1942 (2012)
Directed by Feng Xiaogang

Reviewed by Anthony Servante

I saw the horror movie sequel to The Collector, called The Collection, both of which I enjoyed. As I left the theater, I saw a long line of well-dressed Chinese cordoned by black velvet separators used at movie premieres. So, I went for it. I got in line, wearing a black hoodie. There were security and uniformed ushers, all Chinese. As more patrons lined up behind me, one of the ushers counted people in the line and then instructed the last fifty or so people in line to follow him. I understood his body language enough that I didn't need to understand his Mandarin. We were escorted to the theater showing Red Dawn. Cool. I haven't seen that yet. Then the usher left and returned with two more ushers and hundreds more patrons who immediately filled the cinema to capacity. We were told by the escort usher that they have found a copy of the movie at a sister theater nearby and that it is being readied for showing in about 15 minutes. He apologized that the other theater was oversold, but while we are waiting for the movie to start, he and the other ushers would hand out free movie passes for a complimentary visit to attend a different film. When the usher reached me, I told her that my partner was in the restroom. She handed me an extra ticket.  Xie xie, I said. As I listened afterward, I found that most of the audience had a friend or family member in the restroom as well. The ushers smiled and bowed a lot. They didn't care. The tickets were an apology. That is all that mattered. Minutes or so after the freebies, the movie started straight away. No turn-off your cell phones. No refreshments in the lobby. No don't talk during the movie. No trailers. The movie started, the lights went down. I heard the crowd gasp. I sensed something about the movie was going to be good.

It was not Red Dawn. It was a Chinese film called 1942. That's what the four Chinese characters read. A one, a nine, a four and a two. Yet the English subtitle read: Back to 1942. (Later I found it's based on the book Remembering 1942, because as the author Liu Zhenyun points out: Americans remember [bad times in history]; the Chinese forget). The cast titles were Chinese except for Tim Robbins and Adrien Brody (other Brody movies, The Thin Red Line & The Pianist, and now this movie all take place in 1942, as Zhenyun also points out). The movie begins with a confrontation between peasants carrying torches at night and the landlord and his hired help carrying rifles. It seems the starving "bandits" as the rich owner refers to them are starving to death and they intend to share in the plentiful food behind the wall the armed men are defending. A messenger sent to summon police returns with the news that the Japanese have invaded China. The peasants and the riflemen begin killing each other for whatever food they can carry. The next morning there is an exodus of ten million people from the Henen Province who will go west in search of food. Why west? It is a traditionally lucky path to take in dire times. Only on this trek over three million of them will die: from starvation, strafing and bombing from Japanese planes, murder, and cannibalism.

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The horror the movie captured all too well, but this pic is real 1942

The refugees were starving. A pet cat that would not be left behind becomes food, and even the young girl whom the father tries to console needlessly declares, "I'm going to eat it too." Two thieves lose the mule they stole and one of the thieves tries to find the beast in the pitch black of a Henen night; he heads to a camp fire in the distance where Chinese soldiers are bayoneting the mule into size-able chunks for the huge pot of boiling water. He demands a piece of the animal only to fall into the boiling pot head-first, which instantly kills him. From days to months these people without food find themselves doing what no civilized person would do to survive. It is more humane to strangle a new-born baby girl than to watch it die of starvation.

Meanwhile, the Japanese planes just won't go away. In movie time the attacks span about fifteen to twenty minutes apart. The mass of refugees have nowhere to run or hide. They are ripped apart by high-powered bullet-fire. A tottler crying for her mother is blown in two by a nearby bomb. The visceral assault is non-stop. Your emotions are not spared. And we're not one third through the movie yet. There is much more suffering to come. But the reasons must be explored by the film-maker.

The blame is placed by the camera on the corrupt Chinese government. And the honest politicians are impotent to help. The Japanese on the ground get about fifteen minutes of blame toward the end when the Chinese pass their Henen refugee problem to their military enemy. The reporter played by Adrien Brody has been taking pictures of atrocities on the road from Hennen and has reported his findings to the highest Chinese official, who upon learning of the cannibalism, and seeing pictures of dogs eating human carcasses, worries more about how China will appear in the Time magazine article than about addressing the problems with the Hennen refugees. When 100 million tons of grain arrive, it dwindles as local government officials skim so much that nothing reaches the refugees. From horror to the horrible and back and forth the audience sways emotionally.

I was grateful that I fell into this movie. It was a great lesson in history, and after having just posted my article on History and Horror in fiction, it was quite the coincidence to follow the same subject in nonfiction. I was the first to stand and applaud the movie as the final credits began to roll. The crowd joined me with whistles and shouts of the director's name. I think I walked into an event of some magnitude. It was not a perfect movie. It was a perfect experience. Nothing like real horror to remind one what fictional horror emulates, and nothing like a good book or film to kindle that memory. It made The Collection look like a G-rated film.

Go see 1942. Let's show the Chinese how to remember. They already know how to forget.

PAST PERFECT

The ice cream cone flew from Young Anthony’s small hand when the truck hit the car head on, killing his mother and father. No farewells. No goodbye speeches. Six year old Anthony only knew that his ice cream cone was gone. Only later when he was in the hospital and his aunt and uncle yelled at him and blamed him for killing his parents did he realize his mom and dad were dead. His stay in the hospital stretched over a week. An extra day was added when no one came to pick him up. That's when the young boy realized he wasn't wanted.

