In early August of 2010, Michigan Actress Jamie Weeder and I did an interview. We talked about her recent role in “Patty Hearst: The Musical” and being an actress in Michigan. PeeP This.
Jus Buckingham: Where are you from?
Jamie Weeder: I’m originally from Westland, Michigan, but I’ve lived in Ypsilanti Michigan for so long that it’s starting to feel like home. That perfect mix of poverty level and charm with a pinch of irony. Kinda like me.
Jus: How did you get into acting?
Jamie: I was the title role in “The Littlest Christmas Tree” in grade school. I was given the role primarily due to my height. Ever since than it’s been a focus for me. I take it seriously, but not too seriously. Actors who talk about their “craft” as a gift given to them from above and how it’s their responsibility to share it with the rest of the world… that shit bothers me. Who knows, maybe I just don’t get it. All I know is that I do it ’cause it’s fun.
Jus: What is your back-ground as an actress?
Jamie: All throughout my schooling I was involved in theatre I was never, EVER, the ingenue. Always the character actor… at first I found it bothersome and let it hurt my ego, but soon enough I realized it was more my preference anyhow. A challenge. Who wants to play the girl next door? I am the girl next door. So yes throughout high school, college (Eastern Michigan University). And when I graduated I auditioned around, locally and professionally in Michigan. Been incredibly lucky to have been constantly involved in a project.
Jus: Do you prefer Theatre? If not what is your favorite medium as an actress?
Jamie: I love theatre, but I can’t say I prefer it above, say, film… I haven’t enough experience with film. I would love to audition more (since I’ve graduated I became signed with both The I Group and the Talent shop, the two Michigan SAG affiliated agents) but haven’t gotten much opportunity to audition due to my 9am-5pm job. To be a full-time actor is a full-time job. These agents call you and want you to come to an audition in an hour. When you have a 9 to 5, you just can’t. I have a 9 to 5 to support my PM theatre commitments. It’s tit for tat, I suppose. Maybe one day…
Jus: Who are your main influences as an actress?
Jamie: Peter Sarsgaard, Robert DeNiro. Charlie Chaplin! Parker Posey, Catherine O’Hara. Laura Linney, Mary-Louise Parker. Comedy is hard and women are rarely funny. Comedic actresses are my heroes.
Jus: Do you have any strange audition stories?
Jamie: I’ve been auditioning a lot lately and auditioning is always strange for me. One in particular comes to mind, however. It was at a callback for the role of “Lula” in Dutchman by Amiri Baraka. The director had some highly sexual things going on at the callback, which if you know the script, you know that it is inevitable. I found it very difficult to keep my composure, however, when the actor opposite my lap-dance developed a raging boner that he thought he might be able to hide by tenderly pushing it down with two fingers every few seconds.
Jus: What are a few things you are enjoying about the Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor scene as an actress?
Jamie: It’s a small community! This is good and bad. I have a lot of pals out here. Everyone knows everyone and everyone’s business. There is a pretty distinct Detroit scene also. There are a handful of actors that work both. I’m trying to break into more of the Detroit scene.
Jus: What was the best/most rewarding show you’ve done to date?
Jamie: That’s hard to say. I think every show is rewarding in their own way. When I think back at shows that really REALLY changed me, it was always a while ago. That’s when I realized I was “in deep” as it were. That I have been doing this for so long, that it’s the only thing I feel as if I have any authority with knowing anything about. Short of being as asshole and saying “it would be a disservice to the community for me not to act”, I do think it would be illogical to start a new career path now. Plus, I’m not even thinking linearly enough to answer your questions. How could I be a pharmacist? So yes, probably “Lula” in Dutchman.
Jus: Tell me about your latest musical “Patty Hearst.”
Jamie: It was crazy good times. A musical, written, composed and directed by local artistic director and playwright Barton Bund with the Blackbird Theatre. He’s been a mentor of mine since I met him. He really took me under his wing and provided me with such great outlets. We really vibe together as artists as well. The musical was about Patricia Hearst and her “misadventures” with the SLA the real-life story. Her kidnapping, her eventual joining of the SLA and ensuing bank robberies, legal battles. It was crazy difficult. Playing a real life person. But such good times great cast, great choreographer Brian Carbine.
Jus: What music are you listening to?
