While I feel it's been successful so far, I'm always just the tiniest bit nervous about it. I'm not sure what people do and don't want to know about this project. Thankfully I have a good friend, Andrew Gifford, who I can bounce ideas off of. Like me, he's in charge of his own company which deals with the arts. In his case, he publishes long fiction. (You can get information about his company, The Santa Fe Writer's Project, at www.sfwp.com. ) So, because I trust Andrew, I asked him, "What are things you're interested in knowing about through the blog?"
He said, "You. Your inspirations, your personal journey. How you got to Women's Studies?"
While it wasn't exactly the answer I was looking for, I realized that I never really took the time to properly introduce myself, though anyone can go to www.lonniemartin.com and read my bio. I get a little weird talking about myself because I'm deathly afraid of coming off like a pretentious prick, or worse, a complete idiot.
Anytime I try to tackle the idea on my own, I end up starting my friggin' memoirs, Therefore, I enlisted the help of Women's Studies co-producer and star, Cindy Marie Martin to ask the questions and keep me in check. She was a broadcast journalism major, so I expect I'll get the full Barbara Walters treatment.
# # #
CINDY:
So, Lonnie, what is a little thing in life that makes you happy?
LONNIE:
Little things are just about all that make me happy: a warm cat in my lap. Seeing an old couple holding hands . . . that kind of thing. While Big things can create strong emotions, pure happiness usually isn't one of them.
CINDY:
What about creatively? Where do you see yourself in five years that would make you happy, artistically?
LONNIE:
Am I still interviewing for the director job? Ultimately, I'd like to be in a place where I can keep making films and exploring the ideas I've brushed the surface of with First Session, Under the Bed, and now Women's Studies. That doesn't mean "rich and famous" in the least. But to be able to make these smaller films, yet keep evolving as a writer and filmmaker, AND have it pay my bills would be nice.
CINDY:
What ideas, specifically, are you itching to explore further? First Session touched on betrayal and murder, Under the Bed, rape and betrayal, and Women's Studies runs the gamut from terrorism to feminism! All related and if I may say, you deal more with the human journey involved in a situation than the situation itself. Are the journeys shown in these three projects connected in any way with one project flowing into the other or are they all their own beast?
LONNIE:
I think the three movies are three different plays on the same theme: the relationship between love and fear, emotional concepts which manifest themselves physically as sex and death. I'm interested in the grey areas where love and fear, sex and death meet. In First Session, I dealt with some very dark consequences of infidelity. Under the Bed was more about how somebody deals psychologically with sexual trauma, or any sexual experience really. Both of those ideas work their way into Women's Studies, which illustrates in a lot of different ways how love can be used against someone to create fear. That's kind of vague, but I don't want to give anything away.
CINDY:
Why the fascination with sex and death? Traumatic childhood? Spurned lover? You seem so well adjusted. And does that mean you yourself have a jaded view of love?
LONNIE:
You mean sit on your couch, doctor, and show you on the My Little Pony where Uncle Charlie touched me when I was seven? Honestly, I have no idea where my fascination comes from. It's just how my mind works. I believe all emotions we feel stem from one of two places, a place of love or a place of fear. Hope, joy, goodwill, optimism; these all come from love. Hate, racism, rage, pain; these are created from fear, usually a fear borne of ignorance. We fear what we don't understand. As I said before, the physical manifestation of fear is death. We fear death because we don't know what comes after. Zen Buddhists believe all we do in this life prepares us for the next one. It's a philosophy built upon preparing to die. So, I guess my obsession with death is borne from a desire to understand it . . . and I believe love is a key to getting to the next life instead of coming back to live out this one.
CINDY:
Sounds remarkably well adjusted actually. Now, there's obviously an underlying vibe of horror to all of your recent work. Why attack these socially relevant and universal themes within the context of the horror genre? (And can we ever expect a nice romantic comedy?)
LONNIE:
Well, horror is good for allegory, because once you've screamed, laughed, thrown your popcorn, and made out with your best girl, you can lean back and ask yourself, "What was I really scared of?" At the same time, you can't get too caught up in your "big ideas." The main point of making a horror film is the great pleasure I take in scaring the hell out of people. As far as a romantic comedy goes, I actually have a soft spot for a good love story. I loved The Notebook. While I'll probably never go the Diane Keaton, Richard Gere, Nora Ephron rom-com route, I'd like to do a love story someday. Hell, Women's Studies in it's own way is a sort of non-traditional, tragic love story.
CINDY:
So, you love to scare people! You're a great host and entertainer: anyone who knows you can attest to that. "Lonnie, the life of the party." So, does the reason you love to scare others have anything to do with the joy you take in being scared yourself? "Entertain others with what best entertains you," if you will? (As your wife, I can vouch that I've seen more horror films since meeting you than in all the 23 years prior.)
LONNIE:
Probably. To me, the joy of being scared by a horror movie is the relief and affirmation of life I experience when the credits roll. It's like, "That was pretty bad, but at least it's make believe. I'm still here." People shouldn't be afraid to embrace the darkness. There's a lot to be learned by trying to see what's hidden in the shadows.
CINDY:
Do you ever just set back and relax? This all sounds so serious and intellectual.
LONNIE:
I'm mister mellow. Just because my mind is always working doesn't mean I'm stressing about the world. I've tried to master the art of letting go, and I think for the most part, I do pretty good.
CINDY:What's your favorite thing to do to unwind?
LONNIE:
Heh. Watch horror movies.
CINDY:
Well that says it all, doesn't it?
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