Nadeem Ali’s interview with the cast of Reversed – Part 2

Dan

How did you get involved with the project?

I worked on two feature films in Vancouver, Canada with my wonderful friend and actor, Rob Carpenter. Though I didn’t know Vince, Rob and Vince are in partnership with Creepy Six Films, and when Vince decided to come to London, Rob put us in touch. We subsequently met and shortly after that I was lucky enough to be offered the role of ‘John’ in Reversed.

What were your impressions of Vince [director] when you met him?

What a lovely man! I wasn’t surprised by this though as aforementioned Rob is too, and I guess I knew he wouldn’t go into partnership with a dickweed.

How did you feel about your script?

When I read it through initially, what I felt was a headache. Vince, and his script, are just that clever and cerebral. You can’t just sit down with a coffee and read this script. It’s going to make you work and it’s going to look at you when you put it down and say “Yeah that’s right buddy, you heard me”.

How do you feel about your character?

As a true professional, I would never judge my character. It has to be said though that he is a douchebag because he hits his woman.

How has the whole experience been?

From the first meeting with Vince, throughout the London section of the shoot, and right up to my personal picture wrap in Milan, working with Vince and the rest of the team on Reversed has been an absolute pleasure and I am seriously hoping to get a phone call from Vince saying he has another role for me. In another film, I mean. Not another role in Reversed. That would just be weird.

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Victoria

What were your impressions of Vince?

I met him on another shoot; he was working on the production side of things. We really hit it off and he told me about this project. We’ve met a few times and he is going to produce a short film I am doing. It’s important to establish a relationship with the people you are working with especially when you are the lead. We’ve been doing a lot of guerrilla shooting and you need that trust.

It’s such a visual film; you can’t help but get involved with the aesthetics of it. In the script he has provided a lot of references to his influences in film and music. He said to think of this as an opera, that he wants it to be very operatic. If you keep that in mind you get the rhythm that it is being played at.

My character because she is taking a lot of hallucinogenic drugs, it has allowed me to develop a character with an edge to her. My own character and the way I present myself onscreen has an edge, it provides a nice contrast to the sensuality of the other girls. We are all quite different. Hajnalka has a real cheekiness about her.

I really like working with Vince. He won’t move if the shot isn’t good even when we’re working on the street. Some of the places we shoot, we don’t have permission so we have to keep it low-key and move on before security comes.

It is easy to lose yourself in the film. The horror/thriller aspect that something’s not quite right – that panic and that pulse…That not everything is what it’s supposed to be…

How do you feel about your character?

I was chuffed because originally I wasn’t going to play her. But that was only the role I felt I could play. We both believed it was more of an ethereal role, whereas I have more of an edge. He decided to base the character on Asia Argento, a character with power. I like the role. I like these psychotic characters. But because there are no words, it allows me to use my body and tone it down. I tend to play quite intense, in your face kind of roles.

How did you feel about the script?

Sometimes the best roles are the ones where you don’t say that much. Film captures everything. I’ve just done a film simultaneous to this one which has been improvised. It’s been hectic. I play this brash Australian make-up artist. We’d get an outline of the scene and have to freestyle it. I love improvisation. I can be quite daring and I tend to do exactly what I’m thinking.

What were your impressions of Patrick [director of photography]?

The relationship with Patrick has been really nice. I wanted to know how I looked lying on the bed from a certain angle in one scene. He took a picture and showed me. He gave me that security. He’s just a nice guy. He and Vince work really well together. That helps a lot. Working in a small crew has made it easier. We’ve been very fortunate to get a lot of time out of Vince and ask him about the scenes. We’ve been able to listen to them talk about the scenes and what they want. Sometimes with a large crew they forget to communicate with the actors, they just want you out there and to get on with it.

How has filming been?

You have to stay switched on because everything is a shot. I like that. There was a scene we were filming near London Bridge. There was some downtime. We went to a pub for a drink. I sat outside with Eirik [who plays “Luca” in the film] and I knew they were going to film us. They filmed us through the window. Our relationship isn’t pleasant…when someone doesn’t love you back is how I feel about our relationship. He was leaning in and I was sat back drinking and smoking. We were able to show that aspect of our relationship.

Nadeem Ali’s interview with the cast of Reversed – Part 1

Eirik

How did you feel about the script?

The script desired to be talked over. When you read it for the first time it certainly isn’t as straight forward as any other script you may get as an actor. Often you’ll just get an audition excerpt, two or three sides or whether you read the whole script it’s very simple or basic. It’s not often you are asked to think while reading a film script. There were things that weren’t on the page, specially, the soundtrack.

