Alter Bridge’s Mark Tremonti talks about solo album “All I Was”

Mark Tremonti is best known as the guitarist for the multi platinum selling band Creed and for his work in Alter Bridge. Mark has just released his first solo album titled “All I Was” and Media Mikes was fortunate enough to talk with Mark recently about the decision to put out a solo album and what other plans he has in the works.

Adam Lawton: What was the idea behind wanting to put out a solo release?
Mark Tremonti: Being a songwriter for all these years I have had a lot of ideas that were stockpiled up. When Miles Kennedy who sings for us in Alter Bridge went out on tour with Slash recently I saw a window of time where I could take some of those ideas that didn’t work for my other bands and put them together to create an album out of. “All I Was” is what we came up with.

AL: Are the songs on the album all from previous ideas or was there some new material written as well?
MT: Most of it is stuff that was written. There were really just parts of songs and nothing that was completed. When I got together with the other guys who played on the album is when I started arranging the ideas. A majority of the initial riffs were already written.

AL: How did you go about picking the line up for the band?
MT: Eric the other guitar player was an obvious choice.  He is someone that I have been playing guitar with for years and years. We are best friends and over the years I have probably shown him more ideas for songs than I have with my other two bands. I am very comfortable working with him. Garret our drummer was in a band with Eric called Submersed. I co-produced a record for them years ago and Garret was still living in Orlando so he was an obvious choice to bring in. He is an incredible drummer.

AL: How did you go about creating a unique tone on this album that was different from your previous work?
MT: It was mostly based on my roots. The rhythm parts on this album are based around a speed metal/thrash type style. I tried to mesh the two styles of my influences that being speed metal and melodic 70’s rock. I was in to stuff that my parents exposed me to like Rod Stewart and Journey. I still love that music and wanted to mesh the two.

AL: What was the biggest difference you noticed when stepping up and performing not only the guitar work but also the vocal work as well?
MT: I loved it. I have written a lot of lyrics over the years for my other bands but I never had to write an entire album. It is a whole other process. I have to work out all the guitar lines and solos while also bringing in the lyrics. I spent about a month and a half working on that. The singing part was easy after everything was written. Singing is fun. Once I sang the album the first time I went back in and changed/re-wrote things where I thought the original stuff didn’t fit or sounded off. I sort of went through the vocal process twice just to make sure it was right. All together the album took about 3 months to complete.

AL: What types of tour plans are in place to support the release?
 MT: We have a 2/3 week tour run in the States coming up and then after that we are heading over to Europe where the first handful of shows will be with Slash. After those shows we will continue our own tour where we will hit Amsterdam, Italy and Germany. When I get home from that I will be back out on the road with Creed until I get back with Miles to write the next Alter Bridge record. In February I will be back out with the solo group for a more extensive European tour which will include shows in Australia.

AL: What are you most looking forward to about playing these songs live?
MT: It’s a much different vibe on stage when you are singing and not just playing guitar. It is a great experience to be able to play these songs. This record is a really fun record to play live and we enjoy it. I can’t wait to do it in front of a crowd who know the songs. The first time we played this material was for a couple of CD release shows. People hadn’t heard the songs yet. This time people will be familiar with them.

AL: Is this solo album just a one-time thing or will you be doing another one in the future?
MT: We will definitely do another solo album. As soon as we can find the time we will get it done.

 

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Filed Under: Interviews, Music Interviews Tagged With: album, alter, bridges, mark, solo, talks, ...

Phillip Friedman talks about transforming into the Old Woman in “Insidious”

Phillip Friedman is best for his wonderful transformation as the Old Woman in the terrifying horror film “Insidious”.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Phillip about his role in the film and how he feels about spreading fear into 30 year old men!

Mike Gencarelli: How did you get the role of Old Woman in “Insidious”?
Phillip Friedman: I had never thought I would be playing an old woman. (Laughs) having said that it was one of the most fun roles I have ever done. I generally like playing characters that are far away from my own personality and it makes things more interesting. I auditioned for the role and also met with James Wan. He wanted to know how comfortable I would be dressed as a woman. He really wanted to know how comfortable I would be on the set and if I could do the job.

MG: Can you tell us about the transformation process of the character?
PF: Make-up took somewhere between 2-3 hours to put it all on. It wasn’t to challenging as the make-up people were great. It wasn’t the most fun part of the shoot but it really wasn’t too bad. Taking it off was a little bit more challenging than putting it on. It took a little over an hour to get the makeup off. It was a process.

MG: Are there any moments from shooting that stick out for you?
PF: Just working with Patrick Wilson and Lin Shaye for the last scene was great. I enjoy playing and for me working is playing. It is very enjoyable and satisfying. Even more so when you are working with people who you respect and you are making something that people want to see.

MG: How does it feel to promote fearish nightmare into a 30 year old man? Umm, I mean a friend of mine of course!
PF: [laughs] I have been attending some fan conventions lately and have had so many people come over to me and tell me they are glad to meet me and that they don’t have to have nightmares anymore. That has been a fun part of things. It’s great to see that regular folks like to get scared. I am glad that I can help them.

MG: With “Insidious 2” on the way, any word if the Old Woman will be returning?
PF: I probably only know as much as everyone else. I believe there was an interview with Lee and James where they stated that a screen play was in fact done. I have heard that it may start shooting this year and be released next year but you never know. There is never a way of knowing until it actually happens.

MG: What other plans do you have for this year?
PF: My representation is currently working on getting me some roles while I myself am also always looking for roles. You never know what is just around the corner. Sometimes things that you would never expect come right out of the blue. It’s definitely not like having a regular day job where you know what’s coming.

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Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: friedman, phillip, talks, transforming, woman

Troll 2’s Michael Paul Stephenson talks about his follow-up to “Best Worst Movie” called “The American Scream”

Michael Paul Stephenson is known best for his role in the cult classic horror film “Troll 2”. Since then, Michael has written and directed the documentary about the film called “Best Worst Movie”, which takes a look at the fandom and his experiences with the film. His newest documentary is called “The American Scream”, which premieres on the Chiller Network on October 28th. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Michael about his passion behind his films and comparing “Best Worst Movie” to “The American Scream”.

Mike Gencarelli: I am a big fan of your documentary “Best Worst Movie”. Tell us about how “The American Scream” was born?
Michael Paul Stephenson: The short answer is that we got really lucky. The long answer is long so bare with me but it is meaningful in terms of how this happened. Not this summer but the summer before we were working on a narrative feature called “Destroy”, which we are planning to shoot next year. So we were in the middle of that, when Chiller Network contacted one of my producers and told him that they were big fans of “Best Worst Movie” and asked “What is Michael doing next?”. My producer kind of scratched his head and said “Let me get back to you!” He called me and told me about this idea for a documentary on people that create home haunts for Halloween aka homemade haunted houses. Right off the bat connected with the idea. When I had originally planned to do “Best Worst Movie”, there was never a question of if it would be good or bad. It was something of a feeling that I had to do it. That is the way I felt about this project. It felt as a director that it would be a very playful place to work. I wasn’t interested in the commercial haunts or the haunting industry but the home haunter is an artist of sorts. True, these people decorate for Halloween but all of that is rooted in creativity and passion for the holiday. I also connected emotional to this, since I grew up in a small town and my neighborhood was very into Halloween. So I had some great memories as a kid.  And so this project just grew from that.

MG: So this project was more of a labor of love for you. Do you find that aspect makes it easier when doing a documentary?
MPS: I think you have to have that aspect, especially with a documentary. I think you have to really love the subject matter and connect with it emotionally. That is one of the fears I had coming off “Best Worst Movie”, there is no way that I am going to find another documentary project that feels as personal or meaningful in the same way. In my opinion, you can’t set out to make an effective documentary if you are not personally invested into it. I feel very lucky that this subject spoke to me in such a personal way. It just seemed like this project was meant for me. The Halloween before this was project was born, my wife and kids live in Los Angeles and we were complaining about our neighborhood. We didn’t know our neighbors and complained that our kids are not going to have the same Halloween that we had growing up. We figured that was the price for living in the city. We ended up though finding three streets in Los Angeles that celebrate Halloween and trick or treating in a very big way. Everyone goes to these streets during the holiday. We actually then moved into that neighborhood! So the timing is just weird but seemed to really work out.

MG: What do you think is it about horror fans that they are so devoted?
MPS: It is passion man. And heart. With horror fans, these are people that love movies. They love the experience that the movie gives them. It is the same thing with hauntings. And it is same thing with anyone that is doing something with heart and passion. You can really get behind these people. It can be boring subject matter but if you find someone that is passionate about it, it is infectious and that is something that everyone thrives for. For “The American Scream”, it just so happens to be about things like home made Halloween decorations and with “Best Worst Movie” it was about a bad movie. At the heart of it all, it is that passion ultimately.

