Jeff Schiro

He is the director behind The Boogeyman Dollar Baby Film.

SKSM: Tell us about yourself, who is Jeff Schiro and what do you do or have you done?

Jeff Schiro: In a nutshell, I’m really just an average guy living in Los Angeles and working as a film editor. Over the years, I’ve worked on everything from Super Bowl commercials to major cable shows and everything in between.

SKSM: Where does the name Schiro come from?

Jeff Schiro: –

SKSM: Where were you born, where did you grow up, and what was your childhood like?

Jeff Schiro: I was born in Bangor, Maine and grew up there as well. My childhood was similar to STAND BY ME, (based on King’s story THE BODY). I grew up in a neighbor hood with lots of kids and adventures were aplenty. (Ironically, I was making a Super 8 film at age 13, and actually filmed the outside of King’s future home for one of the scenes)

SKSM: You were born in Maine, how did you end up in Los Angeles?

Jeff Schiro: I went to NYU film school (1982) and stayed in New York for 8 years after that. Even then the film industry was hard to break into, so I decided I would give Los Angeles a try.

SKSM: When was the point that you thought I wanted to make movies?

Jeff Schiro: My neighbors had a Super 8 film camera and when I was about 10 and we started making short films. By age 11 I knew that I was hooked. When I was 13 my grandfather gave me my own Super 8 camera and rest, as they say, is history.

SKSM: It’s 1980, you had little to compare it to except the story. Did you know how you would like to see it?

Jeff Schiro: –

SKSM: When did you make The Boogeyman? Can you tell me a little about the production? How much did it cost? How long did it take to film it?

Jeff Schiro: I made The Boogeyman as a student at NYU, starting the production sometime in 1980. It was a fairly large undertaking and cost about $10,000, a lot of money at the time. Filming of the story, if my memory serves me, probably took about a week. The psychiatrist’s office was shot on a soundstage, and the rest was shot at a house in Brooklyn.

SKSM: Can you explain why you specifically chose this story and not, for example, another story?

Jeff Schiro: I chose THE BOOGEYMAN as a story to film for several reasons. First, the story just grabbed me when I first read it. Probably because I had a large closet growing up and the thought of something lurking in there as a child probably came to my mind more than once. Second, I’ve always been attracted to psychological drama and this seemed like the perfect storm.

SKSM: Why do you think people like this story so much?

Jeff Schiro: The story is very much a kind of Twilight Zone which has it all. A fairly complex main character, and a great concept. I also think King is a master story teller, he knows which buttons to push and when. And you can’t deny the great ending. If that doesn’t grab you nothing will.

SKSM: You are both the director, writer and the editor, how did you experience that?

Jeff Schiro: It was a great experience to work as the director, writer and editor. I learned a lot, but it was not without stress. Because I grew up making short movies, I didn’t realize that in the real world there were people who could some of these other jobs, say editor or writer, so I just did them all myself like I did with my Super 8.

SKSM: How did you know about the Dollar Baby program? Was it a wild guess?

Jeff Schiro: There was no Dollar Baby program when I decided I wanted to make THE BOOGEYMAN as a student film. I wasn’t sure how to contact King, so I wrote to Doubleday Books who owned the story. I heard back from them at least a year later, and they agreed to allow me to make the film as a student project. (Obviously with King’s permission) There was also a clause that it could not be released commercially.

SKSM: You are the very first dollar baby filmmaker, but you did not ask King himself or his office, you asked for the company who had the rights then. Do you consider that the quality of your work and (later Woodward’s and Darabont’s) made King decide to start the Dollar Baby program?

Jeff Schiro: I don’t really know the answer to this, but I suspect that King must’ve started to get many requests to turn his short stories into films. It was probably then that the Dollar Baby Program was born.

SKSM: Can you tell us something about the filming process? What is easy or difficult? What did you have in mind?

Jeff Schiro: The filming of THE BOOGEYMAN was far from easy. Part, just being a fairly large production for a student film. However, I did know what I wanted to get and had a very detailed storyboard to help the production run smoothly.

SKSM: Was there a funny and/or special moment during production that you would like to share with us?

Jeff Schiro: The thing that comes to mind as a special moment during the production really came in pre production. I was days away from shooting and I had yet to find the perfect psychiatrist’s for Dr. Harper’s office. I knew what I wanted it to look like, but just couldn’t find one. Well, I was walking down a New York side street one evening and for whatever reason turned toward a brownstone and there sitting in front of it was the perfect couch. Someone was getting rid of it. I ran to my dorm and had someone help me carry it off. Now that’s fate. It’s the couch you see in the film.

SKSM: What do you think about the existence of a Dollar Baby community? Were you aware of this before you met SKSM?

Jeff Schiro: I’m not quite sure when I learned of the Dollar Baby community. I probably learned of it when I started getting requests for THE BOOGEYMAN to be shown in Dollar Baby festivals. Unfortunately, I don’t know exactly when that was.

SKSM: Production is over. Are there thoughts that make you think now, we could have done this differently?

Jeff Schiro: In hindsight, of course there are always things you perhaps could have done differently. But right after filming I was pretty sure I got what I wanted.

SKSM: Were any movie fragments cut out that you now miss?

Jeff Schiro: There is a scene that was cut of the film which actually played nicely, But I thought it slowed the film down. It’s a scene after Lester Billing’s night of chaos. The next morning the cop, Sgt. Garland, walks through the now silent house looking for anything unusual. That scene didn’t make the final cut.

SKSM: What are you thinking of the end result of the film?

Jeff Schiro: I was quite pleased at the time with the final result. It took nearly 2 years to put together, but those were the days before non linear editing. Everything was cut on film. (In this case 16mm)

SKSM: What was your main goal you wanted to achieve about this film?

