I Want My...I Want My MDNA--Bang Vs Madonna

During my career as a novelist I have known wonders! I became an International Bestseller within a few weeks of my first novel hitting the internet. While my career as a novelist flourished I had the opportunity to meet many...many different famous superstars. One in particular is the one and only Madonna! Yes, Ms. MDNA herself! Come join me as I sit down with Madonna and do her very first Blog interview. And I share intimate photos of us hanging out by the water cooler we call FAME.

W: Let me tell you that I wanted to thank you so much, Madonna, for meeting me today to allow me to interview you for Bang Noir.

M: You're very welcome...it's a pleasure.
W: I'm just so excited to see you again. I think everyone here is just as excited as I am...maybe more.
M: I hope so...Hello everyone (waves and laughs)
W: So let's get started shall we. Please tell everyone about the first time you met me?
M: (pauses) You mean when you first met me...right?
(silence)
W: No, when you first met me. I know when I first met you.
M: And when was that?
W: It was on George Clooney's Yatch.
M: That's right. You were drunk and hitting on George. (laughs) You know he wasn't that into you right?
W: I think he was.
M: (shakes her head and looks embarrassed) I don't think so. I actually remember him trying to have you removed from the Yatch.
W: Ok, so moving on. (I clear my throat) So through out your whole career you seemed to have been influenced by one thing...
M: And what is that?
W: Me.
M: (she laughs) That's just not true. I mean I am influenced by all kinds of things. But not by you. I actually think that I influenced you.

W: I can't believe you just said that.
M: (cocks eyebrow) Well it's true. You have to face the truth sometimes...(smiles) in your career (adjusts herself in the chair)
W: I do think you were influenced by me. I mean look at some of your work. Bad Girl was about me.
M: That's not true.
W: It is. It was about me and my party life in the nineties. You were there watching me act out because of my daddy issues. I like how you changed it to Bad Girl instead of Bad Boy.
M: (shakes her head) It really wasn't about you...I promise.
W: So let's talk about other references you have of me in your music...
M: Wait... is this what the interview is all about?
W: What do you mean?
M: I mean are we just going to talk about you and how you have taken my ideas and twisted them into referencing you. None of it is true.
W: (I laugh)
M: You know during my interview in the UK I mention that there are people out there who use my name to make them famous and you know who I was talking about?
W: GaGa?
M: Well...(shakes head yes)but mostly you. If anyone is referencing anyone else it would be you about me.
W: But Madonna, I wouldn't do that. I love you.
M: Well...it doesn't show. I didn't come here today to talk about you. I never used you in any of my work.

W: That's just not true.
M: When did I do that?
W: You reference both my book Bang and its sequel Smoking Gun on your new album MDNA.
M: (silent)
W: Yes. Gang Bang is all about my Novel Bang and in Girl Gone Wild you reference its sequel Smoking Gun. So you see...I'm not just making this up.
M: (laughs) You got me. I guess I can't argue with that. (smiles)
W: I'm sorry. I do love you and I hope you are not mad at me.
M: Of course not. I love you as well.
W: Well I guess that's all I have for you today. I'm sure we can do this again soon.
M: Not a chance in hell...(gets up and walks off)
W: Call me babe. Huggies and kisses.

Well that was all I had right now of the interview with Madonna. It was an amazing time. I mean after all I hadn't seen her in years. I am sure I will get another sit down with The Queen of Pop soon. Of course you guys will be the first to know.

***If you haven't guess this whole interview has been a fabrication of my imagination. I have never met Madonna in my life time--though I will be going to her concert. :D I will add that if this was a true interview then I would have passed out somewhere between meeting her and talking. As for the photos...The one of me with my arm around Madonna I took Guy Richies's head off and placed mine. The other photo are of me and a look-alike posing for the camera.
Sorry this pisses you off it is supposed to be fun. XO I truly love you Madonna!!

Go and get your copy of Madonna's new album MDNA
And while your on Amazon feel free to get any of my novels: BANG, The House of Balestrom, Time of The Season

Bang vs Director Anthony Pedone Part Two

The second part to my interview with Director Anthony Pedone. I wanted to talk a little bit about this part of the interview with Anthony Pedone. Again I thank him for answering my questions and giving me a peek inside his life. I tell you that he is an amazing man to know and is an inspiration. Though he may think I am just piling it on, but I truly and honestly feel that he is inspirational. Listening to him speak and tell me about his life and challenges...well it takes guts and acceptance. We learn about a person's background and some people tend to run from what they fear. But to me, I think it takes a brave person to own up to the things they have done in their lives.
Wow, I just read this back to myself and it sounds like I'm about to spill some major shit. Well I'm not, but I feel that it may seem questionable in the nature on ones past compared to their present. That's where the human instinct of "judgement" comes into play. "Judgement" is illegal here on Bang Noir. I leave that part up to higher powers...which ever those powers be. After reading this second part of the interview, I hope that you too feel inspired and realize what you have always wanted to do was only at your finger tips. It is up to you to reach out with your hands and grasp it. We can only leave the bread crumbs for you to follow.

Bang vs Director Anthony Pedone Part One 


Anthony Pedone-Camp Casserole Interview Raindance Film Festival

BIO:

Anthony Pedone was born in Dallas, TX, but spent the formational years of his life on a ranch in Clayton, New Mexico. At 16 he moved back to Texas, studying Music at Southwest Texas University.
In 2005, Pedone received his Certificate in Writing Social Commentary from Penn State University and began experimenting with digital media and filmmaking. In 2008 he Co-founded, Robotic Indifference, and directed his first feature film, The Why. The Why, screened in 6 countries and received Best Avant Garde and Experimental Feature awards at The Great Lake Film Festival, Heart of England Film Festival and Manhattan Film Festival in 2010.
Since Robotic Indifference's conception Anthony has collaborated with an innovative and diverse group of artists-- fulfilling his need to always be creating. Anthony co-produced Steve Balderson's , The Casserole Club, and will join Balderson again to shoot, Culture Shock in the fall of 2011. While on the set of the The Casserole Club, Pedone shot a behind the scenes look at Balderson's streamlined approach to Indie Film making. The documentary is called, Camp Casserole.
Pedone co-produced and appeared in, Little Gods. A conceptual film by director Elizabeth Spear, Little Gods is the first feature film shot and edited on the iPhone4. Spear's has asked Pedone to produce her next feature film, Roundball in Victoria, TX. Shooting begins in July 2011.
Robotic Indifference plans on releasing The Pyrex Glitch for Christmas 2011. TPG is a science fiction comedy, written and directed by Jane Wiedlin.

The Interview (Part Two):

WB: Tell Bang Noir about the movie "Roundball"? Who were some of the actors in the movie? 

AP: Roundball, was a different kind of movie project for me. I was approached by Elizabeth Spear, the Director of the movie, to produce Roundball. I wasn't sure if the movie was for me, so I read the script. And man I have to say it was a very funny script. She [Elizabeth Spear] has a great sense of comedic timing and is able to bring out that humor in the people she directs. She is really a lot of fun. As for some of the actors in the movie...there is Starina Johnson, Shawn Kahone, Todd Sklar, Jane Wiedlin, John Merriman, Todd Spence, and Paul Goetz.

WB: That sounds awesome. So Elizabeth Spear approached you to work on Roundball. Did you work on anything else with her?

AP: I worked on a movie with her called "Little Gods". My contribution to "Little Gods" was considerably small. I had a small role and helped arrange some sfx makeup, but I really fell in love with the concept of shooting with the iphone and with her passion about it. She and I met in France in 2009, and found out we actually live in close proximity in Texas. So we began hanging out then.

WB: Awesome. Well I'm glad you two met. You would have never collaborated on Roundball. 

AP: I agree. She is also my partner in the creation of the film festivals we put together in Texas. 

WB: What is the synopsis of Roundball? 

AP: Roundball is a comedy about a man named Sam Jones who returns to his hometown to train for the NBA with his old 1A high school basketball coach, but things turn out to be a little more than what he expected. The road to the NBA is a tough one. 

Roundball IMDB Page

WB:  What was the atmosphere like on the movie set?

AP: The thing about Roundball, was that we actually reached out to the community. Most of the time you would never get involved with the community to make a movie, but that is what we did. We recruited from the community also when making the film. When casting for the film we used the internet.

WB: The Internet?

AP: Yep. We used the internet via Skype to do most of our casting and used local kids from the area. 

WB: Tell Bang Noir a little about yourself?