Anthony sat with the social worker outside the courtroom. Time seemed to stand still as his aunt and uncle walked away with his younger and older brother. The social worker explained to Anthony that they would find a good home for him. He wanted to ask why he couldn’t go with his aunt, but he knew the answer. He was to blame for killing her sister, his mom. He was a witch. What kind of home would take in a brujo? he wondered.

Old Man Anthony answered the knock at the door to his small house alone on the hillside of the San Gabriel Mountains. Not quite the hermit, not quite the social butterfly. He dreaded knocks at the door. Jehovah’s Witnesses? Lutherans? Wireless services? Sometimes he simply didn’t answer, but not today. He opened the door, ready for an argument.

A military man in front, behind him the Ex, her two grown up daughters, a woman he didn’t recognize, and two little girls in their Sunday dresses. This family looked out of place for this forlorn neighborhood of retirees and loners. Yes? asked Anthony, wondering who would speak first, his son, the marine, or his Ex, who avoided his eyes.

“I am Michael Rios. This is my wife, Martha, my older sisters, Karla and Perla, you know my mom, Juana, and these two little ones are Reina and Princessa, your granddaughters.”

And there it was, out in the open. My Ex, my son, his family and his sisters. He had to be around thirty-five-ish. Kids about five-ish. He must have married late twenties. That made me seventyish. What a feverish reminder of my mortality. Weren’t kids supposed to be our immortality? It turns out family is clicking clock that rubs out any semblance of time. What a strange thought. Better write it down. Maybe it'll turn into something later when I'm at the computer. Or in a dream.

“May we come in?” Michael asked. The question was polite but assertive. He wasn’t taking no for an answer. So like his mom.

I sat them on the sofa, after pushing off all of my paperback horror novels and anthologies. I didn’t turn off my laptop. I wanted them to know that I was getting back to work as soon as they were gone. My Ex glared at the open laptop as if to incinerate it with her eyes.

“Excuse me, sir, but you haven’t introduced yourself.” A command more than a suggestion.

“How did you find me?” I wanted to know.

Reina and Princessa fidgeted at my question. The older Reina whispered to her sister in tongue clucks and lip smacks, followed by a repetition of assorted syllables laced together like sentences. For they were sentences. To them. And to me. I recognized the nonlinear language. Child-speak. All kids do it. Talk so no one understands but them. “Ta-ta-ta” said one to the other. The other answered with a cluck and a shrug of her tiny shoulders.

“I’m your grandpa.”

They looked at each other and clucked in unison. “Ta-ta-ta,” I told them.

Their mother, Martha, spoke up. “They’re autistic. I’m a Pediatrician, specializing in the disorder.”

“They’re just kids being kids.” I looked at the two girls and jabbered away in the language they thought only they could speak. At first they were hesitant, a trap, perhaps, but the older Reina responded with some off-beat clicks and oohs and aahs. Nothing new. I told them in nonlinear speak that they weren’t the only ones who could speak the Clicky Language. Then I scolded them for allowing their mother to believe they were autistic. In clicks and clucks, I communicated to them, Apologize to their parents in English now or leave my house. No grandpa for you.

Without hesitation they complied. “Mom, we’re sorry. We’ll speak English with you from now on and Spanish to Grandma. Can we sit with Grandpa?”

“I didn’t say you could sit with me.”

“We apologized. You have to,” said Reina.

“You promised,” added Princessa.

“Only for a minute. Then you have to go.”

Martha had tears in her eyes. Michael wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulders. The Ex smiled triumphantly.

“Now introduce yourselves proper,” I asked. “Martha’s a kid doctor. Got it. Who’s next? I'll go last.”

The Zimmerman family came to the State Social Home several months after my being placed there, after the promise to place me in a family turned into a lie. I was shuffled around from social worker to social worker, each one promising homes and big back yards and good schools. None of that came. It took a week of learning to fight off the bullies at the orphanage. Another week to take over the library, where I made up for the poor education the state provided by reading everything I could get my hands on. The librarian took a shine to me. She guided my education, provided me with the proper books, and gave me quizzes to ensure I was understanding the materials. When I showed progress, she found the right books to level me up. She often said that I was high school level now. By the time I was adopted, I'd be college level. I always thought she was exaggerating my progress as incentive. But when I heard her talking to the Zimmermans, I believed she was telling the truth.

The Zimmermans lived in Malibu, by the beach. Mr. Zimmerman was a judge, Mrs. Zimmerman a doctor, a hospital administrator, their two daughters, ten year old Sandra and twelve year old Kendra, were students. The family showed me around the house, the back-yard, which was basically the Pacific Ocean, and lastly, my room, which overlooked the setting sun. For dinner the dining table was laid out with tacos from some fast food joint. I refused to eat. They asked if I were hungry. I asked for permission to make myself a sandwich or a bowl of soup. The judge said. Of course. As I made my sandwich, I heard the girls tossing the tacos in the trash. Their parents seemed to be whispering about the mistake they made.

