Ten Questions for Film Director / Actor Mike Messier

When one thinks of movie making, they often envision Los Angeles or New York City. The state of Rhode Island has a small community of filmmakers. One of them is the talented and motivated Mike Messier. What makes this aspiring artist tick? I'd figure I'd ask.

1) When did you first start getting into films?

MM: In high school, I started making music videos with a simple two VCR and boom box system. I made a decent video for the Pro Wrestling tag team The Road Warriors with the song Iron Man by Black Sabbath.
I also [made] a morbid video using footage from The Faces of Deaths film. In my senior year of high school, I took a class called TV Production. My class produced a script I wrote called World War 3 Part 2. This was in the 90's and at the time at my high school in suburban Northern Virginia, I was one of only a few kids who figured out how to edit VCR to VCR so it was a good novelty act for class assignments. It really wasn't until late at Rhode Island College when I got a bit more serious about digital film making. Me and my friend Jorge made a movie called Man In You- A Providence Love Story. It was an 80 minute with a very dark, yet realistic feel for Providence at that time. I wish the movie had better audio, but we did the best we could for the time and resources we had.

2) Your film "Wrestling with Sanity" recently won some film festival awards, are there more scenes to film? Have you had any companies interested in distributing it?

MM: My first goal is to get a producer to finance the the rest of the feature film production costs. With the recent development of a "name" Pro Wrestler, namely a wrestler named "Raven" [website address is http://www.theraveneffect.com/] interested in my film, I am hoping producers see the potential for this project.
There was some interest from a distribution group in NY, but we have to finish the film before we can get it distributed. Of a 108 page script, we have filmed about 40 pages, so there is plenty more to film.
Ideally, we would "re-film" what we already filmed on higher budget equipment, maybe an HD camera.
[I want to] Note to clarify, the "Wrestling With Sanity Short Film Trilogy" consists of three short films that are based on scenes from a feature length script. The three short films are separately titled Sacrilege, God's Country and Rich and Famous. The feature length script was titled Wrestling With Sanity but I have recently changed the feature script title to Hell's Champion, for several reasons, namely because the concept of a character named Hell's Champion is fully developed in the feature script and I have a "name" Pro Wrestler interested in playing Hell's Champion in the feature length version. I know having a total of five titles for one piece can be confusing; at the present time, we have the three short films that can be shown together or separate and the feature film script that has undergone a recent justified name change. So hopefully, the audience we've accumulated will bear with me and my idiosyncratic tendencies in regards to titles.

3) How did you get the idea to write the scipt for "Wrestling with Sanity"? The dialogue between the three characters is often intense and very creative and funny. How long has it taken you to perfect or "tune up" their speaking parts?

MM: I was taking a playwriting class at Rhode Island College with a teacher named Eliza Anderson back in 1999. I wrote a scene about two characters discussing the benefits of escaping to Canada. This was before 9/11 so "American dissent type stuff" was more of a joke than the political statement it is now. I kept writing scenes for these "unnamed" characters until I had a basic premise of two guys going to therapy with the same female therapist. In May 1999, we had a script reading of what was then knowns as "The Whole Ship is About to Sink" at a place calledCafe La France on Thayer Street in Providence, RI which has long since been replaced by the Pizza/Mexican place. In the original version, the two male characters never interacted with each other, which seemed pretty weak. So , based on conversations with my womanizing friend Jason from Virginia and my own imagination, I added the male and male conversation scenes. In February 2000, the play was on stage at The Call night club in Providence. I was the writer / producer but not director of that play version. We had intended to make a digital video of that time with the original play cast but due to several absurd reasons it fell through.

I chronicled the play and my attempts to make the play into a movie in a very strange yet somewhat entertaining 2003 documentary/narrative piece called Victorious-The Battle for Sanity. So to answer your question, most of the dialogue in the Wrestling With Sanity Short Film Trilogy was written way back in 1998/1999. But I have been tweaking it for ten years and continue to tweak it, ever so slightly, to this day.

4) What other films and videos have you completed?

