Rich Moore is the director of Disney’s “Wreck-It Ralph”. He is best known for working on TV shows like “The Simpsons” and “Futurama”. “Wreck-It Ralph” has been nominated for both Golden Globes and Academy Award for Best Animated Film. It is set to be released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 5th. Media Mikes had the pleasure to chat with Rich to discuss the film and hopes for a sequel.

Mike Gencarelli: Just wanted to tell you how much I loved this film and that Media Mikes had voted “Wreck it Ralph” the best animated film of the year.
Rich Moore: Thanks. Wow, it was a great year so that is a huge compliment. Thank you that means so much.

MG: With “Wreck-It Ralph” being your feature directorial debut; how does this experience compare from your television work including “Futurama” and “The Simpsons”?
RM: It is different but the same. You know? With “Futurama” and “The Simpsons”, those were amazing projects to work with. Some of the people I worked with on those projects are some of the funniest and most talented people in that medium. My jobs on them were very much like the job I have on “Wreck-It Ralph”. I am telling the best story I can with heart, emotion and humor, while also having characters that we care about and make sure that the audience invests in and identifies with. In that regard “The Simpsons” and “Wreck-It Ralph” feel very similar. I feel like I am right in my element. On the hand, the machine itself here at Disney is big. In order to make these feature films it takes an army of artists to put them together over a long period of time. I feel like a kid in candy shop. It’s like going from having a toy train to running a real train [laughs]. It is fun and really great. It is just wild also just being at the studio during this process.

MG: Have you always wanted to be in this position?
RM: When I was a kid, the first film I saw in the theater was “The Jungle Book”. I was five years old at the time and it really got its hooks into me. It affected me in a way that really early on that I wanted to be involved with animation…or as much as a five year old could express that. So to find myself here at this point in my career at Disney Animation, at the place that put the bug in me, and adding my contribution to Disney movies is a spectacular feeling. It really goes down pretty deep.

MG: The cameos in the film are jam-packed but not overwhelming; what was the process for choosing which iconic characters to use?
RM: Well we always wanted to use the ones that felt appropriate to the scene. We definitely went for the ones that we loved as kids and now as adults. Early on in the production, I put up a big bulletin board in the break room with a sign asking what characters needed to be in the movie. We filled up that board quickly and kept that on hand and used it as a reference throughout. We didn’t just choose them all willy-nilly. It was based on characters that we loved and would need to see in the movie.

MG: You voiced Sour Bill and Zangief of Street Fighter in the film, which are two of my favorites. How did that come about?
RM: Thank You. What is funny about that was that those two performances started out as temporary dialogue – scratch dialogue. When it came time to cast actors in those roles, I was talking with John Lasseter about it, our executive producer, and I told him what I was thinking for Sour Bill and he asked me “Why do you want to change Sour Bill, it perfect?”. I told him it was just scratch dialogue but he told me to keep it in and that it was great. He also said the same thing for Zangief. So I am a reluctant actor.

MG: Well you know “Who else would crush man’s skull like sparrow’s egg…”
[laughs] That’s right [In Zangief’s voice] “like sparrow’s egg between my thighs” [laughs].

MG: When this film came out, I asked my mom if she was going to see it and she asked “I don’t know much about games, would I enjoy”; how can you address this concern for the non-gamers?
RM: Sure, that was something that I was very concerned about in the beginning. I didn’t want it to be so inside video games that only gamers would get it and enjoy it. It was very important to me that even if you just heard of video games but never played that you could watch the movie and enjoy it as much as a hardcore gamer. I was always checking this aspect as we were developing the story. I had a little core group of people. Some were hardcore gamers, casual gamers and some that didn’t play at all. I used them as a balancing stick to make sure if they were all equally enjoying it and able to relate. Once all those three points lined up, I knew that we got it in a good spot where everyone would be able to enjoy it. It was very important to me that that aspect was front and center.

MG: Well since then she has seen it twice and loves quoting it, especially the Oreo chant [laughs].
RM: It is funny that you can still make a joke about a movie that is over 70 years old and cookie that is over a hundred years old…and it still feels new.

MG: I also liked how you have little fun cameos like Devil Dogs, which are now not being made any more. So it is cool to see them get put in a piece of history.
RM: My experience on “The Simpsons”, Matt Groening would always remind us that the show is not for children, not for teenagers, or adults – it is for everybody. If we are making it too childish then we are losing a big part of our audience. If we are making it too adult then we are losing another part. The stuff that I love working on is the projects that don’t talk down to kids and doesn’t insult the intelligence of the adults. I think that the Pixar movies do that so well, as does the shows like “Futurama” and “The Simpsons”. These can play across and be a true family film or a piece of entertainment and that is my favorite kind of stuff.

MG: Is “Wreck-It Ralph 2” in the cards for you? What can we expect?
RM: The creative team would jump at it in a New York minute. The actors, the animators and myself – we all had such a great time making this movie and working together. We became like a family. It was such a cool experience. We really love these characters. There has been some talk about doing it and I am sure there will be some more talk about it. But we are all keeping out fingers crossed and hoping we get to go back there.

After several successful years appearing in various television (“Fame,” “Hill Street Blues”) and film (“King of the Mountain,” “The Lightship”) William Forsythe made an impact on filmgoers everywhere as escaped convict Evelle Snoats in the Coen Brothers comedy “Raising Arizona.” This led to featured roles in films like “Weeds,” “Dick Tracy,” “Out for Justice” and “American Me,” in which he gives one of my favorite performances – that of JD, a Caucasian gang member who acts Chicano. He continued to find success with roles in films like “The Waterdance,” “The Rock,” “Blue Streak” and “The Librarians,” which he also wrote. He also had a memorable turn as Al Capone in the television series “The Untouchables.” He recently completed a stint on the acclaimed HBO series “Boardwalk Empire” and will soon be seen as former boxer Jake LaMotta in the “Raging Bull” follow-up entitled “The Bronx Bull.” While promoting his current film, “Happy in the Valley,” Mr. Forsythe took some time to answer some questions. We traded blizzard stories (I was in the middle of one when we spoke and he had just dug himself out of one the week before) for a few moments before he talked about his new film, “Boardwalk Empire” and what could be next for him behind the camera.

Mike Smith: Introduce us to your character in “Happy in the Valley,” photographer Stewart Fox.
William Forsythe: What kind of introduction would you like? He’s pretty “balls to the wall!” What I think is amazing about Stewart as a character is that he’s a guy that has basically lived on the very bottom of the Hollywood scene. He worked his way up and rose to the top of his profession. He’s now fallen back down.

MS: What about the character drew you to the project?
WF: What drew me to the project is that this guy has seen it all in the course of his life and he’s been at the top of his game. And now, at this point of his life, he’s back at the very bottom. He’s become bitter. He has a drinking problem. He has a drug problem. And what really drew me to this picture is that you have this world that is really seedy and ugly as the backdrop. It’s really a story about his epiphany. One of the main things is that this guy, who has been everywhere, really learns that he needs to go back to the beginning…to where it all began. It’s such an uplifting story, especially for a film that’s set in the porn business.

MS: Stewart is described as “The World’s Greatest Erotic Photographer.” What exactly does that entail?
WF: I think it entails different things that occur during his life and career. In the beginning he was touted as one of the great photographers. He did very classy shoots…very classy and erotic shoots. But at this point in the game…as the porn world goes from film to digital….it’s like boxing is being replaced by crazy cage fighting…this world that he once knew has changed. In order to support himself he has to take himself to the bottom of the industry. He makes money but the amount of dignity he can take home with him is literally none.

MS: You’ve had such great success in both film and television projects. Do you have a preferred medium to work in?
WF: I love to make movies. Movies are my favorite. I love to take a story and tell the whole story from beginning to end. I enjoy television too but basically every week you get handed new pages and you don’t have a lot of control about where the story is going. And there are so many types of films. I’ve done my share of big studio pictures. But when you take on a beautiful independent film like “Happy in the Valley” you can see the magic happen…it’s the closest thing to the old feeling I used to get on stage. It reminded me of going off and doing summer stock.

