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Arts & Entertainment

It Started with a Bloody Van: Cult Movie "Birdemic" Returns to Half Moon Bay

With the release of "Birdemic: Shock and Terror" on Blu-ray DVD, Director James Nguyen -- dubbed the "Master of the Romantic Thriller" -- will return to town on Friday to celebrate where it all began.

Released in 2008 and now available on Blu-ray DVD from Severin Films, Birdemic: Shock and Terror has become a cult and midnight movie sensation.  The 90-minute movie, filmed mainly on location in Half Moon Bay (including shots of area beaches, , , and Main St.), is described as a romantic thriller complete with a love scene, a bucolic small-town setting, actress Tippi Hedren -- and the onslaught of mutant explosive birds.  Which characters will be spared? And how did the film end up landing here?

Director James Nguyen, in his mid-40s, lives and works in the Bay Area as a hi-tech salesman. Nguyen, who immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam in his youth, has no formal film training, but a love of Hitchcock movies and the persistence to make films on his terms and within his means.  Now dubbed the “Master of the Romantic Thriller,” Nguyen has soared to cult film popularity with Birdemic: Shock and Terror and is working on a sequel called Birdemic II: The Resurrection.

On the wings of Birdemic’s success comes a chance to see the film, meet the director, and ask the questions you’ve been dying to ask.  Birdemic Fest will be held this Friday, March 25, at midnight at Cameron’s Restaurant and Inn in Half Moon Bay.

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Half Moon Bay Patch will be covering Birdemic Fest, but caught up with Nguyen on Monday in advance of the big event.

Half Moon Bay Patch:  Why did you choose to film Birdemic: Shock and Terror in Half Moon Bay?

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Director James Nguyen:  It happened by accident.  I grew up in San Mateo and went to San Mateo High School.  I liked to drive to the beach (San Gregorio) to relax and then I’d go downtown for lunch.  It was a partial hang out place for me.  At that time, I never thought I’d be a filmmaker.  After graduating from San Jose State and into the '90s, I would still go to Half Moon Bay down 92 once in awhile.  One time I was parked at San Gregorio Beach, after the stress of work, and I remember vividly looking out at the sea.  I saw a flock of seagulls flying at my car, it reminded me of The Birds.  And I thought, what if I used Half Moon Bay like a town in the making of The Birds for my movie?  I used eagles and vultures, instead of seagulls and crow.  The environmental element of the movie came later.

I don’t think a movie about birds has gotten so much attention since The Birds itself.  I think I enhance Half Moon Bay by my movie being filmed here.

Half Moon Bay Patch:  Were local businesses welcoming to your film crew?

Director James Nguyen:  Yes.  It was a pleasant place to work.  Everyone was very cooperative and friendly.  Cameron Palmer and I became friends during filming.

Half Moon Bay Patch:  How many days did you shoot in Half Moon Bay?  Would you film here again?

Director James Nguyen:  I worked mostly Saturdays and Sundays, February to August.  It took awhile to make it.  When I started scouting Main Street, the restaurant in Birdemic was formerly called (Original) Johnny’s.  Now it is the Main Street Grill.  If you look closely after the love scene, the camera pans on the old (Original) Johnny’s sign.  The opening walk in the film (which was filmed later) has the Main Street Grill sign.

I would film here again, but probably make more of a love story.  I have another scene for another movie in mind here.  It is a perfect place to shoot a movie in whatever genre.  My movie could start a wave of that!

Half Moon Bay Patch:  What were your cinematic influences for Birdemic?

Director James Nguyen:  I had two major inspirations.  One was The Birds, released by Alfred Hitchcock in 1963.  He was way ahead of his time, with environmental issues and global warming.  He was filming this in 1962.  Also, Al Gore’s movie An Inconvenient Truth, where he points to the screen and mentions the killing off and disruption of birds.

I went informally to the film school of Hitchcock Cinema and I watched a lot of Hitchcock movies. The genre of romantic thriller was created by Alfred Hitchcock, but I called it romantic thriller; Mr. Hitchcock never did. 

Half Moon Bay Patch:  How do you feel about the reaction of audiences to Birdemic, newly released on Blu-ray DVD, now that it has become a fixture on the midnight movie/cult scene?

