| Most recently, director Alex Ferrari
has been pushing to fund his project "Red Princess
Blues" and along with a bevy of crew members
from Numb Robot, he's pushed to fuel his potential
film franchise and hopefully we'll be granted
another splatter series of "Kill Bill" proportions.
Ferrari along with director Dan Cregan continue
their strategic push for film funding by creating a
short introduction into the universe of Princess,
with "Red Princess Blues: The Book of Violence" an
animated action short showing our title character as
a child learning the tricks of her trade and gaining
a fascination with knives, which Ferrari hopes will
be the jumping point and potential hook for buyers
and producers. He is not alone though, as he has
gifted Special effect supervisor and storyboard
artist Dan Cregan who took it upon himself to grab
the preamble to the film series and hopefully spark
interest creating an eye catching and exciting
prologue to bait potential fans hoping to see more.
As well, Ferrari and co. have movie star Paula
Garces at the helm.
Garces is the gorgeous
Latina actress who you may know from "Harold & Kumar
go to White Castle," "The Shield," and "Man in the
House," who was confronted by Alex years ago to take
part in the film production and inevitably she
signed on to star with the character and ad campaign
built around her image. She has also signed on as
the producer and has now helped the team to look for
buyers and producers to help create "Red Princess
Blues" the live action movie. And the combined
forces of the trio ensure that with any luck, "Red
Princess Blues" can happen. We were lucky enough to
interview both Dan Cregan and Paula Garces, who
discuss "Red Princess Blues" and their movie
careers.
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Is it true
that Alex [Ferrari] built the character of
Red around you?
Yes, I met
Alex at Nalip which is a
workshop in
Tucson AZ designed for
producers, writers, directors
and actors to work together to
workshop any ideas for scripts,
short stories etc and actually
shoot footage. He asked me to be
the leading actress on his
project and we got along great.
We had such a great time working
together that i guess he
mustered enough nerve to show me
a short story he had written
called "Red Princess Blues" and
he also gave me concept
paintings for the project which
included an animated poster of
myself I was hooked.
Did you have any trepidation
investing your time and work
in this project?
None what
so ever! I am truly excited
not only to lend my voice
over, but also to come in as
a producer of this project
has been a dream come true.
As a producer I have to
raise as much money and
attention as possible and it
has been a blast so far.
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What about it called
out you that convinced you to commit to it?
The character of Red Princess
is a very likeable character, she's a character
you want to root for. Red Princess is beautiful
, intelligent and tough. She is a bad ass but
she has heart. I love underdogs most people do.
That is what this little movie does it provides
an opportunity for the audience to root for the
underdog and go on an adventure that takes you
on a ride full of action, comedy heart and soul.
What has the experience
been like working with Alex and Dan?
Alex has become a true friend
and business partner and his talents speak for
itself. We inspire each other. Dan is an amazing
artist who provided truly beautiful paintings
sketches and drawings to stir up my imagination
and affect my performance directly in a positive
way love them both.
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If this
took off, could you see this as
a stand alone action picture, or
a franchise?
It did take
off, we are currently in pre
production for the live action
feature currently in talks for a
distribution deal. Its going to
be huge I have faith audiences
will dig it, gamers will love
playing it and comic geeks will
love reading it as you can see
we got big plans for Red
Princess.
Have you
ever considered branching out
into action films prior to "Red
Princess Blues"?
As an actress
I'm always dreaming and yes this
is a dream come true always
wanted to play in an
action film. Being on the shield
playing a rookie cop I got a
little taste of the physical
challenges that lay ahead for
the demands of an action film
and I just can't wait to be
challenged in that way.
Would you
prefer the story of "Red
Princess Blues" be a splatter
revenge picture, or something
more accessible to everyone?
Red Princess
is more than a revenge film its
a story that everyone can relate
and take away from its action,
adventure, comedy with a bit of
fantasy set in a very realistic
style with a well written story.
It will be for everyone.
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What traits and
character aspects do you feel you can contribute
to Red?
I can bring a very real girl
made of flesh and bone like every other girl
that by unfortunate circumstances is forced to
overcome true evil with her beauty smarts and
physical talents. I will provide humor because
I'm not afraid to make fun of myself, I will
provide heart but I will also play her strong
with a backbone. I will give this character many
colors so that audiences can identify with her
and root for her.
I read that you are a kick
boxer, is that true? And if so, would you add
any of the experience from the martial art to
the film?
