The Great Charade (2019)

Director: Dan Strange, Rodeo Strange

Writer:  Dan Strange, Rodeo Strange

Stars: Francesca Louise White, Candice Palladino, Ricardo Freitas, Philip Boobyer, Marcus Davis-Orrom

A psychological thriller in which the world’s two most famous actors are kidnapped. They awake, bound and bruised, with no inkling of where they are. Unable to move they are at the mercy of those who adore them the most; their fans.

To help celebrate women in horror month, I got an opportunity to ask actress Francesca Louise White a few questions about what we can expect from the upcoming psychological thriller ‘The Great Charade’ and what women in horror month means to her.

Q. How important is it to recognise the female filmmakers during women in horror month and what does it mean to you

I think it’s vital and well past due that female filmmakers are recognised across the board in all genres. There’s still an assumption that female filmmakers in horror in particular can be misogynistic or working against equality for women due to the general perception and portrayal of the typical ‘Scream Queen’ female characters in horror, but by assuming and stereotyping all female filmmakers in horror in such a manner it’s actively working against equality in itself, and doing what they supposedly believe the female horror filmmakers are doing! Some of the biggest horror film fans I know are women, some of the most enjoyable horror films of recent years have been made by female filmmakers like Revenge (2017) by Coralie Fargeat, Carrie (2013) by Kimberly Pierce, and American Psycho (2000) by Mary Harron. I wholeheartedly support your efforts to dedicate, promote and recognise female filmmakers through February. Hopefully it will inspire more female filmmakers to delve into the often times bloody and disturbing depths of horror!  Maybe it will also motivate further female scream queens/characters that don’t fit the stereotypes and will dismantle the perception as it stands, as well as give actresses like myself and the others you interview this month even juicier characters to play.

Q. How did you get into filmmaking originally?

I went to Exeter University to study Drama as a degree, crossed the pond to train specifically in Acting at AADA in Los Angeles then came back to build a career for myself. I started off in student films. I have a lot of respect for student filmmakers there’s so much talent there and they’re open to casting you in roles you might not get for the higher budget productions so you can really test your acting abilities. Some people you get a feeling straight away that they’re going to stick with it and produce some fantastic work and that was the way with Rodeo actually, the Director along with Dan of The Great Charade. I auditioned for one of her student films a few years back and particularly took note of her style, her intelligence, her interesting characters and blatant talent; I knew she was someone I wanted to work with immediately. I didn’t get that role, but we stayed in touch and I’m very grateful to have worked with her and Dan a few times now.

Q. You play Amara Giovanni in the upcoming thriller The Great Charade which is being released later this year. What can we expect from the film?

Extremely TWISTED characters; some of whom get their just desserts and some who don’t. Empathy with people you wouldn’t expect to feel it for, darkly funny moments when you almost feel like you shouldn’t be laughing and lots of blood. I like to think of it as Silence of the Lambs (1991) meets La La Land (2016) without music.

Q. What attracted you to the role of Amara when you first read the script?

The simple fact that she’s so much more than what you see on the surface. She appears: successful, caring, always put-together and pretty much perfect with this wonderful relationship with her heart-throb husband Ryan Sterling (Ricardo Freitas). But, when the cameras are off, she’s vain, self-absorbed, ambitious to the point of standing on others to both get to and remain at the ‘top’, and in a toxic relationship with her husband whom she deeply resents.

Q. What sort of preparation did you do for the role?

Ha ha oops this might sound bad after that character description!! I watched a lot of Keeping Up With The Kardashians (2007 – Present)for character and accent research; Rodeo and Dan specifically mentioned Kim Kardashian as a reference point. I did my usual method of breaking down the script for the accent, the beats and the actioning/objectives while listening to music I felt Amara would prefer. We had a nice amount of rehearsals to really find our characters which were a luxury too.

Q. Did you make any changes to the character to how it was written in the original script?

There wasn’t a lot of changes per say, like I mentioned earlier – the character’s depths and complexities were evident from first read. I actually replied with a ‘PLEASE PLEASE LET ME PLAY THIS ROLE’ to the very first email! There was this one moment that Rodeo and Dan let me include while shooting involving Amara going to great lengths to fix something to do with her appearance on camera. I had pitched it to them both on the first day and we chatted with Katie Johnson our make-up artist extraordinaire – The Queen of Blood as she is known – as to how to best achieve it. I was convinced Amara wouldn’t want to leave it, risking her money-maker and reputation if anyone saw and they happily agreed! Rodeo and Dan are great for that actually; they really trust their actors’ instincts.

