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An Interview with Kazy Tauginas, Star of Terminal Legacy

by Mike Haberfelner

December 2011

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What can you tell us about your new movie Terminal Legacy and your character in it?

 

Terminal Legacy is a unique take on the sc-fi thriller, focusing on the events leading up to the apocalypse rather than after. My character, Jordan is really just a pawn in the entire scheme. He ends up being a victim of an illegal human experiment which inevitably leads to the end of the world as we know it. Jordan is just an ordinary man put in an extraordinary situation.

 

How did you prepare for your role in Terminal Legacy, and to what extent could you rely on personal experiences?

 

Playing Jordan was interesting for me because I was so involved with the character through the script phase of the production. Brian and I were together for every draft of Terminal Legacy, so I was very familiar with Jordan and his motivation.
When I act, I tend not to rely on method acting too much. I feel that if used too often it can ruin that memory or desensitize me. I like to see where the script leads me. I did rely on personal experience for one scene in the film though, when Jordan and Lindsay find out they were subject to human experimentation and the drug they were taking has had some profound effects on their bodies along with other patients. In that scene I just thought about one of my exgirlfriends and I was able to generate that feeling of hopelessness and terror relatively easily. Haha!

 

You do not only appear in front of the camera, you have also written the film's story together with director Brian Kazmarck [Brian Kazmarck interview - click here]. What were your initial inspirations, and what was your writing collaboration like?

 

Initially we had a Ten Little Indians-type story where one character gets killed, then another and another and everyone is pointing fingers at each other. But over time it developed into a larger story. We had to make some large changes when we found out our initial location had fallen through.
Brian and I work well together. I attribute that to us having similar tastes in film, not to mention we are friends. We really don't pull punches when working on a story. I'll say, "that dialogue doesn't make sense" or he'll say "that's a stupid idea" etc etc. Honesty is the best policy when it comes to writing, actually in life I think. That's really what made each draft improve over the previous one. We were always brutally honest with each other about what we thought.

 

Was your character in Terminal Legacy written with you in mind, and how easy or hard was it to let go of your vision working on a script by and being directed by Brian Kazmarck?

 

Jordan was written with me in mind. Both Brian and I worked on the script, we had a very similar vision of how the character acted and thought. Most of my scenes involved very little direction and when there was direction needed, it was small variations. I think we really saw eye to eye. Once I was "in character" I didn't take direction well because Jordan didn't take direction well. So I think during a few scenes it was difficult to take direction overall because I was so engrossed in what I was doing, I couldn't just turn the character off to hear what Brian was saying. So on occasion, I may have been a little "snappy".

 

You have worked with Brian Kazmarck before Terminal Legacy. What can you tell us about your previous collaborations, and how did you two initially meet?

 

Brian was actually my Teacher's assistant at the New York Film Academy when we met. We quickly hit it off and somewhere mid-second semester, he asked me to audition for his short film Dandi Lyon. I ended up being cast for a small supporting role as the main character's husband. After that shoot, Brian and I collaborated on a screenplay which I had initially wrote entitled Knock the Hustle. It was my first feature script and needed a lot of work. That became the first time we actually collaborated on a script.

 

You are also credited with being the fight choreographer of Terminal Legacy. What can you tell us about that aspect of the movie, and also about your previous experiences in fight choreography?

 

Well all the fight sequences in Terminal Legacy are brutal. They also get progressively better and more intricate as the story progresses. Brian and I both had action in mind with this film so the fights are key in making the story work. The climactic fight scene is between the head of security (Sean) played by Michael Simmons and Jordan. Michael Simmons and I have fought each other on screen more than once so working with him again was great. Prior to Terminal Legacy, I had done fight choreography for a couple of music videos and my own short film Salvation Road. The climactic fight scene in Salvation Road pits Simmons and I against each other. That fight was very different than the climactic fight in Terminal Legacy. For Salvation Road two professional killers duke it out making for a crisper fight. There aren't a lot of punches landed, way more blocks. The fight in Terminal Legacy is much grittier. The dynamic is very different. Jordan is a mechanic fighting and ex-professional soldier. Basically it just involves Jordan getting his ass kicked. Very lopsided. I won't tell you how it ends up, you'll just have to see the movie.

 

The $64-question of course: When and where will the movie be released, tentatively?

 

We are shooting for a release in the late spring of 2012. But that of course is subject to change.

 

Let's go back to the beginnings of your career: What got you into acting in the first place, and did you receive any formal education on the subject?

 

Haha. My story is long and complicated. In summary, I graduated from the University of Delaware in 2004 and shortly thereafter I bought a local eatery called the Korner Diner. I did well there, but when the time came to renew my lease, my landlord wasn't straight with me and I ended up having to walk away from the business. As soon as I realized that my landlord's plans included knocking down half the building and cutting seating and parking space by twenty percent and increasing my rent, I was forced to make a life decision. Film had always been a passion of mine and I always felt I wanted to get involved, I just didn't know how. I just happened to be in NYC that summer before we closed and I saw a sign for NYFA. I went to their website and found out there was going to be an open house and I decided to go. After the open house I realized not only that I wanted to be in film, but I wanted to be an actor. So I took out a ridiculous student loan at 10% interest and enrolled for their one-year conservatory acting program in Jan 2009. It was one of the best decisions I made in my entire life. My calling is truly to acting which I have accepted and I'm here to stay.

