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Recently I got the chance to speak with controversial and outspoken Director Uwe Boll about his new film, “Rampage: Capital: Punishment” I have interviewed Dr. Boll several times over this years and want to thank him for taking time to speak to us about his film, career, and future plans.
It has been a few years since we last interviewed you and in that time we have seen more dramas coming from you compared to your earlier works. How did this come about?
I’m a very political person and in the last few years I started writing more again and went back to my roots.
Stoic, Rampage, and Assault on Wall Street are powerful films that not only stay with the viewers, but seemed to have lessened much of the venom you took earlier about your directing abilities. How would you say that you have grown both as a writer and director over the last five years?
Now in my movies it helps that I’ve made so many movies before. Routine makes you stronger in a way that you can focus on the stuff that is really important and allows you to make a good movie.
You have never been one to hold back your thoughts on politics, Hollywood, and other issues in the world. Your recent films have taken on some very big topics head on and do not pull any punches. What has inspired the change from game based films to stories ripped from the headlines?
In the game movies I came by accident and with HOUSE OF THE DEAD it started successful so financing came into place for a lot of these movies. But before I was very political with my movies like BARSCHEL or HEART OF AMERICA and after I went back to that kind of films.
As a follow up, how much harder is it to get films like this made and to find an audience for them compared to your past works and how do you go about marketing films that on paper would not appear to be attractive to commercial investors?
DARFUR , AUSCHWITZ or STOIC were way harder to finance and so if it helps me making this movies I would always keep making movies like IN THE NAME OF THE KING 3.
In Assault and Rampage you bring up many issues and topics that are bound to make viewers very uncomfortable. There is a theme of taking matters into your own hands and taking action against those in charge. Do you believe there is a way that people can affect change without having to resort to violence and if so, how do you think it will happen?
There are changes they come slowly and peaceful and there are changes coming fast and brutal. In my movies it’s mostly about injustice and that the system we are living in is providing protection for the rich. The politics are bought and paid for.
Having lived in Germany and Canada where gun control, Socialized Medicine, more paid vacation time, and other benefits are common, why do you think they have them and America does not as it seems to me they have big companies, capitalists, politicians, and such yet they find a way to make it work.
I think that in the USA huge lobby groups have too much control and blockade social reforms. They operate with the constitution and the AMERICAN DREAM and brainwash the people of the under / and middle-class against their own interests.
Seattle recently passed a $15.00 an hour minimum wage law and companies such as Ikea and others have raised their minimum wages. Do you think this is a step in the right direction or is it simply covering up the larger issues?
Absolutely. A guy who makes $1 million a year still spends only $50,000 on food etc. A guy who makes $30,000 a year spends all his money for basic needs. So if you want to drive the gross forward you give every worker more money because they will spend it all for products that drive the economy up: food, fuel, entertainment, rent etc. It is absurd that McDonalds pays only $6 an hour and makes billions in profits every year and McDonalds workers need a second job to survive.
With Rampage: Capital Punishment, how long after you completed the first film did it take for you to want to do a follow up and how quickly did it happen?
After the NSA scandal and my disappointment about the US politics in 2013 I felt it was time to do a second RAMPAGE.
As a follow up, is it likely that we will be seeing more films like this and in this series from you in the future?
I want to do a third RAMPGE, which will finish up that story.
You have been appearing more and more in your films of late, is this something that you will continue to do and how would you compare acting to directing, and are you your own worst critic?
I play only basically as myself – like a satire – in ZOMBIE MASSACRE as the president, in Postal as Nazi and in RAMPAGE as a TV producer who makes money on the killing spree.
Many people are surprised to hear that you have a great sense of humor as they think you’re an individual who is often angry over the Hollywood system and politics. What makes you laugh and will we be seeing more comedies form you in the future?
I wanted to do POSTAL 2 but the financing felt apart, too bad. I have a very dark humor and there is no joke to dirty for me. I’m a big FAMILY GUY fan.
Since many associate you with video games, I have to ask, what current crop of games would you like to see made into films and what game related films do you have coming up?
I would do it only whatever game it is if I make 100% money on it. Otherwise it is a waste of time and I’m better off making movies that matter. Movies like ATTACK ON DARFUR, STOIC, AUSCHWITZ or Assault on WALLSTREET.
Aside from money why do you think we now have a rush of game based films coming from studios as the number in development is rather large considering most have failed to light up the almighty box office?
The studios are fear driven; they don’t know what to do so they make movies out of comics and games in the hopes that with enough money for advertising behind it it will turn into a success.
As a follow up, do you think that the game studios now having more say over script, directors, cast, and so on will result in better films for fans?
I don’t know, I think most of the game studios are incompetent when it comes to movies.
Finally, what are your hopes for the next ten years not only for your career but for society as a whole and do you think there is still time to make the needed changes?
The movie industry is a business that will never die as long as billionaires are willing to tank money into it. Overall movies got weaker. To be honest 12 YEARS AS A SLAVE was a mediocre movie, super good was only THE WOLF OF WALL STREET. Besides the film industry, the world gets worse. We don’t take global warming seriously, we don’t change obvious rotten systems, like gun law, prison system, taxes for the rich, control of the banks and that is all not good and together with 20 other points will not make our future bright.
