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Exclusive Interview: Eileen Dietz
By
Jonathan
Stryker
Like most of her contemporaries, Eileen Dietz began her path to
becoming an actress by attending acting schools and performing wherever she
could. She landed roles in some early
drive-in movie fare prior to being cast in William Friedkin's THE
EXORCIST. She followed this up with ROAD
MOVIE, guest spots on "Korg: 70,000 B.C.", "Planet of the Apes" and "Barnaby
Jones" and the made-for-TV movie HELTER SKELTER about the Manson murders. She also appeared in THE CLONUS HORROR, the
film that critics blamed Michael Bay on ripping off when he made THE ISLAND.
Dietz has also accumulated a good number of stage credits, including
LYSISTRATA, STEAMBATH, MADRE, THE BALCONY, and AFTER THE FALL.
House of Horrors spoke with her recently regarding her most famous
film, THE EXORCIST, as it approaches it's 35th anniversary.
Jonathan Stryker: What were your
first impressions of the cinema when you were growing up?
Eileen Dietz: I went to see a lot of foreign films when I
was a kid. My parents took me to see
Ingmar Bergman's WILD STRAWBERRIES, SUMMER WITH MONIKA, you name it. Just amazing.
And I always liked horror films.
I saw things like Roman Polanski's THE L-SHAPED ROOM and PSYCHO. There's also a Susan Strasberg movie that
nobody seems to know anything about and it's called THE SCREAM OF FEAR. And it totally affected my life. I have to go see if I can find it.
Jonathan Stryker: Oh, my
God…that's one of those movies that came out on VHS in the 80's and it's hard
to find now.
Eileen Dietz: Yeah, I haven't seen it in many years.
Jonathan Stryker: I remember
RCA/Columbia put that one out. I never
saw it, but I'm familiar with the title.
You should look it up on Half.com or Ebay. Sometimes they have DVD-R's of the films that
are not yet on DVD but were on VHS.
Eileen Dietz: It's one of those really weird ones that I always remember. And of course I watched a lot on TV. I saw all the Universal horror films like
FRANKENSTEIN and DRACULA. But for as
long as I can remember I always loved the horror films. (Mock
laughter) And I don't know why.
Jonathan Stryker: I became
interested in horror films in 1981 when I saw BURNT OFFERINGS on NBC and later
HALLOWEEN.
Eileen Dietz: HALLOWEEN is a very scary film. And it still holds up today, it's very
effective.
Jonathan Stryker: For me, it's the PSYCHO of its generation. Rob Zombie's version – I loved that one, too. Very different take on it, but I enjoyed it
immensely.
Eileen Dietz: I heard a dirty rumor that they are looking
to remake THE EXORCIST! I mean, come
on. That's sacred ground.
Jonathan Stryker: It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. I mean, they're remaking just about
everything now. PSYCHO has been done,
THE HAUNTING, THE OMEN…
Eileen Dietz: Have you seen the new version of THE
OMEN?
Jonathan Stryker: No. Have you?
Eileen Dietz: Yes.
It doesn't work. Number one, you
already know the whole story. Mia Farrow
was really good in it. She played Mrs. Baylock,
the character originated by Billie Whitelaw in the Richard Donner film. The original was so scary. But, the remake isn't scary at all, and the
little kid doesn't do much but grin!
Jonathan Stryker: How did you
come to be an actress?
Eileen Dietz: I know that this is a weird story. A traumatic event occurred in my life when I
was five, and I swear one day I woke up when I was eight years-old, and I just
didn't remember the past three years of my life.
Jonathan Stryker: Are you
serious?
Eileen Dietz: Yeah. When
I was eight, I decided that I wanted to become an actress. I was born in Manhattan,
and then my parents moved me out to Long Island. When I was a teenager, they took me to go
into New York City
to take classes at an acting school. And
then I bounced around to different schools and did summer stock, and I also
went to the same school that Adrienne Barbeau went to. I really set out to go and conquer New York, you know what
I mean? When I was young, I was very
androgynous, you know, very much a tomboy.
I had people tell me that I was funny-looking and wouldn't make it as an
actress. The popular actresses at the
time were very buxom and had big boobs and I was constantly told that I wasn't good
enough and wouldn't make it. That really
made me a lot stronger and the desire to show everyone that I could do it was
what drove me. In fact, my father was in
the photography business. He decided
that the way that he was going to get me to not
want to be an actress was by sending me off to the Eileen Ford modeling agency
in New York. When I went in there I was surrounded by beautiful
girls who were five-foot-nine, and thought, "What's that got to do with
me??" So, that just made me more
determined.
Jonathan Stryker: THE EXORCIST
is unquestionably your best-known film.
How did you get the role of the white-faced demon?
Eileen Dietz: I was doing a play by Joyce Carol Oates
called ONTOLOGICAL PROOF OF MY EXISTENCE, which means that there is no proof to
your existence. But it was a wonderful
little play about a runaway who comes to New
York looking for love, meets a pimp who locks her in
a basement, and falls in love with the pimp, even though he brings her people
to love. She basically does anything
that he wants her to. It's very Joyce
Carol Oates.
Jonathan Stryker: Yes, she wrote
one of my favorite short stories called "Where Have You Been, Where Are You
Going?" which was loosely based upon the killer Charles Schmid, aka the Pied
Piper of Tucson. It provided the basis for Joyce Chopra's
SMOOTH TALK with Laura Dern.
Eileen Dietz: So, an agent saw me in the play, signed me,
and sent me a casting notice saying that they were looking for somebody about
the same size as Linda Blair to play a principal part in this movie. There is a misconception out there that I was
hired to be her stunt double. I never
did extra work in my life, so I got the part of playing the demon in the
film. And then my sister wrote a book
called "Fifty Cents for Your Soul" which, in the first five chapters, she
describes how I got the part.