 

What can you tell us about your earliest experiences in front of a movie camera?

 

My first experience on camera was playing an angry guy in a commercial for Heinz. I think it was back in 2007. Two of the customers (Albert and Own Kelly) at the diner wanted to enter the Heinz Commercial Contest that year so they asked if they could use the diner to shoot. Of course I said yes. The shot three commercials in total. I ended up being cast because one of the actors didn't show up. Here's a link to that, its actually pretty funny: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16efNf0-pFw&
list=LLpjMz8VxHZa21hFnWiIzqfw&index=35&feature=plpp_video
.

 

Before Terminal Legacy, you have acted in quite a number of movies, mostly shorts. Why don't you talk about those for a bit?

 

I've done a crazy amount of short films. When I was in NYFA I did about 60 student films. By doing so much work while I was in school, I was able to apply things I was learning in class almost immediately. It killed my social life, but I don't regret one short that I worked one. It also really helped me once I was in the real world. I ended up getting cast in Gary King's What's Up Lovely. I was cast in an Aventura music video, El Malo, which I did the fight choreography along with playing a skinhead. It was also the first opportunity for Michael Simmons and I to "fight" each other. I feel like the Aventura video was really a turning point. That was when career engine really started to rev.

 

What can you tell us about your short Salvation Road, which you have also directed? And what made you decide to try your hands on directing?

 

Salvation Road, the story of a hitman with a last minute crisis of conscience. It was my first attempt at running a production and I'll tell you, I am damn proud of it. I think it turned out pretty damn well considering I had to put the whole movie on my credit card. I honestly decided to do it because I really enjoy the physicality of acting and I always felt being a former golden gloves boxer that I could handle action roles. So I wrote a part for myself and Michael Simmons. I really wanted him and I to have a meaty fight scene. Salvation Road was another writing collaboration with Brian. I had a much grander vision of what I wanted to shoot and he helped me hone it down and create the story that we shot. I decided to direct it because I just wanted to take my career into my own hands. I hadn't really been cast in anything the way I wanted to be cast. I directed it because I felt like I could do it. It wasn't complicated, I just thought "Why the hell not?" This is the link to our official trailer... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgUGNkmuKrg

You can download the whole short at www.salvationroadthemovie.com.

 

Is directing something you have grown fond of/would you want to ever direct another film?

 

I loved directing. I would love to direct again.

 

Any future projects you'd like to talk about?

 

I don't have anything specific in mind other than another film I've written entitled Cursed Land. Think of it as From Dusk til Dawn meets The Blair Witch.

 

In general, how do you approach a character you are given to play?

 

My approach to playing a character is pretty simple. I read the script. Most of the time, all the information about the character is given to you. So I make choices according to what my interpretation of what the writer wants.

 

Movie roles you'd just love to play, no matter how improbable?

 

James Bond or Indiana Jones.

 

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Actors (or indeed actresses) who inspire you?

 

Daniel Day Lewis. Nuff' said.

 

Your favourite movies?

 

Snatch.

 

... and of course, films you really deplore?

 

I'm not a big fan of big budget animated 3D movies or romantic comedies. I respect their place in the world, just am not a fan.

 

Your website, Facebook, whatever else?

 

My website is www.kazytauginas.com which is currently under construction, but should be up and running in time for the new year. You can follow me on Twitter at kazytauginas. I'm the only one. Or look me up on Facebook, Kazy Tauginas. I'm the only one. I like being unique.

 

Anything else you are dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?

 

I've seen the rough cut and I'll tell you, our movie looks like a million dollars. I think people are in for a treat.

 

Thanks for the interview!

 

Thank you sir! It was a pleasure.

 

© by Mike Haberfelner


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Thanks for watching !!!



 

 

In times of uncertainty of a possible zombie outbreak, a woman has to decide between two men - only one of them's one of the undead.

 

There's No Such Thing as Zombies
starring
Luana Ribeira, Rudy Barrow and Rami Hilmi
special appearances by
Debra Lamb and Lynn Lowry

 

directed by
Eddie Bammeke

written by
Michael Haberfelner

produced by
Michael Haberfelner, Luana Ribeira and Eddie Bammeke

 

now streaming at

Amazon

Amazon UK

Vimeo

 

 

 

Robots and rats,
demons and potholes,
cuddly toys and
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love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

is all of that.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to
-
a collection of short stories and mini-plays
ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic
to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle, all thought up by
the twisted mind of
screenwriter and film reviewer
Michael Haberfelner.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

the new anthology by
Michael Haberfelner

 

Out now from
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