My First interview: P.J. Soles

In 1983 I was recruited by Bill George to do several interviews for his book, Eroticism in The Fantasy Cinema. One of the actresses he wanted me to interview was P.J. Soles who had been rapidly making a name for herself by appearing in high profile movies such as Carrie, Halloween, Private Benjamin and Stripes. I was very excited that my first interview would be with an up and coming actress!

Now, in those days, you called up The Screen Actors Guild directory for either the actors home number or their agents business number. You were allowed to request three phone numbers per call. If you needed more, you had to call them back the following day. And even when you contacted the actor or their agent, it was no slam dunk that they would consent to an interview.

One agent in particular was quite nasty to me and said in no uncertain terms that her client was in no way interested in talking to me. The actress was Celeste Yarnell, a minor B movie starlet whose film and TV credits you could list on a napkin and still have room. You'd  have thought the agent would have been tickled to death that someone wanted to interview her client for a book. Instead, this woman practically handed me my head. Someone once said to me, "If you want to break your mother's heart, become an agent."

P.J. Soles agent, in contrast was very pleasant, extremely co-operative and we arranged for an over the phone interview. As it happened, on that day of the interview I was in the shower getting ready for my job as  manager/projectionist of a movie theatre. As soon as I heard the phone ring, I jumped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around myself and answered the phone. It was P.J. Soles cheerful voice on the other end. Undaunted and eager to talk to her, I simply turned on the tape recorder and conducted the following interview dripping wet and wearing only a towel(my then wife was rather perturbed when she came home to discover that the dining room chair was damp.). Since that time, I've conducted all of my interviews fully clothed and completely dry.







JV: Was the movie Blood Bath your first acting role?

PJS: No, I was never in that. Carrie was my first film.

JV: Because, incredibly enough, your name is in the end credits.

PJS: Blood Bath? I've never even heard of it.

JV: It was made by a New York filmmaker named Joel Reed. I heard that you did a partial nude scene in the film but it was cut out.

PJS: I don't know the movie or the guy. That's weird.

JV: You did your first erotic scene in Halloween, is that correct?

PJS: Actually, there was a brief scene in Carrie, in the shower but I wore a towel. Everybody else was nude but me. At that point, I didn't really want to do it.

JV: How do you feel about doing nude scenes or scenes that contain eroticism?

PJS: I think that if they are important to the film or they're nicely done, I think they're okay. Like in Halloween, I thought it was kind of cute because they were teenage characters. I really like the scene where the guy comes back up the stairs and you know it's him. I just thought that was a real cute scene the way I was trying to con him back into bed and he ends up killing me. You really didn't see that much.

JV: Are there any kind of scenes you'll refuse to do that are in your contract?

PJS: No, because I pretty much always know what it's going to entail before I sign it.

JV: Some actresses have a clause in their contract stating what kind of scenes they will or will not do.

PJS: But you sign a contract based on the script you're given. If there's nothing in the script, there's no problem.

JV: Have you ever been in any movie where the director or the producer, all of the sudden, out of the clear blue sky has said," Let's do this" and you didn't agree with it ?

PJS: No. In fact, in Stripes, Bill Murray and I had sort of a love scene that was cut out because they said it was too realistic and it looked like suddenly we were watching another movie. But we had a good time shooting that. That was a very romantic love scene. We were drinking champagne and Bill was doing push ups against the bed. It was really a cute scene.

JV:  With the women's movement claiming that horror films degrade women and show them as sex objects, how do you feel about the horror films you've done?

PJS: The ones that I've been in, Carrie and Halloween, both were sort of trend setters.  I'm actually very proud of them.

JV: You were in a movie called The Possessed. What was that about?

PJS: That was so long ago I can't tell you.(laughs) I had a minor role in that. Actually, what's his name was in it. He's famous as the guy in Raiders of The Lost Ark.

JV: Harrison Ford?

PJS: Yes, Harrison Ford was in it, even. So, that's how old it was. It was a television movie. He was one of the teachers of this girls school that's possessed and he's having a battle with all of the students. It's sort of like The Exorcist. I mean, it's not a great film. It's not one of those movies you'd try to find if it comes on TV.

JV: Or even if it's on TV at four in the morning, right?

PJS: Well, then you might have to watch it. (laughs)

JV:  Can you tell us about a new film you've done? I believe it's a horror film?

PJS: I did do a film in Australia. It's called Innocent Prey. When I first read the script, I really liked it and wanted to work with the Australian people. But since I've seen it, I think it's a little strange and probably something I don't want to do ever again. But it was a leading role and I liked the Australian people very much. It was basically about a young Texas girl who marries the wrong kind of guy. He has this passion for killing prostitutes after he's slept with them. His wife discovers this and turns him into the cops. He breaks out of jail and tries to get her. She goes to Australia with her girlfriend so she can be as far away as possible from this guy. And he, of course, follows her there and he traces what happens to her in Australia. He ends up dying and she falls for another guy who turns out to be the same kind of criminal. Innocent Prey being that it seems there could be habitual criminals out there and there could be habitual victims.

JV: So, you wouldn't call it a horror film, exactly?

PJS: Well,it's a thriller/chiller ,but there are some horrific moments in it. Their attempt at making an Australian Halloween. That's why they wanted me in it. So,it is a horror film, but it's not very bloody or gory. Originally, it was going to be for television.

                                    


JV: How do you personally feel about horror films?

PJS: I never go to see them.(laughs) I just saw Tarzan last night and I thought that was scary. I thought because my first movie was Carrie and it was a big success,that's why John Carpenter wanted me for Halloween. And after that, The Possession, which like I said was a small movie, but because they saw me in Carrie,they wanted me for that. So, in terms of casting people, they're never especially creative. But they always think," Who was in a horror film? Let's cast them. And if they're available,then let's get them." At this point, I don't want it to be a trend and I don't think it will be because I've done Private Benjamin and Stripes. After doing the one in Australia, after getting married again and having a baby,I realize that I've probably done enough. So, three or four is enough.

JV: Would Rock and Roll High School be considered a fantasy film?

PJS: Yeah, a fantasy and cult film.

JV: About that, New World Pictures is noted for it's exploitation values. Did you find that they attempted to put a lot of  exploitation,such as gratuitous nudity, into the film?

PJS: Rock and Roll High School had to stay pretty clean because they wanted the general audiences of kids. They did have this scene of me smoking pot on the bed and having a fantasy that The Ramones are playing in my bedroom. I'm taking my clothes off and I go to take a shower. I remember they wanted that scene more nude, but I kept my bra on in the shower when the shot was done. It was exploitative enough that they were shooting it for two hundred thousand dollars in four weeks. I've never run across especially lecherous directors. I've heard stories where people have,but in my case I've really never have come across that. Every one's been pretty considerate. Even in Private Benjamin I did sort of a nude scene. They pretty much go with what the actress wants.

JV: In other words, they don't try to cajole you into doing a nude scene by saying," We gotta do this to sell the movie?

PJS: Never. Never. Even in Carrie when everybody else in the opening shower scene was nude, that was up to the individual actress how she wanted to do it. Because I said to Brian De Palma," I want to keep my towel on."Amy Irving said," I want to keep my panties and bra on." But there's always people who are willing to do it.

JV: Let's say there were horror film producers coming up to you and offering to make you the next
Jamie Lee Curtis. Why would you refuse?

PJS: Well, like I said before, I think I've done enough of them. And they're not extremely productive movies except as a box office smash. I've been in enough box office hits where I have a certain amount of credibility and I really don't need to do that. It's not necessary and it's not terrifically productive.

       

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

        

                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                   

Linnea Quigley Interview

                    

Linnea with director and friend David DeCoteau

In the 1980's, a new crop of screen queens, Linnea Quigley, Brinke Stevens, Michelle Bauer and Debra Lamb(to name a few) became the darlings of the burgeoning direct to video horror film market. Unlike their earlier counterparts like Fay Wray, Evelyn Ankers, Beverly Garland and Hazel Court, these ladies had no qualms about flaunting their bodies in various stages of undress much to the delight of the male horror fans. The films may not have approached high art on any level, but they entertained fans and made money for the video companies that released them.

Linnea has been acting continually in horror films( as well as some non horror movies) since her debut in Psycho from Texas in 1975. She also acted in Silent Night, Deadly Night; a film that garnered quite a bit of controversy because it depicted Santa Claus as a horror movie character. The movie went so far as to become a topic discussed on the Phil Donahue show  because of it's controversial theme.

