Tony Wash: A Moment with Its My Party and I’ll Die if I Want To’s Savant O’ Scary! By Brian Kirst

Scotchworthy Production’s (www.scotchworthy.com) recently released Its My Party and I’ll Die if I Want To not only delivers on the gore and horror lore front, but it positively glows with creativity and resolve. Much of this is due to the determination of its writer and director Tony Wash. Wash is gregarious, down to earth, and as you’re sure to discover below, the kind of guy you want to grab a beer with and spend a few minutes talking to. Because I’m a good guy, I’m doing half of your leg work - I got Wash to provide some honest and amusing reflections on the creating of his fast paced horror opus. As for the beer - well, sorry, folks - you’re entirely on your own locating that!

Brian: –Who were your first influences in film?

Tony: Numero Uno: John Carpenter! The man is my idol. His catalog of films is vast in its themes and plots, yet they all manage to hold a degree of "magic" to them. Halloween has the ultimate "realistic" bad guy in it; the "boogeyman" and you never know where he could be hiding. The Thing is quite possibly one of the best and underrated movies I’ve ever seen not only in story and characters, but also in FX and in the air of fantasy it holds. Big Trouble In Little China, The Fog, Prince of Darkness; they all possess a surrealistic, magical and exciting feel to them. Some of my biggest influences are the movies that have left a lasting effect on my life since I saw them as a young boy. The creature under the stairs in Creepshow was one of the first monsters I’d ever seen and thus "The Crate" story from Creepshow has always left an impression in my mind of what needs to be in every good horror film. Nowadays movies rely on computer imaging to create a visually surreal world whereas in the 70’s and 80’s, it was big sets, animatronics and a true sense of adventure and with it danger that made movies so exciting for audiences. The Goonies, Alien, Aliens, Predator, Indiana Jones, Star Wars they all made it apparent that anything was possible in the movies.

Brian: –What fed the creation of the urban legend in It’s My Party and I’ll Die if I Want to?

Wash: Honestly, I just tried to come up with a messed up back history to the house and it just sort of created itself. I went to Tom Savini’s Special FX School in Monessen, Pennsylvania and at the heart of town there was a large factory with a giant tower that spewed flames into the sky. We would always joke about it at school and the house where we shot the movie in overlooked the factory. I decided to create Jacob Burkitt, a man who went crazy with power (as many do) and who loses his mind once that power is stripped from him. As with most horror films, the premise was simple enough and cliché, but it was what happened next that I felt added a nice enough twist to the legend. Anyone will agree with me that the weird neighbor that has newspaper covering their windows always makes you wonder what goes on inside that house and I used that imagery to show Burkitt’s slow descent into madness and seclusion to help fuel the creepiness of the movie. Then the climax of the legend; the discovery of all of the body parts separated by rooms was just an idea I threw into it because it needed something unique that displayed Burkitt’s methodical nature and the separation of his own body parts showed not only his pure insanity, but also his dedication, however deranged it may have been.

Brian: –How did you come up the comic book framing devise for It’s My Party and I’ll Die if I Want to? Maybe I’m just behind the times, but the last time I recall seeing it used was for Creepshow 2.

Tony: I’d have to say that it all originated with the lighting restrictions I had. I knew that no matter what type of movie I was going to shoot, I was limited to using 500 watt work lights (the kind you buy from Lowes) and with my Director of Photography backing out on me I was forced to light and shoot everything myself. I only have a basic grasp on lighting concepts so I figured instead of trying to fake it and botch up the whole movie, I’d just rely on theatrical lighting colors and schemes, which I’ve spent more time with. I got a bunch of different theatrical gels (purples, reds, blues, greens), colors that are in no way realistic, but if used appropriately can pull off some pretty creepy settings. So this coupled with the "80’s" nature of the script caused me to work off the comic book theme. What I’m really looking forward to now is the sequel in which I intend on creating an illustrated comic to go with the script so people can actually SEE what I want the movie to look like before its shot!

Brian: –What was more difficult for you - the behind the camera stuff or working one on one with the actors?

Tony: In all honesty, it was everything. I had a ton of great people on set, many of whom I now consider family. But what it all boiled down to was that it was my project and that if I didn’t show up, no one would. And not having any money didn’t help. When you’re paying someone, whether it is an actor or a crew member, you can tell them what you want and make them redo it until its right. You can’t do that when people are working pro bono. They feel the need to add their own flare to the project. And I’m not knocking that… I am all for criticism and others ideas, Party… wouldn’t be nearly as good of a movie if it wasn’t for everyone’s input. But when you have a certain vision in your mind and everything you’ve saved your whole life is invested in the project you want it to come out exactly as it’s pictured in your head. And when you’ve been on set for 12 hours and it’s 4 in the morning and the actresses have class in 4 hours, it’s difficult to get them to do exactly what you’d like. Likewise, being forced to do EVERY aspect of the production yourself from the planning and scheduling to the shooting and editing is also very straining.

Brian: –Speaking of the performers in It’s My Party and I’ll Die if I Want To - can you rap on Tom Savini a bit?

