HM #018 - Interview Brooke Lewis Bellas

Retrouvez l'interview VF dans HypnoMag#18, pages 38 à 44.

You will next star in the Red Rooms web series directed by Joshua Butler. You play Leilah Black, one of the ensemble roles with actor David Alpay. Can you tell us about your character?

As an Actress, I do not always get to audition for, or act in, roles that excite or inspire me. Part of my goal with producing this project was to incorporate my vision and Josh's concept, while offering our ensemble cast of actors, including myself, the opportunity to choose a character we would be inspired to play, then Josh and I would build around these characters and merge them into Josh's script. I believe this is what drew us all to this artistic, low-budget piece. Josh and I had many discussions around what he would like to direct me in, creating a more mature, emotional, but less "character-ish" part for me to play. In 2019, the topic that was everywhere in the media was the Me Too Movement, including an infamous Hollywood case, which inspired me to discuss the possibility of me stepping into the "female producer" version and to see where it would take us! I play Leilah Black, a very successful Hollywood Producer, who has sexually assaulted male actors in exchange for roles. I will leave your readers with this and their imaginations, until the web series is released!

The plot takes place on the dark web and the characters, captive victims, are forced to reveal their worst sins live on the internet in hopes of escaping. The synopsis sounds terrifying. What are your feelings about the internet and social networks?

I must admit, I have always been a bit of a conspiracy theorist! Throughout my career and recent years, I have had such an incredible love/hate relationship with the Internet. On a positive, it has brought me across the world to magazines like HypnoMag and all of your readers, and it has given me an incredible presence to reach the masses that I would not have, if the Internet did not exist.… But, it has also caused me such upset, stress, and anxiety, as I have been hacked, stalked, read nasty things written about me, and it gives cowardly people a platform and space to say and do anything they choose to, while hiding behind their computer screens! I have always believed in the darkness of the Internet and World Wide Web, but experiencing a project such as Red Rooms, has shed an even deeper, darker shadow and view of my perspective of the Internet. I have never first-hand experienced these very real dark web rooms where people are being abducted, trafficked, psychologically and physically tortured, even murdered, and it is beyond frightening! I always like to leave on a positive, so I want to share my feelings of constant gratitude that the Internet has given me a platform to communicate and connect with my fans worldwide! Each day when I read positive comments from my friends and fans, it truly brightens my day! Yet, I am still saddened by the component of social media in which so many of us place value and worth on our being and ourselves, based on the number of likes and comments on a post we may make on any given day. It breaks my heart that as a society, we put so much emphasis on something that is so incredibly outside of ourselves! I only hope that we can all learn one day that social networking could be used for a worldwide good, if we each do our part in spreading positivity!

You are also the producer of Red Rooms with your company Philly Chick Pictures. How long have you been a producer? Is working on projects before filming important to nurturing your creativity?

This is a fabulous question, as I have been a Producer before I even realized I was producing! Then, I officially launched my production company, Philly Chick Pictures, in 2002. I am an Actress, first and foremost, so everything I have done as a Producer has been to nurture and support my acting career. More than the creativity, I find it a necessity to nurture the actual business of creating projects to make sure they are held to a standard of professionalism. Producing in a professional capacity takes so much work, time, money, and energy. I love acting more than anything, so since moving to Hollywood, I have been forced to produce to obtain the roles I want to play. Producing and starring in a film or TV series is probably one of the most challenging things a creative person can conquer. It takes two very different sides of the brain, albeit creativity is at the forefront of both. As a Producer, you have to maintain the business and organizational side of the project, which is not always easy to do, especially when you’re focused on the creative side of the project as an Actor.

You starred in the movie The Mourning, which is currently available in the United States and UK on Amazon Prime. Can you share a memory with us from filming this project?

The Mourning is genuinely one of my most memorable indie film experiences of my acting and producing career. I have been fortunate to work with Writers and Directors like The Mourning’s Marc Clebanoff who have written roles for me as an Actress. There is an exceptional opportunity when writers create a role for you, specifically, and they write for your strengths as an actor. This was the case with my role of loud-mouth Lisa “Assface” who had a few incredible moments of “comedic relief” inside of a very dramatic, emotional storyline of life, death, and love! We filmed for a month in Holland, Michigan, the hometown of our star, Michael Rene Walton, and were gifted the experience of filming with the town’s police force, planes, trains, and automobiles… this never happens while filming an indie film in Hollywood, unless we have millions of budget dollars to spare! It was a memorable honor to be both an Actress and Co-Producer on The Mourning.

You previously appeared in films such as iMurders, Kinky Killers, and Slime City Massacre. You also play Ms. Daniels in the film The Day of The Living Dead, currently available on Amazon Prime in the USA and UK, a film set in Hollywood in the 1950s. Is the horror genre your favorite to work in?

