MISS DECEMBER 2008

RACHEL GRUBB

Silent-But-Deadly is the name of a non-profit all-female production company she co-founded and runs. But silent and deadly can also metaphorically sum up the career of Rachel Grubb so far. Since 2006, the Minneapolis-based beauty, also known as Celia Cyanide, has been slowly, but surely making a name for herself as an actress, a Scream Queen, a pinup and a filmmaker.

After a few bit parts here and there, things seemed to really take off for the indie sensation in 2008. A quick glance on IMDb shows she checked in with more than 15 acting and crew credits to her name. The upcoming year looks to be more of the same as Rachel already has five films she has appeared in that are slated for release in 2009. In addition, Rachel has been modeling her ass off and writes a regular Scream Queen column for The Chainsaw Mafia. She also took part during “Hotties of Horror” week on Maxim Radio during October and will also be appearing in the Last Doorway Productions documentary “Welcome To My Darkside - Women In Horror,”along side Felissa Rose, Heidi Martinuzzi, Bianca Barnett, April Burril and many more. Oh, and I failed to mention that she is currently working on her directorial debut, which should find its release some time in the New Year.

So with all of this going on, how does Rachel Grubb keep from going crazy? PollyStaffle.com finds out, as well as Rachel’s thoughts on pinup legend Bettie Page, Scream Queen great Debbie Rochon, how hard it is for her to direct herself and more in this Happy Holiday edition of Polly’s Pinups.

BUSY BODY

CCF: Thanks for taking the time to be a part of the Polly Staffle world. You’re an actress, a director, a Scream Queen and a Pinup Queen. Oddly enough though, you actually started as a writer and then got into acting, which led you to modeling and filmmaking. Starting at the beginning, how did that transition from writer to actress initially happen?

RG: Writing was what I went to school for. Ever since I was a little girl, I always thought I would write books when I grew up. It wasn’t until college that I realized I was far more interested in film than I was in literature. I did an independent study in screenwriting, and I took a class in acting for the camera, just because it was somewhat related to film. I was very self conscious, but my classmates, nearly all of whom were theater majors, would tell me, “You’re better than you think you are.” I filmed some of the screenplay I wrote for my independent study, and I played the lead role myself, just to see how it would work. When I graduated, I wrote my first feature length screenplay, which won Best Breakthrough Screenplay at the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival. I was focusing on screenwriting then, but I still had this fascination with acting. I remember being at a screening at the film festival, where I won my award. This guy next to me asked if I was an actress, and I wished then that I could have said yes. I still never thought I could be an actress, but a few years later, I started taking acting classes. Once I was confident enough, I started auditioning for local films, and everything just took off from there.

CCF: And where did the modeling come in exactly?

RG: I started modeling after I became more established as an actress. I needed pictures for promotional use, so I started networking with local photographers. I was doing lots of horror themed shoots and artistic shoots as well as vintage pinup shoots. Even before I started modeling, I was getting comparisons to Bettie Page, most likely because of my bangs. I did a few shoots that were an homage to her, and lots more in which I emulated the style of the 40s and 50s pinups. Originally, I had intended to just get some new photos, but I’ve been shooting ever since. I love working with different photographers and exploring new concepts. I find it a great way to express myself.

CCF: Cool. Which do you enjoy the most as far as acting, modeling and writing?

RG: I enjoy acting the most. Writing was where I started, but as time has gone on, I find I don’t enjoy it as much. When I’ve written something I’m proud of, I’m glad I was able to do it. However, I find the process very frustrating. I suppose if I could sit down for a few minutes and write something from beginning to end that was perfect, I would love it. But I can’t do that because part of writing is revision. I hate that part. With acting, I love the whole process. I enjoy creating characters. I like making little decisions like finding the intent behind each line. I love paying attention to details, and finding ways for my character to naturally react. Modeling is probably somewhere in between. It’s not the challenging creative process that acting is, but it’s still fun. I enjoy it because it’s faster. Unlike acting, I can go in for a few hours and see the results within a week.

