Charles Casillo Talks About His Fetish

All Photos: Alan Mercer

A Native New Yorker, Charles Casillo studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and at HB Studios with Sandy Dennis. After authoring several successful plays he put an acting career on hold and turned his full attention to writing.

As an entertainment journalist he contributed to many publications including 'The New York Times' and 'New York Magazine.' He continued his writing career in Los Angeles where he wrote celebrity interviews and personality profiles for 'The Los Angeles Times.'

He also authored the books 'The Marilyn Diaries,' 'Outlaw: The Lives & Careers of John Rechy,' 'Boys, Lost & Found,' and 'The Fame Game.' After moving back to New York City, Charles branched out to movie making combining his talents of writing and acting in the award winning thriller 'Let Me Die Quietly' in 2009. He now co-stars with Joan Collins in the dark comedy 'Fetish.'

I first became aware of Charles in the MySpace days. At this time he was living in New York City so an occasional comment or two was all the communication we had. He recently relocated to Los Angeles so I was able to feature him on this blog. Charles is one of the nicest and most genuine people I have known. With his matinee idol good looks and immense talent he is destined to keep moving forward in the film world.

AM: Hi Charles! Why don't you fill me in on some of your history. You started off as an actor right?

CC: Yes, I started as an actor right out of high school but like many people I just wasn't getting the breaks. I've always been one of those people who believe that if you're an artistic person you're going to find expression some way. If your creativity isn't being released in some form of expression you are walking around on fire all the time. Since I wasn't getting the breaks I started writing. It was one of those things where life calls the direction and writing took off for me right away.

AM: What was one of the first things you were writing?

CC: Within a year I was writing for the New York Times. I became a professional.

AM: Now how does one just start writing for the New York Times?

CC: I originally started writing for a much smaller publication. I was writing about people on Broadway and in Cabaret, or someone passing through town publicizing a film. My features were getting put into press kits that were going to the New York Times and one of the editors there started taking note of my pieces and my name started to click with her. So I got a call from the editor and she wanted to talk with me. I told her I don't read the Times and I don't know if I can get the style. She sent me a bunch of articles that she thought would help me get the rhythm and the style. My first piece was a full page. Suddenly I was a professional.

AM:  Were you content with this success?

CC: Even though I was writing now there was always the bug in the back of my mind to be acting. Meanwhile I was writing books and articles.

AM: How did you go from writing magazine features to a book?

CC: I wanted to do a book about Marilyn Monroe. At the time I thought I knew a lot about her life. I read every book that came out. I started wondering what I could add that would be new to her biography. I didn't have any new facts to add to her life. I wanted to put my own stamp on her.

AM: That sounds very challenging.

CC: I realized Marilyn was a fantasy figure who existed differently for all of us. What if I recreated her as she exists for me. Then I thought that everyone is interested in a diary which is very hidden and forbidden. Who could resist peeking into someone's diary? I decided to write it as a diary. That was my first book and it did well.

AM: So you wrote a fictional book based on a real person?

CC: Yes, although I took factual events and imagined how she would be feeling.

AM: When did this book come out?

CC: It came out in 1999.

AM: How many books have you written?

CC: I have a total of four books published.

AM: What are the other three books?

CC: Two are fiction and one is a biography of John Rechy. He was one of the first gay writers who had been a male prostitute in the 1950's. He wrote a book about his experiences on the street called 'City of Night' which came out in 1963. It was the first American book to speak about homosexuality openly. In those days it was all underground. His book kind of brought it out from the shadows. It became a best seller.

AM: How did you get to him?

CC: I was working for a magazine and they asked me for ideas. I wanted to do a feature on him. I sent him a letter to UCLA where he was teaching and did the article on him. He liked it and the book grew from that. He is in his late seventies and still writing.

AM: Do you still know him?

CC: Yes we became very good friends. During the course of writing the book I would meet with him in the afternoons. I'd bring a bottle of wine and some bread and we would sit around and talk. Everything is so different now. Magazines can't afford to pay writers anymore.

AM: Even the New York Times predicted their own demise in ten years. Blogs have taken over for real journalism.

CC: It's real journalism and you were smart enough and talented enough to go with it. I was too exhausted to do it.

AM: However you then started writing screenplays didn't you?

CC: Yes.

AM: Did you think that short films would be the new thing?

CC: Instinctually I felt that short films were a wave of the future, but also it was a bit of necessity too.

AM: What do you mean by this?

