by Daniel Andrade and Jen Sanchez
Since the last time we spoke to Monroe Hayden, many milestones have occurred. From the ending of SkySoft's flagship series Fox, to the acquisition of Thunderstorm Pictures and the plethora of new shows announced for the future, Hayden has taken SkySoft to new heights and shows no signs of slowing down. With a new decade looming on the horizon, SkyWire wanted to chat with her about what this past year has meant for her, lessons she's learned along the way, the impact SkySoft has had on its viewers, and what she is most excited about for the future.
SkySoft has essentially been around for five years now. How has SkySoft changed and grown since 2014?
Actually, SkySoft was birthed in 2015. Before it was Hayden/Teague. It was a production company that I created with Brandon Teague and we had a much different plan for the company then. When he passed, everything changed and a lot of what SkySoft is today was created in 2015. So I suppose that’s the main thing that changed; the name and its mission. Before we were out for profit but now we’re all about using SkySoft as a learning platform to inspire and encourage positive use of the talents and skills we each have. We’re set to teach our team what to expect and how to properly navigate the film industry since so many horror stories come from trying to make it alone. It’s grown more so than changed. We’ve added many more endeavors to it such as a digital magazine and podcasts, and we’ve added way more series than I initially thought we’d have. We bought Thunderstorm Pictures, so now we have a bit more assets and connections to work with which ultimately help with the learning experience we try to offer our team.
What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned about running a production/entertainment company over these five years?
How much time do we have? [laughs] To keep things simple, I learned to trust my gut when it comes to how I judge people’s character. Before I would try my hardest to not judge people because we’re often told that being judgmental is a form of arrogance and ignorance but I learned that in the case of business, judging people’s character and observing how they communicate within the world, is very essential to your success. How someone takes other people’s time and effort into consideration is a major thing I’ve learned to look for. If someone commits to anything I’m involved in and doesn’t respect it; they’re not communicating, not coming through, making everyone wait, making everyone make up for their shortcomings - I remember that. Depending on the person, I’ll either have to have that termination talk with my board members or have that particular person heavily supervised. And I don’t particularly enjoy doing that. I like to work too and enjoy my time with my team but when someone does those things, it puts me in a position where I end up no longer enjoying my art. Which is why the “trusting my gut” comes into play. I’ve oftentimes focused on someone’s potential over who they’re showing me they really are. Trusting my gut early on could have totally avoided so many tiny failures I’ve made that ended up costing SkySoft and everyone else involved, a lot of time and money.
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Ooh, an era. That sounds epic. I like the sound of that. I’m looking forward to the challenges. I like the challenges, you know? It promises experiences and lessons. I really like the people too. I’ve been really lucky with the people who’ve joined us over the years. I’m looking forward to more time with them. I look forward to the adventures that our stories will take us on and see who ends up connecting with them. I’m looking forward to everything. The work is very tedious but it’s also very rewarding.
Speaking of new adventures, with the acquisition of Thunderstorm pictures many doors have been opened for SkySoft to tell feature-length stories. What do you think will be the biggest change in crafting movies rather than series, and how do you feel about having that opportunity to create these bigger projects?
The main difference I’ve noticed [behind the scenes] between series and feature-length films, is the storytelling. Series have the luxury of taking their time to tell a story where movies have to get it done within the two-and-a-half-hour mark. So that would be a big change for me, personally. I’m not a short story kind of gal. [laughs] Another thing, from my acting experience, is you get more time with the full script of a film, whereas with a series you get them as you go. You get more time to get to know your character while seeing their whole story, but in a series, you need to develop the character episode by episode because you don’t know where they’re headed. In a way, being in a series is a more honest interpretation we, as actors, can provide because we’re developing with the character, and in real life, we don’t know where we’re going or where we’ll end up. So who we are today is entirely credited to where we’ve all been and that’s the same thing with a character from a series. With film, we get a bit more intimate time to help craft our arcs and tiny details to make it more impactful. But then again, there are several film series out as well - I think that’s a combination of film and television storytelling. It’s quite exciting to do something new and take on bigger challenges.
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Regarding challenges, Season 2 of 365 didn’t receive well with audiences and critics and actually hurt the company in many ways. How was that like to go through after the positive reaction of the finale of Fox?
