Ethan D Henry

Ethan D Henry is a director, producer, and co-writer of the new movie "Severance Mountain." We chat about what it takes to make an indie film, what the writing process looks like, and some tidbits on his new film. You can find his information on his website ignoranttouristproductions.com.

Transcript

Intro Song

Rob Valincius: Round fucking two! This is the Drink O'Clock Podcast. I am your host, Rob Valincius. And I have the pleasure of having the writer, producer, and director, Ethan D. Henry. Welcome to the show, brother. Again.

Ethan Henry: What's going on, Rob, again? And, um, just to be clear, I'm a co writer. I wrote it, and a friend of mine, Melissa Godin Hunt, helped me rewrite the script. So, co writer.

Rob Valincius: writer. Co writer. We'll make sure we get her in here, because I know, in our original discussion, and for the listeners, you guys know I'm a perfectionist. Uh, I went to go edit the audio and I wasn't fuckin payin attention to, I guess, anything that I was doing. And, uh, turns out I was recording audio on my, uh, Playstation 5 controller, like an idiot.

So now it is unplugged, and I tested my audio, uh, you know, and you would think I'm a rookie. Uh, but it'll be two years at the end of next month that I've been doing this podcast, and that's the first time that that's ever happened to me. So, um, you know, I guess it's just one of those fucking freak things, but, um, so Ethan, your feature film that you co-wrote, uh, is called Severance Mountain.

So I think, uh, we did wanna clarify this time around that, uh, you know, you originally said coming out this Halloween and, and it was more of a. Coming out in the, like, fall,

Ethan Henry: I don't like it's Christmas time. It's Halloween time, you know, spirit. Halloween's opening up. That was kind of the idea. And on the trailer, I wrote it, uh, Halloween and, and a lot of people were like supposed to come out on Halloween day. I'm like, no, no, no. Like Halloween season.

There's a season to Halloween. So I, I, I, and that's the trailer we're pushing. So, well, we'll see. We'll see how that plays out. Yeah.

Rob Valincius: That's awesome, that's, you know what? I don't know, man. I feel like I almost never watch horror movies on Halloween. I mean, maybe I will watch one, or, you know, we'll watch like a scary show or something. But for the most part, I feel like it's the anticipation of leading up to Halloween. You know, when you have AMC playing, you know, Like, 30 days of Halloween shit or whatever the fuck, it's like every day it's just a constant marathon of horror movies.

You're like, oh, I haven't seen Alien 2 in five years, you know, and, and you put it on and I'm still trying to convince the wifey to watch Alien, it's, it's, it's there. Cause Prometheus was such a great movie.

Ethan Henry: Romulus looks pretty good, too. I just saw a trailer for it the other day. That looks good.

Rob Valincius: Romulus looks amazing. Fantastic. And Prometheus was way better than I thought it was going to be.

Uh, so I'm trying to, I think I'm just going to get her lit. And, uh, just happen to put it on. And be like, oh, look, Alien's on. You know? But, um,

Ethan Henry: where they found the aliens, right? The architects and stuff, right? That's where they found the big white creatures, right? Prometheus?

Rob Valincius: yeah, and, yeah, and originally, yeah, originally it wasn't, Dubbed an Alien movie, and then after it came out, And everyone's, all the internet sleuths were like, dude, this is the Alien movie. This is definitely Alien, and, and, you know, they eventually confirmed it. Um, but it was, it was a great, way better than I thought it was going to be.

And actually, probably, probably next to Alien 1, I feel like it's, it's got to go like Alien 1 Prometheus for me because, you know, explains a lot. And just the, the, just the flow of the movie was really good, especially cause you didn't know that it was connected, you know, till the end.

Ethan Henry: Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of diehards, I knew it was connected, but, um, yeah, it was awesome. It's a standalone movie, but it was great, dude. It was great to hear that, that, that lore and like telling a little bit of the backstory. I love that. I love, I love Prometheus.

Rob Valincius: a sucker for that shit. And, and, and, um, You know, you tell me if you're into this type of genre. I love, and I, you know, I would read a lot of books. This, this fucking mic is driving me nuts, dude. It's just slowly sliding this way. I gotta tighten it up. Um, The, the, I like the anti hero movies. Where you kinda see the background of, The background of, The bad guys and then kind of what they turned into and it's like very similar to like Star Wars right the original trilogy or not the original trilogy, but one two and three you kind of saw You know how Anakin became Darth Vader, right?

And and but you see how he started this innocent kid and he made some bad decisions and Hung out with some, some shady characters and before you know it, he's a Sith Lord. So, um, I, I'm obsessed with this. Star Wars was really good with that, in my opinion. Um,

Ethan Henry: you know, you know, a movie that I, that I was, uh, I'm really into is you ever watch signs?

Rob Valincius: signs. Yeah.

Ethan Henry: Okay. So what, what is science? Is it an alien movie? Right. It's an alien movie, right?

Rob Valincius: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you never know with M night, you know, I, I feel like he's a, he's a crapshoot with that, but, uh,

Ethan Henry: Theory that it's not an alien movie. It's actually about demons and like as the whole I guess because I'm nice really creative about how he puts these little stories in and how he's he's pulling from all these places and it's about a priest who falls out of out of faith and then he comes back and and and I just watched, uh, Uh, podcast on YouTube, or I don't, I don't know what they were doing, but the show and they talked about, um, signs being about demons and coming here and, and, and it has tons of religious stuff in it.

I really liked that because it felt, um, it was when I watched the first 10 times, it felt like an alien movie, right? But then now, now I want to watch it through this new lens of why it might be more of a spiritual kind of demonic thing, more, more, it's, it has a different, different, um, Different field depends on what lens you look through but cool.

I just I just saw that the other day And I told my wife about and I thought it was really cool. And um, i'm telling everybody about it So i'm telling you now get it through the lens of

Rob Valincius: now it's on the internet.

Ethan Henry: Religious, but it's cool

Rob Valincius: I. I think I would, I would have to rewatch it under that lens. Uh, it's very similar to like, like if you were to watch the Star Wars movies now, I always tell people the best way to watch them is not the way they came out. Like you don't watch four, five, six, one, two, three. You should watch four, five, one, two, three, and then six.

And it makes the arc of the story ten times better.

Ethan Henry: I worked with a

Rob Valincius: it makes number one better, in my opinion.

Ethan Henry: Well, it does. If you, if you watched the four or five and six and you go back and it's always like, ah, it's always falling short, falling short. But I worked with this girl and she knew nothing about star Wars. And, and so, um, we watched four or five and six and then we watched one, two and three, but she just watched it from one, two, three on through.

So she discovered, you know, Anakin as a kid. And then when he turned evil, she was blown away. And then when Yoda died, she was blown away. And like, when all these things started unfolding, like, wow, it's gotta be such a unique experience to watch star Wars. In that order not knowing anything about it. So she just got to see it in real time It's like like like or she got to see it like one two, three, four, five six So, I mean to me yoda had been dead for you know, 20 years, you know when when they finally You know, but she didn't see it that way and she loved it and she she fell in love with it from the first episode Uh, so it must work like for me still loving empire strikes back, you know Like it's my favorite star wars movie like a lot of people.