CC: When you make a feature it's an incredible commitment, responsibility and financial burden. A short requires maybe a ten day commitment. There's a lot less budget and money involved to do it. I think with all the new technology where people can now watch movies on their phones a half hour movie is just perfect. I do feel because of those reasons you can get a big star to commit to a week. Also there is a demand for it so all those reasons make short films a very up-and-coming viable form of entertainment.

AM: I agree with you. You're actually pretty well known now for your latest film 'Fetish' which is making all the festivals. I'd love to hear a little about this film.

CC: It's a dark, black comedy. Joan Collins describes it as a cross between 'The Twilight Zone,' 'Sunset Boulevard,' and 'David Letterman.'

AM: What is it about?

CC: It's about an iconic movie star who's career is on the skids. She trying for a comeback and making an appearance on a late night talk show with a very eccentric host played by me. We go back to my place after the show for a little late night tête-à-tête. That's when the story gets kicking.

AM: Did you enjoy the process of making the film?

CC: It was a lot of fun. I think the movie is enjoyable. It's just the right length. One of the reasons I think it is so successful is because it's a true collaborative effort. Everyone who worked on it was totally into the script. They all brought something unique to it, the director Matt Pellowski, the art department, Joan Collins. It's so gratifying as a writer to have a page with your words on it and have all these other people come on board to bring it to life. They make it something more than I imagined it to be.

AM: When you were writing it did you think you would get a Joan Collins?

CC: I originally wrote it the way I wanted the characters to be. After it was written my Executive Producer said why don't we go for a star. We took a chance with our short list of five actresses we thought would be right. Joan Collins was the number one choice!

AM: How did you get Joan?

CC: The traditional route. First I sent her manager a letter so he asked for the script. He gave it to her, she liked it. It was all very quick. Within a week I was out on a plane to LA to meet her for lunch. The following week she came to New York and met with the director and cinematographer. This was right before the Holidays and we were shooting it in February.

AM: Obviously you enjoyed working with Joan Collins very much.

CC: Absolutely!!! First of all it was an honor to be working with her. We all know she has an amazing history. She's acted with the best, dated the best, designed for by the best, photographed by the best, she's befriended the best, so she wears this history like a perfume. She comes into the room and you feel it.

AM: Were you intimidated by her?

CC: It's a little intimidating at first. When I got to know her the first thing that stood out was she was there to work. She's a working actress.

AM: Did she contribute ideas to the film?

CC: She had ideas for her character. She was less concerned about the way she looked and more concerned about playing the part believably. It was a totally tremendous experience. Here is a lady who is Hollywood Royalty and is used to being treated like a Queen. She is coming to a set with twenty-something year olds who have never seen 'Dynasty.' She is working late into the night.

AM: Can you give me an example of a time when it was more challenging?

CC: The balcony scene we shot was done during one of the worst snow storms of the season. It kept getting delayed because they were shoving snow off the balcony. She had a big monologue to do and she waited. She was absolutely lovely the whole time. She is a great person to work with. You don't have a career for that long without riding through those times when you have to work harder. With her the work comes first.

AM: Are you enjoying all this attention?

CC: Of course it's a cliché to say but I think the artists who last the longest desire the fame. Once again the work must come first, but you reach a point where you are tired of being promising. You want a contract, some recognition and you want some money. If nothing else so that your next project can be better. Unless you get recognition you are constantly at the same level. You have to become a brand name so that people know who you are and they will take a look at your new work. This way you get better people and more money to do it in a better way.

AM: Is 'Fetish' doing for you what you wanted it to do?

CC: Everyday more so. It keeps getting more festivals and more attention. Joan won the Best actress Award at the New York City Film Festival.

AM: What are you going to do when 'Fetish' has run it's course?

CC: I want to do another short film that is a satire on Hollywood. It will be a screwball comedy. It's a longer film with a bigger cast. 'Fetish' is a two person cast. The new one will be a full cast of zanies. I would like to release it as a companion piece with 'Fetish.'

AM: Ultimately I guess you are going to be in features.

CC: Well I'd like to do features and shorts. I'd like my career to go in a Woody Allen direction where I could write or write and act, or be offered a role where I just act. I'd also like a production deal where I can develop scripts from my books.

AM: Do you want all your scripts to be based on Hollywood?

CC: I won't say everything has to be but I do have a fascination with it. I live here now and I think I will live here forever now. There will probably almost always be at least a character who has to do with show business. It's such a big part of me growing up.

AM: Did you grow up in show business?

