EXCLUSIVE! Ted Raimi on Failure! & horror films: ‘I loved the genre at a time when few actors would rarely even dip their toe into it’

In an EXCLUSIVE interview with Firstpost’s Lachmi Deb Roy for ‘Not Just Bollywood’ Ted Raimi talks about on his film Failure!, a tense crime thriller shot at one go in 87-minutes take. He explains how his theatre background helped him in shooting the film without any cuts.

He said, “If theatre paid even half as much as films did, I would consider doing that probably most of the time because I absolutely love doing theatre.”

Edited excerpts from the interview:

Failure! movie is shot in just eighty-seven minutes. You have a lead role and that too with no cuts. How did you prepare for it? What attracted you to the role?

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How I prepared for it was one of the reasons that attracted me. And that is because it had no cuts, I was challenged incredibly by the fact that I wouldn’t be able to stop between takes and figure things out. Typically, in a movie, as there are many takes and usually several weeks of shooting, you can figure the character out as it goes, which is why when you see a movie that’s shot in order, you can see the actors improve to the end of the movie. But there was none of that for me.

We had a few rehearsals, and then we shot the entire movie in one take. So that was what was appealing to me. But I was lucky because I spent many years doing theatre and that prepares you for the stamina it takes to shoot a movie like Failure, to be in front of an audience for several hours at a time.

But do you still do theatre as one of the few hobbies or is it still a profession for you?

It’s become a hobby because, of course, now you have to pay the bills. And the theatre doesn’t really pay. So yes, sadly, it’s become a hobby, but I really love it. And if theatre paid even half as much as films did, I would consider doing that probably most of the time because I absolutely love doing theatre.

How difficult is it to balance producing and acting since you’re the producer of this movie as well?
Being a producer too is quite an event, you know, that it takes a lot out of you. But fortunately, I have a very good partner, Marco de Molina, who’s my co-producer. And he was able to take on a lot of the day to day aspects of the film such as film equipment, rental, casting, and things like that to leave me free to be an actor. Because really, if you see in a credit that someone has done two major things such as write or direct or direct and act and act and produce or something, it’s really not true. They’re not doing it all. There’s no way you can because it takes too much out of you.

And the film is different from your other roles. You are more into dark, horror kind of a thing. What is your expectation from the audience, and what do you have to say about this new challenge playing a different kind of role?

I had no expectations whatsoever because I was only concerned that a lot of my fans who know me almost exclusively from horror and thriller and action films would be really turned off by the fact that this was mostly a drama. So I was quite worried, frankly, that they wouldn’t like it because of that. But, I was very fortunate. And, I think I think fans really did like it, and we were very fortunate to be well reviewed all around the world. So I feel very lucky and blessed. And, horror is a genre that is loved globally.

And what do you have to say about that bit of it because horror is loved globally. Do you think it gives maximum exposure to an actor? 

Yes. It does. When I was younger, horror was something you did not want people to know. So back in the1980s and early 90s, it was a black stain on your resume. Basically, the producer would look at that and say, well, I guess he’s not washing dishes or digging ditches, and that’s good. But, this is not something that I think is very appealing to me to cast this actor because he’s done horror. Now it’s completely reversed.

And while that’s great, I got very lucky in that sense because being as a young actor who loved the genre, I loved the movies that these directors made, and I was one of the very few actors who would go in to bother to read for it. So that’s why I was in movies with Wes Craven and John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper, and, many of the great horror directors I was able to work with for that very reason because it really wasn’t so much I think I was so great, but rather I loved the genre when few actors would rarely even dip their toe into it.

Now, of course, things are very different. And to your question of it being a worldwide phenomenon, it really is. I think it’s, as far as the consumption is concerned, it’s consumed the most in The United States, India as well, but it’s even more in United States.

And I believe it’s for this reason. Horror is a way to view death in a very safe way. But we in America are very clinical about the way we die. In other words, we’re born in a hospital and we die in hospitals almost exclusively. So people aren’t at all in America. But I think in other countries, it’s much more in the public view, in other words. And that’s why we love it so much here. We’re fascinated, and we have a need for it that and and it isn’t sort of an itch that isn’t scratched, I think. And if, you just mentioned that you love theatre so much.
It doesn’t matter what it is, even if it’s dance or or improvisation or even music. That happens, in a very, very different way than if it is recorded music or a film or television. And I can’t quite explain it, but it’s a very deep and old connection I think all of us as human beings have. And it’s fascinating, and and and I feel like it’s a privilege to tap into that when I’m on stage. And Failure is premiering at the Red Sea Film Festival.

And do you watch Indian cinema? 

We don’t get a lot over here, but I tend to not. Even though you guys produce more than the entire world combined. The entire world cinema output per year in India is more than the rest of the world, by far. But I tend to love things to my eyes, anyway, that are incredibly unique to your country. And that is, though it may sound silly, I love action musical comedies the best. I love them. And I even like the ones that aren’t comedies. I’ve loved Ratsassan, which is great. But I think one of the my favourite ones to watch is Bang franchise. It’s just so much fun to see those movies. I just find them delightful. And lately, we’ve also gotten, so nothing else too. Khakee is very good. I mean, that’s a really good one. Anyway, I know they’re all kind of big budget, huge action action pictures. But unfortunately, those are the ones we almost exclusively only get in America. We don’t really get a lot of the smaller ones. They’re very hard to find. But, if you could recommend some to me, I’d love to see them.

Do watch a few of them, which is making its waves in different film festivals. Like, All We Imagine As Light. I’m sure you’ve heard about the movie because it’s been appreciated all over the world which doesn’t have big stars, but great craftsmen.
And if you have to say something good about Indian actors, what is it that first comes to your mind?

What I love about Indian actors in most of the films I’ve seen is the style of acting and that is fascinating, that it is a theatrical style. In other words, it’s like an older American movie when American actors were primarily trained in theatre.

So it’s very direct style, and I really like it a lot. It’s almost Shakespearean in that regard that they’re showing you what they’re feeling. And I find that very refreshing, and I enjoy it very much. It’s a nice change from all of the rather deep method styles of American and European actors. That’s what I think that’s what I like.

Oh, since you’re the producer of Failure, another thing that came to my mind right now while interviewing you, it is an 87 minutes take, the entire film, and you’re the producer. In terms of budget, you may not have spent a lot.

 It was very low budget. I can’t tell you exactly what the budget was, but yes. Because I’ve been on set, seen so many times, so many retakes, so I’m sure there’s so much of wastage also so that you have stopped because, it’s just so huge, 87 take of it dying. You have to rehearse for many days before you can get to the point where you can shoot it because it’s like a play. So you must rehearse the blocking and the timing of the camera, and the focus puller has to rehearse many days in the rest of that. It can be an expense.

So what’s next? 

Next, I’m going back to horror, the thing I love the most.

WATCH the trailer of Failure! here: