{"id":18283,"date":"2023-10-06T07:00:21","date_gmt":"2023-10-06T11:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/?p=18283"},"modified":"2023-10-01T22:50:47","modified_gmt":"2023-10-02T02:50:47","slug":"interview-anthony-northrup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/interview-anthony-northrup\/","title":{"rendered":"Anthony Northrup on Stephen King’s Dollar Babies"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"coverAnthony Northrup is a Stephen King enthusiast who puts his pen where his mouth is. Okay, maybe not literally, but he certainly backs up all his acclaimed King passion by a long shot. Anthony has hosted two Stephen King Dollar Baby film festivals in addition to playing cohost to Stephen King Rules film festivals on top of essaying his King fandom (as well as celebrating other writers and filmmakers) via regularly published articles in his local newspaper. He also founded and maintains a fun and popular group on Facebook called All Things King (ATK)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Most recently, he published a behemoth of a book titled Stephen King – Dollar Baby: The Book<\/em><\/a>. Released in 2021 through BearManor Media, it weighs in at a whopping 576 pages. Suffice to say the book is chock full of everything you might want to know about Stephen King Dollar Babies, but were afraid to sacrifice the time and sanity to find out.<\/p>\n

And if that\u2019s not enough to satiate your beating dark heart for all thing\u2019s King, the upcoming release of Stephen King – Dollar Baby: The Sequel<\/em> is due out later this year (2023) and promises to be even more massive and packed with even more Dollar Baby trivia than you can swing a burning Saint Bernard at.<\/p>\n

In addition, Anthoney also contributed a forward to Fanzine: Stephen King Editon<\/em>, which explores King\u2019s books and films up until 1990. He is also a newly minted yearly contributor to the Stephen King Annual Calendar from the Overlook Connection.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t ask me how Anthony found the time, but I\u2019m grateful he managed to square away a small break to sit down with me and chat about this phenomenal program in which aspiring film makers can adapt a Stephen King short story\u00a0 into a non-commercial film at the cost of a buck.<\/p>\n

Sit back and enjoy as Anthony and I delve into all things Dollar Baby such as how it all started, how we can see \u2018em and, for those wanting to take it to the next level and beyond, how to make your own Dollar Baby even if all you have is a cell phone, a dream, and a few good friends who owe you a favor.<\/p>\n

(Interview conducted by\u00a0Rick Hipson<\/a>)<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n

CEMETERY DANCE: Anthony, I’m super pumped up today because I get to speak with a walking encyclopedia of Stephen King, particularly when it comes to his legendary mythical Dollar Baby projects. For those who don’t know what a Dollar Baby is, I guess that might sound a little bit devious, especially for babies. So for those that don’t know, what the heck is Dollar Baby?<\/b><\/p>\n

ANTHONEY NORTHRUP: How did it all get started? Okay, well, first of all, thank you, Rick, for having me here. And hello to all your readers out there. The Dollar Baby deal, Stephen King started in the late ’70s. He wasn’t at the big superstar status at that time, he only had a few books and a few short stories out. But he had this idea where he wanted independent film makers, students, to make short films based on his short stories for $1 and a signed contract. If you agreed to that, then you would make the movie, send it to him, he would watch it. And if he liked it, you got played around film fests all around the world. <\/span><\/p>\n

So here we are 2023 and there’s been tons of Dollar Baby movies made since then, all around the world, everywhere from America\u00a0 to Germany to Europe to everywhere, and from all age groups and all walks of life. Then in the ’80s they had the Dollar Baby Film Fest with the original directors like James Cole and many others. Then it just took a little slow point for a little while and then it picked up again into the ’90s and 2000. And now it’s just a freight train.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That’s what a Dollar Baby is. It’s a signed contract for a dollar that you make a short film based on a Stephen King short story, that has to get his seal of approval.<\/span><\/p>\n

Very cool. And I understand part of the Dollar Baby deal is that Hollywood folks need not apply. It’s only for filmmakers who aren\u2019t intending to make their films commercial purposes.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

That’s correct. No commercial success. You cannot make any money on this. No profit. It is strictly made for film festivals only. I have been very fortunate enough to be part of these film festivals as host or part host and it’s a great experience. We had two festivals that were seen around the world last year and one in 2001 called the Stephen King Rules Dollar Baby Film Fest. That was wonderful because all the fans around the world got to see it online for a three-day pass. In 2021, Stephen King himself approved and promoted that festival on his Twitter account, which he has never done for any festival ever. We were blown away when that happened. And then it happened again in August of 2022. But this time, not just live, but it was also in the Alternating Currents Film Fest in Davenport, Iowa. So, it was live on streaming to see around the world, but it was also live in person. And that was a really great experience last year.
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