August 2008 | blackfilm.com | THE UNBORN | An Interview with Meagan Good

August 2008

THE UNBORN | An Interview with Meagan Good

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THE UNBORN
An Interview with Meagan Good
By Wilson Morales

August 4, 2008

At this year's San Diego Comic Con, Meagan Good made her first appearance to plug not only one, but two upcoming films she has coming up. Besides 'Saw V', which comes out later this year, she's also starring with Odette Yustman and Cam Gigante and Idris Elba in David Goyer's The Unborn. The story is about a young woman fighting the spirit that is slowly taking possession of her.

In speaking to blackfilm.com, Good talks about her role in the film, her love for horror films, and her upcoming project as a producer.

What role do you play in the film?

Meagan Good: I play Romy who's the best friend of Casey, played by Odette Yustman. Casey believes that she's being hunted by her dead twin and I'm trying to convince her that she's not crazy. Over time things start happening and help her get through it. I try to be her support system.

That's sounds creepy. Did it spook you?

MG: It did a little bit especially to find out about the things that David (Goyer) had brought to the script and the diffference he had for the twins.

Did you do any research?

MG: I did some in terms of the twins stuff and whose older by how many seconds and spiritual things when one passes. We were shown pictures on people in asylums and some of them looked spooky like hands behind a shoulder. I've seen a ghost before.

When did you see a ghost?

MG: Strangely enough at Sundance. It was my first year there and I had this apartment to myself and I was already freaked out because I was there alone and I couldn't get to sleep, and finally just when i started to fall asleep, I had this dream of two of my girlfriends staying in my room saying 'Don't wake me up' and I dreamed that one of them threw a cell phone above where I was sleeping to try to wake me up and I woke up right then and I thought the dream was for real and when I looked in the mirror in my room i could a black figure crouching in my bed where my friends would have been if it was real. The room was not dark because the TV was on and you could see everything around you. You could see reflections and then all of a sudden, it stood up really quick and ran out.

How do you get over that?

MG: I woke up. I called my mom, told her the story and she was tellinmg me to call the manager of the festival. She wanted to come and I told her I would have to open the door and if I do, I'll make a run for it. So I ran out the room, got another one, and was still freaked out. I never saw it again.

How was it working with David Goyer?

MG: He's awesome. He's brilliant. He knows exactly what he wants. The picture was already set and it was a just of matter of us shooting what he created and wanted. A big thing for me is when a director lets you go with instincts, and he did with me and odette. As the writer of the script, he asked me for my input on some of the lines.

When you do a film like this one and 'Saw V' and 'Venom', what do you get from the horror genre?

MG: I just think the biggest thing for me is what got me to be an actress was seeing 'Halloween 4' and seeing 'Halloween 5' and saying to myself that I really want to do that. I was running around the house and recreating those scenes. I just really love horror movies. It's not that I try to do a lot of them but if something good falls on my lap and I think that it will turn out really cool and I'm in love with the character, I just go for it. As long as I balance it with oither stuff, I'll keep doing it.

Will you do something original in this film as opposed to seeing the female running through the woods as we often do in this genre?

MG: I think there is a little bit of that and there's also something different. The way David wrote the script and the way he goes about with the approach of everything that happens, the format is different. The story is not predictable except for when it gets down to the wire and you known what's about to happen. For me, I like being both. As a kid, I dreamed about being the girl in the woods and looking behind her shoulder. I would pretend to walk around the house in the middle of the night looking in the bathroom as if someone was there even though no one is.

Did you get any scenes with Idris Elba?

MG: I didn't get a chance to work with Idris on this film, but I know him and he's a sweetheart, and I 'm glad that he really talented and gets to showcase it.

Do you have anything else coming out besides 'Saw V'?

MG: I'm producing a film called 'Sundays in Fort Greene'. It's a really cool character named Greta and she's bisexual and she's trying to figure where love lies for her. She has problems behind how her mother and father's relationship is and the way their marriage and it's really her and her sister. It shows the way your parents are and how you view and approach relationships. So it's like a dysfunctional family thing similiar to 'Running with Scissors'.

Who will play the siste?

MG: Her name is Tamara Bass. She's actually an upcoming actress. She was in 'Baby Boy' as Tyrese's other baby mother and in a couple of other things. She actually wrote the project.

When do you go into production?

MG: We start shooting September 8. It's been a two year process to get the money and people to believe in thescript and thank God we are in a season where there is nothing else going on and everyone wants to work. It's an independent film and people want to jump in and do it because there's nothing else going on.

Are you getting any tips on producing?

MG: Well, the first time I did it was with a small film I did called 'Miles From Home' and I did it with no rules and no real understanding, and had to have my hand slapped a few times before I realize how things were. This time I took more advice and had mentors, but really it's goung for the gusto with something you believe in and you using the connections that you have and going out there enjoying what you do.

What's your scariest movie?

MG: Besides 'Halloween 4 & 5', 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose' is one of my favorite scariest films. Just because it doesn't play in the realm of something thst more than likely isn't possible but plays completely in the 'not only that could happen, but something that did happen'.

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