Interview: Anne K. Black, director and co-screenwriter of "Dawn of the Dragonslayer."

Last week I reviewed the film Dawn of the Dragonslayer, a fun independent fantasy film.  This week, I spoke to director/co-screenwriter Anne K. Black about some of the decisions behind the film.

Director Anne K. Black on set.

Me: What sparked the original story idea, and how did the script develop?

Anne:  This project began with an assignment to write a fantasy script that was low budget and included a dragon(!).  We wrote an initial script for about six months and when it was finished, realized it was way too big.  We ended up scrapping it and wrote Paladin [the original title] in just over a month.  The scope was small and a coming of age seemed appropriate.

The scenery is spectacular; even the supposedly run-down castle is visually striking. How did the setting influence the script?  

When we first arrived in Ireland the castle we'd originally planned on using was, unbeknownst to us, surrounded by suburban neighborhood!  We scrambled to find a new place and, through nothing short of a miracle, found Fauddaun Castle.  It is one of the prettiest places I've ever been.  We changed the script to suit the castle, and moved quite a few scenes to that setting. The sea cliffs in the third act were another location treasure.  The third act used to be in several additional locations but we consolidate because the cliffs were just so dramatic.

Your cast is mostly unknowns (to me, at least), but they're uniformly good, and they fit effortlessly into the period setting. How hard was it finding that sort of actor?

We were so lucky to find our actors.  We posted auditions on the Internet and thousands of people sent audition tapes.  You know instantly when you've seen someone special–their voice, their eyes, the way they react to the lines they are hearing.  Our actors were all tremendously hard working and all of them, without exception have beautiful voices–which, I believe,  in turn, gives them a charisma and watchability.

How did the final design for the dragon develop?

The dragon's "money shot."

The dragon, the dragon, the dragon.  That thing was a lot of work!  Wow!  We used pre-Raphaelite paintings as a design source on this film.  The result is a look which is not strictly period, but rather a romanticized version of the medieval period…that means there are quite a few, although controlled, anachronistic elements.  Because of this, it seemed appropriate to have the dragon look more like a fairy tale beast rather than a viable living reptile.

Thanks to Anne and producer/co-writer Kynan Griffin for taking time out from their current project The Virgin and the Warrior to arrange this interview.  You can find out more about Dawn of the Dragonslayer at its Facebook page here.