interview Archives - Page 20 of 35

Interview with Tyler Mane

Tyler Mane is best known for his role of Michael Myers in Rob Zombie’s reboot of “Halloween”. Tyler is currently producing films through his company Mane Entertainment. Movie Mikes got a chance to chat with Tyler about his work and also what he has planned upcoming.

Mike Gencarelli: How do you prepare for a role when you come on board a film?
Tyler Mane: Well it all depends on what you are doing. With something like the iconic Michael Myers role. I watched the other films to see what the other Michael Myers did and I wanted to bring something extra to the role. You start my breaking down the script, reading it and seeing what you can bring the role.

MG: You got a chance to play one of horrors greatest villains, Michael Myers, how can you reflect on that experience?
TM: It just crazy how it came about. I was up in Canada, getting ready to talk with producers about another project. The phone rings and it is Rob Zombie. He says “Hey, I want you to play Michael Myers for me for my “Halloween” film” You could tell I did not know a lot about horror because I said “Why would I want to wear a hockey mask” [laughs] and Rob goes “You dumbass, it is not Jason it is the William Shatner/Michael Myers mask”. He then explained his vision for it and I was on board. It was such a fantastic experience to bring that character to live just by body movement.

MG: Tell us about the differences between working on “Halloween” and “Halloween II”?
TM: It was like working with family, after everyone caught up on what everyone had been doing it was down to business. For me it was how was I going to top the first “Halloween”. I spoke with Rob and we both agreed that we needed to amp up the kills and I think right out of the gate with the nurse we did that!

MG: With “Halloween 3D” announced for 2012, are you going to be taking over the role again?
TM: We will see… I do know that they finally have a date locked in now. I have talked with them the first time about it back after “Halloween II”. They put it on the shelf for a while and now they are starting up again. So we are going to see what happens.

MG: What would you say is your most difficult role to date?
TM: The one thing I was concerned about most was Michael Myers because you do have no dialogue. I wanted to get it right because the fan following for “Halloween” is just insane. I wanted to also make sure I brought what I need to to the role. But I also wanted to give Michael Myers the depth and humanity that I think he deserves. He is not just a one dimensional character.

MG: What is your favorite genre to work in?
TM: I started with action. When I was young kid watching pro wrestling and action movies, I thought I wanted to be an action star. So I got to do some of that and I am doing some horror. Through Mane Entertainment, we are doing “247ºF”, which is a thriller, then we are doing a supernatural thriller and then we have a horror thriller coming after that. So we are staying along the genre and hoping the fans will like them.

MG: What can you tell us about your new film “247ºF”, which you star and produce?
TM: I came on board that project and we shot it in Tbilisi, Georgia. The cast is Scout Taylor-Compton, Travis Van Winkle, Michael Copon, Christina Ulloa and myself. It is the first time that Scout and I are reuniting since the “Halloween” films. We are looking at that coming out sometime this Fall.

MG: You are working on your production company, Mane Entertainment, is that currently your primary focus?
TM: It is the best way to do the projects you want is to create them yourselves and do them through your own company. That is what we are doing with Mane Entertainment. With producing you get to step on to the other side of the fence so to speak. It has been an interesting eye-opening experience. For the female roles in “247ºF”, we had over 1,000 submissions. It is crazy to see the other side of it. You really understand the other side of the business.

MG: What else do you currently have planned?
TM: We are going back to there to Georgia for a project called “Compound Fracture”, which will be coming out in 2012. Then we starting a web series called “Chopper” that I am also co-producing, which we are releasing this Fall.

Interview with Michael Perez

Michael Perez is the executive producer of the new documentary retrospective “More Brains! A Return to the Living Dead”. Michael has also worked on last year’s documentary “Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Michael about his new film and also what we can expect next.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about your latest project “More Brains! A Return to the Living Dead”?
Michael Perez: “More Brains” is a full feature documentary retrospective on the cult classic “The Return of The Living Dead”. Featuring Interviews from Every living cast member of the 1st film, and we have some great special features on parts 2 and 3 as well, featuring interviews from Michael Kenworthy and Suzanne Snyder.

MG: How long does the film run and tell us about the DVD release?
MP: The film is a 2 Hour featurette with about 2 hours of bonus features. And will be released on Oct 18th 2011.

MG: Out of the five “Return of the Living Dead” films, what do you like most about each of them personally?
MP: Personally I only saw the first three, and each one brought something different. Each one got a different reaction out of me. The first film is more relatable than the others. When you see the kids (Thom Mathews / Beverly Randolph) and how they ran with that click, there is always clicks like that in high school. You have the sweet princess and then you have all the way down to the trashy girl. I think alot of people relate to it that way.
The 2nd film was just kind of like the 1st film re-done in a more comedic way. And the 3rd was a tragic love story. So each of those films bring something new.

MG: What was your most exciting interview that was scored for the project?
MP: That is a hard question, each person gave us something different. It really showed each person’s personality. But I have to admit, John Philbin is a truly funny guy.

MG: How do you feel that the zombie genre has changed over the years since “The Return of the Living Dead”?
MP: Well to be honest I don’t think it has changed that much, I think it changed when “ROTLD” came onto the scene. I feel that it was different before that. They all want brains…

MG: How does this project compare to working on “I Am Nancy” and “Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy”?
MP: “I Am Nancy” is a great documentary, but more in live time. Where the cameras are following Heather around at all times. But as to the comparison of “Never Sleep Again” and “More Brains”… we go in depth and get every detailed story that the fans would want to hear. And we did have some of the same crew members such as (Producer and Editor) so you do get that fantastic NSA feel. I know the fans are going to love it.

MG: So we got “Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Return of the Living Dead” covered, what’s next?
MP: You never know. I have been so lucky to have been a part of some of the most amazing retrospective Documentary’s and I love doing them. I get to learn everything that everyone else wants to know too. So this is just the beginning, where the road goes from here… who knows?

Interview with Thommy Hutson

Thommy is the producer and writer of the new documentary retrospective “More Brains! A Return to the Living Dead”. Thommy has also worked on such documentaries as the recent “Scream: The Inside Story” and “His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Thommy about his new film and also what we can expect next.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about your involvement with “More Brains! A Return to the Living Dead” as producer and writer?
Thommy Hutson: I was approached by Michael Perez and Beverly Randolph, both of who had seen some of the previous docs I had worked on, to see if I would have any interest in putting together the definitive documentary on “Return of the Living Dead.” A bunch of different thoughts flew through my mind: in addition to producing, would I direct? And write? In the end, I decided the best thing for me to do was guide the project as a producer only, but I’ll say that I pressed to make this one really creative and really fun, very much like the movie itself. The original film is scary, funny, sexy and gory, so I wanted to make sure there was a way to tie all of those elements together. In terms of writing, it made a lot of sense to go to the authors of the definitive chronicle of the movie, Gary Smart and Christian Sellers. I am a huge fan of the film, but they invariably had the most insight into the making of the film having written the book on the subject. But, I loved overseeing everything, offering my advice, notes, suggestions and a few creative touches that, hopefully, make the show an engaging, fun and informative look. It was a blast to pull the team together, all of whom did a great job under tight deadlines — and more than one or two days of high-level stress (just ask our incredible editor, Michael Benni Pierce!). One of my main goals was to make sure Michael Perez and Beverly Randolph were happy because I knew if they were, fans would be, too. They have their finger on the pulse of why fans love this movie and what fans want to see. I feel good that we’ve achieved something they’ll enjoy and appreciate. As a fan myself, even I had fun learning a bunch of new things!

