Pop Culture Hound

May 23, 2010  |  Author: Chris J. Thompson

So, without further ado, I present to you the man who was Jake, Christopher Forsyth.

Pop Culture Hound (PCH) - Hi Christopher. How did you first become involved in Bright Falls?

Christopher Forsyth (CF) - I got involved in Bright Falls through what is pretty much the standard casting process in the industry.  Bright Falls was cast by Mary Vernieu.  She’s a casting heavy-weight in the industry with over 160 films to her credit, including many award-winners (The Wrestler, Grindhouse, Sin City, I Heart Huckabees, Requiem for a Dream, and more).  She has many films in production and several in development, so her name lent a great deal of credibility to the project from the start. Mary sent out the casting breakdown to agents and managers for each of the roles.  From their client submissions, she brought a bunch of guys in to read for the role, and narrowed it down to a handful that she brought back in to meet with and read for the director, producers, and writers – during which the director (Phillip Van) worked with actors on different parts of the script.  From there, they offered me the role. After the casting process was done, they had a specific list of actors/actresses that they pursued for the project.

PCH - Did you know from the beginning that it was the prequel to a video game?

CF - I didn’t originally know that it was going to be a prequel to a video game.  I don’t recall there being a lot of information available about the project initially.  But after I had accepted the role, I did find out about Alan Wake, and that Bright Falls was to be the Prequel to the game.

PCH - How did you find the production compared to other TV and film work you've done?

CF - It was very similar actually.  To me, it had the feel of a film shoot, with the pacing of a TV shoot.  There were challenges - we were under pretty tight time constraints, and we had a lot to get done in a very condensed period of time, so the pacing was pretty fast, much like TV is.  There were some long hours, and the weather wasn’t always amicable (as you can imagine in the Pacific Northwest), so equipment and cameras quite often had to be protected from the rain, etc.  Everybody really rose to the occasion.  It was a very professional shoot, and terrific group of people across the board – crew, cast, director, producers, everyone – all of which made the shoot run smoothly.

PCH - Had you worked with any of the cast or crew before?

CF - No, I hadn’t worked with any of them before.  I think much of the crew was from Oregon if I’m not mistaken.  But I’d never run into any of the LA people either.  I came out of the production with some really great friendships.

PCH - Now that it's over, what do you make of the Bright Falls series?

CF - I am really pleased with how the series turned out.  I myself am a big fan of this genre (psychological, supernatural, and paranormal thrillers).  I see similarities or references to Lynch, Twin Peaks, Lost, X-Files, Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft, etc. all of which I really like.  Lost was one of the first TV shows in a long time to actually get me 'hooked'.  I watch very little TV – mostly due to time constraints and workload, but I couldn’t tear myself away from that show.  Anyway, the foundation of any good series or film, is a good story.  For me, story ALWAYS comes first, and this script was really well written.  Credit for that goes to writers Mat Bunnell and Phillip Van (who also directed).  The initial distribution format for this project (Internet) necessitated efficient storytelling, which can make it tough sometimes to tell a story that really translates to the viewer effectively.  But I think these guys really nailed it.  There is so much packed into this compact series, and very little, if anything, in the story that doesn’t carry meaning.  Coincidentally, the result is something that is perfectly fit for video game fans, or any fan of this genre for that matter – the kind of viewers who tend to look for meaning in even the smallest detail.  I don’t like to be hit over the head with story points or told outright what to think – that kind of storytelling insults viewer intelligence.  I like watching something that stimulates my mind, that really makes me think.  I like mystery and wonder, and open ended content that poses more questions than it answers.  I think it is so much more engaging and interactive, and I think that’s partly why viewers responded so well to the series.  Really good writing is hard to come by, so when I come across something like this script, it gets me excited.

PCH - Are the answers all there or will we possibly get more at a later stage?

