InterviewBarbieWilde

JP: You have to talk about your film “Predator: The Concert” aka “Grizzly 2.” This is a film that everyone talks/heard about, but few have seen. It is a film of legend and anything you could share about it would be wonderful. There have been just glimpses floating around for decades now and not a soul who took part in it has talked about it to my knowledge. This film had an all-star cast and that brings me to the start of my questions. What was it like working with the likes of George Clooney, Laura Dern, Deborah Foreman, Charlie Sheen & John Rhys-Davies?

BW: I played the drummer of an electronica band who were performing in the park where the rampaging bear was attacking the likes of George Clooney, etc. We were pretty much stuck rehearsing on the outdoor stage all the time and only caught glimpses of Louise Fletcher, Charlie Sheen and Michael Nouri (who isn’t mentioned on IMDb). Both John Rhys-Davies and Dick Anthony Williams were involved in our scenes, so we did see a bit more of them. They were both very funny and great to work with.

Our band sequences were shot in the middle of a state park near Budapest. A Nazareth concert was organized by the producers of the film to lure the youth of Budapest into the park. In the middle of the concert, Nazareth disappeared, then we came on and did our weird electronica stuff to the utter amazement of the Hungarians, who didn’t really know what was going on. Very strange.

Sadly, I never saw Georg Clooney or the legendary mechanical bear. Rumor has it that the director had a bit of a nervous breakdown and the film never got finished, although some clips have surfaced on YouTube:

Rehearsal scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afTW0E_iNQg
Onstage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jA699zaY0s
Workout scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk8kBIufrUg

There are some DVDs out there of “Grizzly 2,” but supposedly all the scary bear bits are replaced by a black screen, as they never managed to do the mechanical bear shots.

Trivia: The stage choreography of the band and the dancers was done by Bruno Tonioli of “Strictly Come Dancing” – “Dancing with the Stars” fame.

JP: Joan McCall as an actress/writer and her husband David Sheldon as a writer/producer were involved in this movie as well. They were both part of William Girdler's “Grizzly.” Can you talk about them at all in any capacity?

BW: I’m afraid I don’t recall meeting either of them.

JP: I noticed in my research there is no mention of a director for this film. Who was the director and what did you think of the finished film if you have seen it? Lastly, any and all you could share about this film would be so great.

BW: I believe the director was Hungarian, but I don’t remember his name. I have vague memories of him being rather strange. One day he comes on set wearing a new hat, asking us all if he looked more like a director with his new hat on. You have to admit, that’s a bit odd.

I’ve never seen the finished film, but I’d love to.

My memories are very limited about the film, because I was so worried about looking convincing as a drummer, which I had no previous experience doing before the film. My boyfriend at the time, Richard James Burgess, was producing the music for the film and was also going to play the drummer of the movie band, but was called away to Sweden to produce Adam Ant. He drafted me at the last minute and I had to learn how to be a drummer in a few short lessons. We did a lot of rehearsing for the musical numbers, because as mentioned above, we only had one night to shoot our sequences. I believe we did our crazy numbers three times in a row, which must have puzzled our hard rock, Nazareth-loving audience no end.

JP: First, how did you get into acting?

BW: I fell in love with acting when I was 12. I played a cold-ridden teacher in a school play called “The Mighty Germ” and I developed this sneeze that had the whole student body in stitches. I discovered that acting was intoxicating stuff. I went to Syracuse University and then attended their drama program in London for a year. However, rather than finishing my degree, I stayed on to join a professional mime company, which led to me joining the group Shock, who signed a record deal with RCA in the 1980s. After Shock, I returned to acting in such films as “Death Wish III” and “Hellbound: Hellraiser II.” (A lot of my movies have numbers after the titles, for some reason!)

JP: You have also been a casting director. How did you get that job and what was it like to be on the other side of the table?

BW: I started out being an assistant for some friends of mine in the casting business. A few jobs came along that they weren’t interested in, so they suggested me. My first job was finding over a 100 “real” people to appear in some Channel Four idents. Pretty daunting stuff.