AP: HaHa. I was a young pig farmer in NM. That's what my parents did, then. My parents split and I was passed between them. I got in trouble a few times when I would visit my mother in NM, but that is something I grew out of. Well eventually as I got older I went to College and started to learn about music. Since I was introduced to music in high school. I also discovered KISS in high school as well. Yea, those were the days. I saw myself as a rock star. I even started a band with some friends. We opened shows for Overkill. That ended and well in College I was a part of a few other groups, Cornpone was one of them. Then I went to prison and spent five years there. It has been a long trip to this point in my life.

WB: A trip you were meant to take. You wouldn't be who you are today if you never went that route. Who knows what you would be doing. I guess I believe in destiny. 

AP: Well, I had to find myself all over again. I knew I wanted to get back to what I loved. I wanted to make music, which turned into movies. It was a process to rebuild my life.

This concludes the second part of my interview with Director Anthony Pedone. The Third and Final part of the interview will be available soon. Please leave any questions or comments on this interview and I will make sure Anthony gets them...It would be great to have him answer them here on Bang Noir. Thank you. XOXO

Interview with Jake Bannerman for his novel The Pitchfork Diaries

Please join me once again with Jake Bannerman who has been kind enough to answer some unorthodox interview questions for Bang Noir. After his last post with The Obligatory Fuck You post, you may understand what I mean when I say the questions in this interview are not what I would normally ask just anyone. If you missed his guest post here is a link to it. Please read and enjoy and feel free to leave any comments or other questions you would like to ask Jake. Thank you. 


The Obligatory Fuck You

XOXO

Author Information: Born and raised in the church, J.S. Bannerman has taken the dangerous stance to question events that have been spoon fed to him as the truth since his childhood. He continually pushes boundaries as a purveyor of terror and often strives to find that disquietude that exists inside each one of us. He is a nomad, calling no one place home; choosing the life of a traveller while on the mission of writing the Family of Dog series. As a result you may find him in your town, writing at your local pub, crafting tales of horror so terrifyingly depraved and heartbreakingly cruel that you would never believe that they come from a mind as normal as his. Just beware, because within each tale is a message; it’s just up to you to figure out what it means.

The Pitchfork Diaries Synopsis:

The Pitchfork Diaries is a collection of short stories and prose unlike anything you have ever read before. Even the darkest and most violent imaginings of your mind cannot come close to matching the horrors contained within.

J.S. Bannerman, a new name in the horror genre, has skilfully woven a collection of tales that will inescapably work their way into your psyche, take up residence and relentlessly haunt you. Prepare yourself to be confronted by words that will threaten to shake the foundation of everything you thought you knew; no truth is too uncomfortable, no thought too gruesome to share.

All are invited to read The Pitchfork Diaries. Many will never be the same.

The Pitchfork Diaries: Volume One Links:

Amazon (right now just eBook but print should be up this week) -

http://www.amazon.com/Pitchfork-Diaries-One-ebook/dp/B005MG9HM4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315854201&sr=8-1

Smashwords –

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/85736

Jake can be followed on Twitter at –

http://twitter.com/#!/JakeBannerman

Born of the Flickering:  

 The back room was rarely used these days. Once, it had been the room where the sisters performed the ritual of baptising the infants. The old bird bath baptismal font now stood abandoned and forgotten in the corner of the room, wispy cobwebs covering it beneath the patched and faded purple sheets that had been draped over the top, hiding the once sacred tool of Mother Mary. The room itself, with its dirty stone walls, a once luxurious deep red carpet and elegantly stained glass windows was six steps down from the main building itself, almost like a basement. It was reminiscent of a room that you might imagine finding in an old English castle, with its thick iron chandelier and its flame shaped bulbs protruding out of the top, though they too were now neglected and covered in cobwebs. The cleanliness of the room was no longer of importance, for it had a new purpose: sacrifice. 

THE INTERVIEW:

I thought long and hard at what I wanted to ask you during this interview. I thought about all the typical questions and more typical questions, but I realize that you are not the typical person. This is great for someone doing an interview because anything goes. :)
So before I started these questions I re-read your blog post for me: The Obligatory Fuck You and I was inspired. So here we go...

1. What's your favorite porn?

It's called Jazelle and features Satan as a woman. In one scene, she decapitates another woman and then the decapitated head eats Satan’s pussy out! It is fucking amazing! I am also a huge Christy Canyon fan; she is so gorgeous!!!! I was on her radio show not too long ago talking about the book!!

2. Life is full of violence and fear. You capture this in a graphic way with your writing. Do you think you can be too graphic at times?

No, I do not think there is such a thing as "too graphic". Situations in my books breed on description and I'm not writing about unicorns and lollipops! My stories are about the nature of the beast in mankind and if you look back, graphic does not even scratch the surface of the evil that mankind does. And violence is part of life; it affects us all even if we do not want it to.

3. What is too graphic for you?

Refer to the answer to question 2.

4. What do you have to say to anyone who feels like your work is trash or horrible? I ask this because I've got some nasty comments over being graphic.

Don't fucking read it! The same thing that should have been said to people who called Elvis garbage, well they missed the boat on that one now didn't they? People thought Steven King was bad, remember? So what do I say to them? Fuck off and go read Goosebumps, ok!

5. If you could change something about the world what would that be?

Oh man tough question! I wish people used their own minds. I HATE the herd mentality.

6. Jack and Coke sounds like a drink my character Dina, from my book BANG would drink. What are some of your other favorite poisons?

Classic Jack, Honey Jack, American Honey, Jamison, Glenfidich. And I loooove Warsteiner and Sam Adams beer!

7. Back to porn...Have you ever thought of writing a complete smut novel? I mean a full raging hard-on fuck book.

I have never really thought about it, this will surprise people but I am very shy and quiet. The sex in my stories is used for contrast; beauty to terror. It would be hard for me to be serious about writing a fuck book though if I ever did it would be called: "I Ground a Nun’s Cunt While Children Watched" or "Teaching Children to FUCK!"

8. Who got you your first porn magazine?

I found it at a baseball field in Sayreville, New Jersey

9. When did you have your first drink?

I grew up in a house with 2 brothers and a sister. We got shit-faced on Bloody Mary's when I was like six... LOL

10. Is the "Necronomicon" one of your favorite books or is there more? I once owned that book myself.

I read it, the mad Arab on like a spiritual acid trip. It never did much for me. Though it was very interesting.

11. Do you read HP Lovecraft? Silly question but I associate the Necronomicon with him.

I do not know much about Lovecraft, though Metallica's Thing That Should Not Be is based on Lovecraft if I remember correctly.

12. Horror is what you write, are these some of the visions you have when you sleep or wake? In other words what brings about a story before you write it?

I do not have nightmares. My dreams usually include sex and wealth to be perfectly honest. My stories always start with a title. I have millions of them in my head; it is like a never ending Rolodex of titles in there. Let me whip one up for you; Under the Fingernails of Judas. Easy! Nothing really prompts me. It's like I'm possessed when I write. Maybe the devil takes me over. Sometimes I go back and read my work and I am like fuuuuuuuck!

13. What's your favorite type of music?

Impossible to say! But if I had to pick one genre to listen to it would be 50's New Orleans jazz.

14. Do you listen to music when you write? I'm curious what the soundtrack is for The Pitchfork Diaries.

In the original first drafts I posted what I was listening to at the beginning of each story, but I can tell you exactly what I listened to!
Volbeat, Ghost, Vanessa Carlton, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Katatonia, and Be Bop Deluxe.

I will change my playlist for my next book K-13 I have the music lined up already:

Beatles, Opeth, Dream Theatre, Benny Goodman, and Weezer.

15. Do you feel like too many people shelter themselves from truth by escaping into sparkling fucking vampires?

Oh no doubt about it! Running away into fantasy to escape reality is huge business. Look at how many people are addicted to Facebook, twitter, and television. The truth sucks so let's look the other direction!!! So sad but true! Though I do support things like twilight because it opens doors for young people to get into evil.

16. As the writer of your book I know it's hard to choose a favorite, but which out of everything you wrote in The Pitchfork Diaries is your favorite? And why?

Scarecrow’s Lament and In the Mouth of Butterflies. Scarecrow because it was my first short story and it is fucking awesome. It outsold all the other stories big time! Butterflies, which was a last minute addition to Pitchfork and was super limited. If you got a copy with Butterflies, you are lucky! Butterflies is easily the most controversial thing I have ever written. It is from the eyes of the pilot of the plane that hit the first tower of The World Trade Center and his rational that jihad is a force to be reckoned with because it is powered by man’s desire for pussy. Which is completely true!

17. I hear The Harvest will be out soon. Are you ready for it?

No, no, no sir! Are you ready for it?

18. What can we expect from its release? If you can share anything.

It is very different than Pitchfork. It is a novella in the 40,000 word range and it is an in depth story about a group of people who sue Satan to get their souls back. He comes and raises hell literally! It will floor you. It's insanely controversial and it's a subject that has never been approached and I did it the Jake Bannerman way; to the furthest extreme possible!

