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Above photos and all photos copyright Displacement Partners LLC 2016. Used exclusively for this interview
Greetings
valued readers of Dan's Movie Report, today we have an epic interview
from the creative mind of Kenneth Mader. Mr. Mader chats in depth
about Displacement, detailing the trials and triumphs of his lengthy
odyssey to complete his opus to his mom. Displacement brings to light
a unique creativity as rare as lunar rock, yet as accessible as a new
day over the ocean. Displacement was my top pick for the 2016 year.
Mader exudes talent, class, and a work ethic, that will no doubt see
his status rise over the coming years. Grab a seat, sit back, relax,
adjust your watch, bend time and get displaced! Kenneth Mader shall
infuse wisdom and quantum theory in your brain, and a textual lashing
of inverted reality, coupled with a deep knowledge of the inner
workings of independent film making... 3-2-1- GO!
DMR:
How long after your mom passed did you write the script for
Displacement, or was it started while she was alive?
KM: I had
begun noodling with notions for the script while she was alive, but
it didn’t really coalesce until she passed and I decided to
incorporate what happened when she got sick, which was her desire to
see the ocean one last time. Unfortunately she had cancer and it
progressed so quickly that my Dad and I weren’t able to fulfill
that wish, so that became essentially the heart of the story, and the
issue my lead character is dealing with that drives the entire
narrative. It still took about three years after that of on-and-off
writing to finish the script -- especially after I complicated things
for myself making it a looping time travel story! Then in early 2013
I jumped off the cliff to start production.
Above Mader directs Bruce Davison and Courtney Hope
DMR: Chat about
some of the limitations of filming over a few years and having only
at times some weekends to shoot around scheduling of performers and
crew?
KM: Yeah
shooting a film piecemeal over the course of two-plus years is
extremely challenging on a number of levels, not the least of which
is continuity. Little things like: imagine having to keep you hair
exactly the same over that extended period of time... and you have
Courtney’s hair! (she was great and had an excellent stylist who
was able to match it shoot-to-shoot). There was also the fear of
losing Courtney to a big movie or tv show. We actually had a couple
of scares like that along the way, but thankfully everything worked
out. (She didn’t land on The Bold and The Beautiful until just
before our release.)
Conversely there were also some benefits
to the extended shooting schedule, mainly the ability to shape and
improve the film as we went along. Something we captured in one scene
would instruct and change things in scenes we had yet to shoot. For
example, Courtney’s level of intensity entering the hotel room
after experiencing the timeslip on the beach inspired a complete
rewrite of that timeslip sequence, which hadn’t been shot yet. In
fact in the original script it was a completely different and smaller
scene that took place at the hotel vending machines. But her
performance felt like we needed a stronger motivation than what was
written, and I also wanted to expand the scope a bit and show what
was happening in the world around her. So in this case taking so much
time to get the film in the can worked to our benefit, and I believe
the benefit of the movie.
DMR:Share a
particularly challenging shoot day on Displacement, and describe what
went on to make it hard on cast and crew?
KM: The one
that comes immediately to mind was the café scene. Two days of
complete Murphy’s Law misery. It began with a key piece of camera
equipment breaking down which rendered our Steadicam useless. We were
in a location that was a 2-hour drive in traffic one way to the
nearest camera house, so as an AC jumped in a car to make the 4-hour
round trip for the part, I had to adjust and adapt my shooting plan
to compensate for the lack of Steadicam. Then the patrons remained in
the restaurant longer than expected and we couldn’t kick them out
because we couldn’t afford to buy out the place as we were being
allowed to film there mainly as a favor. As a result we ran out of
sunlight and had to light the patio area outside the windows to
simulate the sun, which put us further behind schedule. Then, running
all those extra lights off of house power since on our scout we
didn’t feel we needed a generator, of course we blew out the
breaker box. And not just tripped the breakers, but literally burned
out the box. We were lucky we didn’t start a fire. Had to call
in an emergency electrician to repair it before they reopened in the
morning, which cost a small fortune in overtime. Needless to say it
would have been much cheaper to just rent a generator. At the end of
day one I was certain and terrified the owner was going to throw us
out and not allow us back the next day. I had to eat a lot of crow
that night. Fortunately he let us return to finish the scenes, which
ultimately turned out fine, but that was one of the worst filming
experiences of the entire production.
