When I think about it, there is no doubt in my mind that I became an actor and storyteller well before I ever set foot on a stage or in front of a camera. When I was young, I told my stories and acted through toys... Action figures... Turtles, X-men, whatever. I was huge into it... And I think that was the start of the growth of my imagination that has led me on this path. Of course, I could be talking bullshit, but I think there's truth to it.
At some point, and I can't remember when, I must have received my first action figure that was based on a movie. Was it Michael Keaton's Batman? It's possible. I don't remember. The point is that there came a time when I saw an actor made into a toy because of a movie. And from that point, I wanted a toy of myself. It's vain and maybe a bit odd, but it's the truth.
It's certainly not why I act, but I always thought it would be cool to have a toy of myself. The desire never completely went away. I remember watching the Office when Dwight gets a bobble head of himself, and I thought I want a me bobble head! And you can get those made, but I never did.
Cut to Red Scare... There are these things that Hasbro puts out... They are called Mighty Muggs. They are basically stylized versions of pop culture things... Superheroes, Star Wars, Indy, etc... And they make blank ones. Well, I got it into my head to have Red Scare Mighty Muggs and give them to certain members of the cast/crew. First, I had to decide who would get them. Sadly, I am not made of money (I've checked) so I couldn't get everyone done. If I could, I would in a heartbeat... But I couldn't... So, I chose the people who were on set the most. That includes Myself, Isaac (Happy), Bobby (Vlad), Megan (Sasha), Aaron (Pieter), Dan (Tony), Loarina (Becky Sue), and Christina (Veronica). But at the same time our director, sound guy, and lighting guy were also in the movie. So, I decided that I would get the aforementioned and Billy (Billy the Barber), Joey (Dr. Armenheimer), and Tony (Beatnik) made as well. I apologize to anyone who feels slighted. That was not my intention, but rather to make up as many as I could, and choose them in the best way that I knew.
Then came the hard part... Finding an artist. I know plenty of people who are talented artists, but painting an action figure like this is no easy feat. Eventually, I was pointed in the direction of Lisa Schwichtenberg. She agreed, and she made pure awesomeness. You can see pictures of said awesomeness below.
So, I am finally an action figure. I can cross that one off the bucket list.
If you've read this far, I can share with you some Red Scare movie news. The first cut has been completed, and clocks in at 1 hr. 39 minutes. Next step is to test the movie, and receive some feedback and critiques, before hitting the movie again, getting music into it, adjusting sound, etc etc etc. It has been difficult at times, but we are closer than we were. If all goes as planned you will have the opportunity to see Red Scare before the holidays this year. Which holidays?
Stay tuned,
Sam
Actor, Writer, Producer
Red Scare
