Interview: Producers Joke and Biagio (VH1’s Scream Queens 2) |

Who's next to get the axe?

Joke and Biagio, producers of reality competition programs Beauty and the Geek and Scream Queens, invited me onto the set of Scream Queens 2 during the filming of episode 6 which finally airs next week.

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http://www.jokeandbiagio.com
Left: Sarah Alami, SQ2 contestant axed last week, featured in Fangoria photo shoot.

Series description: Scream Queens 2 takes a new cadre of 10 aspiring actresses and gives them the chance to win a breakthrough role in Saw 3D, the next film in Lionsgate’s Saw horror franchise. The reality competition series is produced by Lionsgate and Joke Productions, Inc. Mentoring the hopefuls through the exacting process was former model-turned-actress and horror film alum Jamie King (My Bloody Valentine, The Tripper). The cast members are taught by Hollywood’s toughest acting coach, John Homa, and have their performances directed by Tim Sullivan (2001 Maniacs, Driftwood). Over the course of the series’ eight one-hour episodes, those skilled and sexy enough to command the screen survive. Those who don’t will “get the axe” until only one strong, seductive, and stellar actress remains, earning the breakout role in Saw 3D and the title of SCREAM QUEEN.

AFC: For the viewers who don’t have any idea, what is Scream Queens?

BIAGIO: Well, Scream Queens is a reality competition show where ten girls are competing to win an actual acting role in a real theatrical release motion picture. This season, season two, is for the movie Saw 3-D. Which is pretty awesome for most of these actresses, you know, the girls who are competing on this show. They’re all legitimate actresses but have never had a great breakthrough movie. A lot of them have done commercials, or industrials, or theatre or have gone to, or majored in theatre but have never been out into the real world to audition. So it’s really finding those actresses who haven’t had the chance or wouldn’t otherwise have the chance, putting them through an acting boot camp for eight episodes and at the end, the girl who wins gets a move, becomes a star.

JOKE: It’s a house competition elimination show, very straightforward with ten actresses who all come with their own loads of insecurities and dreams, and we put them in our little bubble and make magic happen.

AFC: So how do you guys get the ability to put them in Saw 3D?

JOKE: Well, Lionsgate’s the studio behind the show, so they obviously distribute the whole Saw franchise and so we are working with Lionsgate and Evolution’s Twisted Pictures who own the Saw franchise. So they’re our partners in this. Yep.

BIAGIO: And that was really key. I think the reason we’re the only acting competition reality show to come back for season two, I believe, is because most of the shows that were acting competitions didn’t have a big prize at the end. Everybody’s had the idea to do some type of , like, American Idol for actors. But it’s really difficult to do it if you can’t be like “And here’s what you get at the end, a real movie that the entire world is going to see.” Saw is distributed worldwide, I mean it’s a huge prize. And that… And so the only way to do a show like this is to have the backing of someone that’s “we will put your winner in our movie” and I really applaud Mark Burg (the leading producer of Saw) for saying, “Yes, we would like to help some young aspiring actresses with our franchise.”

AFC: Yeah, definitely makes it worth it. The prize makes it worth it. So what are some qualities you look for in contestants?

JOKE: Well, in contestants, they have to kind of hit on all levels. First of all, it’s the acting level. You know, we want to be a credible show, we want to have real actors, we’re not just taking loudmouths and saying, “Okay, we’ll make you an actor for today.” So they have to be good actors. They have to, obviously, kind of look the part. They have to have raw talent or at least have some experience that you really can kind of see “okay, they’ve been hired, they’re doing a good job.”

BIAGIO: Do they have the potential to be a big screen actress? Maybe they’re rough around the edges, but with a little bit of work from our acting coach, could they get there? Or do they already have it and they just haven’t had the chance? So it has to be some ingredients.

JOKE: Yeah, and we also look for people we feel can still grow, you know? Not obviously Meryl Streep, but if you’re already like regularly booking big roles, we’re not going to be able to add anything to you. So, you know, we’re looking for the people that can grow, that can grow on our show, that get a lot better and deserve that break…that worked hard for it and deserved that break. In terms of the TV show, we’re looking for people who are willing to live out loud. People who are willing to share their journey, who are willing to be vulnerable on camera. Who are willing to be angry on camera, be frustrated, be all those things. So, we can’t have little wallflowers who are sitting in the back. Because it’s a television show and our audience wants to go on this journey with them. It’s finding people who hit on both levels, who are actresses and also are good television actresses.

BIAGIO: And this is really important, a lot of people mistakenly think in reality TV that means that people have to be willing to get in fist fights or talk trash. That’s not what it’s about at all. I mean, there’s all different types of reality TV and with us, it’s about real life drama. These are people who have a real dream. Every single one of them has spent their lives dreaming of being on the big screen. So, if when they’re going on this journey they’re not willing to share both the highs and lows, it’s a lousy show. And the drama comes out of that. If I think, “Oh, I’m gonna completely do great at this challenge because this one involves stunts and I’ve done stuntwork” and they blow it, that’s drama. They’re gonna come back to the house and be really upset. But if they shut themselves down into a little shell and hide in the corner and don’t talk about it, we can’t tell the story. So we need the people who, when they fail, are going to be willing to talk about why they failed or the people who, when they have a problem with someone, will honestly say, “I don’t like the fact that you’re doing this.” It doesn’t mean they have to get in a fist fight.

JOKE: No weave pulling on our show.

BIAGIO: Yeah, no weave pulling, no smashing bottles over people’s heads, none of that. It’s just real people competing for their dream.

AFC: Now what lessons did you learn from the first season?

JOKE: Well, we learned a lot, but I think…

BIAGIO: Try to sleep more. (both laughing)

JOKE: Yes. Rely on your team.

BIAGIO: Rely on your team, yes.

