Death in Charge (2008)

In this 15 minute short film from Devi Snively, Death (Marina Benedict) comes calling on a preoccupied mother (Gillian Shure) and her precocious 9-year-old daughter, Whitney (Kylie Chalfa). Mistaking Death for the babysitter, the mother quickly dashes out the door for a night on the town and leaves Death to look after Whitney. The child thinks nothing of Death’s cloak (especially after Death takes of her hood to reveal her pretty face), only calling her “goth.” In the process of the evening, the little girl teaches Death about playing video games, making mac ‘n’ cheese and growing sea monkeys. While Death learns about life, Whitney in turn learns a little about death…but at the end of the evening Death must still perform her grim duty.

Death in Charge is a remarkable short that really shows writer/director Devi Snively’s immense talent and potential. Snively wrote the screenplay in reaction to the Columbine High School shootings to try to find out what motivates kids to kill. The film is produced through The American Film Institute (AFI). Snively was just one of eight chosen to participate in AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women. Seeing Death in Charge makes it easy to see why she was selected!

Snively immediately immerses you in the story, creating a tone that is both comedic and dark. She employs this dark humor throughout the short, but also takes the time to develop the characters, more so than most feature-length films do. As each character is introduced, we get a real sense of who they are and what they stand for. The mother is self-involved, uncaring and doesn’t pay much attention to anyone but herself. Death, of course, is a bit morbid, but also reveals her softer, more innocent side as she wonders at the human world around her. Whitney is a bright, cheeky child that loves violent video games and has a skewed, flippant view towards death. Each character is also written in such a way that all of their interactions with each other feel natural. In the short running time Snively manages to establish a real connection between all the characters as well as having them connect to the audience.

Of course, without such amazing actors the characters would not have been able to establish such strong connections. All of the actors are phenomenal in Death in Charge! Gillian Shure is great in her role as the bitchy mother. Even though she doesn’t get much screen time, she lets us know exactly who her character is in that short time. Kylie Chalfa is not only adorable as 9-year-old Whitney, but also brings a wide range of emotions to her role and makes these believable! The real star is Marina Benedict as Death. She shines as her character wondrously discovers everyday things like mac ‘n’ cheese. Her wide saucer eyes just make her discoveries all that much more sweet and really re-emphasize the innocence and naiveness she brings to Death. Her connection to Whitney is also very touching and cute.

As for the direction, Snively again succeeds. She keeps things interesting with different camera angles and a quickly paced story. She also creates intimacy between Whitney and Death by using close-ups of the two, giving them and the audience more of a feeling of connection. The colors used in the film are bright and eye-catching. The production values are high, and except for a few instances of iffy special FX (just a quick scene with some fire in a wastebasket), everything is amazing.

Death in Charge is a complex, delightful tale that packs a wallop in its short running time. I took a lot away from it, including that everyone can learn a little something about both life AND death. This entertaining and touching film really makes me look forward to what Devi Snively does next!

Visit Death in Charge’s Official Site!

Vist Devi Snively’s Official Site!

Pretty Bloody: The Women of Horror (2009)

Pretty Bloody: The Women of Horror is a Canadian documentary that brings together some of the most articulate, intelligent and passionate women in horror to discuss their careers, experiences, hardships and views within the male-dominated horror industry.

Directed by Donna Davies and produced by Kimberlee McTaggart, Pretty Bloody recently aired on Canadian horror/sci-fi channel Space this past February. Davies and McTaggart interviewed many notable female horror figures including actresses Brinke Stevens, Debbie Rochon and Cerina Vincent, directors Katt Shea (The Rage: Carrie 2) and Mary Lambert (Pet Semetary), screenwriter Karen Walton (Ginger Snaps), journalist and filmmaker Heidi Martinuzzi (Pretty-Scary.net and Wretched), editor Jovanka Vuckovic (Rue Morgue Magazine), authors Tanya Huff (The Blood Books) and Nancy Kilpatrick (Mondo Zombie), academic Isabel Pinedo (Recreational Terror), critic Maitland McDonagh and many, many more involved within the horror business.

Seeing a fresh female perspective on horror and hearing other women’s experiences within the genre was interesting and inspirational. As a woman, it is hard to find like-minded females who love horror as much as I do. To see so many respected and knowledgeable women within one documentary really confirmed that, yes, there are women out there who love horror as much as I do. It also shows that more and more women are getting into the horror genre, whether it is purely from a fan standpoint or pursuing a career in horror.

Also, the scope of careers within the horror genre that were covered, from actors to directors to screenwriters to authors to critics to special FX artists, was expansive and showed just how involved women are within the horror genre. It’s not just a boy’s club! To see so many talented women in all aspects of the genre really made me proud to not only be a woman, but to be part of the horror community!

Don’t get the wrong idea, though…even though I am basically singing this film’s feminist praises, there is enough in this documentary to engage all! Director Donna Davies crafted an entertaining horror documentary that will appeal to many different types of horror fans. Female horror fans will feel a kinship with the women featured in the film, while males will enjoy a new perspective on horror and everyone will like getting a behind-the-scenes sneak peak at what actors, writers, directors, critics and special FX people do on a daily basis.

Sorcery Films really did a wonderful job in releasing this documentary and I sincerely hope they pursue submitting Pretty Bloody to film festivals and conventions so more horror fans can enjoy it! I also hope it is eventually released on DVD because Pretty Bloody is one of the best, most superior horror documentaries and it deserves to be seen by all horror fans!

Wicked Business (2009)

The biggest problem indie filmmakers have? They don’t know how to construct a horror film! Sure, they’ve seen enough films to know the main components of a film, but they don’t know how to put those pieces together. When I received Wicked Business, it promised “a mix between The Office, Final Destination and 24.” Problem is, filmmaker Michael Evanichko just doesn’t know how to tell a story and the end result is that Wicked Business is a dull film that bears little to no resemblance to the three titles mentioned above.

The film is about a group of employees at a debt collection agency who all receive a mysterious death curse in the mail. One-by-one, they begin to die in ways that appear accidental. Can the remaining few figure out who put the curse on them and how to break it before it is too late?

First off, the filmmakers’ claim that Wicked Business is similar to The Office, but there is little to no humor within the film. The only resemblance is that the characters work crappy cubicle jobs. And I don’t understand the claimed resemblance to 24 at all except for the unnecessary use of split-screens. The most accurate comparison would be to Final Destination, but even that doesn’t quite add up because unlike in Final Destination, the deaths in Wicked Business aren’t all that memorable or gruesome.

Now that I’ve kvetched about the claims about the film, I want to address the main problem with it…the storyline and how it is told on film. From the drawn-out introduction that does nothing to pique your interest in the story to the repetitive conversations between underdeveloped characters to the lackluster ending, the film is just a snoozefest and could have benefited from some heavy-handed editing. There definitely wasn’t enough of a story here to make a feature-length film and I think it could have been much more effective had it been a short film.

Writer Michael Evanichko, who also directed, failed to create any suspense and the pacing was excruciatingly slow. The characters kept talking about the same things over and over (like asking, “should we go to the police?” about a million times – and even when they should have gone they didn’t) as well as discussing inane things that had nothing to do with moving the story along. Worse still, the film felt more of like a drama and lacked horror and suspense. There were only a few kills (with none of them being especially memorable, though the gore was decent) and the most interesting aspect of the film, the death curse, was only vaguely discussed at the very end of the film.

The direction by Evanichko was pretty much point-and-shoot and its lack of pizazz only added to the dullness of the film. Keep in mind, the direction is competent, but it just lacks charisma that should draw you into the movie. Something interesting that was done in the film was to add split/multi-screens, but I found these unnecessary in the context and even distracting. The split-screens only showed characters doing mundane things instead of using them to create tension or suspense, so they were pretty much wasted.

