Rob Paulsen is a well known voice actor. If you don’t know his face, then you definitely known his voice. He is the man behind Yakko on “Animaniacs”, as well as Pinky (which he won an Emmy for) and hundreds of others as well. He is also the voice of Raphael in the original 1987 “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” series. This year Rob is stepping in the role of a Turtles again in Nick’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” reboot but this time voicing Donatello. Media Mikes had a chance to chat about the new show and how it was returning to the series.

Mike Gencarelli: After playing Raphael in the original 1987 series, how was it switching characters to Donatello in the 2012 reboot?
Rob Paulsen: As you can imagine, it has been an incredible thrill to get another bite of this “Turtle” apple. None of us at the beginning, now 25 years ago – a quarter century, nobody knew that this was going to be ending up being such an iconic show. It is crazy. The biggest difference is that I am involved for the launch of a new show that is already a worldwide international icon. Everybody, everywhere virtually knows about Ninja Turtles. It is an amazing experience to start a show with all that already in place, so to speak. In terms of my participation, I voiced an iconic character 25 years ago and now I am taking over another iconic character. Barry Gordon will always be the original Donatello. There is no downside man, it is all up! It has been such a huge thrill! People also really seem to be really getting behind this new show.

MG: How did it actually come about you playing Donatello this time around? Was it your choice?
RP: No, the only choice I had in the matter was whether or not I wanted to audition. Of course, I am not going to say no. When the folks at Nick invited me to audition, they asked me to specifically read for Donatello. I remember telling my agent “Do they know who I am?”. It was not out of arrogance but, as you know, there have been several adaptations of “Turtles” that had nothing to do with the original cast. I wanted to make sure that they knew I have been down this “Turtle” path before. They knew my work that I had done with Nickelodeon like, “The Fairly Odd Parents”, “Back at the Barnyard”, “Cat Scratch”, “Jimmy Neutron” and “Danny Phantom”. So the folks at Nick were aware of the fact that I did a lot of work with them. They said “We know exactly who Rob is and we are a fan of his work here, as well as “Animaniacs”, “Pinky and the Brain”, “The Tick”, “The Mask” and of course the original “Turtles”. But we think that Rob and his sensibilities would be interesting for ‘our’ vision of Donatello”. So here we are many years later and we get to talk about this great series again.

MG: Can you reflect on the fan’s responses to this new series?
RP: To the credit of Nickelodeon, I owe them a lot. I have been working with them for over 10 years. Just my work at Nickelodeon alone is what some actors would be lucky enough to call a career. I am incredible grateful to them. The fact that they included me on this show is great but even better is that they are playing up the fact that I was involved with the original. I think it is very interesting Mike, there are a lot of people that really dig the connection. I think it was a sort of happy accident. I don’t think I was hired on purpose as a nostalgic connection to the original show but it has become a cool thing for the show. The other actors even get a kick out of it since they are younger and used to watch the show growing up, especially (Greg) Cipes. I think the fans are also really digging it, especially the inter-species romance between Donatello and April. The secret is that (Executive Producer) Ciro (Nieli) and his team simply get it. They are fans of the franchise and it is very rare to have a fan of a show who is also making a show for the fans.

MG: After voicing like a million characters, you ever find it hard to come up with new voices?
RP: Hard is a relative term. What is hard? Hard is pulling hot tar on the freeway in August. That is hard. My job is pure joy. The most difficult part of my job is getting more work. In terms of coming up with new characters, I think it is a little bit tricky since I have been to that well so many times. But that is my job. My job is to take things I have done and tweak them. If you listen to Mel Blanc talk about his characters years ago, he said that he would take Daffy, add an affectation to it and soon he would have a new character. That is my challenge. I don’t want to stop working until they put me in the ground. I just love coming up with new characters.

MG: So you mentioned at NYCC 2012 that Pinky is your favorite character, how can you possible choose just one?
RP: That is exactly right Mike, it is impossible to choose. I think I prefaced it with the fact that when I get asked my favorite character, I say “The next one”. That means I am working and that is the main thing when you are an actor. It is virtually impossible to choose but I suppose if I would have to I would have to say Pinky only because 20 years later, people still love “Pinky and The Brain” and “Animaniacs”. Of course, I also won an Emmy for Pinky. I suppose if I had to make a choice, it would be him. But let me tell you Donatello is quickly becoming a favorite. After only a few weeks on the air people all over the world are freaking out in a very positive way about the Turtles. I read a lot of reviews and honestly about 85% has been really positive. You have to ask me again in another two years because Donatello might be the answer then.

Check a voice clip of Rob plugging MediaMikes.com (in several different character voices):

Season eight of FX’s hit “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” kicked off on October 11th with the discovery that Charlie Kelly (Charlie Day) was in the possession of an original painting by Hitler while Dennis and Dee Reynolds (Glenn Howerton and Kaitlin Olson) mulled over whether or not to pull the plug on its previous owner, their dying Nazi grandfather, Pop Pop. Sounds like things are just about normal for the gang at Paddy’s pub. Creators, and two of the stars of the show, Rob McElhenney and Howerton, discussed writing the heightened world of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia starting with that season-opening artwork.

Glenn Howerton: That painting was actually in Charlie’s apartment during the second season of the show. That was basically just set decoration in the second season. Interestingly enough, we actually were the ones that when we got into editing and we were watching the show—all the episodes of Season 2, that painting stood out to us so much, too much, it was too distracting. We actually said we never want to see that painting again. Take it down. Get rid of it because it’s just a shining, white, weird painting in the background of every Charlie’s apartment scene.

Rob McElhenney: We had so many fans and so many comments, asking about it. When we took it down, people were irate.

Howerton: Yes. They were like, what happened to that dog painting? We loved that dog painting. We kept thinking, the scenes aren’t supposed to be about a painting of a dog in the background. We just felt like it was too distracting, but we always wanted to bring it back in some way.

Another recently solved series mystery was the revelation of Mac’s real name.

From the last season finale, did you always know that ‘Mac’ was going to be Ronald McDonald, or is that something that just occurred to you? Will you have a similar revelation with The Waitress?

McElhenney: We’ve been talking about that for a while.

Howerton: We’ve been talking about what ‘Mac’s’ name is for a long time. I think we came up with the idea that his real name was Ronald MacDonald a while ago; like a couple years ago. We also thought it was so ridiculous we weren’t sure if we ever really wanted to reveal it or if we did that it would ever actually be that. So, we finally decided to do it. As far as The Waitress goes, we don’t have any plans as of now to ever tell anyone what her name is. Although she does have a name and we do know what it is.

The Waitress, played by Charlie Day’s real-life spouse Mary Elizabeth Ellis is one of several recurring characters that fans have seen develop (or in many cases, regress) over the past eight seasons. Among some favorites we saw in the eighth season premiere were Brian Unger’s The Lawyer and David Hornsby’s Rickety Cricket.

Was it more of a gradual development or was it just planned that you would start adding more supporting characters in the show, and open up what was a little more of an insular world with the three leads?

McElhenney: As we built out the show and built out the characters, we realized that what we were creating was a bit of an alternate universe. Certainly, the stakes are just as high as real life, but the results are a little bit different. These people—I was counting how many major car accidents my character has been in over the last seven years. I think I’ve had five or six head-on collisions. I don’t seem to have any—maybe some brain damage, but the character doesn’t seem to have any physical scars. Clearly, we’re creating a heightened reality. When we started joking about who else lives in this universe, who else lives in this world, it just made us laugh. That helped broaden our scope, which I think only adds to the comedy.

Howerton: Maybe more of a parallel universe that an alternate, a completely alternate one; slightly heightened reality, yes.

Asked what guest stars viewers can expect to see popping up in this alternate universe Philly, Howerton and McElhenney had some exciting names for the new season:

Howerton: We’ve got a really fun guest star role for Sean Combs this year; P. Diddy. I’m excited for people to see it. I think it’s very, very different from anything that, at least I’ve ever seen him do, on anything. We’re excited about that.

McElhenney: Guillermo del Toro.

McElhenney: Yes, Guillermo del Toro, the director, writer, producer is also, we found out, a big fan of the show. Charlie just did a movie with him [Pacific Rim] so he really wanted to do a guest star so we wrote him in this year, too. It’s really funny.

McElhenney and Howerton also offered some insight into their writing process for the show.

When you’re writing your episodes, do you have favorite teams that you guys like to work with? The gang is so often shifting alliances, even within one episode.

Howerton: We do try to keep tabs of that, actually, to a certain degree. We try to mix it up as much as possible, so that the same pairing isn’t happening all season long.

McElhenney: Sometimes we’ll find that, too. Where we’ll break three or four episodes in a row and realize that we have ‘Dee’ and ‘Frank’ together for those three or four episodes and we’ll realize that we’ve got to break them up a little bit.