Um In my age, you know in my my group, but um, Yeah, it's interesting to see that watching it from the beginning to the end that way And knowing nothing about star wars and loving it for what it is And uh, it's it's I wish I wish I could see it that way You know what? I mean? Because it would be cool because nothing beats four five and six I mean and and every time I watch i'm like Trying to capitalize, ah, they're telling this story, but I almost wish I didn't hear that part, or someone, I think Topher Grace smashed all the movies together into one, um, The Phantom Edit, I think it's called, and it's like a two and a half hour long edit where he, he basically smashed episodes one, two, and three into one movie.

It's on YouTube, you can watch it, and it's pretty cool. It's, it, it moves a little funny, but it's, it gets rid of all the boring stuff and just tells the story kind of quickly.

Rob Valincius: Oh, that's interesting. I'll have to check that out because Yeah, I mean, you know, some And look, I'm a I listen to audiobooks, but I'm a reader. I've always been a reader. I love, uh Just I have a wild imagination. You know, I've always had it. And, uh A book, if you're, if you're into like audio books or if you have time, I don't know if you've ever, uh, listened or read this, but Darth Plagueis, it's a standalone book.

Um, I don't know if it's canon because it was, it came out before Disney bought Star Wars. It was an amazing book, but it really give you a, gives you like a ton of background on the Senate, the And all that shit, because you don't, going into it, you don't fucking care, right? You don't understand a lot of that stuff that's going on.

But, a lot of it was manipulated by Darth Plagueis and all the things he went to into staying alive forever. Um, and apparently I heard he's, he's kind of resurfaced with one of the new Star Wars shows that I kind of refuse to watch because it's like super, I don't know. I, I can't watch that shit dude when it's like, you know, every character is, has to be a different color.

And, like, they don't I'm not, let's go back. I'm not a racist. Everyone, everyone that listens to this, but I'm one of those people I feel like, and maybe you can talk on this, but cause I have a question about this on here, but like when you cast your casting for an idea that you have in your head, you know, and if that means your whole cast is Asian, great, it is what it is.

But if it means like, you know, you're looking for the right person Disney's just like and now we have to hit every single demographic and then we also have to uh, Fuck the old star wars people that love and and we we need the new star wars people And then we also have to add old characters. They're just all over the place, man um, and I feel like Like casting's difficult.

I get that. Um, but you have to like stay true to like what is in your head, right? You Yeah.

Ethan Henry: if you, I mean, to kind of like support the idea of everything that's different. It is challenging. Like I live in a small town. I don't, there's not a lot of different people here. It's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's challenging. It's I live in Northern New York. You know what I mean? We don't, we're not by any really major cities.

Close city is Ottawa, which is about an hour away. That's another country. Um, and, and, you know, when it comes to making a movie, a lot of times you came, it's hard to find girls, you know what I mean? Like you had a bunch of dudes who want to make a movie. I'm like, well, how we, how are we supposed to make a diverse movie with nobody, you know?

So, um, when you. A lot of resources and you have a huge pool to choose from. I try not to most of my stuff, unless it's like historical and it has to be like, okay, this is about a certain era and these are the people it's about. You know what I mean? You can't, you can't tell a story about China and their history and cast a bunch of white dudes in it.

You know what I mean? Like it's just, it, you should probably stick to the demographic that you're telling the story about, but my stories are typically fiction. So being a fiction world, I just say a dude. A check, you know, the mother, the daughter, the wife. Uh, I just say people, I don't really put a call on it.

Sometimes I have a specific actor in mind. Um, and I'll say, Oh my God, it'd be great if, if, if we got, um, you know, so and so we got Denzel Washington plays cause he's just commanding character and, you know, and, and, um, but I did do a union, I did a SAG project where I did a pilot for a TV show and, um, uh, they were definitely, there's a lot of things in place to kind of make sure you're, you're.

Including everyone, which I, I think is cool, but, um, there's, there's perks to do it too. Like they say, okay, well, if you do this, you'll get a discount on this or, and there's a lot of little things, um, that it's, it's hard when you, when you screwed up for so long and you like, just, just, just kind of, you know, Just excluded so many different people, um, you know, races and women and stuff.

And now you're trying to make up for that stuff. This is what you're seeing with a lot of these companies because they don't want to be on the other end of that stick. Um, so some of them are over dating at the same time. Like I said, when I write, write, write something, I try to write it just for people and like, if I meet somebody and I don't really care what color they are, I don't care where their background is.

If they just, if they just feel like they're the person I'm like, Whoa, dude. And. Wars. Um, I was just talking to my kids about this. I was like, you know, what's cool about star Wars. They don't really focus on race so much. They don't really focus on, well, this person's that, I mean, they have green chicks that are hot.

They have like, they have weird. Ads in like, you know, 12 inch necks that are, you know, that, that are running things, you know, they have like ETS in there, they have, they have little Yodas in there and, and, and aside from being different and just, we could tell they're different, um, they're just characters, you know what I mean?

And it's in a fictional story. So, um, to me, it's like, I try not to like base my viewing experience off of that. Um, sometimes there are things that feel forced, but for the most part, um, We live in a day and age where there's so many people that have so many different interests and that come from so many different backgrounds that depending on who's watching it, you know, um, you just, you just, if you, if you, if you can include somebody that include them, if you can't, and you know, if it, if it makes the story feel weird, then, then, then, you know, I, I don't know, but I just kind of watch movies for what they are.

I try not to get too into that, that angle because I really don't care that much. You know what I mean?

Rob Valincius: Yeah. And I mean, I think that's how, that's how everyone should be. It's just, it's, I think a company like Disney, they just, they butcher shit, man. And it's, it's those big companies. That's what they do. Right. And I get it. Cause at the, at the end of the day, it's the bottom line, right? There's a line and you're either red or green.

Green is good. Red is bad, and, um, I, there's just certain things, and, and, I mean, that flows for everything. Not just movies, but video games, you know, you got a company like EA, where, you know, they buy a small, great studio like, you know, Bioware, which made some of my, some of the best role playing games ever made, and they turn them into dog shit, because they're just trying to make money, you know, with microtransactions, or whatever, right?

Ethan Henry: At, um. Some people, some people are overcompensating a little bit. Um, but, uh, you want to make movies and stuff and you want to be diverse and you want to include everyone, you know, you gotta, you gotta make those decisions.

And, and, you know, I, I don't, I can't say with how the people are going to respond to it, but it's tough. It's a, it's a, it's a, it's realistically. That's why when I write, I try not to, I try not to put any kind of like, I don't say it was supposed to be a bald white man. You know what I mean? I typically don't do that.

You know what I mean? I just would say, I want a commanding figure. You know what I mean? Like I want someone who, as soon as they talk, it doesn't matter who they are, where they're from. I try to like to say, this would be, this would be cool that he'd be perfect. And no matter where they are. So, you know, it's, it's, it's a, it's a delicate, uh, it's a, it's a, it's a sensitive subject.

And, um, and, um, And everybody has an opinion. It's kind of like politics. I try not to talk politics. I mean,

Rob Valincius: Yeah, politics are rough, man. Especially now. Especially now. Um, it's hard not to talk about politics anymore, because it just comes up. I work in the insurance industry, and it's like I was never a political person ever in my entire life. And then now it matters to me because it has a big impact on my job.

And the money I make and what I do. So it's like, I hate it because there's never a winner. You know, it's like religion and politics and there's like, there's almost never a winner on it. It's like, You know, yeah, you could look at it like this guy won and this guy's a loser, this woman, whatever, but it could go vice versa as well.

