INT: Matthew Leutwyler

Last Updated on July 28, 2021

The
Arrow interviews Matthew Leutwyler

If
you haven’t heard of writer/director
Matthew Leutwyler’s fun cheese, gore extravaganza “Dead and
Breakfast”, then it’s time for you to
listen up, because you’re missing out. Starring Eva Carradine,
Jeremy Sisto, Gina Phillips, Oz Perkings (yes, Anthony’s son)
and more, this wild ride gave me a shovel full of yuk-yuks and
Ketchup. I had the chance to yap with Matthew about his film and
here’s what he dished out! BON APPETIT!

ARROW:
What’s your favorite horror movie?

MATT:
Tough call. Favorite straight horror is probably The Hills Have
Eyes. SciFi Horror – Alien and comedy horror – Evil Dead II.

ARROW:
“Dead and Breakfast” was pretty “out there” with ample
gore, clever scene transitions and even a musical number in tow. Can
you give us some insight as to how the writing process for the film
went down?

MATT: I
had spoken with the core cast (Palladino, Carradine, Sito, Morgan,
Philips) about doing a comedy/splatter movie and they were all
interested from the get go. Sisto was doing Six Feet Under and his
schedule was tight so he had to be the first to get his head chopped
off. The rest of the cast was available for the entire 3 week
shoot, although It was the middle of pilot season so they were all
coming and going which made for a scheduling nightmare. Anyway, we
had this great location that was owned by Goalline Productions (our
co-producers on D&B). It looked a lot like the house from Psycho
so I wrote a script that revolved around the property and we built
the two other main locations, downtown Lovelock, and the graveyard
on the same site so we had our own little backlot. I always wanted
to do something fun and bloody and then decided to add my own little
twist with the musical numbers and dance routine. I figured, why
not, I mean if not in a film like this then when?

ARROW:
Your first film “Road Kill” was a mix of drama and comedy.
“Dead and Breakfast” is a horror/comedy. As a director, do
you find it challenging to find the right balance in terms of
injecting just the right comedic elements within a genre bending
film?

MATT: It
can be difficult, yeah. But I think that casting is the key
ingredient to making it work. If you can get actors that first of
all “get” what you’re doing and are willing to really put
themselves out there and not be afraid of looking like an idiot then
you’ve won half the battle.

ARROW:
How many days did it take you to Pre-Prod the film and how long did
the shoot go for?

MATT: FX
guys got about 3 1/2 weeks of pre-production and the rest of the
crew got two weeks. The shoot was three weeks.

ARROW:
What would you say was the biggest obstacle in terms of bringing the
picture home?

MATT: Everything.
We shot almost exclusively at night and a lot of exteriors in the
middle of winter. All of the practical FX that had to be squeezed
into such a tight budget and schedule. Actors having to leave for
auditions and giving us 10 hours notice. Generators blowing up.
Cameras fucking up two days worth of negative. Basically, you name
it – it happened to us. Everyone joked that the film was cursed
because the old Victorian we were shooting in was haunted.

ARROW:
They say that limited funds make a good director more creative on
set? Would you agree with that statement?

MATT: Who’s
the asshole who said that? I guess I’m a shitty director.
Seriously though, I suppose there is some truth in that but I’ll
take more funds any time. And that is not so much so I can have
bigger trailers or better catering but really just because it’s
such an advantage to have more time. Time to let the actors ACT.
Time to let the FX guys do their job properly. Time to give the
gaffer to light. TIME, TIME. TIME.

ARROW:
Actor Jeremy Sisto has starred in two of your films. What is it
about the man that makes him a joy to work with?

MATT: He
gives so much without saying a word. He has these wonderfully
expressive eyes. Erik Palladino should be mentioned as well as I
have worked with him 3 times and he’s just so damned reliable. And
hilarious. I loved writing his role for him in D&B and
visualizing what he was going to do with it. Then we got on the set
and he still surprised me.

ARROW:
Where is “Dead and Breakfast” right now in terms of
locking worldwide distribution? Is it looking good?

Anchor Bay has acquired all North American rights to the film. We
are just now figuring out the strategy for the limited theatrical
release. The DVD should be out next summer. We will also continue on
our world wide festival circuit for the next four or five months, so
keep an eye out in Boston, Florida, Ohio, Ghent, Calgary, Oldenberg,
Rhode Island, London, etc.

ARROW:
What’s next for you, screenwriting / directing wise?

MATT: I
just finished a script for a more serious horror film in the vein of
“Aliens”. Takes place in the middle of New Mexico. Tyruben
Ellingson (Hellboy, Mimic) has designed the creature and he and his
partner DJ Marini (Combustion Studios) will be co-producing the film
with my company Ambush Entertainment. It’s a bigger budget and it
should be a lot of fun.

ARROW: If
there was a demand, would you ever consider doing a Dead and
Breakfast 2?

MATT: Maybe.
Not sure who’d be in it since most of them don’t get out of
Lovelock in one piece. We have been contacted from a foreign company
about the remake rights, so I guess anything is possible.

I’d
like to thank Matthew for checking into the site and for the sweet
meal that was “Dead and Breakfast”. Congrats on locking
distribution, dude! NOW ALL OF YOU RENT/SEE IT WHEN IT COMES OUT! 

OFFICIAL
DEAD & BREAKFAST SITE HERE

READ
MY DEAD AND BREAKFAST REVIEW HERE