Daniel Pintauro [Interview]

Trainwreck’d Society is no stranger to interviewing actors who grew up in the spotlight, and often on television shows that required said actor have whole other family to perform with for several years.  And today we have another fine actor who did just that!  Daniel Pintauro has basically moved on from the world of acting lately, but he definitely will never be forgotten in the world of television history.  Daniel “Danny” Pintauro will always be remember as little Jonathan Bower, the toe-head and lovable son of Judith Light’s character Angela Bower on the brilliant sitcom that spanned 8 wonderful years, Who’s The Boss?  

And much like a Christine Lakin or a Karyn Parsons, who we have spoken with in the past, Mr. Pintauro has managed to live a very respectful life after his years as a childhood star, beating the odds and stereotypes that the media beset upon young Hollywood.  Even more so though, Daniel is a true inspiration.  Most young people today may not realize it, but a certain part of his lifestyle used to be a metaphorical pill to swallow in the 80’s and 90’s.  You see, Mr. Pintauro is gay.  (Pause for gasp coming all the way back from 1999)  Yes, this day and age, the most common answer (or at least it SHOULD be) will probably be “Yeah, who gives a shit?”.  Which is a good thing.  And of course I am not saying that the unnecessary bigotry and hatred doesn’t still exist in this country, it’s simply stymied a bit in the last 15 years or so.  And the only reason I even mention these facts about Daniel is to point out that he was one of the first celebrities who decided to “out” himself, in the days before people started getting some damn sense at decided to stop being such assholes.

I could go on and on about why I think Mr. Pintauro is such a brave and brilliant man, but I think it would be better to let the man tell you himself.  So, we are so happy that Daniel has agreed to answer a few questions for you fine readers.  Enjoy!

After spending 8 years of your life with a television family on Who’s The Boss?, did you all manage to create a real bond similar to a real family?  Are you still in touch with any of them? 

I’m still in touch with Tony [Danza]. My fiance and I sent him an invitation to our wedding which he was excited to receive. During the filming, yes, we did take on the role of family… and not just the cast. The crew who worked on the show all those years also became a part of my extended family. The bond that is the closest is between the cast, partly because we’re actors creating a familial bond in character – that inevitably blends into our personal feelings as well. For a few years after the show ended we did continue our relationships. I would call it an extended family relationship. You don’t speak to them all the time, but you call on holidays and enjoy seeing them at family gatherings. Now, with nearly 30 years having passed, I know that if I were to see any of them, we would smile, hug and reminisce.

What is your earliest memory of acting that you can even remotely remember?  Is it memorable to you in some way? 

I think my earliest memory is very likely having filmed a commercial for a toy called Clip Clop, the Wonder Horse, or something similar. It was an amazing rocking horse toy that was able to whinny and make noises while you rode it. I remember filming because I was having so much fun riding the horse, I rode it too hard and bonked my nose on the plastic mane.

What do you believe to be the deciding factors that made you NOT go absolutely insane from being a child star? 

Believe me, I’ve had some insane moments. I’ve had lots of down moments… tons of confusion about life and direction confusion. I’ve had very low moments that most people don’t really know about. That’s what being a child celebrity does. I truly think the deciding factor though in my lack of total demise into drugs and who knows what else was my education. My parents were starting to see the effects on child stars when I started 7^th grade, so they went to the producers of “Who’s The Boss?,” and told them either to let me go to an actual school or that I wasn’t coming back to the show. Typically a TV kid has a set tutor and picks up schoolwork from a school they don’t actually attend. I did the opposite. I went to school every day, then to work in the afternoon, where I worked with the tutor on my homework. That led me directly to wanting to go to college, to Stanford. All of that forced me to not spend my days wondering when the next acting gig was going to come.

In an interview you did with Metro Magazine in 1999 you were asked What can we do to get Hollywood to finally say, “Look, it’s okay to be gay and it won’t harm your career?”.  Your answer was simple: Time.  Well given that said interview was 15 years ago, do you think it has gotten any better in Hollywood?

YES. Completely. I mean, not just in Hollywood but the whole country is going through a ‘gay renaissance,’ of sorts. Other people are finding out that we are not scary or crazy. Its become the thing to stand behind, if one has any modicum of intelligence and concern for equal rights. I think I came out before Ellen and Rosie. I was one of the first, not the most famous, of course, but one of the first. At that time, the idea of a state allowing same-sex marriage was laughable. How many states…now?

What would you consider to be the hardest part for you when you decided to come out, although I understand the National Inquirer didn’t give you much of an option?  Do you still feel any sort of struggle to simply be who you are, and love whoever you please?

Yeah, it was not my choice. But Judith Light told me that I should speak to the Enquirer reporter who called me because ‘They can say what they want but they cannot misquote you.’ Turned out they wrote an unbelievably kind story! The hardest part by far was after college when I decided to pursue acting again only to find that my having come out was going to hinder the success of that career exponentially. This was 10 years ago when actors like Neil Patrick Harris weren’t coming out all the time and still having careers playing straight characters. This was when the only role I could potentially get was the queer friend or neighbor. Neither of which had more than a few lines in anything. [laughs] That was devastating because no matter how good an actor or how much I wanted it, I had a long list of items stacked against me, ultimately ruining my interest in being an actor altogether.

You seem to have chosen to move out of the spotlight not long after Who’s The Boss? ended.  Was there anything particular that prompted your departure, and brought on your on again off again relationship with the world of acting?

Stanford, as I mentioned above. Moving to New York City to be a theater actor, for sure. And lots of personal time trying to figure out who I was, and believe it or not, all of those things stacked against me, prevented me from making a splash again as an actor, to the point where eventually, after many, many tries, I gave up on acting altogether.

What are your plans for the future?  Any chance of seeing you on the silver screen any time soon?

No. No screentime any time soon. My fiance and I would like to eventually open up a Bed & Breakfast somewhere in Northern California wine country. He would like us to do a reality show about the endeavor, but I think it would ruin the passion I have for the project. He says that I should try acting again, here and there, but knows I have no interest. I mean, if someone were to offer me something and my availability allowed for it, I would say SURE! But am I ever going to pursue a career as actor? No.

What was the last thing that made you smile?

An hourly employee jokingly told me that my work outfit, though cute, reminded her of the outfit she puts her 7-year-old in on Easter Sunday. I laughed.

Chris O’Connor [Interview]

As many of your fine readers may know, I have an extremely passionate for music from the latter part of the last millennium.  It was a strange time for growth in me as a young boy, and a strange time for popular music all around us.  There was, as there always has been, a wild array of shit being pushed down our throats throughout the entire decade of my beloved 1990’s.  But there was also an explosion of “alternative” music coming in your faces from all angles.  There is no doubt that the commercialization of the “grunge movement” had much to do with this.  But as a young man in 1996 (11 years old), all I heard were beautiful songs.  The term “One Hit Wonder” would soon follow some of these amazing acts that were creating beautiful songs on the airwaves and radio shows, and I simply never understood it.  But soon enough, the late 90’s came, I entered my early teen years, and everything was all shot to hell.  But, thankfully a little something called the Internet came around, and both shattered and relinquished my faith in music.

Through the advancements of the digital age, media, and way of life, I managed to continue to hear my favorite bands continue making beautiful songs.  And one of my favorite groups that has had a long history, possibly unbeknownst to those who fell into the traps of complacency and bullshit mockeries we call musicians, was Primitive Radio Gods.  Their Columbia Records released album Rocket was a huge hit during just the right time.  Their beloved hit single “Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand” skyrocketed the charts, MTV, and even appeared predominately in a Jim Carey movie.  But, legal disputes, label closures, etc., would see Primitive Radio Gods begin the fade away from the public eye.  But, their beauty in creation never ceases to thrive.  I continued to dig my way through whatever digital medium I could think of, with this becoming much easier in the last few years, to continue to hear their wonderful songs, even if the only physical album I have ever own from them is my busted ass copy of Rocket that is getting so worn that had it been on vinyl, the song “Motherfucker” would probably have been worn so low as to need replacement.

Needless to say, I do not buy into the One Hit Wonder and The Buzz, as so many artists from the 90’s have been deemed to be.  Great fucking music is just that – great fucking music.  And we are so fortunate to be able to ask a few questions from a man who has watched the world of music and the business it transpires from just about every angle possible.  We are so happy to be able to speak with Primitive Radio Gods frontman Chris O’Connor about an array of topics including a bit of history of PRG, what the future holds, and where the hell we all went wrong.  To summarize the below interviews for all the chumps and bystanders out there who will not read beyond this paragraph, I shall use a direct quote from O’Connor himself:  “Remember consumption is a disease, not a viable economic model.”

When did you first decide that you wanted to be involved in the world of music?

Late September, 1983. I was stationed in north chicago and decided that i would be a true musician until I died.

What is it that keeps you involved in the world of music?

World of music. Hmmm?  Mostly habit I suppose. I’ve been recording since I was 18, and there’s a tremendous satisfaction that comes with finishing a song and listening to the final mix for the first time.  A good gig can also prove intoxicating. Mostly it’s the hope that your greatest musical moment is yet to come.

While it is not my opinion whatsoever, or that of any person with good hearing, it does need to be asked….How does it feel to be deemed a one hit wonder by certain audiences and critics out there?

People who accept or disdain the praise or criticism of fools are fools themselves. You are what you eat.  I don’t eat a lot.  I prefer drinking.

Whether in your own songwriting or in others, what do you believe every song needs to be a “good song”, to use such a vague term?

Something that evokes an emotional response or feeling without cliché.  It’s really impossible to quantify because of the ultimate subjectivity of individual perception.  The vast majority of music that is manufactured by the New York/Los Angeles/Nashville complex is, for the average consumer, the only music of quality.  I, myself, consider most of it meaningless, predictable, and plastic.  There is no formula for quality, as one mans medicine is another man’s poison. For me personally, great music is immediate and directly absorbed, without the intellect understanding why. I have a low tolerance for “craft” and “formula”.

What is your process in songwriting, and are you more of a lyric man or a guitar man, or both?

Luke (lead guitar) and I tend to be self contained in the songwriting department. for myself, the music and lyric melody tends to come first more often than not, but there’s no set method. We play live as a three piece, so that can affect how many overdubs of instrumentation are done should we feel a song has live potential. on “Ripped In November” off the Still Electric album, the original guitar part I wrote the lyrics to was removed after Luke came up with his part, and gives the song an unusual dynamic that wouldn’t exist with the traditional rhythm chords left in.

I thoroughly enjoyed 2010’s Out Alive and have been yearning for more.  Tell us, do you have any plans for a release in the near future?

Near future no, distant future yes.  [We] just started tuning up the studio after a long hiatus…we’re shooting for early 2015.

What else does the future hold for you personally and the Primitive Radio Gods?

The great thing about the future is, unlike the past, all the important issues are predictable and certain.  For me personally, the future ensures I will grow older every day until I die.  Primitive Radio Gods will remain undiscovered until the year 2277, whereby a fluke in global music propagation unleashes a long forgotten tune from the 3rd record that becomes the first trillion dollar download.  Money changers and fashion freaks will reap all the profits, while the destitute offspring of band members beg for sandwich crumbs in the gutters of the urban corporate copyright empire. after this things get a little murky…

You have obviously seen a whole lot of changes in your 30 plus years as a musician.  In your expert opinion, what do you think of the state of music today?  What are some of your pro’s and cons or gripes and compliments?

Well, in a lot of ways it’s the worst and best of times.  Ff you like talent show singers and 10th generation copies of something you’ve heard before, the music business has never been better.  If you’re into independent music and have a shit-load of free time to scour the web, there’s always something genius to be found. I think in general, music has a lot less cultural and spiritual importance now.  It’s more of a background noise.  i\It blows my mind to see people spend most of their waking life attached to their “mobile devices”.  Very slavish and zombie-like.  You don’t see nearly as much support for live music at the local level now.  Too many things for people to watch on their screens.

When you are not performing and recording music, what would one find you doing in your spare time?

Well, besides working for the man, I was an apprentice winemaker to a Jesuit named Matthews.  I got into japanese sword mythology and have been chopping wood for the last 14 years.  A little gardening, a wife and kid…outside of that, I’ve had no spare time.

What were your Top 5 favorite albums of 2013?

finally, an easy question:

1. Eluvium – Copia TRR110

2. The Verve- A Northern Soul

3. Slowdive – Just For a Day

4. James Hall – Pleasure Club

5. Sway – This Was Tomorrow

What was the last thing that made you smile?

Tullamore Dew on sale. you expect that sort of thing from Bushmill’s or Jameson, but seeing “The Dew” at a bargain rate brings true joy.

Jonathan Lynn [Interview]

A good laugh can make you feel the best you ever could.  Comedy, especially in the world of film, can be such a delightful escape from the horribly dramatized visions of life and horror that we encounter each day, at times.  But of course, as one genius filmmaker might say (Spoiler Alert, it’s this guy we are speaking with today), “Comedy is merely an ironic view of tragedy”.  Which I find to be absolutely true.  And when a brilliant filmmaker is garnered with the task of visually stimulating the world with some wonderful laughs and a heartwarming look at the world around us, only wonderful things can come.

And Jonathan Lynn is not only an example, he is a master of his craft.  His films have been making us laugh for decades.  And they have proven to be the catalyst for some of our favorite comedic actors performing their finest roles in their careers.  Folks like Joe Pesci, Eddie Murphy, Jeff Daniels, Steve Martin, Matthew Perry, Bruce Willis, (just to name a few) have shown their brightest under the direction of this wonderful filmmaker, the illustrious Mr. Lynn.  But, there is so much more to this wonderful creator of comedy for him to be proud of.  And we wanted to talk to him about it!  Therefore we are eternally grateful that Jonathan agreed to share a few words with us here at Trainwreck’d Society.  So, like a couple of nuns on the run (all pun intended) here we go!

You work primarily in the world of comedy.  What initially drew you to the world of comedy?  What keeps you motivated to work in the comedy world?

