SXSW 2024 Neo-Dome Interview- Anna Camp And Bonnie Discepolo Talk Bringing The Neo-Western Sci-Fi Puzzle Box To Life

SXSW has always been synonymous with the best entertainment. As a television fan, I look forward to the pilot premiers and conceptual pilots even more each year. There is something so exciting about imagining what could be long before a network or studio has picked it up. SXSW 2024 is premiering one of those hidden gems. Neo-Dome, a genre-blurring character-rich story, is full of possibilities. I got the chance to talk to the director and star/producer Bonnie Discepolo and Anna Camp about the unexpected world of Neo-Dome, playing against stereotypes, what’s in the dome, and what we could expect from season 1.

Tracy Palmer– Hi, first, I want to say thank you so much for you guys taking the time to meet with me, especially ahead of South by Southwest. I appreciate it.

Bonnie Discepolo– Oh, thank you.

Anna Camp– Yeah, this is very exciting for us.

TP– Tell me, where did this come from? How did this get started? How did everybody hook up? I need to know all the details.

AC– Yeah, so I got a script from the Pfeffer brothers. And they’re actually twins, Matt and Mark. And they wrote this short. And they actually presented it to me and said, we just want to make a short film. How would you feel about producing it? And I read it, and I said, well, also, how do you feel about me playing Monica? Because I loved the character so much. And she was so surprising and such a real femme fatale. Well, in this very surprising, exciting way. And then I read it over and over. And I said I think that this has the potential to be more than just a short film. I think that this is a television
series, and I pitched that to them.

And then they got excited. And I actually met them through my boyfriend, who also scored the film. And we were talking about a director for this. And I had worked with the amazing Bonnie Discepolo. I’ve known her for years and years. But we did a film together that she directed and co-wrote called Graceland. And I knew that I wanted a female voice. I knew I wanted this to be directed by a woman because it is through the eyes of Monica and how it feels to be treated as a woman in society. And I said, Bonnie, I think this is 100% up your alley. And I gave her this script. And she read it, and then
and it was so obvious.

BD– I mean, I was so excited, obviously, to work with Anna again because we have worked together before, and it is just a dream. She’s so so talented. And so immediately getting the chance to direct Anna in something that is different than the sort of like typical fare that she’s been doing. Monica does have so many twists and turns that I was like, That’s so fun. But then, just the actual material itself. Neo-Dome is science fiction, it’s noir, it’s Western, it’s doing a lot of genre. It’s a big cinematic universe. And it’s not typically the kind of stuff that people come to women as an obvious first choice.

So, I was excited to say, like, I have great characters, and I have my best friend who I get to direct but also like a gunfight, giant visual effects dome, this amazing car, like there’s so much about it that excited me as a filmmaker. Plus, getting to work with friends. So that was really exciting. Then we brought in Mike and Nick, who we’re both friends with, and we brought in my dad. So all of the actors and then
the crew we’ve worked with on True Blood. There was this really like homegrown, we’re doing it
ourselves. It was all very exciting.

TP– That’s what’s so great about these pilots and about shorts like this that you know are
launching pads. If they’re really good, you can feel how there could be something else coming.
Tell me about Monica. She reminds me a teensy bit of your character from True Blood because I
call it chipper with an edge.

AC– There is a beast under all of that exterior that she’s kind of built up. And it’s like it’s so interesting because I have played a lot of these women and I’m very drawn to these women who present themselves in this certain way. And I know that resonates with me because growing up in the South, I was kind of trained to present myself in a certain way, all the while boiling underneath, right? And so it’s such a statement about, I mean, Monica uses her charms and her wiles to kind of get through life and to get through each phase especially with these two very creepy men that she meets on the road.

It’s such a mirror to the way I think a lot of women; we’re taught to behave and taught to survive. These are all survival mechanisms. And then by the end of the 15 minutes, she’s shattered that, and we see, oh my gosh, she’s been manipulating them. Right. So she’s also, I don’t know if she’s that good of
a person either, but she’s getting to where she needs to go by any means necessary, right, which is what we’re all, you know, supposed to do. So I am. I’m very drawn to these women who seem a certain way, but underneath, they are far more than meets the eye. Absolutely.

BD– And you slayed it.

AC- Well, thank you for helping direct me into that. Yeah, it takes a village.

TP– The two guys that you’re playing with, they are creepy Gary and Larry. But they’re uniquely creepy. They are not just, you know, dangerous. They’re weird and funny. And you originally seemed sweet and wholesome. But also there’s kind of an edgy funniness to you. And you just really are able to kind of channel all three of their independent chemistries together into one just explosive little bottle. How was that?

BD– In terms of the directing the actors? Yeah. I mean, we were so lucky with Anna and Mike and
Nick. So, a couple of different things happened. One, obviously, they’re all very, very talented at what they do, even though the dialog in the world is heightened. All three of them are masters at making it honest and true, and grounded. So that’s the first thing, you know, just they were, they were bringing that.

