Megan Freels Johnston on her psychological thriller, The Ice Cream Truck

Megan Freels Johnston seats with Michael Ford of indieactivity to talk about her journey as a filmmaker through the making of her psychological thriller titled The Ice Cream Truck. Megan talks about how the idea of the Ice Cream Truck which came from a personal experience inspired a story. She talks about Deanna Russo, her own writing process, the toughest scenes to shoot, her production team, how she financed the film through private equity and what it means to go over budget on an indie film production

indieactivity: At what point did the idea to make this movie hit you?
Megan: I lived in an area that had a lot of ice cream trucks. And not just your typical ice cream trucks, but the ones that serve real ice cream in cones and cups. It always struck me as odd that it was ok to accept food from these trucks. There was also something so strange and hypnotic about the music the trucks play. I felt like there was a story there so I started writing the script which was originally titled The Ice Cream Man (before I knew there was a movie with that title).

indieactivity: Did you start writing with a cast (Deanna Russo or any) in mind?
Megan: I didn’t have anyone specific in mind while writing it. Although, I did know Deanna somewhat over the years through common friends. I asked her if she wanted to read the script and she loved it. Being that we are both women in our mid 30s, it was a story that was unique to both of us in the horror genre and she was really excited about coming on board.

indieactivity: How long did you take to complete the script? (Do you have a writing process?)
Megan: I can write a first draft in a week or two. I am a ridiculously fast writer. My first drafts end up about 70 pages initially and they serve as my outline. When I write it’s a completely organic experience and I never know where I’m going until I get there in the script. After the first draft, I read it and then add what I feel is missing or what could be built out.

Deanna Russo, and Jeff Daniel Phillips in The Ice Cream Truck

indieactivity: During production, what scene (that made the cut) was the hardest to shoot?
Megan: The Brie and Nick murders I always thought would be the hardest. Especially the Brie portion, because there is a bit of stunt work. Also Dana Gaier who played Brie, was only 18 at the time so I wanted to make sure that everything went smoothly and safely. She was a total trooper and did an amazing job. That scene needed far less takes than I thought, so it turned out better than I imagined.

indieactivity: You wrote, and directed the film, what measure of input did it take to don these two hats?
Megan: I wrote, directed and produced the film. I probably wore more hats than even that. I helped out in so many areas of the process, from finding locations to planning meals, etc. When you’re working on a low budget film, and we ultimately started shooting with less money than we had planned, you have to be prepared to work hard and do things outside of your job title. You are a team at the end of the day. Finishing the film the best way possible is the ultimate goal.

But I do think being a writer and director can be beneficial because as the person who wrote the story, I know in my head how everything should work. I know how to block out the scenes, what the production design should look like, etc. All directors do that too, regardless, but if you also wrote the story, the images of your film have been in your mind since its inception.

indieactivity: Let’s talk finance, How did you finance the film?
Megan: I financed the film through private equity financiers, which is pretty common for most indie films. Finding the financing is easily the hardest part of the filmmaking process. People don’t want to invest money in your film unless they feel they have a guaranteed return on your investment. So often they want to change your script or your cast. So as a producer as well as a filmmaker, you have to decide how strongly you want to stick to your original vision. Sometimes that means shooting a project for less than you would have liked.

indieactivity: How did you get Uncork’d Entertainment on board?
Megan: I like boutique distributors. I had a referral to Uncork’d and I sent them the film. We hit it off right away and they liked the movie. We always knew this was a different breed of horror film. However, they have been really supportive of the vision and the finished product. They’ve been really great to work with.

indieactivity: How much did you go over budget? How did you manage it?
Megan: I did not go over budget. I have never gone over budget. As a producer you do your best to have a pad in the budget for things that are unexpected. We had that. Probably not as much as we should have. You can’t really afford to go over budget. I thought we did a great job at cutting costs all across the board. And fortunately you can always find wonderful companies who will give you deals on anything from equipment to coffee because they want to support indie filmmakers or even more so, women in film. We really lucked out in that respect.

indieactivity: The Ice-Cream Truck will make a mark as an indie thriller, what is next for you?
Megan: My next film is called Hunting Season. I hope to shoot it next year. I love the script and it’s probably more of a straight thriller than The Ice Cream Truck. I had started the pre-production process but had to put it on the back burner now that The Ice Cream Truck is about to come out.