The MC at the starter gate shares the mayhem behind Blood Drive.
His filmCentigradewas the first short film to crack the Feature Downloads Top Ten on iTunes.
Den of Geek: Hello Colin
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Colin Cunningham: How are you, brother?
Having a great time watching you, as a matter of fact.
Ive yet to see some of it myself.
Its been a while.
I know it just gets better and better as it goes along, so Im happy about it.
Is there anything you see on screen that grosses you out even though you played it?
Nah, we had so much fun, man.
It was just bonkers.
Its so difficult to describe this show, this experience.
I never read anything like it.
Im glad they gave him the show.
It was completely over the top and yet there really was an intelligence to it.
But there was an intelligence I found in it that I find lacking from so many shows.
It was incredibly refreshing to read.
What in gods name is this?
Because there is a brilliance to it, but its utterly bonkers.
You were in a standup seriesLiving in Your Car, do cars play a big part in your life?
Im living in New York right now.
Its mainly trains and buses.
How many times did you have to take the driving test before you got your license?
I think I had to take the written one three times.
No, it was twice.
She let me go.
That was a long time ago, buddy.
Do you remember your first car?
My first car was a 1968 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme.
That was my first car.
A big gas-sucking bomber.
Do you remember your fastest car?
Yeah, and Id rather not get into that.
That one was very fast and so many seconds later, it was not moving at all.
No more fast cars for me, buddy, no more fast cars for me.
I would imagine Slink would aspire to having a chauffeur.
Do you prefer driving yourself?
I dont know what Slink would prefer.
Slink would prefer riding in the back of a hearse.
So, is Slink out for himself, or is he the ultimate company man?
Slink is definitely not a company man.
Thats an interesting question.
There were a lot of questions on the set when we were doing it.
Exactly what is this guy?
Hes a master of mayhem.
So hes got his own twisted, warped way of going about what the Blood Drive is.
What it means to him, and its his art and his own twisted reality.
In my spoiler free review I said that you talk like Marilyn Manson sings.
What inspirations did you take from outside sources to build this think called Slink?
Oh my god, many, absolutely many.
Slink is an amalgamation of everything from Joel Grey to Tim Curry to Gene Wilder.
Nelson used to do a lot of the Jack Benny Shows.
His catch phrase was why yes.
Somebody would ask something like, are you the manager?
and he would say whyyeeeeeeeeeeessss.
That was Frank Nelson.
Hes got a band, a very goth, steampunk band calledThe Vaudeville Vagabonds.
If you look them up, his character is Reverend Heathen Strangefellow.
Heron is just amazing, a wonderful artist in his own right.
So I borrowed from a lot of people to pull this thing off.
Youre clearly having a blast, but the production notes are becoming my favorite scenes.
What kind of input did you get from suits on how to play the character?
I have to say this has been an unbelievably unique show.
At least in terms of me on the floor, on the set.
We were ten thousand miles away from the nearest suit.
That said, what I think really madeBlood Driveunique is everybody got it.
They kind of got it.
There were always some notes but it wasnt a battle.
They really did get us.
They gave James and David and John their blessing: Go.
Make this insane show.
It was this tongue in cheek thing, but there was no animosity.
It gave us such tremendous license to create and just go.
Because nobody had ever done anything like this before.
So the people who were doing it, they would trust us.
Sometimes Im going out on a limb.
I dont know, either this is going to work or Im gonna get fired.
Ill be here for a couple of weeks and theyll be sending me back to LA.
So often we work on shows and my job as an actor is to dignify crappy material.
To trick the audience into thinking that what theyre watching isnt crap.
So you come up with different ways to kind of hide bad writing.
Whereas, inBlood Drive, we can really get into it and explore it.
It was just a completely different way of working.
This is just a very, very different kind of project.
Do you have an interest in mystical things?
I love going to the Magic Castle in Hollywood.
Basically, Ive been a student of magic for a long, long time.
He worked with some of the very best alive.
Gerard is a good friend of mine and hes been a wonderful teacher.
I am an ambassador to magic and mentalism and all things eclectic and strange.
I am a stage guy.
Im an old school, Arthur Miller kinda guy.
The first thing I ever saw was the playA View from the Bridgeat the Lee Strasberg Theater in Hollywood.
I just became a fanatic for it.
Im a bit of an old-school guy.
Im an analog guy.
I dont live my life with my thumbs.
I prefer to talk with people instead of text.
I prefer the real reality versus the virtual one.
Youre going to have to be out there and create entertainment, even though its bloody entertainment.
Thats all you got.
And, coming from the theater, you only get one.
You get one shot.
I remember when I was in Cape Town, all I did watch the Golden Age of Television.
Thats when they were doing live television to kinescope.
There were no second takes, no second chances.
You made it or you didnt.
Thats how I approachedBlood Drive.
Everything for me was: get it in one take, or try and get it in one take.
Is Heart Enterprises a good company to work for?
I know the dental coverage leaves a little to be desired.
Heart is not a company you want to be a career employee with, not me anyway.
So are you a fan of exploitation films?
