Doug and Stacey Turner Interview
Interviewed on the 19th August, 2009
   
How did I Know How Many Runs You Scored Last Summer
(IKHMRYSLS) come about?

Doug - We made a short mockumentary “Swerve it like Merv” about an
obsessed cricket fan way back in 2003, so that’s where the main
character originated, but it was during a red wine-fuelled flight back
from the UK when we came up with the title.


Was it hard mixing the two elements of a slasher and the sport
cricket into a horror movie?

Stacey - A run-of-the-mill slasher would've been quite hard to make
amusing or interesting without a unique angle. I think cricket being an
eccentric game and supplying a fair few implements with which to kill
people - just felt like a great mix.


What type of films or filmmakers inspired you to make this project
and was it hard to get it off the ground?

Doug - I grew up watching Tales of the Unexpected, Salem’s Lot,
Halloween, Friday the 13th, Fright Night (basically what anyone born in
the 70s would’ve been watching!) I've great regard for the genre.
Currently been getting into the French new wave of horror; High
Tension, Inside, Martyrs.

Is there anything in the screenplay that didn’t make it into the film, which now you regret leaving out?

Stace - In the shooting script the killer had a series of Freddy-ish one-liners, but during the edit, it didn't really fit the film, so
they didn't make it in. No regrets though, as the 'feel' of the movie is exactly what we were after - a satirical slasher. In the
end we preferred to leave it a quite straight slasher but with a satirical edge rather than boom-tish gags throughout.


At what locations in Australia, did you shoot your film?

Stacey - Our lounge, our mate's bathroom, a toilet in a park, a fire escape, a mate's garage! But mainly in Joadja, which is in
the Illawarra, about 2 hrs south of Sydney. It's in Ivan Milat country - quite spooky as you're out of mobile phone coverage, and
at night, it's pitch black!
Roughly how long did it actually take to
shoot IKHMRYSLS?

Doug – All up, 20 days principal
photography. That was mainly at weekends
and evenings, as we continued to work our
9-5 jobs (as did most of the cast and
skeleton crew). We had a couple of days
of pick-ups shots, which consisted mainly
of me and Stace shooting some close-up
gore and the boy's flashbacks.
For those who're yet to see IKHMRYSLS, how much violence and
gore is actually in it?

Doug - Although a satirical slasher, we still wanted to have quite
effective death scenes... so you do get to see some nice splattery
effects. Stumps through legs and shoulders, nail-spiked balls to the
mouth, spilling guts etc – all fun! Basically a whole cricket team are
killed on screen, and we wanted to be as creative as possible and pay
homage to some seminal films like Phantasm.


The full body shower scene where actress/director/wife Stacey
Edmonds, their are rumours that when it came to close up shots you
actually used a Miss Nude Australia model. Is that true or not?

Doug - All true I’m afraid!! The shower scene is a homage to Dressed to
Kill - the obvious boby-double in a gratuitous shower, we just had to
have the scene. No self-respecting 80s slasher film would've been
complete without nudity!
Was there any part of the film you wanted to change while shooting?

Stacey - We had quite an extensive rehearsal period for most of the
scenes, so anything that didn't work was usually weeded out before
shooting - so you won't see any 'deleted scenes' on the DVD - everything
we shot, we used. Some of the effects didn’t work out quite as well as
we’d hoped – in one shot, a gushing neck wound didn’t quite ‘gush’ as
much as we hoped, so we added a little bit of blood squirting in post –
hopefully it’s not very obvious.


What are some of your favourite moments in the script?

Doug - The box-with-nails and the shower scene... both scenes seem to
have the biggest effect on the audience!


What rating where you tending to go for exactly?

Doug - We didn't really aim for any rating - we knew with the shower
scene we'd be pushing the boundaries a bit. I always used to only rent
18 cert DVDs when I was a kid - it was a mark of quality for horrors! In
the end we're happy with the 18 in the UK, and very surprised at the
MA15+ in Aus! It has to be the most explicit MA15+ I’ve ever seen!
IKHMRYSLS has played in several film festivals in Australia, what type
of reaction did your audience get when they seen your film?

Doug - World Premiere was in the UK at Frightfest back in August ‘08,
had great reception, but some feedback on the pacing of the car
montage and arrival at the camp. As this was prior to any distribution
deals, we improved the pacing and actually shot another scene. The
Australian premiere was at A Night of Horror - which is a fantastic
Sydney fest. The audience seemed to really 'get' the film, and what we
were trying to achieve.


What’s been the most difficult part of shooting IKHMRYSLS?

Stacey - The energy and perseverance! I think it would've been easier if
we'd have taken 4 weeks off work and shot back-to-back, but shooting
the odd weekend here and there felt really disjointed, and having to
get back into the swing of things every time was sometimes difficult.


Did you have any trouble with the SFX?

Doug - We knew we would have some issues... but if something does go
wrong, it will be the SFX! Fortunately we knew we'd be editing it, and
knew our limits, so we kind of knew what we could get away with,
what we could fix in post.
Usually when you see or hear of a movie that uses the same type of
title name as another horror movie, it tends to be a tongue in
cheek chuck off. Can you please explain why you ran with
IKHMRYSLS title which is similar to I Know What You Did Last
Summer?

Doug - It started as a working title, really. But the more people heard
it, the more we realised that people either loved it or hated it... but
they never forgot it. Bingo. It says it's cricket, it's a horror, and it's not
to be taken too seriously. So the name stuck really - and we were
happy that people might be expecting a 'Scary Movie' style film, and
we knock the stuffing out of them with the opening scene.


Was their any other title name/s you wanted to use instead of
IKHMRYSLS, if so what were they?

Doug - The nickname for the film has always been RUNS. But the only
really serious contender was “The Tweltfh Man” - we still like the
name, and maybe non-English speaking territories will take that name
in preference. Or of course, it could be the title of the Hollywood
remake!
Will IKHMRYSLS fans get to ever see a pre-sequel or sequel in the
near future?

Doug - We keep getting asked by distributors about what our next
project is. RUNS 2 is definitely on the list. We have the basic storyline
mapped out - so it's a real possibility, we just need a bit of money to
make it, as we've used all of our favours up, and now we need to pay
for a babysitter, as we had a kid during post-production!


How much was the budget and how did you manage to raise the
funds for shooting IKHMRYSLS?

Doug - As we're still selling the film around the world, we prefer to
keep the budget under wraps. But you'd be close thinking it's a lot less
than the catering bill on most other films! The money came from our
mortgage offset account... so it was an expensive hobby for 3 years,
basically!


So who is your favourite bowler, batsmen and overall cricket team?

Doug - England (followed by Somerset) and Ian Botham!
What’s the next movie you have in mind? More Sporting Horror? If so can you give details?

Stace - We'll most likely keep to genre films with dark, quirky sense of humour. We have about a dozen projects that are all
ready to go into development. We just have to find the funding and the time to develop them!


What is the one thing you have both learnt when shooting a full length feature film?

Doug – We’ve basically learnt how much hard work it is, and no amount of talent or luck will get your film finished. Just hard
graft! And we’ve also learnt ‘never have a kid while in post-production’ – put the release of the film back well over a year. In
hindsight, though, that was a blessing – as we got into Frightfest, signed to distributors and were released during the Ashes… so
we can’t complain!


Is there anything you'd like to say to aspiring young Australian filmmakers reading this interview. If so, what advice can
you give them?

Doug – Don’t wait for funding - just get out there and start making films! Work with what you’ve got; develop stories and
scripts around locations, people, skills you have access too. Also, if you’re looking for distribution, then know and target your
audience – that sounds mercenary, but you need to give the distributors a reason to want your film.