 Greetings my esteemed readers, today we present an exclusive interview, with the talented and versatile Jasi Lanier. Jasi has two decades experience in the film and TV world. She shares her experiences on her various projects past and present, and her thoughts on the film industry. on the #1 independent home for exclusive content, Dan's Movie Report! Enough of my moronic rambling, Jasi, breathe some fire on my readers! HAHAHA! Chat about your childhood, how early on did you realize you wanted to be in film? I actually went to school for production. I didn’t really have aspirations to be in front of the camera that happened by accident when I was asked by a friend to be in his movie called 'Freakshow' starring Gunnar Hanson and Veronica Carslon. That is a cool path you chose, let us travel back to your early days, Chat about working with Lloyd and Troma films on films like Terror Firmer. Also what life lessons did you learn from the performance?
Troma was fun. I was
a fan so it was fun to be a Tromette and do bit parts in films and
appearances.
Chat about being a
performer, fire eater and other outside film accomplishments.
I started fire
eating when I was 23 doing burlesque. I saw a beautiful dancer do it
and had to learn so much of what I do now ( aerial , contortion,
stilts, jam skating, dirt-biking) came from that mentality, Seeing
something that I wanted to try and just doing it.
Curious as to your
perspective of the film industry now, I noticed you are basically
living and working in the South and not living in Hollywood, do you
feel the industry is changing and more opportunities lie outside of
Hollywood?
I think the film business is global now. So many movies are made in Canada, Europe, India, Asia, and all over the United States. The days of Hollywood being the mecca are gone, with states and Canada having incentives, other countries being more inexpensive as well. I love it. I get to travel more now for work and like that I can make my main base in the South close to my family.  I think what you say is so important, as many people in the film industry need to realize, that it is not as important where you live because if you have the ability, and connections, you will get work, and get to travel! Recently I saw you were working as Stunt Coordinator on a few films, chat about the responsibility and events that lead up to you transitioning to a supervisory role on some of the projects like The Adventures of Paula Peril. In the last couple of years, I have been lucky enough to coordinate a few features and do small stunt acting roles, including on Sons of Liberty and The Adventures of Paula Peril. I am set to do the same in the Paula Peril sequel and Scifi/Action movie Adam 8 starring Dean Cain. I enjoy helping create the action for the director and producers. There is a lot of responsibility involved including making their vision come to the screen, keeping your actors and crew safe, hiring the right performers and being able to creative problem solve throughout the process and under pressure. I really enjoying managing my team and the chance to be creative. We started previz on the Paula Peril Sequel and training the actresses.I look forward to help creating some awesome fights and action sequences. 
Discuss your
perspective of female stunt performers in general. Do you feel there
still is a bit of discrimination in the industry. I am asking this as
there are very few female coordinators, but so many stunt women
working. Is there a glass ceiling waiting to be shattered?
It is tough for
women. We are almost half of the performers now and only get about
10% of the jobs at best. We have so much more to accomplish as
performers and coordinators. We definitely need more opportunities to
shine and be mentored, but we must also rise to the occasion. I
started shooting and editing previz so I could be more of an asset on
set, I know girls working hard to get their driving skills super
strong or learning rigging. Women showing exceptional talent, drive
and who have the right attitude will be given those opportunities. It
wont be easy but for those of us who are passionate about this
profession, all the hard work is worth it.
I fully agree,
especially with so many action oriented films with woman released,
would be nice to see more women in supervisory positions. Speaking of
stunt work, and the training needed, what is a typical weekly routine
to keep yourself in shape?
I usually train
15-25 hours a week, Kungfu, Filipino Martial Arts, Tae Kwon Do, etc,
train and shoot fight choreography, aerial, contortion ( I am a big
believer in training flexibility and stretching.) , also depending on
weather, I get on my dirt-bike, ride horses, take my slide car out.
Great, keep yourself
flexible and ready for action. You have worked on dozens of films, do
you have a favorite film that you like to watch over and over again?
How about a favorite stunt you performed for a film?
I don’t know if I
have one stunt that is my favorite that I have done so far. I have
favorite movies to watch but they vary not just action, movies like
'The Big Lebowski', 'Big Trouble in Little China', 'Dirty Love',
'Perfume', 'Ghost Dog', 'Shawshank Redemption', 'Fight Club', 'Salt',
'Lucky Number Slevin'… etc
Jasi, chat about
people you would like to work with that you have not had the
opportunity to.
I would love to work
with Chloe Bruce (She is my kicking inspiration), Heidi Moneymaker ,
Monique Ganderton, and Zoe Bell. All amazing fight girls. I have
serious respect for these women. It would be very dreamy to work with
them even if it was for a movie fight.
In ten years, Jasi is A) Stunt Coordinating, B) Retired, C) Acting D) Not sure. In ten years, I hope to continue coordinated small projects, be performing as a stunt woman and action actress on movies and television. My biggest inspiration in this business is Sandy Gimpel (truly a bad-ass and beautiful woman) she is in her 70s, still performing, coordinating and acting. She can slide car 360, take a tackle to the ground and still does cardio kickboxing almost everyday she isnt working.My goal is to be like her. Jasi, thanks for taking the time to conduct this interview. Watch for more exclusives from Jasi only on Dan's Movie Report! Check out Jasi's official site, Facebook, and IMDB pages for more info:
Jasi Fire Eating video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l6reTae8Xw
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasiLanier  |
Friday, April 3, 2015
Jasi Cotton Lanier Interview (Exclusive) (C) 2015 Dan's Movie Report
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