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Owen: Glad to hear
you made it through Hurricane Katrina...how did
you weather the storm?
Lucien: I was extremely lucky! I
live about 2 blocks away from the Gulf of Mexico
and my apartment miraculously avoided any damage,
while everything around me was destroyed. There
are blocks of concrete left where full buildings
stood and mansions ripped apart along the
beaches. It is amazing to see and amazing that I
did not lose all that I had. I dealt with the
inconveniences as everyone else did though; I was
without power and water for 2 weeks and without
cable and Internet for 4 weeks. It wasn't
unbearable though. Things are getting back to
normal now.
Owen: Your first film role was
Burke in 'Malefic'. How
did that come about?
Lucien: I had read about a movie
called "Cremains"
being made locally and was attempting to find
more information about the production and those
involved with little luck. Coincidentally, I
answered an online casting call a while later and
met Steve Sessions and immediately got the role
of Burke in "Malefic".
Owen: You wrote and directed the
deliciously demented 'Fetalboy Goes to
Hell'. Can you give a quick plot
synopsis?
Lucien: "Fetalboy Goes to
Hell!" begins as a woman is
impregnated by Satan; she attempts to abort the
evil fetus, but he survives the coat hanger
attack, unleashes his umbilical carnage on the
city, joins a traveling sideshow, and searches
for the father he never knew.
Owen: What were the biggest
lessons you learned by jumping into it and
directing your first feature film?
Lucien: Planning is essential,
flexibility is a necessity, and sound quality
should always be a focus.
Owen: As the spree killer in 'Dead
Clowns' you kept some mighty good
company with Racks and Razors favorites Debbie
Rochon, Brinke Stevens, and Eric Spudic.
How did your role in that film come about?
Lucien: By the time production
on "Dead Clowns"
began, I had taken part in three projects by
Steve Sessions, so I had become a regular cast
member, I suppose. This time around, I believe
that the character I portrayed was written with
my own style, acting and appearance, in mind. For
the reason, in part, I really enjoyed the role.
Owen: After playing 4 parts in 'Psycho
Santa' you are back for more 'Psycho
Santa 2'. Did you feel you had
gained a lot of outsider cinema experience in the
interim?
Lucien: I do. I had the
experience of working on "Cadaver
Bay" and "Dead Clowns"
and was able to see the completion of "Fetalboy
Goes to Hell!" -- by this time. I
was able to see the areas of filming that I had
the opportunity to improve in and had a stronger
vision of the final product keeping editing in
pacing in mind. Owen: Tell about
your work in Steve Sessions' 'Wolfika'.
Lucien: My character of James
Trench in "Wolfika" is
the one I had the most fun with. He is a dark,
mysterious character that allowed me to take on a
slightly different look physically, gave me the
opportunity to get a little bloody, and was a
role that I felt I could get into, delving into
the loneliness and desperation of a man cursed by
the full moon. I also assisted with some casting,
puppeteering, and general production assistance.
Owen: Your newest project, 'Sea
Creatures from Outer Space' has been
described as a sort of purposefully bad send
up/homage to 50s sci-fi films. What is the
most important thing to convey when trying to
parody that kind of film?
Lucien: It is most important to
stay true to the era in all aspects. The tone and
feel should draw the viewer into a false sense of
time, as if he or she is actually watching an old
movie. Then again, I felt that many of those old
movies became dull about midway through he
running time, so for "Sea Creatures
from Outer Space"; I purposefully
threw in anachronistic items and more modern plot
points. I think these additions will heighten the
viewing experience though, rather than distract
from it.
Owen: Tell me about your work as
Hamilton in Steve Sessions' ' Cadaver
Bay' with Jeff Dylan Graham and
Elizabeth North.
Lucien: Hamilton was a necessary
character in "Cadaver Bay"
to expedite the plot, but was a rather small role
(in screen time). It was a fairly simple shoot to
get all of the footage needed of Hamilton. I
believe we got all of those scenes done in two
days.
Owen: Is that movie also known
as 'Southern Gothic' or are they
separate features with the same cast?