Are there a certain set of criteria that do go in to breaking a story, that you find that you have to have a certain set of criteria?

Howerton: Most importantly, what we’re always talking about is, for as unbelievable as some of the storylines may seem, we have to believe that the characters believe that what they’re doing gets them what they want. That’s the most important aspect of breaking a story, so it doesn’t just feel like a series of funny events. That we really justify why these characters are acting the way that they do. That’s the major criteria that I follow. Of course, we like to tie things up and tie things together. That’s good story writing.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia airs every Thursday at 10pm on FX.

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Lauren Graham and Ray Romano are starring in NBC’s “Parenthood”. Lauren has been playing the role of Sarah with the show for going on its fourth season. Ray has recently joined the chat this season playing the role of Hank. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Lauren and Ray about working together on the show and their chemistry between the characters. “Parenthood” airs Tuesdays at 10:00 pm on NBC.

Mike Gencarelli: What drew you to “Parenthood” and what can we expect to see you do on the show?
Ray Romano: Well I was a fan of the show. I watched the show since the beginning and I was on my show while it was on. I just like the tone of it and there’s nothing quite being done like that on television. knew Jason Katims, he created the TV show. I knew him and we had been in touch. He was a fan of my show. I was a fan of his show. Then unfortunately my show no longer existed. And in between trying to find out what to do next I had been speaking to Jason and I believe I put it out there first. Kind of jokingly I said, “Hey, if you ever find something for me I work cheap.” And he took me up on it and cheap it is but I’m still happy to do it. And what am I going to do on it? I mean, if you’ve been watching up to now you kind of get who the guy is. We’re going to see a little more of him and I guess find out a little more about him.

MG: Is there something about him that kind of drew you to do this character and do you relate to him in some way?
RR: I like the character. I do like the character because first of all I like how he’s introduced and I like how they’re writing him. We don’t really kind of find out about this guy. As it goes along we find out a little more and more and he’s a flawed person. He’s a troubled guy and yet I guess we’re finding out the good in him. Lauren’s bringing that out – Sarah I guess is finding that out. But I like it because I also haven’t really played that much. In Men of a Certain Age, I wasn’t Ray Barone but it was kind of close to the vest I guess. And this is somebody a little different, so yes I do enjoy playing him that’s for sure.

MG: With the kiss between Hank and Sarah, how awkward was it for the two of you to play that romantic awkwardness?
RR: Take it away. Take it away Lauren.
Lauren Graham: I don’t think it wasn’t awkward. Look, that stuff can always be awkward but what I like about it is these loaded moments that are confusing I think are the most interesting of life. It’s like I think there’s all these mixed feelings and I don’t know, hopefully we capture just kind of two people trying to connect. And people more often than not kind of did sound perfect and so I don’t know. I like that.
RR: Well I like doing it because first of all, awkward I can play very – that’s in my wheelhouse. It’s very easy for me to be awkward especially around women. But with this guy that’s why I like this because it had to be awkward but filtered through Hank, which was totally different than anything I’ve done, with Ray Barone or even Men of a Certain Age or anything. It was awkward without – there was like a little bit of refusing to accept that it was awkward kind of. So I felt that that scene was really unique and felt good when we did it.

MG: Since you’ve had so much success in your career, how do you relate to Hank’s bitterness about where he’s at right now?
RR: Success is only in the eye of the beholder. First and foremost I’m a comedian so I’m never really happy with myself for what I’ve done. You’re always looking for something, for the next thing and you never think you really got it. So it’s kind of a dichotomy. You’re successful but you don’t accept and you don’t really believe it. I don’t know if I connect to the bitterness but I do connect to the feeling of wanting, you know, there’s an artistic need for something, to accomplish something more and falling short of that. Believe it or not I do kind of connect to that so, it’s easy to kind of tap into that. I mean, it’s not all about money. My wife has all the money.

MG: Lauren, since Sarah had the kiss with Hank is that going to change things with Mark?
LG: Hopefully it’s sort of neither one nor the other. I think it made her resolve a little stronger to try to keep her life on the track that she’d planned and hoped for and finally looked like, she’s about to achieve. By the way we still don’t really know what is going to happen, nor does the creator of the show if we, believe what he said. I mean, one of the funny things about this show is he kind of adjusts as things go along, and kind of picks up on the threads that are interesting to him more than maybe they do on most shows that are – which is not to say it’s not planned. So the line I’m trying to play is confusion. And I think it’s justifiably confusing what’s happening. But yes in that moment I think she was like, “This felt like a sort of step outside the lines. Let me bring myself back.” But I don’t know that it’s going to work.

MG: Ray, Hank was obviously overwhelmed when he met the Bravermans. What was it like for you jumping into this show with this enormous ensemble?
RR: Well I got to tell you, I guess I’m kind of in the business and I’ve done this and I’ve seen all the bells and whistles and I know what goes on. And yet I – like I said I was a fan of the show. And I still on the first day it was just with you Lauren but the third day was when I had a scene with the whole cast and it was a weird feeling. It was a feeling of because first of all I was just like a viewer. I was like, “Wait a minute.” You really get wrapped up in that this is the Braverman family. I’m like, “Well wait a minute. I know it’s not. I know that guy and him. I’ve worked with him and whatever.” But yes I was a little bit – I don’t know if star struck is the word but it was a little surreal that I’m in this world that I’ve just been watching and been wrapped up in. I do still get intimidated by certain things, and I was slightly intimidated on that day because also just on a regular level of this is the first time they’re seeing me I want to not screw up. I want to do well and I want to fit in. You know, they’ve been together and they’ve got their rhythms and the tone and everything, and I want to make sure my character fits into the show and the universe that they’re in. But everybody was nice except for a few. No I’m kidding. No everybody was great and it was fun.

MG: Lauren, do you have any interest in getting behind the scenes at all?
LG: I do for sure. It’s actually more helpful to have someone who is on the inside who knows the show and who knows how we rehearse and how we sort of find the scenes. So yes that would be of interest to me for sure. I think that it would be great to direct an episode.

Summer Glau is known best for her role in TV series like “Firefly” and “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”.  Last year, Summer appeared on Syfy’s series “Alphas”, playing the role of Skylar.  She returned again for this second season and hopes to continue in the third season as well.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Summer about her role in the show and what we can expect.

Mike Gencarelli: Last season when you were asked to guest star on “Alphas”, did you ever think that it was ever going to be on this scale that it’s developed now through this season?
Summer Glau:  Well I was hopeful. I love doing TV and I really like sticking with a character and getting to watch them evolve and contribute to a story line that continues week after week. So I was hopeful. This season I have been so blessed to come back as much as I have. I have love where Skyler has gone and I would be very excited to come back again next season.

MG: What was it specifically about Skylar that was so fascinating and that attracted to you to the role?
SG: The first thing that attracted me about Skylar was the fact that she was a mother. I’ve talked to Bruce about this before too. It was really exciting for me. I hadn’t – I had not played a mother before. One of the most challenging things about Skylar is that she is a mother but it doesn’t come naturally to her. She – in my mind, in the back story that I’ve created, she’s been on her own for a long time. And she’s used to just fending for herself. When it comes to her child she’s very conflicted because she has all of these new feelings that she’s probably never experienced before about loving something so much more than she loves herself. And caring for something and protecting someone else and making unselfish decisions. For me as an actor it just was a very, very fertile story line for me creatively.

MG: Playing a character that is very handy with gadgets, how has that been for you as an actor?
SG: Well I think I’m a pretty good actor because I really can barely program my garage remote. I’m very gadget challenged. So it’s really fun for me when I put on my Skylar clothes and I go on set, I really pretend like I’m in control and like I know what I’m talking about. The man who puts together most of my props is named (Skylar) too. I spend a lot of time under his supervision and guidance so that he can help me get really comfortable with my inventions so that I can really feel like I have a relationship with them. Because they’re always amazing but it doesn’t always come naturally to me. I’m always amazed. Like I’m on set and they hand it to me and say so this is what you built. And then I always take it apart so I know how to put it together and then we’re practicing that over and over again.

MG: After working on series like “Firefly”, “Terminator” and now Alphas, what really draws you back to the sci-fi genre?
SG: I have always found in sci-fi that the roles for women are really exciting and dynamic and outside the box. In the finale of Alphas is a perfect example. I remember in – Bruce was there too. We were sitting and discussing a scene that involved every – all the girls. I was sitting there looking at the girls and it was so cool to get to do a scene that involved all of us. And I was looking at the girls and we were all four different and our characters are I feel complicated and fleshed out and dynamic and just it made me realize, I’m really happy to be here. I’m really happy to be in a story that creates this opportunity for all four of us actresses.  That’s why I keep coming back to it. I go for the character that I like.