Speaking of the characters, they lacked definition and weren’t even properly introduced to the audience. In the beginning I could hardly distinguish who the main protagonists were or who I was supposed to be rooting for. As the film progressed, I never really felt a connection with the characters and so I didn’t care what happened to them. The actors all did a competent job with what they had to work with, but they all lacked a spark and none of them really grabbed my attention.

Wicked Business sounded like a cool concept, but without proper storytelling technique it just fails to deliver and instead put me to sleep. The death curse aspect of the film, which I believe was its most interesting idea, is pushed aside until the very end in favor of showing boring characters yakking away. There is no suspense, no tension, no scares and no sympathy for any of the characters. The story just feels like it was constructed sloppily and because of this the 90 minute film feels like it goes on and on and on, something you never want to experience while watching a film.

The Devil's Ground (2009)

The Devil’s Ground opens with a blood-splattered college student, Amy (Leah Gibson), running through the woods and trying to get away from a hulking psycho trying to kill her. From there we cut to Carrie (Daryl Hannah), who is driving late at night and following the cross-country route her now-missing boyfriend took to get to Maine. After having an odd encounter with a gas station attendant (who eerily resembles the man that was chasing Amy, played by Twan Holliday) when she stops at a run-down gas station, Carrie gets back on the back roads of Pennsylvania. Suddenly, a traumatized-looking Amy steps out onto the road and begs for Carrie’s help. As Carrie drives them to get help, she asks Amy exactly what happened. In flashbacks we see that Amy was part of a college archeological dig that hoped to find Native American remains in order to stop a gold mining operation. She and four other classmates had come out to the middle of nowhere at the direction of their environmental studies professor and to secure passing grades. Before heading to the dig site they stopped for gas and met a handless gas station attendant named Billy. He tries to warn the group not to go to “the devil’s playground,” but they just brush him off.

After experienced a strong earthquake (or the locals rocking their Winnebago) in the middle of the night, the five students begin their work early the next morning and discover many Native American skeletons. Unfortunately they also find some much more recent remains…and discover they’ve stumbled upon a killer’s dumping ground for bodies. Soon the killer is after them and begins systemically killing them.

Amy got lucky and escaped, but can she and Carrie find help before the killer tracks them down?

Obviously this movie treads some very familiar ground, but for the most part it was engaging and entertaining. With that said, it does have some major flaws that hampered my ability to completely enjoy it and it is no where near perfect. Nonetheless, let’s start with what I did like about The Devil’s Ground.

First of all, I liked how the characters were intelligent and actually had a purpose for being out in the middle of nowhere that didn’t involve sex or drugs. The fact that they were there for scientific study made me respect them much more than if they had just been there to party. Though not all the characters were likable (yes, we get the token asshole, but at least he wasn’t some stupid misogynist), it was much easier to cheer for them because they weren’t the stereotypical young partiers looking for a weekend of debauchery. Also, all of the acting was great and there wasn’t a bad apple in the bunch!

Secondly, the production values and direction were both top notch. Despite a relatively low budget, the film looks amazing. There were some inventive camera angles used and lots of different point of view shots kept things interesting. Director Michael Bafaro really knows how to keep your attention and keep the pace moving along with some great camera tricks. These tricks gave the film a slick, professional feel that is usually sorely lacking in independent productions. The stylish look of the film is reason enough to watch it!

Thirdly, while the basic backwoods slasher story has been done to death, there are several touches to the story that make The Devil’s Ground unique. One is that the killer used not only a machete, but also a gun. This may have taken some fun out of the kills, but it also made the killer much more menacing and much more of a threat. Also, I loved the interplay between the students, Billy and the killer. The dialogue was believable and the characters even discussed any bad decisions they made (like why one of them left his girlfriend to die instead of facing the killer). It just felt so much more well-made than the usual brainless backwoods slasher flicks.

Now, on to the negative aspects of the film, The Devil’s Ground really needed a bit more oomph to set it apart from standard backwoods slashers. I know I just said it was much more intelligent and believable than most horror films (which is true), but nonetheless it still lacked that special something to make it stand out. The ending tries to be different from most slashers, even delving into the supernatural, but it just didn’t work.

