Hayden Buhler

He is the filmmaker of All That You Love Will Be Carried Away Dollar Baby film.

SKSM: Could you start by telling me a little about yourself? Who is Hayden Buhler and what do you do?

Hayden Buhler: My name is Hayden Buhler and I am a filmmaker from Highland Utah. I love all things horror and am a huge Stephen King fan. I love writing and directing and mostly focus on making short horror films and sketch comedy. I have a wonderful wife and a son and they mean everything to me!

SKSM: When did you know you wanted to become a filmmaker?

Hayden Buhler: I’ve known pretty much my whole life I wanted to make movies. I made my first movie when I was 8 years old with my brothers and I have never stopped. Filmmaking is the only thing I’ve ever felt true joy doing.

SKSM: When did you make All that you love will be carried away? Can you tell me a little about the production? How much did it cost? How long did it take to film it?

Hayden Buhler: We shoot All That You Love Will Be Carried Away in August of 2024. We shoot at a hotel in Almo Idaho called the Almo Inn and it was such a beautiful palace to shoot. All in all the film cost me around 300 dollars to make, we shoot it in 2 days and had an absolute blast making it. The cast and crew are all dear friends and were willing to just have a great time and help out it was a lot of fun.

SKSM: How come you picked All that you love will be carried away to develop into a movie? What is it in the story that you like so much?

Hayden Buhler: I picked this short story because something about it really scared me. I think that King has an amazing way of showing the process of going insane and this story coupled that with themes of the open road and the vastness of America. Growing up in the West I have always been fascinated with the amount of emptiness on the highways and so this story really felt like an outlet to really explore that fascination.

SKSM: Can you tell us about your experience on this Dollar Baby film? Was everything planned ahead or did some things change during filming?

Hayden Buhler: This was one of the best shoots I’ve ever had. I’ve always wanted to adapt a King story and the fact that I got to do it with my friends made it an unforgettable experience. We had two long days of shooting and some minor hiccups. My DP actually dropped my camera on one of the large rocks out in the desert that we were shooting on and for a horrifying moment we all thought that was the end of shooting. Luckily no harm was done however and we were able to finish the film.

SKSM: You are both the filmmaker and the scriptwriter, what were your greatest satisfactions and challenges in these roles?

Hayden Buhler: It’s always very satisfying to watch your words come to life. The biggest challenge is of course making sure that I did the story justice while also making it something of my own. It was very intimidating to adapt the work of my favorite writer but it was also so fun to kind of make it my own love letter to the fiction of King. I threw in a lot of Dark Tower stuff and that was just a blast to watch come to life.

SKSM: Where was filmed? Was it difficult to find the locations?

Hayden Buhler: We shot at the Almo Inn in Almo Idaho, the owners of the hotel and the restaurant attached to it were so wonderful to work with. I was honestly really lucky to have found it and they were so excited to help out it made everything so easy. Almo is kind of in the middle of nowhere so finding rest stops and abandoned places was really easy actually.

SKSM: You made some changes from the original story. I personally loved it, but how do you think (or would you like) the audience to react?

Hayden Buhler: I hope that the audience enjoys the changes made. When adapting a story to film I think you always have to make some changes. I really did keep the heart of the story and any changes made are really just in service to helping the story come to life visually. I hope everyone likes it!

SKSM: Easter eggs. This is something audiences love, and your film has plenty of them. I realized, reading the script, that there were going to be even more references to Mr. King’s work. Were those scenes filmed and finally cut out?

Hayden Buhler: Yeah I had a lot of references to the Dark Tower throughout the film as well as other stories. In the end we decided to just keep the Dark Tower easter eggs and we cut most of the others as I thought it may take away from the story being told.

SKSM: Was there any funny or special moment when you made the movie that you would like to tell me about?

Hayden Buhler: We found a group of kittens near an abandoned building in Almo and we had a great time playing with them all through shooting. At the end of the shoot Jake became so attached to one of the kittens that he actually ended up taking it home with him and nursing it to health.

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?

Hayden Buhler: My co writer, and star of the film Jake Nuttall actually told me about the program. He had a friend who had made a dollar baby film and we both love Stephen King so we figured we would go for it!

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?

Hayden Buhler: I really hope that changes, I think it’s so much fun to watch other peoples films and to just enjoy each other’s art. Stephen King’s work means so much to so many it would be so great to have everyone’s films widely available.

SKSM: What “good or bad” reviews have you received on your film?

Hayden Buhler: I think the reaction to the film has been pretty positive! This is a big step for me in my filmmaking career and I am very proud of the look and feel of this film. I don’t think my mom was thrilled with how much language is in the movie, that’s probably the worst review I’ve received so far.

SKSM: Where was premiered?

Hayden Buhler: I premiered the film at my home in Utah for my friends and family.

SKSM: Do you plan to screen the movie at a particular festival?

Hayden Buhler: I am currently looking into screening the film at a festival in Tooele Utah so fingers crossed!

SKSM: Are you a Stephen King fan? If so, which are your favorite works and adaptations?

Hayden Buhler: I am a huge Stephen King fan! My favorite book of all time is IT, the characters in that book have become real people to me and I don’t think I’ve ever read anything that made me feel more connected to a group of characters. I read that book about once a year it really means the world to me. My favorite adaptation of King’s is probably Christine.

There’s something so wild and goofy about that movie and it’s the perfect hybrid of King’s characters and John Carpenters campy style.

SKSM: Tell us about your other films. What project are you most proud of with the final result?

Hayden Buhler: I have directed a number of other short films, My Girlfriend is an Alien is a rom com about a man who discovers that he is dating an alien. It’s a super funny movie and was a very special movie for me. I actually premiered that movie in a local theater and it was just so much fun. I also have a film titled Killer Car! which is really a love letter to Christine. That movie was a blast and you’ll recognize a lot of people that worked on this film in the credits.

SKSM: What are you working on nowadays?

Hayden Buhler: I am currently working on my first feature film. It is a campy horror film titled All Legs, it follows a group of boy scouts who are attacked in the woods by a humanoid creature that has legs for arms. This movie is going to be so much fun and features an amazing cast and amazing practical effects. We are shooting in Summer of 2025 and hope to release the film the following year.

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

Hayden Buhler: I think people are usually surprised to find out that I am pretty religious. It surprises a lot of people to find out that I have a deep love for Jesus Christ and horror films, the two things usually clash in people’s minds/

SKSM: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Is there anything you want to say to the fans that read this interview?

Hayden Buhler: I just want to say how much fun this whole thing has been. If you have ever thought about being a filmmaker you should absolutely do it. This art form is amazing and challenging in a way that can only be experienced.