Haunted, Inc. Interview with Kent Green and Ernie Rockelman, A.K.A. Emerald Productions

A few years ago, I was asked to appear in a short film made in support of the Collingswood Public Library. Kent Green and Ernie Rockelman of Emerald Productions were directing. That film was called Beat The Director. It was a fun day of local movie making. Kent and Ernie (or as Al calls them, Kernie) were laid-back types, easy to be around--and it was obvious that they were dead serious about their craft. I was impressed with the finished product and hired them to create the SORTA LIKE A ROCK STAR book trailer. We had a blast and soon I was drinking beers and talking movies with the EP crew--meeting actors, musicians, theater owners, and all types of interesting people--on a regular basis.

I also started watching EP's short films--mostly horror--and quickly became a fan.

Last year, Emerald Productions released a their first full-length film, Haunted, Inc., which Alicia and I loved. Check out the trailer and then read the interview, in which we discuss storytelling, movie making, creating art while making a living, and the perfect films to watch this Halloween season.

Q: Emerald Productions in the house! Thanks for stopping by the blog.

Kent: Thank you. Ernie and I are huge fans of your books and I’ve been following your blogs since the Quest For Kindness days.

Ernie: Yeah, thanks for having us.

Q: Where did Haunted, Inc. come from? How did the concept originate?

E: We were hired to shoot a documentary on the life and career of former boxing great, Matthew Saad Muhammad. The project landed us in Canastota, NY, home of the Boxing Hall of Fame and a few of the most classically haunted bed and breakfasts this side of the Atlantic. On the journey home through the mountainous byways of northern NY, we found ourselves stuck behind an overturned tractor-trailer. Rather than wallow in our state of misfortune, we used the time to lay the foundations of what would later become Haunted, Inc. We had toyed with the notion of drafting a ghost story in the past and the paranormal offerings of the Victorian region only worked to provide further incentive. After sweltering in the heat and gaseous fumes for three hours, we had a substantial outline and the makings of an opening scene.

K: That B&B the boxing documentary crew stayed at was totally haunted! We had lights go off and on, weird sounds, doors open by themselves, and hidden passageways in the walls. It was scary to go to sleep at night! It was all fodder for the story we would find ourselves writing on the way home.

Q: Al and I thoroughly enjoyed Haunted, Inc—period. But when we found out you made this feature length film for $1500 my in-retrospect enjoyment went through the roof. It’s nice to know that people are making quality films on such a budget. Actually, it’s downright heroic. How did you ever make such a fun and accomplished feature with so little cash?

K: First off, you learn how to do everything so you don’t have to rely too heavily on others. E and I have taken on almost every position a crew member can have - usually wearing several hats at once.

The thing is only do what you know you can do well. There is a reason why it takes a team of hundreds to make a Hollywood film. Each person brings something unique to the table and it is important to realize that each individual’s talent and pride can lift that key position to a higher level. A boom operator (sound guy) who prides himself in the clean sound he gets will enhance that aspect of the film. If you give that role to someone that sees themselves burdened by the task, they may put less care into the process and your final product will suffer for it.

As a person playing several roles, especially directing, you must not stretch yourself too thin and be sure that you can put the TLC into each hat worn. Ernie and I certainly stretch ourselves thin, but our pride in our work forces us to give it everything we have. From the mightiest executive producer to the smallest production assistant, every role is crucial to your film’s success and you must respect that.

We also consistently have fun because we LOVE what we do. Your cast and crew see your excitement and feed off it. And if you continue to put out a great product, you’ll find people standing in line to work with you for just the experience or mutual love of the craft. They know that when they work for free it is affording us the opportunity to put that money back into the picture. We never make any money either - our cast and crew know that every dime saved is put right back into the project.

E: Over our many years making film, we’ve also accumulated a nice collection of equipment as well as a repertoire group of actors and crew that are as enthusiastic about making movies as we are. Our cast sacrificed two weeks of their summer (and concurrently their weekly paychecks) because they believed in us and the project. Others contributed effects work and sound design (tasks that would normally carry a hefty price tag) free of charge.

Q: Can you talk a little bit about writing the screenplay? I know you wrote it collaboratively. What was that experience like? Highs? Lows? Tell us about your writing process.

E: Kent and I have parallel sensibilities when it comes to movies. We drafted the opening scene of the picture together, and while we saw eye to eye on the arrangement of the sequence, writing in that fashion proved a daunting task. From then on, we alternated responsibilities, emailing scenes back and forth. The script has a very particular sense of humor. Fortunately, Kent and I have a similar drollness that conceals the changes in author and allows the story to flow smoothly from scene to scene.

K: Because the film (from pre-production to post) was always looked at as an “opportunity” to see what making a feature would be like, I felt less pressure working with another writer. This sensibility afforded me to just “go with the experience” instead of arguing or fighting about every little detail. Besides one basic re-write to smooth everything out, we both pretty much let each other do their thing. If I really wanted the tale to twist a certain way, I would strive to get up to that point in the story - that was my little trick to gain some control over the wheel (hee hee).

