Adam Holtzapfel - With being based in Atlanta, home to Turner Broadcasting, what’s the indie scene like?

James Bickert - Many of us grew up on Ted Turner’s WTCG, now TBS, when it was a grab bag of cult TV re-runs, repackaged Japanese Kaiju shows, monster movies, World Championship Wrestling and Atlanta Braves baseball. He kind of influenced the kids of the South and turned us into the misfits we are today. Sadly, our local scene is a little spread out. There are many talented men and women working all over the state so I try to pull in as many as possible. With so much going on, it would be great to see someone with the resources other than The Walking Dead, which I’m a fan of, bring everyone together. It would take some serious marketing. Netherworld Haunted House was really good at facilitating that for several years and so was The Starlight Six Drive-In until they abandoned their hardcore fan base. There are so many sub-genres of horror these days, throwing a Cyrus style gathering like The Warriors would require reaching every local niche. Hopefully Frankenstein Created Bikers has a diverse enough cast, crew and musicians to rally the troops.

AH - Speaking of channels like TBS showing old monster movies takes me back to when I was a kid, do you think that's something missing from the horror community these days?

JB - I think you just get the information from so many places these days and there is so much of it. It loses that common bond you had with other kids on the school yard. Not that it's a bad thing necessarily. I mean, when i was growing up we had PBS, 3 Networks and WTCG. Obviously we were going to gravitate towards their programming instead of "Battle of the Network Stars" or "Masterpiece Theatre". We relished every moment of "Night Gallery" or anytime the network movie of the week was horror related. Kids today bitch about "The Walking Dead", I would have given my left nut for a zombie show.

AH - You shot Frankenstein Created Bikers in 35mm, what was that like? What made you want to use film instead of digital?

JB - I love working with film. It’s the nerdy photographer in me and having that hand-crafted aesthetic. My cinematographer Jonathan Hilton is a master of locating film stock and Kodak even pitched in some dead stock. It’s definitely a different way of working. Due to the cost, you rehearse the scene repeatedly until all the actors are comfortable, then you roll a take and one for safety. With digital you can just roll as much as you want, experiment and get plenty of cutaways. Film requires you to have the final cut happening in your head on set and it has to be right. I’m not anti-digital by any means. We had a Go-Pro for one drone shot. On my budgets, you can’t dangle off a cliff with a 60lb camera and Angénieux lens rental worth several hundred thousand dollars.

AH - Frankenstein Created Bikers is premiering at the Atlanta Film Festival on April 2^nd, how did that come to happen?

JB - I’m an alumnus of the festival from back in the 90s. Now in their 40^th year, ATLFF has blown up into one of the few Oscar qualifying festivals in the United States. Moviemaker called them one of the top 25 festivals in the world worth the entry fee so I said, “fuck it” and called them up. Their submissions were closed but I thought what the hell, I need to network more anyway. Maybe they’ll shut me up with a free 10 day pass or something and I can get some free drinks out of it. They watched a rough cut and freaked out! They waived the entry fee, offered me a red carpet premiere on their opening weekend in a prime-time spot at Atlanta’s oldest Independent Theater and they’re flying in Laurence R. Harvey. We’re in competition too, which is just nuts, so I had to get busy really fast and complete it. I’m glad I did, I just found out today were screening right after Richard Linklater’s new film!

AH - Do you view crowd funding sites like kickstarter being a help or hindrance to independent film makers?

JB - It’s definitely a help. I couldn’t have made this film without it. Legally, I can’t go into details but when I shopped this film around there was quite a bit of interest due to the international exposure of Dear God No! from satellite television in the UK and playing on television in Kosovo and Germany. It started to become clear that it was the concept they were after ti mold into whatever trend was selling at that time in Cannes and I would be replace by another writer with a different cast. Obviously, the director would have been the first thing to go when the ink was dry. Without crowdfunding I couldn’t have made the it on film with the cast I had.

AH - Speaking of the cast, you had Tristan Risk, Ellie Church, and Laurence Harvey to name a few. How did you go about casting for this film?

JB - We had our core group from 'Dear God No!" returning and I had met Laurence Harvey at Days of the Dead in Atlanta and we hit it off. We partied together in a few other cities and had made him an honorary Impaler at Texas Frightmare Weekend. Tristan Risk was suggested to me by Jill Gevarigizian. That was the score of the century! She showed up in character and needed little direction. Ellie Church and I have been friends through the convention circuit and I just knew I had to put her in a role that utilized her scream queen talents so that was always written with her in mind. I can't wait to cast her something more unconventional. Rotknee Leete and Nick Hood are phenomenal in their roles. I've known those guys for years and just knew the type of energy they would bring. The biggest discovery was Sarah Beth Moseley who Luke Godfrey from "Chambers of Horror" recommended. She is absolutely terrifying! Casting director Madeline Brumby found a ton of really impressive people too like Ben Bladen form "The Walking Dead" and the creators of "Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell". I could talk about our great cast for hours. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone at the premiere.

AH - When you’re home what’s your favorite thing to cook or spot to grab a bite to eat?

JB - I’m all about the BBQ pork, all the time. I’ll smoke it, grill it, whatever. I like to have folks over, drink beer, listen to old rock n roll and talk film all night. Maybe throw a few onto the backyard drive-in screen.

AH - Last but not least, what’s your favorite movie of all time?

JB - It’s a three-way between Paul Glickler’s The Cheerleaers, Orgy of the Dead, and Mondo Topless.