CC: No, but it was my fantasy world of escape so in that way I did grow up in show business. I think when you're an outsider you find your fantasy world and mine included Clark Gable, Rita Hayworth, Jean Harlow and of course Marilyn Monroe.

AM: So you enjoyed old films. Were you able to see these films in Theaters?

CC: Yes there was revival houses that showed them, but there was also the Late Show on television. I read all the biographies and was always fascinated with the old time stars.

AM: Do you think you were around in a past life?

CC: I feel that if there is such a thing as reincarnation I think that I hit my heyday in the fifties to early sixties. I just love the look of the people, the style of dressing and the grooming. I love the music and the movies, the architecture and the furniture. I just feel really at home with this time. I like the idea of a man taking off his hat when a lady enters the elevator. I feel that it's proper. I like the idea of a lady wearing gloves to lunch.

Charles Casillo with Joan Collins in Beverly Hills Oct.2010

Happy Birthday Carla Laemmle! 101 Years Old!

 Carla And Tom Tangen talk about the new documentary on her life!

All Photos:  Alan Mercer    Make-up: Anthony Cody

Carla Laemmle is an actress and the niece of Universal Pictures founder Carl Laemmle. She was a movie actress from the 1920s through the 1930s.

Carla entered films in 1925 playing an uncredited role as a ballet dancer in the original silent film version of 'The Phantom of the Opera' and a very small role in the early talkie version of 'Dracula', and is the last surviving cast member of both classic films. Carla continued to appear in small roles until the late 1930s and disappeared from the movie screen. She briefly came out of retirement to play a vampire in 'The Vampire Hunters Club.'

She shared her reminiscences of appearing in a bit part in 'Dracula' by hosting the original documentary 'The Road to Dracula', a supplemental piece included on the 2004 DVD release, 'Dracula: The Legacy Collection.' In that classic film, she portrayed a bespectacled passenger riding in a bumpy horse-drawn carriage with Renfield as he is traveling to Dracula's castle. In this documentary, Laemmle proudly states: "I had the privilege of speaking the first lines of dialogue in the first talking supernatural thriller".

In 2009 the book 'Growing Up With Monsters: My Times at Universal Studios in Rhymes', co-authored by Carla Laemmle and Daniel Kinske, was released. The book details her life at Universal Studios from 1921 to 1937. On October 20, she celebrated her 100th birthday with a guestlist which included Ray Bradbury, George Clayton Johnson, Bela Lugosi, Jr., Sara Karloff and Ron Chaney.

Tom Tangen is the founder of the St. Croix Valley Actors Theatre and also The Los Angeles, Actors Coalition. He has appeared in over thirty films. He recently made the documentary 'Among The Rugged Peaks' about the life of Carla Laemmle. Tom wanted to put a recent portrait of Carla at the end of the film so this is our conversation after our photo session.

AM: Carla I was interviewed on Internet radio yesterday and was asked about my next shoot and I said it was you. I received several emails from people telling me they were excited to see new photos of you. How does it feel to have such a loyal following?

CL: Oh it's unbelievable...sort of. You know the attention that I'm getting just bowls me over.

AM: You were obviously meant to get this attention. Is this fulfilling for you now?

CL: Oh I love it! YES!

AM: We know about your life in your early days and we know about your life now, but how did you fill the years between?

CL: Well I was working with Ray Cannon. He wrote two books, 'How To Fish The Pacific Coast' and 'The Sea Of Cortez.' I typed them both. I knew him for fourteen years. He was the love of my life. He was a writer/director who I met at Universal. He'd written a short story that I was cast in. He was the most wonderful person who was very, very gifted.

AM: How long did you work in films?

CL: I was in film a long time, well into my fifties. I never stopped.

AM: You come from a show business family don't you?

CL: Yes, my uncle made all kinds of pictures but he seems to be famous for his horror movies. It was odd because he wasn't especially enthusiastic about them, but Junior was and he urged his father to go into making them. When my uncle made them, they were immediately successful. He had all these wonderful people who worked for him. He was the success of Universal.

AM: Did you have a desire to be in horror films?

CL: No, my uncle just cast me, well the casting office did. He wanted me to work and do something. I didn't know what it was. He had me in wardrobe and we went to the back lot where they filmed it. I didn't have to memorize any lines because it was written down a little piece of paper, (Carla then recites her famous opening line from 'Dracula') "Among the rugged peaks that frown down upon the Borgo Pass, are found crumbling castles of a bygone age." That was my line!

