by Bondo Wyszpolski
With both sets of grandparents living on the Peninsula, James North was able to attend PV schools, and in 2009 he graduated from Peninsula High along with two fellow classmates, Ryan Patrick Brown and Austan Wheeler. Both would later star in North’s feature-length film, “Filthy Animals.” It’s a stunning debut, but edgy and violent. Viewers will recognize many of the locations because the film was shot entirely in the South Bay.
North and his wife, Kendra, live in Rolling Hills. Here’s how the writer-director’s interest in cinema evolved and came to fruition.
Peninsula; Did you attend film school? Were there particular filmmakers or films that inspired you?
James North: Since I was a young kid I wanted to be a director. In the 5th grade at Dapplegray I received an award, “Future Steven Spielberg,” which they created for me. I made short films all my life. In high school with poor grades I was unable to take the film elective. Despite my love for cinema, I mistakenly convinced myself that filmmaking wasn’t for me and pursued a more ‘realistic’ career as a personal trainer. But I never stopped studying film through books and directors’ commentaries.
I went back to school at El Camino College in 2017 with the encouragement of my wife, Kendra. In the first class I took I met my professor, Elyusha Vaseisefat, who is now a producer of the film (and also a Peninsula High alumni). He’s the godfather to our daughter. Nathan Baldonado, from Professor O’Brien’s film class, is another ‘filthy’ family member and our Director of Photography. The filmmakers who inspire me the most are Quentin Tarantino, John Carpenter, The Coen Brothers, Akira Kurosawa, Guy Ritchie, Kathryn Bigelow, John Cassavettes, Sergio Leone, and Martin Scorsese.”
Peninsula: Tell us where the idea for “Filthy Animals” came from. How did you go about developing the script and did you have to adapt it much once you started shooting?
North: Growing up, my friends and I had a friend who was sexually abused. In the real world, I knew we couldn’t go out and hunt this person, but in our movie we do. A lot of people knew I was into film and they always told me to not give up on that dream, and that if I ever wanted to film they had access to certain locations. I did a writing exercise around the locations that I had access to. I wanted to represent the South Bay. Because we had a blend of trained and non-trained actors, the goal was to try and pull off where you didn’t know who had (acting) experience (and who did not).
ER: How did you go about pitching the story to potential investors?
North: Before writing the script, I was able to tell the story of this movie like a campfire story. But because I had nothing to show for it, except my passion and enthusiasm, I got a lot of no’s. I used every possible resource to keep the budget low, such as using friends’ and family’s home and businesses to shoot. Some equipment we had to rent, but El Camino College allowed us to use their equipment, only requiring us to insure it. My wife and I sold one of our cars. We have been sharing a car for the last three years. A few family members and friends did invest some money, for which we are extremely grateful, but my wife and I are the ones who had to finance most of it to see it through to completion.”
ER: It’s quite a varied cast. Did you know any of the actors beforehand? Did you pretty much know who you wanted for each major role?
North: Austan Wheeler, Ryan Patrick Brown and I knew each other from school, but some of us hadn’t talked in quite some time. However, I knew the chemistry they would have once I got them together, and I’m grateful to say it turned out as the movie that has been playing in my head all this time. Raymond J. Barry was our only actor who had an elite résumé, and we are lucky he was open and willing to play one of our sexual predators. Most everyone else we found through casting and doing auditions.”
ER: Do you want to say anything about the two leads?
North: “The two leads I’m extremely proud of. They both trusted me and dove into this insane project, as did the female lead, Mena Santos, who plays Bella. They each told me individually (and without knowing the others said this) that they didn’t want to watch the movie until the festival premiere. And they all kept their word. At the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival in Feb. 2024 we won Best Independent Film. Our screening was sold-out, with 225 people. It was the first time for all three to watch the movie. It’s the ultimate trust from an actor to have confidence in your director. They had no idea how much that meant to me, and at the end of our premiere night it was such a relief that I didn’t let them down.”
ER: Location. Did you have a good idea of where you wanted to film while writing the script?
North: “With the connections that I’ve had in the South Bay I knew a lot of the locations where I wanted to shoot. With our two leads being surfers, we tagged in our local legend, Greg Browning, to help us film our surf scene. Greg has known me since I was a child. He was a crucial part in our video aquatics and elevated our production to the next level. Getting the surf right was very important to us, and I think it’s super awesome. It really is Austin and Ryan surfing. No stunt doubles needed for my dudes.”
