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Your new movie To
Jennifer - in a few words, what is it about, and what can you tell
us about your character in it?
To
Jennifer
is a found footage road trip movie with so many twists and
turns that you may actually forget what genre you're watching. My character
Joey is a guy on a mission. He is trying to prove his girlfriend of two
years has been cheating on him while he's been away. To what extent could you
identify with Joey in To
Jennifer, and what did you draw upon to bring him to life? And
maybe connected to that, how do you personally deal with break-ups? I
think from the minute this movie begins most people can relate to Joey. We
have all had the moment we knew a relationship was going south. I am no
different in that respect. I've had my fair share of horrible
relationships. One in particular where I was cheated on 6 times. The human
mind is a very interesting place and I like to think that my past experiences were
vital in bringing truth to the character of Joey. With all that being said
I'm not good at dealing with breakups in my personal life at all. I
honestly wish I could say I was but I more or less vege out and take
solace in a familiar movie while completely avoiding the world
for a bit. How
did you get involved in the project to begin with? The
movie business can be a very funny place at times. To
Jennifer
came about
on a sleepless night while prepping for another film. I am James Cullen
Bressack's Director of Photography on a couple of his other films [James
Cullen Bressack interview - click here]
and we
were going over shot lists for an upcoming feature when he showed me a
video app on his Iphone. The rest is history - we quickly moved our
attention over to the device and talked about shooting something on it in
the future. Little did I know the first scene of To
Jennifer
would be shot
that same night.
What
was your collaboration with your director James Cullen Bressack [James
Cullen Bressack interview - click here] like? I am
the executive producer and lead actor on
the film. I do have some additional dialogue credits as well from what
looks like will be answered in the next question. To
Jennifer is a
creation of James and my collaboration was to first and foremost
facilitate that. What you see on the screen is very much a James Cullen
Bressack Production. To
Jennifer seems to be somewhat improvised in style. So how rigid a
script did you have to work with, and how much of the movie was made up as you
went along? The
funny thing about a James Cullen Bressack film is the minute you get a
script in your hands and start speaking the words on the page you begin to realize what
sets him apart. He is a young guy with a young voice. He freely places
crude language and overlapping thoughts much like a young Twitter and
Facebook generation would. With all that being said, this is a scripted
movie that had what I can recount was only 2 improv scenes, which resulted
in my additional dialogue credit. To
Jennifer was shot in several rather long continuous takes - so how
stressful was that, and what can you tell us about the on-set atmosphere
as such? It's always
stressful to know that your work doesn't have
a safety net (i.e. multiple takes and angles). With that being said it was
a very, very, very comfortable set to work on. James is without a doubt an
actors director. I've known that working with him behind the scenes on
other films. His actors come first and he is there the minute you have a
question or are confused by what exactly is going on with a particular
scene. The only time I felt the pressure was in the final scene of the
movie. Tensions where high because it became something that was so real to
me. Needless to say when anytime he said "we got it" after many
of those very long takes, we all just cheered and felt like we had
accomplished something. This brought us together as a cast as well as made
the process that could be stressful at time feel like something immensely
rewarding. Any future projects beyond To
Jennifer you'd like to share? There
are a couple of great things coming out from me as an actor and as a
Director of Photography. As an actor look for me in the upcoming 13/13/13.
