Interview with Scott Schiaffo

Scott Schiaffo is known best for his role as the The Chewlies Gum Guy in Kevin Smith’s first film “Clerks”.  Since then Scott has worked on various films including “Vulgar” and also besides acting also works as a composer and editor.  Scott can be seen upcoming the following projects “Shoe String Serenade”, Tom Zanca’s “Echoes & Voices” and Michael P. Russin’s new short, “Don’t Shoot”.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Scott about his career to date and also what he currently has in the works.

Mike Gencarelli: How did you originally get involved with working on “Clerks”?
Scott Schiaffo: I auditioned after seeing a casting call in a New Jersey newspaper. Usually I’d get audition notices in papers like Backstage but this was in with the classifieds and it struck me. The wording was something like, “View Askew projects a new cinema topic “Clerks” etc…I am paraphrasing, of course, but it was a very interesting ad. I had saved the original audition notice clipping. I scanned it recently and posted it up on my Facebook.

MG: Tell us about the shoot for your scene?
SS: The Chewlies Gum Guy stuff was shot all in one day from what I remember. The second half of the Gum Guy’s diatribe was shot in one long shot from start to finish. No edits. I believe we had at least three full takes of that second rant. It was great filming that scene in that way because it’s like a little piece of theater. We’d film straight through that entire second rant and really get the momentum going. We did that at least three times and by the end of it I was really drained from all the yelling and histrionics! In the original Miramax theatrical release, a good chunk of the Gum Guy’s rant was edited down, but in the director’s cut and the uncut original the scene is intact in its entirety. I remember getting light-headed after the last take because of the way the scene was written and executed you had to get it up to a fever pitch.

MG: Did/Do you smoke cigarettes after watching that movie [laughs]?
SS: That’s funny I’ve been asked this a lot and the truth is I really do loathe cigarettes. I’ve been addicted to anything and everything out there in my lifetime but I never smoked cigarettes and have always hated them. So it really wasn’t a big stretch for me to rant about the evils of smoking! I think Kevin himself wasn’t a smoker before he played Silent Bob. He started to smoke to give that character more on screen “business” to do. It was basically like a prop for him, but he actually became a cigarette smoker for years after that. He may no longer smoke cigarettes for all I know; I hope for his sake he has quit. It is a nasty, expensive and deadly habit.

MG: How can you reflect on how the film and your character are still popular and highly quoted over 15 years later?
SS: That speaks volumes for the power of film. Clerks has gone from a cult status thing to an iconic film for a generation. I have always been a fan of indie and cult films and, as an actor, it was a dream of mine to appear in the cast of a film that would have that kind of cult-like following. So when I say being cast in Clerks was a dream come true scenario for me I’m not just being “dramatic”. And that’s the thing, too, you can never know when a film is going to generate that kind of success and following. It’s all a crazy twist of fate I believe. It never ceases to amaze me how deep and vast the Clerks fan base has become over the years. And what really blows my mind is how memorable the Chewlies Gum Guy is as a character. I always say that an actor would have had to have been in a coma not to shine and stand out in that role. It was written as a show piece and a bombastic scene. That scene sets the tone for the whole movie. Kevin and I had talked about this back when we were filming. He knew he had to have something big and a little over the top in the first five minutes of the film to set the audience up for the type of ride that they are going to be taking. As a character actor you cut your teeth on these types of roles. You may not be in the entire story, but your scenes are designed to be pivotal and memorable.

MG: You worked with the “Clerks” group again in “Vulgar”, tell us about working on that disturbing little film?
SS: I really love that film; it’s a personal fave of mine. I had been sent the script pretty early on. Bryan Johnson said we’re thinking of you for the Travis Lee role, check it out and see what you think. I knew I didn’t have to read it to say “Hell yeah, I’m in” because it was coming from the View Askew camp. For me it was a familial thing; of course I am down! When I read it I saw some parallels to the Gum Guy character. Two high-energy scenes and both opposite Brian O’Halloran to boot! Again I get to break Brian’s balls on film! Yeah a “man on man” clown rape movie is pretty twisted, but I felt if anyone could pull off a clown rape film it was Kevin and the View Askew clan! LOL. I say this all the time but that film has much more merit than it ever received. It has a wonderfully edgy and bold performance by Brian O’Halloran as Flappy the Clown/Will Carlson. And Kevin’s first post-Silent Bob role, I believe anyway, is flat out awesome. I remember thinking that he’s going to have a career as a character actor if he chose to entertain that route, and sure enough eventually he’d blow us all away with his performance in “Catch & Release” and then later in the last “Die Hard” sequel.

MG: Tell us about your work not only acting in films but also as Composer and Editor?
SS: Yes, music has been in my life from the time I was four or five years old. Music is everything to me, honestly. I have been playing guitar and keyboards since I was a child. I have had a recording studio for the last 15 to 20 years.
I have been very fortunate to have been hired to score and edit many of the films I’ve appeared in over the years! I can do this all in my digital project studio. I am actually working on putting a CD out on Amazon. It’s a collection of music from the past 10 years of film scores and music I’ve done. And I am trying something new with this release. It’s going to be a collection of music that is royalty free. So if another artist, film or TV director, film or TV producer wants to use a piece of this music in their production, they can and are free to do so. All I ask for is credit and the knowledge of what their project is and which track is to be used. So it’s a little different spin on releasing music. The CD is called “Shoe String Serenade.” Being in the cast in many of the films that I have also edited was very challenging. Sometimes it can be just brutal to watch yourself up there, but to hash through all of the takes and edit it all together, that’s really insane when you’re in the cast. I was able to be very objective about the process and I did eventually get used to it. I have a tendency to cut away from myself to give the other actors more face time.

MG: You recently worked on a few indie films recently, tell us about those and where/when can we find them?
SS: Yes, along with “Shoe String Serenade” — which should be up on Amazon by the fall — I have two new DVDs just released through Amazon. Tom Zanca’s “Echoes & Voices” and Michael P. Russin’s new short, “Don’t Shoot”. Both projects are very different in style and nature and I am very fortunate to have been involved in these productions.

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Filed Under: Film Interviews Tagged With: interview, schiaffo, scott

Interview with Greg Sestero

Greg Sestero is known for his role of Mark in the cult film “The Room”.  Greg is currently writing a book about his experience working on the film and working with Tommy Wiseau. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Greg about the film and the upcoming book.

Mike Gencarelli: How did you originally meet Tommy Wiseau and get involved with the film?
Greg Sestero: Ironically, I met Tommy in an acting class. I watched him attempt a Shakespearean sonnet and thought, I have to do a scene with him.

MG: Did you originally take this as a serious film because of it’s content or more comedy
due to its major plot holes?
GS: I think it’s obvious that there was only one way to have taken it. Out of nowhere, playing football in tuxedos three feet apart kinffd of says it all.

MG: What is your favorite part of attending the midnight screenings with fans?
GS: The fans are the best part of the whole thing; always so gracious and enthusiastic. They come up with the most clever riffs for the film.

MG: You were recently in Prague; did you think you would be touring internationally with this film?
GS: Not a chance. Like many, I truly didn’t think the film would see the light of day.

MG: Tell us about why you’re writing the book now?
GS: It’s been almost a decade of questions about “The Room”. Why, and how, on earth was it made? Where did the $6 million dollar budget come from? Who is Tommy Wiseau? I think the story behind the film is replete with just as much hilarity, entertainment and mind boggling insanity as the film itself. Its an unbelievable story I feel fans and non fans can thoroughly enjoy.

MG: How does Tommy Wiseau feel about your writing this book?
GS: Probably that I should leave my stupid comments in my pocket.

MG: What other projects are you currently working on or have upcoming?
GS: I recently shot a video with Patton Oswalt for the comedy website 5secondfilms. Which you can view here.

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Filed Under: Film Interviews Tagged With: greg, interview, sestero

Interview with Rena Riffel

Rena Riffel is known best for her role of Penny in 1995’s erotic cult classic “Showgirls”.  Rena is returning for “Showgirls 2: Penny ‘s from Heaven” but not only starring, she is directing, writing and producing it!  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Rena about “Showgirls”, its sequel and her other series “Trasharella”.

Mike Gencarelli: What did you like most about the role of Penny when you co-starred in “Showgirls”?
Rena Riffel: What I loved the most was being able to work with Paul Verhoeven.  He has always been my hero, he is a genius filmmaker and such a nice person.  And “Basic Instinct” was my favorite movie at that time (and still is), it was the same Director and Writer team for Showgirls… I was in heaven!  I loved playing the role because I got to play my signature “ditzy” character, which I had been developing. And it was incredible to be able to dance in the movie, since I am a dancer.  Elizabeth Berkeley(Nomi) and I had such a great time dancing together.  We had rehearsed the dancing for about five months, actually.  Glenn Plummer and I rehearsed our dance a lot and I loved every minute of it.  I was originally auditioning for the lead role of Crystal Connors, I think the casting director may have seen me starring in a movie called “Art Deco, Detective” (Directed by Philippe Mora) where I had played a similar “Crystal-type” character.  I had four call-backs for the role, both acting and dance auditions, and was then put on “hold” for weeks just waiting to get confirmed.  When I finally heard back, they had changed my part to Penny because they said I wasn’t old enough to play an aging Showgirl, I was in my early-twenties.  But I was thrilled to get the role of Penny.

