WGA writer, producer and director, Carl T. Evans latest feature film, a psychological thriller titled, Criticsized, which was released in late 2016, parallels the film Seven in its intelligent and twisted mindset of a brilliant killer who manipulates the system to prove his point and get revenge. Criticsized stars Callum Blue, Kerr Smith, Mike Marino and James Kyson.
As a fan of comedy, last year Evans produced and directed a live HBO style, TV comedy special at the Borgata in Atlantic City starring comedian, Mike Marino’s – known as New Jersey’s bad boy and featuring Jon Voight, Joe Mantegna, Robert Davi, Armand Assante, and Brad Garrett, to name a few.
Evans’ natural passion for storytelling was an easy transition into writing; creating screenplays, TV dramas and Short films. Known for “truthful dramas” – Evans’ first film, Walking on the Sky was based on a tragic event in his own personal life. As the producer, director and writer – Evans’ film went on to win the Best Dramatic Feature Award at the New York International Independent Film Festival and had its theatrical release the following year. The film was labeled, The Little Chill, after Lawrence Kasdan’s hit, The Big Chill.
Evans’ second feature film, Frame of Mind, has been playing on SHOWTIME for over 2 1/2 year with runs on The Movie Channel, The Sleuth Channel, Universal HD channel, and Netflix, as well as in foreign markets. Frame of Mind shows off Evans’ unique ability to connect with and relate to actors. This is clearly evident in the films cast; with stars, Chris Noth, Vince Curatola, Tony Lo Bianco, and Academy Award nominee Barbara Barrie. Produced and co-written by Evans – the film follows a New Jersey detective who stumbles upon new evidence in the Kennedy Assassination.
Known as an “actor’s director”, Carl’s passion for the entertainment industry started at an early age with acting. His dedication to his craft earned him an acting scholarship at Adelphi University in New York and was accepted to work with Uta Hagen and Howard Fine. Evans’ has go on to develop an extensive resume, which includes feature films, theatre and numerous television credits spanning over 20 years in the business with over 600 hours of episodic TV.
Evans current plans include directing and producing his latest screenplay Weekend for five a heartfelt drama set in the Hamptons.
Currently, Carl is attending several film festivals, but we were able to chat with him about his latest projects. Check the interview below.
Let’s talk Criticsized. The synopsis on IMDB had us shivering! It reads: ‘the most vicious serial killer of the 21st-century… and he’s just getting warmed up!’ Did you base the film on a true event? Or, did similar events influence the script?
It’s based on the concept of an independent filmmaker being reviewed very poorly by critics and deciding to taking revenge on the individuals who he feels derailed the progress of his career.
I came up with this idea after reading the New York Independent film review in the local newspaper. I came across one particularly harsh review. I was taken aback by how brutal the attack was on the film. This stayed with me for years and ended up being the basis of my new film Criticsized.
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You started your career as an actor. However, you transitioned over to filmmaking. How has the journey been, thus far?
The transition to directing was a natural progression for me from a creative point of view. Anyone creative likes to be challenged and moving from in front of the camera to being behind the camera does exactly that. As an actor, you’re responsible for a portion of how the project turns out. As the director, your responsibility incorporates every aspect of how the film turns out.
My first movie, Walking on the Sky, will always be one of my favorite films because it represents the transition in my professional career to directing. I’m the most proud of my latest film Criticsized, because it’s a culmination of everything that I’ve learned as an actor and director to this point with my career.
Your second feature film, ‘Frame of Mind’, has been playing on SHOWTIME for over 2 1/2 years, with runs on The Movie Channel, The Sleuth Channel, Universal HD channel, Netflix, as well as in foreign markets. How incredible is that! Do you feel you accomplished your goals as a filmmaker, with this success?
As a filmmaker I have specific goals for success when approaching a new film project. First and most importantly is to make the best film possible based on the resources and talent I have access to. Next, is to secure distribution for your movie so it can be sold and be seen by as many people as possible. This does two things, exposes your work and generates income. Frame of Mind did both. It was sold worldwide and has aired hundreds of times on cable television here in the US.
