Sara Lindsey talks about working with Tom Cruise in “Jack Reacher”

Sara Lindsey is an up and coming Hollywood starlet who will be appearing in the new Tom Cruise action film “Jack Reacher” which is scheduled for release on December 21st. Media Mikes had the chance to talk recently with Lindsey about the film and what it was that got her in to acting.

Adam Lawton: How did you first get involved with acting?
Sara Lindsey: I have always been a performer. The first time I tried it was in a 1st grade play my teacher arranged. That was the bug that bit me. I have been performing since I was very young and I have always been very artistic and musical. As I got older I began to get more serious about things and when I started looking at colleges I decided acting was what I was most passionate about. I felt very connected to acting and that’s what I pursued in college.

AL: How did you get attached to the film “Jack Reacher”?
SL: I had gone to an audition for the film and after that I learned about the book franchise and all the other things associated with “Jack Reacher”. I think the film is going to be really cool as it is a fun film. The story is very easy to follow which is not always the case with some films with similar themes. Tom Cruise is just awesome as the Jack Reacher character. I am definitely looking forward to the film coming out.

AL: What was it like working on such a large production?
SL: It was crazy! I am super new to the business and have only done two or three movies up to this point. The audition process for this was pretty long and I had a few call backs. One call back was done over Skype between the directors, me and the person who was going to be playing my boyfriend. Christopher McQuarrie is such a brilliant writer and director. It was a pleasure to get to work with him. I had a great time during the process.

AL: Were you allowed to experiment with your character at all?
SL: We really did get some freedom within the structure of the film. My big scene is at the very end of the movie. Chris gave us the frame work and allowed us to do whatever we wanted within the boundaries of the scene. We talked over a few different ideas and went from there.  We sort of did things in the moment. To be allowed to do that on this caliber of a movie was very unique.

AL: Can you tell us about the film “Promise Land”?
SL: That was a dream project for me. I got to meet and work with an amazing group of people. I learned so much. The film is about identity and what makes us who we are. The story is set against a back ground that has to do with hydro fracking. There is that issue going on while some great characters with compelling stories are interwoven throughout the film. I think it’s going to be really great.

AL: What are the release plans for the film?
SL: I think they are doing a limited release in several cities starting on or around December 28th. The wide release is scheduled for January 4th.

AL: Can you tell us about some of your other projects you have coming out?
SL:  I am working on a screen play project right now that is not yet titled. We have been working on it for about a year now. It has been a lot of fun to work on something from the ground up. The things you can cultivate with peers and colleges are really great. We are hoping to start shooting that in the very near future.

 

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Complimentary Passes to the Kansas City Advance Screening of “Jack Reacher” [ENDED]

ALL TICKETS HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED AND ALL WINNERS HAVE BEEN EMAILED!

ALL TICKETS HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED AND ALL WINNERS HAVE BEEN EMAILED!

If you would like to enter for a chance to win tickets to the following advance screening, please leave a comment below with your FAVORITE MOVIE “JACK”. Is it creepy Jack Torrance from “The Shining?”  How about Jack Dawson in “Titanic?”  The first (50) people to comment will be given a code to obtain a pass for (2) via the GOFOBO site. Winners will be notified on or before Sunday, December 16th. ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON PLEASE! OTHERWISE ALL ENTRIES WILL BE DISREGARDED. The winners will be will notified via email and will be instructed how to register for their passes. Good luck and hope to see if you at the screening! Screening information is as follows:

Date: Monday, December 17, 2012
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Cinemark Merriam, Merriam, Kansas

Official Site: JackReachermovie.com
Opening Date: Friday, December 21, 2012

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Jack Perez talks about “Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus” and “Some Guy Who Kills People”

Jack Perez is known best as the director of the cult hit “Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus”. Jack also recently directed the new horror/comedy “Some Guy Who Kills People”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Jack about his new film and the cult success of “Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus”.

Mike Gencarelli: How did the title, “Some Guy Who Kills People”, come about?
Jack Perez: I came to the project after the script was already written. Ryan Levin had come up with the title and I loved it. Some people had wanted to change it as they thought it was too strange. I really fought for it as I thought it summed up the theme of the movie.

MG: What was your biggest challenge working on this production?
JP: I think getting the film done in the time we were given. We only had 16 days to do the film and its one of those films where performance counted. I wanted to make sure I could get all of those. Time was really the biggest thing. Fortunately we had a great crew and the cast was great as well.

MG: How was it working with such a great cast?
JP: It was great! I am a big fan of Karen Black and Barry Bostwick. These were all people Iadmired. I also admired Kevin Corrigan’s work and knew him socially however we had never made a film together. This film was a chance to work with people I loved. Thankfully they were all available as that generally never happens.

