Film Invasion LA - Ghostland Boys
Two best friends start a ghost hunting company as a scam to make quick cash when their plans to road trip to California are foiled by an expensive engine repair.
Interview with Director Chris McElroy
Watch Ghostland Boys on Prime Video
Congratulations! Why did you make this film?
My co-producer and I both love films. We love everything about them. We love writing them, shooting them, and watching them. We’ve been writing together for a few years now and when we finished writing Ghostland Boys we realized it would be possible for us to shoot on a low budget by ourselves. I knew I wanted to finish my first feature before I graduated college (it was a goal I set after being inspired by filmmakers Robert Rodriguez and Sam Raimi, who both shot their first features with almost no money and at a very young age).
Another reason for making it was to get experience. No one involved had ever made a feature before, so we were all able to learn as we went along and really figure out how it’s done without the pressure of anyone expecting us to know what to do. It was a good way to make mistakes and figure out the filmmaking process before anyone had their eyes on us.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Audiences should come to this film expecting a very silly, goofy movie that really embodies the childish nature of high school kids trying to find their way after graduation mixed with some comedy-horror elements. Anyone who appreciates the filmmaking process and really wants to get inspired to make his or her own film should also watch it. Our hope is that people see our film as a kind of proof of concept that no matter what your budget, who you know, or what kind of equipment you have, you can go outside and shoot a film for as little as $2000 and make something that’s fun and exciting for people to watch.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The themes we try to cover are friendship and coming of age. Although the movie is rarely meant to be taken seriously, it does package all of its goofiness around a story about two kids spending their final summer together. I think everyone can relate to growing up and not knowing exactly what comes next in life. Also the idea that friendships can have an impact on you for your whole life is something we wanted to touch on.
The two main characters both realize this could be their last summer together, which is why they go to such ludicrous efforts to start a ghost hunting company and get their summer vacation back on track. Every zany, moronic thing they do in the movie is driven by the fact that they both know these will be the memories they carry with them for a lifetime.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
The script changed drastically throughout the course of a year. I sent the first 30 pages to my co-writer who then sent back a ton of notes. We continued working on it, adding new scenes, taking scenes out, and also added a few characters to help the growth of the story. The final film, I’m proud to say, turned out very much like the final shooting script. There were a few things we had to cut for time or that we just couldn’t get shot on the day we were shooting. Other than just a few of those things, however, we stuck to our story and made a product that was very close to the one we were envisioning in our heads.
Obviously casting choices changed the way some lines were delivered and the over-all tone of the story, but I’m very proud of our cast. They did an incredible job and all volunteered their free time to be in this film. The differences between the script and the final film all felt natural and I think our talented cast had a big part in making most of the changes relevant to the story and memorable for the audience.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
So far our feedback has been positive. Everybody that’s watched it really likes the comedy as well as the overall story arc. I think most people are impressed with the 3rd act and always seem to have a lot of questions about how we filmed it and what it was like on set. A lot of people that watch it realize the passion and creativeness that had to go into Ghostland Boys in order to even get it made and I think they all respect that and respect us as filmmakers for even attempting to make our own feature. I got a lot of constructive criticism from my Dad who loves the film. He’s incredibly proud of us, but also doesn’t hold back and let’s me know what he honestly thinks.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I’m definitely surprised by how many people genuinely love the movie. It took me a year to edit and everyday I would think “Am I just editing this for myself? Is anyone even going to watch this? Will anyone else even like this?” So when people did start watching it and, even better, started liking it I was very taken aback. I’ve made a lot of short films and never really got any feedback what so ever on them from anyone besides friends and family, so just to know that people I have no connection to watched and enjoyed Ghostland Boys has really shell-shocked me.
As far as changing my point of view goes, a lot of people have offered me insights as to what they thought could have happened or even ways in which we could have filmed it. I’ve learneda lot from other filmmakers that have watched the film and given me advice on how I could have shot certain scenes in order to evoke a certain mood better or even just show the scene in a more efficient way.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I’m hoping people read about our film and get curious to watch it. The more eyes we can get on it the better. I hope people realize that people who are just passionate about filmmaking shot it basically in our backyard with all volunteer help. I think if people know our story and how we ended up making a film, they will naturally want to see the film. And I believe that once people see the film they will enjoy it and tell more people about it. I think we have a good film made, the trouble is getting people to notice it. So any kind of publicity we can get, any published article or word of mouth to get more eyes on our film, is something that we are going to take advantage of.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message.
We need an agent, someone with connections to get even more people watching the film. Obviously a buyer and distributor would be the dream come true. Fortunately, we made Ghostland Boys for $2000, so any kind of money we can get out of it would probably eclipse the budget and get us out of a hole. So we could go ahead and make our next film. So far, Jeff Howard, the Festival Director at Film Invasion LA has been really helpful in getting our film some attention. We’re hoping as we continue the festival circuit that other directors and journalists will get excited about the film and continue to help us raise awareness for it.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
We want people to enjoy their time with the film and be able to come back to it and find some relief in the goofy escapism. We really feel that Ghostland Boys can stand the test of time and stay relevant for the audience in years to come. As far as the impact on our careers, we hope that someone in the industry will see the film and recognize the work that went into it, sparking interest in our careers.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
“Is it possible to create enjoyable, successful films with a group of friends and a miniscule budget instead of pursuing the traditional big budget studio/indie route?”
Ghostland Boys is a product of the way the industry works in 2016. Today, you can shoot a feature for literally nothing. As long as the passion and creative drive are present, a film can be made. Cameras are cheaper, editing software is readily available, and distribution has never been easier than it is now. There’s no excuse for a filmmaker to not be able to shoot the movie they’ve been dreaming of making for years. There has never been a better time for the indy filmmaker.
Would you like to add anything else?
We hope that after our festival run in said and done people will see us as passionate filmmakers who just want to keep creating and have the ability to do so. My favorite part of filmmaking is how collaborative it is, so hopefully we will increase our connections and be able to collaborate with some really great creative minds on our next project.
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Currently we are trying to gain interest in some of our other scripts while we continue to write new scripts. We finished a horror script a few months ago that we believe is the best thing we’ve ever written and we are also writing a comedy cartoon that takes place in the middle ages. We’re currently shooting a semi-autobiographical comedy web-series that follows us as “starving artists” trying to make it in NYC.
Interview: August 2016
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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GHOSTLAND BOYS
Two best friends start a ghost hunting company as a scam to make quick cash when their plans to road trip to California are foiled by an expensive engine repair.
Length: 101 min.
Director: Chris McElroy
Producer: Chris McElroy & Corey Schmalzle
Writer: Chris McElroy & Corey Schmalzle
About the Writer. Director, and Producer:
Chris McElroy is a 23 year old who has been making student films for over a decade. Ghostland Boys is his first feature film.
Corey Schmalzle is a 21 year old Senior at Lehigh University. Ghostland Boys is his first feature film.
Key Cast: Matt Parham
John McCord
Aaron Lively
Sage Blalock
Hannah Swayze
Tucker Shull
Chris McElroy
Looking For: Sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists
Funders: na
Made in association with: Jupiter Journey Productions
Release Date: TBA
Where can I watch it next month?
We are waiting to hear back from other festivals, but hopefully we will have a Texas premiere by the end of October.