As you may know, February is "Women in
Horror" month. To celebrate, PromoteHorror.com asked
women from different professions if they would like to answer some questions
about being a "Woman in Horror." One of the women, who were kind
enough to answer our questions, was the wonderful Jane Clark. Lets see what she said about being
a “Woman in Horror”…
-Was
there a specific moment when you realized that you wanted to go from being a
fan of horror to a woman who contributes to the genre, or did it just kind of
happen naturally?
I
was a casual horror fan up until the day I started writing CRAZY BITCHES. I'd
go to all the commercial films like THE CONJURING and CABIN IN THE WOODS, the
Eli Roth things, the SCREAM series. But I didn't really seek it out. Which
makes the fact that I chose to make my feature follow up to METH HEAD a horror
film just a little strange. But I did and as soon as I started digging into the
script I was hooked. It's such a fun genre to create. The fact that the horror
fans are so fantastic is an unexpected bonus. I am now working on a more full
on slasher film for Candis Cayne, and I'm planning sequels to CRAZY BITCHES -
CRAZIER BITCHES AND CRAZIEST BITCHES.
-
What does having a "Women in Horror" month mean to you?
It's
important at this moment in history to make noise as a woman filmmaker. The
statistics against women in the film industry as a whole have been stagnant for
a long time, despite the fact that there are a lot of us out there working. But
making your movie isn't enough. You have to have the distribution support and a
marketing plan to find the audience. Distributors are not usually interested in
taking a risk with a voice that doesn't fit into the tried and true horror structure.
And from the films I've seen so far, a lot of women are doing just that. WIH is
a voice for all of us, helping to raise awareness of our work, while we take
whatever paths we can to make our films available to the public.
-Is
there a woman in horror who you consider a role model?
Not really.
-How
do you think the role of women in horror has changed over the years?
I
think the role of women in horror is just now beginning to change with the
insurgence of women into the film-making ranks. It will be exciting to see what
happens in the next 10 years as more women are writing and directing their own
projects and finding outlets for their work.
-What
do you think the future holds for women in horror?
It
will depend on how the films we make today are embraced by the horror audience.
The more women who make successful horror films the more horror films we'll be
able to make. Because ultimately the business is driven by money, not gender.
If you can make someone money, I don't think they really care what's between
your legs.
-Being
that this is PromoteHorror.com, please
feel free to plug your current/next horror project.
My current feature, CRAZY BITCHES is a horror comedy sex romp about a
group of friends on a weekend getaway but things go horribly wrong when one by
one they are killed by their own vanity. It is released by Gravitas Ventures on
a multitude of VOD and iVOD platforms. The DVD/Blu Ray comes out April 1,
and the film launches internationally in May (date still tbd). More information
can be found at http://www.thecrazybitchesmovie.com and
the trailer is at http://youtu.be/mffDHDqGgHI
Jane
just completed her second feature, "Crazy Bitches" which will debut
summer 2014. Her directorial debut "Meth Head," stars Lukas Haas,
Blake Berris, Necar Zadegan and Wilson Cruz. The film has played over 25
national and international festivals and won 12 awards, including Best Feature,
Best First Feature, Best Screenplay, Best Director and Best Lead Actor.
Previously she produced the romantic feature "Elena Undone," for
writer/director Nicole Conn.
In
spring 2009 she completed "Beyond Words" which she wrote, directed
and edited for Pete Maggi of Blue Star Movies ("Merchant of Venice,"
"Head in the Clouds.") The film recently won the Illuminate Award at
the Lady Filmmaker's Festival. (2009)
As
Writer/Producer/Director/Editor other short films include: "The
Touch," (2007) set in 1906 and based on a true story of Renee Vivien, the
celebrated poet, and her romance with Kerime Turkhan Pasha, a married Islamic
woman. The project was fiscally sponsored by Women Make Movies and given the
Panasonic Digital Filmmaker's grant. It received a grant from the Arch and
Bruce Brown Foundation of Palm Springs, California and was made with the help
of donations of money, services and equipment. The film has played 28 festivals
and counting and had US TV distribution through the HERE network.
"Carrie's
Choice" (2005), a 23-minute short, is about a girl who becomes pregnant
and must make a difficult decision. The film was also fiscally sponsored by
Women Making Movies, was awarded the Panasonic Digital Filmmaker's Grand Prize,
and supported by Planned Parenthood - LA. The film played an abbreviated
festival run, garnering an award for Best Women's Issue Film, a nomination for
best short film, and was a finalist award at the prestigious USA Film Festival,
before beginning distribution with Intermedia.
"A
Host of Daffodils" a 15 minute short, was based on Jane's experiences with
her family after her father had a debilitating stroke. The film played 15
festivals, won an Audience Award, and Emerging Filmmaker award, was nominated
four times for Best Short Film, and is being distributed by Big Short Films.
"Dog
Gone" (2002) was a 28 minute short, produced, directed, co-edited and
starring Jane. The film was named Program Director's Pick at the Woods Hole
Film Festival. The story was based on Jane and her husband's experience when
their little dog is stolen from their house and they go a pet communicator to
get him back. It was a hit with audiences and eventually was offered, through
Gen Art, a one-year distribution deal with Petstyle.
Jane
began as an actor, including a recurring role on "Chicago Hope." In
2002, she attended the Sundance Producer's Conference, after gaining producing
experience with several showcase productions, followed by a sold-out run of
"Burn This" at the Court Theater, in which she also starred.Jane has
spoken on film production, fund-raising, marketing and distribution at a number
of festivals including the D.C. Independent and the Reel Women Film Festival,
most recently addressing the topic of filmmakers and social change. She is
finishing a book on how to make a good short film - from idea through
distribution. (bio from IMDB)
For
more information about Jane, please visit:
We
thank Jane Clark for taking the time to answer our questions, but more importantly for
her contribution to horror!
Additional
links:
