20 QUESTIONS with MARCUS DUNSTAN
Twenty things you (probably) didn’t know about The Collector and The Collection screenwriter/director, Marcus Dunstan.
1. My first job was… paperboy – A high octane disaster. I failed to deliver the Macomb Daily Journal to an entire street for my tenure. However, I was also responsible for “collection” detail. Nothing like a pre-teen facing down insolvent adults for shakedown cash. A great experience for learning; If you accept a job… ya better be willing to do it, and do it great.
2. If I wasn’t a writer/director, I would likely be… well, up until five years ago… I wasn’t. So, I would still be writing at night, but working a trio of odd jobs during the day or maybe wondering if I should’ve stuck around California a bit longer from the basement of my parent’s home.
3. I collect… I love figures from Rated R movies. I keep looking at them going: Really? Is this true? I am not the only one who loves this!! Marvelous. And Music: anything to get my head bobbing. I love it.
4. My favorite word is… grateful
5. I’m a big fan of… people who don’t give up
6. The single best piece of (screenwriting) advice I have ever gotten… “Don’t give up”
7. I have always wanted to… speak three languages
8. The best thing I have ever read, (but did not write) is… OH THE PLACES YOU’LL GO – Dr Seuss. Yes, a child’s book. A rhyme. But, also a message which applies to life both young and adult. The lessons that stick come in all forms.
9. People often tell me that I… should lose weight.
10. I really think that my best work (produced or not) is… FEAST. It is the best for it is the very best life experience film has returned to my family. The last conversation I had with my grandmother Gen, who took me to my first horror movie in a theater (Creepshow 2), who gave permission to Journey Comics to sell FANGORIA to me… that conversation, was over a coke in her living room and we laughed and laughed for FEAST was about to be made. We toasted our pop’s and hoped to keep some unsuspecting kid up too late with a scare and a laugh. That is as great as it gets. Life and Love.
11. I find inspiration in… parents, teachers, counselors. Those who stand up to bullies. Those who stand by their principles… even when its inconvenient.
12. The best thing about being a writer/director is… the ability to critique by contribution; If I want something from a horror film, I have a chance to create it, not chastise another product for not having it.
13. I spend way too much time… avoiding exercise.
14. The smartest person in my cell phone is… my parents.
15. It really bothers me when… food I love becomes tight pants.
16. The worst thing about being a writer/director is… complaining to the boss… is really just talking to yourself.
17. One mistake that most aspiring screenwriters make is… taking a break. Never stop. Don’t burn out, but don’t quit. Ya get comfy… ya get replaced.
18. If I knew the apocalypse were coming in 24 hours, I’d… thank my family for the very best of life.
19. The three websites I visit most often are… I wish I could fly. I wish I could hide from time. I wish I could keep my family safe, healthy and happy for as long as they wish.
20. You’d be surprised to know that I… can’t read.
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