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Your new movie Maya - in a few words, what is it about?
Paul: Maya is a shape shifting soul collector who attempts to
drag a group of unsuspecting non-believers into the afterlife through
deceptive means, including manipulation of their darkest fears. Brinke,
what can you tell us about your character in Maya, and what did you
draw upon to bring the character to life? Brinke: The
wardrobe helped a lot, I had this fabulous dress and kind of an
old-fashioned jacket and shoes. So just wearing the outfit helped get me
into character. Also, we shot in an actual tea house, so the
atmosphere was perfect. As far as what did I draw upon to bring the
character to life, I do good crazy, so it was fun to menace the leading
lady in the film and the lighting also helped. There was very eerie
lighting which helped me to get into my crazy place. Brinke, how
did you get involved with the project in the first place, and Paul, what
made Brinke perfect for the job?
Brinke: Paul contacted me through my agent on IMDb. I loved the
script, so he brought me out to Phoenix.
Paul: Hiring Brinke was a no brainer. We had a small role that
required someone with presence who could play both warm and approachable
as well as bat crap crazy. Brinke is by nature a genuinely nice
person so that part comes through well enough, and as anyone familiar with
Brinke’s resume can tell you, she can play bat crap crazy quite well.
Throw in the fact that she is a horror legend and a seasoned professional.
My goodness, what else can I ask for? I’m a lucky guy really.
What can you tell us
about the rest of Maya's cast, and why exactly these people? Paul:
Some of the cast are young veterans that have been in the business for a
good while. Others are fresh talent or people that have been on my radar
screen for a while. Mainly, I looked for a combination of
experienced character actors and local talent with an unusually impressive
work ethic. These guys come ready to play which makes my job easier.
I think it will ultimately allow them all to shine because they are
playing off of other actors who are also “ready for prime time”. Paul,
what were your sources of inspiration when writing Maya? Paul:
For background, "Maya", in some schools of Hinduism, refers to illusion or
deception in the abstract; but more specifically, as it relates to the
material universe. They believe that by cultivating the quality of
goodness in the soul, one may rise to transcendence and escape the
clutches of Maya. It’s much more complicated and nuanced than
that, and the film is not intended as a representation of the concept, but
it is the underlying seed to the story. Paul,
do talk about your approach to horror, and Brinke, especially given your
background in the genre, how could you identify with Maya's brand
of horror?
Paul: Horror films have always been my favorite. There is much
room to experiment stylistically in the horror genre because the world you
create doesn’t have to be grounded in reality. The parameters, or
rules, just need to be established and followed by the filmmaker.
Brinke: I found the script very eerie and atmospheric. It seemed
much more of a classic style horror film than is usually made today.
Paul, do talk about your directorial approach
to your story at hand! Paul: I’ve always been partial to
the American New Wave films of the 70’s and early 80’s. I
approach the actors and their interactions from this space. I like
realism in the acting. A good actor can say more with a look than
with all the arm waving or camera tricks in the world. Fortunately,
I have very GOOD actors on Maya. HOWEVER, as I mentioned earlier,
with horror you can always experiment, especially with low budget horror.
These are the films you should be experimenting on. With the Maya
action scenes, I try to go big on style like the expressionism movies that
came out in the 20’s. Bend reality to suit your need. At
least as big as our budget will allow. What was the collaboration
between the two of you actually like? Brinke: Paul picked
me up at the airport. We met again later that evening for dinner
with the other actress in scene as well as some of the crew. We read
through the script and talked about it which was very helpful. I was
able to ask my questions early. I don’t get that very often and was
grateful for the opportunity to have a table read and rehearsal prior to
shooting. A few words about
the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? Brinke: We
shot at the Spicery, which was an old 1800’s house. It was
wonderful to be there because it was so cute and kitschy, also Matthew the
owner was amazing. He made sure that everybody had all the tea and
cake that they wanted. It was a really comfortable and beautiful
location which made it even creepier when we added the lighting and creepy
dolls. The
$64-question of course, when and where might Maya be released,
however tentatively? Paul: It’s bad luck to discuss
distribution while those deals are being discussed. We will have the
film ready for preview screenings hopefully by October. Good time
for new horror films. Beyond that, stay tuned. Any future projects beyond Maya?
Brinke: I don’t know, the year is still shaping up. I shot a
lot of films last year. I hope it’s good again for me this year.
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Paul: It depends on whatever interests me at the appropriate time.
My intention is to shoot something relatively soon after, but I have a
number of possibilities as to what that is.
Your/your
movie's website, Facebook, whatever else? Paul: You can
like us on Facebook - @MAYAhorrormovie. Website and trailers coming
soon. Anything else
you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
Paul: We’ve been very fortunate on this project. Working with
some great people. One person that hasn’t been mentioned yet is special
make up effects artist Joe Castro [Joe
Castro interview - click here]. He created some of our key
effects for this film. First time I was able to work with him.
It was a great thrill for me. He couldn’t have been nicer.
Thanks
for the interview!
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