Twin Directors Make Big-Screen Debut With 'Kin,' Starring James Franco
*By Amanda Weston*
The twins Josh and Jonathan Baker's evident passion helped them land established stars and newcomers with big potential for their first major film project.
The film ["Kin"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac5wrM2uYbk) is marketed as "a pulse-pounding crime thriller with a sci-fi twist," that tells the story of two brothers on the run from criminals and "otherworldly soldiers" armed with a mysterious weapon. The cast includes Hollywood veterans Dennis Quaid, James Franco, and Zoë Kravitz, and the young actor Myles Truitt in his first feature film role.
"If you've got something cool, people want to work on something cool," Josh said an interview Friday on Cheddar. "So I think we had something that felt a little fresh and a little different, and it was amazing that you put it in front of these people and they are interested."
The co-directors said the film was a collaborative process ー with each other and the actors. Though they didn't have as much feature-film experience as their cast, the brothers had no problem giving direction.
"I'd also say the more professional the actor is, the more they're kind of like 'look, just tell me what you guys want and we'll figure it out together,'" said Josh. "So someone like Dennis? Easy to work with."
Finding new faces was a process. For one of the main characters of the film, Eli, producers considered about 200 young actors before casting Truitt. He had an emotional maturity that is hard to find in child actors, Josh said, adding they were "lucky" to find him.
"He had a real subtlety about him, and a lot of it is observed through his eyes without dialogue, which he was great at," said Jonathan.
As streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix become more popular destinations for features than movie screens, Jonathan said he was honored their film would play in a cinema. "Kin" will be in theaters Aug. 31, including some IMAX theaters.
Josh said he felt lucky "Kin" would get a theatrical release because so many small and medium films are being phased out of theaters for big-budget blockbuster fare.
"This is built for people that love sophisticated, character-driven storytelling," said Jonathan. "This is a sci-fi, but it's also a lot of other things. There's a real intimacy to that. It's not a giant blockbuster. I think people that are dying for something a little more unique, a little different, will love this."
For full interview, [click here] (https://cms.cheddar.com/videos/VmlkZW8tMjIyNjM=).
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