Mateo Messina is the composer behind the film “Juno” and the TV series “Fairly Legal”. His score can also recently be heard in the film “Life Happens”. Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with Mateo on his scores and what he has planned upcoming.

Mike Gencarelli: What is the first process you take as composer when coming on a project?
Mateo Messina: I like to before we even look at the picture to discuss the story and the emotional content and what they want to get across.  It is really just trying to find out what they want to say with their movie, without even talking about the context of the picture.  Basically its what they want people to come in feeling and what they want them to be leaving feeling.  From there we would move into a spotting session.  I always tell them my job is just to help you tell your story.  We then discuss style, instrumentation and whether we are using an orchestra…things like that.  I am big on discussing the emotion of each scene.  Once I understand that story, the characters that is kind of our starting point.

MG: Do you have a genre that you like to work most in?
MM: I have done drama, I have done comedy but the three things I look forward to is it smart, is it funny and does it have a heart.  That is like my three points of criteria for doing a film.  If a film has that, I am in.  I sadly just had to turn down a horror film due to another film which I couldn’t turn down.  But I know when people are going to walk out of that theaters, they are going to feel really good.

MG: You composed for two TV series this year “Fairly Legal” & Perfect Couples”, tell us about working on those?
MM: “Fairly Legal” was simply a blast.  It has really smart writers.  Setting the tone for that show was really fun because here is this character who they want to show as the rebel of the group.  But you don’t just want to play rebellious music, that is too on the nose.  The character is very smart and sexy.  So the approach for her was how do I innovatively get across something that is sexy, fun and sometimes raunchy. What does that sound like?  So setting the tone for that so, I swear, took just as long as writing every episode.  It was really fun too, there is another character named Leo and he is super nerdy.  He was a “Dungeons and Dragons” kind of guy, so I took an old Casio 8-bit and sampled the crap out of that.  I also always made sure to include some really 8-bit sounds especially in the rhythm structure.  With “Perfect Couples”, that was another really fun show, just America did not like it as much [laughs].  The show was a little more buttoned up.  They wanted it to feel more loose.  One of the things I did was went out and got a drum set.  I put it in my studio in this room that has like 25-30 foot high ceiling and wood floors.  It is like you are just sitting in the room listening to someone play.  It felt like a garage band that had experience but were still in the garage playing.  I gave it a real human feel and that is what I like doing most with my scores.

MG: How do you find that working on TV differs from movies, if at all?
MM: The timelines are sure different [laughs].  Honestly I think there used to be this big difference between TV and film. There is a different feel in the act structure with films you work in three and TV you work in five.  They are definitely differences in the arc for the shows and stuff like that.  In film, you don’t really have that much time to flush something out.  There might be a character in television that you write a theme for them, you may be only able to catch that motif for like 10-15 seconds an episode.  It doesn’t matter though because you have 13 episodes to flush it out.  Then you will start relating the motif to the character when you watch each episode.  Like Lauren from “Fairly Legal” is a good example of that.  She was this drop dead sexy but also domineering boss, her stuff is more hip hop.  It didn’t really fit the rest of the score per se but it worked.  So whenever we get into her the music gets swanky, in a good way though [laughs].  I just doing love both mediums.

MG: You have also done a lot of short films, is it more challenging to create a score for a short film?
MM: Yes and no, it is more challenging that people do not have as much experience.  If someone is doing their third feature, they already know the drill.  Sometimes when people are just doing their first film, they want their score to be more on the nose and hit all these different points that don’t really need to be hit.  I have done some shorts that were so awe inspiring.  I just did one earlier this year called “Starsucker”, it won some festival awards.  The director, Nathan Skulnik, did an incredible job telling a story.  It is compelling and captures you and you just want more.  We even recorded with an orchestra for it.  People think that that doesn’t happen with shorts but it definitely can.  From a creative stand point, I love doing shorts.

MG: What was your inspiration for the score to “Juno”?
MM: There was a few things, one I was just blown away by the script.  My oldest brother and his wife were adopting their second child, I knew that side of it from the Lorings characters.  It was such a fun process.  I remember meeting with Ellen Page and we asked her what does Juno listen to and she said “Oh, The Moldy Peaches”.  Then I found myself on a plane going to meet Kimya Dawson while she was out on tour.  We went into the studio and we were recording stuff.  Actually a really funny story about Kimya, when she was younger she didn’t want her mom to know what she was doing playing guitar and writing songs.  So she would take a bed sheet hold it over her head and play the guitar and she had a cheap Radio Shack microphone.  She would sing very quietly into this microphone and that became her style.  So when we were recording her she ended up being so quite, I had to set up, no joke, the death-star array of mics in front of her.  It was a little intimating, so we turned off all the lights and it was pitch black and just started recording.   Then I did a ton of recording back in my studio and we were just playing guitar and we never let it go to the click.  We were working really hard to make it sound really simple.  I had a real emotional investment with the story.  I loved the idea of doing something that wasn’t a typical Hollywood score.

MG: You are actually working with Diablo Cody again, in her latest film “Young Adults”, tell us about that?
MM: Basically I got a call to do some very interesting tracks that I probably can’t share much about.  I basically did additional music on there, probably about a half a dozen samples for it that fit really well in the story.  All I can say is I have been given the gift of taking really great rock hits of the 90’s and turning them on their eyes and it will hurt a little when you hear it [laughs].  That is all I can say.

MG: Tell us about composing the upcoming film “Butter”
MM: What I can say so far is that it is a great story.  It has been so much fun.  It has an incredible cast.  We went with a full orchestral for it and also have been exploring some Motown sound.  This is being recorded some in New York, some in Detroit.  It is a really good project and it is really strong.  Musically it has been a challenge but also very fun as well.  It is really about capturing nuance in this one.  Such a great team and I am happy to be on board.

MG: Any other projects you currently working on?
MM: We just released a film called “Life Happens”.  We just premiered it at the LA Film Festival and I sat through two screenings with audiences.  I love listening to people laugh, I think it is so fun.  I watched it 85 times and still forget where you are suppose to laugh at.  It is a really good film.  I did another called “Frankie Goes Boom” with Charlie Hunnam and Ron Perlman, that is a really good raunchy comedy.  I just signed another project as well that I cannot talk about yet and I start working on that in about a month.  So yeah keeping really busy.

Teck Holmes got his start on MTV’s hit reality series “Real World: Hawaii”. Teck has also appeared alongside Hollywood heavy weights Ryan Reynolds and Forrest Whitaker, to name just a few. Teck is currently hosting the popular television show “Hole in the Wall”. Movie Mikes had a chance to speak with Teck about his current projects and about his role in the upcoming film “Douglas U”.

Adam Lawton: Can you tell us about working on “Hole in the Wall” and how you got the job as host?
Teck Holmes: “Hole on the Wall” is a fun fast paced family show where contestants have to contort their bodies to fit into different shapes in order to fit through a moving wall. If they aren’t able to fit through the different shaped openings the contestants get knocked into a pool. How I got the job was I went on an interview just like any other job. I auditioned and the casting people liked me and offered me the job.

AL: Can you tell us about the addition of Aaron Gingrich?
TH: Aaron is the life guard on the show and he’s a great guy. If you look at us as Laurel and Hardy, Aaron is my Hardy. Aaron is a really great and funny guy and I am excited to have him be a part of the show this season. Aaron brings a really great energy to the show and we have good chemistry together.

AL: As a host what’s the most challenging aspect of the show?
TH: Smiling! I always have to make sure that I am smiling enough. To me this job is second nature and I don’t even really see it as hosting. I am very comfortable with the crew and the cameras. I just always have to remember to smile more.

AL: Can you tell us how you got involved with “Real World: Hawaii”?
TH: I am so happy that I was a part of that show. We had a great time. I was in my early twenties at the time getting to live in Hawaii with no cares in the world. It was really great to have the ocean as my back yard.

AL: Did you go through the traditional casting process for that show?
TH: I had sent in a tape which I had shot and somewhat edited to look like I was already on the show. Jason from “Real World: Boston” had found my tape and told the MTV people that it was really good. After that I was asked to be on the show. I think doing my tape the way I did really helped.

AL: Can you tell us about working on “Van Wilder”
TH: The original script called for a blonde hair guy who dressed like Lenny Kravitz. I had thought I was having a joke played on me because the character description was just like me. I thought to myself that if I don’t get this role then that’s my sign to go home. Thankfully I got the role. I got to work with Ryan Reynolds and Kal Penn which was really great.

AL: Do you have a role of yours that sticks out as a favorite?
TH: My whole career is my favorite! It has been just one big fast paced roller coaster ride that I am enjoying. It’s a good time.

AL: Can you tell us about your upcoming film “Douglas U”?
TH: The film has a great script written by Hari Williams. It’s a fun fictional story about the first black college west of Texas and the process of attending. I actually attended a similar college so I felt I had a close tie to the script. The film also stars Wanita ‘D.Woods’ Woodgett and Thomas Mikal Ford. The film should be coming out this fall.

AL: Do you have any other upcoming projects you can tell us about?
TH: I am actually going to the Bahamas with “Hole in the Wall” for the summer where we will be taping at the Atlantis resort. When I get back from that I will be doing more “Hole in the Wall” and hopefully auditioning for some movies.

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It’s said that there is no such thing as fate. Don’t tell Kevin Pike that. As a 22 year old living in New England he had a choice to make as spring approached – head down to Florida to resume a previous job or take the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard, where a friend offered to get him a job as a waiter. It was early 1974 and the country was in the middle of an oil crisis (for those readers not old enough to remember, in 1973/74 gasoline was in short supply. If your license plate ended in an even number you could only fill your tank on certain days. The other days were reserved for those with an odd number. It got so bad that the government printed ration tickets, though they were never used). Because of the cost involved, Mr. Pike headed to the Vineyard. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Since his first foray into Hollywood via the film “Jaws,” Mr. Pike has worked on some of the most popular films of all time. They include “Back to the Future,” which earned him a BAFTA nomination for Best Special Effects, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Return of the Jedi,” “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” “Ed Wood” and “Fight Club.” For his work as the special effects supervisor for the television series “Earth 2” Mr. Pike received the Emmy Award for
Outstanding Individual Achievement in Special Visual Effects.

Mr. Pike is featured in the new book “Jaws: Memories from Martha’s Vineyard.” To help celebrate the books’ release, Mr. Pike graciously took time out to sit down with MovieMikes:

Mike Smith: How did you end up working on “Jaws?”
Kevin Pike: I started working on “Jaws” quite by accident. I had gone to Martha’s Vineyard to work at the Harborside Restaurant. I was a friend of the bartender and I had worked with him at a restaurant in Florida. He told me to come on up. At the time (1974) President Nixon had frozen prices and you couldn’t readily get gasoline on the highway to get to Florida so it caused me to re-direct and head off to Martha’s Vineyard early so I could get in on the summer season. On the reference of my friend the bartender I got a job at the Harborside Restaurant. I was a waiter but they had waitresses in mind so I ended up being a bus boy. One Saturday night a party of six men came in. They were having a great time. I could tell because normally our customers were very reserved. It’s like going to Las Vegas and the people playing cards are very reserved while the ones over at the craps table seem to have a party going on all the time. So I kind of paid attention to what they were talking about and deduced it had something to do with showbiz…with a film. The important part is that when they left to head back to the Kelley House where they were staying, when I bussed their table I found they had left behind a satchel…a valise. So I ran outside after them and found them still in the parking lot. I hollered, “Hey, did anybody leave this?” One of them turned to me and said, “Yes! Oh my gosh, are you kidding me? Do you know what’s in there?” I told him “no.” “They’re storyboards. You know what storyboards are, don’t you?” “No sir, I don’t” He explained that they were like a comic strip. When you make a movie you draw the whole thing out in pictures. So I asked him if he was making a movie. He said yes and I asked him what it was about. He said “it’s about a shark that’s going to eat your whole island!” That guy was Joe Alves, the production designer. Shortly thereafter, in a few days, I was hired on by the construction coordinator, Jimmy Woods. We started working on April 18, 1974. Jimmy gave us a pep talk before we started. He said that he knew some of us were finished carpenters that had helped build mansions. But we had to understand the way things were done in Hollywood. We throw walls together, slap some paint on them, shoot them and tear them down and throw them in the dump. He said that when he looked out at us he wanted to see two things and two things only: assholes or elbows!” He asked if there were any questions and I raised my hand. When he looked at me I asked him if I could be one of the elbows. He laughed and said “you’re with me.” After that we became close friends. I ended up being sort of his office coordinator. I would sweep the dirt floor and clean up after the guys who were working on the ORCA. I helped do all of the paperwork for the petty cash…buying everything from materials to snacks. I was basically locally hired labor that started from the bottom. I have a picture in my office. When we had 400 extras on the beach we only had (4) outhouses. And nobody would offer to clean them but me. So my friend snapped a picture of me at the right time, with me rinsing out a toilet. And it reminds me that I started at the bottom. I saw that movie from the unique perspective of a 22 year old on an island who was cleaning outhouses. I then started doing some work with the carpenters but it was obvious I wasn’t a carpenter so Ward Welton, the painter, grabbed me. And we painted everything they were building, from the ORCA to the sets being made for the production. Then in mid-May I was sent to meet a man named Roy Arbogast. I was going to help him unload the sharks. We had a winch system with a gin pole that went out through the top of the barn. They used the barn to store boats in the winter but we were going to use the upper floor as a workshop to work on the sharks. We stood in the open door of the barn and I could see the Edgartown Lighthouse on the Atlantic Ocean from our vantage point and sure enough one by one three trucks drove up with a shark on each truck, their tales sticking out. And with all the naiveté’ of a baby deer I asked “so you did all of the testing in the Pacific Ocean before you brought them here to the Atlantic Ocean?” And Roy said “no. Oh no. We haven’t had them in the ocean at all.” In fact, they hadn’t even taken the third shark out of the mold yet. I’m sure he couldn’t see the dollar signs that flashed in my eyes because I was only supposed to work on the crew for six weeks and I ended up working six months. And that is my beginning on working on “Jaws.”

MS: You also worked on “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “1941,” “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “Jurassic Park,” As he grew more successful – confident is probably a better word – did you notice any differences in the way Steven Spielberg worked on set.
KP: Not at all. The closest I worked with him was on “Close Encounters and Indy 2.” On “Jaws” I was very much in the background, but I got to do a lot of things because of my capabilities and my energy and my interest. And having that , I got to learn a lot. My life was changed forever. I got to work with Steven again on “Close Encounters” because Roy Arbogast was going to supervise the Special Effects. I ended up doing six or seven pictures with Roy. He was my mentor and taught me everything I needed to learn from the very beginning. He helped me become an Effects Supervisor in my own rite. On “Close Encounters” we were very close to Steven on many levels from the very beginning of his ideas because this was really his dream project. Some of the other films you mentioned – “1941,” “Jurassic Park” – I didn’t have a lot of interaction with Steven because I didn’t have a lot to do. Mostly prop building. Same on “Hook.” “Indy 2” we did a lot together with the 2nd Unit, doing a lot of insert work at ILM. We also spent a lot of time doing the blue screen work for the mine shaft car and the raft coming out of the airplane. I also did his “Twilight Zone” episode. But there’s nothing that stands out as far as what became different. Nothing I can put my finger on. I can definitely say that he became much more confident having the hits he did under his belt. But he knows he has to make each film as good as he can make it. And I believe that’s what he internally strives to do.

MS: You’ve worked both on the “Star Trek” and “Star Wars” series. Did you consciously avoid one effect or prop on one film because it was similar to one from the other?
KP: When I worked on “Star Wars” it was on “Return of the Jedi.” The look of the films had already been established. The new parts for us were the full size Scout-walker and the Sarlac pit. Essentially we already had a production design element that was driven from George Lucas right from the beginning. “Star Trek” had derived a lot of it’s style from the television show. So the choice you ask about is usually not mine to make. And I’ve also found, by working on both “Jaws” and “Jaws 2,” that the second time it’s not the same kind of feeling. It’s not fresh…it’s not novel. So I desperately tried not to work on sequels or on the same television show I had worked on the month before. I wanted things to be new and fresh as long as I could be that selective. Of course sometimes you need a job and you need to make money. That’s part of the reality for everybody in this town. But I always try to avoid doing something that’s along the same lines I’ve done before.

MS: You’ve done both film and television. Do you have a preferred medium?
KP: Well the feature work is very creative. You can feel the joy from a solid story arc in the script…you get the beginning, middle and end. You put your good work into it and then you get to go see it at the premiere, which is a wonderful and rewarding feeling. It takes you a couple of viewings before you begin to start enjoying the film because you’re seeing your work and remembering your contributions and the work of others. It’s a different kind of feeling watching a film that you’ve worked on as opposed to seeing one you haven’t. But there’s also a great benefit in television. I remember when I was asked to work on “Earth 2,” which was a series. We literally packed up and went to Santa Fe for a year. We took our families and everything else and it became a big commitment. Because you’re prepping one show while you’re shooting another. There’s always a constant cycle of activity. You’re meeting new directors and reading new stories and meeting new actors. Sometimes there’s a new crew person rotating in. We did 22 hours on “Earth II.” It became a serious commitment. And the beauty of Santa Fe, New Mexico made it all rewarding. And I have to tell you, I made good money on that show. And I’ve always remembered that. So if you can get on a show you can actually do very well. And you become family. It’s an entirely different situation. It’s a different medium. I got a lot of reward from doing sit-com work. I did five or six projects with James Burrows, who is the guru of sit-coms. (NOTE: James Burrows, a 10-time Emmy winner, directed such classic television series as “TAXI,” “Cheers” and “Frasier”) Watching him work is like watching a genius in action. The cadence is entirely different for that medium and you have a live audience. So you get a spontaneous reward from the laughter. You’re the only other person on the crew that gets to put in a joke. The actor says a line and the audience laughs because it’s funny. I make the dishwasher overflow and they start laughing again. So there’s an entirely different reward between sit-coms and dramatic television to feature films. I also spend a lot of time on commercials. I might get a storyboard with seventeen shots on it, some of them are incredibly creative because they have a good budget. I cut my teeth on a lot of those commercials. So each medium itself has its own special place in my heart.

MS: What is your proudest special effect moment?
KP: Without a doubt I’d have to say it’s the work I did on “Back to the Future.” It was a tough road to get there. The demands of (director) Bob Zemeckis…he knew what he wanted and we had to make good on his idea. And when I read the script I knew that the car, and we didn’t yet know what kind of car it would be, I knew that the car would be iconic and I’m very happy and proud of my contributions. In fact I’d have to say that the majority of my fan base is because of the car. Kids that saw the movie are now at the age where they can try to make one. They want to know where they can find one or just want to share their interest in Delorean Motors. I’m impressed with the perpetuity of the film. I’m pleased with the fact that it’s as popular as it is. And I can tell you that everybody on the crew that read that script knew that it was really a great story. Bob Gale and Bob Zemeckis just wrote the heck out of that. And that’s why the film holds up as well as it does today…because the story is so strong all the way across the board.

MS: Where do you keep your Emmy?
KP: I keep my Emmy on a small, rolling Art Deco cocktail bar. When it’s time for a martini or a Pinot Noir, it’s there to remind me life can be sweet at times.

MS: What are you working on now?
KP: For the past two years I have been an agent. I formed The Filmtrix Agency and have a roster of about 45 clients right now. I service what they call “below the line”…I get crew person’s work. I also handle some writers and directors. We have a large literary side that we do. I have clients from all over the world. Italy. Spain. I have clients currently working in India. It’s turning out to be very busy for us and I’m very happy about the direction we’re going in.

Josh Shelov is the director of the recently released film, “The Best and the Brightest”.  The film is currently in theaters now and will be on DVD later in August.  MovieMikes had a chance to chat with Josh about working on his second feature and also what is planned next.

Mike Smith: “The Best and The Brightest” is your second feature film, How did your experiences as a filmmaker differ from the your first film?
Josh Shelov: I was only the writer on “Green Street Hooligans” so as the director of “The Best and The Brightest” there was a world of difference. It was obviously very exciting to see “Green Street Hooligans” get made but to actually direct and take the film all the way home is incomparable. It was the greatest creative experience I’ve ever had.

MS: As the director do you think you had more creative input as to what showed up on screen? Maybe there was something you wanted to fight for on “Green Street Hooligans” that was left out because of the director’s decision?
JS: Significantly, yes. When you’re directing you can really ruin the whole thing! (laughs)

MS: You also co-wrote the film with Michael Jaeger. How did this story come about?
JS: We were living it. Both Michael and I have young kids and we were dealing with how to get them into private school. It’s a huge and competitive pain in the ass! We were really stressing it. The pressure was on. And there are lots of, shall we say, anxieties of just how far reaching the consequences would be if we didn’t get out kids into a good school. You wouldn’t be able to stay in the same neighborhood…your child will never amount to anything…they’ll become meth dealers. So we were sitting there sweating. And you hear about the “favors” and political weaseling that people go through and we thought it was a really, really good and fertile ground for a farce…making fun of the big city folks.

MS: You assembled a great cast, including Neil Patrick Harris, Amy Sedaris & Christopher McDonald. How did that come about? Were they easy to attract to the project?
JS: I wouldn’t say easy. The key is to get a little bit of money behind you and for that I have to credit our (2) first producers, Rob and Patty Weiser, who put up our start up cash. When we had that initial start up cash, it enabled us to go into Hollywood and make what is known as “pay or play” offers. They certainly weren’t offers of a lot of money by any stretch of the imagination. And the key was that we got Amy Sedaris. Amy loved the script and I had a meeting with her and she agreed to do it. And then the other actors started to come like wild fire. Neil really wanted to work with Amy. We got Chris McDonald after that. Kate Mulgrew and on and on. Amy was really the tipping point.

MS: We actually just featured an interview with Christopher McDonald and he had great things to say about the project.
JS: Michael and I wrote the part FOR Chris. He’s amazing in the film. There is a certain voice to the film and it’s uniquely Chris. We’re just so thrilled that, after writing a part for him, he would agree to do it. It was one of the highlights of the whole project.

MS: What would you say was the most difficult park of working on the film?
Was it wearing the two hats of both director and writer?
JS: The shooting itself was a really joyful experience. I would say that raising the money and getting the film distributed…that was the most difficult. The actual filming itself was like eating dessert. It was wonderful. We had an exceptionally good crew. We had an extraordinary producer named Declan Baldwin, who kept all of the trains running on time. We never had a calamity. None of the actors were divas. It was pretty remarkable.

MS: When can we expect to see this film in theaters and DVD?
JS: It was theatrically released, literally, right now. We’re playing in New York and Los Angeles and Coral Gables, Florida. We have two distributors who are working on the picture. Our home video distributor is a company called New Video and they’re terrific. And they have partnered with another company called Emerging Pictures, which is run by a guy named Ira Deutchman. And he has started supplementing a release all over the country. We’re opening up in Michigan. We’re opening up in Delaware. And there’s a third company, owned by one of our producers, Declan Baldwin, called Big Indie. He’s organized over 200 sneak previews of the film this past film. So the film has really got a lot of theatre exposure even though we don’t have a big studio behind us.

MS: What are you working on next?
JS: There’s a drama that I hope to do called “The Inheritance.” Darren Aronofsky likes it…he’s really helping to shepard it along. Ideally I would love to start casting it this year or next.

MS: What is the story?
JS: It’s about three generations of Irish-American writers who find out that they have a deadly disease in their bloodline. I’ve worked on it a long time. I actually wrote it before we wrote “The Best and The Brightest.” It’s very near and dear to my heart.

Sybil Danning played the scantily clad blond werewolf Stirba in “Howling II Your Sister Is a Werewolf”. Sybil has also appeared in a variety of sci-fi and other genre films. Most recently Sybil appeared in Rob Zombie’s “Halloween”. Sybil took time out of her busy schedule to speak with Movie Mikes about her career and her upcoming projects.

Adam Lawton: Can you tell us how you became involved with “Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf”?
Sybil Danning: It had gone through my manager at the time. My manager was talking with a casting lady that had cast me in a previous project and she was the one who actually brought my manager the role. She had also suggested me to John Daly who was a producer on the film. John thought it was a great idea and before I knew it I was doing costume fittings with Peter Mitchell who also did the wardrobe for the “Mad Max” movies.

