A grieving wife (Danielle Deadwyler) at a remote family lake house is shocked when a mysterious doppelgänger attempts to kill her. Parallel is a sci-fi thriller that explores the different pathways of alternate universes. Real-life brothers Aldis and Edwin Hodge co-star as the protagonist’s exasperated husband and concerned brother-in-law. She also encounters different versions of them as a tense mystery deepens.

Aldis Hodge spoke with us about adapting Parallel as the first feature from Hodge Brothers Productions. He and Edwin were “captured by the deep subtlety of complexities” from the Chinese film, Parallel Forest. They didn’t want to “duplicate or replicate” the original, but “honor the story that we saw” as an “homage.” Hodge frankly says, “Getting a film made is the hardest thing you could ever do in this industry. It is by no small means an easy feat. But it was a great education. One that I’m really grateful for.”

Hodge felt “blessed” that Deadwyler “came and joined our crew.” He calls her “a brilliant artist” who “doesn’t phone it in. She comes in ready and prepared.” Hodge also waxes poetic on the film’s existential themes, “We are all individually destined for greatness. But it depends on how we approach our own personal value. A lot of us want things. When we stop putting in the work, we realize how hard it is.” While he couldn’t reveal much about his next project, The Dutchman, he does think “it’s going to be cool.” Based on the play, it is “a sort of freaky exploration into a dark kind of psyche.” Please watch above and read below our complete interview with Aldis Hodge.

Sophisticated Subtlety
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MovieWeb: Thanks again for doing another MovieWeb interview after we just spoke to you for Marmalade. I love Black sci-fi. I love seeing an intelligent, thoughtful film with Black people doing things you normally don’t see us do on screen. So I congratulate you for that. Let’s start with the source material. You’re remaking the Chinese film called Parallel Forest. Why did it appeal to you? Why do you want to remake it?

Aldis Hodge: Honestly, I was just captured by the deep subtlety of complexities when it came to their relationships, the environment, the situation, and I thought that they had a very intelligent, intellectual approach to the subject matter. So, when my brother and I watched it, we knew that we were hit with it. We wanted to be able to sort of recreate that on our side of things, and hopefully bring it to this audience over here. But you know, it’s films like that, the way that they approach certain situations, provokes different thoughts. That’s the thing that captured me about the whole film. There was just really sophisticated subtlety when it came to how they drew out the narrative.

MW: I’m unfamiliar with the Chinese film. Is it a similar storyline? Or did you guys radically change it?

Hodge: No, it’s similar, very similar. That’s the one thing I like in terms of adapting this. I figured there’s no sense in making an adaptation that completely changes the story. Because that kind of thing frustrates me as a viewer. It’s like, boom, and then you get something completely different. It’s like apples and oranges. Think of it more as an homage to honor the story that we saw. Not even duplicate or replicate in any sense, even though that’s basically what an adaptation is.

“It’s more about this is something that inspired us. It was brought to us through our friend Jaylen [Moore] over at Rumble Riot Productions. We said, yeah, absolutely, we definitely want to jump on it, because if we can get this right, this is definitely something cool. And it also presented a great opportunity for us in terms of the challenge of an adaptation. It is by no small means an easy feat.”

MW: You’re working with your brother [Edwin Hodge], who I also enjoy very much. You guys have had a lot of experience in Hollywood: TV, films, voiceover work, that you’re bringing to your Hodge Brothers Productions company. Putting on your movie mogul hat, what were the difficulties in getting this done? What surprised you at this level?

Hodge: [laughs] Man, getting a film made is the hardest thing you could ever do in this industry. The fact that we got it done. As far as difficulties, let’s take away the adaptation. Let’s take away even the subject matter of the film. You have to deal with budgetary issues, raising capital. We were a small, indie-budget film. The budget, locations, and timing constraints, even though there’s only three of us, the actors, we had to get out to other projects. We had a very limited time. I think we shot this in like 20 days. Making sure, on the day-to-day, that everybody is just doing what they need. Making sure all the department heads are addressed and taken care of, so everybody can be working in their best environment. It was a great education. One that I’m really grateful for and taught me a lot for the next one.

