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photo by Steven Shea |
Your new movie That's
a Wrap - in a few words, what is it about, and what can you tell
us about your character in it?
Mason
Maestro has just directed what he considers to be his masterpiece, a film
titled 'That's a Wrap'. The cast arrive at the studio excited to celebrate
what they just created. But they aren't the only ones there. Someone has
dressed up as Mistress, the slasher in the film, and has decided to make
the art real by staging their own highly stylized kill scenes. One by one,
the cast disappears until the true nature of the evening is revealed. I
play “Harper”. She’s the final girl and lead character in the film
within the film. She’s worked very hard to get where she’s at in her
career, taking no shortcuts, and just putting the work in. She’s
confident, strong inside and out, and puts up with no shit.
What did you draw upon to
bring your character to life, and how much Sarah French can we find in
Harper? Joe
Knetter wrote an amazing script, one that all of us actors could relate to
in some way and to be able to really sink our teeth into. He made it very
easy for us to bring these characters to life, and our director Marcel Walz
gives us a lot of freedom with what we bring to the table. We’ve all met
these characters before and have worked with them in some way shape or
form. This film is a meta horror comedy, and with these characters we
amplified them to make them as “typical Hollywood” personalities as
possible! I brought my own experiences in the film industry and used what
I’ve been through myself to bring Harper to life. Oh, you can find a lot
of me within the Harper character, ha-ha. We’re very similar. I started
in the low budget to no budget films, worked for free, just doing
everything I could to immerse myself in the film world to gain experience
and work my way up. It’s a learning process, nothing has come easy to me
and that’s the way it should be. The more you learn, the better you
become as an artist and person. I’ve taken no shortcuts (you’ll have
to watch the film to see what I mean) and have worked very hard to be where
I’m at today, same with Harper. I’m a hard worker, confident, and know
my value.
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How did you get involved with the project in the
first place, and how did you end up one of its producers? Marcel
Walz, Joe Knetter, and I started our own production company in 2022, and
this film is the first one in our slate of films we have lined up! I’ve
known Joe since 2006. I met him on my very first gig, which was a horror
short called Pajama Party Massacre 3, and we’ve been inseparable
ever since. I met Marcel Walz at a friend’s thanksgiving I think in
2017-ish, and he cast me in his project soon after called Rootwood,
and we’ve been inseparable ever since, ha-ha! We all struck up a close
friendship and created a film with some good friends called Blind
in 2019. We found producers that believed in us and our vision, and I’m
so grateful for them, because this is where all our journey started
together and has led us to where we are today. We made a sequel to Blind
soon after called Pretty Boy, which was presold by
Lionsgate and should be releasing soon. In 2022 we learned so much along
the way, so we decided to take it up a notch and created our own company,
and here we are! It’s been such a wonderful journey and I can’t wait
to grow more with our team. We have a lot more coming too, so stay tuned! What
were the challenges of bringing That's
a Wrap to the screen from a producer's point of view? And how
hands-on or hands-off a producer have you been on the project?
I would say the challenges are always funding a film and finding the right
distribution. The funding aspect is very tough because you need to find
people that believe in you and can see a future with you and your product.
I am so, so grateful that we were able to find the right producing team to
help bring our vision to life. We always want to take care of our
investors and help to make them their money back as soon as we can. We
want to make sure they’re taken care of. That’s why finding the right
distribution is so important. You need to find someone that believes in
your product and will push it as much as possible. In the end it’s all a
team effort, so make sure you find the right team and one that fights for
you and with you. I’m very hands on when it comes to producing. Joe
focuses on the preproduction, Marcel focuses on the postproduction, and I
help everywhere in between, including helping cast. We all work very
efficiently together to get the job done and it’s a wonderful thing.
To
what extent could you identify with That's
a Wrap's approach to the horror genre?