I see the funny side of things. Comedy is merely an ironic view of tragedy. I work primarily in comedy because producers are unimaginative and I have become type-cast. No one ever offers me a drama. In the past I directed plays by Tennessee Williams and Eugene O’Neill, not to mention Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’, plays that would not be categorized as comedies.

I wish those days would return. Comedy is so much harder.  What keeps me motivated to work in the world of comedy is that I can get employment there.

Besides your directing and writing, you are also an accomplished actor. Tell us if you would, of all the crafts you have mastered, which do you prefer the most?  If you were only able to choose one to work in, what would it be?  

I like them all. They are all different aspects of the same craft: storytelling. If I had to choose one I think it would be writing because it is the only truly originally creative thing I do. Acting and directing are interpretative arts. This is not true if the director is the writer of the film or play, of course, and the writer/director combination would be my first choice.  Billy Wilder always thought of himself as a writer first, and he directed and produced in order to protect his scripts.

What is set life like when shooting comedies?  Is the atmosphere usually as fun as your films seem to come out to be?

No, not necessarily. Shooting comedy is a serious and precise business. The more time you have, the more the set can be relaxed, but nowadays indie films have to be shot on such tight schedules that I am totally focused on the work. I love it, though, when others having fun and I hope they do.

Were you at all surprised by the immense success that your 1992 blockbuster and still legendary film My Cousin Vinny became?

Yes. Totally.

When we delivered the film to Fox it scored sensationally well in its first test screening but it wasn’t until that moment that Fox realized it could be a real hit if they could only figure out how to sell it. They had no idea how to go about it. Apparently, they had given it no prior thought. Joe Pesci was well-known but not a star. Marisa Tomei was virtually unknown. It was hard to make a good trailer because the humor didn’t depend on gag lines but on the cumulative situation. Even the one-sheet was a problem. They tried to change the title but the film-makers fought them on that. There were months of discussion about everything: the one-sheet, the log-line, you name it, while the release was delayed. The head of marketing was replaced. Finally, they concluded that the only way to sell the film was to show the film, so about 900 free screenings were set up, all over the country. Audiences were persuaded to come see it  and the plan worked: the word of mouth was excellent and a buzz started, good enough to get us a reasonable opening weekend.

I have come to learn that you were worked with Brian Cox on the stage direction of Macbeth….and then did a special performance for Indira Ghandi, which sounds incredible.  How did this performance come about, and how was this experience for you? 

I was the Artistic Director of the Cambridge Theatre Company. It was a touring company that played all over the UK although it was based at the Arts Theatre in Cambridge. The production was invited to tour India by the British Council, which is funded by the Foreign Office to take British arts all over the world. It was a great honour.

When you are looking at projects to work on, what is the most important factor you are looking for before even considering the project?

Does it make me laugh or cry when I read it? Is there something truly original about the story or characters?  Is the story unpredictable?  Can I cast it well enough? Will anyone ever finance it?  The answers to these questions need to be Yes.

What do you find to be most difficult about directing films based on other people’s scripts?

That depends on the script and the writer.

Can you tell us a bit about your upcoming project you wrote, The Pre-Nup?

No. Not until it starts up.

When you look back on your career spanning over 6 decades, what are you most proud of?  And is there anything you have yet to accomplish that you hope to in the future?

I’m proud that some of my films remain really popular, many years after they were made. I’m proud that my series Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister changed the way that the British public view government, and that the character Sir Humphrey has entered the language as short-hand for senior civil servant.

There is a lot more that I hope to accomplish. I have several screenplays ready to make. I have a new play to stage. I have never directed an opera and I would love to do that. I have new two books, one fiction, one non-fiction, that I look forward to publishing. I am very busy.

And in those 6 decades, what are some of the most substaintle changes you have noticed in the art of filmmaking?  What remains the same?

There are just too many to list. There’s a book to be written about that.

What was the last thing that made you smile?

The Republican Party.

Bob Clendenin [Interview]

So, for avid readers, you will already know that Bob Clendenin will be the second brilliant character from the Hulu Original Series Quick Draw to appear here on Trainwreck’d Society.  We had the distinct pleasure of speaking with the lovely Alexia Dox, who portrays Pearl.  Well I will god damned if I’m not just a huge fan of this show, and desperately want to hear from more folks.  And what a wonderful addition Mr. Clendenin is.  I hate to pick favorites, but I will.  Bob’s portrayal of the kind hearted and sad faced mortician Vernon Shank is absolutely brilliant and without a doubt my favorite character on the show.

And along with being my favorite from the show, he was actually the only one on the show who I had known before the show debuted on Hulu last year.  I recognized, and you should as well, him from his regular showings on the sleeper comedy I enjoy so very much, Cougar Town, as well as constantly appearing in roles in television shows of several different varieties.  On a more personal level…..this cat was in Kazam!!  It wasn’t a large role mind you, but when I was 11 years old, there was nothing cooler than Shaq acting like a genie, and I watched that damn movie inside and out, wearing out my VHS tape beyond repair (right next to my copy of Jury Duty).  While I am sure Mr. Clendenin is more proud of just about every other bit of work he has done, this is a very memorable (I didn’t say “classic”) film for me.

So you can imagine how excited I am to have Bob Clendenin join the TWS family, and share a few words with us here.  We learn a bit more about Quick Draw, and just how amazing it is.  We learn about Cougar Town and more from one of the funniest men in the business today.  So enjoy!

So, you have a degree in Engineering of all things, but you decided to shift gears and move in to the world of acting.  What exactly sparked this change?

I felt, and Cornell certainly would have agreed, that the world would be a safer place if I were not building bridges. I have always been a bit of a clown and attention hog and it was around sophomore year when I was looking for a diversion from the Engineering curriculum that I auditioned for a campus production. Doing the play really energized me and I was drawn to all the extroverts and ‘artistic types’ in the theatre building. They were the antithesis of the engineers. Plus they threw great parties. I ended up finishing the engineering degree (someone needed to round out the bottom of the bell curve) but I decided to at least give this new passion a go and went into an MFA acting program immediately after.

Your involvement in the Hulu Original series Quick Draw is deifnitely a brilliant one.  What drew you in to the role as Vernon?

I’ve always been drawn to oddball characters and you can’t get much more oddball than the town’s undertaker. Because the show is improvised we have tremendous freedom to take our characters in all sorts of directions and I’ve had a wonderful time trying to flesh out this guy. And could there be a better name than “Vernon Shank”? It really says it all.

Is Quick Draw a very scripted show, or does it mirror the sort of style of improve we watched you do in 10 Items or Less?

John Lehr and Nancy Hower are the creative team behind both shows and I came to know and love them during 10 Items or Less. The shows are the same in that the narrative of each episode is written by them but there is no dialog. When we show up for a scene Nancy will give us the info we need to know and what needs to come out during the scene and then we’re let loose. Sometimes we take diversions that end up with real gold and sometimes we just get lost in the woods and she puts us back on track. We will repeat the scene several times and it will eventually take shape. Sometimes it can be frustrating and slightly frightening but it’s incredibly enjoyable. I also think that since 10 Items we’ve become much more efficient in the process. During that show we would be left with hours and hours of material that was very funny but completely unusable in telling a 22 minute story. With Quickdraw there is less wheel spinning.