MG: Tell us about how you got your song “Deep Kiss” into the film “Showgirls”?
RR: I simply went through the proper channels, giving my “cassette tape” to the Music Supervisor.  They only wanted good songs, so she made it clear to me she wasn’t going to do me a favor if it sucked.  She played it for her assistant without telling him it was “Penny”, to make sure it didn’t suck.  The entire production office said they loved it (this is what she told me).. then she played it for Mr. Verhoeven, after he also loved it and said it would be perfect for the lap dance scene, then she said ‘guess who it is, it’s “Penny” singing!’  When they told me they would use the song in the movie, I was so happy.  To be included in a film score with Prince, David Bowie, and Dave Stewart was such an honor.

MG: With “Showgirls 2: Penny’s From Heaven”, you are not only acting but writing, editing and directing, what can you tell us about this film?
RR: To be reunited with Glenn Plummer, Dewey Weber, and Greg Travis from the Showgirls’ cast, working together once again on “Showgirls 2: Penny’s From Heaven” was the most amazing experience.  I am so proud of this movie.  It qualifies for the Academy Awards, so it will be “In Consideration” for the Oscars.  So, if any Academy Members are reading this, please watch this film and I hope that it will win your votes!   We all took this film very seriously and I worked very very hard on it.  It’s been one of those movies in which the filmmakers sacrificed everything to get this film made.  Like the making of  Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now”, we had such incredible challenges in the making of  “SG2:PFH”.  But the good thing is, I  always came in “on budget” and “on time” despite the obstacles.  I think I must have a Showgirl Angel watching over me.

MG: How do you feel it will stand up with the original film by means of erotic and edgy?
RR: The story revolves around a sapphic erotic romance. It is very erotic and edgy. It has very controversial themes and subjects.  I do have an NC-17 or possibly X rated version which is similar to Showgirls’ nudity but includes not only full frontal female nudity but also full frontal male nudity, but I decided not to release it.  I was getting feedback telling me that if I include it, it will make the movie too shocking to see genitalia all over the place.  And the full frontal male nudity seemed to dominate the scene, which I enjoyed, but..  I figure my job is to make a movie for the audience to enjoy, so I sadly cut it. But, I will eventually release the full frontal version someday.  For now, this version has some violence, nudity, erotic dance numbers, sexual content, and some adult language, so I think it would be considered an R rating.

MG: When can we see expect to see this film released?
RR: I am planning to do “Sneak Peek” screenings in the Fall 2011 in Los Angeles. And possibly in select cities, like in the N.Y. area, Portland, OR., San Francisco, CA., and the U.K.  I expect the movie to be released world wide in 2012. I will have more info and updates on the website, www.Showgirls2Movie.com.

MG: What do you like most about directing and do you find it difficult to juggle roles?
RR: What I love most about directing and being a filmmaker is bringing my vision to reality, it’s a great feeling to see what I had in my mind unfold before my eyes.  It’s not difficult at all to juggle the roles of acting and directing. I found it easy to snap back and forth into my character, then back into dealing with the technical aspects and running the show.  I am inspired by Barbra Streisand, and as she said so eloquently, it actually makes it easier to both act and direct at the same time, because there is one less actor you need to worry about. I find the same with screenplay writing, it feels the same to me as acting, drawing from that same creative place, and using the impulse of timing and revealing.  And editing feels the same as writing.  It is all intertwined from that same creative place and instinct I use as an actress.

MG: How did you come up with the idea for the film “Trasharella Ultra-Vixen”?
RR: I was basically improvising and writing as we were filming.  But I was going for a grind-house type of Russ Meyer influence, then threw a Vampire in the mix. I loved what Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez did with “Grindhouse”, and with my equipment I had at that time, it gave me hope that I could make a grind-house retro B-Movie.  A lot of the story is from a script I wrote called “Butterfly Lane”.  “Butterfly Lane” deals with vampires, witches, ghosts, and being possessed.

MG: Do you have plans to follow-up with “Trasharella in Space”?
RR: Yes, I have the script ready to go.  I just need to build the spaceship for the Scream Queens, they are the drag queen astronauts who Trasharella will be traveling to cyberspace with while killing off vampire-zombies, the vampires have mutated.  It is a musical, like “Trasharella Ultra-Vixen”.  This one should be a blast!

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Filed Under: Film Interviews Tagged With: interview, rena, riffel

Interview with Glenn Ciano

Glenn Ciano is the director of two upcoming films “Inkubus” and “Infected”.  Both films have fantastic genre casts: “Inkubus” stars Robert Englund, William Forsythe, Joey Fatone and Jonathan Silverman and “Infected” stars Michael Madsen, William Forsythe and Christy Carlson Romano.  Glenn really knows the business and he really loves what he does.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Glenn about his upcoming films and his love for directing.

Mike Gencarelli: “Inkubus” was your directorial debut. How were you able to attract such talent as Robert Englund, William Forsythe and Joey Fatone to the project.
Glenn Ciano: You never know what to expect. When Robert Englund became a possibility things went completely wild. I had to rewrite the script…polish it up. And then to know that he was reading it. And on the other side I was asked what I thought about working with Robert because he is a horror icon. I mean having him comes with its own baggage. It’s great but it’s also so easy to mishandle someone that is basically a legend in the genre. I told them I wouldn’t be scared at all. I’d run right after it, tackle it to the ground and pull out something new. I mean, that’s why you want to make movies…to work with guys like that. Robert liked that answer too! And when we were casting the role of Diamante I looked at a list of actors and I had always wanted to work with William Forsythe. I had been a P.A. (production assistant) on a movie he did called “Palookaville” when I was just starting out in the movie business. So to be able to come full circle and work with him in a completely different way, that opportunity was …he left such an impression on me as a young man as an actor and just watching him work. Joey has become probably my best friend in the business. We met in 2005 when I sold a script called “Homie Spumoni,” which he was in and I worked on. I was very involved with the film right up to the end and he and I struck up a real easy relationship. It feels like he grew up just down the street. And it remains that way. So when this came up I told him I had a horror movie about to jump off and I asked him what he thought. He said, “Are you kidding me…I LOVE horror!” I told him I had rewritten the role…that the character would be in way over his head, just like Joey would be (laughs). And then through Joey…we were going over a list of names and he spit out Jonathan Silverman and I said, “oh my God, I HAVE to work with Jonathan Silverman.” I love movies and I love making them, so to have such an eclectic pairing of all of these personalities and actors is incredible. And if you read some of the reviews, they’re like “what the hell is Joey Fatone doing in this movie…what the hell is Jonathan Silverman doing in this movie?” But when you see the movie it makes sense because it takes all types. I like to create worlds and atmospheres and each guy and each girl has a different thing to do. I like the fact that you read the cast list and you might think this is just a horror movie but it’s not. I pay homage to the genre because I love it, but at the same time making movies is like telling a joke. Not the joke that you and your five friends get off on but the joke that goes in front of the biggest audience possible. That’s cool. That’s really saying something. Hopefully the audience will make something of these movies and get them out there. I’ve had test screenings where 60 year old women come up to me afterwards and say, “wow, that was really an intense mind fuck.” And I think that’s great because that’s what I wanted. I expect to hit my mark and do my job for the “right” age demographics but if I can get other people to say, “wow…I didn’t expect that. I got pulled in,” that’s what’s cool. I mean that’s what Robert Englund…Freddy Krueger…did. They weren’t just horror movies. He was the boogie man. I mean whether they like horror movies or not, everyone knows who Freddy Krueger is. That says a lot.

MG: What was your most challenging aspect of getting this film made?
GC: I only had 15 days to shoot it. The effects had to be more practical. We weren’t dealing with the biggest budget in the world…it was amazing to get all of these people on board. Being a first time director I had to make good decisions and stick to them. I had a kid piss his pants in the movie. And you know, I had other stuff like someone getting their spine ripped out. That was easier then getting this kid to piss his pants. There’s this rig they use…and he’s wearing shorts made out of the same material they make scuba suits out of. So we couldn’t get the shorts to look like they were wet. And I had to yank the shot…hopefully come back to it if we have time on another day. I only have these actors for a certain amount of time and I have to get the most out of them. And if I don’t use the time properly I get screwed because I won’t have what I need on screen. So if I can isolate the effects shots to where I don’t need an actor I just need a section of a body…I kept sliding down my days to shoot my inserts. I tried to be really smart about the time I had. I had to schedule everything the right way because if something went wrong I wouldn’t have enough screen time with the people I needed to have screen time with. Also, telling the story in smaller moments. You have to get those big shots done. If I have a small crew I can deal with that, but if I don’t get the shots I need for the movie then I don’t have a movie at all.

