Joe Zaso is a one-man
show. Founding his own production
company, Cinema Image Productions,
22 years ago, he has worn many hats in his time both in front of and behind the
camera as a writer, producer, and actor.
A horror fan for many years, Joe will be seen in Giovanni Pianigiani's DARKNESS SURROUNDS
ROBERTA, a giallo-inspired thriller due out soon on DVD. House of Horrors.com met with Joe last year
to discuss his career and his new projects.
Jonathan Stryker: You were born in Queens, NY. How long did you live there?
Joe Zaso: I lived there until June 1977 when EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC was
released, then I moved to Manhasset Hills which is a posh name for New Hyde
Park, and now I live on the south shore which is Rockville Center. It's great because it's only about a
half-hour from Manhattan. It's an area that looks like Manhattan and that's why I like it. It's like Brooklyn Heights.
Jonathan Stryker: Was acting in your blood when you were a
child?
Joe Zaso: I always liked movies in general. I actually
started as a filmmaker first, and acting really was something I pursued more in
my teens. When I started acting
legitimately after college I found that it was hard to get legitimate roles in
big things, so I would produce my own movies with my own colleagues. I figured I would give myself the work and
then before you know it I was going back and forth between producing and
acting.
Jonathan Stryker: Tell me about your earliest memories of going
to the movies.
Joe Zaso: The very first movie I ever saw in a theater
was WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE
FACTORY. I was three years-old when
I first saw it, and many of my relatives took me to see it over and over. You
know, I saw it about four times in the theater, and it was back in the days
when they'd re-release movies.
Jonathan Stryker: That's amazing. I didn't get to see it until I was about six or seven years-old, even then it
was just on a black-and-white television.
Joe Zaso: I even remember seeing television ads for ARNOLD (a comedy with Stella
Stevens and Roddy McDowell from 1973). I
was a really demented child! (laughs)
I remember spelling out movie titles with plastic letters on a metallic
board. I spelled out DOG DAY AFTERNOON on this thing I
had, I was crazy!
Jonathan Stryker: (Imitating Al Pacino) “I'm a Catholic, and I don't wanna hurt anybody, y'understand!
No Alarms!!” (laughs) Oh, my God!
I used to do the same thing with STAR WARS and THX-1138!
Joe Zaso: (laughing) Yeah, I remember asking Santa
Claus to bring me movie marquee letters for Christmas! I actually got these recently from someone
who got them off of Ebay and gave them to me as a gift. So, I guess it's safe to say that cinema is
in my blood!
Jonathan Stryker: Did you ever go to drive-ins as a kid?
Joe Zaso: Believe it or not, I've been to one drive-in
and it was not too long ago, up near Cape Cod,
and it was a 30th anniversary showing of JAWS. But as a kid, where I lived on the Island there was only one drive-in, called the Westbury, and I almost saw THE FLINTSTONES there in 1994. I never really got into it as a kid. I felt it was cool at times once I saw how it
worked, but the only time I went was for JAWS.
Jonathan Stryker: You formed your own production company at age
16. How did you do this?
Joe Zaso: I made these little underground indie movies
and decided to make my company official and I called it Cinema Image Productions and I did a
film called MALIGNO, which is Italian for malign. I figured if the word SUSPIRIA couldn't be explained,
neither could MALIGNO! (laughs)
So, I'd escape the funky-sounding name.
It means something! It's
evil! But, I did that when I was 16, and
now the company is 21 years-old. So the
name of the company is still Cinema Image Productions, and I just kept it that
way.
Jonathan Stryker: The bulk of your filmography is horror
films. What attracts you to horror?
Joe Zaso: I like dark subjects and it's interesting, I
just made a film called BARRICADE
with Timo Rose, and I'm not really a gore fan, to be honest with you. BARRICADE
is one of our most successful movies.
But, I just like the whole dark subject matter. I love Euro-horror, psychological thrillers,
I like Brian de Palma. I'm not a science-fiction fan at all, if you
give me spaceships and laser blasts I'm bored in seconds. With psychological thrillers, I have to know
all the characterizations, you know, what drives people to do what they do...I
have to know what compels people to do things, and the movie really has to have
a really good story. That's why I like
“whodunits”.
Jonathan Stryker: You
work often with Raine Brown. Do you look
for projects together?
Joe Zaso: With Raine, it was a complete accident. I did a film with her called ANGEL'S BLADE and at that time
I had really not heard of her, but some of my colleagues knew who she was. So, we became friends on the set. Months later I was preparing to make BARRICADE and I really wanted to
have her in it. I asked her if she
wanted to go to Germany
and she said yes. As a result of BARRICADE, I started making DARKNESS SURROUNDS ROBERTA in Italy, and I asked her if she wanted to go to Italy
for a week and she said yes. It's a
complete coincidence and accident that we keep working together on something or
other. She has worked on other movies
with people I have worked with, so it's kind of this incestuous thing where
Raine is the It Girl of Horror.
