Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Actress Lilly Melgar Interview (Exclusive!) (POST #300!!)

Exclusive Photo! Click to wallpaper size! Actually all of the photos in this interview are exclusive!

Update 1-4-13: Lilly Melgar appears on Spanish language show Milena Tu Amiga https://www.facebook.com/MilenaTuAmiga

Above pic: Lilly on Milena Tu Amiga


Sultry and talented, the effervescent Lilly Melgar made a name for herself cast in the award winning daytime soap General Hospital. Lilly takes a turn behind the camera this year, producing and co-directing her first feature film entitled Black Cobra. The 2012 year of action continues, as Lilly takes time out of her busy schedule to chat about Black Cobra on Dan's Movie Report. Hard to believe this is already post number 300!

Describe a bit how you got into  film  and TV acting. How were you cast on General Hospital, if you can remember the audition process.. Is auditioning for daytime soap operas different from movies? 

 I remember being maybe 6 years old and telling people that when I grew up I wanted to be a Charlie's Angel (lol). I didn't realize that meant being an actress at the time :). I realized I wanted to act when I would watch GH and I felt this immense desire to be on that show. So much so that I went on to tell all my friends "when I grow up, I'm going to be on General Hospital!" they'd say, "how are you going to do that?" I'd answer "I don't know ... I just know I'm going to". I officially got into acting at the age of 16. I had won a beauty pageant and an aspiring director graduating from UCLA film school saw me and cast me as the lead in his short film. His film went on to win the the best short film at UCLA that year. After that experience, winning the award and seeing myself on the big screen, I 'knew' it was what I was meant to do. I not only tapped in to my passion for the craft but this experience gave me the confidence to pursue my dream. I went on to do a couple dozen commercials, booked a spanish pilot, a lead in an independent film and screen tested for a couple of soaps. I was seen on one of my commercials and called in to screen test as a host for the very successful Univision music video show "Tu Musica". I was cast and we took the show to number one. I consider this to be the true beginning of my career. A few years later, My friend Ricky Martin who I had met during my time as a vj on Tu Musica, had just been cast to be on General Hospital. I went to see his concert and went backstage to say hello. The producers saw us together and loved our look and chemistry so much that they decided to make us the first latin leading daytime couple in the history of soap operas. My dream had come true :) 


Big changes to go from acting on day time soap like General hospital to wear a producers hat on Black Cobra. How did you decide to begin producing films? Did the demise of many of the daytime soaps lead to your decision.

I got into producing because I had done a few independent films as an actress and was feeling compelled to create my own. Shortly thereafter, my very good friend Stephanie Cheeva shared a script with me and asked me to produce it with her. That became "Black Cobra" :) ... At the time, we had no way of knowing soaps would be going off air so the demise of soaps had nothing to do with my decision. 

Chat about some of the early obstacles you had to deal with prior to the principal photography on Black Cobra. Any unusual Pre-production stories?

A few days before we started shooting we lost one of our leads! Everything was set to start shooting and we were freaking out! Thankfully I work best under pressure and personally called Cary Tagawa in Hawaii and convinced him to do our film. It only took two hours! lol


How about the casting process, I asked the question of Steph, was it easier to work with friends, or more pressure? How about auditioning additional cast members and unusual auditions or stories from that process?

I can only speak for myself of course but I feel it is absolutely easier to work with friends. Good friends that is :). There's established trust, chemistry and respect. It was such a blessing for me to work with Stephanie in particular since we've always had similar taste, a deep bond, incredible trust in each other and a huge passion for the art of acting. It's a beautiful thing to work with people with such integrity. As far as the auditioning process, that went smoothly :)


What about difficulties of finding the proper locations and settings, did the budget constraints alter any of the locations used on Black Cobra?

We were so blessed to get the locations we got. It was truly a team effort and everyone came together and used all our connections to make it happen.

  
Maybe share a funny or unusual story from the filming process of Black Cobra.