MG: You worked with Michael Madsen and Christy Carlson Romano on both “Infected” & “Loosies” Tell us about those two films?
GC: The experiences were fantastic. I got to work with Mike and I got to work a second time with William Forsythe. I met Christy Carlson Romano when she auditioned for “Loosies.” And through William I was able to get Vincent Gallo in, who I had also worked with on “Palookaville.” Michael Madsen was someone I had always wanted to work with. As a producer on “Loosies” it was great to be involved in assembling a great cast. And to be involved in the system of filmmaking that was designed on “Inkubus.” We used the 5D cameras, which isn’t a popular thing to do. But we were saving money. We were buying stuff…we owned our cameras, we owned our lenses. So when we needed to do reshoots it wasn’t a big deal to go out and find the equipment because we already had it. I mean we did three movies back to back. So it was great to have the editing machines and the other equipment available any time at our disposable. We were making stuff that was HD quality and doing stuff that other people hadn’t done before. It was great on “Loosies” to see my system at work for another director. And then being back in the director’s chair for “Infected,” we took it a step further. I wanted to do a slow boil, Sam Peckinpah-style western that happened to have some zombies in it. (laughs). But I really wanted to cook it. The whole thing with the zombie genre, which I’m a big fan of as well, is that someone is always waking up in a hospital and the world has already turned to shit! I wanted to know what it had turned to shit. I wanted to put a little more science into the fiction. So my version is an evolution of Lyme disease, which effects your mind and body in certain ways and knocks you down to your primal state. A lot of fever induced stuff…stuff that scared me. I actually found a deer tick on me. I plucked him off, put it in a baggie and took it to a Lyme clinic and the doctor scared the bejesus out of me…telling me it’s an epidemic…it will affect everyone you know…in the next year or five years…different strands. I asked him if it could be fatal and he said if a dog gets enough different strands and they mix together it could be fatal. They would just walk around in a circle, sit down and die. And I was like, “what the hell?” I asked him about humans and he said doctors didn’t know yet. Like I said, it scared the bejesus out of me so I went home and wrote the screenplay! Michael Madsen was really great to work with. He really epitomized my cowboy. He wasn’t looking to be a hero…he wasn’t a good dad…but life just kind of intervened and gave him a second chance under the worse circumstances to kind of step up.

MG: How do you feel that directing “Infected” has differed from “Inkubus”?
GC: Like I said, we did three movies in a row. I learned a lot on “Inkubus,” most how to manage that 15 days. How to make sure we not only had the scenes…the building blocks… but that we had the work inside the scenes. To add time…to add the little moments. To let it breathe whenever it was supposed to. And I had different kinds of special effect challenges shooting “Infected” versus “Inkubus.” “Inkubus” was a demon…he could do almost anything. I was able to do some digital effects but for the most part they were practical. With “Infected” I really wanted to go old school violence. We were shooting off blank loads. I was getting my camera in as close as I could. I actually got my DP shot in the face (laughs) by Michael Madsen, which was wild but well worth it. We built our own 35 foot crane. We built lights that put off a blue sodium vapor for moonlight because we weren’t able to have huge generators. We got to the point where if we needed to do something we figured out a way to do it. And we weren’t going to let anybody stop us. This movie was on our own backs and it was a great feeling. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to make a movie like that again. It was a very unique experience to where everybody just rallied around the movie itself and got it done. We were out in the middle of the woods…in the middle of nowhere…making this crazy film. And I think it shows. I was able to accomplish similar things with both films. I believe that in “Inkubus” films will see a Robert Englund that they haven’t seen since “A Nightmare On Elm Street.” He is the man in this movie…he leads the charge and he owns it. In “Infected” no one has seen this kind of Michael Madsen in very long time. This film proves that he can deliver…he can carry a movie. He is a movie star. Maybe people forgot that a little bit. Maybe he forgot that a little bit. But this movie is a kick in the pants because he’s back. And I’m glad to be a part of that. It’s something that I’ve always wanted. I’ve wanted to see Michael Madsen back in the forefront. I want to see Robert Englund back in the forefront. I want to see Wiliam Forsythe in a tour-de-force. He tears it up in both of these movies. He holds the emotional center of each film on different levels just giving the ballsiest character performance. To be a part of that…to capture that as a young filmmaker…no matter what happens I feel good about that. That’s the kind of career I’m heading towards. I told Michael Madsen I was going to punch a hole in his stomach and tear out his guts! I didn’t hire his head shot. And he responded. Just like my brazen attitude towards Robert Englund, “ I’m not hiring you because I want you to make a cameo…to make an appearance in my movie…you ARE the movie!”

MG: When can we see “Inkubus” and “Infected”?
GC: It looks like “Inkubus” will be coming out in October. The producers are putting together a small release themselves. I applaud them for that. “Infected” is still in post production. I think it will be out shortly after “Inkubus.” We also have some great conventions coming up where we’ll start making some noise. Robert and I are going to “Rock and Shock” and were going to make a little noise. It’s going to be the fans that make these movies. There won’t be a heavy marketing campaign behind them. No one is going to be force feeding them to you. But I’m glad they’re going to give these movies a shot theatrically. They’re a no brainer as far as DVD and television go. But I’m where I want to be. I like being in the hands of the fans.

 

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Filed Under: Film Interviews Tagged With: ciano, glenn, interview

Interview with Heather Langenkamp

Heather Langenkamp is known best for her role of Nancy in “A Nightmare on Elm Street” series.  Heather recently took a film crew along with her on various convention trips and filmed the documentary “I Am Nancy”.  The doc shows Heather’s perspective of meeting fans and how she holds up in the “Nightmare” series.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Heather about the working on “Nightmare on Elm Street”, her documentary “I Am Nancy” and also what she has planned upcoming.

Mike Gencarelli: Over the last 25 years how do you feel the character of Nancy stands out in the horror genre?
Heather Langenkamp: It didn’t really hit me until sometime after I had finished the other movies. Nancy stands out for several reasons since she grows up over the course of 15 years in the films. When we first meet her she’s your average teenager and by the time we see her in “New Nightmare”, she is a mom, married and had this incredible life. Not too many characters in film get to show the growing up of a character like that.

MG: Working on the documentary “I am Nancy” what would you say was the most challenging aspect?
HL: Definitely waking up and not knowing what to expect every day. We would gather the crew and then go to these conventions and we never knew if what we shot was good. I was often busy at my table greeting fans but I would tell the crew to go out and just talk to fans. I really had no idea what was being put down until months later when we transferred everything to computer and watched it. I was amazed at all the different things the fans said about what the character of Nancy meant to them.

MG: What would you like to tell your fans about the film and the Nancy character?
HL: I want people to have fun when they go to movies. You spend a lot of money to go and have them kind of take you away from your daily life for a bit and enjoy a piece of art which I think “A Nightmare on Elm Street” is. Our culture is something we all have in common and I love how people from all walks of life can sit and talk about films be it “Harry Potter” or “A Nightmare on Elm Street”. I know people in the movie business that get into it for that reason to make people laugh or cry. What I have noticed since I made the documentary is that there are a few movies out there that people watch over and over. Some of those movies mean something special to those people and for some “A Nightmare on Elm Street” is one of those movies and I am really proud that it has those lasting qualities.

MG: How much footage did you guys have to go through?
HL: I imagine it was over 100 hours as we had gone to 6 different conventions and we had either one or two cameras shooting. The conventions were around 30 hours each and then when you add in Wes Craven’s interview we probably had about 150 hour or so. My director Arlene Marechal has this amazing gift of remembering people and their dialogue from the shooting.  After watching the footage dozens of times she organized all of her editing all from memory. It was pretty unusual and took her quite a bit of time. We would be saying we needed a certain story and she would be able to remember a person from all the footage who told that story. She had this incredible photographic memory. One thing I love about the film is that it is really fast paced and we tried to include as many people as we could. There was a lot of interesting things said but we just couldn’t fit them all in.

MG: How did you meet Arlene and get her involved with the project?
HL: Funny enough, she is my sister in law. We were working together at our make-up effects shop for a film called “The Cabin in the Woods” and I needed some help. You can always trust your family and I called her up and told her I was in need of some extra hands managing the office. Arlene came down and worked kind of as the plant manager for about 4 months. During this time Arlene brought to my attention that a lot of the guys who work at the shop would talk about me and or be nervous when I would walk by and stuff and that they wanted my autograph on their Freddy glove. I told her that happens all the time. (Laughs) She was like did you know they were such big fans and that they love you? I was like ya, ya, ya, whatever I’m with people all the time who are big fans of the film. When we were done with that show Arlene said she wanted to make a film about me going to all these conventions and that it would be very interesting. She felt Nancy should be just as big as Freddy and that there were a lot of Nancy fans out there. I said sure as I was going to be at 6 conventions that year and Arlene came with me to each one and that’s where everything came from.

MG: What has been your fondest memory from working on the documentary?
HL: Meeting fans like Jude who you meet at the end of the film really made the show. She was just amazing and she made me cry. Being able to just talk to people and I remember every fan. They gave me such great gifts with their stories.

MG: Do you think you will ever get to play Nancy again?
HL: All I can say to that is in my dreams. I would love to do that! I would be an older grey haired Nancy for sure but I feel like there is another story there. The great thing about Freddy is that he lives in your dreams. He can transform and things but he never ages and he can always be there. I have always thought there is another opportunity for a Nancy/Freddy battle. The relationship between the two characters is really interesting and Robert England always made sure to show that Nancy was getting to him and his most difficult fight. Nancy always had to have a fighting chance. He does get me in the third film but in the final film I win and in the first film I kind of win so in my mind its 2- Nancy and 1- Freddy.

MG: Can you give us some back ground on “The Cabin in the Woods”
HL: We were really fortunate to get that project and it was much bigger than we anticipated. We thought it would just be some make-up and a few creatures but it turned into what we called the “Costco of Death” (Laughs) there was so much stuff and it was super challenging. Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon or so imaginative it’s almost like a burden to be around them as they have so many ideas. We were constantly sending them drawings and ideas. It wasn’t a big budget movie so we were on a tight time table. I am praying the film comes out in April on the big screen as I have yet to see a cut of it. Its super secret! I am hoping people will get really excited about horror films again after this film as it really shakes things up.

MG: Can you tell us about your latest film “The Butterfly Room”?
HL: I am really hoping that comes out soon as it’s been in post-production for over a year now. It was financed by the Italian government as they love horror films much more than the Americans do believe it or not. I go to play the daughter of Barbara Steele who is a classic 60’s and70’s horror actress icon. She and I have this bizarre relationship in the movie. I have to save this girls life that has been drawn in by my mother. The role is very Nacy-ish. I can’t vouch for if the movie is going to be great or not but I really loved my part and acting with Barbara Steele was a thrill.

 

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Interview with Imogen Poots

Imogen Poots in starring in this year’s 3D remake of “Fright Night” as Amy Peterson. Imogen was also in this year adaption of “Jane Eyre”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Imogen about working on the film and with such a great cast.

Click here to read our raving review for “Fright Night”

Mike Gencarelli: How familiar were you to the original “Fright Night” before getting involved with the remake of “Fright Night”?
Imogen Poots: Oh yes, I was I watched the original film before I tried out of the film. I really enjoyed it and I was very excited to be able to get on board for the remake.

MG: What did you like most about playing Amy Peterson?
IP: I think Amy is quite strong. Which means that she’s able work with Charlie and stand up for herself against Jerry. She is quite different that the original. She just want to be with her boyfriend and they are able to to explore the complexity the situation that they are involved in.

MG: Tell us about the makeup process for your character?
IP: It was really great. What was really cool though was that before we even started shooting I went down the KNB EFX and they did molds of my head and my body. It was really amazing and fun to have that happen. The guy in charge was Howard Berger and he was such a nice guy. Overall it was a wonderful experience.

MG: How was it working with Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, David Tennant and Christopher Mintz-Plasse?
IP: Yeah it is a great cast and everyone was awesome. I became super close with Anton and Chris. Colin was awesome. He is an incredible actor and a wonderful human being. They all put me at ease. It is a real international cast and that was very interesting. Craig Gillespie, the director, I adore him and he had a wonderful approach to the film to turn it into a real character driven piece. It was really cool working with all of them.

MG: Since it was filmed in 3D, did it make the production any more difficult?
IP: There was a little more down time in between shots. Everyone was walking around wearing sunblock and wearing sunglasses, but they weren’t sunglasses they were 3D glasses. On the production side, it was a slightly bigger camera with more weight. So overall not to bad.

MG: Will there be any homages to the original film or does this stand alone?
IP: Oh sure! I believe we definitely created homage to the original. I think it was important. The moment the character was created it is in the era…its the 80’s. It has that camp feel but it is more of a re-imagining from the original while still obtaining some qualities.

MG: This year you went from “Jane Eyre” to “Fright Night”, do you enjoy diverse roles?
IP: Yeah, I mean it is not something I seek outright. At the same time it is always exciting to play diverse roles.

MG: What is going to be your next project?
IP: It is a movie called “A Late Quartet”. It is with Catherine Keener and Philip Seymour Hoffman. I play a young violinist who is quite expectational and is attending Juilliard. Also, I am in New York right now and we are starting production in a couple of weeks on “Greetings From Tim Buckley”.

MG: Did the play the violin before this film?
IP: I didn’t before this role…but I do now…to an extent [laughs].

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Interview with Johnathon Schaech

Johnathon Schaech is co-starring in Renny Harlin’s new war action film “5 Days of War”. He is also appearing in this Fall’s “ChromeSkull: Laid to Rest 2”. Besides acting Jonathan is also spends his time writing screenplays. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Jonathan about his new film and his upcoming projects as well.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about working on the film “5 Days of War” and your role of Capt. Rezo Avaliani?
Johnathon Schaech: It is about a conflict that happened about three years ago between the Country of Georgia (which is important to say in the States) and Russia. It is based around a journalist that is out there and captures an atrocity that happened during the first day of the war. He tries to get the footage out to make people aware. My character is Capt. Rezo Avaliani, he is special forces for the Georgian military. He fought in Iraq with US soldiers and he friended this journalist in Iraq and he helps him get this footage out.

MG: How was it working with director Renny Harlin and such a great cast?
JS: First off Renny is one of the best all-time big action directors. He wanted to make a big action-style film but firstly he wanted to tell the story more than anything. He has done some big films but with this he wanted to do something different. He wanted to tell a good story but with the Hollywood entertainment value that he is so good at. He is a shooter man…[laughs], he shot the shit out of it. I got to work with Rupert Friend and Emmauelle Criqui, from “Entourage”. Rupert is this eclectic young English actor, who played an American journalist. Richard Coyle is another English actor, from “Prince of Persia”. These guys are really great actors. I got to work with Val (Kilmer) for a very short time. I didn’t get to work with Andy Garcia since he was playing the President of Georgia and I out there trying to save his countries. I am like the superhero man [laughs]. I get to be like the Arnold Schwarzenegger for Renny Harlin. I am the action guy.

MG: You worked on “Laid to Rest”, tell us about returning for the sequel “ChromeSkull: Laid to Rest 2”?
JS: I did a little cameo for my buddy Rob (Hall). We had a lot of fun. I ended up got my face cut off in the first one. So we tried to do something different in this one with me in a cameo role. We always want to work together. He is going to be a big film director one day. It is a fun and entertaining horror film.

MG: You wrote the teleplay for “Masters of Horror: The Washingtonians”, that was one of my favorite episode, tell us about that?
JS: I did that with my writing partner Richard Chizmar, it was based one of this short story by Bentley Little. We just brought it to life and got to work with Peter Medak, who was the director. He is fantastic.

MG: What can you tell us about writing adaptations of two Stephen King novel’s “From a Buick 8” & “The Black House”?
JS: We started working on “From a Buick 8” seven years ago and we are still fighting. We were so close to getting it made a couple of time. Once with Tobe Hooper and then with George Romero, both were attached to direct. It has had so many lives. It is moving in different directions with different people. The other is “The Black House” and we were hired to write that by Akiva Goldsman. He hired us because (Steven) Spielberg was making the first book, “The Tailsman”. They hired us to do the second book but the first one got canned when Spielberg pulled out. This one is just sitting around waiting for “The Tailsman” to get made. That’s Hollywood.

MG: Did you get to meet with Stephen King in the process?
JS: Well my partner Rich known King very well and is very good friends. King has published a bunch of his novels. I left that side to Rich. I never got to sit down with Stephen.

MG: In the last few years the horror genre has been quite rewarding to you, do you enjoy working most in that area?
JS: I love it man. I just finished a movie in Louisiana from After Dark Productions. This could be the break-out movie for After Dark, it is called “Dark Circles”, directed by Paul Soter. He is part of Broken Lizard, known for “Super Troopers” and “Beerfest”. He loves horror and he is a horror freak. He really wanted to make a horror film, so we wrote this really great script. It came across my desk and I got to sit down and talk to him about it. He put me in the movie. Pell James and I are the two leads. It is suppose to be really great!

MG: So you got acting, writing and producing down, any future plans to direct more?
JS: Oddly enough, I just finished a script for Happy Madison Productions, a comedy I wrote for Columbia. That is the kind of stuff that I want to be working on. Not necessarily comedy, but bigger feature film. You get an opportunity to then get out there and direct something that will really get a chance to be seen and have actual life. I am not going to step behind the lens at less their is something that I absolutely love.

 

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Interview with Chelah Horsdal

Chelah Horsdal is currently co-starring in the hit film “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”.  She is also starring in the direct-to-DVD prequel “Marley & Me: The Puppy Years”.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Chelah about her new films and also what she has planned upcoming.

Mike Gencarelli: How was your experience working on the film “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
Chelah Horsdal: Delightful…Rupert Wyatt is a quiet genius who ran a really great set. Both James Franco and John Lithgow are hard working and easy to be around. Mr. Lithgow is such a veteran in this business…he carries himself with true generosity and kindness towards everyone…very humbling. And watching Andy Serkis as Caesar was a site to behold…he’s got mad skills.