Jonathan Stryker: What was your
reaction to the hype surrounding the release of the film?
Eileen Dietz: (thinks
for a moment) Wow. That's a good
question.
Jonathan Stryker: Were you
shocked by the reactions that people had to the film? Surprised by them?
Eileen Dietz: Oh, I was very surprised by it. I mean, we had seen the movie, and it seemed
fine. But, all of the height, it was
really quite surprising. And I was young
then. I must admit that I was a little
put off that people were getting sick, having seizures, and having all these
really violent reactions to the film. There's
a great line in a new movie I did called SIN-JIN SMYTH. It stars Jonathan Davis (from Korn) as the
Devil, and he has a great line in it where he says, "You know, I'm really God's
helper. Because I keep all the bad
people away from heaven."
Jonathan Stryker: I had read
that people were getting sick during the scenes where Linda was having all of
the hospital tests done on her and so forth.
Did you find that to be what upset people the most?
Eileen Dietz: I actually found people to react so violently
to both the hospital scenes and the demonic scenes. I think the reason why any film succeeds as
well as any film does is the audience's ability to identify with the characters
in the film. In this case, a lot of
people probably identified with and felt a connection to Ellen Burstyn's
character because they themselves are parents and something terrible is
happening to her child. I think the
reason why the film succeeds so well is because Billy Friedkin really made the
audience believe that this is possible, that this is something that really
could happen. He made it in a very
realistic way. So many horror films
which are made today are so out there,
you know, they are so far out and over-the-top that you just can't take them
seriously. But, in this particular case,
the overall end result was a movie that really made the whole notion of being
possessed by the devil one that was completely plausible. I'm writing a book for the 35th anniversary
of the release of THE EXORCIST. I have
one chapter on how the novel (by William Peter Blatty) affected people. And, the youngest age that I've heard about
were five year-old kids who were really freaked out. They honestly thought that demons were under
their bed.
Jonathan Stryker: Have you
watched THE EXORCIST with an audience?
Eileen Dietz: Only at my house. On a 115" screen.
Jonathan Stryker: Oh, wow. How would you describe that experience?
Eileen Dietz:
(smiling devilishly) Fun!
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Eileen Dietz
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Exclusive Interview: John Morghen
By Jonathan Stryker
|
Source:
|
Mar 25, 2008, 10:16
am
|
Giovanni Lombardo Radice, better known to audiences as John Morghen, has been in contemporary theater and film for well over two decades. Best known for appearing in some of the most violent and disturbing horror films to come out of Italy, Radice has also acted in several non-genre films, playing everything from Andret to King Herod. The IMDB states that he has been labeled the "Nasiest Man in the World" thanks to the nature of the films he has made such as THE GATES OF HELL, CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE, CANNIBAL FEROX (a film he regrets making) and STAGEFRIGHT, but can he really be any worse than Extreme Associates' CEO Rob Zicari?
Radice has developed a following the world over with his genuinely entertaining performances and was gracious to discuss his career with House of Horrors.com. Radice is a quiet and unassuming individual, and speaks quietly and deliberately, which is a sharp contrast from the Quentin Tarantino machine-gun style of talking. From this point on Radice will be referred to by his alternate name of John Morghen.
Jonathan Stryker: Did you grow up in Italy?
John Morghen: Yes, yes I grew up in Italy. But, I am from a multilingual family. We used to speak several languages at home. As a matter of fact, I grew up speaking Italian, English, and French. As far as culture is concerned, I was raised more with English and French culture rather than Italian culture.
Jonathan Stryker: Did you learn these languages in school?
John Morghen: No, I learned them at home when I was a child.
Jonathan Stryker: That's impressive. I took French for five years in high school and college combined and I'm lucky if I can ask a woman what time it is without accidentally asking her to bed. When did you first come to the United States and what were your impressions of it?
John Morghen: My first time in the United States was when I came here to film Fulci's THE GATES OF HELL. Some of the film was filmed in Savannah, Georgia, in the South. And my impression of it was very good. I do like the southern part of the United States a lot. I have been back there filming and it is a part of the country than I really like very much. It is slow, and very laid-back, unlike New York. They do not rush things. I am quite a lazy person, I do not like to be rushed. And so my impression was very good. I was amazed by the fact that at that time when I was in Atlanta the mayor was a black man (Maynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr., the first African American mayor in Atlanta, GA). That really impressed me, so I really always had a good impression. Not as much of a good impression in other parts such as Arizona, there were certain attitudes there that I just didn't like. But generally speaking, my impressions were very good and I do like the United States very much. I really do believe in democracy, I believe in helping each other, and when I was shooting in Arizona there was a Native American man watching us film and a large police officer went over and started bothering him and telling him to leave. I really couldn't cope with that. My thinking was, "What the fuck are you doing?"
Jonathan Stryker: What films impressed you when you were young?
John Morghen: As a spectator you mean?
Jonathan Stryker: Yes.
John Morghen: Not horror movies, not at all. I was always fond of thrillers. I really liked Hitchcock, the old Hollywood classics, especially the old Hollywood films from CASABLANCA to Billy Wilder's comedies. I liked ALL ABOUT EVE with Bette Davis, GONE WITH THE WIND, both book and film. Those are the kinds of movies that I grew up watching.
Jonathan Stryker: You first appeared on film in Ruggero Deodato's THE HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK, one of countless Italian films to mix New York and Italy. It definitely has a 70's feel. The IMDB states that it was filmed in September 1979. Is this correct?
John Morghen: Yes, we filmed that in late 1979. Although the film didn't come out until sometime after that; movies take a long time during postproduction.
