Official Teaser

Ward you are the writer and director for "Dust Up"... Tell us how the idea for the film came about?

So many places. Primarily it was my mother, Ingeborg, moving to Joshua Tree in 2006. I went out to visit her for the first time and was like, "Oh fuck yes. We have to shoot a movie out here." Around that time I was also growing obsessed with westerns. I really wanted to create a modern-day western, a western in disguise if you will, that today's audiences would connect with and respond to. The third major influence was that of the music of Spindrift, Gram Rabbit and Ted Quinn. I listened to their albums non-stop during the writing and editing of the film which had a profound effect on everything from the moods of the film to many of the major themes.


Spindrift's "Hellbound" official video for "Dust Up"

Ward, is "Dust Up" your first film or have you written others?

It is my second feature film. The first one was "Little Big Top", starring Sid Haig, about a clown who returns to his hometown intending to drink himself to death. To fund his boozing he ends up coaching a troop of hapless clowns down at the local circus who reawaken his love for performing and life itself. It is dark, weird, funny and shot entirely in my hometown of Peru, Indiana which has a rich circus history and a real amateur circus that I performed in as a child. You can see "Little Big Top" currently on Netflix and Amazon Prime.

I am very impressed by the dialogue in the film. How long did it take to get such snappy and smart lines for each character?

Total writing time clocked in around 3 - 4 months.

Ward, you are also an actor tell us about some of your roles?

I am most proud of the work I've done with filmmaker Travis Betz, including leading roles in his feature films joshua and Lo. They are astoundingly original works of art and I'm honored Travis cast me in both projects. Most recently I was on Hawaii Five-O which was a blast. and i have popped up on a couple other network shows like NCIS. I was also a regular on a totally goof-ball series on SpikeTV called MANswers.

I understand you also appear on screen in "Dust Up"?

Indeed. I get fucked in the ass. Suck on that Hitchcock.

I am very impressed by your mother, Ingeborg Roberts.. Tell us about your mother's involvement with the film?

As alluded to earlier, without Mom there is no "Dust Up". Period. The film doesn't exist. Shit, I don't exist. I certainly wouldn't have become someone who dedicated my life to creativity without her profound influence. Honestly there is nothing in my life or in Dust Up that can't be directly traced back to Mom. Specifically she worked tirelessly for months on end to make sure we could actually get this bastard shot in 4 weeks up in the high desert. She called in endless favors from her overwhelmingly supportive friends in the Joshua Tree community, many who are super cool artists in their own right, to pull off a film that seemed impossible to make with practically no money. Thank you, Mom!

Was it hard to get funding for shooting the film?

Incredibly. Everybody said no, save a couple family members and a couple of friends.

How did you go about casting the film? Did you develop any of the roles in the film for a specific actor to portray? and what about your villain Buzz?

Absolutely. Jack was written for Aaron Gaffey, Mo for Devin Barry and Herman for Travis Betz. I wrote Buzz for myself but decided to cast Jeremiah Birkett instead. It was maybe my single smartest decision as a director on this film. I filled out other roles with friends like the beautiful Galicia Vaca Lopez and Mike Nelson and Christian Badami... both crazy talented dudes... and our VFX genius Tom Devlin brought in Al Burke to play Mr. Lizard and Ezra Buzzington to play Sheriff Haggler. Nicely done, Tom.

Tell us about the female lead Ella played to perfection by Amber Benson. Did you know that Amber was the one for the role?

The only audition we had was for Ella. Amber Benson came in and nailed it to the Gdamn wall. I told her we were going to war on this film and was she down to get dirty in the trenches with some hardcore indie filmmakers and she was all in because she is a badass indie filmmaker herself and voila... she is now a dear friend.

I have seen her in numerous things.. Can you tell the readers what they may best know her from?

She played Tara in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If you want to see jaws drop walk around Comic-Con with Amber. Buffy peeps LOVE them some Amber.

How large of a cast did you have in the film?

When you add in all the extras I'd imagine we came close to 100 peeps.

