Inga Cadranel is currently playing the role of Detective Angela Deangelis on BBC America’s “Orphan Black”. She is also know for her roles of Aoife in “Lost Girl”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Inga about her TV roles, her love of sci-fi and her turn to start producing movies.

Mike Gencarelli: What drew you to the role of Detective Angela Deangelis on BBC America’s “Orphan Black”?
Inga Cadranel: The thing that drew me to the project was the creators John Fawcett and Graeme Manson. I happened to work with both of them before on different series here in Canada. John Fawcett was the producer/director for another cop show I did called “The Bridge”. That was were I got my chops as the detective type actor and we did a lot of cool research for that show. So when this part of Angela Deangelis came up for this show, it seemed for me to be a perfect fit for me to work again with John. He was really stoked to have me reprise another hard-ass female detective, which is a role I love.

MG: Tell us about the character and what you like most about her?
IC: Well, I can say that she is not the most likable character. She is the one that never seems to get what she wants, which is Beth’s partner Art (played by Kevin Hanchard).  She is gunning for her partner because he is really high up in the precinct. She is a pit of a keener and very by the textbook. But soon enough this will change and she will get more out of it then she wants. I think she is a tight ass. She doesn’t have as many redeeming qualities than other characters I have played. She is good at what she does and is very tough. She is layered, which I was told they are going to explore more of those in the second season and that makes it more fun for me. At this point it is just about her drive to chase after the Beth/Sarah character. So I look forward to getting more into the nitty-gritty of her character.

MG: Compared to your other roles; what was your biggest challenge?
IC: It is really fun and it is hard to think of a challenge. It is a great set and awesome actors to work with. Maybe the challenge is that I have to play against myself in being a bit more of a kiss ass. Her choices wouldn’t necessarily be the ones that I would make. She is not as cool [laughs]. But otherwise, I wouldn’t say any major challenges. I had a great time on the set from every department. It was like a big family.

MG: How was it acting along side Tatiana Maslany?
IC: She is really great. She had such a wild challenge of doing different accents and voices. It was very impressive. The whole show is that actress, so thank God that they picked Tat because she is amazing and I have nothing but good things to say about her.

MG: Tell us about what you like most about playing Bo’s succubus mother, Aoife in “Lost Girl”?
IC: That is a whole other thing. That role is super fun for me. To play a bad guy that everyone hates. You don’t know what her motives are and she is just creepy. I have never played a part like that before. I can play her with more of a character aspect than in “Orphan Black”. It is a really fun part and great show.

MG: What do you like most about working in the sci-fi genre?
IC: I love sci-fi. I am a huge fan. It just gives you such freedom. I have always been fan of thrillers and mysteries as well and that really plays into the sci-fi aspect. The possibilities are endless since it is so broad and out of the realm. You can play out these great stories. Like the cloning in “Orphan Black”, it is not that far from what is happening right now. We are able to clone sheep. It is here. It is exciting, scary and to make to show that it can actually happen in real world is what makes sci-fi cool. My father-in-law, Michael Hogan, also worked in the sci-fi genre with “Battlestar Galactica”. It is funny we keep saying that we are going to run into each other at conventions.

MG: Besides acting you are also an accomplished musician ranging from Opera to touring with punk rock band, Battlestar; tell us about that side of Inga?
IC: It is really different but it was also more of mine passion before I became a mother. I have two kids now. I played in a punk band for many years and then I had my son, so it is just such a different lifestyle. I couldn’t do it anymore. But music is still a real passion of mine. I have been writing some stuff at home with my guitar still but I haven’t tried to do anything with it just yet. But I always see myself getting back to music.

MG: You are also currently producing two feature films and developing a 30-minute comedy series; tell us about those?
IC: My brother, my partner and myself wrote and are developing a 30-minute comedy series about a neighborhood here in Toronto called Kensington Market, the show is called “The Market”. I lived there for 10 years and wanted to do a series about it. Every city has a neighborhood like this. We are in the stage of trying to get our pitch package developed and start shopping it around to networks. The other two features are being optioned and we are in the process of attaching names to them right now and gathering funding. This is a whole new side of the business for me with producing. I see this as a great way to get behind the other side of the camera. I am going to start doing both and I see myself in 10 years focusing solely on producing and possibly directing.

 

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Photo by Todd Wawrychuk

Alex Hirsch is the creator/executive producer/star of “Gravity Falls”. The show is currently airing its first season on Disney Channel and has already developed a huge fanbase since it started airing. Alex and his creative team recently took a trip to Oregon to gain inspiration and to discover new hidden treasures including a few fun “tourist traps” for upcoming episodes of the show. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Alex and ask him his top five discoveries/hidden gems from his trip and how he may incorporate them in the show.

Mike Gencarelli: Let’s chat about why you took a recent trip to Oregon with your crew of “Gravity Falls”?
Alex Hirsch: Our art director, Ian (Worrel), is having a baby and I am keeping my fingers crossed for a second season, which is sort of like having a baby. So we both realized that our lives are basically going to be over soon and that we should do a fun trip with the crew while we still have the time. So we booked a big ‘ole van and got twelve of our “Gravity Falls” artists to pile in. We even went to Party City to get glow sticks, disco lights and did the whole thing up right. We basically went up US Route 101 and spent four days visiting this stretch of road between California and Oregon that is known for having some of the craziest tourist traps on this coast. We just went up to the Southern tip of Oregon and back down hitting every single one of those. We were staying in weird hotels, eating at “Twin Peaks” style diners, taking photos for reference and basically goofing off as much as possible!

MG: Tell us about your top five discoveries/hidden gems from the trip?
AH: I would have to say that the most amazing thing we saw on this trip was called Trees of Mystery in Klamath, CA. Everyone knows this due to the lumberjack and the big Babe the Blue Ox on the road. It is huge and can be seen from a mile away and most people think that that is all it is. But in fact, it is just a facade for this great and incredible redwood forest. It looks like the kind of thing that would dwarf even some dinosaurs. It is beautiful, strange and filled with lumberjack lore. There are these bizarre wooden sculptures with the faces of famous lumberjacks carved into them. It sounds like I am promoting it but literally, I want to have my wedding here. It was beautiful. That was probably my absolute favorite place that we visited.

We also visited two tourists traps, so this would be two and three: The Oregon Vortex, at the Southern tip of Oregon and Confusion Hill, at the tip of California. Both of them are of the Mystery Shack mold. Basically they show you a weird slanted shack where a ball will roll uphill and people look like they are growing or shrinking based on where they stand in the shack. Depending who the tour guide is they will tell you it is an unbelievable dimensional spot in the universe where the laws of gravity don’t work…or they say “Yeah, it’s an optical illusion…buy a keychain!” There are different takes on it. I would say that “The Oregon Vortex” is more for people that are hardcore into this stuff and want to believe. Confusion Hill is more for people with a sense of humor and more of Grunkle Stan-type scenario.

The fourth one is It’s a Burl, in Northern California. It was almost like a mirage. I almost don’t believe that it existed. There was this little old dude that wore a newsy baseball cap and drove a golf cart. It was this enormous campus of treehouses and wood carvings that him and his hippie commune had built themselves. It can’t really be described. It can really only been seen. I actually bought, and this is my favorite souvenir, this phone made out of wood. It is a trunk of tree cut in half with buttons coming out of it. It is something that a gnome king would use to wage war on another gnome king. It is sitting on my desk. I haven’t figured out how to use it but it is pretty amazing.

The fifth thing is that we stayed at this place called the Benbow Inn. It is this spooky hotel that looks like it is from “The Shining”. It is out in the middle of the woods. It is huge, very fancy and ornate. It also is said to have a lot of ghost legends. I asked the waiter where we were having dinner to talk to me about the ghosts and he sort of went white and said “You really don’t want to know”. But we had a lot of fun running around taking photos of ourselves re-enacting scenes from “The Shining” in that hotel.

MG: Are you able to tell us how these items from your trip will be incorporated into the show?
AH: I’ll say that it is highly likely that a very large inanimate lumberjack could come to life in the series. After visiting that attraction, it has sort of been haunting my dreams and the things in my nightmares usually make their way into the series. So that is entirely possible. One thing that surprised me greatly was that when we visited Confusion Hill was how many things that we didn’t know have already been put into the show. There were a lot of strange parallels. Grunkle Stan is sort of this old guy that is into Grandpa humor, like the kind of plaques and T-shirts you find at a bait and tackle store. There was this episode, [speaking in Grunkle Stan’s voice] “I’ve got the complaint department here” and he holds up a trash can. Sure enough at Confusion Hill, there was something that said “Press this button” and it was a mouse trap. There was also an episode where he says [speaking in Grunkle Stan’s voice] “Look behind this curtain to see the most terrifying monsters” and it was a mirror. They had they exact attraction at Confusion Hill. I was shocked at how well we managed to psychically pick up on this corny tourist trap humor that really exists. Just being up in those trees and seeing nature, I feel that it really reinvigorated our artists. We got a chance to see how beautiful the Pacific Northwest really is. We will probably explore the woods more as well in future episodes, since we were really inspired by them.

MG: You not only work as creator/executive producer but also voice Grunkle Stan, Soos, Old Man McGucke and various others. What is your biggest challenge?
AH: I would say the top five most challenging and important tasks for me on the show is writing, writing, writing, writing and writing. Then everything else sort of falls underneath that. My primary role is to make sure that the stories and the characters feel like they are from the same voice and each episode has something for the characters and also a piece of magic that we haven’t seen before. Beyond that there are so many things from working with the artists on the design to doing the voices to final mix and directing the actors. It is a huge responsible and a ridiculously difficult job. So it was nice to get to spend four days doing absolutely nothing on this trip. Our crew is really a big group of friends and we all have this great bond. It was just very fun to spend time with friends and we really bonded well. It is sort of this amazing culture that we have created at Disney of young talent like-minded weirdo crazy artists that like to have fun and then work really really hard on something.

MG: Are you surprised with the success and following of this show after only a few episodes into the first season?
AH: That blew me away. I had very humble expectations about what would happen with the series. It is an unusual kind of show and there really isn’t a model for it. Just the fact that it is a half-hour animated comedy in the kids show genre. I mean those do not exist. These kids shows are 11-minutes like “Adventure Time”, “Spongebob” and…you name it. Those are short formed shows. Doing a longer show and one with some continuity, each episode has a little bit left over with a broader story to be told, all those things are huge experiments. I tried them because they were hard and I wasn’t sure if I could do them. But I wanted to try and pull them off because that made it interesting. I have worked on other 11-minute shows and I respect those. But I have seen them already so I wanted to try something new. I have been really just humbled and grateful from the fan response to this show. I get fan letters everyday and I feel like Santa Claus when I come to my office and there is a stack of letters. I have been doing my best to write back to each physical letter that comes to my desk that someone has taken out the time to write. I just got one recently from Japan. People also send me some amazing stuff. I got a few sewed gnomes that someone made by hand. A kid built an actual Mystery Shack and it is the size of a TV. The kid and his father actually drove to the studio and left it for me. I was on vacation at the time and I returned to my desk to see an actual Mystery Shack on my desk. Our fans are just amazing. My theory was that if you fill the show with secrets and hidden stuff and gave people a reason to pay close attention, then they would. My theory turned out to be more right than I had ever imagined. I am very grateful for it.

MG: Well, the first season is amazing and I can’t wait to see what you guys come up with next.
AH: I appreciate that. I will say that there are four episodes left in this first season. I would say that this series has some mystery, continuity and there is this broader underlying story. They found this mysterious journal…who wrote it? Grunkle Stan has secrets of his own. Gideon is up to something. A lot of those big questions, those series mysteries, will finally be addressed in the final episodes leading to the end of the first season. I think fans are going to be pretty excited to see the answers to those questions and also some of the new questions that arise out of those. So keep watching!

Photo Trevor Brady

Canadian born, Kavan Smith took to athletics as a young man, excelling in football and martial arts. As a teenager he and a friend began writing skits and performing them everywhere, from the city bus to the neighborhood shopping mall. After high school he began working on an Economics degree but left school after a year and a half. He later enrolled in the Performing Arts Program at Mount Royal University. After graduating he landed a lead role in the Canadian television series “Destiny Ridge” and hasn’t looked back.

Sci-fi/fantasy fans will recognize him from roles on such shows as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Smallville,” “The Twilight Zone” and two different “Stargate” series. He also appeared opposite Tim Robbins and Gary Sinese in Brian de Palma’s “Mission to Mars.”

Premiering this week, you can catch Smith with co-star Thandie Newton in DirecTV’s new original series “Rogue,” While relaxing at home in the Great White North, Smith took time out to speak with Media Mikes about the new show, dancing to Dick Clark and what his next project might be.

Mike Smith: Give us a quick introduction to “Rogue” and your character, Tom Travis.
Kavan Smith: “Rogue” is a visceral, raw, sexy kind of gangster cop show. Thandie Newton plays the lead…the show takes a female perspective of a usually male dominated role. I play her husband. She gets her family into trouble…there are some consequences to her actions…and she has to go out and seek justice. Her husband, Travis…my character…spends the bulk of the series trying to hold their family together. It’s a very complicated endeavor because she is doing a lot of things that he is unaware of. He has no idea of the consequences or the stakes. He doesn’t understand why she’s not “stepping up” at home. It’s very emotional. For me it’s a very redemptive character. As an actor…it’s all I’ve ever done…all I’ve ever wanted to do…I’ve had to take some jobs that maybe I didn’t want to take. So for me this role is very redemptive. It’s a great character to play.

MS: What drew you to the project?
KS: There’s a scene in the third episode….he doesn’t understand why she can’t meet him halfway on…
SPOILER ALERT
…Dealing with the death of their son…I’m not giving anything away, it happens in the first episode…and they have a really massive blow-out, ending in a three page monologue for my character. That was the audition piece and when I saw it…it was the meatiest thing I had seen in a long time. You could be as melodramatic as you wanted to but it played so well understated. When I read it…I have kids of my own and the idea of losing one is unimaginably painful. My kids are still young and ever since I had them the idea of anything happening…it’s so raw for me that I can channel that. So I saw this piece and I knew immediately that I could do this. Of course I had no idea at all if I would be what they wanted. When they did the call back audition it was basically a screen test. Thandie had a lot of input over who would be chosen and we were on fire! We went places with that scene that I had no idea we were going to go. When I walked out of that room I knew I wanted that job desperately.

MS: You’ve been on shows like “Blade,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Stargate,” “Outer Limits.” A lot of very genre-specific roles. Was that something you intended or just the luck of the draw?
KS: I think it’s really just the luck of the draw. Most of the work I’ve done in the states…I spend a lot of time here in Canada. My wife is Canadian. My kids were both born here. So I’ve tried to stay up here as best I can while continuing to read for roles and it just so happens that in Canada in the past…in the 1990s and early 2000s, they really catered to a sci-fi type of genre. I’ve enjoyed all the jobs that I’ve had but it really wasn’t by choice. My resume’ is a little “sci-fi heavy,” but I think that’s more about where I live then my own personal taste.

MS: In one of your early roles you played the young Dick Clark in the Annette Funicello television bio “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes.” Did you have the opportunity to meet Dick Clark and, if so, did he give you any advice? (NOTE: Clark, known as “America’s Oldest Teenager,” passed away almost a year ago, April 18, 2012).
KS: Wow! That’s going way back…I’m so surprised you picked that one out of the hat! (laughs). No, I didn’t get the chance to meet him but the role was a lot of fun. When I was a kid my parents were really into “American Bandstand.” My brother and I would watch it with them and, even though we had no musical training whatsoever we were convinced that we were dancers. So I certainly danced a lot to Dick Clark.

MS: Your bio states that while in college you developed a love for writing. Have you written any scripts that you’d like to produce some day?
KS: Yes, as a matter of fact. I’ve taken several steps at writing a novel. When I was a kid I got caught in that loop where you think you’re a lot smarter then you are. I wanted to write a ground breaking novel and I made several attempts at it, but they were ALL less than I expected. Screenwriting is less of an art form but I thought I would get familiar with it. I’ve always read like crazy but I never took Literature when I was at University. I started writing screenplays for myself. I’ve gotten really fantastic at writing the first 80% of a great story…and then the ending falls. Because I’m committed to “Rogue” and they own my contract and have the right to keep me on hold for quite a while, over the past year I’ve written a series. I’ve already got ten episodes done that I want to try and pitch. I’m taking my time with it. I’ve got the first five episodes completely finished and the following five basically laid out. So in the meantime while I’m waiting to hear what’s happening with “Rogue” I’m toiling away on those stories. I think there’s nothing quite like it out there right now and I’m hoping I can garner some interest. Maybe “Rogue” will open a few doors for me. So keep your fingers crossed.

Photo Trevor Brady

MS: Last question, though you may have just answered it. Besides “Rogue” do you have anything else in the fire?
KS: Unfortunately I don’t. Contractually I can’t take anything that would establish me on another series. There were a couple of feature films scheduled to be made here that I was the first choice for but one moved production to Australia and I didn’t want to be away from my kids. The other went to Europe so same thing. I let both of those go. I’ve narrated some documentaries when I’ve had time. But in the mean time I’m waiting to hear from “Rogue” and playing Mr. Mom – which is the greatest role ever…as cheesy as that sounds. And I hope to finish up this series of my own and see if I can garner any interest in that. Being on hold buys my the freedom of time, which is very rare in this business. I’m really hoping the show gets picked up so I can afford to do this again next year. (laughs)

Hannibal Lecter. The one man you never want to see at the dinner table. Named the #1 Villain in film history by the American Film Institute. Since first appearing in author Thomas Harris’ novel, “Red Dragon,” the cannibal with the PhD has appeared in five feature films, including the Oscar winning Best Picture, “Silence of the Lambs.” Now, thanks to Executive Producer Bryan Fuller, Dr. Lecter makes his television debut in the new original series, “Hannibal.” The show features Mads Mikkelsen as the good doctor, Hugh Dancy as FBI agent Will Graham and Laurence Fishburne as Graham’s superior, Jack Crawford. The show debuts tonight (April 4) at 10:00 pm EST on NBC.

To get the word out about the show, Executive Producer Bryan Fuller and co-star Hugh Dancy sat down with Media Mikes to talk about the new show, fans of the films and exactly how much is TOO much?

Media Mikes: In going deeper into Hannibal Lecter, how much new territory did you feel there was to explore given what’s already been written?
Bryan Fuller: Well given what’s already been written, I thought there was a lot that existed that hadn’t been explored yet. So I was really excited at the opportunity to really explore things that didn’t make it to any of the movies. They’ve made a handful of films and because of the limited real estate that you have in doing a movie that we’re doing a television series that gets you 13 hours a season, we were able to get into much more specifics with the character, particularly Will Graham’s character who Hugh Dancy plays so magnificently and wonderfully neurotically. He was traditionally played as a stoic leading man. And what we get because of the really complex psychology of the character that’s in the literature, we get to explore that in a way that nobody has before. So that was very exciting.

MM: Hugh, since Will was already established in the books, what was the biggest challenge for you to make him unique to you?
Hugh Dancy: Well I think the challenge laid is just in the fact that Thomas Harris created, and then Bryan interpreted, such a complicated character. I wasn’t worried about the fact that he already existed on the page. If anything I think that’s helpful to have a blueprint for your performance written by a great writer. You have something to turn to. And I certainly went to the first place after I met with Bryan and we spoke, the first place I went to is back to the novel and really tried to use that as a launch pad.

MM: Bryan, can you talk a little bit about the casting and finding the perfect cast? Why you felt that Hugh was perfect for Will and especially why Mads was perfect for Hannibal?
BF: One of the reasons that Hugh was so ideal for the role is that Will Graham, who is kind of burdened by his own neuroses and personality disorders, could come off as unlikable unless you have an actor who kind of invites you into his vulnerability with those neuroses and with those personality disorders that actually gives you permission to care for them as opposed to being pushed away. And Will Graham is a character who pushes people away and has barriers that he throws up as social defenses. So we needed somebody who had a vulnerability that kind of transcends any sort of barriers that he throws up and takes you into the world and allows you to care for him even though he is so buttoned up and damaged. That was the main reason. And Hugh was unanimous. When we all sat down and we talked about who was our Will Graham. Hugh Dancy’s name came up and it was very easy for all of us to say like “oh yeah, he’s the one. Let’s meet with him and see if we can hook him.”

MM: As far as being visually graphic, is there anything that NBC has told you that you can’t do?
BF: Oh yeah. There’s lots. What’s been really great about working with NBC on this project is that they recognize that they are doing a horror show and the show is called “Hannibal Lecter.” And they have, you know, put us on at 10 o’clock for a reason – so we can maximize what we can show to honor the genre and also provide fans of the genre certain ingredients that they are expecting to see. But there’s absolutely places where they won’t allow us to go. And that’s too far and you need to come back from that. It’s always a push/pull because it’s like “ooh, can we do this” and we show it to them and they’re like “ooh, not that one.” So it’s definitely collaboration and they’re taking it very seriously. They’re aware that they are presenting a horror show and they have to honor that audience. But we’re not necessarily – I would love to be going a lot further. But NBC keeps on reminding me where the line is. And that’s the responsibility as a broadcast network. But they have been very, very supportive in terms of what we can do and going as far as we can without being X rated.

MM: Can you give an example or two? What are some of the things that they said no to?
BF: Arterial spray. There are some episodes where going back through I was like “ooh, you know, I hope we get to release the DVD version of the “Unsuitable for Broadcast Television” collection of the show.” So eye gouging, seeing people’s intestines being removed from their bodies in great, you know, noodly clumps. Those types of things they tend to say, ummm… no.” Which they should because I think, as an artist in the role of executive producing the show, I want to please the core audience more than anyone and it’s NBC’s responsibility that we don’t go so far that we alienate members of the audience who are willing to stick through some of the horror elements but we can’t, you know, drop a bucket of blood on them and expect them to have a good time.

Richard Harmon is known best for his roles in television shows like “The Killing” and “Continuum”. He also starred in the horror movie “Grave Encounters 2” last year. This year Richard is co-starring in shows like “Bates Motel”, “DirecTV’s “Rogue” and recently shot a pilot for The CW’s “The Hundred”.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Richard about his role on “Bates Motel” and his upcoming roles.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about your role of Richard Slymore in “Bates Motel”?
Richard Harmon: Playing Richard is a nice change of pace for me. He is pretty much just a normal guy, which is one of the coolest things for me. It is rare that I get a chance to play someone who is just a regular human being. He is a nice person, even though he can come off as a bit aggressive with Norman. But I feel that is due to his protection over his girlfriend. But he is just a normal high school guy.

MG: What drew you to the role?
RH: This was just one of those special projects that you walk on the set and you know how good the show is going to be. I felt very lucky to be apart of it in just any way shape or form.

MG: How was it working with Freddie Highmore & Vera Farmiga?
RH: I unfortunately never got to work with Vera. I really wanted too because I am a big fan and she is just terrific. Even now watching the show, I am an even better fan than I used to be. Freddie though, if he was any representation of both of our leads…oh my God! He is such a pro and just such a nice human being. He works the correct way that I feel that actors should work. He is so focused yet at the same time he is incredibly nice and poliet. I cannot say enough good things.

MG: You are no stranger to TV, how does this show differ than your other television work?
RH: I think they are all different. I don’t just mean because they are different stories. Each set offers its unique vibe. On “Bates Motel” everyone is so experienced and they know what they are doing. They each have a job to do and do it incredibly well. I have been very lucky in that sense since it also applies to the other shows I have worked on. I think with “Bates”, it really has this very unique vibe.

MG: After this show and “The Killing”, what do you enjoy the most about playing the bad guy?
RH: [laughs] I don’t know. It’s what they seem to like casting me for. I do not think I am quite that mean in real life. I would like to think I am a relatively nice person. For a while, I was wondering why I only got bad guy roles. Now I am just I relish in it. They are just so much fun to play. There is so much you can do with them and change all the time.

MG: Tell us about the other TV show you are involved with “Rogue”?
RH:It was a great show to work on. I only got to do two episodes on it in the beginning of the series. It premieres on Wednesday, April 3. The two scripts I got to read were terrific. Plus how could you not love Thandie Newton. I actually didn’t get to work with her either, so there is another one after Vera Farmiga. I really wanted to work with her too. A ton of my friends from Vancouver are also regulars on it like Jarod Joseph. He is just someone that I really respect. I think they hired the actors very well on that show.

MG: What else do you have in the cards for this year?
RH: I just finished filming a pilot. It is called “The Hundred” and it is for The CW. The scripts are insanely good. The summary of the show is set 97 years after a nuclear war has destroyed civilization. A spaceship housing the lone human survivors sends 100 juvenile delinquents back to Earth to investigate the possibility of re-colonizing the planet. So it about us trying to survive down there. It is a really fun show.

Denise Crosby is best known for playing the roles of Security Chief Tasha Yar and Commander Sela in “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. She was also the granddaughter of entertainer Bing Crosby. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Denise reflecting on the show and the fans support over the years.

Mike Gencarelli: Can you reflect on being a part of the “Star Trek: The Next Generation” universe and it still being relevant today?
Denise Crosby: I feel like “Star Trek” is a much larger entity and we are all little pieces of it. It continues to reinvent itself generation by generation. You have a younger generation now discovering it for the first time, whether it is through their parents who watched it. It also continues to play endlessly on syndication and cable. It is ever present and never goes away. There are always fresh eyes seeing it for the first time. I think that is what keeps it new and exciting. I am always touched by the stories that I hear from people all over the world and how much the show means to the and how they were inspired by the characters. I am always fascinated by how many far reaching corners it has touched. All of that continues to keep it relevant.

MG: That describes me, I got a young daughter and I am started her young with the show [laughs]
DC: That’s what happens. You bring your kids into it. The beauty of it is that has become much more in the open and embraced by people. You are not hiding your Spock ears anymore and pulling them out on special occasions. People are able to be out of the “Trek-closet”, so to speak.

MG: You get to play two different roles in Security Chief Tasha Yar and also Yar’s own daughter, the half-Romulan Commander Sela; how was that aspect for you?
DC: It was really cool. I don’t know that anyone else has been able to do that. I mean, how many people can get to play their own daughter? Only in sci-fi, can you pull this off. It was great for me as well since I was actually very involved in creating that story line  It is wonderful to get a chance to continue being a part of this show. Fans were really delighted with that as well.

MG: What was it like working with such a legend as Gene Roddenberry?
DC: We were the lucky ones that were able to work with Gene and be a part of his vision. That was very thankful for all of us. He was a big cuddly teddy bear of a man. He was very protective of this franchise and all that it meant. He got how popular and how much it meant to the fans and he really embraced that. He also was very open with us. He wanted to know what our thoughts were and what our questions were. He wanted us to really define these characters and to help us do that in any way that he could.

