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Your new movie I am Monster
- in a few words, what is it about?
SHANNON:
At its core,
I am Monster
is about the cruelty and judgement
of human beings, and that tight rope we walk everyday between what is
accepted as "good" and "bad" behind every single one
of our actions. We can give so much love and acceptance, while at the
same time we can be absolute monsters. It's a magnificent dichotomy,
and it's magnified in Vivienne, a fetishist who is utilizing dead bodies
as a tool for true release.
LORI:
It’s about the monsters that we make of ourselves and of the
monsters we make of others, both consciously and subconsciously.
What were your initial inspirations when dreaming up I
am Monster, and what was your (co-)writing process like?
SHANNON:
Aspects of the story had surfaced in my mind for a few years. I knew I
wanted to make a film about a unapologetic female necrophiliac, and truly
get behind the psychology of it. I was approached by producer David
Anthony to make a short film as part of a sexually infused anthology, and
I knew this would be my chance. I wrote the script and actually had to
walk away for about 3 days when the material simply got too heavy. I had
to question everything about who I was and what the hell I was doing.
However, art isn't safe, and I wanted to tackle such a taboo subject and
have an audience connect with someone who commits acts we couldn't dream
of.
I
sent the first draft to Lori and she loved it. We worked together on
refining it and I asked her to come on board as a co-director.
LORI:
It’s one of those things where I didn’t know that I wanted to make it
until Shannon sent me the script, and now that I’ve made it, I can’t
imagine my life without this film. I’ve been wanting to work with
Shannon for a long time, pretty much since the moment we met. When she
sent me the script, I was blown away by it and was honoured when she asked
me to help her flesh the script out alongside her and co-direct the film.
I love how the story casts aside the bullshit and uncovers painful truths
about us as human beings, things we need to see if we’re to change.
How would you describe your directorial approach to your subject
at hand, and since necrophilia is a pretty gruesome subject matter, was
there any line you consciously refused to cross?
SHANNON:
I just dive in. There is no other way. The endless research we did was
pretty astronomical, and I know we could always do more. It's uncharted
territory; however, we wanted those who aren't necessarily into horror
films to get a kick out of this film. There's an underlying dark humour...
a vicious, snarky tone... a cold calculation with a giant release
of aggression and followed by an exposing of deep, heart-felt emotion.
That is what we focused on bringing to the table with
I
am Monster.
There
were several lines we refused to cross. This isn't a taboo film simply to
be a taboo film. This isn't for shock. There is no gratuitous T & A.
There is no hyper-sexualization. This is not detailing a stand-alone
sexually aggressive act followed by credits rolling (which has its merit,
in a different way). This is not a homogenized trendy goth-saturated story
where a scenester who's really into "the dark" has a rendezvous
with a corpse. This is no sappy love story. This isn't even necessarily
geared towards the idea of the textbook definition of what a horror film
is.
We
wanted to make something completely different that made people think afterwards.
We wanted Vivienne to be a complete individual, somewhat of an inspiration
because she doesn't give a flying fuck what anyone else thinks. There's
empowerment in that.
LORI:
We’ve seen a few other films that are about necrophilia in one form
or another and consciously worked to avoid as many cliches about the
subject matter as we could. We wanted to subvert people’s expectations
of the film and of us as filmmakers. Film, as a medium, can entertain as
well as make people think. Some will only see the shiny surface of this
story. Others will delve deeper into it and into themselves.
Shannon,
always assuming you're not a necrophiliac in your private life, what do
you even draw upon to bring a character such as Vivienne to life, and how
much of Shannon Lark is there in Vivienne?
SHANNON:
There is quite a bit of myself in all the characters I write and play, so
Vivienne is certainly an extension of myself in some regards (except I'm
not a necrophiliac). I'm specifically fascinated by the cruelty of
humankind, the pain we cause each other and ourselves on a macro level
through war, societal rules and pressures, trickling all the way down to a
micro scale such as what we do in our personal and work lives.
As
an actress, I don't really "draw" on anything. I feel it out.
Vivienne is just as human, if not more of a bold person than many people.
She shows unbridled, real, raw emotion, which just might be one of the
most therapeutic actions one can do.
Lori, with
Shannon being the main focus of I
am Monster and co-director too, how easy/difficult was it to
direct her, and how did you two share directorial duties?
SHANNON:
It was thrilling to work with Lori because we are both extremely
detail-oriented, so every minute detail was essential. From the set to
the costumes to the set design. The film had an extremely limited budget,
so we worked together in gathering resources and our producing team, cast,
and crew were just amazing. The post-production professionals we worked
with truly brought it to life with us in a way that would benefit the
story and the characters.
As
directors on a short film, we are exceptionally fortunate to have such
talented people involved, it really makes a difference and a filmmaker
should accept nothing less. What goes in will come right back out on the
screen.
LORI:
I love working with Shannon; she’s a dream to work and collaborate with.
