White Chapel’s Ben Harclerode talks about new album

Ben Harclerode is the drummer for the heavy metal group White Chapel. The band has just released their fourth studio album which titles “White Chapel”. Media Mikes had the chance to talk with Ben about the new album and what it has been like being the new guy in the band.

Adam Lawton: Can you describe the bands writing/recording process on the latest record?
Ben Harclerode: The process was pretty collective between everyone in the band. We all got together at Alex’s house where he built a small studio space. We spent most of January there going through old riffs. We had a massive amount of material to go through so it was more a matter of everyone sitting down and figuring out what would work with what. We wrote some new stuff as well which was also thrown in to the mix. We really were just piecing various ideas together.

AL: Were there songs from the recording sessions that did not make the album?
BH: We were shooting to have more material however we just didn’t have enough time.We went out on tour with The Devil Wears Prada in November/December and then had about 2 weeks off for the holidays. From there we immediately jumped into working on the record for about a month. Time constraints were sort of put on everybody so we basically used what we had. We had hoped for a bonus track or two but we just didn’t have the time to make it happen.

AL: What do you feel you have brought to the band since joining?
BH: I have never met Kevin who is the guy I replaced. From what the other guys have told me they were looking for someone who was not only a fast player but the wanted someone who had a little more groove to their playing. They were looking for someone who was into playing other styles rather than just the standard blast beats and double bass. I like to think that maybe I bring a little bit more playing style outside of metal to the band. When I first joined I brought click tracks and sampling to the table. Now during our live shows we have started to sync our lights and other effects to those tracks. I think we can be a lot more flexible with our set now.

AL: What do you think makes this album standout from others in the genre?
BH: I think more and more as records are categorized into one specific genre a lot of style blend together. I feel when we put this album together no one was trying to sound one specific way. I think the end result shows a dynamic contrast between the songs. Each song has more of its own idea and vibe. This album has its own thing going on as do each of the tracks individually.

AL: Can you tell us about the band’s upcoming tour plans?
BH: We are going to be going out with Hatebreed. I haven’t seen the dates yet but I think it’s going to be a small venue tour. I love playing big venues but the more intimate shows always seem to be a lot more fun. We are on this year’s Mayhem Festival which I am really excited for. Getting to play with Slipknot is going to be great. All of the guys in the band are huge fans of theirs. This fall we also have plans to tour Europe with August Burns Red and The Devil Wears Prada.
 

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Michael Jai White talks about Adult Swim’s “Black Dynamite” and “Tyler Perry’s For Better or Worse”

Michael Jai White is known for playing roles in films like “Spawn” and “Black Dynamite”.  His live-action film  “Black Dynamite” is coming to Adult Swim and becoming an animated series thanks to Titmouse, Inc.  Also currently Michael is reprising his role of Marcus in “Tyler Perry’s For Better or Worse” on TBS.  Michael Jai White took out some time to chat with Media Mikes about  “Black Dynamite”, Tyler Perry and “Mortal Kombat”.

Mike Gencarelli: Can you reflect on the cult following that “Black Dynamite” has developed over the years?
Michael Jai White: My intentions were originally to open it larger. It eventually got the attention it deserved. The audience started to find it and their worth of mouth has been very valuable. It is tweeted about every few minutes since 2009. It has been a miraculous type of thing. We even won a bunch of film festivals in other countries, which has proven it is universal. I am very happy about its success and what what we are going to do to follow it up.

MG: What made you take the animation route for “Black Dynamite”?
MJW: It was an opportunity that presented itself. I was a fan of “The Boondocks” and friend of Carl Jones. He thought it will make a great animated show and I agreed. We are still open to do another live action version of the film as well. The original plan was to do three films in that blaxploitation genre, the first being “Black Dynamite”. With our second film, must like Monty Python you can use the same cast in different movies. We are planning that right now.

MG: How was it reunited with original cast like Tommy Davidson, Byron Minns, and Kym Whitley?
MJW: Most of the time we would come in separately. Whenever we come together, we have too much fun [laughs]. It was a purposeful idea that we do it separately so everyone can concentrate.

MG: Do you feel that you are able to expand the show more since it is animated?
MJW: Oh yeah absolutely! Cause you can do things like Black Dynamite goes to the moon. That would be very difficult if you were shooting in live-action. Your imagination can run wild on an animated show and that is exactly what we did.

MG: Did you get to work closely with Titmouse, Inc on the show’s style?
MJW: The animation style was in the hands of Carl Jones. He is the master and knows what he is doing. I had to humble myself to be able to understand and learn a whole new genre. Carl has worked tirelessly in order to make this show unique and he has done that.

MG: Continuing with your TV work, what do you enjoy most about reprising your role of Marcus Williams in “Tyler Perry’s For Better or Worse”?
MJW: Yeah, it just started its second season on Thursday July 12th. It is a more family wholesome show and then on July 15th we have “Black Dynamite”, which is definitely not [laughs]. What I enjoy most is I get to play a real human being. I enjoy my other work as well, like “Spawn” but they are bigger than life. This one is right on life. Being a husband and father, I get to play a lot of other nuances I wouldn’t ever get to play in these fantastic movies. We are dealing with actually issues, family issues. Things that are really funny and can hopefully connect with the audience.

MG: Any update on Kevin Tancharoen’s feature version of the web series “Mortal Kombat: Legacy”?
MJW: Absolutely, that is currently in the works. It is going to be with Warner Brothers. If you have seen any of Kevin’s work, this guy is just super amazing. He is is tirelesly working on that script, nipping and tucking to make sure it is perfect. I have all my faith in Kevin. He is going to be one of the best directors ever. Be sure to watch for him. Once that script is done, we are planning to go into production.

MG: After “Never Back Down 2” last year, any plans to direct more for you?
MJW: Yes I do. I plan on directing a romantic comedy, one that I have had the rights to for a while. I would also like to direct more action movies down the line as well, it depends on what speaks to me and where I might have a unique voice in directing.

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Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: adult, black, dynamite, jai, michael, swims, ...

Jaleel White reflects on “Dancing with the Stars” & Syfy’s “Total Blackout”

Jaleel White recently competed on season 14 “Dancing with the Stars”. He also hosted Syfy’s new reality game show “Total Blackout”. Media Mikes had a chance to catch up with Jaleel again in order to reflect on his experiences with “Dancing with the Stars” & Syfy’s “Total Blackout”.

Mike Gencarelli: Can you reflect back on your work on “Dancing with the Stars”?
Jaleel White: The last eleven weeks have been unlike anything I have ever experienced in my career. It’s been hard on the body and very chaotic. People also ask me “Was it fun?” and I tell them “If you ran two marathon’s back-to-back, would you consider that fun” [laughs]. That is how I feel about “Dancing with the Stars”, I have survived some pretty awesome shit. I didn’t fall on my ass out there. Everywhere I go people said they were happy to see my dances and that makes me proud. The training was a lot but it was all necessary. My highlight was the cha-cha week, I knew it wasn’t going to get much better than that.

MG: Do you think that the judges where too hard on you throughout the show?
JW: Look, I am so proud of what I survived. I don’t want to be negative, especially because of how proud I am. Also nobody has ever met the five secret men that handle the fans votes. Since no one has ever met them I will not let it get to me [laughs]. After about week three, I stopped caring about the score to be honest.

MG: Any chance of you coming back for season 15 this Fall for the All-Stars season?
JW: I haven’t been approached or anything. I know the competition was tough enough. I do not know how being elimated in the seventh week makes me an all-star but I learned never to say never.

MG: Are you excited with the success of “Total Blackout”?
JW: I am very happy with that way that “Total Blackout” came out. It is very rare that I can say that about something I had so little to do with in the post-production phases. We have been able to build on the ratings week-to-week, so its been great for us.

MG: I got to tell you my sister ordered Syfy just so that she could watch your show.
JW: [laughs]. You gotta write that in your article. I can’t say anything as cool as that.

MG: Any word about a second season for “Total Blackout”?
JW: No word just yet. I have not been in the game show business for too long but I pick up on things quickly. My only concern about the show is that I know contestants get smarter. Even though the lights are off, we will have contestants that will have seen the show and once they know what game they are playing will go back to a mental picture. So they are really going to have to work hard to stay away from contestants looking to outsmart the show and also to keep the show fresh and moving forward.

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Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: blackout, dancing, jaleel, reflects, stars, syfys, ...

Film Review “Snow White and the Huntsman”

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron
Directed by: Rupert Sanders
PG 13
Running time: 2 hours 7 mins
Universal

Our Score: 1 out of 5 stars

Some fairy tales are best left alone. In doing some quick research I learned that there are no less than thirty filmed versions of the tale of Snow White. And I’m willing to bet that all of them (well, maybe not the X-rated version entitled “Once Upon A Girl”) are better than “Snow White and the Huntsman.”

As the film begins we are told, via narration, the story of a happy couple that wanted a happy baby. The missus pricks her finger on a rose and three drops of blood escape. Apparently the drops of blood signify red lips, black hair and white skin. Turns out the couple in question are actually the king and queen of a happy kingdom. The queen has a beautiful baby girl, who they name Snow White. And they live happily ever after. Just kidding!

I hardly know where to begin.

Apparently when the film was cast the actors were told that they either needed to speak like “this” or like “THIS!” Both the evil queen (Theron) and the fair Snow White (Stewart) either mumble their lines to their fellow actors or SCREAM them! As the magic mirror-loving, bird heart-eating queen who has apparently been done wrong by one man too many, Theron comes off as a better dressed version of Aileen Wuornos, the man-hating serial killer she won an Oscar portraying in 2003’s “Monster.” Her makeup makes her features fluctuate from a blindingly beautiful queen to a weathered hag who eerily resembles Courtney Love’s Althea Flynt at the end of “The People vs Larry Flynt.”
The queen also has a creepy relationship with her brother, Finn (Sam Spruell). And by creepy I mean “Angelina Jolie and her brother at the 2000 Oscars” creepy.

As Snow White, Stewart doesn’t have much to do while she’s locked in a tower. Once she escapes she proves herself to be quite feisty. However, she too is a shouter. And then there’s Hemsworth, who apparently was the only actor that was trying when the film was shot. Burdened with the only accent in the film, the kind that makes the word “three” sound like “tree,” and wielding a large axe much like he wielded his Hammer as Thor, Hemsworth gives the only layered performance in the film. Even the seven dwarves, played by who’s who of British actors including Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins and Nick Frost, couldn’t bring this film to life. It’s like everybody on set, sans Hemsworth, took a bite of the famed poisoned apple and drifted off to sleep. And since these aren’t Disney’s dwarves they’re saddled with such un-cute names like Beith, Nion and Gort. One of them bore a striking resemblance to Mel Brooks’ Yogurt in “Spaceballs,” but since he’s apparently blind I just call him “Blindy,” in memory of Walt.

The pacing is horrible, making a two hour-plus film feel EXACTLY LIKE a two hour-plus film. The script is cobbled together from pretty much every different version of the Snow White tale you remember from your childhood. Somebody better call John Lee Hancock, who wrote such films as “The Blind Side” and “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” and tell him somebody added his name to the other two taking credit for the screenplay. Thankfully I have to watch “A Perfect World” this weekend so I can be reminded of what a talented writer he truly is. On the plus side, the musical score by James Newton Howard is a pleasant distraction from the action on screen.

Thanks to my crack research I’ve learned that two of the actors featured in “Once Upon a Girl” were Hal Smith, who played the loveable town drunk Otis on “The Andy Griffith Show,” and Frank Welker, one of the best voice-over actors EVER. Armed with that knowledge I think “Once Upon a Girl” may also be better than “Snow White and the Huntsman.”

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Filed Under: Film Reviews Tagged With: film, huntsman, review, snow, white

Blu-ray Review “Grimm’s Snow White”

Directed by: Rachel Goldenberg
Starring: Jane March, Eliza Bennett, Jamie Thomas King, Otto Jankovich
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Distributed by: The Asylum Home Entertainment
Release Date: March 13, 2012
Running Time: 90 minutes

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

Mirror Mirror on the wall, what is the worst Snow White movie ever ? Wow, I love most if not all of Asylum’s films but this was just absolutely painful to get through. It turns the story of Snow White into a mix between “The Lord of the Rings and “The Chronicles of Narnia”. Running only 90 minutes, I thought this felt like a two hour movie. The special effects are decent for Asylum. Of course this isn’t “Avatar”.  The dragons were decent, but those damn dogs are just so terrible looking. I would avoid this bad apple like it was really poisoned.

This film takes the story of Snow White and turns it on its head. It turns the seven dwarfs into elves and gives them cheesy Spock ears. It follows Queen Gwendolyn (Jane March), who, of course, has to be the fairest of them all until the beautiful Snow White (Eliza Bennett) returns to town. The Queen recently seized power in the kingdom following the death, I mean murder, of Snow White’s father. After being attempted to be killed, Snow White hides in the Enchanted Forest with the elves and finds a way to defeat the evil Queen and win the Prince.

The Blu-ray itself is not bad though for a low-budget film. The video looks good in its 1080p transfer. The audio comes with an Dolby Digital 5.1 track and works decent with the film but gets overpowering with the score at points. The disc itself has a lot of menu issues though with choosing scene selection or playing the film. The special features are terrible like the film itself. There is a very short “Making of Featurette” featuring the cast and crew talking about the film. There is a short gag reel and additional Asylum trailer included as well.

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Filed Under: DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews Tagged With: bluray, grimms, review, snow, white

Jaleel White talks about “Dancing with the Stars” & Syfy’s “Total Blackout”

Jaleel White known best for his role of Steve Urkel on “Family Matters” though 2012 is shaping up to be one spotlight year for him.  He is one of the contestants on season 14 of “Dancing with The Stars”, dancing with Kym Johnson. He is also the host of the upcoming SyFy’s reality show “Total Blackout”, which premieres April 25th.  Jaleel took out some time to chat with Media Mikes again about his work on “Dancing with the Stars” and to encourage his fans to vote for him at 1-800-VOTE4-12.

Mike Gencarelli: So tell us how you got involved with “Dancing with the Stars”?
Jaleel White: They never formally asked me before until this past year.  ABC’s casting department got in contact with my manager properly and asked for a meeting. [laughs] I didn’t want to take the meeting but my manager let me know it was the right thing to do. So I did the meeting and everyone was very nice. After that it was just a the process of working on me. I am not going to lie, there was tremendous trepidation since it is one thing to learn how to dance, that was daunting enough, I had to commit to practice four hours a day and put my ambitions of being a writer to the side. My mom though just keep working on me and here we are today.

MG: Any fun behind the scenes stories so far?
JW: Oh yeah! I got a good one with Tony (Dovolani), one of the pro-dancers, who is dancing with Martina (Navratilova) this season. The couples got gathered together with the producers and they told us the rules and things they expect on show night. Tony raises his hand and said “I got one thing I want to share with all of you, ok?!, no matter how you dance is going you don’t leave your pro out there on the stage. You don’t walk off on them. If you get lost in your dance, you look into your dancers eyes and we will guide you through it.” I love Tony, he is a great guy. I guess he had some problems in the past with people freezing up on him. I thought that was particular funny. I come from a performers background and I know you never run off the stage.

MG: First week of the show you tie for the top spot, does that create and pressure going forward?
JW: Actually I really don’t. I tell everybody, I still see life in five day sitcom blocks. So if you give me five days to learn something, I should be proficient enough to shoot it. That is just the way I see preparation in general. The first episode for me was just such a validating experience. You put in the work and you can deliver the performance based on your work. Kym and I ran that dance into to the ground, as we must have done it at least 523 times. We weren’t just in there chit-chatting. We worked until we had to change our shirts and take two showers.

MG: You seemed to really feel natural on the dance floor, Any prior dance experience?
JW: I have zero dancing experience. Other than dancing as a kid during parties, school dances, church and camp. I just listed all my dance experiences there.

MG: What do you like or fear most about being out on the dance floor?
JW: At this point, my fears are slowly starting to go away. My biggest fear though is injury. I want to keep my body in good shape. I can feel certain areas getting tighter and I can feel my body adjusting. Every dance has it own personality and hopefully you can gel with that personality of the dance. Some people try to fight against that but I just go with it. Luckily for me, when I dance I smile naturally. Some people just have this perpetual panic on their face while they are dancing. I am exactly the opposite. As soon as I start moving I am smiling away [laughs]. The more I get into the dance the more I start enjoying it and that’s when the rehearsal process kicks in.

MG: How does it feel to be compared to a young Gregory Hines by one of the judges?
JW: I mean that is huge man, really. It is a long stretch from being compared to Steve Urkel [laughs]. It is nice to be able to show people that I can do different things. Growing up I never understood the importance of being different. I thought I would just excel at whatever job I was given. I didn’t know at the time that if people only thought of you in one way they will only give you one job. Everything about this experience with “Dancing with the Stars” has been so positive for me, so far.

