In an exclusive interview with Villain Media, actor Richard Hochman reveals what happens when you board the horror/comedy known as Party Bus to Hell aka Bus Party To Hell. Before its limited release and arriving on DVD, check out what the ensemble cast including Tara Reid, Devanny Pinn, and Sadie Katz will do to survive when all hell breaks loose.
Filled with sexy young adults, a party bus on its way to Burning Man breaks down in the hot desert. Surrounded by a group of Satanic worshippers, all hell literally breaks loose. With seven survivors trapped on the bus, they fight for their loves, wondering if someone is not what they seem.
Before Party Bus to Hell arrives April 13th, 2018 on Video On Demand, Richard Hochman discusses playing the role of Alan, working with his ensemble cast, and filming inside the bus.
Villain Media: Alan is a type of anti-hero and a sort of leader. Is that what interested you about the role?
Richard Hochman: I was really interested and hopeful that I was going to land the part because Alan is a douchebag! He also is a leader. He’s an alpha. When it comes to survival, he knows he needs other people. He really starts to care, without giving any spoilers away, when the bus starts getting into trouble. When I read the script, I was thinking about how many one-liners he had! I thought I’d be very lucky if I landed the role!
VM: Speaking about the one-liners, what was more of a challenge, delivering the comedy or pretending to be scared?
RH: I would say, when you’re doing long days, especially when you’re doing a green screen, or something is not there, keeping up the fear and keeping up the intensity, that authentic feeling over the course of a 14 hour day, it can be a challenge and trying at times.
With the comedy, I practiced those deliveries at times before I got to set. I was pretty locked in with what I set out to do.
VM: What was interesting to me was how the movie was locked in one setting, the party bus. Do you have any behind-the-scenes anecdotes about being in this one location?
RH: Yeah it felt like what we were doing in rehearsal. It felt like a stage play. It was a real party bus. It’s very limited; small space. We’re very much an ensemble on the bus, meaning the the other party bus goers. We had to know where we were. We were all on camera a lot of the time. We’re doing choreography when things are hectic. We’re moving around each other. One of the big challenges is that we were out shooting in the desert. When you’re on a party bus, in the desert, and you’re making a movie, that means no air conditioning! [Laughs] And so, it got real hot at certain times. A couple days in, we brought in an extra air conditioner just to cool down the bus because it was getting over 100 degrees in there; with the lights and everything!
VM: Director Rolfe Kaneflsy uses a lot of wide shots, capturing everyone in the ensemble cast, Tell me about reacting, keeping up with the timing and hitting your mark while being surrounded by your co-stars.
RH: Rolfe was really smart in preparing us. During the first day of shooting, we all got together and we had a rehearsal of the entire script. Without getting into the exact instructions, he gave us a basic idea of what we were going to do. When you’re doing a lower budget independent film, you don’t have leg room for air. You have locked days to nail things. He really prepared us to know what we were doing, where we needed to be, and find the tone of the upcoming days. Rolfe is a veteran and independent filmmaker, he knew how to maximize and be efficient with the time on set.
VM: I don’t want to give too much away, spoil too much. Tell me reacting to the practical effects.
RH: I can’t give too much away as far as plot points. I will say fake blood is very sticky! It’s pretty uncomfortable over the course of a long day! You have to preserve that makeup, that prosthetic. It’s very challenging. I fully anticipated it being in a horror movie, but it’s also an action movie. I’m running around! There’s a lot of yelling and stunts! And it was intense!
VM: How did this project change you as an artist.
RH: I would say that working with Rolfe, with the ensemble cast, the experience made me more aware of the details of filmmaking. I know that sounds kind of broad. When you’re doing like a low-budget, independent film, and the producers don’t have millions of dollars for mistakes, you have to be game for changes and be ready at all time. You have be patient and efficient. I learned a lot from Rolfe, his time-management skills, and our DP, Michael Shu, who are such professionals and see every detail. Not even from an acting standpoint, I was watching them from a filmmaking standpoint. Michael lit these scenes so creatively with the resources that he had!
VM: What are you working on now?
RH:There’s a film called Brother that I produced and starred. It’s a festival driven short film about a hit-man who is coping with the loss of his wife and child. He has a twin brother who is being seeked out by his cartel bosses. It’s a short film, sort of arthouse tragedy. It’s in post-production right. It should be hitting the festival circuit. I’m writing and auditioning, enjoying the LA spring.
VM: How can readers find Party Bus to Hell on April 13th?
RH: It’s going to be released on iTunes, on Amazon Prime, Vudu, and a couple other platform that I’m not remembering right now.
Party Bus to Hell (Bus Party To Hell) will be available April 13th on VOD, DVD and in select theaters.
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By Jorge Solis