Your new movie Killing Joan
- in a few words, what is it
about? And what can you tell us about your character in it?
Killing Joan
is a
horror/suspense thriller. Joan, an enforcer for the mob, enacts her
revenge on those who wronged her. I play Joan, who comes from a
troubled past and who grows up to be quite an angry, explosive tyrant of a
woman. She was picked up from the streets and shaped into a killing
machine by her mob boss, Frank, played by a wonderful actor - David Carey
Foster. Joan does Frank's dirty work and is the leader of his crew.
There is more to Joan's character other than anger that we find out about
throughout the film.
What
did you draw upon to bring your character to life, and how much of Jamie
Bernadette can we find in Joan, actually? I've known people
with troubled pasts who carry that pain with them into adulthood and I
used that to become my character. I think there is a little of Joan
in each of us. There is heartbreak and disappointment and pain and
anger. There is hope and love too. That's life. Joan
just tends to wear all of that on her sleeve a lot more than most of us
do. She can't hold herself back from acting in such ways that
society views as discourteous and taboo. She really doesn't care
what people think of her, or so she tells herself. She wears so many
facades and I think that so many people do; however, she unveils her true
self for the one person she loves, just as we humans so often do. To what extent
could you identify with the film's whole supernatural/gangster theme?
There
is so much to this story that will keep the audience guessing. On
the surface, it is a supernatural/gangster story but when you see it, it
is so much more than that. I can't get into too many details because
I can't give anything away, but I can say that this film is like nothing I
have ever seen or read. I read the script so many times before we
filmed and then as we were filming, I would discover so many new things
about Joan and about her story that I hadn't realized before. I was
discovering as my character was discovering. One question that this
film will ask audiences indirectly is: "Who are we really?" From
the sound of it, Killing Joan
involves its fair share of action - so what
can you tell us about the movie's action scenes, and how did you prepare
for them? Oh, the action
scenes were so intense! I have done my fair share of fight choreography and
falls so that was not new for me. However, I had never been floating
in the air or rigged up to wires so that I'm hanging and flying back and
jumping high into the air, etc. It was an incredible experience and
I learned a lot. Our stunt coordinator, Erik Aude, who also plays
"Miles" in the film, was absolutely amazing and so helpful.
To be an actor who does his/her own stunts, I think the physical
preparation is a way of life. I work out regularly to keep my body
in shape and I think that is an absolute necessity when you are doing this
kind of physical work in your films. How did you get involved with the project in
the first place? I auditioned for the role and then a
couple months later I had a 2.5 hour callback audition wherein I read with
so many different actors playing other roles. There were other
potential "Joan"s there auditioning as well who were reading
with different actors. I read scene after scene, some of which was a
cold read. I had read the entire script before the callback so I
felt I knew Joan. I actually felt pretty comfortable in her shoes at
the first audition. I just knew who she was right away. I
loved her too. I just felt I WAS her. It was surreal.
What can you tell us about your
director Todd Bartoo [Todd Bartoo
interview - click here], and what was your collaboration like? Todd
creates a safe space for his actors to create in, which I think is one of
the most important skills for a director to have. I felt comfortable
with Todd immediately. It is just one of those things that you can't
explain. You can do no "wrong" while acting in front of
Todd, and because you can do no wrong, you feel safe to interpret his
wonderful writing the way you imagined it and you feel safe to play and
try new things. He would come up and talk to me quietly on set about
the head space of the character, the "moment before" the
particular scene we were about to do, and that kind of thing, which I
really appreciated because so much of the acting that I had to do was so
emotional and I, as a character, had so many different thoughts and
feelings going on all at once inside of me. Do
talk about the shoot as such for a bit, and the on-set atmosphere?
|
|
|
Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned) |
The links below will take you just there!!!
|
|
|
|
Everyone
was really awesome and they made me feel like a queen! I loved all
the cast and crew. They were all so sweet and supportive. We
had to get a lot done in a short amount of time so we were rushed
sometimes. The script was a large feat to undertake with all of the
special effects and so many characters to get coverage on, but we got it
done. Any
future projects you'd like to share? I just completed a
wonderful horror/adventure film All Girls Weekend by the brilliant
writer/director Lou Simon (Agoraphobia)
[Lou Simon interview - click here].
It's tentatively scheduled to be out this fall in time for Halloween. State of Desolation, the post-apocalyptic film that
wrapped in November 2014, is well on its way to completion also and we
may see that out at the end of 2015. The comedy I'm in What
Now is releasing all over on VOD and cable April 3rd. I play
Becca, an angsty goth chick. Your/your movie's
website, Facebook, whatever else?
Here is the Killing Joan
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/KillingJoan?ref=br_tf
My Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/JamieBernadetteFanPage
My Instagram:
https://instagram.com/jamiebernadette/
My Twitter:
https://twitter.com/jamiebernadett
My website:
www.jamiebernadette.com
Anything else you are
dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? I
don't think so! Thanks for the interview, Mike! Thanks
for the interview!
|