CCF: Yeah, I know all too well about the frustrations of writing… So, moving on. (LOL) Looking at your credits, you are involved in projects right and left. One, how are you able to be a part of so many different projects? Two, with so much going on, how do you keep yourself from going crazy or do you? (LOL)

RG: One thing I love about indie filmmaking is that the filmmakers are very respectful of your time. I did a movie over the summer called “Camp Kill” and the director didn’t even start with any schedule shoot dates. He just asked our availability and scheduled the shoot around that, which worked well for me. As far as how I keep from going crazy, it’s just what I love to do. I’m having fun, and I feel very fortunate that I get to spend so much time doing something that I love. Scheduling conflicts can be a logistical nightmare, but you make time for the things you truly enjoy.

CCF: Recently you added directing to your resume. Tell us a bit about your film “Why Am I in a Box?”

RG: It’s about a women named Ellen, played by me, who went to school to be a writer, but never really followed through with it. She gets kidnapped by Paige, played by Brooke Lemke, my partner at Silent-But-Deadly Productions. Paige is the exact opposite of Ellen in the sense that she has all of the drive and none of the talent. She’s written several novels, and none of them have been published because they’re all terrible. So Paige locks Ellen in a room and tells her she’ll kill her if she can’t write a decent novel.

CCF: (LOL) Sounds sort of Charlie Kaufman-ish. Obviously there is some semi-autobiographical elements to the story, but what was the genesis of the project?

RG: Believe it or not, “Why Am I in a Box?” started out as a novel itself. I was taking a class called It’s Basic: How To Write a Novel. My teacher, David Housewright, gave us an assignment - we had to generate 3 ideas for novels. My first thought was, “Why would I want to do that? The only reason why I would want to write a novel would be if I had an idea that wouldn’t leave me alone.” As I mentioned before, I don’t like to write as much as I like to have written. Then my second thought was, “Unless someone was forcing you to write a novel. That would be a reason to generate some ideas.” And my third thought was, “Maybe there’s something.” When I went back to class the next week, I didn’t have three ideas. I only had one. But I had the first three chapters written. About a hundred fifty pages into it, I started to feel like something was wrong. It was a novel about writing a novel, and it felt too self reflexive. Other people suggested that I rewrite it about another art form, like maybe make Ellen a painter or something. But somehow I knew that wasn’t what it needed. So instead, I did the opposite. I changed the medium I was working in, and kept Ellen’s medium the same.

CCF: Was directing what you thought it would be?

RG: In a word, no, but nothing ever is. In this case, I think it’s good that it wasn’t what I thought it would be. In the weeks while I was preparing, I was terrified. There were several moments that I just wanted to call the whole thing off because I was so sure I would let everybody down. I don’t know why, but I just had this vision of everything taking much longer than it needed to, and not being able to get the shots I wanted, and the worst of all, people having a crappy time on my set. I think my worrying caused me to over plan, because things went very well. By the time we broke for lunch on the first day, I was alarmed at how well things were going. We were moving so fast that I was afraid we were forgetting something. It was so easy that I didn’t really feel like I was working hard enough. But I guess that’s how it’s supposed to be when you have a stellar cast and crew.

CCF: Cool. Now, is it harder to direct yourself than to be directed by someone else or to direct someone else?

RG: Directing myself is harder than I ever thought it would be. I assumed it would be the easiest part, because I have more experience acting than anything. I think that good actors always direct themselves in the sense that they analyze the script and have an interpretation in mind when they begin. We even do that at an audition. We don’t sit around and wait for the director to tell us what to do. So I figured that directing myself wouldn’t be that much different. But when I was the director, I can’t tell you how different it felt to not have someone else there to give me feedback. I kept asking my AD, JP Wenner, who is a good friend of mine, how I was doing. He would say, “I can tell you if the performance is good. I can’t tell you if it’s what you want.” Directing other people was easier. I learned a lot about how to communicate with actors, and about my own acting process. When I’m preparing for a role, I go through and make marks all over my lines and decide which words to emphasize, where to pause, etc. But if I would do that with another actor’s lines, and said to him or her, “Stress this word instead of that one,” it didn’t work, because the actor didn’t know why I was telling them to do it. I would make those distinctions based on my own interpretation of the lines. So instead, I had to explain my interpretation of the lines to the actors, and have them decide on the delivery themselves.

