As a blogger and writer, I have had the great opportunity of reviewing films, books, and TV shows. I owe most of this to Andy Burns of Biff Bam Pop who encouraged me to seek out the crème of the crop in pop culture. One of the people who I had the pleasure of interviewing many times was Jeremiah Kipp. Whenever Jeremiah completes another fantastic film, I get watch it. Today I am doing a review of his short film, Lost and Found.
Lost and Found is based on the biblical story about the fall of Adam and Eve from the grace of God. The film, directed by Jeremiah Kipp, gives a modern and darker version of Milton’s epic Paradise Lost.
In this version, Satan (Jennifer Plotzke) is a woman. Beelzebub (Ari Rossen) helps Satan in her plan to sabotage Eden. Eve (Pia Haddad) is the victim in this game of espionage, and poor Adam (Carl Hendrick Louis) as in Genesis, is clueless to the deceit that has taken place.
It is the age-old story about good and evil, and the battle between God and Satan, but the question remains…are we, like our ancestral parents, merely pawns in a battle of galactic proportions?
Gilbert: It is so nice to chat with you again, Jeremiah. What drew you to do this story?
Jeremiah Kipp: The idea was fresh, daring, provocative, alluring and not mine! Our screenwriter Laura Sweeney pitched the concept of a modern PARADISE LOST. She was well versed in the material and selected one precise section of the epic poem by John Milton
As with all great writers, Laura made it feel intensely personal. She gives full credit to the genius of Milton, but what attracted me was her way of compressing such rich material into an intense and scary one-act. Its a tale of seduction and deceit that got under my skin. She’s a wildly imaginative writer, a complicated woman and a mighty talent. We were lucky to have her tremendous gifts, and our producers Ari Rossen and Jennifer Plotzke were game to take on such an audacious project.
Gilbert: Why the decision to make Satan female?
Jeremiah Kipp: Jennifer Plotzke is a wonderful actress, fierce and formidable. Laura saw that and wrote Satan as a woman, and I think she in some ways identified with the anger of Satan as much as the curiosity of Eve. I’m glad we went that direction because Jenn commands the screen. And why can’t Satan be female?
Gilbert: What other films are you working on now?
Jeremiah Kipp: I’m in post of another short with Jenn starring in it called FIZZLE, set during a surreal party, and am in development on my feature film version of SLAPFACE. As I write this I’m on the set of a feminist horror movie called PERFECT that is a kind of creepy twist on Frankenstein also with a female antagonist. I love to always be creating new work. As we all learned from LOST & FOUND, the idle mind is the devil’s playground.
Gilbert: Thank you Jeremiah. As always, It is a true pleasure to watch your films. I am looking forward to reviewing your latest film, PERFECT.
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