So it's tough with that stuff. And, and, um, I'd imagine that's that that has to play on your heartstrings when you're trying to fill these roles and figure out what you're doing because, um, you know, you're trying to create your story now. Uh, originally when we talked, I, I assumed because you made the horror movie that, that That was your thing, you were in hard, but come to find out, you're a sci fi guy, which is my thing, I love sci fi.

Um, what got you into, to, uh, writing, and, and just the, the movie genre, just creating movies, or shorts, or, you know, all that thing, and, and, uh, why is sci fi your, your number one? I wanna know.

Ethan Henry: I mean. I mean, I think I see UFOs up, up at my house, like all the time. So, I mean, if that, and ever since I was a kid, I mean, I've been, I've been terrified of that stuff. You could show me Freddy Cougar running through a field. I would way rather take my chances with that nightmarish guy versus a little tiny white alien sticking his head out of a bush, I'd run and scream like a little girl, that, that stuff terrifies me.

The idea of these, these creatures, these beings from another planet, they have this technology that far surpasses us, or, interdimensional beings or whatever the heck these things could be, right? Um, that, that scares me because it's out of our control, you know, based on the stories you hear.

Rob Valincius: Well, you and Matt, you know, You and Matt are in like a whole other fucking world in Northern New York. Like, I want people that listen to this to understand when you think of New York, you think of New York City. New York City is this small little fucking blip in New York. Northern New York is ginormous, it's just fucking fields.

And there's Amish and it's it's it's not like what you think of when you think in New York and like, you know You talked to Matt and I'm like, hey, have you ever had this? And he's like no, uh, the closest one is three hours from me Um, that's what you have to kind of think of when you think like that northern New York and that people I don't think Like and I was guilty of this until I met Matt Beardlaw, shout out Beardlaws Uh until I met him and I've been up there.

I've been to Syracuse. I've been to Albany. I've been up towards that way um You And it's, it's, it's a whole other realm when you think of, uh, the state of New York and not New York city.

Ethan Henry: Yeah, it's, it's definitely like, um, um, It's definitely small town, USA, you know, big trucks, like a lot of beards, a lot of farmers, a lot of stuff like that. I'm kind of like an oddball, you know, up here. Um, I own a tattoo shop. I have actually a, a pretty popular tattoo shop up here. And, um, you know, I, I, I, I, I kinda, I, aside from being growing up here and being here, I, I don't, I don't really.

I don't really fully fit in because I'm the guy making movies. I'm the guy in bands. I'm the guys do all this crazy stuff. I have a lot of relationships like in Syracuse, a lot of my, a lot of the people that I deal with don't aren't from around here. You know what I mean? So, um, I, I kind of have a little more, um, open minded kind of like perspective.

Um, let me see. Your connection is unstable. Let me close this out. Um, I just got, I keep having a notification as your connection is unstable. Do you see that? For now. Can you hear me? Can you hear me?

Rob Valincius: Yeah, you're good. You're good.

Ethan Henry: Okay. I just moved to a different room. Um, yeah, so I'm like kind of like an oddball up here. I, I do, uh, I'm making movies, doing all this crazy stuff. And a lot of guys are farmers up here. They have like, they're, they're, they're milking cows or they're, they're, they're raising animals for meat and stuff like that.

I actually have a hobby for my wife and I do, but, um, but, uh, what's cool about it up here and doing what I do up here, I have this really cool opportunity to, um, um, I have a lot of support. I have opportunities to get these locations that are, are typically not available to people like in this business because, um, it costs a lot of money to get a location.

It costs a lot of money, um, to like, uh, uh, get a farm. It costs a lot of money to like get an office building or find one that's closed or someone to do it up here. Everybody kind of has something like that. So I have, I have, I have a lot of people that I know up here. So a lot of things that I do are like, Hey man, I'm making this movie.

Can I use your, uh, Your, your insurance office. I need the police station. You know what I mean? Or Hey, can I use, um, um, can I use the, can I use the police department? I want to do a shot where it shows all the police cars, but I won't show any of the information on it. We just set the camera up in a way to where you can't see the stuff.

So I can, like, I get this really awesome set. Um, sometimes it's, uh, Like I have a guy who owns, uh, what she, um, JP's building supply. Um, James, he let me, he let me film in an old house that's in our movie. Um, but he has a lumber yard and he, you know, I, and I have a lumber yard that I, so I'll have a character and he's got a job and he's doing all this stuff and say.

I need, I need an interaction to happen. I can, I can just go to this, my, this guy said, Hey, listen, can I film there on Sunday, um, I'm going to make the lumberyard his job and we'll do one scene there. So it's just this huge set. He's just stoked to be a part of it. You know, hopefully things make money. I could like throw him a little bit of something, but the idea is we don't have a lot up here, so people aren't making movies.

So people want to see this stuff happen. People want to see something with it. It'd be Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, wherever. You know, your movie ends up and say, wow, that's my, that's my place. And, and so it creates, if you have these relationships or, or, you know, these people and they, and they believe in you, um, there's a lot of resources, you know what I mean?

Um, that you have that you just don't have in a city. So, you know, on the flip side of that, you know, I got to bring actors in, I got to bring talent in. There's like kind of one cut up here. There's not a lot of diversity up here in the sense of like the way people are, everybody's kind of. Like I said, they're all driving big trucks, wearing boots, you know, like there's a lot of hunters, there's a lot of stuff.

There's not a lot of like punk rockers. There's not a lot of, of, of, of difference up here. So you have to seek that elsewhere to kind of make your movie a little bit bigger world than, than what it is. You know?

Rob Valincius: Yeah. I mean that's, you do live in a pretty cool, um, I mean, I'm just, I guess cause I'm so used to the city. I live 20 minutes from center city. So we're the suburbs, but it's a quick hop. It's going to skip and a jump to, to get to Philly. Um, so it's, it's just for me, I just think it's, and, and PA is kind of the same way.

Yeah. Uh, but I guess people think of New York, they think of New York City. When people think of PA, they, you know, it could be, it could vary, right? You could think Pittsburgh, you could think Philly. But like, you know, even Philly is one hour away from the Amish. Like, you could take a, you know, straight shot down and be literally just in farmland.

And that's all there is. Um, you know, so it's, it's kind of along the same lines. And, and one of my, one of the best and best, largest fucking buffets in the country is in Pennsylvania. If you ever are around. It's, it's by Blue Ball and Intercourse PA, I shit you not, uh, and it's called Shady Maple Schmorgasbord.

This is the best buffet you'll ever go to. They have grills, there's like five grills. They're making cheeseburgers, and cheesesteaks, and fish, and steak, and it is, and it's, it, the mashed potatoes, you got Amish people fuckin churnin that shit. It is. It's unlike any place you'll ever go to in your life. And, and you can always tell because the men's restroom.

That's why I always laugh. The men's restroom has a waiting area. So you walk into the men's restroom and there's couches. And then you walk into the restroom and there's just stalls all the way down. Because you know, after someone's tearing up some buffet, they're also tearing up the restroom. And they do a good job with that.

I don't know how much poop comes out of that place, but I'd imagine it's quite a bit.

Ethan Henry: Yeah, no, I, uh, you send me, uh, send me a link to that. I'm going to check it out. Cause I'm on the road a lot in my band. So I, uh, yeah. We're always looking for places to eat. So maybe I might, I might end up hitting a place up with that. I think, uh, where, where are you at? Pittsburgh. Where'd you say?

Rob Valincius: I'm in Philly. I'm in Philly.

Ethan Henry: Okay. Yeah, we're going to be down.

I think we're, I think we're playing down by Philly soon. We're playing a place upstage fest. Um, I can't remember where it was, but I think I'm playing there next week, two weeks, but I might actually hit that place up. Sounds delicious.

Rob Valincius: You have to let me know. You have to let me know, dude. Send me, uh, where you guys are playing. We'll have to check you out. Um, Let's, let's talk about your movie, man. Severance Mountain. So, uh, Let me read your YouTube description. So, deep in the Deerendack. Is it Deerendack? Did I say that right this time?

Ethan Henry: Adirondacks.

Rob Valincius: Adirondack. Goddammit. I thought I'd

Ethan Henry: Last name.

Rob Valincius: Adirondack Mountains of Northern New York. Sarah, played by Nicole Morgan, and Toby, played by Cade Gilroy, plan to reconnect on a remote camping trip following the tragic loss of Toby's girlfriend. It doesn't take long for Sarah to realize that something is off, and her long awaited getaway turns into a vacation from hell.

Meanwhile, local police sergeant Sarge, love the name, Kim Sheriff Snyder, discovers a potential threat to all who enter the parks, and desperately pleads to her superiors to take action and warn the public of this threat. Meanwhile, with each step she takes deeper into the forest, Sarah finds herself in the ultimate struggle to survive against the threats of Severance Mountain.

Uh, and I did watch your YouTube, um, your, your, uh, trailer. And it's a great trailer, dude. I mean, uh, everything you guys use, the shots, the drone shots, it all looks really professional. It's a great job. You guys did a good job.

Ethan Henry: Yeah, you know, it's, it's funny because, uh, That wasn't the movie I was gonna make. I've been really banking on making this sci fi film called A Part of Life for a long time. And, um, when COVID hit, it kind of changed everything and it changed the, the momentum a little bit. And, um, I mean, obviously for everybody.

So we wanted to get back into it as things started lifting. I was talking to people I work with, I was like, man, I really want to film something, but I, I can't film this. We don't have the budget for that. And so, um, We decided to write a horror film. That's where Severance Mountain came from. And I live up North, Adirondacks are real close to us.

And there's a lot of wooded areas, a lot of like, I mean, if you're not familiar with, with the woods, you're not familiar with the mountains and all stuff, it's, it's kind of intimidating. It's scary. And, you know, up where we live, man, there's some, there's some weirdos like that, like camp out in the woods.

just weird thing. So that to me is scary. You know what I mean? Like just, just, you know, um, being in the middle of nowhere and, and, and there, and there's like a potential killer out in the woods. So Severance Mountain really came from stuff like that. You know, um, the, you know, Sarah comes from a city, uh, her, her friend passed away and she was dating this, this Toby guy.

And he, and, and he's kind of trying to get back into the, into the scene, and she's been so consumed with work that they go up to the mountain to kind of reconnect, you know? And so when they're up there, all this crazy stuff's happening in, in the, in the background like this, this police sergeant's kind of like, you know, all people are dying and stuff.

And she's just like, well, you know. The chief is kind of suggesting that it's just animal attacks and they're inexperienced people up in the mountains. And this starts like, no way. I think something else is going on. I don't think this was an animal attack and it just kind of, he just, he just kind of says, we're keeping the parks open.

We're going to keep pushing forward. And it kind of, the story kind of follows from that point, you know, like, like, like these two up in the woods, they're unaware of this whole thing happening. Um, and, uh, and, and it just kind of, it gets, it gets, it turns into a Severance Mountain man, the movie, you know?

Rob Valincius: Now, talk to me, you obviously don't have to go into too much detail because I know we had talked about this when we previously recorded. But, I thought it was interesting how you talked about your villain. Uh, which, uh. In my mind, it makes the movie scarier because you had, you want it to make it seem or feel like it could happen.

Right. So talk a little bit about the villain of your story.

Ethan Henry: the villain, um, without getting too into it, because he's, uh, I don't really reveal him quite yet. So, um, so when, you know, when you watch the movie, he, he makes his presence known, but it's more, you know, I didn't want it to be like a typical movie where you're running and running and getting stabbed, you get your foot cut off, you keep running, you get, you know, and this, this, this weird super like human strength and this supernatural world.

I wanted it to be real. I always, I felt like, um, I wanted my killer, I wanted you to see his face, I wanted you to see his eyes, you know. My, my, my killer, I wanted him to be more real, like, like that scary moment when you see a fight happen and someone. You know, someone looks like they're hurt and another person just keeps going.

Like, it's like, I wanted it to feel more real. You know, you don't get shot 10 times and you're crawling away. You know, like it's, it's kinda really, you get, you know, you get shot once you might bleed out, you know what I mean? And so I tried to give it, um, this is going to sound weird, but I wanted to feel like this could happen to you.

I wanted it to feel like, wow, I go hiking in the woods with all those same things, and that did not help these people. Holy shit. You know what I mean? This, uh, that, that verifies it. All it takes is one guy walking behind me to get pissed off and do it. Like, I'll tell you this. I, someone told me this story.

Um, um, they were talking about someone that we knew in a long time ago and, and I might be getting the story wrong, but basically a dude was shopping at a store and there was another guy behind him shopping. Um, he turned, the guy turns around, walks up, they don't know each other, didn't interact, nothing.

He stabs them in the neck and the guy dies in the grocery store. No altercations. Weird psycho who just lost it, took a knife out of his pocket and stabbed him. The guy was on the cameras, I guess it just showed him walking. Nothing happened, this guy just did it, right? And that shit is terrifying to me.

That can happen to anybody. I mean, you just don't know who's around you. That's why Melissa came up with the, with the, uh, the tagline, um, the scariest monsters are the humankind. Because I thought, man, yeah, you can be scared of Freddy or Jason or a demon or a possession or an entity. But man, humans are like.

The scariest monsters are the humankind, man. Someone could just come up to you and just do, just stab you. Or just like, or just like pull you aside in an alley and who knows, beat the crap out of you or, you know, who knows? And that's, I wanted to kind of like, make it more like that, more like, Oh shit, like that could really happen.

That could happen. So that, that's kind of how I tried to, you know, make the killer. That's how I presented him on film, you know?

Rob Valincius: Yeah. People are scary as fuck, man. I worked retail for a long time before I got my nice office job. But I mean, I always thought to myself, how many serial killers did I help? And I had no idea because they're very good at, uh, um, Babe, what's that quote? What's she doing here? What's the quote from your favorite movie? Their mask of sanity is slipping. So, um, the wifey is obsessed with, um, So, um, the wifey is obsessed with, um, I can't think of the movie now. American Psycho. American Psycho.

Ethan Henry: Okay. I haven't watched it in a while. I'm actually, it's on my list to watch again. Cause it's been a while since I watched it. But. I, I like, um, a lot of people are watching those true crimes. Like, like the Jeffrey Dahmer story, or they're watching these shows where like, it's like, it's just follows these people and they're, they're kind of boring.

I mean, it's intriguing. Cause you're like, Oh my God, I served him beer one time. Or, Oh my God, he came to our restaurant once. And that's what makes it scary. The simplicity of what it was. Like how well they blended in how like it didn't take much other than meeting a girl at a bar So hey, welcome to my house for a minute You know, I read an art I read a story where this girl said yeah, I went to I was at a bar this guy brought me back he's really good looking and and And she she went back to his house and stuff and and he want he rubbed some cream on or something I can't remember where I saw this.

