A few months ago I got a few moments to chat with Karen Gillan, who, while best known for portraying Amy Pond on Dr. Who and Nebula, the daughter of Thanos, in Avengers: Endgame, is also a director in her own right. Gillan recently made an appearance at Philly’s very own Philadelphia Film Festival to accept an award for Artistic Achievement in Independent Film for her feature length directorial debut The Party’s Just Beginning, the story of a woman coping with the aftermath of the suicide of her best friend. Gillan not only directed The Party’s Just Beginning, which screened at the Film Fest, she also starred in the film.
I got to chat with Gillian about not only Party and her influences as a director, but some of her other endeavors in front of the camera as well. Of course we discussed Avengers: Infinity War/Endgame and Jumanji, but also her previous short film Conventional, a personal favorite of mine, which is a bleak and biting look at a has-been scream queen at a horror convention.
DAN: So what was the moment you wanted to direct, and was there a particular film that inspired you to step behind the camera?
KAREN GILLAN: Well, I actually used to make a lot of horror films while I was growing up with my video camera; it was my prized possession. So, I was kind of directing at a really young age, even as a kid. I would just recruit my parents to be part of the cast and I was directing them and I think I was watching a lot of horror movies at the time, like The Shining and The Exorcist and all sorts of things like that, that I shouldn’t have been watching at that age.
DAN: I didn’t know you were a genre fan growing up. What were some of the horror directors you were into in those formative years?
KAREN GILLAN: Stanley Kubrick is my favorite director of all time, because of The Shining! Wes Craven is a real favorite of mine. Mike Flanagan, for all the modern stuff, and Ti West, who is actually from Philadelphia!
DAN: Actors are usually motivated to direct because they want to say something that isn’t being said or start a discussion about something people are ignoring. What did you want to say with The Party’s Just Beginning?
KAREN GILLAN: Well I definitely wanted to tell a story that was set in my hometown of the Highlands of Scotland, Inveresk. I had read this statistic that the suicide rate is higher in young men than the rest of Scotland, significantly so. So, I definitely wanted to start a conversation about that or at least explore it in some way, which is what the film is.
DAN: Since the film has come out, has come out has there been an upswell in discussion?
KAREN GILLAN: I think it has sparked a little bit of discussion. It hasn’t played in the area yet. It’s about to, so I am intrigued to see what’s about to happen in the next few weeks. But for sure the suicide help groups are aware of the movie and have had an influx of calls of people who I think are inquiring about the subject matter, which I think is great right to start that conversation.
DAN: When you were an actor, what director do you think influenced you the most?
KAREN GILLAN: I’m just a combination of all of the directors I’ve worked with. James Gunn was amazing on the Guardians movies. The Russo Brothers equally amazing, so I can’t choose between them. Then all the directors we had on Dr. Who, and Mike Flanagan, the director I worked with on Oculus, was really great. Jake Kasdan, who directed Jumanji, was just amazing for me in learning about comedic timing.
DAN: So for fans that can’t catch the film on the festival circuit, what are the plans for this film? Is it a smaller release, then VOD?
KAREN GILLAN: I think it’s a smaller theatrical release and then digital shortly after.
DAN: Will we get some physical media in there, possibly a Blu-ray or a DVD?
KAREN GILLAN: OHHHHHHH good question! We should do that! I will tell the distributor.
DAN: I have to ask about The Communards song in the film. I don’t think you use it with actual lyrics in the film, it’s just very much underneath. Starting from the karaoke scene at the beginning, it repeats a couple of times through the movie. Was that your first choice for that? How did you arrive at using that song?
KAREN GILLAN: There was another choice before that. I am blanking on what it was. But actually, this was always my favorite of all the choices. When I came up with that, I was like, ‘Oh, it has to be this one.’ Then I listened to it on repeat while I was working out and I worked out my whole monologue, timed to the song, and then luckily, we did get it cleared. Our music supervisor managed to do that, and I was really, really happy because its perfect. “Don’t Leave Me This Way” is everything the character wants to say.
DAN: Any word on the feature length version of Conventional?
KAREN GILLAN: Oh, my short! We’re still writing that. It’s called Axe Wound now. So it’s based on the short film. Yeah, I mean I can’t say too much other than it’s so good, and I keep trying to talk myself out of doing the lead role, but then I am finding it hard to part with it, so we will see what happens.
DAN: So it’s more of a horror story this time around? We need more female horror directors.
KAREN GILLAN: Yeah. This is more psychological horror, maybe more in the vein of like a female horror, like a Rosemary’s Baby or something like that.
DAN: Moving to Nebula, first off congrats for surviving the Thanos Snap.
KAREN GILLAN: Thank you! It’s my greatest accomplishment yet.
DAN: So I have to ask about Infinity War. It was great to see Nebula finally mix it up with the Avengers. Care to give us a hint of what she is going to be up to in Endgame?
KAREN GILLAN: Ohhhhhhh, what can I say? If I can say anything at all. She is definitely going to join the big fight against Thanos. That’s not much of a shocker considering she hates his guts. I think she is going to have quite a cathartic experience and it’s going to be emotionally quite intense for her.
DAN: That’s one of the things I loved about Infinity War, that we finally got some real payoff in your and Gamora’s story. Was there something you drew on for that? Because it was one of my favorite parts of the film.
KAREN GILLAN: Aww thanks! Me too! That’s the most interesting part of the character for me is being this overlooked sibling and Gamora was always the favorite and better at fighting. What that means and what that does to a person. Luckily, I am an only child so I’ve never experienced that, and I really kind of had to use my imagination on that. Thankfully I didn’t have any truth to call on for that. But it’s a really interesting dynamic for sure, and I want them to find their relationship and learn how to love each other.
DAN: What else do you have coming up?
KAREN GILLAN: I just finished a movie called, Call Of The Wild, which is based on the novel. So, I think that is going to be beautiful, and yeah, I don’t know after that, actually. Oh, and the next Avengers, can’t forget that!
This interview has been edited for clarity.