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Throwing a Slumber Party for the World: The Lisa Renley Interview Experience Garrett Gilchrist writes: If you're talking about the best-loved leading ladies in our film community, Lisa Renley has to be somewhere at the top of the list. Veteran star for Milwaukee's controversial Blanc Screen Cinema, Lisa has proven her talent and charm in movie after movie, taking on even vaguely disturbing roles with warmth and humor. Apart from director Jay Bauman, she gradually became the most recognizable BSC player, and finally graduated to a leading role in "Clowns and Suicide," a dark comedy about coping with loss, which will be released very soon, in Spring 2003 or so. She first appeared as local idiot Josie Henson in "Disconnected," played kidnap victim Lily in "The Trouble With Her Uterus," and self-mutilator Michelle Porter in "Pervert Goes Home." She played the flipper lady in the cockeyed GMP/BSC short "Where's Deathlist?," for which she is also credited as director. She looked nervous as Jay Bauman's love interest in Mike Stoklasa's unreleased schlock epic "Gorilla Interrupted." After her relationship with Jay Bauman became somewhat creepy, she moved on from the Blanc Screen group, and is now starring in a feature drama for another director entitled "You and I," which is now shooting. Lisa was kind enough to take the time and talk to us about Blanc Screen, acting, friendships, the state of amateur comedy, and why she can't watch her own movies. Garrett Gilchrist: Click here to access a super-sexxy fish porn site! It's fishtastic! Lisa Renley: Damn, it didn't work. Gilchrist: Oh. Must be hosted on my server. It's always down. Renley: Your interview questions better be easy Garrett. I'm expecting what's your middle name and my favorite color? Gilchrist: Where the hell am I? Renley: In L.A. Was that my first question? If so, I did very well. Gilchrist: How did you first get into acting? Any embarrassing grade school tales? Renley: Okay, my first experience in acting was probably in 2nd grade or right around that time. My friend's parents had some really ghetto camera, but we used to play around with it occasionally. And there's footage of me pretending that I'm the spokesperson for some dog grooming company. I was absolutely terrible. If I remember correctly I even rap at the end. I should've given up then. Gilchrist: A rapping dog groomer? Renley: Correct. But I will never admit to that again. Um...my first real acting experience was playing Cinderella in 7th grade. a really lame production inside a gym with things made out of cardboard and paper. And my class at the time had like 8 people in it, so the same person would play around 9 different roles. But it was ok. I have positive memories of that experience. This was also my first experience kissing someone in acting terms. Gilchrist: Kissing someone? Renley: That's right... Prince Charming. Gilchrist: How charming was he? Renley: He actually had Tourrette's syndrome, which isn't at all funny or anything. But that's really all I remember about him. Gilchrist: Did you want to be an actress when you were young? Renley: Not until later on. I actually wanted to do something behind the camera when I was really young. After seeing Star Wars of course. Gilchrist: Really? Hate to say it, but that's surprising coming from a woman. Renley: Yeah, along with the rest of the geek population I have seen the Star Wars movies like a trillion times. And for awhile I actually wanted to become a part of that creative process. I watched the behind the scenes movie from ROTJ just as much as I watched the actual movies. I had a crush on Mark Hamill though, so that's part of the reason. But basically, I knew I wanted to somehow be involved with the movie making process. But I later developed a passion for acting, and that's stuck with me ever since. Gilchrist: Did you get to do much stage acting? Renley: I did high-school productions of Arsenic and Old Lace and the Wizard of Oz. And in college Steel Magnolias, The Boyfriend, a bunch of children's theater, and my all time favorite In The Boom Boom Room. I play a 40 year old women who tries having her baby aborted by jumping up and down. It was a crazy play, but it's taught me more about acting than anything else I've been in. I like acting in general. Actually I adore it. As far as stage acting, the benefit there is that it's much easier. And it's a wonderful stepping stone for people who want to go into acting behind a camera. Although when we first do the behind the camera stuff, we tend to look like crazed maniacs because nothing is subtle on the stage. Gilchrist: What sort of person were you like in high school? What crowd did you hang with? Renley: Okay, my high school was in the infamous Orfordville. Basically everyone knows everyone else, and there's talk of incest everywhere. When I first went to high school, I was coming from a different city, so people didn't really care for me too much at first. But eventually, things got better. I didn't really hang out with one certain group in particular. Although I would have to classify myself as one of the theater/forensics geeks. We who enjoy public speaking. But I was on the dance team, and student council, and things like that which seem to matter but really don't