I might have saw And, and she, you have lotion on her, she thought it was really weird and then she's like, gosh, she got creeped out and she's like, okay, well, um, I'm going to leave. And the guy's like, no, no, just stay, just stay. And she ended up leaving and the guy kind of tried to stop her, but she had to sneak out.

Well, the next day her skin was breaking out and she was like, why is my skin breaking out? And they, and come to find out the dude was rubbing some sort of like, um, cream on her that would break down human flesh. And, um, like I guess the guy was a cannibal or something that he's never heard anything about him.

The guy was like, I don't know what, Oh no, I think the guy ended up getting arrested. She fought, read the paper and he had bodies in his apartment and like

Rob Valincius: Christ!

Ethan Henry: some normal in passing at the bar. Hey, this guy's cute. All this chick's cute, whatever. And they, and they, and they went through. And so I just, I heard it someplace in passing and I, those are the stories, man, those like simple things that everybody does situations that everybody's been in or might be in and just.

It just could happen. The scariest monsters are the humankind. I mean, that, that is like a very real thing, man. And it's, it's a terrifying thing, I think.

Rob Valincius: And, and shout out to the women because I feel like they're always the victims of some of the craziest, some of the craziest shit because men, I, I don't know man, I don't know who takes the cake, but shit goes crazy, especially when we go crazy. Um, Talk to me a little bit about the movie creation process because I know Yeah, obviously you guys are a small outfit and we'll talk a little bit about that But uh, you said some interesting stuff the last time that I thought was really cool that I didn't really think of in terms of you know how you get your angles and shots and just talk a little bit about what that process looks like and if you want to bring up the writing process too, because I know that um, Obviously, you know, you had a co writer and you guys had some hiccups with covid and stuff

Ethan Henry: Yep. So, so I wrote this after COVID and I, and I ended up meeting, meeting Melissa after through my lawyer and stuff. He recommended her. He said, she's, she was doing all these like these, um, these contests and stuff and doing really well. And, um, we get, we, we hit it when we met, we hit it off. And, um, and so I had already written like a, like a small 30 page script for Severance Mountain.

I don't think I called it Severance Mountain that I can't remember what I called it, but, um, So I had this idea and I tried to write this short film that I could film easy. So the idea was my director of photography said, Hey, Let's film something with two people, two locations, and just make something that we can get out there.

I'm like, okay. So I looked at it like a challenge. Okay. Usually my, usually my stories are kind of bigger and they have a lot of characters and there's a lot of backstory and all this stuff. So how can I write something simple that didn't have a ton of dialogue that like told a story that was still interesting to watch and, um, And something that we could pull off.

So, you know, I took it all out of my, I paid for this all out of pocket, like didn't pay a whole lot for it. Um, I'm not gonna talk numbers, but I mean, it's, it's pretty, it's pretty, it's a shoe, it's a shoestring of a shoestring budget. It's, it's really, really small. So, um, I, uh, I, uh, sorry, I got distracted for a second.

Um, so.

Rob Valincius: All good, man

Ethan Henry: It's a shoestring on a shoestring budget. So basically, when I write, I say, okay, I know these people. This guy could be an actor. This guy, like this guy, like, wow, man, he's really got some character. And, and so, um, I tried to write something around these people. So when I was writing, I was like, okay, I'm gonna use Kim as Sarge.

I just know her personality. I know she is. So when I wrote my characters, I wrote it for a very specific person knowing that they're not necessarily an actor, but they have awesome personality. I think they could pull this off. A couple of people were actors that I knew they could pull off a little more like Cade and Nicole.

Um, but a few of them, I just wrote for them. So like, I just knew, I knew these people well enough to, I knew their mannerisms. I knew the way they would act. Um, like my killer, I just knew the way, He moved and I thought, Ooh, that's creepy. He does these things that are creepy. So I just knew it would be, it would feel natural.

Right. And so then on top of that, you know, you start writing these stories. So I got to think, okay, if I'm going to really film this next week, how am I going to do this, you know? Um, because we have a camera, we have a dolly, but we don't have a big crane to get these overhead shots. We don't have amazing drones.

We're using, we're using a good drone, but like an entry level kind of drone, you know? Um, I don't have ways to turn the camera and make the shots move, and I didn't have a lot of those things, so I just had to be really creative, and I thought, I looked at it more like, um, an experiment. Like, what can I do to For a little bit of money, how can I still make a watchable, interesting movie that looks high quality?

Um, where I just, I just, I just can't do some of these shots. So, um, every time, you know, I wrote, I just kept that in mind. And then when I, um, Then when we started filming, it creates a whole new set of, of, of challenges because, you know, I read all the storyboards out saying, I know what this guy has, I know what equipment we have used.

So everything I, I, every time I draw a storyboard, I think, okay, I don't, this is what I want, but I can't do that. So that, so I would change, I changed, I changed the shots to work for. What I knew we had for gear. And then when you're on set, it's you're following that. And then you realize, Oh shit, we came to do that.

I wrote it too intense for that. So then you have to simplify or be super creative. So you find yourself on there going, okay, following this guide, following the script, people know it, you've had them acted out and you have these ideas. I'm like, Hey, can you do this? He's like, I can't, we can't move the camera.

That was my stuff. It'll fall off. And I'm like, shit. Okay. So then we're, let's turn it like this instead. So it's, you know, this is, um, an indie film. And then any indie filmmaker knows the struggle. Um, and you know, when I say I don't want to sound like I'm alone because anybody's making it a low budget indie film has the same struggles.

And, and that's, that's, that's kind of the, um, that's the trick. The trick is did I make a movie where, um, you could follow it. It was interesting enough. It told the story well enough. And the shots that we have, um, uh, you didn't miss the other shots that we wanted to do because where someone might say.

Well, why don't you do this? I'm like, yeah, you think I didn't want to do that? Or how come you came like that? Oh, because we were on stairs and we couldn't pull it in. We had to just kind of zoom it in. Like, so there's all these little tricks you do to try to think, okay, what was that movie? So sometimes you pull back for older movies that didn't have a lot of gear either.

So it's a lot of on your feet and that's being a director and being on the set like that. That's kind of like. Part of it, right, is how quick on your feet are you when you run into a problem, can you correct it? You got to curl up in a ball on the floor. So, um, and then when you have no money, you know, or little money and you have, um, deadlines. your equipment malfunctions, your special effects fall apart. You know, you're like, Oh shit. Like for example, I'll tell you this one story. We were filming this scene where this guy gets a head smashed. Okay. And, um, I told the dude, when you do this, when you, when you, when you do the smash, don't go too far in because it'll rip the head off the body and then it won't look right.

And so, um, so, First shot rips the head right off. And my one prop I had it's going blood's going everywhere. I'm like, keep it rolling. I run out there and I grab it. I slide it back into place. I try to make it work. And then we finished the scene and then it, it didn't, it looked great except forward, you could see where the neck was.

So, um, I have a guy in the Ukraine I use. Um, and, uh, he was actually when Russia was invading, um, uh, Keeve over, um, uh, over in, um, What did I just say? Uh, where's Russian meeting? Um,

Rob Valincius: Ukraine?

Ethan Henry: So he's over pain, right? So, so he's, uh, so he's like running down from, from bomb drill. They're, they're having alarms go off.

