‘The Blood of the Dinosaurs’ – An Interview with Joe Badon

Joe Badon is the writer and director of the short film “The Blood of the Dinosaurs,” which is screening as part of the Midnight Shorts program at this year’s Florida Film Festival. The film is as an Adult Swim style surrealist Kids’ Show, and here is a quick interview with Joe about how he came up with this short, shooting in New Orleans, and his advice for young aspiring filmmakers.

Chris Crespo: When conceiving and writing this short, do you start with one idea and then see where you can push it in different directions, or is this a number of different ideas you already had and managed to combine them together into one short?

Joe Badon: I’ll start with one idea usually and then that springboards into 8,000 other ideas. That tornado of ideas turns into my rough draft. Then, after the rough draft, I’ll refine the chaos into something that kind of makes sense.

CC: Do you bring anyone else into this process of whittling down the ideas into one workable piece? Are you always keeping in mind the audience and wondering what they’ll go along with, or do you just create something for you and hope that people will be willing to go along with it?

JB: My writer friend Jason Kruppa helps me whittle ideas down after my first or second draft. I used to keep the audience in mind but the truth of the matter is that the more you cater to the audience, the worse your art becomes. Everyone knows it and everyone feels it. Audience members that want to be catered to do not respect film as art.

CC: As this is the third project you produced in New Orleans, what keeps you coming back to the city? Are there any distinct advantages you have found shooting in New Orleans?

JB: I live here and was born and raised here. So that’s it! All my social, professional and familial connections are here. It’s amazing how much you can get done when you’ve lived one place your whole life.

CC: Do you see yourself ever doing the typical move to Los Angeles or New York for your career, or will you stay in New Orleans and make it your foreseeable filmmaking home?

JB: There’s a 99 percent chance I’ll never leave New Orleans. My family is here. Life is slow and simple here. I’m not a big city person at all.

CC: What advice can you give to people looking to make their own short films for submission to film festivals?

JB: Find locations that you can get for free (or cheap) and write your script around that. Draw storyboards (even if it’s stick figures). Pace yourself and avoid burnout.

Chris Crespo is a movie critic, writer and podcaster based out of Orlando, Florida. He hosts the weekly podcast Cinema Crespodiso, and has also made appearances on Doug Loves Movies, A Mediocre Time with Tom and Dan, The Curtis Earth Show, and more. This is his 13th year covering the Florida Film Festival.

This interview was conducted via email.