Michael Shinafelt: U + UR Hand

Everyone Needs A Hand Sometimes

"Keep your drink just give me the money
It's just u + ur hand tonight" - Pink

OK people it's time to keep it real, honest & raw with yours truly. Friend and fellow horror fan M.E. Franco, author of the popular supernatural thriller Dion series of books: Where Will You Run? Where Will You Hide? & Where Will You Turn? Was curious about me and my Entertainment Journalism career.

Prepare yourself, I am direct and do not hold back, I talk candidly about my most surprising subject and tell you who the biggest Jackhole was I have ever dealt with. 

That's right, it's just you, me and our hands, right here, right now!

ME: Some personal things that I always like about your blog, but may not have said, is that I love the way you are supportive and respectful of people. Even when you make fun of stuff, or look at things critically, you are usually positive, and I love that about your writing

Hey M.E. Glad UR Entertained 

MS: I am flattered and happy you noticed. There is too much negativity in the world and I want to Entertain as well as be truthful without being snarky or a jerk.

ME: What got you interested in the entertainment industry?

MS: Growing up I loved movies, I used to watch them, go to them and breath them day and night. I also loved TV shows as well. One of my favorite things was to watch horror movies on TV on the weekend with my Dad. I came to Los Angeles to act and ended up writing and have now gotten back into acting again as well.

ME:. Who was the first person you interviewed?

MS: Singer Erin Hamilton, who happens to be Carol Burnett's daughter. She was sweet enough to be my first interview, we met for coffee and it was a fun time!

ME:. What have you learned about interviewing since then?

MS: To prepare less and not write down any questions. All I ever write down are a few notes about names of things the subject is doing or has upcoming. My experience has taught me to simply have a conversation as the person you are interviewing will tell you everything you need to know.

ME: Whose interview surprised you most?

MS: Margaret Cho. My first interview with her was sitting across from her on a couch after a photo shoot that she had done for it. Our chat was the cover story for Frontiers magazine. She was really low key and quite demure, I thought because of the lack of energy the interview was going to suck, it didn't. She gave great answers...while I did not expect her to be like her stage personae, I also did not expect how shy she actually was. Since then I have interviewed her several times and she now knows me, we basically have conversations and she is a lot more relaxed.

Me & Margaret Cho

ME:. Who would be your dream interview, and what one question are you dying to ask?

MS: I would have liked to have interviewed Elizabeth Taylor. What would I ask? What wouldn't you ask her?! She really lived! I would also like to have chatted up Joan Rivers, another woman with an incredible life who you could ask everything.

ME: You're a big fan of horror movies and have been in a few yourself. What do you find so appealing about horror movies?

MS: There is a catharsis with them, a visceral thing. Not to mention they are just plain fun and entertaining! Who doesn't like a good scare?

ME: What was your most spectacular death scene?

MS: My death scene in The Summer Of Massacre - something that I know you have seen. I loved sitting at the premiere with my then boyfriend and seeing the Boogeyman crush my skull in slowly until it popped like a cherry on a fifty foot screen, it was awesome!

Premiere Time: Myself & "The Boogeyman" Scott Barrows 

ME: Is there a famous horror character you'd like to interview? What questions would you ask?

MS: Norman Bates. I would ask him: Does mother really know best?

ME: On your blog, you outspokenly cover what you love, including controversial topics. Is there any topic(s) you avoid?

MS: Politics. I refuse to discuss that, and I can't stand people who do. If you know the answers get in office and go solve the United States many issues, please I would love for them to be resolved. I have my opinions, but mostly, unless I am with really close friends, I keep them to myself.

ME: You often build relationships with the musicians and entertainers you interview, which makes your blog so much more personal and interesting to read. Do you ever get nervous before an interview? If so, what do you do to relax?

MS: Never. Being an actor, and having a certain amount of my own celebrity sort of makes those nerves not exist for me. Especially since a lot of my subjects are friends of mine in real life. People in the music biz especially cotton to me as I have studied piano, guitar and have sang. I can still read sheet music and a keyboard - which I love. Thus I can talk shop with them and know what I am actually saying, same goes for the actors I interview as well. Since I have done, and still do it...

ME: Have you ever had an interview get out hand?

MS: Yes, Marky Ramone, who was not one of The Ramones founding members but was inducted into the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame with them. He bumped our time twice during the day to later than scheduled. The second time the PR guy gave me his direct number and said that Marky told him to have me call him in fifteen minutes. I did and Marky told me he was shopping or some lame thing and to call again in an hour. That was the straw that broke the camels back! I called the PR guy and said that clearly Marky was a complete Jackhole with no intent on giving an interview and no respect for my time and I called the whole thing off.

Get more on M E. at:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/M-E-Franco/238711609482912

Because I Can: "Married With Children" 17 Years Later

Reunited And It Feels So Good

Katey Sagal aka Peg Bundy from Married With Children and unstable matriarch and big bad biker mama Gemma Teller on Sons of Anarchy of which the first episode of the final season premiered last night, got her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame yesterday.

Thus it was time for a Bundy family reunion, Yay!

