Catnip The Movie: A Discussion with the Cast and Crew!

0:00 Hello everyone, and welcome to this Evening's special episode. I'm Jeff Johnson, I'm David Burns, and you are listening to a Film by podcast. Tonight. We are going to be talking about a film by Nile Cavatos Garcia, his upcoming Christmas horror creature feature cat Nip. He's here with us tonight along with cast members Tiffany Helm and Brooke Bundy, as well as co producer David Thomas Newman. Cat Nippers. Welcome to the show.

0:56 Thank you, nice to be here. Thank you for having us. Thank you. This is absolute pleasure to have you guys here. We're gonna be talking about this extraordinary film and the Kickstarter campaign which is live right now at catnipmoviecampaign dot com so you can learn how to contribute to this film and get some very cool rewards possibly. Yes, catnipmovie campaign dot com. Let's keep saying it. Yes, we will keep repeating that throughout the podcast. Yeah. Well, let's talk about the origin of Catnip the movie. It's based on a true story. No, it's not. It's not based on a true story. It's it's my my homage movies I grew up watching. I grew up in the eighties and miss those kinds of movies in the horror genre. I want to create something along the lines of a Gremlins or an Arachnophobia or Critters, something that's scary and funny and fun and original. We're using live animal actors instead of CGI, We're using practical special effects instead of CGI. You know, we're gonna try to put the artistry back into it and load it with a lot of scary cats and cool death scenes.

2:15 Now you you kind of mentioned, you know, ninety A four's Grimlins when it comes to CATNP, Like, how did you conceive this specific idea? I just don't understand why there hasn't already been one. It seems like one of those movies that should already exist, you know what I mean. There isn't a definitive killer cat movie at all. There are like cool cat movies, but there isn't one where cats are the bad guys. Cats are the are the creatures that people are trying to fight against or survive the night against. So I thought, why not. I've always wanted to make a movie like this, you know, something like a Kujo or a Jaws or something, you know, just where people are against something that's like a force of nature, and nobody would ever think cats No, cats are actually like, yeah, I've seen so many scenes in horror movies where you hear a noise and you turn around because you think there's a monster there, and a cat jumps out and you're like, oh, it's just a cat, And I'm like, what if the cat were the monster? You know what I mean? What if that's the worst thing that you can see?

3:21 That's a valid point. Yeah, it's never happened before, so it's like you have your guard down already, you know what I mean. So it's just you don't see it coming, which makes it more terrifying when it's right in your face. So I just I'm I'm super excited to be able to like make this happen because I feel like it's something that I wanted to see in my whole life. Well, I can tell you've already hooked me, you know, just talking about I love movies like Gremlins, where you know it takes place in like a town or a building, and you've got a group of characters, you know, So you've already hooked me on that. I can't I can't wait myself me too. Yeah, it's nice to hear. Yeah, absolutely so, I mean you kind of a little bit. But looking at your body of work, it's safe to assume you have a deep admiration for the horror genre.

4:06 Do you prefer the. Creature features as opposed to slashers or the haunting of possession films of late. I like all of it, okay, everything all. Literally watched every horror movie I could get my hands on as a kid. It was like my deep dark secret. I would just sneak away and watch. Actually I did it. I didn't have to sneak away. I was by myself a lot. It was the eighties. Kids just kind of brought themselves up. Your parents are working or they were not there. And I had I had a TV, I had well, I had, I had a VCR. So I would rent a horror movie every day. But it's not I was eight years old, so I wasn't really renting these movies. They were given to me. I had this relationship with a video store manager. On my way home, I would walk to school, ride my bike or walk to school, and then on the way back, I would stop in this video store and the girl who ran it I think she was probably like seventy in her eighteen, but she seemed like a lady because I was only eight.

5:04 I would just hang out in there, you know. I would like arrange the shelves and I would flip through, like their old posters and stuff and take some you know, both posters home of whatever I could get my hands on. And I think she just she liked me, or she felt like I needed something I don't know, so she would pay me with with one movie the a day, and I would always pick horror because I wasn't allowed to watch those, so I would start at well, after I alphabetized the section, I would start at A and then work my way through until I got to the last movie, and then I would go back to the beginning again. Every day for three years, I watched a horror movie after school. Now you have just created an interesting concept for like an anthology series where it's every week it's a new episode.

5:50 This kid takes a VHS tape and puts it in and then where we just jump right into that movie. I look at it. Let's look at that. Yeah, I love it it is. I like it. Run with it, Nile, run with it. I might he recorded, right. Yes, yes, I know a little boy. Who do we got? My son is an actor. His name is Atticus. Okay, he's nine. He would play a really good little boy. You know, a little version of me is a little version of me?

6:30 Yeah? Perfect, I'll run by him if he says you should. All I asked is I can be like in the video storage in the background. That's all I ask. Episode year old lady. Yeah, okay, we'll run with that. I'll go with glorified extra. That's all right, David, you're involved with several upcoming productions. Uh what is it that drew you to Catnap? Oh my gosh. It would definitely be the idea of something that now mentions a rachnophobia. That was one of my kind of that and Poulter guyst and Jaws were like the first horror movies I had seen, And so when I looked through the pitch deck, I understood the concept.

7:20 And then at the very bottom it showed grimlins and iraqnophobia, and I was like, that's it. Send me the script, let me read it. See what you know. Can you make it a horror that's funny or make it a horror comedy? That has Slasher in it, like, what you what's what are you gonna do? What's your take? Let me see? Uh? And then then I read the script it was game over. That's all. Well, let's talk about let's talk about this killer cast that's been assembled. Beginning with Tiffany and Brooke. YouTube ladies have come against some of horror genres heavyweights in films like Friday the Thirteenth, A New Beginning and nightmaent elm Street Parts three four? Are you too anticipating a ferocious face off with these this film's antagonists?

