Pulp Features

Jennifer Rouse is an actor, musician, model, and an associate producer. Her acting credits include appearances in television’s The Wire, The West Wing, and The District. She played the role of “Ice Cream Girl” in the Redfield Arts / Planet X production Chainsaw Sally. She also played the lead female of director Dan Poole’s most recent fan-film Last Call.

And she has kindly agreed to take a moment out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions from Dale Pierce.

Dale: First, give the readers a brief introduction of who you are and what you do.
Jennifer: I guess you could say I wear many hats as far as the film industry goes. My main career is film acting, but I also produce and musically score films.

Dale: Do you have a webpage for yourself?
Jennifer: I do have a personal website (www.jenniferrouse.com) that I try to keep updated as best I can with information about what projects I am working on, conventions and film festivals that I will be attending etc.

If you are an actor, it helps out a great deal to have your own site. First of all, it serves as an online resume for casting directors and filmmakers to learn more about you. They have a fast route to finding out what your experience is and what you look like. It also serves as a great promotional tool in that you basically have global access to promoting your work.

Dale: Did you study acting anyplace or just step into the indy film world and learn from experience?
Jennifer: I started out performing music when I was very young which helped me a lot with being in front of an audience. I majored in music in college for the first two years, then I switched to psychology. The psychology training actually helped out a lot when I started acting. It helps to understand people’s motivations for certain things when you are building a character.

I’ve taken acting classes as well. I believe that no matter how experienced or inexperienced you are as an actor, you should keep training.

Dale: Perhaps you could list and talk about the plots for some of your films?
Jennifer: My most recent film is “The Death Of Poe”. I played the role of “Mrs. Moran” the wife of the doctor who took care of Poe during his final days. The film is about the last week of Edgar Allan Poe’s life. He was
traveling from Richmond to New York by steamboat and he stopped off in Baltimore, Maryland. He never made it to New York and was found in a gutter and taken to the hospital several days after arriving in Baltimore. It’s a bizarre journey of what possibly could have happened to him in his last week. Mark Redfield plays Poe and directed it. He is a dead ringer for him in this film. I think it will have a wide appeal, from the gothic to the classic horror fans.

“Terror In The Tropics” is an homage to the films of Poverty Row from the 1930’s and 40’s. Half of it is new footage, mixed with old footage from public domain films like “The Devil Bat” and “The Most Dangerous Game”. It was written and directed by Sue Svehla from Midnight Marquee. I play a reporter named Rosalind Darrow. Sue named the characters after either actors or characters from that era. “Rosalind” came from Rosalind Russell of “His Girl Friday” and “Darrow”, of course, came from Fay Wray’s Character in “King Kong”.

In “Chainsaw Sally” I played the role of “The Ice Cream Girl”. That is a wild film. It was written and directed by JimmyO Burril and “Sally” is played by April Monique Burril. It’s a twisted, slasher comedy about a girl who witnessed the brutal death of her parents at a young age and has to raise herself and her little brother Ruby on her own. They live in a trailer in the woods on the property that her parents rented. Sally and Ruby are pretty much educated by what they watch on television and in horror films, which they love. They grow up learning that the good guys always win and the bad guys always die. It’s more complex than that though. It has to deal with protecting your family and loved ones. So when a land developer wants to turn the property that they live on into condos and retail stores, Sally and Ruby don’t like that one bit. It’s cool because we had Gunnar Hansen from the original “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” as Sally’s dad and director Herschell Gordon Lewis, known as “The Godfather of Gore”, as Mr. Gordon, the Hardware store owner that sells Sally all of her “tools”. I think Chainsaw Sally is the first film that Herschell has ever been an actor in.

Dale: Some people see you as an indy scream queen. Do you see yourself as such?
Jennifer: I guess I can see how some people think of me as a scream queen. In actuality, I’ve only done one film, Chainsaw Sally , that could be considered a “Scream Queen” role. Most of the projects that I’ve acted in I’ve played more dramatic or comedic roles. The films that I’ve worked on are just now starting to screen or be released on DVD, so I think people may change their opinion when they see me in “The Death Of Poe” and such.

Dale: Do you make it to the various indy conventions or festivals very often?
Jennifer: I do try to make it to most of the conventions and festivals in the mid-atlantic area and occasionally I’ll get to one in California. Although, I’ve been pretty busy this year and have had to miss a lot of them. It’s great because at the conventions you really get a one-on-one meeting with the fans. I really enjoy going to them, although sometimes it can be very tiring. It’s also great to meet the other celebs that are there.