Now I'd met them. My son, Michael, the 20 year Marine, his wife, Martha, the Pediatrician who specialized in autism who couldn't distinguish nonlinear language from autism, my Ex, the real estate mogul, as I sarcastically referred to her, her eldest, Karla, FBI bureau chief in charge of psychological profiling (whatever that meant), and Perla, the younger daughter, neurosurgeon. And my two granddaughters. It was Karla who figured out where I lived. Naturally, with those FBI resources. But it was Perla who recognized my work as a writer. "You're Anthony Zee, the author of The Neurology of Irony, aren't you?" I didn't answer. "I read all your books. So has Karla. That's why she's a psychiatrist and I'm a doctor. Because of you." I didn't know how to respond. I always avoided these sort of situations with my readers. I didn't give autographs, though honestly, I've never been asked for one. 

"I have a question for you all," I said. "Why now?"

No one answered. Until Michael said, "Isn't it enough that we're here?"

This time I didn't answer. Was I in some soap opera? Was this real? If I didn't answer the door, would I be in this predicament? About this time, the anxiety attack happened. Perla gave me a Xanax that she had in her purse and told everyone that it's best if they left, that I was overwhelmed. I don't remember who said it, the Ex or the Marine, I don't remember if it was in English or Spanish or Clicky Language. But someone said, "We'll be back when you feel better." 

I woke up. The awful taste of Xanax on my dry tongue. I opened the curtains and stared at the ocean. Sandra called me down for breakfast. Kendra told me that we were having pancakes. "Did you sleep well, Grandpa?" Was that the Clicky Language? Why did the house have two floors? My granddaughters walked me down to breakfast. The pancakes were piled four high on my plate. Sorry bout the tacos, the doctor said. Next to my plate was my laptop, still open to the last document I was working on. Before I melted butter and poured syrup over my pancakes, I typed the title that just came to me: Past Perfect. 

The End. 

 

Views from a Troubled Mind

Waking from a dream within a dream...

Scene #11


Dream Loops & Fever Sleep


Eternal Dream Loop/Inhale


I hit the Trifecta of illness: The Flu, Food Poisoning, and Vertigo.


Late in the afternoon, I went in for my annual bloodwork, a basic line, tossing the hook into the pond to see if the doctor could catch something swimming in the red stream. I told the doctor that I was coming down with the flu and should I return for my bloodwork. He said, No. It's just a basic line. Catch and release, as they say in medical school.


He wrapped a rubber hose around my upper arm after I had rested my forearm on the mat with the elbow bent, so he could easily find a vein. He told me to make a fist. I did. He patted my arm till he found a plump stream to dive into. He told me to take a deep breath. Before I did, I asked him to tell me when he would insert the needle. He agreed. I took a deep breath, and he poke the hypo into my vein. Dammit. My breath locked between in and out. I tensed. The injection hurt like hell. I told the doctor that I needed to catch my breath and relax. He said, Loosen your fist. The blood didn't flow.


So he wiggled the needle to increase the flow of blood. An electric shock shot up my arm from the site of the injection to my shoulder. I need to relax, I told him. He wiggled the needle again. Pure agony, and all my nerves were in on it. I forced myself to relax, to make the blood flow. He filled one vial, and inserted the next. It's slow, he said.


I knew it as soon as he said it. He wiggled the needle again. I groaned, about to push him away and pull out the needle, but it was over. A ball of cotton on the bloody site and a big band-aid.


I knew that I should have postponed the bloodwork till after I had gotten over my flu. This was a first--that wiggling of the needle to speed things along. He thought he was doing me a favor, speeding things up.


And that's how the day started.


The evening was even worse.


I ate the bad mushrooms at 9 p.m. I went to bed about 2 a.m.


When I closed my eyes, I was driving. I wasn't asleep, but everything seemed normal. Then I opened my eyes and I was in bed. I assumed I was dreaming. I closed my eyes and I was back in the car driving. I decided to go to the beach. It was hot in the car. The heater was broken. The windows wouldn't roll down. I began to sweat profusely from head to toe. I opened my eyes. I checked the time. It was 3 a.m. I was still in the car. I was still in bed. I checked the cell phone clock. It was 3 a.m, same as the car clock. This was not the flu. It was the mushrooms. They were bad.


I was in a fever dream loop.


Dream loops and fever sleep combined. Otherwise known as Nightmare Eternity or Voodoo Slumber. Basically, a fever causes hallucinations while you're awake in bed. Add to that REM dream when you fall asleep. You have normal nightmares and waking hallucinations happening simultaneously. You are awake while you dream and asleep while you hallucinate. You're in a bubble of a new reality, with swatches of your five senses picking up your environment while your dreams try to work around these illusions.

If I wanted to break the loop, I needed to throw up the bad food.


I stood up awkwardly; it triggered the vertigo. The room spun. The real room. My bedroom. The car was gone. I rushed to the toilet. My body wanted the bad food out.


I stepped wrong and my back went out. Throwing up was more important than dealing with the agony in my lower back. Spinning room and painful back, I dragged myself to the toilet.


The vomit confirmed I was poisoned by the bad mushrooms. I expelled every bit of the badness. I cleaned up and returned to bed.


I rested on my right side, and the room spun out of control. I turned on my left side. The spinning stopped. The sweating was gone. The queasiness under control. I closed my eyes without anxiety.


