The length and girth of your penis is one of the great urban legends of Evilbore. Have you ever measured it? Answer honestly.
At erect, my penis size measures at 11 inches, that's the honest answer. [blushes] Slightly above average is the honest truth.
As a black man, what do you think lies behind the whole "black men have bigger penises" belief?
I wouldn't describe them to be "lies" as studies definitely indicate that black men indeed do have larger tube steaks on average. [grins sheepishly] The bigger penis myth isn't much of a problem, but performing in bed is. Black men are made as being sexually innate, that black men instantly know everything about sex and that it's all natural. This gives a pressure that when undergoing sexual activity, you should go all the way every time or else you're a failure. This makes sex initially confusing, because you're not doing it right and there's no one to give you tips, and you certainly don't ask the gal for tips because - hey, you're black! you're the sex master! [laughs]
You've become rather infamous for your propensity towards changing faiths. Was there something in your upbringing that you feel may have caused you to have these feelings of ambiguity and confusion towards faith? Have you considered Buddhism?
I wouldn't say something that issues with faith have anything to do with my childhood, but there's definitely always been a pressure to be religious. By the time I was in High School/College, I didn't really identify as a Christian, but I labeled myself as Christian despite not being 100% sure what I believed. By the time I had my spiritual crisis - brought on by the fact I didn't believe in anything, which I felt was wrong due to my upbringing - I considered everything except a life without faith, hence the confusion. [shakes head]
I think the thing that sparked my interest in religions were the discussions at Church Camps. We'd have round circles where we'd discuss issues, like tried and true theological questions such as,"When you die, how do you know you'll see Jesus? What if it's Buddha or something?" and every single time, the adults would give a half assed answer that really didn't quench my thirst for knowledge, so I would look into religion due to this natural curiosity with the supernatural.
As far as buddhism, while it interests me I never really considered it. There's a problem with people's perception towards Buddhism; many label it as a religion when it can be labeled as a philosophy as well.
You've spoken of your father's disappointment in you, as well as your belief that he's committing adultery. Growing up, did you admire your dad? Did you strive to emulate him? Has he always looked down on you? Do you think this rift between you and him might be the reason why you abandoned "his" faith and tried to look for one of your own?
I tried a lot of things as a kid, as much as I do now. I tried karate, drawing, gymnastics, and baseball - good at all of them except one, that being baseball. My father is a very athletic man, and when he was younger he participated in many sporting events: football, baseball, basketball - he even wanted to be a sports coach as a teenager and I think his love for sports is partly due to why he picked his career in physical therapy, because in a way they are connected - so it kinda hit him hard that his son was a left-handed inathletic nancy. Or to be more precise, although I loved playing baseball I was never really good at it, and this goes for other team sports. I always preferred sports that are individual-based, like the ones I listed above.
He wasn't overbearing about it, though. He's said before that when I was a kid he hoped I was as athletic as him, but he realized I wasn't so he left me alone to my own devices. This still doesn't take away the sense of inadequacy; the way he talks to my cousins and friends makes me think,"Oh, that's how he'd mingle if he had a real son." [shakes head sadly]
I always admired my father more so than my mother because he was the one who'd push me to be my best. One time when I was let's say, 4, I remember the Muppets being on and he told me to turn to the channel, I was just learning numbers and counting and I couldn't remember what the number for whatever number the channel was on was. He beat me upside my head until I got it. Keep in mind, this wasn't on a tv with a remote but one of those old 80's tvs where you change the station via the channel changer on the tv itself, a giant radial switch or knob, so it took a while. I never strived to emulated him because I realized at an early age that we were completely different people with completely different interests.
As for his faith, my father attends church far less than my mother. He certainly has more doubts than her, so I wouldn't say I was rebeling against him. That said, my parents are partly the cause of my rebellious nature. When I was a kid, I'd like to go outside and go on adventures or go make friends and play outside but they wouldn't let me. I'm the result of over-protective parents. "I want to go outside and make friends!" "You already have friends at school!" My parents - particularly my father - always had a family first point of view, which didn't always render the best results.
You will soon be a university graduate. Have you given serious thought towards your future, and have you come to any conclusions as to what path your life will take after graduation?
I've given serious thought into my future and sometimes it gets me down because there's a lot of unknown variables. Sometimes I flip flop because while I'm passionate for certain things (I've wanted to make movies since I was a kid) I don't think I have the ability to pull it off. I have no clue where things will go, which is scary but also exciting. It's not like I have a teaching degree and can go to any school and apply for a job. I'd really like to get a master degree in fine arts with an emphasis on a film track, but that means more money and more school. At certain points I even considered joining the military because I lack faith in myself to get a job in this economy and it'd be a good safety net and help me get on my feet.
