 | Scream Queen Mafia: Talking With Devanny Pinn |
 
Written by Mafia Staff writer, Rachel Grubb
I had the opportunity to work with Devanny Pinn on BAD GIRLS BURN IN
HELL, and I recently caught up with her while she was working on Joe
Hollow's latest project, DIARY OF DEATH. Here is what she had to say...
Rachel: How have you been since I saw you last?
Devanny: Hey
there! I've been pretty good. Keeping very busy, which I'm thankful
for. How are you? I can not wait to get back on set with you.
Rachel:
I'm doing very well, mostly concentrating on things with
Silent-But-Deadly. I am excited to get back to set with you, too!
Shooting BAD GIRLS BURN IN HELL was such a crazy, intense experience!
What were some of your favorite memories from the set?
Devanny: It
was crazy! It was the first time on set for alot of the people
involved, which automatically means thats its gonna be a bumpy ride.
Things actually held together pretty well considering some of the
events that went down. Fortunately, the story is excellent and the team
they had is a very, very talented group of people so not only did
things get worked out, but we have some killer footage! I was really
impressed. Probably my favorite part was the torture scenes...of
course! Second would be staying up til 5am with the crew watching the
dailies after filming. I think you will agree we all got pretty close
on set.
Rachel: Yes, I
think we did. It was my first time doing a movie where I hadn't met a
single person before I worked on it. The Minnesota film community is so
close-knit that I always know someone. But by the end of the shoot, I
felt like I had known everyone for years. We went through so much on
that set.
Devanny: I
have a feeling the fans are really going to love Bad Girls Burn in
Hell. It has all the elements of a great horror flick. Plus Ms. Rachel
Grubb gives me a bath..what more do you need?
Rachel: Can you tell us about your worst experience on a film set?
Devanny: I
am not going to name it, but I do vividly recall 14 hour days in the
blazing heat. Being stuck on a boat and occationally brought drinks,
fed box lunches that had been sitting out for hours, and having to walk
through bloody water and dying fish to get to the bathroom..if you were
able to go at all. It was a nightmare. A lot of people do not
understand what horror actors go through. Most of the time there are
really rough conditions and possibilities of getting injured from
stunts. Not to mention the emotional lengths that you have to go to.
Total breakdowns are required of you in extreme situations found in
horror films. We are a tough breed!
Rachel: Indeed we are! How did you get through it?
Devanny: I
complained and moaned to myself a lot haha. I learned what I could, had
new appreciation for being freezing in scenes. I looked at it as another
challenge I faced as an actor. Being on that set taught me to love what
I do even more. The worst time on a set is still better then any moment
when I am not filming.
Rachel: You live in LA, but you travel often. What are some of your favorite places you've visited?
Devanny: I
did a photoshoot on the beaches of Cozumel. That was really amazing! I
never saw the photos, but thats another story. I have filmed in
California, Arizona, Washington, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma,
Florida and now New York. I am very blessed to be working so much and
to get to travel when I do. Traveling is one of my passions, so to mix
that with making movies is literally a dream come true. Aside from
maybe Miami Oklahoma...jury is still out on that one. [laughs]
Rachel:
I've been to LA a few times. People keep telling me I should move
there. How is it different from other cities you've worked in?
Devanny: Wow,
Los Angeles. I need a whole book to tell you what it's like and how its
different. Interestingly enough, I am not the only one who feels that way
because there are thousands of books to prep you when you move there.
And for good reason. The short version--LA is its own world, period.
Everything that goes on here is completely different then everywhere
else. If you think about all the most creative, artistic, emotional,
starry-eyed, cut throat crazy people on the whole planet and then told
them all to move to one town...oh wait, someone already did. They are
all living the dream and dreaming of living in Hollywood. It is a mess.
You do not know who you can trust or who you friends are, because
everyone is waiting to see who YOU are--who are you going to be? Who do
you know that might be able to help their career? Throw in ridiculous
pricing for Everything, a few gigs offered among the zillions of the
best in the business competing against you for it, and throw in traffic
and no parking...and hey! Congrats you have arrived. But, i was told if
you can get through the first year you will be alright. It's true. Many
people do not make it out here because there is just no way to prepare
for the fast lane, the judgment, the rejection...the harsh reality of
this business. You have to love who you are and what your doing with
all your heart, and if you can come to understand that, then there is a
place for you here. I have grown to love it here and while I thought I
would never stay for more then a few years..anywhere else would not do
it for me now. I am a Cali girl. As for you Ms. Grubb, I personally
would love to see you single handedly put your state on the map as one
of the strongest film locations in the country. The attention your
pulling over there is admirable. Forget LA! Tell Hollywood they need to
come to you! Time to start spreading the love.
Rachel: That is what I intend to do. I love Minnesota, and I want more people to take notice of the work we're doing here.
You and I had both worked with Lloyd Kaufman before BAD GIRLS. How did you know him?
Devanny: I
met him at the 1st International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival in
Phoenix. I was a spokesmodel there and became a Tromette after Lloyd
and I bonded. He's really great! I've never met a man who can inspire
me and crack me up in the same sentence. His vouching for me at the
beginning of my career definatly gave me a little push. It was very
flattering too since he tends to start the top horror actresses. I
adore Uncle Lloyd. When did you first come across him? Are you a big
troma fan?
Rachel: Yes,
my brother and I both loved Troma movies for a long time, especially
the ones he directed. I met him when he came to make an in-store
appearance at the video store where I worked at the time. He asked if I
could come to the Troma event that night, and I told him I couldn't
because I had an audition. He said, "Oh, you're an actress?" He gave me
his card, and we stayed in touch ever since.
What projects do you have coming up?
