Interview with THE HOWLING REBORN director Joe Nimizki
The Howling Reborn is on Blu-ray and DVD just in time for Halloween. I will be reviewing the Blu-ray shortly for the site, but here is an interview with the film's director Joe Nimizki.
How did everything come about to get this project brainstormed and started? Did you approach the production company or did they come to you wanting to resurrect this story?
They came to me wanting create a new, original story with The Howling name. I enjoyed the original when I was young and once I got a handle on a story I was excited to tell... I was in.
How did you go about choosing this particular cast for this new chapter in the Howling franchise? How was it working with such a seemingly young cast who probably hadn’t seen the original?
For the two leads I did a lot of auditioning... two months worth in LA, NY, Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, etc. It was so great to find Landon and Lindsey, and even better when I auditioned the two of them together. We were lucky enough to have some strong choices for the Kay character, but I'd always been a fan of Ivana's and was really happy to have her. The rest of the cast we had to find in Montreal during pre-production. Since our film is a stand alone story it wasn't really necessary the cast had seen the original... but I asked them to watch it anyway.
Did you take any aspects other than the werewolf traits from the original motion picture or any of the many sequels that die- hard “Howling” fans might pick up on and appreciate?
It was essentially an original screenplay, and I added a wrinkle or two to the traditional werewolf rules. I did tip my hat a few times to the original for those paying attention though. As far as the sequels go I never saw any of them so no influence there.
How similar or different is your film to the very first one?
Completely different. A new story with The Howling name.
How did you come up with this specific story to use in this latest chapter?
I brainstormed several before settling on this one. I considered different aged characters, story arcs, etc. The one thing I knew from the beginning is I wanted to have the werewolves attack in a modern day city, because I felt like I hadn't seen that film before. I feel like the period piece, future fantasy, and creatures on the woods thing have kind of been done to death (so to speak).
Are you hoping this film will renew the franchise and inspire even more sequels?
That would be nice. I actually planned at one point to write the story set up in the end credits for this film, then realized for the time and money at our disposal it was too ambitious... but I hope we get to do it next.
Do you, personally, see yourself returning to the “Howling” drawing board to bring us anymore installments?
I'd definitely like to pick up with these characters and story and get the franchise going again... though in the meantime I'll likely do something a little lighter for a change first.
What can fans look forward to when this film is finally released?
Well, if the research screening and early reactions are any indication they'll enjoy it. It's a coming of age love story set against a thriller/action werewolf backdrop. We all (cast, crew) put a lot of TLC into it and hopefully that translates for the viewer.
I really enjoyed The Howling, and am interested in seeing this new take. What are your thoughts, are you looking forward to seeing this film?
