I am sitting in my Hollywood Hills home overlooking the beautiful landscape outside my 2nd floor deck, in a my very modern den - our house was designed by my hubby , acclaimed artist , designer and screenplay writer: Bruce Rubenstein , who is also responsible for such landmarks as The Henry Fonda Theater and parts of the Kodak Center.

So tell me about the remake of H.P. Lovecraft's 'The Dunwich Horror' that you just did with Dean Stockwell and Jeffrey Combs for the SciFi Channel. How did the role of Mrs. Bowers come about?

Director Leigh Scott was familiar with my work and had me in mind, the producers had asked me to send a tape to Louisiana (where the film was shot), which I did, and I was very excited to hear that I was cast. What was so great is that they cast my daughter, and the actress is actually only several years younger than me. We went through a really interesting process of aging me in the film, creating lines on my face etc. I really do enjoy playing characters that i have to transform myself for. My daughter in the film gets possessed by an evil power and i play a devastated mother. I have a little toddler in realy life- Mila, so I used her as an image to get in character and make the situation believable for myself.

Were you a fan of the original 1970 film with Sandra Dee and Stockwell? How does this one vary (or does it) in your opinion?

I was a fan of anything H.P Lovecraft, growing up I was a book worm so I indulged in various genres and authors. Then in college I made up the rest by what my professors insisted on....therefore my literary education is pretty vast. I was excited to be part of this film based on a story by Lovecraft and equally excited to work with Stockwell who I've been a fan of ever since David Lynch's "Blue Velvet"- one of my all time favorite directors and film.

I also want to hear about your work in the upcoming horror film '30 Days to Die'. Tell me about your role as Sheryl Gates and how she fits into the plot development.

My Character in "30 Days to Die" Sheryl Gates is very similar to the Drew Barrymore character in the original "Scream". The first 15 minutes of the film is basically a sequence of scenes involving me and a very gritty and grizzly scenario. Sheryl is the character that starts the film off with heightened suspense. My story line leads the rest of the story and provides the building block from which the rest of the film takes off from in search of a killer. I can disclose more so not to ruin it for you guys...

Give us a teaser for '30 Days To Die' that is going to make the movie irresistible to the racksandrazors readers.

"Girl Interrupted meets Scream meets 'The Shining'." Sexy emotionally tormented girls become the target of a psycho killer , a gruesome yet infused with humor thriller that pays homage to 'Friday the 13th'. FYI: Interesting fact for the readers the original name was Crystal Lake (as homage), then 'Girls Gone Dead' (funny but I'm glad they settled on the name which they did)

I also want to hear about your upcoming role as Ms. Hammer in 'Cheerleaders Must Die!' Can you give me a status update for that project?

YES! This one I'm particularly excited about , first of all I've always wanted to do a "National Lampoon" film, I've been a fan. We are shooting this first thing in the spring of 2010- its a summer film so we are waiting for it to warm up a bit in Southern California, This film is about a group of high school cheerleaders that take a trip to a summer camp and a mysterious killer starts offing them one by one. I play the Lead- Ms. Hammer, who is the coach for the team. My character starts off as very sweet and nurturing but by the end ends up being something completely unexpected. I'm also thrilled to show my physical qualities as the coach. I've been relentless in the past couple of years re doing yoga, running, swimming and getting my body in top athletic shape, it's good to have a role that I can demonstrate some of those skills. Ms Hammer is very twisted. I've been watching per the instructions of director Zeke Pinhero, all these classics like 'The Birds', 'Psycho', 'Sleepaway Camp', 'The Shinning', 'Primal Fear' and others. It really helps me to do research for my projects so i can play the characters I do in a more believable manner with various layers. I like to watch other performances and learn and I like to stay true and honest to the genre. I think way to many artists don't do the leg work which is so important. It shows on the screen when an actor did his/her homework.

You have worked as a producer on 3 of your upcoming films as well: the psychological thriller 'Session' with Steven Bauer, the thriller 'Unraveled' with Christa Campbell, and 'The Chicago 8' with Gary Cole. What has been the best and the worst thing about suddenly taking on the reins as producer of some of your films?