What is the set life like on a show like Cougar Town?  Is there a lot of clowning around happening with such a hilarious cast of folks?

I adore that group. All incredibly funny people who genuinely like each other. Courteney is one of the most wonderful people I’ve had the pleasure of working with/for and all cast and crew just love going to work. We all need to work together to keep tight reins on Ian Gomez and if we don’t stroke Josh Hopkins ego regularly he gets really pouty. Other than that it’s a dream job. (Additional note from Bob – “I hope it’s clear here that I’m teasing my two dear friends. If not, feel free to delete”.  I hope you fine readers were smart enough to get that.)

Can you tell us a bit about Circle X Theatre Company?  How did it come to light, and what makes it special to you?

Circle X is essentially a child from a previous marriage. I was one of six founders who were all discouraged by some of the LA waiver theatre we were seeing and auditioning for. We wanted to get away from the showcase nature and back to the kinds of plays we were doing in grad school. Like most waiver theatres, we had no money but our productions were incredibly inventive. We did almost exclusively new plays from brilliant new play-writes and found extraordinary designers. Being part of that is still one of my proudest achievements. I still sit on their Board of Directors and try to participate in builds etc but I’m not nearly as involved as I would like.

An interesting side note is how we came by the name. If you visit the Ellis Island museum you will see they had a procedure for classifying potential immigrants. If someone had TB or some physical illness they would get an X on their lapel. If they were deemed deranged or unsuitable for society they got an X with a circle around it and generally sent back. We identified with this group.

What is the most embarassing moment you have experienced on set thus far in your career?

Don’t know if this counts, but I once had an audition for a sketch type show where the producers wanted actors to either come in with various characters or just tell an amusing story. I attempted the latter and told an anecdote about working on Star Trek: Voyager as an alien and how it related to a failed masturbation attempt in full Alien prosthetics. The story  completely flatlined. They were horrified. I could tell halfway through that I was in trouble but there was no turning back. Just a miserable time.

What else does the future hold for you?  Any projects in the work you can tell us about?

After Quick Draw I’ll just go back to the audition circuit and hope for the best. The thing I’m most excited about is coaching my son’s little league team which starts in a few weeks. Hope they don’t eat me alive.

What was the last thing that made you smile?

The macadamia nut cookie that disappeared about two sentences ago.

Alexia Dox [Interview]

I wouldn’t say I always knew I wanted to act, but I was definitely and notoriously a huge ham as a kid. If you watch our home videos, half of them are me forcing a parental figure to video tape me dancing to Backstreet Boys for way too long, or stuffing my sister in a Tupperware cabinet (done with some pretty strong comedic timing). But I think the moment I knew I wanted to act was after I signed up for the school musical, “Oliver!”, in 7th Grade. I say “after” because I definitely signed up just because all my friends were doing it. But I ended up really loving it. I had one line, but man, I was stoked. And I think in terms of deciding to do it as a career, that happened in college. I was going to UCSB for their Marine Biology program, since that seemed like the more practical, less risky career and passion to follow. But after getting cast in a couple shows my first year, I knew that the Cuttlefish and Moon Jellies would just have to cheer me on from the sidelines, because there was no way I could just make acting some small hobby and still be happy. UCSB actually has one of the better BFA acting programs as well as a great Marine Biology program, so I kinda lucked out…or subconsciously, I may have totally known that.

Well shoot, thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! From what I’ve seen and filmed so far, Season 2 is going to be AWESOME. I’m so stoked to see it all come together.

It’s ALL improvisation! Not everyone realizes that watching the show, but I love when I read comments like, “Who wrote this?! This is great!” And I think viewers enjoy the comedy that much more when they figure out we basically make all this stuff up on the fly.

This is how a day at Quick Draw goes: you arrive, you go into hair and make-up, put your costume on, show up to set, and then, and only then, does Nancy Hower (our fearless and talented leader and director) explain what is going on in the scene in the perspective of your character and what has happened before this scene to give it context, as well as the plot points you’ll need to hit for the scene to make the episode’s story make sense. And you just go. It’s awesome. Nancy will shout things out for us to say or riff on if we start to stray too far or forget one of those plot points, but for the most part, we’re on our own. She’ll also be on us if we say anything that’s not period enough. Common culprits are ‘sex’ and ‘awesome’. We all know  at least 3 period-appropriate synonyms for ‘sex’.

For me last year, as an actress working her first professional job, with no real improvisation schooling (but having a real love of it), surrounded by comedic geniuses who have been doing this for, at the very least, a handful of years…I’d be lying if I said the set-up didn’t make me pee my pants a little at first. But honestly, the set on this show is so supportive and kind, and led by such good people (John Lehr and Nancy Hower, the creators: so much talent in such humble and nice people), that you just fall into it. I love it. I’m never memorizing lines again. DONE. I’m improvising everything. Can’t wait for my next Shakespeare audition.

But yeah, set-wise, I’ve been spoiled. This show is so much fun, the crew is the best kind of people, and the cast I get a chance to work with, John Lehr, Bob Clendenin, Allison Dunbar, Nick Brown, Michael Anastasia, Kate Frisbee…that’s right, I’m name dropping EVERYWHERE. These people are hilarious, on camera and off. People need to watch the outtakes of the show to see what we had to cut out because we just didn’t have enough time to stuff it all in. The Whiskey Support Group outtakes are probably my favorite.

Oh man.What can I tell you?! I can tell you with utmost confidence that Season 2 is going to be even more ridiculous and entertaining than the first season. I don’t want to give away anything I’m not supposed to. But I guess you’ll find out it’s off limits if Pearl suddenly gets killed off this season.

I can say that we definitely get to see more of who Pearl was and is, and there’s a lot more character exploring in general this season, I think. Pearl and Eli’s relationship goes places this season, outside of exchanging money for Pearl’s services, and Pearl’s complicated past definitely catches up with her this season. Some characters come back, in more ways than one. And a bear. We have a bear this season. I think I’ve said too much.

I totally had to double check that tweet: my first thought reading that question was, “I said ‘finally’?! What’s wrong with me? We’ve only been shooting for two and a half weeks!” I’m glad I didn’t, I’d have to call myself out on that.

Even on days off, I kinda feel like I have to do something productive in relation to acting or writing, or I go a little stir-crazy. But if I really commit to relaxing: I’ll sleep in until 9AM (I like to live dangerously), watch some morning TV with a good cup of coffee, read a good book (if you’ve seen The Room, you have to read The Disaster Artist, it’s gold), get a text from my boyfriend making sure I’m actually relaxing and not just pretending to, maybe go to the gym (or strongly consider going), and cook or bake something. Cooking to me is the perfect, relaxing creative outlet. I’m totally that girl who takes all those pictures of her food. And I’m a big LA King’s fan! I love going to hockey games: it’s a love I found when I moved to LA, weirdly enough. Beer and men on razor blades. Who would’ve thought. I’m still learning all the rules because I definitely didn’t grow up with hockey, at all but that doesn’t stop me from yelling my face off at games.