Dale: Is there any new film being negotiated now or about to be shot now with you?
Jennifer: Well, Chainsaw Sally has a few distribution offers that are being negotiated now. There should be an announcement very soon about when that will be released.

Terror In The Tropics is scheduled to be released on January 31, 2006 through Alpha New Cinema. You can order it now on www.oldies.com.

For The Death Of Poe, Redfield Arts is planning to premiere it in Baltimore, Maryland on January 18th at The Charles Theater followed by screenings in Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and Richmond, Virginia soon
after that. They are all cities where Edgar Allan Poe lived during his life. I believe it’s scheduled to be released sometime in March of 2006. You can get all of the details about it at www.redfieldarts.com.

Dale: What kind of director do you prefer to work with, someone who is demanding and spells everything out for you or someone who listens to a good deal of your impressions and input?
Jennifer: I like a director who knows what they want out of a performance and can give me as much input upfront as possible. It makes me more confident about their grasp of the script and their vision of the film. I mean, of course I still do research to develop the character and make her my own. I always read the whole script, if possible, to see how my character fits into the story. But if the director knows what they want, it saves a lot of time when we are actually shooting. Most directors, I’ve found, are open to minor suggestions but I think a good director should know and have planned what they are going for.

Dale: Has the shift from VHS to DVD created more of a demand for indy films?
Jennifer: I’m not sure it has created more of a demand for indy films but I know it has given much more access to them. Technology has changed so much in the last 5 to 10 years. More and more people can afford to buy the equipment to make their own films. So, now the filmmakers who are really genuinely talented but who may not have the access or ability to raise several hundred thousand or millions of dollars for a film can afford to make them.

Dale: Do you prefer the horror genre or any other genre for yourself?
Jennifer: I guess my favorite genres are horror, crime and science fiction. I’m really interested in psychology and human behavior so if I’m watching a horror or crime movie I always try to get inside the head of the killer or criminal to understand why they are doing what they are doing. I also love supernatural and sci-fi movies because it makes you think about the un-explained or unknown.

Dale: What are your interests outside of film?
Jennifer: I really like all kinds of design. Graphic, interior, and clothing design specifically. I’ve designed a few websites and artwork for several films. I really enjoy it. As for the clothing and interior design, I’ve never
done it professionally but I keep up with the latest trends and designers. I’m really into the designs of Donatella Versace. It’s amazing how she can make women look so beautiful with the shape of her clothing designs. She really held up the standard of the Versace line after the murder of her brother Gianni. What a shame that was. He was such a brilliant designer.

Dale: Any interesting stories to tell about encounters or mishaps while filming?
Jennifer: The only story that I have is when Martin Sheen saved me from being hit by a car while filming an episode of “The West Wing”. It’s really no big deal but, I was working as a “Secret Service Agent” on the show, walking “The President” down the street next to his limo. On one of the takes the driver pulled out and wasn’t paying attention and almost hit me! Martin grabbed me and pulled me out of the way. Other than that, my filming adventures have been pretty normal.

Dale: Of the films you have done,which one stands out, do you think, as the best?
Jennifer: It’s hard to say because I don’t want to favor any of the filmmakers that I’ve worked with. I enjoy all of the films that I’ve worked on. I really think “The Death Of Poe” is going to be a great film. I’ve only seen parts of the edited cut but it’s really coming out nice. There really isn’t anything out there like it.

Dale: On the other hand, what one do you think has gotten you the most attention or would it be the same answer?
Jennifer: I think playing “The Ice Cream Girl” in Chainsaw Sally has probably gotten me the most attention. It’s a hot role with some fantastic scenes. I don’t want to give anything away, but, one specific scene of her and Sally always gets the biggest laughs from audiences. It’s a very dark quirky comedy/horror film.

Dale: Anything else you would like to touch on?
Jennifer: I would also like to mention that I’m doing the music score for “The Death Of Poe”. It’s my first full score for a film. I’ve done some smaller things like industrials and such so this is a new challenge for me. I think it’s coming out well though. I’ve received some great feedback from other people involved in the film.

Dale: Closing comments?
Jennifer:I would like to say that if you have a real passion for something, be it acting, directing or whatever, go for it and don’t give up. Life is short and if you really enjoy it you should make it a part of your life.

I had some skeptics when I went into the film industry, but now they’ve come around after they’ve seen the things that I’ve accomplished by sticking with it.

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