Jonathan Stryker: After this, you appeared in Antonio Margheriti's CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE, Lucio Fulci's THE GATES OF HELL, and Umberto Lenzi's CANNIBAL FEROX. Were these roles offered to you as a result of Deodato's film, or did you seek out these types of roles?
John Morghen: I did not seek these roles. It was a very small film crew. All the different directors knew each other, the crews knew each other, so when THE HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK was launched by Deodato, I think that word spread that there was a new actor available to use. Obviously, I was typecast as the frail and neurotic guy in the film. And that's why, unfortunately, when Lenzi contacted me for CANNIBAL FEROX he approached me not for the leading role but for the role of the weak and frail friend. I was so sick of playing that role by that point! But, I really needed the money so I couldn't say no. At first I said, "Okay, I'll do it, but only if I'm given the lead role." And in my mind that was a nice way of saying no. (laughs) And instead, he said yes, okay. But, from that point I switched to real villains, because before that my characters weren't really villains, they were victims.
Jonathan Stryker: My favorite film of yours is Michele Soavi's STAGEFRIGHT. Do you recall what months and what year this was filmed?
John Morghen: Oh, God in Heaven, it was surely early summer. It was very hot so I think it was around June of 1986. I had not been in the movies for a while, because I had been acting in the theater at the time. I ended up getting the role because I had met Michele Soavi as a fellow actor with Fulci on THE GATES OF HELL. He was in there as both an actor and as an assistant. We both became very close friends while working on that movie. And we're still friends to this day. So, I was always involved in whatever he was doing. We even wrote some stuff together. We were always trying to create new projects. And so from the very beginning it was almost as though I was going to be in it. I even rewrote some of the dialogue because the film took place in a setting that was connected to theater people, and he wanted the dialogue to emphasize the theater people and their attitudes, because I am a theater person and had that insight and experience.
Jonathan Stryker: Do you recall how long the shooting schedule was?
John Morghen: I think we shot it for about a month. There was a big problem with money, so we had shot for a while and then stopped for some time. Then, we resumed shooting. I developed a good friendship with Mary Sellers, and from that point we started a project of having an American theater group in Rome. So, we did stage a couple of American plays in Rome, and Mary was a great person to work with. Then there was Barbara Cupisti, whom I was friends with because she was Michele's girlfriend. I got along great with them. David Brandon is really a person who keeps to himself while on the set. That's just his method of working. Loredana Parrella, who played Corinne the dancer, wasn't an actress, she was a dancer they hired. Robert Gligorov, who played Danny, was a model.
Jonathan Stryker: Where was it filmed?
John Morghen: It was filmed in an old studio that was falling apart. I think that it was an old studio that belonged to producer Franco Cristaldi.
Jonathan Stryker: Oh, really? He produced HEARTS AND ARMOUR, one of my favorite sword and sorcery films. It was known as I PALADINI – STORIA D'ARMI E D'AMOURI.
John Morghen: Yes, he was a very important producer in Italy. His firm was Vides Cinematographica. He was the counterpart to Dino De Laurentiis. He was very powerful at the time. He was building many studios for a while, but then he had a point where he ran into financial difficulties. So, where we shot was an actual studio, but it was really falling apart. It was located very close to Rome.
Jonathan Stryker: How was the experience of making this film? I loved the cast.
John Morghen: It was great. I could depend upon Michele, he's a terrific director. He had many ideas. He knew how to deal with actors. He had a very great strength and great capability of putting people together. It's very important for a director to get crews and casts together and galvanize people to make a film. On the other hand, the production was very, very poor. So, in that regard, it was very, very tiresome. For example, we didn't have our dressing rooms, you know, somebody bringing you to and from the set, so that was a bit tiring. But, apart from that it was a great experience.
Jonathan Stryker: Why are so many of these films redubbed later on?
John Morghen: Well, the film was shot in English. I honestly don't recall if that's even my voice in it! (laughs) Many of these movies were shot in English, and then were dubbed later on. My Italian is not perfect Italian, I do have a slight French accent. But very often my voice is dubbed.
Jonathan Stryker: Have you appeared in a film with your own, actual voice?
John Morghen: Well, in THE OMEN it was my voice. In Italy, beginning with Federico Fellini, they didn't believe in actor's voices. It's a way of thinking. Obviously, I do not agree, of course. It was done for artistic reasons. Most directors didn't want to spend time on a film set working with actors, so they preferred to re-dub the dialogue later on a dubbing booth. It's absurd! And all it does is create more work. But, for the most part, it's my real voice. The last Pupi Avati film that I did (THE HIDEOUT) it was my own voice.
Jonathan Stryker: You followed up STAGEFRIGHT by making THE CHURCH and THE SECT with Michele Soavi.
John Morghen: Most especially it was a wonderful friendship that we shared. THE CHURCH was an important movie for my life because my son was conceived when I was doing this film. The girl I was with who eventually became my wife and then my ex-wife, she came to visit me in Budapest while we were shooting this film. And my son was conceived during the making of this film.
Jonathan Stryker: Is your son an actor?
John Morghen: No, my son is still in school, he doesn't even think about becoming an actor. He's 18. So, THE CHURCH was an important film for me. I spent a lot of time in Budapest on this film. THE SECT less so because I only had a small scene in the beginning. And, to be honest, I have not seen the entire film. And so the only part of the movie that I really saw was my own scene.
Jonathan Stryker: You appeared briefly in GANGS OF NEW YORK. Were you directed by Martin Scorsese or by a second unit director?
John Morghen: It is preposterous to say that I acted in this film! Because it was such a huge production, you have no idea! It was such a huge production, I've never seen anything like this. The amount of money that they spent on this film! There was a scene in the film where some people are performing in a version of "Uncle Tom's Cabin”"and Scorsese wanted real actors to do this. So they hired me and other people. My agent didn't want me to do it, but I needed the money so I did. But it was a very big production.
