As most of you know, those that follow me here and on my
facebook page, I've been a big advocate of
Jen and
Sylvia Soska's (
The Twisted Twins)
American Mary. I got my chance to see it last November at the
Mayhen Horror Film Festival in Nottingham (UK), which is only a 20 minute drive from my house. The very next day I wrote my review, which was exclusively for
Horror-Movies.ca. You can read it
HERE. Needless to say, I was blown away by what I saw. I bought the BluRay, in fact I pre-ordered it, and watched it for a second time as soon as it arrived in the post and a third time last week.
But before I jump into the twisted world of Mary, for those of you unfamiliar with the twin's work, their first feature was the grindhouse inspired
Dead Hooker in a Trunk. You can read my review
HERE.
So, let's begin, here's my interview
Jen &
Sylvia...
The both of you have been very busy recently, travelling up and down the UK, attending American Mary screenings, so how has this effected you physically and mentally? It must be draining?
Sylvia: "It's been really wild, the last few years have been a blur. I'm one
of the luckiest people I know in the regard that this is my job and not
only do I get to do what I love, but I get to travel and meet the people
who are supporting the work and allow me to continue to do this. When
I'm at a screening or a convention, we don't feel tired or worn out,
it's too exciting. Like when we were shooting MARY, I couldn't sleep
because I was too excited for the next day. It's the moments in between,
when we are on the plane or when we get home that we crash pretty hard.
Last trip, we got home and slept fourteen hours straight. I get to do
this with my best friend, Jen, and she's always been such a great
support in any situation we're in, so at least I never have to be alone."
Jen: "It's surreal. It's a dream come true. We weren't popular in
high school so this more than makes up for it, ha ha. I feel so blessed
to be doing what we're doing. First and foremost we're fans ourselves
and I think that comes through in our work. We're just as excited to
meet people when we travel as they are when they come out. It's just
blown us away to have so much support all across the world. It can be
draining, but we are very work orientated and have A type personalities,
which is probably pretty obvious, so we are so tunnel visioned when
we're working. We always throw ourselves into our work and try to take
photos and take a few moments as much as we can to just sit back and
appreciate all the opportunities we have these days. It's literally a
dream come true and we are so eternally grateful to the people who
support us and our work."
How did you come up with the idea of American Mary, what and/or who inspired you?
Sylvia: "I learnt about body modification years ago, it started as fear
because of an April Fool's prank about limb exchanging twin brothers
that scared the shit out of me. My mom taught us from an early age that
if something frightens you, it's due to a lack of education about the
subject. So, Jen and I studied body modification online and that fear
turned to fascination to admiration. We didn't set out to make a film on
it, but wanted to see the community represented not as monsters but as
real people in a film. We put a gun to our heads and gave us two weeks
to write the script - we gave out a list of ideas we knew we could write
fast and one was one 'about a medical student'. That got picked and we
wrote our hearts out. It's hugely inspired by Asian and European cinema
which we just love the artful, beautiful approach to storytelling in."
Jen: "The film is very much an analogy for our own ventures in the film
industry. Doctors and surgeons took the place of some of the monsters
we've encountered in positions of power who absolutely prey on the
inexperienced, many of which see young women as party favours rather than
peers. The body mod community was in place of the horror and indie
communities that have truly embraced us. The tagline is "appearances are
everything" and that rings true on many levels. Often the people that
seem to be trustworthy and sincere and respectable are anything but and
people who may come off as a little different or even scary are just
being honest and forthcoming with who they are. People keep up
appearances so you don't know their true intentions. It seems like
something we all learn early on, but you cannot judge someone by their
appearances. Often "normal" means anything but."
 |
| Mary Mason with her loyal customers |
I've read in another interview that you wrote the role of Mary for Katharine Isabelle, even though it's obvious now, as Katharine was so amazing, but why did Katharine come to mind for that part?
Sylvia: "When Jen and I were in school, we were relentlessly teased and picked
on. One of the things they called us were the Fitzgerald sisters, we
didn't know what that meant, so we rented
GINGER SNAPS and we thought it
was cool. That film had a big impact on teen girls because it was
speaking for our generation but in a smart horror way. I kept watching
Katie's work, but was frustrated not seeing the new Ginger because she
is so talented that it just makes sense to have her carry a film with
one of her masterful performances. I met her on set and she was nice to
me and that was it, I decided that I would work with her one day."
 |
| Katharine Isabelle & Sylvia on the set of American Mary |
Jen: "We never write for one particular actor. It's a smart rule to have
because you never really know what they're like or if you can work
together or if they'd even be available or interested until you sit down
with them. But
Katie broke that rule for us. She just has this enormous
capacity for emotional depth and a presence that blows you away. The
role of Mary was so vital to the success of the film and being able to
convey the story we wanted to tell that we needed someone with so much
natural ability and charisma and intensity. We'd long watched and
admired
Katie and her work. She's so talented that she makes it look
easy. You meet her and she just floors you. You can't see her without
knowing that there's something special about her. We never had any other
choices for Mary. When we got to sit down together it was very clear
that not only was she more than perfect for the role, as we already
knew, but she is just about the coolest human being you could ever hope
to work with."
