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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Its been forty years since Bob Fosse’s classic musical Cabaret walked away with eight Academy Awards. Warner Brothers is celebrating the film’s anniversary with its release of a fully remastered Blu-Ray book set on February 5th.

The stars of the film, Joel Grey, Michael York, Marisa Berenson and Louise Quick, along with Bob Fosse’s daughter, Nicole, and Warner Brothers’ Vice President of Mastering Ned Price, gathered in Manhattan, where the film originally premiered to discuss their memories of the movie as well as this new release.

Ned Price, the Vice President of Mastering at Warner Brothers Technical Operations oversaw the actual restoration process of the film.

Media Mikes: What was the biggest challenge about this remaster?
Ned Price: The technical challenge on this particular film was that one of the film reels was literally scratched right through the emulsion. I can tell you basically how. It happened back in the late eighties and I know that it was on a film cleaner…and it’s meant for newer negatives but somebody put it up with an older negative. And on older negatives, dirt becomes embedded into the emulsion, so what it did was it picked up a piece of dirt that was in the emulsion and it rolled as it went through the cleaner all the way down. And it wasn’t a fine scratch to the point where you could just paint it out with a wet gate and it wasn’t fine enough where you could just say ‘okay kind of meld the image a little bit’ it was large enough where you would have to paint…by eye frame by frame. We tried to create a digital process, new software where it could identify information in between the scratch and replicate the material, but all we really succeeded in doing was warping things and it wasn’t good enough. So ultimately we ended up painting.

MM: Seeing the restored version was there anything you noticed that struck you and you didn’t see before your work?
Price: Color design. My experience had been seeing the film with rather poor prints commercially before I was with the studio…When we started to pull in prints that were technicolor made which means that they didn’t fade, we started weening through those and found about three or four which really looked accurate and good for color. I saw amazing color design. You know, you’ve got green nails against purple and just beautiful color design that were not necessarily apparent in the poor prints. Which were more blue, more green, just kind of muted and polluted in terms of their color values.
Also, the Kit Kat girls! Man…We were going shot by shot and you see these women in these impossible poses and you think ‘oh god, how many takes did they take?’

One such dancer was Louise Quick, who talked about her experience of being a Kit Kit dancer.

Louise Quick: I never thought of it as tough because it was…exciting is kind of a plain word–there was so much electricity, the air was so alive and the work is hard but you don’t think about that. That’s not important.

In one of the film’s most iconic musical numbers, “If You Could See Her”, Quick, dressed in a gorilla suit, dances with Joel Grey’s Master of Ceremonies.

Media Mikes: How did you wind up being in the gorilla suit?
Louise Quick: I don’t know! I didn’t know until right before we started doing it. It wasn’t decided before hand.
Nicole Fosse: I’m going to take a guess and say it was there were only two Kit Kat dancers that spoke English and it was Kathryn Doby and Louise Quick. And Kathryn was much taller–[laughs] not that it would have been Kathryn had she been shorter! But you have two who speak English, how do you communicate? So, Louise, get in the suit!
Quick: Her mother, Gwen Verdon, brought that mask back from New York to Munich on a plane with it on her lap I heard, she would not part with it because it’s a beautiful mask.

Joel Grey won an Academy Award for best supporting actor in his role as the Kit Kat Klub’s MC, a devilish character we never see outside of the club environment. When asked about his favorite scenes from the film, he discussed “If You Could See Her”:

Joel Grey: I like the Gorilla number of course. It’s so mean, seductive, beautiful melody and it’s just a big idea. I wanted to make him as vile as I possibly could and that gave me that opportunity late in the film. To not be charming but to be evil.

Media Mikes: Did you have a backstory for the MC?
Joel Grey: Of course!
MM: What is it?
Grey: You can’t know! It’s reeeeally gross. I made a whole life for myself since there was no text and no really description about who he was. I was terrified because I thought it was gonna be a musical comedy–four, five numbers– and I wanted it to be horrifying and important and capable of saying many things. Not just a song and dance number. So I dug and dug and dug and looked at German expressionists paintings and listened to music…and he came. One day, he came.

