Sartaj Singh
Vera Miao is ready for a new challenge in her career! Moviedelic can reveal that the screenwriter-actress will make her feature directorial debut with the horror drama ‘Rock Springs.’ The principal photography of the movie will start in Vancouver, British Columbia, on October 15 and wrap up on November 26. Miao also wrote the screenplay.
The plot revolves around Gracie, a perceptive and resilient young girl who relocates to the small town of Rock Springs with her mother and grandmother following the tragic death of her father. The protagonist has withdrawn into silence, as her father’s death has dampened her vibrant spirit. Despite being able to communicate through the understanding of her mother’s English and her grandmother’s Mandarin, she chooses not to speak. Instead, her normally cheerful demeanor is replaced by a somber intensity, reflecting the weight of her grief. As they settle into their new life, the family quickly realizes that Rock Springs harbors a dark secret buried in its past and conceals a monstrous presence within the ominous woods behind their new home.
Miao is a writer, actress, and director born in Tamuning in Guam, an unincorporated territory of the United States. She most recently wrote an episode of Prime Video’s ‘Expats,’ starring Nicole Kidman, and the independent film ‘Best Friends Forever.’ Her crowning achievement is creating The CW’s ‘Two Sentence Horror Stories,’ an anthology horror series that puts a terrifying twist on the seemingly mundane. Her most recent acting credits include portraying Michelle in ‘Incarnate,’ Pamela Cook in ‘NCIS,’ and Vera in ‘Eastsiders.’
Miao has a clear affinity for horror, and when asked about her experience working on ‘Two Sentence Horror Stories,’ she said, “I once watched an interview with Barry Jenkins, and someone asked him, ‘What was the most challenging thing about Moonlight?’ And he said, ‘Nothing.’ He said, ‘If I could be directing every day, I’d be happy because I feel I’m my best possible self when I’m on set.’ I really connected to that, particularly in relation to the experience of making this series. I’m very blessed. Warner Bros. and Stage 13 took a chance on me.”
For the horror feature, Vancouver and its surrounding regions will stand in for Rock Springs, Wyoming. Miao traveled to Vancouver in July 2024 and seemed to have an incredible time in the coastal city. “Road trip to Vancouver. So beautiful it makes me cry,” she shared. “Such a relief to see trees, smell the sea, and be reminded of how vast everything is,” the filmmaker added. Some other horror films and shows shot in and around the city include ‘Longlegs,’ ‘Supernatural,’ ‘The Last of Us,’ ‘Blade,’ and Netflix’s ‘The Fall of the House of Usher.’
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