Multi-dimensional superheroine with more adventures than a comic book museum, stuck in a grandmother's body.
Showing posts with label Actress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Actress. Show all posts
Monday, November 24, 2014
Steampunk Granny Interviews Actress/Dancer Dawn Noel
I recently had the chance to interview a very talented young lady. Not only is Dawn Noel an amazing dancer and actress who is also working on producing movies, but she is from my old neighborhood in South Philly and shopped at my parent's grocery store.
South Philly has produced its share of Stars and I was lucky to get this interview. Check out parts one and two of my interview with Dawn Noel
http://biffbampop.com/2014/11/17/steampunk-granny-interviews-actress-dancer-and-producer-dawn-noel-part-one/
http://biffbampop.com/2014/11/20/steampunk-grannys-interview-with-dawn-noel-part-two/
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Part Three of Steampunk Granny's Interview with Actress Genoveva Rossi
Hello readers and welcome back to my blog and the final part
of my interview with the lovely and talented actress, Genoveva Rossi. If you’ve
missed part one or parts two of the interview, you can check them out here and
here.
Marie Gilbert: “Before
we end, I wanted to know if you had the chance to star in any movie that’s out
now, which one would you choose.”
Genoveva Rossi: “The
only thing that comes to mind is I would like to be in a Dario Argento film.
I’m a big fan of Argento, the
Italian director. I would like to be in something more ambitious, with a larger
budget.
I wanted to tell you what movies I’m working on now, one is
The Enchantress where I play a sorcerous with Hylo Dekan studios. It’s not on my
IMDb yet, but it’s on my Facebook profile. I have a folder filled with some
great productions pictures. It’s a pretty exciting movie that’s being filmed in
the Buffalo area and another film that I’m working on is Hunters and it stars
Linnea Quigley, a scream queen that's been acting since the 1980’s and
she’s pretty huge in the horror genre. I’m a big fan of hers been in Night of
the Demons, Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers and other horror movies. The film has
already been mentioned in Fangoria Magazine. Adam Ahlbrandt is the director, he
is amazing to work with, and he has a quite a cult following.
I play Edna and it’s probably going to be my most disturbing
role to date and probably my most risqué film. This is a very shocking movie
and the director is anticipating possible death threats after the release.”
Marie Gilbert:
“Really?”
Genoveva Rossi: “Yes,
he wanted to push the envelope and create some controversy and go into some
uncharted territory in the horror genre.”
Marie Gilbert: “This
sounds like an interesting film.”
Genoveva Rossi:
“I’m really excited to try things I haven’t done before and it’s a unique film
and I’m very excited to be part of it. I’m in it with Jason Vail, who is a
great actor and he came up from Atlanta Georgia to play in this film. He has
been on the Guiding Light series and some other things. I’m excited to work
with him and I’ve seen some of his previous work as an actor including his
short, The Cabin. Then there is another girl named Mel Heflin who came up from
Florida to work in the film. It was my first time working of Adam Ahlbrandt and
I’m hoping to work again with him in the not so distant future. He’s kind of a
mad genius when it comes to directing films. This film has the potential to
explode when it’s released.”
Hunters with Mel Heflin, Jason Vail & Genoveva Rossi
Marie Gilbert: “I’ll
be keeping my eyes open for that one. I have one last question. Did you ever
have a part that you felt uncomfortable with?”
Genoveva Rossi: “There
was one Bill Zebub movie called Jesus, Daughter of God, which is a religious
comedy and because I consider myself a Christian and Catholic and the film sort
of makes fun of religion, but I talked to the director before I did the film to
see how far he would push the anti-Christian element, but since I‘ve played a
Satanist in a lot of movies and stuff like murderers, cannibals, zombies and
vampires; I figured acting is just acting. It’s not an extension of who you
really are, but every now and then people will contact me and tell me, you’re
such a slut and this and that.”
Marie Gilbert: “Oh my
God…”
Genoveva Rossi:
“Yeah, and I say you know if I’m playing a doctor, or Satanist, or murderer,
zombie, or witch in a movie, but that’s not who I really am after I leave the
set.”
