Posted 11:55 pm Saturday, June 16, 2012
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Area Actress Olivia Hardt Stars In SyFy's 'Arachnoquake' at Liberty Hall
By STEWART SMITH
Entertainment Editor
Audiences will get to see local actress Olivia Hardt be a woman of action as she drives speed boats and fights off monstrous, killer spiders in a special screening of the SyFy Channel original movie “Arachnoquake” at Liberty Hall next week.
In the tradition of other SyFy camp classics such as “Mega Python vs. Gat-oroid” and “Sharktopus,” “Arachnoquake” features a horde of giant, killer albino spiders unleashed by an earthquake onto the unsuspecting Louisiana landscape.
Although Ms. Hardt auditioned for it on a lark (she was essentially “in the neighborhood” in New Orleans auditioning for a Will Ferrell comedy the same day), it ended up being a pretty great experience, she said.
“It's a SyFy movie and I'm not even into those things to begin with. I'm a girl. I didn't think I would enjoy watching it, but I did and it was great,” she said. “The director and the team and the editors, they're so phenomenal that they made it good. I think it'll do good for the SyFy network.”
Entertainment Editor
Audiences will get to see local actress Olivia Hardt be a woman of action as she drives speed boats and fights off monstrous, killer spiders in a special screening of the SyFy Channel original movie “Arachnoquake” at Liberty Hall next week.
In the tradition of other SyFy camp classics such as “Mega Python vs. Gat-oroid” and “Sharktopus,” “Arachnoquake” features a horde of giant, killer albino spiders unleashed by an earthquake onto the unsuspecting Louisiana landscape.
Although Ms. Hardt auditioned for it on a lark (she was essentially “in the neighborhood” in New Orleans auditioning for a Will Ferrell comedy the same day), it ended up being a pretty great experience, she said.
“It's a SyFy movie and I'm not even into those things to begin with. I'm a girl. I didn't think I would enjoy watching it, but I did and it was great,” she said. “The director and the team and the editors, they're so phenomenal that they made it good. I think it'll do good for the SyFy network.”
Her character, Petra, is a bit of a tough chick as she and her brother, Paul (Bug Hall) take the lead in helping to defend a group of people (including Edward Furlong and Tracey Gold) caught in the middle of the arachnid invasion. As such, the part provided a bit of a departure from her previous work with appearances in “Epic Movie,” “The Mentalist” and “Getting Back to Zero.” Ms. Hardt said Petra allowed her to take charge in a fun way and even gave her the opportunity to do all her own stunts.
“It's a pretty action-packed movie. We're running through swamps. I'm driving a twin-engine boat, then I'm driving this enormous tourism boat with all these people on it and we're being chased by this giant spider and there are helicopters storming above us,” she said. “I did all my own stunts, which the director was pretty impressed. He told me, 'I don't typically get a dainty female on my set who wants to do all of my own stunts,' and I did all my own stunts but one.”
Originally from McKinney, Ms. Hardt came to Tyler after a stint in Los Angeles in order to take care of her father as he was suffering from some medical issues. Given Tyler's proximity to Dallas and Louisiana, where more and more casting and filming productions are taking place, and thanks to generous tax breaks, Ms. Hardt decided that Tyler would be an ideal place to stay, while still managing to keep her burgeoning acting career alive.
But even though she has her sights set on bigger productions than fare such as “Arachnoquake,” working on the TV movie is solid work. She realizes she can't look at a project as beneath her.
“It's a pretty action-packed movie. We're running through swamps. I'm driving a twin-engine boat, then I'm driving this enormous tourism boat with all these people on it and we're being chased by this giant spider and there are helicopters storming above us,” she said. “I did all my own stunts, which the director was pretty impressed. He told me, 'I don't typically get a dainty female on my set who wants to do all of my own stunts,' and I did all my own stunts but one.”
Originally from McKinney, Ms. Hardt came to Tyler after a stint in Los Angeles in order to take care of her father as he was suffering from some medical issues. Given Tyler's proximity to Dallas and Louisiana, where more and more casting and filming productions are taking place, and thanks to generous tax breaks, Ms. Hardt decided that Tyler would be an ideal place to stay, while still managing to keep her burgeoning acting career alive.
But even though she has her sights set on bigger productions than fare such as “Arachnoquake,” working on the TV movie is solid work. She realizes she can't look at a project as beneath her.
“Everybody kind of says they set out to do this or that in their acting career, but when it comes down to it, you audition. This is the most competitive industry in the world. Steven Spielberg said that between trying to win 10 gold medals in the Olympics and making it in acting, it's harder to make it in acting, and that is the honest truth. Every room you walk in, there are a thousand pretty girls and you have to be that one that's working so hard on your craft in order to get that part,” she said. “I wanted to do more on the comedy side and maybe with a couple of action-packed movies. I wanted a variety. But when it comes down to it, you audition and you play the parts you get starting out, you can't be choosy. If you're choosy, you'll never make any money.”
But even with a (relatively) low budget, “Arachnoquake” still presented an acting challenge given how special effects-heavy the story is.
“You have to be scared and you have to react to these spiders that are chasing you, but they're not there. You're imagining,” she said. “You've got the director in front of you with his hands out going, 'Spider! Spider!' Or they'll put a little piece of tape and say, 'OK, that's it right there.' And I'll just be like, 'At least tell me when it pops into the frame so I know what's going on.' Your reference points are nothing and you have to make something out of nothing.”
In all, Ms. Hardt described the production as a memorable, fun experience as she drew close to her fellow cast members and crew. It helped that everyone seemed to understand just what sort of movie they were making.
“Everyone there understands. Everyone there is laughing. We're making fun of certain lines and scenes in the script. Everyone is having a good time,” she said. “Even the movie, I watched it for the first time a couple days ago, it's got this really great, funny undertone. There are parts that are intended to be funny where you laugh out loud. It was a fun movie.”
“Arachnoquake” wills screen at Liberty Hall at 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 23. Tickets are $7. For more information, call 903-595-1521 or visit www.libertytyler.com.
But even with a (relatively) low budget, “Arachnoquake” still presented an acting challenge given how special effects-heavy the story is.
“You have to be scared and you have to react to these spiders that are chasing you, but they're not there. You're imagining,” she said. “You've got the director in front of you with his hands out going, 'Spider! Spider!' Or they'll put a little piece of tape and say, 'OK, that's it right there.' And I'll just be like, 'At least tell me when it pops into the frame so I know what's going on.' Your reference points are nothing and you have to make something out of nothing.”
In all, Ms. Hardt described the production as a memorable, fun experience as she drew close to her fellow cast members and crew. It helped that everyone seemed to understand just what sort of movie they were making.
“Everyone there understands. Everyone there is laughing. We're making fun of certain lines and scenes in the script. Everyone is having a good time,” she said. “Even the movie, I watched it for the first time a couple days ago, it's got this really great, funny undertone. There are parts that are intended to be funny where you laugh out loud. It was a fun movie.”
“Arachnoquake” wills screen at Liberty Hall at 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 23. Tickets are $7. For more information, call 903-595-1521 or visit www.libertytyler.com.