AL: What were your first thoughts when you saw the costumes or lack there off for the film?
SD: I was asked previously as to how I would see my costume. I asked Peter what our parameters were going to be and he told me that whatever we thought was right we were going to do! The script for “Howling II” was not trying to outdo the first film. “Howling II” was going to be more fantasy based and the fact that I was going to be the first blonde werewolf. Peter said let’s get sexy and creative. I gave it to him at that point and everything he later showed me was amazing. As a side note probably my most famous costume from that film being the leather and brass outfit is going to be auctioned off at a huge convention this fall in Los Angeles called Comikaze Expo. They had asked me to come as a guest and because it’s going to be such a huge deal they also asked if I had something to auction off. I had never thought of auctioning off that costume until now.

AL: Can you tell us what it was like working with Christopher Lee?
SD: I have done four movies with Christopher prior to “Howling II” so we knew each other well. We would have dinner each night together as he really has just the best stories. We filmed that movie in Czechoslovakia at the time of the “Iron Curtain”. One night during dinner, we discovered a little guy sitting in a corner where we ate with horn rimmed glasses and a dead squirrel on his head watching us. He must have been appointed by the KGB to watch what us crazy Americans were doing. (Laughs) We had a wonderful time as always.

AL: Can you tell us how you got involved with Rob Zombie?
SD: I was watching “Devil’s Rejects” one day and decided that I wanted to re-enter the business after being gone for some time. I called up a good friend of mine Ken Foree who has been in most of Rob’s films and I told him I wanted to work for Rob. Ken talked to Rob and told him that I was looking to work with him. Within about a week of me talking with Ken I received a call from Rob’s office asking if I would like to be in “Werewolf Women of the SS”. It was great timing. When I called his office Rob had told them to tell me to come right in. When I got there they had wigs for me to try on with Sheri to see if we could look alike for the project. While we were shooting “Werewolf Woman of the SS”, I told Rob I wanted to be in “Halloween”. He told me that it had already been cast but he would give it a thought. By the end of that day he came to my trailer and told me he was going to have me be the last person that little Mikey was going to kill and that it was a very important role. I told him anything he wanted to me to play I would. Rob is a very creative guy.

AL: Do you think we will ever see a full theatrical version of “Werewolf Women of the SS”?
SD: Rumor has it that Rob has shot around 30 minutes of the film. Rob was very busy shooting even after the actors had left for the day. We had such a great set and Rob really took advantage of everything he had on hand. So the rumor is that there is about 30 minutes of footage shot. Of course “Machete” was made and I really think this will be the next one to go full length.

AL: Do you have a favorite project you have worked on?
SD: “Battle Beyond the Stars” is one that sticks out and in more ways than one! (Laughs) I actually am going to be at the San Diego Comic Con in July for the release of the Blu-Ray. That project was great because I got to be the hero sort of and do all these different things like flying a space ship. I am a real fan of the sci-fi genre. I also really enjoyed working on “Operation Thunderbolt” because I played a character that was a different departure from my normal sexy type roles. The character I played in that film was much more serious. For that project I raised the money, brought the distribution and did the casting. We were actually nominated for best foreign picture.

AL: Can you tell us about your latest film “Virus X”
SD: After working with Rob Zombie and Quentin Tarantino…where do you go from there? I received a lot of film offers and “Virus X” was one of those. The film was directed by Ryan Steven Harris and it was one that I really enjoyed the screen play. I got to play the villain in the film and it was great fun. You can get it on DVD and digital download.

AL: Can you tell us about any upcoming projects?
SD: Where do I begin?…I am in the process of producing my own vampire movie but I don’t want to say too much because a lot of things are still in the process. I am currently writing an autobiography with the help of my editor Marshall Terrill. I also have a character that I own called “Ruger”. “Ruger” is a police officer turned bounty hunter character from the film I did called “ L.A. Bounty”. Along with my partner Les Thomas, we are developing a first person shooter cloud video game. I own the screen play for “Ruger” as well so we are also looking at that for a movie and or a movie with a pilot for a television series.

For more information on Sybil Danning you can go to:
www.Sybildanning.net, www.myspace.com/sybildanning, www.twitter.com/sybildanning, www.facebook.com/sybildanning

To bid on Sybil’s costume and information on Comikaze you can click here

Maria Canals-Barrera is known best for playing Theresa Russo in Disney Channel’s “Wizard of Waverly Place”.  Maria is also co-starring in the Tom Hanks directed film “Larry Crowne” this summer.  Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with Maria about working on “Wizard” and also her new film role.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about working with such a great cast in “Wizards of Waverly Place”?
Maria Canals-Barrera: It is wonderful. It is just wonderful because from the very beginning it just felt right, we clicked and there was great chemistry. All of the kids on the show at time, now they are young adults, they have always been prepared, professional, talent and wonderful. There has been wonderful writing and we just have a great time. Honestly it is best job I have ever had.

MG: What do you like most of playing Theresa Russo?
MCB: I like that she is a fun mom and a caring mom. She has a lot of passion. She gets to really be part of the story and isn’t just a parent role. The parents are really involved with the plot and caught up in the magic. It is a real family ensemble.

MG: How is playing a wife to David Deluise?
MCB: It is effortless to play his wife. I love him. He makes me laugh. He makes me angry. He is just a wonderful comedic actor. He is a lot of fun.

MG: With “Wizards” coming to an end, how do you feel to see the show end?
MCB: I feel really sad. Taking it all in slowly, looking at the sets. I notice I am looking at the kids and hugging them a lot more. I am starting my slow goodbye, like you are starting your slow decent when you lane in the plane [laughs]. You prepare yourself and that is what I have been doing. I have been taking it all in and tell people how much I loved working with them and how I feel about them. I am also grateful that it even happened and I don’t want to forget that because these kinds of jobs as an actor are very rare. It is a tremendous blessing, so I am very happy about it.

MG: Tell us about your upcoming film “Larry Crowne” with Tom Hanks & Julia Roberts?
MCB: Yeah, that was amazing. Tom is amazing, probably one of our greatest American actors. The man is full of energy.  He is so funny off camera as well. It was a great experience. I just saw a screening of it and it is really good.

MG: Lastly I have to ask, how did you get involved voice She-Hulk in the video game “Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds”?
MCB: Well they offered it to me and I was thrilled. I didn’t have to audition for it which was really exciting. You know I am have done “Justice League” prior. I played Hawkgirl. I have done some other voice work and I guess they liked that. It is always great for an actor when you do not have to audition. It is nice to be offered something and I was thrilled to do it. She is such a tough character but she is funny too. I loved doing She-Hulk.

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Rob Huebel is comedic actor currently playing the role of Dr. Owen Maestro on “Children’s Hospital”. The show just started its third season on Adult Swim. He is also known for his roles in the TV series “Human Giant” and the movie “I Love You, Man”. Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with Rob about his role on “Children’s Hospital” as well as his upcoming projects.

Mike Gencarelli: What do you like most about playing Dr. Owen Maestro on “Children’s Hospital”?
Rob Huebel: The cool thing about doing stuff on that show is you are really surrounded by some very funny people. The cast is just super funny. We shoot the show extremely fast. I think it takes about a month to shoot a season. We aren’t together very long so when we are shooting it’s a really intense and fun activity. We also are very lucky in that we get to do pretty much whatever we want. It’s kind of rare that you can think up a crazy idea, film it and then put it on television. A lot of times you can’t do stuff like that because there are large corporations limiting what you can and can’t do. With Adult Swim we are able to get away with a lot more.

MG: How do you feel that season three differs from the previous seasons?
RH: I think season 3 is different because we are starting to spread our wings more. Early on in the show we all knew that the show was only 15 minutes long so we could shape it in a variety of ways. We knew we didn’t always have to be in the hospital even though a majority of the show takes place there. I think this season there are 4 episodes that are totally different from everything which is weird but funny. I think people will go along for the ride especially since it is only 15 minutes long. We really like to just have fun with the characters and make fun of this world and season three will show that.

MG: Since the show is only 15 minutes, do you ever feel limited in each episode?
RH: I think for us it’s a good thing. We have always thought that we don’t really want to over stay our welcome at the party. I think if the show was even just 1 minute longer people would be like “fuck it! I’m not watching this”. (Laughs) There is something great about the show being only 15 minutes long. People will buy into something for that short amount of time. 30 minutes would be just too much and we would have to come up with actual plot lines instead of just talking about boners.