I grew up in a family of MBAs, everybody who knew me knew I was always very business savvy and always hands on my marketing, PR, networking and all other aspects of my career. I went to USC and double majored in Art History and Film Critical Studies then I went on to do my masters in business administration in Pepperdine (I never graduated but learned enough law and biz contracts and human skills to lead me to a prosperous biz career) Producing films and TV is just knowing biz skills and applying them in this industry. I opened Brener Films in 2009 and am very excited of all the projects on my slate. I recently sold my first TV show - a reality format titled "Demolition Chef "to Small World ( the company that does How I Survived a Japanese Game Show). I also recently signed a lucrative 6 picture deal with the film company Praxis Films in which I'm a full producing partner. Our first project is "Blood Hostage" mixed martial arts Krav Maga action film , with director Isaac Florentine (Undisputed, Ninja) and actors Vinnie Jones and Scott Adkins. We will be shooting this shortly after the 1st of the year in Tel Aviv- Israel (my hometown). Interestingly enough, the next film is a thriller which will be shot in Louisiana titled "Trust Me", Griff Furst who was my dir in "30 Days to Die" will director this one for us upon my recommendation. After these we have a great slate of super quality art house material. Between Brener and Praxis films ill have my hands full for 2010 through 2012- just like I like it! Let me tell you, there has not been anything bad about taking on the role of Producer. It's been an amazing experience synergizing between my skills as artist/actress and biz woman/producer. In producing i really enjoy seeing how each and every department makes a piece of the puzzle, how I can motivate people as well as delegate to get the work done. I enjoy also hiring friends and recommending people who I think are talented to the projects I'm involved with. With acting you are responsible for your character and possibly a couple or more of your co- stars, you do some homework and you come to set, work for 30 or more days and that's it. As a Producer you have to make sure everything is a well oiled machine. You cannot afford any mistakes, not in the creative or financial processes and aspects your working months before the production even begins, you work post the shooting hours of the day and then you have months and months of post production and then selling your product. I also enjoy that when people talk to me, they know there is a serious human being that is 100% dedicated to make things happen. It is truly fulfilling. Personally I'm a workaholic, I would work, all year long, weekends too if I had to, what can I say it's my favorite thing in life- work! These days the symbiotic relationship between my acting and producing is one of my favorite things. I can begin to express how many jobs I got as an actress because I'm a producer and vise versa, the compliment each other perfectly.

I also see on your resume you made a few films with the tabloid stars Lindsay Lohan ('Labor Pains') and 2 with Jessica Simpson ('Blonde Ambition' and 'Employee of the Month'). Any good tales you would care to share from those shoots?

Totally! When I worked with Jessica I was really amazed to find out how shy she really was. I was expecting a Diva with demands etc. On the contrary, most actresses give wardrobe a really hard time; instead I had my jaw drop when she agreed to any outfit the wardrobe department picked for her. When we were shooting "Employee of the Month" it was right when she was divorcing Nick Lachay, she went to a local "whole foods" market, I was shocked to learn that somebody printed out her receipt from the shopping including tampons and all and within 20 min it was posted on the internet- gosh, poor girl, what an invasion of privacy. Re Lindsay, well... it was right when she got together with Samantha Ronson, so she frequented the set often. What disappointed me re Lohan is that when it was her close ups she was all into the scenes and the work, but when the camera turned around on other actors (me included) she sent out her "double" -"stand in to do the work. I had to act with a completely different vibe and energy than hers and with a girl that was a non-actress. It was a far cry from De Niro and Pacino, who after 13 hours strait of shooting with me, when the cameras were definitely not on them, played the scene with me, even though their "stand ins" were near by. That\rquote s classy and those are team players and true actors and real gentlemen.

Speaking of that - how was your role as Natalya in 'Righteous Kill' with Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro. Was the experience intimidating for an actress?

Well- needless to say it's going to go down in history as one of the greatest jobs I've ever had. How many actors in Hollywood can say they have acted with De Niro and Pacino - and in the same film! And in the same screen moments!!! Not many, I'm very blessed to have these moments on screen with them. I grew up knowing them as legends and following such classics as "Scarface" and "The Godfather" of course I was a huge fan. But no, at first I was not nervous at all. But then everybody around me started driving me nuts telling me I'm going to be acting with 2 of the biggest screen legends of all time blah blah blah, between the time I got the role and when I went to shoot about 2 months passed, so in those 2 months it was the people around me that made me nervous. When I walked on set the first thing I saw is both of them holding their scripts, then right off the bat , DeNiro started fumbling his lines, I took a deep breath and realized...boy they are just regular people like all actors, they make mistakes , they carry their scripts. Its fans and people that built them to be god like, I discovered that they are just two great guys that are super talented and that have been doing this day in and day out for many many years. We got along great. I often resort to sense of humor and jokes, and I made both of those guys laugh... DeNiro constantly complimented me for my Eastern European accent (which is do in the film) and couldn't believe it was an accent and not real...I couldn't believe I'm getting acting compliments from DE NIRO! That's hot! I look forward to working with them again, or perhaps with my next goal which is Jack Nicholson next.