Despite the usual, short career span of a typical screen queen, Linnea is still in the business as busy as ever as an actress and has even worn the hat of producer on several film projects. This woman has no intention of slowing down. And although in the new millennium the most current and hip term for horror film actresses is Horror Hotties, don't say that to Linnea. She still proudly considers herself to be a Scream Queen.

JV:  Linnea, let's start by talking about Celluloid Bloodbath: More Prevues from Hell. How did you get involved with the film?

LQ:  I got a call from Dan Kaminski, who I've known forever. He was getting a couple people to introduce some films and I tried to get people,too. I happened to know some people that had a video camera because I was in Florida, he was in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. So, I did a wrap around and was trying to get people to do some and a lot of them flaked. I talked about Psycho from Texas, which I did in the very beginning of my career. Dan's got, like, a million really cool names in it doing the wrap arounds and it's grown into something really big now.

JV: Out of all of the films you've done in your career, what would be the one you'd want to be most remembered for?

LQ:  I would say Return of The Living Dead. That has all the elements and it was just one of those perfect times when everything aligned; the cast, the crew, the music, just everything. It just worked.It's got all the elements of something kind of spooky happening and something that could happen.And the comedy of when something like that would happen how people might react, because there's not much difference between horror and comedy. You act pretty stupid when you're scared.

JV:  You did a non horror film at one point called Treasure of The Moon Goddess. Did you think it would be the big breakout hit for you?

LQ:  Yeah, I really did because it was like a Disney PG 13 film. We were filming in Mexico, we were filming in the Philippines and I thought it would really be good. It's a fun little film to watch. It just didn't get pushed.

JV: During this period in your career, I understand your agent was touting you as the low budget Meg Ryan. Did that give your acting career an upswing?

LQ: I think it did. I was doing cameo's in John Landis films and things like that. But I never got a solid part in an A movie, like a co-starring or leading part, unfortunately.

JV: Since you're now living in Florida, are you acting in local films?

LQ:  I've done some in Florida, but I've also done some in LA. I just got back from doing one in LA called The Trouble with Barry, which is a comedy horror film and Disciples which I co-produced.It's got Angus Scrim, Tony Todd, Bill Mosley, Brinke Stevens; a huge crew. I mean, cast and everything. It looks really super. We had some great locations in Florida and in LA. I talked to the director and he's got a couple on the shelf right now. He going to get them totally finished and out there. It was great seeing Debra again(Debra Lamb) because she disappeared for a while. She's back and she's back with a vengeance, I tell you.

JV:  Let me ask you a question I posed to her in a recent interview,how do you feel about doing nudity in movies?

LQ: Kind of like going to the doctor,you don't really want to but....(laughter) I really haven't been called to do that for a long,long time because I've had some pretty good parts and I've gone from the ingenue to the mother roles.It's really not needed so much. Now, I can look back and go," Oh God,somebody else can do it." Like, I just did Girls Gone Dead and I play a crazy Australian bartender. That was really fun. It's like a change going from the ingenue,I had to do those parts,to playing mothers,psychics,Gypsy's and stuff;which are more substantial parts. Like,I did Demonica, which is demons on skates.I played a gypsy in that.I did a short called Stella Buio.I played a psychic in that,a scam psychic. But I'm still a psychic.

JV:  I see that your latest film is called Crazy Fat Ethel.

LQ: Oh yeah. Now that hasn't started yet. They're still waiting for funds. So hopefully that will happen.

JV: You said you were a member of the Screen Actors Guild. If you're caught working on a non SAG film,are there any repercussions?

LQ:  I've been caught a couple of times. They fine you,like,a thousand dollars. The second time they fined me another thousand dollars and they made me go to a first members meeting which was horrible.(laughs) That was like torture.

JV: What is a first members meeting, if I can ask?

LQ: It's just all," Yay SAG. Don't ever do anything non SAG".(laughter) It's like a big pep rally for SAG who actually screwed me on Savage Streets. So I really don't feel an endearment to them, because they don't really protect you and they don't get you work.

JV: Talking about Savage Streets for a minute, that was the film with Linda Blair, right?

