I was pleased to get to have a great interview with indie horror all rounder Missy Dawn. West Virginia local Missy has starred in three of Razor Sharp Studios rather (lets face it) brilliantly fucked up horror outings, Zombie Babies, Porkchop 2: Rise of the Rind and the upcoming Porkchop 3D, she has also turned her hand to co producing and co-directing the latter two! So what does Missy have to say about the films, the industry and loads of other stuff? Read ON!
P.S .........she has a potty mouth. I love her.
Hacked in the Head: Hi Missy! Thank you for taking the time to talk to me. As a full fledged member of West Virginian film company Razor Sharp Studios you must be busy and loving it at the moment? How did you find yourself working with these crazy kids in the first place?
Missy Dawn: Thanks for having me on your site Mark. It’s actually my first on-line interview so you have made me feel special and under pressure at the same time haha. Razor Sharp has been very busy lately trying to finish up Porkchop 3D. Editing is tedious. Once you finally get everything cut together the way you want it you've only just begun the post-production madness *evil laugh* Then comes the color correcting, then comes the sound editing by our mixer Calvin Grimm, then comes the foley FX, meanwhile, the score is being worked on by our composer Mark Shaw. Then we watch it around 5,000 times to make sure there are no black screens, random sound drops, “Action 1’s and 2’s” while this is happening… our special FX artist Chris Woodall has been at the apartment pretty much every single night helping fine tune the editing details and also designing the living shit out of some PC3D DVD and Blu-Ray covers, posters, web site, lunch boxes.. it really is a team effort getting these things done and we definitely couldn’t do it alone! I love the sheer fucking madness of film making from start to finish. I enjoy the non-stop shit-hitting-the-fan hysteria. In fact, every time Sony Vegas crashes… I have an orgasm. Seriously.
As far as the “introduction” of Missy Dawn and Razor Sharp, that came in the spring of 2010. I had known Brandon Raker (Ian in Porkchop) from high school and college and he knew I was into horror movies so he mentioned me during the casting of Porkchop. Unfortunately that summer I couldn’t take any time off work (serving never ending breadsticks and pasta bowls) so I couldn’t be involved with the project. But I guess they liked what they saw because Eamon contacted me about Zombie Babies in 2010. I auditioned for Jami Lynn, and the rest is movie making history!
HitH: WOW! So...if the timing had of been right with Porkchop you could have potentially gotten that aforementioned orgasm from a chainsaw! Imagine that! I have to say I love the DVD and poster designs for Porkchop 3D they are fantastic. In fact the DVD artwork has gotten even better with every film and I love 'em all.
Next Missy, how did you cope with the challenges of co-directing and starring in Porkchop 2: Rise of the Rind and co-directing, co-producing AND starring in the upcoming Porkchop 3D? Beer??.......
Missy Dawn: Repeating “I am making a fucking movie.” “I am making a fucking movie.” helps tremendously when things get batshit crazy. Like, when an actress quits 6 hours before shooting or when the owners of the cabin you rented charge you an additional 750.00 dollars because they saw we were making a movie and assumed we had money (we actually had to sell our only camera to pay for the cost).
What you have to do in those moments is 1) calm the fuck down 2) start actually realizing you are a part of something epic as hell and knowing after a week of shooting non-stop, you will be wrapped (breathe) and a couple months from then, everything will be edited and ready for the world!
Plus, I actually like solving problems. Challenges excite me. When did the hell did this situation happen? Actually never mind, how can we fix it? You’ve gotta be quick on your feet with a team of great people behind you. Failing just isn’t an option. It’s not what we do. Sure, it gets frustrating, but awesome shit usually doesn’t just happen without hard work. Unless of course you hit the lottery (which by the way, I would really enjoy).
I’ve worked with amazing casts and crews busting their asses for 18+ hour days to make it work. One misconception about Razor Sharp is that we have grips lined up on liquor luges and topless chicks doing keg stands during the shoot. While that would be one hell of a shitshow, that is all it would be, and nothing would get done. I think people are surprised when they come out to work on one of our movies because it’s really not a 24/7 party. The crew and cast work really hard and are thrown through the ringer to get these films completed in the short amount of time we shoot in.
However, our wrap parties are entirely another story… ;)
HitH: Haha....they sure do look like a messy old blast ;) Watching your movies its pretty clear you must work insanely hard. Not only that but the turn around time from shooting and getting the finished product out is incredibly impressive when you really think about it...I mean....Porkchop 2 was self distributed only last November!!!
Now.....I am sure you are a LOVELY person.....but you play mean very very well. Do you prefer these snotty beatch from hell type characters rather than the ‘good girls’? They certainly seem far more fun to play and for me personally Hannah was a real highlight of Porkchop 2...that and her red hot final scene......
Missy Dawn: Oh god I LOVE playing the bitch. Not only is it easier to get into character (because I am one) I can take out all my sequestered AD aggression out on the actors and no one gets offended!
