By BetteAndTinaForever
| |
One of the reasons I went to
the Women’s Night in Los Angeles on April 28 was to
meet and talk to Katherine Brooks, the inspiring filmmaker
who gave us “Loving Annabelle” and who is in the
process of making another movie, “Waking Madison.”
After running around all night long, I was finally able to
find a relatively quiet place to sit down and had an interview
with Katherine about her movies, her projects, her challenges
and her dreams.
|
First we talked a little about “Loving Annabelle.”
L-Word.com: What was the reason you deleted the
scene near the end of the film where Simone rushes into Annabelle's
arms (just before the police take her away)?
KB: I deleted it because it was…when it
played alone by itself, it was a really great scene but when it
was cut into the movie it was way too melodramatic. It just reeked
melodrama and I just had to delete it.
L-Word.com: And what was the dialogue during this
scene?
KB: Annabelle said, “What’s happening?
Where are they taking you?” and Simone said, “It’s
gonna be okay.”
L-Word.com: Will there be a director’s cut
of the film?
KB: There won’t be a director’s cut.
L-Word.com: Although you still filmed the alternate
ending and have stated that you are pleased with the existing ending,
if you had the budget you wanted, would you have made it the "happy
ending" instead?
KB: Well, if I would’ve had the budget,
it would’ve been an entirely different ending because I would’ve
had Annabelle go to her mother and reconcile their relationship,
and they sort of have a reconnection; and that, the mother being
a senator, makes it so that Simone doesn’t have anything happen
to her. And then I would have them do the alternate ending that
I have now where she’s driving off.
L-Word.com: There was the contest on MyFandoms.com,
and wasn’t there one of the stories that had something to
do with that scene when Annabelle went to her mother, talked to
her, and her mother said that they won’t charge her but Annabelle
can not see her until she’s 18.
KB: Right, right…I read that one. I think
that the thing is though, that because I couldn’t explain
it longer…Simone never was arrested. I mean, they just sort
of took her in for questioning, you know. To me she wasn’t
arrested. In my fantasy world, if they would’ve continued,
she definitely wasn’t arrested.
L-Word.com: So they would just ask her questions
and let her go?
KB: Yeah…especially because Annabelle was
turning 18 in two weeks, so…
L-Word.com: Do you think that Mother Emaculata
would take Simone back as a teacher or would let her go?
KB: No, I don’t think Mother Emaculata would
take her back because I think she feels betrayed. I think she feels
betrayed because I think secretly she sort of wanted that with Simone…
L-Word.com: I know…I totally got the same
idea and when I found out that they were related I was like, “Huh?
What’s going on?” It was like she really wanted to have
something going on between them.
KB: Yeah, yeah…exactly.
L-Word.com: Okay, next question then…both
you and Erin were not pleased at all with the scene on the beach.
You mentioned you weren't happy with the composition. What was it
that bothered you and Erin so much about the entire thing? The scene
seems to flow with the film. What would you have done differently?
KB: Yes, it’s my least favorite scene. What
bothered me the most about that scene was that we had no time to
shoot it, and we had to ADR that whole thing. It means, none of
the sound we recorded was usable, so I had to take Diane and Erin
into a booth and have them watch it and do the whole scene. It was
just towards the end of the shoot and it was like second to last
day and we just kept having technical difficulties. We were running
out of film, we could only do one or two takes…so it was just
frustrating because I feel like I was on such a tight budget I couldn’t
get the performances that I really needed…like when Simone
breaks down in the house, I had to shoot that so quickly and it’s
such an important moment so it was really frustrating, for Diane
and me both.
L-Word.com: What should we read into the fact
that it was a U. S. government vehicle and officials who took Simone
away and not the police?
KB: Because of who Annabelle’s mother is,
the senator. I mean, to me I would’ve thought that they would
want to keep that very, very quiet.
L-Word.com: If the film were twenty minutes longer,
what aspects of the storyline would you have explored deeper?
KB: I would’ve explored like, once they
had a sexual relationship, I would’ve wanted twenty minutes
more after that just to experience the emotional complexity of Simone.
Also what it would’ve been like to have them still be in class
together and to continue that, that would’ve been interesting.
L-Word.com: Taking that idea even further, if
you had had an unlimited budget, would you have done anything differently
with the film, and if so, what?
KB: If I had an unlimited budget, I would’ve
shot a lot longer and I would’ve shot a longer movie. But
because I only had a certain amount of time, I can only shoot a
certain amount of days, which means a certain length of the script.
So I would’ve elongated that, and I would’ve cast more
stars around the two leads just so it could’ve been a little
bit more mainstream. But you know, we didn’t have any money
or I would’ve done that.
L-Word.com: Where was the money coming from in
the first place?
KB: It was financed through private investors
and family and friends.
L-Word.com: You put your foot down when it came
to the rain machine for “Loving Annabelle.” Why was
that so important?
KB: I fought for the rain machine because I really
thought it would be sexy to have a sex scene where music mixed with
thunder and rain drops. I just thought it would’ve been really,
really sexy, and I always had it visually in my mind. And it was
one scene that I refused to compromise on, especially because I
don’t think that there are a lot of sexy sex scenes in lesbian
movies and I really wanted to…I mean, I’ve spent half
of a day just doing that scene.
L-Word.com: This was a really great scene. I really
enjoyed it.
As Katherine’s new movie “Waking Madison” is
slowly coming together, there were a few questions that Katherine’s
fans wanted to know about it, so I had another list to ask about
that upcoming project.
L-Word.com: Before I ask all those questions from
fans, I want to know one thing. I went on your website and read
that little synopsis you wrote about your experience three years
ago when you went on that island…is all of this true or is
it part of the movie involvement?
