WASP-MEN FROM MARS -- BUZZ-BUZZ

'To bee, or not to bee', that is what the wasp said to the martian. 'Be a Bee' said the martian, 'A bee has all the desired functions needed to make honey'. 'Honey?' exclaimed the wasp, 'No. I care not for honey. I'd rather have some money so I can watch a film about wasp men from mars'. And so, after a modicum of buzzing about, an introductory paragraph was finally laid to rest. Only to then make way for an interview with my mate Gerrit. 





1) What are your own origins, Gerrit? Plus what path did you take in life prior to getting to where you are today?   I've been a sci-fi and horror fan all my life. The first film my parents ever took me to see was 'The Empire Strikes Back'. I grew up watching Star Wars, slasher films, and The Simpsons. I read Spider-Man and Batman comics, the Lord of the Rings, and Encyclopedia Brown. My brain's a melting pot for all things geeky.

I've been writing stories off and on for most of my life. Three years ago I decided to finally persue filmmaking and joined a film collective in San Francisco. And last year I completed my first short film, a haunt house movie called "A House of Ill Fame", and it has been shown at film festivals in L.A., Portland, and Chicago. Making that film gave me the confidence to try something a bit more ambitious... which is "Wasp-Men From Mars!”

2) What inspired the creation of ‘Wasp Men Movie’? Plus what is your role within the scheme of things?   A couple of years ago I went to a film festival in San Francisco featuring films that my film collective had made. At the start of the screening, there was a mini-film made from 50's films where (dubbed) teenagers were talking about attending the festival. I told a friend of mine, who also belonged to the collective, "Someone needs to make a 50's monster movie". Now I don't know why my brain made the leap from 1950’s teens talking on the phone to monsters, but it did. 

This stayed with me. I thought about how I could do a classic sci-fi monster movie that was more than just a homage to the genre. I knew that it would have teens at the center of it, like all good monster movies, but I wanted their issues to be something that modern audiences could relate to. Something closer to “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” than “The Blob". So I decided on a love triangle between three teens that tested their sexual identities. Eventually, the title "Wasp-Men From Mars!" popped into my head. It sounded perfect to me.

Last year, I finally wrote the screenplay for a 15 to 20-minute short film. I’m planning to direct this summer. 

3) In your own words how would you describe this story?   It’s about Suzie, a teenage girl in 1959. She’s hoping for a romantic evening when her boyfriend, James, asks her to go stargazing, only to find that he brought his nerdy pal Timmy along. As the evening goes on, she becomes suspicious of the boys’ relationship while James struggles with his feeling for Timmy in an era when his sexuality wasn't accepted.

And then Wasp-Men from the Planet Mars invade Earth and make things even worse.

4) If this film omitted a collective odor, what would it smell like and why?   The film would smell like a teen girl's perfume, since our protagonist Suzie is the driving force in the film. It smells sweet, but a bit too strong. And there's also a dash of mud, because the Wasp-Men ruin everything.

5) What song would you say best represents your wares and why?   I think many of the songs by 'Man Or Astro-Man?' have the vibe that I’m going for with the film. The songs are surfer rock, often with clips from classic sci-fi films. They don’t sound old, though; they’re fresh and they can rock pretty hard. I wish I could have them score the whole film.

6) If you could get a known celebrity – either living or dead – to promote this flick, who would you choose, and why would you want this particular person?   I'd like to get Edgar Wright to promote it. "The World's End" is a big influence on "Wasp-Men From Mars!". As with his films, “Wasp-Men" has a great conflict going on within a small group of people who just happen to be surrounded by a whole bunch of sci-fi / horror craziness. And I think he’s just an amazing filmmaker all around.

7) What were the main obstacles you had to contend with along the way?   One of the biggest obstacles that we've encountered has been finding a special effects costume and makeup artist. We need multiple, full-body Wasp-Men costumes with moving parts, such as mandibles, wings, and stingers that pop out of wrists. Finding an artist to do that in the Bay Area wasn't easy. We eventually found a great one: Julian Bonfiglio. He worked on Johnny Depp's "Old Tonto" makeup in "The Lone Ranger" and is currently on "Face Off", the Syfy Network's special effects makeup competition.

Our next large hurdle is paying for the monster costumes. We're planning to launch a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for those expenses.

8) If ‘WMFM' had a motto, what do you think it would be?   "Wasp-Men have no fury like a woman scorned".

And on that poetic note, dear reader, I'd like to thank Gerrit for telling us about his indie film, 'Wasp-Men From Mars', before directing you towards his website, facebook, and twitter pages.