Q: You guys are horror aficionados. This is a ghost story, but it’s also comedic. And while there are scary parts—Alicia would not go down into our basement after she watched your film—the overall tone is light and fun, which I found refreshing. At times it felt almost throwback, especially with the slapstick humor. As horror movies are getting bloodier and freakier, Haunted, Inc. really seems to stick out. Was that intentional? Why did you go in this direction?

K: The script was originally written as a pilot to a TV show we wanted to create. We simply thought it’d be neat to do TV and so we did. The idea was that these two slacker roommates trip into solving their first “ghost busting” case (in the pilot) and they find themselves suddenly in demand to solve more. The episodes would then tackle different sub-genres of horror that we love (creature features, hauntings, urban legends, ect.) and comically show them and their new team trying to keep their heads above water. The tone of the piece is very “TV”, but on purpose. We really wanted both the young and old to enjoy it.

It’s funny, Ernie and I both love horror first and foremost, but have very different taste in horror. I was actually surprised that he was up for doing something so fun and light. But he loves Buffy and always saw Haunted, Inc. in that vein. I never watched Buffy, so I looked to things like Ghostbusters, Teen Wolf, and some classic ghost stories for inspiration.

E: Horror in the 2000s was most known for its proliferation of remakes as well as its return to the graphic violence that permeated the post-Vietnam years, a trend that led to the inexplicable birth of a new genre dubbed “horror porn,” a subgenre that Kent and I both abhor. Our intention with Haunted, Inc. was to create a TV program. Our initial script was meant to be a two-part pilot in vein of such genre shows as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The X-Files. The archetypal conventions of television resonate throughout our family-friendly finished product.

Q: When I watch your films, and when I talk to the people with whom you’ve worked, I always get the sense that everyone involved is having (or had) fun. I know that you rely on friends and associates to work and act for nothing but their love of the craft and that comes through in the best of ways. Can you talk a little bit about your regulars, both on screen and off? The Emerald Production crew? And how you get all of these people involved?

E: Jeremy Cloutier was a friend and frequent collaborator at Rowan University. Upon completing a stint in the Navy following college, Jeremy returned with news that he had been “hit with the producer’s bug”.

Justin Plum is a childhood friend who studied painting and animation in school. He decided to lend his artistic sensibility to the project and has been working with us ever since.

Jay Plum is a long-time friend that toiled with acting on stage and screen at different points in his life and who is always willing to play a role in my films no matter how silly or embarrassing.

Scott Alten and I co-teach the Absegami High School film institute. He spent a number of months growing an 80s style porn-stash for the flick.

K: We seem to either work with friends or become very close with everyone we work with. We see it more as a family than just cast and crew. The person I probably go furthest back with is the musician Dale Pantalione. We met in middle school and he scored more than half my films. When we were kids, he would literally stand beside me with a Casio keyboard and play the score live next to the camera’s microphone so that our little home movies would have a soundtrack. When there was a song in a film, he’d have a boom box and would literally press play on it to cue in the song. You could hear the play button being clicked in the film. It was awesome! Dale was making an amazing album called A DRIFT when I did the soundtrack for Haunted, Inc., so he is unfortunately not part of that score. However, you can buy his ground-breaking album on itunes and places like that. You won’t regret it!

I also have to quickly mention Jay Ruch. I am a huge “sound” person. I need clean, good sound in my films - no more boom boxes played into microphones. Jay runs Zero By One Sound Studios in Cherry Hill, NJ (https://www.facebook.com/#!/0X1soundstudio) and has done amazing sound design work for us. I highly recommend their studio!

We are so lucky to have worked with so many talented, energetic, creative people! Too many to mention! Thank you all so very much!

Q: Kumar Aubrey Goonewardene is one of your regular actors. Would you say he is your Bruce Campbell? Will you be making more Kumar films?

E: I am always ready and willing to work with Kumar. He’s been with us since the beginning and has been involved in dozens of our projects. While he only appeared as an extra in HI, he worked extensively behind the scenes as script supervisor, keeping us on point and running lines with actors between takes.

K: I would make sweet love to that man.

Q: One of the things I like the most about Emerald Productions is that you’re making great films in South Jersey. You’ve produced a lot of work, won awards, and have even branched out to make charity infomercials and book trailers. There are many would-be artists who feel trapped—as if they don’t have the ability to make art in their current situation. But you manage to create with little money and while working full time day jobs. How is it that you’ve managed to accomplish so much? What words of encouragement can you offer other artists who feel confined by the realities of their day-to-day?

K: For me, art is life. And by “art” I simply mean being creative. Since I was a youth I always had a need to express myself creatively whether it be my old punk bands, drawing and writing in journals, and, eventually, making movies. I try to do something creative every single day of my life.

When you are wired this way, you do it no matter what. A full time day job does nothing but inspire me. I use it to have money, to interact with new people, and to make me respect the “down time” I do get so that I use it and manage it in such a way that I can be most creative. It disciplines me.