Kenneth Mader lines up a tricky shot
DMR: Did you
have everything planned out from the start with regards to budget,
crew, and script to screen dialogue, if not what are some adjustments
along the way that were made.
KM: It was
planned, but with a definite plan to also remain flexible. I like to
give my actors the freedom to make the dialogue their own, so unless
there were specific scientific or quantum physics speeches that
required accuracy, they were free to play and improvise a bit. I joke
that when I direct, I throw the writer me off the set. That’s not
entirely in jest. I don’t want to be so rigidly married to my words
that we lose spontaneity and the potential for magic to happen in
front of the camera.
Also, at one point Courtney tore a
tendon in her foot and was on crutches, so I had to completely throw
away my shooting plan for those days and improvise around the fact
that she couldn’t walk! I think that was actually even more
terrifying and challenging than the café scenes.
DMR: Chat about
wearing multiple hats, was it always planned that you write direct
and produce or was it supposed to have additional partners helping
you?
KM: On the
one hand, I’m a bit of a control freak, so wearing many hats is a
choice. But on this type of film it is also a necessity. I had always
planned to write, direct, produce, and also edit, in large part to
maintain the creative integrity of the story, but also because I
didn’t have the budget to hire anyone else. I’m also a
cinematographer, so when my DP wasn’t available I would take on
that hat as well. I did bring in my colleague Zander Villayne to help
produce as it was just too much for one person to manage. I also had
a lot of great co-producers and line production help that eased the
burden.
Above Picture: Director Mader with Sarah Douglas on the first day of shooting on Displacement
DMR: Regarding
the finished product of Displacement, I know you have two versions of
the film, an extended cut and a lifetime movie network cut, are their
still plans to do an extended cut on blu-ray or theatrical?
KM: Yes, I
definitely want to release the extended cut on blu-ray, as well as a
full-length making-of documentary. Some of the deleted and extended
scenes are available as Bonus Features on the just-released DVD, but
I think it’s more fun to watch the extended cut uninterrupted.
Also, the DVD/VOD version is actually slightly longer than the
Lifetime network cut, so it’s really three versions – and the
other two don’t contain commercial breaks! Boy that was a challenge
with a movie like this, figuring out where to break it. And Lifetime
has very specific timings for each segment. There’s a bit of wiggle
room, but not much. A good problem to have I guess.
DMR: Chat about
your thoughts on the just amazing rise of Courtney Hope with the huge
video game series of Quantum Break and The Bold and the Beautiful,
have you noticed more of a demand for Displacement now that she is on
top of Daytime TV as Sally Spectra?
KM: It’s
pretty much every filmmaker’s dream to cast a rising actor and have
her break large right at the moment your film is coming out! That is
exactly what happened with this. It’s been pretty remarkable. I’ve
known Courtney and her family since she was 15 and just starting out
in the biz after moving to L.A. from Texas. In fact I helped her put
together her first demo reel, where I saw just what a terrific young
talent she was. Even then, she was a solid actress already booking
guest star roles on major television shows. I knew she would be a
star if she persisted and got offered the right opportunities, and
vowed that I would cast her in something one day. Nine years later
that became Displacement, and her rise throughout the making and
release of the film has been really cool to watch. She actually
couldn’t make our Premiere because she was presenting at the
Daytime Emmy’s! Crazy. She’s a great gal and very dedicated and
totally deserves all the success she’s enjoying. I’m very proud
of her and excited to watch her star continue to rise. Can’t wait
to see what’s ahead.
As for how it’s impacted
Displacement, it certainly helped our publicity push during the
release. I won’t know for another month how the film is doing
online as there’s a 90-day delay before the platforms report their
numbers. But I’m sure her popularity on Bold hasn’t hurt.
Director Mader with Susan Blakely and Bruce Davison
DMR: Chat about
casting the amazing and talented luminaries in your film, an amazing
get for an indie, I know you have secrets, but how much light can you
shed on casting Bruce Davison, Susan Blakely and Sarah Douglas?