He's running, going to the bunker. And then he slips back up. He's like, sorry, I'm in a bunker right now. And he would show me all the, all the, all the alarms they had. And then the next day he'd be up there working because the power's flickering, editing the neck, making it look right. And then he had to stop.

So it took him a little longer, but I'm like, wow, this guy's, for it. But I've been, I in the past. So, um, so, a lot of little things li you know, you, you, you'r got to do this. Okay. I k

So you just kind of, you, you're constantly thinking 10 steps ahead. Okay. Even though the head came off, I know we can fix it in post. Let's finish the scene. We'll film it. And then we'll have him fix it. He fixed it. Now it looks, it looks like the neck. You know what I mean? So it's just a lot of stuff like that.

It's just like a lot of being on your feet. You know, you're just like, Oh shit. Oh shit. What next? We can fix it there. Just keep moving. Okay. What about there? Fuck it. It looks good enough. Okay. Just keep moving. Okay. She didn't say the line, right? That actually works. Now, Document that in the script. Now, every other shot we do, make sure she says that exact same way.

That was better than what we had written. So, it's just a lot of little things like that, you know what I mean? And, and, and you're, with the constant, you can't get the shot. So, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's a job. It's a challenge, you know?

Rob Valincius: Yeah, and so, that's the other thing too, and um, you know, I guess I never really thought about it before you talked about it before, was that, you know, you decided to do your own thing, right? So you self funded because you wanted full control, and I guess I never really thought of the control aspect, because once you start to, you know, take money from places, I You lose more and more control of, of what you can do, what you can say, and where it goes, right?

Talk a little bit about that process.

Ethan Henry: so, I mean, at one point I thought, Oh, it'd be great to have someone, you know, But at that point, then, you know, they have writers, they have people, well, I want my so and so to write this, or I want to go through here. You got to hire my nephew or you got to hire this actor. So it starts to change the dynamic.

Well, sometimes it's good and sometimes it might not be good. I don't really know. I haven't done it yet. Um, I usually just finance things myself, but, um, what's cool at this point now is I can tell you everything I don't like about the movie. I could tell you everywhere we fell short. I can tell you all the things I wish I could have done or wish where I had more money, you know, money can solve a lot of problems.

You know, with, with a film, you know, um, when it comes to, you know, um, actors and when it comes to more resources or more time just to spend an extra day filming a scene. So, um, that being said, because I wrote it, I, you know, I co wrote with Melissa. Um, we had talked about this for months and months and months before we were there.

She was on set for the first half. She was part of like unit one. And, um, so we got to really like, um, see it come to life. And we spent so much time talking about it that. While I'm financing it too, I have complete control because I'm the guy putting the money up. So, as I'm doing it, and not that it was a lot of money, but it was still, I was the only guy paying for anything.

So, I got to control it, and then I edited it. And I wrote the music for it too. So, some things I was filming, in my head I was going, And I was imagining

Rob Valincius: Yeah.

Ethan Henry: So as I'm, as I'm filming, I'm thinking, once I put that music that people like, that's kind of boring. I'm like, wait, I put the music there. It'll be, it'll work.

And you know, the truth is, I think a lot of the things we got right were a lot of the important parts of the movie. And so, um, But because I, I was the one in charge financially, I was the one in charge as a director. And I was the one who, who knew that script inside and out. I can make those decisions on the fly.

I didn't have to worry about someone coming and say, no, no, that doesn't look right. Don't do it, change it. Or I pay for this. I want to look like this. I don't want to look like that. You know, you're like, but wait, that's not going to work. And they're like, that's what I want. And you're like, you have to do it.

They're the boss, they're paying the bill. So you got to have, you know, I got to have control, but, What's really cool too is every step of the way until the very end, it's really just the company that I started, which is Ignitorious Productions. So, you know, when it came to, um, pre production, when it came to like, um, you know, the, the, um, uh, the, when we were on set, when afterwards, collecting all the information, I hired, uh, John Sovey.

He has Soves Media. He, he's a, he's at my director of photography. He's done a lot of really great shit. Um, he's done stuff with Wiz Khalifa. He did a movie called The Fiddling Horse. Um, documentary called, um, the perfect bid. And, uh, uh, he's done a lot of really cool stuff. So he's got tons of experience. So I kind of listened to him too.

He knows what he can and can't do. He's like, well, we can't do that because it won't look right unless I had this. So we're constantly, um, um, we're constantly, uh, like in communicating with that stuff, but because there was, if another person was involved and we knew we couldn't do something because we didn't have the resources, And they don't know they're putting the money up.

Well, I want to look like this or, you know, it's like, so now that's a whole nother dynamic. So it was cool to have control because we knew we were limited. We knew, we knew where we were falling short and we knew we had to make something happen with the resources that we had. So, and I carried that on to the, to the very end because I wrote the music for it.

Um, there are scenes where we didn't record any audio and I was in my kitchen, um, doing all the audio for stuff. I was like, I was like, You know, making the footsteps and I was doing the breathing and I was wrinkling my shirt to get the shirt moving and like Everything I did. I did everything myself. It's like it's like multiple people on the scene But it's just me creating all those sounds and so, you know in post

Rob Valincius: That's cool, man. That's

Ethan Henry: Yeah.

So, and a lot, I mean, this is not uncommon for independent filmmaking. I mean, it's like, I'm saying it like it's, I did this special thing, but you know, when you're an independent film, um, that's what you do, you know, if, but what we were trying to do was I wanted this to look a little bit better than the average indie film, like for what we did and how we did it, I really feel like, you know, the trailer kind of speaks for itself.

It looks like it, you know, A quality, you know, Hollywood movie, I think. I think it has the look, I think it has the sound, I think it has the flow. And what we're trying to do is like, just take a couple steps further and just really try to focus on the things we knew we could control. And that was the way it looked.

We went to subcat studios for all the 5. 1 audio. So it's a, it's in 5. 1 surround. So like, you know, if someone walks behind you, it's in the right place. And I was meticulous mixing with those guys. I sat there, I placed everything and I said, I want it over here more. I want it over there. So I didn't like just let them do it.

I didn't have some editor editing. I edited my movie. So if I ran into a problem, I could like reshoot something or I call him the VP. Cause he's an hour away. I said, come on, let's film this thing. Let's film her grabbing her phone. Or let's film a footstep there. And then we had to squeeze it in, you know, where I fell short because I didn't capture enough footage.

So, you know, being in control, I could do that stuff. I didn't have to worry about it costing a little more. I didn't have to ask someone for money. I just, I just could make that decision because. It was me.

Rob Valincius: And that's, that's wild to me, man. Like, I interviewed a, uh, a creator. Her name's, uh, Annie Akahora. And she, uh, she did the videos where, uh, Though she would play like spongebob and she could create the sounds with just all the she's an audio engineer so she would create the sounds with all like the crazy shit with just like you know, like a you know, a two by four And a screwdriver and like all this crazy shit and she would get like really crazy views on tiktok Because she's showing how she's doing all this like it looks like a table of junk that she's using but She could create sounds you're like holy shit That sounds like a cheeseburger frying and it's you know, she's rubbing like a piece of metal on something, you know,

Ethan Henry: It's awesome.

Rob Valincius: Yeah, I mean, I didn't know I you know, I guess, you know I'm part of the dumb populace and I didn't really think I'm like, ah, well, they're really frying that egg You know and are there really, you know footsteps of people running but and it's the same thing with video games You know, I mean a lot of that stuff is Generated by people fucking, now AI might change some of that, you know, in the future.

