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Kyri Saphiris as Carlos Revalos |
Your new movie Le
Fear II: Le Sequel - in a few words, what is it about?
The movie is following a hapless director Carlos Revalos on is
plight to make his biggest film to date a horror noir,but things don't go his
way and the film ends up being a chaotic farcical comedy. What
convinced you to shoot a sequel to the first Le Fear, and how do
the two movies compare? Le Fear 1 was my directorial debut,
I came up with the idea to film about a film whilst walking to the
supermarket, 3 weeks later the film was in the can. Le
Fear II: Le Sequel
had more pre
production and budget, I can't really compare other than I'm fond of Le
Fear 1, it was very wham bam in the can , Le
Fear II: Le Sequel
is more like a long
term passionate relationship. Where did the idea with the
Nollywood filmcrew come from, and did you do any research on the subject? Great
question, not everyone is aware of the Nollywood cinema of Nigeria and how it is
the 3rd biggest film industry in the world behind Hollywood and Bollywood.
I became interested in 2007, I watched around 50 films and was fascinated
by their style. At the same time I was working with 3 Nigerians, so I guess
this was my research. The films I bought mainly were purchased in a
butchers shop in London, I found that very funny, you could also buy phone
cards there too, that's were my product placement idea came from.
Jason as Chafarafa |
To
what extent do you, as a director, actually identify with Carlos Revalos
of your movie? And being an actor as well, did you never feel tempted to
play him yourself? And speaking of, what can you tell us about your
character in the movie? I can relate to Carlos on one level,
but the actor Kyri Saphiris takes the character and runs with it, nearly every
review we have had loves Carlos, one reviewer said you can't kill him off
in Le Fear 4: Who Killed Carlos Revalos. I never thought about playing
Carlos, I'm very happy to play cameo roles. I admire actor/directors that
can play the lead and do it well, Vincent Gallo in Buffalo 66 springs to
mind, but I'm not great at multitasking. My character Chafarafa is a highly
strung French script writer - I took a gamble because I don't speak French
so I rode on the back of Hadrien Mekki, the only real French actor in the
film who plays the character Jacques. Chafarafa is a guy who doesn't hang
around long which I was glad about, I wanted to focus more on the
directing. How would you describe your
directorial approach to your subject at hand? Unorthodox,
I'm not sure many if any do it my way, I gave the actors their characters
2 months before the filming, I wrote the scenes and plot without dialogue
and we improvised it 100% during the scenes. I may hold up cue cards to
alter the scene in a different direction, for example I may write kiss him
to one actor without the other knowing, a method which brings up some
magical scenes. I love improvisation and I was very fortunate to have some
excellent actors to direct, we started at 7A.M. and finished at 11P.M., long
but very productive days. Do talk
about Le Fear II: Le
Sequel's brand of humour for a bit!
Le Fear 1 was
shot over 2 days for £2000, for Le
Fear II: Le Sequel
we had a bigger budget
[undisclosed] over 6 days, Le Fear III: Le Cannes and Le Fear IV: Who
Killed Carlos Revalos are in pre-production, we cannot compete with any
big budget sequels, but I'd be happy to make lots more like Carry On, a
British set of comedy films. Brand haha, well maybe if enough people watch
them we can start something? But we have to find our audience! Le
Fear
won't be for everyone, not the masses, but if you like films within films and
crazy off-the-wall B-movies then maybe we can start something, let's see! What can you
tell us about your cast, and why exactly these people? I
had worked with most of the actors before either as a director or acting
alongside them, I needed a strong cast and actors who I trusted to
deliver, and in my opinion they did, I was very happy to see them gel and I
have laughed so much during filming and watching the rough cuts my hat is
off to all of the cast, they were great!!! A pleasure to work with and
direct. A
few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? It
was fun, tough and a real experience, we worked long and hard to achieve.
The atmosphere was very good yes there was a few stressful moments but all
in all it went smooth but I had a dedicated crew and 2 excellent
supportive producers in Julian Lamoral-Roberts and Steve McAleavy.
The
$64-question of course, when and where will the film be released onto the
general public? We don't have a official release date as
such if all goes to plan April 2015 but we can't confirm that yet.
Will there ever be a third Le
Fear? And any other future projects you'd like to share? Le
Fear III: Le Cannes and Le Fear IV: Who killed Carlos Revalos are in
pre-production, like all films they are never made until they're made,and
if all goes to plan they will be. I have what I think is a great idea for a
feature, maybe we will shoot it between Le Fear 3 and Le Fear
4. It's a
comedy that's all I can say right now. You
actually entered the filmworld as an actor - so what drew you to acting to
begin with, and did you receive any formal education on the subject? I
started quite late, 27 years old, I was on a TV game show in front of 15
million viewers, I made a dating show into a comedy. I found my wanting, I
went to college, University and drama school. What
made you pick up producing, writing and directing eventually?
I
guess I didn't pick producing it just happened. Writing ... well, to my on
admission, I'm not the best at writing screenplays, I do feel comfortable
creating characters, narrative, plot and scenes without dialogue.Directing I chose because I wanted something more than just acting, I find
it rewarding and love directing new talent. What
can you tell us about your filmwork (in whatever position) prior to Le
Fear II: Le Sequel? I started 15 years ago acting,
I made a journey hit a point and found myself working on the other side of
the camera, I love acting but I have a new passion in directing. Prior to Le
Fear II: Le Sequel I have many highs and lows, but hey 'C'est la Vie'. How would you describe
yourself as an actor and as a director? I would say as an
actor I'm passionate and driven, as director I'm hungry and determined. Actors,
filmmakers, whoever else who inspire you? My family and friends. Your favourite
movies?
 |
Feeling lucky?
Want to
search
any of my partnershops yourself
for more, better results?
(commissions earned) |
The links below
will take you
just there!!!
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I have so many, Night On Earth, Dog Day
Afternoon,
Day For Night, The Party, The
Ladykillers, The Bobo, The Magician, The
Independent, Fargo, Trees Lounge, Life is Beautiful and many many more.
... and of course, films you really deplore? I
will sit and watch any film, as bad as I may think it is I will give it a
go. I'm not a big musical fan. Your/your
movie's Facebook, website, whatever else? @actorjaycroot
is my Twitter, @lefear2lesequel the film's Twitter,
https://www.facebook.com/groups/163431550389968/
the film's Facebook, our IMDb is
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1982759/.
Anything else
you are dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? I
think you have covered all, I would like to thank you for the interview. Oh yes we would people to watch
Le
Fear II: Le Sequel and get in touch
with us ;] Thanks
for the interview!
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amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
amazon.de
eThaiCD.com
find Jason Croot at adultvideouniverse.com
