Rachel Grubb - Entertainment Blog
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Rachel Grubb is a multi-talented dynamo who works her
tail off both in front of, and behind the camera.

As of late, Rachel’s star is rising, big time.

Again, if you have never had the privilege of seeing any of
Rachel’s work, here is her bio (From Fixter):

Rachel Grubb graduated college with a degree in English
and wrote her first feature length screenplay, in 1999.
When the script won Best Breakthrough Screenplay at the
2000 New York International Independent Film & Video
Festival, she wanted to star in it herself, simply because
she didn’t know anyone else to ask. Not wanting to make
a fool of herself, she started taking acting classes, and, to
her surprise, became heavily involved in the Minnesota film
community—as an actor. She traveled to Hollywood for
the IMTA Convention in 2003 and took home a trophy
for the Sitcom competition, and a medal for Cold Read.

Since then, she has acted in numerous local feature films,
including Doomed To Consume, The Monster of Phantom
Lake, Harrowville, Group Home, The Romantics, Tales
Of The Dead, Horror House, Health Freaks, and Unholy
Reunion. More recently, she played a creepy ghost in Dav
Kaufman’s 13 Hours in A Warehouse, and Hagra, lead
huntress of the evil Liak tribe in Cave Women on Mars.
She plays Angeline in One Way Ticket, a film about an
arranged marriage couple from West Africa. She and her
friend Brooke Lemke have formed Silent-But-Deadly
Productions. They have just finished Why Am I In A Box?
which Rachel wrote, directed, and starred in.

Interview

Foxy – Anyone who knows you understands that you have love affair with everything Batman related, especially The Joker, did
you grow up being a comic book fan and why the fascination with the Cape Crusader’s arch enemy?

Rachel Grubb – I grew up as a comic book fan for sure! As a child, I admired Batman and looked up to him as a father figure. I
loved to read superhero comics as a kid, but Batman was my favorite. I was interested in just about anything Batman related, no
matter how silly. I loved the cartoon and the 1960’s live action TV show as a child. And when I was a little older, I loved the
Tim Burton film with Michael Keaton. And of course, since then, I’ve also loved the Animated Series, and the Dark Knight. I
was into all of it, but there is something special about the Dark Knight. Nolan brought Gotham to the screen in a way I never
thought possible. Batman Begins wasn’t bad, but it didn’t really click with me because I dislike origin stories. When I was little, I
never wondered, “Why does Batman fight crime?” (Although, I do remember being about 6 years old and wondering why he
didn’t just kill the Joker.) Dark Knight is kind of the ultimate Batman adaptation, and the Joker was the most important part of
that. And let’s face it: Heath Ledger’s Joker is to Batman fangirls what Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catman was to Batman fanboys back
in the day.

Foxy – How hard is it for young women to break into modeling and acting these days? What are directors and photographers
looking for?

RG – They’re probably all looking for something different. But there is one thing that everyone is looking for, and that is someone
who is willing to work hard. A lot of people imagine breaking into acting as this thing that magically happens to you one day, but
it isn’t really like that. You start out doing smaller projects, like student films, and little by little you work your way up to bigger
things. When some people are starting out, they only want to try out for bigger movies, or roles that pay a lot of money, but I
don’t recommend that. Roles like that are highly competitive, and if you don’t have much experience, you’re going to get beat out
by someone who does. So you shouldn’t pass up an opportunity just because you think the movie won’t be a huge success or
make you famous. If it will add to your resume and give you something for your reel, or just help you improve your craft, it can
be good for you. It is also important to be committed, and make acting and modeling a priority. There are a lot of people who
say that want to be actors and models, but they really like the idea better than they like to actually do it. If you have other things
you would rather be doing, that is fine, but you can expect that most opportunities will go to those who truly want to do it.

Foxy  – You’ve starred in two of Christopher Mihm’s
retro sci fi films, “Monster of Phantom Lake” and “Cave
Women on Mars”, how did you get involved in those
projects, and what was it like working with the director?

RG – I found an audition online for a local feature film
based on 1950’s drive-in horror movies, and I had to
check it out. I love watching Mystery Science Theatre
3000, so I was quite familiar with those types of movies. I
went into to audition, and they cast me in the role of Amy.
When I met Brooke Lemke, she told me how Chris
wanted to make a movie with her called Cave Women
On Mars. Chris recognized Brooke from Invasion Iowa
with William Shatner. I told them both that I would love
to be in it, and that’s how we became the two leads with
the warring tribes–Blondes vs. Brunettes. I love working
on these movies with Chris. I think that if you want to
make a successful parody of something, even if you don’t
have a genuine appreciation for it, you at least should
have an understanding and respect for it. If you make fun
of something you don’t like, and don’t really know
anything about, it’s not going to work. Chris grew up with
these movies, and he really understands them, which is
why he is able to make fun of them so well.

Foxy – Now, I”ve commented several times that I though
that you made an excellent villain in CWOM. That is
always the best part to play in a production isn’t it? I
mean the bad girl (guy) always get’s the best lines don’t
they?

RG – A lot of the time. The villains do get to do all of the crazy, fun stuff. Like with Hagra, I got to develop this great voice for
her, and these evil looks. The only downside is that I never get to play the good girl. I’m always the quirky one, or the mean one,
or the evil one. And I think it would be great to be the one the audience is rooting for once in a while.

Foxy – In “Terror Overload” you appear in a couple of the stories, in shall we say, compromising positions. You’ve often said that
performing nude and doing scenes of a sexual nature doesn’t bother you. How do you prepare for something like that, it must be
a real “gut-check”?

