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Your new movie Uncommon
Bond - in a few words, what is it about?
It's
about a couple, Jinelle and Drax, trying to overcome the loss of their son
years ago. Jinelle has a harder time with the grief, but has a vlog where
she shares her experience with others, which seems to help her. But closer
to her son's anniversary, she seems even more different. Her husband films
her without her knowing to try to see what's really going on. Uncommon
Bond is a movie about loss, guilt and coping - so is any of this
based on personal experience or the like?
No,
it's not based on anything personal, or at least, not at this extreme.
Loss is difficult, no matter what. It's just an idea I had one day, and
thought it would be nice to have a drama mixed with supernatural elements
to explore even more aspects with the characters. (Other)
sources of inspiration when writing Uncommon
Bond?
Not
really. I tend to write drama scripts, but always with something from
another genre in the mix, such as horror, or thriller. It's what I like to
write, but also what I like to see. The drama makes the characters more
interesting, human, and with the horror or thriller aspect, it gives many
more interesting layers to the characters, cause they are challenged.
What can you tell us about your movie's
approach to horror?
With Uncommon
Bond, I thought it would be interesting to add something
supernatural in the mix. The movie really starts as a drama, where you
understand where the characters come from, and what's been going on for
years, what they've been through. But throwing a horror flavor to it
changes the movie's route, and you then ask yourself many more questions.
What if? Is Jinelle really losing it, or is she actually very sane? That's
the horror twist in this. You never know for sure, but all possibilities
are very much alive. You chose the "found
footage" approach for Uncommon
Bond - so why is that, and what are the advantages and also
challenges filming that way?
Found
footage is definitely different. With movies, you create a mood with the
images you choose to film, the angles you pick, the music you support them
with. You craft a story with the way you imagine it. Found
footage, you don't have all those different angles, you don't have the
music to create the mood. You only can rely on the actor's work, and the
story itself. Plus, found footage needs to look real. Otherwise, it just
doesn't work. Even writing a script for found footage is much different. I
usually write my scripts a certain way, and develop my characters with the
dialogue, but you can't really write dialogue for found footage. It needs
to come naturally, and not come off as fake. So I really wrote the scenes
detailing what needs to happen, but left the door totally open for improv.
It's giving the movie is own life.
What can you tell us about
your cast, and why exactly these people?
The
story was strong in emotions, but can only work with strong actors. Also,
I needed people comfortable with improv. In this particular project, I
know very well the actors and I knew this could work with all three of
them. Donna Hamblin [Donna
Hamblin interview - click here] is my best friend in life, and I know her acting very
well. She is really dedicated into acting, and creating her characters.
She analyzes every character she plays, but also analyzes the situation
they are dealing with. She is also very good in adding subtle details in
her expressions, which build the characters even more. For this rôle of
Jinelle, I knew she would have to do many intense dramatic scenes, and
Donna is very good with strong emotions. You know what she feels. And
also, to have a multi-layered character, cause there's much more to
Jinelle than what you see. Donna was bringing a side to the story at
first, and then you add Mark Gordon as her husband Drax, and then you have
a total different side to the story. Mark and I have known each others for
a few years now, and worked on few projects, and he is always prepared and
invested. And is very natural, which you need for something as dramatic.
And he managed to add with his performance a different vision of what is
really going on. Mark and Donna also have known each others for a long
time, and they work very well together. They have a chemistry, which is
really important in something like this. They really seem to belong
together in the film, and they both added to each other's performances.
And with having Laura Giglio [Laura
Giglio interview - click here] as Jinelle's best friend Cindy, you get a
different side to Jinelle. Jinelle is acting a certain way on her vlogs,
but is different with her husband, but she is also acting differently with
her friend. She shares different things, and Laura's scenes brought more
emotions and backstory from Donna's performance. I have known Laura for
almost two decades now, and she loves acting, but also is very good with
improv. She got Donna's character to open up and be raw. A few words
about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
It
went very well and we all had fun doing it. We managed to create more
scenes than expected, which is a very good thing, and we just went with
the flow. We all know each other, so it was a good time, and everybody
just did a great job. The
$64-question of course, where can Uncommon
Bond be seen?
It
will be released very soon on DVD. I don't have a link right now, but it's
coming soon. (Will keep you posted!)
Anything you can tell us about
audience and critical reception of Uncommon
Bond?
Well,
so far so good. What I wanted to create seems to be what people got from
the movie. It seemed to have brought the right emotions, and also
intrigued people enough to see where it's going. I know slowburn found
footage drama won't be for everyone, but I am happy with what we came up
with. Any future projects you'd like to share?
Well,
I directed a few shorts for anthologies that will be released in the
future. As far as what's next for me as a director, I don't know at this
very moment. I am still trying to figure it out.
Several
scripts I've done have been made into films by Jeff Schneider that are
still in post-production. One is completed and will be released this
summer. It's called Evil Under the Skin, starring Helene Udy [Helene
Udy interview - click here], Donna Hamblin [Donna
Hamblin interview - click here], Tim O'Hearn [Tim
O'Hearn interview - click here], Carl Bailey and Pamela Sutch.
As
far as an actor, I have played in 3 movies last year. First one was a
segment for an anthology called Philia. The segment I am in was directed
by Maude Michaud [Maude Michaud
interview - click here]. It's completed, but I am not sure when it will be
released yet.
Next
one was Alien Wars: Judgement Day, directed by Jeff Schneider. I had a
great time working on this, and it was my first time playing in sci-fi
movie. Facebook page for it:
https://www.facebook.com/ALIEN-WARS-judgement-DAY-580135619150828/
Last
one I did was Blood Rites of the Vampyr, a black and white moody horror
film, directed by Sebastien Godin [Sebastien
Godin interview - click here], who is always fun to work with, and he
was surrounded by a super group of people. This one is coming up soon. Facebook
page for it:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/bloodritesofthevampyr/
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Your/your
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IMDb:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1778060/
... and the film's available on DVD from
http://www.skullfaceastronaut.com/uncommonbond.html
Anything else
you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
Thank
you so much for asking to do this interview, and thanks for watching! Thanks
for the interview!
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