Frank Fox’s O Feet Away is a nifty little thriller in the tradition of When a Stranger Calls and the opening moments of Scream. Using the queer community’s obsession with hook-up apps as a focus point, Fox’s short film features moments of shadowy tension and fine performances from Max Cutler, as Chase, the piece’s (annoyed then fretful) final guy, and Matt Harrison as a mysterious stranger.
Fox, also, uses sound as a powerful method of communication here. As Chase’s phone rapidly beeps from a stranger’s increasingly invasive missives, viewers’ nerves are slowly frayed.
You can check out this 9 minute excursion in suspense at:
Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!
Are you having an Up All Night with Rhonda Shear flashback? Well, you should be! One of the famed and original queens of scream, the eternally divine Deborah Dutch (Sorority Girls and the Creature from Hell, Hard to Die, Vice Academy series), has been working on her dream project The Hollywood Warrioress (with a variety of behind-the-scenes contributors) for over the past year.
While the film, a combination of super heroine vengeance, horror and action, has shot most of its footage in (and around) LA, the East Coast and Midwest have, also, been used as locations. In fact, one very chilly March day in 2014, I gathered with Chicago director and terror entrepreneur Chad Hawks to shoot a newsroom sequence for the film.
Was I excited? Sure! But, in a special case of behind-the-scenes madness, I almost didn’t make it to the studio where we shot. Like most creative types, I have a primary job that serves as my (ahem!) financial oasis. So, while I was finishing up my shift for the day, Chad set up the space. Needless to say, after I left work, I was totally unable to find a cab to get me to the location. As I set about to call one, my phone, naturally, died due to the (suddenly excessive) Midwest wind chill. Frantic, I ran back to my place of employment, plugged the phone in and tried to summon a cab from there. I couldn’t get through to a single cab company! I got in contact with Chad and we, quickly, decided that I’d take a nearby bus to a certain street where he would pick me up. He urged me to keep my phone on, as well, just in case he decided to come fetch me in route. It turns out we only had the filming space for a certain amount of time.
I schlepped onto the bus with my backpack and (by now drooping) garment bag…where my phone promptly died again. Defeated, I turned it off, completely. Then, after, excitedly, getting off at the wrong stop and promptly hopping back onto the bus again, I flicked on my phone and discovered it had powered up again. At that very second, it rang. It was Chad. He was in his car, directly behind us. Flustered and unkempt, I hopped off that dusty yellow chariot at the next stop and got into Chad’s black sedan. After offering profuse apologies, we rushed onward.
At the spot, I discovered, once again, what a consummate professional and total trouper Chad is. Not only was the green screen we were going to film against ready to go, but he also had to help me make costume choices and style my recently cut hair into something I was (at least vaguely) happy with. He then allowed me to pound through the very florid, very fun dialogue a couple of times as a warm-up and then we set to filming. We worked through the material in a variety of tempos and Chad added a few, interesting visual flourishes. After checking to make sure the different takes all had sound, we then broke the set down and headed out for a much needed dinner celebration.
Now, would I have liked it much better, on the day itself, if everything had gone a bit more smoothly? Sure. But, as a writer type, I sure do love having a good story to tell and, with a year’s distance, I now can say I wouldn’t have had it any other way!
You can get a sneak peek at some of our efforts at:
Be sure to follow The Hollywood Warrioress, which recently had a highly successful preview showing in LA, at https://www.facebook.com/hollywoodwarrioress. More screening dates should be announced soon.
2015 is already shaping into a bloody fantastic year. I’ve totally found a way to cover up my balding spots…and Final Girls, director-writer Matt Storc’s femme based horror opus, is finally going to see the late of day! After a series of post-production set-backs, an official trailer has finally been released.
Final Girls will, also, receive its first screening at Panic Fest in Kansas City, Missouri over the weekend of January 30 – February 1st, 2015. There will be a Q and A with Storc and cast members after the screening, as well. Congrats, all!
Now, here’s a grand reveal for ya! I recently caught up with genre icon Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp, Slaughter Party, the Caesar and Otto series) and we chatted about her love for horror and her many upcoming projects.
There’s lots of loving, laughing and a little bit of singing on display here, so definitely check it out!
