Sevé Schelenz’s Peelers Premieres at the New Jersey Film Festival on Saturday, October 1, 2016!
Here is my interview with Sevé Schelenz Director of Peelers:
Nigrin: Your film Peelers is all in one a grindhouse film, a gore film, a twist on the zombie genre, and a very dark comedy. Please tell us what motivated you to make this very crazy film.
Schelenz: After completing our first horror feature film Skew, and having a very successful festival and distribution run, my sales agent asked me, "So, what's next?" I had a number of features that I was developing (both by myself and with others) but most were comedies, thrillers and sci-fi. He told me after the success of Skew I should do another horror. I asked him what he thought would be a good sell. His answer: "More blood and more boobs." Well, quite honestly, that didn't interest me. I was more into anticipation-building and psychological horror. But I went away and thought, "I know I can get blood in there, no problem, but what about the nudity?" I just wasn't into having gratuitous breast shots. There had to be a purpose for it. So, I thought, "Where would we see nudity and accept it for being there? A strip club!" So I did some research and it turned out there were not a lot of stripper horror films, and of the ones I looked into, they just weren't that great. So, I felt there was an untapped sub-genre of horror there. I went to Lisa DeVita (Devits), our screenwriter, and asked her if she would be interested in penning the script. I had three requests of her and they were: a strong female character(s) who kicked butt, a deft story and some good twists. Devits was very excited as she told me a story about an incident she was “involved” in at a strip club in Vegas. And from there, Peelers was born. Oh, and if you want to know the story, just buy Devits a drink and ask her. She'll tell it the best.
Nigrin: The lead actor who plays Blue Jean Douglas is really smart, tough and sexy at the same time. Can you tell us more about how you found her and how you came about casting her in the lead role?
Schelenz: Our lead protagonist, Blue Jean was very tough to cast. We did have a number of very talented girls come out and read for the role but none of them really emulated what we wanted in the character. As a matter of fact, we really only had two viable options in terms of who could play her. Funny enough, Wren Walker came in late to the audition process because her boyfriend saw our ad and encouraged her to read for Blue Jean. She almost didn't come in! Luckily she did, and she nailed it. Wren just owned the Blue Jean role right off the bat. When we made our final decisions and offered her the role, she was ecstatic. Following up from that, Wren really took the time to get into character both mentally and physically. She worked out like a fiend to look the part and was always prepared on set to talk the part. Blue Jean is in almost every scene so that’s a lot of prep for an actor. In addition to this, Wren and I hit the ball field and practiced some throwing and swinging of the bat to make sure everything looked as authentic as possible for the film. Oh, and speaking of authentic, Wren actually joined a few of the other actresses in doing some research ahead of time. Yes, they all went to a strip club together.
Nigrin: Where did you shoot your film and how long did it take to complete.
Schelenz: It took us a quite some time to nail down our main location for shooting Peelers. We needed a bar for about two weeks without interruption. This was almost impossible as most bars were open for business so we could only shoot during their off hours. We figured out pretty quickly that we needed a bar that was already shut down so we could have access to it 24-7. Of course, this is easier said than done. But as luck would have it, a friend of mine told me about an old bar near his home that had been closed for some time, so we went and checked it out. It was perfect. But the owners had just sold it to another company that wanted to demolish it and rebuild within six months. Thankfully they weren't in any big rush and we were able to convince them to let us use it before demolishing it. It was absolute perfect timing. The place was ours 24-7 for two months. We had to build some false walls, a kitchen, a dressing room and an office during pre-production. Then after the shooting itself, we had some tear down and clean up time to finish things off. We couldn't have planned it better.
Nigrin: Were you influenced by the Tarantino and Rodriguez grindhouse films?
