Have you got any new projects which you have been working on?
I worked with Michael Berryman on Mr. Blue Shirt which was directed by Mike Stewart. We had a scene together that was amazing, and this is our third or fourth film together. I remember seeing Michael Berryman at a Chiller Theatre Horror Convention when I was just a kid. I was so mesmerised, but also a little intimidated by him too, because I had this big image of him in my mind form over the years as this big ultimate horror actor. But he is so down to earth, such a sweet guy really professional and such a great actor. I have also been in two films with Linnea Quigley who is probably one of the best-known scream queens. We were in a movie called Hunters (2016) together and also a film called The Sadist (2016). Brinke Stevens I have only been in one movie with her and that was Death House (2017), although I would really like to work with her more as she is really busy.
All of my 94 film credits mean a lot to me, every film has a special place in my heart and I love all of them. Some were fun, others really challenging or dramatic for me. I am really excited about House of Death that I signed on for recently. I have Safe Place, which I am filming in Orlando Florida soon, that a thriller horror. 100 Acres of Hell with Gene Snisky is coming out soon and I have a nice little cameo in that one. Mr Blue Shirt has Yan Birch, Robert Mukes, Michael Berryman, I am really excited about that one. I was excited to be in Herschell Gordon Lewis final film Blood Mania (2017). His contribution to the genre has been so huge, it has truly been an honour to be in a film directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis. He originally wanted me to have a larger role in his next film, but they only had smaller roles to offer me for Blood Mania, but you never know when the next movie is going to happen, nothing in life is guaranteed so I am going to do this one and he can put me in the next one too. I am glad I did because he then died at 86 years old and I know he was planning to do three more movies, God bless him he never planned on dying and he wanted to stay creative putting things out forever. I am glad I got to do his last film Blood Mania before he passed, he was an exciting, dynamic person to work with and his contribution to the genre is legendary, so that was a real high point for me. I was also very happy to have a cameo in Death House with so many legends of horror in that film, it was a real honour to be involved in Death House especially as that was Gunnar Hansen’s baby before he passed away.
I was excited to be in Hunters with Linnea Quigley and Adam Ahlbrandt, that was a really crazy film. I play Edna and that is probably my most brutal role so far. She is a crazy mother figure, a badass and it was really great for me to be cast in this over the top, horrific film.
Talking about the characters which you have played on screen, are there any characters which you would like to play again either in a sequel or do again differently to how it was done originally?
I wouldn’t mind giving my character Edna in Hunters her own crazy movie which just focuses on her life. She pops up in this movie, but it would be nice to have a story about her life and how she got so crazy and demented, from childhood to present. A back story of what shapes this person, what makes her what she is today, that would make a pretty interesting movie to do. Maybe expanding my character in Herschell Gordon Lewis’ Blood Mania into a larger story line. Apocalypse Kiss (2014), I can see a spin off with my character, Michael Berryman and Lloyd Kaufmanns character. My character on The Litch (2018), she could have her own movie too as she is a silly spunky gypsy character.
You have been referred to as a scream queen due to the amount of films which you have done in the horror genre, how do you feel about the modern interpretation of the film and how it is currently used in the industry?
I have a love hate relationship with the scream queen name, I know what it means so I embrace it myself, but I don’t think some people really know what it is. I think you become a scream queen or scream king once you’ve been in a great deal of horror movies. I would say even Barbara Steele would be a scream queen to a degree and a lot of people along those lines, but I think some people make assumptions that a scream queen is someone who shows up in a movie, screams, runs, dies. But I think there’s so much more to that, lngrid Pitt another classic scream queen. I think it’s an accumulation of your IMDB credits in horror, being in horror movies that become very well know and really effect people and have an audience, like Jamie Lee Curtis for Halloween (1978). It’s neceserally really anything beyond that, I just think you become synonymous with the horror genre and known for it. I know Mark Patton from A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2 (1985) calls himself a scream queen. I met him in Birmingham when I was in the UK, because he is a gay man, he is in horror movies, he embraces it and is on scream queen panels. He is a new kind of scream queen and a new perception on that name, it is lending itself to a lot of different areas, so it has a lot of different faces. It could be the woman who runs, falls over and dies, but it could also be the murder who is the scream queen. It could be the person known for psychological horror or the person who used to do Shakespeare but now does horror. It shouldn’t limit you or people have a limited perception of your ability because there are a lot of scream queen out there myself, Debbie Rochon, Jessica Cameron, Linnea Quigley, there’s hundreds of us who have done writing, directing, acting, we all have multifaceted roles and are not pigeonholed as one particular type form movie to movie. It’s pretty interesting because it works with you and against you, it is an honour to be recognised in the horror genre and for people to say, “You’re not just some girls who acts in horror movies, you’re a scream queen” that awesome. But at the same time, you want to say, I am not just a scream queen I am also a comedic actress, a dramatic actress, a theatre actress, I am not just that one thing, that is one of 10 things that I am. Sometimes I use the term horror queen, because I like to think as myself more that just a scream queen, but a queen in the horror genre because that’s the genre I am most know for, and I like to think I make people scream in movies as much as I scream myself. I am honoured by the fans that call me a scream queen or a horror queen, but I am not limited to that, check out my IMDB, my acting reel, look at my website, it is not the only thing I do.
