After creating a fake trailer in 2 days and placing high in the 2007 Grindhouse Fake Film Trailer Contest, Billy “Bloody Bill” Pon set out to make a feature film. He’s always been involved with scaring people as he’s the creator of Def Con 1 Haunted Warehouse and Circus of the Dead: Murder Maze in Odessa, Texas.
Billy’s been designing haunted houses since he was a kid and now the rest of the world gets to experience his terrifying creativity in his films. Very soon his insane clown film “Circus of the Dead” will be premiering at the Texas Frightmare Weekend on Friday May 2, 2014 in Dallas, Texas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4-D7H_d_rs
Circus of the Dead Trailer
Five Quick Questions with Billy “Bloody Bill” Pon
Circus of the Dead is not your typical clown running around killing people, it has a story and moral to it. Can you tell us about the story?
BILLY: Trick question. Yes, they are running around killing people but there’s is a really good story there too. I’ve seen countless of “clown” movies where they are the typical hack and slash slapstick funny variety kind. I like a challenge and thought years ago what I would do differently if I was to make a clown film. B movies are fun but why can’t a movie be great and serious even if it’s about a serious subject… ie. Clowns… The moral is simple. Don’t take things/life for granted because it can always be a lot worse as “Donald” Parrish Randall finds out.
The amazing Chanel Ryan, Bill Oberst Jr. and Parrish Randall are the lead actors in Circus of the Dead. How was it working with them?
BILLY: I may never win the lottery but I couldn’t of found 3 better actors for those respected parts. They all had the same great quality in common. They were always very ready for that day’s filming. Most days even knowing the script better than I did. I was beyond fortunate to have that level Chanel played “Tiffany”… I was always worried that whatever actress does this part will have to be very tough as she goes through some serious bodily and emotional harm. Chanel was a trooper no matter what I threw at her… and trust me when I say I threw a lot! Parrish played “Donald”… It was a role very different than most typical male lead roles. It was a very emotional role and he kick it’s ass. His tears felt real and made me sad most times even though I knew it was within the film. Bill as “Papa Corn” was unbelievable. I felt like he was making horror icon history playing that part. Soon the world will know what we know about Mr. Papa Corn.
Creativity is one of your biggest strengths, is your mind nonstop running wild with ideas?
BILLY: Yes, 24/7… It’s a blessing and a curse. I’m never at a loss for a great idea but could use more mental peace and quite time. I have to harness it as I’m easily side tracked into other new ideas. I really work hard on trying to focus on an idea that I kinda like. Then I’ll start listing the good and bad points about said idea. Then I put it away for a little bit and come back to it. When I come back to it if it seems still as strong and interesting I’ll repeat the same steps again. If it seems lame and not going anywhere I file it away and move on to another.
Since a kid you’ve apparently loved scaring people and designed haunted houses and still operate them in Odessa, TX. Can you tell us how you got involved in designing them and do some ideas work into your films?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oteNF6MIUkg
BILLY: I’m an all around horror fan/lover. The haunted houses and movies go hand to hand. I employ the same concepts into both. Quality, creativeness, fun & scary. I fell in love with haunted houses as a kid volunteering for the annual fall festival in October. After a year or two of helping with it I took it over and was designing and operating it way before I was even old enough to drive. Doll Boy was actually a character we developed from the haunted houses as well as Papa Corn, Mister Blister, Noodledome, Jumbo and Pepe the Chainsaw Juggling Mime…
Fans have been demanding for Mister Fister to be made into a full feature and you recently announced that it should be. What’s the status of it and is there any tentative timeline for filming?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vebhffdgC70
BILLY: I’m still working on the script. It’s good but challenging all at the same time. It’s such a over the top exploitation film but I still demand it be a great story too. It’s getting closer. I’d like to start filming it or another top secret project come August 2014… It will be made and it will be great!
Be sure to constantly check out the Facebook page for Circus of the Dead as Billy will update and occasionally throw a teaser on the site for a brief time.
https://www.facebook.com/circusofthedeadmovie
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