Hi
Caroline, can you start the http://www.racksandrazors.com/ readers off with a visual and describe
the room where you are writing the
answers to these questions?
My husband's office --
paneled, sea-foam green walls, bamboo shades,
Thorne' chair, DishNetwork, 25" TV, Sony DVD
player, X-box.
Okay,
lets start off talking about 'Texas Chainsaw
Massacre 2' (1986). How did you get
the role as kidnapped and terrorized DJ - Vanita
'Stretch' Brock, Leatherface's first love
interest?
Showed
up at a very quiet casting session in Austin,
TX. Proceeded to run screaming down a long
hallway, into the casting room; shoved Tobe and
Kit off their chairs, piled the chairs in front
of the imaginary ice-house door. Done!
Now
with a bit of distance on that Vanita character,
what do you see as the predominant character
traits the two of you share?
Nearly
impervious to embarrassment or rejection; dogged
determination; modesty.
Do
you have a predominant memory of shooting the
movie?
Just that it was a swirling tornado
of sound and action and motion and more
sound. None of us ever seemed to stop
moving. Which made all the Grateful Dead in
Tom Savini's Ghoul School look
attractive at times.
You've
been on a lot of sets in your career - but that
one sounds like it had to be interesting with
Tobe Hooper directing and a cast that included
Dennis Hopper among others. What
was unique about that set?
Kit was the quieter and more
contemplative of the two. Tobe is like a
military commander. He's certain of where
he's going and what he's doing and that's
essential director stuff in my view. Hopper
is a consummate technician as an actor. He
knows exactly what will draw an audience in, what
they want to see. How to economize
emotionally so you don't get worn out. All
those many years of experience and living.
It showed.
You
also made a cameo appearance as Vanita in 'TCM
3'. Were you eager to reprise the role; was
it a contractual obligation, a favor...?
Jeff Burr directed me in "Stepfather
2" and I was eager to help him out
in any way I could. He's terrific and
creative and a great guy that you do that sort of
thing for.
I also love your
work as Loretta in 'Leprachaun
3'. Where you wish to be beautiful and
are given your wish and your bust grows and your
lips grow and grow and grow until... Do you
have any memories of the FX they used on your
make-up or prosthetics?
Only that the appliances stank to
high heaven and that my then fiancée (now
husband) showed up to watch the shoot. Was
my face red!
I
also want to hear about your work in one of the
great forgotten horror series --- as Matty
Crimmins in 'Stepfather II'. What do you
recall most about that role and filming the movie
itself?
That Terry O'Quinn was one of the
most pleasant and thoroughly nice people that I'd
ever met in my life. He radiated
contentment. His present success is well
deserved and makes me feel lucky that I knew him
then.
Oh,
and I must hear of your impressions at your very
first horror convention 'Texas Frightmare
Weekend'. What was that experience like?
It
wasn't anything like I had imagined. What a
creative, friendly and intelligent crowd. I
thought it would be a very serious, dark, Goth,
nihilistic. Instead, an artistic community
has taken shape around these films. Music,
body art, piercings, fashion, hair and makeup,
photography, short films and videos.
Terrifically creative.
You
have made a solid impression in
several horror flicks, so I've got to
ask what is the oddest fan
request you've had?
No stalkers, crazy phone callers,
scary characters. I've never had one,
really. People have always been respectful,
thoughtful, and considerate. Just really
appreciative at being entertained in the way that
they like.
You
have done so many movies and TV roles -
everything from 'Days of Thunder' to 'Murder She
Wrote', 'The District', 'The Division', 'NYPD
Blue', 'Diagnosis Murder', 'Mike Hammer',
'Suddenly Susan', 'Sabrina', 'LA Law', etc.
Is there some role or moment in your career where
you watched yourself and said - "That is
definitely my finest moment as an actress"?
An episode of a TV series I guested
on called "Equal Justice".
The storyline had me as the daughter of a
Kevorkian-type victim. Courtroom drama. On
the stand. 27 takes (including reversals,
close-ups, master shots) of long, emotional
dialogue, directed by Michael Switzer, producer
was Thomas Carter. I slipped into the room
where they watched dailies and Thomas Carter
asked, "Who's that terrific
actress"? I said, "It's
me". He sent me home with a raw,
unedited reel of that scene. It got me a
lot of work.
Do
you have any other upcoming projects or
appearances you would like to plug or mention or
let the http://www.racksandrazors.com/ readers know
about?
Just
finished recording some commentary for a new
special edition DVD of Texas Chainsaw
Massacre 2 which is supposed to come out
in September and I'm looking forward to doing
more horror films after all these years.
Okay
- we're pulling the car into the Caroline
Williams Drive In. What three horror flicks
are on the triple bill tonight and what goodies
are they serving up at the concession stand?
A slower start with "The
Omen", building to any of
the "Halloween",
"Nightmare" or "Friday
the 13th"
series; double-body-slamming into "Hostel".
What
makes you go psycho in real life?
All the little, annoying minutia of
life.
What
scares you in real life?
When you have kids, you'll
know. |