Q. Did you experience any issues during the filming of The Great Charade?

I think there were a few location issues that Rodeo and Dan tackled – a common thing for indie filmmaking methinks – but otherwise nothing comes to mind. It was executed really well: organisation, time-keeping, rehearsals, taking care of everyone in terms of the tough shooting schedule and any challenging moments. I did find one moment very tough for me personally due to it being psychologically disturbing and violent, and getting a little too into the scene but this has happened in rehearsal, so Rodeo and Dan had scheduled some time for me to have a breather to myself after for which I was very grateful.

Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?

Crikey, there were SO many. This is a bit of a spoiler, but I’ll try not to reveal too much! The main one which comes to mind was a tiny scene involving a very over the top moment for Candice’s character Dixie. It was 4am in the morning, we were all shattered after a few days of night shoots and a bit delirious at this point. Rodeo and Dan wanted me to pop up as though from nowhere from one side of the shot initially then at the other in one smooth move with the camera. I was wearing very tight jeans, high heels and carrying an integral prop in one hand. The easiest way to achieve this smooth pop-up from one area to another without the audience seeing the movement was ducking down then crawling on the floor from one side to the other while the camera focuses on the ceremony and doesn’t notice the drop. Unfortunately – or fortunately, however you take it – this, combined with Candice’s ridiculously funny performance and ad-libs SERIOUSLY cracked Ricardo (playing Ryan) and myself up, and I ended up stuck shaking on the floor clutching my mouth desperately trying not to make a noise and ruin the shot, and to get control of myself for my reappearance. I then heard Ricardo snorting trying to hold himself together and choking through his lines as he tried not to laugh too. What made it worse was I could hear Dan and several of the crew desperately trying not to laugh in the background as well! Then, on the second take I dropped the prop which clattered on the floor and this completely cracked us up AGAIN. I should note that Marcus playing Lyle and Candice deserve a lot of respect for managing to hold themselves together perfectly!! The behind-the-scenes videographer Sam got a good few moments of Dan with a hand over his mouth turned away from the scene closing his eyes trying not to burst out laughing so we could get the shot. We took about an hour to get a few seconds of footage!

Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?

I’m working on a post-apocalyptic industrial western called The Flock by Andrew Griffin for Steamwork Films, in which I’m acting and co-producing. We shot the proof of concept last year and are looking to do the full film in a few months A sci-fi short called Companions by Will Dennies – my all-time favourite genre so very excited to shoot this. A fantasy series called The Seeing by Aoife O’Kelly which Peter Slucock wrote in which I play a shape-shifter called The Lady is currently trying to get picked up, and REALLY deserves to be, it’s such an enjoyable British ‘Supernatural’/’Van Helsing’-esque concept, so hopefully shooting the full series of that soon too. There’s a comedy project on which I’m working that I have to keep quiet about but will share as soon as I’m allowed, that should be great fun to work on too. Very fortunate, it’s going to be a good year.

Q. Are there any other women working in horror who you feel don’t get the recognition they deserve and whose work we should look out for?

Rodeo Strange the Director of The Great Charade for one, of course. Natasha Branson is the Producer for Mordue Pictures, and I’ve been fortunate to work with her a few times, she’s brilliant and we should expect big things. I’ve acted with Maria Lee Metheringham on a feature before and while I haven’t yet seen one of the films she’s directed, everything I have seen suggests she’s definitely one to watch too.

Q. What advice would you give to someone who is looking to get into acting themselves

Everyone has a different journey into this industry and to pursue a career in acting, so bearing that in mind: no-one cares about your career, your dreams and your goals as much as YOU do, so push, fight and do everything you can as no-one will do it for you. Ignore any criticism which isn’t constructive and enjoy the little triumphs. Whether it’s your first short film, a review where someone particularly connected with your performance, one line in a series you enjoy or paying taxes from money you’ve earned through your acting for the first time! It’s a  tough industry but it’s definitely worth it.

Thank you very much Phil! I hope you enjoy The Great Charade when it’s released.

Philip Rogers

Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!