MG: I really liked how Zoe on the show asked you if you were a Terminator in the second to last episode. I thought that was pretty funny.
SG: Yeah, I know. I looked at her and I’m like she doesn’t even know what she’s asking [laughs].

MG: During Comic-Con, Nathan Fillion joked about a possible animated revival of Firefly as a TV series, can you reflect?
SG: Absolutely. I would take any opportunity to get back together with my whole fam and keep telling the story. I think we’d all love that.

MG: Tell us what other projects you have in the works next?
SG: Well I just finished a Christmas movie. That’s the only other thing that I have that is about to come out. Oh and also “Knights of Badassdom”. So I have “Knights of Badassdom” and “Help for the Holidays”, which is going to be on the Hallmark Channel during the 12 Days of Christmas. So that was really, really fun. Yeah. I definitely enjoyed that one.

As part of this year’s New York Comic Con cast members from Adult Swims “Children’s Hospital” and “NTSF:SD:SUV” came together for a panel where they aired new promos for the coming seasons and answered a number of questions from the large group of fans who filled one of the convention hall rooms. Media Mikes was on hand to cover the panel which proved to be quite entertaining.

Question 1: Now that “Children’s Hospital” has won an Emmy do you think “NTSF” will be next?
David Wain: Highly unlikely.
Curtis Gwinn: It takes a lot of money to win an Emmy as you have to pay those people a lot.
Paul Scheer: Look, I don’t kiss the ass of Hollywood. I make shows for people. Not to win awards.
Rob Corddry: I feel like we won Paul. It’s all of ours Emmy.
PS: Whatever! (Laughs) At “NTSF” we have talked about this and we want to get a Grammy. We plan to work really hard at figuring out how to do that.
CG: I want to win an Obie.

Q2: In last season of “Children’s Hospital” you did an episode which told Chief’s back story. Do you have any plans to do more of those with other characters?
RC: The first episode next season will feature as much back story as we have. Lucky you guys, your winning! (Laughs)

Q3: What was Henry Winkler like to work with?
RC: He was a Bastard! (Laughs)
PS: I can tell you what he was like to work with. He’s coooool.

Q4: David you have established a specific style of making out. Do you tell the actors to make out a certain way?
DW: I don’t tell them I show them! (Laughs)

Q5: In the first season of “NTSV” how did you survive the Mustache dimension?
PS: In that episode we ended up in this alternate reality/dimension where everyone had mustaches. CG: It’s a television show. But who is to say that since we are playing with multiple dimensions like “Fringe” that who’s to say that the original trend from that episode is even the trend that the show is actually about? PS: Think about that. It goes deep.

Q6: Rob in the movie “End Game” did you ever find out what Tempest felt like?
RC: You are referencing a movie that only you and my Dad saw. I have no idea what you are talking about. (Laughs) I don’t feel anyone.
PS: I think he is asking what a woman feels like. (Laughs)
DW: Without going in to too much detail I will say that touching the boobs is so great. (Laughs)
PS: It’s like hot Jell-O. (Laughs)

Q7: Do you think there will ever be an episode made of “Children’s Hospital” that can be show to children?
RC: Not interested in children other than my own kids. I don’t have anything in common with them. They are not easy to talk to and don’t understand irony or sarcasm. They can be dicks! And I don’t have time for that whole genre. (Laughs)
PS: Most of the cast and crew on “Children’s Hospital” have children and yet we don’t make episodes they can watch.
RC: Zero interest.
PS: However I have no children and have been on “Yo Gabba Gabba” like 8 times. (Laughs)
RC: Is that even really for kids? I am not sure.
PS: No it’s for Brooklyn hipsters. (Laughs)

Q8: “NTSF” was originally a fake commercial during “Children’s Hospital”. How did you get from that to a real TV show?
PS: Adult Swim had some programming holes during the show so we shot a fake trailer and based on that they picked up the show.
RC: Paul basically saved our ass because we had a show that was under time.
PS: We filled that 90 second hole and then made a TV show out of it. (Laughs)
CG: It worked out so well that we do it at the end of every “NTSF” episode hoping that it will work out some more.

Q9: How did you come to cast Kate Mulgrew in “NTSF”?
PS: I can only tell you what it’s like to touch her. Curtis is the one who actually had the idea.
CG: I am a gigantic “Star Trek” nerd.
DW: That lady is a complete fox!
PS: We had the character of Kove and we couldn’t figure out whom to play her. We went through all these lists of names and then Curtis brought up Kate. We thought she was great but didn’t think she would ever do a comedy on Adult Swim. Especially wearing an eye patch and smoking a pipe. We ended up calling her and she said she would do it. She only said no to one thing and that was saying the word vagina. However she would use another word to convey that same message. That was the only thing that she said no to.
RC: What was the word she ended up saying?
DW: Cunt I think it was. (Laughs)

Q10: Will there ever be an episode of “Children’s Hospital” featuring the Insane Clown Posse?
PS: Season 2 featured the Boom Town Break Down Crew so what’s the difference?
RC: I assume because they also wear clown makeup? Yeah I get what you’re saying. I never thought about it before only because it would never make any sense and there is no relation to the show. It would be kind of annoying to have them around.
PS: Have you ever thought of having Ronald McDonald on the show?
RC: That is another clown and I am terrible at this!
DW: I think we should have the crew from “Mad Men” come on the show because they all wear ties. (Laughs)
RC: I have been thinking about this all wrong. Thank you.
PS: Adult Swim would probably have to take out a big Faygo sponsorship.

Q11: Will Jason Mantzoukas be doing any more episodes of “NTSF”?
PS: This season of “NTSF” has no more Jason Mantzoukas because we are done filming it. He is definitely on “The League”.
DW: If you want to see more of Jason he will be in the movie I am editing right now titled “They Came Together” which comes out in June.
CG: He is my neighbor in Hollywood and if you want to meet him I will take you to his house. (Laughs)

Q12: With both of these shows having similar DNA will we ever see Trent go to “Children’s Hospital”?
DW: It could happen.
RC: We talk about that a lot and we just want to make sure if and when we do it that it’s done in a cool way. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves.
PS: Maybe we could do just a half assed version?
DW: That’s what my girlfriend said. (Laughs)

Q13: Will there be any more cult show reunion’s happening on “Children’s Hospital”
RC: We don’t have plans for anything but, that was one of the most satisfying shooting experiences on the show. I was a big fan of “Party Down” except for Adam Scott who is a dick! (Laughs)
PS: “NTSF” has been trying to do “Different Strokes” but it has been very hard. No one returns phone calls.

Q14: Is there any chance we will see a Frank Wrench cameo in the upcoming “Arrested Development” episodes?
RC: I assume I would have been called already. I was not like an important character in the “Arrested Development” mythology. Thank you for remembering his name.

Pamela Horton is a model that was recently crowned Playboy’s Miss October 2012.  Besides modeling Pamela is also an avid gamer and a big fan of MMORPG games.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Pamela about being Miss October 2012 and her current favorite game.

Mike Gencarelli: Give us some background about yourself?
Pamela Horton: I was born and raised in LA. But I grew up as sort of a Tomboy. Playing in the mud, climbing trees, getting into trouble. I’ve always loves music and art and video games even at a young age.

MG: How did you end up as Playboy’s Miss October 2012?
PH: I had been modeling since I was 18, and a submitting photographer sought me out on Model Mayhem and asked if I would like to submit for Cyber Girl. He sent in my pics and they wanted to test me for playmate and here I am’

MG: Where you chosen or did you have to compete for it?
PH: I was chosen by Hugh Hefner himself!

MG: How did it feel to make the cover of magazine like Playboy?PH: It has been such a sincere honor! Not many playmates have had this privilege!

MG:Tell us about your photo shoot for the issue?
PH:It was unlike any I had done before. Every detail was looked at. The lighting had to be perfect. My positioning had to be perfect. It was hard work, but it paid off!

MG: I hear you are an avid gamer, specifically for RPG gaming and MMO?
PH: This is very true! I’ve been a gamer since my dad had me play Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on SNES! Although I own and adore all systems, I mostly play on my PC. League of Legends, WoW, Diablo 3, FFXI

MG: What is your favorite game currently?
PH: Currently I am loving the crap out of Theatrythm Final Fantasy. So much nostalgia in one game! And I was always a fan of guitar hero and rock band and to have that trigger interaction with final fantasy music is amazing.

MG: Now that you have been crowned Miss October 2012, what do you want to conquer next?
PH: Look out Riot Games, I plan on trying to work for you!

Louis C. K. is a stand-up comedian turned Emmy Award-winning TV star.  He writes, produces, acts in FX’s hit comedy series “Louie”. The show just completed it’s third season on September 27th.  Louis C.K is now touring doing stand-up and taking an extended hitatus before returning to Louis for season four.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Louis about working on the show and with FX.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about your experience working with FX?
Louis C.K.: I love working at FX. I have never in my life enjoyed working at anyplace so much including going back to Kentucky Fried Chicken when I was 15. A great place to work. I recommend it to every creative person that wants to make television. You bring your best ideas there and FX makes them better. That’s the way I feel about it for real. The last three seasons have been just fun and work and stories, and it’s been great to share all this stuff, but I want to keep going and I want the show to keep getting better. That’s my goal and I don’t want it to be making the donuts. I want it to keep being something that comes from somewhere fun and important and I want it to make money. So, it’s a luxury that I ask for which is more time to take to create Season 4, which is already my job right now. But I’m going to take a whole lot of time to turn it in, so that’s why I wanted this time, wanted this break, and I’m excited about what we can do in the future.

MG: What were you most excited that was revealed and did it play out the way you wanted or as you had hoped?
LCK: Well, to me the “Late Show” trilogy was like the center piece of that. That was the thing that there were so many time relief bombs and it was like, those Dominos all set up and then there’s fireworks and a little balloon goes up. I was amazed that I was able to set it up without any of the Dominos falling over and that nobody opened the big doors until we were ready to go.  I was really grateful to FX for that because we were so loaded with guest stars, and they didn’t give away any of them. They let me hide a lot of stuff which is not easy for them to do. It’s asking them to forego a huge ability to promote stuff. But I think for the people that watched the episodes it was really fun to watch those go on the air and unfold, those especially.

MG: Have you and/or FX ever thought about doing, a “Louie” one hour, like doing a “Louie” movie?
LCK: Well, the stories that I did this year, the two stories that went over a few episodes through with the “Daddy’s Girlfriend” and then the “Late Show” trilogy were so interesting to tell stories in that way, and we’re talking about all kinds of ways to be a little more elastic with how the shows are aired. And that’s a work in progress for the next season, but I think that’s going to be part of how the show will be presented differently. The three-part thing was a unique watching experience I think for people because they had to wait so long between parts and it’s only 22 minutes, so it was like watching a movie in three parts rather than like something like “Shogun” or something. That’s how old I am that that’s a mini series. The thing is even within each episode it’s always been totally loose as far as how long it takes to tell a story. I mean, it started being elastic from the beginning, but I was able to tell 5-minute stories, 10-minute stories, anything up to 22 minutes. When I wrote this last season, I really wrote it as one cohesive season. It wasn’t so broken up. Like everything that happened last season had something to do with every episode, it felt like anyway, so I just let it all bore in. I took so many pages to write “Late Show” that I had to break it up. That’s the way I looked at it. I didn’t intend for it to be a trilogy. I took so many pages writing “Daddy’s Girlfriend” that it ended up being really one-and-a-half episodes. “Daddy’s Girlfriend” begins to be about something totally different. But so I think we’ll continue that, yeah, and get even more focused with how long a clip is. Who knows? Maybe there will be a six-episode story or maybe there won’t be. I still have to get it all out, but there is potential for that, yes.

MG: What are your plans for season four of “Louie”? Is it going to pick from when the season 3 ender with you going to China?
LCK: I want Season 4 to go somewhere new even if it’s only a small degree of shift. I’m looking back to when I did the first season and the time I took to approach the show and decide which direction to go in, which directions to go in, and I want that back again. I want a little breathing room, so probably for the first quarter of the year I’ll be doing some writing. It definitely hasn’t been decided yet, but I don’t go as far as China means I would have to go back to China, and while I had a pretty amazing time there it’s like, you write these things, and then at some point you realize, “Oh my God, I have to actually take my body to these places”. I had an amazing time in China, but I think if I go far away again that far from America I want to go somewhere else. Part of what I’m so excited about is trying to not think about it before I think about it because I know that’s where the best stuff comes from. If I was going back on the air this June I would be writing heavily right now and I would be back in production in just a few months.

MG: Any plans for another stand-up special?
LCK: I’m on tour right now all over the country doing stand-up, so whether I turn it into a stand-up special I haven’t decide yet. It’s probably likely though because when I’m done with this hour of stand-up I’m going to want to regurgitate it.  So I’ll probably make a special, yeah! I’m always doing stand-up, and a lot of the show’s material comes from the stage, so that’s where everything starts.

Adam Green and Joe Lynch are the masterminds behind the hit FEARnet sitcom “Holliston”. The first season of the show has just recently been released on Blu-ray and DVD and Media Mikes had the chance to talk with the guys about their favorite moments and what we can expect from season two.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us some back ground on how you were able to get Dee Snider and Dave Brockie involved with the show?
Adam Green: I have had a very long friendship with Dee Snyder. I actually came up with the Lance Rocket character when I was DJing at the Rainbow Bar and Grill on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. The place is a heavy metal hang out but it’s also like a time capsule where guys in there 50’s and 60’s don’t realize the 80’s are over. It’s hilarious but sad at the same time. The design of “Holliston” is that every character has a dream beyond what their day job is. When I approached everyone about 4 years ago Dee was the only one who was going to be playing a fictitious character. The rest of us would play similar versions of our real selves. Dee was a little apprehensive about the role. He told me that he was never anything like this guy but a lot people thought he was because of Twisted Sister’s imagery.  He had spent the last 20 years trying to redefine himself and now we wanted him to play this role. Thankfully after he read the script he thought it was funny and that it would give him a chance to poke fun at that whole stigma. Dee is having a blast. With Dave aka Oderus I have known for 13 years that there was going to be an imaginary alien in my closet that gives me advice. I have been a lifelong Gwar fan and have hoped it would be him. Thankfully this show took so long to get made I was at a point to where I could reach out to anyone I wanted. The guys were aware of me and Dave was a very quick yes.
Joe Lynch: It is so crazy that both of those guys are in it. Being an instant fan of Gwar from the first time I saw them and having known Dee from when my Dad used to ride bikes with him is just awesome. I am very glad the show happened when it did as Adam was able to say this is the cast I want.

AL: Where there any reservations about signing to FEARnet due to their limited coverage?
AG: That is what really made the show possible. This show had been developed for a major network at one point over its 13 year process. When it was in development at the major network the first draft of the show came out and it wasn’t even my show anymore. If I had gone with that version of the show I would have only been doing it for the money. With Fear net coming in to existence and being a startup network has given us the opportunity to become the flag ship show. Creatively we could do exactly what we wanted. There were some limitations due to just getting started and not being on every provider but, most people these days don’t watch a show when it actually airs. They watch it afterwards on DVD or Netflix. We got in on the ground level and are very important to them as we are their first original show. So far we are their only originally show. We have their undivided attention. They make those shows with us which is a great experience. I don’t think it would be the way it is anywhere else. We look at Fear net still getting their footing as a positive thing.

AL: Is there a moment from season one that sticks out for you both as a highlight?
JL: It is hard to pick just one moment. The first episode for me was definitely a highlight. This was the first time that we got to see ourselves in this format. There is something completely surreal about seeing yourself in a sitcom. There’s this very strange moment where you think “oh my god I’m on a TV show”. It’s a shock and awe moment. When you watch that first episode we start in the Movie Crypt and end in the Holliston Grill. To see that all happen and having to myself drink all those black coffees is something I will never forget. Watching that arc from episode 1 to episode 6 which features a ton of guest stars was really great.
AG: We didn’t shoot the episodes in order. In fact the pilot was one of the final episodes we shot. We did that because I never want to shoot the beginning of the movie first. That’s the time when people are still finding their footing. We shot the “Candy Man” episode first which featured Tony Todd. It’s funny when we read reviews where they are talking about the pilot and how we are just finding our way but by episode 3/4 we are hitting our stride. That’s not true. That is the audience hitting their stride. The first two or three episodes you watch you are still getting in to it and becoming attached to the characters. Shooting that pilot with the show being so autobiographical was tough at times. The scene where I first see Cory and her new boyfriend was a very emotional scene for me as it was real and I had to keep doing it over and over. Everyone loved it and thought it was great but I was just dying inside. I will never forget that.

AL:Special guest-wise, who can we be watching for in season two?
AG: Kane Hodder and Daniel Harris will both be back in season 2. We also have David Naughton from “American Werewolf in London” and James Gunn the director of “Slither. Sid Haig will also make an appearance this season. There will be a lot of guests. We have been very lucky to have people like Derek Meers and everyone else involved again this season. We really wanted people who you saw in season 1 come back as it feels natural being “Holliston” has a small town setting. It’s something very natural. When an audience likes a certain character you want to try and keep them around. Even Cory’s boyfriend will be back. People just love him. There are some names we are holding back on purpose as we want there to be some surprises.

