By Jesus Gomez
Last week was the second annual “Alternating Currents” event which was from August 23 to August 26. The event included music, comedy, film, and art. There were more than 100 events indoors and outdoors at different venues all around downtown Davenport. Most of the events were free of charge and for all ages. Some of the events included Laugh track, Omg Becky fest, Paradigm virtual reality. There was also a screening and Q&A of “A QUIET PLACE” with the writers and movie makers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. “Hola America” got a chance to meet them and interview the Bettendorf natives.
1.What movie made such impact on your life that you decided to go into making movies and what age were you?
Scott B.: Jurassic Park. After watching it I would wonder what it would be like if dinosaurs started wondering around on I-80. I also dressed like Steven Spielberg for a class project and researched what it takes to be a filmmaker.
Bryan W.: Star Wars, because as kids our first movies were with Star Wars action figures.
- How did you come up with the monster?
Scott B.: The monster is many different creatures fused together. We’ve always wanted to make a silent film without any dialogue with a complete focus on sound design. Making sound the scariest tool in your tool box.
Bryan W.: We always try to think of the scariest scenario we can come up with.
*When asked about the monster’s origin they said they could not say much about this topic because they are currently working on a sequel. But, the only thing they could say is to look for clues in the newspaper clipping shown throughout the movie.
- Why did you use a corn field?
Scott B.: Every script we write we think; could this be in Iowa? We grew up here and we don’t see this area often represented on screen so it’s always fun to find those times when you can put the area that you love on screen. We find that “A QUIET PLACE” was the perfect movie for it. Having the movie being filmed on a farm in New York they had to buy millions of dollars of corn that way the corn was 10 ft. tall and it looked scary and intimidating.
- If you could sit down and have a conversation with anyone who would it be and why?
Bryan W.: I would talk to Alfred Hitchcock who has made some of my favorite movies and has a huge body of work. I have yet to see a bad movie of his.
Scott B.: Charlie Chaplin. When he started making movies way back he started by telling stories without making a sound. He had full command of his audience and was able to deliver his movies time and time again. Bringing a lot of emotions to people from comedy to heartwarming drama. To pick his brain would be fascinating.
- Who’s your favorite novelist?
Scott B.: We have some inspirational ones. We love to read the draft of alien. The writer wrote the script in such a way that when you read the script you feel like you really are on an isolated space ship. It’s scary and claustrophobic and they can communicate that just on the way they chose their words.
Bryan W.: Stephen King. We’re actually writing a Stephen King movie right now.
- How does it feel like to work with Stephen King?
Bryan W.: It’s exciting, surreal, and hard to believe but also scary because you want to do well so he’s happy with it.
- What movie are you working on with Stephen King?
Bryan W.: “The Boogeyman”. It’s actually our favorite book he has written. We believe it’s the original IT. In many ways you can draw a clear line from the Boogeyman to IT.
Scott B. It’s something he wrote in early on and it’s very raw.
We would like to thank Bryan Woods and Scott Beck for giving us this interview. Also, we would to thank the directors of “Alternating Currents” for bring us this event and making it possible for the community and youth to experience such a variety of the arts.
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