ICFLM Film Festival Special Guests
A variety of special guests attended the ICFLM 2006 Film Festival, including actresses, producers, directors, effects people and more. Many of these guests also held great workshops at the festival on various of independent film production.
The following special guests attended the 2006 ICFLM festival:
Web Site: http://www.troma.com
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Web Site: http://www.retromedia.org Bio: Once described as a "fantasy specialist" by Variety and "The Prince of B Movies" by the Chicago Tribune, Fred Olen Ray has spent many a year in the battle-hardened trenches of Hollywood. As one of the few filmmakers to emerge successfully from the Home Video boom of the early 1980s his career has never slowed since those halcyon days. His resume of nearly 100 feature films includes directing such stars as Cliff Robertson, Telly Savalas, Lee Van Cleef, John Carradine, Stuart Whitman, and Martin Landau, among so many others. His cult classic comedy HOLLYWOOD CHAINSAW HOOKERS was labeled the "4th Coolest B Movie of All Time" by Maxim Magazine and was one of England's Top 10 offenders of movies most likely to cause the viewer to commit acts of violence. His movie SCALPS became the #11 Top Grossing film in the nation on Variety's Theatrical Release chart, INNER SANCTUM and INVISIBLE MOM both rose to the"#1 Most Rented Video in America". THE TOMB generated sales in excess of 3.5 million dollars and earned the coveted Gold Cassette (video's equivalent to the Gold Record). THE SHOOTER was nominated for "Best Picture" by the prestigious Golden Boot Awards. For years Fred has wrestled professionally under the name Freddie Valentine facing opponents as diverse as Abdullah the Butcher, Terry Funk, Honky Tonk Man and Iron Sheik.
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Web Site: http://www.brinke.com
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Web Site: http://www.debbierochon.com Bio: Debbie Rochon started out as a New York stage actress. She belonged to numerous theatre companies during the 1980s, honing her acting skills in classical and contemporary works. After several bit parts in indie films, she found her true love: film. By the mid-1990s, she was starring in dozens of horror features. Although she is mostly associated with creepy features and thrillers she has garnered acclaim for her turns in comedy and drama as well. She's also co-hosted a number of radio shows in New York City which focused on film and pop culture. Some of her accolades include: * 1st Runner up in Joe Bob Briggs' 1996 Hubbie Awards for Best Actress in "Abducted II: The Reunion" (1994).
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Web Site: http://www.modelsuzi.com Bio: Suzi Lorraine, an actress and model from NYC, has appeared in ads for Mercedes, Nike, Electric Lingerie, Marquis Magazine, Varla Magazine, RIX Magazine, Modern Bride Magazine, Tosca Olive Oil, Floodline Clubwear, All the Rage jewelry, and several swimsuit catalogs and music videos. She’s starred in numerous indie films, and is drawn in particular to the horror genre. “I’ve always been attracted to that kind of stuff – I grew up on horror movies and to this day it remains my favorite film genre. And I love roles where I play the antagonist, and have the opportunity to be totally over the top and psychotic.” Check her out in “The Night They Returned”, and “Purple Glow” which premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal . Everything about these films was no holds barred – crazy scenes, ample blood and gore, great special effects, monsters… what more could you ask for? Her other acting credits include “Cold Blonded Murder” with SVBI Films, “Acrimony” with Saint Sinner Entertainment, “Knock Knock” with Ariola Productions, “Day of the Ax” with 4th Floor Pictures, "RECON 2022" with Movie Seals Productions, "Chainsaw Sally 1 & 2" with Planet X Entertainment", “Descend Into Darkness 2” with Vamping You Productions, and “Countdown to Extinction” with Dyers Eve Films. Suzi is also a writer for Horror Mania Magazine, which is a major mainstream horror publication based in Italy. She also writes a "Diary of A Scream Queen" column for Gorezone Magazine, which is based in the UK. She writes a monthly column for both of them. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, music, yoga, hiking, hanging out with friends and family, gardening, horseback riding, swimming, theatre, movies, sleeping, working out, and collecting Alice Cooper memorabilia. Alice is her idol.