Marie Gilbert: “That
is so bizarre that they would think it is.”
Genoveva Rossi:
“Maybe some people have a hard time separating fantasy from reality. If you
play your character that well, people, sometimes people believe that’s the real
you. One actor told me to take it as a compliment because you did such a good
job playing that role that those people didn’t think you were acting.”
Marie Gilbert: “Thank
you, Genoveva. Is there anything that you would like to say before the
interview is over?”
Genoveva Rossi: “Your readers can find me online. I’m Genoveva Rossi, the ScreamQueen of about fifty films. You can follow me on Twitter and Facebook, in fact, I’mwriting a column for Malevolent Magazine, called “A Day in the Life of a Scream Queen”. In every issue I will talk about my experiences with acting, my films, going to conventions and meeting horror fans. People are always interested in what goes on behind the scenes.”
Genoveva Rossi: “Your readers can find me online. I’m Genoveva Rossi, the ScreamQueen of about fifty films. You can follow me on Twitter and Facebook, in fact, I’mwriting a column for Malevolent Magazine, called “A Day in the Life of a Scream Queen”. In every issue I will talk about my experiences with acting, my films, going to conventions and meeting horror fans. People are always interested in what goes on behind the scenes.”
Horror fans can also meet me in person at:
Connecticut Horrorfest on August 23rd
Long Island's Blood and Babes Comic Con Sept 12-14th
Marie Gilbert: “I’ll
keep my eye open for that and let my readers know when and where they can find
this.”
Genoveva Rossi:
“Malevolent Magazine is a fun magazine and I was featured as a scream queen in
its second issues and the editor wanted to keep me on board and I suggested
this. I was happy to write the column because people are always asking me about
all the wacky things that can happen behind the scenes. So look for my column
"A Day in the Life of a Scream Queen".
Marie Gilbert: “I
would love to know about stuff like this. It’s the perfect thing to write about
because it’s so interesting.”
Genoveva Rossi: “I’ll tell you about one thing that happened on the
set of A Dark Place Inside, one of the three films I’m screening. I forgot to
tell you about that one. In that film one of the stars plays the mother of the
little boy who will become a serial killer. It got a great review in the
2014 issue of HorrorHound Magazine. It was a difficult subject matter and
the movie is really about the action instead of the dialogue because it is
about a serial killer's daily life.
A Dark Place Inside with Rob Dimension, Genoveva Rossi & Kieran Boyle
We did a screening of the film to see how it would work and I did an actor’s commentary as the film played, and after, people said they actually liked it better that way with me explaining what was going on in each scene and also with me telling them about the whole process of filming. I was working with a child actor who was only eight years old on and in what was a very difficult subject matter and people said it was very interesting to hear about how we filmed.”
A Dark Place Inside with Rob Dimension, Genoveva Rossi & Kieran Boyle
We did a screening of the film to see how it would work and I did an actor’s commentary as the film played, and after, people said they actually liked it better that way with me explaining what was going on in each scene and also with me telling them about the whole process of filming. I was working with a child actor who was only eight years old on and in what was a very difficult subject matter and people said it was very interesting to hear about how we filmed.”
Marie Gilbert: “That
is so interesting and maybe you would be able to do that with other movies. You
could give all the background information especially if they’re showing a film
at one of the conventions like at the Paranormal Unity Expo that we both
attended.”
Genoveva Rossi:
“I was there because I’m a professional psychic and tarot card reader.”
Marie Gilbert: “I
didn’t know that.”
Genoveva Rossi:
“Yes, I travel all over. I do Tarot Card readings almost every week privately
and travel all over the country. Perform readings in person, via skype, email,
on chat, etc. Find my tarot page on Facebook: Tarot by Genoveva”
Marie Gilbert: “I was
wondering why you were at the Paranormal Unity Expo. I knew you were an
actress, but I saw you sitting in Dave Juliana’s class, I assumed you were just
interested in the subject matter and not that you were able to read cards. So,
do you also go ghost hunting?”
