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Your
new movie Glass
Cabin - in a few words, what is it about?
To
me, paranoia, isolation and snow.
How did the project come together to begin with, and what drew you to its
story in the first place?
The
project is the brainchild of writer-director Can Türedi who found the
Glass
Cabin
when he was on location scout as a DP for another movie.
He’d been writing sketch films that were in the psychological thriller
genre, and this was his journey into digging deeper into the theme.
Glass
Cabin’s story
really spoke to me as a woman. Sometimes we just don’t feel safe.
Walking down the street, I feel so much more of a target, someone
catcalling can completely ruin my day and make me feel claustrophobic.
As a small woman if someone attacks me, I couldn’t fend them off. I
recognise the paranoia of Scarlett. Once I was house-sitting in a family
friend’s large apartment, and I got extremely paranoid after watching World War Z. I started thinking, what if the zombie apocalypse
happens, there’s no sustainable food on this 10th floor
apartment, I don’t know how to use a gun, what do I do?
Of
course, there’s something really beautiful in the ambiguity too, we
don’t know if David means Scarlett harm or is just stranded in the snow.
I find that very interesting.
With Glass
Cabin being a horror film, is that a genre at all dear to you, and
why (not)?
100%.
I don’t know why but I was always attracted to the macabre. No one
else in my family particularly likes horror but I always liked weird
stories. I suppose the first film to put me on that path was Tim
Burton’s Edward
Scissorhands. After watching that I developed into a
classic teen goth Wiccan princess (complete with Ouija Board seances and
Bloody Mary summoning in the mirror) watching Buffy,
Sabrina, Charmed,
Lost Boys and The Craft. That was my initial education. It took
me a bit longer to get into a more academic appreciation of horror
history and classic horror. I took a lot of gothic literature classes
during my English Lit degree and then an Exploitation Film Class during
my Film Theory MA at Kings College London and it totally blew me away.
I’ve been seeking out that type of cinema since and recently started
continuing my education with the Miskatonic Institute of Horror lectures
in LA.
© Zack Morrison |
Now
as a producer, I’m most interested in horror with a political message.
I think the new generation of horror fan call this elevated horror,
Jordan Peele’s Get Out is a good example with its underlying
comment on race. Horror movies have been political for a long time
though. The Hunger could be seen as a metaphor for the AIDS crisis
and Dawn of the Dead looked at American consumerism with its mall
setting.
What can you tell us about Glass
Cabin's writer/director Can Türedi, and what was your
collaboration like?
Can
Türedi and I had been wanting to collaborate on a smart project for a
long time. I first came across his work in screenwriting class where he
wrote a dreamy dystopian script. I
think our collaboration’s pretty organic, we’re both quite relaxed
people. Communication is key, if either of us has a difference of opinion we talk it out. It’s really lovely working with someone
who’s craft I deeply respect and consider a friend.
What were the challenges of bringing
Glass Cabin to the
screen from a producer's point of view?
I
hinted at it earlier but the main gift and challenge was the snow. We
hadn’t planned for it at all. There was a second location crew lodging
located nearby but due to the blizzard everyone got snowed in at set.
Luckily
a friend of the AD joined us who was a chef so everyone had food. He
used to work with Michelin star chefs so it was really good too.
The
$64-question of course, where can Glass
Cabin be seen?
Currently, the
film is just beginning its festival journey so it can be seen at
Screamfest on October 13th. Then hopefully it will play others and get
distribution. Stay tuned!
Anything you can tell us about
audience and critical reception of Glass
Cabin yet?
Audience
not yet as it hasn’t screened but we’ve been getting a ton of
excellent reviews. Including from you guys! Thank you <3
© Can Türedi |
Any future projects you'd like to
share?
Can
Türedi and I are working on our first feature! The Archer,
logline: A
Turkish immigrant couple’s belief is challenged when they unknowingly
start archery lessons with a cult leader.
We
shoot in December so getting all the production elements in place. It’s
all go and very exciting!
