Andrew Paquin Interviewed about Open House

With the Tribeca Film Festival currently going on in New York, Andrew Paquin speaks about his directorial debut, Open House. Thanks to his True Blood connection (namely, his sister and future brother-in-law being the stars), Andrew's film features Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer in cameo roles. The cast also includes the very talented Brian Geraghty from The Hurt Locker and Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer. Andrew described in an interview how he came up with the concept for the movie and what he learned from his first filmmaking experience. Open House is a psychological thriller about a woman trying to sell her house, when one of the prospective buyers hides out in the basement and takes her captive at night. Andrew explains that the point of the film was to alter horror conventions:

"The first act of our film could be a standard home invasion horror, [but] I wanted to find out what would happen if you turned that kind of a construct on its head. Instead of the monsters wear[ing] a mask through the whole movie, what happens if you de-mask the monsters much earlier and you end up seeing the world through their eyes?"

Recounting the story of how Brian Geraghty came to play the role of David, Andrew calls it "crazy good luck with casting." He also describes the filmmaking process as a great opportunity for active collaboration:

"You have to guide people with a clear vision, but I think more than anything you have to simply understand how to enable people who really know what they're doing in an expert kind of way."

Because they filmed Open House in only one location--Andrew's own home--the movie has a definite sense of claustrophobia throughout. Andrew says he and his production team looked at other films that were shot primarily indoors, including Alan Ball's Academy Award-winning American Beauty, to see how to keep the setting visually interesting. Reviews from those who have seen screenings of Open House this week are largely positive, praising the performances and the change of perspective from the victim to the predator. For these reasons, and for the scenes with Anna and Stephen, True Blood fans should keep an eye out for when it becomes widely available to see! SOURCE: tribecafilm.com (Photo credit: tribecafilm.com)

http://truebloodnet.com http://truebloodnet.com/community http://truebloodnet.com/forums