ER: Did you come up with the title? And are we to assume it applies to the victims (Lester and Jeff) or to the vigilantes (Lars and Freddy)?
North: “We had some really funky titles before I came up with ‘Filthy Animals’. It’s paying homage to ‘Home Alone’ with it being a Christmas movie, as well as having a movie within a movie that you think is real, just like ‘Angels with Filthy Souls’ to our ‘The Man in Black’.
“‘Filthy Animals’ describes the sexual predators in the story, but also everyone in the movie has a vice and is a little filthy in some way.”
ER: The story is set near Christmas, but when and over what period of time was the film shot?
North: “We started shooting in Jan. 2020, but Covid prevented us from completing the shoot until later in 2020. We have 30 days of footage. But because it was our first feature, and truly independent with our financing, in addition to outside factors like Covid, it was almost five years (from the beginning to the release). The film was ready for distribution in early 2024, but we waited to release it until Christmas time since the story happens on Christmas Eve.”
ER: Would you say that the theme of the film boils down to “Sometimes you’ve got to do bad in order to do good”?
North: “I think we all believe we are the heroes of our own story. I don’t think all villains really know they are villains. We justify our actions, and do anything to survive. Freddy’s character and his dilemma with hunting sexual predators is trying to figure out if he is making the right choice. Lars enjoys the thrill of it, but Freddy really tries to get purpose from it, as well as money. By the end when we were going full Western in the standoff shootout, Lars was so excited because he really wanted Freddy to feel the enjoyment of it like he does. It also helps Lars justify his actions and his manipulations.”
ER: What scenes, in particular, are you most proud of?
North: “The ones that I am most proud of are: the Bella beat-up at my mom’s flower shop, Burgundy Flowers and Gifts; the dream sequence with Freddy and his grandfather, played by Ken Best; the shootout at the end with Lars, Freddy, and Jeff (Peter Larney). Raymond J. Barry getting to dance in front of his own artwork that he painted was a really cool feeling. The scene at the tattoo shop with Austan, my tattoo artist Luke Wessman, and my brother Aaron Gallagher as the client, was a dream and a day I never wanted to cut or move on to the next set up. Trying to find ways to personalize the actors’ characters was a real treat. I’m really happy with how our black-and-white Western turned out. It was as if I got to shoot a short film within the feature.”
ER: What kind of audience do you think “Filthy Animals” will most appeal to?
North: I think anyone who likes that Tarantino and Scorsese flavor. If it was rated it would be rated ‘R’ — crime thriller, with moments of dark comedy. The subject matter is heavy, and we did our best to be respectful and approach it in a digestible way.
ER: What is the most valuable thing, or lesson, that you learned from making this film?
North: One of the most valuable things I learned is no matter how difficult it was and how much I aged myself from long hours, low sleep and stress, this was my childhood dream, and how fortunate I am that I got to do this. It is critical to keep a positive mental attitude at all times.
ER: Can you tell us about the soundtrack of the movie?
North: I’m so lucky to have the soundtrack that we have; it truly enhances our movie. We could have leaned into the Christmas songs but wanted to make a killer soundtrack that you can blast. How we put the soundtrack together is its own article, but I need to give a shoutout to Collin Hegna of Federale who scored the movie and gave us a Western fantasy element that I’m super proud of. Colby Rogers, whom I’ve known since we were kids (he’s also from Palos Verdes), is the lead singer of Strawberry Fuzz, and they bring all the punk vibes to our movie and help define Lars and Freddy in what they would listen to as vigilante hunters. And, lastly, we got a Citizen Cope track for the movie. Getting him involved was a cherry on top of this ‘filthy animals’ family.”
ER: What’s next for you as a filmmaker?
North: “I have a stack of scripts, ‘Bravado’, ‘Lurker’, ‘Lost Art of the G’, and a Batman movie all waiting to be produced, depending on who wants to hire me. If we don’t have help and get only crickets after this movie’s release, it will be okay. Some of the stories don’t require a huge budget and can be shot in the backyard of the South Bay.”
ER: And, of course, where can we find and view your movie?
North: “‘Filthy Animals’ is available on Amazon, Apple TV, YouTube Premium, Fandango at Home, and on any major platform for purchase or rental. On Dec. 13 it began a limited theatrical run at the Lumiere Cinema in Beverly Hills. It should now be available on DVD with an hour of special features via Amazon.” Pen
