Terry Dale Parks talks about roles in “Terminator Genisys” and “Maze Runner: The Scorch”

Terry Dale Parks has appeared in numerous television series and films. Some of his work includes appearances on “Homeland” and “Prison Break” to “Thor” and “Olympus Has Fallen”. Terry recently just finished work on “Terminator Genisys” and “Maze Runner: The Scorch”. Media Mikes had the chance to speak with Terry recently about his work on the two films as well as some of his other upcoming work.

Adam Lawton: What can you tell us about your work on “Terminator Genisys”?
Terry Dale Parks: That started off kind of funny. I had started out thinking I was going to New Orleans to work as that’s where a lot of the film was shot however at the last minute I ended up going to San Francisco. I do some stunts in the film as well as playing a character. The role I play is actually that of a guy who is in charge of one of the cybernetic research facilities. This was such a great film to work on. The thing Director Alan Taylor wanted to do was to make this film feel like the original James Cameron “Terminator” films. The film is sort of picking up where the originals left off. Having Arnold back in the film and getting to work around him was really a treat for me.

AL: What was your take on the “Terminator” series prior to working on it and how do you feel it fits in with the previous films?
TDP: I grew up with “Terminator” and the first 3 movies are really what I consider to be it for me in the series. Growing up in the 80’s and with that classic “I’ll Be Back” phrase that’s really where I see this new film fitting in. It really goes back to the originals. There’s a lot of heart in this film and it’s not just constant CGI effects. That’s the thing I loved about the original films was that all the characters had these dynamic relationships. Genisys has some great surprises and I think people are really going to like the film.

AL: You also are going to be appearing in “Maze Runner: The Scorch”. What can you tell us about that project?
TDP: I had never really heard about the first film. I ended up going to see the film one day not knowing what to expect and ultimately I found the film to be really interesting. What I loved about it is was how the relationship between the kids in the film developed. As the film went on it felt like they were this little family. So literally the next day after seeing the first film I got a call from my agent asking if I would be interested in reading for the film. I actually read for several different roles when I went in. I ended up landing a role where I am in charge of a facility where the kids are taken. I can’t really say much more than that. “The Scorch” literally picks up where the first film ended and it’s almost like watching your favorite Sci-Fi series and this is the next episode. What I found with working on this project is that the kids in the film have such a great relationship off screen that it seems to carry over to on screen. They are all great kids and it was a real pleasure working with everyone.

AL: You have a pretty extensive television resume as well. Do you find it difficult to transition between television and film roles?
TDP: There are long hours and hard work that go into both.  Sometimes when you are working on a television show you might be working on 4 different scripts which are being shot on a couple different sets all in one day. With a film you’re working on one thing so you are only focusing on certain scenes each day. With the television stuff I have to spend a little bit more time making sure I have everything set and am on the right page so to speak for each shot as like I said before a lot of times were working on multiple episodes at one time.

AL: Since were on the topic of television can you tell us about working on “Astronaut Wives Club”?
TDP: That was such a great and fun cast to be around. The show is going to be a 10 part mini-series on ABC. I think people are going to find this show very appealing as I think it has something that appeals to all demographics. For the guys the astronaut angle I think will be very interesting. At times the show also has a “Desperate Housewives” feel to it as it showcases a lot of the drama that these guys went through. When the ten episodes are up I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t order more. It’s based off of a series of books so there are more options if they choose to continue on with it.

AL: Are there any other projects you have in the works that you would like to mention?
TDP: I did a project with Kyra Sedgwick titled “Big Sky”. That’s should be an interesting film that I think people will like. It’s definitely a thriller and also stars Bella Thorne and Frank Grillo. I am very excited for that to come out.

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: dale, genisys, maze, parks, roles, runner, ...

