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[0:00] Robert Bannon: Welcome to The Roundtable, everybody. My name is Robert Bannon. You're listening to us on Broadway World, the Broadway Podcast Network, iHeart, Spotify. I'm excited about our next guest. You may have heard his music. You may have seen him in classic horror films in the past. I think he's got his own. He's starring. He's producing. He is doing it all for this next movie. I'm a Halloween baby who's scared of scary movies, Kurt. Tell me how I'm not going to be scared. Am I going to be scared? Of Hellbilly Hollow?

[0:34] Kurt Deimer: Yes. No, I think you'll be okay, Robert. You're going to have fun. Bull and Tickles will take you on a fun little ride. I mean, we had an early screening last night with one of my shows, and there was only one person with their head buried that could watch it, so I think you'll be okay. People were laughing. It's the beginning of hopefully a many, many, many, many year franchise that we're going to just keep taking people on a journey with Bull and Tickles, so you'll have a lot of fun with it. Go to the theater, get some popcorn, get you a Coke, and just chill. It's a good date night. Horror movies make your date jump into your lap. You're bringing people together, Kurt.

[1:24] Kurt Deimer: Yeah, and it's not the obvious. We know people are just going to be stabbed and killed or stabbed. It's fun. It's Hellbilly Hollow, man. There's a carnival. There's games. It's fun.

[1:37] Robert Bannon: I love carnivals and games. Speaking of, you have been killed in very famous horror movies before.

[1:43] Kurt Deimer: Yeah, 2018 Halloween, I was the teller, and that's kind of where Hellbilly Hollow came from. I didn't even know I'd be in movies until 2017. I was just doing a cameo for my oil brand that I had started in a previous life, and next thing you know, they're offering me a role. I'm joining SAG, and I'm acting with John Travolta and Shania Twain. I'm like, okay, well, that's a sign from above. Then I get into Halloween, the John Carpenter official sequel, the first one, which gave me the inspiration. I had started doing some little things in Alabama after that trading paint because that's where it was filmed, and people were noticing my acting. I called Kevin, who I had befriended, down on a set of something we were shooting together.

A director brought us together. I said, after the red carpet and the Jamie Lee Curtis, I go, I want to do the original Halloween and then keep growing it and making it larger than life as it continues. That's how we came up with Hellbilly Hollow. It all came from that scene where the teeth came out of my mouth in Halloween. See? Who knows? One road leads you to another.

[3:04] Robert Bannon: I was reading about Hellbilly Hollow is an actual event location. It's a real place in Vincent, Alabama. What's it mean? What's it about? What is Hellbilly Hollow?

[3:14] Kurt Deimer: It's a haunted attraction that's been there for many years. Tim and his family run it. People flock there at the end of September all through October and November every year. Kevin, who plays Tickles, Kevin Wayne, in the movie, he's from Alabama. He went out to scout the site. For what we were dreaming up in our heads, for this horror duo, this brother horror duo, we have sets already set there that we just had to enhance. The house that we lived in was already there on a pond. They already had the haunted attraction. It was there. All the rooms, the creepy stuff, we just had to bring in other things like the carnival and the trailer and stuff like that. But other than that, it was a dream come true to be able to shoot it there. They let Kevin and I live there in campers for the whole month, so we could really be immersed in it.

[4:06] Robert Bannon: When I'm reading the press release, it literally says whack-a-troll, high striker, acid darts, the car dunk sequence, all of this carnival style stuff. If you go to their website, they're selling tickets. They must be psyched you made a movie about them.

[4:30] Kurt Deimer: Oh, yeah. We're going to be doing a big premiere there in the next few weeks. I'm just not sure when yet. My band's going to do a live show, and people are going to fly in from all over the country. We're going to show the movie and make it a big event. They're stoked.

[4:46] Robert Bannon: So for everybody who wants to see it, who wants to check it out for Halloween, for this season, as we lead into October and we're looking for new stuff, how are we going to be able to see it? When are we going to be able to see it?

[4:56] Kurt Deimer: Yeah. If you go to kurtdimer.com, D-E-I-M-E-R, you'll see my tour dates and stuff. We'll be doing some sneak previews, and then we play a headline set after around the country for the 25th of September and after. And September 25th, it'll come out in select theaters across the country. And the more all of theater, we'll keep adding it to other cities and kind of let it mushroom all over the U.S. And we're getting picked up all over the world and other territories. So it's just a matter of sharing, liking, following, and building the whole community around Bull and Tickles and the legend of Hellbilly Hollow. And we'll keep making them and making them for you for the rest of our lives. That's the plan.

[5:44] Robert Bannon: That is what you want. You know, music is very important to you because you are a rock star. You go to your website, you could see the tour dates, you can hear the music, the music is streaming, you could buy the merch. You're like a real deal guy out here. So how important is the music in the movie? What can we expect to hear as the soundtrack to this?

[6:06] Kurt Deimer: Yeah, I'm very blessed to be able to finally now create art that I suppressed for many years because I couldn't have done this when I was younger due to other issues I had. But to be able to star in a movie and then have your other art that you're growing and it's continually evolving because it's something I had to relearn in a few short years is a blessing. I got to pick where I wanted to put the songs of the movie to fit the scenes or what's something that's very important. And because of the timing and with the pandemic and stuff and the slowness of the movie, I was able to. Andy Gould came on board and did House of a Thousand Corpses and Devil's Rejects. And I've got another movie coming out with him that I star in where I play the next big mass killer called Pandemic Sex Party.

