Jim O’Rear is a busy man lately, with two projects currently in pre-production, a live action horror film that is inspired by campy 80s films that we all have a soft spot for in our hearts. You know the kind where the blood and guts are over the top, but somehow the story line and the iconic actors who star in them make them a classic. Fat Chance is a film that promises us just that, “FAT CHANCE prides itself on being a wild rollercoaster ride from beginning to end,” says Mr. O’Rear.
But film isn’t the only medium that is near and dear to Mr. O’Rear’s heart, his other project is a horror audio drama called, Tales from Behond Volume 1.
You’ve got two projects that are currently in pre-production, Tales from Beyond and Fat Chance, one is a live action throw back horror film and the other an audio drama, can you tell us a little about each project?
Jim O’Rear: TALES FROM BEYOND: VOLUME 1 is the first in a series of creepy audio drama CDs featuring 3 true stories on each volume relating to hauntings, cryptozoology, UFOs, and other paranormal activity (such as premonition of death, astral projection, and wildly improbable coincidence). Each volume of stories will be professionally performed in the style of the classic radio dramas from yesteryear by some of the best voice talents in the industry and hosted/narrated (in “The Twilight Zone” style) by beloved actor Daniel Roebuck (star of The Fugitive, Glee, Matlock, The Devil’s Rejects, Rob Zombie’s Halloween, US Marshals, Ghost Whisperer, and more).
TALES FROM BEYOND is written and produced by Kevin Herren (FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW) and myself and will be distributed by Schiffer Publishing. It also features the talents of Robert Picardo (STAR TREK: VOYAGER, STARGATE: ATLANTIS), John de Lancie (STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, TORCHWOOD), Reggie Bannister (PHANTASM, L.A. LAW), Cerina Vincent (CABIN FEVER, TWO & ½ MEN), Kyle Hebert (DRAGONBALL Z, WRECK IT RALPH), and Mary McGlynn (BLADE, X-MEN, NARUTO).
FAT CHANCE is a horror/comedy in the style of the films from the ’80’s. Tossing aside the grim, gritty realism of torture porn and other modern fads, FAT CHANCE prides itself on being a wild rollercoaster ride from beginning to end. It’s best described as THE BIGGEST LOSER meets FRIDAY THE 13TH! The plot is, basically, this… ten obese men appear on a competitive reality show geared toward weight-loss. As the competition grows more intense the contestants realize they are losing more than just weight; they are losing competitors. Are the contestants dropping out voluntarily or is something more insidious going on?
FAT CHANCE is written by Daniel Emery Taylor (THE RETURN OF SWAMP THING, ROAD TRIP) and is directed by Daniel and myself. The film, also, features the talents of John Dugan (THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE), Scott Tepperman (GHOST HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL), and G. Larry Butler (FIST OF THE NORTH STAR).
Both of these projects are currently raising funds through crowd funding – what are some of the “perks” that people can get for helping out and coming on the journey with the projects?
Jim O’Rear: By helping us out you can get a wide range of things, such as autographed DVDs and CDs of the finished projects, the opportunity to act in the productions alongside the stars, autographed posters and T-shirts, the chance to be inside the recording studio to watch the magic happen, and much more. There are humorous videos on each project fundraising page explaining what we are doing and how you can personally get involved.
TALES FROM BEYOND can be found here: www.IndieGoGo.com/TalesFromBeyond
FAT CHANCE can be found here: www.IndieGoGo.com/FatChance
Let’s first talk about Tales from Beyond, there is something extremely captivating to me about audio dramas it’s a lost art, why do you think it’s important to bring back this medium?
Jim O’Rear: These are a lot of fun because they allow your imagination to get creative and piece together images in your head based on the sounds, music, and voices you are listening to. Orson Wells panicked the nation many years ago when he broadcast the radio drama WAR OF THE WORLDS. These types of projects have a certain way of touching your imagination like nothing else can and you have to approach it from the point of what sounds, words, and music will evoke the most visual responses in the listeners brain. It’s a challenge, but the end product is always a blast to hear.
Tales from Beyond is Volume 1 in the series, what can you tell us about your writing and producing partner Kevin Herren? And who was the one that came up with the initial idea for this first series?
Jim O’Rear: Kevin is the “man behind the curtain” at Macabre Mansion (www.MacabreMansion.com). He’s featured audio dramas on his website for several years and came up with this idea. Kevin and I had worked together on 3 full-length audio dramas previously; FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, and THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW. We’re both fans of shows like THE TWILIGHT ZONE and OUTER LIMITS and thought it might be cool to try an anthology of shorts in that style. Since there is an increased interest in the paranormal, cryptozoology, and UFOs, we felt that a dramatization of true stories that had to do with those topics might be something that would be unusual and of interest to both horror and paranormal fans. We plan on having 3 different stories on each disc.
Tales from Beyond says that each story is based on true events – which to me only adds another level of creepiness to the tales – how hard was it to find the stories that you wanted to tell or was there a process of elimination?