Tina-Desiree Berg is a delightful breath of fresh air. Honest, loyal and true, Berg came to prominence in the (highly delightful) Golden Age of Femme Fatales magazine, often being associated with such video screen beauties as Julie Strain, JJ North and many others of that era. Perhaps best known for her effervescent work in the cult classic Bikini Hotel, her credits include such exploitation wonders as Merchant of Evil (with William Smith), Run Like Hell (starring Robert Z’Dar) and Reptilicant (with famed martial artist Gary Daniel). Daytime television lovers may, also, recognize her from a two year stint, partying with the younger set at the Bikini Bar, on The Bold and the Beautiful. Still busy as ever, this glorious lady has, also, honed her skills as a devoted humanitarian. Despite her bevy of hectic activities, Berg recently took a moment to chat with Big Gay Horror Fan about the glorious days of the video boom and her exciting upcoming ventures, all while sharing her overall charming worldview.
BGHF: Hey, Tina! So, what first got you interested in performing… a tuba playing, tap dancing aunt…that English teacher with the flair for the dramatic? Tell all!
Tina: I guess I was born with it! When I was in first grade I got my first real taste though. My class was on the local news singing “I’m a little tea pot” during the closing credits. I kept trying to step out in front of the rest of the class. I sang the loudest because I thought that was best. After that it was all over. It was in my blood.
BGHF: I love that! Show business is such a treacherous (occasionally back-stabbing) business. What has been the most valuable lesson that you have learned throughout your journey down its (sometimes) crooked, yellow brick roads?
Tina: (laughing) Isn’t that the truth! I have certainly come across my fair share of treachery in this industry- its actually pretty amazing what some people are willing to do in the pursuit of fame. But if you are of the non-treacherous variety, like I am, you can certainly find some good souls out there as well. In addition to the back stabbing types- the arts also attracts a fair amount of humanitarians. So- I have found that the best thing to do is insulate yourself from the narcissists while surrounding yourself with like-minded artists who possess some empathy. Avoid the nut jobs- no matter how well connected- they will only sap your strength. Instead- build a network of people whom with support is reciprocated.
BGHF: Perfect! You came into prominence during the tail-end of the high powered video age. This period of Femme Fatales glory was recently documented in Jason Paul Collum’s fine documentary Screaming in High Heels. Do you have a favorite remembrance (or overall feeling) from that period of time?
Tina in “Bikini Hotel”
Tina: Such a great time period in my life with so many amazing memories and experiences! One of the highlights was definitely sitting down with Roger Corman in his office for an interview. Another was being the centerfold in the Pam Anderson issue of Femme Fatales. Then there was interviewing the MST3K guys at NAPTE- who were really quite funny and had me in stitches. And since this was the high-powered video age- the VSDA convention never disappointed. The year I was there promoting Bikini Hotel was particularly crazy. I will never forget looking down the long line of guys waiting to get the one sheet autographed and seeing a woman. It was very curious. When she got to the front of the table she presented me with her business card. She worked for Pay Per View and she wanted to know if we were making Bikini Hotel 2. I said that I was unaware- then inquired as to why she was asking. She replied that it was her highest grossing film the previous quarter. I was stunned. STUNNED! Really? Bikini Hotel?? Who knew?!
BGHF: Bikini Hotel is just one of the cult classics that dot your resume, but it seems to be a fan favorite. Do you have any fun, specific memories about working on that set?
Tina: Ha! Several! We had a lot of fun shooting that film. Julie Strain and JJ North were great. Stella Stevens was excellent to work with. She was someone I looked up to as an actress. The guys were all quite funny. So, the long hours on the set seemed shorter because it was a solid group of fun individuals. Having said that – this film was made long before the digital age. So it was shot entirely on short ends. Meaning, you had only one take to get it right! So, not only did it have to be timed perfectly to fit the length of the short end- it also had to be your best performance. You didn’t have the luxury of multiple takes back then. You were shooting film and it was simply too expensive. At the same time, I think that is also what has given us some of the best comedic moments in a lot of these low budget cult classics. Anyway, on Bikini Hotel we ended up improvising a lot of the filler shots in the miniature gulf sequences. JJ had just done Attack of the 60 Ft Centerfold– so we did a parody of that with a section of the golf course that was houses. They used force perspective to make it look like she was trampling them. And then there was the infamous cat fight, which was not in the original script, but was really funny. JJ and I had some fun with the utter ridiculousness of it. It remains one of my favorite bits. Another fun fact: The montage sequences of the women in the Hotel Lingerie hotel rooms were all me wearing different wigs and costumes.
BGHF: Fun! You bring a nice natural quality to such fun yet outlandish projects like Magma: Earth’s Molten Core and Reptilicant. Do you find it difficult have to react to special effects that (seemingly) aren’t in place yet – or is that just part of the joy of it for you?
Tina: Interestingly enough- no! I don’t find the internal emotional work to be that much different. You just have to keep focused on the internal. It’s about transferring the emotions from a real life experience into whatever it is you are doing in the film. Of course that can get tough on a low budget film when you are shooting 15 hour days. I can always see the difference in the scenes shot late into the night.
