Caffeinated Clint
Actress Jennifer Blanc-Biehn stars alongside her husband, actor Michael Biehn (“Aliens”, “The Terminator”), in his directorial debut “The Victim”. A “Grindhouse” style thriller about two women (Blanc-Biehn, Danielle Harris) who seek refuge with a recluse (Biehn) living in the deep of the woods, the film offered Blanc-Biehn not only the chance to work with her spouse but an opportunity to further demonstrate her skills as an actress as well as put her knowledge of producing to the test.
How did “The Victim” originate, Jennifer?
It started with a novella by Reed Lackey. Robert Rodriguez, who Michael [Biehn] worked with on Grindhouse was also an inspiration; it was while filming The Divide in Winnipeg that he saw someone reading Robert’s book – ‘Rebel without a Crew’ – and decided ‘Ok, I’m going to do this’. My agent helped Michael and I source the finance; most of it coming from Ryan Honey.
Now I can’t recall if you have so… had you worked with Michael before? Was “The Victim” designed as something you could do together?
We did wanna work together and start a company together but we had worked together, as actors, on The Divide and The Ride and a few others. I have to tell you, Michael is phenomenal in The Divide – I play his wife Liz in that.
He’s phenomenal in everything he does. How about directing… he a good director?
Michael is a passionate – very passionate! – director.
And you as a producer? How did you fare?
I think I’m good at producing and I do enjoy it. I get a bit intense sometimes. I think the juggle somehow made me more focused. I’m good at multitasking, I discovered.
Did you know your co-star Danielle Harris beforehand or simply a fan of her work?
Yes, Danielle is is one of my best friends; Michael and I just had breakfast with her this morning. She and I wanna continue to work together as well.
Do you think “The Victim” would be the same movie if a studio had taken it on, and you guys hadn’t have done it independently?
I think it would be close to the same film… so long as Michael, who had a clear vision for the film, had stayed on.
Has the internet been a good marketing tool for this film?
The internet has been an amazing marketing tool for the film – particuarly the official website, which features all of our press and news that we’ve garnered.
Are you Michael working on anything else together?
Yes, we’ve quite a few films we’d like to do – including a sequel to “The Victim”.
– CLINT MORRIS
