Horror movies &stuff Interviews actress Robin Sydney
Robin Sydney has had a much more interesting road to moviestardom than most actresses her age. Unlike others who've done low budget indie dramas or edgy comedies, she's taken on a killer gingerbread cookie and now in her next upcoming horror pic "Evil Bong", she takes on an evil bong. But as she tells us in this interview, she's certainly moving up in the world...taking on a werewolf in her next pic after "EB" called "Big Bad Wolf"
MR. H:You were born in Boulder Colorado, were you also raised in Boulder and what's it like growing up in Smalltown USA?
Robin:It's very different, Boulder is like a smalltown and when you walk by people smile and say hi. But in L.A., when I moved to L.A. it was like when I would say hi to people they'd look at me strange and keep going or something. The cool thing is though there are alot of major companies that have come out of Boulder, but living in L.A. it's totally different after living at home for 17 years. Atleast in Boulder when you'd leave your shopping cart in the Supermarket and come back it'd still be there.
MR. H:So tell us a little bit about your character Luann in "Evil Bong".
Robin:Yes, um she's party animal and with her everything has to be perfect, like her hair has to be perfect and stuff. She also does alot of things to get what she wants, and she smokes out of the bong with these other guys, but um the movie was fascinating, funny, and fun to film and I think people are going to find it fun and very entertaining.
MR. H:What made you decide to take on this project? Was it the script or just the overall concept of the movie?
Robin:I loved the character, loved the concept, it was fun..the script was great and I love Charlies movies. It was really great to be a part of one of the greatest concepts ever. Like in the film my character smokes out of this bong and has a bad trip or whathaveyou but I'm not like a potter or anything, like before the film I didn't even know how to smoke a bong, or smoke pot...I learned how during the course of the film but I didn't know how beforehand.
MR. H:How big is your role in the film, is it small - huge - or sort of inbetween?
Robin:Well um there's 4 guys, and 2 girls I'm one of the girls and we sort of come in and out of the movie. The thing I liked most about filming "Evil Bong" was Charlie let's us play a bit, let's us be free and he was really nice, and professional. It was just a fun movie to work on, Charlie was fun to work with, me and the rest of the cast became great friends and we hang out all the time. The cast was just - just the best ever.
MR. H:What was it like working with Tommy Chong, did you have any scenes with him? Are you a fan of the "Cheech and Chong" films?
Robin:I've didn't have any scenes like directly with him, and I've never actually seen any of the "Cheech and Chong" movies. He was there though, on set with us sometimes and he's wonderful he really totally gets the character he played.Like in one scene he attacks the bong, and it was just fun to watch him work.
MR. H:What do you get to do in this movie as far as the physical stuff goes? Do you get really messy all covered in fake blood and stuff, any stunt work such as leaping out of the path of oncoming explosions, etc?
Robin:Yeah I got to do some physical stuff like in one scene I'm hopping up and down on a pogo stick trying to you know *turn on* my boyfriend while we're trapped in the bong world. But no blood, I didn't get bloody or anything.
MR. H:So how does one prepare for a film like "Evil Bong"? As an actress what type of mindset do you put yourself in when shooting a movie like this?
Robin:I watched a ton of movies! The main movies I was studying was stuff like "Dude where's My Car", I rented that one and I also watched alot of teen movies and bong films. Listened to alot of up-tempo music like rap and hip-hop stuff. I picked out outfits, and I would go and ask Charles what he thought of them or what could he come up with. You know, since my character Luann is sexy with a sexy figure and I actually made my own makeup rack too.
MR. H:Now in this film of course the villain is an evil bong, via the magic of moviemaking. Of course in real life a bong is simply an inanimate object. But do movies with things such as dolls, or cars, or bongs in this films case coming to life scare you? Like are you freaked out by films like "Childs Play", "Christine", "Maximum Overdrive" stuff like that?
Robin:Anything that's inanimate and moving in a movie is fun. Like in the movie the bong goes through all of these different stages and the FX were just phenomenal. I don't really find movies like "Evil Bong" scary but more fun or funny. The ones that do scare me are more like supernatural and spirits moving and stuff.
MR. H:What was it like working with Charles Band again? You worked with him before in "GingerDead Man"..what's it like working with a guy who knows this genre very well and has had such a huge impact on it?
Robin:It's a pleasure, he's really amazing because he lets us be creative and free flowing, for example I've got another movie coming up called "Dead Man's Hand" and on set he just sets up and allows us to go and be. Another reason he's so amazing is because he lets us add lines and go crazy sometimes and explore what we want and be ourselves while still acting out his vision.
MR. H:Have you seen any of Charles earlier films? If so which are your favorites??
Robin:Yes "Trancers", "Subspecies", "Meridian", and "Head of the Family". But I think I like "Meridian" best because it was just so magical. I liked "Trancers" because it had that "Men In Black" feel to it. I haven't gotten to see any of the "Puppetmaster"'s yet though.
MR. H:Ok so you've fought a killer gingerbread cookie, you've gone up against a killer Bong, thinking about taking a break from battling evil objects for awhile and maybe doing a slasher film or something?
Robin:I do have another film coming out called "Big Bad Wolf" and that was really fun it has slasher elements, and I also did a movie called "The Lost" about this guy who goes crazy and loses his mind and attacks his friends.
MR. H:You've got a role in the upcoming werewolf flick "Big Bad Wolf", give us some details on that movie and on your character Melissa.
Robin:It's a great film I've seen a little of it so far, I don't want to give too much away but it is about a werewolf and my character is a super party animal but at the same times she's shy, and more so looking at the other popular girls so she can know what to do. But I worked with a great cast, and a great director, and had alot of fun. I got to work with Clint Howard too which was great. The fx were phenomenal I mean in this movie, people get their heads, arms, and legs ripped off and stuff and it looked very real.
MR. H:Who are some of your biggest influences as an actress?? Who in the biz do you look up to in some ways? And what are some of your hobbies??
Robin:Rachel Mcadams, Nicole Kidman, Harrison Ford, Denzel Washington those guys are just so awesome. I also love Dakota Fanning..for her to be so young and yet so talented is just amazing. When I'm not acting I have a business with my mom called Zorvitz and we've made a huge impact in the wild oats and whole foods market. We've also donated tons of money to charity, and have had numerous charity events. We also make bracelets Ashlee Simpson was wearing one of our bracelets on the cover of people magazine and we just recently sent some bracelets over to Africa for the kids there.
I also like to go to the beach, take walks, and go to the movies. But it's just so exciting to have a business with my mom and it's also helped enhanced my life because I used to spend 4 hours prepping for auditions and I was just so focused on acting and it became the only thing in my life for awhile.
MR. H:You're acting now, thinking about branching out into other things in the future like modeling, directing, writing, anything?
Robin:Very interested in directing in fact I talked to Charlie about directing a future movie, directing has always been on my mind, I'd like to step behind the camera because I learn a different part of the creative process and I get to understand the characters better.
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