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Your upcoming movie The Haunting of the Lady-Jane - in a few
words, what is it about?
Folklore,
the supernatural and haunted minds.
The
British waterways are plagued by folklore, myths and legends of Ràn, a
water spirit who feeds on the souls of the sinners. The Haunting of the Lady-Jane
follows the story of Lily as she hides from a life shattering
experience and has now become a successful writer on female empowerment.
For her new book she is researching the life of Zara, a British born
second-generation Turkish woman. The two of them decide to travel along
the British canals where they meet Willard, a mysterious bargeman. The
three of them travel the scenic waterways when Willard’s mysterious
nature begins to fracture the journey as Ràn ebbs closer to catching
them.
With The Haunting of the Lady-Jane
being a ghost story, is that a favourite genre of yours, and some of your
genre favourites? And what do you think will make your movie stand out of
the crowd?
The
ghost story has always been a favourite of mine, there is something so
uniquely British about the ethereal ghost story mixed with the folklore of
ancient civilisations. The excitement for me comes from the supernatural
being a doorway into the broken minds of haunted people and using that to
create a space to explore these broken minds.
I have a huge list of favourites within this genre, but my all-time
favourites and inspirations have to be The Woman in Black (1989),
The Haunting, Symptoms,
Demons of the Mind to name a few, but then I am hugely
inspired by folklore horror which is my favourite of the horror genre.
Films and TV shows like The Wicker
Man, Blood on Satan’s
Claw, Robin Redbreast, Hammer House of Horror
and basically folklore horror from 1970s
British TV and film. My biggest influence came from literature sources,
namely M.R. James and Vern Lee and the TV adaptations Ghost Stories for
Christmas. The way they used the ghost story as a vehicle to explore
the human condition but also chill you to the bone has always been a big
influence on my own work.
The Haunting of the Lady-Jane
will be influenced by the classics, but with my
own style while also taking the audience on a dark journey with us. We
want to create an iconic ghostly spectre in Ràn, one that the audiences
will remember while making a film that tightens the tension to hopefully
create an unforgettable experience.
What can you tell us about your movie's roots
in mythology and folklore, how much research did you do on the subject,
and how much liberty will you grant yourself with your sources?
I
love reading, I have volumes of books on mythology and folklore. I do a
lot of research, and for The Haunting of the Lady-Jane
there was no
exception. I also feel that some artistic licence has to be adopted so as
to work within the structure of the story. The
film is rooted in folklore and mythology some of which I took inspiration
from and some of which I created for the purpose of the film. For me the
most important part of telling stories is creating characters that
audiences can relate to and want to follow and surround them in a world
that pulls them apart for us to watch.
(Other)
sources of inspiration when writing The Haunting of the Lady-Jane? I
take a huge amount of inspiration from arthouse cinema where character
portrayal is more the focus than action and entertainment, so there will be
some influence from this area of cinema. For me telling a full-on scary
ghost story where you’re constantly looking into the dark spaces is my
objective. Large
parts of The Haunting of the Lady-Jane
take place on a barge - so
what do you expect to be the challenges filming on water? Yes,
a cardinal sin filming on water. It will be challenging and it will be
painful but all films are. I think us filmmakers enjoy throwing ourselves
in deep wate,r so working on the water I am that one step closer. I like my
characters in isolation and I myself am claustrophobic, so the idea of
being trapped is my own fear so it’s a way to explore those themes of
isolation and confined spaces. Do
talk about your film's approach to horror, and what can you
tell us about The Haunting of the Lady-Jane's intended look and
feel? I
am a huge horror fan; the genre is such a massive entity that has grown so
much over the years. My own approach will surround my characters in fear
and dread and in the same way the audience. The film will have a unique
look and style influenced by art and art history where I drew inspiration
from Algernon Newton, whose paintings of the canals are so evocative. Other
visual influences are Frida Kahlo’s Little Dear and Les Krasner’s
Charred Landscape, whose work are inspirational to me.
Helene Udy |
Anything you can tell us about The Haunting of the Lady-Jane's
projected cast yet, and why exactly these people?
The
film is fully cast now and its one I am excited about. I have an
exceptional cast all chosen for their dedication to their craft and for
believing in the script.
We
are also lucky have an American icon playing Ràn, Helene Udy - My Bloody Valentine
(1981), Dr Quinn Medicine Woman, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine to name a few [Helene
Udy interview - click here]. We
discussed and chatted about film, she watched my previous films and loved
my style of making films and signed up to play the two roles in the film.
We are all very excited about the project.
You're
currently running a fundraiser for The Haunting of the Lady-Jane
-
so what can you tell us about your campaign? And once the
money's in place, what's the schedule? And any idea when the film might be
released, however tentatively? The
crowdfunder is so far going well, which is key to us getting this film
made covering the main shoot on the barge – a critical aspect of the
production. So we are looking to horror fans and lovers of indie film to
really get behind the project and help us make this film a reality. There
are some amazing perks on offer and a real chance
for people to get involved. Our Executive Producer perk is a great one as
it offers 1% in the net profits of the film which most films of this
budget don’t offer. We care about our potential audience and really want
people to join us and become part of the wider team. We plan to begin
filming early October 2021, with a projected finish line ready for sales by
October 2022. Our film's Kickstarter:
http://kck.st/2Nvs8xG
Any future projects
beyond The Haunting of the Lady-Jane? Yes,
there are quite a few films in development at the moment, so the future
looks good. My latest film Wastelands which is a dark arthouse
psycho drama is currently touring festivals ahead of its planned 2022
release, it's already picked up multiple awards, nominations and selections.
I also have two short films I am shooting later this year before The Haunting of the Lady-Jane
and have been lucky enough to be cast in two
awesome films by great film makers. Mask of the Devil by Ash Mountain
Films, a fantastic team of filmmakers. I will be playing a jaded
porn director. The film is set to be amazing, a slasher film which is a
genre I also really love. The other film by Ciao Handy Films, another great
talented filmmaker. The film is called Tales from the Great War, such a funny script and I get to play a soldier named Chalky, so really
looking forward to getting in the trenches for that one.
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Your/your
movie's website, social media, Kickstarter, whatever else?
The Haunting of the Lady-Jane
can be found at:
Crowdfunding campaign link:
http://kck.st/2Nvs8xG
https://twitter.com/HauntingFilm
https://www.facebook.com/TheHauntingOfTheLadyJane
https://www.instagram.com/thehauntingoftheladyjanefilm/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12857892/reference
http://www.kemikalfilms.net
Thanks
for the interview!
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amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
amazon.de
eThaiCD.com
