No, not the guy from the MC5, but I bet he would like us a bunch too if he knew us. The Wayne Kramer our title refers to is the director of one of my favorite films of the year, Running Scared – which just hit video! Click here to buy it from CHUD.
Kramer was giving an interview to the always excellent Now Playing Magazine, and he mentioned that CHUD is one of the sites that “get it”:
“I mean the biggest fans of the movie, ironically, have been the sort of, you know, like the websites like Chud and JoBlo and Ain’t It Cool’s Harry Knowles liked the film a lot. I mean it’s those guys who really are the heartbeat of the genre or the people who love these kind of movies, and really appreciated it. And I just think, as a film, it’s just – I don’t know. It’s got a very modern style to it, too. And it’s just things that traditional critics are just not in step with.”
Click here to read the rest of that interview, where Wayne gives his post-mortem on Running Scared.
But there’s more! In part two of the interview, Wayne talks about his upcoming projects, including Evil Seek, which he spilled about to us way back when Running Scared first hit, as well as what he has planned for AFTER that movie:
NP: And then what are you doing beyond Evil Seek?
WK: I have a couple of projects that I’ve written set-up around town. One of them is The Sleeping Detective which is at New Line, about a narcoleptic private eye. It’s kind of a Chinatown – a guy like Jake Gittes who is falling asleep all the time, at the worst possible times. Probably I’m working also on an immigration drama that’s gonna be a very different film, which is sort of like a passion project for me. And I’ve been researching it for a bunch of years, but I’m just trying to find the time to finish the script.
NP: You jump around in genres.
WK: I might jump around in genres, but I think when people see my films the tones are very similar. They’re very provocative, or they’re not afraid – there’s strong sexuality in them, strong violence. I’m not afraid to mix up a little bit of the genre. A lot of people seem to remember The Cooler as being quite comedic. But, that was really more of a character drama. I do think it’s important actually for a filmmaker to brand themselves. And when people see my films, I do want them to go, “Okay. This is a Wayne Kramer film and we know it’s gonna be a bit in your face, or it’s not gonna be a smooth ride. We’re gonna kind of be carrying our seats at times.” And I don’t think I’m the kind of guy who’s gonna go and do an out and out comedy, or family movies or stuff like that. I’m very much more into intense dramas, thrillers. Evil Seek will be the first time I’ve done something on a supernatural level.