–by Christopher Stipp

Archives? Right Here…

Instead of manning-up and actually going the emotionally hard route of being outrightly rejected by publishers, I’m rejecting them first and allowing you to give my entire book a preview, let you read the whole thing or, if you like, download the whole damn thing at no cost. Download and read my first book “Thank You, Goodnight” for FREE.

Zachary Levi of “Chuck.” Missy Peregrym of “Heroes” and “Reaper.”

It’s always a delight to interview an actor or actress “on the verge,” as it were, and get an opinion on their career and work while they’re still in that stage of being unguarded and still possess a good sense of humor about their place in the food chain of entertainment.

When I was asked whether I’d want to interview David Paetkau for ALIENS VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM (Opening today, Christmas Day) there wasn’t a moment of hesitation. Apart from thinking I was going to interview a Hawaiian (I mean, come on, look at the name. I should have tossed in a question about Poi…now I’m depressed I didn’t.) I believe that this is exactly the kind of person I really enjoy talking to for a variety of reasons; one of the biggest ones, though, is that for those of you who have ever had the kind of career where you’ve had some success and are making your way up the ladder it is that drive, that hunger to go farther from where you are today, to be better than the other guy, is what’s most interesting. Once you make it, it’s all about reflection and experience and who here hasn’t read an interview with some A-lister that seems less to be about the work and more about how great it is to work with X or how funny X is off the set?

Doesn’t interest me.

What I immediately saw in the prospect of interviewing David by e-mail is that I could not only give the man a little time to think about the answers but that I could stretch the bounds of what I would have normally asked him had we been able to have a proper sit-down conversation. What you see below is the accumulation of less than a days’ worth of familiarizing myself with his work and me thinking of a few things that I might have never asked if I was sitting right in front of him for fear of the response.

I don’t usually do e-mail interviews but as I read his answers I have to believe that this could be my favorite means of getting to know someone. David was a champ for handling my questions with aplomb and I have to be honest by saying when and if I see ALIENS VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM I’ll be seeing it just to find out if he’s one of those who gets eviscerated.

Much thanks and praise must be given to David for playing along…

1. I researched and found that you were recently nominated for the Canadian equivalent of an Emmy for your work on “Whistler.” Now, I recently heard about some football, the pigskin type and not the footsie femme ball that is somehow loved everywhere else but in America, players who love all the records they break but somehow feel hollow if they have no ring or championship to show for it. What is your take on your profession, that people love to have awards shows and talk about who might win what and the studios that push hard for some films to “win big” or the pundits that somehow feel like an award is validation of someone’s goodness? Or, to put it another way, do you enjoy the thrill of possibly winning something to put on the mantle?

DAVID PAETKAU: Sure I do, but it certainly wouldn’t be for career ‘validation’. I think it would be a rush and a helluva party, that’s why I’d be happy just to get nominated as the saying goes. If acting were a team sport where there was a set goal at the beginning of the season, that goal being the sole purpose of the team, like the stanley cup in hockey then yeah I could see how one might feel hollow if they have no ring or championship to show for it. Luckily acting in itself is not a team sport and the reward I enjoy most is making a living doing something I love (most of the time anyways).

2. Aside from the really sweet chance to be up and close with some of the most recognizable movie creatures ever created, and the sweet payday, were there any reservations about getting involved with the ALIENS VS. PREDATOR sequel to a movie that originally did OK and that some fans thought lacked the kind of bite they were hoping to get?

DAVID PAETKAU: Yeah, there were some definite reservations because they wouldn’t let us read the script. it was ‘locked’ and ‘secret’ … so i had no idea what i was getting into! I still decided to jump onboard, because I figured it’s better to regret something you did do then something you didn’t do. It also helped that Aliens is one of my favorite movies.

3. How difficult is it to sustain genuine fear for multiple takes on a film of this scale? Does your character get killed off early after someone tells you to “Walk down that way real far and keep alert”?

DAVID PAETKAU: It can be difficult to sustain genuine fear. Especially on a long night shoot when it’s pissing rain, you’re soaking wet, you’re cold and you’ve got a million things to think about just to get hit your mark correctly and not mess up the shot. When my character does die it’s not as a result of taking bad advice. Dale’s just trying to get the hell outta dodge, which is quite a sensible plan if you ask me.

4. Canada is best known for its hockey and back bacon. You’ve made a successful name for yourself up north but what’s been the difference between the work you’ve done in Canada versus the work you do here in the U.S. of A?

DAVID PAETKAU: Is there a difference?

Now that the dollars are on par, not much, especially when you shoot in the states outside of L.A., but there is a big difference when you work in Hollywood, in that it’s fricken’ HOLLYWOOD! Nothing beat the first day I drove to work at a Hollywood studio. It was a dream come true.

By the way, Canadians call back bacon, ham. : )

5. On your IMDB page there are a few people who make mention of your “hawtness” or that you’re “gorgeous.” Does seeing this kind of superficial attention validate your decision to make a living by being in front of the camera and, if so, how great is it to be you on Saturday night at a club?

DAVID PAETKAU: I’d be a fool not to be a little flattered. Hasn’t helped me at the clubs though.

6. Talk to me, because I think we’ve gotten to know each other pretty well here, what did you take away from the experience of working on ALIEN VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM?

DAVID PAETKAU: A year’s worth of anticipation… (and a couple of props, but don’t tell anyone)

7. If you’re a fellow geek then you’ll know where this question is coming from but what was the mood on set as the Strause brothers navigated their way through the takes on this film? Were the Predators and/or Aliens allowed to improvise song and dance routines or did some chug their Starbucks through a straw or did any of them put their arms out saying, “Look at me! I’m a scary alien!”? I’m just saying, sometimes there are directors who take this thing seriously and there are some who have fun with the process of a flick like this.

DAVID PAETKAU: There were some funny moments, and maybe they’ll be a few outtakes in the dvd, but like I said before, we worked mostly nights, cold, impossibly wet nights and if you’re going to slow production with a joke at 4:30 in the morning, it’d better be damn funny, because otherwise you’d have to face the wrath of a soggy crew. I did have a rather surreal moment though when I first saw the seven foot tall Predator. It was at the craft service table and the poor guy was looking for sugar for his coffee, so you were right on with that; Predators drink coffee with a straw, long straws mind you. I, of course, held the sugar at arm’s length and demanded he do a dance number for it. I believe he did an Irish jig.

7. Have you ever, and it’s OK to be honest because it’s just you and I talking, bought a copy of your work on DVD to give either a mate or family member? Buying your run on LAX or a copy of FINAL DESTINATION 2 would be something, I think, you should be doing for your loved ones to prove you’re not slacking but I am always curious to know if there’s any thrill to having your work on sale for the world to see.

DAVID PAETKAU: Nope, but I guess it is kind of nice to know that I could. Those movies are out there forever whether you like it or not.

8. On ALIENS VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM were you subject to working with green screens, tennis balls or having to react to things that weren’t there and, even if you didn’t, did you at least get a glimpse into how modern day special effects are being done on blockbusters this size?

DAVID PAETKAU: No tennis balls, but I did have to pretend that cold slimy goop was alien blood melting my face off. The toughest thing was the man in suit aspect. A guy dressed in an alien costume with rubber claws isn’t intimidating up close. The cool thing about the Stause brothers was that they edited each scene as we filmed it. They’d have the sequence cut together on the spot, send it to the second unit with notes on exactly what other shots they needed. It was amazingly efficient. It was way beyond just playback.

9. ALIEN VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM is being opened on Christmas. A little odd, nes’t pas, for a movie like this to be associated with the holiday season but I’d like to know what your thoughts are on release dates with regard to the hubbub about how important they are to some studios’ decisions to release or not release films on certain dates. Obviously, something is afoot in the decision to do this but, in your opinion, does it really matter when a film’s released if it’s good enough?

DAVID PAETKAU: I guess the theory on a Christmas release is that it’s good counter programming to all those damn oscar movies. I’m a little nervous about the release date because i think it’s incredibly important to a film’s success no matter how good it is. Look at the Assassination of Jesse James, a great movie which had a terrible release date (amongst other things) and it flopped miserably. I think they should have released AVP-R it in October before Halloween, but hey, i’m not a studio executive… yet.

10. How do you see your progression as an actor? Is everything a stepping stone to something else you want to accomplish or are you comfortable with how projects come your way or is there something else you hope happens as you take steps forward in your career?

DAVID PAETKAU: Acting is merely a stepping stone to bigger and better things; writing, directing, running a studio, going into politics, and then ruling the world.

By Christopher Stipp

Archives? Right Here”¦

Hey everyone.

A) Go enjoy the Oded Fehr piece that’s gone live. Oded was just an eloquent actor who knows how to play his roles with equal parts seriousness and bombast. Check out RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION if zombies are your thing.

B) I hate when things disappear; makes you wonder what happened and it makes me want to get to the bottom of things real quick like a crazed weasel on crystal.

The thing that bugs me most about this situation is that AICN is usually pro-rumor and pro-high-level secret outing and usually doesn’t give a fuck unless they’re served legal papers dictating otherwise. I know that’s an oversimplification of their rumor m.o. but what triggered this note that you’re reading is that the story they published on Tuesday, September the 18th of this week was utterly fascinating just due to the sheer unbelievability of the source. (Praise the Lord of Google cache) It wasn’t some agent, it wasn’t some suit looking to piss off those involved in the production and it really wasn’t someone with a grudge: It was a leak supplied by a very happy, very joyous actor who made it big, relatively speaking, and wanted to share with his hometown newspaper. The author of the story is a journalist by the name of James Coburn who writes for the Edmond Sun.

This was a story in the newspaper. (Praise the Lord two times for Google cache)

Now, for those keeping score and want to add things up the Internets maths go like this: AICN posts link and story to Edmond Sun, AICN allows people to comment about the story, comments last from 4:42 am on the 18th until about 5:24 am when the last post is allowed to go up and, like a burning mist, it all goes away. Away from the front page, away from their archives and it goes away without so much of one of those “UPDATE” notices about what some lawyer has told them about the validity or legality of their information.

I’d usually let things lie about here. I could almost not care what some low-level actor had to say (although, as you will see below) but what made me REALLY curious was that that the Edmond Sun no longer has an existence of the story on their site; oddly, they have some User Name and Password feature that’s essentially blocking all access to the page. But, like I said above, thanks be to God for a cache screen shot. Regardless, here’s the article in question so *SPOILER ALERT* for those who tread into sticky territory and here’s to me for wondering what happened. I’m waiting to hear from the journalist in question as to why the story has evaporated from their site.

Oddly, or more curiously, the INDIANA JONES story is the number two search result when you type in EDMOND SUN into Google. Stay tuned for more information. And for those who want to start talking Non-Disclosure Agreements, I’d like to introduce you to the 1st Amendment; it’s the spillee – not the reporter – who’s up to their neck in trouble.

Enjoy!

New Indiana Jones film has Edmond actor

James Coburn
The Edmond Sun
EDMOND – Tyler Nelson’s dancing talent has landed him a part in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”

The fourth film in the Indiana Jones saga will once again star Harrison Ford and is produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Release of the film is expected during the week of Memorial Day, according to Lucasfilm.

The 23-year-old actor and dancer is the son of Theresa and Dr. David Nelson of Edmond. He now lives in Los Angeles and also appears in an upcoming movie with Brad Pitt.

“He has demonstrated that he is tenacious once setting a goal. He loves the process of mastering a new talent,” Theresa Nelson said.

What Tyler understands about the Indiana Jones movie is based on his own scenes that were filmed during the first week of September. Tyler plays a Russian soldier. Only the lead actors were ever given scripts, so Tyler still doesn’t know the entire plot.

“Apparently, the Soviet Army was searching for a crucifix skull in the jungles of South America and Indiana Jones was searching, as well,” Tyler said.

The Russian Army tries blackmailing Indiana Jones to help them find the crystal skull by “threatening to kill Karen, his old flame from the Lost Ark.”

Actress Karen Allen of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” fame returns to play Jones’ love interest Marion Ravenwood. Cate Blanchett was cast as the Russian interrogator.

“We took Indiana Jones hostage and managed to find the skull,” Tyler said.

Afterward, Tyler and the other Russian soldiers rejoice in the jungle by wildly dancing and singing to Russian balalaika folk music beside a roaring campfire.

His ability to perform classical Russian dances landed him in the movie. Professional opportunities opened for Nelson after graduating from Russia’s Kirov Academy and studying with the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow a few years ago.

“They were filming us outside of a tent dancing and then turned the camera inside the tent,” Tyler explained his scene. “I saw Harrison Ford strapped in a chair being interrogated. I started to gather they were holding this big crystal-looking thing in the tent and heard someone mention a crucifix skull.”

In the movie, Indiana actor Shia LaBeouf plays Indiana Jones‘ son. Jones learns of this and falls in love with Ravenwood again, Tyler said.

“After we did the first take, Steven Spielberg came up to us and shook our hands and said that we were great,” Tyler said.

Spielberg’s smile and easygoing personality puts actors at ease.

“He’s subtly suggesting things so actors can do it on their own and not just follow blindly,” Tyler said.

Spielberg’s direction style is in contrast to the more aggressive director, David Fincher, with whom Tyler worked with on the production set of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”

The movie starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett is set to be released next spring or summer. Pitt’s character ages backward in the film.

Tyler shares a small scene with Pitt in the film by playing a theater usher.

“If I was rushing, he would hold me back,” Nelson said. “I waited for signals from him.”

Blanchett was a perfectionist while Pitt spent his time reading between filming, Tyler said. A skilled film actor, Pitt is keenly aware of camera lighting and timing.

“I learned a lot being next to him and seeing how observant he was about his movements,” Tyler said.

Theresa said she’s confident her son will accomplish whatever goal he sets for himself.

“Tyler is living his dream, enjoying every day what comes his way because of his planned and well-executed preparation,” she said.

TO LEARN MORE about Edmond’s Tyler Nelson, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_Nelson.

–by Christopher Stipp

Archives? Right Here…

Note Bene: I have decided that instead of putting off and putting off and putting off my vow to somehow market my first novel I would let people download and read it for free. Give it a preview, read the whole thing or, if you like what you see, send me some kind words or an order for the actual book. Download and read my first book “Thank You, Goodnight” for FREE. [With a cover drawn by Jim Mahfood]

I hated history.

Really, I was homogeneously unable to follow the whole ethos of “those who cannot remember the past somethin’ somethin’ or another” but there was one of only a few things that has always stayed with me since 7th grade World History class: the de’ Medicis.

While I’ll keep the Cliff’s Notes version here brief it is important for the reading of this interview to see that the actions of a once powerful family that lived and reigned around Florence, Italy, around the 13th century and ruled well into the 15th, helped to flood Renaissance art into the streets of that boot-shaped land. They were well-known for a lot of artistic sponsorships, money was no issue for an artist with a whim and a financial need, and it’s something that I’ve always hoped to young talents within the comic book industry, with Mahfood being a recipient of some kind to help keep the man’s art churning out into the world.

You see eggheads get the MacArthur “Genius” grant, a free $500,000 to keep on keepin’ on with your artistic bad ass self, but you never see it bestowed on artisans who choose to toil in the folk art of comic books. I’ve always equated those who possess the ability to transcend the mundane and static into something that can resonate with the human spirit with those who possess a tuning fork for the souls of the rest of us but, unfortunately, bigger eggheads with even bigger checkbooks deem otherwise.

So, that brings us to Jim. An accomplished comic book artist and writer who has a penchant for the askew and whose work is infused with the kind of black and white punch that’s usually reserved for those who have thousands of colors within their artistic quill. His work is funny. It can make you laugh with the absurdity that it sometimes espouses but when Mahfood suggests that more cool people get together to help offset all the straight-lace, right-wingers who seem to be repopulating at bunny-like proportions there is a thin line of truth in the sentiment that you cannot deny.

His work can get political. A weekly contributor to Phoenix’s New Times magazine Jim can take a hot-button topic, peel it back, and get to the quick about what’s really at issue in the community on any given day. He hits more than he misses and, even when he does, it’s just comforting to know that the man who pioneered Smoke Dog and Zombie Kid can still rock the political mic more consistently than the constituents who suppose their elected overlords are doing everything “in their best interest.”

The man who took pity on a lowly novelist who needed a great cover and didn’t want anyone else to create it but him, Jim Mahfood was a class act who laid it out and helped me put a tight cover to my first book. There’s a lot to be said about fanboys but there’s something else entirely to owning mass quantities of one person’s work and just hoping that there could be something you could do someday to say thanks. In a way, being able to interview Jim last year during Comic-Con was a way for me to delve deeper into the reasons why I dig the man’s work so much and, as I hope you see, there’s a real sense of humor, of perspective and drive that hopefully ensures he’s the premiere black and white funkmaster of the comic book scene.

Sure, he can keep going on his own but isn’t there a wealthy family out there that can help this man save the world, one live art event at a time?

CHRISTOPHER STIPP: How many “˜Cons does this make for you?

JIM MAHFOOD: Probably”¦ Probably over a lot. A lot of “˜Cons. 50 or so”¦ I’ve been doing them for about almost 10 years. I do about 5 to 6 a year. It’s starting to wear, the wear and tear is getting to me. I mean, they’re great, San Diego is great but”¦5 days? 5 days is way too long. The other shows, like Chicago, are 3 days and that’s cool; see everybody, you’re in you’re out, you make your money but this is a little obnoxious. However, it’s only once a year so”¦

STIPP: But you’re on the front lines selling your own stuff. There’s a little bit of excitement, I could be way wrong, but you’re the one who’s written and drawn your work and here you are, selling to the public. Like the modern day DJ who’s selling their mix CDs out of the back of their trunk. Is that the way you want to keep it or do you have designs of someday hooking up with a big corporation like a DC or Marvel and have a cush gig just sitting at well-manicured tables for an hour or so just signing things?

MAHFOOD: Well, they don’t have the balls to do anything fun or cool or interesting, I think. Their stuff is OK but I’ve just been on my own, doing my own thing because I have complete control over it; I get to write it, draw it, design it, the way I want and I’ve always been attracted to art and music that’s been driven by one single person.

Like, my favorite musicians and DJs are the guys who write, produce and perform their own music and my favorite artists are the guys who have their own distinct stamp or style like, for example, Crumb or Mignola or Scott Morse. And I think that’s what’s selling this stuff, like the things that they do, what I do, is almost like a brand. The style is the brand. “Oh, I recognize your style,” that’s the kind of thing people say. They aren’t like, “Oh, your Spider-Man is cool.” What they’re saying is, “I like what *you* do.” “I like your vision, your writing, etc”¦” And that’s reflective of my own tastes and personality and sensibility. Certain people are attracted to that and some aren’t but that’s just the kind of art that I’m attracted to: people who have a voice and have something to say.

Unique. Uniqueness is key. Like I will never be the greatest artist of all time, the best storyteller or have the best layouts but that doesn’t matter to me. What matters is being unique. Just being an individual and not drawing like anyone else is what matters. That’s what I’m trying to do.

STIPP: Who are your peers that you look toward for inspiration?

MAHFOOD: Definitely my whole crew of buddies that I do art with like Scott Morse, Dave Crosland, Mike Huddleston, Jose Garibaldi“¦I grew up loving Ninja Turtles when it first came out, it was so different. Crumb stuff, the Hernandez Brothers, Jamie Hewlett who did Tank Girl and all the Gorillaz artwork, just guys who their own unique thing that they alone do.

I’ve never really been into mainstream superhero artists not because those that are working on them are bad artists”¦it just doesn’t strike me. I like things that make you go, “Wow, that’s different.”

STIPP: How are you evolving as an artist? I just finished your Classic 40oz. One thing I noticed about your work years ago was how sharp the artwork was. Not just in the ephemeral sense but, quite literally, the drawings had a tight attention to detail. And now, when you look at your work there is a looseness, a roundish feel, to what you’re doing. Is that something you’re consciously thinking about?

MAHFOOD: Yeah, but it’s also something that unconsciously evolves on its own, too. The more you do it, you hope, the better you get and things start to work themselves out but, yeah, I definitely consciously started going”¦going from portraiture kinds of things to straight up Peanuts style. Where the drawings of me and my friends have round heads and little arms and little legs because I think it looks funnier, for one, and also I don’t take myself seriously enough to do realistic portrait work of me and my friends; it would be too weird.

So, I went and depicted them as these cute little cartoon characters, kind of like as buffoons. It’s cartoony and it’s supposed to be funny. And that’s one of the main things about my work, I am a huge fan of comedy and humor and I try to put comedy and humor into everything I do. I don’t think I could ever do a serious, hardcore detective book or a serious western”¦I mean it’s cool, it’s interesting, but, for me, I just don’t take myself, in my heart, seriously enough to do those sorts of things. I just like humor. I like to make people smile or chuckle. The world is depressing enough as it is but with my art I want people to be, “Oh, that’s interesting”¦It’s funny”¦It has something to say.”

STIPP: On that same token, I like what you’re doing with the weekly space you’re being given every week in the Phoenix New Times. It’s very political in a way; whatever issue is brewing within Phoenix’s border that week you somehow spin it into something amusing or thought-provoking.
MAHFOOD: Yeah, totally.

The weekly is more of an exercise because, since it’s a weekly, I have to throw out an idea every week”¦the idea and the art are done really quickly. I spend about an hour on them. I do them”¦right before they’re due and it’s more like an exercise of, “Here’s something that’s going on and here’s me commenting on it.” It’s literally supposed to be read within five seconds. The art isn’t that detailed because they don’t print them that big and the people who happen to land on that Letters page just glance through it and it’s just gotten to the point that instead of drawing intricate word balloons and lots of dialogue it’s simply five panels and, “Ah, yeah, funny.”

If you look at these things from the beginning there’s like 10 panels, whole lots of word balloons, it’s all very heavy diatribes but now, for me, it’s a looser idea of, “Let’s put out 10 ideas instead of one really detailed, convoluted, idea.” And there’s so much to comment on nowadays.

STIPP: How do you keep up with what’s happening in Phoenix if you don’t really live there anymore?

MAHFOOD: I live in LA and do the local Phoenix weekly, yeah. I just go to the Phoenix New Times.com and just read up on Phoenix news. I’m also good friends with the editor there and she will sometimes just hit me up like, “Would you mind, you should consider having your comic be about this hot topic right now.” She’ll send me the info, I’ll read it and I’ll comment about it.

It’s not heavily researched at all. It’s just me reacting to it. It’s like, here’s this fucked up story about the Phoenix cops and here’s me reacting to it. But it’s cool, man, because it was really challenging in the beginning but now I’m getting used to it and I really enjoy having a weekly because it keeps me on my toes. I’ve never done one before and every week it’s a new idea that gets put out there. Like, if one of them isn’t funny, or it doesn’t work very well, it doesn’t matter because I’ll have another chance next week. So, it’s almost like a safety net because every week I don’t have to blow people’s minds because the next week I can compensate for it”¦.Which”¦.may be a very bad way of looking at it.

(Laughs)

STIPP: Are you finding some political satisfaction in taking a stance every week for the people to interpret?

MAHFOOD: Oh yeah. I’ve always wanted to do that. I’ve always been a huge fan since I was a little kid of political satire in a cartoon-y format. Huge fan of Mad Magazine, Cracked, Saturday Night Live, HUGE fan of Bloom County the comic strip…Opus, Bill the Cat”¦huge fan of all that stuff.

The thing is”¦I’m not that smart or that politically savvy. I don’t watch CNN. I don’t really read the paper but I have an overall idea of all the crazy shit that’s going on and I feel like I am able to comment about it because it’s me writing, drawing and doing it all. People might think I’m crazy or they might agree with me so either way”¦It’s something I really enjoy. I couldn’t imagine doing art and not having a comment on the world and society we live in.

Like, in art school, in illustration class, we had to do shit like paint a shampoo bottle, photo realistically. Exercises like that always drove me crazy because I knew I would never use that in my artistic life. I just could never imagine being just an illustrator”¦illustrating cars or something. For me, it’s always been like, “There has to be a message in it”¦there has to be substance in it”¦there has to be more than just this surface bullshit.” There has to be some substance to it. There has to be something that draws people in and I think that might be one of the selling points to my art: the fan base that I have seem to be interested in the overall picture of, “I dig your art”¦but I also kind of dig the ideas and the humor and the writing”¦I kind of dig your whole vibe.” And, so, that’s what I’ve tried to establish. These are my books, this is my world and it’s not based on anything else.

It’s my funky version of the world.

STIPP: Do you ever question yourself?

MAHFOOD: Oh yeah. All the time. I sometimes think I’m just a huge hack. But something will happen where I do a piece, I’ll do a live art thing or a Stupid Comic and it’ll kind of gel and I’ll look at it the next day and go, “Oh, I’m kind of happy with that.”

The other thing, too, is, looking back, which I hate to do, I hate anything I’ve done that’s over a year old, when I look back at my old stuff the only good thing about doing that is that it lets me know I’ve evolved and that I’m better now. Because I really am trying to evolve the art style, the drawing, and trying to push it, trying to push the design, the compositions of it, just by hanging out with guys, real bad asses, like Scott and Mike Huddleston. If you’re an artist and you surround yourself with guys who are better than you, you just learn and absorb from them. You borrow from them. Like, I used to hang out at Scott’s studio when he lived there in LA. I would just go there and see what he was working on, watch him work, and borrow and absorb what he was doing. Not steal it, take it and apply it to my style and do it differently. It’s like if you’re a DJ and you sample. Don’t just lift and sample the most obvious drum beat”¦go dig into the weird, obscure shit. Take it and make it into something really exciting.

STIPP: What is it about music that seems to be infused within your artwork?

MAHFOOD: Just like the attitude and the feeling of the music. I get a really specific feeling and attitude feeling towards things like hip-hop and hip-hop culture and funk and jazz. It has a particular rhythm and vibe that it gives off to me. I was around it ever since I was a kid. Like my mom raised us on records. She was always playing records like Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind and Fire and also like rock n’ roll, Neil Diamond and Queen”¦it’s just always been”¦I’ve always just sat in my room and drawn and listened to music. I never really watched TV and drew, I’ve never had talk radio on”¦I’ve just always out on music as a kid, locked myself in my room, and drew. And it became a soundtrack to what I was drawing. If I was angry, or doing something aggressive, I’d put on punk rock or if I was doing something more inspired I’d put on hip-hop. Music always has intrigued and fascinated me. So, I’ve tried to develop a visual style that conveys my reaction to music and”¦it might work and it might not work.

And the live art, the live art is a literal reaction to music because we are literally painting and drawing what we’re feeling while the music is going on, loud as fuck, pumping through our bodies, our eardrums, like when Scott and I paint live we don’t talk about what we’re going to do, we don’t plan it out. We just go up and we do it. It just comes out, it’s like an exorcism”¦and it’s like this subconscious, crazy shit just comes out and when a piece is done sometimes you step back and it’s like, “Whoa. Wait. Where did that come from?” But it just came out. It is what it is.

It’s like improvisational jazz. You know, when Miles Davis would just get up there and just play. And freestyle.

STIPP: How do you see yourself progressing as an artist? When you look at yourself, what is driving you day-after-day?

MAHFOOD: Well, I always want to do comics in some form or another, and I always will, but I would love to be able and take the live art thing on an international tour. Get a bunch of artists, get a bunch of DJs, get it sponsored by, like, a shoe company or a marker company or some hip company and literally take it around the world and do comic book stores, signings during the days, and then live art in clubs at night.

It would be a dream for me. So, it’s starting to catch on and blow up and it’s, hopefully, leading to that. It may take a little while to get sponsors but I already have like artists and DJs all ready to go. It’s just organizing it and figuring out how to do it.

–by Christopher Stipp

Archives? Right Here…

It’s when you hear artists as they’re evolving as musicians that you really respect the talent it takes to be successful in this business. And make no mistake about the nature of this beast: it’s a business.

You need to show how you can be an economical investment for any of the major labels to pay attention to your skills. You can be the greatest show on earth during a festival like SXSW, and you can be the talk of the town, but if you’re not marketable to some necktie wearing stiffs in the back room of some boardroom you can just take your pachouli and go somewhere else.

Eren Cannata’s dedication to his music is one thing but when you listen to how he has found a way to exist without the help of the big label infrastructure that has made good bands sell their creative soul to the material devil he’s an amazingly sharp man who is equally precise when it comes to delivering on the melodic goods.

Eren’s music travels a route that many can relate to but so few have put so well without sounding trite, maudalin or saccharine sweet. His album, Blame It On The City, is his first major release and one that defies convention if you’re taste has been steeped in the false and theatric nihilism of My Chemical Romance or any other number of emo bands that should really be big boys about making their way through the world; suck it up, stop whining and if things are really that bad then get a job and call me when you realize life isn’t supposed to be wine and roses.

I caught up with Eren just days after the release of his full-length album.

CHRISTOPHER STIPP: You had an in-store concert appearance recently, didn’t you?

EREN CANNATA: Yes, the Virgin Megastore in Union Square, New York City. It was a huge performance for us and a milestone for my career, my life. It was a bit surreal, too. There were tons of people there and it was so much fun and for the first time my CD is everywhere, they even had it in the New Release bin, the whole bit was pretty exciting.

STIPP: I would ask if that’s the biggest crowd you’ve played for prior to the release of this album but I’m sure you’ve played for bigger”¦

CANNATA: Yeah, it definitely wasn’t the biggest venue I’ve ever played because I grew up on the road with my dad who was a saxophonist for Billy Joel and The Beach Boys, I was a tour kid, and, at times, all of us would come out and play with the band on the biggest of shows. So, I’m working my way up to that! One day it’ll be my show.

STIPP: When did this all happen?

CANNATA: Well, I was born in 85 and I went out with the Beach Boys in the 90s, because that’s what he was doing around then, and it was just a blast. I got real close with Carl Wilson, who has since passed away since then, and I got very close to him but it was one of those experiences I remember at all times and taught me a lot about music.

STIPP: What was one of the biggest things you took away from it?

CANNATA: Well, Carl Wilson taught me how to warm up my voice. Simple as that. I was one of the only kids allowed in his dressing room at the time, I don’t know why, my dad says it was because every one else was a little more annoying than me, but I would go back there and say “This is how you warm up”¦This is what we do”¦These are my guitars”¦” They also taught me about harmony and how to blend and how to be good to each other on the road and how to write good music. Even if they didn’t personally show me, osmosis picked it up and I’m trying to apply it to my own music making process.

But I took a lot away from it all even though I was simply enjoying myself at the time, just trying to be an annoying little kid.

STIPP: How did your experience, then, shape how you thought about in which direction you wanted to take your own sound?

CANNATA: The Beach Boys and Billy Joel”¦the songwriting, alone, is amazing to me. Pet Sounds was revolutionary in how it was recorded and written. Billy’s The Stranger”¦they’re true songsters. They have ideas and concepts that”¦let’s say about “love.” Everybody talks about love but how are you going talk about love and make it popular, again, and make it something that’s new, fresh and catchy and a lovely piece of art too? So, through them, I’ve shaped my sound”¦find that hook, find that difference, find that harmony part in your vocal that people have done before but you’re saying with your flair and your attitude and that you’re making your own. And that’s something I’ve taken away that’s been invaluable.

STIPP: How does that influence your writing?

CANNATA: Sometimes people will ask, “What’s your passion about the whole thing? Is it performing? Is it playing guitar?” But, really, the thing that I am first and the thing that I love the most, and would never give up in a million years for anything, is writing music. I love writing and listening to great music. That’s where my heat lies, that’s how it’s shaped. I like to start with that.

If my song doesn’t sound good with me and an acoustic guitar in my hand or me and a piano or just me singing a capella”¦if it doesn’t have any meaning or significance when I do any of those then I don’t believe there’s any grounds for me to put it on an album. That’s why I’m so excited about the album because all those songs mean something to me and they say something. They all can be played acoustically.

I was at the University of Maryland and playing for the students there, 600 some odd tickets were sold, and I did the entire show acoustically. It was great and everyone had a really good time. It really shows the bare bones of what I love to do.

STIPP: Especially on a song like “Part of Me” I thought about how the sound of that song represented of what I could compare it to from my own musical experiences. It finally came to me that listening to that song was like hearing the genesis of a band like Toad the Wet Sprocket; a real focus on instrumentation, introspection and a sound that any college kid in the early 90’s could gravitate toward.

CANNATA: Absolutely. And that’s what I want to come out of my music; I want to be as specific enough and say exactly how I feel but yet when people listen to it I hope they can say something like, “Yeah. I’ve been there.” Something that can capture the audience like that as they listen.

STIPP: Who do you admire that’s out there, then, contemporarily speaking, that’s playing right now and speaking to what you’re trying to accomplish with your music?

CANNATA: I think John Mayer. He’s got something magical about him. Not because of his first or second album but because of the way he’s trying to depart from his usual self. I read in an interview about him he said, “I’m more comfortable with a guitar in my hand than a microphone in front of me.” He’s a great songwriter, he’s a decent singer but he really plays guitar and he was able to tell his record label, “I am going in this direction. You need to trust me.” And, personally, I really enjoy that; he’s taking the bull by the horns and doing it like that.

That being said, though, it’s not my most favorite of things I’ve ever heard. People that I admire right now? I listen to old stuff. Things like Tower of Power and I still listen to Billy Joel and The Beach Boys. Right now I am completely hooked on the new Beatles “Love” album. I’m completely hooked on that.

STIPP: And, at this point, John can pretty much call the shots. When you were recording Blame It On The City was there any give and take with what you wanted and what those in charge wanted?

CANNATA: Here’s the brilliant part about that”¦my father has a recording studio here in Glen Cove, Long Island and it was basically that when my dad was on the road with Billy my mom wouldn’t let my dad spend his money on fancy cars or boats or anything. So, she said, “Buy something that will give back”¦something that you can do and love it for the rest of your life.” So, they put a studio together and since I’m an only child I am totally indebted to my parents for that. Being that it was here, my dad produced my album and it was a lovely thing where all the comments that were made were in my best interest. It was like “How do you feel?”, “What do think you should do?”, “What do you think sounds good with this?” That’s why it worked out real well.

We also didn’t have a label hanging over our head telling us what to do and so we started our own indie label, Brown Dog Records, my father and I and an attorney. It’s great. We signed up with Icon Distribution and they got it into stores for us. And, so, the people we answer to is my father and an attorney that is completely in love with the project. If we think we should do something, we do it. If we don’t want to do it, we don’t do it and no one tells us otherwise. It’s one of the most lucky situations we’ve fell into and it’s certainly one of the most lucky things that have happened in my life so far. Being able to have an album in stores and doing it the way I want to do it, by choosing the pictures we want with the CD and not the ones that people would negate or try to airbrush”¦

STIPP: Is that a trap where you see some performers fall into?

CANNATA: A lot of musicians want it so bad that they’re willing to compromise integrity for it”¦which is tough. If I didn’t have this position I might be compromising my integrity too. I want it that bad as well. It’s a dirty game but you’ve got to play by the rules and break some rules at the same time.

STIPP: Speaking of distribution”¦With music companies growing ever more conglomeratized how difficult is it to get your music”¦

CANNATA: Distribution is extremely hard. A) A good distribution deal, in itself, is a hard thing to get and B) some distributors will simply release an album online and say, “Here it is”¦It’s released.” It’s tough but we’re excited because we have a distribution company that believes in us. Just being able to have someone like Josh Kelly, someone who I listen to while I was writing my album, and for us to be on the same roster of distributors is pretty cool.

STIPP: Have you had to be more of a business person than someone who wouldn’t have to be”¦

CANNATA: Yeah, it’s kind of interesting. I never thought I would but when I discovered that I was going to have to wear a few hats, it’s what I had to do. We had to make sure we hired a really good team, a small team but effective, who could push it because we want people to buy it and we want people to listen to it. We know that there are some people who will listen to it and be opinionated about it but, you know what, we think it’s good and if they like it, they like it.

STIPP: You’re going to be touring behind this, right?

CANNATA: We’re probably going to be doing 20 shows in the next month, just by myself, just doing acoustic things, just promoting it out there, doing a lot of college towns and things like that. But a lot of that stuff is up in the air. We’re booking shows 1 by 1 and getting ourselves on the road.

I’m so damn excited to get out there and show everyone every song that I’ve ever written from the beginning of time”¦I’m very comfortable on stage. It’s an exciting moment for me and I can’t wait to share this with everyone.

