Full Name:
William Hellfire
William Hellfire
Do you have a nickname or what do your friends call you?
Billium. Hellfire.
Birthplace:
Englwood NJ, grew up in Ringwood.
Englwood NJ, grew up in Ringwood.
Current hometown:
Bloomingdale, NJ
Favorite city and why?
NYC. It has a mysterious dark side, a wild side. Electric. I would never want to live in Manhattan but I do enjoy a rock n roll show, Turkish coffee and whiskey chaser or a screwy movie at the Anthology archives. Before NYC was so expensive to get into I used to see bands like Crash Worship, Jesus Lizard, Sonic Youth, EYEHATEGOD all the time. I'd go to screenings of old horror films and friends indie screenings too.
NYC. It has a mysterious dark side, a wild side. Electric. I would never want to live in Manhattan but I do enjoy a rock n roll show, Turkish coffee and whiskey chaser or a screwy movie at the Anthology archives. Before NYC was so expensive to get into I used to see bands like Crash Worship, Jesus Lizard, Sonic Youth, EYEHATEGOD all the time. I'd go to screenings of old horror films and friends indie screenings too.
Birthday/Age:
40
40
Sexual orientation?
Kinky.
Religion, if any?
Voodoo.
Are you superstitious at all? Any phobias?
I
am open to the possibilities of other worlds and perceptions but doubt
full. Byproduct of old age is skepticism. I always vowed never to
grow up, always to believe in magik but it gets tougher every day. Must
fight for magik.
Do you smoke/drink? If so, what? Any
bad habits?
No
smoking. Very little drinking. Over did it and had to get bleached.
(Chemo).
Current occupation:
P/T Office manager film photography project and filmmaker.
P/T Office manager film photography project and filmmaker.
What do you like to do when you’re not at work?
I watch movies with my girlfriend. Usually a feature a night. Almost always horror. Last night was "Night of the werewolf' we love Paul Naschy
What is your zombie outbreak survival plan?
Alcohol. Keep sedated and cool.
“Have a nice cold pint and wait for all of this to blow over.”
I watch movies with my girlfriend. Usually a feature a night. Almost always horror. Last night was "Night of the werewolf' we love Paul Naschy
What is your zombie outbreak survival plan?
Alcohol. Keep sedated and cool.
“Have a nice cold pint and wait for all of this to blow over.”
Hahahah.
Weapon of choice:
Alcohol.
Do you have any special skills?
Getting pretty girls naked in movies.
Did you go to college and, if so, what for?
Eh... a few years community college. I don't know nuttin'.
“All I know is that I don’t know. All I know is that I don’t know nuthin’.”
Any pets? If so, what are they and what are
their names?
Two cats. Alan and Anya Ormsby named after the leads in Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things.
Two cats. Alan and Anya Ormsby named after the leads in Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things.
What is your favorite animal?
Cat.
Cat.
Favorite/Least favorite Food:
Cookies. / McDonalds.
Cookies. / McDonalds.
What is your favorite quotation/motto/saying?
“Exterminate all rational thought.” - William S Burroughs.
Good choice I’m also a fan of… "Nothing is true, everything is permitted."
“Exterminate all rational thought.” - William S Burroughs.
Good choice I’m also a fan of… "Nothing is true, everything is permitted."
I
saw Naked Lunch when it came out, love that book, exterminator and
Junky too. For like years afterwards my friend and I used to write
'reports', these Burroughs inspired cryptic interpretations of events. We
used to run around in old suits from salvation army and type on rickety
electric typewriters.
What is the best thing that ever happened to you?
Erin Russ.
What’s an Erin Russ? *laughs*
Erin Russ.
What’s an Erin Russ? *laughs*
Actually
it's "The Russ" the nickname seems to have stuck. She moved
in in 2008 after my last bout with cancer and really helped me stay grounded.
I often go by “The Lefebvre” so she’s okay in my books.
I often go by “The Lefebvre” so she’s okay in my books.
What is the worst thing that ever happened to you?
My cat Kalvin died.
My cat Kalvin died.
What
is the best thing you’ve ever done?
By "best thing" I am assuming some form of artful creation so...my favorite film, that I've made so far is "The Devil's Bloody Playthings" but I think "Upsidedown Cross" will surpass it by 3 fold!
By "best thing" I am assuming some form of artful creation so...my favorite film, that I've made so far is "The Devil's Bloody Playthings" but I think "Upsidedown Cross" will surpass it by 3 fold!
What is the worst thing you’ve ever done?
I've done some terrible things.....but the worst movie I have ever made... there are sooooo many vying for that position it is hard to say....Silver Mummy/Duct tape killer has to be close to the worst.
