EMPUSA

The young Spanish actress Laura de Pedro follows in the footsteps of a long tradition of striking actresses working with Paul Naschy--Perla Cristal, Helga Line, Emma Cohen, Mirta Miller, Rosanna Yanni, Julia Saly.... If we judge by the photos released so far from the film and the trailer that was seen on a Spanish interview show, Laura has successfully and impressively entered this honored and respected league of actresses. I asked Laura de Pedro a few questions about herself and her role in EMPUSA, and she graciously consented to answer them. Here is the Laura de Pedro interview:

M: Could you tell us a little about your background and work in film?

Laura: I studied Dramatic Arts in Madrid, and after several short films, I debuted in cinema with the role of the main character in the feature length UNDER THE SNOW, which won the Audience Award for Best Feature at the 2007 VALLADOLID INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL in Spain and was the Official Selection of the 2008 SLAMDANCE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL in the United States. In June 2007, I became part of the cast of EMPUSA, and I have just finished DIARIO DE UNA NINFOMANA under the direction of Christian Molina.

M: How did you get the role of Lilith?

Laura: I found out through the press that there would be a casting call for Paul Naschy's new movie in Barcelona. I phoned and the following day arrived to make a screen test with Angel Mora, the film's producer. One month later they called me to give me the character of Lilith. That was a successful trip!

M: Carlos Aured was the original director of EMPUSA, and then Paul Naschy replaced him. Did the change of a director pose any problems for you?

Laura: Carlos Aured was substituted a few days into the filming. The change didn't pose any problem for me, since practically all my work was done under the direction of Paul Naschy.

M: How did you find working with Paul Naschy?

Laura: To work with Paul was a very intense experience, as he was my director and also my acting partner. He is a very generous actor and with a capacity of spectacular work. We worked side by side, rehearsing for hours every night the scenes that would be filmed the following day, incorporating script changes, looking for new shades to add to my Lilith character, etc. He had very clear vision of what he wanted of me as actress. Paul is enthusiastic about his work, and with this movie he knew what he wanted to say and in his mind he had a very clear idea of how he wanted to make this film. For an actress who is beginning to make her first steps in this profession, to have as a director and acting partner someone like Paul Naschy, one of the greats and a legend of Fantastic Cinema, is to have a master as a teacher.

M: What about Angel Mora, the film's producer?

Laura: With Angel Mora I have maintained a beautiful friendship since we met, when he interviewed me for EMPUSA. He took a chance on me, and I am very grateful for his trust in me giving me this opportunity. Angel, as well as his wife Liliya, were both a great support during the filming. They are two wonderful people.

M: I believe this is your first horror film. Do you like the genre?

Laura: EMPUSA is my first horror movie. In UNDER THE SNOW I played the part of a sweet youth, while the character of Lilith was in a totally different register and a challenge for an actress. Before the shooting, I was advised by Mike Hostench (co-director of Sitges International Film Festival), a great expert of Paul Naschy's work. I watched movies such as EL RETORNO DEL HOMBRE LOBO, LA NOCHE DE WALPURGIS, etc. I studied the work of those wonderful actresses in those films and that helped me to have a wider understanding of horror cinema. I enjoyed getting ready for this character a lot.

M: Did you find some of the filming difficult?

Laura: There were difficult days, without a doubt: One had to rehearse the action scenes until a choreography of movement was created that had all the force and physical violence demanded of the scenes, but without anyone getting hurt. One of the most difficult days, but at the same time the one that I enjoyed very much, came when my acting partner, Cristina Carrión (Cristabel in the movie), and I had a brutal confrontation. That day we filmed in a grotto; there was a lot of humidity and we were barefoot and dressed in just a fine tunic that unfortunately couldn't protect us from the cold. When they yelled "Action!" we were so concentrated in killing each other that we forgot everything, and when they yelled "Cut!" we still continued jumping around, looking at each other with threatening eyes, spitting blood, emitting grunts--everything, so as not to stop and freeze from the cold! The crew laughed heartily along with us, and the scene was brilliant! It was a great day.

M: Was your make-up uncomfortable?

Laura: The make-up of the movie was done by Carmina García and Miguel Corrochano of Make-Up Artist, both brilliant in their field. For the transformation of Lilith, I had a session of more than six hours, and although it was hard to sit still for so many hours, when I looked at myself in the mirror--I was astonished! It was very exciting to go through a physical transformation as the one they achieved.

M: Did you have any problems with the nudity required in the film?

Laura: For an actor, to work the nude is always difficult, but it is also difficult to get undressed emotionally to arrive at what the character needs. Lilith only had one nude scene. Before filming it, we outlined the scene with Paul and Angel Mora. It was only filmed with the necessary people on the set, and I knew what shots would be filmed. The respect that the whole team showed me gave me confidence and made me feel completely comfortable during those moments.

M: What is coming up ahead for you? You have this film with Christian Molina....

Laura: I worked for the first time with Christian Molina after finishing EMPUSA, as main character of one of the episodes of the horror series URBAN LEGENDS, in which Paul also participated. Now I have just finished being directed by him again in DIARIO DE UNA NINFOMANA, from Filmax and Canónigo Films, which will open up here in Spain toward the summer of 2008.

M: Thank you very much, Laura. We wish you the best of success and hope to see you in EMPUSA very soon!

Reader Scott Standridge informed me of this obvious source for the French subtitling of EMPUSA. It's a John Keat's poem:

La Belle Dame Sans Merci

Ballad

I.

O WHAT can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge has wither’d from the lake,
And no birds sing.

II.

O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms!
So haggard and so woe-begone?
The squirrel’s granary is full,
And the harvest’s done.

III.

I see a lily on thy brow
With anguish moist and fever dew,
And on thy cheeks a fading rose
Fast withereth too.

IV.

I met a lady in the meads,
Full beautiful—a faery’s child,
Her hair was long, her foot was light,
And her eyes were wild.

V.

I made a garland for her head,
And bracelets too, and fragrant zone;
She look’d at me as she did love,
And made sweet moan.

VI.

I set her on my pacing steed,
And nothing else saw all day long,
For sidelong would she bend, and sing
A faery’s song.

VII.

She found me roots of relish sweet,
And honey wild, and manna dew,
And sure in language strange she said—
“I love thee true.”

VIII.

She took me to her elfin grot,
And there she wept, and sigh’d fill sore,
And there I shut her wild wild eyes
With kisses four.

IX.

And there she lulled me asleep,
And there I dream’d—Ah! woe betide!
The latest dream I ever dream’d
On the cold hill’s side.

X.

I saw pale kings and princes too,
Pale warriors, death-pale were they all;
They cried—“La Belle Dame sans Merci
Hath thee in thrall!”

XI.

I saw their starved lips in the gloam,
With horrid warning gaped wide,
And I awoke and found me here,
On the cold hill’s side.

XII.

And this is why I sojourn here,
Alone and palely loitering,
Though the sedge is wither’d from the lake,
And no birds sing.

--------------------------

The above painting is by John William Waterhouse, dated 1893.