HORROR & HILARITY interviews up-and-coming writer/producer EVAN KATZ

HORROR & HILARITY interviews up-and-coming writer/producer, EVAN KATZ
By Aine

Recently I had a chance to send some questions to Evan Katz, a young entry into the horror genre who you will be seeing a lot of in the future.

Q: Was Homesick the first film you wrote?

It was the first film that I wrote that was actually produced. In film school I wrote a horror script…that was very apocalyptic…very epic in scale…it was actually the scariest thing I think I’ve ever written…sadly…I saved another script over it accidentally, and it’s now lost forever.

How did your first script come about?

I graduated from a film school in florida…couldn’t find work, and had just gotten out of a serious relationship…so on a whim I decided to visit one of my former classmates in Alabama. Well. Not really visit…couch crash actually. I drove all night…met Adam [Weingard, director of Homesick] up at a waffle house. Got a snack. Slept for 24 hours. Woke up. Me and Adam went to a coffee shop…and after reading the newest issue of fangoria…I told Adam that we should do a horror film. A really bizarre slasher flick. I started writing it that night.

What had you been writing prior to scripts?

When I was young I put together my own punk rock fan zines. From there I contributed articles to music magazines…then I started doing horror journalism for the original incarnation of creature-corner. Did that for a
while.

How did you get involved with Tobe Hooper?

I met the producer of the Toolbox Murders remake that tobe directed at the American film market. He then got me involved with Tobe.

When will we see Mortuary?

Not a clue.

How did you make the move from writer to producer?

I actually started as writer and producer on home sick.

Will you continue to work in the horror genre, or will you move on to other
things?

I’m sticking with horror. It’s my favorite genre of all time next to crime films.

Do you think you will still work on low budget features, or will you move on
to bigger films?

It’s fun to bounce around. The key is to have the freedom to do what you want. I just did another feature with Adam for a much smaller budget than even Home Sick…and had a blast. Now I’m developing a script for a very highly budgeted film. Really, you take what you can get, or what you can get made.

Which do you like better, writing or producing, and why?

Writing. I’m pretty much through with producing…unless it’s one of my closest friends projects. There’s just too much stress and politics involved. I enjoy the creative side sooooo much more.

You seem to be working with Jace Anderson a lot lately, how is that going?

Only on two projects really. Jace and Adam her writing partner wrote mortuary…and all three of us collaborated on the Autopsy screenplay. They are some of my best friends here in LA so it’s a pleasure just to hang out with them.

Will you be doing more projects with Jace and/or Tobe Hooper?

Only time will tell.

What can you tell me about your three main projects: Homesick, Mortuary, and
Autopsy?

I’ll tell you about all my projects:

1. Home Sick – A rough, but charming, fucked up little film. The process making this was painful as hell, but on the other side I think we came out with…if not the most polished project, then at least a genuinely weird and disturbing little slasher. The film will be released by Synapse Films sometime next year.

2. Shorts – I wrote two half hour short films for Adam to direct…The Girlfriend and The Little One…and they’ve gotten great review and praise from some of the most successful writers in horror (Scott Kosar, Steven Susco). They will be included on the Home Sick release as extras. They are completely different then home sick….not gory…but very surreal and atmospheric.

3. Autopsy – At one point this gory hospital punk rock horror flick was going to be made by a company called Prime time Pictures…but the company has since dropped the ball…so we may have to take this somewhere else to get made. It was a real homage to 80s horror flicks like return of the living dead…

4. Mortuary – didn’t have much to do with this film…and got left out of the creative process. Not too excited about this one.

5. Pop Skull – most excited about this…it’s the second feature length collaboration between me and Adam…an atmospheric almost 70s style ghost story about a drug addict dealing with a duo of homicidal ghosts. Almost finished filming. The footage looks fantastic…I produced, acted in it, and co-wrote it with Lane Hughs, based on a novel he was working on.

Thank you Evan for this interview, as well as the photos. We look forward to seeing your latest projects.