I was thinking of the final question to ask to close this interview and here is what I got...

19. With everything you have ever done in life and in your writing, can you please sum up your entire existence into one or two words?

The Devil’s Advocate

Bang vs Director Anthony Pedone Part One

I wanted to tell you a little about this interview before I go into the questions. This was an amazing experience to talk with Mr. Pedone about his experience with working on a movie set and well just making movies. The people he has met. And he has met some pretty amazing people. Anthony Pedone has worked on a Steve Balderson film, you may remember this film The Casserole Club. If you don't know what i am talking about, then shame on you! Its a great film. I will post links to past posts I have written about Steve Balderson's The Casserole Club along with the amazing documentary Anthony Pedone did, "Camp Casserole", on the behind the scenes look at the film.  Both of which are being shown in London today, at the Raindance film festival. Okay I blabbered enough. On with the interview...

The Casserole Club movie Trailer

A Review of Anthony Pedone's Documentary "Camp Casserole"

XOXO

ANTHONY PEDONE: 

BIO:

Anthony Pedone was born in Dallas, TX, but spent the formational years of his life on a ranch in Clayton, New Mexico. At 16 he moved back to Texas, studying Music at Southwest Texas University.

In 2005, Pedone received his Certificate in Writing Social Commentary from Penn State University and began experimenting with digital media and filmmaking. In 2008 he Co-founded, Robotic Indifference, and directed his first feature film, The Why. The Why, screened in 6 countries and received Best Avant Garde and Experimental Feature awards at The Great Lake Film Festival, Heart of England Film Festival and Manhattan Film Festival in 2010.
Since Robotic Indifference's conception Anthony has collaborated with an innovative and diverse group of artists-- fulfilling his need to always be creating. Anthony co-produced Steve Balderson's , The Casserole Club, and will join Balderson again to shoot, Culture Shock in the fall of 2011. While on the set of the The Casserole Club, Pedone shot a behind the scenes look at Balderson's streamlined approach to Indie Filmmaking. The documentary is called, Camp Casserole.
Pedone co-produced and appeared in, Little Gods. A conceptual film by director Elizabeth Spear, Little Gods is the first feature film shot and edited on the iPhone4. Spear's has asked Pedone to produce her next feature film, Roundball in Victoria, TX. Shooting begins in July 2011.
Robotic Indifference plans on releasing The Pyrex Glitch for Christmas 2011. TPG is a science fiction comedy, written and directed by Jane Wiedlin.

THE TRAILER:

CAMP CASSEROLE

THE INTERVIEW (PART ONE):


Welcome Anthony to Bang Noir!

WB: First of all Congrats on getting "Camp Casserole" into Raindance Film Festival! Tell us about Raindance and what it's significance is? Where is Raindance held?

AP: Thank you, William. Raindance is held in London, UK and is one of the larger independent film festivals in Europe. Personally it represents a mile stone for me. It's a point on the map. I was released from prison almost five years ago to this date. So I had to come home and rebuild. Being apart of Raindance is an achievement for me in that respect. I worked hard to get to this point and I met some pretty awesome people along the way. I'm grateful for meeting Steve [Balderson] and giving me the opportunity to work on his film The Casserole Club. So being at Raindance is very important to me because it is one step toward a common goal I share with so many others. It represents where I am now in my life.

WB: Very cool. I can understand where you are coming from and I'm sure my readers can too. You seem to be doing a great thing with being apart of Raindance. Where do you see that going?

AP: Wow, immediately when I found out I was thinking about that. I thought about how it is making a movie and when it's all done, the realization that you're the only one who knows about your movie. No one knows it exists. Just you and your network. So you learn to get the word out about your movie or project. You have to become your own press agent so to speak. So I not only have to work on the edits of my film, but promote it too. Which is rewarding when it's all said and done.

WB: Are there any other film festivals you are working on?

AP: I've been working on a film festival in Austen, TX for a few years now. We get people together, get an alcohol sponsor, set up a bar tab and put up a screening room. This year we are going to partner with a magazine a do a pretty big launch. Also we are starting a film festival in Victoria, TX, where we are planning to shoot movies as well.

WB: Wow, you are a busy man.

AP: I am. I have to say this about the whole experience and being apart of Raindance. Raindance is like Kinetic energy. Where it kicks the next phase in. It's all too surreal to me right now. So it's hard to actually put into words. But it's a good feeling.

