Movies & TV / Columns

Liv Collins Talks About Writing and Acting In Her New Movie Deadsight

July 2, 2019 | Posted by Bryan Kristopowitz

The 411 Interview: Liv Collins

Liv Collins is an actor, writer, and producer who has been making movies since at least 2014 (that’s what imdb page shows). She has appeared in such movies as The Hexecutioners, The Door, and the short films Tugg N Chugger, Spot On, and Turn Your Head. Her latest movie is the low budget zombie flick Deadsight, directed by Jesse Thomas Cook and set to hit DVD, digital, and Video on Demand on July 2nd, 2019. In Deadsight, Collins stars as Mara Madigan, a badass pregnant cop who has to help the mysterious blind man Ben Neilson (played by Adam Seybold) navigate a world afflicted by a strange zombie uprising. Along with starring in Deadsight, Collins also co-wrote the screenplay with Kevin Revie. In this interview, Collins talks with this writer about making Deadsight, her career, future projects, and more.

Bryan Kristopowitz: How did you know that you wanted Deadsight to be your next movie? Did you always intend to also act in the movie or was that something you sort of decided on later?

Liv Collins: I’ve always loved the zombie genre. While we were brainstorming our next script we really wanted to take a minimalist approach and thought jumping into a zombie world would be wicked.
I did not intend on acting in the film but as we developed the character of Mara, I really wished I could play her. I was about six months pregnant so we had to write the pregnancy into her character and it added even higher stakes to the story line.

BK: How did you approach your character, pregnant cop Mara Madigan?

LC: By the time we started filming, I was about 7.5 months pregnant. It was intense, but I wanted Mara to be strong and independent.

BK: What was the hardest part of playing Mara Madigan?

LC: Honestly, not being physically comfortable was very taxing.

BK: How did the screenplay for Deadsight change over time, if at all? Were the story and the setting always sort of mysterious?

LC: Originally we conceived Deadsight as a comedy where Ben would narrowly miss deadly encounters with the zombies as he slowly regained his sight, but as we moved forward it became much more serious. The settings were so dire and scary we had to go full horror.

BK: Describe your working relationship with co-writer Kevin Revie. How did you collaborate on the screenplay?

LC: Kevin and I have very similar taste in film, so writing and working together is always a blast. Jesse, Kevin and I spent a weekend together brainstorming and collaborating and Kevin and I would send drafts back and forth until we began shooting. Deadsight was a continuous work in progress which made it a very entertaining shoot.

BK: What was it like working with director Jesse Thomas Cook?

LC: Jesse and I have worked on films together in the past and this film was much more collaborative. We’re married and have three sons so we spend a lot of time together! We have a very strong working relationship and have fun creating together.

BK: What was it like working with co-star Adam Seybold?

LC: Adam is awesome. We’ve co-starred previously in a thriller and we had a lot of fun working on Deadsight. Adam is also a writer so he brings a lot to the set with last minute decisions and is a strong actor to work alongside.

BK: What was it like working with all of those zombies? Were they grosser looking, in person, than they are onscreen?

LC: They were gnarly. Both of my brothers acted as zombies and my character shoots both of them so that was quite the treat for my parents hahaha. The zombies were super gross in person, gooey and slimy. I hope they read as gross on film as they did in person.

BK: Any moviemaking heroes?

LC: THE DUPLASS BROTHERS!

BK: Will there be a Deadsight 2? Should there be a Deadsight 2?

LC: We joke about it all the time, but I would actually love to do a sequel. We created a cool world and I would love to explore it.

BK: Any upcoming projects? What is To Hell with Harvey?

LC: We just finished my directorial debut film To Hell With Harvey! It’s an indie road trip comedy about a young writer who is hired to assist washed up author Harvey McCoy on his comeback book tour across Grey County. It’s quirky and fun and scored by Adrian Ellis who did Deadsight and written by Kevin Revie!

BK: Do you think zombies could ever happen in real life, and if they did, how would you respond to that reality? I’d panic.
LC: I totally think they could and would 100% panic. My 3 year old son Wilder pretends to be a zombie all the time and it’s terrifying. I probably wouldn’t take it seriously because I’m so used to SPFX make up that I would get eaten immediately.

BK: Besides, obviously, Deadsight, what is your favorite zombie movie?

LC: George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead.