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Lily Rabe reflects on her devilish role in "American Horror Story: Asylum"

Lily Rabe is known best for her role in FX’s series “American Horror Story”. In the first season she played the character Nora Montgomery and in the second she played the devil-possessed nun, Sister Mary Eunice. As the show approaches the end of its second season, Lily took out some time to chat with Media Mikes about her character and her fate at the end of the season.

Mike Gencarelli: What did you find the most difficult part of your role this season?
Lily Rabe: Well, you know, I think some of the murders having sort of in those moments where she was just absolutely sort of in her completely taken over by the devil and throwing these actors around and slitting their throats and stabbing them ruthlessly and all of that sort of, you know I’ve been the victim a lot, so I’ve often played the person who’s getting raped or murdered or abused. And so to actually be raping and murdering and abusing people is a whole different kind of challenge and one that it was very difficult at times and sometimes I would sort of go home from work and just kind of stare at the wall for a couple of hours. But I can’t complain, because easily if whatever kind of knocks you out working is the kind of work that I want to be doing because it’s always those challenges that are the most exciting and the things I hope to get to keep doing in my work.

MG: How did you approach your role because I feel that the combination of comedy and horror and I’m wondering if the director somehow guided you on how to play the devil in your character?
LR: Yes, you know the truth is the way that I approached it really was to figure out before we started shooting the most important thing to me was to really figure out who Sister Mary Eunice was and not really worry about the possession or the devil because to me so much of what a possession is is specific to the person. So that to play the sort of dark side or underbelly of someone or their sort of shadow taking over it’s really about knowing who that person is before that event has taken place of this dark thing sort of taking over. So it was more about figuring out who she really was through and through.

MG: There are many different storylines this season, was there any one that was your favorite?
LR: You know my storyline with Jessica (Lange) was perhaps the most powerful to me because I think it’s sort of the most tragic in a way because it’s actually the one that involved the most love, even though there was a sort of, even though Jessica’s Jude is very cruel to Eunice in the beginning. I always believed that that cruelty was coming out of a place of love and a place of sort of seeing Mary Eunice as seeing her potential and knowing that she wasn’t living it. And so in a way that that whole where we started and where we ended up, that to me is probably the one that was the most sort of powerful; but I have to say all of, you know, my relationship with James and with everyone, everyone I got to sort of work with. I even had a great side plot with Spivey. Mark Conseulos is so amazing and it was such an abundance of amazing actors that you get a chance to work with while you’re doing the show.

MG: Was there anything this season that really has surprised you or threw you for a loop when you saw the episode completed for the first time?
LR: Well, there are certain points of things that are going to happen to you; but there was a lot of mystery and a lot of sort of you have to be constantly taking a tremendous leap of faith and just sort of staying present in the moment of whatever the scene is, because you don’t know exactly you know where that turn is going to end up or what the next episode is going to bring. You know you have these sort of landmark things that you know about, but within the sort of nuance of the storylines. There was a certain amount of mystery. I didn’t watch the show while it was airing because it was too hard to be shooting episode three or I mean the episode seven and watching episode three or however it worked out. My brain was getting really scrambled, but I had to wait till the season had wrapped because there is in the same way that the audience is being surprised, you know we were definitely getting our handful of surprises, too, that’s for sure.

MG: What was it like at the Asylum itself can almost be looked at as a character on the show. What was the atmosphere like on set to work in an environment like that?
LR: Right, I know it is a dark world to live in, but I think the thing that made it so, still so kind of wonderful and a place that I was excited to drive to work every morning and that was because of the people and the crew. It was a very close group of actors and the writers are very, it’s an amazing group of writers. I think Ryan has a way of when he’s at the helm he’s one of those people who just creates a great work environment. I think it’s so much about that person. The leader really has to set the tone for something and make everyone feel safe and he does that in such an incredible way and so everyone, although we were maybe working crazy hours and shooting crazy things, it was always a really nice place to go to work. And for me you know it was the first time I’d ever been, I’ve never done a show as a regular before and it reminded me a bit of doing a play in the sense that you go to the theatre every day and you have your dressing room. And you have the crew and the actors and so I loved that feeling of actually kind of having this family every day that was sort of new for me and very special.

MG: Was there anything that you guys did to break up the tension in between a scene that would be particularly intense?
LR: Oh well, I mean you know Sara Paulson is one of my best friends and has been for years. We already have a bit of laughing problem together, so I would say that that happened a lot. There was often a lot of that and Zach was learning the banjo and I was learning the guitar, so there were also little musical breaks, although he’s much better at the banjo than I am at the guitar at this point.

MG: Did you ever have times that it was hard to deal with the character because of the psychological heaviness of the role?
LR: Yes, but it sort of came with the territory in the sense that I think if you’re going to be; I feel that with all the great jobs or all the really, really great parts, you’re usually going to sort of dark and scary or painful places and that’s just part of it. Although it could be difficult in some way, it sort of comes with, it’s part of the job description I feel, so it’s nothing I would ever sort of want to say was a negative, even though sometimes it doesn’t feel great. It’s sort of to me it’s still part of the job description of getting to play a wonderful role and having to go through things like that. So I’m always very grateful for that even if it means I’m going to go have to kind of collapse in my bed for a little while or whatever or whatever it means.

MG: How far in advance did you know what your character’s fate was going to be? Did you kind of have an idea about that from the beginning?
LR: I had some sense, yes, I knew that she probably wouldn’t have a very happy ending, so I did have a sense and then sort of as we went along the specifics of how that was all going to happen became clearer as we went along.

MG: That scene almost seemed like kind of a relief for your character. Can you reflect?
LR: Yes, I think the death scene, the way Ryan and I really talked about it it’s really sort of an assisted suicide. Her situation really wasn’t survivable in the sense that even if they had done some sort of exorcism or something at that point, we sort of felt that whatever might be left of that girl was so damaged and destroyed and that death sort of became her only way out. Yes, playing that through once the possession happened that was such a wonderful challenge and a sort of dance really to live between with both the lightness and the darkness existing at the same time in that battle and then that losing battle really.

MG: Do you think you will be back for the third season?
LR: I have no idea. I can’t say a word. I’m so sorry. I know it’s such a boring interview sometimes with us at American Horror Story, so that I just can’t say a word. I would certainly love to be back that’s for sure. It’s such a great job.

Lizzie Brocheré reflects on her role in "American Horror Story: Asylum"

Lizzie Brocheré is currently playing the role of Grace in FX’s hit show “American Horror Story: Asylum”. She is known for her work in France with about 40 foreign films and TV roles under her belt. As the show approaches the end of the second season, Lizzie took out some time to chat with Media Mikes to chat about her character and what we can expect.

Mike Gencarelli: How did you first get involved in the show?
Lizzie Brocheré: Weirdly, I self-typed from France. I had no idea that I could get the part because it was supposed to be an American part. I did the audition anyway because I never felt safe and my managers here sometimes get mad because I never send anything in, and because also the process of the audition was so much fun. I watched the first season of American Horror Story and have been a big fan, and the audition for the part of “Grace;” it was two scenes. One was a scene taken out of Girl Interrupted, “Lisa’s” character. It was very, very out there. It was very provocative, a very strong character and very …. So that was fun, it was like, wow, what is that character that they’re auditioning for? The other scene was a scene from …, which was a masturbation scene, very provocative as well. I was like; I don’t know where they’re going with that character, but she’s wild. So I did the audition with my friend, and didn’t really believe in it, and then two weeks later I was in L.A. meeting Ryan Murphy … for five minutes and they were talking to me about the part … and that was it. It was amazing. and I didn’t even have a driver’s license.

MG: How do I get into my character to play Grace?
LB: There’s so many different ways, but I think what I worked on the most was that back story you heard, because when we started shooting, we already had the first four scripts, so I had the back story of Grace in the fourth episode. I think that since she was based on this American character, Lizzie Borden, I read a lot about Lizzie Borden. I discovered a source book with her inquest testimony; I loved reading it out loud. I thought she was so smart and strangely fascinating, that character. I don’t know if it helped my acting, but it was necessary for me to know a bit more of that character who was a very important American figure. I had no clue who she was, in fact, …for example. I did a lot of—this is going to sound weird, but I did a lot of stretching, yoga and dancing, almost ballet. I felt, you know, how she’s always–you want her to be moving in a very smooth maybe, and she’s very sexy, so you want her to be moving in a smoother way than I do. So that was a little job, and Grace, I don’t know she’s somewhere in me–apart from that big back story and all that; her sarcasm, her way of seeing life and that little liveliness she has. You know, how she always says amazing lines when you feel like she’s young little Tibetan monk. It wasn’t that hard to tap into her, apart from the killing of my dad and all of that.

MG: Can you tell us a little bit about shooting the murder scenes?
LB: That was so fun. We wanted to–I mean the whole crew was so happy to change my look, and they were really excited about doing some kind of flashbacks and knowing a little bit more about Grace. So everything, costumes and hair, for example, I don’t have the same haircut at all. They really wanted to show Grace as she was before the asylum, and everyone was really excited about that. The actual murder scenes, there was a lot of blood, a lot of different axes. I think we had six different axes that are still in the props office, and they’re all on the walls. You have one that’s a rubber axe, and then you have another one that’s a real axe, and you should never mix up with the other one. Then you have another one that’s a half cut axe, so that you can pretend that it’s in the body. You only have a part of it sticking out of the body. I mean we have so many different axes; it was funny. Then you have, for example, when I kill my step-mom, we have these effects guys that were behind the body of my step-mom … blood on the face each time that I hit her. There were so many people in that closet but it was fun.

MG: How you ever been spooked on the set?
LB: I did get the creeps. Yes, because the story was so dark and all these flashbacks that we shot. For example, when I hide in the closet, and it’s a fake flashback, but still, we did it for real, and I hide in the closet, and I dove back and I go back and I think that I’m saved and then there’s this foot with blood dripping on my shoulder right next to me. So realistic, so realistic. It was crazy. I couldn’t open the closets after that for a week at my place.

MG: How do you shake a show like this at the end of each day?
LB: I have very different ways–the crew, for example, is so much fun–I mean they’re totally disconnected from the cast. Joke with the crew when you get out of set, for an example, that helped me so much. Otherwise, in my day-to-day basis, it would be I guess, a bit of yoga. I go biking, read, watch shows, I go to music concerts. I’ve taken a lot of road trips since I’ve been here. I’ve been to The Joshua Tree. I’ve been camping on the Channel Islands. Each time that I have two or three days off, I’m off somewhere in California.

MG: The asylum itself feels like a character on the show, so how much does that environment help you get into a scene?
LB: It makes the scene. There’s no question about where you are. I remember one of the first days on the set when …–the first scene was something in the solitary, and I’d be visiting in the solitary cells. When you’re in that hallway with all the solitary cell doors; Ooh. You have no question of where you are. It’s such a particular asylum. It’s such a designed asylum. It’s such an interesting–I don’t know you can feel the whole weight of the metaphor that it represents, you know.

MG: What’s coming up for Grace in the upcoming episodes?
LB: What can I tease? So much is happening to “Grace,” poor “Grace.” I don’t really know. My character joins a storyline that I cherish a lot, which is the alien storyline, and that is something that I’ve been really looking forward to. I’m so happy about that because, first of all, when you move to the United States for work, which is what I just did, you have a visa where they call you an alien with extraordinary ability, but still that’s what I am right now. It’s strange, to be like right, in the administration system, you have a label which is a visa 01, which is for aliens with extraordinary ability; good Lord. So ever since I got a foot in the U.S. administration and moving to the U.S., I’ve been like, oh aliens; interesting. Aliens are immigrants. That’s interesting, what is an alien? So when I got the script everything kind of made sense in a way. This idea of foreigners–so I love being close to that storyline because I felt so much myself like an alien.

Dylan McDermott talks about his dark return in “American Horror Story: Asylum”

Connecticut born, Dylan McDermott was encouraged by his playwright step-mother to pursue acting as a career. He began his career on stage, doing both Regional Theater and Broadway, and made his film debut in the Vietnam War film “Hamburger Hill.” His first major role was that of Jackson Latcherie, husband to the doomed Shelby in “Steel Magnolias.” In 1993 he got his first major role, that of Clint Eastwood’s partner in the Secret Service themed film “In the Line of Fire.” Starring roles in films such as “Miracle on 34th Street,” “Home for the Holidays” and “Wonderland” followed. In 1997 he began a long run on the Emmy Award winning series “The Practice,” winning a Golden Globe for his work on the show as well as an Emmy nomination. He also headlined series like “Big Shots” and “Dark Blue” and now, after appearing last year, he re-appears on the critically acclaimed “American Horror Story: Asylum.” While preparing for a new story arc on the show McDermott took the time to speak with Media Mikes about his work on the show, what scares him and the difference between appearing in a remake or a sequel.

Mike Smith: What is the strangest thing that has happened to you on set, or personally, from doing this show.
Dylan McDermott: Well, I mean if you watched all the episodes, you know that I’ve had to do some strange things clearly, but that was part of the ride when I talked to Ryan [creator Ryan Murphy] about this show. Obviously the cry baiting and walking around naked, and now I’m playing a serial killer, is all in terms of doing American Horror Story, this is what comes with the dinner. So you just have to be up for it.

MS: As a show that not only really stretches your acting abilities but part of your personal fear factor is there any one fear that you would like to try to conquer by doing this show?
DM: Well, I think if you had any fears , you’d better not have them walking into this show because all your personal things are public. So I think that you really have to be not too shy to do a show like this, let me just put it that way.

MS: Can you tell us a little bit about your character and where you hope he ends up at the end of the season.
DM: Well, he’s obviously a troubled man, so where I hope he goes and where he goes are two different places But I think he’s got a sole purpose in life and really that is, he feels so scorned by his mother. Everything is about his mother. The reason he’s doing all these horrible things is because he was rejected so harshly by his mother, obviously aborted. His father was a serial killer. His mother aborted him and he still lives. So his whole trajectory in life is really about her.

MS: Can you give us a breakdown as to how you got involved in this show again? Were you looking to come back and what happened? Did Ryan give you a call and say, listen, I’ve got this sick, twisted character that I want you to play?
DM: Yes, we talked in the summer and he said he was looking for something for me to come back. I wanted to come back and we weren’t sure in what capacity. Then the day the show aired, he called me and said he wanted me to come back as the son of ‘Bloody Face,’ the modern day ‘Bloody Face.’ He just told me; I hadn’t read any of the script, so I knew nothing about it. It was sort of a blind call. When he told me the story of it, I was just like flabbergasted. I mean, I couldn’t get—because it was just so horrendous how this guy would survive and what he would become and who he was. I was just fascinated by him. It was so different from, obviously, ‘Ben Harmon,’ to come back to this same show with a different character. I just thought it was a great way to make television completely different from anything you see on television, because when do you get to play different characters on the same show.?

MS: Without giving too much away, can you tell us how many more episodes you’re going to be appearing in?
DM: I will be, I believe, in the next three out of four.

MS: I realize it’s early yet, but could you see yourself coming back for the third series, if Ryan came up with another big idea for you?
DM: Yes, I mean I love this show. I just think it’s just really—if I wasn’t on the show, I’d be watching it; so I’m a fan of this show as much as an actor on the show. So whatever—like I said before, I really trust Ryan and he has a great instinct with me. If he asks me to come back on, of course.

MS: Do you have a favorite type of horror story?
DM: I do like the Polanski stuff more than anything else. I mean, “Rosemary’s Baby” is still one of my favorite movies of all time. The idea of her being impregnated with the devil and all that stuff is just like so frightening and being in New York at The Dakota, it’s so scary. I’m going to work on a movie, actually, in February, called “Mercy from Jason” and there is a similar theme to “Rosemary’s Baby” in the movie. So somewhere I am attracted to that in a strange way, so that does scare me; the sort of demon baby, more than anything else. Like we had in the first season of American Horror.

MS: Since you like psychological thrillers a lot…the whole demon baby aspect, would you ever consider doing a remake of “Rosemary’s Baby?”
DM: No, because that’s a great movie. I don’t think you can—it’s like remaking “Psycho.” You can’t. Some movies you just can’t remake and that certainly is one of them. Some things should be just left alone—maybe the sequel to “Rosemary’s Baby,” but not the remake.

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Mark Consuelos talks about role in “American Horror Story: Asylum”

Mark Consuelos guest starred this season on the hit FX series “American Horror Story: Asylum”, where he plays the role of ‘Spivey,’ an inmate at Briarcliff who we first seen during a rough encounter with another character. Mark’s character recently reappeared during the episode titled “The Origins of Monstrosity”. Media Mikes had the chance to talk recently with Mark about his appearance on the show.

Adam Lawton: Can you tell us how you got involved in this part?
Mark Consuelos: Yes. I am friends with Ryan Murphy and he wanted to talk about this particular project. We had dinner one night and he explained the role and how ‘Spivey’ was going to look. We really got into the physical characteristics of ‘Spivey’ and he did warn me that he’s going to be a super dark kind of character, extremely demented, and for me I said, you understand that’s exactly why I would want to play ‘Spivey.’

AL: Were you allowed to give your own input in developing the character yourself, or did they have a certain agenda for you to work the character?
MC: I think that with most good scripts and good shows they expect the actor to bring some of their ideas and some of the things, the back story of the character, or just certain aspects, they expect the actor to do some of that stuff, and I think it’s always a good collaboration between the actor, the writer and the director to try stuff out during the process. I think what was really great is that people were open to certain things and they would let you know if that was something they wanted you to do more, cut that in half, do more of that, we need you to do this, but I feel like on any really good show everybody comes with their own stuff and you want to try as much as you can. I would say that the character was really clear in some of the things that he’d been doing and some of these actions, so it makes it easier for the actor. With this character there wasn’t really a lot of gray area here. They wrote him very specifically, which I really appreciated. But just because they are very specific about those things, it doesn’t mean that it limits you. Actually, it makes those possibilities and some of your choices even greater.

AL: Would you say that you’re more of a fan of that type of direction, or do you like to sometimes havea little bit more defining in a role?
MC: No, I love the collaboration. I think every actor would probably say that it’s always a collaboration and if you ask directors they expect the actors to bring something. They don’t want to be thinking for everybody. I think I enjoy this kind of – again, I think it was a hybrid of both. There was a lot of collaboration but it was also very, very specific with an extremely specific views, especially from Ryan, on certain things that I thought were really good. You have to have a specific view and you have to be pretty precise about that. I think as an actor it’s always great to have a little bit of both

AL: What was the make-up process like for this role?
MC: It took anywhere from two and a half to three and a half hours, depending on what’s going on. Whenever they say it’s going to take that long I’m like, yes, right, there’s no way, what’s so
hard about that. But these guys are definitely artists. They’re amazing at what they do. Just
getting it on and then once they get the stuff on the prosthetics, the way they go about touching
them up and painting them and adjusting them, like I said they’re really artists.

AL: With the show being so dark how do you protect yourself from taking that character and the tension of the storytelling home with you every night?
MC: As dark as you think the stuff that you’re doing as an actor on that show is, once you watch it you’re like, oh, man, it could have been a lot darker, having seen some of the other things that people were doing. And so I don’t know, I saw it as such a great opportunity that I literally had so much fun doing it and there was excitement about doing it, and I didn’t have that much trouble separating myself from what was going on, on set.

AL: It was just announced that the show is being picked up for a third season. Would you be interested in being on the show again for next season?
MC: Absolutely! It’s been so fun just to be part of it, the whole buzz around the show is exciting, and then when it actually starts airing people absolutely love it. I got extreme street credibility from my high school aged son, he’s like, “Dad, the fact that you’re in “American Horror Story” is absolutely cool.” I was like, “I’m not sure if it’s appropriate for you.” And he was like, “Dad, come on, I’m a New York City kid in high school”.

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Jessica Lange chats about her role in “American Horror Story: Asylum”

Jessica Lange played the role of Constance in “American Horror Story” last year and ended up winning both a Emmy and a Golden Globe for her role in the show. In “American Horror Story: Asylum”, Lange is back and is playing the role of Sister Jude, with an even darker past. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Jessica Lange about the role in the show and her feelings on this season.

Mike Gencarelli: I think in the first season the scares were certainly slightly more supernatural and this one it’s more real, serial killers, and far more bloody. What effect do you think that has on the audience for “American Horror Story: Asylum”?
Jessica Lange: I think it’s darker. I think the whole story is darker this time. It deals, I think, on a much darker psychological level. You’ve got human experiments. I think in some way last season was a ghost story, and this season it really is the darker parts of the human psyche that Ryan is exploring. I think the affect is that it’s hard to watch, I hear that from people a lot. “I can’t watch it, it’s too horrifying,” or whatever. I don’t know, I think you have to strike a balance. I think this season became darker than anybody anticipated, just because of the subject areas that they laid out in the beginning, I mean, the thing with the ex-Nazi SS doctor and human experiments, and the serial killer based on this character Ed Gein. Yes, the warehousing of human beings in these institutions, madness, I mean, yes, there’s a lot of subjects that they’re covering, the Catholic Church, that lend themselves to great horror stories.

MG: Can you reflect on the difference between your characters from the first season, Constance very much seemed to be the puppet master, but in the second season Jude is fast becoming our very complex hero as the season develops. How different are Jude’s intentions to Constance’s, and what did you really want to bring to Jude that you may not have been able to do with Constance?
JL: I think “puppet master” is a very good description of Constance. The thing that I found, kind of the spine of the character of Constance, was that this was a woman who had basically lost everything and had nothing left to lose and also was extremely, what can I say, unafraid, so she just manipulated her way and put herself in situations that probably other people would not have. With Jude she has a lot to lose because she’s holding on to something that she feels has saved her life and redeemed her, and then when it all becomes clear that everything was false, from the idea that she did not run over and kill this child, which is what sent her on this whole path, trying to find some kind of life, some redemption, some spiritual life, that when she discovers everything is false from the beginning, there’s a descent into madness that is completely different and for me much more interesting to play. I thought Constance was a wonderful character, she was kind of a throwback to the ’40s, kind of tough dame, sweet talking but with a real edge, she did not suffer fools, nothing went past her, she had a way of moving through everything and getting what she wanted. This woman is much more vulnerable and I think in some way tragic. She’s destroyed her life. She’s an addict. She’s an alcoholic. She’s had bad luck with men, a lot of bad men in her life. And she’s come to the end of the road with the hopes that this church, that this man, the Monsignor, is going to save her, that she’ll become something else, that she’ll make her life worth living. And of course that all comes down, crashing, and she’s left absolutely alone, completely and totally alone, and those are two things I love playing because you also find them in Williams’ characters, the thing of aloneness, the idea of being completely alone in the world and couple that with madness, and it’s a really potent combination to play.

