An Interview With Tony Brownrigg

The recently completed film by
Anthony Brownrigg.
Post Reply
User avatar
The Dhampir
Just Bitten
Just Bitten
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2008 4:10 am
Custom Title: Horror Opinionator
Location: the abyss
Contact:

An Interview With Tony Brownrigg

Post by The Dhampir »

The Dhampir was fortunate enough to get Anthony Brownrigg, writer, director and star of Red Victoria to sit down and do an online interview with him. Here's how it went....

TD: We know that your reluctance to do a horror film, to walk in your fathers shadow was the motivation for your character in Red Victoria, what are the similarities between you and Jim?

AB: Heh, well its funny to me in a way. I do enjoy a good horror film, although when you've been saturated with it from an early age like I was you tend to lean to new ground that you enjoy exploring more. Honestly, it was never intended for Jim to be a template of me in any way. In fact I refused to see any similarities through out the whole process. But after the film was done, I was surprised to see some elements of Jim in myself, not a lot mind you. But the very fact that Jim was refusing to embrace his calling to make a stright horror film was more or less what I was doing when I made the film in the first place. Although the similarities do tend to end here, I do know horror, I've grown up with it, I know it all too well, and in many different permutations. And very unlike Jim, I've never been afraid of the deep, dark, depressing, or violent nature of mankind. I would venture to think Jim at the end of the film is more like myself than Jim in the beginning.

TD: No Nudity, why?

AB: Short answer? It just didn't come up. Long answer? I'm not against nudity in film, but I do prefer that anything like that go hand in hand with the story, and in this story, it just wasn't needed in my opinion. RV was not only a fun film for me to make, it was also a way for me to poke at all the frustrations independent filmmakers have when trying to get their products out the door. Many distributors tend to hand you a list. Needs sex scene, needs fighting, needs more cowbell. Why? says I. Does it have anything to do with the quality of the film? the characterizations? Is nudity something that was required in order to establish the validity of Victoria? No, no, none of these. Nudity is often a requirement for distributors to avoid having to find out whether a film is 'good' or not, and just lean on specific items to sell it. I've seen too many films that had my attention, had me going, engaged with the characters, and suddenly it's just 'broken' by a sudden wash of breasts of humping for no reason. It was that reason that I refused to just 'stick' anything in this movie just for the sake of it being in there. And Victoria is just too proper for that kind of thing. Even she has her standards.

TD: Why does Arienne appear more as herself about halfway through the film as opposed to the more decomposed dead form?

AB: I get a lot of questions on that one. It's actually two fold. In the original script, she was in that form all the way through. Arianne played the part so well that it just seemed right to both of us that Victoria show herself in a more 'human' way. After all, even though she appeared as a zombie, in all honestly, she's a muse. In the end of the film she tells jim. No, you didn't create me, you just defined me. Also when you become familiar with something over time like Jim did with Victoria, that thing tends to become more 'normal' to you. So was Victoria really becoming more human? or was Jim really becoming darker, and Victoria only appeared more normal to him. It's a good question honestly, and one that I still have fun wrapping my brain around.

TD: This film should be quite successful, has fan appreciation surprised you?

AB: Quite frankly, I'm floored. I had always hoped for a 'Good job", "Great film", "I enjoyed it". Those things are what I was shooting for, just a fun film, something that wasn't too heavy. But when I get things sent to me like "That's the BEST film I've seen in years", or "It's my FAVORITE film" That kind of thing bewilders me. Ultimately, directors often get so close to their projects that it's hard to see the film from the outside. So when we go into that crowded theatre for the first time, we're biting our nails. "Gosh, I hope they like it". In this case, it worked. But honestly, it wouldn't have worked without the fantastic performances of the cast, each one of them wound up drifting the film into it's own special rhythm. And when you're on a set, and the film begins defining itself to you, it's my opinion you should give it at least a listen.

TD: I've watched the film on 2 different DVD players, just to make sure that the audio "Slips" I noted weren't just faulty DVD players. Is this just due to low budgeting, or was it something else?

AB: Actually, im not sure. There's no excuse for it, and it will be rectified before any more go out. I did edit the film on my laptop, but still it's a fault I"m willing to take full responsibility for. Honestly, you're the first person to bring it up to me, so thank you. NO one else has caught that. After watching this film practically 1,000+ times, the scenes tend to blur together.

TD: There is a scene where you kiss Arianne, did you write it after you met her, or was it in the works from the beginning?

AB: Victoria seducing jim was always intended. It was a way for her to pull Jim further into doubting himself. Yes, I knew Arianne from the Freeborn teaser only two weeks previous to the script being done, and she was always in my mind as the only actress to play that character. But did I write that scene so I could kiss Arianne? No, if you'd been on the set, you'd have laughed at just how funny it was to pull that scene off. Arianne and I are almost like brother/sister.

TD: How have the reviews gone so far?

AB: So far the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. I couldn't be happier.

TD: Watching the film, is there anything you would have done differently, now that you have a finished product?

AB: Wow, on the technical side, I think there's just too many to mention, but mainly little details. Budget does put a cap on things sometimes. But other than that, I think there's a couple scenes that we weren't able to shoot because of budget, that I really would have liked to have in there. I really think they could have driven some deeper nails in the characters. But if I had a million dollars for it? Nah, probably not much. This was a piece that was about the who the characters were, not about what they did. It was written around the things I already had for free, so everything was meant to be where it was for the most part.

TD: You've made a potentially iconic female figure for horror, there aren't many, none even spring to mind other than Betsy Palmer, are you considering a sequel?

AB: Didn't you watch the film? It's a trilogy. Wink Yes, indeed, everything Victoria did was for a reason, she has her own agenda. The sequel is in the works, in it, you'll find out 'what happened to the bodies, what is that heart on her chest for, why is she going after Jim the way she is. Was it 'just' about him? OH yes, definitely a sequel. I will say that the success of this film has helped shape some of the things we'll address however. Victoria was always meant to be an iconic character. But I find that her intelligence is one of the main reasons she's so deadly. Its easier to outthink something mindless.

TD: Final Question, the trailer for Freeborn looks amazing anything you'd like to say about that?

AB: Freeborn was the entire reason Red Victoria was done in the first place. Freeborn has a much much larger budget, and I refuse to skimp on that one. But while waiting for investors to call me back, I was rather bored. And I do enjoy being on a set, So, Red Victoria was mainly to pass the time, and also to help establish me as a director to assist in getting the proper funding for Freeborn. But Freeborn, much like RV, is a character piece. It has more werewolves in it, than any other werewolf film, it has 3 full transformation scenes. But ultimately, it's not about werewolves, its about people. Emotionally, I find that if I can bring an audience to know a character, then the things that happen to that character matter to the audience. If you watch a stranger get stabbed, its gruesome sure. But if you watch your friend get stabbed, how gruesome it is becomes less important, it becomes more about [the] fact that you might lose your friend. The Pack (a fan site that was established to help the film) has been instrumental in helping us define legends, and methodologies of werewolves. And I'm thinking that it's going to be the most fun project for me yet.

The Dhampir would like to thank Tony for taking the time to talk with him, and I hope you all enjoyed the film and interview.

(Originally posted on The Dhampirs view http://www.myspace.com/thedhampirsview )
Be who you are!
Post Reply