Yesterday, May 25, was a day I had been anticipating for a while. I was graciously given a small part in Christian Jude Grillo and Carmela Hayslett’s new feature film, Sugar Skull Girls. Not only was it my first role in a movie since October, but the day also fell in middle of Memorial Day Weekend, which meant in between takes we’d be swimming at the shore, barbequing hotdogs, and setting off fire works… Or, it meant that we had to wear head, hands, and feet prosthetics and twenty pounds of costume for a few hours in the 80 degree heat. But, I’ll get to that later.
Sugar Skull Girls is the fourth feature produced by Potent Media, with Booley, Roxsy Tyler’s Carnival of Horrors: A Leech Named Bassant, Deer Crossing, and Apocalypse Kiss being its predecessors. In the movie, “Three demonic sisters who resemble neo-goth voodoo dolls are accidentally conjured from the other side during a failed attempt to raise a little girl from the dead. With impeccable fashion sense and teen aged angst, the Sugar Skull Girls will stop at nothing to escape the clutches of The Pale Witch, the ruler of The Shadow world.” The feature, written and directed by Christian Jude Grillo, stars Addy Miller (“The Walking Dead”), Cece Hagen, Anika Buchanan, Isabella Sobejano, and Carmela Hayslett (“Roxsy Tyler’s Carnival of Horrors,” Apocalypse Kiss) with featured appearances from Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes, Weird Science), Leslie Easterbrook (Police Academy, The Devil’s Rejects), and John Amplas (Creepshow, Day of the Dead).
While I didn’t get to film with any members of the main cast yesterday, I did get to spend a lot of time with the talented crew and important members of the Potent Media Family. It was Pumpkin Soldier day, and Pumpkin Soldiers are basically warriors and minions created by The Pale Witch that guard her castle and respond only to her bidding. They are huge, monstrous, deformed pumpkin creatures; something almost straight out of Never Ending Story. This meant hours of putting on, fitting, and fixing costumes that were heavy, hot, and layered, but the costumes were phenomenal. Pumpkin Soldier actors also needed handlers because it was hard to see and maneuver around set without knocking over something expensive. I know all of this first hand because I was lucky enough to be one of the Pumpkin Soldiers! I feel like I gave birth through my neck and shoulders today, but it was worth it yesterday. It was the first time I had been in full prosthetics and I’ll never forget the experience.
The great bunch of men and women I got to work with yesterday include Grillo & Hayslett, Katie Grillo, John Martineau (Hellfire, Operation: Nazi Zombies), Sharon Lentz (“Dark Shadows”), Chuck Maher, Will Sachs, John Kent, David B. Stewart III (Friday the 13th Part X: To Hell and Back), David Gechman, James Murray (Celluloid Bloodbath: More Prevues from Hell), Randy Memoli (Gitchy, Mary Horror), and Bryan Desanto. Everyone was a pleasure to work with. Everyone was extremely hard working and innovative. If you’re in the Tri-State area and every need help with your film, I would recommend all of these guys for cast and crew. They were under a time crunch and all the other hardships of principal photography, but they still made me feel very welcome on set.
What struck me the most as soon as I walked on set was…well, the set. Sugar Skull Girls is the ninth movie I’ve worked on, but the first where actual sets had been erected. (who just laughed because I used the word erected?) The Potent Media gang rented out a huge multi-story farming mill to shoot in and several sets were already built by the time I arrived. It was the perfect place to build in, multiple floors of wide open rooms and good ventilation. This was my also my first real experience in a “studio lot” where one moment I can be in front of a trailer, then in a bedroom, then in front of a green screen all without having to leave for different locations. Plus, the mill was pretty creepy and I think I should go back at a later time for some ghost hunting… Again, it just goes to show how much time and effort is being put into this production.
It’s hard to pinpoint one specific favorite moment from filming Sugar Skull Girls because, really, it was a very enjoyable experience. The only tough part about the day was wearing the costumes, but Sharon Lentz was always buzzing around making sure everyone was comfortable and dressed correctly. I think my experience on the set of Sugar Skull Girls was rewarding for the opportunity to be on set and in a movie, but also because it showed me that independent film making is still alive and well. The market is so overly saturated with films, most of which are…kind of shit. A lot of “film makers” these days are just picking up a video camera and hitting the record button. Having a multi-person crew, real sets, a taco bell dinner break (every film and television show from here on out should be required to have a taco bell break), custom costumes, more than one camera, an original script… Just everything about Potent Media screams professionalism and the desire to not only succeed but to produce quality independent films. Everyone I worked with yesterday – and everyone that I didn’t get to see – should be extremely proud of what they have achieved so far and I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product.
