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Romance Rocks Revelations!
Co-Stars On and Off the Screen
At a Glance:
Frank J. Hernandez
Occupation: Operations Support Engineer (computer networking guy)
Location: Jackson NJ
In front of the camera: Declan, devil-may-care smuggler and doer of daring deeds
Behind the scenes: Propmaker, Production Assistant
At a Glance:
Gina Hernandez
Occupation: Assistant Manager for a video store chain and wife to Frank "Brutally
Handsome" Hernandez *wink*
Location: Jackson NJ
In front of the camera: Taryn Anwar, badass heroine
Behind the scenes: Costumer
 
RTOF: So, you must be big STAR WARS fans, huh?
GINA: When the movie first came out, my younger brother and I saw it 27 times in the theatre. I can honestly say, I've only seen the other ones a couple of times each, and Phantom Menace never all the way through. Basically Frank is the sci-fi geek. (laughs)
FRANK: (completely deadpan) No, not really. (smiles) Just kidding, of course I'm a big Star Wars fan. Under the name Captain Logan, I've run a Star Trek /Science Fiction fan club called the U.S.S. Integrity, off and on, for more than ten years. We have, on occasion, mixed in a fair amount of Star Wars stuff into that. My friends and I have played various Star Wars RPG campaigns for years at a time.
As for Star Wars itself, for me the first two movies are really the best and had the most magic to them. I remember watching them for the first time and really having a sense of being elsewhere. That's why I'm glad REVELATIONS takes place when it does, right before Episode IV.
RTOF: What's your background? Do you have previous acting experience?
FRANK: Yeah we've both done a lot of community theatre over the years.
RTOF: How did you hear about REVELATIONS? What made you want to be involved?
FRANK: Shane (Felux, the director) approached us at one of the Star Trekcons we all go to and told us about it. It was funny, because I was kind of sick, and we were just fighting our way through the dealers room and suddenly there was Shane talking really fast about this project he was working on, and how he'd like Gina and me (mostly Gina) to be involved.
I was like, "yeah, great, whatever, I gotta go now." but I took his card and gave him a call a couple of days after the con and things just went on from there. We started e-mailing each other and we really synched up. We found we had a good deal in common. The energy that Shane brings to this is really contagious. We couldn't help but get caught up in the excitement of it all. I think that's true for a lot of the people involved.
RTOF: It's been over a year since you signed on. What kind of commitment has it been for you? What kinds of changes have you had to make in your lives? How do you keep your enthusiasm up?
FRANK: Well, it's just been brutal really. I mean we're driving down to DC or
Virginia weekend after weekend, for shoots, fight practice, set building, costuming, what-have-you... it's four hours each way, you know... and then when we get there, you PanicStruck guys keep us up until all hours of the night talking and working, and then it's get up early for makeup, and then we do our thing, take after take, and it's back to watch the dailies, and it's critical comment after critical comment, just beating us down and of course there's no pay, I mean, really. Why do we put with it at all? That's what I want to know!
(laughs) I'm joking, of course. I can just picture Shane reading all this and cursing and yelling and getting really upset. (laughs) RELAX, SHANE! Here's the truth of it. Shane and Dawn (Cowings, the Producer) are great people, in addition to being really talented. On every trip we've made down there they've opened up their home to us and gone way out of their way to make us feel comfortable and welcome. That's true for everyone down there. They're a really tight knit group and they're a lot of fun.
It's true that it's a lot of work and we're up all night, but that's at least as much our fault as it is anyone's. We all get together and we all just have so much to share and so much we want to tell each other -- ideas, insights, experiences. Really we wouldn't have it any other way and we wouldn't have missed the chance to do this for the world.
RTOF: The pressure's on and the tension's high. What's it like working with your spouse?
FRANK: (laughs) You're kidding right. We've raised four teenagers together! You don't really think the stress from this project could compare to that do you? Gina and I have been through much more stressful things than this. We're a good team and we keep each other going. I tell her when she needs to take it up a notch and she tells me when I need to take it down a notch.
RTOF: And what do your kids think of the whole thing?
FRANK: Well... I don't know. They all have their own view of it, I guess. Jessica and Nick seem pretty supportive and enthusiastic. Talia is just embarrassed and I haven't heard very much from Trystan about it.
GINA: Honestly, I think the whole thing took them by surprise. All of their friends think it's really cool, which basically seems to aggravate them. (laughs) But they've been great. It's been a big commitment for them, too. And they haven't burned the house down yet!!
RTOF: Ever done stage combat before? What has practice been like? What kind of training do you do?
FRANK: Yeah, a bit, but nothing as serious as this. It's funny because I have a fair amount of formal training -- Aikido, fencing, and so on-- and I'm the only principal who doesn't use a sword at all! Oh well maybe in my next project. As for REVELATIONS, I try to help Gina train but Shane and Nick (Jarmilla, the fight co-coordinator) each have very fixed ideas of what they want, and I have own my way of doing things, and they don't always agree. So Gina would get two and sometimes three different ideas, or takes, on how to do something... which of course just ends up frustrating her. I've just stopped trying to help too much, which is very tough for me because I am so used to getting my own way. One thing that I did enjoy was getting to come up with a bit of hand-to-hand action between me and one of the rogues; that was pretty cool. (laughs) It will probably never be seen in the final cut but I enjoyed doing it.
