Making her presence known in Philly, New York and Los Angeles, renowned actress and Hollywood “scream queen” Brooke Lewis has proven her multi-faceted abilities in the entertainment industry as an actress, writer and producer. Recently nominated for two Golden Cob Awards for her performance in the 2009 cult horror hit “Slime City Massacre” and won the award for Scream Queen of the Year. Brooke has become one of the premiere actresses in the horror genre. Movie Mikes had a chance to ask Brooke a few questions about her recent nominations and her upcoming films.
Mike Gencarelli: Tell me about how you felt when you were recently nominated for two Golden Cob Awards for your performance in the 2009 cult horror hit “Slime City Massacre”?
Brooke Lewis: OMG!!! I was (still am) freakin’ out! I honestly could not believe it…the nominations and honor came out of nowhere. I actually got scared, because I woke up that morning, turned on my blackberry and the “dings” sounded off like crazy. I thought something bad had happened. I checked my email and received a bunch of “Congratulations” and I didn’t know why. Then, I read an email from my super and unique director of “Slime City Massacre”, Greg Lamberson, explaining the good news in detail. I started to cry (I am tough on the outside, but mush on the inside. I felt like the luckiest gal ever, as this “little horror/sci-fi/action sequel that could” created this unbelievable career opportunity for me! I am forever grateful to Greg and the cast and crew of “Slime City Massacre”. I am nominated for both RISING B MOVIE ACTRESS 2009 and SCREAM QUEEN OF THE YEAR 2009 and whether I “win” or not, simply to have my hard work acknowledged, already feels like a huge win to me!
Mike Gencarelli: Tell Me about your web series “Ms. Vampy”, you produced, directed and starred? Is it true it is being developed for feature film?
Brooke Lewis: Well, I would love to introduce your readers to “Ms. Vampy”. “Ms. Vampy is America’s funniest, sexiest, sassiest and most high maintenance vampire! Her personality is as big as her hair and is often described as Betty Boop meets Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny. She loves leather and fur and wouldn’t be caught “dead” without high heels! But, there’s much more to this lovable vampiress. While she looks young and vibrant, “Ms. Vampy” is one of the oldest gals on earth. At 111-years-old, she was born in 1899 in Transylvania. She was a shy and innocent child, but after a few too many shots of Lauder’s Scotch Whiskey on her 18th birthday, she jumped on the bike of a tattooed mate and sealed her fate! Moments after being bitten, she grew wildly thick hair, fangs, plump lips, bodacious tatas, and an insatiable sex drive. As she puts it, “I went from being a brainy bookworm to a blood-loving, vampire sexpot in just minutes.” In the 1920s, Ms. Vampy’s travels took her to New York and she fell in love with Brooklyn. It was there where she developed her attitude, sarcastic sense of humor, and ridiculous accent. She spent most of her time in the big apple filming movies and seeing Broadway shows, but she has a secret many don’t know: Ms. Vampy went crazy for Philadelphia Eagles football and soon became an assistant coach, but was fired after one month for not showing up to any day games. She moved back to New York for a short time, but a torrid love affair with a very jealous and young Wall Street vampire went bad, so she headed west to seek out new friends and victims.These days, Ms. Vampy lives in her Hollywood Villa and is often seen on night shoots, shopping in Beverly Hills for Dior or hanging out at Lakers’ games with her horror friends. She loves 80s rock and disco, her favorite band is Vampire Weekend and she never misses American Idol or Millionaire Matchmaker on TV. Her secret dream is to join the cast of HBO’s True Blood (of course, she thinks it’s a “reality” show)! She enjoys Godiva Chocolates and Bloody Marys and she loves to play Xbox when she’s feeling feisty. While she has yet to marry or have children, she freely admits to being boy crazy and hopes to someday make-out with Robert Pattinson. Ms. Vampy is forever sexy, funny, young, and obnoxious, but her heart is as big as her mouth. If she ever bites you, it’ll be with love.” – Editor, Vampity Fair 
The web series was a fun way to introduce the world to one of my favorite characters and I still cannot believe how well she was received! I pinch myself all the time! It was such a wonderful little project, in which I created, produced, co-directed and starred under the expertise of my Executive Producer, Todd Tucker of Illusion Industries. Yes, I am proud to announce that we are in the development stage of creating a feature film for “Ms. Vampy”. I am blessed to have a co-production deal with Illusion Industries, in which I will star and produce, Todd Tucker will direct, Jim Pacitti will star and produce and Tamar Halpern has written based on my original story. The feature is a Halloween Family Comedy titled “Vamp It Out” and will be in the vain of “The Nanny” meets Elvira meets “The House Bunny”. I am following my heart and soul with this piece and my goal is to inspire teenage girls and women to embrace their inner beauty, follow their dreams and when faced with fear, dig deep inside, find their inner vamp and “Vamp It Out”!!!
