SLIFF 2016 Interview: Johnny Xeno – Writer and Director of NO GOOD HEROES

NO GOOD HEROES screens Friday, Nov. 4 at 9:30pm at The Tivoli Theater as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Director Johnny Xeno, actress Nova Gaver, and members of the cast and crew will be in attendance. Ticket information can be found HERE

As a child, Wyatt witnessed a group of peaceful aliens survive the military’s attempt at mass extermination. Ever since, he’s taken a sympathetic interest in the aliens and exhibited a particular fascination with their young queen. Now an adult, Wyatt (Tim O’Leary) works as the police chief in the small town of Elm Grove and protects the stranded aliens by hiding them inside a complex of local caverns. Wyatt’s new partner, Lucas (Chad Crenshaw), seeks an escape from the troubles of his previous job, where he was fired and accused of cowardice, but soon after his arrival, Elm Grove proves anything but the sleepy burg of his hopes. Unable to reproduce and facing extinction, the ETs abandon their pacifist ways, initiating a deadly fight for survival. Their violent betrayal of Wyatt’s long-term kindness turns both his threatened town and his benign view of the aliens upside-down. An ambitious science-fiction thriller, NO GOOD HEROES was shot in St. Louis and nearby locations.

Johnny Xeno took the time to talk about his film with We Are Movie Geeks

Interview conducted by Tom Stockman October 28th, 2016

Tom Stockman: When did you finish your film NO GOOD HEROES?

Johnny Xeno: We finished filming a year ago. We had quite an extensive post-production. This is my first film so I took a lot of extra steps.

TS: You say this is your first film. What was your filmmaking background before you started this project?

JX: I had written several scripts and I have the opportunity to make this film through Directors Lab so I jumped at the opportunity. This script felt like the right one to do for a first film.

TS: What inspired you to write this script about aliens living among us?

JX: It started with an old script I had written that was A little bit crazier. Once I realized what the budget was, I brought the story up more and toned down some of the creature effects. I’m not sure if I can say where the idea came from, it just sort of developed, and became more of a story about my lead character and his conflict with protecting these things and how they turned on him.

TS: What does the title NO GOOD HEROES mean, and was that the shooting title?

JX: That was the shooting title but originally when it was geared more towards being a crazy horror film it was called SECRETORS. I heard that word, and I thought it was such a nasty word when I heard it on Animal Planet. It’s when things shoot acid out of their mouth. NO GOOD HEROES capture the theme of the failure of him is a policeman, unable to save his doomed buddy and also the military intervention. The title refers to the fact that there are no real heroes in the film. The title does make it sound like more of a military film than a horror or science-fiction film.

TS: What local locations did you use? I did recognize that you shot at Blueberry Hill.

JX: We shot at the city Museum.

TS: Oh, what did you shoot there?

JX: All of the caves and caverns stuff.

TS: Well that was clever, those look great.

JX: Yes, I don’t like to be in real caves. We were supposed to shoot at Rockwood Reservation but at the last minute we were turned down by the Department of Conservation so we shot instead at West Tyson Park in St. Louis County near Eureka.  We went down to Johnson Shut-Ins and shot some there one day, but that stuff did not make it into the final film. We shot in the town of Labadie Missouri. That big house that we used was in Labadie.

TS: Tell me about shooting at Blueberry Hill. Did you go in there after it was closed?

JX: We shot that early on a Sunday morning. It was near the end of our shoot.

TS: There’s another film playing at the St. Louis international film Festival, THE IMPORTANCE OF DOUBTING TOM, that takes place in the dart room there a Blueberry Hill, but they re-created the dart room in the warehouse out in Fenton.

JX: I can understand that. Joe Edwards was so kind to let us film there. We came in really early but there was still a lot of business going on around us so we had to get in and out of there pretty quick.

TS: What was the budget and the schedule for NO GOOD HEROES?

JX: It was a low-budget film, that we shot in 22 days.

TS: Let’s talk about some of the actors you used. I really liked Sheilah Griggs as the creepy mom.

JX: Yes she was of course an alien in human form.

TS: Was that her playing herself in alien form as well?

JX: No, Mindy Marie Miller, a different actress, played the alien queen.

TS: Tell me about how you came up with the design for the aliens.

JX: It was quite a long process. We hired Drew Talbot who is on the Face Off show on the Sy Fy channel. We went back-and-forth looking at different designs. We realized from a story perspective that the boy should be a little less scary, a little more human for the story to work. Drew flew out here with a crew and cast the actor’s heads. They are all prosthetics. It took about five hours to get those put on. And then those appliances were thrown away each day. It was pretty involved. We had four aliens total but we could only get two on screen at once.

TS: Did you grow up a fan of horror and a science-fiction films?

JX: Oh yes. I always wanted to make a creature film. Most of the other stories I’ve written or more dramas this story was my wife’s favorite. My other stories are a bit more dark and heavy.

TS: Are there some horror film directors that you have admired that have influenced you?

JX: Oh sure, I love THE SHINING, I love Wes Craven. I’m not a huge fan of the slasher films like SAW. I prefer more psychological horror.  But I like all films, dramas comedy and horror. When I was a kid, I was a big fan of Abbot and Costello. I think I worked some of that into the character of Lucas.

TS: Yes, I can see that. What were some of the biggest challenges making this film?

JX: There were many. One of my producers walked out during pre-production because he had to go back to teach, so I was short-handed on producers, beginning at day one on filming. There were some location issues that were a challenge as well. The aliens were supposed to wear these contact lenses made for them but they wouldn’t stay in their eyes. They kept popping out. Then there were some shots I just wasn’t able to get on camera that I would have liked to.

TS: How has NO GOOD HEROES been received so far?

JX: The world premiere is next Friday at the St. Louis international film Festival.

TS: Do you have some other film festivals lined up to screen it at?

JX: I’ve submitted it to a film festival in Austin and I’m looking at some other fests. It’s kind of weird timing because I’ve missed a lot of the festivals because post-production took almost a year. I don’t want to drag it out too far into next year. I’m looking to get some distribution and get this out and start preproduction soon on my next film VAMPIRE’S WIDOW.

TS: So you’re doing another horror film?

JX: It’s not really horror. It’s nothing like this film. It’s called VAMPIRE’S WIDOW and it’s more of a drama thriller.

TS: Where are you on this project? Have you started casting?

JX: I have a lead actress in mind who is looking at it right now. This one will have bigger stars. We’re looking at filming it up in Quebec City though it takes place in France. I want to get going on that early next year.

TS: Best of luck with your film at the St. Louis international film Festival.

JX: Thanks, I’m glad you were able to see it.