AL: Has there been a specific air date scheduled for season two?
AG: We know that it will probably air around the same time as season 1 did last year. We haven’t heard the actual date yet however it will most likely be spring time. My guess would be May or June. There will be 10 episodes as well as a Christmas episode which will air in December. What’s great about the Christmas special is it’s not your average stand alone hour special. It really acts as the connective tissue between season one and two. A lot of really big shit goes down between characters that set up things in season 2. We are really excited for this episode. I am editing it now and I think it will air in either the second or third week of December.

AL: Do either of you have any updates on “Killer Pizza” or “Knights of Badassdom”?
AG: As of now I am only the writer on “Killer Pizza”. It is a big studio movie meaning that things move incredibly slow. The writing process was a solid two years. A lot of that time was spent waiting for contracts and re-writes. I am now done with my contractual commitments to the script and it has been submitted to MGM. I haven’t heard anything either way but I wouldn’t expect to this soon. Hopefully something happens with the movie as I would love to see it get made. It is a really fun movie.
JL: That is kind of the same thing with “Knights of Badassdom”. My work is done so now it comes down to the people financing the film. I have heard the film will be out sometime next year. I have my fingers crossed just like everyone else.

AL: Can you tell us a little about “Everly”?
JL: Right now we are doing a lot of prepping and casting. The film is a really ambitious thriller that is completely different from the things we have done before. This is something that I have kind of always wanted to do. I co-wrote the film and we hope to start shooting in January. Things have been a little tough because of casting and other commitments. I also didn’t want this to get in the way of the work on “Holliston”.

AL: Any other projects you guys would like to mention?
AG: We are just about finished with post on “Hatchet III”. I have not heard the release date yet. The intention was to have it out in America by early 2013. Recently in an effort to help stop pirating distributors have started coordinating release dates worldwide so that may hold things up a bit. Until the talks are done between all of the people distributing the film I won’t know an exact release date. I will also be continuing my work on a documentary with artist Alex Pardee titled “Digging up the Marrow”. That has been sort of a side project the past year or so but I hope to be able to free up some more time to get that film completed. There also a few other things Joe and I are in talk to work on but we can’t say anything just yet about those.

Eric Kripke talks about creating new hit series NBC’s “Revolution”, which airs Mondays 10pm EST. Kripke also created and executive produced “Supernatural,” now in its eighth season. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Eric about the show and what we can expect from the first season.

Mike Smith: Can you talk just a bit about how you came up with the whole concept for the show?
Eric Kripke: Yeah, sure. Really for me it was about, I’m a huge fan of Star Wars, I’m a huge fan of Lord of the Rings, I’m a huge fan of really that kind of Joseph Campbell classic, mythic, heroes journey storytelling, you know those big grand adventures. And those are the kind of stories that are more often serviced in movies than they are on television. But, I think TV is actually a perfect format for that kind of storytelling because if so many – you know those are such big sprawling stories and you have so many more hours in TV to really explore all the different facets of a world and the characters that live in that world. And that you could give it, you know really epic scope, but very intimate character focus. So for me, it was always – I was always really interested in kind of taking that sort of big sprawling adventure format, that big quest format and putting it in television when you can really explore it episodically, and so that’s really kind of where the idea started. And, you know I’m a huge fan of Star Wars. I’m also a huge fan of Stephen King’s The Stand, and I really like the idea of rather than setting it in some fantasy kingdom to set the story line in some kind of transformed America, which is very – you know in a very strange way relatable and familiar to your audience, because it’s things that they’ve seen before, but just transformed overgrown with vines and all that. It kind of started from the idea of just where can we create this mythic quest, and then from there it was working, you know J.J. and his whole team at Bad Robot and we were sort of talking about like, “Okay, what would transform America, and would it be nuclear war, would it be disease?” We all sort of felt like we’ve seen that a million times before. And they had been kicking around an idea of, “Like what would happen if there was a global blackout?” I jumped right on that idea. I’m like, “That’s perfect. That’s the way to kickoff the show.” That’s really interesting and provocative and I think a really relatable concept, because I think everybody feels how over-reliant we are on technology, and so it becomes sort of interesting commentary to explore what would happen if we removed all technology overnight.

MS: Just going back to the pilot when the blackout happened, it looks like it was very gradual over the whole Earth, should we be reading into that, looking for clues as to the origin of the blackout, or did that just look cool to have that sweep of darkness over the Earth?
EK: You should look for clues everywhere…is the short answer. The longer answer is, you know there was a phenomenon that, you know we have up our sleeve as to what caused the blackout, and that that it – what you saw in that globe shot is an accurate representation of what we are working on. And – but, you know right now we’re currently in the writers room. We’re talking dangerously about revealing that secret before the end of the first season. So again, it’s sort of my philosophy of not being too precious with anything. So, we may reveal the secret sooner than later.

MS: Can you talk a little bit about the decision to downgrade Maggie from series regular, and then eventually write her out.
EK: Yeah, sure. You know what it really came down to more than any other decision, Anna Lise is a wonderful actress and I love that character. I’m sort of have a bad habit in the shows that I run of killing off the people that I love, and I think Maggie was one of those. I think we decided internally that very early on that it was really important to show that this world had very real stakes, and that it was truly dangerous. And because, you know you’re not close to hospitals, you’re not close to paramedics, you’re not close to help, and we very quickly realized that the scariest thing we could do was to kill the doctor among them. So it was purely a creative decision about really putting a sharp – giving the world the real charge of danger, so that as we move forward in the series we want the audience to really understand that nobody is safe, including the main characters, and just bring that suspense as the series continues because we think that’s honest to the world we’re trying to create here.

MS: Can you talk a little bit about what we’re going to see, in terms of Neville’s backstory and who he was?
EK: Yeah. You know, Neville – what’s interesting about the blackout in the show and – which – you know where we like to explore and we want to explore more and more as the show goes on is what a transformative experience it was for so many people. And who they were in the old world has nothing to do with who they are now. And – I mean, there’s like a bit of that in the pilot, which you know we were always amused by the idea that he’s this kind of violent strong man post-blackout, but pre-blackout he was an insurance adjuster. So we were really interested in exploring that backstory more and seeing how his character, who before the blackout was pretty mild mannered and maybe a little submissive, and how did he transform into the violent psychopath that he is today? And then – you know, and then meeting his wife. And right now, basically, we’re planting Kim now, and then, you know we’re going to meet here in the present day and really explore her character a couple episodes down the line. And we’re going to see how, you know a very normal suburban wife before the blackout, post-blackout, transformed into a Lady Macbeth.

MS: Tell us about how you chose Giancarlo Esposito for the role of Captain Tom Neville?
EK: Giancarlo is just a world-class actor, and frankly we were shocked that he was willing to partner up with us because, you know we were sort of like – we felt like we were like kind of, “Like, why is such a classy actor want to hang out with such shady people?” And – but, you know obviously I was a – I’m a – I was a huge fan of his performance in Breaking Bad, but I’ve been a fan of his from long before that, and we’re just honored to have him be a part of the show. He brings so much heft and depth and emotion and – to Neville, who is not obviously the same character as that character, because you know Neville’s got, you know moments of vulnerability and moments of humanity. And he’s just a really interesting complicated character that Giancarlo makes so much better than what is on the page. But yeah, and it’s true because I mean he’s the – he’s exactly the type of actor you want to work with because you can write any dialogue and he makes it about five times better than it actually is. And I’m just – like I said, I’m just honored to be working with him. And then on top of that, he’s like the nice – it’s like the government actually has designated him the nicest man in America. He couldn’t be a sweeter, more gracious, more open-hearted collaborative guy, and someone who is that talented and that kind-hearted is just is really one in a million, and I just love working with him.

MS: Could talk a little about Rachel’s motivations and the direction her character’s going in?
EK: Yeah, sure. I mean, certain ones are a little mysterious, so I have to be a little cagey, because we reveal some things. But basically, what – you know Rachel is – you know she has – she’s obviously holding on to certain secrets about why the power went out, and we’ll reveal in the next episode on Monday exactly – we’ll reveal a little more about what she in fact knows about the blackout. Monroe’s been keeping her, in a gilded cage, kind of prisoner; although, with occasional torture, so it’s not so fun. But she’s strong and, we’re so smitten with what Elizabeth is doing with the character that we’re just writing more and more and more for her, because she’s just – she’s so good. And so, she’s a very strong character, but everything changes when Danny finally arrives in Philadelphia. So, now General Monroe has Rachel where he wants her, because she doesn’t really care about he own well-being, but of course she cares about the well-being of her son. And so, he’s really able to twist her arm and forced her to reveal things that she hasn’t revealed to him yet. But she, of course, is you know smart and heroic and is, you know desperately searching for a way out of the predicament that she’s in.

