Lionsgate is bringing their newest sci-fi picture to DVD, Digital, and On-Demand this Tuesday. Called G-Loc, the adventure film follows the virtual destruction of Earth and stars True Blood’s Stephen Moyer, Starship Troopers’ Casper Van Dien, and The Lord of the Rings’ John Rhys-Davies.
With the movie releasing in just a couple of days, we were excited to speak exclusively with the stars, and we had a great time. We learned about the dystopian future that surrounds the new film as well as where they take influence when acting.
They even sang me Happy Birthday, which can be seen in the video at the bottom of the article. If you’re interested in hearing our chat with Stephen, John, and Casper, click play on the podcast player below!
Literary Joe: What can you guys tell me about this movie?
Stephen Moyer: It’s set in a world in the not too distant future where Earth has become uninhabitable. The only way to survive is to go through a gate to another universe and another whole country. But, of course, it’s expensive to get up there, it’s difficult to get through. The people from the other side are so disgusted with the way that the world has been treated that they won’t accept it. So it’s about getting across to this different galaxy to try and survive.
Literary Joe: How did you guys get involved with this project in the first place?
Stephen Moyer: Tom Paton – I got sent a bunch of Tom’s work. He had started as an independent filmmaker with a very low budget and very accomplished for the budget that he had. And I love the script; I thought it was really smart. It’s about prejudice, and it’s about family, it’s about love and acceptance all set within the framework of this sci-fi world. And I just thought it was beautifully done. So when I spoke with Tom and realized what he was trying to do with it, I got on board. And Casper and John Rhys-Davies being a part of it were a big part of joining too. How about you, Cass?
Casper Van Dien: Yeah, I only signed up because Stephen was doing it, and I was like, “I gotta know who this cat is.” There was a bromance waiting to happen here, man! Actually, I fell in love with the script too. I went and met Stephen and then Tom Paton, I spoke to Tom. Then Stephen and I went out to dinner, and we all went out, and there was just such a great connection, and it felt like such a great thing.
Tom is super intelligent. He’s a writer, a director. He was a DP before. I mean, he knows the business so well, he’s so smart, and it’s such a thrill to be able to have somebody with that kind of knowledge of filmmaking under his belt. I think he really appreciates the old films, and he’s really studied it, so he came in here, and he knew what he was doing.
And then I got to work with Stephen, and our characters were parallel as our real lives were parallel, and for me, that just enhanced the productivity for me as an actor, and what I could do on set.
I love John Rhys-Davies, I didn’t get to work with him on this, but I’ve known him forever, and I love him. He’s just fantastic. When you have somebody like that, you know that you can just trust that he’s gonna come in and offer something that some young or new actor would be able to do.
Literary Joe: Yeah, he’s got a really high-caliber level of acting. And I know you guys, John included, are all familiar with the sci-fi genre. Do you guys feel like you have any specific roles that help prepare you for this movie and this big fantasy world?
Stephen Moyer: I’m not sure if anything leaps at me. The way this business works is that every single little piece of the puzzle that came before pushes you on a little bit every time you work. And that whole 10,000 hours thing, you know. The more you do, the better you get. And I trusted Tom. I think we all did. So there were certain things that Tom was looking for, and you just had to trust the director and let yourself go.
It’s also like a 17-18 day shoot, and you wanna throw in this stuff, and you know you’ve only got half an hour for the coming scene, there’s an energy that’s sort of kinetic that pats you in the back. That engages within everybody, which is also fun. And also, I should mention Tala, who plays the female lead, and she’s excellent. And we all got on very well, and it was just a lot of fun.
Literary Joe: Got anything to add to that one, Casper?
Casper Van Dien: I agree with him on everything he said. I don’t know what character I could say brought me into this role more. I think just having the life experience, that that helps it. And when you’ve been around for a long time, you have more experience, and it does make it easier to get into roles. It’s an interesting formula.
Literary Joe: Stephen, you mentioned that you guys didn’t have a whole lot of time to shoot. Were there any scenes specifically that that challenged you with the most?
Stephen Moyer: Two days spring to mind. One was the fight that we had between me and Casper, which was in G-Loc. You know, G-Loc is a speed. It goes from Mach 1 all the way to the point where you’re so fast that you are immovable. And we were doing a fight that starts at Mach 1 and then goes through to like Mach 14. And at that point, you’re having to act with this energy, but we also had only an hour to do it. So there was sort of like a leaping in face-first, trust thing, and I was very glad I had someone of Casper’s experience there.
Because the only way you can make this work is if you just dive in. And so that was a tough day, and we’ve already got leafblowers going in our faces and acting like that, and we’re only at seven, and we’ve still got seven levels to go as the speed ratchets up. And then the final day of the shoot was my big scene with John. And again, we had like 20 minutes to shoot it.
And that’s about budget, but as we already talked about today with everybody else, there is a beauty in indie filmmaking. The fact that you have to get it means that everybody’s working and oscillating at a slightly different vibratory speed. And when that is happening, sometimes magic happens. And I’m not sure whether it happened with this, but it felt good at the time.
So that’s the thing I’ll say about a reduced shoot is that you’re up against the elements. If one thing goes wrong, it can be like somebody’s costume falling apart, every minute that it takes to recreate that, or if a strap breaks or something that isn’t continuity. Every minute that that is being prepared is being taken away from you. There’s a kinetic energy to that that’s really fun.
With Earth virtually destroyed, Bran Marshall flees to the Rhea, a planet hostile to Earthlings. Escaping onto a Rhean supply ship, he finds the crew slaughtered, with the only survivor a female warrior named Ohsha. As the two try to kill one another, the ship is damaged by meteorites. Bran (Moyer) and Ohsha must join forces to salvage the craft before it impacts the planet below — and the humans that live there.
This gripping sci-fi epic stars Stephen Moyer, Casper Van Dien, and John Rhys-Davies.
G-Loc hits DVD, Digital, and On-Demand Tuesday, August 11th.
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