so much. And it was in highschool that I befriended Jay Bauman and Jesse Sorgatz. They're still trying to rid themselves of me. Gilchrist: Successfully in some cases. Renley: Correct. I actually knew Jesse first. I remember he had really long hair, and he always looked really depressed and in a bad mood. And then when I actually got to know him, I found he was quite the opposite...except he still had long hair. Right...so I met Jesse through plays and forensics. And then I met Jay mostly through Jesse. Gilchrist: What was your first impression of Jay? Was he making movies then? Renley: Definitely. That's how people knew him. He was the only one who wasn't farming. I remember there was a girl in our highschool, who later on eventually died, but at that time she was really sick. And Jay did a movie about a benefic our school put on for her. I remember being really amazed by the video. It was a really touching thing to watch. And I was kind of awestruck by the fact that he would make something like that. Gilchrist: So am I ... even today. Renley: Me too. The first actual conversation I remember having with him was when he had some punk shirt on. I think it was Operation Ivy or something. And we were both like...oh, you don't listen to country either? I've found my soulmate. Gilchrist: You really seem to refer to the whole town as hicks. Were people really farming? Renley: Oh yes. Most of the school actually. Gilchrist: For real? With farms and everything? Renley: Yeah. Gilchrist: Amazing. I seem to recall Jay showing me a short he did where they went into a store and you were working the register. For real, really working. And he said, that's the first appearance by Lisa Renley in a Blanc Screen movie. Renley: Oh, I must've been standing at the register. I wouldn't have been working. Yeah, that's when I worked at Toys R Us. Gilchrist: How did Jay approach you about playing Josie Henson, local idiot, in Disconnected? Renley: It's a bizarre story how I actually got cast. They had someone else lined up to play Josie, but she cancelled last minute I believe. And the week before they were scheduled to shoot, Jay, Jesse, and myself worked at some Jewish holiday dinner party thing. We brought out food to people and stood around looking uncomfortable mostly. But we talked and messed around in the kitchen quite a bit. And so, it was that night that Jay asked me to do it. Jesse swears that I was typecasted. Gilchrist: I hope not. A local idiot? Renley: Well, Jesse did have a third nipple removed in 8th grade. Gilchrist: I didn't know that! That explains a lot. Still, I would think Jay would be the local idiot. Renley: Disconnected is my all time favorite BSC movie. There's a lot of reasons for that really. It was my first time working with BSC, and you know how they say, your first time is the best. Oh wait...I think they say the opposite. Anyways, Disconnected has a great tone to it. I think it's funny without watching myself make out with an open wound. But I just adore the characters in that movie and their relationship to one another. I think Jay and Ron work really well. It's a fun movie, and it's well acted (except the stupid girl). And I think it has a lot of heart. As far as how it's shot and production aspects, the newer stuff is by far better. But the story and the characters of Disconnected outweigh that for me. Gilchrist: What was the Disconnected shoot like? Renley: Fun. Very fun. It wasn't actual work at all. And it took like two days to do it. And that was when, Jay employed the old technique of shooting line by line. "Now say this line." It was good times though. Gilchrist: Two days? Renley: For my part. I think it took them 3. Gilchrist: Nice. Renley: The length of time it takes to shoot my stuff has progressed since Disconnected. My characters have gotten more complex, and Jay's style of filmmaking has as well. He uses lights now. And it takes him a couple days normally to convince me to go through with much of what he makes me do. But yeah, Clowns and Suicide took the whole summer. I drove to Milwaukee pretty much every sunday. The early years of BSC are all pleasant and full of fun memories. But it's basically because none of us were serious about things quite yet. Jay obviously wanted to do this gig permanently, but he was still having fun making movies for basically just his friends and family. The goal wasn't to necessarily shop the movies around. Same with my acting. It's kind of an experimental stage. I do remember the day before Jay left for college. He came over to my house with Jesse, and we sat outside talking for hours. They probably don't remember this because I'm a sappy female, but we agreed that we would do things, accomplish things, together. And for the most part, that's how it's went. Gilchrist: You sort of made a promise to each other? Renley: In a way, yeah. Gilchrist: That's sort of beautiful and sad at the same time. Renley: It is. Gilchrist: Like Princess Leia's mother. Renley: Exactly. What? Gilchrist: At one point near this time, Jay edited you a little birthday video. Renley: Where did you hear that? Yes, he did. Jay's birthday video was absolutely delightful. It's one of the best presents I've ever gotten. It cheers me up to watch it. It's mostly just a montage of moments and pictures from the last couple