MS: Are we going to see Nate and Charlie’s relationship develop more?
EK: The short answer, yes, but over the sweep of the season. He’s going to be spending some time in Philadelphia, we’re going to start to understand what his world is like within the world of the militia, but he’s certainly going to interact with Charlie again and he has a bumpy road ahead for him.

MS: Since the full season pickup mean that you were able to go ahead with some story ideas and arcs that you’d maybe put on the backburner in case NBC did cut the series short?
EK: Well, you know television showrunners are a foolishly optimistic bunch. I think we were designing our story lines in the hopes that there would be a full season pickup. And then, in my back – it was more that. It was more like I was, you know designing the story line for 22, and then in my back pocket I had a – I had like a nuclear failsafe that it really looked everything was going off the cliff I had an emergency contingency plan to wrap everything up very quickly. But obviously, I’m very thankful to the network that they gave us the opportunity to, you know be able to tell the story.

MS: You are also the creator of “Supernatural”. How much time are you being able to spend at that since “Revolution” is now also in production?
EK: Yeah, I don’t spend as much time over there as I would like, but – because this one’s got my hands full at the moment. But, I will say that, Bog Singer and Jeremy Carver, who are running that show are doing an absolutely incredible job and it’s like watching Supernatural go is like – is sort of like watching my child go off to college. I don’t necessarily have control over it, but I’m so proud of what they’re doing.

Madison Lintz is known best for her role of Sophia in “The Walking Dead”.  Her character was turned into a zombie in the end of the second season in one of the most epic episodes to date.  Media Mikes had a chance to reflect with Madison on her role and the fans reaction to the show.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about what was your reaction when you found out you were being turned to zombie in season two of “The Walking Dead”?
Madison Lintz: It was a mixed reaction. As an actor, your job is to serve the story and I knew this outcome for Sophia would be the best way to do that. On the other hand, as Madison, I was sad to leave my Walking Dead family. I’ll always cherish them as my first tv family and no other experience has lived up to it yet.

MG: How long did the make-up process take for that episode?
ML: It was about a 2 hour process each time we had to do it.

MG: How long did that scene take to shoot?
ML: It took one full entire day. They shot everything they could without me, before bringing me onto the set, and even then they brought me out and hid me from the cast so that their reactions could be even more genuine when they did see Sophia come out of the barn.

MG: What would you say was the highlight of playing Sophia?
ML: I would say the highlight was being a part of one of the best shows on television at this moment. That doesn’t happen every day, if ever, and I was very fortunate. I think I’m a bit spoiled now! It was also an incredible learning experience and made me see how fun a career in acting could be. The people were amazing and working with such talented actors was priceless. It’s only helped me to further my career so I’m grateful to Frank Darabont and Gale Anne Hurd always for giving me this opportunity. I owe them dinner for sure!

MG: How can you reflect on the fans reactions to your character?
ML: It’s been very touching. No matter where I go, I have people coming up to me saying that they were crying on their couch as they watched. Or screaming, “Nooooooooooo!” Grown men tell me that this was the one scene that actually “broke them”. It’s pretty satisfying. And encouraging. To know that you were believable enough in the role to affect people’s mood for days or even weeks is so crazy!

MG: Besides your own, who is your favorite character on the show?
ML: I’m sure it’s no secret that it was Norman Reedus! I just love him and he was so nice to me. So if you are his current girlfriend, he’s lying to you. I’m his favorite! No, I’m kidding. I especially enjoyed working with him, Steven, and Melissa McBride. But everyone was super.

MG: What do you have planned upcoming?
ML: This past month, I had a movie called “After” that was in theatres. It’s a psychological thriller. On Christmas Day, you can see me in “Parental Guidance”, a family film starring Billy Crystal and Bette Midler and one of my good friends, Bailee Madison. I shot a pilot for ABC which did not end up getting picked up so back to the drawing board! Story of an actresses life, right?

Morgan Fairchild is an actress with such a wonderful a presence in Hollywood. She has appeared in such television series as “Dallas”, “Mork & Mindy” and “Flamingo Road”. Her notable film roles are “Holy Man”, “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” and “Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2”, where she all played herself. She is also stars in the Syfy original movie “American Horror House”, which premieres Saturday, October 13 at 9:00 p.m. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with the beautiful and sweet Morgan Fairchild about her this Syfy film and how she prepares for a role.

Mike Gencarelli: What about the role intrigued you to want to be a part of Syfy’s “American Horror House”?
Morgan Fairchild: Well I must confess I’m quite a devotee of the Syfy movie channel. I mean I watch Syfy movies on the weekends. And all my friends have done them, so it was quite fun. And they sent me the script and I thought well, you know, this is actually fun. I could do this. You know, I don’t have to get chopped up or anything too gruesome. She also does have a history with the house and that’s part of figuring out here history with the house is, is a big part of the story, of trying to understand what’s going on as the girls are confronted with different odd happenings in the house as to why they’re happening and what’s really going on there.

MG: Does working on a project like “American Horror House” somehow take you back to earlier in your career doing projects like “The Haunting of Sarah Hardy”?
MF: Well it takes me even further back to “Initiation of Sarah”, which was actually my first TV movie — which was also a haunted sorority house. So yes it goes way back.

MG: Can you talk a bit about how your character Ms. Margot fits into the story?
MF: Well like a lot of the characters I play, she’s sort of the catalyst. The bad guy is always the catalyst. So she’s not unlike some of the other characters I’ve played except that she does seem to just be pure evil.

MG: Is there anything then you found challenging about your role?
MF: You know, they’re always challenging. From Ms. Margot the thing was I didn’t want to tip it too early that she is actually a bad guy because at first she seems sort of supportive house mother kind of thing and sort of the normal everyday thing that a kid would encounter at college. I didn’t want to tip it too soon, so that was a bit of a challenge is just trying to find ways to play things that later people could go back and say, oh yes, I see that. But at the moment that they don’t necessarily catch on right away.

MG: Do you have any kind of technique that you use to for when you approach a role?
MF: Well I do sort of the basic thing everybody does, you know, that they teach you from the Day 1 — which is break it down, break down who is this character, what do they want, where do they come from, what is their background, where are they trying to go, what are they trying to get out of this. so it’s all that kind of basic thing. Then again it’s a very focus of energy. I’m a big Bruce Lee fan. And Rudolf Nureyev for some of you who may not know Rudolf Nureyev was probably one of the best ballet dancers of the 20th century. And watching him on stage with the focus of energy was just an amazing thing the way he controlled the stage. Back in ’73 I’d been living in New York and I went home for the summer for a visit to my mom. Mom always wanted to do anything that was hot in New York. So I said, “Mom, these kung-fu movies are just the hottest things on 42nd Street, so we’ll go to a kung-fu movie.” Well and saw kind of this Bruce Lee movie, Enter the Dragon, it opens with a scene in the Shaolin Temple with Bruce Lee just like stripped to, you know, his skivvies and I was just fascinated with the focus of energy — the total focus of Chi. I watched the whole movie and he’s just brilliant. If he had lived, he would just have been such a major star because of this focus of energy. When the camera is on him, you cannot take your eyes off of him. When Nureyev was on the stage, you could not take your eyes off of him. You know, the poor little corps de ballet dancers would be dancing their hearts out and he would be standing with his back to you and you’re watching him instead of these poor little girls dancing. That was what sort of inspired me again to spend 4-1/2 years taking kung-fu in Chinatown in New York. I mean even when I was doing Search for Tomorrow, I remember one day I was sitting there watching something in the control room and it was summer and I had one of my little Danskin things on and one of the guys came up behind and said, “Morgan, did you know you have dimples in your back, because they would kick your ass, honey.” Down there in Chinatown and I would take the subway to go down there and pick my ways over bodies on the Bowery. This is back when bodies on the Bowery really were there. And it was a little scary going to and from class. But, you know, 4-1/2 years until I moved out here I was there like five, six nights a week as much as I could get in. So yes that’s what I do. That’s part of it is because to play a good bad guy especially you have to have that focus of energy.

MG: What it was like to shoot in Louisiana? Did that add to the tone of the film at all?
MF: It was just fabulous shooting there. Everybody was so friendly and so nice. And we were shooting in April mostly before it got too hot, so I wasn’t dying there. And I’m from Texas, so I know what dying in the heat means. So it was fabulous and got to go down to Jazz Fest and go down to New Orleans a bit and see a bit of the countryside and it was just great.