MG: Do you and Kym Johnson have any special dances planned for the show?
JW: I definitely have a dance that means a lot to me. I obviously need to survive the eliminations to get to it. I told you though I obey the dance, I do not force anything. As much as I love music, you have to understand that not every song works for the dance. I think though the dance I have in mind could make some real noise…if I can nail it. But you have to vote for me though if you want to see the dance. It’s 1-800-VOTE4-12. We are team #12.

MG: Besides “Dancing with the Stars”, you are also hosting “Total Blackout” on Syfy this April, what can you tell us about that experience?
JW: It was a great experience. They are actually still tinkering with the show right now. I have been going in and doing some last minute tweaks and changes. The SyFy people have been over the moon about me participating with “Dancing with the Stars” also. People are really going to love this show. I am calling it ‘guinea pig TV’, it is that thing that you are flipping through and you find yourself watching two episodes back to back without even realizing it. I also think it would be a really fun show to do on the road.

MG: What do did you enjoy most about hosting a show?
JW: The best thing I like about hosting is that this stuff is not happening to me in the dark [laughs]. I am serious. I have test contestants in foam rubber suits, I give my instructions and then go back to my dressing room, watch the live feed and eat some Doritos [laughs]. They can have the tarantulas crawling up their hands. I am all set.

MG: Just recently you also appeared on “Psych” again, is Tony going to be seen again soon?
JW: Who knows man. I always have such a blast with the “Psych” boys.  It is one of my favorite shows that I have ever guested on. James (Roday) and Dulé (Hillare) are excellent actors and we get in some good trouble. I have been on two episodes…so hey, why not make it three.

MG: So after you win “Dancing with the Stars”, what you got planned next?
JW: Right now, I need some votes for team #12 on Dancing with the Stars, it’s 1-800-VOTE4-12. Supposedly you can’t text votes in unless you have AT&T, so a lot of people don’t know that. There is also the option to vote online at http://vote.abc.go.com/shows/dancing-with-the-stars/vote.  This is going to be a fantastic season for sure.

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Filed Under: Featured, Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: dancing, interview, jaleel, stars, white

DVD Review “Betty White: Champion for Animals”

Directed by: Robert Kline
Starring: Betty White
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Distributed by: Image Entertainment
Release Date: March 27, 2012
Running Time: 89 minutes

Our Score: 1.5 out of 5 stars

Alright, I know everyone thinks that Betty White is a national treasure but I don’t. Don’t get me wrong she is loveable and very entertaining, especially in her prime days. But I think recently she has been in the spotlight quite a bit, a little too much for me. To make it worse in the whole 90 minutes she is only it in maybe 10 minutes tops. It is mostly about animals and their conservation. It plays like a 90 minute infomercial.

Even though, I feel that Betty White is not my favorite, in this I think the best parts where when she shared her experiences about the animals and discusses her devotion to them. The rest of the film travels to national parks, zoos and aquariums without her just meeting different animals. It tries to teach about their conversation but just comes off as preachy and overall is barely watchable.

The release does not include any special features at all, not that I could honestly bare any more. I think that this could have actually succeeded if it was more like a travel program and we followed Betty from place to place and having her narrate the film. I believe this could have at least made this watchable. I won’t be able to get my 90 minutes back on this one. Instead I would suggest watching Discovery Channel and actually learn something.

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Filed Under: DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews Tagged With: animals, betty, champion, dvd, review, white, ...

First Look at “Snow White and the Huntsman” Characters”

Universal Pictures released a first look at “Snow White and the Huntsman” Characters from Comic-Con 2011!  The films stars Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Claflin and will be released on June 1, 2012

Official Website: www.snowwhiteandthehuntsman.com
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/snowwhiteandthehuntsman
Follow on Twitter: @SnowWhite and @UniversalPics

In the epic action-adventure Snow White and the Huntsman, Kristen Stewart (Twilight) plays the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen (Oscar® winner Charlize Theron) who is out to destroy her.  But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the young woman threatening her reign has been training in the art of war with a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth, Thor) who was dispatched to kill her.  Sam Claflin (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) joins the cast as the prince long enchanted by Snow White’s beauty and power.

The breathtaking new vision of the legendary tale is from Joe Roth, the producer of Alice in Wonderland, producer Sam Mercer (The Sixth Sense) and acclaimed commercial director and state-of-the-art visualist Rupert Sanders.

