10(or so) Questions with Mark Baranowski

Mark Baranowski is a North Carolina-based filmmaker, writer, photographer and musician.
He has written and directed multiple films and has several CDs available. I became aware of him
when an acquaintance of mine appeared in one of his erotic horror films.
So now I introduce you all to him.

1. Give us a 75 word bio of yourself, and convince us that you're not a bum.

I used to be a bum, actually... sitting around, watching movies whenever I wasn't enduring my day job as a locksmith. Finally, I realized I had nothing to offer potential girlfriends in the way of stimulating conversation
(not to mention, sexual experience). So, I cut off all my equally worthless "friends" and slowly began
making a name for myself in the fields of independent music, art, literature, photography and film. Songwriting
came first, then portrait sketches. From there, a partner and I started our a record label, Nickel City Records,
and began releasing our own music. Soon after, I created On Mark Productions and moved on to book/screen writing, until finally adapting my scripts into films. Most recently, I've created a portfolio for my photography,
which I enjoy in whatever spare time I can get. One can find all the fruits of my labor at my website, www.createtolive.com.

2. Give us brief synopsizes of: Your Favorite Movie, Favorite Book, Favorite CD and Favorite piece of Artwork.

If you're referring to my own work, my favorite movie would have to be my latest, Heaven Help Me,
I'm In Love. It's a poignant romantic "dramedy" that's my most personal film to date. Just about everything
that occurs in the film is based on my own experiences. My favorite book is Tartarus, Book 1: Lot's
Phantasms, a novella I wrote about five years back. It introduces a nameless character who's on a mission
to destroy the devil himself. My favorite CD is Heaven Help Me (I'm Alive), which I released in April '05.
Like the Heaven Help Me film, it's my most personal piece of music to date. My favorite piece of artwork...
that's a tough one. It'd either by my portrait of Jesus Christ or Angelina Jolie.

If you're referring to others' work, my favorite movie (another tough decision) would probably be the The Crow. Brandon Lee gave the ultimate performance here, and the fact that certain folks turned it into a franchise
is unspeakable. My favorite book? Pornstar, by Ian Gittler. Various individuals from the adult industry
are "exposed" throughout, both in the form of black-and-white photography and oft-heartbreaking text.
My favorite CD... either Violator or Songs of Faith and Devotion, both by Depeche Mode. The former is simply classic, the latter an amazing dark and rocky break from the band's usual synth sound. I can't say I have
a favorite piece of artwork, but I especially like the work of Hieronymus Bosch.

3. How long have you been writing and directing and making music and all the other junk you do?

I started songwriting in the late 80's. This was back when I listened to nothing but rap music... thus,
I wrote rap songs, which I started recording a couple years later. I focused on my artwork in my junior
year of high school (1990), and have dabbled in this medium here and there, ever since. I began
screenwriting in late 1999, then wrote Tartarus and a book of poetry a year later. It was September 2001
when I finally got the itch to make my own films. I started shooting still photos at about the same time,
with my main focus being my wife, model-actress Ryli Morgan.

4. Did you start taking photographs and making movies just to meet girls? Does it work?

I might have if I wasn't already married at the time. Not that Ryli doesn't share an equal interest in
girls... I just prefer to keep my business and pleasure separate. I've met far too many photographers,
especially, with more money than talent. These guys pay girls to go to the extent of their comfort level
for the sake of some raunchy photos, and then hit on them afterwards. Nice. Most of the filmmakers I
know who make movies just to meet girls are fat guys who'd never get a second glance from them,
otherwise. So yes, it does work.

5. How does a young filmmaker with no money make a movie and get it distributed?

When it comes to making the movie itself, it all comes down to a good, solid script and at least
halfway decent actors. Being a perfectionist doesn't hurt, either...
If you're funding the project yourself, make sure you've got a good "day job" in order to support yourself throughout the process, and a credit card with at least $5,000-$10,000 available. As for distribution, use a company such as Custom Flix to handle the duplication and packaging of your film while you're pitching it to traditional distributors. Custom Flix also features your title on their own site, as well as Amazon.com (and some other online shops). Find and submit to appropriate--and worthwhile--film festivals, and pick up a copy of the Hollywood Distributors Directory. As with film fests, focus on companies who cater to your type of film.

