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Hilarie Burton: Hey everyone! This is Hilarie Burton and you have tuned in to the Southern Gothic Productions podcast, a weekly look into the inner workings of a production company. So sit back, and enjoy a peek into our journey.

Denise Gideon: Denise Gideon here for the Southern Gothic Productions podcast. We’re here with our Big Three, as we like to call them: Hilarie Burton, Kelly Tenney, and Nicholas Gray, and we’re all excited to be back together. We’ve been kind of all over the place, but we’ve been able to share some interviews with you guys from what we did on set for the web series, ‘Friendship Union Community Theater,’ but now we’re all back together, very excited to bring you a new podcast, but before we kind of talk about what we kind of talk about today, Hilarie, we just opened up the podcast with the band The Damnwells that you know pretty well.

HB: Yeah, man!

DG: And we played a song called ’55 Pictures.’ Can you talk… you came to me and said, ‘Hey, let’s see if we can get these guys on the podcast.’ Can you talk a little bit about the exciting…

HB: Yeah, I actually… Yeah, you’ve given us such great music suggestions, you know. I wanted to give you a list of a couple bands that I’ve had personal contact with and have been friends with over the years, and after Season 1 of One Tree Hill, I had a radio show in New York. I think it was ‘WOBU’ and it was a college radio station, and it had all these great bands come on and of all the bands and all the musicians that I had come on that show, The Damnwells were the guys that I kind of stayed friends with, and over the last, you know, 6 years we’ve run into each other at airports, and I’ve gone to see them play down in Charleston, South Carolina, and they’ve put out a couple albums since then, and they’ve even done a documentary, and they are just the nicest, most talented guys. Yeah, I know they’re friend with Ryan Reynolds, he’s put a bunch of their songs in his movies, and I hope that we use them in the future very much the same way. They’re great guys. Go out and pick up their record. Yeah, man. They’re a good voice. I like them. You gotta support your friends.

DG: Well, like we talked about at the intro, this is kind of the first time we’ve all been, kind of, back together since the webisode launch, ‘Friendship Union Community Theater.’ So, why don’t all of you guys take a deep breath, and then maybe tell me a little about the launch and, let’s be honest, what was your feelings going through your mind the night before the launch?

HB: [laughing] We were so scared, right guys?

Nicholas Gray: Yes. Well, I was actually flying to New York, so I was kind of more nervous about my plane, to be quite honest. [all laugh]

HB: No, I mean, we had a little bit of a hiccup right before we posted it, because we got some notes from a really, like, reliable person that we work with, and they were like, ‘You need to fix this, this, and this.’ And we were like, ‘Oh my god! Do we have to redo everything?’ And we kind of panicked, and then Nick, obviously, our voice of reason and our muse, just kind of stopped and was like, ‘You guys, this was our first venture, you know. We can put it out there without it being absolutely perfect! Our audience, you know, is going to be honest with us. And if we like it, then they’re going to like it.’ And I think that’s exactly what happened, you know. Sometimes you stress so much about making something impossibly perfect. It’s more important to actually do it, you know, to make it, and put it out there, and be prepared to take the heat. So, I’m really happy that we did just put it out there.

NG: Yeah, we did the right thing, and from what we can tell, you know, on our site people are really enjoying it.

HB: Because it’s funny!

NG: … all the Judith Light. [Kelly and Hilarie laugh]

HB: For me, the best part of the webisode was the fact that my father had no idea what the character, Mel, consisted of. And so, my poor, sweet dad who, you know, had just taken pictures with my brother to be, you know, the Mel photo, is watching it, you know, once we posted it and is just like, ‘Clotted erection, what?’ and then when Steven Howell comes out and takes his shirt off and is like, ‘Mel always told me to do this.’ My dad’s just like, ‘What the hell is going on?’ [Denise laughs] So yeah, Cowboy Bill thought that was awesome. Are we going to use him some more? I think he’s excited about that, Nick.

NG: Oh, I hope so. I might go talk to him about it.

HB: [laughs with Kelly] Yeah? Perfect.

DG: Maybe if he comes back as a ghost.

