20 Questions with Cory Geryak

(Cinematographer of "Future War")

Cory Geryak composing an effects scene for "Future War" (Photo courtesy of Cory Geryak)

The Alleged MST3K Site is pleased to present "20 Questions" with Cory Geryak!

Cory's cinematography credits include "Behind The Planet Of The Apes", the cool feature-length documentary that comes with the "Planet Of The Apes" DVD box set. To the right is a photo of Roddy McDowall during the filming of "Behind the Planet of the Apes", shortly before Roddy's death. Cory has also worked on numerous film documentaries including the making of "Cleopatra", "Alien", "The Omen".

Before I contacted Cory, I had no idea what to expect from the cinematographer of a film like "Future War". After a few emails, I had a completely different viewpoint. Cory proved to be very informative about the filming the movie behind a favorite Mystery Science Theater 3000 experiment and very nice to an inquisitive MSTie. The movie had a weak script and a VERY limited budget, but the crew really did the best they could with the the material they had. Here's one example of the the tidbits he shared: the rubber dinosaure feet worn in close-up shots would only fit one actor - Travis Brooks Stewart. That's right, tne nun wore rubber dinosaur feet. I'm probably a little kinder to "Future War" as a film than Cory is...if for no other reason than I now have some insight into the challenges the crew faced while shooting it.

I'll also mention that Cory is very friendly, a true film lover, and he has a great sense of humor. To capture his thoughts upon revisiting "Future War", he agreed to participate in an email "20 Questions" - style interview. In it he discusses "Future War", MST3K, "Planet of the Apes", and his future projects. In my discussion with Cory, he never failed to give credit to his fellow crew members who did a remarkable job with very limited resources. In particular, he credits dinosaur builders Cary Howe and Dan Kaplan for doing a great job within a very limited budget. (Cary went on to work as a model builder on Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings.") Miniature set builders Dave Kann and Bill Hawk also receive praise for making the most of limited resources. And y'know, he's right....on balance, "Future War" is not that bad a film, and there is a lot to like about it. It is certainly not the worst monster flick ever featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000. Now it has a new life as the core of a beloved MST3K episode.

It's not "Citizen Kane" or "Forbidden Planet" of course. But on the crew were several professionals like Cory, and he's got lots to say about the shoot. Want to find out how Cory mixed it up with Robert Z'Dar and Daniel Bernhardt? Want to read about how the dinosaur effects were created? Read on for the rest of the story....

From L to R, Cory, The Lawgiver, and Roddy McDowall (Photo courtesy of Cory Geryak)

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20 Questions With Cory Geryak, Cinematographer of of "Future War"

1. How did you get involved with "Future War"?

I became involved with "Future War" due to my working relationship with Tony Doublin. I was working for him as a gaffer on several different visual FX projects that he was shooting as the DP (Director of Photography). The first project that we met on was shooting the miniatures for "Lawnmower Man". Tony was one of the first contacts that I made when I moved to the LA area from NJ. When the opportunity arose for him direct the movie, he thought that I would be a good choice due to the fact that we already had a good working relationship and that I would work for cheap!

2. The dinosaur effects were cheesy, but the movie in general seems well-photographed (particularly in the beginning sequence, with the light/smoke coming through the slats on the boards). How did you receive your training as a photographer/cinematographer?

Thank you for your kind words. There were very few opportunities to achieve anything interesting photographically. We were extremely limited by our sets and locations. As a matter of fact, I think we shot 11 different sets in the same warehouse space. The room had white walls and apparently, we couldn't afford any paint. The house also had white walls. White walls are the cinematographer's arch enemy, it is easy to light up dark walls to look brighter, but time consuming to make white ones look darker. We shot most of the movie in about 12 days, so I did my best under the conditions.

As far as my background, I graduated film school in 1990 and then worked in a camera rental house for about a year before moving to LA. I was fortunate to find work as a gaffer rather quickly. A gaffer is also known as the Chief Lighting Technician, so I was already responsible for lighting several small feature films by the time I got to "Future War". While film school was useful for theoretical filmmaking, there is no training like getting onto a film set and starting to work.

3. From the credits, it looks like many of the crew wore many different "hats" - you for example were the cinematographer, director of photography for the miniatures unit, and perhaps some other things. Was this by design or did this "evolve" based on events during the filming?

The whole production was the equivalent of a student film, so we all jumped in wherever we needed to. I was fortunate to have a few of my crew members from other jobs work with us. I know that the production staff and F/X crew could be considered hat racks for all the hats they wore.

4. How did you film the red "dinosaur cam - target reticle" effect?

We simply shot through a heavy red filter for the Dino POV. The cheesy robot POV graphic was added in post.

5. I thought those opening credits were *never* going to end! Why did they take so long?

I wasn't involved with any of the post production, but I assume it was because the movie wasn't long enough. When we finished the principal part of the shoot, there simply wasn't enough material to have a feature length film. It probably should have stayed that way- I went through the film a few weeks ago, and it plays very well if cut down to about 58 seconds! I guess it also needed some cheesy narration to try to make the story somewhat understandable.

6. Daniel Bernhardt went on to play "Agent Johnson" in the Matrix: Reloaded. (His fighting skills seem much more threatening in "Matrix: Reloaded" for some reason.) What was your experience with him?

Daniel was wonderful to work with. I think it was one of his first projects. He is an incredible athlete and he could do a vertical leg split against a door jam that never ceased to amaze me. I think he went on to Bloodsport 2 after that.

7. You mentioned filming "Future War" in 1994. Why did it take so long to release?

I know that it did take them a long time to post it. They also went back to film more segments (exterior box fight, Forry's cameo, "refrigerator" fight scene). The script was so awful to begin with and as they say, "You can't polish a turd." I guess it took them awhile to keep trying...

