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| Photo by David Beeler |
WMV: Do you mind if we call you K.C.?
KC: Not at all.
WMV: Are you the webmistress at kathicarey.com?
KC: I am, for good or ill.
WMV: What other weblinks would you like to share?
KC: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2200456/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kathi-Carey/43902504950
twitter.com/kathicarey
http://www.worththemovie.com/
http://www.reflectionsofalife.com
http://OneinNine.com
http://cdbaby.com/cd/kathicarey
http://www.itunes.com/kathicarey
WMV: Is One in Nine, your project about breast cancer, the most important feature you are working on now?
KC: It is one of the features I'm working on now, and I would say that it is important. You know, it's funny because when I started working on "Reflections of a Life" (the short that led to One in Nine) I had no idea the impact that film would make. But when I took it out on the festival circuit, more than half of the people who saw it wanted me to expand the film and make it into a feature because they had been touched by breast cancer in their own lives; either their mother, their sister, their daughter, their wife, or their best friend had been diagnosed with the disease, and they wanted "their story" told. That's why I wrote the feature, and it's one of the main reasons I hope it will get made.
WMV: How do you think ObamaCare will affect people's ability to prevent and treat breast cancer?
KC: I hope it makes prevention and treatment easier and, ultimately, leads to a cure. Not to get on a soapbox here, but one in every eight women will get breast cancer in this country. When I wrote the film it was one in nine; hence, the title. But the odds have gotten worse since then.
WMV: [Note: Kathi has been working on One in Nine at least since April 12, 2011; Obama signed ObamaCare into law March 23, 2010.]
What other feature-length films are you currently working on?
KC: I have several: a Christmas movie, The Best Christmas; an action feature, Blowback; a Back-to-the-Future-type movie called E-Ticket; a suspense/thriller called Dark Night on Route 66; a romance drama, Ruby Mae and John; a comedy, Trans-Continental; a drama, And the Winner Is; and an adventure film, Offline.
WMV: How should potential cast and crew apply for jobs on your projects?
KC: Right now, I'm not looking for anyone; that doesn't happen until we get a little closer to production. So, if someone sent me a reel or resumé now, if I'm going to be really honest, they probably won't get looked at. I'm just so busy putting several projects together that I don't have time to look at random people unless I NEED to hire someone; that's when I'm looking. I'd say if you follow me on Twitter or "like" my Facebook page, you'd have a pretty good idea of where I am in the production process, and you'd know when the right time to approach me would be. And hey, I'm not adverse to being approached, in a friendly way, in social media.
WMV: As a director and producer, what do you look for in the cast and crew you hire?
KC: Dedication to their craft, enthusiasm, professionalism, and someone who loves what they do and has fun while doing it. I was consulting someone on their project last week, and he said, "You don't do anything bad, do you? And by that, I mean you won't get involved in a project if it's not going to be your best work."
I answered him by saying that anything worth doing is worth doing well. But I also love what I do, and I have a GREAT time doing it. It's no fun being on set with a complainer. So, be really, really good at what you do, and be fun on set, and you're the right kind of person for me.
WMV: What advice would you give people trying to make a living in the entertainment industry?
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| Stony Brook Film Festival 2010 |
KC: Plan on spending at least a decade working really, really hard just to get to the point where you can start making a living at this. Have a good support system of people around you who are enthusiastic about what you do, even if they don't understand it. Have something else that makes you money, what I call a "thrival job," so that all of the necessities are taken care of, AND you have a little bit more to invest in your career and your business because this IS a business, and you have to treat it as such. Don't scrimp on your tools for your business, such as head shots, reels, web presence - the marketing tools that you use to sell/brand you. And spend lots and lots of time doing research and meeting people, forming relationships with others in the business because these are the people who will, ultimately, refer you and hire you down the road.
WMV: Your Facebook indicates that you "[j]ust finished a third rewrite on [your] Christmas screenplay." What, more specifically than Christmas, is it about?
KC: It's a love story, and it's a story about a man who is forced to take a good, hard look at his life, on a road trip of self-discovery. As he does so, he finds that it's never too late to follow your life's purpose.
WMV: Your Facebook indicates that you like painting. Is any of your work available for sale, and, if so, where?
