Jamie Bernadette – Killing Joan

By starrymag | March 28, 2018

By: Kelly Kearney

 

 

Q) You have a new action/thriller coming out called Killing Joan where you play the title character. Can you talk a little about the film and what attracted you to the film?

 

A) It’s a supernatural, revenge horror/thriller that is shot in a very stylistic and artistic way. The director, Todd Bartoo, had a very distinct vision of the mood of the film and I think that he achieved the product that he wanted. The film has a graphic novel feel to it.  I loved the leading role of Joan.  She is explosive, temperamental, immature and troubled.  When she enters into the afterlife, she has a more vulnerable side to her and, while still angry, we also see a deeper, more sentimental side to her.  I loved all of the different layers of the character and the character arc that she does through.

 

Q) Films like The Crow and Death Wish put the vigilante thriller on the map. What would you say sets Killing Joan apart from the rest?

 

A) It almost has an animated feel to it. I think it would play very well as an animated film. Todd Bartoo had a very distinct vision for the film.  We talked quite a lot about it.  He didn’t want it to be subtle and he wrote the lines accordingly.  Some of the lines have a very comic-book feel to it like, “I’m going to get you Frank,” which Todd didn’t want to be said in a subtle way. So, he knew what he was going for and I think the overall style of the film is unique.

 

Q) What was it like working with director and writer Todd Bartoo?

 

A) I absolutely loved working with Todd. He is really calm and he likes to sit down with the actors before an intense scene and talk with them about where the character’s head is at in the upcoming scene among other things. I appreciated the time he took to do that.

 

Q) The special effects for Killing Joan were mind blowing and that’s all thanks to Paul Lada who in the past worked on Pacific Rim and Prometheus. As an actor, what’s it like working in the realm of special effects and do you find it really flexes your acting muscles?

 

A) It’s a very imaginative process, just as acting is in general. The entirety of acting rests on imagination—the ability of the actor to be able to imagine. So, imagining that there are effects that are there that are not there, I think is pretty normal routine for an actor.  Todd was really good at telling me what the effects would be like so that I could act well pretending that they were there.  The final scene was especially interesting because there were a lot of effects that Todd had to explain to myself and my love interest in the film, Teo Celigo.  We had to imagine everything that you see that was going on there and move our bodies at the same time as if we were being pulled, etc.

 

Q) Did you have to do any specific training to get ready for such a physical performance?

 

A) I worked a lot with our stunt coordinator, Erik Aude. He was great. I had done a lot of fight choreography and things like that before this film, so I was used to it.

 

Q) Thinking back, what was the most challenging part of filming Killing Joan and what was your most memorable?

 

A) The most challenging part on this and a lot of independent films are the number of takes that you get as an actor. Independent films are usually shot very fast and so we get usually one to three takes. So, we don’t have much room to play and let a scene evolve.  What a lot of people don’t realize is that big studio films will do sometimes a third of a page in a twelve to fifteen-hour day and independent films will often do ten pages in a twelve hour day.  So, an actor in a big studio production will get to do the same lines 50-75 times while an independent film actor gets to do them one to three times.  We don’t get much room for error and we don’t have time to get more creative with a scene than the one vision that we have.

 

The most memorable part of this film is the people.  I really love them all.  I had a blast on this film and I looked forward to going to set every day.

 

Q) While you’ve starred in many films across the genres, the horror genre seems to keep calling you back. What is it about horror and thrillers that appeals to you?

 

A) I love that I can use my full range of emotions in horror. I believe that it is the most challenging genre for an actor. We have to display terror, grief, anxiety, insanity and a number of other emotions believably.  I’ve loved horror since I was a child.

 

Q) You’re also starring in I Spit on Your Grave: Déjà vu, which is a sequel to the infamous 1978 horror film with the same name. When you were cast as Christie Hills, daughter of the original lead character, had you seen the film and did you know of its cult following? What can the fans expect from the sequel?

 

A) I had seen the film and knew all about the following. When I submitted for the film, I thought, “I will submit but I probably won’t get this.” Then they asked me to send in an audition tape.  Then, they called me in for an in-person callback and I thought, “Well, if I get to meet writer/director Meir Zarchi, then I am good if I don’t get the role.  It was worth it.”  That’s how much I loved the original film.  And Meir was there at the callback.  I was happy.  Then they called me in for another callback that went five hours and I read with multiple actors.  I was beyond thrilled when they cast me about two months after that.

 

Fans can expect a story much like the original in that Meir Zarchi is telling the story that HE wants to tell, not what Hollywood wants.  He doesn’t follow any rules such as, “You need to have a kill by minute twenty-three.”  He doesn’t care how long each scene is and he doesn’t follow any “rules.” Once again, he made a movie unlike any other and that is in a subgenre all its own.  I have seen the rough cut.  They are finalizing the sound and color and getting it out this year to commemorate the 40^th anniversary of the original film.

 

Q) Besides Killing Joan and I Spit on Your Grave: Déjà vu are you working on any other projects the fans can look out for?

 

A) I have eight films coming out this year so it’s difficult to talk about all of them, but fans can follow my updates on my social media because I am good about releasing details about the movies I have coming out.

 

I am about to begin filming as the leading role in a movie called The Furnace being directed by the Oscar-Nominated director, Darrell Roodt.  His film Yesterday was nominated in 2004 for Best Foreign Feature Film at the Oscars.  He is a phenomenal director and I am so excited to work with him.  His latest film The Lullaby is an absolutely gorgeous film and has received all rave reviews.

 

I filmed in Backseat starring Amy Adams, Christian Bale, Sam Rockwell and Steve Carell.  I can’t talk much about it due to confidentiality, but I can say that I have a wonderful scene with one of the stars of the film.  I’m hoping it makes the final cut of the film, as sometimes smaller scenes will get cut out due to time or other factors, but so far it is looking like my scene will make the film. So, I’m really excited about that.

 

The film I produced, co-wrote, and star in The 6^th Friend is definitely coming out this year.  I am really proud of this one.  Audiences at the film festivals have loved it so I have high hopes that fans will enjoy it as well.  We won a lot of awards at the festivals so it has been very well-received.