8:07 I don't. I don't know. I hadn't thought about it, I hadn't gone that far with it. I don't know. And I don't want to reveal anything about my character or what goes on with her, but I love her name is Alice, and she's wonderful, and it's Christmas Eve, and she's with her hubby who she loves dearly, and a little little tipsy, which seems to be her all the time. You know, it's her general state of life. And they're enjoying a film festival of Christmas classics and then butt im bum. So that's that's as much as I'm gonna say, but it's it's just I don't know if I even answered your question, but I'm really looking forward to it.

8:50 There is there's something I want to interject in there that I don't think anyone's realized. The Christmas movie or movies that Burt and Alice are watching cat Nip are gonna be movies that we make and put on scenes from movies that we're going to put together. So they're watching it looks like, you know, a Miracle on thirty fourth Street or A Wonderful Life or something, but it's actually scenes that we've produced as like, you know, our version of those classic Christmas movies. So that'll be a little easter egg. We're gonna cast some well, I'm trying to cast some regulars people I've worked with in the past into those. Those scenes. Gonna be black and white. Yeah, oh that's with stopping music.

9:37 I think the sound will be down low enough so you won't really hear, like, but we're gonna film the whole scene. I'm gonna recreate like a department store setting with the Santa and a little kid and and yeah, it's gonna be fun. We're doing that on the side of catnip. I don't know we've ever talked about that, but that's gonna be super super cool Christmas movies to be to put into our Christmas movie. Actors do stuff like that, so awesome job on that. I cannot wait. Those little touches sometimes are the best when directors just do that in the background, and you know, great job for considering going that. Can I do a cameo? Nile? Exactly? Hitchcocks, Yeah, we gotta, we gotta have you do a cameo.

10:20 I've put myself in all of my movies so far. I don't know where yet in this one. I was gonna try to try to get rob Our producer to play Sanna in the Christmas mind man, he has kids too that he's putting his movies before. Maybe his kids will make an appearance. I'm sure that that both of my sons are gonna appear in the movie somewhere. Okay, that's nice. So I know, Brooke, you talked a little bit about your your character Alice. It's described as a woman married for forty years who doesn't hesitate to put her put her husband or others for that matter, in their place. You have a long history in film and television playing strong independent women, and I'm assuming this is gonna be the same case with Alice, right, yeah.

11:09 I think that the thing is about Alice and all the characters. So I was thinking about it the other day. We did a podcast and it sort of came up, is that all the characters in the film are so likable. You know, sometimes you'll see a movie and you just can't stand one of the characters and they get their comeuppins or they don't, they continue being villains or whatever. But this is just you just really and they're all different. You know. Sometimes also when it's written by one person, there's repetition in terms of the characterization. But these are all very very different characters and again, really likable characters. The writer right now, Yeah. Thank you, I'll I'll let the writer know that you like, well, all the characters are. Was it that movie Identity where they are all inside one person's mind that was That's that's not the case here.

12:05 Okay, Brook, are you excited to be working together in a project with Tiffany? This feels like something the horror community has been anticipating for a very long time. Well, they made maybe anticipate it was never even on my bucket list. It seemed to be so far out there. Yeah, I mean the fact that she's going to be staying with me for a week, which is already you know, like you know, running around trying to get things together and you know, getting my house to you know together, but just you know, thinking about the logistics getting to and fro the location. But I'm just I'm just really really excited to see her, to be with her, and to watch her in action as she does what she's doing, pulling double duty. Now, Tiffany, you you understand, like you know, Brook's house, Brooks rules. If she sends you to your room, you're going to have to go.

12:53 I don't know what she's thinking about a week. I plan on being in LA for a month. The truth of no, no, yeah, there we go. I'm sorry you did say a month. It was a surprise, broke Yeah. Good, good, good good. But yes, a month for sure. Okay, as long as we know it's a month, Tiffany. Yet, now now we have to shoot if you're already planning the trip. A whole month, and we'll we'll talk about that later. I was actually going to talk to you about that, but I can. We can do that on a phone call. Yeah, you guys did. Didn't realize this was like a surprise production meeting that David, We're on the clock, guys.

13:35 Uh. Tiffany, You've played several memorable characters that are on the wrong side of the law, but in Catnip, you are the law. Can you tell us a little bit about the character Officer Garcia. Uh, just trying to do her job, like it's it's you know, it's it's late, it's it's Christmas Eve. I think that I want to go home and be with my family and the insane like killer cats are like, yeah, I just need to do my job. Is really it? You know, it's it's I don't know that she's appreciating the the change in the I don't know, day to day duties because she's not like not like the detectives who are out there first, you know, like out facing the cats and you know, so I gotta and the detectives always look down on the on the cops that are like at desks and stuff like that. So that's kind of a thing. Yeah, snobby detectives. So that that's really it.

14:44 I just want to do my job now. Speaking of doing your job, you're working behind the camera as well as an associate producer on this. Is that correct? I am, that's this is my first time doing it. Yeah, congratulations, thank you. Yeah, it's it's interesting. It's definitely it's out of my comfort zone and some aspects of it, but totally. I mean, the thing is, I am so passionate about the project. So for whatever I lack and experience in producing, I make up for just in how excited I am about it. I mean, this is really this project. The way that it came about, I really wanted to get involved with an indie production from like the ground up, and I had been reading some scripts and you know, I'm like supporting some indie filmmakers with their projects, and I just wasn't. I mean, it's like I was kind of ready to just go, Okay, well, let's like we probably won't get involved with a great project, but like let's just go for it. Like who cares.

15:50 I just want to I want to be part of a grassroots indie filmmaking. So when this came along, I was just like I was like, it was it seemed too good to be true because the script is so good, so I was like, yeah, I've been all in from day one. You know. Nile was kind of like, did you want more? I'm like yeah yeah. And he's like, okay, did you want some more of that? And I'm like yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, So. Here I am. And I'm just like holy smokes, Like I mean, they thankfully we have a really good, diverse production team. Like if it was just me, I don't know what I do. But yeah, it's it's good.