The “twist” is predictable and the ending is confusing and unsatisfying, pretty much ruining any momentum and suspense the previous hour and a half had established. After the abrupt ending I was left wondering what could have been had the climax not been botched so badly. Also, the gore was nonexistent. I’m not asking for buckets of blood, but something more than a severed hand and body engulfed in flames was desperately needed. Some cool, cringe-worthy deaths really would have made this film much more memorable.

I’m pretty evenly split on The Devil’s Ground. On the one hand, I was well entertained for most of the film, but on the other hand, the ending was a real let-down and overall the film wasn’t that memorable. If you’ve got about 90 minutes to kill, The Devil’s Ground is good for a rental, but go ahead and stop it at the 65 – 70 minute mark to avoid the abrupt ending!

Available from Amazon!

Book Review: Tainted - Tales of Terror and the Supernatural edited by Aaron Polson

In Tainted: Tales of Terror and the Supernatural, editor Aaron Polson presents a macabre tableau of bone-chilling tales from masters of horror Edgar Allan Poe, E.F. Benson, Ambrose Bierce, Algernon Blackwood and H.G. Wells as well as tales from more modern authors who surprisingly hold their own against such literary heavyweights.

In fact, Polson wanted these modern authors to base their spook stories on five classic tales from the authors listed above. Contributors were asked to write a tale inspired by the masters’ classic tales. The only caveat being was that their new stories were to be set in modern times. The result is a timeless tome that is tainted with immense talent.

Instead of just basing their stories on the five classics contained in the anthology, the authors went above and beyond in creating original, unique and spine-tingling tales that stand well on their own. The inspiration is no doubt there, but the originality and deftness of each author’s story is jaw-dropping.

While all of the stories were excellent, I do have a few personal favorites (excluding the five classics in the anthology, of course). My number one favorite would have to be Natalie L. Sin’s “Fish Balls and Mushrooms.” Set in Hong Kong, it tells the tale of two friends who are roommates. One becomes successful and owns several fish ball food carts, while the other one is wallowing in unemployment. The unemployed friend becomes horribly messy, leaving dishes, food, etc. all over his room. One day, the other friend notices some mushrooms growing in the friend’s room…and they soon spread from room to body. This was an exciting read that packed a lot of description and character development into 13 short pages.

Other favorites included “Station 13,” by Camille Alexa, which put a decidedly sci-fi twist on a haunted house-type story, “The Lion Roared,” by Jodi Lee, a creepy, unnerving story about child ghosts and “The Tethering,” by W.D. Prescott, about the search for life-eternal from the pendant of an occultist.

The only tale that I didn’t care too much for was R.S. Pyne’s “Carmine Skeptic,” which I felt didn’t differ enough from its inspiration, H.G. Wells’ “The Red Room.” Other than that, all of the tales contained in this anthology were excellent!

I dare you to read the Tainted alone on a dark night and not get scared out of your wits!

Available from Amazon!

Gory Gear: The Brothers Ink

The Brothers Ink is a unique t-shirt company. Not only are their dark, morbid designs wicked cool, but the company is run by the artists and designers themselves! They strive to be the most creator-friendly t-shirt company around, so if an artist’s designs are accepted, the t-shirt is advertised as the artist’s own! Plus, the artists receive royalties on every sale of their shirts!

The Brothers Ink debuted at the San Diego Comic Con with three lines of designs, but they are working on expanding their line as more and more artists contribute their designs. Since the artists are working for more than just a one-time fee, they work harder to create their best work to ensure its success and we get some bad-ass t-shirts outta this deal!

Now, The Brothers Ink was kind enough to send us four of their shirts for review. First is the “Skull Badge” shirt designed by Drunken Apostles. This black tee with a shaded skull surrounded by filigree will make you feel like a true hard-ass. The skull design on this tee makes it really stand out from other skull t-shirts. “Skull Badge” has a very sinister, dark, don’t-mess-with-me vibe that just begs to be worn while riding a Harley or hanging out in a dive bar.

