Interview: Writer/Director Ray Griggs (Super Capers, Project Lucifer)

We’re auditioning sidekicks for the Action Flick Chick. Erica Ash and Sarah ex Machina both worked on this interview with Super Capers director Ray Griggs shortly before the film’s opening. Check back later on to find out which young woman won.

Q. Why Super Capers? What drove you to make this particular movie?

Ray: Well, it’s really being inspired as a kid: from filmmaking, from Steven Speilberg to George Lucas, reading superhero comic books, Superman and Batman. I wanted to make a movie for the kids and pay homage to these great reasons why I wanted to become a film director. I kind of put them all in a big melting pot to create its own unique story for the kids. There are superhero movies out there that kids can’t go see, so I wanted to make something for that younger generation.

Q: That’s really cool, and I’m looking at the cast that you have. Christine Laken and Adam West automatically just kind of jump out. Did you have any difficulties actually getting any of these actors?

Ray: No, not really. A lot of them fell in love with the script because of the fact that they were happy that there was movies still wanting to be made for young kids to not have to worry about nudity or bad language and things like that. And so a lot of them jumped on for the fact of being able to show their kids something that they do. If you really look it’s a great ensemble cast because a lot of them were in superhero films, from Tiny Lister to Justin Whalen, the lead. He was Jimmy Olsen in Lois and Clark. You have John Pallito who played in The Rocketeer. It’s a great ensemble cast like that.

Q: So when you were working on this movie, and like you mentioned, you have all these awesome people, did you ever find yourself “fanboying” or feeling like a fan?

Ray: Well, I don’t know, it was more or less for me, I felt like, not just with the cast, but with the crew too, it was more because this was my first feature, you know full film, so I wasn’t so much enamored by the stars, as I was that we were a bunch of kids making a making a movie and having fun. It was really just not a job, it was just everybody really having fun doing it. The only “starstruck”, I guess, was being Adam West that when I was a kid I watched the old Batman show, I couldn’t believe that here he is he’s working on my film. I wouldn’t have ever guessed that as a kid. There was a really neat feeling there if that makes sense.

Q: It makes perfect sense! Do you have any interesting anecdotes, maybe like something fun that happened on the set? I imagine with a cast of characters like that, you’ve got to have some sort of fun.

Ray: Yeah, actually, we did. Everyday it was actually kind of fun doing that, and you know, sometimes we played pranks on each other and things like that. But it was, and I can’t really off-hand think of any particular story right now but I just remember all of them coming back to me on the last day and they were sad. They were like “Ray, I really don’t want this to end. I wish it could go longer.” It was a 22-day shoot. The cast and the crew really never had so much fun on a film. Usually on a studio film things are more tight. Everyone is running around trying to get things done. This was indie, we kept it lighthearted. People said it wasn’t like work. They come back and enjoy coming to work, doing it. They wanted to work long hours, they wanted to work more days. That was a really neat feeling. Every one of them will work with me again. So that was real great. Even Doug Jones who played in Hellboy, he was Abe Sapien. He jumped onto my other, Project Lucifer.

Q: Do you plan on promoting this at conventions and connect with fellow fans?

Ray: We did. We did a thing at WonderCon to tribute to my fans. Normally, you have a comic book and you make a movie from it. Well, this is reversed because I did the storyboard and then wrote the script. I cycled backward for WonderCon. I made a comic book especially for promoting the film. It’s a prequel/sequel, which means the story takes place before the film and after the film. The comic book is about them going to the premiere of Super Capers only its not Super Capers, its another movie. The Darkwing Vesper took the time machine and went back and changed the movie and so now they have to go back in time again and make it back to Super Capers. Its all in this comic book. Because it’s all 80s themed and a lot of these movies and TV shows are from the 80s, even the music I got from the 80s, you know, the main songs, and then I had the orchestra and stuff. The comic book was also designed with the 80s theme, so I got MAD magazine to do the inside of the comic book. And then the poster and the cover of the comic book was done by Drew Streusen who did all the Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Back to the Future posters for my idols of Spielberg and Lucas. That was actually his last poster. He’s a legend in the industry, but Super Capers was his last poster that he did.

Q. Wow, that’s amazing. A lot of our readers are college students. What’s your educational background and did it really just prepare you for what you’re doing now?

Ray: Well, a lot of it I learned on my own. I started the company when I was living in the Midwest Archie Entertainment and ended up not finishing school. But I’m not saying that that’s not bad, there’s different ways of doing stuff. Many people are successful with going to college and then getting careers in the industry afterwards and then going to film school or something like that. I just took the road less traveled I guess and did a lot on my own.

Q: Is there a question that you wish someone would ask you but no one has yet? Hmm…that’s a good question. I would say if I could meet any director in the world who would I want, and the answer to that question would probably be the two directors who inspired me to be a film maker and that’s George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.

Ray: