Earth to Echo – Hag & Con talk UFO’s, Childhood and Echo with Writer Henry Gayden
What inspired you to write Earth to Echo? Hag age 9
It all started with a germ of an idea from our awesome producer, Andrew Panay. He wanted to make a movie about kids sneaking out of the house, finding something extraordinary, and filming it themselves. That was the original inspiration, and from there, I started to tinker with themes and characters that really resonated with me — and the kid in me. I think I really connected to a boy who’d never really had a home (Alex) and the way he saw himself in Echo, who was wounded, helpless and completely without a home himself. From there, the characters and the story really came together, but those are the things I really connected with initially.
Why did you call the alien Echo? Con age 7
Great question. Silly answer…
I was stumped. We had a basic (very basic) story in place at the time. The four kids were clear to me, but I couldn’t quite figure out who our alien character was going to be — or how exactly he interacted with our protagonists. So, a little context: I do a lot of thinking in the car. People spend a lot of time in traffic in LA! So there I was, racking my brain, and I looked up and saw a Toyota Echo in front of me (see attached photo below). The name stuck. “Echo.” Then it hit me, “That’s what he does, he echoes their words as best he can in his language.”
That’s the real truth, guys. That’s how the name Echo was born. From the back of a car.
Everyone has a moment when they think they saw a UFO – do you and what happened? Hag age 9
There have been many moments when I thought I saw a UFO — or when out alone in the dark, glanced over my shoulder, thinking maybe there’s something up in the sky, watching me. Alas, I have never actually seen a UFO. But there’s a reason I sometimes glance over my shoulder: because my mom used to insist she’d seen one. The story’s pretty crazy. When she was in her late 20s – years before I was born – she and my aunt were staying in a cabin deep in the woods of Tennessee. That night, they’d gone out for a walk when all of the sudden they spotted a UFO hovering in the sky. Not moving. Not flying. Just hovering high above. This is where it gets crazy. Moments after noticing the UFO, she and my aunt claim a smaller UFO exited the larger one, like a car pulling out of a garage. Now, there were two UFOs, one small and one big, hovering overhead. It only lasted a few seconds, and almost as quickly as it had started, both UFOs whooshed off in opposite directions, never to be seen by them again.
That was the story that haunted me from age 5 to, well, now I guess.
What’s the secret to Echo’s Planet? Con age 7
There is no one secret to Echo’s planet, but there are many details we deliberately left out of the film. The director, Dave Green, and I always thought of Echo as a young being on his own planet — not too unlike our heroes. We saw Echo as a young pilot, very early in his career. He was one of many pilots sent down to Earth to retrieve the spaceship (which is hidden you-know-where). Echo was the only one who completed the journey to Earth. I’m not allowed to give too much away in case we ever tell more stories in this world, but let’s just say Echo doesn’t live on his planet alone.
When I watched the movie I felt like I could have been one of the Kidz in the story – do you know any kidz like them? Hag age 9
Yeah! Me! I’m not nine years old anymore, but I remember what it was like. I think most of us do. I’m so glad you felt like you could’ve been one of the heroes of our movie because we wrote it for you and the kid in us all.
Does Alex’s new house have any ghost in it? Con age 7 (I think he’s looking for more adventures)
You’ll have to wait for the sequel, Con! But if there is a ghost, I bet Alex knows just how to handle it — with one call to his best friends.
Do you think aliens are kept in Area 51? Hag age 9
I believe it’s possible there were aliens in Area 51, but for me to go out on a limb and say with certainty that there were might be foolhardy. There are so many accounts and claims about aliens that it’s hard to sift through the phony-baloney stuff and get to what may be fact. But I’m open to it, Hag. I will say this — when I used to get scared of possible alien abductions or attacks, my mom would always calm me down with one, simple truth: If aliens were out to hurt us, they would’ve done it already. So if they are out there, they either like observing us as we are or have no interest. I think it’s up to you to figure out which!
Earth to Echo out Now on DVD and Blu-Ray – Review CLICK HERE!!!
