Rachael is the female lead in "Stateside," a film directed by Reverge Anselmo. The film is a coming of age story about romance, non- supportive parents, and an inside look into mental illness.

Rachael: (cutting me off) "it’s very different."

Rachael: Thank you. I spent a lot of time researching the role. It was also a surprise to learn that almost 2% of the population have some affliction with schizophrenia in their lifetime. That’s a lot.

George to Reverge: I thought this was a very soft R movie. Did you try to manage the process or is this just how it came out?

Reverge: No, the MPAA called me after they screened the movie to tell me how much they appreciated the movie with respect to the realism, credibility and honestly shown of the military. What they had an issue with was the use of the f word being used too many times. The Marine Corps does not swear to its recruits. I used the f word once but Val Kilmer used it quite a few times.

Our work was mainly guided by feeling very honest in the story, leaving the warts on it, the unpolished characters. We made an attempt to edit the film to get a PG-13 rating, but it was terrible. I could not stand it. I’ll live with the art.

George to Reverge: How did you assemble such a talented cast?

Reverge: They liked the script. Also, the producer Bob Greenhut has made over 80 movies ¾ 21 for Woody Allen. Somewhere along the way, a lot of people wanted to do a favor for Bob. Val Kilmer liked the script so much he asked to do more and he did that for free. That’s where that saying goodbye to the platoon scene came from. I wrote it for him at 11:30 at night and we shot it the next morning.

George to Rachael: You have a movie coming out later this year called "11:14." It sounds a little like "21 Grams" with its non linear story line, with an event that impacts a lot of different people. What are your thoughts on this and how does it fit into your career plans?

Rachael: It’s not as serious as "21 Grams," as you are allowed to just go along for the ride. Working with Hilary Swank was wonderful.

George: What has the reception been for the film so far and what is the marketing plan to encourage people to see a film about teenagers that is so different from the norm?

Reverge: It played at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York (Robert DeNiro) as an add-on, and it was sold out in a 650 seat house.

It was the idea of the studio, Samuel Goldwyn, to release this on the same date as "Shrek 2." You will have a choice of seeing green monsters or something true.