Film & Photography | TACOMA, WASHINGTON Interview
-As a child, what did you want to become (profession-wise)?
Like every little boy, I wanted to be either an astronaut or an archeologist. It wasn’t until I heard Motley Crue for the first time that all that changed. I wanted to be a rock star so bad that I used to make cardboard guitars and dance around my room until the wee morning hours, practicing my “attitude.” When I was a little older, I actually learned to play, but I quickly discovered that I have horrible stage fright. I was seventeen the last time I played in front of an audience. All I remember is the music grinding and the lights pulsing. I looked out at all the faces looking back at me and suddenly -- nothing -- I went completely blank. I couldn’t remember a single lyric, and I panicked. I threw my mic into the audience and walked away from it forever. Luckily, the audience thought it was part of the show. That’s one thing I love about making movies. I get to be anonymous yet still write music.
-In which town did you grow up?
I grew up all over Oregon. We moved around so much when I was a kid. The longest we stayed in one place was a six year stint in Salem, Oregon. My high school was just up the street from the sanitarium where One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was filmed. I used to love skipping school, sitting by the basketball court fence and listening to the crazy people talk.
-Do you think your background influences your current filmmaker/photography style? If so, what specific element in your background is most pervasive in influencing your current filmmaker/ photography style?
Absolutely, my background inspires everything I do. It’s how I got my name, Chad Ruin. Besides music inspiring a huge part of my work, I used to be quite the little artist. I would paint these elaborate pictures, sometimes taking months to complete. To this day, I still can’t explain it, but whatever I did would always seem to attract a crowd. I would wait until the crowd grew big enough before I would put the last brush stroke on the canvas. Then, all of a sudden, I would destroy the painting, much to the horror
with Screenwriter/Filmmaker/ Photographer CHAD RUIN
of the audience. They started calling me Chad Ruin, and it stuck. They didn’t realize that the painting had nothing to do with my true creation. The painting was only a tool. What I was creating was the look on their faces when I destroyed something beautiful. It was the emotion I was after. I still feel that way. It’s not enough to make something cool. I want the audience to feel. Truly feel.
-What inspires you in the job of being a filmmaker/photographer?
I have always been fascinated by all aspects of art, and I dabble in several different mediums. In making a film, it allows me to express myself in so many different ways at the same time. I get to play music, design wardrobe, play with make-up, write and actually tell the story to an audience with visuals. As a storyteller, there is no greater inspiration than inspiring your audience.
-Do you have any other creative ambitions or dreams to which you aspire?
I’d like to say I have other creative ambitions, but I honestly can’t. I feel like I was put on this earth to make movies. Something in me inexplicably drives me to do this. I have to do it, like I have to breathe. It’s involuntary, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
-Which basic elements of creativity did your family teach you?
Well, as far as creativity goes, I didn’t get much from my family. I think we’re either born with a creative mind or we’re not. What I got from my family more so than creativity was a direction to take it. I think that is far more valuable than the creativity itself. My mom was a professional bodybuilder for 20 years and a single mother. She taught me the art of a good fight. No matter how big your opponent is, how well- trained they are or how hopeless your cause is, you have to want to win. You have to want it more then you’ve ever wanted anything. Just the act of defining it is not enough: you have to prove it. I credit my mom with my success more than anyone on the planet. The odds of winning the lottery are far greater than making it in the film industry. It’s because of my mom that I have the guts to battle the odds.