MS: Speaking of getting pages and finding out you’re no longer on the show, do you miss the experience of working on “Boardwalk Empire?”
WF: I had a great time working on that show and I miss all of the people involved. The one thing about “Boardwalk Empire” – to the man and woman – is that people were dedicated to putting out something special. And that is not as common as it used to be. And that aspect of it I miss. But I knew….when I entered “Boardwalk Empire” everything was rolling along fine…but I knew the minute that I killed those two girls that I had a thunderbolt hanging over my head. And it’s true. You do find out on the day. They hand you your pages and you’re dead!

MS: You wrote the film “The Librarians” and you’ve produced several projects. Do you ever see yourself sitting in the director’s chair? WF: I do. I’ve had a couple offers and I certainly have a lot of scripts that I’ve written. So yes, I do.

MS: Any word on when “The Bronx Bull” will be released?
WF: I’m not sure on the exact date. The last time I spoke to the producers they were shooting for late spring. They’re hoping for an initial theatrical release of 20-25 cities but they haven’t set a release date yet.

MS: Thank you again for your time this morning.
WF: Thank you. And stay strong in that blizzard, buddy!

We last spoke with Ashley Bell for her first starring role in “The Last Exorcism”, read it here.  Since then Ashley has been taking over the action genre with strong female roles in films like “The Day” and recently in “The Marine 3: Homefront”.  Ashley is also returning to her role of Nell Sweetzer in “The Last Exorcism Part 2” this month.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Ashley again about her passion for these roles and how she enjoys performing her own stunts.

Mike Gencarelli: Did you get involved with “The Marine 3: Homefront” due to your connection with WWE Studios from “The Day”?
Ashley Bell: Yes very much so. Because WWE Studios acquired “The Day” from Toronto Film Festival, it put me on their radar. In talking with them after the release, they wanted to see if I would be interested in working on “The Marine 3: Homefront”. I read the script for the character of Lilly and the role really spoke to me.

MG: What was it about Lilly that drew you to the role?
AB: What I love about Lilly is that even though she is a hostage character she doesn’t give up…she fights. She is more of a wild card. Even if she is retrained with handcuffs, she is searching for the air holes  looking to get out and trying to fight back. I really like that determined spirit that she has. Also in reading Scott Wiper’s script, a lot my scenes are opposite Neal McDonough as well as Mike (‘The Miz’ Mizanin). But Neal is such an incredible actor. There is no one that plays a villain like Neal McDonough. Here is a terrorist but when you first hear him speak he almost makes sense…until he takes it over the top and then you know you are in trouble. I like the arguments that were being fought for – insurance and saving your home and family. So, yes I like the script for sure.

MG: You seem like an actor that isn’t afraid to get out there and get her hands dirty, am I right?
AB: Absolutely! That is when it gets fun for me! If I am not bruised or have some kind of a war wound…then I have not done my job [laughs].

MG: What do you enjoy about performing your own stunts in the action scenes?
AB: Coming from the first “The Last Exorcism”, which I did all my own physicality. Luckily, the roles I am doing now allow me to do my own stunts and going into action. That is really excited for me because I really love action movies! Like I mentioned with these strong female characters. I actually learned Muay Thai for “The Day” and I loved that training. It is just a wonderful form of exercise and I keep it up. Thank God, I did because it takes a lot of stamina in order to be on an action set, which for me is fun. n “The Marine 3”, you see this abandoned cruise ship which has been there for years and that is how it actually looked. It was all rust over and we were doing take after take running down the corridors, up and down the stairs, gun fire going off, explosions, cars are blowing up…and this was what I daydreamed off when I was a kid with my Nerf gun in my tree house.

MG: I got to tell you the the passion is literally coming right out of your mouth. It sounds like you had a blast.
AB: Well, I really did. I really hope I get to continue action since it is a lot of fun for me.

MG: Going from action packed to horror, tell us what we can expect from “The Last Exorcism Part 2”?
AB: This is the continuation of Nell’s story. Here is a girl that is completely shell-shocked from what happened to her. She doesn’t remember what happened at all, she is very vulnerable and shut out from the world. She is drawn out into New Orleans during Mardi Gras and she has to choose between good and evil. I agree do all my own physicality for this one as well. If you have seen the trailer, I do a levitating back bend and I have the stress fracture to prove it [laughs].

MG: After this film are you going to but a “no back-bend  clause in your contract [laughs]?
AB: [laughs] I know right. It is a stress fracture not trauma fracture. I was funny since I panicked when I heard this since I love working out. I love my Muay Thai lessons and taking ballet. So I was afraid I was going to have to stop working out. My doctor actually told me that the cure for something like this is to really build up your core muscles and to actually continue work out. So it hasn’t affected me at all.

MG: How was it for you returning to the character Nell this time around?
AB: It was very different actually. The character of Nell is completely broken. For this script, I was putting her back together and in doing so there was a lot of pieces missing and that is where the devil comes in! And that is where there are scares! Also there is also a different director on board, so it has a very, to be be redundant, different feel than the first one. It was a very new Nell.

MG: You’ve got action, horror – what do you have in the cards next?
AB: Well I am really happy to announce, I have also have a romantic comedy coming out. It is called “The Bounceback” and it is going to be premiering at SXSW 2013.

Matthew Modine is probably known best for playing Pvt. Joker in Stanley Kubrick’s “Full Metal Jacket” and Louden Swain in “Vision Quest”. He also recently appeared as Deputy Commissioner Peter Foley in “The Dark Knight Rises”. Matthew has a production company with partner Adam Rackoff called Cinco Dedos Peliculas and also has a deep love for animation. He recently signed on to produce and voice act in Ralph Bakshi’s latest film “Last Days of Coney Island”, which is currently trying to become funded via Kickstarter.

At the time of posting, there has been over 900 backers since it was launched and just over $140,000 dollars pledged of the $165,000 dollars goal. We are almost there but we need your help. Be sure to rush over to Kickstarter and help Matthew and Ralph on this project. Click here to join the fight and see “Last Days of Coney Island” get made and be sure to mention Media Mikes sent ya! The campaign ends on Sunday March 3rd around 12pm EST, so don’t miss out! Spread the word!

Check out our interview with writer/director Ralph Bakshi about the film as well, click here. Also be sure to check back next week to see the second half of our interview with Matthew about reflecting on his work on “Full Metal Jacket”, “The Dark Knight Rises”, his iPad app and also his upcoming role on the Steve Job’s biopic “jOBS”.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about how you got involved with Ralph Bakshi’s “Last Days of Coney Island”?
Matthew Modine: First of all you should know that my dad was a drive-in theater manager and I became hip to Ralph Bakshi when I was too young [laughs]. At an inappropriate age, I feel in love with “Fritz the Cat”. So that is how I found the work of Bakshi. So also this last year, I have been working with the animator Bill Plympton. We met at Tribeca Film Festival and became fast friends. He asked me if I would be interested in voicing the narrator, this sort-of Walter Winchell character, in an animated film he was making called “Santa, The Fascist Years”. It is a very funny short film. I also worked with him on a film he was restoring called “The Flying House”. My partner, Adam Rackoff and I have a production company called Cinco Dedos Peliculas, which means Five Finger Films. The reason we called it that is we thought it would be appropriate to have a production company that offered a hand to other filmmakers. We used Cinco Dedos to help Plympton get his money for restoring Winsor McCay’s film. So, it was through Bill Plympton that he told us about Ralph Bakshi. So I asked my producing partner what he thought about Ralph’s project “The Last Days of Coney Island” and he wanted to be an animator when he was a kid and just loves Ralph Bakshi’s work. We told him we wanted to help out with his Kickstarter program. I also told him that I would do a voice if it would be helpful to do the raise. He was very grateful and was excited about me voicing a character for the film.

MG: Tell us about the character you are going to play?
MM: It is really an awesome character named Shorty. He is described as a mafia guy who thinks he’s Elvis Presley and sings like Chet Baker. So it just sounds awesome to me. So I am very excited to be first helping him but ecstatic that he is giving me this opportunity to also voice one of his characters. It is just going to be a lot of  fun.

MG: Like you said you are no stranger to indie animation, what is it about the genre that draws you?
MM: I think it is from my childhood. I really go back to the original “Popeye” cartoons, the early ones, where they were beautifully drawn. As a boy, I also wanted to be an animator and was discouraged by the way that Hanna-Barbera did their animation, with shows like “The Flintstones” and “Scooby Doo”. It wasn’t that creative and felt like cheap animation. I didn’t want to be bothered with it at all, until I saw Bill Plympton’s animation in the 80’s when he was doing the MTV TV spots. Since then also the work that Pixar has done has brought a whole new life to animation in a way that is unimaginable. So I think that this is an exciting time for animation. The work that Ralph Bakshi does because it is so irreverent, original and beautifully hand-drawn. What he is planning first with “Coney Island” is only a chapter in a larger film of mixed media of video art and animation. I think it is going to be something that is extraordinary and very Bakshi.

MG: What is your favorite film that Ralph has directed?
MM: I think it would have to be the first one that I was exposed to, “Fritz the Cat”. I was also so excited when “The Lord of the Rings” came out and it is still an extraordinary film. The world that he created for people that really love the book – it exceeds the reality of even Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings”. “Wizards” is also amazing!

Ralph Bakshi is one of the last great animators in the business and also a good friend of mine.  He has created some really classics films like “Fritz the Cat”, “Wizards”, “The Lord of the Rings”, “American Pop” and many many more.  Ralph is trying to get his last his latest film, “Last Days of Coney Island”, started with the help of Kickstarter and his fans support. The film is planned to be “an animated cop, mafia, horror movie set in the 1960s in Coney Island, with political overtones both realistic and outrageous”. Sounds awesome right?

This is Ralph’s first and hopefully not last attempt at cr0wd-funding.  At the time of posting, there has been over 900 backers since it was launched and about $140,000 dollars pledged of the $165,000 dollars goal.  We are almost there but we need your help. Be sure to rush over to Kickstarter and help Ralph on this project and be sure to mention Media Mikes sent ya!. He is a man who fights for hand-drawn animation in an industry that is fighting against him. Click here to join the fight and see “Last Days of Coney Island” get made. The campaign ends on Sunday March 3rd around 12pm EST, so don’t miss out! Spread the word!

Check out our interview with Matthew Modine who recently joined on the film, click here.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about you decision to use Kickstarter for “Last Days of Coney Island”?
Ralph Bakshi: I am 74 years old and I didn’t want any trouble. I figured I would try and raise the money if I could and that way I would be able to do what I wanted. I am not looking for anything major. If it turns into something more like five shorts then I would be more than happy. But I have my freedom, as you can see and I am not bothering with anyone. I do not have to show around storyboards and scripts. It is really a great sense of freedom. We got a lot of push from fans, which is great. We even got a new large donation from a Formula One racer, since he said he grew up with my movies. I am amazed by that. I am really looking to the internet here. I would like to spark an audience reaction to find out what they think. I am not going to get big money online but I will still get to make the film I want.

MG: On the Kickstarter page, it lists the film as “Part One”. You mentioned there will be more?
RB: That is right. I will just keep going with the shorts. Also remember they are also pilots. If I get part one done, Hollywood will realize that this guy has a nice following and he is not dead, that is number one. Number two is that if I do something really cool, I can show it to somebody and have them finish it for me, like a promo real. That could always happen.

MG: Tell us about the involvement of Matthew Modine and how that came about?
RB: I just got this email from Matthew Modine. He loves animations and grew up with my films. He said he wants to come help me and came on as a producer. He will also be voicing a character called Shorty, who is very fun. Modine is great though and he has helped me out a lot. We got hundreds of news stories when Matthew Modine came on board. It has just been amazing. Kickstarter made people realize that I am not dead and it has helped quite a bit since we all know that Hollywood is all about hype.

MG: How do you feel your style of animation stands up in today’s times?
RB: My animation isn’t perfect and that is what companies like Disney they strive for…that perfection. I would love to do perfect animation but what that takes is money. So the perception in the industry is that my stuff isn’t good enough. Animation isn’t about perfect. Art isn’t about perfect. They take it too seriously. I am not perfect and they hold it against me. Uncle Walt wants perfect. I can’t. You can’t be perfect with $1 million dollars.

MG: What has been your biggest challenge that you faced with trying to get the word out?
RB: There has been a lot of support from fans, yes. But you look at the animation blogs, they are all taking to each other and no one has Bakshi on there. Let’s talk about Cartoon Brew, they have not mentioned a word about the Kickstarter for “Last Days of Coney Island”. They also never put up my last cartoon “Trickle Dickle Down” either. Now, I am a 74 year old animator who has been around for a while and has fought for animation over the years. Look, we are trying to do a lousy five minute cartoon. Yet they will not assist with us on this project. I am more shocked and upset out of amazement on this, but I am not bitter. If I succeed in “Last Days of Coney Island” doing hand-drawn R-rated film, which is possible not probably…but possible. If I get to make this into a feature and its makes big money like “Fritz the Cat”. All of Hollywood is going to say “Oh my God, hand-drawn and R-rated?” and everyone would be put back to work. So we may make it…we may not. It is very close.

MG: I have to ask what are your plans if funding does not meet your goal?
RB: I don’t have a backup plan. If I don’t reach the limit, then I don’t reach the limit. I would have had a good time. I am trying hard. But I am not going to go crazy. If the guys don’t support me then I won’t do it. If places like Cartoon Brew don’t want to mention that I am out here fighting for animation, especially since they are all for animation. Remember they get their ads from Pixar, Disney and Dreamworks and they realize that I am at it again doing stuff that those guys can’t do because of their family audience. So they don’t mention me. I just won’t do it then. I don’t want anyone to think I am angry. I am very proud. We raised a ton of money.

MG: Tell us about your team you’ve you have working with you right now?
RB: I have hired some great young animators. I got this Japanese guy from Brooklyn. He sent me his reel and they are very crude and very honest. I emailed him and gave him some work to do. I later found out that he was living on the streets in Brooklyn. He has all his drawing up on my Kickstarter page. His name is Tsukasa Kanayama. He is such an amazing guy. I also got this woman, Colleen Cox, who taught herself how to animate. What I am saying is that I love working with these young animators. I see the passion through their eyes and its reminds me about my own passion and what it is like to be young and have that drive. One of my animators JoJo Baptista is using Toon Boom Studio to work on the animation, which is 100% 2D. With this program, you can draw on paper and scan into the software. Toon Boom colors and does the in between. It works great. As the director, I want it to look like hand-drawn animation and they are and using this software to fill in the necessary in-betweens. Also My son Eddie Bakshi is producing and breaking his ass. He is taking on a lot of hard work and the Facebook stuff, which is beyond me. So we have a wonderful team and we are just waiting to see if this will work out.

Dolph Lundgren has always been one of my favorite action stars. Whether he is kicking ass as Drago in “Rocky IV”, Andrew Scott in “Universal Soldier” series or most recently as Gunner Jensen in “The Expendables” series – where he goes the action follows.  His latest film is called “The Package”, which puts him head-to-head with wrestling legend Steve Austin.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with him about this film as well as his upcoming TV series “Rescue 3” and plans for “The Expendables 3”.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about about how you got involved with “The Package”?
Dolph Lundgren: As usual you read the script and then talk with the director. I liked the script because the character they thought about for me was interesting. He was a little more colorful, kind of crazy and unpredictable.

MG: What is your technique for getting into a character like The German?
DL: A lot of it if you good script is usually done for you. They have explained in the script already that what he looks like, in this case, the fact that he is dying from a disease and is becoming desperate but at the same time he is becoming educated and has a way with words. So you just work with the material and put that into the different scenes. By working on the scenes then you come up with ideas like make-up and clothing ideas. When you are on the set also a lot of it comes from working with the other actors and the director while shooting. The more colorful the character is the better described he would be in the script and that would make it easier for an actor to fall into that role.

MG: How was it going head-to-head with Steve Austin?
DL: It is always fun to work with other actors who can fight. I have done it a few times now with Jean-Claude Van Damme, (Slyvester) Stallone and Randy Couture. So with Steve Austin it is the same. He is a guy that doesn’t need a stunt double. You get to do more on the film with the actual performer, so it is fun and also it looks better in the film.

MG: What do you enjoy most about being an action hero and how has that role evolved for you over the years?
DL: I think it stayed the same for quite a long time. “Rocky IV” was my first big movie. I didn’t really plan to be an action hero, I just wanted to learn about acting. I was doing some modeling also at the time and before that I was an athlete and studying engineering. So this kind of came out of left field. So after “Rocky IV”, I think it stayed the same for like 20 years. I also lived in Spain for about 10 years to bring up my kids away from Hollywood. I got divorced a few years back, so when I came back here in 2009, I got right back into the role and did “The Expendables” and then “The Expendables 2”. Now I am trying to find roles that are a little more interesting and fun to show different sides of myself. Let’s see how that goes. I am doing a action series now for television. It is more about rescuing people than killing then [laughs], so that would be new for me.

MG: What can you tell us about that show?
DL:  Sure, It is called “Rescue 3”. It is based on this elite multi-agency task force in California which saves people. I play get to play the leader of this unit. What is interesting is that you’ve got 20 episodes to develop the character instead of 90 minutes. It is going to be fun to see what kind of things I can pull out of that and how the audience will react to it. Also one of the producers is from “Baywatch”. I am not sure how much running on the beach I will do…but we will see…hopefully not too much [laughs].

MG: Playing such iconic character like Drago in “Rocky IV”, Andrew Scott in “Universal Soldier” series and now Gunner Jensen in “The Expendables”, what has been your most memorable role in your career?
DL: I always remember “Rocky IV” since it was my first film. It has a lot of memories attached to it. The same with “The Expendables” since it has such a great cast, its special. I am back with Stallone again. I think those are the two that really jump out and have been a big milestone in my career. Then I have done some small roles recently like “The Package” have been a lot of fun.

MG: Also last year you did a film called “One in the Chamber” that I enjoyed as well.
DL: Yeah, thank you! That is another one that I kind of took out the turns a little bit. I did another project that is a similar smaller part last year called “Rush” with Randy Couture. Now that I have this TV series coming up, I am trying to play more roles that are I would say are a little more “normal” and close to myself. Since that is what I am doing in the series, so I am trying to get used to that a little more.

MG: Speaking of playing different roles, I loved your character recently also in “Small Apartments”. You got to do more comedy because you were a riot.
DL: Thanks man! I actually have this reality series coming out this June called “Race to the Scene”. The show is based on actual movie locations and memorable movie scenes. It is going to air on Reelz. It is very comedic for me and is like one big skit. So we will see how that works out also.

MG: Any update on your next directorial effort “Skin Trade”?
DL: Yes, I am still working on that. It is something I wrote a few years back with a friend of mine. I am trying to work it into the schedule. This year is very busy with the series and then possibly another “The Expendables”. I am trying to find the right co-star. I wanted to direct it, so I wrote it to play the co-lead. But the lead, the main character I want to cast somebody. So that is the guy that I am looking for. I am sure it will work itself out soon and we will find somebody.

MG: You mentioned “The Expendables 3”, can you shed any light on it?
DL: Nobody has approached me but I have just heard little things like they were working on a script and aiming to shoot in the Fall. But I do not know any particulars right now. I think within two months or so it should be all settled since they have to prep by June the latest if they are looking to start shooting in September.

 

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At age seven, Jonathan Lipnicki was a bona fide star. As Ray Boyd, the precocious son of the title character’s love interest in “Jerry Maguire,” he stole more hearts from the audience then star Tom Cruise. Regular television roles on such series as “The Jeff Foxworthy Show” and “Meego” kept him in front of the camera, as did roles in films like “Stuart Little” and “The Little Vampire.” Though he’s still busy in front of the camera, Lipnicki has embarked on a new career, adding the title of Producer to his resume with the release of the film “Broken Roads.” While promoting the films upcoming NYC appearance Lipnicki spoke to Media Mikes about his new career and dealing with fame at such a young age.

Mike Smith: At age 22 you began a new career as a producer. How did this come about?
Jonathan Lipnicki: I always knew I would end up doing something behind the camera, but I didn’t know it would happen at this point in my career.

MS: How did you become involved with “Broken Roads?”
JL: I like to say I fell into it. I met the director, Justin Chambers, through a mutual friend, and we hit it off. He has this crazy charisma, which makes you want to be friends with him and support him. One day he asked me if I knew any actors who I thought would fit the roles he sent out breakdowns for. I sent him a few actors that I knew and he liked my choices. Not long after that he asked me if I wanted to get involved.

MS: You continue to act. Is this something you’re going to continue to pursue or do you see your career moving to more behind the scenes?
JL: Acting is my number one priority, but I would like to produce more in the future.

MS: You were a star at age 7 when “Jerry Maguire” was released. Does fame look different at that age as opposed to now when you can appreciate it more?
JL: Your perception changes about certain things like fame when you grow older, it definitely loses some of its innocence. That being said I look different so I live in anonymity, which is amazing.

MS: What do you have coming up next, either in front of or behind the camera?
JL: I currently have a web series from the Russo Brothers (“Arrested Development”) on YouTube, and I have two films in post production, “Edge of Salvation” and “TAG”.

With a career that began in 1960, Sally Kirkland has built an incredible resume’ of roles on both television and in film. After small roles on episodic television and the occasional film, she hit it big in 1973 by appearing in two of the year’s biggest hits, “The Way We Were” and the winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, “The Sting.” While continuing to appear on some of the more popular television series of the decade (“Baretta,” “The Rookies,” “Kojack” among others) she continued on the big screen with roles in “Blazing Saddles,” “Bite the Bullet,” “A Star Is Born” (which was just released on Blu-ray) and “Private Benjamin.” In 1987 she won a Golden Globe and earned an Academy Award nomination for her role as a former Czech-star trying to make it in New York City in the film, “Anna.” She continues to work steadily, with notable roles in films like “The Best of the Best,” “JFK” and “Richard III.” She currently stars in Justin Chambers’ new drama “Broken Roads.” Ms. Kirkland recently sat down with Media Mikes to talk about her new film, what she has coming up next and what it’s like to be an Oscar nominee.

Mike Smith: Tell us about Mrs. Wallace, your character in “Broken Roads.”
Sally Kirkland: She is a strong, proud, and lonely survivor who when we find her has been lost since her husbands death. She never had a good relationship with her daughter. And when her grandson shows up at her door step angry over his mothers death she has an extraordinary opportunity to experience love again.

MS: What attracted you to the role?
SK: Because I’ve never been a physical mother or grandmother and it was an opportunity to experience that with her. I feel she is amazingly dramatic and funny, the best kind of role. Her vulnerability is breath taking. I love roles where I get to open peoples hearts. I was motivated by (writer/director) Justin Chambers passion and vision…as well as Aiden Bristow’s. (Ms. Kirkland’s co-star in the film).

MS: You’re also credited in “Broken Roads” as an associate producer. How did that come about?
SK: In this particular case it allowed me to bring in writers to help with the script and to have casting consultation and bring in music composers. It also gave me creative consultation in the look of the marketing and posters, etc.

MS: One of my favorite clips on Youtube is the Academy Awards ceremony when you were nominated for “Anna.” While most nominees, then and now, appear calm you were anything but. What was going through your mind in the few moments after you hear: “And the winner is……?”
SK: I think in my own mind. I thought I was going to win, and I’ve never been good at covering up my feelings or knowing how to lie. It was a huge humbling experience. Check out the video below to watch Ms. Kirkland at the Oscars.

MS: You’ve built an incredible body of work over six decades. How have you managed to sustain such a long and successful career?
SK: I’ve been very blessed to have worked with some of the greatest actors and directors in the world. Starting with “The Sting” and “The Way We Were” (directed, respectively, by George Roy Hill and Sydney Pollack and both starring, coincidentally, Robert Redford). They let me know there was no where to go but up. I’ve been passionate about acting since I was ten years old. Never was too interested in going to college or having a family. My whole life is my art and God. I experience the flow of God when I’m doing my best acting.

MS: What do you have coming up next?
SK: A film called, “Alice Stands Up”, written and directed by Brent Roske, who directed me in a short called “African Chelsea.” He’s written this film for me, which is extraordinary. We should begin shooting by spring.

You may not know the name Bill Courtney but if you’re lucky you know, or knew, someone like him. Courtney was the volunteer head coach for the Manassas (Tennessee) High School football team for seven years. Even though he has his own business and a large family of his own, Courtney takes time out every day to make sure that the boys at Manassas that want to play football can. “Football doesn’t build character,” the coach believes, “it reveals it.” During what would be his final season at Manassas, the coach and his team were followed around by a camera crew highlighting O.C. Brown, a player who, reminiscent of the story of Michael Oher which was told in “The Blind Side,” was being helped along by a local family to ensure he studied hard so that he could go to college. But the camera captured much more. The resulting film, “Undefeated,” went on to win last year’s Academy Award as the year’s Best Documentary. While preparing for the film’s release this week on DVD, Coach Courtney took time out to talk with Media Mikes about football, his players and why people in Tennessee are so giving.

Mike Smith: I have to ask – The Touhy family took in Michael Oher. The Finley family took in Patrick Willis. (NOTE: Willis, from Bruceton, Tennessee, was taken in by his high school basketball coach and his family. What’s incredible about these stories is that earlier this year Oher and Willis squared off against each other in the Super Bowl). Yourself and your coaches at Manassas. Is there something in the water in Tennessee that gives people such great hearts?
Bill Courtney: (laughs) I’ve done about 100,000 interviews and that’s the first time that question has been asked. I don’t know! In the South we still teach civility and humility…love for your common man. Maybe that translates to this. I haven’t really thought about it. There are people all over this country that do wonderful things for kids in all kinds of communities. The truth is I think we just happened to have our stories told. I think we’re just representatives of a whole community of people from all over the country that do lots of things to help the neediest. We were just the lucky ones to have our stories told.

MS: What was the initial idea pitched to you from the filmmakers when they approached you about filming you and the team?
BC: The local Memphis newspaper, “The Commercial Appeal,” and their sportswriter, Jason Smith, wrote a story about one of our players, O.C. Brown, living with Mike Ray, one of our offensive line coaches, and his family and me driving him back and forth from school in order for him to get tutoring so that he could get qualified to go to college. The producer of the film read the story on line while he was surfing through some recruiting websites. He’s a big University of Tennessee fan and Tennessee was recruiting O.C.. When he saw the story he thought it might make an interesting, small documentary. He called me and we met so he could hear more about that story. When they got here they found out the greater story of Manassas…of the coaches and all the kids…and decided that there was a bigger story to tell. He told me he was going back to L.A. to get funding to make a movie. Of course, when he left we all thought that was the last time we’d see him but four weeks later, after closing up their apartments and selling off their belongings the filmmakers moved to Memphis on a shoe-string budget and started making a movie that nobody thought anybody would ever see. And lo and behold…here we are!

MS: How did the team react with the cameras constantly following them around? Was it an intrusion or did they get used to it?
BC: It would be pretty disingenuous to say that at first the kids and the coaches weren’t aware. But also, you just had two guys with two small cameras. There were no boom mikes…no lighting…no sound. It was two guys with what looked like camcorders. That’s what the entire movie was shot on. So it really wasn’t this big production, which made it less intrusive. I don’t know if I’d believe this if I hadn’t gone through the experience but, honestly, after three or four days…after a week…you kind of get used to it. They worked so hard to know the players and the coaches and the teachers that, when they weren’t around, people were more cognoscente of it. “Hey coach, where’s the film guys?” “I don’t know.” The days they didn’t show were stranger then the days they did because they were there almost every day for a year. You honestly eventually just get used to it.

MS: I see that O.C. transferred this year to Austin Peay. How is he doing, both as a student and as an athlete? (NOTE: At the end of “Undefeated” O.C. is admitted to Southern Mississippi University).
BC: I just saw him at Christmas break and talked to him last week. I still talk to all the guys regularly. O. C. had some struggles with his grades and Southern Miss had a coaching change. The coaches that were there were really fond of O.C. and worked with him really hard to keep him where he needed to be academically. But I think after the coaching change O.C. was uncomfortable. He transferred to Austin Peay and started nine games this season. He hurt his knee and missed the last two games and now he’ll be starting next year. I’ll have three former players starting on the offensive side of the ball at Austin Peay next year. I suspect I’ll be making some travels up to Clarksville to watch those guys play.

MS: When we announced we were going to interview you the question we were asked most to ask you was if you still keep in touch with Money and Chavis? And if so, how are they doing? (NOTE: Chavis Daniels and Montrail “Money” Brown are two of the young men whose stories feature prominently in the film)
BC: Absolutely! You have to remember I was a coach at Manassas for seven years. I’ve known most of these boys since they were in sixth or seventh grade. I’m still very, very fond of them and am probably still their biggest supporters. Chavis is doing well. He goes to Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee. He’s playing football – outside linebacker – and is still In school. He’s doing very well. Money…when O.C. left Southern Miss he left Southern Miss as well and is enrolled in community college here in Memphis. Most importantly he just got back from North Carolina where he was trained as a Young Life educator and is now setting up Young Life chapters in the inner-city schools all over Memphis to do devotionals and mentorships with inner city kids. I actually spoke to Money yesterday and he’s got as many as fifteen kids in different chapters in the Memphis city schools and he goes in the mornings and talks with them and helps mentor them. Money has found a calling to give back in the way he was helped and he’s still in school. The guys are doing really well. I couldn’t be more proud of them.

MS: When the film ends, you’ve left Manassas to coach your son’s team. Your first game was against Manassas. What did it feel like to be on the opposite sideline? BC: It was terrible. There was enormous trepidation leading up to that game personally, obviously. I mean those are like my sons over there, you know? I love them. And to have to go coach against them was really a very difficult thing for me. It was difficult for them as well. I was so glad when it was over with. It was tough. Very tough!

MS: Can I ask who won?
BC: We did.

MS: Thank you so much for your time, coach. I have to tell you, when I watched the film, it made me think back to my high school days. I owe a lot to my coaches for keeping me on the straight and narrow.
BC: I appreciate that. I honestly think that’s why so many people across all kinds of cultures and racial divides identify with this movie because they either remember a coach that did something for them that impacted their life in a positive way or are coaches doing that very thing. I think this film brings out the humanity in that. I appreciate you saying that…thanks for the kind words.

Joel Murray is the youngest in his family of actors including Bill Murray and Brian-Doyle Murray. He is the star of Bobcat Goldthwait’s latest film “God Bless America” and he is voicing the character Don Carlson in Disney/Pixar’s upcoming “Monsters University”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Joel about growing up in the business and his work on the films above.

Mike Gencarelli: What did you think about “God Bless America” upon your first reading?
Joel Murray: You heard the story from Bobcat (Goldthwait), right? He was having back surgery, so I brought him over dinner and the first three seasons of “Mad Men”. Middle way through season two his wife said “You know, Joel could play Frank”. So he sent me the script but didn’t say a part or anything. I read it and told him it was great and I really liked it. I told him that I liked what he has to say and that it was time for a film like this. Then I asked him, “Who are you thinking about, you want me for the guy in the office?” He said “No Frank…the Guy!” I jumped at the thought of having the lead role in the movie, which doesn’t happen too often. Actually it has just happened once, really [laughs]. My first thought was hell ya! But then I had a couple of moments thinking that there could be some repercussions from this. I agree with about 95% about what he says in the movie. So I just thought “Why not?” My only fear was that seven Westboro Baptists would come visit me at my house. [laughs] But other than that I wasn’t too worried. What I love about his work is that all of his movies having something to say. So many comedies today are just like an extended shit joke.

MG: You’ve worked with Bobcat Goldthwait going back to “Shakes the Clown”; how was it with him behind the director’s chair again?
JM: When I worked with him on “Shakes”, it was his first movie and he was in clown makeup the whole time. You didn’t really think about him as an auteur, he was playing a drunken clown running around in make-up. On this film though, I was able to work hand-and-hand with him the whole time. I directed some stuff in the past and he was open to anything that I had to say and add. It was a fun relationship. It is awkward having your buddy give you a role that you didn’t audition for.  He didn’t give me a lot of notes or anything. All I kept getting from him was “Yeah, you really got this guy down!”

MG: How did you prepare for a character like Frank?
JM: I thought Bob has written it for himself. So I was kind of playing Bob in a way [laughs] but with his normal voice. I had a friend shoot himself in the mouth about 6-8 months before this came up. So when we started shooting, a couple of the scenes we did first was me with a gun in my mouth. That really takes you to a real interesting spot as an actor…a real depressing spot for that matter. So starting from there, I found a dark place to begin with and had a gradual upswing from there. His is never really that happy or excited though in the film. But starting from the darker corner was a good way to go as an actor.

MG: Was it challenging to blend the satirical comedy with the violent action?
JM: How do you blend it? Well, anyone that takes the violence in this film too seriously doesn’t get it. They also may be part of the problem that we are trying to kill. When you have a car montage in the middle of the film dancing around on the map of America, you know it is not taking itself that seriously. To do some serious acting on this, the comedy of it brought something to it. I grew up doing comedy and I have been fortunate enough to get into some serious roles as well in “Mad Men” and “Shameless”. So I’ve got to do some straight acting. It has been interesting to try and I have also learned a lot from my peers and my brothers. I watched my brother Billy (Murray) in “Broken Flowers” and I thought to myself “He’s seeing if he can do absolutely nothing and if it would work” [laughs]. Also in “Lost in Translation”, he was so introspective. So I just didn’t want to overplay it and keep it kind of close. I have a very expressive face, so I don’t need to be too over the top. But Bob was consistently giving me the thumbs up. So I guess it worked.

MG:  Speaking of your family, how was it growing up as the youngest in a family of actors? Do you feel that comedy comes easy?
JM: It was natural at home. Everyone was funny around the dining room table and that is where some of the comedy started in our house. You learn from them. I had some of the funniest people in America in my room growing up. There was also a high standard with them. I did plays throughout high school and college and when I got into improv, it wasn’t that easy but I had my background to draw from. I remember one of the first times my brother Billy came to see me at the Improv Olympic. I remember riding home with him and it was one heck of a quiet car ride, like I just struck out to win the World Series [laughs]. So they are a tough group to impress but we all created our own funny. There is stuff you saw on “Saturday Night Live” and from movies where you think that you grew up with that. I had more noogies on my head then anybody being the youngest [laughs].

MG:  Lastly, tell us about your role Don Carlson in “Monsters University”?
JM: The first trailers didn’t really show any new characters. In the new trailers, I am the guy with the mustache in the cloak that is evoking the initiation rites. Don Carlson is a student in his 40’s that has been laid off and decided to go back to college and learn the computers. So he is in this lame frat with the other guys but he is 20 years older than them all. He was a fun character. He is a little bit Minnesota-ent and sounds a little bit like my brother Brian-Doyle Murray but not exactly, I swear [laughs]. I didn’t go there!

 

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Bobcat Goldthwait is known best for his role of Zed in the “Police Academy” franchise and for work as a stand-up comedian. “Share The Warmth” still holds up and is an incredibly funny stand-up show. Bobcat has been spending his time doing what he loves most – writing and directing movies, like “World’s Greatest Dad” and “God Bless America”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Bobcat about “God Bless America” and also his new Bigfoot movie “Willow Creek”.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about the origins of “God Bless America”?
Bobcat Goldthwait: There are a couple things leading to its genesis. First, I was in London and there was a “My Super Sweet 16” marathon on – going back about two years now. It really bothered me that is the way that we are represented. I wrote the script initially as a Christmas present for my wife, I guess that came from me being cheap [laughs]. I think this is a really screwed up time and I wanted to write a movie that is, as I say, a violent movie about kindness. I think if I made a documentary on how we are becoming attached from each other, it would be preaching to the converted. So being a fan of films like “Bonnie and Clyde”, that and also TV networks were the big inspiration here.

MG: What inspires you most about directing?
BG: I just write a lot of screenplays all the time. When I can get a budget to make them I go out and do it. Some of them are much smaller budgeted and some are bigger. What inspires me to keep directing is that it has almost taken be 30+ years in show business to finally find something that I really love doing. I really love writing and directing movies. It is the job that I have found most rewarding that I have done in my career.

MG: How do you feel you have matured as a director since 1991 with “Shakes the Clown”?
BG: Hopefully I am getting better in what I am doing [laughs]. If I were to make “Shakes” now, I do not think that anything positive would happen to him. It probably would have ended with him jumping off a bridge or something [laughs]. I am hoping that I just keep evolving. People that I admire are directors like Steven Soderbergh, who just keeps making movies and don’t seem to be too concerned about how he is conceived – in a good way.

MG: Joel Murray was amazing in the film, tell us about casting him?
BG: Joel is an old friend of mine. I had back surgery and my wife and I watched a whole set of “Mad Men” that he had dropped off. He thought it would be good for me to occupy my time with [laughs]. With him in mind, my wife suggested that we cast Joel as Frank. When I sent him the script, he thought I wanted him to play a small part…not the main guy! That is what was one of the best parts of making the movie was to get to work with an old friend. Him and I then got to travel all over the world going to film festivals and hanging out. It was great.

MG: What was your biggest challenge with “God Bless America”?
BG: I think you are always faced with the major issues of budget, even for directors like Christopher Nolan. How can you make an action film for well under a million dollars? It is still a lot of money but when you compare it to other action films, it is nothing really. So that is definitely the biggest challenge.

MG: Do you see yourself ever returning to acting?
BG: I think for me to actually be in a movie, it would have to be something that would be a lot of fun or something I couldn’t say no to. I always joke I retired from acting the same time people stopped hiring me [laughs]. I do small cameos in my movies but that is usually brought upon my necessity like someone is out that day or something. In “World’s Greatest Dad”, the guy slated to play the limo driver didn’t show up, so it ended up being me. In “God Bless America”, I quickly jumped in when we were stealing a shot at a festival with the balloon game. There was an empty seat where you keep getting wet, so I jumped it and got water shot at me.

MG: You’ve recently came out of retirement to do some stand-up; how has being on stage changed for you?
BG: Stand-up is different. Some nights I really like it. But then sometimes people come with expectations for me to be a character from 30 years ago. Having that aspect becomes boring after a while. But when people are there solely due to films I did in the 80’s -or I don’t mind if they come due to that – but it is a drag when they have come with only those expectations. Sometimes it is hard to combat that.

