*It’s been a while since HorrorSociety had a new interview… and this one is pretty interesting! In my latest interview I introduce the kick-ass Melanie Robel. This is an introduction to some, but I’m sure a lot of you have heard of her already. Melanie is one of the most unique and rising scream queens in the game. In a few short years, Melanie has racked up a lot of roles in movies including Stopped Dead, Astro Zombies, Bikini Monsters, Post Mortem, and the highly anticipated Disciples. Read my interview with Melanie Robel below for all of her candid answers and information on previous and upcoming roles!
Q: Out of all the characters you have played, does any character resemble you in real life? Which character or characters have you related to the most?
M: Wow, that’s a really crazy question and I have to think about this for a minute. First, I would like to say, that I am not a role model by any means. To be honest none of the characters are like me. Now if I get a character and I don’t understand what she is going through, then I do the research. For instance, Tiffany Geary, in La Fleur De Mai, is a drug addicted teenage. I have never done drugs, but I did drink. So I read memoirs of drug, sex addicts and watched the show “Intervention.” Why sex addicts? Well, I don’t know where my character is going and Tiffany Geary might transfer addictions. In Alien Vengeance, I didn’t agree on how they wanted Jan to be played, but I wasn’t going to fight with him about it. The director had me being loud and crazy, but I thought to myself, how traumatized I was in middle school when a girl attacked me for talking to a boy she liked. Afterward I became quiet and withdrawn. I wasn’t like, “Fuck you,” or “Fuck the World.” Jan was attacked and raped by her father, he stole her childhood. When that girl attacked me, I feel like she raped and stole my music career.
It still bothers me. I am not a monster in a bikini. I’ve never witnessed a crime and I am not that interesting of a person. I will admit that I have been very lucky in my acting career. I listen to and think about most of the advice I’ve been given. I have an amazing acting coach and one who is in Los Angeles as we speak. They have taught me to be approachable, which I am still working on and there is still so much to learn. Everyone needs acting classes, to move forward and have standards. I will say though, that I do put a little bit of myself in each character I portray, a thought I had, a feeling I felt, someone I’ve met or read about. I think that if you don’t do that, then your character comes across as boring, or bland.
Q: Stopped Dead seems like a pretty interesting movie and a great place to start! What can you tell me about your role in this movie and your experience as a whole?
M: It made me realize that I want to do more than just extra work. I was thinking that I can do bigger and better projects if given the chance. However, it proved that even though I am over 18, I can fit in with high school kids and be believable. I could be the cheerleader in any school and I looked real cute in the uniform. Just don’t blink during the cafe scene or you’ll miss me. Hahahaha!
Q: A title like Bikini Monsters automatically makes me think of the old B-horror movies. You play a monster here. What exactly is a bikini monster? (I’m picturing a giant bikini with a mouth and everything.)
M: A giant bikini, that’s funny. A bikini monster was a reject, the result of an experiment to make a human-fish hybrid, the perfect being. We were airbrushed from head to toe, while in a bikini. The make-up artists were amazing. It was psychically hard work, because once the make up was on, we couldn’t sit down at any time. It was fun to do though and I met some real nice people. It’s so much like the old B-horror movies.
Q: I’ve touched on Post Mortem, American 2021 with several other actresses in the past. However, you also serve on this film as a producer. Can you tell readers a little about your work on this project, both on-screen and behind it?
M: What to say about this film? Well, I learned about producing and that for me to do it again, I would have to trust the person I am producing with and I hope that the film will eventually get out there. I was given the producer title, because I gave Mr. Scott the editing system and paid for an actor’s plane ticket. I really wanted to work with him, so it was worth it. If I produce anything again, I would want some control on how the business part is done. I would take some business classes first and make sure there is a budget and such. It was a good first film to be a part of. I got to work with Linnea Quigley and Larry Laverty, both of whom I have the highest respect for. They are both so talented and fun to watch. I learned so much and I hope to be able to work with both of them again.
Q: Disciples is another upcoming movie you star in and it looks like a crock pot of indie and well-known horror icons. Can you talk about your character yet? Also, what are your hopes for this film when it is released?
