AC:  Welcome everyone to the first installment of FOOL’S (inter)VIEWS.  Today, we are very pleased to have with us…

Molly Celaschi from HorrorYearbook.com.  Welcome, Molly!

MC:  Hello. Thanks for having me as your first interviewee.

AC:  All right, just for starters, what initially brought you to MySpace? Everyone has a story…

MC:  Actually, I have been on MySpace for less than a year and I can’t remember how I got started. I know it had to do with the making of the film Pocahauntus and numerous people were asking me to join to post updates and pictures.

AC:  Were you directly involved in the film, and in what respect?

MC: PocaHauntus is a film made by a trio consisting of my friends Veronica Craven and Barry Ratcliffe and myself. We all worked together previously and decided to make a feature film. Barry wrote the screenplay and stars as the Camp Owner. Veronica directed and produced it. I am Assistant Director and had a small role in it as well.

AC:  How did we come to be MySpace "friends"?

MC:  Hmm, I believe I met you through Matt’s (The Flesh and Blood Show) page.

AC:  Yes, yes, that’s sounds right.  So, Molly, what’s your normal daily routine like?  What’s your means of making a buck?

MC:  Well, I am typically up early and work a day job for a computer company that specializes in Linux (as opposed to Microsoft or Apple). While I’m there, I type movie reviews, interview questions, or post blogs. At night I am either back online, watching films, or meeting people for business.

AC:  Ah, working for the greater good while working for The Man.  Nicely done.  Can you remember what the first movie (doesn’t have to be a horror flick) was that made a big impression on you?

MC:  Well, I can think of a couple. I started watching horror films when I was a little kid. My dad let me watch Squirm and it made me laugh so hard. So here I am this little 6-year-old thing in a dress running around telling people, “Now you be the worm face!”

AC:  That’s awesome. 

MC:  But as far as getting into the production aspect of film, that would Requiem for a Dream about five years ago. I remember sitting stunned for about 10 minutes after it ended because it made me feel so much and I knew movies were magic. The score alone stuck with me for days afterward. That is when I decided that I must find a way into the movie business.

AC:  I remember stumbling out of RfaD and feeling like I needed an encounter group, because I felt I had seen something so amazing and yet completely traumatizing.  Not too often a film can affect me that deeply.  Unfortunately, at the time, not too many people had seen it yet and I hadn’t yet discovered life online, so I had to just sit with it for a while.  How many movies do you usually see a week?

MC:  Varies greatly week by week. Sometimes only one, sometimes up to six. If I get enough time, I will catch up on older genre films that I have on VHS and watch them back-to-back, or I might see a new movie in a theater during a slow day to avoid crowds. Or I might have to watch 10 short films in a row for a film festival that I work on.

AC:  Which film festival is this?

MC:  Well, the short films I watched are for the SiliCon Short Film Festival at the SiliCon convention in San Jose, CA this Oct. 5th 2007 (www.siliconventions.com). I am coordinating the majority of the fest, so if it goes well, you can thank me. If it doesn’t, then I will try to find someone else to blame.

AC:  Can you tell us the last 10 movies you watched, and give us your personal rating from 1-10?

MC:  Geez, ten? This is tough as I cannot mention certain films related to festivals yet and the rest I am pulling off the top of my head.  Here goes:

IL BOSCO FOURI aka LAST HOUSE IN THE WOODS – 6.5/10
DRILLER – 8/10
SMALL TOWN FOLK – 6/10
LITTLE CHILDREN – 9/10
AUDITION – 9.5/10
THE REDSIN TOWER – 8/10
LADY VENGEANCE – 10/10
GRINDHOUSE – 8/10
ANCHORMAN – 10/10
SAVAGE STREETS – 9/10

AC:  Damn, I’ve only seen two of those, Grindhouse & Audition, but I would agree with your ratings for both.  Gotta ask, what was the .5 that kept Audition from being a perfect film for you, like say…Anchorman?  That is the Will Ferrell one, right?

MC:  Thanks. Grindhouse was great, but I started to get antsy during Tarantino’s round with the obnoxious girls yammering away. Audition was initially a Perfect 10 movie for me, but a co-worker of mine at Horror Yearbook and I decided to do a movie battle on Audition (you can find this on our site). He hated it, I loved it. In the end, I realized there is reason to be slightly confused by the plot and knocked it down half a point. But I believe I convinced by co-worker to raise his score substantially in turn. Anchorman IS the Will Ferrell movie. This is by far my favorite comedy and is so easily quotable. I have seen it repeatedly and never get tired of it. Funny thing is that it deals with serious issues like sexual harassment in the workplace, yet is fun for both men and women and was an equal opportunity offender.

