Macabre...ish Cults, Classics & Horrors

Paul Andrew Williams got his start in acting having landed a place in a prestigious drama school in London at age 18. But he became disenchanted, was side tracked and returned home to start over. But he returned to London to make a short film and music videos, little by little each small project brought in more money until one of his indie shorts got the attention of Fox Searchlight Director’s Lab where he created, It’s Ok To Drink Whiskey and it premiered in the Sundance Film Festival. 

After a stint in LA, Paul returned home and the entire time he was trying to get The Cottage made but it kept stalling. In the mean time he was offered the Wild Things 3 but severe anxiety attacks forced him to quit.

But then he wrote a script called London to Brighton from that Friday to Monday, then got the funding (£60,000) to make it and the gritty thriller ended up being a success! Paul decided to finally make his horror comedy. The Cottage. While it was well received at festivals, the critics back home didn’t get it. 

While his first feature, a gritty thriller, London to Brighton, was a critically acclaimed hit that made him an indie darling, this horror comedy, cost him and changed the trajectory of his career. First, was a rating system choice because of one word and had the word been removed, Paul believes it would have a different outcome. It was a big lesson to learn.

The next movie was like starting over. It was another low budget indie thriller, Cherry Tree Lane which was better received. 

Paul changed direction again to TV and making dramas then he created Bull. And if you are a fan of the film The Children, that was based on a script he wrote and sold. 

Paul Andrew Williams is one of my favorite filmmakers and one of my favorite comedies is apparently his worst feature, The Cottage! Check out his other work if you haven’t already, London to Brighton, which put him on the map. Watch the more recent Bull and Cherry Tree Lane! Watch everything and support indie films.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Find Paul Andrew Williams’ filmography here:

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1440314/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

And find us:

Carlos Ibarra on IG @jekyl6669 and

 https://www.fillintheblanksproductions.ca/ 

Christopher Thompson on IG @theauthor__  

Kimberly at http://www.macabreish.com and IG and Tiktok @macabre_ish. https://linktr.ee/macabre_ish

[Before the show starts Chris, Carlos and I have have such interesting conversations and on this day before Dave shows up we were talking about Terrifier, Damien Leone and the impact of physical FX artists who become filmmakers. And Carlos talks about his personal experience with physical fx in his zombie film, Duck & Cover.]

Dave McRae arrives and we discovered that he and Chris knew each other in another life! He shares his stories of going to film school and decided he wanted to be an actor and moved closer to Toronto for opportunity. He got a part time job at a video store and after a road hockey incident that cost him his smile, he had to put on camera acting on hold. Then he shifted focus to voice acting and as of 2024 he has 24 years in the entertainment industry. Much of which has been in voice over work. By 2006, Dave was a full time actor.

Later, he returned to his first love, filmmaking. And that started on his youtube channel. In 2019, at the age of 40 he decided to make a go at directing, finally. So he waded in and with his connections and (specifically his life long friend, Bruce Dale) decided to make a Black Christmas fan film, a reimagining of Black Christmas. After having a successful indiegogo launch and raising 60,000 CAD, It’s Me, Billy Chapter 1, came to be. 

Dave talks about the differences in fan film quality and why. Part two of his, It’s Me, Billy Chapter 2, out earned chapter 1 by over 80,000 CAD with Olivia Hussey attached, plus the original Claire (Lynne Griffin) (remember the girl with the bag on her head in Black Christmas!!) and is playing Claire’s sister.

But just as the production of It’s Me, Billy Chapter 2 was under way, the Writer’s and SAG strikes happened and they were delayed 3 months awaiting approval. Unfortunately, a bigger nightmare happened when Olivia Hussey fell ill and she had to bow out, this happened 13 days before shooting. And Dave & Co had to scrambled to do press releases and inform contributors of the crowdfund, knowing that issuing refunds was a real possibility.

Dave also plays Freddy in another film, Dylan’s New Nightmare, in 2019, the 25th anniversary of A Nightmare on Elm St. And he talks about a potential supernatural, philosophical feature in his future that he’s been thinking about since college, based on a true story, his story. We hear the script is done so we’ll find out if Port Robinson Road comes to be!

This year is the 50th anniversary of Black Christmas on October 11th and that is the release date of It’s Me, Billy Chapter 2. Put it on your calendars!! And of course, watch It’s Me, Billy Chapter 1, first!

Buy the physical media, support indie filmmakers!!

Find Dave McRae here:

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC7_zQE4NTwspg2lwSRBjVWw

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2247687/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

https://www.instagram.com/davemcrae79/profilecard/?igsh=MTF5Y2Rqemt2bmc0ag==

And the rest of us:

Carlos Ibarra on IG @jekyl6669 and

 https://www.fillintheblanksproductions.ca/ 

Christopher Thompson on IG @theauthor__  

Kimberly at http://www.macabreish.com and Threads, IG and Tiktok @macabre_ish. https://linktr.ee/macabre_ish

This is part 2 of John Isberg’s interview. He goes more in depth about his story and possible future project ideas.

He started as an intern grip in 2014, five years later he’s working on friends music videos and five years from then he made his first feature, Final Summer. He talks about the money being in commercial work but the passion projects are a different matter.

John and Carlos talk about learning as they go because neither went to film school. He talks workshopping with other videographers on an mba program. He has extensive work history as a cinematographer in films such as Black Mold (directed by John Pata), Haunted House of Pancakes and of course Final Summer.

John talks about the specifics of Final Summer and what he hopes the audience feels and what it and the characters means to him. It’s not just a slasher, it represents mental health and an abusive past, this story is personal. He describes it as a crime scene in process. He focussed on having a mixed cast and the sometimes, heavy meanings behind the scenes and characters.

There are plans for a sequel in the future and possibly more, John talks about his plan for potential future Final sequels and it sounds great! I hope he can pull it off!! 

Get ready for a physical release of Final Summer in the Fall of 2024! There’s talk of a 3D addition in the release. Keep an eye out!! 

If you missed part 1 it is the podcast just before this one. Thanks for listening!!

Find John Isberg here:

https://www.instagram.com/finalsummermovie?igsh=bjMzNmlha21lNnI5

https://www.instagram.com/swedefilmscu?igsh=MTlhZXN4MXpxODB4Yw==

His work:

https://m.imdb.com/name/nm6533367/

And find us:

Carlos Ibarra on IG @jekyl6669 and

 https://www.fillintheblanksproductions.ca/ 

Kimberly at http://www.macabreish.com and IG and Tiktok @macabre_ish. https://linktr.ee/macabre_ish