Jonathan Stryker: What are you working on now?
John Morghen: Right now I just completed work on A DAY OF VIOLENCE by Darren Ward, which should be out by the summertime. I'm also in THE BEAUTIFUL OUTSIDERS by Andrew Jones.
Jonathan Stryker: Thank you for your time, John.
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Exclusive Interview: Tiffany Shepis
By Janet
Source:
|
Mar 15, 2008, 9:25
pm
|
Anyone who is a true fan of the horror genre knows the name Tiffany Shepis. Tiffany is redefining the term 'Scream Queen’; Boyfriend just got his head lobbed off? NO problem, just hand that girl a shotgun and watch her save the day in her bra and panties. Tiffany stars in NIGHTMARE MAN, a thriller that will be available in the AFTER DARK HORRORFEST 8 FILMS TO DIE FOR DVD Box Set that is coming out March 18th.
Tiffany and I had a little girl talk recently where we discussed her start in the business, her honest advice to future scream queens and her directorial debut
Fan Girl Next Door: Hello Tiffany, How are you?
Tiffany Shepis: I'm great, How are you doing?
FG: Good! Thanks for taking the time out to talk to me today.
TS: OH, Thank you.
FG: The HORRORFEST DVD Box Set is coming out March 18th, you are in NIGHTMARE MAN. Can you tell us a little bit about it?
TS: NIGHTMARE MAN, Its a crazy, whirlwind of horror. Lots of supernatural stuff, you've got crazy ladies trying to find their pills, you've got a house full of people who aren't sure if someone is crazy or insane, It's one of those weird, whodunit kind of films. A house full of crazy kids on a big party weekend. You've got nudity, you've got gore, and you’ve got 8 films to die for! What more could you ask for?
FG: Well you can't, you can't ask for more than that.
TS: I was running around in my bra and panties with a crossbow and a shotgun. You know, it is very woman empowering.
FG: That always works.
TS: Yeah that always helps.
FG: The director of NIGHTMARE MAN is Rolfe Kanefsky. You have worked with him before. What is it like to work with him?
TS: Oh, Rolfe is great. I have been a friend of his now for 10 years. It definitely becomes a family unit when we work together so that always helps. A lot of the time you go on the set and you don't know anybody and its uncomfortable, it is always more comfortable with your friends. Rolfe is great because he knows my acting style and he writes for it. He definitely did for NIGHTMARE MAN, it was a part that was written for me. It was definitely easier to play this chick! He looks specifically for your strong points. Yeah, it is a good time. We have almost never had a problem with each other on set, which when your working with people hand in hand basically 24 hours a day, everyday, for weeks, there is almost always going to be an issue but Rolfe and I have never come across that. It is definitely a good working environment.
FG: Did anything fun or crazy happen on the set that you could share with us?
TS: Um, fun or crazy..If you watch the DVD, watch the behind the scenes, I do kind of a 17 minute "Tiffany Cam", recording the craziness that goes on, on set. Stupid things, like at 5 in the morning I decided a fun way of waking up my co-star would be by throwing ham on his face! But besides that we are shooting all night and it was freezing cold in big bear, in the winter and in tiny little outfits, so every night was an adventure. The finale is a big demon rape scene complete with fan machines and dirt and everybody is going crazy because we are trying to fight the sun. I'm like, 'I know that you are pissed off here but I'm lying half-naked here on the ground!'
FG: I hate it when that happens!
TS: (Laughs) Exactly! 'Hey, I'm trying to get raped by a demon here!’
FG: (Laughs) What are your top 3 favorite movies that you have made?
TS: That have come out or ones that have not come out?
FG: Either.
TS: Ah that’s a good one. I would have to say THE HAZING because I co-starred in that with Brad Dourif...ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, awesome! I would have to throw NIGHTMARE MAN in there, I had a great time making that movie, Whether people love it or hate it. If you can embrace the low-budgetness of it and see what we did for a minimal budget in 12 days, I think that’s got to be in my top 3 and BONNIE AND CLYDE VS. DRACULA, the title ALONE should get people to see it.
FG: Yeah that is a great title.
TS: What is cool about that movie is that I play a full-on different character, this one is full-on Bonnie! Except we've got Dracula! Accents and bleach blonde hair, shotguns and great cars, it is a fun one. Look for that one next year.
FG: You’re obviously a fan boy favorite. Do you find yourself just as popular with the girl fans?
TS: Oh absolutely! The demographic has really changed in horror in the past few years. It used to be the 13 to 25 year old guys that would want to see the half-naked butt. Now, there are more and more girls coming over to the table and that is awesome! I think it is because horror movies have changed so much over the years, it used to be that a scream queen was a girl that ran, butt naked and got killed. I'm not saying that still doesn't happen today but there are more films now where the chick IS the hero, her stupid boyfriend dies in the first 5 minutes and its up to the chick to save the day and I think that is really cool. It is really cool for girls to see that you
don't have to depend on some asshole guy who got drunk and wanted to get laid. Now his head is chopped off, what are you going to do?
FG: (Laughs)
TS: (Laughs) So now there are definitely more fan chicks coming around and I think that is just awesome.
FG: Do you have any advice for someone wanting to become a scream queen?
TS: Don't do it! (Laughs)
FG: (Laughs)
TS: God, become a stripper instead, it is more steady income, Hooking is legal in Vegas. I don't recommend this business to anybody. HOWEVER, if that is what you are dead set on and all you can do with your life then go after it, you've got to just go after it with full force. Especially with B-horror movies and horror films in general. There aren't that many big agents on earth that are going to push for you to do that, you are going to have to do that for yourself. Make friends with everybody, go to the conventions, and know the product. Know what is coming out, read Fangoria, go on the websites. Go on House of Horrors and find out what is going on! You kind of have to do your own PR; nobody is going to do it for you. If you HAVE to be a scream queen, that would be my advice.
