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Brian: It is noted on your bio on IMDB
that you are often billed under different names.
Janet Tracey, Tracey Keijser, Janet Tracy
Keijser. Even the Dead 7 DVD has
you listed on the box, which you appear,
beautifully, on the cover of- under one name and
in the film, itself, under another. Is there any
specific reason for the different names used?
Janet: Step
aside Kevin Bacon, theyve invented a new
name game for Janet Tracy Keijser. The correct
spelling of my last name and my middle name has
reached epic proportions of scrabble. Numerous
times growing up I switched to Tracy, my middle
name. There was always another Janet in school
and ever being the actress, I needed
to be original. In the Keijser family tradition
my brother went by his middle name Todd, but my
folks didnt add the III part and I was a
Janet Keijser II named after my Dutch
grandfathers sister. But Canadians
dont give a hoot about that stuff. So my
grandfather changed the spelling of the last name
to homogenize it when he naturalized. I tried to
correct the IMDB and they added my correction to
the growing list of names. So now Im
starting a name game, where anyone who can show a
verifiably wrong spelling of my name that has not
been used yet, can e-mail me off my website and
Ill ship em a free tee shirt or
screening copy of The Halfway House.
It has to be used as the official billing on a
movie or something that Ive been in. I know
there are more versions out there that the IMDB
hasnt listed yet.
Brian: Did you
have any idea how powerful the images of you in
House on Haunted Hill would be? They are
really hauntingly beautiful. Also, how long did
the shots take and how physically taxing was the
whole affair?
Janet: Dangling stark naked off wires (sans a small
strip of cloth over you know what) as a pendant
in a rented storage unit as center stage to a
half dozen FX guys taping, swinging and racking
you, is always a fun filled afternoon for me. I
was born to be eccentric. And as Bill likes to
comment, "you havent blossomed into
your full strangeness yet". In complete
agreement with him, we both absolutely love
bizarre, haunting imagery. So to work with the
master himself, is an added bonus that I knew
would have a powerful outcome. House on
Haunted Hill was way too much fun in
every way. Bill is such an arresting director
whose cognizance of cameras, lenses and
lighting, not to mention the imaginative,
indelible, cinematic reverie that comes from his
brain makes him pure pleasure to work with.
Bills mind, brilliance and experience level
with cameras and art has barely been tapped into.
Look out Hollywood, when he truly takes the reins
on a film and the moneymen dont quash his
aesthetic vision or pasteurize his edge! A kind,
considerate and even-tempered man as well. All
stroking aside, I mean that. He recently sold a
script and is working pre-pre post to direct it.
I hope to work with him on it in a big way.
Brian:
I am assuming your character, Girl on the
Wire(s), in House on Haunted Hill
was one of the former mental patients of the
crazed asylum. Even though your screen time was
brief, did you come up with a background story
for your character?
Janet: In the
opening black and white sequence where I get
dragged out of the operating room by the crazies,
I remember Bill trying to find me on the set to
do that scene at the last minute. And forgive me
Stella Adler, but I went Strasberg
that day. I was later bumped to stunt pay status
for getting dragged sideways while kicking and
screaming, to the other end of the set for oh,
about 20 takes. In the process, I got fairly
scraped. And that was when I was an amateur at
stunt work. The whole scenario on set was real,
right down to the extras production found
for that scene. Ive always wanted to ask
Gil Adler where he found such wonderfully real,
psychotic folks. It was pretty intense while
filming. Scott Cameron, our 1st AD,
had to scream cut into a blow horn at least 4 or
5 times to get the mayhem to begin quieting.
Its such a blessing, from an acting point
of view, if people naturally have their front
teeth missing and on the drop of a dime go off
the deep end, half-baked, for you. I have to
admit I was a little unnerved for my first time.
But it was crazy great!
Brian: Speaking of characters, you play a tough talking
crystal meth pushers girlfriend, Karen, in Brain
Damage*s Dead 7. Did you do any
background research for that role?
Janet:
Had lunch with a couple of the extras on the set
of House On Haunted Hill, and
spoke at length with them. Ahhh, I love
filmmaking. Joke. - I cruised the corner of
Sunset and Vine in beautiful downtown Hollywood.
Talked to a couple hookers, then chatted up a
couple drug dealers. Bought a bag of oranges from
the Latino on the other corner and called it a
day. Gotta love LA. Everything you ever need is
right there.
Brian: How difficult was it to keep Karens
"guts" on your lap, during your death
scene in Dead 7? I imagine that
there must have been some pretty funny/awkward
moments keeping everything together.
