Jim Haverkamp
hovercraft@ipass.net

1. How did you come up with the idea for the film?

It all began innocently enough. A friend came over one day and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, on which he had written "Last Pack!" I asked him about it and he said he was going to try and quit smoking. He wrote those words to remind himself, every time he smoked a cig from the pack, of the big day coming. I thought that that would be an interesting beginning for a movie-a smoker deliberately buying his "last pack" and what that act would mean. Being a smoker who's tried to quit many times myself, I was skeptical that anyone could actually quit smoking through sheer will power alone. So I started thinking that it would be interesting to explore the character's psychology and motivations a bit, and it all went downhill from there.

2. How long did the production process take?

The shooting took place on a couple of Saturdays; the editing took about a month.

3. What challenges did you experience in the creation of the film?

Making vomit look realistic on screen! Also, finding something that could reasonably stand in for a human lung. We ended up using a sheep's lung (borrowed from a high school biology teacher), which looks nothing at all like a human lung, but that's probably better. It makes the ending that much more disturbing and creepy.

4. What is your favorite memory from creating the film?

Working with Paul Cardillo, who plays the smoker. Talk about a trouper! When I originally asked him if he'd be interested in being in the film, he was a smoker. By the time we shot, he had quit smoking about a month earlier. But he was still gung-ho about doing the film, even the part where he has to put 20 cigarettes in his mouth and inhale. I was afraid the experience would make him fall off the wagon, but instead it cemented his resolve to not smoke anymore!

5. When someone has finished watching the film, what do you hope they take away from the experience?

Maybe an appreciation for the complex relationship people have with destructive habits. It's rarely as easy as just saying no. We all do things that we know we shouldn't, and I think it's difficult to sort out our motivations sometimes. I also hope that people get a laugh or two.

6. What type of reaction has your film received from viewers?

Very positive, although it (understandably) grosses a lot of people out!

7. What advice would you give to aspiring young filmmakers?

Follow and develop your instincts. Keep making small movies that intrigue you-don't be afraid to explore stories and storytelling techniques that aren't "mainstream." Through this you'll figure out what subjects are important to you and a working method that makes sense. Work with other people, pull your friends into your productions. Show your films to people and get some feedback. Listen closely. Keep striving to translate the ideas in your head into something other people can understand. Above all, go to and watch as many movies as you can.

8. Please tell us about the next film you plan to work on?

Brett Ingram & I are currently editing a short documentary about North Carolina noise performance artist Scotty Irving. Then we'll be jumping into editing a longer documentary about Seattle clay animator Bruce Bickford.

9. What are your thoughts on the film industry in NC?

To tell you the truth, I really don't know much about the professional filmmaking industry in NC, only the brief glimpses I've seen in the press, etc. The indie scene (i.e. the kind where you don't make any money) is alive and well, though, and I think North Carolina is a great place for people to make films. The fact that UNC-TV has a show like "NC Visions" says a lot about support for filmmakers. There are also a lot of places to show your film, like Flicker in Chapel Hill & Asheville, Glitter Film Night in Raleigh, Film Nite in Wilmington, Factory Films in Charlotte, The Wherehouse in Winston-Salem, etc. Cucalorus in Wilmington is also a great film festival that really supports North Carolina filmmakers. So there's a lot of infrastructure in place, which North Carolinians should be proud of. There are a lot of great films coming out of the Tarheel State-"George Washington" is a fine example-and there will be many more.