TV TUESDAY: Meet “ON THE SET” author/TV exec/sci fi & comic book writer PAUL J. SALAMOFF (Pt. 1 of 2)

Welcome to TV TUESDAY! This week, we’re chatting with Renaissance Man PAUL J. SALMOFF! He is a TV executive, comic book writer, sci fi novelist, AND former special effects makeup artist! So if you love comic books and sci fi like I do, this week promises to be a lot of fun!

Today features Part 1 of our two-part Q&A with Paul. We’ll be chatting with Paul today about his work as a special effects makeup artist and his experience as a TV executive. Given that Halloween was yesterday, I promise some of his answers on horror movies and special effects makeup will be an added bonus for you sci fi and horror fans! 🙂

Plus, we’ll also be finding out more about his popular book, ON THE SET: THE HIDDEN RULES OF MOVIE MAKING ETIQUETTE (Tavin Press 2009) which also features great advice from folks like horror master WES CRAVEN to movie producer GALE ANN HURD (The Incredible Hulk, Aliens, Terminator).

(Part 2 will be posted for tomorrow’s WRITER WEDNESDAY blog. We will discuss his comic book work as well as his debut sci fi novel, THE SILENT PLANET/Tavin Press 2011).

CONTEST ALERT! And we’re also featuring yes, another signed book contest drawing! Please comment on this blog or email me at paula at paulayoo dot com to be included in our drawing for signed copies of ON THE SET and SILENT PLANET! The winner will be announced on our TV TUESDAY blog on November 29, 2011.

You can also find out more about Paul at his links here:

http://www.paulsalamoff.com/

http://www.facebook.com/PaulSalamoffFanPage

(Keep reading after the jump for Pt. 1 of our Q&A with Paul J. Salamoff!)

 PAUL J. SALAMOFF BIO

(Bio from http://www.paulsalamoff.com/)

It’s hard to pin down Salamoff to one particular profession. An over twenty-year veteran of the industry, he has found success as a Writer, Producer, Film Executive, Comic Book Creator, Author, and originally as a Special F/X Make-Up Artist.

Born in Natick, MA, he was raised on a healthy diet of sci-fi and horror from the age of five. After high school, he moved to California to attend film school at USC. Salamoff parlayed his obsession for genre filmmaking into a successful run as a professional Special F/X Make-Up Artist. In his years doing FX, he worked on over forty films, ten television series, and numerous commercials.

His Film and TV writing credits include THE DEAD HATE THE LIVING, THE ST. FRANCISVILLE EXPERIMENT and ALIEN SIEGE. He was recently hired to write the high-budget SINBAD: ROGUE OF MARS for Morningside Entertainment. He is also author of two non-fiction books: ON THE SET: THE HIDDEN RULES OF MOVIE MAKING ETIQUETTE and THE COMPLETE DVD BOOK: DESIGN, PRODUCTION AND MARKETING.

As a Comic Creator, Salamoff is the writer of a number of Comic Book Series including the wildly popular VINCENT PRICE PRESENTS, ROGER CORMAN PRESENTS BLACK SCORPION, PUPPY POWER: BO OBAMA and the critically acclaimed LOGAN’S RUN: LAST DAY and LOGAN’S RUN: AFTERMATH both written with William F. Nolan.

In 2005 Salamoff became Vice President of Production for David Lancaster Productions working on WES CRAVEN’S THE BREED and HOLLOW MAN 2. After a successful merge with BOLD Films, he became their Vice President of Production and worked on such films as LEGION, BOBBY and STARSHIP TROOPERS: MARAUDER. After leaving Bold, he accepted the position of President of Production for Rat Bastard Productions working on the festival darling DOWN FOR LIFE.