And I’m working with director Sebastian Sarinana on a project called Major
Arcana, logline:
3
grieving daughters discover the power of sisterhood when they reanimate
their mother from the dead. We just reached our $23k crowdfunding
goal, locked location and are casting and crewing up!
What got you into film production in the first
place, and did you receive any formal training on the subject?
I
think producing sort of finds you. I was a pre-teen cinephile, engulfing
all the moving image content I could and staying up late to watch award
show red carpets. One day, I turned around to my parents and said I want
to be a producer and they brushed this off. I then tried film directing
and realized I enjoyed organizing sets more than directing them. Then I
had a good many placements in film marketing (BBC America,
The Weinstein Company,
Film at Lincoln Center) and started a company producing immersive
theatre events (One of Us, Whitechapel) on the side and realized I wanted
to be a producer. Finally, I enrolled in Columbia’s MFA Producing
program. I do think that a producer could be doing a multitude of things,
it takes problem solving and innate entrepreneurship.
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© Can Türedi |
What
can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Glass
Cabin?
A
lot! I’ve done all sorts of different film-related things. I was going
through my master resume the other day and it was junior sales agent,
distribution intern, junior publicist, marketeer… At this point it may
just be best to quote my short bio: "A UK/German native, Maya has produced
in Beijing, New York, Mexico City and London. Prior to this, she
moonlighted in marketing (The Weinstein Company,
BBC and Film Society of
Lincoln Center) before landing in the female content space (Refinery 29
& Maven Pictures). Her most recent credits include Deathcember’s
A Christmas Miracle (2019) by Vivienne Vaughn and Tribeca Untold
Stories Grant winner Lucky
Grandma. She is a Columbia University Creative Producing MFA
Graduate & a finalist of the Marcie Bloom/Sony Fellowship."
How would you describe yourself as a
producer, and how hands-on or hands-off are you usually on your projects?
My
background is an English Literature BA, Film Theory MA and Filmmaking MFA,
which has given me an academic way of approaching projects and respect for
story over financial viability. I see myself as a creative partner,
developing the story with the director, however long it takes. I’m also
extremely hands on, I want to be involved with all the minutiae from
idea conception, to development (lots of note giving), to post, to
festival, to distribution. That’s the partnership! I usually UPM the
sets I put together so I’m around if something goes wrong and I’ll sit
in the edit room where possible. I asked my friend this question about me
as it’s kind of awkward and she said I’m “a go-getter
who doesn’t wait for opportunities but work in a fast, proactive way.”
So there you have it!
© Can Türedi
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Producers,
filmmakers, whoever else who inspire you?
Christine
Vachon, Floria Sigismondi, Andrea Arnold, Amy
Heckerling, Jane Campion, Siouxsie Sioux, David Bowie, Vivienne Westwood,
Jean-Paul Gaulthier, Shirley Manson, Courtney Love, Clive Barker, Maya
Deren, Kenneth Anger… These are a few of my favorite people!
Your favourite
movies?
I
always stumble at this question as depending on when you ask me my answer
changes! Argento’s Suspiria,
Veneno Para las Hadas, Eraserhead, Existenz, Holy
Mountain, Possession, The
Lure, Nightbreed,
Ghost World and many more!
... and of course, films you really deplore?
Hmm,
I’m sure there are lots but the first that comes to mind is La La
Land. There is a special circle of hell for that film (sorry Emma
Stone, you’re fab).
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Feeling lucky?
Want to
search
any of my partnershops yourself
for more, better results?
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The links below
will take you
just there!!!
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Your/your
movie's website, Facebook, whatever else?
For
the film we have: www.adafilm.co/glass-cabin#1
Buy
tickets to our premiere here:
screamfestla.com/2019/film/glass-cabin
I
have an under-construction website,
www.mhkproductions.com,
and
a fledgling
horror travel Instagram @wyldetravail
Anything else
you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
My
short Expiration and a short I produced, Nicole Allan’s AU,
are poised to get distribution on Dark Matter TV. Watch out for them! Thanks
for the interview!
No,
thank you!
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