Youth… so synonymous with passion, hunger and drive. Perhaps an edgy, devil-may-care, throw-caution-to-the-wind-and-just-create attitude is what has propelled the success of this prodigious young director. James Cullen Bressack, award-winning filmmaker of titles such as “My Pure Joy”, “Hate Crime”, “13/13/13”, “Pernicious” and “Blood Lake” is set to release a gritty, drug-fueled drama “White Crack Bastard” February 23rd on DVD, iTunes and Amazon streaming.
Growing up a child of parents in the entertainment industry, James has always had the desire to create. It started with short films that he would often attempt to hand into his teachers in lieu of written assignments, and turned to feature length films into adulthood. With each film James grows, learns and attempts something new. Each film is artistically different, but all have a social commentary, intensity and sense of diligence that has become characteristic of Bressack.
Body Count Rising: Your father, (the Emmy award-winning writer and director) Gordon Bressack, was Consulting Producer for your first film, “My Pure Joy”, your mom (Ellen Gerstell) and dad were both actors, plus you have acted as well. How does this influence affect your interactions with your actors when directing a film?
James Cullen Bressack: I don’t know whether they influenced the interactions or not, but I like to visualize a blank canvas. I take my ideas about the character, and the actor takes their ideas about the character and whatever works for both of us is what we use to paint the picture of who this person is, and determine subtext. The goal is to always come up with something really palpable.
Body Count Rising: You and your dad both have segments you each wrote and directed on the film “Virus of the Dead.” (Gordon Bressack wrote and directed ‘The Changes’ and James Cullen Bressack wrote and directed ‘Routine Stop’.) Did this project afford you time to work together, or were these completely separate projects?
James Cullen Bressack: These were completely different projects. We didn’t work together. I was one of the first filmmakers approached about contributing to the film, and when asked for recommendations of other filmmakers, I immediately thought of my dad and a couple of others.
Body Count Rising: Did your work influence your father to venture into the horror genre?
James Cullen Bressack: I would think so. My dad has always worked with cartoons, but he’s a storyteller in his own right. He’s been at this craft a lot longer than I have. I mean he’s won three Emmys, but I think that his work in horror is because of me, sure.
Body Count Rising: So is he a fan of horror too?
James Cullen Bressack: Yeah! He’s not as big of a fan as I am, but he does like horror films.
Note: James is a horror/exploitation “fan” with great taste. Some of James’ biggest influencers are Park Chan-Wook, Frank Henenlotter, Abel Ferrara and Quentin Tarantino and his favorite films are “Oldboy” and “They Call Her One Eye.”
Body Count Rising: You seem to be in love with anthologies. (James also was involved with the Treasure Chest of Hell trilogy, a series of three anthologies.) I know you like to showcase new talent or underappreciated talent. What else about anthologies do you embrace?
James Cullen Bressack: The great thing about anthologies is that it’s the perfect type of movie that you can put on in the background. I always love to have a movie on in the background when I’m working. Because you’re watching a short series of different stories, if you happen to miss something, you can just go back and re-watch it without losing the plot of a whole movie. Plus I enjoy watching the short stories over and over again.
Body Count Rising: What’s the most valuable industry lesson your parents have taught you?
James Cullen Bressack: The important lessons in business and keeping your head up, I learned from my dad. He told me one thing that always kind of stuck with me. In negotiations, you’re going to get screwed, so you’re basically determining the amount of lubricant that will be used. Of course “lubricant” is analogous to money. The more money you have, the less it will “hurt.” The less you have, the more difficult the filmmaking process will be. Of course I also learned story structure from him too because he’s an amazing writer.
Body Count Rising: Let’s talk about “White Crack Bastard.” This is a true story based on an aspiring actor’s battle with crack cocaine addiction and illustrates pieces of his life systematically being ripped away due to drug abuse and the perilous journey of getting his peace and sanity back. You’re a huge proponent of gore. Conversely, this film is subtle, yet equally effective in translating the horror of the situation. Was it more challenging not to be overt with gore in the more horrific scenes?
James Cullen Bressack: Not necessarily. “White Crack Bastard” is definitely a different situation for me as a filmmaker. This film started years ago, so it’s one of my older films. It’s actually my third film. I definitely don’t feel that I’ve made a horror movie. I take ordinary people and put them in extraordinary circumstances, so it’s really just a drama with horror elements. It’s the same tension and the mood that you’re putting in there, and while “White Crack Bastard” lacks gory violence it does have that same tension.
Body Count Rising: Powerful performances by Rhett Benz (Luke) and Taja V. Simpson (Gina) reveal the many gray areas of this exploitative drama. Nothing is simple, and it’s all subjective. This film is categorized as a drama on IMDb. Do you think the classification as simply a “drama” is truly accurate?
James Cullen Bressack: It’s considered a drama, but it definitely has the exploitation feel. Some are also calling this a cult film as in the midnight movies type of cult film as sub-genre and a drug genre film.
Body Count Rising: At no point does this film feel preachy or judgmental. Do you consider this a cautionary tale or a factual documentation?