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Web Site: http://www.sofiya-smirnova.com Film and Work Bio: A renaissance woman, the glamorous and exotic Sofiya has appeared as a spokesmodel for Jack Daniels, XXX Vodka and Harley Davidson. An artist, poet, graphic designer and business woman, Sofiya made her acting debut as Zhora in the upcoming Happy Cloud Pictures vampire film, Abattoir. Personal Bio (From Her Website): Physically, I am best defined as exotic. I am part-Chinese and part-Russian. In Russian, Sofiya means “wisdom”. Smirnova means “patient”, “obedient”. My middle name was named after Mina Loy, a poet and artist in the late 1800’s whose poems represent, “art, love, sex, and childbirth from the perspective of a new woman.” My Mother is an amazing woman. She knows much more about me and what I am to become since the day I was born. Becoming a centerfold is stretch of my imagination visualizing who I am. I modeled as “Nico", or "Nicolette" for commercial modeling and my pen name for my poetry and artwork. I started glamour modeling using my heritage name (on my mother side) , Sofiya Mina Smirnova June 2004. Spiritually, I am sensual and poetic. Like all female, I love and want to be loved. To get that love, I seduce. Intellectually, I am goal oriented. To promote myself for work such as being an ambassador to reaching my goal as a centerfold, I create and design my own promotional pieces utilizing graphic work. I produce promotional items highlighting my talents to agencies and create attractive flyers to lure the attention of a photographer in hopes to capture that one perfect piece of photograph to submit to various agencies. Mentally, I am an artist. I love to paint and be painted. I am as crazy as you can imagine; filled with rage for life and the meaning of doing what I do. Personally, I have a lot of compassion and very shy. I am a very different person compared to my job as a model. During my time off, I enjoy painting, writing poems and playing my cello. I usually play topless at the Chicago lakefront around 4-5am during the summer months.
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Web Site: http://www.elskemccain.com Personal Bio: A name soon to be synonymous with the great Scream Queens of the past, Elske McCain is quickly carving her name in a genre that she has loved since a child. Having watched, and been a fan of horror movies since she was very young, Elske began her career as a teenager, participating in such productions as THE WILDING, CLASS OF NUKE'EM HIGH 2, CLASS OF NUKE'EM HIGH 3, THE GETAWAY, and SILENT FURY. Along the way working with the likes of Robert Z'dar, Eric Louzil, and the late Dana Plato. In 2004, Elske had an opportunity to meet Lloyd Kaufman as he made a local appearance in Elske's homestate of Arizona, earning her title of Tromette. At the same time, an interview was being conducted for a student production by local filmmaker Matthew Reel in which Elske participated. Soon after Elske was invited to star in Reel's short film THE GOAT SUCKER (2005). Elske would work with the offbeat director multiple times, including the recent ALL THE FRENCH ARE WHORES (2006). Elske has since begun carving her way even deeper into the genre. In 2006 thusfar, Elske has already been involved in feature films. She has had a featured role, appearing along side Gunnar Hansen in the Scott Phillips production of GIMME SKELTER (2006). And has collaborated with Matthew Reel once again, gaining the lead role of Darla Swenson in the upcoming exploitation film HELLVOLUTION (2006) which was written by Terry M. West, and starring along side Troma veteran, Trent Haaga (who also appeared in Gimme Skelter). In this film Elske has proven herself both on screen and off, having gotten involved in the production process from day one, earning her the title of Filmmaker as well. Elske has already been approached to appear in several feature films. She has already made several convention appearances, having worked at the Troma booth at the San Diego Comic Con since 2005, and premiering as "Super Tromette" in 2006. Elske will make her first featured convention appearance in the fall of 2006. Elske is a mother of two, including an autistic child.
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Web Site: N/A Personal Bio: Lori Minneti is an actress and model whose work as included theater, television, and films. While some of her best work is on stage, including a popular two-person show in which she plays actress Marilyn Monroe opposite an actor portraying Dean Martin, Lori's most famous film is probably the 1987 cult favorite "Blood Harvest." Lori has also appeared in the thriller "The Game" (also known as "The Cold") and in "Basic Football" with Burt Reynolds. As a model, she has appeared regularly on television, most notably as Milwaukee's Lotto girl for several years. |
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Web Site: http://www.amylynnbest.net Bio: Actress, producer and director Amy Lynn Best is proud to be a part of It Came From Lake Michigan. One of the cover girls of Sirens of Cinema’s epic relaunch, Best’s running column in the magazine is a joint venture with Pretty-Scary.net, the premiere website for women in horror which she co-created. Best studied to be a civil engineer before realizing that her true love was acting and directing. With her partners, Mike Watt and Bill Homan, she founded Happy Cloud Pictures and starred in and co-produced the “zombie noir”, The Resurrection Game, in which she plays the fan-favorite character, “Sister Bliss”. In 2002, she made her directorial debut with the award-winning ‘alternative lifestyle’ horror-comedy, Were-Grrl. In the following year, she directed her first feature with another horror-comedy, the slasher parody Severe Injuries. An outspoken advocate for improved roles for women in the indie horror industry, Best coined the phrase “Spicy Sister” in the hopes of putting to rest the tired and clichéd title of “Scream Queen” in the documentary The Spicy Sisters Slumber Party, in which she led a round table discussion with a number of her fellow horror actresses. Born in Topeka, KS, Best lives in rural Waynesburg, PA, where she is in the process of assembling an impromptu animal sanctuary for her numerous dogs, cats and horses. She does not own the sheep that live across the street, which is just as well.