In the special feature documentary, "An American Mary in London," after the film had finished, we see your reaction to how the viewers responded, and I have to admit, seeing Jen (I think it was, correct me if I'm wrong) shedding a few tears of joy made me fill up a bit! I felt very proud of you both at that point. How has the positive response from the fans and the critics effected you both and did you expect such a positive reaction?
Sylvia: "The reason why we were even able to move onto another film was
because of the out pour of support we received from DEAD HOOKER. We
wanted to make MARY a thank you to everyone who believed in us and got
the word out about us. I was hoping that people would like it, I was
blown away by the sheer magnitude of support and positive reactions we
received. Jen and I are deeply touched by the kindness from people. It
means the world to me when someone sees the film and it hits home and
they share that experience with me. I feel a great sense of pride that
these wonderful people would stand behind two crazed Canadian filmmakers
like this."
Jen: "We do it all for the fans. Even calling them "fans" is a bit weird as
we, ourselves, are fans also. We love horror, we love films, we're
fans of so many things and artists. We spend hours online daily,
connecting with people through social media. We run our own facebook
pages and twitter account and tumblr and youtube, so when you're on
there and think you're talking to us, you are. These people are the
reason we're able to do what we do. People have been supporting us since
DHIAT and even more people have come to know us through AMERICAN MARY.
It blows me away to have such amazing people out there who are affected
by our work. The love and support we've received is just so humbling. It
means everything to us."
 |
| Beatress (Tristan Risk) & Ruby (Paula Lindberg) |
After watching the special features on the Blu-Ray, i saw a genuine excitement from you both, something that I rarely see from directors. The only person I could think of off the top of my head was Quentin Tarantino (my favourite director outside the genre)! Has he had any influence on your work at all or even just on your outlook to making movies?
Sylvia: "I love
Tarantino and
Rodriguez - I grew up watching them and loved
that they not only made cool films but they loved what they did. I've
been on sets where people don't give a shit about the project they are
working on, where it's just a payday, but it's also a venomous,
unpleasant, and horrible place to have to work. I heard that
Sam Raimi
always wears a suit to work because you create the set attitude and life
of the production more than just what goes on the screen. It's a
privilege to get to do this. I love films and I'm a big fan girl, I
think that comes off with what we do."
Jen: "
Tarantino just drips with love for what he's doing. People blame him
for glorifying violence, but it's his love and passion for what he's
doing that just emanates from every frame. It's a big part of what makes
his films so damn cool. With horror and a lot of film, too many people
are doing it for the wrong reasons. It's important to be a fan of what
you're doing because it shows. If you don't give a shit or are in it
just for the money and fame, that shows, too.
Tarantino is the perfect
example of a film fan director. He truly loves what he does and watches
everything.
Rodriguez would be the reason we ever picked up a camera. I
love
Joss Whedon. You always hear how kind and giving he is as a
director. And he's an outstanding writer as well. Plus, he is so good to
his fans and is so connected with them. You don't see that often. I
just love the way he does what he does. He's a real hero of mine in a
lot of ways."
I loved the fact that Mary's Nana was Hungarian, being as both my parents are Hungarian also. Do you guys speak any Hungarian?
Sylvia: "You're Hungarian? We're Hungarian! Our family is Hungarian. Our
Production Designer,
Tony Devenyi, is Hungarian. Hungarian was our first
language, but it's gone to shit a bunch because I don't get to use it
enough. Do you speak? I'm still pretty good. I understand better than I
speak, and I speak much better than I write - I can't write it worth
shit."
Me: I can say please, thank you and the real basics. I can also order a beer if I need to!
Jen: "We understand WAY more than we speak. You're Hungarian!! Oh, how
wonderful! We truly mean that. We love our country men and women. You
must know the delights of nokedli and paprika chicken?? That greatest
meal ever.
Me: I'm the same. I can understand the main gist of conversations. I love my Mum's Hungarian cooking, it's way better than her English cooking! Who doesn't like nokedli? My son's loves it more than do. And you can't beat
Erős Pista!
 |
| Billy (Antonio Cupo) shares a drink with Mary (Katharine Isabelle) |
With Dead Hooker in a Trunk being such a long process from start to release, how did the short period of time shooting American Mary compare?