MG: Tell us about the episode this season that you wrote as well as starred?
RH: Myself and Paul Shearer wrote that episode and it’s about our buddy Rob Riggle who guest stars on the show. He plays this really handsome Dr. that everyone likes and all the girls want to sleep with. Well he gets killed within the first 30 seconds of the show. The rest of the show is basically all of the other doctors trying to death with that. Henry Winkler decides he is going to offer therapy and everyone is mandated to attend. You get to see a lot of everyone’s inner problems.

MG: Can you tell us about any crazy moments from behind the scenes?
RH: We had a bunch of porn stars on set one day which is always great to have on a children’s show. I’m sure we won’t get into any trouble with that. I gave Rob Corddry Chlamydia. (Laughs) he thinks it’s just the flu but I told him it’s Chlamydia. I’m a doctor I should know. We also found out I am married with a child and I die. (Laughs) I really want to stress the Chlamydia though.

MG: What can you tell us about your upcoming show on Fox called “Family Album”?
RH: That was a really fun thing that might be picked up mid-season. It didn’t get picked up for the fall but we still might get to see it. Shawn Levy who directed “Night at the Museum” and “Date Night” directed the pilot. Myself, Mike O’Malley and Rachel Harris are in it and it’s more of a family comedy. I play the weird uncle that is completely inappropriate at all times which is right up my alley. It would be really cool if it becomes a show. I don’t know who makes those decisions but that should be a show!

MG: Tell us about working with George Clooney & Alexander Payne in the upcoming film “The Descendants”?
RH: That was amazing. I have a very small part in that movie but I was really lucky to get to do that. It was a dream job being in Hawaii for 3 weeks and getting to work with George Clooney and Alexander Payne. I wasn’t sure if I was getting paid or I should be paying those guys. It is upsetting how much of a great guy and how funny George is. It almost makes you want to hate him. Alexander Payne is one of my favorite directors, so it was really great.

MG: You are re-teaming with Rob Corddry and the gangs for “Rapturepalooza”, what can you tell us about that?
RH: We just shot some of that up in Vancouver with Craig Robinson from “The Office”. John Francis Daily who was on “Freaks and Geeks” and who is now on “Bones” is a part of the project as well as Anna Kendrick from “Up in the Air”. The film is basically a comedy about the end of the world. The rapture has already happened with a bunch of people being sucked up to heaven leaving all the lame people here on earth. Craig Robinson plays the anti-Christ and Rob and I work for him. It’s pretty funny!

“Children’s Hospital” is an off-the-wall comedy/medical drama television series, created by and starring actor/comedian Rob Corddry. The show contains a great ensemble cast including Lake Bell, Erinn Hayes, Rob Huebel, Ken Marino, Megan Mullally, Malin Akerman and Henry Winkler.  June 2, 2001, marked the starts of the show’s third season.  The show has even spawned a spin-off already “National Terrorism Strike Force: San Diego: Sport Utility Vehicle” which is set to premiere July 21, 2011 on Adult Swim.

Movie Mikes is a big fan of this show and had the chance to chat with a few of its cast members. As of June 29,2011, we have interviewed Megan Mullally and Rob Huebel. We will be adding more cast members as the season three progresses. Stay Tuned!

Make sure to watch Children’s Hospital Thursday’s at Midnight on Adult Swim!

Megan Mullally is known best for her role of Karen Walker on the TV sitcom “Will & Grace”. Megan is also a stage veteran, most recently on Mel Brooks’ original Broadway musical, “Young Frankenstein”. Megan is currently starring as Chief on Adult Swim’s “Children Hospital” and the show just started it’s third season. Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with Megan about working on “Children Hospital” as well as some of her other projects.

Mike Gencarelli: How did you first get involved with playing the chief on “Children’s’ Hospital”?
Megan Mullally: My husband Nick Offerman had done a movie with Rob Corddry that never saw the light of day and they became buddies during that time. Rob had written some episodes for the web and he had written a part in those for Nick. Rob gave Nick the scripts and asked him if he knew of any middle aged women that did comedy [laughs]. Nick put me on the list and that’s how that happened. I had only met Rob one time previous to doing the show and I didn’t know a lot of the other cast members either but they are all great to work with.

MG: What do you like most about playing that character?
MM: It’s a really fun character to play. The show is very innovative and I dare say a few of the episodes are ground breaking for what it is. It’s very freeing to play the ugliest, grosses person in the world. I can get ready in about 10 minutes as I don’t wear any make up and I wear a man’s wig which I bought on Hollywood Blvd. The show is jokes but it also is very innovative with its concept. It’s this weird mix of stupid dick jokes and innovation.

MG: Who came up with the idea for you to use a walker on the show?
MM: That would be me! My character is supposed to be riddled with all these crippling diseases yet everyone wants to fuck her. In the web series I had these metal crutches that wrap around your arm but they were reducing my scrawny white Irish arms to smithereens, so I switched to a walker. We added a hunchback as well but it doesn’t seem to read very well as we couldn’t figure out how to make an actual hunchback. We ended up using a pregnancy pillow stuffed into some pantyhose that tie around my body. It’s really made up of like a nude colored pair of boy shorts underwear with a pregnancy pillow stuffed inside that I put one arm through a leg hole and the other through the waist.  So it is hysterical.

MG: How do feel this season stands out from the others?
MM: I think that every season the shows get more and more ambitious technically and conceptually. I think that what they are doing with the show visually is what makes it innovative. Rob has told me that for the next season there should be no continuity between episodes. Characters in relationships in one episode shouldn’t be together for the next and nothing should be commented on about previous episodes or occurrences. They are trying to go that certain way on purpose and the show continues to get more ambitious in terms of the visual.

MG: How do you feel this show compares to working on “Will and Grace”?
MM: It couldn’t be any more different! “Will and Grace” was never improvised and it was more of an old fashioned mind set where you learned your lines and you came in and did them.  It was very character driven and used season arcs. “Children’s Hospital” is largely comprised of people with improv or sketch backgrounds. Some of the actors write episodes and it’s a completely different vibe. Most of what you see on screen is scripted but we do a lot of improvisation and maybe 10 percent of that ends up in the show. It couldn’t be any more different. It’s really a no holds barred type situation and you cannot be for better or worse too big on the show.

MG: You are known for your stage work. Do you prefer one over the other?
MM: I like doing both. I did a play in Los Angeles about a year and a half ago called “The Receptionist”. I loved doing that and it’s probably one of my most favorites that I have ever done. We performed in a small 99 seat theater and I just loved the play and the cast so much. Going to New York to do a year of a musical again, I am not as enthused about as I am when I do a short run of a play in Los Angeles.

MG: Besides season three of “Children’s Hospital” what other upcoming projects do you have going on?
MM: I’m coming back on “Parks and Recreation”.  I am also doing an arc on another show, however I can’t say quite yet which one as I haven’t signed a contract. I am in the process of developing shows to produce and I have one that is doing really well right now. There is also talk of doing one of the “Children’s Hospital” episodes as a musical and touring it, which I really hope happens. There are also talks of doing a “Party Gown” movie, which would be really fun.

Robert Lantos is the producer behind the film “Barney’s Version”. Robert has been trying to bring Mordecai Richler’s novel to the big screen since first reading the book in 1997. After Mordecai’s death in 2001, Robert was on a mission to get this movie made to honor, what he felt was, Mordecai’s best work. Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with Robert about getting this film made and about working with the author Mordecai Richler.

Click here to read our review for “Barney’s Version” which is available now on Blu-ray/DVD combo.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about your road to bringing “Barney’s Version” to the big screen?
Robert Santos: It goes back more than 25 years ago. The author of “Barney’s Version”, Mordecai Richler had written a screen play for a book he wrote called “Joshua Then and Now” which he and I made into a movie that starred James Woods and Alan Arkin. Since that time we have had a relationship where he sends me advance copies of his books, which was the case for “Barney’s Version”. I first read the book in 1997 on an airplane where I made a spectacle of myself due to my intermittent laughing. I really felt I was reading an author’s magnum opus. I knew before I finished reading the book that this was going to be a movie. He and I began working on it together with Mordecai writing the screenplay. Sadly he passed away before it was finished and from that point forward this became more than a movie. It became to me a mission to honor the quality of Mordecai’s work and to make a film he would be proud of.

