The Golden Rake Low Budget Horror Awards Show -Co Hosts The Soska Sisters & Special Guests Feb 20, 2015 - Online!

I
honestly stumbled across this quite by accident this event happening
tomorrow night online. A first of it's kind also with what the man behind the awards, John
Lepper had told me the site has only been active for 6 months -this
is quite the event he has planned so quickly.



The Golden Rake Awards Facebook Event Page

I
had asked him if I could send him some questions for a piece on the
event.

Thank
you for taking the time to answer some questions for me

The
name -The Golden Rake Awards where did the name come from?

The
name is a bit tongue in cheek. I own and write for                                                       The Blood Shed.com, 

the fastest growing horror news site in the world. This award is
being hosted by our site. Our name is a bit of a pun. Shedding blood
or a bloody shed. We use a lot of shed imagery on our site. And when
coming up with a name for the award, I thought it would be cool to
use something you'd typically find inside such a building. A rake.
And the idea really mirrors indie horror in general. It's a regular,
everyday object, but gold, made beautiful. Indie horror is about
these small projects that are driven by passion. They are beautiful
works of art just for being what they are.

How
does this award show differ from all the other movie awards shows out
there?

This
award ceremony differs from others in the same way our site differs
from other horror news sites. We focus on indie horror because we
feel that is where the real creativity in the genre lies and bigger
horror sites just can't seem to be bothered to give them any support.
They have their eye on the dollar. They get paid very good money to
give press to big studios so they just say screw the little guys. And
it's a shame, because honestly the big studio horror sucks with very
few exceptions. So, with this award ceremony, we have purposely
focused on these really tiny films. The requirements for submission
were that the film be over 60 minutes in length and have a budget
under $100k. That's micro budget. The entire goal of this is to shine
the spotlight on these amazing films that no one else ignores.

What
is the idea behind the show?

The
idea behind the show is to offer the viewers an array of
entertainment through the event, leading up to the announcement of
the 3 winners. I am a graduated theatre major. For me, everything
needs to be spectacle. I envision myself a ringmaster. This is my
circus. We have a variety of attractions. We have special guests,
prizes, the screening of a short film, and a live interview with the
Soska sisters who are co hosting the event.

How
is it to have Jen & Sylvia Soska as co-hosts and how did you get
them on board?

How
is it to have Jen and Sylvia Soska on board for this? In a word,
awesome! They are really cool and we are so stoked to have them on
board. Really down to earth gals. I really thought the entire thing
was a long shot. One of my writers, Josh Millican, wrote an article
on talented female horror directors and he listed them in it. They
saw it and loved it! So, we've been in touch ever since. As for
getting them on board, while I was planning this I thought it would
be really cool to have a celeb co host. Some of my writers suggested
I try the Soska's. And I am glad I listened because they seem just as
excited about it as I am!

For
you what is it that Independent film and horror have that makes it so
special?

Indie
film is where the magic happens. It's not some big studio who happens
upon a hit and then pumps out 50 thousand clones of it in the next 5
years to milk the concept for every penny it's worth. How many horror
films in the past few years have been in theaters and have been any
good? There are a few, but for every "Conjuring" there are
a dozen "Devil's Due"s. And it baffles the mind! How does
one make a movie for millions and millions of dollars and still end
up with such a shitty product?! It's really inexcusable. And yet all
of these big name horror sites focus on this drivel. And here, on the
other hand, you have these passionate filmmakers making these small
films that no one pays any attention to... and some of them are
AMAZING!!! It's a crime! And we do what we can to help make it right
at theblood-shed.com. I'd rather watch the next Mycho Entertainment
film over the next Rob Zombie feature any day. Don't know who Mycho
Entertainment is? See, that's the problem we're trying to fix.

What
do you hope others will get from this award show -will there be more
in the future

I
hope that we can really just have a great time and show the viewers
how awesome indie horror really is. There's so much out there and you
just gotta look a bit! I want these film makers of these 30 entries
to feel appreciated. I want them to know that they will always have a
home at theblood-shed.com. And yes, there will be more. This is going
to be an annual event. Which does put some pressure on me because,
naturally, you always have to top the last year! lol! I have the
Soska sisters co hosting! I started too strong! How can I top this?!
*cries* Also, we are thinking of doing another award show for indie
horror short films this summer. Lotta good stuff in there!

Where
did you come up for the online idea?

Well,
we wanted everyone to be able to join us, no matter where they were!
I am a huge proponent of this kind of thing. It's what I love about
producing: I can do it from anywhere in the world! Hell, I've never
been out of the US and I exec produced Romania's first found footage
horror film, Be My Cat: A Film for Anne. So, our audience is from all
over the world, these film entries are from all over the world, we
want people from all over the world to be able to join us for this!
The only feasible way of making it happen was to do it live stream
online. 

Thank you for reading this

Sincerely

Anthony Nadeau