The last time The Register checked in with emerging director and former Iolan Paul Porter, he was breaking the mold by shooting his first feature film in rural Kansas. “IT WAS like summer camp,” he said of the experience in Hansten — population 200.
He shot all of “Rabid Love,” a horror film set in the 1980s, during a four-week session in the summer of 2012. The original plan was to make the movie in New Mexico. But, as a native Iolan, Porter thought “why not Kansas?”
In hindsight, Porter said the decision to shoot the film in Kansas was one of the best he made in the production.
Post-production was completed in 2013 and the film is now available on DVD and video-on-demand. It was released on March 4.
“It’s weird because it’s such a long process, you go through different phases,” Porter said during a phone interview from his home in Los Angeles. “It’s strange to look back on it.”
He completed his masters in fine arts degree at the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles in March, and wrapped up “Rabid Love” soon after. Porter said he has yet to receive any revenue figures from the release, that will come in June or July, but the response has been positive thus far.
“Hopefully this summer we’ll get some good news, it’s nothing we’re going to get rich off of,” he said.
After a two-year process, the end product isn’t much different from the original idea — his goal as the director.
“There’s the movie you write, the movie you shoot and the movie you edit,” he said. “It changes and evolves a little bit.”
Some of the process may have been greatly changed if it weren’t for Porter’s decision to shoot the film in Kansas, he said. There are no permit fees to make a movie in Kansas, unlike California, where the fees mount in every aspect of production. As a first-time director, he was looking to cut costs as much as possible (most of the funding for the film came from friends and family).
They had actors, extras and production crews from California, Colorado and even as far as Florida fly in for the filming. His wife, Hayley Derryberry, is the lead actress in the film. His father’s side of the family is from Hanston. His crew had a free place to stay at his grandmother’s home.
“It was definitely different than L.A.,” Porter said.
Which is not all bad.
Since the film is set in 1984, he said it was easier than he expected to keep the production accurate. Not much in the small town has changed since then. The community was looking forward to meeting the cast and crew, and even donated clothing and props to assist in the shooting — numerous people from Hanston acted in “Rabid Love” as well.
Making a film in Kansas has a different feel than any other place. For most, Porter said, the Midwest is “flyover country,” but to him it’s home. The entire town was excited to have his crew there, and they didn’t have to pay a dime for shooting on location. In L.A., he said everyone is “looking to get their piece.”
Porter, 33, graduated from Iola High School in 1998, and hopes to return home as soon as possible for his next project. Derryberry recently completed her first screenplay, and they are working to develop it into a movie. No matter what the project, he said Kansas is on the radar — and Iola could be the perfect location.
“We want to come back to Kansas and shoot as soon as possible,” Porter said.
“Rabid Love” is now available on DVD, as well as most other video-on demand services, including iTunes, Netflix, Google Play and Xbox video.
Former Iolan directs horror film
