Next month, InByTheEye Films will debut a new webseries inspired by the Wild Hunt of folklore and the Greek myth of Daphne and Apollo. Infused with a Victorian aesthetic, the series follows the trials of a troubled young wife (Marie) and a sarcastic butler (Sullivan) who find themselves the prey of the Hunt. In order to elude the Captain of the Furious Host and their fate at his hands, each must beat him at his own game and discover what importance Daphne – once the Captain’s prey, now his muse – holds to their own stories. In the end, only one will triumph… and survive.
Although the trailer is not yet available, – we’ll be sure to post it here as soon as it is – I was able to sit down with Lisa Stock, the creative powerhouse behind InByTheEye Films, to talk briefly about The Wild Hunt.
Deborah: Tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind The Wild Hunt.
Lisa: I’ve always loved the legend. It’s one of those you carry around inside and then when you’re out in the forest alone you start to wonder who you might run into. Like a good ghost story you can’t shake – and don’t want to! Then you have to ask yourself – how much does myth and your belief in it really influence your life? Beyond spooking yourself at night. I’ve actually given this charge to the character of the Captain of the Wild Hunt. He finds it quite fascinating when someone believes he doesn’t exist – and engages his victims in lively conversations about scientific facts vs. one’s own beliefs. (Something I also address in Titania.) You can rationalize a fear away, but it always comes creeping back up to take hold of you again. So, let’s talk about what’s real and what isn’t…
Deborah: How did you come by the truly fascinating decision to mix Daphne in with the Wild Hunt?
Lisa: It came to me quite simply and unexpectedly. I was writing a scene where the Captain was pursuing a woman whose lover he had just taken. He wants them both. But I wanted her to get away and as I’m trying to think of how she would escape him, the myth of Daphne came to me – and the idea that she could be consumed and protected by the forest by turning into a tree. And the Captain (played by Tom Ross, who aside from being an actor is a real-life horse trainer) will be quite perplexed by this. He’s never lost one – he can’t. He’s Death and eventually he catches up to us all. Yet here’s Daphne, not alive and not dead – but trapped in a state between the two. I do expand a bit on that myth and give her more to do than just peer out from the trees! She will become quite a player in the fates of Marie and Sullivan.
Deborah: Why set it in the Victorian era?
Lisa: I love the time period and the look. Having said that – we’re taking liberties, note Marie’s bright pink hair! So, it’s just “suggestive” of the era. I think it’s the romanticism that draws me, and then putting something darker into the middle of that core that makes you think twice about how things look on the surface compared to how they really are underneath. And who doesn’t love to dress up in those clothes!
Deborah: How many episodes do you expect this web series to run, and what’s your ideal production and airing schedule?
Lisa: Initially, six episodes after the pilot. And who knows? Maybe more after that – but I have six written that completes the stories of Marie (played by Catherine Mancusco) and Sullivan (will be played by Seth Harris – who you saw portray Brother in “Brother & Sister“). After that – the Captain could move to new ground… The pilot, which plays like a good old-fashioned ghost story, will air in May on our YouTube Channel, and then production on the other episodes will resume once I’m finished with the Titania Prequel, sometime in the summer.
Deborah: Thank you, Lisa, for taking the time to answer a few questions!
In addition to production on The Wild Hunt, InByTheEye Films has recently been working to produce a short prequel to Titania, the first installment in The Medisaga Trilogy, a retelling of the 3 Wishes Fairy Fest in Cornwall, England, Lisa and company have a timetable on which to produce the prequel. The prequel is designed to stand on its own, being sent out to international film fests, and will also serve as the proposal to secure funding for Titania itself. The Titania prequel is also a crowdfunded project with a May 20th, 2010 deadline: if you have a fiver (or more!) to spare and a yen to support mythic filmmaking, you can find out more at InByTheEye’s site.