James Cullen Bressack’s star is on the rise in the Independent Film Industry. He is Writer, Director and Producer with his own company Psykik Junky Pictures. However his talents have been noticed enough to garner him some opportunities with film companies outside of the Indie Hollywood scene. Born and raised in L.A. he is not unaccustomed to the world of filmmaking. His father is a three time award winning writer and his mother is a voice actress. Creativity and storytelling are in his DNA. Bressack’s IMDb states that his father took him into the studio of a television project the Mr. Bressack was working on and immediately James Cullen began directing at the tender age of 4. The focus and passion that would come of such an early spark is evident within his work. He has written over 13 titles and directed 14 films both shorts and features. His directing and writing is powerful and poignant. They grind into your mind with intense , riveting emotion as well as entertain wickedly.
Having first realized his love of the film industry at such a young age the determination to make his own films came during a time of familial discourse. His father was in the hospital for an extensive period whereas James found himself by his father’s side enjoying watching and discussing old Hollywood films as well as current ones. It was a passion they both shared and the experience was the inspirational “light” that told Bressack his desire to make movies was the right one to follow. It is a time that James Cullen can now talk of fondly thanks to his Dad’s returning good health. James realized how important film’s truly and set out to make movies that people would talk about. And that they do!
In the sixth grade James Cullen Bressack made his first film, one that he swears will never see the light of day as it stands now. The film was a feature length titled “The Pointless Adventures Of Dylan And Brad. A film Bressack says “was without plot and entirely improvised.” He did state that maybe someday in the future he may do a compilation release of his childhood shorts allowing this film as well as others to see the light of day, if not he says maybe as ‘special features’ on future project releases. James thinks no one would really want to see these films but I beg to differ feeling that in time, and very little time indeed people will beg to see these classic moments of his past. I recently chatted with James Cullen Bressack about his films and influences. His body of work is a growing menagerie of Horror, Action and Cinema Verite that drags you screaming into the world of pain, suffering, inequality and social discourse with such films as “My Pure Joy”, “Hate Crime” not to mention his short films like “Heroine Junky For Dummies” and “The Music Box Killer”
ASouthernLIfe: When you were realizing that you wanted to make movies, what Directors influenced you the most?
JamesCullenBressack: Chan-wook, Takashi Miike, Stanley Kubrick, Taratino, Rodreguez , Martin Scorsese, probably a clichéd bunch to mention but it is true.
ASouthernLife: Having mentioned Chan-wook and Takashi Miike, has Asian cinema always been in your veins or is it something new that you have discovered? Classic Kung-Fu Theatre aside-I think that is in all our veins…lol.
JamesCullenBressack: I’ve always loved Asian films. They were my favorite films growing up. I will take subtitles over big American stars any day.
ASouthernLife: Okay now for more something a bit more modern, let’s talk about “Hate Crime”. There is a dark realism that touches on a personal and often ignored subject matter in this film. Does this come from a place of familiarity or just casual social awareness?
JamesCullenBressack: A bit of both to be honest. Let me tell you a story. When I was in Texas last year, on my way to a screening of “My Pure Joy” in Oklahoma, my business partner and I were harassed by a group of people at a local bar. They said to my friend ‘you’re a Jew ain’t ya boy?" I ain’t never seen a Jew before. Where’s your horns at Jewboy.” The social environment that I depict in my films really exists, even today. People haven’t become less intolerant or less racist. We’ve just learned to ignore it more. We act as if intolerance is only something the ignorant practice, but the sad truth is most of America must be ignorant because the racism is everywhere. This hate in the world is an epidemic.
I mean for god sakes, the fact that ALL AMERICAN CITIZENS don’t have equal rights in this country is completely absurd. This is 2012 here people- not 1902!
ASouthernLife: So true, but hatred seems to be what drives economies and tucks the kiddies in bed at nights. Peace and equality are dirty words now, posed by twisted liberals according a growing crowd in America. Not that I don’t mind being considered dirty or twisted. Sadly it is just how we are seen, it is sickening. So when this confrontation happened (in Texas) was it the kind of moment where you feared for your personal safety or one of those moments when a little educating would work to your advantage?
JamesCullenBressack: When confronted with that situation we realized we had to educate people, thus we started writing “Hate Crime” the next day.
ASouthernLife: Maybe when it shows in Texas those people will be in attendance and good will come from the experience. I know the movie is quite profound, it held me from the beginning until the final scene.
JamesCullenBressack: Wow, thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it. I only paid you how much to say that? LOL.
ASouthernLife: LOL. It is true. Hate Crime is very different from “My Pure Joy” which was a more traditional approach to Horror. As for subgenres which do you lean more toward when coming up with story ideas? If you have a preference.
JamesCullenBressack: Honestly I never like to do the same thing twice, so I change my subgenre every film. I never want to make the same movie a second time. I want to take the adventure of making something different.
ASouthernLife: A very wise decision indeed because you seem to be moving up in the Industry and mostly because of the diversity of your films. Now you have a short in “Theatre Of Deranged II” which comes out later, called “Unmimely Demise”. Other than featuring mimes what is the film about?
JamesCullenBressack: It’s about a killer mime named Cheeky who goes on a murderous rampage after 10 years.of hiding. He discovered his best friend, a clown, was sleeping with his wife. Now Cheeky is back and with an arsenal of invisible weapons to kick some ass. It is campy but a fun horror flick. Before “Hate Crime” this was my favorite thing I had done.
ASouthernLife: Wow, that is saying a ot.! So an invisible arsenal of weapons, yet the results will be very visible and final for his victims. I can’t wait to see how that turns out.
James Cullen has a lot ahead of him now. Not only is he making plans to bring “Hate Crime” to next years film circuit where I am sure it will garner lots of attention, It is truly a powerful and full throttled nightmare look into racism, but he is also set to direct the story of the Grim Sleeper. A serial killer who stalked South Central L.A. This film is titled “Dancing With Rip”. It is a story that Bressack remembers following on the television and in the newspapers as the horrors unfolded. Having a fascination with serial killers like any healthy minded horror fan should he was pleased to take on directing the film after reading the script. In his own words “the film is so dark and visceral that it was an easy choice for me to get onboard.” The story will be told from the perspective of the detectives that caught the killer and deal with the years that they were on a cold trail.
As well as focusing on “Dancing With Rip” James Cullen Bressack will also be directing a mysterious film that little is known about right now. It is scheduled to begin filming in January and is titled “Pernicious”. The film is centered in Thailand home to Benetone Films and Hillin Entertainment who approached Bressack with a desire to have him make a movie with them. So he set down to write a script which they loved and the horror flick will take life next year. It is a film I am very intrigued by after seeing the teaser poster and knowing the talent that James Cullen possesses. “We have all been having a great time working together on this awesome project and are really excited about it. We start filming in January! I couldn't have asked for better producers for this one” Bressack said to me in our interview about the project but was sure not to let anything more slip about the project as not to break his agreement with the studio. That just makes this film that much more interesting to learn about as the months pass own and we edge closer to the filming date.
James Cullen Bressack IMDb
PsykikJunkyPictures
"Pernicious" Website
