Focus #1: Melissa Anne Moore
Focus #2: Brinke Stevens
Focus #4: Monique Gabrielle
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FOCUS #1: MELISSA ANNE MOORE (1993)
Next came my all time favorite film. In January of 1990, I arrived back in L.A. after spending the holiday with my family in Kentucky. I was trying to plan my career goals for the year when I came across an article in Premiere magazine on Roger Corman. I read the article in complete amazement. After already doing several low-budget films, I knew I had to work with Roger Corman, the master of the B's, and see how he does it.
Within a few months, and much to my amazement, I was called to audition at Concorde Studios (Roger Corman's company) for a horror film that Roger's wife Julie Corman was producing. I auditioned for Julie and director Jim Wynorski. After my audition they asked me to wait and within thirty minutes I was cast as the lead in my first Roger Corman film, SORORITY HOUSE MASSACRE. It took us seven days to shoot and it was constant fun! Jim Wynorski was great to work for - he was fun and had his own unique style of directing. All the actors I worked with were wonderful. I especially became very fond of Gail Harris and Peter Spellos.
Not long after completing VICE ACADEMY 2, I received a call from Jim Wynorski asking me to be in HARD TO DIE. Orginally it was to be the sequel to SORORITY HOUSE MASSACRE 2, but with the change of title, most people don't realize it. I was flattered that Jim wanted me to be in the film, since the character I played in SORORITY HOUSE MASSACRE 2 was killed in the end. In HARD TO DIE I played a totally different character who gets killed half way through the film.
HARD TO DIE was my second film for Roger Corman's Concorde. Again, I loved working with Jim Wynorski, Gail Harris and Peter Spellos. I met Debra Dutch on the shoot and I must say that she was a unique, lovely lady to work with. She had a way that kept us all smiling, which was definitely an important factor in the cast and crews sanity. Because of the tight time schedule, and the use of machine guns, it got a little tense on the set.
"Melissa is someone I truly look up to -- and not just because she's four inches taller than I am. Dedicated and determined, she also a terrific sport; on SORORITY HOUSE MASSACRE 2, she really took some lumps, and kept coming back for more. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Melissa is that every time I see her, she's more strikingly beautiful than before. I'd very much like to write a leading role for her: Hands up, who wants to see a Melissa Moore Western?"
-- Bob Sheridan
"Besides being incredibly beautiful and talented, Melissa Moore is a rarity in Hollywood -- she's a real trooper. After all the slime, dirt, goo and blood I heaped on her in SORORITY HOUSE MASSACRE 2 and HARD TO DIE, she just bounced back for more... and never lost her wonderful sense of humor. She's destined for big things in this town."
-- Jim Wynorski
"I performed with Melissa in SORORITY HOUSE MASSACRE 2 and HARD TO DIE. Mel is great to work with and we had much fun shooting both films. She hit me with a meat hook in the first one we did together and my life has never been the same... the same... the same...since."
-- Peter Spellos
FOCUS #2: BRINKE STEVENS (1994)
The turning point was a satirical slasher movie, Roger Corman's "Slumber Party Massacre" (1982). I played a hapless teenage victim (#2 amongst a dozen!) of a psycho driller-killer. It was my first big speaking role, plus the first time I ever screamed and then died horribly on film. Prior, I'd never regarded myself as a legitimate actress. It was just a lark, after all, until I could find a decent scientist job. I figured I'd just keep doing it until somebody yelled, "Hey, you! You're not a real actress! Get outta here!" But nobody ever did. Later, as I watched my exciting big-screen death throes in "SPM", I suspected I could become a very good actress... and now I suddenly wanted it!
SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE (1982) -- I was offered -- and regretfully had to turn down -- a major starring role, due to scheduling conflicts. But I did work three days as a teenage victim of a driller-killer. During my scenes, look closely at the gym's background walls... and you'll spot two deliberate visual gags: flyers stating "Join the Drill Team!" and "Emergency Drill Instructions". My fake blood consisted of red food coloring and sticky-sweet Karo syrup, making me an all-time favorite of flying insects during out outdoor lunch breaks.
FOCUS #4: MONIQUE GABRIELLE (1995)
Monique appeared in Hard to Die but the film was only mentioned in the fimography section of this informative and photo-packed biography. Below is an excerpt from the book.
For the most part, being a celebrity is great. Most fans are very nice. I like it when fans treat me with respect and realize that I am a lady. I also like being able to express my thoughts and feelings to thousands of people. I think fans should realize that when I perform in a movie or video I am acting. If I play a sex kitten or a bimbo, it is a character that I am playing, not myself. I don't think that most fans would want to send an actor to the electric chair because he plays a serial killer, but sometimes they do get confused when actresses play sexy characters. But it is all make believe.
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