Determinedly fighting for the ideals and lifestyle you passionately believe in, even if you’re forced to contend with external conflicts that people purposefully put in your way so they can achieve their own goals, can be both a daunting and liberating experience. While it can be challenging to determine how to best overcome those obstacles, finally figuring out how to do so and accomplishing your plan can be one of life’s most gratifying experiences. Not only does the relatable anti-hero in the new action crime drama, ‘Lazarus Rising,’ intriguingly set out to leave his dangerous job and improve his life, but director John Depew also grippingly overcame his independent budget to film a movie that’s filled with alluring stunts and complex characters.
The filmmaker was able to showcase his success last month when the drama premiered at the Action On Film Festival in Monrovia, California. Depew and his cast and crew were honored for their enthralling effort when ‘Lazarus Rising’ won the ‘Action Feature Film of the Year’ honor at the festival. The award was given on Saturday, September 26 at the festival’s yearly award ceremony in Pasadena.
‘Lazarus Rising’ follows the caring but effective hitman Michael Fitzpatrick (Mike Pfaff) and his more ruthless partner, Angelica (Megan Le), who wants to continue their personal relationship, much to his reluctance. Their seemingly straightforward existences are then tested when they’re suddenly forced to evade teams of assassins who are headed by the lethal and relentless Mr. Gray (Adoni Maropis), a low-level mob enforcer.
So Mike is forced to go on the run with Emma (Devon Ogden), the woman he truly wants to be with, and his heroin addicted brother, Sean (Sean Carmichael), after Angelica becomes upset that her partner hasn’t chosen to stay devoted to her. Since Emma has turned up on the hit list of the merciless assassins, who are led by mid-level dispatcher Dallen McCormick (Sal Rendino), Michael will do whatever it takes for him and the ones he loves to stay alive. He also presses for the reasons behind Emma’s inclusion on the deadly list, while Sean presses for his brother to ditch her, and Emma presses to keep her secrets in order to get a fresh start. With an election nearing and Senatorial hopeful James Connelly (Eric Roberts) unexpectedly getting involved in the assassins’ plan, all their paths converge, and an ultimate explosion of wills and violence is imminent.
Depew generously took the time to talk about directing ‘Lazarus Rising’ during a phone interview on the day the action crime drama had its World Premiere at the Action On Film Festival. Among other things, the filmmaker discussed that he was interested in helming the character-driven action drama, as he feels that it’s a mistake that there are a lot of action films that don’t care about the characters, and only cater to the stunts; how he cast versatile actors like Pfaff and Roberts because they naturally know to connect with the feeling of their characters, and don’t need continuous direction; and how he was thrilled when he learned the crime drama was accepted into the Action On Film Festival, as it runs like a major film festival, but it’s also supportive of young and new filmmakers, especially in showcasing their work.
ShockYa (SY): You directed the new action crime drama, ‘Lazarus Rising.’ What interested you in helming a movie that focuses on people’s strives for redemption for their past mistakes?
John Depew (JD): Well, this is actually my fourth feature, and three of the four are action crime dramas. So I’ve been making this type of film for quite awhile. I’ve also been watching these movies for quite some time, and I’m quite fascinated by them.
I often see what I feel is a failure in a lot of action films, as they don’t always go behind the action. So I tried to do that with ‘Lazarus Rising.’ There are two points that I wanted to make with the film. The first one is that women are as good as men in action films, and sometimes are even better. The second point is that there are a lot of action films that don’t care about the characters; they only care about the action. I think that’s a mistake, which is why I wanted to make a character-driven action movie with ‘Lazarus Rising.’
SY: You wrote the scripts for the previous films you have directed, including 2009 drama, ’27 Down,’ the 2010 action adventure drama, ‘CO2,’ and the 2012 sci-fi movie, ‘The Final Shift.’ Why do you feel penning the screenplays for the films you direct is so beneficial? How does working on the scripts influence your helming decisions?
JD: Well, when you want to tell a story, you should engage people. I think in today’s world, you can’t relate to a lot of our action films’ stories, and you really don’t care about them. I think it’s wrong if the characters don’t have any engagements outside of the action. You need to be involved with the characters, and care about what they’re doing. I think that’s why people go to the movies in the first place-they want to have emotions through the characters.