I was back in the car. I was at the beach. It was very chilly. It was a starless night. There was a snack shack by the lifeguard station. It was covered with owls. No. Seagulls, I reasoned. Owls don't squawk. Wait. Seagulls caw. I should go home. It is cold. I am in bed. I grab the extra blanket from the foot of the bed and toss it over myself. I open my eyes. I am at the beach. But the sounds of parrots squawking filter into my dream from outside my bedroom window. I close my eyes and gauge where I am. I'm in bed. Two blankets now. I open my eyes. I am in the car. No. I close my eyes. It goes like this all night till noon when I wake up for real.


I was caught in a fever dream loop, half hallucination, half dream.

Sadly, I get up and grab a cup of coffee. I should sleep, but sleep now scares me. I should hydrate, I say to myself over and over with each cup of coffee.


The day passes slowly. I am sleepy and wired with caffeine. I dread the coming night, so early it comes in October. The feral parrots are squawking in the back yard again. Tonight, they'll be seagulls and owls again.


I pour another cup of coffee.

 

Funereal Plots

Horror Cinema Double-Feature

Reviews

Matthew M. Bartlett

The Wolf Man

Director: Leigh Wannell

Writers: Leigh Wannell, Corbett Tuck

The plot of the Wolf Man is simplicity itself. A boy’s dad warns him about a creature in the woods. The dad goes missing. The boy grows up, turns into the fretful Blake (Christopher Abbott), has a wife named Charlotte (Julia Garner, who can’t save this one) and daughter (Matilda Firth, 11 years old but her character talks like 7-year-old). They go back to Oregon from San Francisco when boy receives father’s death certificate in the mail.

Cue the creature in the woods. Mixed in there is the theme of a father must protect his child. Ho hum.

Lycanthropy in the 2025 werewolf movie doesn’t mean a man turns into a wolf, or into a man-wolf hybrid. Rather, the man turns ugly and sort of strong, like Jeff Goldblum a third of the way toward Brundlefly, his teeth get weird, he can’t talk (metaphor for the taciturn father!), he sees things through a SciFi filter, and he runs like a Cocaine Ape.

So, at the old homestead, a werewolf wastes no time and immediately attacks the family. Blake is bitten and immediately gets sweaty and wheezy. His transformation is as slow as the movie. Eventually claws push his fingernails off and his teeth fall out, replaced by…grosser teeth.

Mid-transformation, the werewolf attacks again, chasing the family on top of a greenhouse. Hilarity ensues. Eventually, maybe 2/3 through the transformation, the werewolf and the two-thirds-werewolf fight not like animals, but like strong, really ugly men. It’s basically a movie fistfight that looks like a bar fight with two really ugly guys with bad colds, and it’s unintentionally hilarious.

Oh, spoiler alert, I guess, but the werewolf is Blake’s missing father.

The only good moment in The Wolf Man comes when Charlotte stares down her werewolf husband and he briefly shows a moment of brute understanding. The rest is predictable, plodding, and disappointing. Ultimately, it’s a blessing that, like a lot of horror movies now, much of it is too dark to see.

********

The Monkey

Writer/ Director: Osgood Perkins

Mixing horror with humor is a delicate operation. Few movies seem to get the mix just right. Shawn of the Dead is one. Going back to the black & white days, Abbot & Costello Meet Frankenstein is another.

Osgood Perkins is not the writer/director you’d think could pull it off. His movies are mostly deliberately paced, atmospheric, and quiet—sometimes to a fault. So, he’s probably not anyone’s first choice to adapt one of Stephen King’s darker short story offerings. But here we are nonetheless.

The movie opens strongly, with a man in a military uniform trying to return a toy monkey to a pawn shop, only to have a Rube Goldberg chain of mishaps end in the grisly death of the owner, and the man taking a flamethrower to the toy monkey. This puts us firmly in the familiar territory claimed by the Final Destination.

We jump forward. Hal and Bill, the soldier’s twin sons, find the monkey. Turn its key, it bangs its little drum-sticks, and people die. Not so random—it’s usually people close to the key-turner. One is their mother, who has a spectacular aneurysm at a hibachi restaurant. “Close” in this case can even mean proximity, mind you. So, them’s the rules. We jump ahead a bunch of years. Hal (Theo James), now an adult, is traumatized by his past. Bill (also Theo James, naturally), his brother, blames him for his mother’s death, and lives in betterment with dark dreams of revenge. More people die from wasp attacks, falling shotguns, what have you.

The comically grotesque deaths are entertaining in their over-the-topness. And if it had stopped there as far as humor goes, it might have worked. But Perkins inexplicably throws in absurd characters—a young, tongue-tied judge, a whacky real-estate agent, Elijah Wood in an bizarre, what-was-anyone-thinking turn as the husband of Hal’s ex-wife and a bunch of non-sequiturs, which dampen the horror rather than enhance or effectively offset it.

There are redeeming qualities found throughout (A giant version of the monkey made me laugh out loud, pause, and rewind) and the ending is hilarious in its grand guignol silliness. What I was left with after watching The Monkey was regret—the good parts, and there are not nearly enough of them, show what a truly great horror movie this might have been.

