Aleksander Nordaas talks about his new film “Thale”

Aleksander Nordaas is the writer/director of the film “Thale”.  The film is based off the Norwegian folklore myth, huldra. The film is being released on Blu-ray and DVD on April 23rd. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Aleksander about the film and what we can expect next.

Mike Gencarelli: What made you want to make a film about the folklore myth, huldra?
Aleksander Nordaas: As a Norwegian film maker, I’ve always wanted to do a film based in our rich folklore. And my favorite being amongst all the weird creatures that make up our folklore has always been the huldra. She’s the most diverse being of them all as she’s close in appearance and behavior to humans, which means there are a lot of strings to play on developing her as a character. So the idea basically started with this particular creature, which I then put into my own, modern folklore story.

MG: How did you end up casting Silje Reinamo as Thale?
Growing up in the same city (Mosjøen), I’ve known Silje since childhood. But it wasn’t until 2008 that we first worked together, on a short film titled “In Chambers” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j8zhTiBIhQ). Concerning “Thale”, the role as Thale was actually written for Silje, as I already knew she had the talent, skills and looks for the role – but maybe more important, she had the guts to do it. As I guess everyone can imagine, it wasn’t the easiest role to play, relying solely on body language to portray this character, and in addition; nude while doing so. But me and Silje went through the film shot by shot, to make sure the nudity wouldn’t take focus away from what we wanted to tell – we wanted to use it as a tool for character build-up, not anything else.

MG: Tell us about the many hats that you handled on the film and what was the most challenging?
AN: The most challenging aspect was without doubt that there was never a guarantee that the film was going to get completed. We started off shooting without any funding in place – only a couple of plane tickets. Basically, we built the film brick by brick whenever we had time to get together, so the whole process, production and post, went on for nearly three years. And this uncertainty was constantly in the back of our heads throughout the whole production – what if this is all for nothing? As we decided to do this film the way we did, I knew I’d have the work cut out for me. With being responsible for everything from directing to building the sets, the workload took its toll from time to time, but at the same time I had 100% creative freedom. And that’s priceless, especially as this was my first international feature. I got to learn from every hat I put on, which undoubtedly is going to be useful going into my next productions, understanding the different functions and aspects a whole lot better.

MG: Was it difficult to blend the fantasy and horror genre for the film?
AN: I consider story development to be more of a gut feeling on my part, rather than following a specific genre, defined suspension curve and so on. I tend to write where the story takes me – to add what I feel fits together one way or the other. So I guess the blend came kind of natural, but yes – there was absolutely more than one draft of the script.

MG: The film is very well-shot and packs some sharp visual effects; talk to us about that aspect?
AN: First of all, thanks you so much! Even though the film was made this way, I didn’t want it to look like it was. So I put as much time and effort as I possibly could into the visuals, everything from a making thorough shotlists, to hours at the dump site looking for cool props, to extensive tests with different light bulbs. But CGI and effects proved the biggest challenge – as I hadn’t done much of it before. But with great help from Storm Studios, we got there eventually!

MG: What do you have planned next?
AN: Gladly, “Thale” has opened several doors for me, Bendik (producer) and for our production company Yesbox Productions, so we’re in a pretty different situation now than for only a couple of years ago. This means that the projects we’ve been juggling around suddenly now have caught fire. So with a handful of projects burning at the same time, I’m currently not sure which one – or two – will surface first. But if anyone would like to stay updated on my projects, I’m posting news as soon as I can on my site (www.aleksandernordaas.com) and facebook (www.facebook.com/aleksander.l.nordaas).

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: aleksander, film, nordaas, talks, thale

Uwe Boll talks about “Assault on Wall Street” and “In the Name of the King III”

Uwe Boll is the director of films like “House of the Dead”, “Postal, “In the Name of the King” series and “Bloodrayne” series. Uwe is releasing his most personal and impressive film to date called “Assault on Wall Street”. The film stars Dominic Purcell, known best for TV role in “Prison Break”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Uwe again about his upcoming films and what we can expect.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about how you got attached to “Assault on Wall Street” aka “Bailout: The Age of Greed”?
Uwe Boll: I developed it also as a producer. I was basically very pissed with the bailouts that the banks got away with. The movies that were made about the financial crisis where not showing the other side of the story. None of them were focusing on the people that actually lost everything. I wanted to also turn it into more of a revenge thriller, sort of a mix of “Falling Down” and “Death Wish”. Everything came together and I felt that it ended up being a very strong movie.

MG: Did you face any issues shooting an anti-Wall Street film in NYC?
UB: The problem was that when I went into casting a lot of the actor’s agents I asked had problems with the role. They were concerned with the fact if someone then actually went out and shoot up bankers for real then I would have been setting their character as a role model. I told them that it was only a movie and you have to take risks in your life otherwise you will never do anything. I thought it was a story that was worth telling. I have to say though we ended up with the perfect guy, Dominic Purcell. This is his best movie. He carried the movie very well as the lead actor.

MG: The film is one of your most mature and focused film; how does it compare for you to your past films?
UB: I do compare it to one of my other recent films “Rampage”, for example. A lot of my other movies are cold and this one sticks out since I spent a lot of time with the drama. The main character and his wife in the film have a great relationship. [SPOLIER ALERT] I don’t know one person who has watched the movie that wasn’t almost crying when she commits suicide. I think this is the first movie I did where the emotion part actually exists in a way. My video game based movies are more genre films. The other movies are more violent at times and let’s say more clinical. This one is more touching and emotional.

MG: You also reunite with Dominic Purcell in “In the Name of the King III”, tell us about that production?
UB: We went and shot the movie in Bulgaria. We focused it again on time travel but taking place mostly in medieval times. I like working with him so much and I want to continue working with him. At first he wasn’t a big fan of the fantasy aspect of the film. Then when we shot it, we brought in a lot of dry humor and made it fun. I think you will really be surprised how well that it turned out. But it is not done yet though, we are currently working on the CGI phase of the film.

MG: Did you ever think that you would be making a third film, after the first?
UB: No, not at all. Like with “Bloodrayne”, we did three films and with “King” I think now after this it will be the end of it. I do not see a need to really precede with this series after this film. I think it is a good ending and brings the films together. For me I just love shooting movies. If I am able to shoot a film like “In the Name of the King” then I do it. I am not the kind of the director that waits three years for his passion project. I try to make a passion projects like “Assault on Wall Street” but in between I take advantage of other opportunities if I can get funding together.

MG: Speaking of sequels, are you done with the “Bloodrayne” series or can we expect a fourth film?
UB: We developed a fourth one taking place in the present time. But Majesco Games pulled the plug saying that they do not want anymore movies. I couldn’t believe it because the games were never as popular and I feel that our movies were much bigger. Before I got into a lawsuit with Majesco, I dropped the ball and decided to not make it. I would like to do another though to finish the “Bloodrayne” story. Maybe Majesco will change their minds in the future. A lot of the times video game companies change management and maybe we can reactivate our relationship one day.

MG: How did you get attached to produce “Legend of the Red Reaper”?
UB: With “Legend of the Red Reaper”, I am only working with the film during post-production. I wasn’t involved with the shoot. Tara Cardinal, the producer,  actress, director, she did everything on this film. I saw a rough cut of the movie, which was about two and half hours. Inside that cut, I saw a movie and said that we would have to cut it out of it. So now we are in the finishing process now.

MG: Tell us about what we can expect from the anthology film, “The Profane Exhibit”?
UB: The producer David Bond contacted me and showed me the first segment from the film, which was so violent. He asked me if I wanted to act as the sales company to assist in selling the film but also at the same time shoot a segment myself for the film. There are twelve segments from different directors. My segment was based on the Fritzl case, which happened in Austria a few years ago. Basically a guy was keeping his own daughter locked up in the basement for like 20 years. For my segment, I focused on one day in his life of that guy. It is very creepy. The movie should be finished in August/September and we already have invitations from over 25 film festivals around the world. People are really excited and want to see what we came up with this film.

MG: Next up you are directing “Suddenly” again reuniting with Ray Liotta, Dominic Purcell and Michael Paré; tell us about what we can expect?
UB: We shot this already. Yes, it is funny because I worked with Dominic Purcell and Ray Liotta again. I love working with the same actors because I know them already and we are able to get the job done quickly. This is a remake of the Frank Sinatra film of the same title from the 50’s. In the original, Sterling Hayden was the Sheriff and Frank Sinatra was the bad guy. In this film Dominic is the bad guy and Ray Liotta is the sheriff. It is about the assassination of the president and takes place in one day. We shot in Vancouver, Canada in the snow. I even hired an Obama double to play the President, so we almost get to shoot the real Obama [laughs]. It is is post-production now and is almost finished.

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: assault, boll, iii, king, street, talks, ...

Jason Newsted talks about playing with Metallica and his new album “Newsted”

Jason Newsted’s body of work reads like a who’s who of hard rock and metal acts but he is most widely recognized as a former member of Metallica who along with Newsted were inducted in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. Jason’s newest project simply titled “Newsted” released their debut EP in January of this year and is set to hit the road in support of the release this month. Media Mikes had the pleasure of speaking with Jason recently about the EP, the recent addition of Staind guitarist Mike Mushok and if he really is the new lead singer of Slayer.

Adam Lawton: You have worked with a number of amazing artists and bands. Was doing a self tilted project something that was always in the back of your mind or was it a more recent thought?
Jason Newsted: I have been doing projects for a long, long time. My studio Chop House has been going now for about 21 years. Over that time I have had the privilege of playing with lots of people. During some of those sessions we took things further like with Echobrain and Papa Wheelie where we actually released material to the fans. “Newsted” is a much different project than those in the past. I never had a thought of putting my name on a band but it was something that just sort of transpired. I am now quite happy that it turned out that way. Things really came out of doing a few shows with Papa Wheelie where I had a lot of fun just singing and playing. From there I went and did the 30th anniversary shows with Metallica and that lit my fire in a big way. I was completely overwhelmed by the reception I received from the fans as it was not something I had expected. I have certainly heard the crowds cheer a few times over the years but this was fucking overwhelming! I realized then that music was what I should be doing. I had never really stopped creating art and music but those performances really got the fire going again. About 5 or 6 weeks later I got together with the original line up of Flotsam and Jetsam and we did some weekend shows. We just kept looking at each other in disbelief as we all were still alive and smiling. 31 years later we were all still rocking stuff we hadn’t played in ages. That was a lot of fun and gave me time to sort of exercise my options and see who would be the best fit for me to chase things with again. The Flotsam thing was cool however logistically it wasn’t going to work out. I had been playing with Jesus Mendez Jr. and Jessie Farnsworth for about 5 years prior and we had quite a few chops under our belt and I really took pride in those guys. I ended up writing a bunch of songs from top to bottom with my IPad and then sent them out to my boys. They brought those songs back and that is sort of what you hear on the EP. We started off as a power trio and since recording those first 4 songs Mike Mushok of Staind joined the band and now we are a 4 piece. Mike has been in the band for about 7 weeks and we have already completed our LP. We will be delivering 13 songs to the record company in a few weeks and starting this Friday we have a bunch of shows lined up that will take us to 17 different countries.

AL: How was it that Mike was asked to join the band?
JN: Everything with this band has been very positive and because of that good things keep happening to us. Mike came recommended from a few people who I really have a lot of respect for in the business. I had been putting together a short list of people who I wanted to audition and I definitely had an idea of who I wanted in the band. I was looking for someone who was a hard working, honest and an accomplished musician. This band was not something I had to do. I could have just stayed at home and sat on the porch all day. I am doing this because it is something I want to do and it is something the people want me to do.

AL: What have you done to get yourself back in to the mind set of going out on the road again?
JN: Physically you have train like you would for a marathon as that’s what life on the road is like. Being the front man now I am fulfilling a lot of new roles. I now am not just playing bass but I have a bunch of other stuff going on that I must do on the stage. That part of things is both exciting and challenging for me. Mentally the thing that is getting the best of me now is the thought of being away from my wife. We just got married 6 months ago and things are still very fresh. To have to leave her now is kind of fucked up. Before I may have just had a cat or a dog so the only thing that was on my mind was just going for it. Nothing came before the band or the music and I had gotten used to that thought process. Things are a little bit different now with the new responsibilities I have. Plus I have grown up a little bit. Not much but a little. I’m looking forward to getting back out there and being able to see everyone.

AL: What has been the biggest change for you since stepping in to the front man position?
JN: I have to do so much micro managing now. I like to be in control like everyone does but in the big band there were two very serious control freaks. In that situation I just assumed my role as the dude who was the live guy/people person who took it to the fans. In the new band I am responsible for everything. From booking hotels and travel arrangements to making sure I am represented in the media correctly. I am responsible for all of that. How I am represented when I am not around is very important to me. This is a really giant thing for me so the people I have put together to help me are still learning how I work and how I want things done. Hopefully in a year or so I will be able to step back from a few of these roles and let those people take over a little bit. In Metallica I never knew about all the detail stuff as there were tons of people handling that stuff. Things are considerably different these days and there are a lot more roles to handle other than just having my name on the thing and being the lead guy.

AL: What type of creative process have you taken on the material that has been recorded thus far?
JN: All of the seeds are mine. The skeletons of the songs were all created on my IPad with the Garage Band app. I build everything and then give it to my boys. They will bring it back and then we all work on it collectively. This newest batch of songs Mike got to work on from the inception. It has been equal parts all the way around and everyone puts in everything they have.

AL: Can you tell us about the first group of tour dates the band has booked?
JN: The first batch of 14 shows is to bust the rust off and to help the band get warmed up. We want to get things together in front of our core audience before we take things to the big stages over in Europe. Anybody who gets to see one of these 14 shows will be very lucky. I would love to be playing and watching from the crowd if I could. These shows are going to be really fun. After these 14 shows in smaller venues we go to playing Sonisphere and gigs like that. We are hitting all the big shit so we have to get ready. (Laughs)

AL: Has there been any talks of performing at the Orion Festival this year?
JN: Not this year. We will be in the middle of France during that time. I would really like to get firing on all cylinders and then some before doing something like that. If we ever get the chance to do something with Metallica I want to make sure that I am ready to fire it off. I want to be strong! I would like to have 90 shows or more under my belt before playing with those guys. I have something to prove in that way. If those guys ever notice that I have this going on and they decide to listen to it for a minute or two I want them to take notice. That’s not a vengeful thing it’s a brotherly thing that I want them to know I am alive and well.

AL: In the past year or so you have started appearing off and on with Metallica. How did those communication lines re-open allowing for you guys to work together again?
JN: We are still business partners for the rest of our lives. We all worked together to create this giant thing together. As far as talking on the phone together that’s something that won’t happen and never did happen. When I was in the band I think I may have talked to Hetfield on the phone 10 times in 15 years. Talking on the phone is something that just doesn’t happen. I talked to Lars way more than that as we had a different line of communication. As of right now we aren’t really talking. We sort of get our information about each other and our families through different people.  I am more interested in how their families are doing and that type of stuff. We are probably better friends now than we have ever been. Everyone is very chill and sort of found their place. Things are all good.

AL: What type of reservations did you have when it was first mentioned about appearing with them again?
JN: At first I had thought I would just get up there and play a few songs and then Robert would come up and play some new stuff with them but when I heard that we would both be up there playing together I wasn’t really in to the idea but, things did work out. For me things were only sour in the very beginning. Maybe the first 4-6 months of sour and then I got so busy with my own stuff. 12 years have now passed and we both are doing great. I feel I did the right thing and made a serious sacrifice in order for everything to continue. I hope someday those guys will realize that my sacrifice was for Metallica to remain in the world. I am thankful for the opportunity I was given and I will always be supportive of them.

AL: Can you put any of the claims made to rest about you replacing Slayer front man/bassist Tom Araya?
JN: (Laughs) That is something that was so funny. I had fans and friends coming up to me the day after that was announced cheering me on and congratulating me. I had no idea what was going on. We are doing some shows with Slayer in Europe so I thought they were just excited that we were going to be on the same bill. Then I find out that they thought I was actually joining Slayer. This all started because some of our fans think our drummer Jesus looks like Tom. So then it turned in to me leaving my band to front Slayer because Tom left Slayer to drum for my band. (Laughs) It’s fucking awesome!

Click here for Jason’s official website

Newsted Tour Dates:

4/19 & 4/20 Walnut Creek, CA @ Red House

4/23  San Jose, CA @ San Jose Rock Shop

4/24  Fresno, CA @ The Starline

4/26  Sparks, NV @ The Alley

4/27  Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades

5/1  Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy

5/3  Las Vegas, NV @ Vinyl

5/4  Mesa, AZ @  KUPD Ufiesta / Quail Run Park

5/15 Battle Creek, MI @ Planet Rock (w/ Wilson)

5/17 Pontiac, MI @ The Crofoot (w/ Wilson)

5/18 Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge (w/ Wilson)

5/21 New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom

5/22 Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East Downstairs (w/ Wilson)

5/23 Asbury Park, NJ @ The Stone Pony (w/Wilson)

Also be sure to check out our review of Jason’s EP titled “Metal”

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, Music Interviews Tagged With: albumnewsted, jason, metallica, newsted, playing, talks, ...

Megan Thomas Bradner talks about producing “Iron Man: Rise of Technovore”

Megan Thomas Bradner is the director of development and production at Marvel Animation. She has worked on TV shows like “Iron Man: Armored Adventures”, the “Marvel Anime” series and also producing the new feature film “Iron Man: Rise of Technovore”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Megan about the film and also the Marvel Universe.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about your role on the film “Iron Man: Rise of Technovore”?
Megan Thomas Bradner: I am the director of development and production at Marvel Animation. I have been with the Marvel Anime almost since the beginning. I came on after it was premiered at Comic-Con and I have worked on all of the TV series since then.

MG: Having produced “Iron Man: Armored Adventures” and the “Marvel Anime” TV series; how did this feature film differ?
MTB: I appreciate that we have a little more time with the feature than we did with the TV series shows. With the TV series, we were under the gun.  When we worked on the animes they were all around the same time as each other. “Iron Man” was done around the same time as “Wolverine” and X-Men” was done around the same
time as “Blade”. With the feature, we had time to sit down and talk about the story and which characters we wanted to use.