I have loved the horror genre as a viewer and fangirl since childhood, but it became a career staple for me midway through my professional acting career and has become my favorite genre to work in, alongside the mafia/mobster/gangster style films and TV. I appreciate that there are so many sub-genres inside of the horror genre for me to work in. I have always embraced my inner detective and loved solving mysteries. No wonder I have been a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock, Agatha Christie, and Brian De Palma! I have also been drawn to the darkness, unknown, mystery, and escapism that horror offers. Most importantly, I love how the horror genre embraces women of all body types, curves, ages, ethnicities, offers strong roles for women, and has the most loyal and supportive fans in the world! It has been an unusual trajectory for me, as I started my professional career performing in regional Actors' Equity Association union musical theater. Then, I graduated to Tony n' Tina's WeddingOff-Broadway in New York City for three years under an AEA contract and never, in my wildest dreams, did I think that I would one day become known in horror as a "Scream Queen". When I acted in, and was one of the Executive Producers on, SHOWTIME's Kinky Killers, it opened an incredible door for me. I suddenly had the title "Scream Queen" bestowed upon me and I have embraced it ever since.

In 2009, you created the character of Ms. Vampy, who is described as the funniest, sexiest and sassiest American vampire, that can be found in several series and a book. What made you want to create this character?

Ms. Vampy is a comedic mobster Brooklyn vampire with a heart of gold, and I am so proud of this character and all the projects I have worked on with Ms. Vampy over many years. This was another Brooke Lewis Bellas character that was created to sort of “prove” to herself and Hollywood that a known horror Actress could be a positive, fun, and funny role model in the entertainment industry. Ms. Vampy gives them savvy advice about body image, self-esteem, dating, cyber bullying, owning their own voice, and making powerful choices. I love the fact that Ms. Vampy is all about positivity and supporting teen girls to face their fears and Vamp It Out! I am very proud that I was able to create positive content for teenage girls with her, including, not only a streaming series, but authoring my book Ms. Vampy’s Teen Tawk: There’s A Lotta Power In Ya Choices. And, make no mistake, I love that she is my alter ego that I can tap into when I need inner courage or to be fearless!

You are a philanthropic actress, committed to causes that are dear to you, such as research for breast cancer or research to fight AIDS. Is it important for you to use your voice and popularity to bring awareness to these topics?

Giving Back, and having Causes that are dear to me to represent, is such an important component of my life and career. I fancy myself a Philanthropist, alongside Actress and Producer. I was born with a philanthropist’s heart and have always been a supporter of helping others and raising awareness in whatever way I can. I was spearheading events in college to run around Philadelphia and feed the homeless. Now, I am so grateful to have whatever little “celebrity” status or “popularity” I have that can help make a difference. I feel blessed and responsible to use my voice through my artistic endeavors and through my work. I have performed on Broadway at the August Wilson Theatre and the Palace Theatre to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS as an AIDS Activist. I am a celebrity ambassador for the Breaking the Chains Foundation that cultivates healing through art for those who have experienced eating disorders, self-esteem issues, and body image issues. I am active in charity work with the Los Angeles Mission on Skid Row and helping to feed the homeless. I have been active in several Breast Cancer charities and events, as I have lost people whom I loved to breast cancer over the years. I authored, and have donated, my book Ms. Vampy’s Teen Tawk: There’s A Lotta Power In Ya Choicesto support teen girls. And, in giving back to the world, I find that it brings so much fulfillment and gratitude to my own heart.

Do you have any other upcoming projects you'd like to talk to us about?

The Second Age of Aquariusis one indie film project I feel incredibly blessed to have acted in, and Executive Produced, that wrapped just before COVID-19. My Psycho Therapy(Amazon Prime) film Director, Staci Layne Wilson, wrote a film with Darren Gordon Smith (Repo! TheGenetic Opera). These two are a very talented team! I am also proud to share that it has a very female empowered production crew with our Producer Nancy Long and Editor Nina Helene Hirten. It is a fun indie gem Comedy, with a little bit of a Sci-Fi twist and a lot of music. It is really sweet and clever and stars Christina Jaquelyn Calph and Michael Ursu. I play Tawny Stevens. She is a mom, stuck in the eighties… a New Jersey, Rocker Mom! Wait until you see my hair, my make-up (Artist Allison Noelle), and my leopard pants! I did the Jersey accent I love. I cannot wait for this film to release!

Have you ever been to France? Would you like to say a word to your French-speaking fans?

Forgive me readers… I am ashamed to say that I have never been to France, but I LOVE the French culture so much, one would think I have visited many times! In fact, I was planning my visit to Cannes Film Festival 2020 when the pandemic hit! My dream is to visit Paris in the next few years. Until then, I want to thank my French-speaking fans for taking the time to read our interview and get to know me. I want to share that I am one of those Americans who can never get enough Hermes… Chef Alain Passard… Bordeaux… Foie gras… Flamiche… Chocolate soufflé… and, I say “Oh La La”far too often! Now, please let me leave you with… Reconnaissance and an Embrasser!!!

XO Brooke Lewis Bellas

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Credits:
Photographer: Birdie Thompson
Hair and Makeup: Allison Noelle