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Web Site: http://www.happycloudpictures.net Bio: Mike Watt is an award-winning writer, director, novelist and journalist. As one of the co-founders of Happy Cloud Pictures, he wrote and directed the “zombie-noir” The Resurrection Game, and wrote the screenplays for Amy Lynn Best’s Were-Grrl and Severe Injuries. His most recent film is the action-packed vampire piece, Abattoir.
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Web Site: http://www.eddiedeezen.com Bio: In a career that spans motion pictures, television, and cartoon voiceovers, Eddie Deezen has effectively lent his comic presence to such noted films as "Grease," "War Games," "1941," and "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," the latter of which cast Deezen as a passionate Beatle fanatic, something he admits to being in real life. He did the voice of Pop on the Rice Krispies commercials, and continues to provide voiceover work for such popular cartoon series as Kim Possible, Darkwing Duck, and Dexter¹s Laboratory. He also provided the voice of Know-It-All in 2004's Polar Express. Deezen¹s many horror film credits include "Teenage Exorcist" (with Brinke Stevens), "Polish Vampire in Burbank," "Critters 2: The Main Course," and "Assault of the Killer Bimbos."
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Web Site: N/A Bio: Mark Metcalf is known to horror fans as The Master on television's Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but also has a large following for his appearances on Seinfeld as The Maestro and his popular portrayal of Niedermeyer in National Lampoon's Animal House. Mark has also done notable work in music videos for Twisted Sister, as well as many other movies and television shows. He is currently owns the popular restaurant Libby Montana, which is located in Mequon, Wisconsin.
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Web Site: N/A Bio: After an auspicious beginning in the multi-Oscar-winner One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Michael Berryman quickly achieved horror icon status as Pluto in The Hill's Have Eyes. He continued to appear in films, including Teenage Exorcist, Weird Science, and The Devil's Rejects, as well as many television shows like The Fall Guy, ALF, and Tales From The Crypt.
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Web Site: http://www.midnightsunent.com Bio: Mike Conway began making Super 8mm films, in 1980. Epitomizing the meaning of the word, "filmmaker," Mike writes, directs, produces, scores, shoots and handles many other elements of production. In 1983, he recieved a Best Directing award, from Northern Arizona University, for his 18 minute werewolf film, METAMORPHOSIS. He later transferred to the University of Arizona and graduated, in 1988 (B.F.A. degree - Cinema Option). One year later, Mike made his feature debut, with THE BLACK CRYSTAL, which was distributed internationally by Rae Don Entertainment. Around this time, Mike was busy scoring commercials, industrials and other indie movies, as well as his own works. Familiar with sampling and synthesis techniques, Mike was hired to reprogram Old Tucson Studios sound FX, for their stunt show. Conway moved to Las Vegas, in 1993. Over the next few years, he married and continued making short movies, like ETERNAL and ROADKILL. It was with the latter that he convinced an all volunteer cast to jump onto his 16mm science fiction feature, TERRARIUM. TERRARIUM did well at a couple of festivals, including 3rd place at Cinescape Magazine's 2004 Maniafest Film Festival. The movie was subsequently picked up by Lionsgate Films and saw a huge DVD release under the new title, WAR OF THE PLANETS. After working with film, for many years, the most recent project, THE AWAKENING, is Mike's first Digital Video feature. Shot on a budget of just $5,000, THE AWAKENING features some big league special effects and action. The large cast of 40 was not enough, so people were digitally "cloned," to make it look like there were far more marines and black ops, than there actually were.