MG: What made you getting involved with the “Trekkies” films?
DC: My thoughts always were that there is no “Star Trek” without the fans. It is the most symbiotic relationship with a television show that I have ever seen. There is something very unique and specific about being on one of the “Star Trek” shows. You enter into a world that is very exclusive. You can’t be talking about “Star Trek” without talking about the fans. I felt that the fans needed a voice. When set out to make the first “Trekkies” movie, the timing was perfect. It during the prime of sci-fi and comic books and it was suddenly cool to be a geek. The nerds were taking over. Everybody was a “Star Trek” fan and I felt the “Trek” fans needed a voice. I couldn’t believe that nobody had done this before. I just jumped on it, had no idea what I was doing, took a camera wherever I went and before I knew it…I had a movie.

MG: Any chance you would be making a new “Trekkies” film in the future?
DC: My partner, Roger Nygard, and I talked and we have some ideas. We really would like to do one more and make it a trilogy. It would be great to pass it on to the next generation with the JJ Abrams films and new fans. So we are hoping that we can do that in the near future.

 

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Having intercepted over 300 tornadoes and a dozen powerful hurricanes during the last decade, Reed Timmer is well-known as the most successful and extreme storm chaser in the world. Reed starred on Discovery Channel’s Storm Chasers, one of the highest-rated shows on the Discovery Channel with over 19 million viewers. He is currently using Kickstarter to fund the second season his online docu-series “Tornado Chasers”.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Reed about chasing tornadoes and his his new show.

Jennifer Kish: What motivated you want to start driving into a storm? What goes through your mind the very moment you are about to drive into a tornado?
Reed Timmer: Well I loved the weather ever since I was five years old. I was a major science nerd growing up and weather and storm chasing were my passion. The second I got my driver’s license, I was trying to chase storms. I had no idea what I was doing, but when I was eighteen I came down to the University of Oklahoma and started in meteorology. Back then I had a 1985 Plymouth Reliant with a blown out muffler, trying to chase storms and actually I didn’t know what I was doing and I was a long way from knowing how to storm chase. I came into the path of an F5 and I abandoned the vehicle and went underneath an over pass and this massive tornado went through it and trees were getting knocked to the ground and wobbled a little when it was outside the circulation and I got covered in mud I never felt like it was threatening me. I was just obsessed with being that close to something so powerful and photogenically beautiful but also scientifically beautiful because I wanted to understand it. Then I saw the dark side of the tornado and the damage that they leave behind, which was more motivating to go out and storm chase and help out the best we can in the warning process without getting directly caught in the damage path. Seeing tornadoes up close they have these complexities near the ground where when the main tornado interacts with the friction of the earth they will split up into multiply vortices which are called suction vortices and the suction vortices can have winds that are way above 500 or 600 miles per hour. At least that’s what the math or the theory shows but they have never been measured directly. So our goal in building the armored case or the Dominator is to enter probes inside these things and the mobile radar and all kinds of instruments and try to be the first to measure what would be that high directly. So that of course would be the armored case of the Dominators one main goal.

JK: So what can you tell us about your docu-series “Tornado Chasers” and using Kickstarter to fund it?
RT: We were on Discovery Channels “Storm Chasers” for four years and it was a great run and it helped us in making these armored vehicles financially. There was a lot that went in that was my own money, I am not the kind of guy that saves up for retirement so I put everything into the radars and we have this air canon probe in the back of Dominator. We put in these containers that shoot instruments probes inside and the parachutes deploy that can turn around inside that measure temperature, moisture & pressure. When “Storm Chasers” came to end, I thought we had a few more years to go on it. That’s when we decided to go full board to the Internet and we always knew the Internet was the future and in the normal right amount of time, but we did the “Tornado Chasers” in 2012 and it was with our old director of photography and the guy that filmed in the tornadoes with us. And Discovery through Whiteneck and he did the show like “Deadliest Catch,” “Dirty Jobs” so it has this television quality but it was also shot and edited by our best friends that know us very well so when you’re out there storm chasing you’re not just shooting a show but your just out there with some friends storm chasing. So you have the unique ability to cover not only the storm chasing but our lives. We make a lot of sacrifices for chasing tornadoes putting together over 50-80 thousand dollars a year. I’ve been back home here only 10 days total in the last year. Your personal life is thrown out the window; you eat of gas stations, staying in crazy hotels. But shooting these independently with your best friends gives them a unique opportunity to cover intimately our lives as storm chasers doing what we love and following our passion but also seen tornado activity that is extreme footage from cameras and all the new technologies we can mount on the outside the vehicle while as we are intercepting and show a tornadoes power first hand and show what a tornado looks like from inside. We have Dominator 1 &2 and we are building a third vehicle for our plans to surround tornado with the three vehicles. The goal is to cover more of the characters side of a storm chaser balancing tornado to tornado and team to team is very difficult to build that story on it. People can watch our 2012 season on our web page tvnweather.com. The Kickstarter campaign at tvnweather.com/kickstarter or you can go to kickstarter.com/tornado chasers. We ask you to help fund our 2013 series and we want to take it to the next level with newer technologies and more people to power the vehicles and it’s just fun that demographic and independent . It’s more fun and more natural.

JK: How is the second season going to be different from the first season?
RT: Well more research equipment & cameras and the instruments are working and everything is all tested out and the air cannons are valid and we have Dominator 3 which is like the back to the future vehicle with these Delorean doors which go up and can be in stronger tornadoes. If we can blow pass our Kickstarter goal the more that we can generate. We will get inside stronger tornadoes. I feel like with Discovery we never got the opportunity to show what the second Dominator was capable of. They have an armored shell aerodynamic and they have hydraulics that drop spikes to the ground. Dominator one never had spikes so we would get in strong tornadoes and slide across the ground and that would have been an improvement in Dominator two the spikes would be hydraulically deployed into the pavement and they go a good 4 to 5 inches. We have better radar data and we really want to show what we are capable of scientifically and get inside that really strong tornado that we never had the opportunity to do during “Storm Chasers.”

JK: What makes this Dominator different from the previous two? Do you have a special process that helps you determine what vehicle to use and the modifications you need to make?
RT: Yes, well Dominator one was build on the concept of an airplane wing, rounded top, sides and flat bottom side and that caused lift. So we added hydraulics and aerodynamic bullet proof outer shell with power windows instead of the windows you had to lift manually because that took forever and that way there is no problems. The hydraulics will drop the vehicle flushed to the ground so that no wind can get underneath and that get rids of that upward force and we won’t go flying through the air. We had the window blow out because outer Lexan window got stuck so I had to roll up the other window and we are inside the tornado blew out the window. So in Dominator three, we added a triple windshield wiper system to keep the windshield clean. So we have a windshield wiper on the outside the inside of the outer windshield, the outside of the inner windshield. It can get a little confusing with all the windshield wipers. And with Dominator 3 we actually added a compartment in the back for search and rescue and first aid so if we come across a damage path we are more equipped from that angle to help out the rescue efforts. We also have an missile launchers that will shoot a rocket probe into the tornado that measure temperature, moisture, and pressure.

JK: How did the show “Storm Chasers” impact your life and the way you chase storms?
RT: I have always chased storms the same and have gotten really up close to them. All in like 400 hundred dollar vehicles 85 Reliant, 1991 Topaz and after that I had a Chevy Lumina that was held together with duct tape. And what the show “Storm Chasers” was started for five years it felt like a time warp, everything happened so fast and the next thing we know we have two armored vehicles and then three and then all this people around working on the same things, people I didn’t know. I realized when storm chasers ended all those people were gone and I ended up sitting in my house by myself looking at my computer looking around and wondering where the hell did everybody go? The people that are left behind are the people are the people that were always there from before “Storm Chasers” and are really truly passionate about tornado side and not are more into the sheltered side then the reality TV side of things. There are a lot of good things about it and a lot of bad things too. It did help us develop and do a lot research wise then just getting close to tornadoes and shooting videos of them. It helped us get instruments like mobile radar and air cannons all this stuff. I put all that I had in my pocket and the funding help from discovery made this all happen and faster instead of taking ten years to develop all these research equipment.

JK: You took storm chasing to the next level with not only driving along side of the tornadoes but driving inside of them.. That is a pretty extreme career.. So what do you do when you are not chasing? Do you find yourself trying to top that level of excitement or do you do the opposite and pursue more low key activities?
RT: Well it takes us year round with storm chasing. We chase blizzards and hurricanes and all kinds of things. We are the road non-stop and we also do a lot of speaking events to help make ends meet. I am home like 10 days out of the year. I don’t get out much and I don’t get to have that much of a personal life. I work on my dissertations and graduate. I was in school for 15 years and grad school too. I guess I’m a lot like Van Wilder minus the fun part. I like to ski but I haven’t been able to do for a year and a half. I almost feel lost in the off season because when you are storm chasing there is a well defining goal of driving into a tornado and during the off season it isn’t there so I just don’t know what to do with myself sometimes.

