**Many Thanks to the
great folks over at Icons Of Fright for allowing me to post the text to
the
following interview.**
Brandon Johnson played the
lead role of Julian in Stevan Mena's 'MALEVOLENCE'; which hits DVD on
April 19th, 2005 courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment. After following
this film for a while, we knew we had to have a chat with Brandon about
his experiences making what we consider a great throw-back to classic
80's slasher horror. We talked to him about the long shoot on
'MALEVOLENCE', what is was like to film a feature on location in
Guatemala, and uncovered that he'll always be a drummer at heart. Here
we go! -4/05
Are you a fan of the horror
genre in general? What are you're earliest recollections?
My favorite thing about horror is facing the fear. It's
like riding a rollercoaster. The thrill comes from the payoff of going
through the fear. I suppose that's a motto for life. My earliest
recollections stem from 'Halloween', 'A Nightmare On Elm Street',
'Friday the 13th', 'The Exorcist', 'Magic', 'The Amityville Horror',
'The Thing' and 'Poltergeist'. I find the psychological films have the
greatest affect on me.
Tell us a bit about how you
initially got involved in acting?
I'm an only child so I spent a great deal of time alone
and in front of a mirror. In the mirror I created various characters,
friends, alter egos - so in a way I've been acting my whole life! My
first play was when I was in 4th grade. My character was 'Old Father
Christmas' and I was a total ham! As the years went by I did the usual
bizarre skits with my friends in our basements. My buddy Jamie had a
video camera so we were either making skateboard videos or crazy home
movies.
Christ, we were making 'Jackass' back when I was 15. We
used to make bombs and blow a lot of shit up. I had a beat up '71
Oldsmobile which we used to destroy garbage cans on every block - we'd
film the whole thing. I'd tear up lawns, do brake stands everywhere, a
lot of fire, etc... Anyways, you get the idea. It wasn't until I got
into college that I actually started studying the craft full time.
How early on were you cast
for 'Malevolence'? Did you take part in the promotional trailer that
Stevan Mena shot to help get financing for the film?
I was the last out of 400 guys to audition and the last
one to be cast. I actually cancelled my audition twice due to
scheduling conflicts. Eventually I ended up at the right place at the
right time. Regarding the trailer, Steve showed it to me at the
audition to give me an idea for the feel of the film and what they were
working toward. We started principal photography one week later.
What were your initial
responses to the script?
I was excited because it wasn't a typical genre rip off.
There was an opportunity for character development, drama and suspense
- it wasn't like people's heads were expploding because aliens were
exiting their skulls - and trust me I'd read a few of those! Plus, I
hadn't worked on full length feature before so I was down for anything.
Perhaps I got more than I bargained for! (laughs)
Considering 'Malevolence' is
considered the middle part of an intended trilogy, did Stevan give you
any info on the backstory for your character to help with how you
approached the role?
None at all. It was up to us as to how we wanted to
develop our characters. Steve guided us at moments, but also gave us
freedom to experiment. If we were going off from his vision he'd
straighten us out. Steve never mentioned parts 2 and 3 to me for a
while.
Speaking of, how did you
approach working on this film? Considering it homage's a lot of the
horror classics, did you look at any of these films before beginning
work on 'Malevolence'?
The thought had crossed my mind, but no, I just tried to
observe the logic of each scene and play it as honestly as I could. It
was important to be as invested as much as possible to what I was
doing. When an actor is interested, the audience will be interested.
The shoot stretched out to
almost 2 years of filming. How difficult as an actor was it working on
such a long production?
Oh Christ, that was nightmare. Continuity went out the
window and every so often I 'd get this call from out of the blue
saying, "We need you this weekend." I had to miss a lot of other jobs
because of the obvious: time and money. That sucked big time. We had to
get the shots and a lot of times we were fighting against weather,
locations and everyone's schedule. As an actor, I'm out there everyday
looking for work and when it comes in I can't really let it pass by.
Let's just say that there were very challenging times.
Were there any
particular sequences that were difficult to shoot?
Because of the time of year we were shooting in it got
very cold at night. There were days/nights where we were doing 15-18
hour days. By the time we'd wrap you'd by frozen to bone-literally. I'd
close my eyes and then there would be a knock on my door saying, "WAKE
UP!" Another challenging sequence was when I would be driving with
Marilyn late at night. We were shooting in the boonies and there were
no streets lights... anywhere! On the hood of the car was a big camera,
I had kino flo lights tapped underneath the dash blinding me, no clue
as to how fast I'm going 'cause I can't see the speedometer, couldn't
see the road - I couldn't see a frickin' thing!! Oh yeah, I also had to
do the scene as well. I wasn't big on laying in the body bag either!
That was the real thing - smelled terrible.
Tell us about filming the
bank robbery. For a low budget film, even we were surprised that you
guys pulled that scene off!