LQ: Yeah. I was just in Canada where they showed it on the big screen and they had The Scars there,the guys who played the bad asses. It was interesting 'cause I'd seen them briefly in LA about four months before and it was just so weird to see how people had changed and not changed. They sent a script to Tarantino(Quinton Tarantino) of a remake, or a continuation of Savage Streets,actually.Which we hope happens because we'd all be in it, but grown up. When I was doing the film,they had cast Cherie Curry(the singer for the Runaways)and on the very last day of rehearsals in walks Linda Blair and I nearly died because I thought she was this huge,big star. I'm like," I'm playing her sister.Oh my God,they're going to fire me."Because we were the same age,the same height. I had blonde hair and light eyes and she had the darker hair and they went through a firing spree,so I was terrified. But I made it, luckily.

JV: You told me before the interview that you had a problem on that film. Can you elaborate on that ?

LQ: Yeah, they stopped filming for money reasons about halfway through and when you wait,according to SAG, my manager called, I called and you let them know you're still working on the film. But you're on hold,which means you can't change your appearance,you can't take something that might conflict with the schedule,so they pay you a certain amount and I was owed  about five thousand. And the SAG representative, when we started in again,came on set and said," Okey,you guys are gonna get your five thousand." That was a lot back then. I was like,' Yay, oh good!" The guy just turned to me and said," Well,you're not gonna get it." I said," What? My manager called every day." " Well, we don't remember any of that." So after that, I did not have any respect for SAG. They said," Just be glad this movie's being made." I thought," What? Who's side are you on? "

JV:  We talked about your favorite film. Looking back, which film is your least favorite?

LQ:  Oh boy, I hate to hurt peoples feelings, but probably Animals. That was probably my least favorite film.

JV: When was that filmed?

LQ: That was before I moved to Florida. I was in LA flew to Florida to do it and it was the very first shot on video thing I'd done. I wasn't expecting it to be video and it was probably 1998, I would guess. That was probably my least favorite.

JV: You make a lot of appearances at horror film conventions. What is your favorite thing about doing conventions?

LQ: Meeting the really nice fans. Ones that really get into the movies. Like the last one in Canada,people were coming up that weren't even born when my movies were made. But they were just,very,very enthusiastic about these movies and that made me feel good. Most kids are into video and what's new out there. So it was really nice.

JV: When I interviewed Debra Lamb, she was talking about producing and directing some film projects. Have you ever produced any other films besides Disciples?

LQ: Yes, like on a lot of David De Coteau's films and as I mentioned before, Joe Hollows Disciples.

JV: What goes into producing a film?

LQ: Oh my gosh, you wear a lot of hats. From everything to helping get and secure locations, your friendships with different actors, getting them in the film, fixing problems that happen during filming so other people aren't aware of them and it can go smoothly. You wear a lot of hats when you do that.

JV: Is that a good thing?

LQ: Yeah, it makes it more interesting. And just reading actors and making decisions; that kind of thing. It keeps you busy. And you can see what goes on by being behind the scenes. Also getting PR going. When I was in LA I could easily do that. I got TV Guide Channel to do something on  The Trouble with  Barry and that's going to air pretty soon. It's an interesting job to do.

JV: Are there any future projects that you'd like to talk about?

LQ: Well, Celluloid Bloodbath is coming out Oct 9. That's the one we talked about where I do a wrap around. That's going to be really fun to watch and bring back a lot of memories for people. I just did a YouTube thing if anybody wants to watch it. It's Girls Gone Dead movie website. They're doing a give a way of winning my hat and a DVD. Girls Gone Dead is a really good film. It's reminiscent of the 80's films. Cougar Cult:1313 is a fun little David De Coteau film. A little different than his other films that I did with him, but it did bring Brinke, Michelle and I together. Demonica, which is demons on skates is gonna be out soon and I play a gypsy in that. That'll be fun. So I 've been really active. Which is good.

JV: These days, it's seems that the term Scream Queen has been replaced by Horror Hotties. Which title do you prefer?

LQ: I think Scream Queens. I think there's a difference between the two. I think Scream Queens have a long past, really love what they do and the people love them for what they do. The Horror Hotties are just girls that  kind of show a lot of skin and  run around. You've gotta have a good reputation and get in there and really blast them with your scream.