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Web Site: http://www.meanstoanendthemovie.com Bio: Born in 1979 in Boston, Massachusetts, Paul became a student of the horror genre at a young age, falling under the tutelage of writer/ director of Cabin Fever (Lion's Gate, 2003), and Hostel (Lion's Gate/Screen Gems, 2006), Eli Roth. Solet's short, Means to an End, was awarded, "Best Short Horror Film" from the genre's number one authority, "Fangoria Magazine," and received national distribution from KOCH ENTERTAINMENT. Means to an End also won "Best Short Film" and the "Audience Choice Award" at the 2005 Rhode Island International Horror Film Festival, "Best Extreme Horror Film" at 2005 Dragon Con Film Festival, and placed as a semifinalist in the Haydenfilms On-Line Film Festival. With more than 3500 online views at IFILM, Means to an End is the only horror short running with a perfect 5 out of 5 rating. Solet's work has screened as Official Selections in ten different film festivals, including Seattle's Cascadia Con International Film Festival, Rome International Film Festival and Korea's Puchon International Film Festival. His feature length screenplay Heartland was a winner of New York's VisionFest Screenplay Contest. Editor in Chief of "Fangoria Magazine," Tony Timpone, has called Solet's work, "Screamingly funny!" Editor in Chief of "Rue Morgue Magazine" has called it, "A horror geek's bloody, wet dream," and Eli Roth has said Solet's work, "Makes Cabin Fever look like a Disney movie…" Paul Solet continues to write and direct in Los Angeles, CA, ever determined to raise the bar in today's genre filmmaking. His latest film, Grace is already creating buzz throughout Hollywood and the horror community.
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Web Site: http://www.wild-hawk.com Bio: Will Edwards made his first film at the ripe old age of thirteen and since then it has been a love affair that has lasted nearly 30 years! From 8mm to HD and virtually every medium in between Will has had a hand in literally hundreds of projects. He has produced and directed commercial and corporate pieces for a client list that includes: Mitsubishi, Orbital Technologies, Halloween Express and Pegasus Games. His artwork and direction have graced projects for Miller Brewing, S.C. Johnson Wax, and Fiskars to name a few. His make-up effects skills have been seen in commercials, films and commercial haunts. He’s acted in a wide range of films, commercials and stage shows especially those with a focus on action, where his skills as a fight choreographer and stunt performer come in handy. Despite a long hiatus from the entertainment end of filmmaking, Will is in the process of coming back with his new project, his homage to 1940’s movie serials, “The Adventures of Ryker Mortis, Zombie Hunter”. (Hopefully, this will resolve that pesky IMDB thing.) In March of 2003, Will’s career took a new twist when he joined the staff of Raven Software and entered the world of video game development. Will’s background in graphic art and his skills as a producer led to him taking on the newly created role of Art Assets Manager on the X-Men: Legends console game. Since that time Will has served in that capacity on the first game’s sequel, X-Men Legends II: The Rise of Apocalypse, the soon to be released, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and the currently in development project, Wolfenstein. Though games offer an outlet for his creativity, Will yearns to get back out of the virtual world and into the tactile world of practical filmmaking. Will continues to make his experience and talents available to both up-and-coming filmmakers as well as his gainfully employed, filmmaking colleagues in an effort to give back a little of the joy and/or misery that this art form has given him. Will is a big fan of festival director, Wayne Clingman, and is the one who originally suggested to him, “We should have a film festival!”, and in his inimitable style Wayne has made ICFLM a reality!
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Web Site: http://www.jasonpaulcollum.com Bio: A veteran of over 20 films and commercials, Jason Paul Collum is a Racine native who has worked as a writer, director, producer, assistant director, production coordinator and actor. The majority of his work is based in the horror genre, having directed such films as the critically praised documentary SOMETHING TO SCREAM ABOUT (currently airing on the Showtime network), the film festival favorite JULIA WEPT, and his newest full-length feature OCTOBER MOON (filmed entirely in Racine and Kenosha), a horrific love story and among the first horror films in history to feature gay men as the lead characters. Other work includes films with 20th Century Fox, Full Moon Entertainment, Tempe Entertainment, and Rapid Heart Pictures. He has worked on local and national commercials for such products as Sega and Off Bug Spray. An author and journalist, his book Assault of the Killer B's: Interviews with 20 Cult Film Actresses was published by McFarland & Co. in 2004. He has also penned pieces for the books Attack of the B Queens, Creating a Christian Lifestyle, and had over 50 articles published in magazines such as Fangoria, Femme Fatales, Cinefantastique (CFQ), Instinct, Video Store Weekly, and Independent Video.
