Hi Everyone,
I am pretty excited about this short indie horror called, Depravity on Desecration,by Yotta Kasai that was filmed in Toronto in late July 2014. This is what I mean.
So I just went through a tonne of sent emails to figure out that I responded to an ad on Craigslist on Monday July 7, 2014. (Every “sent” box has hidden nuggets of information.) Since it was almost two years before, I can’t remember exactly what the ad said. I remember not knowing where it was going to be filmed, when, by whom, or how long it would take. I did, however, know that if I got the part, I was going to do it for free. I wanted the part. Like I mean, I really wanted the part. To give you an example, here is part of an email I sent Yotta, who placed the ad.
Here is a pic of me from Lost Girl. As you can see, I am okay with makeup and getting killed off is not a problem either. I was picture cast for the bar scene of Total Recall. It is about 20 minutes into the movie and I am the woman in a dress with the bare arms behind Colin Farrell. I have also been a zombie in Resident Evil filmed in Toronto in 2009. (I sent Yotta another email stating that in March of 2014, I was the Hair Faced Woman in the Sci-Fi Musical feature, Bang Bang Baby!, also filmed in Toronto.)
If anyone thinks I was begging to be in this short horror, you would be correct. I was. I am serious. Over the next few hours and days, Yotta and I emailed and texted each other back and forth. One of my sent emails is dated Tuesday July 15, 2014, (at 9:01am) so I know I met Yotta before. We had a funky meeting in one of the common rooms of his condo’s building in Toronto. This is what mean.
After our introductions, Yotta told me that he wrote, directed and produced several other movies. He had a handful of CD’s of his previous work for me to look at. I was in a massive hurry and decline by saying something like, “I believe you.” Yotta then gave me a brief outline of, Depravity on Desecration, the short horror he was still writing.
Yotta—Watching me said, “And then someone will attack you, like jump you.”
Me—A cheerful, “Okay.”
Yotta—Still watching me, “And then they will kill, murder you.”
Me—“Okay,” in the same cheerful tone.
Yotta—“There will be blood. Fake blood, but lots of it,” he said.
Me—This time I said something like, “I am okay with blood. You remember that picture I sent you from when I was on, Lost Girl, right? As an Extra, I’ve had a lot of blood on and around me on all kinds of sets. That doesn’t bother me.”
Yotta—Still watching me, “We will be shooting at night.”
Me—“Yea, I kind of figured that. Scenes like that usually are. No problem.”
I don’t know what Yotta thought of me. I mean really, how many people do you know who find a short indie horror on Craigslist, practically beg to work for free, go by themselves to meet someone they don’t know, and cheerfully agree to not only be jumped, so they can be killed, murdered, by a stranger but to also do it at night? I am guessing not too many. I forgot to mention that I weighed about 100 pounds then. I also had not seen the script because it was still being written, did not have a location, or a tentative shooting date. All of the above were just minor inconveniences though. I am serious. As usual, I had a lot going on.
I would like to add that Yotta did ask me several times if I was “okay” with everything. For every time he asked, I answered, “Yea,” because I was. Somehow I knew everything was going to be better than okay.
Once the shooting date was set I knew that if I didn’t find a place to live in the city, the commute would kill me and I would be screwed! Between two jobs, I had about 60 hours of work scheduled not including my role in, Depravity on Desecration. I found a place that had been vacant for over a month and moved in the last week of July. I was desperate.
When my daughter and her then boyfriend came to visit me on my first day in Toronto, I told them about the indie to be filmed the next day. Until I told my daughter, “I have a good feeling about this. Don’t worry,” I could see she thought it was a bit risky. My daughter is accustomed to me and my (gut) feelings. Her then boyfriend wasn’t and raised his eyebrows and started to protest until I told him not to worry. He didn’t seem completely convinced.
Cast and crew were to meet on the Sunday at 8:00pm which was about dusk. I remember that I was scheduled to work until about 6:30pm. I knew where everyone was supposed to meet I just didn’t know where that was in relation to where I worked. After I figured it out I began laughing. Our meeting place was about a 15 minute walk from my workplace. I could and could not believe my luck. I had a sub for dinner, walked to our meeting place and waited for everyone to arrive.
Yotta and I saw each other walking in the drizzle and waited in a bus shelter for the others. After the DP arrived, I recognized, Ian, from a non-union set we had been on a few weeks earlier. “Hey! Are you the guy who is going to murder me?” I jokingly shouted to him. Waving as he approached, he said that his friend, Scott, who asked him to come as an Extra would be.
If you decide to watch Depravity on Desecration, (and I sincerely hope you do) then you will see Ian and I sitting in Muskoka chairs at the beginning. After I walk away, Scott begins to follow me. He was very careful every time we rehearsed his jumping me, so I didn’t want to put up too much of a struggle, meaning that I was not going to kick him in his privates, scratch his eyes out or do anything else like I would if I was jumped in real life. Just saying.
Because everyone brought their own wardrobe, I asked Yotta to try to keep the “blood” off of my clothes as much as possible. To his credit he respected my wishes and I really appreciated that. I told you that in case anyone is wondering. I moved the day before and had a busy work week ahead. Laundry was not something I would have time for. I also did not have time to wait until everything was shot because I was scheduled to work at both my jobs the next day. I left just after 11:00pm.
All I can say is everyone had a lot of fun. Yotta was great at directing because he knew what he wanted even when he extended the script by adding a confrontation and another murder. I am sure he still is, very professional.I would do another indie horror any day.
Thank you for reading, A. Rebel’s Rant! ;D
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