MW: Let’s talk about Danielle Deadwyler. She anchors the film. We see it from her perspective. Her character is in recovery from a tragic loss. Then she’s put in this [crazy] scenario of multiverse madness. Talk about casting her. What did she bring to the set? She’s pretty intense the entire time. There are really no moments of levity for her.

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Hodge: We asked a lot of Danielle, on the performer end. I think she’s a brilliant artist. I’m really so grateful that she blessed us and came and joined our crew. To get somebody of that magnitude, with that kind of talent for our first film, was a lucky break bro. So really, really grateful to Danielle. She did have to maintain, for Vanessa’s journey, a state of intensity throughout, which again is a lot to ask of an actor when you’re constantly in that state of mind 24/7. She doesn’t phone it in. She comes in ready and prepared. She does her homework, her research. She stays with it. That, along with the difficulties of making any project, when you got to ebb and flow, she was just ebbing and flowing right with it.

So I’m really grateful to Danielle. I think she made this film. I think she’s a powerhouse. And again, just really happy that she came to bless us for our first film.

The Hodge Family’s New Chapter

MW: She’s amazing, a powerful actress. Let’s get existential. The film argues whether you’re predestined by fate, or if you really have free will. They’re going through that path, exploring the different universes of what things could be. Maybe the other side is better. How does that manifest in your view of the world?

Hodge: In my personal purview, I think that we are all individually destined for greatness. But it depends on how we approach our own personal value, and what we want to do, and how we want to do it. A lot of us want things, but we don’t need them. Right? We want success, we don’t need success. And what I mean by that is, first of all, you have to define success, what that is for you, but a lot of us want things we’re not willing to put in the work for it. When we stop putting in the work, we realize how hard it is. Once you get that thing you think success is, you realize that success looks a lot different than a vacation.

Aldis Hodge: When I say need, I need this to serve a bigger picture, I need to be in this position. So I can help these other people. I need this so that I can serve a greater and higher purpose. That all comes down to you deciding what you want to do, what you’re here for. So I do believe that we’re destined for great things that are laid out in front of us, if we want to go get them. But that decision is wholly ours, so there’s a duality to it. I think there is a destiny. But I also think that we are in charge of whether or not we actually go get that, and accomplish that destiny. The choice is ours.

MW: Bravo. That’s a lucid answer. The whole multiverse concept, that theme has been pretty big in the last few years, everything from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to Everything Everywhere All At Once winning Best Film. Do you worry about comparisons? Was that ever a thought in your head?

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Aldis Hodge: No, I never even thought about that until you just said it right now. But I don’t worry about anything, man. Because at the end of the day, all art is a derivative of something similar and familiar. Subject matter is what it is. We all have different takes on subject matter. That is the value and purpose. I think art is to be able to show our perspective of certain things and our purview. But for me, I’m never worried about comparison. Something’s automatically going to be compared. I only care about whether or not people enjoy what we’ve done. And if they enjoyed it, I feel like we’ve done our jobs.

MW: What’s the best day and worst day for you as star and producer of Parallel?

Aldis Hodge: The best day was probably the first day on set. We’re finally here. We’re starting. We’re doing. It got real. I think the worst day was probably one day we were rained out. It’s cold as hell and mud was everywhere. Something like that. We shot in Vancouver…in the woods…in the forest. Yeah, thanks, Canada. Jesus, I mean it gets cold brother. It gets cold. But the best thing was absolutely the very first day on set because it was the beginning of a new chapter for the Hodge family.

MW: I see from IMDb you’ve got The Dutchman coming out. What’s that all about?

Aldis Hodge: The Dutchman…so that one, I’m not at liberty to say right now. But I think it’s going to be cool. I mean, stellar cast. You got André Holland, Zazie Beetz, Kate Mara, Lauren E. Banks, who we worked together on City On a Hill. She played my wife. So you have got a really stellar cast. It’s based off of a play, The Dutchman. So if you go look at the play, you know what I’m talking about, but it is a sort of freaky exploration into a dark kind of psyche. It’s interesting. It’s a really cool project to be part of. I’m really happy about that. It’s directed by Andre Gaines. It’s going to be cool. That’s all I can say.

Parallel is currently in limited theatrical release with a VOD premiere on February 27th from Vertical. You can watch the trailer below and find a link to rent the film:

Watch Parallel