Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Ryan
A Conversation with Actor/Producer/Director,
Shane Ryan
MyIndie featured artist, Shane Ryan, was recently involved in an interesting filmmaking experiment when working on two indie feature films concurrently. MyIndie’s Itai Guberman had a chat with Shane to find out more about what it was like to shoot Choke and Heartbeat simultaneously, as well as other filmmaking tidbits…
1. Can you tell us a little about your recent role in Gregory Hatanaka‘s Choke?
Brandon, my character, is based on the character I created and portrayed in my own series, Amateur Porn Star Killer, which Gregory Hatanaka, the director of Choke, distributed back in 2007-2009.
Brandon is a serial killer who records videos of his victims. Besides that, the characters differ quite a bit between Choke and APSK. In my films you never really get to see Brandon, as I’m operating the camera. You just hear my talking for the whole film, since they are made to appear like Brandon‘s video diaries. In Choke, I’m on camera a lot, but I don’t say a whole lot. So, it was interesting how different my character is in this one. I was playing my own creation under somebody else’s direction and script, which was quite fun. I also scream and cry and laugh. Like, a lot. Which is way more exhausting than one might think. Add in all of the endless choking scenes, and it was pretty rough on me psychically, which I don’t think I was expecting.
2. Can you tell us a little about your recent role in Gregory Hatanaka‘s Heartbeat?
I play Rick, a very odd, jumpy and paranoid photographer who thinks he’s uncovered a series of murders. Or I might just be a suspect myself.
This was such a different role than Brandon and it was a film that we thought of at the last minute while prepping for Choke, which had a script and lots of pre-production work, whereas Heartbeat was being written as we shot, usually the night before or often just minutes before each scene was shot. Since I didn’t have much, if any, time to prep for Heartbeat, I had to think quick for inspiration, so I referenced Gene Hackman in The Conversation as it’s one of my all-time favorite films. I thought about Rick wearing this odd jacket in the middle of 90-100 degree heat (even though he’s always sweating), sort of like Hackman‘s Harry always wearing a raincoat despite it not raining. Plus the glasses, and the paranoia of thinking I’ve uncovered a series of murders and taking photos, akin to Harry thinking he might have stumbled across a potential future double murder while recording sound. Though I had forgotten that Greg had told me he took my character directly from Keith Gordon in Dressed to Kill, which I think I watched (for what would have been just my second time) a day or two before (or during) filming, but I totally forgot about that until Greg reminded me last week. Since I knew Harry Caul so well, that is who I was thinking of for ideas.
3. As both films were shot pretty much at the same time, how was dealing with the change from one character to another almost on a daily basis (and from what I understand, sometime within the same day)? Did it mess with your method as an actor?
I think I’m still trying to find my acting method, as I’ve not done much acting (unless directing myself as an actor, and I haven’t even done that really, in years) since I usually spend more time on filmmaking, so I usually get to act just one day a year. It made this an interesting challenge. The characters were so opposite, it felt much like switching back and forth between Clark Kent and Superman, though unfortunately so far, most people reviewing the films have been different critics (I had hoped for critics to review these as a double feature or pair of some sorts), but even if it had been the same critic reviewing the films together, they wouldn’t necessarily know that these were shot on the same days. But I think if people knew that, they’d respect the acting a lot more. Or too bad this wasn’t just the same film with everyone playing multiple characters! I wouldn’t have put it past Greg to have done that in editing.
4. Did you find the overall experience of shooting two films at once and constantly switching between characters to be a positive or a negative one?
Both. I do know that in some cases I tend to be more the method actor, which I couldn’t do at all for these films. I think the one time I really got to go method (years ago), I pulled it off super well, though it was for a film that will never get distributed for some unfortunate reason, and I was only in one scene, but I stayed in character the whole day for it despite shooting my part at the end of the day and in about 20 quick minutes – but it was so not me at all, people never realize it’s me when I show it to them. I think that maybe if I got to really go method, and if we had had the time and budget to get more takes of certain things, that I might have been a lot better in each film. I usually got one take when I thought that I sucked and needed another go, and multiple takes when I felt like I nailed it (and usually when it was physically insanely demanding, so it’d wipe me out giving it my all over and over when I felt like I got it right on take one). So regardless of switching off between roles, that was also challenging.
I think it was more a matter of getting the shot in many cases (technically), and not having time to always make the performance its best.
I also got sick about 2/3 of the way in, so that caused another big challenge. I don’t think I’ve ever had to act while sick (with a bad cold), and add all of the screaming in Choke. And I was sick when I had to vomit a bunch of apple cider vinegar (which hurt like a bitch), and get actual salt in my eyes (I think Greg just likes torturing us, as there was no need for all of these things, to be real). I also got hurt on Choke and was near bed-ridden for a couple of months afterwards, and nothing that caused any of my injuries ended up in the film (until I yelled at Greg after seeing one scene, so he put a shot back in of when I was actually in pain, with vinegar and salt pouring into my eyes and nose), so that was discouraging a bit.