But we also didn’t have enough time to shoot with leisure. So one of the things we did was do a lot of rehearsal ahead of time. We scheduled a couple of different rehearsals, Zoom rehearsals, and then live in-person rehearsals ahead of shooting. And what that did was give us the chance to really try things. Really play. Really experiment. So that by the time we got to set and we were in the car, and we were shooting, that we had gotten to experiment with a lot of different things and, so the characters that they brought, we were able to, you know, zone in.

They just have this natural chemistry. And then we would say like, Okay, we’re going to put the camera
really close, like uncomfortably close for this moment to make sure that we get that tension. So
I think it was, yeah, the rehearsal and then just the fantastic acting. You know, Anna said that it takes a village. I think it is that perfect chemistry of a group of people who came together, and we’re all giving it 150%. And, you know, making tweaks to get us zoned in on a very tense dome.

TP- What can you tell me about the world of Neo-Dome? Like, how did it get that way? Might
we find that out? If it gets turned into a series?

BD– I mean, what we know is that it’s a post economic collapse America. So we’re not going to
tell you the series will reveal how we got there. But that this is survival in a situation where, you know, capitalism has imploded, and what happens when society has broken down and people are just fending for themselves?

TP- And have you guys seen the script for the entire series? I mean, where does this pilot fit in?
Or can you tell me that?

AC- I haven’t seen it. I know that they are working on the full pilot and the show Bible, and I’ve heard
some really amazing teasers they’ve been teasing me about, like who Monica is, where Monica came from, what she’s actually doing with these tickets for the Neo-Dome? So they’ve been very secretive and mysterious, but everything I hear gets me more and more excited to learn which I hope that viewers, when we get picked up, will go I have so many questions, and this series will definitely answer. But I don’t have the answers today. I wish I did.

BD– I think about like, Neo-Dome itself can stand as a piece alone. But if you think about the greater series that, it’s almost like a Lost, where you’re following different characters at different times. Sometimes, the mystery is central to the concept as a whole.

TP- I love a good puzzle box, and this one is unique because it’s funny. There are elements of comedy. It’s not just drama and scary or sci-fi all the time. It makes it stand apart.

AC– They really wanted the Coen Brothers, tone at times, which is something like I haven’t seen in this kind of heightened concept show, but in that kind of world. So that’s something that got me really excited as an actress because I like playing characters, right? That’s my favorite thing. I don’t want to just be like, plug it in. And, like, I like getting into those weird charactery-things. So it’s a very character-driven piece. And they really stressed that, and I’m glad that you picked up on the humor to it. That makes me very happy,

TP- All right, the Neo dome itself? What’s inside there? Anyway?

BD– Woah. That’s an excellent question.

AC- I think that’s classified information. Tracy, I think you’re asking for classified information from us—my God. Well, find out at the end of season one; I believe that is the plan. That is the plan.

BD– May or may not get into the dome. Yes.

TP- Okay. If we were in this post-collapse world, what would you guys want in the dome? You
individually, not, you know, a character or anything, but you as a person?

AC– I, um, I always, when I first read it, felt a very strong connection to it being a little like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. She goes on this journey to find a better life and to find something better. And she meets all of these people on the road that teach her a lesson or something. And then in my mind, when I got into the dome when Monica and I got in, it was kind of like she walked into another dimension of her own backyard.

It was like it started another kind of chapter where she got to go back and see, like, where am I? Oh my god, I’m on my front porch all of a sudden, and I’m walking out, and I see my mother in a rocking chair. And I see my father, and I see all the things that made me who I am. And I had them within me this entire time. That’s what Anna/Monica envisioned. I don’t know if the Pfeffer brothers feel like that. But to answer your question, it would be family and home and a return to self. I think.

BD– that’s beautiful. No, no, it’s simple. I just kept thinking about inside the dome: There would be plants. There would be garden life, you know, because everything outside the dome is desiccated, and dry, and just hard. So the thing that I kept envisioning is almost like, you know, the Gardens of Babylon.

AC- Very cool. Cool. I would go to that dome. I would definitely go to that.

TP- So, last quick question. Aside from Neo-Dome, what’s up next for you
guys?

AC– Oh my gosh, great question. I just wrapped a TV show this morning at 5:30 am. I’ve been
shooting a show for Peacock called Hysteria about the Satanic Panic in 1989. And I am beyond
excited about it. This character, I love her so much. Her name is Tracy also just so you know.
And she is an incredible force of a person, and the scripts are incredible. So, I don’t know when
it’s released, but it’s going to be on Peacock, and it’s called Hysteria.

BD– Um, I just finished a screenplay that I’m gearing up to shoot called Mercy, that is a historical
horror. Kind of in the vein of the Witch. It’s set in 1890s Rhode Island, about a vampire panic, and it
is a finalist at the Rhode Island International Film Festival screenplay competition, and so I’m
working on that. And then I am also gearing up to make a feature called Pregnancy Ccare, that is
a reproductive rights horror.

Bio-Dome can be seen at SXSW 2024 and is a can’t-miss. Find all our SXSW 2024 coverage here.