WB: I bet. It's a recognition and you deserve it. Congrats again to you on this exciting day! I know you worked with Steve Balderson on his movie "The Casserole Club", which spawned your documentary "Camp Casserole". I have to add that it was a great documentary. I really enjoyed it.

AP: Thank you.

WB: Are you working on anything else with Steve Balderson?

AP: Yes, I am actually. Steve is filming his next movie in London, while we are participating in the  Raindance Film Festival. The movie is called "Culture Shock". There is a website called Culture Shock. I can't wait to start filming. It's going to be insane. It's truly going to be run and gun the whole time. Steve has it mapped out down to the minute, so it's going to be incredible.

WB: What's it like working with Steve Balderson?

AP: Wow, Steve is great to work with. He is always thinking about the next picture. He's always thinking about what its going to be. He has impeccable organisation. All in all, Steve's a machine. You have to admire that.

***This concludes the first part of my interview with Anthony Pedone*** Check back for Part Two very soon. and please feel free to leave any comments or questions on this blog. I will see to it that they get answered.

Anthony Pedone Website

The First Part of My Interview for The House of Balestrom

Reviews, endorsements, online and onair interview, short and lengthy reviews, back cover quotes: DAY ONE OF MY ONLINE INTERVIEW WITH WILLIAM BUTLER: FIVE DAY INTERVIEW: JOIN IN THE DISCUSSION: 


Feel free to participate in my first interview about The House of Balestrom. It is in five parts and I am being being interviewed by Fran Lewis. You may leave a comments on either site. Join the discussion, ask more questions. Lets make this fun.  All comments are welcomed.


Thank you,


William

Interview with Steve Balderson for his movie "The Casserole Club" coming out 2011

I am proud to write this interview I had with Steve Balderson.  He, in my opinion, is a great director!  Please enjoy this interview and even leave comments.  Thank you...

WB:  What were some of the funniest moments during the filming of "The Casserole Club" or any of your other movies?

SB:  My sets are always a load of fun, from the first moments of the day to late at night.  We're all very serious when we're working, but there is nonstop laughter and everyone really enjoys themselves.  I try to create that kind of environment on purpose.  There's nothing more lame than a movie set where everyone is "soo serious" and cranky all the time.

WB:  Awesome, a fun working environment is always good and healthy.  No one likes a stick in the mud...Out of all the performances you've filmed, which one stuck out the most?

SB:  Starina Johnson.  She is a genius.  I remember the first time she went before the camera while we were filming "Stuck!"-- she blew everyone away.  I knew she was a great actress but I didn't know she was beyond great.  After filming her first take, I looked around and people on the crew were crying...it was incredible.

WB:  And it showed! I loved her performance in the movie.  "Stuck!" was a great movie and I recommend it to all my friends to check it out.  It blew me away.  Who were some of your favorite actors/actresses you have worked with?

SB:  I love everyone I've ever worked with.  The only exceptions were a couple of mean people, who I am no longer working with.  But everyone else is great.  We've built a company of sorts (like a theatre company) and I like using the same people over and over.  Once we have the team well connected, I'll bring in new people and see how it goes.  Luckily on "Casserole Club" the new people hit it off so well with the regulars that they became the new regulars!

WB:  What actors or actress would you like to work with in the future?

SB:  Anyone that is kind, serious about their work, but also fun and enjoyable to be around.  Famous or not.

WB:  When casting for a movie do you generally have an idea of who you want for a part?

SB:  Yes.  In "The Casserole Club" we wrote a few of the parts with actors in mind... I like to hand pick each player instead of doing traditional casting.  It's just as important to pick people who fit in with the group off the set, as it is to pick good actors.  Just because someone's a great actor doesn't mean they will fit in and get along with the others.  So it's a really sensitive process and I have to be really careful.  On "The Casserole Club" I nailed it.  Everyone fit together perfectly on the set and off.

WB:  I understand what you are talking about.  Its that chemistry that you have to maintain on and off screen. it's what creates the magic us viewers watch when your movies come out.  Thank you for that.  It reflects in your films and it builds a great reputation.  More people should do what you do and be proactive.  Do you write most of your scripts? Do you ever adapt them from books?

SB:  I work with screen writer Frankie Krainz usually but I have adapted before several times.  A few companies have hired me to do adaptations that I didn't direct, and I adapted Joseph Suglia's best-selling novel "Watch Out" for the screen, which I did direct.

