Okay, folks, strap in and brace yourselves because I’ve got a really choice interview for you this time around.  Taking on the five-question run this go-round is Jennifer Hilton, producer of the upcoming The Haunting of Molly Hartley, releasing in theatres Halloween Day, October 31st.

So join me as we find out how it feels to grapple with the big boys, how to sell a script, and just what “Die You Zombie Bastards!” has to do with any of this.

1. “The Haunting of Molly Hartley” is your first wide release film–your previous two productions “Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal” and “The Son of Sam’s Daughter” were much smaller releases by comparison.  How does it feel to be going to such a larger stage?

Jennifer Hilton: It feels great to work on a film that’s going wide and that my friends and family can go see! But it’s a lot more nerve racking than being involved in something smaller with less at stake.  I worked on Turbulence 3 in Vancouver, Canada before I made the move to Los Angeles. It was a straight to video sequel (I think I caught it on late night TV once) but it was my first time getting to be creatively involved in a feature film so I loved it and was thrilled to get my first producer credit. The Son of Sam’s Daughter was a short film I produced for a writer director friend of mine. Producing anything at any level is an intense and all-consuming experience but neither compare to the level of involvement I’ve had with The Haunting of Molly Hartley. It’s been over a year that we’ve been working full time on this film. It’s the biggest thing I’ve ever been involved with and since it’s an independent film the producer really has to have her hands in every little thing…

2. “Molly Hartley” streets Halloween Day, October 31st, which means you’ll be going up against Lions Gate’s juggernaut horror franchise, Saw V.  Any concerns about taking on such a big name, especially since “Molly Hartley” is a whole rating down in content?

Jennifer Hilton: Of course it’s scary to go up against a huge horror franchise like SAW. It opens the weekend before us so we’re hoping that by week 2 their audience will die down a little and give us some room. Also, we’re seeing our PG 13 rating as a very good thing. We’re trying to tap into that niche group of kids that won’t be able to get into SAW since it’s rated R. Hopefully we’ll find an audience that will be excited about our cast and they’ll want to check out a scary movie on Halloween.

3. Any worries about the recent slumps in the economy hurting sales to “Molly Hartley”?

Jennifer Hilton:  I think people will always go to the movies. Even during the Great Depression, the film industry continued to flourish. People need an escape and I hope going to see a fun scary movie will be exactly what they feel like! Regardless of the economy, as a producer, you’re always going to worry about how your movie will do.

4. Why were you specially thanked by name on the DVD release of “Die You Zombie Bastards!”?

Jennifer Hilton: That is a great question. I have been wondering about that myself! Sometimes IMDB makes mistakes and confuses people. Maybe there’s another Jennifer Hilton out there who did something really nice for that production? I have no idea…

5. Lastly, for the screenwriters in the audience, given how difficult it is to get a movie shot any more in an environment where Kevin Smith can’t get five million to do “Red State” and even a name like Steven Spielberg can’t get cash to make “Tintin”, what does a producer want most out of a script?

Jennifer Hilton: The truth is, when I read a script, I just want to get lost in it and enjoy it. I probably have a wider range of tastes than other people - sometimes small dark stories appeal to me, sometimes I like funny and silly - for me a good script is a good script no matter the genre. On the flip side, there are scripts that I love that I can’t do anything with because they aren’t economical choices for our investors. Most producers have to keep the potential commerciality in mind when they read a script. You can’t help but ask the question “who will go see this movie?” and you hope the answer is pretty obvious.

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And so there you have it:  Jennifer Hilton’s looking forward to going up against Saw the way a young heavyweight eyes a championship belt, a down economy doesn’t really have producers all that scared,   PG-13 horror flicks were really ever meant to bring in younger fans, and if you want to sell a script, make sure you’ve got a target market.

Once again, The Haunting of Molly Hartley hits theatres October 31st.

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