ERASED: A Conversation with Liana Liberator
By Yevette Renee Nelson
Bottom Line
Espionage and family
Director
Phillip Stölzl
Screenwriters
Arash Amel
Cast
Aaron Eckhart, Liana Liberator and Olga Kurylenko
You had a physicality coming in. You got emotional armor coming into play. How do you go about pulling all of this together and holding your own against Aaron Eckhart?
Liana Liberator: You have to feed off the other person, obviously. Aaron is a really great person to work with. And so, we had a great time bonding and hanging out together. He made it so easy. We had a good time
Did you do any dad/daughter things to solidify, to cement this bond?
Liana Liberator: Every single day for a grueling amount of hours we were working. We were locked in a car doing scenes until 5am. We were in a small confined space going crazy, giggling and laughing. That was our bonding.
What was it that made you want to play this character?
Liana Liberator: I really liked the fact that it is easy to be typed cast as an angry teenager and the cool part of Amy is that she grows out of that character and learns to help her father. I really liked that about her.
When she was ready to go to school. She said “are you are going to kiss or anything? It is really the opposite of an angry teen. It was not typical.
Liana Liberator: It does have underlying affection. She does love her Dad. This is new for her. It’s different.
You have fallen down and taken a few hits before in previous role. But this one seems more action oriented. How is that experience for you, learning the stunt work?
Liana Liberator: I am not a coordinated person. Like, I can’t even walk in these heels. It was really fun. I got all of these bruises on my leg. I am so proud of them. I felt really awesome. We were slipping and sliding every where.
What scene sequence did you have the most fun?
Liana Liberator: In the hospital. We had the hospital scene that were for two full nights. We got there and left the next day. It was actually an old broken down asylum and the top floor was still working. There were actually crazy people below us. That was really fun because we actually did our own stunts. Like lifting me over the desk, falling on the ground, doing all the stumbling and running up the stairs.
Were you 15 or 16 when you made this?
Liana Liberator: I was 15.
Did you do your own driving?
Liana Liberator: I did and everyone was terrified because I did not have a permit or driving license.
Did you like how the film turned out when you saw it?
Liana Liberator: Yes, it had a real foreign fell to it. We used a red camera. The resolution is beautiful. It is almost like watching a documentary. Most of it was hand held.
Did you like Brussels?
Liana Liberator: Yes, I did. I had never been to Europe. It was a really cool experience.
What did you find there that you were not expecting? What did you like most about working over there?
Liana Liberator: What was really cool, we worked until 3am – 4am in the morning. We’d be outside doing some exterior shoots and we would start getting the smell of croissant and bake goods. Bakers had to come in early in the morning to make pastries. That was really cool to get to see that.
You have worked with a lot of directors. How would you compare director Phillip, a German director?
Liana Liberator: He was wonderful. It really wasn’t much of a difference. He knew what he wanted. He had this idea in his head. He told us very clearly what he wanted. Hopefully we gave him what he wanted. I have got to work with a lot of directors and they have all been amazing tome.
Did he allow of adlibbing?
Liana Liberator: We got to sit down about a week before filming. We filmed half in Montreal and half in Brussels. We first went to Montreal and would meet in the lobby and go over the entire script. And we got a chance to change things we wanted to change.
What did you change, that ended up it in the final cut?
Liana Liberator: Actually, not a lot made it to the final cut. It was actually Aaron and I being silly.
It seems your boyfriend in the film was prejudged, yet it was he and his family that helped you both. What did tap into for your role with your boyfriend?
Liana Liberator: He was my first own screen boyfriend and kiss. It was all foreign to me. He was the nicest guy. We had a chance to hang out and have coffee. He was wonderful and made me feel really comfortable. It is obviously really weird to do that kind of thing in front of people.
Because of your age, you had to have a parent. How was it with a first love? And to you have a parent watching?
Liana Liberator: This film was a lot easier. We had a scene at the airport; we had a little kissing scene. My mother had to stay in the trailer for that.
What was the road from Galveston to Hollywood? How did you end up here?
