Interview With Director Bonnie Discepolo & Actress Anna Camp For NEO-DOME (2024), World Premiere @ SXSW

Director Bonnie Discepolo and actress Anna Camp attended SXSW for the premiere of their latest work NEO-DOME (2024), a Sci-fi series pilot set in a post-apocalyptic America where a woman (Anna Camp) travels solo on the road headed for a mysterious dome on the distant horizon; a cautionary tale about trust in a new world where no one can be trusted. In an interview with Bonnie and Anna about NEO-DOME, here is what they had to say:

Can you tell us your background and what led you to filmmaking? 

BONNIE: Ah Nature versus Nurture? On the one hand I’m descended from a long line of Neapolitan musicians. I think story is a natural part of my loud Italian upbringing. But I also experienced ongoing and formative traumas in childhood, those experiences sent me into fantasy and narrative as a means of coping. I think it was a natural progression to film, by putting those images on screen. 

ANNA: I have been acting professionally for years but wanted to start producing to create more exciting projects for myself as well as for the talented visionaries that I have worked with before. 

Is it hard to make an indie film today with streaming and so much content out there?

BONNIE: I think it is a miracle to make any piece of art. It is at once impossible and yet necessary. So, you make it because you must. Finding an audience or a buyer is something different. 

ANNA: Everything has its challenges, especially in indie filmmaking, but you just can’t give up and you must keep creating. So, in that regard, creating is not hard. It’s just finding the money, no joke! 

Do you have a project you have worked on that you are most proud of thus far? 

BONNIE: Great question. I am proud of them all. But the tiny 6-minute short film called "Three-Legged Dog" is probably the one I am most proud of because it was the thing that led to everything else. I co-wrote, directed, starred, and fully funded it using tips that I saved from my waitressing job. The whole film cost $400. But it was honest and my voice. That is the film that Robert Rodriguez saw, and how he chose me to be his mentee on Rebel Without a Crew.

ANNA: I would say I’m very proud of “Neo-Dome” because it was my gritstone time as a real “boots on the ground” producer as well as starring in it as an actress. 

How did your working relationship begin? 

BONNIE: I came to “Neo-Dome” through Anna Camp who was already producing and starring. We became best friends in high school theatre where we collaborated, played, and made believe as children, and we continue through adulthood. When she asked me to come aboard to direct “Neo-Dome” it was an obvious and emphatic YES. She is such a talented actor and kind soul! And as a very successful actor on stage and screen, she knows many wonderful directors, so it is a real honor that she recommended me to the creators Matt and Mark Pfeffer! The whole team is topflight, and it was remarkable to work with Ritual and Summit. All the department heads that came aboard gave us fantastic work from Michael Johnson’s tense score to Carson Nyquist's stunning visuals, Dessie Coale's lighting, and Chloee Crosby's costumes. It was a pleasure to work with everyone. 

ANNA: Bonnie and I have been best friends since high school. We acted together and she directed me in our little self-made acting troupe “Lunch box theatre”. She also directed me in a fantastic short film called “Graceland” that premiered at Tribeca Film Festival.

Can you tell us about “Neo Dome” and what made you both want to make this? 

BONNIE: I wanted to direct “Neo-Dome” because it’s COOL! Matt and Mark Pfeffer created this amazing, darkly comic, science fiction-noir-western and then dropped three incredible and distinct characters into that world. I knew that we could make something with great acting, in a heightened world, that would be compelling, fun, entertaining and mysterious. Projects like “Neo-Dome” don’t drop into your lap every day.

ANNA: I was very attracted to the script for “Neo-Dome” because it was an intriguing world with mystery, intrigue and so much suspense. I love the character of Monica Dawes because she is strong, cunning, and a real survivor. She had a fierce and surprising arc in the short script. 

How did you go about casting the film?

BONNIE: Casting “Neo-Dome” was a joy. It is a friends and family project. Anna Camp came attached as Monica, and we love working together. But I was so excited to get to direct Anna as a femme fatale. She is playing a nuanced character, and she makes an incredibly sharp performance. She turns in 15 minutes! It’s Anna, as we haven’t seen her before. Anna recommended Mike Mosley and that was an instant yes. I loved him in Ozarks and his performance in “Neo-Dome” is riveting. Finally, that left Larry and Pa. I had recently seen our friend Nick Logan in “Dope Sick” and pitched him for Larry. Again, everyone was instantly on board. And Nick came out with such an amazing Larry; he arrived on set with his own self-bought silver teeth. Finally, we needed to cast Pa. A dead body, or so we think, to sit in the back of the car with our three actors for three days in the desert. I didn’t want to cast a stranger, so I asked my father Anthony Discepolo to play Pa. His look and commitment to the movie were great. “Neo-Dome” being all friends and family makes it even more special. 

ANNA: As a producer, I reached out to friends of mine that I had acted with and went to school with. Very lucky they said yes! 

Was it a difficult movie to finance and get off the ground? Was it a difficult journey? 

BONNIE: Getting indie financing is always a challenging process! Luckily, we had amazing producers with Michael Johnson, Anna Camp, and Mark and Matt Pfeffer. They took the lead bringing the idea to various financiers and luckily people saw the merit, possibility, and magic in “Neo-Dome”, and we were able to make a beautiful proof of concept. 

ANNA: Summit House and Ritual helped us finance the film and I didn’t get paid, so I put my paycheck back into the film. 

The film premiered at SXSW. How was that experience?

BONNIE: SXSW was not only a dream come true, but also the culmination of years of work from everyone involved. SXSW is truly a celebration of film and filmmakers. Austin welcomed us with wonderful audiences, sold out theaters, and enough enthusiasm to inspire the next project!

ANNA: Very cool that we got to screen at SXSW as it’s a perfect place to see new talent and meet dynamic new players in the filmmaking industry. 

Where can people see the film?

BONNIE: We are looking for partners to transform “Neo-Dome” into a series so that we can share the journey to the dome with the whole world!

ANNA: Nowhere yet! Hopefully they will see the series soon! 

What will you be working on next? 

BONNIE: I’m prepping a feature to shoot in New England; it is a period, horror, inspired by real events in 1894 Rhode Island. It is kind of like The Witch meets Salem’s Lot. 

ANNA: Thrilled to be starring in the new Peacock series “Hysteria!” about the Satanic Panic in the 80’s, as well as playing twins in the final season of “YOU” for Netflix. 

 

 

 

 

 

Interview by Vanessa K. McMahon