same writer I teamed up with on Maiden, and we’re working on our third.

Did you always want to be a filmmaker?

I've always wanted to be a story teller. I love theater and literature, but film provides a much larger canvas to paint on.

I'd worked in theater since I was really little, and love directing for the stage. I just hated that feeling after a show ends... like a part of you is dead and gone forever. With film nothing ever dies. Kinda creepy, but a big part of what I love about it.

What inspired you to become filmmaker?

I love working with actors, and film is a realm in which the actor and director function together symbiotically.

What is the best thing about being one?

I really love the casting process. There's nothing more exciting than finding out who a character is in the casting room. Each actor we see is a stepping stone on the way to finding and creating a dimensional, truthful human being. It's just incredible when you click with an actor. You can't wait to get home and email or call them afterward!

What is the worst thing about being one?

When a project ends. It's like leaving summer camp.

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

Impossible to count.

How has your life changed since you became a filmmaker?

I've grown up a ton since becoming a filmmaker. Making a movie is like having a baby. It poops and pukes and sometimes just cries and smells... but you love it anyway, because it's yours. Taking care of a film, ushering it into being, is a form of creation and it takes an enormous amount of discipline and drive. Filmmaking has turned me into an adult, but left me with the excitement and effervescence of being a kid. It's the best of both worlds (and yes, I did just quote Hannah Montana, sue me)

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

Have a voice! Know what you want to say, and say it in a distinct way. Pussy footing around won't get you anywhere. No one will care until you take that camera and MAKE them care.

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

Fav Movies- "Inglorious Bastards" "Edward Scissorhands" "Princess Bride" "Troop Beverly Hills" "Mean Girls" "The Devil Wears Prada" "The Little Princess" (The Alfonso Cuaron one) "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion" "The Incredibles" and "Beauty and The Beast"

Fav TV Shows- "Office" "Arrested Development" "House" "Battlestar Gallactica" "Buffy" and "Veronica Mars"

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

I live in LA... it's easy to get lost in the "lets make another version of that movie" mentality, but there are a lot of great people and filmmakers out here if you take the time to look, especially at SC.

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

I'd love to go back in time and sit in on the casting process for "Stand By Me." How did Rob Reiner and Jane Jenkins find such remarkable young talent? It's a film I turn to a lot as an example of great casting.

You could be any animal. Which would you be?

I don't want to be animal, I like being a person.

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

Flying, or blinking from one place to another... traffic is the pits, my ultimate nemesis, and I'd do anything not to have to sit in it anymore.

Thanks To Ali for letting me do the interview. I'll be sure to let people know about "The Maiden and The Princess" Ali was nice enough to send me some publicity stills. The photos are below.

[caption id="attachment_18" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Tallulah Wayman-Harris as Emmy when she first arrives in the fairy tale"]

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[caption id="attachment_19" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Lora Plattner and Lindsay N.W. LaVanchy lock lips as the Maiden and Princess"]

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[caption id="attachment_10" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Tallulah Wayman-Harris as Emmy is taunted by her classmates."]

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[caption id="attachment_15" align="alignnone" width="300" caption=" The Grand High Council of Fairytale Rules and Standards, led by Julian Sands"]