Tag: win

You may not known M.C. Gainey by name but you definitely know his face. M.C. has been in all sorts of roles from TV’s “Lost” to “Con Air” to working with Broken Lizard’s films and voicing a Disney character in its latest feature “Tangled”. Movie Mikes had a chance to talk with M.C. about his roles in his outstanding career.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about your role in Disney’s newest animated feature “Tangled”?
M.C. Gainey: “Tangled” is the Rapunzel story. Disney re-branded it to attract little boys as well! They play up the young man part. I voice the Captain of the Guard and I’m constantly chasing this young man. He’s a scamp and I’m trying to reign him in. The thing I love best is how skinny they made my character look in the movie! I haven’t look that good in years. (laughs) It’s a really great feature. This is the first voice character I’ve ever done for an animated film and I’m really excited about it. I think a lot of kids are really going to love this picture. I caught a rough cut of it a couple of months ago and I enjoyed the hell out of it.

MG: This was your first voice acting job. How was it working with Disney?
MCG: Even though this was my first animated film I’ve done about a half dozen things with Disney, from “The Country Bears” to “The Mighty Ducks.” I’ve been on the Disney Channel and ABC…it was almost like filling in the last link of the chain. I’ve done everything at Disney except run the tour!

MG: How was it for you being a part of the “Lost” legacy?
MCG: I’m getting a better perspective on it now that it’s cooled off and gone to wherever they go when they leave television. It was the biggest television hit that I’ve ever been involved with. It was a special job because it was made in Hawaii. And it had a great cast. Just a really top notch cast. Great people…fun to be around. And it was a job where you really didn’t know what they were doing a lot of times. They kept a lot of secrets from you. In the second season I spent six episodes running through the jungle barefoot and in rags. And then in episode seven Kate finds my beard in a locker. And I’m like, “wait a minute…I have a locker? I have a fake beard?” You never really knew who you were or what you were about. It was a great experience doing that job and very satisfying to be in that big of a hit. The fans were unbelievably devoted. Fans of the “Dukes of Hazzard” and the different Broken Lizard things will come up to me and ask “aren’t you in” as a question? “Lost” fans don’t do that. They know! They study every frame of it. There is no question in their mind because they’re studying it very closely. They’re searching for clues in places where I didn’t know there were any clues. It was just a great experience. Another great experience last year was doing five or six episodes of “Justified” with Timothy Olyphant. A brilliant series based on a series of stories by Elmore Leonard. And the great thing about Elmore Leonard villains is that they talk a lot. His villains just talk and talk and talk and talk. The movie “Get Shorty” is a classic example. His characters never shut up. It was a very interesting exercise.

MG: You’ve worked with the comedy troupe Broken Lizard on three different films. How did you become involved with them?
MCG: I started with them on “Club Dread.” My wife and I wanted to take a vacation to Mexico and they were filming down there so it was a perfect fit! It was one of the greatest jobs ever…running around Mexico with those guys. It was an absolute blast. They are truly different kind of filmmakers, those guys. They’re an amazing bunch of guys who met up in college while trying to form an improv group. These five guys show up and they’re still best friends and still in business with each other 25 years later. In this business people rarely hang together, there are always forces pulling things apart, but not these guys

MG: You not only appear in the “Dukes of Hazzard” movie, you also had a role in an episode of the original series. Any connection?
MCG: It was an amazing connection. Because I had done an episode of the show I had great memories. It was the first hour long show I was on. But I was determined not to do an impression of what Jimmy Best did as Roscoe. He was the funniest guy and I wasn’t going to rip him off so I went completely in the other direction and played him as the meanest, fattest and ugliest cop in the world. I had an unbelievable time working with Burt Reynolds and Willie Nelson and Johnny Knoxville. If you can’t have a great time working with those guys you’re in the wrong business!

