Interviews:


INTERVIEW WITH SERGIO STIVALETTI

Lord Of Illusions

By Brigida Costa

Tell us something about the beginning of your career ?

"I used to make films on my own and shoot science fiction movies in 8 or 16 mm. I used to show them around, but in the beginning I did'nt obtain any results. Then Maurizio Garrone noticed me and he gave me the chance to work in a new movie. The movie was "Creepers" (Aka "Phenomena") and I immediatly accepted. In the beginning I was just due to make some of the corpses for the pool-scene. Once I started working I discovered that nobody had any idea on how the monster had to look like.In that period I was still studying medicine, so I went to Dario (Argento) and showed him one of my medical books. The book was about genetics and there was a picture in it showing somebody afflicted with a particular genetic disease that, in my opinion, could fit our character. Dario became interested and he charged me to invent hte monster's look. I made a lot of drawings changing a bit the deformity so that it would look more scary. "Creepers" monster was actually inspired by a disease that's unfortunately genuine. Dario was satisfied with my project and that's how it started.

Is there a film you really enjoyed doing??

"Well, "enjoy" is not the right word. Maybe "Creepers" is the film I remember with most pleasure. But I would'nt say I enjoyed doing it, `cause when you make a film, you have so many responsibilities. Although, I have shot more "relaxing" films, like the TV- movies with Lamberto Bava, the one I prefer is still "Creepers", maybe because it was my first film."

If you could choose, what kind of effect would you like to make ??

"One of my dreams was the remake of "The Beast from 2000 fanthoms", but now, after Jurassic Park, I'm afraid such a remake would make no sense. However the thing I'm most interested in is creating a character that acts in the movie like a real actor."

I know you like stop-motion. What do you think about computer FX ??

"Computer is now replacing optical effects. I have a silicon graphics working lab, where I make FX that years ago I would have made by other means. I think computer is useful as long as you don't abuse it. I think the important thing is using both computer and old FX, mixing them together."

You usually work with the most important Italian directors. Which one do you prefer working with??

"It's difficult to say!! I like all kind of directors and I like directors who give me a lot of free-dom. I like working with Argento, it is very exciting, because when you're working with him, you know that soemhow you're taking part in cinema history. I think every director I've worked with has something special: Michele Soavi is a very refined director, Lamberto Bava is Mario Bava's son and he's keeping up a tradition...!"

Some producers, and sometimes directors, seem to think SPFX are the least important element in a movie...??

"I've managed to become quite important, because I never did things the way produc-ers or sometimes directors wanted me to do. Producers are always trying to force you to make a job on the cheap and quickly. One thing I noticed is that, in Italy, often producers don't have any idea of what kind of FX they really need. They just call you and say: We need a monster!", and that's all. So you never know what you actually have to do and how much you're going to spend. In the States it is different, they give you exact instructions so you can make an estimate."

What are you working on now ??

"I will be working again with Lamberto Bava. We will shoot two new movies, one of them is a TV movie and the other is for the big screen. In the meantime I am writing something myself and I'm starting a new project with Michele Soavi, but there's nothing sure about it yet."

Do you prefer working on horror, fantasy or science fiction movies??

"The only science fiction movie I've worked on were "Vendetta Dal Futuro" and "Miami Golem". They're both italian movies and "Vendetta Dal Futuro" is a copy of "Termintaor". "Miami Golem" instead, is about an alien foetus. I had to make different kinds of FX for it, including a few pseudo-optical FX. As regards fantasy, I think it is a very interesting genre. I really like working on fantasy movies, because I have many chances to invent strange creatures and things.

What about the dragon for the fantasy tv-movie "Desideria"?

"For me, the dragon was a real "trauma" !! The problem was that "Desideria" was made after Jurassic Park. Lamberto (Bava) wanted me to make a very simple kind of effect. You see, the Italian version of Stan Winston`s tyrannorsaur is a fake dragon with two people inside it to make it walk. I tried to convince the producers to use computer graphics, stop-motion and so on, but they were'nt having any of it."

Some effects in "Creepers" are not yours. Which ones are they??

"One is the lance coming out of the mouth and the other is the head cut off by the plate...And they always pay me a lot of compliments for these scenes!!"

What problems did you have with all those flies in "Creepers"??

"When I think about those flies, the first thing that flashes through my mind is Luigi Cozzi (Lewis Coates, "Alien Contamination" director)."

What do you mean??

"Well, he claims he invented the effect of the flies in the sky made with coffee grounds, but this is absolutly false: That was my idea !! I remember it was quite hard to make that effect, I went around to collect coffee grounds in every bar of the neighborhood. Unfortunately we also had to use real flies, it was disgusting: We were covered with flies and the stench was unbearable."

You say, you`d like to direct a movie. What kind of movie would you like to make ??

"I`d like to make a science fiction film, maybe it is something a bit different from what I have been doing during my career. I also like horror, but almost every story I've written is fantasy or science fiction. When I'm writing a story I never think about the FX, because I believe, that a good story is the most important thing, not the FX."

Finally, if you had to explain to somebody how we have to work in Italy, what would you like to tell him/her ??

"I could say, that the "Desideria" dragon was made in 15 days. The I could say, that on the storyboard there was a desert and we shot in the snow. The poor guys inside the dragon, Lamberto's son and my assistant, expected to walk on the sand, but they had to skate on the snow instead, so the dragon reminds me of "Holiday on Ice".

Is this enough?

"Yes, I really think it's enough "

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