It must also put a lot of pressure on you. It seems you’re trying to step away from or out of the limelight. If that’s true, then it seems like SkySoft shows will always need you in order for its success. How does the reaction of 365 change that?
My time with SkySoft will never come to an end, it will never finish; I’ll always try to build it into something more and it has that potential. No matter what, I have that pressure, even if people try to relieve me of it. I understood that when I went in. I know what I got myself into and I understand the consequences of allowing SkySoft to never be completed. All 365 did was show me humility and the flaws in our system currently. It also showed me how quickly our praises could be taken away and even used against us. The show didn’t change my goals with SkySoft.
It seems like a common theme in the SkySoft shows we’ve seen so far is one of identity and figuring out your place in the world, which is probably why these shows resonate so strongly with young adults. Why is this theme so important to you?
I think it’s important to everybody. We all go through this; the question of, “Who am I? Where do I belong?” We’re all going through it and sometimes, many times, we go through it regularly because we’re always evolving and when we evolve our goals change, which changes our lives. It’s a theme that resonates within every human being. And it’s the main theme in storytelling in almost every genre. It’s all about who the main character is and where the main character belongs. Most stories are about that evolution. Actually, I think that’s everyone’s story and that’s why it’s important. What’s more important than the story we all have in common?
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Another theme you seem to focus on is framing the women in the show in a way that displays their power rather than their sex appeal. Even with that scene with Fox behind the tree was a bit cleverly set up, considering men are usually used in that comedic way with the convenient arrangements of objects to hide private parts and still commanding power and charm rather than sex. Was this really a concern of yours or did it just happen that way?
For that scene, in particular, Fox was supposed to be holding the double ax so most of her body would be seen, but then we got there and found that tree and we were like, “Let’s do some Austin Powers shit and use the tree to do most of the hiding.” We couldn’t stop laughing at the framing of it and I knew at that point, the scene would mostly be about the context and not the fact that she was naked. So I felt better about it and I liked that I didn’t actually have to strip for that, even though I was prepared to. I wouldn’t say that it just happened that way because we became very aware of what we wanted that scene to look like once we found what we were working with, but it wasn’t intentional.
When it came to the girls, in general, it was all thought out and I talked to all of them about what I wanted them to look like. For Fox, I wanted her to look more androgynous. The only time she wears something distinctly female is in Season 2, but in that scene, she’s also out of her element and trying to woo the woman of her dreams. Who hasn’t worn something out of character to win over the affections of someone they truly adore? But throughout the rest of her time onscreen, she wears things that I tried to make binary. Anyone in the show could wear her costumes and still look really good, male or female. Would they give off the same vibe? No, but anyone would look commanding in her costumes. She’s pretty binary even down to her hair. Her hair is long, yeah, but it’s either loose or half-up; sure, there may be braids here and there, but the way she styles her hair isn’t particularly female. She simply has long hair and has to get it out of her face.
In comparison to the other women, not everyone can wear Daisy’s costumes because her look is distinctly female, like femme female, all the way to her hair. Eve has a maternal look to her, even though it’s in a similar presentation as Fox’s, mainly because they are related and I wanted them to look like each other onscreen to sort of sell that relation. But she has that big fur coat, and instead of wearing it in a sultry way like Gwendolyn Fay does, Eve wears it like a mother, where she can use it to grab Fox and wrap her in it at any point to either keep her warm or smother her with kisses to let her know she’s loved. If she’s not wearing it, then her makeup is done in such a way where she looks approachable and showed emotion, particularly love. She had to look like someone you wanted to hug and hold if you were having a bad day, as opposed to Merila who did not look like that at all. Deja is that line in between femme and butch but is still obviously female. I wanted the girls to represent as much of the female spectrum as possible, and none of them wear pink.
You even gained some muscle weight for the final season, right?
I don’t know if it would be considered muscle weight but yes, I did gain seventeen pounds to get in shape.
Holy crap! How long did that take?
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Holy crap! How long did that take?
About eight months. I chose to start doing more intense workouts but I changed the diet in November of 2018 to a pescatarian diet.
What was the reason for it?
