NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES
Interview with Jeremy Sisto of THE FIFTH QUARTER, from Turner Network Television
Q: How would you describe the story of The Fifth Quarter?
A: This story is about Willie who has been in prison for seven years but is released and returns to his family. His cellmate from prison had been living with his family but disappeared for a while. His friend eventually returns with a fatal wound and tells him of a treasure that he can have if he finds the other three quarters of a map to the burial site. Willie is intent on staying out of prison, but he’s drawn right back into the world of crime again. It’s a story of base, raw reality and is very dramatic. There is an element of thriller and a real sense of these characters trying to survive.
Q: How do the various sets affect the feel of this episode?
A: We shot in an amazing prison that had a very old feeling.
There was something beautiful about it in a sad way. It is always an interesting thing to shoot film scenes in a real location. The cells had round arch ceilings, and on the second floor of the prison was a bar that was used to hang people from ropes. The director and I went into a cell to try to capture a montage of what it might have been like being trapped in there for 20 hours a day. We are also shooting in a trailer park, which is definitely representative of one way of life in America.
Q: How is this story different from the kinds of stories for which Stephen King is commonly known?
A: Stephen King has written a lot of things that have some supernatural or magical elements. But he writes all kinds of genres. This particular genre is very reality based and dramatic. There is no strange point of view, only a real point of view.
Q: Where is the drama in The Fifth Quarter? (TNT's tagline: "We know drama")
A: The drama of The Fifth Quarter comes from people trying to survive in a situation where they have very little. They are given an opportunity to make a lot of money, but to get it, they will have to continue the life of crime they are trying to escape.
Q: What frightens you?
A: Death frightens me. Being eaten by a shark would be scary. The thing about being scared is that sometimes you flip it in your head, and you can be inspired by it. When you confront your fears, you actually learn more than if you accept your fears.