With the advent of technology and the destruction of the concept of celebrity, there are many movies like “Kid 90” coming to theaters and VOD. It’s an important trend of movies that discuss the pitfalls, perils, and hazards of being a child movie or TV star in any decade. Soleil Moon Frye allows a somewhat unfiltered look in to her not so happy childhood that involved a lot of pressure, a business that seemingly abandoned her, and being sexualized at the age of thirteen.
Interview with Director Jenna Payne [Women in Horror Month 2021]
Photo Credit: Patrick Patton
Please introduce yourself.
I never outgrew my goth stage and have a deep preoccupation with crime and especially murder. My favorite bedtime stories as a toddler were Alfred Noyes’ “The Highwayman,” which – SPOILER – ends in a murder suicide, and “The Little Match Girl.” I read a lot of Michael Crichton in elementary school and loved his movies, especially COMA (but later in life). I came to filmmaking after school, studying journalism in college and even interning for major press organizations in Russia and Belgium. The media industry was imploding, though, as I graduated, so I worked a lot of odd jobs before stumbling into screenwriting and eventually directing in my mid-20s. I like to tackle social issues with my projects but drench them in buckets of blood. I find it very therapeutic.
Anouk Whissell, Director of “Summer of 84” [Women in Horror Month 2021]
Please introduce yourself.
First, thank you for the invitation! My name is Anouk Whissell, I’m a writer-director based in Montreal, Canada. I graduated in Traditional Animation, worked in animation studios for 10 years while making short films within the RKSS Films Director Triforce with François Simard and Yoann-Karl Whissell. Together, we’ve made our feature debut TURBO KID, which premiered at Sundance in 2015, where we returned a few years later with our follow-up film SUMMER OF ’84. As a director, I thrive on passion, my love for genre and character-driven stories.
Interview with Writer, Director & Horror Hostess Jennifer Nangle [Women in Horror Month 2021]
Please introduce yourself.
I was born on a snowy night (no, really… I was!) and grew up in a small town north of Boston called Danvers which was a part of the Salem Witch Trials. I also grew up in a haunted house where two full body apparitions have been seen! I went to college at Niagara University where I studied and earned my BFA in theatre. The goal was to move to NYC and aim for a career in musical theatre, though, by my Junior year, I fell out of love with musical theatre and was really drawn to realism plays. The truth of acting and story telling. I decided to change paths and go after a career in television. I moved to Los Angeles after I had saved up some money, studied the Meisner technique for two years, and then couldn’t find an agent or a job. I turned to self-producing which has been what I’ve been doing ever since!
Interview with Director Honey Lauren [Women in Horror Month 2021]
Please introduce yourself.
Hi, thank you so much for having me!! My name is Honey Lauren, I am an actress, writer and director and I love horror! I love all genres really. I’ve been in probably over a hundred films and television programs, (not all horror), but one of my very first roles was in Francis Ford Coppola’s DRACULA.
The Bootleg Files: The Euell Gibbons Grape Nuts Commercials
BOOTLEG FILES 760: “The Euell Gibbons Grape Nuts Commercials” (series of 1970s television advertisements).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No perceived commercial value for a DVD full of old breakfast cereal commercials.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.
If you were watching American television in the early 1970s, you probably remember Euell Gibbons and the series of commercials he did for the Grape Nuts breakfast cereal brand. If so, you might recall the bizarre line that turned Gibbons into one of the most unlikely figures of pop culture in the decade that good taste forgot.
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Interview with Director and Producer Lou Simon [Women in Horror Month 2021]
First of all, please introduce yourself.
I’m Lou Simón. I’m a writer, director, and producer with five feature films under my belt.
What is it that attracts you the horror genre for your chosen field of creative work?
I’ve been a huge fan of the genre since I was a kid. To this day, I watch horror films for breakfast sometimes. I just love it, and it’s hard to say why. I guess it’s that feeling of suspense and anticipation that is such a rush.