io9 talked tocult filmmaker Don Coscarelliwhenhe released his memoir in 2018 . Now , the director of Phantasm I - IV , as well asBubba Ho - Tep , The Beastmaster , andJohn die at the End , is adjudicate something fresh : fabrication . Or rather , Phiction — a book of unretentive stories that explores “ tarradiddle from the human race of Phantasm . ”
We catch up with Coscarelli over television chat to learn more about the book — which features a screening and illustrations created by Coscarelli ’s longtime collaborator Aaron Lea — as well as what he ’s been ferment on lately . What postdate is a condensed and edited version of our conversation .
Cheryl Eddy , io9 : Phiction expand on the world of the Phantasm film . What was the genesis of write the book ?
Image: Courtesy of Don Coscarelli
Don Coscarelli : When I wrote the memoir , I really had a lot of fun . The problem with me is that writing , well — wasn’t it Harlan Ellison ’s notable inverted comma , “ committal to writing is [ the hardest work in the world ] ” ? With screenplays , I baby-sit and I gaze at the screenland and it can be just really , really difficult . But [ the memoir ] was easy because I was just write about my life — it was fun to revisit and I just enjoyed the process . So I imagine , “ I ’ve got to try writing some fabrication one of these years . ” Then as I hold on revisit the theme , I thought , “ Go for the lowly hanging yield . I ’ll write some Phantasm tale , ” because that would be easy for me , you know ?
I started thinking about some of the case and which ones would be interesting ; I figure it as a aggregation of short tarradiddle . I set off indite the first one about Reggie , and it was just fun writing story without the concerns that you do in movie piece of writing . Movie writing is really , really hard because you ’re always thinking , “ waitress , I ca n’t focus on this character because who am I ever move to get to toy that role ? ” Then you pass all this clip writing a screenplay and it does n’t get made into a picture , and it kind of get into your closet and it ’s like , I ’ve incur a mountain of these writing projects that I labored over that no one will ever look at . So I thought once I had nail the fable book , it was like I had create something palpable that I could give to people to study . It matte like , from a writer ’s perspective , just a undecomposed path , honestly … unlike a moving-picture show , there are just no boundaries in this kind of writing . And that was just totally refreshing to me . It was fun . Unlike the screenwriting , it really was fun .
io9 : How did you make up one’s mind which characters to rivet on ?
PhantasmImage: Courtesy of Don Coscarelli
Coscarelli : Obviously , I wanted to go with some core grapheme who had maybe had a little less development . Reggie has been a key character and [ Reggie Bannister , the role player who plays him ] has been a key collaborator through all the movies . I remember him secern me stories about how he was in this folk isthmus , and they were start to take off — then [ his ] conscription placard come , and he went to the Vietnam War . It was always such a counterpoint to the character of Reggie . [ Phiction tells ] a entirely fictional account ; I do n’t really know what he did over Vietnam , but it was my fancy of what the Reggie character as a new man over there would be like .
io9 : Has Reggie read the story about Reggie ?
Coscarelli : Yeah . I beat good revue ! give thanks god , I was so implicated about that . But he loved it .
Reggie!Image: Courtesy of Don Coscarelli
I also wanted to approach a couple of the characters in the original Phantasm who had very little screen time and build them out a little snatch . This is all current piece of work — none of this is base on what I was thinking of the time when I made the movie — but I always wondered , how did [ the “ Caretaker ” character who conk ahead of time in the moving-picture show ] go to go at the mausoleum ? Who was he ? I thought it would be interesting [ if we discover ] where he arrive from . One of the things that I ’ve check a lot about , in this weird career I ’ve had , is — I got a mint of experience in funeral home and mortuaries and crematory . In a weird way , I ’m like a student of that hooey . And so if I try an interesting story about an embalmer , what he did , I always my ears pick up up . And so I thought , “ It ’ll be interesting to pass on some of that stuff that I learned in that character ’s story , ” so that ’s in the floor “ Behind the Mortuary Door . ” In the floor “ Tobe”—he was another eccentric from the original Phantasm . He was just completely there for exposition , then he leaves and we never hear from him again . I thought , “ Maybe he could see the Phantasm upshot from a different perspective . ” That was an interesting way to try on to diagram the path of the role through Phantasm , and have him be in certain spots where he could participate a little bit .