Aaron Gaffey who portrays your vigilante Jack is very impressive. How did you find him?

We cast Gaffey to play opposite me in joshua, Travis' first film, and he has been our brother from another mother ever since.

However I was most taken by the Native American co-hort Mo. His name is Devin Barry tell the readers about him?

Devin is a fucking asshole. Just kidding. He stood up at my wedding. He, Travis and myself met doing improv in college. We all roomed together when we first moved out to Los Angeles. He is in almost everything Travis and I do, plus 1 billion commercials, some other indie films and he does stand up.

I remember him from a TV show called "Rita Rocks" with Nicole Sullivan from Mad TV he was in a band if I am not mistaken... Did he ever mention that show?

He did. He is buddies with Nicole through another college pal. Small world…

Can you tell us the locations where you shot the film?

The Palms in Wonder Valley, a private residence in Joshua Tree, then up at this mindblowing property above Pioneer Town that has a solar-powered concrete TeePee and countless other trippy features. Having these set ready locations made art direction and production design very organic.

How many camera's did you use?

Mostly one, our genius cinematographer Shannon Hourigan's own Canon 7D, but my good pal Mo T rolled in with another 7D and a 5D for the big crowd scenes.

I understand that Dust Up was screened at the Silent Movie Theater in early 2012 and that you landed a deal. Tell us about that?

We skipped the festival circuit and went straight to distribution. We teamed up with Tugg out of Austin, TX to screen the film in about 20 cities, just as out digital release hit all in over 100 million homes, thanks to Mia Bruno and the good peeps at Gravitas Ventures. Finally the fine folks at Breaking Glass put the dvd out a few weeks later, including in Best Buys and Blockbusters across the country. It was the kind of perfect release a teeny indie film doesn't even dare to dream about.

The movie has been getting rave reviews. Tell us about some that you are most proud of?

Each and everyone… from a big reviewer on a big website, to a fan in passing at a coffee shop... who says he watched the film and loved it. We spent 3 straight years working and hoping and fending off nervous breakdowns Just so that we could give people 90 minutes of a good damn time. www.dustupfilm.com/press/

I personally see "Dust Up" becoming a cult classic in the vein of Rocky Horror Picture Show, Rock n Roll High School and Pink Flamingo's. How would you feel about that?

Thank you for seeing us worthy to be in the company of such grand cult classic favorites. That most certainly would be a dream come true…, that is of course what I wish for…, it is what all of us involved with "Dust Up" would love to see happen. To have this film continuously introduced, for decades to come, on screens and in living rooms to select crowds of smart, fun-loving people to who really get it, ya know?

Who are some of your favorite filmmakers?

The Coen Brothers, Sergio Leone, Wes Anderson, Tarantino, Kubrick, John Waters, early Tim Burton, Howard Hawks, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Jackie Chan and on and on and on...

Favorite films?

Raising Arizona, Rushmore, Pulp Fiction, Dr. Strangelove, Network, The Good The Bad and The Ugly, Goonies, There Will Be Blood, Rio Bravo, and on and on and on...

One of my personal favorite films is "Freeway" starring Reese Witherspoon, Amanda Plummer and Kiefer Sutherland.. Are you familiar with the film by the the fabulous Matthew Bright?

I am sorry to say I have never seen it. I should go watch it now and then come back and answer this question and pretend that I had seen it years ago. I will watch it now that I've been caught in an interview with my pants down.

Do you have any other film projects that you are working on?

Tons of scripts and ideas in different stages of development. Hopefully one of them gets made soon!

Tell us what the rest of 2013 has in store for "Dust Up"

Through the magic of digital streaming I hope every single reader of this interview watches "Dust Up", whether on Amazon, iTunes, Youtube, or Vudu or just goes balls out and buys the dvd. Then I hope every single reader of this interview then goes and convinces five of their friends to do the same. Then I hope that same thing will be happening with lots of people everywhere.

Any parting words for Punk Globe readers?

Ginger rawks!!!



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