years set to upbeat music. He gave it to me when I was a sophomore in high school, and I was really touched that he would make something like that for me. Gilchrist: But did he get you a cake? Renley: No, should he have? Gilchrist: Yes. Bastard. Renley: That was my 20th birthday I believe. Gilchrist: Not 50th? Renley: Hold up...let me think again.... no, 20. Gilchrist: After Disconnected, the next thing you shot with Jay was probably the Christmas movie. Renley: No, The Untitled Lisa Renley generic action movie. Gilchrist: I forgot about that one! That was actually after Disconnected. Wow. I say that because, well, it's not well shot. Renley: Or well acted. I'm not Jackie Chan. Gilchrist: Yes you are. You are a funny little Asian man. Renley: Why does everyone keep saying that? Here's a strange thing you wouldn't know about the Christmas movie....Jay based the cannibalistic character on Jesse Sorgatz.. There's a little known fact. Jesse eats people. Gilchrist: I didn't know that. Renley: Not many people do. So after Disconnected, Jay shot a short starring me as an action hero. How could that go wrong? With my training in the martial arts field, it was sure to be action packed. Alas, it's in hiding now. Jay basically considered me as the last person on the face of the planet who would play an action hero. So that's why it was made. I have no lines. I just snap a stuffed animal's neck, and kick James Cuellar on the ground. But it was fun. And the banana scene from Pervert actually derives from that short. Gilchrist: And the "Weren't you tied up?" ... "No?" ending of Uterus. There is a definite cuteness to that short. After that, Jay's work starts to take on a darker tone. Renley: Yeah, there's a definite darkness to Uterus and Pervert. I remember reading those scripts for the first time and thinking...I'm going to hell. Jay thought of vile things, and then he thought of things that would be more vile than the original vile things, and then he thought of the most vile things he could think of. And that's what he shot. But seriously, actually watching those movies, you can "get" and see Jay's sense of humor. And if you know Jay, you know that he actually doesn't find humor in child molestation or self mutilation. You have to have a good sense of humor though...maybe even a slightly twisted one. But I must admit, I do find them funny. I'm going to hell. I had a friend tell me they're like live action South Park. Gilchrist: Your performances never seem to show any fear of the material ... in fact you often get most of the shock value, as in Pervert Goes Home when you genuinely cut yourself playing the self-mutilating Michelle. Something Jay has noted as really getting into the role. Have you been more uncomfortable with your roles than you've let on? Renley: Oh yeah, I've been uncomfortable with some of the material. But I have a lot of trust for Jay...and respect for him. So I go in there and cut my arm and make out with it. But Jay does give me a say. For example, after 2 takes of that particular scene I said, "nope, not doing it again". And he lets me get away with that. We've had a one take only policy on rare occasions. But Jay could talk me into doing just about anything. But some of the stuff I've actually never even seen. I have never watched my "make out" scene in Pervert or the very last scene. I just can't do it....maybe someday. Gilchrist: You've never seen that scene in Pervert? Renley: Nope, probably never will. Gilchrist: REPEAT, YOU'VE NEVER SEEN THAT SCENE IN PERVERT? Renley: Nope. That's my look away time. Gilchrist: That's the best part of the film. You don't shut it off, you just look away? Renley: Yeah. I've seen up to where I cut my arm and that's it. Gilchrist: That's crazy, that's amazing. You should watch it. Renley: Nope, can't do it. Gilchrist: It'll be like a kid watching a horror Movie. If you don't watch the scary parts they just get worse in your mind. Renley: There's no way. Gilchrist: Oh come on. Please? I'll give you candy. Renley: Hmm...candy. Nope. Gilchrist: So I guess that's a yes that your material with Jay disturbed you more than you let on, onscreen. Renley: Yeah, probably. Gilchrist: But you enjoy it as well? Renley: I do enjoy them ... not my parts normally ... but the movies as a whole. Some of the stuff in those movies is absolutely hilarious. Can I say Big K? Jay's movies definitely got darker though. I think he partly felt like he had to outdo himself from feature to feature. But a lot of it is that he was maturing. His material now is still great and funny, but it's not over the top. And Jay's goal has always been to make people laugh. People think it's to offend people. But no, he really just wants to make them think and smile. Gilchrist: Do you have trouble watching yourself onscreen, even when not doing something disturbing? Renley: Yeah, I'm insanely critical of any and all of my performances. I'm always like..."you said that line horribly, who are you looking at there, what are you doing now?" And things like that. Plus it's just hard to watch yourself onscreen. Gilchrist: You're rough on yourself. Renley: No, I should be. Gilchrist: It helps you improve your craft. Renley: Exactly. On to part two of the interview, where Lisa discusses porn, elves, waiting tables, and the state of amateur cinema.