Scifi Scoop Editors
Ask us what our top five most anticipated sci-fi films of the year are and you’ll hear ‘Sandy Collora’s Hunter Prey‘ included in the mix. If you’re one of the few sci-fi fans who haven’t yet heard of Sandy Collora or Hunter Prey, then you should take the time to visit io9 who, back in Nov 08 provided an in depth look at the film via a comprehensive interview with him.
If you want the short version: Collora is the filmmaker who in 2003 scored a demi-god hit with his fan-made short film, Batman: Dead End (the one where Batman battles against the Joker, an Alien, and a Predator). Since then he’s had a legion of fans chomping at the bit to see what he can do with a full length feature film. Hunter Prey is that film.
The story follows a team of special forces commandos who must recapture an escaped alien prisoner after the military transport ship carrying it crashes on a desolate and hostile planet. Although we’re yet to see any footage (more on when that will change included in the interview below), the first wave of stills had many fans comparing elements of the images to Star Wars. Further, our own discussions about the film have regularly evoked elemental comparisons with James Cameron’s Terminator, Ron Moore’s Battlestsar Galactica, Wolfgang Petersen’s Enemy Mine, Star Trek, 2001 A Space Odyssey, and more. Whether these comparisons turn out to be accurate or not, the reality remains that yes, we’re very eager to see this movie.
So when will we see it? Many people were expecting Hunter Prey to be released last month but once March came, and with no word on the status of the film to hand, the usual speculation that something was wrong began to surface. Fortunately we can now confirm that there is no further need for such speculation for yesterday Sandy Collora gave us a status update, sent over a few new never before seen images, and fielded a few of our questions with answers that have only served to heighten our anticipation.
INTERVIEW WITH SANDY COLLORA:
Last we heard you were embarking on adding all the visual effects. How has that turned out?
Sandy Collora: Phenomenal. I’m very pleased with all the Visual Effects for the film. Johnnie Semerad and his award winning team of artists have generated some truly stunning imagery that certainly elevates the film to another level. That aspect of the film has grown considerably since I first sat down in NY with Johnnie and discussed what direction I felt the CG should go and where I felt it most applicable. Once they started completing shots and Toby (my editor) cut them into the film, Johnnie would say, “Hey, maybe we do a little something here, on this shot or that shot…” Little things that just made some stuff more fantastic and engaging. He also talked me into an idea he had for the opening of the film, which turned out incredibly well. Johnnie has great instincts and is a very talented artist and painter, so his ideas and what he brought to the film as whole, were very cool. We’re finishing up the last half dozen shots or so this week, so I’m very excited. Everything from the simplest of cosmetic fixes, to the breathtaking planetscapes, look incredible. I think people are going to be shocked at the level of GC that was achieved for such a low budget film. Everything is seamless. Natural. Unobtrusive. The CG enhances the world and the story, and is only used where we felt it necessary, and is not overbearing. It compliments the movie quite well, I’d say.
Do you still have any post-production to wrap up or is Hunter Prey complete?
SC: The film is almost done. The only things left really, are the score, the sound mix and recording Erin Gray’s voiceover. We’re hoping to have the film 100% complete by June. I’d be lying if I told you that I didn’t think we’d already be wrapped up by now, but the reality of the situation is, making a low budget, extremely ambitious, independent, Science Fiction film like Hunter Prey is inexorably difficult. Getting all of the elements to kind of “line up” when they’re supposed to, is a very tricky thing. All in all however, in the grand scheme of things, taking into consideration how long most Hollywood movies are in post, I’d still have to say we’re doing pretty good, especially given our limited resources. Again, I think when people see the film, it’ll click. They’ll realize without any question, what we were trying to achieve here, and that we were pushing really hard for something that would transcend the usual type of genre movie you expect to see in this budget range.
Originally you had hoped to release Hunter Prey in March 2009. Do you have a new release date in mind?
SC: Ya know, that’s an interesting question because honestly, I don’t know if there was a misunderstanding on my part, or I didn’t make myself clear enough when I first spoke of that, but I never thought the film would be released by this March. That’s quite honestly, very unrealistic for an ambitious, FX heavy, film like this, that wrapped principal photography in May of last year. I think what I meant to say, was that I was hoping for the film to be completed by March, which still puts us a bit behind, as were now looking at June to deliver the finished film. As for when it will be released, I can’t answer that yet. We have a great international sales group called Moviehouse, involved now in London, and they’re planning a presentation at Cannes in May. We’ll see how things go from there.
Were there any reasons for the delay that you can elaborate on?
SC: There’s quite a few actually, there always are… People’s schedules were a big problem, because when you’re not paying people their full rate, or in some cases not even close to it, you have to be flexible as far as their schedules are concerned. People have businesses to run, bills to pay and families to feed. Their availability might not always click with when you want them to do something, which is very normal in the low budget movie world. You get put on the back burner because you’re not a big paying job, which is completely understandable. The Visual FX ran late because shots were added, or changes were made to certain things to get the best result possible. I felt it was better to wait a bit longer to have the shot be perfect. I tried very hard along the way, not to compromise the artistic integrity of the film. Too many people worked too damn hard, to just say “Oh, that’s good enough..”. It’s just that simple. I think it makes a huge difference and matters that much… I truly do.