 

Thursday, November 20, 2014

********Rebekah Kennedy Interview********

The New Scream Queen of Horror

Conducted by Anthony Servante

Introduction: 

The Servante of Darkness Blog welcomes Rebekah Kennedy to talk about movies and her career in the business of entertainment. I first saw Rebekah in "Season of the Witch" (2011) and have followed her horror movies, old and new, since. But there was more to our guest than scary movies. She has a background in Theatre and Television, and early in her career, she performed in musicals. But let's hear from our guest star herself. Darkness readers, allow me to present Rebekah Kennedy.

Biography: 

Rebekah Kennedy is a Los Angeles based actress with Texas roots. She is blessed with a youthful look, which has landed her roles that play much younger than she actually is.

Rebekah has had a passion for acting since the age of 12, when she pleaded with her mother to enroll her in acting classes. Almost immediately, she auditioned regularly and landed roles in several musicals and plays. Through her theatre experience she developed her talent and by her junior year of high school was accepted into the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas Texas as a dance major. At the age of 17 she performed professionally in Casper: The Musical starring Chita Rivera.

Rebekah went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Musical Theatre from Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach Florida. She continued to excel on stage in college, landing roles in several productions. Her talent was so impressive she was selected from a field of thousands of applicants to attend NYU’s prestigious Collaborative Arts Project 21 (AKA CAP21) in New York, whose alumni include Lady Gaga, Anne Hathaway and Kristen Bell among many others. Rebekah continued to perform in theatre productions throughout that experience.

In 2009, Rebekah turned her attention to TV/Film. She performed in many independent films and shorts. Then in 2011 Rebekah’s career launched to a whole new level. She booked roles on “Memphis Beat” starring Jason Lee, ”Ghost Breakers” TV series and “Season of the Witch” starring Nicolas Cage. Even deeper roles followed in “The Underneath” (playing the creature) starring Holt Boggs, “Creature” starring Mehcad Brooks and Serinda Swan, “I am Gabriel” starring Dean Cain and one of the female leads in “House Hunting” starring Marc Singer.

She just wrapped a pilot called "Street Level".

Links:

www.rebekahkennedy.com - Website

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2796058/ IMDb

https://twitter.com/rebekahkennedy - Twitter

The Interview:

Anthony: When did you want to become an actress?
Rebekah: My mom took me to see my first play when I was 4, and after that I was hooked. It definitely sparked something inside of me I can’t really explain. Even being that young, I just knew I wanted to be on the stage acting.

Anthony: What did you do to make that happen?
Rebekah: Well, nothing at first haha. Since I was 4, my mom didn’t really take me seriously. But every once in a while, I would bring it up. And finally when I was 12 my mom put me in some local classes in Texas and I auditioned for my first musical. And then I just didn’t stop.

Click here to watch a

DEMO REEL of Rebekah Kennedy

Anthony: Can you tell us about your early days in the business?
Rebekah: In my early days, I was performing in musicals and plays all the way through junior high and high school, until I went off to college where I majored in Musical Theater. I really loved it and I was auditioning and performing anytime I could.

Anthony: Can you tell us about your transition from theatre to movies?
Rebekah: I had a little bit of interest in film and tv growing up, but I never really pursued it. Even after college, I had planned to continue theater and maybe even move to New York. I moved back to Texas after I graduated to get my bearings and figure out exactly what my next move was. All of a sudden, I started to think more and more about film and how I could pursue that. Shortly after, I signed with an agent in Louisiana (Landrum Arts LA) that took a chance on me. I slowly started to audition for small parts in movies and tv shows. In the meantime, I continued to audition and perform in plays. Also during that time, I also signed with an agent (Linda McAlister) in Texas as well. I tried to gain as much experience in the film world as I could. I continued to do theater all the way up until I booked the psychological thriller “House Hunting.” And then I decided I had to put theatre aside for a while. I now live in Los Angeles fighting the good fight haha. I do miss theatre and I hope to do another show when the right one comes along.

Anthony: You seem to mainly do Horror films. Is there a reason for this?
Rebekah: It wasn’t a conscious decision to start off with mostly horror films. Honestly, that’s what I booked at the beginning haha. I’m not complaining though, because the movies were a blast and it was a pleasure working on them. Plus, I got to work with some incredible actors and I learned so much working on those sets.

Anthony: Tell us about "Season of the Witch" (2011). Give us an insider tale or two.
Rebekah: Season of the Witch was incredible to work on. All of the actors, including Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman, were extremely kind. And the crew just made it an easy and comfortable place to be. It was a wild ride though, because I auditioned on a Friday afternoon and the next day I found out I got the role, and they needed me in Shreveport for a fitting. So it was a bit of a whirlwind, and I didn’t really get a chance to take in what had happened. But it was well worth the craziness.

Anthony: Since you play characters younger than yourself, because you look younger to the camera, you are cast as teens, right? I’ve seen this with many actors (actresses) especially in Horror film (Molly Ephraim from Paranormal Activity 2 comes to mind); how has this been a boon and a hindrance to your career?
Rebekah: You are correct; I’m playing mostly teens. I haven’t played over 19 in a few years now haha. It’s often great, because most films and tv shows want over 18 or legal 18 to play younger. Sometimes it’s hard when they want true to age or sometimes there are roles I love, but I just don’t quite look old enough haha. But I know one day I will age, and those roles will more available to me. I don’t mind playing younger, because I started in the film world later in life, and I get to go back and play the roles I wouldn't have gotten a chance to play. And I’ve been fortunate enough to play teens with real depth and issues. And things they are trying to overcome. Those are the kinds of teen roles I’m attracted to.

