Posted in: Exclusive, Interview, Movies | Tagged: Brenna Coates, Brit MacRae, Dana Abraham, Erika Swayze, exclusive, interview, kim coates, Neon Lights, Rene Escobar Jr, Rouzbeh Heydari, Stephen Tracey

Neon Lights: Rouzbeh Heydari Breaks Down Pandemic-Inspired Thriller

The COVID pandemic laid for strange bedfellows regarding innovation and filmmaking, as was the case for director Rouzbeh Heydari and co-writer and star Dana Abraham in Momentum Pictures' Neon Lights. The story follows a tech tycoon, Clay Amani (Abraham), who retreats to an off-the-grid location in search of meaning and peace. With disconnected siblings and their offspring, they're caught in a bone-chilling killing spree within his new estate. Heydari spoke with Bleeding Cool about bringing life to the psychological thriller and casting.

Bleeding Cool: How did you get involved with Neon Lights?
Rouzbeh Heydari: I met Dana [Abraham] at the beginning of what we know now is the global COVID pandemic. We met online through a mutual friend, and we hit it off. We decided to make a movie together, no matter the circumstances. Right now and right then, we wanted to work together and create something that we would both be proud of. So that was the beginning.

BC: How did you work with Dana on getting the psychological aspects down?
Heydari: A subject like this, I wouldn't just approach it empty-handed. I did my due diligence and reached out to many practitioners in the field that I had known or worked with personally. I bounced a lot of ideas, behaviors, and situations by them, got feedback, and made sure to incorporate as much of their knowledge and understanding of the subject. I wanted to really give this an authentic feel and not make it feel exploitative. That's how I approached this, and then Dana being so susceptible. I love sharing all that information with him, and he would also bring his research. We just would pilot together until this thing was born.

BC: Was there any time you felt like it might go too far with Clay's behavior during filming?
Heydari: I felt when we got to set and we started filming, things went as smoothly as possible, and there was not much that made it to the cutting room floor except for takes. So I made sure we made the film and prepped. When it got to the day, we shot exactly what I needed to shoot.

BC: What made the casting choices outside Dana work so well?
Heydari: You know that old saying where 90 percent or so of a director's job is done in casting? This was it with this film. We sat through tapes, and I tirelessly combed through them over and over until we found the right candidates and actors to play our characters. When we were developing this story and writing Denver Cain, I was envisioning Kim [Coates] anyways. We subconsciously or consciously started writing for Kim, and then we learned that his daughter [Brenna Coates] was also interested in being an actor on screen. We workshop parts of the script to have them play across each other and share screen time, even though that was not in the original screenplay versions.

It was funny withLauren [Howe] because there were no auditions right then. Everything was being sent to tape. It was really tough because you're used to sitting there and feeling someone's energy, being receptive, and to feeling how they are as a human when they walk into that room. We had gone through so many tapes! There were a few more to go. I think maybe one more to go with Lauren Howe's character. Dana was like, 'Oh, man!' I'm like, 'I can't watch you anymore.' We watched like a thousand tapes today, and I'm like, 'Let's watch this last one. I just have a feeling about this.' It was Lauren's audition, and she blew me away. I was like, 'I am so glad we watched this because she's it for this role.' She did an incredible job with an incredibly weird and nuanced role that we gave her.

BC: Can you break down the chemistry on why Dana and Kim worked so well?
Heydari: Kim Coates, as someone who's been in so many films, he's been on screen more times than we can count. The amount of knowledge, wisdom, and mentorship he brought to this picture was invaluable. I will forever be indebted to Mr. Coates for that, and so will Dana. He took the time with him to work and go through scenes together, and there was always a huddle before and after a take. Kim brought all of his love and passion to this project, which shows in the dynamic that was developed between him and Dana.

Neon Lights, which also stars Brit MacRae, Stephen Tracey, Rene Escobar Jr., and Erika Swayze, is now available on demand and digital. You can check out our interview with Coates here.

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