Video:Skyline - David Zayas and Neil Hopkins Interviews

Transcript:Skyline - David Zayas and Neil Hopkins Interviews

Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the World Premiere of Rogue Pictures' Skyline.

David Zayas - 'Oliver' in Skyline

This movie - low budget, no budget, and you film it in the director's condo. How crazy is that?

David Zayas: "You know the way they set out the plan, they knew what they were doing so they were able to articulate what they wanted from each scene, and articulate that to me or the other actors and we were able to give them that in a specific way so that then they could go back to their offices and fill in the blanks and make it what you're going to see tonight."

You're reacting to absolutely nothing? Was there anything there in place of the aliens?

David Zayas: "I have a really wild imagination."

Do you really?

David Zayas: "Yeah, I do."

You go to bed at night and see aliens?

David Zayas: "You have no idea."

There's a lot of alien movies in the works or coming out. How does this one stand apart from those?

David Zayas: "Well I think it's simple - the Strause brothers. I think they're going to make it as original as they are original and eccentric and wonderful. I think that the storyline based on these young people trying to survive this attack, I think in the core of that is going to make for an interesting movie."

You're talking about the Strause brothers. There are two directors who are in charge. How does that work when you are trying to act and you've got two guys telling you what to do?

David Zayas: "If I have a question, one is very sophisticated and breaks it down and the other one is very direct. So between the two of them, I definitely get my answer. And so it was very productive. Ultimately they were on the same page on almost 99.9% of everything, and so it was just about getting it done and how to get it done. And they work well together. They worked well together and especially being brothers, I was surprised at how well and how smart they are together and how they solved problems together, because that's the key thing when it comes to two directors. It was great, and it was great to watch, too."

Have they told you anything about the next season of Dexter?

David Zayas: "They have not."

I can't wait. This is a good season.

David Zayas: "So far."

Is the finale going to totally wow us?

David Zayas: "I don't even want to say it because, you know, I'm not... I don't have a crystal ball so I can't really determine how people are going to react to it. What I do know is reading it, I was just as impressed as any of the other seasons, so I'm looking forward to seeing it."

Neil Hopkins - 'Ray' in Skyline

Tell me what it was like on the set because it was low budget and they didn't use much green screen.

Neil Hopkins: "They couldn't even afford a red carpet - they have a blue. But it was so much fun on the set because it felt like an independent film in the best sense. There was a small crew, there was a small cast. Everybody was buddy-buddy. The directors, they had such a collaborative experience with everybody working on it. They let everybody come behind, you know, the playback monitors and watch after every take. They were so excited about letting us in on the vision, and it wasn't this giant separation between we are the filmmakers and they are the cast. It was great. It really felt like we were making this small independent film, and then it turns into this."

There weren't aliens there so what are you actually looking at when you're acting?

Neil Hopkins: "You're looking at nothing. You're just imagining. What they did that was really smart was before we started shooting they sat us down in their screening room at Hydraulx, which is their digital effects house, and they had shot a trailer that they had completely done all the effects for. So we knew what the aliens looked like, we knew what the ships looked like, we knew what everything looked like and it was as though we were seeing a tiny trailer of the movie we were about to star in. So it was really exciting in that respect. We had a very clear image of what it was."

Is it difficult taking direction when there are two directors?

Neil Hopkins: "No, not at all because they consult with one another after every take. Sometimes Colin would give a note, sometimes Greg would give a note. There wasn't any kind of friction whatsoever because they're brothers."

So there was never any fighting about who wants to do what?

Neil Hopkins: "There were disagreements about typical film stuff, but it wasn't... These guys knew what they wanted to do way before they even cast it. They shot this trailer before they even cast the film so they already knew shot-for-shot what everything was going to be. That was really cool because you felt like you were in good hands. You didn't feel at any moment like they didn't know what they were doing."

More on Skyline:

Skyline Photos

Skyline Trailer, Poster, Interviews and Cast List