As for South Jersey, I grew up here and have a lot of roots that run very deep here. Luckily for me, a lot of these roots are within the creative community and these special people help me to create. Also, my siblings are breeding and I find myself fond of my niece and nephews. It makes it hard to go too far away for too long.

However, seeing more of the world and putting myself in new surroundings have always led to inspiration. My girlfriend Carissa and I often take trips and I feel like I come back with a new idea every time. Recently we did Camden, Maine and Athens, Georgia and both locations have inspired my work and made their way into my writing.

E: It’s easy to get sidetracked. Everybody has distractions in their lives. You have to force yourself to remain focused, to maintain a schedule that allows you to get things done. It also helps that we both have women in our lives that are wholly supportive of what we do. 

Q: Would you say you’re trying to explore themes or make statements with your work, or do you simply wish to entertain? What do you want your audience to take away from Haunted, Inc and your entire body of work?

K: I am very interested in exploring themes. I would say all my short films before Haunted, Inc. are ruminations of an idea or theme that I needed to sort out. I will also lean on a style I might not have tried yet, too. So, in Rose Has Teeth, for instance, the theme is the dangers of relationships and beauty and temptation. The style I was going for is that of thick atmosphere and heavy experimentation with visuals and sound.

I’ve always seen my short films as a chance to practice telling a story through cinematic means. If I do not challenge myself and bring myself out of my comfort zone, then I am not living up to my own set of standards. The only way to improve is to push yourself harder each time.

E: Despite the assertion of Oscar Wilde, art does imitate life. I learned in film school to write what I know, and that’s what I do.

Our likes and dislikes are based on time and timing, where we were in life when exposed to a particular piece of cinema. I was born January 9, 1980. So, minus eight days and some odd minutes, I lived every moment of the decade of Garbage Pail Kids, legwarmers and glam rock. My movies tend to reproduce the tone and texture of the movies of my youth. 

I worked as a critic for the Press of Atlantic City for a period of five years. I’m a cinefile: I like movies of all types. It just so happens that when an idea hits me, it’s usually horror-themed.  

Q: Top three horror movies to watch on or around Halloween—and please give us a justification sentence for each pick.

K: The Shining: my favorite horror film. A brilliant director (Stanley Kubrick) at his prime doing a horror movie. I wish that horror wasn’t seen as the red-headed stepchild of cinema because a brilliant director can take it to unbelievable heights. You can cut the atmosphere with a knife (or an axe).

The Changeling: Just a fantastic ghost story with great direction by Peter Medak and an awesome performance by George C. Scott.

Creature From The Black Lagoon: A classic creature feature flick. There is something about the underwater black and white photography that makes me fall in love every time and I have a soft spot for the underlying theme of unrequited love.

E: Halloween: Though I didn’t understand the socio-political goings ons that inspired it, the slasher genre was my introduction to horror. Halloween remains the preeminent boogeyman flick. I recall the first time I saw the movie. It was Halloween night. My sister was curled up around her candy-filled pillowcase on the living room floor, my mother was uttering words of protest from the other room (“You better not be watching something that will give you nightmares”) and I was entranced by the images on the TV. The thought that monsters were not just created by mad scientists or nuclear fallout and could be living next door was truly frightening. The ambiguous final moments of the picture are underrated and leave the viewer with the feeling that evil is out there...somewhere.

Trick ‘r Treat: Anthology of shorts, each taking place on Allhallows Eve. The film lingered in distribution hell before finally receiving a DVD release from Warner Home Video – and just in time for Halloween. Packed with style and glee and enough holiday lore to make Jack Skellington jump for joy, the picture is sure to become required holiday viewing for young fans.

Frankenstein: The granddaddy of monster movies. It’s ahead of its time in terms of direction, features terrific makeup effects and conveys a tale that is equal parts sorrow and horror.

Q: What’s next for you collectively and individually?

E: We just completed another horror short, entitled Abigail, a faux documentary about a pair of amateur filmmakers that go missing while working on a project. We are also seeking financing for a pair of scripts we hope to develop into competent pictures in the near future.

K: We're also finishing up a book trailer for the amazing new novel BOY21, and I'm working on some ideas for my online doodle page Scribbles, Doodles, and Apocalyptic Prophecies.

Q: Thanks so much for stopping by, Kent and Ernie, A.K.A. Emerald Productions.

E: Always a pleasure, Matt. Thanks for taking time out to chat with us.

K: Thanks for the opportunity, Matt! And thanks to everyone who took the time to read this. We truly appreciate it!

Good news, readers! I'm giving away two DVD copies of HAUNTED, INC. To be entered into the giveaway, just make a comment below or add the title of your favorite horror film. If you wish to purchase HAUNTED, INC, please do so. You won't regret it. I've added this link for your convenience: HAUNTED, INC. 

Bonus: This is one of my favorite Emerald Production shorts, GHOST LIGHT: