Cerina Vincent started her career in TV with “Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy” and got her big screen debut with “Not Another Teen Movie” and “Cabin Fever”. Besides acting Cerina has written screenplays. She is also the co-author of “How To Eat Like a Hot Chick” & “How To Love Like a Hot Chick”. Movie Mikes was able to sit down and talk with Cerina about her career and what’s next for this talented actress and author.
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Mike Gencarelli: You started your career with “Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy”, do you find that you still have a following from this show?
Cerina Vincent: Well, I actually did a few things before the “Power Ranger” series, but it was that kids show that definitely started my fan base. But yes! “Power Ranger” fans are just as loyal and awesome as the horror fans, and I still get quite a few people asking about the show. The kids that grew up with “Power Rangers” seem to always have a special place in their heart for the show and its neat to see that they are still watching it, even though it was over ten years ago! A lot of moms and dads recognize me from the show—as they are forced to watch it with their kids. It’s pretty funny… I’ll be in the grocery store and a mother will walk up to me and say, “I know I know you from somewhere,” and then they say, “Oh yes! I hear your voice every morning…you run around as that little jungle chick and then turn into the yellow ranger!” It was fun to be a part of such a successful kids show when I still was sort of a kid myself.
Mike Gencarelli: Your new film “Complacent” is coming out this year, can you tell us a bit about the movie?
Cerina Vincent: Well, it’s still in festivals right now, in fact on May 5th its screening again at the The Los Angeles United Film Festival. I w
ill be speaking after the screening with writer/director Steven R. Monroe who I just dearly adore. I love this film. It’s a very cool, edgy drama/dark comedy. And the cast is just superb. With the gorgeous Elisa Donovan who’s a dear friend, my bud Joey Kern who was my man in Cabin Fever, Keri Green who I wanted to be from “Goonies” plays my sis, and Kier O’Donnell and Michael Worth are just fantastic in this. Adrienne Barbeau plays my mom and is just soooo good…I could go on and on. Everyone was fabulous and the film really makes you think. Again, I am grateful to Monroe for taking a chance on me. I’ve been dying to play a role like this, and I thank him for letting me bring his words to life.
Mike Gencarelli: Tell me about your experience on the set of “Cabin Fever”? Any memorable moments?
Cerina Vincent: There are too many memorable moments to even count! “Cabin Fever” was a dream to be a part of. And the film changed my life. It was Eli Roth’s first film, and he’s just a fantastic filmmaker, and I am honored to be in such a horror hit. Lauren Moews, our producer, was incredible, and saved the day when the union shut us down, and really brought the film to success with a bidding war at Toronto Film festival. (All of which were crazy days in movie-making and very memorable moments) Everyone on the set made the experience unforgettable. The whole cast got along famously. We had fun dinners every evening, hot tub nights in the freezing North Carolina Mountains… Eli dressed up as a giant gorilla and scared the S@#! out of me in the middle of the night, deep in the forest on a very cold night shoot. Every day was an adventure on that movie. Shooting the campfire scene sticks out as an incredible memory… the drama with the
dog, and of course my leg shaving scene which was a bit complicated to shoot, but so much fun to watch. The editing is perfect, KNB EFX made my bloody legs look creepy, and Eli always knows how to pull out the best performances. The whole shoot was amazing….
MG: You’ve guest starred on various TV shows, most recently “Gary Unmarried”, “Two and a Half Men”, how do you feel that TV differs from movies?
CV: Well, for starters, TV moves really fast. And half-hour comedies (which I love) are shot in front of a live audience. So that changes the dynamic of a set dramatically. You get one (maybe two?) takes and that’s it. Whereas on movies, there are tons of camera set ups and you do scenes over and over. As an actress, I love working in both television and film. TV is great because usually there isn’t much travel involved. It’s nice to be able to get up and go to work from 9 to 5 , (or 8 to 8), like the rest of the world. Whereas movies, you can be on location thousands of miles away from home, for months and months, working fourteen-hour night shoots, which makes for interesting memories and great movies, but they’re all very different experiences. I have a big horror following, but I actually love comedy, and think its one of my strengths as an actress. “Two and a Half Men” and “Gary Unmarried” were some of my most recent guest star roles and sooo much fun. I’ve also done a few half hour pilots that never quite made it to air, but I’d love to do more half hour shows! My first romantic comedy “Everybody Wants to Be Italian” was really cute, “Not Another Teen Movie” was my first studio comedy and it still guest laughs… my books are really funny… I think I do more comedy than most people realize… but it doesn’t really matter, TV or Film, I love it all.
MG: You co-authored “How To Eat Like a Hot Chick” & “How To Love Like a Hot Chick” from Harper Collins with Jodi Lipper, any plans for future books?
CV: Yes! “LIVE Like a Hot Chick” comes out this September! It’s all about how to feel sexy, find confidence and create balance at work and play. Life is hard and stressful for all of us, and we think we all need to have balance, sanity and a bit more fun in life, and this book gives you all the info and inspiration to find that. Plus, we have all sorts of interesting tips, tricks and info on food and body image, exercise, money, how to handle work scenarios, how to have a memorable heyday, and so much more! It really does have it all. We are excited about this 3rd book and our plan is to keep expanding the Hot Chick book series with a book on friendship, a cookbook, a wedding book, the list goes on and on… Plus, we have strong interest in turning this brand into a reality show that’s just as inspiring, sassy, sexy and funny as our books—so that’s been great to explore and develop.
