Your new movie Dead
But Dreaming - in a few words, what is it about, and what can you
tell us about your character in it?
It’s
a fantastical, crazy, sexy vampire film set in 10,000B.C., 1810, and the
present day. It’s also a little bit of a Western.
My
character is Moira, an Irish spy in Bolivia, who is caught and sentenced
to being whipped publically, and garroted. But she’s saved by a lovely
vampire in the nick of time.
What did you draw
upon to bring your character to life, and how much of Amy Hesketh can we
find in Moira?
Moira’s
bravery and acceptance of her situation are a reflection of personality
traits I possess. In
creating her as a character, I did some research into events of the time
and the role of women in the revolution in Bolivia. There were a few who
stand out, incredibly brave women of different classes.
Later
on, when Moira becomes a vampire, I spent some time imagining what that
would actually be like, to know that you’re immortal, to have different
cravings, to be at war with your own desires, not knowing which to give
into and which to repress.
Dead
But Dreaming features a few scenes that would be way out of the
comfort zone of most actresses I know (and of course I'm especially
referring to the public nude flogging here) - so what goes through your
mind when shooting scenes like these, and how do you prepare for them
mentally? And how do you feel watching yourself in them, actually?
In
scenes like this, I’m thinking about my part, if everything looks right,
and sometimes about the weather. It’s not easy to be out in the hot sun,
or extreme cold, without clothes. My main concern is always that we get
the shots we need for the film, that it looks believable, artistic, and
amazing, the best it can be. I prepare for these scenes like I do any
other, I arrive on set and get into character. Although, I also bring a
bathrobe for the nude scenes. And my thermos. And sunscreen.
I
have a hard time watching myself in these scenes, it’s a different
experience than shooting. I tend to over-empathize with my character. In
the premiere, you can see me in the back row, cringing.
How
did the project fall together in the first place? Jac
wrote a script for a vampire film back in the early 90s, That script
evolved, and we talked about my acting in it back in 2005, when we joined
forces to make films together. A few years later, he re-wrote the script
again, creating some new characters, expanding the plot, and we gave it
the green light. It was the right time. Dead
But Dreaming is amazingly complex in scope, especially for a low budget movie. So from the producer's point of view, what kind of a
challenge was it to make this movie?
In
terms of production, the majority of this film came together with the help
of the city of La Paz, the museums, the Colegio Militar, and the Pedregal
Stables. The city gave us permission to shoot in colonial streets for many
of the exteriors, the Tambo Quirchincho was happy to lend us their patio,
balconies, and the room for the jail cell. The Colegio Militar lent us
cannons, authentic period weapons, and Beto Lopez's costume, which is a
museum piece, originally belonging to General Braun. And the Pedregal
Stables lent us horses, and their stables for one of the scenes.
All
of these things together were key in the film looking as spectacular as it
does. That's one of the reasons that I love working here in Bolivia, many
people are open to sponsoring and collaboration.
Jac Avila, Amy and a mule |
What was your
collaboration with your director and regular partner-in-crime Jac Avila
like on this particular project? This
film was more ambitious in terms of production, so it was challenging to
get everything together, to get the look of the characters and ambience
just right. When working with a director (other than myself), I try my
hardest to bring their vision to life. Do talk about the shoot
as such and the on-set atmosphere for a bit! We
all had fun making this film. The makeup, the fangs, the element of
fantasy made it a really lighthearted set. There are some hard scenes, but
we got through them with lots of jokes between takes. What can
you tell us about critical and audience reception of Dead
But Dreaming? More
people keep discovering the film, and everyone is asking when the sequel
will begin production! The
$64-question of course: Where is the movie available from?
http://vermeerworks.com
http://amazon.com
Any
future projects you'd like to share?
There
are always a lot of projects in the works with us!
We
recently released my fourth film as director, Olalla,
a film about a family of genetic vampires, based on the Robert Louis
Stevenson story.
We're
in pre-production for my next film, Pygmalion,
based on the George Bernard Shaw play, as well as Jac's next film Justine,
based on the novel by the Marquis de Sade.
We're
also in pre-production with Erix Antoine's second film, an action movie
this time. Your/your movie's
website, Facebook, whatever else?
https://www.facebook.com/amyhesketh
https://www.facebook.com/deadbutdreamingmovie
http://youtube.com/AmyHesketh
http://twitter.com/Amy_Hesketh
Thanks
for the interview!
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