Tony Gibson: From Mosh Pit to Movie Set

Hello, my name is Tony Gibson. I'm an actor, writer, director, producer and author as well. I'm happy to be on NOLA Film Scene. Welcome to NOLA.

Film Scene with TJ Plato. I'm TJ and, as always, I'm Plato. All right, welcome back to NOLA Film Scene. I'm here with my friend, tony Gibson. Tony, thanks for joining us. It's been a long time coming.

Yeah, yeah, it has. Appreciate you guys having me on the show Finally here.

We are indeed Finally here. Took a little bit of scheduling, but that's what happens when you're busy and successful, right?

Yeah, it's something like that. I'm just like every day is a blessing for me, man. It's one way or another. If it's fame that comes, or success, great you know. If not, I'm just going to love and live life, man. It's like I think that is a treasure in itself, you know. But yeah, again, thank you guys for having me on the show, for sure.

So we've got a few things to unpack here. You've got a movie that you're working on, a book based on the movie. You're an actor, director, producer, musician, published author. Have I left anything out?

mad how many hats. Yeah, that's good though.

Yeah, it's an inspiration, yeah, you know for sure, thank you.

Thank you. Yeah, I do music and stuff as well, I believe and like producing, and that's a little bit of an add on to that. But, to be honest, it's like directing film is so much more involved than it is just acting for a film, you know so. When you're acting in a film, it's pretty cut and chase. It's like you show up, you know your lines, you have a couple of different proposals to give to your director. What works, what doesn't. Chemistry-wise, you have a little bit of wood room to play with to make it look or feel the way it should feel with acting.

Directing, that's another story. Directing is if anybody else the 30 or 40 people are lost or something is going haywire, you're the one they come to on top of everything that you're trying to accomplish creatively right. So it's, it's a, it's a, it's a night and day experience, but yet it's. It's all a good experience when you, when you know you've got the right ammunition to go with right music. For me, though, I'll be be honest, there's something I've kind of comes full circle back around to, and that's where I began my journey, so to speak. So to come back full circle, back around to music, it's. It's rewarding really, is that to just like be back in that moment where you left a piece of yourself in the shadow and with that kind of being said and being an author, this to me is opening up more channels for me to orchestrate. It's like an orchestra.

So, yeah, I'm excited. I'm excited to have the book become a movie. I I think I've had my my day with independent. I love independent film perspective in the highest matter and highest form, because that is the greatest school. But immortal limitations will not be an indie film. Yeah, they won't be. I've set the standard too high for 20 plus years experience. So doing what'm doing, yeah, and I'm just going all out on this one.

So yeah, and with the way the film industry is starting to dwindle in the New Orleans area lately, especially since the strike, yeah, it's good to see projects like this come along. I know I'm friends with quite a few people that have already signed on to your project and that's a great thing to see people getting work out of it. So when you and I talked before, when we were getting to know each other a little bit, you started with music in high school and then the love for performing kind of progressed from there, right.

You did theater in addition to the music? Did you start theater in high school, or was it after high school when you started getting involved with that?

A little bit after high school. High school I was in trouble a little bit. You know, more than the average bear. I think I had to get past several things with anger. You know things I had within myself that music actually helped to relieve. It was its own medicine for me.

So you know starting mosh pits and you know being among people who created the same vibe to other people who didn't understand it metal, it was just anger or that it was. You know insanity. You know people just being out there doing what they're doing in a pit, but then there was a formula and an understanding to it that came along with tom. And after being in the pit, you know there were people who were a little bitty, that probably didn't belong there, but the moment they fell down you had this huge guy helping them up, you know, and if you got he had you know girls just there having fun and she gets felt up. You had somebody coming in there and, like you know, spearing the guy. You know it's a matter, it's a mutual respect. Yeah, there's nothing about it was an anger release. In the same sense, it was something that you, you felt unified.

It was like a unity is what it was it's like to me, like buffaloes running together yeah you know, that's kind of what it, what it symbolized to me on a like a native american way, you know. So, yeah, it was its own healing medicine for me back then, you know, which helped to get me to where I am today. And, like you said, it's like for theater. Theater came at a time when I was no longer performing in front of, like you know, people. In that aspect, you know, I came from wearing the long dreadlocks and in mosh pitting to do what I was doing to kind of being suddenly a family man, you know. And that changed a lot of things for me when my daughters started, you know, my daughters were born, almost took a small hiatus away from being so angry, I had more reason, reason to love being a father.