Part 3 Of My Interview With Victoria Vetri

Before presenting you with the conclusion of my interview with former Playboy Playmate and actress Victoria Vetri, I'd like to take a moment to tell you about Bill George,author of EROTICISM IN THE FANTASY CINEMA,that oily,insincere liar of the lowest common denominator. Now,there are some of you out there thinking," Joe must really enjoy writing about Bill George because of the things he's said about him in previous posts".

Well, not really. But since George has screwed me over a number of times I think he deserves to be singled out and shown to all as the smarmy,unctuous asshole that he is. In the case of EROTICISM IN THE FANTASY CINEMA I got the shit end of the stick in two ways:

My interview with Victoria Vetri was published without a byline;in other words my name was not featured next to the interview. Instead, I was dumped in acknowledgement section along with those who had provided George with a graphic or a press release. He claimed that the publishers did this without his knowledge,but being far too familiar with his penchant for lying I didn't believe him. He went so far as to offer to sign my copy of the book with an inscription praising me for the work I did. I felt like he was offering to autograph it for me! The nerve of that ego dripping turd!

Then came the other gratuitous kick in the ass when I noticed that in the interview all references to me were expunged. Yet whenever George's interviews were featured,his name was always front and center. When I complained about this, George said," I did that so that the reader would feel as if she were speaking to them." Nah. Un uh. No way. He edited out all references to me because The King of Selfish wanted the limelight all to himself. It was the Bill George Show and I was playing a small,insignificant part. And to this very day he probably scratches his balding head wondering why I don't want to have anything to do with him anymore. As the saying goes: He who is self serving ends up with himself.


JV: Do you feel that horror films exploit women in a negative fashion? I mean, relating to the ones you've been in?

VV: Well, let me think now. I mean, we're all victims. I think I've mentioned this before,but somebody has to play the role. It depends on the film really.

JV: For example,in INVASION OF THE BEE GIRLS didn't you think that the attempted rape scene was a bit gratuitous?

VV: Yes,I thought they could've done without that. But,they write the attempted rape scene and I do it. This is funny,I guess I don't feel exploited because it's just acting to me. I mean,I've seen a million dramas where women are being exploited and they aren't horror movies. Women have been in that role for years. Just because all of the sudden the Eighties come and women are going to start being independent doesn't mean they're going to change the rules.Because we are the weaker sex and there's nothing you can do about that, really. I don't care how much iron you can pump or how macho you are.

JV: Do you think the Women's Movement has a right to complain about these issues and say to the movie producers," Hey, you shouldn't show this because it's not a very positive image?" A lot of them are also afraid that some strange guy is going to see this kind of film and get ideas.

VV: But, guys get ideas from everywhere,not from film. There's influences even in soap commercials for God's sake. The Women's Movement bugs me, I guess. Let 'em move. The big BM. I guess I'm just not on that side. Most of my friends are men. I get along better with men. I feel sorry for women. Now, I'm going to sound like a female chauvinist. I 'm not into the Women's Movement. They can complain about this,complain about that, but people are going to be influenced no matter what. To me,it's just an acting job. And if I really felt like I was endangering the female species by doing scenes that I do in films, then I would not do them.I mean, it's a fantasy,it's a trip. People take film so seriously, I can't believe it.

JV: After you did the Playboy spread and became Playmate of The Year, what was the reaction of your family and friends?

VV: My family wasn't too upset about it. My father being from Sicily and kind of old fashioned, was still an ass pincher.So he was kind of proud of it.He had different parts of the magazine that he framed and put in his restaurant.You know,head shots and all. He'd say," Hey, that's my daughter. Say anything about it and I'll kill you." My mom did pinups when she was in Rome.She was quite a sexy dish and also an actress. She told me she did calendars in her day and that if I did it modestly,she explained to me that it's like the face is a diamond and the body's a setting and,"You've got a good setting so show it off,girl. Go for it".(laughter) So I did. My parents weren't upset about it or prudish,no.

JV: Do you find that Hollywood,located in the Los Angeles area,has a more lenient attitude towards this type of thing than if you lived somewhwere else?