MG: Do you think we could expect more feature films based on the Marvel Animes?
MTB: We love the Marvel Universe. I am a big fan myself. I would love to return to the anime series. We are currently seeing what is going to happen with that. But we also would love to do another movie. We had such a great experience on “Technovore”, so I would love to do it again!

MG: I think we need more Norman Reedus as “The Punisher”?
MTB: He was great. We are all big “The Walking Dead” fans and we thought that we would never be able to get him. But luckily he is a fan himself, so that was a pretty cool opportunity. I was able to watch in the recording booth and get to see him turn into The Punisher right before our eyes. So that was super cool.

MG: What is your favorite aspect about working with the “Iron Man” franchise?
MTB: The aspect that is so attractive about Iron Man is that he is that human character that you can identity with. He is not perfect. He is this guy, who had to built this suit around him in order to protect him since he has this damaged heart. He recognized that he has done something wrong (in the beginning) and tries to change. I think we can all relate to that.

MG: In the world Marvel universe, who is your all-time favorite character?
MTB: I would have to go with Jean Grey from X-Men. In this film “Technovore”, I am a big Pepper Potts fan. I would love one day to get her in the armor…maybe in the future.

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: bradner, iron, man, megan, producing, rise, ...

Rob Zombie talks about writing and directing “The Lords of Salem” and new album “Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor”

Rob Zombie is one of the founding members of the band White Zombie, but is notable for his solo act which spawned hits like “Living Dead Girl” and “Dragula”. While still working in music, he turned his sites over to writing and directing films. He has written and directed films like “House of 1000 Corpses”, “The Devil Rejects”, “Halloween (2007)” and “Halloween II (2009)”. His latest film, “The Lords of Salem”, is his most real and dark film to date. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Rob about the film and also his newest solo album “Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor”.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about what or who were you major influences when you were written “The Lords of Salem”?
Rob Zombie: There wasn’t really one thing in particular. Truthfully, the biggest influence for me is that I wanted to make the type of midnight film I remember watching when I was in high school. Back in the day before you can get your hands on everything, I used to have these film books. I used to look at photos from movies like “Suspiria” or “Eraserhead”. I used to say “Fuck, I got to see these movies!” The feeling I would get when I would watch these movies was so special since they were so unique, odd and unlike anything mainstream. I wanted to make a movie that was like that. If you go to see “Lords of Salem” you are going to see something that isn’t what you wouldn’t typical expect to see at the movies. It takes it you to a whole other place. On a grand scale, that was really the inspiration that I wanted to make something like that.

MG: In terms of directing, did you learn any new tricks on this film?
RZ: Well I learned more patience, I think. It is very easy to be impatient when you are making a movie. I learned to just slow the camera down, slow the actors down and let the movie breathe. I wasn’t worried about the audience getting bored or restless, those qualities sometimes can help a movie. It is very easy to make a movie fast paced and keep people interested but sometimes that detracts from the certain mood you are trying to create. Sometimes you need the movie to drag in order to pull people down with it. That was something that I learned on this movie.

MG: The budget was $1.5 million; what was your biggest challenge working with that?
RZ: Everything! [laughs]. Everything was huge challenge. We had no money for anything. The cheapest movie that I have ever made in my life cost $7 million (which was “House of 1000 Corpses”). I was not used to be down in the no budget range. So as we were shooting, I was constantly re-writing the script and constantly changing things. So every second of the day was a challenge.

MG: The witch burning scene was very intense; tell us about shooting that scene?
RZ: We shot that whole scene very quickly, in fact it was done in one night. We had no time. Once again, I had come up with this great plan for shooting the witch burning scene but then I realized that we only had an hour to shoot. I set up one grand shot that I thought would have the most impact and then just went for it. My big goal was to not make it ever look like we didn’t have any time or money. That was what I was always trying to hide.

MG: How did you get genre legends like Patricia Quinn and Meg Foster, who had quite the transformation, on board?
RZ: It was fantastic. I have always loved Patricia Quinn because I was a huge “Rocky Horror” fan. I loved her in everything that she has done but she also hasn’t done a lot. She also hasn’t done a lot recently. But I always wanted to work with her. I had met her over dinner about 15 years ago talking about a movie that never happened, so I had always had her in my mind from day one. Meg Foster was someone who I always thought was cool and very beautiful with those piercing eyes, but I didn’t know if she would be right of this film. I wasn’t sure at first. So I got her on the phone and after talking for about an hour, I know that she would be perfect. She totally understood and got the film.

MG: Being a musician yourself; tell us about working with John 5 on the score?
RZ: He was great to work with on this film and obviously I have been working with John now for over eight years. I know how talented he is, not just as a guitar player but also a musician. It was very easy. I conveyed my ideas and what I was thinking and he executed them perfectly. He was great on this film.

MG: Tell us about the composition of The Lords music track?
RZ: That one was tricky trying to figure out what that track would be. John had worked on a few things and it wasn’t just right. I remember one day we were on the phone together, I was on the east coast and John was on the west, and we were just humming little weird melodies back and forth to each other on the phone. It was then that we found the sound that we were looking for. Neither of us can remember who came up with it first but we just knew we had it when we heard it.

MG: Horror fans are the toughest of any genre fan; what do you think they will appreciate the most within “The Lords of Salem”?
RZ: What I would appreciate most about the film is that it is different. I think that horror fans are tricky. They are all different kinds of people. Sometimes they are not the first ones to embrace something different. But again all of those films that I spoke love as a kid, those weren’t embraced at the time either. So I purposely made a film that would be a tough sell to people…but that is why I made it. I think it will be split. Some people will love it to death and some people just won’t get it.  But that is ok with me since everybody cannot get everything!

MG: Your new album “Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor” is heavy and dark; tell us about the inspiration behind this album?
RZ: Well I think the movie and album sort of played into each other. I was doing them both around the same time. I had an editing room in my house were we edited the movie. Then we moved the editing room out and moved in a recording studio. I went right from one to the other. I think the vibe of the two projects sort of melded together. I wanted both of them to be weird and unique and that was the goal for me.

MG: Where do you find time to tour, making films and also new music?
RZ: That is all I do man! Where do I find time for anything else is more the question…[laughs].

MG: Do you still plan on directing “Tyrannosaurus Rex” next? What else is in the cards?
RZ: No, that project isn’t happening anymore. What is happening next besides the two we just spoke about is that I will be doing a lot of touring. I headline the Mayhem Fest 2013 tour, which is starting in June and that will go for a while. But the next film project I got is called “The Broad Street Bullies”, which is a true life sports film about the Philadelphia Flyers… which is totally different!

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: album, broad, bullies, directing, film, lords, ...

Sheri Moon Zombie talks about her role in “The Lords of Salem”

Sheri Moon Zombie is known best for her roles in her films like “House of 1000 Corpses”, “The Devil’s Rejects”, made by her husband Rob Zombie. She is the star of his latest film “The Lords of Salem” and it is her best role yet. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Sheri Moon about “The Lords of Salem” and what we can expect from the film.

Mike Gencarelli: Your role has a much more serious tone from films like “House of 1000 Corpses”. How did you give life to your character, Heidi?
Sheri Moon Zombie: After I received the script, read it and discussed the character with Rob (Zombie). We talked about what direction we wanted her to go and also about everything from her appearance, dreadlocks, tattoos, wardrobe and to the way her apartment looked. There were so many components to focus on for this character. It was quite an undertaking.

MG: Having worked with your husband, Rob Zombie, now on all of his films. How did this project differ for you?
SMZ: I approach every character that I play differently. They all have been challenging in their own ways. Heidi was particularly challenging for me. I had to work every day on the film. The emotional decline of Heidi was a lot for me to go through and just getting into her head everyday was a lot of work.

MG: Your character has a bunch of tattoos and dreadlocks, how long did it take to transform?
SMZ: Well, some days it was two hours and some days it was three. The tattoos would last for a couple of days. So if the they survived from the day before then it would be a little easier. But it definitely was a process [laughs].

MG: Tell us about working with the phenomenal female cast in the film?
SMZ: I loved working with all the ladies in the film. It was a very female driven cast, which is something you don’t see very often in films these days. The witches from 1692 were so great to work with and they were so free and liberating. Meg Foster was wonderful to work with. Of course, the modern day witches in the movie played by Dee Wallace, Judy Geeson and Patricia Quinn were just amazing to work with as well. I loved how they weren’t overtly looking like witches and were like normal woman for their age. I have known Dee before but working with Judy and Pat were a great experience for me but at the same time very intimidating at first. They were all so warm and fun to work with.

MG: Meg Foster was amazing and really transformed for this film.
SMZ: Yeah, she was fucking insane! What a pleasure to work with her as well!

MG: What was your most favorite scene in the film?
SMZ: My favorite scene that I worked on would have to be the palm reading scene with Patricia, Dee and Judy. It was like seven pages of dialogue that we had to do. I loved the set for Judy’s apartment. That was also the first scene that I had with the three women together. It was a really good day shooting that scene.

MG: The film had some great jumps; anything scare you during the shoot?
SMZ: Nothing really scared me in the film. I wanted to hold some things back for my character’s point of view. When Heidi was sleeping in bed and we see they character Amon, played by Gabriel Pimentel standing beside her bed, I didn’t want to see him in that suit until we actually shot. When you are there on set it is different, nothing is scary.

