Another Q&A with Danielle Panabaker coming from UInterview. Remember ‘Girls Against Boys’ is NOW PLAYING in LA and NYC (click here for screening times).

Q: How did you get involved with the film? – Uinterview
A: I was working on another film, and I was really specifically looking for something much smaller, and much more of an emotional challenge, because I think it was where I was in my life, and that is what I was craving. And this came my way, and I took a look at it and I really loved that it left me asking questions and I was curious and I wanted to know more. So [director] Austin [Chick] and I hopped on Skype to chat and it was a great match.

Q: The movie has the feel of a grindhouse film. How did you and the director approach the material? – Uinterview
A: It’s really interesting, but what was so attractive to me initially was the lack of actual over-the-top flooding gore that I feel like you see in this movie. I think that was Austin’s intention from the beginning, if not to sort of hit you over the head with it, but to let you know, that’s what was going on, so that was definitely a coversation we had. It just alterates on my own experience, coming from films that were filled with gore.

Q: There are some pretty crazy scenes in the movie, like when you’re cutting off your rapist’s feet. How did you go about filming that? – Uinterview
A: It’s really ironic actually that you would bring up that scene. One of the difficulties in shooting with such a low budget is that you don’t have money to throw around on props, so they ordered the two fake feet that I chopped off, and unfortunately, instead of sending a left foot and a right foot, they sent two left feet. Not only were two left feet sent, but they just didn’t look very authentic, so that was a challenge of shooting that scene specifically. Michael [Stahl-David]‘s character is tied to this bed and Nicole [LaLiberte] went to cut the ropes, and the props department came running and said, “No, no no! Don’t cut it! We don’t have anymore!” There would be no more rope for us to work with it. So, there were certainly physical challenges, but I think that actually worked to our benefit because a lot of the gore and gruesomeness happened off camera, you hear it and you know it’s there, but you are not assaulted with it visually.

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Danielle Panabaker talked to Tara Aquino from Complex Magazine about her latest film, ‘Girls Against Boys’, which is now playing in LA and NYC!

Is racing between press junkets and auditions and film sets a normal routine for you?
Yeah, absolutely. I feel like I’m always on the go, I’m always on the run. It’s been busy today, but luckily I’ve been doing interviews from the comfort of my own home. I made myself a bowl of chili that I’ve been munching on between calls. Very glamorous. [Laughs.]

Do you feel like you’ve just gotten busier throughout the years of your career?
Yes and no. I feel like it does get busier professionally, but personally I think I choose how I spend my time more carefully, so it balances it out in that sense.

So what initially drew you to Girls Against Boys?
When I first read the script, it was really nice to see something written for women. Oftentimes, women are simply the girlfriend or the wife or the daughter or the sister, so it was nice to find such a powerful role. It was a coming-of-age story focused on this woman. She was forced to grow up.

She is forced to grow up in a pretty radical way. What kind of mindset did you have to place yourself in to film the more explicit scenes?
It was definitely a challenge. I spent some time reading books and surfing the Internet to research what certain people’s responses are when they go through a traumatic event like [sexual abuse and murder]. There’s less authenticity to it, but I feel like women like the anonymity it provides and I think that might be a little safer. To my understanding, women who go through something like this oftentimes feel very ashamed. It was great to get the material I could.

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Katherine Tejeda from The Highlighter got to speak with Danielle Panabaker about ‘Girls Against Boys’, which is now playing in LA and NYC!

What attracted you to that part and how did you land the role?
The script was first sent to me while I was outside of town shooting something else. I took a look at it and I was really compelled by the story of a young woman coming of age. She goes through some really traumatic events and has a really interesting way of coping with it. It was a great opportunity to see a character through a full arc. I took a look at the script hopped on a plane to have a chat with Austin [Chick] for a while. Then he and I met in person and we got along swimmingly. That is what really sealed the deal for me because it is such a personal and powerful experience, I needed to be working with someone I felt I can trust and empower me to give the best performance possible.

