INTERVIEW WITH NATALIE BURN INVOLVING 'AWAKEN'

Natalie Burn Interview

AWAKEN is a suspenseful and mysterious, action-packed motion picture that takes you for a ride, and beyond. With a sense that anything can happen at any time, we follow the main character, Billie Kope, played by actress, writer, producer and Cult Film Freak interviewee NATALIE BURN as she... with an eclectic group of survivors... goes up against extremely dangerous odds while figuring things out along the way...

Tell us about your job as a co-writer and producer: How did you get AWAKEN from the page to the screen?

It’s very important to understand that in order to make any kind of project possible, you need to have a clear-cut vision of what you want done and what type of  message you want to convey to the world. You want something that will ultimately spawn curiosity from people, something that will touch people’s hearts, and most importantly, something that will inspire them.

Natalie Burn

What inspired me to pursue the Awaken project was me taking the step to show a struggle with family, devastation and then, hope, to people who have experienced  any form of extreme loss. The more truth you bring to the script, the more people will feel the authenticity of the movie. When I started to run through ideas for a project, I wanted something real and that’s when I came across this interview about a boy who had gone to get an operation on his nose and never woke up. Later his mother insisted on an autopsy and found out the boys organs were all gone...

When I saw this I knew this was a subject I should tackle. So, step one is the actual IDEA and then it’s time to make it happen! From its inception to its completion, Awaken has been MY project.  It’s something that I am very proud of and most of all it has served as a giant learning experience for me. I’ve learned so much about making movies, everything from what type of cameras to use, what type of lighting to use, and how to deal with the cast and crew on set. I’ve realized as a young producer it’s all on me, so I make sure to come to the set a little bit earlier than everyone else and just breathe in the moment of the project. I channel my emotions and get ready for the long hard day ahead of me.

Natalie Burn

Whats it like working as a leading lady/action heroine?

My character quickly evolves form survivor to butt-kicking bad-ass in Awaken. As the lead, I knew that I would have to bring everything out of myself for this role, so I went through two months of training with Benny the Jet, who also played my father in the movie. We kickboxed; we were wrestling and boxing for several hours a day, six days a week! This was very important to me because, as I said earlier, I want to inspire people... especially women... because I remember the action heroines that inspired me, like Sigourney Weaver, who may be the most iconic and enduring female action hero ever portrayed in a science-fiction film.

A ripped Linda Hamilton in T2

Another actor who really opened up my eyes was Linda Hamilton and her role in Terminator. Even though she started off as the stereotypical damsel-in-distress, she eventually morphed into a muscle-bound weapons expert who would stop at nothing to defeat the Terminator, which is what I felt like my character in Awaken was like: a strong and determined girl who will not give up until she does everything to find her sister.

Furlong in T2

What was it like working with established stars Robert Davi, Edward Furlong, Micheal Pare and Daryl Hannah in AWAKEN? What did they bring to the table?

It was an amazingly bright and memorable time working with such talent. I’ve always believed that experience is the best form of education anybody can get, and I make sure to retain as much as I possibly can from every actor I work with. I really admire how passionate these actors are about what they do and how they do it. The "performance" is really what ultimately sets actors apart from one another. You have to love the stage and camera and you need to have a real desire to entertain people. You want a flawless connection from a performer to your audience, which is really not that easily achieved if you are not willing to always keep your mind open to learning new and skillful techniques.

Mel Gibson in E3

And you had a role in THE EXPENDABLES 3: What was this like? 

Working on The Expendables 3 movie was very entertaining and very helpful. This was the biggest project that I have ever been a part of so it was very interesting to see how and what all these actors do in terms of their preparations for their characters. The film was very physically demanding on everybody involved, so it was very important for these actors to stay on their workout routine.

I remember seeing just how disciplined Ronda Rousey stayed to her training for the role. She would train constantly – often times more than the men! Every morning she was at the gym no matter how tough the day of shooting was.

What I really enjoyed about filming was my experience playing the wife of Mel Gibson's character. He really took the time needed to develop his character and he did this by trusting his own instincts with acting; on top of that he did a tremendous work on getting deep into understanding his character. What kind of gestures does he have? How does one walk, talk, dress? I feel this is crucial for character development because it provides you with your own backstory for the role you are creating. And in the end makes you exactly the person you want to be in that film.

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Last but not least... What made you want to become an actress and how did you set out to become one?

I’ve always had a passion for performing and even though I started dancing at a very early age, I’ve always dreamt of one day becoming a Hollywood star. I really enjoyed dance because it allowed me to really express all of my emotions out through choreography and dance...

However, once I got injured I needed to find new ways of expressing myself and what better way to do that than vocally performing my emotions. That’s when I started to pursue acting so I made the choice to move to Hollywood and become an actor. I joined several well respected schools and eventually I realized that opportunity is something that you need to create on your own because waiting around for the next audition is something I’m accustomed to. So, I created my own production company, 7Heaven Productions, and started doing my own thing. My first project was a short film called Fallen Angel and then Awaken soon followed. Now I have 3 movies in development and I can't wait to make them happen!