In this edition of Interview, Last Resort Films president Phil Dolan sits down for an interview with long-time LRF writer Andrew Doster (The Brilliant Friend, The Curse of Janara) to discuss horror films and his ambitious adaptation of Homer's Odyssey.
PD: Andrew, most of you filmography is in the horror genre. What is it about the Greek legend of Odysseus that made you want to tackle it?
AD: Yes, most of my filmography is horror but I also wanted to experience something different. I had also tried to create something new with "The Brilliant Friend" but unfortunately in that case the box office had not responded adequately. As for "The Odyssey" it is my favorite Greek legend and I wanted to bring it to the cinema after only a few short TV series have been made over the years. This work has so many iconic characters and moments and I thought it would be very interesting to see them on the big screen. Also this work has quite violent moments so I was able to insert some horror moments and also in this film and I hope they will be appreciated.
PD: Are you worried at all that adapting the film as a two-parter could be risky?
AD: I am aware that adapting the film in two parts can be very risky but I hope the story and the cast help the film to be a good box office success. In fact, I had initially written only one film but I had cut too many characters and important situations so I rewrote it by dividing the film in two. I hope I have also chosen the most suitable moment to finish the first film in such a way as to leave some curiosity to the public for the second chapter despite the fact that the work is obviously very well known. I am aware that I am a mediocre screenwriter (The best films were Love and The Curse of Janara which were rated 52) but I hope I have written the best film of my career because it would be nice to have some nominations in the end of season awards. At this point I thank producer Chad Taylor who gave me some advice and improved the grammar used in writing.
PD: Do you have any plans on making more non-horror films or will you go back to the genre you're most associated with?
AD: I have in mind to make some non-horror films, for example I would like to make a remake of an Italian film with fantastic and superhero traits and another that instead would be on the comedy-drama but it is still all on the high seas. For season 24 there should be 2 of my films that I have already written, one is a film that follows a somewhat particular plot involving a mother with two children in a difficult situation while the other will be an innovative project that I wrote with Ben Collins and Jack Slipter which was never done within LRF. I don't know if this type of operation will be able to have a positive response but I hope so because a follow-up would be ready in my mind. The juiciest news instead is a bizarre collaboration with Chad Taylor in which we will go back in time but it is still early to talk about it.
PD: Since you've made so many horror films for the studio, are there any horror films from some of the other writers that you're particularly fond of?
AD: First of all I hope that in the next few seasons the horror genre will have good films capable of having a big impact at the box office. It is curious to see that all the horror films with the highest box office have come from films released in the first seasons, leaving aside the films of Carl Flimmer's Alien Universe. As for my favorites so far are The Birds by APJ and The Stand by Matt Parker.
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