MG: Paul Giamatti won a Golden Globe for his performance, amongst other awards, what do you like most about the character?
RS: Paul is a multi dimensional human being, which is how Richler wrote the character in his book and it is also how I envisioned the role.  Like most of us he is flawed and often his own worst enemy. Despite the many flaws he has we get to feel for him and root for him. We can’t not love him! Paul had to play this part because I couldn’t imagine a conventional Hollywood movie star type pulling this roll off. I was really drawn to this project because of the fact it’s not your typical film that gets made in this day and age. It’s not about fantasy characters that are strictly good or evil it’s about various shades of grey.

MG: This is your second time working with Richard J. Lewis after 1993’s “Whale Music”; tell about working with him again on this project?
RS: Richard and I have known each other for some time, as I had produced his first film. Richard came to me after I bought the rights to the book and Richler had passed. He kept telling me how much he loved the project and wanted to be a part of it. After some storming on his part and him writing a draft for the screen play that I didn’t even know about, I chose him because of his dedication to the project. We didn’t end up using the screenplay he submitted however Richard’s was much better than any other we had received by various other writers. He really just dropped his version of the screen play on me from out of the sky.

MG: Tell us about working with Michael Konyves who wrote the screenplay?
RS: I chose Michael’s screenplay because he took a lot of things from the book while at the same time making some very bold statements as to what he was leaving out. The book covers a lot in its 500 pages. Michael’s script really focused on the heart of the story. The love story between Barney and his 3^rd wife really was the focal point. Part of the reason this took so long to get to the project going was because I had used many different writers. I was trying to include everything in the book because I loved it so much and I wanted everything in the book to also be in the script. Michael to his credit disregarded my instruction and made those very bold sweeping decisions that really worked. When I read his script I had the same reaction I had when I first read the book.

MG: What is your favorite novel by Mordecai Richler?
RS: I think “Barney’s Version” is Mordecai’s greatest work and it is one of my favorites but I love all of Mordecai’s books. I actually own the rights to “Solomon Gursky Was Here” which was written before “Barney’s Version”. I think “Barney’s Version” is without a doubt Mordecai’s most mature work.

MG: As a producer, what do you look for when approaching a project?
RS: It changes with what stage I am at in my life. This stage of my life I look for something that I believe moves me and that will move others. Also if I feel the movie needs to be made and others probably aren’t going to make. I take interest in things like that.

MG: “eXistenZ” is one of my favorites; tell us about working on that film?
RS: That was all about Dave Cronenberg. Some projects I do because I love the vision of the director. With Cronenberg it’s always been about the way he is going to tell a story. I have made three films with David thus far.

MG: Is that related to David Cronenberg’s cameo in “Barney’s Version”?
RS: That was for fun. I called him and some other directors I have worked with in the past to make cameo’s in the film. It was in a way my own personal souvenir. David was really a stand out in his cameo. It was fun.

MG: What is the next film you are working on?
RS: You will have to forgive me however I don’t like to talk about projects until I am ready to shoot.

Martin Klebba is known for his role in the first three “Pirates of the Caribbean” films.  Martin also steals the show in the film “Feast II: Sloppy Seconds”.  He can be seen upcoming in the new adaption of Snow White called “The Brothers Grimm: Snow White”.  Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with Martin about his roles and his upcoming projects.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us what it was like working on the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series?
Martin Klebba: It was as you would say ” An amazing ride”. There was never a shortage of stories from cast’s past to the one’s we were creating while away from home as well.

MG: Out of the three films you worked on, do you that you enjoyed most on production?
MK: Well, I think we can all agree “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pear” was the best of all four, because it was just that. The 1st! You can never beat or touch any original piece of art! Johnny (Depp), Geoffrey (Rush) were total class acts! Orlando (Bloom) and Kiera (Knightley), even though they were established already, really came into their own as Household A-List Stars. The crew and cast started a familia and carried that all the way thru the first three anyway, and I’m sure they may have thru the fourth.

MG: You role in “Feast II: Sloppy Seconds” is just so great, tell us about working on that film?
MK: Well, getting to work with Clu Gulager was an honor! John was an amazing creative mind behind the camera too! Being apart of Thunder (my character) & Lightning (Juan Longoria Garcia) was really fun…2 Lil People Brothers that were probably as big as the picture itself! Monster movies are always a great time and a ton of fun to get funky with.

MG: You work in stunts for many films like, “Zombieland” to “Bedtime Stories”, tell us about that work?
MK: Well, I may be the only REAL Actor in hollywood that can claim ” I do all my own Stunts!” Fact is, the other guys that claim that is a lil stretched. Yes they may do a lot of them, but a film would not be able to get a project insured if the Main Actor was being put in harms way to where a film may have to shutdown due to a injury. They always have doubles. You cannot find another lil Guy that looks like me, therefore, I DO ALL MY OWN shit!

MG: What has been your most difficult stunt to perform in a film?
MK: The hardest stunt I have prolly ever had to do would be a five story fall backwards on fire doubling my great friend Warwick Davis in “Leprechaun 6: Back 2 Da Hood”!

MG: You are working with “Pirates” co-star, Lee Arenberg, in the film “1066”, tell us about that?
MK: Well, we haven’t been able to start filming just yet, I believe they are still waiting for all the funding. It will be one of those EPIC films ala “The Patriot” and “Braveheart”. I am actually looking forward to that film, it’ about the most important date in Englands History!

MG: You work with Lee Arenberg again in “In The Gray”, which are you also producing, how did you take on this role?
MK: That was the biggest mistake I ever made, total cluster f@#$ as Clint Eastwood would call it. I’d like to forget about that waste of time.

MG: What can you tell us about working on “The Brothers Grimm: Snow White”?
MK: Well we are still in early preps rite now, I believe filming doesn’t start till June 20th. We have been rehearsing the stunt and fights scenes so far, going to be a blast though once we start making magic on film. We have some really awesome talent in this one, from: Julia Roberts, Lily Collins, Armie Hammer, Nathan Lane, Mare Winningham, Michael Lerner, Mark Povinelli, Danny Woodburn and Myself.

Rosalina Da Silva started her makeup artist career with “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome”. Since then she has worked on over 50 high profile projects such as “TRON: Legacy”, “Sucker Punch” and “Watchmen”. Rosalina also just completed working on the new upcoming sequel in the “Underworld” series. Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with Rosalina about her recent projects as well as what is upcoming.

Mike Gencarelli: When you start a project, what is your first step to begin your process?
Rosalina Da Silva: When I first receive the concept or script for a film I will have a meeting with the director to get their vision of the movie. Once I have that I will start researching the characters or period as kind of a preliminary. I have a huge library of books and movies that I reference to assist me with the look I am going for.

MG: Tell us about your experience working on “Sucker Punch”?
RDS: By far I think that project was one of the most creative I have done. It started the same way as any other project by doing the research. We knew the girls were going to change dramatically from the minute we first met them to the time they were on screen. The costumes had already been designed so that was inspirational to be able to look at the drawings and see what was going to be worn for each scene. Almost everyone had their hair changed as well. Weather it was lengthened or colored that was one of the first things that had to be done before I could start designing the make-up. Once you change some one’s hair color everything changes. So at the beginning I tend to sit back to see where things are going to look like before making final decisions. Zack Snyder had his drawings and ideas, as well that I would reference. The first character I worked on was Emily Browning, which was kind of a 60’s look which is something that I love. The film is set in 1968, so we based everything off that time period. Zack really trusted me and let me do what I wanted which was great.

MG: Do you find it easier working with females during the makeup process in general?
RDS: It doesn’t really matter. Sometimes the make-up is simpler. Other times it’s a little more involved. The challenge with males is to make it look like they are not wearing makeup. Lately I have been doing a lot of comic book themed projects where you have to use the make-up to bring out certain features and make a person look a certain way. The make-up will tend to be shown more in these types of projects.

