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An Interview with Layla Randle-Conde, Star and Behind-the-Scenes Jack-of-All-Trades of Molly Crows

by Mike Haberfelner

September 2013

Films starring Layla Randle-Conde on (re)Search my Trash

 

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Your new film Molly Crows - in a few words, what is it about, and what can you tell us about your character in it?

 

The character I play is based on a real person from the 17th century. Her name was Molly Leigh, and she was said to be a bad-tempered witch that cast evil spells on the townsfolk of Burslem.

 

What did you draw upon to bring your character to life, and since your role's based on a real person, how much research did you do on her and her time to get her right? And honestly, how much of yourself can we find in Molly Leigh?

 

Whether Molly was really a witch or not is lost to history. But people were terrified of her, and after she died she was dug up and re-buried at a right-angle to all of the other graves in the church yard. You can see Molly's grave today, clearly lying in a different direction to all the others.

I play Molly Leigh briefly in the movie, as it is really about a modern-day little girl with psychic powers, who can see and communicate with the spirit world.

 

Quite a few scenes of Molly Crows see you in heavy makeup. So what was the whole makeup procedure like, and how did the makeup influence your acting?

 

I was in makeup for nearly three hours, to transform me into a disgusting corpse, with a bald head and bulging eye-sockets. I was then lowered into a stone coffin and well, you'll have to watch it to find out what happens next. It's pretty gruesome though.

 

On Molly Crows, you also did quite a bit of behind-the-scenes work - so what can you tell us about that?

 

My part behind the scenes was pretty varied. There were three main crew members, and some other crew that were there for certain scenes. I sourced and made costumes and props, including my own shroud for the Molly Leigh scene, and I found actors and crew members to work on the movie, and persuaded them to do it for nothing! Although in nearly all cases the story and the few clips we had were so compelling I didn't have to do much persuading. I co-ordinated the publicity campaign, helping us rack up thousands of hits on YouTube, and helping the cast to use the film to promote themselves locally as actors. It's important when you give up your time for a collaboration, that it is a two-way street. A win-win situation suits everybody. So right from the beginning I was pushing the actors to promote themselves and the movie together, by helping them with press releases and getting them to contact papers and local radio stations with properly written bios and press kits.

 

On set I was doing things like looking after actors, getting coffees, being a runner basically. So in a very small crew you do whatever needs to be done, from jobs more traditionally associated with a producer, right down to running around with flapjacks to keep the little kids motivated during the ghost children scenes. Whatever it takes to keep things moving!

 

How did you get involved with the project to begin with?

 

I’ve known Ray for years and appeared in several shorts. I’ve been nagging him to make a feature for years. I appeared in a movie with a director I’m not going to name, but when I was on set I remember thinking that the whole set-up was a shambles, and that given a beautiful setting and a set of dedicated actors, that Ray could have come up with something mind-blowing. Actually seeing how a low-budget film was put together, even in such a shoddy way (which was not the actor’s or crew’s fault) was an education. I saw it as separate parts that needed an overall truth to hold it together. So although I’d been bugging him to make a feature for years, I bugged him even harder when I got back. He started working on the script & I cleared off to London to be a TV presenter. But I really wanted to be involved with this so I came back to Staffordshire.

 

Ray Wilkes with Layla

What can you tell us about your director Ray Wilkes [Ray Wilkes interview - click here], and what was your collaboration like?

 

I’ve always got on with Ray because all he cares about is what happens on screen. That’s it. He’s a nice bloke with a good heart, but he’s absolutely ruthless about getting the best scene, the best emotion, the best look or best dialogue. I absolutely love working with people like that. I don’t mind ripping something up and starting over. I don’t mind having a huge, complicated idea & having someone say “Nah, that’s shit mate, it’s been done loads of times,” or “Too complicated,” or “I don’t like it,”

I like working with people that are extremely creative and determined, and the three of us – Ray, Phil Sykes and me, we’re all like that. We’re just tanks! Get out of our way, we’re making a film!

One of the funniest times during the making of Molly Crows was when I was doing ‘back seat editor’ and helping make tiny changes to scenes. A local musician had sent in a song, and we were absolutely trashed on Captain Morgan for some reason. We dropped the song over a particular scene, and the result was so haunting and beautiful that we both just sat there, totally pissed but completely in the zone, sobbing like babies. There was another time that Ray had a scary dream about Molly Leigh and he rang me up crapping himself because he thought I’d put a curse on him or something, that was funny.

 

A few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?

 

Cast and crew at the Portobello Film Festval

I was on set for certain scenes, but mostly I was doing things off-set. The feeling on set was very friendly, and as always with Ray, it was fast. He doesn’t shoot loads.

