With Halloween fast approaching, we keep the spooky going this week on BEHIND THE LENS and toss in some alien fun too, thanks to VIVIAN KERR and her new film, SEANCE, and RENNY GRAMES & BOSTON McCONNAUGHEY with their fun-filled alien encounter, ALIEN COUNTRY.
Writer/director/actor VIVIAN KERR is kicking off the show and discussing her psychological thriller SEANCE. With only four actors, Scottie Thompson (who dazzles in period work), Connor Paolo, Jilon Van Over, and Kerr herself, this tightly knit ensemble shines in this tightly scripted and lensed story. A beautiful period piece set in 1892, Vivien dives into the genesis of the story and the making of the film discussing everything from locations and finding homes built in the 1890s that are still period-perfect, to Johanna Coelmo’s lighting and lensing, the bulk of which is shot at night making beautiful use of negative space and candlelight, to Nina Fuller’s gorgeous costuming, not to mention some of the problems it created during shooting, to Bri Jones’ production design, to water work in the open ocean and underwater, to impeccable tension building editing by Toby Yates, and, of course, Vivien’s juggling of multiple hats for this production.
Currently on the festival circuit, SEANCE has an encore screening on October 24th at the Newport Beach Film Festival.
And then the dynamic duo of writer/actor RENNY GRAMES and writer/director BOSTON McCONNAUGHEY join me in talking about their fun-filled comedy ALIEN COUNTRY. I don’t know about you, but how can you not love a film with an alien named Ben AND demolition derby! A fun aspect of this conversation is not just Boston’s inspiration for the story (and its 2500 shots!), but the discussion on the film’s practical creature creation with VFX/CGI meld, and the intensity of the action. This, of course, leads us to Renny Grames and her bad-ass performance as the film’s female protagonist, as well as a discussion on casting and other outstanding turns by KC Clyde, Barta Heiner, Charan Prabhakar, Austin Archer, and more. Filmmakers will appreciate Boston’s insight into the production process and its main shooting schedule plus post-production pick-ups. Leaving no stone unturned, we talk about the production design and creating alien worlds practically and with VFX, as well as a key plot device involving the portal between worlds. Plus, you’ll hear Renny and Boston talk about wearing multiple hats for this production and the learning curve for Boston with this narrative feature directorial debut.
ALIEN COUNTRY is now streaming on all platforms and VOD, cable, and satellite.
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