Michael York played Brian Roberts, a British language teacher who enters the world of the Kit Kat Club when he meets Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli) in their German boarding house. His character isn’t in any of the musical numbers and fittingly, York selected a quieter scene as his favorite:

Michael York: It’s easy for me, it’s a scene that was unscripted. We’re at the Baron’s castle…and Maximilian von Heune [Helmut Griem] has invited us to stay in this threesome. There was no scene written, you just turn up at 8 o’clock in the morning trying to be awake. And there was this beautiful room where they lit fires on each end. And we started to improvise. And it ended up where there’s a shot in the movie where they start dancing around each other and the heads go in and out. They’re looking at each other and it’s this sort of, I don’ t know, it’s a microcosm of all that’s been going on, that is going on, that will go on.

Grey: I thought you looked like you were enjoying that a little too much.
York: It was exciting. You’re right it was exciting.

Grey: Tell the truth!
York: Yes, it was one of those rare days you don’t know what you have. But what they did cutting it together, David Bretherton and Bob between them, edited this film in such a brilliant way that you never see too much. You’re always left wanting more. And so that was a good day.

Finally, actress Marisa Berenson who took on the role of Natalia Landauer discussed what it was like working with the other actors on what was only her second role.

Media Mikes: You were a newcomer when you did Cabaret, were the other actors welcoming to you?
Marisa Berenson: Immediately. Because they’re all the most generous, wonderful people…they made me feel instantly comfortable…which is rare because not everybody makes you feel like that. It’s a rare thing and it’s a wonderful thing.

MM: What was it like doing scenes with Liza Minnelli?
Berenson: We became close friends very early on and the minute we met we became–you know how you immediately meet someone and you connect with them? And Liza and I have that connection all our lives now…I learned so much from Liza just watching her as an actor. Seeing the way she worked. I have such respect for her as an actor, her talent, and she was so funny. She was so intelligent too. She’s such an intelligent person.

Cabaret 40th Anniversary Blu-Ray is available to own on February 5th

Click here for our review

 

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Jason Trost & Lucas Till are the lead stars in the superhero film “All Superheroes Must Die” (formerly known as “Vs.”) Jason besides star in the film is also the Director, Writer, Producer, Editor. He also co-directed the recent cult film “The FP”. Lucas Till is known best for his role of Alex Summers/Havoc in “X-Men: First Class” and its upcoming sequel “X-Men: Days of Future Past”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with both these actors about this film and what each of them have planned next.

Mike Gencarelli: With the overflow of superheroes taking over Hollywood, how do you feel that “All Superheroes Must Die” fits in it?
Jason Trost: We are definitely like the bastard step-child of all of those. We had the budget that probably cost the others to drive the actors to the set for like a week [laughs]. Because of that we are able to take more chances and go a bit darker. We were pretty much able to do whatever we wanted with them. When you make a studio superhero movie, there are so many cooks in the kitchen. There is not just one person directing, it is more like a committee of 40 people all with different ideas. We are very not inhibited by what we had to do, which is nice.

MG: Jason, tell us about your inspiration when you created these characters?
JT: They are all characters of things that I like. I grew up with “Batman: The Animated Series” and that has really been a bit inspiration for me with this. All of the characters are offshoots of Batman, Robin, Bat-Girl and the Riddler etc. It is really all derivatives of “Batman” for me.

MG: Lucas, how was it going from Alex Summers/Havoc in “X-Men: First Class” to Ben/Cutthroat in this?
Lucas Till: It’s was pretty cool. When we originally scheduled my scenes, we had to shift them so that I could do screen test for Havoc while I was playing Cutthroat. So, that was an interesting situation. I was able to provide a lot of input with Jason on Cutthroat. That is a little bit different with Havoc because it was a superhero that people are already are familiar with and expecting from it. When you are working on a $100+ movie, they tell you want to do and you listen. I was certainly lucky to have done both though.

MG: Due to the low budget of this film, what were each of your biggest challenges?
JT: Probably the most challenging part for me was the whole sequence in the bar. It was when Lucas and I have our big fight scene and there was also this big emotional scene and we had to shoot all of it in like 1.5 days. We are doing everything ourselves. Not only are we choreographing a fight while also acting. We had to the do whole five minute fight scene in one take. We didn’t have time for different angles. Then we had to go help people get food or write something or move lighting equipment. There was no one job for any of us on this film.
LT: I was just thinking, what was one of those rough nights were we came back and thought that this wasn’t going to work. I don’t think we ever had any. I think we were too busy to think about it.
JT: Probably for you it would be the night we did both of the explosion scenes.
LT: Oh yeah. I remember we jumped away from an explosion. I think it was one of the last shots before a weekend. I get up and everyone is cheering since it was the weekend and we can relax for a day or two. I just walked away and thought I hope you got it because it is not going to happen again [laughs]. It was mostly as rewarding as it was tough though. We also lived in the bar the whole time we made the movie. We each had our own personal tents and were really roughing it. The bar had this little scorpion/spider hybrid creatures all over. We shot it up in the mountains by Frazier Park. There were tons of critters crawling around. So that was a challenge also for sure.

MG: The ending hints plans for a sequel; any interest in pursuing that?
JT: We would love to do one. Just have to see the response to this one first. There definitely are more stories. I hope we can keep pursing the timeline of these superheroes. We already have a script for the sequel and hopefully we can make that some day.

MG: Have you been approached at all from any comic book company to do a series on these characters?
JT: No, I haven’t but I would like to make one at some point regardless. I could see having one bridging the events between the first and second films, as well as giving an origin story to this characters.

MG: You guys are reuniting in “#WetAndReckless”, tell us about that and what can we expect?
JT: Right [laughs], I do not think if anyone is ready for this one yet. This movie is insane, it is about a reality TV show that goes horribly wrong. It is like “Jersey Shore” meets “National Treasure”. We get into some crazy treasure hunting antics in Thailand. We are finishing up the movie now and then will try and figure out distributing after that. We had a screening for “All Superheroes Must Die” and showed just the opening of this film. People laughing hysterically but they didn’t get the dichotomy between a movie like “All Superheroes Must Die” and “#WetAndReckless”. We are playing assholes. I am not even sure how to describe it. They are ridiculous characters. We treat woman terribly and have no consequences for their actions. They are two completely different beasts.

MG: Jason, tell us about your role in “Hatchet III”?
JT: I play Deputy Hamilton. I am the main man at the scene for the aftermath of “Hatchet II”. It is just me and the sheriff trying to go back and figure out what is going on. The sheriff was playing by the main kid from “Gremlins” (Zach Galligan), so that was really awesome. But now that kid is a 47 year old man, so that was interesting. “Gremlins” was one of my favorite movies as a kid, so it was awesome.

MG: Jason, can you tell us about reprising your role of JTRO from “The FP” in “This is The End” this year?
JT: I don’t really know how much I can say about that. But I definitely appear in one form or another as JTRO.

MG: Lucas, any word on “X-Men: Days of Future Past” or anything else you got coming up next?
LT: I will steer away from that question [laughs]. Maybe if we were a few weeks down the road, I would have a more definitive answer for you. As far as the demographic will recognize, I just finished up a movie with David Hayter, who wrote “X-Men” and “X2: X-Men United” and is actually the voice of Snake from “Metal Gear Solid, if you like video games. He is making his directorial debut with a film called “Wolves”. Jason Momoa is in it also amongst a great cast. it is really cool and hopefully it will be out within the year.

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is best known for his roles in TV series like Mr. Eko on “Lost” and Simon Adebisi on “Oz”. He has one hell of a busy year planned for 2013 with “Bullet to the Head” with Sylvester Stallone, Marvel’s “Thor: The Dark World” and a coming-of-age film “The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Adewale about how he gets into characters and his busy year.

Mike Gencarelli: How was it going head-to-head with Sylvester Stallone in “Bullet to the Head”?
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: Well as you can imagine there was a lot of testosterone, but also a lot of fun. You are working with a legend of that genre, also Walter Hill, who is a legendary director. It was a lot of fun but it was also strictly business. It was bullets to the head…get in there and deliver. Just had a great time overall man!

MG: Give us some background on your character Morel?
AAA: He is an African businessman, who is somewhat corrupt. He has escaped from Africa with huge amount of funds, moved to the United States and landed in New Orleans. He is very smart and also ruthless and his goal is to own most of New Orleans…by any means necessary. He has his stable of henchmen and is also very sophisticated. It is all camouflage for what lies below, which is a ruthless and cold-hearted businessman. He is also conflicted with a crippling disability but he does not allow that to impede him as a formidable force. In fact he uses that to propel him and try harder.

MG: Is there anything in particular you do to prepare for a role like that?
AAA: It is just a matter of having dialogue with the director. A lot of it was on the page but then we added texture and dimension. I chatted with the director and saw what he would like to explore. Also I was given the choice if I wanted to make him crippled or not. I thought it would be an interesting challenge to do so and add more texture to the character. So we went for that. I think as we started to see him on screen we started to see him unravel with different layers. I did have to hobble around on sticks for a good 2-3 weeks before we shot it though in order to get the disability right. Other than that it was really get in there and feel the character. We shot it in very opulent locations in New Orleans and that always adds to your performance.

MG: How did you prepare for such an iconic comic villains playing both Algrim the Strong and Kurse in “Thor: The Dark World”?
AAA: It was a huge opportunity to pull double duty. In order to prepare you obviously go through and read the comics and research the characters history. You also look at the imagery and have discussions with Marvel and the directors to see their vision for the characters. Then the rest is left for the designers who create the costumes, which really then assists in your performance. Specifically for Kurse, it was very much looking at the costume and what I thought it would embody. For instance it had a certain look, so I used that look for his interpretive actions. I found that very useful. So with the horns and everything, I just went with that flow and tried to define a way of moving and fighting that was in the rhythm and the way that he looked. With Algrim, again the aesthetic look and the outfit really factored in as does the location and the set. From the moment you step into that world, you immediately become that character. You make them real. So in a way you have to ground the character in reality that makes it normal for them to be in that world. I believe and hope that we have done that well in this and that the audiences are going to enjoy it.

MG: You were called “The Biggest Badass in Hollywood” (by Huff Post); what keeps you coming back and playing the villain in roles like this?
AAA: What makes me or what makes them keep hiring me? I think it is one in the same thing. I think we both enjoy it. I think the industry knows that I can deliver when playing the villain. I certainly enjoy playing the villain because you have this created likeness to really go anywhere. When you play the hero, there are parameters that you cannot cross. But with the bad guy, there is no such thing and you can do basically what you like. That is a creative freedom and luxury that I love. They also always make the most interesting character for me. The funny thing is though; I never really look at these as bad. I look at them as guys who have agendas and they will do what they need to do in acquire, obtain or accomplish them. So to make the most interesting villain is that you need to see him as an ordinary guy who have a mission.

MG: From action to superheroes we go to the coming-of-age “The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete”, tell us about this project?
AAA: This is a very different type of movie. As you can see we have done all genres across the board from huge Marvel tentpole to iron-packed action. This film really comes down to what I really love, a small independent film. It premiered at Sundance and was shot by George Tillman Jr. It has got Jeffrey Wright, Jennifer Hudson, Anthony Mackie and an absolutely spectacular group of children actors. It is based on the survival of these two children in a hot and tough summer in Brooklyn. I play a cop, on the other side of the law this time, who is trying to keep these straight kids off the streets. It is just one of those endearing stories of survival and friendship. It is very real. I also love shooting in New York during the summer. This one is not about the costumes or effects or anything. It is about heart-to-heart relationships.

Be sure to follow @Adewale on his official twitter page.

Jason Mewes is known best for playing half of the comedic duo team Jay and Silent Bob with Kevin Smith. He has worked on with Kevin Smith on his films from “Clerks 1 & 2”, to “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back”. Jay is starring in the new gaming film “Noobz” with Blake Freeman, Matt Shively, Moises Arias, Casper Van Dien and Zelda Williams. Jay and Kevin Smith also recently announced the new animated film “Jay & Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat movies, video games and what he has planned next.

Mike Gencarelli: Let’s talk about how you got involved with the project “Noobz”?
Jason Mewes: The director, Blake Freeman, said he was thinking about me when he wrote the character. When they were getting ready to go into production, he contacted me and sent me the script. I thought it was awesome and that was that man!

MG: This is a really fun role for you. What did you enjoy most the role?
JM: Awesome thanks man. I am really psyched about the movie and how it turned out. I will always love the Jay character. It is me playing me. It is working with Kevin (Smith) and we have been doing it for so many years now. But besides those things, I definitely have to say I really had a lot of fun on it and really felt strong about the whole concept. Hopefully people dig it as much as I have.

MG: Are you a gamer in general?
JM: Yeah man, I probably play a little too much. I go through phases. I get addicted to gaming. For a while I was addicted to “The Lord of the Rings: Battle from Middle Earth” on the PC. Back then, I was with my girlfriend (now wife) and we would make plans to go out but I would be caught up playing and completely space. So I stopped playing for a little bit. Then I started playing “Call of Duty” and “Halo” and that got me back into it. Now I try to keep it at a happy medium…but I still get yelled at by my wife [laughs].

MG: You are currently touring with Kevin Smith with “Jay & Silent Bob Get Old”; what do you enjoy most about this?
JM: I love doing this. For one it has been a big help to keep me sober. I talk about 20 years of working together with Kevin. 25 years of our friendships with all the ups and downs. I talk about things that are going on in my life. And talking about it helps because it reminds me that I don’t want to go back to the way I was. Not to mention, it helps because when I walk into a Starbucks and people tell me they watch the podcast and ask how many days that I am up to now being clean. I like that. No one wanted to hire me because they thought that I was messed up and now I am getting out there and talking about it. It is really great and helping me stay sober. Most people seem to respect that. Also we have been traveling all over for it, so that has been great as well. We went to Australia and I have been there before. I have never been to Scotland, Ireland, Vancouver and we went there with this show. We have just gone all over the place and it has been awesome.

MG: Let’s talk about your new cartoon movie “Jay & Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie”, what can we expect?
JM: We are hoping to have that done by April. This started as something I told Kevin about when I first got sober that I really wanted to try directing. So I went out and directed a music video and I would still love to direct a short film or small independent movie. But I told him I would also like to get into producing. He then told me that he had a script that was sitting on his shelf and he gave it to me thinking that I would go home and just toss it on my table. But I read it, started calling some animators and began figuring out how much it would cost. My wife and I got a sound stage together and put together a group of people and then showed Kevin the first ten minutes. He loved it and then started giving us a list of people that we needed to get. So that was how he became part of it and it is really coming together. So hopefully April, we will be able to start showing it to people.  We want to tour with it like Kevin did with “Red State”. So hopefully people are going to dig it.

MG: Also now with “Clerks III” on the horizon, did you ever think that while making “Clerks” almost 20 years ago you will still be playing this role today?
JM: No, definitely not man! Definitely not with “Clerks”, Jay and Silent Bob are not even on the poster. Kevin is on it but he is in normal clothes as the director not his character. It wasn’t really till “Mallrats” that people really started asking “Hey, who are these characters?” Even after “Mallrats”, “Chasing Amy” and even “Dogma”, I had no idea that too this day we would be having all these plans, including doing the cartoon film and more comics.

Zelda Williams is daughter of actor and comedian Robin Williams. She co-stars in the new film “Noobz” alongside Jason Mewes, Blake Freeman, Matt Shively, Moises Arias and Casper Van Dien. She is also known for appearing in Nintendo’s television commercials for the Nintendo 3DS game “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Zelda about how she got involved with the film, her love of gaming and what she has planned next.

Mike Gencarelli: How you were approached to co-star in “Noobz”?
Zelda Williams: It was like any audition really. I met the director and talked with him about what I liked about the character and the idea to get paid to play video games [laughs]. The cast/crew are really a fun group. With them being such gamers as well, it was like looking for a kindred spirit. So it was a lot easier having that aspect in place.

