Interview by Geno McGahee
As we deal with the pandemic, the film industry has had to adjust. Many would assume that the movie business would be on hold until the masks go away and the coast is clear, but the ambition and creativity of a filmmaker cannot be stopped and that is the case with Writer, Director and Actor, Jason Toler.
Toler began his film journey working on films like SAVE THE LAST DANCE, SPIDER-MAN 2 and BARBERSHOP. He has gone on to make his own mark with films like BODY OF NIGHT, CRACK HOUSE OF THE DEAD and the upcoming KILL PLAN. Toler is not afraid to think outside of the box, work in any film genre and try new things. He is filming with regularity and creating quality films in a time where it’s more difficult to do so.
Scared Stiff had the opportunity to sit down with Jason and talk about his film journey, where it’s been, where it’s at and where it’s going…
GM: Jason, you’ve been very busy in film and you’ve been successful. What was the first thing that drew you to film?
I’ve been drawn to film making a movie since I was a kid I grew up in the Midwest in Cleveland Ohio and had no connections are links to Hollywood know rich uncle or famous family members but I was fortunate enough to grow up at a time where you could get a lot of information from the library and watch a lot of movies on VHS movie theaters or my sanctuary as a kid and I decided at a young age I was going to attend Columbia college of Chicago it was the closest film school to Ohio and the one film school I research that would allow you to make a movie your first year. I account my success to have part luck timing and the other hard work I was never one to give up on myself I’ve been fortunate enough to find people that have believed in my talent and my visions.
GM: You’ve done a lot, running the gambit of roles in film, from acting to writing to directing. What is your favorite place to be when a film is being made and why?
My favorite place to be when I film is being made is on said the thing about filmmaking is unlike other creative outlets like painting or music do you need a team of people to get it done it’s beautiful to see something come from an idea to writing to actually being filmed I can’t really pick a favorite because I really enjoy writing directing and acting equally but sometimes I can bite off more than I can chew so it’s nice to be able to work on projects where I can focus on one specific Talent. As a Director it’s wonderful to put all the pieces of the puzzle together as a writer I really enjoy coming out with characters and crafting their dialogue interactions and as an actor pretending to be someone who is it me or dialing up my attitude a notch or two for character is always fun.
GM: Body of Night is a film in the vein of Fifty Shades of Grey. Was this your most difficult role considering the intimate nature of it?
Body of Night was a very interesting role because you don’t get to see a lot of African-American characters in erotic thrillers. From my understanding it was difficult to cast the lead because many main stream actors weren’t comfortable with the subject matter and many actors who had a background in erotica really couldn’t pull off the acting. I understood the world that character lived, which is this underground secret BDSM society, but also the vulnerability of trying to find someone that get you we are in a position of power. That vulnerability is what drew me to the character.
GM: With the popularity of Body of Night, do you anticipate a sequel?
The thing about Body of Night is that it did really well as an urban-based erotic thriller. It would definitely be interesting to see how the relationship between those two characters has changed now that she is also a part of that society I would love to do a sequel to that film and explore that character more but as always is up to the fans and the producer.
GM: Crack House of the Dead is a film that you wrote and directed. What can we expect from that film?
Crack House of the Dead is my homage to the Grindhouse horror films of the 80s and 90s. Films like these were considered low brow or trash by most film critics but had a heavy influence on so many filmmakers in the industry today including myself. I’m not a big fan of horror comedies so I wanted to make something that was over the top and graphic but also an urban take on the zombie genre. We were excepted into a dozen or so film festivals and actually won best midnight screening at the Portland film festival we submitted the film to the MPAA and I was sure we were going to get a NC-17 rating due to the violence, gore ,drug use nudity ,rape and more but we just slide by and got an R. We were scheduled to do an October release of 2020 but Covid has now pushed everything back to next year. We will do a theatrical release in a couple of markets before a VOD afterwards. If you were into Grindhouse style called zombie films you’re going to love this!
GM: What is your favorite zombie movie? Did any particular zombie movie inspire Crack House of the Dead?
My hands down favorite zombie film is the original night of the living dead but I’ve also been influenced by classics like “Return of the living dead” and “Night of the Demons” which isn’t really a zombie fail but I love the possession element. My thought process was what if you take several unconventional characters a dirty cop a prostitute a pimp etc. and put them in an unconventional safe space like a Crack house? Could they put aside their differences and stereotypes to save each other? I remember turning the script in and so many Producer is saying we can make this if you cut out the scene or if you change this character I finally decided that I would produce it myself so that I could keep my vision intact.
GM: Kill Plan is coming soon and it looks very sharp. What can you tell us about it?
Kill Plan it’s a product I’m really excited about. It’s a low budget action film with a lot of heart in it I play a CIA agent that is trying to stop a deadly drug from being released onto the world. It’s my first starting lead in an action film with Gregory Hatanaka, the Director of Body of Night, and Samurai Cop 2 he and I have been talking about doing some action movies for a while now.
Unfortunately, due to timing and Covid, it’s been hard to get those projects off the ground. I’ve been practicing mixed martial arts for the last nine years and was able to even show off a little bit of my fighting and Body of Night. What was interesting in doing my research is that there are hundreds of action films but only a dozen of African-American male action star leads. From Denzel Washington to Idris Elba to Michael Jai White, I am probably the first guy to come out in a while and I’m excited about the prospects and opportunities ahead. I hope the film is well received for what we were able to put together during Covid.
GM: You’ve done various genres, including drama, action and horror. What is your favorite genre to partake in and why?
I have to be honest it’s hard to pick a favorite genre I definitely lean towards the horror and the action because that’s what I grew up on. I’m excited about the action space because I think there is a lot of potential there at the moment for me. There are literally almost no lower budget films with African-American male leads.
I enjoy doing action projects so I’m looking forward to producing some more in the future. Crackhouse of the Dead is actually the second film in a trilogy of my horror universe. Half Moon was my werewolf film is currently streaming on Amazon and Tubi. Crackhouse of the Dead is my zombie film and we were in preproduction on “I am Dracula” which would be my vampire movie we’re hoping to get back into production on that early of next year if everything works out right.
GM: Outside of the three films that we discussed, what else should the people be looking for in the future?
I would hope everybody will be on the lookout for all the upcoming projects we just wrapped on keto plan so I’m hoping to see that out by the end of the year if not early 2021 also the release of Crack house of the dead” which should be in theaters next year as well. That’s a project we literally have had to push back twice due to scheduling issues so I’m hoping timing will be better soon. We’re scheduled to go into production on the next action film a hard way to die which is a James Bond is style film possibly starting on the action series Private Security At the start of next year leading up into iamb Dracula and possibly a sequel to Half Moon. I am very blessed to have found a partner in Gregory Hatanaka he is an amazing visionary an incredible Director who is doing an amazing job of putting films together so I’m happy and excited about our partnerships. I’m also looking forward to opportunities working on more film and TV projects my management has done a great job of reaching out so hopefully more people can see me on bigger and smaller screens to come.
GM: Any closing comments?
I want to end this with just a message of thanks and inspiration. On the inspiration side there’s so many filmmakers out there that don’t have the confidence to move forward in any way shape or form so I want to say to them don’t give up find your team find your space make your film there’s so many avenues and outlets nowadays that I didn’t have when I was coming up that you can make a film and make your money back on it so I encourage you all to find your film family and push your vision forward. I hope you all enjoy the projects I’m working on in some capacity feel free to follow me on social media and reach out if you have any questions or words of encouragement I think and love you all and look forward to sharing more of my projects with you! Follow me on Twitter @Jasonmadefilm or IG Tjasun and my production company @sunrayzfilms on Twitter and IG