Janet: You speak so detailed and lovingly of my favorite
bloody me up scenes. I had a digital
camcorder and tried to film some behind the
scenes that day. But unfortunately that camera
got dropped in the dirt so I couldnt add to
my library of bootlegged, unauthorized videos. I
did a strip tease at the end of shooting that
scene. Covered in blood, using the length of a
cow intestine as my feather boa. It could have
been my magnum opus of behind the scenes action
but it just didnt make it out of Simi
Valley alive. I do have some pretty funny video
that Im working to get on my web site as a
gratis downloadable. What else? Where else? Is it
time to plug my site? janettracykeijser.com. So
our lovely readers can keep checking my site for
all sorts of different crap that I dream up. I
mean, hu, fun stuff to offer. Thats the
beauty of doing low budget. The cash flow to
"fake it" just isnt there, so
sometimes the real thing is faster and ultimately
better. But we dont fuss with release
forms, OSHA or Big Brother. Believe me everything
is by the book, the only one hurt was me, but no
forms to fill out or extra dues to pay. Im
sure thats one more reason producers
keep coming up with yet another Reality Show,
its just cheaper to make. So, those guts
are real intestine that come out of me when I
fall from the truck, in Dead 7.
One, maybe two takes and youd better get
your shot or they get mixed up with dirt. I
really had to hit my mark then trust that Matt
would catch me as I fell, while he was in the
throws of discovering my ugly, gross,
predicament. Did I mention no time for a
rehearsal? It was 110 degrees, the flies where
buzzing me and there was no trailer or shower
standing by. Adult playtime at its
finest!!!! If Garretts directing
wasnt concise, wed be in big trouble
with no fresh guts to slop around. Shows you how
ineluctable and knowledgeable Garrett is with his
vision. Ive been lucky working with this
new rising generation of gifted passionate
artists.
Brian:
Tanya Dempsey, another rising horror movie
actress- is your co-star in Dead 7.
I heard that she is a real sweetheart. Do you
have any fond memories of working with her? (By
the way, you two definitely steal the show with
your mutual screen presences and committed
performances.)
Janet: Tanya and I had a mutual, evil sense of humor, so
no problem playing off each other. Tanya was very
into it all and gave me lots to work off. I think
youre only as good as your partner in a
scene. We would each come onto the set trying to
out do each other with our white trash outfits
and attitude. We did a lot of laughing between
takes.
Brian: You were Alicia Silverstones body double in The Crush, one of my favorite
little twisted thrillers. Did you have any
contact with her or B-movie screen siren,
Jennifer Ruben, who, also, appeared in that film?
Janet: My unadorned and chaste arse, did grace that
movie. Thus I met and hung with Alicia on set.
Alicia is a doll and a great actress. She was not
yet emancipated, so they used me for her nekkid
butt shot, walking down the hallway. Becoming the
first time to bare my lilly white unspeakables to
the lens. I also talked a bit with Cary who is
more gorgeous in person and a class act.
Didnt end up meeting Jennifer,
unfortunately.
Brian: You seem to have a "take it as it
comes" attitude from previous interviews I
have read. But, in those career introspective
moments, do the ups and downs of someone like
Silverstones career give you a hopeful
pause? As in, "Hey, shes been up and
down and all around and still kicking. Maybe my
time at the top-" whatever that may mean to
you "-might come"?
Janet: Take it as it flies or bring it on
baby, could be my motto. Ive learned
to go where life takes me and not fight it or try
to force a direction you think it should be going
instead of where its actually leading. The
old Zen master is right in that its just
not meant to be if it has to be forced. Life will
show you why. Im having a splendidly good
time with where Im at now. I think it shows
by the jobs that just keep falling in my lap.
Its a nice place to be, knowing that
youve gone down the road you were supposed
to go because its all working so great.
Im peaceful, happy, and fulfilled in what I
do. And best of all, I love what I do and do what
I love. The super stardom and Life Magazine
covers may come or it may not. Im a private
person so to be in a public profession can be
hard for me. To not be able to walk down the
street or have dinner out as a Jane Doe, would be
a big trade off to the power youd get from
commercial success. I was watching Jerry Springer
the other day on spouses that wont get
dressed during the day. Women who live in their
pajamas. I laughed so hard, I fell on the floor,
because thats me. Im a bit of a gym
rat and keeping it all tight is important to me.
Its fun glamming it up to go to an audition
or play a role. But cruising out in my boxer
shorts and holy tee shirt to polish the chrome on
my truck with zit cream on my cheek is back to
the basics of life. The National Enquirer will
have a field day with me when I become something
they want to catch pictures of, all raggedy.
Luckily it will end there, as my misbehaving days
got worked out in high school. Well,,,,,,
mostly???
Brian:
It seems like you, also, worked with many of the Brain
Damage people on Zombie
Chronicles, also. How did you get
involved with them? And * are there any funny
stories about the making of that movie?
Janet:
My good friend Garrett Clancy wrote the script
for Zombie Chronicles then
blackmailed Brad Sykes into using me as one of
the leads. Later, Brad willingly used me in some
of his other projects, as I love working with
him. Ive since blackmailed Garrett into
using me in more of his movies. Then Dave
Sterling the executive producer, stepped in and
coerced me into doing more work with him and his
company Sterling Entertainment. Its all a
twisted web Ive woven with Brain
Damage and Darren Ramage. I love working
with them all and would happily do it again. I
liken it to the early days with Roger Corman.