MG: What do you feel that “Return to the Living Dead” series compares to other zombie films?
TH: It’s one of the first zombie movies to be a bunch of different things, and combine them so well. As I’ve mentioned, it’s scary, funny, sexy, gory. The music is great, the characters are cool and distinct. It’s just a wild ride. I think many other zombie films before it were out for the gore of someone undead tearing apart and eating someone living. “Return” was different from the get go and it was refreshing. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I am a huge fan of the Romero films and love them for everything that they are: smart, scary, gory, interesting, satirical and a real chronicle of what’s going on in society – or where we’re headed if we’re not more careful. They are also thought-provoking (I’ll go a step further and reveal that I think “Day of the dead” is my favorite of those films. Those characters were such archetypes of people in our world). Starting with “Night of the Living Dead,” I think George Romero, John Russo and the group did something with zombies that was fresh and scary. They set out to be different back then, and it worked. I think the same can be said of “Return.” It set out to be different, too, not because it needed to prove something, but because it could be different so long as it worked, and Dan O’Bannon pulled it off. All of the elements that maybe at first glance shouldn’t gel for a zombie film totally did. He pulled it off brilliantly.

MG: What can we expect as per extras on the DVD release?
TH: More “Return of the Living Dead” than you could hope for (at least I hope)! The main feature is two hours long as we really tried to leave no stone unturned and get to hear the tales from the beginning idea to the legacy of the film, as told by the incredible people who made the movie a reality. As for extras, we have: A Conversation with Dan O’Bannon: The Final Interview, They Won’t Stay Dead: A Look at Return of the Living Dead Part II, Love Beyond the Grave: A Look at Return of the Living Dead 3, Stacey Q Live! Exclusive “Tonight” Music Video, Even More Brains: Deleted Documentary Interviews, Return of the Living Dead in 3 Minutes and Resurrected Settings: The Filming Locations Today. We wanted to give as complete a look at the film and how it was made, what it means and why it lives on. The main feature is a blast, especially since we have the entire main cast together for the first time talking about the film. The bonus features just augment everything and emphasize why the movie lives on.

MG: How long did the project take to complete from conception to release?
TH: Things started to get rolling in January of this year, so the whole process was about 10 months. I like to think of the documentary as my overdue baby!

MG: What was one of the biggest challenges with this project compared to your other documentaries? like “Scream: The Inside Story” and “His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th”?
TH: Oh, challenges and how I love them. On every project the challenges are the same and different. I will say, and the team will back me up, that I was a broken record when it came to saying, “we have to keep getting materials!” (again, ask our wonderful production supervisor, Lito Velasco, who was on the receiving end of my pleas). Materials like pics and footage and the like are so important to projects like this. Not just from a production standpoint in terms of making sure you can cover things, but you want to keep things engaging and visually interesting. It’s also keeping in mind that we want to showcase relevant, interesting and, as much as possible, never before seen things. And, of course, the biggest enemy is always time (a post-production thanks to our awesome post sound guru, Justin Cruse; he worked wonders on our tight schedule and the show shines because of it). No matter how much prep you have, there are times when you feel you are staring down a deadline with guns loaded at high noon in the old west! Somehow, you get through it and it is all worth it. It comes down to planning, a great team, loving the subject and what you do. Thankfully, I’ve been blessed with all of that!

MG: Where can people get more information and purchase the dvd?
TH: We have a great website with excusive content and all the information on the project: www.getmorebrains.com. You can also purchase the dvd through the site right now. And, if you do order directly from us, you get the exclusive 12″x18″ folded commemorative poster by original “Return of the Living Dead” poster artist, Carl Ramsey. And, as an added, awesome incentive, the poster will be signed by Beverly Randolph, Brian Peck and James Karen! I’m super excited about that. You only get that if you buy directly from us.

MG: You’ve covered “Scream”, “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Friday the 13th”, what’s next?
TH: I don’t kiss and tell, but keep a watchful eye. I have a few rabbits in my hat itching to come out. 🙂

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Filed Under: Movies Tagged With: hutson, interview, thommy

Interview with Eddie Lee Sausage & Mitch H.

Eddie Lee Sausage & Mitch H. are the guys behind the audio vérité recordings of Peter J. Haskett and Raymond Huffman, which turned into cult comedy tape series “Shut Up Little Man!”. The tapes were released commercially in 1992 and since has blown up in this phenomenon which latest spawned a documentary about the guys “Shut Up, Little Man! An Audio Misadventure”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Eddie Lee Sausage & Mitch H. about the film and also this cult phenomenon.

Mike Gencarelli: Where did your involvement begin in terms of the documentary?
Eddie Lee Sausage: I received an email from Matthew Bates, who was the director of the film. I started off by telling that we had been approached several times before about doing a documentary. What I had done with those who had asked in the past was to have them send me some of their previous work. The stuff I received prior to this was so wretched that I didn’t think the project would work. Matt sent me some of his previous films, which I thought were exceptionally well done. I thought Matt’s style was something that could really work and had a lot of potential.

MG: What was it like revisiting all the tapes and photos for the documentary?
Mitch H: The first place we shot was in Wisconsin. We had a lot of fun shooting there. I have a pretty extensive collection of photos all cataloged, so I gave those to the guys to use. They ended up scanning quite a few of the photos from that era.
ELS: The “Shut up Little Man!” phenomenon seems to come in waves. A lot will happen for two years then nothing seems to happen for three years. I had taken about a year and a half starting in 2008 putting together a detailed website www.shutuplittleman.com. I put up all of the stories, videos, artwork and photos I had gotten from Mitch on that site. Within about six weeks of the site going live Matt called about the documentary. It was a great time to do it because everything was still fresh in my mind from working on the website.

MG: What has been your response towards the recognition the film is receiving?
MH: I am still in awe. I never expected the film to do so well. It’s been a lot of fun and a wild ride. Everything is just very surreal.

MG: Have you guys attended any of the screenings?
ELS: We attended the screening at Sundance as well as the one in San Francisco and a number of others. We have got to meet a lot of great people and be a part of some fun Q and A’s. It’s really been a lot of fun.

MG: Going back in time how do you feel the things in the film would relate to pop culture if they were done today?
MH: It’s hard to say what the end result would have been if we were recording this material today. It might just be here and gone. In the mid 90’s, you had to have something tangible. You had to have a cassette tape in your hand that you could give to someone. It’s wasn’t like today where you have something in a PDF format and you just email it. I think things would have been immensely different.
ELS: Ray and Peter are extremely unique. It’s not just another neighbor or any other drunk. There is something hilarious about the two’s personal dynamic. These two are beyond any standard loud next door neighbor.

MG: Do you guys still listen to the tapes today?
ELS: I go through waves of listening to them. When we released to full tapes in 2008 I didn’t ever really want to listen to the things again! I had been personally doing a lot of the engineering at that point. Mitch and I live half way across the continent from each other and probably every other day or so we end up texting a line or two from “Shut Up Little Man!” It lives on that way.

MG: What do you think is next for “Shut Up Little Man!”
ELS: Were hoping to do commemorative statuettes of liquor for Peter and Ray (Laughs). I’m joking. Maybe bobble heads or a clothing line with dried vomit on it. There are a lot of marketing ideas [laughs].