16:36 It's good. Sometimes being pushed out of your comfort zone, you know, it really brings out something and you really didn't expect sometimes, you know, so good job for you taking that step and wanted to do something a little bit different than you're used to. Yeah, and it's it's you know. And and the timing is perfect because our youngest who just went off to college, first year film student, so we're empty nest and I'm like, okay, so this has been great. I just can like delve into it. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm such a huge fan of the independent film market. So another reason why I'm glad we're doing this for you guys, because you know, so much passion is put into these films that a lot of people do not realize out there. You know, you have those big Hollywood productions that you know, you get millions and millions of dollars, but I'm telling you a lot of stuff gets lost in those and you have independent film market. It does not get lost because you have so many people with that drive, that love, that passion that they put more into it. Now you know what I'm talking about, because you're the writer, you're the director, so you know I love that, And that's why I love the independent film market.

17:44 I've been working in independent film since I was seventeen. When I got my first job, I was still in high school and I was a production assistant in Boise, Idaho. I was working on a on a commercial and we shot in Houston, Idaho, which is the little town they filmed Super two in. Awesome, and it was like. The biggest thing I'd ever seen because there was a crane and a dolly and I'd never seen that before. And I'm like, oh my gosh, a real production. But I love and I forget. It's so much work, you know, you you almost forget to have fun. Yeah, you know, we get stressed out. David and I and Rob and our production team have been you know, we have the campaign going. David was location scouting and pedro yesterday. He went all the way to Riverside, calif Actually San Parandino, California.

18:36 Is that where it was and Barandino two hours away from La to go film the cats being trained and some makeup tests on our main villain, cat one eyed Willie. The character's name is Cyclops with the one eyed Willie. So yeah, we like and we were doing this on our free time right now. You know, we're we're right in the middle of pre production, but we don't start working on the movie until well, probably at the end of the year. Right now, we're doing all the you know, the necessary stuff on our on our free time and weekends. Yeah, you know, you're gonna have fun. But I think that's what makes it so great is that everybody really cares about it. Yep. You know, it's you want to pull your hair out sometimes, but you know, we're making a movie exactly like incredible.

19:21 We're actually making a movie about killer cats on Christmas Eve and that is like the best thing in the world. Yeah, it is. It's exciting times for sure, you know, wearing all those different hats that you guys have to wear because you have to wright because you're on such a small budget, if no budge at all, you have to do those kind of things, so a lot more gets poured into it. A lot of people do not realize, except for those who love this stuff. We're going to take a quick break and when we return, we'll have more with the cast and crew of cat Nip the Movie. So now on, David, can we talk about the cast members that will join these two talented actresses that you can mention anyway? I know some stuff hasn't you know, been tied down or anything like that, but I know you've already anounced some people, So can we talk about them a little bit?

20:12 Yeah? We have. Let me see if I remember everybody. Jake Busey, Jeffrey Rand, Charlotte Kirk, Christian Callaway, Lorelei link Later aka Hero, Keith the Mura. We just cast the kids. There's a ten year old boy and a fifteen year old girl as the two of the main characters, and we have offers out to some pretty big names in the in the horror genre. That would be really exciting to have them join our cast. Awesome, but so far it's it's we've been very lucky because we're working, you know, we're we're trying to do a lot with with nothing, and we have a budget, but we have a very shoe string budget, and you normally don't get the kind of people, the kinds of amazing actors on a movie this small. But I think it's because people like the script, they love the idea. This is something very new, and the fact that we're doing it in a kind of an old fashioned way is it's exciting for people to kind of like I think a lot of people are on board because they want to just see it, like they want to see us pull it off or not.

21:19 I don't know. I just want to be on the front lines watching this, either this amazing thing come together or this train wreck of like Cats Christmas and Murder and San Pedro, And we're going to film the whole thing in Pedro, which is also awesome. I've never been there, you know. Speaking of speaking of this cast, this film has some very intimidating, dangerous individuals. And I'm not talking about Jake Bucy. I'm referring to Cyclops, Wisdom and Fat Cat. So please tell us about this terrifying trio, Like where did you get where did you find these guys? But David was just there yesterday. David got to meet. On our streets of San Bernon Dido.

22:02 Uh yeah, maybe you want to cave. I haven't even heard the whole story about what happened yesterday exclusive time. I wasn't able to be there. I live on the East coast. I don't know what what what updates I can. I can divulge about all of them, but everybody knows. We have Willie, who is, interestingly enough, the one of the first cats, if not the very first lead cat who was found in cast I have no I still haven't seen his audition tape. Somebody's gonna have to hand it over. Interestingly, he really has one I Willi has one eye, Cyclops has one eye. And Ryl and Eric, the SFX and Animal Training team, they were they told us they were super worried. There was there was just no way you're going to find a cat that has the temperament, the acting skills, you know, the ability to do some of the stunts with with one eye.

23:13 Uh. And he was the first one, so that was probably a huge load off for them. And I think he's only been training for a pretty short amount of time, and he can do a lot of things. He can, he can jump, he can, he's about he's like right on the edge of sit commands. I think I don't quote anybody, me or Cheryl or anyone, but he might be able to bare teeth and maybe his we don't, we don't know, you know, that's all up to him. Kind of. All these cats are going to be huge divas. The cats, of course.

23:54 Yeah, yeah, there's there's so many. There's so many cats. They were all of them were all different. If you know anything about animals, especially cats, they just all have their own personality. And then the cat who I met who I thought was gonna be the orange tabby playing the character fat Cat. His name was Pumpkin and he is apparently very grumpy, so he will not be playing fat cat. You were told, don't mess with this guy. He was an ankle biter. He didn't bite any of us, but he's not gonna be playing a fat cat. But yeah, they're all very receptive. They're all different in their own way.