The music also held us up for a long time. It’s finally worked out now and we have an incredibly talented composer named Chris Hoag scoring our film, but the guy I originally wanted to work with, just could not commit to the job and a lot of time and effort was spent, ultimately in vain, trying to accommodate him. It happens all the time in this business, you just move on… Things are proceeding along quite well now.
When can we expect a trailer?
SC: The teaser trailer will premiere on io9, next week. It’s done, approved, and now the technical issues of how it’s going to be hosted are being worked out. I’m very excited about it. Like the movie itself and all the promotional artwork, the trailer has a very 70’s, old school Sci-Fi, organic, feel to it. I can’t wait to see what people think of it.
You’re making a guest appearance at Monsterpalooza? Will you be showcasing Hunter Prey – or any of your unseen work – there?
SC: I will be showing the trailer and a special presentation reel, with some behind the scenes stuff at Monsterpalooaza. There will be a Q&A with myself, the actors, and the producers and crew, afterwards as well. There will also be a Hunter Prey table with costume displays and artwork from the film, promotional materials, T-shirts, and free swag, where people can meet and interact with all of us, get a sketch, a photo, or whatever. I’m looking forward to it. There will be a lot of friends and colleagues speaking and presenting there as well. It should be fun! We’re also planning on doing something VERY special for Comic Con this year, so stay tuned!
I think there’s going to be a lot of people that want to see this film, not just in the US but worldwide. Can you give us some idea of how you intend to distribute the film?
SC: Another good question, to which unfortunately, the answer is; I don’t know yet. Of course, I’d love for this film to get a theatrical release, both overseas and here in the states, but that’s not up to me. It depends on who likes the film, how much they like it, and how much they’re willing to spend on P&A to get it into the theaters. I’ll say this; I’ve seen films that I personally felt were not worthy of it, get released theatrically. They all had varying results. Some made money, some didn’t. But the fact of the matter is, there are many different reasons why films get released the way they do, and I openly admit, I have no idea what some of those are and what criteria a film must meet and for whom, to get released in a certain manner. Marketing a film to buyers is quite different from marketing a film to an audience, and again, I’m just starting to learn how that all works. What I do know for sure however, is this; I have a film that if marketed correctly, will appeal to a lot of people, and that it will definitely be released in some form. All of you will be able to see this movie. Don’t worry about it “never seeing the light of day” as some of you put it, because that is simply not the case.
One of your approaches to film-making is to be conscious of what it is that’s made other genre films great and to try and synthesize that into your own work. Do you think you’ve managed to infuse some of these elements into Hunter Prey?
SC: I think so. The true test of that of course, will be what audiences think. That’s more up to them at this point than it is me. I feel I’ve done my job. I feel I’ve given the audience, especially the Sci Fi fans, something they really can embrace. I see elements of great Sci Fi films that have come before it, in the film and think I’ve paid homage to them in the purest of ways… Of course I’m biased, but I truly think there’s some old school, 70’s Sci Fi magic in “Hunter Prey”, but I guess we’ll see soon enough.
You’ve endured a lot of challenges to get to the point of even being able to produce an indie film. What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve faced during production?
SC: Every element of it is the biggest challenge, until you figure it out and move on to the next thing, which then of course, becomes the biggest challenge… True, but to answer more succinctly; I’d have to say the biggest challenge was raising the money. To me, the creative parts of filmmaking come very naturally and are fun and challenging in different, less stressful ways than the the business end of things for me.
I think there’s going to be a lot of people that want to see this film, not just in the US but worldwide. Can you give us some idea of how you intend to distribute the film?
SC: Another good question, to which unfortunately, the answer is; I don’t know yet. Of course, I’d love for this film to get a theatrical release, both overseas and here in the states, but that’s not up to me. It depends on who likes the film, how much they like it, and how much they’re willing to spend on P&A to get it into the theaters. I’ll say this; I’ve seen films that I personally felt were not worthy of it, get released theatrically. They all had varying results. Some made money, some didn’t. But the fact of the matter is, there are many different reasons why films get released the way they do, and I openly admit, I have no idea what some of those are and what criteria a film must meet and for whom, to get released in a certain manner. Marketing a film to buyers is quite different from marketing a film to an audience, and again, I’m just starting to learn how that all works. What I do know for sure however, is this; I have a film that if marketed correctly, will appeal to a lot of people, and that it will definitely be released in some form. All of you will be able to see this movie. Don’t worry about it “never seeing the light of day” as some of you put it, because that is simply not the case.
One of your approaches to film-making is to be conscious of what it is that’s made other genre films great and to try and synthesize that into your own work. Do you think you’ve managed to infuse some of these elements into Hunter Prey?
SC: I think so. The true test of that of course, will be what audiences think. That’s more up to them at this point than it is me. I feel I’ve done my job. I feel I’ve given the audience, especially the Sci Fi fans, something they really can embrace. I see elements of great Sci Fi films that have come before it, in the film and think I’ve paid homage to them in the purest of ways… Of course I’m biased, but I truly think there’s some old school, 70’s Sci Fi magic in “Hunter Prey”, but I guess we’ll see soon enough.
You’ve endured a lot of challenges to get to the point of even being able to produce an indie film. What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve faced during production?
SC: Every element of it is the biggest challenge, until you figure it out and move on to the next thing, which then of course, becomes the biggest challenge… True, but to answer more succinctly; I’d have to say the biggest challenge was raising the money. To me, the creative parts of filmmaking come very naturally and are fun and challenging in different, less stressful ways than the the business end of things for me.