Genoveva Rossi:
“Besides the Tarot card readings, I’m also a Spiritualist and I give spiritual
advice to people. I was doing psychic reading at Bizarre AC as well as
promoting my horror film work. One woman contacted me and said that what I had
read on Saturday; came through for her that Monday at work. She came into work
and they give her a whole new position. I told her that on a Saturday and this
happened to her on a Monday.”
Marie Gilbert: “She
contacted you when this happened?”
Genoveva Rossi:
“Yes, she contacted me on my Facebook page to tell me that everything I said
would happen did happen. She told her coworkers at work and they were all a
little bugged out.”
Marie Gilbert: “That
is so nice. What about the ghost hunting. Do you ever go on an investigation?”
Genoveva Rossi:
“I’ve never done that, but I would be opened to that. Recently I’ve had
experiences with a friend at several Chiller Theatre and at Bizarre A.C. My
friend has several photographs from horror conventions in particular where you
can see orbs hanging near his head or shoulder… He lost a person in his life
years ago and this spirit accompanies him to Chiller and Bizarre A.C. His love
still accompanies him to all the conventions much like she did when they were
still together.”
Marie Gilbert: “You
would do great at ghost hunting. You are sensitive to paranormal events and
would pick up things right away.”
Genoveva Rossi:
“Well, I do some medium work as well because sometimes when I’m reading people,
I’ll pick up spirits and converse with them as well. So I’ve never been on an
investigation, but if the opportunity arises, I would like to go to one.”
Marie Gilbert: “I’ll
let you know the next investigation that I go to. I did recently go to an
investigation at Salem Mansion in Norristown with the Keystone Spirit Seekers
and that building was very active. I wrote an article for Biff Bam Pop on the
experience because I’m one of their senior writers. If we go back to Salem
Mansion, I will let you know.”
Genoveva Rossi:
“Please do that because I would love to come with you. When I travel all over
the country sometimes I’ll go on ghost walks in New Orleans and Savannah where
they tell you ghost stories, but a ghost hunt would be great.”
Marie Gilbert: “Yes,
because we spent most of the night at Salem Mansion and there were two groups
there. We were invited to join the Keystone Spirit Seekers who had all the
needed equipment like cameras, video set ups, and I think you would enjoy
participating.”
Genoveva Rossi: “One
thing I wanted to tell you was that I actually had a paranormal experience in
one of my films, The Bible Belt Slasher,
part 2. There was this one scene where a woman is playing dead in a bathtub.
The microphone that they were using picks up everything and there were some
serious strange sounds that popped up on the recording. The director decided to
use those sounds in the background. If you ever watch The Bible Belt Slasher and you come up to the scene with the woman
in the tub, then what you’re hearing is probably paranormal activity. It sounds
so other worldly and the director swears that he did not add anything in, but
he decided to use it because it was so cool. Maybe the violence in the scene
attracted a spirit in the house.”
Marie Gilbert: “Most
old homes usually have a guest and the director is probably right because you
were doing a horror film and the scene gave energy to the spirit.”
Genoveva Rossi:
“It was a very violent scene and it could have attracted this entity. So don’t
forget to call me when you go on your next investigation.”
Marie Gilbert: “I
will. I’m planning on going to this one mansion that I know is very active and
both my young granddaughter and I both had experiences while there for a
rehearsal dinner, so I will definitely call you if we’re given permission to
investigate. I want to thank you Genoveva for being so gracious and
accommodating for this interview. It was a true pleasure getting to know more
about you.”
Thank you so very much, Genoveva for being a guest on my blog. It was a true pleasure spending time with you, and if my readers are
interested in learning more about Genoveva Rossi, you can find her on Twitter and Facebook. Don't forget these upcoming dates to meet Ms. Rossi.
Connecticut Horrorfest on August 23rd
Long Island's Blood and Babes Comic Con Sept 12-14th
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Part Two of Steampunk Granny's Interview with Scream Queen, Genoveva Rossi
We left off with my
interview of Horror Goddess Genoveva Rossi on her acting in a new film called
Trailer Heaven. We will pick up where we left off. Welcome back Genoveva.
Marie Gilbert: “We
left off with the film you’re working on now, Trailer Heaven.”
