He is the filmmaker of Stationary Bike. Richard Enya story Dollar Baby film.

SKSM: May you introduce yourself to our readers? Who are you and what do you do?

Robert McSweeney: My name is Robert McSweeney, and I am an independent filmmaker.

SKSM: How would you decide that shooting movies was your mission?

Robert McSweeney: When I was a Little kid and MTV came out I seen a AC/DC video and knew that  I wanted to be the guy behind the camera. Well life happened and that dream got puto n hold. Finally at the age of 48 I decided I was going to chase that dream. I enrolled in Full Sail University in the Digital Cinematography program. I had to make a couple school narrative projects and I got the movie making bug.

SKSM: Could you tell our readers the status of Stationary Bike or some updates?

Robert McSweeney: We are almost finished with filming. It will be in post-production August 2022.

SKSM: Who will be involved in this project?

Robert McSweeney: I am staring in this film. I play Richard Enya a pod caster who needs to lose some weight. I am the Director, Set Decorator, Casting, Cinematography, Producer.
Eric Celentano is our Director of Photography and Lead Gaff.
Jordan Hood plays ScarKro a blood thirsty scarecrow.
Jordan Engle plays Bastion the killer clown.
Juanita Merriman plays worker.
Kazket Bound is our composer/score guy.

SKSM: Why did you pick “Stationary Bike” to develop into a movie? What is it in the story that you like so much?

Robert McSweeney: I choose Stationary Bike because until I learned of the Dollar Baby program I never heard of it.
A lot of the plot takes place in the leads head so it left a lot of room for visuals. Finally I just felt it ya know. As I was listening to the audio book I was envisioning the story and how I wanted to tell.

SKSM: Due to Stephen King uses a lot of internalization in this story. What are the biggest challenges you might have when shooting?

Robert McSweeney: One big challenge I have had is keeping the cast. I have had to recast and rewrite this project three times. I have a solid crew and an amazing unheard-of cast. If you like good old fashion B flicks you will love this.

SKSM: Where would you like the premiere of Stationary Bike film to be?

Robert McSweeney: If I could rub a magic lamp and have it anywhere I would pick the 48 Lounge in New York City

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

Robert McSweeney: I am a huge Stephen King fan. My favorite adaptations are 3) Carrie 2) Pet Cemetary 1) Christine

SKSM: How did you find out that King sold the movie rights to some of his stories for just $1?

Robert McSweeney: I found the Dollar Baby program completely on accident. I was searching for grants for filmmakers in Washington State.

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

Robert McSweeney: I am BBQ pit master, and when I was 18 I was a cook in a 5 star restaurant.

SKSM: What advice would you give to those people who want to be filmmakers?

Robert McSweeney: I would say if they want to learn the basics go to Full Sail University’s Digital Cinematography online program. That, and that there’s nothing to it but to do it. Don’t let budgets stop you from making content.  The funding will come later.

SKSM: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Is there anything you want to say to our readers?

Robert McSweeney: Thank you for taking the time to read this. I had a lot of fun and hope to do it again

He is the filmmaker of Garrish Dollar Baby film.

SKSM: Can you introduce yourself to our readers?

A.J. Gribble: Hello, I’m A.J. Gribble and I’m the director of Garrish! Started making films when I was about 14 with an iPod and haven’t stopped since.

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

A.J. Gribble: We made Garrish back in May-June 2019. Honestly, filming only took a few days. It was about a few months after we premiered Cain Rose Up that we started writing and filming. It didn’t cost anything to make it haha! It was filmed on my iPhone 7 with a stabilizer and a few attachable lenses. We just used whatever we could that wouldn’t cost any money and I kinda just pointed and shot then on to the next scene.

SKSM: Garrish is the Cain Rose Up prequel. Why did you film the prequel later?

A.J. Gribble: We didn’t think of making a prequel. We made Cain Rose Up first. After it premiered, I thought about filming an extra scene to add in as a flashback. And the more I talked about it with the lead Natasha Bogutzki, she started thinking of more ideas and that eventually turned into a whole script for a prequel film. So after we wrote it after only like 3 days we just went out and filmed! It just sort of… happened haha!!

SKSM: How the casting process went?

A.J. Gribble: The casting was really easy. It was just a mix of actors that Natasha knew from the plays that she’s done and people I knew and it was really easy.

SKSM: How did you get the permission to film in a real college?

A.J. Gribble: I’m apart of the radio station at King’s College. The station manager Sue Henry, helped me get permission to film and King’s was really supportive of the movie being filmed there.

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

A.J. Gribble: Oh man… Lights always going out during a scene. Too many cars passing by in the background and ruining a take. Filming after a huge storm in a cemetery is not fun! Also just me tripping with the camera in my hand… I never claimed to be the best filmmaker out there!

