Dominik Starck
is an actor, writer, producer and director whose latest venture is THE
HITMAN AGENCY (2018), a low-budget action thriller that features Don
'Dragon' Wilson in the cast. What it lacks in expense it gains in
passion and inventiveness. Starck also wrote, produced and acted in the
action movie ATOMIC EDEN (2015), which featured Fred Williamson and
Lorenzo Lamas. In the first part of a two-part interview, I spoke to
Starck about THE HITMAN AGENCY, working with Don 'Dragon' Wilson, his approach to directing, his experiences working in the independent sector, what action movies he has recently enjoyed, and what projects he has coming up.
Part one of the interview.
Part one of the interview.
How
would you describe the movie?
THE
HITMAN AGENCY is an intimate thriller about people in the business of
betrayal, lies, corruption and purchasable death. These men and women
don't stop at lying to their enemies or collaborators - they
also lie to themselves because they can't avoid facing the truth any
longer. The movie's very micro-budget, but I hope audiences will
enjoy some of the many twists and turns within the story, the
effort everybody put into the movie and the dash of action that we
put on top as a flavor. We might be missing out on budget but not
passion. That's the single most important thing to me. I know the
movie can't compete with high budget movies or even the production
value of a fairly financed American independent movie. But a lot of
thought went into the films structure and if people see something
compelling or unique in the storytelling, that - this is like the
biggest compliment there is. I never want to be boring or
indifferent.
That
was simply a pleasure. Don is the nicest guy you can imagine, very
supportive and if you ask me he's grown as an actor a lot in the last
years. He has a sense of humor and self-deprecation, whilst also
being able to kick ass. That's a great combo, and I hope he can
bring all that to a fistful of leading roles in the years coming. We
only worked briefly together on this movie but those were some long
night shoot hours and he was such a sport. We met again months
later and spent a couple of hours on a road trip, and while we
started talking movies it ended up with us talking quantum physics in
the rain.
How
do you like to approach action when you're directing? How do you try
to make your approach unique in the crowded world of action movies?
To
me action is a part of storytelling, just like dialogue. So the
tone of the action has to fit the tone of the movie. Generally
speaking I prefer action grounded in reality. I want to believe the
physics of an action scene, I want to believe that those men or women
were able to do the things they do. If you find that sweet spot
between making action look good and at the same time still realistic
you're in a good place. But of course the reality of filmmaking sets
some limits to that goal. On THE HITMAN AGENCY we had to settle with
bullet holes as visual effects even though I would've loved to shoot
with practical effects. But time and money are the enemies of that.
You need clothing duplicates, time to wire the actors, even more
effects crew… In the end it's a thriller and the action has to
complement the story. But even on a straight action movie – like
the one I'm pitching these days- that's true to me. If you don't
care about the characters the action isn't worth anything even if
it's top level.
I
know it sounds like a cliché, but it's always about time and money.
Technology made it possible within the last 10, 15 years so that
everybody can make a movie. At the same time not everybody has proper
funding, or takes the time to find original stories to tell, so
movies sometimes lack a certain quality. And then there are the good
films - creative, original visions - and you never get to see them.
Not because they're not available but because it's really hard for
audiences to cut through the digital noise. There are thousands of
new movies all the time, on dozens of platforms and to find
the audience for your specific movie is really hard work that nobody
does for you. So in a way indie film makers are turned into salesmen
and that's not always a pleasant thing.
Another
main issue is to how to make a living as an artist. Usually outside
the studio world you have to hustle all the time. When your movie's
done and available, most of the time there's nobody with a briefcase
filled with money. Making your budget back and earning some
change is a big challenge 'cause there's no big money in
digital distribution except if you manage to have a small hit thanks
to word of mouth. Here we come full circle 'cause for that you have
to find your audience among millions of potential viewers that have
no idea your movie even exists.
What
are some of the positive aspects of working in the indie sector?
The
flipside to what I was talking about is that it has never easier to
shoot a movie and to make it available to the public. Everybody with
a story in mind is able to bring a story to life and share it with
the world. And that's a fantastic thing. Interesting
filmmakers and stories from all over the world are available to you
with a few clicks. 20 years ago that was unheard of.
The
JOHN WICK movies for sure, they did a great job for the genre. I
also liked Jeremy Rush's indie film on Netflix; WHEELMAN (2017) with
Frank Grillo, a real man's man, and one of cinema's last. Another
indie film that could count as an action movie is MAYHEM (2017) by
Joe Lynch and obviously there's MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
(2015), one of the best films of the last decade.
In
mainstream cinema, the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE franchise delivers the
goods for sure and I can't wait to see what Christopher McQuarrie
does on the next installment this summer. And to end things on an
even more straight action film note; as soon as there's a new film by
Dutch filmmaker Roel Reine available I'll watch that one for sure.
His two DEATH RACE movies are among the best direct to DVD action
films of the last ten years. His other movies lack better scripts
sometimes but Roel knows how to shoot action in the most stunning,
beautiful way.
I've
a few projects in various stages of development and production, so
hopefully it's only a matter of time until things work out and the
next movie is ready to go. Recently I helped produce a new
action movie with my pal, German martial arts legend Mike Möller.
The movie's called JACK WALKER and just wait till you see
his new fight sequences. I'm developing a unique,
atmospheric horror film and an action film that hopefully I'll shoot
next year , in development for next year and I'm working on a TV
series as well.
And
most importantly, I have a new movie lined up that I'm really
excited about but can't tell you much about yet. It's a female
driven, stylized dark thriller with a genre-mix twist. I have been
waiting for a bigger project to come together for some
time now and while I'm still waiting for that I realized I have
to make this new movie in-between 'cause I'm simply tired
of waiting. I'm not the most patient guy around so I go with a "Let's
do this" attitude. Even if that means to hustle and fight time
and budget again. In the end; what's the alternative? Not making a
movie? That's not an alternative.
The trailer to THE HITMAN AGENCY.
THE HITMAN AGENCY is playing in select theaters and can be purchased or rented on streaming platforms including Amazon.
The trailer to THE HITMAN AGENCY.
THE HITMAN AGENCY is playing in select theaters and can be purchased or rented on streaming platforms including Amazon.
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