HitH: Haha, a nice honest answer ;)
So I understand in Porkchop 3D, Hannah is no more and you are returning as a brand new character. This has to be one of the creepiest looking characters I have seen in a while....tell us some more about ‘Pig Girl’ (If you are allowed.....)
Missy Dawn: Well I don’t want to spoil too much, especially if you haven’t seen Porkchop II or are planning to watch PC3D. Let’s just say Porkchop is not alone on this 3D adventure to hell!
HitH: Further to the above questions.....what has been your favourite role so far and why?
Missy Dawn: Pig Girl takes the cake. She’s such a deranged freakshow. A female slasher character has never been done like this. And actually, I can’t really think of many masked female slashers in the first place (can you?) so it’s really a treat to play her. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy a good chase through the woods by Porkchop and the occasional late term abortion gone horribly wrong, but being a killer in a slasher automatically wins. You just can’t beat that!!
HitH: Agreed its very original, I cannot think of any aside from maybe Alice Sweet Alice and that's not a widely known/seen film I think. Plus you get the chance to become a horror icon...unbeatable! On that....you must enjoy the horror genre right? What do you love most about it and what are your big no-no’s? Any favourite films to mention?
Missy Dawn: I like horror because it is probably the only genre where every fucking time you watch a movie you actually try to put yourself in their shoes. B-horror movies, big studio pictures, 80’s classics.. whatever your poison, you’ll say “I would have killed him this way” or “Um, yeah, probably don’t run back into the house you just got fucked up in?” It gets you thinking about what *IF* something like that serial killer or creature did exist in your neighborhood. It makes you vulnerable. Is a silver bullet something you should have in your house…juuuust in case? Haha. I do enjoy all types of film genres but horror is interactive, whether that’s with a group of friends or totally inside your head.
I don’t think there are many no-no’s with horror (We’ve screwed chicks with chainsaws… so I’m not really sure I’m equipped to answer that one haha)
Favorite films: Christine, Troll 1 & 2, Evil Dead 1 & 2, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween 1-5, Drag me to Hell, Trick or Treat, My Bloody Valentine, Battle Royale, Phenomena, Puppet Monster Massacre, Ginger Snaps, American Werewolf in London, Audition, Killer Klowns from Outer Space & The Collector. Also, Grave Encounters and Insidious! I could keep going and bore the rest of the world to tears so I’ll stop while I’m ahead.
HitH: You get SOOOOOO many points for most of those films you mentioned there...awesome!
What does Missy Dawn enjoy doing in her spare time away from making movies? You West Virginians look like quite the party animals (and extremly hard workers as well of course) if Facebook is anything to go by hahaha.
Missy Dawn: Ah yes, West Virginia. We work hard, we play hard, and we’ll probably invite you inside for a beer, try to feed you, and offer you our couch for the night (Mark if you’re ever on this side of the Atlantic, we’ve got a spot for ya!)
Making these movies is a non-stop process. Emailing, editing, updating, printing labels, sending out screeners, budgeting, planning, following-up, organizing, brain-storming and yes even at the bar, you can find me with a notebook, writing down ideas and reminding myself of what needs done, with a PBR and good friends by my side, of course.
Spare time: Working out, cooking, dancing around nude, beers, creating internet wish-lists I will never obtain, political debates, Skyrim, tailgating, and trying to take over the world.
HitH: Haha sounds good to me....just don't start giving me shots as it will be extremely hard to remove me from your couch ;) and as for internet wishlists? I am still waiting for hundreds of things to turn up on my doorstep....why are people not buying me stuff?????
So, have you always wanted to be an actress and had a desire to work in the film industry in general?
Missy Dawn: I took drama classes when I was young and acted in a few plays, but I never thought I would be in a movie. People are actually going to SEE this. It’s definitely exhilarating! I hope everyone enjoys the character’s I’ve played as much as I enjoyed playing them.
I know I’ll definitely be behind the camera for the rest of my life. Annnnd if gravity stays on my side, I might even turn up in front of it for future endeavors!
HitH: Finally Missy would you like to share anything else with readers?
Missy Dawn: If you want to taste the grease for yourself head over to our web site www.razorsharpstudioswv.com and pre-order a copy of Porkchop 3D! I recommend the 3D Blu-ray since we actually shot everything in “Real D” 3D but there’s nothing like a red and blue bloodbath for nostalgia’s sake. Also on September 25th watch out for Zombie Babies and Porkchop II: Rise of the Rind to blow their loads all over the internet and stores! Also, find me and our movies on Facebook and drop us a line.
One more thing, I just want to say thanks to all the folks out there who have donated to our indie-gogos and kickstarters. Thanks for believing in what we do and for your support. We seriously could not make these films a reality without you kick-ass motherfuckers.
And thank YOU Mark, for popping my interview cherry! Muah!
HitH: A really in depth and fun interview thank you very very much Ms Dawn!!!
Head over HERE to view the Porkchop 3D trailer, recently released...it looks all kinds of messy! And like Missy says, if you make your way to the Razor Sharp Studios official website you can pre-order a copy of the movie along with other gory goods - but act fast because this is part of a limited 200 DVD run and these guys are known to run out fast!
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