"It tackles the agreements we all make with our parents," Juliet Landau on father Martin Landau's influence on 'A Place Among the Dead'
Juliet Landau was among the new faces on season 5 of Amazon's 'Bosch'. Despite trading shoulder-length waves for short bangs and a ponytail, fans recognized Landau as Drusilla from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer.'
In an exclusive interview with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), the 54-year-old actress talked all about 'Bosch' season 6, 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer,' her fascination with vampires, and her directorial debut with her film 'A Place Among the Dead.'
Another little-known thing about Landau is that she is the daughter of Oscar-winning actor Martin Landau and his 'Mission: Impossible' co-star Barbara Bain. Landau spent her childhood along with sister Susan Landau Finch in a Tudor style house in West Los Angeles. When asked about the best advice her famous parents gave her when growing up, the former ballerina said, "Unfortunately, I don’t have a joyous answer for this question."
The 'Ed Wood' actress went on to add that her docu-film 'A Place Among The Dead', in fact, "tackles the agreements we all make with our parents, how these become the voices in our heads, which inform our choices and can lead to destruction - depending on what you come from."
Landau's in the works project, 'The Undead Series', is a documentary about vampires from myth and pop culture. It's a six-part anthology introducing who's who of the vampire alum right from 'Ed Wood' creator Tim Burton, to 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer's' Joss Whedon and 'Dracula's' Gary Oldman. A treat for all vampire lovers, the production also gives an insider's perspective into the vampire phenomenon and Landau has co-directed with her husband Deverill Weekes.
Talking about 'A Place Among the Dead', Landau says, "We scripted the movie in a revolutionary way; part fact, part fiction, part fantastical," adding that "in doing this meld, I shine a light on myself, my father Martin Landau, and my mother Barbara Bain. I made this film searingly personal to invite the viewer to do the same."
'A Place Among the Dead' "takes the viewer on an emotional, visceral and extremely personal journey, and as they say, the more personal, the more universal. The goal is to start a discussion, a dialogue," added the actress.
"I want the spectator to open the floodgates to become the participant. I want to provoke a broad conversation, sharing, healing, to give voice to what has affected many."
The reason for choosing this film also stems from the fact that Landau needed this kind of film when growing up. "If I had seen a movie like this when I was 18, it would have changed the course and journey of my life."
Without delving much in the intricacies of her personal life, she shared that the journey of making this film has been a powerful one and at the sneak-peek screenings, "the audiences have been electrified, galvanized, moved by the film and stirred to share brave, personal stories!"
"The response has been on fire! It was funny because the young people kept asking if their teacher told us the inner thoughts they’d confided in him and if that’s why he brought them to see the picture. He didn’t even know what the movie entailed, and of course, hadn’t shared their private matters!" Landau concluded.