MG: Can you tell us a little bit about working with the director Darin Scott?
MF: Darin was just fabulous to work with. He was so sweet and low key. And I mean I’ve worked some real screamers in my life, you know, who you never have a moment of peace on the set. And Darin is very low key, very patient with everything, very on top of all the technical stuff that was going on — which we had a lot of in this movie — and just a lot of fun to talk to and sit around at lunch. We became friends just sitting around and gabbing at the lunch breaks and on breaks and stuff and talking everything from politics to old Hollywood stories.

MG: You have had a great career in both TV and film. Have you ever preferred one to another?
MF: Well they’re all just very different and you forget also that I grew up in the theater. So I mean do a lot of theater whenever I can still and did a staged reading of a play this summer and did a big national tour of The Graduate in ’05 and have done big national tours of like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, have done Broadway, off Broadway. So they’re all very different. They’re all very different in the way you focus your energy — which is really what the difference between stage acting and film acting is. Then film acting is usually it’s also very different because of the size of the format. How you focus your energy is to me one of the most interesting things about it.

MG: Last question and off-topic, now that Dallas is back on the air, I was wondering if you would be interested at all in reprising the role you originated of Jenna Wade?
MF: Well sure. I mean I’d always be interested. Originally just socially a couple of people in charge over there had sort of reached out to me and asked me the same question. But I’ve never heard back from them sort of following up and deciding to put Jenna back in it with me or Priscilla, so I don’t know what their thinking is. I’m just happy just Larry and Patrick and Linda all working away again in those great parts again. They’re all friends, you know, so I’m just always happy to see people working and working in fun, wonderful parts.

Drea de Matteo is best known for her role of Angie Bolen on ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” and of course Adriana La Cerva on HBO’s “The Sopranos”. She is a special guest star on FX’s “Sons of Anarchy” playing Wendy Case, Jax’s ex-wife and ex-junkie who recently cleaned up her act and is looking to be part of Abel’s life. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Drea about this role and what we can expect.

Adam Lawton: Tell us how you originally got involved with the show in getting cast for the role of Wendy.
Drea de Matteo: Originally, I came with John Linson before the show was even–I don’t know if it was written or if it was–I don’t know what was going on. I know that I came with John and he introduced me to Kurt. Originally, the character was going to die in the pilot. Then when I decided to do it they kept her alive and I’ve been there ever since but back and forth because I couldn’t fully commit to being on the show at the time. So I was off the show for a while and became a huge fan of the show while I was off of it. Then I just started writing Kurt and Katey [Sagal] and thinking, oh my God, I can’t believe what’s going on. When does the next season air? I was like, and I want to come back. You guys have to figure out Wendy’s turn. So I came originally with John. Then, once it became Kurt’s show they wove me in and out when possible.

AL: Okay. Now, being that you’ve been back and forth, on and off the show, what’s been the most difficult part of playing the Wendy character because when we do see her it’s always a dramatic change from the last time we saw her.
DDM: Well she’s been in recovery. So it’s like it’s watching a child grow up to a certain degree. I think in the very beginning of the series she was extremely, extremely vulnerable. At first she was a mess. Then she was sober and a raw nerve. Now she comes back with her confidence intact and not wanting to stir any … up except for being a responsible party. It seems that the whole entire world has imploded and she’s going to have a hard time maneuvering within it because nobody’s stable over there. She’s now become the face of stability, which is kind of funny.

AL:Who do you think is the more powerful couple; Christopher and Adriana or Jax and Wendy?
DDM: Oh boy. Jax and Wendy? I would probably compare Adriana and Christopher to Jax and Tara maybe, because Wendy is not around enough. Oh boy, the more powerful couple? I’m going to have to go with Jax and Tara only because, I mean, after all Christopher had Adriana killed, you know. It doesn’t get worse than that. Adriana was very weak. Tara; she’s a force to be reckoned with.

AL: You have said before they were originally going to kill the Wendy character off in a pilot. With them deciding to keep the character were you allowed to kind of develop it from that point, or were the scripts just given to you and you kind of went on what they told you?
DDM: Well, Kurt’s a great writer, so they don’t need me. They didn’t me to say, “Well, this is what I want to happen to ‘Wendy.’” When you go into a series like this I’m sure Kurt had the entire season, the first season, outlined for himself and where it was going to go. My character was never a part of where it was going. It was all about Tara and Jax. So, I guess, once they kept me alive the goal was to just sort of have me there as like this thorn
on everybody’s side. Then I couldn’t stay on. So they just put that story to rest which was perfect because I went away to treatment anyway. So, yes, I didn’t really develop. The writer’s tend to write around the actor and their style to a certain degree as long as it’s keeping with what they’re writing about. So I know with Adriana, when I did Adriana, David Chase would do that with me a lot. I don’t know that Kurt did that with Wendy, but I think bringing her back as a strong character and it’s also very much who I am in real life. I wouldn’t say that I was involved in development. I mean, TV is a writer’s medium 100%, and the writer’s king. We all just need to understand that. It’s not a director’s place. It’s not for the actors. It’s really all about those writers.

AL:Now, ultimately, we know Wendy’s goal is to be in Abel’s life. Do you think there are any ulterior motives there now that she is clean, sober and seeing for the first time really with clear eyes a vision how the club’s working. Does she still want to be a part of that, or is she just looking to get scott free with her son?

DDM: I don’t think she’s looking to be a part of a club or to be part of that community. I definitely think that she’s looking to be a part of his life and to do it in a way where she’s not causing drama. I think she’d like to just get along with everybody. I think that–and anybody in the program would… I think she’d like to able to make amends to all of them, mostly to her son, and to be in his life. Even if it meant she couldn’t say, “I’m your mom,” but to just be in his life. Eventually, when he’s older he’s going to want to know who his real mom is. More than anything, I think that she’s looking for stability, not drama. I don’t think she has ulterior motives. I do think that if she’s pushed and manipulated and blocked out that you will see a side of her that…it’s not even so much that it’s an unstable, unsavory side. It’s she’s a mama and that’s her baby. She went and took care of herself in order to be able to come back and reclaim what was hers. So you can’t keep a mom away from their baby for too long.

AL:Do you find that there’s a big difference in shooting between what’s done on FX being a cable channel than your HBO, your Pay-Per-View channel, do you see that there’s a difference? Obviously, you can do a little bit more on HBO but shooting-wise, is there any difference or anything like that?
DDM: Yes. You can’t say f… That’s difficult for me. It’s difficult for a biker show, I would imagine. When you say, “Get the hell out of here.” But you really just want to say, “Get the f… out of here.”

AL: There’s so many similar elements between the Sopranos and Sons of Anarchy being one’s a gang and one’s mob. They’re all tight knit families and trying to cover that on a regular television channel.
DDM: The shooting is very similar. Sopranos, look, it was a whole different ball game. It was the first of its kind. We set the structure for it. Long shooting weeks, tons of money going into a show. That was brand new, man. Nobody knew what that was on cable yet. So all of these shows, Breaking Bad, you’ve got Mad Men, Sons of Anarchy, Rescue Me, like all of these are great shows. No one ever knew a TV show would be treated like a small film every week, big budgets and whatnot. Sopranos we shot 16-day weeks. Here we shoot 7-day weeks, 8-day weeks. I think that’s what they do. I don’t know.

AL: A lot of people really love the Wendy character and how she’s evolved. So I’ve had a few fans wanting me to ask, would it be possible for Wendy to be around a little bit more, maybe have a different love interest? Or do you just not see the role…?
DDM: Well, I’m going to have to say that’s totally 100% up to Kurt. I’m back now. I’m open and willing and ready to do whatever they want me to do. I took off for a long time there but I did a couple of episodes this season. I’m open to doing as many as Kurt thinks would benefit his story, the story he wants to tell, for sure.

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Olivia Holt plays Kim on Disney XD’s “Kickin’ It”. Olivia is starring in the new Disney Channel Original film “Girl vs. Monster”, which premieres October 12th. Olivia took out some time to chat with Olivia about the film and what we can expect from her relationship with Jack on the season of “Kickin’ It”.

Mike Gencarelli: How was it going from martial arts in “Kickin’ It” to fighting monsters on “Girl vs. Monster”?
Olivia Holt: It was a really great experience. I had such a great time. It was really cool since in “Kickin’ It’ we do martial arts and in “Girl vs. Monster” my character does a bunch of stunts in the movie. So I got to bring a little bit of that athlete activity from the show into the the movie.

MG: Was it a big transition going from TV to feature film?
OH: They were two totally different things though. I always have such a great time with the cast on “Kickin’ It”. On “Girl vs. Monster” everyone in the cast got very close, which was really great as well. It was a little bit challenging though going from going a sitcom to a feature film. It was pretty interesting for me since I never did anything like that before. I met so many great people and had so many fantastic experiences.