Having been involved with THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY & HORROR FILMS for over twelve years, he produced the 22nd, 23rd, 33rd, 34th and 35th Saturn Awards. Salamoff has also produced Video Game TV/Web Development videos and Trailers for G-Net Media. Working on such high-profile projects as THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN, BULLETSTORM, MAFIA 2, MASS EFFECT 2, GEARS OF WAR 2 and DEAD SPACE.

PART 1 OF TWO-PART Q&A WITH PAUL J. SALAMOFF

— Q: Your TV credits run the gamut from writer to producer to special f/x makeup artist. Tell us how you first got into the business. What was your first job?

— A: I fell in love with Movies & TV at a very young age growing up in Natick, MA. Fortunately my parents were very supportive of my interests and together we would watch Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Star Trek and Space: 1999 to name just a few.

My Dad took me to a horror convention when I was 13 and I saw Tom Savini talk about the Make-up FX he did for Friday the 13^th, Creepshow and Dawn of the Dead and I was floored. I decided at that moment that I wanted to make monsters for a living.

I was fortunate enough to get accepted to USC and moved to LA to pursue my career while at school. I worked on a number of student films and then through those contacts was introduced to Taylor White (of CREATURE FEATURES) who at the time worked as the coordinator for Tony Gardner’s Alterian Studios.

He got me an interview and I was soon hired as a runner, but when I was not doing runs I was working on such films as DARKMAN, THE ADDAMS FAMILY and the SWAMP THING TV series.

I went back to school for one more semester then I jumped in head first into the business and worked in FX for almost 14 years straight.

— Q: How did you make the leap from one area like Make-Up FX to something like Writing?

— A: I didn’t expect to start working in the industry so quickly, so a few years in, after working on already a great many movies, I started to adjust my long-term goals. Mind you, I wasn’t jaded with FX at all, I just realized that I had a long journey ahead and may want to spread my wings in other directions to keep life interesting.

Also Make-Up FX was on a bit of a down swing since it’s heydays in the 80’s.

I really loved to write, so whenever I got downtime between jobs I would write and hone my craft. I got some great advice early on working as a freelancer that “when you have $5,000 in the bank, live like you only have $1,000”. This mentality helped me save money and be financially stable, so when I wasn’t working I could focus on writing instead of worrying constantly where my next paycheck was coming from.

It wasn’t easy, but it worked and once I had a few scripts under my belt, people started taking me seriously and paid writing gigs started to present themselves.

This eventually led me to getting a Manager and then an Agent.

It was a long-term strategy that I put to work early on and now it’s certainly paying off in spades.

— Q: I’m a huge sci fi and horror geek. What kind of special f/x makeup did you do? How did you train for that? Was that something you were drawn to out of curiosity or did you fall into this world? 

— A: As I mentioned before, I grew up in MA, which is not exactly the hotbed for Make-up FX. Fortunately my Dad is a Dentist and a lot of Make-up FX supplies are from the Dental world (Alginate, dental acrylic, plaster and stone). So already resigned to the fact that I wouldn’t be following in his footsteps, he was more than happy to teach me how to use the tools of his trade.

So other than my Dad’s training with those supplies, I was mostly self-taught. I got a copy of Tom Savini’s BIZARRO (formerly “Grand Illusions) and absolutely devoured it, gleaning as much knowledge from those pages as I could wrestle free.

Make-Up FX became my obsession.

The irony is that I can’t sculpt or draw to save my life, yet I had a very successful career in Make-Up FX working on over 40 films, 10 TV series and numerous commercials.

How is that possible, you ask?

Well I considered myself more as a Make-Up FX Technician than Artist, so I found what I was good at and became proficient in those skills. Things like Lab Work, Mold Making, Foam Construction and Puppeteering.

Also because I proved to be a reliable and hard worker, I would be sent to set all the time. There I learned how to navigate the on-set experience and personalities (This would of course eventually lead to me writing my non-fiction film school favorite ON THE SET: The hidden Rules of Movie Making Ettiquette).

The better I got and more confident I became, the more my bosses trusted me to be their face on the sets. I soon started moving up the ladder to where I was Supervising the crew and complete shows.

By the time I retired from FX (after SECONDHAND LIONS), I had gone as high as I could go other than opening up my own FX shop, which was something that didn’t really interest me. By then I had been bitten hard by the writing bug and that’s where my destiny lay.

— Q: What were some of the makeup credits that you were responsible for? (Movies, TV shows etc.) What are some of your favorite makeup moments?

— A: On the Feature side some of my more notable films I worked on were STUCK ON YOU, SECONDHAND LIONS, ADAPTATION, SHALLOW HAL, SCARY MOVIE 2, ME, MYSELF & IRENE, DOGMA, THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, BATMAN & ROBIN, ED WOOD and BATMAN RETURNS.

In TV, I worked on such shows as THE TICK, BONECHILLERS, SPACE: ABOVE AND BEYOND, WEIRD SCIENCE, POWER RANGERS, LAND OF THE LOST and SWAMP THING

My favorite projects would have to be THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY because I worked on it down in Florida and worked on the iconic image from the movie (other than the hair) which was the Dog in the cast. I helped build all the fake dogs as well as a number of other memorable gags.

I also loved working on ED WOOD because Ken Hall and me made the fake Octopus (you know the one with the missing motor) for SOTA FX. It’s a great film and something I’m really proud of.

I also look fondly at my time as a puppeteer on both Seasons of the new LAND OF THE LOST. I grew up watching the original and being a big fan of Sid 7 Marty Krofft. So getting to work with them was a thrill.

— Q: Is this an area you would like to return to at any point? 

— A: When I retired, it was for good. Like I said before it wasn’t that I was jaded, I just wanted to explore being a writer (and a Producer) and I knew if I didn’t jump in all the way it would never work out. Also I felt I had something to prove to the world that I wasn’t a one-trick pony. Too many people unfortunately pigeonhole themselves and believe that you can only be one thing in this world. I think that’s ridiculous.

Even as a writer, I write in almost all genres. Yes, I’m known as a Horror/Sci-Fi guy, but some of my comedies are among my favorite and best scripts.

But never say never, right?

Here’s a funny story.

I had worked my way up into being an executive (Vice President of Production for David Lancaster Productions). I was working on Wes Craven’s THE BREED and HOLLOWMAN 2 as a Production Executive when I get a call from Roy Knyrim my boss from SOTA FX (who is also a close friend).

He tells me that he just booked a nationwide SAG Dairy Queen commercial and, even though I was retired, would I be interested in playing a monster in a suit for 3 days?

Without even a hesitation, I turned to David Lancaster and asked him if I could take 3 days off.

He generously gave me the time off and I went and did the commercial.

I’d be lying if I said even today that I would pass up a chance to puppeteer or do suit work. It’s so much fun. I’m not an actor by any stretch of the imagination, but you put a puppet in my hand or a monster suit on me, well I just come alive.

The residuals certainly don’t hurt either! 🙂

— Q: What do you think of today’s makeup effects? How have we improved over the years? Do you think there is too much reliance of CGI computer effects that could be done more effectively with real-life makeup effects? (I ask this cuz I just had a THING doublefeature and was thinking about the CGI of the remake “prequel” versus the original makeup effects.)

— A: I could talk for hours on this subject matter so I’ll try to be brief. Special FX, and I mean ALL Special FX are tools. It’s how you use them that matters.

Just because I come from practical FX doesn’t mean I’m biased towards them, I just feel that there is always going to be a tactile nature to them that unless you are working at 100% does not translate with CGI and there are very few times when CGI is at 100%.

Has CGI become a crutch? Yes! Absolutely. It’s at its worse when it’s used for just plain laziness.

In my opinion the best FX are when practical FX are augmented by CGI, so you get the realism of the practical with the technical flair and utility of the CGI.

Filmmakers like Peter Jackson and Guillermo Del Toro get this. They are masters of it.