FG: (Laughs) Is there anything your working on now that you would like to talk about?
TS: Actually I am slated to work on another film with Rolfe Kanefsky called CALLER UNKNOWN, this summer. I'm working on MY directorial debut...
FG: You know I was going to ask you about directing!
TS: Its funny, I never thought about it until this year. I've done producing; I've produced stuff. I didn't think about the directing side because I don't think my attention span is that long. That's why I like making the movies I do because you’re on them for a month and then you’re on to the next. I work on so many of these movies and half the time I'm working with these kids that are just off the boat, right out of film school, they don't know what they are doing and in their defense they are new to it. So, I get involved and I'll go, 'If you do the shot this way it will look so much cooler'. I thought why don't I just do this myself. So, I came up with a story and I had Rolfe Kanefsky write it and it is called THE DEVIL'S PIE and right now we are in the financing stages of it. It’s about time I get other chicks naked!
FG: Definitely!
TS: I know so many people in the genre that are willing to help me out so I'm getting a lot of great cameos. It is packed full of genre stars, you know, I mean why not? Why not try it? If it fails I can just add another one to my list of shitty movies. Only now, it will be totally my fault.
FG: (Laughs) You made TROMEO AND JULIET when you were 17...
TS: ..I think I was 16.
FG: What was that experience like? At that point was it something you knew you wanted to do?
TS: It was weird because I think I had only made one movie before that, a student film for NYU, a horror film. I was such fan of the genre and I thought about it but just to even do horror movies it seemed like such a far away dream. I didn't really put much thought into it and I was sitting at school in NYC, there was an actors paper that someone was reading and I looked through it. There was an ad for TROMEO AND JULIET so I cut school and I went down and booked the job, a tiny little part. I did the movie and I was SO thrilled to be there, maybe because I wasn't very good in school and I thought, 'This is what I need to do, this is ALL I can do!' (Laughs)
FG: (Laughs)
TS: I had such a good time working on that movie, it was such a fun thing because I was SO young and I thought, 'This is awesome!' and 'This is what people do for a living? This is called WORK?' I was actually getting paid to be there. I loved it so much that I felt this was what I was going to do, fortunately the fans are so loyal to the genre. I did a convention after that film, I remember doing the Chiller Theater convention, they were like ‘Yeah, bring some pictures’, and I remember thinking 'Pictures?’ So I made little laser copies of these 5X7's and I thought, 'Who is going to buy these from me? Nobody knows who I am'. I sold them for a dollar each and I made a thousand bucks that day! I went home thinking 'This is the greatest job EVER!’ Really, the fans of the genre either make you or break you. Hopefully they like me enough so I can stay around and play the old, crazy Karen Black roles or if not and I get old and ugly, hopefully I'll be a good director and I can do that. I think I'm a little too old to go to the Bunny Ranch [A brothel in Nevada] now!
FG: (Laughs) Is there anything you would like to say to all the horror fans out there?
TS: Thanks for watching my movies, thanks for keeping my business alive. Hopefully people will watch and dig NIGHTMARE MAN. It was a crazy blessing that After Dark Horrorfest even picked it up. It was the little movie that could, at the time we distributed it the market was so flooded with horror films, everybody and their brother was making one in their basement. It was really unfortunate because we really liked this little movie. We were bringing something cool to the genre and nobody wanted to pick it up. Then, out of nowhere, After Dark Horrorfest came to the table and said they were going to put it out in 350 theaters. There is no way to get that type of exposure for these little films so, I am very jazzed about it and I hope it does really, really well for Lionsgate and...(Voice gets soft) does really well for everybody.
FG: Thank you so much for talking with me.
TS: Well, thank you and I hope you have a great weekend.
FG: Thank you, you too!
NIGHTMARE MAN will be released with the After Dark Horrorfest 8 Films to Die For DVD box set on March 18th
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Exclusive Interview: RIDER STRONG
By Janet
Source:
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Mar 14, 2008, 8:45
am
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Rider Strong is a talented and personable actor who has been in the business for over 15 years. He began his young career in the theater but soon started a long and successful TV ride with the hit 90's show BOY MEETS WORLD. He has since carved a nice place for himself in the horror genre with CABIN FEVER, TOOTH AND NAIL and BORDERLAND, the latter two are included in the AFTER DARK HORRORFEST 8 FILMS TO DIE FOR Box Set coming out on DVD March 18th.
Rider was kind enough to answer some of my questions and I must say he could not have been nicer. He talks about the horror genre, his future in the business and his porn star name...trust me, just go with it.
Rider Strong: Hi!
Fan Girl: Hi, thank you for taking time out of your schedule to talk to me today.
RS: Your welcome
FG: The HORRORFEST 8 FILMS TO DIE FOR DVD Box Set is coming out March 18th and you happen to be in two of the movies.
RS: Pretty crazy
FG: TOOTH AND NAIL and BORDERLAND respectively, could you tell us a little bit about both?
RS: Well, BORDERLAND is based on a true story about a couple of Americans that went down to Mexico, the Mexico borders. They just crossed over to have a good time and a cult that was practicing human sacrifices and that is the true story part that happened in the 80’s actually kidnapped one of them. We made a modern day version of that and explore the pretty awful things that arise out of that situation. Well, what happens at the weird spaces between countries where it gets complicated as to who is going to investigate these crimes.
TOOTH AND NAIL is a much more straightforward genre horror film. It is a post apocalyptic group of survivors who are stuck in a hospital in Philadelphia and they have an encounter with a tribe of cannibals.
FG: Is it just a happy coincidence you’re in two of the 8 movies?