Linkin Park’s Joe Hahn talks about directing the film “Mall”

Joe Hahn is probably best known as member of the multi-platinum selling rock group Linkin Park. However Joe is an accomplished music video director who recently made the jump to feature film directing. Hahn’s first full length film titled “Mall” is an adaption of the Eric Bogosian book of the same name. The film stars Vincent D’Onofrio, Gina Gershon and Cameron Monaghan and is currently available via Netflix. Media Mikes had the chance to speak with Joe recently about the film and his move to directing full lengths.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us some background on how you got involved with this project?
Joe Hahn: I had come across the script through a mutual friend who was a producer on the film. They worked with Vincent who was working on this project with Eric Bogosian who wrote the book the film is based on. He also was the writer on one of Oliver Stone’s early films titled “Talk Radio” and a bunch of other great things. I think Eric has a very punk rock perspective of Americana. When I read the script I loved it and really thought it was great. I then went and read the book and loved that as well. I liked how the screenplay made since of what was going on in the book without being a carbon copy. I couldn’t put it down and I had all these ideas running through my head. I called my friend up and told him this was perfect and that I knew how to do the film and that it would be very easy for me to do.

AL: Were you able to be free with your direction or did you stay more to the original script?
JH: I definitely stuck to the essence of the script. I think the visual interpretation was my thing. Every person you meet and work with on a film project acts as collaboration. Everyone who touches it is part of the process. There is always added development that each person brings to the table. We all worked together from day one. The templates were all there in screenplay. We did however have to make some tweaks along the way just to have things make a little more sense. It’s all about fine tuning the process.

AL: What do you feel is the defining characteristic of this film that showcases you as the director?
JH: Film is a great way to get someone’s attention for 90 minutes or so. With a full length film you can really get into the details of the story and its characters. With a lot of the music videos and short form things I have done you have to get in and get out as quickly as possible. There is something that is exciting about full length film experience where people can unwind and enjoy themselves. I am a fan of films and the experience so that’s something I want to try and carry over with these long form projects.

AL: Did you notice any major differences when you first started working on this film having come from working mostly on shorts?
JH: I think on the creative side a full length is just a longer version of everything that goes in to a short or music video. With a full length you often have multiple story lines happening and a variety character dynamics. You have to figure out how to make all of that fit in with how the film is written. I think when something is really well written you can use that as your master template and then the details come along to help make sense of everything. The biggest difficult I think in all of this is the logistics portion of things. The creative stuff is the fun part and something that comes naturally for me. The business side of things is where it becomes difficult for me. There’s just so much going on and so many different people involved on that front that it can be hard at times.

AL: When it came time to edit the film how did that process work for you?
JH: We did do some rearranging during the editing process. We also did a bit of voice over work as well. We actually came back later and did a majority of that after shooting was completed. After seeing the first cut of the film I felt that the films main character was Jeff played by Cameron Monaghan. We see his experiences as the film progresses and you start to wonder if what’s happening could or could not be in Jeff’s imagination. As you watch this character you sort of see how he reacts in certain situations and it makes you wonder.

AL: Looking back on the finished product. What are your feelings towards it and is directing something you would do again?
JH: There are certain moments where things feel perfect. Being creative through music, art and film has a very Zen like feeling for me. I can totally dive into projects and enjoy myself while working with people I can challenge. The whole process is very enjoyable. I am fortunate enough to where I can do different things and I hope to be able to keep doing the things I love as time goes on.

 

Related Content

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews, Music Interviews Tagged With: directing, film, hahn, joe, linkin, mall, ...

Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington & Mike Shinoda talk about new album “The Hunting Party”

Linkin Park recently released their sixth studio album titled “The Hunting Party”. The album is a departure from the groups more recent electronic-rock style albums however it is still very much Linkin Park. Media Mikes spoke recently with the groups front men Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington about the bands direction shift, the new albums unique sound and the bands upcoming tour.

