To read part 1, click here.
Cendrine Marrouat: You will play the lead role in "Heart of Dance." Why did you decide to work both behind and in front of the camera? And how challenging has it been so far?
Scarlett Bruns: I actually never intended to show the screenplay to anyone outside of my close family and friends. But everyone encouraged me to try to produce the film, so I sent the first few pages to one of the directors/producers I had worked with over the years and he said I HAD to make this film haha. So I looked for a director and we started audition people for Kealy. We auditioned 1,023 girls, many of them amazing actresses and dancers, but not chubby; or they were amazing dancers who were chubby but couldn’t act, or actors who were chubby but couldn’t dance to the level that the script requires Kealy to.
Eventually our director said, "why don’t you just read for the part?" I said "no no, I want to produce I don’t want to act in 'Heart of Dance'." "HOD" is a very personal story for me and touches on a lot of issues that I went through and not necessarily ones I wanted to relive.
Eventually I agreed... after I read for the part everyone in the room (Director, casting associates, producers) were all silent and I was thinking "see I knew I would suck." Then, very quietly, the director said "If you don’t play Kealy, this film will never be made, because no one will be able to do your real emotions justice on screen. No one will ever be able to accurately portray what you experienced and just showed us." So then I was Kealy, which took some time getting used to, I was so set on producing this was total curveball.
It has been challenging only in the producing aspect. I dreamt "Heart of Dance" so I have a visual for every single scene, I know ever angle, every expression, every color that is supposed to be in this film. The challenge has been letting the rest of the crew do their work and trusting that it will turn out beautifully. We have shot a trailer so far and what the "Heart of Dance" crew has created is breathtaking. I am so fortunate to have such a talented crew on this film.
CM: You will use part of the profit generated by "Heart of Dance" to help build a treatment centre for youth in British Columbia. Would you tell us a little more about that?
SB: That was the original intent. I decided that due to the issues the story touches on and the fact that I know a lot of people battling this disease right now, that it would be a great way to give back. We are donating partial profit to the Looking Glass Foundation For Eating Disorders.
Production takes a long time, so the treatment centre has actually already been completed. With HOD my goal is to raise 1 million dollars and donate it to Looking Glass to further their incredible programs.
CM: "Heart of Dance" is an independent movie. How can people help make this project a reality?
SB: By investing or donating! For investments it basically works like this:
We need a total of $1,000,000 to make the film, half of that is a government loan or coming straight from Bruns Family Productions, the other half needs to be acquired through corporate and private investors. So there is $500,000 in shares, so to speak, that you can buy. We don't have a minimum for investing so any amount works.
Once the film is complete and we earn money through distribution, tickets sales, etc. the first $500,000 that we earn back will 100 percent go to the investors, so that they get back what they put in. After that, 50 percent of profits goes to Bruns Family Productions, and 50 percent goes to the investors.
So, just to throw a number out there, if you were to invest $250,000 (half of what we need from investors) then once you earn back what you initially put in you would get a 25 percent profit share of whatever "Heart of Dance" makes each quarter (we filetaxes quarterly like all businesses), so you would receive 4 cheques in the first year of distribution in residuals. After the first year, residuals are paid out annually on the first business day of January. Of the 50 percent that Bruns Family Productions earns we are donating 30 percent to Looking Glass Foundation.
Alternatively for businesses, you can also 'buy' advertisement. For example, if a hair product company pays us $10,000 they get product placement, in Kealy's shower we will see their products, all the hairspray that the dancers used at the studio is that product etc. It works for countless products and companies.
For those that product placement would not work for, such as a construction company, they can purchase advertisement space, so their commercial or logo will play before the film at the premiere and on all DVD copies, etc.
There is more info on our website about investing and donating and the perks associated with it!
CM: Any last words?
SB: THANK YOU! To you for this wonderful interview and to everyone who has already made such a huge impact by supporting and contributing to Heart Of Dance!
Website: www.heartofdancemovie.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HODMovie
Twitter: http://twitter.com/HODMovie
End of the interview.
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Cendrine Marrouat may be contacted for potential interviews, reviews and general enquiries at info@cendrinemarrouat.com. Website: www.cendrinemarrouat.com.
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