Your upcoming movie The Divine Tragedies
a.k.a. Blood Brothers
- in a few words,
what is it about, and what can you tell us about your character in it?
It's
about two brothers who decide to commit murder for the intellectual
experience. Once done, the murder tears the brothers' relationship apart.
My
character is Thomas Lo Bianco. He's the older of the two and more
outgoing. He's fascinated with murder and likes to write true crime
novels. Without giving too much away there is a moment that changes
everything for him.
What
did you draw upon to bring your character to life, and how much of Jon
Kondelik do we find in Thomas Lo Bianco? Jose and I decided
that we wanted Thomas to be a reflection of myself as opposed to me
becoming a new person entirely. We all have a darkness in ourselves. I had
to dig for my Thomas in me, but once I found him I isolated him and
amplified him. How did you get
hooked up with the project in the first place, and how did you and your
brother James end up on the production side of things as well?
Jose
and I are good friends, and we were watching a film with Orson Welles
called Compulsion, from the 50's I believe. Right then, Jose had
remembered an idea he's had for some time now. He pointed out to me and
Graham Denman that he wanted to make a film like this. That had grabbed me
and I wanted to know more. The more we talked, the more I was pulled in.
By the end of the conversation I asked Jose, "How soon can you get a
script?" I think he was a little shocked and excited at the same
time. He quickly replied, "I'll start writing tonight!" Before I
knew it, my brother and I were producing Divine Tragedies that would start
shooting 4 or 5 months later. What
can you tell us about your director Jose Prendes [Jose
Prendes interview - click here], and what was your
collaboration like? You can tell he's a writer because he's
very protective of the script and his characters. He'll be honest with
someone if they aren't their character. He definitely elevates the
material with almost a certain magical quality about him. Our
collaboration was painless, haha. Being friends helped. They say never go
into business with your friends, but I'm glad we did on this film. As the movie's producer as well as
lead, and with some directing experience under your belt, how hands-on or
hands-off have you been during the shoot when it came to creative
decisions? I wanted to be in complete actor-mode when I was
on-set. So my brother, James, was there to take care of anything
producer-wise. I was 100% hands-on in pre-production, but very rarely did
I dip my hands into the creative bowl if it didn't pertain to my character
while shooting.
Joshua Lou Friedman, Jon and James Kondelik,
Jose Prendes, Peter Paul Basler |
What can you tell us about the shoot as such,
and the on-set atmosphere? This was one of the easier
shoots I've been on. The atmosphere was fun and very relaxed. Any future projects beyond The Divine Tragedies
you'd like to share? At this moment,
my brother and I are developing a few more features we'd write and direct
potentially this year. Can't say what yet. What got you
into acting in the first place, and what can you tell us about your
training on the subject? I'm a theatre geek and I got into
acting when I was in high school. So it was my drama teacher's fault--Mrs.
Johnson. Everyone learns differently and I'm one of those who are
different. I learn by doing not going to school. I've never gone to acting
class. Being on set is my class. One thing I've been taught and still have
it echoing in my head is, "Don't just act your role--own it!"
What can you tell us about your
filmwork prior to The Divine Tragedies?
I've
primarily worked with my twin brother, James. We've written the feature
screenplay A House is not a Home, which helped land us the Airplane vs.
Volcano writing gig and then directing it as well. My brother comes from
an editing background and myself casting. We've worked on nearly 20
features each. How would
you describe yourself as an actor, and some of your techniques to bring
your characters to life? I try to find parallels with my
life and Thomas' emotionally that helps ground the scene for me and to
just live the scene moment to moment. Actors (or indeed actresses)
who inspire you?
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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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Gary Oldman, Christian Bale, Leo DiCaprio,
and Jack Nicholson. Your/your movie's website, Facebook,
whatever else?
The
Kondelik Brothers website
http://www.thekondelikbrothers.com/
The Kondelik
Brothers Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheKondelikBrothers
The Kondelik
Brothers Twitter https://twitter.com/thekondelikbros
The Divine Tragedies
Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/divinetragediesmovie
Anything else you are dying to mention
and I have merely forgotten to ask? LIKE The Divine Tragedies
page to be up-to-date on all things happening with the film! Thanks for the
interview!
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