RS: Yeah it was. HORRORFEST actually picks the movies after they are already made. BORDERLAND premiered at south by southwest and about 4 or 5 months later HORRORFEST picked it up. Then almost a week later TOOTH AND NAIL had a premiere screening in L.A. and that night it got picked up by HORRORFEST. It was like 'Oh my god this is ridiculous! I am the horror movie king!'
FG: Yes! (Laughs)
RS: (Laughs) You know I was looking at Bruce Campbell and I thought, 'Alright, that could be my career'.
FG: You know I saw the BORDERLAND trailer and it actually gave me chills, that doesn't happen to me very often.
RS: Yeah! You know it is an interesting movie because Zev Berman (Director of BORDERLAND) is such a great director, it sort of plays to some of the genre conventions, and in some ways it is easily comparable to HOSTEL and other movies that follow similar storylines. We were actually filming at the same time as HOSTEL, the two projects were being made, they knew of each other but they were completely separate. But the thing about BORDERLAND is it is really a different take, it is not exploitative in the way that some of the other torture porn movies are. It is realistic and much more horrifying because of that. There is plenty of gore and in reality the more gory scene happens in the first 5 minutes, the rest of the movie is just the tension of knowing that there is such awful violence going on, that there are all of these creepy room where they are worshiping these weird spirits, having these weird rituals, that are just sort of incomprehensible. I think it just makes for a really scary movie. It is a much different take than HOSTEL or the SAW movies, which are much more in your face.
FG: Is there a different vibe on a horror movie set than on the sets of other types of movies?
RS: Well, yes. There is a level of fun. I mean, horror and comedy sort of go in the same category, which is that you KNOW exactly what you want from your audience. So, everybody on the set is very clear, it's like 'Ok, we just want to scare the crap out of them as much as possible or gross them out as much as possible' or whichever way you’re going in the scene. Everybody is working to make that happen, how do we make this happen? You know it is the same way with comedy. Every time I have worked on a comedy it is so much fun because everybody is together. I think that your typical SUNDANCE family drama movie is much more complicated. It is more complicated what you’re trying to get from the audience. It is like 'do you want these people to be rooting for me or be against me?’ I think in horror and in comedy its like 'nope! We know exactly what we want'. On a horror set your just more relaxed and you can have a lot more fun with it. Plus all the fun make-up stuff, that is another cool part. Your watching all of these, on both of these movies, some of the best people in the industry and what they can do on a moment’s notice, it is pretty amazing.
FG: Sean Astin is also in BORDERLAND, please tell me you guys talked about LORD OF THE RINGS when you weren't filming.
RS: Ah! (Laughs)
FG: I'll take questions nerds ask celebrities for 400 Alex!
RS: (Laughs) Yeah, we talked for a little bit. A lot of my scenes in the movie were with Sean and we sort of bonded. Most of our conversations were about the industry because we were both child actors. We had a lot of the same experiences and we knew a lot of the same people. When your talking about child actors it is a pretty small community so even though he was 10 years older than I was once he was acting we still knew the same people and did some of the same things, So we bonded over that. Then LORD OF THE RINGS was so funny because you knew realize just how much work it was. Talking to him and realizing we are making this movie, we were so stressed out on BORDERLAND, this little 2 or 3 million dollar movie or whatever it was and we were working so hard and he was talking about how they had 8 units going on at one time. Basically that is 8 versions of OUR movie going on at once. They filmed these huge battle scenes and he dedicated a year and a half or two years of his life to making the movie. But what was also great is talking to someone who has had such a huge success like that who had those moments where it was tenuous, where he had to fight to get that job. That is always so cool to think that even though there was Oscar buzz around his performance and even now it feels like that character was just written for him, there was a time where he had to struggle and convince a great director to take him on. To give him a shot and to be able to pull it off like he did, so primarily our LORD OF THE RINGS conversations were about me sort of getting into the fact it is possible that these huge movies. That you think of, there are real people struggling behind them and they have to leave their wives for 2 years, so that was interesting.
In some ways it is daunting because, as an actor, you always want those jobs. I would love to be in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN but could you imagine studying a fighting scene for 2 weeks? I mean, I get sick of having to do more than 4 takes and they do 27. You know?
FG: Yeah
RS: Because they can and they have the money so they just keep doing it.
FG: You have found yourself a nice little place in the horror genre. Do you actually enjoy watching horror movies?
RS: Yeah, I love horror movies. That's why I got into it, I was never a huge horror nerd but I loved them as a kid, like most people. My parents wouldn't let me watch certain movies, so I went over to a friend's house and watched NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, and didn't sleep for a week. I mean that was it, which was all it took. It was the fact that a movie could make me feel that intensely about stuff. THE SHINING was the ultimate film for me. I saw that for the first time when I was 13 and I couldn't even finish watching it the first couple of times because it scared me so much.
Actually when I worked with Eli Roth on CABIN FEVER, I said 'Ok, just give me the list dude, give me a list of all the movies', because I knew that he had an encyclopedia of horror films and he was able to produce a list, I think he gave me 50 horror movies for me to watch. I couldn't make it through all of them, some of them I couldn't even find on DVD. But that was sort of my education into the deep genre, Eli's brain. There is this revival theater in L.A. called The New Beverly and they show old movies, double matinees, old double features and Eli took it over for a couple of weeks and showed some of his favorite movies.
FG: Oh cool!
RS: Yeah, it was hysterical. So I went and watched MOTHERS DAY, I had never seen it and Eli had talked about how it was one of his favorite movies and it was so funny to see it on the big screen with a full audience of horror fans. But to be honest I think, as an actor, it is time for me to take a little break from horror. You know for awhile there every job I was offered was for a teenager or to be in high school or college because of BOY MEETS WORLD. Then, because of CABIN FEVER it became 'Oh, you’re the go-to horror guy'. I read a script like BORDERLAND and my first instinct was 'no, no I can't do this!' but then I found out the people involved, I knew it was going to be a good movie and I had to do it. I keep getting sucked back in but I think now I am going to have to put my foot down and say 'light hearted fare for a little while'. I will always have a special place in my heart for horror, maybe when I return it will be as a director, I don't know about acting in a horror film.