At the same time, both of these characters were pretty exhausting to play, so jumping between them almost was a relief at times. In order to play Rick I would run around in circles to get myself breathing erratically, and just breathing that way for each shot made me feel like passing out. But Rick was the role where I rarely got more than 1-2 takes, I think doing more takes would have caused me to pass out, so that worked out. With Brandon I got endless takes of screaming (so many shots/scenes that never made it in the film), but when I had dialogue scenes (which were harder for me for that role for some reason), I usually had to get it in one shot. It was fun. I’d do it again, because I think it challenges you as an actor, but I don’t know if I’d necessarily choose to do it again, haha. But if that’s the only way to get a film made, by doing two at once, let’s do it.
5. Do you have any stories from your experience on these productions?
Chris Spinelli always smiling made things much easier. Though I was starting to think that he must be a serial killer. He was working a day job, plus producing two films and acting in both, all at the same time (while commuting pretty far, too). I don’t see how how, but he did not appear to be stressed at all. He had a great set of jokes (or more like repetitive one liners) that just made things easy. And I had to choke Sarah (Brine) to death (well, I had to, about six times), during our very first scene together (last scene in the movie) and act completely devastated for what I’ve done.
It’s still weird, acting, doing stuff like that, when you’ve just met someone. But it can also ease the tension for the rest of the shoot and then Sarah really started feeling like family, as did Nicole D’Angelo, and, of course, Greg. These were the core people I spent so much time with. So, those are things that make filmmaking much more fun (and also sad, when it’s over).
One thing that I remember was always recommending things for my character and Sarah‘s character to do, which were all just things that I wanted to do, like go bowling, ice skating, arcades, etc. That was fun, cause I was a hermit last year until that point, due to lots of personal problems that kept me cooped up at home, so getting out and doing things I really wanted to do, but doing them as my character, was awesome.
6. What are your thoughts on the finished products? Are you satisfied with your performance/s?
I’m waiting on the physical releases, I’m against streaming. It’s destroying cinema. It’s lame. It doesn’t feel real. I want to hold the finished product in my hand, or see it in a theatre (Corona got our theatrical release canceled). And it cuts out about 99.995% of our pay (I know; obscene, unbelievable, yet nobody reports on that disgusting and terrifying fact, crazy).
From what I saw when I was promoting it (and Greg had it playing on breaks while shooting our next film), I was very proud of certain things that I saw, and very embarrassed by others. Like the countdown scene with Sarah in Choke (when she has me count down from 10), I felt like I played half of that all wrong, and the other half was just flat out difficult for me, I needed another take, or several. I think my Dad was also visiting during that scene, which made me feel weird. Performing around family, well, I don’t think I’ve ever had to do that, so it was nerve-wracking. Even though he went into another room to help me feel more comfortable, it was a set with no ceilings, so it still made me feel vulnerable, especially since I was screaming. I think other times, too, it’d be great to see exactly how the other actor is playing a scene (maybe on playback on the monitors), because I felt like I was off from Sarah‘s performance. I don’t think we rehearsed that scene, so I didn’t feel like I matched her at all. Sometimes you read something on paper totally different than somebody else, so you look like you’re playing two different scenes. I think she took it very much the right way, and now looking at it I know exactly how I would have done it differently, but hey, it’s done and out, so…
In Heartbeat I was actually pretty proud of everything that I did that I saw aside from two scenes, where my hair is suddenly not sweaty, so it didn’t match the rest of the film. That would have probably not been a problem if we had the budget for continuity (so it was a makeup thing, not a performance thing). Or maybe we didn’t mess it up because we were shooting Choke an hour later? One of many problems with shooting two films at once and portraying completely opposite characters. I don’t think Rick‘s hair would have been so cleanly cut, either, but I definitely couldn’t change that as Choke would be shot a few hours earlier and, again, later.
But as far as the films themselves, I’m happy with what I saw. I can’t wait to actually watch the full films. I was super excited to finally have some major roles in some films. What I really want to do though, is more action scenes, like in Samurai Cop 2. That’s the most fun of anything. I want to do some Tom Cruise type shit. Well, maybe not that extreme, but that type of stuff is super fun.
7. What do you have planned for your next project/s?
Quarantine Girl, which is very much the same cast and crew, is due out next month. I have a lead role in that, too. Although I got the 20 pages of dialogue that I had to memorize just a day before filming (for a quick 2-3 day shoot! the challenges never stop). And I’m trying to finish up this Ted Bundy Had a Son series, which also is about my Brandon character. I just finished an 80s homage anthology that I created and produced called Awesomely Righteous & Radical! And then hoping to finally finish my film The Owl in Echo Park and a super old feature (from 2003), American Virgins. Plus I’m still filming God Got Ill, This Girl, This Boy and Red Oedipal (directing these).
I’ve also got a ton of films that I’m co-producing, anything from the documentaries Cúcuta and Heartprints in the Snow, to the action horror flicks Attack of the Unknown, Bloodthirst and Bridge of the Doomed, and the LGBT drama Spring, as well as homeless drama Homeless Ashes. We also got Enter the Samurai coming out next month, which I produced. It’s about the making of Samurai Cop 2.
I also have a decade-old feature that’s finally coming out next year, The Girl Who Wasn’t Missing. And then the Amateur Porn Star Killer trilogy will get its 4th edition release. Also working on some other ideas. Not sure how I’ll get all of this done, but I’m trying.