STIPP: Going back to the recording of the album, I’m curious, did there ever come a time when you felt like you were overproducing a song? You can hear it in how some artists just add layer after layer”¦

CANNATA: Of course. There’s one song on the album that my father and I did not produce, “Part of Me” in fact, and the one thing we worried about was that it was done too many times. We sort of have this concept in the studio”¦everything you lay down, make sure it sounds amazing. Don’t say, “We’ll come back to it.” And that’s just good producing, that’s not over producing. And when you when you over produce something it’s when you keep putting more and more on top of what was there; it gets cluttered. Because here, in the studio, we have the liberty of being able to burn CDs after we’re done every day and we’ll be able to be honest with each other. I might say, “Dad”¦Didn’t really need those background parts,” and he’ll be in a position to be able and say, “Yeah, I agree with you. Take “˜em out.” And we’ll be done just like that. We have a good checks and balances system here.

STIPP: But what happens when you come to a crossroad where you disagree? Are you, ultimately, the president, C.E.O.?

CANNATA: We’re very democratic, diplomatic about it all but if, let’s say, an engineer feels real strongly about something we know something’s wrong because they work with us. These people who are the engineers have been engineers for my dad for 20 years. They learned how we work and a lot of those people who’ve worked here have gone on to be Grammy award winning mixers and engineers themselves. So, their opinions are very valuable to us. If they’re strongly feeling something we take that into consideration. At the end of the day, yeah, we’ll make the decision but, in the back of our mind, we might be thinking, “You know what? They might be right about this so let’s see how we can rework it to make it perfect without making it sound too homogenized and over produced.”

STIPP: In your writing, what comes first: melody or the lyrics?

CANNATA: For me, sometimes, the music comes first or the lyrics come first. It’s always different. But the most successful way, I’ve found, is if I sit down and everything comes out at the same time. “Blame It On The City” came out all at once. It was a streaming thought. Front to back. I didn’t even start with the chorus. Every song, to me, the reason why I would consider a good song for the album has a story like that.

STIPP: And something that I appreciate is the way these moments, these songs, seem honest. It seems like a decision you have to make as an artist as well.

CANNATA: Absolutely. You’ve got to find your true integrity in it and that’s what I really enjoy about what I do. It is believable because it is true. It’s those normal little stories of things that have happened to me and I’ve turned them into something interesting just by phrasing them into a way I think they should be phrased.

STIPP: Your sound seems reminiscent, like I’ve stated, of the college rock that seemed to be so prevalent in the early 90’s; minimal production, thick sound. Has anyone else commented on what this music appears indicative of to them?

CANNATA: There’s a lot of younger fans that I have and what I get from them is that this music is something completely different than what they’ve been exposed to and, from the older fans, a lot of people have said I have an old soul. I get that a lot. I average those two together and think that the music speaks to something that my older fans were listening to when they were the age of my younger fans.

STIPP: My last question, if you don’t mind offering some thoughts on the subject, is when I was reading your bio it said you really began your musical career with cover tunes, something that really helps with all those things necessary to being a good musician. What do you make of those guys who never move beyond that, those dudes who will forever play 25 cent draft and well drinks, damned to jam forever, singing back-to-back ditties like “Sister Christian” and “Panama”?

CANNATA: I find that a lot when I come back home.

Home for me is Long Island, New York and I find that when I come back home and I see all my old friends, they’re the ones at the bar playing those things and they’ll say, “This is life. Why would I ever want to leave here?”

But that’s what it is. It’s like that movie, GARDEN STATE. There are some but I feel like it’s almost a little too foolish to pigeonhole yourself to just do cover songs like that and try to make that your life.

At the Virgin in-store I did one. I did Jimi Hendrix’ “Fire” with Max Weinberg from Bruce Springsteen and Conan O’Brien”¦he came up and played with us.

STIPP: Really?

CANNATA: We rocked it out. I put down my guitar and ran around on stage. It was fantastic and everyone had a really good time. It was the cherry on top of a completely original set. We played a great set, people were so in tune with the signing of the album”¦and we see Max there and we were, “Yo, Max. Come on, come on up.” I brought the horn section up and we played it with horns and made it something really unique that people could enjoy.

STIPP: Eren, thank you so much for making time for me. I hope the album does very, very well.

CANNATA: Thank you, absolutely.

By Christopher Stipp

Archives? Right Here…

This year we’re already listening to stories about how this could be the first time we get a woman to run for the White House. This year we’ve talked about how this is the first Super Bowl with two black head coaches. These events are just white noise around the fact that no one is talking about: these are all simply Americans who are now afforded an equal playing field that those who came before them had to hoe with their blood, sweat and sacrifice. To ascribe any more importance to the continual struggle we all face in our lives is to forget that there are far more important people who deserve the right to be singled out and BELIEVE IN ME deserves that honor. This is more than just a movie about women’s basketball, it’s a snapshot of how we went from irate and indignant when it came to equal rights for women in the 60’s to indifferent in the era of the WNBA.

Never mind segregation, women and their place in organized sports was also just another way that a specific and directed patriarchal societal bubble, because there are still pockets of them in existence today whether we care to admit it or not, defined what women should be doing with their free time.

No one bothered to ask the women what they wanted and in this film, directed by Robert Collector and starring Jeffrey Donovan as a coach who wants nothing more than to lead a band of boys, only to be saddled with a gaggle of girls who have the drive to want it more than their XY counterparts, you get the story of a man’s definition of what a woman is. By film’s end you see a unique evolution in the man the girls call “Coach” as he sees what everyone else should have known all along: Women deserve to be treated just as savagely on the court as their male counterparts and, if necessary, they can mix it up on the court just as well.

As such, these women are not fragile, even though some of their lives are depressingly fractured, and this film showcases the intrinsic toughness of these players as it’s seen through the eyes of one coach who has to struggle with getting over his own inability to see through a sex barrier that, again, is still appallingly present in more than just a handful of men.

The film’s use of place, Oklahoma in the 1960’s, and cinematography are effective enough to tell the story with accuracy and attention to detail. There is no snappy soundtrack, there is no schmaltzy ending that plagues so many other sports narratives and has single-handedly killed the form, there are no bombastic, self-serving, grandiose monologues where we’re led away from feeling like this is game and, instead, feels like a battle cry for war. Additionally, no, this movie will not change your world view but what it will do, however, is ask you to see where women were so many years ago and how, through fighting and struggling, the reason why you’ve come to enjoy Title IX benefits is because it all goes back to the ladies who had to blaze a path where there wasn’t one.

The story moves quick, we’re not left to meander through meaningless plot lines and what we get is a tightly controlled script that does what it needs to do and gets out when it should. What we get, then, is a movie that simply pays homage to a very real moment in our nation’s time line without it ever feeling pushy or false.

In an age when I wish we all could just see each other as Americans, instead of separate tribes in need of constant back-patting and fluffing by those who think they’re doing us all a favor by pointing out the apparent inequities that we’re all big enough to see for ourselves, this movie just warms you to the marrow when you see how many different ways one man could have walked away from a perceivably bad situation at a very bad time and in a very bad place for it to happen but, instead, just shuts everyone up and allows a team of women to play the same game their male brethren play while accomplishing what the boys could not: winning a championship.

I had the honor of talking to one of the young women who portrays Candy Brown, a pivotal player in the team’s cohesion, and her name is Brandi Engel. She’s a woman who has nary anything else ascribed to her resume and, as such, I took the chance to inquire about her career as an actress in Hollywood, what this film meant to her and where she plans to go from here.

BELIEVE IN ME opens in select cities on March 9th.

CHRISTOPHER STIPP: Now, you have, almost literally, come out of nowhere to star in this new movie BELIEVE IN ME. One of the first questions I had about the film when I did a little research on it was that wasn’t it supposed to come out last year?

BRANDI ENGEL: Yes, I was surprised it took so long because I’m not really familiar with the post-production of movies, considering this is my first one, but I’m just thrilled that this movie is making it into theaters. People were saying [about whether it was going to play theatrically], “Well, we’re not sure”¦”

I know it made the rounds at festivals and it did fairly well and won a couple of awards but no one was sure about what was going to happen to it. But, FINALLY, it’s going to come out in theaters on March 9th.

STIPP: It’s in limited release but do you know which cities?

ENGEL: On the website, BelieveInMeMovie.com, they list all the cities but I know that, actually, they’re all big basketball cities.

STIPP: The movie was set in Oklahoma, right?

ENGEL: Yes, but we filmed in New Mexico.

STIPP: I heard that but why the odd difference in location?

ENGEL: I’m not sure exactly why but since it takes place in the 60’s and where we filmed, in small towns around Albuquerque, for example we filmed a lot in a town called Clovis, and it looked exactly like the period in which this story takes place.

STIPP: The movie captures that sense of place really well. It’s not ostentatiously thrown in there for effect but it melds the flavor of the time with the story in a nice way. I can see why they decided to film around those parts, as well. I’ve driven through a lot of New Mexico and some parts really are trapped in a time warp. How long did you shoot?

ENGEL: The shoot was about three months.

STIPP: When I watched the film I noticed you were on crutches for a long time. Did the person you portrayed really suffer that long with that injury?

ENGEL: It’s actually a crazy story, about me on crutches”¦Yes, I get hurt in the script but I actually got hurt, for real, while filming the movie. We were filming this basketball scene, I was going for a layup, and I landed on one of the opposing team’s, one of the girl’s, shoes and my ankle just gave out.

So, I got a pretty good sprain. It was my first sprain and they always say that the first sprain is always the worst. So, yeah, it was like, “Oh, great. Perfect.” This just had to be a basketball movie. So I was, sort of, out of commission for the rest of the film but I really lucked out because I was supposed to be on crutches anyway. So, in the end, they just had to rework some of the schedule to give me some time to heal”¦just give me some time to heal before we filmed some of the running scenes. But I was always taped and when we were filming my foot was in a bucket of ice to try and get the swelling down.

STIPP: Well, considering your injury, did any of the pivotal moments in the telling of this team’s story have to be tweaked to accommodate what happened to you?

ENGEL: Well, there were scenes that I should have been in but they just didn’t show me because of what happened. They were on a time schedule and had to get it done. And, you know, I just loved being there. It was my first film and I’m sure anyone else who did their first film just enjoyed every minute of it.

STIPP: Tell me about that. From what little I can read about what you did before all this happened you went to LA for what should have been a seven day jaunt turned into three weeks.

ENGEL: Well, in Pittsburgh, I had a solid theater background. Musical theater, actually. I’ve been singing, dancing and acting for as long as I can remember. So anytime when someone would come and offer a workshop, like an acting workshop, I’d attend. This guy, John Homa, the acting coach for General Hospital, came back several times to offer his workshop and got to know me a bit. He told me that there was something different about me and asked whether I’d ever thought to go out to LA and pursing a career. I thought, my parents would kill me.. “Hey I’m going to Hollywood. Bye!”

No one in my family is in the arts. They’re all business people. It has always been, “Get your education”, “Get your education”, “Get your education.” So, what I told John was that, “As much as I’d love to and as much as I have it in me”¦I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” He ended up calling my parents and said, “Look, just come out for a week. I can show you around, see how it is, I can take you on set for General Hospital”¦” And this is all right before I went to college. At this time I already had my roommate, we had already picked out bedding”¦I was going to school.

But, while I was in LA, I got introduced to this manager somehow and, even after I explained that I was leaving in a few days, for the fun of it, she gave me this cold read for some project and I read it. She said, “Oh my gosh. Wait, don’t go anywhere. Don’t move. They’re casting for this movie, BELIEVE IN ME. I think you’d be good for this part. Here, read the part.” And here I was saying, “Uhhhh, OK.” It was a whirlwind. I connected with the part. The script was just wonderful and it was such an uplifting story.

So, I went in, auditioned, went to the callbacks and the last callback was a basketball tryout, got the film, filmed it and decided to go back to college. I had a scholarship at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and they could only hold my scholarship for so long. So, I had to go, put that into place and just get started with that. So, now I’m back and the movie is finally coming out.

STIPP: Are you still in school?

ENGEL: I’m taking this semester online.

I have an agent who said that if I could get my classes online I should come out for pilot season”¦Because I figure if I forget about the acting thing and go back to school I would forget about all of this and move on. I mean, everyone wants to be an actress and I can’t stop thinking about it and I just have it in me to do it. I love it.

STIPP: Are you working on anything right now? Anything coming up?

ENGEL: Right now, no. I’ve only actually been in Los Angeles for two weeks so I’m just kind of getting acclimated. I’ve been to some meetings and some auditions but nothing big yet.

STIPP: One of the items I read about your biography was that someone tried to steer you away from doing serial soaps, they called it “bad acting” and that you don’t want to get pigeon holed in that genre. I know a lot of A-list actors who came through the soap system and I’m curious to know if you felt”¦

ENGEL: I don’t think soaps are a form of bad acting, at all. I was told, and I’m still really new at everything, you have to be careful in the way you start your career because it’s easy to get typecasted. I mean I hear different things, of course, because, you’re right, there are all these other actors who have become successful, but some people have told me, “It’s not right you.”

STIPP: So, where’s your focus? School, acting?

ENGEL: I definitely, no matter what, want to finish my degree. But, if something big does come up, and I am thankful that Duquesne is willing to work with me, I am willing to take the work if it’s offered to me.

STIPP: BELIEVE IN ME kind of challenges the genre of the sports film, bucking the kind of trend that you see in movies like REMEMBER THE TITANS or GLORY ROAD, in that the material is treated with reverence and not exploited for that sort of big orchestra moment where the “final game” is where the entire of the focus of the film rests. Did the way they were going to shoot this movie, how they were planning on telling this story, opposed to the “Disney Treatment,” as it were, come across in the script? Did its unique angle immediately jump off the page?

ENGEL: Yes, absolutely. And what really surprised me was that the coach in the film, Jeffery Donovan, he did a fantastic job and he did a nice job in explaining that this was more than just a basketball movie. And what really made us realize, and appreciate, what we were doing was when we met the real team that this movie is based on. We met the real coach, Jim Keith and his wife and all the girls who he influenced and coached, and it really hit home for me. And, when I met the woman who I was playing in the movie, just talking with her about how this man changed her whole life made me see how it paved the way for women’s sports and where they are today.

We were also very much alike. We did this one interview with everybody and we ended up wearing the same thing to the interview. When I met her, when I first met her, we wore the same thing, black pants, a white shirt and a black cardigan. It was a little spooky. And, talking with her, this all was more than just a basketball movie. As well, in the movie when the coach and his wife talk about adoption it hit home for me because my family adopted my brother from Russia. That was an amazing experience and I think that this film helps to also support the idea of adoption.

STIPP: And what the real coach feel about the legacy he’s left for those who have come after him in the realm of women’s sports?

ENGEL: Every scene we did he seemed to have tears in his eyes. You could tell that he definitely wanted this story to be told and he was so supportive and the stories he told us were just”¦he was just full of thankfulness.

I feel like we did this movie for him.

##

–by Christopher Stipp

One thing that has prevented me from straying into interviews with musicians is my ignorance of all things formal regarding the one art form I seem to have no trouble enjoying but little ability to comprehend.

After listening to composer Clint Mansell talk in an interview about music being a fluid process, much like writing, that’s based more on feeling what works and what doesn’t, not even necessarily focusing on measurements or note placements, you feel like there could be a deeper understanding of film composing beyond the idea that it’s nothing more than gathering dozens of people in a room; as such, you’ve got to make sure you have that one guy with the thick fuzzy drum sticks hovering over many timpani. Clint just seemed like someone who is meeting old school film music with a nouveau approach that it sorely needed.

Just listen to the REQUIEM FOR A DREAM soundtrack. It bends your will in thinking this music is a note by note, blow-by-blow, audible journey that could only accompany Darren Aronofsky’s vision of descents into disintegration. It’s just as hardcore as the film and anyone who thinks otherwise doesn’t get what Clint does better than his more classically trained peers.

After receiving an award from the Chicago Film Critics Association recently for his work on THE FOUNTAIN, much respect has to go to The Kronos Quartet and Mogwai in the execution of Clint and Darren’s vision, he is also nominated for a Golden Globe that he way very well be picking up tonight should the stars, and Xibalba, be aligned in his favor.

Regardless, though, of whether he wins or loses I had the sense by the end of our conversation Clint honestly is a rare breed who believes in the work and in the process of work. There are far to may individuals who concern themselves with the quantity and profile of the jobs they take in his line of work, certainly he deserves to be one of those people should he want to tout his precision with PI or REQUIEM even THE FOUNTAIN and screw any notions of impropriety, but Clint makes you believe that there should be more collaborators out there who feel as close to other people as Clint does about working Darren. I wish other people were more kind about the professional relationships they keep but it’s nothing short of inspiring and emboldening to hear Clint talk about the real work that happens behind the screen in making two of the most complex and emotionally rewarding movies that have come out in the past decade.

To say that I’m disappointed with critics and viewers alike for their neglect of a film that had more heart than a comeback-kid who slaps on the gloves for “one more fight” would be a gross use of the word.

CHRISTOPHER STIPP: First of all, congratulations, on the Chicago Film Critics award.

CLINT MANSELL: Thank you very much. I am pleased that the film, the score, is getting some kind of recognition. I guess we were all kind of disappointed, really, with some of the reactions to the film. I don’t suppose”¦maybe we weren’t that surprised in retrospect.

It’s just nice, though, that the film got recognized.

STIPP: To give you an idea of where I’m coming from, I interviewed Darren the morning after I saw the film and mentioned that it was his directing and your score that genuinely elevated the movie from something great to something transcendent; it was the perfect marriage of both the audio and visual components. These two work in concert so well, Kronos Quartet and Mogwai deserving a heap of credit too, and I am curious to know, you coming from a pop, punk, electronic background, what bug bit you to get into film composing?

MANSELL: I think it’s a natural progression for me, really, as a writer. I mean I wrote my first song about twenty years and I think writing is like a muscle, if you exercise it”¦it will grow and you’ll get better at doing it. It will take you places.

I’m excited by music by other people’s music, it influences me, and makes me want to do better and takes me to different places when I listen to it. That is reflected in the music I want to write. When you get to work with someone like Darren, who I really connect with on an artistic level, as well as on a friendship level, but when he explains and tells me his ideas I feel like my possibilities are unlimited, you know? I can’t do whatever I want but if I can make it work within the context of the film, if we know it’s right, I can pretty much do what I want. The last thing Darren wants is something that sounds like a regular movie score.

And like you were saying about the visuals and music working in concert”¦the way Darren tells his stories are not”¦the regular, run of the mill, act one, act two, act three type of events, you know, he’s looking to do something different and challenging if only to himself. I don’t think he’s particularly going, “The world needs me.” He’s going “Well, if I am going to do something it’s got to be worthwhile and say something to me and challenge me” knowing that’s what he instills in all of his collaborators.

We’re not just here trying to get the best table at fucking Spago’s or something. We’re here trying to do something. We went out and did something that we felt was valuable and that’s the excitement of what we do and, also, the downside to that is when people don’t see it the way we see it; what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, as they say, just move onwards and upwards.

STIPP: And you have the Golden Globes on Monday. I’m curious to know, on a personal level, how you look at these awards. Are they a popularity contest or is there something special to it all?

MANSELL: Well, who knows what the criteria is for these things. There’s a cynical way of looking at it and then there’s my view on it which is I’ve done something I’m really proud of with people I love and we did something that”¦for me, to get nominated or an award for this particular work I’ve done, given that the film wasn’t a critical success, wasn’t a box office success, it’s certainly not coming from a popularity contest point-of-view.

If I got this award for something like some other films I’ve done, like SAHARA, which I something I’m proud of as well, I did good work on those but maybe I’d look at it differently because they’re more straight-ahead kind of films. So, for me, to have been nominated and the work recognized, I take it as a fantastic form of credit for the work we all did on the film.

STIPP: Speaking to the point of how long this film took to come out can you talk about whether the ideas you had for this film’s score evolved as the project took its many turns? Did the score that’s in the movie end up being what you initially envisioned?

MANSELL: No, [the score] became something completely different”¦because the film changed so much; we started this right after REQUIEM FOR A DREAM. I mean, yes, I am very proud for what I did on REQUIEM FOR A DREAM but there is no way I could have written the music for THE FOUNTAIN that I have now written back then.

I mean I’ve done a lot of other work since then, some of it good, some of it pretty good, some of it has been shit”¦(laughs) It’s been a real learning experience; I’ve really exercised that creative muscle. And, also, because the film changed it became a much more intimate story on a much smaller scale.

When we started out it we knew it was going to be this epic”¦there were these big battle scenes”¦and everything happens for a reason. I think a movie, the way it was back then, it would’ve made the movie a different animal. I’m not saying that would have been better or worse I just personally think that everything that happened got us to a better place in the telling of the story. The scale got a lot smaller, it got a lot more intimate.

Eighteen months ago, during the editing process, we did the trailer, I wrote the trailer music for the first trailer, and that stuck more to the original guidelines of what we were thinking about; it was bigger, the music was bigger, the music was heavier, it was more epic. And that worked for the trailer because that’s the sort thing you want, you want it to leap off the screen, but when I took that music and then tried to cut it into the film just to try to see how it would work you could tell instantly that this was wrong. It was too big, it was too grand, it was too bombastic for the story we were now telling and that was when Kronos [Quartet] came back in again because I saw that I didn’t need a sixty piece orchestra, I just needed these four guys to do it.

STIPP: Was there a time when The Kronos Quartet wasn’t going to be involved at all?

MANSELL: I think, in our minds, we weren’t going to work with them because we didn’t think, REQUIEM worked so well, we just felt we weren’t going to top that. We thought maybe if we were lucky enough to make another two or three more pictures then we would go back to them but as the score developed and as it became more intimate and as I listened to bands like Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Sigur Ros it was sort of cinematic and orchestral but on a neo-classical level; it was a more modern approach to orchestrated music. And as I was blending the various elements it occurred to me to think about who would be the best in the world to play this and the answer is Kronos Quartet The answer is still the same, six years later. And although we hadn’t really been in touch with each other that much during that time, when I talked to David [Harrington] and the rest of Kronos it was weird”¦We had each gone off for six years and done different things but then when it was time to talk about THE FOUNTAIN we were all sort of converging on similar thoughts and when we showed them the movie and the music they got it instantly. It just seemed like the most organic thing. It was great.

STIPP: The first thing that I thought of when I listen to the lead track on the soundtrack “The Last Man” I am not only reminded of how exquisitely beautiful Kronos can be but it is also neo-classical in a way that makes me think that this is the kind of classical music which seems entirely appropriate to be played in a symphony hall as well as in a CD player.

MANSELL: Actually, Kronos is playing here on the 20^th and they’re playing a suite from THE FOUNTAIN.

STIPP: Really?

MANSELL: Yeah, it’s pretty cool.

STIPP: It translates perfectly, And as I was preparing for this interview I went back and listened to REQUIEM, the REQUIEM FOR A DREAM remix CD and then THE FOUNTAIN. I am struck by the capturing of mood on both the original REQUIEM and FOUNTAIN scores. REQUIEM, when I listen to it, is just haunting. There is no other emotion running through that work. Is that part of your writing, that you want to evoke something specific?

MANSELL: I’d love to say that there was such disciplined and focused thoughts about it but I don’t really work like that.

My way of working is just absorbing the film, absorbing what Darren’s saying to me”¦I just have to get to a place of really letting go. Some of the best things I’ve written, for me, have come at times when I have no recollection of writing them, if you know what I mean. It’s not like some kind of “Ooooh” spiritual transfer or anything like that but things happen when I give into it. That’s the only way I can describe it and that takes a lot of exposure to the film, to the work, which is why I think I do my best work with Darren. Not only because he’s a great filmmaker and he does things that inspire and challenge me but also, as well, I spend the most time in his world when we’re working on something.

I mean six years of working on THE FOUNTAIN, obviously not working on it every day, but being able to take the time to”¦the research you can do over six years of different kinds of music that you can then filter through yourself to come up with something just kicks the shit out of getting on a film for six weeks, banging out some music and off you go. It’s a whole different thing and that’s the way it works for me.

I mean I’m not classically trained, my musical theory is nothing really to write home about”¦it’s all about gut instinct and reaction and thoughts and absorbing the work. To me, that’s the only way it can be. I’m sure lots of other people work differently”¦there comes a point when you know what you’re doing right or wrong but if I’m in sort of sync with the film it’s telling me that it’s rubbish what I’m doing or it’s telling me that it’s right.