Interview with Air Supply’s Russell Hitchcock

Russell Hitchcock is one of the two members of the band “Air Supply”, along with Graham Russell. The band has been around since 1975 and show no signs of slowing down. They are currently playing over 100 shows per year and still releasing new music. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Russell about Air Supply’s new album as well as his new solo album.

Mike Gencarelli: Can you tell us about the new album “Mumbo Jumbo” and its creative process?
Russell Hitchcock: As all of our CD’s recently have taken about 2 to 3 years to put together as we spend a lot of time on the road. Generally what we will do is we record for a few days then go on the road for 3 or 4 weeks then back to recording. The album was a long time coming but it’s the first conceptual album of ours. Graham integrated a great story in the songs. The album is about a young guy who is just trying to find himself in the world today. It was time for us to do an album like this. We are always getting asked how we have changed in the last 36 years. It’s obvious that we are a lot older now and we are a lot more mature about the music we play and how we think about life. I think the album is a very mature body of work. It’s nice to be back in the lime light for a little bit of time.

MG: Can you tell us what you felt being back on the billboard charts for the first time in 17 years?
RH: It’s just a great feeling as we had so much resistance from radio basically after 1987. “Mumbo Jumbo” is actually our 24th or 25th studio album. People were always thinking we broke up. The bottom line was in North America we couldn’t get played on the radio. It’s a really great feeling to be recognized again and to be able to say that we have had chart success spanning over four decades.

MG: Air Supply has been together for over 35 years now. What drives you guys to continue recording and touring?
RH: We have a great passion for performing live together. When we first started we made sort of an unofficial pact that as long as we enjoyed working together still and people wanted to see us we would keep going. None of those things have changed other than we know more about the business now and we are way more experienced on stage. We play around 130 shows a year all around the world, which runs us about 9 months out of the year.

MG: Do you see the band slowing down anytime soon?
RH: I hope it keeps going! Physically and mentally we are both in good shape and we are playing with some fantastic musicians. What it really comes down to is the audiences and their response. Our shows are selling out quite regularly and the response to the old songs is phenomenal and we always are playing new songs in the show as well and the responses to those have been great also. We don’t see any reason for us to slow down just yet.

MG: What do you like most about playing the new songs to the audiences?
RH: I think it’s exciting to play something new and something that you have put your heart into. Graham works very hard at writing quality material and we always want the best vocally we can get out of it. To play something new and getting to see the reactions is fantastic. People always seem really into it. We have a great core of material to build on and we also have a very distinctive way of singing together so we are in good shape from the start.

MG: What can you tell us about your new single which hasn’t been released on any album yet?
RH: We are going to do that and we have two songs in mind but we haven’t picked which one its definitely going to be so I don’t want to tell you too much just yet. We just finished the vocals last week and its going to be a nice surprise.

MG: What can you tell us about your new album “Tennessee: The Nashville Sessions”? How do you feel it differs from your work with Air Supply?
RH: It certainly has a Nashville feel to it and that’s obvious from the musicians playing on the album and the instrumentation that was used. I was offered the opportunity a few years a go by a friend to come to Nashville and record. Finding the time was the hardest part. We listened to around 100 songs before picking 24-28. Originally the producer wanted to release a double album and I told him he was out of his mind! I have had some critics ask why I’m in Nashville being I am not a country singer. I have responded by saying I am a singer and just want to sing all kinds of songs. I have had some good response to a few of the songs. We are currently in the early stages of promotion so we will see what happens. I hope to put some of the songs in our set starting next year.

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Filed Under: Interviews, Music Interviews Tagged With: air, hitchcock, interview, russell, supplys

Interview with Laurent Bouzereau

Laurent Bouzereau is known for his documentary films. He has worked for the almost 20 years with Steven Spielberg starting with his film, “The Making of Jaws”. He has worked on various documentaries for Stephen King films and also films like “Avatar” and “Scarface”. This month to celebrate Halloween, Laurent is introducing his latest film on TCM called, “A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat horror films with Laurent and also find out what it was like working with Stephen King.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell come up with the idea for “A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King”?
Laurent Bouzereau: A couple of years ago I started this series with Dreamworks TV, now called Amblin TV and TCM about the history of film genres. We started with epic cinema, then thrillers and then we started to think about other genres for this year and I immediately suggested horror for Halloween. I know the genre very well. I said what would be different for this one, since with the others we interviewed a lot of people, what if I call Stephen King and ask JUST him to do it. I knew I could get a lot of people from this genre and people that I have worked with over the years but I felt that we if can get “The Man”, Stephen King…I think he could speak for everybody. So I reached out to him and he said “Yes”, so I was very excited. We spent a couple of days in New York chatting about horror. I have met him in the past, of course, but never had the pleasure and the honor to chat with him for so many hours on one subject. He is so generous and so funny. He is really like the everyday man and there is nothing you can’t ask him. He has his own opinions and it was a really lively conversation. I also think that he makes a really great point in the documentary about being the least respected genre in both literature and film. I think he has elevated that genre to such an art form. I think it was important that he was there to talk about his for this project. The show is really his definition of horror. It is really horror according to Stephen King.

MG: You are no stranger to working with Stephen King, what is your favorite piece of work by him?
LB: My favorite novel…well, I lived in New York at the time and a friend of sent me an advance copy of “IT”. It is actually going to be 25 years old this year…aging myself [laughs]. So, I was walking around the streets of New York with this book, which no one had yet, and people were stopping me in the streets. I remember going to the beach and I was getting stopped left and right, I thought I was going to get mugged because of this book. I swear to you that this is true. It enhanced my experience of reading it because I not only had a great book but I had the most awaiting book. That is where I realized Stephen King as a brand name, it was Stephen King’s book not just “that” book. So I would have to say that that book is so epic and definitely one of my favorites. If I can, I would say that “Pet Cemetery” is a close second for me as books go. It is unfair though because overall I love everything he does. In terms of film, I would have to say that “Carrie” for me is the best film. Very close second is “The Dead Zone”. I was very thrilled that Stephen King highlighted “The Dead Zone” in our film because I think it is somewhat forgotten as a film and it is not as quoted as I feel it deserves to be. It is a brilliant adaption of a very difficult book. I think that his books really transcends the genre. It really comes from the characters then coming from the effects of horror. He comes up with an incredible character and then gives him a supernatural power or an edge. That is the great gift he has a storyteller.

MG: What was the most difficult challenge in putting together this documentary?
LB: The most difficult challenge was really to condense the many hours we spend with Stephen to just one hour. The thing that I was really proud of is that I came in extremely prepared for this. I did much research for it and obviously I know his work very well. You never know we these things and what angle they are going to want to take. I had a vague idea in my head for the structure and what I wanted to caputre. I tried to always be ahead of him so there was no wasted time or energy on the subject. That was a real challenge. I didn’t have the opportunity for him to do pick-ups later on…I had one chance. Of all the scripts that I have written for documentaries, this was the easiest and I was really proud of that. I knew what I had and it was very fluent. The only regret is that I wish the show could have been three or four hours long [laughs]. Sometimes though there is value in something that is shorter and to the point. If it was four hours, it would be a discussion but within an hour it feels like a documentary…like a journey.

