You come across a lot of people when you do what I do. Some are very cool people and some not so much. That being said, I feel that Rob Dimension is one of the good guys out there. He is a man that I like, admire, and greatly respect. I am now honored to give to you an interview with this very talented man as we learn some info on his short film, No Clowning Around.
Where did you get your inspiration for No Clowning Around?
No Clowning Around came from a bout with depression, honestly. Professionally things were not really going anywhere and personally, things we even worse. It’s like waking up every day in a fog and never being able to see straight. I lacked motivation and then one day, I started to rise from the ashes; so to speak. From that experience came this movie; everything in the film is a metaphor from my haze.
The film follows Ed, the former “Mumbles the Clown” who hosted a local Saturday morning Tv show. He lost his job and the film is his spiral out of control. He battles with alcohol and resorts to being a party clown but just hates his existence. The love of his life, Trixie, has her own issues of prostitution and drug use. Ed is backed up against the wall and finally snaps.
This is of course a short film. Do you have plans of making it a full length?
When I started this project, I made the decision to include Matthew Burd, whom co-directed this with me. Matt has several shorts that he’s done; while shooting we both expressed interest in filming a feature. The task of a feature is enormous. We were able to film this in four days for the run time of nearly 30 minutes, so a feature would require us to shoot for more like fifteen days; and that’s like twelve to fifteen hour days to get everything done.
Long story short, if this short does well, if people like Mumbles the Clown; I have an outline for a feature. We funded No Clowning Around in less than two days, a feature would require five to six times the budget (Roughly twelve thousand dollars would be needed) to really produce a film that could be distributed. The story would surround the happenings in this short but would also cover Ed’s struggles pre and post these events.
What movies or directors might we see you paying homage to with this? Or did you make it a point to make sure this was all YOU.
I didn’t have any particular style in mind when we started this; the story is so personal to me, it’s more my vision than anything else. Matt was great to have as a co-director; he had so much input and a lot of the times, I just let him do his thing. I think it’s a trust issue, I trusted him and he was gracious enough to keep me in the loop of his ideas. We shared a lot of ideas, it was a great experience.
If I was to make the feature, I would then look at the bigger picture of using certain framing ideas or techniques, but this was just from the script. Another change I would make would be handing more of the directing over, it’s just too hard to act and direct. The people that can do that are super talented; it requires a lot of attention to details.
You’ve been in wrestling and movies. It seems like horror and wrestling go hand in hand. How would you compare the two?
Wow, that’s a great question. They really do go together well; but the connection is a tough one to particularly nail down. If I had to guess, if you’re a wrestling fan you already have the ability to suspend disbelief; that’s the key factor in the horror genre. When you can be open minded, watch a story play out and find the enjoyment without looking too deep, that’s when it works the best and people can enjoy movies the most.
Chuck, we might be at a disadvantage; we both either did review films or still do. My love for both started at a young age; watching Halloween before the age of ten, then going to wrestling shows with my Dad when I about the same age. I was introduced to a vivid imagination early on, I think it just carries over.
Either way, I’m glad they go together; it gives us a chance to expose a larger pool of people to what entertains us.
Not counting Steve Corino (LOL) who is the coolest person you’ve met while working in the movie business?
A few years ago I was given a great opportunity by Dave Hagan, the promoter of Monster-Mania Con (A large Horror convention on the East Coast) of hosting some of his Question and Answer panels at his con. He has allowed me to host some of the greatest Q&A’s that I could ever imagine. Sitting, talking to someone like Norman Reedus, Daryl from the Walking Dead, just one on one in a jam packed room was great but my greatest experience so far was John Carpenter. Carpenter is the person responsible for my love for Horror films and probably the reason I am involved in film making. It was the perfect fanboy experience.
As for Corino, haha…he helped me a ton in this project and in life. We were partners in the Premier Wrestling Federation back in 2001, located in Pottstown, PA. We had some of the stars today on our roster, looking back, it was a blast. We host the Extreme Odd Couple Podcast (www.xocpodcast.com) together; it’s probably the best description of our friendship…we are complete opposites. He’s a good guy who speaks his mind; he worked hard on the movie and nailed his role.
I have seen you say online that this isn’t a killer clown movie. What types of films would you say it falls in the same category with?
Yeah, that’s one thing I wanted people to know; if you’re expecting that, you won’t get what you want. Does a clown kill someone? Yes, but it’s a fall from grace and a person being pushed to his limits. In life, we can only deal with so much until we need to fight back.
If I had to categorize this, maybe Michael Douglas in Falling Down; but on a much more warped comparison. No Clowning Around is drama, dark comedy and has horror elements. I hope it’s a message to people who might be dealing with depression, you can never beat it, but you can fight back.
What can we expect next out of Rob Dimension?
Right now my focus is on getting this film launched and making sure as many people see it as possible. We will be offering pre-orders on the DVD and a limited to 48 VHS release on www.NoClowningAround.com or on www.RobDimension.com plus, I stay very busy with the two podcasts I host; The Extreme Odd Couple Podcast www.XOCPodcast.com with Steve Corino and Monster-Mania Radio with Dave Hagan at www.MonsterManiaRadio.net. I do have a concept in development called “Dimension’s Monster Chronicles” that would be a 3 min episode show that would feature reviews, trailer and skits but that’s on hold until 2013 right now.
I do have a lot of a script worked out to make No Clowning Around into a feature; it depends on what people want.