STIPP: I was going to bring that up myself as you’ve said in one interview that, at one point, “the film just said “˜no.'” Is it organic, the process of getting to this point, or is it someone like Darren telling you that it just doesn’t fit?

MANSELL: I think that it’s a learning experience.

When you write for yourself in a band you can do anything you want. On a film, though, it’s somebody else you’re collaborating with and you’ve got to lose that preciousness, that preciousness you get when you do something yourself. The first few times when the other person says something like, “Nah, I don’t like it,” at least for me anyway, it plays on your insecurities and self-doubt. I’ve been very fortunate with Darren because we work so well together and it has never come to that point, it only seems to happen to me with other people”¦going away and doing other films for those six years was really helpful for me.

I did a film, KNOCKAROUND GUYS, with these two great guys, Brian Koppelman and David Levien, both directors, and it was the first film I got because of PI, REQUIEM hadn’t come out yet and they were big fans of PI, and I was writing material for them. It was going really well, had a good time doing it, but there was this one piece of music that I kept saying, “No, no, no, it’s great.” And in the end it was Brian who eventually said, “Look, I know what you think it’s doing but believe you me it’s not doing it.” It was there I learned that if you rewrite something it’s always better than what you had before.

You just have to dig deeper sometimes.

If I don’t write for a while, the first few things I write about is shit because I’m writing on a very superficial level at that point but my memory is reminding me of things I’ve done which is better than what I’m doing right now and I’ve got to work harder, dig deeper”¦and I’m not saying it’s easy, because there are still times when I think I’ve done something I thought was pretty good and someone will say, “No.” But now I have the learned memory that that says, “Ok, you can do better, it will be better. You’ve just got to work harder.” If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. You’ve just got to get in there and not be frightened.

STIPP: How do you get to that point where you just accept that not everything out of the gate you do will be brilliant or do you still get that twinge when someone disagrees with how you initially feel about something?

MANSELL: I think that twinge goes hand in hand with the ego that’s necessary to think that you’ve got something to say and contribute anyway. If I was constantly going to go “No, no no. I think you’re right. It is shit” I would never do anything. There’s some basic desire that you’ve got stuff to put out there so when you’ve done something, and you’ve worked hard at it, and you get connected to it”¦I think there’s times when you can’t see the forest for the trees if somebody criticizes it but without that care and that passion maybe you wouldn’t be able to rise to the challenge anyway. I mean, I don’t know, I’m possibly making excuses for my own immaturity but part of the character that I am helps me create the music I do. Is there is a certain negative side to that? Yeah, I mean we all want to evolve and grow but at the same time that’s part of the equation, it helps me to do it in the first place.

STIPP: Has it helped you get to a point in your relationship with Darren, that you have a comfortable back and forth openness?

MANSELL: It’s funny because I think we argued more on this film than any other.

STIPP: Really?

MANSELL: Yeah, I mean not in a bad way. The way the score is, when I was mocking it up in demo form, it didn’t come across like it does now. A lot of the stuff was done on piano, it wasn’t done with strings but then we got it to Kronos and their strings just brought it to life. The Mogwai elements, while written by me, they were sort of estimating a Mogwai-ishness if you like. And when you put together those disparate elements it takes a while for it to gel without it sounding, not hokey”¦but melodically and thematically we were just trying to get the right vibe. It’s hard work when you take two fantastic artists you’re effectively trying to replicate with a computer. It took a little time but I knew where I was trying to take it but Darren was having trouble envisioning it from what I was giving him at the time.

[SPOILER WARNING]

So what I did was I did the whole end part of the film, where the star explodes and [Hugh] accepts his death, we mocked it up and I sent it to Mogwai. They basically recorded it themselves on top of my string arrangements. So, suddenly, we had Mogwai playing the stuff for real and when Darren heard that he said, “I got it now.”

I could see it because I knew Mogwai were capable of but Darren’s obviously putting that trust in me to say, “Ok, show me.” I say that it’s very difficult to replicate an artist like Mogwai or Kronos in a computerized world but that all sort of dissipated when we heard it for real.

STIPP: I think there’s an enormous dependence on the score just because of the first ten to fifteen minutes being so vital in creating a moment.

MANSELL: Well, what we would do is that we were all in New York together for three months, Darren was editing across the hall, I was in the room opposite him, and every Friday we would watch a new cut of the film that they were working on all week, during the week they would give me the new edits and I would be re-working the music to those edits, writing new stuff, putting it in”¦And every Friday we would watch the film and go, “What’s working? What’s not working? Do we like this? Do we like that?” By doing that I think we really managed to get a groove between the edits and the music and the pace of the film and the growth of the film. It was pretty intense work but I think that really gave it its synchronicity.

STIPP: I know, as a writer, there’s some danger of not bring able to recreate that moment that started it all after you’ve spent so long on a piece. How did you stay fresh on that moment Darren explained what this movie was going to be about?

MANSELL: Well, I saw it evolving, going places.

Working with Darren it’s not like he’s constantly chipping away at the one thing that’s not making any difference. We don’t get bogged down in little things because they’re taken care of as we go along. I mean I have worked on films where that has been an absolute nightmare. Where they’re editing, re-editing it, to the point where it’s like a ten-thousand pound gorilla in the room that no one acknowledges”¦besides the fact that the film is shit you can cut this film any way you like and nothing is going to help it. But it’s not like that with Darren. I mean things move forward, ideas progress because his films are rich in ideas.

For me, there’s something new coming through that I need to address. I mean it’s questions like, “Have we made the link between this and that?” or “Between this scene and this scene?” We sit there with pens and colored paper, this color is this theme, that color is that theme, and we put it up against every scene in the film and judge the music accordingly. We constantly move things around, it’s like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle, and eventually you get to a place you think is right.

One thing I wanted to get back to, about arguing, one thing that needs to be understood is here is how we worked: the studio wasn’t really privy to my developments of the score, they’d ask for it, but Darren won’t temp his films with other people’s work. So, it’s a slow process. We had a lot of music to draw from but, still. So, his stress levels were ten times more than mine were.

STIPP: I know you’ve mentioned you don’t really read sheet music and Darren mentioned in passing with me that he was amazed at how precise Kronos was with regard to their knowledge of precise musical movements. Was there a language barrier between you and them?

MANSELL: There was a little bit on REQUIEM but not with THE FOUNTAIN because I was more advanced than when I did REQUIEM. We were more aware of the process so we could present a much more musical job to them, if you like. Like, on REQUIEM we had a couple of issues of just getting it in sync with what I was trying to do, I mean we managed to do it, but it was done in an almost non-musical way. But the experience I’ve had on so many other films really helped me present a more professional approach, professional job to them.

STIPP: I realize you don’t need me to say it but good luck, genuinely, Monday night at the Golden Globes.

MANSELL: Thank you.

##

–by Christopher Stipp

I just couldn’t believe it.

One of the best parts after I get done interviewing someone is deconstructing what I think is the essence of what was talked about. Be it someone who I thought kept yammering on about nothing in particular, someone who had nothing to offer but their breath or when someone says something insightful it has always been a unique experience. This brings us, then, to Mary.

One of the very first things after I hung up the phone after we were done conversing about her new film BLACK CHRISTMAS, the one she’s starring in with Quentin Tarantino behind the lens, GRINDHOUSE, or the latest in the DIE HARD franchise, I was taken with how succinct and clear her answers were to my queries. It’s customary for there to be some gaps of silence as the person I’ve just asked a question to chews on what I’ve said and thinks about a response.

Not Mary. Quite contrary.

I had a roster of questions ready to go and she just shredded through them without even giving a moment’s hesitation. She sliced through the customary vagaries that many of her contemporaries toss out like speed bumps, usually asking me, “What was the question again?” Mary had an answer waiting for every one of my thoughts. She even schooled me on a well-known It was this extemporaneous back and forth that I so wish could happen with every interview I do but Mary deserves credit for just getting right into things, I admit that I wasn’t asking anything too personal that would cause a natural wall to go up, but I think it was her exuberance that I hope shines through in the coming exchange. From not ever hearing of her to seeing her on stage at the San Diego Comic-Con this past summer and being taken by her wide-eyed happiness it’s hard to think that she could end up being sliced and diced in this remake of a film that was filmed first by the man who would eventually bring me A CHRISTMAS STORY in 1983, a full year before Mary was even born.

Man, did that just make me feel old. BLACK CHRISTMAS opens this Monday, December 25th.

P.S. – Late breaking news. If you’d like to glimpse the wonderment that is GRINDHOUSE Yahoo! has just put up the exclusive teaser trailer on their site. Do yourself a favor, check it out.

Christopher Stipp: Well, thanks for making time for me.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead: Of course! No problem at all.

Stipp: Let me right to it and ask what made you want to do another horror movie after FINAL DESTINATION 3?

Winstead: It was interesting. I was actually somewhat hesitant and not because I have anything against horror movies, I’m actually a big horror movie fan, but I wasn’t sure it was the right thing to do, one horror movie on top of another horror movie. But I love Glen Morgan and [producer] James Wong and all of the crew of FINAL DESTINATION 3 so much and it was such a great experience doing that film so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go through it again with them.

I figured it would be fun”¦Horror movies are such great things to film because every day is high adrenaline, high energy, so I figured why not.

Stipp: That was something I was going to bring up later in the interview but since you’ve said it I’m curious to know how if there’s a difficulty to keep up that sense of dread or fear, take after take after take?

Winstead: It can be a bit draining sometimes. It’s quite challenging. I think actors in horror movies get kind of a bad rap for not being the most talented actors out there but it’s one of the hardest thing to do, generating that fear, because it’s not easy to draw from. So, for me, I had to kind of start out by being emotional and thinking about things that really saddened me, and frightened me, like death and thinking about people I love dying and just drawing from that kind of emotion that would bring me to that fear. So it was definitely draining but, at the end of the day, it was very rewarding.

Stipp: Could I ask if whether being in a slasher film like BLACK CHRISTMAS, where a guy stalks women in a sorority house, has any base in reality where some people think that this just perpetuates the notion of violence against women?

Winstead: I don’t see this as being derogatory towards women. I think that horror films, especially slasher films, can be analyzed in so many different ways and have been. There’s the whole thing with the “final girl” and it’s really interesting because I was talking to Quentin Tarantino about it a few weeks ago of all the different studies and ways of viewing that.

I don’t think it can be looked at in that one dimensional, close-minded way. So, I think it’s entertainment and it can be taken for however you want to take it.

Stipp: Right. And now you’re going to be in GRINDHOUSE”¦ Another”¦

Winstead: Yeah!

[Laughs]

Stipp: I swear one of my questions was going to be whether you were going to continue down this path and possibly remake PSYCHO COP or CHOPPING MALL.

Winstead: I know!

[Laughs]

I’m not intentionally seeking out horror movies but I am not going to turn a good part down just because of its genre so I’m up for anything.

Stipp: So how was working with Quentin and his envisioning of what a horror, splatter, exploitation flick should be and your experience on BLACK CHRISTMAS?

Winstead: Quentin is really just all out fun.

A lot of the scenes were comical and over the top and crazy so there wasn’t really any real lot of fear or emotion. Most of my scenes are just filled with dialogue with Rosario Dawson and Tracie Thoms, just hanging out and being girls, just having fun. And then it gets sort of twisted at a certain point but it’s still in this campy, fun way. So, every day we just laughing after every take. We were just howling. So, it wasn’t as dark as the other horror films I’ve done.

Stipp: And I have to mention that I saw some of Robert’s footage during Comic-Con this past summer.

Winstead: Oh, really? Nice”¦ The two of them together”¦it’s just a crazy, fun environment. I miss it, very much.

Stipp: Being there, and being in the eye of the presentation during Comic-Con where you had hundreds of geeks just screaming and roaring what was it like to be a part of something like that? Being an actress I have to believe that you don’t get many opportunities to be front and center like that.

Winstead: It was so crazy. For one thing, I was really surprised that I was even invited to be there. I figured it was just going to be Quentin and Robert, maybe Rosario, even the more well known stars of the film, so I was very excited that I was invited to even be on the panel. And, beyond that, I expected that I was just going to sit there silent the whole time and no one would know who I was. So it was really strange that I actually got questions from the audience about work I had done. That was such a shock to me. It was kind of the first time that I realized anyone out there actually knew my name and had seen my work before.

[Laughs]

It was really a fun, fun experience.