MG: What next for you? Is “Schoolboys in Disgrace” in the cards?
BG: “Schoolboys in Disgrace” is a film that is something that I am always working on and meeting about. That is a bigger movie with a bigger budget, so it is taking a little longer for me than usual. I am just wrapping up the final touches on a Bigfoot movie that I shot called “Willow Creek”. I actually went up to where the Patterson-Gimlin footage was shot 45 years ago and that is where we shot the movie there on location. So that was very excited.

 

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Jason Christopher is the writer/director of the 70/80’s slasher inspired “Nobody Gets Out Alive”. The film is in-your-face and will leave hardcore horror fans very happy. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Jason to chat about the film and what he has planned next.

Mike Gencarelli: You handled everything from editing to producer to writer and directing “Nobody Gets Out Alive”, tell us about the origin of this project?
Jason Christopher: The flick came about with my producer and I making a small no budget movie. We made this movie where we were the only crew and hired three actors and had a solid story. With no budget the movie didn’t turn out how we really wanted it to but we screened it sold out in 45 min and turned away 200 people. That’s when my producer was like, “lets get a real budget and make a real movie, what other scripts you got?” I wrote “NGOA” when I was 17 years old. Always wanted to write a slasher flick paying homage to the flicks I loved. It wasn’t until my Dad passed away randomly that I actually sat down and wrote it. I had a lot of hate and anger wrapped in my head from the incident so it motivated me to make the Hunter Isth character. We got 36k bucks and made the movie.

MG: Out of all those tasks which was the most challenging for you?
JC: I consider myself a director and editor. I like writing but I’m not a good writer, I’ll admit. I have more of a vision with my eye through a camera than I do with my hands on a laptop writing. I do the fun side of producing, putting things together. My producer does the money and business side of things. That’s just not my thing. But with writing it’s a draft of your story, directing you’re seeing the story come to life and another draft, and editing is the final draft to me.

MG: The film is a nice homage to 70/80’s slasher pics, tell about your inspiration?
JC: I was born in ’87 so I didn’t get to witness first hand of all the best slasher flicks. But I watched them all when I could. “The Prowler”, “Black Christmas” (74), “Friday The 13th Part 3”, “Halloween 2″(82). Those are my favorites and I think they show in the flick.

MG: The gore in the film is solid and doesn’t cut away; I commend you for not being afraid to offend!
JC: My Dad always told me to make something controversial. I did a lot in “NGOA” by trying to be unique with the kills. There’s a lot more I wanted to show but I didn’t. Was thinking of how a distributor would feel because I definitely didn’t want the movie to sit on a shelf and never get picked up. After seeing “A Serbian Film” I was like, “damn this dude really didn’t care”. Love that flick for that reason.

MG: Do you recall what was the film’s final body count?
I think there’s a total of eight on screen. In earlier drafts there were a bunch more but I took them out due to not having money in the budget. *Spoiler* Originally the two convenience store victims weren’t supposed to be in but after a few cuts of the movie we decided to go back and put them in.

MG: How did Clint Howard get involved with the film?
JC: My producer set that one up. We had enough money to get a small cameo in the flick. We were tossing around names and I randomly said, “Clint Howard!” He took it and ran with it and set the whole thing up. Clint was great, he’s such a smart-cool dude.

MG: What do you have line-up next?
JC: This script I wrote titled, “Monsters Within”. I really can’t say much, don’t even know if I’m allowed to announce the movie title but whatever. It’s what I’m definitely working on getting off the ground. Money is always a bitch and we’re definitely aiming way high for the budget. Got a great name for the lead attached and I’m so excited for this movie. It’s everywhere – sci-fi, horror, slasher, mystery. It’s pretty cool.

Former NYU student Justin Evans has been making movies since his school days, his latest inarguably his biggest feature to date. His latest film, “A Lonely Place for Dying,” stars Oscar nominee James Cromwell and “Hitchcock’s” Michael Wincott and will be released in the U.S. via iTunes on February 12, 2013. While preparing for this interview I learned that the film, a cold-war era thriller set in the 1970’s, has recently been banned from playing in Russia. Though Evans, who both wrote and directed the film, has received no official reason for the ban he assumes it’s because of his film’s controversial storyline. While preparing for the film’s release Evans took the time to answer some questions for Media Mikes.

Mike Smith: You co-wrote the script for “A Lonely Place for Dying.” What was your inspiration for the story?
Justin Evans: I’ve always been fascinated by the Cold War. It was a dirty, grimy, ethically confused game of global chess that somehow has a sense of romance and nostalgia for me. I have a particular affinity to the subject because I’m a Volga German. Our family immigrated to Russia in the 18th century and turned the Steppes into farm land. Russia made us two promises; the land would be ours forever and since we were not Russian we could not be forced to serve in their military. The Bolsheviks broke both promises with our people and my great-grandfather immigrated to the US in 1918. With a personal history of that scope I think it’s obvious why I’m obsessed with the Cold War.

MS: Not only does James Cromwell appear in the film he’s also a producer. How did that come about?
JE: We asked Jamie to be one of our producers. He said it was contingent upon our craftsmanship; if he liked the movie he’d give it his stamp of approval and be one of our executive producers. I guess he liked the movie!

MS: Even though the film was modestly budgeted it is well crafted, especially the special effects. How were you able to achieve this?
JE: Old fashioned hard work. I’d served as a visual effects supervisor on other projects. I found two VFX artists on the Internet and the three of us worked together for about four months. They completed about 250 visual effects shots. Most of them are hidden; the sky replacements, the sub-frame editing, digitally enhancing fake blood that was used on set..all of that work disappears into the background but provides a level of polish that is absolutely necessary in professional filmmaking. The glitzy stuff is the B-52 bombers and Washington DC street traffic. However, some of the invisible stuff was far more complicated. We did the work remotely. Occasionally, one of the artists would come to my house and we’d polish a shot on our Macbooks. We’d just hang out in my living room, drink some Red Bull and power through some shots while leaning over my ottoman. The tools are cheap. Its simply a question of how hard you’re willing to work. I’m lucky that I found two guys, Daniel Broadway and Marc Leonard, who have old-school work ethics and truly love their craft.

MS: In your opinion, does the continued quest for studios to have the all important opening weekend high gross make it hard for someone like yourself to get your stories told?
JE: That’s not what’s stopping us. Its more subtle and more pervasive than that. Its an intellectual laziness that says “I’ve never heard of you therefore you can’t possibly be talented.” We were told by a VP at Warner Brothers that he wouldn’t look at the movie “because if it were hot someone else would have looked at the movie and I’d have heard about it.” I released 22 minutes online and it was downloaded over 1.5 million times…and agents at Endeavor said “If this mattered it would be reported in Variety.” An ex-executive from Universal told us “I don’t understand your film. It’s a mainstream movie. It’s smart and its a popcorn film. But you don’t have big stars in it. You should have made something weird or cast Tom Cruise. Right now, you got nothing.” We were in 46 film festivals, nominated for 53 awards, won 29 including 18 for Best Picture. No one in the industry cared. Our trailer was downloaded 2.5 million times from iTunes Movie Trailers. No one in the industry cared. And no one ever said “I saw your movie and I don’t like it.” They said “I’m not willing to watch your movie because you’re not famous.” You can’t catch a break because the intellectual laziness creates a negative feedback loop.

