Infected: The Hatching has begun...

This MIPTV, RHI Entertainment is introducing a diverse slate of movies and miniseries including "Infected", a science fiction thriller starring Isabella Rossellini ("Merlin"), Judd Nelson ("Breakfast Club") and Gil Bellows ("Ally McBeal"). "Infected" (airing on the SCIFI Channel in the US on 4/20/08) follows two reporters for the Boston Daily trying to crack a case of alien invasion.

Miracle Screenings Magazine sat down for an exclusive interview with the all-star cast of the movie to talk about their respective roles, working on the set and with the renowned Halmis.

Gil Bellows is Ben Mosher, Judd Nelson is Malcolm Burgess, Isabella Rossellini is Carla Plume and Maxim Roy is Lisa Wallace

Let's talk about the story and the characters that you portray in "Infected"?

Gil Bellows : My character's name is Ben Mosher and he is the editor of the mystery and science supplement to the newspaper, The Boston Daily. He is not satisfied with his line of work, he looks at it as though it's not real journalism. He is also licking his wounds from a pretty nasty breakup with his ex-girlfriend Lisa but he is still hoping to reconnect with her. She also works for the Boston Daily, as a star reporter. Well, Ben and Lisa get swept up in a story about aliens trying to take over the world, by taking over people's bodies. They work together to try to figure out what is going on. While working together they rediscover their feelings for each other.

Judd Nelson : My character's name is Malcolm and let's say of the bad guys, I am the good guy. So I am the good bad guy. And I want to help the hero and the heroine and we have to do it fast because the bad guys are on a quick time schedule.

Isabella Rossellini : My character, Carla Plume is an editor-in-chief of a newspaper. She is a go-getter, a woman with a big career. She's very assertive. In the film, I am also being inhabited by an alien. People don't know that I have changed and that I am no longer Carla but am now an alien. And I use my power and my assertiveness to skew the news, or to control, this overtaking that is slowly happening in favor of the aliens.

As an actor, do you deliver a different sort of approach to a film depending on what genre it is?

Bellows: I think as an actor it is really important in terms of how you approach any genre that you believe in the circumstances that you are experiencing because if you believe in them, then the audience will believe in them. I think this is most important in a genre like Sci-Fi—to create a world of believability, to let what your character is experiencing and going through be something that the audience can identify with because I think that is what anyone who loves this genre gravitates to.

What is it about this project that captivated your attention?

Rossellini : I always found that alien stories were fascinating when I was a little girl. I really believed in, at the time we called them, Martians, thinking that maybe they would come from Mars. I always liked the B-movies from the 1950s. This script felt very much like those movies, in fact, when I read it, I thought it was a remake, but I was told that it was an original. It traces back to all those great traditions that we have on the mysteries. It was able to capture those thrilling feelings that I had when I was a little girl.

Gil what was it like working with such industry icons as Isabella and Judd?

Bellows : Well anytime you get a chance to work with people that you respect and that you have appreciated as a movie lover—it's one of the great perks of the job. And I think when you have someone like Isabella Rossellini in your film it gives the film a level of class and stature immediately just because of her presence. She is a lovely person who exudes class, poise and professionalism, and she's a beautiful woman. She's had a wonderful career and she's in our film so that's great! Judd's performance in "The Breakfast Club", I thought he should have be nominated, and granted, it is a teen movie, but he just blew away everybody in that movie. He was just unbelievable, and that movie was sort of the dawn of the teen drama. It brought it back to iconic films like "Splendor in the Grass" or "Rebel Without A Cause", I mean it had that much cultural relevance in the moment it came out and he was incredible in that film. So the opportunity to work with both of these two people in this movie is a huge bonus. And it is one of those things that your kids and your grandkids are going to get a kick out of—along with your friends, and I got a kick out of it as well, while I was working on the film.

What have been your favorite scenes to shoot?

Bellows : I have to say that I really enjoyed smashing the needle into my hip socket to pull the bone marrow out. It is so bizarre. And my whole goal was to gross out the people in front of the monitor and to make them think that I was in absolute utter agony and when I could see that they had lost a little color on their faces I thought we are getting someplace. So I enjoyed that.