One thing I would love to tell is about a member of the cast, Joe Blizman. We filmed with him for the dinner scene for only a few hours. It was his first time acting, he’s always wanted to do it and he was so excited and nervous. He was so proud after it was over and even made a blog post about it and was… just so excited. And then a few days after we filmed with him, he died. It was just so sudden and heartbreaking. He’ll live forever through this movie and he’ll always be remembered.

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

A.J. Gribble: There’s been a lot of good reviews for this film. It premiered at the Stephen King Rules film festival last year and that was a lot of fun! A lot of talented filmmakers and people at that festival. When Garrish premiered on the second day, a lot of people in the chat seemed to really liked it and get into it! So I was really happy to see that. A lot of people praising my directing, writing, Natasha’s acting and and then rest of the cast. The score of the film by OneManStanding. Just… everything that I worked hard on, they praised and I’m forever grateful.

Of course, there was a good amount of not so good reviews out there. And because I don’t have that much confidence in myself, I need to look at the bad criticisms to humble myself and see what I can do to improve.

SKSM: What’s the next to A.J. Gribble?

A.J. Gribble: What’s next for me?…. That’s the big question, isn’t it? Haha! Finishing up a script at the moment and hoping to start filming this summer! It’s very different to what I’ve done already so I’m excited.

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

A.J. Gribble: Thank you for having me back! This was fun. To the fans… keep on supporting indie filmmaking! It’s such a big and great community and everyone appreciates it when you take the time to watch their movies and talk with them about it. It means a lot, especially to me. Keep on rocking!

She is the filmmaker of The Woman In The Room Dollar Baby film.

SKSM: Could you start with telling me a little bit about yourself? Who are you and what do you do?

Tyger Sharee: Hello! My name is Tyger Sharee’ and I am a female filmmaker from Flint, Michigan. When I’m not being a filmmaker, you can find me in my apartment listening to Rock and Roll, painting or having my nose in a book.

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

Tyger Sharee: When I was very young I always wanted to be an Actor. That was always my first passion. After I finished school in 2015 I started getting acting jobs regularly and soon after I began writing for fun. As for Directing, I really wanted to just try it out and see where it would take me.

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

Tyger Sharee: We made TWITR last April. I couldn’t have asked for a better team. Everyone did a fantastic job and we knocked it out in two days.

SKSM: How come you picked The woman in the room to develop into a movie? What is it in the story that you like so much?

Tyger Sharee: I’m a big believer in Fate and I believe 100% that Fate had some sort of play into how this worked out. I randomly chose TWITR based on the title alone. Out of all the options this one stood out to me. I knew nothing about it or that it was the first Dollar Baby made; I just really liked the title. After I was given the go to move forward I read the story and couldn’t believe what it was about. At the time I was working as a CNA at an Assisted Living Center. Daily I saw how families reacted to such news as Johnny did with his Mother and some of the burdens they went through dealing with a loved one that is sick.

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?

Tyger Sharee: I found out about Stephen King’s Dollar Baby’s back when I was in school. At the time I wasn’t into Writing or Directing. Flash forward 6 years and one bored night on the internet I looked it up and saw that this was still going on and applied for the story and heard back a few days later.

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

Tyger Sharee: A memorable moment that happened on set was a car somehow caught on fire outside of the building we were filming in. Luckily no one was in the car but that thing was crispy by the time the fire trucks got there. It was good entertainment while we took a lunch break.

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?

Tyger Sharee: I feel like this will change in the future. A lot of people still don’t know about the Dollar Baby deal which is surprising given who started it. Hopefully there are more festivals and participants in the future. Releasing everyone’s movies on DVD’s would be a great idea too!

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

Tyger Sharee: I am fortunate to have all positive reviews so far. Everyone did an amazing job and it definitely shows in the movie.

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

Tyger Sharee: I just recently submitted to a bunch of festivals all over the world. I would love to have my film shown over in Europe!

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

Tyger Sharee: I’m a very big Stephen King fan. Fun fact, we share the same birthday!
Some of my favorites are The Shining (made for TV series), Pet Sematary and The Shawshank Redemption.

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)?

Tyger Sharee: I haven’t had any contact with Stephen King. If I did, everyone and their mothers would know about it. Haha

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?

Tyger Sharee: As of right now I do not have any plans to make another Dollar Baby, but the one story I would love to adapt would be “The Man Who Loved Flowers”. I love that story so much. When I read it I could totally see it being played out and it being turned into an awesome short.

SKSM: What are you working on nowadays?

Tyger Sharee: Right now I’m writing my own stuff and will be adapting another film this summer from an original story I wrote.

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

Tyger Sharee: The one thing people are surprised to know is that Tyger is my actual name and not a stage name.

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

Tyger Sharee: Thanks for accompanying me on this interview and be sure to follow me and my future projects on my Instagram @tygersharee

SKSM: Would you like to add anything else?

Tyger Sharee: If you are an up and coming filmmaker or a seasoned filmmaker look into doing a Dollar Baby. It’s fun and it’s also not bad to have on a resume.