So from there, that's kind of, you know, within that time period of my life between me being a metalhead and then me being a father, that's probably when I went into theater. Theater for me was a chance to get back to some kind of relived. You know, reviving this, this person that I used to used to be in a different method, cause I've always, I was always fascinated by acting, you know, always fascinated. But I'm just like you know how do I get in here and and and get my feet wet and find out what's you know what this is all about Ended my feet with and find out what's you know what this is all about ended up going to a small college and actually got involved with theater production, several of them. Then, right off the top of the hat, I had to, like, become a 1930s cop, and then the old man, within 25, 20 minutes of each other, roughly, you know, it's my first gig and I'm like wow, how'd I go about this, you know. But it was a great experience to live in that moment that I felt say I felt I felt alive in a different way than than performing in front of people, but it was something that was fulfilling. You know it was.

I was becoming these people playing these people, and then I had my professor, who was actually there to teach me, tell me that, look, you belong in film. And he's like he really really went out of his way. He's like you remind me of Johnny Depp. I'm like, wow, that's way above where I'm trying to be, you know, way above where I'm trying to be, you know, and like he's like. But john depp scares me. I'm like he scares you. I'm like, why, why, why is that? I didn't get the connection until later? He's like well, he's like because he's, he's involved so much into what it's no longer words on the script for him. He's actually like morphed himself into these people, these, these characters, in a fun way, and I guess that's something I attached onto myself.

I was diving deep into who these people were and I was having fun with it. I was having fun with their body language being different and everything being different about my voice or their body or the way they would walk into a room. That's acting for me is something that's somewhere on that caliber of understanding. You've got to walk into this understanding. Not everybody will love you. Some people might hate you, hate your acting. Some people might love you and think you're incredible. You're going to get the best of both worlds in this and what I've learned by doing what I'm doing is to not take too much to heart whether it's good or bad.

Yeah.

You know it can't be so good that it's swelling your head to where you are. You think you know everything is. You know you're way above normal people. You can't think like that, you know, or that you're way above normal people. You can't think like that, or that you're way, way underneath because somebody kicked your ego. I mean, you've got to have the balance of both. So to me that's understanding who. That goes back to my music days, where it's like it was a place of rage where I was coming from, but I found the place of peace inside the rage. That was something else that was happening with both film, with writing, with doing everything I was doing. I was finding the peace and the rage, and that's what I do with characters. I morph into these people. Yeah, that's part of my, I guess, my transformation. Some people I guess they have the schooling or the technique to shut it on, shut it off. I can't, I don't possess that.

I have to morph it into something else yeah like I'm a carpenter, I'm this, I'm several, I'm an artist in yeah, but I have to morph it into something else. Yeah, this can't just like shut it off. Yeah, you know as the morph, so, but that's, that's just me, that's my thing.

I can see it too. So you and I have met in person a few different times film festivals and meeting for coffee to talk about projects, meeting for coffee to talk about projects and we worked together on matt carroll's project the one on the train and the character you embodied for that, that scene, that role, was completely different from the tony that I know. You were a completely different character. So I definitely get what you were saying. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I appreciate that man.

It's partially having just have fun with anything that just you land like that. Like you said, there's a lot happening in Louisiana right now that people really need some sort of inspiration. Hope you know.

Yep.

I'm just looking to try to bring all of my I'm bringing all my guns to the table in New Orleans. I love New Orleans. It's always felt like home to me. Yeah, you know, to be honest, that word is something that I would recognize different from other people, because I've been all over the place.

Yeah.

I've kind of been a little bit everywhere. But there's something special about this place and I'm not I'm proud to admit that. You know, and I think other people, a lot of people see it and maybe they maybe they don't take it for granted what could be done, like the potential that could be done here, or maybe they've just thought well, you know, movies come and go through here. That might be true. But you also gotta think everything changes and everybody grows, you know, and there's something you have to grow with.