Devanny: Well
i am filming Joe Hollow's Diary of Death this month in New York, which
I am very excited about. My character is Devina: the fictional wife to
the actual ancient Egyptian God Isis. Devina is a demon who assists her
leader, The Death Dealer in pursuing the collection of troubled souls.
Rachel: Oh,
yeah, how is Diary Of Death going? Joe says he has a role for me in the
next one. I miss the cast and crew of Bad Girls already!
Devanny: Even
though I was given pretty good insight, I still was not sure what to
expect exactly. I think you will be happy to find that a few lessons
were learned on the Bad Girls set, for the most part Diary of Death ran
a little more smoothly. The filming conditions were definately more
ideal--I was very happy for that! I love my character so I was really
excited to film my scene. It was fun having a lot of the same cast and
crew because we really do feel like a family, but you were definately
missed. It was a hard choice to have you come out immediately and take
a smaller part, or have you hold out for something else. In the end it
was agreed all around that your talents would be wasted if you brought
you out just because we all wanted to see ya!
Diary of Death
is very intense material with a lot of interesting story lines that
weave in and out if it. Theres a very heavy music influence throughout
it as well, its really a cool project and I think it is going to get a
lot of attention. As an actor I had a blast with it, but what girl
doesn't want to play a Goddess?! The cast is pretty strong, and with
you on the next one we are going to have some amazing scenes. I can not
wait to film the rest of Bad Girls Burn in Hell and see what kind of
sexy bloody magic we can create on screen. As I have said before, you
are one of my favorite scream queens so it is an honor to be costaring
in these films with you!
Rachel: Thank you so much! So what do you have when you're done filming Diary Of Death?
Devanny: Straight
from there I'm going to Florida to shoot a scene for Tara Cardinals
fantasy action piece, Legend of the Red Reaper. I have several projects
in talks after that including Matt Cloudes Midnight in the Mortuary and
a trilogy with Creep Creepersin called Final Girl.
Rachel: Can you tell us about your experience with Vh1 Scream Queens?
Devanny: Oh,
Scream Queens..where do I start? They did a nationwide search for
aspiring actresses and called me into one of the final rounds after
remembering me from my Rock of Love auditions. I made the final round
of casting which consisted of 20 girls who were attempting to act and
needed their big break. I was the only one who had acted in film, and
more importantly, the only one who had any actual interest in horror.
While I really did enjoy many of the girls, I was really frustrated
that the only reason they were there was because they wanted a role in
a big film. The producers and the judges ended up not using me last
minute. The idea that I was a B horror actress orginally excited them
and instead they decided that they wanted to create a scream queen, not
develop one. I was really annoyed, until I actually watched the
show--then I thanked God that they did not use me. I thought the show
was just horrid...and not in a good way. Aside from being rather
boring, it firmed up my beliefs that it takes a specific type of
actress to do horror well. If you do not understand and love it, then
it really shows in your performance. Of course the brilliant acting
coach for the show used a monologe from Serendipity (no, really) as the
audition piece so what do you expect? Overall, I think the whole show
is insulting to women in horror. You would never see a low budget
reality show allow an actress with no experience be titled "America's
Sweetheart" and given a role opposite Julia Roberts or Meryl Streep. It
is hard enough to be taken seriously in this business without a show
promoting that anyone can do what we do, and name someone a scream
queen simply because they won a Vh1 segment. Women in horror work very
hard and are talented, driven, business minded people who take their
craft seriously. I think it is important that this message continues to
be heard, regardless of Vh1 or anyone else who believes it's as simple
as saying a few lines for the reality camera.
Rachel:
I agree. People seem to think horror film actresses can't act. I always
remind them that when you're working in independent horror and you
don't have an unlimited budget or an unlimited number of takes to get
it right, you have to be good, because you have to do it right the
first time.
While we're on the subject of reality TV, how about Rock Of Love?
Devanny: Eh,
Vh1 is getting too much attention from me. Ok--I was on the rebound. I
have a thing for blondes and rockstars...so naturally when I saw Bret
Michaels he went to the top of my pursuit list. Frankly, I always get
what I want so I did not even blink when they cast me for some new show
called Rock of Love. Because it was a new show there was several months
in between the casting and filming dates. I ended up turning it down in
an attempt to do something responsible with my life, and I went to
school to become a flight attendant. Of course the show ended up being
this huge success, so when Season 2 came I jumped at the offer. When
they confirmed my flight to LA I went crazy prepping for the show. They
wanted us to peform a talent for Bret so I got sponsored by this
amazing studio and recorded a single--a bad ass rock song that I wrote
for him. I got attached to a publicist who was already booking
appearences across the country for me etc. So I get to the hotel and do
all my first interviews, photoshoot and paperwork. Meanwhile I had a
102 fever from running around so much before I left and I was trying to
look alive so they wouldnt can me in the first round. Finally I am told
to pack my bags and we were going to be taken to the mansion to start
filming. Except they never came back--they had cut several of us on day
1 and rather then saying that they left us waiting for the limo for
hours. They suck. So I returned only a few days after I left, and found
that a girl from the rival nightclub I was working at was away filming
the same show. I cried haha. I almost never cry off camera, but I did
then. After all the bs I just wanted to make out with Brett! Haha I was
so annoyed. It ended up being ok, i started focusing on performing
again..and i met Brett later on.
Rachel: any last words?
Devanny: I
want to give a big shout out to women in horror! Huge thanks to the
scream queen mafia and the lovely/talented Rachel Grubb for being a
mentor, friend, interviewer and now costar. Also to all the horror
fans- would be nothing without you. I love you all, thanks for
following me and keep supporting independent cinema!
To keep up with Devanny you can visit her website http://www.devannypinn.net
Be sure to watch for the highly anticipted film Bad Girls Burn in Hell staring scream queens Rachel Grubb and Devanny Pinn.
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