Horror movies &stuff Interviews actress Shanna Collins
Actress Shanna Collins continues to gain more and more noteriety with superb roles in recent and upcoming films. Not only did she guest star in an episode of the brilliant teen crime/drama "Veronica Mars", and have a small role in 2005's "War of the Worlds"...but she also has a film coming out next year called "In My Sleep" where she acts alongside actress Lacey Chabert. But here recently it's been "screamtime" for Shanna, as she's broken onto the horror film scene with "Haunted Prison" which debuts on SCI-FI October 14th, and another horror film entitled "Sublime" which is due out in 2007. In this interview...she tells us about her character's in both films, as well as what she'd do if she were trapped in a Haunted Prison.
MR. H:In "Haunted Prison" you play Lisa. Tell us a bit about your character, is she the strong "I can take care of myself" type, or the damzel in
distress type?
Shanna:Lisa's definitely the "take-charge" kind of girl, but like anyone, she has an achilles heel that makes her extremely vulnerable--her love for her
boyfriend, Angel. Whenever something happens to him, there's a switch in her head that turns from "competent" to "emotionally vulnerable." We've
all been there, huh?
MR. H:Did your role in the film require alot of strenuous or physical work or was it just standard stuff like running and screaming?
Shanna:Hey! Running and Screaming are full-contact sports, thank you very much! But to answer your question, I did not have any strenuous physical
labor to perform.
MR. H:Real life Worst case scenario...you're trapped in a haunted prison, what's your plan of action?
Shanna:Read a Bible? Negotiate with a ouija board? No, seriously, I think I would make sure everyone stayed together and watched each other's backs. I'd
also try very hard to stay away from sharp, flying objects. Really.
MR. H:What made you want to take on this project? The script or the glory of doing a horror film?
Shanna:Actually, it was Lisa's character that made me interested in the film. She was really spunky, you know? Truth is, give almost any actor a great
part to play and they're gonna jump at it.
MR. H:What was it like working with director Kevin Van Hook, is he an easy going type of director or is he more of a no nonsense kind of guy?
Shanna:Kevin knows exactly what he wants from each shot--and he gets it. Everything ran so smoothly and the crew was really relaxed--which says alot about a director. But my favorite thing about Kevin was definitely the jokes in between shots. He'd come over to us (the actors) and laugh about some connection between the shot we just made and some horror film
classic from the seventies. He was really open to hanging out. It was great.
MR. H:What was it like working alongside Jake Busey during the shoot?
Shanna:Well, to be honest, we didn't work together that often--only a day or two. He was a "bad guy," you see and i wasn't. But from the conversations we
had he seems like a great guy. He spent an hour in the trailer one day cooing over his dogs--showing us pictures of his great danes. (They're beautiful, by the way; he brought them to set a few times.) Any guy who gets that crazy over his dogs is good by me. I'm definitely a fido person.
MR. H:You've got another horror film coming up entitled "Sublime", tell us a bit about that movie and your character of Chloe.
Shanna:SUBLIME, like DEATH ROW, is a movie about facing one's fears. But the main difference for me, I suppose, is that in SUBLIME, I don't die--small,
but important fact, I think...I play Tom Cavanagh's daugter, Chloe. She's a little like Lisa in that she's kind of a tomboy, but besides that, they're pretty different. Chloe is still figuring herself out, both
emotionally and sexually, whereas Lisa knows who and what she wants.
MR. H:When can we expect "Sublime" to be released?
Shanna:I'm pretty sure they're looking at an early 2007 release.
MR. H:How does the directing style of Kevin Van Hook in "Haunted Prison'"differ from the directing style of Tony Krantz in "Sublime"?
Shanna:Well, the movies' styles are pretty different, so the way Kevin and Tony went about it was dictated by whatever the scenes necesitated. My scenes in
DEATH ROW were very effect-oriented, so it was a lot of physical direction, whereas in SUBLIME, most of my scenes were more emotional, so it was more of a sit-down and talk about it, you know?
MR. H:Have you seen both films yet? If so which one did you find scarier to you as a viewer?
Shanna:I've only seen bits and pieces of SUBLIME, so I can't really say which one's going to be scarier. I think they're both gonna be pretty horrific. I
mean, DEATH ROW throws you into all the death and gore almost immediately. SUBLIME is very subliminal. It's kinda what you prefer.
MR. H:Where were you born and raised, and where do you reside as of now?
Shanna:I was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. I'm now in a little bungalow in Santa Monica, Ca.
MR. H:If you could pass down one important piece of advice to aspiring actresses...what would it be?
Shanna:I would say that when they don't hire you, it doesn't mean they "don't like you," it just means they...well...didn't hire you. It could be for
ten billion reasons. Don't let it affect how well you look at yourself. I know you hear it all the time, but you really do have something to give that's original or you wouldn't be an actor. See what it is and keep giving it no matter how many times it takes to get the job.
MR. H:Have you seen any of the recent horror releases such as "Snakes on a Plane", "Pulse", "TCM:The Beginning", "Silent Hill", "Final Destination
3", etc. If so which ones did you like and which ones weren't you too crazy about?
Shanna:I have to admit I haven't seen any of them. I'm really into television right now.
MR. H:Other than the fact that you're in it (wink wink) why should horror movie lovers check out "Haunted Prison"?
Shanna:Hmmm....Jamie's naked bum? No, seriously it's a lot of fun. The music's great; plus, a lot of the effects are amazing. I would say I'm pretty
impossible to gross out, but some of the stuff Kevin put in there pushed even my iron stomach. It's fantastic--the type of movie you finish, turn
around and throw the "yeah, but did you see when..." back and forth with a friend.
End.
| | | |