Next is “Undead Boy” by DeadBoy, a stark white stick figure set against a black t-shirt. This stick-figure zombie has come back from death with a taste for flesh…that flesh being his little pet dog. The design is nicely juxtaposed on the left side of the tee, giving it a stylish twist.

DeadBoy also designed the “Drowning” tee, where another stick figure is dying a grisly death underwater. This t-shirt comes in white, with the sketched design in black positioned on the right side of the shirt.

My favorite t-shirt would have to be “Skull Balloon,” as designed by artist Jason Shawn Alexander from his Skull Saw line of clothing! It shows a dark figure of a little boy holding a bleeding balloon that features a leering skull. The effect is unsettling and creeptastic! Also unique to this t-shirt is that it is printed on a tan tee instead of the usual black or white, which makes it stand out even more!

Currently, The Brothers Ink is working on other designs as well as searching for other artists that are interested in contributing designs! If you are an artist interested in working with The Brothers Ink, please visit their website to learn how to submit your designs!

The Brothers Ink is a wonderful t-shirt company that rewards the artists for their creative designs and clothes its fans in fantastically unique tees. They are a t-shirt company everyone should be supporting, especially considering their amazing prices for such high-quality shirts!

Check out all the above-mentioned designs plus more at The Brothers Ink Official Site!

Interview with Filmmaker Maureen "Mo" Whelan

Maureen “Mo” Whelan is a multi-talented and gorgeous woman working in the entertainment industry. She started in animation before moving on to producing, acting and modeling. Right now she is working as a producer for Probell Films and also acted in their new thriller film, Client 14.

We had the opportunity to talk to Mo about her multi-faceted career, her beginnings in the entertainment industry and her love of the horror genre.

Fatally Yours: Tell us about growing up. What drew you to the entertainment industry and when did you decide you wanted to make it your career?

Mo Whelan: My father was Irish (from Ireland) and in the British Army. He was always telling me Irish folk tales and ghost stories. He would tell me about his paranormal experiences while guarding castles in Britain and living in Clonmel, Ireland. In Clonmel, on a small street, there were tales of a headless horseman that rode up and down the street in the midst of the night. He always spoke about The Tower of London where he swore he saw a ghostly women floating over a bridge. He told me about his Army experiences, he served in small conflict wars in Cyprus and Aden. He saw terrible things happen to many of his now deceased friends and counterparts. This inspired me to get into storytelling and one day write a script based around his life.

In addition to this, I’ve always been a creative person. I’ve been drawing, and writing stories since I was a child. As a kid I use to set up scenes with toys, cardboard boxes and act out events. I just kind of lived in my own little world. I loved watching cartoons and the idea that a person could create an extravagant idea on paper and transfer it to a television set for everyone to view was fascinating to me. As a teenager my interests were drawn towards Sci-Fi, horror and war movies. Now you could take extravagant ideas and mix them with live action. I just found the concept exciting and somehow understood how animation /visual effects were created and the basics of story development. It wasn’t until I reached my teenage years that I really wanted to take my creativity to a next level and make it my career. I took my first 3D computer animation class at the age of 17 and started working at a game studio soon after.

Fatally Yours: How did you get your start in the entertainment industry? When and why did you decide you wanted to try many different occupations within the industry? 

Mo Whelan: I moved to Los Angeles as a teenager with a couple of friends, to pursue my dreams of working in animation and the film industry. My family was not wealthy, so I had no financial support or career guidance. I was determined to accomplish my goals, so I began educating myself on film production. At the time I was working at Chief Auto Parts and meet a guy that worked at a game studio. I told him of my interest in animation and he introduced me to the owner of the studio. I ended up interning at the company for a couple of years. During that time, I also came across a catalogue for UCLA Extensions and registered for computer effects course. There I meet my good friend Jody who is a visual effects expert. He also mentored me and eventually introduced me to a person at South Park and I ended up working on South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. The industry is always changing, especially the technology. So, a person has to keep up to date on everything that happens in the production process of a film. This is why my skill set is so diverse. I’ve had to learn many areas of production to survive in the entertainment industry. Producing just seemed like the natural next step to my career after years of working in animation, visual effects, DVD replication, marketing, production and post-production. Producing gives me the opportunity to utilize the skill set, along with all my industry contacts and create a film of my interest.

