We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Del Kary a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Del, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
It’s one of the hardest things to do.. When you are on a movie set, and more times than not, you will have to change or revamp a certain scene on the spot.
You could have rehearsed for weeks, and now all that you have planned, has to change.
That’s when creativity comes into play.
And for me, that ‘in the moment’, or ‘what about this’ starts to bloom and lights some kind of fire under me and my imagination starts to run wild.
The challenge of having to come up with a scene or dialog or what have you, ignites that creativity spark.
As long as you keep your mind open and not let a setback sour you, you will be surprised how much your creativity flows.
And another huge asset is your cast and crew… listen to their ideas. When you allow yourself to be open and listen and absorb others ideas, creativity will flow in an over abundance.
In addition to all that, think outside the box… you can never truly be creative if you don’t open your mind to ideas that scare you or intimidate you… that keeps the fire alive.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I started my film career back in 1996. I had always enjoyed film, actors, Hollywood, movie magic… it was really all I was interested in.
I was given a camcorder for Christmas in 1990, and from that moment on, that camera never left my side. I was constantly making little movies with family and friends.
In ‘96, I came into contact with a guy in an AOL horror movie chat room who had the same interest as me and had also been making films on his own.
We decided to trade some of our projects with each other and he liked one of my projects called ‘From Afar’. He asked if I would like to work on a script together and re-work the story, and I jumped at the chance.
After we had finished the script, this guy told me that he was a partner of an independent film company in New Jersey, and that if I could get the movie we wrote filmed, he could possibly get it released.
I agreed and started casting for the movie, using family and friends,
We filmed the movie for 3 months, and when it was finished, sent it off to see if it would be released.
Happily, it was accepted, and the movie was released in August of 1997 under a new title : ‘Video Psycho’ on VHS.
The movie sold fairly well, and lit my excitement to do another.
In 1999, I contributed to the movie ‘Snuff Perversions : Bizzare Cases Of Death’’. It was a collection of shorts, supposedly capturing real deaths caught on camera.
My segment was titled ‘The Video Psycho’, and was a similar story to my first movie, where a psycho likes to videotape his murders.
After ‘Snuff Perversion’ was released I took a step back from filmmaking to help take care of my mother, who eventually developed dementia. Being a caregiver is a full time job plus… and making movies was the furthest thing from my mind as there was no time.
My mother passed away in 2019, and I hadn’t done anything movie related in almost 20 years… I figured that ship had sailed, and it was fun while it lasted.
In 2021, I was contacted by another independent film company named SRSCinema, who inquired if I was the director of ‘Video Psycho’ and if I had distribution for the movie.
I hadn’t thought about my earlier film career in a long time, and never thought about ‘Video Psycho’ having a second life.
But it lit the fire again… and I started remastering the movie for its first ever Blu-ray release.
Later in the year, SRSCinema released ‘Video Psycho’ on Limited Edition Blu-ray, Amazon Prime, and on DVD.
Having ‘Video Psycho’ rereleased again after almost 25 years, got me excited to restart my film career.
I posted on Facebook that I was looking for anyone who had a story idea or book that maybe we could collaborate on and eventually hope to make into a film.
I was contacted by an indie author in Ohio named Scott Donnelly. He had written a novela called ‘Cheater, Cheater’ and he thought it always read more like a movie script than a book and wanted to know if I wanted to read it. I said yes, and he sent me the book… once I started it, I couldn’t put it down and read it in one sitting.
I messaged Scott the next day and told him I loved the story, and with his permission, I would love to write a screenplay based on the book. He agreed, and I started writing.
Being an independent film, originally being shot on an IPhone 12 Pro Max, I had to changed some of the book for the film version due to logistics.
I started holding auditions for actors in January of 2022 and we started filming the movie in March of 2022.
Although we started filming the movie, I still needed to cast 2 roles for the movie, so we filmed everything we could until we found the actors we needed.
I placed more ads looking for actors and met with two guys named Josh Hodgins and Andy Mendoza. They both were perfect for the parts I was looking for and they agreed to do the movie.
Josh asked me what the movie was being filmed with and I told him my iPhone… he said that the iPhone camera is good, but wouldn’t be cinematic quality.
I explained to him that I didn’t have the money to use cinematic cameras, and he said that he had those types of cameras and also had access to other people who could help me with the production. The catch was, if we went in that direction, all the previous footage I had filmed would have to be reshot.
After talking with the cast, we all decided to scrap everything we had filmed and start over.
Not only did we now have a professional film camera, but Josh introduced me to many other people who helped with lighting and sound and cinematography….
We started filming in September 2022 and continued thru February of 2024.
I signed another distribution deal with SRSCinema to have the movie released, and it is currently available to preorder from their website, with an expected ship date in mid-November 2024.
The movie also had a limited run at The Majestic Theater in Yakima, Wa. from September 6-19, 2024.
After ‘Cheater, Cheater’, I became partners at Take2Studios, and we have worked on numerous other projects that will be released sometime next year. We filmed a short in black & white titled ‘If We Are Caught’, and another feature called ‘Longshot Danny’, both of which I served as Producer.
We have many other projects in the works for 2025!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Directing : Although I had directed a few movies back in the 90’s, I was completely green to the concept in 2022. I took the advice of other directors and opened myself up to help… talking to other directors really helped me re-develop my directing skills and gave me new ideas to play with. My advice to any director is be open and willing to learn… don’t let your ego get in the way.
2. Writing : I suffered from writers block most of my life… learning to collaborate with other writers and come up with ideas was a skill I learned along my journey…. another ego thing… I always thought it has to only be mine, my work… but learning to let go of ego and brainstorming with others opened up my creative mind more than I expected.
3. Patience : I learned to have patience. Like everyone else, I always wanted everything right now… quick as possible… making films will teach you patience…
Anything worth while takes time, and I learned that even tho I want the movie to be finished yesterday, I need to take a breath and relax… when you’re patient, good things happen.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
Josh Hodgins. He has worked in the film industry for more than 20 years. His knowledge is vast and I have learned so much from him.
He helped me discover my directing style, as well as how to run a film set professionally and speak to the actors in a way to get the performance I was looking for out of them.
Definitely a mentor and friend… again, no ego.
Contact Info:
- Website: HTTPS://delkary8.wixsite.com/mysite
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/delkaryofficial/
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/DelKaryOfficial
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DelKaryOfficial
Image Credits
Del Kary
Ron Munson
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