I actually joined It’s Like Science after they already were up and going for a while. Justin Marshall Elias (one of the two guys who started the group) and I were in a short film together: a super dramatic film about a bipolar, semi-abusive painter, which isn’t funny at all. But between takes, we both would try to take that tense air out of the room by cracking jokes or improvising as different, weird characters together. We just clicked comedically. So after the super depressing shoot, he invited me to shoot a sketch with him and his co-member, George Parker Mann, who also has a fancy three-part name. After that, they brought me in as a permanent fixture in the group, which I was stoked about! I love writing, and it was a way to flex those muscles and actually get my work filmed and out there. I’ve learned so much about production, editing, directing and writing just by having to wear different hats in this group. It’s something I’d totally recommend to actors  who are “looking for work”. At some point, you gotta just start making the work and those parts yourself, or you’re just waiting by your phone or refreshing your e-mail.

I honestly have absolutely no clue how the James Franco part of that transpired. I did this short when I first got to LA, but it was added to my IMDB page recently. I clicked on it, and saw that James Franco apparently makes an appearance in it somewhere. The film’s a mockumentary-style, improvised comedy short about this guy who wants to make action films while everyone else in film school is doing depressing artsy films. I’m a pretty small role (it was improvised, I played one of the film school kids), and I have no idea what it looks like, but I guess it gives me a “I was in a film with James Franco” card, which I’ll totally take.

Definitely expect the new season Quick Draw to come out in the early-Fall! I think a lot of the shorts and web projects I’ve been working on in the last year are coming out in the next couple months, so I’ll look ridiculously productive when that happens. My friend and I are also working on a Downton Abbey musical parody, which hopefully will be going by the end of the year. But I’ll hopefully be doing a lot more comedy and maybe even a splash of something dark and dramatic. And a lot more writing and improvising on the horizon, hopefully. I try to keep people (my mom) updated by posting projects that come out on my Facebook page.

This probably wasn’t the last thing, because it was about a week ago, and hopefully I cracked a smile between then and now…but the first thing that comes to mind is we had one of the producers of the show and her son (who’s probably about 4 or 5?) come to set one day, and the kid is completely infatuated with superheroes, specifically Super Man. He dresses up like Super Man almost every day, and he’s basically the cutest kid I’ve ever seen in my life. So during lunch one day, we’re all outside at the tables eating, when we see these red boots and cape in the distance…and Super Man appears! One of our prop guys dressed head to toe as Super Man: the hair, the suit, everything. The whole cast and crew was cheering, and the kid was so shocked and surprised. He didn’t say a whole lot but you could tell he was beaming on the inside. You couldn’t not smile at that. Didn’t I say our set was awesome?!

Marilyn Ghigliotti [Interview]

Christine Lakin [Interview]

If you are an old timer here at Trainwreck’d Society, you probably won’t be too surprised just how damn excited I am to have someone as wonderful as Christine Lakin join our list of interviewees.  If you are new, just understand that my obsessions run deep.  I know this probably sounds creepy and downright disturbing, but let me explain.  The people I find to interview are all, in some form or anther, part of my favorite moments, eras, etc. of the entertainment world.  Let’s just say, even if I had the option to interview Angelina Jolie, I seriously wouldn’t know what to ask, as I truly don’t care (Brad Pitt, on the other hand…..).  Nothing against her, I’m just not interested.  That being said, my personal choices have often led me to researching and learning about some extremely talented folks.  And today is no exception.

In the 90’s, television sitcoms were golden.  They seem to be making a small comeback, but they are obviously not as predominate as they were when I was a young child anxiously awaiting my beloved TGIF premieres.  It was as if having our own family just wasn’t enough.  We needed to be a part of the Winslows, the Tanners, and…..The Lamberts.  One of my favorite sitcoms of all time will always be Step By Step.  There wasn’t so much that was unique about this new age Brady Bunch, except that it was OUR Brady Bunch.  A family strewn together and bound by love and loyalty.  In that respect, it was brilliant.  And then there was Al.  Oh sweet, sweet Al.  I grew up with such a crush on the tomboy turned young lady that was Al, the same why young girls swooned over JTT at that time.  Al was my girl!  I may have looked the way of the a Topanga or an Alex Mack, but in the end it always led back to Al.  And now, too many years later to count, I still look fondly at those times of when I so desperately wanted to be Zack Morris or Waldo Geraldo Faldo whilst shaking my head out how ridiculously obsessed with television.  I swear I went outside as a kid.  But, I never missed a TGIF, I am almost certain.

All of this has led me to looking in to the lives and careers of some of my favorite stars from now, but especially then.  And I often learn that the talents some of these fine actors and actresses did not cease to exist once a show either jumped the shark or ended right on time.  They are still living and breathing in the world of entertainment.  Granted some are more obvious than others.  And one of those obvious stars has been kind enough to speak with us today!  Christine Lakin has been working at a race horse like speed even after her stint as Al (*sigh*, oh Al) ended in the late 90’s.  She created and starred in one of the best web series the inter webs has ever shown, Lovin’ Lakin, made her rounds in the theater, is a constant contributor on E!, and is consistently behind the camera in other works besides the world wide web.  Christine is not only an exception the “child star stigma”, she is a triumph.  Rather than ignoring her past, she embraces it!  But so much in the fact that she is ever annoying about it (take heed, Screech).  She is an extremely talented woman who has so much to offer, and is not afraid to show the world that she indeed matters in the world of entertainment.

So, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the legendary and extremely talented Christine Lakin!

You spent the majority of the 90’s as a member of the fictional Lambert family on Step By Step.  Tell us if you would, what was it like essentially growing up with two families?  Did it feel like a true family atmosphere, or just work?

Hmmm, well both I guess.  I grew up in Atlanta from the time I was 6 as an only child.  I always did lots of theater and dance so I understood what it was to have an “artist family”, which is really prevalent in theater.  So that concept was fairly familiar to me and I welcomed that commoradie with the other cast members as I was also suddenly living in California for half the year, away from my home and friends.  All of us “kids” on the show shared a three room school house, so everyone was essentially in the same building being taught by different studio teachers, so that sort of bonded us.  We genuinely enjoyed each other and played a lot of basketball, video games, roughhousing when we were on breaks.  Acting never felt like work to me, so I think that’s why Im still in the biz.  When I was a junior in high school and applying for college and then started balancing UCLA with working, at times yes, striving to find that balance felt like work.  Late nights studying, mixed with long days on set, sometimes with little time to study in between (if I was heavy in the show) could be challenging.  It required a lot of focus and self-motivation on my part to stay ahead in school and get good grades.  So yes, to answer your question, that part felt like work.  The rest was the fun stuff.