24:43 There's a few that are learning tricks or what do you call it behaviors. There's a special term that I should have used correctly. But I don't think it's tricks, so don't tell Cheryl I said that. But yeah, there's about fifteen plus will and then we're looking for a few more. So it's it's very it was very exciting to see y'all are gonna love the footage. Wow, that's amazing. Just to fill everybody and David went to the where the studio or warehouse where Fox FX Lab is located, facility, I guess, and we filmed a little like a like an expose or a little introduction of Willy. We're gonna cut a video together, like a low promotion of the character and the cat playing the character.

25:33 So they got to interview Cheryl and Eric and meet all the cats and and they didn't make a full makeup test on Willie to turn him into Cyclops, which I'm super excited. I haven't seen the footage. I was not able. I was doing so much campaign stuff today. I know that it's coming or it's in the drive. I'm gonna watch it tomorrow. I don't know who's seen it. I'm super excited to see this. I'm really excited to put it together and show you guys too. I'm gonna I'm gonna cut it over the next few days and hopefully we'll have it online soon. But I've heard nothing but great things from Cheryl. Cheryl's our animal trainer, and after she found Willie, she said that he's the most the most beautiful, friendly, that the best cat they've ever met. And I'm it's that makes it even better because the character is terrifying. In the script, he like, you don't mess with Cyclops, he will rip rip your face off.

26:24 So that we found this is the oppotion of. I kind of think that that that's that's in line with a good horror film though, because it is some of the scariest horror characters are played by the sweetest people. You know. We've we've met a bunch of you know, a bunch of them, and it's always like you're you're the guy behind the mask, like you're just too kind. Like how's how's this possible? So definitely looking forward to seeing what, uh what Cyclops is going to bring us. In Well, I know once we start doing conventions. After we filmed the movie, Cheryl and Eric were already talking about taking When Eyed Really with them to Horror convention and allowed to. I don't know what the animal policy is, but he's an actor. He should be there.

27:07 Yeah, we were outside smoking a cigarette, Nile. I gotta tell you. We were in scare David and I were in Scarefest. We're at Scarefest weekend in Lexington. Two weeks ago. There was a boa constrictor at one of the booths that Dave I. I threw all kinds of money on him. He would not go near it. Dave's a little bit like Indiana Jones. He doesn't want to get near snakes. But I don't do it for the show. Do it for the show. He was like no, because he figured out where that booth was. I couldn't even get him on that side of the convention. So not anymore. But yeah, if they're letting bull restricts in, I'm pretty sure they're gonna let They're gonna let the cats in.

27:47 They got vendors. I've seen vendors with animals at the shows, and people sometimes bring their animals. Yeah, it's remember that Wallaby was so cute. Hairless airless cat and the Calgary or corn and yeah. Good. So I told my bet that I was doing the movie and he said, oh, I said, I said, it's a horror film comedy with killer cats. And he started laughing so hard, and I said, they're using real cats, they're training them, and then I thought he was god pet. He said, training cats. Yeah, yeah, we're training cats. We're doing like the one thing that you're not supposed to ever do. We're hurting cats.

28:33 I can't imagine the what the entail is to do that for because I'm a cat lover. I have a cat. I can't imagine trying to train him to do something like this. That's that's crazy talk. But I'm glad you're doing it well. They trained big cats too, though, don't they. They have like tigers and stuff. Yeah, yeah, they they've trained everything. Cheryl worked with I'm not sure the name of the company, but they were behind the Homeward Bound movies. She's been working with animals for for decades and she says she's trained everything from tigers to uh to raccoons. Cats. So she has a photo with a lion she trained for something.

29:15 She's probably trained a wallaby, probably probably trains the emotional support Boa constrictors you'll see at the fish. That's okay, I'm gonna steer from that. I appreciate that. So I gotta ask you, though, why did you choose live animals over CGI. I am hoping I know the answer, but I'm just curious. I I don't like c g I. It takes me out of the movie every time I see it, even when when it's good, I'm like, I know it's fake. So I don't I don't care about it as much. And I want people to really connect to every part of this movie. And when it's in front of when it's something that is it's right in front of you, you can you know. It's it's just more realistic, more realistic.

30:03 I mean, it's it's there, it's actors can react to it, you know, everything. All the effects should be tangible, you know, something that you can touch. I don't like the idea of filming actors in front of a green screen and then just putting in what I want later. So we're doing everything but that, and we're doing we are doing some green screen stuff, but we're doing doing it the old fashioned way. We're going to be like layering in footage that we shoot with the cats, so we're not nothing will be computer generated. It will all be filmed assets. That's fantastic. So you're literally doing what they did back in the seventies and eighties on horror movies, going back to that old school style of filming. That's fantastic.

30:50 Man. You know, we have a lot of podcast episodes that we've talked about where practical effects are the way to go, and it's become a lost art. It really has. Everyone's like, all we can just that, we can just see ji that no, go back to that tangible practical effects. That's what makes those movies so special, and I'm glad you're going that route. I'm super excited to Uh that's my favorite part. That's the part I'm looking forward to the most. The cats in the effects. I mean, that's what our kickstarter is paid for. It's paying for those two things, the two things that the movie really needs. It's like, this's the heart of the film. I mean, the story is amazing, and the characters are amazing, and we have an amazing cast, and I'm really happy with everything that's coming together. I'm even been excited to shoot it in San Pedro. It was supposed to be set in New York and it's a long story on how it relocated. But I'm really happy with the new settings. It's just so untapped as well and creepy, and it's going to be awesome. But my favorite, the thing I'm looking forward to the most, and my favorite part of filmmaking is all of the gory, hands on stuff. That's why I love horror movies. That's why I want to make them forever. I want to be able to go home at the end of the day and my hands are blood red from from like touching everything.

