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Home | Interviews | Interview: Mark Pavia (Fender Bender)

Interview: Mark Pavia (Fender Bender)

interview-Mark-Pavia-fender-bender-movie-(3)Tell us about directing and writing “Fender Bender?”

Mark: Well “Fender Bender” is really interesting because some movie ideas come to you just as an image and sometimes movie ideas come to you if you overhear something. The idea for “Fender Bender” actually came out of an incident. I was traveling around town in Los Angeles with a buddy of mine and we got into a fender bender. He got out of the car to do his due diligence and ten minutes later got back into the car and off we went. As we were driving off I was like what happened back there and he was like what do you mean what happened back there?

What did you do? I did what you do at a fender bender. I gave him my information. I said what information did you give him? He said everything, name, phone number and address. I looked at him and said what if he did it on purpose and he is coming to kill you tonight? My friend looked at me and he was really shocked. He was like, shut up, you’re freaking me out. I thought oh my god that is the greatest idea for a horror movie. It was the fastest script I’ve ever written in my life.  It was a lot of fun to write.

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Is it fun for you being a writer to come up with different story-lines?

Mark: Everybody kind of involved in horror that writes this type of material. We all have these fears ourselves and we have these phobias. I think that is why we are able to relate them so easily through our art is because I’m afraid of these things so when I’m actually writing these stories, I am putting my own fears on paper. Usually what freaks me out, hopefully scares the audience. We all share in common fears. When I was writing this, the script actually scared me.

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What was it like for you working with the cast?

Mark: It was really special. It was incredibly inspiring. Makenzie Vega was a true professional. Bill Sage, wow he is one of the great character actors out there. When you watch “Fender Bender” he has that kind of quiet creepiness. Cassidy Freeman opens the picture. She is kind of the Drew Barrymore of the film. The irony of when you make these movies there is a lot of laughter and fun even though you are scaring the hell out of people. The cast was amazing.

Did you grow up knowing that you wanted to make movies and write?

Mark: Yes I did. I got a scholarship to film school. I’ve always known I wanted to do one thing in my life and that is to make movies. I’ve always made horror films.

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Who are some professional inspirations for you?

Mark: I always talk about my top three directors that influenced me are: Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg and John Carpenter.

interview-Mark-Pavia-fender-bender-movie-(4)Tell us about the mask and the knife in the film. They are both really creepy cool.

Mark: So the character that Bill Sage plays is The Driver and when it gets your information to come and kill you at night isn’t bad enough. He dresses up for it too. What I was trying to design is that in my mind he is a human extension of his car. So the black leather is like the black leather seats of his car.

The eyes in the mask are round like headlights and the mouth looks like a grill of a car. The knife itself is a car door handle. To me he is an extension of that car so when he steps out of the car he is still the car. I had the image of what I wanted with the costume because that is one of the most important things. What is Michael Myers without the mask? I did a lot of drawings and doodles and I found some reference photographs.

What do you want to say to the fans?

Mark: I want to say that I made this film for you because I am a fan myself.

FENDER BENDER

MARK ON IMDB

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