SY: ‘Lazarus Rising’ features a diverse cast, including Mike Pfaff, Devon Ogden, Adoni Maropis, Eric Roberts, C.Thomas Howell, Lenny Clarke, Cedrick Stewart, Sal Rendino and Sean Carmichael. What was the casting process like for the main actors, particularly Mike, who plays hitman Michael Fitzpatrick, who’s forced to go on the run from his bosses?
JD: Well, I’m from Boston, so we auditioned actors in the city. We also auditioned actors in New York and L.A. About half the cast is from New York, and the other half is from L.A., and there are a few actors from Boston.
It’s important to find actors who can really relate to, understand and be motivated by their character. During the casting process, we went through a website called Actors Access, and listed the characters and what we were looking for in actors for each role. When people sent in their demos, we looked at them, and then had call-backs for the people we really liked. It was a really long process-it took about six months to just find the actors.
SY: Besides writing and directing movies, you have experience acting in short and feature films. How does having that acting experience influence the way you approach interacting with the casts in the movies you direct?
JD: Having acted myself, one of the things I look for in actors during the casting process as a director is if they could bring something to the story. As an actor, when you start a story, you have to really understand your character. Directors also have a vision of how exactly they want the performances to go.
When I bring an actor on board, and I think C. Thomas Howell, Eric Roberts and Mike Pfaff were perfect examples of this, I look for those who ask me, “What do you want?” I’ll say to them, “Here’s the blocking, so go do the scene,” so that I can see what they’ll bring. In many cases, it makes the director’s job so easy.
C. Thomas was a perfect example of that. He played a character named Silent Cal. I pictured a slow-talking character who was very deliberate in his speech. When C. Thomas was first cast, he was a mile a minute. So we played the scene out like that, and then I yelled “Cut.” I walked over to him and he asked, “How was that?” I said, “Silent Cal’s not so silent.” (laughs) That was such a brilliant moment.
From that moment on, I said, “I’m not going to tell an actor how to act; they should already know how to act.” Sometimes you have actors who understand what they want, but have a difficult time getting what they want. That happened a few times on this movie. So you have to get them to feel the action.
For me, acting’s not about pretending; it’s about feeling the moment and the character, and what you yourself would do in that situation. So those were the types of actors we were looking for-people who have an interpretation of their character that’s somewhat in line of what I was thinking, and also a little different.
In the end, making a film is a very collaborative effort. My pictures often say, “A Film by John Depew,” but what they should say is: “A Film by Cast and Crew.”
SY: Do you allow the actors to improv once you arrive on the set and begin filming, in order to allow them to relate to their characters?
JD: Like I said earlier, I don’t give the actors a lot of direction before each scene. I want to see what they’re going to bring, and what their interpretation is of the scene. I’m one of those people who believe that I know everything. So it’s rare that when I cast an actor, they won’t surprise me in some fashion. It gives me and the editor a lot more options on how to play a scene.
C. Thomas was the perfect example of that. I had interpreted the actor in one way, and he played it another way. The way he played the character was much more powerful than I had ever imagined.
So as a director, you have to let the actors play their characters the way they feel is the best, because who knows the character better than the actor? So if someone ad-libs, I don’t go back and say, “That’s not the line.” I’ll listen to it again and go, “Wow, that’s a pretty good interpretation.” If it’s not, I’ll let the actors know. I’ll say, “I see what you’ve done, but I need it said this way.” I have to do that because I’m looking at the whole picture, and they’re looking at their character. But it’s rare that I have to do that.
SY: Since ‘Lazarus Rising’ is an action-driven film that also focuses on the characters’ motivations and relationships, how did you decide how to best edit the stunts and the storyline together?
JD: One of the things you always have to realize is that as a director, you don’t know everything. I did a film where I trained the actors how to fight for three months. What I realized from that picture is that you can’t train someone to fight or do an action sequence in three short months; you need professional stunt people who know exactly what they’re doing.
You also need an editor to know how to cut those types of films, so that you get the right emotions and the action, and you really engage the audience that way. Those are not my strong points; my strong points are dealing with the characters and their emotional moments, and getting the best performances out of the actors.
