Dustin Leimgruber reports from the set of Shahin Sean Solimon’s new film Awakening Alpha…
Shahin Sean Solimon should be exhausted. Apart from a two hour nap and a bracing dawn swim under an icy downpour, he’s been up all night fine tuning footage from his new movie. Energetic and upbeat, you’d never know he’s running on fumes as he prepares to unveil the clip to a roomful of journalists. His guests crowd around a tray of muffins and coffee, buying him a few more minutes to render the freshly polished scene.
Persian-American Solimon was raised in Florida by American parents. Like many filmmakers of his generation, his love of cinema was crystallized in 1977 in a shopping mall theater as the rebel Tantive IV rumbled overhead with a Star Destroyer in hot pursuit. Before long he had transformed an old backyard camper into the Millennium Falcon, recruited neighborhood kids as actors and cut his directorial teeth on elaborate reenactments of the Skywalker saga.
Driven to succeed from a young age, Solimon started a computer business at 19. He overcame his lack of financing through creativity and hard work and the business grew. It’s a lesson he would carry over into his film career. Despite subsequent success as a web developer, Solimon yearned for the creative freedom that he experienced while orchestrating those backyard childhood adventures. After attending a weekend filmmaking seminar, he wrote, directed and starred in his first film, Djinn, a micro-budget metaphysical fantasy. His follow-up, Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage, received a multi-market release in theaters across the nation. Narrated by Patrick Stewart, the film is a whimsical throwback to the Dynamation adventures of Ray Harryhausen and Charles Schneer. Solimon played the title role, making him the first Persian in cinema history to do so. With his latest effort, Awakening Alpha, Solimon is building on the creative techniques that made his earlier projects possible.
Lights dim in Solimon’s screening room as the filmmaker fires up the projector and holds his breath. A pulsing John Carpenter theme shakes the room, temp music to indicate the original synth score that will replace it. On screen, a lone figure emerges from a scorched desert wasteland into a crumbling ghost town. His face hidden under an imposing gas mask, it’s yet unclear if he’s friend, foe or even human. The dialogue has yet to be mixed in and temporary subtitles communicate what the drifter is saying under his mask. But the scene is eerily effective without words. Like Eastwood’s Man with No Name, we don’t need to hear what he’s thinking. We feel it through body language, composition and editorial choices. The wanderer cautiously enters a diner where he removes his mask, revealing the confused but sympathetic eyes of an everyman played by Solimon himself. He cautiously approaches a hunched figure in a booth whose own visage is obscured under a bamboo hat…
The scene is atmospheric and mysterious. The filmmaker will later cite The Twilight Zone as a strong inspiration but the Rod Serling DNA is self-evident. Inspired by a playful afternoon photo shoot, Awakening Alpha evolved into a feature length post-apocalyptic, alien invasion film with zombies and elements of Kung Fu mysticism. As one crew member puts it, “It’s got all your favorite things”. If anyone can juggle so many elements, it’s Solimon. Candid footage from the set of Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage shows him gliding effortlessly through multiple roles. He directs himself and other actors as he tweaks angles, adjust props and delivers dialogue, often in the green vacuum of an FX stage.
Back to the scene as an alien vehicle smashes through a building. When one viewer commends the CGI model, Solimon takes three steps and pulls the prop vehicle from his hall closet. “Stop motion, not CGI,” he reveals. But it’s the synthesis of those two disciplines that give his films their unique feel. While some may liken the filmmaker’s production techniques to the stylized comic book approach of Robert Rodriguez’s Sin City or Zack Snyder’s 300, a more fitting comparison would be Kerry Conran’s Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Conran’s film had a lot of heart and fused retro techniques with cutting edge technology resulting in something more than a cold technical exercise. Solimon’s films achieve the same effect, blending the past and future in a way that is both comfortingly familiar and revolutionary.
Awakening Alpha was shot largely against green screen with a few exteriors to supplement the footage. But it’s clear that, if forced to, Solimon could have forgone the 130 degree desert heat and recreated the location in his green screen studio. Painted 360 degrees floor to ceiling in chroma key paint, the space is as effective as any Hollywood sound stage and far cozier. The blank canvas allows him to stretch out and try big things. Whether it be vast expanses or alien worlds, no idea is off the table. He can even shoot car sequences. After all, this fully functioning FX stage used to be his garage.
Based in a residential house tucked into a cul-de-sac in the Woodland Hills suburbs, Giant Flicks Films redefines the notion of “home movies”. The bedroom has been transformed into a state of the art editing suite. In a corner are stacks of props and toy guns that easily pass for the real thing. The living room doubles as a screening room, loyally guarded by an alert King Charles Spaniel who watches the projected footage as intently as the assembled journalists. Solimon says he “minimized” his life to make room for this all-in-one studio. Tossing out domestic clutter taking up potential creative real estate, he transformed his living space into the ultimate home office which he likens to a “mini-Lion’s Gate”. Though his other films utilized a similar production pipeline, Awakening Alpha is the first one shot and edited entirely out of this new studio.
It’s also the third film in which Solimon has cast himself in the lead. But after witnessing the filmmaker’s process, it’s clear this is no ego trip. “I work free and I work hard,” he says. As director and star, he can shoot whenever he wants for as long as it takes. Beyond the practicalities of being his own leading man, Solimon’s also a strong screen presence. With striking movie star looks and dark piercing eyes, he seems custom designed for a movie poster.
The filmmaker’s 19 year old daughter acted as cinematographer on Awakening Alpha, shooting the entire film on a RED camera under his tutelage. This mentoring approach extends beyond family to anyone with talent and the drive to work hard. The visual effects are spearheaded by some of the same unsung FX names buried in the tiny end credit blocks of major studio tentpoles. The zombie prosthetics (which looked stunning in the frames previewed) were created by a recent make-up school graduate. The cast is comprised of aspiring actors and actresses with more passion than industry connections. Solimon decries the “shut out” nature of Hollywood and aims to provide opportunities for undiscovered artists in every department to find their voice. Everyone is welcome if they bring something to the table.
This generous philosophy extends to charitable endeavors. Starting with Awakening Alpha, Giant Flick Films will donate a percentage of profits to St Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Solimon hopes to inspire a movement of giving back, particularly within an industry where lucrative blockbuster profits are often hoarded by a powerful few.
Giant Flick Film’s self-sustaining approach has allowed Solimon the kind of creative freedom rarely granted in the compartmentalized Hollywood system where “dues” must be paid and ladders must be climbed one slippery wrung at a time. His success has not gone unpunished by some gatekeepers who see his independent approach as a threat to the kingdom. “I’ve had people think that I’m a millionaire and that I get these things done because I have a lot of money,” he says. “All of that is weird rumors. It’s just passion. When you want something, you get it done. I’m just a single dad following my dream.”
With five scripts on deck, including a black and white supernatural period piece, a spy film and a comedy, Shahin Sean Solimon shows no signs of tiring. After another quick nap and brisk swim, he’ll be hard at work again. Like the filmmaker’s energetic spirit, the creative potential in this Woodland Hills home seems limitless.
Dustin Leimgruber