32:03 Yeah. Absolutely, So, I know you said that Fox Effects Lab is the one doing it. It's Eric Fox and Cheryl Holtzman. Is that correct, Yes, tell us a little bit about them. I know they've been in the business for a little while and they've done a lot of work. So what can you tell us about him? Ye, David Well, I met Eric when I was directing my last film, Last Ride. He he didn't work on it, but he was doing the effects for another movie at the same time and I was getting I was renting equipment from the same place where he was shooting. So we were just like cross paths a lot, and at one point he like he was the one who was hand handing me the equipment. He's like the owner of the place said, Eric is there shooting the movie. I'm gonna give you his number. He's gonna give you the lights.

32:47 So then I went, I got the lights. I met Eric and he was cool. I'd already hired a special effects artist for Last Ride, so I didn't really look at Eric's work until later, and then once I saw what he was doing, I wish that I had him on my previous movie because he does everything that we were just talking about. He's been doing practical special effects and puppets and animatronics his whole career. So once this was like off the ground even a little bit, I called him first and asked if he would do it, and his answer was, I love cats. We have like twenty cats horror movies, and cats are my entire life. This is like, you know, heaven. This is the project I was born to make, and I feel the same way.

33:29 So we connected right away on how we were going to do it. And a lot of the reasons that we relocated the movie to California is because that's where he's based, and flying twenty Cats in New York was just not. Going confers. On a planet. That's the next one. I liked it. I like it. So all these cats are using our rescues correct. Correct thinks think so it's and some of them were directly rescued by Cheryl and Eric themselves. They found a few siblings who were unfortunately behind dumped behind a grocery store out there at San Bernardino, and one of the siblings didn't make it, so they rescued the remainder and I met a few of those of them yesterday. Was it yesterday? Oh, that was yesterday, But yeah, they I'm pretty sure she's rescued almost all of them. I can't remember if they all were, but yeah. And then she's literally actually taken some cats from off the streets and then we'll put them on the big screen. So it's it's just to see, you know, you see their facility,

35:02 and when you first walk in, you smell the special effects and all the different chemicals and stuff. And then you go to a separate winning and you start seeing, you know, do not enter cats in here. You know, there's lots of different rooms and you just kind of when you see the cats and just how chill they all are, and they're all literally laying on top of each other. It's like this just massive cat sanctuary family. Even Pumpkin, the grumpy guy, he still comes out and like hangs out with you, and they're all very curious. They're all very receptive to you being there, which was I thought was pretty eye opening. If you know, if you know cats and they don't know you, you know, they kind of freak out. And my mom's cat has seen me. I don't even know how many times I've been back to Texas twenty thirty times by now, and she still hangs out, goes in the other room, and when we walk in and we're you know, introducing ourselves, they just came straight up to us. I knelt down to pet Willie, who plays Cyclops, and I thought I was in goat yoga. One of the cats jumped up on my back and just started like put her face right here and was like meowing at me. It was just and they were like, all right, well, we know who the stunt cat is gonna be. So there were just so many things happening so so fluidly, and to find out that a bunch of them literally were straight

36:32 up rescued right off the street was really really pretty heartwarm. It was. It was cool. Yeah, when I when I heard about that, that made me like this movie and you guys even more, And that's been my big push to a lot of people on Facebook. The fact that you guys rescued some cats to help out with this movie is just a great story. You know, there's so many animals out there who need to go home, that are just struggling. You just said that one of them didn't make It just breaks your heart when you hear that when cats are just or any animal is abandoned, you know, and you know you've got some people who have a good heart and put them to work in Hollywood. That that's a great way, great story. So you know, the chemistry it sounds like on this film and you guys and the animals, everything seems to be working so well. And I'm excited for that because it seems like everything is going in the right direction for you all. That's fantastic.

37:19 Okay, I'm going to say something as a Buddhist, think about the karma these cats have changed in their lives. Think about the mission that they were on this trajectory course of getting hit, starving to death, being bitten by fleas, blah blah blah, all the horrible things that go on eaten by coyotes. But now they're with their brothers and sisters and the good big movie stars. I mean, that's that's saying a lot. It is very cool changing. Yeah, it makes me wish I had like one hundreds and thousands of dollars and I would just give it to you guys right now, here's your sixty six thousand, six hundred and sixty six dollars, and here you go, just run with it. I wish I did, because that makes me want to support this film, and I hope everyone who's listening just will support this film just because of that.

38:05 Regardless of what happens on Kickstarter. We've already decided that we're going to give five percent of all of our proceeds back to the animal shelters that these cats are. Yes, absolutely support them. I think that these the cats that are being rescued need to find homes. With Cheryl. I think she's taken a lot already. I think she would take all the cats if she could. But it would be nice if, you know, people would go out and adopt these these amazing, amazing cats. Absolutely, you never know. I may be one of the ones adopted them. I've got one, but you know what, I may be one who knows. I understand there's one heroic character on four legs. What about Monster? Oh? Monster, Yeah, the one dog. There's a dog character. Well.

38:50 The film is centered around a family that relocates to Pedro. The dad's going to become a superintendent of this rundown apartment building and he has a ten year old boy, and the boys got a dog, an English bulldog named Monster, who's afraid of cats, afraid of everything. And then Monster has to step up and you know, and and and fight for his family. It's a super cool underdog story, pun intended. And Monster is going to be the only animal actor that's gonna come with his own trainer. Cheryl's not rescuing the dog. We're gonna cast the monster, and I think we're gonna start that process probably toward the end of the year. It's less stunts than he's cowering in the corner a lot of the movie until until, you know, without giving any away, toward towards the end, he starts to become, you know, a little more heroic. Nice, but there's a there's a nice art. I think that's what I tried to do. Even with all of the animal characters. When I was writing the script, I tried to give each character an identity and some kind of an arc wisdom. One of the cats is a very like docile, lovable house cat when we first meet her, and then she turns and she becomes part of this like you know, army of cats, and she's struggling between doing the right thing and not so that that's gonna be a cool character too. And then fat Cat that we've been talking about our garfield from hell Cat is

40:24 a big, barmelad monster of a cat that's cyclops muscle, and Fat Cat's there, and then you're you're a goner. That's awesome, absolutely is So with this film's story taking place at Christmas, well, are you planning like a to do like a holiday release next year or can we expect cat Nip to land on its feet. A little bit earlier? We were thinking Christmas two thousand, well somewhere between Halloween and Christmas twenty twenty five. Perfect good deal. Well, you know, one of the main reasons we have you guys on here is because obviously we want our listeners to help donate to this. So let's talk about the Kickstarter campaign for Catnip. How do our listeners get involved with this film?

