“there was that time when one of our lead actors killed a production assistant because she insulted his beard”
Anyone looking for a good ghost story? Matt Osterman is the writer and director of the eerie science fiction meets supernatural drama, Phasma Ex Machin (Click here for film’s review). The film is the independent equivalent of Hollywood’s The Sixth Sense and The Others, the only difference is that Matt’s impressive feature-length debut has a strangely satisfying ending that Hollywood would never have the nerve to release. Phasma Ex Machine (pronounced Phasma Eks Mah-kuh-nuh, Latin for “Ghost from the Machine”) is making its San Francisco debut at this year’s Another Hole In The Head festival (Click here for showtimes) . Now, on to the interview with Matt Osterman.
First off, congratulations on your first full-length feature. I particularly liked how you explored the way in which the characters in Phasma have their own ghosts to face and not just the physical ones. Was it your intention to bring this element of the film to the forefront?
Thanks – it’s been quite the worthwhile marathon. And yeah, the interior motivations or regrets of the characters are much more interesting to me than any external force I could ever create. There are certain questions about life and death that I wanted to explore and the ghost metaphor provided the perfect opportunity to dive in headfirst. It was a lot of fun trying to balance the creepy scary stuff with the character’s internal struggles, but they were really just two sides of the same coin.
There is quite a bit of technical talk in the film. Do you have a background in electronics or did you just do a lot of research for the technically verbose script?
I’ve always loved technology and I’m infinitely curious about how things work, so I took the research seriously and spent a lot of time trying to connect real science to the unknown. I’ve also been fascinated with the supernatural since I was a little kid, so the research was actually quite fun.
Are you pleased with the way the film came out or would you change anything about it?
I’m extremely happy with how it turned out. There will always be a few things I’d do differently after the fact, but I don’t regret any choice I made at the time. I’d be a grade A jerk if I claimed the movie was perfect, but I’m very proud of what we were able to accomplish.
Were there any hardships on the set or did shooting go pretty smoothly?
Well, there was that time when one of our lead actors killed a production assistant because she insulted his beard, but other than that things went pretty well. Okay, that’s a lie. Our production went well, so I’m forced to make up stories. Sorry.
In reality, I had a talented team working with me and we operated well within the limits of what we could control. Boring, but true. There’s never enough time or money, but those problems plague every production and it’s a tired excuse that no one wants to hear.
Who are some of your influences?
Do I lose cool points if I say Spielberg? I’m also pretty devoted to the three amigos right now (del Toro, Inarritu, and Cuaron). Kubrick is way up there as well.
If you had to pick just one film, what would be your favorite film of all time?
Dang, I never have an answer for this question. Today it’s “The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.” T
omorrow it might be “Being There.”
What’s next on the agenda for you?
I just finished writing a dark thriller about characters in the midst of a global famine. It’ll be a nice lighthearted piece… 