MG: Tell me about your monthly column on The Huffington Post with Jodi Lipper?
CV: We started our column with the release of our first book, “How to Eat Like a Hot Chick”, and we’re still doing it. It’s really great to write about timely things and give our opinions on what’s going on out there in this crazy world on a weekly or monthly basis, or whenever we want. The Huffington Post is fantastic and it’s an honor to be living contributors. We are also guest blogging on popsugar.com for tre`sugar, and we are having a blast with that too! We mostly stick to writing about girlfriend-to-girlfriend advice things… Food, body image, the tabloid world, sex, dating, love, relationships… all the things that drive women (and men) mad…? And we have some fun interviews on there too!
MG: Besides acting and authoring, I hear you also write screenplays, can you tell us about anything you have done?
CV: I’ve written all kinds of things—horror, thriller, comedy, pilots, etc… And I love it! The easiest part is the writing—the toughest part is getting them from screenplays to the screen. One horror I co-wrote with Ben Waller called “ADRENALINE” has been optioned a few times by independent producers, and we keep thinking we’re making it, and then something holds it up. But we own it back again and it looks like that’s the film we’ll make first… It’s a really cool, kick-ass horror that the genre fans will really dig. Fingers crossed…
MG: You won Miss Nevada Teen USA, how did that happen?
CV: Ha! Yep! I did! In 1996 I was Miss Nevada Teen USA, and I finished top 12 at Miss Teen USA. I was born and raised in Las Vegas. And when I was little I used to watch my many beautiful cousins, and my mom’s many dance students in the pageant. It was this huge production in a gorgeous Vegas showroom, it was televised, and I loved the idea of wearing pretty dresses and being a spokesperson for the state. At sixteen, I entered the contest against my parents will (they were pissed) got sponsored, raised money (we didn’t have much), bought myself a pretty gown and to my shock I won the damn thing! It was an eye-opening experience for me. I got to travel around the state and speak to youth about self-esteem and saying no to drugs, I hosted many cool events in Las Vegas, met some fabulous people, and I represented my state at nationals. Although I was from then on hooked and amazed by television production (Miss Teen USA is nothing more than like a giant American Idol episode, but you take a month to shoot it) I realized that pageant life is NOT for me. I am not a beauty queen. I really had nothing in common with most of the other girls, I just wanted to perform, be on stage, have a voice…and wear a pretty dress.
MG: Have you always wanted to be an actor?
CV: My parents have a home video of me at two begging them to plug the camera into the television. I looked up into camera to my mother crying over and over, “I wanna watch myself on TV, I wanna watch myself on TV, put me on the TV…” in a whiny little two-year-old voice. So, that, coupled with the fact that my mom was a ballet teacher and half hour house was a dance studio where I grew up making up skits and plays with my cousins, brother and sister, I’d say, yes! I have always wanted to be an actor. I just didn’t quite believe it was possible. At ten I realized I had a voice and started singing, which lead to me doing musical theatre where I fell in love with acting. Then I started doing local commercials and a bit of modeling. I did a ton of local plays and musicals growing up in Las Vegas with this really cool theater ensemble called Rainbow Company, and another theatre program that puts on giant outdoor productions at a place called Spring Mountain Ranch, out past Red Rock in the serene desert of Vegas. I also did a bunch of plays in high school… and as soon as I got that diploma I packed up my beat up little Geo, headed south on the I 15 to LA, started college, found and agent, and here we are today.
MG: What has been your most challenging production that you have worked on?
CV: Hmmmm…. Wow. Well, all great roles are challenging in a way because you really always want to nail the characters perfectly and genuinely. I did a really cool short with David Lynch called “Darkened Room”. That was challenging because it was so different and edgy and Lynch is such a legend—I was nervous! But I think I have to add that my most challenging roles are films that that I’ve done where the productions were just disasters. It wasn’t the roles that made them challenging, but I’ve been on a couple low-budget indie films with inexperienced producers and directors, and actors with such behavioral problems that made the film shoots utter nightmares. That’s the most challenging part of show biz… but I won’t name names.
MG: You recently were involved with a top-secret short movie? Anything you can spill?
CV: Well, lets see… I can say that someone who I admire greatly in this business directed it. He’s also a dear friend, and someone who has had a hand in making hundreds of the most incredible films look incredible. There are many recognizable faces in this project, all of whom I admire as well, some who I have worked with before. I play a character from a 1950’s horror classic. Horror fans, sci-fi fans, and all fans will enjoy and appreciate it. It’s clever and charming and was a blast to work on…and I think that’s all I can say for now since I didn’t ask for permission form the director. It was an honor and a pleasure to be a part of and I cant wait for people to see it!
Click here to view Cerina & Jodi’s column on The Huffington Post
Click here to check out the Hot Chicks Twitter
Click here to purchase Cerina’s movies and books