Jim O’Rear: There are thousands of stories out there, especially since the paranormal has been a hot item with the general public over the last 5 or 6 years. So, finding stories was the easy part. The trick was finding interesting and comprehensive stories that could be told audibly in 20 minutes and convey the feeling and style of the old TWILIGHT ZONE episodes. Kevin is very familiar with the feel and timing of audio dramas, so he’s a master when it comes to whipping the stories into shape for recording.
What can you tell us about any of the characters that you play in Tales from Beyond or the stories that you’re apart of?
Jim O’ Rear: I don’t want to give away too many secrets, but TALES FROM BEYOND: VOLUME 1 features the following stories:
- THE DEAD IN THE HOUSE: Following the accidental death of her mother, a young girl and her father move in with his mother-in-law. Before long, the girl makes friends with the ghosts of three entities who reside in an upstairs nursery; though the adults assume that her new “friends” are her three new dolls.
- TWELVE HOURS TO LIVE: After her husband storms out of the house following an argument, the young woman begins having visions of him in terrible danger. She seeks help from his disbelieving business partner and the police before resolving to rescue him herself.
- DEADLY FORTUNE: A skeptic has his fortune told at a party. As events begin to unfold exactly as the psychic has predicted, his disbelief turns to fear that the psychic’s final prediction, that he will be pursued by a knife-wielding woman, will also come to pass.
Okay, Tales from Beyond isn’t the only project that you’ve got on the burner right now. Fat Chance promises to be a 80s throwback gore fest of slasher love. What got you excited about this project?
Jim O’Rear: My business partner, Daniel Emery Taylor (who I refer to as “DET”), and I are big fans of the early 80s horror films. They were silly, campy, gory, and a lot of fun. So, when DET approached me with a horror/comedy script he had written in that same style, I was immediately interested. After I found out the concept was THE BIGGEST LOSER meets FRIDAY THE 13TH, I was sold on the idea. Then I read it and knew this film had to be made. It’s funny, scary, and a great story.
You’re also taking the reigns as a co-director on Fat Chance alongside Daniel Emery Taylor. What’s the process of collaboration between the two of you? Or does your styles gel really well together?
Jim O’Rear: DET and I have known each other for several years and have worked together on numerous films, so we’re already in tune with each others styles and attitudes. We both like the same types of films and have a very similar vision when it comes to films of this style, so we’re going to attack it as fans of this genre making a film for other fans of the genre. We’re making what we’d like to see on screen… and I think the audience will really enjoy it.
We all have our favorite late night campy horror films of the 80s, is this genre that is near and dear to your heart?
Jim O’Rear: Definitely. To this day, I still believe those are the horror films that are the most fun. They never took themselves too seriously, the gore was silly and almost comic-book-style in nature, and they just wanted to let the audience escape for 85 minutes and have a good time.
Just how over the top will the gore -guts be in Fat Chance? And how true will the film stay to the formula of campy horror films of the 80s?
Jim O’Rear: There will be gore and it will be over-the-top in nature. It has to be in order to emulate the films from the 80s. The difference is that the films of that time were not so realistic in their depiction of the violence and gore. They were almost laughable, in a lot of respects, while at the same time being gory. There’s a certain campiness to it. So, while the gore will be over-the-top, it will also be fun. We’ll be sticking very close to the formula of those types of classic films.
You are also taking on a role in the film, what can you tell us about your character?
Jim O’Rear: I play Warren Gilley. He’s the producer of the reality weight loss program that the film centers around and he’s a real asshole; cold, uncaring, egotistical, and all business. He’s one of those guys that you love to hate.
This is my last and final question, is there anything that I forgot to ask about either of these projects that you’re dying to tell the readers about or on any other projects that you have going for the future.
Jim O’Rear:If we reach our fundraising goal on both projects, we hope to go into production on both of them in April or May. FAT CHANCE will be shot in Alabama and TALES FROM BEYOND is being recorded in Los Angeles. We have a distributor for TALES FROM BEYOND, already, whom will probably have the product in stores by the end of the year. With FAT CHANCE, we will have some select screenings of it for fans at horror conventions and then let a distributor pick it up for release on DVD towards the end of this year, as well.
We would greatly appreciate everyone stopping by the Facebook pages for the projects and the fundraising pages on IndieGoGo. You can find out about the great goodies you will receive for helping us out and you will personally have a hand in the making of a film and an audio drama that features some great genre names in fantastic roles.
I want to thank Mr. O’Rear for taking the time to talk about these two bloody cool projects. Go check out their respective facebook pages and crowd funding sites to help get these two projects off the ground and into your bloody home.
TALES FROM BEYOND Facebook page:
www.Facebook.com/TalesFromBeyondCD
TALES FROM BEYOND Fundraising Campaign:
www.IndieGoGo.com/TalesFromBeyond
FAT CHANCE Facebook Page:
www.Facebook.com/FatChanceMovie
FAT CHANCE Fundraising Campaign:
www.IndieGoGo.com/FatChance