Two reasons. One, I wanted to be in shape for the finale because finale episodes always take the longest and they are always the most physically demanding, and I knew that we saved the best finale for last. I knew I would be running and swinging that sword around for about a month. So I wanted to be as prepared as possible for that duration of filming, and I’m glad I did because not only were we filming for a month, but we had two separate units within the same location area, so I had to often run back and forth from one unit to the other to film my shots. If I hadn’t prepared myself, I would’ve been shot to shit, I think.
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The second reason is because I wanted her to look like she was solid under her clothes. I don’t know if I’m the only one who notices, I doubt it, but clothes hang differently on you when you’re in shape. It’s not because I just wanted her to look sexy because we don’t really see her body, but it’s more like from a character analysis point of view; she’s on the run and she doesn’t have a horse or a vehicle to get around in so she travels by foot, she wears heavy outfits during the winter to keep her warm, and she has to carry all that stuff with her or leave it behind while she travels. She has to catch her own food because there aren’t restaurants and there may not be any meat sources nearby, depending on where she is, so she’s probably mostly vegetarian. She has to fight Dream Demons on a regular basis just to survive - her lifestyle is very dependent on the capabilities of her body. I wanted her to look like she could do all those things with all her clothes on. She wouldn’t be bulky but there would be some definition. If I don’t look like my body was built from that lifestyle, then you as the viewer may not believe what you’re seeing, and my job as an actor is to make sure you believe what you’re seeing. I wanted her to look strong. I knew I could bring that to her with my acting but I wanted to make sure that I also did that physically, I wanted you to see it without me having to say anything. I don’t think every actor goes to those lengths to get into a role and it can be argued whether it’s necessary or not. I don’t know, I just didn’t want it to feel like I was bullshitting the audience.
Your work really resonates with women in general but it really resonates with queer women mainly because women have been presented in film to either be love interests or man-hating bitches and with lesbian stories, they are either love interests or just friends but you’ve managed to present women, lesbian or not in many ways out of the norm like Fox and Daisy may be love interests but they both have a nonsexual friendship, even yet a strong partnership with the other women in the show none of which give off “man-hater.”
In what way?
Fox could easily be seen as a flirt in the beginning. Even though she really was only flirting with Daisy, we tried to present her as if she could easily charm any girl who crossed her path, and that’s one of the reasons Daisy rejects her several times - she doesn’t want to be just any girl and she doesn’t trust Fox. So the whole Fox and Daisy being oversimplified as love interests can be checked off. Merila and Eve can be oversimplified as a bitch and I suppose even Deja. Bethany could be oversimplified as a love interest as well, while Rebecca was clearly the bitch role. But the story switches them up and they become more than just those tropes. They become prophets, warriors, victims, aggressors, heroines, and villains. They fully adopt the other aspects of their personalities and aren’t just someone’s girlfriend or wife.
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I totally agree. As important as it was for Eve to become a mother and Deja to become a wife, those moments in their lives weren’t the most important in our eyes as viewers. The highlights, for me at least, was when Eve stood up against Rath and when Deja stayed strong during Davi’s death - those moments sort of underlined their entire being because even though they were scared, they still stood for what they believed in which was their ability to survive what came after.
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I think you did. Getting back to the topic, what about the lesbianism?
When it comes to the lesbianism particularly, I just like stories and films that feature strong and positive female relationships. I don’t particularly want to tell a story where the women are keeping secrets from each other, talking shit behind their backs and sleeping with each other’s boyfriends. I don’t like how, and I apologize if this offends anyone, men in the past have portrayed women in cinema and television. I’d like to be a positive force for women within the industry and right now, I’d much rather tell a story about two women in love than two women who talk shit about each other. And I know there are other ways to tell stories about strong female relationships without having to make anyone a lesbian. I understand that and believe we have a lot of those stories in film already but not enough about love, like romantic love, and whether anyone wants to admit it or not, there are a lot of people within the LGBT community and a lot of them are in the closet because people like us aren’t trying to normalize things. I’d like to help people get past the “gay” thing and actually look at the character without judging her for who she’s kissing because that’s basically the same thing that all straight women have been burdened with in regards to men. Women, gay or straight, have always been judged by who they were kissing, and if that is what is bothering people still, then we need to fix that.