41:09 Go to catnipmovie campaign dot com. We have awesome tear perk packages on the site we've put together. David has been responsible for most of that, putting together these amazing packages so people can walk away with something really fun and unique and cool, you know, just like we want the movie to be fun, but we want the campaign to be fun too, David, you want to go over some of the awesome stuff that's available on our Kickstarter. I kind of had this weird idea of what if. What if it's possible to find somebody who can blow plastic shapes into objects and then you can maybe throw some popcorn inside of them. So I was on this mission.

41:58 I don't know what made me think of it. I think Dune or like Deadpool, Wolverine, all those movie blockbusters that got their popcorn buckets, and I kind of remember being a kid and seeing you know, they didn't come around back then, but just seeing the popcorn and everybody, I'm not really a popcorn guy, everybody's just dousing it with the butter, and I thought, man, that would actually be really cool if we could figure something out like that, maybe just get you know, twenty of them or something like that. And so I was on this long, month long mission to find a manufacturer and we did. So we actually have official cat Nip popcorn buckets that.

42:45 My husband wants one of those after seeing Chase's videos with Oh my god, those videos, this character he's created. But yeah, my husband's like, I want one of those. I'm like, I'll see what I can do. Jeff here is a big collector of these popcorn buckets. So Tiffany, Tiffty, your husband's not alone. And David, let me be the first to thank you. I'm I'm looking at the tears. And as soon as I saw the popcorn bucket, I was like, well, I know which one I'm going after because I don't know what it is, but you know, like it seems like maybe a year ago, maybe two years ago, you know, you know, to kind of entice people to come back to that movie going experience we're doing. We're having some fun again, and these these like themed popcorn buckets start happening, and I, you know, I can't remember what the first one I was, you know that I got, but I was like, I'll buy it.

43:34 I'll spend the extra ten bucks. It's a collectible. It's fun. And then the next movie came out, and then the next movie. I've got a cabinet full of these things now, you know, including like the ghost Trap when Ghostbusters came out, the Wolverine, Deadpool ones, like I'm running out of room for them. But it's one of those things like now even when I'm at home and it's movie night, I can't get a glass bowl. I got to have one of my collectible buckets, and I saw the Catnet bucket and I was like, this is brilliant, this is genius, and I'm getting my hands on one of these because I know they're going to go fast. So that's I know, there's some really awesome stuff that you guys got in these reward packages, but man, the cat Hit bucket definitely got my attention quick.

44:14 We we you know, we we were hoping that would be a cool idea to get people, yes potentially back into the theater wherever we go, so that in the convenient part about living right here in sp San Pedro. This is an official San Pedro hat. Yeah, everyone thinks of San Francisco, but no, we're not giants fans. I'm not even a fan, but I live. Uh. San Pedro is where the port of Los Angeles is, so when they arrive, they just come straight here and then we we should be able to distribute them pretty easily. But that was, you know, we we thought, what was a cool way to get all ages interested in some of the things that we're doing. So we did a ticket to the pre screening, not necessarily an official premiere, but a pre screening where we kind of show it to somewhere here in Pedro so all the locals can come, all the local businesses that are supporting us, the local businesses.

45:19 That were. Offering us their shoot locations at discounts because we're locals and stuff. So you get you get a ticket to come see that and to pick up your bucket. If you get the VIP version, you're gonna get a bottle of hot sauce from Black Cat Sauce Company, who is a celebrity chef here in San Pedro. They've got the bottles of hot sauce all over town. At San Pedro Breuco. It's sort of like an alehouse. So this local vibe of supporting local and supporting small business was just a really cool way to pair that together. And now whenever you know, I'm not saying people recognize me or something, but when you show up, like aren't you the guy that's like making that movie, I'm like, well, I'm one of the guys. Wait till everybody else shows up. But yeah, we've got the script, blueprints of the animatronics and some of the designs that we have for the puppets that Eric is making FX Labs. And then you get your name in the credits, and you know, I'm telling that to people and they're like, oh, okay, cool, cool, cool.

46:22 So how much is each. One of those? And I'm like, well, you. Do you get? You get all of that for amazing price. And people are like, wait a minute, that should be like way more. So maybe we'll have to increase the prices. But the popcorn idea just it's spewed out. You know a bunch of other ideas. We got cat pinatas for a certain level, and that was kind of an ode to one of our characters who might swing I don't want to give anything away, might swing a bat or something, and something might happen to a cat. So we're like, wait, a minute. Pinatas could be like, you know, kind of kitchy, kind of tongue in cheek, kind of violent, but it's not real, guys. Okay, it's a movie. It fits the mold, it fits the brand.

47:10 And then there's just so so many other things. Miss Copycat is a company that made a bunch of She makes plush toys that the kind of the cat toys that you put the cat nip in and the cats love them. There's like little plush bloody knives. She makes like a razor blade. Obviously, if you're a horror fan and you're a movie fan, you're definitely a physical media fan. Oh so we've got toy rays. Nile even came up with a cool idea to give the director's cut at a lower tier as an MP four, so you know it's not your physical media, but you'll at least get the director's cut. Then there's the the Blu Ray special editions. You'll get lost looking on our Kickstarter no one has ever Sure might might be tooting my own horn a little bit here, but as a team, what we come up with, it's just you've never seen a campaign like this with the caliber and quantity. Rewards and perks you can get at such low levels. It'll it'll change over time because we're gonna kind of, you know, entice people to bring up the dollar amount. But there's just everything is just so creative, so fun, and there are a lot of collectible items as well. There's a couple of things that I won't even announce. But the sweepstakes item is really cool. If you want to know about that, ask Nile and see if you'll reveal that.