You know , I ’ve been in the Phantasm game or world for a lot of years now . And as the years go by , it really set aside me to maybe infer my own nature . I do always enjoy improbable protagonists and Hero … none of them are your traditional Stallone , Schwarzenegger type .
io9 : In your introduction to the book , you address a question that I ’m sure you get all the sentence , which is , “ When are you going to make another Phantasm moving picture ? ” Your answer is , fundamentally , “ Never . ” Does that mean there ’s not going to be any more Phantasm on filmdom at all ? Is that something that you would hold up ?
Image: Courtesy of Don Coscarelli
Coscarelli : Look , you know one Clarence Shepard Day Jr. there will be a remaking . There has been scores of speculation and talk about that , but nothing concrete . of late I ’ve been bouncing around the edges . I , along with the theater director of Phantasm Ravager , David Hartman , we co - directed a euphony video for Bill Thornbury , the role player [ who plays Jody ] in Phantasm . He ’s a state euphony natural endowment . We did that , and it it felt like almost like making a Phantasm movie . I ’m such outstanding friend with all the mold , and we talk about idea sometimes . Scheol , with unreal intelligence there may be slews of Phantasms with the original actors still to get along . [ Laughs ]
io9 : Let ’s trust not ! [ Laughs ] But you would want to make another feature movie that was n’t Phantasm ?
Coscarelli : Oh , yeah . I ’m constantly still working on different projects . Where I fit in the Hollywood pantheon is that I have to pen my , screenplays for a certain budget , and then take him out to the usual defendant . And then when they all say no , image out a way of life to make it on an independent footing . This is so much sturdy than it ever was ; the alien market used to be the staple fiber and provide so much chance and funding . Now , every foreign distributor , outside distributor you talk to , they just go . “ Yeah , well , we require to sell it to to a waft — have you sold the streaming rightfield ? Are they usable ? ” It ’s a challenge … I imagine there ’s go to be some enterprising , brilliant young filmmaker who ’s going to figure out a way to make the next Halloween , Evil Dead , or Phantasm and distribute it themselves on YouTube and make money on it . There are distribution opportunities out there , and the engineering to make the picture show is out there . But nobody ’s really quite figured out how to monetize it in a magnanimous mode , unless you ’re one of those “ influencers . ” It just seems to me somebody could — if you could make something really scandalous , and advanced , and surprising , there might be a room to make money off of it , you bang .
Image: Courtesy of Don Coscarelli
I ’m also working on a television series proposal with a cracking youthful author , a guy named Adair Cole . He ’s sold a couple of shows late , and it ’s supernatural , this project that we have high-pitched hope for . So we ’re run to take that out to market .
io9 : If you had any words of advice for any up - and - coming horror creators , what would they be ?
Coscarelli : It ’s marvellous that people can express themselves visually now . It was so hard back when we were using Super 8 film — just the engineering was unacceptable . Now it ’s pretty childlike , particularly in terms of the tools . My only suggestion is — as Hillary Clinton used to say , it acquire a village . You need to put together a little film plurality , friends who support one another , because you postulate multiple masses to make movie . Do n’t need a pot , but if you have four or five mass that can support you in terms of helping you to get your vision out there , that ’s an crucial thing .
Image: Courtesy of Don Coscarelli
io9 : The collectable hardback version of Phiction is unfortunately sold out , but fans can order a softback book and Kindle on Amazon ?
Coscarelli : Yeah , that goes on sales event April 30 .
io9 : There is a tease at the terminal of the Word , that possibly Phiction part two is come . Is that something you hope happens ?
Coscarelli : Oh hell yeah . This is one of the blessings of my career and life , that there are these wonderful Phantasm fans who sleep together the movie and the tale and the characters . I saw on Instagram that [ a sports fan posted that he ] took his script to a graveyard to do a little opening of it . And then all throughout he was just going , “ Remember Phantasm II ? There was the character of Liz , and I ’m on Team Liz . I require to see a tarradiddle about her ! ” I do n’t know if I could make a account about her , but — I’m sure some of the other Phantasm actors who did n’t get story about them are going to begin bothering me : “ Why did n’t you write a story about my character ? ” … It would be fun to do some more for sure .
you’re able to pre - ordera transcript of Phiction by Don Coscarelli on Amazonand keep up with Phantasm news on thePhantasm website . Phantasm is swarm onFreevee , Peacock , Tubi , Pluto TV , andPlex .
need more io9 news ? Check out when to require the latestMarvel , Star Wars , andStar Trekreleases , what ’s next for theDC Universe on photographic film and television set , and everything you need to have a go at it about the future ofDoctor Who .
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