MG: We’ve interviewed Danny Trejo and he had great things to say about working on “Con Air.” Can you tell us about your experience?
MCG: It was an amazing experience. I had just finished doing a movie called “Breakdown.” It had a really small cast and there was nobody to hang out with. I was really happy when that movie was over. I flew straight in to do “Con Air” and when I get there I see all of my friends…all of the guys I’m usually competing with for jobs in movies as convicts, bikers and cowboys. All of a sudden we’re all working on the same movie! We had the feeling like we had really taken something over. You know a Jerry Bruckheimer (producer of the film) movie is going to be fun anyway. Jerry is a fun guy and he likes everybody to have fun and he takes care of everybody. He’s a great guy to work for. To have all of these people on one set was phenomenal. It was an amazing experience. For me it was a question of not doing too much in the movie. I wanted my character to fly the plane…be obsessed with flying the plane…I didn’t want him to shoot anybody or beat anybody up. I just wanted him to fly the plane and laugh and joke. I wanted him to be a “good time” guy. I was trying to pay tribute to Donald Sutherland in “Kelly’s Heroes.” Sutherland played a guy who drove a tank, wore a beard and laughed all of the time. So I wanted to go in that direction. Play someone who was having a good time and not giving anybody the “stink eye” too much. It was a big picture that continues to be seen on television almost every day! My wife says they may as well have a “Con Air” channel because the movie is literally on almost every day. And let me say that all of the guys on the movie are so proud of Danny Trejo! To come from where he came from and to make it to where he’s made it…only in America! Only in the movie business.

MG: Do you ever feel you’re being typecast into roles like tough guys, criminals etc?
MCG: Oh yeah. And thank God! There was about a ten year period when I really struggled with that. I wanted to do something different. But then I began to get an appreciation of just how lucky I am to be able to work in this industry so thank God I was typecast. And now I’m being typecast as a convict in his later years. I mean just because you’re an old man doesn’t mean you can’t murder people and rob shit!.

MG: What other projects are in the works for you?
MCG: I just finished work on a new HBO series called “Enlightened.” I don’t work as hard as I used to. I’ve got more things to be interested in than always being on a location somewhere. But I still love working with my friends!

Jerome Elston Scott has been acting in front of the camera since 1998 . With the release of “Anderson’s Cross”, Jerome takes on a whole new role besides actor, as producer, writer and director of the film. MovieMikes’ had a chance to talk with Jerome about this recent experience.

Adam Lawton: Can you tell us what it was like not only starring in the film, but also producing, writing and directing “Anderson’s Cross?”
Jerome Elston Scott: It was pretty hard, but once I got going with all of it, I was ok. I’m a classic overachiever, so there were definitely moments for me where I had to put my ego aside and depend on the people around me. I put together a really great crew and a good group of actors.  So we kind of looked out for each other and made sure the atmosphere was one in which a person could speak up and say “I didn’t get it”. The thing that made me want to make the film to begin with was the lack of roles. The acting was the part that I thought I had in the bag, but that ended up being the hardest thing because your mind is in so many places and normally acting is the easiest, so it was very interesting. Surprisingly, directing was the easiest. By knowing how to speak to actors, having been one myself, made that easy for me and knowing that a lot of actors just want to be directed. However I don’t know if I would want to do it all again. (laughs)

AL: How did you go about choosing the cast for the film?
JES: I had a few friends, such as Sam Levine and Busy Phillips from “Freaks and Geeks” and “Undeclared”.  Once we hired a casting director, Mark Sikes, we were able to complete the casting through a regular audition process. Although the casting process was long, we did something a little different by having the entire script available for the actors to read. I think that helped us get actors like Michael Warren and Joanna Cassidy. It was very different being on the other side of the table during these auditions being my first time doing so.

AL: Did you have a favorite part about the whole experience?
JES: Just directing the actors and helping them get to a place that I thought they could get to. I realized that I could really do this, and saw that the actors were receptive to me was the biggest thing for me. I really love directing.

AL: Your working on a prequel to “Anderson’s Cross” which is being developed for cable television, can you tell us about that?
JES: Yes. We have put together a kind of “Wonder Years” meets “Anderson’s Cross” type show with younger kids, and we are looking to start shooting hopefully early summer. “Anderson’s Cross” starts off with quite a situation with the friends, so the idea was developed as to how they got to that point. It was then decided to explore the characters more, but at a younger age prior to what’s in the movie.

AL: Do you have any other upcoming projects besides what you have mentioned already?
JES: I’m shooting another movie right now in Columbia called “Prep School” with Charlie McDermott.  I am also shooting a film titled “Hostage Diner” later on this month about people who get stuck in a diner after a bank hold up. I have another film called “The Perfect Night” about kids who get stuck in an elevator on the night of their prom. I also have a much larger movie in the works called “The Untitled Project” which is kind of an “Independence Day” type movie which is slated to start shooting late summer. So quite a few things have come as a result of the work for “Anderson’s Cross”.

AL: Is your production company Illumination Pictures involved in your upcoming projects?
JES: No, Illumination Pictures is one of the partners in the movie we are doing, and there is another company called Alpha Select Productions that are out of Canada. They are doing the bulk of the production on “Prep School.” Illumination Pictures is doing the prequel, and we will probably partner up with someone else for that as well. I am a part of Illumination Pictures so when I am writing for any projects, the name kind of comes with me and is attached to other projects that I am a part of.

Tiller Russell started his career as a documentary film maker. His documentary cover vast subjects from cockfighting to prison baseball and he has since went on to direct his first feature film “The Last Rites on Ransom Pride”. Movie Mikes had the opportunity to talk to Tiller to discuss his documentaries and his transition from documentary to feature film and what’s in store for the future.

Click here to purchase “The Last Rites on Ransom Pride”

Mike Gencarelli: You started your career with documentaries, about cockfighting, arm wrestling and baseball, can you tell us about some of subjects you’ve covered?
Tiller Russell: The way it started out, the first film I did was “Cockfight” about underground rooster fighting. I basically did that because I didn’t have any dough to do too much more than sort of borrow a video camera and try and find a fascinating subject that I never seen anyone do a film on before. I got tipped into the cockfighting world and once I got plugged in I knew visual, controversial, violent and full of fascinating characters. With documentary, one access breeds more access. One subject leads on to the next. When someone has vouched for me and they pulled me in and I found myself at some crazy underground cockfights in the states. I was with cartel members in Mexico, whatever the case might be. That film played at a bunch of festivals and aired on TBS. From there basically subjects in a way started coming to me. Sometimes it would be “Hey that is the cockfighting guy, maybe he would be interested in arm wrestling? Or maybe he would be interested in doing something in a prison?” Sometimes it would be from reading a subject in the newspaper or my wife would find something and turn us on to a new subject. It came from a bunch of different ways but one subject sort of lead on to the next in some way. It was a path that I only saw when I looked back in retrospect.

Mike Gencarelli: How did you find the transition from documentary to feature film for “The Last Rites on Ransom Pride”?
Tiller Russell: It is a fascinating transition really, at the end of the day it is all about story, right? It is a sort of visual story telling. All of the skills I learned as a documentary filmmaker where immediately relative and applicable to this. How do you find drama? How do you find tension? How do you find cast or create fascinating characters? At the same time the scale and spectacle about it is much bigger. When we were making the documentaries, it was basically a couple of guys, a couple of cameras and a sound guy. You were a small mobile crew. This was huge sets and construction. There were stunt coordinators and a massive army of people that are required to do a feature film. In a way you are surrounded by people that are all experts in what they do, in whatever capacity. What I did was surround myself with the smartest most talented people I could find and trust them guide me through the things I didn’t know how to do. I articulated to them a vision of what I wanted it to feel like, look like or be like. Luckily I had an amazing group of collaborators that were able to shepherd me through that process.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell me about “The Last Rites on Ransom Pride”, what is it about?
Tiller Russell: I like to say that “it is a tale of bad-bitches and despicable bastards who cuss and kill each other”. That is a one liner I ripped off from my writing partner. He said that and I busted out laughing and I said I think that is exactly what it is. It all turns when Juliette Flowers swears to bring the body of Ransom Pride home to Texas after he is gunned down in the streets of Mexico. In order to do so, she has to battle a murderous reverent, a wicked outlaw, two savage bounty hunters and a vicious Mexican brouhaha. She gets helps from an opium smoking Siamese-twin, a shotgun toting dwarf and Ransom’s crack shot younger brother. She ends up spilling blood on the border to honor hear oath to Ransom Pride.