VV: Of course. The Midwest,let's face it,that could never happen there.I think it's the weather here. I really do. (laughs) The warm,hot climate hits the sun, makes us all crazed and then we have to drink beer and stuff to cool off. It's a very perverse place, Hollywood. But, I was born and raised here and I love it and it's my town. There's perversity all over, just more people hide it in the closet. They don't display it all. Here we let it all hang out.

JV: Knowing what you know now,after all of the things you've gone through,if you could go back, what would you change?

VV: Nothing. I would do it all again. The highs,the lows,the ups, the downs and believe me there's been a few lulls in my life, too. But right now I'm up and I wouldn't change a thing. I know that sounds very egotisical. I used to complain about Playboy. If you had asked me that a couple of years ago I would've said," I wouldn't do Playboy. That's the one thing I wouldn't do again." But now I've changed my whole attitude about that. So now I've narrowed it down to nothing.

Victoria Vetri Interview Part 2.

Prior to interviewing Victoria Vetri,she told me an amusing story concerning the making of WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH: When it came time to do the scene where she comes out of the water with a fish in her mouth(see picture above left),the director,Val Guest,had Tory put an actual dead fish in her mouth. To add insult to injury, the director did a number of takes,as Tory emerged from the water with the dead fish clenched between her teeth.Ever the trouper, Tory did the retakes without complaining. As you can see, being an actress isn't all,glitz, glamour and adulation.

JV: I was surprised when you told me that INVASION OF THE BEE GIRLS was made by Warner Brothers. I always thought it was the product of an independent company.

VV: I think an independent company got a hold of it. But Saul Weintraub,who worked for Warner,wanted me to fullfill my obligation since I couldn't do ENTER THE DRAGON. Now, I'm thinking about this carefully because my agent who handled this is now retired. Warner and Hammer did WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH together. This was a Warner Brothers and independent production and I think they finally released it to the independent company. And from what you told me,someone else has bought it now and released it under another title.But my paycheck said Warners on it.

JV: For Television and Video Tape the title INVASION OF THE BEE GIRLS is still used. But it was re released as GRAVEYARD TRAMPS.

VV:(laughs)GRAVEYARD TRAMPS! Oh my God! I liked the shooting title THE HONEY FACTOR. It sounded more sci-fi.

JV: I didn't see INVASION OF THE BEE GIRLS when it was first released, but saw it at a drive-in under the new title and thought it was a fun film.

VV: I think it's kind of fun. I mean, it's so ridiculous it's funny. I had fun making it. Unless something really spectacular comes up in my career to make me do another horror movie, I have to be honest,I don't want to end up being a horror queen in films. I'd like to branch off. I'm trying to get a rock group together and get a video out,pursue my singing and maybe do some serious acting. I'm not saying that one cannot do serious acting in horror films. I saw a short today on cable. It was about Tobe Hooper who did THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE,now he's done POLTERGEIST. When TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE came out, people thought that without even showing too much,it was the most terrifying film ever and then he got money behind POLTERGEIST. But I for one do not go out of my way to see horror movies. If FRIDAY THE 13TH is on cable,I will turn it on.But I won't go pay five fifty to see it at a theatre. The one I loved,I saw it three times,is Alien. Is that considered a horror movie? That I would've done in a minute. If they'd come to me and said," Hey,you want to play any part? Do you want to play the Alien?". I would've said," Sure"!(imitates an alien screech). I'd come bursting out(does another Alien screech). That I would've enjoyed.

JV: When you did the recent "PLAYMATES FOREVER" spread in PLAYBOY,did you do it because,going back to one of my first questions, you'd be working again with the much touted "PLAYBOY FAMILY"?

VV: No. What happened was, I was a waitress and bartender at the time and a lady came in and said," Are you Victoria Vetri?" I said," Yes." She said," We have been looking all over for you." She handed me her card from Playboy and said," We're doing a reshoot of "Playmates Forever". Would you be interested?" I said," First of all,how much?" She said," Well, a thousand dollars for half a days work." I said," I'll think about it",playing real hard to get because at this point I had already established that I hated Playboy and everything it stood for. And then my agent said," Well,it can't hurt." I said," Okey,on one condition. I did Playboy B.P,before pubic. I'm not going to show any frontal nudity. I want it as modest as I can have it and I refuse to pose as if I'm visiting my gynecologist like those other girls." So they said," Okey,fine." I got what I wanted. I really don't have the hostilities that I used to have about Playboy.

