Pop-Culturalist.com

For over a decade, award-winning filmmaker James Cullen Bressack has continued to redefine the industry. His work has left a lasting impression on audiences and peers, and seen him emerge as one of the voices of his generation.

His latest project, Fortess, is a must-see action-thriller that follows a group of criminals hellbent on revenge who force a retired officer and his son to save the day.

Pop Culturalist was lucky to chat with James about Fortess.

PC: You first made a name for yourself in horror. What has that transition been like going from that genre to now action?
James: It’s an interesting transition because a lot of the time horror has some bleed over with action. A lot of the kill sequences are shot similarly to how you would shoot a fight sequence. You don’t have the gore, but you have a lot of fighting that leads up to the gore. Or you can throw gore into action films. There’s bleed over, and it allows me to create a lot of tension in the moments leading up to a sequence.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success throughout your career. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out to you?
James: I always try to look forward. I’ve been directing movies for eleven years. I’m only twenty-nine, so that’s odd to say. It’s wild to me. I’ve been doing feature films for more than a decade. I’m just trying to build the best movie I possibly can.

If I was to look back, I would say taking that leap to make my first movie. That might be it. But overall, I would say I try to move forward and continue building as much as I can.

PC: Tell us about Fortress and what attracted you to the script.
James: Fortress is a really fun movie. It’s a great story with great performances. I’m very fortunate to have made this movie. I’m proud of it. I feel like it’s my best work thus far. I hope that people enjoy it.

I was really attracted to the script because it was my chance to make something that was big and expansive. We get to go to the jungle. It feels very Jurassic Park-y at times. But then when we went into the fortress, we were able to make something that was more of a standard action film. I wanted the fortress to feel like a spaceship at times. I thought it was exciting to be able to make a movie like this.

PC: You’ve worked with a lot of this cast in the past in very different roles. Does your directing style differ from project to project based on the character that the actor is playing?
James: I feel that how I direct a movie and the style I go with change based on what is best for the overall movie. I approached this movie very differently from how I approached any of my other films. Stylistically, this is something that I hadn’t done yet. I was very excited to be able to work within different subgenres. If you look back at when I was working in horror, I would change the type of horror movie I was making each time.

I like to do things differently each time. I like to allow the people I work with to try different things as well. It’s a collaborative medium. If I’m going to be changing my style and doing different things, they should be able to do the same.

PC: You said earlier in this interview that this is one of your proudest works to date. What has made this experience so special for you?
James: Everything just clicked on this movie. Tim [Jones], our composer, did an amazing score. R.J. [Cooper], our editor, did a fantastic job. Our DP, Bryan [Koss], shot this to look really big. I wanted it to feel as big as possible, and I think we did that. The performances are great, and it’s a really engaging story and script. It all clicked.

PC: What do you hope audiences take away after they see it?
James: I hope that people enjoy it. I hope they get involved with the characters and the mystery in the story. I hope they lose themselves for the movie’s ninety minutes.

PC: What’s next for you?
James: I recently directed a movie called Hot Seat that stars Mel Gibson, Shannen Doherty, Kevin Dillon, Michael Welch, Sam Asghari, and Eddie Steeples. I’m excited for people to see that. It’s in post right now.

To keep up with James, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Watch Fortress wherever you stream movies.

Photo Credit: Tess Miller – © Psykik Junky Pictures LLC