MG: Were the comedic parts of the film planned or were they something that just naturally occurred?
JP: Everything was deliberate. The script was designed to have equal parts of comedy, horror and drama. That was something that made me like the script so much. Mixing these things is always appealing but difficult to find.

MG: How did John Landis become involved?
JP: I think he had gotten script early on as Ryan was looking for a director. Landis was approached and it appealed to him however around that same time he was approached to make “Burke and Hare”. That was a project he has been looking to make for a long time and it then became about finding someone to replace him which is where I came in.

MG: Did you think “Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus” would ever reach the cult status that it has? And why did you choose to go by Ace Hannah?
JP: I never did. The reason I didn’t put my name on it was because I like to have control over the edit of my work. I think it is an essential part of directing. The Asylum doesn’t work that way. I knew they would sort of make a mess of my work. I wish people could see my cut of the film as it is a much faster, funnier movie. There was a bunch of stuff added to pad the length of the movie.

MG: What do you have planned next?
JP: I just did a movie for the Syfy channel called “Blowing Vegas of the Map”. It’s kind of a goofy, super natural disaster type movie. It was really a chance to work with Barry Bostwick again. Ryan and I also want to work together again.

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Interview with Jack Davis

Jack Davis is one of the original artists from “Mad” magazine.  He has also illustrated covers from various outlets such as “Time” magazine to film posters for “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”.  He also worked with Rankin/Bass productions on films like “Mad Monster Party”.  Media Mikes had a chance to briefly chat with Jack about his various projects over the years.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us how you got started working with “Mad” magazine?
Jack Davis: I was brought on by Harvey Kurtzman when he started “Mad” in 1952. I contributed a lot of illustrations to that magazine. I left though to work for Playboy and Hugh Hefner but I came back shortly after and worked with them for many years after.

MG: Is there a difference in your process when creating art in magazine’s differing from “Time” to “Mad”?
JD: It wasn’t much different. I really enjoyed doing the work for “Time”. They really let me do my one thing on the covers. I always thought they came out really nice.

MG: Tell us about working on film posters like “The Bad News Bears” and “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”?
JD: I would get an idea of what they wanted, then I would submit my variations.  They would be both in color and black and white. They would go through them make changes, send them back to me and I would adjust my drawings.

MG: How did you get involved working with Rankin/Bass productions?
JD: Well, I guess they were “Mad” fans and they need some help with their character designs. I worked with them on many projects including “Mad Monster Party” and “King Kong” series. I enjoyed work with Rankin/Bass quite a lot, they are good people.

MG: Tell us about working with Rick Goldschmidt in both “Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass” and the “Making of a Rankin/Bass Holiday Classic: Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer”?
JD: Rick is a big fan and I appreciate that very much. He asked me to help contribute and I agreed. He has some really rare photos and drawings from Rankin/Bass productions. It was a real pleasure.

MG: What are you currently working on?
JD: Not really, I am retired here in Georgia. Occasionally, I do some lend my services for the local University here and make art for the Georgia Bull Dogs team.

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Blu-ray Review “Jack and Jill”

Directed by: Dennis Dugan
Starring: Adam Sandler, Katie Holmes and Al Pacino
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
MPAA Rating: PG
Running time: 91 minutes

Film: 1 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Man oh man…Adam Sandler, what are you doing?  After watching “Grown Ups” in 2010, I finally believed that Adam Sandler’s films had officially bottomed-out and couldn’t get any worse.  HAHA, well guess what…they did.  This film is just plain sad and fails on almost every level.  It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this was a bad idea…come on Adam! So while taking it into consideration that I am not a fan of watching Adam Sandler recently, so to only add insult to injury we get Adam Sandler times two and in drag in this film. It is sad to say when the best part of the film is seriously a quick cameo from Johnny Depp wearing a Justin Bieber shirt.

Since I already tore apart Adam Sandler, I will chat about the rest of the film now and don’t get me wrong, I actually really want to enjoy Adam Sandler’s films again but pieces of crap like this make it impossible. Many sources have said that Al Pacino is the saving grace for this film but I really didn’t feel the same way. He definitely played a fun more obnoxious version of himself but the jokes really weren’t nailed. I did like his Dunachino rap at the end. Katie Holmes was miscast in this film and can do so much better…come on Katie!! Don’t even get me started on when the family goes on a Royal Caribbean cruise, they might as well have been flashing the phone number on the screen to make a reservation.

