PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I’ve been sitting here trying to write an intro that fully encapsulates who Aaron B. Koontz really is. Because I fear leaving out the important stuff, I enlisted my pal and fellow horror nerd, Sarah Anne Stubbs—one half of Geeks Who Eat—to write something about her friend that would give our readers a glimpse of who this powerhouse is.
Sarah writes:
The horror community is full of fantastic creators. One of them is director, producer, and writer Aaron B. Koontz. This triple threat founded Paper Street Pictures, a boutique production company based out of Austin, and is responsible for bringing horror fans incredible films like Scare Package, The Pale Door, Starry Eyes, and the topic of today’s interview, The Pizzagate Massacre. Aaron is not only talented but he also shares his love of filmmaking with others through Blood Oath, a “curated group of like-minded, passionate experts in independent film, with an emphasis on genre filmmaking” who help others bring their projects to fruition. He also uses his platform and connections to bring awareness of the need for more marginalized voices in filmmaking. If you’re not following his work now, you should start.
Perfect!
PopHorror: Hi Aaron! I know you’re super busy so thank you so much for your time.
Aaron B. Koontz: I’m delighted to chat with you! We’re on the last day of our shoot here, and we’re kind of in the middle of nowhere Texas.
PopHorror: How exciting! So what was it about The Pizzagate Massacre that intrigued you and made you want to be a part of the project?
Aaron B. Koontz: I had heard about this a while back from some mutual friends, just that they were trying to make this ambitious film in Austin and knew a number of the crew. And I was sent an early look at it, and I just immediately was enamored with what they were able to pull off with the budget that they had. I just really thought that John [director Valley] had a very strong voice, and I thought he was really trying to say something unique about this space, with a topic that I think… You know, I think it’s very easy to be black and white about what’s been going on here. These individuals that have been thrown into this world, it’s actually sad that they’re being manipulated the way that they are and to go to the lengths that they would. The young man who went to the actual Ping Pong place—the pizza place in DC—if you really start to examine this, he was troubled. He actually thought he was doing something good, that he was doing something right. I think John tried to tap into this exploration of someone who was being led astray, but in their heart, they have good intentions. I think there’s an interesting human drama to that. I thought it was really compelling in his story.
PopHorror: You mentioned filming in Texas, and with Pizzagate being filmed in Austin, do you aim to film in Texas as much as possible? Is it important to you to keep it close to home?
Aaron B. Koontz: Yeah! That’s where I’m at right now, in Austin. We’re making this movie with Noah Segan [PopHorror interview] and Josh Ruben and that is all here in Austin. I love any opportunity to make a movie in Austin. It’s one I’m going to jump at. It’s been harder to do so in the indie film world because Texas does not have really strong rebates or tax incentives, whereas the surrounding states—Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico—they all have these amazing rebates that are 30-35% of your budget, and that’s a hard thing. You go to make a million dollar movie, and one state that’s four hours away will give you an extra $300,000, and that’s hard to turn down. So that’s something that we have to juggle. Fear the Walking Dead just left Texas for the rebates. It’s one of the reasons why. That entire show was filmed in the greater Austin area, and then they just had to leave because of that. But this one, John was able to pull this off with the local people with the deal that he had, and I think that’s part of why it just looks so much bigger than its budget and has a lot of scope for such a small film. And that’s just a testament to John and what he’s able to pull off. They’re just so efficient, and they understand how to do things smartly and safely. The Austin crews are just phenomenal. The crew we have right now is just unbelievable. There just has to be a very specific financial situation that allows us to do that. It’s unique and rare, rarer than it should be. Hopefully, it’ll pick back up and get the local politicians to change some of those laws. That’s what we’re trying to do in Texas.
PopHorror: I love hearing that you’re using local crews.
Aaron B. Koontz: All of them! Like I said, the one I’m on right now is friends that worked with me 10 years ago on our first short films. They’re now in this feature. That’s a really fun thing to do and introduce other folks who are coming in to this. I think it’s a really beautiful opportunity. There’s a lot of crew that we move from movie to movie and a lot of John’s crew… I didn’t hire John’s crew. I came in later in the process, but he worked with a lot of people that I knew already, so it’s still our crew. It’s just a coincidence that he uses the same folks.
PopHorror: That’s so cool! What is it that draws you to horror?
Aaron B. Koontz: Roger Ebert talked about how film is the ultimate empathy machine, and I think that horror, in particular, puts you in that where you’re just forced to… This person who you’ve never met and you’ve never known nut you care so much about their survival, right? And you’re caring so much about what it is they’re going through. The plight that they’re running through. And I think there’s something really beautiful about that. About how you get so immersed in them, and you’re just jumping out for them. You’re grabbing the person next to you for them because you’re hoping they can just pull their leg up just in time before something grabs them or sneak around the corner before the killer sees them. I think that tension is fun.