MG: Tell us about your role of Irena in the film?
CH: One of the themes in the film deals with Alzheimer’s and the effects on a small family trying to deal with the disease. I play a home-care nurse brought in to care for John Lithgow’s character. She does her best to help James Franco’s character adjust to his father’s disease.

MG: What did you like most about working on the film, “Marley & Me: The Puppy Years”?
CH: What a dynamite time we had….not only were we on set with well over 20 dogs…but the subject matter was so light and the cast/crew so funny that some days felt like being at the circus. Just joyful. I fell madly in love with one of the puppies…and 8 months later, here he still is, curled up on my lap as i write this. Michael Damian is such a kind man, and Janeen, his wife and co-writer, was just lovely to spend time with. Working with the dogs was a totally new experience…you can imagine trying to hit your mark, say your dialogue, juggle props, manage a puppy hitting HIS mark, creating natural gaps for the dog’s dialogue….oh, and meanwhile, act! It can be time consuming and, at times, frustrating…but when it all comes together it’s tremendously satisfying. The trainers were so darn good with those dogs…we would have been completely lost without them.

MG: Talk about how this film differs from the first film, since the animals talk in this?
CH: This film is completely unique to the first…tonality, storyline…everything. My character is John Grogan’s sister (Owen Wilson’s character in the first), and my son & I take the puppy for a few weeks while he & Jen (Jennifer Anisten) go on a writing assignment. That set up is really the only connection to the first film. Yes, the dogs talk…so you may have guessed it’s directed at a younger audience. The storyline is one of learning to both commit and follow through, how hard work pays off and how important it is we be there for each other as family. And it’s got some fun puppy gags. The overall cuteness is off the charts…these pups were so precious, you can’t help but utter a lot of ‘awwww’s.

MG: What was your involvement with the film “The Cabin in the Woods”?
CH: I had a very small role in this very large movie. Can’t say too much due to all the secrecy, but my character works for a large corporation….and the highlight was working with the wildly talented Richard Jenkins. The group of actors who had small roles on the film reads like a who’s who of Canadian talent: Terry Chen, Ellie Harvie, Patrick Gilmore, Peter Kelamis, Adrian Holmes..just to name a few. Likely the most over qualified group of actors in day-player roles in the history of time.

MG: You starred in the recently Hallmark Channel movie, “Three Weeks, Three Kids”, tell us about working on that film?
CH: What an awesome and rewarding experience that was. Mark Jean, who directed the movie, had done another film almost two years earlier, in which a played a supporting role. When this came around, I’m told he had me in mind….I read the script and immediately responded to the character. Mandy is a hard working stay at home mom to 3 kids, as the title implies. Her children are starting to grow up and she’s faced with what many parents face: the reality that she better reconnect with her husband and what’s important in her life beyond being a mom. Will deVry plays my husband, Brian, and Anna Chlumsky plays my sister, who swoops in to care for the kids while Brian & Mandy take a long overdue honeymoon. We shot on a really tight schedule, knocking off 10-14 pages a day (a lot, for those who don’t work in the business). Each day required an emotional rainbow & flipping through hair/make-up changes at the speed of light. I love working with Mark…and you can just feel that he really loves actors. Will was my rock…he’s so very supportive and i felt like the two of us were totally there for one another. Anna is so emotionally available it made being truthful in the scenes easy.

MG: You also have the TV movie, “Identity” upcoming, tell us about that?
CH: Identity is a pilot shot for ABC is Montreal earlier this year. I had just worked with director Gary Fleder on an episode on Life Unexpected, and Deb Spera produced the pilot for Criminal Minds, which had been one of my first big gigs. When i saw both of their names attached to this show i threw myself into the mix eager to work with them again. I’m glad i did…it was a joy. There was lots of action and awesome performances led by Orlando Jones & Angela Bassett. Sadly, the show was passed over by ABC, but there’s a rumor that it may air as an MOW…we shall see.

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Filed Under: Film Interviews Tagged With: chelah, horsdal, interview, with

Interview with Molly C. Quinn

Molly C. Quinn is know for her role of Alexis on ABC’s “Castle”. With Season four around the corner, Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Molly about working on the show as well as her numerous other upcoming projects.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about how your character Alexis in “Castle” has changed since season one?
Molly C. Quinn: The great thing about the Alexis character is that she is growing and changing each season just as I am. In the first season Alexis and her dad have all these systems such as the one that they use when he ends up in jail and Alexis has to bail him out. When Alexis’s grandmother comes into the picture Alexi’s starts to see things differently and her and her Grandmother start to work together to help her father. There also starts to be more pressures from school and boyfriends start to become an option. Alexis is also seeing that her dad’s infatuation with the police and Beckett are beginning to become more dangerous than helpful. Even I don’t know how she is going to respond to all these things in season 4. I think it’s going to be extremely interesting to watch Alexis grow from this vantage point.

MG: Can you tell us what it’s like working with Nathan Fillion and Susan Sullivan?
MQ: Working with both Nathan and Susan is a real pleasure and we all get along really well. It’s great that we can all help each other bring more satisfaction to our acting! Susan is such a professional. Nathan is the same way but he also likes to bring the fun! I just try and keep up.

MG: One thing I love is the family relationship that is displayed between you all and how your discussions always leads to clues for the cases, what do you like most about playing Alexis?
MQ: I’m going to cut to the chase and tell you that Alexis knows exactly what’s going on but is letting her dad piece things together by giving him just enough information to find out the answer on his own.(Laughs) I like Alexis because she’s a real teen. As an actor its fun playing a versatile person that is capable of doing so many different things. I also like that the writers have had the courage to keep Alexis true and good! As we know there are a lot of girls like that in the world and they are often very under represented on screen. I feel very fortunate to be the person to represent these girls.

MG: In second to last episode of “Castle” this season, we find out that your character is planning on going to school outside of New York, what can you tell us about that?
MQ: Alexis is thinking about following her boyfriend to college but, I don’t really know what will happen now especially after what unfolded last season with the murders. Me personally I don’t really see her going anywhere.

MG: Tell us about your role in Nickelodeon’s “Winx Club” playing Bloom?
MQ: “Winx Club” rocks! I love being on there and kicking trolls butts.(laughs) Bloom is a girl that finds out she is a fairy and goes away to a special school to develop her fairy skills. While there she meets a friend and together they decide to start a club dedicated to fighting evil. The show really promotes teamwork.

MG: You also have done quite a bit of voice over work. Can you tell us about that?
MQ: I did an audio book titled “City of Fallen Angels”. Being a huge fan of that series I had read all the books and developed voices in my head for each character prior to the project. Getting to use all those voices was a dream come true! I think I cried at the end of it because I was just so happy. “The 3rd Birthday” was a video game I did that was just awesome. We converted the game from Japanese to English using some really sophisticated equipment. The hardest part was getting the dialogue to match up with the characters mouth movements. The animation is beautiful and the story line is super intense. I can’t wait for it to come out. For “A Christmas Carol” a lot of people think that was animation and we did the sound in a booth but, it really was motion capture. Motion Capture is very different and extreme. You wear a special suit and that’s really it. There is no makeup or props and the performance really has to come from each actor’s imagination. I really treasure getting to work with Robert Zemeckis, Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman on that project.

MG: What can you tell us about your role in “Finding Hope”?
MQ: “Finding Hope” is an ongoing project that started out of a short called “The Sacrifice” when I was 13. It really is to bring awareness to teen homelessness and runaways. We have been able to do a longer sequel to the short where my character has made it out of her bad family situation only to find herself in a worse situation. Hopefully this Christmas we will be able to turn the story into a full length feature. This project has really woken me up to the real world.

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Interview with Jenna Stern

Jenna Stern recently co-starring in the film, “The Best and the Brightest”.  Her character, “Katharine, easily steals the show as the inappropriate school’s head of admissions.  Movie Mikes had a chance chat with Jenna about her role in the film and also what else she has planned.

Mike Gencarelli: Growing up in the business was acting something you always wanted to pursue?
Jenna Stern: It was always around me. I was late coming to the profession. I had thought about it but didn’t feel comfortable enough to pursue it until a little bit later.

MG: How did you come on board to play Katharine in “The Best and the Brightest”?
JS: It was an audition and I was always very skeptical. I guess that’s from growing up in the business but I don’t believe anybody! (Laughs) I figured they were just going to cast whoever but I walked in and all the people auditioning were friends of mine. We all had traded jobs back and forth over the years and they had a great group, so I then started to think it was not total BS. I read the script and it really made me laugh. I thought it was great that the arc continued the entire way through the film as this part could have been just a foil for a couple of scenes. It was really Josh (Shelov) and Michael (Jaeger)’s commitment to every character to have an arc for each one. Keep in mind that I figured I was going to end up on the cutting room floor! (Laughs) I am happy with the way the film came out and they were true to their word.

