{"id":120050,"date":"2013-04-04T13:57:52","date_gmt":"2013-04-04T20:57:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shockya.com\/news\/?p=120050"},"modified":"2013-04-04T14:00:19","modified_gmt":"2013-04-04T21:00:19","slug":"exclusive-interview-with-dark-feeds-victoria-nugent-and-blood-drenched-blooper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shockya.com\/news\/2013\/04\/04\/exclusive-interview-with-dark-feeds-victoria-nugent-and-blood-drenched-blooper\/","title":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: Interview With Dark Feed\u2019s Victoria Nugent And Blood-Drenched Blooper"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"VictoriaImagine battling bats and being doused in dust and blood on your very first feature film set. So it goes for actress Victoria Nugent on the set of Michael and Shawn Rasmussen\u2019s \u201cDark Feed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The film features Andy Rudick as Chris, a screenwriter visiting an abandoned mental hospital, the set of his latest movie. The large majority of the cast and crew have been at it for quite some time, so Chris bonds with another newcomer, Beth (Nugent), who\u2019s joined in to work as a PA for the day. The grips are messing around, the director is demanding to get what he wants and the makeup artist is methodically decorating the wall with brains, but it\u2019s all business as usual \u2013 that is until the true eeriness of the location starts to eat away at everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cDark Feed\u201d is loaded with creepy imagery, bumps in the night, gore, and violence, and Nugent is right in the middle of all of it. Thanks to the Rasmussen Brothers\u2019 passion and positive attitudes, \u201cDark Feed\u201d isn\u2019t just Nugent\u2019s first big feature, but also an experience that informed the type of collaborator she\u2019d like to be.<\/p>\n

Check out everything Nugent had to say about going from average high school student to budding actress, some very real scares at the shooting location, working with the Rasmussens, and more in the interview below. Also, scroll down to get a peek at an exclusive and very bloody behind-the-scenes blooper from the shoot and be sure to catch \u201cDark Feed\u201d in full on iTunes<\/a> or DVD via Amazon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To start, can you tell me a little about your background as an actress? Is this always the profession you were heading towards?<\/FONT><\/B>
\nVictoria Nugent:<\/B> To answer the second part first, yes, ever since I can remember I\u2019ve wanted to be an actress. It\u2019s followed me around like a shadow all my life. I\u2019m not entirely sure why, I have my theories, but basically I\u2019ve been attracted to acting both on film and stage since I was young. All that to say I have not been acting since I was young, even though I always wanted to. I spent most of my time growing up focused on sports, which in itself is a type of theatre. It wasn\u2019t until I was a senior in high school that I finally decided to take the plunge and really try to pursue acting as a career.<\/p>\n

And how about \u201cDark Feed\u201d specifically? How\u2019d you get involved?<\/FONT><\/B>
\nI got involved with \u201cDark Feed\u201d because of a web series I starred in during my senior year of high school. Nothing ever came of the web series, but I did get some local exposure, which, in turn, got me an audition with Shawn and Michael!<\/p>\n

Are you attracted to horror films specifically, whether it\u2019s enjoying performing in them or watching them yourself?<\/FONT><\/B>
\nI\u2019m really attracted to all types of film. This is the only horror film I\u2019ve ever done, so I don\u2019t have a lot of experience to pull from, but I loved the great deal of play that went into making the movie. I was constantly having fun and felt free to really go big and make interesting choices.<\/p>\n

\"Victoria<\/p>\n

Was there anything about the script that really stuck out to you or maybe something that made you think this project was really worth being part of?<\/FONT><\/B>
\nWhat stuck out was Shawn and Michael. A huge reason why I love making movies is because of the amazing people you get to work with. They were just so jazzed and inspired when I talked to them about it in the beginning, I knew that the project was going to be something special.<\/p>\n

How was it making Beth stand out as a unique \u201cfinal girl?\u201d<\/FONT><\/B>
\nI never really thought about it like that. I just thought about what it would be like if I was in her situation and made most of my acting choices based on that. Most of what you see in the movie is just me.<\/p>\n