MG: How was it working with such an amazing cast on the film?
TR: It was absolutely amazing. These guys had such range of talents. It was great having the chance to sort of work with icons, like Kris Kristofferson, and Dwight Yoakam and talented young actors like Jon Foster and Lizzy Caplan. It was just amazing. I was able to take Jason Priestly and put him in a weird ass role and a light you have never seen him before. Peter Dinklage was great. It was inspiring and fantastic. I hope to have the opportunity to work with any or all of them again.

MG: What was your biggest challenge while filming “The Last Rites on Ransom Pride”?
TR: Well I would say just the sheer scale and spectacle of it. All of people when they do their first film pick something small and on a small canvas to work on. Like the walkie-talkie in New York kind of vibe. This was a big sprawling gnarly comic book western and just going from page to screen it was an epic scale. It was a massive jump. But like I said I was very fortunate to have an amazing group of people from producers and co-writers to every department head and all the actors helped me bring it to life. I was just very lucky to have brilliant and luck people surrounding me and helping me through it.

MG: What do you have planned next? More documentaries? More features?
TR: I will definitely end up doing both. There is something about non-fiction storytelling that is in my blood and in my bones. I actually have a project that I have been shooting for close to ten years, which coming close to being finished. At the same time the joy and freedom and making a feature film is one of the most exhilarating things in the world. I’ve got a small comedy that we’re in development on. Like I said, I’ve got the ten year documentary. I have a sort-of supernatural thriller that I am working on too. We will see what catches traction and ends up taking the top priority spot. I definitely want to do both.

MG: Tiller, Tell us when we can see the film?
TR: If you’re in Scotland, you can catch it this week at the Edinburgh Film Festival. Here in the States, it will be released in the fall. We urge you to go to the website (http://lastritesfilm.com/) and let us know where you live, and we’ll ask our distributor to see if we can bring it to theaters in your town.

MG: Are you excited that the film is being show at Edinburgh?
TR: John Huston once said “the only film festival that’s worth a damn is Edinburgh.” And given that John Huston did pretty much everything a body could dream of — both on the silver screen and in life, I’d have to say unequivocally, “Hell yeah.” We are incredibly stoked it’s playing in Edinburgh. And we are grateful to be bringing it into the world and seeing it premiere at the festival in Edinburgh.

MG: Thanks again and good luck with the film Tiller! Look forward to seeing it!
TR: Thanks again Mike, I appreciate you taking the time and best of luck with the site.

Click here to purchase “The Last Rites on Ransom Pride”

