Director Kevin Tancharoen (Mortal Kombat: Legacy and Mortal Kombat: Legacy II) has teamed up again with Machinima to deliver an intriguing, exciting and action-packed short sci-fi film called Gable V.  The story follows government funded scientist Professor Gable (James Morrison), who unearths five people that seem to have special gifts that make them the next evolutionary step for mankind.  If Professor Gable can harness the source of their gifts, he can use them to change mankind, for good or for evil.  The short film also stars Eliza Dushku and Steve Harris and you can watch it after the jump.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, actress Eliza Dushku talked about how she got involved with this project, being a big fan of Machinima, what appealed to her about the story and the ideas being explored, the parallels to what they were exploring in her last TV series Dollhouse, why she loves doing such physical roles, the natural evolution from no longer working in strictly traditional mediums, and that she’d like to keep doing more experimental projects to maintain scheduling flexibility, especially now that she’s getting ready to go back to school to get her degree.  Check out our Eliza Dushku interview after the jump.

Watch the sci-fi short Gable V below before moving on to the interview:

gable-v-eliza-dushku

How did this project come about for you?

ELIZA DUSHKU:  I got an exciting and sexy call from Kevin T.  I knew Kevin through his sister Maurissa, who’s one of my favorite people.  She and her husband, Jed Whedon, worked on Dollhouse with me.  So, it was definitely an extension of the Whedon family.  I was really intrigued by what Kevin laid out, with this idea of harvesting these emotions from people and deconstructing humanity to save humanity.  I was really drawn to it.  I’m also a big fan of Machinima and the stuff that they produce, in their killer, awesome way.  It was no question that it was something that I was excited to dive into. 

What was it about the story, the ideas being explored and this character appealed to you?

DUSHKU:  Some people may know that our efforts to explore this type of subject matter were cut short with a little show called Dollhouse.  We were restricted to only two seasons.  There are certainly a lot of parallels, as far as this idea of what makes us tick and what makes us explode and what the variables are, in an advanced world, where one man could be deconstructed, taken apart and looked at, to change humanity and to change the current challenges that we face, as a society.  I think that’s thought provoking and exciting.  Everybody can identify, on a very simple level, with this sense of, “What if something were different?”  Looking back, what is an incident or a loss that really came, in many ways, to define you for the rest of your life?  If you can go back and change what the emotions were that made it such a defining thing and alter them, what would that look like?  It’s really fascinating.  It’s something that I’m going back to school for, right now.  I’m in the process of moving back to Boston and I’m going back to school to get my degree, and I’m interested in a combination of political science and sociology and mental health. 

gable-v-eliza-dushku-2

With the shift in the last few years, with people seeing less of a line between film and television, and the quality of the projects that are being produced online now, have you had to change your way of thinking, as far as the types of projects you’ll do and the mediums that you’ll work in?

DUSHKU:  It’s been a natural evolution, I feel.  I joined the Twitterverse in the second season of Dollhouse.  Friends that I admire were already in that space, like Kevin Smith.  I just think it’s been a really rapid and natural evolution of the artists and creators being able to go straight to the fans and straight to the source, and eliminate that middle man and be able to produce their art, their stories and their world with a limitless number of collaborators.  And then, the projects actually get to be seen, and be seen by more people than with the traditional methods.  So, I love it.  I think it’s exciting.  It’s like the Wild Wild West.  It’s what’s happening now. 

When did you realize just how much of an affect you can have by communicating with people through social media?

DUSHKU:  I realized it, early on.  We all realize it, very quickly.  Every single person that’s on Twitter realizes it.  My first moment was when I casually Tweeted that I thought Piers Morgan was a tool.  All of a sudden, there was a shit storm and Piers Morgan was firing back at me, which was intimidating.  I was at an Oscar party that night with him.  And I had Eric Stonestreet from Modern Family witness the Twitter war and try to bring us back together.  It was just this funny moment where five words turned into such a hub bub.  And then, Piers was like, “Why did you say that?  What does that even mean?  Why did you call me a tool?”  And I was like, “You know, dude, it’s just what I feel.  Maybe you’re a great guy.”  That’s what Twitter is.  You have to be ready to back up what you say, or not.  That’s what separates the hardcore honest Tweeters from the rest. 

gable-v-eliza-dushku-1

When you do a project like this, that has action and fights and stunt sequences, do you have to be that much more aware, so as not to get injured on an even lower budget and with an even tighter schedule?

DUSHKU:  I think that’s why, at this point, people hire me.  They know that I’m more apt to jump in and count my bruises later, once the work is done.  I’ve always been that way.  I love the physical roles.  I have the utmost respect for stunt people and stunt doubles, but I like to do as much as I possibly can with what’s become some pretty significant training.  I’ve worked with some of the most accomplished and bad-ass stunt people in the industry, and I’ve learned a lot.  To me, it’s just such an adrenalin rush.  I’m definitely the girl who, in the tenth hour, is still game to jump off a building. 

Are you looking to return to television, on a regular basis, or do you want to keep doing more experimental projects, like this one?

DUSHKU:  I want to keep doing experimental stuff.  As I mentioned earlier, I’m planning on going back to school, so the fact that I can move back to Boston and enroll in school, and also keep one foot in the business without the same parameters that the current TV schedules mainly are, I like my flexibility a bit more, for sure.  I want to do a little bit of everything. 

Gable V is now airing on Machinima Prime.