Yeah that was fun. I think we were all surprised we
pulled it off! The extra's were great and didn't know what to expect at
times. I had a moment where I knocked one of them over (our UPM
Natalie). We rehearsed a few times, but to make it look natural she
couldn't anticipate it. On the last take, I think I went for it a
little "too much" and totally knocked her on her ass. Please keep in
mind it was an accident and she was a real trooper. When I was younger
I played hockey for 14 years; I can check.
What would you consider one
of your favorite moments in the film? Both to film and to watch on
screen?
My favorite moment in the film is the "trunk scene" with
Marilyn. When you watch it's broken up, but we shot that in one take
everytime. Everything had to be timed out just right. We had to hit our
marks no matter what. Lighting, focus pulling, camera moves,
acting/blocking - it all had to be seamless. My favorite moment on
screen is a tiny one, but gorgeous. It's toward the end of the film
when Officer Riley is driving back to the hideout house. In the
theater, the screen is pitch black and then slowly in the upper right
hand corner two small headlights appear and the patrol car flies across
the screen. I don't know why, but I just love it.
You obviously spent a long
period of time working with Stevan Mena on 'Malevolence'. What can you
tell us about your working experience with him as a director?
What I love about Steve is he let's his actor's bring
ideas to the table. He has a vision, but he's open to what you have to
contribute and he listens; Steve's very collaborative in that way.
Plus, he'll look out for your best interest as an actor and as a human
being (which is rare). We still speak all the time and it's been an
extremely long process so if anything I've gained a good friend. I hope
to continue working with him for years to come. We've really gotten to
know each other over the years and for me, I just feel more comfortable
working in that environment. It's familiar, ya know?
You spent the majority of the
film with the two female leads. (Lucky dog, you!) Tell us a bit about
your working experiences with both Samantha Dark and Heather
Magee? Is it true Heather had to give everyone a ride to the set?
Most of my scenes with Samantha she was duct taped for
15 hours God bless her soul!!! She was a good sport. And yes, Heather
indeed played taxi quite often. It was in those car rides where we got
to know each other actually. We'd drive late at night back and forth to
set, to NYC and Pennsylvania - we'd talk about everything. That was
beneficial to our relationship in the film.
Both the slaughterhouse and
the house in the film were perfect for the story. Any odd occurrences
happen while being around those particular locations?
Nothing really odd, but the authenticity was incredible.
I'm still blown away that we found that slaughterhouse. The environment
was helpful to me as an actor. You could feel the creepiness
surrounding you.
What was it like to finally
see the film with an audience in theaters?
Well, the fact that it made it that far was just a trip.
I love seeing people jump, laugh, scream - that felt good. Also, it was
great to be able to hear all of the wild sounds that Steve put in. You
don't always get that from seeing it at home.
You're a musician yourself.
How pivotal is music for a film such as this, and how do you feel about
the music Stevan wrote for his feature debut?
For a film like this, it's crucial. For horror films
it's so important. The fact that Steve created it on his own in his
bedroom through me for a loop when I found out. He's multi-talented and
I think that's awesome he took the risk by doing it himself. As you
said it's his debut & given the circumstances, he did one hell of a
job.
You currently play in 2 bands
'Ill Rocket' and 'Progress'. Tell us about your musical background?
In a nutshell it started with sitting in front of
the television as a young boy watching MTV and air drumming. Then I
found pots and pans. Soon I graduated to a real drumset. Friends
migrated over and we began writing and playing cover songs. Eventually
I started recording and putting my music out. Nothing really brings me
closer to God than drumming. I formed a band in Minnesota that was
originally called 'Yellow No.5', but then we changed it to 'Touch is
Automatic'. Playing with those guys were some of the best times of my
life. We did 4 U.S. tours, made 3 albums, and a couple ep's. I was
living the dream. We were right on the cusp of something really
amazing, but I wanted to get out of Minnesota and they weren't keen on
moving. Anyways, I sold my car, bought a one way ticket and came to
NYC. Played with some other people, but it wasn't the same. I put the
sticks down for 4 years and went full force into my acting. As time
went by I was yearning to play again. That's how the fuse was lit for
my 2 current projects. It feels amazing to be back up there. Nothing
better than the sound of a mic'ed bass drum. When the hammer comes
down? BOOM!!!
Your other foray into horror
was an indie called 'Little Erin Merryweather'. Tell us a bit about
that?
That was an interesting project. The antagonist is a
female and she's very spooky. David Morwick sort of falls from the same
tree as Steve in that they both wore many hats. The film is more story
driven than full of gore. I did 'Merryweather' right after
'Malevolence'. I didn't plan it that way it just happened. We shot the
film up in Boston. That too was a long trek. We'd shoot for a couple
weeks and then every weekend I'd take the bus 5 hours up, 5 hours back.