I've done some terrible things.....but the worst movie I have ever made... there are sooooo many vying for that position it is hard to say....Silver Mummy/Duct tape killer has to be close to the worst.
That actually sounds kind of cool. Where did it go wrong?
The
title is deceiving. I shot both films in less than 8 hours each.
They are duct tape fetish films I made as a custom request. Girl gets duct taped for an hour. Girl gets duct taped again. It's a
creepy fetish and probably only good viewing if you’re an aspiring serial
rapist or maybe background noise at a party.
I did a project once where I did the same kind of thing but with electrical tape for a photo shoot. It wasn’t a fetish, per se, just something I thought would look cool and fetishy. You know the whole “shiny black” thing. But I only got from her ankle to her calf done on her right leg till she totally lost circulation in her foot and I had to carefully cut her out of the tape like a doctor cutting someone out of a cast. She apparently wasn’t ready to suffer for fashion, and by “suffer” I mean “lose a foot”.
I did a project once where I did the same kind of thing but with electrical tape for a photo shoot. It wasn’t a fetish, per se, just something I thought would look cool and fetishy. You know the whole “shiny black” thing. But I only got from her ankle to her calf done on her right leg till she totally lost circulation in her foot and I had to carefully cut her out of the tape like a doctor cutting someone out of a cast. She apparently wasn’t ready to suffer for fashion, and by “suffer” I mean “lose a foot”.
How did you get started doing what you do?
I started making films by accident. I went to work for a catalog film distributor "Alternative Cinema" as a VHS marketer, marketing to video stores. I was given a handful of features to watch and they were sooooo bad. I used to just watch them in disbelief that this low budget film community even existed. Movies like Goblin, Sandman, Kingdom of the Vampire, Zombie Rampage. So my boss 'Mike Raso' got sick of hearing me complain and said “Go make your own movie!” so I started making bad movies of my own. The first was "Caress of the Vampire pt 2: Teenage Girl Ghoul a Go-Go. I made it for under $300 and in 7 days of shooting. No script. Almost entirely improv. I created the soundtrack and brought in a few rock bands tracks too. The feature ended up in tower video! We got the cover of Scream Queens magazine and that was it. I was off and running.
What projects are you working on?
I have a few in the works but all secret just now.... witches werewolves... Italian splatter homages. Time will tell what one pops up first.
You had me at witches and werewolves. Please do keep me posted.
I have a few in the works but all secret just now.... witches werewolves... Italian splatter homages. Time will tell what one pops up first.
You had me at witches and werewolves. Please do keep me posted.
What are you watching?
Spanish horror. Rene Cordona JR "Tintorera: Killer Shark", "Night of 1000 Cats", "Treasure of the Amazons". Anything Paul Naschy especially "Dr. Jekyll meets the Werewolf" and "Vampire Woman and the Werewolf".
Spanish horror. Rene Cordona JR "Tintorera: Killer Shark", "Night of 1000 Cats", "Treasure of the Amazons". Anything Paul Naschy especially "Dr. Jekyll meets the Werewolf" and "Vampire Woman and the Werewolf".
What are you listening to?
New solo LP by David Yow (totally horror movie soundtrack experimental).
Graveyard, Pentagram, Goblin, Cactus.
Favorite author/book?
Nick Cave and the Ass Saw the Angel.
Nick Cave and the Ass Saw the Angel.
Favorite band/song?
Too many. Cactus "Bag Drag", Birthday Party "Jennifer's Veil", Sleep "Jerusalem", Jesus lizard "Here comes Dudley".
Are there any questions that I didn’t ask that you wished I
had asked that you would like to answer now?
About
the new production and my 'comeback' into film-making. I have been dormant for 9 years and decided
while I am in between full time jobs I should make a feature. I had been toying around with a few
treatments and one that seemed doable was this "Upsidedown Cross"
bit. I felt I really needed something to motivate me to get back into
making features so I figured the best way was to shoot for the stars, the
upsidedown stars, and I e-mailed David Yow and asked him if he would be
interested in this type of role. He
immediately replied and said yes so I wrote the script in two weeks and sent it
off to him. He loved it, to my
surprise, and signed on!!! He put
in 110% came to stay with me a few days before shooting so we could rehearse
and block He really added to the production was very professional, extremely
committed. It was one of the
greatest shooting experiences of my life, not the usual anxiety
attack. Everyone was great. Erin Russ was perfect for her role
too. I feel this production is
certainly as dark as my previous work but much more layered with a higher
caliber of actors and probably the first feature I put any real
pre-production into. I am pretty psyched to have pulled this
together. Mike Hunchback the
co-writer and associate producer really helped me along and brought some
amazing people to help out. Miranda
Hunchback contributed artwork and will contribute music. Mike Diana is making a limited addition Chick
Track religious comic. Michael Gancarz made two amazing posters. Jimmy ScreamerClauz
compiles the religious footage and created the spiritual Warfare TV commercial.
