Interview: Oscar Winner Barney Burman on Wild Boar
After winning an Oscar for best make-up for 2009’s Star Trek, Barney Burman is making his first foray into directing with Wild Boar, which is kind of like Planet of the Apes but with pigs. Sounds awesome right? We caught up with him to find out more.
Dread Central: After winning an Oscar, how does it feel to be sitting in the director’s chair?
Barney Burman: I love making monsters. hard to ask for more than that. But I also have ideas of my own. stories. I have an acting background and have been writing, mostly for my own enjoyment, for about 25 years. And what the hell, i’m not getting any younger so i really feel like it’s the right time to see how this feels. Plus, I happened upon an idea that I simply can’t get out of my mind. it was originally my friend, Andrew P. Jones’s idea but he let me take it and run with it and it’s really beginning to blossom. the support team we’ve put together, the talent, the cast, all really amazing!
DC: Can you give us an overview of wild boar and how idea came about?
BB: As mentioned, it was originally my friend’s idea. He said “what about doing something like Planet of the Apes but with pigs. and that just really rung my bell so I started writing.
DC: Are you a fan of monster movies?
I’m a fan of good movies from whatever genre they happen to be in. To me the best monster movies are not really monster movies so much as they are simply tragedies. They’re about the people suffering through something extreme and horrible and finding a way go survive it. And if a movie can make me feel something, if it can affect me in some way other than disgust — cause that’s easy to show someone something gross — then I can appreciate that, that’s something I can respect.
DC: What is it that makes pigs so damn scary?
BB: They are frightening, aren’t they? First of all they’re big and kind of dumb. I know pigs are supposed to be smarter than dogs but even if that’s true they’re still kind of these huge, lumbering, dense creatures that, if they’re coming at you you’re going to run!
DC: And can you describe the wild boars in the film?
BB: Ha! Smarter than the average swine, I can tell you that. But these are somewhat mutated, humanoid creatures which have evolved from pigs. They’ve got complex thought and that makes them that much more dangerous.
DC: And the Indiegogo campaign says that you are using 95% practical effects? can you elaborate on this?
BB: Well, there are a couple of shots we’ll need some VFX help with but it’s really scenic stuff. To me the best VFX are the kind that support the practical stuff that’s there on set and in the camera. So there’s a bit of that but we’re doing as much practical as can possibly be done.
DC: When do you expect to begin filming?
BB: We’re aiming for a september shoot right now.
DC: What else do you feel makes wild boar stand out from the countless other horror films on offer?
BB: I think it’s atypical really. it’s not a “horror” film in the traditional sense. It’s kind of just a world turned upside down and perhaps a little inside out. but more than that there’s a strong argument that it’s really a “coming of age” story. It’s about a woman who learns to find her inner strength and fights to survive.
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