MG: What approach did you take working on “TRON: Legacy”, compared to your other films since it is such a big film?
RDS: Originally I was not going to be a part of “TRON: Legacy” because “Sucker Punch” was going to be shooting at the same time. “Sucker Punch” had got dropped for a few months and I found myself working on “TRON: Legacy”. I hadn’t done many Sci-Fi films before, as that genre really isn’t my thing. I didn’t really have any idea what I was doing. So I had a meeting with the director and we discussed a few ideas. Prior to me joining the crew they had some of the concepts developed already. I looked at a few of those and knew there was going to be some difficulty in achieving some of the looks in the time limit we had. The Siren’s in the film were supposed to have a face that was like a mask and all four were going to look identical. There were two African-American girls and two Caucasian girls which just could not look the same. I had to find something that all the girls had in common that would make them individual and beautiful in their own way but still have that one thing in common to tie them together. It was decided that we were going to use only black and white colors for hair and make-up except for the Castor character. The idea for using just two colors of make-up really started with the Siren characters. It was very hard to try and create something that had not been done before because it seems everything has been done before. We did a lot of different tests on the actors and actresses and we tried to match their make-up with the costumes and keep everything very geometrical. It was a lot of fun!

MG: Since “TRON: Legacy” was filmed in 3D, did that create an issue for you working on makeup?
RDS: The only difficulty we had was that one of the Sirens was wearing a wig. We had to make sure that the wig lace was not going to be seen. Often times when shooting a normal movie that type of thing can be touched up. We had to find a formula with the make-up that would not show the lace because with the film being shot in 3D you did not have that option of going back and touching things up. I really didn’t know what I was up for when I joined the project so I just made everything as simple and bland as I could (Laughs).

MG: From working on your first film, “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” to today, how do you feel that your job has changed over the years (if at all)?
RDS: “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” was an amazing experience. I think everything we did on that was very raw. We didn’t have access then to a lot of the things then, like we have now. Today if you want to make freckles or what not we have things on hand that make that possible. Back then we had to make everything. We would go to the drug store in Australia and buy a bunch of things to make into stuff we could use. The paste used in the kid’s hair on “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” was just something we made. Everything back then had to be much more organic than it is today. We were very resourceful. We also had to be extremely careful back then to make things that were non-toxic because stuff wasn’t labeled then like it is now. There are still challenges to make-up today however they are just different.

MG: What has been your most difficult film to work on?
RDS: Every movie has its own challenges. “Sucker Punch” and “TRON: Legacy” were both very challenging. I just wrapped a week ago on the newest “Underworld” film which was another that was very challenging. Difficulty wise, going back to “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” we were moving around and shooting in a lot of different locations. We also encountered a lot of natural disasters while shooting that film. We had wind and dust storms, as well as rain. The weather was really tough but sometimes that’s the way it is.

MG: Tell about your latest project working, the fourth film in the “Underworld” series? Any other projects upcoming?
RDS: At the moment I am kind of at a standstill. I just wrapped up shooting on “Underworld” last week which was a fun experience. It was very cold shooting as we were shooting mostly at night. We did some really great vampires and Lycans. I have a few other things brewing but nothing is concrete in this business until things are signed. (Laughs)

Shannyn Sossasmon started off her career starring in “A Knight’s Tale” with Heath Ledger.  From there is she starred in “40 Days, 40 Nights”, “The Rules of Attraction” and “One Missed Call” to name a few.  Recently Shannyn starred in Monte Hellman’s latest film “Road to Nowhere”.  Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with Shannyn about working the film as well as her upcoming projects.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us how you became involved with “Road to Nowhere”?
Shannyn Sossasmon: I was approached by Steven Gaydos at a cafe.  It was a few years back.  I was working a scene with my scene partner over lunch.  He thought I just looked the part. I do not think he knew my work or that I was a working actress.  He gave me his card and told me about Monte and the project.  I had my manager look into it and he got the script.  I read it and then I met with them about getting on board.

MG: How did you prepare yourself for playing that complex character?
SS: Monte did not want me to do too much over thinking, even though I did anyway.  He is a relaxed director.  The script was incredibly confusing.  I tried to make sense of who I was when during the story.  Monte would never really help me with that, he would just laugh at me.  So I was on my ow [laughs].  Monte is very supportive and wonderful to work with but he lets you run free with the role.  He doesn’t take the script so literally.  I usually like something more grounded.  I just dove in and made sure that the character had a lot of mystery.  I think it also contributes to the overall feeling of the film.

MG: How was it working with Monte Hellman, since it was his first feature in over 20 years?
SS: Well I didn’t know who he was before we started on the film.  I had to do a lot of research.  I am still very good friends with him and will be for a very long time.  I know him more as a friend.  I had nothing to compare it to as a director.  I met him without any preconceived notions.  I adore him and he is a great person.

MG: Would you consider the production difficult to work on?
SS: I hadn’t worked on anything in a while when we shot that.  I loved the style.  I loved working in North Carolina at this wonderful cozy inn.  Then we went to Europe but that was a little more of a struggle because we just shot for a month, we were tired and went to Europe with no money.  It was definitely challenging.  We were stealing shots everywhere we went.  We shot late at night so we wouldn’t get caught [laughs].  It sounds exciting but we were so exhausted from the first month and half.  I did enjoy working on it though.

MG: Are you going to be involved with second two of HBO’s “How to Make it in America”?
SS: I do not know how much I am going to be in season two.  My character, if you watched season one, didn’t do much.  So I am not sure if they are going to figure out what to do with her in season two.  I am around if they call, if they don’t…it is ok.  I do not feel attached to that character or that experience.

MG: Did you ever get to meet Bret Easton Ellis while working on the film “The Rules of Attraction”?
SS: Yes I did, I met him afterwards.  He was wonderful.  I have seen him once or twice since, which is not much at all though.  I think he is a beautiful and really nice man.  I have not read all of his book, because I don’t read that much in general.

MG: Did you read “The Rules of Attraction” prior to working on the film?
SS: Actually I read it afterwards.  Roger (Avary) was ok with me having not read it.  I think some people had read it and some didn’t.  He told everyone who didn’t read it, not do so.  I think it was some kind of an experiment he was doing.

MG: Do you prefer working on independent films over bigger budget films?
No I do not have a preference.  I think it is what is important is having script you are excited about.  Studio films are obviously more lucrative and more comfortable.  I just love working and being exciting about the project and the script.

MG: Tell us about working on the film “The Day” and with such a talented cast?
SS: Yeah, I am actually seeing a cast/crew screening later.  The experience was incredible.  The actors are all wonderful.  The director and producers are super passionate.  That was another tough one though.  There wasn’t a lot of money and was some hard work.  It will be interesting though.  “The Day” is a post-apocalyptic western thriller war action movie.  It was really different but I did enjoy working on it.

MG: What can you tell us about your upcoming film directed by Mark Webber?
SS: That one was so magical.  I really loved that film.  It was mostly improv.  I play the love interest and it is a romantic drama comedy.  It was great. I had so much fun working on it.  Working with Mark Webber was just so great. Unfortunately I can’t really say much more right now.

Oliver Muirhead started of his career in the voice over business and has since gone on to appeared in over 70 films such as “Austin Powers: The Spy who Shagged Me” and more recently the blockbuster hit “The Social Network”. Movie Mikes had a chance recently to speak with Oliver about his career, his projects and his pen name.

Adam Lawton: Can you tell us about your role in “The Social Network”
Oliver Muirhead: I was cast for that role in an interesting way. I had originally been sent in by my manager to audition for a role that I was clearly not right for. However, she knew there was another role that I was right for and hoped that casting would give me a shot. As it turns out she was right and I was perfect for this role. It was a very clever way to get the jump on things. I felt like a complete idiot when I went in for the first audition because I was just so wrong for that particular role. After my audition, casting told my manager that mine was the only audition tape that she sent to David Fincher for that role and I was hired. It felt kind of good to be noticed in that way. We shot the scene at two different locations in Los Angeles and during the first shoot they used a long tracking shot which featured eight principle characters and around 130 extras. The scene was a very large and ended up being shot 64 times. A lot of the scenes in that film were shot multiple times which allowed for the actors to really relax and take in the scene. I really enjoyed the script of the film and felt it had a very classic Hollywood feel. I think this film is one of the most classically scripted films I have been a part of. It was a really fun movie.

AL: During the time of shooting did you and the other actors have a sense that the movie was going to be such a hit?
OM: I don’t think so. Everyone had an idea that we were becoming a part of a really intense movie making process. I think everyone was happy that it was completed and had a good time doing it but I don’t think anyone predicted the success the film achieved.