KM: I had
met Sarah Douglas a number of years ago at a Science Fiction
convention after being introduced by a mutual friend. We discussed
working together, and after a couple of other projects we tried to
get set up didn’t go, I wrote the part of Dr. Miles with her in
mind. To my delight after reading the script she said yes. Then over
a year into production of the film, I saw a post she shared on
Facebook with a photo of her and Susan Blakely at lunch together. I
had no idea they were friends and my immediate thought was “Susan
Blakely! She’d be perfect for our mom!” So I reached out to Sarah
and she reached out to Susan and the next thing I know I’m on the
phone with Susan Blakely telling me she’d love to do it. A crazy
Hollywood Moment. These stars that I looked up to and admired for
years were now in my movie. It was pretty surreal. And then Bruce
Davison came to us through his manager and of course I’m a huge fan
of his work so that was another surreal Hollywood Moment.
A
bit of trivia about Bruce I didn’t know: He plays one of the
returning pilots at the end of one of my all time favorite and
influential films, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Did it as a
favor to his friend Steven Spielberg back in the day. I nearly went
complete fanboy on him when he told me that story. But I held it
together until the drive back to my office. Then had to watch that
scene in the movie again. Sure enough, that’s him coming out of the
ship. Crazy.
DMR: You have
created interesting positioning on Displacement rather than selling
the film outright to one entity LMN has broadcast rights, and you
still have the rights to release on DVD and limited theatrical, is
that a new concept, as I never heard of that before, unless different
territories buy it.
KM: It’s
not necessarily new to “split rights” as they call it, but it is
becoming more prominent as the industry changes. New distribution
models are being tried to adapt to this changing digital landscape,
such as “day-and-date” releases where indie films come out on
both VOD and in theatres simultaneously, mainly as a way to drive
publicity and critical reviews for the VOD. These days unless you win
the lottery at Sundance it is very difficult to get a distributor to
pay any reasonable amount for an all rights deal. We had numerous
offers, but they all sucked. So splitting the rights became the more
viable option, as we could retain more control over the release as
well as the potential revenue stream. In our case we ended up
releasing Displacement in a kind of backwards paradigm; on television
first, mainly because we received an offer from A+E Networks at the
beginning of our release window that we couldn’t refuse, then
fought hard and won the right to do a limited theatrical release
after their exclusive broadcast window closed, and put the film in
theatres day-and-date with our VOD release, followed now by DVD
(check out our website for info and links on where to see it or buy
at https://displacementthemovie.com/store/).
DMR: What is next
for Maderfilm, some new projects in the works? What are some of your
longer term goals and what actors and actresses would you like to
work with in the future?
KM: We have
three main projects in the hopper at the moment: a supernatural
thriller feature entitled Deep Focus, a sci-fi television show we’re
developing called A.L.L.I.A.N.C.E., and a book series based on my
short film Passing Darkness entitled The Arcadia Chronicles which
should come out later this year. There are also some smaller
projects, another short film in the works, and a music video I just
booked.
As for longer term goals, I would love to transition
into larger films and cinematic television. I vowed when I was young
that one day I would direct a Star Wars picture. A lofty goal to be
sure, but after watching Rian Johnson and Colin Trevorrow’s career
trajectory among others, that dream remains alive. In the meantime I
will continue to create independent films and shows and find new ways
to deliver them directly to our audience.
The list of actors I
would love to work with is long, but certainly the greats like Pacino
and Streep, also Naomi Watts, Julianne Moore, Hilary Swank, Jessica
Chastain, Kate Beckinsale, Matthew McConaughey, Guy Pearce, Malcolm
McDowell, Robert Downey Jr... it’s endless. Though I certainly feel
blessed for the opportunity to have worked with the great actors I
already have. It’s been an amazing journey so far.
And
thank you and Dan’s Movie Report for all your amazing support of
our film! I and my team really appreciate it, and hope your readers
enjoy Displacement.
Finally, if anyone wants to know more and
get the inside scoop on things, plus advance news and special offers,
they can sign up on our website at https://displacementthemovie.com/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/KennethMader
DMR:
Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to conduct
this enlightening interview, I am sure more will follow when your new
projects begin to take shape, as always keep reading Dan's Movie
Report for more exclusive interviews and film reviews. Shadow reality
now returns to normalcy, my audience, you are free to return to your
regular lives haha!
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