MM: My best piece is probably Schtickman, an animation series about a crude stand up comedian stick figure that I wrote and drew. My elusive friend Chris Miller did the animation. My reality show documentary "Rejected by Reality" is another good one, I think. It chronicles my 2002 experiences being rejected by three reality TV show outlets, althoughHBO did care enough to fly me to LA, just to get rejected in person by Jay Roach, the director of Austin Powers and Meet the Parents. Both of these pieces can be seen on [my website] www.mikemessier.com/. I have also made about 50 episodes of The Mike Messier Show since 2002, a public access TV show here in Rhode Island. The show won "Best Series" for Public Access in RI for the year 2005 , beating out several religious programs. So in that regard, I like to say that "Messier beat God", at least in the realm of public access TV. (Just kidding God, please do not smite me.)

5) You also host a show called the Mike Messier show, what do you do on it and where can people see it?

MM: Good seagueway. My show is a strange variety/ public forum/ burlesque dancer eye candy feast/ short film retreat / combat sports / whatever else I can throw together. If you are in RI [ Rhode Island], you can see it
on Friday late night 3am - 5am Statewide A Cox Channel 13 and Verizon Channel 32 and [on] Saturday midnight - 2am Providence and North Providence Cox channel 18 and Verizon 38. If you don't live in Rhode Island, you can see a "Best of" highlight reel and "Pitch" for my show to go national on www.mikemessier.com/.

6) Aside from directing, you also act. Your resume states that you starred in a movie titled, "Hard Luck". While the movie was not a theatrical release, it did have several well known actors in it. What was that experience like? And do you plan on acting in other movies that are not your own?

MM: Working in Hard Luck, was overall, a great and scary experience. I write about it at length in an article on [the websitte] but to summarize, it was great working with Cybill Shepherd, and playing her son and the 15 minutes I actually acted with her on or 3 minute mother / son scene was worth shaving my head and all the stress I went through in the audition process. The film's director Mario Van Peebles was a real nice guy and I only wish I could find him or his agent to write him a thank you letter. Wesley Snipes apparently did not like the New England weather. Can't blame him. I wish I could have gotten to know Luis Guzman and Melvin Van Peebles who were also in the film but it was not to be.

7) Most filmmakers and actors go to either New York City or Los Angeles. What made you decide to live in Rhode Island and work in "Rhodywood"? What are the advantages in working the Providence art community?

MM: I came to RI to finish college and have gone from one project or class or job to another ever since.
For a few winters, the idea has crossed my mind to move to a warmer climate , but so far I've stuck it out.
I was just in New York City today, and I think it's fair to say that while I "respect" NYC, I am not a "New York guy".
I have issues with confined spaces, and NYC is just too crowded, elbow to elbow, for me to be able to live there full time. I do like the Los Angeles scene, my sister lives in Santa Monica and I've enjoyed it when I've visited.
I think that Hell's Champion has momentum here in New England so I think this piece could be finished here nicely.

8) Aside from the "Wrestling with Sanity" project, do you have any other future movies or videos that you are working on?

MM: I have about five projects in various stages of development. One of them is a coming of age film with female leads. One of them is about Mexican Wrestling. One of them is a "buddy sports comedy." I also co-wrote a piece called Love by Accident with Linda Louise King that is an action romantic comedy about a young woman, her family and her work as an undercover cop.

9) Movie making can be a time consuming job what do you do for hobbies? Do you have any peculiar interests?

MM: I like to play chess, burn incense, shoot basketball, watch sports on TV , buy Pro Wrestling action figures from guys on craigslist, and go to movies.

10) Most actors and aspiring directors never achieve modest success. You have had scenes in a movie with some established actors. You have had some success with your independent films. What do you say to young people out there struggling to get into the film industry?

MM: If I could "do it all over again" I would probably forgo my four year BA degree that took me seven years to get and go directly to an established film school. [The] Maine Media Workshops [website is www.theworkshops.com] in Maine is a good one that I have been to many times. I know there are many other great film schools, some more expensive than others. For those interested in behind the scenes work, my friend Tom Kane offers a good four day workshop at www.filmtvworkshops.com. I did have a good time in college and I know there is a lot to be learned there but for "film people" I don't know if it's the best way to spend 4-6 years.

No offense to "regular college" but how many keg parties can you go to and how many pigs can you slice up in Biology class if you really want to learn about film? Beyond that, get some books and / or DVD tutorials on film making and educate yourself. Also, even if you don't want to be an actor per se, it's best that you take an acting class to learn what actors go through. We need more directors who can relate to "real live people" not just push buttons on a camera. Most importantly , generate your own projects. Don't wait for a "big break" to come your way or for someone to "hire you". Put yourself "into business" and make it happen.

"Don't be denied."