48:36 I think we should keep that a secret, but you can follow Catnip on Facebook at Catnip the Movie and we'll start talking about that soon. Yeah. That's gonna be a fun Yeah, that'll be a fun, fun thing. We're going to have I don't know a raffle situation for it. I think we're going to open it up. David and I are still hammering out, like all the details of how we want this thing to work. But for a week, we're gonna whoever pledges during that week, well their name will be entered into a raffle to win this amazing thing that we're gonna start advertising on Facebook. Yeah. I'm excited for it. It was so it was such a cool idea it was David's idea as well, that I bought the one thing for the raffle and then I bought another for myself. So I called him I got two, and he's like, we have two to raffle up. I'm like, no, we have one raffle.

49:33 My producer hat has like dollar bills going off in my eyes like a bugs bunny, and he's like, no, no, no, that's on my mantle. But it's an awesome. Yeah, there's like what eleven levels right now. I think you can for different dollar amounts that you could donate for, but you know, anybody could donate any kind of amount of money looking at the website. So but yeah, there's a lot of really good stuff on there. You are me. Even at the lower the ten dollars tier, there's there's plenty of fun stuff on that. Scratching the surface here, I think is what you guys have it called but on up. Like I just blows my mind, like all the all the fun stuff you guys put together for this keck starter because you don't typically see that. You know, a lot of a lot of films will be like, ah, we'll say thank you or we'll do this, but you guys are like, it's it's swaged central, you know, yeah, definitely not a situation.

50:25 My favorite thing is on there talking about that, that scratching the surface. I have a friend who's in a group called the Infamous String Dusters. They're a Grammy winning bluegrass band I went to high school with with. This guy's name is Jeremy Garrett's. He's amazing. He did per fun a cover of The love Cats by The Cure on violin. He did like a real creepy instrumental version of it, so we could use that in our promotional materials. Exactly what's that what we're hearing? Okay, Yeah, that's in all of our creepy yeah, except teaser trailers, and we're gonna I'm going to try to put it somewhere in the movie if we can get the rights to The Lovecats, but I don't know about that.

51:06 But anyway, he recorded it and gave it to me to use, and I asked him, can we give that away in our first tier on our Kickstarter and he's like, yeah, that would be amazy. So it would be an original cover track of the love Cats by who you are, performed by this Grammy Award winning violinists and it's amazing. That's impressive. We're gonna take one last break, but don't go away because when we return, I do believe Nile has a special offer for everyone donating to catnipmoviecampaign dot com. So when does this campaign end?

51:46 November twenty second. Okay, so plenty of time, right, we got plenty of time. We have twenty three days if I remember, all. Right, listeners, you go to work, Go to work, listeners. Yeah, don't make us give us your money. Yeah? Oh that okay, Well I gotta tell you, like, like again, what the what the rewards that you guys are offering. I doubt that we're going to need to be talking to the listeners like come here. You know, they go to the they go to the site, they're going to see it for themselves. Well, make it even better. If you make a pledge on our Kickstarter page and you mentioned dm us on our Facebook page that you did so and mentioned the name of this podcast a film buy, we will enter you into a drawing and at the end of the broadcast, we will pick one winner and we will upgrade your perk package to the next tier. If you want one hundred dollars package and we draw your name. Now you have the two hundred and fifty dollars package. Wow, so it doubles all your your all your perks.

52:55 Listeners, you heard it here from the director. Head over to catnipmovie campaign dot com. Make your pledge and then let these guys know on their Facebook page. Hey, I'm Jeff Johnson. Will don't use my name or use my name, because I'll take I'll take all this, but let them know your name, let them know your pledge and uh and get in and get in on this because this is a fascinating thing. And again it is now. So now someone go, like, if one of our listeners does the two hundred fifty dollars pledge, they could get upgraded to the five. Hundred Is that possible? Correct? Yeah, fantastic. And if you make a twenty five dollars pledge, there we go. It will upgrade you to the top tier package, which is our nine Lives package that includes a walk on role in the movie. Ooh, actually it includes everything that we're entering on on the Kickstarter page plus a walk on roll in the movie.

53:51 All right, what can I sell? What can I sell? Hey? I was just gonna say, like, I got my Christmas. Gift already ready, you know, if you're if. You're taking orders. Niall. You know, given the myth that cats have nine lives, have you even begun to consider further stories for Cyclops and his fellow fee lines, Yes. We have. We've been talking about that since we since we started this one. We're like, what can we do for the sequel? I know that I've outlined a prequel idea that would be the origin of Cyclops. I think it would just be called Cyclops, and then we have direct sequels to this because it's open ended at the end, of course, there's a cliffhanger ending for the possibility of a sequel. Yes, there will be a sequel if we can make the movie and get it into theaters and it does even anything like one person says, I like the movie, and then we're making another one. So yeah, it would be great to build a whole world around around these killer cats.

54:47 I know, I know we can't give away these kinds of spoilers, but if there's a possibility of a sequel, Brooke Tiffany, I am I'm rooting for your characters. I'm pulling for them. Already so that. They survive, have this this night of terror for these cats. So we could we could, we can have you guys back, for sure. Absolutely, something would be awful if I left my I have a dog that has to go Ponty like now, so so it would it be okay if I left the zoom. Would that be a terrible thing to do. Let's take care of that. Let's take care of the animals for sure. Thank you, thank you so much. This is fun.

55:29 It's been amazing. Thank you. I love you, love you, we love you. Bok okay. I can actually speak to that like sequel thing and whether our characters live or die, because it doesn't really matter because if there is a sequel to this, if if Officer Garcia gets it in the first one, I could come back as a producer again or something there you go, or you know, help with with the cat wrangling or something. I mean, I would I would be totally involved in this again. I come back as a cat.