Jamie: JUS BUCKINGHAM! Not even kidding. My iPod is chock full. Also lyaz “Replay” has been stuck in my mind for almost a year.
Jus: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Jamie: Hopefully I’m still alive! Maybe saw/seeing a bit more of the world. Maybe have an MFA and a little less debt!
Jus: When it’s all said and done, what would you have liked to accomplish?
Jamie: I’d like to do something different. Something no one else has really done. But most of all, just want to be happy. I think to be able to do what you love to do, is reason enough to celebrate. As long as I’m moving forward, I’m happy.
Jus: Is there anything you want to plug? Upcoming shows or shout-outs?
Jamie: I’m going to plug myself. I’m looking for work next year! Looking to move forward! Hit me up with opportunities, y’all!
In early May of 2010, the lovely and super talented actress Georgie Caldwell allowed me to interview her. We talked about movies, theater, and living in New York City. Be on the look out for her starring in Le Chat Noir’s “Werewolf” coming soon!
Jus Buckingham:Where are you from and what do you do?
Georgie Caldwell: I’m from the suburbs of Detroit. I am an actress. As well as a baker, culinary enthusiast, friend, and artist.
Jus: How long have you been in New York and how did you get there?
Georgie: I’ve been in New York for five years. I got here by plane to study acting at the Atlantic Acting School through New York University.
Jus: How has your experience been as an actress in New York?
Georgie: Fun. Every project I work on, everything I read, and every day in the city inspires me. I’ve been fortunate enough to originate theater roles (Jane in “Disillusioned”) and had a film role or two written specifically for me (Felice in Le Chat Noir’s “Werewolf” and Monique in LCN’s “Cut”). When I’m working on a project – film or theater- I’m happiest and most fulfilled. It’s an uphill battle to get auditions, let alone book a job, but when I do, I go into the room put my best foot forward and work. A great person once said that luck is when preparedness meets opportunity. I try to live my life by that. I’m constantly going to classes to stay sharp, reading the casting calls and endless amounts of scripts/books/newspapers, submitting myself and working with my fantastic manager, Jeffery Patterson, to get out there and do some good work.
Jus: What do you think New York offers you as opposed to LA?
Georgie: I haven’t spent any time in LA so I can’t say anything about what is there for me, professionally.
New York has so much to offer. I can walk down the street and run into someone I know or someone who I know through two other people. This is a great city to just happen into people. New York also has so much art to see and participate in. Museums – modern artists and work that has inspired modern artists – have been what I have been into lately. I like being able to go see an exhibit and have an experience with whatever I am seeing. Also, I like to know a bit about the artists before I go. This winter I had a subscription to the New York City Opera and was able to see three beautiful performances. Their production of Madame Butterfly by Puccini (my favorite opera) was so heart wrenchingly gorgeous.
Aside from the art and culture New York has, there are also ample ways to work. A great way to be able to crossover between theater, TV, and film is to be in New York. Tons of shows shoot here (“30 Rock”. “Damages”, “Gossip Girl”, “White Collar”, “Rescue Me”, and the show to get a career started on, almost a right of passage job – “Law and Order”). Tons of movies are made in New York City about New York City (“Wall Street 1 & 2”, “Two Lovers”, “Sex and the City”, “The Royal Tenenbaums”, “Annie Hall”, “The Muppets Take Manhattan”, etc). Many of the actors, directors, and writers whom I admire who are or have worked on those projects live and work in New York. The really good ones are known to pop up at smaller shows to see what’s new and fresh, whether it be performing or enjoying the show.
I’m working to be one of those actors who gets to work on TV, film, and theater.
My work has shown some progress in the crossover between theater and film. Last summer, my performance in “Disillusioned” at the Midtown International Theater work helped showcase my work and abilities as an actress. From that production, my dear friend and director, Matthew D’Abate of Le Chat Noir Productions, knew how to challenge me and have fun when we went to work on “Werewolf” last fall. These projects lead to more work. Working on Broadway or Off Broadway, can get me out there to book more work with a legitimate performance to get me noticed and working in TV and film.
And, in New York, I don’t need a car.
Jus: Would you ever consider a move to LA or any where else?
