ADVENTURES OF A B-MOVIE ACTOR

by Jeff Dylan Graham

"Teaming with the Polonias and Jon McBride"

It was in October of 2000... I had just returned from a very fun shoot out in Pennsylvania, and I was excited to see the results. I had just filmed leads in THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED 2, and DWELLER. I'd got to work with three of the most prolific filmmakers in the b-movie scene, the Polonia brothers, and Jon McBride. They were very successful in recent years with FEEDERS (which was the #1 Independent film rental of 1996), the massive chain Blockbuster had picked up thousands of units. Even I remember seeing this title at Blockbuster, being curious, and renting it. I thought it was campy fun! Mark and John Polonia are also known for thier titles such as: FEEDERS 2, THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED, TERROR HOUSE, and many more!

One of my three directors, Jon McBride, is very well-known in underground cinema. He directed and starred in CANNIBAL CAMPOUT, which to this day, is still a cult favorite. He's also known for his dark comedy WOODCHIPPER MASSACRE, which is my personal favorite. Jon has had extensive experience in the entertainment field, and is a talented guy.

After my first experience with the Jon, Mark, and John, I decided I would most definitely work with them again. After months of anticipation, it was announced that THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED 2 was to be released on September 11th, 2001 to Hollywood Video stores and other outlets nationwide. It was in June, a few months before the release of THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED 2, that I got a call from Mark Polonia asking me to return to Pennsylvania to shoot two more flicks! The movies were both to be shot in 3D process back-to-back, which would definitely be an experience. It wasn't long after that I found myself back in Pennsylvania on the set of thier newest movies!

The two movies were GORILLA WARFARE: BATTLE OF THE APES, and NIGHT THIRST. Not long after I was picked up from the airport, in Polonia style, I was in costume and makeup and in front of the camera! I met up with my co-stars, Brice Kennedy (also in The House that Screamed 2), and newcomer Kimberlee Gibson. It was decided that we would shoot all of our scenes for GORILLA WARFARE first, which meant all outdoors in the hot weather.

DAY 1-3: We shot all of our scenes together (Brice, Kimberlee, and me) within three days. Brice and Kim were going back to West Virginia, so we had to get this shit done! At night, they shot scenes for NIGHT THIRST. It was a pretty funny segment being filmed, and I'm anxious to see the results of it! On one of the days of filming, there was a fight scene between Brice and I being filmed. I was supposed to be trying to hit him with a rock over the head, and Kimberlee was supposed to knock me over with a log. The first couple of takes didn't look convincing enough. So, we tried it a few more times, not good enough. Suddenly, Kim swung the log too hard and hit me right in the funny bone! OUCH! She felt so bad, but I felt worse that she felt bad! It's okay Kim!! haha Once we wrapped all of our scenes together, it was the end of the shoot for all of us. They had already been filming days before I arrived, so a lot had been done.

DAYS 4-7: This is when we moved on to doing all of my stuff for NIGHT THIRST. I am one of the leads in the wraparound story of this horror/dark comedy. I play "Jerome", a very very nerdy guy who invited a stranger who's car us broken down in his house. My co-star in this one is Jon McBride, and I think we played very well of eachother. We both really got into our parts, which was great. I don't know if anyone will even recognize me (well, unless thet read this)... I've got really thick glasses and I changed my voice completely! At one point, we were shooting the porch of the house, and lots of people were watching us film. It was so funny talking in that voice and being completely nerdy, with people watching! I thought they probably thought I was actually like that! We shot all of the wraparound within a few days. We were all excited because the next day we were going to Pittsburgh (Monroeville) for Monsterbash 2001! I met a lot of cool people and picked up some great magazines there.I also discovered that our 4 page layout for Draculina promoting THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED 2 was selling! Since we were right near the infamous Monroeville Mall where DAWN OF THE DEAD had been shot, we stopped by, took pictures, ate lunch. That mall is really a movie landmark!! It was so surreal being there.

Once the shoots were over, and I returned home, I wondered when I would end up working on another projects with the Polonias and Jon McBride. Only time will tell!

THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED 2 is available for rent at Hollywood Video. Check it out!

DWELLER and NIGHT THIRST have been picked up for foreign distribution, but no domestic release is set in stone as of yet.

GORILLA WARFARE will see a release this year on DVD AND VHS. Stay Tuned to my site for details!

Till next time

-Jeff Dylan Graham
www.jeffdylangraham.com