MG: How long did the scene in your office where you are reading poetry take? It looked as though it was really fun to shoot.
JS: It was fun. That was also my audition scene. I think on the auditions are going to be included on the DVD. You will hear Josh basically howling with laughter on the couch next to me. I had a basic idea of what I wanted to do with the role and he responded immediately. That was the second day of shooting for me and I have to say there was a bit of pressure on my part. I didn’t know it at the time but there were a bunch of producers watching the scene being shot but, I knew what I wanted to do and knew what it had to be so we shot it in the afternoon and we got it.

MG: Overall would you consider it a fun production and what was it like working with the rest of the cast?
JS: It was the most fun I have ever had in my entire career. I couldn’t believe how great everyone was. The producers really set the tone from the top down. Josh was amazing as a director and writer as was Michael as a writer. Josh never lost his head and no one ever screamed. The crew and everyone had a great sense of humor and we all worked very hard. We had this MTV type home we shot in that was gorgeous. It was great!

MG: Can you tell us about “Game Change” and working with Jay Roach?
JS: It’s pretty exciting and the book itself is very interesting. Jay and Danny Strong who also did “Recount” have quite a track record with these kinds of political docu-dramas. My character was first up as was Julianne (Moore)’s who was just getting into her Palin make-up and hair. She was incredible to work with. Someone told me later that it was really great to shoot the scene as I played the stylist hired to transform the Palin’s. It was nice to have that in the beginning rather than to just have it thrown in somewhere. It was really fun and top notch. Incredible cast!

MG: Do you have project you are working on currently that you can tell us about?
JS:  I am in a two actor household as my husband is also an actor. So we got the family work juggle that a lot of actors and actresses do.  I have a big guest star on the second episode of the new CBS show “A Gifted Man” with Patrick Wilson.  It is directed by Jonathan Kaplan, who did “The Accused”, which earned Jodie Foster her first Oscar.  I also have a reoccurring role as a Judge on “Law & Order SVU”.  So some good things coming up!

 

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James Hance talks about his art and his book “Wookie The Chew”

James Hance is the genius behind Relentlessly Cheerful Art. He has created many great pieces of art by mashing up his childhood favorites, whether it be cartoons or movies. James has already created the brilliant book titled “Wookie The Chew”, wonderfully mixing “Winnie The Pooh” with “Star Wars”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with James about his work and what existing projects he has planned next.

Also check out our giveaway for James Hance’s Relentlessly Cheerful Art, click here to enter top win some great prizes.

Mike Gencarelli: Let’s start with Wookie The Chew, how did you create this wonderful book?
James Hance: I had a dream about it, woke up and all the characters were there. I knew exactly who everyone was. I just recently decided that C3PO is going to be rabbit but I’m not entirely sure what to call him. Maybe Threepit? Christopher Robin was always going to be Han solo. I posted a few pictures on Facebook to see if anyone would dig it and people really got into it. I did a few and someone jokingly asked when the book was coming out, so I wrote the book.
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MG: Why did you choose to do the pictures inside the book in black and white?
JH: I wanted to keep in theme with the early E.H. Shepard Pooh illustrations. Also my printing guy would’ve charged 2x as much for color! [laughs] Once the trilogy is finished I’ll release them as a single full color volume.

MG: So you have plans for another book “Wookie The Chew”?
JH: I am about 2/3 of the way through episode two right now and I’m releasing new prints to coincide with the story. The first one was loosely based on Episode IV, the second book will be ‘When We Were Very Jedi’ and the third, ‘Now We Are Sith’.

MG: Tell us about the animation clip for “Wookie The Chew”, are you planning turning it into a feature also?
JH: Billy Allison and I put that little sequence together as a promo for the book, prints and upcoming audio book. We wanted to let the reaction to the clip determine whether or not to go ahead with something more feature-length. There’s been an amazingly positive response so far in such a short space of time and it was so much fun to put together. Now it’s just a case of working out the logistics of making the movie. Lucasfilm have been amazingly good about this so far.

MG: You have a lot of work inspired by “Star Wars”, my favorite is ‘Force By Northwest’, tell us about your inspiration?
JH: “Star Wars” has been a huge influence, as you can tell. Jim Henson and George Lucas practically walked me through my childhood. As a kid I’d constantly be doodling, on any flat surface I could find. I remember drawing Link Hogthrob (Pigs In Space) piloting an X-Wing and being ridiculously proud of it. I should really do that one again, that’s gold!

MG: Tell us about your latest prints inspired by “Firefly”?
JH: “Firefrog!”. People kept requesting “Firefly” art but I’d never actually seen the show. Eventually I picked up the box set and washooked. Half way through the first episode I was plotting out each character and their Muppet counterpart. I was posting my progress pictures on Facebook and it started this big snowball of suggestions and amazing feedback. I’m very happy with how it went.

MG: What is your first step in starting a process for a project?
JH: I’ll usually sit down with endless coffees and watch the movies or episodes of whatever it is I’m working with. I don’t really mash-up anything that I am not passionate about. I’ll sketch like a mad thing through the movie (I often take a sketch pad into the cinema and doodle in the dark. That sounds a bit weird, actually) and then go online and and source pictures for inspiration and just go from there. It’s really just me in my pajamas watching cartoons and eating
cereal all day. That’s the dream.

MG: What has been your favorite artwork to date you have created?
JH: One my personal favorite pieces has to be “The Creation of Muppet”. Kermit and Jim as Adam and God, with Jim surrounded by various Muppets. That was a 4ft x 2ft painting, It took about a week and I’d add a few characters in each sitting. I’m really happy with how that turned out. It was hard to let the original go when the time came!

MG: When are you going to start selling originals on your website? How about work for hire?
JH: I take commissions as and when I can but I’m pretty busy with
writing and the Chew series right now. I’ve put together a lot of
digital art and t-shirt designs lately but these past couple of weeks
I’ve actually gotten back to painting. I forget how much I enjoy it
until I actually have the brush in my hand!

MG: What are you currently working on now?
JH: I’m currently writing book two of the ‘Wookiee The Chew’ trilogy, I’m also working on ‘The Timelord At The End Of This Book’ which is a Doctor Who / Sesame Street parody. That one’s had an amazing response so far. I’ve finished the writing, onto the illustrations now. Then there’s a ‘Star Wars’ / ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ book in the works, the Wookiee The Chew movie, etc. I’m planning on hitting the conventions all of next year so I’m working hard to have an abundance of relentlessly cheerful art to take with me.

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Interview with 100 Monkeys

100 Monkeys is a funk rock band featuring its members Ben Graupner, Ben Johnson, Jackson Rathbone (“The Twilight Saga”), Jerad Anderson and Lawrence Abrams. What is unique about this band is that they each do not have a set role in the band and each member switches instruments and roles titled the “Monkey Switcheroo”. This band is not like any other band I have ever seen live. They explode with inspiration and experimentation when they perform live. They recently just released their second studio album titled “Liquid Zoo”. Media Mikes got to hang out with the band during their House of Blues Orlando, FL tour stop and chatted with them about their music and their unique concert experience.

Click here for a chance to WIN a SIGNED CD, “Liquid Zoo” from the band!!

Mike Gencarelli: Your first album, Monster De Lux was all improvised, how do you feel that you have evolved in “Liquid Zoo”?
Ben Graupner: Well “Liquid Zoo” is our second studio album like “Grape,” where we went in with a bunch of pre-written songs and really worked them out with a studio style of recording. It has a lot of influence from the Louisiana area because we traveled that album from Van Nuys, California to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. So that’s probably responsible for the brass, the gospel choir, and sort of just the general tone of the album. We are always looking to do something new and something crazy.

Patty Gencarell: You’ve been compared to bands such as The Beatles and Iggy Pop, who have you been inspired by musically?
Lawrence Abrams: Each other. I would say, each other.
Jackson Rathbone: Yea, there’s so many different inspirations. We all come from different walks of life, from different areas of the country, from different planets in the solar system [laughs].
PG: Yea, I read Mars, right?
Jerad Anderson: [laughs] Good looking out. Good looking out.
Ben Johnson: Yea, we’ve got Mars over here [motions to Uncle Larry].
JR: I think we carry that with us. Ben Johnson, Ben Graupner and myself all went to high school with an amazing artist named Spencer Bell. Johnson played in a band called, The Stevedores, with Spence. They released one album before Spencer passed away. He’s still, honestly, a really big inspiration for us, especially as song writers. What we do after we write a song is we’ll bring it to the group. We write in really different varied forms. Sometimes one of us will have a song pre-written and bring it to the group and it will change drastically. Or sometimes we’ll just be jamming and then we’ll write a song during a jam and then we’ll perform it that night. It’s very eclectic the way we write our music and how we perform it. At the end of the day, a lot of our song writing is influenced by the song writing of Spencer Bell. If you check out his albums, I think you’ll see it. If you look at his,[asks the group] is it “Live and Wasted” that has “The Monkey Song” on it?
BJ: Yea well “Live and Wasted” and “Live Art Fleetwood” have “The Monkey Song” on them.
JR: And if you look at Spencer’s version of “The Monkey Song” and our version of “The Monkey Song,” it’s very different but it’s kind of like the way we write. We might write a song one way but then, because we all mix up instruments, we might just rearrange the orchestration and just kind of make it 100 Monkeys.
PG: For the track “Ugly Girl”, what or who was your inspiration? Was it a type of person or a specific person?
JR: “Ugly Girl” was definitely inspired by a type of person not one in particular. It was interesting because it was one of those songs that we were kind of like separately writing, while we were in different parts of the world, literally. “LDF,” the song off of “Grape” and “Ugly Girl” were both kind of partially written in London and in Los Angeles. The part of the lyrics that I wrote in London, were really inspired by the different attitudes that I felt whenever I would travel over there and then when I went back to Los Angeles. It was like, ‘Oh, okay, yea that’s definitely one of the vainest cities that I’ve ever been to in my life.’

