Getting To Know The Fabulous
Sadie Duarte
Interview By: Ginger Coyote
Nikki Palomino asked me to join in as a co-host on her radio show "Dazed" at the last minute last March.. She had booked Will Sid Smith and a couple filmmakers who wanted to promote a film that Will was providing music for as her guests... The radio show is live at 7PM P.S.T. so Will had to be up at 3AM for the interview.. Ironically, Will slept through his alarm.. However, one of the other guests was Sadie Duarte who was in Spain.. The other was Steve Royal who was in Los Angeles.. Sadie was so incredibly nice and knowledgeable. Since the interview she has been very helpful to Ms. Palomino.. Introducing her to different people in the industry as guests for her radio show.. I decided the time was right to get a interview with Sadie to find out more about her..
Punk Globe:
Can you give the readers some background on yourself?
Sadie Duarte:
I hold a B.A. in English Studies (Literature & Linguistics) and an M.A in British & Hollywood Cinema. I am also a teacher, translator, screenwriter, freelance journalist and a filmmaker.
Punk Globe:
I met you on Nikki Palomino's Dazed Radio show.. You were talking about a film that you were co-producing with another filmmaker in Los Angeles. Tell us about that project?
Sadie Duarte:
I wanted to make a 35-45 minute musical film in English to promote artists from different countries. I spread the news on Twitter and Facebook and many people loved the idea and wanted to join me. I thought that DMus could a good title for this movie as it's easy to remember, has two different meanings: "doctor of music" and "Direct Message Us" (because of Twitter) and you don't really need to translate it in other languages. I found a small production company in A Coruña (Spain) and these producers got very interested in my idea. For all of us, it was an amazing chance to work with different artists, actors and songwriters. I asked director/producer Steve Royall in Los Angeles if he wanted to be a part of this project. Steve and I have a similar vision of things and I was sure he was going to do a very good job. Steve didn't hesitate and agreed from the very start. I sent him my script and told him to write a couple of scenes with other characters and do it in such a way that both scripts could be put together. A few days later, he sent me these scenes and I wrote some additional lines so both scripts could already be seen as only one. We finally shot in Lugo (Spain) with our Spanish cast and crew and Steve filmed in LA with his own team a couple of months later. DMus is currently on post-production and it'll be ready at the end of January 2015.
Punk Globe:
I was surprised to find out that you were centered in Spain because of your knowledge of American films and filmmakers.. Did you attend film school in America?
Sadie Duarte:
I did a scriptwriting course with the Hollywood Scriptwriting Institute after finishing my first technical degree in Tourism, but my knowledge mostly comes from my MA in Hollywood and British Cinema at University of Zaragoza (Spain) which I did in 2008-2009. A few years later, I opened my Twitter & FB accounts and I started getting in touch with many artists, especially filmmakers.
Punk Globe:
You certainly know how to utilize the Social Network. Who are some of your favorite Film Makers?
Sadie Duarte:
I love Douglas Sirk's melodramas. I think Mr. Sirk's use of symbolism in movies was absolutely outstanding. Every single thing, every single move has a meaning and spectators should unveil what the subtext reads. I also admire J. J. Abrams, Steven Spielberg, Baz Luhrmann, Ridley Scott and Alejandro Amenábar among others. Independent filmmakers like Kelvin Crumplin and Johan Earl have so much to say too. In my opinion, Earl's WWI drama Forbidden Ground/Battle Ground (2013) is one of the best Australian films ever made.
Punk Globe:
Our mutual friend musician Will Sid Smith is involved with the film.. But sadly he slept through his alarm.... How did you get involved with so many different people in different countries?
Sadie Duarte:
Ha, ha! I got kind of disappointed when Nikki Palomino couldn't find him online that night as Will's spoken English is obviously much better than mine! It was 4:00AM in Spain, actually and that's certainly not a good time if you are a foreigner and want to speak English properly! Anyway, coming back to your question, when I started talking to people about my film DMus I did it through FB and Twitter. Some times, they dropped me a line and other times, I sent a message to the artists I thought could be suitable for this film. For songwriters/singers, after listening to some of their songs, I asked them if they wanted to be involved in this project. I personally chose all the background tracks for the soundtrack. But we also needed a music composer and then, award-winning Jesús Calderón turned up. He wanted to write the rest of the songs and offered himself to do it. Calderón is one of the best music composers in Spain so I couldn't say 'no'.
Punk Globe:
What tracks by Will Sid Smith did you use? Any other musicians or bands that are involved the film?