Anthony: Can you tell us about some of the other Horror films you’ve been in?
Rebekah: Some other horror films I’ve been are, “House Hunting” – it’s a psychological thriller with Marc Singer and Art LaFleur. It’s about two families that go to an open house and then they can’t leave. I play 15-year-old Hanna, who is a mysterious girl. It’s available on Netflix and DVD. I’ve also been in a horror film called “Creature.” It’s a throwback to the old creature features and it’s a lot of fun. I play 14-year-old Caroline, who’s very innocent. That is also available on DVD and Netflix. And I just wrapped a horror film called “Bastard.” It’s about 5 strangers that become suspect and victim when a masked murderer makes its presence known in an isolated mountain town. I play 16-year-old Betty, who with her brother, runs away from home to find a better life. That will hopefully be out next year sometime.

Anthony: What are your favorite classic Horror films and which ones would you like to be cast in if they were remake? (The Exorcist, maybe?).
Rebekah: Some of my favorite horror movies are, The Sixth Sense, The Shinning, The Exorcist, The Silence of the Lambs, and The Conjuring to name a few. I would love to do a remake of the Exorcist haha. That would be a crazy fun part to play. Although, it would be hard to do justice with a remake. The first film was so brilliant.

Anthony: Tell us what’s on the horizon for you.
Rebekah: Well, my episode of the series “Match” will be airing December 11^th. It’s called ‘Tonight’ and you can find it on http://match.colaborator.com/season-1/. I play 16-year-old Emily who gets into an adult relationship she’s not quite ready for, and how it affects her. It's a different role for me and I'm both nervous and excited for people to see it. But I am looking forward to people's reactions to the pilot. I had a blast working with the amazing cast and crew. And it was a great challenging role and I'm thrilled I got to bring her to life. I also just wrapped a pilot called “Street Level” written and directed by Sons of Anarchy’s David Labrava. It also has Mark Boone Junior, Charisma Carpenter, Danny Trejo, Robert Patrick, Drea de Matteo…to name a few of the fabulous cast. It was an amazing collaborative effort, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it. I can’t wait to share more information on it.

Anthony: Could you give a few words of advice to young actors looking for their break?
Rebekah: If you’re not in an acting class, get in a class! Haha. Ask questions. Use your resources. But above all else, don’t give up. It’s an extremely tough business, but if you love it, keep trekking. Don’t let no stop you. Never back down. Dreams are way too important to be given up on.

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Thank you, readers, for sharing this time with Rebekah Kennedy. Be sure to watch her movies and TV shows and say hello to her on Facebook. 

 

Monday, August 20, 2012

Roger Hodgson Interview

With Anthony Servante

Thanks to Harmonic Management,

Especially Linda Tyler and Linda Gianotti. 

Roger Hodgson Today

"Roger Hodgson is recognized as one of the most gifted composers, songwriters and lyricists of our time! As the legendary voice, writer and arranger of most of Supertramp’s greatest hits that led to more than 60 million record sales, he gave us amazingly enduring songs like: “Give a Little Bit,” “Dreamer,” “It's Raining Again”, “Take the Long Way Home”, “The Logical Song,” “Breakfast In America,” “Fool’s Overture” and so many others that have become the sound track of our lives. Hodgson co-founded the progressive rock band Supertramp in 1969 and was with them for 14 years. He wrote and sang most of the classic hits that brought Supertramp worldwide acclaim. Roger recently received 2 awards from ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) for his songs being in the top played songs in their repertory, proving that they have indeed stood the test of time."

The Servante of Darkness Blog is proud to welcome Roger Hodgson during his 2012 Concert Tour by presenting the most popularly asked questions since his departing Supertramp for family and solo projects. As a fan of Hodgson’s solo work, I often find it disheartening to hear so much old Supertramp music on his tours of the past few years and not enough song-play from his personal works: Sleeping with the Enemy, In the Eye of the Storm, Hai Hai, Rites of Passage (featuring saxophonist John Helliwell), and Open the Door, a wealth of music enough for many solo concerts. But after hearing how Hodgson considers the majority of the hits from Supertramp, the band he co-founded, his own songs that he himself wrote long before joining Supertramp, it’s understandable how he feels their inclusion in his shows reflects his song-writing history from his early days as a musician to today. Still, there is a side of me that would love to hear an all Hodgson playlist from his four solo works, but that’s just me because every time I go to a Hodgson concert with my family and friends, they’re there for the older classics; however, it does my heart good that they can hear the recent classics as well.


For those of you who are interested in learning more about Roger Hodgson, here are some links to a wealth of information, music and chat. Enjoy!

www.RogerHodgson.com

Facebook.com/RogerHodgsonOfficial

YouTube.com/MrRogerHodgson


So, let’s get to the interview: Welcome Roger Hodgson to the Darkness.

Anthony: Please tell us what we can expect from your concerts.

