Jonathan Schiefer Interview

 

Jonathan Schiefer has writing screenplays since 2003, he has since gone on to direct everything from feature-length movies, to music videos. He also does most of the editing for Spiritus Vult.

What is the current project you are working on?

I've had an idea in the back of my head for a while: movies are too short a medium to adapt novels. In order to fully capture a novel, the depth of character, the intricacies of the plot, the occasional poetry in the language, another medium must be used. The two alternatives we've got in the U.S. are movies and TV. However, most TV shows go on and on until there's no longer an audience for them. By the time many good shows actually gets canceled, it's because no one's watching them anymore; That's sad.

Japanese TV works a little different; this is specifically true for Anime. An Anime will have 12-20 episodes and everyone will be loving it. But, often after 20 episodes, the story is over, and so the show ends, with the fans truly in love with it and hungry for more by the same artists.

Now, before I chose to make movies, I wrote novels, one of which was a near-future dystopian Sci-fi called "Worth". I've decided it would make a pretty amazing series. I'm adapting, starting with a short story from the WORTH universe called A GROWING CITY. We'll be shooting it live-action and converting it to animation.

Did you always want to be a filmmaker?

When I was a kid I wanted to be a theoretical physicist. I mean, before that I wanted to be a truck driver, a pilot, a navy SEAL, normal kid stuff. For some reason, my brain doesn't like to memorize things, and a key aspect of physics is math, aka, A LOT of memorization. So, I settled for the next best thing, a Sci-fi writer. After a few years of research, I came to the conclusion that filmmaking is actually a higher art, requiring more varied artistic abilities, so much so that, unlike novels, movies MUST be a collaborative medium; they're just too big and complex for one person to do well.

What inspired you to become filmmaker?

A friend of mine named Earl Newton, a fellow filmmaker and creator of Stranger Things series, wrote a blog post. The way I read it was that a lot of people wait on others to make their dreams come true. But, the people who actually live their dreams make them happen.

With that blog post, I realized no one was going to show up at my door with a big check and a sack full of my life's goals. If I wanted them to ever become a reality, I was going to have to get up and make them happen.

Later that year, I had written, directed, and edited my first feature-length movie.

What is the best thing about being one?

Never having worked on a studio film, I can only guess here. But, I would say it's the freedom. The only limitations I have with the kind of story I can tell are my imagination, my drive to see that translated into film, and my endurance to see each project to completion.

What is the worst thing about being one?

My amazing wife works full-time, taking care of the daily expenses (we've agreed that all moviemaking budgets must come from somewhere else). We've basically taken the standard male/female social roles and reversed them. But, when other people see our life, they often think I just sit at home and play World of Warcraft or watch Netflix. That social pressure is probably the worst thing. If it wasn't for the support of my wife, there is no way I could keep going.

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

I've probably worked on twenty to thirty, including the freelance stuff.

Who is your favorite filmmaker?

That's kind of tough because I admire different filmmakers for different things. But, if I had to choose one, I'd say Ridley Scott consistently blows me away.

How has your life changed since you became a filmmaker?

I spend A LOT more money-making movies than I did writing novels and short stories.

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

Give up. If you can't, never give up!

What do you like to do besides filmmaking?

I'd either go back to writing novels, or go back to school, defeat math and get a PhD in physics.

Have you had any other jobs before you decided to become a filmmaker?

Oh yeah! The reason I became a novelist was because it was the one of the few jobs I hadn't already tried.

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

My favorite American films are: Never Cry Wolf; The Razor's Edge (Bill Murray's version); and Blade Runner. For foreign: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Pan's Labyrinth; and Ghost in the Shell.

How would you describe your film education?

I mentioned I was a novelist. My first novel is THE ACADEMY. I submitted it to tons of publishers and got tons of rejections. One morning, while walking to my day-job, I realized THE ACADEMY would make a better movie than it did a book. I converted it, knowing next to nothing about screenwriting.

I went to nearest Borders and bought WIlliam Goldman's "Which Lie Did I Tell" and a few other books and read them as fast as I could. Then I wrote the script. I sent it to the only friend I had in Hollywood. She said it was an amazing idea, but that I needed to work on learning how to write and recommended I read Lew Hunter's "Screenwriting 434", along with a few others.

I sent her the new version of the script. She was so blown away that she basically dropped everything and wanted to produce it. We almost sold it, but the deal fell apart for various reasons.

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

Orange County, California is where more than half the countries infomercials are made.

How has social media changed the independent film industry?

For the indie filmmaker making the no-budget to low-budget film, social opens all kinds of doors that used to be locked and gilded with gold. But, with DSLR cameras, Final Cut Studio and Adobe Creative Suites, the barriers to entry for an unknown artist to make a living at art have been lowered. It still takes some climbing, but at least it's surmountable now.

What's your opinion on crowd funding?

I think crowd funding is awesome. It's a way to get money for a project while creating and connecting with a devoted group of fans. I mean, how awesome is that?

However, most Kickstarter projects don't reach their funding goals. Making it work takes a lot of preparation. People have to know about you, or your project has to have something that makes it stand out.

What is the casting process like?

The problem I've got is that I want everyone to succeed. Casting is about finding the perfect person for each role, to the exclusion of other, very talented people who were almost perfect. I don't really like that. It's one of the places in filmmaking that I'd really like to shift most of the burden to someone else better suited for it.

How does independent film differ from the mainstream?

Aside from the money? Indie films explore ideas too risky for the mainstream. My wife and I just watched THE SEA WITHIN starring Javier Bardem. It's about a quadriplegic man who is fighting for the right to commit suicide. It was brilliantly written and shot, and Bardem blew me away! But, with that plot, there's no chance a major studio would touch it. It's too controversial, but that's the point!

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

Blade Runner.

What's your favorite movie quote and why?

"In the end there were no easy answers. No heroes, no villains. Only silence."

-- NEVER CRY WOLF

Sometimes we like to make the world black and white with clear lines of morality, where everyone is on one side or the other. Most of the time that's not the case.

What is your opinion on movie remakes and sequels?

Well, THE RAZOR'S EDGE is a remake, and the original was an adaptation, so I can't be too down on them. That being said, I think it's happening way too often now in Hollywood. I get that at the budgets that the studios work with, they need market assurance. But, that has to have a limit, otherwise they risk diluting the market to the point where people aren't interested in movies anymore.

What is your opinion on book to movie adaptions?

I'm a huge Sci-fi fan. And there are some amazing books out that might make good movies if done right. But, I don't really see a need to tell a story twice, unless the retelling is going to better illustrate the original point, or bring out something new.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

No. Your questions are quite thorough. Thank you again for this opportunity, and good luck with the blog!

 

 

 

 

Thanks for doing the interview Jonathan. Keep me posted on the progress of "A GROWING CITY".