As a kid, I wasn’t allowed to watch horror films, so I had to sneak around to do it, and that made it that much more entertaining for me. That definitely has permeated ever since in my filmmaking sensibilities and led me to really try and recreate those moments as a kid. Some of those first couple horror movies, I had to sneak around to see, and being so scared… I just didn’t know you could watch a movie and feel that way. I think that is something that horror still does so well.
PopHorror: Yes!
Aaron B. Koontz: You can hide things in horror, too. As a kid, I would watch John Carpenter’s The Thing and just be blown away, and be like, “Aw, look at these cool effects! Look at that crazy dog when it turns into a monster and all this.” And that’s all it was to me. And Kurt Russell. And there’s a flame thrower. Now I’m like, “Wow!” This is a beautiful dissection of identity and classism and just who we are and who we’re trying to be and not be. And there’s just something beautiful that can be under the surface that’s there. Or right at the surface. These political messages, social messages… There can be heart. One of the mottos with Paper Street Pictures, my company, is “Horror with heart.” We take a lot of pride in that. You’re hopefully having something to say, and even if horrific things are done, you’re still trying to really connect with someone. You’re trying to make sure you have fun, or if it’s not fun, it at least has something to say in the process. I think that horror allows you to play with that. Mix these weird genres up and do that in a fun way. There’s not that many places you can do that as effectively.
PopHorror: I hear that a lot when interviewing from people who weren’t allowed to watch horror growing up. I love that a lot of those who have dedicated their lives to making horror movies—whether it be actors, filmmakers, or producers—a lot of them were not allowed to watch horror as children but found it somehow in their lives and made it their life’s work. I love how that works out.
Aaron B. Koontz: Much to my mother’s chagrin.
PopHorror: So what would be your weapon of choice in a zombie apocalypse?
Aaron B. Koontz: Oh, goodness. My weapon of choice would just be hiding. I would be the scared person who’s like… You know how they always end up in some hotel like the top floor. All my weapons would be used as barricades at every level of that floor to keep me at the top floor for as long as I possibly can. That’s what I would do. I’m not a fighter. I’d try to outsmart them. In season one of The Walking Dead, when they had to put all the gore on them in order to walk past them? That’s the most I would probably engage. Something like that. Just anything to outwit them rather than smash them.
PopHorror: At least you’re honest about it!
Aaron B. Koontz: It’s not my thing. In the zombie apocalypse, you have to have your right crew. So I feel like I would be the strategy person, and I’d want to hang out with Josh Ethier, have him be the muscle. I’d find those kinds of folks to help pair up with to survive. Creating the right group.
PopHorror: You mentioned that you are on the last day of shooting the project that you’re on, but what’s up next for you?
Aaron B. Koontz: I can’t say much about the project I’m on now. That’ll be announced sometime in the new year, but we just announced Scare Package II, which is so much fun. And we just released a little teaser. There’s not a lot that’s out about that other than what’s in the teaser, but I am over the moon excited about what that is. I think it’s really going to surprise people when they see the direction that we’ve gone. I directed the core version of the film, and then there’s a number of segments as well. We’ll be announcing those directors soon in the new year and the amazing cast that we have. We have a number of familiar faces, and it’s exciting.
Then we have The Requin that’s coming out in January, a shark film with Alicia Silverstone. Then we have Old Man with Stephen Lang that Lucky McKee directed. That’s coming out this year, and there will be news on that soon. Then we have Sorry About the Demon, which is Emily Hagans’ coming-of-age horror comedy which we announced with Shudder. That will be coming out later this year. And then I have another film called Revealer that’s coming out this year as well, and I will have news on that one soon, too, that Luke Boyce directed from Tim Seeley and Michael Moreci. There’s a number of movies.
And then we’re also in the throes of Shelby Oaks, Chris Struckmann’s directorial debut, and we have some news of that coming soon as well. So definitely busy. Had a very busy 2020 and 2021. We wrapped this movie today, and then I’m going to take the holidays off. The first couple months of the new year leading into SXSW, I’ll just be focusing on getting some movies through post and editing with a big focus on Scare Package II because that one is my baby. I love all the movies that we’re making and producing for the people, but Scare Package is just such a labor of love. We also had less money and less time, but we had the most fun. I just don’t know how to describe it. It’s this magical thing and people seem to really dig it, and I think they’re going to have a lot of fun with the next one, too.
PopHorror: That’s so amazing! I’m excited to see it. Just one last question for you today. What is your favorite scary movie?
Aaron B. Koontz: Goodness. Does it deliberately need to be scary? Or just a horror film?
PopHorror: Your favorite horror film. Whatever you find yourself watching the most.
Aaron B. Koontz: My all time favorite film regardless of genre is Jaws. And Jaws is a horror film, a monster movie in every way. So that will always be there. And I have to talk about The Thing. The Thing is definitely way up there as far as my favorite. And recently, with my girlfriend, we watched Aliens. Ah, Aliens is just so good.
Thank you so much, Aaron, for taking the time to speak with us. Be sure to catch The Pizzagate Massacre on VOD today!