If someone wanted to know more about you as an actress what five films should they watch?
That’s hard to judge, I think Apocalypse Kiss is a film I like to re-watch, Herschell Gordon Lewis (Blood Mania) is a really good movie. Hunters is a really good one if you like gory over the top horror, because that’s pretty graphic and not for the faint hearted. Attack of the Killer Chickens of course, you are going to want to re-watch that over and over again because it only gets funnier. Then I Spill your Guts is a fun one and maybe A Dark Place Inside (2014), it’s an arthouse horror film and I play the mother of a little boy who is going to become a serial killer in later life. Those are some of the top ones that I enjoy re-watching.
Having directed a short and now directing your first feature, what advice would you give to someone who is looking to get in to directing.
It’s very difficult, very involved and completely different to acting. To an actor you are the Incredible Hulk, you just show up for the episode, then you leave at the end and wonder onto the next episode. It’s like what the Incredible Hulk did in that old tv show with Lou Ferrigno, I still love that show. It’s kind of like that or having a temp job. You show up, do what you’ve got to do, then you leave and work on your next thing. When you’re a director you have pre-preproduction, production, post production, you are married to the film, it is like your baby which you are carrying around probably more than nine months before you finally give birth to it. That idea especially if you are the writer too is incubating inside of you for such a long time, possibly even years before you write and direct it. Then the who process of creating it, editing it into the finished product, it is a huge commitment. Actors don’t normally make that type of commitment, you are going to make a film, you are usually on set for a couple of days or a week, two weeks, three weeks max and then you move onto the next film. As a director your job is casting the film and hiring your crew and they are the two most important things that you have to do at the beginning. If you do that really well things are going to go smoothly, if you make mistakes with that, things will not go as well as you think. I often think the best thing is not to actually audition people, but to hire people you have worked with and are good performers, because you audition someone for 15 minutes you don’t get a sense of that whole person to deal with them for the next couple of months. You want people you have worked with and I had that advantage as an actor, picking a lot of the people I have worked with. There is a reason why Richard Burton used Johnny Depp, you have a synergy with certain people that you work with. I feel like a director is almost like a platoon leader, you can’t show any fear, reluctance, you have to believe in the project 100%, you have to make the cast and crew believe in it 100%. You have to be a strong leader to be a director, it’s not for everyone. You can’t be afraid for people to not agree with you or maybe have creative differences with people, in the end its your decision as you are the director and people have to respect that. I said that to people on set, whoever the director is that is who makes the decision, when you direct your own film you can make those decisions. You can make recommendations if you want, but you can’t be too in the face of the director because it’s his or her vision, it’s what they are doing.
My advice to anybody, be really sure it is something you want to do and make sure you have the personality for it, because it will be more difficult and more involved than you think it will be and it will be a longer process than you expect. Probably start out directing a couple of short films before you start directing a feature to make sure you have it in you, because it is more of a leadership position. As the director you are at the helm, you are in charge of the cast, in charge of the crew, everyday we are filming the film. You are in charge of the film before we film and after we film it, you are married to that film. At the end people are not neceserally going to know your name or your face people are simply going to know your film. Not everyone knows what Steven Spielberg and George Lucas look like, but we all know their movies, you could be in the same grocery store and not even notice. They have a different kind of fame, they are famous for their work, not who they are. Sometimes your ego has to take a back seat because you have to do what’s best for the film. If you are an actor, directing will make you a better actor and if you are a director, acting will make you a better director. Whatever you do in life, if you do the opposite thing it will make you better at both because you will understand the whole process and how everything fits together. I would recommend at least directing a short film to every actor, because you will fully understand the process a bit better and you will be easier on the directors who you work with. If you are a director and act in a couple of films, you will have a better sense of how to communicate with your actors.
You can find out more details about Genoveva Rossi and her future projects on the official website www.genovevarossi.com and social media:
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Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!
