James Balsamo Interview
James Balsamo is a jack-of-all-trades; a songwriter, an actor, a sculptor, but most importantly, a filmmaker extraordinaire. From the time he was just a lad, and like so many others, James became fascinated with the Horror genre, attending his first Horror convention at the age of 8.
As a youngster, James knew what he wanted to do when “he grew up” – follow in the footsteps of his star slasher icons, Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees. Fueled by his ambitions, James convinced his parents to enroll him in Acting School. As a student in many prestigious New York acting schools, including Lee Strasberg, James’ passion for film and acting continued to grow. A New Yorker all his life, Balsamo continued his professional career at Professional Performing Arts High School in New York City. James grew tired of theatrical acting after high school and knew it was time to make the transition to the big screen. He left his Shakespearean tights at the door and spilled big screen blood all the way through Five Towns College.
Balsamo appears on both sides of the camera in many of his works, including his most recent project, Hack Job. Hack Job, with a budget under $60,000 has made its international debut and is selling worldwide, as well as exciting mentions during the NYC Tour of music icons GWAR and Ghoul. For now, James continues the “I Spill Your Guts” push, as he prepares for his newest project “Cool As Hell”.
Reelybored: What is your earliest memory in your venture toward filmmaking?
James Balsamo: It goes back to my elementary school days actually. When I was eight years old, I began making what I suppose you could loosely call “short films” – I took Spiderman action figures and a VHS camera to create some pretty cool scenarios. I continued as an actor and attended a bunch of prestigious acting schools and had lessons with expensive vocal coaches, but it wasn’t until high school that I ended up back behind the camera. At age 15, I started to make music videos for a band I was playing in. I continued acting through high school, but I soon realized that I really wanted to be bringing my visions to the big screen. I took that one step further and attended Five Towns College in New York, where I learned my craft and continued to make my wacky ideas become film reality.
Reelybored: What was it like for you when you were able to first realize your vision as a director?
James Balsamo: It is an amazing feeling to have something you thought up in a dream then become a reality. The one big example that comes to mind was in Hack Job, where I had the pleasure of working with my idol, Oderus Urungus, the lead singer of GWAR. To have someone you admire work on your project in itself is a cool feeling, but having Oderus fight an eight-foot alien that I thought up was awesome. My crew and I worked to create the battling alien creature, while we made sure that we kept with my love of practical effects. It’s safe to say that a project never made me cry tears of joy before that day.
Reelybored: How were you able to get Lloyd Kaufman to be involved in your projects?
James Balsamo: My ties with Lloyd and Troma run deep. A few years back, I was a Troma Intern and I really learned the inner workings of the business side of the industry during my time there. It was a privilege to work with Lloyd on both Hack Job and I Spill Your Guts. Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts on both ends prevented Lloyd from returning to the Acid Bath screen for our newest release, Cool As Hell. While we couldn’t juggle schedules enough to have Lloyd in Cool as Hell, he was spotted wearing a Hack Job t-shirt while he was directing his new feature Return to Nuke ‘Em High. I am sure he doesn’t need it, but I wish him tremendous success with the newest Troma release.
Reelybored: There seems to be no shortage of nudity in your films. Aside from the obvious, what’s it like working with beautiful women who are not shy about presenting their assets? Is it distracting to other cast and crew members?
James Balsamo: You’ve got that right! Naked people are fun to work with and boobs are great, right? I’m proud to say that my crew is one of the most professional in the industry and they know what they need to do and when they need to do it so we can keep pumping out the awesome flicks. I haven’t ever – not even once – received negative feedback from the cast or crew when we are working with nude models.
Reelybored: Have any funny, odd, weird, strange things happen while filming any of your previous films and/or your most recent, Cool as Hell?
James Balsamo: Everyday filming on an Acid Bath set is an adventure. No one particular story sticks out in my head, but I have a montage of thoughts running through my mind. From making a porn star drink blue milk that was meant to look like drain cleaner, to lighting Dan E. Danger on fire. From having Frank Mullen from Suffocation pretend to stab Tara Lynne in the crotch to our office landlord chasing away Carmine Capobianco when he was playing a detective, the stories go on and on. Most recently though, while I was on set in New York City, a strange man came up to me and grabbed my nipples. This man just came out of nowhere, walked into the shot, and said “Aren’t you cold in that Hawaiian shirt?” then he proceeded to grab my nipples and say “Your nipples are pretty hard” before walking away down the street. The part that amazed me the most was the fact no one on set with me was fazed by that in the least…maybe I’ll write a book about it someday!
Reelybored: What would you say is the most challenging thing you encountered while shooting any of your films?
James Balsamo: The most challenging thing I’ve seen to encounter is definitely dealing with audio when it comes to the elements. It’s easy to stop people from walking through an outdoor or street shot, but just because you care about making a movie doesn’t mean that traffic, the wind, planes, and birds do too.
Reelybored: Any horror films, or any other films for that matter, and directors that have influenced your work?
James Balsamo: I like to think that my directing style is similar to the way Freddy Krueger came about – I’m inspired by 1,000 maniacs so to speak. While I’m a huge Italian horror fan and idolize Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci, I love the big American names like Wes Craven and John Carpenter, too. Oh and don’t forget Lloyd Kaufman.
Reelybored: If you had the opportunity to work with any actor/actress, who would it be and why?
James Balsamo: I’m going with someone I haven’t worked with before. While it has been an honor to work with so many of my idols, I would love to work with Dick Miller. He’s a great actor and I loved his performance in Demon Night. I’m honored to be a guest with Dick at the Days of the Dead convention coming up in Atlanta. I’m looking forward to meeting him in person and talking about possibly collaborating on an upcoming project.
Reelybored: What’s your favorite horror movie and why?
James Balsamo: I’m sticking with Demon Night. It is one of those movies where the story is great, the Special FX are fantastic and the actors really make the film. Billy Zane really outdoes himself and Jada Pinkett Smith pushes through to kick ass! In Cool As Hell, we pay homage to Demon Night and recreate a scene where Billy Zane punches through the face of the Sheriff. Warning this is a gore spoiler, but in Cool As Hell the demon punches right through a girl’s face.
Reelybored: What do you have in the pipeline, what’s next for James Balsamo?
James Balsamo: We haven’t officially announced anything just yet. There are tons of ideas flying through Acid Bath every day and I want to look at every one of them. I can say though, the American Executioner from I Spill Your Guts will soon rise again. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to be the first to know what is happening!
Reelybored: What would you say to aspiring filmmakers?
James Balsamo: If you have a dream, go for it. Anything is possible and if you believe in yourself, you can make that movie. It is heart that makes a movie – it’s not the budget. Don’t be scared or shy away because something seems like a big project. If you believe you can make the movie – get your camera and do it!
LINKS:
Hack Job Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HACKJOBTHEMOVIE
I Spill Your Guts Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ispillyourguts
Cool as Hell Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coolashellmovie
Acid Bath Productions Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Acid-Bath-Productions/43234189083?fref=ts
Acid Bath Productions Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/acidbathproduct
Official Website of Hack Job: www.hackjobmovie.com
Official Website of I Spill Your Guts: www.ispillyourguts.com