Interview: Writer/Director Michael Walker on Blending the Lines of Fiction and Reality for CUT SHOOT KILL

Arriving on VOD on August 8th courtesy of Freestyle Digital Media is writer/director Michael Walker’s intriguing movie-within-a-movie (one of this writer’s favorite cinematic sub-genres), Cut Shoot Kill, which follows an up-and-coming actress named Serena Brooks (Alexandra Socha) who gets more than she bargains for when she accepts the leading role in a low-budget horror movie helmed by underground director Alabama Chapman (Alex Hurt), who takes the violence in his films to disturbing levels.

Daily Dead recently spoke with Walker about his latest film, and he chatted about creating an unusual narrative to Cut Shoot Kill, collaborating with his film’s leads, the challenges of being a filmmaker, and more.

Congrats on the unique approach to this story. I enjoyed that you did an interesting concept here, in terms of a horror movie that's getting made but you don't quite know what's happening because you’re not sure if it’s the movie itself or real circumstances happening to these actors. What inspired you to go this route?

Michael Walker: I'd say it came from the idea of, if you ever go on the internet and see those real-life death videos or anything like that, where entertainment has gone to an extreme. I saw a couple of those and I just thought that it was a logical step of people trying to do a movie that just looks a little bit more real. When I thought about the script initially, I was thinking about this idea of where you're trying to make a movie, but you're up against actual death.

It became a little different when I was actually writing the script, because when you see people really dying, it's kind of a sad and awful thing, but in a horror movie, it's a little bit more fun. I wanted this to be fun. I could've gone in a different direction with it, and made it a little more serious, a little more tragic, but you want it to be fun and in this type of a movie world. It sort of came out of that. Then, as soon as I thought of the idea, the characters of the hillbilly film crew, that's when I really started to get excited about the concept.

Being a filmmaker and doing a story like this, was it partially cathartic for you? There are some really interesting aspects to the idea of going off and making a movie, and being with this ragtag family for a certain amount of time, and I thought this film really tapped into that feeling as well.

Michael Walker: I don't know if it's cathartic, exactly, but definitely making the movie was a lot like the story in it. We didn't kill anybody, but generally, when you make a movie, you go somewhere and you spend a lot of time, a very intense amount of time, with your film crew and your actors. This was definitely a different experience than I’ve had before, where this was much lower budget and we were up in one place on a mountain in Pennsylvania at this retreat. We got very close with each other for the four or five weeks that we were in production.

When it came to casting the role of Serena, much like her character in the fictional film featured in Cut Shoot Kill, there's a lot in your film that hinges on Alexandra. I'd love to hear about finding her and how, in your eyes, she embodied Serena.

Michael Walker: First of all, Alexandra came in and auditioned and she was great. It was instant. She definitely was the best one we saw. Then, we sat and talked about the character—we talked a lot. This was her first feature film, and her first film that she was going to star in, so it was a lot of firsts for her. It was definitely carrying a lot of weight on her, I think, but she really took it seriously, and I think she did a great job.

She's a very actorly actor and I think the character was, too, so that was nice. There are a lot of things that she did that I think are really amazing, and she was very good about keeping track of everything. I've worked with much more experienced actors who know how to do these things, and she came to it where she really knew how to get a performance out of herself. I do hope she's happy with it.

Can you also talk about working with Alex, in terms of his character, too, and helping him navigate these murky waters with his role?

Michael Walker: When you work on a film, you generally get behind the vision of the film and Alex is the one who had the vision of this film. We talked a lot about that and how he would inspire his crew and inspire the actors. He'd have these long conversations with Serena about bridging this gap between the film that he wants made and trying to figure out how the actors want to do it. He's seeking the sort of truth that they want to get to in a very pretentious sort of way.

It's funny having him as a very unpretentious character, but he still wants to do these sort of pretentious ideas, especially when he's trying to get this sense of realism by trying to kill people. It's fun. Like I said, the hillbilly characters of it are fun characters, and Alabama’s relationship with Nicole in the past, and how they came about and started making these films, was a big focus for both of us.

For you, what was the biggest takeaway that you had from the experience of making this film, whether it was something that affected you personally, or maybe it was something that affected you professionally, or maybe it was even a combination of both?

Michael Walker: Professionally, making movies is just sort of sad. I love movies, and I used to see a movie every day, and all I want to do is make movies. But basically, the movie business sort of died around me. They make the big Hollywood films, but you can't get in there if you’re not a studio movie. Even with a film like this, with the low-budget films, the budgets keep getting lower, and it's a lot tougher.

I don't know. I always get down on the film business, but it's just a tough business now. There's a lot of competition for not a lot of people who watch things. Most people tend to watch TV now, and it's been a tough path. On the other hand, making Cut Shoot Kill was one of the best times I've ever had on a film. It was great. I loved everybody on the crew. Like I said, we were very tight. It wasn't a party, but it was still so much fun.