Tony: We set everything up with Tom via email (which is never easy since you’re not actually talking to them directly). We got on set and shot all the exteriors and finished luckily fifteen minutes before a torrential downpour! Then we went to the basement location and Tom was actually pretty cool to have on set. He listened to what I wanted him to do and then added his own unique approach to his character. His interaction with not only me and the crew, but also the fellow actors was both professional and respectable. Though I experienced some difficulties setting everything up, in the long run it all paid off and we got him in the movie!

Brian: –Can you tell us some about the creation of the special effects for the project?

Tony: Well as most people know, my friends and I all met at Tom Savini’s Special FX School. And I want to point out right now, THIS IS NOT A STUDENT FILM!!! Some people have said that, but it needs to be quite apparent that this was an independent movie created completely separate from the school. So the great thing was that we had anywhere from two to thirty SFX brains working on the creation of these FX. What I loved most about it was that I was able to pick and choose people for their specific abilities and thus the reason why everything turned out so well. I designed all of the FX and the stuff I couldn’t quite figure out I had my other lead techs (Steve Winsett II, Todd Malnar and Christopher Patrick) help me. These guys really came through too and took my concepts and just flew with them! I am SO impressed with how everything was sculpted, molded, painted and put together and I can’t thank everyone who helped in the FX department enough for all their hard work and dedication. Some of my favorite FX involved the creature suit. I got this guy by the name of Barcode (has a bad ass barcode tattoo on his forearm) to sculpt the creature head off of a sketch I drew. Then a bunch of us created the suit out of cotton and latex and I made acrylic nails and teeth. We ordered some great contacts from 9mmfx.com and the suit was basically complete. The crowning development in the suit however was getting Angel Marquez into it. Angel brought a character to the creature and made it menacing and eerie, which is why most viewers comment on how much they enjoyed the creature. The gore gun (see Behind The Scenes) was my idea and curse. I used to make potato guns with my dad as a kid and when I envisioned the one character exploding (avoiding a spoiler!) I wanted it to be fast and a ton of blood and guts. I knew a bucket wouldn’t do the trick. So Steve Winsett and I created the potato gun and though it took God knows how many attempts over at least five shoot days to get the shots, they look f#$@in’ great!

Brian: –What are your future plans for It’s My Party and I’ll Die if I Want To and, perhaps more importantly, what would you like to see ultimately happen with the film?

Tony: It’s My Party… started out as a short film and turned into a feature length movie complete with a name actor and a Choose Your Own Adventure option. I sit back and can’t believe what the movie looks like now compared to when I was working on it over two years ago. A lot of my Scotchworthy "family" (referred to as the "Skeleton Crew") have agreed that they thought it was a fun movie from the start, but they are amazed at how far it’s come. The cool thing is that most of them aren’t surprised. We’ve all believed in what we were capable of and it’s certainly paying off. The movie’s won awards at film festivals including Best Feature and Audience Choice and the fans really do love the movie! It’s My Party… has already done more than I ever could have hoped, but I look at the type of movie that it is and ultimately would like to see it hit cult status. It may sound crazy, but the fans we’ve collected from the festivals and conventions are pretty dedicated and if we can just get a little more exposure, I could see a good number of horror fans really digging It’s My Party and I’ll Die If I Want To. Luckily, the internet and other sources are readily available to indie filmmakers such as myself, which allows us to be seen by people anywhere in the world. I sent a DVD out to an eager fan in France last week! That’s pretty cool…

Brian: –Lastly, do you have any future projects or plans that you would like to share with us?

Tony: We’ve got a few projects on the horizon. Our next feature, Sweet Dreams is in the final stages of development and we’re looking to begin production within the year. Sweet Dreams is four short stories, similar to Creepshow and Tales From The Darkside and each of the stories intertwine. The great thing about Sweet Dreams is that the stories are each drastically different from one another so they appeal to fans of every aspect of the horror genre. There is a creature story, a slasher flick, a zombie tale and a supernatural thriller all rolled into one movie. I intend to shoot it High Def, am looking at scoring a couple of big named horror veterans in the cast and am looking to obtain a The Shining meets Halloween feel to the flick. My partner, Christopher Patrick is working on his epic zombie film that centers around a small town located within a nuclear power plant where a mass outbreak occurs. I fully intend on creating a sequel to It’s My Party and I’ll Die If I Want To called You Would Die Two If It Happened To You. I don’t want to disclose too many details, but the movie takes place immediately after where the first movie leaves off and involves a larger party with an incredibly death toll. As long as I don’t go crazy, I also intend on making this movie a Choose Your Own Adventure as well. Besides these three movies, we have a handful of other scripts and stories put together and we are looking at branching Scotchworthy Productions out into different facets of the industry. We really want to focus on developing our Special FX Design resume and may even be looking at tapping into theater productions and internet reality shows. The bottom line is that Scotchworthy Productions, Inc. is a company comprised of eager young industry professionals who are looking to bring our dedication and creativity to any "Scotch-worthy" project we find. If you are interested in either working with us or producing one of our projects, please contact us at Charlie@scotchworthy.com.