Tina in “Reptilicant”
There was one scene in Reptilicant like this. It had to have been 2 in the morning and it was the last shot for that day. I had a line that was supposed to be “armor piercing bullets” but I kept saying “body piercing bullets”. I was so tired that I didn’t even realize I was saying that until the other actor, on the 5th take, responded “Danny, I believe that all bullets are body piercing”. (Laughing) It was quite funny. Gary Daniels is an amazing martial artist and it was great to do a film with him.
Magma was unique for me because it was a family film. I played a mother who was a scientist. In fact, it is the one film I have done in which I am more “homely” looking and never wearing a sexy outfit. So I appreciated the opportunity of that. The green screen sequences in this film mainly involved the volcano erupting. We had several young teens in the cast so I really enjoyed mentoring them on the set.
Tina and Gary Daniels
BGHF: Speaking of mentoring, let’s slip into our Deborah Kerr shoes and play a bit of “Getting to Know You”! Is there an activity that you love to do that may surprise or delight your fans. (Like, say, gardening in green shorts to Pavarotti videos or the like!)
Tina: I love slipping into my Deborah Kerr shoes! Dance was one of my first loves, actually. My BA is in drama and dance. As an aside- I actually do love gardening- although I prefer Prince to Pavarotti while doing it. My big hobby the last few years has been restoring my 1920’s Spanish Casita. I have refinished all the plaster, floors and frescoes. In particular I have really gotten into working on the mosaic tile. It appeals to the artist in me. I think I’ve covered almost all of outside surfaces with mosaics!
BGHF: That sounds simply beautiful. Now, we connected on Twitter over your passion for Gay Rights issues. Have you always been a humanitarian or was there an incident that stands out in your mind as a turning point for you?
On the set of “Deer Crossing”
Tina: My second love has always been humanitarian issues. I have done a lot of volunteer work, served on non-profit boards and have also worked as an unpaid public policy director. I have never been afraid to speak my mind on these issues and I was born with a particular passion for justness. I think that the turning point for me was witnessing a gay high school friend being bullied. It just didn’t feel right to me or make any sense. My parents were quite open-minded- I even had lesbian babysitters when I was young- so I had not been exposed to any set of prejudicial notions. I had never been in an environment where it was OK to dislike someone simply because of their sexual orientation or skin color. So, I was puzzled by this unfounded hatred and it made me emboldened to join the fight for equality. All men are created equal should mean ALL men.
I am also pretty outspoken on racism. Hate it. In fact, I wrote my MA thesis paper on race eliminativsm. I have also done advocacy for Microbicides and worked on human trafficking legislation.
BGHF: Wonderful! Two fisted question time!!! Is there a past project that you feel hasn’t gotten enough attention or something that you are especially proud of that you would like to talk about? And – are there any future projects that you would like to push or words of wisdom (IE: Never film a scene in a swimsuit when it’s only 30 degrees out) that you would like to leave us with?
Tina: Yes- I am just starting a short film titled The Long and Short Of Ringo Speck that I’m pretty excited about. It should be out by the end of the year. It is a well-written dramatic piece.
I also started a genre movie streaming website 2 years ago and I have been working on expanding it: http://www.bcinema.tv ! We have a lot of the horror and SCI FI classics on there, coupled with some fun new stuff. One of the coolest collections we stream is Fangovision. These are the 3D film version of various genre classics. My partner -Jason Liquori of Hocus Focus Prods- has developed a great analogue 3D treatment. I invite everyone to check them out as the site is free.
I will leave you with my words of wisdom: If you embrace the skeletons in your closet, they are no longer skeletons. They are only skeletons if you let others embrace them for you. I say this because everyone in a creative industry will at some point in time be associated with a project that ends up being not so good. I have done some good films- and I have done a lot of bad ones. But I regret none. I see some of my fellow thespians cower from films they are in that turn out to be not so good and I never quite understood this. You can’t erase your image or association. You can’t, especially now with the internet. It is what it is. Moreover, we- as humans- will all at some point make bad decisions. This is inevitable. It is also inevitable that many people are judgmental and will want to judge you. But, if you embrace these things instead of allowing others too, it will take the wind out of their sails, so to speak.
BGHF: Thanks, Tina!!! This has been better than riding in a helicopter with a shirtless hunk while the earth explodes below – any day of the week!!!
Tina: (laughing) You are SOOOO funny!!
BGHF: Only because I am trying match your awesomeness with humor, my friend! Only because of that!