Sadie Duarte:
Will was kind enough to tell me I could use any of his songs for my film. I chose Urban Country and Tonight. Tonight is the theme song for DMus. It's the kind of track you can easily remember and never forget. From the very first moment the Spanish cast listened to the song, everybody wanted to sing it! Tonight was also re-recorded by four of our actors and both versions, Will's and the cast's are included in the soundtrack. Apart from our official composer Jesús Calderón, the rest of the musicians I worked with are: Francesca Romana, Real Experts, Twelve Boys and the Spanish band ChocoLat.
Punk Globe:
How impressive having Jesus Calderon to be involved with the film. Congratulations! Were there any "name actors" involved in the film?
Sadie Duarte:
Most of our Spanish actors/actresses have worked in musicals and/or films and TV series. There are also a couple of young actors whose first important project is DMus too, but I think that they will probably be unknown for the American public. Yet, I'm sure you'll have heard about our LA cast: Tiffany Daniels (she performed in shows such as The Music Man, Crazy For You, 7 Brides for 7 Brothers, Guys and Dolls, and My Fair Lady. Fox’s “Mobbed”, Disney’s “Shake it Up”, and the Jerry Lewis’ labor day MDA telethon. Recent stage credits include a national tour of the musical Aida, “Squeak” in the 1st National Tour of Oprah Winfrey’s The Color Purple, “Lorraine” in Jerry Mitchell’s production of Hairspray at the Hollywood Bowl and she originated the role of “LIZ” in SURF the musical at the Planet Hollywood Casino in Las Vegas. Tiffany’s film credits include: “Gangster Squad” and Make your Move (fka: COBU 3D) where she plays “Rei” one of the “Cobu Girls”. Tiffany recently received her first CO-STAR roles on “Hart of Dixie”, and “Anger Management” and is a Series Regular “Krissy” in the American remake of Boys Before Friends (Boys over Flowers in Japan webseries), Elia Cantu (she starred in the web series "Memoirs of a MakeUp Artist", co-starred as "Tammy" in Criminal Minds (CBS) and as "Jasmine" in Steve Royall's This Indie Thing and finally, actress/model Bahia Gold (she's the face of Elizabeth Arden cosmetic campaign, starred in lots of commercials, TV, theater and films like The World Ends Without You and Paris).
Punk Globe:
You have so much talent involved with DMus.. Tell us about your other films that you have done?
Sadie Duarte:
I worked as an extra for a Spanish comic show in the past, but DMus is the first film I wrote, produced and directed. I had never though of directing a movie until my producers (MT Producciones) came up with the idea. I got a bit scared at first, then I thought, "why not?". I asked another DMus producer who lives in my hometown (Jorge Aparicio) and he didn't oppose either. It's been a challenge and at the same time I see it as an open door to work on other similar projects.
Punk Globe:
You are also a screen writer ?
Sadie Duarte:
Yes, I am. Actually, I wrote the script for DMus except for the scenes that were shot in LA. There were several revisions as the initial script was much longer so after talking to my producers, we decided cut down a few scenes and I also wrote some additional lines here and there.
Punk Globe:
Tell us more about being a script writer?
Sadie Duarte:
I remember writing a screenplay in English titled Bluebell Valley when I was 20. When I was a teenager, I liked TV series like Falcon Crest or Dallas, so this script had a similar storyline. It was good fun to write it, but then, I started working as an executive assistant and just forgot about it. Although I had started writing when I was seven years old, I never took scriptwriting very seriously. To me, it was just a hobby and never thought I'd go very far with this. I started reconsidering this idea after writing my second novel for YA Souls of Fire. More than an author, I've always been a screenwriter. I have a very visual concept of every scene and I tend to be brief and concise. If I can describe something in one page or two, I never write ten. And I'm very poetic too. I use many metaphors and symbolism and that's certainly easier to see and know what I mean on screen.
Punk Globe:
On an average how long of a process is it to get a film made?
Sadie Duarte:
That depends on the kind of movie you want to film and your budget. It doesn't usually take more than two months to shoot a full-feature film (low budget - 3/4 weeks), whereas a 15-20 minute short film should be ready in one or two days. More budget, more options. DMus was filmed in four days 'cause we had different settings and many songs. It was a very ambitious project from the start. As a matter of fact, nobody in Spain has ever made a film like ours before. It was a risk and a challenge. To tell you the truth, most people thought it was mission impossible. They had to believe it when I posted on Facebook: "Ladies & gentlemen... HABEMUS DMus!"
Punk Globe:
I can imagine that funding is also a factor?
Sadie Duarte:
We knew that filming a musical was going to be expensive. It turned out to be much more expensive than we thought at first and, unless you're a celebrity, it's incredibly hard to get any kind of funding in Spain. The only possible way was to ask everybody, cast, crew, musicians, etc., if they wanted to collaborate and work for free, otherwise we couldn't possibly do it. They all agreed. Yet, there was a problem. When people work for free they can decide to step back at any moment and you can't complain. So when rehearsals started, some actors changed their minds and left. Others had busy agendas and couldn't stay. It was a nightmare but finally, we managed to find the right cast.
Punk Globe:
Did you have private investors or did you use Kick Starter or Fund Me?
Sadie Duarte:
Absolutely nothing. MT Producciones started a crowdfunding campaign for DMus but it didn't work out, so we paid with our own money for the filming, travel expenses & lodging for the cast as well as post-production.
Punk Globe:
In doing research about you I discovered you were also a successful author... Tell us about that..
Sadie Duarte:
I have two novels for YA published: "Alas para Soñar" (in Spanish) and "Almas de Fuego - Souls of Fire" (in English and Spanish). You can check my book trailer for Souls of Fire here:

(English Version)




(Spanish Version)



This is the Spanish cast: Adriana Gil, Naira Rod, Dave Aidan, Albert López-Murtra, Martín Maez, Pablo Escamilla, Miguel Díaz, Miguel Morales, Adrián Riquelme, Rafa Higuera, Jon González and Lara Baladrón.


I'm also a translator English-Spanish. I recently translated Ia Uaro's Sydney's Song. You can also find more info about myself as an author here: http://www.sydneyssong.net/sadieduarte.htm
Punk Globe:
What Authors inspire you?
Sadie Duarte:
Jane Austen, E. M. Forster, Alberto Vázquez-Figueroa and Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer. For many years, my favourite author has always been Nicholas Sparks.
Punk Globe:
Has any of your books been been developed into an adaption for a film?
Sadie Duarte:
Although I've had 11 academic and literary awards for short stories, I've never been that lucky. Now and then I get some letters from readers telling me that Souls of Fire could be a good film. I'm obviously flattered by the idea and hope there's a chance to see one of my novels on screen someday.
Punk Globe:
Do you have any Internet Addresses you would like to share with the readers?
Sadie Duarte:
People can find me on FB: https://www.facebook.com/sadie.duarte.3 and Twitter: @sadieduarte. I'm also the administrator of DMus official page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dmusmovie
Punk Globe:
Tell us about Maria?
Sadie Duarte:
Maria is my middle name! Maria has always been a survivor. She may stumble and fall, but she always stands up and fights back. And whatever happens, she never gives up.
Punk Globe:
So Nikki did not fuck up when she called you Maria on the air?
Sadie Duarte:
No Maria is my middle name..
Punk Globe:
Describe yourself in three words?
Sadie Duarte:
Passionate, hard-working and creative.
Punk Globe:
Any words of encouragement for young girls looking to get involved with Film-making?
Sadie Duarte:
They should never stop chasing their dreams. Even if the whole world is against them and no matter what people say, if this is what they really want to do, they have to try. Nothing is easy in this life, but EVERYTHING is possible.