AM: And you've never forgotten it ever! How wonderful to have this line in cinema history. Tom, how did you get interested in Carla's career?

TT: Well I have known about Carla for many, many years. When I first started acting I wrote to her asking for her advice on how to break into the business. She was so gracious to write me this lovely letter back telling me not to give up and to always pursue my dreams and career. Twenty years after writing that letter and after doing about thirty films myself, I was able to reconnect with Carla and present her with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southern California Motion Picture Counsel.

AM: Is this when you realized she had a following?

TT: There was so much interest in Carla and the horror films. Not only her horror films but her wonderful musicals as well. She wrote for every studio in Hollywood. It was suggested to me that someone should do a documentary on Carla's life so that's what I did. Hopefully it will come out this fall. It's called 'Among The Rugged Peaks' named after those first great lines of dialogue that Carla had in 'Dracula.' I guess the rest really is history, here we are a hundred years later with Carla about to see her life hit the big screen.

AM: Is there a release date yet?

TT: There is no release date. We are hoping to premiere it for her hundred and first birthday in October. Carla will be there and all her friends will be there. It's an amazing film that not only chronicles Carla's life but also the story of Universal as well.

AM: Carla do you think your popularity has increased since the advent of the internet?

CL: I've never considered my popularity. This has all been amazing.

AM: You get tons of fan mail don't you?

CL: Yes I do. I get more from all the countries in Europe.

AM: Does everyone have an autograph request?

CL: Yes.

AM: Do they at least send the postage? That's expensive.

CL: I have asked everyone to please send the postage. I really want ten dollars for each picture.

AM: That's understandable. You appreciate all your fans don't you?

CL: Oh yes, it's flattering and all that. They write me little letters.

TT: I want to say that Carla's popularity has increased with the internet. A whole new generation is seeing 'Dracula' for the first time. She is the last surviving cast member from that as well as 'Phantom Of The Opera.' I think young kids are so amazed that she is still here and able to talk to them and write to them and give them an autograph. I think that is a true testament to who she is as an actress and a person. She's so modest. She doesn't think she is anyone but she certainly is in so many people's eyes. She does have the first lines of dialogue ever in a horror film and that's kind of a pretty amazing claim to fame.

AM: It really is film history.

TT: And then to be sixteen years old and be cast as the prima ballerina in 'Phantom Of The Opera,' a silent film!

CL: Oh I remember that time and the set itself was just wonderful. It was a duplicate of a theater in France.

TT: When we shot the documentary on Carla's life we went back to Universal. The Phantom set is still there. It's the only totally remaining silent film set in the world. It was pretty amazing to take Carla back after eighty years back to that set and relive her memories and talk about the making of Phantom.

AM: Do you remember it like it was yesterday?

CL: YES! When I think back I can see the set in the studio. They had an orchestra in a pit. It was real life. It didn't feel like a set. I danced with a partner, but they cut that out.

AM: Aren't you a Buddhist?

CL: Yes for some years now.

AM: Do you think Buddhism gives you peace?

CL: Oh absolutely.

AM: I heard that you posed for some nude photographs.

CL: Yes I did.

AM: Do you think you were ahead of your time?

CL: It wasn't a big deal for me to do it. I've always loved my body because it's beautiful. I don't mind showing it. I've had an amazing life and this is the best part of it. One of my little secrets that I saw in a book years ago is the quote "Harm no one, especially yourself" and I try to live by that.

Tom Tangen and Carla Leammle

To learn more about Carla Leammle please visit  www.amongtheruggedpeaks.com

Inge Jaklyn: Adventures Of A Beauty Queen in Hollywood

All photos:  Alan Mercer   make-up:  Anthony Cody 

Inge Jaklyn was born and grew up in Vienna, Austria. She is a remarkable woman who has had a fascinating life. She is an honest to God 'Beauty Queen' who happens to be a down to earth, intelligent and talented actress. Not content to be a mere pretty face and statuesque body, she studied her craft at some of the best acting schools and did her share of theater, one production after the other, playing a wide range of characters.

She has recently returned to the screen with appearances in two films, 'Pooltime' which is out now on DVD and 'The Visitor From Planet Omicron' being released after the first of the year.

I met Inge through Tom Tangen. She is a warm and delightful person. I'm so pleased to be able to share some of my experience with her.

AM: Inge, I don't know very much about you but one thing I do know is you've had a fascinating and full life.

IJ: I certainly have. I started out when I was nine.

