Almost every film actor has at least one horror movie on his or her resume. I'm not exception. My entry in the indie slasher genre is a feature I shot in 2001 in Marin County, Calif. -- initially titled Mortified, then Mortuary, then finally Final Remains -- in which I landed top billing as a mortician suspected of multiple murders. Imagine my surprise when director Shawn Hazelaur told me that after seven years and three titles, Final Remains would be released domestically on DVD in January.
I shot the film while appearing in a play in San Francisco. I'd shoot from 10 a.m. until early evening, drive to the city and perform the play, then zip back and shoot until early morning -- 20-hour das for two glorious weeks. Being a longtime horror film fan, I loved shooting this movie. I did so many interesting things: drove a Hearse; stabbed, strangled and shot people; clobbered and wrestled with cops; hid in a closed coffin; fought an attack cat and an exploding fire extinguisher; learned more about embalming than I ever wanted to know; and killed scores of innocents – all while maintaining the audience’s sympathy. Say what you will about the genre, it’s never boring!
I even got to write a scene! While shooting, I mentioned to Shawn that, while the characters talk about how clever and manipulative my “Henry Parks” is, we never actually see Henry in action. He immediately said, “Write a scene where we do!” So I did, in which Henry completely charms the suspicious sheriff. Shawn shot the scene pretty much as written. How many directors do that?
I know a straight-to-DVD feature is not a big deal to many actors, but I’m very grateful for this minor accomplishment. Speaking of accomplishments, Carved in Stone, the show I’m co-producing and in which I’ll play Quentin Crisp, is moving forward, despite the gloomy economy. Jeffrey Hartgraves’ after-life comedy opens June 5 at Theatre Asylum in Hollywood.
We found an angel of sorts in Asylum’s Matthew Quinn – one of the nicest guys on Theatre Row – who is co-producing and bending over backwards to get this show on the boards. Gratefully, he was in San Francisco during the show’s initial smash run, and knows the value of this project.
We’ve a wonderful cast that includes Curt Bonnem as Tennessee Williams, Jesse Merlin as Oscar Wilde, Kevin Remington as Truman Capote, and Levi Damione as our “male ingénue.” And director John Pabros-Clark is already hard at work with design, blocking and a millions other ideas. We’re planning a backer’s audition for March – I’ll have lots more to tell you next month. Check www.CarvedInStoneThePlay.com or www.LeonAcord.com.
Last but not least, I’ve had five auditions (and two callbacks) for stage projects, but no commercial or theatricals. And I scrambled to catch the last few films before mailing my SAG Award ballot. While I’m sorry DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road) and Franco (Milk) were overlooked, I guess there were too many terrific performances in 2008 to include them all!
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