Stephen ‘Huffy’ Huffman
He is the Producer of Richard Thompson‘s The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands Dollar Baby film.
SKSM: May you introduce yourself to our readers?
Stephen ‘Huffy’ Huffman: Howdy, I’m Huffy, an artist based in Southern Arizona, telling stories through video art and self-published books.
SKSM: When was the point that you thought I want to produce movies?
Stephen ‘Huffy’ Huffman: When I was a kid there were a lot of movies I wasn’t supposed to watch, to get around that I would watch how they were made. I’ve always had fun bringing other peoples stories to life, constantly learning in the process.
SKSM: What interests you most about video production?
Stephen ‘Huffy’ Huffman: Exploring other worlds and the process of bringing them to life can be a lot of fun.
SKSM: How did you become involved in The man who would not shake hands Dollar Baby film?
Stephen ‘Huffy’ Huffman: Richard and I had worked alongside one another on a few little productions in town, he had approached me to look at his script. It was a really good script at an odd length, after discussions on the meaning of the story and our love for Stephen King’s work, as well as our shared experiences with the aim of efficiency, he wrote the version of the script that was brought to life.
SKSM: Can you tell us about your work in the film?
Stephen ‘Huffy’ Huffman: For ‘The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands’ Richard had approached with a script I found intriguing, asking for opinions. As we talked and he put it together I picked crew members I knew & trusted to attain the production value and efficiency we were going for. When it came time to production I picked up any slack for the crew and when possible I was behind the monitor to help Richard stay focused.
SKSM: What was it like to work with Richard Thompson on this film?
Stephen ‘Huffy’ Huffman: He’s fantastic, he did so much work and handled the chaos of Murphy’s law like it was nothing. Organized, perceptive, he stayed positive and focused, even when times got sporadic or difficult- and when you’re shooting in the desert it will likely become both.
SKSM: How do you communicate with a director to carry out the production process for a film?
Stephen ‘Huffy’ Huffman: Having a fluid communication and a shared artistic understanding for the product is is pretty important to me. In this case, since the script was still being written, I was able to make suggestions based on my experiences with the angle of reducing production time and cost.
SKSM: Was there any funny things that happened while filming (Bloopers, etc)?
Stephen ‘Huffy’ Huffman: There are always set stories and lessons to be learned, during production I was often on my feet running around. Seeing people’s positive reactions to the work and each other was where I saw the most smiles.
SKSM: In addition to producing, you also act. How do you like being in front of the camera?
Stephen ‘Huffy’ Huffman: I do occasionally act, I don’t mind being in front of the camera, but wasn’t able to hop on the screen as an extra in this one, maybe the next.
SKSM: In both acting and production, you’ve already experienced what it’s like to win awards and receive nominations.
Stephen ‘Huffy’ Huffman: Yes, it’s a strange relieving feeling knowing that some other people enjoy what has been made and I hope they enjoy everything I make moving forwards as well, they inspire me to keep creating.
SKSM: Are you a fan of Stephen King’s work?
Stephen ‘Huffy’ Huffman: I am a fan of his work, more the older works than the newer works, not just Christine, Carrie or Firestarter but I was a fan of The Bachman Books. Also given my life in the desert I got attached to The Dark Tower series.
SKSM: What are you working on nowadays?
Stephen ‘Huffy’ Huffman: I have a short film running in the festival circuits based on my book series and am in preproduction for the next one. City of Aces, a desert crime noir turned cosmic horror.
SKSM: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Something you’d like to tell our readers?
Stephen ‘Huffy’ Huffman: I hope you enjoy Richard Thompson’s rendition of ‘The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands’, everyone did a great job at bringing it to life.