James Cullen Bressack: I think it’s a really a special circumstance to have the lead actor playing the character based on himself. The film was based on Rhett’s life. The person who wrote the film, Lisa, was actually played as “Heather” in the film. It’s an intense situation. In the DVD commentary Rhett talks about his whole experience and it’s very interesting and absolutely factual with slight embellishments at times.
Body Count Rising: Your producer for this film was also the lead. Were there any challenges associated with this or directing someone who is playing himself?
James Cullen Bressack: Lisa created the script and Rhett was funding the project and acting in the movie. They had been working on this for a couple of years before they approached me and asked me to direct. We had a really good relationship so it was a very positive experience.
Body Count Rising: How long did the shoot take?
James Cullen Bressack: It’s been quite some time ago, but I would say 12-14 days… something like that.
Body Count Rising: What kind of budget were you working with?
James Cullen Bressack: It was a very bare bones budget. It wasn’t a 120 person crew like with “Pernicious”. It was me, a DP and a sound person as the entire crew.
Body Count Rising: This film was completed in 2013. Why the delay in releasing? Did the acclaim of “Pernicious” help with the final distribution of “White Crack Bastard”?
James Cullen Bressack: I think it’s a combination of things. The release of my other films is part of it. Plus, even after three years there was still stuff that needed to be fixed and it was too late to call in favors at this point. With a movie like this, it’s a little more risky than a horror film in having an audience and being seen. The distributor at BrinkVision, is a friend of mine and was interested in putting out the film.
Body Count Rising: The performances in this film impacted me the same way Ellen Burstyn’s refrigerator scene in “Requiem for a Dream” did. “White Crack Bastard” was uncomfortable, jarring, slightly nauseating and sad. The difference is that there is very little comedic release in your film. It’s relentless, and that seems to be a theme in your films. Were you influenced by Requiem?
James Cullen Bressack: I was very influenced by “Requiem” when directing this film, and also by the film “Spun”. In the past, it was very much my style to have a super intense, relentless punch to the face like you see in “Hate Crime,” my second film. As time goes by you’ll see a bit more reservation, like with “Pernicious” or my new film, “Bethany” as opposed to constant intensity.
Body Count Rising: You filmed some interesting angles, further accentuating the feeling of being drug-addled. Did you need to create any special devices to film at such wild angles?
James Cullen Bressack: We shot on a DSLR, instead of on Red, which is a much smaller, more compact camera, so it allowed us to get into tight spaces and really position wherever I wanted to get crazier angles. It was easier to maneuver and it allowed us to achieve a disorienting feel.
Body Count Rising: Do you exclusively film on digital?
James Cullen Bressack: Yes. I would love to shoot on film to some point, but it’s just not in the cards for me right now, being an independent filmmaker and just starting out. It seems like film isn’t really a viable option at an indie level because of the expense.
Body Count Rising: You filmed “To Jennifer” with an agreement with Apple using an iPhone 5. Will you shoot another movie using the iPhone again?
James Cullen Bressack: The “2 Jennifer” premier was this week, which was the follow up-to “To Jennifer” and this was directed by Hunter Johnson. That one was shot on an iPhone as well. I think it will be interesting to see how that will be received. “To Jennifer” was supposed to be released as an app in conjunction with Apple, but the designer never created the app, so that was frustrating to say the least.
Body Count Rising: I noticed you used many effects to instill that dream-like quality. How much time did you take with this film in editing?
James Cullen Bressack: Well, the film isn’t being released until now (three years later), so we had three years to work on it. The film has been tweaked many, many, many times. My last notes on the edit were like two months ago.
Body Count Rising: This has a very raw feel and it looks like you filmed in a rough area. How much of this was actually guerilla filmmaking?
James Cullen Bressack: (laughing) The whole thing was guerilla filmmaking.
Body Count Rising: I know you inject your personality into your characters in some way when you are the screenwriter. Since you didn’t write this film, did you still identify with any of the characters?
James Cullen Bressack: I don’t know that I identified with any character in this film, but whether I write a film or not, it doesn’t mean I love it any less or am any less dedicated.
Body Count Rising: The music selections in this film add a huge amount of personality and a certain quirkiness and, at times, levity. Can you elaborate on your music choices please?
James Cullen Bressack: I think music is very important when making a film. The music used in this film was created by Alibe, who worked with Earth, Wind and Fire and the Chicago Kid, who worked on “Straight Outta Compton”, so we were fortunate to have some very talented people collaborating on this film.
Body Count Rising: How do you overcome obstacles and what’s next for you?
James Cullen Bressack: I consider myself someone who just loves making films and hopes people enjoy watching them. I believe that the biggest part of being a director is being a problem solver. You’re constantly doing the best with the tools you have. A great example of that is during Pernicious they were supposed to arrive in a taxi, but the front lawn was so flooded we had to come up in a boat, so we built a pier overnight and worked the new situation into the film. You just make things work and move forward. Bethany, my new film that will come out in October, is something like “Mommie Dearest” meets “The Grudge”.
Keep up with James on his IMDb, his official website or follow him on Facebook. Learn more about “White Crack Bastard” on the film’s official site.