MG: Tell us about your character in the film Skylar?
OH: Skylar is such a cool girl. She is confident, fearless and doesn’t care what everyone thinks. She has this great sense of style and is super athletic. What I like about her most though is that any girl can look up to her and want to be like Skylar. For me as well, I want to be like Skylar, she is such a great role model. I was so inspired to play her. In the beginning of the movie, she is fearless and mid-way through she learns fear. She has to learn how to overcome that fear. I think it is cool that the audience gets to watch her transition herself from being fearless to learning to overcome her fears.

MG: Tell us about the music in “Girl vs. Monster”?
OH: It says such amazing music. I had such a wonderful time recording the songs that we had in the movie. All the songs have such a great message. I had such a great time filming them as well. We all had really really fun.

MG: With Disney XD’s “Kickin’ It well into its second season, what would you say as been your highlight working on this show?
OH: This season is has so much heart in it. You really get to see the characters grow up. I think it is really cool that the audience gets to grow up with them. They get to change and learn more about themselves. I like the fact that my character Kim gets to find herself every day. She is a really cool character. She is growing up and learning how to express her feeling for Jack, who is played by Leo Howard.

MG: Anything sneak preview into the rest of the season?
OH: Yeah, there are a couple of episodes left. Towards the end of the season, you do get to see Kim and Jack’s relationship change into expressing their feelings for each other more. I think the audiences are looking forward to them finally admitting they like each other. You get to see how they react and I think it is going to be great. I am probably going to cry [laughs].

MG: You also have two CDs being released this Fall, “Disney Channel Holiday Playlist” and “Make Your Mark: Ultimate Playlist”; tell us about those?
OH: I am super pumped that I get to share my music with everyone. Music is really my passion and I am so inspired by it. Being able to share with everyone music that I love to sing and I am looking forward to that. I just hope everyone enjoys them as much as I did.

Katherine McNamara is co-starring in Disney Channel Movie of the week “Girl Vs. Monster”, which premieres on October 12th.  Katherine is also a recurring cast member on Disney XD’s “Kickin’ It”.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Katherine about her new roles and also what she has planned next like “Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn” next year.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about making you Disney Channel Movie of the week debut in “Girl Vs. Monster”
Katherine McNamara: I am just so excited for this movie. Being on the Disney Channel has been a dream of mine. It is really thrilling for me, especially on a movie like this. It is your quintessential Halloween movie, in my opinion. There is action, adventure, Halloween spooks and scares, special effects, stunts, a little bit of romance and lots of great music that everyone is going to love. I got to work with such talented and wonderful people on this movie. I just feel so blessed and lucky to be able to work on such a great project.

MG: Give us some background on your character Myra?
KM: She is a really interesting character. I really get to play like three different characters in the movie since she goes through such a wide metamorphosis. The first she is the stereotypic mean high school girl. She is very conniving and narcissistic. She also has this huge rivalry with the main character Skylar Lewis (played by Olivia Holt). The next phase she gets possessed by a monster about half way through. That was really interesting because my character gets a complete makeover both physical and personality-wise. Towards the end of the movie, she realizes the error of her ways, if you will, and becomes a nice person and friend of the Skylar.

MG: What was the highlight of working on this film?
KM: There are so many wonderful things. I think it would have to be the music and the wonderful lifetime friendships I have made. Everyone on the film was just incredible, the cast and crew. We all got very close and spent literally every moment together. We just had the most phenomenal time together. Also music is such a passion of mine and I got to sing on a couple of the songs in the film. It is really wonderful. The music is really so great.

MG: Also tell us about playing Claire on Disney XD’s “Kickin’ It”?
KM: “Kickin’ It” is such a great show. One of my good friends, Dylan Snyder, is one the show. He introduced me to the cast, visit the set and hang out before Claire was even a distant thought in the minds of the writers. Eventually when this audition came up, I was so excited. Getting to work with your friends is better than anything. When I booked the role it was just a guest star but now it is recurring. It is a dream comes true. I love that show.

MG: You are playing Becky Thatcher in “Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn” next year, tell us about that film?
KM: The Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn story is very near and dear to my heart my whole life. I grew up in Missouri just a few hours from where the stories are set. So getting an opportunity to play such an iconic character is really an honor for me. Also to get to work with great talent like Joel Courtney and Jake T. Austin was just icing on the cake for me. We filmed it in Bulgaria, which is such an amazing and beautiful place. It was my first time out of the US and I loved every minute of it. I learned so much and it was so different. I got another lifelong friendship out of that film. Joel and I are completely inseparably.

MG: You are non-stop working, Flash forward to next summer you have “Contest”, can you tell us about that project?
KM: I just have to say, I feel so blessed being able to work so much. It is something I love doing. I just want to keep working, which is how I will learn and grow. “Contest” was such an amazing film. It is with Danny Flaherty from “Skins” and Kenton Duty from “Shake it Up”. It is about bullying and is a really great story that needs to be heard. Bullying has become such an epidemic and almost like the norm in school and kids to expect it. It is not acceptable. I have been through so much bullying in my life and I don’t think any kid should have to experience that. So, I am hoping that this movie will bring some awareness to this issue and its effects.

John Dunsworth & Richard Donat play brothers Dave Teagues & Vince Teagues in Syfy’s “Haven”. Vince is the artist and editor and Dave is photographer and editor of the Haven Herald…but there is much more to be told behind these two characters. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with John and Richard about season three and what we can expect.

Mike Gencarelli: What do you enjoy most about playing Vince Teagues on Syfy’s “Haven”?
Richard Donat: Vince, well I just love him since he is such a quirky guy. Partly because he has a lot of hidden aspects, which will hopefully be coming out as the show progresses.
John Dunsworth: Well I love working with Richard Donat. We have known each other for a while and we have done a bunch of great plays together. I was mostly a professional actor in the stage before “Haven” came around.  I love working in Nova Scotia.  Regardless of the part, the people that we work with are just a joy to be with on the set.

MG: The new season has really started to show some light behind what Vince and Dave really know; has that been fun to see that reveal?
RD: Oh yeah, it is great. Because of John, I feel that it really helps. We just have a great time together. We both live in Nova Scotia and I have known John for a long time.
JD: I would like to be more in the know. We confess sometimes that we don’t know what is going to happen and sometimes we are lying and then sometimes we really don’t know. It is hard to figure out when we are lying and telling the truth.

MG: Vince and Dave seem like they are disagreeing a bit more than usual, can we expect any rivalry this season?
RD: Well, we have been sort of at odds. But we always seem to get back together. In terms of the progress, I won’t able to say too much now but there is definitely a couple of things that happen.

MG:You two play great off each other; can you reflect on this collaboration?
JD: Well, I have to reflect on the writers. We don’t know what are story arc is. At the end of season three, which is my favorite season so far, we were throw some real curves. I thought I had it figured out…but it was the complete opposite. There are so many different possibilities.

MG: Most of the cast is from California, how does it feel to have the home turf advantage?
RD: Oh it is just fine. The whole cast is made up of some really great people. We all get along great. Thank God! When you work in those conditions, it is nice to be able to work well with people. There is no sort of LA thing, everyone is great.

MG: How does season three compare to you from the first two?
RD: Well, I think a lot more interesting things are happening between the characters. Then we get the introduction of Dwight is really fun story (played by Adam “Edge” Copeland”), who came in last season. It all starts to blend in. I think they seem to concentrate more on a centralized story line instead of individual episodes. I just can’t believe the reaction to the show.

MG: Do you find that you watch the show as it airs on TV?
JD: Last week, my wife and I finally watched season two. I don’t watch television or even get TV in our house. But I got the season as a present and I was blown away. I am so impressed with the three principals. On the set, the acting seems very subtle but it really comes across on the show. And Adam “Edge” (Copeland), he is just great.

MG: What would you say has been the highlight for you working on “Haven”?
RD: I think the highlight is actually getting to do the show. I have always lived here and then this show comes along and suddenly your life is changed. It is quite extraordinary really.
JD: Yep, the highlight is showing off Nova Scotia and living here. Right now, I can see the Grey Gull from my house. It takes me five minutes to get to the set some days. It has to be some kind of a blessing to be able to work in my own community on such a great project. I feel like I am the luckiest guy in the world.
RD: Yes, me too. I live about 45 minutes from the set and I am able to go home at night. So it is really great.

MG: John, how was it going from “Trailer Park Boys” to “Haven”; how does it compare for you?
JD: Last week, someone asked a person; “are a character actor of a lead actor?”. The right answer, of course, is a character actor. I like different roles. I like to play villains. So this has been nothing but a pleasure. We also just got the ratings in for the first episode of season three and I got a feeling that a fourth season is almost guaranteed! So I am on a very big high.

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