YEM Exclusive Interview | with Isaiah Russell-Baily from CRATER

For those who have watched CRATER, you might be yearning for more content from the film! In that case, we have some exciting news for you! We have an exclusive interview with Isaiah Russell-Baily, who starred as Caleb in the movie! We’re eager to talk to Isaiah about his role as Caleb, his thoughts and experience with the film and cast members, and more. Because the film was already released, if you’re planning on reading this interview and you haven’t had the time to watch the movie, this article will actively avoid any spoilers regarding the film. For those planning to watch before reading this article, we highly recommend watching it first. And now, onto this interview and its refresher.

Click here or scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the YouTube video

You might have watched this film when it was released through Disney+. But for those who need a refresher, CRATER is a sci-fi adventure film that came out on May 12th. In 2257, following the failure of colonizing the moon, humans made it their mission to mine the moon for resources. Before Caleb’s father died, he wrote a will for Caleb to leave for Omega, a planet yet to be colonized. Caleb has three days until he finds the crater that he promised his dad to visit, and what better way to find it is with friends? In Caleb’s journey, he’s joined by friends Dylan, Borney, and Marcus. With the sudden addition of Addison, the five set off on a journey to find the promised crater. The film has gathered some generally favorable reviews and scored pretty high up on the list of movies on Disney+.

For those curious about CRATER’s origins, did you know that this was a speculative screenplay? For those who don’t know the term, speculative screenplays are non-commissioned screenplays written by a screenwriter, where the script will eventually be optioned and purchased by a producer, company, or studio. These scripts are read differently, as it focuses more on the story than camera movements and other directing aspects. For those wondering, some spec scripts ended up winning some Academy Awards, such as Thelma and Louise, Good Will Hunting, and American Beauty.

Here is some information on Isaiah! Bursting through the Netflix scene, Isaiah first starred in Criminal Minds as a young Kevon Winters. For those who know Isaiah in other pieces of media, you might recognize him in the following shows: We Can Be Heroes as Rewind, Super Wings! as the voice of Rover, Raven’s Home as Burton, and Family Reunion as Shaka McKellan and Nicholas Brother #2.

We first asked Isaiah about the film. Isaiah talks about how excited he is for people to see the amount of work that went into this film, and he has high praise for it. He stated how superb everyone was with their roles, the VFX was incredible, the set looked phenomenal, and the costumes were immaculate. Isaiah is very excited for people to tell him what they think of the movie. He believes that people will love it. We also asked Isaiah about his character, Caleb. Isaiah mentions that Caleb serves as the ‘glue’ that keeps his friends together through thick and thin. He lifts his friends’ spirits when they’re feeling down, and functioning as a trustworthy and empathetic individual that people can rely on.

We also asked what the preparation was like with the film, especially when it involved the space setting. Isaiah explains how it took approximately six weeks of preparation for space suit fittings, harness training, and stunt training. It took four weeks for Legacy Studios to help build their space suits. According to Isaiah, they work and fit like real functional space suits that can help them move around. Isaiah remembers how he was the first to wear the finished spacesuit. When he first wore it, he felt like a real astronaut and was ready to take on the moon. He also worked with Dave Macomber and his stunt team for the remaining two weeks, ensuring that the low gravity and spacewalk looked as realistic as possible. Be sure to check the video out below to see more of the interview!