56:09 I hear there's a studio selling some cat costumes really cheap, trying to make some. Of their money. God, one thing, uh, David, you mentioned you're talking about uh, you know, when we're talking about the popcorn buckets and you know all ages. It just dawns on me. It's a Christmas movie. There's there's cats, you know, but it's also a horror film and there's gonna be some murders. So what kind of rating are you guys? Are you guys looking at because I know the n pub A has has their say, but what do you who is this movie for?

56:50 Basically? Is this is this an all ages movie like Grimlins and Acrophobia or is it are we going a little little darker, a little more gory. It's a little this movie is for dogs. Okay, read between the lines, listeners. A monster is. Just gonna be claim to fame. Uh it'd be cool if we could get it unrated like what Terrifier did and just get oh gosh, whatever we want. But uh, I think we're shooting for Ryekay. Yeah, we're calling it Gremlins for grown ups. It'll be a hard r rob Our producer has been. He's been on me since the very beginning to have a PG. Thirteen cut. Mm hmmm, I'm like, okay, we looked through the script before we made a few adjustments. There was like the F word in like fifty times. You know, there's like the gory is kills. Like if we cut out all the fun stuff, this isn't gonna be Catnip anymore.

57:48 It's gonna be gremlins y. Yeah, you know what I mean. We want we want, we. Wanted to be bloody and gory. Yeah, you know, speaking of of Gremlins, I just rewatched that with my sons. I have a six year old and a nine year old and I've put them through Gremlins, Critters, The Lost Boys, eight Legged Freaks. We're gonna watch Ractophobia. Gremlins is a scary movie. It is. It's I forgot how I know. It's like with the upbeat music and like the Spielberg kind of like the the gloss Over it. It's it feels like a. Family movie that thinks not I think should. I don't know how they got away with a PG or PG thirteen or eighty or whatever they got. Every Christmas Gremlins is on like every other channel. Ye watch, that's a scary movie.

58:38 I see it as a Christmas movie and I can't with it. Yeah, We're gonna have a have a nice little marathon Chris, Catnip and and Gremlins Christmas classics, classics, they would now can't wait to do that. Uh but yeah, we we'd like to keep this as as a hard r good if we could good, and then international release there'll be like a water down version. Yeah yeah, yeah, I. Got to come over with that made for TV version. You know that they can play on gable and then give us the unrated for sure. Well, on the Kickstarter, I'm offering the director's cut because I know the first cut of this thing is going to be NC seventeen, just based on on the Gore.

59:26 Eric Fox is like he's been every time I get him on the phone, he starts telling me his idea for how he's going to do all this stuff. Like the. Gruesomeness of it is so amazing that he wants everything on camera, which is the way I want it. Yes, you know you mentioned Terrifier three, and the thing is the audience wants this now, we want you know, if that franchise has taught us anything, it's that people want a return to the gore. You know, they want to see the action. They don't want it implied. You know, we had that that phase and I think we're going back to like the the the eighties, and the early nineties where we're we're getting to see some pretty gory stuff, some graphic stuff, but it's it's fun. It's just fun to see what, you know, these these special effects people can come up with.

1:00:14 You know, absolutely, it was insane seeing all the He cast a cat head and a cat jaw like in front of us, like that's how long it took. It was like, oh, okay, cool, you know, I'll go in the other I'll go hang out with the cats, you know. And then he was like, no, no, it's cool. And then he was just like and pulls this like cat head out. I forget what the material is called, but it's kind of like if you imagine you remember Ghak when we were kids, that's sort of like in the way it kind of you know, if you hardened ghak somehow, and it's like this light, foamy, sort of rubbery material.

1:00:56 It was like, I mean, I don't know how many minutes, maybe five, ten minutes or something, but it was it was just bizarre. And seeing how now when seeing him talk about it and kind of how giddy he gets, I can understand what he probably He's like, oh, yeah, well check this out. Well you're supposed to be doing your interview right now, Like we'll get to the just like this next thing match out for that beaver that was an old spice beaver over there, and oh that that male reproductive organ that was in Rob Zombies movie. And he just like goes on and. All of it, and it all looks insanely realistic, like insanely realistic. He definitely assured me that if we can't film with the cats in like some of the close ups, that his puppet replicas are going to be so lifelike that people won't be able to tell the difference.

1:01:45 Oh wow, that's impressed. I'm so looking forward to this. Yeah, absolutely, Yeah. Yeah, And it's always nice when you get somebody who's that creative on your team and who is that excited about it because you know you're gonna get some goods. Yeah, it's definitely a match made Eavin. This guy's gonna I mean, we were, like I said, we relocated the whole movie so we can have Eric Fox do the effects on this and Cheryl Tram the cats. It's gonna be worth it. Yeah, just's what it sounds like. Listeners we've been talking with now covosos Tiffany Helm, Brooke Bundy, and David Thomas Newman about their upcoming Christmas horror creature feature Catnip. You can be a part of this when you head to Catnipmovie campaign dot com. Guys, we cannot thank you enough for this opportunity and we'd love to have you back for more when we approach the film's release.

1:02:37 Yeah, I'd love to come back. Yeah, it'll be fun. Maybe we can some of the cats with. Us, Yeah, that would be great. Please. Yeah, I would absolutely love that for sure. Yep. And thanks so much for having us on. And you're really just excellent, thoughtful questions and you guys are awesome. Thank you. We appreciate you absolutely. All right, listeners, are you ready for Catnip? Let us know on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and x. Check out on www. Film by Podcast dot com for film and TV articles and our entire library streaming free. Write to us at a Film by a Podcast at gmail dot com with your questions, comments and concerns. We may just read your response on the show and send you some a Film by slag. Once again, I want to thank Nile, Tiffany Brook and David for joining us. Thank you listeners. For all you out there listening following, subscribing to our Patreon, and donating to Catnip Themovie, we thank you.

1:03:35 The end is me owt E