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photo by Maya Kay Photography |
Every
character you meet in this film, I’ve met one time or another, everyone
has that works in the entertainment industry. You got the “influencer”
that pays for likes, the director whose ego is out of control, the guy who
buys parts who thinks that’s his ticket to stardom, etc. They’re all
there and we make fun of it all very heavily while these characters get
slashed to pieces, ha-ha! What can
you tell us about That's a
Wrap's director Marcel Walz, and what was your collaboration like? Marcel
is great. As of last year, this is our 5th project together since 2017!
He’s such a dear friend and like the brother (or sister as he would say,
ha-ha) I never had. We’re both taurus’ so we get along very well.
He’s supportive, a go-getter, passionate, and has a vision like no
other. Marcel started his journey in Germany where he is from and has been
in the industry for a very long time. His love for film and horror seeps
through with everything he does. That's why Joe, Marcel and I get along so
well. We’re all very passionate and work hard for what we want in life.
Like I tell everyone, surround yourself with people that are similar to
you, your journey, and most importantly people that support you and vice
versa. This is a very hard industry and it’s almost impossible to do it
alone, and what fun is that anyways? But when you find the right
“tribe”, hold on to them dearly, it makes life and work that much more
special. What can you tell us about the shoot as such, and the
on-set atmosphere?
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with Joe Knetter and Marcel Walz
photo by Steven Shea |
It
was really amazing. There was so much great energy throughout the shoot
and everyone seemed to have a really great time. You are only as good as
your team and it’s a collaboration through and through. Our team was
really wonderful and brought so much talent in front of the camera and
behind. With the films we make from our production company, our goal is to
create an atmosphere that is fun, inviting, no drama, comfortable, and
most importantly creative! We want everyone working on our films to have a
good time, because we are so grateful to be doing what we’re doing, and
we will never take anything for granted. So many “productions” out
there big or small can be full of drama, bad attitudes, don’t pay people
on time, etc., and we’ve all seen it all and it can be a nightmare! But
we want to always create an environment starting at the top, from us, with
positivity and to have our team know they are being taken care of. Any future projects you'd like to
share? Yes!
There are lots of things in the works as we speak. Future-wise we just
wrapped our latest production called Garden of Eden, which we are
super excited about. That one is going to be very different from That's
a Wrap, which is our goal. We always want to do something
different with each film on our slate. Garden of Eden is very much a drama, thriller,
religious horror film where That's
a Wrap is a horror comedy. Here
is a quick synopsis of Garden of Eden: “The Eden family are wealthy and do
everything they can to live the word of God. They throw garden parties, and
a guest that finds a key gets to have their most wished for dream come
true. But a dream for some can be a nightmare for others.” It has a very
A24 feel, which I love and will be controversial. We don’t play it safe
with any of our films, and we like it that way. The thing I love about
working with Joe and Marcel is with each film we make I get to bring to
life so many in-depth and different characters, which is really amazing
and I’m so grateful.
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Aside from that, we’re still promoting That's
a Wrap heavily as it just came out on streaming through Quiver, be sure to check it out today! We just signed with a worldwide
sales agent, so it’ll be all over the world coming up, which we’re
stoked about! More news to come with that soon. Joe, Marcel, and I are
currently in preproduction on our next film, so the rest of this year is
looking really good.
I have a super fun space adventure film that recently came out on DVD and
streaming called Space Wars: Quest for the Deepstar. If you love
the old school Battle Beyond the Stars or
Star Crash, you’ll love this
film! It stars myself along with Michael Paré [Michael
Paré interview - click here], Olivier Gruner, and Anahit
Setian. Here’s a quick synopsis: “Life is an adventure for space
scavengers Kip Corman and his daughter Taylor as they navigate their ship
through a universe filled with monsters, aliens, and robots in order to
reach the mythical Deepstar and collect the riches within.” Directed by
Garo Setian and written by Joe Knetter, this is a film you won’t want to
miss.
More to come, so be sure to stay tuned!
What got you into acting in the first place, and
did you receive any formal training on the subject?
Looking
back, I’ve always loved to entertain. As a kid my sister and cousins and
I would put on little plays for family at the farm I grew up on in
Minnesota. In high school I made short skits and short horror films with
my friends. I grew up watching horror films so that was always my go to
when creating, I loved it. I always wanted to be that girl running through
the woods, half naked, bloody and battered, running from a killer or being
the killer!