JV: What in your opinion qualifies as the most erotic moment in any movie that you've seen?

VV: WIFEMISTRESS with Marcello Mastroianni. I changed my mind from last night. SWEPT AWAY came off the top of my head. WIFEMISTRESS has everything in it voyeurism,eroticism,emotional,sexy;it's done in good taste. It's Italian,of course, and I think you can relate to that.

JV: You did a hair oil commercial in which you sang a song with the line," I like it long." Was this commercial banned from TV because it was considered too provocative?

VV: That was for Groom and Clean. It was a double entendre. They didn't take it off the air. It kind of wore it's way off the air and I was the first girl on TV to wear hotpants and boots. At first, I got it for my voice over, because I sing. The song was something like: (sings)" Ooh, I love it long. Just as long as you spray on Groom and Clean.Yeah, I love it long." That's what the little jingle was. We did different variations of it,like,he was going to get a haircut and I walk in and say," You cut off one lock of his hair and I'll melt your scissors." Then I go into this little song and dance. Then we did one where he's driving away in a XKE and I put my foot on the bumper and I say," Cut off one lock of that hair and I'll strip your gears." I did about three of those commercials. They got good airplay and they were supposedly racy for TV commercials. They're very liberal now,but that was the start of TV commercials being liberal. If it was banned I never knew about it,because it was a a long,long time.



To be continued...........

An Interview With Playboy Playmate Victoria Vetri.

In 1983, I interviewed actress/playboy model Victoria Vetri for Bill George's book Eroticism In The Fantasy Cinema. It was the second interview I had ever done up to that point;my first was with up and coming actress P.J Soles whose film credits included HALLOWEEN, STRIPES and PRIVATE BENJAMIN. The big deal for me was that I was speaking to an actual Playmate; the dream of every red blooded  American male who ever perused an issue of Playboy.

Tory, as she preferred to be called because she didn't like the name Vicki, was charming ,engaging and generous with her time. My tape recorder had malfunctioned and she very kindly agreed to do the interview over again the next evening. During our second interview, Tory asked if she could change her answer to a question I had asked concerning Roman Polanski, who directed her in Rosemary's Baby. Her original answer was," I'm just glad he's out of the country.", in reference to the statutory rape case during which he fled the country to avoid a lengthy jail sentence. She changed her comment to ," I think he is a very creative director."

I felt a sense of sadness as I read on the various news websites the details concerning Tory's trial for shooting her husband of twenty five years, Bruce Rathgeb, because she felt he had been cheating on her. Luckily he survived, but Tory was sentenced to nine years in jail for attempted murder. The story received cursory attention from the news media; after all, forty four years has elapsed since her appearance in Playboy magazine and Tory hasn't acted in films or on TV for almost the same amount of time.To the jaundiced public, it was a mildly interesting story concerning the downfall of a former Playboy Playmate; something to read about and then be forgotten in a day or two. Such is the attention span of John and Joan Q.Public.



Here is my interview with Victoria Vetri from 1983.



JV: Was ROSEMARY'S BABY your first feature film?

VV: ROSEMARY'S BABY was my first feature. I got it because Mia Farrow refused to test with the actors. She didn't want to be bothered doing that menial stuff, so Roman Polanski said,"By the way, how do you look in dark hair and can you look Italian?" I said," Well, I'am Italian." He said," I'd like you to play the part of Terry Fionoffrio, Angela." I said,"Okay" and I played the part under Angela Dorian,my fictitious name. On the set one day he said," Angela, we cannot use Anna Maria Alberghetti name. Can you think of an Italian name"? I said," How 'bout Victoria Vetri?" He said," That's fantastic! What an imagination!" I said," That's my real name." He said," My God, why are you using that name of a sunken ship, The Andria Dorio?" I think Victoria Vetri has more of a -ah,what the hell,it's Italian.

JV: Was Playboy Magazine responsible for you getting the part in ROSEMARY'S BABY?

