PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Fascinated with movies from a young age, Maria Pulera has always aspired to direct her own feature films. Recently, this passionate filmmaker has garnered some worthy attention for her second feature, Between Worlds, starring Nicolas Cage. I had the pleasure of speaking with Maria about her new film, maybe even answering questions some other people may have as well. Read on to learn more about Between Worlds and a new upcoming project Maria has in the works!
PopHorror: Hi, Maria! Thank you for speaking with me! So, have you always wanted to become a filmmaker?
Maria Pulera: Yes! Yes, I went to film school back in the ’90s. It’s taken me this long to get to the point to where we are today. But yes, absolutely! Since I was a child.
PopHorror: That’s great that you’re now pursuing it! So, what inspired your new film, Between Worlds?
Maria Pulera: I’m fascinated with the afterlife, the supernatural and the whole genre. I love it! And I like the unknown and the ability to just take it in any direction. Also, my roots are in Wisconsin, so I grew up with a very rural sensibility. So, for me, it was sort of putting the two together, and Between Worlds came out of that!
PopHorror: I can see that, for sure! I thought the film had a What Lies Beneath sort of vibe to it… other than the obvious differences. Did you have this feature or any others in mind when you wrote Between Worlds?
Maria Pulera: You know, I’m a huge fan of so many films, and I can’t say that one in particular was a big influence. Obviously, we payed homage to Polanski’s Repulsion in one scene, but there were a lot of different things planted as well, sometimes even subconsciously that you don’t see until after you’re done with it. So, not necessarily overtly, but definitely when you’re on set, some things will develop and emerge when you’re making decisions. We used [Angelo] Badalamenti for some of the music, who was, of course, David Lynch’s composer. So, Lynch was a big influence. I like a lot of things, and I enjoy the whole genre, so What Lies Beneath could be a little bit of a subconscious influence.
PopHorror: I can see that. There is so much out there that we take in from other films and such that some of it can blend together and help shape work of today in many ways, whether we realize it or not.
Maria Pulera: Exactly!
PopHorror: So, you have a few familiar actors starring in Between Worlds, including Penelope Mitchell from Hemlock Grove and Apartment 212 and Franka Potente from Run Lola Run and The Conjuring 2. And, of course, Nicolas Cage. Did you write the character of Joe with Cage in mind?
Maria Pulera: Oh, absolutely! And you know, it was a great honor to get him to agree to do the role and participate. And when I say participate, I mean he really participated! He was putting in his own dialogue and he wrote a memoir, which was his own poetry. So, I definitely had him in mind to play this quirky character from day one.
PopHorror: He did an outstanding job and really seemed to fall right into the character! And I was wondering what the significance was of the book he reads from, entitled “Memories by Nicolas Cage.” (laughs)
Maria Pulera: (laughs) Basically, we wanted to create a tie-in to make it believable that Billie was actually Mary. We could have put something in like her liking blueberry pancakes, but that wouldn’t have been specific enough. We wanted to put in something very specific and weird to fit the outrageous tone of the film. So, Nicolas came up with the great idea of this book and he sat down and wrote this poetry, which is quite unique. He’s like a performance artist. He’s absolutely amazing! Working with him is like documenting a performance artist! So, we had the art director make the book and we used it as a way of tying together the connection of Joe and Mary. And it is such a unique characteristic to tie in the intimacy between the two characters on such a personal level while making it that much more believable that she is actually Mary.
PopHorror: That makes quite a bit more sense, and it’s very interesting that he wrote that book of poetry for the film…which would explain his name on the cover! (laughs) So, how did you manage to cast Nicolas?
Maria Pulera: It was pretty much the traditional method of setting things up through his manager. I had a meeting with Nicolas prior to having him agree to the film to go over the storyboards and what I was wanting from him as the lead actor. And he was all in for the adventure. He’s pretty fearless! The tone of this film is sort of outrageous and he embraces any type of challenge like that, which is pretty excellent.
PopHorror: Very cool! So, what was it like working with him?
Maria Pulera: He’s great! He’s very creative and unpredictable! He adds so many amazing nuances to his character. And me, as the director, am pretty open to the artists on set. So, I welcomed a lot of the ideas he was bringing to the role, and I loved it! It brought a whole other dimension to his character, which is above and beyond what I could have ever imagined. And he’s very professional and absolutely amazing on set.
PopHorror: That’s great to hear! What would you say was the biggest challenge in filming Between Worlds?
Maria Pulera: I would say the time restrictions. It was hard to fit everything in because we didn’t have a whole lot of time for reshoots. The tone was very unique, and we didn’t have much time to test things out, so we took quite a bit of risk and hoped they worked. I think, ultimately, it worked amazingly well, because I think the tone comes across clearly and is what we were going for. But it was very challenging. Very nerve wracking! (laughs)
PopHorror: What would you say was your favorite part of filming this production?
Maria Pulera: I think my favorite part of actually filming was seeing the characters come to life through the actors. It just gives a whole other dimension to it! It’s absolutely a magical moment when you see your story that’s on paper really taking a on life of its own. It’s amazing!
PopHorror: I can see how that would be exciting to see! Do you have any upcoming projects that you would like to talk about?
Maria Pulera: Yeah, we’re doing casting right now for El Matador, which is a spanish neo-noir that is going to be set in Spain. It has a 1960s weird flavor to it. It’s about two hot women and an assassin this time rather than two hot women and a trucker. (laughs) And it’s going to be fun!
PopHorror: That sounds interesting! So, will it be more of an action feature?
Maria Pulera: Oh, yeah. It will have some action, absolutely. It will have action moments mixed with some weird drama moments as well. So, I think it should be very interesting!
PopHorror: I look forward to seeing more of your work, Maria! Thank you for your time.
Maria Pulera: Thank you for the opportunity!
With Between Worlds serving up some unique originality of supernatural thrills and mystery, I’m looking forward to seeing where Maria’s next film goes. Having shown a taste for the unusual, she is sure to give El Matador a mysterious appeal with an edge! Maria Pulera is one indie filmmaker we are sure to see again. Stay tuned for our upcoming review of Between Worlds!
