They Might Be Superheros!: An Interview with Alex Covington and Rica de Ocampo

Recently I had the great pleasure to interview Alex Covington and Rica de Ocampo, the stars in a new Web series We Might Be Superheroes! A new web series by Pat Bishow, writer/director of such films as The Adventures of El Frenetico & Go-Girl,The Girls from H.A.R.M.!, and It's a Haunted Happenin'!

What first made you want to become an actress?

Alex Covington: That’s a hard question! LOL…I feel like I’ve just always wanted that. I was obsessed with “The Wizard of Oz” as a two year old…and then fell in love with singing and Musical Theater, I’d say the Movie Musical and singing started it for me. I’ve done a lot of Musical Theater professionally since then…and have more recently become VERY interested in TV/Sitcom Comedy, etc. “We Might Be Superheroes” has introduced me to that world!

Rica de Ocampo: I've been singing my entire life. Growing up I was constantly singing and performing for family and in church. When I was 8 I was in a production of, "Sound of Music."  I played Marta.  I loved being on stage and performing for an audience that was larger than just my family. I think I'm happiest being a performer and telling a story.

Is there any one actress or actor you'd like to work with in the future?

Rica : I watch a lot of different shows and there's so many actors I'd love to work with!  But I think the most fun would be to work with my brother, Ramon. He's an actor as well and works in LA.  (He's in the new SyFy series, "Twelve Monkeys."

Alex: Not in particular...I daydream more about working with specific composers like,
Jason Robert Brown, or Tom Kitt...to name a few in Musical Theater…or working on a network TV show…like in the style of “How I Met Your Mother.”

Can you tell us a little about your character and how you came to be cast in We Might Be Superheroes!?

Alex: Sure! Well Christine/Faith is a very honest, good hearted girl. She’s a bit of a dork. She’s little awkward and tries too hard sometimes. But she’s VERY smart and great with gadgets and breaking into computer systems, etc. I got cast by submitting through backstage.com. I saw the add for the project and was immediately interested. It just felt right. Pat Bishow, the producer, contacted me, set up an appt to audition and sent me sides. He also mentioned that he appreciates actors that ask questions. And I took that as a clue! LOL So I asked a LOT of questions. I asked about backstory, details about the character, etc. We were emailing back and forth quite a bit before the first audition. He said at one point, "Wow, i'm impressed. You've out Nancy Drew'd me!" LOL I think I just WAS Christine from the get-go in how I pursued answers to my questions. And the rest is history! LOL

Rica : I play Riley aka Hope.  I usually describe her as a surly badass, who's a great fighter and never stops eating. Riley is a rough and tough girl that can roll with the punches and hang with the boys.  But under that tough girl exterior, Riley is actually a real softy with a good moral compass.  I love playing Riley, she's a fun smart aleck that gets to fight.  It's great!

I saw the casting notice for We Might Be Superheroes in Backstage.  A fight heavy show modeled after 60's batman with deep comic roots?  I thought it was perfect for me!  So I submitted...for Christine not Riley.  I really connected to the geeky/nerdy side of Christine and thought that was a great choice.
When I walked into the audition, Pat (the producer for the show) said, "You're here for Riley right?" I said, "No." and read for Christine.  After the audition, I realized that I was better suited for Riley and was a little down on myself for submitting for the wrong part.  Well the team must have felt the same way cause I got called back for Riley instead and that's all she wrote!

In We Might Be Superheroes! you play a superhero. Is there any comic books or superhero films you enjoy?

Rica : My favorite show of all time is Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  I started watching it in college and still have binge days. Buffy, (all versions of) Willow, Giles, Faith and Spike are my favorite characters.  I love everything in the Whedon universe and would LOVE to work with him one day. I love comic books!  My favorites are in the Marvel Universe.  I grew up watching X-men and really loved Rogue, Gambit and Nightcrawler.  Once I got into reading comics I really fell in love with X-23 and still want to go to Comic Con dressed as her.

Alex: Yes! I really like Spiderman. And recently watched the new Spiderman movies again….SO good!

In your superhero identities you guys have to wear masks and costumes. What kind of challenges does that entail?

Alex: Its not hard, actually, to work in at all! They move great and are easy to wear :)

Rica : There really isn't a ton that difficult.  I love our costumes.  But since I'm not the gentlest of women I tend to break my gear.  I rip the hose and we've gone through at least 2 different leotards.  And then just staying cool while constantly wearing gloves!  (Which I sometimes forget to wear and we have to redo takes!)