AM: What did you do first?

IJ: I went to a professional children's theater. At the age of sixteen I won a fabulous newspaper contest.

AM: A contest for what?

IJ: They were looking for a young woman who could be a 'Film Star of Tomorrow.' I won this contest over 2200 women. I got contracts from three film companies. I did play the Empress Carlotta of Mexico in a film by Ernst Marischka, who was a very famous filmmaker at the time.  When I was seventeen my mother insisted we drive out to the country where they were crowning a Rose Queen. Of course whatever my mother wanted had to happen. She was a very strong-willed stage mom.

AM: Were you a little insecure at the contest?

IJ: I knew I would not be Rose Queen because the man who owned the property we were on, had a daughter in the contest. So I knew she would win. The people wanted me to win however so there was a controversy. I became the first Rose Princess.

AM: When did you learn English?

IJ: I had learned it in high school and business school.

AM: When did you become Miss Austria?

IJ: At age twenty I was crowned Miss Vienna and ten days later when I turned twenty-one I became Miss Austria. This brought me to the United States in the Miss International Beauty Pageant.

AM: What year was this?

IJ: This was 1962 in Long Beach. I had very nice chaperones, a husband and wife, and they invited me to stay with them in their house after the pageant.

AM: Did you want to stay in California?

IJ: I was enchanted about America and California, all of it... Long Beach, Hollywood.

AM: So you stayed. What did you do?

IJ: First I got a call from the head of casting at MGM. I read some lines and they told me if I ever come back they were sure they could use me and had work for me. "With the age range that you are we certainly can cast you." I have my heart set to immigrate to the United States now.

AM: What was something exciting you did at this time?

IJ: I worked with the Harlem Globetrotters in Hawaii when they were world champions. They wanted me to kick off the game. I don't play basketball! They told me just take the ball out there and throw it up, so I did that and one of them grabbed the ball and with his little finger, and spun it around before throwing it through the hoop. The game was started!

AM: That's very cool.

IJ: Then the bowling team that won the championship wanted their trophy presented to them from me by the pool of the hotel. They wanted me to wear this very pretty sky blue bikini with white dots. So I presented them with their trophy and there was a huge amount of press.

AM: So this is how you really started making appearances?

IJ: Then I got a call from London that I was going to be a participant in the Miss World Pageant and I had to be there in one week and I was in Los Angeles! I was at the airport and a gentleman heard me speaking German and asked me if I was from Austria. I said, "Yes I am from Vienna." He told me his name and that he was president of Anglo Fabrics and he was flying to Colorado and would I join him.

AM: That's quite the invitation!

IJ: So I went with him to Colorado on my way to New York. Then he said he had business in Vienna and several mills in New York. I told him how much I would love to immigrate to the United States and he told me it was my lucky day and that he would sponsor me!

AM: That's a fairytale!

IJ: It was absolutely meant for me to come to Hollywood. What I had to do immediately was take out a working permit. Now I get a call from Paris asking me if I would like to go to Australia for about four months and model Christian Dior.

AM: This is unbelievable!

IJ: I would be going to Australia with three other Beauty Queens, Miss Iceland, Miss Denmark and Miss Japan. It paid very well and I thought why not. Then I got a call saying the trip was cancelled so we are going to Africa!

AM: Where did you go in Africa?

IJ: We went all over, up the Ivory Coast and the Gold Coast to Angola all over with police escorts in five star hotels. I had nothing to do until my immigration permit was ready so I went. We had rehearsals in Paris with beautiful fashions by Christian Dior. We each had a fantasy costume and I was assigned The Bluebird of Happiness that came at the end of the fashion show.

AM: What was Angola like?

IJ: In Angola I looked out the window and a big red thing flew by and I asked what kind of bird it was and I was told it was a butterfly. I thought that's a big butterfly! Then another one zoomed by but it was green. We had strawberries everyday. It was a tremendous adventure.

AM: So how did you get 'into" Hollywood?

IJ: I worked for the German Broadcast reading their commercials and helping in the office. There was a very lovely woman at the apartments where I rented. She happened to know Jack Rose, the manager of Robert Comings, and she introduced me to him.

AM: Did he help you?

IJ: He introduced me to someone else and eventually I got an introduction to Joe Pasternak, who was producing all these movies with Elvis Presley. I went to Joe Pasternak's fabulous Bel Air Estate on Bellagio Road. Instantly he really liked me. He just went for blondes. He was one of those types. He invited me for lunch where I met his niece Judy.