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Filed Under: Commentary, Film Headlines Tagged With: characters, huntsman, snow, white

Interview with Patrick Fabian

Patrick Fabian is the star of “The Last Exorcism”.  He plays Rev. Cotton Marcus, a preacher without faith himself, trying to expose an exorcism that goes totally wrong.  Movie Mikes had a chance to talk with Patrick to discuss his role on and how it was working on “The Last Exorcism”.

Click here to purchase “The Last Exorcism” DVD or Blu-Ray

Mike Gencarelli: What drew you to the role of Cotton Marcus in “The Last Exorcism”?
Patrick Fabian: As an actor, anytime you’re given a role that is automatically a larger than life character, who is a man of words and theatrics, anybody worth his salt would want to take that role on.  Think Burt Lancaster in “Elmer Gantry”…all the bully pulpits you get to see great actors do.  It’s usually something you can sink your teeth into, you can usually get away with going over the top.  And when you’re the exorcist in an exorcism movie you’re going to get a lot of things to do.  He’s somebody who’s at the end of his rope.  He’s seen too much.  He can’t function because he’s growing a conscience about what he does.  By bringing a documentary crew along with him on an exorcism he’s trying to…maybe…make up for all of the wrong that he’s done.  And by exposing exorcism as a sham he’s able to save other people from losing their money and pinning their hopes on something that is ultimately false.

Mike Gencarelli: What was the most challenging scene during the production?
Patrick Fabian: Two of them come to mind.  First was preaching.  I’ve never preached before.  When I was preaching in the Baptist church they filled the congregation with background artists who were local hires from New Orleans.  And they were all good church-going folk.  They can tell a good preacher from a bad preacher.  So I was pretty nervous in front of them.  And finally I just said to them “you know, it’s a movie, so I need you to pretend that I’m good.  I need you to help me.  If I’m saying something that doesn’t square with you, or if I’m doing a gesture that doesn’t seem right…if it appears false or a little bit hinky let me know.  They were more than happy to let me know when I was wrong, there was no doubt about that.  But the great thing about it was that even though I was pretending to preach, when I was preaching they got into the spirit of it.  It’s just that weird thing that when you’re in a church and you’re talking about God and you’re talking about Jesus Christ and you’re talking about being saved…the fat ladies with their purses and their Sunday hats will start going “praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!”  There’s no acting there.  It was just like a giant revival meeting.  I was nervous going into it but it ended up being good.  The other scene, obviously, that I was nervous about was when we performed the exorcism.  You’re worried about coming off as a clown.  You want to be authentic to the material that was written by the writers.  And I think we got it.  I think we got a really good tone.  We straddled a line.  You’ll see on August 27th.

Mike Gencarelli: On a scale from 1 to 10, how scary would you rate this film?
Patrick Fabian: I really can’t give anything a 10, but I’ll give it an 8.  Absolutely.  (the phone connection breaks – after Mr. Fabian calls back – ) I guess that was God telling me to shut up!  I gave it an 8 because, even having been in the movie and sort of knowing where it was going, at the premiere I had at least five or six really good jump out of your seat “Whoa!” moments.  If I can get five or six good moments like that during a scary film I call it a goody!  It’s a good take your date film…it’s a good go by yourself film.  And I can proudly say that it’s not a “hack and slash.”  It’s not a gore film.  If that is what makes people squeamish you can safely say they don’t have to worry about that.  However, the creepy factor…the skin crawl factor…is definitely pretty high.  I know that sometimes people prefer seeing somebody’s head chopped off because they can go “aw, that’s totally fake,” as opposed to being totally creeped out.

MG: Are you a fan of horror movies?
PF: Absolutely.  I’m a suburban boy from Pennsylvania.  I grew up waiting for the late night horror shows on Saturday.  Movies like “The Omen.”  “The Changeling.”  “Burnt Offerings” with Oliver Reed is awesome.  It’s really creepy.  I don’t know if it stands up to the test of time but it creeped the shit out of me when I was 13 years old.  Of course “Alien,” which was the first big one I got to see in the theatre.  Even the old Hammer stuff that I used to watch on Saturday afternoons.  Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee…that’s the stuff that I really did.

MG: You recently attended the LA Film Festival for the premiere, how was it watching the film with an audience? How was the reaction:
PF: I thought everybody laughed at the right moments.  There’s a lot of humor in the film as well.  They really enjoyed those parts.  Then at the end everything gets rolling.  People got creeped out.  They got scared and when the film was over the audience burst into spontaneous applause.  I think they were very, very glad to have been one of the first ones to have seen it.

MG: You’ve done quite a bit of TV, most recently, “Gigantic” and “Big Love”, how do you feel it differs from movies?
PF: I’ve been around.  I’ve got a lot of television under my belt.  I really enjoyed doing “Big Love” on HBO.  It’s really fun to work on.  They’re good actors…it’s a good show.  “Gigantic” is a new show where I play a dad.  Plus I play a movie star so I get really good clothes and the best house.  The only big difference between television and film is that television is more day to day.  It’s sometimes a grind because you’re doing an entire show in seven or eight days.  The work hours sometimes get long.  On the film we worked equally as long.  We worked six days a week, twelve hours a day for six weeks solid.  It was like a slow punch.  A big roundhouse of working together.  We all start with this thing…we don’t really know what we’re doing…and by the end you get into a groove…you get an idea…you have a beginning, middle and end.  In television you sort of have an idea of what world you’re entering.  When I went to work on “Big Love” I knew what world I was entering.  On “The Last Exorcism” we created the role as we went along, so it was a little more explorative.

MG: After “Exorcism”, what do you have coming up next?
PF: Right now the movie is the big thing…August 27th.  I’m anchoring my first feature and I’m so happy that Lionsgate is behind it.  They’re so excited about it.  And having Eli Roth attached…he’s so enthusiastic it’s hard not to get excited.  I have a seventeen year old nephew and the test of whether Uncle Pat is successful is when he and his friends come back and say “that was cool.”

Click here to purchase “The Last Exorcism” DVD or Blu-Ray

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Filed Under: Film Interviews Tagged With: film, house, review, white

Interview with Louis Herthum

Louis Herthum plays the protective father in this summer’s horror film “The Last Exorcism”.  Louis is also currently co-starring in the television show “The Gates”.  Movie Mikes has the chance to talk with Louis about his role in “The Last Exorcism” and his experience during the filming.

Click here to purchase “The Last Exorcism” DVD or Blu-Ray

Mike Gencarelli: Tell me about your role in “The Last Exorcism”?
Louis Herthum: The character I play is a father whose lost his wife a couple of years before the film takes place.  He notices some very peculiar behavior coming from his daughter.  He contacts this reverend who, he understands, performs Exorcisms.  My character feels that is what is needed to deal with his daughter.  He’s a fundamentalist Christian.  He doesn’t believe that much in the outside world.  Ever since his wife died he’s been home schooling his daughter.  He’s very protective of her.  He doesn’t believe in modern medicine because eight doctors failed to save his wife.  I don’t want to give too much away but when the reverend comes out he tells him that she needs to have an Exorcism.  My character is pretty persistent in the treatment he thinks his daughter needs and it tends to go against what the reverend thinks.  He’s a pretty stern guy but it’s all about his daughter.  It’s all about his daughter and the saving of her soul.

Mike Gencarelli: When got the role how did you prepare? Did you look at other films that dealt with Exorcism?
Louis Herthum: Well, I had seen “The Exorcist” in high school.  And it really freaked me out because I was born and raised a Catholic.  You know, in schools they taught us about God and the Devil.  So seeing the Exorcism scene in “The Exorcist”…it freaked me out!  But it really got me interested in the subject.  I read the book after I saw the movie.  And I started reading about other Exorcisms.  And then one night I had a dream that I was possessed and it freaked me out so bad that I quit reading the books.  So I didn’t do a lot of research as far as watching other films but I did do a lot of research about the type of character I was playing.  Fundamentalist.  Christian.  Blinders.  Bible.  And I don’t want to make that sound derogatory.  Plus I had some friends who were very religious and I went and talked to them.  And I would jot down passages in the Bible that I thought were pertinent to the film. So the majority of my research was about the type of person I was playing.

Mike Gencarelli: Was there anything spooky or creepy happenings during the shoot?
Louis Herthum: The creepiest thing that happened to me was…the girl who plays my daughter was not on the set that day and I was in the back yard getting ready to shoot a scene that they would film through the house window.  All of the crew was inside on the lower floor.  The upstairs was empty and dark but I could see a faint light coming through a window.  The curtains were slightly sheer and open in the middle.  I had a walkie talkie so they could cue me when they were rolling and I looked up towards the window and I saw a figure in the window.  I’ve got goosebumps now just saying this.  And it looked like the girl who was playing my daughter.  She had on a bloody dress and it was moving eerily and dancing and I was like “what the f*** is this?” (laughs)  So I get on the walkie to our head production assistant who we called Darkness.  I’m like, “Darkness, go to two” So he goes upstairs and I ask him who is upstairs?  He asks me what I mean and I ask again “Who is upstairs?”  “Nobody.”  I tell him that SOMEBODY is upstairs in the window dancing in Nell’s dress and he says, “I don’t think so.”  So I tell him to get outside.  And when he comes out he tells me that he couldn’t tell me on the radio that they were getting ready to pull a prank on another actor who had a scene upstairs.  It was one of the costume girls in the dress.  The scene had the actor go upstairs and look out the window to see me outside.  So the girl pops out dressed like Nell and they scare the hell out of him!  That was the creepiest moment for me because I didn’t know they were doing it.  But other than that there wasn’t a lot of scary stuff happening.

MG: Did the movie actually scare you when you saw it at LA Film Festival?
LH: Yeah it did.  In all honesty it did.  When you’re making a film, as an actor you have such a completely different viewpoint.  You’re doing your takes but there’s no music.  No editing.  The other elements that come into play are not there.  I jumped several times because I had no idea what was coming.  And that’s a credit to Daniel (Stamm) and his editors.  And of course the people around me are jumping and screaming as well so that adds to your reaction.  There were certainly some surprises there.

MG: “The Last Exorcism” has received a PG-13 rating which usually sets off a red flag for horror fans.  How do you feel about this?
LH: I’ll be honest with you, I’m not a huge horror fan.  But being an actor who has done a few…in fact this will be the biggest one…it doesn’t concern me.  In fact, I was talking to Eli Roth about it and he felt it would be better for us because we’ll get a wider group of people that can see it.  Plus, we can advertise it on television before 11:00.  Plus we may pull in some fundamentalist Christians, who I think if they see the film they might actually like it the way they liked “The Exorcist.”  And for the same reasons.  I was reading some comments on the Internet and I found out that the people who were worried about it, after seeing the screening, found they had nothing to worry about at all.  To me, it’s such a smart movie…much different than your typical slasher horror movie.  I don’t think it’s going to be an issue at all.  In fact I read a comment from someone who had seen the film but didn’t know we had already gotten the PG 13 rating.  And they wrote “I hear they’re going after a PG 13 rating.  I doubt they’ll get it.”  And this was after seeing the film.

MG: Did you get a chance to work with Eli Roth during the shoot?
LH: I didn’t meet Eli during the shoot because he was busy shooting “Inglorious Basterds” so I didn’t meet him until post production.  I can’t say enough about that guy.  They type of genre’ he does…horror…extremely violent…this guy is extremely intelligent.  He’s the nicest guy in the world.  About as nice and personable as anyone you’ll meet.  I mean if you met him and didn’t know who he was you’d think, “wow, what a cool guy.”  He has a very clear vision about this genre’.  Not only the “Hostel” films and “Cabin Fever.”  He was very hands on in the making of this film and the final product.  I believe…I truly believe that he has created something different in this genre’.  He’s a really, really intelligent and smart guy.  I think he will continue to surprise us in the years to come.  Because it’s so clear that he’s very excited about this business.  It’s such a joy to see him get excited about this.

Click here to purchase “The Last Exorcism” DVD or Blu-Ray

MG: Tell about what you got planned for the future?
LH: Well, currently I’m a recurring character on a TV show called “The Gates.”  It’s exciting and fun.  It’s a thrill to be a part of the whole vampire world, though I play a werewolf.  Right now I’m back in L.A.  I’ve been working a lot.  I’ve got a film coming out called “Seconds Apart.”  It’s a part of the “After Dark” series.  Right now I’m taking meetings.  I’ve been offered a role in a film that I haven’t read yet where I’ll play a serial killer.  I’m not sure if I want to go there (laughs).  But life’s good.  I’m keeping busy.

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Filed Under: Film Interviews Tagged With: film, house, memopad, review, white
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