The Blu-ray presentation is impressive though with its clear HD video transfer and Sony’s sharp DTS-HD MA 5.1 track. This release also included a streaming digital copy for the new Ultraviolet service. The special features are ok but unless you totally love this film, they are worth passing up. If the film wasn’t hard enough to watch there are almost 20 minutes of deleted scenes. I am sure glad they were cut because the movie couldn’t have been a single minute longer. “Laughing is Contagious” is a blooper reel, decent overall. “Look Who Stopped By” is a feature on all the cameos in the film, which was basically the only good part of the film. “Boys Will Be Girls” is a short features on Sandler’s transition from Jack to Jill. “Stomach Ache” is a walk around the set with Regis Philbin. Since the film was a walking advertisement, a commercial for the cruise is only expected with “Don’t Call it a Boat-Royal Caribbean”. End of line.  Try again Adam Sandler.

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Book Review “Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture- A Career Retrospective”

Author: Jack Davis
Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: Fantagraphics
Release Date: December 12, 2011

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I recently had the privileged to interview Jack Davis himself and discuss his work with him. I have to tell you that it would honestly take hours of questions to barely scratch the surface on his work. This book is packed with really great high quality coverage of all of Jack’s work. It starts from the beginning  in the early days and gives a pretty thorough look at his career portfolio. I feel that the book work as a tribute to his work and would be enjoyed by his lifetime fans and newly founding fans alike.

Some of the work that “Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture” covers is his comic work in EC, “MAD”, “Humbug”, “Trump”, and horror work like “The Vault of Terror” and Tales from the Crypt”. It focuses on his work with movie posters and albums covers including “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”, “The Bad News Bears”, “Bananas” and record jacket art for musicians and bands like Hans Conreid and the Creature Orchestra’s Monster Rally and Spike Jones. Jack’s work has also been featured in magazine like Playboy, Sports Illustrated, Time and TV Guide. Lastly a main draw for the book has to be unpublished illustrations and and newly found drawings from Davis.

I did not think that one book would be able to encompass all of it all of Jack’s worth but this one does a decent job. The images though are very clear and crisp whether in black and white or color. You can even see the pencil marks on some of the pictures, which adds to the beauty of the images. After you finished enjoying all of his work, there is a great biography written about Jack to round up all of his work and delivers some great information about his career.  Fans of Jack’s and of art in general should definitely check this out if you are able to pick up a copy from Fantagraphics.

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Film Review “Jack and Jill”

Starring: Adam Sandler, Katie Holmes and Al Pacino
Directed by: Dennis Dugan
Rated: PG
Running time: 1 hour 31 mins
Columbia

Our Score: 3 out of 5 stars

As the holiday season approaches, it’s time to make way for a new comedy starring the hilariously funny…Al Pacino? That’s right. Pacino has a small but pivotal role in “Jack and Jill” and, in a film full of people known for being funny, pretty much stands alone.

Jack (Sandler) is a successful creator of television commercials. One of his clients, the folks over at Dunkin’ Donuts, wants him to secure the talents of one Al Pacino to promote their new product, Dunk-A-Chino. But Jack has other things on his mind, mainly the upcoming yearly Thanksgiving visit of his twin sister, Jill (also Sandler). Where Jack has always been the popular twin, Jill has taken a back seat. Now, with their mother recently passed, the two must find a way to tolerate each other during the sure to be festive holiday season.

A one note joke that runs an hour and a half, “Jack and Jill” gives Sandler the chance to use the same “funny lady” voice that he used on his early comedy CDs. With his high pitched whine you almost expect to hear Jill proclaim, “they’re all gonna laugh at you,” or perhaps implore you to “play with your cock and balls for mama.” Along the way we meet many of the Sandler comedy troupe, including Allen Covert, who appears to be channeling the homeless man turned caddie he played in “Happy Gilmore.” Along with the regulars are some fun bits from such well known people as Jared from Subway and Vince, the Shamwow! Guy. We are also joined by his two young children: a young boy adopted from India when less than two weeks old and a little girl who is always curiously dressed exactly as her doll. The boy has discovered scotch tape and it’s fun to see what household item he’ll apply to his body next.

The premise gets annoying after awhile, but that is when Pacino shows up to make things interesting. He gets great laughs spoofing his serious side while on stage and, when his Oscar is accidentally damaged, zings the Academy Awards. He even manages to belt out “The Impossible Dream” from “The Man of La Mancha.” Pacino is truly, as they say in show business, a triple threat! And to see him play off his very stern on-screen reputation is a welcome treat. Hoo-ah!

The script loses steam shortly after it begins to boil, with the only new “idea” being to put Jack and Jill in another unusual situation. Look…they can jump rope! If anyone but Sandler had been playing Jill the film may have worked better. But his constant whining makes Jill more sympathetic, to the point where you can forgive her the occasional break of wind. Heck, when Pacino is on screen you can almost forgive anything.

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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.

 

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