The possibilities are endless when you combine the talents of three great comic creators. Sometimes, those talents are put to the test on other media outside their normal venues. Such is the case for the upcoming short horror film, Room Service. This film, with a screenplay written by Eisner award winning writer James Tynion IV, will be directed by Pierrick Colinet with storyboards by artist Elsa Charretier. Of course, Colinet and Charretier are no strangers to working together. They have collaborated on a number of projects and have a combined studio, Big Head Little Arms.
In preparation for this exciting film project beginning its Kickstarter campaign, we sat down briefly with this creative team to discuss their works together, their collaboration with James Tynion IV and the new film. So, let’s welcome the talented Pierrick Colinet and artist Elsa Charretier to GVN Talking Comics.
Working Together
GVN: Thank you for sharing some of your time. So, let’s start with a question for you both. You have worked so well together on a number of different projects including your graphic novel The Infinite Loop and now your own studio Big Head, Little Arms. What is it about your styles and talents that seem to work so well together?
Elsa: PK and I basically developed our creative minds together. It goes beyond simply influencing each other. When he started writing, I would tell him what I wanted to draw, which shaped his craft, and he would tell me what he preferred in my art and so I made more of that. That’s the main component. The other being that we’re also uncompromising with each other. When he told me about his vision for Room Service [or, movie, if that works best with the next question], my first thought was: this is insanely good. The second was: how can I help?
PK: Also, I believe our biggest strength is that we have the same goals but entirely different ways of getting there. Our respective brains work in such opposite ways that we’re able to develop skills that the other one just can’t. We’re very complementary. Knowing that someone will always have your back is a luxury when you tackle a major project like “Room Service.”
Collaborating with James Tynion IV
GVN: Speaking of Room Service, you are working with award winning comic writer James Tynion IV
on this live action, short horror film. How did this opportunity to work with James come about?
Elsa: Working with James on a standalone issue for The Department of Truth confirmed three
things for me: He can write a hell of a script; he has a brilliant business mind, and he knows how to be a great collaborator. Three rare talents taken independently, and even rarer combined in a single creator. To launch into this movie as an indie team, we needed more than a script, we needed a partner and that’s why James came up as the obvious choice very early on.PK: That, plus the fact that I wanted to direct a horror movie, specifically. I’d loved James’s work for quite some time. He has an uncompromising way of writing stories that are both smart and incredibly entertaining. Then he pitched us the story of a man, down on his luck, who agrees to participate in a grisly transaction and what happens to him when he decides he wants out. After that there was no going to anyone else!
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Comics vs. Film
GVN: So, Pierrick, you will be directing this film. Had you directed anything previously and how much
preparation has gone into this project for you to get ready for this challenge?
PK: I had a camera in my hands for the better part of my childhood and young adulthood. I shot movies, documentaries, stop-motion animation… Even went to movie school. Making movies was always my plan. I simply took an 8-year detour writing comics. Mainly because I also developed a passion for it and got opportunities to work on some very cool books. My two passions collided when Elsa and I launched our YouTube channel about storytelling and the itch to make movies came back, and with a vengeance.
Funnily enough, I had to unlearn everything I had such a hard time learning when I switched from cinema to comics. In comics, readers have a lot of control over the story, they can choose how long they stay on a page and what happens between each panel is up to their interpretation. That alone dictates a lot of what you show as a storyteller. So, I had to relearn the language of movies, movement and rhythm. But, just like riding a bike, it all came back naturally. And thanks to shooting, directing and editing our YouTube videos by myself, I got to practice and experiment a lot.
Storyboard Art
GVN: Your turn Miss Elsa. As the artist in this creative group, you will be handling the film’s storyboards. Can you
see this as perhaps an opportunity to do other such projects for film or is this just a special
circumstance?
Elsa: I’m in awe of storyboard artists’ abilities to give their all to a project and then wait sometimes years to see the final product. Unfortunately, I can never be that patient…Every project PK and I have launched has had a very short turnaround because it was mostly just us (although for Room Service we’re entering new territories and partnering up with numerous and wonderful creators). We do the things we want, and we throw all of our time and energy at it. I also don’t think I would have even considered ever doing storyboards if not for PK asking me. I can’t seem to refuse him anything!
‘Room Service’ on Kickstarter
GVN: This is for both of you again. You are bringing Room Service to Kickstarter to fund it. Fortunately, both of you are no stranger to Kickstarter campaigns. What kind of extras are being offered to fans to participate in this new project?
Elsa: People have been begging for a new artbook and we only aim to please, so we’re producing Room Service: the movie artbook, a superb 80-page, 6.8-in by 10.4-in hardcover edition, designed by Emma Price, that will include James’ script, movie treatment, details on production, Tonči Zonjić’s mask design for the Caretaker, interviews, a making-of, and the full short movie storyboarded, by me. Among many other things you don’t want to miss, we also have Deluxe Print Set, featuring 5 prints by all-star comic book creators: Rafael Albuquerque (American Vampire), Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls), Francesco Francavilla (Night of The Ghoul), and Jim Mahfood (Grrl Scouts), and myself.
PK: We’re taking the best of movie Kickstarter, a movie, obviously, and comics Kickstarter, books, original art and tons of physical perks, and launching a sort of cool hybrid. In addition to having access to a movie written and directed by comic book creators, backers will benefit from our decade’s long expertise in producing our own books.
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GVN: That sounds like such a great project. I wish to thank you both once again for your time. Hopefully we can chat more extensively at a future date. But before I let you go; I want to give you an opportunity to
promote your creative studio, and where can fans find you both on social media and the web?
Elsa: Thank you so much for having us. You can find us on Twitter under our respective names!
PK: And if you’re interested in movie and comics storytelling, you can find our Case Studies video on YouTube.
The Kickstarter campaign for Room Service has just opened and can be found here. Be sure to check it out as the creative team of Director Pierrick Colinet, artist Elsa Charretier, and screenplay writer James Tynion IV have gathered a huge number of extras that are available.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.