Kenny Bates
He played in Sammy Bates’ The Reaper’s Image as John Delver.
SKSM: Could you start with telling me a bit about yourself? Who are you and what do you do?
Kenny Bates: My name is Kenny, my brother (Sammy) and I began film making a few years ago. We started out doing 5-10 minute short films for practice. We founded our own production company: Rotting Corpse Productions. As of right now The Reaper’s Image is our longest film to date (31 minutes).
SKSM: When did you make The reaper’s image? Can you tell me a little about the production? How much did it cost? How long did it take to film it?
Kenny Bates: We filmed it in 2012. Overall the production went smoothly. The film’s budget was a meager $300. All of which went into the mirror and catering for the cast/crew. It took approximately 4 months to shoot.
SKSM: How come you picked The reaper’s image to develop into a movie? What is it in the story that you like so much?
Kenny Bates: Well, I’ve always been fascinated with the Grim Reaper so it was really cool to do a film based on Stephen King’s interpretation.
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?
Kenny Bates: Our colleague Brandon Holbrook mentioned the idea. So we looked into the details on the site and checked out the available stories. So we were aware when we decided to do the project.
SKSM: Was there any funny or special moment when you made the movie that you would like to tell me about?
Kenny Bates: There was a pretty funny story. During our 1700’s scene at Waveland Historic site one of our actors Jeremy Fish (The Duke) was in full costume: white wig, pantaloons, etc. On break from filming he got in the black tricked out hummer he drove to the shoot and drove to the gas station down the road blaring rap music. He said people in traffic gave him some really strange looks but none as weird as the clerk at the gas station haha.
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?
Kenny Bates: It’s disappointing but I understand it is part of the contract. I doubt it’ll be changed anytime soon. We made promotional copies of The Reaper’s Image for conventions.
SKSM: What “good or bad” reference have you received on your film?
Kenny Bates: We premiered it March 16th at the Kentucky Theater in Lexington, KY in front of 100 people. Overall, the reaction was more positive than negative.
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)?
Kenny Bates: Not yet, we sent out the requested copy to him but haven’t heard anything back yet. Fingers crossed though!
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?
Kenny Bates: No immediate plans. If we could pick one however, it would probably be Suffer the Children. It’s such a good story and I think we could bring it’s creepiness to life.
SKSM: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Is there anything you want to say to your fans?
Kenny Bates: Thanks for all the support thus far! We’ve got a lot more in the works including a short slasher flick and a T.V. pilot for a comedy.
SKSM: Do you have anything you’d like to add?
Kenny Bates: I would just like to extend thanks for the interview. Also – a shameless plug (or two). Look us up/like us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/RottingCorpseProductions) and you can find us at www.RottingCorpseProductions.com!