MG: You have worked on numerous documentaries, what drives you to continue in this field?
LB: Well, it is documentaries like this one. First of all, I have to say that working with TCM, it is the only network that I watch aside from the news. It is such an honor. They are a dream come true for people like us that love movies. I have to saw working with that team is pretty amazing. They are so supportive. Documentaries are difficult to produce, since they are very involved and there is a lot of licensing involved. I have an incredible team watching out for me and there are no compromises. It is a great collaboration. That is one of the reasons why I keep going because I work with great people. Amblin, Steve Spielberg’s company, needless to say is extremely supportive also and always there for me. With that kind of support you can only succeed…not fail. The second thing is that I have been so fortunate, I started doing this in the early 90’s, I have always worked with great filmmakers. I also have worked on really fascinating projects. So it is subject matters really interest me and it is stuff that I have studied and I feel that I have spent my entire youth preparing for. I think documentary filmmaking is really an art. I have always aspired to do it. As long as I can continue to tell stories in a non-fiction realm, I will continue to doing it [laughs].

MG: Tell us about your next project with TCM and “The World of Michael Crichton”?
LB: Around Christmas, I am working with TCM again for that genre about Christmas movies. That is great fun and I just finishing that up in the next month or so. It is completely different in nature. I think there is a dark side of Christmas in some movies. I included Joe Dante [laughs], since he made the ultimate dark Christmas movie, “Gremlins”. It is a completely different hat to wear to go from Stephen King/horror to Christmas movies, it was almost shock therapy or something [laughs]. It is just great though since when you talk about horror, it is scary and here is a lot of darkness to it. As a filmmaker to be able to jump into something much more light and this genre just has such amazing movies. It sort of counter-balances my fears and my nightmares. I have Jingle Bells in my dreams now instead of axes and knifes coming after me [laughs]. Another project that was announced that I am executive producing a series on Michael Crichton for The Science Channel and that is just starting. I knew Michael and his estate came to me and we are putting that together now. It is a kind of a happy/sad project to me working on. He was a genius and a great person. I really cherished the moments I had with him.

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Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: bouzereau, interview, laurent

Interview with .38 Special’s Don Barnes

Don Barnes is one of the founding members of the Southern rock band .38 Special. He provides vocals and guitar for the band and is responsible for many of the group’s biggest hits, including “Rockin’ into the Night”, “Hold On Loosely” and “Caught Up in You. .38 Special is tours constantly and currently took out some time to chat with Media Mikes about his music and how he keeps touring fresh over the years.

Mike Gencarelli: So where are you currently touring this week?
Don Barnes: We are currently appearing at Epcot’s Food and Fine Festival concert series on 10-3-11 through 10-5-11. It is a very exciting venue.

MG: Let’s talk about the many generations of fans that you have. How can you reflect that you not only have one generation of fans but many?
DB: Well I think it is really great because a lot of the fans were fans back in the 80’s and they played our music. We have a lot of cross sections of ages that come to our show and we like to see that. We are all big cult kid oriented kids…I mean we’re basically kids our selves. We like to crank the guitar up and be 19 years old again. People come out and it’s always a good cross-section. It’s everything you want to hear from a band. It’s just your high energy, bombastic presentation. We have people singing along and it’s a real surreal thing for us. Donny and I remember sitting at the kitchen table and scratching out lyrics and trying to come up with just the right thing to say, and then to see ten thousand people singing along. It’s an experience that not a lot of people get to have.

MG: You guys tour a lot all year. What do you guy’s do to keep that fresh and original for you?
DB: We do a hundred cities a year, every year. We’ve been doing that the past 25 years or so. We try to get our quota in, but we change the set up a bit. We move things around, we put new songs in and things. But we realized over the years that somebody that bought the album, the old vintage antique album and held on to it, that there are other songs there that may not have been top charting songs but they remember them because from when they play that album. We try to put things in that we like that are kind of in your face attitude. We’ve become kind of the premier live act because people know it’s a successful event because we bring the party to the people all the time. It’s really about the celebration of the brotherhood of us neighborhood guys. We started out a long time ago like anybody, practicing in the garage and you get the cops called on you for being too loud. But you know it’s a celebration and it’s carried us into the future. We appreciate everybody making us a part of their lives all these years. We try to bring those songs out and we see the reaction immediately. We see high fives out there we see people singing along that have tears in their eyes because it reminds them of some time in their lives for nostalgic reasons or whatever. It really makes us play those songs with just as much passion and commitment that was there the first time that we recorded them. It’s always been 110% from us and it’s kind of unspoken thing from us that we don’t slack up we stack up. It’s a team effort. We look at it as a real team thing. We go out there to win every night and I think that’s what has contributed to the longevity of the group.

MG: I’ve seen you all live a few times and you always have so much energy it’s unbelievable.
DB: I appreciate that, we all played our dues, we all starved together. We all came from Jacksonville. All the groups, from Lynyrd Skynyrd to The Allman Brothers, to Molly Hatchet. Everybody came from Jacksonville and wonders if it’s in the water or something. Even The Outlaws are right down the road. It really was as young kids…young boys, we were playing in sailors clubs at 15 years old. We made $150 a week and that was pretty good for 15 years old. The fundamentals we learned early on about structures of songs and the craft of song writing because you learned all the popular songs back then. You start sensing the elements about what makes it popular to get it on the radio. You then decide how you will write your own songs and you starve for 10 years [laughs]. If it was easy everybody would be doing it.

MG: You have such a great library of songs, what do you do to choose your set list for each show?
DB: We see the reaction from songs we try songs out, we try to line them up. We look at it like a graph. It starts off with a big opening and the graph goes up and up and up and in the middle you give a little relief like Donnie does a tribute to his brother Ronnie from Lynyrd Skynyrd. You know Ronnie was killed in a plane crash in ’77 so we do a song called “Rebel to Rebel” that relaxes the people with the emotions and nature of the song. Then we go on climbing and climbing and we end with a big high note and everybody is exhausted along with us. It’s everything you want to hear through the history of the band. We put together a medley of secondary songs from movies. A lot of soundtracks and things. We want to make sure people hear their favorite song. Even “Back to Paradise” from “Revenge of the Nerds’ movies. We make sure we get them all in there.

MG: You’ve toured with thousands of people, like Lynyrd Skynyrd, REO Speedwagon, Hank Williams; can you share any crazy tour stories?
DB: We opened for Kiss back in the 70’s and they had a radio contest and this was back when nobody had heard about us before. Kiss was in their big wave of success, they grossed something like four million dollars that year or something. Every city had Kiss face contests and we would play and just for the first hundred rows we would see nothing but people with grease paint on their faces and it was really like “The Twilight Zone” to us.

MG: How did you all become involved with CMT’s “Road Pranks”?
DB: They just called us up and said they wanted to do a show about what people do on their day off. That was the whole ruse was to include our crew. We talked about the ruse was they wanted to come film what bands does on their day off. In reality it was going to be that we were going to set them up and play a trick on them. The fake show was going to be called “Down Time” and I told all the crew guys so we would see all the hobbies that they have. Of course all the crew guys are all gear heads, rocket enthusiasts and tech heads with miniature rockets and stuff. We set them up bad [laughs]. In the mean time we are planning on having the fire department, Home Land Security, the cops are going to come raining down on us for using rockets and stuff. Of course we were all in on the joke but we had to act like we were in trouble too. It worked out pretty good. Those cops were pretty good. Those cops even had me scared a little bit! When we finally revealed it to them they weren’t very happy about all that. They didn’t speak to us for a day or two there. They didn’t know how to take it. They have sworn revenge on us though that they will get us back.