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Web Site: http://www.autumnnightstudios.com Bio: Growing up in the north woods of Wisconsin, Hank Carlson’s natural love of fright has been inspired by nearby deserted houses, howling wolves, and the area’s own urban legends. His talent for writing and directing began as a boy when he would turn a simple game of cowboys and Indians into a mini-production with props and costumes. He had his first break into the world of film when the producer’s of Hellraiser and Hellraiser 2 set up Windsor Lake Studios in his hometown. Carlson camped out at their doorstep until they eventually hired him. His first foray into special effects occurred during the filming of Trapped Alive and he has never looked back. KNB FX Group noticed Carlson’s artistic talents when they worked together while filming the first three films for Fangoria Magazine. KNB FX Group hired him away from Windsor Lake Studios. They brought him back to Los Angeles where he helped create special effects for many notable films such as Army of Darkness and Amityville Horror 5. During the past fifteen years, Hank Carlson has been active in many areas of the entertainment industry including television, film and theater. Carlson also provided illustrations for White Wolf Games’ Rage and Street Fighter. Some of his other accomplishments include special effects for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Doppelganger, and Super Mario Brothers. Hank Carlson currently resides in Green Bay, Wisconsin. His artistic talents are a benefit as a practitioner in the orthotic and prosthetic industry. His most notable artistic accomplishments in this industry are sculpting life-like silicone prosthetic restorations. His love of filmmaking has not diminished. Carlson’s company, Autumn Night Studios, has made film shorts including Bait and House Call and is currently in pre-production with the short film, Humble Pie. He is working on feature length scripts for Mr. Krawly, Daddy, and Skin and developing special effects for the Hunt and Dead All Night, which are currently in production.
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Web Site: http://www.deadhousemusic.com Personal Bio: Born into a family of musicians; Mars is a multi-instrumentalist who began performing professionally at the age of 13. He has played with Symphony Orchestras, as well as Jazz, Worldbeat, and Rock bands on tours through Europe, Canada, and the United States. "I've had a life-long love affair with things that go bump in the night." Says Mars, " I remember being captivated by monster movies at a very young age. I saw all the classic Universal horror films on late-night television, and I was hooked. The appreciation of that gothic aesthetic has endured into my adult life, and helped shape the person I have become." Since founding Dead House Music in 2005, Mars has worked with genre veterans like "Puppetmaster" creator Kenneth J. Hall ("The Halfway House"), and up and coming talent like directors Ryan Humphries ("Sounds: The Movie"), and Scott Goldberg. ("All I want for X-mas", and the upcoming "The Forest Hills"), as well as the independent feature "Prison of the Psychotic Damned" for Red Scream films. In October 2005, Mars debuted his completely re-scored version of the brilliant silent classic "Nosferatu" to packed houses and standing ovations at multiple public screenings, and has recently released the score as a CD, entitled "Nosferatu Reborn". The combination of passion and professionalism are serving to build a solid reputation for Dead House Music within the horror community, and Mars has appeared in many online publications; as well as a recent feature interview in Canada's Rue Morgue magazine. Mars is hopeful about the future." I feel like a man on a mission. A great movie score can stand on it's own, without the relying on flavor-of-the month bands to attract interest. I'm doing my best to return the horror score to it's rightful place as genuinely well crafted and respected music ".
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Web Sites: http://www.roguecinema.com Personal Bio: Duane Martin's life long love of film started began as he grew up watching all the great classic b-movies on television as a child. It wasn't until the year 2002 however that he turned his love of film in a different direction. It was on May 1st of 2002 that his classic b-movie review site B-Movie Central was born, as was his newfound love of reviewing films. Shortly thereafter, he became a founding member of the Rogue Reviewers, a group of cult / b-movie review websites that banded together to share their love of the genre. In June of 2004, Duane was the driving force behind the creation of Rogue Cinema, and still acts as editor / webmaster and staff writer to this day. Most of the magazine's content as well as it's success comes from the hard work of everyone in the Rogues as well as a few outside contributors who have worked really hard to make the magazine what it is. Throughout the magazine's run, Duane has written several notable articles and bios, done countless reviews of independent and cult films and interviewed a wide variety of independent directors, actors and other people associated with the industry. Duane has also acted as an occassional consultant to Wayne Clingman, the festival's director and has been responsible for creating and maintaining the festival's web site.
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Web Site: James' book listings on Barnes & Noble.com Personal Bio: James L. Neibaur, is a writer and film historian who is now working on his seventh book. He has written hundreds of articles and essays over the past 30 years for such magazines and webzines as Cineaste, Film Quarterly, Filmfax, and Senses of Cinema. He also penned over 40 essays in the Encyclopaedia Brittanica. Neibaur is currently a regular contributor to the Rogue Cinema website. He is one of those who helped Wayne Clingman organize this event. He will be in attendance all three days of the Festival, and will be introducing some of the special screenings that are scheduled to take place.
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Mike Conway 
Paul Solet 
William H. Edwards 
Jason Paul Collum
Hank Carlson 
Mars
Graphic and site design by Duane L. Martin