6. What are your films about? Why do people on BrokenDollz.com want to watch them?

My first, Despair, is about a frustrated artist who commits suicide. His wife comes home to find him dead
in the bathtub, and slowly goes mad, before finally killing herself, too. Lotsa fun for the whole family, in other words. My second production (the only one of which I didn't direct), Ryli Morgan: Audition, is basically
a striptease video of Ryli wiggling her way out of three different outfits. My first feature, Runaway Terror,
is about a shady movie producer whose potential actresses start turning up dead. I play the detective
who teams up with Ryli to find the killer. Expendable is our best-seller to date, about a drug pusher
who sells out and is about to skip town with his girlfriend when he decides to pay a visit to his ex-wife.
Little does he know, she's now a vampire. Sin By Murder, my first film made for another production
company, it involves a lawyer accused of murdering his wife on the night of their tenth anniversary.
Ryli and I play the detectives handling the case. Nudity and love scenes abound...

The Powerful Play is a collection of music videos which accompany the seven tracks off my 2002 CD,
The FLESH & BLOOD Show. An extensive interview follows, which brings folks up to date with my work
over the past 12 years or so. Heaven Help Me, I'm In Love is about a guy who tries to deceive his girlfriend, unsuccessfully, causing her to dump him. Soon regretting his actions, he tries to win her back her heart.
If for nothing else, the folks here at BrokenDollz should appreciate my films for their emphasis on
naked female flesh and a sprinkling of lesbianism. Ryli fans, especially, won't go away disappointed.

7. Describe a day in the life of Mark Baranowski, filmmaker.

Get up early, grab a quick bite to eat, head to the location. Set up lights and camera while waiting
for the actors to show up, go over the necessary script pages once they do, start shooting. Shoot
until actors complain of hunger, take them out to dinner. Relax for a while, then shoot any remaining
scenes. Say goodnight, head home. Take a shower, lights out.

8. What makes it nice to live and work where you do? Is North Carolina the new Hollywood? Do
you have to dye your hair platinum? If you did what would happen?

Well, the weather's a lot nicer here than in my hometown of Buffalo, NY. Seriously, though, the nicest
thing about working here in Charlotte, NC is that it's hardly the mecca for fellow creative-thinkers.
What I do isn't done by nearly everyone else in the area, such as in New York or Los Angeles. I'm not
just a face in the crowd. I like not being influenced by anyone else in the area... It makes my work more
original, more unique. At the same time, being the "Bible belt", many folks here haven't taken too kindly
to some of my films. I've even been told, on numerous occasions, that I'm "going to hell," unless I start
working "for the glory of God." It's for this reason that North Carolina could never become
"the new Hollywood".... People are far too close-minded and reserved here.And I might shave my head,
but I'd never dye my hair. Even if I wanted to, I'd probably get arrested for it.

9. Ohio claims the Wright Brothers because they were born in Ohio, North Carolina claims the Wright Brothers cause they had their first flight in North Carolina, who gets to claim the Wright Brothers
on their license plates, and What do you wish you would have invented?

I never really thought about it, honestly. I take certain things for granted, just like everyone else, but there's nothing I can think of that I've ever wished I invented. Too busy trying to come up with something that
doesn't exist yet, I guess...

10. Who helped/inspired you the most to achieve what you have achieved today? What are
your goals for the 2006 and beyond?

My talents are God-given, no question. I can't say anyone else helped or inspired me, especially with
a family like mine that considers the entertainment industry "impractical", in general. I've received more encouragement from strangers than I have from those closest to me. Aside from Ryli, who's been a major
asset to my film and photography endeavors (and who's been incredibly patient with me in my obsession
with one project after another), I can only thank each of the actors who've proven themselves dedicated and dependable enough to play a part in my films. Provided I make any more films in the future, I look forward to working with these folks again.

My major goal for 2006 is to complete the novel I'm now working on, and to find a publisher for it (and any subsequent books). At this point, I'd be perfectly content with being an author, and nothing else. It'd be nice to hear some of my music in at least one big-budget movie, too, but if that doesn't happen, hey... we can't all have everything, right?