JK: Besides the thrill and love of storm chasing, there is also the scientific side; what have you learned and what do you hope to continue to learn about these storms?
RT: Well we learned that with the mobile radar that the vertical wind can be just as strong a s the horizontal and contrast speeds of 170- 200 mph can extend all the way to the ground so the tornado is almost like a vacuum cleaner. The ground based measurements of tornadoes and most of the research previously with mobile radar is through the wind that is higher opposite storms ✳ so our goal is to unravel that mystery right to the ground and prove that those wind speeds can get up to 500-600 mph in the suction vortices of tornadoes and the multiply vortex tornadoes that are spinning around like a merry go round. That’s our goal is to try to get up close and to get inside it proves how strong the tornado is right by the ground and those are the ones that matter most because that cause the damage and loss of life and property. The just generally understanding the dynamic of tornadoes will help us increase warning times in the area.

JK: I’ve seen on your website that you offer extreme tornado tours. What can someone expect to experience from one of those tours?
RT: It is extreme. You can go to extremetornadotours.com for schedule. They ride along in a town car and of course you don’t get inside a tornado but they get you close. You get these tornadoes and softball size hail. They have ten day tours. If you go to our Kickstarter campaign site at tvnweather.com/kickstarter or search tornado chasers on kickstarter.com and you can make these pledges and you can get rewards and one of the rewards is riding with us in the Dominator one.

JK: Out of all the storms that you have experienced throughout your chase career, is there any kind of storm that even you have been intimidated by?
RT: Yes definitely. The tornado that blew our window out, I thought we were in trouble because that was a slow moving one and we were inside for so long. It just kept intensifying and intensifying and our ears were popping and the whole vehicle was vibrating back and forth and I thought for a second there we were going to get lifted off the ground. There was also Hurricane Katrina where we were trapped in the storm surge and then we were on a third floor balcony and we hitched a ride by fishing boat and then we actually hitch hiked while walked 4-6 miles but we hitch hiked to Louisiana and we squatted in a hotel because all there was all chaos. The next day we hitched hiked again a guy picked us up and drove to Mississippi and we rented a car and drove home. I didn’t have cell coverage and couldn’t make a phone call for three days. I called my mom and found out she filed a missing persons report. My poor mom!

William Salyers is a stage actor that got thrown into the world of voice acting with his role in Adult Swim’s “Moral Orel”. He is currently the voice of Rigby in Cartoon Network’s “Regular Show”. The show, which won an Emmy last year, is continuing to grow as it enters its fifth season. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with William about his role in the show and about the fandom surrounding it.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us what made you want to get into voice acting?
William Salyers: I kind of slipped into it acually. I never really planned to be a voice actor. I have been a stage actor for most of my life. Over the years, I’d be doing regional theater and someone would ask me to local commercial or two. I would do it but never thought of it as a destination for me. Going on 10 years ago now, I was here in LA and a friend of mine Scott Adsit, who was one of the co-creators of “Moral Orel”, contacted me when they working on the first season. Scott called me up and said they had the first season in the can but they had a voice that they weren’t happy with. I had no voice career and I thought it was not worth my time. But I figured it was a friend trying to throw another friend a bone. So I remember during my read through with the show’s creator Dino Stamatopoulos, he told me not to worry since “You’ve done voice over before right?” and I said “No, not really”. [laughs] I knew it wasn’t going to go anywhere so I wasn’t trying to lie. So I was completely relaxed when I read for the part of Reverent Puddy. Scott called me a day or two later and said “Network loved you…you’re in!” So that was the beginning of it.

MG: Was that a challenge going from theater to voice acting?
WS: I am sure you can find people that disagree but I think that stage training is a challenge, especially if you are playing the lead. You have to pick up a show, put it on your shoulder and carry it for two hours. I think that is fantastic training for anything whether it is film, TV or even voice over because you have already learned how to create and span that character and then the rest of it is all technique. I certainly do enjoy it and consider it a natural extension of what I have been trying to do my whole life.

MG: How did it come about for you to voice Rigby on “Regular Show”?
WS: With “Regular Show”, I didn’t know anyone involved with the project. “Moral Orel” got me legitimized into the world of voice over and got an agent. So I got an audition one day from Cartoon Network for this pilot. I didn’t even understand what I was reading for at first. Besides that I knew the character was a raccoon. I remember one of the lines I had since I had no idea what it meant. It was “Chew ties you don’t know what I am going to throw next baby”. I thought what kind of ties are they talking about “neck ties, railroad ties…what are we talking about here”. Based on the way the dialogue was written, he seemed a little hyper active to me, so I delivered the line like this [speaking in Rigby’s voice] “Chew ties you don’t know what I am going to throw next baby”. From the audition, I booked the pilot.Actually, I had to audition again once the pilot got picked up. So I booked Rigby, not once but twice. The second time they called me to audition for the part, I got to do the hamboning bit which is probably one of my favorite bits of Rigby’s as we are going on five seasons now. I went to town with that. I knew it was a good sign when I saw J.G. (Quintel) laughing in the booth. So that is how that came about.

MG: Working with the show’s creator J.G. Quintel (who also voices Mordecai), do you find that you have a lot of creative freedom?
WS: Voice over really is a very precise art. You have people creating how you are going to look while you are deciding how you are going to sound. Within that though, I do feel like I have a lot of freedom. I am not just blowing smoke but I find that working with J.G. is really such a treat. It is remarkable to see a guy be so successful while also being so cool. If he loses it, I have never seen it. And you know he has tremendous pressure around him. Over the five seasons, we have developed a great rapport. We can usually knock out a scene in one or two takes since we have been working together so long.

MG: Are you surprised with the success and fan base surrounding this show?
WS: Oh my God! Yes, absolutely. I continue to be and remain surprised. I knew it was hilarious when I started working it. But there is a larger question though of if the show is going to tap into a specific demographic, let alone multiple demographics like this show has. You have dads in their 30’s laughing at this show with their kids. J.G. has achieved that. I remember last year when we went to San Diego Comic Con, the entire Cartoon Network booth was “Regular Show” themed. So they had a giant blow up parade float version of Mordecai and Rigby in the golf cart. You could see it across the whole convention center. So that was overwhelming. I have had to get used to that sort of thing. I am not what you would call an extrovert. I am more of an introvert. It is still kind of stunning for me to be ousted as the voice of Rigby and see all of these people lining up to meet me and wanting autographs. The fans are really great though. It has just been mind-numbing.

MG: After 120 episodes, what keeps it fresh for you?
WS: So far there hasn’t been an episode that my character hasn’t been in. Even if he might spend most of it in a coma…he is there [laughs]. I will tell you honestly Mike; the key is that when I get a storyboard, which is weekly, I am laughing out loud. Our writers are phenomenal and that is what does it for me.

MG: After winning an Emmy last year, what can we expect from the show next?
WS: I can’t speak in specifics but in round terms, I can say that J.G. and the staff are looking for more opportunities to writing extended shows. Half hour shows. He is interested in exploring how the characters are maturing including some major life changes and what that would do to the show. We also continue to have amazing guest stars. As the show gets more and more popular it just keeps growing.  We continue to get some fantastic people who want to be interested in working on our show. I think it is going to be bigger and better.

Loren Hoskins & Kevin Hendrickson are the musical duo responsible for the fun pirate rock on Disney Junior’s “Jake and the Never Land Pirates”. Besides the music, the duo are also characters in the show, Sharkey and Bones, Captain Hook’s henchmen. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with the Loren and Kevin about their work on the show.

Mike Gencarelli: You guys are no stranger to pirate-rock. How do you feel you have changed from Captain Bogg and Salty to The Never Land Pirate Band?
Loren Hoskins: We inherited a universe. It was one we knew fairly well with it being Never Land. We got to play all these iconic characters in a number of different situations. On top of that we got to really test the fabric of pirate rock. We were able to write song for a number of different shows. I feel like this has broadened our outlook a little bit and given us more toys to play with.
Kevin Hendrickson: I think it has also given us a lot more songs to write. We used to write about 10 songs a year but now I think we write about 10 times that amount. This is more of a full time job now.

MG: With music being a very integral part of the show do you ever feel any pressure related to writing the music?
LH: I don’t know about pressure but I suppose I do now that you brought it up [laughs]. What blew our minds when we got started with this is that we were just offered an opportunity to try and write a theme song. To have it snowball in to working on the underscore and a bunch of other little songs which then led to us being both animated and live action characters has been a real gift. I am probably more excited about things than anxious.
KH: I have a little bit different take as I do feel a certain amount of pressure but it’s exciting. The scripts and writers are really great so from the beginning I felt a lot of pressure to really up the game and write great songs. In a way it’s been a positive thing to be surrounded by such a great team.
LH: I agree with that. We were stepping in a new world as we had never done an underscore before. We had to learn a whole new vocabulary. We had to learn a new way to tell a story and we wanted to reward everyone’s faith in us.

MG: What would you say is your favorite song to perform with the group?
LH: We did a performance run at Walt Disney World that was 30 shows in 10 days. It was incredible. There were 700 people or more showing up to see us perform for each of the 3 shows. We closed each set with the song “Never Land Pirate Band”. The kids know that song very well. So to perform that live and see kids at their first rock concert jumping around and singing along is a great feeling.

