Kate Hackett – The Long Dig

By starrymag | February 21, 2020

By: Lisa Steinberg

 

 

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

 

A) Right now I’m working on finding funding for a short horror movie called Airdrop, which you can read more about on katehackett.com/blog! The script is done and ready to shoot so I’m really hoping I can launch that this year.

Q) Please tell us the premise for the short film The Long Dig.

 

A) The Long Dig is set within the darkest Mist, a technology-destroying post-apocalyptic remnant of an old war that has shattered civilization as we know it. Eve scours decaying old ruins for Antenoch technology that was buried or otherwise preserved. Having – she hopes – perfected a mixture of oils that will prevent the decay of Antenoch artifacts, Eve is equipped to safely remove them from these ruins. Today, she’s found an old transportation hub, perhaps a subway, haunted by monsters and hiding treasure. The Long Dig is a short film within the larger Aeronauts universe, designed to be produced and released in conjunction with the game itself. It is an adventure in darkness, with flashes of fear and bursts of action, about one woman’s desperate desire to return home.

Q) As the writer of the movie, where did you get the inspiration for the premise?

 

A) It was really an effort to find something to work on with Tom [R. Pike]; we had wanted to work together for a long time and struggled to find something. The story he showed me, which was written for the game’s book, was exactly what I had been itching to play! A strong, capable woman leading a group with a sense of pathos to her — it was kismet. We figured the rich environment was PERFECT for a film so we approached the game’s creators and struck a deal!

 

Q) What did you find challenging about playing the roles of writer, EP and star of the film?

 

A) It’s always difficult to spread yourself thin like that — you’re in charge of quality control, protecting your team and also your own performance. I think having all those plates spinning at once can make the days pretty long. The best way around that, and I’ve gone into detail on my Female Filmmaker Friday blog series, is delegation to a team you can really trust.

 

Q) What were some of your favorite scenes to film?

 

A) I liked the flashback scene a lot. The movie is a lot of action and, for me, not a lot of lines — having something where we could settle in and settle down was a nice breath of air during filming. I think the only other dialogue heavy scene is with Ioseph (Cliff Simon) during that confrontation, which was also fun to shoot but the stakes were so high it wasn’t exactly relaxing!

 

Q) How did you shake off a long day of filming?

 

A) Taking off the make up! That and a shower help me kind of wash it all off. I’m always really tired after a day of filming, especially days like The Long Dig or Classic Alice where I’m basically in every frame. So, having a few to wind down alone with my cats and dog is really helpful.

 

Q) What message do you hope viewers take away from watching The Long Dig?

 

A) Women. Are. Awesome.

Having a female-driven (in front of and behind the camera) sci-fi project is rare– and I’m so proud to say that we are one of the few!

 

Q) Have you considered maybe extending the movie into full-length form?

 

A) Aaaabsolutely. We actually wrote this to be a backdoor pilot, so either a feature or TV series was our ultimate hope. The only problem is money. It’s hard to scrounge cash for indie things like this, especially as streaming took off.

 

Q) What else do you want to be sure our readers know about the film?

 

A) Share! Leave comments! Work like this is a team effort and when you’re on our team, it makes the job so much easier.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who are fans and supporters of you and the work you do?

 

A) I would LOVE to have you on board my patronage program: katehackett.com/patronage (or Patreon, if that’s more your jam). I keep everyone very up to date on all my projects and they get a big behind the scenes picture of everything that I do. It also MEANS THE WORLD to know I have a team backing my work.

 

You can also follow me on Insta and Twitter @HackettKate