MG: So ladies choice…you a Rush fan outside of the film? [Note: If you see the film you will understand this question]
SMZ: You know what, I honestly was not a Rush fan in anyway before. When Rob wrote that in the script and picked out the music, I was listening to them because Heidi would have. So there are a few songs that I really like now. I have grown to love me some “Tom Sawyer” since then!

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: film, lords of salem, sheri moon, talks, zombie

Meg Foster talks about her transformation in Rob Zombie’s “The Lords of Salem”

Meg Foster is known best for her roles in films like “They Live” and “Masters of the Universe”. She goes under a complete transformation for her latest role in Rob Zombie’s “The Lords of Salem”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with her about her role in the film and how she got into her character.

Mike Gencarelli: How did you get involved with Rob Zombie’s “The Lords of Salem”?
Meg Foster: My manager phoned me and told me about the part. I was very interested in the role after reading it. I grew up in New England and something about it just reminded me of my childhood. I thought the words were just so beautiful. I think Morgan had some wonderful things to say. I had know about Rob Zombie’s work. Rob and I had a telephone conversation and I just keep relating back being a child in New England. I spent a lot of time in the woods and I had all of these wonderful childhood memories. Rob creates so much space for his actors. He expands everything. He is so generous in spirit and so very talented. It is like being a part of a painting. You are not just another color. You are YOUR color.

MG: Let’s talk about your transformation in this film; how did you get into character?
MF: Rob had his hands in creating everything. He worked with all the department heads. He had extraordinary effects, wardrobe, hair and make-up. They all worked together. The coven of witches from 1692 was quite amazing. I am not sure if you can actually see in the movie how amazing the costumes were. I was wearing wolf skin. It was like actually being one of them. You said transformation…that is really what it was. We actually didn’t have much makeup on, it was in fact dirt. I loved it. It made me feel like being a part of the earth. With the wardrobe, Julia Gombert used bones to hold pieces together. It was so well done and beautiful though. So this is how I got into the role.

MG: What was your the most challenging aspect of the role?
MF: I didn’t really do any planning for the role. I went through hair and make-up and just let the character develop on her own. The space that Rob developed for us actors made me feel so safe. I didn’t feel like there were any real challenges, but this is in retrospect. When I went in front of the camera and I just wanted to be as present as I could in the moment and let whatever was going to happen, just happen. The words that I had were very special. I like letting it just flow with the moment and follow the environment that was created. I don’t even know if I have words for this film! It is so multi-layered. It is like a labyrinth, a very visual labyrinth.

MG: What is it about the horror genre that interests you?
MF: It is always different. I like working in any genre. But I think that horror and sci-fi has always been popular and relevant. I remember watching Bela Lugosi in “Dracula”, when I was a child on “The Early Show”. It never frightened me but it terrified by brother. He was three or four at the time. He wouldn’t go to sleep that night without a crucifix in this bed [laughs]. So horror is the real deal.

MG: One of my favorites in the genre is “They Live”, can you reflect on the continued fan base surrounding this film still today?
MF: It is amazing. I have been so fortunate. I have worked with some of the most wonderful directors. John Carpenter was really great to work with on this film. When “They Live” came out and it wasn’t big at first but then it came back on Betamax and then got another life on DVD. Ever since doing “They Live” people always recognize me for the film. If I am in a market and I just hear them say “They Live” and I turn around and say “John Carpenter” and then say “Roddy Pipper” [laughs]. I absolutely love this film. It is quite extraordinary and the film itself is just timeless.

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: foster, lords, meg, rob, salem, talks, ...

Tim Kirk talks about producing “The Shining” documentary “Room 237”

Tim Kirk is the producer of the new documentary “Room 237: Being an Inquiry into ‘The Shining’ in 9 Parts”. The film takes a look behind the film “The Shining” and exposes some of the films deeper meanings. If you are a fan of “The Shining”, then you need to watch this film ASAP! Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Tim about the film and his thoughts on the theories.

Mike Gencarelli: How did you end up getting involved producing “Room 237”?
Tim Kirk: For several months a few years ago, my baby daughter could only sleep while being gently rocked in my arms. During this time, I completed the Internet. In the deep recesses I found a mind-blowing essay about The Shining. I sent it to my friend Rodney Ascher, knowing he would dig it and hoping that he was awake. He called 10 minutes later and Room 237 was born.

MG: Tell us how the documentary ended up being split into nine parts?
TK: When we sat down to structure the film, we had many sequences of varying lengths. We tried a number of structures and this one seemed to work the most. Numbering the parts was aimed at giving the viewer a sense of the shape going into it, and a way to keep track of where they are in the film as they are watching. It’s an unusual structure so we tried to provide clues along the way.

MG: The documentary is thought-provoking and intriguing; what was your biggest challenge with this project?
TK: I think the biggest challenge of making this film was that there is no map for making a film like this. That’s also why making it was so fun and liberating.

MG: How long did the film take to complete from conception to release?
TK: We spent a year researching. Another year interviewing and editing. Then another year in post.

MG: Some of the theories are a little bit of a stretch in my mind; which ones do you feel have the strongest case in the film?
TK: We tried to make the strongest case we could for each theory. Rodney once described the apparatus of the film as being “this persuasion machine.” I have completely believed each theory at one point or another. Right now, three some years in, I don’t know what to think any more.

MG: Are you shocked by the response that this film has generated since its release?
TK: I am blown away by the response to this film. At many times during the making of the film, Rodney wondered if he wasn’t Jack, typing away on his nonsense novel. In that scenario, I am probably Lloyd, pouring the drinks and urging him on.

MG: Is there any extra footage planned for the Blu-ray release? What other kind of extras can we expect?
TK: We have some deleted scenes, many audio, for the DVD. Some great theories and ideas that didn’t make it into the film. Let me just say “Big Dipper.” Also, some alt trailers and other goodies.

MG: Being a fan myself; what is your personal favorite scene in Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”?
TK: I think my favorite scenes are when Jack is at the bar, talking to Lloyd. We get a glimpse into the sort of novel Jack would be writing if he could. He clearly fancies himself a working man’s writer, using crass and derogative language. His spells of angry eloquence here and on the stairwell are in real contrast to the phoney we meet in the interview scene.

MG:What do you have planned next after this film?
TK: Working with Rodney is great and we have a couple of documentaries in the works. There is a narrative project I’m working on. I’m also hoping to become a fierce soccer dad.

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: 237, documentary, kirk, producing, room, shining, ...

Diane Franklin reflects on her film roles of the 80’s and talks about her book

If you grew up in the 80’s, and was a guy (or maybe even a girl) then you probably had a crush on Diane Franklin. She started her film career with “The Last American Virgin” and from there took over the 80’s in film. She was in films like “Amityville II: The Possession”, “Better Off Dead”, “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” and “TerrorVision”. Media Mikes had a chance travel back to the 80’s with Diane, chat about her films and most importantly her new memoir, “Diane Franklin: The Excellent Adventures of the Last American, French-Exchange Babe of the 80s”.

Mike Gencarelli: What made you want to write your memoir, “Diane Franklin: The Excellent Adventures of the Last American, French-Exchange Babe of the 80s”?
Diane Franklin: When I decided I wanted to write a book about my career. I looked back and I realized that I have done so much. I also look back and I think how 80’s it was. The films that I did were popular but more on a cult popular aspect. My kids are teenagers now, but when they were young they were my top priority. You always think about passing things on to them when they get older. They won’t know me as Diane Franklin. I am mom to them. Even though I did so much work in films. My role in the business was also very unusual. I started so young and I worked in various aspects of the business. I thought to myself that I need to write all this down. Firstly, since I wanted it on paper before I forgot it all [laughs]. I was in what movie? The other thing was that I wanted my kids to know my life before I was mom. Nobody can tell that story. My husband can’t tell it. My friends can’t tell it.

MG: How did you end up self-publishing the book?
DF: At the time when I wrote it, it wasn’t like I was on a show and someone approached me to write it and sell it. Most of the time know when people write a book today it is because they are on a show and it works with their current popularity. People will buy it just based on their name. For me, if you know me or my films, I thought people are really going to love to go back and finding out what my career was like from my perspective. I was the girl that you feel in love with [laughs]. There was a lot of things that came into writing this book that I think are incredibly interesting, even just from a historic point-of-view.

MG: Tell us about what we can expect from the book?
DF: I took just not factual events but also my personal experiences. I also tried to put a lot personal pictures in there as well. When I am 90, I want to look back and go “Oh yeah, I know that girl”. So this is a memento for my kids and myself but also a great way for fans to look back. It was also very important for me to make the book very accessible. If you love “Last American Virgin”, you wouldn’t have to read the whole book to find out what happened for that movie. I wanted to make specific chapters for each film. There is a “Last American Virgin” chapter, “Bill & Ted” chapter, “Better off Dead” chapter and so on. So people can go directly to that movie and totally get into it. I wanted it to be a book that they could flip through the chapters and make it easy and fun. I am an upbeat person in general and I wanted it to reflect my personality in the book.

MG: What do you feel makes this book unique?
DF: As a parent, a few of the roles I did were rather risqué. So I didn’t want to talk about this…but not that. You would never get to know me as a person or as an actress unless I talked about everything. So I do in fact talk about everything, but what I did is that I rated the chapters [laughs]. So some are rated PG-13 or rated R. So if you are a parent you can still buy the book and have your kids read it and have them skip over the mature sections. But even if they did read it, is it not too bad. It just has to do with subject matter that is more mature. There is nothing like this anywhere. There is no book like this out right now. I did the film “Amityville II: The Possession” and that deals with some risqué subject matter, I go very in depth for that chapter. I have gotten such great feedback from people that love the horror genre because it is coming directly from me and they are getting an inside scoop on it. I am also not holding back with what I talk about.

MG: So where can people pick this book up?
DF: You can only get it right now on Amazon.com (click here to purchase the book) and it is also available to download on your Kindle device. If you buy the book on Amazon and then add me as a friend on Facebook and look for the black and white photo of me from “Better Off Dead”, you can send the book to me and I will sign it! So there are advantages to being a friend with me on Facebook [laughs].

MG: Being from Long Island, I have to ask about your role in “Amityville II: The Possession”; anything strange occur during shooting?
DF: I actually talk about that in the book. The thing is that because we didn’t shoot it in the house itself, I am sure if we shot at the house it would have had a more eerie feeling. When you are shooting a movie, each one has its own tone or feeling. But when we shot this movie, the tone was definitely somber, even though we all got along. We all worked really well together though. The director, Damiano Damiani, was very calming and as an actor you follow the director. For me as an actress I totally got what he wanted to do on the film. Here is a great “Amityville” story actually. When I saw the film for the first time in Long Island, I was with my friends and I actually got carded going into the movie. I was like “Hello? I am the reason why it is rated R” [laughs]. How ironic was that!

MG: “Better Off Dead” is a film that I always loved growing up with as a kid; how does it feel to have influenced numerous people’s lives?
DF: Oh my God! That is amazing. You never know how you will be remembered. As an actress you just do your work. So many people have seen this film and it is one of those films that has really resonated with people. They will watch it and then pass it on to their kids as they grow up. It actually started as this underground college film in the beginning and developed this word of mouth. I was just so happy that people got to know me through that character. It was a good role and also a good role model. It was also totally 80’s and hilarious. I just feel so blessed and grateful for this film and everyone’s love for it.

MG: Why do you feel that 80’s films are just as popular today if not more then their original release like “TerrorVision” and they have this continued cult following today?
DF: What is that all about? Seriously? [laughs]. You never know how a film is going to do. I never expected these films to have another life down the line on Blu-ray etc. “TerrorVision” was hilarious. When we did it we thought it was a hip movie that was very funny and also campy. We thought it was going to do well. It was like a live-action cartoon. But I think since it was rated R when it came out and I don’t think it found its audience. But today people still watch it and love it. So it’s great!

MG: Recently you have been working with your daughter Olivia DeLaurentis, who has been directing films; how was this been for you?
DF: My daughter makes films and has been since she was little. She won her first film award when she was 12. She was at the Los Angeles Film Festival last year. She writes, directs, acts and edits her own films. This is not one of those “well her mom is an actress and probably helps her”. No, no, no, I wouldn’t do this to a child. She works very hard and for Olivia this is her passion and she loves it. If I had any influence it was that when they were young, I used to do comedy improv and used to involve my kids. We also just came back from the Soho Film Festival with her film “My Better Half”, which I was in. She is 16 now and her film was selected and is competing with adult films…not ‘adult’ films but against other adult filmmakers [laughs]. It is just amazing. She already has a feature script and she is ready to go! So keep an eye out!

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: 80s, book, diane, film, franklin, reflect, ...

Alex Hirsch talks about recent trip to get inspiration for Disney’s “Gravity Falls”

Photo by Todd Wawrychuk

Alex Hirsch is the creator/executive producer/star of “Gravity Falls”. The show is currently airing its first season on Disney Channel and has already developed a huge fanbase since it started airing. Alex and his creative team recently took a trip to Oregon to gain inspiration and to discover new hidden treasures including a few fun “tourist traps” for upcoming episodes of the show. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Alex and ask him his top five discoveries/hidden gems from his trip and how he may incorporate them in the show.

Mike Gencarelli: Let’s chat about why you took a recent trip to Oregon with your crew of “Gravity Falls”?
Alex Hirsch: Our art director, Ian (Worrel), is having a baby and I am keeping my fingers crossed for a second season, which is sort of like having a baby. So we both realized that our lives are basically going to be over soon and that we should do a fun trip with the crew while we still have the time. So we booked a big ‘ole van and got twelve of our “Gravity Falls” artists to pile in. We even went to Party City to get glow sticks, disco lights and did the whole thing up right. We basically went up US Route 101 and spent four days visiting this stretch of road between California and Oregon that is known for having some of the craziest tourist traps on this coast. We just went up to the Southern tip of Oregon and back down hitting every single one of those. We were staying in weird hotels, eating at “Twin Peaks” style diners, taking photos for reference and basically goofing off as much as possible!

MG: Tell us about your top five discoveries/hidden gems from the trip?
AH: I would have to say that the most amazing thing we saw on this trip was called Trees of Mystery in Klamath, CA. Everyone knows this due to the lumberjack and the big Babe the Blue Ox on the road. It is huge and can be seen from a mile away and most people think that that is all it is. But in fact, it is just a facade for this great and incredible redwood forest. It looks like the kind of thing that would dwarf even some dinosaurs. It is beautiful, strange and filled with lumberjack lore. There are these bizarre wooden sculptures with the faces of famous lumberjacks carved into them. It sounds like I am promoting it but literally, I want to have my wedding here. It was beautiful. That was probably my absolute favorite place that we visited.

We also visited two tourists traps, so this would be two and three: The Oregon Vortex, at the Southern tip of Oregon and Confusion Hill, at the tip of California. Both of them are of the Mystery Shack mold. Basically they show you a weird slanted shack where a ball will roll uphill and people look like they are growing or shrinking based on where they stand in the shack. Depending who the tour guide is they will tell you it is an unbelievable dimensional spot in the universe where the laws of gravity don’t work…or they say “Yeah, it’s an optical illusion…buy a keychain!” There are different takes on it. I would say that “The Oregon Vortex” is more for people that are hardcore into this stuff and want to believe. Confusion Hill is more for people with a sense of humor and more of Grunkle Stan-type scenario.

The fourth one is It’s a Burl, in Northern California. It was almost like a mirage. I almost don’t believe that it existed. There was this little old dude that wore a newsy baseball cap and drove a golf cart. It was this enormous campus of treehouses and wood carvings that him and his hippie commune had built themselves. It can’t really be described. It can really only been seen. I actually bought, and this is my favorite souvenir, this phone made out of wood. It is a trunk of tree cut in half with buttons coming out of it. It is something that a gnome king would use to wage war on another gnome king. It is sitting on my desk. I haven’t figured out how to use it but it is pretty amazing.

The fifth thing is that we stayed at this place called the Benbow Inn. It is this spooky hotel that looks like it is from “The Shining”. It is out in the middle of the woods. It is huge, very fancy and ornate. It also is said to have a lot of ghost legends. I asked the waiter where we were having dinner to talk to me about the ghosts and he sort of went white and said “You really don’t want to know”. But we had a lot of fun running around taking photos of ourselves re-enacting scenes from “The Shining” in that hotel.

MG: Are you able to tell us how these items from your trip will be incorporated into the show?
AH: I’ll say that it is highly likely that a very large inanimate lumberjack could come to life in the series. After visiting that attraction, it has sort of been haunting my dreams and the things in my nightmares usually make their way into the series. So that is entirely possible. One thing that surprised me greatly was that when we visited Confusion Hill was how many things that we didn’t know have already been put into the show. There were a lot of strange parallels. Grunkle Stan is sort of this old guy that is into Grandpa humor, like the kind of plaques and T-shirts you find at a bait and tackle store. There was this episode, [speaking in Grunkle Stan’s voice] “I’ve got the complaint department here” and he holds up a trash can. Sure enough at Confusion Hill, there was something that said “Press this button” and it was a mouse trap. There was also an episode where he says [speaking in Grunkle Stan’s voice] “Look behind this curtain to see the most terrifying monsters” and it was a mirror. They had they exact attraction at Confusion Hill. I was shocked at how well we managed to psychically pick up on this corny tourist trap humor that really exists. Just being up in those trees and seeing nature, I feel that it really reinvigorated our artists. We got a chance to see how beautiful the Pacific Northwest really is. We will probably explore the woods more as well in future episodes, since we were really inspired by them.

MG: You not only work as creator/executive producer but also voice Grunkle Stan, Soos, Old Man McGucke and various others. What is your biggest challenge?
AH: I would say the top five most challenging and important tasks for me on the show is writing, writing, writing, writing and writing. Then everything else sort of falls underneath that. My primary role is to make sure that the stories and the characters feel like they are from the same voice and each episode has something for the characters and also a piece of magic that we haven’t seen before. Beyond that there are so many things from working with the artists on the design to doing the voices to final mix and directing the actors. It is a huge responsible and a ridiculously difficult job. So it was nice to get to spend four days doing absolutely nothing on this trip. Our crew is really a big group of friends and we all have this great bond. It was just very fun to spend time with friends and we really bonded well. It is sort of this amazing culture that we have created at Disney of young talent like-minded weirdo crazy artists that like to have fun and then work really really hard on something.

MG: Are you surprised with the success and following of this show after only a few episodes into the first season?
AH: That blew me away. I had very humble expectations about what would happen with the series. It is an unusual kind of show and there really isn’t a model for it. Just the fact that it is a half-hour animated comedy in the kids show genre. I mean those do not exist. These kids shows are 11-minutes like “Adventure Time”, “Spongebob” and…you name it. Those are short formed shows. Doing a longer show and one with some continuity, each episode has a little bit left over with a broader story to be told, all those things are huge experiments. I tried them because they were hard and I wasn’t sure if I could do them. But I wanted to try and pull them off because that made it interesting. I have worked on other 11-minute shows and I respect those. But I have seen them already so I wanted to try something new. I have been really just humbled and grateful from the fan response to this show. I get fan letters everyday and I feel like Santa Claus when I come to my office and there is a stack of letters. I have been doing my best to write back to each physical letter that comes to my desk that someone has taken out the time to write. I just got one recently from Japan. People also send me some amazing stuff. I got a few sewed gnomes that someone made by hand. A kid built an actual Mystery Shack and it is the size of a TV. The kid and his father actually drove to the studio and left it for me. I was on vacation at the time and I returned to my desk to see an actual Mystery Shack on my desk. Our fans are just amazing. My theory was that if you fill the show with secrets and hidden stuff and gave people a reason to pay close attention, then they would. My theory turned out to be more right than I had ever imagined. I am very grateful for it.

MG: Well, the first season is amazing and I can’t wait to see what you guys come up with next.
AH: I appreciate that. I will say that there are four episodes left in this first season. I would say that this series has some mystery, continuity and there is this broader underlying story. They found this mysterious journal…who wrote it? Grunkle Stan has secrets of his own. Gideon is up to something. A lot of those big questions, those series mysteries, will finally be addressed in the final episodes leading to the end of the first season. I think fans are going to be pretty excited to see the answers to those questions and also some of the new questions that arise out of those. So keep watching!

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: alex, disneys, falls, gravity, hirsch, inspiration, ...

Eddie Jackson talks about the future of Queensrÿche and their new album

Eddie Jackson is the bassist and a founding member of the progressive metal group Queensrÿche. In the past year, the group parted ways with original singer Geoff Tate and brought in former Crimson Glory front man Todd La Torre to fill the vacant spot. The band sounds better than ever and Media Mikes had the chance to talk with Eddie recently about the split and the group’s upcoming album.

Adam Lawton: Can you clear up any misconceptions from the past year about the two different versions of Queensrÿche going around?
Eddie Jackson: There are currently two bands out there. Geoff has his version of the band and Michael Wilton, Scott Rockenfield and I have our own version of the band. We are just focusing on us and moving forward. We want to keep doing what we are doing and that is playing music and performing live. The transition away from Geoff as the lead singer was something that Michael, Scotty and I felt needed to happen.

AL: How has the band been received since the change was made?
EJ: Fans have been enjoying it and have really embraced Todd. We have enjoyed welcoming him in to our family. Fans have been very receptive and have enjoyed hearing some of the older material that we are now able to perform. With Todd’s vocal style he is able to sing and perform stuff from albums like “Rage For Order” and “Operation Mind Crime”. Things are going really great. We think it’s been great having fans connect with Todd.

AL: What has it been like revisiting that older material in a live setting?
EJ: It’s interesting. One of Todd’s favorite albums is “The Warning”. Going back and playing some of that stuff has been really fun. It may have taken us a few practices to relearn some of that older material but it’s refreshing. We have been having a lot of fun with everything.

AL:Can you give us an update on the new album?AL: What led to the band signing recently with Century Media Records?
EJ: It was kind of a mutual thing between the band and Century Media. We collectively sat down and we both wanted to create a new relationship. So far they have been a class act and we are very happy to be working with them.

EJ: The new album will be released on June 11th. We are all looking forward to having the fans check it out. Things are pretty much completed but we are still tweaking some things here and there. It has been nice working with James “Jimbo” Barton again. We have a great relationship with him from the past and we wanted to put out an album that captured the style of our previous albums. James was a blast and our first day back together was like no time had passed.

AL: What type of creative process did you take towards the new album?
EJ: We all sort of came in with our own pieces. There may have been a song or two that was already written but for the most part it was a collective effort. Todd is a great musician that not only sings but he plays drums and guitar. We all just threw out ideas and began working on the ones that we thought were the best and fit our style the most. When you can sit down and talk through what you are going to be working on it makes things a lot easier. We haven’t been able to do something like that in quite awhile.

AL: Can you tell us about the first single off the album?
EJ: The song is titled “Redemption” and it was released a few weeks ago. Stylistically this felt like the first song that we should release. This song was the one that we all thought would most identify with what the band is doing now.

AL: What types of tour plans are in the works to support the new album?
EJ: We have some US dates in the works right now. We also will be performing over in Europe and are working to get to a few other countries. We are going to be very busy this year and we are looking forward to it.

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, Music Interviews Tagged With: album, eddie, future, jackson, queensrÿche, talks, ...

Don Coscarelli talks about “John Dies at the End” and “Bubba Ho-Tep” and “Phantasm” sequels

Don Coscarelli is one of my favorites directors in the business. He has directed films like the
“Phastasm” series, “The Beastmaster” and “Bubba Ho-Tep”. His films just seems to grab this cult following and only grow over the years. I worked as part of the street team going back to “Bubba Ho-Tep” and it was such a great experience. If you are a fan of his work then you have already seen or need to immediately see his latest film “John Dies at the End”, which arrived on Blu-ray and DVD on April 2nd. It is a fantastic film and a great return for Don. Media Mikes took out sometime to chat with Don about this film and also got some tips about the “Bubba Ho-Tep” and “Phantasm” sequels.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us what attracted you to “John Dies at the End”?
Don Coscarelli: I am an avid reader and I always try to pick up books that are interesting. It’s not that easy to sit around and generate a completely new idea. I have done that a few times but it is a challenge. It is a lot easier when you find a nice piece of literature and turn it into a feature. True story, I got this email out of the blue in my inbox one day from a robot at Amazon.com. They told me that I would love “John Dies at the End”. I read the byline for it and thought that it would make a great movie. It is just an interesting testament to the power of these computer programs and algorithms that Amazon has in place to track our taste. I read the book and just loved the attitude and style, sense of humor, had some great characters and villains and I knew it was for me. So I tracked down the writer and bought the movie rights.

MG: The story is quite epic; where you ever concerned about the scale of the story before making it?
DC: Of course. For starters, I thought that the film would have been great for a major studio release. I might have been completely naive but I thought it would be a fresh new kind of horror with a little comedy mixed in. I went out and tried to get major studios to fund it and they just didn’t get it. Then ended up realizing that we would have to make it on a much smaller budget with the money I was able to raise myself and with investors. It was a very ambitious project going into and there were new challenges every day. It was a bit of an effort but it paid off for sure.

MG: There are quite a bit of visual effects used in the film; would you say this has been you-r most ambitious project yet?
DC: Yes absolutely. I think that part of it Mike is that I am a naturally optimistic person and I always put myself into these situations. In the first “Phantasm”, I had this pretty cool sequences written out with a flying sphere and goes into the persons head. I just thought, “Yeah, we’ll figure out how to make it fly and into his head later”. When we were out there in the mausoleum, we just sat there wondering how the hell we were going to pull this off. Thankfully using fishing line, paper clips and tape worked out for us. In this movie it was the same situation. We figured that we could find a way to make the meat monster and then send them to this other world as well and have this 80 foot long eye-ball creature. I just keep saying “We’ll figure out a way to make it work”. I get myself into trouble sometimes. I think the fact we were able to put some level of polished visual effects into the film and I am very happy with them.

MG: Tell us about the creature effects used in the film? Meat Monster?
DC: One of the benefits of having made some movies is that I have a lot of great friends out there. Robert Kurtzman helped us out on this film. He is also a great director as well and directed the film “Wishmaster” back in the day. He was one of the founding make-up effects artists with KNB EFX as well. Greg (Nicotero), Howard (Berger) and Bob have been so helpful with my career over the years. Bob created the Bubba Ho-Tep. Howard did the Bruce Campbell old age make-up. Greg was even an apprentice going all the way back to “Phantasm II”. So Bob has always offered to help out. He created the meat monster suit and it is a wonderful work of art. There is so much detail there that doesn’t even translate onto the screen. There is tons of stuff that you barely see like, a whole pineapple ham on one of the monsters hands. That was a totally old school sequence by the way. The entire shot was done with meat on fishing line. We choreographed it with all the meat on the floor. We even used some reverse motion and it was a lot of fun. There were some other great effects as well that Bob put together like the mustache bat. That was really cool. I was looking at it the other day in my office and it is this little mustache with the wing aperture on its back, like a bird. We filmed it on a green screen and then filled it in. There was a bunch of great old school stuff in this film.

MG: The flying mustache scene reminded me of the scene in “Bubba Ho-Tep”, when Elvis is fighting the Scarab in his room.
[Laughs] That’s funny Mike because when I read this book and I came across that sequence with the mustache, I thought to myself that this was sort of like “Bubba Ho-Tep”. There are other elements as well that are right out of “Phantasm”. It was my kind of stuff!

MG: David Wong (aka Jason Pargin) has written a sequel, “This Book Is Full of Spiders”; any interest in continuing the story?
DC: I would first like to say that the sequel is great. It is called “This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don’t Touch It”. It is just a very cool follow-up and I think it is brilliant in many ways. It is a little premature now to try and decide for it to be a sequel. We would need to see how this film does. If it came the time and it seemed viable, I would certainly take it on.

MG: Since the ends credits of “Bubba Ho-Tep”, over 10 years ago. we have been waiting for a sequel; is that still in the cards?
DC: It is always in the cards [laughs]. The cool thing about it is that I learned from when I was touring with “John Dies at the End” is how many people freaking love “Bubba Ho-Tep”. It’s so great. I think that maybe the delay we had is actually a good thing because it is developing this great cult following. I for sure want to do it and I know that Bruce Campbell still wants to do it. I think we just need to find a way to pull it all together.

MG: Next year is 35 years since the first “Phantasm”. Since Phantasm: Oblivion” was released, there were talks of a fifth sequel; why do you fans keeping asking and why does this series refuse to die?
DC: Look I would love to take all the credit for that [laughs], but look I think it has to do with the power of those performances. The weird thing about it is that when this first came out we were criticized for some of the acting in the movie. Yet with these performances by Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister and of course Angus Scrimm folks really love them. After the fourth film, I was hoping to wrap up the story since it was a bit open-ended in a “Phantasm” way. So fans have always been asking for a “Phantasm 5”. The good thing is though the actors are in great shape. Angus has a nice role in “John Dies at the End”; I thought he pulled it off beautifully. This is something that I will be looking into in the near future, since there is a definitely an audience out there.

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: coscarelli, dies, don, john, talks

Bruce Kulick talks about playing music with Kiss and Grand Funk Railroad

Bruce Kulick is probably best known for his work with the multi-platinum selling group Kiss during the bands non-makeup years. Kulick spent 12 years with the band prior to the group’s 96/97 reunion tour which featured all four original members clad in their signature makeup. Bruce went on to play in several other projects such as Audio Dog, BK3 and is currently the guitarist for Grand Funk Railroad. Media Mikes caught up with Bruce recently to discuss his career as well as his tour plans with both Grand Funk and former Motley Crue vocalist John Corabi.

Adam Lawton: You joined Kiss while they were still going through somewhat of a transitional period. What was it like for you stepping in to that situation?
Bruce Kulick: I was aware that the band sort of hit their peak in the late 70’s early 80’s. They were still doing good stuff but “Music From The Elder” was a weird time for them. I was always aware of the band as I lived in New York and my brother had done some work with them. After things didn’t work out with Vinnie Vincent I knew that they were looking for people. When I saw that they got Mark St. John it made sense as music was really changing at the time. Bands like Van Halen were very popular on the scene. I think it was important for them to find a guy who was a hot shot, gunslinger type player who could do all of the tricks as opposed to someone like Ace Frehley whose style is rooted in that of Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. When it came time for the Animalize tour to start Mark was having some health issues and wasn’t going to be able to tour. My brother had recommended me to the guys as did Mitch Weissman who is a singer/songwriter. When I first started working with Paul and the rest of the band they asked me not to cut my hair and told me I would need a guitar with a Floyd Rose so I could do some of the tricks that were popular at the time. I went in and played a solo on one song and did some little fills at the end of a couple others. After that is when they asked me to fill in for Mark. I was thrilled that maybe it was just going to be for a few weeks but it turned in to 12 years. When it was all said and done that I was going to be the new guy I remember getting a pep talk from Paul where he told me that he wanted me to be very competitive with my playing and that I should be able to cover both the older material and the new stuff. I was very grateful for the opportunity.

AL: On your website you have done several Kiss album retrospectives that are very in-depth. What was it like looking back on your work for those albums?
BK: For me celebrating stuff like that has always made a lot of sense. I found that if I don’t do it now I’m not necessarily going to remember more if I was to wait longer. The whole thing came out of an offer that came through for me to visit Australia and do some shows. I have always been well received there and this was going to actually be my third time there. The promoter said we needed an angle and it happened to be the 20th anniversary of “Revenge” being released so they asked me if I could do some things from that album. It was like a giant light bulb went off in my head. I was given some DAT tapes of the sessions by Bob Ezrin and I realized that I had a treasure trove of material. Things just started coming back to me from those sessions. The clinics I did over there ended up becoming very long even though I didn’t play much but the fans were mesmerized. From there I decided I would have to write all this stuff down and find a good time to release it on my social media sites. After I did the first one I started realizing the anniversaries for these other albums and followed suit with what I had done with the “Revenge” piece. I had a really great time going through the stuff I collected over the years and thinking back about all those stories. We raided all of my closets and boxes of photos and such to find things related to the particular albums I was writing/speaking about. I am always being asked about doing a book and your basic book talks about this tour or that tour and what you thought about certain people. It’s not my style to throw anyone under the bus so I just didn’t want to do something like that. I would rather do something like what I am doing. I don’t have a title or anything yet but even after things are posted on line I end up finding more stuff that could be included in those stories. Each one of these look backs is sort of a chapter. It’s very exciting to be able to tell these stories from an era of the band that doesn’t get a lot of attention.

AL: Is there a specific piece from your work with Kiss that you are most proud of?
BK: There are highlights from all of it but I would have to say working on the “Revenge” album really said a lot. We spent a lot of time on that album and really paid attention to detail. I thought the “Unplugged” album was another really great piece. I never realized how tight we really were on that show. The band looked great and it was filmed really well. Even though un-beknownst to me that was the catalyst to end my career with the band it was still a great performance. I am very proud of my work on that.

AL: You are currently playing guitar with Grand Funk Railroad. Can you tell us how that opportunity came about?
BK: The industry is actually pretty small and you never know who you are going to meet. Years ago I played with Michael Bolton and we ended up opening for Bob Seger. Don Brewer was Bob’s original drummer and he is actually doing shows with Bob on his current tour. We met then and later on at another music event we met again so I was on the short list when Don and Mel Schacher were looking at putting together a new version of Grand Funk. Once they had a singer in place they reached out to me but I had to think about it for a little bit. They were looking for a guy who could forge his own sound while not hurting the stuff from the past. This was similar to what I did with Kiss. I ended up going to Michigan where Mel lives and we rehearsed in a show room at a nearby casino. Things were pretty easy right away and it’s amazing that here I am 13 years later gigging with Grand Funk.

AL: Did you have to spend a lot of time reworking your sound/tone when you first joined the band?
BK: Not at all. I really do what I do well. To be honest I get to play a solo in every song and I am not trying to imitate Mark Farner’s tone in any way. I have always had this talent for picking out signature riffs that people identify with and they want to hear those a certain way so I try to keep things as close as I can. You definitely have to make things your own so you don’t come off too stiff or clone like. I like to take my finesse and add it to the Grand Funk material. They are another one of those iconic bands.

AL: Can you tell us about some of your appearances/tour dates for the coming months?
BK: Grand Funk just keeps adding dates. The site was just revamped and it looks really great. Things are always being added to it so people should definitely check it out. I also have a string of acoustic dates with John Corabi. He and I have a certain chemistry that just works together. When I realized Grand Funk wasn’t going to be as busy this spring due to Don working with Bob Seger I got a little more aggressive with the people I know in Europe who book shows. We tried to work things out so that we could take the Eric Singer Project over but unfortunately Eric couldn’t commit due to various Kiss things that were in the works. The promoters still wanted us to come so John, I and Chuck Garric who plays bass in the Eric Singer Project and who also has his own group happened to have some shows that are double booked with us. During those shows the plan is to do the acoustic thing and also jam as an electric group. There aren’t that many gigs on this run as its set up to fit in between my Grand Funk gigs. I never seem to have the ability to say I am free for two months or something like that but that’s not a bad thing. I am glad the band keeps me busy.

AL: Have you thought about putting out a new album with any of your other projects?
BK: It’s been 3 years since my last solo album “BK3” has come out and it is time for me to get some new material out. I have been writing and compiling some things so I like to think that I can get something out this year. I have mostly been looking at doing some gigs with my brother when time permits. People seem quite excited about seeing a Kulick brother’s thing. We are also looking at a few songs to possibly record for an EP. I am always a phone call or an email away from working on another project. Every day is exciting.

AL: Are there any other things going on with you lately that you can tell us about?
BK: I just got back from Europe where I appeared at large event called “Movie Days”. That was a lot of fun. I get excited myself meeting people who are iconic. Especially sci-fi people as I am a big fan of that genre. I have done many Kiss conventions around the world that are specifically unique to Kiss but this was only my second time I think appearing at a more movie themed event. I like when fans are excited to meet me and I get it because I am a fan myself. Getting to meet people I idolize is really amazing. That’s something I love about the entertainment industry.

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, Music Interviews Tagged With: bruce, funk, grand, kiss, kulick, music, ...