AM: Did he put you to work?

IJ: He cast me in 'Made In Paris' starring Ann-Margret. I play a sales girl at a very high class department store. I had no car all this time and I needed to get to Culver City so Mr. Pasternick had his niece Judy pick me up every day. She had a red convertible. I was taken into Pasternick's family just like I was a member.

AM: You made a couple of appearances on a popular TV show 'Hogan's Heroes.'

IJ: I had two 'Hogan's Heroes.' One in sixty-five and one in sixty-six. But the more interesting story is my audition for 'It Takes A Thief ' with Robert Wagner. At the audition they asked if I could play a beauty queen who plays the accordion, like I was in real life, but could I do it in a bikini? But, when the show aired, I was the opening and it looked like I was playing the accordion naked! You couldn't see anything was on me. I looked naked! What can you do? It was one of those things!

AM: How did you react when you saw the show?

IJ: It gave me a gasp. I felt tricked into it. However you don't want to complain because you will get a bad reputation. You can really strike out in Hollywood!

AM: So you continued working.

IJ: The producers liked me so much I got called back for a second show. Then I got a call asking me about being in the film 'In Like Flint' starring James Coburn. They needed Flint Girls and Amazons. The producer and my agent insisted on me being an Amazon. My agent because it was a lot more pay than a Flint Girl, but the Flint Girls got more exposure.

AM: You really had some momentum going.

IJ: Now comes 'The Stars of The World' Talent Pageant in New York City at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, but it is only one week before I have to be in Jamaica. This was the worst adventure, so horrendous.

AM: What happened?

IJ: On my last day in New York I took a cab to the airport and they asked for my visiting visa. I said, "What visiting visa?" You are not an American citizen and can't get into Jamaica. I told them I had a contract and I was expected to be on the set. The captain of the plane called and spoke to the director.

AM: What did you do?

IJ: I had to go back into New York City and go to the Jamaican Embassy and get the visa. I raced back to the airport the next day, got to Jamaica only to find out when I landed there had been a tropical storm and I was unable to get to the hotel because the road was blocked.

AM: I bet you weren't used to this?

IJ: I had to spend the night at some tropical house with two guards. I was so upset. The next day the streets were clear and I was able to get to the set. Then I was told how lucky I was. They said if this storm hadn't occurred I would have been a day late and they wouldn't have been able to use me at all.

AM: Inge you do have a lucky star!

IJ: We ended up doing many photo shoots and traveling to New York to Dodger Stadium where I had the great honor to meet Sandy Colfax which was really nice.

AM: Tell me about the movie you just wrapped.

IJ: That is 'The Visitor From Planet Omicron' where I have 121 pages of dialogue. It was ten days straight through, sometimes twelve hours a day. I play a woman who has bridge parties with other women. One day her doorbell rings and there's an Alien from Omicron. He gets involved in the lives of me and my son. It's a very funny movie.

Some of Inge's tiarras and trophies

Sriya Saran Magzine Stills photoshoot

Mollie Milligan Is A Storyteller

All Photos:  Alan Mercer   Lighting: Eric V

Mollie Milligan is a Dallas, Texas based actress and business woman. She has a Double Major in Acting and Environmental Science from Baylor University, as well as an MFA in Acting from SMU. She has done Regional Theatre including Kentucky and Taos Shakespeare. After living in Los Angeles for a few years, she re-located to Dallas to work at Boxcar Creative where she is a co-owner.

She and her partner/husband Brian produced the original documentaries 'Different Abilities' about special needs children and 'Shut Up and Skate' about the Texas Skating scene in the 1980’s. They also produced a daughter Milligan and two seasons of the original web-series “Sons Of The Brotherhood” or S.O.B

She can be seen in the film 'The Gray Man' and the upcoming 'Super' playing the Sister of Liv Tyler, “Heaven’s Rain” and the current re-make of the 1970’s exploitation revenge shocker 'I Spit on Your Grave.'

An avid runner, Mollie ran daily up until the day before she gave birth. 

AM: Mollie! Tonight you are here for.....

MM: The premiere of 'I Spit On Your Grave.'

AM: Have you seen the original?

MM: I have actually NOT which is probably terrible.

AM: I don't think I'd want to see the original if I was doing the remake.

MM: I read the script. I was nine months pregnant when I was cast. When you are nine months pregnant you don't think through things so I got the opportunity and they asked to see what I looked like pregnant. I went and read my scenes only.

