‘Reloaded‘ is a mid-sized film that is currently feature in the Toronto Independent Film Festival of Cift and also has won a few awards in other film festivals in 2021. We caught up with George Tounas with an interview on this film.
Darida Rose, UniversalCinema Magazine (UM): What inspired you to create this movie Reloaded‘?
George Tounas (GT): It`s a dystopian possibility of our future, showing a world in which the police is increasingly corrupt, criminals and anarchist take over. The lead character “Jimmy Cloud” stands symbolically for hope and that there`re still good people around who fight for justice and freedom.
(UM): Did you have any expectations from film critics reviewing this film?
(GT): We`re living in a democracy and everybody can have his or her opinion about it. I think that “Reloaded” is an exciting independent action thriller with a modern crime story, great characters, good dialogues, good camera work, great art direction, good music and excellent editing. The actors almost always play first class. The film is extemely good for the very low budget! Due to the budget there are some technical weaknesses, but that doesn’t detract from the enjoyment. Unfortunately, it’s also a bit short because of that. “Reloaded” has already won some awards at various international film festivals, such as for “Best Actor” and “Best Poster”, and was officially selected as “Best Film”, etc. There was also a special cinema screening at CinemaxX. Thanks to all involved for the great work
(UM): What were the biggest challenges during production of this film?
(GT): Producing a feature or medium length film like “Reloaded” with its 41 min. runtime is of course more challenging than producing a short film. Story and script development, casting, pre production, filming and post production in general was a lot of creative and organizational work. The biggest challenge as the leading man (producer, director and leading actor) was to remain healthy, focused, understanding, cool and friendly. It helps a lot that I love what I`m doing and have fun, so it felt mostly natural to master these challenges.
(UM): How long was the film in production?
(GT): From the first ideas to completion it was around 1.5 years in production (development, pre production, filming and post production). Because of Corona restrictions, I had to postpone the shoot a few times, which also affected the script, the cast and the production in general.
(UM): What would you like to be best known for in your projects as a filmmaker?
(GT): I`m super independent. Believe it or not, but I didn`t watch a movie for years now. I don`t want to copy others. The common procedure of film production doesn`t exist in my productions, I`ve got my own rules. I want to produce my things without being influenced by others. So, I want to be best known that I`m a free filmmaker who produces flms that are not like the normal mainstream.
(UM): How did you select the cast for this film?
(GT): I used social media casting pages and IMDb, but also various casting platforms and personal contacts to select the people I wanted for the roles.
(UM): How big of a budget was made for this production?
(GT): The budget was around 100.000 € incl. paid and unpaid working hours of all professionals involved. The real money I`ve received from investors was only a 4-digit amount.
(UM): Do you plan to continue making films, acting, or both in the near future?
(GT): I want to continue with both. I`m an actor and by making films I also get current showreel material and present myself in various roles I can impersonate. As a graduate communication designer I also love to make films, to write and tell stories, to direct, to edit and the whole creative and organizational process.
(UM): Where do you see yourself in five years in the film industry?
(GT): I want to continue to develop and to grow as an actor and filmmaker and hope to produce even bigger and better productions. I`m trying to improve from production to production and have done well so far. I also see myself in bigger international roles in film productions of other filmmakers and production studios.
(UM): Who are your favorite action stars that inspired you to make this film?
(GT): I don`t have any favorite action stars, maybe Sylvester Stallone when I was a teenager decades ago. I don`t want to copy others and I also wasn`t and didn`t want to be inspired from anybody in my performance for “Jimmy Cloud”. I just played this character as believable and authentically as I could. And this is me, the action star in me. Someone new.
© 2021. UniversalCinema Mag.