Super Women:
Chantall Collet

One of the many rewarding aspects of doing this series of Supernatural-related interviews has been the opportunity it offers to find out about other aspects of the lives of the people who create the show. This has rarely been as true as it was with Chantall Collet who in addition to being part of Supernatural's production team helms her own film making company, PIVOTAL, and has worked on projects such as the upcoming Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

S.T. (M. Borsellino): On the PIVOTAL Filmworks website, you describe your role as a film maker as being linked to ideas of storytelling and communication, in a way that seems very spiritual. Would you be able to expand on that philosophy a little?

Chantall Collet: Sure. Communication, whether through touch, sound, or other means is at the core of what makes us unique as creatures. The process involves many complex abilities from memory retention to empathy which allow for such complexities as the ability to work together, to learn, its impact is quite staggering. Imagine the first of us long ago, and the terror they felt in having the ability to begin to understand the world around them, and yet the inability or means to comprehend nor survive well within it. People faced weighty realizations of their mortality, the vastness of space, sudden uncontrollable disasters, these insights they grappled with from huts and a survivalist life. I am happy and comforted that early storytelling, whether accurate or not, served to see them through the hardest of times, for those who could felt so small in the face of the grandest of awareness or threat. It is amazing to see how so many cultures attempted to answer questions for themselves like why the sky is blue or how the stars work, it is the poetry of our imaginations both wondrous and frightened. In many ways that has not changed.

ST: Is this a difficult attitude to maintain when associating with more corporate-minded branches of the medium, or is it possible to reconcile the two sides of the process?

CC: Hmmm, this response should be in book form; you unfortunately get the short, but hopefully a good, answer. The irony of my affection for storytelling is that most of my work, no matter what genre, often has a theme of revealing some integral truth or preposition to the audience which they normally would not find accessible. This is often difficult to reconcile with a media which so often is used to sway people for various reasons/agendas, or to merely make a profit. What people often don't understand about myself, though, is that I do not see it at all as contrary. I am highly entrepreneurial and love business, I would just like to see an overhaul to its foundations which is due. My father was a strategic planner who taught me all that he could and I myself love to take the opportunity to build and create in business just as much as in film. I have a passion for seeing many things to success, so an executive's exuberance or hard mindset is easy to relate to. As such, I find it not difficult to steer their understanding in regards to the project, its creativity and needs, to reach success without losing the meaning. Many executives in film do have a passion for the medium and lament that they wish they had the talent to do it themselves, it is a matter of finding them. With Beauty, my recent feature, I had a lot of pressure to sell it which I won't as I am going to direct it. It was created for that. People hinted if I were offered a million dollars would I let it go, and quite easily the answer was no. Some projects must be borne by certain people, this one would likely be dismantled otherwise, and no other person can bring to it what I can, you can see that all over the pages written.

ST: PIVOTAL has evolved and shifted since it began. What's that journey been like for you, personally and professionally?

CC: Ha! During the past few years it has been a "journey" or exploration stage literally. I dismantled the company from its office roots in Toronto and travelled to Montreal for seven months to do research for Beauty. When completed, I traveled to Los Angeles where I was invited to show my work to a top agency. When arriving there, I knew that things would possibly move rather quickly. I pulled back for a while, to truly understand the landscape of the industry. The corporations, the studios, guilds, who is affiliated with what, trends within, what talent traditionally works where and why, networking, etc .... When I approach those large agencies, I want to bring to the table what is needed to say "let's begin", and its pretty much there. My work has recently brought me back to Vancouver where I have had an opportunity to work with some of these studios/companies which has been fantastic, and to get to know the industry here as well and build my hours for the DGA and DGC. PIVOTAL has some very important work ahead, which requires a certain amount of self-insulation for that success to be achieved properly. When the next one or two projects begin, you will see a coming together of a lot of back story which will make this company strong, challenging in creativity, and unique. The next phase is to begin bringing in one or two business associates or partners to take the company to a more international level. It can be very hard to find that excellent chemistry, but I am excited.

ST: What drew you to film in particular as a form of creation?

CC: When I was little I was considered a child prodigy, and as much as that made things more interesting it made life fifty times more difficult. It was a Little Man Tate existence in many regards, not relating to other children, nor quite with adults. I felt as though I had gone through my childhood in a quiet isolation, with no conversation or challenge for years, it was painful at times. As well, I often dwelled on important long term issues which concerned the future of humanity, this likely has led to my taking on a more visionary approach to my projects.

