artiste d'mon >>> ben rock

Who is Ben Rock?
Just another California yuppie with a bluetooth earpiece dangling out of my head trying to dominate all show business and succeeding in dominating all show business in my house on some days.

Or at least I did until we got Tivo.

What experience early on, made you decide to become who you are today?
I must have felt that I lacked attention in some profound way, so I went about getting it by being louder and more obnoxious than anyone else.  Maybe it's because I was a youngest child, or maybe it was my father's friend Bob Goldberg who regaled me with stories of his own stop-motion experiments on super-8 film (though I never saw any of them). 

Also, I clearly remember seeing Ray Harryhausen showing how he stop-motion animated the "Medusa" models in "Clash of the Titans" when I was 9 or 10 years old.  At the time I wanted to direct stop-motion films, but to this day I haven't even made one.  Go figure.

Do you consider yourself an artist?  What is your strongest suit?
I suppose I work in artistic endeavors, but whenever it rises to a level I'd feel comfortable calling "art," I can't really claim responsibility. I think that directing is a skill that requires one to work with actors, designers, cinematographers -- all of them artists -- and kind of guide them.  Is that art?  Generally it feels more like being a logistical manager.

I don't know if I HAVE a strongest suit.  For me, directing is kind of a "jack of all trades" job.  You have to know some about acting, some about camera, some about editing, and some about color theory, on and on.  I come from a background in the art department and as a makeup artist, but when I'm lucky enough to be directing something, I don't come at the job as a makeup artist or a member of the art department. 

How has technology influenced your work in the last 10 years?
Being that I worked on my first film (as a makeup artist) in 1993, ten years pretty much encompasses my entire career!

Still, and I think I speak for a vast number of indie filmmakers here...  Technology has made it possible to do my job more efficiently, cheaper, and with fewer restrictions than ever before.  The two biggest things are the rise of CHEAP nonlinear editing (I use Apple's Final Cut Pro software), and the slow but overwhelming takeover of digital video technology. 

Five years ago it would have been impossible to do the Audi films for "The Art of the Heist" and have made them look half as good for twice the budget.  Readily available 24P video, high-speed Internet, and affordable home editing enabled us to produce and post produce 8 short films with decent production values on a shoestring and on a very limited timetable.

I was thinking about it during editing.  One of those films was written on the same computer I used to edit it!  We were able to post drafts online for approval, etc.

About three years ago I shot a music video for Captain Genius on 16mm film.  Today, I wouldn't have 16mm thoughts unless we had a substantial budget.  Why?  Video, which we all used to HATE, has become good enough to look at that people are excited about shooting it rather than "settling" for video.  Though it doesn't look better than film, it looks good enough, and you can shoot it FOREVER without spending much money so you get more chances to make the final product what you want it to be. 

Is film "dead?"  No.  But now, thanks to technology, I'm able to be way less precious about shooting, and so everybody I know is getting more practice at it than ever before. 

What inspires you?
I actually do a lot of writing, much like you, these days.  I write for Backstage West, a trade paper here in LA.  I am generally assigned to write about indie filmmakers, and so I hear all their stories.  It's amazing what people are doing these days. 

I think that we are in the middle of an indie film boom that won't be fully appreciated for 20 years because of the explosion of cheap technology.  People are regularly making features for $40 grand, which is a lot of money still, but is a doable sum nonetheless.  Not to sound grandiose, but it's like living through the French New Wave or something.  The kinds of stories that can be told today are vaster in scope than ever before, simply because someone wanting to tell a motion picture story doesn't need to raise millions of dollars.

I really get riled up hearing all these stories, seeing all these films, and realizing that pretty much anything can be done.

Also, I still enjoy seeing great theater, which is rare but it does happen.  I work in theater a lot out here, which pays nothing whatsoever, but is a great way to see a unique vision without someone having to have paid thousands and thousands of dollars to get it in front of people.

Do you now consider yourself a "West Coast Person"?
Yes.  I've been out here for 6 years now.  I have a house in Van Nuys.  I was lucky enough to buy before the housing boom.  At the end of the day, I'm a whore and will go wherever the work takes me.  If fortune smiles upon me, that will be all over the country and the world.  But I like it in LA.  If I left the business, I would probably stay here. 

