SIN-JIN SMYTH IS A KICK IN THE TEETH!

On the edge of Los Angeles sits the old Warner Hollywood Lot (which is rumored to haunted by D.W. Griffith) One of the oldest working studio lots in the business, it has been home to almost everyone from Frank Darabont (Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) to Steven Seagal. It is currently used as a base of operations for SNAP KICK PRODUCTIONS INC., the team behind the upcoming film SIN-JIN SMYTH.

SINJIN SMYTH starts with the legend: Every Halloween at midnight, the Devil simultaneously appears in two places. The High Plains of India and…a quiet cemetery in Kansas! The story follows two federal marshals, one a war criminal back from Iraq, the other, a man who uses the Patriot Act to make his own rules, (played by Richard Tyson and Jason Hildebrant both from Black Hawk Down) as they report to the small town of Shin Bone Kansas (moments before a tornado warning) to transport a prisoner with no past and no identity. He is known simply as…SIN-JIN SMYTH!

Los Angeles based script doctor Ethan Dettenmaier (who wrote the piece) is the director and we are with him today at his production offices. And I should warn the audience that even though he is very polite, he is also very direct and straight forward. It may also interest the readers to know that even the storyboard art on the walls that he uses to illustrate the film is covered up and classified.

HORRORVIEW: Ethan, how are you?

ETHAN: How are you? I’m a big fan of Horrorview; the Production Office checks it out almost every day!

Thank you. Could you tell us a little about the film…?

I will only tell you what you already know. The legend and a little about the characters, other than that, the back bone of the story line is CLASSIFIED!

I see a lot of talk on the internet about who inspired you so I thought I’d skip all that and ask about the mood of the film…

Good question! The mood is dark.

Dark?

Very dark as in…good luck trying to find a happy place!

And how do you prepare the actors and get a sense of tone?

I told the actors when we first started to work out the script, to play it like a real mission, like a real assignment, not like two guys in a horror movie! I think that’s what made The Omen so effective is, it took a real approach versus say…End of Days.

You didn’t like End of Days?

Did you?

Ahhh, moving on-

Don’t get me wrong, in my opinion---and it’s just my opinion---but, as a member of the audience, the problem with that film wasn’t the concept or even Schwarzenegger, who has done some great work, the problem was stooping to simple tricks and gimmicks, and then wrapping it up in a mess of distracting CGI!

Does Sin-jin Smyth use CGI?

No. Every effect in Sin-jin Smyth happens on the set. I don’t think CGI is perfected yet and therefore shouldn’t be used as a crutch!

Getting back to something you said a moment ago, what is your favorite Schwarzenegger film?

There are some good ones but my favorite would be Conan. Then again, I respect the work and script work of John Milius quite a bit.

Could you give the readers some other work by John Milius they should check out?

From a script/story stand point, Apocalypse Now, Big Wednesday, Extreme Prejudice…

Who plays Sin-jin Smyth?

No comment.

The internet says-

The internet is wrong, that much I can promise you! You’ll most likely have an idea before the film comes out but, fortunately for us, casting is far from the only thing this movie’s got going for it!

Even though the concept is excellent, do you feel that horror is taken seriously?

Yes, by the fans and that’s all that counts! A horror film can still be a great film! No artist or film maker should put limitations on himself (or make excuses) based on working in a certain sort of medium. Ask the people who own the DVD of the Exorcist, thirty years after it hit the box office if they’re serious.

Is it true you waived your salary to make the film?

No, but I did put my paycheck back into the budget so we could get as much on the screen for the audience is possible…

So no money?

If it was about the money we would’ve sold out long ago!

But security-

My security is in my work ethic.

Is there a second SIN-JIN SMYTH in the works?

No.

Thank you for-

Thank you.

We look forward to some exclusive news form the set…

You’ll get it! Thank you for the time.

Contributed by Chris Essex…