It’s actually quite depressing to do casting work when you’re still interested in being an actor. You get to see how actors are really chosen for a role, which a lot of the time has nothing to do with talent or experience, but basically how “aspirational” you appear to be, or how gorgeous you are. Surprise, surprise!

JP: Did you cast Naveen Andrews for a role in “The Buddha of Suburbia”? If so can you talk about that process of seeing him and what made you pick him for his role? Did anything about him stand out?

BW: My job for “The Buddha of Suburbia” was to cast all the extras – I seem to remember that there were over a thousand of them. Roger Michell, the director, wanted hundreds of “real” punks, skinheads, suede heads, hippies, etc., so it was a challenge, but great fun.

I met Naveen during filming and he was an adorable guy, very friendly and very charismatic.

JP: Can you talk about your time on the set of “Death Wish 3” and how you came to get the part in the film?

BW: I just went to an audition for the film, chatted for a bit with Michael Winner and got the part.

“Death Wish III” was a weird job. I soon realized that my part was up to me. In other words, the more I hung around on set, the more screen time I’d get. Mr. Winner had a waspish sense of humor and he yelled a lot, which was intimidating to some of the actors and extras. One day, out of the blue, he asked me to do a scene topless, which really isn’t done in the movie biz. You should always warn an actress in advance about things like that. I refused (unless I got paid extra) and our relationship soured a bit after that. However, Charles Bronson, Alex Winter, Gavan O’Herlihy and Martin Balsam were a great crowd, so it was a nice experience in the end.

BW: Clive did visit the set, but I only really met him and got to know him after the filming was finished. I didn’t get that much direction regarding my character. I asked Tony Randel on my first day what my motivation should be and he just said, “You’re dead.” Which is pretty much how I played the Female Cenobite: minimal movement, minimal facial expressions, very contained.

JP: What was it like to work for director Tony Randel?

BW: Tony was a nice guy. He took the job of directing “Hellraiser II” very seriously.

JP: Can you talk about your fellow Cenobites Doug Bradley, Simon Bamford, Nicholas Vince & Kenneth Cranham?

BW: It was lovely working with all of them. They all had that lovely, dry, British sense of humor, which kept our spirits up during the interminable makeup and the waiting-around-for-hours-to-get-on-set process.

JP: How did the part of the Female Cenobite in “Hellbound: Hellraiser II” come to you?

BW: I was simply called for an audition, had a chat with the director Tony Randal and got the part. I think that being a mime artist had something to do with it, as mime artists had been used for prosthetic makeup work since “2001, A Space Odyssey” (1968).

JP: Was Clive Barker on set for much of the film if so how was it to have him there? Anything you can share with us that he might have talked you about that involved your character?

The makeup was uncomfortable and it helped that feeling of being “dead”. The first time that it was removed, my skin was very pink. I asked my makeup artist about it and he said that the pink color was due to oxygen starvation. Nice!

JP: Any stories you could share from the set of “Hellbound: Hellraiser II” would be great?

BW: Well, the scene at the end of the film where we had to move through the anchor chains to confront Channard was pretty horrible, because Doug got hit in the head by a heavy chain and one of his pins got knocked off. It could have been a very nasty accident. And Nicko got speared in the mouth by a flying hook! I was asked to do a scene with a large hook attached to a heavy anchor chain attached to an immense rubber band. It was supposed to fly right past my face. I declined to do the scene. I had utter faith in the prop guys, but I just didn’t fancy having my face accidently ripped off by a gigantic hook if anything went wrong with the stunt.

JP: Was there any part of the gore, blood or plot that bothered you while making the film?

BW: Filming is -- by its very nature -- a disjointed process. While you’re in the midst of it, you’re aware of the yucky props and gore, but you’re also aware that the slime is really K-Y Jelly and the blood is just prop “Kensington gore.” I was very jet-lagged during my first days of filming, so my tiredness added to the feelings of unreality about the whole thing. Also, things were changing daily in the script because Andy Robinson’s character had been cut out at the last minute. However, it was only when I went to the cast and crew screening did I see the film in its entirety and it was pretty overwhelming.

JP: You have traveled the world over: Canada, America, England, the Netherlands, India, Thailand, etc. What have you learned in your travels about people and other cultures? Do you have a favorite place to visit or a place you would love to revisit?

