Zack Ward – Restoration

By starrymag | April 27, 2016

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

Q) We know you best as an actor. Would you prefer for us to start crediting you as a filmmaker instead or are you still all good with being known as the star of A Christmas Story?

A) I’m working to earn the other title. I think it will change depending on what I’m doing, but the commitment to excellence will remain constant. Or just call me “the king of all Gingers” and we can move on from there.

 

Q) Tell us the premise for your film Restoration.

A) Restoration is a supernatural suspense thriller with a mind jarring twist, filled with amazing performances and beautiful camera work, leaning towards the classics of the genre but keeping true to the values and intelligence of a modern audience.

 

Q) Any sources of inspiration for the story?

A) The Bible, the Mayans and Aleister Crowley. I love to mix mythologies. I’m a huge fan of The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell and couldn’t wait to mess around with spirits from different worlds and demons from strange pantheons. Fun stuff.

 

Q) What about directing approaches – anyone you emulated?

A) Yes, I tried to steal from the best. I worked with Steven Spielberg on the TV show “High Incident” and got to spend some one-on-one time with the man himself. He was the director I tried most to emulate by integrating his style of single camera moves or “oner” shots. Typically, they bring attention to themselves (Good Fellas, Boogie Nights) and are truly amazing, but Mr. Spielberg uses them in a simpler way that brings focus to the story and the actors, not the camera.

There are a lot of hand held and action packed scenes in Restoration so I wanted to balance it with a style that could be visually calming, a rest from the tension, so that the audience would feel ready to go back into the fray. Also, I find a cinematic elegance in doing the most with the least, in letting the truth inside the actors speak softly for themselves and connect with the audience sitting in the dark.

 

Q) What can you tell us about your movie’s approach to horror?

A) We’re in a real world so keep it relatable, keep it visceral and relevant. The characters need to touch the audience and make them care or it doesn’t matter what happens to them. Honesty and comedy are great ways to feel involved with people, we do it all the time in real life: walk into a party, tell a joke and people like you. Or be honest and people support you. I wanted my characters to feel like people you know, who live down the street or that you might have coffee with. That way when their world explodes into crazy, you feel how they feel and you care.

 

Q) Do you act in it ,too?

A) I do. It’s really hard to direct, produce and act at the same time. But I learned a lot

 

Q) Have you ever directed yourself before?

A) Not officially. Sometimes when I’m working with a director that doesn’t know or care about what he’s doing, I have to just take over as best I can. In those situations, you and the crew are just making it up on your own anyway.

 

Q) How did you discover your cast?

A) Emily O’Brien had worked with James Cullen Bressack before in his film Pernicious and I’d met her a few times when she came to my house. She’s effortlessly elegant and fantastic and I was so lucky to have her.

Adrian Gaeta was hired because I lost a bet. [laughs] Just kidding! I love Adrian and hope he gets to read this. (Got ya buddy). I literally met Adrian three days before we started shooting and he was the natural choice. So lucky I got him. He and Emily are so incredibly good together. They feel like a real, loving couple and when they are in the bedroom? Yup, they sizzle. That’s a sexy cast.

Sarah Ann Schultz and I are both with the same manager, Vanguard Management, so it was a perfect fit when we were introduced and she’s an amazing talent.

Anna Harr is amazing. I’m pretty sure she’ll be an Oscar winner before she’s 20. One of the most talented people I’ve ever been around. Can’t wait to work with her again.

 

Q) What was the idea behind forming your production company?

A) Make a Zillion dollars and rule the world! Seriously though, I felt like I was at the right place to make a stand and put myself to the test. “You miss a hundred percent of all the shots you never take,” as Wayne Gretzky said. And this is my next shot.

 

Q) And you’re working with James Cullen Bressack, I believe. How did you guys cross paths?

A) We met at a sushi restaurant on Lankershim Blvd and then got drunk. After the hangover wore off, we kept talking about story ideas and then worked together on a movie he was directing. That went so well we thought we’d keep it going and here we are.

 

Q) Any other future projects coming up together?

A) Yup! Bethany! We wrote it together and he directed that one. It is in post right now and should come out around October. I’m pretty sure this is going to be his festival darling.