{"id":1112,"date":"2012-01-26T23:20:26","date_gmt":"2012-01-27T05:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bmovienation.com\/?p=1112"},"modified":"2012-01-26T23:20:26","modified_gmt":"2012-01-27T05:20:26","slug":"mockbuster-qa-david-latt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bmovienation.com\/?p=1112","title":{"rendered":"MOCKBUSTER Q&A – DAVID LATT"},"content":{"rendered":"

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If you\u2019re a fan of sci-fi movies like Mega Piranha, Transmorphers, Almighty Thor or Snakes on a Train, there\u2019s every chance you\u2019ve come across a movie from the creative minds at The Asylum.<\/p>\n

The Asylum was founded by former Village Roadshow executives David Rimawi, Sherri Strain, and director David Michael Latt in 1997, and has since established itself as the premiere studio for pumping out \u201cmockbusters\u201d.<\/p>\n

With Universal Channel\u2019s Mockbuster Mayhem well underway, we spoke with The Asylum\u2019 co-founder David Latt from his Los Angeles office.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s happening at The Asylum right now?<\/p>\n

Right now we\u2019re shooting a film in Austria, which is not the same as Australia apparently. I\u2019ve learnt that the hard way [laughs]. We\u2019re shooting Grimm\u2019s Snow White up there. And we\u2019re prepping for two films that start next week. One is called Celebrity Sex Tape and the other one is called Air Disaster. We\u2019re used to doing one film every month, now we\u2019re producing two films every month.<\/p>\n

How long does it take from coming up with an idea to completion?<\/p>\n

From concept to delivery, it takes about four months.<\/p>\n

Is it true that you\u2019ve never made a movie that has lost any money?<\/p>\n

That is true. There\u2019s nothing really special about it other than we make our movies really cheap. We know going in what the buyers will pay for a film and the secret is you don\u2019t make the movie for more than the buyers will pay. As an investor, you\u2019ll always be pretty happy.<\/p>\n

How hands on are you with the movies that Asylum produces?<\/p>\n

The ones that suck I have nothing to do with. The one\u2019s that are really good, I\u2019m all over them. [laughs]. I\u2019m to blame for a lot of them. There are three partners at Asylum and we each share a lot of the blame.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your favourite type of creature or mutant to be the focus of the movie?<\/p>\n

The good thing about early stage Alzheimer\u2019s is that you forget a lot of things that you do. So my favourite thing is Snow White right now; that\u2019s my favourite movie of all time. Next week it will be Celebrity Sex Tape and that\u2019s going to be my favourite, although that\u2019s probably going to be my favourite for different reasons. There\u2019s never necessarily a favourite other than what\u2019s going on right now.<\/p>\n

Who came up with the term \u2018Mockbuster\u2019? I\u2019ve read two versions, and one attributes you with coming up with the word.<\/p>\n

If that\u2019s what you want to believe, I\u2019ll accept that! The man that created that worked for the New York Post. He came up with the term when he interviewed us. We have stolen it from him and trademarked it as our own because that\u2019s the kind of company we own, but no, I did not come up with the term.<\/p>\n

You mentioned you\u2019re producing double the amount of films at present… is that because the demand from the public has grown?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the deal with the devil that we made. We\u2019re making more films because the market place has really fractionalised and become more specific. The film that we make for Time Warner is different to the film that we make for Syfy and the film that we make for Syfy might not be able to be sold to Syfy International who are very focused on their own thing so now we\u2019re really gearing up to make films for them. It\u2019s become so specific, which is why we\u2019re making more movies.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve got Mega Python Vs Gatoroid premiering in Australia this weekend which stars Deborah Gibson and Tiffany. How easy or difficult is it to get actors to take part in your films?<\/p>\n

At the end of the day most actors are worried about whether or not the cheque clears. Actors like to act, and there are a few actors that won\u2019t play in the sandbox that we play in because they want to preserve some sort of reputation. But I think the reputation of our company doesn\u2019t hide the fact of what type of films we\u2019re making. We\u2019ve just made the movie Two Headed Shark Attack, which is very kitschy and we got some great actors involved with that. I\u2019d say most of the actors that get on board with us usually like to come back for another film because we\u2019re quick and easy. Rather than sitting at home watching soaps all day, we\u2019re a good pay cheque and we try to keep the sets fun and I think actors and the crew respond to that.<\/p>\n

How have advances in technology helped speed up the production of films, compared to those that you were making five years ago?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m old school. The films I\u2019ve directed I\u2019ve only shot on 35mm film. Syfy channel requires us to film on 35mm film, the film Mega Python Vs Gatoroid was filmed on 35mm film. But for the most part, we film now on HD. You know, it\u2019s a lot quicker, we get to film a lot more footage, and you\u2019re not restrained by the cost of the film because film is so expensive. For visual effects, it\u2019s so much easier if you\u2019re shooting on HD. Film has this organic grain that is hard to work with. It also has this jump or skip you have to work with because of the film gates. It\u2019s made it a lot easier to make films with HD.<\/p>\n

Asylum is known for knocking off the big-budget blockbusters like Snakes on a Train or Transmorphers for instance, how do you get around that with the big studios?<\/p>\n

The studios are scared of us. [laughs] We\u2019re very scary people. You know, by the time the studios got around to figuring out we exist we were already a brand; we get our occasional letter to cease and desist but we don\u2019t pay attention to it. We\u2019re like a foreign company with mock titles, and I think now if a studio sees we\u2019re doing a mockbuster version of their titles they think \u2018wow, our film is going to be successful\u2019.<\/p>\n

Is this your dream job?<\/p>\n

No, I\u2019d rather work in fast food. Get me out of here, I\u2019m telling you. [laughs] With the exception of the pay cheque, I\u2019m very fortunate. I\u2019m very lucky it\u2019s been great so far.<\/p>\n

What do you do with all the creatures once you\u2019re done filming?<\/p>\n

Well they\u2019re usually trashed by the time we\u2019re done with them, but I\u2019m looking at the model of a two-headed shark right now, so they hang out at the office until they get stolen. I can send you one of the teeth from this model if you like.<\/p>\n