Occupation Rainfall Cast Interview Recap: Live with Daniel Gillies, Jet Tranter, Zac Garred, and director Luke Sparke
Maude Garrett from Geek Bomb did a one hour interview with the cast of Occupation: Rainfall the other day. If you missed the fun, don’t worry, we got you. Down below you can find some of the questions they were talking about.
What were your inspirations?
Luke: Obviously Independence Day because it’s an invasion movie. So I sort of was like: Independence Day with an Australian Star Wars but on earth. The tone is kind of what I was thinking, but some cinemas over here have made the connection between Star Troopers and Mad Max.
Zach and Jet how do you tell people about this movie? What’s your elevator pitch?
Zac: I think Luke just nailed it. Yeah. I think Star Wars and Mad Max is a really good analogy. There’s all kinds of weird things in there, that will spin your head. It got that sort of funky kit bashed raw frontier feeling. Mad Max does too.
Zach what was it like reprising your role and getting back on set for this movie? What were the biggest differences between the first time and this time?
Zac: The scale is incomparable to the first one because the first one was a genuine sort of microcosm of the overall narrative. This one however is colossal. You get a scope of the overall picture of this whole thing. What Luke established really well in this film is the sense of inevitability. There’s no going back. We are in this experience and we don’t know what the world is going to be like on the other side of it. Of course, reprising the role of Dennis – a lot of the work was already done in the first one. Establishing a character, establishing his motivations and his morals and his ethics and of course who he is. Luke has a great grasp of that. He knew, where he wanted Dennis to be. It was just like slipping on a nice comfy pair of thongs. The incredible cast makes it even easier.
What was it like working with Luke Sparke as an actor?
Jet: It was like being a pawn in a chess game, where Luke is the player controlling the moves. He pushes you in the right directions. He helps you cross those boundaries along the way and eventually you get to the other end together, where you can transform into this major piece of the puzzle. It was a real privilege to work on this film. It’s about the whole team working together as an orchestra to make it all come together. I don’t think the crew and the production team get enough credit for what they’ve done.
Jet, we are talking about choosing a side and in a big way you represent one of the sides – you are the face of one of the sides. Daniel Gillies is kind of the face of the other side as well and you have a convention in this movie. Do you think this is an important message?
Jet: Yes, definitely. Daniel Gillies was so incredible to work with. For me as an actor kind of emerging and starting out I felt quite intimidated by him and his level of commitment to his character. I just had to stay in character the whole time when we worked together in scenes. I couldn’t socialize with him on a normal level in case I broke character. In general it’s a really important message to help audiences choose a side and have that fun as well.
How do you really think Australia would fare in an alien invasion?
Jet: I think we would kick their asses, don’t you Zac?
Luke: I think with the Aussie spirit and the ANZACs and that, obviously. I feel like Australia is a very large country and it’ll be very hard to take over in an invasion.
Favorite piece of Sci-Fi media – be it games, movies, tv, comics – go.
Luke: I’m going to say Star Wars. That’s the easy one.
Jet: Avatar and Star Wars.
Occupation 3, maybe?
Luke: Yes, if the audience shows up to this one. Everyone’s eyes are on the opening weekend next week to see how it goes.
Describe Occupation: Rainfall in 3 words
Jet: Oh my god.
Daniel: Harrowing.
Zac: Exhilarating.
Luke: Ambitious.
How were the scenes of flying filmed?
Daniel: Rapidly and bombastically. They were fun. I can’t remember if we were even green screen. We just sort of sat in a little box.
If humanity was really at stake and you could only save 3 things, what would they be?
Zac: Mom, dad and brother.
Jet: Family, pets and iPhone.
Daniel: Imagine you’re the only one on the planet with a phone.
Luke: I would definitely save a bottle of Jack Daniel’s.
Why should people come see this movie?
Jet: To eat some popcorn and enjoy great entertainment.
Luke: Just to have a fun thrill ride is what I’m hoping for.
Zac: Come for the spectacle and take away some very interesting emotional dialogue afterwards. It has everything you need in a great movie.
Daniel: Luke brought this beautiful excitement back. It is a spectacle and it’s just dazzling what Luke has achieved.
If you want to check out the whole Occupation:Rainfall cast interview – we got you:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsXD2kImmTY]
Occupation: Rainfall will release in Australian cinemas on 28 January 2021. The film is now confirmed to open across more than 200 screens.
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