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Michael Beach signed on only a couple of days before production and was happy to take the role of husband Michael Hubbs. He feels that some people are of the opinion that he only plays the type of "bad guy" characters he played in Waiting to Exhale or Soul Food. "That’s just not the case," he explains. "This character is different from those and will help me break that stereotype. Michael Hubbs is working hard to mend his failing marriage. From my perspective, my character’s journey is his attempt to fix his marriage and become a better man in doing so." Reid felt that it was destiny that Michael Beach came into the production with such short notice. Isaiah Washington backed out of Asunder at the last minute, ironically to take sitcom that had been offered to Beach. Reid says, "I respect him highly as an actor and he brings a certain energy to his character that is so believable." Reid is openly laudatory of the film; " I feel very good about this movie in many ways. Not only are the performances exceptional and in some cases startling because they are so good, but the subject matter is very unique to the genre. It is so unique that there is nothing like it in the marketplace, from an ethnic point of view for sure, but certainly not in a multi-racial film. I feel that, as an adult-theme film, it can speak to almost any audience." Roll Camera! The suspense thriller was shot on location in Petersburg, Virginia at New Millennium Studios, which was founded in 1997 by Tim Reid, his wife and partner Daphne Maxwell Reid, and two other Virginia businessmen, Mark Warner and Dan Hoffler. Daphne Maxwell Reid commented on the unprecedented community involvement with the film, "The locals are so anxious to be involved with the studio. In California, people seem to be more jaded. We have a mutual respect for each other here. A little gentility goes a long way in Virginia." Reid cites a couple of examples illustrating the area’s support for the production. "We were fortunate enough to shoot for seven days at a local doctor’s 15,000 square foot home, complete with indoor racquetball courts, located right on the James River. The doctor refused payment for the use of his home. Instead, a donation was made to a writing program at a local university."
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Building the Suspense Some original music was developed for the film. Reid notes, "The music is very character driven. Blair’s character is into a strange Stravinsky-type classical music. We actually played Stravinsky’s The Flood on the set before his killing scene to help him get into character. It helped us to get the kind of results we were looking for. It seems that a lot of times, as filmmakers, we become ‘cavalier’ about murder and violence in films. It becomes predictable and choreographed, kind of like watching a car wreck [in a movie]. We used subtleties, counter movements, and beats, as opposed to the more graphically violent killings seen on-screen. We played a lot with the lighting too, so it was more of an ‘old-school’ style, along the lines of a Hitchcock production."
The ongoing joke on the set was how to shoot "hints of brilliance with a touch of insanity," as Bowers had coined Asunder. Bowers was on the set as well, but it was never an awkward situation for him. "Working with Tim Reid has been amazing because the man is an on-the-fly genius. He constantly re-works things and has a very strong vision. Visually, as [writers], we see our projects as per page, one-dimensional things. But as a director, Tim has shed light on new areas that didn’t previously exist in my script, yet are feelings that I had wanted to portray. It truly is awe-inspiring to work with him." Reid liked having Bowers on the set and never confronted conflicts of interest. "I think Bowers is the only writer I’ve ever worked with that has just allowed a situation to play itself out. Since my background is in acting, I’m more interested in the intent or emotion of a scene being represented than the exact words. The scene must be represented, move forward, and the purpose must be true. I have to watch the live performance to see the nuances and facial expressions that you can’t always see with the monitors, which I only look at for framing purposes. This cast gives so much, that I find myself constantly watching them close-up, because if we’re not careful, the slightest expression or movement will change the intent of an entire scene." |
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© 2002 Obsidian Productions, Inc
One
of Reid’s favorite scenes in Asunder is the funeral scene.
Again, they were allowed to shoot in a unique location with the community’s
support. He explains," We shot in a beautiful church that was built
in 1724, where Tiffany himself hand-made every stained glass window.
There were about twelve windows that were 10 feet high and 4 feet wide.
We were the first film crew to shoot in this location."