You know, you haven't made that next great movie until you've made it yeah you know I'm saying can't just be a thought, it's got to be, you know, in action.

There's got to be a right time for it too yeah I've had people that I kind of counted on at one time I was, you know, some investor, wise and stuff like that and I've learned a lesson to just kind of again, don't take too much to heart. There's a lot in industry that could make you really bitter, but I try to steer from you just got to kind of take it with a grain of salt and do what you can to kind of you know, finance stuff. That's and this is the hardest, my hardest way, because everything takes time and money. You have to find the happy medium to do it, to try to do it yourself until you get recognized for someone who is more than capable of doing what they do on on a very high level.

Yeah.

Then you'll draw the attention in of people who actually understand that you are more. You're wanting to do more on an artist level than just it just being a fling. Time tells who you are. You know what I'm saying with the things that you love to do, and that's just been my history yeah you know, let's talk about in the book, in the film project.

I know the screenplay came first. Right, you did werewolves first and now you're doing vampires. I'm not going to give any spoilers. If people want spoilers, they're going to have to go out and get the book, yeah there you go. They don't need to wait for the film, they need to go get the book and then see the film. So you adapted the book from the screenplay. Yes, tell us how you came up with the idea for the film project and the book without spoiling it too much.

Okay, the film project in the book without spoiling it too much, okay, so Immortal Invitations has been on my radar for a very long time. I love vampires and, as you say, gypsy Moon was my first film. Werewolves different take on werewolves is what I was kind of going for Same type of methods with a different take on vampires. So Immortal Invitations was initially something that I kind of dipped back into, a feeling that I used to have performing and that thrill of what it was can be something I'm trying to deliver into through a book and then eventually, you know, give, give people an insight on what the story is, what is happening, who these people are, who we know the, the pattern and the form of the formation of character arcs, where it's you know what I'm saying when exactly, where's the chemistry behind what is going on? I want people to get that firsthand. Yeah, the chemistry behind what is going on.

I want people to get that firsthand through the book before they see the movie, because I'm personally trying to get it's like a dopamine hit out of just reading something One of the greatest rushes that you could possibly get sitting in a theater or sitting in a chair and absorbing what is happening on a film. I'm trying to get that dopamine to a very high level of intensity and I know there's a formula, there's a science to it, there's a way to it can't be like a sudden strike. It's got to be like a climax of things that happen, that one thing falls into a place that really just is like it's hook line and sinker with what's going on in the story. But vampires, I wanted another take. I wanted a different type of vampire than everything that's been out there. You know so I'm a huge fan of Lost Boys. You know I grew up watching that stuff, like Vamp, like the old school ones that I can remember, like Salem's Lot, like the old school ones that I can remember, like salem's lot, like the 1978 77 version of salem's lot. Uh, stephen king, there were several different things inspirational that I kind of pulled from. Yeah, you know so lo logan is our main character in this, who is, you know, one of the guys, one of our friends we have in common, billy slaughter. He's playing logan and logan is like an investigator that's kind of caught up in this, this world of the supernatural already, because of the things that the types of darkness that he falls into, as far as what he's wanting to try to bring to light in the certain type of darkness and things kind of form the non-believer into a believer of true supernatural powers in a different way.

My vampire is being, you know, you've got your nocturnal creatures. You know everything that's out there is like a snake in the heart or holy water crosses, et cetera, et cetera. Right, with my vampires they're not so much hurt or harmed by light, like sunlight, they're not killed by that, but they are very weak. They can't have their full powers unless it's dark. That's when they're at their peak and they're almost like kind of like a butterfly in a cocoon that comes out at night. You know, that's when they're like full, that's when they have full capacity, full power during the day, because they're shadow creatures. It can be day but they still have to maintain in the shadows of wherever. That is, just like, you know the way light bends into a room and somewhere in that room there's going to be a place where there's a shadow. That's where they would linger, because they're shadow creatures. So just a couple things. I won't throw any more full spoilers out there, but sure yeah, it's got intense moments.