JP: If you could talk about the process of getting your make-up and costume on? And then what that was like in having in all of that and acting in it?

BW: The makeup took four hours to apply (this was after the making of a full cast of my head and the creation of the prosthetic makeup pieces). The costume took 30 minutes to put on. We had to be very careful about talking too much or eating greasy foods, as the makeup would disintegrate. When he wanted to smoke, Doug had to use a cigarette holder, which, adding in his glasses and bathrobe made him look a bit like the Noel Coward of Cenobites. We all had separate makeup rooms, so we wouldn’t be tempted to talk to each other.

As far as learning things by travelling, it opens your eyes to not only how different people are around the world, but also how your companions deal with those differences. When I was in Bombay, I dove right into learning about Indian culture and food -- and loved it. However, one of the English dancers in our group refused to eat the local “foreign muck” and ate egg and chips every day. No wonder she got constipation!

I find this kind of attitude very puzzling. If you’re going to visit someplace new, why not celebrate the fact -- and open your mind up to new possibilities – and participate in what you’re discovering, rather than being scared of it.

JP: You interviewed Iggy Pop. You have to talk about how that came about and how he was as a subject to interview?

I was working as a TV presenter on an afternoon TV show called “Hold Tight” -- filmed at Alton Towers Amusement Park near Stoke-on-Trent. I interviewed quite a lot of celebs for that show. Iggy was great fun, very professional. My other favorite interviewees were: Cliff Richard (we share a passion for “Star Trek”), Johnny Rotten (AKA John Lydon) who was very funny and chaotic – a real good sport as well, and finally the B52s – who were brilliant folks.

JP: Recently, you wrote a short story entitled 'Sister Cilice' for the “Hellbound Hearts” anthology. Can you talk about how you were approached to do that and did you enjoy the process of writing?

BW: I was a bit worried when Paul Kane approached me about writing a story for “Hellbound Hearts” as I don’t normally write horror, but I was inspired by the idea that the Female Cenobite was a nun in her previous life (this was based on Gary J. Tunnicliffe’s concept). I also had to base my story on Clive’s original novella “The Hellbound Heart” and it was great to realize – reading the novella again after all these years – that the original lead Cenobite in the story was female.

My idea percolated a bit and then I wrote it in a week. I was “possessed” if you like. Sometimes these characters of mine just take on a life of their own and it felt like I was just “channeling” Sister Cilice onto the page. I’m really chuffed that the story has received so many great reviews.

JP: I know you have done some conventions and I wanted to ask what your thoughts are of your fans and how they have been in meeting you? Any great, creepy, cool, or scary stories to share with us? Have you always been aware of your status among horror/genre fans in the films you have done?

BW: I’ve always been treated with the utmost respect by the fans and I really enjoy meeting them. Although I must admit, I’m always surprised some fans go so far as to tattoo the Female Cenobite on their bodies. Now that’s what I call dedication!

I only became aware of the cult status that “Hellbound: Hellraiser II” has gathered since I started going to conventions a few years ago.

JP: If you could please let your fans know where they can find you either on the Internet or up coming conventions. Also, if you have any new projects that you are working on that you may want to share with us so we can be on the look out that would be great. Lastly, if you would want to say any last words to your fans please feel free to do so.

BW: Here’s my web site: http://www.barbiewilde.com/

Here’s the web page for my as yet unpublished novel, which is a fictionalized journal of a serial killer:

http://www.barbiewilde.com/VenusComplex.html

And a big thanks to all the fans of “Hellraiser” for their continuing interest!

I do have a page dedicated to Grizzly 2 on my website:
http://www.barbiewilde.com/GrizzlyIIPredatorConcertGrizzly2.html

Best wishes and Happy Halloween!

BW: I loved being in India doing the Bollywood movie, “Janbazz.” That was a great experience and the people there were so gracious and generous. I also love Mexico (my boyfriend has family there). It’s a place where you feel like you’re in a movie just walking down the street: anticipation and anxiety in equal proportions.

My three favorites cities are: New York, Paris and San Francisco. All places of great beauty in their own unique way.