I had the opportunity to Interview David Ryan Keith, who directed, wrote, and had numerous other roles for his new film I AM RAGE. Hope you enjoy reading!

Mazz: Were there any ideas that you came up with during the film’s production that couldn’t make it into the final cut?

David Ryan Keith: Being an independent movie, a lot of great ideas sadly had to be dropped before the shoot. It can be a frustrating experience, but once you accept that you have limited money and a crazy time schedule to film the movie, you just have to roll with the punches and do your best to entertain the audience. If I had the luxury of more time and money, I AM RAGE would be a completely different film, but I’m still proud of what we achieved as a team.

Mazz: How did the script evolve or change during the transition from page to screen?

Keith: When writing the script, it’s easy to let your mind run wild, but I’ve been doing this long enough to know the limitations of independent cinema and what we can actually put in front of the camera. Many cool ideas sadly had to be dropped because we didn’t have the time or resources to fully realize them. 18 days isn’t a lot of time to make an action film, so the writing process is dictated by the restraints of knowing we have limited money and time. On the flip side, it can also be a lot of fun trying to figure out ways to work around these problems, which can often lead to ideas that actually work better.

Mazz: Could you describe the casting process for the film?

Keith: We had to find actors in the UK who could lead the movie on the acting front and also be proficient in the physical action side of things. We don’t have stunt doubles in this movie; what you see on the screen is the actors doing it for real. It was a grueling shoot for all involved and a real testament to the actors who pushed hard to make the fighting scenes as good as they could be.

Mazz: How did you find the sets and locations for the film?

Keith: We shot this in Scotland, and you can find crazy cool locations almost everywhere here. The only real problem we had was the unpredictable Scottish winter weather. Shooting a movie like this was always going to be tough, but battling snow, rain, and constant cold winds made it a real challenge for the actors and crew. Luckily, we had an underground bunker to fall back on when outdoor locations became impossible to shoot in. When you have the crew raking away snow from the forest floor to get a shot, you know this isn’t going to be an easy shoot.

Mazz: Which scene was the most challenging to direct in the film?

Keith: The final end fight was a real challenge; we only had six hours to shoot it. The actors had trained for weeks learning the fight routine in the comfort of a huge mansion we had hired out for the movie. On the day of shooting, we were confronted by icy cold rain, and the actors had no choice but to shoot in these conditions and try to adapt to the muddy bog they were fighting in. Marta Svetek and Hannaj Bang Bendz really gave it their all, and I think, in a weird way, the time pressure, and conditions made the climatic fight even better.

Mazz: Are there any plans for a sequel to I Am Rage?

Keith: Who knows? If the movie does well and warrants a sequel, I’d love to come back and make it. Whether or not I AM RAGE 2 ever gets made is now in the audience’s hands.

Mazz: Can you explain how you collaborated with the costume department to decide the styles and outfits for all the characters?

Keith: I let the producers lead on that side of things, but the fighting also dictated what some actors could wear. The stunt coordinator wanted the actors to have pads on for obvious reasons; when Hannaj hits the ground in the movie, she’s doing that for real, so it was important that the costumes would accommodate the need for keeping the actors safe. I can imagine the hardest part about acting in this movie was trying to pretend you weren’t, in fact, close to freezing to death. The costumes looked great on camera but certainly not something you would choose to wear during winter in Scotland.

Mazz: In the numerous fight scenes in the film, what proportion of the action involved the actors, and how much relied on stunt people?

Keith: What you see is what you get; all the actors did their own stunts and trained in any spare time they had between filming. These guys really went for it, and I think it shows in the movie. Films like this live or die by the fight scenes, and I think they pulled it off.

Mazz: With your involvement in various roles, such as directing, editing, and sound design, could you elaborate on the process between them all and whether any particular rolewas more challenging than the others?

Keith: Yes, I wear a lot of different hats in these productions. I do the post-production myself out of necessity to keep the budget down. Luckily, on this film, we had enough money to hire a professional colorist, but it’s always been the sound design and mix that takes up the majority of my time. On the face of it, directing the movie is actually the easiest part for me. If we had extra money, I’d be more than happy to offload the sound to professionals to take some of the workload.

Mazz: Did the cast and crew partake in a table read before the actual filming?

Keith: I think we might have had one, but it’s all a bit of a blur if I’m honest. I really had to put my faith in them on the acting front. We had a lot of moving parts pulling this film together and a lot of obstacles to overcome while shooting. All the actors were fully invested and helped me greatly iron out any problems the script had.

Mazz: How would you describe your relationship with the cast and crew during the production of the film, and do you all keep in touch to this day?

Keith: Yeah, at the moment, I bug them daily with updates about the film. It would be nice to spend more time working with the actors, but time is never on your side shooting an indie film like this. Sometimes, actors can be sidelined to the technical aspects of shooting a movie, like camera and lighting, etc. We don’t have the luxury of Hollywood studio movies where you can spend hours discussing scenes, mulling over camera positions, or tinkering with lighting setups until it looks pretty. Each shooting day is started like a never-ending race to beat the clock, shoot as much as we can, and pray we keep on schedule. The actors in I AM RAGE really pulled together like a small family and adapted to the crazy pace; they all had an understanding of what goes on behind the camera and were always ready at any given moment to go with the flow in order to get this film done.

Mazz: Was the decision to include gore in “I Am Rage” planned from the start, or did it come about during the development of the film?

Keith: I think the gore kind of sneaked in because my last five films were horror. The producers would constantly steer me away from anything horror-related; they wanted a straightforward action movie. I think adding a little horror is fun for the audience; it raises the stakes and gives a tired formula something a little different. Has it worked? I guess I’ll find out when the reviews start popping up.

Mazz: What served as the inspiration or idea behind writing the script for the film?

Keith: Hard Target starring Van Damme. Yes, you read that right; I used that film as my blueprint. I wanted the film to have a tongue-in-cheek approach, a fun hyper-reality kind of feel. I really wanted to make a popcorn movie, nothing too taxing for the audience, just a fun film they could switch their brains off for 90 minutes and enjoy the craziness of it all.

Mazz: Will we ever get to see bloopers or deleted scenes, and can you share scenes you cut?

Keith: Everything we shot is in the movie; nothing was wasted. We didn’t have the luxury of shooting extra material, so we had to make sure every scene we filmed made it into the final cut.

Mazz: What was the funniest moment or memory you had on set while filming I Am Rage?

Keith: Our first AD had it tough; he was constantly under pressure to keep the movie moving forward and would shout out “Roll sound” as a way to grab everyone’s attention, as that’s a sign we’re about to shoot. This ingenious method would work for the majority of the shoot; cast and crew would snap to attention, ready to go. But this method would soon crumble as fatigue slowly set in. Cast and crew would notice he would shout this term out even if the sound team were not on set, so it became a sort of running joke.

Mazz: Can you share any details about your future projects or work currently in progress?

Keith: I’m currently working with producers to set up another action film. It’s a film I’ve been wanting to make for years, so my fingers are crossed that we finally get to shoot it. I’m excited about the concept, and I believe it will be a great addition to the action genre.

Mazz: Thanks, David! I Am Rage is out now on digital and Dvd!