So time seems to have gone by? I have been neglecting this space lately because it's been the most overwhelming time of my life, and sitting down and writing about it just felt WEIRD because I was in the middle of all of it and had to wait it out a little. You know what I mean? (You can ALWAYS find me on instagram though.) I think this blog will have to be for more sporadic things. The big news or a random thought. These last couple of years I've felt bad for not blogging but I don't really feel that way anymore. So that feels good. This is my home base, that I will always come back to.
ANYWAYS! Here's what's been going on lately!
Lights Out had a sneak first screening at LA Film Festival in June. We really had no idea what to expect but there was a red carpet and a pre party and it was super glamorous. So it was a great rehearsal for the big premiere that was a month and a half away at that time.
We also had a screening at VidCon and it was AWESOME! More than 2000 teenagers screaming their heads off! It was magical, you guys! I was overdressed, as always.
I went to my first ever Hollywood round table reading for a movie. Because I have a small part in Annabelle 2 that David is directing! I actually didn't expect to get any part in it because there are not a lot of characters in the movie that would fit me, but there is one- and I got it! SO HAPPY!!!
We also took our usual evening strolls. Here's David up at the reservoir next to a huge Agave.
We kept furnishing and decorating our apartment. We bought a beautiful Jung Koch Quentell Pull down school chart that I've been drooling after for years.
We were invited to a super fancy party in Malibu. It was us and a a whole bunch of fancy people and celebrities. We are not really party animals, but there was AMAZING sushi (for free!), a beautiful ocean view and it was lots of fun people watching.
David started shooting Annabelle 2 on the Warner Bros studio lot and I got to roam around taking photos of cool set buildings.
And then I broke my rib. A week before the premiere. I just have the best luck.
People were so sweet and helpful, and I even got flowers from the Annabelle 2 crew and that made me so happy!
The weekend after was the Lights Out Press Junket. That was a crazy weekend. We did so many interviews, answering the same questions a million times over, and got to sign Lights Out posters (don't know what happened with them after).
Photo of a monitor with David taking a photo of us. So meta.
And then it was the 19th and the premiere for Lights Out. I got my hair and makeup done by the amazing guiniushair and agostinamakeup. These two are just lovely! You can see my mother in the background and the photo is taken by my dad. Because, yes! They came all the way from Sweden to share this experience with us!
Look! So glamorous! I thought "my first ever movie premiere- let's go full Old Hollywood Glam!" The earrings are made by me, because OF COURSE!
LOVE this photo from the red (well, black) carpet!! My dad took it with his phone and I think it's the absolute best photo from the premiere. We're so cute! And look at all the photographers! I think this was the peak of all the Craziness we've experienced during this entire adventure.
Here's another angle taken by our manager Jeremy (YES! I have representation now too! More on that later).
The dress is vintage and I bought it in Sweden two years ago. I have waited for the perfect occasion to wear it and when it became clear that Lights Out was about to become a movie I decided if there's a premiere I'm going to wear my red dress! It's just the most lovely dress. The purse is from Cherry Pick Vintage and I actually gasped a little when I found it. It's pretty, weird and fun- all in one! That's what I call a PERFECT purse.
My parents were staying in LA for ten days so after the premiere I took it on myself to show them all the places I love in this strange and amazing city. We went to Venice Canals.
And we saw the ocean (and I bought hat).
We went to the Bradbury building.
And the Getty museum.
There was a HUGE brush fire going on in the mountains outside LA wisping up sand into the air creating this mystical effect. The sun turned bright red and the entire sky was orange and post apocalyptic.
On my parent's last evening in LA I took them on a long walk up to the reservoir and over the hills.
After checking out the filmset one last time it was time for my parents to go back to Sweden. But first a photo! It was so lovely having them here during this overwhelming and exciting experience. I am so happy they came here. Now they have seen all the places that mean a lot to me and they know how our place and neighborhood looks and they have shared a little bit of this adventure with us.
And last week our Swedish car got sent to its death. And you might wonder why that is important, but it just felt kind of significant. Bye Soggy, you were loved and we had so many adventures with you. Thank you!
We found a HUGE Lights Out poster to pose infront.
So, now we are on the other side of Lights Out. The movie is going FANTASTIC in theaters everywhere,and it just blows our minds that this even happened. Two years ago we were still in Sweden.
And then last Friday it premiered in Sweden. Getting messages and comments from friends, family and acquaintances has been the most overwhelming part of all of this. And it surprised me so much! I was not prepared for it! I think I thought some of my friends would go see it over the first week and some would not go see it at all because they don't like horror. But you know what? All of them went the first few days! My two best friends who HATE horror movies went the very first night! I was so emotional! And my highschool friends went yesterday and sent me a video of them chanting my name during the credits, waiting for my name to pop up in the list of actors. And when my name appeared they were just screaming! I have been watching that video at least forty times now, crying happy tears. You can see the clip here.