Jeff Schiro: I really had a passion for making movies and THE BOOGEYMAN filled that at the time. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it, plus I always thought it would be a nice introduction to the film industry.

SKSM: Can you describe the feeling when the film was finished and how the film was received after viewing?

Jeff Schiro: The film had a great reception when I was done. I had a number of screenings, one in my hometown of Bangor, Maine. I delivered a betamax copy of the film to Stephen King himself and told him about the screening. As it turned out, he showed up! He told me he loved the film. That was worth the price of admission.

SKSM: Considering it’s been over 44 years since you made The Boogeyman, are you still in touch with the cast or crew?

Jeff Schiro: I’m still in touch with the main actor, Michael Reid. He worked for many years as an actor in Hollywood. Casting Michael was one of the highlights of making the film.

SKSM: In October 2010, there was a Dollar Baby Film Festival at the Silent Movie Theater in Los Angeles, which you yourself attended. How did you experience that?

Jeff Schiro: It was great to see THE BOOGEYMAN play out on a big screen, and the audience genuinely seemed to enjoy it. It was, of course, a nice feeling that after so many years, the movie still had relevance.

SKSM: Since you released your movie and the Dollar Babies became a thing, have you followed the other short movies? Is there a short movie that you saw and really liked?

Jeff Schiro: I’ve only seen a small number of the other Dollar Baby’s. Partly, it’s often hard to find them. I did see one, THE MAN WHO LOVED FLOWERS” which I think was done in Canada. I thought it was nicely directed and really well done.

SKSM: Over the years, The Boogeyman has been adapted into films several times. What did you think of those film adaptations compared to your own?

Jeff Schiro: The only other adaptation of THE BOOGEYMAN I know about was the feature that came out several years ago. I must say, I wasn’t really crazy about it. It strayed so much for the original story, and ultimately became a creature feature, which just didn’t grab me.

SKSM: Besides yourself and John Woodward and Frank Darabont, you belong to the first generation of Dollar Baby film makers. How do you look back on that time?

Jeff Schiro: It was a great time to be making films. But, at that time, everything was still “old school” compared to today. You shot on film, edited on film, and released it on film.

SKSM: In 1994, The Boogeyman and The Woman in the Room were released on VHS. Can you tell us how this happened?

Jeff Schiro: It really happened with King’s permission. Frank Darabont made THE WOMAN IN THE ROOM, and evidently someone saw it and wanted to put release it on VHS for home rental. But they needed one more film. To the best of my memory, King had knowledge of THE BOOGEYMAN, liked it, and suggested this could be the other film. The company that put it out, Granite Entertainment, did a great job with the cover art and even made a poster. What they didn’t do was pay us what we were owed. I suppose for two young filmmakers it was a lesson learned and a rite of passage to Hollywood.

SKSM: Since “Boogeyman” came out in Vídeo, did you have feedback from King’s fans?

Jeff Schiro: The feedback didn’t come at that time. It really came later with the internet. A few years ago I put THE BOOGEYMAN on YouTube so people could view it, and also because people were uploading old VHS copies. I was able to put it on from a master. I should add that I make no money off it, but it has been viewed over 100k times. This is where the feedback comes. Of course, some like it, some don’t.

SKSM: Since then, have you ever attended film festivals or something like we had this year in Vegas, Kingcon?

Jeff Schiro: I have never attended a Stephen King film festival.

SKSM: You are quite active as an editor, would you like to direct again? If so, what would you like to do?

Jeff Schiro: I would like to direct again, the question or course what would be the perfect vehicle. Not sure at the moment, but perhaps another King story.

SKSM: As a fan of Stephen King, which are your favorite works and adaptations?

Jeff Schiro: Some of my favorite King books would have to be The Stand, and 11/22/63. I also found that to be a really great adaptation.

SKSM: If you could make another Stephen King story into a (Dollar Baby-)movie, what would it be and why?

Jeff Schiro: –

SKSM: When you look back and see that you started something that became huge, how does it feel?

Jeff Schiro: Funny, I don’t think about it too much. I don’t know if people were following my lead or just stumbled on King and decided to make a short film. If they were following my lead then that would be quite an honor.

SKSM: What were the highlights of your career after the Boogeyman?

Jeff Schiro: I directed a TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE, along with a music video for the Ramones. After that, I really jumped into editing. I was the Lead editor on a number of TV shows including THE DEADLIEST WARRIOR, which became a bit of a cult classic.

SKSM: What is your advice to the young filmmakers that are the last dollar baby filmmakers releasing their dollar babies now?

Jeff Schiro: If the idea is to jump into the film business, just know that it still a tough business to break into. It takes passion and perseverance.

SKSM: What do you think of Stephen King as a writer?

Jeff Schiro: I think Stephen King is a brilliant writer who has effectively crossed many genres. No one does what he does any better.

SKSM: What are you working on nowadays?

Jeff Schiro: I’m still a freelance editor so every week could be something different, or nothing at all.

SKSM: What is in the top 5 on your bucket list? (Everything is possible and nothing is too strange)

Jeff Schiro: I really have no bucket list at the moment. I’ve done a lot of traveling in the past, China, Nepal, India…so right now I’m just happy in the moment.

SKSM: What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?

Jeff Schiro: –

SKSM: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Jeff Schiro: –

SKSM: Thank you for taking the time for the interview. Would you like to say something to those reading the interview?

Jeff Schiro: I hope those reading this have found it to be entertaining and at times inspiring. With a little drive and a lot of hard work, you can do almost anything.

SKSM: Do you like to add anything else?

Jeff Schiro: –