She’s whip-smart and intensely talented and creative. On top of that,
I’m incredibly fortunate to have worked with this amazing group of
people, our cast and crew, that we rounded up to come with us on an
intense journey.
Shannon
and I separately did storyboards which, believe it or not, were more or
less mirror images of each other, and came together when I flew in for two
weeks of in-person preproduction, where we kept what worked and threw out
what didn’t. We each took responsibility for finding and procuring all
of the different elements needed to get the film made, from costumes to
crew to props and beyond. When it came time to shoot, we were a cohesive
unit. We both knew what we wanted for the film and how we needed to get
it, so there was no dillydallying about, no “Oh, I dunno, what do you
want to do?”... which we didn’t have time for anyway! And in post, we
worked together tirelessly with our amazing post crew to make sure that
the film was exactly what we envisioned as much as possible.
The
devil is in the details, as they say, and there was no detail during the
making of this film that we didn’t talk extensively about.
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Jeff Dylan Graham |
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Adam Cardon |
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Katie Fray |
Do
talk about the rest of your cast for a bit, and why exactly these people?
SHANNON:
I had been wanting to work with Jeff Dylan Graham for a while and knew he
would pull off the part of Paul, the morgue attendant, beautifully.
I
was introduced to Adam Cardon's work through filmmaker Mae Catt, who did a
wonderful series with him where he played a homosexual serial killer. Lori
and I both agreed that he would be perfect for the role of Jason. We
needed an actor who could match Vivienne's stamina and overpowering
presence, even while naked underneath a transparent sheet.
Katie
Fray answered the casting call placed by the casting director. We wanted
someone quite different from Vivienne, she needed a small frame and a hard
vulnerability to her. Katie really came through and did a wonderful job,
despite how freezing it was on set.
What
can you tell us about the film's sole location, and what were the
advantages and challenges of filming there?
SHANNON:
It was shot in east Los Angeles at the Linda Vista Hospital, which was
a former hospital (now converted to low income housing) that was utilized
for many commercials, TV shows, and films. The set was perfect, exactly
what we envisioned with a green hallway, a separate morgue, freezer doors,
flickering lights, gurneys, and trash everywhere. It was everything we
wished for visually. Due to budgetary restraints, we only had two
days to shoot, so we had to move fast. We did quite a bit of
pre-production work: rehearsals, storyboards, shot lists, etc, to get
completely prepared so there would be minimal mistakes.
LORI:
It was a challenge for me as I had not previously been to that
location before the first day of shooting; at the time, I lived in Florida
and couldn’t go location scouting with Shannon. Although she’d taken
quite a few excellent photos, nothing can truly prepare you for a location
better than actually being there. It’s a dingy, dirty abandoned hospital
on the outskirts of Los Angeles. It was cold and some of the fluorescent
lights didn’t work and the floor was uneven... and I loved every second
of it!
The
challenge was the limited amount of time we had on set. We booked it for
the weekend, but our time was limited: we had essentially 24 hours in
which to load in, get 70 set-ups, and load out again and we couldn’t
leave our equipment overnight. It was intense and amazing and
exhilarating!
Do talk
about the actual shoot for a bit, and the on-set atmosphere!
SHANNON:
This is a fun, hip film, so we wanted the actors to have fun with it.
We want the audience to have fun with it, so it was high energy on set. It
was a whirlwind.
LORI:
It really was a whirlwind. I was able to use the restroom twice during the
whole weekend and I think I ate maybe twice during the whole shoot!
The
$64-question of course, when and where will the film be released onto the
general public? SHANNON:
It's doing the festival circuit now and a digital version might be
available to the public in the future. Any future projects you'd like to share?
SHANNON:
In the past month, Lori and I just wrapped up on a treatment and I was
fortunate enough to work on Cory Udler's most recent film The
Girl Who Played with the Dead -
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3486826/
-, wherein I starred as Bianca.
At
some point in the near future, Maude Michaud's directorial debut "Dys-"
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3528222/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
- will be released to festivals. I starred as Eva, a woman in a
deteriorating relationship who is forced to barricade herself with her
husband in their apartment.
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LORI:
I’m always writing, it’s one of my favourite things to do overall.
Like Shannon said, we just finished a treatment for a feature film and I
have several feature scripts that I’m shopping around to sell outright,
and that I don’t mind not being attached to as a director, as well as
three features that I’m building funding proposal packages for that I am
very passionate about directing.
Your/your
movie's websites, Facebook, whatever else?
www.iammonstermovie.com
www.facebook.com/iammonstermovie
www.shannonlarkonline.com
www.facebook.com/shannonlark
www.kimyoofilms.com
www.facebook.com/kimyoo.films
Anything else
you are dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
SHANNON:
I would love to see more filmmakers (men and women) tackling taboo
subjects - really getting into the dark and exposing truths behind them.
Let's go down the rabbit hole together, shall we?
LORI:
I can only say “ditto” to what Shannon said.
Thanks
for the interview!
Thank you!!
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find I Am Monster at adultvideouniverse.com
