Interview with Carousel of Revenge Director Gene Teigland

Indiefilmchat is delighted to offer the following interview with Producer/Director Gene Teigland discussing the making of his indie mystery, Carousel Of Revenge. You can view the trailer at www.carouselofrevenge.com. Carousel Of Revenge has a very strong narrative drive. Most independent films are much more character studies. Did you intentionally set out to make this kind of film or did it just turn out that way?

It was very intentional. The other writer, James A. Kreitel, and I spent a lot of time making sure that everything happened for a reason. I don’t like it when mysteries or plot twists happen by “accident”, when you say to yourself, “...that was convenient”. Everything we tried to do had to be convincing, plausible and come from true character motivation. It’s designed to be watched more than once. Each time you watch it you’ll see or hear something that clears up the puzzle even more. You get it in the end the first time but it’s this journey of discovery for the characters and the plot that we worked hard to craft.

IFC: Do you have a preference for this type of mystery-thriller plot in the films you enjoy? What are some of your favorite films?

I’ve always loved a great mystery. If you can get me guessing in ways that make sense and plausible then I’ll get hooked pretty easily. The other part of it is the mystery of the character. Trying to figure out why they do what they do. Gattaca with Ethan Hawke and Umu Thurman is by far my favorite film. While on the outside it seems to be a science-fiction film wrapped in a murder mystery, it’s really about the discovery of those two characters.. The way Andrew Niccol crafted that story was amazing. On the other side of that I could watch Waterboy over and over again...

IFC: What is your background and how did you come to decide to make Carousel Of Revenge?

My background is in Video Production (Producing, Directing, Editing). Before this I did a number of documentaries and other creative work. I first read the script that turned into Carousel of Revenge back when I studied a semester of film at LAFSC in Los Angeles. That’s where I met the writer James Kreitel. Originally it was called Scapegoat’s Homecoming. The whole essence of the story centered around this loner, overweight kid who was framed for murder and then what would happened if he was able to return without anybody recognizing him to “solve the mystery”. It was kind of a revenge piece at the time but it turned into so much more over all the rewrites (10 years worth).

IFC: Choosing to set your story at an amusement park is a stroke of genius in that you have so much production value on the screen simply by turning on your camera. How did you get the idea to set your story at Arnolds Park and was it difficult to secure the location?

Credit goes to Kreitel for the setting. He grew up near Arnolds Park and always thought it would be a great place to shoot a movie, an amusement park next to a lake...kind of a Coney Island atmosphere. When I went there the first time I fell in love with the place right away. It’s like you walked onto a movie set. I was driving in Northern Iowa surrounded by corn fields and then suddenly as you come over a hill, there it was a huge lake resort with boats everywhere on the lakes and an amazing recreational area. Kind of like when you drive into Vegas, you're driving in the middle of the desert and then suddenly there’s a city. Here your driving in the middle of all these corn fields and suddenly a huge vacation resort. It was actually very easy to secure the location. At the end of August when the students go back to school they close the park during the week. So we could easily shoot what we needed there. It’s funny everywhere I go across the U.S. I always seem to run into somebody who has been there.

IFC: Uncle Bobby feels part of a long line of creepy mid-western businessman types that stretches back to at least the Coen’s Fargo, and maybe even all the way to Red Rock West. More recent films like The Ice Harvest continue that tradition. What is it about amoral, or at least morally ambiguous mid-western businessmen and American films?

I guess maybe it comes from the idea that the Midwest is seen as this “moral bread basket” of the United States. So in the context of storytelling it’s kind of fun to twist that idea and make a character that is the antithesis of that. Here’s you’ve got this character like Uncle Bobby who is surrounded by characters who possess this “Midwest Nice” thing (which is really a code word for “I’ll act nice to you when your around but when you’re not looking it’s a different ballgame”). So when someone like Bobby comes in with his own rules it really sets up some fun conflict for the film and I think that’s why it’s been so successful in other films like Fargo.

IFC: You used a very creative way to finance Carousel Of Revenge. Would you elaborate on that some?

While we did secure regular investors for the film, to help in marketing the film we set up a website where everyday people could vote on casting, props, story settings, etc. We created this interaction with the audience before they would see the film. It was an interesting challenge to keep the vision intact while still letting go of some control but I actually enjoyed it. It was a chance to get the pulse of what the audience wants to see before you make the film.

IFC: The acting in Carousel of Revenge is very strong. How did you go about casting this film?

It was a very fast process with mainly the experience of our casting director Lynn Blumenthal. After one meeting she quickly knew what I was looking for to play each part. The whole process only took about 3 weeks which included some voting from online members. We were the first film to get SAG approval to vote on their members online. I think the other part had to do with the cast themselves. Not only did they take the time to understand their roles but gave me suggestions that I welcomed. I think for the cast to be believable they have to believe themselves in what their characters are doing and saying. So I adjusted a number of plot points which I thought were great suggestions by the cast.

