Grandma's SECRET Recipe
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It was back in 1992, during a visit to GRANDMA'S that the idea for GRANDMA'S SECRET RECIPE surfaced. Film-maker Jeff Hayes had just gotten his first color video-camera and asked his Grandmother, Uncle Jimmy, and sister Susan if they wanted to make a mini-movie just for kicks while he learned his new camera. The story was simple; snotty Granddaughter Susie would rudely refuse everything Grandma had to offer her until Grandma finally couldn't handle the nasty rejection any longer. Granny would then gleefully stab Susie to death with her father's old ice-pick. After hearing the commotion, Granny's son Jimmy would come downstairs to find his niece's corpse. As he desperately tried to revive her, Granny would creep up from behind and ice him also!
The mini-movie was shot in only a few hours and given a novice edit. The flick became an instant sensation for family and friends.
A decade later, Jeff feels it's about time for GRANDMA to resurface with the original cast and some exciting new faces...
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JEFF HAYES
Jeff, the writer/producer/director has been at the entertainment game for a while now. On top of making his own flicks, Jeff is also in the final stages of recording his debut solo album: MEMORIES OF YOU. He is also webmaster of the OFFICIAL SLEEPAWAY CAMP WEBSITE, where he tracked down and reconnected many of the film's key players then sparked the upcoming sequel. Over the past decade, he has been wanting to do a longer, funnier, creepier re-make of his early GRANDMA adventure, which was made just for kicks when he was 16. After shooting his first full-length horror opus: BLOOD BROTHERS (in post-production now), Jeff decided it was time to reveal the ingredients of GRANDMA'S SECRET RECIPE in a gruesome and darkly humorous reinvention. He completed the first draft of his new script in September 2001 and began shooting the same month. Not only did he make the GRANDMA, JIMMY, and SUSIE roles much longer and more detailed, but also invited his buddies Felissa Rose and Robert Hiltzik of SLEEPAWAY CAMP fame to join in on the action and wrote parts specifically for them.
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BARBARA O'CONNOR
Barbara has always loved horror movies and tales of murder. She is also a creative person who enjoys acting out roles portrayed by her favorite actors. Put these 2 attributes together and it would seem BARBARA was meant to star in a horror flick. Well that time has come and she has enjoyed every blood-soaked minute. She's a natural.
Barbara married and started a family early in life so she never really had much of a chance to pursue her calling. She had her hands full with 5 children.
It would be many moons later when her first grandchild, Jeff, would grow up with a major interest in films and finally put her in the spotlight where she deserved to be.
Jeff credits GRANDMA for sparking his interest in the horror genre. "As a little kid, my parents didn't want me and my sis watching horror flicks at home because they were afraid we would have nightmares…But every time we went over Grandma's house, she used to take us to rent them at the local video store. I used to get sucked right into them…they intrigued me more than any other kind of movie. Gram is pretty creative and she used to tell us creepy stories as kids which opened our imaginations to a whole new realm. So I have Grandma to partially thank for introducing me to that world," says Jeff.
He always loved the idea of GRANDMA'S SECRET RECIPE and wanted to greatly elaborate upon it and shoot it professionally. He knew his Grandma was ready, as she had always told him to "make her famous."
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JAMES P. O'CONNOR JR.
"Jimmy" found himself acting for fun back in 1992 when he co-starred in the original short GRANDMA flick. In the original flick, Jimmy discovered Susie's body and then was iced by Grandma. This time around, his role is much bigger and deeper, as he is torn between right and wrong, having to decide whether or not he is willing to help his mother bury a deep dark sercet. He pulls off the role with a panic-riddled quirkiness . When he first read the new script, he couldn't stop laughing at some of the wild lines that the characters say. Jim is a music buff with an impressive collection of records spanning many decades that he began collecting as a youngster with the money he earned from his paper route. He is also a big fan of travel, beaches, and classic movies.
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SUSAN HAYES
Susan never had aspirations of becoming an actress, she sort of just fell into it. Being the sister of writer/director Jeff Hayes, she often became the guinea pig for many of Jeff's early film-making adventures. One of these adventures was the short little horror tale made in 1992 in which Susan played a snotty school-girl who found herself on the opposite end of Grandma's Ice Pick. Almost 10 years later she returns to the bewitching tale in a fresh new version. She also just recently played a role in Jeff's upcoming: BLOOD BROTHERS. Off camera, Susan likes to party hardy, hang with her buds, watch flicks, and play with her dog Samantha.
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FELISSA ROSE
Best known for her portrayal of the shy but homicidal "Angela" in the 80's cult favorite: SLEEPAWAY CAMP, Felissa Rose has acted most of her life. Over the past few years, Felissa had spent much time helping develop and starring in off-broadway productions. Then a few years ago, she was tracked down by Jeff Hayes who was co-creator of the Official SLEEPAWAY CAMP Website and she was brought back to the world of horror fans everywhere via the Website. Soon thereafter, Felissa landed a role in the short horror film: BIRDS OF A FEATHER and a spicy role in Dante Tomaselli's upcoming: HORROR. In April 2001, Jeff made her a headliner at the FANGORIA WEEKEND OF HORRORS: SLEEPAWAY CAMP REUNION which was an extraordinary success! Felissa and her fellow SLEEPAWAY cronies met fans and signed autographs for close to 3 hours! Now She's getting ready to RETURN TO SLEEPAWAY CAMP as co-producer and has a nice line-up of horror films on the horizon.
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ROBERT HILTZIK Best known as the mysterious writer/director of the cult 80's favorite: SLEEPAWAY CAMP, Robert Hiltzik had dropped out of the entertainment game for a while to work on creating a family with his wife. In early 2000, Jeff and Felissa teamed up and tracked him down and then excited him into bringing back SLEEPAWAY CAMP. Shortly thereafter, Jeff made arrangements with ANCHOR BAY ENTERTAINMENT to have Robert record a commentary on their upcoming DVD release of SLEEPAWAY CAMP. During the commentary, Robert, Felissa, and Jeff made numerous references to RETURN TO SLEEPAWAY CAMP, which Robert had begun writing after his conversation with Jeff and a look at the website. Knowing that they would be spending some time together in Teaxs for a special group of SLEEPAWAY CAMP screenings in October 2001, Jeff wrote a cameo into GRANDMA'S SECRET RECIPE for Robert, who used an interesting approach to his character.
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