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Your new movie Rebound
- in a few words, what is it about?
Rebound
was originally titled "PTSD" which stands for Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder. Rebound
is about someone who has experienced such anxiety
and profound loss that she would do anything to no longer think about it. To
escape. What were your
inspirations when writing Rebound?
And was any of this based on personal experiences (I hope not all of it
though)? Rebound
was not really based on personal
experience, but I do think break-ups are really hard and I am interested in
what break-ups and loss can do to the psyche.
With Rebound
being a horror movie - is that a genre at all dear to you, and how would
you describe your movie's approach to horror? I love
horror. It is my favorite genre. However, I much prefer old-fashioned
horror and psychological thrillers. I am not as much interested in blood
as I am in suspense and mood.
Towards
the end, Rebound
features some very gruesome bits - so what can you tell us about those,
how were they achieved, and was there any line you refused to cross (for
other than budgetary reasons)? They were achieved with some
movie tricks. We had a wonderful special effects makeup artist Joanne
Adolfo who really did a great job making everything look real. There
are a lot of lines I couldn't cross or the ending wouldn't have worked. What can you tell us
about your overall directorial approach to your story at hand? Well
first of all I had never directed anything before. My background has been
as a producer. As far as a director, my main goal was for everything to
seem real and a bit strange. Tone is very important to me. I was lucky to
have an amazing cinematographer Stephen Tringali who was instrumental in
making Rebound
look fantastic!
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Mark Scheibmeir, Ashley James |
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Wes O'Lee |
Do
talk about your key cast, and why exactly these people?
Ashley James is a friend of mine and we talked about doing something
together so I wrote the script for her. Horror isn't even really her
thing so she did a great job. Wes O'Lee is also a friend of mine who is
not an actor. He's a musician. I just thought he would be so great.
We found the rest of the cast through auditions. We loved how Mark
Scheibmeir read for Eddie. We thought he really brought something
interesting to the part. He just got it! Kevin Bulla was great. He knew
exactly what I was going for and made the bartender role so much more
colorful than it was even written. Julia Beth Stern who played Shannon
also did a great job feeling for her friend.
What
can you tell us about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? The
on-set atmosphere was actually fun. We had a small team and for the most
part it was stress-free. I didn't take myself too seriously as a director
so there was probably a lot more laughing than yelling. A
few words about audience and critical reception of your movie? The
reception for this film has been really good. It's been a bit mixed at
times but I think that is really due to this being a more specialized
genre. It is technically a horror film but I think a lot of horror fans
probably go in expecting more deaths, more blood, more... a lot of things.
It's really more a neo-noir and that is an acquired taste, for sure. The
people who like this film love this film! The reactions are more extreme.
Any
future projects you'd like to share? I have several
projects in development. I have 3 that I am producing that I also wrote
which is great. Two of them have directors attached. I also have a project
that I have been working on for a long time based on a famous memoir. What got you into
filmmaking in the first place, and did you receive any formal education on
the subject? I've always loved movies. My grandfather was
Elmore Leonard so I have had insight as to what is involved in making
films from a very early age. It was unavoidable. However I didn't know
that was what I wanted to do until I moved to Los Angeles. Before that I
was an artist. Once I moved to LA, I worked my way up being an
assistant for various agents, managers, producers and directors. I worked
for some very high profile people and learned a lot. I didn't have formal
training. I probably learned the most in the way of hands-on training
during Rebound. Especially in Post Production.
What can you tell us about your filmwork
prior to Rebound? Prior
to Rebound
I produced a half hour short film directed by Joseph
Gordon-Levitt and a television pilot for the USA
Network. It was written
by the creators of Numb3rs.
How
would you describe yourself as a director?
I am the
opposite of most directors. I try to make the best film I can without
being a total perfectionist. I think perfectionism can prevent a lot of
people from completing things. Completing a film is one of the hardest
things you can do. So you just have to try and do the best you can and
have fun. Filmmakers
who inspire you? As someone who didn't go to film school, I
am constantly being inspired by films that somehow I never saw. I just
recently saw Repulsion for the first time and I loved it! I love David
Lynch, John Carpenter, David Cronenberg, Stephen Soderberg. I love
directors who when you watch their film you can tell who the director is
by looking at it. Your favourite movies? Favorite
movies is a tough question. I'm not sure I have favorites. I like neo-noir
films and quirky comedies probably the most. So movies that would fit in
categories like that would be Drive or Nightcrawler and Clue or
Pineapple Express.
...
and of course, films you really deplore?
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I have to
say, I know this will not make me a lot of fans, but I just do not like
superhero movies. I love almost every genre but that. It's predictable
action. You know exactly where the film is going and it doesn't give me
enough in the way of anything else to find it redeeming. Your/your
movie's website, Facebook, whatever else?
reboundthriller.com
https://twitter.com/Rebound_Movie
https://www.facebook.com/ReboundMovie
Anything else
you are dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? I
would just like to say that when making a small film, it can go one of two
ways in terms of the finished product. I was sooo lucky on this film to
have an amazing post production team. My editor Eric Potter and assistant
editor David Neff helped me so much. Also Steve Tibbo the post sound mixer
made miracles happen and lastly Jacob Yoffee my music supervisor and composer Michael Boateng. I can't express this to young filmmakers enough,
post production is EVERYTHING! Thanks
for the interview!
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find Megan Freels Johnston at adultvideouniverse.com
