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We are building The Interior community. As it increases in size, we are becoming interesting to advertisers. And as that builds, the website should become a platform for more films, a self-sustaining hub for these kind of stories, documentaries, all kinds of offshoots that are a "fit." You name it. The vision is still expanding.

Were you skeptical about the online audition process?

Heetebrij: We figured, if we were going to the film on the Internet, why not draw our cast from the Internet, too? Who knew what hidden talent we might find? We tested the waters by creating a simple The Interior "storefront" site, directing actors to YouTube where they could upload their audition clips.

The casting was a bit of a gamble because what if we would only draw amateurs, whereas real talent would feel a YouTube audition would be below them? There were lots of questions, but that all resolved itself. We ended up with an extraordinary cast—including Hanna Verboom, Christian Badami, Whitt Brantley, and Philece Sampler. 

The response was overwhelming. We got thousands of emails from actors, and hundreds of audition clips were posted on YouTube, coming in from all over the planet. We were approached by Reuters and The Wall Street Journal over our approach because this was new; no one had ever casted a feature/drama series like this.

Verboom, Badami, and a friend from the jungle

Your online bio says that 2006 was "the year of letting go." Letting go of what?

Heetebrij: Of common sense. During the summer of 2005, I was working nights. My wife was pregnant with our fourth child. I was hardly making ends meet, and I also knew I wouldn't be able to work nights anymore with a new baby in the house. I was a worried man.

Then, shortly before our daughter was born, out of the blue, a European video game company approached me to write a story for an adventure video game. I hadn't written anything in years, but they just came to me. I accepted, and during the months after the baby was born, I not only worked from home, doing something I loved, we also had enough income. Everything about the assignment, including the timing, had been perfect. Could it be … a Sign? If it was, it'd be a first for me, because I'm not given to that kind of theology. But what if it was? A nudge for me to just stop worrying my life away with dead-end side jobs and start pursuing writing, and that we'd be taken care of.

You took out a home equity loan to fund The Interior?

Heetebrij: The one thing that's consistently done well financially for us was our house. Southern California homes had appreciated in value by leaps and bounds. I had used part of that for making A Foreign Affair.

I began to see writing as my calling. My wife was onboard. We took out another home equity line, and I started writing a supernatural thriller. After three months, the first draft was finished. I didn't like it. Around that time, Helmut and I had that conversation that triggered our new collaboration. I shelved the supernatural thriller, and in May [2006] we flew to Suriname [where Schleppi grew up, and where Heetebrij could get a "feel" for jungle life]. We came back out with the idea for The Interior. At the end of July we had our pilot script.

How are you making any money off of this?

Heetebrij: We're not making any money yet. Right now, we're building the member base of The Interior community, and the way we're doing that is with engaging stories, fresh content, and interactivity. The goal is to make it financially self-sustaining so we can continue this adventure long term. At the moment, we're looking for a sponsor that will fit The Interior brand.

Any interesting stories from the set?

Heetebrij: The black scorpion in the dressing room; the crocodiles in the pond adjacent to our set; the gigantic spider on the ceiling during the filming of the outhouse scene. There were a lot of critters. No one saw more of them than Gary, our soundman. He actually looked like a leper from all the mosquito bites; none of us had ever seen anything like it. After a doctor's visit, Gary decided to tough it out, though. More of that can be seen in the videos section on our website.

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