|
Your new movie No Way
Out - in a few words, what is it about?
No Way
Out
follows 2 couples on a camping trip that turns deadly after they
end up getting lost...
What
were your sources of inspiration when writing No
Way Out? It
started with the idea of what would be one of my worst fears while
camping. Like you are on a fun weekend getaway, no weapons and then
something or someone who knows the woods better than you doesn’t want
you there. Vulnerability was what I was aiming for.
What can you tell us about No
Way Out's approach to horror? Joe Hamilton
(the director) wanted a very minimal “gore” horror movie, he wanted
the scares to be in the chase, in the surprise not the shock factor. I
could’ve gone either way but I liked what we ended up going with. It
teeters on the edge of a thriller now as well. What were the
challenges of bringing No Way
Out to the screen from a producer's point of view? It
always comes down to creating a great package (script and budget and
believers), and once that all lines up funding seems to happen. So all of
those things were the challenges, tweaking the script, finding the right
people who believed in it and then finding the money to match the budget. You
also play one of the leads in No
Way Out - so what can you tell us about your character, what did
you draw upon to bring him to life, and have you written him with yourself
in mind from the get-go?
I
did write him (the character) with myself in mind, not like the Chris day-to-day but a version of myself that made sense for the movie. We
meet him the morning of being forced to go camping which he despises, he
knows it’s family-related but doesn’t remember exactly why. And early
on he’s really just trying to get through it until weird things start
happening. I would say he’s a little strange but he’s tough and is
just doing his best to get through it.
Do talk about the rest of your
cast, and as a writer/producer, how much of a say did you have in casting
the movie?
I
handled the casting for the 3 main actors out of LA. Johanna Rae who plays my
wife, and Christopher McGahan and Jennifer Karraz who play the other couple are now some of my
favorite people on the planet! When
I began casting I knew it was going to be a tough find - they would have to
deal with rough conditions and mediocre food. Very cold nights and no
showers. The other couple in the script, while it wasn’t written for them,
I right away knew it was going to be Chris and Jennifer, they are in real
life married and they are so easy going and cool to be around. As far as
my wife’s character - Johanna was the first to read the script and get
back to me. We talked a bunch about what to expect and she was down for
the adventure.
What can you tell us about No
Way Out's director Joe Hamilton, and what was your collaboration
like?
I’ve
actually been in correspondence with Joe for many years (trying to make
this movie). I knew it was Joe’s directorial debut but I wasn’t
nervous because he lives on those lands and was able to get organized and
“see” the movie before all of us. It’s a visual piece as well as a
horror film, that’s why I was set to film it in Alaska from the
beginning, with Joe carrying the torch we made that happen.
With No
Way Out being an outdoors movie, where was it actually filmed,
what was it like filming there, and do you consider yourself an outdoorsy
kind of guy?
It
was filmed entirely in Alaska. I figured it would help make the movie
stand out and look great on camera. Regardless
of its beauty, this was a rough shoot, something I don’t know if I would
do again. It took a few days for us to get the room heaters working
correctly - it was a high of 30 degrees most days and into the 20s at night
and I’m from Florida! And
the bathroom situation was embarrassingly a bucket for a few days as well.
So not that great. And
I’m not an outdoorsy guy at all, I’m from South Florida, so no winters
and being outdoors means a day-trip to the beach. I like the idea of
camping but I never grew up doing it so other than beach days and now a
few hikes since here in Los Angeles we have a lot of hiking trails I’m
not outdoorsy at all.
Overall
the cast did so well handling the cold and lack of running water. So proud
of them!
A few words about the shoot as such, and
the on-set atmosphere?
It
was fun and stressful at the same time, weather was a factor as we
didn’t get sunlight some days and shooting on a cinema camera requires a
ton of storage and some days we didn’t even have power due to generator
issues. So you’re constantly changing the schedule due to sunlight and
weather patterns and then also worrying about running out of storage in
the middle of a forest.
It
was also tough for me because of our limited crew there’s no assistant
director so I had to kind of step up on set to get the cast going and let
them know what our day was going to be like. I felt bad being stern like
telling them to wake up from a (well deserved) nap because we are ready to
shoot again and then get on set and be one of them as just an actor.
But
“acting” in a desolate place with dangers of having to be airlifted
over a twisted ankle and seeing tracks to dangerous wild animals was kind
of exciting and it added a lot to our natural personas on camera.
