Thursday, October 22, 2009
Video interview: Michael Stokes, writer/director of Dallas-made creepshow The Beacon
Photo by John P. Meyer
Michael Stokes: director, writer, seemingly nice guy
The Rogers Hotel in Waxahachie is -- by all accounts -- haunted as Hell.
So when Michael Stokes, writer/director of the new North Texas-produced indie picture The Beacon, was looking around for a place to film his tale of a couple haunted by their past -- while actually being haunted in their present -- it seemed like an excellent choice.
Sally Helppie (who, as it happens, is married to Michael) and her production team from Dallas-based Sabbatical Pictures got to work and booked three floors of the old traveling salesmen's haunt for the duration of their filming schedule. They more or less took over the place.
Stokes has been writing for the screen for many years (his most recent prior film work was for Exit Speed); The Beacon represents his first directorial outing.
Teri Polo menaced, in The Beacon
As Michael notes in our interview, The Beacon will be making pre-Halloween appearances at a number of area Studio Movie Grills (SMGs) next week, on the following schedule:
* Monday, October 26th, 7:30 p.m. in Lewisville
* Tuesday, October 27th, 7:30 p.m. in Arlington
* Wednesday, October 28th, 7:30 p.m. in Plano
* Thursday, October 29th, 7:30 p.m. in Addison
* Friday, October 30th, 7:30 p.m. in Dallas
Purchase your tickets through SMG, or from the Sabbatical Pictures website, here. The next time you'll be able to see the movie might well be when it achieves domestic DVD distribution -- a date and eventuality yet to be determined.
A few things Michael says during our interview:
* "It's gonna scare people and hopefully make them think."
* "We got to shoot a haunted house movie in a haunted hotel."
* "I really wanted to kick the writer's butt a couple of times ..."
* "We had members of our crew and members of our cast who reported having some strange (experiences in the haunted hotel). They felt the bedclothes move ..."
* "The crews here (in N. TX) are amazing ... the locals are not jaded here like they are in some places."
Interview with Michael Stokes
On a final note, it must be stated that Michael Stokes appears to be some kind of separated-at-birth, evil-twin clone of distinguished character actor Saul Rubinek. Don't you think?