AM: But you knew it was an extreme film didn't you?

MM: Someone told me that this was a pretty intense film. I had no idea. I thought if someone wants to see a pregnant lady for a job, I'm going! I read my scenes and thought it feels like something bad is going on outside of my scenes. I did read the whole script the night before I began shooting and it's very intense.

AM: Do you have a big part?

MM: I shot five scenes so we'll have to see.

AM: It's probably going to be a big hit so that's good!

MM: I would never have thought that a film I would make would have the word spit in the title! No kidding, I was in a theater play in Dallas recently and people are very excited about this movie coming out.

AM: You also just completed a movie named 'Super' which looks really good! Do you play Liv Tyler's sister?

MM: Yes.

AM: How was working with Liv?

MM: It was really cool. My scenes were with Rain Wilson and Liv. My baby was only four weeks old when I shot that. Eleven days after I had the baby I went to Louisiana for the call back.

AM: You and Liv could be sisters. I know Bebe Buell, Liv's mother.

MM: Ah Liv talked about her a lot.

AM: You do look like a combination of them. I see you fitting right in.

MM: Liv was super cool! The film is going to be very good. As much as my opinion matters but I am somewhat of a snob. There's nothing goofy about the way they are approaching the film. It's very real with a twisted premise.

AM: Now I know that you made a documentary. Tell me about it and what prompted you to make it.

MM: We were working on a documentary about skating in the 80's in Texas. We ran into some frustration with some of the talent. My father had asked me to do a re-enactment of Helen Keller for the Lion's Club. I didn't want to do it because I had just come from Los Angeles....I'm a film actress, but I did it. To date it is the most rewarding acting experience I've ever had. The Helen Keller speech caught on so while we were trying to work through this skate documentary and get it produced I'm going to all of these different Lion's Club meetings in small towns all over Texas. I'm listening to what they are doing and they were talking about this camp for special needs kids. I finally go down to the camp and tell my boyfriend at the time, and my husband now, these people are the real hero's. Let's do a documentary on these kids. So that's what we did. We shifted all of our attention away from the more marketable film and spent two years going to the homes and really getting to know the children. The whole experience is the right kind of story telling.

AM: You must have discovered some different emotions being involved with a documentary like this.

MM: Because I didn't have any experience with special needs kids what happened was my level of comfort in asking questions got better. You can see in the beginning how I was even afraid to ask them what their disability was. Being able to embrace the things that terrified me. The truth is you need to open the door for someone who isn't able to. It's practical. Go open the door. It makes their life easier.

AM: Do you think you'll be making any more documentaries?

MM: Yes we've been talking to some of the skaters and telling them we can finish this film and it would be great. 'Just Shut Up And Skate' The trailer is out there.

EV: What kind of skates, skateboards?

MM: Yes skateboarding. It's like 'Dogtown Z Boys' Texas style. 'Thrasher magazine' was the only thing that connected these cultures since there was no internet yet. The way the Texas skaters skate is very different from the East coast or the West coast. They have their own story.

AM: I know you're a Shakespearian actress as well. How did that happen?

MM: Yes, well I did go through formal training as an actress at SMU. I have a double degree in Environmental science and an acting under graduate.

AM: I wish you were smarter!!!!

MM: My father wanted me to be an attorney.

AM: And you run a business in Dallas!

MM: Yes we make our money off of advertising and that allows us to buy the equipment. We have an HD camera and all the lighting so we can go and do the projects we want to do. We have a web series, 'Sons Of The Brotherhood' which is a pretty ridiculous web series. This is our second season. It allows artists in Dallas to come together. Season One is a little funky but now we've got professionals in all the different areas. They are all donating their time and energy to get this web series going. My husband and I have our company Boxcar that makes most of the money off advertising but we do a lot of web stuff. In today's world you can shoot the stuff but we can actually get it out there as well.

AM: You wear a lot of different hats. After being a Mom and a wife, what do you consider yourself the most?

MM: It's going to sound super corny but as I said earlier, I am a storyteller. Acting is my passion but I don't get that opportunity as much. I think being able to tell stories is the one thing I am confident that I can do.

1 Voice Celebrity Benefit

The Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital is a retirement community, with individual cottages, and a fully licensed, acute-care hospital, located in Woodland Hills, California. It is a service of the Motion Picture and Television Fund, providing services for members of the motion picture and television industry.

