Here at The Bloody Good Horror Page, we conduct a different kind of interview. We dig deeper, we ask more insightful questions, all in a quest to learn more about your favorite horror personalities. We dig into the darkest reaches of their brains to find out what you really want to know. Today's subject... If you've seen the surrealist horror films of Dante Tomaselli, then you've no doubt noticed that many of the faces on the actors are the same. He seems to connect with certain actors, and it's beginning to seem like if you're one of them, you'll have a job for life! Christie Sanford is just one of those people that has connected with Dante, appearing in all three of his films. Coming this fall, you'll be able to see her as 'Judy' in his next film Satan's Playground. Today she drops by to tell us everything we never knew about her when: The Bloody Good Horror Page Interviews Christie Sanford How long have you been acting for? What kinds of gigs did you have before meeting Dante? I started acting in college. That was a long time ago! I went to school to become a writer, and ended up in the theater by mistake! I kept getting the lead roles - so I couldn't resist! Before I met Dante I was pretty much into the theater. I did all the classics - lots of Tennessee Williams - I'm good for those roles where the woman definitley has something terribly wrong with her. I did do one comedic short film before I met Dante, however. It was called Brenda's Good Week - yes, I was Brenda! What was it that made you want to become an actress? I fell into acting by mistake. I decided to take an acting class in college just for the fun of it. The second play I ever auditioned for was the ROYAL FAMILY. I got the lead part. After that I was cast in all the leads, and figured it to be an easy and enjoyable way to get myself thru college. It was! After college I couldn't find anything better - so i decided to pursue it - just "livin' the dream"! How did you first meet up w/ Dante? After doing theater a while, I decided to take things a step further and try my hand at film acting. I hired a coach, and started sending out resumes. I got called to audition for a short Horror film in NYC. That was 1993. I worked up a monologue from, of all things, a chekov play - and went to audition for Dante. I guess he liked the audition. He called me in to shoot a trailer entitled Mama's Boy. We seemed to click right off the bat. Sometimes in life you meet those people for the first time, and it seems you already know each other. That's what happened to me when I met Dante. Do you understand anything that happens in Desecration or Horror? "Understanding" as we call it in this reality is basically a linear concept - i.e., past, present and future, beggining, middle and end. Desecration and Horror do not move in linear fashion. These films exist more in a "be here now" reality- a place where time and space exist at once all at the same time, so that past present and future are happening simultaneously. A wise shaman once pointed out that the universe was like an onion, a whole entity with worlds upon worlds existing as separate skins which can be pulled apart layer by layer. We may only percieve one layer at a time. It does not mean the other layers do not exist, however. In Desecration and Horror, Dante creates a way for us to percieve those worlds, to percieve energy directly, as it were. In order to "understand" in this way, we need to assemble out perceptions on a different level. Have you ever asked Dante the meaning behind some of his bizarre imagery? Dreams can be "bizarre". Yet dreams can be meaningful if we choose to pay attention to them. I think Dante draws on his strong capacity for dreaming to set forth the images in his films. Dreams and images can be interpreted only by the interpreteur. Dante leaves alot to the interpretation of the viewer. What would you say it's like working with Dante on the set? There is nothing as wonderful to me as working on the set with Dante! He is the ultimate artist with a great vision he easily shares with his actors. It is almost as though Dante and I work without words at times - we instinctively know what it is we are aiming for. For me it's like stepping into another world - his energy and creativity are at once all encompassing and transforming. So, judging from your set experiences, what can we expect from SATAN'S PLAYGROUND? I think Satan's Playground will be, truly, a masterpiece. Watching the other fabulous actors - Irma ST. Paule, Edwin Neal, Ellen Sandweiss, Fellissa Rose, Danny Lopes work- I felt the comittment, risk, and love involved. Everyone gave their all. No one held back. Dante is so detail oriented - nothing gets by him. I can't wait to see this! Can you tell us about your character in the film? Judy is one of those characters who exists in one of those other "skins of the onion". She exists in a separate reality, but is visited upon by people in everyday reality who step into her reality by mistake. Judy is a baby-doll monster, a shadow of humanity who turns up at the worst possible of times to gleefully create destruction at every possible turn. What were your imprssions of the other members of the cast? As I said before, I have never had so much fun working with so many great talents! On set and off, these people were top notch. Not one performance went lacking, and as human beings, an extrodinary group of people! An experience not quickly forgotten! Are you a fan of Horror Films yourself? Do you have any favorites? I am a fan first and foremost of (of course) Alfred Hitchcock. Everything the man did left you on the edge of your seat. Then of course, I must say David Lynch is my idol. I was first introduced to his work through the TV series TWIN PEAKS, and have followed him faithfully ever since. I love the macabre, and this is one of his strengths. The Exorcist is a favorite of mine, along with Night of the Living Dead, and the old, old Dracula and Frankenstein. I'm an old movie lover anyway, and these fill my heart. What are your goals in the Industry? Well, my goals are really to be the best actor I can, to bring stories and enlightment to others thru film and theater. I love to create characters that bring people on a journey with me, out of their everyday reality, to perhaps get a glimpse of something which may change their perceptions, or to find something inside themselves they didn't know was there. Of course another goal is to do a principal role in a David Lynch film - I think I'm just what he's looking for, don't you? I see that you've done alot of theater work in addition to your film work, which medium do you enjoy working in more and why? Boy - that's a tough question! My background is theater, but film... WOW! I am probably more passionate about film. The medium lends itself to a wider audience, you can reach more people at one time. Film is very powerful. It has the capacity to sway peoples minds on a broad range. It is also unlimited and unrestricted. You can create a whole scenario of something just going on inside a human mind, for example, and have it exist in the present, past, or future, or separatley. Time and space can exist at the quantum level. The theater is more limiting this way, but the key here is the live audience - we can't beat that! Out of all the characters you've played in either film or theater, which was your favorite, and why? I think my favorite role in theater was Blanche Dubois. My life somehow seems to parallel this characters in very many ways. (Hopefully it won't end up the same!) But I can relate to her on many different levels. In film, right now, I would have to say it's between Mrs. Salo in Dante's Horror, or a character from another feature - maybe, Mary in Brooklyn Bound. It is not a horror film, but called for a real breakdown of emotion. I still can't wait to see what JUDY in Satan's Playground will bring us, I loved playing her, but can't tell until I see the film. Thank you for answering out questions. Do you have any parting words of wisdom? Just something I read somewhere, once - "THEATER IS LIFE, FILM IS ART, TELEVISION IS FURNITURE." I'd just like to say thanks to Christie for stopping by. To learn more about the film's of Dante Tomaselli, I'd suggest you head on over to HorrorTheMovie.com, and if you want to know more about Christine, than you can check out her official site at ChristieSanford.com.

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