Interview With ‘LUMINA’ Stars Sidney Nicole Rogers and Ken Lawson

Lumina, which recently hit theaters, is putting a fresh spin on the typical alien-centric flick. There’s no massive invasion that upends the entire world, no horrifying non-human creatures roaming the streets looking for their next meal. Rather, Lumina, written and directed by Gino McKoy (our interview), showcases the power of love and friendship, all while shedding light on real-life alien encounters.

When Tatiana (Eleanor Williams, Halo: Nightfall 2014) suddenly disintegrates into thin air, it’s up to her boyfriend Alex (Rupert Lazarus, Requiem 2018), free-spirited bestie Patricia (Sidney Nicole Rogers, Maya 2023), frenemy Delilah (Andrea Tivadar, Safe Inside 2019) and conspiracy theorist George (Ken Lawson, Malibu’s Most Wanted 2003) to track down the DUMB (Deep Underground Military Base) where she was taken after the alien abduction and rescue her.

Throughout Lumina, both Patricia and Ken bring a sense of levity to the plotline, she with her one-liners and passion for videography, even in the most stressful situations, and he with his light-hearted nature and Indiana Jones-esque alien hunting ensemble. At first, Patricia is not fond of Alex’s new conspiracy theorist comrade, and makes her feelings well-known. However, as the gang finds itself in one perilous situation after the next, her cold exterior begins to warm.

PopHorror had the pleasure of chatting with Rogers and Lawson about bringing this dynamic duo to life on screen, entering the world of sci-fi acting, their personal deep-dives into extraterrestrial research while filming and more.

PopHorror: I loved the movie and both of your characters! They’re so much fun. To start, what about this movie, the script, your characters, made you say, “Yes, I have to do this project.”?

Sidney Nicole Rogers: That’s a good question! Well, I was never into sci-fi before. I never watched a sci-fi movie, I don’t think. And when the script came to me, it was during the pandemic when I was thinking, “When is my next acting job going to be?” It was a big question mark on the whole world at that point. And I saw it and I said, “This is sci-fi? I’ve never done that before. This sounds kind of funky and crazy and cool. Let me see. Let me just put myself out there, do the audition.” And I was like, “It films in Morocco? Who doesn’t want to travel for work, especially to a beautiful place like Morocco?” So then when they loved my work and I got the call that I got hired, I was like, “Heck, yeah, put me on that plane two days later! I am set!” And the world of Lumina is just so expansive and it’s, like I said, funky and there’s comedic moments and there’s romance, there’s action and adventure. It truly was a great introduction for me into the sci-fi world.

Ken Lawson: I read the script and I love sci-fi. I’ve never done sci-fi before. So as I read it and started to get into the character of George and the whole little conspiracy theory situation, I was like, “Oh yeah, this is my guy.” And just to piggyback off of Sid, Morocco? Uh, yeah! Passport, let’s go.

PopHorror: Did Lumina film in the middle of COVID, in 2020-2021?

Ken Lawson: Yeah, everything was on lockdown out here in America, so everybody was stacking up on their toilet paper and things like that. So it was a bit different. But even when we went out to Morocco, they had some of their rules and regulations in place out there also. But at the same time, we were able to work and film, and everybody was very professional out there, so we were able to get the job done safely. It worked out really good and any adventure was wonderful.

Sidney Nicole Rogers: Yeah, it really was.

PopHorror: Now, I’d love to talk about both of your characters. Sidney, we can start with you. I enjoyed Patricia, I feel like she had so many great one-liners, like when she called Eric Roberts’ (The Dark Knight 2008) character a “Tywin Lannister dead ringer.” But she’s also such a good friend, she’s almost like the glue of the group. She listens to Delilah as she plots to break up Alex and Tatiana, she forgives Alex when he unknowingly attacks her in his sleep. What was it like bringing her to life?

Sidney Nicole Rogers: I like to describe Patricia as your impulsive thoughts, just as a person. You know, you shouldn’t say certain things that she says, you shouldn’t do certain things that she does. She meddles and gets into things. But we all want to be that person. We all have that in the back of our minds, but we suppress it to be polite. But she just does it so boldly. So that was so much fun for me to tap into and explore that character, and talk to Gino about it and be like, “How can I meddle more? What do you want me to do now? Can I do this little facial expression and show all those things?” It was so much fun to play her. And yeah, she really is the glue of the group. I feel like everything would fall apart without Patricia, so that was really fun. And I feel like I’m like the glue of my friend group as well, so I got to tap into that.

PopHorror: And Ken, George is very much the comedic relief. He has really fun outfits that reminded me of The Big Bang Theory, with 50 different layers on. What was it like to bring him to life?

Ken Lawson: I had a great time, especially with the wardrobe. I kind of felt like a young, Black Indiana Jones out here. It was super cool, man. The whole conspiracy theory thing, I felt so in line with that and, at the same time, bringing my personality to it because some people that are conspiracy theorists, they’re just so serious and they cut a lot of people off. But I just felt that George was like, “Hey man, this is real. Let’s go, let’s explore, we’re gonna find her.” And I enjoyed it. The ride was just incredible. One of a kind.

PopHorror: Toward the end, Patricia was finally starting to warm up to George. But unfortunately, things take a turn for the worst. If they had a different ending, how do you think they would have moved forward? What do you think their lives would have been like?

Ken Lawson: Adventurous!

Sidney Nicole Rogers: Yes, I think that’s a great word for it. I think it would have been one of those relationships where it was just like a cat and a dog, always just at it, but that connection will still be there at the end of the day.

Ken Lawson: Yeah because Patricia, she was cold as an iceberg to brother George.

Sidney Nicole Rogers: Maybe a little smirk here and there.

PopHorror: I enjoyed the different special effects that were used, like when Tatiana basically disintegrates into thin air. Can you talk about the effects and what it was like to see the finished product?

Sidney Nicole Rogers: Absolutely. For me, everything was in my imagination. But the way that the head of the stunts and all the CGI people involved and Gino, the way that they described everything, I was able to see it vividly because I’m a visual learner. So if you’re putting me in an environment where I can’t see what’s going on, it doesn’t make sense in my brain. So I asked a lot of questions, and they were so communicative to show me with their words what was going on. So by the time that I saw the finished product, I said, “That’s what I imagined!” I’m so happy that they were just on it. They had a clear vision about it and yeah, that was a lot of fun, just imagining everything all around me.

Ken Lawson: I didn’t know how they were gonna do any of these things. I had seen some of the footage in the aftermath because we couldn’t see any of the effects as we were shooting. So when they started putting all these things together, I was just amazed because, I mean, just the technology that we have today to bring these things to life, I’m constantly amazed every day. And the fact that Gino was able to manipulate this technology to make these things happen just blew my mind, and it still does. I don’t know how this stuff is done. CGI is amazing and Gino knows how to do it, and he did it, and that’s why the film looks like it does.

 

PopHorror: I really enjoyed the ending, how there are those words at the end that basically explain how there are actual alien encounters, but people aren’t always believed when they come forward. And I just spoke with Gino, who said he wanted that realistic aspect to the movie. Can you speak to that?

Sidney Nicole Rogers: Ken, you are the alien person here!

Ken Lawson: Absolutely. There are things that go on in this world that we have no answers to. And for myself, just the fact that we are just one speck in this universe, on this planet, I’ve always looked at every star that I’ve seen at night that shines as a sun with something orbiting around it. So I’ve never been the type of person to think that there is only life here. I believe life exists everywhere. And some of this technology that we use here, and some of the minerals that we use on this planet, aren’t from Earth. Some of these things, like they say, we are made up of stardust. So when I look at it, I don’t hold blinders to what goes on in the world. I just read an article the other day from Harvard that was saying there’s aliens in the moon. It’s just another brick inside of this conspiracy theorist mind frame that you say, “Hey man, we are not alone,” and I just don’t think we’re alone, especially when you look at what’s going on out in the ocean. There’s so many things that we have not discovered. We’ve never been that deep. So that’s where my head is.