Do you still keep in touch with anyone from your old “family”

Sure, Patrick Duffy and I write each other.  He did a cameo in my web series “Lovin Lakin” (currently on YouTube and Hulu), and both he and Stacy Keanan were in “You Again” with me.  Stacy and I see each other every few months or so.  She’s been in law school so she’s quite busy being very studious.  I still see and talk to several of the producers, writers and directors.  Facebook makes that pretty easy 🙂

I hate to continue on with the “child star” questions, but my pre-pubescent 12 year old in the mid 90’s self would kick me in the ass if I didn’t ask….  What was it like dealing with boys, especially in your later years on the show when you seemed to blossom (no pun intended) in to a woman?  Did you have any funny or horror stories in dealing with boys?

HA!  Oh jeez… well I wish this answer was juicer but to be honest, because my high school was in Atlanta, most of my pubescent years were encased in a fortress of normalcy.  In that, no one at my school treated me any differently or really seemed to care I was on television.  I can’t say it helped me with boys, but I don’t think it necessarily hurt either.  I wasn’t the most popular kid at my school but I wasn’t an outcast.  There was maybe one time when a junior or senior boy tried to ask me to marry him in the hallway when I was a freshman but I think that had more to do with the older guys trying to embarrass freshman girls than it did with me being on television.

How did your extremely hilarious web series Lovin Lakin come about?  What made you want to create this series?  And will we get to see more?

First of all, thanks!  Glad you’ve enjoyed it.  I wrote and created the series after a writing class my friend had taught, and kind of came up with the idea there.  My good friend and producing partner, Dave Mahanes, has a documentary company and a bunch of equipment.  He came to me and wanted to do something different than his usual fare- something lighthearted and fun- and I told him my idea.  We got to brainstorming on episode ideas, brought it into Oops Doughnuts Productions, who then came on to exec produce, and we started filming.  I created this because I wanted to create a vehicle for myself.  That’s the more direct way as an artist to take control. And I figured what better way to take control of my image than to call out the most awkward, stereotypical version of myself.  I will never get away from being a child star- it’s just what my path was- and to that end, why not embrace it? And additionally, embrace the awkward nature of that entire world… and as I started thinking on this character of “Lakin”… I was tickled by a girl who couldn’t be farther away from my real self… who is so delusional about her image, her world, her reality… that she’s both kind of a hot mess and completely, sadly adorable.  And I think that combo is comedic gold.  I created the character first, and then worked her into ridiculous situations that kind of had a through line with her trying make this docu-series about her great comeback.  Add in some really funny friends, a few great cameos and some improvising… and I was wildly delighted with what we got.  I don’t know if more Lovin Lakin is in the cards for now… if I could get funding to do another season I would in a heartbeat but there’s only so many times you can ask your friends to work for peanuts.  Currently however, Im producing a new web series called “Valet” by Brandon breault and Matt Morgan, two theater friends of mine, who created this series based off a play they wrote and put up here in Hollywood.  It takes place at a hot Hollywood hotel, and is essentially Entourage, from the prospective of the two valets who work the front door.

I’ve noticed that you are credited with a few choreography gigs, including a three episode stint on HBO’s True Blood and the sadly short lived series Breaking In.  What sort of work did you actually do, and what made you want to get in to this line of work?

I’ve been a dancer my whole life, having started classes when I was about 3 and moving into competition and company when I was around 8.  I obviously quit training when I started acting full time, but it’s a vocabulary and understanding I have used in theater in the last 10 years or so here in LA.  We’d be putting up a new show with Troubadour Theater Co. and I’d be one of the few with this background so I was asked to assist and choreograph on occasion.  My name started getting passed around the LA theater scene and before I knew it, I had been nominated several times (Ovation, LADCC awards).  That led to assisting a few choreographers on films and building relationships with line producers, directors and 1st AD’s, which is how the first True Blood gig came about.  That led to three more episodes, some films and more TV.  I feel very lucky to have found this niche because I genuinely like working on “the other side” of the camera.  I find that I get hired for two reasons- I work quickly and I know how to talk to actors (mainly because I am one).  In television especially, whenever there is a dance sequence or specific movement written in the script, the director usually feels the need to hire someone to help build the movement to his/her vision and then teach the actors that sequence.  So essentially, that’s what I do.  I create something based on the script direction and conversation with the director/producer, meet and rehearse the actors, adjust the movement based on their ability/likes/dislikes, show the director again, tweak from there and adjust/demonstrate from the monitor angle once we start filming.  I find most actors just want to feel good about themselves – who doesn’t? – so the majority of what I do is try and make them look (and feel) good, while taking into consideration the storyline and what the scene is getting across.  It’s a really fun job and I’ve gotten to work with some fantastic people- Sigorney Weaver, Betty White, Steve Carell, Jennifer Garner, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Anna Paquin, Ana Gastyer… fun folks.

You have also found your way in to voice over work as Joyce Kinney, the new Quahog 5 News anchor on Family Guy.  How did you get in to this gig as well?  Are you a fan of the show?

I was a big Family Guy fan and was so excited when Seth MacFarlane came to see one of the shows I did with the Troubies.  We got to chatting after and he asked me to come fill in at a table read… I did that a few times and recorded some bit parts here and there and the next season they asked me to play Joyce.  I was thrilled, obviously.  It’s an incredible group of people to be involved with and they’ve been so good to me.  That is definitely a story of being at the right place at the right time and it’s led to a great career in voice over work, which I very much enjoy.

What do you do for a little “me time” when you find a chance to peel yourself away from your extremely busy schedule?

I am obsessed with Homeland– just got caught up to season 3.  I love binge-watching shows now.  My fiancee and I get really into one or two at a time.  It’s a great way to study a series.  Im also watching Six Feet Under.  Never saw it the first time around.  I do a lot of outdoor activities- hiking, tennis.  I like yoga, dance, concerts, new restaurants, cooking and wine tasting.  Those things keep me pretty busy and satisfied.  Also producing my live show “Worst Ever” with my partner Alec Ledd the past 3 years has been a blast.  We take people’s most terrible, horrifying experiences and make them tell their stories in front of a live audience while we do a multi-media slide show behind them.  Sort of like Pop up Video meets Worst Week.

If you could portray any historical figure in American history in a biopic, who would it be? 

Who would I be right for is the question?  Maybe Billie Jean King.  She’s an incredible athlete and her story is inspiring for all women.

This might a dumb question, but I will ask it any way……  if you hadn’t gotten into the world of acting, what do you think you would be doing right now?

Jeez, hard to say.  Ive been doing this so damn long… Id probably be working as an executive somewhere… doing something creative but also very business minded. Maybe at a studio or a magazine.  Man, that life sounds so glamorous, maybe I made a mistake 😉

What does the future hold for you?  Any new projects in development?

Lots of projects in the fire- Im writing and pitching more new shows now than ever.  Stay tuned there.  Hopefully more stuff on E!, Definitely more audiobooks, which i love doing, planning my wedding and hopefully becoming a mom!

What was the last thing that made you smile?

I walked out of my exercise class this morning and one of the gals I see there all the time asked me if I was on The Soup Investigates.  I said yes and she was so sweet, she said “Oh you’re really funny!  It’s hard to find something good on TV and I just love that show!”.  Always nice to make someone else smile… which I guess makes me smile too.

