FractalMatter: You’ve done a very good job of establishing a body of work outside Dukes of Hazzard. Has the series been a help to your career or have you had to work against it to some extent?
Dukes of Hazzard has helped me get into meetings and keeps people interested in what I look like now. However, professionally I believe it still keeps people thinking of me as a “good old boy” from the south. Oddly enough, I am from Westchester County, New York! So, professionally it is a bit of a stumbling block to continue to overcome on a meeting by meeting, job by job basis. However…personal appearances are better for me than most anyone else BECAUSE of the Dukes of Hazzard. An interesting double edged sword to say the least.
FM: What have you been up to since leaving Smallville?
I have been very busy! I made my movie Collier & Co - Hot Pursuit! Beautiful Loser, Hidden Secrets, You’ve Got a Friend, Lake Placid 2, Ogre, played Amanda Bines dad in Sydney White and currently working on Shark Swarm with Atrmand Asante, F Murry Abraham and Darrell Hannah. There is life after death for Jonathan Kent!!
FM: How do you feel the show has changed with the loss of Jonathan Kent?
Smallville has become something else entirely since Jonathan died. It’s far more sci-fi and Justice League-like. I think that’s great but it’s not Smallville. Personally I think they should rename it Metropolis and start anew. The whole “mailbox at the end of a dirt road” vibe is gone. Again, that’s not a problem, the show is still great. It’s just not Smallville any more.
FM: Tell us about Collier & Co. What was the genesis for the story? And would you like to do more with the character?
I’d love to do more Collier’s. I wrote the original draft back in ‘82 on the set of Dukes of Hazzard I think that’s why it feels so much like the show (which is a good thing). After 25 years of the Hollywood machine turning it down I finally decided to risk bit all and make it myself. I have enjoyed every minute of production, post production and distribution and wouldn’t trade the education I got in the process for anything.
FM: Are there any plans for more Collier & Co in the future?
If the DVD goes they way we expect I have every intention of shooting the sequel at the very end of this year. I am 3/4 of the way through the script right now but have had to stop because I’m editing the special features for the first DVD. It will be released on Sept 22 of this year.
FM: You’ve done a lot of serious and comedy work, most recently in Sydney White and the Seven Dorks and Beautiful Loser. Which do you prefer?
I love doing comedy because it’s unexpected. I guess that’s because Dukes of Hazzard was such a serious drama (ha!)!
FM: Similarly, a lot of your work has been in family movies or shows, an area which a lot of critics tend to look down.
I think that families should have at least one movie a month that would be “friendly” to the whole group. I realize that everything doesn’t have to be family friendly but I do think that something should be. It’s nice for a family to go see and enjoy the same movie at the same time. Medicinal, in fact.
FM: You have unlimited funds, resources and acting talent. What do you produce?
I think it’s the responsibility of the filmmaker to cause the audience to FEEL something at the end of the movie and TALK about what the saw and felt on the way home in the car. A shared experience that they will remember for a long time. Great stories over great effects. Films with a strong redemptive element that make the audience want to be better people when it’s over.
For more on what John Schneider is up to please visit www.johnschneider.tv