The following is an interview with writer/director Gavin Michael Booth regarding the upcoming release of the interactive murder mystery, Dreamcrusher, as part of the Reward series. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Booth about his shared creative process in bringing the series and characters to life on the screen, what he hopes that audiences will enjoy about the interactive experience, and more!
Angie Martin, Fanbase Press Contributor: How did Dreamcrusher come about?
Gavin Michael Booth: That’s a heck of a story. Dreamcrusher is actually a title I borrowed from a feature film treatment I had. It was a contained story that took place in the music industry that I had hoped to shoot during the 2020 lockdown but wasn’t able to secure financing. The concept of Dreamcrusher as season 1 of the Reward series is just out of my brain at random. I have a real love for music and have spent enough time adjacent to the music industry with my history in music videos, documentaries, and touring with bands. Many of my projects of late have a music element to them or are connected to the world of the music industry, so it felt natural creating this story.
Outside of that, the basic concept of Reward, a show where viewers can interact and attempt to solve the mystery at home, was pitched to me by William Cheverie, founder of Reveel (the streaming platform that Reward is exclusive to). We’ve spent a few years developing how the interactive elements would work, and I’ve banked several ideas for different stories that can work within the mold. Everyone loves a murder mystery, but there are certain ways to write for this that are different from traditional television. That challenge has been one of the most exciting parts of being involved with the project.
AM: How do the viewers play into the streaming series?
GMB: We have our host Lindsay Ivan who can explain it better than I ever can! Viewers will watch each episode as it airs – this is still a television series. There are clues and evidence they must collect from each episode. Additionally, they will collect clues from the real world (online). Each week, through the rewardseries.tv website (or if they chose to download the app), they will enter the information they have found. Our system logs all of this and the points assigned to each correct discovery. Before the finale airs, they can submit their final decision of the main details of the case, and if they have all of those correct plus the most points for being a great detective each week, they have their shot at the $100,000 reward.
AM: Dreamcrusher has an incredible through line of following your dreams and those who would crush them. Does this have origins in real life?
GMB: I’ve definitely had my dreams crushed in the entertainment industry more times than I can count. It’s vicious and dishonest. That’s part of building a thick skin to even want to keep pushing your dreams. I’ve also seen friends and collaborators on the music side of things have terribly crushing situations with labels, management, fans, media, etc, etc. Dreamcrusher is completely fictional but definitely calls on emotions and situations I’m familiar with.
AM: You’ve worked with Brittany Charlotte Smith (Gwyn Thompson) in the past. Tell us a bit about the projects, Profiles of Remarkable Neophytes (P.O.R.N.) and Artifice. What drove you to want to work with her again?
GMB: Brittany is a fantastic actor. She wrote P.O.R.N. and she was one of the writers on Artifice. It was actually Artifice that connected us originally when that producing team hired me to direct. There’s people you meet and collaborate with where it is just easy and at every step you enjoy the working relationship (and friendship!). Brittany is one of those. We’ve always stayed in touch and both were living in Los Angeles, and when I was wrapping up directing a feature (Sydney vs. Sean), she asked if I would direct P.O.R.N. I wanted the opportunity to work with her again and turns out with two for two experiences we were set to continue. What I also loved is that Artifice is dystopian sci-fi and P.O.R.N. is a comedy – two genres I love but don’t often get to direct in. That is always enticing if I feel I’m the right person to bring the story to screen.
With Dreamcrusher, knowing that I needed an actor I can trust to take on such a huge role, that could also sing Gwyn’s music and also handle a sizeable amount of improv – Brittany is the only actor who came to mind. In fact, I only proceeded with the Dreamcrusher storyline once I knew she was interested and understood what I was looking to create. Brittany is part of the legendary UCB improv program in Los Angeles. Brittany has the voice for Gwyn. Brittany’s dramatic acting skills and choices are fantastic. I believe people will see just how talented Brittany is with this leading role. Gwyn has made sides to her and the series covers a good period of time, so it was no small feat for Brittany to keep all of that together and bring out a layered performance.
AM: You have quite the background directing music videos for several high-profile artists, and now there is original music in Dreamcrusher.
GMB: We do get to hear a new single that the character Gwyn is releasing. That’s titled… well, I can’t tell you that just yet! Next to knowing that Brittany was on board, I had one other call to make to ensure that Dreamcrusher could be everything it needed to be. That was to Bleu. Bleu is a songwriter/producer/music artist in his own right. I’ve been friends with and collaborating with Bleu for fifteen-ish years. Folks might know his song from the Sam Raimi Spider-Man soundtrack, others might know him for his songs in Disney’s Tinkerbell & the Legend of the NeverBeast, and others might know the songs he’s written and/or produced for artists such as Jonas Brothers, Selena Gomez or Demi Lovato. Bleu clearly was perfect to write pop music for the series, but, more than that, he’s an artist that always understands the weird and different projects I aim to make. I didn’t need just a song, I needed someone that believed in the bigger picture and how the music would fit into the vision of Reward/Dreamcrusher.
