Up next in 10
'Burn it All' is about a women with a history of men dominating her fate, a broken woman returns to her hometown to bury her mother only to find a violent organ smuggling ring already has the body and wants no witnesses, but by trying to extinguish her they spark an inferno.
BURN IT ALL WILL BE AVAILABLE ON DIGITAL AND VOD PLATFORMS FEBRUARY 19
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0:00
My first question is for you, Brady. You're the writer and director of Burn It All Up
0:10
What was your inspiration behind the movie? It's kind of a two prong thing. I've had a couple of like brief fight scenes in previous
0:19
movies I've done. And I've always really enjoyed that. And I've always really enjoyed action films as a kid of the 80s in suburbia. I just it was my bread and butter. So I wanted to
0:27
make something a little more action packed. It has a little more of that like bite to
0:32
it. And I also wanted to make something that kind of made a statement and that had a message
0:37
which I haven't really explored very much before. So I took the idea of like, just the
0:42
horrible ways that men treat women and misogyny and patriarchy and all that stuff, and then
0:46
dovetailed it with a kind of an action story, and wrapped it all in the organ smuggling
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you know, underground red market stuff. And that's where we got this kind of tiramisu
0:58
cake layer of different ideas going on. And what drew you to burn it all Elizabeth
1:06
There's so many things that drew me to burn it all like so many things, but specifically
1:11
Alex and I are just so similar, so similar, like the way that Brady wrote her. I'm now
1:17
understanding more and more of the backstory that we created this moment. He listened to
1:22
a lot of people in his life, clearly, that helped him formulate the theme and ideas
1:27
But the way Alex communicates, like I was blown away, because these are all things I would say. These are all things that I would do minus like the big fights and stuff. But
1:35
these are all things I would say to someone to men who are saying and doing some of these
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things. But more importantly, I just liked the facts. I love the fact that Alex starts
1:44
off in a really bad position. And she forces herself through just being a strong person
1:51
to fight through so much to get to the end of things to make an impact. So, so many things
1:58
but specifically those. And you bring up Alex, how would you describe Alex
2:05
Alex is an interesting character. She's strong, but she's weak in so many areas. She's a go
2:13
getter. But at the same time, she's super lazy. Like she's just, she's a little bit
2:17
of everything. But at the core of her being, I feel like she's a powerhouse who truly just
2:22
wants to be happy. Like truly at the end of the day, she wants to feel some sort of happiness
2:27
because her life has been nothing but dudes flying off the handle. Like that's really what it is. So Alex is a badass, but she's a softie for sure. Yeah
2:37
Good answer. And this question is for both of you. Brady, you mentioned that you wanted
2:42
to deal with the patriarchy and female empowerment. You do a really interesting thing in Burn
2:47
It All. Alex has a vulnerability turner instead of just being this badass who's kind of not
2:52
fun to watch really. How important was it for you to give that vulnerability to the
2:58
character and how important was it for you, Elizabeth, to kind of show that vulnerability
3:06
I mean, it was very important because if you don't have that, then you've just got a grunting
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you know, Liam Neeson, like, I'm going to kick your ass kind of thing. And that's great
3:15
in some respects. Like, I love those movies. I love just big, dumb action movies that have
3:19
no real point to them with just a grunting lead. It's fine. But that's not what I wanted
3:24
to do here. I wanted to do something that had a little more to it. And so you have to
3:28
have a lead character that has flaws, that has trouble being motivated. And that's really
3:33
what Elizabeth was talking about. She's like, Alex is a badass. She's strong. She'll do
3:37
whatever she wants, but she needs motivation. And when we meet her at the beginning of the
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movie, she has no motivation left. There's nothing to live for, literally. And so there's
3:46
a little, just a little kernel that gets dropped into her brain, like, wait, maybe there is
3:50
something to live for right at the beginning. And that is the spark that kind of lights
3:54
her fire that keeps her going throughout the whole movie. So it's important to have characters
3:59
that have that kind of depth because otherwise, if you don't have that, then you have to have
4:03
really crazy, good action visual stuff to keep the audience interested because otherwise
4:09
they're just going to be bored. And what about you, Elizabeth? How important was it for you to deliver that vulnerability
4:20
Honestly, probably the most important thing next to safety of like, as a stunt person
4:26
that's always like our go-to. But with Alex, like her vulnerability is everything. There's
4:32
a scene that I know Brady and I are going to think of probably at the same time where
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Alex just goes hard and she cries and she's done. And that was one of those moments where
4:43
as an actor, I truly was there with her and I was crying. It was no longer just Alex and
4:49
like Liz, like just getting into it. So to express vulnerability in a character that's
4:54
primarily just a badass, it to me means showing the audience that there are multiple sides
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to even the most hardcore person. You know, even the strongest people are truly vulnerable
5:06
deep down. So it was really, really important to me. And you've both kind of touched on the action aspect of this movie. It's also very emotional
5:15
very exhausting. What was the hardest scene for both of you to film
5:24
Brady, do you want to take this one? Okay. Yeah, it was definitely the restaurant scene just because it was such a big
5:32
complicated sequence where it starts out with fistfights. It goes into gunplay and it's
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kind of, it's not just wham-bam. There's a lot to it. And so we spread that out over
5:42
a couple of nights. We had Elizabeth on one side of the room with me with one camera
5:47
We had Becky, the stunt double in the wig and the hoodie and another camera guy
5:52
Regan, on the other side of the room fighting other guys. And so we were really just trying to figure out ways to make it efficient and get as much stuff shot as we could
6:02
And it worked out great that way. It just, it was just difficult. Those were long days
6:06
That building was not heated and it was in the middle of the winter. So it was cold as hell in there. It wasn't like brutal. It would be worse if it was outside in the rain
