June, 2010

Interview with Producer Peter Hankoff

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

ED- The Eerie Digest is thrilled to introduce Peter Hankoff to our readers. Peter, you offer our readers another venue of screen production as a Documentary Producer. Tell us all about this field.

PH- There are probably about as many types of documentaries as there are TV shows or movies.  I’ve got a strong history bent so a lot of what I make is more fact-driven than the current fare of “non-fiction television” or “reality shows.”

ED- Unlike most film production you deal with true history. What impact does your work have on the world today?

PH- I don’t know the impact as much as I know the intent, which is to try to illuminate something from the past and – hopefully – show how it resonates today.  I do my best to stay true to the facts and if I can get one kid to open a history book or ask “why” then I feel like I’m ahead in the world.  History is made up of two things: troublemakers and real estate.  And that never seems to change. (more…)

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Interview with Actor and Film Maker Kim Sønderholm

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

ED- The Eerie Digest is proud to introduce one of Denmark’s greatest independent film makers, Kim Sonderholm. Kim welcome to The Eerie Digest ! You are considered one of Denmark’s scariest men for the great acting that you have done, and the movies that you have produced. First tell us about your acting, and how you started in this career .

KS- “One of Denmarks scariest men”? Wow, I’ve never heard that one before, haha. It’s not really a question of me being scary, or anything like that, but me trying to do as good a piece of work as I can and still maintain the pleasure and energy not to forget integrity in doing so. I’ve played most things from comedy, drama, action but true, the past few years there have been a fair share of horror roles aswell, which is great by me, seing as I love the genre and have loved it since I was a kid.

I guess my story how why I wanted to get into acting is not much different from anyone elses, I’ve been dreaming of it since I was a kid and when opportunity knocked I jumped on the train. I did a lot of different jobs since I left school but never felt sadisfied or fullfilled with them. I’ve always had a great interest in computers but even an education in that field didn’t interested me for long when it came down to it, it simply became way too borring way too quickly. At this point I was 25 years old and had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, and I didn’t wanna be one of those sad 80 year old men sitting at the nursing home, boring the hell out of anyone around me with “how big I would have become if only given the chance”. (more…)

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Interview with Actor Said Faraj

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

ED- The Eerie Digest is happy to present actor Said Faraj to our readers. Said has been in many of today’s popular TV shows and has portrayed many roles on the silver screen. Said, how did you first decide to take up acting as a career?

SF-Since I was in a young age, I loved theater and I always desired to be in front of the camera and when I came to the USA at age 16 the passion I had never went away even though I spend a lots of years working hard in many odd jobs acting kept hunting me so I went to Acting school and with the help of my Art teacher from High school guided me to an agent from there I start auditioning and here I am 21yrs later Starting in films opposite Matt Damon in Green zone.

ED- You have played roles in such popular TV shows as ‘24’, ‘The Shield’, ‘JAG’, and ‘The Agency’. These are great roles and we would like to know how these help shape your acting career?

SF- Well I love my roles in these project because You have to work very hard in creating an interesting character in which Coaching plays a big role in that and these Characters I played helped me find different emotions that sometime you never had or you used. They helped me in my latest project as a lead role who goes in many layers of character and emotions. (more…)

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Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Alyn Darnay

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

ED- The Eerie Digest is thrilled to introduce Writer/Director/Producer Alyn Darnay from the East Coast’s land of sunshine, Florida. Alyn it’s so great to see so many great works being created on the East Coast.  Many viewers have forgotten that Film does not totally revolve around Hollywood. Tell us about your beginnings and how you have risen in the film business.

AD- Thanks for asking Joseph, and yes there is great work going on in Florida, always has been. As to my beginnings here’s a condensed version. I began in LA, as most of us have. I was a reader first, and then did work at MGM and 20th before settling down at Famous Players Corp. under Academy Award Winner Albert Zugsmith. Learned a lot from that guy. Then I took off for Europe and worked on films for companies in Rome, Paris and England. Back in the States 4 years later I found a home in Chicago doing commercials for some of the biggest agencies and companies in the world. Proctor & Gamble, McDonald’s, NBC, Sears, Volkswagen, Conoco Oil, Kraft, M&M Mars, Oscar Meyer, Hilton, Gerber, Entenmann’s, Swift & Company, Green Giant, and Quaker to name a few. I moved to Miami in 1992 and formed Chaos Films to provide Film, Video, and HD services throughout South Florida, The Keys, and the Caribbean. (more…)

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Interview with Director Adam Green

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

ED- The Eerie Digest is very pleased to introduce noted Writer/ Director Adam Green to our legions of readers. Adam your films are the type that thrills our fans the most. What was the factor that led you into film making? We understand that your first works were creating commercials.

AG- When I was eight years old I saw E.T. THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL.  That day was pretty much the moment I decided that all I wanted to do with my life was make movies.  As early as I can remember I was always writing my own original stories, using my Star Wars action figures to recreate scenes, and making my own short films once I was able to get my hands on a video camera in High School.  There was just something about how E.T. touched me emotionally where I started pondering how it was that something that I knew was not real could affect me so strongly, and I became infatuated with learning more about how to do that.

ED- What was your first film, and can you tell us something about it?

AG- My first film ever was called STONE COLD CRAZY and it essentially involved a killer hand that chased down and murdered all of my friends who wanted to be in the movie.  I made about 8 STONE COLD CRAZY movies but they were really only made to entertain my friends at sleep over’s and stuff.  I don’t even know if I still have them anywhere. (more…)

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Interview with Author Rick Chesler

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

ED- The Eerie Digest is very excited to present a whole new realm of mystery / thrillers with author Rick Chesler. Rick, this is a really great concept. What inspired you to write this novel?

RC- Thanks, Joseph! I’ve always been fascinated with the natural world and the many ways in which people have developed technology to alter nature and our relationship with it. This book, besides being a thriller about a family in peril, explores that relationship.

ED- What started you on the path of becoming an author?

RC- Reading. I’ve always been a big reader, especially thrillers/suspense/mystery/action-adventure. After reading so many stories by other people, I eventually felt like I might be able to contribute one myself. (more…)

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Interview with Screenwriter John Meyer

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

ED- The Eerie Digest is going to do something new by introducing someone breaking into the screenwriting field. We would like to introduce John Meyer, a former police officer who has exchanged his badge for a pen. John, tell us about your former work in Law enforcement.

JM- Thanks so much for having me Joe. “Can I get a water please?…..*John takes a drink…it goes down the wrong pipe. He coughs and spits water on Joe’s nice jacket. “Ahhhck!…I’m sorry Joe.” They get a towel brought out….recover….and move on….

I basically “Stuck My Nose” in the world of law enforcement around March of 1985, at the very “Green” age of twenty. I remember running across an old ARCO test booklet for “Detective” at my local library. I was so enthrawled by the first couple of pages, that I couldn’t wait to get it home before completing the practice tests inside.  I planted myself at a table and remained there until I was pretty much kicked out by the librarian at closing. By the month of August of that year, I had graduated from the police academy, and moved with my Wife Laura down to Blythe California (city of 12,000 on the Ca. / Az. Border) where I started an adventure that lasted for just under twenty years. (more…)

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Interview with Filmmaker Peter Lankston

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

ED- The Eerie Digest is excited to welcome Peter Lankston for our reader’s pleasure. Peter, a good number of our readers are college and film students who wish to make a career in the film and publishing industries. What interested you most in making a career in film making?

PL- From a young age I was really interested in film, but didn’t think of it as a career choice – that was a million miles away from where I live in Cornwall – just unattainable. Then everything changed one night when I watched Evil Dead 2 with a group of friends. They didn’t seem the least bit interested, but I was fixated on that film (like most indie filmmakers around my age)! It not only told a simple, funny, horror story, but it was a very visually crafted film. From there I got the bug and my friend had an old camcorder, so we went out and made little movies. The other two big influences were Eraserhead and Videodrome – both big, big influences. (more…)

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Interview with John Prudhont

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

ED- The Eerie Digest is proud to introduce John Prudhont to our readers. John you have certainly worked you way up the ladder of success in the movie industry, but we understand that this is not where you originally started. Tell us of your early days in the real estate industry.

JP- Thanks so much for inviting me and “hello” to your readers. The funny thing is that I have been singing and acting since I was around 9 years old. The Real Estate and Mortgage Loan side of thing only entered the picture after I received my Bachelor of Arts degree, in History, from CSU, Sacramento in 1991. I kind of “fell into” the Mortgage side of the Real Estate business because I had done well on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT),had enrolled at Lincoln Law School of Sacramento and was looking for a job where I could work during the day and focus on going to Law School at night. A company that was managing an audit of 1st Nationwide Mortgage’s Adjustable Rate Mortage (ARM) Portfolio was looking for people with my analytical background. A very similar economic environment to right now was happening at that time and the residential mortgage industry was trying to avoid lawsuits by ensuring that their ARMs where being billed and credited correctly. That job lasted around 6 months and, I became more and more immersed in the mortgage loan business, training or loan officer, Real Estate Agents and Escrow Officers in how the mortgage industry could work more effectively to help consumers to qualify to buy more homes. Then, I tested for first my Real Estate Salesperson License and then my R.E. Broker’s license. In 2001 I opened my first Real Estate and Mortgage Loan Corporation, called JMP Financial Group, Inc. and a couple of years later I opened my second corporation of this type called Cash Flow Investments Inc. With the economic turmoil of the past 4 years, the Board of Directors of each Corporation decided to discontinue the operations of each corporation about two years ago. (more…)

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Interview with Director Robert W. Filion

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

ED- The Eerie Digest is proud to introduce director Robert W. Filion to our readers. Robert, you work in the film genre that a lot of our readers enjoy. Please tell us how you got your start in motion pictures.

RWF- I was conceived with a camera in my hand… No, seriously, I fell in love with manipulating reality back in the early 80s- creating fantastical images through words.  I first remember wanting to become a filmmaker after watching Clash of the Titans on a hot summer evening at the local drive-in in 1981.  The imagery was so vast, I was sucked into this amazing world.  Flash forward to college in the early 90s, I received a degree in technology with an emphasis in television production… The army, unfortunately, didn’t have a program for me back then, so I mostly came out of my own pocket for the curriculum specific classes (which is why I couldn’t take actual filmmaking classes… way too expensive for a teenager with no credit at all).  This is also why it’s taken me so long to get to this point… wrong training. Over the years, I manipulated what I knew, augmented it with my personal research, and finally in the late 90s emerged as a budding filmmaker.  I sort of cast off my corporate ties for a bit and concentrated on what I had always dreamed of doing.  Mine is certainly not a story of someone believing in me and handing me a bundle of cash… I’m still fighting and using everything I can to attempt to gain some sort of exposure in this field.  Granted, I know I’m on the wrong coast. (more…)

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Interview with Author Loree Lough

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

ED- The Eerie Digest is excited to present Loree Lough to all our readers. Loree, many moons ago you entertained your fans throughout the Midwest with your songs. Tell us about this early career.

LL-When I was fresh out of high school, I signed on with an agency called Artists Corporation of America, based in Milwaukee, and my agent found me jobs all over the country. You know the “piano lady” who entertained businessmen in hotel lounges? Well, substitute me, a gooseneck microphone, and a Yamaha guitar, and voila! <G> About once a month, he also booked me to open for “big name acts” like Tom Jones, Tammy Wynette, and other stars of the day.

ED- Since that period in your life, you had switched to writing. What inspired you to take up the writer’s quill?

LL-My husband’s job took us to Richmond, Virginia, and I responded to an ad in the local paper for a “neighborhood correspondent.” The editor liked my newsy articles so much that she started assigning feature articles. Soon, the editors of other periodicals were calling to make assignments. When we were transferred back to Baltimore, I showed my “clip book” to the editors here, and they, too, started making assignments. But I started noticing a troubling trend: Publishers making changes to the articles…to appease advertisers. I figured if I was gonna write fiction, I might as well try my hand at a novel. The result? Pocketful of Love, my first book. (more…)

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Interview with Actor Michael Emery

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

ED- The Eerie Digest is pleased to present Michael Emery a new actor to grace the realm of Television. Michael, what made you interested in acting as a career?

ME- Acting is more than a career to me. It’s a way of life. Acting gives me a chance to express myself through a different character’s personality and mannerisms. I was always the “class clown” growing up in school. I think I spent more time in the Principal’s office than in class, but that’s how I was. I enjoyed making people laugh. An actor’s job is to have an affect on an audience and to make them feel something when they leave the theater or when the television shows ends.

ED- Tell us of your years at Monmouth University and your studies at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

ME- First off, I was always an athlete and excelled in all sports from elementary school through high school. I played football at Monmouth University and loved every minute of it. Unfortunately, I got into some trouble outside of the school when I was 19 years old, which knocked me off my athletic track at the school. Acting put me on a positive path and gave me something to concentrate on.  All of my training and the foundation of my craft were built at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. The American Academy supplied me with the most intense and professional training that an actor can receive. The Academy has some wonderful teachers, but the one who I will always remember and still use the tools she gave me is Jackie Bartone. Jackie Bartone is a teacher who lives and breaths the acting craft and she passes it onto her students. She never let me settle for less than perfection and believed honesty is the actor’s “bench mark.” (more…)

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Interview with Author Debbi Mack

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

ED- All writers have a beginning and this is particularly true for the latest writer that we are introducing to our Mystery lovers, Debbi Mack. Debbi we are thrilled to have this interview with you and want you to tell our legions of readers around the world what first interested you to delve into writing.

DM- Thanks! I’m thrilled to talk about my writing. (What author isn’t?) I guess like most writers, I started as a reader. I read voraciously as a child. My mother would also read to me when I was very young and told oral stories she’d learned in her own childhood.