AM: How did you get started in filmmaking?
GMB: Being obsessed with movies. That combined to growing up with a father who had a darkroom and loved photography. When I was 12, I bought a video camera and that was it – making silly movies and horror film parodies with my friends turned into studying video production in a class in high school with a teacher who really believed in my early talents. By the time I was done high school, all I wanted to do was write and direct movies. I am a self-starter – I found a way into shooting documentary tour videos for the band, Third Eye Blind, by sneaking into one of their shows. I found my way into co-directing my first feature by just going for it. Learning by failing at every step in those days.
AM: You’ve directed several projects spanning myriad genres. What is your favorite genre, and what draws you to it?
GMB: I think my favourite genre in drama. I love great character dramas. I love movies that can make you feel the human experience. That’s really hard to say definitely because science fiction and horror/thriller are also a large part of my viewing and writing. I think it is the dark side of humanity that draws me to it. Though, most of my stories have at least a sprinkle of hope and optimism no matter what I’m putting the characters through.
AM: A few of your projects can be considered experimental filmmaking, much like Dreamcrusher. Tell us more about Last Call and Fifteen.
GMB: Last Call is a split-screen feature film shot in a true single take. What that means is that we had two camera crews, in two different parts of the city filming simultaneously and in editing, we create the split screen. What the audience experiences is a movie that never flinches, never breaks the scene or a fade out to the next day – they are put into the tension and drama without any relief or pause. With Fifteen, it is similar in that it is a single take, but it was filmed and streamed live. 100% live. The actors and the crew had to do everything perfect that one and only time. This was a project for Blumhouse in which viewers believed a serial killer was broadcasting a night of his torment from his smartphone.
AM: What films or filmmakers do you look to for inspiration?
GMB: I’m inspired by so many filmmakers and films, but the two that I find most fascinating are Richard Linklater and Steven Soderbergh. Both are constantly making films that are left of centre, have experimental elements to them, and neither of them seem interested in doing what is mainstream. I like that if you wanted their bodies of work and didn’t know it was the same director, you might not realize it. Each film feels very different than the last (excluding sequels). That is something I strive for. I like experimenting with different looks, tones, styles of framing and shooting as much as I like the bigger experimental ideas.
AM: What advice do you have for those who want to follow their own dreams in filmmaking?
GMB: Stop reading this and go do it. If you have a smartphone and a laptop, you can create your first short film right away. You have YouTube to release it to the world. You have everything you need right there at your fingertips. And the sooner you start creating and learning from mistakes, the sooner you grow as an artist and get good at making films. Waiting for the right conditions, the right budget, the right time is the opposite of what an artist should be doing. In terms of the business side of things – if you have film festivals within reasonable travel of where you live – get out there – go see indie films – meet the filmmakers – start to build your network of collaborators. Ask if you can visit sets, work on sets – just jump right in and get started.
AM: What projects are you working on now?
GMB: Sydney vs. Sean is at the finish line of post-production will be out sooner than later. That’s a rom-com about a couple signing their divorce papers, but before the ink can dry, we’re leaving through their past and everything that brought them to this point. That stars Janel Parrish (Pretty Little Liars) and T.R. Knight (Grey’s Anatomy).
I have another experimental feature film, a grounded sci-fi which revolves around a band. That film is post-production also. There’s a season 2 of Reward in the making. Details soon!
AM: Anything else you would like readers to know?
GMB: Sign up for Dreamcrusher, season one of Reward at http://www.rewardseries.tv – that’s how you register for your detective portal and will have your shot at the $100,000 reward!
About Gavin Michael Booth
Writer and director Gavin Michael Booth collaborated with producer Jason Blum (The Purge, Get Out) to create Fifteen, Blumhouse’s groundbreaking project and the first-ever movie broadcast live. He also directed the horror feature, The Scarehouse (Universal) and the innovative drama, Last Call. The latter is a split-screen, real-time feature filmed with two camera crews simultaneously capturing a story from different parts of a city—without any hidden cuts. Last Call earned critical acclaim, with Harper’s Bazaar naming it “one of the best films of 2021.”
Looking ahead to 2025, Booth has two new feature films debuting: the sci-fi, music-centred drama Primary and the dramedy Sydney vs. Sean, starring Janel Parrish (Pretty Little Liars) and T.R. Knight (Grey’s Anatomy). Beyond filmmaking, Booth has directed over 100 music videos, including multi-platinum artists such as Third Eye Blind, SYML and Bleu. Booth is currently the showrunner and director of Dreamcrusher, an interactive murder mystery streaming series with a twist. The show invites viewers to play detective, with one skilled participant winning a $100,000 prize at the end of Season 1.
