Se7en Questions with Filmmaker and Actor
MJ Dixon
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?
As early as I can remember I was certainly inspired by comic book artists, most notably UK Comic Artists like Richard Elson and Lew Stringer. It was around this time that I discovered the films of John Carpenter and David Cronenberg as well and it wasn’t long before I was drawing, designing and writing my own stories.
By the time I was 15 I figured that I wanted to be a horror writer. Shortly after, I worked on a horror film that a local guy I knew was trying to make, and realized that this was what I wanted to do.
Since then I’ve tried to take inspiration from wherever I can find it. In my early years I certainly took cues from maverick filmmakers like James Cameron, Sam Raimi, Lloyd Kaufman and Robert Rodriguez. Overtime my language has been refined by looking at artists from every level of film and other mediums and especially other artists that I work with.
I always think that the best film school is ‘other filmmakers sets’. You get a chance to see what people are doing wrong and learning from mistakes before you even make them and, more importantly, what they are doing RIGHT. Filmmaking is problem solving and watching other people solve problems in a way that you never would have thought about is very rewarding and a fantastic learning experience.
What have thus far been some of the negatives of being an indie artist in your field?
I don’t like to dwell on the negative too much, but it is hard. I’m very outspoken and if someone is acting a fool or manipulating their position on set then I’ll call it out and ‘shitty’ people REALLY don’t like their behaviour called out. Which causes them to act in all sorts of strange ways.
That said, in 100+ projects as a Director and over a decade or so, I’ve probably worked with over 1000+ different actors, crew, artists, etc., and although I have horror stories, it’s maybe a handful, if that. Which makes it about 1 in 200 that’s a bad apple and those aren’t terrible odds, really.
In my experience, aside from a few egos and assholes, most people are incredibly rewarding to work with.
What have thus far been the positives of being an indie artist in your field?
The main one is getting to make fun, great stuff with fun, great people. I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the best human beings on the planet. Some of them are new to it, some are seasoned veterans and some are idols of mine who’s work I grew up on and meeting these wonderful people and being able to call them your friends, that’s really what I love about it.
Seeing your work come to life is a HUGE plus, too. In the early days it would take so long to get an idea to the screen, that it would lose its magic a lot of the time by the time I got there. But now, with the process speeding up somewhat, it’s fantastic to see something you were working on 3 or 4 months ago on the shelves in stores and that’s has become an incredibly good feeling.
What have been your favorite completed projects to work on up to this point? Can you tell us a little bit about them?
For me personally, I think Legacy of Thorn and Mask of Thorn are my favourite pieces of work that represent me as a filmmaker. I’d worked on them longer than any other projects after creating Thorn somewhere in my teens. It took me a long time to get him to the screen, but he’s such a personal character to me that I love writing for his world and seeing him come to life on screen.
But, to be honest, every film you make is like a child. You birth it and raise it and send it out into the world to fend for itself and you love every film that you make the same, but differently. That’s how I feel.
Our most recent feature, PandaMonium feels very special. It’s about something meaningful for a start, which is not always something you can do when making slasher movies, but also making it was a blast and everyone was just so incredible to work with. It really felt like we were making something great when we were there and in the moment. I hope people feel that when they watch it.
What projects are you currently working on or have planned for the near future?
We just started Pre-Production on our 10th feature, Slasher House 3. It’s the biggest project we’ve ever worked on and it’s just a HUGE undertaking. It’s a Sci-Fi/Action in the vein of Tron that really pulls the Slasher genre apart in, what I think, is a really interesting way and I think people will be surprised where we take it.
It’s got a gigantic cast of returning characters and actors from the other Slasher House movies and I think it might be the biggest cast we’ve ever had on a film.
Where do you see yourself in a few years and what would it take for you to consider your career a success?
That’s hard to say. I have a planned roster that I’ve stuck to since 2010 and I hope to be finished with that big plan within five years. Then, I guess I’ll think about what to do next. All our films have been interconnected and up to this point the focus has always just been on finishing the overall tale whilst keeping the individual movies entertaining.
I’m not sure if I ever could consider myself a success, I think it’s highly unlikely that I’ll achieve the kind of breakout success that a lot of filmmakers are chasing. But my interest lies in telling great stories with good people and as long as I can keep doing that. I guess to me, that IS success.
If you couldn’t do this anymore, what career path do you think you would have followed and why?
For 20 years I haven’t really thought about ever being anything else. I think not having a back-up plan has been my biggest strength in moving forward, I have done other jobs as a web designer and graphic artist, etc., and for a long time I was a touring musician, so maybe something like that.
Also, I always wanted to be a Palaeontologist when I was a kid, so maybe that. I like Dinosaurs, lol. Other than that, I’d really like to give back to the community in anyway I can, so I’d certainly be interested in perhaps going into Law Enforcement.