Making her presence known in Philly, New York and Los Angeles, renowned actress and Hollywood “scream queen” Brooke Lewis has proven her multi-faceted abilities in the entertainment industry as an actress, writer and producer. Recently nominated for two Golden Cob Awards for her performance in the 2009 cult horror hit “Slime City Massacre” and won the award for Scream Queen of the Year. Brooke has become one of the premiere actresses in the horror genre. Movie Mikes had a chance to ask Brooke a few questions about her recent nominations and her upcoming films.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell me about how you felt when you were recently nominated for two Golden Cob Awards for your performance in the 2009 cult horror hit “Slime City Massacre”?
Brooke Lewis: OMG!!! I was (still am) freakin’ out! I honestly could not believe it…the nominations and honor came out of nowhere. I actually got scared, because I woke up that morning, turned on my blackberry and the “dings” sounded off like crazy. I thought something bad had happened. I checked my email and received a bunch of “Congratulations” and I didn’t know why. Then, I read an email from my super and unique director of “Slime City Massacre”, Greg Lamberson, explaining the good news in detail. I started to cry (I am tough on the outside, but mush on the inside. I felt like the luckiest gal ever, as this “little horror/sci-fi/action sequel that could” created this unbelievable career opportunity for me! I am forever grateful to Greg and the cast and crew of “Slime City Massacre”. I am nominated for both RISING B MOVIE ACTRESS 2009 and SCREAM QUEEN OF THE YEAR 2009 and whether I “win” or not, simply to have my hard work acknowledged, already feels like a huge win to me!

Mike Gencarelli: Tell Me about your web series “Ms. Vampy”, you produced, directed and starred? Is it true it is being developed for feature film?
Brooke Lewis: Well, I would love to introduce your readers to “Ms. Vampy”. “Ms. Vampy is America’s funniest, sexiest, sassiest and most high maintenance vampire! Her personality is as big as her hair and is often described as Betty Boop meets Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny. She loves leather and fur and wouldn’t be caught “dead” without high heels! But, there’s much more to this lovable vampiress. While she looks young and vibrant, “Ms. Vampy” is one of the oldest gals on earth. At 111-years-old, she was born in 1899 in Transylvania. She was a shy and innocent child, but after a few too many shots of Lauder’s Scotch Whiskey on her 18th birthday, she jumped on the bike of a tattooed mate and sealed her fate! Moments after being bitten, she grew wildly thick hair, fangs, plump lips, bodacious tatas, and an insatiable sex drive. As she puts it, “I went from being a brainy bookworm to a blood-loving, vampire sexpot in just minutes.” In the 1920s, Ms. Vampy’s travels took her to New York and she fell in love with Brooklyn. It was there where she developed her attitude, sarcastic sense of humor, and ridiculous accent. She spent most of her time in the big apple filming movies and seeing Broadway shows, but she has a secret many don’t know: Ms. Vampy went crazy for Philadelphia Eagles football and soon became an assistant coach, but was fired after one month for not showing up to any day games. She moved back to New York for a short time, but a torrid love affair with a very jealous and young Wall Street vampire went bad, so she headed west to seek out new friends and victims.These days, Ms. Vampy lives in her Hollywood Villa and is often seen on night shoots, shopping in Beverly Hills for Dior or hanging out at Lakers’ games with her horror friends. She loves 80s rock and disco, her favorite band is Vampire Weekend and she never misses American Idol or Millionaire Matchmaker on TV. Her secret dream is to join the cast of HBO’s True Blood (of course, she thinks it’s a “reality” show)! She enjoys Godiva Chocolates and Bloody Marys and she loves to play Xbox when she’s feeling feisty. While she has yet to marry or have children, she freely admits to being boy crazy and hopes to someday make-out with Robert Pattinson. Ms. Vampy is forever sexy, funny, young, and obnoxious, but her heart is as big as her mouth. If she ever bites you, it’ll be with love.” – Editor, Vampity Fair

The web series was a fun way to introduce the world to one of my favorite characters and I still cannot believe how well she was received! I pinch myself all the time! It was such a wonderful little project, in which I created, produced, co-directed and starred under the expertise of my Executive Producer, Todd Tucker of Illusion Industries. Yes, I am proud to announce that we are in the development stage of creating a feature film for “Ms. Vampy”. I am blessed to have a co-production deal with Illusion Industries, in which I will star and produce, Todd Tucker will direct, Jim Pacitti will star and produce and Tamar Halpern has written based on my original story. The feature is a Halloween Family Comedy titled “Vamp It Out” and will be in the vain of “The Nanny” meets Elvira meets “The House Bunny”. I am following my heart and soul with this piece and my goal is to inspire teenage girls and women to embrace their inner beauty, follow their dreams and when faced with fear, dig deep inside, find their inner vamp and “Vamp It Out”!!!