Hodgson: I began my 2012 World Tour in Southern California. This year I am performing with an excellent band of four very versatile musicians

You will hear songs that I have written on my life journey – of course I’ll be performing all the songs people want to hear from my time with Supertramp. You can expect to hear The Logical Song, Give a Little Bit, Dreamer, School, Breakfast in America, Take the Long Way Home, It's Raining Again, Fool's Overture, etc., as well as some of my later material – In Jeopardy, Lovers in the Wind, Death and a Zoo,…and others. I don’t play Rick Davies’ songs – only the songs that I wrote and composed.

Anthony: I hear that you have a new album out.

Hodgson: For years, fans have been asking me to put out a CD of my live concerts because everyone tells me I'm singing better now than I did when I first recorded these songs with Supertramp 30 plus years ago. So, on our 2010 world tour we recorded a lot of shows and picked the most magical performances – from Norway, Brazil, Germany, Canada and put together “Classics Live.” The first 10 tracks are available digitally on my website, www.RogerHodgson.com and on iTunes and you can find physical CD’s at www.RogerHodgsonStore.com and at my concerts.

Anthony: I am interested in knowing how you started playing and composing music?

Hodgson: The guitar was my first instrument. My father used to play folk songs on an old acoustic guitar that he would never let me touch. When my parents divorced, it was his parting gift to me. I was 12 at the time and the moment I got it into my hands, my life changed forever. I took this guitar with me to boarding school in England where a teacher showed me three chords. After that, every spare moment, even between classes, I would go and practice. I started writing songs almost immediately and within a year, I actually put on my first concert at school of all original songs.

I started playing piano when I was 16. I was primarily self-taught and developed my own piano playing technique. I have always experimented with different sounds. My original demo for Dreamer, for instance, was recorded on a two-track. I was at my mother’s house and did not have any percussion so you can hear me banging boxes and lampshades on there.

At 17, I don't know why, but I was driven to find a pump organ or harmonium as they were called. It's like an organ that you play with your feet. Many churches used to have them before electricity arrived and organs went electric I found one covered in cobwebs in the backroom of this old lady’s house. I bought it for 26 pounds, took it home, cleaned it up and proceeded to write many songs on it – Breakfast in America, A Soapbox Opera, It’s Raining Again, Two of Us, even part of Fool’s Overture and The Logical Song. It has a very magical quality to it – it’s very easy for me to lose myself in the sound of it and go to that place where magic and inspiration happens. I still have it at my studio. The sound on the recording of Breakfast in America is this harmonium and a grand piano combined.

Anthony: How did you get started in the music business?

Hodgson: My first single was released under the made up band name Argosy. It consisted of two of my original songs - Side A was “Mr. Boyd” and the flip side was “Imagine.” I was 19 and pretty fresh out of school when a producer heard my songs and signed me. He put me in a studio in London, which was my first time in a recording studio, with some session musicians. One of them was a man called Reg Dwight, who later became known as Elton John. It was an incredible band - actually, most of the members of the band that he toured with later, Caleb Quaye on guitar and Nigel Olsson on drums, and they did an awesome version, obviously, of my songs and then I sang vocals on top. “Mr. Boyd” actually came very close to being a hit in England. It was played a lot on the radio but never actually charted.

Roger Hodgson Early Years

Anthony: Please share about your process of composing music and writing lyrics.

Hodgson:I do realize I have written some wonderful songs and have an ability for writing great melodies, but I think the reason these songs have stood the test of time so well is because they came from a very pure place and were not contrived. I never sat down to try and write a hit song. Music was where I went to be alone to express my deepest emotions, my deepest longing, my deepest pain and joy and questions. And I think that is why my songs have endured so well over time.

Anthony: Please reveal more of your Spiritual connection with your songs.

Hodgson: For me, music was where I went to express my longing to know God, to know true love, my longing to feel truly at home inside myself. I put this inner quest into my songs and I believe, because they came from such a deep place, this is one of the reasons they have such an enduring quality. They touch that place in everyone who is searching for true happiness, belonging, for God - whatever you want to call it.

So, yes, a lot of my songs have a spiritual theme to them – when I write music, I am always alone and it’s very much an inner communion for me. It’s not generally known that I never wrote with the band, and the other members of Supertramp didn’t share many of the spiritual beliefs that I wrote about – so all my songs – new and old - are all very personal expressions for me.

Anthony: Can you share about the part you played in making Supertramp a success and international phenomenon? What role did you play in arranging the music of Supertramp and producing Supertramp albums?

Hodgson: Supertramp was my dream and passion for 14 years. When people hear my songs they think of Supertramp because my songs were most of the hits that people love, and they are still played on the radio around the world today.

In many respects, I was the musical driving force of the band from the time Rick and I started it until we parted ways in 1983. I was responsible for much of the producing of the albums and tours. It was very important to me back then not to create just a hit single, which most bands were focused on. I wanted to create a whole listening experience where people were taken through a range of emotions -where at the end of the album they really felt like they had been taken on a journey and had a full course meal, if you like. I'd spend days and sometimes weeks choosing the right songs and the right order of songs so one song flowed into the next and the next. I did this for the concerts as well as the albums, and I still do this today.

Roger Hodgson awhile back 

Anthony: Tell us why you left the band.

Hodgson: When I left Supertramp in 1983, it was to follow my heart, which was telling me it was time to make home, family, and spiritual life my priority. I wanted to be with my children as they grew up. I’d given 14 years of my life to Supertramp and at that point I chose to have my primary focus be my family and not my career. I also pretty much left the music industry and took my family to a healthier place to raise my kids - up in the mountains of Northern California. I moved out of Los Angeles and built a home studio so I could continue to create music and although I made a few albums, I never toured behind them.

