Allie Gonino – High Voltage

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) I just finished a short film called Deserted, which is based on a song I wrote that is the same name. My “Lying Game” costar Alex Chando directed it and I wrote it. It centers around low-income American families – really a middle-aged couple that lost their son in the Iraq war. They’ve had a really difficult time getting over it. It really centers around addiction and the correlation between addiction and domestic abuse. Also, the wage disparity between how much money women make compared to men, specially Latina women. It’s a pretty serious little short, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. I’m pretty proud of that. We’re going to be submitting it to a bunch of different film festivals. Then, I’ve been working on my debut solo album. I now play on a professional Dungeons & Dragons team and we play every Sunday. We stream our games live every Sunday at 3pm. So, I’ve been getting back into that. I’m also raising money right now to build another school. Last time we built one in Nepal and now we’re working for towards one in Malawi with buildOn. Then, we’re also hoping to raise enough money to implement a service learning program in the Oakland area. I’m starting to outline a movie, but it’s still in the infantile stages.

Q) Talk about the premise for your film High Voltage.

A) High Voltage is about a band. There are lots of Mommy issues. I feel like all the characters have Mommy issues. My character, Rachel, has a stage mom who has always been pushing her to be in the spotlight. Rachel just really wants to make music and not take up too much attention. She just wants to be a part of the band. She falls in love with Scott, the songwriter of the band. Rachel and her mom (Perrey Reeves) end up getting struck by lightning. My mom, Barb, dies, but I live. So, we continue on this band’s journey. Something crazy and magical happens that gives me powers that give me the ability to put on these killer performances. Then, tragedy and horror ensues. It’s a really fun movie so don’t take it too seriously. Have fun with it! I had a fun time.

Q) Was there anything you added to Rachel that wasn’t in the initial breakdown for her?

A) All the character things were pretty fleshed out by the time I got the script. Obviously, all the nuances were left up to me. The script kind of gave me an indication of the arc and where I had to go from zero to one-eighty in terms of Rachel’s journey and her character development and her personality changes. I always had a clear idea of how to play that and how it was going to play out. I just went with my instincts. I think there was only one scene where Alex and I had different points of view. I think everything was pretty fleshed out and well explained. Alex and I had a meeting before we started shooting about what Rachel was going to go through throughout the whole movie.

Q) Was there anything you had to do to prepare for this role?

A) Honestly, no. Our shoot schedule was so schedule. I think we did this whole movie in fourteen days. Leading up to filming, for like a week, I was bed ridden with Mono. I was so sick that I couldn’t get out of bed. My mom was taking care of me and it was all I could do just to get out of bed in the morning. I wasn’t working out super hard or doing anything strenuous. I was just going to bed at a reasonable time and then I would get up and go to work and just try to give the best performance I could with how zapped my energy already was. I knew that I was going to be able to give a better performance if I didn’t over stress myself outside of filming. Other than sleeping I had to drink a lot of water.

Q) What advice did director Alex Keledjian offer during filming that you took to heart?

A) I can’t really say that there was since it was his first time directing. This was him figuring out a lot of things and learning a lot. The cast was amazing to work with. Everyone were professional, seasoned performers. And our DP Cameron Duncan is a genius and was so awesome to work with. I worked with him on The Red Road a few years back. Cameron was actually the one to suggest me for the role to Alex. It was a lot of learning for everyone. I think, if anything, I taught him a lot throughout the course of the shoot.

Q) Talk about working with costars David Arquette and Luke Wilson.

A) It was really exciting! It was all I could do not to fangirl out over Luke and say, “Legally Blonde was my favorite movie ever when I was a kid growing up!” I loved him in The Family Stone as well. He is legendary! We were working so I had to keep my cool. I kept it very relatable. We’re both from Texas and the Dallas area so we bonded over that fact. David is just so experienced and has been in this business a really long time. If there were moments where I felt uncomfortable or challenged I was put at ease when he was around because he keeps everything light and funny all the time. Then, of course, Perrey…It’s so funny because she’s so not this person. She’s not a crazy witch, but she plays it so well. I just think she is the cutest human being on the film. She’s supposed to be this big intimidating character and I’m like, “But you’re just so cute!” It was really cool and fun to be able to shoot with them.

Q) What were some of your most memorable moments from filming the movie?

A) Looking back and having the movie in retrospect is actually, to me, the best part of it because I’m really proud of how it turned out. While I was filming it was a really stressful shoot for me just because I was so under the weather and feeling the pressure of having to lead this movie while also dealing with everybody. It was just a lot. So, the most memorable or best part of it is being past the filming phase and being proud of what came out of it.

Q) What do you think it is about the movie that fans will really respond to?

A) I like the music. I think anybody who is still into the rocker music vibe is going to dig it. I think just the absurdity of the film will attract a certain kind of fan. Honestly, none of us knew how the movie was going to turn out. There were different edits before the final one and it had a different tone. It brought it to this funny, kind of art house kind of vibe. I really found the film to be pretty funny. I think it’s going to appeal to anyone who is down to go on a crazy adventure and kind of laugh in the midst of horror and chaos. It will appeal to different people for different reasons. There are so many different facets to this film, like the relationships and the psycho analysis side to the film. Every time I watch the film I find something new to appreciate about it. So, it’s one of those films that the more you watch it the more gems you will find.

Q) You are a part of social media. Are you looking forward to the instant fan feedback you’ll receive to the film?

A) I’m always excited to know what people think, as long as it is good. [laughs] I’m always here for feedback and I’ve already gotten who saw it last weekend that said, “This is such a good film” and “This is so much fun.” I think we even already got one review on iTunes that was like, “This is the best movie that I’ve ever seen!” [laughs] That’s great! Don’t watch any Stanley Kubrick movies or we’ll get bumped for first position. [laughs] I just hope people watch it and enjoy it. It’s not meant to take itself too seriously. We were all just trying to have fun. I had so much fun playing a role that I’ve never gotten to play before. I really want to play villains from now on. Getting to be a villain is so much fun! It’s really freeing. I don’t know if people know this, but the more you allow yourself to be seen as something scary the less you care about being perceived that way. It’s been an interesting journey in my own life. It has helped me to not give as much as a fuck about how other people see me. It’s fun. I hope people enjoy it.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

A) Thank you! Thank you for sticking around and continuing to be on this journey with me and supporting my work. I’ve wanted to make art since I was a little kid. I just hope at the end of the day that my work inspires other people. I hope that it enlightens or opens the door of perception that maybe wasn’t open before. So, I’m just thankful to anyone who supports my art and at least gives it a shot, even if they don’t like it.