M: I am Gabrielle and you guys will have to wait for it to come out. Seriously though, it’s about an angel and God fears what would happen if he came to Earth. My hope for this film is that it will get into theatres, or is in Best Buy, Wal-mart for anyone to buy. I really want to be in a film that goes somewhere. I want everyone to see it and no matter what, I am proud to be a part of this project. This film has many amazing horror icons and actors in it. For only to have been acting three years and to be part of a film of this quality, to me is amazing. I hope I get to be in more films like this.
Q: Now you will also be immortalized by appearing in Iron Dead’s Playzom. What attracted you to this cause in the first place and how does it feel to see yourself very much comic book-esque?
M: Well, in my first year of acting, Dennis Willmam asked me if he could draw me for his Playzom cover, before it was a magazine. I told him I don’t do nudity because I play teenagers and he told me what it was about. I was all for it and he did a very good job of drawing my body type. I think it’s a great feature and it’s a great cause. The first actual magazine is devoted to breast cancer research. Also, who wouldn’t want to be a part of this, with all the talented ladies that he has drawn?
Q: What are your plans for 2012? Do you have any exciting projects on the horizon?
M: My biggest plan for 2012, is to get my braces off and new head shots. To do the projects that I am attached to and to find more projects, to better my craft and stay busy. I want to be that actress that people see and go, I don’t remember her name, but I see her everywhere. Then they go and look me up. I am still working on the web show, La Fleur de Mai and having a great time. I am also shooting a project called, Rivers Of Blood, that is being shot here in Florida. I can’t go into details, but it looks really great and I get real dirty.
I get to be a judge at a horror film festival in Boston, the Stiletto Film Festival. It’s about films in which women are a major part of the production team as writers, directors or producers. I can’t wait to see all the different films that have been submitted. It is going to be a crazy weekend. Here is the Facebook fan page:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/StilettoFilmFest_
(https://www.facebook.com/#!/StilettoFilmFest)
Official website:
https://www.stilettofilmfest.com/_ (https://www.stilettofilmfest.com/)
I am now attached to be in a film called, Go Go Girls vs Nazi’s. In a small town near Lake Michigan, a group of Nazi’s are slowly taking over and the Go Go Girls come to try to save the city. It is being produced by Wayne Clingman and the story and screenplay is by Ross Bigly. It is still in pre-production. Here is the Facebook fan page:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Go-Go-Girls-Vs-the-Nazis/288990374481996_
(https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Go-Go-Girls-Vs-the-Nazis/288990374481996)
I am in a sci-fi web show called, “TECHNOPOLIS,” and I am Agent Blush. It all takes place in the city of Technopolis. I feel I look good in a black suit and I get to use guns. Lots of fun! Here is the Facebook fan page:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/T-E-C-H-N-O-P-O-L-I-S/347315791947587_
(https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/T-E-C-H-N-O-P-O-L-I-S/347315791947587)
I am attached the film, Steele Hearts. It’s about a woman and her friends who are tired of the injustice that goes on in the legal system. The wife beater, the husband who uses prostitutes, the pedophiles, who you know are guilty, but aren’t in jail. What’s a woman to do? Also attached are Monique Dupree, Megan Sacco, and Parrish Randall. This is written by Curtis McManus, who also wrote the screenplay. Here is the Facebook fan page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Steele-Hearts/290991664250788?ref=ts_
(https://www.facebook.com/pages/Steele-Hearts/290991664250788?ref=ts)
Q: Favorite horror film?
M: I have four of them. The first is Wait Until Dark with Audrey Hepburn, when you lose one of your five senses, it becomes scary when you don’t know what is going on around you. The movie Seven, with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. It’s so dark, gritty and very twisted. Then Dear Mr. Gacy with William Forsyth. The movie is riveting and he is the first person to really scare me. The last one is actually a cartoon, but is one of the most troubling films I have ever seen. It still bothers me to this day. It is Watership Down, about a colony of rabbits. It is very graphic and has been on TV and as a theatre play. The book has never been out of print and has won a lot of awards.
*Thank you for your time, Melanie!