How has The Blair Witch Project changed your life?
"Blair Witch" taught me numerous lessons in how a film could be made in an unconventional way, and yet still tells an engaging story.  I think it forced me to loosen up my own beliefs about how films were made and what made performances good. 

The biggest lesson is that it taught me is that on every project you should stick your neck out at least a little, try something different, maybe be a little afraid that something wouldn't work.  I still cover my ass, but I think that there is no artistry where there is no risk.

On a different tack, my entire career as it is was jump-started by "Blair Witch." Also, the abject failure of "Blair Witch 2," (which I didn't work on in any capacity) dried up interest for Blair in this town, and forced me to have to find other things on which to hang my hat.  Still, if it weren't for Blair Witch, I don't know what I'd be doing today.  I might be directing, but I don't know WHAT I'd be directing.

What is The Massacre of the Burkittsville 7?
I wrote, produced, and directed two specials for the "Blair Witch" franchise, and they were put out on VHS by Artisan under that title. 

Originally they were "The Burkittsville 7" and "Shadow of the Blair Witch."  Now it can be told that "Shadow" was something I did pretty much exactly the way the Artisan executives wanted me to -- which isn't to say that I didn't enjoy it -- but the concept was purely theirs. 

"Burkittsville," on the other hand, is one of the things I am most proud of having directed in my life.  Amorette Jones from Artisan basically told me that they wanted an hour long special that opened up the mythology of the Blair Witch without talking about the first movie and without giving anything away from the second. 

I pitched them the idea that there is a controversy over who REALLY killed the kids in the 1940's -- The man who claimed he was told to by an "old woman ghost" and ultimately hanged for it or the older kid who was pegged as one of the victims and ultimately got away and spent his whole life in asylums. 

The show centers on an obsessive film archivist who thinks it's the kid and has film footage to prove it...  Sort of.  This was the first time I was able to direct with a real budget, and it was scary and wonderful all at once.  I wish they'd put it out on a "Blair Witch" dvd or something!

Why Horror?
I've always been a fan of horror since I was a little kid.  I think my emotional development must have stopped when I was like 16 years old, because my enthusiasm for the horror genre hasn't waned one bit. 

I think that horror teaches us how to live with and conquer fear, both rational and irrational.  At the end of the day, fear is a survival technique we all have, and it compels us to action.  Horror lets us know that fear is important, and that we can live through it and survive. 

When horror movies really work, they catch us off guard and put us through a stress wringer.  On the other side, we have the catharsis of feeling like we've survived something terrifying.  Our brain may know that it was just a movie, but our instincts, which would have us running from predators or whatever, don't know the difference.  They probably needed the workout!

The Art of the Heist - Stolen A3? How was it working on this product placement (Audi A3) piece?
FAST!  I first heard about this job on a Wednesday.  Two weeks and one day later, we were shooting.  In that time, we did several budgets, got budget approval, did location scouting, casting, crewed up, set up an office, etc.  It was a whirlwind. 

Still, it was a great experience working with Mike Monello and Brian Cain from Campfire, Steve Wax and Ilene Richardson from Chelsea Pictures, and the whole gang from McKinney-Silver (the ad agency).  They knew that they were asking for the world on a low budget, and they really helped us to make it happen. 

Also, I haven't done a lot of "action" filmmaking in the past (though I've worked on a lot of action films), so I had to learn FAST how to do that. 

There were a lot of stunts like hanging two big guys upside down for an entire scene and dropping them on their heads.  There was gunplay.  It was a creative stretch for both myself and our cinematographer Frazer Bradshaw, but we had a blast doing it.  We really had an amazing crew, though.  I would list them, but this would become a credit listing and not an interview! They were on it, though, and having a crew with a great attitude makes the shoot an amazing experience for everyone involved.

"Conversations" has won many awards: why is this short so liked?
I think a lot of it has to do with Curtis Armstrong.  People are used to seeing him as "Booger" in "Revenge of the Nerds" or as a beloved character in stuff like "Ray." 