Stipp: Do you get more of that with every project you take on? A little more public recognition? With SKY HIGH, you’ve got to have a cadre of small fans who’ve probably watched that thing again and again while now you’re also cultivating a more mature audience with BLACK CHRISTMAS and later on, GRINDHOUSE and DIE HARD 4.

Winstead: Yeah, a little bit.

I see it more online than anywhere else where you can see it growing like on web sites and message boards dedicated to you, which is so strange. So, it’s still in this sort of fantasy world to me and it doesn’t feel real. It’s like, “Oh, there are some people talking about me online.” Out in the real world, no one knows who I am.

So, it’s strange to think that those are real people out there, people who have seen my work and are true fans. I have yet to meet a lot of them because I haven’t been to those kinds of conventions but every now and then I’ll get recognized on the street but most of the time it’s just double-takes from people who say, “You look familiar.” At a restaurant the other day the waiter said I looked like a girl from FINAL DESTINATION 3. But it’s not to a degree where I feel any level of fame yet.

Stipp: Now, with this being the holiday season and BLACK CHRISTMAS being a warm movie you can take the whole family to, I recently took my family, namely my daughter, for the first time to see the Nutcracker. I found out that one of the first productions you really were involved with was the Nutcracker. I’m curious to know which part you played and whether you thought ballet was the route you were going to go in for the duration of your career.

Winstead: I did, absolutely. As a child, I acted and I loved acting but ballet was my heart’s career choice. Over the years I’ve been almost every character in that production because I did a few years, I was Clara when I was 12, I was the mechanical doll, I was Chinese, Russian, I was the Snow Queen, I was everything. That was something I really loved and was passionate about it. I went to New York and did summer programs with the Joffrey Ballet School and, at one point, I just realized that it probably wasn’t going to go as far as I wanted to just because I was really tall for my age and it’s such a precise career as far as physicality”¦you have to fit into this mold. I didn’t want to put myself through that. I realized that the thing I loved most about it was the performance and being able to act and play characters on stage so I figured, “Why not just stick with that.”

It was a nice training background for me and I miss it. I still try and take classes whenever I can.

Stipp: Are your feet all jacked up or do they at least look good in a pair of flip-flops?

[Laughs]

Winstead: They’re nice! I think I got out of it just in time.

I had some teachers at Joffrey who wouldn’t even let you pad your toe shoes because they want you to toughen up.

Stipp: You’re kidding”¦

Winstead: Any more years of that and I would be totally deformed looking. But I think I got away just in time.

Stipp: Now, from GRINDHOUSE you’re hitting the screen again on July 4th of 2007 with DIE HARD 4.

Winstead: Yes”¦.

Stipp: Lucy McClane all grown up. And I know some people will knock it but Len Wiseman did a great job with UNDERWORLD. He made that movie knowing exactly what he wanted to get out of it. Are you finding he’s bringing that same sensibility to DIE HARD 4?

Winstead: Well, it’s been fun so far. I am still working on it until the end of January. I haven’t yet gotten into some of my bigger stuff so it’s hard to say exactly as I’ve only done a few scenes here and there, I’m still just getting a feel for it but it’s been great because it has been a different experience for me. I’ve never done a big action movie. There so much focus on that [the action], and a little less on my own performance, that I kind of have to deal with that myself.

[Laughs]

As I try to bring what I can to the table with all that’s going on. There’s a lot more waiting around for the scenes to be set up because the explosions have to happen at the EXACT right time. The cars have to drive away at the exact right time. There’s so much more, technically, going on but Len is handling it so well. It would seem like it’s such a high stress type of job but he’s so calm, and so fun loving through it all. I think that’s a good sign of someone who knows what they’re doing, not letting it get you.

Stipp: On the subject of where you really got some experience in front of a camera, namely television productions, a lot of actors recently who have traditionally been in film have been making the move to the small screen. Any ambitions to ever go back?

Winstead: Not right now. I’m so excited to have been doing back-to-back films, it’s such an exciting and now thing for me, I really never thought it would happen for me because I was such a pilot kid growing up. I would come out, do a pilot, it wouldn’t get picked up, and I would do it again next year and I kind of felt like I was going to be doomed to repeat that for my entire career.

But the fact that I have been able to do film after film after film”¦it’s been the best year ever. It’s made me really want to try and continue to focus on that. Maybe when I get a little bit older and I want to settle down and have a little more stability I think that would be a great thing to be on a TV show, have a steady income and have a steady place where you live and work. I think that’s a real attractive idea but, right now, while I can I might as well live a little crazier life and travel all over the place doing different films. We’ll see what happens.

Stipp: Being a young actress, competing with other young actresses, is there an outside pressure to keep going at a film career while you’re able to have one, to not let this moment slip by?

Winstead: I don’t really think of other actresses as competition, just because I feel like everyone is so different and everyone brings something completely different to the roles that they play so that when I am meeting for different roles, and I see another actress there, I don’t have that competitive edge like, “Oh, I’ve got to get it over her. I’ve got to do better than her.” I think that everyone is going to be liked or disliked for completely different reasons.

But it is hard, when you hear on a pretty consistent basis, “Well, we need someone more famous. We need someone more famous.” That’s something I’ve been hearing for years but I’ve gotten to the point where now it’s, “Well, you’re almost there but not quite.” So, I’m still struggling with that but you have to keep working at it and hopefully you’ll get past that point, you WILL BE the person getting the roles and hopefully I’ll have paid my dues and deserve that moment when it comes for me.

Stipp: So then do you have some more projects lined up as soon as DIE HARD 4 finishes?

Winstead: Not yet.

I’m taking meetings and reading scripts, just trying to find the best thing and hoping to take small steps ahead with each thing as I build up my career and try to get to the next level. I’m hoping to find the thing that will take me there.

Stipp: Can you be more picky now?

Winstead: Definitely, yeah.

It’s an interesting place to be. For the first time in my career I am turning things down which I never imagined I would be doing. I would take almost anything as long as it wasn’t degrading to me as a person. If it was work, it was work and I was happy to do it. And I still feel that to a certain extent so it’s very hard for me to say no when someone wants to work with me. I’m just having to be smart about it and only choose films that are going to be a step ahead, not a step back.

Stipp: And how do you get that feeling, from the script in your hands to what you think will actually be shot? In two different hands I think you could have two different movies based on the same source material.

Winstead: Right, that’s true too. It can be very objective when you read a script and there have been scripts in the past where I thought, “That’s not a very good script. I think this movie is going to be pretty bad.” And then I see the movie and it turns out to be really great!

And so it’s hard when I turn something down because I think, “What if it turns out to be the greatest thing ever?” You’ve just got to trust your instincts and go for it because, at the end of the day, if it does turn out to be a mistake, whatever. There’s always something else waiting at the end of the road.

Stipp: And so what popped out at you when you read the script for BLACK CHRISTMAS? Or was it a pitch that began, “Stay with me, don’t laugh or say no but”¦it’s a remake”¦of a horror movie”¦”

[Laughs]

Winstead: Well, I really enjoyed the original BLACK CHRISTMAS. Olivia Hussey was one of the reasons I wanted to be an actress as a child because I did a school production of Romeo and Juliet and I watched her version of it everyday for almost a year and I just wanted to be her so she’s always been on my list of idols. Hence, being in a movie that’s a remake of one that she starred in was pretty cool and the character was something new for me, nothing I’ve ever played before, sort of a debutant socialite snob. I’ve always played like the Nice Girl or the Girl Everyone Likes so I thought it was different.

Stipp: Last question: It’s Christmas time. What do you have planned?

Winstead: I’m going home to North Carolina to see my family, I’ve got a big family, 5 kids in the family, and they all have kids for the most part so all of us are going to go and rent a Bed N’ Breakfast in Asheville, North Carolina. There’s all sorts of tourist-y things to do up there like crazy gingerbread house making contests and it’s just going to be nice.

##

 

 

–by Christopher Stipp

I’m a terrible human being.

I have a Masters degree in Adult Education and Distance Learning and you think that I could do something worthwhile with that. Teach a class, mentor one of the forty plus million American adults who are functionally illiterate in this country, even help my own father with learning the difference between “there” and “they’re” would be a great start but, no, I just ply my wordsmithing here in this corner of the Internet and try to delude myself into thinking that I am giving some kind of esoteric pleasure to a few readers every week.

No, Blake Mycoskie is the real man of the year after hearing how this one-time reality TV star of what is the gold Emmy standard of all reality television, The Amazing Race, turned his passion of entrepreneurship into a thriving shoe company that goes beyond having the latest, greatest athlete sport his wares.

Blake has gone beyond creating a shoe that simply breaks your heart with the story of what went brought them to market, he has found out a way to rock your feet with a unique take on an old classic all the while being a model for what good corporate stewardship should be. No one should ever mistake Blake’s commitment to quality, not after you listen to how every pair of his TOMS Shoes is constructed but that, for every pair purchased, another pair is given to a child really less fortunate than either you or I. For those who don’t get it it’s easy: buy a pair, give a pair.

Charity has never been easier.

This year saw the development, planning, launch and debut of Mycoskie’s brain child while still finding time to have his inaugural “shoe drop” for kids in real need of footwear descend into Argentina in order to distribute 10,000 pairs of shoes. There are people who never do as much as Blake has done for other people who need more than they’ve been given and it’s only been his drive, spirit and help of those in higher profile positions, like actress Missy Peregrym, star of this year’s Stick It, to give Blake a little public boost.

As we talked about what makes this shoe unique and how one can go about buying a piece of high comfort, low cost, footwear you will see why this interview has already sparked a couple of purchases even before the ink was dry on this introduction.

You can’t help but feel inspired by what these shoes have meant to those who have in contact with them and, going into the holiday season, I would recommend that you go click on over to the TOMS Shoes website and either start browsing for your own pair or find out how easy it is to gift these bad boys for those you love. At $38 per pair, regardless if you’re a Bigfoot like me or a midget toed doe like your old lady, the site is an interactive joy to navigate. Find out why SPIDER-MAN 3’s Tobey Maguire is a fan (if you can’t trust Spider-Man, who can you trust?) or just know, all kidding aside, that there are kids in this world who deserve to have their feet protected and all you have to do is buy yourself a pair of TOMS Shoes.

This is one of the most inspiring pieces I’ve been able to write for Quick Stop this year and I thank Blake and Missy for giving me some of their own time in order to help me understand how shoes can make a difference in the lives of so many.

 

 

CHRISTOPHER STIPP: Well, thank you for making time to talk to me. Now, I’ve read all the materials about TOMS Shoes but, for those at home, tell me how this all came about.

BLAKE MYCOSKIE: I was down in Argentina in January of this past year, basically hanging out on a farm, learning how to play polo and kind of getting away from the world. When I was down there I came across a shoe called the alpargata. The alpargata is a traditional Argentine farmer shoe that farmers have been wearing for hundreds of years and because the polo players, all their horses are on the farm, they spend a lot of time on the farms in Argentina, they were all wearing them after the games and since I was down there ready to play polo I thought, well, I’ll buy a pair and slip them on.

And as soon as I put them on, I loved them. I thought they were cool, I thought they were really lightweight and comfortable. I grew up wearing Vans nonstop. So, to me, they were like a lighter weight Vans and were something different. I liked the style, I was wearing them around and on the last week of my trip I had already contacted a group called Insight Argentina before I went down there to do some volunteer work. What the organization does is to facilitate Americans and Europeans who are coming to South America for opportunities to volunteer. So, I met with my contact, her name as Angelique, and she told me that one of their big initiatives that they were doing was a shoe drive; they were going around colleting used shoes from people in Buenos Aires and taking them to different villages in Argentina for the kids.

I had never experienced that and when I went to one village and saw all these kids without shoes, and saw what they were doing, I guess from an entrepreneurial standpoint my mind was like, “There’s got to be a better way than just giving these kids used shoes that, typically, don’t even fit them.” Especially, when there’s this great alpargata shoe that they have which is their national shoe; it’s not that expensive.

The next day I was sitting on a farm with my buddy who’s a polo player who now runs our business down there, and this sounds kind of cheesy, but I literally turned to him and said, “I’ve got an idea. I’m going to start a shoe company and every pair of shoes that I sell I am going to give one pair back to these children that I met who don’t have shoes. We’re gong to provide shoes for tomorrow and the company is going to be called TOMS.” And, literally, from that first kind of idea it hasn’t really changed all that much.