6:15
but it was, it wasn't like luxurious. We'll put it that way. And it took a while to get
6:20
all the shots we needed. And we did have to come back with Becky like five months later
6:25
and throw the wig on her and have her run around and jump around and get some more pickup shots. But it was tricky, but I think it worked out for the best
6:34
And what about you, Elizabeth? What was the hardest scene to do
6:39
In terms of action, truly the hardest scene was anything revolving around the pool table
6:46
It's where I'll leave it because I don't want to spoil too much. But when you see it
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you'll be like, okay, there we go. But we had quite the crew of stunt performers
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and actors and they made it so enjoyable because with every fight partner you have
7:01
just like with any scene partner, you have to get to know them. And like, as an example
7:05
there were men six times my size. I had to learn how quick they were and how slow
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they were in certain areas and like how to get around them. Those are the complexities
7:15
that go into those scenes. It's just learning who your fight partner is and how they throw things
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so you can keep everybody safe and actually go home at the end of the day and be able to come back
7:23
to do another one. Emotionally speaking, there's just a scene I'll never forget
7:28
that always brings me back to. I was speaking about it prior. Alex is just, she's tired
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She's done. She doesn't want to deal with anything anymore. And truly that was challenging
7:36
because I had to dig so deep into something personal and you feel vulnerable
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So those are always the hardest scenes when you're just like exposing yourself to an audience of people and just hoping that they'll get it. So, yeah
7:50
Oh, absolutely. And you mentioned the stunts and the choreography behind that
7:55
Now, I know you've done a lot of films in the past, but correct me if I'm wrong, this is your first starring role, right
8:00
Correct. Yes. How was it? Difficult to prepare for this as opposed to previous movies you've been in
8:06
I was lucky and I'll give everyone credit for this. Drago, our stunt coordinator
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I've worked with him in the past. He made this very, very enjoyable for me
8:18
Any job has been amazing, but for something of this caliber, I was already doing live shows
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prior to this, so I was doing live stunts in China. But Drago and Brady made this
8:29
transition very easy for me because I was essentially just given information
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I could play it out on a live stage and hang out with my stunt friends and do it there
8:40
and then I would just fly home and actually do it on set. So they made that communication that they had. The fact that they were kind of helping me
8:48
stay safe. The preparation was a lot easier, I think, than it could have been in any other situation for sure. Right. Yeah
8:55
Now, this, Bernadole has a lot to unpack in it. We've talked about the female aspect
9:00
of it. We've talked about the action part of it. But it also touches on the kind of
9:04
the collapse of small town America. What do you want audiences to take away from Bernadole
9:10
What I would hope audiences take away from Bernadole is that there's power in women, period
9:18
And that no one will fully, fully, and we discussed this, but no one will fully
9:23
understand what it is like to be a woman in this day and age. But listening
9:29
Listening is the most important thing we can do. And you'll see that with Alex
9:33
He really does try to get people to listen there. So I hope audiences walk away feeling like
9:38
okay, I kind of get it now. They'll never fully understand, but I kind of get what's
9:43
going on here. And the message is so strong. And what about you, Brady
9:50
I mean, on a more frivolous level, I hope people are just entertained by watching people
9:55
get their ass beat because that's always fun. But on a more serious level, I hope that
10:01
at least some men kind of just a little nugget gets into their brain. They're like
10:06
is that really how men talk to women when I can't hear it? And the answer is yes
10:11
The answer is absolutely yes. And so I hope that it just gets a little hamster
10:17
turning in a wheel inside of some guys' heads, which is how it has to start
10:21
You can't just like, you're saying wrong stuff. You're a misogynist. That never creates an environment in somebody's brain that gets them to want to change
10:29
That just makes people defensive. So packaging that in a story like this might
10:34
get some thoughts going. And that's what I hope it is. It moves as a needle
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It's a tiny bit at best or at worst, maybe. Hopefully at worst
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And really, yeah, I just hope it gets some guys thinking about how they benefit
10:49
from the patriarchy or how they contribute to it because we all benefit from it
10:53
We all contribute to it in some way or another. And so just getting that thought
10:57
into a lot of guys' head is really getting the ball rolling. And my final question is, I know the pandemic has kind of made everyone's plans
11:06
kind of askew. And I know there's only so much you guys can say. But what future plans do you have or projects are you working on
11:14
Brady? Yeah, I'm not about to start filming anything until we are back to
11:21
quote unquote normal. Just because the way I do things, it's so run and gun, having a COVID officer yelling at everybody, it wouldn't work
11:28
There's no way it would work. So I've just been writing. I'm working on a script, kind of a new, different direction
11:35
like a more comedic action. It's kind of an action comedy, paranormal romance thing. It's kind of touching all the bases
11:44
So unless something crazy happens with Burn It All and we have an opportunity
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to make more in that world, which I would love to, I'll probably be doing that in the next year or two
11:52
And Elizabeth, what plans do you have? Kind of same mindset as Brady. When things go back to as normal as they can be
12:00
I feel like that's when I will be comfortable, like, you know, diving into more projects. But for right now, keeping my skills sharp
12:08
writing scripts on my own, just to understand the writer's mind, a director's mind, because I think that's crucial
12:13
That's really what I'm sticking to is just sharpening up my skills so that I am ready for when this whole world decides to open up again
12:19
And yeah, I hope Burn It All gets another film, a series
12:23
just anything, because playing Alex again would be a dream for sure
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