Owen: I was reading your bio how five years ago
you changed gears and went from a marketing
future into acting. It can be a pretty
tough career. Have you ever regretted your
decision?
Mike: Never. Even though I would be making a steady
salary behind a desk, I would be miserable from
regret and frustration for not pursuing my dream.
Acting is what I should be doing and Im
glad I made that decision. And its not like
my degree is totally going to waste. I am
marketing myself.
Owen: True. In 'Tenement'
(which also features Racks and Razors fave Syn
DeVil) you play Jimmy Wayne Garrick who
after being bitten by a wild animal becomes
convinced he is turning into a werewolf.
What was the most challenging part about the
role?
Mike: -My naked butt shot. It was a chilly October
night and I was completely naked except for a
pair of fake ears and a plastic bag covering my
private parts. We also shot the scene not too far
from a busy street. Luckily I was performing in
front of just the director Glen Baisley and
Marion Nash, a nice old woman who was in the
scene with me. Oh and in the too much information
department, I shaved off all my body hair for the
part since being hairless was a set up for a one
line gag. So shaving got to be very time
consuming. I found the role of Jimmy (which is
probably my favorite role to date) more fun than
challenging since I rarely had to hold back. He
was an over the top character. I could just let
everything go and be crazy which I enjoy
doing. In acting I find toning
down to be challenging sometimes. Syn DeVil
was great to work with. The night of our scene
was a night where everything that could go wrong
did go wrong from starting to shoot at around 3am
to the extras being drunk, to actors not showing
up, etc. Syn handled her brief but memorable role
like a true pro. Hopefully Ill be working
with her again soon.
Owen: So
do you feel what we fear is scarier than the real
thing?
Mike: Sometimes.
It depends on the situation. I do believe that
our imagination can definitely be worse than what
actually happens. An old trick in horror is
sometimes to not show everything in every
possible gory detail and leave it up to the
audiences imagination since that is usually
worse that anything a special effects artist can
build.
Owen: Tell
me about the disembowelment scene in 'Fear
of the Dark'. That's
something you don't see everyday.
Mike: Speaking of not leaving anything up to the
imagination that scene was made to be
purposefully long and overly drawn out. That was
Glens tongue and cheek comment on the
ridiculousness of gratuitous gore scenes in
horror. Fear of the Dark was
actually almost banned from a local film festival
due that scenes shockingly
realistic vibe which is ironic since there
is no way a human being can have that many
intestines.
Owen: Both those
films were done by Light and Dark
Productions and I know you're also a
creative consultant there. Can
you tell me a little something about that
production company?
Mike:
While I made a suggestion here and there for Fear
of the Dark and The Tenement, I really started to
step up behind the scenes during the time between
The Tenement/Sin of the Father (which were shot
simultaneously) and Fairview Falls. Light and
Dark has been around since 1999 and has released
two full lengths (Fear of the Dark
and The Tenement), one short
(The Family Tree) that can all be purchased at www.lightanddark.net. We have another short (No
Trespassing 2: No Exit) playing some
festivals and screenings and two more full
lengths in post (Sins of the Father and Fairview
Falls). The movies all have a basically dark
theme exploring the light, dark as well as the
gray areas that dwell within everyone. We do our
best to put out a good STORY first and then
enhance it with the blood, guts and scream queens
that lots of horror fans like. The
Tenement is probably the most well known
title since it landed a distribution deal with
Brain Damage Films. I met Glen in the spring of
2000 when I auditioned and landed the role of
Michael Jacobs in Fear of the Dark. Weve
been friends ever since.
Owen: What about Glen Baisley's (Light and Dark
Productions) film vision coincides with your
own?
Mike: Well first off Glen is the be all and end all of
Light and Dark. He gets the last word and
approval on everything. Hes the big boss.
Light and Dark is his playground and he is nice
enough to let me play in it. That being said I am
one of Glens worst critics and I think he
appreciates the constructive criticism because he
knows I argue my views for the betterment of the
movies. I have the right to argue with him and be
brutally honest about why my vision would be the
best for Light and Dark. Sometimes my arguments
work, sometimes they dont but I always
respect and go with his decision since its
his money being put into all the projects.
Luckily, we do agree more often than not on the
creative direction and Glen is always open to
suggestion from anyone and everyone including
actors, crew, fans etc. As long as the final
decision is Glens, he is a happy man. If I
really feel strongly about a project that Glen
doesnt agree with, Ill find a way to
do it on my own. Im sure Glen would be
around to help if that ever comes to be.
Owen: In
conjunction with Light and Dark I've heard you
also attended your first horror convention.
What was that first-time experience "on the
other side of the table" like?
Mike: I
actually attended my first horror convention as a
fan I believe back in the early 1990s. It
was a Fangoria Weekend of Horrors and I remember
Clive Barker and Grandpa Al Lewis being there.
