Interview with Pedro Castro, Director & Writer – Twenty Something Ninja Turtles

Interview by Jasmina Nevada

-Please state your full name, involvement in the short film - whether you are a director, writer etc?

Pedro Castro. I am the director and one of the many writers for Big Dog Eat Child's web series, Twenty Something Ninja Turtles.

-Where are you from?

I am from Alsip, IL and making plans to move to LA next summer.

-When had your movie premiered at the Festival?

The film premiered Tuesday Aug 16th at 10pm. The web series block.

-Could you outline what your movie is about?

The series was about how the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were grappling with being in their 20's. For those who are unfamiliar, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a cartoon show that rocked my brain and ruined my chances to do well in school.

-Where did the concept for your short movie come from?

Our group was talking about the stupid stuff people in their 20's have to go through (marriages, divorces, getting older) and thought it was funny to imagine what the TMNT would be going through. At first we wanted to be live action and get into costumes but every other parody we saw did a bad job in costuming. And there was no way we could pull off the Animatronics the feature films had. One of us had the brilliant idea to use the action figures as well as to simply take photos and build sets with doll furniture. Even with no sound and small set pieces the shooting took over 12 hours to complete.
- How long did it take from the concept to written script to finished product?
About 2 months from concept to finished product. We recorded all the dialog, built the sets, remade the musical intro and editing all the episodes.

- What was the message you were trying to get across to your audience?

That being in your 20's is a hilariously difficult time and we wanted to see what we could do with familiar characters in quasi realistic settings.

-Your short film is 92 seconds- could you please tell me why you decided on this length of time and was it hard to achieve?

We thought that was the best length for the internet audience and it gives them more incentive to replay the film and share with their friends. We also had a very successful series of viral videos. Called Jones Big Ass Truck Rental and Storage

Here are some related links and contact details for Pedro Castro
Website -bigdogeatchild.com
youtube page: youtube.com/bigdogeatchild
email :pedro@bigdogeatchild.com
Also :www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0gb9v4LI4o

Thank you for your time