Actress,
director, screenwriter, webmistress, model, and fervently-admired
Goth icon COUNTESS BATHORIA (A.K.A. Melantha Blackthorne) is the
driving force behind the mind-boggling, wildly-inventive
horror/action/comedy flick SINNERS AND SAINTS (described by our
own Rufus and Scraps as "the kind of stuff that propels a
movie to cult status"), now available as a deluxe 2-disc DVD
from her company, Robomonkey
Productions.
The breathtakingly beautiful Countess recently made an appearance
at the Corner to answer a few questions for us, and I, lucky dog
that I am, got to ask them.
porfle: We're honored
to have you here at Bum's Corner, Countess. How are things going
for you these days?
CB: Hello
Porfle, Rufus and Scraps. Bum's Corner has become somewhat of a
second home for me lately and I'm honored to be here once again.
Things couldn't be better!
porfle:
You've been featured prominently in the films of exploitation
director S. V. Bell (THE NIGHT THEY RETURNED, PURPLE GLOW). What's
your wildest, nuttiest, and/or most unusual recollection of that
experience?
CB: Eating
human remains with Suzi Lorraine on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
porfle:
SINNERS AND SAINTS reminded me of something directors Ken Russell,
John Waters, and John Woo might have collaborated on in an
acid-fueled stupor. Did they have any influence on you? What other
filmmakers would you consider influences?
CB: I'd have to
answer no to all three but can definitely see why those names came
to mind. It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of José Mojica Marins
A.K.A. Coffin Joe and love everything that he's done. He is a
remarkable and unique filmmaker who has shown that budget can
never constrain a true mastermind. Some others include Takashi
Miike, Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson, Ryuhei Kitamura, Russ Meyer,
Darren Aronofsky, Tarsem Singh and Sergio Leone.
porfle:
How did you achieve such impressive visual effects on such a low
budget?
CB: By spending
many grueling hours in front of the computer...trial and error is
something we know all too well. Also, having a friend that
specializes in 3D animation was a big help! David Bacha created
the Gonadius spider that you see me toy with and eat, the animated
x-ray shot of the penis moving up through the police officer's
ribcage and the Vatican satellite.
porfle:
From what I can tell, you did all your own incredible stunts on
the picture. Did this ever result in any dicey situations?
CB: No because
I rehearsed it to death and was surrounded by professionals. All
in all it took two days to learn the choreography and the sai, a
weapon I had never picked up before. Jason and the boys on the
other hand are also putting themselves in dicey situations. Stay
tuned for THE ORDER OF ONE!
porfle:
The kung fu action is very realistic. Who choreographed it, and
was it difficult to learn?
CB: Jason
Cavalier was the action director. He has worked as a professional
stunt man for over twenty years and is the other half of
Robomonkey Productions. Most recently he worked as a fight
choreographer on Darrin Aronofsky's latest film THE FOUNTAIN.
Jason was also hand picked by Chad Stahelski (Keanu Reeves' stunt
double) to be part of the fighting team for the Warner Brothers'
Spartan epic 300. As for it being difficult to learn, rehearsal
was the key...we spent a lot time getting it just right. Some
shots took up to 20 takes!
porfle:
I was impressed by the wirework, which is equal to that in any
big-budget action movie I've seen, including THE MATRIX. How was
this achieved?
CB: We tied the
actors to a wire and pulled!!! No, seriously this was another
aspect of the action that took a lot of rehearsal. I worked on the
wire with Jason and his team for a day, just trying stuff, seeing
what moves worked well for me. Some of them are very difficult and
the harness can be painful after awhile, more so for men if you
get my drift, but I stuck with it. It's a shame I didn't get to do
all the things I learnt but there was no time. The actual
techniques are simple, but the key is rehearsal and timing of the
wire team.
porfle:
Besides the excellent original score by Michael and Natalia Chirva,
there are several great songs on the soundtrack. How did you
assemble such a kickass musical score?
CB: I am a huge
fan of death and symphonic metal and knew that this type of music
would not only fit the theme but also add to the production value
of our project. I basically searched the net for independent bands
that were interested in promoting themselves through SINNERS AND
SAINTS and was pleasantly surprised by their enthusiasm and
support!
porfle:
You had a bit of a run-in with the law during filming. Can you
give us some details?
CB: Well, we
weren't given permission to shoot within city limits with our mock
police vehicle but were given permission to shoot just a few miles away. During the shooting, Liz (Sister Merrick)
had to use the ladies room and as luck would have it, the closest
facility was inside city limits and the only vehicle we had was
the police car. We of course got stopped by the real police and
received a $500 fine, plus towing expenses. They were complete
assholes! Watch the special features and you'll see them cringe
from an illegal search once they realize the cameras are rolling.
porfle:
Some of the scenes were shot in an actual church. Considering the
type of movie you were making, I'm dying to know how this went
over with the resident personnel!
CB: Shoot and
run! No, we actually shot in a protestant church. They were
extremely cool about it and let us stay the day for a measly
donation. Mind you, they haven't seen the finished movie!
porfle:
I noticed the name of Tura Satana (Russ Meyer's FASTER PUSSYCAT,
KILL! KILL!, Ted V. Mikels' THE DOLL SQUAD) in the credits as a
villager. How did she come to play a bit part in the production?
CB: You are the
first to actually catch on to this. We named certain characters
after our icons as a joke due to the fact that a lot of the cast
played more than just one character in the film.
porfle:
The ending of the movie seems to leave things wide open for a
sequel...any hints as to what will become of Father Drake,
Necrotia, and the rest?