KC: My painting is a hobby, and it's just for me. I wanted that to be something that I do for the fun of it ONLY, and never for money. So no, not for sale... But sometimes I give them away to my really close friends.
WMV: Your website indicates you learned to play piano as a child, and your movie "Worth" is about a violin; do you play violin or any other instruments?
KC: I was a child prodigy on piano, and I dabbled with several other instruments when I was younger and thinking about pursuing a career in music. But MY life's purpose was not to be a concert pianist; it is as a storyteller. Whether acting, writing, or directing, I tell stories that reveal the heart and soul of people undergoing a transformation - people at a turning point in their lives. However, since I have such an extensive background in music, I must say that it usually plays a major role in the stories that I tell.
WMV: One of the films you directed, Dead Drop, has scenes in Africa. Have you ever been to Africa?
KC: No, although one of my films had a special screening for the King of Swaziland when it was selected to screen at the Golden Lion Film Festival. No, we accomplished the scenes in Africa and Korea, for Dead Drop, through the use of a little "movie magic."
WMV: What countries and other United States have you traveled to?
KC: I love to travel, and because my films have screened at many festivals throughout the world, I have been fortunate to be able to do some traveling with those films; my film, "Reflections of a Life," for instance, screened in Canada and Africa and many places throughout the U.S., including Alaska, Arizona, Texas, New York, Florida, and Rhode Island. "Worth" came next, and it went to many of the same places as "Reflections," but then added several more, including two different festivals in Italy, the Bahamas, South Korea, China, and France. Was I able to travel to ALL of these places? Sadly, no. But I tried to make it to as many as I possibly could.
WMV: What foreign languages do you speak?
KC: I speak Spanish and a little French.
WMV: Where would you like to visit, that you haven't been to already?
KC: I'd love to go to Japan, the Greek Isles, Austria - so many places!
WMV: You star as yourself in "Casting Q's." Is this talk-show mostly about how to get ahead in Hollywood?
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| Photo by David Beeler |
KC: "Casting Qs" is an interview-style show that de-mystifies the casting process by interviewing casting directors and letting them speak candidly about what they do. It's fascinating to understand the "behind the scenes" of how these people work, even if you're not "in the business," but if you're an actor, I think it's an absolute MUST to get to know these people and how they think and what they like. My "role" in that series was as Producer/Director and, occasionally, as Host.
WMV: What are your New Year's Resolutions for 2014?
KC: I don't make New Year's Resolutions; I prefer to sit and write about what I'd like to welcome into my life in the coming year after reviewing what I wrote at the beginning of the previous year and seeing how many things actually came into my life during the year that I was open to receiving.
WMV: What's coming immediately for you?
KC: Right now I've got two films embarking on the festival circuit: "Mr. Hopewell's Remedy," a quirky, romantic comedy; and "Dead Drop," an action-adventure that was filmed as proof of concept for a feature entitled Blowback. "Mr. Hopewell's Remedy" will be screening at the Rochester International Film Festival in N.Y., where it is winning the prestigious "Shoestring" award and at the Myrtle Beach Film Festival, both in April. And both "Hopewell" and "Dead Drop" will be part of WorldFest, Houston in April, where they are both being honored with Remi Awards, named after the famed artist Frederic Remington. WorldFest is one of the oldest and most prestigious film festivals in the world, and boasts among its discoveries John Avildson, John Badham, John Boorman, Marty Brest, Michael Cimino, the Coen Brothers, Bryan DePalma, Jonathan Demme, Leslie Linka Glatter, John Lee Hancock, Ang Lee, Spike Lee, George Lucas, David Lynch, John Sayles, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, and Peter Weir. This is my fourth and fifth time being celebrated at WorldFest (the first two for films, and the third time for a screenplay), and I am extremely grateful and honored that my work has been singled out by them in this way.
WMV: What plans, if any, do you have for Cinco de Mayo?
KC: As far as Cinco de Mayo, like most holidays around here, I'll be working. As a multi-hyphenate (actor/writer/producer/director) I always have lots to do and never enough time to accomplish everything, so I rarely take time off. And since Cinco de Mayo falls on a Monday, then it's for sure I'll be spending the day working. But I will probably take a moment at some time during the day to speak a little Spanish in honor of the day.
Interview by William Mortensen Vaughan
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