I do the social media side of things, so I got to know a lot of the cast quite well through Facebook. I ended up writing their bios and helping them with the press and speaking to them on the ‘phone. It was quite strange at Portobello, because there were lots of the cast that I’d never met before, but I felt like I had. There was a real buzz about this movie & people were excited to be involved. I know that I helped keep the momentum going, but you can’t fake a feeling that’s not there to begin with. Both Ray and I were a tiny bit sad at the premier, because it was the ending of a chapter that contained all of these lovely, enthusiastic people.

 

Molly Crows has had its premiere only very recently, right? So what can you tell us about critical and audience reception so far?

 

That’s right, we premiered at Portobello just a week ago. It was chucking it down (for your overseas readers, that is Northern slang for it was raining a lot) but the cinema was standing-room only by the time the opening credits were rolling. The organizer told us it was the busiest night of the festival so far.

I asked a lot of people what they thought of the film afterwards. The main comments were “Very creepy,” and “That little girl was so freaky!”

There is a gory scene where one of the characters takes a knife to… well I’d better not spoil it for anyone! But the audience were visibly wincing at that, which we loved! We were watching the audience watching the film, and we were pleased to see that people were just staring at the screen, not talking or fiddling with their ‘phones. That was great.

A lot of people said that they immediately wanted to watch it again, because there are a lot of characters and a lot of stories. Everybody seemed to have a different favorite character and part. But the scene with the haunting song by Julia Dowler was definitely one of the most popular with the audience that night.

We won ‘Best Drama’, which I was just delighted with. It is a drama above everything else. It just happens to be very supernatural.

 

Any future projects you'd like to talk about?

 

I’m collaborating with some photographers on a few film projects, but that’s all in the very early stages at the moment. I’m also getting ready for Ray’s next movie. I’ll be doing exactly the same as I did on this one, but we are going to go for a budget this time. So I’ll be fund-raising and pitching and all of that side of things, which I’m excited about.

 

You are originally a model, right? So what can you tell us about that aspect of your career, and what got you into acting eventually?

 

I’m originally a lot of things! I was an artist and a performer and a TV presenter and designer. I’ve worked on magazines and all sorts of things. The modeling was just another thing I wanted to try, and I did OK for a short, ginger bird from the Midlands. I worked with Maxim from the Prodigy and appeared in a few of his paintings, and I did a lot of crazy, arty stuff. I like working with creative people and artists. I got into acting because I’m a bit competitive, and I wanted to be the best-known model locally. None of the local models had done film, so I googled local film projects, liked the look of Ray’s advert and called him up. That was years ago now.

 

Do talk about your filmwork prior to Molly Crows for a bit!

 

I did some low-budget horror movies, nothing spectacular. I was a model at the time, and it was a good way to raise my profile. I found I was much more interested in the way that movies were made, rather than appearing in them. I prefer doing TV to be honest.

 

How would you describe yourself as an actress?

 

I wouldn’t describe myself as an actress. There are people a hundred times more talented than me, that deserve it way more than I do. I like playing freaky characters in movies, and I like being on set, it’s the best.

 

Actresses (or indeed actors) who inspire you?

 

Audrey Hepburn, because there was just something magical about her, and she strikes me as phenomenally tough and a beautiful person. I watched This Is England again recently, and Vicky McClure is fantastic. I would love to direct Sandra Bullock or Nicholas Cage.

 

Your favourite movies?

 

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One of my favourite movies of all time is the original Robocop, because it’s a gothic, Frankenstein tale with robots and gangsters. I’m not impressed with the trailer for the re-make, because some of those elements just aren’t there – he’s not dead for a start! How can you have a robotic Frankenstein’s monster without him starting out as a corpse? I’d better change the subject there or I’ll be moaning about that all night.

I also love Death Race 2000 because it’s hilarious, and Dumbo because it’s supposed to be cute, but it’s actually dark and weird.

 

... and of course, films you really deplore?

 

I can watch a film about anything if it’s interesting.

 

Your/your movie's website, Facebook, whatever else?

 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Molly-Crows-The-Movie/113795658686195 

Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaaMNnEuoXA&feature=player_embedded

 

Anything else you are dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?

 

That’s it I think! I just want to say that making this film was an incredible experience, and I met so many wonderful people.

 

Thanks for the interview!

 

© by Mike Haberfelner


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Thanks for watching !!!



 

 

In times of uncertainty of a possible zombie outbreak, a woman has to decide between two men - only one of them's one of the undead.

 

There's No Such Thing as Zombies
starring
Luana Ribeira, Rudy Barrow and Rami Hilmi
special appearances by
Debra Lamb and Lynn Lowry

 

directed by
Eddie Bammeke

written by
Michael Haberfelner

produced by
Michael Haberfelner, Luana Ribeira and Eddie Bammeke

 

now streaming at

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Vimeo

 

 

 

Robots and rats,
demons and potholes,
cuddly toys and
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love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

is all of that.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to
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a collection of short stories and mini-plays
ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic
to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle, all thought up by
the twisted mind of
screenwriter and film reviewer
Michael Haberfelner.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

the new anthology by
Michael Haberfelner

 

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