The $64-question of course, where
can No Way Out be
seen? We
are starting with Amazon Prime to rent/own. From there we’ll expand it
to a few major video on demand platforms, Google Play, YouTube and Tubi. Anything you can tell us about audience and
critical reception of No Way
Out? We
just had a small screening in Alaska and all positive came from it, and now
we’ve heard from a few critics, the overall consensus is that while
there’s a few plotholes, the music, the cinematography (that’s that
Alaska backdrop I mentioned), the acting and the overall story are all
well done and keeps it from being just an average “camping gone wrong
movie”. Any future projects you'd like to share?
My
next film coming out I didn’t produce or write or edit but I did star in
and it’s called The Handler. I play a mercenary who has to fight for his
life while being held up in a safe house. It’s literally 80 minutes of
me kicking ass! It’s going to be great!
What
got you into the filmworld in the first place, and did you receive any
formal training on the subject?
I
actually have a marketing degree and about 8 years ago I was really
unhappy with my life. I quit my job and I decided to try modeling. When
I quickly realized I wasn’t a model I was stuck with expensive photos
and was thinking what else can I do... My love for movies, horror movies
specifically sparked an idea, so I googled how to be an actor and it kind
of took off from there. This
was all in Florida at the time, and after about 6 months of Craigslist
roles I got up and moved to Los Angeles where I’ve spent the last 7
years acting, studying the craft, writing and producing anything I can put
myself in.
When it comes to
filmmaking, you fill many positions both in front of and behind the camera
- so what do you enjoy the most, what could you do without?
I
love acting. Being able to release emotions you don’t normally get to
show on a day-to-day basis is an amazing feeling. I sometimes approach
acting with an audience’s POV, like if I was watching me what can I do
to make sure the audience stays with me, how do they stay engaged with the
story I’m telling. I
could do without everything else to be honest, I love producing and
writing but they were really just things to kick start my acting career.
Maybe I’ll get behind the camera again soon but I don’t have any plans
to right now.
What
can you tell us about your filmwork prior to No
Way Out, in whatever position? My
first movie is out now called Anabolic Life. I wrote it, produced it and
starred in it! See the pattern here? It
was going to be my Rocky, an original story about anabolic steroid
abuse due to the pressures of society. I went through 2 body
transformations, one down to 130lbs and then another one to get up to
205lbs in it and also won Best Actor at the Orlando Film Festival. There
were some direction changes and choices made out of my control which I
think reduced the success of it, but it’s still a great movie and it’s
available everywhere online right now.
Actors,
directors, writers, whoever else who inspire you?
My
father’s work ethic inspires me. He’s not an artist at all but he
worked 2 jobs while I was growing up to support the family. That alone
gives me the drive to be successful. You
really can’t become an actor/filmmaker without help and without a
support team. My parents and brother are my support team.
I
had a really great acting teacher Will Wallace who kind of helped open my
eyes to the world around me as a human and an actor. I
also have so many friends who are supportive and that have been there for
me along the way too, one in particular is actor/producer Matt O’Neill.
He has always been a helping hand and a friend I could trust over these
last 7 years in LA.
Your
favourite movies? Alien
and Predator franchises for sure, 80s horror movies, I enjoy most
Marvel
movies - the last Avengers movie could be the best movie ever made and I
love almost anything from Spielberg. I know every line to Jurassic Park
and Jaws. ... and of course, films you really
deplore?
 |
Feeling lucky?
Want to
search
any of my partnershops yourself
for more, better results?
(commissions earned) |
The links below
will take you
just there!!!
|
|
 |
I
mean making movies is hard and making good movies is close to impossible
so I don’t hate many movies but I’ll usually skip Lifetime and
SyFy
type made-for-TV movies. Your/your movie's website, social media,
whatever else? Well
you can stalk me on social media - @onlychrislevine -, and you can follow
No Way
Out’s social media at @nowayouthorror Anything else you're dying to mention and
I have merely forgotten to ask? I
think you covered everything. Thanks for taking the time to check out the
movie, I’m sure you get a ton of requests so I appreciate it. To your
readers, No Way
Out
is an isolation horror film that really does a good
job making you feel helpless in the Alaskan wilderness, I think you’ll
enjoy it. And if you do, reviews help indie films a lot so leave one. Thanks for the
interview!
|
amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
amazon.de
eThaiCD.com