CB: Yes.
porfle:
How close did you come to turning the screenplay into the film you
envisioned during the writing process?
CB: Because we
produced the film ourselves most of the time were able to work on
our own schedule taking the time we needed to get things done, the
way we envisioned it. Jason and I also wrote the screenplay
keeping in mind our budget restrictions and capabilities, which
left no room for not being able to create or deliver.
porfle:
After such a dazzling directorial display in SINNERS AND SAINTS,
you must have some future projects as director in the works. Can
you give us a preview?
CB: Robomonkey
is currently in pre-production with COUNTESS BATHORIA'S GRAVEYARD
PICTURE SHOW, a zombie anthology-style film. I'll be directing one
of the shorts, "Inbed and Undead", as well as hosting
the film, Vampira style.
We are also in pre-production with a horror film entitled WICKED
HARVEST. I've been dying to shoot this one for some time now and
do hope to have the chance to start either this fall or early next
year. It's your not-so-typical horror movie about a group of
friends who go camping in the woods.
porfle:
What earlier experiences led you in this direction? Without going
into too much detail, what made you what you are today, instead
of, say, a stewardess or a Universal Studios tour guide?
CB: As a young
girl I would write little horror stories and then borrow my
father's video camera to create mini home movies. As I grew, my
taste for horror evolved into something of a fetish and I began
exploring new and unique ways of expressing myself. Years later
the web character Countess
Bathoria was born. It wasn't long after, that I was contacted
to play the role of a vampire in a locally based independent film.
The director's goal was to eventually sell the finished film to my
fans; however, the outcome was somewhat disappointing, as the film
contained no "genre elements". Jason and I met on the
set of this film and soon discovered that we had a couple of
mutual interests, which were filmmaking and exploitation cinema.
We both felt that my fans would be terribly disappointed with the
vampire movie and knew that we could do a much better job, and
that's how Robomonkey Productions came to be.
porfle:
Could you give us a quick overview of your film appearances up to
this point?
CB: I've done
three films with SV
Bell to date, THE NIGHT THEY RETURNED, PURPLE GLOW, and SHE
DEMONS OF THE BLACK SUN. 2005 was a productive year for me,
shooting five films all in which I played lead or principal roles.
TENDER FLESH FOR THE ZOMBIE GODDESS, directed by Patrick Aird of
Killer B Girl Films. PRISON OF THE PSYCHOTIC DAMNED produced by
David Williams of Red Scream Films and directed by D.W. Kann. THE
ORDER OF ONE which is the latest installment from yours truly...Robomonkey
Productions, co-produced by Braemar Entertainment and directed by
Kevin Woodhouse. Last but not least RANDOM, which was also
directed by Mr.Woodhouse.
porfle:
Have you ever considered doing a film version of BATHORIA'S TALE,
the lengthy photo-story featured on your website? Seems like it
would make a pretty intense Gothic horror flick.
CB: I've been
contemplating this for many years and think it has great
potential! Perhaps one day when I have a bigger budget.
porfle:
Were you a Monster Kid? What films had the biggest effect on you
during your formative years?
CB: In more
ways than one!
I grew up watching a lot of the mainstream horror movies like
FRIDAY THE 13TH, THE EXORCIST, HALLOWEEN, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM
STREET, DRACULA. I absolutely adored horror and would watch it
every chance I got even though it meant no sleep for weeks. It's
funny though because I tend to lean the opposite way now, liking
everything that isn't mainstream. Japanese horror is my favorite
as well as some German titles and anything made by José Mojica
Marins A.K.A. Coffin Joe.
porfle:
What recent films have impressed you the most?
CB: There
really hasn't been much in the way of new releases that impressed
me lately. Aside from Coffin Joe some of my favorite films include
EVIL DEAD, VISITOR Q, ICHI THE KILLER, FASTER PUSSYCAT, KILL!
KILL!, DEAD ALIVE, POSSESSION (Andrzej Zulawski), CRAZY LIPS,
VERSUS, TETSUO, HANZO THE RAZOR, BATTLE ROYALE, FUDOH, REQUIEM FOR
A DREAM, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, THE MECHANIC, DR. LAMB,
NECROMANTIK II, OLD BOY, THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, and IN A
GLASS CAGE.
porfle:
A little bird told me that you may be doing your first topless
scene in an upcoming movie. Please tell me this is true! And give
us some advance info on the movie if you would.
CB: The movie
is called PRISON OF THE PSYCHOTIC DAMNED and it was indeed my
first topless scene. I felt that the role was right and the nudity
worked for the scene and the character. Don't get me wrong...I'm a
huge fan of gratuitous nudity, in fact I exploit women all of the
time in my own films (I'm going to burn at the stake for that
comment). I certainly don't look at exploitation as degrading, in
fact I get bored easily when watching a film and there aren't any
naked women (that one too). I just don't want to be typecast as
the girl who takes her top off at the drop of a hat. I take my
work seriously and want others to look at more than just my
breasts...even though they are nice to look at!
porfle:
What do you hope to accomplish in the film business in, say, the
next five years?
CB: As long as
I'm having fun and my fans are having fun I will have accomplished
what I set out to do. Although at times it would be nice to work
with a bigger budget!
porfle:
Would you be my girlfriend?
CB: Since I'm
into necrophilia it will have to be over your dead body.
porfle:
Thank you, Countess, for gracing our humble Corner with your
presence! It is a distinct pleasure to have you in our midst, and
we will continue to follow your filmic endeavors with great
interest.
CB: The
pleasure was all mine!
|