An Interview W/ Ellie Church

Ellie Church is a multi-talented actress, producer, and art director who is perhaps best known for starring in the feature films HARVEST LAKE, THE BAD MAN, as well as her upcoming film entitled GUSH. You can find my recent review of GUSH HERE.

MAD: Ellie, thanks so much for taking some time to chat with us today! After viewing the soon to be released film GUSH, which you star in, I've been devouring your previous performances and wish I'd checked them out sooner! I freakin' loved HARVEST LAKE (2016)! When did you first get involved with acting?
ELLIE: I got started later than most. I never did any theater in school, which I regret now. I found my very first acting gig online. I believe I found it on Craigslist. It was for a film called Science Sex and the Ladies (which is wonderful by the way, and is a visual essay about the female orgasm). I did non speaking and background work, but it was the first time I was in front of a camera for anything deemed professional. It was an extremely exciting experience for me. After that I started working for Troma, and that’s when Lloyd started introducing me to local directors at conventions. Things took off from there.


MAD: How did your creative involvement with filmmakers Scott Schirmer, Brian K. Williams, and BANDIT STUDIOS come about?
ELLIE: Well, Brian K. Williams is my husband. But we both met Scott at a convention where Scott was selling his feature, Found. To this day my favorite thing to buy at horror conventions is a movie made by the person sitting at the table, though it’s getting kinda scarce these days. We sat down and watched Found, and right after it was over I messaged Scott’s team to let them know I wanted to be in whatever they did next. I loved it. So when they made their next feature ‘Headless’ they called me up. I was ecstatic. They asked if Brian would also want a role, and that was the first time we worked with Scott. At this point Brian and I had also made our own feature so Brian was getting into cinematography. So when they made a straight to Redbox feature next, they asked Brian to film it. I think Brian and Scott really formed a bond on that one, so we decided to team up and work on another together. That one was Harvest Lake. After that, we were on a roll for a while.


MAD: GUSH will have its world premiere this June in Atlanta, with wider Blu-Ray release over the summer and fall. You've got several of these premieres under your belt now. How much fun is it to attend these conventions, festivals, and premieres?
ELLIE: It’s really the best feeling. You’re usually extremely nervous, but everyone that worked on the movie coming together, as well as friends, family, fans, and hopefully some strangers feels really good. The support feels good. There is a sense of accomplishment watching it in general, but the premiere makes it feel a little unreal usually. Gush is special too, so I’m very excited for its release into the world.

MAD: We have something in common, along with writer and director Scott Schirmer (whom we previously interviewed HERE), in that we are Indiana natives. Likewise, several of the films you've made come out of Indiana, particularly Bloomington, Brown County, Morgan, and Monroe. Indiana isn't really known as a filmmaking mecca. What advice would you give to fellow filmmakers and actors from this state?
ELLIE: I feel like the Midwest is a hot spot, but I may feel that way because I used to live and work there. Still do work there some. I met a lot of people doing festivals and working with different crews. My advice to anyone trying to get into film there would be to show up. Show up at anything that showcases local work. Meet the people who made it. Let it be known that you’d like to work with them if you do. Be humble, but not shy. I would go to conventions, festivals and screenings and watch the films. If I liked them I’d speak up to the filmmakers.

MAD: From appearances in films like HEADLESS (2015), to THE BAD MAN (2018), you have appeared in some "disturbing" features. I hate to see you and fellow actor Jason Crowe continually tormented! What is your most favorite role/film so far?
ELLIE: Well I think I may have to break that into different categories . For the longest time I said I thought my best acting was in The Bad Man. I certainly felt like that movie gave me lots of opportunities to give it my all.
I think my favorite character role has to be in Amazon Hot Box where I play a sadistic warden, and I got to be a bad guy … I never get to be a bad guy. I love the way she was written.
I love doing comedies but haven’t had a lot of opportunities to do comedy. I did do a short film called Born Again that I very much enjoyed, the writing and actors in that are something special.
The award for the best time ever on a set goes to Harvest Lake, what a joy.
But more recently I promised to up my game for our new feature Gush, and I think I did. I hope I did.

MAD: Please tell us about your work and involvement with TROMA Entertainment?
ELLIE: The work I did for Troma was purely festival work. I was a booth babe. I sold movies for them in the Midwest for a few years. Lloyd did way more for me than I ever did for him. He got me almost all of my first jobs.