MG: Tell us about the new album, Live In Texas, recently released on August 31st, 2011.
DB: We are putting together a collection of songs through several cities from Texas and calling it “Live From Texas: 36 Special”. We were able to use a lot of advances in technology, we were able to bring our own equipment and record. At first we were just going to record it and have them at the merchandise table at the shows so the fans could sort of bring the party home with them, but when we listened back we realized this was some killer stuff, it came out a lot better than we thought it was. We decided to get them packaged up and distributed. A lot of pictures and everything. The main thing with utilizing the technology though is that a listener could put on headphones on and it literally feels like you’re sitting right in the middle of the crowd and right in front of the band. That’s not something that a lot of live acts can do. It’s almost like surround sound. You can just place the crowd behind you and around you and of course the sound of the band is all over you. It’s just the celebration of all that and it’s just rockin’. We’re real happy with the way it came out. It is available now on Amazon.com and iTunes and in stores. “Live From Texas: 38 Special”.

MG: I hear that you are in pre-production for a new studio album, is that true?
DB: Yeah. I mean we have several projects going right now. Of course newly written songs, big rock stuff, you know, we call it Muscle and Melody. We put the Muscle of the Guitars and the strength of that in your face and good melody and story over the top. We have that going and that should be released next year. We also have an acoustic sort of version of some of the classic songs that we were able to take poetic license to change the keys and rearrange things, like the song If I’d Been the One became a really beautiful ballad. We didn’t want to take it where it was an unplugged series where bands just sat on a stools and basically played the songs the same they do electrically because that is kind of boring to us. So like “Caught Up In You”, has a beat too it and a bit of reggae. Also we are entertaining some new movie projects…soundtracks and things.

MG: What is your process when you create new songs? Where do you draw your inspiration from for certain projects?
DB: Songwriters tend to always be in search of a great premise, a good title, anything that sort of sparks the original germ of the idea. Like Caught Up In You; years ago I was dating this girl and I said You know I can’t every get any work done, I’m just so caught up in you all the time. It was like a lightbulb went on, like that was a great positive thing. A happy angle to it. There are other songs that have a darker side but A Whole Lot of Loosely was about a marriage that I’d gone through. It was going down hill and I thought “Why Can’t people Celebrate their differences and not try and control each other”. So out of a negative message came a positive piece of advice. We try to put the truth in our songs so people can relate to their own lives. It’s kind of undeniable thing when you use the truth. It’s one thing to say “Ooo baby I need you, I miss you.” but that’s kind of made up, contrived song, and people sense that. If there is a real story there, I can just tell you to keep the antenna up there, from personal experiences, there is just a wealth of information there. If you can scratch down a title you can come back to it later. As far as the musical side of it, that all comes from just noodling around on a guitar or piano or something with a little micro cassette player and I can take just ten seconds of something and then move on to something else Then when you come back to it you almost can’t remember that you’d played it so you listen to it more objectively from a different perspective and you think “Hey that’s not a bad idea, I can make a song out of that.” That all comes from experience, of learning how to noodle around and how to entertain yourself.

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Filed Under: Interviews, Music Interviews Tagged With: 38, barnes, don, interview, specials

Interview with Ashlynn Yennie

Ashlynn Yennie is known for her role in the film “The Human Centipede”. She is currently reprising her role this month in the follow-up “The Human Centipede II”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Ashlynn about working on the sequel and what we can expect.

Mike Gencarelli: Can you tell us about your involvement in “The Human Centipede II”
Ashlynn Yennie: We shot the first film in 2008 and in January of 2010, I moved to Los Angeles. IFC had picked up the film and was going to release it in April. Everyone who has seen the first movie knows my character Jenny dies in the first film. I never thought I would be back for the second. I got an email from Tom Six and the film’s writer telling me that he would like to talk with me. When we talked Tom laid out the entire second film for me and I totally wanted to do the film. I wasn’t allowed to talk about my involvement in the film whatsoever. I couldn’t even tell my agent at the time as to why I was going to London. I flew over to London at the end of the summer and worked on my part for a few weeks. Everything has been super secret and I still can’t tell anyone what my part in the film is.

MG: How was it working with Tom Six for the second time now?
AY: Working with Tom wasn’t much different from the first time he and I worked together. When you are working with Tom he is always right there with you. Even when I was in the centipede he was right there giving me notes and encouragement. He is very hands on. I think Tom knows that as actors and actresses we are devoting ourselves to making his film come true and he is going to make sure we give our best performance. Working on part 2 though was completely different. The first film was very clean and had a lot medical type things going on. The second film is completely the opposite as the warehouse we were shooting in was very wet and dirty. It looked like a swamp in there. The film looks really amazing though.

MG: What are your feelings on the film already being banned in the UK due to its content?
AY: I can’t say I wasn’t shocked. Tom has a plan for everything he does and after the first film came out people were saying it wasn’t gory enough and that you didn’t see enough. I tell people they asked for what they will see in the second film. I don’t know if people realized what they asked for.

MG: After working on the first film did you have any doubts about the film?
AY: That film was a great European film to shoot. We had no idea what was going to happen with it. I remember when they told us what the name of the film was going to be we were all a little taken back. We sort of teased Tom about the title for quite sometime while we were shooting. I don’t generally watch a lot of horror films as I am a bit of a scaredy cat. When “The Human Centipede” came out and it was embraced by the horror fans and it became just so big mainly because of the internet. The trailer for the film just went everywhere. I think “Human Centipede” is the most not watched film as most people I meet tell me they have watched just the trailer. They seem to have these preconceived notions as to what the film is about. The first film really held back a lot. The second one is in your face.

MG: How has working on the second film compared to working on the first film?
AY: I became very close with Ashley and Akihiro during shooting and for Ashley and me that was my first film. We all became recognizable from this film and to move up the chain link with people you are friends is great. The second film I got a whole new batch of actresses to fall in love with. The girls in this movie are incredible women and very beautiful. Both sets were completely opposite but both had a real family feel.

MG: Do you any other upcoming projects?
AY: Right now I am pretty busy promoting “The Human Centipede II”. I do go on auditions like crazy though as I am still an actress trying to make it in Los Angeles.

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Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: ashlynn, centipede, dieter, human, human centipede, interview, ...

“Squidbillies” Interview Series

Adult Swim’s “Squidbillies” follows the exploits of the Cuyler family and their interactions with the local populace, which usually results in a fair amount of destruction, mutilation, and death. The show has been airing since 2005 and has recently started its sixth season, which consists of ten new episodes. The show is created by Dave Willis and Jim Fortier and its voice cast is made up of Unknown Hinson who voices Early Cuyler, Daniel McDevitt who voices Rusty Cuyler, Dana Snyder who voices Granny Cuyler and Patricia French who voices Lil Cuyler. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with the creators and the cast from the show and chat with them about the new season.

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Filed Under: Interviews Tagged With: interview, series, squidbillies

Interview with Unknown Hinson

Unknown Hinson is plays the lead of Early Cuyler in Adult Swim’s “Squidbillies”. The show just started its sixth season and its looks like it is its best season yet. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Unknown Hinson about his role in the show and also his music career.

Mike Gencarelli: What do you like most about voicing the character Early Cuyler?
Unknown Hinson: As a voice actor, it is quite of a stretch for me. I do it because it gives me a lot of freedom to improvise my lines. I do incorporate a lot of myself into the character, which is a lot of fun. People get to know me through Early Cuyler and hopefully visa versa.