As an actress and writer (and devotee of all things horror) the talented Kelsey Zukowski (What They Say, Psycho Street, Words Like Knives) has been forging her way through the terror field. Now she has a website worthy of all her efforts.
The awesome http://kelseyzukowski.com/ is chock full of photo galleries, examples of Zukowski’s keen journalistic skills and so much more! So, be sure to check out! It’s guaranteed to make you howl with (delighted) fright….and have you come, screaming, back for more!
Until the next time — SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!
Once you’ve made a bathroom buddy, you’ve got their back all the way!
Amazing rising scream queen Stephanie Leigh Rose, whom I have interviewed in rest rooms across the Midwest, is seeking votes as Best Scream Queen (for her lead role in the popular indie slasher Don’t Go to the Reunion)in the 2014 Horror Society Awards and I am here to push the cause for her.
You can vote for her, once a day, until January 25th, 2014 at the below link:
Sometimes I wonder how I would have turned out if I hadn’t been kidnapped as a toddler and eventually raised by a group of psychotic prostitute lesbian nuns. Why, I might even like romantic comedies, now, which truly would be a horror.
In tandem, egotistical, drug addled, former child star Barry begins to wonder if maybe his upbringing might have something to do with the unparalleled mess that qualifies as his current life in the fun, upcoming horror-comedy The Trouble with Barry. Forced to crash with an old boyfriend, Barry takes a supporting role in a fledgling web-series to stay in the public’s eye and, hopeful, revive his career. But someone keeps murdering Barry’s co-stars and when he isn’t too busy being considered a suspect, Barry may find that he is next on the heinous killer’s list.
Directed by Mike Justice and Stephan Kitaen, who also co-scripted with Sean Singletary, Barry is a ravenously fun look at the desperate, self centered personalities that populate Hollywood. Terror lovers should especially appreciate the trio’s take on Asia Argento and an appearance from scream queen legends Brinke Stevens, Linnea Quigley and Michelle Bauer is a welcome treat, as well. The trio looks fabulous and they deliver their enjoyable dialogue with aplomb! Further ghoulish points are gained by the presence of terror icon Lynn Lowry as Barry’s notoriously nasty mother. Lowry delivers with multi-leveled delight, bringing all her (award winning) stage skills to the fore. She is truly a force of nature, here, proving, once and for all, that she is one of the classic buried treasures of the entertainment industry, as whole.
As for Barry, himself, Peter Stickles (well known for his romps in such creep-tastic projects as Cemetery Gates, The Lair and Evil Bong 3D) provides an enthusiastic, acidically humorous insight into the world of such tragic teen figures as Leif Garrett and Corey Haim. Stickles is most impressive, though, when he lets a little sensitivity shine through as Barry, confusedly, begins to feel affection for the director of his web-series (nicely played by Eric Dean).
In fact, while this project is full of sharp one-liners and classic gags (including a brilliant sequence wherein a militant feminist presents ultra-gay Barry with a poem entitled “Pussy”) throughout its running time, it could have benefited from just a tiny bit more of the closing act identification provided by Stickles. The well drawn characters are such thoroughly harsh indictments of Los Angeles style solipsism that they are hard to connect with on a compassionate level.
Still, that is a small criticism for such a professionally accomplished and creative project (and one that, also, contains a brilliant kill scene, taking place in a gym’s lobby).
To find more about this truly inventive project, be sure to check out:
The last thing I would ever claim to be was authoritative. Bold – maybe. Pinkly optimist – perhaps! But the take charge type –never!!
Thankfully, for those who travel down the tracts of terror, lovely scream goddess Brinke Stevens (Slumber Party Massacre, Mother, Body Double and plenty of classic 90s Blockbuster style epics) has no such problem. She is, grandly and realistically, playing the President of the United States, President Medusa, in the fun and frisky web series Silicon Assassin.
H-m-m…Stevens for President. Now, that is something all parties could agree on!
Be sure to inaugurate yourself with this amazing project at:
Did I ever tell you about the time that my parents got their marriage annulled after 20 years and three kids? No? Well, forget I mentioned it because….
Gorgeous scream connoisseur Bianca Allaine Barnett has a much more creative way to deal with the death of a relationship in Michael Kyne’s short M is for Marriage.
M is for Marriage is in the ABC’s of Death 2 competition and since Bianca is one of the most committed and provocative doyenne’s of horror out there (with appearances in Albino Farm, Monster Mountain and The Fear Chamber), perhaps you should check it out!
Like a lipstick stained cigarette, this girl is smoking!!!
Big Gay Horror Fan 