GINA: I hadn't done anything before. If fact, it was really intimidating. But I think I pulled it off, and I'm in the best shape I've been in in my life! Thanks Shane and Nick!!!
RTOF: What's it like seeing yourself on-screen? Can you watch yourself or do you get caught up in nit-picking?
FRANK: Working on screen is very different from the plays I've done. When I watch the dailies I feel like, "Ah, now I see... I wish I could do that again." When you do a play it's very big because you're on stage and the audience is across the room from you and they need to see what you're doing so you need to project. When you're on film and the camera is right in your face it's different, you can be more subtle, more discreet, and the viewer still gets it. (laughs) Hopefully!
GINA: Wow! Umm... It's a little strange. I feel I nit-pick a lot about myself. "Oh, should have done this." Or, " Yikes, is my nose REALLY that big???!!!" But really, It's cool to see what you've done, all strung together. And Shane and Jack (Foley, the Director of Photography) and Dawn really know how to make us look great!
RTOF: Frank, you've also done some prop and set building for the movie. Tell us about it.
FRANK: Well, I had to work with Shane on that stuff, and... uh... you know, he's crazy! (laughs) Really Shane and Chris Santana (Props) are great to work with. I had a little experience with that stuff from the Integrity, building the transporter and the shuttle and some prop stuff, so Shane asked me to help out a couple of times. (smiles) Only when he was really desperate though. (laughs) But it was really cool to be able to help build my own character's ship.
RTOF: What's been the most unexpected/surprising thing related to the movie? The biggest challenge? The best thing?
FRANK: Hey, that's three questions!
The most unexpected thing for me was being cast at all. I mean, we really only knew these guys from the Shore Leave and Farpoint conventions and the Masquerades where we've all been doing costumes and skits for years in competition with each other. Of course I basically rode Gina's coat tails into this project, she's the one they really wanted. (smiles)
GINA: I HATE when he says that! (nudging him playfully) He's a wonderful actor, (as you'll see in the movie). But I have to agree, the most surprising thing WAS being cast. We still talk about that. I mean, we could have been really horrible actors, or jerks to work with, or unreliable, but Shane and Dawn put this faith in us, and I think it all worked out. The biggest challenge, for me, was the fight choreography. All of the guys were already trained in some sort of fighting... stuff... (laugh) and they all made it look so easy!
FRANK: The biggest challenge for me has been getting used to not being in charge.
GINA: He's not kidding!!
FRANK: I've tried really hard to be supportive of Shane and Dawn and help out where ever I can, and at the same time, to let them lead and that's really tough for me. I'm used to being the Captain if you will, the guy in charge of the big project, so I'm always looking for a solution, a better way. I make suggestions and sometimes that's welcome and sometimes it's not.
I think it's tough for them too because they need the help, but at the same time, they don't want to feel like their losing control of their project and they both have really strong personalities and a very clear vision of what they're after. Gina helps me with that a lot, though. (laughs) She's always giving me silent cues when it's time to just shut up and do what I'm told.
GINA: That's why he keeps me around!!
FRANK: Far and away the best thing has been the friendships we've made. As I said before, this project has been tough, it's a lot of work, not just for us but for everyone. Sometimes tensions run high, and people get angry or defensive, but at the same time we're forging really strong bonds throughout the entire process.
Remember, too, that the rest of our lives don't stop just because we're working on this project. So when something happens to one of us, everyone feels it, and we've all become very supportive of each other. Sometimes in the heat of the moment people can lose their perspective and say something they don't mean.... You know, "That's a stupid thing to say and you're a stupid person for saying it!" (laughs)
But at the same time, when Gina got sick, for instance, and had to be hospitalized for a week, there was no doubt about the fact that everyone was very concerned for her. If anything serious happens all the blather and frustration are forgotten and we pull together. We've become like a family in that respect.
GINA: Everyone has been wonderful. We hope to keep up the friendships we've made here, after shooting is finished.
RTOF: What have you learned from this experience?
FRANK: Too much to list here really. I mean, I got to play assistant director on one of the shoots -- stand behind Shane and Jack and watch the monitors and listen as they set the lights, tested the sound, etc., and in general did all the things that make up directing a movie. I learned a tremendous amount just in that one day and that's just one example. No one will be giving a bullhorn again anytime soon -- don't ask! (laughs) -- but I had fun and I learned a lot.
GINA: : Well, I appreciate what the big stars go through! It's way different than doing a community theatre play. I think everyone who plans to be a film actor should be able to try something like this first. It was very enlightening. I don't watch movies the same anymore.
RTOF: What are your hopes for REVELATIONS?
FRANK: My hope is that it will get picked up as an ongoing television series, so that we can continue doing this for the next seven years. The Adventures of Declan and Taryn... and sometimes Cade. (laughs) Really. Why has there never been a serious Star Wars television series? We've had five Star Trek series and not one serious Star Wars series. (smiles)
Seriously, my hope is that people will see what this company can do with no money when they set their minds to getting something done and that someone will invest in them, and give them a real budget, and let them do something really big and original.
GINA: I would love to see everyone involved make it big, and I think it can happen. I've heard stranger stories!
 
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