There are sooo many! It's funny because we were sooo exhausted by the end of filming that when I read Steph's interview, I didn't even remember that story! lol ... I remember we filmed a few days at my house, and I was going INSANE! EVERYONE came to me for EVERYTHING. I did my best to keep it together but, I finally snapped at a PA when she came and asked me where an extension cord was at for crafts services. I went into a low voice and very slowly stated "I am a 'producer' NOT crafts services. If something is needed for 'crafts services' then go to 'crafts services' and figure it out" .... I'm not quite sure why I'm sharing 'this' story of ALL stories but if you could of felt my frustration and heard my tone .. you may be laughing as well ;)


Did you ever have the desire to be in front of the camera or was Black Cobra strictly a producer role in your thoughts from the start?

It was my first time producing, executive producing and co-directing a film. I felt I had enough on my plate :). 

How about additional producing projects in mind, any ideas?

Absolutely. Working on one with my fiance' about the El Salvadoran war. I noticed you are starring in an independent film called Untold.Untold is based on a true story. It's about a successful entrepreneur waking up to the reality of being a victim of a hate crime, she then begins to have a startling recollection of her childhood stranger abduction, which her family denies. I play her older sister. I am also currently on the Emmy nominated web series "The Bay" which you can view on  www.thebaytheseries.com

Thanks Lilly for the insight. Watch for more from Lilly, exclusively on Dan's Movie Report! Now wipe that smile off your face, and keep reading the #1 independent movie site on the web!


Breathless Movie Review



Above Pic: Poster for Breathless

Not sure where to begin on this sardonic tale of lies, deception and cold hearted coverup. Sultry bad girl Gina Gershon portrays Lorna, a woman scorned by her cheating husband named Dale, played by Val Kilmer.

Not only is Dale possibly two timing her, he also robbed a bank and got away with 100,000 dollars and Lorna, and her friend Tiny played by Kelli Giddish, tie him to a chair and try to force him to divulge the location of the cash, he does not give it up. (Minor Spoiler) A careless brandishing the revolver accidentally shoots Dale in the head, the rest of the movie is spent with them trying to disposed of the body, all the while Sheriff Cooley (Ray Liotta) is camped outside their dusty old trailer waiting for a warrant to search the house.

I really wanted to like this movie more, as I enjoy the work of Liotta and Kilmer. Gina is always a treat to watch, sadly though, even with the southern drawl, a slow moving plot, and lack of interesting side characters made Breathless a very average flick. The humor was only mildly amusing and after a few moments even gets annoying

The entire film is set inside Dale and Lorna's trailer. At times one location films are entertaining, but Breathless felt confined, actually would have liked to see some type of chase, interaction with other characters etc. The script just did not open up, and allow the full use of the great acting.

The acting is very good all the way around, Gina's southern drawl is fun at the beginning, she is a great talent, should have had a string of big budget films. Odd roles like this suit her. She has a lot of dialogue and pulls it off. Ray Liotta is solid as the Sheriff. Kelli Giddish, is surprisingly diabolical when given a chance to show her abilities.

Overall, I rate Breathless a rent, 5 out of 10. This is a one time watcher, the odd ending needs only to be witnessed a single time, sitting through it again will be tedious and rather pointless.

Amazon has a good price on Breathless, for sale, otherwise rent. Click the link below.





Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Actress Marissa Merrill In Upcoming Body Paint Exhibition



Sultry and talented actress Marissa Merrill is participating in a exhibition of body art painters on Saturday, August 25th 2012- 6pm to midnight. The Chroma Coalition event is for adults only, 21+. The address is: Cooper Design Space, 860 S. Los Angeles St, Downtown LA, 90014. The event features several talented artists. Chroma Coalition is attempting to break the world record of the most people body painted at one time.

Marissa has posted a direct link to the event @ http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3455829479?ref=ebtnebtckt Enter the code - MarissaM40 -in the promotional code access box.

Check out this Youtube video for a sample of what will take place at this event. Note, you must sign in to Youtube as this video is age restricted, not sure why, nothing is offensive here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubLKKmrJ68g&feature=youtu.be

Newer video @  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubLKKmrJ68g

All of the Chroma Coalition links are below:

Actual Website: chromacoalition.com/
Kickstarter: kck.st/NvhOdb
Ticket Site: chromacoalition.eventbrite.com/
Facebook Page: facebook.com/chromacoalition#!/events/355977164461267/ Facebook Event: facebook.com/chromacoalition#!/chromacoalition
Twitter: twitter.com/chromacoalition
Yelp: yelp.com/events/los-angeles-chroma-coalition

