Logline: Two women embark on an adventure to save their careers,

only to discover that they must save themselves.

Helenna – It was such an amazing experience and truly felt like an adventure the whole time.  From the moment that that we decided to do this project, we all knew it was going to take the collective efforts of a tiny talented team to make magic happen.  To me there’s nothing more gratifying as an artist than being part of something from its genesis, helping to form the team to bring the idea to life, creating that piece of art, and then sharing it with the world.

Alexandra – Well we wore a lot of hats as you can imagine.  We also had great partners and even though it can be stressful producing and acting at the same time we had so much fun! When things were extremely difficult because we didn’t have enough hands on deck while filming, we found ways to laugh at it, instead of allowing it to get us frustrated or angry.  One time we had hiked ALL the way up a mountain and realized there was no drone inside the drone case, we were exhausted, but instead of turning on each other and blaming and pointing fingers, we all just laughed and said, well that’s indie filmmaking and one of us had to run all the way back to the house to get the drone and then hike back up the mountain.  For me sometimes I need a second to switch brains from producing to acting, but I have learned to do it fast and get into character as soon as the word “action” is called.  It’s a muscle I have been flexing for awhile.

Helenna – Absolutely. There is definitely an on/off switch that we are both able to access really quickly from “producer hat” to “actor hat”.  I also feel like with this project because we weren’t going back to comfy star trailers, it was really easy to switch into “acting-mode” because we were actually in the elements, hiking miles a day, sometimes thirsty and hungry and tired, so we were pretty “in the moment” a lot of the time.

2.     You two have a lot of experience in the indie filmmaking world. What are some of your experiences as producers?

Alexandra- Well I have produced three feature films before “At Your Own Risk” and every film has been totally different.  Based on budget or cast or locations, every time is a unique and an experience all on it’s own.  But the one thing each film has in common is the stress of delivering the film, and not allowing it to fall apart at any stage of the process.  My film Catching Faith was shot in a little town in Wisconsin and sixty percent of our crew had never worked on a film set.  So I spent the majority of that film running from department to department making sure they had what they needed, and they knew what they needed to do.  Then on my next film Wish For Christmas we had a very seasoned crew that new exactly how to run their own departments, and I got to spend the majority of producing behind the monitor working with the director on bringing the movie to life.  I much prefer sitting behind the monitor and being a part of the creative process.  I had an incredible line producer on “Wish For Christmas” and she ran the production office, and I never had to worry about anything.  The majority of producing is in pre-production, and if you have done your job correctly, then once you get on set, everything should run smoothly.  As long as you dotted all your t’s before camera’s begin to roll, you should have a ship that is sailing on it’s own.

Helenna – After doing numerous shorts and digital series, At Your Own Risk was the first feature film I produced.  About 6 months later I filmed my second feature, a sci-fi/horror which I also co-star in and produced. So far I’ve always put myself as the lead in a project or a strong supporting role. Much like Alexandra always says “instead of waiting to be picked, I chose myself”.  For many actors, producing projects to cast yourself in is something that became very popular with the rise of YouTube. Wow, that makes me sound like an old timer, but it’s true.  Back in 2007 I became obsessed with the world of the “web series”. At that time it was so new and groundbreaking, and I knew that getting involved in that world would be the quickest way to get seen by the people in power positions to hire me as an actor. I then saw what Felicia Day was doing with “The Guild” and thought that I definitely needed to be as proactive as she was.  I produced a ton of digital series and short films, and what I quickly realized was that I loved producing and enjoyed it just as much as acting.  It was really a win-win when I started creating content.

3.     How did you get involved in acting?

Alexandra – I began acting at a very young age in my high school theater department.  My first major audition was at the age of fourteen for the film Lolita starring Jeremy Irons in Boston.  I grew up in a small town outside of Boston, and I took advantage of all the opportunities in my area.  My first paying job as an actor was at the age of seventeen in the B-horror film Drainiac, my parents even let me miss school in order to be on set everyday. I was on cloud nine making that movie, I was addicted, and I knew this was what I wanted to do with my life.  I moved out to Los Angeles at nineteen years old and started pounding the pavement in Hollywood as an actor.  After ten years of non stop hustling working my tail off trying to get someone else to pick me, I decided to pick myself and start creating my own movies and gave myself the lead.

Helenna – I actually majored in jazz singing my first year of college but quickly realized that I wasn’t into music theory as much as I loved performing.  I transferred to a university and did general arts studies until a friend pressured me into auditioning for a musical and I got the lead role. That was pretty much it. I was hooked. I realized that acting was the door that opened up to all sorts of amazing worlds. I could sing, dance, write, produce, direct, and be involved in all sorts of different artistic mediums, so I did a three year intensive program and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting.  After that I immediately started auditioning for film and tv.  I should have known that that would be what truly felt like home to me from the fact that I was obsessed with movies growing up, but it took me awhile to figure it out. 