Fatally Yours: You’re a multi-faceted professional that works in producing, acting, writing, modeling and more! Which of these did you find yourself drawn to the most? How did your interest in pursuing other careers develop?

Mo Whelan: I’m actually drawn to story-telling/writing and traditional art. Again, this goes back to my childhood experiences and I think its part of my Irish heritage. Irish people like to talk and tell stories, especially to scare people. Plus, stories help people escape from their everyday life and experience something different that they would come across in a daily routine.

I find all areas of production interesting and am constantly trying to keep educated on the latest technology and media trends. I am fortunate that I am able to grasp the technology side of media production and can adapt in a work environment. Others notice my ability to do so and I am often asked to help out on various types of projects in all areas of production which includes animation, internet, DVD, public relations, and other types of media development. I will work on a project if I find it interesting and my knowledge can be utilized efficiently. My friends find me photogenic and like shooting me, so if they ask me to model for them I will.

Fatally Yours: Out of all the different facets of your career, do you have a favorite? 

Mo Whelan: My favorite time in my career was 2000-2003. I was an operations manager for a visual effects and animation training center called DHIMA, Digital Hollywood Institute of Media Arts. The entertainment industry was still striving during my first year there. Plus, not too many schools were training the profession. We had a lot of students come through the school, and many of them went onto successful careers. It was fun to watch the students complete their first student film with excitement and have a drive to succeed. I enjoy watching and helping others achieve their goals. Hearing from one and knowing that you personally helped them achieve their dreams is far more valuable than money or a media spotlight.

Fatally Yours: What has been your favorite/most memorable assignment/role/article/shoot/etc. that you’ve done in your career? 

Mo Whelan: The last scene my crew and I at Probell Films shot for Client 14 was the most memorable shoot. I cast my niece Kathy Carty, to be in the film. I guess you can say she’s a Scream Queen in training. We shot the scene at her high school, The High Desert Academy of Applied Arts and Sciences.  Patrick O’Bell, the writer/director of Client 14, Joseph Garcia, a co-producer, and I also gave a short lecture to the film class. It was a small class but the kids really appreciated it and enjoyed the knowledge we shared with them. The staff also appreciated our time and use of the facility. We gave the school an opportunity to experience a real production.

Fatally Yours: Can you tell us more about Client 14 and about your role in it? 

Mo Whelan: Client 14 is a 1980′s style slasher film, with a psychological twist. The actual plot is about a group of beautiful escorts who brutally murdered in a local city. Detectives are baffled by the lack of physical evidence or motive of the unseen Killer. The events soon traumatize a Private Investigator as he is unable to protect the escorts he befriends.

I’m a co-star in the film. My characters name is “Crystal” and I play a free spirited, kind of flighty escort whose friends are killed off.

Fatally Yours: Does Probell Films have any other horror/thriller movies in the works after Client 14? 

Mo Whelan: Yes, we have two films slated for release at the end of 2010 and more to follow in the next few years.  We also have two horror webisodes in development and are planning to release them by mid 2009. Our 5 year business plan also branches in other areas of media development.

The next feature film lineup is as follows:

Forgotten Souls – Based in New Orleans, an ex convict finds an old friend working in the cotton fields.  The only problem is that his friend died several years ago.

The Drifter – A crooked undercover narcotics cop almost loses his life in a drug bust gone wrong.  The world becomes a dark unrelenting nightmare as he struggles to find who set him up and his place in the world.

Fatally Yours: You’ve also worked for Girls and Corpses Magazine. What kind of articles have you written there and which was your favorite? 

Mo Whelan: I love Girls and Corpses Magazine. Robert Rhine, the founder and publisher, has been very supportive of my writing skills. He discovered my writing through my blogs and likes my writing technique. I am very appreciative of Robert giving me the opportunity to write for his magazine.

