Film Courage: I know we touched on some of this previously. I'm wondering if you could
just go back to the hardest year for you as a filmmaker and why? And then the
easiest year for you as a filmmaker and what was your what was the outcome of
your thought after experiencing both years? Kenneth Castillo, Filmmaker: Wow! Those were back-to-back the
worst year and my best year were back-to-back and some I mean try to give
you the cliff notes but like 2010 like I mentioned earlier starting with my son
getting in an accident I was getting ready to get ready to shoot my third
film and you know on the day after his accident basically I literally had set
my script to my producer that morning the morning my son was in his was
injured so my assistant director was already scheduling things and and and
getting things you know starting our prep and I was supposed to shoot that in
February so you know they were calling me she was calling me and people were
calling I wasn't answering my phone obviously my son was my number one
priority and when I got on like where the hell are you we got this fit we have
questions about this that in the other and I called him I said my son was in an
accident he's in ICU and I don't I just don't have any answers for you you have
my script you paid me for it if you want if you guys got to stay with that
schedule just do whatever you want with
it get another director I don't care and my
producer at the time was knew my family so he was just like don't worry about
anything we're ready when you are then they had that you know they had a deal
with blockbuster so they had to get movies out at certain times he's like
well we'll figure it out he said just don't worry about the movie take care of
your family and just you know keep us posted on how Julian's doing and that
just made me feel good from a producer to saying that because I wouldn't I
wouldn't have faulted them if he had just said you know what we're gonna hire
another director because we have a schedule but you know of course you know
stay with your son so it wasn't till like three weeks after that accident and
he got home that my wife said make your movie he's fine and I said I
want to go anywhere really I just wanted to be if my son she's like you you love
this script you put your heart and says he's fine he's totally fine you know and
go make your movie so I called my producer I said that's what's just
started on pre-production he's like we're already there I said I go did you
hire director he's like nope we knew we know you're coming back listen all right
so I went to shot my third film and I edited in Mexico City when I got back I
got told that and this is the bad year this I got told by an actor I was
working with that he's got his life story produced he's a bipolar Golden
Gloves boxer who was an actor and he's got the money from this these two
brothers that wanted to produce his film and and then when I gotten back from
Mexico I was told by my producer we have the money to do your your fourth sounds
like great what's their all get started so I started not bartending as much
because I was working so heavily on two scripts at the same time which I don't
necessarily suggest but they were what was great about that is when I would
submit an idea for one of the scripts they would come back from producers they
didn't like the scene I would take that scene and put it from my other script so
I was able to take mix and match them a little bit that was a great time but
then at the end of that process like I was ready I was like okay good let's go
I was wanting to quit my job I wanted the the financing for both these to go
through and then it was there's some skepticism and then blockbuster went out
of business and that just killed the fourth the budget for the fourth film so
I was like okay I still have counterpunch and then those two punks
there were producers decided that they were gonna use my connections to do
their thing and they didn't want to produce our thing anymore they were
gonna do their own thing and they end up doing some stereotypical really crappy
horror thing that they did so I was just like left holding this bag and I'm like
and I'm like two months behind on our mortgage and I'm like I've got to get
back to work so I just threw those both you know in a bin and I was
work and I was just like picking up shifts left in Ryan's working five six
shifts a week and I just was not making enough money because it was the economy
turn around at that time and I just couldn't catch up I couldn't catch up
man and I just by the time December rolled around I was
ready to premiere my third my third feature film it was very ironic because
that Raley studios and it was probably the week before that is very it's very
strange when you're doing your dream but you're your life is kind of going south
right but this is going it was it's this weird tug-of-war and I just remember
after telling my wife look I messed up we're losing the house we're gonna have
to move I don't know how aggressive they are
gonna be at coming to take the house my biggest fear was coming home and there
being a locket picking up my kids and there being a lock on our front door and
we can't get into our house I guess we're gonna have to move right after
this shoot right after this the screening and she was so gracious about
it and I remember sitting outside going I'm screening my third feature film next
week and I'm losing my house how did I even get here and I remember
going to Raleigh studios to test out I was basically at that point thing and I'm
gonna stop after the third one I'm gonna stop I've given up so much and
