Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?
RC: To add my own words to the famous Kubrick quote: making a film is hard. Plain and simple. But in my line of work there is no greater thrill in life than seeing the characters you created come to life on screen. Telling stories, in my opinion is what makes us human. Continuing the story is what storytellers do. Who we are and what we create is nothing more than matter. In time, the film we shoot on, the paintings we paint, the pyramids we build, will eventually go back into the ground of a rock that is floating in space. And as sad as that is, it truly is a nice little thought that for a small point in an infinite time, we had the pleasure to add to the mound of future dirt, for some species to find millions of years from now.
Q: What are we going to see at the EFP? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?
RC: The film screening at EFP is The New World Order, a film adaptation of Harold Pinter’s political satire of the same title. This dark comedy stars Cody Dermon & Haydn Winston as two Englishmen with unknown goals of fascistic tendencies who discuss in bullish tones what they intend to do to a third man, who sits gagged, blindfolded and bound to a chair. The acts of violence and abuse referred to are present in the speech rather than the action but an oppressive air of menace persists.
Q: What else are you working on?
RC: I am currently in post-production of a film, titled Cassidy Blues. A collaboration between Kareem Kamahl-Taylor and myself. Cassidy Blues draws inspirations from 60’s French New Wave as well as high-octane American Cop dramas of the 70’s. The story follows two detectives (played by Gabe Combs & Brian McGee) who are chasing a ‘Bonnie & Clyde’ criminal couple (played by Mandy Groves & Asha Bee) their only lead: a pack of cigarettes known as Cassidy Blues.
I am also in pre-production of a surreal adventure comedy, titled Three, to Cairo. The epilogue to a Hollywood epic, Three to Cairo is an absurdist exploration of communication – not only why it fails and where that failure leads, but also the strange and quirky universals that bring people together – games, ambition, travel, and literal and figurative thirst. By showing its diverse characters on a simple path to a common destination, Three, to Cairo dives into the intricacies of that basic human need: connection.
Q: Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?
RC: Website: www.richardcorsofilm.com
Vimeo: vimeo.com/richardcorso
Facebook: www.facebook.com/richardcorso.film
Instagram: www.instagram.com/richiethereptilianplant
The New World Order will screen at The Emerging Filmmakers Project on Thursday, May 16th at The Bug Theatre.
Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?