In order to be part of this sort of project you need to understand the visual idea behind the script, and as I said the soundtrack especially because there is no dialogue. Although, as an actor, that can be a fairly good failsafe. If you end up getting involved in something terrible or unprofessional, as sometimes happens with student films, you can look like a tit. With non-dialogue films that is rarely the case. It is always the film that may look worse than you.

I spoke to Vince about his vision of what it’s supposed to look like. When I mentioned Last Year At Marienbad and how the script reminded me strongly of that Vince immediately picked up on that, telling me that it was something quite similar, albeit more modern. That really convinced me to be a part of it.

What were your impressions of Vince [director]?

It is very rare to find someone in this industry who has such a positive outlook on things and that is able to explain themselves so clearly.

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Hajnalka

What were your impressions of Vince?

I thought he was really nice and gentle. He was really informative and passionate about his craft and the project. It was a really good first impression.

How did you feel about the script?

I liked it. We had spoken about it…when I read it; I knew it was an arty/experimental kind of

thing. Exactly the kind of thing I like. The fact there was no dialogue was the one thing that pulled me towards it because it was so different. I thought it was going to be very challenging because obviously dialogue makes it easier to relay emotion.

How has filming been?

This is my first day on location, on set. So far it’s been good. I was worried about some of the scenes because there is a lot of nudity and sex. I was worried it might be too in your face. But the whole thing has been planned and thought out well. It’s gone smoothly.

How do you feel about your character?

I’m V. I’m one of Asia’s lovers. Asia is starting to lose it a bit. She has these insecurities. We have a tender relationship. She lost O, her first lover, and in some ways I remind her of O. But she is paranoid and thinks I am judgmental of her. There is a scene when I am laughing and she thinks I am laughing at her. She thinks I am humiliating her. In the end my character dies. It’s all very abstract. There’s no clear idea of where V actually comes from or goes to. There is a clear insinuation Asia kills her…but…who knows?

Tell us more about your acting career?

I have mainly worked on student films. This is my first professional film. When you go such a long time without working you start to question things. Is this really for me? Is this what I really want to do? Should I buy into the rat race and go corporate. But then you spend five minutes on set with the crew and you realize this is exactly what you want to do.

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Jade

How did you get involved?

I got an email from Vince asking me if I wanted to be part of it. I was really impressed with the script and excited by it. I thought it was very cleverly done, how it’s shot in reverse and plays around with time sequences. When you are excited about it you want to be a part of it. We met for coffee and had a good chat.

How did you feel about the script?

I’ve got to be honest I didn’t notice the lack of dialogue. It’s so detailed. I didn’t read it from

an actor’s point of view and that’s why I Ioved it so much. I felt like an audience member and I envisioned every single detail in my detail. I was in bed reading and I got quite scared. I think liked it because there was no dialogue. I think it’s easier. When you strip away the dialogue you can convey more of the character’s feeling. I thought it would challenge me in a different way.

What were your impressions of Vince?

I thought he was great, really kind. He had a good energy and passion. You really want to trust him because he makes you feel really comfortable.

What were your impressions of Patrick [director of photography]?

He reassured me over some of the reservations I had about the film. He gave me some great advice. He told me not to do anything I felt uncomfortable with. I feel completely safe in Patrick’s hands. There is a softness and a reassuring nature about him. Because I was able to speak to him about my concerns, automatically I feel there is a bond there.

Back in London

We just got back from an amazing shoot in Milan as part of the “Reversed” production. Shooting all around this unique city, the people there were incredibly welcoming to us. Everyone was excited and curious about what we were getting up to, it was a completely different vibe than it has been shooting in London.

It was also nice to finally reconnect with my good friend and co-producer Mickey Evil from the world-famous Mugshots.

We managed to avoid the rain for the entire shoot, though we got dumped on right after we wrapped the final shot near the steps of the Duomo outside of the galleria. We took our camera equipment and our umbrellas and went down to the older part of the city, a place near the canals that used to be called “Little Paris of Italy” decades ago. There, the cast and crew sat in a restaurant, then a bar, as it poured rain outside the window along the picturesque streets and foot bridges. What a beautiful way to end the shoot.

Well, nearly ending the shoot. We’ll be going one more night in London next weekend, and then that’s an official wrap. Following this, I’m back to Italy to work with Mickey on the soundtrack to the film.

And following this post, we should have more on-set interviews from our press associate Nadeem Ali. Stay tuned!

-Vince.

Brivido Giallo

Brivido Giallo is a new company from Vince D’Amato and Mickey Evil.

This International production company will focus on the production of three Italian thrillers (gialli), produced independently over the next three years, starting mid-2011.

The concept for Brivido Giallo is to contribute cinematically to this beloved Italian genre, and this production company had been conceived to produce these thrillers, or gialli, over an extended period of time.

-Vince D’Amato.