Sci-Fi Bulletin: Exploring the Universes of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Spy-fi!

Atomic Blonde creator Antony Johnston’s new project, a short SF film entitled Crossover Point, will be unveiled on YouTube on 1 July at 7pm BST / 11 am PST.

The film was conceived and filmed entirely in lockdown, and is penned and directed by Johnston.

A journalist makes a video call to interview a scientist about his discovery of a parallel dimension — but things go very badly.

Johnston, based in England, wrote Crossover Point while under lockdown orders. “Obviously, making a regular film is out of the question right now,” he says. “But we’ve all suddenly become familiar with video calls, and I realized I could create something that not only uses the software, but centers the story around it. Rather than hiding the fact we’re using webcams, we lean into it so the film looks like what it is: a video call between two people. A good story is about more than cameras and lenses.”

After deciding to take the helm himself for the first time Johnston recruited two friends, actors Moisés Chiullan and Casey McKinnon, to perform. Chiullan is based in Austin, Texas, and works mainly in theatre. McKinnon, a Los Angeles-based veteran of indie web series, also doubled as a producer.

“I’m so excited to be working with Antony on this project that blends my love of science fiction with my passion for acting and producing,” says McKinnon. “We first met in 2009 when I interviewed Antony for A COMICBOOK ORANGE and I’m glad that after all these years we found a project to collaborate on. While the industry has mostly shut down production, we were able to work together with the union to greenlight our project and shoot it in the safest possible way: self-producing with a team remotely while staying home.”

The creators will be chatting alongside the YouTube premiere today, and Johnston has spoken to Sci-Fi Bulletin at length about the film –click here to read the interview.