CCF: “Why Am I in a Box?” is the first project from your production company Silent-But-Deadly Productions, right? Talk a bit about how Silent-But-Deadly came about.

RG: I met Brooke Lemke on the set of a movie where we were both extras. We started talking because she recognized me from “The Monster of Phantom Lake.” As it turned out, she knew the director, and he was planning to cast her in his next movie “Cave Women On Mars.” I expressed interest, and that was when the director got the idea to pit Brooke and I against each other as the leaders of the blonde and brunnette tribes, respectively. Around that same time, I got cast in “Tales of the Dead.” Tim and Lisa Rasmussen from Haunted Autumn Productions were looking for more actors, and I became their casting director. I cast Brooke as my best friend, and we had such a great time working together. I know a lot of that was because of the awesome crew, but Brooke and I had some great chemistry. We decided the first day on set that we wanted to make movies together and start our own production company. It was a lot like the high school fantasy, “When we graduate, we can go to the same college and get an apartment and live together forever!” Except that we followed through with it, and it happened.

CCF: (LOL) I love that analogy… And with the first film from the production company “coming soon,” are there already plans for other projects in the works?

RG: Brooke already has 2 shorts in the can, “A Broken Family” and “Young Eyes.” A female novelist named Heather Beck wrote “Young Eyes,” and “A Broken Family” was written by Brooke herself. Both should by ready by next year, by the time “Box” is done. We also have a few projects in development, such as a new web series, and a horror short I co-wrote with Paul Cram, who acted in “13 Hours in a Warehouse”with me.

CCF: Career wise, are there any particular aspirations you have or benchmarks that you’ve set for yourself that you haven’t hit yet?

RG: So far, everything in my career has been things I never thought I could do, whether it’s directing my own movie, or even getting good reviews for my acting. I think I would like to direct a bigger budgeted feature, so that I could pay everyone and try some more complicated stuff, that you can’t do with a micro budget.

CCF: (LOL)

RG: I’d also like to direct something I didn’t write, just because it would just be a challenge. When you direct, you have to understand every minute detail of the script. If you wrote it yourself, you already know it all. If someone else writes it, you have to explore the script and learn all those things. Also, I would love to play Bettie Page, or act in a Batman movie.

CCF: You mentioned Bettie Page, who recently passed away. She was and will continue to be a great influence on pop culture and the whole pinup world. Any thoughts on the iconic beauty?

RG: She was amazing. I was saddened by her death. I had always thought about sending her some of my photos, but I never thought they were good enough. Now I wish I would have done it. My photos will never be what hers were, but that isn’t what it was about. I just wanted her to know that her work got me interested in this type of modeling, and one of the main reasons why people even wanted to take my picture in the first place was because I looked a little bit like her.

CCF: Acting wise, who are some of the Scream Queens you look up to or that have inspired and influenced you?

RG: I have always admired Debbie Rochon. She gives a great performance in any role she plays. It doesn’t matter if it’s a good script or a terrible script, Debbie gives it her all. I’ve seen her in some great movies and some awful ones, but no matter what, she always stands out, and makes the best of her role.

CCF: Lastly, what do you have coming up in 2009? Give us a run down of projects, appearances and what have you.

RG: I’m going to be a Scream Queen panelist at the Xanadu convention and film festival, April 17-19 in Las Vegas. I’m going to have a table there, and lots of my films will be screening, like “Unholy Reunion,” “Tales of the Dead” and “Cave Women On Mars.” “Chimera Tribe: The Rekai,” a fantasy short I acted in, will also be premiering there. As for new projects, I’m going to be in the next feature film from Haunted Autumn Productions called “Hi-Way Headhunter.” I can’t say too much about that, as the details are top secret, but it should be awesome. Also, 2009 will see the release of “Terror Overload” from NFTS Productions, as well as Nate Hanley’s “Camp Kill.” “Terror Overload” is an exploitation horror movie with three short stories and one wraparound segment. I play multiple roles in that. “Camp Kill” is a fun, campy slasher movie, and I play the lead role, alongside Scarlet Salem.

CCF: All right. Well, sounds like a lot of fun heading our way from you. Have a safe holiday season and keep doing what you’re doing.

- CCF, December 2008