SARASOTA, Fla. -- On a Kevin Smith’s film set, if you’re not having fun you’re doing something wrong.
“It should always be fun; it should always be a good time,” Smith said Wednesday night. “Why did we come out to the woods in the middle of the night other than to have fun?”
Actor, author, comedian, filmmaker and podcaster Smith gained a cult following after his low-budget comedy Clerks (1994) and as the latter part of the duo of Jay and Silent Bob alongside actor Jason Mewes. He's also authored a slew of comic book series and led seven seasons of Comic Book Men on AMC.
Smith and his crew were back in southwest Florida this month to finish up filming his new anthology horror film, Killroy Was Here. Wednesday’s overnight shoot was set up in a swampy park off Fruitville Road in Sarasota.
The film is inspired by the simple graffiti “Killroy Was Here” -- a doodle of a bald man with a bulbous nose peeking over a wall. Smith calls Killroy “the original meme, if you will,” and said the art spread worldwide during World War II.
Photos: Kevin Smith brings 'Killroy Was Here' filming to Sarasota
The film about Killroy is a collection of horror stories featuring the same monster. Smith said the aim is to make an anthology film in the vein of Creepshow, with Killroy being like the Golem, the Boogeyman and the Grim Reaper combined.
Killroy is part of an ongoing collaboration between Ringling College’s Studio Labs and executive producer David Shapiro’s Semkhor Productions. Semkhor previously brought actors Dylan McDermott and Justin Long to Sarasota to work with Ringling’s aspiring filmmakers.
McDermott has acted in shows like American Horror Story and L.A. to Vegas, and Long is best known for his work in Tusk, Dodgeball and Jeepers Creepers.
There are about 60 people in Killroy’s crew, and more than half are Ringling students. Students are involved in everything from camera operating and focus pulling to lighting, sound and special effects makeup.
“By the time (the students) graduate, they may have worked on eight different projects and have IMDB credits that would have taken five to 10 years to get,” Killroy producer and Ringling alum Nick Morgulis said. “Students are given a lot of responsibility making professional-quality work. It’s not just a student film or a charity thing.”
Those with Ringling ties include recent graduates Nick Dello Russo, 23, and Brandon Richards, 22. Both are camera operators and credit Ringling for propelling them onto professional sets and giving them hands-on experiences to jumpstart their filmmaking careers.
“I turned something I liked to do as a hobby into a career,” Richards, who is the first assistant cameraman on Killroy, said. “Without Ringling, I’d probably still be just filming my friends.”
Tampa Bay local Dello Russo said he fell in love with TV and film production while attending Durant High School. From there, he said he went to Ringling “bright-eyed and bushy-tailed,” and -- after his first year -- was finding freelance jobs.
While Ringling students and alum are getting essential training and credits on films directed by the likes of Kevin Smith -- who’s had a cult-like following in the film community since Clerks -- the professionals are getting to feel like kids again.
Even the man who plays the “kid savior” monster Killroy, Justin Kucsulain, said working with aspiring filmmakers has “been a big eye-opener.” Kusculain use to live in Tampa, and his acting credits include stints on The Walking Dead, Bloodline and Homeland.
“You get to see kids at the peak of their passion busting their butts and loving every second of it,” Kucsulain said. “They’re so fresh and vibrant, really; everyone is so eager.”
Smith’s advice on having fun while “making pretend for a living” came during a French fry and snow cone-filled pep talk right before the cameras started rolling.
“This level of enthusiasm and passion, you having a good time,” Smith said. “That’s what you should expect of every set you step onto. Embrace this -- it’s something to celebrate.”
When the crew took a break from shooting scenes of Tampa-residing WWE wrestler Chris Jericho being tortured while tied to a tree, Smith gushed more about the “absolute magic” of working with student filmmakers.
“That was me 25 years ago,” Smith said. “It dials my clock back, which is nice because I almost died a couple months ago. So, it’s nice to feel young again.”
Being a 25-year veteran of the film industry, Smith said he’s seen the magic wear off for some who’ve been doing it for decades. But with the students, he said, you get a better movie because they have fresh ideas.
“You get magic when you’re working with people who feel like we’re saving the world doing this,” he said. “They’ll do the thing that’s least expected and come up with something that’s way better.”
As for filming in Florida, Smith said “you can keep your...heat,” and “I picked the wrong time to start wearing suit jackets.”
“But there’s production value as far as the eye can see; everything looks camera ready,” he said. “And that (Killroy) mask in these surroundings...looks wicked cool.”
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