At a recent convention, I had the pleasure of interviewing the creative team behind the new sci-fi thriller The 5th Passenger. Read on to learn about this riveting indie film!
Kari: Hi! This is Kari with Geekscape, and I am here with the creators of The 5th Passenger. Why don’t you introduce yourself?
Morgan: Hi! My name is Morgan Lariah and I’m the co-writer, co-producer and actress in The 5th Passenger.
Scott: I’m Scott Baker. Co-writer, producer and director.
K: Very cool. Now what got you started on this project? Where was the inception?
S: This was based off an idea that I had several years ago and I had been kind of kicking it around for awhile. I wrote a couple scenes for the feature just to kinda see how they felt and did a table read with some actor friends and then I met Morgan and she really fit one of the roles that I had written for it. So I asked her to take a look at the scenes and she liked the scenes, and we sat down and just over the next couple months just wrote out–. Just went through and wrote out the whole film. Just kind of going back and forth. I would write a scene and she would read it and give me notes, and we would sit down and talk about it. Or read the scene out ourselves and see how it felt. It was just that kind of process going back and forth for several months as we developed the story.
K: Now, Morgan why don’t you give me the synopsis so everyone can know what this project is about?
M: Of course. So 5th Passenger is about four astronauts on an escape pod. The mothership has imploded and unfortunately the positioning system on the escape pod is broken, they’re off their flight path and they are running out of resources quickly. So in a last attempt to fix the positioning system, one of them goes out to fix it…which he does…but as he gets back into the escape pod an alien follows him in and chaos ensues…and that’s our story.
K: And it is a full feature, correct?
M: That is correct.
K: What is the current status of the project?
M: We are in pre-production. We have some really great Star Trek actors attached. We have Manu Intiraymi, Tim Russ, Ethan Phillips and Scott is directing, of course–. Various other key components–. We have this amazing makeup special effects designer, Thomas Surprenant, who is fantastic–. And so we have this whole package together and we are just looking for some funding. So that’s where we are.
K: And then in regards to funding, how can people go check out what you have or help out?
M: Oh, super easy. People can go to our facebook page, www.facebook.com/5thpassenger and ‘like’ us, that would be awesome. We are also on twitter @5thpassenger and they can watch the trailer on our website 5thPassenger.com. So, just follow us and ‘like’ us and we’d love to hear from you. We love being here and talking to everyone. Everyone has been so positive about the trailer and it’s really really exciting and we really think this is a story that definitely has a place in today and that people want to see and hear.
K: And since you’re an actor in it, what can you tell us about your character?
M: Sure. Absolutely. So I play Eve Miller and she happens to be the commanding officer in this escape pod. These four assigned to this escape pod were–. It was just a random assignment. So, they didn’t know each other before this and they find themselves in this intense situation and she just happens to be the only female and she happens to be younger than everyone else. So she is a very ambitious, to the book officer, but she up against a lot and they’re not making it and of course she is the one in charge so it’s her fault. So she has a lot of conflict going on.
K: So kind of a reverse harem, but not quite?
M: That’s one way to look at it. (laughs) I don’t think Miller sees it that way. In fact, she–. That’s something she’s constantly thinking about; that this could turn any minute. It’s a dangerous situation I think for any woman, especially given the circumstances. So, it’s, its–. Me when I was working on it, it’s always at the back of my mind like this could go bad and in fact,… a little bit…I don’t want to give too much away, but a little bit of that does work itself into the story and I don’t know–. I think–. I think it’s interesting.
K: So with the close quarters, were there any bouts of claustrophobia?
M: Absolutely, and it’s such a great story because it’s four people in a room and it’s about claustrophobia, and the fact the water is running out, oxygen is running out–. How does that affect you? Food is running out. What does this do to your mental state, what does this do to your emotional state and of course these people are annoying cause you’re seeing them all the time. So how do you remain civil and try to make the best of things and each character approaches it in their own way of course, but it is society breaking down in this room.
K: And Scott, in terms of writing it and bringing this story about–. Were there any particular stories that influenced you or were in the back of your mind when you were creating this content?
S: Yeah, we sort of pitched the film as Alfred Hitchcock’s Lifeboat meets Aliens. So, it has that feel of being a lifeboat in space and Ridley Scott’s Alien was definitely one of my favorite films. So there is a lot of influence there. I grew up loving the Twilight Zone and that is like a recurring theme within that is–. Is people put in these extreme situations and seeing how they react and how society breaks down and how people’s morals and values and ethics are tested. So those are some of the things that influenced me and of course, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Moon with Sam Rockwell was another film that like, visually is an influence as we’re kind of putting the whole package together thinking about what this ship is going to look like? What are the costumes going to be? Things like that.
K: Since it’s the close quarters and people, it is definitely– It sounds like its an observation on humanity and what people would do in extreme situations?
S: Yeah, yeah definitely that is the idea. I really love that kind of story. Having these characters that maybe on first glance seem very two dimensional but really they’re sort of archetypes for the different types of people that you meet every day, and seeing how they interact with each other is really just a reflection on who we are and… sorta like our animalistic instincts. And how those things play out and how everybody deals with that on a personal level–. Where you know that person next to you is another human being and they’re part of society with you but there’s that part of you that also sees them like as a competitor, someone that you are fighting for resources over and things like that.
K: So if you both were stuck on this little spacecraft, how do you think you would fare, if it was real life?
M: I actually have great confidence that Scott and I would be fine. Scott–. I test Scott daily (laughs) and he is always very accommodating and he’s very clever. In fact I have thought about it, and I think if you had to pick like five people to be on a desert island, I would definitely pick Scott as one of them because like I said, he’s really hilarious and we’re always laughing and he fixes things and finds the answer to a lot of problems. So, I think we would be fine.
K: Same feelings there towards Morgan?
S: Uh yeah, I mean I think it’s great that she trusts me because she would be there for me the whole time and then right when I need her I would be able to eat her when stuff gets going bad. So I think that’s perfect. That works out great.
K: So, it’s like Survivor: you’re keeping the ally as long as you can and then when that moment strikes?
S: Exactly, exactly. Exactly. (laughs)
K: Any other final words on the project to the listeners, and any other–. I mean you did say where to find it, but any other parting words?
M: No. We’re just really excited about the project and thank you for listening and please check out our trailer!
S: Yeah, I would say go to 5thPassenger.com and there’s a trailer there. Like us on facebook. We’re not going to be doing like a kickstarter or indiegogo kind of funding. We’re going more traditional sources but we still need to like have that sort of fan base so that we can get into theaters and things like that. Other films like Paranormal Activity, that’s how they were able into theaters–. Is having that fan base there. We love that we have Star Trek actors aboard the project because that has really allowed us to tap into that fan base. We have had a lot support. People come by here and they’re like, “Wow Tim Russ is in the project! I’ve been looking forward to seeing him in something else.” So to see that kind of excitement is really reassuring and it’s great to have those people come aboard–. Message us or ‘like’ us, and get involved in what we are doing. It’s great.
K: Yeah the community makes all the difference huh?
M: Yes, it does. It really does.
K: All right. Thank you very much!
M: Thank you!
S: Thank you very much!
Be sure to watch the trailer!