Exclusive Interview by: Luis Pedron of Fanclubx.com
Luis: Your film is about loyalty, friendship and squabbling over men and possessions... please expound on these topics?
Roxanne: I have always been interested in the difference between what is on the outside and what is real on the inside. That people are not so different on the inside and what you see is not always what you get. This film is about how two very different women and a gay republican man can support each other through life's trials and tribulations.
Luis: Women are portrayed here at their most vulnerable. Is there something about being in a hair salon that makes them open up?
Roxanne: The salon environment is one that is very unusual as people relate in a very real way to strangers and divulge some of their most intimate details.
Luis: Do you also have a Lady BFF (Best Friend Forever) and a Hairdresser BFF -- if so why do you stick with them?
Roxanne: I met my best friend in a Beverly Hills hair salon. We have been through many of life's work together. A hairdresser is a very sacred person. One's hair is an identity and easy to change when need be. When one is this intimate with someone, change of person is not always enjoyed.
Luis: Are the two best friends' common Hairdresser symbolic of anything?
Roxanne: Trust, friendship...sometimes closer than a lover or partner.
Luis: Long term relationships come from knowing each other -- what makes a "real friend" for you?
Roxanne: Trustworthy, honest, a person that is there for you in the good times and the bad. No judgement but honest.
Luis: How did you go about casting Shelly Long, Harry Shearer abnd Deborah Theaker? Great ensemble work... pls tell me about your casting process?
Roxanne: Once started it moved along at a fast clip. I met Shelley in a coffee shop. Not unlike our heroines. She read the script and two hours latter called me to say it was the best material she had read and was doing the part of Barbara. She felt I was a new and unique voice. The same with Harry, Deborah, Judith, Kate and James. Wayne Brady called me within 24 hours to say the same. Unfortunately his schedule did not allow for him to take on the short film. I believe in trusting my actors. hire best talent and crew...trust them. Show respect and honor for your professional talent and crew. I have a strong Broadway and repertory theatre background. From this I believe in a very collaborative process. Hire the best talent and work with them to guide the project to the best conclusion.
Luis: Of course you also have "Heroes" superstar James Kyson Lee as one of the characters...how was it working with him. Was this before or during his "Heroes" celebrity?
Roxanne: It was during his "Heroes" celebrity....he is a gifted actor, easy to work with and understands the process. I like working with gifted actors and improvising. I also believe in letting the actors exlore their process with guidance.
Luis: How long had you worked on writing this particular project.
Roxanne: I always write from personal experience. I had wanted to explore this theme for some time. The idea germinates with me and then it must come out. Usually in one full and long sitting.
Luis: How much of this film is Hollywood? Are these White Chicks in your film the face of women in LA?
Roxanne: I think they are the voice of women internationaly..women and people in general have most of the same needs. Honor, respect, love, friendship, financial freedom. when these basic needs are met people thrive.
Luis: What is next for Roxanne?
Roxanne: I have a strong dance background and was a child performer in musicals and dance. I am writing two musical projects: Dream Moms, an interracial musical project about two women who find dreams can come true at 40. Gypsy Robe is about the Broadway quilt that goes to the Gypsies in a show. It follows the lives of three teenagers as they try to fulfill their aspirations for dancing and singing on Broadway. Maddie's Boy focuses on a "Manchurian Candidate" mother and her 20 year old son. Set in Louisiana in the 80's following Maddie's political career through her shy art student son, the audience realizes how Katrina could happened latter. Vilmos Zsigmond, Delroy Lindo, Kate Winslet and Doctor John are talking to me about working on the film. The Big Show Tallulah On Trial is about the turbulent life of Tallulah Bankhead when she in embroiled in a legal battle with her maid. I am in China now working on a project Pearl Buck: A Mother in Conflict a co-production with Shanghai Studios. It follows the life of the famous author who knew the soul of the Chinese Peasant so well.
Luis: Do you have any advice to filmmakers out there about pursuing their ideal cast, location, crew and about finishing their project?
Roxanne: Write with passion from your own experience…go get that experience, be observant, study people and environments, Believe in your work and that you have a message to convey. One must love the material. For me genre does not matter…the story must be compelling and the message strong. I have a strong Broadway and repertory theatre background. From this I believe in a very collaborative process. Hire the best talent and work with them to guide the project to the best conclusion. I have always been on time and budget with my projects. They have made 2-3X in profit. White Chicks was the first piece I wrote, directed and produced. It was a great experience to see my written word come alive with such supportive and viable talent.
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Roxanne Messina Captor, James Kyson Lee, Shelly Long and Deborah Theaker on the set of "A Couple of White Chicks at the Hairdresser"
A COUPLE OF WHITE CHICKS AT THE HAIRDRESSER
Premieres Sept. 16 at LA Shorts Fest. The film directed by Roxanne Messina Captor Film Stars Comic Vets Harry Shearer, Shelly Long, and Deborah Theaker
Saturday, September 1, 2007
NEW YORK – A Couple of White Chicks at the Hairdresser, the first project from Roxanne Messina Captor’s Mii Amo LLC, written, directed and produced by Messina Captor will have its world premiere at the 2007 Los Angeles International Short Film Festival on September 16 at 7:45 pm at the AMC Town Center 6 Burbank. The film stars comic veterans Shelley Long (“Cheers,” Dr. T and the Women), Harry Shearer (“The Simpsons,” A Mighty Wind), and Deborah Theaker (For Your Consideration, A Mighty Wind). Kate Linder (The Young and the Restless) and James Kyson Lee (Heroes) also star.
The story revolves around a Hollywood hair salon owned by Mark Gavin, a gay Republican hairdresser hilariously portrayed by Shearer, and his two best clients, played by Long and Theaker, who resolve an on-again off-again professional rivalry to form an unconventional friendship.
White Chicks marks Francis Ford Coppola protégé Roxanne Messina Captor’s return to the filmmaking world after a successful career in theater and television, and as Executive Director of the San Francisco International Film Festival. Her previous credits as a producer/director include the independent and telefilms. Her Married Lover, Dead On Sight and the Emmy-nominated Home Sweet Homeless.
According to Messina Captor, "this film explores how two very different women can support each other through life‘s trials and tribulations. It was important to me to study the difference between what is on the surface and what is the truth underneath; behind closed doors. Harry's role is the fulcrum for the women and a strong motivator for their exploration."
The Los Angeles International Short Film Festival is the largest short film festival in the world. Over 25 participants of the festival have earned Academy Award nominations, with eight filmmakers taking home the Oscar. The festival annually attracts over 15,000 moviegoers, filmmakers, and entertainment executives.
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