JOKE: I think that what we learned honestly is that our actresses are more capable than we thought they would be. They did really well in challenges. So this year, I think because it’s season two, we got a little more seasoned girls. They trusted it more, it wasn’t like “Oh, it’s just gonna be a sleazy reality show.” They saw it was a real competition and there was a real prize at the end, so we really amped up the challenges this season. They’re harder, they’re more ambitious – both for us, production wise, as for the girls themselves. In terms of hitting marks, in terms of dealing with, you know, co-stars or creepy-crawlers or whatever these things are.

BIAGIO: Or it may be, you’ll see…

JOKE: Yeah, and our girls have been really good, they’ve really stepped it up. So I think that’s one of the main lessons we’ve learned.

BIAGIO: It’s been great and every single time we’ve pitched a scene to network, it’s been great because it’s seen how well the girls did last year. They’ve been open to us doing more ambitious challenges. And I think Tim will tell you when you speak to him, levery challenge we do, every screen test we do in a lot of cases are bigger than actual movie shoots Tim has even worked on. We’ve got a Fisher 11 dolly. We’re shooting on the red camera, which is the same camera that District 9 was shot on. We’re giving them every single opportunity to experience what it’s like to be on a real movie set. Not just because it’s good for our show but it actually gives them a leg up when they leave this competition because a lot of girls have never been on a movie set before, and now I think they’re much more comfortable with the apparatus and the lights and the camera and the dolly, hitting their marks. It’s an experience you really can’t pay for. You can’t go somewhere and be like “I wanna pay you to run me through all these screen tests so I can be a better actress.” It’s kind of unique to our show.

AFC: So what made you guys decide to do Scream Queens and help out all these aspiring actresses?

BIAGIO: Well, okay, so my dirty little secret, which I think you know, is that I used to be an actor. I was on a TV show, Kenan & Kel. I was the nerdy next door neighbor. I don’t know why they cast me as a nerd, I swear. But, you know, acting is really freaking hard and so I have a real soft spot for actors. And listen, I got out of it, I became a producer. I’ve been a producer, writer, director because everything was easier than acting. Honestly, the hardest auditions I ever went on as an actor were for horror films. To walk into an audition for a horror movie, you need to be a charming person because you want to show the casting director that you’re easy to work with. And to turn on a dime to so completely terrified, you can’t breathe is like, it’s impossible. I couldn’t, I couldn’t do it. So I have so much respect for the horror genre and for actors in the horror genre, because like Joke has said several times, horror is really the only genre where an actress is called on, I think, to play every single emotion and play them to the extreme.

JOKE: In one film.

BIAGIO: In one film. So at an acting level that really drew me to it, to learn about the sort of indie filmmaking experience as well.

JOKE: We love indie filmmakers, we love the guerilla aspect of it, we made a documentary ourselves that got theatrically distributed, and we’ve also done some scripted projects. We’re working on one with Michael Rooker right now. And so, it’s one of those things where we’ve loved the scripted stuff, obviously our bread and butter has been reality. To be able to have a marriage of both and be able to make a reality show that has these cool scripted elements in it, was like a dream come true for us.

BIAGIO: We’re making a movie, like, every episode we get to set up and do a new screen test and play with all the big film stuff.

AFC: All right, so from a producer’s standpoint, what challenges do you face, like when working with stunts and stunt workers?

JOKE: Well, it’s plenty big. I mean, last season we kicked our stuntperson off the roof like nine times in one night and I felt bad for that guy. So you know…

AFC: Tough job.

JOKE: It is tough. And so we’re doing a… Can we tell what we’re doing today? Or not?

BIAGIO: Well, let’s talk in general terms and they can find out later.

JOKE: Okay, we’re doing some stunt stuff today and so obviously you have to get the right stunt people, they have to practice, they have to make sure the safety’s there. You know each one of our contestants that has to go through it needs to get their own special safety briefing, so it’s real, safety’s always first. And that just adds to your production day, but in the end, it’s worth it because you get fun, cool stuff.

BIAGIO: We’ve been ambitious. I mean if you saw season one, you know we have the girls leap from a three story window, which was freakin’ high. Honestly, I was scared just looking at the monitors. And so we are able to be ambitious but the girls really have to listen, they have to pay attention. If the stunt coordinator feels that they’re not listening to him, he will not let them do the stunts. The same thing anytime we do anything with pyro or any type of special effect that involves something the ladies may possibly experience an injury in, they’re fully briefed and the person who is going to cue them to undertake the action that could be dangerous or cue whatever effect around them that could be dangerous will not trigger that, will not cue them unless he fully believes they’re mentally present. And we have had some girls stop and a couple of girls almost didn’t go, almost weren’t allowed to go, but were given the safety briefing again. And when he felt that it was safe, trigger them and let them go. So it’s very, very important because we don’t want to hurt anybody.

AFC: So if someone is interested in becoming a contestant, what should they do? What can they do?

BIAGIO: Watch seasons one and two. (laughing)

JOKE: Watch seasons one and two, be prepared. Usually the casting notices go up on VH1.com or our website, jokeproductions.com. So just keep your eye open for whenever we start casting next season.

BIAGIO: Yes, and a great tip for anyone who does want to audition: remember, on your audition tape, be yourself. We want to see the real you, we don’t want to see you acting stupid just to be stupid or acting dramatic. We want the best you you can possibly be as a person, and on the acting side, make sure your audition looks good.

AFC: (to viewers) Stay tuned, you guys.

BIAGIO: And thank you, Action Chick, we’re so flattered to have you come to our set… I was very excited. (looking at camera, speaking to viewers) Her blog’s way cooler than our, so it’s really exciting for us. I feel like we’re having a star sighting right here!

AFC: Oh, thanks! (laughs)