It has spent four months since I posted the last interview, for many reasons I've been absent for a few time but fortunately I hope to have great amount of time to post all the interviews I did and I couldn't posted before. First of all I would like to thanks all the persons I interviewed and at the same ask them excuses due to not publish their interviews.
Working in that premise I would like post an interview I did to Susannah O'Brien, one of those female director who are raising through in this industry with great films as "HALLUCINOGEN", "ENCOUNTER" and "THE DOLL" her last film, and many others upcoming films; horror queen director Susannah O'Brien allow me to interview her and I could extract some interesting thing from her. I hope you like it.
EFF:
Hi Susannah, I am grateful you have let me interview you. Let's start with a
simple question, where are you from?
SO:
Hey thanks so much for the interview I am from Ft Thomas Kentucky which is
right across from Cincinnati Ohio. I moved to Sarasota Florida at 17, which is
the most beautiful place in the world with the best beaches.
EFF: According
what I’ve read about you, you are very spiritual person, so, why all your films
are on horror things?
SO:
Yes, I have always been a very spiritual person. My first movie ENCOUNTER is actually
horror slash Sci Fi I am a huge Sci Fi fan and you think it's a ghost but
really it's an alien abduction. My second movie I made is called HALLUCINOGEN,
it has the dp from INSIDIOUS and stars David Gallager from 7th Heaven and I
wrote it because my little nephew was being haunted and for some reason when I
write or make a movie the spirit is released and leaves, so I wrote it and made
it, so he wouldn't be haunted anymore as funny as that sounds and it worked, so
I'm sort of a spiritual ghost Buster lol, you can see his real life interview
about the ghost if you google “haunted boy trailer geek legion” it's really
scary he's not an actor and it's so real.
My
sister actually loves horror movies my horror is more like psychological
thrillers cause I have a Phd in counseling which helps me write as well . My
third movie THE DOLL starring Valeria Lukyanova The Human Barbie was more from
my counseling experience of counseling in my private practice of men who always
wanted to date a perfect 10 so THE DOLL teaches people the grass isn't always
greener on the other side; lol, so I sort of fell into the horror genre my
first movie was realtor a Sci Fi and I had so many fans and studios were
looking at me as the next female horror director but I actually have 35 scripts
and a lot of comedies so I love all genres. I definitely think on set there are
bad energy with horror movies and it does affect you spiritually some horror
sets are blessed by priests but how can you be spiritual and or deal with the
good and the bad I think being spiritual and a psychologist makes you question
more and it's fun scaring an audience.
EFF:Tell
me what horror sub genre do you prefer to shoot.
SO: This is a hard question cause of my 3 movies the first the bad guys were aliens the second a ghost and the third a person so it's hard to say I like them all I love old Sci Fi 1950's and 60's and horror like the creature from the black lagoon is one of my favorites. There's something so creepy and reptilian about him but growing up I loved Halloween.
EFF: You
are relatively new directing movies; you just have shot your first film called
"Encounter" last year, right? Tell us, what "Encounter" is
about?
SO: Encounter was about a Newley wed couple that rented a farm house and put up cameras to do a thesis on orbs so they think they are being haunted by a ghost but really there are crop circles out back and it's an alien abduction. The movie had a theatrical release and is at all Walmarts.
Trailer Encounter (2015)
EFF: You
are director, writer and producer of "Encounter". How it borned the
idea? In addition, why you decided to shoot this movie?
SO:
After I had a near death experience I started having visions and encounter was
one of those visions also when I lived on the beach in Florida we saw a lot of
ufos flying and we would video tape them so part of encounter is based on a
true story. I decided to just move to Hollywood and make the movie.
Scene ftom Encounter
EFF: How
was the casting process, how actors got involved into the project?
SO:
I cast the project when I lived in charlotte NC, I stayed up all night and went
online and when I saw Justin Arnold's reel I knew he was the one, he's an
amazing actor . The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was supposed to play Jim, but he
got injured so he gave me Don Scribners number it was fate because I put Don in
all my movies he's an unreal actor so scary so believable and a great person
too. Andrew Nelson I saw her on same site as Justin and just knew she was Lauren.
Because The Doll movie has so many articles, many people don't know I have a
movie coming out called hallucinogen starring David Gallagher from 7th Heaven
he has so many fans still and he was amazing to work with. When you get to work
with an actor that has been on a studio show for ten years man can they
remember lines lol.
EFF:
Would you tell us some setbacks you probably had to face in during the whole creation
process.
SO:
At the time, it was hard to find a creeper farm in California I was in NC at
the time where there are tons of creepy farms so finding a farm with a crop
field was hard but I found one with a vineyard attached in San Louis Obispo.
Susannah O'Brien
EFF: Like
I said before you are relatively new directing films, but you have two upcoming
films so far, "Encounter" which we spoke already and" The
Doll". I have to ask you fixed questions like how was the movie birth? When you had the idea, what you received the inspiration from and the pitching process.