MG: How do you feel that “Best Worst Movie” compares to “The American Scream”?
MPS: That is a good question. There are obviously parallels between both worlds. Ultimately with “Best Worst Movie” it is about passion and also artistry. The same thing for “The American Scream”, there is an artist, there is creativity and also passion. My editor and I joke and say that we have to make one more film in order to complete, the trilogy of artistry in unexpected places. It is true, they are very similar in many respects. The challenging aspect in comparison to “Best Worst Movie” was that it was filmed over the course of four years. It was a hard push, then a break. It was challenging but it was just me and there was not rush. With “The American Scream” I had one month, a ticking clock, from the time we started until Halloween finished. There was no luxury like “Let’s come back next Halloween”. It was a shrinking window every day. My favorite documentaries always have strong arcs. Sometimes with characters a good arc takes time. I wanted to see certain character’s arcs but we had this ticking clock. Also with “Best Worst Movie”, there was no expectations or very low expectations. With “The American Scream” I had to follow up something that really worked. So there were heightened expectations and a lot of pressure with that.

MG: Can you tell us about your other upcoming projects?

MPS: Yeah! We have two projects in the works right now. There is the narrative that is a mix of dark comedy and horror, though more dark comedy. It is called “Destroy”. We announced it now about a year and a half ago. The script actually came to me from Zack Carlson, who is one of the programmers for the Alamo Drafthouse. I got the privilege to know Zack when I was filming “Best Worst Movie”. He was the first person to show “Troll 2” on a big screen. We read the script and just fell in love with it. We start filming looks like around May next year. It is terrifying and definitely a big step. But it is material that I have connected with. It doesn’t hurt that it comes from a writer that I also connected with as well. Then we also recently helped executive produce a low-budget comedy called “Zero Charisma”. It was filmed in Austin and was directed and written by our dear friends and collaborators Katie Graham and Andrew Matthews. Andrew was the editor of “Best Worst Movie” and “The American Scream”, so he is like family. Katie has been a DP on both movies as well. After “Best Worst Movie” premiered, they wrote this film and brought it to us. It is their baby but we have helped them make it. And it should start being submitted to festivals shortly.

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Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: 2s, american, called, followup, michael, movie, ...

Rob Paulsen talks about voicing Donatello in Nick’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” reboot

Rob Paulsen is a well known voice actor. If you don’t know his face, then you definitely known his voice. He is the man behind Yakko on “Animaniacs”, as well as Pinky (which he won an Emmy for) and hundreds of others as well. He is also the voice of Raphael in the original 1987 “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” series. This year Rob is stepping in the role of a Turtles again in Nick’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” reboot but this time voicing Donatello. Media Mikes had a chance to chat about the new show and how it was returning to the series.

Mike Gencarelli: After playing Raphael in the original 1987 series, how was it switching characters to Donatello in the 2012 reboot?
Rob Paulsen: As you can imagine, it has been an incredible thrill to get another bite of this “Turtle” apple. None of us at the beginning, now 25 years ago – a quarter century, nobody knew that this was going to be ending up being such an iconic show. It is crazy. The biggest difference is that I am involved for the launch of a new show that is already a worldwide international icon. Everybody, everywhere virtually knows about Ninja Turtles. It is an amazing experience to start a show with all that already in place, so to speak. In terms of my participation, I voiced an iconic character 25 years ago and now I am taking over another iconic character. Barry Gordon will always be the original Donatello. There is no downside man, it is all up! It has been such a huge thrill! People also really seem to be really getting behind this new show.

MG: How did it actually come about you playing Donatello this time around? Was it your choice?
RP: No, the only choice I had in the matter was whether or not I wanted to audition. Of course, I am not going to say no. When the folks at Nick invited me to audition, they asked me to specifically read for Donatello. I remember telling my agent “Do they know who I am?”. It was not out of arrogance but, as you know, there have been several adaptations of “Turtles” that had nothing to do with the original cast. I wanted to make sure that they knew I have been down this “Turtle” path before. They knew my work that I had done with Nickelodeon like, “The Fairly Odd Parents”, “Back at the Barnyard”, “Cat Scratch”, “Jimmy Neutron” and “Danny Phantom”. So the folks at Nick were aware of the fact that I did a lot of work with them. They said “We know exactly who Rob is and we are a fan of his work here, as well as “Animaniacs”, “Pinky and the Brain”, “The Tick”, “The Mask” and of course the original “Turtles”. But we think that Rob and his sensibilities would be interesting for ‘our’ vision of Donatello”. So here we are many years later and we get to talk about this great series again.

MG: Can you reflect on the fan’s responses to this new series?
RP: To the credit of Nickelodeon, I owe them a lot. I have been working with them for over 10 years. Just my work at Nickelodeon alone is what some actors would be lucky enough to call a career. I am incredible grateful to them. The fact that they included me on this show is great but even better is that they are playing up the fact that I was involved with the original. I think it is very interesting Mike, there are a lot of people that really dig the connection. I think it was a sort of happy accident. I don’t think I was hired on purpose as a nostalgic connection to the original show but it has become a cool thing for the show. The other actors even get a kick out of it since they are younger and used to watch the show growing up, especially (Greg) Cipes. I think the fans are also really digging it, especially the inter-species romance between Donatello and April. The secret is that (Executive Producer) Ciro (Nieli) and his team simply get it. They are fans of the franchise and it is very rare to have a fan of a show who is also making a show for the fans.

MG: After voicing like a million characters, you ever find it hard to come up with new voices?
RP: Hard is a relative term. What is hard? Hard is pulling hot tar on the freeway in August. That is hard. My job is pure joy. The most difficult part of my job is getting more work. In terms of coming up with new characters, I think it is a little bit tricky since I have been to that well so many times. But that is my job. My job is to take things I have done and tweak them. If you listen to Mel Blanc talk about his characters years ago, he said that he would take Daffy, add an affectation to it and soon he would have a new character. That is my challenge. I don’t want to stop working until they put me in the ground. I just love coming up with new characters.

MG: So you mentioned at NYCC 2012 that Pinky is your favorite character, how can you possible choose just one?
RP: That is exactly right Mike, it is impossible to choose. I think I prefaced it with the fact that when I get asked my favorite character, I say “The next one”. That means I am working and that is the main thing when you are an actor. It is virtually impossible to choose but I suppose if I would have to I would have to say Pinky only because 20 years later, people still love “Pinky and The Brain” and “Animaniacs”. Of course, I also won an Emmy for Pinky. I suppose if I had to make a choice, it would be him. But let me tell you Donatello is quickly becoming a favorite. After only a few weeks on the air people all over the world are freaking out in a very positive way about the Turtles. I read a lot of reviews and honestly about 85% has been really positive. You have to ask me again in another two years because Donatello might be the answer then.

Check a voice clip of Rob plugging MediaMikes.com (in several different character voices):

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Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: donatello, mutant, nicks, ninja, paulsen, reboot, ...

Lauren Graham and Ray Romano talk about working together on NBC’s “Parenthood”

Lauren Graham and Ray Romano are starring in NBC’s “Parenthood”. Lauren has been playing the role of Sarah with the show for going on its fourth season. Ray has recently joined the chat this season playing the role of Hank. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Lauren and Ray about working together on the show and their chemistry between the characters. “Parenthood” airs Tuesdays at 10:00 pm on NBC.

Mike Gencarelli: What drew you to “Parenthood” and what can we expect to see you do on the show?
Ray Romano: Well I was a fan of the show. I watched the show since the beginning and I was on my show while it was on. I just like the tone of it and there’s nothing quite being done like that on television. knew Jason Katims, he created the TV show. I knew him and we had been in touch. He was a fan of my show. I was a fan of his show. Then unfortunately my show no longer existed. And in between trying to find out what to do next I had been speaking to Jason and I believe I put it out there first. Kind of jokingly I said, “Hey, if you ever find something for me I work cheap.” And he took me up on it and cheap it is but I’m still happy to do it. And what am I going to do on it? I mean, if you’ve been watching up to now you kind of get who the guy is. We’re going to see a little more of him and I guess find out a little more about him.

MG: Is there something about him that kind of drew you to do this character and do you relate to him in some way?
RR: I like the character. I do like the character because first of all I like how he’s introduced and I like how they’re writing him. We don’t really kind of find out about this guy. As it goes along we find out a little more and more and he’s a flawed person. He’s a troubled guy and yet I guess we’re finding out the good in him. Lauren’s bringing that out – Sarah I guess is finding that out. But I like it because I also haven’t really played that much. In Men of a Certain Age, I wasn’t Ray Barone but it was kind of close to the vest I guess. And this is somebody a little different, so yes I do enjoy playing him that’s for sure.

MG: With the kiss between Hank and Sarah, how awkward was it for the two of you to play that romantic awkwardness?
RR: Take it away. Take it away Lauren.
Lauren Graham: I don’t think it wasn’t awkward. Look, that stuff can always be awkward but what I like about it is these loaded moments that are confusing I think are the most interesting of life. It’s like I think there’s all these mixed feelings and I don’t know, hopefully we capture just kind of two people trying to connect. And people more often than not kind of did sound perfect and so I don’t know. I like that.
RR: Well I like doing it because first of all, awkward I can play very – that’s in my wheelhouse. It’s very easy for me to be awkward especially around women. But with this guy that’s why I like this because it had to be awkward but filtered through Hank, which was totally different than anything I’ve done, with Ray Barone or even Men of a Certain Age or anything. It was awkward without – there was like a little bit of refusing to accept that it was awkward kind of. So I felt that that scene was really unique and felt good when we did it.

MG: Since you’ve had so much success in your career, how do you relate to Hank’s bitterness about where he’s at right now?
RR: Success is only in the eye of the beholder. First and foremost I’m a comedian so I’m never really happy with myself for what I’ve done. You’re always looking for something, for the next thing and you never think you really got it. So it’s kind of a dichotomy. You’re successful but you don’t accept and you don’t really believe it. I don’t know if I connect to the bitterness but I do connect to the feeling of wanting, you know, there’s an artistic need for something, to accomplish something more and falling short of that. Believe it or not I do kind of connect to that so, it’s easy to kind of tap into that. I mean, it’s not all about money. My wife has all the money.

MG: Lauren, since Sarah had the kiss with Hank is that going to change things with Mark?
LG: Hopefully it’s sort of neither one nor the other. I think it made her resolve a little stronger to try to keep her life on the track that she’d planned and hoped for and finally looked like, she’s about to achieve. By the way we still don’t really know what is going to happen, nor does the creator of the show if we, believe what he said. I mean, one of the funny things about this show is he kind of adjusts as things go along, and kind of picks up on the threads that are interesting to him more than maybe they do on most shows that are – which is not to say it’s not planned. So the line I’m trying to play is confusion. And I think it’s justifiably confusing what’s happening. But yes in that moment I think she was like, “This felt like a sort of step outside the lines. Let me bring myself back.” But I don’t know that it’s going to work.

MG: Ray, Hank was obviously overwhelmed when he met the Bravermans. What was it like for you jumping into this show with this enormous ensemble?
RR: Well I got to tell you, I guess I’m kind of in the business and I’ve done this and I’ve seen all the bells and whistles and I know what goes on. And yet I – like I said I was a fan of the show. And I still on the first day it was just with you Lauren but the third day was when I had a scene with the whole cast and it was a weird feeling. It was a feeling of because first of all I was just like a viewer. I was like, “Wait a minute.” You really get wrapped up in that this is the Braverman family. I’m like, “Well wait a minute. I know it’s not. I know that guy and him. I’ve worked with him and whatever.” But yes I was a little bit – I don’t know if star struck is the word but it was a little surreal that I’m in this world that I’ve just been watching and been wrapped up in. I do still get intimidated by certain things, and I was slightly intimidated on that day because also just on a regular level of this is the first time they’re seeing me I want to not screw up. I want to do well and I want to fit in. You know, they’ve been together and they’ve got their rhythms and the tone and everything, and I want to make sure my character fits into the show and the universe that they’re in. But everybody was nice except for a few. No I’m kidding. No everybody was great and it was fun.

MG: Lauren, do you have any interest in getting behind the scenes at all?
LG: I do for sure. It’s actually more helpful to have someone who is on the inside who knows the show and who knows how we rehearse and how we sort of find the scenes. So yes that would be of interest to me for sure. I think that it would be great to direct an episode.

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Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: graham, lauren, nbcs, parenthood, ray, romano, ...

Summer Glau talks about her role on Syfy’s “Alphas”

Summer Glau is known best for her role in TV series like “Firefly” and “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”.  Last year, Summer appeared on Syfy’s series “Alphas”, playing the role of Skylar.  She returned again for this second season and hopes to continue in the third season as well.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Summer about her role in the show and what we can expect.

Mike Gencarelli: Last season when you were asked to guest star on “Alphas”, did you ever think that it was ever going to be on this scale that it’s developed now through this season?
Summer Glau:  Well I was hopeful. I love doing TV and I really like sticking with a character and getting to watch them evolve and contribute to a story line that continues week after week. So I was hopeful. This season I have been so blessed to come back as much as I have. I have love where Skyler has gone and I would be very excited to come back again next season.

MG: What was it specifically about Skylar that was so fascinating and that attracted to you to the role?
SG: The first thing that attracted me about Skylar was the fact that she was a mother. I’ve talked to Bruce about this before too. It was really exciting for me. I hadn’t – I had not played a mother before. One of the most challenging things about Skylar is that she is a mother but it doesn’t come naturally to her. She – in my mind, in the back story that I’ve created, she’s been on her own for a long time. And she’s used to just fending for herself. When it comes to her child she’s very conflicted because she has all of these new feelings that she’s probably never experienced before about loving something so much more than she loves herself. And caring for something and protecting someone else and making unselfish decisions. For me as an actor it just was a very, very fertile story line for me creatively.

MG: Playing a character that is very handy with gadgets, how has that been for you as an actor?
SG: Well I think I’m a pretty good actor because I really can barely program my garage remote. I’m very gadget challenged. So it’s really fun for me when I put on my Skylar clothes and I go on set, I really pretend like I’m in control and like I know what I’m talking about. The man who puts together most of my props is named (Skylar) too. I spend a lot of time under his supervision and guidance so that he can help me get really comfortable with my inventions so that I can really feel like I have a relationship with them. Because they’re always amazing but it doesn’t always come naturally to me. I’m always amazed. Like I’m on set and they hand it to me and say so this is what you built. And then I always take it apart so I know how to put it together and then we’re practicing that over and over again.

MG: After working on series like “Firefly”, “Terminator” and now Alphas, what really draws you back to the sci-fi genre?
SG: I have always found in sci-fi that the roles for women are really exciting and dynamic and outside the box. In the finale of Alphas is a perfect example. I remember in – Bruce was there too. We were sitting and discussing a scene that involved every – all the girls. I was sitting there looking at the girls and it was so cool to get to do a scene that involved all of us. And I was looking at the girls and we were all four different and our characters are I feel complicated and fleshed out and dynamic and just it made me realize, I’m really happy to be here. I’m really happy to be in a story that creates this opportunity for all four of us actresses.  That’s why I keep coming back to it. I go for the character that I like.

MG: I really liked how Zoe on the show asked you if you were a Terminator in the second to last episode. I thought that was pretty funny.
SG: Yeah, I know. I looked at her and I’m like she doesn’t even know what she’s asking [laughs].

MG: During Comic-Con, Nathan Fillion joked about a possible animated revival of Firefly as a TV series, can you reflect?
SG: Absolutely. I would take any opportunity to get back together with my whole fam and keep telling the story. I think we’d all love that.

MG: Tell us what other projects you have in the works next?
SG: Well I just finished a Christmas movie. That’s the only other thing that I have that is about to come out. Oh and also “Knights of Badassdom”. So I have “Knights of Badassdom” and “Help for the Holidays”, which is going to be on the Hallmark Channel during the 12 Days of Christmas. So that was really, really fun. Yeah. I definitely enjoyed that one.

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Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: alphas, bruce, glau, miller, summer, syfys, ...

Oliver Robins talks “Poltergeist” and working with Steven Spielberg

Oliver Robins is known best for his work in the classic horror film “Poltergeist”.  He has also worked on films like “Airplane II: The Sequel”. Currently Oliver is focusing on writing and directing with his latest film, “29,000 Wishes, 1 Regret”.  Oliver took out some time to chat about his experience on “Poltergeist” and working with Steven Spielberg.

Mike Gencarelli: Were you aware of how physical the role in “Poltergeist” was going to be?
Oliver Robins: For the most part I did because in the script it really explained what was going to happen. In terms of how they were going to execute those scenes I had no idea. It was presented to me like I was going to camp. And that’s exactly how it was. I had a great time. Every time I went to the set I had a new adventure. Because when you’re a kid you pretty much accept everything. They’d say, “OK, Oliver, today you’re going to be bolted to this wall and hung up by wires. We’re going to turn the room around and you’re going to scream into the camera because at the angle you’re hanging at it’s going to look like you’re flying.” And as a kid you’re thinking, “OK, that sounds fun.” Then the next day they tell you you’re going to be back in the room and giant tree arms are going to come at you. They want you to jump on the tree arms while screaming at it. Then they throw sugar glass at your face but they do remind you to cover your face when they’re doing it. And as a kid you’re having a great time. It’s like “what’s next?” As an adult you might step back and think it’s kind of crazy. But I used to love climbing trees so it was a blast to me.

MG: So it was really more like fun then work?
OR: Oh yeah, I had a great time. And it was a great bunch of people. Steven Spielberg. Kathleen Kennedy. Frank Marshall…they were a great group of people to work with. I didn’t want to leave the set when we were done every day. I had to because of the labor laws. “Sorry Oliver, you have to go home.”

MG: There has always been a lot of speculation as to whether Spielberg or Tobe Hooper was the director in charge. Can you lend any insight into this?
OR: I’ve learned that people seem to like controversy in pretty much everything in life. And this is one that will never go away no matter what people say. You can say that Steven Spielberg did NOT direct the film, bottom line, but people don’t want to believe it. They want to be conspiracy theorists because the falsehood is more exciting in many ways then the truth. As for Spielberg, he wrote the script (NOTE: the Original story for “Poltergeist” came from Steven Spielberg, who shared screenplay credit with Michael Grais and Mark Victor)…he was the producer. And he had a vision that he shared with Tobe. But Tobe directed me. I mean, it was investigated by the DGA (Director’s Guild of America) at the time. But when it comes to the nitty gritty, Tobe told me where to stand. He told the camera operator where to put the camera. All of the rules that I learned in film school about what a director does Tobe did. As far as what happened behind the scenes, I’m sure Steven explained what he was going for. I mean, when you’re the writer and the producer, you do what any writer would want to do. Explain your vision and your intent. Hope that they are executed as a team. And I think they worked as a great team. So in terms of what I saw on set, Tobe was the director. At least that’s my perspective on it. (NOTE: When “Poltergeist” opened in June 1982 these rumors were already circulating. Tobe Hooper has maintained that these rumors cost him an Oscar nomination for Best Director. Ironically, a week later “E.T.” opened. That film earned Spielberg a Best Director nod).

MG: How was the change going from scary “Poltergiest” to the zany “Airplane 2?”
OR: I had seen the original “Airplane,” so I knew the tone of the piece. I loved “Airplane” so I knew what kind of performance they were going for. It was a dream job for me when they gave it to me. Ken Finkleman, the director, was very patient. He told me what he wanted…the very broad and over the top reactions. I had a lot of fun doing it. And the adult actors were basically doing the exact same thing so I just followed their lead.

MG: What is it like for you now to watch films you made back when you were a kid?
OR: I just recently looked at “Poltergeist” again. Obviously I’m a bit prejudiced but I think it’s a fantastic movie. As good as the films being made today without any of the great technology that exists now. I think that with the advent of all of the new CGI technology we’re almost losing some of our filmmaking capabilities and techniques. It’s as if CGI is now almost a crutch. I mean in “Alien” you hardly see the “Alien” whereas now they show everything when maybe you don’t need to show everything. Not to mention that with a lot of CGI effects today it’s almost hard to suspend disbelief. Getting back to “Poltergeist,” that film is so scary because of the stuff you never even saw. It’s in your head because you really don’t know what you’re looking at. It’s all in your mind. And I think that’s brilliant filmmaking. And it’s not just a horror film. A professor told me that compassion will always win over camera. Which means you make a film with story and character and relationships and the special effects are secondary. And that’s true about “Poltergeist.” Sure it’s scary but it’s the family and their relationships that you care about during the movie.

MG: Now you’re focusing on writing and directing. Talk about taking that path in your career.
OR: It was on “Poltergeist” that I decided I wanted to be a filmmaker. Steven Spielberg loaned me a Super 8 camera and at 10 years old I started making films. And it became a passion that I fell in love with. I fell in love with telling stories. I made a 15 minute film called “The Crystal” that won first prize at a French Film Festival. I realized I wanted to do this as a career. So on the advice of Mr. Spielberg I went to the USC Film School (NOTE: Besides Steven Spielberg, note USC Film School Alumni include George Lucas, Robert Zemeckis and Ron Howard), graduated and I’ve been pursuing filmmaking pretty much ever since. I love all genre’s of film. From comedies to romantic comedies to dramas and family dramas. Hopefully I’ll be able to tell many stories.

MG: You wear pretty much every hat possible on your new film “29,000 Wishes, 1 Regret.” What was the inspiration behind the film?
OR: My inspiration was that I wanted to do a film about our times right now. And I learned it was going to be difficult to raise funding for a film about a young couple who loses everything because of the recession and realize they’re never going to live the life they hoped for. So they decide to charge what’s left on their credit cards and then kill themselves. That story line proved next to impossible to raise money through the traditional means. And I didn’t want to wait ten years to make this movie. I thought it was timely and that it had to be done right now. We had the technology to do it. We had the cameras. So we went out and did it. I’ve been to film school and I said to myself, “Let’s go out and let me see if I can fill every behind the scene role on the movie.” I brought in a couple of friends to assist, one to be DP and one to run sound. But sometimes they weren’t available so I’d have to do everything myself. But what I loved about it is that it allowed me to work very close with the actors and allowed me to really just focus on their performances. I didn’t have to worry about funding or paying back money. It was really just our time that we were spending. And we could really just tell the story that we wanted to tell. Of course the downside is that we didn’t have an infrastructure. We were kind of scattered trying to assemble everything while shooting this film basically by the seat of our pants. So there was an upside and also a darker side to this level of filmmaking. But I think it really tested my ability. To be able to make a film with pretty much nothing…just me and my camera. For all intensive purposes the only thing I really had going was my knowledge of cinema from film school. It’s the same equipment. Now a high school kid can get the equipment as a holiday gift and go out and do the same thing without a lot of money.

MG: Where can people see the film?
OR: They can buy it right now on Amazon, (https://www.createspace.com/334235) or they can download it as well on Amazon. Just type “29000 Wishes, 1 Regret” on Amazon and they can watch it at a moment’s notice. The film has a distributor and it should be available on network television later this year.

MG: Tell us why you started your own clothing line, Cursed Clothes?
OR: I had been going to different horror conventions and thought that it would be great to give fans a little bit more of the movie I was in. So I got with a designer to create “Poltergeist” – inspired T-shirts to hand out. And we had so much fun creating these T-shirts that I thought it would be fantastic to do with other films…all of my favorite films from the 70s, 80s and 90s. Even movies from now. So we created an entire line of horror inspired clothing. And that’s how we came up with Cursed Clothes, (www.cursedclothes.com). We’re creating designs for all of the films that I love. “

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Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: oliver, poltergeist, robins, spielberg, steven, talks, ...

“The Puppet Monster Massacre” Director Dustin Mills talks about new film “Zombie A-Hole”

Dustin Mills is the director of the wild and crazy film “The Puppet Monster Massacre”. Dustin took out some time with Media Mikes to chat about that film as well as his new film “Zombie A-Hole”.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about what the inspiration was behind “The Puppet Monster Massacre”?
Dustin Mills: It’s the same with every film idea I come up with. I am just trying to make films that I would want to watch. I look for holes in the B-Movie universe and try to fill them.

MG: Are you surprised with the response this film has gotten?
DM: The response has been rather mixed, and honestly the only places it sells well are Horror Conventions. I think my surprise came from seeing it featured in magazines and websites that I had read for years. We were in HorrorHound, Fangoria, and there was a review on AintItCoolNews. That was wild. That’s the stuff that makes my heart race.

MG: When can we expect the sequel to this film?
DM: I really want to make one, but so for we haven’t had a ton of luck with raising the funds. I have the outline, I have started the screenplay, but now it just boils down to hard numbers. I’m not going to make the film until I can give it everything it needs. My plan right now is to produce some low budget exploitative short films to sell with the sole purpose of raising money for PMM2. It will happen… its just a matter of time.

MG: Tell us how it was going to puppets to “Zombie A-Hole”?
DM: It was much much easier. Production was smoother because I wasn’t playing every single part (we had no puppeteers for PMM) and post was easier because we had real locations instead of a greenscreen that required keying and or matte paintings and 3d backgrounds. The only thing that is more difficult about a live action film vs something like PMM is that you have to be willing to relinquish control and improvise and let your actors help build your world. Making a virtual backlot puppet film allows you to have a much narrower mind, but working with people and weird conditions forces you to be a resourceful soldier.

MG: What was your biggest challenge besides the budget of $1K?
DM: The budget was never actually a hindrance. I like working with nothing. A low budget like that forces you to be a renegade and I like that. there is something really exhilarating about shaking your camera while your actor’s wife blows fog over your car with a $20 fog machine and a fan that barely works and a couple of your buddies bounce the trunk up and down so it will kinda sorta look like the zombie hunting cowboy is driving at night. I live for that shit. The biggest challenge I guess was just time. Its hard to line up schedules, and we had a medical emergency with one of our actors that set us back for a month or so (not an onset injury mind you). That’s really it. Once we got folks together there was never really anything that held us back too much.

MG: Sticking with the horror genre, who are your idols?
DM: Thats a hard question because I have two sets of idols. I got my mainstreamers like Robert Rodriguez, Guillermo Del Toro, Sam Raimi, Dario Argento, and Fred Dekker. But then I also have my indie heroes. People like Eric Stanze, Bill Zebub, Fred Vogel, Jason Eisener, Kevin Strange, The Kuchar Brothers, and a few others. These are guys with true vision who know how to make their budgets and indie status work for them. I may not even like every movie they put out, but I respect the shit out of them. My grandaddy idol at least for right now is Jim Wynorski. I’m not sure the world will ever truly appreciate his genius.

MG: Favorite horror film?
DM: My favorite horror film and probably favorite film of all time is “The Monster Squad”. It embodies just about everything I love about horror and the magic of the movies.

MG: Tell us about your upcoming “Theatre of the Deranged II”?
DM: Well James Bressack is spearheading this wacky anthology and on it I have an animated short that is sort of inspired by anime and the sushi typhoon films called Girl Girl: Mutant Lesbo Vengeance. Its going to be quite strange and extremely bloody. I am pretty excited about it, and I am in good company on that collection. James really gathered a good group of filmmakers and I am pretty honored to be rubbing shoulders with them.

MG: What else do you have set on the horizon?
DM: I am putting the finishing touches on Night of the Tentacles. It will be out early next year probably. I am shooting a film called Kill That Bitch which will be out early next year as well. I am shooting a puppet porno music video for a Las Vegas band called The Fat Dukes of Fuck that is perhaps the strangest thing I have ever done. I recently did a video for one of their member’s other band called Demon Lung, check it out here. I have two other projects; one of which is already filmed and the other I am filming currently. I’m honestly not sure how much I can say about them so that might be a tale for another time.

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Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: ahole, director, dustin, film, massacre, mills, ...

Traci Lords talks about new film “Excision” and album “M2F2”

Traci Lords is an actor/singer/producer/director.  She has appeared in films like “Cry-Baby” and “Blade”, as well as the recent “Excision”.  She also released a new compilation album called “Traci Lords Presents: M2F2”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Traci about her new film “Excision” and also her new album.

Mike Gencarelli: How did you get involved with a film like “Excision”?
Traci Lords: It happened like “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell Happened, “Blade” and “Cry-Baby” all happened, through my agent, Stephen LaManna. I saw the short that Ricky Bates Jr. had done years before for his final school project. I thought it was very interesting. We had several meeting and I ended up doing some screen testing for the role. I thought that I had played the role of Pauline, played by AnnaLynne McCord, before in my career. I have also played the role that Ariel Winter plays in the film as well. But I have never played a woman like Phyllis, that was as controlling and uptight. When I read it one of my concerns what how do you make somebody that is this tough in ways – how do you make her likable  – how do you give her humor? That was one of the challenges with this role. I had to figure out how to not make her one note and make her a real person.

MG: Phyllis is one great character, how did you prepare for the role?
TL: I just kept trying to put myself in the frame of mind of a parent that has one of their children dying. The closest experience I had to that, and thank God, is having two cats. The cat didn’t like ended up dying and the one I like survived. It is a terrible analogy but it is the only one I had going into the movie. What does that feel like? Trying to figure out what the other way would feel like? To be a parent and not like one of your children, probably has to be the worst feeling in the world. The torment about that is something that I just chewed on and focused on. There were wonderful actors all around me and that made it easier to come about. AnnaLynne McCord created a very unlikable strange, wonderful, bizarre character in this movie. She would come to the set as that character and it was not hard to be annoyed by her in that sense. So it helps my portrayal of Phyllis, since I just had to look in front of me.

MG:What was it in the script that jumped out of you that made you want to be apart of this project?
TL: I think the aspect that compelled me most had to be the director, Ricky Bates Jr. I think he is a really interesting person. He wrote something, whether you like it or not, it is bizarre enough to make you think. The fact that he as confident as he is as such a young filmmaker, I thought that was very intriguing. I am curious to see what he will do with more experience.

MG: John Waters is this film, you worked with him on “Cry-Baby” & “Serial Mom”, did you get a chance to reunite?
TL: That was really my doing. Ricky was a fan of John Waters and John is very dear friend of mine. I put the two of them together and John said he would do the movie, much to Ricky’s delight. John flew in for a day and we had a fun time on the set. Seeing the film for the first time at Sundance this past January, when John comes on the screen, the whole audience just lost it. You don’t expect him in that role of a priest. Ricky really cast against type in this film. It was just delightful.

MG: What do you enjoy most about working in the horror genre?
TL: I have done a lot of work in the horror genre. It is nice to return here. I liked to bounce around much with different genres like “Blade” and “Cry-Baby”. I haven’t done a real juicy dark drama in quite a while. I think I do something funny next.

MG: Last year your single “Last Drag” was hot on the charts, any plans for new music?
TL: As a matter of fact, I released “M2F2” last week on iTunes. There are ten tracks on the album, eight of which are already charting here and there. That is really great. I have three tracks on it, since it is “Traci Lords Presents”, So it is a compilation of tracks from Sea to Sun Records. It is definitely a love record, meaning that you can put it on in the beginning of a date and play it straight through no matter what happens. That was the idea behind “M2F2” aka “Music 2 Funk 2” [laughs]. I see myself doing more and more compilations like that. Really I want to continue to act and sing but also focus more on writing, producing and directing of my own stuff. I think there are so few wonderful roles for women, especially of my age. So I guess I going to have to write my own now.

MG: What else do you have plans in the cards?
TL: I am also currently adapting my book “Underneath it All”, my life story that came out in 2003 from Harper Collins into a bio pic.

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Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: album, excision, film, lords, m2f2, talks, ...

Pamela Horton talks about being Playboy’s Miss October 2012

Pamela Horton is a model that was recently crowned Playboy’s Miss October 2012.  Besides modeling Pamela is also an avid gamer and a big fan of MMORPG games.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Pamela about being Miss October 2012 and her current favorite game.

Mike Gencarelli: Give us some background about yourself?
Pamela Horton: I was born and raised in LA. But I grew up as sort of a Tomboy. Playing in the mud, climbing trees, getting into trouble. I’ve always loves music and art and video games even at a young age.

MG: How did you end up as Playboy’s Miss October 2012?
PH: I had been modeling since I was 18, and a submitting photographer sought me out on Model Mayhem and asked if I would like to submit for Cyber Girl. He sent in my pics and they wanted to test me for playmate and here I am’

MG: Where you chosen or did you have to compete for it?
PH: I was chosen by Hugh Hefner himself!

MG: How did it feel to make the cover of magazine like Playboy?PH: It has been such a sincere honor! Not many playmates have had this privilege!

MG:Tell us about your photo shoot for the issue?
PH:It was unlike any I had done before. Every detail was looked at. The lighting had to be perfect. My positioning had to be perfect. It was hard work, but it paid off!

MG: I hear you are an avid gamer, specifically for RPG gaming and MMO?
PH: This is very true! I’ve been a gamer since my dad had me play Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on SNES! Although I own and adore all systems, I mostly play on my PC. League of Legends, WoW, Diablo 3, FFXI

MG: What is your favorite game currently?
PH: Currently I am loving the crap out of Theatrythm Final Fantasy. So much nostalgia in one game! And I was always a fan of guitar hero and rock band and to have that trigger interaction with final fantasy music is amazing.

MG: Now that you have been crowned Miss October 2012, what do you want to conquer next?
PH: Look out Riot Games, I plan on trying to work for you!

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Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: 2012, horton, october, pamela, playboys, talks, ...

Louis C.K. talks about working on FX’s “Louie”

Louis C. K. is a stand-up comedian turned Emmy Award-winning TV star.  He writes, produces, acts in FX’s hit comedy series “Louie”. The show just completed it’s third season on September 27th.  Louis C.K is now touring doing stand-up and taking an extended hitatus before returning to Louis for season four.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Louis about working on the show and with FX.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about your experience working with FX?
Louis C.K.: I love working at FX. I have never in my life enjoyed working at anyplace so much including going back to Kentucky Fried Chicken when I was 15. A great place to work. I recommend it to every creative person that wants to make television. You bring your best ideas there and FX makes them better. That’s the way I feel about it for real. The last three seasons have been just fun and work and stories, and it’s been great to share all this stuff, but I want to keep going and I want the show to keep getting better. That’s my goal and I don’t want it to be making the donuts. I want it to keep being something that comes from somewhere fun and important and I want it to make money. So, it’s a luxury that I ask for which is more time to take to create Season 4, which is already my job right now. But I’m going to take a whole lot of time to turn it in, so that’s why I wanted this time, wanted this break, and I’m excited about what we can do in the future.

MG: What were you most excited that was revealed and did it play out the way you wanted or as you had hoped?
LCK: Well, to me the “Late Show” trilogy was like the center piece of that. That was the thing that there were so many time relief bombs and it was like, those Dominos all set up and then there’s fireworks and a little balloon goes up. I was amazed that I was able to set it up without any of the Dominos falling over and that nobody opened the big doors until we were ready to go.  I was really grateful to FX for that because we were so loaded with guest stars, and they didn’t give away any of them. They let me hide a lot of stuff which is not easy for them to do. It’s asking them to forego a huge ability to promote stuff. But I think for the people that watched the episodes it was really fun to watch those go on the air and unfold, those especially.

MG: Have you and/or FX ever thought about doing, a “Louie” one hour, like doing a “Louie” movie?
LCK: Well, the stories that I did this year, the two stories that went over a few episodes through with the “Daddy’s Girlfriend” and then the “Late Show” trilogy were so interesting to tell stories in that way, and we’re talking about all kinds of ways to be a little more elastic with how the shows are aired. And that’s a work in progress for the next season, but I think that’s going to be part of how the show will be presented differently. The three-part thing was a unique watching experience I think for people because they had to wait so long between parts and it’s only 22 minutes, so it was like watching a movie in three parts rather than like something like “Shogun” or something. That’s how old I am that that’s a mini series. The thing is even within each episode it’s always been totally loose as far as how long it takes to tell a story. I mean, it started being elastic from the beginning, but I was able to tell 5-minute stories, 10-minute stories, anything up to 22 minutes. When I wrote this last season, I really wrote it as one cohesive season. It wasn’t so broken up. Like everything that happened last season had something to do with every episode, it felt like anyway, so I just let it all bore in. I took so many pages to write “Late Show” that I had to break it up. That’s the way I looked at it. I didn’t intend for it to be a trilogy. I took so many pages writing “Daddy’s Girlfriend” that it ended up being really one-and-a-half episodes. “Daddy’s Girlfriend” begins to be about something totally different. But so I think we’ll continue that, yeah, and get even more focused with how long a clip is. Who knows? Maybe there will be a six-episode story or maybe there won’t be. I still have to get it all out, but there is potential for that, yes.

MG: What are your plans for season four of “Louie”? Is it going to pick from when the season 3 ender with you going to China?
LCK: I want Season 4 to go somewhere new even if it’s only a small degree of shift. I’m looking back to when I did the first season and the time I took to approach the show and decide which direction to go in, which directions to go in, and I want that back again. I want a little breathing room, so probably for the first quarter of the year I’ll be doing some writing. It definitely hasn’t been decided yet, but I don’t go as far as China means I would have to go back to China, and while I had a pretty amazing time there it’s like, you write these things, and then at some point you realize, “Oh my God, I have to actually take my body to these places”. I had an amazing time in China, but I think if I go far away again that far from America I want to go somewhere else. Part of what I’m so excited about is trying to not think about it before I think about it because I know that’s where the best stuff comes from. If I was going back on the air this June I would be writing heavily right now and I would be back in production in just a few months.

MG: Any plans for another stand-up special?
LCK: I’m on tour right now all over the country doing stand-up, so whether I turn it into a stand-up special I haven’t decide yet. It’s probably likely though because when I’m done with this hour of stand-up I’m going to want to regurgitate it.  So I’ll probably make a special, yeah! I’m always doing stand-up, and a lot of the show’s material comes from the stage, so that’s where everything starts.

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Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: ck, fxs, louie, louis, talks, working, ...

Anthrax’s Joey Belladonna talks about touring with Rockstar Mayhem Festival

Joey Belladonna is the lead singer for the seminal NY thrash band Anthrax. Media Mikes caught up with Joey at this year’s Mayhem Festival where we talked about how the crowds have changed over the year and the bands recent work on several cover songs.

Adam Lawton: What has been the best experience so far on this summer’s tour?
Joey Belladonna: I would have to say the new kids. We are running in to a whole lot of different fans. There are young people, old people, new fans and old fans. It’s been really great. The whole atmosphere of this tour has been quite a bit different. It has a carnival like feel to it but it’s still a heavy metal/rock show.

AL: How have shows like Mayhem changed from the band first started playing on them to now?
JB: I think the buzz has started to pick up more. People have started taking notice that we as a band are still strong and better than ever. We aren’t a manufactured something that is just out here for nothing. We don’t mess around and the new material live is brutal.

AL: How did you go about making the set list for this run of shows?
JB: The real hard part was covering are catalog in 40 minutes. We have some songs that are pretty long. We had to try a few different things to fit in to that time frame. I think we have done pretty well touching on all aspects of our music. Sadly there is just no winning if someone wants to hear a specific song but I think we did the best we could with the allotted time.

AL: Can you give us any updates about the cover album that has been in the works?
JB: There have been some songs recorded but I can’t tell you much more than that. I haven’t really started doing vocal tracks for it yet. Things are still sort of lingering with what will become of it and if deadlines can be met.

AL: What are the plans for Anthrax after the Mayhem Festival wraps up?
JB: We will be hitting Canada and some portions of the U.S. That will take us through mid October. Then we will be back out with Testament and Death Angel for the third time around. Starting in November we will be out with Motorhead in Europe as the support act. That should be pretty cool.

AL: Anthrax did a lot of recording at the legendary Pyramid Studios in Ithaca, NY. What is your take on what’s happening with the city trying to destroy that building/business?
JB: Alex was out and saw us the other night. It awful what is happening with that situation. I can’t even imagine being told one day that you have to move out of your house because it’s supposedly unsafe. I didn’t really know what to say when we were discussing it. I passed along some info and I hope everything works out.

 

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Filed Under: Interviews, Music Interviews Tagged With: anthraxs, belladonna, festival, joey, mayhem, rockstar, ...

Eric Kripke talks about creating new hit series NBC’s “Revolution”

Eric Kripke talks about creating new hit series NBC’s “Revolution”, which airs Mondays 10pm EST. Kripke also created and executive produced “Supernatural,” now in its eighth season. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Eric about the show and what we can expect from the first season.

Mike Smith: Can you talk just a bit about how you came up with the whole concept for the show?
Eric Kripke: Yeah, sure. Really for me it was about, I’m a huge fan of Star Wars, I’m a huge fan of Lord of the Rings, I’m a huge fan of really that kind of Joseph Campbell classic, mythic, heroes journey storytelling, you know those big grand adventures. And those are the kind of stories that are more often serviced in movies than they are on television. But, I think TV is actually a perfect format for that kind of storytelling because if so many – you know those are such big sprawling stories and you have so many more hours in TV to really explore all the different facets of a world and the characters that live in that world. And that you could give it, you know really epic scope, but very intimate character focus. So for me, it was always – I was always really interested in kind of taking that sort of big sprawling adventure format, that big quest format and putting it in television when you can really explore it episodically, and so that’s really kind of where the idea started. And, you know I’m a huge fan of Star Wars. I’m also a huge fan of Stephen King’s The Stand, and I really like the idea of rather than setting it in some fantasy kingdom to set the story line in some kind of transformed America, which is very – you know in a very strange way relatable and familiar to your audience, because it’s things that they’ve seen before, but just transformed overgrown with vines and all that. It kind of started from the idea of just where can we create this mythic quest, and then from there it was working, you know J.J. and his whole team at Bad Robot and we were sort of talking about like, “Okay, what would transform America, and would it be nuclear war, would it be disease?” We all sort of felt like we’ve seen that a million times before. And they had been kicking around an idea of, “Like what would happen if there was a global blackout?” I jumped right on that idea. I’m like, “That’s perfect. That’s the way to kickoff the show.” That’s really interesting and provocative and I think a really relatable concept, because I think everybody feels how over-reliant we are on technology, and so it becomes sort of interesting commentary to explore what would happen if we removed all technology overnight.

MS: Just going back to the pilot when the blackout happened, it looks like it was very gradual over the whole Earth, should we be reading into that, looking for clues as to the origin of the blackout, or did that just look cool to have that sweep of darkness over the Earth?
EK: You should look for clues everywhere…is the short answer. The longer answer is, you know there was a phenomenon that, you know we have up our sleeve as to what caused the blackout, and that that it – what you saw in that globe shot is an accurate representation of what we are working on. And – but, you know right now we’re currently in the writers room. We’re talking dangerously about revealing that secret before the end of the first season. So again, it’s sort of my philosophy of not being too precious with anything. So, we may reveal the secret sooner than later.

MS: Can you talk a little bit about the decision to downgrade Maggie from series regular, and then eventually write her out.
EK: Yeah, sure. You know what it really came down to more than any other decision, Anna Lise is a wonderful actress and I love that character. I’m sort of have a bad habit in the shows that I run of killing off the people that I love, and I think Maggie was one of those. I think we decided internally that very early on that it was really important to show that this world had very real stakes, and that it was truly dangerous. And because, you know you’re not close to hospitals, you’re not close to paramedics, you’re not close to help, and we very quickly realized that the scariest thing we could do was to kill the doctor among them. So it was purely a creative decision about really putting a sharp – giving the world the real charge of danger, so that as we move forward in the series we want the audience to really understand that nobody is safe, including the main characters, and just bring that suspense as the series continues because we think that’s honest to the world we’re trying to create here.

MS: Can you talk a little bit about what we’re going to see, in terms of Neville’s backstory and who he was?
EK: Yeah. You know, Neville – what’s interesting about the blackout in the show and – which – you know where we like to explore and we want to explore more and more as the show goes on is what a transformative experience it was for so many people. And who they were in the old world has nothing to do with who they are now. And – I mean, there’s like a bit of that in the pilot, which you know we were always amused by the idea that he’s this kind of violent strong man post-blackout, but pre-blackout he was an insurance adjuster. So we were really interested in exploring that backstory more and seeing how his character, who before the blackout was pretty mild mannered and maybe a little submissive, and how did he transform into the violent psychopath that he is today? And then – you know, and then meeting his wife. And right now, basically, we’re planting Kim now, and then, you know we’re going to meet here in the present day and really explore her character a couple episodes down the line. And we’re going to see how, you know a very normal suburban wife before the blackout, post-blackout, transformed into a Lady Macbeth.

MS: Tell us about how you chose Giancarlo Esposito for the role of Captain Tom Neville?
EK: Giancarlo is just a world-class actor, and frankly we were shocked that he was willing to partner up with us because, you know we were sort of like – we felt like we were like kind of, “Like, why is such a classy actor want to hang out with such shady people?” And – but, you know obviously I was a – I’m a – I was a huge fan of his performance in Breaking Bad, but I’ve been a fan of his from long before that, and we’re just honored to have him be a part of the show. He brings so much heft and depth and emotion and – to Neville, who is not obviously the same character as that character, because you know Neville’s got, you know moments of vulnerability and moments of humanity. And he’s just a really interesting complicated character that Giancarlo makes so much better than what is on the page. But yeah, and it’s true because I mean he’s the – he’s exactly the type of actor you want to work with because you can write any dialogue and he makes it about five times better than it actually is. And I’m just – like I said, I’m just honored to be working with him. And then on top of that, he’s like the nice – it’s like the government actually has designated him the nicest man in America. He couldn’t be a sweeter, more gracious, more open-hearted collaborative guy, and someone who is that talented and that kind-hearted is just is really one in a million, and I just love working with him.

MS: Could talk a little about Rachel’s motivations and the direction her character’s going in?
EK: Yeah, sure. I mean, certain ones are a little mysterious, so I have to be a little cagey, because we reveal some things. But basically, what – you know Rachel is – you know she has – she’s obviously holding on to certain secrets about why the power went out, and we’ll reveal in the next episode on Monday exactly – we’ll reveal a little more about what she in fact knows about the blackout. Monroe’s been keeping her, in a gilded cage, kind of prisoner; although, with occasional torture, so it’s not so fun. But she’s strong and, we’re so smitten with what Elizabeth is doing with the character that we’re just writing more and more and more for her, because she’s just – she’s so good. And so, she’s a very strong character, but everything changes when Danny finally arrives in Philadelphia. So, now General Monroe has Rachel where he wants her, because she doesn’t really care about he own well-being, but of course she cares about the well-being of her son. And so, he’s really able to twist her arm and forced her to reveal things that she hasn’t revealed to him yet. But she, of course, is you know smart and heroic and is, you know desperately searching for a way out of the predicament that she’s in.

MS: Are we going to see Nate and Charlie’s relationship develop more?
EK: The short answer, yes, but over the sweep of the season. He’s going to be spending some time in Philadelphia, we’re going to start to understand what his world is like within the world of the militia, but he’s certainly going to interact with Charlie again and he has a bumpy road ahead for him.

MS: Since the full season pickup mean that you were able to go ahead with some story ideas and arcs that you’d maybe put on the backburner in case NBC did cut the series short?
EK: Well, you know television showrunners are a foolishly optimistic bunch. I think we were designing our story lines in the hopes that there would be a full season pickup. And then, in my back – it was more that. It was more like I was, you know designing the story line for 22, and then in my back pocket I had a – I had like a nuclear failsafe that it really looked everything was going off the cliff I had an emergency contingency plan to wrap everything up very quickly. But obviously, I’m very thankful to the network that they gave us the opportunity to, you know be able to tell the story.

MS: You are also the creator of “Supernatural”. How much time are you being able to spend at that since “Revolution” is now also in production?
EK: Yeah, I don’t spend as much time over there as I would like, but – because this one’s got my hands full at the moment. But, I will say that, Bog Singer and Jeremy Carver, who are running that show are doing an absolutely incredible job and it’s like watching Supernatural go is like – is sort of like watching my child go off to college. I don’t necessarily have control over it, but I’m so proud of what they’re doing.

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Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: creating, eric, hit, kripke, nbcs, revolution, ...

Bruce Davison talks about ABC’s “Last Resort” and “Rob Zombie’s The Lords of Salem”

Bruce Davison is one of Hollywood’s best character actors in the business. He earned an Academy Award nomination for his work on “Longtime Companion”. He is also known for his his role as Senator Robert Kelly in the “X-Men”. movie franchise. He recently directed Barry Williams & Danny Bonaduce in the Syfy creature feature “Bigfoot” and also recently worked with Rob Zombie’s on “The Lords of Salem”. Bruce can also be seen weekly on ABC’s new hit series “Last Resort”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Bruce about his busy year and also what else he has planned.

Mike Gencarelli: How did you get involved directing the creature feature “Bigfoot”?
Bruce Davison: Well, I had done some directing before for Showtime and few others. But I had done a few projects with David Latt at Asylum, like “Mega Fault”. I told him if he had any directing gigs come up to throw me a bone and that I would love to direct. I missed my chance with (Roger) Corman, back in the days. He calls me up one day and says “I am not giving you a gift, I am giving you a nightmare”. I went to Washington to shoot and I think we had a 14 day shoot that ended up being only 9 days. It was sort of like being the General at Dunkirk, I was trying to run two armies at the same time, shooting whatever footage we could and trying to juggle jello, basically.

MG: Tell us working with the duo of Barry Williams & Danny Bonaduce?
BD: I had the best time working with the two of them. I would just let them riff lots of time. I tried to get Florence Henderson and Shirley Jones to make an appearance at the end but it didn’t work out. They were wonderful and the best. The hours were impossible. The shooting schedule was insane. Danny was doing a radio show every day, getting up at 4am and then coming to shoot. But he was still so professional every moment. I feel that they pulled a lot of stuff together [laughs] out of their butts. We really had to. There was a lot of improvisation. And also at the same time, we were trying to create a Bigfoot. We had one difficulty after another; we had to shoot a raft scene in an afternoon, when we weren’t allowed to shoot in the water [laughs]. It was one thing after another. It was so difficult, it was laughable. If we didn’t have a scene of humor about it we would have probably killed each other. But we ended up having fun.

MG: It is funny how you directed “Bigfoot” and your first job directing was on the “Harry and the Hendersons” TV series.
BD: [laughs] I didn’t think twice. I figured that “Bigfoot” would be like “Mighty Joe Young” and “King Kong”, just another big behemoth monster that goes around biting the heads off pretty girls. We had all that going for us and it was completely different from “Harry”. People have said to be over the years “Wasn’t doing “Long Time Companion” difficult and emotional draining?” I have said “No, “Harry and the Hendersons” was”. Trying to get the Bigfoot on the van was much more difficult than playing something that was so close to the heart.

MG: You are co-starring in the new TV series “Last Resort”; tell us about your role?
BD: Pretty much, what you can expect you will have to wait and see. Admiral Arthur Shepard is the character I play. He is the father to Lieutenant Grace Shepard, the third-in-command on main submarine. He is a character that you don’t quite figure out where he is coming from for a while but things will evolve. He is an intriguing and interesting character and he has been a pleasure to play so far.

MG: How was it working with Rob Zombie on his film, “The Lords of Salem”?
BD: I am so looking forward to that film. I had the best time of my life working with Rob. I just adore him. I think the three girls playing the witches just go through the roof. I think he has a new franchise with them, since they are just outrageous. Dee Wallace, Patricia Quinn and Judy Geeson are great. I have a scene with them and I just chuckle every time I think about it. His wife Sheri Moon Zombie is just a dear. I am hearing that it is quite controversial and going to stir up the pot. I look forward to it. He is just brilliantly talented.

MG: Can you tell us about your role in film?
BD: I play an author named, Francis Matthias. I work at historical tourist traps in Salem, MA. I am like the investigator and trying to solve the mystery of what is going on. It is sort of like Martin Balsam in “Psycho”. It is a wonderful character. Maria Conchita Alonso plays my wife. I try and track down what is going on and well…get more than I bargain for [laughs].

MG: Lastly, tell us about your work the unofficial sequel To Martin Scorsese’s Film “Raging Bull”, “The Bronx Bull”?
BD: It is a whole other cup of tea and is told from a completely different angle. William Forsythe is going to really surprise a lot of people with this. He is a wonderful actor and is so close to Jake LaMotta in character in his later years. It is not so much connected to Martin Scorsese but it is a chapter two in the life of Jack LaMotta.

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Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: abcs, bruce, davison, lords, resort, rob, ...

Morgan Fairchild talks about Syfy’s “American Horror House”

Morgan Fairchild is an actress with such a wonderful a presence in Hollywood. She has appeared in such television series as “Dallas”, “Mork & Mindy” and “Flamingo Road”. Her notable film roles are “Holy Man”, “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” and “Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2”, where she all played herself. She is also stars in the Syfy original movie “American Horror House”, which premieres Saturday, October 13 at 9:00 p.m. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with the beautiful and sweet Morgan Fairchild about her this Syfy film and how she prepares for a role.

Mike Gencarelli: What about the role intrigued you to want to be a part of Syfy’s “American Horror House”?
Morgan Fairchild: Well I must confess I’m quite a devotee of the Syfy movie channel. I mean I watch Syfy movies on the weekends. And all my friends have done them, so it was quite fun. And they sent me the script and I thought well, you know, this is actually fun. I could do this. You know, I don’t have to get chopped up or anything too gruesome. She also does have a history with the house and that’s part of figuring out here history with the house is, is a big part of the story, of trying to understand what’s going on as the girls are confronted with different odd happenings in the house as to why they’re happening and what’s really going on there.

MG: Does working on a project like “American Horror House” somehow take you back to earlier in your career doing projects like “The Haunting of Sarah Hardy”?
MF: Well it takes me even further back to “Initiation of Sarah”, which was actually my first TV movie — which was also a haunted sorority house. So yes it goes way back.

MG: Can you talk a bit about how your character Ms. Margot fits into the story?
MF: Well like a lot of the characters I play, she’s sort of the catalyst. The bad guy is always the catalyst. So she’s not unlike some of the other characters I’ve played except that she does seem to just be pure evil.

MG: Is there anything then you found challenging about your role?
MF: You know, they’re always challenging. From Ms. Margot the thing was I didn’t want to tip it too early that she is actually a bad guy because at first she seems sort of supportive house mother kind of thing and sort of the normal everyday thing that a kid would encounter at college. I didn’t want to tip it too soon, so that was a bit of a challenge is just trying to find ways to play things that later people could go back and say, oh yes, I see that. But at the moment that they don’t necessarily catch on right away.

MG: Do you have any kind of technique that you use to for when you approach a role?
MF: Well I do sort of the basic thing everybody does, you know, that they teach you from the Day 1 — which is break it down, break down who is this character, what do they want, where do they come from, what is their background, where are they trying to go, what are they trying to get out of this. so it’s all that kind of basic thing. Then again it’s a very focus of energy. I’m a big Bruce Lee fan. And Rudolf Nureyev for some of you who may not know Rudolf Nureyev was probably one of the best ballet dancers of the 20th century. And watching him on stage with the focus of energy was just an amazing thing the way he controlled the stage. Back in ’73 I’d been living in New York and I went home for the summer for a visit to my mom. Mom always wanted to do anything that was hot in New York. So I said, “Mom, these kung-fu movies are just the hottest things on 42nd Street, so we’ll go to a kung-fu movie.” Well and saw kind of this Bruce Lee movie, Enter the Dragon, it opens with a scene in the Shaolin Temple with Bruce Lee just like stripped to, you know, his skivvies and I was just fascinated with the focus of energy — the total focus of Chi. I watched the whole movie and he’s just brilliant. If he had lived, he would just have been such a major star because of this focus of energy. When the camera is on him, you cannot take your eyes off of him. When Nureyev was on the stage, you could not take your eyes off of him. You know, the poor little corps de ballet dancers would be dancing their hearts out and he would be standing with his back to you and you’re watching him instead of these poor little girls dancing. That was what sort of inspired me again to spend 4-1/2 years taking kung-fu in Chinatown in New York. I mean even when I was doing Search for Tomorrow, I remember one day I was sitting there watching something in the control room and it was summer and I had one of my little Danskin things on and one of the guys came up behind and said, “Morgan, did you know you have dimples in your back, because they would kick your ass, honey.” Down there in Chinatown and I would take the subway to go down there and pick my ways over bodies on the Bowery. This is back when bodies on the Bowery really were there. And it was a little scary going to and from class. But, you know, 4-1/2 years until I moved out here I was there like five, six nights a week as much as I could get in. So yes that’s what I do. That’s part of it is because to play a good bad guy especially you have to have that focus of energy.

MG: What it was like to shoot in Louisiana? Did that add to the tone of the film at all?
MF: It was just fabulous shooting there. Everybody was so friendly and so nice. And we were shooting in April mostly before it got too hot, so I wasn’t dying there. And I’m from Texas, so I know what dying in the heat means. So it was fabulous and got to go down to Jazz Fest and go down to New Orleans a bit and see a bit of the countryside and it was just great.

MG: Can you tell us a little bit about working with the director Darin Scott?
MF: Darin was just fabulous to work with. He was so sweet and low key. And I mean I’ve worked some real screamers in my life, you know, who you never have a moment of peace on the set. And Darin is very low key, very patient with everything, very on top of all the technical stuff that was going on — which we had a lot of in this movie — and just a lot of fun to talk to and sit around at lunch. We became friends just sitting around and gabbing at the lunch breaks and on breaks and stuff and talking everything from politics to old Hollywood stories.

MG: You have had a great career in both TV and film. Have you ever preferred one to another?
MF: Well they’re all just very different and you forget also that I grew up in the theater. So I mean do a lot of theater whenever I can still and did a staged reading of a play this summer and did a big national tour of The Graduate in ’05 and have done big national tours of like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, have done Broadway, off Broadway. So they’re all very different. They’re all very different in the way you focus your energy — which is really what the difference between stage acting and film acting is. Then film acting is usually it’s also very different because of the size of the format. How you focus your energy is to me one of the most interesting things about it.

MG: Last question and off-topic, now that Dallas is back on the air, I was wondering if you would be interested at all in reprising the role you originated of Jenna Wade?
MF: Well sure. I mean I’d always be interested. Originally just socially a couple of people in charge over there had sort of reached out to me and asked me the same question. But I’ve never heard back from them sort of following up and deciding to put Jenna back in it with me or Priscilla, so I don’t know what their thinking is. I’m just happy just Larry and Patrick and Linda all working away again in those great parts again. They’re all friends, you know, so I’m just always happy to see people working and working in fun, wonderful parts.

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Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: american, fairchild, horror, house, morgan, syfys, ...
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