I like that you brought up THE THING (1982 & 2011). Because I went to a reunion screening of the 1982 version at the Arclight the day before the prequel was released. It and ALIEN have always been my two favorite sci-fi/Horror hybrids. They are flawless movies with nearly a misstep (if any). I watched a pristine print and it was incredible making me appreciate it that much more.

You can only imagine what was going through my head when I saw the 2011 THE THING a few days later.

Guess what folks, I didn’t hate it. Actually I kind of liked it. It was not as egregious as I expected and seemed to me to respect the Carpenter version. It’s not a perfect movie, but certainly not deserving of some of the negative criticism.

As far as the FX go, I was shocked to see that there were practical FX. I naturally assumed that everyTHING (pun intended) would be done digitally. And there were digital FX but not as much as I anticipated.

For the most part, I felt they were used cleverly and wisely. The practical FX were used when it made sense, as was the CGI. The CGI wasn’t great but what it did do was add a heighten intensity to certain moments that could not be easily replicated practically. I actually began to warm up to the movie as I watched it because of this.

Most will think I’m crazy saying this, but I would absolutely see this movie again and look forward to owning it on Blu-Ray.

— Q: Do you have any favorite effects makeup moments from movies that you loved? 

— A: Believe it or not the Make-Up FX moments that inspired me typically had little to do with their quality. It was just something about them that clicked.

All the FX in RE-ANIMATOR completely blew me away and had the greatest impact on my obsession.

I also loved the resurrection scene in HELLRAISER (as well as Pinhead’s Make-up). Anything with the killer Sphere in PHANTASM 1 & 2. The head exploding in SCANNERS and the transformation in THE HOWLING. Everything in Carpenter’s THE THING and Jason himself in Friday the 13^th Part VII: The New Blood.

— Q: What’s considered a really difficult makeup effect? Or what’s the hardest one you ever did?

— A: In my experience, the hardest thing to do in Make-up FX is a realistic house cat that’s alive. The way they move is nearly impossible to replicate and the way their hair looks and moves when they move just makes it worse.

Another difficult FX is trying to do any kind of appliance on a young 20-something woman that needs to look flawless and invisible. Mind you this was before silicone appliances and all the new gelatins they now have.

Every effect has its unique challenges because for the most part, you are reinventing the wheel every time you make something. There are hundreds of ways to do most effects and not all of them are the right way.

So things I’ve worked on have had their moments of “this is never going to work”.

The only one that really sticks out in my head while working for Douglas White FX we had to make some fake dolphins for a Virginia Beach Commercial that we could film out in the ocean. At no fault of my boss, they hadn’t been designed strong enough to withstand the rough waters.

The tide sheared a ¾” thick bolt in half and from that point on it was a nightmare trying to puppeteer these loose dolphins in the choppy waters. The commercial got done and it looked great but certainly not one of our finer hours.

— Q: You went to USC film school. What did you concentrate in – writing or producing?

— A:  I was only at USC for one and a half years and while I was there I focused on film production and the history of film.

I had great teachers and got to know Drew Casper especially well because I always participated in class and was there to really learn my craft.

— Q: Who are some of your favorite writers that inspired you?

— A: Being a voracious reader my entire life, I would love to discover writers and read as much of their body of work as possible.

On the Horror side, I got started with Stephen King, The Dead Zone being the first of his books that I read. I then discovered Clive Barker and became obsessed with his Books of Blood. I then read some H.P. Lovecraft and Dean R. Koontz as well.

In the sci-fi/fantasy world I was a big fan of Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s series and Robert Asprin’s Myth Adventures. I read a lot of Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke and the entire Chronicles of Narnia and all the Ian Fleming Bond novels.

In regards to authors I read now. My favorites by far are Kurt Vonnegut and Stanislaw Lem. Lem’s Solaris is my favorite book. 

