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Your new webseries Red Rooms
- in a few words, what is it about?
In the darkest corners of the darknet, there are terrifying places where the
abducted are held captive, psychologically tortured and live-streamed.
Victims are given the chance to escape if they agree to confess their
worst sins to the world, preserving them online for eternity. Paid
subscribers watch, listen and vote on who has committed the evilest crimes
against humanity. The winner lives. The losers die. These are the infamous
"Red Rooms", and this terrifying new web series invites you to
take part in this diabolical dark web reality show, where nothing is what
it streams to be.
In this limited webseries event of
Red Rooms, Hollywood producer Leilah
Black, Armenian hit man Alex Terzian, Republican senator Sheila Larkin,
former priest Stephen Bishop, and international mogul Ethan Campbell find
themselves held captive and streamed live on a popular dark web reality
show where viewers vote on who lives and who dies. While enduring
psychological torture, the imprisoned contestants reveal they share a
diabolical connection in their past.
How did the project get off the ground in the first place, how did
you get involved, and what drew you to it? When Covid-19 hit in March of 2020, I do not think any of us realized what a
long and tragic event would ensue in our world. I had actually taken off
work for a couple months after being sick myself, and I was super
motivated to figure out a way to stay creative and work with an incredibly
talented group of creatives in my world. I had been having a conversation
with our creator and director, Joshua Butler, about the proof of concept
that we had shot for another project in 2019 and had a vision of taking a
portion of that piece and adding to it to create a humble virtual webseries that we could potentially bring to fruition throughout our time in
isolation. Joshua was completely on board, as he needed his creative soul
to be fulfilled during these tough times as well. So,
Red Rooms was
developed from there. I had pitched Joshua the idea of filming some of my
wonderful actor associates completely virtually, then he and I discussed
the creative idea of the narrative. I wanted the actors to choose a
character that they were inspired to play, then Joshua was able to write
the storyline from that point on and he went above and beyond anything I
could have imagined! His story was so smart, so deep, so painful! As a
producer, I am incredibly hands-on, especially when it is a Philly Chick
Pictures-produced project and I am the sole producer. There were
professional elements and components that were very important to me, and I
knew that Joshua Butler would be able to deliver, as I have always admired
the level of his work and creativity. From this point, as the executive
producer, I raised financing, and as the producer, negotiated all the cast
and crew contracts, set up meetings for rehearsals with our actors, and we
even did wardrobe and props virtual tests, etc. We really treated this
humble production as we would any other higher budgeted or on-set project
or production. Joshua and I are always in agreement that anything we put
our names on must be professional. To what
extent could you identify with Red
Rooms' approach to horror?
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Mike,
I absolutely love this question! To me, the horror of a piece like
Red Rooms
is the most identifiable horror there is! The psychological horror
in the story and characters of
Red Rooms
is real… it is truth… it is
found deep within so many of us and our lives. One of the things that I
was most excited to collaborate on with Joshua’s story was to approach
this as not just a horror piece, but a dramatic horror piece, inclusive of
the drama, pain, abuse, etc. that we face in real life. I believe that
every one of us can relate to the horrific emotional elements of
Red Rooms
and its characters. I really do believe that anyone who watches this piece
can relate in some way to the emotional pain, and even the ugliness,
within each of these characters. Even within the ugliness, we can all find
relatability, empathy, and some human justification of what made these
people who they are today. This is the type of drama horror that I love to
watch, and truly love to perform. What were the
challenges of bringing Red
Rooms to the screen from a producer's point of view? Oh…
the pandemic! No physical set… pandemic… everyone at their own homes
in isolation… pandemic… a very small crew… pandemic… working
virtually… pandemic… sound… pandemic… the usual challenges working
with a low budget… pandemic… the rapidly changing streaming
platforms… have I mentioned pandemic? You
also appear in front of the camera in Red
Rooms - so do talk about your character, what did you draw upon to
bring her to life, and how much Brooke Lewis Bellas can we find in Leilah? The
character of Leilah Black in Red Rooms
was an absolute gift to me! As an
actress, I do not always believe in myself or my abilities, as much as
others sometimes believe in me. I am always grateful for my writers and
directors who believe in my acting talents. Joshua Butler has always been
someone who believes in my abilities. He has encouraged me to push myself
as an actress and dig into the painful dramatic roles. When Joshua and I
had first begun collaborating on
Red Rooms, it was very important to me
that I, and the entire cast, would have say in our roles and play a
character that inspired each of us. As a woman in Hollywood, I have always
had to fight hard for respectable opportunities, and to be taken seriously
as both a producer and an actress. One of my missions in my life and work
is to empower women, and one of my acting niches is power struggles, so it
only seemed fitting and inspiring to choose a character that spoke to me
in both a power position, and with the ability to express her pain and
vulnerability at the same time. As we all know, Hollywood producer Harvey
Weinstein was all over the media in 2020 with his arrest, and being
accused of sexually assaulting and raping actresses for many years. I felt
inspired to go within and see if I was able to feel all the sides and
emotions that would come with being this horrific person or character.
