Jesse James Marshall
He is the man behind Cain Rose Up Dollar Baby Film.
SKSM: Could you start with telling me a bit about yourself? Who are you and what do you do?
Jesse James Marshall: My name is Jesse James Marshall, and I am a Filmmaker from Toronto, Canada.
SKSM: When did you make Cain rose up? Can you tell me a little about the production? How much did it cost? How long did it take to film it?
Jesse James Marshall: I got the rights for the short back in April, 2016. I was going to the Toronto Film School at the time I heard about Stephen King’s Dollar Baby Program and decided to look deeper into it. There was a list of available shorts to choose from and I chose “Cain Rose Up.” It was a good story and it was “easy” enough to film, because I was living in a dorm building and the story takes place in one. I wrote a script which went through many stages of drafts up until December 2016 when we started principal photography for the film. It lasted for 3 days mainly during early December and we filmed some add
in stuff early 2017. All in all I spent around 10,000 Canadian Dollars on the film in its entirety.
SKSM: How come you picked Cain rose up to develop into a movie? What is it in the story that you like so much?
Jesse James Marshall: I wanted to do a short film but am not the best at creating a story from scratch. Being able to get a hold of Stephen King’s Cain Rose Up was ideal for me because the story was already made I just had to adapt a script. I liked the idea of making a movie about mental illness and Curt’s mind was crazy enough.
SKSM: Are you a Stephen King fan? If so, which are your favorite works and adaptations.
Jesse James Marshall: Of Course I’m a fan of him, I have the “Skeleton Crew” book that “Cain Rose Up” was from. One of my favourite movies is “Shawshank” and I can’t wait for “It” too come out in a week!
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?
Jesse James Marshall: I found out from one of my teachers at the Toronto film school who had a friend who did a Dollar baby short as well.
SKSM: Was there any funny or special moment when you made the movie that you would like to tell me about?
Jesse James Marshall: I originally had a role in the film as the “nerd” in the hallway, but I eventually cut out that scene in the movie because it was a little cheesy and not needed. You can still see me in the final cut at the beginning of the movie walking towards the dorm building though.
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?
Jesse James Marshall: It sucks, I really wish I could put this on my YouTube channel for everyone to see, maybe Stephen King will update his terms and conditions soon on the contract for the dollar baby program.
SKSM: What “good or bad” reviews have you received on your film?
Jesse James Marshall: I had a cast, crew and family showing of the film back in May (2017) and everyone loved it! But that being said we all worked on it and don’t want to even think its bad because of how much time we spent on it, HAHAHA
SKSM: Do you plan to screen the movie at a particular festival?
Jesse James Marshall: We will be premiering to the public on September 23rd, 2017 at the Toronto International Shorts Film Festival (TISFF) at the Art Gallery of Ontario.
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)?
Jesse James Marshall: Nope, None. I was in Contact with his secretary for everything, I have sent in the Dvd of the film along with a script but haven’t heard anything yet.
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?
Jesse James Marshall: I was looking through other short stories of his and “Here there be Tygers” caught my eye, so maybe in the future ill take on that project.
SKSM: What are you working nowadays?
Jesse James Marshall: Currently working on a longer war short about 30 minutes in length, I’ve always wanted to make a war movie.
SKSM: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Is there anything you want to say to your fans?
Jesse James Marshall: I don’t think I have any fans yet!! HAHAHA! but make sure to check out my YouTube channel to watch the trailer and behind the scenes for “Cain Rose Up” and check out my website for my production company Gingerbread House. Cain Rose up is also on IMDb! Thanks for the Interview Oscar.
