Extended Interview: Kate Sykes Hunted - A Fan Film Based on Tomb Raider

Hunted is an upcoming fan film, a collaboration between a group of friends and cosplayers. It's an exciting venture and one I very much recommend following through their Facebook page. Last year I wrote an article with the help of interviews from the awesome cast and crew, as well as photographs from the filming.  Extracts of the interviews were used in the piece, and throughout this week, I'll be posting up their full answers. Today's interview is with Kate Sykes, the film's writer. 

Follow Kate here: Facebook   /  Twitter

As you're in the middle of production, what are your views on the project? Is it exciting or daunting?

It's tremendously exciting! I've wanted to make a Tomb Raider fan film ever since I decided I wanted to make films for a career, which was when I was about 14, so to be able to do this project all these years later with some of my personal inspirations is very special.

I know that everyone is working very hard to bring an enormous amount of detail to the project that will give it a level of accuracy that hasn't been seen before.

What about the latest incarnation of Lara and Tomb Raider inspired you to create this movie?

I have a more personal connection to the 2013 Tomb Raider game as it was the first game I was able to compete myself (thanks to Crystal Dynamics and Ben Heck who adapted a Tomb Raider Xbox360 controller for me), and it was that game that allowed me to go to Square Enix Europe and meet some of the team behind it. I think it's the best storyline Tomb Raider has had in all it's forms. It's a beautiful, emotional and brutal story that shows a broken young Lara who finds her inner fighter in order for her and those she loves to survive. It's something that's never been seen before in Tomb Raider. In past games, I felt that the fact that Lara was a loner and sarcastic made her seem a little arrogant and to me, less likeable. In this game, she has people she cares about and she has more of a warmth to her. In our film, I wanted to focus on Lara and Sam Nishimura's relationship and do my own variation of Rhianna Pratchett's story. As it's a short film, I had to cut a lot out anyway but I wanted it to be unique.

What inspired you to do this project?

I mentioned before that I wanted to make a fan film for a long time, that was always with Anne Roig in the lead role. I met her online in 2007 when she was working professionally as an actress. She is incredibly talented and has already shown that she's an excellent Lara Croft through her cosplay. When I found out her and Sara LaRochelle (of tombraidercoplay.com/laracroftcosplay.com) were meeting up to do a photoshoot as Lara Croft and Sam Nishimura, I just jumped at the opportunity to write something for them.

Later I found out that they both had planned to do a film film together anyway, so it was meant to be. To have Sara and Carla Lemley - who are also veterans in Tomb Raider cosplay - involved as well is a dream come true for me.

 Copyright: Kate Sykes

Additional Comments:

 

The Himiko costume was completely hand-made by my Mum (Sarah-Jane Underhill) and it ended up costing about £200 pounds to make. It then had the be flat packed in pieces and sent to the US in time and it only appeared at the end. In fact, My Mum together with Carla were responsible for saving the final scene.