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Your new movie The
Purpose of Apples - in a few words, what is it about?
The
main two themes are loneliness
and
hope.
It's
the story of Caden, who has given up on
love
after finding his girlfriend cheat on him. He sits on a bus stop
frustrated and unsure of
where
to go when Ethel arrives. Recently widowed, the two sit on the bus stop.
When Ethel
offers
Caden an apple to eat they find that even though they are two different
people, they have
something
in common.
The
stupid question I just have to ask: Do you eat your apple a day? And what
do apples mean to you, personally?
That
is actually a good question. I don't eat an apple every day. I suppose I
should though.
There
is no specific significance with the apple either. I do have a hint of
religious and spiritual
undertones
in almost all of my writing. That is because I believe that people are
governed by
their
faith and beliefs. When I started writing I was more trying to figure out
a vice to use to
make
Ethel talk to Caden. An apple seemed simple... but as I started exploring
the characters
and
the story more I realized the apple meant more to Ethel. It was no longer
simple.
What were your inspirations when writing The
Purpose of Apples - and was any of it based on personal
experience?
There
were no particular inspirations. I just wanted to make it simple to shoot.
So one basic
location
seemed the best idea. And I suppose there is a piece of me in everything
that I write -
that
is part of the process of writing; the process of being an artist.
You are generally much more known for your
work in horror - so what prompted you to pick up drama with The
Purpose of Apples?
Next
to horror, drama is my favorite genre. I always feel there is a bit of
drama in horror and a
bit
of horror in drama. But more than that, I love good stories and I love
putting good characters
into
situations and seeing how it will play out. Do talk about your
directorial approach to your story at hand for a bit?
Well
I am big on collaboration. So I let the actors talk and feel out their
character for a bit. It's
amazing
how the actor can get into the head of the character and make them come to
life. I see
if
all the time when I am on set as a script supervisor. I also like when my
cinematographer
presents
ideas. Each department has something to bring to the table and I love to
hear those
ideas
and then see what helps the story. My editor and sound designers and
composers are
always
so amazing in post production as well.
On
set, I just try to guide the actor through the scene. It's up to them to
deliver the performance
but
I feel it's my job to get them there. It's very symbiotic. Your
movie was almost entirely filmed at a bus stop (or what appears to be one)
- so what were the advantages and also the challenges filming there?
Well
filming at one location is easy for budgetary means. But the challenge is
to make it
interesting
and not boring. Two people sitting and talking can be tedious. I kept
Caden moving
because
he was frustrated and wanted to be left alone... but at the same time felt
alone and
wanted
someone to talk to. When we did the flashbacks we tried to keep them
moving to be a
counter-balance
to the main story.
What
can you tell us about your cast, and why exactly these people?
Because
these actors were phenomenal. In truth I cast Andrew J McGuinness as Caden a few years
ago when
I
tried to shoot The
Purpose of Apples the
first time. When my producer Cuyle Carvin (who also helped
me
produce Ax) [Cuyle
Carvin interview - click here] told
me he wanted to help with this film I was finally ready to direct it. But
we
decided
to start over to be fair to the project. That meant... Andrew would have
to re-audition.
He
was very professional about that. And he came back and did an even better
audition than he did
the first time. He really fought for this role. Both Cuyle and I were
impressed with his
vulnerability,
which I felt was important for Caden.
As
for Starr Gilliard, she was great during the audition. She was very motherly and
tender, which I think
was
from years of being a teacher before becoming an actress. She understood
the character.
In
fact, she wore the exact same outfit during filming that she wore in the
audition.
I
used Todd James Jackson as the flower guy. He was in Ax
and
the first actor I have directed.
He
is in all of my movies. In fact, the name tag he wears is his character
name from Ax.
For
Ethel's flashback I found 2 sweet natured actresses when I auditioned
Calida Jones and Kira Powell.
Calida
was great as Young Ethel... and Kira had enough attitude to pull of her
best friend Golda.
As
for Young Herb and Chauncey? Cuyle knew Jonte LeGras and asked him to do it. A
friend suggested
Granison Crawford to play Herb. I knew Granison as a comedic actor. I gave it a chance. He
and Jonte
met
and you would have thought they had been best friends for years.... and
Granison was so
damn
endearing as Herb.
As
for Alyse and Tabitha....Monia Ayachi and Heather Berg were friends of ours. I am
grateful to both of them for
putting together my taboo lesbian scene. Seriously, two wonderful
actresses and just two
people
in general I adore.
Do
talk about the shoot as such for a bit, and the on-set atmosphere?
Well
I know I talked a lot about this already in previous answers. I do want to
say this. I have so much
fun on set... and I am adamant about being surrounded by both actors and
crew that feel the
same. Filmmaking can be hard sometimes. Long hours. Sometimes you have to
deal with the
elements, which can make it rather difficult. My cinematrographer Brandon
and I always walk
on set with an idea of what we want to shoot. It is only fair to the crew
and the actors that I give
the prep time needed on my end to make sure we make our days and have a
movie that everyone
can be proud of.
Let
me put it this way, I want to make movies that my mother would watch and
enjoy. Ok, well not always... she isn't a fan of horror. But I think you know what I mean.
Because I have such a
joy
of making movies that usually creates a fun atmosphere on set.
What
can you tell us about critical and audience reception of The
Purpose of Apples so far - and where can the movie be seen,
actually?
I
am excited to share that the reception of this film has been extremely
positive. We contacted
an
indie artist by the name of Gareth Asher to ask if we could use the song
"Break" in the
opening
sequence. We sent him the final edit of the film and he approved of the
movie. It's
those
simple moments that prove to me we did something good.
At this time we are submitting to festivals. Just like any film it has to
run
its course. Once that is done
it will be available for viewing on our YouTube channel and our Vimeo site
as well as on our website.
Any future project you'd like to share?
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Well
I have two features that are in pre-production. A horror film written by
Kerry Fleming and
Victor Miller (writer, Friday
the 13th) called
Rock
Paper Dead and
a Latino drama I wrote and
will
direct called You
Can Call Me Eve. Your/your
movie's website, Facebook, whatever else?
All
information about me or my films is available on most social media sites.
www.bearclawfilms.com
Twitter: @_bearclawfilms_
Instagram: @bearclawfilms
Pinterest: @BearClawfilms Anything else
you are dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
Well
I do host a networking event for filmmakers and actors called the East
Side Indie Filmmakers Group. We meet once a month here in Los Angeles. We always have amazing talent
come through. But we are also on Facebook and have a website. I would love
to start chapters all over the country to help other filmmakers meet and create their own
projects. Thanks
for the interview!
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