MG: Tell us about preparing for you role of Rickie?
ZW: [laughs] Thankfully it was pretty easy. Pretty much everyone in the film played a more debauched version of themselves in real life. Rickie is sarcastic and silly but pretty much fairly normal, actually. It was interesting to play the straight man to everyone else goofing off. I really enjoyed it. Especially being able to be the chick gamer in it was also quite fun. Otherwise [laughs], there really wasn’t much prep needed.

MG: Being a gamer yourself, what are you currently obsessed with in the video game world?
ZW: I like playing “Assassins Creed”. I don’t play as much when it is the busy season in L.A. because you can just lose yourself. I was one of those people that would play for 8-9 hours and it doesn’t help you be productive. I still loves games though.

MG: Having a father like Robin Williams, do you feel that comedy comes natural?
ZW: No, not at all [laughs] I think I am really happy that I got his wits. I am quick and snappy but funny is a hard gig. I am happy that I don’t have to be the goofy funny one. I am not speaking a mile a minute and expected to make people roll in their seats. There is a lot pressure in that and it is something that I have avoided for a while. Growing up with comedy, I have an enormous amount of respect for it but is not something that I set out to do.

MG: How was it hosting of the live show “The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses”?
ZW: It was wonderful. I met them because of the Nintendo commercials I did and they asked me if I would be interested in hosting. I had no idea that they had a symphony behind this show, besides seeing it at E3 briefly a few years ago. It was fascinating to me but also scary as hell. I have really bad stage fright. But it was really wonderful. Music has such a connection with nostalgia. It was also great to see parents, who are fans of the game, now bringing their kids. Fans were attending all dressed up. People wouldn’t have assumed that when this game originally came out in the 8-bit world that it would played in front of an audience with a full symphony orchestra. It is interesting to look back and just think that they would have had no idea!

MG: I also a big fan of your Nintendo commercials for “The Legend of Zelda”
ZW: It is actually quite funny; doing the Nintendo commercials we actually had the opposite backlash than you would have expected. I really loved working with Nintendo and I think they are such wonderful people. A lot of people loved those commercials. But the gaming community took the other side of it and immediately starting complaining that I was pretending to be named after the game etc. It was very bizarre since half of the community went up in arms about it. But I found it very funny. They are the same people that I don’t think want to see comedians and fun people acting like gaming competitors in “Noobz”. I get it that the gaming community is very elitist but it is just really funny to me.

MG: Are you able to talk about your role in the third season of MTV’s “Teen Wolf”?
ZW: I am not sure I am able to talk about that just yet. I am good friends with Colton (Haynes) and he let that out a little early [laughs]. But next time we talk I will be able to discuss that more.

MG: Can you tell us about your film “Never”?
ZW: “Never” is a wonderful film. Thanks to Kickstarter, it got its post-production funded. I have never had a project do that and I think it is really great. I have a lot of faith done in crowd-funding if it is done properly. The film itself is really different from projects like “Noobz” or “Teen Wolf”. I play a lonely lesbian character living in Seattle, who is in a band. I get to sing three songs in the film. But it is not a musical though; it is more like “Once” where there is a reason why they are singing. But in this film, a straight guy falls in love with her. They become best friends and that’s where things get complicated. So a lot of it has to do with dealing with their friendship and feelings.

MG: What else you have for 2013?
ZW: The rest of 2013 is just working and writing. I am now writing scripts. I am very lucky to have found the team that I did to work with, since they are pushing them along well. Hopefully I will be going into production on one of my scripts soon.

 

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Casper Van Dien is known best for his role of Johnny Rico in “Starship Troopers”.  He recently steals the show in the new gaming film “Noobz”, where he plays a comedic version of himself.  Great movie, check it out! He also takes over the role of Johnny Cage in season two of “Mortal Kombat Legacy”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Casper on these roles and what we can expect.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us how you got involved playing yourself in “Noobz”?
Casper Van Dien: I met Blake (Freeman) a couple years before and we hit it off. He told me he wanted to right me into one of his movies. So one day he calls me up and asked me to do a cameo in this gaming movie he was making. He told me he wanted me to just play myself. So I read it and I thought this is a friend of mine and this is what he thinks about me [laughs]. See the movie to understand why. I really think I need to get therapy and look into it if this is the way my friend sees me as. [laughs]. But I agreed and it was really fun.