MG: How did you get involved with this show?
UH: Before the show took off, the creators got a hold of one of my CDs. On that particular CD, there were sound clips of me talking and I guess they liked my voice. I love cartoons and I was definitely interested. I have had a great time working on the show so far and hope to continue to.

MG: You are now into “Squidbillies” sixth season, do you feel that it has changed for you over that time?
UH: That is a good question Mike; I feel the character has evolved from season to season. It is kind of like any character in any series, they get given a particular situation to deal with or react to. It is really all about the days in the life of the character, one day might be good, one day might bad but you just react as it comes to you. The main thing about cartoon characters is that they can get away with anything…obviously. That is fascinating to me and gives me a lot of room, as I say, to be myself within the boundaries of the script.

MG: Do you ever improvise your lines during recording?
UH: Yeah, Jim Fortier and Dave Willis give me a lot of room to improvise and ad lib. They let me put my own spin on it from time to time and I appreciate that.

MG: What has been your favorite episode of “Squidbillies” from this season?
UH: Well the season is just in process and I do not want to be partial to one particular episode. I honestly like them all…I really do. I do not have a favorite.

MG: How favorite episode about the show in general?
UH: I do remember an episode when Early and Lil had a litter of babies and there was one that survived. Early took a liking to it and called it ‘Hershell Walker Cuyler Them Dawgs Is Hell Don’t They’. I like that episode very much.

MG: You go from voice acting to musician, tell us about that side of you?
UH: Well I have been a musician all my life every since I was a little bitty boy. That is the only profession I have ever done, it is my trade in life. I am getting up in years but I am pretty sure I will do this till I die, I reckon. I have done for music from the show from time to time…a couple of songs. I have been able to lend some Unknown Hinson music to the show, which is a lot of fun. I have gained a lot of new friends through “Squidbillies” and hopefully “Squidbillies” has gained friends through me. I think one helps the other. I enjoy playing music and doing the cartoon.

MG: Why aren’t there more musical episodes of “Squidbillies”?
UH: Well I do not know. There is always the possibility we can do more. The thing with me is I am always doing my thing, I have CDs to make and concerts to do. I stay pretty busy. But who knows may get into that more, I sure would like to.

MG: How do you find your unique sound for your music?
UH: I do not know Mike; I just write songs from my heart, sing them and play the guitar. I record them, put them out and people seem to like it. I am thankful to them because they come to see me play and buy my CDs. They seem to get something out of it and that is the main thing.

MG: Can we expect a new album anytime soon?
UH: Yes sir, a brand new Unknown Hinson album is due this Halloween. Yes! It will be available at UnknownHinson.com and my concerts.

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Filed Under: TV Interviews Tagged With: hinson, interview, unknown

Interview with Jim Fortier

Jim Fortier is the Co-Creator/Writer for Adult Swim’s “Squidbillies”. Along with Dave Willis they have created one of the most unique shows on television. With the show entering its sixth season, the series shows now signs of slowing down. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Jim about working on the show and what to expect from this season.

Mike Gencarelli: How do you feel that the sixth season of “Squidbillies” differs production wise from the previous seasons?
Jim Fortier: I don’t know that the production really differs from the previous seasons. Our team is just better at making the show now. We are very happy with this season. We think that the episodes are as good as any and probably are strongest batch yet. Dave and I still primarily write the episodes with the help of Chris Kelly who submits scripts to us. We are a well oiled machine.

MG: What is the turnaround for an episode from conception to completion?
JF: Usually we can write an episode in a couple days. Recording takes another couple days and then we give in to an editor in the building for about 8 weeks where they will do the audio and the rough animation cut. From there our animation studio Radical Access will get another 6-8 weeks usually. So it takes around 5-8 months per episode. We generally will record an episode every couple weeks so at any given time we could have all 10 episodes in various stages of production.

MG: What is the most difficult task about working on the show?
JF: The most difficult thing about the show is also my favorite which is getting to do all the different things Dave and I do related to the show. We both have a big hand in each step of the shows process. It can be very demanding as we generally are working on 10 shows at a time.

MG: How do you feel “Squidbillies” compares to the other shows you have worked on?
JF: The production method on those other shows was different than that on “Squidbillies”. Even the audio cuts were done differently. “Squidbillies” is different for me because it’s the first show that along with Dave I have been solely responsible for. When I worked on “The Brak Show”, I was kind of the right hand guy and helped write scripts but everything was really Pete Smith. “Squidbillies” is sort of paired down a bit to something that works well.

MG: How do you go about developing the over the top/offensive content for “Squidbillies”?
JF: I look at as redneck squids saying what they say. They aren’t speaking for us. A lot of times we have to defend the content of the show. It’s not always a bad thing to have to explain what you are doing. I can’t speak for Dave but maybe he really is thinking those things? I doubt it though [laughs]. Early really is a buffoon and we like to use him as the brunt of all the jokes. Hopefully everyone gets the characters overzealous humor.

MG: With Unknown Hinson’s musical background why haven’t there been more episodes featuring Early singing?
JF: He has done two episodes that I can think of where he has gotten to sing. We have actually asked Unknown to do a cover version of the theme song. I think he is going to do it but he has just been tied up getting ready to release a new album on Halloween. Unknown is a very hands on guy.

MG: Can you envision doing a “Squidbillies” movie?
JF: I can imagine me being interested in doing that. I can also imagine being told that it will never happen from the network. I think we could give it a stab and it would be fun to do but I just don’t think there has been a call for it. However if a million rabid fans signed a petition and included 1 dollar we would start production tomorrow. Hint…Hint!!

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Filed Under: TV Interviews Tagged With: fortier, interview, jim

Interview with Daron Ker

Daron Ker is the producer/director/cinematographer of the documentary “I Ride”. Daron’s most recent documentary titled “Rice Field of Dreams” follows the trials and tribulations of Cambodia’s first baseball team as they prepare to compete nationally for the first time ever . Media Mikes had a chance to talk with Daron about his new film as well as his experiences from the filming of “I Ride”

Adam Lawton: Can you tell us about your newest film “Rice Field of Dreams”?
Daron Ker: That film came really as an accidental thing. One of my friends found an article in a San Francisco newspaper about baseball in Cambodia. I had wanted to find a way to help my country so I started to think of ways that I might be able to help. The only way that I could really think of was to make a film about the baseball team there. For about five years I was connecting with the team’s manager Joe Cook and just getting to know him until the team was actually formed and ready to compete.

AL: From what I saw in the documentary Joe seemed like an interesting guy. What was it like working with him?
DK: It was hard because I have never seen a guy so dedicated but at the same time doing everything the wrong way. I don’t think Joe is arrogant as I believe he is more compassionate but he does flirt between those lines. Joe’s not really a player or coach…he is a cook. However he just loves the game so much and he is so into it that he cannot get away from it.

AL: What was the hardest part about making the film?
DK: Going back home to Cambodia for the first time was probably the hardest part for me. I had no idea the country was so devastated by the war as I came to the states when I was young. When you are living somewhere you don’t really think about where you came from. By making this film it gave me the opportunity to go back home and see your country. It was very heart breaking just to see these beautiful kids with nothing. I think this film helped me reconnect with my roots and when I came back to the states I was really saddened because I wished that I could help more. I am actually going to be going back to Cambodia soon to show the movie at a theater their which is going to be really great.