But, you know, you have people that are really fucking good at sound effects and, and creating those things. And I think that's, that's something you just don't see or hear about, I think, you know, when you're thinking of movies.

Ethan Henry: kind of like, you know, sometimes video games or movies look better than real life, right? Sound is the same way, right? So sometimes, like, it doesn't need to be the exact sound because sometimes you capture perfect audio and it sounds ugh, you know, like whatever. You recreate it because you want it to sound more intense.

Like sometimes bacon frying when you're in the room and they're really frying bacon doesn't sound right. Sometimes you have to create a new sound. Sometimes, you know, like, they'll use celery to break a bone, you It's the way it crunches. You know, you hold it up to the mic. You're like, and it sounds like celery.

Right. But then you pop it in when Arnold Schwarzenegger is like breaking someone's neck, it sounds like their whole spine's collapsing. You know, um, sometimes these sounds, um, they sound better than real life. And when you're watching a movie, you're there for an experience. So sometimes that's what you want.

You want. the footsteps to be a little more dramatic. You want, you know, you want that crunch, that gunshot or whatever, to be a little more dramatic. And it's the same thing when it comes to the visuals of, you know, sometimes you want that blood to be more dramatic. You know, um, it all depends on what you're doing, what you're, what you're making.

You know what I mean?

Rob Valincius: It's true. It's true. So you talked about your production company, so the Ignorant Tourist Productions. Where did that name come from that's unique? Heh

Ethan Henry: actually, I just talked to this, this guy that actually I came up with today, uh, earlier today, cause I told him I was, I was doing some podcasts and people that keep asking where to come up with it. So his father, we found this picture years ago and we've always been in bands and we always like release, you know, mixtapes and stuff.

And, um, and, uh, he had, there's a picture of his father standing on some like, uh, Statue someplace like in another country. He he climbed a fence and he stood there like just a it just just an asshole Right and on the back of And I just thought it was hilarious. My dude, ignorant tourist. I'm like, that is funny.

You know what I mean? Like, it's like the dude who goes up to the sacred apple tree and takes a leak on it after he's, after he leaves the sacred apple tree, you can't go near that and you're pissing on it and you know, the ignorant tourist, right. But, but I looked, I looked at it when it came to production stamp.

I, I, I label it. I put it on like my music stuff. I put it on anything that I create. My kids actually make little videos like ignorant tourist productions and I think it's hilarious. Right. But I use it like, um, I use it like I'm this guy in this scene, like filmmaking, um, who maybe, maybe I don't have a place to, maybe I'm like, I'm, I just climbed the wall.

I hop in the party and I'm pretending I belong and I don't know if I belong, but I don't want to be held down to one thing. I'm like, I like to say I'm an ignorant tourist. I don't, Want to be stuck in horror. I don't want to be stuck in like sci fi. I don't want to be stuck in comedy. I want to do it all.

If I, if I see something that looks amazing, I'm going to do it. You know what I mean? I'm just this guy who's like, you know, I do that with music. Sometimes I play acoustics. Sometimes I play heavy metal. I play drums. I play guitar. I play every instrument. Sometimes I sing, I can sing like Bon Jovi and my friends will laugh when I write a weird Bon Jovi song, but I'm in a metal band.

So it's like, I'm an ignorant tourist. I always say I'm an ignorant tourist. I just like to do what I want to do and I don't care what I'm supposed to do. Um, I'm just an artist creating stuff and, and, and, and ignorance is bliss. You know, just, just, just move with it and go and just do your thing, man. And just, just if people are going to like it, they're gonna like it.

They don't, they don't. So in your tourist productions, I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm not going to be just focusing on this. I'm going to be focusing on the arts. You know,

Rob Valincius: That's, I think that's the way to do it, man. Because you don't want to be a, what's it, like a Blumhouse, or whatever, Blumhouse. Where it's like, you're known for just doing horror movies, you know. And, uh, it leaves you open to be able to kind of do whatever the fuck you want.

Ethan Henry: if that's what you love, then do it. I mean, I think Blumhouse is doing a killer job and they, and they got a knockdown and someday I would love to work with those guys too, but at the same time, um, you know, if this does well and like, let's say people are interested enough and they say, I want, I want to know more, I want to know more.

I have an idea for another part of this, but my, the next script I want to do is like, um, it's almost like a Tarantino flick, you know what I mean? It's, it's about a, it's about a cop. whose wife was a junkie and he's protecting her for a long time and she pissed off the wrong people and she ends up dying and he's got his kid and and he gets into this beef with this biker gang and then he's got to try to get his daughter back at the It's kind of like, uh, Die Hard meets like, uh, Reservoir Dogs or something.

I don't even know what it is. It's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's a completely different vibe. Um, but that, I love writing stuff like that too. But, you know, the other pilot I made for a TV show is about a small town who are dealing with these, like, really, Um, the sci fi kind of alien type stuff and, and, um, portals and stuff.

And so everything that I do, every script is just a little bit different. So I can't say that I, that I, I have a few horror scripts I've written, but I have a series sci fi. So I just want to be able to write, I just want to be able to film the stuff that I want to film. A lot like M. Night, dude. I think that dude just kind of does what he wants.

I think that he, I think he's, I think he's, Ignorant tourist productions kind of guy like he just he just does what he wants to do He usually finances his stuff and his stuff is just so out there And sometimes it doesn't fit the the standard hollywood mold. Sometimes it doesn't it's got an indie vibe, but still big It's got big actors and I love I love that vibe.

That's what I love about tarantino He does he gets these big actors, but still Sometimes it feels so indie and you're, it's almost, you're watching it and you're like, wow, you know, he's doing the same shot for so long, but that's what makes it magical. It's different and it's cool. It's his, it's his vision.

And that's what I hope that I can eventually get to that point where I can control what I'm doing and people like it, you know, for what it is.

Rob Valincius: Yeah. Uh, look, I love M Knight. I think the only movie that I hated that M Knight did. And, um, I just, I, I watched it in the movies, dude, and I, I was so fucking mad. And I called it, I called it out out loud. Uh, but the happening, I fucking, I, I, I, I hated the movie because I'm like, if. It's the one with Mark Wahlberg where the plants were killing everybody.

I was like, if it's the plants, I'm fucking leaving this movie thea Of course it was the plants, I didn't leave the movie theater, but I was pissed that it was the plants. Um, but other than that, I mean, his stuff is good and I agree with you. Like, it's good to be able to do your own thing without having someone And I feel like that's a like every creative person.

Right? I mean, it's like a creative thing to like, look, if this is yours and this is what you want and this is your vision, you don't want someone else telling you, Oh, well, you gotta hire my cousin or you gotta do it over here. And it doesn't make sense to the story. So the way you're doing it, I think, is the is the way to go.

And I think naturally people gravitate towards that stuff because you will see more of you in what is out there rather than, you know, five other people and what they expect.

Ethan Henry: Well, imagine painting a picture. And then, um, someone says, Oh, why use yellow there? Why don't you put red there instead? You know, I bought you all those paints, you know, put red there. I don't want yellow. You're like, no, but the yellows, you know, and then imagine just someone dominating every little thing that you did.

And I know what's going to happen. I know if someone hires me for something, you know, if you ever get that call and says, Hey, you want to make a Star Wars? I'm like, Yeah, what do you want me to do? You know, of course.