So, I had the idea and he loved it and I don’t speak Spanish so I needed his help to translate. Right there, about at that same time, I sat there and showed him the alpargata shoe and kind of just spurted out my ideas of, “Let’s put a rubber sole, let’s do a nice leather insole, we’ll do multiple colors on the toes and the heels and he loved it. He was like, “Ok, let’s do it!” I ended up staying in Argentina an extra couple months, learning everything I could about the shoe business, it was quite funny, because everywhere I went people thought I was crazy; this is their peasant shoe. “Why in America would anyone want to buy an alpargata when you’ve got Nike and Reebok?”

They just didn’t get it. It made things difficult because they didn’t believe me when I said, to a supplier, “I’m going to buy this much fabric.” Or, “I want to hire you to do this,” and they figured, “Oh, you’re going to make, like, 10 of them and never see you again.” So it was important for me to explain that I was serious and that I had the financial backing to do it. We made the shoes, we made 200 pairs, a couple of little mom and pop makers helped to make the initial pairs. Even after that we just grew upon those and we’re still aren’t in a very large factory; it’s a very small operation.

And I came back at the end of April, beginning of May, with my 200 pairs and gave them to my friends here in LA and, luckily, I had some friends who were connected with some different celebrities so we were able to quickly to get them on a few of them, one of the first being Sienna Miller. That was a huge breakthrough because when that came out in OK magazine it was just about the time I was trying to get them into stores. And I’d like to give some stores credit who actually ordered TOMS before the story broke: American Rag, Scoop in New York, Milk on Melrose and Fred Segal. From that, we just got some press and some celebrities and it just kind of took off.

And that’s where Missy comes in! I’m done!

[Laughs]

STIPP: So, Missy, how DID you become involved with this footwear?

MISSY PEREGRYM: Well, I went to this Emmy suite gift lounge where Blake was doing some charity for the event and I felt really bad because you’re supposed to give $40 when you went in and I did not have it. I had”¦how much did I have Blake?

MYCOSKIE: You had 26 dollars.

[Laughs]

PEREGRYM: I felt bad that I didn’t have that to contribute because they explained that if I pay the money then they’ll give me a pair and some kid gets another pair too. And, after I walked around, and got to his booth I was really impressed with what the company stood for, and I felt TERRIBLE that I only had $26 to contribute, and I knew there was no way I could take a pair of shoes, I couldn’t even pay for them. So, I was like, “Can you please take my $26 and maybe you can give my shoes to another kid?”

And Blake was, “No, get out of here.” He was really mean.

[Laughs]

No, he said, “I’ll give you a pair and I’ll give 2 pair of shoes to a kid.” And I thought, “Wow, that was really cool.” So, at that point I left and my publicist actually saw Blake the next day and said, “We want to go to Argentina.”

[Laughs]

Because, while I was talking with Blake he mentioned that he was going to be doing a shoe drop in Argentina. And it’s one those things where we’ve tried so many times to get involved with different charities and I’ve always wanted to volunteer but it was always so difficult because things were always getting ripped out from underneath me right before we were going to go do something. And when my publicist called me to tell me we were going to go do the shoe drop I was skeptical. I kind of never held onto the idea at all. When we found out that it was going to work out after all I had to, first of all, raise the money to be able and go. That’s when Joshua Miller and Tim Jackson from Category One Entertainment were really kind and actually sponsored me and my publicist Tej to be able and go on the trip. It turned out that I was almost not able to go because I booked a job a week before I was supposed to leave.

I didn’t think I could go and I was devastated that I was going to have to be in Atlanta instead of Argentina. I couldn’t understand why I was finally able to do something I wanted to be a part of and now I get a job, after a year. Then, four days later after getting the job, it didn’t work out that I could go on the job because they didn’t have enough time to work out my working papers; they didn’t have enough time to transfer my visa to go work with the studio. So, I lost a job, but I couldn’t really cry about it because now I had the chance to go to Argentina.

I ended up being able to go and it was, truly, the most amazing experience. It was life changing. It sounds so cliché but it’s the absolute truth.

One of the things that’s the most significant to me is that you go down there”¦obviously it feels good that you’re going to be doing something good for somebody else, you’re going to be giving these kids shoes, and you’re going to make them happy but, to tell you the truth, the kids are already happy. The real things in life, like love, and family and community, they already have it and demonstrate that in their daily lives. It was the most unselfish way of life and that’s what kind of hit me more than anything because they have almost nothing. They’re playing soccer with plastic bags and they’re such happy kids.

I wish I could have brought THAT back to America. I wish I could take that experience and just be able to share it with everyone to see what the most important thing in life really is and even though these shoes”¦these shoes are imperative, it was a huge help to their society.

I knew it was going to impact me in a great way but never in that way. I didn’t think they would be as happy as they were. I don’t know. It was just so hard to come back to LA after that, especially Hollywood. So, it was difficult for me to get my head back in the game and just even want to be here after experiencing that. It made me just want to go and live there.

MYCOSKIE: I think, for me, the joy of the kids was something none of us could have anticipated. The greatest thing about the shoe drop, and what has really inspired me to grow the concept even more, and I knew the kids would be happy to get shoes and that the families would be very grateful to have this because it is a health issue when you don’t have shoes and you’re walking on ground that is very rough and get cuts and scrapes and your feet get infected and you don’t have medicine, I knew what we were doing was important. But what I didn’t anticipate was the joy I would experience in seeing the people we took down there, like Missy, like Tej, like my parents, like my brother and sister, like my interns from this summer, and really seeing the change in their lives both during the trip and when they got back.

Once I got down there I was so emotional, and it was so overwhelming to have all these people I cared about, who were dedicating their time and money to be down there to help me fulfill my dream of giving these shoes away to see how touched they were and the joy they experienced in connecting with the kids was the most amazing byproduct of the whole thing.

Now, what I’m trying to do is, instead of setting up these major shoe drops where we are giving away 10,000 pairs of shoes over a week, create an infrastructure where shoe drops can be going on, literally, six months a year where we are sending groups down, 10 or 20 people at a time, and have a full-time staff down there facilitating them so that literally hundreds, if not thousands, of people from the US could experience the joy and then come back to their respective communities and spread the joy of giving.

PEREGRYM: And I hope I can do that in MY everyday life, and not just with traveling the world and giving kids shoes, but I hope my way of thinking is different and I can apply that kind generosity in every part of my life. And, if everyone did that, I just think it would transform this country so much.

STIPP: And on that point, Missy, looking through some of your photo spreads I am reminded of layouts where you are wearing $300 shoes, opulent clothes, how do you reconcile that with having to play the Hollywood game?

PEREGRYM: I totally understand that. I already had a problem with the industry as it frustrated me, and stressed me out, that every event you go to, God forbid, you wear the wear the same thing over because, “That’s weird.”

So, I try not to play that game. I had a hard time going to photo shoots or doing any of that stuff which seemed self-glorifying. I wanted to do something that would change things for the better and I didn’t think that me, acting, was doing that. So, TOMS Shoes gave me something more than just an experience.

I feel more comfortable with the way I go about things now. It just kind of confirms that I can do that and that, in this industry, the focus is on the wrong things.

Besides, TOMS Shoes are cool anyways. And by wearing TOMS Shoes it’s not like I am sacrificing anything, at all. It’s not like I look like a dumbass walking around in TOMS Shoes.

[Laughing]

STIPP: And, to that point, Blake, how can I go about getting a pair for myself? Are you in stores, nationwide?

MYCOSKIE: Well, it’s exciting. I did not come from the fashion or shoe business; I’ve learned a lot in the seven months I’ve been in it.

When you’re working on establishing a brand you, initially, put it in some very unique, select spots and keep it limited to create buzz and that’s what we did this summer. We were in some top boutiques in LA, top boutiques in New York, maybe one or two in Chicago; we kept it kind of limited on purpose to create the buzz. And, now that we have, in the Spring we are going to be in 72 out of 80 Nordstrom’s, we’ll be in every single Urban Outfitters, we’ll be in 30% of the Bloomingdale’s and then we’ll be in over 150 boutiques nationwide.

You can, though, order them online. And that’s one of the great things about the shoe, too. It’s a $38 shoe. You know your size, you know it’s going to fit. It’s not one of those “It’s gotta fit perfectly” kind of shoe. So, of the first 10,000 pairs of shoes we sold almost half of them have been online. That way we can establish a longer relationship with the person who bought the shoes.

We just did a mailer where I sent a picture of one of the kids to every single person who bought a pair of shoes and a thank-you note so we can kind of communicate that way. We really encourage people to buy them online.

STIPP: And, Missy, what else is on your plate, work wise, as I just looked at IMDB and there isn’t anything on there since your turn in STICK IT.

PEREGRYM: I know”¦

STIPP: Are you getting lazy?

[Laughs]

PEREGRYM: No! I’m just really picky with the stuff I want to do and it’s funny because I was like, “Yes, I’ve done a movie and now it’s going to be REALLY easy from here on.”

To tell you the truth, it just got more difficult because then the projects I was offered was either something so similar to STICK IT or horror movies and I can’t even read the script let alone be a part of something like that. And I didn’t even do pilot season last year because I thought, “No, I’m just going to do film.” I just wasn’t impressed with what I was seeing and now I’m just taking my time with everything and making sure the next project I do is something I can go at one hundred percent. I just really want to believe in it and be proud of it. I mean it’s documented for the rest of my life.

I’d rather wait around and do another project that I’m happy to be a part of so, I don’t know, basically I’m still doing what I do, I’m trying to create a television series. It’s called Stupid and Contagious. I’m trying to get on the other side of things as well; I’m tired of waiting for something to be created for me but I also don’t have the patience for that so we’ll see how that goes.

STIPP: Did you catch any of that entrepreneurial spirit of Blake’s and think about just creating your own thing? Strike out and make your own magic happen?

PEREGRYM: Well, to start something from nothing is not something I would want to do and it’s just difficult because in this industry it just takes a long time”¦you even have an idea of a project it takes years for it to actually go through. I know enough of the right people right now that hopefully this will work out with the next project but it doesn’t really matter what you try to do; it is always in the hands of other people.

You can’t really do your own thing. So, to some degree I just have to accept the fact I don’t have the control over everything and I’m becoming a little bit better at that but I also do believe that the right project is going to come up too. I know it’s just a matter of time.

I’d rather wait and not compromise my morals and values just for a paycheck. We’ll see how that works out; I’m not really eating anymore.

[Laughs]

STIPP: And Blake, last question, I know you’re trying to increase the amount of shoes you produce and that you’re committed to making sure the locations where these shoes are made do enough for their workers. Are you aware of the economies of scale and that as the numbers increase you will need to find more and more places that can adequately fulfill demand?

MYCOSKIE: Yeah, and because of all the negative press that shoe companies have gotten, due to labor practices, we, as a culture, are more aware of these things. And, as a consumer, we are much more interested in supporting brands and companies that operate in places where they respect human beings. There are a lot more options today than there were.

In a couple of weeks I am going to Asia to visit several factories that could really help us with scaling There’s even a ranking system now, from one being health benefits and amazing work standards, and paying above minimum wage, etc”¦ all the way to a class four, something I don’t even want to see; I don’t even want them to exist but it does.

So, in setting up these meetings”¦we’re only meeting with class one facilities. We’re not going to exploit one person to help another.

We’re going to make sure that wherever TOMS are made, be that Africa, Asia or Argentina or wherever, that we are only contributing to the goodwill of the people making the shoes.

STIPP: Coincidently, as a sidebar I know that prior to this interview I listened to a story on PRI’s This American Life about how Cambodia wants to be a player on the world stage with regard to fashion and the manufacturing of it but they’re having problems with doing so because not only have the Khmer Rouge been expunged from their daily lives, and not only are they are one of the rarer Asian countries who believe strongly in the idea of treating their workers better than any of their neighbors but there seems to be no help forthcoming from the United States, a country who Cambodia is trying to reach out to in the hopes someone will recognize what they’re trying to do.

MYCOSKIE: Yes, Cambodia, different parts of West Africa. I am learning so much and I feel like God is getting me back now because I didn’t get through college.

I just can’t make shoes anymore. I need to understand the political aspects of what’s going on so that we really do make the right choices on where we do production.