Horror movies &stuff Interview: "Slime City Massacre" Star Lee Perkins
Our "Slime City Massacre" Interview series continues on, with our chat with another one of the films stars, Lee Perkins! In "SLime City Massacre"...Lee plays Mason, a renegade who resides within the titular Slime City, with his partner Alice (Debbie Rochon). The two join together to form one deadly couple, and like his partner Alice, Mason is all about self-preservation, and is willing to do whatever it takes to stay alive throughout all of the madness taking place within "Slime City".
MR. H:Tell us about Mason in "Slime City Massacre".
Lee:Mason is one of the survivors who lives in what is known as Slime City. His better half is Alice, played by Debbie Rochon. Together they are a force to be reckoned with -- two strong individuals who will do what it takes to make ends meet.
MR. H:Shooting has officially wrapped on "Slime City Massacre". When's the wrap party gonna be?
Lee:I think it will be around the first of Sept., and I'm sure it will be a big party.
MR. H:What was the experience like shooting in Buffalo New York, a place where not many films are shot?
Lee:It was great. The locals were very friendly. One example of that was the bar that was in walking distance of the main set. They would let us set up lunch in a back room any day we wanted. I think they also enjoyed the show we put on, because they could never tell what we would show up looking like. Most days it was a combination of slime and blood.
MR. H:Everything else aside, I'm sure you were happy to be shooting in Buffalo in the summer and not the winter.
Lee:The weather ended up cooler that usual, so for the most part it was nice. We did get some rain, which added a very cool feeling in one of the locations.
MR. H:So you're certainly climbing the body-of-work ladder really quickly and getting your name out there on the indie horror scene a lot. You have to be very pleased with where you are today as a thespian considering your first ever role was playing a carrot in a stage play back when you were in first grade.
Lee:I just work very hard and always try and shoot something that I have never been in before. It's very important for me to always be stretching to a new level. Now and then I will take a look back and think about what is in post. Like right now, I have nine films that are very different from each other. That's a great feeling to have.
MR. H:You used to race cars professionally here in the states, as well as in Europe. So I guess the next natural step after that was acting considering when you have raced cars at high speeds for years, being in front of the camera for the whole world to see isn't nearly as scary.
Lee:The hard thing about acting is that you can't quantify it. In racing, it's very black and white. You are either fast or off the pace, and the stop watch tells it all. Acting is all subjective, and that lesson took awhile to learn.
MR. H:What prompted you to take on the role of Mason in this film? And were you a fan of the first movie?
Lee:I love 80's films and thought the original was very smart. Greg Lamberson (the director) was at the screening I attended, and we stayed in touch. Five years later I'm in Buffalo shooting what Greg has claimed will be his last film. What a strange world!
MR. H:You've got "Edges Of Darkness" and "Live Evil" both coming out later this year. In "Edges Of Darkness" you play a priest. In "Live Evil", you play a cop. If you were to ever decide to move on from acting permanently, which profession appeals to you the most as a new line of work?
Lee:I think a cop would be cool as long as nobody was shooting at you. In L.A., I always talk to the cops on set. They're a great bunch of guys who always have stories. My favorite was how they love that the gang bangers wear baggy pants because when they run, the pants fall around their ankles and trip them up.
MR. H:How does "Slime City Massacre" director Greg Lamberson differ from other directors you've worked with in the past?
Lee:Every director has their own style and way of working. Greg is very laid back, which translated into a fun and relaxed set. He also made sure the actors were very well taken care of off the set. I think the hardest part for him was that he had to wear so many hats. To be a producer and director at the same time is not easy, but he still has his hair -- so I think he did survive.
MR. H:Sometimes when a film wraps shooting, they bring back actors to shoot extra or alternate scenes. Have they dropped any hints to you about bringing you back for new footage?
Lee:Nope...and that's a good thing. We will have to do some ADR, but that is normal.
MR. H:This is your second time working with Debbie Rochon, the previous being in "Psychosomatika". What's one thing about Debbie that people have totally wrong about her?
Lee:The best question anyone has ever asked. First, I want to say that Debbie must be a witch, as she has this ability to cast a spell over you. Secondly, she has no idea how special she is. She has been though enough crap for four lifetimes. I really don't know how she is still standing. But my favorite thing about Ms. Rochon is what great training she has as an actor. She has chops and found things in the script I never saw. People will see her in a different light when they see this film. She rocked it as hard as any L.A. actress I've ever worked with.
MR. H:What's next for you genre-wise after "Slime City Massacre"?
Lee:Ford Austin, who acted in and directed "Dahmer vs. Gacy," just e-mailed me about his new pic "Cannibal Cop" that will shoot in NY. I haven't seen the script, but with Ford there are no worries. He's like Greg, in that you can put faith in them and whatever they hang their hat on -- it will be a fun ride!
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