Adam Lawton: Can you tell us a little bit about the shift in direction the band took with the new album and how it has been received by fans thus far seeing it was your first album not to go to number 1 here in the States?
Mike Shinoda: When we were making the album, I had a handful of demos that weren’t quite as heavy as this. They were a little more electronic-driven, and there was just a day that I was looking for something to listen to and I couldn’t find what it was that I wanted. I wanted something more aggressive and energetic and I just kept finding either stuff that was modern and progressive and the only stuff I was finding that was modern and progressive tended to be a little more mellow and if it was heavier, it tended to sound more progressive. I think we all found that there was just a style that was kind of being underserved that we wanted to hear and that’s what we decided to make. As far as the reception goes it debuted at #1 in 67 countries. Friends of mine here in the U.S. said, “Hey, I heard it. Sorry that you guys didn’t get to number one on the charts” I feel like the billboard chart is for one thing. It’s for the first week album sales, and this is not really a first week album sales kind of album. It’s a statement album. It’s a live album and an album that should be taken to the stage. That’s exactly what we’re planning to do right now with the Carnivores Tour.
Chester Bennington: It’s funny because I think probably more so than any other record, maybe other than possibly “A Thousand Sons” I feel like critically the record’s been overwhelmingly positive. I have yet to read anything negative about the record on a critical level that has been written, which is pretty amazing, and so for that we’re very grateful. But at the same time, almost on a daily basis I run into Linkin Park fans and I’ll take pictures or say, “Hi,” whatever, and every single person that I’ve met since we released this record has told me that they love the record. They are super happy that it’s out like it is. I’ve heard some other guys in the band say that they feel like it is a record that really the genre needed and that they also appreciate the record that we’ve made, that it is progressive and it is something that they want to listen to. I feel like we have accomplished our goal on this album. I think not only creatively, but personally for the band, but also for a lot of our fans.

AL: Was there initially a lot of reluctance or resistance to make a harder record? Or do you feel like the rest of the band bought in pretty quickly?
MS: For me, it was a bit of a process. I felt like Chester was on board from the beginning but it was still, like, figuring out at that point what we were. Conversations were happening mid-tour last album like, what does a louder record mean? What is bringing energy to the album and what does that mean? How do we do that without it sounding throwback or derivative of heavier stuff that we grew up with. At first it fell on me to kind of find the right tone, so that I could take that to, in particular Brad and Rob, and say, “You guys, like, I know this is something that you don’t naturally gravitate towards at this point in your life, but check out these reference points.”

AL: This was your first self produced album which you chose to recorded via analog tape. Is this something that you see the band doing again?
MS: Yes. I think it’s something that we’ve been curious about for awhile but it had to be the right moment to really dive into it. I’ve had a little bit of experience with tape on previous projects, but not really cutting such large chunks of the song and large performances to tape. It’s was so nice because it forces you to slow down and really consider each performance and each recording of whoever’s playing at the time. It’s definitely something we have experience with now and we could potentially go back and use it again, if the song asks for it.
CB: I’ve been recording the drums in this way. It’s really great in that it does give the feel of the song. It’s a more live feel. For us, I think one of the things that’s always been surprising to a lot of people when they come to see us for the first time, especially my musicians’ friends. There’s raw kind of more prompt and in your face attitude about the band when you see us live. Like, even like our mellower songs; there’s an edge to them that you get in a live performance that kind of gets lost in the studio. I think that with this record we’ve captured a lot more of what we’re like live in the sound of the record and I think that’s very exciting.

AL: With there being a two year gap between your previous albums was there ever a time in the recording process that you guys were worried maybe you went too far with the new sound and that it might alienate some fans?
MS: I think since “Minutes to Midnight” we’ve kind of had this conversation. We knew that when we went into “Minutes to Midnight” that it was going to be different. We wanted it to be extremely different. We knew that it was going to be a risk to take and we could potentially alienate our entire fan base.
CB: Our goal is to make good songs and some are great song. If we accomplish our goal, it will be almost impossible to alienate everybody. Luckily for us a lot of our fans have come along for the ride on the last two records and we really did go and stretch our wings to see how far we could take these. For us going through that process of trying things and making sure that we’re creatively excited and energized helps us create music that still sounds like Linkin Park regardless of what vibe the song is. I think for people to get hung up on us not speaking to a specific sound is kind of a silly idea anyway, considering that we’ve never really been a single genre type of band. I think that going through that process is really a lot of being able to be creative on a heavy record like this. I don’t think we could have been as creative with the guitar or the drums 12 years ago because we’ve kind of gone around and tried new things and kind of alienated ourselves and some of our band.

AL: Were the guest performers on the album brought in to counter balance the bands new sound in anyway?
 MS: The addition of those guys was, in most cases, pretty late in the game. I mean, if you’re just talking about from a fan recognition standpoint, then, sure, if somebody sees the guests names on there, they kind of know what they’re getting
CB: I don’t think those who appeared on the record would have been into working with us if that was the goal. though. If we were coming at this from the idea of “Hey, let’s go work with these people and then that’ll make the record even more cool.” But that’s a weird way of looking at what we do anyway and it’s kind of the opposite of what our intention would ever be. When we do collaborations it’s coming from a holistic place. It’s got to come from a very open, spontaneous kind of grassroots way. It can’t be forced or thought of in a boardroom and written down on a piece of paper. That’s just not the way that anything creative usually gets done.