AL: How was it working with Mike Myers on “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me”?
OM: [Laughs] I had met Director Jay Roach one day at my daughter’s schools, as he was there as a parent as well. It was one of those funny coincidences. I guess he had met Mike previously and one thing led to another and I ended up in the film. Jay is a really great guy. I think that film was actually his first film as a director.

AL: Are there any great behind the scenes stories from that shoot?
OM: Not that I can think of off the top of my head. I do remember during shooting we all had a sense that we were making a really funny film. I think that film has the best story of the three and is probably the funniest.

AL: How did you become involved with doing voice over work?
OM: I had gotten my union card by re-voicing movies so I have always had a toe in the water in the way of voice work. It’s really great doing that type of work because I can go to work in my pajamas. [Laughs] I have friends that work on the “Spongebob” show and I am extremely jealous. Who doesn’t want to live at the bottom of the sea! And who wouldn’t want those residuals [Laughs]. There are some really great and funny people in the voice over business.

AL: Do you have a project that stands out as a favorite?
OM: That’s like asking if I have a favorite child. Which I do, I only have one child so it’s easy to get away with that one [Laughs]. Generally I am always very into what is coming up. I did a small movie last year titled “Like Crazy” which won the Grand Prize at Sundance. I wasn’t a lead actor but I did have a large role in the film. The film had a great cast and we were all very happy to be working on the project. Paramount ended up buying the film for around $4 million dollars and I think they plan to release it on some sort of theatrical level. That film was such a pleasure.

AL: Can you tell us about your writing and your pen name George Mole?
OM: I started out as a museum journalist and writing under a different name as a way to protect my parents who were both in the museum world. I had met Steven Applebee who is a cartoonist in the UK while I was still living over there and we wrote our first book titled “No Honestly It Was Simply Delicious But I Couldn’t Eat Another Mouth Full”. The book was somewhat of a fake cooking book based on an idea for a series of books I had. The book did fairly well but we both felt it should have been a hit and were somewhat disappointed. That book did launch a career for us and we went on to write books such as “The Little Book of Parking Tickets”, “Negative Thinking” which was huge in Germany. We also wrote a book titled “Better Living Through Air Guitar” that was big in Italy. [Laughs] My pen name came about from my mother actually. There was a character in a spy novel called George Smart. George was always looking for the mole in various places or agencies, so my mother put the two together and felt it was a suitable pen name for me. She failed to check however that I actually have a cousin named George Mole [Laughs].

AL: Do you have any other upcoming projects?
OM: I just finished doing a few episodes for the upcoming season of “The Secret Life of an American Teenager”, which is great show. I had done one episode on the show last season and got some really great Christmas presents from the show. [Laughs] I did a “Hot Wheels” promo piece for this year’s Indianapolis 500, which was a little odd but fun. I also have a film in post-production titled “Son of Morning” which has a good story and an interesting cast. I also just completed three episodes on the TV series “Switched at Birth”. I have a recurring role as the character “Geraldo”…good fun!

Tahmoh Penikett is known for kicking some major ass in whatever role he plays.  He is known best for playing Captain Karl ‘Helo’ Agathon in “Battlestar Galactica” TV series as well as Paul Ballard in “Dollhouse”.  Tahmoh also recently played the role of Stryker in the web series “Mortal Kombat: Legacy”.  Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with Tahmoh about his various roles and what he has planned next.

Mike Gencarelli: How did you become involved with working on “Mortal Kombat: Legacy”?
Tahmoh Penikett: That was straight up because of my friendship with Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon.  They are a beautiful couple.  Jed is Joss Whedon’s younger brother.  He is married to Maurissa who is the older brother of Kevin Tancharoen, who is the director of “Mortal Kombat: Legacy”.  He is the man who came up with this brilliant idea.  Maurissa and Jed were also some of the key writers on “Dollhouse”.  She called me up one day and said they were looking for someone to play the character of Stryker.  They said they really wanted me to do it but weren’t sure if my managers or agents are going to want to because they had no money.  I checked out the material and I told them I would be thrilled to be on board.

MG: Tell us about your experience working on the web series?
TP: A lot of it to be honest was kind of on the fly.  Kevin came to me one day during shooting and said they were trying to shoot too much and Michael (Jai White) couldn’t do the scene with Jeri (Ryan), so he told me on the spot he was going to write me into it.  It was perfect for me.  This happened on a Friday night and we were going to be shooting on Monday morning. They told me last minute just to use Michael’s dialogue which was like half a page of dialogue.  I come in on Monday and I have like three pages of all me talking.  They gave it to me when I got there and we were suppose to be shooting in twenty minutes.  I was wondering how I was going to memorize three pages in twenty minutes.  Well, We managed to get through it and when I saw the final project I was happy with it.  There was a lot of funny moments like that.  When you look at the texture, the editing, the style of it, there is no way you can tell anything about the budget and that is what is so incredible with what Kevin has done with it. I was blown away.  I think it is going to really open some doors.

MG: Tell us about the upcoming film “Jabberwocky”, which your starring directed by Steven R. Monroe?
TP: I do not know how much I can talk about it.  It is like the film “Dragonslayer”, set it Medieval Times.  I play one of the brothers of the two main characters.  My character never left home and stood around to take care of the two main brothers like a father.  I play a blacksmith.  My older brother has gone off and became a decorated warrior, traveled and done all of these amazing things.  It really starts with him returning back to the village and going from there.  I am not sure how much I can say after that.  As I said there might be a dragon involved, but I guess that hint comes with the title “Jabberwocky” [laughs].

MG: You have worked quite a bit in the sci-fi genre, do you have a favorite genre to work in?
TP: The sci-fi genre has been amazing to me.  Some of the more significant work I have done in the last 10 years have come out of there.  Five years in “Battlestar Galactica” alone, it was such an incredible show.  I do not have a particular favorite though.  I am willing to do anything as long as it is good material and the people are good that I am working with.

MG: What did you was your favorite part about playing Captain Karl ‘Helo’ Agathon in “Battlestar Galactica”
TP: There were so many man.  You are talking like over 70 episodes.  There were a lot.  I got to work with Edward James Olmos and later in the series I got to work a lot with Mary McDonnell.  Everything I did with Grace Park was incredible.  We really brought some incredible work out of each other. There was one episode “The Woman King”.  I had a lot of fun with that.  That was a great episode.  It was just really good for me.

MG: Going from “Battlestar” to “Dollhouse”, tell us about that experience?
TP: “Dollhouse” had a lot of potential.  It was very unique premise and idea.  Unfortunately we didn’t have the time to see it through.  I just feel blessed that I got to work with these people.  Working with Maurissa Tanchareon, Joss and his family and everyone else involved.  Just having that experience even just for two seasons was great.  Even after the first it wasn’t looking too good for us.  It was looking like it was going to be canceled.  We came back for a second and half way through we found out that we were pulled, but at least they let us finish the thirteen episodes.  Which was good news, even though it was unfortunate but at least the plug wasn’t pulled in the middle of the show.  But overall it was a very positive experience and I am very thankful again.

MG: What would you say is your most challenging role to date?
TP: All of them at times depending on the project.  Paul Ballard was not an easy character on “Dollhouse”.  Joss Whedon called me and told me about the role.  I was so excited since he was a more darker lone wolf character than Helo was in “Battlestar Galactica”.  It was exactly what I was looking for my next character.  I was really excited to get into him but he was very confusing at times.  It took me along time to find his music…more time than I thought it would.  That is the journey we take as actors.

MG: Since you have training muay thai, do you perform all your own stunts?
TP: I do most of my stunts, yah.  I do everything that is safely allowed.  The only time I don’t do something is when I am actually looking at it and going “Ok this is nuts, I can actually get hurt here”.  In “Dollhouse” we had some great fight scenes.  We had an amazing fight and stunt coordinator, Mike Massa.  He let me choreograph a lot of the fight scenes with him.  I came up with a lot of my stuff.  Most of the dangerous stuff we had really great martial arts on the set to do those.  They made everyone look good.  Every time I have the opportunity to do physical work, I want to do it.  I am a physical guy, that is what I like to do.

MG: What do you have planned upcoming?
TP: I just worked on a new series on AMC but I am not allowed to say a peep about it.  I just did that a little while ago.  I am just looking at other projects and I am really excited about a couple of things so we will see what happens.