Do you have any other upcoming projects you want the racksandrazors readers to know about?

Sure- I always have lots of things up my sleeve. I have 2 great films that I just wrapped: one is title Hit List, its a dark romantic comedy starring myself and Joey Lawrence. I play a very funny quirky Bridget Jones like character who ends up being an assassin of some sort. The film is no in post-Production and is ready to hit the festival circuit in 2010. The other is Touched from the French producers of "The Class", it's a real life based drama, where I play a bi- polar schizo mother who abuses her daughter physically and mentally. Definitely my most challenging role to date and something I worked very very hard for, we just got back from the International film festival at the Dominican Republic where the film was picked as the opening film of the festival and was very well received. It as well will be doing the rounds in festivals worldwide in 2010. Both of the above films are dream roles for an actress as they are so layered and complex and have so many juxtapositions. What's also cool is that ill have 2 films out one in the drama and one in comedy genre that show both of those sides of me as an actress. Additionally I was recently cast as a regular in a new web series titled "Santa Monica 90404", I've been wanting to do something for the web for a while, I realize this whole "new media:" aspect is going to explode. So far we shot 6 episodes; we will be shooting 20 more from Jan- March. It's a spoof on teen dramas like "Beverly Hills 90210" and "One Tree Hill", its hilarious! and witty and I\rquote m glad to be a part of it. As of Feb, it will start being promoted on the net and in ads across. Also in 2010 is the sci fi film I did for Spike TV called "Quantum Apocalypse" it\rquote s a sort of end of the world story and if play a White House Consultant to a group of NASA scientists. On the producing end I have a kids show and sit com that im pitching and several other film projects via Praxis and Brener films. Tune in frequently to my website www.shirlybrener.com , the "news" section always has updates.

Vampires, werewolves, zombies, witches, creatures, aliens, telemarketers...what does it for you horrorwise Shirly and why?

I love it all! I hope that doesn't sound corny. I scare easily and I don't scare easily. I like classics like An American Werewolf and I like some of the new stuff that's out like 'The Unborn' and of course 'Twilight'. I like to keep open to a lot of possibilities and I enjoy taking a bit a variety of things. I don\rquote t get "stuck" in one thing, that's boring and makes you a much less interesting and interested individual. I like to drink up anything that the world has to offer to me.

What was the first movie to scare the shit out of you?

"Pet Sematary", I was a little girl and I had nightmares for months because of this film, it creeped the shit out of me!

Okay, we're pulling into the Shirly Brener Drive In. What three horror flicks are on the triple bill for tonight and what goodies are they going to be serving up at the concession stand?

I said all of my favorites in this article already. With the sake of being redundant 'The Shining', 'Poltergeist', 'Friday the 13th' (the original). The concession stand Popcorn smothered with a ton of butter, better yet, some kettle corn, sugarfree popsicles, jujubes and red Swedish fish- anything that basically pulls out your teeth! Water, diet coke and ice blended mochas

What is your dream (or nightmare) horror movie role?

I would love to be added to the cast of 'Twilight' for the next installment or if they every do a remake of "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle" I think I'll rock (no pun intended) the Rebecca DeMornay role as the sweet looking nanny that turns pure evil!

What's the best Halloween costume you ever had?

Roller Girl from "Boogie Nights" This year was kind of fun as me and hubby did something funny - he was a white trash prisoner with bad teeth and handcuffs and I was a cop in a short skirt and stiletto heals and I had him a leash.

What scares you in real life?

People know I'm pretty fearless, at least in day to day matters...but if I had to pick, I'm not a huge cockroach fan, you usually hear me squeal when I see one and even if you paid me a $1 million I would never go bungee jumping - that shit makes me think ill break my skull for sure!

www.shirlybrener.com http://twitter.com/shirlybrener