INTERVIEWS

Welcome to this all new section of the site, I will be adding more interviews as I get them, but for the time being check out the interview I have kicked this section off with, and what an interview to start! I got the chance to speak to one of my all time heroes, the legendary Tom Sullivan, the special effects artist from the greatest movie ever made (in my opinion at least!) The Evil Dead.

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Shane - Tom, first of all many thanks for giving me this fantastic opportunity to
interview a special effects artist of your caliber. I know you knew Sam
Raimi, Bruce Campbell and Robert Tapert prior to shooting the movie, were
you always Sam's first choice to do the special effects?
Tom - Thanks for the compliment but I had no caliber going in and some say I
shot my load on that film. They were asking around the Detroit area but had
to default to me. I was ambitious and hungry and convinced them I could do
it. Lie on your resumes.

Shane - I understand that shooting the movie in the Tennessee mountains was a bit
of a chore to say the least, due to the long hours, cold weather etc. How
much time did you spend on set, or could you do a lot of work from the
comfort of the studio?
Tom - There was no comfort in any studio. I was at the Tennessee location
for seven weeks. The Evil Dead Companion got it wrong at three days. I had
to leave at that point with everybody else to hold on my real job. The rest
of filming was done in two to three day spurts. That is until the Stop
Motion Animation Meltdown Finale.
That took three months of full time shooting with cameraman/co-animator
Bart Pierce.

Shane - What are your main memories (good or bad) of shooting The Evil Dead?
Tom - I could not believe I was doing my dream job. It really felt right.
Of course the Actors felt uncomfortable. You see I was headed uphill on
this learning curve. Not torturing the Actors was important to me.

Shane - The drawings and inscriptions in the Necronomicon are fantastic, what did
you use as a reference for this?, or was it entirely from within your own
mind?
Tom - My own mind. I used the implied mythology and supernatural
methodology of the script to devise the images. The vines, white eyeballs,
bodily dismemberment all appear in the script.

Shane - The gore in the movie was first class! Was this entirely your own work?,
if not how much help did you have with it?
Tom - The gore effects are all designed by me. The only shot I didn't prep my
self is Shelly's dismembered twitching body parts on the floor bit. I was alone for Gore FX until Bart and I did the Finale.

Shane - If Sam ever did Evil Dead 4 would you be willing to do the effects again?
(Because us fans would definitely want that!).
Tom - Thanks, If Sam asked and promised to pay me really well, (for a
change) I'd love to.

Shane - When was the last time you watched The Evil Dead from start to finish?
Tom - In March 2002 I saw it at the Royal Theater in Royal Oak Michigan with
a packed house of fans and the cast, Bruce, Ellen, Betsy ,Theresa, Rich, and
Joe La Duca. It holds up and the remastered sound is awesome.

Shane - I have heard many stories on the current location of the "Skull Dagger"
you designed for the movie, I heard you had it, then I heard Sam had it,
then I heard Bruce had it! Could you please tell us where it is now?
Tom - Sam has the Evil Dead 1 dagger I gave him. I have one of the ED2
daggers. Two were supposed to have been returned to me after production but
were not. I know not where they are, but I would like them back.

Shane - Moving away from The Evil Dead, what has been your career highlight so
far? Or maybe working on that movie was it?
Tom - I have a body of Illustration work doing role playing game books for
Chaosium Inc. The book I'm most proud of is S. Petersen's Field Guide to
Cthulhu Monsters. I did oil paintings and pen and inks of the 27 most
frequently seen Lovecraft creatures.

Shane - A lot of us would like to know how you earnt a living after the Evil
Dead series, have you worked in movies since then? If so have you always
worked in special effects?
Tom - I have been an Illustrator and have done Commercials as a FX, Make-Up
and Art Direction type guy. Now I am publishing my own art under the name
DARKAGEPRODUCTIONS. Check out my soon to be up site
http://www.darkageproductions.com/ I will be getting back into film as a
producer/director.

Shane - Who inspired you to be a special effects artist, if anyone?
Tom - Willis O'Brien, the genius behind King Kong and his protégé Ray
Harryhausen. I love the craft of what they do. I admire the jack of all
trades/renaissance man approach to filmmaking. Mastering Art, Sculpting,
Photography, Stop Motion Animation and a variety of technical skills and
experiences makes my head spin.

Shane - Do you still communicate with the actors and people you worked with on
the Evil Dead trilogy? If so who do you talk to most, and how often?
Tom - I'm talking to the Ladies of the Evil Dead most often. We are
traveling around to conventions meeting fans. We have not seen each other
since we made Evil Dead and it's a hoot to see everybody now that we're
"stars".

Shane - Me and 99% of my site visitors think Bruce Campbell is a fantastic and
very funny actor, what are your personal views on him?
Tom - Count me in. I think he is not only a fine very personable actor but a
terrific physical comedian. He's a one man party and I like Bruce a lot. I
am a fan.

Shane - What do you think about the many conventions held that focus on The Evil
Dead and its sequels? Have you had any "scary" fans question you that seem
to know more about the movies than the people who actually made it?!
Tom - No Scary fans. I really like the fans and sharing my experiences with
them. I do find amusing some of the rumors. Most of those where started by
Sam. Like the motorcycle crashing into Bruce during the final shot of Evil
Dead. Never happened.

Shane - What do you have planned for the future Tom? Any upcoming movies you can
spill the beans on?!
Tom - I want to keep publishing my art prints and replicas of the Book of the
Dead from Evil Dead. I am saving away for my digital camera and software to
make my own films. I'm not sure I'd want to do just FX for a film again
unless something special like Evil Dead 4. I want to tell stories. I have
two Zombie ideas and a Lovecraftian epic I want to do. That's just a start.

Been Reel, Take it easy.

Tom Sullivan

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CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES TAKEN FROM TOM'S "EVIL DEAD MUSEUM TOUR".

Thank you so much for your time Tom, and all the best with your future projects - Shane.

P.S. Thanks for the photo's ;)

Tom, Bruce and the ladies of the Evil Dead enjoy some dinner!

Click HERE to see pictures taken from Tom's "Evil Dead Museum Tour".

Bruce and the ladies pose for the camera!

Click HERE to see pictures taken from Tom's "Evil Dead Museum Tour".

Tom with the original ladies from the Evil Dead.