High Moon (2019)
Director: Josh Ridgway
Writer: Josh Ridgway
Stars: Sean Patrick Flanery, Chelsea Edmundson, Chad Michael Collins, Ted Ferguson, James Wlcek
HIGH MOON tells the story of a mysterious gunslinger from the Old West who returns from the grave to stop a bloodthirsty gang of werewolves from terrorizing a small town.
With the upcoming release of the High Moon on VOD/Digital from 14th May, I got an opportunity to ask actress Chelsea Edmundson a few questions about working on the set of High Moon and what makes it stand out in the horror genre.
Q. You play Lucy Andrews in the upcoming action-horror film High Moon. Can you tell us what we can expect from the film?
A damn good time!
Q. Can you tell me a little about your character in the film and what attracted you to the role?
My character, Lucy, is a widow. She’s very strong, very self-sufficient. I like her. I was attracted to the adventure – making a movie is always an adventure – especially if you get to travel somewhere to do it.
Q. What sort of preparation did you do for the role?
I’m embarrassed to say not a lot for this role in particular. I found out pretty close to filming that I would be making it so I just kind of had to go for it—I think you have to be ready to do that a lot when you’re an actor and not a name yet. They’re not packaging the movie around you, you’re not always cast first and sometimes casting can be pretty down to the wire. You have to just be ready to be thrown into the deep end and do your best sometimes.
Q. Are there any elements of your character in the film which you feel reflect some of your own personality?
Definitely. I’m from a small town like Lucy, so we have that in common and also probably wanting to be seen as tough—I think it’s important to her to not seem needy or like a damsel in distress or anything and I can identify with that. She’s like me and I’m like her in the sense that I usually bring a lot of myself to characters—just different sides of myself.
Q. Did you make any changes to the character from how it was written in the original script?
I think a change that Chad came up with and Josh supported was to have Lucy show Colt how to use a modern pistol—which I was really happy about as well. Besides that, one small scene I can’t think of anything—lots of night shoots. Things can get a little hazy!
Q. What was the hardest part of filming High Moon and did you experience any difficulties during filming?
Night shooooooooots!!!!! But really night shoots are always harder on crew than actors so I shouldn’t complain. Let’s just say I have probably never drank more consecutive coffees in my life. And I love Coffee so things could be worse.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
I love working with Chad—he’s just so fun and easy going and has become a close friend so I just have really fond memories looking back at that in general. Our makeup team Margo Mchugh and Emily Garrison are hilarious and amazing, and we had a lot of sleepovers and laughs, and I miss Emily a lot. Margo lives in LA now and is also a very close friend—we also loved hanging with Grace Montie when she was on set, she’s a very cool girl. My Mom also came to visit and hung out on set for about a week which was really special.
Q. What do you think makes High Moon stand out in the horror genre?
I think just that it’s straight forward and fun and kind of has this throwback feel of just wanting to go to the movies and get your popcorn and candy and escape. I hope people enjoy it and have fun with it.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
I have a new feature film coming out this year called The Black String also starring Frankie Muniz. It’s horror, but more psychological thriller—I play a very different character from anything I’ve done so far so I’m really excited for that one to be released as well.
Q. What advice would you give to someone who is looking to get into acting themselves?
I would say learn as much about the industry as possible and try to develop your own projects. Shoot something, write something. Work with someone to raise funds for a project you can have a great role in—just be a part of the process more. So many people are just waiting for their big break but there are people out there creating it for themselves and it’s completely do-able. I did a film called Thunder Road directed and written by a guy named Jim Cummings, it’s on Amazon Prime now. He made a short for Thunder Road which got into Sundance and garnered him a lot of great attention, he turned around wrote the feature and raised money—it’s an incredible show piece of his talent and he created it for himself. That’s what I’m trying to do more as an actor—get my hands dirty or whatever you want to call it, but I’m trying to take this advice myself and become more involved in the film making process.
I also think as an actor even if you’re living in Missouri (where I’m from) or somewhere really far from LA or New York or Atlanta (where a lot of new actors are going now instead of the Coasts)—no matter where you are now you can watch movies and TV. Watch what’s out there and if you love something look up who made it, learn about the people creating the things you love—learn and become clear about the types of worlds within film and TV you see yourself in and the various tones of different types of shows and movies.
Be inspired by actors—study them and as soon as you can get into a good class to really go for it and let loose, do that. Some people have an aversion to classes, but I think they’re really good even to just become more comfortable with being uncomfortable—which is a lot of what acting is. I would say if you’re different or unique don’t feel insecure about that—that’s special—hold onto that. Whatever it is about you or your story that make you special hold onto it for dear life and try to make it a part of your work.
Also find your people! Your tribe of people that support you and are positive and you can bounce ideas off of. For me, Chad Collins has become huge in that way as well as a few other key friends. Friends you can tape auditions with, ask for advice—friends you can produce a project with. Definitively try to cultivate that in your life because it makes all the difference.
You can keep up to date with future projects from Chelsea Edmundson by following her on Instagram and Twitter
You can find out more about High Moon on IMDB and keep up to date with news of the film on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook
You can also see my original interview with actor and producerChad Michael Collins here
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!