MG: Loren, you voice Sharky as well as Sandy the Starfish; how do you feel about going from singing to voicing characters on the show?
LH: When I was a kid I didn’t want to be pirate when I grew up. I wanted to be Mel Blanc and be able to do all those amazing voices. So to do voices on the show is a total blessing for me. It is something I really love.

MG: What can we expect to see during season 3 of the show?
KH: There are going to be some fun spring themed episodes as well as one titled “Tiki Tree Luau”.
LH: That is going to be a great episode. These episodes are just so great as the characters are doing some really funny stuff. In one episode titled, “Captain Who?”, Captain Hook forgets who he is, which is just a great story line.

MG: Does it blow your mind how popular your character have become, even including puppet versions in “Disney Junior Live” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios?
KH: Absolutely! Everyday is just stunning and it has yet to wear off. To hear our music in the parks and see it on television and then knowing that’s it’s going out all over the world is thrilling.
LH: When we got the chance to meet the puppeteers at Disney we were both equally excited to meet each other. It was really cool to be behind the scenes of a big Disney show.

MG: What is the most rewarding aspect of your job and entertaining children?
KH: Every time we get the opportunity to perform live in front of an audience and share our music is something that has really struck me. It’s a great privileged to be able to do that.

MG: Are there any plans to do more live shows in the parks?
LH: We haven’t heard anything yet. We never know as there is always some grand adventure being planned. Right now we are really focusing on season 3. We have been recording lots of songs for the new end sequences and focusing on a new round of pirate rock.

MG: Speaking of new music, will we be seeing a new album in the near future?
LH: I sure hope so! (Laughs) They have a beautiful way of rolling things out that runs tandem with the new episodes. We have heard of lots of cool things that will be happening in the near future. We don’t know when but there should be a new album soon.

 

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Dallas Roberts is known best for playing the scientist Milton Mamet in season three of “The Walking Dead”. He is also the star of the new supernatural thriller “Shadow People”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Dallas about his new film and his favorite part of working on “The Walking Dead”.

Mike Gencarelli: What drew you to work on the film “Shadow People”?
Dallas Roberts: I was really drawn to the suspense aspect of the film. It is a thriller with out having to be gory. It felt grounded in the mythology of the story behind it. Once you start to read about it and you find yourself getting sucked in. It will get inside of your head real quick.

MG: Did you do research into SUNDS and the true story behind the film?
DR: Yes, I did my actor’s research. I didn’t pay much attention to the radio story. I wanted to play the part rather than reflect it. Those figures have been involved in mythology in many different cultures for a long long time. That is what I really found very fascinating. I also did a lot of reading about it. The belief that your brain does manifest your reality, I found that to be a really interesting exploration of that idea.

MG: Tell us about your character Charlie Crowe?
DR: He is a local radio personality, back when that was possible before the corporatization of radio like satellite radio. I run this late night paranormal discussion talk show. I tried not to follow the events and really stick with the character in the script.

MG: With “Shadow People” and “The Walking Dead”, what attracts you to the horror genre?
DR: Everybody loves to get those jolts in their seats. I have kids and there is nothing more fun than when we are watching a movie and something shocking happens and it sends them for a jolt. That immediate response to something is addictive. What you are looking for there is that sort of icy chill and sudden intake of breath.

MG: What has been the highlight for you working on “The Walking Dead” this season?
DR: I would have to say David Morrissey. He is an incredible actor and very fun to work with. We have a barrel of laughs the whole time. It is funny, when I signed up to be on “The Walking Dead” up to that point it had been people in the woods fighting for survival. I was sort of set down in a place where it took a long time for Milton to get some dirt on him…let alone blood. Hanging out with David has been very fun.

MG: What else do you have in the cards?
DR: I am around in “The Good Wife” every now and then. I got a film called “The Dallas Buyer’s Club”, which should be coming out soon. Then we are just putting together the pieces on whatever is going to happen next on “The Walking Dead”. One foot in front of the other, as they say.

John de Lancie is known for his role of Q in “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. Recently John was introduced to the world of “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic” voicing character Discord. Since then he teamed up with Michael Brockhof in order to make “Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony” to showcase this unbelievable fan base behind this show. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with John to look back on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and also his work with “My Little Pony”.

Mike Gencarelli: Looking back on “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, what was your favorite part of playing such a great character like “Q”?
John de Lancie: I guess mostly the reaction. Everybody liked him a lot. It has been a long time but he wasn’t iconic when I started but he was iconic when I left. The reaction was more intense than the actual doing of it.

MG: Are you surprised that it is still so well-received and respected all these years later?
JDL: Yes it is phenomenal. “Star Trek” is a phenomenon. I don’t know of any other shows that keeps on giving like this one has over the years. A lot of people feel that I sort of came on full blown and that other characters slowly developed over the years. Maybe that is the case to the extend that I was used to playing characters that were like that. You didn’t have a very long time to establish who you were, so you had to come on strong.

MG: Do you have any experiences that stand-out from working on the show?
JDL: I don’t have one favorite moment…I have many favorite moments. But what was fun about this show was that you knew that you were on the set making cultural history or if nothing else TV history. It was a show that was really culturally important. People referred to it and it became a way to talk about anything futuristic – it would be “Star Trek-like”. So it was great.

MG: “Q” was always one of my favorites. He was bad but also threw you for a loop occasionally.
JDL: Well that is what I intended. He is very naughty and somewhat dangerous. You were left never quite knowing what would happen. But it was a lot of fun. He is the one person you would invite to the dinner party but really make sure that the guests can handle him [laughs].

MG: You are hitting the convention scene this year, what do you enjoy most about meeting fans?
JDL: I love meeting fans. I find myself talking to kids, who see me at the age of their fathers…if not older. Some of them are even third generation fans. Which is actually is pretty amazing and honestly really unheard of.
MG: I am a second generation, my father got me into it and now I have a daughter that is 9-months old and she already has a “Star Trek” jumper.
JDL: That is what I am talking about and it is really amazing.

MG: On the complete other side of the spectrum, tell us about voicing Discord on “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic”?
JDL: It started with me being asked to do a voice over for “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic” and I said sure. So I read the script and have never heard of it before. But I thought it was well-written and fun. I have done characters like this before but I didn’t know that they wanted a Q-like character. I didn’t think of it as that at first and I just did it as it was written. Then about three months later, I was on the computer and I thought I got spammed. I had about 300-400 emails and they all had the subject of “My Little Pony”. So, I reach a bunch of them and then asked my wife what she knew about “My Little Pony”. She reminded me I did a voice for it about three months ago, which I totally forgot about. She told me it was a cartoon for little girls. But let me tell you these emails were not from little girls [laughs]. So that was the beginning of it.

MG: How did you get involved with “Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony”?
JDL: It just so happened that Michael Brockhoff came over my house the night I got those emails and I told him about the story. He laughed and I agreed I didn’t get it either. Why would 20 year old guys be interested in “My Little Pony”? He asked me if I would want to do a documentary about it and I say “Oh my God, no way”. So that weekend, I had to go up to Vancouver on a job and some kids came up to me and asked me to sign pictures of Discord. I say kids, I mean 20 year olds. They are the typical geeky fans that I recognize from “Star Trek”. So, I asked them all a lot of questions and still I didn’t quite get it. But as they explained me to more and more what the show was about, it started to click. The show has the elements of harmony, being kind, generous, loyal and tolerant. I thought what is the problem with that? So now I had a face to put to what a Brony was. Mike sent me a link the following week for a Fox News, whom I am not a fan of, piece of this trend. It trashed the idea of Bronies calling them “a bunch of homosexuals, living at home on food stamps and disability watching cartoons in their parents at day in their parents basement”. That made me upset because it is not true. This is typical of Fox News. Have we really gotten to the place in our society that we are so threatened by everyone, that if we have 20 year old guys watching cartoons intended for girls, which is about being kind, loyal, generous and tolerant that we are going to demonize them and turn them into something that they are not. So that is when I called Mike back and said “I’m on board with the documentary, let’s do it”.

MG: Tell us about how you ended up with the Kickstarter campaign?
JDL: I asked Mike how was he going to fund this projects and he said through Kickstarter. I asked him how much he needed and he said about $60,000. He asked me if I could get myself into one of the conventions for BronyCon and I said “Yes”. The deal was that we were going to shoot for two days with two cameras, edit for about six weeks and that would be it. So yeah, instead of $60K, we got $322K. At that point, I was blown away. We’ve shown this film to people in the business and they just go “Wow, you’ve put a lot into this” and that was out intent. So when you see this film, I think you will be impressed.

Hynden Walch is know best for her voice work including Princess Bubblegum in “Adventure Time” & Starfire/Blackfire in “Teen Titans”. She also voiced Penny Sanchez on the Nickelodeon show “ChalkZone” and Elsie on the Disney Channel show “Stanley”. Hynden took out some time to chat with Media Mikes about the fandom craze behind “Adventure Time” and her return of Starfire in “Teen Titans Go!”.