Liana Liberator: I was in a local theater because my mother did not want me to be shy and hide behind her legs. I ended up falling in love with theater. It was the only thing I knew. It was school for me. My dad’s uncle was terminally ill in California and we decided to go see him and I asked my parents to put me in an acting class. To make a long story short, there was a small boutique agent who was auditing the class and picked me up.
What was the big break out theater roll?
Liana Liberator: I did this play “Galveston, The Musicalâ€. It was about our town that has a great history. It was the first role I got paid for. I just loved it. It was very professional; the producers from Houston came to do this play. That was kind of a big deal.
You have a few films coming up now. Can you talk about what they are?
Liana Liberator: I have two films coming out; one in October and the other in June. The first one is “Stuck in Love.†I play a night wolf. My other film is “Haunt “with Jackie Weaver and Harrison Gilbertson. It is about two kids who move into this house, in which I am the neighbor.
Is there a lot of physically involved with that role or more psychological?
Liana Liberator: It is actually psychedelic horror film?. We have a couple of wrestling, possession type things. But aside from that, a lot of it was looking at something that was not there and screaming really loud.
With more physicality in your roles, what kind of training or stunt training are you doing or the production having you do?
Liana Liberator: I do my stunts. But they have a stunt girl there to mimic what I do afterwards. But with ERASED, my character was a photographer as well. I had a guy to teach me to use the camera. It was really Aaron who did the work. We always had a stunt guy to hang out and I could ask him questions.
What was you favorite thing that you learned about stunts? Any particular moves they showed you?
Liana Liberator: Actually Aaron does a lot of Karate and Ty Kwon Do Aaron taught how to take someone legs away from under them and making them fall,
Are you finished with school now? Or are you homed school?
Liana Liberator: I am homed school. I have about a month left. It is hard to get it done. Every single day is busy
Have you done things like go to a prom or are you too busy?
Liana Liberator: I went to a prom. Not my prom because I am homed school. I don’t get a chance to be around kids and school. It was over whelming. It was fun.
What was most favorite thing about the film?
Liana Liberator: My favorite part of any film is the bonding experience. It was all the giggles in between.
Your character goes through pretty remarkable changes. How do you describe the changes? How would you describe the differences?
Liana Liberator: I think she goes from being into herself to seeing more of the bigger picture; letting go of her pride and learning to help.
In the film you are a photographer. Do you do photographer in real life?
Liana Liberator: Yes
Do you have another hobby? Obviously acting is your career, your passion. Is there something else you like to do, sports wise or collecting things?
Liana Liberator: I am not a sports person. I like to write. I took a crash course at NYU after ERASED. It is a creative outlet when I am not working.
You said the course was in screen writing. Is that your prose?
Liana Liberator: I tried writing other things and I am terrible at it. I can only do scripts.
Do you want to do theater again?
Liana Liberator: Yes. , but I have stage fright.
How did you get over stage fright when you first started in theater?
Liana Liberator: I did not have it. I was fearless. I want to get back to it because theater helps you to enunciate and have your voice heard.
If you were to watch one of your past performances right now, would you feel self-conscious?
Liana Liberator: I would cringe when I look at my past television performances. I do watch myself grow
What play would you like to do most?
Liana Liberator: They are making this play into a film, “Into the Woodsâ€. Some friends of mine were in it.
Do you have any dream directors you would like to work with?
Liana Liberator: I would like to work with Ben Affleck.
What is about his work that makes you want to work with him?
Liana Liberator: He is fresh. He has some great ideas. Argo was great.
Rated R Violence
Release Date: In theaters May 10th
Distributor: RADiUS-TWC
Producer: Karl Richards, Jonathan Vanger and Claude Leger
Executive Producer: Judy Cairo, Michael A. Simpson, Howard Meltzerm Eric Brenner and Harry Winer
Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Liana Liberator, Olga Kurylenko
Director: Phillip Stölzl
Screen Writers: Arash Amel
Cinematographer: Kolja Brandt
Production Designer: Jean-Francois Campeu
Editor: Dominique Fortin
Costume Designer: Pascalina Chavanne
Composer: Jeff Danna
Run time: 104 minutes