When you’re doing something as aesthetic as this, you need those people who know what they’re doing. That’s exactly what we did on this film. We looked for a DP (Director of Photography, Douglas Gordon) who knew how to shoot an action sequence. We also wanted editor(s) (Shawn Anthony, Nathaniel Campbell and Spencer Cohen), who know how to cut this type of movie, so that it can be the best action movie it can be. We also looked for stunt performers who could carry out the action sequences.
SY: You shot ‘Lazarus Rising’ in both Los Angeles and Boston. What was the process of finding the locations where you would shoot the action drama? Overall, do you find that filming on location is beneficial in making a movie?
JD: Most of my films have been shot in Boston; this was actually the first one that we also shot in L.A. When you shoot in New England, there are a number of states you can film in.
We were filming a boating scene with C. Thomas, but we couldn’t find the right lake that we were looking for. The lake scene features our lead character drowning people. Mike Pfaff, who’s also a producer on the movie, is from L.A., so he found the locations for us there.
You have to trust the people you’re working with, and believe they know what they’re doing, as well. So Mike is a producer and the lead actor, and also did his own stunts. Given this is an independent film, I had to trust him, because I couldn’t afford fly out to L.A. to look at the lakes with him.
SY: Like with the previous films you have written and directed, ‘Lazarus Rising’ was produced by your Massachusetts-based production company, Wild Beagle Productions. What was your inspiration in starting the company? What has the experience of producing your films through the company?
JD: I think we’re one of the few independent film companies. I got into this game very late. I had a concept for a movie, but I didn’t go to film school. So I approached another production company about it. I looked them up to see how they treated their staff.
I then thought, I want to make this. When I told my wife about it, I said, “I know this is can be a really great picture.” She said, “John, we just won’t go on vacation, and we’ll make it ourselves. We’ll just start our own company. You know enough people in the industry, and how to pull them together.”
This is actually the second company we started; we also have a medical billing company. That allowed us to fund our own films, so that we could shoot the kinds of movies we wanted to make.
SY: The drama (had) its world premiere (last month) at the Action On Film Festival in Monrovia, California, where it was nominated for three awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Eric Roberts, Best Breakout Action Star for Mike Pfaff and Best Action Film (the latter of which it won). What does it mean to you that the movie is premiering at, and recognized by, the action festival?
JD: Well, let me start off by saying that I don’t always believe in bringing movies to film festivals. I think it’s really difficult for independent filmmakers to get their movies into festivals.
I did it once before, and it was a film festival up in Maine. I went up there, and the movie was shown in the basement with folding chairs, and people were playing poker in the background. That was very disappointing to me.
When you’re first starting off as a filmmaker, your movie may not be good enough to make it into a major film festival. The true independent filmmaker doesn’t have the political connections to get into those festivals.
So when the Action On Film Festival accepted ‘Lazarus Rising,’ I thought it was amazing. The only reason why I submitted the movie was because Del Weston, who founded the festival, believes in filmmakers. (The Action On Film Festival) runs like a major film festival, but it’s also open to to young filmmakers, and new filmmakers like myself, to showcase their work, and get it seen. I think there are very few film festivals that truly cater to the independent filmmaker.
So when we were accepted, I was thrilled. A week later, Del called me and said, “You’re nominated in these three categories.” I thought that was amazing. That’s when we decided we had to fly out and be involved in the festival.
SY: Besides ‘Lazarus Rising,’ do you have any other projects lined up that you can discuss? Are you interested in continuing in the action genre?
JD: The next project we’re looking at, which is also an action thriller, is just in the writing stages. When I come up with an idea for a film, I’m not the actual writer; I’ll hire a professional writer to write the dialogue for me. I’ll have a story and concept in mind, and I’ll turn it over to the writer. He’ll write the script and I’ll approve it, or I’ll make changes if I think it can become more in tune to what I want to make.
I’ll then do several test readings in front of other people, so that I can get the feedback of what’s right and wrong with the script. That’s a long process, but you have to do it, if you want to stand a chance of making a good quality film.
Written by: Karen Benardello