I’ve been writing pretty much all my life – or, at least, most of it. I kept journals throughout my adolescence. In high school, I wrote poems (one of which made my school’s literary journal), song lyrics and a short story for a class on which I got an A-. That grade totally blew me away. It occurred to me that I might actually have a knack for telling stories.

Even though it took years, I eventually decided to put an effort toward writing in earnest and trying to get published. (more…)

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Interview with Actress Alicia Lara

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

ED- The Eerie Digest is very excited to present actress Alicia Lara to our readers. Alicia, you have worn many hats in your career so far.   What encouraged you to make your career in the film industry?

AL- I am, at the heart of things, a movie fan.  To be on screen creating characters that touch people—one way or the other—is my biggest wish.  Love, hate or feel sorry for my character—I just want them to touch you somehow.  Great actors in great roles have marked moments throughout my life and I aspire to their heights.  Robert DeNiro in “Awakenings” (which led me to watch “Raging Bull”), Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth”, Julie Walters in “Educating Rita”, Peter Sellers in “Being There” and Benicio del Toro in “The Usual Suspects” and later, “Traffic.”  Toni Collette.  Gene Wilder–you know, he’s great. In his films he is in these ridiculous situations and he always stays very grounded—that’s what makes it funnier.  I tend to be a very real actor so I take that route—no matter what is happening around me, even when I’m in a farce onstage, I keep it real.  That’s just my tendency. I have a long way to travel yet in my career but I can only hope I make some kind of impact, in the end, on someone’s life the way these actors have inspired mine. (more…)

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Night Trains – Chapter 8

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

CHAPTER EIGHT

The shit did hit the fan.  The next morning a special task force meeting was called at One Police Plaza, downtown, by the Commissioner and the Mayor.

The newspapers hadn’t come up with a suitable name for the killer, but many were capitalizing with wild newsprint about the incredible eyewitness accounts of the giants’ elusive maneuvers in thwarting the police.  Some reporters jeered the city officials and some sympathized with them, talking of their great efforts in combing the area in which the big man had to be, but somehow wasn’t.

No matter how much they bent the story, or which way they leaned, they seemed to have drummed up a great deal of fear from the readers.  Because of this, the Mayor’s Office received many letters and calls from “respectable citizens,” and “taxpayers,” demanding an end to the carnage.  Many of those who contacted their civic leaders were the same people who would find it beneath their dignity to ride the trains.  There were also many more who did ride them, and they were just downright scared. (more…)

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Actress Ellen Dubin, from our May issue, has released the following Update:

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

HALLMARK HALL OF FAME PRESENTS WHEN LOVE IS NOT ENOUGH:THE LOIS WILSON STORY DVD release starring Barry Pepper , Winona Ryder and Ellen Dubin.

Copies can be purchased at the Hallmark site.

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Press Release: Bollywood to Hollywood

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

For Immediate Release

BOLLYWOOD TO HOLLYWOOD

- WEB SERIES –

THE HOT NEW INDO-AMERICAN WEB-SERIES
FROM HANUMAN MEDIA!

(Los Angeles, CA, May 2010): Hanuman Media’s Executive Producers Saba Moor-Doucette & Suniil Sadarangani
have co-created the web series Bollywood To Hollywood.

Bollywood To Hollywood is truly an Indo-American collaboration with writers Saba Moor-Doucette & Jeff Doucette in the US and Anil Sadarangani writing in Mumbai, India.  The web-series follows the misadventures of two former neighbors Sunil Kapoor and Amitabh Patel from Bollywood. Sunil arrives in Hollywood with stars in his eyes and wants to be a famous actor. Amitabh, while on business to further his solar panel empire pursues his secret ambition to be a big Hollywood Producer. Together they meet and interact with an assorted bunch of Hollywood crazies, landlords, (more…)

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Night Trains – Chapter 9

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

CHAPTER NINE

Everything came to a head again on the following Tuesday, after what was hoped to be a successful operation by the police in deterring the killer by keeping station platforms virtually swamped by the boys in blue.  It was hoped that this would bring some confidence back to the public and soothe the unrest of the previous week.

It all began at the Forest Hills‑Long Island Railroad Station, when Stanley Barstol and Joan Banning were threatened by Miss Banning’s former fiancé, Phillip Johnson.

Johnson had been drinking heavily the past few days and had not shown up for his job on Monday, after Miss Banning told him she changed her mind about marrying him.  She had been seeing Barstol secretly and decided that he was the better prospect.  She had kept her ring in the bargain as well, for her troubles mind you, and this infuriated Johnson that much more.  They had only been engaged for a month and a half at the time.

Driving him even further into despair was the fact that he was fired this morning, after arriving at work with a very unpleasant hangover. (more…)

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