FG: This is a little off topic but I have to ask you about this. You were once quoted as saying "If I ever become a porn star, I won't have to change my name".
RS: (Laughs)
FG: Please tell me you really said that, that is the greatest quote ever!
RS: Yes!
FG: Oh Yes! Ok, Good.
RS: It was one of those things I never realized until I was 15 and then someone finally said (does an impression of a dopey sounding person) "Ride HER STRONG?, Oh my god!"
FG: (Laughs)
RS: I was like, OK, now it makes sense. Then it really wasn't talked about that much until BOOGIE NIGHTS came out and the whole concept of giving yourself a porn name became normal, everyday dinner conversation, everybody would say it to me. Then when CABIN FEVER came out I was amazed at how many of the reviews made fun of my name. It was like, OK, I get it but what does that have to do with the movie? Roger Ebert was like 'Porno-named Rider Strong' and I was like OK, maybe you didn't love the movie but saying I am porno-named kind of implies I have done pornos and I am named because of that. I don't know but I have no problem recognizing I have a porno name. The hard part is that some people think I gave the name to myself..
FG: ...and that is even worse
RS: Yeah! Look, I had hippie parents. I can't help it.
FG: NO, It is a great name..
RS: Well, you know (pauses for a bit) thanks (Laughs)
FG: Well, your welcome
RS: The name has other connotations so I have had to overcome that a little bit. You know I have an IMDB page like every actor and there is a message board where people can post things about you and someone showed it to me. The MOST postings about me are about my name.
FG: Oh wow...
RS: (Doing the cute imitation of a dopey sounding person again) "His name is like a porno film, Oh my god, can you believe this?"
FG: Is everybody 15 years old? (Laughs)
RS: (Laughs)
FG: Well I wanted to ask you about that quote. Just me, asking the classy questions..
RS: (Laughs) Well you found a quote from me, which is nice. I brought it up first but when CABIN FEVER came out it was like a steamroller, it became this huge issue in major reviews. It was like OK, I know, I know, I'm aware
FG: How did you get started with acting?
RS: Well I did theater after school and stuff and that was really it. My first professional job was through an audition, a cattle call theater audition for LES MISERABLES in San Francisco and I got the part out of hundreds of kids who were lined up outside of the theater and that is when it was like, a REAL job. I had done plays and now they were paying me to do it, which is when my parents started thinking maybe we should take this seriously. My brother and I got into it at the same time and then he started doing commercials and stuff and agents in L.A. started calling saying 'come to L.A.and make a career out of it'. It took A LOT of convincing for my parents to commit to it, it is a lot of work on their parts but they didn't want to ruin our childhood. They didn't, mostly because we didn't pack up our lives and completely leave my hometown. My parents still live in the house I grew up in.
FG: That is really nice
RS: Yeah and a lot of my friends, who are still my best friends, were my friends before I started acting. During BOY MEETS WORLD I actually flew home every weekend so, that was really great to have my childhood. It was a good experience; it was definitely a quality upbringing. It was also very exciting because I was doing all these big things and meeting these really amazing top people, having a lot of fun on the set too.
FG: You appear really natural and real on screen, Did you have any formal training or was it all on the job?
RS: Oh thank you, I did. I had a couple of coaches in particular and in L.A. there is a pretty famous child acting school called The Young Actors Space. Everybody went there, like Leo DiCaprio and Tobey Maquire were there. They are like this sort of older generation. When I was there it was all working actors and it was a great place. So, I went to places like that but I never had a technique, never a method. I'm actually more interested in it now, I think because I did it as a kid and I started in the theater, I just always wanted it to be fun. It was always about just entertainment and getting a reaction out of an audience, BOY MEETS WORLD was filmed in front of a live audience. I don't know, when acting becomes all self-absorbed and all about getting into your character, I just get uninterested because it’s not fun anymore, it is just so much work. But actually, as I am getting older and in a refreshing way ,coming up against roles that are harder and more interesting and more complicated, I am looking into taking it more seriously with the training and stuff. So, I'll probably start working with some teachers or something, just to get exercised. That is really what acting class is, just exercise, like building those muscles. Being able to act on a moments notice, I think when your a kid being emotional is kind of easy. Not necessarily the acting part is easy but bringing emotions out, like I could laugh or cry or whatever at the drop of a hat all through my teens and now it is harder. Being natural in front of the camera might become more difficult as I enter into my late 20's and early 30's.
FG: Is there anyone you have wanted to work with but haven't yet?
RS: My god, so many people. You probably meant actors but I have more of a dream list of directors I would like to work with. I have been obsessed with PT Anderson (Paul Thomas Anderson, director of BOOGIE NIGHTS and THERE WILL BE BLOOD). Eli met him and apparently his is a big fan of CABIN FEVER so that's my IN (Laughs). I would be an EXTRA in one of his movies to be around that sort of environment because as I get more and more experience in this industry, the more I realize there is a group of good directors. There are A LOT of great actors out there , a lot of great out of work actors and actually finding a director that you can have a connection with and a creative collaboration with is wonderful. I think that is why the really great directors who are successful tend to work with the same actors over and over again because these stars just want to keep going back to that experience, they are really drawn to working with a good director because its hard. You can be a great manager of a set but not have that much going on creatively or you can be this creative genius and not know how to manage people or manage a set. So, finding someone who can do both of those things and forging a relationship where you can just have fun, that is a life-changing experience. I think in theater that is more common, you spend more rehearsal time together and you sort of develop that relationship, on a film set or TV set a lot of the time the director is so swamped. So, that's my dream list, directors and PT Anderson is at the top of that list.