WB: I've seen "Watch Out", it too was amazing.  Very daring!  "Firecracker" was based on true events, so where did you get the idea for "The Casserole Club"?

SB:  "The Casserole Club" was also based on actual events, although by the time we got down to actually writing the script and telling the story we through out the real story, so essentially it's pure fiction.  Even though it's historically accurate for the time period.

WB:  What was your budget for "The Casserole Club" and shooting schedule like?

SB:  If you count in all deferred payments, equipment, out of pocket expenses, marketing, etc., the budget for "The Casserole Club" was about $1 million.  We shot in September/October in Kansas and in California.

WB:  "The Casserole Club" sounds like it will be a fantastic romp of backstabbing and competition, what can we expect with the film?

SB:  It's a pretty heavy drama, but there are some really fun moments and the music, costumes, sets are also out of this world... I'm pretty sure we'll have a few people nominated.  There are some scene shooters in this one...

WB:  That's great news!! I hope so... I can't wait to see this movie.  Are you preparing for a new movie after this, I ask because I'm a huge fan of your work?

SB:  Yes, there are a few projects in line to do next.  Not sure which one will be ready first.

WB:  I'm excited to hear that.  I can't wait to read about them when you start production.  I'm sure you've been asked this a lot, but what influences your work?

SB: Travel and food, art, soaking up other cultures and seeing the world.  I just got back from a trip to Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean.  It was incredibly inspiring.

WB:  I noticed in the synopsis you mention the movies "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "American Beauty" both great movies I have to say.  I've watched "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" a ton of times.  I can't get enough of the lie the characters were living.  Elizabeth Taylor an icon.  "American Beauty" was about perception--the perception of each character as they enter act with each other--whether misleading or not, is this the direction you are heading with "The Casserole Club"?

SB:  It's really hard for me to verbally discuss the film because it's all there on screen.  And I'm still in the thick of making it.  Usually it takes me a few years after a film to be able to talk about it from totally outside it.  "The Casserole Club" is an accurate and historical story set in 1969... It's about what is going on then in relationships and inside suburban life...it's also about what happens to people who don't take responsibility for their actions, which is timeless.

WB:  I understand what you are saying.  When I was writing BANG it was hard to express what it was all about, because of so many elements in the story.  But now that it is finished and edited I can express those elements and share them.  So when you say that I completely understand.  I have to go back to your previous films for a second.  I have to say I discovered you when I saw that Karen Black was in your movie "Firecracker", I love her! What was it like working with her?

SB:  Working with Karen is a blast.  We had such a great time on "Firecracker" and on "Stuck!" and I cannot wait to work with her again.

WB:  I hope that means she will be in another one of your movies soon... : )...Sorry for asking about particular actors and actresses, because you have so many great talents in all your films.  I wanted to focus on Kevin Richardson.  He's building up a nice resume with making movies, what was it like working with him?

SB:  First of all, Kevin was incredibly professional and a really nice guy...He fir into the team perfectly.  As an actor he blew me away.  He's got a real gift and I'm working on a couple of future projects with him in mind.  There's a scene in "The Casserole Club" where he and Susan Traylor are fighting and...without giving anything away...it's just one of those incredible Oscar-worthy scenes.  When we were filming it everyone on the set had chills.  It's amazing.

WB:  Well this is great!! I can't wait to see his performance.  I wanted to thank you once again for this interview and for sharing with us.  It has been a pleasure.  I'm looking forward to watching "The Casserole Club" and I encourage everyone else to go out and see it when it's released.  Thank you Steve...

SB: Thank you, Will.

This concludes my interview with Steve Balderson...it was an amazing interview and I am so glad he agreed to  it.  Once again go out and watch his new movie "The Casserole Club" coming out 2011!!  Thank you.

Mark Allan Gunnells Interview

http://www.darkside-digital.com/dancing-in-the-dark-by-mark-allan-gunnells.html

Today I want to share with you an interview I did with Author Mark Allan Gunnells on his new short story "Dancing In The Dark".

WB: I want to introduce you to everyone and especially for those who do not know you yet. Where are you from?

MAG: Gaffney, South Carolina, where I still live.

WB: When you were a child what did you want to be when you grew up?

MAG: A writer.  I've been writing from a very young age.

WB: When did you realize you wanted to be a writer? And when did you start writing?

MAG: My first stories came around 10 years old, I guess.  Mostly little one-page Twilight Zone rip-offs.