Follow Actress Marissa Merrill on twitter @ https://twitter.com/MarissaMerrill

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Cynthia Rothrock Film Fighting Seminar! (Exclusive Coverage)

Above Picture: Group shot of all the attendees of the TLM Cynthia Rothrock Seminar, photo credit: Danny Shamon

On Saturday August 11th in Orlando a dedicated group of prospective film fighters gathered for a memorable 4 hour seminar conducted by martial arts champion and legendary film icon Cynthia Rothrock and experienced stunt co-ordinator Jeff Moldovan. The event took place at the TLM Fighting Chance Safehouse. The unique 5,000 square foot facility that features a natural environment, as Jeff teaches his unique defense style in a real world setting. Included in the "house" are a bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, living room, bar set up, desk, and even bay doors for vehicle access. Jeff stresses the ability to use "found implements" as weapons.

The beginning of the seminar featured Cynthia instructing the attendees her unique way of preparing for a workout, with a series of rapid fire stretching exercises to flex tight muscles, ranging from back to arms and legs. Cynthia's pre-workout stretch added intensity and cuts down on the time consuming aspect, by using body resistance and positioning to allow for a more complete muscle and joint loosing.

Following the initial warm up, Cynthia instructed the class to pair up. She separated the ones who were more experienced, from the inexperienced, and challenged all of the pairs to set up a film fight scenario.

Above Pic: Adorable and talented Heather Wallace and April Montallana prepare to throwdown at the seminar. Photo Credit: Danny Shamon

Cynthia focused on each pair and spent several minutes with every one of the participants. She stressed "selling the action" not just with physical action, but with facial expressions. By taking time with everyone, Cynthia really worked hard to hone the skills and focus all of abilities of the participants regardless of experience level.

The fighting scenarios ranged from a few moves to a detailed full fight scene. Jeff Moldovan showed off a few moves he created for Charlie's Angels and other films as well.

Cynthia was careful to allow the participants a few five minute breaks. In fact she had a sit down instructional session in the middle, allowing everyone to relax and ask her questions about her career and any aspects of the industry.

Being an observer of the seminar not only allowed me to watch Cynthia and Jeff to work, but also see how the instruction was put into practical use developing and perfecting a fight scene.


Above pic: Sexy and powerful Mandy Morgan delivers some staged punishment. Photo Credit: Danny Shamon

I enjoyed the work of talented stunt woman Mandy James Morgan. Mandy is in top physical shape, has a clear, powerful speaking voice, has world class experience in rhythmic gymnastics, and has been featured in more than a dozen films and TV shows. Jeff Moldovan taught her this ultra cool disarm technique, check out this cool video on youtube @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKw3T2jr7AI&feature=youtu.be  To learn more about her check out Mandy's official IMDB page @ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1222288/ Watch for more in the future from Mandy on Dan's Movie Report.


I enjoyed watching the development of Heather and April's fight scenario, with guidance from Cynthia, and a bit of practice the ladies brought some sultry violence to the day's proceedings, check out this video on youtube @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qix4XHKsZwE&feature=youtu.be

Both ladies are really talented. In addition to her TLM training, April plays in a cool metal Band called Auditory ARMory. Check her out on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/auditoryarmory

The flexible Heather Wallace has a wealth of dance experience, and coupled with her great flexibility, and pleasant attitude proves her skill to be a natural to work as a stunt woman or actress.

Actually, all of the attendees worked really hard, even those who came in with limited experience were able to learn valuable information on how to train for, and set up, a fight scene.

The ladies brought their A game, proving a new generation of stunt women has arrived! the guys used their imagination even bringing weapons to the training! Overall a great event, following the event a group of us including Jeff and Cynthia went to dinner and shared stories, a great night.

For more information on TLM and Jeff please visit his official site @

http://fcsafehouse.com/








300,000 VIEWS ON DAN'S MOVIE REPORT!!



I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those people who have supported my efforts with Dan's Movie Report for the past 3 years and helping me to achieve the 300,000 view count! Check out these short site promos with the legendary Cynthia Rothrock!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RxEcc7kohM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtIVj652DOI

 http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10953216/Dan's%20Movie%20Report%20Site%20intro%20Cynthia.mp3