Actor Sean Paul Lockhart (left) and director Tim Sullivan (right) will be at the World Premiere of I WAS A TEENAGE WEREBEAR on Friday, 13 at 6PM (screening with eCUPID)
We have the perfect little film for Friday the 13th… I WAS A TEENAGE WEREBEAR is a campy ’60s-inspired horror comedy in the same artery-pumping vein of John Waters with more than enough songs to make Maxwell Caulfield totally jealous.
As an ode to cult B-movie drive-in movies of the time, it’s a fun modern Grindrhouse flick–cute surfer boys along with the blood they swim in!
We caught up with the director Tim Sullivan en route his trip to Hawai‘i.
Congratulations on your new film I Was a Teenage Werebear! It’s sort of a cross between Grease and Rebel Without a Cause–a campy 60s spoof on Twilight. For all intensive purposes, are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?
Definitely Team Jacob. Though I do prefer a vampire’s bite to a werewolves.
It’s World Premiering at Rainbow this year. Think it’s a nice fit considering our respective surf cultures, am I right?
Couldn’t be more fitting. Especially considering the film’s climax takes place at a Luau! Ever since I saw that old Brady Bunch episode, I’ve fantasized about visiting your beautiful islands. Never thought I’d be doing so this way! A multitude of dreams come true.
Are you from the Malibu, CA area? Werewolves and murder aside–was growing up there as fun and carefree as portrayed in your film?
Truth be told, I’m a Jersey Boy born and bread, about as far from Malibu as you can get. But as a kid, I watched TV shows like “The Monkees” and “California Dreaming” with Jimmy McNichol and always thought the life of a California teenager was one big beach party. Now that I actually live in Southern California, I can tell ya it’s not exactl that, but it’s pretty damn close!
There’s a sweet Roger Corman quality to Werebear. Would you consider him an influence? Where did you draw your inspiration from? I read that Werebear is part of a larger project. Can you tell us about that?
You hit the nail on the head, bro! Roger Corman with a heavy dose of John Waters. “I Was A Teenage Werebear” is 1/4th of a comedy horror feature film called “Chillerama” that comes out this Fall. It takes place at a Drive-In where 4 different fright flicks are being shown, each written and directed by a different filmmaker- the other three being my buddies Adam Rifkin (Detroit Rock City), Joe Lynch (Wrong Turn 2) and Adam Green (Hatchet). We all grew up lovin’ the Drive-In, our adolesence forever shaped by the communal event of outdoor ‘dusk till dawn’ movie marathons. “Chiillerama” is our love letter to that experience and those films.
I didn’t expect for their to be original songs; I think audience will be pleasantly surprised by that. And you wrote them! Judging by the lyrics, I’ll bet it writing them was a…fun process. Or was it more difficult than it sounds? By the way, have you heard of this band Hunx and his Punx? I think Werebear and that group have a similar sensibility.
Ya know, as much as I obsess over movies, I equally obsess over music. That being said, I can’t play a lick or read and write a single note. But I knew what I wanted the songs to sound like (“Grease” 1 and 2 and “American Graffitti” being huge influences), and I knew what story and thematic purpose I wanted the lyrics to serve. So I wrote them as poems, then I’d listen to a very specific song over and over. For example, in the case of “Love Bit Me on the Ass”, I listened to Dion’s “I Wonder Why” a dozen times till I got a beat and melody in my head, then I sang that rhythm into a tape recorder. Next thing ya know it was like, “Look, ma! I wrote a song!” The songs in “Werebears” are what I’m most proud. Now in terms of Hunk and His Punx, I plead shameful ignorance, so I’ll leave ya on that along with ‘thanks’ and ‘mahalo’ as I head over to itunes to check ‘em out!