One day, I had seen my first major "grown up" feature film at a large-screen theatre. I felt as though someone had put together the most fantastical puzzle imaginable and sent it across the country to say "Chantall, go and play!". It reached outer space, had creatures unimaginable, played with every facet of building worlds, and then invited people into your deepest imagination. I knew I was going to be a filmmaker right then, and when we got home I began creating my first 8mm color film. Many filmmakers and actors I have not (yet) met, for myself, are my family away from home because of that, providing small intimate conversation you can't often find elsewhere. It is a challenge to master a global perspective on business, politics, economics, technological development, and the poetry of communication, acting, music, sound, photography, fashion, writing, the list is endless. More than all of this, it is an opportunity to create an intimate shared experience for everyone. Bringing people together in that regard, or creating that moment when they see differently, or know each other, or even myself a little more is worth the years of endurance and work. I see it as almost writing myself into existence and being seen.

ST: Have you had to face any challenges particular to the fact that you're both an auteur and a woman?

CC: In terms of the work I do, my artistry and what I provide and create on my end, then no, not at all. In fact, I do not want to take away from many powerful male directors, but in terms of Beauty for example, my added experience as a woman is shaping the project into a visually expressive and narrative drama which I doubt would be attained by most men. People point out that being a young female director delving into such weighty and controversial areas lends an added interest for women as an audience, and men are intriged as well as enjoying it as evocative work.

Otherwise growing up, fellas were often my best friends, and excellent to work with in many industries. It is no secret that there is a lot of harassment in the entertainment industry (though to be fair I have seen it in many places), and I have encountered it quite a bit, and the situation around such is very weighty. It's rather ironic, as I am very sensual and that is expressed in much of my work, in some ways I cannot allow that environment to belittle me or shut me down on the other hand. The challenge is to keep pressing on, learn what you can as that understanding is needed for you to move forward, and know that not a bit of it changes anything of you or what you will build with your life. Eventually you or I as people meet that person or two who believes in you and in your work, and will support its creation. They say that film or Los Angeles has a home somewhere for everyone, mine is a little harder to find, but when I build it myself, I want people to walk through the front door, let out a heavy breath, and just be happy that they have finally arrived to something great.

ST: Can you talk a little about some of the studio projects you've been involved in the production of, such as Supernatural and the upcoming Fantastic Four sequel?

CC: Fantastic Four - Rise of the Silver Surfer, was a better experience each day on the whole. Towards the end I was happy to have a day observing the AD dept., director, producers, and lead actors. I was impressed by Chris Evans' professionalism as an actor, he was very consistent. Julian McMahon, as far as I could tell is hilarious, after every take as Doom, he would bust into some joke or offer a simple look that would make everyone laugh. One of the producers offered some good advice, and Tim Story as well. Jessica Alba was playing a more weighty scene, and had a very serious demeanor in character, very focused. Being on a larger production like that offered a lot of opportunity for me to speak with many people from many departments and learn a great deal regarding the challenges which these films face. I intend to take on a few of this size down the road so I took in as much as I could from special effects, to the sheer logistics of planning.

Supernatural is different in some regards, being a series, it is a tighter group. I have worked on four or five episodes. The leads, Jared and Jensen, seem to have a closer relationship with the crew of the show which in itself is a good and all too unusual thing for most sets. In terms of involvement, I have done the same, where I try to make certain that I learn ten new things each day I work, no matter from what department. Ironically, I haven't had a chance to know the core producers/directors/cast, etc. as well, but certainly would like to, and to explore other potential means of becoming involved if possible.

ST: Do you have any future or current projects you'd like to talk about?

CC: Certainly, thanks. As mentioned, Beauty takes place in the artistic area of French Montreal called the Plateau. A feel of Exotica, American Beauty, and somewhat Garden State. Drama, with erotic undertones. It is about a woman who is sexually conditioned and harmed in life, and retreats into the safe control of a dominatrix relationship. The film is her brave dismantling and discovery of herself. She is befriended and in the end is intimate with a busking magician who has become marginalized in his own circles, as he is actually a really good person. In a world of harm and control and conditioning she, Celene, and Liam, manage to share a moment of true intimacy as real people.

There are a lot of layers, surprises, and remarkable characters which I am not giving away, but it is a special film. I am very excited to see what each artistic contributor from costuming, director of photography, to the talent will bring, they will all have an incredible time. I have already been signing people onto it, and now have a shortlist of producers and talent I am approaching.

To keep it brief I have about four other features, and a very important trilogy in the works. The next will likely be Camp Desperation which is loosely based upon my grandmother who was a prospector (my family history has a remarkable array of people from many diverse backgrounds and successes), who has a love/hate love affair and almost buddy relationship with a Native man. Another is about a political Gordon Gekko-type matriarch who sets up an ill-matched wife for her son. I won't delve much into the rest; they range and grow in audience, budget, and genre, but each has importance.

The most of those being the (likely trilogy) films which are at the core of the philosophy of my life's work. It is based upon a unique philosophical theory I wrote regarding an alternative way in which time functions, but translating that into true human meaning and significance. It truly breaks new ground, it will be like a Rubik's Cube of a film, where walking through it, people by the end will understand the phenomena in a way which no other medium could likely touch. I really look forward to it every day, and know that for some people it can make life more alive and passionate, as it has for me.