Georgie: When LA calls for work, of course I will go. It would be a wonderful new adventure. But I’d request a Katherine Hepburn clause – wherever I am living to work I would get to keep my New York apartment. New York has my heart and will be home for a good long while but I can live just about anywhere.
Jus: What do you prefer more film or theater?
Georgie: They offer different things and require different skills. They are different mediums of storytelling. From my training at Atlantic and application on set and in rehearsal, acting in theater or film it’s about knowing where the audience is. If the camera is close up, I am going to work to the very close lens. If I am doing a play at the Imperial Theater, which has about 1400 seats, my work has to land not only with my colleagues on stage but also to Mr. and Mrs. McGillicutty in the rear mezzanine. Regardless of medium, the basics of acting stay the same – tell the story, be truthful in the moment, and be ready for anything. I am having fun doing both. I’d like to keep my options open. The actors who I admire the most get to do both (Marissa Tomei, John Tuturro, Cynthia Nixon, Meryl Streep, John Goodman, Jeff Daniels, America Ferrera,). Both make me feel alive.
Jus: Where would you like to be professionally in 10 years?
Georgie: Doing good work in the art that I love – storytelling. Making good movies, doing theater, and television (or webvision, however it evolves). I ‘d like to be working with people who inspire and challenge me as an actress. I would also like to host Saturday Night Live. The projects I’m working on now will help get me into the playing field.
Jus: Who’s your favorite actor/actress?
Georgie: This one has had me stumped since I read the question! I can’t pin down just one. There are performances that jump right up in my mind and make me gush, so here goes. Deanna Dunagan in Tracy Letts “August: Osage County”, which I saw 3 times on Broadway. Ms. Dunagan was electric and wild. Watching her performance of Violet Weston sent shivers down my spine and I loved it. Meryl Streep in “Angels in America”. All the characters she plays – Ethel Rosenberg, the Rabbi, Hannah Pitt, The Angel Australia – are performed with such ease of finesse, I can’t help but be inspired, by her performance and the story. Kate Winslet in “Romance and Cigarettes”. Ms. Winslet plays a bawdy lewd loose woman with such veracity and freedom that is loquaciously delicious. Rosalind Russel in “The Women” gave such spot on, whippingly charming, bold performance. Tina Fey on “30 Rock” makes me want to move to Chicago, eat donuts until I can come back to New York and be funny. Marissa Tomei in “The Wrestler”. All of these actresses inspire me and I want to do work like them.
Jus: What’s your favorite film?
Georgie: Such a hard question! There are so many movies that I wish I could talk to the filmmakers about what and how they made them. I love Casablanca. It’s so iconic and brilliant. I watch it all the time. Movies that take risks inspire me like Romance and Cigarettes, a film director John Tuturro personally distributed. I love “Amelie” because it’s such a simple story that is told so beautifully. “The Fall”, “Pan’s Labrynth”, “Annie Hall”. I also love movies that follow the journey of the Hero: “Toy Story”, “Star Wars”,“Pleasantville”.
Jus:What are you listening to right now?
Georgie: Monsters of Folk, Lady Gaga, The Miseducation of Lauryn HIll
On January 18, 2010 I sat down with multi-talented Actress/Director/Everything else Briana Kennedy-Coker. At a coffee shop in Vegas. This is what we came up with. PeeP it!
Jus Buckingham: Briana, where are you from originally?
Briana Kennedy-Coker: (In a Minnesota Accent) Well I hail from St. Paul, Minnesota. Was born June 8th 1984. In Mid-Way Hospital. Next question please.
Jus: (Laughing) Ok Briana. Well we are both from the mid-west. Ehh… I don’t have anything cool to say about the mid-west. Where did you get your start performing?
Briana: Umm good question. I started performing… well the first play I got was “To Kill A Mockingbird,” at the “Great American History Theater with Ron Peluso, I was seven years old. And from there, I just did tons of theater. Park Square Theater, Children’s Theater, Stepping Stone Theater, Guthrie Theater. All in the mid-west. And I probably did Theater from seven to eight-teen. Non stop. And then I left Minnesota and moved to Vegas. I’m now starting to get into film.
Jus: Well that’s interesting. Now, how did you end up in Las Vegas of all places?
