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Your new movie Reapers
- in a few word, what's it about?
In a world where people have discovered the afterlife is real, a select few
come back to earth after their death as superheros, called Descendents.
Death recognizes that these people must be held in check so he deems four
of them Reapers, and charges them with the responsibility of judging
these newly awakened Descendents and sending their souls to their
rightful places. One of the Reapers, Zion played by Justin Price, strikes
a deal with Death for the soul of his lost love and he gets embroiled
into a war for control of the afterlife. So do talk about the mythology both
Reapers
is based on, and what kind of research did you do on
that aspect of your movies? I like to
build worlds, and since IP usually lays the groundwork for that, Reapers
has to do a lot of heavy lifting in creating the lure around these
characters and this concept. It started with a concept about Reapers
and playing around with that idea. I had initially created a story around the
four reapers from different continents each representing that continent's
champion of sorts and having special powers related to that particular
region. Original plot synopsis: "Reapersis an action/sci-fi thriller
about four grim reapers based off of The Horsemen of the Apocalypse
appearing on Earth to restore the balance of good and evil. In order to
restore the balance, each Reaper is given an assignment to take souls
spread throughout the wretched city known as Arcane. Valkoinen, the
newest of the Reapers, fails to complete his task by falling in love with
Dylan, the very soul he was sent to take. This causes Dissension among
the other Reapers who use their other-wordly abilities to track Valkoinen
down and finish the job. Once the cycle is broken, Dylan must be
protected against ghouls, hellhounds, and Death himself who plans to rise
from the Nether Realm to wipe the slate clean if the balance isn’t
restored." (Other) sources of
inspiration when writing Reapers?
I draw a lot of inspiration from manga\anime and things that inspired me. I
believe that using that connection to things that also scare me brings
out my inspiration for anything I do. For example, Hard Matter was
written in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, and I just thought what
does the world look like now? Years from this day what will we remember
about the isolation, what are the things that have shaped this timeframe
and moment in our life. I focused in on writing about a dystopian world,
because it felt that way. It felt like the world had essentially stopped
and we were isolated to our own prisons, and it was legitimate fighting
for common resources such as tissue and water. So my approach was to be
authentic to those feelings and hopefully encapsulate them and find
avenues where we can learn from them through art. You
also play the lead in Reapers
- 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? My first love is to act, I love all aspects of
filmmaking but acting is always the main thing. I wanted to play Zion in Reapers
because it gave me an outlet to express and live in a world that
is unique and filled with demons and fallen angels and people with
telekinesis and super strength. Its a dream to play characters like this.
If Christopher Nolan, the Russo brothers or James Gunn didn't hire me for
DC
or Marvel, then I better get to creating worlds and characters that speak
to my creative soul. That's what Zion is and that's what he represented for
me. He is a man looking to bring balance to his world that has been
rocked at the death of his beloved. He makes questionable choices and
lets people die that he could have saved, all to satisfy his pact with
Death himself. Those nuances made it fun and very interesting to play.
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Reapers
was filmed not only in the US but also in Germany and Japan - so why is
that, and what are the advantages but also challenges of shooting a movie
all around the world? It was a dream come true. Germany is an amazing
country and Mockmuhl an amazing city, so grateful for the reception they
gave us. Japan was always a dream to film in, it was indescribable
really, we are literally on the other side of the world, filming in
Iceland, Japan, and Cambodia and I would oftentimes find myself looking
around and smiling. It was a life changing experience, because I was able
to do it with people special to me that I still work closely with today. Do talk about the rest of your cast, and why
exactly these people? Nora Dien is an amzing actress who plays Mercury in the film. She is
caught in the middle of Death's plot to overtake the afterlife. I met her
in Japan and we have cultivated a great relationship, I think she has
immense talent. Amin Joseph, just a phenomenal actor. He was doing Snowfall at the time of filming and connected with Dominion (Death) and
brought his unique abilities to breathe life into the character. Danny
Trejo needs no introduction but Danny is a legend, so anytime I can work
with him it's a great time. Matthew Simmons plays a ghoul lord and he is
out to protect the rights of ghouls in this new world. Overall the cast
was amazing, Caroline and Alex and Bambi, everyone really made building
this world a treat. My favorite actors were the Japanese actors who led
the Japanese corporation looking to acquire secrets from Mercury. Masami
and Obie and SUTAN --- the best.
Anything you can tell
us about audience and critical reception of Reapers? The reaction to
Reapers has been amazing,
it has left audiences wanting to know more, and since it's part 1, it has
to build a groundwork for the next two films. So my goal is to keep the
momentum going forward and flesh out these characters. When operating in
world building sometimes the different film pieces allow me as an artist
to build out the lore of a world, and then as I develop more and more,
audiences can grow alongside these characters. So that's the goal. Will
there ever be any more movies set in the Reapers-universe?
And/or any other future projects you'd like to share? I am looking at 2026 for
Reapers 2! Hard Matter is coming very soon and stars Franzi Schissler,
Tyrese Gibson, Harvey Keitel, and Frank Grillo. It is my official feature
film debut and working on something that cost millions of Dollars,
indescribable really. David Snyder, who worked on Blade Runner, said I
reminded him of Ridley Scott and I am so grateful to have worked with
people like him and Harvey and Tyrese and Frank and Franzi, just epic. Plot here: In a crime-plagued future, a power-hungry corporation has
issued deadly watches to criminals, forcing them to eliminate each other
for freedom, and only one of their own can topple the entire system from within.
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Your/your movie's website, social media, whatever else? Instagram: justinpricexx
Anything else you're dying to mention and I've merely forgotten to ask
Thank you so much for the interview! I look forward to
speaking to you about Hard Matter very soon, and my partners Latavius
Powell and Franzi Schissler and I have a lot in store for 2025 and beyond,
so stay tuned in. Instagram: franzischissler Thanks
for the interview!
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