That happens in the story and I love the time joke. We definitely prepare for that as far as audiences out there. I'm a time jumping lover, so we'll do a lot of, you know, 1920s, I think, 30s, very jazzy style kind of jumps. We even go back to the 1700s where coffin case girls was a thing that was coming off of the ships in the harbor. They were French, you know. They were French descent, so all of that will be.

You know, we're seeing the birth of, you know, when, new Orleans was brand new. This is basically what we're going to be seeing in the film. You know, new Orleans was brand new and it was thriving with everything that made us who we are today. You know, including things of supernatural. Missy LaValle LaValle is one of my characters and she's Marie LaValle's great. She's her granddaughter, basically what she is. That's in the film. I love to bring these types of things into a setting to where you're just almost anticipating anything, anything that could happen. That would strike you as like wow, that's like I didn't expect that. That's something that's given me some kind of high, some kind of thrill. You're going to find that in both the read and the movie. I mean, that's what I'm gearing for.

Nice. Yeah, I know this is kind of off the topic a little bit, but my own curiosity when you started the book publishing process, how difficult was that compared to doing stuff on the film side, getting projects going? Was it challenging to get it to an editor and get it published?

I had a lot of help with Stacey Newton. Okay, so here's my thing as a brand new as far as an author, kind of brand new to this world of literary you know people and agents and all that stuff was told that I needed to basically make the screenplay into a book. I'd have several friends come to me and ask well, that would be a great idea to try to get that out there first. And Stacey was someone who I kind of leaned a little bit on her expertise for learning what needs to happen. So to me, I'm still learning. It's still difficult Getting a publisher, just kind of word of mouth.

And then friends of friends that got me involved with some people out of Brooklyn, new York, and then they are the ones that kind of strapped me into the chair and was like here's what this is, here's what we can do. And of course, like anything, it's pay to play. We're always looking for scammers and we're looking for you know we're trying to avoid that at all costs. So it was good to actually find someone who was trustworthy. Once you have what you think is tangible for a good series or a good book, you, you have that together. There's a lot of ways out there in the world now where you can self-publish, you can get your your thoughts out of your book out there, etc. And of course you know I'm one of those guys that that shoot for the moon. So I'm like, okay, I want barnes and noble or amazon. You know, I want to be in their book signing with stacy, you know, etc.

Etc yeah, and that was another reason for for her coming on board and actually she was very kind. We we was back and forth with with the story being right. Big thank you to her for for getting me started on that. Our own bars of noble, you know, amazon we're about to hit the whole world up there's platforms. I've never even heard of it's on right now, so that's a really good feeling. God, thank google books. This was another popular one.

I think emil spark is like an actual way. That's probably one I would recommend to any brand new author is england spark, because they get you on multiple different platforms as well. You just have to make sure you've got a few things yourself protected, legally protected. You have to have your ISBN numbers and stuff like that. You have to have your barcodes. These things you have to purchase so that they link to you, they link to the author, so that you don't run into that case later down the road where, okay, somebody in Italy's stealing your book or whatever. You know that's not something I would think people would try to tackle if you've got everything in advance to kind of protect you.

So yeah, and if you didn't know this I learned this doing original research in school you can actually send your paper, anything that you write through the post office, where it has to be signed for and leave it sealed and that copyrights it. Yes, we've got a lot of friends that are writing screenplays, short films, feature films, plays, and people weren't even aware of that. I had a friend that was talking about writing something recently and he was kind of stressing about getting a copyright and I said send it through the post office. I mean, that's a cheap way to do it until you get further into it and the process.

Right. And one thing I'm pretty adamant about is like WGA registration. The writer guild of America is what I normally I pay the money. It's not much like 30, 40 bucks. You know it's a one-time thing and that gets it registered. You know that right. There is another way to kind of protect yourself. Every screenplay I write. That's kind of what I go through. I go through that process. Same thing kind of happened with, well, a little bit different process with this one. Here Everything was done through kind of Brooklyn Sure, Through them Sure. But yeah, the book is out now and I hope you guys check it out. Something I'm very excited, very, very excited about shooting, especially coming out of Supernatural Realm with werewolves. And then I had a little viking excursion was my other film myth among legends. Um, I did a shot at new mexico, northern new mexico, and that was like during the winter apocalypse, a valentine's day of all places, of all times yeah valentine's day?

yeah, like 2020 or something like that right before, right before the world came to a stop came to a stop man, everything was like it was right there.

