‘’Jinn” Star Dominic Rains Discusses New Thriller
In the Beginning, Three were
Created…Man made of Clay. Angels made of Light. And a Third…made of Fire.
From the beginning, stories of angels
and men have captured our imaginations and have been etched into our history
crossing all boundaries of culture, religion, and time. These two races have
dominated the landscape of modern mythology for countless centuries, almost
washing away the evidence that a third ever existed. This third race, born of
smokeless fire, was called the jinn. Similar to humans in many ways, the jinn
lived invisibly among us and only under dire or unusual circumstances were our
paths ever meant to cross.
As humans became the dominant force
on Earth, contact between man and jinn steadily decreased. Modern man has all
but forgotten the jinn.
“Jinn” is the new thriller set to make its
theatrical release in Philippines on September 10.
Dominic
Rains the star of the film discusses his character, and projects he hopes to work
on in the future.
How
did working on “JINN” compare to any other production you have worked on?
Well
first of all it was the first time I was carrying a film the whole way through.
It was by far one of the most physically exhausting experiences I’ve had which
in turn was emotionally exhausting. I mean there were days where I was
drenched in water in Michigan 30 degree biting weather, and that’s just one
part of it. The majority of the shoots were night shoots so my hours were
completely off. I also played three characters in the film which made it ever
so interesting. But given the material at hand, the most challenging place was
trying to find the arc of the character. Sometimes you’re shooting out of
sequence, time is against you, you’re shooting on 35mm film so you’ve got to
get it right or you’re just burning film, unlike digital where you can shoot
endlessly, and you’ve got to focus all your energy to make sure that you know
in the grand scheme of things, you’re giving just enough for the 180mm lens
that’s focused on your eyes. One exaggerated expression here or there and it’s
a 15 foot difference on the silver screen. AJ, the writer/director, loved to
tell me, ‘its all in the eyes!’ haha… But learning to focus and harness that
energy was important. And knowing what the scene was about was imperative.
What can
you tell us about the character (Shawn) you play in this film?
Shawn
is an automotive engineer living a quiet idyllic life with his wife Jasmine
when one day it is interrupted by a package delivered by a sketchy dude that
contains an encrypted message. It warns him of imminent danger and that this
‘thing’ the Jinn is coming after him. At first Shawn tries to disregard the
message but weird things start to happen and after a number of events test his
belief, his wife is kidnapped and Shawn is forced to face his fears and is
tossed through a gauntlet of emotional, physical and mental tests. He is helped
along the way by three men who aid him in what to do to fight and overcome the
Jinn, but ultimately he’s the only one that can save himself and his family.
What was
your favorite scene to shoot?
I
had two favorite scenes in the film; the first was with his parents when he’s
trying to piece everything together and the second was at the end of the film
where he rises to the occasion. I won’t say anymore than that but that it’s a
very cool scene and you’ll know what I’m talking about when you see it. Everything
came together, AJ’s direction, our stunt performers, Ray Park, and the
incredible genius of our VFX supervisor Joe Coleman. It was a test of many
things that evening and it’s a testament to the work of a great team. On a
personal level it was a test of the physical and mental for myself.
Why should
audiences go out and see this film? How does it stand out above other
mystery thrillers?
Well
besides the fact that it’s based on an ancient mythology that over 2 billion
people believe in around the world, it’s mentioned or alluded to in the
books of the leading three religions, Islam, Christianity and Judaism.
Also, it’s a fun family film for all ages; it’s essentially a hero story of
courage and the will to fight to overcome our fears. We see the slow rise of a
man who finds it in himself to become the man he never thought existed.
You have
worked on a variety of different TV shows and film. What genre of film do
you hope to work on that you haven’t done yet?
I’d
really like to go into more heavy dramas, dark comedies and twisted
psychological thrillers. It would be a dream to work with filmmakers like
Gasper Noe, PT Anderson, The Coen Brothes, Lars Von Trier. Very avant garde,
art house, challenging character pieces. I love playing heavy character pieces.
I enjoy the leading men as well but since they tend to be closer to me
they’re more a naked vulnerability. With character heavy roles you get to
be vulnerable as well but you get to funnel them through a lot more so you can
indulge a bit more, it seems.
Who are
some actors that you admire and hope to work with in the future?
There
are so many actors I admire. So many actors of all ages that inspire
me and push me to do great work that I don’t have enough space to say them
all but in the meantime I’ll express a few. God bless Phillip Seymour
Hoffman, he was a titan, he’ll stand as one of my all time greats. I would love
the pleasure to work with Ethan Rains, Daniel Day Lewis, Meryl Streep, Al
Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Robert Duvall, Willem Defoe, Susan Sarandon,
Matthew McConaughey, Brad Pitt, JACK NICHOLSON for sure, Anthony Hopkins, Cate
Blanchett and the list goes on.
‘’Jinn’’ is
released and distributed by CAPTIVE
CINEMA.
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