Genoveva Rossi: “I’m also a Divine fan as well and I
grew up watching those types of movies. John Waters is amazing!
As an actress I love to cross into unchartered territory and
play a lot of different characters and work with a really wide variety of
directors. I feel that is vital for me as both an actress and an artist. I am committed keeping my acting work an
adventure! I wanted to bring up that there were several films that I did that
were not horror at all, for example, Apocalypse Kiss which was a sci-fi
thriller that I did with Michael Berryman, D. C. Douglas and Tom Atkins and I
also did comedies with Bill Zebeb called Scienceless Fiction, and Jesus, The
Daughter of God, which were both quite funny.
Genoveva on the set with Stephen Baldwin
The one film that was very different for me was Tapestry
which was directed by Ken Kushner and that is a wonderful Christian film. It
was an amazing and inspiring experience. I deviated into something completely
different and it starred Steven Baldwin, Tina Louise from Gilligan’s Island and
Burt Young from Rocky. ”
Marie Gilbert: “Where
can people see Tapestry?”
Genoveva Rossi: “I don’t think it’s been released to
theatres yet. He just wrapped that up pretty recently, but look for it soon! ”
Marie Gilbert: “Well
then you’re getting calls for different types of films, now.”
Genoveva Rossi: “Well, that worked out well because I
met a director on the set of a horror movie where we were both scene partners
and that set led to Tapestry. Film sets often lead to more film sets in this
business. I’m open to different genres. I don’t just do horror films and it was
really interesting to be in this Christian film where there is no sexuality or
nudity and people don’t curse provocatively…and it has a family message to it.
This is something my mom would probably like. It’s a wholesome movie and I can
certainly appreciate a film that embodies such values. Everyone was wonderful
to work with on set and I had a lot of fun working on this. I am grateful for
the opportunity.”
Marie Gilbert: How
does your mother feel about you acting in horror films?”
Genoveva Rossi: “Everybody in my family has always
known that I was obsessed with horror movies ever since I was a little kid. My
father is probably the blame in that he introduced me to Budd Abbott and Lou
Costello meeting the Wolfman and Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr. When I was
little I had one wall full of these pictures of these movies because that’s
what I was into. Then my father and I got interested Peter Cushing, Vincent
Price, Christopher Lee, Barbara Steele, Ingrid Pitt and films like that, but
when more modern horror films like Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th
came out, he sort of lost interest. He
likes the classics like Hammer and Universal Studio Monsters. For me, my
interest in horror just expanded and evolved!
”
Genoveva in the Enchantress
Marie Gilbert: “Have
you ever done Stage Shows?”
Genoveva Rossi: “Not since high school and college. I
was mostly focused on short films in college, but stage was of greater interest
to me in high school. At this time, it isn't something that interests me, but
we shall see how things evolve down the road. I'm very committed to film at
this time, but I'm also open to the vast possibilities that life can offer so
it's possible if the right opportunity came up I would go back to the stage!”
Marie Gilbert: “Would
you be interested in doing stage shows, now?”
Genoveva Rossi: “That’s a good question…I’m not sure
if that would appeal to me. I have this reputation in film that's really
growing and evolving. The Digital Dead, a UK magazine recently referred to me
as one of the most well-known scream queens in the world so I feel like I need
to focus on film. Film is a fun medium; I
like the screenings, the film distribution, the chance to reach an
international audience, and being a celebrity guest at Horror Conventions and
the interviews and the IMDb credits. It’s a different medium than theatre work.
If someone asks me to be in a horror theatre production that would be running
for a while, I guess it could be fun being the same character for weeks at a
time, sometimes months. I'm open to the possibility.
It’s the opposite of film work where you’re the same
character, but it’s during these little snippets of time. You’re hanging on the
set rehearsing your lines and then being “on” while you film your scene and then go back to eating your
bagel and drinking your coffee. Then you have to be “on” as the same character,
the same voice and the same appearance. You have to remember what you were
wearing and be consistent because it might be five minutes later on the film,
but actually the scene might be shot a month later in real life. I can’t
drastically change my appearance until I wrap up a film. It's all about being
able to go in and out of character seamlessly. ”
Marie Gilbert: “I
never thought about that, but as a woman, you would have to keep your hairstyle
the same way.”