Mike Gencarelli: How did you get involved with doing voice work?
Hynden Walch: I always knew I was going to be an actress my whole life. I have been doing professional theater since I was 11. So the natural progression to that was to go on and do film and television, which I did. But I always loved the idea of doing voice over for animation, a lot! But I was never in the right city for it. I lived in Chicago and there is no animation work there at all. Then I lived in New York, there was a tiny bit of work but I think I got my first animation job in that city the day I was moving to Los Angeles. So I didn’t end up doing. So finally, I ended up in LA and I had built up my resume and told my agent and manager out here that I wanted to do animation voice over. They said I would be perfect for it but it would be very hard to get into. They were not kidding about that. I got an voice over agent quickly but then came the very slow process of auditioning for roles. Literally it took years. It is such a tight knit group of people that do every voice. After a while, I felt like my auditions were going into a black hole. So I went out for the weirdest role I could and I ended up getting it. This was Penny for “ChalkZone”. The craziest voice ever came out of me when I went to the call back at Nickelodeon. I also started getting cast at the same time for the animated movies at MGM like “The Secret of NIMH 2” and “Tom Sawyer”. So that was how it all started.

MG: What do you enjoy most about voicing Princess Bubblegum in “Adventure Time”?
HW: This came about the same way. It is nice when you get offered roles but almost always for new series they want to have you audition. So I went to Cartoon Network for a call-back and I really wanted this role. I knew “Adventure Time” from the YoutTube shorts and though it was BRILLANT! I loved the whole idea of the show. It was dangerous since I went it really wanting to get the role. I tried to give them the most put together yet out there princess that would fit into their world. So I am very happy that I got the role and I love playing her.

MG: Can you reflect on the popularity of your character and the show with fans?
HW: I am not surprised honestly. When we first started recorded, I knew it was going to be HUGE! As it was! So I am not surprised at all. I think “Adventure Time” is written in such a new, visionary and incredible way. Not to mention that the artwork is just gorgeous. The colors and the design are amazing. Pen (Ward) is such a creative guy. I am so excited to be able to work with him on his vision. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next. It is rare that you get a project when you just feel so damn proud to be apart of it. If I wasn’t I would be a huge fan of it anyway. So to get to get add my own imprint to it is really fun. With animation the characters do become us.

MG: How does “Adventure Time” compare to your other roles like Starfire/Blackfire in “Teen Titans”?
HW: “Teen Titans” that was a show of love. It was a real joining of people that really loved each other. It was such a great show. So with “Teen Titans” and “Adventure Time”, I feel that the key for their success is that the appeal crosses every age. You don’t have to be a 9 year old boy to love this. You can be a 37 year old woman [laughs].
MG: Or a 30 year old man, hint hint.
HW: Totally! Both shows have really massive appeal. “Teen Titans” was very dramatic. I got to really feel like an actor. All of the other Titans are such great actors and we got to play off each other. There is also “Teen Titans Go!” that is coming out.

MG: I was going to ask you, what can we expect for the new reboot “Teen Titans Go!”?
HW: It is broad comedy. It is hilarious I worry a little bit about the hardcore fan base from the first show. But here is the think, they are going to be very angry for one week and then they are going to love it beyond all reason. That is what happened to me. The shows are so well-written and hilarious They also give us a lot of room for improvisation So we, who know the characters like our ownself are really contribution to the content of the show. It will be the same characters that everyone knows and loves from the first series but being very funny and on their day off. We are not fighting villains, we are fighting about laundry or stuff like that. Some of the episodes have been so outrageous, so I can’t wait.

 

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Ryan Johnson grew up in the island nation of New Zealand and has always been drawn to the sea. Having dreamed being a marine biologist, he moved to Southern Africa in 1998, where he began to work with the ocean’s greatest predator—the great white shark. Ryan joined up with the research group Ocearch as their Chief Scientist and was involved with the television series “Shark Wrangers” last year on History. Ryan took out some time to chat with Media Mikes about working with sharks and the importance of tagging them.

Mike Gencarelli: How long have you been working with sharks? What was your draw?
Ryan Johnson: I have been working with sharks since 1998, when I started my M.Sc thesis looking at the impact of white shark cage diving on the behaviour of white sharks, and marine ecology, in the Gansbaai area. My draw was adventure, passion and the chance to learn about an incredibly charismatic animal in my chosen field as a marine biologist.

MG: What drew you to join the Ocearch as Chief Scientist in 2012?
RJ: Ocearch NGO approached me a couple of years prior to them arriving in South Africa. Chris Fischer then suggested his ideas and the research potential that his organization could offer the South Africa scientific community. Being a shark biologist from South Africa, I am mandated to produce knowledge to enable the informed management and conservation of sharks in our region. The most powerful tool currently available to produce this data is satellite telemetry work that enables the description of home ranges, critical habitats, and migratory patterns. This knowledge is essential to empower managers and conservationists to guide their action in an effective manner. As a developing country South Africa does not frequently have sufficient resources to dedicate the required logistics and finances to research that will answer these crucial questions. Ocearch producing these resources for the South African shark academic community to use and fulfill our research mandate was what attracted to the opportunity. In addition, on review, the practical skills of the Ocearch team made them a perfect partner to conduct this research with.

MG: Tell us about Ocearch is planning for Expedition Jacksonville?
RJ: The Ocearch model is to work with local scientists that will carry on the work once the mother vessel and Ocearch has left. As such, I am not involved with the Jacksonville Expedition, nor am I privy to the planning. My focus is to have the data from the South African expedition processed and published.

MG: How many sharks have been tagged by the Ocearch?
RJ: During the South African Expedition, a total of 47 sharks were tagged with various combinations of transmitters consisting of one/some or all of (a) SPOT satellite tags, (b) acoustic transmitters and (c) PAT satellite tags. This included six ragged tooth sharks in addition to the white sharks. Over the years I am unsure of how many sharks in total Ocearch have tagged.

MG: Tell us about why is it important to tag sharks?
RJ: Tracking the movements of sharks enable scientists to identify critical habitats, the home range, migratory pathways, reproduction related movements. With this knowledge you can guide management and conservation plans, essentially you empower people to design plans that will enable the effective conservation of the population. For instance, the Oceach program illustrated a that the population range of white shark stock of South Africa extends extensively into the exclusive economic zone of Mozambique. As white sharks are not protected in Mozambique, our national conservation plan is ineffective in its objective to conserve the population. The knowledge produced provides concrete evidence for South Africa’s legislators to take to Mozambique and use as leverage to ensure that Mozambique’s management of white sharks does not compromise our shared resource.

MG: What have your learned so far from the data collected?
RJ: That white sharks residing in South Africa spend a large percentage of time outside of out EEZ and in waters where they can legally be fished. Thus giving a possible explanation as to why there has been no population level recovery despite 22 years of national protection.

MG: Any close calls with the sharks while performing the internal tagging surgery?
RJ: My only concern is to perform the surgery as quickly and professionally as possible and thereby minimize the stress on the shark. Naturally when sharks have become active on the platform during surgery you can get hit and knocked hard. But following this I need to get back to the surgery, regain my composure and complete it successfully. Afterwards you feel and rub the knocks.

MG: Have you had the opportunity to name any of the sharks?
RJ: I named one shark ‘Princess Fi’ after my wife Fiona Ayerst a well known shark conservationists and underwater photographer. After coming up with such a silly name, I was not given too many more chances.

MG: Can you tell us a little bit about Ocearch Global Shark Tracker – Powered by CAT?
RJ: The Ocearch Global Tracker is one of the most revolutionary communication tools ever used by the scientific community to include and inform the wider public about a research project and the results of the research. Essentially it gives everyone instant access to the movements of the sharks tagged and enables them to mine the data to gain a personal knowledge on the behaviour of great white sharks around the world. This level of communication and inclusion is a massive education tool for the public to see past the white shark as a one dimensional man eater.

MG: Can we expect more episodes of “Shark Wrangers” on History this year?
RJ: I am not sure, Chris Fischer negotiates the television deals and would be best to field this question.

MG: How is was it blending the reality aspect of the show with your work?
RJ: I had a lot of respect for the filming and production crew in how they handled the filming. Sure there were elements of sensationalism and building up tension amongst the crew and scientists, however, when it came to the operation with the shark, the production took a total ‘fly on the wall’ approach and did not interfere at all.

MG: What are you doing when you are not playing with sharks?
RJ: I am following my second passion of producing and filming wildlife documentaries. It gets me outside and into wild places, and that is where I love to be.

Niki Yang is known for your work voicing the characters Beemo and Lady Rainicorn on “Adventure Time”. Niki has also work as a writer and storyboard artist on the show. She also works as a storyboard artists and voices Candy Chiu on “Gravity Falls”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat Niki about her voice work and the fandom behind “Adventure Time”.

