Your new movie She
Rises - in a few words, what is it about? The
official synopsis is: “A director and her lead actor get a vacation
rental
while
filming a movie. Their host who initially comes off sweet and caring
becomes
their worst nightmare.” I would also say it is a descent into madness
via
the mind of a tortured actor whose greatest dreams have become his
wildest
nightmares.
How
did you get involved with the project in the first place, and to what
extent could you identify with its horror theme? I
was in a Halloween store with my daughter when I got a phone call from
Jennifer
Blanc-Biehn, she said she had a project that they had been
developing,
at the time it was called “Nightmare”, she told me a bit about it
and
asked me if I would be interested in directing, to which I said YES
because
I love working with Jennifer and Michael. They sent over what was
already
a pretty solid script and I could see what they were going for. I asked
Jennifer
if I could have a go at the script , I had a few ideas I wanted explore
to
take the story to the next level and make it my own. Jennifer agreed, I did
a
rewrite,
then we started casting and then Angus came onboard. Angus who is
a
genius writer, did a rewrite and it was insanely brilliant and that is
what we
shot!
As She
Rises' writer Angus Macfadyen was also on set at least most of the
times, being one of the movie's leads, what was your collaboration with
him like both in pre-production and during the shoot? Working
with Angus was amazing. On our first day of shooting, Angus had his
first
monologue, this eight-page speech, literally, where he comes in and
really
establishes who his character is and what he's about. And he just
nailed
this thing in one take, and even improv'd some stuff that wasn't in the
script,
and I was literally moved to tears by his performance. As soon as it
was
acceptable to cut, I leaped up out of my chair, ran onto set and told him
how
amazing that was. I was like, ‘Oh, so you want to make a movie?' And he
was
like, ‘Yeah!' I think it was in that moment we quickly learned that we
shared
a passion to tell this story. And we did all the way through to the end, he
stayed involved through the edit and in fact Angus even provided some
original music for the movie. He is an incredible musician as well! A true
artist
in every sense of the word.
Angus Macfadyen |
She
Rises is rather non-linear and allegorical in approach - so how
hard was it to not just lose the plot during the shoot? It
was not hard at all because of the amount of prep that I had done. I had a
very
detailed shot list. I came into town 2 weeks early and went out to the
locations, I blocked out all of my shots ahead of time, I mean I was ready.
There
was not any question that anyone in the cast or crew could have come
up
with that I did not have an answer for. In fact we even finished shooting
one
day ahead of schedule.
What
can you tell us about your overall directorial approach to your story at
hand? When
you are working with a cast like that it is really about giving them the
space
they need to do what they need to do. We would get on the set and
block
out the scene and run through it a few times. I would work with my DP
Steve
Romano on adjusting the lighting and getting the shots I wanted
framed
up, then I would just go out to the monitors and made sure we were
getting
what I wanted.
When I last interviewed you [click
here], you said your favourite actor was Michael Biehn - so what
was it like working with him on She
Rises?
Michael Biehn |
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Daisy
McCrackin |
I
have been blessed enough to have had the pleasure of working with Michael
several
times.
I think we have been on 6 movies together, 2 of them I
directed, She
Rises and Jacob. It
never
gets old. One one side of it, he's a
performer,
he just kills it every time he is on screen. His instincts are
unbelievable,
and even when he is not on camera, when he is producing he is
amazing.
He can walk onto a film set and instantly know exactly what is
going
on everywhere. If something is not working he always knows how to fix
it.
I have learned so much from him. Then on the other side of it, Michael is
an
amazing
person, he is a warm, caring and kind man. He takes care of his
family
and friends and he is the first one to step up when things get rough. I
feel
very honored that I am able to call him friend.
You also have a cameo in She
Rises - so do talk about your performance for a bit! Yeah,
Jennifer thought we needed more sex appeal to be able to sell the
movie
so I stepped up! I kid, I kid. I don't know, didn't really have much to do,
it
was a small piece, and I had so much to do that day, it was just a quick
little
pick
up, then we moved on.
What
can you tell us about the rest of your cast, and why exactly these people? They
were the perfect trio, I can not imagine anyone else in any of those
parts. It's chemistry. They each one complement each other perfectly.
Jennifer
Blanc-Biehn is amazing in this. This is my favorite thing that she has
done,
and I am a fan. She is good in everything she does, but in She
Rises we
see
sides of her we have not seen anywhere else. Brilliant! And Daisy
McCrackin
was suggested by Angus and he was right. She is Rosebud. She
took
that performance to a level I could never had imagined. The thing is that
everyone
on this shoot, and I mean everyone, shared a real passion for this
movie
we were making. We knew it was something different. What was
supposed
to be a simple low brow horror movie became more than that. It
became
a story with heart.
Do
talk about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? It
was great, everyone was bringing their very best. There was a great
energy.
Every person on set was really happy to be there, and it seemed
special. I think like on day one everyone realized this was not going to be
your
typical shoot, this movie was going to be weird and we embraced the
weird.
I think everyone appreciated that.
The
$64-question of course, when and where will the film be released onto the
general public? All
I can say at this time it that we can't say just yet! But soon as we get
the
okay
we will share the news with everyone!
Anything you can tell us about audience
and critical reception of She
Rises?
Larry directing Jennifer Blanc-Biehn |
I
always knew that She
Rises is not going to be for everyone, I see it as
more
of
an arthouse film. However, for those people that do “get It” I
believe they
are
going to be in for a real treat. The movie is layered and crafted in such
a
way
that there is so much there you could watch it 50 times and still find
something
that you missed on every go. For all of its flaws it has one saving
grace
and that is that the performances ring true, it is honest and pure and
was
crafted with love and passion. She
Rises has heart and I believe people
will
connect with it on a very intimate level.
Any future projects you'd like to share?
I
have a new sci-fi thriller that I can not say too much about just yet,
but
very
soon… A few movies I acted in are out or coming out soon, including 200
Degrees
from director Giorgio Serafini, Vlad's Legacy from Patricio
Valladares
and Blanc/Biehn
Productions' Altered Perceptions by director Kate
Rees
Davies. Your/your
movie's website, Facebook, whatever else?
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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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You
can find out more about She
Rises and all Blanc/Biehn
Productions on
Facebook,
and at www.thebbbasement.com
And you can find out more about
me
and my stuff over at www.larrywadecarrell.com
Anything else
you're trying to mention that I've merely forgotten to ask? Nope
;)
Thanks
for the interview!
photos by Mike Skillsky
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