MG: Do you want more challenges in your “American Horror Story” tenure? Is there ever times you feel it goes to far?
JL: Well, there are times when I’ve said, “I think this is too much,” but that’s not been too often because they tend to write for me less action and I don’t know, maybe more kind of psychological. But that’s been better. I wouldn’t really know how to do a lot of the really intense action scenes, so I have a few of those but not many. I think there was a leap of faith on my part just thinking, well, if I’m going to do this I’m going to do this. And I think as an actor you have to have trust, you have to believe that somebody is taking care of you or watching your back, because with a part like this especially and where we’re going with it, I can’t pull any punches, I can’t do it halfway, especially when you’re dealing with madness and this descent into madness, and I really felt like, okay, I’m going to embrace this 100% and hopefully somebody will look out for me and not let me completely humiliate myself. Yes, it’s combined. I’ve never worked this way before where it’s so fluid between the creators, the writers, and me. Usually you get a script and it’s there and it’s start to finish, and this kind of evolves and morphs as we go along. I do have more input, but then there are of course limitations within the structure of the whole story and the trajectory of where it’s going. But it’s been interesting. It’s been an interesting challenge.

MG: Since you have a background in photography, have you ever collaborated with the DP or ask questions or have an opinion about the visual layout of the show?
JL: Well, I’m very curious about the way it looks, yes. I always watch cinematographers on the set because in some way I think having spent 30 years making movies, maybe it’s 35 now, I think I’ve been informed in my photography by filmmakers, by the cinematographer, so that I’m drawn always, when I take a photograph what prompts me to lift my camera and click the shutter usually has a great deal to do with setting, with lighting, with the choreography, the grouping. So I think that, in fact I’m just looking now at the wall, I’ve got all these little 8x10s of Day of the Dead, I was there in Oaxaca just a month ago, and yes, it has a very cinematic feel to it. And I think because I’ve been doing movies as long as I have, that one lends itself to the other. I understand, and I’m very curious, about how you light specifically for dramatic emphasis. And I think Michael Goy in this series that we’re doing is a master at that. He really does an amazing job lighting this show. Yes, it’s amazing to watch him do it and to create the emotions. And through the ambience, through the lighting, right away you have an instantaneous emotional reaction before the scene even plays out.

MG: Which actor have you enjoyed working with most this season?
JL: One of my favorite actors that I worked with in these episodes last year and this year is Frances Conroy. There’s just something in her, I don’t know there’s something, when we’re on screen together something happens. I think one of my favorite scenes that I’ve played this year is the scene from, I guess it was Episode 7 in the diner when she’s come for me as the Angel of Death, and I don’t know, there’s almost a connection that you can’t really describe. But certain actors I think just find something when they’re working together, and that’s how I felt in these scenes with Frannie. But every actor that I’ve worked with on this, I mean, James, Sarah, and Lily and Ian, it’s just a pleasure to work with them. And even actors who come in for just a day’s work have been amazing and have really brought something and make your work better.

MG: Tell us about your plans to return for a third season?
JL: Well, we haven’t really talked about it too much, and all that stuff is still under discussion. I think I will try it again, depending on what the story is and who the character is and all of that, so we’ll see what happens. I’m just exhausted from this whole experience. And this season, it seems like it’s gone on forever and I really don’t have a thought about next season yet. There’s a lot of stuff that will come up, but as of now I hate to say I haven’t given it any thought whatsoever.

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Zachary Quinto talks about his big reveal in “American Horror Story: Asylum”

Zachary Quinto is known best for playing the roles of Sylar in the fan-favorite series “Heroes” and also Spock from the “Star Trek” franchise reboot. He plays the role of Dr. Oliver Thredson in the FX hit series “American Horror Story: Asylum”. In a recent episode of the show it was revealed that Ounito’s character is in fact the serial killer known as “Bloody Face.” Media Mikes had the chance to speak with Zachary recently about the role and how it has differed from that of his role in season one of the show.

Adam Lawton: How has playing this seasons character differed from other characters you played?
Zachary Quinto: I think any time an actor revisits territory that they’ve been in before, it can be a source of trepidation, as it was for me. But part of the reason that I loved what the opportunity stood for was that I got to know, going in what/who my character was going to be and I got to really build something. With “Heroes” that character was built before I was ever attached to it. There were eight episodes of anticipation that were built before you met “Gabriel Gray” I had no participation in that. So for me, it was really exciting to get to go in having all the information, and actually be part of the process of creating a character. That, to me, was a difference. This role/character is self-contained and it was an immersion that I’m not going to be repeating or carrying on for an extended period of time. It was something I got to go do and contribute and benefit and grow and learn, and then be on to other creative pursuits and that, I think that is an environment in which I thrive. So I was really excited about all those elements.

AL: Were there meetings where you actually talked about the direction of your character?
ZQ: Yes, I had a few conversations with Ryan and Brad before we started. Ryan and I had a couple of connections about what he was thinking and I had some questions and had a chance to contribute to what I would like to see. But once they got going, it’s like their engines just drive them and all of us forward in such surprising and unexpected ways, so the vast majority of that comes from them and actually bring it to life. That’s how I see it.

AL: How do you prepare mentally to play this dark, demented kind of role, and do you enjoy it, or find it more of a challenge?
ZQ: It depends on the scene. There are different levels of preparation for different scenes in different kinds of work. So I have a combination of things that I do. I usually just find some solitude and some quiet in a little corner of the set where there’s not a lot of traffic and not a lot of people around and do what it is that I need to do. I listen to music a lot, if I need to get into a particular emotional space, I use that and just other sort of stretching, just breathing, taking time to mostly be quiet and find that kind of stillness. I think that’s important. I love playing characters that go to extreme places and I love to explore different kinds of psychological landscapes, so it is ultimately a kind of fun, but it’s also complicated and colored by the depth of the nastiness of it at certain times as well. That can be a challenging part.

AL: Did your friendship with Sarah Paulson have any effect on how you reacted in the scenes with her?
ZQ: I have a respect for Sarah as an actress, but it’s a rare and unique opportunity to show up to work with a really good friend. Oftentimes, friendships are formed on set and through these kinds of experiences. It’s even a richer experience when you already have that foundation of friendship. So there’s an implicit trust and sensitivity to each other and our needs and our instincts and our individual process. It’s really a remarkable gift in a lot of ways. We also are able to have more fun, I think, and laugh at a situation a little bit more. There’s less awkwardness to cut through. I think it strengthens the connection that the characters share, whether it’s friendship or torture or hostage, whatever it may be. I love going to work anyway, no matter whom I’m working with, but in particular with Sarah, I think she’s doing such wonderful work on the show that I also just love watching her character and the journey that she’s taking. She’s gone to so many extreme and challenging emotional places, and done it so beautifully and dynamically. I just think her work is so incredible, so it’s been a joy for me, really, this whole experience.

AL: We have seen “Bloody Face” in a few present day scenes. Will we find out whether present day “Bloody Face” is also “Thredson”?
ZQ: Wouldn’t that be cool? Yes, you’ll find all that out. It was pretty freaky and cool. I mean it’s really driving to a point. The storytelling structure of “American Horror Story: Asylum” I think is really going to pay off in a really big way. So I think all of the questions that people have, and that the episodes that are airing right now are generating, will definitely be answered. That’s my instinct, at least, having read up through almost the end now.

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Mark Margolis talks about his role in “American Horror Story: Asylum”

Mark Margolis talks about his role in “American Horror Story: Asylum” playing the role of Sam Goodman. He appeared as a Nazi hunter introduce in the episode “I Am Anne Frank, Part 2”. Mark is also known for his role of Tito in “Breaking Bad”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Mark about his role on the show.

Adam Lawton: How did working on this set of “American Horror Story” compare to maybe the work you did on “Breaking Bad” or one of the other series that you’ve been involved with?
Mark Margolis: Well, they took the bell away from me.
AL: Ding, ding.
MM: I had to actually speak, so that was tough. They soon discovered that the guy is better with a bell, but it was too late because they had already employed me. I mean, Breaking Bad is a whole other thing. It’s in a whole other locale, in New Mexico, which is a whole other feeling and this was a strange 1964 kind of shabby motel room. It was just a whole other–it was something about working in American Horror Story; everything was very brown and gray, which is the complete opposite of New Mexico, even though my character in New Mexico was sometimes in a grim nursing home; whatever. It was completely different. It was a whole other kind of man with a whole other demeanor, a whole other world, and had come from a whole other world etc., etc.

AL: Do you find the character of Tio being–obviously it had to be a little bit more of a challenge without speaking much compared to the Sam Goodman character?
MM: Not really because all of it is–in both cases, it’s just like in life, we’re responding to what’s coming at us. Even though Tio can’t speak, his mind works well, and he’s responding to what’s coming at him. In this case, my character was able to speak and respond. There is an equivalence in that area of acting, I guess I would say.

AL: What was it about maybe portraying a Nazi hunter, what lured you to the role of “Sam Goodman”?
MM: Nazi hunters are kind of fascinating characters. I was actually–about a year and a half ago, I was up for a film with Sean Penn, the part of a Nazi hunter, and it was a marvelous character. I think the film is coming out in a couple of months called This Must Be the Place. The part eventually went to Judd Hirsch, but I was really hot to do it. Those are fascinating characters. I’ve read over the years–I’ve read a great deal about Simon Wiesenthal, who is probably the world’s most famous Nazi hunter. I think he’s the one that located Eichman in Argentina, or he’s located others. They’re fascinating people with a certain kind of a mission of devoting their lives to catching these people who are aging and dying–I think that world is almost disappearing at this point. If there’s anybody left, they’re in their 90s. When I heard that it was a Nazi hunter, I was quite excited about that.

AL: What is the reason why people really enjoy “American Horror Story”? Maybe it’s the format, or maybe it’s just something inside of us that we just love to be subjected to this kind of visual trauma?
MM: Well, it’s got wonderful actors on it, the principles. The regulars on the show are quite incredible. I mean Jessica Lange is amazing. Cromwell is amazing. There’s a whole group of them that are quite terrific; the regulars. I’ve never seen a show like that. I worked in all of Darren Aronofsky’s films. On some level I find a lot of the way that they cut from one thing to another to an eyeball. They’re always going to eyeballs. It’s very reminiscent of what Aronofsky did in his first film Pi where there were these very quick cuts. You know; you’d see a needle, an arm, and then an eyeball expand. They seem to have–I mean I don’t know, they seemed to have gotten some inspiration from the way that Aronofsky’s films cut from one thing to another. That also used in other films of his, but I don’t know, I’m sure there are other people that have possibly done what Aronofsky did, and that kind of movement is pretty exciting I think in a way as opposed to things that go on for five minutes and nothing much changes. It’s kind of exciting. It’s a jump from one thing to another thing to another thing; it’s like pop, pop, pop.

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The Dude Designs’ Thomas Hodge talks creating art for the horror genre

Thomas Hodge is the man behind The Dude Designs (thedudedesigns.blogspot.com). He is a
freelance film poster art director, designer and illustrator for such films as “Hobo With a Shotgun”, “The Innkeepers”, “Fathers Day!”, Arrow Video Covers: “Savage Streets”, “Jaguar Lives” and many others. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Thomas about his work and his love for the horror genre.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about your got started with The Dude Designs?
Thomas Hodge: It was creative frustration and a passion for film. I’ve been in the design industry for over twelve years now, going through all types of design from corporate business to in-store promo for toys & DVD’s, general design agencies and have spent quite a few years in and out the games industry, creating key art for packaging etc. Creatively I felt I was always held back from producing something which would standout. so I rediscovered my love of old video cover art and that sent the old cogs grinding and i started experimenting more with styles and design to tap into that classic vain, in a market i felt was running dry creatively. I suppose the initial inspiration was for an intoxicated night at the midnight movies screening of the grindhouse film. I was over there with a bunch of mates and they had silly draw a grindhouse poster so I entered my drunken scrawl for a poster of DUDE! Which I then later worked up into one of my early video cover experiments:

MG: How did you get involved doing film posters and DVD/Blu-ray covers?
TH: Like I said I started experimenting creating flyers for midnight movies night. It’s easier to start the wheels in motion design wise (I find) if you have a purpose, so doing the flyers on the side gave me that initial push (i was still working full time creatively) but it made me experiment with my passion of film as the medium, if you will. Creating the blog then gave me a platform to get this work out there for people to see. So from there I then was starting an art project creating old video nasty covers really getting wrapped up in all the little design niches that I loved, I was still working more with photographic imagery so to really capture that inspiration essence which excited me about this type of art I needed to push it further, and I worked on a self project titled Cannon (a mock 70 crime action drama based on my love of “Death Wish” and 70s Italian crime cinema) then I tackled a competition for Empire Film Mag in the UK and the response was great, with that style and my other work at Sony I picked up the arrow covers. Still wanting to push it further I saw the release of “Hobo “loved it and contacted the guys about creating a poster, they said sure love to see what you can do, i worked my nuts off on that. they loved it so much they brought it and used it… the rest as they say is history, but I’m still trying to push my style and work further with each project, I’m aiming for world domination of bust!

MG: Your work is a breath of fresh air from all the lame (giant heads) Hollywood posters, tell us about your influence?
TH: EVERYTHING from my childhood to adolescence, video rental shop shelves. Artist wise Graham Humphrey’s work form films like “Evil Dead”, “Nightmare on Elm Street”, “The Return of The Lliving Dead”, “Spookies”, “The Stuff”… man the list goes on. Enzo Sciotti, who is an amazing Italian poster artist from the 70’s and 80’s. Frant Frazetta for his use of form and figures is just incredible! Even the more minimal work of Stephen Frankfurt has influenced me. All the greats which seem to have been forgotten about and over looked, good design has been excluded from commercial (I’m not talking about ‘limited edition’ screen prints) film posters for far too long now. The responsibility of that doesn’t come down to the designers either it’s the distributors who feel dumb is best to sell. My work has been swapped out for some appalling designs on DVD releases; did you SEE what they did to the Innkeepers in the UK? I’m always searching out new inspiration trying to push the envelope.

MG: How much freedom do you have when working on a project?
TH: Again it depends on the client, I usually try to get a lot though, why higher me else? If you’re going to pay me I will promise to deliver the best god damn poster design I can to appropriately promote your film to an audience. A lot of the time they will request a montage style poster, so that will be the framework but I like to experiment and try to sell other styles in to. At the end of the day I’m trying to get people trusting in what I do creatively and I sell myself more as a creative director of these projects. Working with directors directly gives the most freedom I find, they trust you and it usually forms the best relationships. I don’t do design by committee been there done that.

MG: What do you enjoy most about working in the horror genre?
TH: The fantasy element, it gives you that fun visual hook to play with. You can let your imagination run wild; I wish people would make more rubber monster films again. I feel I make as many twisted action flick as horror though.

MG: What is your favorite 80’s horror films? Current horror film?
TH: Oh man, how longs a piece of string? Er…. I honestly can’t say. I love them all for their 80’s cheesy. More modern is easier as there’s a lot less on the list (excluding all the ones i worked on as I don’t want to be seen showing favoritism) “Wendigo”, “Last Winter”, “I Can See You”, “Session 9”, “Pontypool”, “28 Days later”, “Altered”, “The Objective”, “Let The Right One In (Swedish)” and “Insidious” (that’s quite a mainstream one for me) stood out for me.