How is it different or the same as other things you have done?
It was different in a lot of ways. We made this for less than a million dollars and that set a lot of challenges. It was a very physically demanding shoot. We shot six days a week and I was rehearsing on my days off. I was constantly exhausted and running around. It was physically very challenging but also emotionally challenging. I tried to do my research and be respectful of women who have gone through an experience like this. It was draining to be in that mind-space on a regular basis. So for the most part it was quite different. It was a great experience to be in New York. I feel like we were very lucky to find the location we got to shoot at so I’m very grateful for that.

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‘Girls Against Boys’ opens in TWO cinemas tomorrow, February 1st. If you are lucky enough to live in the LA or NYC areas, here are your options:

Laemmle’s NoHo
5240 Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood, CA 91601 | (310)478-3836
1:00pm|3:15pm|5:30pm|7:45pm|10:15pm

Quad Cinema
34 West 13th Street, New York, NY 10011 | (212) 255-8800
1:00pm|3:00pm|5:20pm|7:20pm|9:40pm

The rest of us, not-so-lucky ones, will have to wait for the Blu-ray/DVD release on February 26th! Pre-order your copy on Amazon.

Danielle Panabaker and ‘Girls Against Boys’ director, Austin Chick, answered some questions on Reddit earlier today. I got the chance to ask a few and they were all nicely answered. One of the questions is about the Blu-ray release so make sure you read the full post:

Fredy (D-Panabaker.Org): Is there a specific, intended meaning for two of the scenes that focus on Shae’s face: when she’s dancing at the club, and when she’s looking at the mirror near the finale?

Austin Chick: Hi Fredy – You’ve seen it so you know that’s it’s actually a sort of quiet movie in some ways. It’s not the bloody, high-octane, thrill-ride that the log line might suggest. It’s a more internal psychological journey – almost like a dark fever-dream – and that’s the intended effect of those shots. It’s the journey “through the looking glass” which it what we actually do in that mirror shot toward the end of the movie.

Danielle, you mentioned in a recent interview there were some scenes that didn’t make it into the final cut that could have defined the relationship between the two girls even better. Could you tell us more about them?

Danielle Panabaker: The scenes were useful to me as an actor filling out the role, but I respect Austin’s decision not to put them in the movie. To me, those scenes gave a small insight into the beginning of the end of their relationship.

Austin, one of the very first shots of the film reveals, almost unnoticeably, that Shae and Lu might actually have a much deeper “relationship” (to avoid spoilers, I hope you know what I mean). Was that something you based off on when writing the script?

Austin Chick: I DO know what you mean and without giving too much away… yes. I wanted to drop an early hint that there might be another way of reading things but it’s very easy to miss. Perhaps I’m too subtle for my own good.

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Coming from Examiner.Com:

Dorri Olds: Did you enjoy working on “Girls Against Boys?

Danielle Panabaker: Yeah! It was a really fun movie and I’m very proud to have been a part of this film.

Did you and Nicole LaLiberte click onset?

She’s amazing. I really loved all of the people involved and felt just sky high with the cast.

What intrigued you most about the story?

That it had a fantasy element to it. The script leaves questions about whether the Lu character is even real or just part of Shae’s imagination. It’s as if Shae fell down the rabbit hole.

When did you know you wanted to be an actress?

To be totally honest I just fell into it. When we lived in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, my sister and I did a local play. My whole family got involved. My mom did the makeup. My sister and I were being homeschooled and my parents wanted us to be socialized. We had a lot of fun with the other kids hanging out backstage.

What are some of your other projects?

I’ve done a handful of great roles. “Empire Falls” changed my life. “Friday the 13th” was so much fun — just a blast. I’ve done a few “Bones” episodes; my next one will be in the middle of February. I’ve also done “Necessary Roughness.” That show is all about football, which is great because I love football. My character is the football team owner.

You don’t look like a typical football owner.

