Michael Yurinko Nick Mancuso on the set of ENTITY
I was born in Somerville, NJ and lived my early years in Plainfield, NJ. It was just me and my mother, who worked nights as a waitress at a highway diner. Never had a father in my life until she married and we moved to Washington, NJ where I graduated high school. Started taking an interest in the martial arts and wanted to be the next Bruce Lee so I began looking towards the entertainment business as a career path, particularly acting. Took a Liberal Arts program in a community college and did some theatre. From what I was told, I had had a knack for fiction writing. I wrote several screenplays as practice while learning the ropes. My first screenplay I ever submitted placed as a semifinalist in the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting which is sponsored by The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science. Out of 5000 scripts my script PLAINFIELD landed in the top 10%. I went on to write another script called FOR THE LOVE OF JADE which again landed as a semifinalist in the Nicholl’s. This time placing in the top 10% out of 7000 scripts. Started working as a local TV commercial director and never missed a Shobiz Expo event in NYC. Got married and have a daughter and a house in Pennsylvania.
ENTITY takes Gold at Spotlight Film Awards! Selected as one of the top films of the year. https://t.co/md169XO8bE pic.twitter.com/GIkmHqfMVp
— Michael Yurinko (@michaelyurinko) June 24, 2016
Why did you get into filmmaking
After realizing I was no Bruce Lee, I focused on writing and the possibilities of making films. I started looking at movies with a different eye. I allowed myself to be captivated by them and a light went on inside me. It was when I saw William Friedkin’s TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA when I knew I wanted to write and direct films. That film told me you can break the rules! From there it has always been about honing craft, absorbing everything and presenting myself professionally. Deep down, making films and telling stories has been about exploring the human condition. Celebrating the amazing things we are capable of while exposing the evil that can live inside us as well. I live, dream and feel through my characters. Some of the characters in my stories do things I can never do in my life.
What films have you made
My first film was a 16mm short called RETROSPECT which was about a man waiting to be executed for being a serial killer and reflecting on what lead him to this point. My next film was a dramatic 16mm feature film called FADING – a woman facing a terminal illness returns to her hometown 15 years after abandoning her baby to find him and make peace. My third film was a horror feature called ENTITY, about a man who is snowbound in his vacation cabin and realizes he’s not alone. Between films I’ve directed a bunch of TV commercials, most of them picking up several awards such as Telly Awards, Omni Award, several Aegis Awards and various awards in film festivals.
Talk about your concept on collaboration
I view my job as a filter. I know the direction I’m steering the ship but I always listen to outside thoughts and ideas because I feel you cannot make a film completely inside a vacuum. It takes an army of people to bring a film to life. How can there not be collaboration. I absorb what I feel can benefit the story and insert it. From my experience it’s the self-labeled auteurs whose work falls short on connecting. Nobody has life figured out to that degree. Well…maybe Fincher.
How do you find the process on filmmaking as an indie filmmaker
A double edge sword. I absolutely love the freedom that comes with working independently. And while every movie has a finite budget and time frame, things are much tighter for us indie producers. Most of the time I feel myself wishing for just one more day shooting a scene or an extra week of prep. Independent filmmaking feels like a sprint of survival most days. I heard a great analogy once, that everyday on an independent film set is like jumping out of an airplane and having to build your parachute before you hit the ground. So true.
Describe your recent work, or film, take us through the pre-production, post production. Marketing too.
My last film ENTITY was a psychological horror feature that revolves around Eugene, played by Holt Boggs, who while trying to come to grips with the loss of his wife and daughter, realizes he’s completely snowed inside his cabin. While trying to dig himself out he also discovers he’s not alone. The entire film folds onto itself for a twist that I’ve never seen before in the genre.
A few years ago I suffered from a phase of sleep paralysis and it sparked the idea for ENTITY. On vacation in Wildwood, NJ, I wrote the screenplay. We shot a 3 minute teaser the following winter and our producer presented it to an investor. Within in 9 months of writing the first draft we were funded, had distribution and began principal photography.
I had 4 weeks of prep on my own. This is the time I did my homework and some storyboards. My brother owned the cabin location so I had access to take pictures and map out a ton of ideas. Then I had 2 weeks of prep with the department heads as we built some sets and did some tests. Holt and I had several days of talking about the character
and mining gold from the script. It’s funny how even though you write the material, there’s always something more to discover. Another benefit of open collaboration. Principal photography had a few hiccups. We unfortunately had to let some people go.
Some crew members had illnesses and others had medical conditions that caught us out. We wound up spending most of the schedule playing catch-up. Locations had to be combined and some script re-writes needed to happen to keep our 15 day shooting schedule. RED cameras don’t like the heat and will shut down when temperatures become critical. All and all it was one of my best on-set experiences I’ve had and I owe that to the cast and crew that rocked it everyday.
Post-production was an entirely new experience. Again nothing went as planned. Once we wrapped there was a backlog of work at the post facility and our film sat for almost a year. Then suddenly it was a mad rush to finish it to be in compliance with an output deal in place for Walmart. A version of the film was ‘thrown’ together to make the deadline
and a few things slipped through the cracks. It seemed that was all the film was destined to be. Although the financial result was satisfactory, the creative result didn’t sit right with me. I sold my car and used the money to build an editing computer. I’ve never seen inside a computer before let alone build one, but with the help from New Egg tutorials, I had the machine up and running with Adobe CC. I recut the film and it’s been playing on the festival circuit with several wins and nominations.
Marketing hasn’t been the full force I was prepared to give it. With the ‘botched’ initial release, the film seemed to already have its moment. Now it’s just been a journey of validation for the film and the concept of design. We hope one day to re-release the film in proper form. Perhaps do a Tugg Event and screen it theatrically in several states. The project is to be continued…
What are your future goals
Holt Boggs and myself have formed the indie production company Screengage. We are currently teamed up with ThunderSmoke Media to produce my next horror script IMPURATUS. The script has already picked up some awards and we’ve begun location scouting and casting while raising money. We are looking to get the film into production by the end of 2016 for a late 2017 release. From there we have an option on a script from screenwriter Pat Hludzenski called OCTOBER 30TH, a gripping SciFi thriller that we are anxious to move on.
Screengage is in the process of building a formidable editing and finishing studio with an eye towards self-distributing our films in some capacity. Our website is: www.screengage.com where we update progress.
Tell us what you think the indie filmmaker needs in today’s world of filmmaking
A great idea and the balls to go for it. Not many indie filmmakers realize the advantage we have over Hollywood. Razor sharp ideas should be at the heart of your work. Hollywood is too busy worrying about its bottom line with remakes, reboots and superhero tentpoles to risk its neck on gutsy ideas. Take your time and hone your material. There is no budget constraint on creating the perfect killer script. Get that right first.