Michael Ornstein [Interview]

Much like the rest of the world, I have fallen in love with FX’s Sons of Anarchy.  The show has gained so much praise and love over the last few years that it actually as an Anonymous Support Group on Facebook boasting almost 13,000 members (including myself).  I’m serious, check it out.  I once dubbed this show a “soap opera for men”, but it has obviously evolved in to so much more.  And as you may remember, we have interviewed cast members in the past and had to perform background checks too.  It is an addicting drama that is so much more than a show about a cutthroat motorcycle club.

But, as we like to do here at Trainwreck’d Society, we need to know more about the folks involved with the series.  That is why I was so interested in learning more about Michael Ornstein, the man behind one of the strangest characters of the show known as Chucky.  He is a character who’s chronic masturbation led him to be cast aside from the Chinese underground, and led to the ever-embracing arms of the more “caring” SAMCRO (Obviously there is more to the story, but we shall leave it at that for now).  Of course, there is more to Michael Ornstein than just this role, and that is exactly what we want to learn.

And through some research, I discovered that Ornstein might very well be one of the finest artists and musicians working today.  As a painter, he is far too impressive within the world of abstract and impressions for a simple minded fool and/or blogger such as myself to truly convey.  You really have to check out his work for yourself (you owe it to yourself to go HERE, but do come back!).  He is also a wonderful musician with influences that range from Bob Dylan to ragtime.  This is a man who personifies the idealism that a character actor does not simply have to remain a character actor.  One man’s genius should not be restricted, but highlighted in several variations of genius.  This is exactly what Michael Ornstein has done.  And with that, I am very excited that Mr. Ornstein has agreed to let us ask him a few questions to share with you fine readers.  So here we go!

You are an accomplished actor, painter, writer, musician, and so much more.  Tell us if you would, what was your first artistic love, and when did you know you wanted to create art for a living? 

My first artistic love was for painting. My parents took me to a lot of museums and gallery shows in NYC when I was a kid and there was something about the paintings that turned me on in a big way. The theater, too, turned me on quite a bit. There is nothing like that moment when the lights go down in the theater and the story begins. I learned real early on, from those moments, that I was an artist, way before I actually performed in front of people or put paint to canvas. So, painting and performance go hand in hand with me, still. I call my work “Hand Painted Radio” and view the paintings as performance and music. Check out http://handpaintedradio.com Making a living from art is still a struggle and I think it’ll always be that way, but I signed up for that struggle long ago and there’s no turning back on it now. I wouldn’t know what to do outside of that, except maybe be a cook. Open a little place, hang paintings on the wall and serve up some food. I could do that.

What sort of music do you like to perform?  Any works we should be, or should have been, looking for?  

I like to perform very simple music with a repetitive structure. Real old story songs. I’d say that everybody should explore Alan Lomax’s field recordings and hear as much of that as possible. He collected music for the Library of Congress, recorded people in their living rooms, on their porches from Appalachia to the Delta to the West to Europe. He recorded prisoners working in chain gangs and longshoreman in Genoa singing acapella on the docks. That’s my favorite kind of music to listen to. Story music told by real people. Start here, http://www.culturalequity.org/alanlomax/ce_alanlomax_index.php Bob Thiele draws on a lot of that music for SOA, actually. Songs like “John the Revelator”, “House of the Rising Sun”, etc. I also love hunting down new bands and love what Elvis Costello and the Roots just recorded. I listen to a whole lot of everything. I love Flamenco. Folks should also revisit the music that was coming out of NYC and the UK around 1975 for some background on what’s happening now, all those amazing bands. I feel like people ought to be aware of the history of where today’s music and performance came from. Take a look at Little Richard when he first hit the scene. Gene Vincent. Buddy Holly. Blind Willie McTell. Glen Gould. Monk. Miles. Django Reinhardt. I think you can learn a lot about people and the world by traveling through the history of music.

We recently spoke with one of your former castmates, Christopher Douglas Reed, who was sadly killed off this season.  Now, your character Chucky has survived a lot during your tenure.  But, obviously nobody is safe from the brilliant mind of Kurt Sutter.  But no matter if Chucky gets offed or survives through the show’s entire existence, what do you think Chucky’s legacy will be when we look back at the show?  What have you wanted to convey to audiences?

I think what Chucky personifies is how a person survives against a whole lot of odds and never complains about it, just finds a way to go on and on, helping those around him as best he can. He’s a totally selfless man who places importance on loyalty, integrity and family in top priority / above himself. The club saved his life. He honors that with how he lives his life. There’s a lot of strength and soul to living like that.

SAMCRO is definitely all about family, friendship, loyalty, etc.  Is there the same kind of feeling behind the scenes amongst the cast and crew? 

Absolutely. Working together on this level for this number of years, traveling through this particular story is a deep experience for all of us. We’re real tight as people, as a cast & crew. It doesn’t get tighter than this. It’s evident in the work we’re doing and how it’s being communicated to fans all over the world, from our hearts to yours.

What exaclty are your fake fingers made of?  Are they easy to function in?

They’re a type of rubber, like thick rubber gloves. They’re made from a mold of my hands, so they’re very comfortable.

You seemed to create quite the buzz with your soon to be legendary kazoo scenes.  How was it filming those scenes?  Could there be a pretty hilarious blooper reel made from shooting the scenes?

The kazoo is an insane instrument. It’s inherently funny that a person would “play” a thing that makes those sounds. It was a pretty integral instrument in the 20’s, actually, with early ragtime. It’s a home-made instrument, like a jug whistle or a wash bucket bass. I love the spirit of that kind of thing. Plus, even with a harmonica, you have to hold it and manipulate it with your hands, unless you’re wearing a neck holder, like Dylan and Neil Young do. A kazoo, you could just stick it in your mouth and go to town, hands-free, which is a perfect instrument for Chucky to express himself with. So, yeah, we had a lot of fun with that kazoo.

I heard that you displayed some of your art at the wonderful Beat Museum in San Francisco.  As a huge Beat fanatic, it behooves me to ask you what you dig about the beats?  Did any writer, or writers, have any direct influence in your own writing and acting?

I embrace the writings of those guys the way I embrace music. I grew up to the sounds of Miles Davis, Bob Dylan and Jack Kerouac. I come from an Italian / Jewish household and listening to my family speaking and telling stories was like listening to music, too. The music of language has always had a serious impact on me. I first read On the Road when I was about ten or eleven and it sparked something very large inside of me. Hearing the sounds of just being in New York City, when I was a kid, was like swimming inside of a symphony. Reading Kerouac exposed me to the possibilities of what a writer could do with words on a page. Later on in life, I was fortunate to have hung out with Greg Corso and Alan Ginsberg and Herbert Huncke. Alan grew up in Patterson, NJ, a town very close to my hometown of Passaic. We both come from mill towns. Kerouac also grew up in a mill town. There’s something to living around flowing water, I think. Reading those guys when I was a kid and later spending time with them, I related to them a great deal. The show I did at the Beat Museum was about Kerouac in New York City. I settled on six NYC locations that were important to Jack Kerouac and also important to me, and I wrote six poems about those places and painted six paintings, corresponding. So, at the show, I linked the paintings to audio tracks of me reading the poems, via QR Codes, so that people could stand in front of the paintings and listen to the stories. This show can be mounted anywhere. I’m sure I’ll put it up again. Here is the story, online, if you want to check it out, http://handpaintedradio.com/Jack-Kerouac-in-NYC

Original art by Michael Ornstein

What do you consider to be your greatest non-artistic accomplishment?