Mike Gencarelli: We recently just interviewed Felissa Rose, tell us about the movie and your role in “Dahmer vs. Gacy”?
Brooke Lewis: I am a big Felissa Rose fan. Do you know she and I acted in “Tony n’ Tiny’s Wedding” Off-Broadway together in New York many moons ago? “Dahmer vs. Gacy” is another low budget horror/sci-fi/action/comedy Lil’ gem! It merges serial killers and government science experiences in a campy, but smart kind of way. If you can understand the subtext of the script, you will see how clever it actually is. I play the role of Tammy Hart who is a Southern Televangelist based on Tammy Faye Baker. How our brilliant actor/director, Ford Austin, channeled that through me, I will never know. Acting in that scene with Ford directing me is one of those “moments” that actors cherish throughout their careers. The film has recently hit the festival circuit and is winning Audience Choice Awards!
MG: You starred in “Tony n’ Tiny’s Wedding” Off-Broadway, did you enjoy that experience?
BL: Wow! Performing in “Tony n’ Tiny’s Wedding” Off-Broadway was the greatest “acting class” I could ever have taken! Acting in a live show that incorporates a lot of improv teaches you things about the craft, people and yourself that you can never learn in a class and you can take with you forever! You have to be on your toes and on top of your game in every moment. It was like playing with your big, dysfunctional family every night! Sometimes our personal moods/feelings were brought into the professional experience and it got crazy…where else can that happen and actually work? I did the show for almost 3 years, 7 shows a week under an Equity contract and was able to make a decent living acting right out of college. I will say that I made some of my best friends for life from that experience!
MG: Tell us about how/why you created Philly Chick Pictures?
BL: In 2002, I created Philly Chick Pictures to “produce entertainment with an attitude”. My movie career started as an actress in low budget independent films in NYC. I was always the actress with a ton of energy and a business brain, who would call in a favor to attach talent, crew, locations or think fast enough to do damage control on a set. After doing this work for other people’s companies or projects and not being credited or compensated properly, I finally realized that I had been “producing” all along! I learned that I have a creative soul and a business mind. I have never been the type to sit back and wait for things to happen, so I started Philly Chick Pictures to further my acting and producing career, make films with an edge and find and develop strong roles for women! Almost 8 years later, I am still learning and growing every day and with each project I choose. I have made a lot of mistakes in my career, but am very committed to learning from them and moving forward!
MG: What was th
e hardest production you have worked on so far?
BL: I plead the fifth!!! They are all “hard” in different ways. Big budgets, small budgets…it doesn’t matter! They all have their challenges. This is a business that attracts people who are emotional, erratic, hungry and who’s souls need to create…we are all bound to butt heads at some point. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it!
MG: What other projects do you have planned for the future?
BL: I feel really fortunate today, after working my butt off for many years, so I’d love to pimp out a few more! Along with the films mentioned above, I have a few others being released this year, including Marc Clebanoff’s dark comedy “Gerald”, Sal Polisi’s mobster drama directed by James Quattrochi called “Sinatra Club”, Fabian Carillo’s action flick “Double Tap” directed by Ryan Combs and a short film “Sprinkles”, directed by Roger A. Scheck, in which I play the lead Maura and is probably my most challenging and showcase performance to date! I am attached to play Laura in “Mondo Holocausto!” directed by Anthony Sant’Anselmo and as both an actress and producer will be working on an intense drama/thriller “Untold In West Texas” with my dear friends and business associates Parrish Randall and Roger Scheck. Again, please pinch me, so I know this is all real!!!
MG: It was a pleasure, thanks again and we wish you the best of luck
BL: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me and a special thanks to my supportive team: Bohemia Group Management, Bridge and Tunnel Communications Publicist and CoolWaters Productions Booking Agent! Love, Brooke Lewis