MG: It’s not always easy play yourself [laughs].
CVD: I had to go to my acting coach cause I was afraid they might recast me [laughs]. I was warned several times but I guess my performance was good enough since they kept me on.  So I guess I lucked out.

MG: Are you a gamer yourself?
CVD: I think I used to consider myself a gamer until I met Blake and his friends. When I go over to hang out and talk shop, Blake and all his friends/business people are all playing online video game tournaments. We will do the meetings while they are playing. So I realized there is a difference between gamers and people that play video games. I also got to meet some of the really serious gamers that we had on “Noobz” with us that actually get paid for this. Robert Paz was in it and he became a friend of mine too. Those guys really know how to play video games and it is a art form to them. But overall, I have always loved video games and have since I was a little kid.

MG: Do you plan on working with Blake again?
CVD: I also just did another movie with him called “Mucho Dinero”. It stars Blake, Eddie Griffin and myself. That one he wanted me to play someone completely different than in “Noobz”. Funny story though, one of the grips came up to me during filming and he said “You ruined ‘Starship Troops’ for me, I’ll never be able to watch it again” and walked away. I am not doing to give details, you have to see it to find out why. I don’t know man, I am either doing something really right or I am really screwing up [laughs]. I am thrilled to be working with Blake again. He is a good pal and I love his awful sense of humor about me and life in general.

MG: Tell us about playing such an iconic character like Johnny Cage in “Mortal Kombat: Legacy”?
CVD: Yep, I just got to Johnny Cage in Kevin Tancharoen’s web series. There are several episodes this year that he is in. I think that Matt Mullins did a great job in the first season. I think he softened it up for me to do more as well. I don’t know what they are trying to say though, since Johnny Cage is a D-list actor, has a bit of an attiude and is a little conceded. So I am not sure why they wanted me and told me that I was perfect for it [laughs]. I had a blast doing this though. There are a lot of incredible marital artists. I fight a lot but nothing like these guys. Another thing is that my character gets into a girl fight. Johnny Cage in a girl fight. You have to see it man, it is very cool!

MG: Any plans you will be involved with the upcoming feature film also?
CVD: You know I would love to be involved. It is up to the director. If he wants me then I would love to do it. If he wants to do something else, either way I will fully support it. I appreciate him wanting me in the web-series in the first place. I had a blast. So we will see what will happen.

MG: It’s been over 15 years since “Starship Troopers”; yet the series is still very alive with “Starship Troopers: Invasion”, which your executive produced. Why do you think this franchise resonates with fans?
CVD: I get more tweets every day with quotes from that film on my Twitter page. I get dozens every day and then when it airs I get hundreds a day. It is just unbelievable how much fans love this movie. It is awesome to have been involved with a film that people quote you from. The film just has some many awesome quotes. Ed Neumeier is an incredible writer. Paul Verhoeven is an amazing director. This film has just had such an amazing life and so many fans.

MG: I love how active you are on Twitter and interacting with your fans.
CVD: Yeah, I love it. I wasn’t announcing that I was playing Johnny Cage because I was asked not to. But one day I went on Twitter and someone wrote “Fucking Johnny Rico is Fucking Johnny Cage. Fucking Awesome”. It was one of the coolest tweets I got last year. I was super excited by that and that is how I found that Warner Bros had released the news.

MG: What else do you have planned for 2013?
CVD: Well like I said I got the movie “Mucho Dinero”. It was a fun film to shoot and it is really funny as well. Blake wrote, produced and directed this one as well. I am going to shoot a film this weekend in Oklahoma, which is another action/thriller. I shot a Hallmark Christmas movie last year that that did really well called “Baby’s First Christmas”, so that was really cool. I have been doing this for 25 years and it just keeps getting better and better!