MS: You did pretty much everything on this film except run the catering truck! Do you eventually want to narrow your career to one vocation, be it directing or writing, or are you happy having a hand in pretty much everything?
JE: I don’t know how to not be involved in everything. I know Photoshop so well that I can do the graphic design myself faster than if I had to explain my ideas to someone else. I’ve designed lighting and lenses and projectors so unless I can afford the world’s most expensive cinematographers I might as well do it myself. I interviewed a cinematographer for “A Lonely Place For Dying” and as I showed some of my storyboards the person wanted to know the mood of a particular shot. I said we’d have huge beams of god light coming in through these basement windows. The cinematographer blanches and says “That can’t be done unless you have 10K HMI’s.” I said “That’s not true; volumetric lighting is a matter of particle density, not light intensity. I can make a volumetric light with a flashlight if I have enough smoke in the air.” The cinematographer insists I don’t know what I’m talking about…and after awhile you get tired of those kinds of debates. Its just easier to do it yourself. I’m not trying to. Part of it is that I’m an Aspie and I really struggle with rephrasing things with the social lubrication people need so the truth can slip past their defenses. Its even worse if you can’t here my vocal tone or see my facial expressions. My communication style, when stripped of these nonverbal queues, makes me sound like an asshole to a certain type of person. I’m just stating facts; I willingly give up control when I find competent people. If I can’t…then I might as well do it myself. Hopefully I don’t sound like too much of a jackass saying that out loud. That being said, there is plenty I didn’t do. Brent Daniels did all the sound. Alone. By himself. He built the 5.1 mixing facility in his home and he put close to 1,500 hours into the dialogue, sound effects, music and mixing of this film. Ginger Ravencroft is a dear friend and a hell of a still photographer. She’s the reason we have 12 gorgeous theatrical posters. Daniel Broadway and Marc Leonard did 250 visual effects shots for the film. Without those people the movie would not be as good. So, I think the most accurate thing to say is while I wear many, many hats so do the people I trust the most.

MS: Are you planning anything currently?
JE: I’m the president of BryteWerks. We’re about to release our flagship digital motion picture projector. We have about 5 employees and an additional 25 contractors working on various engineering projects. I can’t go into the details of everything we’re doing but we’ve got some really cool products coming down the pipe. And I will get back to directing…but not until we finish our motion picture projector. We have pre-order customers to satisfy and this is a chance to really shake up the world. I’m already writing my next project. The rest is a secret.

 

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I worked in the movie theatre business for 20 years. In that time I met hundreds of young adults who loved movies and planned to make them some day. But I’ve only had one who, at the age of 17, had already written no less than (5) full length feature films (and I still have the scripts to prove it). His name is Brett Alan Coker and he is now working with Kickstarter to help fund his next project. Hoping to get the word out, Coker talked with Media Mikes:

Mike Smith: Tell us about your new project.
Brett Alan Coker: The project is called “Lenexa (a docu•mys•tory)” and it’s a quasi-documentary. It is going to be done in the form of a documentary. But it is part truth and part fabrications. It is going to be a blend of coming-of-age tales from my own life and made-up stories of characters that I have created over the years with my writings.

MS: Sounds simple.
BAC: I really don’t know how else to describe it other than to say it is hopefully going to be a love letter to Kansas and to the city of Lenexa, as well as a home movie and a mystery.

MS: Talk about the story of “Lenexa”:
BAC: It is all predicated on an suburban legend of a treasure left behind by a group of guys that were petty thieves in the late 90’s. As the story unfolds you receive more and more information about the guys whom created and left the treasure, as well as deduce what the treasure actually is. If it in fact exists, what it is, and where it is. All the information needed to figure out the truth about mystery of the treasure will be in the documentary. But it is up to the viewer to piece it together.

MS: You’ve written several scripts. Have you filmed any of your work?
BAC: This project, hopefully, will be the first of many. Using the funds I am attempting to raise from Kickstarter.com I will be able to get the equipment and software I need to do this film, and many others after. I don’t know what you know about Kickstarter.com, but it’s a website that helps people crowd source funding for creative projects. It’s an all or nothing thing. I am looking for raise $5,000 by March 11th, 2013. And if I don’t hit that goal, I don’t get a dime. I could have $4,997.00, and if I don’t get the last $3.00 then…nothing.

To give a hand to Brett’s project, just visit:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thebac/lenexa-a-documystory-a-feature-length-film

Margaret Kerry is known best for her role as the live-action reference model for Tinker Bell in Walt Disney’s animated feature, “Peter Pan”. She also worked as the live-action reference model for the Red-Headed Mermaid in the lagoon sequence. With Disney’s “Peter Pan” being recently released on Blu-ray, Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Margaret about her role in the film and working with Walt Disney himself.

MG: How did you end up working as the model for Tinker Bell in the Walt Disney Pictures animated feature, “Peter Pan”?
MK: It may sound like I am going too far back but it is really not. I was adopted when I was 3 1/2 years old by this wonderful couple that were old enough to be my grandparents. They had no idea what to do with a tiny kid. They thought that I cute as a button and talented, so they started training me in acting. I got into Central Casting and I started working at 4 years old. I started in a movie called “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” and I made $8.50 a day, which was a lot then. So my mother became a “Hollywood mother”, but she really wasn’t very good at it [laughs]. I remember the first time I walked onto Warner Bros lot, it was terrifying. I worked with Meglin Kiddies, which is the group that MGM hired for their films. Producer Al Burton started out and put me down as a co-host of a local show where we found talented high school kids and put them on the show. At the same time, I was working in radio and was cast as the eldest sister on “The Ruggles”. I also had done the Eddie Cantor movie “If You Knew Susie” and you can see me on YouTube dancing up a storm. Next, I got hired to do a movie at Fox. So while, I was working at Fox I got the call if I wanted to try out for the reference model of Tinker Bell. Also while I was working at Fox, I was with a choreographer named Roland Dupree, whom I ended up getting him the reference model for the character Peter Pan. So all come around that is how it happened.

MG: Can you reflect on your experience working with the legendary Walt Disney?
MK: I have worked at almost every studio in town by the time I was working at Fox. So I was pretty well-versed at what studios were like. When I got the call from my agent that I might have a chance at working at Disney Studios, Michael I can’t tell you how exciting that was. During those times, Disney was the premiere studio to work with. It was just thrilling. In fact, I was just there a few days ago and it is still just as thrilling. Everything is for the employees. Creativity is blessed there. And Mr. Disney himself was just great. You will see in my book (more on that below) photo archives found two photos with him working on the same sound-stage as Buddy Ebsen. He would then come over and chat with Marc Davis, who was the animation director of “Peter Pan” and I got to chat with him at least five times. There were people who worked in the studio for over a year and never even met Walt. So I was so fortunate. I went to school with both of his daughters at Monticello School for Girls, while they were there for a short period. So I spoke to him about that and it was like I was the only person in the whole world. It was such a great experience.

MG:How long did you work on the film?
MK: It was about 9 months. But I wasn’t there every day. I also voiced the red haired mermaid in the lagoon along with June Foray and Connie Hilton. I said lines like “Oh Peter, we just wanted to drown her.” We also did the live-action work and had our legs bounded together and we had to slither around. It was just fabulous.

MG:Where you ever approached to model for any other Disney films after “Peter Pan”?
MK: I got married and had a family. When I met Jodi Benson, from “The Little Mermaid”, I told her that I was the great-great-grandmother of Ariel and we had a great laugh. But I ended up going into voice over. I speak 21 different dialects and 48 different voices. So I worked on shows like “Clutch Cargo” and “Space Angels”. So my primary focus was voice-over and radio. But they keep calling me back each time they re-release “Peter Pan”.

MG: Tell us about your autobiography “Tinker Bell Talks: Tales of a Pixie Dusted Life”?
MK: I am shooting for Valentine’s Day 2013, but of course you never know what can happen with printers. There are 110 chapters, none of which are over six pages. There are 80 photos and some really fun stories. Did you know I produced an animation short for George Clinton from Parliament-Funkadelic. In 10 days, I produced seven minutes of animation for one of their concerts. There is a funny story about that because this as well.  Since my boss (at the time) did not get the cash for the animation when it was delivered, I had to go and track down this group of people on the Sunset Strip. There are all these very tall black men around me and I am only 5’2 [laughs]. I walked up to them looking to get paid. We had a great laugh and they were such nice people. Those are the some of the stories included. It has been great fun to work on.

 

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