Red Faction: Origins - Pazsaz: Smith, Vernon, Nankin & Kreisberg Interview

Source: Pazsaz [follow link for complete LENGTHY interview]



RED FACTION: ORIGINS - PAZSAZ: Brian J. Smith, Kate Vernon, Michael Nankin and Andrew Kreisberg Interview

by Pattye Grippo

This is an interview with Brian J. Smith (Jake Mason), Kate Vernon (The Matriarch), Director Michael Nankin, and Writer/Executive Producer Andrew Kreisberg on May 31, 2011 about the Original Syfy movie Red Faction Origins.

In the film, twenty-five years have passed since Alec Mason led the Martian Colonies to freedom... and 12 years since vengeful enemies killed his wife, kidnapped his daughter Lyra, and left a broken hero in their wake. Jake Mason, Alec’s last surviving son and an officer in the Red Faction Militia, has his world turned inside out when he discovers that now, 12 years after her kidnapping, his sister is still alive. As a powerful new enemy swarms across the planet, Jake goes out to find her, only to learn that his lost sister is one of them... a cold-blooded soldier sworn to destroy the Red Faction. Jake must now battle the relentless regime and somehow reunite a family torn apart by war...


... Question: So would you say that this movie would be just as good if it didn't take place on Mars and this happened on earth in the 1920s or something?

Andrew Kreisberg: "Well it's funny. One of the first conversations I had with Brian was I said to him when we were talking about how to play Jake, I said, "Just substitute the Red Faction militia for the LA police department and play it the exact same way." It really is about a father and a son and parental issues and it's about survivor's guilt. It's about loss and reconnection. I mean all the themes and the problems that people are dealing with, whether it's survivor's guilt or alcoholism, those are the universal themes that play whether it's the 1920s, whether it's the present day or whether it's 300 years in the future on a terra-formed Mars."

Brian J. Smith: "The thing that I always thought about was this is like a Western. This is about as close as I've ever gotten to shooting a Western. And it's funny that we actually talked a lot about the film, The Searchers, while we shot it. So whether it's on Mars or wherever, as long as it's got that humanity in it, it's fantastically awesome to play."

Andrew Kreisberg: "Although it got very annoying when Brian kept asking for a horse."

Kate Vernon: "There are no horses on Mars, dang it."

Andrew Kreisberg: "Over and over, we had to tell him that."

Brian J. Smith: "And all I really wanted was a Snapple..."


Red Faction: Origins premieres on Syfy Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 9/8C.

Cast includes Robert Patrick, Brian J. Smith, Tamzin Merchant, Kate Vernon, Devon Graye, Gareth David-Lloyd, Danielle Nicolet and Gordon Kennedy.