The Monkey | Inspired by Stephen King

PressPlay Cinema had a chance to reconnect with an old friend, Spencer Sherry. Before the idea of PressPlay Cinema, and this project itself came into existence. Spencer Sherry and Rose Sanchez, PPC CEO, used to work at a NY fine diner in Albany. Back in 2016, Spencer’s charming and vibrant personality was always a highlight in everyone’s day at the Restaurant. Having the honor to interview Mr. Sherry, during the process of his filmmaking debut on this piece. WE. CANT. WAIT! Without further ado, LET’S GET TO IT;

PressPlay Cinema: Is The Monkey a horror/comedy?

Spencer Sherry: The Monkey is very Stephen King! So it’s definitely got both of those elements. When I describe it to people I tell them it’s more of a drama/suspense – like an episode of the Twilight Zone.

PPC: Yeah! We read it was inspired by Stephen King. Which story, and what part in the story you realized, “ha! One day I’m gonna film this.”?

SS: The Monkey is based off the Stephen King story of the same name from 1985’s “Skeleton Crew”. I think I was drawn to it because it was the perfect cocktail of campy, poignant, and most of all: doable. As long as I could find one of these creepy little toys, I felt pretty confident that I could make a compelling story with it. I ended up finding three of them, and their unsettling appearance and horrific screeching did most of the heavy lifting.

PPC: What are your expectations out of the certain achievements of this film?

SS: My pipe dream is that Stephen King likes it enough to give me the green light to pursue a commercial adaptation of one of his stories. Pretty big ask, but it’s happened before! No matter what, I just want to get this film in front of as many people as possible, get an agent as a result, and make a living in the industry.

PPC: As a filmmaker/Director, what achievements you’re looking forward to complete?

SS: I’d love to reach a point where I’m getting paid to tell unique and exciting stories; whether I’m writing them, producing them, directing them – I don’t really have a preference. I’d love to have a production company one day and collaborate with other filmmakers to make things I’m passionate about. I hope to create work that people find enjoyable, meaningful, and fun. I don’t take myself or my ideas too seriously, and I hope whoever watches anything I do in the future feels that.

PPC: If it wasn’t a monkey, what other creepy thing you would’ve used for this film; to cause an even cringier reaction?

SS: Ooh that’s a good question. Because my story is so different than King’s original, initially I had considered subbing out the monkey for something else if I couldn’t get the rights. I was lucky that I didn’t have to give this too much thought, but if I HAD to choose I’d probably try to find a new use for the voodoo doll device. Haven’t seen a good movie with one of those since Temple of Doom.

PPC: What’s your best/funny memory from behind the scenes of this set?

SS: There was a day where we were at a beautiful house, putting a rowboat in the pool, dangling a ladder rig over top of it, playing with a one-of-a-kind prosthetic and a lot of gross SFX makeup, trying to find the best angle for a cymbal clapping monkey toy, and I made everyone take a mental step back and acknowledge how weird and stupid and absolutely awesome filmmaking can be. What a totally insane way to start a career.

Wouldn’t have it any other way.

Thank you for the time you took to give us a sneak peak into your world, Spencer; and nevertheless, CONGRATULATIONS ON THIS GRAND ACHIEVEMENT AND MORE TO COME!

Dare to inspire.