WB: What genre do you write and why that genre?  Have you tried writing other genres?

MAG: I prefer the horror and fantasy genres.  There is a limitlessness to those genres that appeals to me.  Not    that I don't step outside those genres, I do, it's good to expand and stretch as a writer.  The only genres I haven't done much with are western and mystery.

WB: Who or what has influenced your writing?  What was it that influenced your story "Dancing In The Dark"?

MAG: Everything influences me.  I draw from my own experiences, things I overhear  Everything is up for grabs.  With "Dancing In The Dark" I was driving to work one morning listening to a song on the radio (Midnight Train to Georgia) when I had a tire blow out.  Two weeks later I was driving along and that song came on the radio, and I had a sudden sense of panic and realized I now associated that song with bad luck.  The story came from there.

WB: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

MAG: I am such a lover of the short story, longer pieces are a real challenge for me, particularly pacing them. It is something I'm working at, trying to improve.

WB: What are you currently reading?

MAG: Currently I am reading "Harvest of Changelings" by Warren Rochelle, a most excellent fantasy novel.  The author was actually my college Creative Writing professor.

WB: Who is your favorite author and why?

MAG: Lansdale.  There are many I love, but Joe R. Lansdale is my all time fav.  He is a gifted storyteller who creates vibrant characters, believable dialogue, and can paint such detailed pictures with real economy of words.  I also love that he dabbles in so many different kinds of stories, showing a real range.

WB: Now lets get into the short story you wrote entitled "Dancing in the Dark".  This is actually the title of the song Bruce Springsteen sung on his album "Born in the U.S.A.".  Each time the song was played in the story I couldn't help myself but sing it.  It was catchy.  So, in your short story "Dancing in the Dark", your character Hayden has a unique phobia, when you were writing this story did you draw from your own personal phobias?  

MAG: I don't have that particular phobia, but I certainly have my own fears and I drew from those.  I won't tell you specifically what they are lest you use them against me.

WB:  Haha, I would never do that.  I have to say "Dancing in the Dark" was a great story.  It had elements of bullying/revenge, what are your thoughts on that?

MAG: Bullying is something I know a little about because I was bullied as a kid.  Not so much in college, but in my Junior High and High School years.  I think it is a problem that seems to be passed down from generation to genration, and unfortunately people are just resigned to it, that's the way it has always been and always will be.  That's crap, in my opinion, and I'd like to have the issue addressed more seriously in schools.

WB: I agree with you on that.  Bullying is an issue and if we look at it, the ones who are doing the bullying are being bullied themselves--maybe from home or by other people.  There are real issues here for individuals who do this to others.  But without defending anyone, I'm sure there are a few out there who are just malicious.  Moving on, There was a graphic scene in "Dancing in the Dark", at the very end when the story climaxed, what are your thoughts on stories/movies with a graphic nature? Do you think graphic descriptions are necessary in writing to pull off a scene?

MAG: I don't think graphic descriptions and "gore" are necessary for a successful horror story, but I also don't think a writer should shy away from them if a story calls for it.  It's all about the story to me, and the writer should be as graphic or as non-graphic as a specific tale requires.

WB: Awesome! I agree with that as well.  Thank you. Let's move on to other projects you have in the works, can you tell us about that?

MAG: I have three projects that should--fingers crossed, knock on wood--be out by years end.  Two are with Sideshow Press: Whisonant, which collects my two novellas "Whisonant" and Creatures of the Light".  The book has a cool design as a "flip book".  You hold it and you are looking at one cover that contains one story, then you turn it upside down and flip it over and get a separate cover and the second story.  They will also be releasing my first short story collection, Tales from the Midnight Shift Vol. 1.  Apex publications will also be releasing my zombie novella Asylum through their The Zombie Feed imprint.  I have a few more things planned with Sideshow for the next year, but it's a little early to be discussing them.

WB:  Wow! I am excited for you and I can't wait to read more of your work.  Thank you, sir for sharing this with us and I wish you the best of luck with all your future projects. 

MAG:  You're welcome and thank you.

Well again this was a great interview and very exciting to actually talk with a fellow writer.  Mark Allan Gunnells short story "Dancing in the Dark" is available  at Darkside Digital for only $1.50 and it comes in various formats.  Please go check it out and be on the look out for more from Mark Allan Gunnells!

http://www.darkside-digital.com/dancing-in-the-dark-by-mark-allan-gunnells.html