MG: In your videos for “Wandering Minds” and “Ugly Girl”, you certainly aren’t afraid of getting dirty, do you enjoy the video making process?
BG: Oh yea, definitely, it’s a lot of fun. William Schmidt directed both of those videos so it’s always fun to work with Will. We like to have a goodtime in our videos and we’ve got a new video coming soon that we’re really excited about. I think people are really going to like it.
MG: What song is it for?
BG: It’s for “Modern Times.”
PG: The pink nail polish in the video was a really nice touch.
UL: Well you never want to give monkeys makeup!
BG: You see what happens, it doesn’t work out well. [laughs]
JR:My favorite is still in the “Wandering Minds” video when something hits you for the first time, [motions to Ben Johnson] you just go right thru it and something bangs this object right like ‘bonk’ [laughs] and you just keep going, you just keep playing.

PG: From video making to movie making, Jerad, you produced the film “Girlfriend” co-starring yourself and Jackson and also scored by the band, what is next up for your production company?
JA: We’ve got something in the works that’s a high school wrestling comedy. It’s supposed to shoot October 17, and the band will be scoring that as well. So that’s what’s next on our closest horizon.

MG: Do you guys find a major difference between making music and creating a score?
BG: Yea it’s a totally different process. When you are making a score, I think that the major aspect is trying to make the music disappear rather than have the music stand out on its own. You’re looking for something that you almost don’t notice is there. You can tell when it starts working because the movie and the images pop off the screen. And when you take the music away, they don’t. It’s a night and day difference; two different worlds.

PG: Any possibility about appearing on the “Breaking Dawn Part 1 or 2” soundtrack?
JR: Honestly, we are not allowed to talk about it.

PG: Jackson, when you are on stage, how does it compare for you to working on films like “The Twilight Saga”? Do you have a preference?
JR: Do you have parents?
PG: Yes.
JR: Which do you like better? Do you have a favorite?
PG: Um, no. [laughs]
JR: Exactly.
PG: Not in written word. [band laughs] I’m a teacher so you know, ‘we have no favorites.’
UL: That’s exactly what he’s saying.
JR: I think it was the first time I ever got up on stage and I was singing, acting and I was dancing. And it’s just all about entertainment. I think all of us are entertainers, and that’s the greatest feeling in the world to allow someone to escapes for an hour and a half whether it be at a rock show or at a film, and get outside of their own lives. Hopefully, maybe it makes you think about something different. “Girlfriend,” the movie that Jerad produced and we scored, and I also co-produced with my company, PatchMo Entertainment, that’s a really important film for us. That was a really passionate project for us because it stars a young man with Downs Syndrome, an incredible actor by the name of Evan Sneider. And it’s just touched the lives of so many people. A lot of people have this preconceived notion about Downs Syndrome and people with Downs Syndrome. Then you watch that film and you’re like, well this actor is one of the best actors that I’ve ever worked with. Amanda Plummer, a seasoned veteran, said that he’s the best actor she’s ever worked with.His performance has inspired people all around the world and it’s just incredible to be able to have that effect. That’s what entertainment does, it either makes you laugh or makes you cry; makes you think about your life and that’s amazing. The power of any piece of art, it’s what it does.

PG: Jerad, just touching on Downs Syndrome. I’ve worked in special education for the past five years, with Deaf children and children who are hard of hearing.
JA: I understand Sign Language. [Using American Sign Language]
PG: Yes, exactly, I do too.
JR: [They’re speaking in sign language right now.]
PG: Where did you learn ASL?
JA: Actually it was something that I got into and took as a foreign language for school. Then I worked retail and met a bunch of Deaf people while working there and I made friends with them. I sort of struggled and tried to use what I was learning and then it just started becoming a part of me. I ended up having and making good friends with one Deaf person and lived with as a roommate for one year. Then I was a TA (teacher’s assistant), for the Sign Language Department just because I liked it.
PG: I was sort of thrown into it myself, having been excessed to a Deaf and Hard of Hearing program. I loved working in it.
JA: Yea, it’s a different culture. They have their own culture. We actually have Deaf people who come to our shows and have a good time, because they can feel the vibration of the music. They enjoy what we do on stage, the spectacle.

MG: Tell us about performing, what do you like most about touring, getting to improvise every concert and performing the “Monkey Switcheroo”?
JR: There are so many different aspects of touring that really makes us happy. One is the stage show, the switching, that’s just what we do. That’s what makes 100 Monkeys special. However, I think one of the favorite aspects of touring for all of us has been being able to meet new bands. For instance, are y’all local here? (Orlando)
PG & MG: Yea.
JR: If you were able to check out Beebs and Her Money Makers, they were fantastic. And you know, it’s being able to meet new bands like them, that being inspired by them to either up the ante or try something different. When we were in Nashville, Tennessee, we met the bassist for Darius Rucker, this guy named John Mason. He was great, we took him out for a beer afterwards and really just pried into his brain about what about our stage show that maybe even we can perfect. I think that’s what we really love about touring. It’s getting to meet the fans, face to face, and getting to meet new bands that are doing new cool things. We get toys all the time [motioning to the 100 Monkeys’ monkey given to Ben Graupner] which keeps us entertained because we all have ADHD, which really showcases in our music and our instrumentation. [laughs]

PG: Tell us about the Spencer Bell Memorial Project?
JR: It’s one of those things that’s really near and dear to our hearts. We’ve been doing it for a long time.
BG: It’s evolved recently and we now do The Spencer Bell Legacy concerts. The most recent one was put on at Mohawks in Austin, Texas. It wasn’t even put on by one of us or Spencer’s family. It was just a couple of fans of his music who took it upon themselves to contact all the bands and put on the show. We think that’s really cool, that people are inspired by his music. They love his music and his writing. They are just taking it upon themselves to bring people together to celebrate it. Also there has been, what was the name of that drug that they did the research for?
JR: I’m not sure of the exact name of the drug. But due to the money that has been raised by the fans over the course of a couple of years doing the SBLs, they actually changed the adrenal cancer drug for the first time since 1965. Dr. Gary Hammer was finally able to persuade the pharmaceutical companies. Literally the 100 Monkey Effect is about the collective consciousness and about raising an awareness for something. Because we were able to raise such an awareness for it, he finally was able to convince the pharmaceutical companies to create a new drug since 1965, which is extremely, extremely hard to do because there’s no money in it. Pharmaceutical companies only focus on what will make them money. If its orphan cancers like that, there’s not enough people out there with that specific cancer. The interesting thing about adrenal cancer, and other orphan cancers like it that kill a lot of people all over the world, is that it is one mutation of a chromosome. Which hopefully if you can find a cure for that, then you can really get deeper into being able to find a cure for breast cancer which has 30 different mutations and prostate cancer which also has about 30 different mutations. So hopefully if we focus on orphan cancer awareness, we can get doctors to discover what one mutation takes. Because one mutation is what starts it all; and that’s the hardest thing to find and that’s really exactly what we are trying to figure out with orphan cancer.

All photos taken by and are Copyright © Patty Gencarelli

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Filed Under: Music Interviews Tagged With: 100 monkeys, band, breaking dawn, eclipse, interview, jackson, ...

Interview with Steve Alten

Steve Alten is the author responsible for the amazing novel “Meg”. In case you are not familiar with the series, “Meg” is not about a girl is it about a Megalodon, a prehistoric giant shark that is believed to be extinct. The novel was released in 1997 and since then has spawned three sequels,”The Trench”, “Meg: Primal Waters” and “Meg: Hell’s Aquarium” and a fourth on its way. Steve has been trying to get a movie version of “Meg” made since before the book was published and may finally be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. MovieMikes had a chance to chat with Steve about his novel series “Meg”, its possible movie adaption and his other series as well.

Mike Gencarelli: You have been trying to get “Meg” made into a feature since 1996, what has been the hardest challenge?
Steve Alten: The biggest challenge with Hollywood Pictures and New Line Cinema was getting a good script. At the time I was a new writer and I could have written the best script in the world but they weren’t going to look at because they wanted to hire an A-list writer. After the deal with New Line Cinemas didn’t work out in 2007, we re-obtained the rights to the film. I decided to use our own producer Belle Avery who was very good at putting together independent financing. Belle was able to secure around $150 million based on my new script. We took my script and a script from another writer and after taking our names off both we sent them to about 25 people in the industry and all 25 picked my script. We were pretty convinced from there that we were on the right track.