Kavan Smith talks his role on new DirecTV Original Series “Rogue”

Photo Trevor Brady

Canadian born, Kavan Smith took to athletics as a young man, excelling in football and martial arts. As a teenager he and a friend began writing skits and performing them everywhere, from the city bus to the neighborhood shopping mall. After high school he began working on an Economics degree but left school after a year and a half. He later enrolled in the Performing Arts Program at Mount Royal University. After graduating he landed a lead role in the Canadian television series “Destiny Ridge” and hasn’t looked back.

Sci-fi/fantasy fans will recognize him from roles on such shows as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Smallville,” “The Twilight Zone” and two different “Stargate” series. He also appeared opposite Tim Robbins and Gary Sinese in Brian de Palma’s “Mission to Mars.”

Premiering this week, you can catch Smith with co-star Thandie Newton in DirecTV’s new original series “Rogue,” While relaxing at home in the Great White North, Smith took time out to speak with Media Mikes about the new show, dancing to Dick Clark and what his next project might be.

Mike Smith: Give us a quick introduction to “Rogue” and your character, Tom Travis.
Kavan Smith: “Rogue” is a visceral, raw, sexy kind of gangster cop show. Thandie Newton plays the lead…the show takes a female perspective of a usually male dominated role. I play her husband. She gets her family into trouble…there are some consequences to her actions…and she has to go out and seek justice. Her husband, Travis…my character…spends the bulk of the series trying to hold their family together. It’s a very complicated endeavor because she is doing a lot of things that he is unaware of. He has no idea of the consequences or the stakes. He doesn’t understand why she’s not “stepping up” at home. It’s very emotional. For me it’s a very redemptive character. As an actor…it’s all I’ve ever done…all I’ve ever wanted to do…I’ve had to take some jobs that maybe I didn’t want to take. So for me this role is very redemptive. It’s a great character to play.

MS: What drew you to the project?
KS: There’s a scene in the third episode….he doesn’t understand why she can’t meet him halfway on…
SPOILER ALERT
…Dealing with the death of their son…I’m not giving anything away, it happens in the first episode…and they have a really massive blow-out, ending in a three page monologue for my character. That was the audition piece and when I saw it…it was the meatiest thing I had seen in a long time. You could be as melodramatic as you wanted to but it played so well understated. When I read it…I have kids of my own and the idea of losing one is unimaginably painful. My kids are still young and ever since I had them the idea of anything happening…it’s so raw for me that I can channel that. So I saw this piece and I knew immediately that I could do this. Of course I had no idea at all if I would be what they wanted. When they did the call back audition it was basically a screen test. Thandie had a lot of input over who would be chosen and we were on fire! We went places with that scene that I had no idea we were going to go. When I walked out of that room I knew I wanted that job desperately.

MS: You’ve been on shows like “Blade,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Stargate,” “Outer Limits.” A lot of very genre-specific roles. Was that something you intended or just the luck of the draw?
KS: I think it’s really just the luck of the draw. Most of the work I’ve done in the states…I spend a lot of time here in Canada. My wife is Canadian. My kids were both born here. So I’ve tried to stay up here as best I can while continuing to read for roles and it just so happens that in Canada in the past…in the 1990s and early 2000s, they really catered to a sci-fi type of genre. I’ve enjoyed all the jobs that I’ve had but it really wasn’t by choice. My resume’ is a little “sci-fi heavy,” but I think that’s more about where I live then my own personal taste.

MS: In one of your early roles you played the young Dick Clark in the Annette Funicello television bio “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes.” Did you have the opportunity to meet Dick Clark and, if so, did he give you any advice? (NOTE: Clark, known as “America’s Oldest Teenager,” passed away almost a year ago, April 18, 2012).
KS: Wow! That’s going way back…I’m so surprised you picked that one out of the hat! (laughs). No, I didn’t get the chance to meet him but the role was a lot of fun. When I was a kid my parents were really into “American Bandstand.” My brother and I would watch it with them and, even though we had no musical training whatsoever we were convinced that we were dancers. So I certainly danced a lot to Dick Clark.

MS: Your bio states that while in college you developed a love for writing. Have you written any scripts that you’d like to produce some day?
KS: Yes, as a matter of fact. I’ve taken several steps at writing a novel. When I was a kid I got caught in that loop where you think you’re a lot smarter then you are. I wanted to write a ground breaking novel and I made several attempts at it, but they were ALL less than I expected. Screenwriting is less of an art form but I thought I would get familiar with it. I’ve always read like crazy but I never took Literature when I was at University. I started writing screenplays for myself. I’ve gotten really fantastic at writing the first 80% of a great story…and then the ending falls. Because I’m committed to “Rogue” and they own my contract and have the right to keep me on hold for quite a while, over the past year I’ve written a series. I’ve already got ten episodes done that I want to try and pitch. I’m taking my time with it. I’ve got the first five episodes completely finished and the following five basically laid out. So in the meantime while I’m waiting to hear what’s happening with “Rogue” I’m toiling away on those stories. I think there’s nothing quite like it out there right now and I’m hoping I can garner some interest. Maybe “Rogue” will open a few doors for me. So keep your fingers crossed.

Photo Trevor Brady

MS: Last question, though you may have just answered it. Besides “Rogue” do you have anything else in the fire?
KS: Unfortunately I don’t. Contractually I can’t take anything that would establish me on another series. There were a couple of feature films scheduled to be made here that I was the first choice for but one moved production to Australia and I didn’t want to be away from my kids. The other went to Europe so same thing. I let both of those go. I’ve narrated some documentaries when I’ve had time. But in the mean time I’m waiting to hear from “Rogue” and playing Mr. Mom – which is the greatest role ever…as cheesy as that sounds. And I hope to finish up this series of my own and see if I can garner any interest in that. Being on hold buys my the freedom of time, which is very rare in this business. I’m really hoping the show gets picked up so I can afford to do this again next year. (laughs)

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: kavan, show, smith, talks

Lita Ford talks about music, touring and album “Living Like a Runaway”

Lita Ford got her first taste of success with the 70’s all-girl group The Runaways. After the groups break up Lita ventured out as a solo act in the 1980’s penning such hits as “Kiss Me Deadly” and the legendary duet “Close My Eye’s Forever” featuring Ozzy Osbourne. In 2012 Lita released a new album titled “Living Like a Runaway” which has thrust her back in to the spotlight. Media Mikes had the chance to talk with Lita recently about her career and her upcoming spring/summer tour.

Adam Lawton: In the past year or so your career has undergone a resurgence. What do you think has caused that?
Lita Ford: My career has taking this leap for I think many reasons. I had been in the industry for many years and then I disappeared. In the time I was away raising my two boys people still hadn’t forgotten who I was. I am a part of the soundtrack to people’s lives. That’s something that just never goes away. Coming back I feel like I am on a more adult level now and the music has matured.

AL: Personally what do you think has been the biggest change in the industry from when you first started in 1975 to how things are now in 2013?
LF: Things have kind of come around in one big circle. That seems to be how a lot of things are. I started my career during the punk era with bands like The Sex Pistols, Blondie and The Ramones. That was a really awesome time. That led in to bands like Van Halen and Motley Crue which was the beginning of another heavy metal era. This new era of heavy metal was similar in how it came about in the way Black Sabbath did in the mid/late 60’s. The metal in the 80’s was a new kind of metal but still metal.

AL: Do you feel the perception of women in heavy metal music has changed it all since the 80’s?
LF: I think it has to a certain extent. It hasn’t changed 100% and is not completely normal. It has progressed and moved down the path a little bit further. When I started there were no real true female metal icons. There was no one to look up to as an artist. These days I have teenagers looking up to me for encouragement and inspiration. Now I am their icon. I never had something like that. I had people I looked up to like Richie Blackmore and Jimi Hendrix but no females.

AL: You have been heavily involved with Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp. Can you tell us how you got involved with that?
LF: The program was started by David Fishof and he invited me to be a part of it. I ended up going down to speak with David and I also got to check everything out. I had a blast! The whole thing was just awesome. I am glad to be a part of it. I am a great teacher which I think comes from being a mom. There is no better teacher than a mom. I get to try and bring out the best in each of the campers who attend the program no matter what level they are at which is really cool.

AL: Can you tell us about you upcoming Spring/Summer tour?
LF: I will be going to Australia which I am very excited about. I love going there. The aussie’s are fucking nuts! I love them. We are also going to be hitting Scandinavia which is another really great place. It’s so beautiful there.

AL: Can you tell us about some of the other projects you have in the works?
LF: We just finished work on a video for the song “Mother” which should be coming out around Mother’s Day. Vicki Blue who played bass in The Runaway’s did an incredible cinematic work on this video. It is very heartfelt and you will probably need a tissue by the time you are done watching it. I am working on a book for Harper-Collins that right now is still in the early stages of things. The idea of the book is the story of a female rocker who faces a number of ups and downs. It’s a different take on Rock and Roll. Most of the books that are out there now are all based on guys. I have quite a few stories from my career that can be written about so the book will be very real. B.C. Rich just released the first Lita Ford signature Warlock guitar which is available at most Guitar Centers around the country and we are also planning some more U.S. shows with Vince Neil and Bret Michaels.

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, Music Interviews Tagged With: album, ford, lita, living, music, runaway, ...
« sdf
Previous
Page 30 of 55
Next
Next Page »