Persephone's (Gothic) Insights

As part of my  ongoing Q & A series  on " Alien: Ore " (2019), what follows is part three of the three-part interview between actress  Tara Pratt  and myself.  New interview segments post every Friday at 2 p.m., EST. In case you missed them, read part one , and part two ! Getting the Role (cont.) Nick:  Would "Hanks" have been your first choice; or, if given the option, would you have played a miner, instead? Tara:  Once I had the chance to read for Hanks I knew I wanted to be her so badly! [She] would still be my first choice, but a miner would've been badass, too (and then I would’ve gotten to shoot in the mine)! Tara Pratt as Hanks, getting camera-ready  (courtesy of  Greg Massie ) . Nick:  Did you have to do any special training for the role, physical or otherwise (maybe watching some old corporate training videos, for example)? Tara:  I have a pretty decent regimen already that's good for my strength so I just

As part of my  ongoing Q & A series  on " Alien: Ore " (2019), what follows is part two of a three-part interview between actress  Tara Pratt  and myself.  In case you missed it, r ead part one . On Hanks and Androids (cont.) Nick: A memorable villain is paramount for any story. Played by you, Hanks is especially memorable. Tara:  Aw, thank you, Nick! Androids can be sweet, too (courtesy of  Greg Massie )! Nick:  To make yourself seem extra cold-blooded, did you have to draw inspiration from evil androids and corporate baddies in the franchise? Tara:  You know, I did watch  Alien  (1979) for a refresher on Ash's behavior in particular. Of course, in his world, the crew didn't know he was an android, but when you watch it again after learning his secret, you can see these beautiful moments—of eerie stillness and mannerisms that were there all along. [That's] what I wanted to imbue Hanks with: Hanks' crew knows she's a synthetic, s

As part of my ongoing Q & A series on " Alien: Ore " (2019), what follows is part one of a three-part interview between actress Tara Pratt and myself.  "Alien: Ore" Interview, Tara Pratt Nick:  Hello, everyone! My name is Nicholas van der Waard. I have my MA in English Studies: the Gothic, and run a movie blog centered on Gothic horror,  Nick's Movie Insights . Joining me for this interview is Tara Pratt, who played cold-as-ice android, Hanks, in " Alien: Ore ." Tara, on set  (courtesy of  Greg Massie ). Apart from being an actress, Tara has done podcast voice-over work. This includes an episode on Paul Bae's The Big Loop   (2017), and Kelly & Kelly's This Sounds Serious , season two (2018). She's assisted with other podcasts, including as a producer/production assistant for Rabbits   (2017), as well as production assistant with other  Public Radio Alliance  shows, including Tanis   (2015). She also provided the

As part of my ongoing Q & A series on "Alien: Ore" (2019), this interview is with the directors, Kailey and Sam Spear. I wanted to explore their interest in Shakespeare (and to a lesser extent, see how it affected their making of "Alien: Ore"). "Alien: Ore" Interview, Kailey and Sam:  Shakespeare Nick:  With me again are Kailey and Sam Spear, the directors of " Alien: Ore ." Their father introduced them to Shakespeare as children. After graduating college, they directed a stage version of Shakespeare's Hamlet (1609) and plan to eventually bring Hamlet   to the silver screen. (to Kailey and Sam): I love that your father introduced you to Shakespeare at such a young age (for my brothers and I, our mother read us C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, and Coleridge); also, that both of you enjoy Shakespeare so much! K & S:  We are huge C.S. Lewis and Tolkien fans too! Our Dad started reading us [the  Chronicles of Narnia ] books when we were f

This is part two of a two-part article that analyzes  Brightburn  (2019) Gothically. Part one outlined the movie and its Gothic content; part two shall now examine the bad parenting angle. Spoilers! Like Superman, Brandon Breyer is a space alien his parents found in the woods; unlike Superman, Brandon is being controlled by his alien "crib." This "other parent" tells him to "take the world," a premise of which bleeds Gothically into his ordinary life. To reiterate, a science lesson from earlier had Brandon comparing two species of wasps. "Wasps are predators, not pollinators like bees are," he explains. "Brood wasps are even more aggressive, and force other wasps to raise their young." To this, the farmers from Brightburn might seem like beehive drones. As the story progresses, we'll learn otherwise. Until then, our focus is on Brandon, who is most definitely not a bee. Instead, he's a wasp, but a very special kind. W