Sidney Nicole Rogers: For me personally, I liked to toy with the idea that there could have been aliens or there are aliens. However, it wasn’t until I was immersed in this movie, when I started doing my own research to make sure I was up to date on everything, where I was like, “Actually, this could be a greater possibility than I thought in the past.” So listen, I don’t know where this world is gonna take us, I’m just here for the ride.

Ken Lawson: Just strap up!

PopHorror: Have you guys looked into any conspiracy theories while filming this? I feel like Ken, you had to, right?

Ken Lawson: Yeah, absolutely. Just the fact that you got Area 51, the whole space travel, some of the things that the Air Force is using, we don’t know any of this stuff, and the common man and the common person doesn’t know about it. People live their lives day to day, they really don’t have time to check out some of these articles or some of the things that these journalists are writing, but it gets really deep. And it gets so deep, it turns into a rabbit hole that never ends.

Sidney Nicole Rogers: Yep, absolutely. I try to stop it before I get to that point because I know myself. While we were filming, there was that room that was plastered, that Alex transformed into his deep dive room. I was looking at the little things posted on there. I said, “Let me do a little Google search. What are these?” Because those are real articles that were printed out and plastered on the walls. So that was interesting to look up, for sure.

PopHorror: I agree, if you look into this stuff too deeply, your brain hurts after a while.

Sidney Nicole Rogers: You have to go back, watch a comedy, get your mind off it.

PopHorror: You both mentioned that you’re new to the world of sci-fi acting. Do you see yourselves doing another film like this?

Sidney Nicole Rogers: For sure. This experience for me has been so incredible, and it showed so much for me, just personally and then also within my acting, that I want to continue to grow as a person and trying to figure out the sci-fi world. And then as an actor in the sci-fi world, I want to grow and expand in that so much. So I would absolutely jump on the next opportunity for another sci-fi film, 1000 percent.

Ken Lawson: Yeah, absolutely. I’m actually ready to get on a spaceship and time travel, I’m ready to go. I’m a big Star Trek, Star Wars fan, so I enjoy being able to see all these different galaxies and things that go on when I’m watching sci-fi. By me being introduced to it in this manner, it just makes me want to do more.

PopHorror: Do you have any final words regarding Lumina? What sets this film apart from other alien-based movies? And why should people come see it?

Ken Lawson: I think that there’s such a diverse cast, it’s going to be able to hit so many different personalities. And the fact that we shot it in Morocco. There’s so many different visuals that you’re gonna see when you watch this film, some things you’ve never seen before, like when we were in the villa. I’ve never been to a villa. That’s the scene where you have Delilah and Patricia sitting on the couch, that whole landscape was amazing. And when people look at it on film, they’re gonna wonder, “Where is this at?” So that’s gonna be something that’s gonna make people wanna check it out. The rovers, our adventure onto this planet called Mars, you’re gonna be very interested in that.

Sidney Nicole Rogers: Everything that Ken said, and especially what he said about the talent. I mean, obviously I’m biased. I love you guys so much. This crew and this cast, I feel like our bond really shows on camera. And then also Lumina is a love story as well. Alex loves Tatiana so much that he will go to any length to go and find her. But it’s also a love story about friendship because for us to say “yes” to the call to go with Alex to the unknown shows that we love Alex and Tatiana that much. So Gino really put a different spin on a traditional sci-fi alien movie because there’s so much heart and love at the core.

PopHorror: It wasn’t your typical invasion film.

Ken Lawson: They’re not looking for us, we’re looking for them.

PopHorror: The biggest mystery for me while watching was, what does Alex do for a living to live at the villa? It’s beautiful!

Sidney Nicole Rogers: His parents’ money!

Thanks for speaking with us, Sidney and Ken! Lumina is playing in theaters now.

Photos courtesy of Goldove Entertainment.