Scotty Mullen [Interview]

Welcome to Day 25 of Trainwreck’d Society’s Annual Month of Horror Showcase! We have a fully loaded month of all things horror for you fine folks! October is our favorite month for this very reason, and we are so excited to share 31 full days of film showcases and interviews with some of the finest folks from the world of horror, just as we have been doing for the last 6 years. What started as a simple 5 day showcase, has now blossomed into a full blown month long event. You’re going to love this! Enjoy!

Hello Folks! It’s coming down to the wire here at Trainwreck’d Society! It has been a fabulous Month of Horror, if I do say so myself. But it would honestly feel incomplete if we didn’t have an appearance from one of our most favorite franchises that isn’t exactly horror per-say, but has managed to make its way into or MoH world several times over in the years we have been doing it, as well as into our regular interviews as well. And that franchise would be the Sharknado series! And hot damn if we don’t have a brilliant exclusive for you all today! It’s the great Scotty Mullen! Scotty has been working on the franchise  since the third installment, and has written and directed in this absolutely incredible franchise beyond that. Thus, it is a real honor to have him join our ranks at TWS and to be a part of our Month of Horror series. He’s also done some other incredible work, which we will discuss below.

I am very excited to have Scotty grace our digital pages today, I just know that you are going to love it. So please enjoy some wonderful words from the brilliant writer/director, the one and only, Scotty Mullen!

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What inspired you to get into the world of entertainment and filmmaking? Was it an early aspiration you can always remember having since your youth, or did you just find yourself in this world one day?

When I was in the second grade, my teacher introduced me to creative writing and we could read a story to the class every Friday. I loved creating wild adventures that I would put my friends into – I was even writing in “cameos” at that age. Getting my friends to laugh with the stories I told them got me hooked. I’ve loved telling stories ever since.

What was your first paid gig in the world of entertainment? And were there any kind of lessons learned from this project that still affect your work today?

My first paid writing assignment was for The Coed and the Zombie Stoner – a wacky sex-comedy where everyone (and I mean everyone!) gets naked. I learned the importance of being able to to revise your screenplay for the director and the budget involved. I have yet to get a movie made 100% as I’ve seen it writing on the page – you are always adapting for the director, actors, producers… But that’s also the fun in it. It’s a fun wild game to make the movie as good as possible, while still staying true to the story you want to tell.

In your own personal opinion, what do you believe it is that makes the horror genre special? What sets it apart from other genres you have worked in?

Everyone can relate with being scared. There’s a crazy euphoria you get from a good scare that I think many people secretly crave. And what scares people usually crosses all cultural boundaries which is why a good horror film can play all over the world. Scream and the world screams with you!

For the 5th, and eventually 6th as well, installments of the absolutely wonderful Sharknado franchise, you were able to throw “writer” on your resume. What made you want to jump in on this franchise? Obviously you have been around it for a while, but what made you want to get in on the storytelling part of the franchise?

I starting casting the Sharknado movies starting with the third one, but I was also writing movies at the same time. A film I wrote called Zoombies – about zombie zoo animals – became very popular. For the 5th movie, they were looking for a new writer to take over the franchise. The producers really believed in me, pitched me to the network, and BOOM! Suddenly I was writing for Olivia Newton-John in Sharknado 5, which is one of my favorite films I’ve ever been a part of. Sharknado 5: Global Swarming will always have a special place in my heart simply because it brought so many of my childhood heroes (including Fabio) into my orbit.

What is your favorite scary movie?

That is a very difficult question. I love Aliens and Carrie. But it would have to be a toss-up between the original Candyman and Hellbound: Hellraiser 2. Those movies are so bat-shit crazy and executed with such brilliance by the actors. Because they believe what’s happening, so do we. I find myself watching those again and again and always discovering something new about them.

Do you have any plans for this coming Halloween? And fun traditions that you try to stick to every year?

I live in West Hollywood so the West Hollywood Halloween Parade on Santa Monica Blvd is such a fun time. But a lot of my friends now have kids so I like to spend a lot of time going tricking or treating with them and doing a group costume together (like Alice in Wonderland.) This year, my best friend wanted to go as Colonial Marines and dress his little girl up as Newt…but then we just realized that she would most likely just look like a homeless kid being carried off by military forces. And in this current political climate, we’d probably look more like ICE agents than Colonial Marines. So I think we’ll end up doing something else instead.

What does the future hold for you? Anything you would like to plug to our readers? 

This December, you’ll get to see my first holiday romantic comedy hit the TV screens (follow my Twitter for more details.) No sharks. No zombies. It’s a brave new world I’m entering. But I do have an original horror movie under my belt I just finished that I’m currently shopping around that I pray every night gets made. So good – and scary! – things are definitely in store!

What was the last thing that scared the hell out of you?

Earlier this week, I was on the set of the Christmas movie I wrote and was absolutely terrified all the lead actors were going to fall into the swimming pool and ruin their wedding outfits before the director and camera called action. I saw the entire shoot day crumbing apart before my eyes. Talk about mind-numbing horror! I couldn’t watch.

What was the last thing that made you smile?

The fact that you asked me to be a part of this. I’m beyond elated that I get to write stories that get made into real, produced movies people around the world can watch. Seeing the story that was once only in my mind get made into something real is something I will never stop smiling about!