SO:
All three movies just come to me in visions I get sort of like how Stephen king
gets visions. I wrote the doll a year before I knew Valeria existed.
EFF: In cast you have peculiars actors and by peculiars I mean well known faces like Mindy Robinson, Ron Jeremy but something really intriguing was watch into the casting to "real barbie" Valeria Lukyanova. How was that selection process and how actors got involved to the movie?
SO:
When I had my vision for The Doll my Assitant at the time saw her on YouTube
and he said look this is that script and vision you had she exists and it was
totally her . Valeria is very spiritual as well and we seem like long lost soul
friends.
EFF: Exactly
the same like with "Encounter", tell us some setbacks during the
creation of "The Doll", for the rest of filmmakers always is good
learn from colleagues experiences.
SO:
Film fatigue is the worst gore made it harder longer to shoot so being up all
night for 16 nights is really hard and tiring. Valeria was a trooper she worked
so hard. I would say hallucinogen was hard because it was my first
studio like crew so I had to learn a lot encounter was so organic.
EFF: Something
crucial in a successful film among others aspects are the locations, find the
perfect location which adequates to your idea is not an easy target. So, I want
to ask you about these two films, what were you looking for their locations and
why you picked out the ones you finally used?
SO:
I feel that a location is a character it has to be perfect. The
Encounter house was so perfect so scary and The Doll and Hallucinogen
was filmed at my house lol so that was interesting I have a guest house that's
like a studio and it's been an attic, a bedroom you name it no one can tell
it's amazing what you can build create and edit.
EFF: I
am not a religious person I have to admit it, but that doesn't mean I am not
able to understand that exists something out of our conception and something divine,
I tell you this because I read a very rousing story about how you defeated your
illness. I want you tell us briefly that story and how that has influenced you
to make films, and before all I wanna say you are strong woman.
SO: Thanks so much it is the most bizarre stories of my life. I was at the Mayo Clinic with a rare adrenal disease called Cushing's syndrome and I heard god and he said be still and trust in me and I will get you out of this he has saved my life so many times so that one tumor was healed and I had a bright light and heat open to the right of me, it was like a window to heaven that never closed it made me very psychic and clairvoyant I can ask heaven just about any question which sounds so weird but whenever I tell my bizarre story at least I can say well I have a Phd in psychology so I'm not crazy, lol, this did happen and now I have 35 scripts and counting from it, I feel like a spiritual conduit so to speak which isn't easy I can also tell wait ailments people might have and other things. I still do have Cushings and it's very hard at times.
Scenes from The Doll
EFF:
Any funnies anecdotes from your films?
SO:
One funny story is on Encounter Don Scribner was supposed
to be this old scary man and we had a scene when they find him after he was
abducted in a sheet semi nude and when he took his shirt off he was like Fabio,
so we all gasp and had to rearrange the furniture and sheet and his body and
send makeup in to make him look pale so he fooled us.
EFF: Are
you a horror fan? What horror movies you like the most?
SO:
I am a horror fan I like so many it's hard to list I loved the 1980's
horror Friday the 13 Halloween all of those .
EFF: What
directors has inspired you on your directing style?
SO:
Alfred Hitchcock is my fav I like how he can show things without really showing
them.
EFF:
What is your directing style, what kind of cameras movements you like or use
more or angles?
SO:
I love medium shots I like to show both actors talking in a scene I'm not a fan
of editing a lot I have my vision shot and that's it or it can look like a soap
opera in post, a lot of dp's can disagree with me and not think I have enough
coverage and I am like I know my vision I have my wides and my mediums
and I'm goodm, lol.
EFF: What
cameras, equipments did you use for both films, and why?
SO:
We used the red dragon and the black magic. We used the red cause it was the in camera, it
was 6k which is crazy, in post you don't even need a close up you can zoom in;
lol, and the black magic I bought my
company for Xmas or shoots a little dark which is good for horror it's all
about the lenses and the operator I like zeiss lenses.
EFF:
What advice would you give to newbies filmmakers who are undecided about how to
do a film?
SO:
oh my so much advice do a lot of pre-Production make sure you have the best
location, actors DP, set design, those are the important keys and editing and sound.
And don't forget about deliverables they are hell and most indie filmmakers
don't know about them you can't just turn in a movie deliverables are an
expansive list that the distributor asks for there is e and o insurance and
ratings and the list goes on it's about 7 to 12k added to your budget at best
EFF:
If a rookie filmmaker with no experience at all goes to you and ask you
for an advice about a cheaply camera or equipments that he or she can uses to make
his low budget film, what would you recommend for him or her?
SO:
I would say the black magic 4K it's 3k and a wonderful camera.
EFF:
What is new in your career? I know you have upcoming films.
SO:
yes I am filming The Doll 2.
**The Doll was released on December 3rd in theaters and all the play forms.**
Susannah O'Brien
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