MG: According to your June 2011 newsletter, you believe we might be seeing “Meg” in summer 2013?
SA: The paperwork on the financing is being completed right now and should be done by next month. Hopefully sometime in July we will have a formal announcement. We will probably start pre-production in January followed by some major announcements of a director and cast. We are targeting summer of 2013

MG: The “Meg” series is my favorite, you are currently working on “Meg: Night Stalkers” and a “Meg” prequel, what can you tell us?
SA: The prequel is done and it’s really a bonus for those who have been following the series. The story goes back Jonas’s original story about how he came across the Megalodon seven years prior to “Meg”. The back story delves slightly into “Meg” and it’s about an 80-90 page book. It’s going to sell as an eBook for around $1.99. It’s really just something for the readers to get them into the series. As far as “Meg: Night Stalkers” I haven’t started that yet. I won’t do that until we have an official greenlight on the “Meg” movie. I don’t want to jinx it. Once I get the green light I will know how much time I have, as I would like to release the book a couple weeks before the film.

MG: The Domain Trilogy is also continuing with “Phobos” this fall, tell us about that novel?
SA: “Phobos” is great because Domain is a series that I never really understood the full impact of until I started writing “Resurrection” which led into “Phobos”. “Phobos” was an opportunity to take the story where it left off in 2046 and send it back to the pre 2012 days. I was really able to explore the characters of Julius and Michael Gabriel which also allowed me to give them an alternative ending. At the same time “Phobos” deals with a situation that is actually happening and could be a threat to both humanity and to the planet it’s self.

MG: What is your process when you are preparing to start a novel?
SA: I am sort of doing now as we speak. Since finishing the “Meg” prequel, I am free to move onto my next novel which I have been planning for a few years titled “The Omega Project”. I don’t really understand the book yet so I have starting reading a lot of material that has to deal with the story which then allows me to figure out the story from the research that I am doing. I have a stack of book on my desk to help me get into my lead characters and the overall story.

MG: Unlike most authors, you are very connected with your fans and welcome ideas and suggestions, do you enjoy their feedback?
SA: Absolutely! I have received newsletters from other authors and they always seem to be just an advertisement for their upcoming book. I think there has to be a portion of promotion, but I find it’s more interesting for me if I put living tips and jokes in my newsletter which are things people can use along with information about my upcoming books. It’s kind of egotistical if I just put out a newsletter about me. I don’t think people really would want a newsletter just about me. I don’t even want to right something like that as I would run out of things to say pretty quickly.

MG: What would you say has been your most rewarding series so far and why?
SA: I would probably say it was “Grim Reaper: End of Days” which took me two years to write and was an absolutely exhausting process. When I read the book the payoff is definitely there with all the layers. I don’t think it’s my most widely appreciated book yet but I think it will be over the years though. I really enjoyed writing “Phobos” as well it was very satisfying and a great wrap up of the first three novels while opening the door for a fourth.

MG: Do you have any plans to turn any of your other novels into films (hint, hint: “The Loch”)?
SA: I think every book I write is written for the cinema. The ideas are all pretty big tent poll ideas. We have optioned “Domain” and hope it makes it to the movies because there are some really great people behind it. “The Loch” has also been optioned by the same people who are involved with “Meg”. I think they all really have potential to films and hopefully this first one will be the domino that needs to fall and get everything rolling.

MG: Tell us about your Adopt-An-Author program, which is just fascinating.
SA: Adopt-An-Author started almost on its own after “Meg” came out. I started to get an influx of emails from teenagers who hated to read but read “Meg” and loved it. I also started getting emails from teachers who were telling me that they were using the book in their teaching curriculum’s. I had then found out that “Meg” had been named #1 book for young adults who were reluctant to read. I realized then that I needed to get involved and with my back ground in education I was sort of putting my degrees to work. We provide free materials to teachers that want to adapt this into their curriculum’s. Youth who are involved in the program can email me and I reply just as I would with any other reader but at the end of the unit the teachers can contact me and I will do a conference call with the class or if it is local I will go to those classes and speak. We started the program in 1999 with about 10 teachers and this past year we surpassed 10,000 registered teachers. The best part is it’s all free!

 

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Filed Under: Author Interviews Tagged With: alten, interview, steve

Interview with Nicholas D’Agosto

Nicholas D’Agosto is known for his role in comedies like “Fired Up!” and “Extreme Movie” is switching gears to horror with “Final Destination 5”.  He is the lead in the fifth film in the franchise which he believe it taking the series in a new direction.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Nicholas about working on the film and with such a great cast.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us what you liked most about playing the leader Sam in “Final Destination 5”?
Nicholas D’Agosto: I guess for me it was fun because I am guy that lives the longest.  I get to hang around the most [laughs].  It is always nice when you get the work a lot.  It was great.  I really loved that I got to do the action, the heart felt relationship stuff, some comedy and the fight scenes.  I get the whole grab bag.

MG: Did you do any of the stunts yourself?
NDA: We did have amazing stunt crew.  The stunt crew was awesome and they were incredibly important in teaching us what to do.  Most of the big stuff I actually got to do myself which was great.  You can see in the trailer where I jump onto the railing and that I got to do that.  I am on cables but it is still like a 14-15 foot jump.  It was really fun.  I got to do a big fight scene and I did most of that.  It was fun to get to do that stuff.

MG: Did you refer to any of the other films in the series for role research?
NDA: I definitely went back and watch Dewon Sawa character from the first film.  One of the reasons was that females were the leads in some of the other ones, so they are written differently.  With Dewon’s role it is the tone of the entire film, since they are really similarly written.  They tried to make it the same kind of suspense and the same total feel.  Dewon had a different character and a short of different arc, but I definitely went back in to see what I can pick and choose from there. It was great.

MG: How do you feel that this film expands on the series?
NDA: I got say for fans of the franchise this movie will be be as good as the first film.  It is sort of rebooting the franchise in a way.  I honestly think it is the best one.  I think what they did is that they made the film take a new leap.  Steve Quale is the director, he did 2nd unit on “Avatar” and he is just great. The new 3D technology that they are using that came out in the last year on this makes it feel very big, epic, beautiful and rich.  I think that this movie will stand on its own for people that haven’t seen any of the “Final Destination” films.  You do not have to see any of the other films to enjoy this one.  I am very excited about that.

MG: Tell us about working with the rest of the cast?
NDA: We all had a great time working out there.  We hit it off as a group.  They are all different people and we each took on different roles and we all just hit it off.  It was really fun.

MG: What was your most difficult scene to shoot in this film?
NDA: That is a great question…there is a bunch of different scenes.  I would have to say though parts of the bridge sequence.  It was built on three different stages.  One was built a stage on the side of a mountain overlooking the ocean, which was by the way incredibly beautiful.  They built like 300 feet of an actual bridge to scale on this gravel pit.  Then they brought it to a parking lot and then they brought it inside a building.  The hardest part where you are hanging in the air on cables all day or saying the same line over and over.  Over 15-20 days of shooting and trying to maintain a through-line for scenes you have done so many times was hard.  I think that was definitely the hardest…lots of screaming.  My voice was gone for weeks at a time [laughs].

MG: Did the 3D filming affect the filming process for you at all?
NDA: On a technical side, maybe…it doesn’t really change my acting too much.  You can’t put things up in front of the frame.  I remember one time I was telling someone to stop and I had my hand up like you would normally do.  They told me you have to keep it lower and out of frame because it just looks like these floating fingers in front of the persons eyes.  Since whatever is closest to the screen is going to be closer to the person’s eyes.  What I would say it changes is the amount of time you are hanging out on set.  Because the 3D camera is actually two different cameras mounted on a frame, with a mirrored frame that melts the two images together.  Those two tend to fall out of alignment all the time. So there would be days when we would have 3-5 hours of downtime while they were fixing cameras.  Right now it is still kind of a touchy process working with it.  The image gorgeous though and totally worth it.

MG: Earlier this year you co-starred in “From Prada to Nada” and you are no stranger to comedy with “Fired Up!” and “Extreme Movie”, do you prefer comedy genre?
NDA: I do I love it.  I am so fortunate that I get to do both and that people have seen that I can do both.  I don’t always want to do dramas all the time and I don’t want to do comedies all the time. When I did “Fired Up”, Eric (Christian Olsen) and I were just buddies for a couple of months joking around all day on set.  We were joking around on “Final Destination” also but there comes a moment when everyone has to get tears in their eyes [laughs].  So there is a little bit of a different element with that.  The dream is to get to do both the rest of my career.

MG: What do you have planned upcoming?
NDA: I got a movie coming out called “Dirty Girl”.  I have a small part in it but it is a really cool part.  It stars William H. Macy, Dwight Yoakam, Milla Jovovich, Mary Steenburgen and Juno Temple.  It is coming out October 7th.  It is the size of “The Kids Are Alright”, it will be kind of like that.  It is a cool film and definitely a different part for me so I am really excited.

 

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Filed Under: Film Interviews Tagged With: dagosto, interview, nicholas
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