Taylor Simeon Doose
He is the filmmaker of The Man Who Loved Flowers Dollar Baby film.
SKSM: Could you start with telling me a little bit about yourself? Who are you and what do you do?
Taylor Doose: I am a writer/ director based out of Los Angeles. I have worked in everything from kids cartoons to big budget feature films and everything inbetween. Most of my own projects tend to lean towards horror, but I have had the most success with my documentary work. I am currently working towards shooting my first feature film later this year.
SKSM: When did you know you wanted to become a filmmaker?
Taylor Doose: I knew from a very early age that I wanted to be a story teller. I thought about being an author, a stand up comedian, and even a teacher, but once I realized that all of my lifes biggest lessons and in turn my moral compass had all come from the movies that had always been there for me. At 8 I got a camcorder for Christmas and faster than you can say filmmaker I was telling stories through the lense.
SKSM: When did you make The man who loved flowers? Can you tell me a little about the production? How much did it cost? How long did it take to film it?
Taylor Doose: We shot The Man Who Loved Flowers in 2017, so just shy of 4 years ago. It was done as a student film with a group of film students that had only done a few shorts up until this point. I self funded the whole project and ended up costing around $1,000. Being a student project we didn’t have a ton of time to put it all together, we had about a week of pre production, 2 days/ nights to shoot and about a week of post production. It was a pretty smooth production aside from all the usual prat falls that come with any production.
SKSM: How come you picked The man who loved flowers to develop into a movie? What is it in the story that you like so much?
Taylor Doose: I have always related more to the grounded horror stories, the horrors that could happen to any of us in the real world. I really enjoyed the juxtaposition in the original story between love and horror and how they are seperated by such a thin line.
SKSM: How did you find out that King sold the movie rights to some of his stories for just $1? Was it just a wild guess or did you know it before you sent him the check?
Taylor Doose: I had run across an artical online talking about great oppertunities for film students that talked about the dollar baby program and being able to obtain rights for $1. I discussed it with some of the other students. It didn’t take a lot of convincing, especially after I agreed to flip the bill.
SKSM: Was there any funny or special moment when you made the movie that you would like to tell me about?
Taylor Doose: The biggest suprise was in the casting process. It was the first time I had done a legintimate casting session. It was such an eye opening process as I went in having an idea of exactly the type of person I was looking for, but through the process and seeing how each actor interpeted the piece it changed who the charecters were and the tone of the whole piece.
SKSM: How does it feel that all the King fans out there can’t see your movie? Do you think that will change in the future? Maybe a internet/dvd release would be possible?
Taylor Doose: It is both thrilling and terrifying. Being able to see how different filmmakers approch the same story and interpet it is so great. Being able to connect with an audience is amazing, but knowing that if I had it all to do over again especially with how my skills have progressed I would love the oppertunity to do it all again and really impress the amazing King fans out in the world!
SKSM: What “good or bad” reviews have you received on your film?
Taylor Doose: Most of the reviews have been positive as far as the acting, writing, and music. The cinematogrphy has been critacized a bit, which again knowing what I know now we would have done things a lot differently. But we are alwasy our own worse critic so no matter what anyone has said I only see the problems.
SKSM: Do you plan to screen the movie at a particular festival?
Taylor Doose: By this point it has done it’s time. It was at a few festivals which was fantastic and now it can live forever online for everyone to enjoy.
SKSM: Are you a Stephen King fan? If so, which are your favorite works and adaptations?
Taylor Doose: I have been reading King for as long as I can rember. I am pretty sure I was reading The Shining and Salem’s Lot when the other kids were reading Goodnight Moon. I have always loved the original Pet Semetary, the IT mini series and Creepshow. But by this point it’s almost imposible to list all of the amazing adaptaions that we have.
SKSM: Did you have any personal contact with King during the making of the movie? Has he seen it (and if so, what did he think about it)?
Taylor Doose: Unfortunity I have not head if Mr.King has seen it, if he has I hope he enjoyed it and might consider letting me show him how much more prepared I would be to adapt his work now.
SKSM: Do you have any plans for making more movies based on Stephen King’s stories? If you could pick -at least- one story to shoot, which one would it be and why?
Taylor Doose: Given the oppertunity I would of course jump at the chance! I would love to adapt The Raft. It was my favorite part of Creepshow 2 and I think there is a lot of amaing story telling oppertunities still on the table especially with the technology not avalible.
SKSM: What are you working on nowadays?
Taylor Doose: Right now I am workng at getting more projects off the ground and freelancing whenever posible.
SKSM: What one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
Taylor Doose: That although I love horror over any other genre, my real dream is to direct a musical!
SKSM: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Is there anything you want to say to the fans that read this interview?
Taylor Doose: Just that if you want to do anything, just get out and do it! The only thing holding you back is you. It won’t be easy, it might feel imposible, but if you love it enough you can make anything happen.
SKSM: Would you like to add anything else?
Taylor Doose: Don’t let anyone define your life. Live everyday like tomorrow is not a gurentee, becasue it’s not.