Im a fan of all films.
I never liked the term exploitation.
It never made any sense to me.
I always found it to be a silly kind of term.
What is it that youre exploiting?
Somehow that was deemed exploitation.
They were low-budget movies.
LikeBilly Jack, Tom Laughlin, hes one of my favorite filmmakers because he was totally independent.
Robert Townshend, he didHollywood Shuffle.
You worked with whatever you had.
George Romero had zombies and it was great.
It was imagination run wild.
You were able to tell stories and get it up there on the screen.
They were able to just do it, without the studios backing.
I tip my hat to all those guys and gals who did it.
The series itself moves from one style of grindhouse to another from episode to episode.
Yes, its fantastic.
We werent doing the TV show with the regular plot on the same kind of set.
We didnt repeat anything.
We never went back to the same set.
Ive never worked on a show like this.
Are you a different person without your hat?
I worked with Peter, god rest his soul.
Im such a huge [director John] Cassavetes fan.
Ill tell you, there would be no Slink without the absolute genius of Danielle Knox.
She designed the wardrobe.
She showed me all the sketches.
You only know that you look that way.
Theres less to do, because its already doing it for you.
Like when I wanted to do John Pope onFalling Skies, the look was everything.
The works already done.
Itll do all the work for me.
Then you might stop doing stuff and just start thinking and reacting and getting into the story.
The pictures been created.
Theres a lot of choreography.
Tell me a little bit about the stunts and choreography and how you make your move in Heart Enterprises.
Its interesting, because I know that, we had a fantastic stunt coordinator, Terry Greg.
But Slink has such unique skills, and hes more of a cerebral kind of guy.
Its this weird mix of psychotic killer and dandy, with a handkerchief.
Its just such a twisted character.
What would be his recreational drug of choice, Red Rapture or episode 4s Halloween candy?
Nah, hes purely a sales guy.
He gets off on watching what happens when people take that crazy stuff.
Do you have a favorite locale?
Every episode has a different set and has different population.
Where does Slink fit in most?
Youve done a lot of stage work, youve done a lot of stage magic work.
Are there certain places youre more comfortable as a performer?
Im usually uncomfortable if Im not up there.
Im most at peace between the words speed and cut.
I dont know if your readers will get that but its the truth.
Have you seen anything on screen thats grossed you out even though you were in the scene doing it?
No, were having a blast.
Everything were doing it looks nothing like what you see.
Were laughing our asses off.
The bloods not real.
Were laughing all the time.
Its a TV show.
But when youre watching it on the couch?
Im looking at, oh that cut together well, oh fantastic mix, for the sound.
Wow, the lighting is great in that shot.
Were able to enjoy what we created.
I was also going to ask about the social commentary.
I wouldnt look at any of that stuff too seriously.
Its a show about engines that eat people.
I wouldnt read in too much zeitgeist.
Certain things are in the news, and you have some fun with them.
I dont seeBlood Driveas anything like that.
Its an artistic bit of fun.
We all draw upon current events.
God knows theres enough politics and bullshit and separation going on right now.
The last thing I want to do is add more fuel to that shit.
I wanted to ask a little bit of Roger Corman, hes kind of an artistic godfather to this.
Oh man, who isnt a fan of Corman?
Im still a fan of Corman.
These guys and gals, their contribution to cinema is significant.
Big fan of all that kind of stuff.
Growing up and beyond.
Its a great inspiration.
Its so much fun, also, to go back, and watch a lot of these things.
To look at a Russ Meyer movie.
Its a lot of fun.
Did you watch the movies as part of preparation?
You make an A-movie that turns out to be not that great.
The best B-movies have really, really bad actors that are really, really trying to make it great.
So, theres this weird line to talk.
Nobody sets out to make something crappy.
Not that thats whatBlood Driveis, butBlood Driveis inspired by those kinds of films.
I love the very subtle comedy in it, actually, there is some very artistic use of censorship.
How much playing around was there to catch the right tone?
Well, youre not supposed to take it seriously.
I mean, the characters can take it seriously.
Theres also some flexibility and freedom there.
Its kind of like watching a live action Bugs Bunny cartoon.
Its ridiculously over-the-top, sexual, disgusting sometimes.
So gory, but its also utterly ridiculous.
You cant take it seriously.
Its popcorn, and its the best kind of popcorn.
Its a bit of escapism.
Its a bit of insanity.
You get to have a bit of fun with.
Its not for everybody.
Its certainly not for everybody, but those who get it, I think theyll really dig it.
I am so glad you brought up Bugs Bunny.
I see this as living a cartoon.
What did Slink get from Bugs Bunny?
Hes Bugs Bunny, Groucho Marx, hes anti-conformity.
Hell pluck a hair and put it in your caviar.
Thats whatBlood Driveis, Its a pubic hair in your caviar.
Thats what makes it nuts and fun, and very irreverent.
It kind of takes the piss out of everything and everyone, and itself.
Were all just kind getting a little crazy, and its great.
Blood Drivepremieres on Syfy on June 14th.
