NAME: Erin Marie Payne

OCCUPATION: Web Designer, HTML programmer and part time vocalist/singer

AGE: 30

MOVIE: Tainted Blood

TELL US ABOUT YOUR PART IN TAINTED BLOOD.
I had originally been hired to the set as a stand-in for Natasha Gregson-Wagner (surprising, because at the time I didn’t think I looked a THING like her! I had really long hair and probably weighed about 20 pounds more than her).  Standing in is where you allow the directors to set up the shot around you, fix the lighting to your skin tone, etcs., so the actors don’t have to.  Sometimes setting up a shot could take hoursat a time! One day, they were filming the scene where the character Tori was driving her car erratically, and they said to me, “Hey, wanna stunt double the shot?” Well, of COURSE I did!!!  So they dressed me like Natasha’s character, put a wig on me and tossed meinto a speeding car! During the course of the filming, I also got to body double and also do a little bit of background acting. So you can actually see me quite a bit in the movie (of course, I’d have to point myself out!!!) Not only is it me that you see as the passenger in the car that Tori is driving, swerving to miss another, but I also light the match that sets the house on fire in the big fire scene!  And… you’ll see me as one of the mourners at the parents funeral – and other parts here and there.

HOW LONG DID YOU WORK ON THE SET?
I was on the set for a total of four weeks.  Most days, we had to be on the set at 6:00am and sometimes wouldn’t finish until 2:00am the following morning! Some days, I’d be on my feet the whole time; others I’d be up for about  an hour, then sit around for six.

HOW WAS THE ATMOSPHERE DURING THE FILMING DAYS?
It was very exciting! Most of the actors would just sit around and hang out with everyone.  I remember that Billy Dickson (Director of Photography – who now works with David E. Kelly and the show Ally McBeal) was a very cool person to work with as well – treated EVERYONE, from the stars to the stand-ins, like wewere all at the same level.

ANY FUNNY/SPECIAL MEMORIES OR INCIDENTS FROM THE SHOOTING?
There are a few incidents that I can recall – in setting up the porch scene where Raquel Welch was talking to the parents of the young boy in the movie, I had to stand in for the mother of the boy – Raquel doesn’t use a stand in, so there I was, sitting face to face with her.  Four feet in front of me.  I was speachless, to say the least (we were instructed anyhow that we shouldn’t talk to the actors) and NERVOUS because I had been witnessing how she could be a bit demanding and ‘impatient’ with people (puttingthat nicely). So we were setting up the scene and all of a sudden, she looked at me and says, “You are IN my LIGHT. You don’t know the FIRST thing about doing this kind of work, do you!” and she turns to one of the crew and repeats this.  I just stared at her, and I WANTED to say SOMETHING awful… but I apologized and asked the crew where I should be positioned.  They later told me that Raquel could have gotten me ‘removed from the set’ if I had actually said what I felt like saying. Aside from that, the crew was setting up a bedroom scene in which Natasha was to be lying in bed asleep. The first set up, I had to stand at the foot of the bed, perfectly still… for OVER AN HOUR!  Then, finally, they instructed me to lay in the bed – another two hours… where I promptly fell asleep.  I was a bit embarrassed when they had to wake me up.

DID YOU KNOW HER BEFORE TAINTED BLOOD?
I had never even heard of her, to be honest.  I hadn’t seen the movie Goonies or any of the other ones that she was in.  I did think she looked very familiar! Ever since then, I’ve seen her face on television quite a bit and I always think, “Wow… she’s reallycool!”

HAVE WE SEEN YOU IN ANY MOTION PICTURE OR TV-SERIES WITHOUT KNOWING IT?
I’m one of the ballroom dancers in the movie Are You Lonesome Tonight (1991 with Jane Seymour) and I had a fun appearance on the game show Shop Til You Drop. Other than that, I pretty much figured out that the Acting industry takes a LOT of time and devotion.  You really can’t hold down a decent day job because when they need you on the set, they need you ‘tomorrow’. So instead, I decided to take up singing, which I’vebeen fairly successful at!

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?
Right now, I work as a website developer (both contract and freelance) latenightnet.tsx.org. I’m also a Vocalist/Entertainer and the Regional Assistant Director for the California Country Music Association in San Diego ccmasd.tsx.org. My future plans are to somehow incorporate both of my passions (web and entertainment) into an online service for Entertainers to post their photos and stats online for different people to see.  Kind of like an Internet Talent Agency, but keeping the cost to be on the site VERY VERY low.

AND LAST... WHAT DO YOU WISH FOR OF ALL THINGS RIGHT NOW?
To let everyone know that if you have a dream, go out and try to fulfill it.  Work at it day and night.  But in the process, don’t take advantage of anyone, don’t trample on your friends – and mostly, pay close attention to other people.  If you find that your own dreams are a bit far out of reach, work on helping someone else with theirs!  Help with childrenespecially, they are our future.

THANK YOU ERIN!

Check out her personal pictures from the set!