Mark Fukae

The Unearthly Series (trailer) | http://theunearthlyseries.com

Meet Mark Fukae.  Mark is the creator of The Unearthly, a twelve part, Cosmic Horror web series that centers on a group of teenage students and is described as “a dark exploration of forbidden knowledge.”  Mark will be screening the trailer for The Unearthly at the November EFP, and Eileen was fortunate enough to have a chance to speak with him ahead of time to get the full scoop on the series.

EA: Why did you become a filmmaker?

MF: I was forever influenced by Stanley Kubrick’s 2001:A Space Odyssey when I was 13, but even before that Terry Gilliam’s Monty Python and the Holy Grail, when I was 5. It opened my mind to the power of filmmaking. I was highly aware that there was someone’s hand in there making it! Particularly Gilliam’s animation. Someone makes the film; Why can’t I do that?

EA: What are we going to see at the EFP? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?

MF: We are going to see the trailer to a Cosmic Horror TV series called The Unearthly. The Unearthly is based upon pulp Horror writer Howard Philips Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos. It centers around a group of teens that goes in search of their friend, Chuck Ward. The trailer represents the over arching storyline that is for the first season. What they eventually learn is that Chuck disappearance reveals a greater plan by a group of Necromancers to awaken a powerful Extraterrestrial called Yog-Sothoth from another dimension. The trailer and the pilot show is currently screening on YouTube, Vimeo, the Web Series Channel, Cinemarama and our own website: http://theunearthlyseries.com. That and we have entered into a few film festivals, such as The Philip K. Dick International Film Festival and the NextTv Web Series and Indie Film Competition.

EA: What else are you working on?

MF: In addition to the continuing series 1 production, We are preparing for season 2 of The Unearthly with some wonderful actors. I am also preparing for two features next year: An untitled Noir thriller and a ghost Horror called Soul Custody.

EA: Tell us one weird thing about you and/or your movies?

MF: One weird thing happened while we were shooting the pilot for The Unearthly. There is a scene, where Chuck Ward has to mail a package to his friend. In one take, the actor playing Chuck, Bryce runs up and and puts the package completely in the USPS mailbox and we couldn’t get it out. Two days later, I receive that prop package at my house! It helped of course, that there was my address on it labeled: “Important”. What was even more weird, was that there was no postage on it! So it has renewed my faith with the U.S. Postal Service.

EA: Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?

MF: Go directly to our TV series webpage: http://theunearthlyseries.com to see the show and learn a little about me. You can also see some of my work at: http://athenzapball.com for a short film I produced and on YouTube you can find an interview of me about a short film that I shot and edited called The Breakdown on Highway 7.

EA: Is there anything you’d like to say about The Emerging Filmmakers Project?

MF: I Love the EFP! Where else in Colorado do we have a “salon”-style film presentation? Only at the Bug Theater! Nowhere else does any other venue provide a platform, where filmmakers and lovers of short films get together every 3rd Thursday of the month to watch great and engaging work.

The Unearthly (trailer) will screen November 21st at The Emerging Filmmakers Project.