Exclusive Interview: Adrian Esposito-Nomeika (Clowns In The Woods)

What made you want to get involved in the film industry?
I wanted to get involved in the film industry after watching The Nutty Professor (1963) and Dawn of the Dead (1979) as a child and decided that this is what I want to do as a hobby.

From script–to–screen, how close did CLOWN IN THE WOODS come to its original vision?
I would say about 97% of my vision for Clowns in the Woods came true. There were some actors and locations I wish I could of gotten but because of COVID-19 I had to settle for some changes.

What was your favorite day on set and why? What scene did you enjoy directing the most?
My favorite day on set was with Dalton Letta’s French bulldog Bruno who was in the prank scene which caused Marcus death. His dog helped me not be in so much stress on set that day because of how cute and loveable he was. I enjoyed directing the scene with John Renna as Mr. Belson who is set on fire because of how fun he was on set that day.

What is the biggest obstacle you faced while making CLOWNS IN THE WOODS?
The biggest obstacle was having to film the behind the scenes footage myself for most of the production because my DP’s took my behind the scenes cameraman for sound even though that’s not what I hired him for and they didn’t even consult with me first.

What was your proudest moment during production?
My proudest moment during production was getting everything accomplished with principal photography because of how stressful things were with COVID-19, knowing if it was going to rain, being on schedule, etc.

How do you get a film to stand out in the crowd in today’s landscape?
I wanted my film to stand out by having a social commentary on bullying, bigotry and homophobia and including people with disabilities in a low budget horror movie as actors that weren’t in stereotypical roles.

What other filmmakers inspire you to do what you do?
Filmmakers who inspire me to do what I want to do are George A. Romero, Lloyd Kaufman, John Carpenter, Ralph Bakshi, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Quinton Tarantino.

What is your favorite horror decade and why? What is the next step in your filmmaking career?
My favorite horror decade is from the mid 70s through the 80’s because of how horror filmmakers were free in a way to express what they wanted to show in their films before things really changed in the 1990’s and 2000’s. My next step in my filmmaking career is a movie project I’ve been trying to do since 2016 called Special Needs Revolt but have been having trouble getting the financing because of it’s content as a political satire on Trump and the fact that the main action hero who saves the day has Down syndrome.