Anthony: It is great that you are back touring again, will you be playing Supertramp songs?

Hodgson: I don’t think of my songs as Supertramp songs- they’re my songs. In fact I wrote and composed a lot of them years before I recorded them with Supertramp. I wrote them when I was alone, not together with Rick or jamming with the band. A lot of people don't realize this because Rick and I shared the writers credit on all the songs we recorded together as Supertramp. But some of the biggest hits I recorded with Supertramp were songs I’d written in my late teens before I even met Rick and formed the band with him. Songs such as Dreamer, It’s Raining Again, Breakfast in America, Two of Us, A Soapbox Opera and even the beginning of Fool’s Overture, were all written during that time period. These songs are my babies – pieces of my heart and I still love playing them in my concerts today.

That having been said, I still get so many people telling me that when they come to my concerts they hear and feel the sound and spirit of Supertramp.

Anthony: I notice that you have a lot of young fans in your audiences.

Hodgson: Yes, I am finding everywhere I go that my songs are popular with multiple generations. Breakfast in America, Give a Little Bit and The Logical Song have recently returned to #1 in the charts again. Gym Class Heroes had a worldwide hit with my song, Breakfast in America, which took them from an unknown garage band to hitting the top of the charts. Before that, it was the Goo Goo Dolls with Give a Little Bit and Scooter with his techno version of The Logical Song. It’s amazing to me how my songs have stood the test of time

Anthony: What motivates you as an artist?

One of the things that I like most about making music is how it has brought people together from all over the globe and how many lasting friendships have been made through a common love of my songs. It is a very special and personal connection I have with many of my fans and that the fans have with one another. I feel it's because my songs came from my deepest longing and joy and pain and touch those same places in the hearts of the people who listen. At my concerts I’m now seeing three generations singing along with me and it’s wonderful to see more and more young people discovering my music.

Anthony: “Breakfast In America” is a great name for your tour and a great album. What are your fondest memories of recording that all time classic album? Did you have any idea it would be such a phenomenal global success?

Breakfast In America is a great collection of songs. My songs, Breakfast in America, The Logical Song, and Take the Long Way Home, all became hits, as well as Rick’s song, Goodbye Stranger. While we were making it, I felt it could be a big album and spent hours and days trying to come up with the right combination of songs that would all fit together to take you on the best musical journey.

I fought really hard to get it right even though the other guys and the record company were getting very impatient. I was in the studio seven days a week for so long that I ended up parking a motor home in the parking lot right outside of the studio and living in it, even though I had a home 40 minutes away. I was working 16 hours a day every day of the week trying to complete it. I knew we had something good and I could not rest until every song was just right. Talk about being married to your work - I was definitely married to this album, I slept with it, ate with it, and lived with this album until it was completed.

I composed the title track to the album, Breakfast in America, when I was in my teens just after leaving boarding school, before I met Rick and co-founded Supertramp. It was written on an old church pump organ, which my mother and I found in the back of someone’s garage in England. I bought it for 26 pounds. I did not have a girlfriend - I was a late bloomer when it came to girls. I was dreaming of going to America, going to California. Funnily enough, Rick didn't like the song and didn’t want it on the album and even wanted me to change the lyrics. I couldn’t, I liked it and the other guys all liked it, so we went with it the way I wrote it.

Anthony: I heard that you had an accident and broke both of your wrists.

Hodgson: The week my second solo album, Hai Hai, was released, I had a fall and shattered both of my wrists. I could not tour and support my new album, so it wasn’t that successful.

The doctors told me I would never play again. You can imagine how that would be being a musician all my life. At first I was devastated and then I decided not to accept their prognosis. I started working on myself through Spiritual practices and prayer as well as physical therapy, strong will and determination. Now I’m back playing as good as ever. I hope I can be an inspiration for anyone that has been told that they are not going to be able to do something again. When you put your mind to it anything is possible.

***

Top Ten List of Roger Hodgson Songs:

1. The Logical Song

2. Give a Little Bit

3. Dreamer

4. School

5. Breakfast in America

6. Take the Long Way Home

7. It's Raining Again

8. Fool's Overture

9. In Jeopardy

10. Lovers in the Wind

Thank you Roger Hodgson for gracing the Darkness with your presence. Continued success on your current tour and join us again soon. Ladies and Gentlemen, Roger Hodgson!   

***

Anthony Servante has just released his new novel, EAST LOS. Set in 1970 East Los Angeles, a serial killer known to police as the Azlan Assassin is killing young boys dressed like gang members. A drunkard sobers up to look for the killer with the help of a Sheriff's Deputy. As the community deals with student protests and walkouts, a rally that will draw thousands of people approaches. County deputies join with city police to try to stop a potential riot. As the drunk detective closes in on the killer, the memory of the events that drove him to drink begin to surface. Social turmoil, murder, gang violence, racism, and demons in a bottle are set to collide. Read EAST LOS by your host, the Servante of Darkness, now available at:

http://www.amazon.com/East-Los-ebook/dp/B00B2ZYP8A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1358846743&sr=8-2&keywords=anthony+servante