MIKE DIANA? THAT Mike Diana? Of Boiled Angel fame?
MIKE DIANA? THAT Mike Diana? Of Boiled Angel fame?
Yes.
That Mike Diana. He's a friend of Mike Hunchbacks and offered
his help in the production so what better way than for him to create and
"Upsidedown Cross" Chick tract. Everyone who donates $25 or more gets a signed
DVD and Chick tract plus special thanks in the credits. i didn't wanna
just ask for money I wanted to give everyone the movie and something really
cool. Having Mike Diana and David Yow involved is such a one two punch.
It's surreal really surreal.
Anyone
you recommend I interview that you can put me in touch with?
Mike Hunchback, David Yow, Erin Russ, Gilgo Beach Murders director Joseph D. Jimmy ScreamerClauz (Where The Dead Go to Die).
Cool! Much appreciated! I’ll follow up with you via FB/PM to get their contact info and line up introductions all around. I already sent Jimmy ScreamerClauz the first part of the interview process but you know Jimmy, he’s easily distractable, so if you want to message him with a polite push to get me the first pass so I can edit it and ask my follow-up questions it might help. I’ve got Victor Bonacore doing the same thing.
Mike Hunchback, David Yow, Erin Russ, Gilgo Beach Murders director Joseph D. Jimmy ScreamerClauz (Where The Dead Go to Die).
Cool! Much appreciated! I’ll follow up with you via FB/PM to get their contact info and line up introductions all around. I already sent Jimmy ScreamerClauz the first part of the interview process but you know Jimmy, he’s easily distractable, so if you want to message him with a polite push to get me the first pass so I can edit it and ask my follow-up questions it might help. I’ve got Victor Bonacore doing the same thing.
How did you find out about hellfire movies?
I went to high school with Josh Gravel who I guess you could say is the current head programmer for The Arkham Film Society. We’ve been friends ever since which is about eighteen years now. Since we’re into the same kind of movies and music for the most part we’re always putting each other onto things that we discover and get into. I think the first one he put me onto was Duck! Because I was interested in watching anything to do with the Columbine Massacre. Through that film I got to know Misty Mundae/Erin Brown and Alternative Cinema. Then we watched Devil’s Playthings which got me into Ruby LaRocca and through Ruby and attending conventions as a vendor I got into ScreamerClauz so it was all a really organic process. Kind of like I’m trying to grow the interview site. I figure people that are into the kind of stuff I’m into and doing the kind of stuff I’m doing will know people that are into and doing the same kind of stuff and the old “any friend of _______ is alright by me” goes a long way. Josh is also a big fan of Jesus Lizard so he’s wicked excited that David Yow’s involved in your latest film. I’ve tried to get into Jesus Lizard a few times but they never really stuck with me. Like Sam Black Church and Converge. I can recognize the musicianship and that it’s good music but it never really struck that invisible cord/chord inside me that makes you love a band. I’m going to give their discography another listen tonight to prep for interviewing David Yow and see if it finally gets its hooks in me.
I went to high school with Josh Gravel who I guess you could say is the current head programmer for The Arkham Film Society. We’ve been friends ever since which is about eighteen years now. Since we’re into the same kind of movies and music for the most part we’re always putting each other onto things that we discover and get into. I think the first one he put me onto was Duck! Because I was interested in watching anything to do with the Columbine Massacre. Through that film I got to know Misty Mundae/Erin Brown and Alternative Cinema. Then we watched Devil’s Playthings which got me into Ruby LaRocca and through Ruby and attending conventions as a vendor I got into ScreamerClauz so it was all a really organic process. Kind of like I’m trying to grow the interview site. I figure people that are into the kind of stuff I’m into and doing the kind of stuff I’m doing will know people that are into and doing the same kind of stuff and the old “any friend of _______ is alright by me” goes a long way. Josh is also a big fan of Jesus Lizard so he’s wicked excited that David Yow’s involved in your latest film. I’ve tried to get into Jesus Lizard a few times but they never really stuck with me. Like Sam Black Church and Converge. I can recognize the musicianship and that it’s good music but it never really struck that invisible cord/chord inside me that makes you love a band. I’m going to give their discography another listen tonight to prep for interviewing David Yow and see if it finally gets its hooks in me.
Josh
is a Hellfire supporter! Great guy. He actually bought one of my
first rock n roll recordings Vinegar Eel by the Band Disco Missile. He
has 1 of like 300 cassettes in existence. I recorded that on LSD.