CF - All of the answers are definitely not there.  I’m sure that’s partially by design.  The series, even though it definitely stands on its own and has already developed a bit of a cult following, was originally designed for the purpose of introducing people to the world of Alan Wake.  It was a prequel to something that hadn’t yet been released.  So by design, the series would be more effective posing more questions than it answered, wetting the appetite of those who would be playing the game, without giving away the game’s story.  Based on viewer feedback, I'd say it's done that in spades.  The side effect of that, which caught me a little by surprise, was how invested people have become in Bright Falls the series by itself, and the characters in the story.  My primary hope of course is that people will watch the series, and want to go right out and buy the game (which is amazing by the way).  But I also appreciate that people have come to love the series and it’s characters apart from that.  Will we get more of it?  Well, possibly, and I sure hope so.  I saw an interview with our writer Mat Bunnell where he said, and I’m paraphrasing, “if there’s an audience for it, it’ll probably get done, so fans of the series have to keep asking for it.” Microsoft/Remedy made the series as a marketing tool to sell the game.  Now that the game is out, I don’t know that the payoff for them would be the same to make more episodes right now.  Although, if the viewer response is any indication, I think they’d be able to sell it to consumers as a stand-alone product.  In addition to that, I have heard talk of an Alan Wake 2, which I imagine would be a couple years down the road.  Maybe they’ll make more Bright Falls episodes to compliment the release of that, I don’t know.  However….outside of all of that, there is certainly a hunger for this type of storytelling, and this genre.  A lot of viewers of the series want a continuation of the story right now, not later.  Twin Peaks, which ran 20 years ago, STILL has a tremendous cult following.  Lost is one of the most successful series on TV in the last decade, as was X-Files.  So there is definitely a healthy market for it.  It basically boils down to viewer demand.  If fans of the series continue to make noise about it, somebody somewhere is going to pick that ball up and run with it.

PCH - It's an obvious question, but do you play video games yourself? If so, did you know of Alan Wake prior to Bright Falls?

CF - I do play video games when I can find the time – it’s a great release - although I am sure I’m no where near as good at it as the Bright Falls/Alan Wake fan base is!  I’ve played Max Payne, Halo, Gears of War, and others, and now of course Alan Wake.  I did not know of Alan Wake prior to Bright Falls.  I don’t keep up on the development cycle of games, so I don’t tend to hear about them until they’re already out and people are talking about them.

PCH - Following on from that, have you had the chance to experience either the game or the series from a consumer's point of view now that they're both available?

CF - Yes, I’ve had a chance to view the series, and I just got the game literally 2 days ago.  I’ve only made it through the first few episodes so far.  It’s incredibly intense and riveting, and it’s amazing to me that a video game can induce the same kind of fear that makes you not want to go to bed in the dark after watching a really twisted psychological thriller film.  But this game does.  I really get drawn into the world of the game when I’m playing, to the point that I sometimes have to pause it to get up, walk around, and remember I’m not actually about to get axed!  I think Remedy did a brilliant job with this game – it’s a thrill ride to play.  I love huge roller coasters and sky diving, so I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie – and this game definitely gets the adrenaline going.

PCH - How do you feel about watching your own performances?

CF - I’ve never particularly enjoyed watching a film that I’ve done.  When people hear that, they automatically assume it’s because I'm my own worst critic.  I suppose there’s a bit of that in all of us, but it’s really much more than that.  I invest a great deal of myself, and my time and energy, into every character I play, so when I’m done with it – I’m really done with it.  I don’t necessarily want to go back and revisit that.  I’m not that person anymore.  But even if that weren’t the case, there’s still the issue of suspension of disbelief.  When I watch a film, I like to really be drawn into the story, to live vicariously through the character(s) that I identify with. I like that voyeuristic experience of feeling like I’m living through those circumstances with those characters, or at least identifying with it in some way.  It’s really hard to do that when it’s your own face you’re staring at.  I’ve already virtually lived through the story during filming, so it doesn’t have that same effect when I go back and watch it later.  Having said all of that (and this is a real testament to Bright Falls the series), I really enjoyed watching it.  The story was very interesting, and there are so many great characters in this series, including the location, that it’s really interesting to watch.  I was actually able to get around myself and get caught up in the story a bit when watching it.  And even if the suspension of disbelief isn’t totally there, I can still appreciate good storytelling, and I still have a feel for when it’s effective.  That’s also a testament to the writing and the visual artistry.  This series has a lot of different strong points – great writing, great characters, a great cast, talented director & cinematographer, and really effective visual artistry.  And the town of Bright Falls itself is such a strong character in the story – it’s really enjoyable to watch for a variety of reasons.

PCH - I hope you enjoyed Part 1 of this interview with Christopher Forsyth from Bright Falls. I tried to keep all of his answers as raw and complete as possible, so you can get a glimpse into what I saw. Next time, we'll look into the future of Bright Falls and what other projects Christopher currently has on the go. Make sure you come back for Part 2 (which is now available here) as well as our other coverage of Alan Wake and Bright Falls. For more information on Christopher Forsyth you can visit his website here.

Comments

• ChrisJThompson - May 27, 2010, 10:09 pm
  Hope everyone enjoyed the interview. If you've been having trouble posting comments then they should be working now ...