Schelenz: I’m a huge fan of Tarantino. His dialogue alone is just incredible. But what really impresses me is his love, determination and originality as a filmmaker. He has so much passion for filmmaking that it literally oozes off the screen. I definitely look to him as a source of motivation and education when it comes to filmmaking. Although people like to place films in categories I wouldn’t call Peelers a grindhouse film. As a matter of fact, we wanted to take the film one step further and give Peelers a bit more of a slick and glossy look. We wanted to create our own style and go against grain to give the audience a different feel. Having said that, Rodriguez was definitely an inspiration when it came to the action. He does it like no other. What’s been the biggest compliment so far for Peelers is that fans have actually described the film as “Rodriguez meets Tarantino.” That’s some pretty high praise and we’re honored and stoked to be compared to these awesome filmmakers.
Nigrin: What has the response been to your film so far.
Schelenz: It's been a blast taking Peelers to festivals so far! We’re probably just over half-ways on our festival run and audiences are really digging it. We've had great crowds and they've really been into the film. The best part is taking a seat with the audience and watching the movie with everyone. Just seeing their reactions to the film for the first time has been awesome. At one screening, we had just sat down after introducing Peelers and a couple of people arrived late. They sat right behind our screenwriter, Devits and myself. We got to hear their comments all the way through because they didn't know we were the filmmakers. That was pretty funny. Especially during the jump scares. We’re up to 42 festival acceptances so far and are pretty excited about our premiere at the New Jersey Film Festival on October 1st. I have to add that I really do encourage your readers to seek out the film when it's playing at the festival. Seeing it with a crowd of horror fans is like no other experience.
Nigrin: Are there any memorable stories while you made this film or any other info about your film you can relay to our readers?
Schelenz: We had some pretty funny things happen on set while shooting Peelers. One of them involved our Visual Effects Supervisor who went M.I.A. during a crucial scene where we needed his expertise. Suddenly the hunt was on to find him. We had to push the scene forward and continue shooting to make our day. Eventually he showed up and we got the shot done. Where was he? Turns out he was detained at a gas station just up the street on suspicion of using counterfeit money! In between shots, he went to grab a snack and pulled some cash out of the ATM. Turns out it was funny money and he couldn’t make it back to set until he answered all of the police’s questions. He kept telling them, “Hey, I’m working right now and I need to get back to set.” He was released of course when they realized they had the wrong guy.
Thanks so much for taking the time to interview me. IMake sure you catch it at New Jersey Film Fest screening!
Here is the Peelers trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emkSNaAAsEk
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A Wig and a Prayer will precede Peelers. Both films are for mature audiences! Here is more info on this screening:
A Wig and a Prayer - The Peaches Christ Story - Jeff Schlags (San Francisco, California)? A Wig and a Prayer takes us into the world of drag queen extraordinaire Peaches Christ, a.k.a. Joshua Grannell, whose Midnight Mass events, in San Francisco, have become immersive audience experiences combining song, dance, and joyful debauchery. Starring Joshua Grannell/Peaches Christ and featuring Cloris Leachman, Jennifer Tilly, and Barry Bostwick. 2015, 19 Min.
Peelers - Sevé Schelenz (Vancouver, Canada) Peelers is at once a grindhouse film, a gore film, a twist on the zombie genre, and a very dark comedy, that sets the right mood for Halloween. Blue Jean Douglas is closing down her small-town strip club and leaving for good. Having handed over ownership of her club to a shrewd tycoon known as Chromagnum, she is eager to move on to the next chapter of her life. But when a group of coal miners show up, what starts out as a last hurrah for the club turns into a blood bath, as the bar patrons become increasingly and inexplicably violent. With time running out, Blue Jean steps up to the plate to stop the spread of destruction before it’s too late. For mature audiences only! 2016; 95 min.
Saturday, October 1, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.
Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University
71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, New Jersey
$12=General; $10=Students+Seniors; $9=Rutgers Film Co-op Friends
Information: (848) 932-8482; www.njfilmfest.com
Jimmy John’s of New Brunswick will be providing free food prior to all New Jersey Film Festival Screenings!