MAD: Please tell us about your upcoming feature ONLY FANGS?
ELLIE: Oh boy, is this one gonna be fun. I get to be a bad guy again and I couldn’t be happier. I get to be funny,(hopefully) and be a villain. I play a republican congresswoman, and Paul, the director, let me write some of my own absurdity. I had a blast with it, and really hope to work with them again. I only knew one person there (Jessa) and I’m not used to that. I rarely force myself out of my comfort zone, but I ended up loving everyone and having a great time. Very glad I did this one.

MAD: Not only are you a lovely and talented actress, but you're also a producer, makeup artist, and art director among many other hats you wear. Do you enjoy working more in front of or behind the camera?

ELLIE: I definitely like to be in front of the camera more. It’s an incredible rush for me. I think because it makes me very nervous and I get a real thrill when I pull it off. But I do love set design a lot. I’m a huge thrifter and love the challenge of finding the things we need and creating the atmosphere we are imagining. I’ve done a bit of wardrobe, and special effects makeup, and don’t hate that either. But it’s always pretty stressful to me since I’m usually winging it, or doing something for the first time. I’m glad to usually have other people there who know how to do these things better than I do.

MAD: Crowd fundraisers have played a huge role in many of the films you've been in. How important is fundraising for independent films, and what advice would you give to the aspiring filmmaker who might not be very adept in fundraising?
ELLIE: It’s extremely important unless you have thousands of extra dollars lying around. When Bandit does a crowdfunder Brian and Scott are the idea guys and they run everything. I will help with whatever I can social media wise. But what I have learned is to have some visuals ready. If you can’t have a poster or artwork ready, do a photo shoot. People want to see what they are backing, especially if you’re a new filmmaker. Also details. Lots of them. Who is in the cast? What’s it about? Whatever you can tell people. Have interesting perks, see what other people are doing and what is working. But honestly Brian and Scott are the experts here.

MAD: Back to GUSH, this seems like maybe your most "personal" role so far. How do you prepare for intense roles such as these?
ELLIE: It’s a pretty emotional role. I did a lot of just reading the script. Contemplating how she would feel in that moment, or this moment. I read that script over and over and over. I thought about every word. I changed words. I walked through the house alone and went through scenes trying to feel them. I needed it to look real.

MAD: After binge watching several of your films over the past week, I 100% now consider you one of my favorite "scream queens". How do you feel about the title of "scream queen", and who is your favorite?
ELLIE: Oh boy, haha . I do get asked this a lot, and I almost feel like interviewers talk amongst themselves and say “Oh, you’re interviewing Ellie? Ask her how she feels about the term Scream Queen, she’ll go on a rant.” I won’t go on one now, but I won’t consider myself a Scream Queen until I can walk into any mall, or Applebees in America and someone will know who I am because I did something that they admire. Scream Queen is entirely too thrown around .

MAD: What are some of your all time favorite films, books, bands?
ELLIE: Films are all over the place, it would be a large list, so I’m gonna list some of my favorite comedies because they make me happy. Better Off Dead, The Three Amigos, Cannonball Run, Mean Girls, Coming to America.
Books - Right now I think my top five are Frankenstein, The Great Gatzby, The Old Man and the Sea, To Kill A Mockingbird, and Maya. Not in any particular order.
Music - Sam Cooke, Etta James, Simon and Garfunkel, The Mamas and the Papas, Radiohead, lots of 90’s Seattle grunge bands, Nine Inch Nails, The Beach Boys, Dream Theater .

MAD: Ellie, once again I appreciate your time, and wish you all good things with the upcoming release of GUSH. Is there anything you would like to close with for our readers today?
ELLIE: Thank you to anyone who’s ever sat down and given something I’ve done time and attention. So many watch movies and their phone at the same time. Thank you to those who really love movies, and give them their full attention. I hope those people always exist.
Also if you’re in the Atlanta area, please come to the Gush premiere and see our newest! It’s at the Tara Theater June 7, at 7pm.
Thanks for having me and thank you for supporting independent artists.

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Michael A. Dyer is the host of the HORROR TO CULTURE podcast, vidcast, and website.