Exclusive: Eliza Dushku Talks The Scribbler From the Set!
This writer hit the Los Angeles set of director John Suits’ feature The Scribbler back in June of 2012 and while there sat down with actress Eliza Dushku to get the skinny on her character. Read on.
Releasing September 19th through XLrator Media, the sci-fi action-thriller is an adaptation of the 2006 Image Comics graphic novel of the same name. Directed by John Suits and scripted by Daniel Schaffer, the production at the time was shooting day eighteen of twenty at the Linda Vista Community Hospital in downtown L.A.
Starring Katie Cassidy (“Supernatural”, A Nightmare on Elm Street), Garret Dillahunt (The Last House on the Left), Michelle Trachtenberg (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), Eliza Dushku (Wrong Turn, Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), Gina Gershon (Killer Joe), Michael Imperioli (The Lovely Bones), Billy Campbell (“The Killing”), Sasha Grey (The Girlfriend Experience) and Ashlynn Yennie (The Human Centipede), The Scribbler centers on Suki (Cassidy), a young woman confronting her destructive mental illness.
Sitting down with Dushku, who’s primarily known to genre fans for her turn as the character of ‘Faith’ in the Joss Whedon cult shows “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” and “Angel”, as well as for her role of ‘Echo’ on the Whedon television series “Dollhouse”, the actress opened on her character of ‘Jennifer Silk’ in
“She’s a criminal psychologist,” said Dushku, whose hair was coiffed in a 1940’s do for the part, as we sat in a drafty sub-level corridor of the hospital.
Of the script, “I think the audience enters the film with her, with Jennifer as the outsider coming into the crazy,” stated the actress, “and I really enjoyed the parts of the script that look at that idea of what is considered ‘crazy’ in our society today, and what are the parts of ourselves that we try to conform (to society); what is allowed by society, what society tries to tear out of us, what is considered ‘okay,’ and what is considered ‘crazy.’ I think Jennifer really starts to identify these things and starts to understand, whereas Michael Imperioli’s character just tries to beat Suki down, and to beat out all of her feelings and experiences that have shaped her. Jennifer really comes to understand in a way that few could understand, where all of these pieces have come from.”
“The script has a lot of ‘Dollhouse’ parallels I feel like,” continued Dushku of The Scribbler, “where Suki is the sum of all of these parts, and all of these people in reality are very real to her and very important, in making up who she is, and her survival mechanisms. I think Jennifer really relates to her, in whatever messed up way that is, in how she’s experienced her own life. They have an affinity for one another.”
With Dushku having historically played strong female roles, we asked her if there were any similarities in the film.
“Jennifer is a bad-ass and a ball-buster and likes to cut through the shit and get down to really what’s going on,” said Dushku. “So when we see her come in, she’s that way, but she’s also clearly afflicted with her own issues and frustrated with the narrow-mindedness of the staff in the way that they approach these ‘crazy’ people. When she meets Suki, I think we see both sides of Silk. With Suki she absolutely responds to her, and there is a softness that comes through with Silk in that way. I think because the script is based on a graphic novel, we are playing a little bit with the ‘hyper-reality’ and noir aspects (of the source material). Jennifer kind of dresses and looks like she’s from the 40’s, but at the same time it’s very contemporary, so we are playing with those subtleties.”
As for shooting at Linda Vista, an often-used location long rumored to be haunted, “On the first day there were rumblings from the cast and crew about seeing things, in the incinerator downstairs and Room 742, which has all kinds of myths and legends surrounding it, but to me it’s just a beautiful set, and I’m impressed with it and everyone on this production,” she stated. “And as a producer on ‘Dollhouse’ I’m amazed how they are delivering such excellent production value and quality on such a small budget.”
For more on The Scribbler, see our previous exclusive chat with co-star Ashlynn Yennie.
XLrator Media’s sci-fi action-thriller The Scribbler is set to open September 19th.
Synopsis
THE SCRIBBLER follows Suki (Katie Cassidy), a young woman confronting her destructive mental illness using “The Siamese Burn,” an experimental machine designed to eliminate multiple personalities. The closer Suki comes to being “cured,” she’s haunted by a thought… what if the last unwanted identity turns out to be her?
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