|
| |
|
Mercedes Interview
Find out the latest info on her new film 'Hatchet', her thoughts on the future of the Buffyverse and what it was like crossing over from Buffy to Angel. |
iF Magazine: How did the Tribeca Film festival go?
MERCEDES MCNAB: It was awesome. I was there for HATCHET. It was the first screening of our film. I went to two, and the first one was the first time the audience and I had seen it so it was interesting to see how they received it.
iF: What can you tell me about HATCHET?
MCNAB: It stars Kane Hodder, Robert Englund, and Tony Todd. Well Robert and Tony have cameos and then Kane is the villain in the film named Victor Crowley. The rest of us are a bunch of unsuspecting people on tour in the Louisiana bayou. It’s a nighttime tour to see ghosts and alligators and cemeteries and whatnot. Then drama and violence ensue when our boat gets stranded in the area that Victor Crowley haunts. One of the tag lines for the movie is “first there was Jason, then there was Freddy, now there’s Victor Crowley” and I hope we can live up to that and create a new series for a new generation of horror fans.
iF: How is Kane Hodder to work with?
MCNAB: He’s awesome. He’s got “kill” written on the inside of his lip, so if that’s not interesting enough I don’t know what is. He’s a method actor, and he was the stunt coordinator. If you were doing stunts he would have a big black cape on and he would talk to you normally, and you’d only be able to see his eyes, so that was a little weird! [Laughs] Also, he didn’t want to talk to you if he had his prosthetics on. We’d be getting ready and running and screaming, and it was really unnerving for the rest of the cast. He and the director worked really well together because they had decided, not to trick us, but to up the ante with the fear factor. The director would tell us he would be coming from one direction when in fact he’d really be coming from another. That would scare us and keep us on our toes. The first time we see him on camera is actually the first time any of our characters see him, so it was a very honest reaction. I remember, the director would play tricks on us saying Kane was there when he wasn’t. There was one time, when I started freaking out so bad in my mind that I was crying hysterically and they had to carry me to my mark. [Laughs] It was the first time I was going to see him and I was so scared!
iF: Did you film on location in New Orleans for the movie?
MCNAB: There was a small portion of it shot on location in New Orleans, and then the rest of it was shot in Palmdale actually. We had great set designers that made it look a lot like Louisiana.
iF: You have another movie coming out called MILES FROM HOME?
MCNAB: That’s a short film that my friend Joel Moore, directed it, and he also starred in HATCHET. He and I worked together for that for his directorial debut.
iF: Are you surprised that a couple of years after the series ANGEL has gone off the air, people still recognize you as Harmony?
MCNAB: I was just in Tower Records yesterday and they still have the ANGEL puppet. I thought wow it’s been two years or so since the last episode aired, or however long it has been, it seems like it’s been forever. I’m surprised that they still have those on the shelves. People must still be buying them, or maybe they’re just back stock. [Laughs] It’s always amazing that people still care. I know a lot of our fans have moved on, but still hold a candle for our show.
iF: Have you been scanned yet to become an action figure?
MCNAB: No. They asked me on my last day of work to do it, but the whole thing made me kind of nervous. Granted I would love to have an action figure, but the whole thing seemed weird to me. It’d be cool to see myself as a toy.
iF: Do you do ANGEL conventions whenever you have the time?
MCNAB: Yeah, I did quite a few for a while, but it’s been slowing down. SERENITY kind of stole our thunder for a while. While I was doing it though, I loved going around and meeting fans and signing autographs. I would hear feedback about what I was doing and it was great. I want to thank fans for their continued support.
iF: So you would say ANGEL was a positive experience for you?
MCNAB: I had so much fun! The show dealt with so many dark issues and evil and blah, blah, blah; so it was kind of nice that my character was kind of a joke. She always seemed to lighten the mood a bit.
iF: At one time had you been talked to about a SPIKE movie?
MCNAB: There was always speculation and talk about something to the effect that there was going to be a series of one-hour or two-hour movie of the weeks based on the characters. We haven’t seen any of those so… if they decide to do it down the road we’re all going to be too old! We’re vampires who can’t age. If they want to do it, they better get to it quick. They’ll have to come up with something really ingenious to get out of the “not-aging thing” or they’re going to have to cast people who look a hell of a lot like us. Or even pancake make-up and key lighting and filters.
iF: How was the transition for you to cross over from BUFFY to ANGEL?
MCNAB: I knew most of the cast so fortunately, in that aspect, the transition was easy for me. I wasn’t just the new kid on the block, but I was a little bit younger than everyone. ANGEL was a slightly older cast to me than BUFFY, so I worried a little about that. I remember the first day I shot, David [Boreanez] came up to me and gave me a big hug and said, “I’m so glad you’ve joined our team and I can’t wait to work with you”. Everyone was really awesome and I had been on ANGEL once before so I pretty much had worked with everybody a little bit.
iF: As far as ANGEL is concerned do you think it’s officially over?
MCNAB: Someone just told me that “I hope everything Joss Whedon does is a flop so he’ll come back to ANGEL and BUFFY” and I told him I wouldn’t quote him, which I just did. [Laughs] I don’t think you should wish that, because you might like what he’s doing next even better! I think that WONDER WOMAN is going to be huge. That’s his pet project now, and he gets very involved in whatever he is doing at the time. I’m assuming that he’s over it, he’s moved on to other projects.
iF: What’s the best acting advice that you’ve ever gotten?
MCNAB: It came from an old acting class I guess, from my acting teacher. When were little they taught us a little rhyme, “keep it simple, keep it clear, but most of all be sincere.”
iF: What else do have coming up?
MCNAB: When it becomes a little bit warmer up in Winnipeg I have to head up there and shoot another horror film. It’s more of a horror thriller this time. It’s about a serial killer who gets taken to a mental institution. I’m a reporter who goes to interview him and get an exclusive scoop. Then while I’m there the power goes out, and I’m stuck inside with all of the crazy people. I can’t wait it’ll be fun. This role is different than anything I’ve ever done, so it’s exciting for me. Plus I’m working on some screenplay ideas. I’m not going to write them, but I’ve thrown the ideas out to some writer friends of mine and we’re working on them together.
iF: Do you feel yourself drawn to the horror genre as an actor?
MCNAB: It’s fun. I like it because it doesn’t relate to real life and get deep and dark and kill yourself emotionally with internal stuff. At the same time, you are at such a heighten level of emotion that you get to play fear and anger, without having to dig up things that have happened to you to act from. It’s a little bit easier in that sense. It’s fun to live in those roles.
iF: Are there any TV shows out there that have caught your fancy that you would like to be a part of?
MCNAB: I’m kind of into GREY’S ANATOMY, not necessarily a SCI FI show, but more of a weekly drama. Nothing’s ever out, so if I ended up on a genre show…
| | [by The Twins (ifmagazine) ] [0 comments]
|
You have to be logged in to comment. | |
| AD | 
|
| |
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, its characters, and the Buffy logo are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, the WB Television Network, and Twentieth Century Fox. Angel-The Series, its characters, and the Buffy logo are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, the WB Television Network, and Twentieth Century Fox.Other Series, their characters and logos are property of the proper right owners.
(c)Slayerverse 2006 [Imprint] |
