Talking With the Dead: 13 Questions with JimmyO Burril

1. Actor, producer, director, editor, writer and every other hat in between, there is not much that you have not done in your amazing career thus far! Watching your work, it is not hard to see that your influences in the genre are far reaching, from the most common areas of horror to its deepest and darkest corners. Can you tell us what inspired you from your earliest days to today, how do you manage to inject the humor into your bloody projects so seamlessly and how do you feel your work is shaping this generations era of film makers?

I have as much love for comedy as I do for horror. Mel Brooks, John Waters, are equal to Romero and Carpenter in my book. I see the two genres very similar in they are both designed to give you the same sort of thrill as a roller coaster… fear and joy all rolled up in one. I love that excitement, and taste of danger, wrapped up with laughter and release. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy heavier stories now and then, but the work that I want to do is more for fun than shock. I hope I make films that people can watch over and over with characters that they love and can relate to on some level. If other filmmakers find any inspiration from our work I hope it would be that inspiration and determination can pay off on multiple levels if your goal is simply to follow your bliss.

2. According to IMDB, your first credit was in 2003’s Silver Scream, where you not only played The Count, but you also directed, wrote, edited, produced, handled the production design, did the cinematography, and had a hand in the art department, make-up and special FX! Most people on their first project often comment on how nerve wracking just one position on set can be, yet you handled all of them! Was it always your intentions to handle all of those positions from the beginning of the project, how different was the actual experience from what you thought it would be and looking back at it now, would you have chosen to handle that all in your first project again?

Oh no… I simply did everything I needed to because there was no one else to do it. Now I have a small crew… a group of friends I can rely on to cover my ass more. I feel that a film is such an ensemble piece that I think the more creative input you have the better rounded the project turns out. If I could have specialists to do editing, post production… and everything else that needs to be covered, I would HAPPILY share more hats!

3. Your wife April, is not only your most iconic character to this day, but she is obviously your creative muse as well. Can you tell us how you first met April, how did you come up with the character of Chainsaw Sally for her and when you are writing parts for her as Chainsaw Sally or another character, do you guys sit down and discuss the characters and motivations or do you allow her more latitude when she is doing a scene or dialogue?

April and I met doing theater, and dancing for a local dance company. We were both in a dance piece choreographed to Led Zeppelin music, where we played husband and wife. We did not get together then but some years later when I started doing Silver Scream in Baltimore. Oh yes we talk over character motives, goals, back story, and dialog especially for Sally. I will come up with an idea… type it out and then run it by her. Where as she would never say NO I WONT DO THAT, she would, of course, have the best advice as to what Sally would or would not do.

4. Your next project Chainsaw Sally (2004) gathered in a who’s who in the industry, including such amazing talent as Mark Redfield, Gunnar Hansen, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Suzi Lorraine and of course, April! How did you come up with the concept for Chainsaw Sally, how much fun was it working with such talented and legendary talent on this project and how much did you pick the brains of Gunner and Herschell while working on the film?

Sally started as a web horror hostess… a mixture of Elvira, Tank Girl, and Leatherface… with a little Bugs Bunny here and there for good measure. Sally being my first REAL movie… I had little to no idea what the hell I was doing. Working with Gunnar and Herchell made me very nervous, but as they worked with me, I learned from them… especially Herschell. He never once said “This is how I would do it.” or suggested that I was doing it wrong.. even though I’m sure I was. Both men are gentlemen and professionals, and I have the honor of being the first director to direct Herschell, other than himself.

5. You took an almost 5 years absence from writing, directing and producing, but you did act in The Death of Poe (2006), A Feast of Flesh (2007) and Corpus Kristi (2008). Why did you take such a long break from what obviously is your dream and passion, what led you back to it and what can you tell us about the above projects and how you came to be involved with them?

I had a sequel to Sally written, and we were trying to get it funded with a bigger budget. We got hooked up with this cat in LA who held us to a contract for 6 months and then DID find investors. BUT the investors only wanted April and the Sally name. My story, and directing would have been tossed to the side… as would our other cast and crew. We would have lost Sally for a payday. The money would have been good… but it was not what we wanted to do with it, so we passed on a nice payday because we wanted our Sally to be our way. Finally we decided to stop waiting on Sally and move on to the Good Sisters, and then the Sally Show which would be 100% ours.

6. You jumped back into writing and directing with 2009’s The Good Sisters, teaming April and Scream Queen Debbie Rochon. “Breanne Good (Debbie) and her younger sister Kindra Good (April) have lived together in a modest Maryland suburban house for several years to hide a secret life. They are both practitioners of witchcraft which they keep a secret from their neighbors. When a mysterious man named Daniel moves into their house next door, Breanna and Kindra become suspicious of their new neighbor who also leads a secret life. Unsure if he is unnaturally obsessed with knowing about them, or if he has an agenda, the Good sisters will have to draw up all their powers to confront this man” is the premise of the film. What led to the development of this project and what did you think of the chemistry between April and Debbie in the film?

The films concept came from a photo I took of April and Debbie at a horror con. Not only did they look like they could be sisters, but the genuine hug and expression of joy on their faces was beautiful. The entire framework of the story popped into my head that weekend. Debbie, April and I found ourselves bonding nicely… a bit more than just co-workers. We found a kindred spirit in Debbie, which we still share today. The onscreen chemistry is clear in the film, and will be even more clear when we shoot the sequel.