Richard Dreyfuss

In 1940, then president of the Motion Picture Relief Fund, Jean Hersholt, found 48 acres of walnut and orange groves in the southwest end of the San Fernando Valley. The Board purchased the property for the Motion Picture Country House. To offset the costs for the first buildings, which were designed by architect William Pereira, seven acres were sold. Mary Pickford and Jean Hersholt broke the first ground. The dedication was on September 27, 1942.

The Motion Picture Hospital was dedicated on the grounds of the Country House in 1948. In attendance were Ronald Reagan, Shirley Temple, and Robert Young, among other stars. Services were later extended to those working in the television industry as well, and the name was altered to reflect the change.

Scores of movie notables spent their last years here; so have far less famous people from behind the scenes of the industry. Those with money paid their own way, while others, who had no money, paid nothing. Fees are based solely on the "ability to pay."

Individuals in movies, TV, and other aspects of the industry, are accepted, from actors, artists, backlot men, cameramen, directors, extras, producers, security guards and stars. To qualify for a cottage, applicants or their spouses must have reached a minimum age of seventy, working steadily for at least twenty years in entertainment industry production. The waiting time is usually a few months, with no preference given to celebrities or those who can pay their own way, officials of the fund have said.

Connie Stevens

When I heard that the Motion Picture and Television Fund leaders were determined to evict current residents of the Motion Picture Nursing Home and permanently close and bulldoze over the Home and its 70 year history I was appalled. I joined their mission to keep the Motion Picture Nursing Home open for current and future residents, the elderly and infirm in the Industry who are in need of a home, a safe, secure, and caring environment amongst their peers.

Enter the 'Saving the Lives of Our Own' a grass-roots coalition of thousands of entertainment industry workers and community members dedicated to keeping the Motion Picture & Television Fund Nursing Home open. Dedicated to stopping the eviction of its elderly residents, and insuring that the MPTF promise of "Taking Care of Our Own" remains unbroken - now and for future generations.

Stefanie Powers

They along with The Neo Ensemble Theatre recently hosted an event called "1 VOICE" which was a celebrity-packed evening to raise industry and community awareness of the residents' plight. I believe in this cause and couldn't wait to show my support by going and posting a blog about this serious problem.

The evening was a huge success. Lorenzo Lamas opened the show with a performance of the song 'A Lot Of Living To Do.' Diane Ladd gave an impassioned speech and Richard Dreyfuss shared his thoughts. John Schneider sang a couple of great songs and so did James Intveld. One of the highlights for me was Esai Morales and his musical partner Ted Silbert who did two amazing numbers. Gloria Loring closed out the evening with an uplifting song. There was a lot more show and it was all great! I only had the opportunity to speak with a few of the celebrities and I'll share that with you here along with some snap shots from the night! A big thank you to Edward Lozzi for his help with this event.

Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna

Diane Ladd

Dawn Wells: This industry has supported this home for so many years. It would be a crime to let it fade away.

Esai Morales and Ted Silbert

Esai Morales: I'm here because it's the human thing to do. We have to stand up for each other. There by for the grace of God go I. We have to support those that are in the place we are all going to be. We are artists and if society can't take care of our elderly and less advantaged then we have too. It takes a village and it's with that spirit that we are here. A couple of our songs apply to the spirit. The first song was saying don't give up and don't let go. That's for the residents who are there and fighting the market forces. Nobody wants to be left behind on a market killing.

George Chakaris: I believe it's a great cause. Ever since I heard about this fight it has become very important to me. It's a horrible thing and it just can't happen! We all want to bring attention to this matter. It's a battle.

John Schneider: Oh my gosh I've been supporting this cause for years. Since I got here in 1978 going out to the Home was the last difficult decision anyone in my industry was supposed to have to make. So I am here to celebrate the fact that it appears as if that is going to remain true. There was a big announcement this morning where the folks from the home, who have not really been the opposition, but I think have been misinformed, were saying that they have a moral obligation to the folks who are in the extended care part of the home out there in Calabasas. I think the victors here are going to be all well into their nineties.

Nichelle Nicholls: This has been the most amazing, moving event. It was about something so very, very worthy. It's something that has happened that should not have happened and that is unconscionable. They should be ashamed of themselves, but we are going to make it right because Mary Pickford and those people gave the promise. I've been in this business since the late fifties. We always gave to this fund. I don't know anyone who hasn't and we continue to.

James Intveld

Shirley Jones and Marty Ingels

Nic Noviciki

Gloria Loring

To learn more about this cause please visit the web site http://www.savingthelivesofourown.org/

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