Recently we here at Gutmunchers.com had the chance to ask actor/director Rick Schroder some questions about his recent movie Hell Hounds. 

Gutmunchers: You have spent much of your career as an actor.  How different is it to be a director?  Which do you enjoy more?

Schroder: I love it all and am so glad I don’t have to choose. My first theatrical film I wrote and Directed is called BLACK CLOUD. The story of a Native American Golden Gloves fighter. HELL HOUNDS is my second full-length movie and for the SYFY Channel. Directing and writing enable me to immerse myself in all disciplines involved with filmmaking.

Gutmunchers: How did you select Hellhounds as a project?

Schroder: I knew the producers since 1988. I worked for them on the western Lonesome Dove. I had just finished making the TV Version of “Journey to the Center of the Earth” for them and heard about HELL HOUNDS. I was a D&D player as a kid and Greek Mythology has always intrigued me. Think of Hell Hounds as a tribute to the SINBAD Movies of the 70’s.

 

Gutmunchers: What challenges did shooting a movie like Hellhounds on a budget present?

Schroder: We made the movie 15 days, it was a small miracle we pulled off. Romania is a massive country and the mountains we filmed in we’re very rugged and remote. Our budget was tight, so that forces creative solutions. But, we still had over 50 CGI shots in the movie.

Gutmunchers: Also did shooting in Romania present any special problems that you had to overcome?

Schroder: My crew spoke either Romanian or French, very little English, so that was a unique problem. I remember once; I asked for RED Lighting in the Temple of the Damned sequence. All of a sudden the lighting is GREEN. They had thought Red was Green and we had to scramble to change the gels in front of all the lights.  Also roving packs of hungry and half wild dogs harassed you quite often. Literally real hellhounds on the loose in Romania. I was chased up a tree once.

Gutmunchers: Are you a fan of the sci-fi and horror genre?  If so what are some of your favorite movies?

Schroder: I have always like Horror and Fantasy films. Star Wars is why I am an actor. I grew up with THE SHINING, HALLOWEEN, FRIDAY THE 13TH, DAWN OF THE DEAD. AVATAR IS A MASTER PIECE!!!!!

Gutmunchers: What is your next project as either an actor or director?

Schroder: I am writing several projects currently, including a horror film. I’m having a great time. I am also developing a show at A&E for me to star in tentatively called LAPD: HOLLYWOOD.

We here at Gutmunchers.com wish to thank Mr. Schroder for taking the time out of his busy day to answer some questions for us.