We chat with the fabulous Nicky Whelan (nickywhelan) about her new shark movie Maneater, which arrives August 26, and the challenges of filming in the deep blue sea with a mechanical creature:
Coming to theaters on August 26th, Maneater is the latest shark film to be added to the horror genre. When Jesse's friends try to lift her spirits after a devastating breakup, they vacation to a picturesque tropical island.
Dropped off by their guide and left to their own devices, all appears well until they lose contact with the captain of the boat. Suddenly the target of a great white shark, the friends' vacation turns into a fight for survival. SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY The cast also includes Trace Adkins, Jeff Fahey, Shane West, Randall J. Bacon, Kaley Bowler, Zoe Cipres, Porscha Coleman, and Alex Farnham.Screen Rant: I've always loved shark movies, so I really enjoyed this film. Did you want to get involved in Maneater, specifically? Or did the opportunity just kind of present itself? Nicky Whelan: The opportunity sort of came out of nowhere to me. But exactly what you said just now—about how you love a shark movie—I feel like every year or two, a new shark movie comes out. And it's portrayed in a different way. There's this thing with shark movies. Everybody loves to be frightened by a shark movie, going back to Jaws. And this is an independent film...small budget. It's a challenge to make these kinds of movies. It was shooting in Hawaii, which is always a nice invitation. It was like, "I'm gonna be part of a shark movie." Like, "Yeah, let's do this." And it was a real challenging one and I enjoyed it so much. And understanding, you know, we used a real puppeteer shark for a lot of the movie and then also some CGI, but, you know, I wanted to be a part of a shark movie in my career. So here it was. It was really cool. And I like shark movies, too! I mean, they scare the hell out of me... Screen Rant: I honestly have so many questions about how you filmed this. You're on a boat, you're in the water, you're on the island...You said it was in Hawaii, but what all went into that behind the scenes? Nicky Whelan: Trying to make a movie in eighteen days on water with a mechanical shock and a small crew is an incredible challenge. And we had a great group of people that got on with it. We have to kind of learn as we go. I know that there was a discussion with one of the original people that worked on Jaws whose one of our crew guys going, "Don't do it! Don't do the mechanical shark!" because of how much trouble can go with it. When you really get into this kind of process, you really see what it was like to make movies back in the day. I know in the end, we did use a CGI shark for a lot of it, but getting that puppeteer shark in the water and having one of our actresses, Kelly, get in the mouth of it...I sat on the beach with my jaw dropped. I was like, "Wow, we are doing this." The waters were rough. We were shooting on a beach outside of the airport. We had a lot of noise distractions. One minute the water's dead calm, and the next minute, it's rough as hell and we're getting in and out of the water. And then shooting on boats, you know, it's a no-joke process. Because when you think, "Oh, a movie in Hawaii!" you think, "Oh, how lovely!" And I got out there like, "Damn, this is gonna kick my a*s." And it did. I am a very good swimmer, but, again, I was jumping in water and having to swim legs of the beach we were on and I was like, "I'm running out of breath." I'm like, "This is kicking my a*s." The whole process for all of us was a real experience. And I'll never forget it [laughs]. You've got to wait for things with the water and the tides and where the lighting is during the day and stuff. It was quite an intense process and I'm really glad I put myself through it. I really felt like we were old school making a movie, you know, and our budget wasn't huge. So we had to do things physically ourselves. And I didn't have a stunt double, which I usually have an incredible stunt double with me. I had to do everything myself, and I was like, "Okay, let's do this." And we all sort of bonded together and made it happen. Screen Rant: I'm curious how much swimming was actually required for you. I mean, I'm sure you had to do it more than once. You don't get it all done in one shot. Nicky Whelan: I'm so glad you understand that. You're so right. There are three or four angles they like to do this from, but there was one scene where I needed to swim the length of the beach—not fully—but we had this wide shot with the shark behind me, and, I said I'm a good swimmer, but it was rough waters. It was choppy. I couldn't see the bottom of the water. I was like, "I'm sh*t-scared right now and I don't know if I've got enough breath in me to get this." Justin, our director, said, "You've got to do this in one shot. You've got to because I can't give you another one after this." And I'm going to be frightened and emotional and swimming as fast as I can. You don't realize how it takes so much out of you. We had to do that shot in one go, and Justin managed to do it and work with me like an absolute legend. But by the time I made it to the boat, I was like, "Someone has to hold me up right now." I'm telling you, I'm not that un-fit, but I was like, "This is exhausting." There's a shot at the end of the movie, where you know, I sort of have to go under the boat, and you know, the boat is rocking, and it's bouncing on the top of the water and I have to come up sort of under it. So we have this incredible team of guys out there who were surrounding me in the boat so I don't hit my head, like, it's no joke. It's all so quick and put together, but you've got a camera crew with two cameras in the water, rough water, I mean, for hours and hours and me bouncing around in the damn bikini. I mean, it's hysterical. I remember this scene as well, where Trace pulls me up onto the boat at the end of the movie, and I legitimately sat up on that boat like, "I'm gonna have a heart attack." But I felt so good at the end of the day, like when I went back to our hotel that weekend. It kicked my a*s and it felt really good. Screen Rant: I like that you brought up that scene at the end when you're under the boat. Was that the puppeteer shark? Was that CGI? What was going on behind the scenes there? Because it was a lot of close shots. Nicky Whelan: We were really challenged to be using the puppeteer shark with the water because the puppeteer shark is enormous and heavy and the water was super, super choppy that day. It was supposed to come right up to me. And in the end, from when I watched, I think they ended up using the CGI shot. So I had the camera coming right up to my face and doing these close up shots to help it feel like it was the shark coming up and up closer to me. It would have been near impossible with the way the water conditions were to actually get the puppeteer one to work in that end shot. We would have needed so much more time and waited for different conditions to get that really happening. So I think they use CGI on that last shot. You know, just the sheer—being exhausted, blasting out of the water, and staying underwater until the cameras have come up. And I mean, I'm no spring chicken anymore [laughs]. So I don't know. But yes, that end of the movie was kind of tricky how we had to put that together. Maneater Synopsis An idyllic island vacation turns into a gruesome nightmare when Jessie and her friends become the target of an unrelenting great white shark. Desperate to survive, she teams up with a sea captain to stop the vicious maneater before it strikes again.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
How to use the Windows 11 screen readerHere’s how to turn on Narrator.
Read more »
The best Apple iPhone 13 screen protectors | Digital TrendsApple's iPhone 13 may feature Ceramic Shield glass, but its screen still isn't indestructible. Protect it with one of the best iPhone 13 screen protectors.
Read more »
Fitbit’s Sense 2 amps up stress trackingThe Versa 4 gets new sport modes, while the Inspire 3 gets a color screen.
Read more »
UW Medicine study to screen pets of people diagnosed with monkeypoxThe Monkeypox and Pets Study is currently underway in the University of Washington’s Center for One Health Research.
Read more »