IFC: How long was your production schedule?

21 days. We had 15 locations including an amusement park, baseball stadium (we shot that during a live St. Paul Saints baseball game. The P.A. Announcer told the whole crowd to be “quiet on the set” while the game was still playing. It was kind of weird hearing a stadium full of people quiet while the cameras rolled.), luxurious beach home, country club, and a jazz club. Lets just say we moved very fast. Also being the editor of the film helped a lot. We didn’t waste time shooting angles I knew I wasn’t going to use. I was editing the film in my head while we were shooting it. The cast couldn’t believe how fast we accomplished all of it.

IFC: What was one thing that surprised you about making this film?

That I could direct... Odd answer I know but we were considering hiring someone else to direct the film but my wife talked me into it and I was surprised how well that went for me. I’ve done a lot of news, promotional and documentary directing but the first time I ever walked onto a movie set was on this film as the director. Knowing what I know now I can see why the cast/crew is leery of working with a first-time director. Honestly I don’t think I’d hire one myself but after day two I had some crew saying to me that it looks like you’ve done this for years. That was a very nice surprise. On schedule, under budget always a good thing right...?

IFC: What is one horror story you’d like to share about the production?

Our first A.D. decided the day before shooting not to show up. You kind of need a good 1st Asst. Director to make the set work well. Fortunately we had someone fill in for the one day and brought another one in from Chicago for the rest of the shoot.

IFC: What is your fondest memory of the production?

It really wasn’t one thing. I just loved the whole on-set experience. Working with the crew on angles to working with the cast it’s just this crazy amazing experience. To be honest, watching the movie on the big screen is the let down. It’s the experience of working with other people who love the same thing you do (film) that makes it such an energizing experience for me.

IFC: You had some experience releasing Carousel theatrically by yourself. What do you have to say to independent filmmakers who believe their film should be theatrically released?

While it sounds great that your film was released theatrically, financially it’s not always the best route. It may be disappointing not to get there but to me if I want to keep making movies you gotta make money on it. Without the right backing (marketing and financially) it’s pretty impossible to make it successful. Every successful indie film had strong backing somewhere along the line. You look at Blair Witch Project, the reason it could even explode was they had people that could grow it once it “detonated”. I was proud of the fact that I could get it into theaters (that was actually the easier part) and we got a lot of media attention but without the right backing (financial and a long-term marketing plan) it’s difficult to financially be successful at it. I’m not going to lie, though, it looked good seeing the name of the film alongside other main-stream films, none of the theaters were art houses, most of them were chains.

IFC: Is that (Liberal talk show host) Ed Schultz’s voice as the d.j. of the Pirate Radio Station?

Actually the voice is a guy named Dave Shropshire. He’s a professional voice talent that does a number of commercials and trailers as well. He was one of the cast that was voted on by online members. We had about 50 people for online members to choose from and after going through all the rounds, Dave won the part. I know he had a lot of fun with it and I thought he did great.

It’s funny you should bring up liberal talk show host Ed Schultz, the character of the Pirate Dj was actually based on an ultraconservative radio talk show host, Michael Savage...kind of polar opposites.

IFC: Where do you see American Independent Film is heading these days?

I know the easy answer its “online, digital”. I think people forget that as tough as competition is out in the physical market place, i.e., theaters, video stores, television, to me it’s only going to be tougher online. Easier access yes... But your competition just multiplied literally millions of times. I think independent film is always on the same course, original ideas with original stories made by passionate people who find a way no matter the costs (since they usually have very little money). I think the biggest change or direction Independent films have to make is to pay more attention in marketing their product. It’s not good enough anymore to just make a good story you’ve got to develop a way to market it whether you're trying to attract the attention of distributors or the general audience. Just like Independent filmmaking has made some of the most creative stories, we have to now use that same creative force to market our films as well. With the digital age that to me is how we not only survive but can flourish.

IFC: After going through this process, do you have any advice for would be filmmakers?

Get a name, get a name, get a name. I’m all for the art and great story and while there are some exceptions, help out your investors and those marketing your film and get a name attached to it. That was our intention but other circumstances didn’t allow that to happen. While we’ve gotten many, many great comments from people who watched the film... they really loved it. It’s difficult to get the attention of those who market the film without a name attached. It’s makes life a lot easier for everybody. I wish it wasn’t that way but in today’s market it’s jus the nature of the beast. Sometimes it’s ok to play along.

VIEW THE TRAILER AT: www.carouselofrevenge.com.

---

LINK THIS ARTICLE