Friday, April 8, 2016

In Which We Haunt Kevin Wetmore Until He Agrees To Answer These Three... FIVE QUESTIONS!

As part of promoting the new-to-Kindle and soon-to-be-in-print Strangely Funny III Anthology, I am blackmailing the writers who submitted to the anthology to answer these three FIVE questions so that they may cross the Bridge of DEATH passing over the Gorge of Eternal Peril.

Today's victim is Kevin Wetmore. ANSWER THE QUESTIONS, ERE THE OTHER SIDE HE SEE!

WETMORE: Ask me the questions, Blogkeeper! I'm not afraid!

Question 1: What inspired you to write stories with a humorous bent?
I think my output goes back and forth between straight horror and humorous horror.  I'll write a piece about a haunted house killing children and then turn around and write a story about a family of ghouls adopting a retired cadaver dog.  I think being a horror fan is to appreciate the grim side of things.  It also doesn't hurt that in my other life I am a standup comedian.  One of the most memorable moments of television when I was a child was watching "An Evening at the Improv" hosted by Vincent Price, one of my favorite actors (I was a weird kid).  Price came out and said he thought the audience might be surprised to see an actor known for horror hosting a comedy show, but he has a sense of humor, just like everyone else.  He then paused and said, "So, two mangled corpses walk into a bar..."  I thought it was a great joke, but also a good setup for straight horror too.  I look back and think, man when I heard that joke, on some level I thought "I want to do that, too." 

Question 2: Which is harder, writing a horror scene or writing a humor scene?
For me, no question - horror is harder.  I find it pretty easy to slide into the absurd or the humourously grotesque.  In fact, sometimes it is a problem in writing horror in that I realize I am drifting into parody or camp or the piece is so over the top it is not scary but kinda goofy.  Writing a scene that stays with the reader, that gives her or him the chills and cuts a little deeper is always a challenge for me.

Question 3: So was Mad Max Fury Road robbed of Best Picture at the Oscars or what?!
Yeah, but are you surprised?  All of the awards ignore genre except for special effects.  The fact that Norman Reedus has never been nominated for an Emmy or a Golden Globe for "Walking Dead" is proof that the award-givers are prejudiced against genre.  And, speaking now as an actor as well, which is harder: to play a realistic scene in an office or a bedroom and make people believe it is real or to play a scene which has animated corpses attacking people and make the audience believe it?  In terms of good, old-fashioned filmmaking, Mad Max Fury Road (with mostly in camera effects and an A list cast) deserved far more recognition than it has gotten.  But remember, the year Citizen Kane came out, "How Green Was My Valley" won Best Picture; the Year Star Wars was released (a film, it should be noted which might just be the most influential film in history), "Annie Hall" won best picture.  Which one now appears dated and which one has profoundly changed Hollywood?  Awards mean nothing.  Did you like it?  Good.  Who cares who else recognizes it?

Question 4: If you had a choice between classic monsters - the vampire, the golem, the werewolf, the ghost, the gill-man - which one would you throw a coconut custard pie with whipped cream at?
Easy question - werewolf.  When he stops to lick his fur clean, you can capture him and then the fun really begins.  It'd be wasted on the others (goes through a ghost, falls off the gill-man, and what good is cream pie on a golem? 

Question 5: and why did that pie end up hitting Humphrey Bogart instead?
Long story.  The point is, we all agreed not to sue each other and Bogart and the werewolf ended up buying a timeshare together.  Happy ending!


Fools.

The real answer to EACH QUESTION was and forever is: Not Enough Llama. Prepare for the incoming punishment...

Kevin Wetmore is an actor/writer/stunt coordinator/piemaker/carwasher/academic professor/bellboy from the corrupt multi-dimensional prison known as Los Angeles. He has strong alibis regarding his whereabouts on all occasions due to his busy work schedule, so he doesn't have to answer any further questions regarding that incident with the guy at that place with the thing, besides he has an attorney on the way and he knows his Miranda rights, so there nyah.

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