Do you consider yourself to have the necessary "people skills" to embark upon film direction? Would you be able to take charge on a film set, and be able to command authority from the crew and actors? How would you describe your experiences in editing thus far?
Who said anything about film direction? [angry] Although I like being behind a camera, I'm a behind-the-scenes guy, and some of the best writers and directors I've met either at Full Sail or at other schools and activities have been complete social outcasts, so I don't see the correlation. I don't like "taking charge of a set" and if you've noticed my posts and writing style, if anything, I like telling a story more than anything else. The reason movies and animation have always made me wide-eyed is because of the storytelling and movie magic. This is why, especially with the case of movies like Pan's Labyrinth, I always place the story, plot and characters and acting first. You can have a good movie with crappy effects, and it'd be technically sound and a cinematic marvel, but it wouldn't have what I consider to be the heart of movie making: the ability to craft a wonderful story and the ability for your audience to get absorbed into it. Any story distraction, whether it's a maid simply slicing the side of her tormentor's mouth rather than killing him, or a little girl who eats the food off a table when she was clearly told not to, forcing me to scream at the tv takes me out of my,"I'm absorbed into this movie"-zone, and that's treading on very thin ice. [shakes with anger]
Piecing together a series of drawings to tell a story is the appeal of animation, and grouping together a movie through thousands of scenes and clips and images through natural storytelling and flow is the appeal of editing; in a way, they're practically the same shit: it's all in the timing and rhythm. But whereas with animation you have to collaborate with others and have multiple teams for one scene, in editing you can gun it lone wolf style, which is my preference. Plus, the animation industry has fell off in America and while there are jobs that aren't based in fucking Korea or Japan, those are exceptions and not the rule, and I don't see the point in working in such a shitty environment. These are reasons why I changed my emphasis from animation - which I got tired of mostly due to the fact I am no longer passionate about it as much as I used to be - to film editing. Editing gives me the freedom, depending on the who's in charge and who's acting, to create a story my own way without the bullshit baggage of animation. Despite all 'dat, the bread of butter of both fields are extremely similar. The process of doing a scene via limited animation in Flash - ie. 12 drawings per second, in twos; or 24 drawings per second, in ones - may seem different than placing markers in Final Cut and splicing in where ever you need a new scene, but the means are the same: timing, rhythm, and crafting a story through images. And I like that.
As to the extent of my experience with editing, I would say I have a decent amount of experience. I've edited multiple projects for classes, edited personal short films, and even commercials for local businesses and business meetings that have aired on local television stations surrounding the Orlando area. I'm still fresh, but it's something.
What elements do you believe make for the perfect video game? Name at least one game you feel contains all those elements.
In my opinion, the perfect video game is one that nails all the elements that make a great game: pacing, length, difficulty, learning curve, level design, controls, fun, and replay value. I think there are few games I've played I'd consider perfect, which is a far cry compared to books or film, but I think Portal fits this description easily; it contains a imaginative gameplay mechanic/gimmick, has a perfect length so it doesn't feel overdone, has a perfect difficulty curve, and contains oodles of replay value and most of all...is flat out fun.
What are your hopes for the inevitable Persona 5?
My hopes for that game is something more along the lines of Persona 2 more so than Persona 3/4. As much as I like Persona 3/4, I don't think I could stomach another entry with slinks. A return to basis, and more of a traditional rpg like Persona 1/2 infused with SMT-esque dungeon crawling would really be perfect for me, but probably not enjoyable for the people who have only played P3/P4, but they can suck it. [stands up, unzips, pants, exposes penis, laughs...then blinks and sits back down, penis still exposed]
You studied graphic design. Who are your favorite artists, and do you believe they've influenced your art style in any way? How so?
I've never really studied graphic design, it's always been a hobby unless you count a few classes as having studied a subject. The most influential artists in my life have mostly been pop artsts: Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and especially David Hockney and Alex Katz. When I draw and paint, I tend to do so at a minimal level: portraits, emotions, and settings. Minimalism has influenced my style the most, mostly because I'm a lazy fuck.
Any thoughts on Alphonse Mucha? Art nouveau has been a major influence for many anime and manga artists working today. Do you personally like or dislike it?
I really like art nouveau. I'm a big fan of nouveau in the architectural sense, but not nearly as much when it comes to the more traditional arts. I don't really have an opinion on Alphonse Mucha because while his pieces are interesting, I wouldn't necessarily call myself a fan and I definitely wouldn't classify his works as pop art. Art nouveau is a movement that, while interesting, has not influenced me in the least.