VV: No. Playboy really had nothing to do with me being in the film one way or another. By the time Playboy came out, I had already done the part because they mention that in my credits. I had twenty six TV shows,all lead parts, under my belt,plus ROSEMARY'S BABY, plus movies for TV. But they somehow made it sound like they discovered me. Which upset me at the time.

JV: Do you think that "Playboy" in any way helped your career in a positive direction?

VV: I think at one point in my career,it hindered it. I could have been a serious actress and all of the sudden it was like I was a thing,I was a commodity, I was a Bunny, I was a Playmate, and I played nothing but hookers. The types of roles that I went up for were not serious parts. I mean, I'm not saying that you can't play a serious hooker. Look at what Jane Fonda did in KLUTE. It's changed a lot. I was one of the first actresses to do Playboy. Then Claudia Jennings did it after me. I was very close to her and felt great remorse when I lost her in a car accident. I had to entertain that night. I had to sing with a rock group and I couldn't go on stage when I found that out. We had to give people their money back. Claudia and I did a film together called GROUP MARRIAGE. She was a superb actress who was coming into her own and she was a loyal friend. A very creative lady. And I think she was one of the best friends I ever had. The only person I got close to through Playboy and it was a big loss.

JV: From what you told before this interview, I guess you're one of the few people actually born and raised in California?

VV: Very few. I mean, when I used to bar tend between acting jobs I say," I'll give a free drink to any native Californian who can prove they're a native." And I was the only one in the bar.

JV: How did you get the part in WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH?

VV: HAMMER(HAMMER FILMS, the English studio that produced a number of horror classics from the 1950's through the 1970's) located me through my agent. They had just done a film with Rachel Welch called ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. They'd seen me in some film,some magazine,it wasn't Playboy, and they said ," Let's do a test on her." I was obligated to Warner Brothers at the time and Francis Ford Coppola did a test of me running through the backs of the lot with a tiger bikini on panting and grunting,flaring my nostrils. Then we did another thing with me singing in front of a sky background with my guitar. They sent the test to London and Aida Young,the executive producer said," Send her over." It was shot in the Canary Islands and at Shepperton Studios. It was about six months work. It took a year and a half for the film to come out. By the time I got to the Bahamas to see the film they couldn't show it, because the color matching was all wrong. So it took two years for the film to come out. It won an award for best special effects.

JV: Did you find it hard reacting to imaginary dinosaurs?

VV: Yes, but I got used to it. I have a great imagination. After a while, they gave me a focal point. They'd say," Look up here" at this guy on a ladder and I would pretend like I saw this imaginary thing. I could see some rushes where they were putting in animation.

JV: In a book titled " HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR," there are stills from WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH which show you in the nude. Where these stills from scenes that were deleted from the version shown here domestically?

VV: No. These were publicity shots. Because once Playboy found out they were in the Canary Islands doing a film and I was scantily clad, they sent a photographer over there. They said," We'll pay you x amount of dollars to do stills because this would be good for our article Sex in the Cinema I said," Ok." Two weeks after we were there ,the director(Val Guest) left his wife. He was sleeping with the script supervisor. It was like you could have made a movie within a movie. Everybody was screwing around. People were skinny dipping, drinking sangria instead of tea at four in the afternoon, getting drunk on their asses and it was like party time. Three or four in the morning they'd say," You have to be up at six for a sunrise shoot? Let's stay up all night!" The sad part was when we came back to England and there the wives are, they've gotten letters from their husbands that have fallen in love on location saying," It's over. It was getting old anyway." Here's the wife pouting and holding the child in hand as he gets off the airplane. The director, Val Guest, comes off the plane arm in arm with the script supervisor who he fell in love with and ended up marrying, by the way. So it was like a little mini soap opera. Because you throw these people together and the English are wild and crazy once you get them in a loose environment. But to watch them drop their facade of properness and say," Ah, I'm free." Of course, having a California girl around didn't help because I was the first one to drop a loincloth. And all the girls between shots were getting a tan. After a while it didn't faze anybody. When you're all sitting around half naked it doesn't matter That was quote "a family". I'm still getting letters from a lot of people I worked with on that movie. When the film came to an end they were crying," Oh, I don't want you to go back to America. Stay in touch." That's the closest I've ever come to a family situation working with a film company.


Part 2 of my interview with Victoria Vetri coming soon.