Going to that convention opened my mind up to
many alternative and underground cultures and
styles. I did not attend another convention until
Chiller Theatre in October 2000 to promote and
hand out flyers for Fear of the Dark. We did not
have a table then. I think at the Fangoria and
Chiller conventions the following year, Glen
bought a table and weve had tables at both
those conventions for the past five years. The
first time being behind the table was great. I
was helping to sell a movie that a bunch of other
people and I busted our butts to make. And it was
a damn good feeling when total strangers bought Fear
of the Dark just based on the trailer
playing on the monitor at the table and our
passion to get our movie to as many people as
possible.
Mike: I
look forward to every convention because
its a chance for at least one more person
to be exposed to our work.
Owen: Is
your work behind the camera something to make
connections to get more work in front of the
camera or does production involvement on any
level bring you the same amount of pleasure?
Mike: Right now I
only work behind the camera for Light and Dark
and thats with the understanding that my
work behind the camera for them does not conflict
with my acting schedule. I would not mind lending
a behind the scenes hand in other companys
project but only if we have the same
understanding. Acting is my priority and if a
company understands the sometimes last minute
demands put upon an actor then I would be happy
to help creatively in any way I can. I never
approached the idea of working behind the camera
to try and get work in front of the camera since
I always prefer acting to anything else. So if I
wanted to act in a project I would approach the
projects powers that be as an actor first
and foremost. I do find pleasure in a script I
helped write or develop come to life in front of
me or an idea that I had (whether being creative
or business based) come to fruition but honestly
not as much pleasure in a compliment on a
performance from a fan or critic.
Owen: You
also played Carter in the scare flick 'The
Demon Shells'. Can you tell me a
little something about that project?
Mike:
Unfortunately The Demon Shells will
never be released. The director did not like the
results of the movie after it was shot so he
scrapped it. Luckily he liked my performance and
I have worked with him on subsequent movies.
Hopefully someday the movie will be revisited.
Owen: Boo, well
then I want to hear about your work as a featured
zombie in Insane-O-Rama's 'Last Rites'.
Mike: I
shoot with them this Friday so as soon as I find
out, youll find out. Ive hung out
with the Insane-O-Rama crew a few times at the
horror conventions and they are good people.
Also, after reading the
script for Last Rites I can tell
you that it is 100 times better than
Strange Things Happen at Sundown. So if
you liked Strange Things, you
will absolutely LOVE Last Rites.
Owen: So
which is the most frightening to you and why -
werewolves, witches, zombies, vampires, psychos,
aliens, or creatures?
Mike: Psychos
because they really exist. Just watch the news.
Owen: As
someone dedicated to the enhancement of the
horror genre what are your favorite fright
movies?
Mike: The
George A. Romero zombie movies (including
Land of the Dead) are hands down some of
my favorites. What are so great about them are
not only the awesome looking effects and gore,
but the underlying social commentary that Romero
weaves into his stories. I also find The
Exorcist, Evil Dead,
A Nightmare on Elm Street and
Kubricks The Shining to be
some of the scariest movies ever made. They gave
me nightmares when I was a kid. For roller
coaster like thrills that make you jump out of
your seat, Aliens and Scream
definitely come to mind.
Owen: What
projects do you have lined up in the near
future?
Mike: I
just finished doing commentary for the Light and
Dark short No Trespassing 2: No Exit with Glen and Diana Baisley and I did some
overdubs for an upcoming directors cut of Fear
of the Dark
I start acting in a Star
Wars fan film (I am a HUGE Star
Wars fan) very soon. That should be fun.
I get to fly a starship and fire a blaster. How
cool is that? And coincidentally the director of
the fan film was a fan of Fear of the
Dark who I met and talked to at the
different horror conventions over the years.
Before my audition he e-mailed me and said that
he knew me. I immediately recognized him once I
saw his picture. Good thing we always got along
at the conventions.
I have a few indie films
lined up but I dont want to announce them
until all the funding comes into place and all
the is are dotted and ts are crossed
contractually. Hopefully they will all be made
but I have learned to hope for the best but
expect the worst. I act regularly in industrials
(training videos) for RuMe Interactive and Learn
It Solutions based on Long Island . Glen and I
are also in the preliminary stages of writing
Light and Darks next feature length movie
as well as working on the postproduction dealings
for Sins of the Father and Fairview Falls. And
Im sure to let off some steam, Light and
Dark will probably film some shorts, DVD extras
and whatever else comes to mind. And finally,
when Im not acting, I spend my time going
on auditions, looking for more acting work by
sifting through the multitude of casting pages on
the Internet, always promoting that Im an
actor to almost everyone I meet and trying to
have a good social life as well. Luckily, I have
been keeping busy.
Owen: What scares you in
real life?
Mike: Falling asleep while
driving. There have been many times where
Ive had to pull over and either stretch or
take a nap in my truck. For some reason its
almost impossible to try to stay awake if
Im tired while driving.Luckily I
havent completely fallen asleep and driven
off a mountain or into oncoming traffic. Thanks
for the interview (you got yourself a damn good
website) and dont forget to check out my
website at www.lightanddark.net/MikeLane.htm.
Owen: Will do, thanks
Mike. And all the best with your career.
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