Genoveva Rossi:
“Yes, I could get my hair trimmed so it stays consistent to go along
with my current hairstyle until I stop filming, but every now and then, I do
wear wigs. This is nice because you don’t have to worry too much. I do wear
wigs in several films I had purple hair in Flesh of the Beast: Tsukiko's Curse
and I have a black wig in Witches’ Blood, and long black hair in The
Enchantress, which I star in and they are filming right now in Buffalo.
I have
blond hair in the series In Fear Of which is playing in Italy right now before
going to Vimeo on demand. I have a lot of different hairstyles including a
short frosted wig that I wore in The Attack of the Brain People and it looks
like Tippi Hedren’s hair in The Birds. That wig is authentic hair and was made
in 1958, and my grandmother had it up in her attic.”
Marie Gilbert: “Did
you travel to Italy for your part in “In Fear Of”?
Genoveva Rossi: “No, the series was filmed here in
America, but they were able to get it distributed to Italian T.V. Yes, it’s funny because sometimes the films
that we shoot, the European market has an even bigger interest than the
American market does! I know that a few of my films have a HUGE following in
the international market. I have been to Italy though for fun of course and I
would certainly be open to filming there or most other countries.”
Marie Gilbert: “I’ve
heard that before and it’s amazing how shows will do better in the foreign
industry. Tell me more about this series.”
Genoveva Rossi:
“In Fear Of is produced by Scott W. Perry and I’m featured in four episodes and
star in two. One episode is Fear of Sexual Harassment, and I have long blond hair and I fire an employee of mine who
comes back for revenge. I had fired him because of sexual harassment. I looked
good in the blond hair and looked very Nordic I must say.
In Fear of Blindness, I have my own hair and this episode is
directed by Jeremiah Kipp, a very talented director and it stars Susan
Adriensen, which is a friend of mine in real life, is going blind and I’m her
best friend who is desperately trying to help her.”
Marie Gilbert: “This
is so exciting. When will it be out?”
Genoveva Rossi: “It’s going to be on Vimeo on demand
and people can watch the different episodes as they are released on demand. Two
of my episodes should be released in June and
July, so I’m very excited.”
Marie Gilbert: “Which
director so far have you found the easiest to work for? That you learned the
most from?”
Genoveva Rossi: “I think I can go with two people
that I felt I learned the most from. The first is Jeremiah Kipp and the second
one is Christian Grillo. With Jeremiah Kipp, you rarely work with a script, but
instead he would give you a treatment that was several pages long with the
whole background of your character that you could really think about and
bringing that character alive in your mind and giving you this distinct vision.
I think Jeremiah understands the mind of an actor more so than a lot of
directors do. Yes with his direction in films, he always has a good scope on
what he wants the film to be. He has a keen artistic vision.
Genoveva in Apocalypse Kiss
Organization is why I enjoyed working with Christian Grillo
in Apocalypse Kiss. He gave me the script six months in advance and told me
what days I would be doing my scenes. In every scene I shot, he had a four
camera set-up and that means something because each camera captures every angle
of your scene. Christian Grillo put in a lot of time and effort into the sets
and the wardrobe, and it shows in the final product. I like both because of
their organizational skills and because they have this distinctive vision of
their film and how to achieve it. They are both great artists.”
Marie Gilbert: “Then it is important for an actor or actress
to have a director that connects and let’s you know what’s expected.”
Genoveva Rossi: “Exactly, it’s the director’s vision and how
you play your part and how say your lines can be done a hundred different ways.
He/she understands the greater scope of your scene and your character on the
film. Not all directors have an easy time communicating that to the actor. It's
wonderful to work with a director that is also a trained actor.”
We are stopping part two of the interview here, but Genoveva
Rossi will be back next week with part three of her interview. I want to thank Genoveva
for being a guest on my blog. You can find Genoveva at these sites.
Guest appearances:
Meet Genoveva Rossi at Connecticut Horrorfest on August 23rd and Blood and
Babes in Long Island Sept 12-14th
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)









