Film Nerd VS Filmmaker

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.

 Production still from Sticky Fingers: The Movie 

Director Jason Roth & Fred "The Hammer" Williamson

Photo courtesy of Bargain Basement Productions

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!

Still from Sticky Fingers: The Movie courtesy of Bargain Basement Productions

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.