Briana: I ended up here, because my mom wanted to move here. I’ve always had the dream to move to LA, but I wasn’t ready at eight-teen. So I actually stopped U of M (University of Minnesota) midway through my junior year. I studied Film Theory, but nothing was hands on. I wasn’t learning anything, but I was learning how to critique and write about film. I wanted to do more so she proposed moving here, and I said OK. Left everybody. Left all my family and moved here, and transferred to UNLV. I then tried to build my life here, which is kind of hard, but I got hands on with the film program. I graduate in May. So that’s kind of what brought me here and the next stop is LA.
Jus: What do you think Las Vegas has to offer as opposed to other markets in our industry?
Briana: Well, I think the coolest thing about Vegas is most people come from a different place. For me, this was kind of a stopping place, to gather the tools I needed to move to LA. So you end up meeting tons of people from all over, that have all these quirky things. You have a lot of people that want to contribute artistically. I’ve met the coolest people in my film program. Young people that are talented who are looking to go to New York, LA or bigger markets. But we all come from different back-rounds, and we all just come to create. That’s the biggest blessing that I’ve found moving here as opposed to Minnesota.
Jus: In ten years or so. What do you see yourself doing?
Briana: All I want to do is just create. Create. More specifically, I want to goto LA and be a working actress. And like we’ve talked about before, anytime you tell people you want to act. Especially when you want to goto LA, they’re like: “Do you know how many thousands of actors and actresses are there?” And that for me has never been what it’s about. It’s just about working, creating the stuff that makes me happy. And you know being twenty-five, life is boring, mundane, and depressing. So if you can find that one thing that makes you happy. That one thing that makes you want to get up every day, and you can get paid for it. Pay your bills, you’re good. And that’s really all I want to do when I do go out to LA. To be a working actress in film and in television. And then eventually have my own production company. And be able to create projects and cast people that are forgotten or people don’t want to see or think they fit in a certain box. I just want to be a well rounded entertainer, and hopefully a good business woman. At the end of the day, that’s what I want to do… and win an Oscar! (clears throat) Just throwing that in their real quick.
Jus: Ok speed round. Favorite movie?
Briana: Oooo! Well I have two! “Apocolypto” and “A Bitter Sweet Life.” I think I told you about this. It’s a Japanese horror film starring the beautiful Lee Beyung-hun. His American debut was GI Joe. (Laughs) I never saw him in that. But what happens is your so brilliant in your own country, and often times you come here. Your put in like the “Cheesy Hollywood Films.”
Jus: Like Le Femme Nikita
Briana: Yeah! Well I saw the other one that they did. They did an Americanized version.
Jus: Oh, well I just saw the original, and that’s a good example. Because the dude that plays the bad guy in “Bad Boys” is phenomenal in the Le Femme Nikita. And I totally wrote him off as a “fly by night douche bag” bad guy from “Bad Boys.”
Briana: And it totally was not the case. Yeah I think this year will have to be “A Bitter Sweet Life.” Those are my top two.
Jus: OK. Favorite Actor / Actress. Go!
Briana: ooooo! You Bastard! Ok, Sean Penn.
Jus: Yuck!
Briana: Don’t look at me crazy! And of course there is only one queen of film! Meryl Streep! (pauses) You ain’t got nothing to say! I can’t believe you. Well, who are your favorites?
Jus: Robert Downey Jr. And actress, probably Meryl Streep.
Briana: Ok, well we agree!
Jus: Lets see. What else can I ask you? I don’t know maybe that will conclude it. Any final words. Anything you want to promote?
Briana: Well, parting is such sweet sorrow, but I’m working on a Blackexplotation film. With the awesome people of UNLV. Drew Mixon and Devon Byers. We start that in Febuary. And I’m super exited. We’re going to channel Pam Grier!
Jus: Pam Greir! I like the Pam Greir!
Briana: Yeah, that’s going to be a tough one! But that’s what I am working on.
So TMZ just confirmed the death of Brittany Murphy. WTF? died early this morning after she went into full cardiac arrest and could not be revived, multiple sources tell TMZ.
She was 32.
A 911 call was made at 8:00 AM from a home in Los Angeles that is listed as belonging to her husband, Simon Monjack, the Los Angeles City Fire Department tells TMZ.
We’re told Murphy was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
Murphy starred in such films as “Clueless,” “8 Mile,” and “Don’t Say a Word.”
