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Your upcoming movie Isabelle - in a few words, what is it
about?
Isabelle is a romantic horror love story about a grieving husband who
will stop at nothing to be reunited with his love again. He becomes so
obsessed with Isabelle that he begins the downward spiral into madness...
What were your inspirations when writing Isabelle? I
was very inspired to make a modern black and white film after watching the
film Frankenweenie. The story also inspired me. The lengths
that the boy went to trying to resurrect his dog definitely
influenced my main character Leon's development. Also the love story
aspect and sheer creepiness of the character comes from my love of Edgar
Allen Poe's work. With
your film being among other things about undying love - your thoughts on
the topic? I personally don't think love dies, it just
transforms - for Leon, undying love becomes an obsession. Actually, he
becomes very obsessed his love for Isabelle but also with her corpse and
he has a morbid romance with her dead body... How would you describe your film's approach
to horror, and what can you tell us about the look and feel of Isabelle
as such?
Isabelle is my attempt at stepping a little bit
away from the horror genre in a way. Yes It's horror, but it's also
romantic and dramatic. I think it is a classy, elegant, cross-over
piece broadening the spectrum from horror to other genres... Do talk about your key cast for a bit, and why
exactly these people?
Bradley Brian
Custer plays Leon - he had the perfect look and personality to play this
odd character and he was brilliant! Mara Lee Gilbert plays Isabelle -
I had worked with her before on a project called Escape From
Kings
Park and I had a vision of her playing this part. She was amazing.
Other actors
include Anthony Saint Thomas, Bettina Skye, Susan Adriensen [Susan
Adriensen interview - click here] and Bradley
Creanzo.
What can you tell us about the
shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? The shoots were
all amazing! We had 5 days of shooting. My crew and actors were
phenomenal. Everyone kept a professional attitude and we all worked our
butts off to get things done. The shoots moved along smoothly and
efficiently thanks to my amazing AD Jeremiah Kipp [Jeremiah
Kipp interview - click here] as well as the hard
work of SOS Productions, Michael Zinn and Jeff and Meg Scott.
Marissa Valdes also co- produced the film and I couldn't have done it
without her expertise. The
$64-question of course, when and where will the movie be released onto the
general public? Isabelle will be screening September 12th
2014 9:30pm at Long Island's Blood and Babes Comic-Con. After that we will
be entering film festivals.
Any future projects you'd like to share? I
am working on an anthology of films by female film directors. Isabelle
was created to be released as part of this anthology called, Dawn of the
Femmes. Right now we need funding to produce the final short in the
series. What
got you into filmmaking in the first place, and did you receive any formal
training on the subject? I first got into filmmaking after
studying Communications, TV/Film and AVID Editing at St. John's
University. After that I produced my own public access TV show with my
sister, Fallen Fayth. The show was called The All New Brain Eaters
Show and it aired weekly on QPTV and BCAT for 8 years. It was a
comedy/variety show with musical guests and band interviews. What can you tell us about your
filmwork prior to Isabelle?
My first film is
called Jack 'O' Slasher (2013). It's a hilarious horror/comedy film,
about a pumpkin-headed demon from hell, who is killing people to trying to
resurrect the devil. It has worldwide distribution and can be found online
as well as in stores around NYC. After that I made a few short films. To
Love is to Die was nominated for best music in the Macabre Faire Film
Festival, and M is for Monotheist was produced for the
ABCs of Death-contest. I also co-directed a feature film with Samuel
Oswald Stone called Escape From Kings Park. When it comes
to filmmaking, you have pretty much done it all: Writing, directing,
producing, editing, acting, ... - so which are your favourites, what could
you do without? Directing and editing are my favorites, I
mostly do acting just for fun and I don't take myself as seriously when I
am acting.
Your films never seem to stray too far
from the horror genre - coincidence, or is horror a genre at all dear to
you, and why (not)? Horror is very dear to me but I am
trying not to get locked into just one genre. How would you describe yourself as a
director? l am hardworking and determined. I strive
to reach my goals and share my vision with the audience. I see my films as
a finished product before I start shooting them. I see my vision as
a whole. Filmmakers who inspire you? Sam
Raimi, Tim Burton, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez. Your
favourite movies?
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Jaws, Evil Dead, Beetlejuice,
Killer
Klowns from Outer Space. ... and of course, films you really
deplore? Remakes of perfectly good horror movies. Your/your movie's website, Facebook, whatever
else?
https://www.facebook.com/isabellethemovie
www.jennifervaldes.weebly.com
Thanks for the interview!
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amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
amazon.de
eThaiCD.com
find Jennifer Valdes at adultvideouniverse.com