AL: Are we going to see sequel to the film?
DK: I don’t know about a sequel but what I want to do is to just share the film with as many people as possible. I want to take a projector over there and show it in as many providence’s as I can. I have been screening it here in the states to Cambodian communities as the response has been great especially from the Cambodian/American youth.

AL: How do you feel “Rice Field of Dreams” compares to your previous documentary “I Ride”?
DK: Both challenging films. To get into that motorcycle culture was the hardest thing I felt. They are just so raw and underground. I was location scouting one day for a feature film and while there I was invited to attend the Sturgis bike rally. There were almost a million bikers there and I was very intrigued.

AL: Once they allowed you into their sub-culture what were your initial thoughts when they allowed you to follow them around?
DK: I thought that I better make a good film or am going to have to move to Cambodia! They are hardcore. I knew I had a solid story and the guys were great. It took them about two years to finally let me in. We would be trying to shoot them and then they would just ditch us and we couldn’t get any shots. One time I mounted a camera to one of the guy’s bikes while we were in Arizona and he just up and left us for like half a day. They thought it was fun and game. After two years I sat them down and told them I was tired of clowning around and if they wanted to make the movie we could but if they kept ditching us we were moving on. At that point we were surrounded by bikers and my crew was pretty scared. Luckily they decided to do the film.

AL: What is it that drew you into making documentary films?
DK: I felt like for me to be a better filmmaker making a documentary was a good platform to start on. It teaches you to think out of the box and make something out of nothing. I had done a bunch of shorts and had also studied some great film makers but I wanted to start with something else before shooting a narrative structure.

AL: Do you have any other upcoming projects we can be watching for?
DK: I feel like am still incomplete after shooting these to pictures. I want my next project to be a narrative. I have a script titled “Holiday in Cambodia” which has been a ten year labor of love project. I really want to get this thing moving. It’s a different platform for me but I feel documentaries are way harder than narratives because when I was shooting the documentaries I never knew where or what I was going to be shooting. It will be interesting walking into a narrative and knowing everyday where I am going to be. My dream date to start that project is February 2012. I have a great group from Lucas Ranch that are going to be working with me so I am really excited. The story is about a kid from the states being deported back home to Cambodia and his struggles with that.

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Filed Under: Film Interviews Tagged With: daron, interview, ker

Interview with Jack Ketchum

Jack Ketchum is the pseudonym for author Dallas Mayr. He has written over twenty books, including novels, short-stories and contributions to anthologies. He has had several of his novels turned into films over the last five years including “The Lost”, “Red”, “The Girl Next Door”, “Offspring”and the most recent “The Woman”. Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with him about his numerous film adaptions and also what he has planned upcoming?

Mike Gencarelli: What is your process for writing a story, do you have film adaption if you mind when do it?
Jack Ketchum: No, I just write the story. But movies have influenced me greatly over the years, so I think my stories often have a cinematic feel to them.

MG: Some of the content in your novels are pretty intense, are you weary of how they can translate into film?
JK: Well, the movies which have been made based on my books have pretty much kept most of the intensity. So I don’t see why that shouldn’t continue.

MG: How has it been working with Lucky McKee on “The Woman” and “Red”?
JK: Lucky’s great to work with. I’d only collaborated on a handful of short stories before with Edward Lee and P.D. Cacek, so I was a little leery going into writing “The Woman” with him, a much longer project, and I think he’d never worked with a novelist before so he probably was too. But we’d been completely in agreement as to how RED should work, so we were optimistic. And even though I’m old enough to be his father, we might have been exact contemporaries — that’s how much we thought alike.

MG: How do you feel that the adaption for “The Woman” has turned out?
JK: I love it. I’m proud of it. I was on-set for most of the shoot and saw how well it was going so I’m not surprised. We knew we had something special all along.

MG: How would you put the film adaptions, “The Lost”, “Red”, “The Girl Next Door”, “Offspring” & “The Woman”, ranking from most liked to least?
JK: Sorry, I’m not going to do that. It’s like picking your favorite kid. All I can say is that in each case the filmmakers have tried their best to stay faithful to the source material, and for that I’m quite grateful.

MG: How much input have you had with the film adaptions of your novels?
JK: Some more than others, but everybody’s asked me for some, particularly in the scripting stage. As I said, I was there for most of the filming of “The Woman” and that was cool, because if something wasn’t going right Lucky and I could fix it right then and there together. I was also on the set of “The Girl Next Door” a lot, because it was shooting quite near me, in New York and New Jersey. On “The Lost”, I saw three drafts of the screenplay and commented on them. I even worked with some of the actors, discussed their parts. Chris Sivertson, the director, was very open to that. In fact he even bought copies of the book for all the cast and crew to read! Unheard of!

MG: You have appeared as a cameo or role in most of the film, are you trying to follow Stephen King with his films?
JK: Alfred Hitchcock.

MG: How do you film you work has changed or evolved since your first novel?
JK: I think my characters are much richer. “Off Season” mostly sketched in the characters, which was necessary because I wanted the shit to hit the fan early on. But you take “Red” or “The Woman”, and there’s a much more gradual build. I think my writing’s grown more assured too.

MG: Do you have novel you have always wanted to get made into a film?
JK: I’d love to see “Ladies Night” filmed. I think it’s a natural. Stuart Gordon had an option on it for quite a while, wrote a damn good script which contained elements of a script I’d written long before. But the option’s lapsed, alas.

MG: What is your next novel that you are working on?
JK: Right now, no novel. A screenplay. But I’m not going to tell you what it’s about. If I talk about a story I generally won’t write it. I wind up talking it to death.

Interview with Christopher Moynihan

Christopher Moynihan is the creator, writer and co-star in ABC’s new show “Man Up!”. It co-star Dan Fogler, Mather Zickel, Henry Simmons, Teri Polo and Amanda Detmer. This show is one of the funniest new show this year. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Christopher about his new show and what we can expect from the season.

Mike Gencarelli: How did you end up coming on board for the show “Man Up!”?
Christopher Moynihan: I created the show as part of deal I had for two pilots with ABC. This is the first one I came to as it has been in my head for a few years. My grandfather was wounded on the beach of Anzio, Italy in WWII and my father was a cop in the Bronx during the riots of the 1960’s. I am just a different breed of guy! I sit around and play video games and talk about “Spider-Man”. I think that we have the luxury in this day and age where we don’t have to go off and fight and do those types of things. Instead we have a person that volunteer to do those things for us which then allows us to be sort of over grown children. I always wanted to do something reflecting this modern man that doesn’t have a lot of chances to do manly thing. Things moved pretty quickly after I pitched the idea to ABC. They bought script and I wrote the pilot. We got really lucky with casting and everyone worked well. From there it moved onto series and things are going well.

MG: How do you go about getting into character and is it directly based on you?
CM: I kind of think that all the guys have pieces of me to them. My guy Craig reminds me of the guy I was in my 20’s. The way I break the three guys up is Will is really a man, Kenny is too much of a child to be a man and Craig is too much of a woman to be a man. I always think Craig is more in touch with his sensitive side and its all in the writing. We spent the whole summer writing these episodes, so its always in my wheel house that Craig is more touchy feely than the other two guys. I think there is a big piece of me that is that so its not too hard for me to get there.

MG: Do you guys have a lot of fun on set?
CM: Yes we really do. I think these television shows live and die by the casting and we really got lucky. It feels like we know each of from when we were kids. We have a lot of fun on set with each other. I feel very fortunate that we all get along.