So would you say that you’re consciously writing these stories and playing these characters that help portray women in a more positive light?
Definitely.
Does that mean you’d only play positive women?
Not really. I think if the role was a negative one but served the story to help present women more positively, then yes. I was actually offered a role years ago to play a character who had to get vaginal rejuvenation because the guy she fucked was too big. Then I was offered another role to play a girl who kisses another girl to get the attention of the guy she wanted to date. I realized that I never want to be a joke especially for some dude; I never want to actively be objectified and I don’t want to use other women to get a guy. So it became very clear to me then, that I didn’t just want to be in film but I wanted to be in a certain type of film that better represented my gender.
In the past few years, more and more women have risen up to take charge of media and production companies and given other female entertainers more of a voice in an industry that has unfortunately silenced or ignored them in the past (particularly with women of color or members of the LGBT community). How does it feel to be part of such an important movement?
Whenever someone asks me that, it’s almost as if they expect me to be honored or something but in reality, you shouldn’t have to ask me that: “how does it feel to be a part of a movement that promotes equality?” The weight of what is happening around us gets heavier and heavier every day I open my Apple News. What happens around us irrevocably affects what happens to us. It wasn’t something I decided to do in the same fashion as I decided to make SkySoft or when I accept a role. Being a part of this movement is something that I was just sort of a part of anyway because of my mixed race, my anatomy, and my sexuality. Sure, I could have not created SkySoft but I’d still be part of the movement due to my beliefs and values and how I vote, how I try to treat people. It’s not something that happened to me, it’s just how it is. It doesn’t feel like anything other than normal to me. But what I can add to that is it’s really wonderful that our society has changed where someone like me can be asked that question, because that means that I’m doing something really important that not many people like me feel they are doing. I like how we have a lot of women in our shows and focus on their stories and I love that our society wants to see more of that. It makes all of us at SkySoft feel like we’re a part of something bigger than us and that we’re leaving our fingerprints, however faint, on our social zeitgeist.
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We are now in 2020 and have just closed out another decade. What are some of your best memories of the past 10 years, both in SkySoft and in general?
I’ll stick to SkySoft memories because my personal ones I’d like to keep private, but I guess a key memory would be the first time we held auditions for Fox. It was a moment where I knew something big was going to evolve from this. I don’t think anyone else knew but I did. I felt it in my gut. I’ll never forget that feeling because that was when the dream felt real.
What are you most looking forward to for this next decade?
I think this next decade will be a game-changer and I’m very excited about it! I’ve spent the past few years forgiving myself for the choices I’ve made and it’s completely changed how I value those experiences and how I value the choices I’ve made after. It’s also taught me how to detect bullshit and how easy it is to really walk away from it.In the past, I’ve held on to so many things that made me emotionally and mentally unhealthy. So I’m looking forward to being a stronger person, flawed, but stronger. I’m looking forward to moving forward. I’m going to make mistakes but for the first time in my life, I feel content with knowing that I’ll make them because I know that the people I’ve surrounded myself with won’t abandon me and treat me like an inconvenience. I have a great support system now to help with the bravery required to move forward. And I want to be a reflection of those people.
How does it feel now that Fox is over?
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Not only did we close out another year, and it also happens to be the end of a decade as well. I think this past year, in particular, has been an excellent year for cinema. As a filmmaker and storyteller yourself, did any films stand out to you this year? And if you can think back far enough, any ones that stand out for this decade?
Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose. Actors have a tendency to overplay age, we’ll walk slower or hunch our backs, lower our voices- we focus too much on what we look like rather than if we are giving off an older vibe. What makes us older? Sure our looks have something to do with it but if you just look old, we just look like young people in old makeup. There is so much more to be older. In the end of the film, when Edith is being interviewed, the way Marion held herself up to knit, the nod of her head, the raise of her eyebrows spoke wisdom that she didn’t possess in the beginning of the film. There was a smooth transition Marion did as Edith got older that I think went underrated. It just shows how much studying she did not just of Edith Piaf but of people. That’s really what acting is about, in my opinion; a study of truth in the character and an analysis of people, humans.What about this past year? Did any particular movie stand out for you and/or inspire you?