I’ve written a couple of articles for the magazine.  The first is “I’m Going to Get My Samosex! Hot 3D Sex in the Cyber World.”  It was a risky review of the website Samosex.com. The recent article I wrote is “Trannywood.”  It was about some of the local transsexuals that wonder the streets in my Hollywood neighborhood. This was my favorite article because I stayed up on Saturday night and hung out with a pimp and a transsexual prostitute and listened to their stories and watched the girls worked the streets.

I’m planning on writing more articles for the magazine; I just haven’t had the time to recently.  When I do it will be something that’s a little different from the daily newspaper article.

Fatally Yours: What drew you to the horror-side of the entertainment business? Have you always been a horror fan? 

Mo Whelan: Yes, I have always been a horror fan. Again this goes back to my memories of my father telling me folk tales, ghost stories, and war stories. He was also a fan of horror movies, sci-fi movies and war movies. I use to stay up at night with my sister and him watching them. My mother would fall asleep. I was always fascinated by how the effects were created, loved being scared and scaring people. Now I can scare a large audience on the big screen instead of just sneaking up behind one person and jumping at them just to scare them.

Fatally Yours: Is there any other career you find yourself drawn to or at least want to try? Like directing, perhaps?

Mo Whelan: I’ve been fortunate enough that I have been able to accomplish all my dreams and goals I’ve had since I was a child. I’m pretty content with my life and career.  I could maybe co-direct one day. I wouldn’t mind traveling and filming in less fortunate areas, to allow people who are curious about the art of filmmaking to experience it in person.

Fatally Yours: Having had experience both in front of and behind the camera, what are some of the pressures that you and other women in the entertainment industry face?

Mo Whelan: As a woman, working in the technology side of production for years, I’ve had to always keep up to par on the latest technology and trends in the film business.  I’ve always had to prove my knowledge and speak intelligently towards my male counter parts to gain their respect as a female techy. I’ve had many supportive film industry people in my life and wonderful mentors. So, luckily I haven’t run into too many bad seeds during my career history.

Most female actresses and models have the pressure of appearance on film. Today’s media has focused mainly on super-skinny, over-processed women as being beautiful.  When in reality these women are just characters created to draw attention to them. The classic icon never was super skinny, sporting an orange tan and over-process yellow blond hair with extensions. They were just natural beauties. I’m comfortable with who I am, and how I look. Everyone has their own ideal person they’re attracted to and I know not everyone is going to be attracted to me. Honestly, I’d rather be remembered for my knowledge, talent and personality rather than if I have tight abs and big boobs.

Fatally Yours: What advice would you give those that want to enter into the entertainment business? 

Mo Whelan: My advice to others is to keep following your dreams, don’t give up and don’t get distracted. Never feel like you’re stuck in a situation. You can always get out of a situation you don’t want to be in. Don’t listen to others negativity. You must take responsibility for your own life and take action to achieve your goals. I’ve had to work hard to accomplish my career goals; 13 years later I’m producing my first film and answering interview questions for the media. Stay focused on what you want and you will also achieve your goals.

Fatally Yours: What projects do you have lined up next?

Mo Whelan: My next projects are to focus on the webisodes, the next two Probell feature films, to finish writing my own feature length script, do some curriculum advising for a school, shoot with a few more photographers and I’m having my first traditional art exhibit at a local underground Goth club in March 2009.

I will also still be acquiring short animated films for AWNtv.com. I also am currently in charge of Film Licensing and Acquisitions for AWNtv.com. So, for my animation filmmaker clients, I haven’t forgotten you. I will still be at AWNtv to help you out with your needs.

Fatally Yours: Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions, Mo! Best of luck to you in the future! 

Mo Whelan: Thank you and the Fatally Yours staff for this amazing opportunity to share my life with you and your readers. I really appreciate your time and your interest.  Have a wonderful day.

Visit Probell Films’ Official Site!