Sunday - August 17, 2008
A Monster Island News Interview: Chase Masterson
Ken Hulsey, Monster Island News: Playing a lounge singer in a production like this almost seems like typecasting due to your present singing career and love of the songs of the 30s, 40s and 50s. Do you feel like this is the part you were born to play so to speak?
Chase: I knew when I read the script that if I got to do this role, it would be one of my favorite roles, ever. I had, just that week, specifically prayed to be involved in a really quality project, and I truly believe this was an answer to that prayer. This role resonates with me on so many levels, the music actually is just one of them -- the type of music it is has always been my favorite, even while I was growing up, which wasn't exactly a popular choice. But more than that, the things that Singer says to Hoyle are deeply ingrained in me, they always have been. Singer has a sense of playfulness and yet a strong truth, an honesty, an integrity and vital understandings that I feel blessed to get to play. This kind of role doesn't come along very often for any actress. It's a huge treat.
MIN: Did you get a chance to compose any of the pieces you perform in Yesterday Was a Lie or did you at least hand pick some of the music?
CM: The instrumental music in Yesterday Was a Lie is being composed by Emmy Award-winner Kristopher Carter. None of the vocal pieces in Yesterday Was a Lie are original, they're all classics, as it should be. I think the music will add a great deal to the film. James hand-picked the vocals, I think they're perfect. Because they truly pertain to the action of the film. You'll see.
MIN: I found it interesting that you are listed as one of the film's producers. Is this your first time working behind the camera? Do you have aspirations to someday take the reigns as a director yourself?
CM: While it's true that I'm the producer on Yesterday Was a Lie, I didn't go into this project intending to be. I was cast in November 2005, but our line producers dropped out, and the film was pushed. While we were trying to figure out what to do, I basically just said, "Hey, I can do this." I had produced before, although not on this thorough a level. It's not brain surgery, but it is lots of hard work; so far, it's working very well. But, as far as directing, I have way too much respect for fine directors to ever feel like I'd want to tackle that. I do love producing. Even as high as the pressure can be sometimes, it's worth it. I want to find directors, and James Kerwin is the finest example, who deserve their work to be known, and I'll help make sure it happens.
Wednesday - March 07, 2007
After WonderCon
I just want to say how much we appreciate all of
you coming out to our panel at WonderCon this weekend. There was a lot going on
at the con, and we're glad you took the time. Encouragement really helps in the
indie world, as there's a lot of work for a long time with no guarantees, and it
was great to see you there.
Special thanks again to Eddie Ibrahim, Gary Sassaman, and the entire WonderCon team.
Special thanks again to Eddie Ibrahim, Gary Sassaman, and the entire WonderCon team.
Friday - January 05, 2007
...And ever thanks...
Hey,
Everybody...
Well, so much has happened since I've been in touch on this blog that I don't know where to begin. We made a movie. We actually did. A really good one. It was a whirlwind, full of as much drama off-screen as on; the world of low-budget filmmaking is difficult at best, and we all learned more than we ever dreamed during those 20-hour days and nights. But our calls to excellence prevailed, and the footage we got is strong, even more worthy of our efforts than I had expected. I get chills as I watch James edit the footage he so beautifully shot.
Mostly, I want to acknowledge our extremely fine team. You made magic. I appreciate you more than I can ever say, and I'd hire you again in a second.
Onward, so we can continue to birth this baby...
Well, so much has happened since I've been in touch on this blog that I don't know where to begin. We made a movie. We actually did. A really good one. It was a whirlwind, full of as much drama off-screen as on; the world of low-budget filmmaking is difficult at best, and we all learned more than we ever dreamed during those 20-hour days and nights. But our calls to excellence prevailed, and the footage we got is strong, even more worthy of our efforts than I had expected. I get chills as I watch James edit the footage he so beautifully shot.
Mostly, I want to acknowledge our extremely fine team. You made magic. I appreciate you more than I can ever say, and I'd hire you again in a second.
Onward, so we can continue to birth this baby...
Sunday - January 29, 2006
Blacks, whites and grays
Thank you for that welcome, Kipleigh. All good
things, right back to you.
Right off, I gotta say what a truly rare privilege it is to work with a writer/director as stunningly both skilled and talented, and as heartful, as James. As we delve into pre-production and the rehearsal process, it's intriguing to find that James is not only a true visionary and but also genuinely collaborative -- that rare combination of qualities reserved only for the most brilliant.
I'm excited.
I've long been a lover of golden era music, art, film and fashion, and if it weren't for my self-appointed task of bringing vintage sensibility to present day, I'd ascribe to myself the adage of being born in the wrong era. So what a treat it was to read the script and see that someone was singing the song that I sing -- metaphorically, even. I felt that way regardless of whether I was to be cast or not. But when I got the news that I get to play on this incredible playground, I exhaled for the first time in about a week.
Truly original, non-mainstream, quality filmmaking can be an arduous task in a zip code where "15 minutes" is all many people seek, and plasticity is status quo; it's a world that's all but bereft of soul, not only in entertainment but in life. It's a culture where we're tragically expected to drown out the voice of our hearts, if only for survival. James is taking that world, which is seemingly lacking in artistic merit, conscience or consequence, and translating it into noir -- dripping with style and fraught with conscience.
The simplicity of the film's message is only accentuated by the fact that it's set against a backdrop of uttermost complexity. The intellectual labyrinth the film invites us into is fascinating; the possibilities and implications it presents are mind-boggling and would be enough, in and of themselves, to chew on for quite a while. Yet it's safe to say that the primary journey of Yesterday Was a Lie will be that of the right brain. More on this later...
I'm honored to be aboard as we explore the blacks, whites and grays of both noir and the human heart.
Right off, I gotta say what a truly rare privilege it is to work with a writer/director as stunningly both skilled and talented, and as heartful, as James. As we delve into pre-production and the rehearsal process, it's intriguing to find that James is not only a true visionary and but also genuinely collaborative -- that rare combination of qualities reserved only for the most brilliant.
I'm excited.
I've long been a lover of golden era music, art, film and fashion, and if it weren't for my self-appointed task of bringing vintage sensibility to present day, I'd ascribe to myself the adage of being born in the wrong era. So what a treat it was to read the script and see that someone was singing the song that I sing -- metaphorically, even. I felt that way regardless of whether I was to be cast or not. But when I got the news that I get to play on this incredible playground, I exhaled for the first time in about a week.
Truly original, non-mainstream, quality filmmaking can be an arduous task in a zip code where "15 minutes" is all many people seek, and plasticity is status quo; it's a world that's all but bereft of soul, not only in entertainment but in life. It's a culture where we're tragically expected to drown out the voice of our hearts, if only for survival. James is taking that world, which is seemingly lacking in artistic merit, conscience or consequence, and translating it into noir -- dripping with style and fraught with conscience.
The simplicity of the film's message is only accentuated by the fact that it's set against a backdrop of uttermost complexity. The intellectual labyrinth the film invites us into is fascinating; the possibilities and implications it presents are mind-boggling and would be enough, in and of themselves, to chew on for quite a while. Yet it's safe to say that the primary journey of Yesterday Was a Lie will be that of the right brain. More on this later...
I'm honored to be aboard as we explore the blacks, whites and grays of both noir and the human heart.