MG: How do you approach a project like the design for “They Live” Blu-ray?
TH: Well I look at what the films message is, visually how its approach and style, setting are. Then work on a visual which reflects those messages to the viewer. it’s an 80s action extravaganza combined with social commentary, staring one of the greatest wrestlers ever. So that’s what I drew! I was so enamored in the film in my head I was trying to produce a piece which had almost religious iconography undertones and Piper with Keith where latter day saints standing against adversity! Crazy shit hey, at first you may see big guns but if you look deeper there are messages. It doesn’t need to be like a minimal to be clever!

MG: What other projects do you have planned upcoming?
TH: We two corking (actually four) posters yet to get released for “Almost Human”, “Wake Before I Die” (bit of a change of gear on that one so see how people react, that’s always fun!). Then I got another poster for “Would You Rather” (which has a classic flavor) and a big fun monster one for “Hypothermia”, if they release it.

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Filed Under: Interviews, Misc Interviews Tagged With: art, creating, designs, dude, genre, hodge, ...

Chloë Sevigny talks about co-starring in FX’s “American Horror Story: Asylum”

Chloë Sevigny is known best for her iconic roles in films like “Boys Don’t Cry” and TV show’s like “Big Love”. In FX’s “American Horror Story: Asylum” Chloë plays the role of “Shelley,” one of the inmates at Briarcliff Manor committed because of nymphomania. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Chloë about the show and what we can expect this season.

Adam Lawton: What drew you to the project “American Horror Story: Asylum”?
Chloë Sevigny: I guess it was having watched the first season and just being a fan of the show. I just thought it was so rich, the production design and costumes and how much detail went into it and I just thought it was wildly entertaining. I was hoping the second season would be as much so. I didn’t get to read any scripts prior to signing on, so I was kind of going in on blind faith hoping that it would be what I wanted it to be and it’s proven so.

AL: Were you able to work with Ryan [Murphy] with your character and develop Shelley” along, or was everything kind of fed to you week by week?
CS: Yes, it was more week to week. I mean I think that’s mostly how television works. It’s a real writer’s medium and it’s not so much collaborative. It’s not like a film, so it’s pretty much all on the page. There were some bits where I asked Ryan for more lines, so that seemed to beef it up here and there and they tried to do that for me. That was probably the extent of it.

AL: What is it working with James Cromwell? I don’t know what he’s doing to you, but it’s really scary.
CS: Oh, it gets much scarier. He was good. I mean I was a huge fan of his. I actually saw him in a café right before we started shooting and I went up to him introduced myself and he just like, “I’m so looking forward to chopping off your legs.” Yes, he was great. I mean you know he was really into rehearsing the scenes before and really exploring it to its fullest, so that was kind of nice. Sometimes people just go in and just hit their marks and he really wanted to work everything out before. He was really … in that regard.

AL: Can give us some insight into preparation you do with James Cromwell, who’s “Dr. Arden,” and if you discuss the scene ahead of time. These are not just typical scenes. There’s a lot of almost physical abuse, and if you can give us some insight into your conversations with these actors to prepare?
CS: Well, yes, there’s always a stunt guy on set also, and you go through all the motions. You kind of block out the physical bits, the throwing and the pulling and tugging and if it gets too rough, because sometimes an actor can lose himself in a scene and so I always remind them I’m supposed to sell it. Whoever is getting the brunt of it is supposed to do all the acting, do all the selling of the violence and whatnot, so there’s a lot of—especially in the scene in the office with Tim and I, there was a lot of—I think we blocked that scene for like three hours, far longer than it took us to shoot it even just getting all the action down. I mean it’s quite scary because James was so big and he was wielding this big kind of paperweight at me. He was getting really close and it was pretty frightening actually doing that scene. I was really exhausted at the end of that day, and it was quite scary while we were in it. His arms are so long I was so afraid he was actually going to knock me out.

AL: Could just talk about the challenge of acting with no legs?
CS: Well, the prosthetic pieces that they put on made it impossible to straighten my legs, so I had to keep my legs bent all day and I had to be wheeled around in a wheelchair and I was feeling quite helpless. It was a strange feeling to have to need assistance to do lots of different things. And that was probably the most challenging part, feeling kind of helpless in that way.

AL: Can you give your take on Shelley’s character. She’s obviously billed as a nympho, but then there’s that question of whether she truly is addicted to it, or she just likes it more than other people. What’s your take on that?
CS: I don’t know if people truly are addicted to that. There’s so much talk about it as of late. I think that she was a little wild and her husband had it within his power to commit her and I think kind of once she’s in there, she kind of goes with it to come to who she is and how she identifies herself. So I think that she probably yes really likes sex. All the reaction, I don’t know if she’s quite a real nymphomaniac.

AL: You’re playing a very specific character here, an inmate in a sanitarium and then for your next role you’re playing a driven detective, and that seems like a more grounded part. I’m wondering how you shift as an actor from one role to another? Do you have to shake off Shelley before you play Catherine in “Those Who Kill”, or you find moving between roles to be an easy transition?
CS: I find it pretty easy. I’ve already wrapped “American Horror Story” a couple of months ago. I think they might have me come back for something else. I’m not sure, so I’ll have plenty of time and then of course delving into the scripts and research and … with playing “Catherine” they’ll probably be some training involved also, so just trying to immerse yourself in whatever you’re doing at the time. While we were shooting “American Horror Story”, I was also shooting “Portlandia”, so I was going from one set to the next, and I’d never really done that before. And “Portlandia” was so new for me because it’s all improvisation and trying to be funny and all that, so it was quite difficult when you’re shooting two at the same time. But I think having basically … is a better way to go.

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Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: american, asylum, horror, story

Morgan Fairchild talks about Syfy’s “American Horror House”

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.

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Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: american, fairchild, horror, house, morgan, syfys, ...

Blu-ray Review “American Horror Story: The Complete First Season”

Created by: Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk
Actors: Connie Britton, Dylan McDermott, Taissa Farmiga, Jessica Lange, Evan Peters, Frances Conroy, Kate Mara.
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Rated TV-MA
Release Date: Sep 25, 2012
Running Time: 534 minutes

Season: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars

When I first saw a promo for “American Horror Story”, I thought to myself that it was going to be absolutely amazing but not going to last. Before shows like “The Walking Dead”, horror does not have a good track record. To my surprise this show became one of the best shows of last year. It was nominated for 17 Emmy’s and brought Jessica Lange home a Golden Globe. Well it really did deserve it…every bit of it. This show is really sharp writing, fantastic acting and really sticks with you after watching each episode. It there is a definition of must-see TV, this is it.

Official Premise: Brace yourself for an addictive thrill ride! American Horror Story is TV’s most original new drama, a deeply stylish psychosexual haunt devised to keep you on the edge of your seat. The Harmon’s (Dylan McDermott, Connie Britton) fresh start in a new home deviously twists to reveal discoveries of love, sex and murderous revenge. Featuring a Golden Globe-winning performance by Jessica Lange, Season 1 scares up a host of engrossing extras.

The Blu-ray presentation of the the show delivers, thanks to 20th Century Fox. The three-disc set presents the show in 1080p transfers with its 1.78:1 broadcast aspect ratio, as well as it’s very effective DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks. The music and score in the film is just as haunting as the show itself and it plays well on this release. The show was in HD on TV but only 1080i (and if you ever DVRed the show, it would be lower), so this is a nice upgrade from broadcast to high-def TV.