He's a phenomenal actor but you don't expect him to be the bad guy.  We wanted Curtis to play the lead because he's so instantly likeable, and we wanted our lead to be that way so it was harder to hate him when you find out that he's a killer.

We tend to get two compliments on the film.  He's the first and the second is the look.  Again, I credit cinematographer Frazer Bradshaw (who also shot the Audi films) for making the look, along with Special Effects coordinator Mark Koivu for creating a great atmosphere.  "Conversations" was something we had to make quickly as well (two days for the 16 minute film), and we had a great crew who were willing to boil their asses in June for us. 

What's next on the horizon for you, work-wise and personally?
My wife, Alicia Conway (who produced "Conversations") and I are working with writer Bob DeRosa on a film called "Oblivion," which is kind of an existential horror film.  Very low budget but spooky and haunting.

I'm also working with another writer named Andy Corren, on a more straight-up horror film that I think is very commercial but actually has a point.  I don't mean to be mysterious about it, but it's a fairly unique concept (at least I think it is) and I don't want to spill the beans just yet.  Stay tuned....

What is your most important goal in life?
To clean my office and I fail at it daily.

Who influenced you the most as an artist and person?
Well, my father's friend Bob Goldberg first made me aware that anybody with the desire and a story to tell could make movies.  So I credit him first.  He also bought me my first book on special effects makeup -- a great book by Dick Smith (who did makeup for "The Exorcist," etc.)  I still have that book!

I would also credit Gregg Hale for inspiring me, while in college, to make my own stuff.  Mostly because I saw him doing it, and he produced my first "real" film, "Vapor Man."  He was a little older than me and seemed to have a lot of faith that I knew what I was doing.

I had some great teachers too:  Kit Haskett, Mary Johnson, Michael Corbett, Terri Thaxton, and Geri Hooper -- people who pushed their students or encouraged us to be excited about learning

If you had to live inside a room for the rest of your life: what would it look-like?
God, I hope it wouldn't be as messy as my office, but I would ultimately make it that messy!

I think it would be full of Apple computers with top of the line gizmos attached.  If I had a lot of great footage to edit, I could busy myself eternally with cutting it up. 

It would also have a bunch of books and DVD's, etc.  I need constant input and research.

What did you listen last on your Ipod?
Spoon -- Gimme Fiction.  "The Beast and Dragon, Adored" gets stuck in my head pretty easily.

Success is....
Fleeting.  The real success is in creating a body of work you can be proud of!

If you could change anything about you, what would it be?
I would be a more disciplined screenwriter.  Screenwriting is the hardest job there is.  So few scripts are any good.  I wish I could create my own scripts as easily as a lot of people seem to...

Is "Brazil", still your favorite movie of all-time?
Look at the memory on you!  Holy crap!  I really love "Brazil," but I don't know if I have a "favorite" movie these days.  I think "Brazil" certainly touched me in my teenage years in a way most films didn't. 

As I've gotten older, I've found myself watching lots of documentaries like Errol Morris' "Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control," and Frederick Wiseman's "Titticut Follies" (which was part of the basis for "Burkittsville 7," incidentally). 

I have, over the last few years, found myself really drawn to films like "Fight Club," or "Miller's Crossing" or "Pi" or "Touch of Evil" or "Fitzcarraldo."  There are so many great movies, why pick one favorite?

If you could meet any one living or dead, who would it be and why?
This is a total film geek thing to say, but I really wish I could have met Orson Welles while he was alive.  What a character, what a genius, what a cautionary tale that guy was!  I recently saw the DVD for his last finished film, "F for Fake," and it had some amazing supplements.  That guy was always making films, and with a skeleton crew.  Most people have no idea how many movies Welles made!

He was an amazing talent, but at the same time he was an almost equally tragic waste of that talent.  I'm fascinated by Welles, the magician, hoaxer, and provocateur.  He was one of those guys who profoundly affected our culture in a way we feel daily, and yet most people only know him from "Citizen Kane", if at all.  It's a real waste.

Watch the trailer for Award Winning "Conversations,":

More clips:
Neptune Salad Entertainment

Stolen A3