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Your new movie Crave
- in a few words, what's it about?
A woman who lost her husband to addiction is in the midst of
rebuilding her life, her kids away at college, her friends
encouraging her to move on. She runs into an old friend who there
had always been a spark with but neither had acted on the
attraction. In Crave, they dive in deep and discover profound
connection and self revelation about their own individual
darkness. What were your
sources of inspiration when writing
Crave, and was any of it based on personal experiences?
My own curiosity about how to move forward after my husband died of
addiction and cancer. I have been in this secret healing for years, long
before he passed, and wanted to start telling the deeper stories of my
soul now that I'm on the other side of the utter horror I witnessed. I
hope it helps others somehow. It has to. I think the deepest art we have
inside of us is also connected to the things we fear most about telling
others. I want to dive into a courageous new place as a creator. I’m
wanting to look into my own secret fears and find the way to share so I
can hopefully help others somehow. Do talk about your directorial approach to your story at hand!
I always focus on my actors and the deeper truths they are wanting to
reveal within the story I've created. Additionally, technically, i am
really pushing myself and my crew to showcase that a film can look amazing
without millions of Dollars. You also play one of the leads in
Crave - so what can you
tell us about your character, what did you draw upon to bring her to life,
and have you written Abigail with yourself in mind from the get-go?
Abigial is so much part of me but she comes from a lot more money
and ease. THAT is for sure. Also she is lost about art. I imagined
what might have been my life if I'd not been focused on my acting
and filmmaking all these years I was dealing with my husband. THAT
is the deeper part of Abigail that I wanted to explore, and I
believe it is the more common approach to life many women take
when dealing with a partner who has a substance abuse issue. In
trying to pick up all the pieces, many women, men too when the
roles are reversed, end up turning away from their own art so they
can find a way to create a financial stability within the family.
I always write with a character in mind that I want to explore as
an actress. When I first got to NYU at 17 years old to study
Drama, I decided I would pursue making films as well so that I could insure I would always be able to play bigger, deeper roles
and not have to ever wait for someone to cast me in the
roles...though that is happening more now. What can you tell us about the rest of your cast, and why
exactly these people? Sean Young has been a friend since we met about 12
years ago on Nick & Nicky. We have been in many things
together and I’m always looking for ways to cast her.
She’s amazing! Ed Altman, who plays my husband, I met on
Dummy
Detective, and he is such a great actor. A good friend
now too…I adore Ed. Julie Berdt, Freya, the Angel, I met on
Nick & Nicky
also, and always have wanted to cast her. She is so
magical, gorgeous, ethereal. Ridiculously talented!
Yaron Urbas, the crazy drunk, is a dear friend and
great actor who I’ve been in many many projects with.
He’s a great guy to have on set and just an all around joy.
Brandon Hughes (Max) came through my manager friend Diana
Prano. I adore Diana. She helped cast many of the
great actors I have in Crazytown. Diana has been a
friend forever and I trust her. You also have to talk about
Max's artworks for a bit, and were they pre-existing paintings or were
they created especially for your movie? One was
created for the film, the rest are Brandon’s existing work. A few words
about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? The
shoot was amazing. I keep the days to 12 hours max, small crew. The shoot
was great until the very last day we had pickups and then one person had a
meltdown. It left a nasty taste in my soul and I vowed to never take a
chance like that again. You know, when creating a piece of art that is so
personal it cuts much deeper when someone turns. Thankfully it was the
very last “in person” interaction I had or will ever have with that one.
Anything you can tell us about audience and critical reception of
Crave?
I have been blown away by men and women direct messaging me to tell me how
much they love the film. It reinforces the feeling I have to dive into the
deeper parts of my inner space that I’ve hidden from the world.
Any future projects you'd like to share?
I have several thrillers in the works with
Breaking Glass. Two are very close to my heart, Release
(a crazy psychological horror thriller) and Salt & Skin
(another deep thriller). Your/your movie's website, social media, whatever else? I’m
easiest to get to on Instagram - @deborahtwiss -, also Facebook.
My websites are under construction.
Anything else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
I love the partnership I have with
Breaking Glass’ Rich Wolff and Susan Helfrich. They are like
family. What we are building together is so special and my delight is so
profound. I’m a very lucky girl. Also, I have the most amazing people in my crew who stand behind me
all the time, like my composer Michelangelo Sosnowitz (https://www.lemonsharkproductions.com/),
my co-producer Stann Nakazono and several others. Plus Mike Conroy at
Breaking Glass is always there to help get me
to the finish line in post.
I love the family that is forming around my projects, and I really
look forward to continuing this amazing path of adventure. We
lose one or two here and there along the way but always seem to
pick up more that are incredible each project. I am very happy as
an artist. Thanks for the interview!
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