Recently I had the pleasure of talking to Chloe Chudasama, the Producer and Stills Photographer on the upcoming fan film, Max Payne Retribution. Honestly, I was really excited about this opportunity; not only am I looking forward to the film but I adore Chloe's photography. Her passion and talent for her work comes through in everything that she does.
Max Payne Retribution is slated for release later this year but has already has picked up a dedicated following online. The fan film is directed and written by Leroy Kincaide, a Max Payne fan since childhood, and hopes to challenge the 2008 feature film. The team also gained financial support through Indiegogo, and while they didn't collect the full amount they hoped for, it still contributed over £1,600 for their venture. The project has also received public support from Kathy Tong, the actor who portrayed Mona Sax in Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne.
Shooting is scheduled to begin this month, make sure to follow the team's adventures via their Facebook and Twitter accounts. You can also check out their teaser trailer, HERE.
You can read our full interview with the lovely Chloe below:
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| This is not Chloe. (Promotional Photo for Max Payne Retribution.) |
A Conversation with Chloe Chudasama
1. Tell us a little about yourself!
I am a project manager working in the event production business and want to make the jump into films. I have always been interested in Producing films, so this was the ultimate project I had to get my hands on! I also am a Self-taught Fashion Photographer and have built up a lot of skill in shooting, and post production which will enable me to bring the Max Payne Vision to life. I love all things creative, I am a workaholic and long to move to America. :)
2. What made you want to create a Max Payne fan film and how did you get started on the project?
This is more down to the Director [Leroy Kincaide] he wanted to make an epic fan film, and Max Payne was one of his favourite childhood video games, it was dark gritty and full of action so of course he had to make a film inspired by it- it is very close to him so there is a lot of passion going into this film. Plus we know the majority of people were hugely let down by the feature film which was made as it did not stay true to the real essence of the game. So he wrote the script and then asked me to help produce the film as well as do all the stills and creative artwork and photography! We are aiming to make this the “Ultimate fan film which the feature film wasn’t”.
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| This is Chloe. (Photo from Max Payne Retribution's Facebook page) |
3. It was mentioned that the team will start filming this month. With shooting so close, how are you feeling about it?
We are so excited to start filming, as we have been working on the project since May last year it’s been a long time building the cast/crew and pre-production work- so now we are ready to make a killer fan film! We still don’t have all the locations sorted yet, but we will hopefully close in on those in the next few weeks. Its going to be hard work as its almost zero budget, but we have a great time around us who are passionate and dedicated to making this a big success!
4. As the Stills Photographer, what is your thought process when taking photographs for the fan film and what influences do you draw on?
I am producing the entire film as well as shooting stills so I have a lot on my plate. :) I want to capture the essence of the film making process, as I don’t think many people realise just how much hard work time and commitment it takes to put a film together. So my camera will be aimed towards giving all the behind the scenes crew some limelight and show their talents going into the production, as well as this I want to create some really cinematic shots to give the viewers something to really get excited about prior to the film being released. I will aim to capture all the hard hitting “Max Payne” emotions from our cast, action scenes and gritty dark scenes... Leaving the viewer wanting more!
Behind the scenes @69drops_Studio shooting #monasax with @nikkitippingmua @MAXPAYNE_UK pic.twitter.com/GhOfPKGxLq
— Chloe C Photo (@ChloeCphoto) January 12, 2016
5. What is it about photography which interests you and made you decide to pursue it?
I have always loved to capture people, and my main background is in creating editorial fashion stories. I love this as I can create my own scenes and bring them to life my vision of amazing clothing, models to suit my style, and some amazing hair and makeup- then I can direct the models to bring the scene to life. That’s why I wanted to do the Character Posters and the official poster for Max Payne Retribution as I knew what style the Director wanted, and I could really create some amazing Max Payne style artwork in Photoshop to bring our cast to life.
6. Something I’m really looking forward to is seeing Mona Sax. She’s an intriguing character but she tends to not feature often in fan films. I love that she returns in Retribution. How was the choice made to include her in the adventure and what motivated the decision to have her?
We are glad you are excited! For us this was a MUST to have Mona Sax involved, really she is a main character in Max Payne and it just wouldn’t feel right not having her in our story. We took our time with casting Mona as she had to be the right choice- we set up a casting on casting call pro and held auditions, and after 15 women we made our final choice for Gracie Tyrrell who is an incredible actress and has the perfect look and connection with our Max Payne.
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| The newly announced actor portraying Mona Sax in the fan film. |
7. Your IndieGoGo campaign spoke about involving Kathy Tong, the actor for Mona in Max Payne 2, are the team still hoping to have her in the film?
We have had a huge amount of support from Kathy Tong which is incredible, but unfortunately we didn’t make anywhere near our target, so being in the UK we can’t afford to fly her over from LA which is a huge shame! But she is still a part of the project supporting and we hope we can do her proud.
8. How was the casting process conducted? Did people want to be involved because they were already fans of the Max Payne series or did they join because they were attracted to the film’s vision?
It has been a mixture of both I would say, but there is a lot of Max Payne fans out there who have been contacting us to be involved which is awesome! Pretty much all the lead roles have been cast via Casting Call Pro with Max and Mona being auditioned in person and self-tape. Other smaller roles we advertised via our Facebook and Twitter accounts.
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| The Max Payne Retribution Team. Leroy is on the left with Chloe on the right. (Photo from Indiegogo) |
9. I know it’s a little early, but do you have any plans on how you’re going to celebrate after the fan film is complete? Something to look forward to after the hard work!
Oh yes! We are going to save up for a premiere in London for all the cast and crew and industry professionals to showcase everyones hard work. We are also aiming to use the film as a platform/showcase for our next feature film… where we are hoping to have discussions at the American Film Market in LA end of the year!
