MULTIMEDIA - Interviews

TBG.net's Exclusive Q&A with Bobby Roth

Bobby Roth is well known among Sarah Carter fans as the director of A Date With Darkness and the indie movie Berkeley. Read below to see what he had to say to your questions!

In regards to A Date With Darkness:

TBG.net: Did you choose this project yourself, or were you chosen?

BR: I was hired to do the show by Larry Thompson.

TBG.net: What was it like working with Sarah?

BR: Sarah was great, always prepared, thoughtful, and an actress who could modulate her performance with the smallest directorial note.

TBG.net: How was the general feeling on set when it was known that Andrew Luster had escaped custody and was still on the loose during shooting? What was the reaction when he was captured during shooting as well?

BR: Luster was on the loose throughout the project... it was only at the end when he was captured that we felt any effect. Then I rewrote the ending over a weekend and conceptualized how we could find Puerto Vallarta in Victoria. We shot it all in one day, four days after his capture.

TBG.net: Were there any scenes in particular that were especially hard for any of the actors to shoot?

BR: The rape scenes were terribly tough to shoot, particularly on Marla Sokaloff, but the toughest was when Marla's character had to dive into the ocean at night, and we were in Canada instead of Santa Barbara. A stunt double did it and it was brutally cold.

TBG.net: What was it about Sarah that made you want to work with her? Did you have any control over casting decisions in this regard?

BR: We wanted Sarah from the moment we saw her. She has charisma along with great acting chops. She's also great looking and terribly natural.

TBG.net: How did you and the cast prepare for this movie?

BR: We had a week of rehearsal in Victoria and we rehearsed and had lots of discussions about Luster's actual activities.


In regards to Berkeley:

TBG.net: Could you give us a brief idea of what this movie is about?

BR: The film is my attempt to recreate what it felt to be nineteen in 1969, and how the anti-war movement changed us all.

TBG.net: Why go back to working with Sarah for a second film? Is there some reccuring aspect about Date with Darkness and Berkeley behind the reason you cast her for for the new movie?

BR: Sarah was cast because I think she's great, but there was nothing much in common between the two films.

TBG.net: What sort of role does Sarah play in this movie?

BR: Sarah plays the daughter of the head of the UC Board of Regents who falls in love with the film's hero, then breaks his life.

TBG.net: What was the filming process like? How long did the shooting take?

BR: The film was shot throughout the month of July 2004 in Berkeley and Los Angeles.

TBG.net: How do you personally feel about this movie? Are you pleased with the way it turned out?

BR: I love the film and feel it has exceeded my expectations. The fact that people as diverse as Tom Hayden, Janeane Garofalo, Rosanna Arquette, Bruce Springsteen, and David Ansen have all responded so positively makes me very crowd.

TBG.net: Is there a chance for a DVD release for this movie? Or in theaters?

BR: It will premiere at festivals this fall and we'll see how distributors react.

TBG.net:Do you have any on set stories about Sarah and the cast?

BR: The cast was all great, but the rehearsal process was the most fun because we ran what we referred to as "hippie bootcamp," spending hours discussing and watching film from the sixties.


General Questions

TBG.net: Your resume of movies, television series, etc. is quite vaste. Can you choose a few projects that you particularly enjoyed working on? (Due to content, actors, etc.) And what were your reasons for enjoying these projects moreso than others?

BR: My favorite movies are my personal, independent films, mainly THE BOSS' SON, HEARTBREAKERS, JACK THE DOG, MANHOOD, and now BERKELEY. They feel the most honest and I love that I've been free to express my personality there.

TBG.net:Do you have any upcoming projects that we can be on the look out for?

BR: I'm currently beginning work on the CBS series, NUMB3RS, from Tony and Ridley Scott as the directing showrunner.

TBG.net:Do you have any plans to work with Sarah in the future? If not, would you like to?

BR: I would love to work with Sarah again, and know that it'll happen, though nothing definite.
Many thanks to Mr. Roth for taking the time to answer our questions.