Doug Spearman is known for being in front of the camera as a cast member of the 2005 LOGO TV series Noah's Arc, but it is his work behind the scenes as a writer and director that is taking him to new places.
Spearman is bringing his directorial debut film ( he has been a commercial director for 22 years )Hot Guys with Guns ( HGWG ), what has been called the first gay action movieto Chicago's Reeling International LGBT Film Festival Nov. 11. Spearman is not going to be idle anytime soon. He is about to embark on another theatrical journey with the upcoming movie Welcome, Sinners, a romantic film about two men from different worlds who are drawn to each other.
Windy City Times: What has been the reaction to Hot Guys with Guns from the audience at film festivals?
Doug Spearman: I am extremely happy with the way the film is being received and I can always tell when the audience is in. There's a joke that happens two and a half minutes into the movie. If they get the joke then I know they're going to go along for the ride.
WCT: On your Twitter profile you refer to yourself as an "all-around hard-ass."
DS: I like to get shit done. So help or get out of my way. I'm at a certain age where there is way more sand on the bottom of the hourglass than there is on the top. I like a neat house and I like things to move and in order. I tend to say what's on my mind a lot and I am very distinct and clear about what I want, what I mean and what I say. That can be challenging for people.
WCT: You work with your friends in your films, like Darryl Stephens in HGWG and the upcoming Welcome, Sinners. Are you harder on actors who are your friends?
DS: Yes. I really believe in them and I get to see things in them, like any director. I take them aside and I say, "Here's what I see and here's where you're not doing the work so here's what you need to do, so let's get on it."
WCT: Welcome, Sinners is an updated version of a lot of romantic films such as Making Love, the 1982 movie about a married man who confronts his long-repressed attraction to other men.
DS: When I saw it I was in college and it's the only time I've ever put on dark glasses and snuck into a movie theaterI went to college in a very small town in Indiana. I thought the movie was amazing and great and I was kind of breathless.
WCT: Tell me about the Indiegogo campaign for Welcome, Sinners, a film that you wrote, will direct and executive produce.
DS: For the Indiegogo photo shoot, I wanted cast portraits, like unified advertising, and I'm going to put out a coffee table book of those portraits. That's part of the Indiegogo perks.
WCT: The theatrical release of Hot Guys with Guns is set for 2014 and it will be on Netflix sometime after that. It will be distributed by Wolfe Releasing?
DS: It's a real honor because Wolfe is a fantastic company and Barbara and Kathy Wolfewho run the companyand Maria Lynn, who is the president, have such great ethics. They are really out there for the filmmaker and for the audience. They were with us from the very beginning and they believed in me.
WCT: How far along are you with the sequel to Hot Guys with Guns?
DS: It's completely outlined but I won't start writing it until next summer because I need a break.
WCT: You will be at the Reeling International Film Festival in Chicago Nov. 11. Why is Hot Guys with Guns an important film for the LGBT community?
DS: Independent film is important to support. If you want to see people and scripts and dialogue, it's going to be in a smaller film. We're the ones who are going to be replacing all those other people in Hollywood that are no longer going to be making movies. Hollywood can't afford to support itselfan old economic model. The LGBT community needs to apologize to LGBT audiences because I think that for a long time we made movies that did not live up to their hopes and dreams in terms of style, acting and production value.
What me and my partners and producers are trying to do is raise that bar. If LGBT audiences don't support their own films, then no one's going to make our movies. If we don't make our movies then we don't get our stories told. And if we don't get our stories told then we are not part of the cultural tapestry in the country of the world that we live in.
Hot Guys with Guns will be screened at the Reeling International LGBT Film Festival Nov. 11. For more info, visit www.reelingfilmfestival.org . More about Hot Guys with Guns is at www.hotguyswithguns.com .