This blog post, I’m going to interview a
friend/filmmaker/fellow film nerd Jason Roth.
I met Jason in the fall of 1996, when we were both enrolled at Grand
Valley State University and had a Media Studies class together. Our final project for the class was to create
a 5-minute short film. His final class
film Time Guy displayed the incredible talent he has as a filmmaker and
storyteller. Over the years, Jason has
won many awards for his live-action and animated films. Right now, he is raising money to create his
first animated feature film called Sticky Fingers: The Movie.
Image provided by Bargain Basement Productions
1. What made you get into filmmaking?
JR. In grade school I wanted to be
a newspaper cartoonist, but over time it evolved into animation, then
films. For me, film is the best art
form. You get the visual, the sound,
writing, and the acting. It's a
full-frontal assault on all your senses.
2. Who are the filmmakers you admire?
JR. I have a few.
Number one is Steven Spielberg.
He is the master storyteller, and his early work provides me with a ton
of inspiration. Next would be Sam
Raimi. Watching Evil Dead 2 and Army of
Darkness back to back really inspired me, because those films blended horror
and comedy in a kinetic and in-your-face style that I had never seen
before. The Weird Al Yankovic film UHF
had this Indiana Jones knockoff scene in it;
after seeing it that, I felt like I could make movies as well. My first short film “Ohio Smith and the Lost
Treasure” was also an Indiana Jones knockoff.
Lastly, George Miller’s Road Warrior is a perfect movie. So many things are working together to create
a cleanly told story with great camera work and music, creating a total film
experience.
3. What were some of your filmmaking influences growing up?
JR. I watched a lot of silent-era movies and old black white
films. Watching classic cinema gave me a
foundation in traditional storytelling.
It might have given me a different perspective than other kids my
age. Of course as a child of the '80s, I
watched a lot of Transformers and G.I. Joe cartoons as well.
Sticky Fingers:The Movie Trailer and Interview on Fox 17
Video provided by Bargain Basement Productions and Fox 17
4. Who is the one actor or character you would like to have
in one of your films?
JR. Bruce Campbell.
He embodies my style of filmmaking.
His acting style is over-the-top, right to the edge of campiness. He can be a cool action hero or complete
dunce; a lot things he does shouldn’t work together, but do. He’s in the grand tradition of the Buster
Keaton style comedic action hero. Bruce
is one of my heroes that I have to work with in my lifetime.
5. Where did you get the idea for Sticky Fingers from?
JR. It has a strange and tortured
history. I had done three Sticky Fingers
animated shorts, and was planning to pitch the idea of the series to Cartoon
Network. I help organize a yearly Grand
Rapids horror film festival called Thriller Chiller (www.thrillerchiller.com)
and wrote three more Sticky Fingers episode scripts to be shown at the
festival. Unfortunately, these episodes
didn’t materialize into anything in time for Thriller Chiller. Then one day, Anthony Griffin, (one of the
festival directors) read the scripts and said to me “This reads like a Sticky
Fingers movie,” so I took all three scripts and merged them into one
feature-length film. I then started looking
for celebrity voices. My friend Ryan
Thompson was shooting a film in Detroit called Zombie Apocalypse: Redemption,
starring Fred “The Hammer” Williamson. I
visited the set and pitched the idea to “The Hammer.” He agreed to do it. One year later we recorded his voiceover.
5. Briefly the plot Sticky Fingers: The Movie?
JR. Rockabilly rebels Guy and Girl ride, love, and murder
their way through a post-apocalyptic wasteland in search of the last movie
theater on the planet. Full of sex,
violence, and warped comedy, fueled by the music of Dangerville!
6. If people are interested in donating to the film, how can
they do it?
JR. There’s a fundraiser page online at www.indiegogo.com/sticky. With any donation of $10 or more, you will
receive a “Special Thanks” credit in the film; depending on your donation
amount, you’ll also receive Sticky
Fingers merchandise. The highest
donation level will receive an Executive Producer credit.