He was gonna do a walk on part in the film but couldn’t get to NJ on the
filming day. Next time Josh!!!
That was part of why I asked you to be interviewed. Josh is really excited about your new project since he’s a big fan of Jesus Lizard and a fan of your work also so obviously he’s excited about Upsidedown Cross. I know that you and I don’t know each other very well but we have a lot of friends in common so I figured doing an interview would be a decent opportunity for us to get acquainted. By the way, if you need any extra music for the movie you can have any of the music from my Bandcamp free of charge. Not to mention it would be cool to finally get an IMDB soundtrack credit. master-control.bandcamp.com Not that you’re going to need extra music considering the talent pool you’re working with, but I figure it’s better to have and not need than to need and not have.
That was part of why I asked you to be interviewed. Josh is really excited about your new project since he’s a big fan of Jesus Lizard and a fan of your work also so obviously he’s excited about Upsidedown Cross. I know that you and I don’t know each other very well but we have a lot of friends in common so I figured doing an interview would be a decent opportunity for us to get acquainted. By the way, if you need any extra music for the movie you can have any of the music from my Bandcamp free of charge. Not to mention it would be cool to finally get an IMDB soundtrack credit. master-control.bandcamp.com Not that you’re going to need extra music considering the talent pool you’re working with, but I figure it’s better to have and not need than to need and not have.
Closing questions / summary / and thanks:
Thanks for letting me subject you to being interviewed!
Pitch parade:
Give me all of your links for things you want to promote. All of them.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/upsidedowncrossmovie
Thanks for letting me subject you to being interviewed!
Pitch parade:
Give me all of your links for things you want to promote. All of them.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/upsidedowncrossmovie
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/williamhellfire?fref=ts
Website: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/upsidedown-cross/x/4693901
Website: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/upsidedown-cross/x/4693901
Website:
http://www.alternativecinema.com/?pg=podcast
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNnzuyD_mZY
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNnzuyD_mZY
About the Interviewee:
William
Hellfire started producing music in 1989 began a cassette recording label in
1992 called Severed Lips Recordings which became the Factory 2000 video label
in 1997. You can find all Severed Lips Recordings at freemusicarchive.ord.
Free to listen and download. William produced over 30 features and shorts
for the home video VHS/DVD market mainly distributed the many Pop Cinema After
Hours brands including Seduction Cinema, Brain Escape and can be found at alternativecinema.com.
About the Interviewer:
Scott Lefebvre has probably read everything you've read and can write about whatever you want him to write about.
About the Interviewer:
Scott Lefebvre has probably read everything you've read and can write about whatever you want him to write about.
Mostly because when he was grounded for
his outlandish behavior as a hyperactive school child, the only place he was
allowed to go was the public library.
His literary tastes were forged by the
works of Helen Hoke, Alvin Schwartz and Stephen Gammell, Ray Bradbury, Richard
Matheson, Stephen King, Clive Barker, Edgar Allan Poe, and H. P. Lovecraft.
He is the author of Spooky Creepy Long
Island and a contributing author to Forrest J. Ackerman’s Anthology of the
Living Dead, Fracas: A Collection of Short Friction, The Call of Lovecraft, and
Cashiers du Cinemart.
His reviews have been published by a
variety of in print and online media including Scars Magazine, Icons of Fright,
Fatally Yours and Screams of Terror, and he has appeared in Fangoria, Rue
Morgue and HorrorHound Magazine.
He is the Assistant Program Director
for The Arkham Film Society and produces Electronic Music under the names
Master Control and LOVECRAFTWORK.
He is currently working on a
novel-length expansion of a short-story titled, "The End Of The World Is
Nigh", a crowd-funded, crowd-sourced, post-apocalyptic, zombie epidemic
project.
You can check out the blog for the book
here:theendoftheworldisnighbook.blogspot.com/
You can check out the Facebook Fan Page
for the project here:
You can check his author profile at: www.amazon.com/Scott-Lefebvre/e/B001TQ2W9G/
You can follow him at GoodReads here: www.goodreads.com/author/show/1617246.Scott_Lefebvre
You can check out his electronic music
here: soundcloud.com/master_control
And here: master-control.bandcamp.com
You can check out his videos at: www.youtube.com/user/doctornapoleon
You can check out his IMDB profile
here: www.imdb.com/name/nm3678959/
You can follow his Twitter here: twitter.com/TheLefebvre or @TheLefebvre
You can follow his Tumblr here:
thelefebvre.tumblr.com/
You can check out his Etsy here:
www.etsy.com/people/arkhamscreenings
You can join the group for The Arkham
Film Society here:
You can stalk his Facebook at: www.facebook.com/TheLefebvre
You can e-mail him at:
Scott_Lefebvre@hotmail.com
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