RG – It’s actually not. For me anyway, when I’m preparing for a role, I’m thinking more about my performance and memorizing
my lines. The only thing that makes me nervous is when I have to watch it. I recently attended the premiere of Terror Overload. I
was nervous throughout the whole thing! Getting naked is one thing. Seeing it up on the big screen is quite another.

Foxy – While looking over your list of upcoming films, I saw that you are going to play “The Bride of Frankenstein” in “Night on
Has Been Mountain.” Now, that sounds like a fun role, tell us a little bit about that production?

RG – I’ve been working with Haunted Autumn Productions for a while now. Night On Has Been Mountain is about old school
movie monsters and what they’re doing now. I get to be the Bride Of Frankenstein, who is now trying to earn a living as a
stripper. We film those scenes as soon as we find a location.

Foxy – Recently you have founded you own production
along with fellow actress Brooke Lemke, who you have
co-starred with on a few films, called “Silent But Deadly
Productions.” Tell us about why you both started it, and
about your new web series “Silly But Delusional”?

RG – Brooke and I started Silent-But-Deadly mainly
because we wanted to create more opportunities for all
the awesome women we’ve worked with in independent
film, and also because Brooke and I liked working
together and wanted to keep doing it.

Our web series is called SBD, named after
Silent-But-Deadly. Each episode has a title with the
initials SBD. The first episode is called Silly But
Delusional. We were approached by Justen Overlander
of the Numa Network to do a web series. They have a
large number of female subscribers, and they wanted
something that would appeal to that demographic.
Brooke and I came up with the idea of playing
roommates, and we each created our own character.
Brooke wanted her character, Jill, to be obsessed with
reality TV, and have her talking to a webcam and
pretending it was a confessional on her own reality show.
I told her, “I wanna make fun of my weird obsession with
the Dark Knight!” So Gina, my character, has this Joker
poster she talks to. In the beginning, it was more like this
weird habit she had. But in subsequent drafts, she got
weirder, and it seemed like she really did thing she was
talking to the Joker. It was fun to do. Most of the
situations we go through are based on experiences
Brooke and I have had with past roommates.

Foxy – There has been a real boom in independent horror and sci fi productions coming out of Minnesota these days, or so it
seems, is this a new thing or has there always been a sort of underground film community there?

RG – have only been involved with the underground film community for the last five years or so. We do have a rich film
community here in Minnesota, but i can’t say for sure how long we’ve had it. I do think that more recently, Minnesota filmmakers
have been able to get their movies out there and seen by people. That’s been happening lately, and we’re starting to be recognized.

Foxy – Which do you enjoy more, modeling or acting?

RG – Acting. No question. Modeling can be a creative outlet at times, like when I get to come up with my own ideas for photo
shoots. I also like it because I can go in for a few hours and have fun and get the pictures back in less than a week. But it’s
nothing like the creative challenge for acting.

Foxy – Your popularity seems to have really taken off over the past year or so. You have become heavily in demand with
numerous photo shoots, more film roles and magazine articles. What do you think sets you apart from other actors and models
that has spawned this popularity?

RG – I wish I knew the answer to that, because whatever it is, I want to do a lot more of it! I would have to say that a lot of it is
my versatility. I can play several different types and various ages. As a model, I have many different looks. I’ve done fine art,
pinup, and even commercial work. I don’t really stick to one genre. I think that’s a big part of it.

Foxy – What other actors do you admire, is there anyone that you try and emulate in your performances?

RG – I wouldn’t say I try to emulate anyone, but there are quite a few people I look at and say, “I wanna be that good.” I think
it’s probably quite obvious that I love Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker. It’s so organic and flowing that it doesn’t even
look like acting at all. It just looks like…being. Only it’s not, because he’s nothing like that character at all. He just disappeared
into the role. I’m also very fond of Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange. The crap he had to endure for that role took
dedication to a whole new level. He scratched his freakin’ cornea. I’m also fascinated by Johnny Depp’s process. I love how he
can pull out the strangest influences for a character and come up with such a unique interpretation. If I had the chance to spend a
night with Johnny Depp, I’d just take the opportunity to talk to him and pick his brain about acting. I don’t I have ever met
another woman who would say that.

Foxy – Your dance card is pretty full these days with numerous films and photo shoots, but is there something on the horizon that
possibly we haven’t heard about yet

RG – I’m doing another movie called Strip Club Slasher very soon. It’s by NFTS Productions, who did Terror Overload. I’m
also doing another movie with Haunted Autumn Productions called Hi-Way Headhunter. I had so much fun working on Tales Of
The Dead, and I can’t wait to get started on this! I’m also going to be doing a comedy with Jorge Sosa called The Manxes. And
later on, I’m doing a vampire movie with Suzi Lorraine and Brooke Lewis called The Last Revenants.

Foxy – What do you foresee in your future? Where do you want your career to go from this point forward?

RG – It’s hard to say. I’d like to keep doing what I’m doing, but lots more of it. I feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to do
what I’ve done. I hope to do more writing and directing with Silent-But-Deadly. I’d also like to do more modeling for magazines
and such.

Foxy – Okay, now many people don’t know that your birthday was earlier this month, and that’s why we are doing this special
interview, so I gotta ask you, If you could receive one special gift, anything in the world (non Batman related….I know that
sucks!) what would it be?

RG – Not Batman related? There goes half my wish list! I think I would like David Lynch to release the full lenth version of Twin
Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, with all the deleted scenes put back in. That would make me very happy.