JACK THE RIPPER Directed By Jonpaul Lewis

Indie Express: Tell us about your film?

JonPaul Lewis: My film screening at CineVegas is entitled “Jack The Ripper” and is a stop motion-live action film comprised of roughly 8000 still images based on the 18 century murderer.

IE: How did you come up with the idea for the film?

JPL: Late December 2006 there was news of a copycat killer in London murdering prostitutes in car parks and the press touted him “A Modern Day Jack The Ripper”, it re-sparked an old interest in the murders of past.

I researched heavily online and on one website in particular www.casebook.org for as much accurate information as possible in regards to the 1800 murders and the character of “Jack” is actually based on one of the cases top suspects. The screenplay itself spans a 15 year period and delves into this persons life and what had happened to the man known as “Jack”. I wanted to tell the story in a classic Hollywood sense something with the feel of a Chaplin film or old Universal Classic, I wanted a quality and feeling that really can't be achieved with the general pro-sumer HD digital cameras so I had the idea to shoot it on digital still

...a 10 Megapixel Canon Rebel XTI which at the time shot at a higher resolution than anything available on the market for independent filmmakers and is still comparable today to the Red 4k camera with a lens availability that can't be beat for a huge fraction of the cost. I shot series of footage tests  to see if I could reach a stable 15 frames per second and accomplished the look and feel of what I was going for...a Universal Classics Charlie Chaplin Horror Film.

IE:  You are a part of the Nevada Filmmakers section.  Tell us about why you are connected to this section of the festival.

JPL: I was born in California but currently live in Las Vegas, so that automatically ties me to that portion of the festivals screenings.

IE: How did you assemble your production team?

JPL:  I was my own production team, it was a highly personal project staying up all night researching and coming up with the look and feel of the film, it was complete in my head, I just had to get it out for the world to see and I am proud of enough to say whether or not people appreciate the film it is exactly what I set out to accomplish and it is exactly what was in my head frame for frame.

IE: How did you find your cast? 

JPL: I felt attached to the story as I was writing the story, and didn't want to see someone else misrepresent what I envisioned this being...so it just seemed natural to place myself in the role of “Jack” as for the supporting cast the women were all found online and the men were all  close friends of mine. Everyone worked  for free, the chance to play make believe and  go somewhere surreal...and just have fun, that was the most important part of all...if it isn't fun it's not worth doing.

IE: How long did the film take?  (From conception to final edit)

JPL: I was working a regular 9-5 Job at the time so planning and writing the story took about a month or so that time  included all of the costume design, set construction and pre-production. The shoot itself took place in one 8 hour shoot day and editing took roughly 48 hours.

IE: Tell us a little about your process of directing (writing) this film.

JPL: Once the screenplay was complete I didn't show anyone, no one knew what they were doing before they got to the set....they knew what the story was and what it was going to be like and that was it...I hadn't formerly met my cast...so I went on my instinct on the day of the shoot as to who would play what roles...and led them through what it was they going to do scene for scene in a quick rehearsal before we shot each scene dressed as “Jack The Ripper” the entire time.

IE: What was the most difficult part of the shoot for you?

 JPL: None of it was difficult really...thats like asking what's the hardest part of painting a picture or the hardest part of writing a song...art isn't meant to be a struggle, I think musicians and painters understand this the most and maybe some filmmakers but I'm to new at this to say just yet...when a painter picks up a brush or a musician picks up their instrument they don't see an obstacle to overcome they tune into something that exists on a different conscious level. Like a receiver for something that exists with or without them...the notes...the colors and images are there with or without them (the artist) it's the artist job to channel these

thought forms into being...it's the artist responsibility to be skilled enough to interpret these ideas into being and humble enough to know when to find others  capable of making those ideas reality.

IE: (If not a premiere)Tell us about the films festival experience so far?

JPL: A week after the film was finished I received an email from Napoli Italy requesting that it take part in their Ouvo di Napoli film festival which ended up giving the film it's best international short film award...from there it had gone to the Cannes short film corner, LA shorts Fest....to a number of other festivals which have given me opportunities  I had never even thought of before taking part in the festival circuit. 

What are you most looking forward to at the festival?

JPL: The experience of seeing some great films and meeting with like minded people...everyone there has one huge thing in common a love for film. That's enough for me to consider everyone at the festival someone I want to meet.

IE: (If not a premiere) What has been your most interesting Q&A so far?  What was your favorite question?  How was the dialogue afterwards?

JPL: LA shorts Fest 07, hearing the budget of everyone else's films and then unleashing the under a thousand dollar price tag of my film as well as being one of the only people on the panel who had not gone to film school made me a bit of a black sheep or open target for that moment.

IE: What films or filmmakers inspire you?

 JPL: Thomas Edison, Georges Méliès, Charlie Chaplin, Walt Disney

IE: What made you decide to become a filmmaker?

 JPL: I love story telling...and visual arts as well as music and no other art form combines the 3.

 IE: What is next for you? 

JPL: After CineVegas wraps, I'll be able to focus on 3 projects in particular one based on John Merrick,  the Second based on Salvador Dali...and the third I can't discuss...my goal as a filmmaker is to show people worlds they couldn't just walk out their front door and see or experience...there's no magic in that for me. As a storyteller as a filmmaker I want to help people escape reality not focus on it...not that those movies aren't good, it's just not my style of storytelling.

IE: What is next for the film?

JPL: The film seems to have a life of it's own...it was shot in short form but intended to be a feature which with the right studio backing will someday be made.

IE: If asked to give one piece of advice to a new filmmaker making their first short film… What would it be?

JPL: Don't be afraid to try something different...don't be afraid to fail and  if you do slip up keep it to yourself and roll with it no one will ever know what went wrong

IE: What question would you like to be asked about your film? 

JPL: You've done your job well and asked them all.