7. 2010 brought on what I believe to be the groundwork for what is and could continue to be the next wave of horror in a situational episodic TV/webshow with The Chainsaw Sally Show. 11 episodes made up the first season, serving up the laughs and gore to no end, with the addition of a 52-minute bonus Chainsaw Sally murderous adventure entitled Grindhog Day. What (if any) difficulties did you have bringing the character of Chainsaw Sally from the screen to an episodic style TV show, was it always in your mind to make a continuous series based from that character and what can you tell us about Grindhog day and how it fits in the Sally universe?

First of all, Grindhog is a typo by Troma… and no one at Troma realized it before they sent the sleeve to press. I did not see the sleeve before it came out. It is GROUND HOG…. the entire idea was to do a “Very Special Episode” of the Sally Show based on a ridiculous holiday – It’s Groundhog Day Chainsaw Sally… as if it’s a Peanuts special. As for Season 1, the little bit of money we had was ours. Everyone donated their time, came up with their costumes… etc. No one got paid. However the show did so well on the net and on DVD that we were able to afford a few full page ads in Fangoria, and a second HD camera, and better sound equipment. So over all, our no budget experiment of showing the episodes for free online then selling the DVD was a success. Netflix does it now…. and we would LOVE to be a part of that deal :) I think Sally would be perfectly at home as a Netflix streaming series… in the vein of Hemlock Grove, and the upcoming Arrested Development

8. In 2011, you stepped away from Chainsaw Sally and directed a segment entitled Smores for Countess Bathoria’s Graveyard Picture Show. Can you tell us what stylistic differences you noticed between Graveyard Picture Show and The Chainsaw Sally Show, how did you come to be involved with the Countess and her show and are there any plans of her showing up on The Chainsaw Sally Show or any of your other projects?

Just a gritty little zombie flick with a fun twist… once again… no budget. :) Shot in one single afternoon with my daughter lilli (who plays Poe in the Sally Show) as our zombie.

9. The Chainsaw Sally Show returned in 2012, once again being set in the town of Porterville, MD. With this being the second season, did you have any problems with coming up with ideas and innovative murders and characters for this season, what led to the decision of you playing the character of Angel Eyes (Sally’s nemesis this season) and have you been surprised by the amount of attention and adoration the characters and series gets from fans and critics alike?

Oh boy, no… I have tons of Sally stories. She’s as much a part of our family as any of us at this point. And she is talked about in 3rd person…as if she is her own person. April and I could tell Sally stories until she is old and gray… if people keep watching that is. I played Angel Eyes (named after the character in The Good The Bad and the Ugly…as is Blondie) because I love to act. I was an actor way before a director, and I really wanted to do it again. I love to act, and really want to do it for others productions. I really want to act for the Soska Sisters, as does April. We are all very pleased with the love that has been given our stories and characters. It’s the goal…. to create something people react to, and love. We’ve done that with almost no money at all… and I can’t tell you how amazing it is… and how much we appreciate the great gift of being entertainers and story tellers that our audience care about.

10. One of the productions listed on IMDB is Zombie Girl Diary (2013), written and directed by Mike Pine. Very little is listed online about the film other than you are portraying the role of Mark. The film is listed as be in post production with release later this year. Is there anything you can tell us about the production and the motivations of your character and what brought the project to your attention?

I was asked to do a kinda cool little role, which I shot in a weekend. Everyone was nice, but that is almost all I know about it.

11. 2014 has you writing and directing The Bloody Clementines. I found even less about this future project than I did Zombie Girl Diary. Are you able to give us any details about the script and the crew that will be involved, where did you come up with the concept for the project and is this looking to be a “one-shot” type of story are could be possibly be looking at a new series?

Darling is the new Bloody! The Darling Clementines is by far the most disturbing film I’ve written to date. He has some moments of dark humor but is otherwise down and dirty. I’m calling it a Sexually Brutal film, because it is about sex.. or more to the point, procreation. The only thing I am willing to tell about the story is once again I have Debbie and April as sisters, but this time added a little sister being played by Nicole Rae, and a mother played by Lynn Lowery. I have a theme I guess of strong, but damaged women, and dysfunctional families.

12. With the success of The Chainsaw Sally Show and all of your other projects, you have an inside view of the genre that very few of us have, even those of us that work in the genre. What are your thoughts on how Hollywood is treating horror these days as opposed to the indie scene, if money was no object, what would be your ultimate dream project and where do you see the genre in 20 years?

The simple fact is, I’m doing what I want to do now… I simply would like to do it to a bigger audience…and with a real budget. I’m not a fan of the remake. Not when there are so many new, original stories to tell. I hope to find a real home for Sally so that she can reach further around the world with her delightful brand of mayhem.

13. Thank you so much for your time and all of your work! What else would you like to tell everyone about your work, what advice would you give to someone trying to break into the industry and what would you like to say to all of your fans?

What ever you do in life, do it for passion, not profit. Passion will out last the money…and if you work long enough and hard enough with passion…. you will reach your goal, and be rewarded. Everyones goal in life is happiness. If you follow your passion, you will find happiness…and then you have success!