KB: I think it’s based loosely on the truth,
and I sort of fabricated it and made it more into a movie. Because
if it would be just as my life, I think it would be boring, so I
pumped it up a little bit. But it is based on truth.
L-Word.com: So did it really happen to the island
where you were?
KB: The tsunami? Yeah, yeah…I was there
during the tsunami.
L-Word.com: Wow…okay, so how's the project
coming? When do you begin filming?
|
|
KB: We start filming the first week of June and it’s
coming along really well. It’s very, very stressful
right now because we’re casting. The most frustrating
part of making a movie is casting and financing. Those two
things are very frustrating. You know, we are in the middle
of casting right now. We’re shooting in five weeks so
it could be one of those situations when I’m three days
away from shooting and I have to sign my lead, like I had
to do with Simone.
|
L-Word.com: You said on your blog that Evan Rachel
Wood was reading for Madison, but you haven’t even talked
to her or her agent about the money or anything, so did you hear
from her?
KB: No, not yet. Her manager is just reading it.
She hasn’t even like read it read it. She’s not committed.
No one’s committed for Madison or Elizabeth yet.
L-Word.com: Is it difficult writing such dark
subject matter? Is it possible for it to not mess with your head?
KB: No, I think I have to absolutely…I had
to completely go nuts to write this thing, and I don’t think
that the writer can…how can you write something that’s
not really true? I mean, it’s kind of like actors when they
act, it’s either truth or they are acting, so it’s like
the writer really has to go there, so it was really difficult writing
it.
L-Word.com: We hear there’s been some casting
done, like Erin as Alexis? Any other casting in place? Maria Bello?
KB: Maria Bello is not doing it. Erin is playing
Alexis.
L-Word.com: Can you tell a little more about Alexis
because not everyone knows about it.
KB: Alexis is a suicidal mental patient in the
hospital where Madison is, and then Laura Breckenridge, who was
Colins, is going to play a part. She plays an overly sexual sex
addict in the movie. And then my friend Olivia d’Abo is also
going to be playing one of the girls.
L-Word.com: If the shooting schedule is going
to start in June, when can we hope to start seeing some videos?
Like video journals on your site or the videos about the shooting?
And what would you looking at for a release date?
KB: We going to have three to five video blogs
every week, so I’ll be on set. They’ll get to see the
actors and really see the process of how it’s done. I don’t
know about the release date; our goal is to obviously premiere it
at Sundance, so that means we have to be finished by October.
And to finish the interview, I asked a few general questions about
the movie industry and what are Katherine’s plans in the future.
L-Word.com: Do you ever see yourself doing mainstream
film or is indie always going to be your path?
KB: I think that I like indies, but I’m
trying to think that, if a mainstream film has a good enough story
that is complex and controversial and that interests me, then I
definitely want to do mainstream movies.
L-Word.com: You had stated that you don’t
see yourself directing someone else’s work because you would
feel like you’d have to check with them all the time. How
serious are you about that? Would you be open to reading someone
else’s screenplay if they really felt you were the perfect
director for it?
KB: I would love to read someone else’s
screenplay and I would be open to directing it if they were open
to some sort of collaboration. I mean, I don’t think that
a script is ever perfect, and I think it’s always changing,
especially when you get on set and some writers will not budge in
their writing, and I couldn’t work with a writer like that.
L-Word.com: How did you get into the industry
and what suggestions do you have for someone who wants to be in
production? Where is a good place to start?
KB: I started at the bottom and worked my way
up. A good place to start is internship…
L-Word.com: Like at the studio?
KB: I don’t know about the studios so much
but I mean, I came up through TV. But I think the best place to
start is to get a digital camera, get your friends together and
start shooting scenes. That’s the only way that you can really,
you know…start.
L-Word.com: Did you ever expect LA to build such
a large, devoted following when you were trying to get it going?
KB: I never thought that “Loving Annabelle”
would be as embraced as it is. I think because I was so consumed
by the fact I was going to make it, I didn’t even think what’s
going to happen after I make it.
L-Word.com: What's your inspiration?
KB: My inspiration is hearing people go from the
dark to the light and hearing people’s stories of struggle.
It inspires me to keep writing.
L-Word.com: What made you want to be a director
and be in the film industry?
KB: I wanted to be a director because I had a
really, really intense childhood, and so my escape was movies. So
I would close myself up in my bedroom, and I would escape into movies.
So I knew that I wanted to be a part of that.
L-Word.com: Have you ever considered setting up
an apprenticeship program?
KB: Yeah, I’d love to set up some sort of
internship with people. I think on the next movie…this one
is way, way too stressful. But I think once I have way more money
in production, and I have more people to help, that I think it would
be great to have some interns. Especially maybe kids that are trying
to turn their lives around, like they are on the street or something…I’d
love to do that.
L-Word.com: Do you have plans for another movie?
KB: Yes, I do. I have three movies that I want
to make next. I’m actually going to have some other people
write them, but it’s good because I’ll get sort of to
oversee how it’s going. I’m going to do a horse movie,
I’m going to do a female poker player movie, and I’m
going to do a pirate movie, a true story about a young pirate who
led a bunch of men in battle.
L-Word.com: When you win your first Oscar, who
are you going to thank first?
KB: I’m going to thank everybody that tried
to get in my way and stop me because they made me want it more.
L-Word.com: Are there any stories/books out there
that you'd be interested in making into a movie? If so, what are
they and why do you think that material speaks to you enough to
translate it from page to screen?
KB: I would love, love, love to make a movie from
the book “Life of Pi”. I read that when I was traveling
in Thailand, and I just had so many visual ideas that I would want
to do with that, so I would want to make that one.
|
