Louisiana native and L.A. transplant Blayne Weaver is about to open in Anon,
a new comedy by Emmy nominated Kate Robin. Weaver, who’s also an award-
winning film maker (and the voice of Disney’s Peter Pan), graciously sat down
and answered our questions about his film work, his upcoming play, and
voicing a children’s classic.

Blayne, your first film credit, The Flood: Who Will Save Our Children?, was
made while you were still a high school student in Louisiana? How did that
happen?

I grew up doing community theater in Louisiana. When I got my license at
fifteen, I started commuting to Dallas, Texas (about three hours away) for
auditions. They had a small film community and whenever a film wanted
actors with Southern accents, they would do a casting in Dallas. Anyway, I
booked one of the lead roles in “The Flood” and they ended up flying me out to
Austrailia to shoot a movie that was set in Texas (weird, I know). It was so
random and I totally blew one of the callbacks but the director liked me and
fought for me. In the end I was the only lead not from Los Angeles and the only
one playing my actual age. Great job… but my high school wasn’t a big fan of
me missing a chunk of my Junior year. They got over it when it came on TV.

When and how did the move to Hollywood take place?

I did another TV movie after senior year, a Western that Tommy Lee Jones
directed. I played Frances McDormand and Terry Kinney’s son and Matt
Damon’s brother. Of course, I’m 18 and I’m having dinner every night with
these incredibly talented actors and they’re all telling me “Go to New York”. So,
I went to New York. Eight months later the cowboy movie premiered in LA so I
moved to Hollywood to coincide with the premiere.

You were a member of the Shreveport, Louisiana children’s theater group,
“Peter Pan Players,” and in 2002 you supplied the voice for Disney’s Peter Pan
in Return to Neverland. Any connection between the two?

That’s just kind of weird. One of my first big productions as a kid was Michael in
Peter Pan. I was eight and loved it because I got to fly. Years later I’m playing
Peter Pan for Disney… Weird.

What’s it been like to voice a character that’s long been a favorite of
children of all ages? Did you have to imitate the original voice, Bobby
Driscoll?

My audition was literally an impression of Wally Cleaver. It’s got that fifties tone
of innocence… an “Aw, shucks” quality but… with an edge. Does that even
make sense? I don’t know but that’s how I think of it.

You’ve also written, directed, and starred in a full length feature film, Outside
Sales (www.outsidesalesmovie.com), that’s been in a bunch of film festivals!
Where did you find the chutzpah for such a major undertaking, and what’s it
been like to see your film shown at festivals across the country?

I’ve been working as a writer since 2001’s “Manic” which starred Don Cheadle and
Joseph Gordon Levitt. I had this script for “Outside Sales” that had been bouncing
around studios for awhile. I had been through the indie film world before with
“Manic”, which gave me a clue as to what to expect and I had just made some
good money off the Peter Pan movie. I formed a production company with my
best friend and we set out to make a low budget movie… as it turns out I sold my
house to complete the film but it couldn’t have been more rewarding. The film
festivals are amazing and I’ve traveled all around the country showing and talking about this film that I’m just so proud of.

Now you’re doing live theater, and since this is L.A., it’s obviously not for the
money. What drew you to Anon, and why do theater when you’ve got a
flourishing film career?

I haven’t done a stage production in probably around eight years. The reason
that I was so interested in “Anon” was, from the onset, the Echo Theater
Company. I first became acquainted with them when casting “Outside Sales”. I
knew Lucas Fleischer (the lead in the film) and he kept recommending these
amazingly talented actors, almost all of which turned out to be connected in
some way to The Echo. I knew the artistic director, Chris Fields as an acting
coach and knew he was great but I was so impressed with the quality of the
productions and the talent in the ensemble that I thought “this is a group I
would like to be a part of”. Then I read Kate Robin’s script and I immediately
responded to it. Smart, sexy, edgy and real… It’s the kind of thing that I would like
to see… Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?

Tell us more about Anon, and its Emmy-nominated playwright Kate Robin.

“Anon” is this great story about Trip and Allison. They meet, they fall for each
other and that’s when things get complicated. Trip may (or may not) be a sex
addict and it’s these two people clinging to each other trying to make
something work while simultaneously Trip’s parents (Larry Joshua and Alison
Martin) are dealing with the same issues.
 
What’s it like working with Anon costar Kit Pongetti? I read that she’s part of an
Austin, Texas band. So, she’s also a Southerner, right?

Kit’s a brilliant actress and a lot of fun to work with. I feel so lucky because we have
to be really vulnerable onstage. There are love scenes and us in bed just talking. It
could be really difficult with an actor that isn’t on your side or unprofessional. Kit is
kind of my hero right now. About us being both Southern, though… Being from
Louisiana, I have kind of an issue with Texans being referred to as Southerners…Texas is like it’s own designation. Of course, Kit will disagree with me about this. But I’m clearly right. Just sayin’.

Oops!  I didn’t know.

Tell Angelinos the three best reasons they should drag themselves from their TV sets
and go see Anon, live on stage.

1. The script. This is an opportunity to see a new play by a hot writer that will be
bringing much more to the stage and the screen in the future. It’s the kind of script
where after the play you’ll be talking about the themes and quoting the lines.

2. The cast. In addition to the four leads, the play is peppered with actresses and
their sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking confessionals. The talent is top
notch and you’ll recognize probably all of them. Actresses from the upcoming “Dark
Knight” and “Twelve Miles of Bad Road” to “Scrubs” and “Brothers and Sisters”… With a
good cast and a great script… Why wouldn’t you go?

3. It’s a thought provoking and darkly humourous look at sex addiction. Come on,
who doesn’t want to see that?

It’s been great talking with you, Blayne, and we can’t wait to see Anon!