The one that comes to mind would have to be Judy with Renee Zellweger. I didn't expect to like the movie as much as I did. It really moved me and I remember walking out thinking to myself, "Gosh, I hope I do that someday; I hope my work moves people."
I agree, that was a very powerful movie that I just couldn't shake afterward. I still think about it to this day!
Let's take this time now to talk about the future. Sherwood is set to start filming soon! It had the honor of being one of IMDb's most anticipated shows of 2020! What are you most excited about for Sherwood? Are you feeling any pressure to deliver to the fan anticipation?
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That's so true, and I love the timing of it all, starting a new decade with a fresh set of stories to tell. It just feels right. Speaking of new stories, you also recently announced Beast, which again takes a classic tale we're all familiar with but looks at it from a different perspective. What made you want to tell Beast's story?
My favorite story of all time is Beauty and the Beast. My favorite movie of all time is Disney’s animated version. That film inspired me to do everything! And Beast, the character, is my favorite character. I’m not too sure why exactly but I relate to him in so many ways. After every major life experience, I find myself even more connected to him as if I’m getting to know the guy more or something. So you could say I’ve been wanting to do this since I was four. There have been so many renditions of the story but I feel like there aren’t enough telling his side, which I find more interesting. Plus, when you retell a story, you always want to make sure you offer something different. In today’s world, with a new decade coming, transformation is a big theme that resonates within all of us. And how our society is responding to women empowerment due to the injustices made against women, a transformation with our male counterparts is also happening. It’s a story about a man who becomes a better man because he fell in love. I think this story is more relevant than ever and his story matters just the same as hers. Just the same as men matter equally to women.With such a unique perspective to showcase, it's going to take a pretty great actor to portray it. Why did you choose Bryon to take on that role?
Well, first off I’d like to say Beast is my dream role but I want to stay true to the original fairytale as much as I can. So I already had great expectations of whoever would play him. The filmmaker in me sees people and notices things like, “Oh she would make a great Mary-Jane Watson or he’d make a great Captain Hook.” And I suppose a part of me has always been looking for Beast, in a way. Bryon has something very animalistic about him and his features yet his eyes have soul and depth. There’s kindness there and when it comes to Beast, his eyes were the windows of which Belle or Beauty sees those very things. So it’s important that the actor have the right look. Playing Sylvan was his audition. The moment I met him, I saw Beast already, but what he was able to do with Sylvan would determine if he could convince me that he can also play Beast. Poor guy didn’t even know it then. I was already judging him in all the right ways. He has it. He has what it takes to play the part that I have written. Beast is also his favorite character, which I learned very recently, so I know how important this is to him as well. His looks, his talent, and his respect for the character, along with our friendship, make me feel like I chose the right guy and he’s going to bring Beast to life.
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The last thing we need to talk about is Ronin and Eve, two series that are going to continue the Fox lore. What made you want to dig deeper into these two characters’ stories? Was this something you wanted to do all along or did it become more of a reality once you saw Janelle and Jamie's performances?
It was something that came after. There was no initial plan to make Eve and Ronin until I realized what the three of us had done together; we had created characters that represented a family legacy of women. That’s important. Most of the time family sagas revolve around the male family members: Son of Zeus, Kal-El, Luke Skywalker, and so on. Historically, a lot of women have been ignored and even today, tradition ignores a woman’s heritage; by tradition, she takes the last name of her husband. Which means her children take her husband’s surname rather than hers, completely eliminating where she came from and who raised her. It’s as if, she doesn’t really matter and neither does her family overall. Some couples have changed that, which is awesome with the hyphenated surnames. But I don’t feel like there’s enough entertainment that acknowledges women within a family without first focusing on a male member. That’s sad. It’s not so much that I want to eliminate men because that’s not happening and that’s not what I want. It’s more like saying, women matter too. We matter as well and so do our mothers and our grandmothers. Our granddaughters can also continue our legacies. Our family can live on with the women who come after us. With Eve, Fox, and Ronin, I realized we were telling a story that did just that.
That's incredible and so true, and while we have a lot of fascinating characters in Fox that we could easily explore in their own series, I agree that these three have quite a story to tell, and I can't wait to see how it all comes together. Thank you so much for your time Monroe. Here's to a productive and prosperous 2020 and beyond!
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