Director James Nguyen:  I’m very happy for it, for the good fortune of Birdemic: Shock and Terror. My intent was a serious romance and thriller.  Why is it a cult classic?  Multiple reasons.  One, because it was produced for less than $10,000 and limited in resources.  There is imperfection from animation to visual effects to acting.  Combine that with humor, romance, action, and good casting and you have a cult classic!  Also, there is sincerity to the story about man and CO2 emitting machines and our planet.

Eagles and vultures are heroes and good guys of the movie.  The attack is a global warming metaphor, like Hurricane Katrina or giant jellyfish in the oceans of Japan and other places.  They attack because of global warming.  They are mutant, toxic and flammable.

Half Moon Bay Patch:  How is it that you have come to work with actress Tippi Hedren twice?

Director James Nguyen:  My movie Julie and Jack (2003) will be re-released in April.  She is in that.

For Birdemic, I just called her agent and sent her the script.  I told her about being a kid and seeing her run into the phone booth in The Birds. She liked the script and decided to do the role.  I got the last greatest Hitchcock blonde to do my movie!  She’s generous and I’m very grateful for her help.

Half Moon Bay Patch:  Do you continue your work as a Silicon Valley hi-tech salesman?

Director James Nguyen:  Yes, I still have to.  Making movies hasn’t paid my bills yet.  I’ve achieved my American dream by making a hit.  But I wasn’t looking for Hollywood achievement.  I just made it because I love making movies. 

Half Moon Bay Patch:  I’ve read that Birdemic will have a sequel.  What will your budget be?  How is the money raised?

Director James Nguyen:  The movie is Birdemic II: The Resurrection 3D. It takes place in Hollywood, where a platoon of eagles will attack and who will survive?  It takes place at Sunset Boulevard, near La Brea.  La Brea means “the tar.”  Tar is the hint to the whole sequel.

It is funded by a private investor for a $1 million budget, with interest from a few Hollywood distributors.  I will be cleaning up a few imperfections, like visual effects.  There is a great story line.  A great story line compels me, motivates me to make a movie.

Half Moon Bay Patch:  What other projects are you working on?

Director James Nguyen:  My memoir came at the 2010 tour by accident. It’s called Birdemic:  Shock and Terror (The Romantic Thriller That Became A Cult Sensation Hit!). And I am working on the movie sequel. I’ve also been touring internationally to promote "Birdemic."  I’ve gone all over the United States and to Canada, England, Italy.  It was fun.

Half Moon Bay Patch:  You drove to the Sundance Film Festival to promote Birdemic.  What made you get in the car and go?

Director James Nguyen:  I submitted my movie to the Festival committee in late 2008 and it was rejected.  I took a bold step: I decorated my car with fake blood and the promotional poster and had speakers with bird noises coming out of them.  I went to Sundance in 2009 and drove up and down Main Street in Park City, Utah and got a lot of attention—especially from police officers.  An officer pulled me over and checked out my bloody van.  I said, “Oh officer, I was just trying to promote my movie.”  When he let me go, I remember he said, “Hey, good luck with your movie.”

Then, Evan Husney with Severin Films saw my car parked and came to the bar to see the private screening.   

Why did I just get in the car and go to Sundance?  Because it was my third film and I thought if I don’t go out, it will be in the dust, forgotten.  I spent too much of my time to do nothing for this movie.  I got lucky with Severin.

Half Moon Bay Patch:  Do you have anything to say to novice filmmakers who have a dream?

Director James Nguyen:  I have two things to say.  One, be sincere.  Tell a story you understand and know.  Two, work with what you have.  I started shooting with the finances of my paycheck.  People write a great story and then try to raise money and just give up.  Birdemic was my third movie after 10 years.

And I want to say thank you to the people of Half Moon Bay and the County of San Mateo for allowing me to film in Half Moon Bay!  Check out the DVD Blu-ray, there’s lots of bonus material.  I hope that beyond a few good laughs and being entertained, I hope people walk away thinking.

Director James Nguyen will be at Birdemic Fest at midnight on Friday, March 25 at Cameron’s Restaurant and Inn in Half Moon Bay.  Nguyen will introduce the movie, sign DVDs, and answer questions following the 90-minute film screening.  Damien Carter will sing Birdemic’s hit song “Just Hanging Out.” 

“It will be a screening and a little bit of drinking,” says Nguyen, smiling. 

Admission is $10 and DVDs will be for sale. Please call (650) 726-5705 for more information.  

To see a trailer for the film along with an interview with director James Nguyen, click on the videos attached in the media box to the right.  

 

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