sacrificed so much after this third one I'm done and I remember going to rally
studios and I was gonna do a test of my hard drive because Louie was on the hard
drive and the projectionist was there and you know these guys they do this
this is their job they've seen a million filmmakers come in and they could care
less he just wants to get in and out we're gonna do it we're gonna do a test
I'm gonna go to every ten minutes to see if it's okay I'm like okay cool I go I
just have a concern about the first ten minutes here and then we'll jump he's
like all right so go ahead and sit down you can call me so I'm sitting in this
Raliegh's studio screening watching my movie up there and I'm like this first
time I'm seen on the big screen I've edited a million times on the small
screen but all of it was just so big and the
nuance and the performances and it was there and I'm just like watching it
going wow I'm watching it for the first time by myself at Raleigh Studios and
before I knew it I'm like two-thirds the way through and I haven't heard from the
projectionists and I'm like oh darn I only have like a half hour to really be
there I only have a half-hour time to test my movie so I turn around and he's
like four rows behind me watching the movie and I can I go like this to him
and he's like don't worry about don't worry about he starts he's watching my
movie he got into my movie and I just was like it was a just a great moment
and it's such a target time for me and I remember going to him going and we
watched the whole thing so me and him watched all things like loved it loved
it is I see so much stuff come in here man with he's always your budget on that
and I told him and he's like no way no way
he saw I'm gonna keep my eye on you I go thanks so much man and and then you know
we had the screening it was a great screening and it got distribution and
that again it wasn't enough money by that time I had I was already gotten
another apartment we were moving out so 2010 ended with us losing our house and
moving and you know having movies out I was still doing shorts I'm still writing
I was still doing all those things so then when we moved out I was pretty much
done with filmmaking I basically said this is too much of a sacrifice that I
put on my family if it was just me who cares right but you have a tough
conversation with my wife and kids and 2010 sorry 2020 oh yeah so we get
the 2011 and it wasn't dire we weren't homeless you know we I I had three it
was actually a really good lesson in negotiation particularly if I come
against producers or distributors again but I had three real estate agents that
were like hawks, like rats trying to get our house and so I basically I emailed
them individually saying I have five other real estate agents that are
offering me this amount of money to move out in three weeks whichever one of you
comes with the with the highest number is the one
that's going to get this house because I had to sign off on on giving it to them
and so I got a good chunk of money to have a little bit of a nest day you know
I was broke and my credit was shot everything was shot get us into a nice
apartment and then start over sorry just real quick how did they know
that they must have checked the bank records yeah okay it's a whole racket
man it's a whole racket the banks were never going to narrow no intention of
helping people keep stay in their homes because it would have been very easy to
do so I I was like January February of 2011 now and I'm done done my family's
safe we're in a nice place on a balcony I'm reading a book
my producer calls I'm like what does he want hey what's up hey man fourth
feature is on we got some money we're gonna go forward I go no no I'm not
doing it and he's like what do you mean you're not doing it he's like we loved
your script we're gonna go forward to shoot Mexico I said no no I'm not doing
it he's like well I go what's the budget and the budget was just ridiculously low
I go my film can't be shot for that he's like we'll make it happen man he they
were looking out for their company they want to stay relevant I go let me write
something else that's smaller no we can make it we can do it we can do it and I
said alright alright let's do it and so then it was just hard to cast because
the budget was so low but I was felt like okay here's my second shot right
I'd have to worry about money at this point we had money in the bank we were
safe I'm gonna go make another movie I thought my career was done that was a
bad motivation to go make that movie because I pulled in some really great
cast and I just didn't do right by them and that film even though I loved the
process of it it was still compromising too much for the budget but we did it
and at the end of that I was in Mexico on our last two nights of shooting
and the producer for the counterpunch project calls me says where are you I
said in Mexico he's like I got the funding for counterpunch now you need to
come and interview with these producers because they're interviewing directors
from CAA and William Morris and you know all the big agencies and I'm like no
that's my movie man I wrote it like they're gonna pay for the script but
they don't want you to direct it well that's nonsense and he says well when
can you get here I go I wrap in two days I'll be there in two days and I go set
up a meeting for Monday I get back on Sunday he's like okay so I tell my
editor who was with me on set at the time because he was cutting the movie as
I was shooting that was my normal process I love to do that haven't had
the luxury of doing that so I said I told my editor