Joshua and I had very intense conversations about what it would look like
to create a character with the role reversal, and have Leilah Black be a
very successful female Hollywood movie producer who sexually assaulted, or
raped, in a sense, male actors. This was not an easy subject to tackle and
brought up a lot of debate and controversy, but we chose to step into this
situation and show the different sides, internal struggles, and pain that
Leilah Black may have experienced herself. This was not a simple character
to psychologically dive into, but when we did, the emotions just came
pouring right out of me. Joshua, knowing me as well as he does, was able
to get into my psyche and, hopefully,
direct me in a way that displayed an honest, painful, and believable
performance. I think the viewer will find more of Brooke Lewis Bellas in
Leilah Black than I would hope for. I feel like so much of my life in
Hollywood has been fighting and struggling to prove myself, to justify my
creative choices, and to find the strength to step into my power.
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What
can you tell us about the rest of Red
Rooms' cast, and as producer, how much say did you have or demand
when it came to casting? Red Rooms
stars horror film and TV veterans Brooke Lewis Bellas (iMurders),
David Alpay (The Vampire
Diaries), Susan Lanier (The Hills Have
Eyes) [Susan Lanier
interview - click here],
Ricky Dean Logan (Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare), and Noah Blake
(Teen Witch). I genuinely do not have enough room on your website to
tell you how extraordinary the cast of Red Rooms
is! I mean this with all
my heart. I am forever grateful for all that these unbelievably talented
actors gave, not only during a pandemic, but each of them isolated in
their own homes and working with us via Skype every day in rehearsals and
meetings to give us location options, wardrobe options, and props from
their homes. And, setting up the best captivity scenarios they possibly
could with us from afar. They were complete professionals and gave more
than we could have ever asked for. I don't even know if they realize the
incredibly authentic and generous performances they gave. I was so
fortunate, as the producer, to be at home in what I, jokingly, called my
“video village” where I would watch our actors via my iPad on
FaceTime, through Joshua 's studio via Skype, to be able to give him notes while filming. I would sit in my video village from my house and
was moved beyond words. I found myself crying with each performance at
some point. It was so extraordinary, and for me, being one of the actors
as well, it really felt like I was acting within a seasoned veteran acting
troop. Part of my mission with this project really was to produce and
facilitate something incredibly creative that we could perform together
during isolation, and their performances far surpassed anything I had ever
wished for. As the owner of Philly Chick
Pictures, and the producer, I am
always involved in the casting process. This was a very specific project
and situation that offered me the opportunity to go directly to my trusted
associates and their agents, which is often not the case. As a producer of
many years, it has been a privilege to sit in big audition rooms and watch
actors come to audition, and know in my gut who is right for the role. It
has been a huge lesson for me to learn as an actress. I really followed my
gut with casting Red Rooms. When I first set out to produce this project,
one of my goals and visions was to offer each actor the opportunity to
choose a role that they either hadn't played, wanted to play, or were
inspired to play. I had all my initial meetings with the individual cast
members to inquire about which roles they would be creatively excited to
play. After brainstorming together, we came up with a few inspired
options. I took these options back to Joshua, then he chose them, flushed
them out, and built the entire story around these characters. I really
wanted to offer the actors an opportunity that we do not always get,
including myself, as part of this ensemble cast. It became such a powerful
collaboration in every way, and I cannot imagine a more perfect cast for Red Rooms. Do talk about Red
Rooms's director Joshua Butler, and what was your collaboration
like?
