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courtesy of R&F Entertainment |
Your new movie Maturing
Youth - in a few words, what is it about, and what can you tell us
about your character in it?
I think the title pretty much says it all. It's about growing up,
learning to see what's important outside of ourselves, having compassion
for others. My character Sadie is a young mother who's made some really
questionable choices in life. She's feeling angry at the world. What did you draw upon to
bring your character to life? And how much Kim Paris can we find in Sadie? I
hope
there's not much of me in Sadie, but I think we can all relate to feeling
angry at times, stuck in hopeless situations, feeling like the world owes
us something. Hopefully we can put those feelings in check before acting
on them. But Sadie doesn't really have that kind of self-awareness. She
definitely has a victim mentality and harbors a lot of anger. She's one of
the most reckless characters I've ever played. Of course, as an actor it's
my job to understand her perspective, not to judge it. So it was
interesting to get into her mindset and find the reasons for her actions. How did you get
involved with the project in the first place? I met Chase
Michael Pallante [Chase
Michael Pallente interview - click here], the producer, a
couple years ago at Grove Film Festival in Jersey City. I approached him
after the screening of his short horror film Defarious
and told him I'd like to work with him. A few months later, I had the
pleasure of announcing his "Best Film" win while co-hosting the
Northeast Film Festival Horror Fest awards ceremony. Shortly after that,
my friend sent me a casting notice that his production company R&F Entertainment
had posted, so I submitted, auditioned, and eventually got
the part. What can
you tell us about your director Divoni Simon [Divoni
Simon interview - click here], and what was your collaboration
like?
Divoni is an up-and-coming director with a huge
passion for film and music. He had so many films he wanted us to watch in
order to prepare, playlists that he wanted us to listen to, specifically
designed for each character. He has a lot of heart and I really respect
that. At one point though I wasn't sure what type of inspiration he wanted
me to get from the films he had me watching, so I asked him and he said
something like, "I want you to see what it feels like to be a single
mother." And then I was like, "Oh. I come from a broken home.
I've been around single mothers experiencing painful, heartbreaking
situations my whole life, so I think I've got this."
What can you tell us about the shoot as such, and
the on-set atmosphere? As I mentioned, this was my first
time working with Chase. I was impressed with how organized it was on-set.
We shot more than 30 pages in less than three days so the schedule was
very tight and we didn't do more than 2-3 takes for each scene. Any future projects you'd like to
share?
Yes! I have several films in post-production and a few that are
currently making the rounds in the festival circuit. One of those films is
The Question, a short romantic drama that screened at the
Northeast Film Festival in Teaneck, New Jersey.
I'm also excited for the upcoming release of The Making of
Meathook in the Mountains, a short behind-the-scenes mockumentary
about the making of a really bad horror film. That film was directed by
Ryan Reid, who directed me in the sci-fi 33 Years, and who has
become one of favorite collaborators. He's one to watch for sure.
What got you into acting in the first place, and
did you receive any formal training on the subject? I can't
remember a time that I didn't want to act. It's always been with me. I was
in the drama club in high school and studied acting in college, along with
various studios around New York City (HB Studio, Stella Adler, and most
recently with renowned acting coach, Anthony Abeson).
photo by Nestor Correa Photography
courtesy of R&F Entertainment |
What
can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Maturing
Youth? I had shot a decent amount of films before Maturing
Youth. In the summer of 2016, I starred in my first feature film, Death
at a Barbecue, which was directed by Larry Rosen. Shortly after, I
had a supporting role in the zombie apocalypse feature Into the
Outbreak, another Larry Rosen film. Both are now streaming on Amazon
Prime, which is super exciting. How would you describe yourself as an actress,
and some of the techniques you use to bring your characters to
life?
As my acting coach Anthony Abeson says "No recipes, whatever
works." I use all types of methods. For me, the most important thing
is really fleshing out the past, mapping out the key things that happened
in the story before the story you're actually going to watch on screen
begins.
I do a lot of writing as my character. I'll write journal entries as my
character, or letters to important people in my character's life. As you
may know, there's A LOT of down-time during filming, so if anyone's
looking for me they can probably find me sitting alone somewhere writing
out my character's thoughts.
Another fun thing I like to do is think about my character's scent and
what type of perfume she would wear, if any. I learned that from Marsha
Mason (Grace and Frankie), another phenomemal acting teacher that
I am so grateful to have studied with.
Actresses (and indeed actors) who inspire you? I
credit Amy Adams' role in The Fighter for inspiring me
to get back into acting and finally pursue it fully. Christian Bale blows
my mind. Cate Blanchett, John Malkovich, Glenn Close, Daniel-Day Lewis -
They've all been incredibly inspiring to me. Your
favourite movies?
I could watch There Will Be Blood a thousand times. Royal
Tenenbaums is an all-time fav. I also love foreign
film. Some of my favorites are Respiro (directed by Emanuele
Crialese), Nowhere in Africa (directed by Caroline Link), and Chocolat (directed
by Claire Denis - not the one with Johnny Depp, although that one is great
too). And then there's an amazing short called Death
and Disco Fries by one of my favorite Brooklyn filmmakers, Dennis
Cahlo. It's in the festival circuit now - you gotta see it!
... and of course, films you really
deplore?
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I don't think I could possibly deplore any film. I have so much respect
for anyone who has a creative vision and not only sets out to realize that
vision but also completes it. Even if a film doesn't particularly speak to
me or move me, I have so much respect for the hard-work that goes into
creating it.
Your website, Facebook, whatever else?
Sure! You can find me at:
www.kimparis.net
Instagram: @sinisterfoxy
Twitter: @sinisterfoxy
Follow the film here:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/maturingyouthfilm
Facebook: www.facebook.com/maturingyouth
Website: www.MATURINGYOUTH.com
Anything
else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? Thanks
for asking! The world premiere for Maturing
Youth
is Sunday, October 21st
at the Cutting Room International Film Festival in New York City. I'm
grateful to have been nominated "Best Actress" and many of my
castmates were nominated for awards as well including "Best Film". We're all
so excited to share this film and can't wait to meet some of our fans
there! Tickets are available at www.maturingyouth.com.
I’m
so grateful to have been a part of it. I was surrounded by immensely
talented people and it’s really a beautiful story! Thanks
for the interview!
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