I am very excited to have the opportunity to interview actress Maria Olsen about the upcoming horror feature, Window With A View!
ZE: How are you doing today?
Maria Olsen: Exceedingly well, thank you!! And you?
ZE: How long have you been in the entertainment
industry?
MO: Seeing that I first went on stage at the age of
6, I think I've now been in the industry for more years than I can
count!
ZE: I've seen your posts and know that this sort of
film is right up your alley. What other projects have you done?
MO: Although I've been in a ton of horror features,
from what I'm hearing, I'm best known for Starry Eyes, Trophy Heads
and Mark of the Witch. I was also in Percy Jackson & The
Olympians: The Lightning Thief, and I will be starring alongside
Jamie Bernadette and Camille Keaton in the much-anticipated sequel to
the iconic I Spit On Your Grave (1978), I Spit On Your Grave Deja Vu.
ZE: What projects are you currently working on
besides this one?
MO: Currently I'm gearing up to shoot horror
features Sweet Dreams, Desert Shadows and The Crumbs (that's just up
until the end of April). The anthology horror feature The Sunday
Night Slaughter from An Anti-Hero Production should also be released
this year, along with Beast of our Fathers from Menning Films,
Charlie Comparetto's Ghost in the Graveyard, Luke Genton's The Bone
Box and Barry Jay's Ashes. I've also recently had three films
released: Robert Conway's Krampus Origins, Roxy Shih's Painkillers
and Rebekah McKendry's Christmas-horror-themed anthology feature All
The Creatures Were Stirring.
ZE: What is your involvement in this film?
MO: I'm blessed to be talent on this project, which
means that I'm one of the awesome actors that have been cast in the
film. I'm thrilled about this because the character I read for was
very intriguing, and I am very interested in finding out more about
her and discovering what makes her tick! My character's name is The
Librarian, but she's so much more than your normal
Marian-The-Librarian type...in fact, she's rather terrifying!
ZE: How did you get involved in this?
MO: I saw the breakdown for the film on the IMDB
Feature Film Casting Board, and I submitted for the role both
directly by email and thru the IMDB website. I was lucky enough to be
requested to audition, and I then taped my audition and submitted it
to the production team. A few weeks after that, they emailed me to
say that, if I liked the script, they would like to offer me the
role!
ZE: What does the story mean to you?
MO: I found Window With A View to be a tale that
operates on several levels while its intersecting stories touch on
several groups of people showing that the actions spawned by the Big
Bad's malevolence spans decades. Being trapped somewhere deadly that
you cannot escape from is many people's worst nightmare, and the
Haunted Orphanage, home to the titular Window, will never let you go!
The film's website goes on to summarize the
story as follows:
"Our story begins at a girls' orphanage,
with the county sheriff stumbling upon a mass murder scene. 20 years
later, four college students goof off outside of the orphanage, when
one of the students gets drawn into the house and will not let him
escape. The other three, after trying to get in to save him, report
to the authorities and an investigation begins, with the force
discovering strange information about the house years ago. The
student’s brother is called in, who is now a paranormal
investigator. He, along with his “Scooby” gang and his brother's
friends, re-enter the house. Clue by clue, they are led to the
discovery that they are unable to leave the house either. One by one
they start to fall victim to the house and spirit that feasts upon
their souls, the result of “sin” that was in the house."
ZE: How did the screenplay affect you when you
first read it?
MO: I read the screenplay through in one sitting -
I always like to do that so that I get a sense of the continuity of
the story - and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I'm a very visual reader
because I usually see everything that's going on in my mind's eye,
and WWAV has some great imagery in it, which is something I'm looking
forward to helping create. I also enjoyed the humor in the story, and
the more light-hearted scenes act as a pleasant break from all the
blood and gore! The backbone of the story - and the cause of all the
horrible happenings - is extremely intriguing, and, as I've never
quite seen this particular type of villain, it may even be unique!
ZR: What sort of perks can investors look
forward to when they contribute to this campaign?
MO: I find the perks that are being offered as part
of this project to be extremely exciting as they include - among
other things - a chance to have an actual speaking role in the film
written especially for you! Other fun perks include personalized
video messages, your own personal Easter Egg in the film, annotated
copies of the script and sneak peeks at the footage. Product
placements and song placements are also up for grabs, as are Executor
Producer credits - and these are only SOME of the perks!
ZE: When is this film looking to start
production?
MO: I understand that the final round of auditions
will be happening this month in Kentucky, and the production team has
told me that filming should start in summer.
ZE: With the budget, will the film only be
taking local actors and crew, or can people from out of town submit
for an audition?
MO: Well, I know of at least ONE out-of-state actor
that's lucky enough to be cast : ME!
As I'm not privy to the film's budget other
than what's public knowledge on the Indiegogo fundraising page, I
don't know how many out-of-state actors the project will bring in.
ZE: A feature film on a budget like this is
ambitious. Will further funding be needed for post-production, and
promotion?
MO: The WWAV budget breakdown that was uploaded to
the film's Indiegogo page does indeed show that post-production would
be covered should the film reach its goal. The big question, of
course, is "will the goal actually be reached?". This is,
of course, where everyone wanting to support indie film comes into
things, and Team WWAV would love it if people could contribute and
pick up one of the awesome perks, or, if that's not possible, if they
could just share the project on social media to get the word out
there. Should the goal not be reached - and I've seen this situation
many times before with indie films - the filmmakers could decide to
make the film with what they have managed to raise, and they'd then
launch a further funding campaign to cover post-production costs
after principal photography has wrapped.
ZE: Is this a non-union production?
MO: Again, I'm just an actor on this project and
not privy to all of the inside information, but, as far as I know,
yes, it is.
ZE: Is there anything else you'd like our
readers to know about?
MO: I would very much like to introduce the
creative team behind the film: Director Chad Hundley : the story is based on a
terrifying dream that he had, and he cannot wait to make his dream a
reality!
Writer Jerry Williams : carefully worked
alongside Chad to help pin his dream-story to the page!
Casting Executive and Producer Cassidy Rae
Owens : on a mission to find the best talent ever!
Co-Director and EP Cherokee Hall : will make
sure that cast and crew dot all the Is and cross all the Ts! Assistant Director and Production Executive
Rhonda Bingham : AD-ing is the hardest job ever, but I'm sure she's
up to it! Cinematographer Dillon Patrick : his eyes light
up at the thought of shooting in the house! Yes, this is true - watch
their pitch video and see!
The link to the Indiegogo fundraising page:
Film's website:
