Saturday nights at FrightFest are always the wildest and thanks to William Bagley, the crowd were given a cracking piece of entertainment, Hold the Fort. We chatted to William about this inventive and fun shocker.
NYX: Did you know from a young age that you wanted to work in the film industry?
WB: I’ve always wanted to tell stories. Before I could actually write, I was scribbling nonsense in a notebook and then “reading the story” to my parents. For a long time I was focused comics and animation, but when I was around 16, that transitioned to film. I fell in love with editing and being able to add music and sound to create emotion. I also fell in love with cinematography. There are so many artforms expressed through film and it’s a great medium to tell stories. And I still get to draw some. You should see my storyboards. They’re very cartoony!
NYX: This is your second feature, what lessons in directing did you learn from your first, The Murder Podcast?
WB: So many! I have a notebook full of notes and things I learned directing the first film. Three big take aways: One, hire an assistant director. On TMP, I didn’t have an AD, so I was doing it all myself. Managing the schedule and the creative is brutal. It runs you into the ground. Two, have confidence in your vision. On TMP while we were shooting there was a lot of internal “I hope this works…” and then later I found out it did! I trusted myself a lot more on Hold the Fort. Three, the energy and vibe on set all trickles down from the director. It is your job to make sure that you are setting the kind of energy you want people to feel. Even when it’s day 14 and you’re extremely tired and would rather not be shooting today, you better not act like it. You’re a leader and you have to lead by example.
NYX: Where did the idea for Hold the Fort come from and what was your process when writing alongside Scott Hawkins?
WB: Weirdly enough the idea came from my first feature film, The Murder Podcast. In the movie there is a scene where a tv is playing in the background. We needed to put something in the tv, but rather than license something, we shot a purposely campy green screen movie about a guy shooting a witch and saying the phrase “magic can’t stop bullets!” Once the movie came out, my buddy Scott Hawkins kept saying “I want to see that movie! I want to see the cheesy green screen movie!” So I said, “If you come up with an idea, we’ll do it!” So he came back to me with a one pager that had a synopsis about a couple moving to the suburbs that has to fight off an annual monster invasion with their HOA. I took that and turned into a script and sent it back to him and the first thing he said was “dude, you wrote this too good. Now we have to make it an actual movie.” And that’s exactly what we did.
NYX: Did you write the script with a cast in mind?
WB: I did for some of the cast. Lucas and Ted were both written with Chris and Levi in mind. I had worked with them before and knew they would be able to bring a ton to the characters.
NYX: Talking of which they are all just superb, staying just the right side of self aware, it must have been fun on set?
WB: It was a blast! It was a lot of hard work and the days were long, but it was tons of fun. The crew was great too and everyone got along. I’ve had many people tell me it was one of the best sets they’ve been on. My tip for the actors is to always play it straight. Even if they are doing something way over the top, it’s not over the top to the characters. The characters never acknowledge the silliness.
NYX: Could you quickly tell us in the UK what exactly is “Homeowners Association”?
WB: In the US, certain neighbourhoods have Homeowners Associations. It’s basically a council that runs/watches over the neighborhood. The idea is that you pay a fee and they make sure that the neighborhood stays clean, safe, etc…They also might vote to build a private pool for members only, or even host neighborhood parties. The problem is HOA tend to overstep a lot and some of the regulations can be crazy. “Your grass cannot be taller than 3 and a half inches. Your trash bin must not be placed more than six inches from the curb. You need HOA approval to remove that tree.” And when you break the rules, you get fined.
NYX: Have you had run ins with them before?
WB: My neighbourhood growing up had one. We definitely got a few letter for our grass being too tall!
NYX: There are some superb one-liners, which one is your favourite, mine is “Did someone order broom service?”
WB: That’s mine too! I was very proud of myself when I came up with that. That might be the peak of my screenwriting career.
NYX: This is an effects heavy movie, were there any shots which were too much for your budget?
WB: For our budget, all of the shots were too much! There is a reason why I had to take on a bunch of them myself. I have to give a huge shout out to Alex Allgood, our cinematographer. He created a full 3D model of the clubhouse and the portal and made the epic pull out from the window to the portal. Without that shot, the geography of the film wouldn’t make any sense. And it is a GREAT looking shot! He’s a CGI wizard.
NYX: Do you have a favourite creature from the movie?
WB: I like all of them for different reasons! The idea of Zombies that know kung fu is so fun to me! And the Kamikaze Bats make me laugh every time.
NYX: I love the score, will it get a physical release?
WB: Thank you!! I don’t know. I’d for it too! Ben Lovett and Lovett Music created the score. It is 100% original except for the one 70s disco song. We had a ton of fun crafting the feel and I love working with them.
NYX: The movie has been placed in the legendary Saturday night slot at FrightFest, you must be pleased with that.
WB: I am so pumped!! I hope the audience goes crazy for it! It’s a really great crowd movie, so I hope we get an excited audience ready to have a good time!
NYX: Will you be nervous when it has its UK premiere at the event?
WB: Yes and no. I believe in the film, so I’m not worried on that front. But I will be nervous because the theater is HUGE! I love London so much and I’m excited to be playing there! I studied abroad in Twickenham back in 2012, so it’s going to be fun to be back.
NYX: So, what are you working on at the moment?
WB: I’ve got 3 ideas in development and a finished script. I can’t say much more now, but what I will say is that I learned so much on Hold The Fort and I can’t wait to put that into action for movie number 3! What I’m cooking up is going to be WILD.
NYX: William Bagley, thank you very much.
WB: Thank you!!
