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Interview

Star Chicks – Interview

Star Chicks – Interview

The creators of high-concept art film, Zombie Strippers, have unleashed their new creation, Star Chicks, a sci-fi web series in the flavour of sexy with a little satire for seasoning.  More Russ Meyer than Jean-Paul Sartre, Star Chicks features more of what we loved about Zombie Strippers – which was, admittedly, mainly something about boobs.  Jim Roof, Star Chicks writer and fellow perv-eyor of fine literature, was dawdling up my own alley.  So we had a chat about all things starry and chicky.

CS: What are the Star Chicks?
JR: They’re a three-person team of ruthless alien shape-shifters; an advance unit sent to pave the way for invasion by the evil Scourge Empire.  Turns out that our world is special, though: we’re the only planet in the universe that has women on it! Because of a quirk in their physiology, the three invaders hatch on Earth as females instead of males as they’d planned.  Worse, they can’t shift back! They find themselves trapped in these weird alien bodies, bombarded with crazy hormones and emotions, and they’re totally unprepared to deal with any of it!  It makes completing their evil mission a lot more complicated…

CS: Who are the team members that comprise the Star Chicks?
JR: The team leader is Astrid, a Scourge Master Planner.  She’s an emotionless hyper-genius who’s got a rapidly growing libido and a thing for high-end fashion.  Like if Spock was buxom, redheaded, and stuck in the world of Sex and the City.

Stella is a Mind Shredder, a cold, sadistic telepath who enjoys ripping memories out of people and melting their brains with psionic blasts.  Her new personality likes puppies and Hello Kitty and texting her BFF about dreamy boys.  Makes it kind of hard to enjoy torturing people.

Carl is a Scourge BloodRager; they’re these brutal warriors with an unquenchable hunger for battle and carnage.  Unfortunately for Carl, she’s trapped in the body of a tiny, petite blonde. Still, her personality is the least changed of the Star Chicks. She’s the tomboy. Likes drinking beer from a can, watching pro-Wrestling, and still loves doling out gratuitous violence.

once you pop you can't stop....

CS: What inspired the creation of Star Chicks?
JR: Some time back, we were asked to pitch a sci-fi web series aimed at women 45 and over, because who better understands what menopausal women want to see than the creators of Zombie Strippers, right?  The project didn’t pan out, but we dug the concept we’d come up with so much we eventually said, “Hell, let’s just make it ourselves!”

CS: To what extent are they modelled after anyone you know?
JR: Not much, really. They’re more modelled after archetypes from TV and movies. What makes Star Chicks fun is that it’s about taking two different genres – science fiction and chick flicks – and smooshing them together to make something new.

CS: You’ve written for a few of the actresses before.  How does your familiarity with them inform the roles you write for them?
JR: Writing for friends is the best. Knowing what their strengths are lets me write stuff I know they’ll knock out of the park. On the other hand, I also get to write things they might not have done before, but that I’d really like to see them try. Throw a little challenge at ‘em and see what cool stuff they come up with, you know?

CS: Rhinoceros was a major influence on your compatriot, Jay Lee’s, Zombie Strippers.  What literary influences have woven their way into Star Chicks?
JR: Does Russ Meyer count as a literary influence?  No?  Crap.  Jay Lee’s a smarty-pants who likes to read thick books full of long words that hurt my brain.  Me, I’m a huge comic fan, so you’ll see a lot of DeSaad and Psimon (a couple of DC Comics villains) in Stella. Astrid’s got a smidgeon of Starhawk (circa the Korvac Saga) in her, and there’s a good bit of Wolverine in Carl. I didn’t model the Star Chicks on those characters intentionally, but looking back, I can see the similarities. Plus I’m sure all the science fiction and fantasy I’ve read over the years has seeped in there too somewhere.

Astrid, The fiery redhead with a great rack apparently.

CS: What made the time right for the Star Chicks story, now?
JR: I think popular culture aimed at women – from TV shows to films and magazines – is ripe for skewering, and sci-fi spoofs are always a good time. Plus, we wanted to step outside of horror for a bit while still creating something our fan-base will enjoy.

CS: What’s the horror/comedy/boobs quotient of Star Chicks?
JR: I should clarify that Star Chicks is more sci-fi than horror.  That said, it’s 15% horror, 65% sci-fi, 70% comedy, and 75% boobs. Yes, there is a mathematically impossible amount of awesomeness in Star Chicks.

CS: Where did you see your first pair of naked, cinematic, breasts?
JR: I don’t know what film it was, but it was definitely over at my friend Chad’s house.  His family had HBO, and when we were thirteen or so, we’d sit every afternoon watching anything that had any chance whatsoever of showing naked breasts. Ah, for the days when nudity was acceptable in PG rated movies…

CS: Who took you to see your first film and what was it?
JR: My folks always told me my first movie was Bambi. Then, two Christmases ago, they confessed that when I was a baby, they took me to see The Exorcist because they couldn’t find a sitter. True story. It’s very unlike them, but it explains a hell of a lot about why I turned out the way I did.

CS: How did you come to be involved in filmmaking?
JR: My background is in stage acting. My wife-to-be and I moved to L.A. several years ago to pursue film and TV work. We got involved with Scream HQ, and the rest is history.

CS: When was the last time a film…
1. Scared the pants off you?
JR: [REC]. I caught it for the first time last week. Scared the poop outta me.

2. Made you wet yourself with laughter?
JR: Troll 2. I can’t recommend it enough.

3. Had you reaching for a Kleenex?
JR: UP.  The first ten minutes of it, to be specific. I’ve seen it twice, and I got weepy both times.

CS: If a Star Chick turned up on our doorstep, how would we best deal with her/it?
JR: Run. Or kiss her then run. Whatever your plan, running should be part of it.

Star Chicks is currently seeking funding.  Hoopy froods can help by donating to the Star Chicks Kickstarter fund.  Jim and the rest of the cast and crew will love you forever.  And that’s a long time!  Find out more about Star Chicks at http://www.starchicksonline.com/.

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What Star Chicks do you want to see? Are you a Star Chick? Will these films have the traditional Star Wars style crawl at the start? Feedback and tell us what you think!

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About The Author

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Chris - multifaceted human resource. Raconteur. Lover. Fighter. Lover of fighting, and fighter of loving. Extended metaphors. Sardonic similes. Actor (Sherlock Holmes), writer (X-Press, Enterprise, Sauce), editor (Sauce), web monkey (AlphaWest, Eruptor Entertainment), community manager (Top Cow Productions), teacher, musician, myth, legend, and co-founder of Joffre Street Productions and Cool Shite. You may also have had the privilege of experiencing his MC duties for national and international guests at Supanova Pop Culture Expos around Australia. He has a book out, Far Beyond the Sun, and he'd very much like you to purchase a copy. They don't read themselves, you know.

Article Information

  • Posted: Saturday, January 23rd, 2010
  • Author: Chris Rattray
  • Filed Under: Feature,Interview
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Comments

2 Responses to “Star Chicks – Interview”
  1. avatar Griff says:

    When I saw in my feed that Cool Shite had an interview online for Star Chicks, I knew Chris had to be involved :-)

    January 23, 2010 at 8:20 pm

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