The special features are great but could have used just a little more umph. They add up to over sixty minutes of additional content, but luckily all of it is actually impressive. ?There is a commentary track on the pilot episode by Ryan Murphy, must listen for fans. There is a tour of the “The Murder House” presented by Eternal Darkness Tours of Hollywood, good for a laugh. Then there are four very in-depth behind-the-scenes featurettes including “Behind the Fright: The Making of American Horror Story”, “On the Set of American Horror Story Season One”, “Overture to Horror: Creating the Title Sequence” and “Out of the Shadows: Meet the House Ghosts”. I liked learning about the ideas that went into the show’s creation and hearing from all the cast/crew about their experiences. I think if you are a fan of this show this release is going to leave you very satisfied and at least hold you off until season two begins this Fall.

DVD Review “The Complete Hammer House of Horror”

Director: Peter Sasdy, Tom Clegg, Alan Gibson
Starring: Peter Cushing, Denholm Elliott, Pierce Brosnan
Distributed by: Synapse Films
Release Date: September 11, 2012
Running Time: 702 minutes

Series: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars

If you are wondering who to so thank you for this great release, all the praise needs to go to Synapse Films. They are the ones behind this complete series of “Hammer House of Horror”, which is presented in their original airdate order, with all-new introductions. Even those this show is from the 1980, the episodes are still creepy and feel rather timeless. The episodes presentation…well that’s another story, which I’ll cover more below. I just wish that this series ran longer than 13 episodes. Nonetheless hardcore fans will be doing back flips for this release.

There is plenty of Hammer regulars, including Peter Cushing (Twins of Evil, Star Wars) and Denholm Elliot (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Patricia Quinn (The Rocky Horror Picture Show) and even Pierce Brosnan (GoldenEye) shows up. Like other anthology shows like “The Twilight Zone”, each episode of this series takes us on a completely new tale of horror and suspense. Being a die-hard fan of Hammer, this release is truly the shit. It carries the Hammer name with pride and makes sure to include plenty of gore, boobs, and plain ole gothic macabre, which is what made Hammer so great.

The episodes are presented it full frame with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. This is exactly how the show was originally filmed and broadcasted. Don’t worry though these episodes look damn good. There is some fuzzy spots and print flaws pretty but overall nothing that affects the viewing experience. All of the episodes are pumped with Dolby Digital mono tracks, which of course is true to the original airings over 30 years ago. The special features are decent but not amazing. Like i said above their are episode introductions from Film Historian Shane M. Dallmann. There are two featurettes included as well. The first is called “Grave Recollections: A Visit with Kathryn Leign Scott and the second is called “Hammer Housekeeping: A Visit with Mia Nadasi. Both are short but sweet. Lastly there is a decent “Animated Still Gallery”, which Hammer always deliver on stills.

EPISODE LISTING:
Witching Time
The Thirteenth Reunion
Rude Awakening
Growing Pains
The House That Bled to Death
Charlie Boy
The Silent Scream
Children of the Full Moon
Carpathian Eagle
Guardian of the Abyss
Visitor from the Grave
The Two Faces of Evil
The Mark of Satan

Linnea Quigley chats about 80’s horror and reflects on her cult classic roles

Linnea Quigley is known best for her scream queen roles in films like Trash from “The Return of the Living Dead” and “Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers”. She is the topic of focus in the new documentary “Screaming in High Heels: The Rise & Fall of the Scream Queen Era” along with Michelle Bauer and Brinke Stevens. Media Mikes had a chance to chat 80’s horror with Linnea and chatted about the dozen projects she has still yet to come.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us how “Screaming in High Heels: The Rise & Fall of the Scream Queen Era” came about?
Linnea Quigley: It was amazing. I got a call and asked about being in the documentary. They flew me out to Los Angeles. It was Michelle (Bauer), Brinke (Stevens) and I. And I haven’t seen Michelle in forever. It was really great seeing everybody. I really liked Jason. I wasn’t sure it was going to be as big as it has been. It was on Chiller TV. I went to the premiere screening in Chicago. It is just a greatdocumentary. It gives so much information but in a few way.

MG: [laughs] Great. Better obviously than being called pimple face. I was really shy in my school years.
LQ: To be called, it was just amazing. It was just the ultimate honor to hear that. It is something you never think of but always wish for it. A lot of women say it’s degrading but if it happened to them, I am sure they wouldn’t say that [laughs].

MG: Trash from “The Return of the Living Dead” has to be one of the best characters in the genre, can you reflect looking back on the role?
LQ: Oh man, I loved being in that role. I was into the punk rock thing and I was in a band. My character is not like who I am personally, so it was fun to play her. When you are that age, you don’t think anything is every going to happen to you and talk about death. It was fun to play that sort of character.

MG: How long did the make-up take once you turned zombie?
LQ: With all the painting of me and everything, I would say a good six hours. I have had some longer ones as well. The hard part was trying to get that white off afterwards because it had to be waterproof. You can imagine going home at 6am in the morning and nothing gets this off. The producer had me sit in his really nice Jaguar and there is still makeup he still can’t get off this leather seat [laughs]

MG: 1988, brought some of your most unique titles films “Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers” and “Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama”, why do you feel these films are still loved by the fans?
LQ: For some reason, there are just some films that make an impact. They just had all the write qualities. They just came together with the right music and cast. You could’nt ever redo these films. It was just a special time. It was just the type of movie that never gets old.

MG: I always loved the idea of your “Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout”, how did that comes about?
LQ: We were on the set of “Murder Weapon” and Ken Hall and I just started talking about what a good workout it is to do a horror film. I had to swing this axe over and over again. We just started brainstorming and decided to do it. We got the financing and just did it. We are actually doing to be doing a commentary soon and re-released it on DVD. We have a lot of funny stories just from the two days it took to get it done.

MG: How do you feel about “Silent Night, Deadly Night” getting remade?
LQ: Oh I didn’t know it! I thought it was remade a bunch of times already lol. The second one is like the first one [laughs]. It is news to me though. I hate to say it but they are going to have to come up with something pretty good because that film has been stretched out thin.

MG: How do you feel that the horror genre changed over the years, especially with all the recent remakes?
LQ: The only remake that I have liked is “Piranha 3D”. The “Scream” and “Saw” franchises are all more for the gore factor then a real plot. The first ones are ok but then they just get very unrealistic. There is a huge difference between the “Sleepaway Camp” series and then the “Saw” series.

MG: Did you ever get to keep an our your outfits or props from your films?
LQ: Well, when I first started I never thought there was a need to keep things. I have somethings from “Return of the Living Dead”. I was promised my outfit from “Night of the Demons”, but never came through with it. A lot of the movies I’ve done, we had to supply our own wardrobe so I do have those things. I have an ensemble of clothes to wear. I have the top from The “Horror Workout” still and the G-String from “Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers”. It is kind of funny.

MG: Tell us what you have planned upcoming?
LQ: Yep, “Celluoid Bloodbath: More Prevues from Hell”comes out October 9th. They show trailers and I do little intros. That is really fun to watch to you like the older horror. “Cougar Cult” just got into Redbox. So I got to Redbox everyday and go “Oh…have you think this film” [laughs]. “Caesar and Otto’s Deadly Christmas” is coming out this Fall, it is really fun. Brinke and I are both in it and there are a bunch of great cameos, like Felissa Rose. Also I am suppose to do this movie called “The Trouble with Barry” later this month. I also just did this film where I have three age changes and a monster costume and that is called “Disciples”, which I also co-produced with Joe Hollow. I just did “Demonica”, which your gonna love this…it’s demons on skates. I did a short “Stella Buio”, which is getting really good reviews and going to the festivals. I also did a video for this band Sexcrement that Victor Bonacore directed, it is just so wild. On top of all that I’ve been doing some conventions. So it has been really amazing.

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Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: 80s, chats, classic, cult, horror, linnea, ...

