Hey everyone! Today I interviewed Gideon Raff, the inspiring, talented writer and directer of the upcoming horror movie Train...enjoy!

So Gideon, what can you tell your fans about your upcoming horror movie Train?
It's the story of a group of American college athletes who are competing in Eastern Europe. Our heroes go out one night for a night of fun and debauchery. The next morning they discover that they missed the train they were supposed to board. In an attempt to catch up with the rest of their team, they board a different train. Awesome horror ensues...

So many young filmakers are probably interested in how you broke into the film business?
After my studies at AFI I was lucky enough to work for Doug Liman (as his assistant) on the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. That was my first job on a real Hollywood set. It was such an amazing experience. Doug later executive produced my first feature The Killing Floor which led to being hired to write and direct Train.

Did you goto film school?
I got my graduate degree at the American Film Institue in Los Angeles. My undergrad in film is from Tel Aviv Universiy.

Where did you grow up?
I was born in Jerusalem, Israel where I lived until I was 18 years old. After 3 years in the army I moved to Tel Aviv and in 2001 I moved to Los Angeles.

Any advice for filmakers trying to make it in the business?
Perserverence is everything. Never give up. Keep trying. There are many nay-sayers in this town. Everytime you hear a NO it should push you try harder and succeed. There are no rules on how to make it and no one way. If you want it enough, keep on trying no matter what.

How was the premiere at screamfest?
It was awesome. The audience really responded well to the film and it was a lot of fun to see the movie on the big screen. I was looking more at the audience than at the screen, but I still had a lot of fun.

I heard you filmed train in Bulgaria how was that?
Bulgaria was great. I had a great professional crew that worked quietly and quickly. I fell in love with Bulgaria when I shot there and I can't wait to go back and shoot another one there.

I also heard you cast your location manager as the bad guy. How did that happen?
Half the casting was done in Bulgaria during location scouts. I knew the type of actor I wanted for the butcher and I couldn't seem to find the right person. During location scouts I kept looking at Vlad my location manager and told my casting director - I want someone like him. Well, as fate would have it, my location manager happened to also be an actor (Bulgaria and LA are not that different in that aspect, apparently..) and we ended up casting him. He's a sweet scary giant.

The film is super bloody, and scary. How much was makeup and how much was CGI?
Most of what you see is real special effects and make up. Of course here and there we had to erase a cable or add something but most of it is the real deal. I'm very proud by the work our special effects people did. 

How was Thora Birch?
Great. She's a huge talent and a joy to work with. It was also a great joy to see how she made the character her own, and she kept building and finding depth. We had a good time working together cause we trusted each other and I felt priveledged to be working with her.

Will there be a Train 2?
That's up to Lionsgate... I think we did leave an opening for a sequel but so far I haven't talked to anyone about that possibility. 

How did Train come about? Were you always planning on writing a horror movie? What interested you in writing Train?
Well I always thought that a Train would be a great location for a horror movie. When I was contacted by the producers at Millennium, they asked me to write a horror movie for them. We played with the idea of remaking the 80s flick Terror Train but very soon we decided to go with an original idea. I don't consider myself just a Horror Director. I want a diverse career, I want to try different genres. I love storytelling and I think that if the story is good, and the characters relatebable it makes no difference what genre it's in. I did a lot of research before writing Train. I wanted to ground the horror in real crimes from the region we were shooting in and that's what I did. I found two great articles - one was about bones found on a train and one was about a monestary in the middle of nowhere where a crime had occured. That's what sparked the idea.