4.     What were some of your most challenging roles?

Alexandra Boylan – Wow! Now that’s a trip down memory lane.  I would say my most challenging role was getting cast in Megan Ellison’s (Annapurna) producers cut of the movie Passion Play.  The film starred Bill Murray, Mickey Rourke and Megan Fox.  I was cast as Mickey Rourke’s wife when he is young, in flashback scenes.  It was a huge opportunity for me as an actor, and I was thrilled to play this very complicated role.  But the challenge that came was after we filmed our scene’s, which I was so proud of my performance, and I thought it was going to be my Big Break and then after all was said and done it never saw the light of day.  There was no producers cut of that film, and my footage landed on the cutting room floor.  My disappointment was paramount! It crushed me, and it took me a long time to get over it.  Actually I’m not sure l am over it, I might never be.  I’m very sad about the outcome, and the fact that my incredible performance that I gave my heart and soul to will never be seen.  And it did not propel my career in the way I had imagined.  This is a good lesson for all actors, to not let something like this get you down.  I was sad, I was bummed, but I picked myself up and kept moving forward.  I didn’t let this experience ruin me or discourage me from continuing forward in the pursuit of my dreams.  Take your time to grieve and then move on to what’s next! The biggest challenge was getting over my disappointment.

Helenna – Well, my most challenging was also the most fun and my first professional gig.  It was on the TV series The Dead Zone for USA Network.  I played a young mom who was screaming and drowning in a van trying to save her baby.  The set they had built was incredible. It was all inside in a giant tank with a van on hydraulics that would move up and down and side to side.  I was in a wet suit and weighted down so that I wouldn’t float, and spent two full days in the water.  Those were hard, long days but an absolutely amazing time!

5.     What was the inspiration for writing the script for At Your Own Risk?

Helenna – Oh man, living in LA you listen to a lot of podcasts while stuck in traffic, and one day I was listening to This American Life on NPR. The episode was about something creepy that happened in Japan and it got my head spinning.  Alexandra and her producing partner John K.D. Graham and I had been talking about doing a project out in New Mexico for quite some time, there was even another movie that we had hoped to shoot but the funding fell through.  After listening to that podcast though I got a spark of an idea that we could shoot for a really really low budget.  I thought about combining what happened in Japan with my latest obsession at the time which was geocaching, and At Your Own Risk was born.  From there Alexandra reached out to her brother Andrew Boylan to come on board to write the script.

6.     Is it difficult to act in your own movie?

Alexandra Boylan- ABSOLUTELY!  If your in front of the camera acting, and your phone is beeping away with emergencies from the production office, and you can’t address them because your in front of the camera that can be very difficult to deal with.  And obviously that can be a challenge for you to be able to stay focused in a scene while your learning about a disaster that needs to be dealt with immediately.  As an actor you want to be sheltered from all the drama on a movie set, so you can stay focused on the scene and your performance.  But as a producer you are in charge of dealing with all the drama that happens on a movie set.  Wearing both of these hats is a challenge and it isn’t for everyone.  I have a great ability to tone out what I need to at what moment I need to.  But trust me it has taken me years to be able to do this.  It’s a learned behavior, and other people may find they might not be able to seperate themselves.  One of the biggest challenges of acting in your own movie is post production!  As an actor/producer you will be very involved in post production and once you get into the editing room you have to be able to remove your ego!  It is not about “you” as an actor anymore it is about the “movie.”  What is best for the movie must trump what you think is best for yourself.  I sometimes don’t like a particular take of myself, but I don’t argue, cause it isn’t about me, it is about the “movie” and trusting the post production team.  If an actor can’t separate their ego from the equation than they can’t enter the editing booth.  I as an actor don’t get to call the shots in post production, once it enters that stage my producer hat goes on and I look at the project objectively.

Helenna – Wow, yah I agree with all of that. One hundred percent. On that note, I’m really inspired by Brit Marling, actually her work is one of the things that Alexandra and I bonded over when we first met, but she has done so many great interviews where she talks about the creative process of being an actor in her own projects.  One of my favorite things she has said is that when she is looking at the footage in the editing room it’s not about her at all, it’s about whether or not she believes the person saying those words on the screen.  That’s always stuck with me. As an actor I could be thinking “oh man that angle is not great of my huge nose”, or “dang look at that zit that wouldn’t leave for the shoot”, but as a producer all I’m thinking is if the performance helps move the story forward in an authentic way. Some of what might be the best takes or most flattering lighting and angles don’t make it into the final cut because for one reason or another they just don’t move the story forward, and I think I’ve become pretty good with letting all of that slide, because at the end of the day it’s all about what is best for the movie and the world of the story.

