We sat down with Stacey Haiduk and her daughter, Sophia Tatum, to talk about their short film, Brand New Cadillac, which will have its LA premiere at Screamfest.
The film stars Haiduk as a vampiric woman who can walk in the daylight without dying but needs to consume blood to survive. She is picked up and driven in a Cadillac by her daughter (Tatum), who aspires to be a serial killer. As they drive, they discuss their relationship and their differences. Imagine, if you will, Wayne Wang’s Anywhere but Here mixed with Marvel’s Blade.
What makes this film special is that not only is it the first time the mother and daughter duo are starring together, but it is also their directorial debut. Also joining in the production as a screenwriter is Bradford Tatum the father of the family.
“It was a collaborative effort.”, says Haiduk. The three-time Daytime Emmy nominee describes further “She (Tatum) had specifics, I had specifics, but I said, “It had to be fun!”. “It is showcasing a mother and daughter relationship, but in a very (very) heightened sense.” says Tatum. “I think hopefully most mothers and daughters would kind of understand the duality between that relationship.” Opposite of the relationship between the two characters, the mother-daughter team could not be happier working together. “We complement each other really well.”, says Tatum.
As for the titular star itself, the “Brand New Cadillac” was not easy at all to work with. According to the duo, it had many problems functioning in the desert setting. “She was very temperamental and did not like the heat.” says Tatum. “We got to set late a lot!”, puts in Haiduk. “I had to drive this big monstrosity from LA to Palmdale and all I could do was panic.” Thankfully, for the duo, the car worked for what they needed to get on camera.
The film also sports a distinct visual look, almost like a family vacation filmed on a Super 8 camera. This was a deliberate decision on the part of Tatum, who is a photographer in her own right. Haiduk recalls her daughter’s devising of the film’s look. “I remember her from the beginning saying she would love to do a mix like digital with film and this and that. We just got done watching Winning Time, and I’m like, “what if we went with your original idea?” So, with a friend’s 16mm camera, they shot some footage to splice in with the widescreen shots to give the film its distinct look. “I think both of us heavily love “vintage” and anything old.”, Tatum noted. So, it was just borrowing from a lot of 70s, 80s, 50s film noir movies to create this look.”
Brand New Cadillac, being short, leaves much to be desired, but in a more positive sense. Both Haiduk and Tatum’s presence adds a mixture of sophistication and nuance to what is essentially a horror-themed road movie. The script also includes an incredible monologue delivered by Haiduk in the way Jack Nicholson or Faye Dunaway would back in the New Hollywood of the 70s. Thankfully, the duo has stated that this short is a proof of concept and that they are developing a feature version. Tatum promises that there will be plenty more gore too! “This short has a lot of blood. Just wait for the feature!” The two promise that the mother and daughter will go “so many places. โThereโs just crazy circumstances that these two have to get through, and the journey of them bonding.”, Tatum states.
As for those, both in Hollywood and the indie market, who want to make movies with their families, the two offer some words of wisdom. “Listen! Listen to everybody’s creative outlet.”, states Tatum. Haiduk also states, โSuch a beautiful thing about the film is that you have so many different people from so many different backgrounds coming together to make this beautiful thing, and hopefully lots of people like it.”
Brand New Cadillac will be premiering at LA Screamfest on October 13th at 4:15pm. People can purchase tickets here.
