Adam Marcus interview: Tell your story, not someone else’s
Adam Marcus – Interview – Courtesy of Adam Marcus
Adam Marcus was 23 years old when he helmed his first feature film, Jason Goes to Hell. We sat down with the director to talk about that experience, the state of the industry, where horror is headed and a new project in the works with a major star!
Adam Marcus is a fan favorite among those lovers of the Friday the 13th franchise for directing Jason Goes to Hell. He is also known for penning the script to Texas Chainsaw 3D.
With his roots firmly entrenched in the horror genre, it is interesting to note that he began his career treading the boards in Connecticut and New York.
We had the chance to chat with this multi-talented man about the industry, his works in progress and all points in between. Now, here’s Adam!
The Interview
Adam Marcus – A Family Affair – Courtesy of Adam Marcus
A Family Affair
1428 Elm: Let’s talk about your background first because it is interesting. You started out in theater and you were a performer. What made you decide to pursue directing?
Adam Marcus: Here’s the thing. It’s complicated and not so complicated. When I was very, very young my best friend was Noel Cunningham who is the son of Sean S. Cunningham. So, I was always around the Cunningham’s and kind of fell in love with what Sean did and how he did it.
I learned quite a bit about production and post-production from his wife, Susan Cunningham who is a brilliant editor. From 10 on is when I kind of started soaking up everything I could around their household.
My entire family is in the arts. My mother and my grandmother were singers, my brother, Kipp is an actor who was on Broadway several times. Now, my uncle Ned Eisenberg, like every 6th episode of Law and Order, there he is.
My uncle Joe wrote and directed, Don’t Go in the House in 1981. When I was 11, I took theater classes from Al Pia who was a Broadway director.
Al ran three theaters in Connecticut and he was the director of my high school theater, now, when I say high school theater, our theater beat all the college theaters on the eastern seaboard every year for the Moss Hart award.
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At 15, I started my own theater company and I was directing at that point. I still teach classes in acting and directing at my studio in Los Angeles. By the time I was 21, I had directed over 70 productions. My theater career paid for NYU and all my student films.
When I left New York, I left debt free. I was that one in a million experience where the theater was actually very profitable. My focus was on musical theater which is so funny for me to go to horror in my film directing career.
What people don’t realize about my film career is that I had a big success at Sundance with a comedy that my brother wrote and I directed. The horror fans know my horror work but they don’t know all the other stuff that I’ve done.
Which is great and fine but it is always fun when people discover this stuff.