One year, six months, and eleven days ago we got a chance to sit down with F.C. Rabbath just as his film, A Brilliant Monster (2018), was about to have its world premiere at the famous Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California. Having piloted that film to success did Mr. Rabbath take a long vacation? Did he rest on his laurels or ride off into the sunset? Certainly not!
Aiming for a June 2020 release, F.C. Rabbath’s next horror-related project is a horror/comedy/romance called The Waiting. Based on his 2016 short film, One More Time…
The new feature-length film is described as:
The story of Eric, a new hotel employee who stumbles upon an open secret. One of the rooms is haunted. Eric decides it’s in both his and the hotel’s best interest to help remove the ghost. However once he meets the ghost, everything changes.
http://waitingmovie.com/
We checked in with the prolific indie filmmaker, managed to get our grubby little paws on a few shots from his latest production, and chatted with him a bit…
When last we talked, your previous film (A Brilliant Monster) was just about to have its world premiere at the Chinese Theater. Since then, it was picked up for distribution by Gravitas Ventures and given the whole DVD, Blu-ray, 4K treatment.
On a scale of “Just Another Day at the Office” to “OMG! I Won the Lottery!”, how does that feel as an indie filmmaker?
It was definitely nice to have a film go places after working so hard on it! It feels great to get attention for the cast and crew. They did a wonderful job and I’m happy to know it contributed to some of them getting more work. With indie films, money is never really the reason anyone is doing these projects. So any reward outside of that is always a blessing.
That same interview was also the first time we’d heard about your next project, The Waiting. Now that The Waiting is all but released, what juicy details can you give us about the plot your new comedic horror/romance?
It’s really a one of a kind project, a horromedy if you will. I’ve really enjoyed genre bending. The story is unique, fun, and the cast and crew are even better! I’m very excited to share this story with everyone!
After having a sneak peek at a few clips from The Waiting, one of the themes seems to be the difficulty in making personal connections in today’s society; especially with regards to dating. What prompted you to shine a light on that topic?
I feel that today, more than ever, we are connected digitally but the most disconnected human-wise. I felt we’ve treated relationships like objects and I’m always amazed at how quickly people can move from person to person. I felt a film to showcase that with a good message is just what the doctor ordered if someone felt similarly, which I suspect is many people.
It looks like quite a few cast members from A Brilliant Monster are returning for roles in The Waiting. In cases like this where you’ve worked with the actors before, do you find yourself designing characters for specific people? Or does the casting process still hinge on auditions and so on?
I do custom make roles for most of my films, but it’s really really hard to cast as finding reliable people is one of the most difficult things in this industry. I really enjoy our little family and I try to keep casting talented AND reliable people. I’ve turned away talented people who weren’t reliable. Sadly there are many talented people who don’t get work due to low work ethic.
Were there any unforeseen hiccups to contend with during filming? From the behind the scenes video, it sounds like you run a tight ship.
Indeed! Just a few tiny issues and re-casting due to scheduling but for the most part it was as smooth as it can be for sure a low budget film!
Now that filming’s done, it’s time for all the post-production magic to begin. Visual effects, submitting the movie to festivals, and so on. How much of this do you handle yourself?
I am doing most of the VFX work minus the intro VFX, but I like to really control the editing process as it’s the final say of the project. Everything can be changed but the editor makes the final call.
You’ve got June 2020 slated for the release of The Waiting. Presumably, that means it’ll be enjoying all the attention of the summer festival circuit. And does Hollywood’s Chinese Theater have a standing reservation every two years to premiere your latest project?
I hope that’s where I have all my premieres! But honestly that’s a rough estimate. Depending on which festival is the biggest that selected us, we will have our premiere there to maximize exposure. It is a numbers game after all.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I am really excited to share this project, we hope to have a trailer cut, but this is probably the hardest film i’ve had to cut a trailer for as you don’t want to give anything away!
And there you have it! A few tantalizing tidbits about an upcoming project from the one and only F.C. Rabbath. A big Thank You to Fred for taking time out of his busy schedule to talk with us and for letting us share a few of his stills and behind the scenes shots.
To keep up with news and release information for The Waiting, you can prowl around these places:
- Web — waitingmovie.com
- Facebook — @TheWaitingMovie
And for info about what’s happening in the world of F.C. Rabbath, keep an eye on these sites:
- Facebook — @FCRabbathCreations
- YouTube — F.C. Rabbath