Nelson : Well it is pretty funny actually. My schedule has been pretty front-loaded. So my first few days I pretty much did all my scenes where I do a lot of exposition. Talking about why we are here, what the purpose of our plan is, what they should be aware of, and what they need to do if they might want to survive. So it all happens for me on the first day. Since then I just sneak in the back of scenes, show up at the end of scenes, and what is left for me is some of the action stuff, which for me is very minor. I have a big win and a big loss. And that is what is coming up.

Rossellini : I don't have a favorite scene but what I like about this film is that it constantly throws you off. You think it is a romantic comedy, you think you are following two people in love, it twists and turns. But really the story is, that the world, the human world is slowly being taken over.

What have been the most difficult scenes to shoot?

Bellows : So far the challenges haven't been specific to any scene. When you are doing a film when you start at a certain level of tension and then you have to sustain it all the way through. In terms of your vision with the director and the whole team about how you are going to capture each scene one after another because you are not doing it in sequence. So that has been a real pleasure here with this production because I think Francois the producer, Adam the director, and all the cast seem to have the same vision of what we are trying to execute and how we are trying to do it.

Nelson : The most challenging scene was certainly the first day where I had 12 pages of dialogue! You normally have the first day to meet the camera crew, say hello to the sound guys, get your bearings, and know the names of the people you will be working with. So that was challenging, because I didn't want to not know it and then slow every one down. You look at the call sheet and go that is a lot of work to do today. So it was challenging to deal with the time constraints.

What kinds of special effects are being used on this film?

Bellows: There are a number of visual effects that will be used in telling this story as well as special effects. So we are working with some great prosthetics make-up artists as well as computer effects people. The computer effects people line the scene up well in advance and they highlight to both Adam Weissman, the director, and the actors what we need to be conscious of when we are actually shooting the scene so that they can most effectively execute what their part is. The closer and the clearer that you can be with the effects team the better the outcome is ultimately going to be, and fortunately we have some very performance sensitive people that we are working with.

Talk about working with the director, Adam Weissman. Have you ever worked with him before?

Bellows : I have never worked with Adam Weissman before. Though we have a great ability to communicate and understand what the other person is trying to do. I really enjoy his energy on set, his vision of what he thinks this film is, his clarity, plus he has a great sense of humor, and he is very open for ideas and I think that is always a good sign when you are working with a director. I hope I get a chance to work with him again.

Nelson : No I never have. But I hope it is the first of many, because he just has a good manner. I really think that is the most important thing. There are these subtle relationships that you don't know really until you work on one. He's very nice, he treats people well, doesn't get all riled, and the days get made so he engenders hospitality. And as an actor you love a situation where people aren't yelling and screaming although in my life people always seem to be yelling and screaming at me so it doesn't really bother me anymore. Adam is a good guy to work for, and the first few scenes that I had there were some kind of strange lines and stuff, and he was like ‘look, however you want to say them do it, and if it doesn't hurt the story and it gets the exposition out a bit easier then he was all for it.'Adam seems to get along with everyone and you want to work hard for someone like that.

You have worked with RHI Entertainment previously, what has you experience been like?

Bellows : Having an opportunity to work with Mr. Halmi and his son and their whole company is a rite of passage. Robert Halmi, Sr. has probably made close to 300 movies. So my goal is for every 100 of his movies that he makes, I want to do one of them. I am guessing he's at about 300 so he owes me one more movie!

Rossellini : I did "Earthsea" with the Sci Fi Channel, a few years ago, and I've worked with Robert Halmi Sr. and Robert Halmi, Jr. several times. From "Odyssey" to "Merlin" to "Don Quixote". I think Bob Halmi's goal is to create a body of work that is meant for the family, not just the young, but also the parents, and even the grandparents. Which I think is a very consistent mission that he had throughout "Earthsea". And it is a great pleasure to be part of a film that you can see with your children or with the older ones of the family. It is a film that everybody would enjoy. It's a very hard note to strike and I have always admired Bob for seeking a body of work that he dedicates to the whole family. And always the best crew, the best locations, the best make-up, the best costumes, the best actors, just the best quality of the work is always great.