You are currently producing the movie Cold Dark Mirror
- in a few words, what is it about?
Cold Dark Mirror
tells
the story of a young witch hunter named Lydia (voiced by Sandra daCosta [Sandra
DaCosta interview - click here])
who stumbles upon the dark secret of the unseen world, a shadow world of
dreams and nightmares. Together with her cat Familiar Callista (voiced by
Caleigh Le Grand), she must face off against the Shadow Council, and avenge
the death of her mentor. This currently is a stand-alone project with no
relation to Archon Defender or
Origin: A Call to Minds,
which are the first two films in a series of animated features that we
have made. Now how did that
project come together in the first place, and what sparked you to come on
board as producer? David T. Krupicz [David
T. Krupicz interview - click here] and I discussed the possibility of collaborating on another
animated feature film following completion on
Origin: A Call to Minds. We had
such a
great working relationship on Archon Defender
and then again on
Origin: A Call to Minds
that we felt it was only necessary that we work
together again on a far more ambitious project. The great thing about
David is that he continues to develop as a filmmaker as well as an
animator, and his work on Cold Dark Mirror
will be completely mind-blowing. At first we discussed the possibility of taking a break from
features and working together on something quick like a short film, as he
was learning a new animating program. One day we were talking and he said
he started writing the script for the short, but that he couldn’t stop
writing. Before you know it, he presented me with the idea of doing a new
feature and had a script for me within a few weeks. So Cold Dark Mirror
was born as a short but developed into a feature film.
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To what extent can you relate to the
story and theme of the movie? Well,
I love the story of Cold Dark Mirror, and I think it’s probably
much darker than Archon Defender
and Origin: A Call to Minds. At the same time there
is also a lot of heart and emotion in the characters and the situations
with which they are presented. I also think this one is very different
from the previous ones because it delves into a genre that we haven’t
seen yet in these films, and it’s going towards horror. You’ve got
witches, cats, shadow worlds, a darker tone, it’s like a nightmarish
version of Archon Defender. Whereas
Archon Defender was action and
Origin: A Call to Minds
was sci-fi, Cold Dark Mirror
is horror-ish. But that’s my
opinion on it. As far as I know, Cold Dark Mirror
is still in its early stages of production - so what can
you tell us about the status quo, and about the production schedule? Right
now there’s not much we can report about the production schedule except
that David [David T. Krupicz
interview - click here] is a one-man army when it comes to animating and he pretty much
works on his own schedule. I can tell you that the man is an absolute
madman when it comes to animating, like a freight train without a break or
conductor. Have you ever seen that train movie Unstoppable with
Denzel Washington? Yeah, that’s David Krupicz! Seriously though, we’re
in very early stages of production, so all I can report about on the
production schedule is that it basically moves along as quickly as David
wants it to. It took like three years for him to do Archon Defender
and
about a year and half to do Origin: A Call to Minds, so I would assume with the
advancements in technology that he should have it done within the same
schedule as Origin: A Call to Minds. Anything
you can reveal about the film's voice cast yet?
Sandra da Costa and Caleigh Le Grand in the
sound studio photo by Bruce Walker |
Absolutely.
We have our cast locked in and we recorded them last week. Sandra da Costa
(from The Devil Walks Among You, [Sandra
DaCosta interview - click here]) and Caleigh Le Grand are the leads,
and they are absolutely joys to work with. I’ve got a small supporting
role as Caleigh’s love interest Clovis, so that marks my third time
voicing an animated character(s) following Archon Defender
and Origin: A Call to Minds. Rounding
out the cast is Astrida Auza and Daniel Wyse (both also in Archon Defender), Neil Green (from
Black Eve), Paul Nicholls (from
The
Prospector’s Curse), Laura Collu (from Severance),
Christopher Lee Grant (from Dead Genesis) and last but certainly
not least Ryan Barrett (from Neverlost). So as you can see we’ve
got some truly talented cast members for our film, all top Canadian talent
and some with whom I’ve worked with before. With
David T. Krupicz [David T. Krupicz
interview - click here] pretty much being a one-man factory when it comes to
animation - what's your job as a producer during the animation phase, and
how actively involved are you into the animation process? I
am not involved in the animation process at all. I know and understand
that animation is David’s bag and I never try to impose on that. I
respect him as a filmmaker and especially so as an animator so I would
never try to dictate what he does or is doing. I obviously oversee his
progress through screenings or screeners of the film and stills, but I’m
never sitting there with him in his studio animating. I’d personally go
crazy. But David, bless him for doing what he does. As a producer, my role
is pretty much the role of paperwork boy. A lot of the actors whom were
chosen for the parts had a lot to do with me and my desires to either work
with them for the first time OR work with them again. So I had a lot to do
with the casting. I also deal with actor and crew contracts, studio
contracts, marketing, and eventually deal with selling our blood, sweat
and tears when it’s completed. It’s not an easy job, but is sure is
fun. Related
to that, what can you tell us about your collaboration with David T.
