Confession: I’m a direct to video movie junkie.  I used to scour the shelves of my local video store searching for the films deemed not quite good enough for theaters.  Yes – most of these films quite frankly aren’t any good.  But every once in awhile, I would come across a gem – films like The Man From Earth or Mean Guns or Dance with the Devil or Getting in or pretty much anything featuring Steven Seagal or Mark Dacascos.  None of these films were what you would call perfect – but free from the marketing and hype that surrounds so many theatrical films, there was just something, well, purer about the experience.

Which is what potentially makes the newfound DTV surge of films all the more exciting.  Nowadays, in the face of diminishing theatrical attendance, studios’ have created labels with the precise goal of distributing DTV films.  The newest entry into this rapidly growing field, S.W.A.T.: Firefight hits shelves Tuesday, March 1st.  The film, a sequel in name only to the Colin Farrell 2003 film, features the charismatic Gabriel Macht (The Spirit) leading a new crew as they face off against crime in the slums of Detroit and deal with a crazy pissed off government spook (a fun turn by Robert Patrick).  At press day for the film, I was able to speak with Macht and the film’s director Benny Boom (Next Day Air) about dispelling the “stigma” of direct-to-video, shooting in destitute Detroit and the potential for a S.W.A.T. 3, among many other topics of conversation.  To view the full video interview, hit the jump.

Gabriel Macht and Director Benny Boom

  • 00:17 – Benny Boom on shooting in Detroit and beautifying the decay of the city.
  • 1:05 – Gabriel Macht on his experiences in Detroit.
  • 1:52 – Benny Boom and Gabriel Macht on dispelling the stigma of going direct to video.
  • 4:03 – Benny Boom on the differences of shooting a film for the big screen vs. television/home-video.
  • 5:39 – Benny Boom and Gabriel Macht on the experience of shooting with multiple cameras.
  • 7:18 – Gabriel Macht on playing the leading man in films vs. more character roles.
  • 8:49 – Benny Boom on the future of the SWAT franchise and his idea for a third film (Fair warning: There be some spoilers in regards to the fate of Robert Patrick’s villain around the 10:45-11:00 minute mark).
  • 11:09 – Benny Boom on how the first film/television show influenced the new S.W.A.T. film.