When you think of hot vacation destinations, Chernobyl is probably on the bottom of your list. But if you##Q##ve ever thought about visiting the scene of one of the biggest nuclear disaster in history, you got to check out “Chernobyl Diaries“!
Brought to you by writer-producer Oren Peli, the mastermind of the “Paranormal Activity” franchise, “Chernobyl Diaries” is an unconventional horror film about six tourists who get stranded in a city called Pripyat. In case you##Q##re not a history buff, Pripyat is one of the cities in Chernobyl that was affected in the nuclear explosion in 1986.
When our PopStop TV News team covered the black carpet premiere, I got a chance to talk to the cast about the highly-anticipated horror film.
“This project came to me rather accidentally. I wasn##Q##t looking for an idea for a horror movie,” Oren dished to me exclusively. “One day, I was browsing the internet, I found a website where people went on tours. It##Q##s a real thing, you can actually go on tours and post photos and videos of the trip. I started researching about it and I didn##Q##t know you can now go to the town next to it. The images were so haunting and sad and beautiful. There##Q##s no other place like it on earth where people basically just almost vanished because they didn##Q##t have a chance to take their personal belongings.”
Oren knew immediately that Chernobyl##Q##s history couldn##Q##t be replicated in a green screen or a random studio location. The cast was flowing out to Eastern Europe, where the cast – Ingrid Berdal, Dimitri Diatchenko, Olivia Dudley, Kvin Kelley, Jesse McCartney Jonathan Sadowski, Nathan Phillips, and more – enjoyed a little staycation on their own!
Without giving anything away, here##Q##s 5 reasons why you should watch “Chernobyl Diaries“:
1) Most of the dialogue was improv: Yes, it##Q##s true. Oren Peli told us that they basically wrote the whole story without any dialogue. He and director Bradley Parker instructed the cast “go here, go there, and that was it. They wanted to capture the most natural reaction of the actors.
2) The film was shot in 21 days. As if improvising majority of the film isn##Q##t challenging enough, the cast and crew had 3 weeks in a foreign land to shoot the film! That##Q##s almost unheard of for a blockbuster film.
3) Oren Peli##Q##s known for twists and surprises: “It##Q##s unlike any horror film you##Q##ve ever seen before,” actress Devin Kelley said. “It##Q##s so many unexpected crazy twists and turns happen. Just when you think you know where it##Q##s gonna go, Oren Peli just turns it right around.”
4) “Chernobyl Diaries” is a totally controversial movie. Many critics wondered if it##Q##s too soon to base a movie on the radio-active location, to which Oren replies, “We don##Q##t think the film needs to be taken seriously – it##Q##s just a horror movie.”
5) Jesse McCartney##Q##s in it: Yes! Heartthrob Jesse McCartney plays one of the six tourists who venture off to a deserted town. Just in case the movie is too scary for you, cover your ears and sing “Beautiful Soul”.
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