I was privileged enough to have V.I.P. access to one of the tapings of an episode during the 10th and final season of MWC. By this point and time the cast and crew were lightning quick pros, who had it all down pat and clocked in at an hour and a half for a shoot.

Not like the numerous times I was forced to sit through a V.I.P. access filming of Friends which took four hours, ugh!

Katey Sagal, Ed O'Neil, Christina Applegate & David Faustino were in top form and all reunited to celebrate their very talented co-star for her well deserved honor.

The often nominated MWC star has never won an award until her Golden Globe nomination for SOA.

Which has been sorely overlooked by the Emmy committee. So a toast to all you MWC fans out there, this reunion photo is for you and me!

Cheers, and get your Anarchy on!!!

Sons of Anarchy on FX: http://shop.fxnetworks.com/sons-of-anarchy/index.php?v=fx_shows_sons-of-anarchy

Fast Forward: Cherie Currie & Kim Fowley

Cherie Currie

“What a betrayal!! I imagined Kim and this guy back at the Starwood laughing at the fact that I was on my period, right before Kim sold me off like some kind of low-rent Hollywood pimp. It was embarrassing, and more than anything in the world I wanted to just go home… I realized that this whole thing was a setup by Kim, and I cursed myself for being too meek to stop it.” - Cherie Currie "Neon Angel" 

Fast Froward to 2014, the now. Cherie posted this on her Facebook page a few weeks ago:

“Life is ironic. Kim Fowley was moved into my home a week ago Friday. I have been a 24/7 caregiver for him. Funny, I have not been a fan of this man for decades but time is the great equalizer. It has been an honor to be there for him. He is ill so please send prayers to him. He is as brilliant now as he has ever been. Caring for him keeps me from FB. Know I love you all and please send positive thoughts his way.”

Life is an experience that throws us many curve balls. The important thing is to keep evolving and most of all forgiving..

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever" - Gandhi 

Runaway with Cherie at: https://www.facebook.com/CherieCurrieOfficial

PTX's Scott Hoying Discusses Volume 3, Etc...

Hey, It's Scott Hoying!

For those of you who may not have heard of them, of which I am sure there are few, acappella super group Pentatonix has a new album coming out September 23rd, titled aptly enough PTX Volume 3.

With 6 million subscribers on YouTube and over 525 million views. 1.5 million Facebook followers and another 350 thousand who hang on their every Tweet PTX has taken over the world!

Here to talk all things Pentatonix is one fifth of the gang with the killer vocal abilities Mr. Scott Hoying!

MS: Hey Scott!

SH: Hey Michael how are you?!

MS: Good, how were the Streamy Awards last night?

SH: It was really fun! It was crazy! 

MS: Well you guys won, correct?

SH: We did, we won in one category and lost in another.

MS: You guys have an album coming out on September 23rd.

SH: I can't believe it's already September, it's coming out this month. Everything keeps going and going and going.

MS: Time flies. You have been traveling all over the world. Where is the last place you guys were at?

SH: We were just in South East Asia and Australia. I just woke my roommate up because I was screaming into the phone. (laughs) It was so, so cool to be in those places. 

MS: So how does it feel to be worldwide?

SH: It's really surreal. It's something I've dreamed about my whole life. I've always wanted to go to Australia, my Dad lived there for seven years, and I've always wanted to go to Japan. It's really cool that we've had the opportunity to go there because of something that we love to do. I know it sounds cliche, but it really is a dream come true!

Mitch & Scott: Beyonce Says We''re "Flawless"

MS: People always say that, but it really isn't a cliche. It's a fair comment.

SH: Completely. 

MS: By the way I know someone you know from Texas, Zachary Webber, I did a play with him.

SH: Oh my God, yeah.

MS: Yeah, when we were rehearsing I said something about PTX off hand and he said he went to school with you.

SH: He's great Zach is so talented.

The Gangs All Here: PTX

MS: La La Latch is your latest single/video, I noticed all of the parts are balanced between the five of you in it.

SH: It's so funny when we release a video, like, Mitch has a solo, or I have a solo, people say: when does someone else get to sing? With La La Latch, it's like, everyone is getting an opportunity to sing here. It's always really fun having a balance, the song is more dynamic and exciting when there is multiple people carrying it.

MS: This is probably old news to you, but since I have not asked it, how was it having Beyonce calling Mitch and yourself "Flawless" on your mash-up of her songs?

SH: Oh my gosh! It was really exciting! We were in the studio recording our cover of Happy and Kirstie wrote to Mitch: Did you see that Beyonce put on her Facebook page that you and Scott are "Flawless?" We were just beside ourselves, we were freaking out! We were already hyper in the recording srudio so that just added to it! It's on my Twitter bio since then: Beyonce called me "Flawless." 

MS: I'd put it on there too! So who are some of your favorite divas?

SH: Well, obviously, Beyonce is number one. I am also a really big fan of Ariana Grande. I'm not sure if anyone really considers her a pop queen because she is so young, but I am obsessed with her, I think she is going to be huge. I also love Rhianna anything that's R&B/ Pop is my jones.  