Mike Gencarelli: We recently just interviewed Felissa Rose, tell us about the movie and your role in “Dahmer vs. Gacy”?
Brooke Lewis: I am a big Felissa Rose fan. Do you know she and I acted in “Tony n’ Tiny’s Wedding” Off-Broadway together in New York many moons ago? “Dahmer vs. Gacy” is another low budget horror/sci-fi/action/comedy Lil’ gem! It merges serial killers and government science experiences in a campy, but smart kind of way. If you can understand the subtext of the script, you will see how clever it actually is. I play the role of Tammy Hart who is a Southern Televangelist based on Tammy Faye Baker. How our brilliant actor/director, Ford Austin, channeled that through me, I will never know. Acting in that scene with Ford directing me is one of those “moments” that actors cherish throughout their careers. The film has recently hit the festival circuit and is winning Audience Choice Awards!

MG: You starred in “Tony n’ Tiny’s Wedding” Off-Broadway, did you enjoy that experience?
BL: Wow! Performing in “Tony n’ Tiny’s Wedding” Off-Broadway was the greatest “acting class” I could ever have taken! Acting in a live show that incorporates a lot of improv teaches you things about the craft, people and yourself that you can never learn in a class and you can take with you forever! You have to be on your toes and on top of your game in every moment. It was like playing with your big, dysfunctional family every night! Sometimes our personal moods/feelings were brought into the professional experience and it got crazy…where else can that happen and actually work? I did the show for almost 3 years, 7 shows a week under an Equity contract and was able to make a decent living acting right out of college. I will say that I made some of my best friends for life from that experience!

MG: Tell us about how/why you created Philly Chick Pictures?
BL: In 2002, I created Philly Chick Pictures to “produce entertainment with an attitude”. My movie career started as an actress in low budget independent films in NYC. I was always the actress with a ton of energy and a business brain, who would call in a favor to attach talent, crew, locations or think fast enough to do damage control on a set. After doing this work for other people’s companies or projects and not being credited or compensated properly, I finally realized that I had been “producing” all along! I learned that I have a creative soul and a business mind. I have never been the type to sit back and wait for things to happen, so I started Philly Chick Pictures to further my acting and producing career, make films with an edge and find and develop strong roles for women! Almost 8 years later, I am still learning and growing every day and with each project I choose. I have made a lot of mistakes in my career, but am very committed to learning from them and moving forward!

MG: What was the hardest production you have worked on so far?
BL: I plead the fifth!!! They are all “hard” in different ways. Big budgets, small budgets…it doesn’t matter! They all have their challenges. This is a business that attracts people who are emotional, erratic, hungry and who’s souls need to create…we are all bound to butt heads at some point. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it!

MG: What other projects do you have planned for the future?
BL: I feel really fortunate today, after working my butt off for many years, so I’d love to pimp out a few more! Along with the films mentioned above, I have a few others being released this year, including Marc Clebanoff’s dark comedy “Gerald”, Sal Polisi’s mobster drama directed by James Quattrochi called “Sinatra Club”, Fabian Carillo’s action flick “Double Tap” directed by Ryan Combs and a short film “Sprinkles”, directed by Roger A. Scheck, in which I play the lead Maura and is probably my most challenging and showcase performance to date! I am attached to play Laura in “Mondo Holocausto!” directed by Anthony Sant’Anselmo and as both an actress and producer will be working on an intense drama/thriller “Untold In West Texas” with my dear friends and business associates Parrish Randall and Roger Scheck. Again, please pinch me, so I know this is all real!!!

MG: It was a pleasure, thanks again and we wish you the best of luck
BL: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me and a special thanks to my supportive team: Bohemia Group Management, Bridge and Tunnel Communications Publicist and CoolWaters Productions Booking Agent! Love, Brooke Lewis