— Q: What are some of your favorite movies/TV shows that influenced you into wanting to work in Hollywood?

— A: My all-time favorite character is the wandering Timelord “The Doctor” from BBC’s Doctor Who. I have been obsessed with Doctor Who my entire life. I even own the original Tardis Console from the Paul McGann 1996 TV Movie and a Full-size Dalek replica (that I made) from “Genesis of the Daleks”. I find the possibilities are endless with this character and the stories touch on every aspect of science-fiction that I love.

I was also heavily influenced by Star Blazers (aka Space Cruiser Yamato). I found the stories and characters very compelling and it was so different from the cartoons on American TV. Major characters died and the stakes for survival seemed real.

As I grew older I discovered Blade Runner and to this day it is my favorite film of all-time. I find that I am driven as a writer by themes (as opposed to plots) and here was a movie bursting at the seams with them. Ideas about what it really means to be human.

And of course Star Wars and Star Trek had a huge influence.

— Q: You wrote two non-fiction books – ON THE SET and The Complete DVD Book with Chris Gore. Let’s talk about ON THE SET – how did you come up with the idea for this book?

— A:  After working on sets for a while as a Make-up FX Artist I discovered that there are many rules that I was somehow expected to know but were never told. Now granted, many of these are common sense things, but many of them are codes of conduct specific for each Department.

I know that “ignorance of the law is no excuse.” But let’s face it, if I’m working as an FX artist how the hell am I to know what an “inky” is?

To say I learned the hard way is an understatement. I got yelled at a lot.

So I checked to see if there were any books that contained this information and other than finding books specific for certain departments, Actors, P.A.’s, Directors, there didn’t seem to be a book that just contained the base information you need no matter what department you worked in.

So, I decided to write one myself.

— Q: You interview everyone in your book, ON THE SET, from Wes Craven to James Gunn and Gale Ann Hurd. How did you get them involved in this book?

— A: I have been fortunate to be involved with The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films since 1989. I started as their Youth President, then became their Director of Operations and Film Moderator. I also helped Produce a number of their annual Saturn Awards.

Because of them I met and/or interviewed on stage a great many genre luminaries. So they were more than happy to help me out when I contacted them for interviews. They also got the idea of the book and felt it was something that could help people out in the industry.

A number of guilds helped me out as well plus I did a lot of research for the book while I was working on sets. During downtime I would interview members of the crews I was working with.

It was an embarrassment of riches.

— Q: What was the best advice you got for this book’s theme? Or – if you had to only give ONE piece of advice for a newbie on the set, what advice would you give them that you think is indispensable?

— A: The best advice I can give is pretty global. Get to know how the other facets of a set work and what people in those departments do. The more you know the easier it will be to work together.

Remember folks, making a movie or TV show is a team effort and it runs much more smoothly when everyone respects each other on a set and tries to help each other out.

— Q: What are some of the common misconceptions of being on the set of a movie or TV show? Were you surprised by what you learned in your real life experience versus what you learned at USC film school?

— A:  This is no slight on my time at USC, but I learned so much more being on set and I was being taught certain things in the classroom that just didn’t gel with what the reality was.

The business is always changing and evolving, so unless you’re currently in the trenches you may not have a real sense of how things are being currently done.

— Q: We’ll be talking about your writing more in tomorrow’s Writer Wednesday blog, but I wanted you to talk about doing the comic book series for Logan’s Run which is such a sci fi classic. What was it like to come up with ideas for this classic book/movie for the comic book version? Are there any similarities or differences in the comic book versus the movie/TV series and original novel?

— A:  The job of a writer is to find what it those characters inspire you and make them your own. With a project like Logan’s Run, William F. Nolan was willing to let me bring my point of view on Logan into the mix.

Because the comic series is based on the books I was able to tap into a very different Logan than the one portrayed by Michael York in the Feature Film. The Logan in the books is already a lot darker and I just turned those screws a little more.