Sylvia: "With DEAD HOOKER, it was completely volunteer, which sometimes meant
that people would become unavailable or not show up at all. Which is
fine because it teaches you high stress problem solving on the spot
which is an invaluable lesson as things go to hell on every set and you
need to creatively solve issues as soon as they arise. Originally we set
out for 24 days and then we had to make concessions in order to make it
work. I never worked with a full crew before, there was a lot that I
didn't know, so when I was told 'I wouldn't wish fifteen days on my
worst enemy' I didn't know what that meant. Now I do. That said, the
cast and crew that came together on MARY were the most talented, hard
working, and brilliant artists that I have ever had the pleasure of
collaborating with. Our first AD,
Brad Jubenvil, and our DP,
Brian
Pearson, and us went through the days and the shots constantly to make
the film work within our tight schedule and modest budget. With a team
like that, there was nothing we couldn't pull off, but I'll never put
them on fifteen days again."
Jen: "It is a huge difference to having a full crew rather than just
running around with a camera with your friends. I wouldn't say I prefer
one over the other. I love my crew. My crew is the best and most
wonderful crew in the whole world. 15 days, without any allowance to go
over 12 hours, is truly challenging. You never shoot without a game
plan, but under such tight restraints every second counts. Every shot
has to be going into the film. You don't just try something to see if
it'll work out. You have to be sure of everything. We ran out of time
for somethings and our experience on DHIAT really taught us how to roll
with the punches and that came in as imperative to overcome our
obstacles. And then there was
Brad Jubenvil, our astounding 1st AD. The
man is a wizard. He is so cool and collected and he knows his shit. He's
had years and years of experience and he's seen it all and nothing can
shake up
Brad. I love that man. Our entire crew was phenomenal, but
Brad
and
Brian, our DP, really made this happen with so little time."
 |
| Sylvia, Jen & Katie at Film4 Frightfest 2012 |
If you had to pick one of each (1 horror and 1 non horror each), what's your favourite horror film and your favourite film outside of the genre?
Sylvia: "
AMERICAN PSYCHO for favourite horror and
EDWARD SCISSORHANDS for
non-horror. I'm pretty obsesses with
DREDD right now, too. I watch that
film constantly like a little treat at the end of the day."
Jen: "Oh NO!! Do I have to pick another one now? Well, my favourite horror
film, that isn't
AMERICAN PSYCHO, is
John Carpenter's
THE THING. It's
everything I love about horror and
Rob Bottin's FX?? Just WOW. Can we
take a moment to appreciate just what a genius that man is? And my
favourite non horror film? It's been the same since 1988.
WHO FRAMED
ROGER RABBIT? It's an outstanding work of art, cutting edge,
unforgettable, and something for every age. I still sleep with a Roger
Rabbit stuffie. He's the constant man in my life."
What got you both into horror and why?
Sylvia: "I don't remember a time that we didn't like horror. I don't know if
it was because it was 18+ or because it was taboo for little girls to
watch horror, but we were always attracted to it. We would haunt the
decorated horror section of our local video store, reading the boxes and
looking at the monsters and gore. Eventually, at ten, our mom decided
to watch
POLTERGEIST with us and that changed everything. We made it
through the film, but were terrified. She sat us down and explained what
we had actually seen - the director, the writer, the actors, the sets,
the costumes, the monster makers, all collaborating together with the
intention of scaring the audience. Knowing that the monsters were made
and it was all pretend made us even more attracted to the genre."
Jen: "It's a part of us. There was never this moment where we got into it.
We were always into it and we were very fortunate to have parents that
didn't shelter us from our interests. We were taught the difference
between make believe and reality a long time ago. Horror just is
something so exciting that allows you to come right up close to your
greatest fears and face them and walk away fine after. It's fun and it's
cool and it really attracts the best of people. There's a reason there
are tons of horror conventions, but you don't see any romantic comedy or
drama conventions, ha ha."
What's your process in writing a screenplay?
Sylvia: "Ok, so we're Hungarian twin sisters, so we throw ideas back and forth
and viciously rip them apart. Whatever idea survives the process is a
keeper. We come up with scenarios, characters, locations and make a
three act timeline to decide what goes where. We fill out the timeline
roughly, then pick what we want to write. One of us plays video games
while the other writes, then we swap out. If one of us gets stuck, we
swap out. When we take over, we read and tweak what's been written - the
fun thing is to throw in things the other isn't expecting. We write a
lot to amuse each other."