AL: $1 for every ticket sold is going to benefit your organization; Music for Relief. What can you tell me about the organization and why are you guys passionate about it?
MS: Music for Relief started in the mid-2000’s as a response to the Indian Ocean tsunami. We had just been out touring in Asia. When we got home we were watching the news and the whole place had been destroyed. We just felt like we needed to do something. Music for Relief had been around for a year and we realized that we were actively involved in cleaning up messes, but not so much involved in anything preventative. So, we added an environmental component to Music for Relief, and all in all, I mean, we’ve done projects all over the world. We’ve worked with the UN. We’ve worked with Habitat for Humanity and Direct Relief and the Red Cross and put on concerts with No Doubt and Jay-Z. Most recently we did an awesome show with Offspring and Bad Religion. Travis Barker came out with us and it was just so much fun. This is an ongoing effort that we hope to involve more musicians with. Music for Relief isn’t about Linkin Park. Unfortunately there are always disasters to go get involved after and there are also environmental causes that we can get involved in to help prevent the natural disasters or at least keep our oceans and our land and air clean. The bottom line is Music for Relief is being built up as something that creates trust with the fans. We create trust with the musicians and the industry and let people know that this is a group that does work hard to make sure all the I’s are dotted, or the T’s are crossed.

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, Music Interviews Tagged With: album, bennington, chester, hunting, linkin, mike, ...

Parks and Recreation's Amy Poehler, Adam Scott and Mike Schur chat about the big wedding episode

February 21, 2013 – Tonight’s Parks and Recreation will see the wedding of Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) in a spontaneous ceremony put on by the Pawnee Parks department. The two stars spoke together, along with series Executive Producer and Writer, Mike Schur about the special occasion as well as Leslie and Ben’s relationship throughout the series.

 

Element of Surprise

Back in October, Ben Wyatt surprised viewers with his impromptu proposal to Leslie in one of Schur’s favorite moments of the series so far:

Mike Schur: “I like the proposal the most of the things that have actually aired because I’m of the belief that the most powerful weapon we have in tv these days after sixty years of sitcoms is surprise and that has been our goal with every relationship really and with every non-romantic story we tell on the show we just try to always be surprising to the audience. And that was the idea, we were not going to have the proposal come in the season premiere or in you know, November sweeps or you know, Christmas or whatever. We’re going to do it at a time where it just feels natural and right and that kind of takes people by surprise. That was the plan with the proposal and I think it worked.”

Everyone has to Chip in

Originally planned to take place in May, Ben’s sudden decision to hold the wedding instead at tonight’s Parks Department gala puts the entire cast to work:

Schur: “They basically have two hours to throw it together. So everybody kind of has a role to play. Tom Haverford becomes the officiant and has to get ordained online in like an hour and Donna plays a role in that for the first time we’re going to feature her beautiful and professionally trained singing voice…In order to pull this thing off, in classic Parks and Rec fashion, everyone has to chip in.

 

Will the wedding see Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) looking for ladies?

Schur: “The wedding is really about Leslie and Ben and everyone sort of gets that. So Tom is not—Tom has a desire to kind of shine at the wedding, as he always does in any social situation that he’s in. But it’s not about ladies. It’s about him wanting to be a star at the wedding.”

 

Did Leslie miss having a big production wedding?

Amy Poehler: “Leslie…is a modern woman. So it’s not like she has these weird fantasies about marriage or of weddings necessarily. So she’s kind of a combination of her liking to be in control. And what’s cool about that moment for both Ben and Leslie—because they tend to like to control things—is that they kind of throw things up in the air.”

 

Ben Wyatt as The One

Leslie Knope has dated an assortment of men throughout the series from Louis CK to Justin Theroux, but it became clear to everyone that Adam Scott as Ben Wyatt would be the one to wind up tying the knot with Knope.

Adam Scott: “We thought that it might be—Leslie and Ben might be a couple at some point but I think it was sort of a wait-and-see sort of thing. Because if we got together and didn’t quite click as a relationship…I sort of got the sense that they were gonna try that out and see if it works and if it didn’t maybe find something else for me to do.”

