Indie
[WORLD OF DEATH] Interview with “The Basement” Director Trev Renney
I was able to get on the horn with Trev Renney so we could discuss his movie The Basement for a little bit and I thought it’d be a great lead in to Thursday’s premiere. Thanks for taking the time to chat with me Trev and for including your short in World of Death!
TONY (WOD) – Trev, why don’t you tell us a bit about The Basement.
TREV RENNEY – The Basement is a concept short, or a concept teaser, because it’s taken from a feature length version that I wrote, and is meant to be a springboard for getting that feature made. This is just the beginning for Gracie, and it gets a whole lot weirder from here.
WOD – So there’s more to this story huh? How do we see more?
TR – If you like the short, and you’d like to see the feature version get made, then please share share share. We also have a website – www.basementfilm.com. Our goal right now is to just get as many eyes on it as possible, so tweet, re-post, send it to your horror friends and industry tastemakers. Any help from fans is genuinely appreciated! Also feel free to reach out and let me know what you think. I’m on twitter @renn_dogg and @basement_film.
WOD – Where does the story come from?
I came up with the idea when myself and my now-wife broke into an abandoned steel foundry that was being zoned for redevelopment. We found a staircase leading to a basement but were way too terrified to go down. So after we left I started obsessing over what might be down there, and the idea for the movie came to me.
WOD – So in a way, crime can pay? Hmmm, we’ll have to remember that… I can honestly say what instantly drew me into the short was the promo shot of the staircase you sent me! How did you guys accomplish such an awe-inspiring camera shot?
TR – We got the staircase shot by actually building a staircase about half as big as the one in the shot, and with a removable wall. We shot that staircase in profile and then duplicated it in post, to make it taller than it really was. I’ll take this opportunity to say how grateful I am for my incredibly talented crew that helped pull it off. It was a shit-ton of work on a next-to-nothing budget.
WOD – Some of the best ideas come from a lack of budget. Psst, someone should probably tell Hollywood that. Trev, is there anything else you’d like to comment on?
TR – Huge thanks to everyone for watching. Enjoy the full short when it drops Thursday. And Thanks to Tony, Ben and everyone else at Bloody Disgusting for helping with the launch!
If you haven’t checked out the teaser for The Basement yet, scroll down and watch it now! Trust me, you’re missing out if you don’t. The full short film premieres on Thursday, February 23rd at 10am CST only on Bloody-Disgusting’s YouTube channel. Subscribe now!
– Tony Wash
Her House of Horrors, the horror division of Independent Production House WOMXNOGRAPHY, has launched its Bite Size Short Grant Program, ahead of its film festival Dollhouse of Horror, which will take place in March 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.
The Bite Size Short Grant Program awards $2,000 film grants to female-identifying and queer horror filmmakers. Shorts must be able to be made for $2,000, with a minimum runtime of 8 minutes. Submissions are now open on Filmfreeway, and are being judged by a panel of horror lovers and content creators.
The 2024 Bite Size Short Grant Program judge lineup is as follows:
“James H. Carter II- A documentary director, film producer, podcaster, marketing specialist, and writer. James is the founder and co-owner of Creepy Kingdom. Creepy Kingdom was founded in 2011 and is a multimedia website, and production studio specializing in creepy content. Their primary focus lies at the intersection of childlike fantasy and the macabre, covering horror films, theme parks, haunts, and much more. Beyond their extensive media coverage, Creepy Kingdom hosts events, offers original merchandise, and engages in film production under the Creepy Kingdom Studios brand producing original films like “Foolish Mortals”, exploring Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” fan culture, and “Georgie”, featuring Tony Dakota from the original “It” miniseries.
“In addition to founding Creepy Kingdom, James has won awards for his documentary work, including the award-winning “Foolish Mortals,” which has earned him recognition. He has been featured on Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween special.
“Ashleeta Beauchamp is the editor-in-chief of Peek-A-Boo! Magazine, a cheeky horror magazine created to uplift marginalized writers, artists, models and other creators within the horror community. She also runs The Halloween Coalition, a community group to provide support and marketing for horror and Halloween events around the Southern California area.
“Titeanya Rodríguez is a multi-hyphenate creative, and the founder and owner of HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, home of DOLLHOUSE OF HORROR and the horror division of WOMXNOGRAPHY. As a fellow storyteller and a self-proclaimed artivist, Titeanya’s mission is to create opportunities for women of color and queer women, across film, tv, sports, music, and beyond. She is also the creator of the BITE SIZE SHORT grant program.”
Winners will have a one-night theatrical screening at Regal Cinemas. Submissions Close April 8 at Midnight. Winners will be announced on May 27, 2024. Shorts must be shot and through post-production by June 30, 2024. The screening will take place on July 8, 2024, in Los Angeles, CA.
WOMXNOGRAPHY, HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, and Rodriguez are represented by Azhar PR, Granderson Des Rochers, and Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir.
To submit your short to the Bite Size Short Grant Program, go to the FilmFreeway link here.
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