On May 5, 2013, I got a chance to sit down with the creator behind Intertwine, Dylan Wayne Lawrence, in response to an article I had written earlier with Eastern Oregon University Alumni, Lindsay Freeland, about the T.V. pilot, Intertwine. The following are excerpts from that conversation:
Chuck: So what’s new with you? What’s all exciting and new with Dylan Wayne Lawrence?
Dylan: Well, it’s mostly Intertwine (laughs). Although I did get cast in a film project shooting in Utah called, “Give Me Children.” It’s my first out of state project so it’s pretty exciting.
Chuck: Oh good, good. So are you a Portalnd kid or did you move there?
Dylan: I was actually born in La Grande, Oregon, but moved to Alaska when I was eight. I lived there for nine years. When I was 16, I moved back to Portland. One day I came home and told my mom I was going to live with my dad so I could pursue acting.
Chuck: So tell me, what is Intertwine?
Dylan: Well, Intertwine embodies our innate human instinct to survive. Specifically, the immoral acts we as humans will execute in order to conquer and stay at the head of the food chain. Pretty much, it’s about characters living in a dog eat dog world. As the name implies, the series will entangle its viewers in a web of love, deceit, and temptation. These three words will constantly be explored throughout the series. Another big theme in the series will be justice…what is it? How do you define it? When is justice served and when is it lost? All our lead characters seek some type of justice. My character, Trevor, for instance, will stop at nothing to expose his father-in-law for the monster he really is. Even if that means becoming more monstrous than the man he despises most. In short, it’s a very dark show. It’s like the hit series Revenge and Mad Men…so I’ve been told.
Chuck: In my first interview, Lindsay talked a little bit about how Intertwine ‘s a pretty bold project to take on. You guys are trying to pitch a T.V. show to major networks and are very, very independent. How’s that process been treatin’ you?
Dylan: Pretty well, actually. I’ve been pretty fortunate and a lot of things have fallen in to our plate perfectly. Mainly, I’m referring to our pre-production phase of the project. Somehow we were lucky enough to get the funding we needed, cast all the right actors, and find the most BA crew I’ve ever worked with. Plus, we landed ourselves a great sponsor in California, ACTZ Cosmetics, who helped with funding and marketing. Now I’m not going to lie and say this project has been a walk in park, because it really hasn’t, but with the direction everything is going, it sure seems to look that way. In reality, my co-producer, Areana Cirina, and I are very new to this process. We’ve made several mistakes along the way and have had to really focus our attention on how to pitch Intertwine the right way. We’ve done countless amounts of research and have talked to local producers in town and quite a few producers out of state to do so. I feel confident in the knowledge we have learned and know we’re headed in the right direction. We actually start calling and emailing producers at the end of this month.
Chuck: I mean we’re talking independent, we’re talking true independent.
Dylan: Correct. We’re pretty much as independent as it gets (laughs). However, Areana and I have gotten numerous connections throughout Portland and in California. As we’re both actors, we’ve been pretty fortunate to meet a lot of generous and talented individuals who have given us a helping hand. Thank you Christen Kimbell, Houston K. Hughes, Mark Willner, and Kimber Dion…just to name a few.
Chuck: So now you have this pilot; your baby is ready to start walking and talking. Are you down to the final cut on that or are you still tweaking.
Dylan: It’s actually a spec pilot. It’s a 14 minute “mini pilot” meant to entice possible producers, networks, and sponsors into wanting our show. It’s pretty much like a really long trailer and has been done for about two months now. We did, however, recently go back and add text animation to the Intertwine logo. Other than that, the project is complete.
Chuck: You mentioned the research side of it. That’s gotta be a different angle for you being an actor. With you getting in front of the camera and then having to be so involved behind the camera, was it pretty exhausting?
Dylan: It was very exhausting. We had five months of pre-production and that entire time was a big learning experience for me. I know Areana and I lost a lot of sleep throughout this entire ordeal. We did try to make things easier on ourselves by hiring a production company to come on board the project, but no one really seemed to grasp the Intertwine concept we envisioned. After countless interviews with production companies, we decided to open up our own film production company, Intertwine Productions. Pretty much, we had to run the entire show, which was fine, but it had taken its toll once filming was complete. Not only did we film 18 to 21 hour films days, but Areana and I had to be the first to set and the last to leave each day. We were in-charge of making sure everything was in order: cast, crew, scheduling, props, locations, catering, etc…and on top of that technical stuff, act in almost every scene. We’re pretty optimistic her and I, but managed to pull things off very well. We did have an amazing crew that made our lives a lot simpler though. When it was our time to act, that’s all we had to worry about. We could trust everyone to get done what needed to be done and felt strongly that the spec’s Director, Scott Ballard, would capture our vision.
Chuck: Is it too much to give away if you tell us a little about the triangle of the three characters? There’s Areana and, I don’t know the other one.
Dylan: Jessica Lynn Skinner.
Chuck: One is your wife and one is your girlfriend, right?
Dylan: Close. One’s my wife and one’s my mistress, which on the surface seems very cliché, but nothing is ever as it seems, like every good T.V. series knows. Jessica Lynn Skinner plays my wife, Kristi, and Areana Cirina plays, Jesse, the vixen. I don’t want to give too much away, but know that these characters and their relationships are very complex. All the characters have their own motives and agendas they’re trying to accomplish. With that known, you can never trust and believe anything these characters say or do. To the outside world, Trevor is having an affair, but dig a little bit deeper and that’s not it at all. Sometimes you have to get close to someone to get closer to someone else, if you get the hint I’m giving.
Chuck: Cool man, Fantastic. Well I can’t wait to see it. I really can’t wait.
Dylan: I’m really excited for the world to know our story. We’ve put a lot of thought and scheming into the series for many seasons to come. I’m ready to start making calls and getting this project out there.
A big thanks and shout out to Dylan Wayne Lawrence, Lindsay Freeland and everyone involved with Intertwine for allowing me to get a behind the scenes look at an exciting and up coming project! Here’s wishing you all the best!
Make sure to stop by their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/IntertwineSeries to learn more about the project!
I’m out!