When you have the costume on, do you ever feel like a superhero?

Rica : There have been times, after putting on the costume, that I've felt like I could barrel through walls. And the mask makes me feel pretty awesome.

Alex: Yes absolutely! I feel like I can handle anything that crosses my path!

How much of the fighting and stunts did you do yourself?

Alex: We do all of our own stunts! One of our directors/writers, Daria Morra, is super talented (she plays Troya Nice as well ) she is our Fight Choreographer. So she creates the fight scenes and we rehearse them!

Rica : As far as the fighting goes, i do everything myself.  I help choreograph the fighting and Daria is just amazing. She does a ton of falls and actual stunty thing.  I simply throw kicks and punches.  :D

You guys look like your having a lot of fun. What's it like on set?

Rica : It's fun on set!  We have a rotating crew of great people.  There's a ton of inside jokes and comic jokes and nerd jokes that make me smile.  And of course Alex is one of my best friends so it's always a great time to hang out and work with her.  I love the Amusement Films family and always look forward to our next shoots.

Alex: It is an absolute blast!! This Team has been a total pleasure to work with! We have become a little family. We laugh a ton, but can also get down to business and create great work! I also love the freedom they give me to improvise. They trust my choices and that feels amazing as an actor!

So what's next for you?

Rica : Well there's Season 3 of We Might Be Superheroes, which I'm super excited about! Next month I'll be in a feature film called, "Wild Men" It's a found footage comedy parodying reality shows that search for bigfoot.  I play a lowly intern.  I'm excited to start filming!  (If you want to learn more you can check it out here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1075857075/wild-men-a-found-footage-feature-comedy )

Alex: Well, A season 3 is in the works. Otherwise, I am always out there auditioning for Voice Over, Commercials and Musical Theater…so I”m hoping to book more spots,commercials and shows this upcoming year. I also have my own Acting Studio for Musical Theater, called “Find Your Honesty: Acting Through Song” which I adore. Coaching is another passion of mine and I”m constantly inspired by the actors I coach! So I will continue expanding my studio! For more info regarding coaching with me you can visit my website www.actingthroughsong.org.

Do you have a final message for our readers?

Alex: Thank You all so much for watching “We Might Be Superheroes!” We all, as a group, really love what we do and we hope to keep entertaining you guys!!

Rica : If you watch our show:  Thanks so much!  Like I said earlier, I love this little mondo universe I've dropped into and I love that other people enjoy it as well. If you don't watch the show: Check it out!  Alex is super cute in every episode and I'm a pretty moody chick but I'm pretty funny and I kick some ass.

Thanks so much!
:D

Amusement Films: a conversation with Pat Bishow

I recently had the pleasure to talk to filmmaker Pat Bishow about his career, influences and his latest project. Mr. Bishow is a independent writer/director of such films as The Adventures of El Frenetico & Go-Girl,The Girls from H.A.R.M.!, and It's a Haunted Happenin'!

What was your inspirations to go into film making?

4th grade…watching Planet of The Apes on TV-I wanted to be Charlton Heston (an actor). Then my brother (10 years older than me) told me what a director does and I thought “THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO DO!!” Then I realized I really wanted to be Franklin Schaffner, not Chuck Heston! I loved all those great old horror films (Hammer, Universal, etc.) then as I got older, Welles, William Castle, Sam Fuller etc. In high school I moved on to Scorsese, Michael Richie, Godard etc. And in college I discovered the B-Movie! That’s when I came to the conclusion that I loved film! All kinds of movies. '30s classics, Toho, Fellini, Spike Lee, William Wyler, Don Coscarelli, the list goes on and on! My tastes are very varied. I’ve been told many times that I’m too artsy for the exploitation market and too exploitation for the artsy market. So basically I appeal to no one. Though, over the years I’ve become very comfortable with that assessment.

What kind of cameras do you use for filming your movies?

Well…back in the day I started on Super 8 (yes, I am old). Then 16mm to DVCPro. Now I shoot on DV. My latest project (Three Cases for CC Brite) was shot on the Cannon XL2.

Your films incorporate a very retro feel and some cool music. What decades are your favorites for film and music?

I’m a rock fan. I love '50s heavy guitar and thumbing piano (Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Buddy Holly), 60s Mersey Beat, psychedelic, soul and Motown--Beatles, Standells, Beau Brummels, Pet Clark, Smokey Robinson, Wilson Pickett, etc.--70s-80s punk (Clash, Ramones, Richard Hell, DEVO etc.)…after that…well, I got too old. So now it's just what I hear on the radio (how embarrassing!)

