Hot Picks

- There's No Such Thing as Zombies 2020

- Ready for My Close Up 2019

- Dream Hacker 2025

- Love and Comminication 2022

- If I Could Ride Again 2025

- Freak Off 2025

- Lavender Men 2025

- Lost Cos 2023

- Sound of the Surf 2022

- The Stillness 2025

- Frankie Freako 2024

- The Texas Witch 2025

- Cannibal Mukbang 2023

- Bleeding 2024

- No Choice 2025

- Nahual 2025

- Bitter Souls 2025

- A Very Long Carriage Ride 2025

- The Matriarch 2024

- Oxy Morons 2025

- Ed Kemper 2025

- Piglet 2025

- Walter, Grace & the Submarine 2024

- Midnight in Phoenix 2025

- Dorothea 2025

- Mauler 2025

- Consecration 2023

- The Death of Snow White 2025

- Franklin 2025

- ApoKalypse 2025

- Live and Die in East LA 2023

- A Season for Love 2025

- The Arkansas Pigman Massacre 2025

- Visceral: Between the Ropes of Madness 2012

- The Darkside of Society 2023

- Jackknife 2024

- Family Property 2: More Blood 2025

- Feral Female 2025

- Amongst the Wolves 2024

- Autumn 2023

- Bob Trevino Likes It 2024

- A Hard Place 2025

- Finding Nicole 2025

- Juliet & Romeo 2025

- Off the Line 2024

- First Moon 2025

- Healing Towers 2025

- Final Recovery 2025

- Greater Than 2014

- Self Driver 2024

- Primal Games 2025

- Grumpy 2023

- Swing Bout 2024

- Dalia and the Red Book 2024

- Project MKGEXE 2025

- Two to One 2024

- Left One Alive 2025

- Burgermen 2020

- Talk of the Dead 2016

- A Killer Conversation 2014

- First Impressions Can Kill 2017

- Star Crash 1979

- Strangler of the Swamp 1946

An Interview with Sasha Nelson, Writer and Co-Director of A Broken Arrow

by Mike Haberfelner

September 2020

Sasha Nelson on (re)Search my Trash

 

Quick Links

Abbott & Costello

The Addams Family

Alice in Wonderland

Arsène Lupin

Batman

Bigfoot

Black Emanuelle

Bomba the Jungle Boy

Bowery Boys

Bulldog Drummond

Captain America

Charlie Chan

Cinderella

Deerslayer

Dick Tracy

Dick Turpin

Dr. Mabuse

Dr. Orloff

Doctor Who

Dracula

Edgar Wallace made in Germany

Elizabeth Bathory

Emmanuelle

Fantomas

Flash Gordon

Frankenstein

Frankie & Annette Beach Party movies

Freddy Krueger

Fu Manchu

Fuzzy

Gamera

Godzilla

Hercules

El Hombre Lobo

Incredible Hulk

Jack the Ripper

James Bond

Jekyll and Hyde

Jerry Cotton

Jungle Jim

Justine

Kamen Rider

Kekko Kamen

King Kong

Laurel and Hardy

Lemmy Caution

Lobo

Lone Wolf and Cub

Lupin III

Maciste

Marx Brothers

Miss Marple

Mr. Moto

Mister Wong

Mothra

The Munsters

Nick Carter

OSS 117

Phantom of the Opera

Philip Marlowe

Philo Vance

Quatermass

Robin Hood

The Saint

Santa Claus

El Santo

Schoolgirl Report

The Shadow

Sherlock Holmes

Spider-Man

Star Trek

Sukeban Deka

Superman

Tarzan

Three Mesquiteers

Three Musketeers

Three Stooges

Three Supermen

Winnetou

Wizard of Oz

Wolf Man

Wonder Woman

Yojimbo

Zatoichi

Zorro

Your new movie A Broken Arrow - in a few words, what is it about?

 

A Broken Arrow is about a teenage boy who can’t differentiate his delusions from reality.

 

Now given your young age, how did you even come up with a disturbing story like this, and is any of it based on personal experience?

 

I have always had an interest in mental health and have probably watched every YouTube video surrounding kids with a mental illness. Once I was watching one on a little girl with schizophrenia. Even though her parents medicated her, the delusions were still bad. That got me thinking, “Well what if there was a mother who didn’t want to medicate her kid? And what if the delusions got violent?” That’s how Arrow was born. I ended up taking an abnormal psychology class to make sure that everything I put in the script could happen to a real person with schizophrenia.

 

To what extent (if any) could you actually indentify with Arrow, and with his inner turmoil?

 

A lot of this film is up to the interpretation of the viewer, so I guess anyone could see themselves in any of the characters. For me, personally, I don’t really think that I identify with any of the characters. Some of them I based on other people, but not myself.

 

Now once you've written the screenplay, how did the project get off the ground?

 

The screenplay actually took me a few months to write. Once it was finished, we began the casting process. My parents did most of the technical work such as finding camera people and special effects artists. The casting process took about a month. 

 

Do talk about your movie's approach to the thriller genre!

 

I wanted the entire movie to make the viewers think “What is really happening and what is in Arrow’s head?” My goal was to make a creepy and unpredictable character. Like in the film and sequel to The Boy, that doll made everyone wonder not only if the doll was possessed, but it was also just extra creepy, even if it’s an inanimate object… kinda. I wanted a human version of that doll for Arrow. 

 

What can you tell us about your directorial approach to your story at hand?