Theres a quiet independent DV revolution
going on here that brazenly floats under the big,
Hollywood studio, radar. The likes of which we
will not totally appreciate until years later.
Just like the Corman flicks and their campy
originality. I just met the good people from Full
Moon Entertainment at the Fangoria convention and
am doing my best to get into one of their
projects. My evil web tendrils spawn deep, as the
Janet Empire grows. Did I mention that Im
selling tee shirts for my Blood Babe, not your
regular Martha Stewart action figure, online?
Shamelessly promote, is the other thing Im
learning. Tho I try to remember
humility, now that Im a grown up.
Brian:
What is it like being a part of a long running
horror film series like the Witchcraft
series? I think that it would be a hoot just to
say that you were in Witchcraft 12!
(Hell, I might just start saying that and see how
far that gets me!!) Now Witchcraft 13 should
be the creme da la creme. Dont you think?
Janet: I
did the Witchcraft series to
work with Brad, more than anything. I really
didnt know much about the series or
its legend. But because its not
mainstream Hollywood, I remember this big casting
director, whom shall remain anonymous, mock that
there were so many when I went in for an audition
with her, coming from the Witchcraft
set. I get reminded of the pecking order of
Hollywood once in a while, and it makes me smile.
People are people wherever you go.
Brian: Speaking
of more recent projects, you just worked with
Mary Woronov in The Halfway House. Was she
intimidating, at first? I once directed a Chicago
theater diva in a professional production. She
scared the shit out of me at first. But she
turned out to be wonderful, eccentric and fun.
Was your experience with Woronov similar?
Janet: Mary has a stone cold gaze that comes down at
you, that I love. Strong women make me proud.
And, of course, my first scene with her was a
fight scene - so, thank goddess for that! But her
still gorgeous, six foot frame is rather
intimidating at first. Mary was down to earth and
cool. She loves animals, and of course I brought
my dog to the set most of the shoot days.
Shed lay out on her lawn chair (she refused
a trailer offer from Ken) and spoil my dog. Then
when Kelsey bit Brad one night, she laughed and
encouraged freedom for the animals. Yeah, those
divas are the best, hu? I bought 5 of her books
and had her bring them to the set to sign each
one for me and some of my friends.
Brian:
The Halfway House seems to be your most
challenging role to date. Has it been your
favorite part so far or does that claim belong to
another character? And - Do you have any clue as
it when it will be released? I cant wait to
see it!
Janet: Ahhhh, so many movies so little time. Thats
like asking me to pick my favorite sweets. Is it
cookies or pie, cherries or blueberries? How
could I choose? I love them all for their own
uniqueness but I can hardly wait to sink my teeth
into the next little delectable. We did pick up
shots recently to tone it down for TV. And I
believe they just did the official release date
for this August to Blockbuster and beyond.
Brian: Lastly, do your have any projects coming down the
pike that you would like us to know about or any
parting words in general? And - thanks so much
for your time. Its truly been a thrill!
Janet: I will have all release dates and links posted on
my web site janettracykeijser.com as well as I
try to update and add appearances or bad girl
photography. Ive been working on an
animated action Janet figure, aka Blood Babe as I
mentioned. I have a couple friends who are very
talented artists, Leah Biggs and Brain Lazar
working on sketches. Ive fallen in love
with Japanese anime and have decided to teach
myself Flash and some 3D Maya. I want to
integrate it into animation that incorporates my
photography. Im sure its been done
already, but I havent found any yet. I may
be the pioneer. My primal painting urges have
been taken over with photography and a mean
computer addiction/fixation. Im a total
computer wannabe geek. I may be indoctrinated
into full-fledged geek and dont know it.
The beginnings of Blood Babe can be found in an
article I wrote for Independent Film Quarterly
that was featured at the American Film Market in
November. You can still order a copy online or
pick one up at select magazine stands around the
country. And of course you can now buy that tee
shirt at my site or if you were at the Fangoria
convention I was signing them. I may attend the
Rue Morgue convention in Toronto. I dont
know yet as Mary and I will be signing covers at
Dark Delicacies in Los Angeles the same month.
Also in association with The Halfway
House is Terror Cards.
Yes, what fun, my own terror trading card of
Larrissa Morgan the heroine who saves the damsel
in distress and slays the woman eating beast in
the basement of the Catholic Church. You can
order those online at terrorcards.com or go threw
my website. They are random, so you have to order
a set to be sure of getting Larrisa. Some of the
comic book stores are selling them, but call
first because they were sold out when I went
looking. Garrett Clancys Killer Story did
the New York Independent Film Festival among
others and should be released early next year. I
play a desperate housewife who is blatantly
fooling around on her husband who is a struggling
writer. The nice Indie twist in this movie is
Im having an affair with a sexy and
gorgeous woman named Doris, played by Calvi
Morales-Pabon. This is the last castrating straw,
to a tyranny of paybacks of giving up my life and
career for his. He does get the last word, in the
end. Garrett knows how to tell a great story and
it was a really fun role for me. Joe Estevez
and William Smith also star in this thriller. |
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