Having children with Zoe and raising them to be good people. But, even that’s artistic in some way, right?

What else is in the future for Michael Ornstein?  Do you have any other projects of any sort in the works we should be looking forward to?

I’m going to keep on writing and painting and performing for as long as I’m around.

What was the last thing that made you smile?

My children, just now. I smile all the time.

Laura Cayouette [Interview]

I could lie and try to sound cool by saying that I knew who Laura Cayouette was without doing a IMDB search for “the lady that played Leo’s sister in Django Unchained, who I also recognized from Kill Bill and Hell Ride”, but then I would be a liar.  But, I can honestly say that it was one of the wisest decisions I have made!  After a little digging into the career and world of Laura Cayouette, I can honestly say I feel honored to have learned of her work!  Hell, I should have known that if my favorite filmmaker in history considers her a friend and keeps bringing her back in to his films, there must be something special about this woman!

Laura has an amazing blog that could bring tears to the eyes of anyone who either lives in the city of New Orleans, or has ever even visited the city to experience the amazingness that it holds.  She has also written a book geared towards actors trying to break in to the business.  And she has had a career that is truly awe inspiring.  I’ve never really had the acting bug myself, but I know that if ever did, Laura Cayouette is exactly the kind of person I should admire as a professional and as a person.  That being said, we were fortunate enough to have Laura share a few words with us!  It is an honor and treat to share with you some questions with Laura Cayouette!

When did you first know that you wanted to join the world of acting?

You even picked up duties as an Associate Producer, as well as a co-star, the awesome biker film Hell Ride, presented by Quentin.  How did your involvement in this project come to light?

 

You recently released a book entitled Know Small Parts that has been lauded by critics and actors alike, to include folks like Kevin Costner and Richard Dreyfuss.  But, how has the reception been for your real audience, actors looking to break into the business? 

If you could grab the starring role as any well known female in American history, who would it be? 

Michael Walker [Interview]

Much like many of the folks we speak with here at TWS, I discover them from a little thing called Netflix.  Other wise known as the digital Thor who smashed away all those pesky Blockbusters.  But that is a whole other distorted bit of madness to go over at a different time.  NO, I am here to talk about the fabulous filmmaker Michael Walker, who I first learned even existed when I discovered his wonderful film Price Check, that I still find myself heading back to the digital wasteland to watch Parker Posey strut her stuff in this beautifully directed and well orchestrated film.  And then I realized that Mr. Walker was indeed coming back behind the camera in his very own feature film once again.  It realized that it had been over a decade in between his fist film, Chasing Sleep, which was amazing as well, and his most recent film, the aforementioned Price Check.  But, then I learned that history would not repeat itself once again, and he was already back on the books with his upcoming film The Maid’s Room, which seems absolutely delightful.  So, I decided it would nice to get a few words from Michael to see what he was doing on hiatus, talk to him about how great I think Price Check is, and about his upcoming film.  So enjoy!

We saw a 12 year gap between the release of your debut film Chasing Sleep and Price Check that was released just last year.  Tell us, what were you up to during this time?

I was writing.  I did some work for hire and had some scripts optioned.  Most of that time I was trying to get THE MAID’S ROOM made.  I finished the script in 2003 and it seemed like it would happen a few times and then fell apart.   

Price Check is one of my favorite films to come out in the last few years.  How did you come up with the story behind this wonderful picture?

I had this character of Susan Felders, a driven boss who is insanely ambitious and good at her job and sort of acts like a man, but uses her feminine side when it works, and she’s great at what she does.  I had met a few women like this and found them really interesting in the way they couldn’t balance their work and their lives.  Then I wanted to put her in an environment that reflected what most of my friends and people my age were going through.  They were getting older, had more expenses and were having to choose between supporting their families or trying to keep their heads above water and pursuing dreams that they had in their 20’s that were becoming less realistic.

You have stated in previous interviews and such that you had originally set out to become an actor.  Is there any chance we might see you get from behind the camera and out in front?  Possibly writing a role for yourself?  

I went to acting school (Stella Adler) after film school, but I never set out to be an actor.  I did it because I had trouble talking to actors and I had read Elia Kazan’s book, and others, and they all said that if you want to direct, you need to go to acting school.  When I was finished, I did want to do it for about five minutes, but being an actor is a tough life and I quickly scrapped that idea.

Can you tell us a bit about your upcoming film The Maid’s Room?

THE MAID’S ROOM is about a maid who gets a job working for a family at their weekend house in the Hamptons.  The family tries to cover up a hit and run by their son, and the maid becomes the only person to know the truth.  It’s a dark, suspenseful film.  It’s a very simple story, but the film has a lot of ideas in it and I think people really like the way it uses those ideas in the story.

How did you come to have Paula Garces as the lead role?  Was she the kind of actress you were thinking of when you were writing the script?

Paula auditioned for the part.  She couldn’t have been more perfect and she’s an amazing actress.  I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to find someone for the part and we had seen a lot of actors for it.  And talked about some “name actors” as well, but they all seemed wrong.   Paula seemed to really understand the character and it was amazing for me to watch her play Drina.

So what is next for you?  Any other projects in the works?

I have a film that I’m casting now called THE REVOLUTION OF JENNY SPECK, which is a sort of cross between the office politics of PRICE CHECK and the psychological mind fuck of CHASING SLEEP.  It’s a really fun film that has a lot to say about the way we live in our pop culture.

One of the things about having ten years between projects is that I have a few scripts that are already written and ready to go.   And I keep writing.  So there is always another project in the works.  It’s just getting a cast together that can get it financed that takes the time.

How was your experience at the Hamptons International Film Festival, which also served as the location in which the film was set?  Was the audience receptive?

I had a great time at the festival.  It was interesting to show it to a crowd that could relate to the characters and the settings in the film.   They definitely got some of the jokes, which was nice.  They seemed to really like it.  It was an older crowd, so maybe not the Twitter generation, so I didn’t see any honest reactions after the film behind my back.  The audience was really with the film.  I can only tell in the suspenseful parts when they jump at the right places, and they did.

What is it that you absolutely love about the world of filmmaking?  What disappoints you the most?

I love making films and the big disappointment is that it takes so long to get them made.  I love writing (sometimes), I love actors and I figuring out shots and scenes, and I love editing.  There are huge disappointments when you make films, and part of them is watching bad movies.   Now that I think about it, there’s no end to the disappointments in filmmaking.  It’s enough to make a person cynical. 

What was the last thing that made you smile?

I wrote a funny scene the other day that made me laugh out loud.  That’s always good.