 

The actors and actresses that we cast all were so amazing. When it comes to my directional approach, for the most part I let them do their own thing. Occasionally I would go and explain what was happening in someone's head, especially Arrow, and motives and all that, but even though the majority of the cast was young, they were extremely talented.

 

You've co-directed A Broken Arrow with your father Joshua Nelson [Joshua Nelson interview - click here] - so what was the collaboration between the two of you on set like? And would you ever consider making another movie with your dad? ;)

 

It was really cool to work with my dad on set. We collaborated on some parts, such as casting, and then other parts we split up. On set, my dad worked closely with our DP while I was working more with the cast. I would love to do a movie with my dad again!

 

Do talk about your cast, and why exactly these people? And as writer/co-director, how much of a say did you have/demand in the casting process?

 

We used Backstage and Casting Networks for this film. In total we got over 900 submissions for all of the roles. With the submissions, they often came with a headshot and an acting reel. Out of the 900 submissions, we sent about 350 the sides to read. The people that we called for callbacks were those who stood out, and for Ivy, Dax, and Delilah, could also be natural. We had 2 kids come back for the role of Arrow, and 5 for the role of Dax. The girls just read for both parts. What we did was we had them in groups read the opening scene. We did this to get a feel for the chemistry between them all, and for Arrow, to see the less creepy side of him. Ultimately I had the final say, and it was quite obvious to me who I wanted the cast to be. We emailed them about an hour after the callback. They are not only so talented, but everyone got along so well on set, and I think that really showed in the final movie.

 

A few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?

 

We shot this film during Covid, so EVERYTHING had to be shot outside in 1 day. For the therapy scenes, we put a couch next to some windows and put some plants around it. We then tried to get those scenes to look like they were inside even though they weren’t. We had made a schedule prior to filming, so everything ran pretty smoothly. And although we were on crunch time, everyone had time to just sit and talk at times, so it wasn’t stressful at all. Everyone had fun and was happy to be there, which really made it possible to get everything done perfectly.

 

The $64-question of course, where can A Broken Arrow be seen?

 

Currently, we are submitting the film to film festivals around the country. We haven’t heard anything yet since this is a relatively new project, but fingers crossed!

 

Anything you can tell us about audience and critical reception of A Broken Arrow?

 

The movie was finished less than 2 weeks ago. You are actually the first to review, thank you! But for the few that have seen it so far, there has been positive feedback.

 

Any future projects you'd like to share?

 

Nothing currently in the works, but I would love to make another film soon.

 

As far as I know, A Broken Arrow is your first film, right? So what got you into making movies, and did you receive any formal training on the subject?

 

My dad has made films for as long as I can remember, and I have written some scripts in the past. This is my first script that I wrote and liked enough to want to go through with the filming. As for training, I’ve really got nothing. I took 1 week long online class the week before filming, but nothing not really could have prepared me for the real deal.

 

Filmmakers, writers, whoever else who inspire you?

 

One filmmaker who inspires me is M. Night Shyamalan. He always has an unexpected twist at the end of the films. I also took inspiration from The Sixth Sense for A Broken Arrow.

 

Your favourite movies?

 

My favorite movie is It from 2017. I love how you really feel for all the characters. There is also a really great storyline and coming-of-age story within the threads of a horror film about a demon clown. For the most part, I like movies where you don’t know what happens next. That’s why in my movie’s ending, I made it so that nobody could really know if Arrow actually killed his friends or not. By putting in that last shot of his friends staring at him, it makes everything the viewer was sure about not make sense anymore.

 

... and of course, films you really deplore?

 

Personally, I hate movies with predictability. I like to be wondering what’s going to happen next. I want the gears in my head to be turning the entire time. I also really hate movies that take a great book and ruin it. One of the worst I’ve seen was A Monster Calls. The book was so impactful, and the movie was just CGI and bad acting.

 

Feeling lucky?
Want to
search
any of my partnershops yourself
for more, better results?
(commissions earned)

The links below
will take you
just there!!!

Find Sasha Nelson
at the amazons ...

USA  amazon.com

Great Britain (a.k.a. the United Kingdom)  amazon.co.uk

Germany (East AND West)  amazon.de

Looking for imports?
Find Sasha Nelson here ...

Thailand  eThaiCD.com
Your shop for all things Thai

Your/your movie's website, social media, whatever else?

 

We have an Instagram account: a.broken.arrow

 

Thanks for the interview!

 

And thank you so very much for taking the time to support our film!

 

© by Mike Haberfelner


Legal note: (re)Search my Trash cannot
and shall not be held responsible for
content of sites from a third party.




Thanks for watching !!!



 

 

In times of uncertainty of a possible zombie outbreak, a woman has to decide between two men - only one of them's one of the undead.

 

There's No Such Thing as Zombies
starring
Luana Ribeira, Rudy Barrow and Rami Hilmi
special appearances by
Debra Lamb and Lynn Lowry

 

directed by
Eddie Bammeke

written by
Michael Haberfelner

produced by
Michael Haberfelner, Luana Ribeira and Eddie Bammeke

 

now streaming at

Amazon

Amazon UK

Vimeo

 

 

 

Robots and rats,
demons and potholes,
cuddly toys and
shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

is all of that.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to
-
a collection of short stories and mini-plays
ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic
to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle, all thought up by
the twisted mind of
screenwriter and film reviewer
Michael Haberfelner.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

the new anthology by
Michael Haberfelner

 

Out now from
Amazon!!!