I was given a lot of creative freedom, but it was clear very early on that we were all on the same page. We knew that aspects of the story needed updating and clarifying and tonally we wanted it to be darker. More like Blade Runner.

I had all three Logan books to cull from, so the story I conceived used elements from mostly the first and second books weaved through an updated structure. Ultimately the story is different in many ways from what you’ve seen or read before but still feels 100 percent like the Logan’s Run William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson conceived. I felt it was my duty to do this. I’m a fan too, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

As the story has continued from Logan’s Run: Last Day into Logan’s Run: Aftermath and soon into the upcoming Logan’s Run: Rebirth I have been able to take the story in new and different directions from the novels which has giving me liberties to address more contemporary themes thus making it more relevant for today’s readers.

In regards to characters, I was very adamant about how I wanted Logan portrayed. In the film Logan is sort of a nice guy. Misguided, but his heart is in the right place, the Logan in Last Day is a killer for the system. He’s not nice at all and is very Machiavellian about his relationship with Jessica, but over the course of the story he begins to question his beliefs and starts to have legitimate feelings for her. Ultimately he kills to protect her, but like William Munny in Unforgiven, Logan is a killer. Once again this will be further explored in the later series.

Speaking of Jessica, she has had the most work done character-wise. I’ve tried to make her more strong-willed and a more active character in the plot. Her journey is just as important as Logan’s and this will become even more evident in the future Logan series (especially Aftermath).

The character I’m most excited about is Box. I was always a fan but felt he hasn’t been represented properly. Our Box is a far more complex character and is going to play a much more important role in the entire series.

— Q: What are your favorite TV shows/movies (both in the past and today)?

— A: I have a VERY eclectic taste in movies & TV. I own over 1,300 DVD/Blu-Rays in just about every genre and watch and re-watch movies & TV constantly.

My favorite movies & TV consist of ones that had a great impact on my soul and continuously inspire me.

Here’s a list of Films (in no particular order): Blade Runner (The Theatrical Cut), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Se7en, The Sweet Hereafter, The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Fisher King, Inception, The Dark Knight, The Sixth Sense, Re-Animator, The Godfather Trilogy (G3 included), The City of lost Children, Stalker, Solaris (Tarkovsky version), Alien, The Thing

Here’s a list of TV (in no particular order): Doctor Who, Star Blazers, The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, The X-Files, Lost, American Idol, Battlestar Galactica, Buffy, The Vampire Slayer, The Walking Dead, The Wire, The Shield, Justified, Top Chef

— Q: Given how you are such a sci fi & horror fan, what trends do you see in the future for these genres? 

— A: Both genres ebb and flow but lately I find (other than the obvious remakes & sequels), that there are no real trends these days just trailblazers that give us something new to consider.

Viewers have so many choices and distractions that I feel it’s getting harder for people to focus on a single ideal which I think is great for all genres.

I like different. You get movies like District 9, Inception and even Sucker Punch which most people hate, but you know what. At least Zack Snyder gave it the old college try. Yes, the movie doesn’t exactly work but it was something new.

I like to be surprised. That’s why I’m currently really loving The Walking Dead and American Horror Story. They keep me on my toes. It’s why I like American Idol. AI gives me someone to root for.

— Q: Any advice for aspiring writers who want to break into Hollywood?

— A: Believe in the stories you want to share with the world. Write what inspires you and that passion will be on the page. And even though it may take years to accomplish your goals don’t ever give up.

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Thanks again to PAUL J. SALAMOFF for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer all our questions! Stay tuned for tomorrow’s WRITER WEDNESDAY blog where we interview Paul for Part Two about his debut sci fi novel, THE SILENT PLANET.

Please comment on this blog or email me at paula at paulayoo dot com to be included in our signed book contest drawing for autographed books from Paul! Winners will be announced on November 29th.

Until then, as always… Happy Writing! WRITE LIKE YOU MEAN IT! 🙂