The film is in its final stages and will be released soon, I hope. So
keep your eyes peeled.
You worked on a feature
called 'Invisible Evidence' which was shot on location in Guatemala.
What can you tell us about that experience?
The experience was incredible. It was my first time in a
3rd world country. Needless to say I stuck out like a sore thumb. Not a
lot of films are shot in Guatemala so people were curious as to what
was going on. It wouldn't be odd to have 150 people on the other side
of the camera yelling, making faces at you or doing whatever they could
to distract you. We had National and Presidential security with us at
all times. Our first day of shooting we almost got jumped. Sometimes we
get surrounded by M16's and the military, but the second we flashed the
Presidential seal they all backed off.
One had to be really careful too. We had a tiny crew and
I had to do my own stunts without padding or rehearsal. We were flying
by the seat of our pants. Because I was still non-union at the time,
they could work us as long as they wanted. I had 2 days were we shot
for 22 hours. Our hotel was solar powered so sometimes there would be
no hot water or electricity. It wasn't odd to have strange creatures
crawling around your room. One night I had a scorpion on the ceiling
above my bed. I'm glad I slept with my mouth closed that night. The
most devastating thing was seeing the homeless children. That stayed
with me for a while. When I returned to NYC my gratitude list went
through the roof.
You've worked in both films
and also some television. What have been some of the differences in
your experiences with working in both mediums?
With TV you move very fast. "Know your lines, hit your
marks. Moving on." There's maybe a rehearsal for camera and that's
about it; there's no time. This can apply for film as well, but usually
you have an option to go back and reshoot if you need to.
You recently recorded the
audio commentary track for the 'Malevolence' DVD. What was it like to
rewatch the film & record the commentary with Stevan?
There was a lot of, "Remember how many
times we did that!" It was kind of cool to be sitting there doing that
because I never thought we'd get this far. I hoped we would, it still
wigs me out. I felt happy and had a sense of accomplishment. Steve was
kind enough to edit out some of the stupid and inappropriate things I
was saying!!!
Would you be excited to take
part in the prequel & sequel?
Absolutely. I don't know what Stevan has in store, but
perhaps that's the fun of it. I'm at the top of the rollercoaster and
we're about to go over the edge.
Special thanks to Stevan Mena!!!
Visit: MALEVOLENCE Movie.com
All Content Copyright 2005 Icons Of
Fright.com.
No articles may be
reproduced in any manner without expressed
permission of Icons Of
Fright.com.
____________________________________
____________________________________
Copyright 2005 Star
Tribune
Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
January 28, 2005, Friday, Metro Edition
SECTION: VARIETY /
FREETIME; Pg. 12E
LENGTH: 407 words
HEADLINE: For his next
homecoming, the Guthrie?
BYLINE: Jeff Strickler;
Staff Writer
BODY:
A special local debut for the horror movie "Malevolence" is still on
even though the guest of honor can't make it.
The movie marks the first
starring role for Minnesota native Brandon Johnson, who is best known
for a recurring role on TV's "One Life to Live" (and, he would like it
noted, for playing on the Bloomington Jefferson hockey team that won
the state championship in 1992).
He had planned to be at the
Bell Auditorium at 7 p.m. today to introduce the movie and conduct a
question-and-answer session afterwards. Instead, he'll be on location
in Michigan shooting a TV pilot, so female lead Samantha Dark will take
his place.
"I'm really disappointed that
I can't be there," he said by phone. "I tried to do everything I could
to make it, but the best I could do was to be there by Sunday night,
and that didn't work."
The distributors were
stretching the definition of a "debut" just in delaying it until
tonight. The movie also goes into commercial release today, which means
that showings will start shortly after noon in the multiplexes.
Although he has a theater
degree from the University of Wisconsin, Johnson, 30, got into acting
only a few years ago. He started his show-business career as a drummer
for various rock bands.
"I was living the dream," he
said. "I was on the road playing concerts. A lot of guys talk about it,
but I got to do it."
Still, he only got to do it
sporadically. Not wanting to go back to waiting on tables - "I'd had
enough of that at the Billabong," he said of the Bloomington restaurant
- he dusted off his acting chops and staarted showing up at cold-call
auditions in his new hometown, New York City. He landed spots in
several indie films as well as guest appearances on TV's "Law &
Order: SVU" and the soaps "Guiding Light" and "As the World Turns."
His starring turn in
"Malevolence" came as a result of an ad he spotted in an actors' trade
publication.
"It was a paying job," he
said, explaining why he circled the ad. "That's very unusual for an
indie film."
Although he is sad that he
can't attend tonight's screening, he has another potential homecoming
to look forward to.
"My first love is still
theater," he said. "My dream is to someday play the Guthrie. And who
knows? My dream used to be to play First Avenue, and I got to do that."
Jeff Strickler is at jstrickler@startribune.com.
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