What about developing relationships in a piece that\u2019s essentially a ghostly, gore showcase? Is it a challenge to have the humanistic qualities shine through the blood?<\/FONT><\/B>
\nYeah, I think it\u2019s definitely a challenge. I found that this project was way more theatrical than any other film I have done. The trap there is that what you\u2019re doing can come across as untruthful or overblown. I think what really helped was the fact that everyone used a lot of their own personalities in the movie so we were able to base a lot of our character\u2019s relationship on our own real friendships. It also helps that everyone got along really well and that we had so much fun making it.<\/p>\n

Is there anything you were apprehensive about? Maybe something that really did scare you to shoot?<\/FONT><\/B>
\nYes! There\u2019s a scene in the movie when Jessica [Lauren Napier] and I were showing Andy [Rudick], the screenwriter, around the building and a real<\/I> bat flew down the hallway right at us. I guess they kept shooting through the whole bat scare because there\u2019s a point in the movie where you hear us talking about the actual bat. I was not amused. I\u2019m not a fan of bugs, let alone bats.<\/p>\n

\"Andy<\/p>\n

How about the basement material? I assume the basement wasn\u2019t actually flooded, right?<\/FONT><\/B>
\n[Laughs] No. It was just this little room under one of the dye vats that had these little narrow stairs leading to it. They set up kiddie pools and had us shine our flashlights at the water to get the rippling effect on the ceiling. It took a while just to make sure that we knew technically what we were doing, but it totally paid off in the end. <\/p>\n

Can you tell me about shooting the grand finale? How was it being right smack in the middle of all that blood and barrage of manic actors?<\/FONT><\/B>
\nThat was actually one of the last scenes we shot, if not the last, so it was really sentimental – and really fun. We\u2019d been working every night for like four weeks, maybe more at that point, so we\u2019d spent a lot of time with each other. I was used to being really dusty and bloody and so that stopped bothering me pretty quickly. We had it set up so I would run to the back of that caged room and bang on the window and then they would come up from behind me and carry me away. We practiced it a few times and then just started rolling. On the first take I actually broke the window because I was banging so hard so we had to take it back and rehearse a few more times.<\/p>\n

How was it working with Michael and Shawn? Sometimes it can be tough enough taking direction from one director, so how was it working with two?<\/FONT><\/B>
\nMichael and Shawn are incredible. They\u2019re both so friendly and open and determined. They managed the crew really well and just made the environment a really creatively open and fun place to be, and that\u2019s difficult considering how drab our surroundings were. Michael was really the director and Shawn focused more on the paperwork and making sure we were all staying on schedule so I never felt like I was working with two directors.<\/p>\n

\"Victoria<\/p>\n

Is there anything specific about their style or process that\u2019ll stick with you?<\/FONT><\/B>
\nIf I took away anything it would be the right attitude to have on set. I mean, we were shooting long nights for about four weeks in a row and neither Michael nor Shawn ever lost their cool. Shawn is always smiling and supportive and Michael is always really focused. They carry themselves with an incredible amount of professionalism without being pretentious or overbearing.<\/p>\n

And how about this experience as a whole? You\u2019ve got a ton of shorts to your name, but this is your first experience being a lead in a feature. Is there anything that surprised you or anything you learned making the movie?<\/FONT><\/B>
\nWell, funny enough, I actually did this film before I did any of those shorts, so I was fortunate to be able to take what I learned from \u201cDark Feed\u201d and continue to build upon it. So yes, like I mentioned before, I learned a lot about attitude, being positive, respectful and that being a team player can get you far. I learned a lot about making a movie, about being on set, what to expect. I learned that yes, you can survive four weeks on a Papa John\u2019s diet, and finally that you are certain to meet the most wonderful and interesting people on film sets!<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the outlook from here? Any more features on the horizon?<\/FONT><\/B>
\nI\u2019m not sure. I\u2019ll be in LA interviewing with agents in May and then we\u2019ll see what comes from that. <\/p>\n