What can you tell us about your character CC Brite? What inspired her creation?

Gosh, how much time do we have? When Jessica Jolly (who plays CC) worked on another film of ours, “It’s A Haunted Happenin’!” ,she would always captivate us with her stories and jokes in between takes. She had a very funny way about her that we didn’t feel we were really utilizing on Haunted Happenin. Jon Sanborne (my co-writer) and I would often talk about this idea of a spunky/funky Nancy Drew/Tracy Beldon/Kim Aldrich type of character. Growing up, I read my sister’s mystery books. Originally, it was the covers that intrigued me, but as I read these books I’d get these huge crushes on these girls. They were so brave, smart and cute (and all at the same time!). We wanted to create a character in this vein. We thought Jessica would be perfect. Actually, at first it looked like she wasn’t going to be able to do it (conflicts with her schedule) so we dropped the idea. We couldn’t picture anyone else playing that part.

Jessica really brought CC to life. She had amazing instincts about the character. I remember a scene where the bad guy pokes her with a sedative needle and she was supposed to say “damn!” but Jessica said ”CC would NEVER curse.” So instead she said “Dang!”-that was a really great touch. The character had to be old-fashioned yet at the same time, hip. The big mistake in the Nancy Drew movie was to take a condescending view of Nancy--they made her so goody-goody that the audience could only laugh at her. CC is cheesy, but she’s cool and modern too (with a dash of nostalgia that’s her own doing). It’s on her terms. Another touch Jessica added was when it came to CC’s friends. She felt CC was a loner. She worked with others, but really she kept to herself. That’s the way CC liked to play it.



CC Brite has bit of hand-to-hand combat in it. Do you guys choreograph the fight scenes?

To be honest, we used to. El Frenetico & The Girls from HARM! (early films) had a ton of fighting. I had a friend Paul Lazo who choreographed those fights (he did the fight choreography for the Batman Stunt Show at Great Adventure). So we kind of used his old routines and shaped them more for CC. We felt CC was very scrappy, but not really a martial artist. She can kick and punch but not in a trained way. More of a “fast on her feet” kind of fighter.

The first thing I saw of yours was a youtube video for a It's a Haunted Happenin'! What was your inspiration for making it?

Always a fan of those old 60s movies, I tried to combine the flavor of a “Beach Girls and the Monster” with a “Beach Blanket Bingo” musical. So we had the mad doctor, pretty girls and a gorilla and they would break into song for good measure. I would say the inspiration came from the idea I have these two influences running through me. One is the nostalgic appeal of my childhood with crazy colors and pop music to my punk dirty adulthood with movies like Taxi Driver and A Clockwork Orange. The truth is I love both. The Soultangers (the punk band) and the Darlings (the sweet 60s group) are both parts of me.



Any plans for It's A Haunted Happenin sequel?

I would love to….I was soooooooooo lucky to get that cast. Most of the actors in my films are my friends. I usually bring in one or two new people into each production. This was the first time I brought in seven new actors. And they were ALL AMAZING! I was very lucky. They were all younger than me but yet they still got the joke. I’ll never really understand that, but I felt very fortunate. That was the best cast I ever worked with. I’m also happy to say that I’m still friendly with most of them (and three of them show up in CC Brite!!). Maybe someday I’ll get someone to finance a big budget production starring the original cast!

What your creative process like when you’re coming up with a film?

It usually starts with Jon (my co-writer) and me talking about something we’re thinking about. Slowly the idea comes from there. Sometimes Owen Cooper (my producer) or Doug Roussin (my Art Director) will have an idea or will chime in on what we’re talking about. But it’s usually Jon and me fleshing out the idea.

Were can we pick up your movies?

There used to be so many ways. Right now I would say either write to us at amusementfilms@yahoo.com or join our myspace page www.myspace.com/ccbrite.



So what's next for you guys?

You know, Shane, I’m getting too old for this. I have a family and that takes up most of my time. But never say never. I never thought I would finish Three Cases for CC Brite…and it did take me a long time…but never say never!

Any final message for our readers?

My advise is MAKE the film!! Just get out there and shoot. The technology has really changed from the days when I started. You can really do great stuff on limited budgets. Don’t worry about what others think. Just make sure you like it! And start filming…NOW!!