Se7en Questions with Filmmaker & Actor
Tim Novotny
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?
I have always been in love with cinema. Ridley Scott and Steven Spielberg were big influences on me as a child. Films like Alien, Blade Runner, Legend, Jaws, and the Indiana Jones movies are still among my childhood favorites. When I began making my own movies, I drew inspiration from more authors and writers then I did filmmakers. Authors like Clive Barker and Howard P. Lovecraft were two of my personal favorites that always sparked my imagination when I was creating new material.
What have thus far been some of the negatives of being an indie artist in your field?
One of the biggest problems I’ve noticed is the general public’s lack of interest in independent film. This makes it difficult as an Indie filmmaker to adverse and find an audience for my work. Most audiences nowadays seem to be in a zombified state of comfort with what they want to see on the big screen, with nothing but reboots of classic films or the unrelenting onslaught of superhero movies. I can only hope that myself as well as other artists can sway viewers toward a new era of originality and wonder and out of the doldrums of vapid mediocrity in art.
What have thus far been the positives of being an indie artist in your field?
Working with highly creative and talented people is the best part of what I do. Also the fact that I can make movies without any kind of limitations is a huge plus as an independent artist. I hope that my work can inspire other artists to push the limits of not only what they can produce, but what they are able to creatively expose about themselves in their work as well.
What have been your favorite completed projects to work on up to this point? Can you tell us a little bit about them?
All of my feature films are my favorite projects. Vile Prey was my first major movie made from the money that was in my pocket at the time and went on to premiere at the Nightmares Film Festival in Columbus Ohio, where it was nominated for Best Ohio Feature. Pharisee is another one of my favorites. It served as a proving ground for me as a director on how to deal with a total Murphy’s Law scenario while directing a feature film. Pharisee is currently making its way through the festival circuit before its digital release.
What projects are you currently working on or have planned for the near future?
I just finished a project called Ragmork that was written and directed by Dayton filmmaker Eric Widing, which got me back into acting after a long hiatus and is my first time as a lead actor. Ragmork is a white-knuckled psychological horror movie that is a depraved commentary on depression and madness that also brings back elements of classic horror films.
The Mephistophiliac is another project that I will be directing very soon that is being written by fellow actor Kevin Winstead and was based off of a character he had developed many years ago.
The latest production that I am working on currently is titled Infernum which is in the throws of pre-production and will bring a fresh and raw perspective to the horror genre.
Where do you see yourself in a few years and what would it take for you to consider your career a success?
I see myself working on bigger productions as both an actor and a director in the years to come. To me, success is the ability to live off of your passions and to also achieve what you set out to do as an artist.
If you couldn’t do this anymore, what career path do you think you would have followed and why?
I have always had a fascination with flying and combat. If I couldn’t make movies anymore, I would most certainly be a fighter pilot for the air force.
