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Exclusive Horrornews.net Interview with Bill Burke /
Filmmaker
Sweet Prudence and the Erotic Adventure of Bigfoot
How did you create such a convincing looking Bigfoot?
Being a huge monster movie fan I would have loved to have a
custom suit manufactured, but unfortunately the budget really didn’t allow for
that, so I used another method.
Our Bigfoot costume was actually a combination of two suits that
had been manufactured for a television commercial years ago. I directed a
segment for the Canadian Paranormal series “Creepy Canada” entitled “Bigfoot
UFO”, which is a personal favorite of mine. We had rented a very good
Bigfoot costume for that segment, and I was pretty impressed with it.
I had outlined an erotic Bigfoot movie and filed it in the back
of my mind, so years later when I actually decided to shoot it I went back to
the same sources. Some of the pieces and parts had been lost or damaged,
so we combined it with another existing suit and created something I thought
really worked. Admittedly its a bit campy, but the fact that we went out of our
way to present the best possible Bigfoot for the budget makes it work. I
think audiences can tell if you just are deliberately cheesy, which amounts to
not giving a sh*t as opposed to really making an effort so any shortcomings are
more easily forgiven.
On the next Sweet Prudence movie I promise to have a custom
built monster.
What can you tell us about the relationship between Sweet Prudence
and Bigfoot?
Sweet Prudence is…well sweet. She has a good heart and does
not accept other peoples preconceived notions or prejudices (or for that matter
their notions of monogamous relationships.) So the idea of Bigfoot being a
monster never enters her mind – he’s just a creature that needs to be
understood. One fun aspect of the character is that she lives in her own world,
and though she seems like a complete scatterbrain she is, in many ways, very
bright. She is also someone who is devoted to her friends, and would do
anything to help them.
Bigfoot is a lost soul (I don’t want to give away the specifics)
trying to find his way. So it seemed natural that Prudence would open her heart
and help him, and that the big guy would respond to that.
During the theatrical screening at Cinekink the scene where
Prudence reads her poem to Bigfoot actually got the biggest laugh, but also got
an audible “awe that’s sweet” which felt very good. We knew the onscreen
relationship actually worked.
What made Angie Bates the perfect Prudence?
Angie Bates made Angie the perfect Prudence. So much of
the character is part of her real persona – her sweet nature, devotion to
friends and those incredibly expressive eyes. I had only met Angie once,
when she auditioned for a Cinemax series I produced entitled Lingerie.
She ended up being in a one-day role, but during the audition I could see that
there was something very special there, and that she had a natural comedic
talent. So, while I was writing the character I pictured her in the hopes
she would agree to play the role. Fortunately she agreed, and completely
embraced the character.
It’s interesting that I met Albina Nahar under the same
circumstances, and she wound up being in Lingerie for two days. I could
see that she was talented and uninhibited that would make a perfect foil for
Angie. I was very lucky to get both actresses – my perfect sexy Lucy and Ethel
team.
What was the biggest challenge in making Sweet Prudence and the
Erotic Adventure of Bigfoot?
There were many challenges, first off being the limited budget
and a tight shooting schedule of only a few days. Fortunately I have
produced and directed enough projects to know my limitations and understand
what I can and can’t get away with. So I took the restrictions and tried
to turn them into advantages, and wrote the script around things I knew were
available.
I knew that I couldn’t get a fantastic gothic mansion or some
grand interior location, but Ontario is beautiful in the summer, I mean they
don’t call it the green belt for nothing. It was a perfect backdrop, especially
because you don’t see many erotic films set among outdoor splendor.
I wanted a place where the cast could frolic naked in the sun
without having to hide from prying eyes. Fortunately I found a nudist resort
that was willing to let us shoot, and had beautiful woods and lakes. I think
that nudity in the wide-open spaces gives the film an innocent retro feel, as
well as being a throwback to the old HG Lewis or Doris Wishman nudist camp
films that adds to the fun.
I had written something that required the right cast to pull
off, which can be dangerous in this genre. I was very very lucky in
finding the perfect actors from my Lingerie and Forbidden Science
casting files.
