Meet Richard ‘Chomps’ Thompson of Graveyard Production Company

Today we’d like to introduce you to Richard ‘Chomps’ Thompson.

Hi Richard ‘Chomps’, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My career has spanned live stage, voice over, film, and contemporary art installations. As a writer, I am still a Hearst poet at heart along with being a James Beard nominee – two accolades I am proud of holding during my years of furious writing editorials, short stories, poetry, and script work. As I was doing that, working and going to school, I began producing stage performances of original manuscripts including ‘Last Call’ (Community Players), social commentary documentaries such as ‘The GRANDest Pageant’ (A Sundance documentary consideration) at Tucson Fringe Festival, and short films such as ‘You.kNow.Me?’ (Apex award nominee). This was during a few incredibly dense years where as I was doing technical writing for an engineering firm, one of my one-act plays was received by a stage theater and they asked if they could produce it for me. After that, I was determined to be an agent of YES and learn as much as I could about directing, acting, stage production, lights, set design, everything and anything I possibly could about the performing arts. Much of this work in the first few years was voluntary or out of pocket, but it still remains some of the fondest memories of my life.

I was soon recognized for some of my acting ability and began to work with powerhouses such as Phil Bennett at the Bennett Conservatory as well as learning from houses such as Invisible Theater, Winding Road, and Arizona Theater Company. Stage performances include ‘Boy Willie’ in PCC’s The Piano Lesson, Emergency with Invisible Theatre, ‘Trigoran’ in Stupid F$#@kin’ Bird, and ‘Cal’ in The Little Foxes with Winding Road and his ATC debut as understudy in Pru Payne as well as Intimate Apparel. It was here that I began continuing writing for theater reviewers such as ‘Taming of the Review’ and began being tutored with the likes of Aaron Cammack.

While doing this I also made sure to work on film and television productions with Bitfire Entertainment (Phoenix), Lori Lyle Films (Lori Lyle), Seelie Studios, Avai Films and many others as I practiced filmmaking from the ground up from everything from low-budget (440k-2M) features to commercials to independent features. Recent films and television credits include Becoming Tiffany, A Kind of Mystery – A Question of Guilt, The Love Song for William H. Shaw, The Last Dollar, The War Between, and Twixxx (Toronto Film Festival nominee).

​​​Most recently, he was fortunate to receive a dollar baby license from Stephen King to adapt, write, and film “The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands’, shaping the core elements of the story into an adaptation as a ‘Southwest Folk Tale’, employing a widespread cast of talented members of the community that highlights a more truthful take of the diverse nature of how the southwest truly was.

My personal goals are to tell stories that use the world of the surreal, southwestern, and supernatural, to tell stories that unnerve audiences in a manner that subtly disrupts their perspective, following a similar style and voice to Jorden Peele or Alfred Hitchcock.

Currently in development right now is my feature, Bleeding Silver. Bleeding Silver is the Western Gothic Horror of E.L. Dunn, the Black king; an ex-slave turned silver magnate tortured by a family curse. Told in three interconnected tales of vengeance and greed, the bloody truth is revealed behind the man people call the Black King.

This is ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly’ and ‘Sinners’ meets ‘Hereditary’.

First proof of concept teaser: Meet Moonshine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sFi9Bogx7Y
Visit us at our Website: www.bleedingsilvermovie.com

I am excited to see where this production takes us and shines an even brighter light to this region of filmmaking as well as the artists that help bring storytelling to life out here.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Nothing ever seems like a smooth road until I get to look back on it I guess. I think it has been smoother than I want to give it credit to, of I just got used to the bumps along the way. Some of the most difficult things about being a filmmaker at first is trying to balance life with the work that is involved and to understand the ebb and flow of how things can be made. I think I have been much more fortunate than some because I had learned early on that if I was to succeed in the way I need to it would require me to find work that would allow me to sustain myself and my family while also enabling me to continue to work in this career that I am so passionate about. Some of those struggles include making sure that I don’t rush and cause damage to the joys that really bring my life Wonder while also making sure when it’s okay to take risks and bringing these arts to life while also recognizing when it’s necessary to say no on chances that seem beneficial but don’t really allow me to grow. Learning when it’s okay to take risks and when it’s okay not to.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Graveyard Production Company?
Graveyard Production Company was founded in 2019, producing independent stories on stage, screen, and audio series. Working closely with members of the community and with performing arts institutions that have storied histories themselves, GYPC aims to work diligently with artists that have unique, unorthodox, and unusual stories that resonate with audiences and filmmakers alike.

Most recently, we worked with production studios such as Monsoon Production Services, Gammon’s Gulch Studio, Pima County permitting, and The Owl Club to film Richard ‘Chomps’ Thompson’s dollar-baby license short film based on Stephen King’s short story of the same name: ‘The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands’.

Learn more here as it readies for a larger festival run: https://www.stephenkingshortmovies.com/dollar-baby/the-man-who-would-not-shake-hands-richard-thompson/

Currently, we are working alongside a number of local filmmakers getting production off the ground for more media that gets their voices heard as well as working on the next feature of Richard ‘Chomps’ Thompson: Bleeding Silver.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I am originally from Kokomo, Indiana.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bleedingsilvermovie.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bleedingsilvermovie/ and www.instagram.com/chompstheactor/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579899554063
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sFi9Bogx7Y
• Other: https://graveyardproductioncompany.allyrafundraising.com/campaigns/13958-help-bring-bleeding-silver-to-life-a-stylized-horror-western-anthology-straight-from-arizona-history