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THE COUPLE THAT SLAYS TOGETHER…
Longtime partners John Carrozza and Doug Prinzivalli had gone through a lot in the course of their 16 year relationship, from cross-country moves to job changes to a lightning-fast home redo that was documented on HGTV's Designed to Sell. But co-producing a horror movie—the new-to-DVD, gays-addicted-to-electricity thriller Socket—that was uncharted territory. It was also a lot of fun.
Here, the L.A.-based duo behind Velvet Candy Entertainment offer their Five Things To Know If You're Going to Produce a Gay Low Budget Horror Movie as a Couple…and Not Break Up.
1. DON'T FIGHT IN FRONT OF THE CHILDREN
On set in front of your cast and crew is not where you should argue about how much was spent on fake blood and disembodied limbs for a scene you just know is going to be "cut for broadcast standards" on Logo. Do that in the car…or at your therapist's…or in your therapist's car.
2. ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT
In show biz, everything is negotiable and everyone has their price. You'd be surprised what people will
do, say, wear or who they’ll make out with for the promise of meals, credit and a copy of the finished DVD. Did we mention our movie has full-frontal nudity? We had to keep the unpaid crew entertained during the 17-hour workday somehow!
3. RECYCLE, REPURPOSE, REJOICE…REPEAT
Use every prop and every location and everything over and over again. Bloody cutlery can easily stand in for a bouquet of flowers if you art direct the shit out of it. Dress your extras in scrubs and not spandex, and wham, that dingy warehouse you were using as a nightclub is not a bustling emergency room. Just don't shoot in your own house if you can help it. Your pets will never forgive you.
4. THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS GRUNT WORK
During the course of our production, we wore more hats than the Captain from Captain and Tennille. We carried lights, made coffee, doused ourselves in fake blood and played murder victims, picked up antihistamines for an allergic actor, drove screener DVDs to film festival offices and fluffed our actors for their more intimate scenes…emotionally, that is.
5. ENJOY THE RIDE
No matter how crazy things get—and believe us things get real crazy—remember that you're mostly doing this for fun and most people will never get the chance to say that they've followed their dreams and produced a movie. At the end of the day, if you are like us, you've gotten to work with an brilliant up-and-coming writer/director (Sean Abley), a skillful cinematographer (Ivan Corona) who can make cheap sets look like a million dollars, abundantly talented actors (Derek Long, Matthew Montgomery and the rest) and an amazing crew. It really means so much to see something we've all worked so hard for to be out there on DVD and gaining so much positive attention. Maybe Socket will inspire others to pursue their dreams as well.
Socket is available now on DVD. Learn more at velvetcandyentertainment.blogspot.com
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