Oh, and about the representation I mentioned earlier! I now have managers and agents! I'm represented by Paradigm and Gotham Group so now this feels even more real for me. This actually led to so much more than just a one time crazy Hollywood experience. I'm believing in myself and I have people behind me, believing in me. This acting dream that I've had my entire life might actually take off! Omg, I'm gonna start crying again soon if I don't stop. It's emotional, you guys!
Hej! What a weekend! David and I went to WonderCon for the Lights Out marketing and first reveal of the Lights Out trailer and the internet went bonkers. Let's take a look at all the shenanigans we were up to!
(David and I even made t-shirts!)
But first things first: The trailer!
It feels really great that there's actually proof of this movie out in the world now. And that I'm in it too! AWESOME! I'll be in the beginning of the movie and as you can see in the trailer it's a big nod to the shortfilm.
The official Warner Bros upload is here and if you want to tweet about it, make sure to hashtag with #LightsOut.
Like I mentioned earlier David and I went to Wondercon on Saturday. It was such a blast! We sat on the stage of the HUGE Microsoft Theatre and talked about how Lights Out went from a short to a feature. Maria Bello was there (she's in the movie!) and James Wan who's producing Lights Out. It was so much fun to be a part of all that.
Photo Credit: Found this on twitter from audience member Judith.
After the panel David and I talked to a whole bunch of journalists in a Press Line. FUN and quite exhausting. David also spoke one on one with a few journalists, and then we could roam around WonderCon! A few fans came up and talked with us and that felt so lovely! To see some of you for real.
My sister and her kids are in LA for a week. It was so great to have her in town for this crazy Hollywood experience, and to be able to show her all of it!
When the trailer was uploaded to the internet comments started to pour in. Because this entire journey started on the internet we love to read all the comments, and we try to keep up with everything that's happening. This time it was harder because it was just EVERYWHERE! I have seen a lot of wonderful comments mentioning me though and I thought I'd share some of them here since they've made me so happy.
I want you to know that even if my part in the Lights Out feature isn't a very big one your comments make me so happy and sure that this is just the beginning. The fact that you want to see me on the big screen, that you root for me, makes me very hopeful and warm inside. So THANK YOU for that!
I am so proud of the journey that David and I have made so far. From making 0 budget shorts in our apartment in Sweden, to being in LA turning our shortfilm into a feature film for a big Hollywood studio. It has gone so fast! And this is just the very start. We have more shorts to make, and we have more full length movies to make. And it is so lovely to have all of you supporting us along the way.
HEY! Look at this! A new short from David and me! This one is a bit different from the others though. Less horror, more humor. But still very much spooky.
See it in the embedded video below, or follow the links to our youtube or vimeo.
So, I moved from the haunted Lights Out apartment! But what good did that do?
Hej! Soooo, I went back into the abandoned hospital today. The reason why I've had the opportunity to visit this place is because we filmed some scenes for the Lights Out movie there these past two days. While the film team was in another building I could lurk around however much I wanted. So after my scenes were done and I could get back into my normal clothes I sneaked away for an hour or so again. This time to the basement, the kitchen and... the morgue... (more on that soon).
When you find a room with a locker that spells Disaster wrong, all you can do is scream.
"They did WHAT here?"
What is this shiny thing? And who is that person?
"I think you're right Marge, this cafeteria seems to be closed today."
Then I found the kitchen. What's cooking in that big ol' cauldron to the right?
Who is making noise?! Stop it immediately!
And then, it took a turn for the weird(er)... I found the morgue. And thought to myself: I wonder what is inside those metal cabinets in the walls. Imagine if it was a dead person. I opened one of them...
...AND FOUND THIS!!!!
(It's a doll. Yes. I'm sure. There's yellow foam where his ribs should be. And that nose is just a little bit too perfect. Plus, I looked -very- closely)
The weird thing is that I kind of expected it to be there. I had already told my scared brain that there might be a dead person in there so when I first saw the scalp I was like "Oh, yep, there's the dead guy." What mean person decided to leave that there after filming?!?! Apparently CSI have been shooting here. So maybe they are responsible for scaring the crap out of me.
But it was quite awesome to go back to set and show my "find" to everybody in the crew...
After seeing the "dead guy" I was actually a bit shaken and all the dark rooms looked super scary instead of exciting so that was the end of today's self portrait bonanza. But what a great ending, ey? And here's a photo in which you can see me three times. One of me is in the back, acting away. The other two on the screens. It felt great to be filming again. I really love it, and hope I get to do it more and more in the future!