Posted in: Exclusive, Horror, Interview, Movies | Tagged: danielle harris, exclusive, gravitas ventures, interview, Project Dorothy

Project Dorothy: Danielle Harris on Finding Sci-Fi Voice in AI Horror

Danielle Harris (Creepshow) spoke to Bleeding Cool about her horror thriller playing against type in Gravitas Ventures' Project Dorothy.

Most actors like Danielle Harris never want to pigeonhole themselves into typecasting, especially when they have plenty of career to go. Active for nearly 40 years since her start as a child actor, she's been a regular presence on prime-time TV and films, and she found a second life in voiceovers, starting with The Wild Thornberrys franchise in 2000. Early in her career, she caught on one of the biggest horror franchises, beginning with 1988's Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers as Jamie Lloyd. She would reprise her role in the 1989 follow-up in The Revenge of Michael Myers before her return in the Rob Zombie incarnation as Annie Brackett. While she's had more than her fair share of horror films in her impressive eclectic filmography, her latest film in the AI science fiction thriller Project Dorothy from Gravitas Ventures blends in her talents as voiceover work, love of the horror genre, and an opportunity to play against type as DOROTHY, an AI activated thanks to two unwitting small-time criminals who try to flee authorities and stumble upon a facility not knowing the carnage that awaits them. Harris spoke to Bleeding Cool about working with writer-director George Henry Horton, how she found her AI voice, and if there was any physical interaction with her costars.

Project Dorothy: Danielle Harris from Final Girl to Ominous Villain

Bleeding Cool: What intrigued you about 'Project Dorothy?'
Harris: I have done a lot of thriller slasher horror movies, but I haven't done anything in the sci-fi world. The year was when I took different projects based on whether I had done something in that and if it would be something fun. Everybody loves doing voiceover work, so it's my favorite job ever to work in my pajamas. It's the best, and AI's scary right now, and we did this two years ago. We were ahead of the curve, and especially now, with how our industry is going, it's scary; I still wanted to do something in the sci-fi world.

What did you find challenging about taking an ominous role like this?
I didn't have as many challenges as I did the opportunity to be creative. I didn't know going in what [director] George [Henry Horton] and what everybody wanted [Dorothy] to sound like. We could have made her anything. They could have done it without a human, without an actor, with just AI because that's what we're all so used to hearing. I like that it made her scarier because she's more ominous, and there's personality behind the voice coming out of the wall. I had the freedom, and we played around with it a little bit initially, "How much do you want it to sound like me?" Also, some of the words and the way the sentences were strung together, a computer would land on different syllables where a human skips over some of that stuff. It was fun to find those moments that seemed more like a computer and less like a human than the moments I could be more human. We had a lot of fun playing around and trying to find her in the moment.

Was there any personal inspiration for developing the character of Dorothy, like any existing material like 2001: A Space Odyssey, or was it something you guys worked out on your own?
We worked it out on the day. I didn't know if he would put a filter over it or do any modifications. I tried to do some of that on my own towards the end. I loved how [George] could layer everything and use everything we did to all that, like "James…James…James," like all that. It was super creepy while watching it; I can't wait to hear that in Dolby surround sound.

You're well versed in doing the horror, and since you're blending in the sci-fi, what opportunity does it provide that expands your wheelhouse that you haven't been usually able to do as an actor?
I'm usually the victim or the final girl, so I'm never on the other side of it. This is the first time, maybe the second, but the first time for sure where I'm the one menacing and attacking. I'm the one trying to kill somebody instead of being the one to always be running like the guys [are in 'Project Dorothy']. It's fun to play the bad guy. I don't always want to be a good girl. I always play good girls with a bad attitude, but this is a chance for me to play a bad girl with a bad attitude and against type while relishing it. She's having a lot of fun now.

Did you perform scenes separately from your recording booth?
Yes, what was a little bit challenging was the scene had already been shot, so I had to fit my dialog in between the pauses that had already been edited in the film. I had to time it, "Okay, let me hear it, let me see, throw the beeps in, and then let me see. I've got 12.5 seconds to say all of this, so I had to talk fast, or I can take a little more time because he doesn't then answer that question or doesn't respond to that comment for another four seconds after I finish the dialog." It was a finite tuning that we had to do to make sure that it looked like we were playing with one another because I'm sure the guys probably had a script supervisor or somebody reading dialog off-camera to give them the timing, but who knows if she or he was reading it, like the way I was acting it. It was a little bit of a dance.

Have you physically interacted with your costars at any point?
Nope, just through the computer, like Dorothy. That's it.

Project Dorothy, which also stars Timothy DeZarn, Adam Budron, and Olivia Scott is available on digital and on-demand.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!