I have taken kickboxing
before and it's an art form that takes time and
dedication to truly become competitive in
unfortunately I have not had the time needed to
dedicate to the sport, but I will train again
prior to shooting Red Princess and bring
hopefully a cool new style for women to defend
themselves if needed.
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Who would
you cast as your dream co-stars
in the film if you could?
Bruce Willis,
Gary Oldman, Samuel L.
Jackson, Val Kilmer, Ewan
McGregor,
Thomas Jane,
Jean Reno, Sam Elliot,
Jason Bateman, Tommy
Flanagan,
Norman Reedus,
Luis Guzman a few names
we have in mind; as you can see
all extremely talented actors
who I personally think are
always great performers and very
cool.
Off topic
slightly, I'll confess that one
of my favorite guilty pleasures
of the last three years was "Man
of the House," what's
your general reaction to it?
That is a
film I enjoyed working on
because it was an opportunity to
work with
Tommy Lee Jones who I am
still a fan of.
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Has acting been a
rewarding experience for you?
Yes it has it has given me
many rewards and gives me an opportunity to work
with great talented people and experiences that
not many other jobs can provide. I am living my
childhood dream thanks everyone.
Can you tell us something
about you that not many people may know.
Not many people know I am
starting my own production company be on the
lookout for that.
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How
long have you been working in
film and special effects?
I've
been in the business about 5
years now... ever since I was
asked to do some freelance work
on a film while I was in grad
school.
I
saw "Red Princess Blues," and
being a fan of The Enigma
Factory, I was simply blown away
by it, so my compliments on the
film.
Thank you very much.
I likened the "Red Princess
Blues" prologue to the story
of
Lucy Liu's character
in "Kill
Bill," was that
coincidental?
Not entirely. That was one
of the many inspirational
influences that made me want
to do something like this
film. I remember telling
Alex that I wanted to direct
a short animated film
because I had been doing a
lot of visual effects work
for live action films and I
thought it would be a great
change of pace. I've been a
huge fan of Japanese Anime
since I was a kid and this
seemed like the perfect time
to attempt one of my own.
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How long did
it take to complete "The Book of Violence"?
About six months.
What was the
overall budget on the short?
It was just man
hours for the most part. I already had the
software so it was just the value that I put on
my time. Of course, I couldn't have done it
without Alex, our amazing actors or the
incredible sound design by Mark Roumelis of
Cmpozr Inc. Honestly, knowing how many hours I
put into it... not to mention all the work done
by the people who helped... I imagine it would
have been pretty expensive, but there's no real
way to put a number on it.
How long have you
and Alex Ferrari worked together?
A little over three
years now. Time flies...
What has the general
reaction been to this, and has the faith in this
project flourished after the short?
So far so good. All
the reviews have been positive and many people
have remarked that this was a unique way to
promote a project. Making an independent short
animated prequel or prologue for a live action
film hasn't been done many times in the
independent film community. I can only hope that
it sells Alex's live action film in a way
that just a script and some storyboards
wouldn't.
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Where would you and Alex go
after this introduction?
Hopefully, there is someone in
the business who would be
interested in helping us make
the feature and we can get right
into that as quickly as
possible. The live action film
itself has a much different tone
than the Anime but it shouldn't
feel like a total departure.
Are you including this short
film as a way to sell the
concept of "Red Princess Blues"?
That's the plan.
Would this short act as a
completely detached part of
the story, or a prologue?
It has some elements that
are in the live action
feature but it also fills in
a few gaps. It should feel
like a good compliment to
the feature film.
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Where are you and Alex shopping this film to?
Pretty much anyone
in the business who would like to take a look at
it. Festival showings will also be a part of
it's life span. Hopefully one day it will be a
feature on the Red Princess Blues DVD!
Could you see "Red Princess Blues" living on
as a franchise?
I can see a lot of
possibilities in live action and animation.
Anything is possible... with a little luck we'll
get to find out.
What is Enigma Factory doing to get the word
out about the movie?
We'll be using the
web, taking industry meetings and and playing
the festival circuit... then we may start
telemarketing... no... on second thought... not
the last one.
How can fans
of the film,
Ferrari, you, and Garces contribute to
helping this movie get shopped and made?
I guess by just
trying to get the word out to as many people as
possible. If you know someone in the business
let them know you want to see more from us.
Where can people
find more from you?
My pleasure!
For more in Red
Princess Blues, check out our Review of the
Animated feature, and much more:
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