8. A salty-tongued nun? What were you guys thinking?

Please reference the awful script comment above.

9. I understand (from http://www.mst3kinfo.com/daddyo/di_1004.html) that the special effects were difficult to shoot. Can you describe the difficulties creating these? Where on earth did those dinosaurs come from?

In reality all the dinosaurs were the same size, but we attempted to make them seem different sizes by using forced perspective and miniatures. It worked better sometimes than others. In order to achieve a forced perspective, the foreground puppet needs to be in focus along with the actors in the background. There needs to be an enormous amount of light on the set to achieve this (bouncing all around those white walls of course). It was a challenge just to make that happen on our schedule and budget, never mind trying to add any creativity to it. The puppet and actors need to be lit and lined up just right and interact properly in order to seem like there is a large dinosaur attacking them. I think it kind of works in the living room attack at the house and in the interior box set with the SWAT team and Daniel. The dinosaurs were created by an effects artist named Carey Howe assisted by Dan Kaplan. They were it and I think they had a budget of $5.38. The puppets were very nicely sculpted, but needed more time and money to be really articulated. We got the most mileage out of the hand puppet version. Dave Kahn and Bill (sorry Bill, I can't recall your last name right now) did an impressive job on the miniature sets. Not bad for mostly foamcore.

10. Also from the same site, it appears that the director Anthony Doublin had some trouble and quit, replaced by the "Damage Control Unit". Did he continue to work on the special effects after giving up his directing job?

I don't know the specifics of Tony leaving, although I know that I was finished after the principal photography and the miniature shoot was done. If "Damage Control Unit" means trying to fix a crappy script with even worse additional scenes, then I guess that's what it was. I didn't think the movie could get much worse than the original script, but I am amazed to say that I think the "Damage Control Unit" managed to somehow.

11. In the end credits, there is a "box wrangler" credit. Is that what I think it is?

Yup. I think the comments about the boxes on MST3K are brilliant.

12. Any memorable stories about the genre actors? Robert Z'Dar? Forrest Ackerman? How did you manage to get the "Famous Monsters of Filmland" product placement in the frame as often as you did?

We had Robert Z'Dar for one hideous, grueling 16 hour day. The producers would only pay to have him there for one day- apparently, it was cheaper to run the crew into the ground instead. Robert was pretty quiet, he came in, put on his ridiculous costume, and did his thing. We did have one moment together when I was shooting yet another fight scene surrounded by boxes when Robert and Daniel grab each other's throats and start spinning along the wall. I had the pleasure of Daniel spinning me around and then Robert while I handheld the camera. I was a little nervous about Robert because he wasn't really saying very much, but everything turned out ok. I did not shoot any of the Forry footage. I have shot him for severalother projects and he is a fountain of Sci-Fi history.

13. Your cinematography credits include the excellent "Behind the Planet of the Apes" full-length feature documentary. This was a very in-depth look at the making of the "Apes" series. How did you get involved with making this documentary?

"Behind the Planet of the Apes" was a dream come true for me. I have been an apes fan since I was a kid, so to get that chance was amazing. I do a lot of camerawork for the company that produced it, Van Ness Films and the man who runs it, Kevin Burns. Kevin is an amazing documentarian. He has been very generous to include me in all of his projects- "Apes" being my favorite. I shot the host wraps with Roddy along with most of the interviews. Roddy was a real trooper that day out in Malibu Creek State Park. He was flawless on camera and just lovely to work with. I couldn't believe when he passed away about 6 months later, a true loss.

14. Were you aware of MST3K at the time "Future War" was filming?

I don't recall watching the show back then, but I never would have suspected that we might be on it.

15. When did you become aware that FW was selected for an MST3K episode? What was your reaction? The reaction of your fellow crew members?

I found out that it aired on MST3K through the internet. I was thrilled! It is the only way that the movie is remotely watchable, so I'm grateful that MST3K made it somewhat entertaining.

16. Did you (or anyone involved with the making of FW) have any contact with Best Brains Inc. (producers of MST3K) during the writing or taping of the MST3K episode?

Not me, and I haven't been in contact with the producers since then.

17. Someone licensed the film to be shown on "Mystery Science Theater 3000". Do you feel that this is demeaning to the filmakers, or is it an opportunity for the film to make a little more money and be shown more widely?

Nothing could be more demeaning than making someone watch this movie without MST3K's treatment of it! Thank god for MST3K!

18. In the MST3K version, during your opening credit Crow states "I'm going to ignore this credit"? You've been dissed by a puppet. As an artist, how do you respond? :-)

I just think they couldn't figure out how to pronounce my name... too bad, I would have liked more of a jab.

19. Can you tell us about your current projects?

I've been shooting a lot of documentaries, specials and Biographies...along with a show called Monsterama for AMC's Monster channel available on the VOOM HD Network. I still work as a Chief Lighting Technician as well. Some recent (and not so recent) projects are- "Memento", "Laurel Canyon", "Identity", and "The Italian Job". I just finished a movie with Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr., tentatively titled "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang".

20. Thank you so much for the interview! Any last comments?

Thank you for your interest in the movie. Good luck with your website!

It's clear that we're going to see great things from Cory. He later emailed me one other useful factoid: it seems that some of the dinosaur close-upst were shot with an actor wearing rubber "dinosaur feet"....these were so small, they could only be worn by one actor: Travis Brooks Stewart. That's right, the nun wore dinosaur feet!

A big "thank you" to him from MSTies everywhere for the interview.

This interview is Copyright Brad Vereen, 2004. You dare not use this interview without permission. Special thanks to Dan Nolte for his assistance. A big thank you to Cory Geryak for being so gracious. This interview would not have been possible without his cooperation.

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