Amber Frank – Vanished – Left Behind: Next Generation

By: Lisa Steinberg

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

A) Vanished is probably the soonest coming out, but I have a film called A Killer Walks Amongst Us that will be coming out this Fall. I’m pretty sure I have a Christmas movie coming out late December. Then, I have a pretty big one that will be released next Spring. I’m pretty excited for that one, as well as Vanished.

Q) With Vanished it takes us on a journey where we see beyond our own fears and desires. What made you want to be a part of it?

A) When I first read the script, I was still working on the last episode of my Nickelodeon show. I loved working on the show, but I was just ready to do something different. When I read the script I was like, “This is amazing and so cool. This would be a cool new experience for me.” I was just so excited to think about being a part of this new world, film and drama and being able to create a new character. I played the same character on “Haunted Hathaways” for two years so when I got Vanished I was able to prepare for it and do it. It was just really cool to be able to do something new. I had so much fun! Everyone a part of the cast and crew were amazing to work with and such kind people.

Q) What was the original breakdown like for your character Gabby?

A) Gabby was kind of described as the girl who is very independent, motherly and takes care of the little sister. She is basically the same form my audition. I definitely used that to film all of the movie, not just at the beginning with the little sister. When stuff goes down in the movie, Gabby is like, “Okay, this is what we need to do…” They also wanted to keep her still young. She’s in a love triangle and she still needs to stick to that to have a little romance in her life. Not really having a dad around, her mom is preoccupied with other things. So, she definitely has the motherly responsible things that are in her life. Her responsibility was to take the mother role and that’s kind of how she was described in my audition. When I prepared to play Gabby, I tried to make her not so serious – to be able to be young and have fun.

Q) She does seem to get into her head though when things test her.

A) What I prepared for Gabby, I wrote in a journal every day as if I were her from a very young age. She just talks about her insecurity and vulnerabilities. It really protects her from herself and potentially being hurt. So, she hasn’t really opened up to a lot of guys and she’s never had a boyfriend. So with her best friend, she likes him and definitely has a crush on him, but she doesn’t want to allow herself to be hurt. When the world is kind of ending and falling apart, she is dealing with so much and starts to see a lot more in him. Then, when she meets the other guy there is romance between them immediately. So, she gets very confused, but doesn’t really distract her. She still tries to keep going and do what she needs to do to get through the apocalyptic thing happening. It’s definitely fun to see her battle new romances in her life. She never had any of that and now she has two. So, it’s fun to see the feelings she has for both guys and her struggling in the middle with the apocalypse.

Q) What did you found the most challenging about this role?

A) My biggest fear on set was the crying scenes. I’ve never done a crying scene. I’m not a crying person. I keep a lot of my feelings bottled up. When my brother was younger he was an actor and totally able to cry on command whenever he wanted. He was really good at that, but I’m really vulnerable and scared of crying in front of people. So, my biggest fear was learned on set. When it finally happened, it was pretty easy and natural. It wasn’t as hard or as scary as I thought it would be. The hardest thing for me was probably to be able to process how serious everything that is going on in the film because I’ve never been through anything like that. None of us have ever experienced a traumatic event like that. So, it was definitely hard to figure out how I would process if this person wasn’t alive and not knowing if this person was alive. It was trying to process all of that and being able to take care of your sister while trying to figure out what to do. The hardest thing was probably figuring out my emotions and how to handle it.

Q) Did you have to do much stunt choreography?

A) Most of it was just running. There was a lot of running – through the city and the woods. There is definitely a lot of that. There was one part for Claire (Keely Wilson), who is my sister in the movie. They had to do special effects on her for the movie for an injury. So, that was kind of cool. There wasn’t really a lot of stunts. There are a couple characters who go falling through stuff, but the main characters were mostly just running away for stuff and dodging trees and hiding from people. I remember on set I had this huge bruise on my knee from one of the shooting days where we had to jump into this hideaway tree spot and there was a big tree root that my knee hit into so it was all purple and green. It was gross! I remember it was so gnarly. Besides that, it was mainly just a lot of cardio!

Q) What were some of your most memorable moments from filming with costars Mason Dye and Dylan Sprayberry?

A) They are the best people to work with because they are such good friends! They are just BFFs’, brothers – the whole thing. They are always happy, always positive and always goofing around. So, it’s really cool to be around them, but it also made it hard because we’d be filming a scene where we just found out my dad was possibly dead and we’re not sure if he’s alive. My mom is gone and the world is ending and in between takes they would be goofing around and laughing. So, it made it difficult to be serious sometimes. Besides that, it was awesome. Keely and I got along well. I think my favorite memory from shooting was that my sixteenth birthday happened on set. Everyone was so kind! I had birthdays on set before, but nobody had genuinely shown such love and appreciation for me. This crew really, really cared it was my birthday. They left me notes and flowers. It was just so, so cool to be able to have my sixteenth birthday on set. It was probably the best birthday I’ve had yet!

Q) Is the journal you kept that you combined with your own memories?

A) I have my script and all the work I did for Gabby and the daily scripts all in one big binder. So, I have a journal for Gabby and wrote some set experiences down in there. The scripts we get on set each day to see what we are shooting and what I have to memorize I would always doodle in and write down funny things people were saying just to remember all the cool stuff that happened on set. I am so happy I have all of that stuff because it’s so cool to look back on it.

Q) The movie is based on a book. Was the author on set to provide any guidance?

A) The person who wrote it were both involved because Tim’s [LaHaye] grandson Randy [LaHaye] also wrote and produced the movie. He was on set every day. I never got to meet the writers, but because we worked with Randy he knew so much about the series and had talked to his grandfather how he wanted people to perceive it. There have been some things in the past that didn’t really capture the life he had written in it and the epicness of the movie. So, it was definitely cool to be able to talk about that and find out what to capture for him and what he wanted this portrayed as. That to me makes this movie come to life and it was cool to be able to talk about all of that stuff with Randy and see through him what his grandfather had told him about what he felt about it. We didn’t get to meet the writers, but working with Randy was pretty close to that.

Q) There is a screening coming up on September 28^th. What are you most looking forward to seeing played out on screen?

A) We had a screening before so I got to see the movie when it was like 95% done. The cast was there, but it was a pretty short thing. We got to watch the movie and then hung out for maybe ten minutes afterwards. It’s going to be amazing! It was really cool to watch the screening so it will be absolutely amazing to see it in an actual real big theater knowing other people across the nation are watching it too. It’s always fun getting the cast together. So, Keely who played Claire came out to visit from Florida and it is always so much fun getting together. I love everyone who worked on it, not just the cast but producers and the director. Everyone was amazing!

Q) Are you looking forward to the fan feedback you will receive from the screening?

A) Definitely! Even if you think something you worked on was absolutely amazing no matter what there is always going to be people who don’t like it and have something negative to say. I’m definitely prepared for that, but I think for the most part people are going to like it and appreciate it. I’m excited for everyone to see it. It’s not just a young teen movie. It’s for young adults and parents will be able to see it with their kids. I’m a little bit nervous to see what people will say, but I’m also excited to see their response.

Q) What did you take away from your time working on the film?

A) When we shot this, it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever worked on. So, I would probably say just to never take forgranted everything that is going on around you. I always appreciate everything that is happening because it comes and goes. And just to always work hard! Hard work always pays off. I worked hard to get this role and I worked hard while filming the movie. I really missed my family and I was away for Thanksgiving. It is worth it to see the payoff with it coming out and people getting to see it. So, hard work pays off and always appreciate what is going on.