It's like we did the viking, actual viking shoot, authentic period piece stuff. And the helmet I wore was so heavy it's probably 40 something pounds I had on my head and what we was working with costume wise it wasn't much. I mean, I had like deer skins on me and basically like deer skin pants and it was. It was close to 15, like six, seven degrees out there, you know, and I was like I was basically naked, except for that fur.

Yeah, you know out there.

That was a good experience. That was actually for me. That was one of the greatest times of my life in the acting world Was being able to live in the moment, you know, because it wasn't just a set, it was an actual mountain with snow, snow covered, you know, and everybody was in that moment, that zone, you know, to shoot this, this project yeah it was really, really, really neat.

You know, brian and I ask people a lot if they had one thing, do they have like a dream project, something that they that's on their bucket list that they want to do as an actor, or if it's a director or producer or whatever that we're talking to? And I've always kind of thought about it and I'm like I don't know, maybe people think it's dumb One. I've already checked off the list with Matt. He did a faith-based film and that was the Soldier's Heart. Billy was in it, hick was in it, a lot of our friends were in it. And the other one has always been something Vikings. I've always been fascinated by Vikings and just the and the culture. And yeah, I watch documentaries when I can, right, and I don't know. That would be a fun project to work on.

Yeah Well, I have to keep you. You got a Viking. Look too, you really do.

I mean, I could see me holding a big battle axe or a big sword, you know right I mean jerk the beard, have the braids, all that right.

And there's one thing about that culture man I love nordic culture is man they're, they're like, they're like earthly people. You know for a culture. They just like. They love Mother Earth and growing their own. You know stuff. People live this way still today.

Yeah.

You know there's a lot of the Nordic, I guess I don't know if you recall like what we would have for Native American spiritual, like some kind of passed down from ancestry type of spiritual, you know, and everything in them is like is very, very warrior mode, but it's a very beautiful thing, man, and it's primitive but yet it's forever lasting.

Yeah.

You know, to me the Nordic culture really had a lot of things figured out for me. You know, in my thought process Sometimes the shades of the moon will tell you a lot more in its own way than our clock does today. You know, just by seeing the way that a wave will move in on the way that the shade happens in the time of the moon, you know there's a lot of things that I know is pretty predominant with our culture. That is very interesting to me, very intriguing. Come from a Christian background and also a full-on Nordic. You know Nordic pagan and they have a lot of that culture. That's what that culture is. Predominantly it's pagan.

It is pagan.

It's very pagan, but there's a lot of, you know, a lot in that culture. That's beautiful as well. To me it's not an evil thing. It feels like it's more being spiritually aware of the runes and the symbols and the stuff like that. They all have a meaning behind what they are. You know, some people see the Zodiac as something evil. To me that's very it's not. It's very intriguing to me. Anything to do with the supernatural. Vikings is something I'm hoping Mythemon Legends picks up somewhere and yeah, yeah, I'd definitely catch it.

That would be cool, something that I've always been fascinated about the Viking culture being a sailor with my military background. They would sail across vast waterways in these hand-built boats that weren't big by today's standards but they would survive it and they developed ways to navigate those great distances without before then they'd have to use some type of landmark to navigate. And then, once they developed that one thing that would help them get across, that was when everything changed and they started expanding. And I don't know, I was fascinated by the seafaring side of the things that they did.

Yeah, really tough, tough, tough culture man. No matter what the weather was like, they were out and in it, they were in it.

They didn't care that it was cold. They didn't care that it was wet.

They didn't care that it was wet, no, it was just everyday life, you know it was, and their women were really tough and they actually. What they apprised above all things with the nordic culture is there. They didn't restrict their women, they gave them a sword and they also defended their family if they were warriors too, if they were warriors too, and they were some of them were badass.