DVD Review “100 Greatest Horror Classics – Horror Classics + Legends of Horror”

Starring: Vincent PRice, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr., Christopher Lee and Alfred Hitchcock
Number of discs: 24
Distributed by: Mill Creek Entertainment
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Release Date: July 10, 2012
Running Time: 7600 minutes

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

When I saw this release titled “100 Greatest Horror Classics”, I had no choice but to request it to review. It just screams my name. Being a horror buff, I love all things horror and that including this. This release is split into two sets of 50 films including “Horror Classics” and “Legends of Horror”. Let me start by telling you they are not the best transfers of these films but nonetheless, they are 100 of horror greatest films together in one place and that is enough for me. The packaging could have used a little extra loving as the each set includes a jumbo DVD case, both which are held together by one long slipcover. Inside each DVD case are individual DVD sleeves with 12 dual discs. There are two films per side/per disc, obviously totally 50 films per set. I suggest you pick a rainy day put in disc 1 and have yourself a day-long marathon.

So before you get overwhelmed the fact that there are 100 films to watch. Let me throw out a quick number…7600. That is the amount of minutes of horror greatness included in this set. If that doesn’t make you run out and pick this up then nothing will. This release even includes a few films that I have never heard of or seen, so I was very excited about that as well. Mill Creek Entertainment is known for releasing these amazing box sets. They also have a sci-fi themed release as well that I am looking forwarding to reviewing called “100 Greatest Sci-Fi Classics – Sci-Fi Classics + Sci-Fi Invasion”. Keep a look out for that review as well. From cinematic greats to genuine obscurities, this wonderful collection of films easily offer months of entertainment in a single release.

While I not going to give an individual review for each film, as I sure you’ve seen these films already. I will point on some of the notable titles that I really enjoyed. I grew up watching the following titles: The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (1962), Carnival of Souls (1962), Dementia 13 (1963), Horror Express (1972), House on Haunted Hill (1959), The Last Man on Earth (1960), The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), Metropolis (1927), Night of the Living Dead (1968), Nosferatu (Silent) (1922) and of course The Phantom of the Opera (Silent) (1925). I am very happy to be able to have them all in one place. I also am looking forward to introducing all of these titles to my own daughter…but not for a few years since she is only three months currently. I will be re-visiting these titles quite often and I look forward to future installments.

Here are the complete list of the 100 titles including in this fantastic release:

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Chaney Vase (1955)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (1961)
The Amazing Mr. X (1948)
The Ape (1940)
The Ape Man (1943)
Atom Age Vampire (1960)
Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959)
The Bat (1959)
The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961)
The Black Dragons (1942)
Blackmail (1929)
Bloodlust (1959)
Bluebeard (1944)
The Bowery at Midnight (1942)
The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (1962)
Carnival of Souls (1962)
Champagne (Silent) (1928)
The Corpse Vanishes (1942)
Count Dracula and His Vampire Bride (1974)
Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961)
Crimes at the Dark House (1940)
The Crimes of Stephen Hawke (1936)
Dead Men Walk (1943)
Dementia 13 (1963)
The Demon (1979)
The Devil Bat (1940)
The Devil’s Messenger (1962)
Doomed to Die (1940)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Silent) (1920)
Easy Virtue (Silent) (1926)
The End of the World (1977)
The Face at the Window (1939)
The Farmer’s Wife (Silent) (1928)
The Fatal Hour (1940)
The Fury of the Wolf Man (1972)
The Ghost (1963)
The Giant Gila Monster (1959)
The Gorilla (1939)
Horror Express (1972)
House on Haunted Hill (1959)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Silent) (1923)
The Incredible Petrified World (1957)
The Indestructible Man (1956)
The Invisible Ghost (1941)
The Island Monster (1954)
It’s Never Too Late to Mend (1937)
Jamaica Inn (1939)
Juno and the Paycock (1930)
The Killer Shrews (1959)
King of the Zombies (1941)
The Lady Vanishes (1938)
The Last Man on Earth (1960)
The Last Woman on Earth (1960)
Legacy of Blood (1971)
The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
The Lodger (Silent) (1926)
The Long Hair of Death (1964)
The Mad Monster (1942)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
Manfish (1956)
Maniac (1934)
The Manxman (Silent)
Metropolis (1927)
Monster from a Prehistoric Planet (1967)
The Monster Maker (1944)
The Monster Walks (1932)
Murder in the Red Barn (1935)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Nightmare Castle (1965)
The Nightmare Never Ends (1980)
Nosferatu (Silent) (1922)
Number Seventeen (1932)
One Body Too Many (1944)
The Phantom Creeps (1939)
The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1956)
The Phantom of the Opera (Silent) (1925)
Revolt of the Zombies (1936)
Rich and Strange (1932)
The Ring (Silent) (1927)
Sabotage (1936)
A Scream in the Night (1935)
The Screaming Skull (1958)
Secret Agent (1936)
Shadow of Chinatown (1936)
The Shadow of Silk Lennox (1935)
The She-Beast (1966)
Shock (1946)
A Shriek in the Night (1933)
Silent Night, Bloody Night (1974)
The Skin Game (1931)
Swamp Women (1955)
The Terror (1963)
The Thirty-Nine Steps (1935)
The Ticket of Leave Man (1937)
Tormented (1960)
The Vampire Bat (1933)
The Werewolf vs. Vampire Women (1971)
White Zombie (1932)
The World Gone Mad (1933)
Young and Innocent (1937)

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Filed Under: DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews Tagged With: 100, classics, dvd, greatest, horror, legends, ...

Jourdan McClure talks about directing horror film “Rogue River”

Jourdan McClure is the director of the recent horror film “Rogue River”. The film is a great entry into the genre, it doesn’t re-create the wheel but it kicks some major ass. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Jourdan about his new film and what he has planned next.

Mike Gencarelli: Can you tell us how you got involved with “Rogue River”?
Jourdan McClure: I had the story but I needed someone with the ability to take the screen play in the direction it needed to go. I turned to Kevin Haskin, who I had known before and he then brought in Ryan Finnerty, who is another talented screenwriter. Together they created this little world of contained nastiness that “Rogue River” became.

MG: How do you feel this horror film differs from others that are out there?
JM: I think the film is a bit more hyper-realized in terms of its color and photography. I really wanted to pay attention to the aesthetics of the film. We knew going in that we weren’t making the most original plot. We really wanted to play with the idea that execution was going to be key. This film relies more on atmosphere and tension. The thought of something really fucked up happening inside this surreal environment was what we were after. I also wanted the craziness of what was going on to look really pretty. For me this was a great way to start with this being my first film.

MG: What was the biggest challenge on the shoot?
JM: Pre-production was very short on the film combined with this being my first movie made things a little difficult, but we were just running on adrenaline. The weather was pretty tough as we had a stretch of days that the temperature was about 9 degrees. I felt bad for the actors who had to be out in that working while I watched wearing a parka.

MG: What do you enjoy most about the horror genre?
JM: The horror genre incorporates everything. You can throw drama, comedy and or action into these types of films. I love when a movie tries to just be a movie. It takes you to a place you may not necessarily be able to go while adding in some real life elements. I like the idea of stylized fiction. Horror is great because you can be thrown in to hell and at the end of the film you can walk out. It’s like when someone cuts you off while driving and you want to stab them in the face. Being a horror directo,r I can write a scene like that, have it acted out and not get arrested. (Laughs)

MG: What other projects do you have coming out?
JM: I have a film titled “Children of Sorrow” which stars Bill Oberst Jr. The film involves a girl who loses her sister to a cult. The film is a POV movie. So you will see the story from each of the characters. It’s not a found footage film, but it takes aesthetics from that. This is a much more sinister film than “Rogue River”.

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Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: directing, film, horror, jourdan, mcclure, river, ...

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Tag: horror

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