Sarah Thompson – The Pink Conspiracy

Q.  What are some of the recent projects that you’ve been working on?

A.  I’m very lucky I got to do two really great films over the summer.  The first one was called The Pink Conspiracy, it’s a really dark comedy, it’s an independent film.  It’s being submitted to film festivals right now and hopefully it will get in and will get distributed.  Then, I did a horror movie called Black Water Valley Serial Killer, where I play a cop.  That was really great because I’ve never played a character like that before.  I had to be really physical and I did all of my own stunts.  So, it was a good workout and it was really fun.  I learned some stunts that I had never done before.  It was a really fantastic experience.   I’m actually gearing up to do another horror movie that I start in two weeks called Babysitter Wanted.

Q.  What made you want to tackle your own stunts?

A.  Well, they asked me how I felt about that, if I felt comfortable.  I started studying Tae Kwon Do a few months ago, so I’ve been becoming a little more familiar with certain throwing techniques and punches.  I had never done it before, when I was on the show “Angel” I always wanted to have a fight scene and I never gone one.  So, now that I have the opportunity in a horror movie to do my own stunts I said, “Yes, yes, yes!”  It’s something that kind of scared me and something I had never done before.  I’m always looking to try new things so I figured why not.  I trusted the people I was working with; they were fantastic.  The stunt coordinator was great, the other actors were great, so I felt safe in the environment.  Hopefully the stunts will look good!

Q.  How much training did you have to go through in order to perform your stunts?

A.  Not so much actually, like I said I study Tae Kwon Do, so I am familiar with certain falling techniques and breaking techniques and everything – breaking your fall.  Really, we just choreographed the fight scenes in the beginning of the day and practiced a few times and then we shot them.  But, like I said, we were working with really experienced, great stunt people so it wasn’t too tricky.

Q.  You mentioned the two films you’ve been working on.  You appeared last season on the show “7th Heaven,” does this mean you won’t be appearing in the upcoming season?

A.  That’s correct, sadly yeah.  David Gallagher who played Simon isn’t coming back this season.  So, I guess that sort of eliminates my storyline.  I loved working on the show and if they ask me back in the future I will go in a heartbeat.  I absolutely love the show but, there is a lot that is different about the show this year.  Some of the cast members aren’t coming back and they’re adding new people.  So, it’s a little different this year but, I hope they know that I’d come back in a heartbeat if they asked me. 

Q.  Your character grew really close to the Camden’s, I would think that you wouldn’t need Simon to be a part of the show.

A.  Yeah, well that’s why hopefully maybe they’ll decide to have me come back on the show.  They had to make so many changes this year because the WB and UPN merged.  So, I know they had some changes to make.  Like I said, hopefully they’ll ask me back even for a couple of episodes; that would be fantastic.  If my work schedule works out; I’ll be there in a second. 

Q.  What can you tell us about the plot for The Pink Conspiracy and about your character?

A.  The Pink Conspiracy is basically about a guy who realizes that all of the women in his life are conspiring against him.  His landlord, his girlfriend; every woman in his life.  He meets me and I sort of am the good girl and help him figure out the plot and work through everything.  I turn out to be the one woman in the movie that has somewhat redeemable qualities.  It’s a great part and I haven’t done a lot of comedy, I love doing comedy, but I haven’t done a lot of it.  I was really excited when I got offered the movie because it’s a comedy and it’s so different than anything I’ve done before. 

Q.  You said that The Pink Conspiracy is a dark comedy, did you have to work on comedic timing and rhythm?

A.  Yeah, actually I have a really wonderful acting coach and the first thing I did when I got the role was I went and saw her.  I worked with her privately on all of my scenes because I try to do that with a lot of roles anyways, but especially with this role.  First of all, I hadn’t done that many films.  Now, I have done more than I had prior to doing that movie.  Secondly, I hadn’t done a lot of comedy so I went and worked with her.  She helped me a ton, she’s amazing, so I feel like I hopefully did a good job with her help and the director’s help.  Yeah, I definitely worked on the comedy, the timing and everything.  Now I feel so much more confident to do more comedies in the future and I also wanted to make sure I was on the right track with the character.  I consulted my teacher and she helped a lot.

Q.  Is the comedy aspect one of the main things that drew you to the role?

A.  Absolutely, I love the genre.  It’s a very dark comedy and I love movies like that.  I haven’t done that much work in that area but I’ve done a lot of dramas on television.  I have also done a couple dramatic films and I had never done a dark comedy.  I had done some sitcoms but never this particular kind of script.  When I read the script I said, “This is great, it’s hysterical, it’s really interesting and controversial.”  I immediately wanted to do it, because of the tone of the piece, it was so different from anything I had done before.

Q.  With the movie making the rounds at the festival circuit, why should viewers take the time to check it out?

A.  This movie is so funny, I think it offers a lot for men and women.  Every man can relate to feeling like they don’t understand women and they want to know what is going on with women.  Every woman can relate because I’m sure most women feel like they want to get revenge on men that have done them wrong at some point in their life.  They think about it in their fantasy land, they never act on it.  So, I think men will be able to relate to the main character and women will be able to relate to all these women in his life that are trying to screw with him.  I just really think it offers something for everyone.  It is really funny and it has a really broad demographic.  I really think hopefully when it gets out there that people will check it out. 

Q.  Do you have a really memorable moment from working on the film?

A.  I think that one of the first nights we filmed was an all night shoot.  Everyone was in all of the scenes, there was this big scene where we had all the women who are messing with this guy in that scene.  So, there are dozens of girls, and it felt like one big, giant sleepover.  There were twenty girls or so, all in their twenties or whatever, and it was an over night shoot so it felt like a giant sleepover.  We were there from like 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and we all just stayed up talking in this little room when we weren’t filming.  We just talked and gossiped and it was so much fun.  It was one of the first nights that we filmed and it just really kind of bonded everyone.  I didn’t even feel like I was working, I felt like I was having fun with my girlfriends. 

Q.  Going back and speaking about “7th Heaven,” the show was set to conclude but was brought back for another year.  What do you think that fans will remember the most about the show when it finally does conclude?

A.  I think that they’ll remember it as something that they looked forward to watching every week.  It’s something that is comforting.  I think that people really feel like the Camdens are a real family.  It’s become this source of comfort for everyone.  I don’t think that they’ll remember any one person in particular because it’s such an ensemble.  Everyone just contributed so much to the show.  I think they’ll just remember spending Monday nights with the Camdens and the familiarity that comes with being on the air for eleven years.  Most girls within a certain age range are very, very familiar with the Camdens.  The show tackles issues that every teenager goes through so you watch and see how their family deals with it.  You feel like you’re not so alone because Lucy is dealing with it or Simon or Mary.  All of the different characters have all of these difficult teenage things happen to them.  I think it’s comforting to kids to see that. 

Q.  Do you have a latest obsession? Are you into any particular book, music group, sport or activity?

A.  My activity that I’m really into is cooking.  I took some cooking classes in the last year and I’m obsessed with cooking.  Now, I’m trying to venture out into more ethnic foods.  I’ve tackled Moroccan food and I’ve tackled Indian.  I’m just really obsessed with being able to cook every major type of food.  It’s so much fun, I absolutely love it, I need a bigger kitchen. 

Q.  What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

A.  I just want to say thank you genuinely for supporting me and supporting the things I work on.  I really love what I do and I don’t take it for granted for a single day.  I really, really am grateful for the projects that I’ve gotten to work on.  I thank everyone for their support and I hope they keep watching the stuff that I do and hopefully I will get to meet some of them.  I always love meeting fans; so if you see me out come say hello!