“Class of Nuke 'Em High”, “Splatter University”, “Alien Space Avenger”… you know the titles, and chances are they bring nostalgic thoughts and a smile to your face. Richard W. Haines is more than just an iconic filmmaker. He’s an avid film preservationist, an authority on the technical aspects of film and a lauded novelist. To put it simply, Richard knows horror.
Richard W. Haines: Well since I’m an auteur, all of these activities are linked. I guess I’d have to add projection to the process too since I had to set up many theaters to show “Run for Cover” in 3D from 1995-1997. In terms of what I enjoy the most, it would have to be writing the screenplay and editing the feature. Production is the most nerve wracking and difficult since I always worked on low budgets along with all of the things that go wrong during all movie shoots like raining on the day you want to do exteriors etc. I do enjoy the actual production process but much of it involves trouble shooting which is very difficult.
Body Count Rising: It is clear you have a laser-focused passion for the technical aspect of film. I see characters in your films that have almost an obsessive quality for their work. Do you identify closely with any of the characters in your films, or are any of the characters based on you?
Richard W. Haines: Most of the lead male characters in my movies and books are a reflection of various aspects of my personality. In fact my feature film trilogy, “Space Avenger”, “Unsavory Characters” and “What Really Frightens You” were all writers who interacted with their fictional characters which is part of the writing process. You have to believe the people you create are real to chronicle their adventures. That’s why I borrow characters from my movies and include them in my novels. Nick Slade was introduced in my film, “Unsavory Characters”, and was used as the lead in my three novels, “Production Value”, “Reel Danger” and “The Anastasia Killer”. The crooked politician, John Prescott, was featured in “Reel Danger” too.
Body Count Rising: Which of your works are you most proud of and why?
Richard W. Haines: In terms of my features, I like my ‘Life imitates Art’ trilogy as previously mentioned, “Space Avenger”, “Unsavory Characters” and “What Really Frightens You”. I think my film history book, “Technicolor Movies”, is useful for film students who want to study the process. My three novels are linked to the three features I mentioned which explore similar themes and utilize the same characters.
Body Count Rising: I understand you chose to fund your own films at 51% for the purpose of autonomy…
Richard W. Haines: Although it’s fallen out of favor in the industry, I still subscribe to the auteur theory of filmmaking where the movie reflects the personality of the director. Unless you control the financing, you won’t be able to control the content.
Body Count Rising: “Alien Space Avenger” is a beautiful, fun, engaging film. Even on an old VHS tape, the Technicolor hues still pop just like a blu-ray. Is there a chance you would release this film on blu-ray?
Richard W. Haines: “Space Avenger” will be released on blu-ray and 4K in the future.
Body Count Rising: Will you film in the future using this Technicolor process?
Richard W. Haines: The dye transfer Technicolor process is gone for good. It won’t be revived and the Beijing Film Lab which offered it in the eighties and early nineties folded too. Technicolor in the US briefly revived the process from 1997-2001 but shut it down again.
Body Count Rising: Each one of your feature films seems markedly different although you shoot on 35 mm. You’ve done true Technicolor, 3D, a gothic Hammer look and feel... What’s the next challenge you plan to conquer with regard to filming?
Richard W. Haines: I’m no longer making feature films because of the difficulty in shooting in 35 mm. The East Coast is pretty much dead in terms of actual shooting on film. So I write movie themed novels now. Perhaps some producer or studio will purchase the rights from me to turn them into feature films.
Body Count Rising: You’ve moved from writing more technical books with a nostalgic personal feel to writing novels. Was this a natural transition for you from writing screenplays?
Richard W. Haines: My three movie-themed novels, “Production Value”, “Reel Danger” and “The Anastasia Killers” would’ve been my next three features had film as a medium survived on the East Coast. It didn’t so I wrote them as novels. My upcoming book, “What Really Frightens You Too” started as a screenplay sequel to my last movie but I adapted and expanded it into novel form. Curiously, the theme of many of my features is “Life Imitates Art”. This turned out to be the case with “Production Value” which is about a sinister film production that isn’t actually producing a movie and smuggling drugs in film cans. Recently, that’s exactly what happened in a New Jersey airport. Authorities discovered cocaine being smuggled in film cans.
Body Count Rising: You’re a staunch advocate of 35 mm filming for the reason of film preservation and richness of color. If given the opportunity to film digitally and be funded for a film, do you still recommend that the filmmaker hold out for appropriate funds to film on 35 mm even if it means the film may potentially not be made?
Richard W. Haines: In the case of independent filmmaking, it would be difficult to impossible to shoot on film because you need the technical support system of labs, transfer facilities, 35 mm equipment rental houses and negative matchers which are not generally available today. Most facilities have folded. So that means the director will be forced to shoot digitally. Digital has a different image structure than film which is based on how light is reflected on the emulsion. The art of film is the art of lighting and how it’s reflected as film grain. I’m not referring to graininess but the nuance of grain on the emulsion which is what creates the dimensional appearance on film. Cinematography Freddie Young (“Lawrence of Arabia”) used to call it ‘painting on film’. That will be compromised if not lost entirely when shooting digitally.
Body Count Rising: If he or she chose to transfer the digital film to 35 mm later, what effect would this have on the look or quality of the film, if any?
Richard W. Haines: It’s vitally important to output a digital movie to 35 mm negative for long term preservation. Modern estar base low fade film should last between 75-100 years if stored correctly. No digital format is archival or permanent.
Body Count Rising: Besides practicality (Haines has indicated practicality in determination of location as key in a previous interview.) and shooting on 35 mm, what other advice would you give to an aspiring author or filmmaker?
Richard W. Haines: When negotiating with distributors, remember to secure ‘gross points’, not ‘net points’. "Gross points" is a percentage of all collected revenue derived from the distribution of the product. "Net points" is a percentage of collected revenue after the distributor has deducted their marketing expenses. In most cases, the distributors will claim that their marketing expenses exceed income and you’ll never see any money.
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