As a DP I've got two movies releasing with James Cullen Bressack. One
being his dramatic debut in White Crack Bastard and a short being optioned
right now by some television companies entitled Family Time, which
James Cullen Bressack fans
will be happy to know is a horror! Then there is a beautiful little film
hitting festivals next year entitled AWOL which I shot in New York City
over the course of the summer of last year starring Oliver
Singer and Camryn
Grimes. What got you into
acting in the first place, and what can you tell us about your training as
an actor? I
remember the first time watching a movie and thinking that's it! This is
what I am going to do with my life. As a child I had two parents that
worked a lot and were not necessarily around
as much as they would have liked. So I was raised mostly by films. It just
felt right making the transition into acting as it was somewhere I already
felt at home. I've been through my fair share of training and encourage anybody
reading who has hopes of becoming an actor to do the same. I was trained
in improv at Second City Las Vegas before it closed back in what I believe
was 2008. I have trained in voice, dance and stage combat for my early
stage career. Then when I arrived in Los Angeles I was very over the top
and sought out tutelage from Charlize Theron's coach and
one of the greats Ivana Chubbuck (Studios) in order to bring more truth to
my work. What can you tell us about your filmwork prior
to To Jennifer? Hard
to find (laughs)... In all honesty I came from the stage. I've done a lot
in front of a camera in terms of commercial work. I took a small hiatus
in the beginning of 2012 to refocus my craft. While
on my hiatus I
found an opportunity to move back into operating cameras and became
quickly lost in a whole other side of the industry. To
Jennifer marks my
return as an actor and it was a long time coming. Before
you entered the filmworld, you did quite a bit of theatre, right? So what
can you tell us about your stage career, and how does performing on stage
compare to acting in front of a camera ... and which do you prefer? So surprisingly enough
I was a musical theatre and children's theatre actor. I went on a West Coast tour with Stephen Schwartz's
Children of Eden and got to run around
as Mowgli in the Jungal Book for a while. The list goes on but needless to
say I love the stage. Its a different monster and I think having to
execute an entire performance in front of a live audience is an amazing
place to find your confidence as a performer. It's exhilarating as
it requires you to simply leave it all on the stage night after night.
With that being said I do enjoy the final result of a film more then the
final result of a play. However I'd get back on stage in a heartbeat if
the right opportunity presented itself. You're
also a singer/songwriter, right? So what can you tell us about Chuck
Pappas, the musician? I am a singer/songwriter. I hit a
spell while living in Las Vegas, NV where the only thing that made sense
anymore was music. So I took to it. Opened for a couple of cool local
talent. Music for me is and always will be a very very personal matter.
Some of my songs are available to listen to on my website and I just
recently picked up representation on a music front. That's as much as I
have to announce currently but if you like Chuck Pappas music just know
there are some cool things ahead. How would
you describe yourself as an actor, and some techniques you use to bring
your characters alive? I would like to think that I am my
own type of actor. I hope to bring a bit of me in all of my work while
still establishing a strong and rooted character. I feel it is by those
qualities that we are drawn to our favorite performers. This being said I
am a big fan of many methods of acting in which I use in a variety of
ways. One such technique in particular I used to hold character in the
duration of these long long takes was to use a strong assortment of
personalization for all bits of dialogue and actors involved in the scene
with me. I would pick out things that Joey was talking about and directly
attach emotional moments from my past to them. This really helped me
understand Joey and the world he was living in.
Actors, filmmakers, musicians, whatever else who inspire you? I
am inspired by people who appear fearless in all their choices in life. I
have to say I recently saw The Way Way Back and Sam Rockwell is brilliant.
I look at an actor like Tom Hardy and his ability to completely mold
himself into the roles he takes on and I am simply in awe. People like
Shane Black who are not afraid to completely reshape a genre or change
beloved characters (referencing The Mandarin in Iron Man 3). I have to say
the list goes on and on but if you are fearless and I mean truly fearless
with your choices in life odds are you'll inspire the heck out of me. Your
favourite movies? Ok so these might seem a bit odd to some
of your readers but my two favorite movies of all time are Eternal
Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Moulin Rogue. I am a huge fan of
bringing truth to a surreal existence. These two movies establish an
absurd and crazy setting but you never bat an eyelash to it. They're great
and speaking of dealing with breakups from earlier... these two are pretty
much my go-to for that as well. ... and of course, films you really
deplore?
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Oh god this list is
probably bigger then ones I like. Sadly I think Hollywood misses the mark
most of the time. Recently I walked out of The Great Gasby and asked for
my free ticket back. Yes I didn't even pay for it and I walked
out and yet I still don't deplore that movie as much as others.
Anything I walk out of and think man that was a waste of time has
definitely made this list and sadly that's been done with a lot
of movies lately. Oh and video game movies... why the heck haven't we
been able to figure that one out yet? Your website, Facebook, whatever else? You
can keep up to date with everything Chuck Pappas by following me on
twitter at http://twitter.com/chuckpappas or
by going to my official site http://www.chuckpappas.com.
Anything else you are dying to mention
and I have merely forgotten to ask?
Hmm anything... well let's Just do a shout out to South West
Airlines.
Yo South West stop losing my girlfriend's bags! It's not making my life
any easier (laughs). Thanks for that Mike. I feel better now.
Thanks for the
interview!
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