Danny Templegod from Dan’s Movie Report just interviewed Kenneth Mader on the making of DISPLACEMENT—trials, successes, stars, and more! Check out the interview below:
Greetings valued readers of Dan’s Movie Report, today we have an epic interview from the creative mind of Kenneth Mader. Mr. Mader chats in depth about Displacement, detailing the trials and triumphs of his lengthy odyssey to complete his opus to his mom. Displacement brings to light a unique creativity as rare as lunar rock, yet as accessible as a new day over the ocean. Displacement was my top pick for the 2016 year. Mader exudes talent, class, and a work ethic, that will no doubt see his status rise over the coming years. Grab a seat, sit back, relax, adjust your watch, bend time and get displaced! Kenneth Mader shall infuse wisdom and quantum theory in your brain, and a textual lashing of inverted reality, coupled with a deep knowledge of the inner workings of independent film making… 3-2-1- GO!
DMR: How long after your mom passed did you write the script for Displacement, or was it started while she was alive?
KM: I had begun noodling with notions for the script while she was alive, but it didn’t really coalesce until she passed and I decided to incorporate what happened when she got sick, which was her desire to see the ocean one last time. Unfortunately she had cancer and it progressed so quickly that my Dad and I weren’t able to fulfill that wish, so that became essentially the heart of the story, and the issue my lead character is dealing with that drives the entire narrative. It still took about three years after that of on-and-off writing to finish the script — especially after I complicated things for myself making it a looping time travel story! Then in early 2013 I jumped off the cliff to start production.
DMR: Chat about some of the limitations of filming over a few years and having only at times some weekends to shoot around scheduling of performers and crew?
KM: Yeah shooting a film piecemeal over the course of two-plus years is extremely challenging on a number of levels, not the least of which is continuity. Little things like: imagine having to keep you hair exactly the same over that extended period of time… and you have Courtney’s hair! (she was great and had an excellent stylist who was able to match it shoot-to-shoot). There was also the fear of losing Courtney to a big movie or tv show. We actually had a couple of scares like that along the way, but thankfully everything worked out. (She didn’t land on The Bold and The Beautiful until just before our release.)
Conversely there were also some benefits to the extended shooting schedule, mainly the ability to shape and improve the film as we went along. Something we captured in one scene would instruct and change things in scenes we had yet to shoot. For example, Courtney’s level of intensity entering the hotel room after experiencing the timeslip on the beach inspired a complete rewrite of that timeslip sequence, which hadn’t been shot yet. In fact in the original script it was a completely different and smaller scene that took place at the hotel vending machines. But her performance felt like we needed a stronger motivation than what was written, and I also wanted to expand the scope a bit and show what was happening in the world around her. So in this case taking so much time to get the film in the can worked to our benefit, and I believe the benefit of the movie.
Continued…
To learn more about shoot challenges, casting, future projects, and the people Ken would love to work with read the rest of the article here.
“I love this script,” Alaina said. “Such a beautifully nuanced character. I’m always looking for more vulnerability in these strong female roles. Ken is a lovely writer who knows how to strike that balance and create great female characters. Plus it’s a really terrific story. I can’t wait to sink my teeth into it.”
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