Award-winning filmmaker, music director, composer, and Grammy nominee Martin Guigui discusses his new film Paradise Cove in our interview.
Guigui has directed Feature Films, Music Videos, composed music for film and TV, worked on over 100 productions, produced over 50 music albums, toured extensively, and is a Music Director for high profile Broadcast Concert Events.
Starring BAFTA Nominee Mena Suvari (“Ameican Horror Story,” “South of Hell”), Todd Grinnell (“Revenge,” “One Day at a Time”), and Kristin Bauer van Straten (“True Blood”) the thriller centers on a contractor and his wife who move to Malibu to flip his mother’s beach house only to be terrorized by the deranged homeless lady living under the home.
Below you will find the conversation I had with Martin, who is kind and down to earth, about Paradise Cove.
Martin Guigui: “I see our number starts with 478, is that Georgia?”
HorrorFuel: “It is.”
Martin Guigui: “I just shot a film in Savannah, Drama Drama, it’s a musical. I know Georgia well. When touring I’ve been through Atlanta many times.”
HorrorFuel: “Awesome. Both are great for filming.
Tell me about Paradise Cove in your own words, if you will.”
Martin Guigui: “It is a psychological thriller. It all takes place in Paradise Cove in Malibu, California. It’s kind of a throwback to the thrillers from the 80s, like Fatal Attraction. It’s about a couple that comes to Malibu for the first time. They’ve inherited a house and it turns out that the house is a mess and was damaged in a fire. Not only that, but they eventually find out there’s an ex Hollywood model who is now homeless and she lives under their house. There’s some insanity and humor and it’s just entertaining. It’s one of those movies where you just want to forget about the world for a little bit, 90 something minutes, and watch it. You know what’s interesting to me, we shot it before the pandemic, but isolation is the main theme. That’s how we’ve been living the past year so I think people will identify with that aspect of it. It’s just good old fashioned entertainment.”
HorrorFuel: “I think you’re right. And I have to say, I think the cast is great.”
Martin Guigui: “I had so much fun with them.”
HorrorFuel: “What was your favorite aspect of filming?”
Martin Guigui: “I loved shooting some of the sequences under the house because I had never done that. We shot it at an actual house in Paradise Cove. We also shot on a sound stage where we recreated the house for the interiors. But a lot of the movie is shot in the actual house that the writer Sherry Klein lives in. That’s the house you see in the movie. That was really fun, to shoot in the actual house. It’s based on a true story. The scenes that we shot on the open water – I’ll tell you, making a movie on the coast of Malibu doesn’t suck.”
HorrorFuel: “I imagine that it is pretty awesome. Tell me, how different is it between shooting on location versus a sound stage? Is shooting on location easier or more difficult?”
Martin Guigui: “It’s easier to shoot on set because you’re not dealing with as much noise. That’s a really cool question because this particular movie has a lot of shots near the ocean. If it weren’t shot on set, it would have interfered with the dialogue. Shooting on the set is quieter, you have more control of the environment. You can put the cameras up where you need to and so on. It’s a more self-contained, focused environment. But it is fun to shoot down by the ocean. Those days were really cool. The actors were very brave when they had to go into the water. We shot in Spring and April in California, the water is still pretty chilly. When you see all of the underwater sequences, a lot of it was done right there. I do love shooting on sound stages.”
HorrorFuel: “I can see where filming on sound stages would be easier to do.”
Martin Guigui: “Yeah. The actors love the ability to concentrate and focus. When you’re on a street or out doing something at an actual location, there are always distractions. From the moment you enter this house, you are along for the ride as this couple fixes the house and tries to make a baby. And then there’s this crazy lady under the house that gets in the way.”
HorrorFuel: “You mentioned that the movie is inspired by a true story. Can you tell us about that?”
Martin Guigui: “There are a lot of homeless people in California right now. L.A. has a horrible homeless situation. It got worse during Covid. If you’re going to be homeless, you might as well live on the beach where the weather is better all year round. That has been a big issue here in California. That’s what happened with a house in Malibu, people were living under a home because the bottom part of the house gave way to the sand. Instead of having a basement, there was an open deck underneath the house people were climbing in and sleeping at night. They would leave their things in a corner during the day so no one knew they were living there. This went on for months. That’s what this is based on.”
HorrorFuel: “That is so sad. I can’t imagine. But I assume finding out that some stranger was there for so long must have been scary for the homeowners.”
Martin Guigui: “Watch Paradise Cove and you’ll get an idea. It’s now available everywhere, Video On Demand, cable, it’s not hard to find.”
HorrorFuel: “Fantastic. If you will, please tell us about the cast.”
Martin Guigui: “I will say this, casting was a trip. We were very fortunate to have Suvari, who totally understood the material. She identified with the aspects of the story. Kristin Bauer van Straten, she played the role of Bree – I’m not ruining it for anybody – but Bree is a wild role. She’s the crazy lady living under the house. There’s a heartfelt reason why she is the way she is. So it’s an emotional journey. Todd Grinnell from ‘One Day at a Time’ was wonderful. It was just a lot of great chemistry on the set. That comes through the lens. We were having fun and end enjoyed this process.”
HorrorFuel: “I’m a big fan of Mena Suvari’s work. She’s a great actress. I’ve seen Todd Grinnell many times while I was watching ‘One Day at a Time.’ And I recognize Straten from the dark series ‘Sacred Lies.’ It’s so good. I think it’s safe to say it’s a fantastic cast. I can’t wait for our readers to see Paradise Cove and share their thoughts with us.
You also mentioned that you have another movie coming out. ”
Martin Guigui: “I do. It’s called Drama Drama. I shot it down in Georgia. It’s just super fun. It has an antibully theme and it’s about a girl band. It’s like High School Musical meets Grease, it’s really fun.”
HorrorFuel: “I love musicals. With your experience as a music producer and composer, I’m sure it will be awesome.”
Martin Guigui: “It’s out now too.”
HorrorFuel: “That’s awesome. Thank you for talking with me. I find it so interesting to hear how movies come to be and how they are made.”
Martin Guigui: “You are very welcome.”
Martin Guigui is a busy many between composing, writing, directing, the best way to keep up with his projects is to follow him on Instagram. Be sure to check out Paradise Cove, out now on Digital and VOD.
Director Martin Guigui and Actor Todd Grinnell