MG: How do you feel that the show stands out from other comedies currently on television?
CM: I think what you do is you hope your voice is unique and distinct. I have a lot of great writers and I have some bizarre things in my head that I want to get to the screen. I’m hoping that our stuff is different in the sense that it is a network sitcom and its in the vein of what’s working on ABC but you try and set yourself apart by taking different approaches on popular subjects. You have to find a way to put a unique twist on a classic storyline. I think that’s how you set yourself apart.

MG: How many episodes have you filmed so far and do you have a favorite?
CM: We are currently in the process of shooting episode 105 which would make this the fourth episode since the pilot that we have shot. I am really happy with everything we have done so far. Everything comes out of the scripts you write in the summer time. We had six scripts in pretty good shape even before we started shooting episode 102. Everything we have shot so far has been pretty good. I have only seen episode 101 and its really funny however its kind of like looking at your own baby. You think its cute but what do other people think. I really believe its funny and the network seems pleased.

MG: How many episodes have been green-lit?
CM: We have been green-lit the pilot plus twelve episodes. We are shooting number four right now.

MG: Can you give us a sneak preview of what we can expect this season?
CM: We have eight or nine scripts written and the other ones are loosely put together. When we come back Kenny’s ex-wife Brenda has brought a new guy into the group by the name of Grant. Our first episode back Craig and Will try to get Kenny to be friends with Grant as he found out that the other were hanging out with this Grant guy behind his back. The episode is called “Finessing the Bromance”. A lot of the first season is going to be the three guys getting Grant to be a part of their group.

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Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: christopher, interview, moynihan

Interview with Big Brother’s Adam Poch

Adam Poch was a contestant on season 13 of the reality television show “Big Brother”. Adam quickly became known to his house mates and viewers of the show for his love of Heavy Metal, Bacon and all things “Beverly Hills 90210”. Adam took a few minutes out of his day to talk with Media Mikes about his experience on the show as well as getting to meet Tori Spelling.

Adam Lawton: Were you familiar with the show prior to auditioning?
Adam Poch: I have been a fan of “Big Brother” since the beginning. Thank God around season 6 of the show I got my first DVR, which turned me from a big fan into a huge fan! I was then able to watch every episode. From there I started getting on all the blogs and watching the live feeds as well as the after dark stuff on Showtime. I really like the concept of the show as well. When I saw Evil Dick on season 8, I realized that they could have a rock and roll type guy on the show. So I thought about trying out.

AL: Had you auditioned for any previous season of the show?
AP: Yes. I had auditioned prior to season 10, however I bombed my audition terribly. I went in and talked about everything but myself. I was too busy at the time to audition for season 11, so the next time I went in was for season 12. I walked in this time and just gave it to them as to what made me unique. My opening line was “My name is Adam and my three passions are heavy metal, bacon and Beverly Hills, 90210”. You could see everyone in the room kind of look at me a little different. I made it all the way to the finals however they ending up not choosing me but they told me to keep trying. This year I went back and gave them me again. I had some changes in my life since the previous year such as losing a 100 lbs. and having a girlfriend. I think my confidence definitely showed more and they loved everything that had from the previous year but they loved it even more this year.

AL: Having gone through the audition process a few times what was it like?
AP: They have you jump through hoops and answering questions over and over. There were a couple rounds of interviews with different people. For me there were a lot of sleepless nights waiting for phone calls about whether or not I made it to the next round. Open auditions started in April and it’s not until July that the show starts. For someone who got so close last year, I could taste it and there were lots of nights dreaming about how cool it would be to be on the show.

AL: Did you ever become annoyed with having the cameras around literally all the time?
AP: When you sign up for the show you know going in that the cameras are going to rolling 24-7, you really have no place to hide. I was never annoyed with the cameras but I was annoyed that I could never just get away and have a luxury reward. We had the episode where David Hasselhoff came into the house and four people got to watch the show “Same Name”. I was just praying there would another similar competition to watch a movie or television show. It would have been nice to get out of the game for just a bit,as being in game mode all the time did take a toll on me.

AL: You guys are completely locked out from the outside world correct?
AP: I had no idea about anything going on outside of the house. I remember some of the cast wanting to know what was going on with the Casey Anthony trial. Personally, I wanted to know what was going on with the NFL lockout. I knew I would be getting out of the house in September and a Fall without football just isn’t Fall. I also knew I was missing a lot of great concerts while I was in the house. I really missed an entire summer of new stuff. Being blocked off from society is not always a bad thing but you do miss the connection with people.

AL: What was it like living in an elf suit for a week?
AP: For me it was a good time! People weren’t looking at me as a threat because I was an elf. I was just some goofy guy running around the house making people laugh and drinking syrup. I think the suit came at a good time for me because there were lines starting to be drawn deeper in the sand. No one really thought of me as a threat. I was able to stay under the radar and be entertainment for the house. If anyone in that cast had to get the elf suit, I was glad it was me because I feel I rocked it! I actually still have the suit. I saved it to use later in the game if tension started to get high, but I never did get back out as I was afraid it would make people upset rather than happy.

AL: What do you think was the hardest challenge you participated in?
AP: Probably the food competition from week two. Dominic and I were strapped together in an ant contest. The other guys all got matched up with girls who were pretty easy to carry. Dominic and I are not the smallest people in the house. You put the two of us together in an ant costume crawling over picnic items really tore us up. I have a few scars on my knees from that competition. I’m glad I will never have to do that one again. The ski slope challenge was pretty intense, as well as the first part of the final Head of House competition. We were on the beaters churning butter. I had to stand on this small platform with size 13 feet and about 15 minutes in my legs locked up and I was done. I ended up sitting in the pool for another 10-15 minutes because I just couldn’t move my legs.

AL: Did you guys have an idea as what each competition was going to be ahead of time?
AP: We could hear banging and things like that going on outside but we could never see anything. We had no idea what we were doing until the curtain goes up and we walk outside. We would often speculate what we thought we were going to have to do. At certain times we had a pretty good idea what was going to be coming up but we couldn’t be totally sure until we were out there.

AL: Can you describe the Tori Spelling meeting?
AP: Tori who? [laughs]…..I know that I didn’t win “Big Brother” but Tori Spelling came into the house and knew who Adam Pock was. Tori kissed me on the cheek while I was drinking an appletini! I would have blown through $500,000 so fast but the memories of Tori Spelling kissing me while drinking an appletini in the “Big Brother” house are worth way more than $500,000! It really was a dream come true being on the television show. I figured I would meet Tori one day at a book signing or something, but the fact Tori Spelling knows who I am! was the biggest thrill of the summer for sure. She was just as cute and sweet as I expected her to be. I fell in “love” with her character on the show and I watched her other reality shows and I just couldn’t have expected her to be any sweeter.

AL: Any chance we will see you on the show again?
AP: If people want me back on the show, write to CBS and tell them you want the elf/heavy metal teddy bear back on. Right now, I am back to my day to day life. I am back working at my job and have moved in with my girlfriend. I lost so much in three months that I am trying to catch up on things as much as I can. If I was called to be on the show again I would have to seriously think about it. The show was very draining both physically and mentally but I loved it. If things all worked out at that certain point in time I would probably go back. For right now though I am not knocking on any doors to have me put back in the show anytime soon. I give respect to those people on the show who have done back to back summers. It takes a special person to walk through those doors!

For up to date info on Adam head over to Twitter and follow him @heavymetalteddy

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Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: adam, big, brothers, interview, poch

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