Lucien: "Cadaver Bay"
is also known as "Hellbound: Book of
the Dead" in its U.S., but "Southern
Gothic" is another movie entirely.
A lot of the cast from "Cadaver
Bay" did come back to be a part of "Southern
Gothic" though.
Owen: You are in a lot of Steve
Sessions movies...are you guys pals? Do you
hang out off set or is a professional
relationship?
Lucien: Steve is a great friend.
Since our meeting during the casting of "Malefic",
we have maintained a strong friendship. I would
think that we gained a friendship out of a
professional relationship and now we work
together because of that friendship.
Owen: So is the independent
horror scene alive and thriving in the
south? Are you part of a major film
community down there?
Lucien: There is no independent
horror scene in the South, not in this area.
There are a few people scattered around the area
that are fans or that would like to be a part of
a production, but there is no major film
community. Those that are making movies are doing
their own thing and don't seem to get involved
with the projects of others. It is quite
difficult to find locals who are willing to
commit to a project for the duration of an entire
shoot.
Owen: What creeps you out more
and why --- werewolves, vampires, zombies,
psychos, aliens, or creatures?
Lucien: Psychos. I fear looking
into the eyes of an equal, someone I should be
able to relate to, and seeing complete desire to
kill. I fear the inability to rationalize with
someone or something, but when it is a person, it
is more frightening because they can more easily
blend in and hide their psychotic ways.
Owen: So what is something that
scares you in real life?
Lucien: Needles make my chest
feel like it crumbling as a chocolate chip cookie
under weight of an elephant. Rats would rate
second place on account of their oh-so-creepy
tales. Third, would have to be
dentists...typically because they incorporate the
use of my number one fear into my face. Traumatic
stuff.
Owen: So where is your heart
when it comes to the arts --- is it an even split
between music and movies?
Lucien: Music is a constant
soundtrack to my life. I always have music
playing to keep me motivated or to allow for
creativity or to help release some frustrations.
But movies are what drive me. After viewing a
movie, i feel like i have just become another
individual. I walk out of the theatre taking away
the good points of the characters or realizing
something about myself or life or just feeling
motivated to create my own stories. Movies
motivate moviemakers. I consider myself a
moviemaker at heart; now i must go out and make
it happen.
Owen: What's something that
makes you want to kill?
Lucien: Waiting...for anything.
Stupidity in society. Breeding in the ignorant.
Owen: What's your dream role?
Lucien: Babs Johnson in Pink
Flamingos.
Owen: Hey Lucien, why do you
think so many gay men are drawn to the horror
genre?
Lucien: I think that society has
come a long way in accepting the different sexual
lifestyles and attractions that exist amongst
people, but there is always a small sense of fear
that exist in even the most flamboyant of people,
that fear that they may be harmed for the way
they are. It is a frightening thing to think that
one could possibly die because of another's
inability to accept that which they do not
understand. I think the Gay community is drawn to
horror films because they relate to the common
theme of either a killer getting revenge on those
who have looked down on them or the fear that
exists in horror movie victims that are stalked
for reasons unknown.
Owen:
What's the key to being a convincing killer?
Lucien: Some actors get too
"into" the character. They take
themselves way too seriously and feel the need to
research serial killers, watch movies, read
books, etc. to fully understand the mind of a
serial killer and emulate it. I prefer to just
think of the people that have irritated me in the
past or present and take out that frustration
through the character. It's simple really.
Ex-bosses and those i have dated have been
stalked many times in my acting. It's quite a
release
Owen: When I was a little boy I
wanted to grow up to be _________________.
Lucien: Originally I wanted to
be a garbage man so I could hang on the back of
those great trucks, but the created better trucks
that don't require that intense position. Then, I
considered being a circus clown, so I could
basically act like a child and get paid for it,
but wasn't up for the traveling. Deep down
though, I always wanted to be a biker. Perhaps
one day I will realize this possibility.
http://www.b-horror.com/lucien
http://www.myspace.com/luci13
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