FG: MAGNOLIA was like a religious experience when I saw it.
RS: Oh my god, I think I saw that 3 times in the theater, which I can't imagine doing now because that is 9 hours total.
FG: What are you working on next?
RS: Well, my brother and I wrote and directed our first short film, it’s a 20-minute short. This is kind of the next phase in my career and my brother's, to move behind the camera. So, that is my newest creative endeavor and I am really, really proud of it.
FG: Thank you so much for talking to me. You know a couple of my girlfriends got really excited when I told them I would be interviewing you. One even gave me a short list of questions I should ask you and I'm NOT going to ask you any of them. It reads like something out of Tiger beat, you know? "What kind of food does he like?" or "What does he look for in a girl?” I thought, Are you serious? Are you kidding me? There is no way I am going to ask him that!
RS: (Laughs Loudly) Well, its funny because those are the interviews I did and that is the way I thought interviews went. I was 13 when BOY MEETS WORLD started so when people start interviewing you it is exciting. Like Tiger Beat or Bop, they start coming to you, they take it VERY seriously, and they ask, "OK, what do you look for in a girl?” I thought these were just normal questions everyone asks. It’s a very odd thing and before you know it, it was like so much of my identity. It sort of got out of my control and you are plastered on everybody's bedroom wall, it is a very odd experience. It is funny now because I meet women my age or younger and it is always like "OOOOH, I used to be so in love with you!!” and I'm like, 'You USED to be, what about now?'
FG: (Laughs)
RS: So I am sort of permanently fixed in that age bracket and maybe they are reverted back to being 12 again and that is why her list of questions is like that. ( Snickers)
FG: I hope you don't mind if I put your face in little hearts around the article.
RS: (Laughs) When I was in college the paper, my school did an interview with me and that was the girl's whole thing, "I have been in love with you for 10 years, why haven't you called me?” Her whole article was hysterical; it was my face in little hearts, basically mocking me but in a fun way.
FG: Rider, thank you so much for taking the time out to talk with me.
RS: Well thank you!
The HORRORFEST 8 FILMS TO DIE FOR DVD BOX SET from AfterDark and Lionsgate films will be available March 18th.
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Exclusive Interview: Neil Marshall
By Jonathan Stryker
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Source:
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Mar 13, 2008, 10:5
pm
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Director Neil Marshall is no stranger to fans of horror. A genre fan himself, Neil has carved out an already impressive filmography in the form of the well-received DOG SOLDIERS, a film that is achieving cult status with the story of a group of British Army soldiers who encounter werewolves during a routing training mission. He followed this up with THE DESCENT, a brilliantly-made horror film about a group of friends who push themselves to the limit by descending into a cave and attempt to find their way out, only to discover that the caves are inhabited by man-like creatures who feed on humans.
His new film, DOOMSDAY, opens on March 14 and promises to be a pastiche of the post-apocalyptic films that so many of us grew up on such as MAD MAX, THE ROAD WARRIOR, and a touch of ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK to name a few.
Neil is currently in the United States with his actress/writer/special effects make-up wife Axelle Carolyn Marshall promoting DOOMSDAY. Neil graciously took some time out of his busy schedule to talk to House of Horrors.com about the film.
Jonathan Stryker: DOOMSDAY was filmed in the 2.35:1 format. What do you like about shooting this way?
Neil Marshall: My movies are made primarily for the cinema, and as such I want them to be the biggest, widest, most cinematic they can be. I'm not making television here. I love the 2.35:1 ratio. I love framing for that ratio. And when I go to the cinema I want those curtains to open as wide as possible or else I'm never fully satisfied.
Jonathan Stryker: Rhona Mitra has a striking presence in DOOMSDAY. She bears a bit of a resemblance to Kate Beckinsale in the UNDERWORLD films. Was she your first choice to play Eden?
Neil Marshall: Yes. I guess that's why they cast her in UNDERWORLD 3, although if they were to get into a fight, my money would be on Rhona to win!
Jonathan Stryker: What can we hope to see on the DVD release of DOOMSDAY when it comes out?
Neil Marshall: There's going to be a ton of extras, including out-takes, deleted scenes, stills, VFX breakdowns, featurettes, a commentary, and maybe even an extended director's cut. Not a bad package!
Jonathan Stryker: You share screen credit with Andrew MacRitchie in the position of film editor on DOOMSDAY. Do you prefer editing to directing, or vice versa, or do you enjoy both similarly?
Neil Marshall: That's a typical IMDB screw-up! Andrew is the only editor on this movie. I certainly chipped in. I can't help it. But this is Andrew's cut. I guess editing is in my blood now. It's part of the process that I really enjoy, but directing is my passion. That's where the movie stands or falls, and I prefer to be on the front-line, in the thick of the action.
Jonathan Stryker: What films inspired you to make DOOMSDAY?
Neil Marshall: The post apocalyptic classics – MAD MAX, THE ROAD WARRIOR, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, SPACEHUNTER-ADVENTURES IN THE FORBIDDEN ZONE, even the Duran Duran "Wild Boys" video! I wanted to make an all-action, stunt-fuelled movie in the same vein and gritty, non-CGI style as those great movies, using them as a spring board and reinventing the genre for a whole new generation.
Jonathan Stryker: Did you do storyboarding on DOOMSDAY? Why or why not?
Neil Marshall: I just storyboard the elaborate action scenes and VFX scenes, but it's mainly for the benefit of other crew - stunts, FX, etc. I never take the boards on set. I don't like to tie myself down to following the boards too closely. But they are a very useful tool for explaining to others what you have in mind.
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