Mike Gencarelli: How did you end up voicing Beemo and Lady Rainicorn on “Adventure Time”?
Niki Yang: I went to school with Pen Ward (the creator of the show) and we got closer when we were doing shorts with Frederator/Nickelodeon. Frederator is the one who made this short program possible (“Random Cartoons”). He was right next to my office and we got to hang out and stuff. Later on, he asked me if I wanted to do storyboards for him. At the same time, they were looking for a Korean speaking girl for one of the roles, which I happen to speak. So he asked me to voice Lady Rainicorn first. They also had some problems finding a voice actor for Beemo after auditioning professional actors but Pen really didn’t like them. So he asked me again to also do the voice of Beemo [laughs]. So that is what happened.

MG: Was is it about this show that draws its audience in?
NY: It is great. Not just visually, the story appeals to a wide range of people from young kids to adults. You are just able to connect with its so easily. There are stories about friendship. I love the animation style as well. It is so different and unique. Pen actually went out and found artists after reading their comics. He asked them to come on the show and that is very unusual in this industry.

MG: How can you reflect on the show’s success and popularity of your characters?
NY: Whenever I watch the show, I feel like my voice and acting pops out maybe since it is so unprofessional [laughs]. But people seem to like it, so I am flattered and happy about it. Especially a lot of Korean American kids write me a lot about it and that is really cool to me.

MG: I don’t know a thing that Lady Rainicorn is saying but I still love her [laughs].
[laughs] It is so amazing.  You still just hear her dialogue and it is so charming. I think a lot of fans of the show though are translating what she is saying and putting it on the web [laughs].

MG: Besides voicing the characters tell us about your role as storyboard artist and writer?
NY: Some people have natural talent to tell jokes while writing the story. I grew up in Korea and came to the U.S. to go to school. So I didn’t grow up with the same culture. So it was harder for me writing jokes due to the cultural differences. But I still really enjoyed it. “Adventure Time”, especially, it was my first writing gig. I have been doing storyboards prior but it was the first time writing. It was challenging but at the same time very fun. After that I got another gig to write and I have since gotten used to it.

MG: How does this show compare to your work on “Gravity Falls”? Oh [laughs], that is a bit different. NY: Cartoon Network is a pretty casual company compared to Disney. I like to work for both though but they are different. With Disney the executives are very hands on. It is a little more straight. I love Alex Hirsch’s show and the writing is just amazing. The art is also extraordinary. I really enjoy it. “‘Gravity Falls”‘ is a script driven show. My job is following the script and help the story telling with visual components. No writing involved. Although, Alex always encourage us to add any writings or gags, if we want to.  I have learned a lot from “Gravity Falls” like doing different shots and it has made me more crafty. Compared to “Adventure Time” which is more free which allows us to write. The technical side of the boards is the second concerns. The priority of the writing driven shows (such as “Adventure Time”) is writing. So they are both different but also both fun.

MG: Being an animator, what is the most challenging aspect of working on television?
NY: For me it is time consuming. Production companies are asking more and more these days of artists. So we are doing many peoples jobs all at the same time. The schedules are pretty tight and if I would want to play around with the writing and different shots but we usually don’t have the time. So, that is my biggest challenge working on TV.

Jessica DiCicco is a voice actress best for voicing Flame Princess on “Adventure Time”.  She also various characters like Patches on “Pound Puppies”. She recently stepped behind the character directing Kovas’ latest music video for his song “Ice Cream”.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Jessica to chat about her voice work, her love for directing and her plans for visiting fan conventions.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about how you ended up voicing Flame Princess on “Adventure Time”?
Jessica DiCicco: It happened like they all do, which is through auditioning. It’s a way of life in this business, you try out for different projects everyday. The funny is that I had a feeling about the Flame Princess audition right away when I first got the email. I had heard of “Adventure Time” but I didn’t know what it was really about. So I did a little research and I watched some YouTube clips. Immediately, I knew this was a show I wanted to be on. I sent the audition and I was very happy when I found out I had booked the role. From the very first script that came in, I thought the show was just so amazing and well written. I knew that I was in for something great.

MG: What do you enjoy most about voicing that character?
JD: I love that she has such a range of emotion. She can go from super sweet to insane and crazy at the drop of a dime. It is so fun to play a character like that.

MG: Can you reflect on the fandom surrounding your character and the show itself?
JD: I have never been a part of such a big show. It has been such an amazing experience. It is very reminiscent for me of “Simpsons Mania”. I remember when “The Simpsons” had just come out, there was so much energy surrounding the show, it truly struck a cord with its audience. I was a huge fan of “The Simpsons” when I was a kid, I would wear my Simpson’s denim jacket, talk on my Bart phone, then go to sleep draped in my Simpson’s bed sheets. The insanity and excitement surrounding “Adventure Time” is reminiscent of that. I was actually at the Annie Awards this year and was presenting with Lucas Grabeel, and Matt Groening also was there. I got the chance to talk to him and it turns out his son is a big fan of “Adventure Time” and even was an intern on the show. I ran my theory by him about how “Adventure Time Mania” is reminiscent of “Simpsons Mania” and he said that he couldn’t agree more. Right from the creator’s mouth! So glad that I ran that by him, it was a very cool moment for me.

MG: How does your work on “Adventure Time” differ from Patches on “Pound Puppies”?
JD: I feel lucky that I get to voice so many different types of characters. It satisfies my desire to act and be creative. Patches is so much fun, he is so cute, fun and playful- he’s a puppy! I love dogs, so I put my love for my own dog, Kody, into that character. The head writer is Bart (Jennett) and he is incredibly talented. The episodes of “Pound Puppies” are so well written, they have so many layers, twists and turns throughout. It is always very fun to work on this show.

MG: How did you get involved directing Kovas’ music video for his song “Ice Cream”?
JD: Directing the video for “Ice Cream” was blast and easily one of my favorite experiences to date. I met Kovas, he is an incredibly talented music producer and also has a solo artist career, and we became quick friends. I listened to his mix tape while it was in the works and that song just inspired me. I am also friends with Jessie Heiman, the “nerd” from the GoDaddy Super Bowl XLVII commercial, he’s the one who made out with Bar Rafaeli [laughs]. We have been friends and have always wanted to work together. I thought it would be so funny to have Jesse be the main thug in a rap video [laughs]. That is what actually inspired the entire “Ice Cream” concept.

MG: What was your biggest challenge directing your first music video?
JD: I am very hard on myself and I like everything to be as good as it can possibly be. Even with my voice-overs, I really try to focus on my characters and have a deep connection with them. So I wanted to apply this to directing. I wanted the characters to be very solid and consistent throughout the entire video. One of the most fun parts of this video was casting it. As soon as it was cast with these incredibly talented people, a lot of it was setting up the scenes and it was such a joy to watch it all unfold. I was also fortunate to work with the best editor of all time, Steve Forner. It was such a great experience. I didn’t realize how truly happy directing makes me and I can’t wait to try this again.

MG: Do you see yourself pursuing more directing gigs in the near future? Film or TV?
JD: I’m actually directing another music video next week! I was actually offered this next video based on my work from “Ice Cream,” which I did just for fun! I’m excited to let this new-found love for directing unfold organically. I am going project by project. But I would like to challenge myself and try and tackle a short film in the near future. So that would happen within the next year hopefully. At this point, it is just a matter of finding an incredible script that inspires me.

MG: Tell us about “Sheriff Callie’s Wild West” coming out on Disney Junior starring Mandy Moore, Lucas Grabeel and yourself?
JD: I am very excited about this show. It’s the first Western musical for preschoolers, and it has been fantastic working with Mandy Moore and Lucas Grabeel. I play a 7-year-old boy cactus named Toby. The songs we sing get stuck in our heads for days, hopefully the kids love it, that way I don’t feel silly for liking it so much [laughs]. It has such a stellar cast in addition to Mandy and Lucas. It also includes Kevin Michael Richardson, Mo Williams, Cree Summer, Carlos Alazraqui, and Gary Anthony Williams.

MG: I know you can’t talk about it but you also have a few video game roles in the works also right?
JD: I wish I could tell you about them at this very moment! I’m so excited about these new roles. Voicing characters in a video game satisfies a whole other part of my creativity. It is very natural acting, very cinematic. So it challenges me in a very different way which is very fun for me.

Fan art by rorpie

MG: Tell us about how you got started with your girl DJ duo called Kittypillaz?
JD: I just started making appearances at conventions and anime cons. I didn’t realize how much fun they were. I went recently with a fellow voice actress, and we decided to also DJ at the con. She is big in the anime world. The first one we just did was Ichibancon, this past January in Charlotte, NC. We just figured to get out there play some good music and have fun with our fans. It was such an amazing experience, I look forward to doing it again!

MG: What else do you have going on that you would like to talk about?
JD: Fans can reach out to me on Facebook and Twitter. Also I love friendship bracelets. So when I make appearances at conventions, I am offering exclusive friendship bracelets for each con, that will only be available at that specific con. Also I am going to have a contest on deviantART for artists to submit the best Flame Princess fan art for the postcard my next exclusive friendship bracelet will come with. I am a huge fan of art and I love all the fan art that people do for “Adventure Time” and any of my characters. I am very excited to incorporate fan art into this project.