November 6, 2008

Casting call
NH filmmaker at work

Hudson native and independent filmmaker Scott R. Caseley is working on his newest project, The Kingsmen’s Redeemer, a psychological/supernatural thriller. A 1999 graduate of Franklin Pierce College (now University), Caseley, 33, has worked on a number of projects, including the TV show Hollywood New England and a documentary about pet cemeteries. He and co-director Petros Tsanlaredes will host a casting call for The Kingsmen’s Redeemer at the Granite Media Center in Tilton Saturday, Nov. 8, and Sunday, Nov. 9, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Contact Caseley at staticfilms1@yahoo.com.

Q: How did you get into filmmaking?
I’ve wanted to be a filmmaker since I was five years old. I decided I needed to do a film in college to prove I could do it. I was a television broadcast major and I had just taken a documentary course. I wanted to do a feature film to get experience by doing it. Since then, after graduating college … I kept coming up with these false starts. While I was in the hospital for an appendectomy, I came up with this idea about a guy who had to make a movie or he’ll die. And that’s where Larry’s Home Video came from.

What was it like working on the pet cemetery documentary, Unconditional Love?
It was very intriguing. It’s getting to see a different side of life, meeting with really caring people with such devotion to their pets. It was really heartwarming to me. We also had a segment on war dogs at two locations: Proctor Animal Cemetery in Nashua and Hillside Acre Animal Cemetery in Methuen, Mass.

What are war dogs?
They were dogs that went off to fight alongside human soldiers. Well, not to fight, but to be alongside them in a variety of roles.

So what’s the new movie The Kingsmen’s Redeemer all about?
I can’t give out any plot details as of yet. I can tell you it is a gripping psychological, supernatural thriller. It will make you think, feel and entertain you.

Do you prefer directing or writing?
I’m interested in directing as well as writing. If I get a good script, I’d be willing to direct it. Unconditional Love wasn’t my idea. That was the brainchild of Ken Lawrence at Miken Entertainment.

What is it like putting together a story from someone else’s script?
Not to sound cliché, but it really is like a jigsaw puzzle. You want to find the elements that bring the initial idea together as much as possible. You’re trying to translate the author’s vision as close as possible, whether that’s myself or someone else.

What types of story do you like to tell in films?
I’m interested in telling a lot of different stories. My current script is a political story. After that, I’d like to make a romantic comedy. I always like stories that have something to say, socially conscious, as well as entertaining.

It seems like everyone who wants to be in the film industry goes to Hollywood. So why has New Hampshire worked for you?
I used to want to be a Hollywood director. If I was hired to do a movie there, I would go for it. In today’s day and age of YouTube, the Internet and the independent film movement, movie locations are popping up everywhere. There’s such a huge net of talent.

What’s Hollywood New England all about?
It’s about promoting the media and entertainment industry all over New England. It debuted in September 2007 and we profiled a lot of different people from a variety of realms.

What do you like about telling stories visually?
A lot of a story is told through body language. I love the nuances that the camera can pick up, the subtleties in human emotion. I love the close-ups that film can bring you. You really connect one on one with film. I love being able to connect with one person. I remember Some Kind of Wonderful ... I could feel they were talking to me and relating to what’s going on in my life. When I was a kid and growing up, I didn’t play a lot of sports ... I turned to being more creative, more artistic. I grew up watching movies. I saw thousands of movies.

The perception is that the film industry is a very difficult one to get into. With that in mind, what would you say to an aspiring filmmaker?
It is a difficult industry to get into. The secret I found, and this is just me because I did it myself, I said “I want to be a director, so I’m going to be a director.” I just started calling myself a director. Seriously, life is too short to worry about people who say you can’t do something. You should go out and do it. If you want to be a director, go out and do it. If you want to be a writer, be a writer. There’s no one who can stop you but yourself. This is what I believe. And I’m passionate about it. I love working with people, collaborating with people. I love seeing that look in an actor’s face. I love seeing that cinematographer smile when he knows he’s going to capture the emotion in that script. —Jeff Mucciarone