Matthias Greving
He is the man behind Delver Glass Dollar Baby Film.
SKSM: Could you start with telling me a bit about yourself? Who are you and what do you do?
Matthias Greving: Hi Oscar here is a bit about me:
Matthias Greving, born in 1986, discovered his love for theatre at a young age through his passion for exciting stories. From there his involvement led to super8- films and television productions.
He studied media design and successfully completed training in film and television, going on to produce industry films and commercials. Greving continues to work for „Radio Bremen“ as a project planner and chief lighting technician.
His love for theatre did not fade over the years. As a drama lecturer he directed classic and modern plays with young people, aged 13 to 18, at a secondary school.
In 2009 Matthias Greving and Eike Kasper founded the production company „Kunst Licht TV.“
„Delver Glass“ is his first project in scenic directing, breaking from the theatre and television studio.
„Delver Glass“ is a special horror feature which requires acting skills similar to an intimate live play, thus the theatre experience of the actors was a decisive factor in choosing the cast.
SKSM: When did you make Delver glass? Can you tell me a little about the production? How much did it cost? How long did it take to film it?
Matthias Greving: We started pre-production in 2011 and finished in October 2012. It took us 8 days of filming with the whole crew and two more for effects and specials to finally capture all the images we needed. The whole production time is 25 months from idea to the first 35mm film copy. The movie cost nearly 60.000 Euro.
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?
Matthias Greving: The Reaper’s Image differs a lot from the bunch of stories that were available at the time I found it. I wanted to make a movie that captures its viewers and tears them into another world without displayed violence, screams and so on.
It’s a mixture of horror and mystery and the fact that it has not previously been done as a short film that convinced me.
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?
Matthias Greving: I just read about that by accident looking for information about Frank Darabont.
After several hours of searching the net I found the website and started reading.
SKSM: Was there any funny or special moment when you made the movie that you would like to tell me about?
Matthias Greving: In the need for a dollar note I wanted to go to a local bank when an old friend of mine gave me a call and we met for breakfast. I told him about the Dollar Baby and the dollar note and he laughed and gave a dollar note to me he received three years ago from a friend who had been to NYC. He had carried it for three years in his purse until that day…
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?
Matthias Greving: I would love to share the movie but I don’t think this will ever be possible because of the rights. They have been sold a year ago to Mark Pavia who is working on a movie right now.
SKSM: What “good or bad” reference have you received on your film?
Matthias Greving: We have received a lot of good feedback for film and cast. Now we hope to satisfy people around the world with our screenings on film festivals like the “Garden State Film Festival” in April 2013. Hope to meet you there!
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)?
Matthias Greving: Not yet. I hope to hear from him in the next months. During the production I stayed in contact with Margaret Morehouse.
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?
Matthias Greving: I would choose “The man who would not shake hands”. It’s a great story that can be told with atmospheric pictures and only a few !good! actors. I have written a complete adaption. But I don’t know if I will ever make a movie out of it.
SKSM: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Is there anything you want to say to your fans?
Matthias Greving:Try it. Make your own movie and use the chance Stephen King gives to all of us.
And please, if possible shoot on film – It makes nearly everything look more realistic and atmospheric than sterile 4K video pics. And it’s cheaper than ever.
SKSM: Do you have anything you’d like to add?
Matthias Greving: Thanks!
