Se7en Questions with Writer, Director, Actor and Musician
Jaysen P. Buterin
Who are some of the artists or some of the works
that inspired you to get started in your field? Of today’s current artists, who do you draw inspiration from?
Rod Serling snuck into my brain at a very early age, and quite honestly, he’s been chain-smoking at a table in the back of my cerebral speakeasy ever since. The tales that man could tell in such a short period of time are still nothing short of mesmerizing and really had an influence on the faculties I would utilize to start telling my own stories. Rounding out the holy trinity of inspiration would have to be Alfred Hitchcock and William Peter Blatty, because both Psycho and The Exorcist had such a profound impact on my pre-pubescent psyche that they made me want to be a filmmaker long before I had any inkling of an idea myself.
As for more modern muses that make me want to make movie magic, I can’t deny that Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez were foul-mouthed indie film prophets in the truest spirit of cinematic salvation for me. Reading Rebel Without a Crew, a book of which I have owned multiple copies, dared me to ask the question, “could I pull this off too?” The very first time I heard Tarantino’s dialogue, with the infamous opening Like a Virgin scene from Reservoir Dogs, I was a smitten kitten because I didn’t know that anyone else’s brain worked like that. I can’t help but be inspired by the filmmaking friends that I have now, who never cease to amaze me (and sometimes make me a wee bit envious) with their evolving visions and talents! And, of course, my greatest inspiration is my six-year-old son who looks at me with magic eyes and has THE MOST amazing slightly askew view of the world around him!!
What have thus far been some of the negatives of being an indie artist in your field?
The fact that there are still filmmakers out there who are being denied the respect or the chance that they deserve, let alone are entitled to based on the merits of their own talents, because of something like gender, orientation or race is fucking frustrating beyond comprehension. I think being any kind of an artist also requires a thickening of the hide, especially when you already feel completely exposed by putting both yourself and your artwork out for the world to see, judge, troll. Rejection, and the reactions that you have to it, aren’t fun and certainly don’t enter your mind when you’re spending all those hard-earned dollars on film festival submission fees. But to use those moments as stepping stones, even when it feels like the bottom will fall out from under you, is a hard lesson to learn, and one that I think all filmmakers never stop experiencing.
Again, as with many artistic fields, it saddens me to see some of my fellow film friends spend as much time tearing each other down as they do building each other up, even in the independent community where NO ONE is getting paid. But without any cons, how else can we understand just how valuable the pros are?
What have thus far been the positives of being an indie artist in your field?
I get to create entire worlds, people, places and things, and all within the realm of movie magic, and THAT is just the most amazing thing ever! I’ve been given the chance on more than one occasion to speak to future generations about the joys of making movies, and to see those eyes light up like mine still do when I watch my favourite films, were some of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had yet in this field. But most importantly, I have made lifelong friendships and relationships with people whose paths I would have probably never crossed, had I not gotten behind the camera. And for that, not only am I a better filmmaker now, but I like to think I’m a better person now, because of it and them.
What have been your favorite completed projects to work on up to this point? Can you tell us a little bit about them?
Each and every project that I work on is like one of my children, and so like any proper parent, naturally I like some more than others… I kid, I kid. Honestly, they all really do hold a special place in my tattooed heart but Between Hell and a Hard Place will always be number one with a bullet as I sincerely feel like that’s the closest that I will ever get to making an original episode of The Twilight Zone. A 25-minute Black & White ghost story about two hitmen driving out in the middle of nowhere to bury a body, when things start to get progressively spookier and downright sinister. We shot the whole thing in one weekend and it was the single most exhausting, rewarding, amazing 48 hours I’ve ever had on set. And to get to do it with some of my favourite filmmaking folks in the entire world just made it a dream come true.
Coming in at a very close and sinfully delicious second would be The Gospel According to Booze, Bullets & Hot Pink Jesus, a groovy grindhouse short film trilogy where I got to create a topless taco bar called “Max Diablo’s Tits & Taco-Rama”, that was EVERY bit as amazing as it sounds. And since three is a magic number, one of my other favourites would be acting in a Star Wars fan film, Identity Thieves, written and directed by Justin Reich! Not only did the film make it to the Top 25 out of a worldwide competition, but my son was able to visit me on set that shoot, so not only did he see Daddy acting, but also hanging out with Kylo Ren (thus guaranteeing my Cool Dad status for years to come!)
What projects are you currently working on or have planned for the near future?
Everything for the last year or so has revolved around getting ready to make my first feature film, the soon-to-be clown-killing cinematic sensation that will be forever known as Kill Giggles. I’ve been excited and delighted about this idea for years, so to be this close to bringing it to life on the big screen (principal filming starts next spring!) puts a big old smile on my face. Of course, there are also several screenplay demons screaming in my head at any given time (as of this writing, there are currently nine), so I’ve got lots of words to get out of my skull while we raise the necessary funds for Kill Giggles. I’m really excited about one called The Blue-Eyed Boy & Mr. Death, as it will take me into much more dramatic territory than anything I’ve written before, being more than a little bit autobiographical. It’s also going to give me a chance to work with Adam Hampton (Jurassic Games, The Grave, Gremlin, A Way Out) who I’ve been a BIG fan of for some time now.
I’m also writing another new short called DEathCAF, which is inspired by one of the most brilliant short films I’ve ever seen, The Lunch Ladies, written by Clarissa Jacobson. And then there’s also the acting that I get lucky enough to do too. A project I’m really excited about is a feature-length period horror piece from the mad mind of my dear friend and DP, Jesse H. Knight. Not only will it seriously test my acting chops, taking the lead for the first time in a Lovecraft/Poe-inspired story, but I will also get to grow some wicked chops to fit in with the Victorian time period as well. I’m also putting the bunny-worshipping band back together in The Devil’s Lettuce 2: Edible Evil and, with the grace of the film gods, donning the eye patch once more with feeling for another Snake appearance in Christopher G. Moore’s next installment of the Knob Goblins universe. So needless to say, but saying it anyway, there’s never a dull moment when there’s no rest for the wicked!
Where do you see yourself in a few years and what would it take for you to consider your career a success?
I’m at a place right now where I get to work with THE MOST amazing people on both sides of the camera. A place where filmmakers whom I have the utmost profound respect for, will ask for my thoughts and opinions, or even better, will want to work with me. A place where my films have been lucky enough to be selected to screen at festivals all around the world. A place where some of those screenings have even brought home awards. A place where those films have found broadcast/distribution deals that increased my audience to an international level I would have never dreamed of. A place where my son, the little love of my life and my most precious masterpiece, is proud of his old man because I make movies (most of which he thinks are Star Wars). Honestly, if that’s not success, then I’m not sure I want to know what is. So, if I’m lucky enough to keep doing this for a few more years, then that’s the best I could ever ask for!
If you couldn’t do this anymore, what career path do you think you would have followed and why?
I never even saw the path that I’m on now coming. In fact, if it wasn’t for the golden goddess who I tricked into falling for a mere mortal monkey of a man, I don’t know that I would have ever had the gall, or the goading, to write that first “screenplay.” That being said, however, I always wanted to be a superhero… or Keith Richards… maybe both? Probably a rock star… most certainly a fry cook on Venus?!? Honestly, I would just want to be happy. Not to get all Lennonist, but I can’t help but think of a certain quote by my favourite Beatle right now, “When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life” – John Lennon