Because of that I do feel like this film was a success. And with all the exposure it got it enabled me to direct and produce my latest film Criticsized.
You have won awards for Criticsized. We bet that was an incredible feeling! Does this motivate you to reach even higher in your career?
Winning awards is an amazing feeling. It validates all the hard work, passion, blood sweat and tears you put into you’re project. And when your peers and people within the industry endorse the work you’ve done it’s a real sense of accomplishment. Awards and the accolades that come with it never fade.
What are some of your favorite projects to date?
My favorite project to date is Criticsized. The two main characters are very complex and layered. Something I personally love to see when I go to the movies. Detective Jack Donaldson ( Callum Blue) and killer, William Reynolds (Kerr Smith) are very similar in what drives them to achieve their goals. In film, I show the pain they live with and the struggles they face as they try to become the men they want to be. This internal battle from both characters adds several more layers to their backstory, which I think makes the characters more interesting and much more relatable. That’s something I constantly strive for in any project I work on and I really feel like I’ve done that with Criticsized.
Your career spans over 20 years in the industry. Is there a story you haven’t told, yet?
As a young actor, the first few jobs I booked were as an “extra”. I learned very quickly on the set that “extras” were treated like objects not people, and this was the norm in the Industry. It felt very demeaning to me and the other actors I was working with. And from those shitty experiences, I decided that if I ever became a director I would never use the term “extras”.
Now that I’m directing, on the set we have cast members, who have lines that work with their supporting cast members who don’t have lines. Without the supporting cast, many of the scenes in my projects wouldn’t ring true. Every actor is important to the project regardless of the size of the role they’re playing.
Your first film, Walking on the Sky, was based on a tragic event in your personal life. Was it important for you to tell the story?
Walking on the Sky was a very personal project for me, because it was based on the loss of a close friend. This caused me to go to a pretty dark place, where questioning everything in my life was a daily event. It was important to tell the story because in the process of dealing with it I grew and changed as a person. It forced me to see myself and the world in a very different way. What I gained from this experience was that life is a series of relationships, and those with the healthiest relationships live the most fulfilled lives. The most important relationship is the one you have with yourself. In the film, the characters learn this lesson and their lives are changed for the better as well.
Some directors are shooting on film, for the purity of filmmaking, such as directors Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino. What are your thoughts?
My first feature film was shot on a Sony HD F900, which was the HD video camera George Lucas helped develop and use to shoot Star Wars : Episode ll. Since I started my directing career with HD video, that’s all I knew and that’s the path I was on. Over the next several years, the technology had literally transformed how the industry worked and digital has been my main platform for directing. At some point I will do a project on film for the experience of it but I can safely say I’m a digital director.
My latest film Criticsized was shot on the (Red Camera,) which has a very film looks based on the lenses and the lighting setups we used. Something I learned a long time ago, regardless of how the film looks or what it shot on if it’s not an interesting film, it doesn’t really matter.
You’re also a writer. Tell us how you research a story’s background and turn it into a script.
With my film Frame of Mind, the story was based on a lot of the facts surrounding the events of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. A lot of research went into the facts about that event. I had to be very specific on what information was exposed in the film so that it stayed true to the historical information.
How I work, first I gather all the information that’s factual about the event I’m writing about. Then with that information I create a bullet point timeline breakdown of the facts that will be useful in telling the story. From that framework an outline for the script is structured.
Now the real writing begins with creating act one, act two, and act three. If all goes well, I have my first draft of the script.
Writing is actually rewriting so many rewrites and several versions later you hopefully have an interesting script that’s worthy of being produced into a film.
Is there anything you would like to share that we haven’t asked?
I do have several projects in the works, one entitled Weekend for Five. This film is a drama about an inmate, who is released from prison and has to start his life over. My hopes are to be in pre-production on this project by the end of this year.
Connect with Carl:
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0262607/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamcarlevans
Web: http://www.carltevans.com/
Web: http://www.criticsizedthemovie.com/
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