Schur: “The plan was always that this was a love interest and a long-term love interest. Our initial idea for Leslie was that she was gonna have a series of relationships with different men, different kinds of men over the course of the show and that she would sort of learn something different from each of them…She learned something from Mark Brendenowicz [Paul Schneider], she learned something from Louis CK’s character, she learned something from Justin Theroux and we were kind of like oh, Adam Scott, she’ll date him for a while and she’ll learn something from him. It was certainly the plan to have him be the love interest…The first episode—in the Master Plan episode—they have a conversation in a bar and I wrote this thing into it where Ben says to her very casually ‘You want to run for office someday, right?’ and she says ‘Yeah, how did you know?’ and he just sort of blows past it. I mean he’s just kind of got her number, he just kind of gets her. He understands her and what her goals are. And the second episode that we had which was the finale that year called Freddy Spagetti, they have a conversation and Leslie smiles at him and walks off and there’s a shot of Adam looking after Leslie with a smile on his face and as soon as I saw that I kind of realized that not only were they going to get together but they were never going to break up. It became really clear in that moment that this was it.”

Poehler: “It’s chemistry baby, you can’t fight it!”

 

Pawnee after the wedding

As always with Parks and Recreation, work goes on in Pawnee right alongside the romantic plots.

Schur:“In the second episode [tonight’s 9-9:30 half of the hour]… the cold open of that episode is Leslie and Ben coming back from their Honeymoon and just sort of talking about how much fun they had on their Honeymoon but the episode is just a regular episode of Parks and Rec and Leslie and Ben are in the same story. Ben is starting a new job and it’s the first day of work and he’s sort of thrown into this new challenge of his new job and Leslie has an event that she’s planning for which is sort of a correspondent’s type of event where the politicians roast each other and stuff.

And so I think you’ll see right away that there’s sort of a blue print going forward that yea, they’re married now but you know, they also have other aspects of their lives that are very important to them and so I hope and very much feel like that will be the thing that keeps it from feeling like the ‘magic is gone.’”

Parks and Recreation airs every Thursday at 8:30pm on NBC.

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: adam, amy, big, chats, episode, mike, ...

Book Review “Poster Art of the Disney Parks”

Authors: Daniel Handke, Vanessa Hunt
Hardcover: 144 pages
Publisher: Disney Editions
Release Date: September 11, 2012

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

There is something just magically about Disney Parks.  It may not be something that everyone can pick up on who visits the park but it is there if you take the time to open your eyes.  Walking through Disney is such a magical experience, the sights, the music, the smells, the characters…the artwork.  The poster art around Disney is so iconic and memorable, as well as timeless. This book is a tribute to all of those amazing posters that grace the park for the rides and shows.  These wonderful works of art were created for guests by the Imagineers.  The Disney Imagineers are legends and masters of their craft.  There are able to tell a story of each attraction through their artwork and whisk away its audience to a magical place.

Disney’s attraction posters have always been critical part of attraction since Disneyland started displaying them in the late 1950’s.  Not only are they eye-catching wonders but they also give you can insight into the world of Disney and what to expect from the park.  One of the first attraction posters (and maybe the best) was for the ride Jungle Cruise. And they are still such a important factor in today’s times with the 2012 opening of Cars Land in Disney’s California Adventure. Those are just two of the posters that are reproduced and represented within this book. Also showcased is the wonderful art from “Tiki Room” and “Splash Mountain”,  along with dozens of other posters from every decade since the 50’s.

I also really enjoyed watching the art styles and design techniques change over the years and yet still remain the same in a way. It just proves how timeless Disney is and how the art for these rides and shows are relevant today.  In the book, it is doesn’t just focus on Disneyland and Disney World though there is showcasing from all different continents like Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Hong Kong Disneyland.  They show have each park has their own unique signature look yet still hold true the Disney charm and spirit lying within them all.  My only real complaint about the book is that there is a bit of white space surrounding the artwork.  Nonetheless Disney Editions scored again with another beautiful coffee table book.  Upon receiving this book, my wife decided to spoof “Jaws” and tell me the following “We’re gonna need a bigger coffee table.”

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: art, book, disney, parks, poster, review, ...
Page 1 of 1