Where it came to life for me was when I was in my early 20s, trying to figure
out what I really wanted in life. I went to college for Horticulture
first, and then changed my degree to Criminal Justice. I’ve always been
interested in the criminal mind, so I thought I might want to work in that
field. While going to college I took a theater class and fell in love with
it. I was very shy growing up but really broke out of that when I started
to go to college and focused on health and fitness, that’s where I
started to gain more confidence in myself.
photo by Maya Kay Photography |
I
was at a local metal concert in Minnesota in 2005. I had a photographer
come up to me, gave me his business card, told me he loved my look and
wanted to do a photoshoot with me. At the time I thought he was just some
creeper because I’ve never had anyone ask me that before. I did have a
unique look at the time; it was a metal/goth girl look so I guess he liked
that. Like I said, I was going to school for Criminal Justice at the time
and doing that kind of thing wasn’t even on my mind. A few months passed
and I stumbled upon his business card. I said what the hell and set up a
shoot. From that day on I was hooked! I loved being in front of the
camera. I did a bunch of modeling over the next few months and just fell
in love with the creativeness of it all, and I loved to express myself, it
was such a freeing feeling. Soon after that I was browsing the internet
and came across a casting call for a short horror film, and they were
looking for someone that fit me perfectly. I knew I had to check this out.
I met the filmmakers at a local coffee shop; they loved my look and
attitude and hired me on the spot! That short film is also where
I met my man, Joe Knetter. He played the killer. Joe and I didn’t get
together till a few years and a few films later. Joe has played a key role
in my life over the years, and I am so grateful for him. We make one hell
of a team, that’s for sure! You just never know where life is going to
take you. I guess all the killing and mayhem in my first film kind of
sealed the deal for us, ha-ha!
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My
journey has been very different from a lot of other artists out there.
I’ve never had an agent or manager or formal training. I just immersed
myself into the low to no budget world and have worked my way up since.
I’ve learned so much along the way and continue to learn every day. All
of my gigs have led me to another, and I’ve met a lot of wonderful
people along the way. With acting I’m always learning new things, new
tricks. I always want to improve with each film I do. I never want to stay
the same. Being on set in front of the camera and behind has really
opened my eyes and it helped me to be better and better each day. Never
stop learning is the key, and always find ways you can improve.
Going through your filmography, one
can't but notice that many of your films are of the horror variety -
coincidence, or is horror a genre especially dear to you, and why (not)? I
don’t know if I’d be where I’m today without my love of horror.
After watching Child's Play
and being scared, that kind of sealed the
deal for me and has led me to where I am today. I love the horror genre
through and through and that’s why you see so many of my credits being
horror, because that’s what I love, ha-ha! That’s not all I do, I enjoy
every genre, it just depends on the project and script. I do just about
everything now and am loving life and beyond grateful. How
would you describe yourself as an actress? Prepared,
non-dramatic, professional, hardworking, and fun! Actresses
(and indeed actors) who inspire you?
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photo by Steven Shea |
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Sigourney
Weaver and Jamie Lee Curtis… do I need an explanation? Your favourite
movies?
Omg
this is hard; how about films I could watch over and over again and never
get sick of them? Besides Child's Play of course,
Pet Sematary, The Thing,
Day/Dawn of the
Dead, Halloween 2 and 3, Evil Dead
2, Return of the Living
Dead Part 2, and so on! The list is endless, ha-ha! ... and of course, films you really deplore? To
be honest, it’s really hard to make a film, so I respect anyone that has
the passion to make it come to life. Your/your
movie's website, social media, whatever else? Be
sure to check out my Instagram at sarahfrenchonline and also Facebook at Sarah
French. I love chatting with fans and sharing my work, so be sure to say
hi! Anything
else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? I
have lots more to come, so be sure to stay up to date with me and be sure
to check out That's
a Wrap, now streaming on most platforms! Thanks
for the interview!
Thank
you so much!
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