okay stop what you're doing he's like what I go stop editing I need you to cut
me a trailer he's like why I go because our next gig is going to be based on how
good that trailer is he's all serious I said yeah I go you're coming with me on
that one I go but I need you to cut it you have
24 hours he's like okay so he's like cutting the trailer and he's not working
on the movie so my producer on that film is telling me why isn't the editor
working on the movie he's working on a trailer already I go well I like the
cast to see what you know how the things coming together and so they feel good
about what we're doing and he's like you have what we're losing time and money
and I said yeah I know but just let it let us so he's almost done just let me
finish the trailer and then he'll get back to editing so okay cool so he
spends like two days on this trailer and my producers mad and we get into the
room and he's I need to have a meeting with you I go okay just a second I bring
the whole cast in we have we own this we're in this hotel then bring all the
whole cast and crew in there I know Steven play the train trailer plays a
trailer and everyone just loses it a trailer just nails everything I'm trying
to do with this movie and my producer is very happy so he's like okay no worries
so I get back on Monday I have that trailer with me and the producer she's
Hungarian very tough this is a dear friend of mine now it's a very tough
Hungarian woman and I'm sitting inside and she's like so why do i why am i
meeting with you you're not with CAA you're not with William Morris you're
not with this you know that why am I even talking to you we're gonna pay you
as a writer why do think you should direct this and I said
well I just shot this film I got back from I'd love ready to see the trailer
of it wait I mean you just shot it I go I just wrapped it yesterday she's like
yesterday Sunday I said yes and you have a trailer already I said yes let me see
it's a turn around she's watching the trailer and I just sir she had folds my
laptop down she looks at me she's like okay I go thank you appreciate your time
and she had another partner actually and then she called me and said I needed to
speak to my partner first I said sure no problem it was like a five-minute
conversation after that and I got that gig so I got that right after I got back
from so I was in post-production on my fourth and in pre-production on my fifth
and that was my best year man it was just moviemaking non-stop and yeah it
was great and that the fifth one they both got distribution the fifth one got
picked up by Lionsgate and was on Netflix it's actually I just got word
that it's making its China debut this movie came out five years ago it's
making its China debut in October and it's UK debut just last month so that
movie is still got legs it's a boxing film it's a genre film so those films
kind of they can go a little bit they go longer they have a long shelf life so
that was my my worst and best years back to back and those two in themselves
would be a book but I managed to keep them to two chapters two very long
chapters but what was your takeaway of all that like just from having those
back to back I didn't have time to think about anything you know am i I just
didn't have time to think about it I just felt like I've been through the
worst of it and I got two more opportunities to do something and then
of course after counterpunch we screen counter plans for my producers from the
fourth we're like now we got something do you have something for year six I
said yes and and then shot that one in March of 2012 you know so
it's all started kind of that those relationships started because I was
building something with them at least I thought I was building something with
them which was the troupe of actors and everything else and then it just started
to rot from the inside out and I had to walk away from all of that everything I
had built because people had cheapened the entire thing for their own gain and
for their own narcissism and so since then you know I'm gonna start it over
that's when I started marigold and marigold was like I'm gonna do something
that nobody can copy but some people tried to copy that as well so but that
movie hasn't I haven't put that one out there as much because I don't need to
I'm gonna wait until I can I can put it somewhere where people will see it and
no hurry I've got other things I'm writing I have six films out there I
have an incredible reel I don't need to just put it out there
just to put it out there I love it too much to just stream it on Amazon for you
know what it you know anybody can do that that's not distribution you know I
want it on Netflix that's where I want it I'm not even looking at a theatrical
I'm looking at just Netflix you know so I'm I hang on to it when did you start
writing it which one marigold I didn't write anything it's completely untrue
okay yeah I mean that one I would say is not lying out line I would come up with
scenarios and characters and I would communicate those things to the actors
but they didn't have a script it's improv oh yeah so I I prefer unscripted
only because it sounds like there wasn't a plan there was a plan and there was a
vision we just weren't confined to dialogue and it was really a tenuous job
for my editor and she was a new editor that I found I loved her
because she found the story and she crafted the story and stayed with she
stayed with me with that movie for a good two years and now she's working on
bigger and better things so I'm real excited for her as well so I'm a
training ground for people who are going to move on to bigger and better things
you