7.     What were some of the highlights of working on this film?

Alexandra – Working with my best friends! Getting to live together while filming a movie was pure joy.  I love New Mexico, the sky is one of kind.  I loved waking up every morning and taking in that gorgeous sky, and then ending the day with a sunset stretched wide over the vast landscape of a beautiful desert!

Helenna – Yes, New Mexico is a dream!  I love the desert so much and being able to literally be adventuring and hike all day up these awesome hills and mountains to find the perfect shot was amazing. This was one of the most fun experiences I have ever had. For the bulk of the movie it was literally a four person team: myself, Alexandra, John K.D. Graham our director who also did location sound, and Rick Galli our DP and cameraman.  That was it. Just four good friends in the middle of the desert making a movie. Pure heaven.

8.     What advice can you give to someone wanting to produce his or her own movie?

Alexandra Boylan – Align yourself with people who are smarter than you!  Find a tribe of dedicated filmmakers who are excited to be a part of joining a team and rising together.  Write a script around the location you have free.  Shoot in a town that is excited to have you and will support your indie film.  Be kind, be gracious, this is a small town and everyone knows everyone.  Guard your reputation with all your might!  Be loyal to the people on your team, don’t forget the people who were there for you when you had nothing.  Hire them when you have the money to pay!

Helenna – Ditto to all of that. Absolutely. A lot of what I know about indie filmmaking I’ve learned from Alexandra. She was a huge inspiration for me to start producing features, and our friendship and producing partnership really proves that you can find like-minded people all around you if you are open to it, relationships that will last a lifetime. We met working in a bar in Santa Monica and became fast friends and knew that we wanted to work together. We kept encouraging one another with our projects, invited each other to be involved in things, and just kept being champions for one another. Cheering other people on in their artistic journey is so incredibly important. There can be so much jealousy instead of building one another up and that is just so unproductive. I think encouraging other filmmakers is truly key, otherwise you are creating a gross toxic feedback loop. Humility and love go a long, long way in this business.

9.     What are the highs in your career(s); what are the hurdles?

Alexandra Boylan – My highs are the hurdles I conquered to accomplish something.  I am so proud of all my films, because we busted our butts to make them.  We faced huge challenges and never gave up.  I started something and I saw it to the finish line.  Nothing comes easy to anyone in this business, and don’t let anyone tell you differently.  Cause there is no such thing as overnight success.  The biggest hurdle is finding people who will trust you with their money. Investment is a huge challenge for any filmmaker to secure.  My biggest High would be making Home Sweet Home because that movie really propelled my career to the next level.  And I am still working with the same team.  I love working with my friends and building my tribe.  I get a high from the people I’m surrounded by, they inspire and challenge me.

Helenna – Me too, for sure. I am such a social person and get all of my inspiration and creative juice from being around other people and building community. That’s a big part of why I created “Ms. In The Biz” which is a blog and collaborative community for women in entertainment full of advice for everyone navigating their way in the business.  Creating that site and watching that community thrive has definitely been a big high for me.  Alexandra and 79 other women were on the launch team for that site in 2013 which quickly grew to over 300 writers and is read all over the globe.  The site is currently on hiatus but there are almost 2000 articles to read there, many about the ins and outs of filmmaking.  Alexandra and I then compiled a book together with 25 articles from 21 writers called Thriving in Hollywood and Alexandra also just published a book of all of her own pieces called Create Your Own Career in Hollywood.  Both books are available on Amazon. 

As far as hurdles, well, I feel like there are tiny hurdles every single day.  Producing means problem solving and I think I’ve gotten really good at it, but it’s always a challenge.  The biggest hurdle for me and perhaps one of the ones that I most struggle with is the idea of where I thought I’d be in my career now versus where I actually am, and being happy in the moment, truly happy. It’s important to celebrate all of the little wins and accomplishments because this industry is really tough. Putting one foot in front of the other and just keeping going some days to reach your goal can be hard, but being proud of what I’ve already accomplished and excited and in positive state of mind about where I’m going next, is absolutely key.

At Your Own Risk – adventure movie – teaser from Helenna Santos on Vimeo.

At Your Own Risk is premiering at the Artemis ‘Women in Action’ Film Festival on opening night Friday, April 27th at 9pm, and will be available on iTunes and Amazon later this Spring/Summer. Get your tickets for this film.

Website: atyourownriskmovie.com
Instagram: @atyour_ownrisk
Twitter: @atyour_ownrisk
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