Greetings valued Dan's Movie Report readers, four years ago I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Lilly Melgar following the release of the film she produced, entitled 'Black Cobra'. Fast forward to 2016, and my ass deserves a beating for not connecting with EMMY winning producer Lilly Melgar earlier. Lilly chats about her EMMY winning series 'The Bay' among other projects. This interview is just the beginning, watch for more as soon after her new series 'Ladies of the Lake' comes out, until then it is damn time to get inside the creative mind of Lilly Melgar.
DMR: Lilly, the series 'The Bay'; which
you are one of the producers and star in the series as Janice Ramos
recently won a Daytime Emmy, pretty amazing, as when the show started
their was no award for digital series. What are your thoughts about
winning an award and the landscape of digital content today?
LM: When we began we knew this was the
future. We knew it was something 'special'. We have now won 2 Emmys
for best digital series, 2 Emmys for best actor and actress on a
digital series and 8 nominations total, including my very first Emmy
nomination as an actress this year. I also won my first Indie Series
Award for best actress this year for my told as Janice. … Did I or
'we' know it would turn into all of this? No. I am in awe of how much
this little community/industry has grown, at how far we've come and
how it still feels like we've only just begun.
DMR: Congrats again on all the awards and
nominations, long overdue. Chat about your character on 'The Bay'
Janice, what is her motivation, and do you see some of yourself in
the character?
LM: Janice is a complicated character
living in inner conflict. She wants to do the right thing but is
driven by her emotions and need for love. She has always been driven
by love and it's only brought her loss and pain. After her brutal
rape, it is time for Janice to go within and clean house. She needs
to heal and focus on herself. This is a major turning point for this
character.
DMR: Chat about the differences on acting
in a network daytime soap vs a digital soap, more freedom, etc...?
LM: I found my home and my way as an
actress in this medium. I live for the freedom of expression and
space it allows. There's an intimacy that simply can't be captured on
the daytime network medium... I love shooting on location, how you're
able to capture every breath .. Every sigh .. How you get to live in
a space .. My passion for this craft is getting to express the human
condition .. To do that to the best of one's ability you need to get
rid of limits, censorship .. Anything that confines you ... In short
... I love everything about this experience.
DMR: I fully agree, the digital medium has
opened up to more creative avenues. Chat about being a producer on
the series, what are some of your behind the scenes duties?
LM: I love producing on the series. I get
to overlook wardrobe, make up and all things beauty related. I'll sit
with our director, Gregori J Martin when permitted and be his second
set of eyes. I help out with sponsorship and post production. I also
got to co-direct our new opening sequence. We're a team. A family. As
producers, it is our job to put out the fires that inevitably happen
during a shoot so the director can direct and actors can focus on
acting. A few of us producers are also actors on the show so on those
days we are only allowed to focus on our acting. We have a system
that gets better every time.
DMR: Lilly, you started emotional fires on
'General Hospital', yet you put them out on 'The Bay' haha! Shifting
gears, chat about the 'Soapbox' show, how did the idea come about?
Working with Martha must be a blast, the episodes are light, and fun,
and you are able to get some interesting guests.
LM: I was offered a show at TRadioV and I
didn't want to do it alone. I had just shot some guest appearances on
a segment called Soap Dish and the times Martha and I were on
together were completely engaging. Both opinionated women that
respectfully disagreed. The chemistry was undeniable! So I came to
her with the offer and idea of having Soap guests since that's the
world we knew and came from. She was pregnant at the time and
resisted but I 'persisted'. (lol) She came up with the name and began
producing 'Soap Box with Lilly & Martha'. The rest is pretty much
history. We instantly created a space for our guests to just come and
hang and for our supporters to get to know the person behind the
'persona'. We love our Soap Box and each other very much. That's why
it works. Well, she is one hell of a producer … that helps :).
DMR: I really love the show, the guests on
it are fun, How about new episodes, I know you have been pretty busy?
LM: We feel awful that we've been forced
to take such a long break. I can't give you a return date but just
know we miss it as much as you all do!
DMR: I look forward to the return of the
show. Chat about your new series 'Ladies of The Lake' and your role
of Angelica Louis. How did you get the part, and chat about the
filming process, any cool behind the scenes stories?
LM: I am ridiculously excited about
"Ladies Of The Lake". I absolutely loved everything about
this project and experience. The script, the team, the work, the
people … everything was just 'magical'. The producers, Michael &
Barbara Caruso and Kyle Lowder ran a tight ship. The attention to
detail and care was impressive. Our director, Sonia Blangiardo was
nurturing and effective. As actors, we all had epic chemistry and all
showed up with our A game. When everyone is 'that' good, it ups your
game. I can only imagine the results. I am dying for this to come out
because I know our supporters are really going to enjoy it!
DMR: I saw ADR is being done for 'Ladies Of
The Lake', is there a release date for the series? What digital
outlet?
LM: No release date as of yet and the
outlet is yet to be decided.
DMR: Please keep me posted. Concluding the
interview, discuss future projects, are you going to produce new
material? Final thoughts?
LM: I also have a romantic bilingual comedy coming
out in theaters later this year. It's called "Tongue Tied"
and I play Marta. The very first acting gig I booked was for a TV
pilot in Spanish. I felt like my life had come full circle when I
finally again got to act in my native language. So happy it's coming
out this year.
Thank you so much for taking time out
of your hectic schedule to do this interview. Keep reading Dan's
Movie Report for more exclusives.
Check out Lilly on her exclusive site @ www.lillymelgar.com
Check out her two recent short films @
Scarlett: http://youtu.be/
Check out Lilly on her exclusive site @ www.lillymelgar.com
Check out her two recent short films @
She has a cool organic natural product line called Scent By Lilly @ http://youtu.be/e23WS2zB0zA
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