LIVE ACTION FIGURE - or FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE: TALKING WITH VERA VANGUARD by Owen Keehnen

Vera Vanguard migrated from Moscow as a child and grew up in Manhanttan's lower east side. She is a stuntwoman, actress, and a witty redhead with some refreshing attitude. She has studied kung fu under a Shaolin monk, modelled for fantasy artists Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell, and ruled the horror world with a double-edged scepter as Scream Queen of the Month. Vera has also made a big splash in the comic/superhero convention loop appearing as game legends BloodRayne, Laura Croft, and Black Widow. Her film appearances include a deliciously bloody vampiric demise in 'Strange Things Happen at Sundown' as well as a couple (shhh, don't tell her I mentioned them) less than fang-tastic vehicles -- 'Vampire Heat' and 'Vampire Playmates' among others. And the lovely and talented Vera Vanguard is also the subject of the latest exclusive racks and razors interview.


 
Hi Vera, why don't you start us off with a visual and describe the room where you are answering these questions?

I'm in my apartment in Hollywood. I decorated it to look like an Asian harem. Palm trees... pillows, futon on the floor... more pillows... it's like this place was designed for only ONE thing...

Tell me about your work in the 2003 horror flick 'Strange Things Happen at Sundown'.

Well.... I've been in a lot of crappy movies but... geeze! The thing I remember most about this flick was the sheer AMOUNT of blood I wound up laying in for hours. I'm a redhead and I didn't have to go touch up my roots after that. The other most notable and commendable thing about that movie was that there was NOT ONE GIRL wearing pants in the whole thing - AND it made sense that no one did. For example, my character was dressed in her boyfriend's shirt when she caught the vampire killing the mentioned boyfriend in the kitchen - see? no pants.

How did your title of Scream Queen of the Month title come about?

I don't quite know. I always thought that scream queens were girls who were in movies and, well, screamed! I've NEVER screamed in a movie. I'm a stuntgirl as well as an actress so I always wind up either playing the monster or kicking the monster's ass. Either way I'm sort of always in either a vampire or zombie flick. I did one last year where the production didn't care about zombie makeup continuity so I played four different (redhead) zombie soldiers. I just ran out of stuff to do with my hair after awhile.

Let's take that one step further...suppose that title allowed you to rule the world -- what are the first couple of things you would do?

Get a better budget for some of this stuff they shoot me in. Screw the war! We need to give money to bad B-movie horror directors so they can afford to buy more blood to pump out more Tarentino-like effects from Kill Bill Vol1.

You also work heavily as a stunt woman and got into that through Kung Fu. Now what about that martial art has helped prepare you for the world of movies and Hollywood?

The zen-like state of mind comes from years of practicing the art of fighting without fighting (stuntwork). But seriously, what DOES prepare anyone for the world of Hollywood? I mean other than fake boobs and the Jenny crank diet?

Sounds like you have a couple blood-sucking racy titles with 'Vampire Playmates' and 'Vampire Heat'...care to give your fans some more details regarding those two movies?

Not one actually... and we will never mention them again!

You also appear at numerous conventions as several characters -- Black Widow, Laura Croft, and Bloodrayne...how did that sort of gig come about and how do you relate to fans as that character?

I'm a giant gaming geek. Oh don't let my good looks throw ya! I grew up that girls that everyone said had the "good personality" or was "pretty in her own way" - till I got my ass into a gym. After that the whole privilege to wear spandex costumes came about and since I was obsessed with Tomb Raider at the time I decided to attend my first comic book convention dressed as Lara... I walked like her in the game and spoke with a British accent... I was the hit of that show, I even pissed off Tracy Lords, who was headlining that show because I was stepping into her limelight. I can die happy now.

Do you have to follow certain rules as each of those characters and if so what are some of the restrictions or mandatory requirements?

I never like to wear wigs and prefer to use my own hair. Since I'm a redhead, there are only so many characters I can do. Lara, BloodRayne (a costume which I went HARDCORE and cut my hair into a bob), and Black Widow are all redheads.

Okay, we're pulling the car into the Vera Vanguard Drive In...what three horror flicks are on the triple bill for tonight and what goodies are they going to be serving up at the concession stand?

Showgirls, StripTease, Titanic - all frightening! I still shiver every time I hear Celine Dion's voice. The concession stand would be filled with Pepto, Milanta and Tums for the inevitable diarrhea.

What scares you in real life?

Ignorant and inexperienced producers.

What makes you go psycho in real life?

What a down note to end this interview. Hands down - liars.

They we'll end it by saying thanks for the interview and all the best to you in the future both in your career and in life.