Checking In With: Jonathan Brett

It’s time, give you a formal intro to Mr. Jonathan Brett, an “Entertain Me” staple for his YouTube show “Mr. Meatballs Takes on Life”.

Well JB (as his friends know him) is an actor/performer with much more diversity and talent than just his “Meatballs”.

From guest starring on the CBS series “Cold Case” to the indie horror comedy “Stupid Teenagers Must Die” - J. Brett has proven himself a talented actor who can take on a variety of roles.

This is especially apparent with his two current projects, a role in a movie from The Asylum: “Celebrity Sex Tape” and a lead in the premiere play “Geeks - The Musical”.

OK - JB, let’s do it!

MS: Hey JB where are you right now?

JB: I just got finished with an audition for a Toyota commercial.

MS: Very cool, glad to catch you in the car, Mr. Busy! So you are in the Valentine’s Day video release from The Asylum “Celebrity Sex Tape.”

JB:  Yes I am!

"Celebrity Sex Tape"

MS: Why is that a Valentine’s Day release?

JB: Ya know, I couldn’t tell you actually (laughs) It’s a one of those “geek falls in love and gets his love” type of things…so, it kind of is a Valentine’s Day release, with a lot of sex in it! (laughs) A good Valentine’s Day for most people is sex so…

MS: Tell people a little about your character.

JB: His name is Ed, his nickname is “Sex Ed” he gets that nickname toward the middle of the movie. Basically if this were “American Pie” he would be the “Stifler” character. He’s always talking about sex, everything is about how he can get laid. Ed is a cool sex guy (laughs)

MS: Rumor has it The Asylum is a great movie company to work with.

JB: The Asylum is great, they’re a group of professionals. I never thought you could knock out a 120 page script in 10 shooting days. They knew how to do it, and they did it with class and integrity and I am sure it will turn out fantastic.

MS: My friend Liz Adams (Director, of The Asylum’s “Air Collision”) really liked working with them too.

JB: They were truly great people to work with, I made a lot of lasting friendships out of it. It was a lot of fun and these are people I will know for the rest of my life.

MS: It’s like the old Roger Corman system.

JB: Yes, they crank out a lot of good material for a low budget and are very successful, they know what they are doing.

MS: Well, I have a feeling you have told us as much about “Celebrity Sex Tape” that you are able to.

"Celebrity Sex Tape"

JB: Yeah, before something is out, you aren’t really sure what you can and can’t say, I don’t think I gave too much away.

MS: Nah, you didn’t - How excited are you to be the lead in a brand new musical BTW?

JB: I’m very excited about it! It’s called “Geeks - The Musical” which I think has the potential to go to, at least Off-Broadway. The concept has yet to make it to a Broadway stage, there are so many geeks in the world it’s about time they had a musical!

MS: When does it open?

JB: March 1st at Write Act Reparatory Theatre in Hollywood, CA. It’s up on Plays 411 now which is also very exciting!

MS: How many musical numbers do you have?

JB: So far I’ve got 9. They are also thinking about adding me to the opening number too, normally every character is in the opening number and that would bring it up to 10. I’m really excited for it, it’s going to be a lot of fun! It also takes place somewhere really geeky, the Comi-Con Convention.

MS: Perfect! You have done a lot of varied things in the body of your work. What would be your ultimate dream gig to have?

JB: My ultimate dream, and I am going to do this, is to be a cast member on “Saturday Night Live.”

MS: How cool!

JB: SNL is so influential, and they’ve gotten very political over the years, which is fine. But I would really like to be part of bringing SNL back to it’s roots, when it was good sketch comedy that was timeless.

Follow JB on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jonathanjbbrett

Check into The Asylum at: http://www.theasylum.cc/

Checking In With: Filmmaker, Liz Adams

Director-Writer Liz Adams made a diabolical little horror short titled: “Side Effect.” It made a killing (pun intended) on the festival circuit picking up many awards. “Side Effect” was in fact the opening scene for her full length, equally diabolical feature script “Blood Level.”

Ms. Adams recently wrapped production on her first feature as a Director-Writer on “Air Collision” for The Asylum…Congratulations Liz!

MS: Hey Liz congrats on recently wrapping and being in post-production on your feature debut “Air Collision.”

LA: Well I am making it for The Asylum, are you familiar with them?

MS: Yes, a friend of mine just starred in a film for them called “Celebrity Sex Tape.”

LA: Oh yeah, I knew about that, that’s right. So you know all about them they make like, 12-15 movies a year. They are basically genre films, they do action, horror and of course sex comedies. Their biggest hit is “Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus.”

MS: That’s the one with Deborah Gibson and Lorenzo Llamas!

LA: Yeah, they are really great people! It’s a lot of fun working there.

MS: Sounds fun!

LA: It is, the initial cut ended up being 82 minutes, but it seems the SyFy Network is interested in it. They need a 90 minute cut, I was working on that this morning before your call, I am writing up another 10 to 12 pages for the Producers and it looks like we are doing some re-shoots too.

MS: Can you tell everyone the storyline?

Liz & "Air Collision" star, Jordan Ladd

LA: There is a solar flare that screws up some computers and Air Force One and a civilian plane get locked onto each other in a collision course.

MS: That sounds better than the actual “Air Force One” movie.

LA: (laughs) It’s pretty wacky, there’s a lot of crazy stuff going on. Plus there is a lot of stuff going on with air traffic control trying to save the day.

MS: Dish on an on set experience.

LA: Well air force one fires this missile at the civilian plane & the missile penetrates the hull, so we got this huge fan, we called it “Katrina” because it blows hurricane force winds (both laugh). We blew it at the extras, it was really good fun!

MS: The Asylum sounds like the new Roger Corman factory.

LA: Yes, and I think one of the partners may be a Roger Corman protogee’ actually. It’s definitely in that tradition.

MS: I love that you don’t take yourself seriously.

LA: Not at all, I do genre movies, they should be fun!

Liz & Crew with "Katrina"

MS: Totally, you directed the horror short “Side Effect” at AFI (American Film Institute).

LA: I was the first horror movie to come out of the DWW (Directing Workshop for Women)  program there. It’s a 34 year old program so it was an accomplishment.

MS: That is an accomplishment. So how’s your feature script for “Blood Level” coming along?

LA: Still working on it, I am working with a producer right now, she’s looking for money, and we are trying to get a cast attached. It’s a tricky process.

MS: Keep me posted on “Blood Level” now that I’ve got some horror cred with my role in “The Summer Of Massacre” I would love to play a faculty member in it.

LA: Oh, that would be so fun! It's out there, and I definitely have a lot of interest in it.

Have a "collision" with Liz at:  www.sideeffectthemovie.net

Check into The Asylum at: http://www.theasylum.cc/