Writer, director interview & photos!
Normally, May 5th is an excuse to get drunk. But this year’s Cinco de Mayo was an excuse to get drunk and go on a Pig Hunt. This week, Jim Isaac’s (Jason X, Skinwalkers) latest film had its West Coast premiere at the wonderful Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. The film centers around a group of friends caught between a rock and a hard place in the middle of the Northern California woods. In this case, the rock is a bunch of crazed hillbillies and the hard place is a monster pig with a taste for human flesh.
I asked co-writer and producer Robert Mailer Anderson what inspired him to write the film. “My cousin [and co-writer] Zack and I come from a part of the world that unless you want to make a horror movie, no one will believe what happens there. There’s a bunch of hogs up there that get pretty big and pretty nasty, and a friend of ours turned forty and we thought ‘Well, what if we took him out there and left him? Who would he encounter and how would he get back?’ Then our imaginations kind of ran rampant,” he said. “With the exception of the 3,000 pound pig, they’re just home movies for us.”
As Charlie Musselwhite, the famed blues musician, and his band warmed up for their mini-concert before the premiere, I tracked Jim down and asked him what drew him to the project. “Well, first of all, the script is great. It’s in the horror genre but it has much more going on than your normal horror film. It’s got a great ensemble cast. It’s got an actual story. It’s not your typical horror film by any stretch of the imagination. So I was attracted to the story first and foremost.”
Jim’s previous efforts have all been studio-driven projects, but with this film he joined the ranks of indie filmmakers for the first time. I asked him his thoughts on going commando this time around. “It is a huge amount of work, a lot more work than I anticipated. Mostly in post-production and all the little nuts and bolts you’ve got to always be aware of and take care of and all that shit that can fall through the cracks. But the filmmaking process from pre-production to shooting and editing was a joy. Robert and I decided early on that we’d make the movie we wanted to make, we were like-minded and we knew exactly what we wanted to do. So creatively it was great. I didn’t have any of the problems I’ve had in the past when you have producers or executives or anybody who just weighs in and you don’t necessarily agree with. None of those issues were there at all.”
The premiere festivities got underway so I let Jim head off to host and I mingled. The courtyard of the Egyptian was a sea of faces in no time at all and among those faces a few notable ones. Besides the entire cast of the film, and the hundreds of friends and supporters, Darren Lynn Bousman (Repo! The Genetic Opera) and Andrew Keegan (Independence Day, Teenage Caveman) could be seen wandering about. Across the way, I spotted Stuart Gordon and Sean Cunningham talking and I rushed over to snap a pic. Emil Hirsch (Speed Racer) and Megan Fox were supposed to attend, but unfortunately they didn’t make it.
Charlie and his band kicked into full gear as soft tacos and beer were served to the guests. Those who weren’t in line for food or drinks found their way to the red carpet set-up to watch the cast and the famous faces pose for the cameras. The party roared for a few hours and then it was time to head into the theater to watch the film. Jim and Robert gave a brief intro and then the film unraveled for a raucous and boisterous audience that seemed to enjoy ever minute of the 107 minute movie.
After the screening, I found Jim and Robert and asked the obvious question. The film is currently seeking distribution but I just had to know if there were any plans for a sequel. “Yeah, we have some ideas,” said Jim. “First we have some other films we want to make, but yeah we have some thoughts.”
“I’d like to make Pig Hunt 2: The Bayou. We go down to post-Katrina New Orleans and the big pigs have gotten down there,” said Robert, in closing. “We could further examine race and class and the Bush administration’s failure to take care of anything down there. See how those people are doing and throw a big hog in their face!”
Source: Jose Prendes
