ComingSoon spoke to Fall star Grace Caroline Currey about the extreme filming conditions for the thriller and more ahead of its Blu-ray and DVD release on October 18. It is currently available on digital.
“For best friends Becky (Grace Caroline Currey) and Hunter (Virginia Gardner), life is all about conquering fears and pushing limits. But after they climb 2,000 feet to the top of a remote, abandoned radio tower, they find themselves stranded with no way down,” says the synopsis. “Now Becky and Hunter’s expert climbing skills will be put to the ultimate test as they desperately fight to survive the elements, a lack of supplies, and vertigo-inducing heights in this adrenaline-fueled thriller.”
Tyler Treese: Obviously, you have the huge tower, you have the dizzying heights, but what really impressed me the most about Fall was that at the heart of the story is this very interesting portrayal of grief. What about that aspect of the film really moved you the most and made you want to be a part of this?
Grace Caroline Currey: I just think loss as a whole is such a nuanced, layered thing. I love therapy. I’m a big proponent for it. Definitely journeying through different loss experiences of my own. I was excited to try to map out kind of what Becky’s going through and the events. As an actor, I like to map out my performances so I can kind of know where my character is emotionally, situationally, especially considering we filmed stuff out of order. But I think, definitely the loss factor was really exciting for me to explore. My heart broke for Becky, so I felt kind of protective to tell her story. But then the stunt element as well, how physical it is. I was a little afraid I wouldn’t be able to have, I don’t know, the energy, the fullness of myself to be so emotionally heavy, and do so much physical craziness. But I was excited for the challenge.
I wanted to ask about the physical element because not only are you on this 100-foot tower, but you’re on top of a 2000-foot cliff, There’s crazy heat, you’re in the desert, and it’s windy. How do you deal with that and still put on such a great performance?
Well, thank you. I think I got a lot of help. I think Ginny and I, we got a lot of help from actually being outside in the elements. There’s pros and cons, the pros are that you actually are sweating, exhausted, fighting dehydration from being in the sun all day, and just the most insane temperatures of heat. Insane wind speeds also, that you just get so exhausted from being knocked around all day by the wind. Like we’re talking such strong winds that we’d have to come down from the tower sometimes because it got dangerous for us to be up there. I mean it’s, there’s definitely some trauma trying to remember this experience. I gotta be honest because it was crazy. Ginny and I would look at each other and just go, “What did we get ourselves into?” Cause we’re high up and sweating like crazy. Not to mention having to do the stunts and say lines, you know, that can be hard enough sometimes.
Then on top of all of that, you also filmed with vultures. How crazy was that?
They’re like dinosaurs. I mean, I was so excited when they would come to set. It would be announced that the vultures were on set, and this car would drive up with a grate on the back of it, and it really felt like there was this respect and awesomeness towards the birds when we worked with them. Because they’re wild, wild creatures.
That’s definitely a unique acting partner. I don’t think too many have shared scenes with vultures.
Yeah, I should get that on my resumé for sure.
The film just has so many wild twists and it can be pretty dark at times. What was your reaction when you first read the script and realized all that was going on?
I definitely remember reading it all in one sitting and just being so engrossed in the story, in the concept of getting to audition for Becky and a role that would be, it’s my first lead from start to finish. I’ve never had so much to do on a set across the board. I think when I read the script, and there were so many twists and turns, and there was so much activity that I would get to do if I got the part. I didn’t know if I was gonna have the part yet obviously. But I was just hungry for the challenge. I just wanted to see how they were gonna make it, how practical it was gonna be. So when I first talked to Scott Mann, it was really exciting when he started telling me, “We’re gonna build this tower and you would be outside. Are you afraid of heights?” I was like, “No, I don’t think so. I hope not. I want this role.”
So much of the film is just you and Virginia so it was so important that you both worked so well together. Can you speak to her as a scene partner because it has to be a special bond when 90% of the film is just you two?
Yeah. I have said this so many times and I will say it again. I cannot imagine filming that movie with anyone else. I just had so many times where I’d look at Ginny and I was like “I’m so thankful it’s you next to me.” Because we were up against so many odds just every day. A lot of the time we didn’t even make our day of shooting because of flying ant infestations, bee infestations, thunderstorms. Just, every day, there was something new, some sort of madness. A lot of the time we had to just leave and go back to the hotel and we were told we just couldn’t shoot because it was too dangerous.
So when we did shoot scenes, there was kind of this feeling of fight or flight, an urgency to, you know, not waste time, be on our game, deliver our craft, if you will. So thank goodness I had someone who takes acting as seriously as Ginny does and was as prepared as she was. Because you can work with scene partners who just don’t know their lines [laughs], or who know their lines, but they don’t really know what they wanna do with the material. But she would show up and just, she knew exactly what she wanted to do and delivered it fearlessly. So I’m really, I’m really thankful for her. I got really lucky.
You mentioned being a part of the Shazam! Universe. Shazam! 2’s coming up. How much of a thrill was it that you get to play the superhero form as well? This time?
Yeah. I guess you can’t see me, so I should tell you, I’m just smiling, ear to ear. It was so special. It’s such a family, and obviously the Shazam family, but it really is. I mean, we spent our weekends hanging out at Zach [Levi]’s in the pool barbecuing, or we’d leave from shooting and go to Zach’s and get in the pool and eat barbecue and it was just all of us hanging out the whole time. I feel like I was in the best position because I got to hang out with the kids and the adults, and I was on set with the kids and the adults. It got to the point where we were making jokes that I’m working almost every day. Cause when the kids are on set, I’m on set and when the adults are on set, I’m still on set.
