INTERVIEW WITH HERB HENDERSON by Barry King
Q. What are your earliest memories about wanting to be a film maker?
A.Playing around with stop motion animation. When I was ten years old I would
draw spaceships and planets on poster board, then cut them out and arrange them
on a crude background. I also played around with clay. The only problem was that
my family never had a movie camera when I was growing up, so I never got very
far with my attempts at animation. I wrote a few scripts for some Superman
spoofs that same year, even made a costume out of scraps of old clothing. Didn't
have any blue clothes, though, so the Superman costume was WHITE and RED. The
whole thing was supposed to be a comedy, and if my school friend with the Super8
hadn't dropped the ball, we would have had some pretty funny "Ghetto
Superman" adventures to laugh at. We had several fellow sixth graders
interested by the time school started that year. I kept the storyboards and the
scripts. The costume fell apart.
Q. Tell us about the very first thing you ever shot on video.
A. That would be the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow project for American Lit when I
was a junior in high school. We injected loads of comedy mixed with interesting
distractions in the background to help entertain our fellow students while the
information about Mr. Longfellow was presented. In one scene our friend is
telling about one of Longfellow's works while we steal his tires in the
background. Simple stuff, but we got a real huge kick out of it back then.
Q. Directing, writing and acting. You've done all three. Which one is your
favorite and why?
A. Acting. I was always the class clown in school. I always played with voices
and always wanted to be in disguise. I always enjoyed the pretend aspect of
playing war or putting on a show. When I was in school I was terribly worried
about how people saw me, so I allowed that lack of self-confidence to steer me
away from pursuing drama in school. Cartooning, music and writing were an
equally pleasant distraction, however, and I was able to entertain through these
mediums. I got my first video camera as a graduation present, and was finally
able to start playing around with moving pictures. As I became more interested
in putting together movies, the drawing, music and writing all came together and
helped me out a great deal. As far as acting goes, I tried my hand during the
TWISTED REALITIES show. What was meant as good-natured ribbing regarding my
performance was taken as a lack of support however, and I let my self-confidence
issues steer me away again. Never finished the episode, either. These days I am
comfortable with myself and my abilities, so I don't mind getting in front of
the camera. For me, this comfort is something only age could provide.
Q. Out of all the independent productions you have seen over the years, which
one stands out in your mind as the best?
A. I never really think about it that way. I enjoy watching a lot of the stuff
that comes my way. More often than not these movies are bogged down my tons of
useless dialogue, contrived backstories for the characters and lousy pacing.
Q. As an artist, what production have you done that you consider the best and
most gratifying piece of work?
A. Without a doubt it's CURIOUS DAVE AND THE SINISTER AGENDA OF DOCTOR ZIM. I'm
delighted by the smiles and laughter it brings to all ages. I had the pleasure
of watching two 21 year-olds and a 2 year old watch it this past summer, and the
response was very inspiring. My buddy Cliff has always told me I do
"funny" best. It wouldn't have been AS funny if we hadn't had David
Shauger, Ben Hollberg, Barry King and Sinclair Hollberg on the team. Even though
they have not been officially certified as lunatics, their in-born wackiness
rounded out the project. A good case of leaping off the page with sight gags and
some ad-libbing. It was the most fun I ever had.
Q. Same question, except which one did you hope could have turned out better?
A. I used to sacrifice a lot on the productions to get as much done in a day as
possible. Just about everything we've done has ended up as less than it was
written because of this. The worst case being THE UNWELCOME, but most of its
issues were with the eight month gap in production which led to a variety of
different hairstyles for the cast. Least of all was BOTHERED, which would have
finished up much more adult in nature than most people want to see. A close
second is THE MISTRESS, for the same reasons. However, in the case of THE
MISTRESS, it helped me see how its appeal was increased by just being a straight
story. It really works and I'm glad it ended up the way it did. Our new rule of
"NO COMPROMISE" came about with BOOBIE TRAP. While still the black
sheep, it is a black sheep with an audience, and TECHNICALLY is the finest piece
to date with regards to sound and picture.
Q. In the early 1990's, Dept.13 produced a public access show called
"Twisted Realities". Would you consider doing another public access
show in the future?
A. No. There are rights issues which prohibit you from selling the programs you
make at access stations. Essentially, we would be volunteering our time on a
show we created, all working hard and getting it cablecast once, maybe twice if
we're lucky. After that we wouldn't be able to anything with it. I hate the idea
of there being LOST movies of any kind, so no, I would not. The next best thing
is leased access. You actually buy cheap time with the cable company. You have
to promote it heavily but you can recoup your cost by selling sponsorships. The
rights remain yours and you can exploit your hard work on video and DVD and
beyond.
Q. You've surrounded yourself with some nice talent over the years (effects,
musical, actors etc...). tell us about some of them.
A. There is always Joe who is the producer and makes all of the nifty prosthetic
effects and gore. His contribution is invaluable. It is rare to find someone as
dedicated to his craft and is willing to pick up the tab on the effects to help
get the project done. Throughout the course of the show Mike and Barry were
always there to write, act and direct. That TWISTED REALITIES stuff is STILL
some of my favorite stuff, because it was so fresh and innocent and new and it
was all ours and there were so many of them. It seemed like it would have gone
on forever if it hadn't ended. I bought all of the master tapes/rights back from
Channel 12 in 1994, so those can come out on DVD soon. Then there is Jim, whose
distinct musical sound has given our pictures a little more meaning. There were
several people who were always very supportive of us during the run of TWISTED
REALITIES, they were Sean Murray, Aram Sarhadian, Scott Crisp, Darrell
Hindmarsh, Mike Jones... If I've forgotten anybody I apologize. It's been a
while.
Q. Do you have any main influences in your life? If so, what or who are they?
A. My Mom and Dad. They raised a hard-headed, stubborn young man and escaped
with their sanity intact. I thank them for sharing their home with me for so
long while I spent my years trying to build something that never ended up as big
as I used to think it should be.
Q. If Herb Henderson had an infinite budget and complete creative control at his
disposal, what film would he make right now?
A. I never really thought about it. I'd probably make a super-cheap space-horror
adventure or documentary, then pocket the rest of the cash.
Q. In 2005/2006 several Dept.13 productions were featured as midnight movies at El Cine Mireles, a theater in Marietta, Ga. What was your opinion of the experience?
A. The DEPT.13 Midnight Movies were pretty fun. The initial three nights
were successful enough to prompt the theater owner to extend the event
by one week, and invite DEPT.13 back at least once a month for as long
as the thing remains profitable. I was pleased with the turnout. Each night went as expected. The
majority seemed to enjoy themselves. It was fun.
Q. Where do you see yourself and Dept.13 ten years from now?
A. Acworth, GA.
Thanks Herb!