I mean, they're beautiful and badass, you know. So it was that that struck me above all and that's something that I wrote in Myth Among Legends to be on that side of, of embracing like a feminine power. One of the characters in my story was played by Versailles Knight, and she was one of these warriors who you know. You just look at her and she's a little bitty thing, but for someone to anticipate that, for being her size, in the film she actually takes down one of these guys who's supposed to be a giant. You know, these ginormous, barbarian style man, gorillas or whatever you know, with an axe. You know, and it's just a couple of seconds and he's, he's laid out. You know she's got, you know she put him, put him to the sword.

You know so little things like that I take pride in in, and that that's where that thrives from. You know, that thrives for me and also me being a father of three daughters. I want them to be brave, I want them to challenge, you know, I want them to be out there adventuring and doing what they're doing fearlessly, and that's what they do, yeah that's cool, Pretty cool man.

But yeah, vikings is definitely something I would love to jump back up on Once I get a little bit past past. I'm in a vampire mode right now. Vampires are especially in new orleans. Vampires in new orleans I'm not the first one to be doing this. I have multiple people who've come in and a couple of man.

Rice is a huge one. She's like the queen of basically new orleans when it comes to vine box. You know she's made her way and she built her, her history around him. She's a lot that I think the interview with the vampire that was done by her and there was a couple more. I mean I was, I liked it, but it to me like vampires. I loved, I think, the scenery more than I did anything. You know the storyline and stuff like that.

I think the way way I guess I would be inspired by am inspired by just about everything that I've seen as far as New Orleans and vampires. I'm going to find something in there. Even if it was a project that didn't have a huge budget or whatever, I'm going to find something about it to be inspired by. And then again, as a creator, you always want to try to have a new take. You want to develop something that someone hasn't seen. You know they'll be like. You know might see a part of your movie like but wait, that's a carnival scene. And you know, you kind of got some stuff going on over here with vampires, that's lost boys. I'm like, yep, you're right, vampires, it's lost boys. I'm like, yep, you're right, that's exactly what I'm inspired by, you know, and there's, there is the carnival scenes and stuff like that in immortal limitations yeah, you know there's things of that nature that I love the way that that felt.

You know the way that the needle things were happening with music or with rides or with you know part of the story. You know that was very enticing to me. That's that's a part of the movie that got. Know that was very enticing to me, that's a part of the movie that got me and I wanted to make my own version and kind of amplify that dopamine.

Yeah, I think being a musician will help too, when you talk to whoever your composer is going to be.

You have that ear for music, I think is going to help them intensify this moment. Yeah, it's just fine. Well, the guy jamie christopherson is I've got a lawyer. This guy, jamie christopherson, he's the one that did the score for myth of my legends, which is he is like an a-list composer. He's done so much stuff. He's always, always, his music is always on netflix. He's one of these, he's one of the bigger guys out there and his, his, his stuff is just really good. You know, jamie's stuff is like it's just phenomenal and and what he does is he does in a musician's way and respectfully, as from musician. Musician he does things that where he is like he is deep into it yeah you know, it's like he's seeing the scene and he just starts.

He's this invisible noise just starts coming to his ears yeah and this is what he's creating.

It's kind of what I do in the scene and people, like you know, wonder why I'm just staring off in outer space. I'm behind a monitor somewhere because I can hear the music. Yeah, I can hear the music actually playing. Nobody else can hear it, but I can hear it in the scene and that's to me. That's how I'm cutting. You know, that's how I'm kind of cutting what is happening in this scene or what's happening in this picture different from the next scene. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, so yeah, he'll be the guy. Jamie will be my guy in War of Limitations. Dude is sick. Definitely check out his work.

Excellent.

Yeah, very cool man. Yeah, if you haven't got your War of Limitations book, please pick it up at any Barnes, noble, amazon. We're on IngramSpark, google Books, apple Books and the movie soon to come out.

What about your socials? You want to share your socials.

As far as social media, you can find me on Instagram Howling Full Moons, goship36,. Facebook, I'm on Tony Gibson 85, tiktok. I have a YouTube channel as well. I guess I can give you the link to drop in there.

We can drop it.

You can drop it. Drop my IMDb. I'm out there on IMDb. I'll be out in New Orleans here pretty soon with this film.

Tony, it was great having you. Thanks for sitting down with us and really enjoyed it.

Yeah, absolutely man. It was a pleasure, Pleasure to be there. Thank you all for having me on the show.