[Laughs] Oh I know. In the show, my character’s dad dies and leaves her the football team. It’s like other USA shows. It’s a drama but with a lot of levity and humor. The other actors on the show are amazing and really fun to watch. I work a lot and I know I’ve been very fortunate.

Psychological Thriller and Horror. Rated R (violence and some gore). 97 minutes. Opens Friday, February 1, 2013 at the Quad Cinema, 34 West 13th Street.

Check out the latest clip from ‘Girls Against Boys’. The film opens TOMORROW in limited theaters in LA and NYC!

This one comes from Entertainment Weekly:

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How familiar are you with the female-revenge genre?
AUSTIN CHICK: Pretty familiar, the obvious ones like Baise-moi and Ms. 45. I’ve seen a lot of those movies. But I actually never thought I would make a rape-revenge movie.

How did this project come about?
It’s a script I wrote a while ago, actually. I hadn’t done much with it. There was a part of me that was a little bit nervous about making this movie, as a man. But I met the producers in 2010 and they were looking for something that they could make in this under-a-$1m budget range and it seemed like it was the right fit.

How tough was it to cast the two leads? With all due respect to the other actors it’s most definitely their movie.
It was hard. The character of Lu, played by Nicole, was actually written as an Asian-American and I had originally cast it with an Asian-American actress. It was only at the very last minute that she balked at the nudity and we had to recast that part.

Obviously, it’s not just about getting two great actresses, it’s about getting two people who work really well together. So much of it is about the dynamic between the two of them. In some ways they’re completely different and yet you have to believe that these two women would go on this adventure together. I thought they both did a really fantastic job.

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Coming from Bloody Disgusting. Austin Chick speaks about the film and more about working with Danielle after the jump:

You wrote and directed the film, what was the seed of inspiration that made you want to explore this territory?

I’ve always been interested in the dynamics between men and women and the way two people can misunderstand and misinterpret each others intentions and how this can lead to someone getting hurt. Girls Against Boys might be part two in a “battle of the sexes” trilogy that started with XX/XY. Nobody gets be-footed in XX/XY but people definitely get hurt.

What’s your approach to maintaining the audience’s investment in the characters? Shae has quite an arc from victim to victimizer.

At the most fundamental level Girls is a coming of age story. Shae is transformed by her experience and it’s the transformation that I wanted to focus on, rather than the crimes.

What typical revenge movie tropes did you want to avoid with this film?

Revenge movies tend to be painted in very broad strokes. They’re usually populated by characters who are extremes – often even caricatures. By painting the world in this extreme black-and-white relief the protagonist is empowered with a moral righteousness which allows us, as viewers, to feel good about cheering them on as they slaughter the bad guys. It’s an exercise that allows us to indulge our own violent fantasies and it can make for a very satisfying viewing experience (as Tarantino has amply demonstrated), but rarely are situations in life this simple. With Girls Against Boys I was interested in exploring the grey areas – the collateral damage, the moral ambiguity, and the way violence effects the perpetrator as well as the victim. The violent impulse is complex and imprecise and rarely provides the kind of pure catharsis we want.

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Here’s yet another interesting review of the film, coming from the Huff Post:

I found myself strangely compelled by Austin Chick’sGirls Against Boys, as much for what it doesn’t say as for what it does.

The film starts with a flash-forward, with a young woman named Lu (Nicole LaLiberte), sexually teasing a cop (Matthew Rauch) in a bedroom, then getting him to let her blindfold and handcuff him to the bed. Then she pulls out his gun — and as the vibe radically changes, the movie jumps into the past.

The focus, in fact, is Shae (Danielle Panabaker), a college student first seen being dumped by her married lover. That night, while tending bar, she’s obviously upset — and is approached by another bartender, who turns out to be Lu. Lu suggests that they go find some guys and party, to take Shae’s mind off her romantic problems.

That, however, goes wrong when the guy she meets winds up raping her the next morning. When Lu finds out later, she hustles Shae off to the police station — but the cops are unsympathetic and callous. So it’s time for a little female justice.

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