Jonathan Stryker: She has done quite a bit: WOODS OF EVIL, AUNT ROSE, HORROR, and SATAN'S PLAYGROUND.
Joe Zaso: I know, she and I work in the same circles,
so it's inevitable that we kind of end up working together. I don't know what's next, but…we’ll see!
Jonathan Stryker: You’ve been in some particularly brutal
films, such as the aforementioned ANGEL'S
BLADE and BARRICADE. Do you find it hard to perform in scenes
where you have to be terrified?
Joe Zaso: I would like to play the hero because I'm
always playing the villain. Playing the
hero is tricky because…I always have women protecting me because they're tough
and I'm tall and they're short and the other problem is that I can't run
without looking ridiculous! The fact
that I have an athletic build does not mean anything. But, I must say that it is very tough with
the brutality scenes. There is a lot of
choreography that has to go into it because I'm so klutzy.
Jonathan Stryker: Who are the people in the industry you
admire, and who would you like to work with given the opportunity?
Joe Zaso: I would love to work with Woody Allen, even though now his
films are getting shaky. Dario Argento is my hero, so
that's a definite. Tim Burton. Joe Dante. I love Robert Altman who is no longer
with us. And the great actors and
actresses from the 1970's. That's why it's
so wild when I come to these horror conventions I see people like Betsy Palmer and Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni and to
think that at one time I watched movies they were in, and now there's a
real-world possibility that I can work with them, it's incredible.
Jonathan Stryker: What’s your favorite Robert Altman film?
Joe Zaso: I tend to keep watching A WEDDING over and over again.
It's really entertaining. It’s not a
great movie, but it's fun.
Jonathan Stryker: For me, I love THREE WOMEN. I think that's an amazing film.
Joe Zaso: THREE
WOMEN, I tell people that if you don't know Altman, this is something to
watch. It's long and it's odd. I liked NASHVILLE. Not a big fan of MASH, of the film or the show,
I just wasn't into them. H.E.A.L.T.H. was another
one. I remember watching that one on HBO
and you can't find it anywhere. But, for
me he's hit or miss.
Jonathan Stryker: What are some of your favorite horror
films?
Joe Zaso: My absolute favorite horror film is Richard
Donner's THE OMEN. Even though I know that there are a lot
better movies than this, it absolutely petrified me when I was seven years-old. Watching it on HBO made me cry. THE
EXORCIST and JAWS never
bothered me, but THE OMEN
really terrified me.
Jonathan Stryker: THE
SHINING is my favorite.
Joe Zaso: Really?
I think Kubrick is the most overrated director in the world.
Jonathan Stryker: Check, please!! (getting up)
Joe Zaso: Sorry, I just don't like him!
Jonathan Stryker: (Laughs) He’s actually my favorite
director!
Joe Zaso: Yeah, I liked FULL METAL JACKET, but I thought
BARRY LYNDON was very slow,
it put me to sleep. I liked THE SHINING. I actually like Michael Winner and people look
at me like I'm crazy.
Jonathan Stryker: What, do you have a death wish? (smirking)
Joe Zaso: Nice! (laughs) He has a pace about his movies,
and Kubrick's movies move like lead, and that's why I can't get into them.
Jonathan Stryker: I saw BARRY LYNDON in New York in June 2007
and I loved it. I saw it on laserdisc
back in the 90's but seeing it in a theater on a new print, it was
gorgeous. I discovered over time that I
had a propensity for watching long movies, and as long as it's interesting, it
can hold my attention. My friend
(filmmaker and professor) Bryan
Norton tells me you like CURTAINS,
one of his favorites. When did you see
this film?
Joe Zaso: I saw it on HBO, and then later on that Vestron Video copy. I remember Samantha Eggar hissing, “I'm an
actress!” I loved Lesleh Donaldson on
the ice, running from the killer with the sickle. That was great. I loved Lynne Griffin, she was funny. I love Canadian horror films. They seem gutsier. They'll put kids in danger like in THE BROOD, they're really
ballsy. I love the music and the camera
moves.
Jonathan Stryker: Tell me about DARKNESS SURROUNDS ROBERTA. By the way, I love the title.
Joe Zaso: DARKNESS
SURROUNDS ROBERTA is my latest feature and it is a giallo. I love the giallo film very much (as
evidenced in 5 DEAD ON THE CRIMSON
CANVAS) and after getting to know some Italian film makers, I thought it
would be great to make a giallo
in Italy
with Italians. It was a hectic little
shoot, but rewarding. Mainly, I love
thrillers from the 1970s and I hope to mesh the tastes of modern horror
audiences (the SAW crowd) with the sensibilities and tone of those 1970s
movies.
Jonathan Stryker: Looking forward to it, Joe.
Joe Zaso: Thanks!
DEMON RESURRECTION
will be out soon, too, so look for that!