Krupicz, both on this project and in general?
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David
and I have a great working relationship. I think one of the greatest
things about our collaborations is that we respect each other and our
decisions and we never try to impose on each other’s roles. We offer
critical feedback and/or opinions, but we’re never overbearing and pushy
when it comes to making decisions. Filmmaking is a collaborative effort,
so in collaborating with David we make these films the same way each time
because we maintain our respective roles. I would never try to animate,
and I don’t think David would ever be interested in producing because
both are so completely different and out of our comfort zone. One of the
greatest parts of working with David is he is very understanding when it
comes to schedules, budgetary restraints and setbacks. With each film we
do, we consistently run into those obstacles and while they grow with each
film we do because they themselves are bigger in scale, we remain
optimistic and respect what we each do to bring our film to the stage of
completion. In the end, we collaborate, and that’s what makes us a
strong force. Any idea
when the film might be released onto the general public yet? Not
for quite some time. Just last week I was in the studio recording my lines
as Clovis along with the other actors, so we’ve only just done that.
David is currently working on storyboarding and has said animation will
begin shortly. I would say late 2014, but depending on how production
moves along there’s a possibility that it might get pushed back to 2015.
I think the goal is next year, but of course it’s way too early to
solidify that.
Any
future projects beyond Cold Dark Mirror? Well,
David and I are discussing doing a third chapter in the Archon Defender
trilogy entitled The Secret of Sound. We shelved that film so that
we could work on Cold Dark Mirror, but at the same time it’s very
easy to convert Cold Dark Mirror
into a part of the series, so we’re toying
with the idea of making Cold Dark Mirror
stand-alone or a connected film to
Archon Defender. Either way, I’m sure you’ll be seeing more from us in
the next little bit.
My
Stephen King adaptation Suffer the Little Children is in active
pre-production. We are seeking funding for the film but we’re hoping to
have it rolling this year at some point. We have a solid cast lined up as
well as a great crew. The script is amazing and it’s got plenty of
chills and thrills, I promise you that. The only thing that needs to come
together is funding and I’m hoping that with a few connections I have
made that it’ll happen in 2013.
Aside
from those films, I am looking at a few short scripts to develop. I’d
like to shoot something soon that’s live-action because I feel I’ve
been missing out since The Devil Walks Among You, my last ‘live
action’ film.
Your/your
movie's website, Facebook, whatever else?
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The links below will take you just there!!!
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www.morganmuscat.com
is the best source for info about me and my company, Moonlit Road
Entertainment. You can also search me up at IMDb at
(http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2911850/).
I’m on Facebook and I’m on Twitter now, which is quite shocking
because I never thought I’d cave in and get it. As well as you can visit
http://archondefender.blogspot.ca/
for info about the production of Cold Dark Mirror. Anything else
you are dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? Yes.
Some people have commented on why I’ve taken a two-year break from
writing and producing so I felt compelled to address those questions. The
truth is that my wife and I recently welcomed our son Brayden into the
world, so for the past few years I’ve been focused on my family. I got
married in 2011 and we had Brayden in 2012 so it’s been a very busy past
couple of years for me on a personal level. They fuel my desire to work so
now I’m plotting my return to filmmaking, starting with Cold Dark Mirror
and the batch of films I mentioned above. Thanks
for the interview! It
is a pleasure as always, Michael.
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