Scott & Shay Mitchell

MS: I saw a photo of you and Shay Mitchell online from one of my favorite TV shows Pretty Little Liars are you a fan?

SH: .I've met her and a couple of the other cast members and they're so so so sweet, but I have only seen bits and pieces of the show; I sadly never watch TV.

MS: You guys are going to be on Good Morning America on September 25th, is this your first time on it?

SH: It will be our first time. We always get nervous when we are going to perform on live TV. 

MS: The audience you guys attract is a very wide demographic.

SH: Yeah, we really attract a wide demographic of people, we attract older people who love the we are acapella. We have younger people who love our social media personalities. We also have choir nerds & music nerds who want to see something different. It's really cool and it's really fun!

MS: I am a fan of your original song Run To You, anymore coming up?

SH: There are a few, we do have one on the Christmas album.

MS: What's it about, specifically, besides Christmas? (laughs)

SH: It's about Santa and the song is really classic sounding. We all sing it together there is not really a soloist on it. It has a nostalgic feeling, from the time of my childhood. It's so cute.

MS: Any parting words?

SH: I am obsessed with our fans for always supporting us and I hope that they enjoy our new albums coming out this year. 

Go PTX at:

www.ptx-official.com
www.youtube.com/ptxofficial
www.facebook.com/pentatonix
www.twitter.com/ptxofficial 

Send In The Clowns: It's "Freak Show" Friday

Jessica Lange & The Word's Smallest Woman 

Yeah, I know it was American Horror Story: Freak Show Friday last week too, but the latest teasers involve clowns, those beings that are considered both creepy & delightful simultaneously, that they inhabit our flights of whimsy and our nightmares.

Thus I had to send you off this post Holiday Friday with something that will make you shudder. That's the way I roll.

In American Horror Story: Freak Show, Jessica Lange plays Elsa Mars, the owner of one of the last remaining freak shows in America. The season is set in the 1950s and also stars Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, Angela Bassett, Frances Conroy, Evan Peters and Denis O'Hare. Matt Bomer and Patti LaBelle will guest star. The cast will play various "freaks," with Bates, who just took home an Emmy for her Coven role, playing the bearded lady. Bassett will play a woman with three breasts and newcomer Michael Chiklis will play a strongman. And since it's an old time freak show, expect clowns.

So suck it up and step right up and enjoy the Freak Show, I for one can't wait!

Open Wide at: https://www.facebook.com/americanhorrorstory

Be Fearless: Joan Rivers

I enjoy life when things are happening. I don't care if it's good things or bad things. That means you're alive. Things are happening - Joan Rivers


This is and will always be my favorite Joan Rivers quote as I believe it best exemplifies who she was and really captures her spirit and zest for living.

Joan was a comedian who mattered. Not only did she pave the way for females in comedy today, she was flat out ballsy.

She wasn't afraid to call out anyone or anything, including herself.

If something can be learned from her death it is to bend it like Joan: live, love, laugh, cry and above all be fearless.

R.I.P. Dear Lady, you will be missed

Always remember: http://joanrivers.com/

Project Runway: Shark Eater Out!

It's Mistress Heidi!!!

It's Thursday, and time for another Project Runway!

Last week we saw the elimination of Charketa Glover aka Shark Eater Glover - Which brings me to the reason I love watching PR...It's hilarious! 

Heidi Klum is awesome, she is a dominatrix with Elmer Fudd's voice, and every time she uttered Charketa's name even though she was pronouncing it correctly her lovely accent always butchers someone's name or other words that come out of her mouth. Thus Charketa will always be Shark Eater to me, because honestly that is what it sounded like Heidi was saying. C'mon you know you all thought it too!

I love it when her accent mangles something she says, it makes for a great laugh. While were at it let's address some Heidi-isms that bowl me over too, for instance when she says "You're Out" - even though I know it won't happen the delivery is so stern I keep waiting for her to break out her riding crop and give the losing contestant a good smack on the ass.

Also you gotta enjoy when she says "The color is sad" - I admit that particular one I have replayed a few times, it's always good for comedic effect.

Then there is Tim Gunn the designers mentor. His droll criticism is hilarious and when he does the "Vagina Hands" your know when he touches his finger tips together while looking thoughtful into the "V" shape, yeah you know the "Vagina Hands?"

Well I am betting a lot of you call them that like me, why you may ask? Talent Manager Marki Costello had a reality show on E! called The Drama Queen while she was coaching an actor she yelled out Don't do the "Vagina Hands" like Tim Gunn at them. Suddenly I felt completely validated that I was not the only one whose mind went there, so if someone else thinks and states it other than myself that means there are more of you out there, it's OK now know you are not alone.

A special shout to Nina Garcia who is a class act bitch on the show, her criticism is honest and cuts like a knife, but she still comes off with an air of elegance while stabbing you on national TV.

Oh that reminds me every time Heidi let's Nina's name roll off her tongue it sounds like there is going to be a bitch slapping that never materializes...Honestly who cares who wins, the show is flat out funny!

Make It Work at: http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/project-runway