"A Tension Reunion in Atlanta."
We were in the middle of THE TENSION EXPERIENCE, knee deep with insanity, when Srdjan, the line producer asked me... "Yo, will you read my script? I got money for it, and we can go tomorrow if you want..."
It's important to remember this is Hollywood. Everyone has a script, and everyone thinks they have money. I blew the question off, and went on with TENSION. However, I realized that night when I came home that he had snuck the script into my bag... I flipped through it, but did not read it.
The next week, Srjdan once again inquired about his movie (he was the producer, not the writer). I promised him I would read it that night and get back to him. Honestly, I didn't pick the script up for another month.
TENSION was ending, and I was devastated. I had grown to love my cast, and was broken this thing was coming to a close. Once again at the wrap party Srdjan confronted me... "Seriously Bousman, I have money for this, we can go into production the moment you sign on." Jokingly I said, “Can I bring the TENSION cast?” He responded, “Bring whoever the fuck you want to bring…”
That night I read the script… It was dark… I mean… really, really, really fucking dark… Dark to the point that I wasn’t even sure I could do it.
I called Srdjan back. "Let me cast my actors from TENSION, and let me bring my writer Clint Sears in to make it more 'me' and I will do it…"
Two weeks later I was in Atlanta in prep on ST. AGATHA.
Every movie is a battle. In the case of ST. AGATHA it was a WAR.
It was the lowest budget film I had ever tried to direct, and that presented challenges I wasn’t prepared for. However, amidst all of the challenges I was able to work with Joseph White my DP, and I did cast a large portion of the TENSION cast, so it eased the insanity of the shoot.