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Joshua
Butler and I had been in-development on another project and had been
reminiscing about our favorite industry days of yesteryear when we met on
the horror film circuit. I had already been a superfan of Joshua’s work
and creative mind for years. We had been discussing
a creative horror collaboration for quite some time and we needed our
timing and vision to align. In 2019, we shot a proof of concept for our
project, which paid homage to his hugely successful film Vlog (2008) from
the producers of Saw, that went on to become a hit TV series. I loved
being directed by Joshua with his passion and intensity, so we committed
to further collaborating. When Covid-19 hit Hollywood and we were all in
isolation, I called for a virtual production meeting and suggested we
attempt to experiment by filming each character virtually from their
homes. This 100% virtual filming was new to both Joshua and I, so we
really had to walk through the entire process of production to figure out
the most professional and create ways to make this work. As a producer, I
respect my director’s vision very much, so we walked through all virtual
options, including Zoom and Skype, doing various tests, but something in
my creative gut told me we should film through Skype, so I really pushed
for this. Joshua agreed with my choice and followed with building the red
filter, then we were on our way! We really left no stone unturned and I
produced through six weeks of isolation pre-production, setting up a ton
of phone and Skype meetings, while Joshua fleshed out our story and
characters. He wrote an incredible story with depth, connecting the
characters in a painfully beautiful way. Once we hit production, it was
both challenging and hilarious at the same time, as I was isolated in my
home office watching, and giving producer notes, to Joshua via FaceTime,
with him isolated in his home studio Skype filming our actors who were
each isolated in their homes. What an experience! Then, Joshua and I spent
the next year in isolation post-production, because one thing I know we
always agree on as veterans in the industry… we will do whatever it
takes to make sure it is delivered as professionally as it can be! The $64-question of course, where can
Red Rooms be seen? Mike,
as you and your fantastic readers know, because you gave us a fabulous
review, we invited the horror and thriller fans to enter Red Rooms
on
February 1, 2023, streaming exclusively on Deep C Digital in honor of
Women in Horror Month. A later release will follow on Tubi TV, Amazon
Prime, and other streamers in 2023.
Anything
you can tell us about audience and critical reception of Red
Rooms? I
am humbled and honored to share that that we have received an unbelievable
reception of Red Rooms. Quite honestly, it has been blowing our minds to
see the attention and accolades that this humble webseries has brought to
us. We have been blessed to run the festival and awards circuit from
2022-2023 and have wins to proudly show! Although I was unable to attend,
due to long Covid, Joshua, Susan, and other cast and crew represented us
across the country, and were met with praise from the film festivals and
audiences alike. We chose a limited festival run with festivals that
welcome content in the new media, television, webseries, and streaming
series categories. On behalf of Red Rooms, I would like to thank
Catalyst
TV Content Festival, FirstGlance Film Festival, Zed Fest Film
Festival,
and Mykonos International Film Festival for believing in our humble
content and welcoming us with open arms! I would also like to thank my
Philadelphia Red River Horror family for going above and beyond the call
of duty to support us along the way, and representing us when I was not
able to attend FirstGlance Philadelphia. Now, that is Brotherly Love! Even
with our limited release in February for Women in Horror Month, the
reviews were exceptional. Of course, we respect everyone's opinion, and
they will always vary, but I don't think I've ever been on a project where so many
professional reviewers and viewers have acknowledged the writing and
performances as much as they have for Red Rooms. Every time I read a
review, it seems to consistently mention how all the acting performances
were excellent, and it absolutely melts my heart for all! With Red
Rooms being somewhat open-ended, will there ever be a season 2 of
the series? Red Rooms
was such an incredible and challenging learning experience for us
all. Now in 2023, it takes us back to a time and memories, during the
worst of the pandemic, that I know for sure none of us wants to revisit.
I only hope, as the producer of this webseries, that I was able to gift
our extraordinary cast and crew something creative during the toughest of
times. Joshua Butler and I hope we created something everyone can be proud
of. In my humble opinion, the entertainment industry and streaming
platforms have drastically changed since before the pandemic, and I can
say, with 100% certainty, that I would not want to produce a season 2 of Red Rooms.
I for one am very much at peace with where we have landed in
2023. That said, if an investor were to come and offer us $1 million to do
a season 2, you better be damn sure I will change my answer! Ha!
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Your/your
series' website, social media, whatever else?
Instagram: @brookelewisla
Twitter: @BrookeLewisLA
Facebook fan page: @BrookeLewisLA
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0506989/
Website links:
Press site: https://brookelewisbellas.com/
Philly Chick
Pictures:
http://phillychickpictures.com/
Thanks
for the interview! I
am humbled and honored to be a part of the Search My Trash family for so
many years! Thank you! XO Brooke Lewis Bellas
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