AC:  When and why did you feel the desire and/or need to start writing reviews for Horror Yearbook?

MC:  This was a total fluke; pure coincidence. WIL came to interview for a position as a PA on the set of Pocahauntus. We got to talking about horror movies and hit it off. I added him on MySpace, then saw a few days later he was looking for reviewers to start a website. I took a chance and he accepted the submissions. So he is now my editor and we have been working together ever since. Plus, I have always loved writing and it is funny that I never thought to combine all of my loves- writing, horror, and movie watching.

AC:  Does WIL really capitalize all the letters in his name?

MC:  Ahaha, yes! I like it because it is different, but mostly because it seems to confuse people.

AC:  Tell us the last goal you achieved, and a couple that are on your “short list.”

MC:  I made it back from Fangoria Burbank alive. Oh, seriously? Well, we finished the work on Another Hole in the Head film festival, so I am glad that is done. Right now, I would like for us to finish the work for the SiliCon convention. I would like to see Pocahauntus, Mass Acre Hill, Retardead, and Blink of an Eye on DVD soon. And I would like to start work on the next feature film.

AC:  Excellent.  What have you done for the horror genre lately?

MC:  You mean to help or hurt it? Well, I write news, reviews, and interviews on Horror Yearbook. I was staff for Another Hole in the Head programming guide. I am helping with the Horror guests and Short Film Festival at the SiliCon convention this year. I made a contribution to the Dead by Dawn Film Festival. I got the Werewolf Women of the SS fake trailer news onto page six of the NY Post. And I just provided coverage of the Fangoria Burbank convention.

AC:  Hell, gal, you’re putting the rest of us to shame!  Tell us your favorite close encounter story with a horror celebrity.

MC:  That is tough because I keep having them and most have been great! I still like my phone interview with Lloyd Kaufman (from Tromaville). He is so wildly unpredictable. Everyone says he is lovable and goofy, but when I got him on the phone it seemed as though he would either scream or cry at any given second. Plus, he accused me of insulting him the moment he picked up, which caught me off guard. Turns out WIL wrote something about him being an idiot and Lloyd thought I wrote that. But at any rate, he was a nice guy that gave me the best quotes. Despite his goofy exterior, he is really intelligent.  I also liked Leslie Easterbrook (Devils Rejects) who I still email to this day and David Hess (Last House on the Left) who I couldn’t figure out if he was really scary or not.

AC:  Oh, he’s scary.  Nice as hell, but a little scary.  Guy can’t help it.  Who are some of your favorite horror icons, and why?

MC:  Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson for just breaking the barrier. They made these low budget films that are my favorites and then went on to earn Oscars and break box office records. This shows that the horror genre deserves more respect and that real talent is bred on these grounds.  I also respect John Carpenter, Robert England, George Romero, Sigourney Weaver, Dario Argento, Mike Mendez, and Takashi Miike for their contributions as well.  As for Iconic Horror characters:  Ash (Evil Dead) because he had a chainsaw and the best one liners. Leatherface (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) because he had a chainsaw, and didn’t need one liners. Freddy (Nightmare on Elm Street) because he has the best backstory, motive, and method to his madness. Angela (Night of the Demons) because she was badass. Angela (Sleepaway Camp) because he was badass.

AC:  Ha, that’s funny.  Okay, last question:  I’m a newbie to the horror genre, and I’ve never seen a horror flick from before 1995. Where should I start?

MC:  I actually get this a lot and the first thing I ask is what other types of movies they watch. If someone likes comedies, I would recommend a horror comedy. If someone likes dramas or serious films, I would recommend “smart horror” to them. And the same with the other genres like romance, action, foreign, porn, or family friendly films. There are so many subgenres of horror that I couldn’t possibly recommend all of my favorites to every one else and just because I thought Cannibal Holocaust was a great film, doesn’t mean it is for everyone.   But if I had to recommend some older films that I think the majority of people across the board could enjoy, I would say Dead-Alive, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the Evil Dead series, Alien, Deep Red, and The Exorcist. I think all of those films either have high entertainment value or have something terrifying to offer.

AC:  Damn, I know we could keep going and going, but time and space…  Thank you so much for joining us, Molly!  Hope you’ll stop back by throughout the week and answer any other questions that folks might have for you.

MC:  It was nice chatting with you and I would love to answer any other questions you or anyone else has.