Luck stayed with me throughout the casting. For the character of
Flower I had written an underwater love scene, as well as having her conduct a
nude yoga class. It was only after casting Heather O’Donnell that I
discovered she was not only a certified life guard but also a Yoga
instructor. That was either blind luck or intuition.
The biggest hurdle was the schedule, which had me shooting about
twenty pages a day, which is crazy. Fortunately I had a great team behind
the camera and we were able to move along without compromising. Also
having all of the locations in one small area was a huge help. So I guess age
and experience come in handy once in a while.
Do you have a idea on how much nudity it too much or not enough when filmmaking?
It really depends on the project. In this case, partially because
of the setting I put a lot of nudity in. But my logic was …okay this is an
erotic film full of beautiful women, so I am going to deliver the goods on all
fronts, nudity, erotica, comedy and monsters. I think all the outdoor
nudity gives the film a nice uninhibited feel, so you don’t feel like your
watching a dirty film, just a very risqué one. If you turn the color off
you might feel like your watching an old monster nudie from the sixties.
Do you have any funny or interesting moments during the making of
Sweet Prudence?
We certainly had some funny moments shooting the film, but
fortunately we avoided most of the horror stories you hear with independent
films; probably because I avoided them- preemptively. The actual
nudist resort was open while we were shooting, which was interesting. So
there were many moments where a perfect take was ruined by a group of naked
people wandering into the background. It makes for interesting
outtakes.
Also our caterer was a nudist, which is…unique. She was
preparing breakfast on the first day when the crew began to arrive. I
figured if anyone was going to freak out they would do it right off the bat and
just go home. Surprisingly nobody batted an eyelash. Of course if
there’s food in a room a film crew pretty much gives that their full attention
and ignores everything else. She did make good eggs.
Despite the crazy schedule we kept things light, and the actors
were open to trying new things. That’s why Veruca is doing handstands and
other crazy positions during her love scene with Mike – we were open to
creativity.
Daniel Moshe Johnson probably had the toughest time being
trapped inside the Bigfoot costume in sweltering hot weather. We sort of
staggered scenes around how close to heat stroke he was at any moment.
Is it difficult filming a sex scene?
If you have not done one before it can be challenging. The
trick is to treat it just like any other scene and give each one something
unique. Because I don’t let it rattle me, or nervously dance around what
I want the actors are comfortable, and that makes for a much better
scene. Being comfortable with sex scenes is why we were able to add a
little pizzazz to them – things like Veruca’s crazy positions, or Flower’s
underwater sex.
The final love scene with five people in a Jacuzzi seemed like
it was going to be difficult but was actually pretty straightforward.
Since the cast was very comfortable with each other they just dove in.
It’s a pretty amazing sex scene. It was so over the top that we threw a
great piece of retro seventies p*rn music behind it. It was the musical
cherry on the sundae.
I’ve never shot actual sex and I imagine it would be very
different – more about biology than story or logic.
Who do you think has a great sexual appetite, Sweet Prudence or
Bigfoot?
Prudence just thinks sex is fun, and probably can’t imagine why
anyone would be ashamed of it. Bigfoot, well not to give away to much,
but he’s kind of a sailor on shore leave…so he has quite an appetite. I
think it’s a perfect match, but I wouldn’t picture them in a long-term
relationship. Society would never accept their love.
Where can our Horrornews.net friends watch Sweet Prudence and the
Erotic Adventure of Bigfoot?
We will be premiering April 6th in the USA on Cinemax
and many nights thereafter. Cinemax also offers it On Demand.
http://www.cinemax.com/apps/schedule/ScheduleServlet?ACTION_DETAIL=DETAIL&FOCUS_ID=745403
For readers in Canada and across the world we are in the process
of making sales now, so more information will be coming.
Our website is www.sweetprudence.com
where you can see the trailer, clips from the film, stills, reviews, and read
personal blogs written by the movie’s characters. Tons of
entertainment! We really set out to make the website fun, to show our
fans that we love them.
Do you believe in Bigfoot?
Not really, which is a shame. I think the world would be a
lot more exciting if the woods were actually full of Bigfoot’s, the sky was
full of flying saucers and the lakes were filled with water monsters. But
that’s why we have movies.
