I have a treat for you today. I heard about this cool film being made called Ghost Dive and I knew I wanted to be a part of it. The cool thing is, I have interviewed some of the actresses in the past about their cosplay. One of the talented ladies in the film is the lovely Vera VanGuard who I just interviewed for her Goth Girl web series. Anyway, I emailed her and the ball just started rolling in my favor. So today I have an interview with the director of the film and in days following I will have some character spotights from the film. Let’s get this show on the road. Enjoy!
1. What is your name and where are you from?
I’m Sean Rourke, and I’m from Los Angeles (by way of Omaha Nebraska.)
2. What is your role with the film, Ghost Dive?
I’m the director. Other than that, I just stared in slack-jawed awe at the talented people who did absolutely everything else to make our teaser-trailer come together. :)
3. What exactly is Ghost Dive about?
Ghost Dive takes place in the near future, and follows an all-girl hacker ring. One of their members gets captured by the corporation she was attempting to rob, and the rest of the team have to come together to save her. Most of the movie takes place in real-time as they attempt a high-speed online operation to get their friend out, while men with lots of guns are zeroing-in on their locations.
4. How did the thought of Ghost Dive get started?
Well, like a lot of people, I’ve been a fan of cosplay for awhile. Some very good friends of mine have been in the scene for years, and I’ve always been impressed with their costuming skills, seeing them at Comic-Con and other conventions. Then, about a year ago, I had a total fanboy daydream about watching all these cosplayers together in one movie…you know, like working together as friends, getting into kung-fu fights, dodging bullets, all while dressed up like anime characters…and then about ten seconds later, I thought…wait a minute…why not? A month later, I’d written a script. Several versions later, my writer’s group gave it a thumbs up. A week later, I had several friends on board and was reaching out to those cosplayers and actors I didn’t know. Now I’m completely nerding-out over getting all these people together on screen!
5. Who are the main stars of this production?
Well, in trying to make the Ocean’s 11 of cosplay, we had to have a dynamite lineup of cosplayers. We lucked out with some major superstars of the scene, and in alphabetical order, they are: Jack Conway, Ginny McQueen, Valerie Perez, Riddle, Kat Steel, Vera Vanguard, and Ruby Leigh Young, (also known as Ruby Rocket.) I think if you combine all the characters they’ve cosplayed, you’d have most of the Marvel and DC universes covered. They’re backed up by some exceptional actors that I’ve worked with several times: Anna Perilo, Susan Smythe, and Bradley Upton, AND, we are very lucky to have added stuntwoman extraordinaire, Jessie Graff to our cast. This may be one of her first full-on acting roles, but she’s great on screen, and the girl literally flies. Seriously. Watch her demo reel. She’s amazing.
6. How can our followers find out more about this wonderful film?
By donating to our Kickstarter project! Even if you donate at the lowest level, you’re gonna get inundated with news, shooting updates, photos, and all kinds of cool stuff, PLUS, you get to chose which character you want to adopt, and your name will go IN the actual movie as one of their supporters. Not even in the credits, but ON screen, in the body of the film!
7. What other projects or films have you worked on that we may be familiar with?
I’ve been lucky to have worked on the VFX teams of movies like the Hunger Games, Green Lantern, The Book of Eli, and actually, even Ocean’s 11. I also worked on Freddy vs. Jason, which, for me, was about as important a movie to cinema history as you can get. It was like having Godzilla vs King Kong on your credit list. Or Citizen Kane. Or Sharktopus.
8. Is there anything else you would like to tell our followers about Ghost Dive?
Absolutely, and it’s basically this: the internet is moving us into a world where movies no longer have to be the result of just a couple brains making something in a vacuum that they hope other people will enjoy. It’s becoming a much cooler thing where you can now make a movie WITH your audience, and make it into something that you all want to see! (In this case – cosplayers in tight clothes, shooting guns in the future.) That’s what we want to do with Ghost Dive. This movie is meant to be a celebration of cosplay, cyberpunk, sci-fi, strong women, digital outlaws, and the aesthetic of so many anime and comic book influences, all wrapped up together in one package, and we’re tailoring it to the people who help us make it. So come share this with us!
9. When can we expect the release?
If we raise our entire budget by August 20th, then we’re aiming for a late 2013 release.
10. Where will we be able to see the film?
Honestly, the best way to guarantee you see the film is to donate to our Kickstarter page. For $25, you get a digital download of the entire movie, so that no matter what kind of distribution this movie finds after it’s finished, you’ll still be guaranteed a copy. So please, come make this movie with us!
Links:
Kickstarter page: www.kickstarter.com/projects/526378323/ghost-dive
Movie website and to watch the teaser: ghostdivemovie.com