Rob Valincius: Yeah, I'll be right there. I'll be there tomorrow.

Ethan Henry: There must be something that I did that was interesting enough to where they, they see the potential.

You know, a lot of my shortcomings aren't things that I made a mistake on. It's literally, I just didn't have the resources. So, you know, I'm banking on the idea that if I had the resources, I would do that cool shot. I would use that cool angle. I would like, you know, have a better scene. So, so, but being in control of it ultimately is what I want.

And even if, even if it's, Even if it's not the best thing, even, you know, I got to at least control where this is. There, there aren't a lot of hands in this aside from the people that worked on it. It's not like I did it by myself. You know, there are things I, I mean, I couldn't make this movie without the, my crew, the people I hired, you know, people, the grips doing the lights and, and, and just so many people that helped even on this small little budget.

But, but at the end of the day, um, we don't have all these people, all these producers, all these people kind of tell us what we shouldn't, shouldn't be doing. We get to kind of. I'm friends with a lot of these people. So when they listen, when they say something, I listen and I might pivot. I might change my mind.

They can change my mind. They can persuade me. And we just do things like that. It feels more like we're creating something. It's the difference between being a tyrant and a leader. I like, I'd rather be a leader than a tyrant, you know? So if

Rob Valincius: man. It's honestly, it's the way, like, I used to stream video games. It's why I Went to, to podcasting because, you know, you're dictated on your listeners telling you what they want to see rather than you creating the content you wanted to do. It feels less like a job. Like I feel like I, I would imagine it's the same for you, right?

You, you creating something and doing it, it feels less like a job and more like it's, it's your aspiration. It's what you want to do rather than like, you know, showing up and, and, you know, collecting a check you care about it. And, uh, I think. More people could learn from doing what you're doing and instead of, I don't want to say selling out, you know, uh, because sometimes you have to, you know, sometimes go where the money is cause it does help, uh, in that cause we all have to start somewhere.

But, um, I agree with you there. So let's end on this cause we're hitting our mark. Um, future aspirations, any movies in the works, any scripts that you, you feel comfortable, um, thinking about what's the next step there. Talk a little bit about that before we end.

Ethan Henry: Yeah, no, I mean, I have. I have some targets. I have, uh, Three solid scripts that I really dig and I'm, and I'm down to do any one of those three. I have a fourth. I have actually two. So I have like five things that I've written that like three of them are full features. Two of them are pilots for TV shows.

And, um, I like all of them, you know, one's, uh, one's a little more lighthearted, almost like an office. It's about teachers and stuff. And the struggles with these, these kids growing up, becoming adults, and they have to teach kids. And they're all a bunch of big kids. It's a funny kind of comedy. Another one's like a sci fi kind of about this space guy.

Who's, who's like a really horrible kind of like hero. And, and when people, it's almost like a space balls meets like galaxy quest meets Star Wars. Um, and. I also have another one. It's a more, it's the sci, real sci fi one where it's pretty deep and um, it's about portals and, and, and the small community and stuff.

And uh, just with how they're experiencing this, these things. And um, and I, and I have another one about, about another, it's like an alien type one and stuff about these goblins and stuff. It's pretty cool. It's kind of like, it's kind of like sci fi horror in a way. It's not really horror, but it kind of has some scary parts.

And, and uh, my other one I was telling you about earlier, which is like my. It's not a Tarantino, but it's got that kind of vibe. Um, it's more like action, more like mob style police, you know, kind of like rogue cops and all this stuff. And, um, any one of those, I, I mean, I wrote from beginning to end, it's, and I love them.

And, um, and I've had people check them out and I, and I feel really confident in them. So, you know, but you know, I don't know what's going to happen with this. So if it, if it, if it does well, I've already kind of taken a couple of steps forward in the idea of what would be next for this, for this, this movie if I wanted, if I wanted to start carrying it on.

So I have ideas for that too. So if this is what kind of gets my foot in the door and, and if people see the movie for what it truly is, and it's a true indie film that looks really well, then you might see another, you might see another part to this, you know? Tell a little bit more

Rob Valincius: Oh, okay.

Ethan Henry: with, uh, hopefully a bigger budget to do it.

So I'm, I'm, I'm open to, I'm open to, you know, a few different things.

Rob Valincius: That's awesome, dude. Well, look, um, it was a pleasure having you on, man. Tell everybody, uh, where they can find your stuff. And, uh, obviously, where they can find Severance Mountain when it launches.

Ethan Henry: Yeah. So we'll have all of our information on, um, ignorant tourist productions. com. So, uh, you know, we, there's a, there's a trailer there for separates about, and, you know, we don't have a lot of these other things I've worked out on these pilots because they're still, they're still kind of under wraps.

There's still proofs of concept, but, um, Uh, we will be built. Our store will be on there and stuff. So when the movie comes out, we will be able to get some merch and whatnot. Yeah. But we also, uh, we'll be posting things on there. There'll be links to, um, the, you know, Amazon, iTunes, Apple TV, Google play. And I think YouTube, um, English speaking territories, it'll be, it'll be available September 13th.

It's a Friday, Friday, September 13th, right before Halloween, Halloween. So, uh, hopefully, hopefully, um, when you're looking to watch that new release in the film, you'll, you'll stumble upon, Severance Mountain and uh, I think you get a kick out of it. So, um, yeah, I appreciate you having me on man and uh, Spreading the word dude.

Rob Valincius: Hell yeah, man. Any way we can help, we will, uh, You can find my podcast, anywhere you listen to podcasts, drinklogpod on socials, drinklogpodcast anywhere you listen to everything. It's on literally, I don't know what else, what it isn't on. Um, and this, this episode will be up probably next week and, um, look man, I appreciate you taking the time.

I know you're a fucking busy dude, so I, I appreciate the time, uh, you put hanging out with me and, uh, I hope your movie does well. I'll buy it, bro. You got, you got my commitment. Uh, me and the wifey, we love this shit, dude. We'll check it out 100%.

Ethan Henry: yeah, and it's it's if you if you hashtag it's hashtag I survived Severance Mountain That's what we're kind of pushing right now. So, um, we got some little uh, Some little uh things we got planned to kind of promote it over the next few months. So, um, You know, it comes out, I think, what, six weeks.

So you're going to see, uh, hopefully we'll be hitting different markets with some different little, uh, hooligan ish things, you know, so

Rob Valincius: Yeah, you're giving out some t shirts here and there too, right?

Ethan Henry: yeah, we're giving out t shirts, uh, there's, there's, there's, there's stuff. So if you go to, if you go to English tourist productions. com, I think we're gonna start having a store up and, uh, for a limited time until, until we feel like I've spent too much money. There is some stuff that we're giving away.

We will be doing a few giveaways too. So we'll be, we'll be posting that on our social media, um, at Instagram. Uh, I think it's severance mountain movie and you can follow me, Ethan Henry 43 on Instagram too. I post a lot of stuff about too. So, but yeah, that's it, man.

Rob Valincius: Cool dude, thank you man, and uh, look, you have a great night. Don't, don't go too crazy, and don't hang out in the uh, Adirondack Mountains, alright?

Ethan Henry: All I could ask

Rob Valincius: keep you here.

Ethan Henry: right now, like, like, I'm like, it's, it's, I live in the middle of nowhere. It's crazy. So Rob, I appreciate you, dude.

Rob Valincius: Thank you man, appreciate it. Have a

Ethan Henry: And later.

Rob Valincius: night. 

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