I play the rancher. So that's coming out. But my point is Andy came on, brought the people that had worked on some of those to help us bring this movie to life and to put my music in it. Roy Mayorga, the drummer of Ministry and Stone Sour and all that to do the soundtrack. And we met. He set up a meeting. He liked the original edit. He jumped on board and all those pieces just started coming together because I took my time and my diligence to make sure what you see today was a great movie. You know, that's what it's all about is when you're an artist, you're an artist. So you may come from music, you may come from other, but you may come from business. But when you put all of the hat of a businessman and the hat of an artist together, a musician, you're able to make anything happen and you have such an incredible.

[8:00] Kurt Deimer: You're so right, Matt, because anything you do in life and I learned this early on, I was trying to figure out what was wrong with me, with my anxiety and stuff. I read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and you do what you do best and bring the other people to surround you. You can't do it all on your own and build that team. And that's what we did with this and this franchise. I can only imagine all the beautiful people that will come into it as we continue to grow it.

[8:20] Robert Bannon: So tell me about your partner in crime here. Tell me about your director, one of the co-stars and then the cast of this film.

[8:25] Kurt Deimer: Yeah, Kevin Wayne would never have happened without him. And we were fortunate enough to meet on a little project that never went anywhere. And we did some early music videos together with my music, which will probably never be seen, but maybe someday, I don't know. We came together that way and just had a friendship. He's real calm and mellow like me in real life and he knew what I could do acting wise. I knew what he could do. He was in Magnificent Seven and a lot of other movies, but just smaller roles. And he teaches acting down in Alabama and we just meshed as friends first and foremost. And then once I got the Halloween and then I called him and we're going to do the franchise, we just worked together seamlessly on that.

And we were both involved in casting. We hired Bernadette to write the script. She was amazing. And even though Kevin and I didn't really follow it, but the rest of the cast did, thank God. And so we got input on everything, which you don't really get. It's getting ready to go shoot a movie next week. I'm shooting with the big, I'm starring in it along with a big A-list star. So that's now where I'm headed, but I wasn't involved in anything other than I'm going to go bring this character to life and blow it out of the water. And just to be so hands-on and involved in our cast was amazing. And the kids really played the roles the way we envisioned it with the YouTube team and all that. It was a beautiful process.

[10:06] Robert Bannon: Is it scary for you to venture into a new thing? It's one thing to get hired. It's one thing to work with John Travolta. It's one thing to be in Halloween. It's another thing when it's your baby. You're producing it. There's money. There's a crew. You have people that are working for you. Sometimes things don't go well. You have to put your hat on. People are coming to you for answers. How do you handle the stress of this is the current, this is yours. This is your movie.

[10:33] Kurt Deimer: Yeah. I've been fortunate. I've worked hard my whole life and the way I've gotten to where I am, I've taken a lot of risk. So risk does not stress me out. If I didn't take risk, I'd be stressed out. So I'm kind of the opposite of people. And it doesn't phase me. It doesn't bother me because I've built things already in my life and I'm doing this for people and for humanity. And even though it's a horror movie and a horror genre, it's entertaining.

[11:07] Robert Bannon: Welcome to The Roundtable! Today, we have a very special guest, Kurt Deimer, who is here to talk about his new horror film, "Hellbilly Hollow."

[11:37] Robert Bannon: Kurt, it's great to have you on the show!

[11:57] Robert Bannon: So, tell us about "Hellbilly Hollow." What can audiences expect from this film?

[12:17] Robert Bannon: I know you play a character named Bull. What was it like stepping into that role?

[12:37] Robert Bannon: And I understand that you also produced the film. How did that experience differ from acting for you?

[12:57] Robert Bannon: The film was shot at a real haunted attraction in Alabama. How did that location influence the filming?

[13:17] Robert Bannon: I’m curious about the origin story of "Hellbilly Hollow." How did this project come to life?

[13:37] Robert Bannon: You have a background in music as well. How does your music career intersect with your work in film?

[13:57] Robert Bannon: I know you’ve had experience in the horror genre before, especially with your role in the 2018 "Halloween." How did that shape your approach to creating this film?

[14:17] Robert Bannon: What do you love most about the horror genre?

[14:37] Robert Bannon: And what do you hope audiences take away from "Hellbilly Hollow"?

[14:57] Robert Bannon: It sounds like a wild ride!

[15:17] Robert Bannon: Can you share any memorable moments from the set?

[15:37] Robert Bannon: I’m sure there were some fun behind-the-scenes stories!

[15:57] Robert Bannon: Now, shifting gears a bit, let’s talk about your music. What’s been inspiring you lately?

[16:17] Robert Bannon: How do you balance your time between acting and music?

[16:37] Robert Bannon: Do you have any upcoming music projects that you’re excited about?

[16:57] Robert Bannon: It’s fascinating to see how you blend both worlds.

[17:17] Robert Bannon: As we wrap up, what’s next for you after "Hellbilly Hollow"?

[17:37] Robert Bannon: Any other projects in the pipeline that you can share with us?

[17:57] Robert Bannon: Thank you so much for joining us today, Kurt!

[18:17] Robert Bannon: "Hellbilly Hollow" hits theaters on September 25.

[18:37] Robert Bannon: Make sure to check it out!

[18:57] Robert Bannon: And for our listeners, stay tuned for more exciting episodes of The Roundtable!

[19:17] Robert Bannon: Don’t forget to subscribe and follow us on social media!

[19:37] Robert Bannon: Until next time, take care!

[19:57] Robert Bannon: Bye for now!

[20:17] Robert Bannon: Thanks for listening!

[20:37] Robert Bannon: We appreciate your support!

[20:57] Robert Bannon: See you next week!

[21:17] Robert Bannon: Goodbye!

[21:37] Robert Bannon: And remember, keep it spooky!

[22:07] Robert Bannon: Bye!