‘Beautiful Garden’ Blossoms for Cleveland Filmmaker

Cleveland filmmaker Chris Peplin (left) on set

Midwest Movie Maker contributor Peter Balint introduces us to Cleveland native Chris Peplin. Peplin recently wrapped production on Beautiful Garden, a project driven in small part by one goal: make a feature length film by the time Peplin celebrates his 30th birthday. He’ll do it — with time to spare.

Peplin grew up in the Cleveland area and, at an early age, realized his calling. He studied film at Cleveland State, worked a few internships and then decided to fast-track his career by moving to L.A. to attend The New York Film Academy. After completing the 12-month program, he carried the filmmaking torch back to the Midwest.

Peplin wrote, produced and directed Beautiful Garden. And it’s independent film at it’s best.

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW

Comments

5 horrific questions with filmmaker Henrique Couto

Filmmaker Henrique Cuoto >>> When Henrique Couto was 12 years old, he found himself volunteering at his local cable access channel in Dayton, Ohio. He didn't know it then, but that experience would become the catalyst that sparked his lifelong obsession with filmmaking. Early exposure to the mechanics of storytelling and production laid the groundwork for a career that now spans dozens of films, podcasts, and digital series. “From that moment on, I couldn't imagine doing anything else at all with my life,” Couto says. An eclectic taste Though Couto is often associated with the horror genre, his creative output today is far more eclectic. “It’s about fifty-fifty between horror and other genres,” he explains. “The last 5 or 6 years, horror has been a soft market and hard to make solid money in, so I've expanded a lot.” Horror remains close to his heart, he admits, not just for its narrative possibilities, but for the community it fosters. Forming those relationships...

A chat with Erik Kripke, creator of 'Supernatural' and 'The Boys'

Erik Kripke on the set of 'The Boys' Those that know Eric Kripke from when he was a boy growing up in the Toledo, Ohio, suburb of Sylvania often tell him they didn’t know that he was “secretly disturbed.” And even the filmmaker admits that his happy, idyllic life seems out of place for the guy that created the horror sensation, Supernatural . “I guess the only thing weird may have been how normal everything was,” Kripke says. Kripke’s Supernatural, which ran for 15 seasons on The CW, tells the tale of two monster-hunting brothers – Sam and Dean Winchester, played by Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles respectively. Think of it as a sort of Route 66 with chainsaws, muscle cars and a boatload of demons. It's a bit of a 180 for a guy who started his career as a comedy writer. Dangerously obsessed Kripke says that since he was 8 or 9 years old, his focus was on becoming a filmmaker. “I never really wanted to do anything else. You could say I was ‘dange...

Midwest Movie Belt: Zombie Apocalypse Ground Zero

'The Walking Dead's shambling walkers I love The Walking Dead . Mostly because it is a well-written, well-produced, well-acted, intense horror drama. But maybe even more so because it’s filled to the gills with zombies . And in the middle of the scare season, nothing spooks me more than shambling cadavers. Zombies - or walkers, if you’re a fan of the AMC show or Image comic - are more frightening than any fictional monster you can imagine. Vampires, werewolves, mutants, reanimated slashers, idiot teens in Halloween masks - none hold a waxy candelabra to a horde of hungry corpses. It’s the multiplying mass. It’s claustrophobic. Plus the inevitability that you’re going to bump into a dearly departed loved-one. And that your loved one will likely tug out your intestines through your belly button. The Walking Dead ’s fourth season debuts Sunday. The successful show, developed by Frank Darabont, based on Robert Kirkman’s popular comic book , owes much of its setting - the...

Midwest Movie Maker

Search This Blog