''Axis'' is a 2017

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

written by and starring Emmett Hughes. The film marks the feature film directorial debut of

Aisha Tyler Aisha Nilaja Tyler (born September 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, director, and talk show host. She is known for playing Andrea Marino in the first season of ''Ghost Whisperer'', Dr. Tara Lewis in ''Criminal Minds'', Mother Nature ...

, who raised funds for the project through a

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

campaign. The film premiered at the 19th annual

Sarasota Film Festival The Sarasota Film Festival is a film festival located in Sarasota, Florida and is held in April. Its mission is "to celebrate the art of filmmaking and the contribution of filmmakers by hosting an international film festival and developing year-lo ...

in April, 2017.

Premise

On the day he is set to star in a career-changing film, an Irish actor with a self-destructive past confronts a series of events that threaten his sobriety, his loved ones, and his life.

Cast

* Emmett Hughes as Tristan Blake * Emily Bett Rickards as Caitlin (voice) *

Amber Nash Amber Nash (born June 6, 1977) is an American actress and improvisational comedian. She is known as the voice actress for Pam Poovey in the animated TV series ''Archer''. She was also featured in the animated TV series '' Frisky Dingo''. Early l ...

as Radio Host (voice) *

Paula Malcomson Paula Malcomson (born 1 June 1970) is a Northern Irish actress. She is sometimes credited as Paula Williams. She is known as Trixie in ''Deadwood'' (2004-2006), Maureen Ashby in ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2010), and as Abby Donovan in ''Ray Donovan'' ...

as Gráinne (voice) * Jonathan Sadowski as Hemingway (voice) *

Jean-Luc Bilodeau Jean-Luc Bilodeau (born November 4, 1990) is a Canadian actor who has been acting since 2004. He is best known for his role as Ben Wheeler in the ABC Family channel program ''Baby Daddy''. Bilodeau has also appeared in films and television seri ...

as Barry (voice) *

Ciarán Hinds Ciarán Hinds (; born 9 February 1953) is an Irish actor. Born in Belfast, Hinds is known for a range of screen and stage roles. He has starred in feature films including '' The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover'' (1989), '' Persuasion'' (1 ...

as Jim (voice) * Paget Brewster as Dr. Lynch (voice) *

as Louise (voice) * Thomas Gibson as Joseph (voice) * Kirsten Vangsness as Heather (voice) *

Kevin Pollak Kevin Elliot Pollak (born October 30, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, impressionist and podcast host. He has appeared in over 80 films; his roles include Sam Weinberg in Rob Reiner's legal film ''A Few Good Men'', Jacob Goldman in '' Grump ...

as Cru (voice) *

Bronagh Waugh Bronagh Waugh (born 6 October 1982) is an actress from Northern Ireland. She played Cheryl Brady in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' from 2009 to 2013. At the 2010 British Soap Awards, Waugh was nominated for awards for Best Newcomer, ...

as Siobhán (voice) * Lucky Yates as Radio Host (voice) *

Caroline Morahan Caroline Morahan is an Irish actress and television host. In 2010, she was chosen as the face of Littlewoods Ireland. Early life Caroline Morahan graduated from Dublin City University with a Bachelor of Arts in communication studies, earni ...

as Susan (voice) * Nelson Estevez as Gio (voice) * Fionn William O'Brien as Declan (voice) *

Sam Rockwell Sam Rockwell (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for appearing in independent films and also as a character actor portraying a wide variety of roles both comedic and dramatic in films such as ''Lawn Dogs'' (1997 ...

as Himself (voice) *

Jerry Ferrara Jerry Charles Ferrara (born November 25, 1979) is an American actor known for his role as Turtle on the HBO comedy series ''Entourage'', and starred on the Starz drama series ''Power'' as Joe Proctor. Life and career Ferrara was born in Broo ...

as Himself (voice)

Development

Background

Having worked together in 2015 to produce the Gaelic language short film ''Ar Scath le Cheile'', written by and starring Hughes and directed by Tyler, the pair decided to collaborate on a full feature length film, with Hughes again writing and starring, Tyler directing and both of them acting as producer.

Kickstarter Campaign

Tyler launched a

campaign in April 2016. Part of her motivation for using Kickstarter as a means to raise funds for the project was the limited time scale she had available. With a short break available in her schedule in 2016, Tyler wished to bypass the lengthy process of studio funding, and get her project moving as quickly as possible. The campaign initially aimed to raise $150 000 in order to greenlight the project, secure cast and crew and begin the ADR process, which would enable Tyler to approach additional funding sources for assistance. Overall, the campaign raised over $193 000.

Production

The film was shot in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. Filming began on May 28, 2016 and took place over the following seven days. The film was shot almost entirely from inside the principal character Tristen's (Hughes) car, which allowed Tyler to shoot the film, in her words, "like a play" - recording the whole script daily. The additional voice dialogue provided by the rest of the cast was recorded prior to filming, both in person and remotely.

Release

The film premiered at the 19th annual

on April 7, 2017, where it competed in the "Independent Visions" section of the competition. Tyler also took part in the festival's "In Conversation With.." series. It was also an official selection of the 18th Annual

Newport Beach Film Festival The Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) is an annual film festival in Newport Beach, California, typically held in late April. In 2022, it was announced that the festival have permanently changed its date to be held in October, as the festival beg ...

in April 2017, where Tyler was honored with the "Artist of Distinction Award" and the film was awarded the "Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking:Feature Film" award at the festival. ''Axis'' was released via

video-on-demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

on April 10, 2018.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *{{Rotten Tomatoes, axis American independent films 2017 films American drama films Kickstarter-funded films Films shot in Los Angeles Films about actors 2017 directorial debut films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films