Jen: "We totally tag team it. We write largely to amuse one another. There
are layers to everything we do. There's the surface level where anyone
and everyone can enjoy films, but we don't think anything should
exist without a reason. We like to put deeper meanings in our work and
force people to think for themselves. I'm so lucky to have been born
with a business partner and collaborator. She's [Sylvia] so brilliant. It's so
easy to write together. There's no writers block. We just see this world
open up and try to capture it in a way that our audiences can feel like
it's real, too."
Do you both have an even input to the whole film making process, (directing, writing, ideas)?
Sylvia: "Yes. We are identical twins, but we're very different. We joke that
she's the
Joss Whedon and I'm the
Lars Von Trier. She puts the heart in
and I rip it out. You need the other to make it work. I don't think my
films would be watchable or even good without Jen's part in it. She's
also the person who you can always count on for anything on set, I'm bit
of an overly focused artist at times."
Jen: "Absolutely. We constantly challenge one another to be better and
to grow as artists. We're very different, but we want the same things
out of our work. We divide and conquer. If we have to break apart, we
can do so seamlessly. If we're in a meeting and one of us is called out,
the other can carry one effortlessly."
Do you think you have an advantage when it comes to film making as there is two of you?
Sylvia: "Jen and I are born collaborators, I don't know what it would be like
to have only one of me. We would divide and conquer, there was always
someone on set while the other, Jen, would 'put out fires' and
troubleshoot anything that threatened the day. We are very close so we
can communicate with looks and have the same mind set on everything or
we go to a corner and come up with a unified answer. Nothing worse than
having two directors that look the same that are telling you two
different things. We work hard to make sure it doesn't happen."
Jen: "I think so. I don't know how people do it on their own. Between
the work itself and interviews and social media and trip planning and
writing, it's a lot of work. We work everyday and we really have to to
keep on top of things. We can get twice as much work done and because we
know each other so well we hardly have to talk much. We get each other
and we know what has to be done."
 |
| On the set of Dead Hooker in a Trunk with 'Badass' & 'Geek' |
What directors and films have inspired and influenced you, on a personal and a film making level?
Sylvia: "
Robert Rodriguez and
Carlos Gallardo are who inspired us to pick up a
camera and make our own film. The 'Ten Minute Film Schools' and behind
the scenes sharing of film making tips taught me more than I learnt in
any film school. Same with
Dick Smith who not only revolutionised
prosthetics with his art, but shared his tricks for everyone to learn.
Eli Roth has been a mentor and a friend, I have so much respect for what
he does and I'm very grateful for how he supports other artists in the
genre.
DESPERADO,
AUDITION,
BREAKING THE WAVES,
SUSPIRIA,
BLUES
BROTHERS,
POLTERGEIST,
JAWS,
AMERICAN PSYCHO,
HELLRAISER,
LET THE RIGHT
ONE IN,
IRREVERSIBLE,
GRINDHOUSE - have all heavily influenced my tastes
in film."
Jen: "Everything and everyone Sylvia just said."
Obviously there's still a lot of promoting of American Mary happening over the year as it has it's home video release in various places over globe, but, when can we expect your next project to happen?
Sylvia: "We've done a fair bit of travelling in April to different
conventions which I love because I can nerd out pretty hard and meet
cool people. Then we have the VOD and theatrical North American releases
for MARY this month. We have a couple cool things coming up, but dying to
get back to set with the new film which we're focusing on to be
BOB, but
we also have two other films that I would be just as happy to have as
the next project. Hopefully later on in the year we'll be getting the
band back together and making something new."
Jen: "We're already working on several new projects. You can never stop.
You can't take a break. Any time you take time off, someone else is just
going to pass you. As artists, we're most happy when we're working and
creating. It's very much a part of who we are."
Last question, on a personal note, I've become a massive fan of your work and I can't wait to see your next project. Well done on doing such an amazing job with American Mary, to you both and all the cast and crew. From what I've seen of you guys, in interviews etc. you both seem cool as fuck! So my question is - When you're back in the UK, will you nip in and see the wife and I and join us for a cup of tea?!
Sylvia: "YES! I would fucking love that. We're secretly plotting to return to the UK asap. We just love it there."
Jen: "OMG, absolutely!! Can we sweet talk you into cookies and biscuits, too?"
Me: I'm sure that can be arranged Jen.
Well, I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did! I want to say a big thank you to
Jen and
Sylvia for giving me the privilege of getting to know them both a little better. Can't wait to see the twins when they're next in the UK and I'm looking forward to seeing
BOB!
American Mary is available
NOW on VOD through Comcast, Cox, Cable Vision, Verison and iTunes.
It also hits Xbox market place May 31st along with a limited theatrical release in the US. It's already available on DVD and Blu-Ray here in the UK and will make its way to US shores June 18th. For you guys in the States, you can pre-order the
DVD here and the
Blu-Ray here.
Check out the trailer for American Mary...