NG: Exactly.

HB: He is a haunting man. [Nick and Hilarie laugh]

DG: Just about it too… It gets on. You get your kinks out of the way, and you load it, and it’s on, and people are starting to watch it… What was your thoughts going through your mind, maybe, when the comments started coming in.

HB: I just wanted people to get it, you know? I mean, the kind of stuff that Nick and Kelly and I think is funny isn’t necessarily what everybody thinks is funny. The theater crowd is a niche audience, but I think it’s very telling that, you know, shows like ‘Glee’ are coming out, and you know, they just did a big remake of ‘Fame.’ You know, obviously there is that big artistic community out there that wants content, and so we are catering to them because those are our people, you know. It’s a community of freaks, and we’re part of them. So, it’s for freaks by freaks! Welcome to Southern Gothic!

DG: I recently forwarded an article to Kelly about web series, and it stated, you know, big budgets are out and people are going back to more of the organic presentations, and again, I think you guys are on the curve of that.

Kelly Tenney: Yeah, our goal was very interesting. It did go from Sony Pictures spending, like, a million dollars on their web series, which I can assure everyone we didn’t even come close to. [Hilarie and Kelly laugh]

HB: We would have had an elevator if we spent a million dollars, Kelly. [laughs]

KT: We could, you’re right. All the studios seem to be getting involved in it. I mean, we’re at the cutting edge. We see Disney’s planning web content, and Warner Home Video launched a series tied to their ‘Terminator: Salvation’ release. So, they all see the bonus of being involved on the web.

DG: Is it nice to see some of them be successful? I know I’ve talked to you quite a few times, Kelly, about Felicia Day, her web series, ‘The Guild.’ If you guys haven’t seen it, check it out. It’s pretty hilarious, but she’s going into her third season and they’ve kind of tied in all of these cool things, and they’ve also tied in video that they’ve done for it, and so there’s a lot of things that you can tie into something when you start building a fan base for a web series.

HB: Yeah.

KT: Which is, basically, that’s our company. Basically, that’s what we’re doing with SoGoPro.

HB: So many shows now… I mean, you see at the end of the episode on ‘Flipping Out’ on Bravo, they say, ‘Check out the webisode from the maid and the assistant.’ You know, like, people are not only doing these webisodes as independent ventures but they’re also using them to propel, you know, bigger T.V. shows or bigger films, and so, you know, this is a tool that we’re kind of honing right now. ‘Friendship Union Community Theater’ was an awesome first run for us. We learned a lot on that project. And so now, not only can we continue with ‘Friendship Union Community Theater,’ but you know, we can create content that supports ‘Pedestrian,’ that supports ‘Boyfriend and Girlfriend,’ that supports all of our projects.

DG: So I guess that leads me in to my next question… because I’m throwing up my hands, and I’m saying, what now with the web series?

NG: Yeah, well, we put out this first one, which is about 10 minutes long, and I think one of the challenges that I definitely experienced in writing such a short piece, was you know, getting all the information in that we need to get in, and we did that and we were successful in that. We introduced the characters. We introduced the tone of the show, and now we’re going to try to punch out the next three, and the three after that, and those are all going to be shorter, because now we can just get into the story, and just let it be funny, just let it travel on its own, and we can create more product, more quickly.

DG: So that leads me into my next question, that’s for you Nick is can you give us a little peek, maybe? Have you thought about where the direction is, and where you want to go with this?

NG: Let’s see. Well I think…

HB: I want more Anetta. [laughs] More Anetta, please!

NG: I mean, we introduced some of those posters of past shows that the ‘Friendship Union Community Theater put on, and you know, collectively we’ve kind of agreed that doing a flashback episode of the production of ‘Happy Birthday, Grandma’ [Hilarie laughs] might be a good thing.

HB: [laughing] You can’t even say it without me cracking up!

NG: I know. That was my favorite show ever.

HB: Oh god. I mean, I can just visual the show.

NG: I have no idea… Good! Because I have no idea. I can’t. I have no idea what it’s about.

HB: Oh my god, you cry so hard in the second act! [Nick laughs] You don’t think you’re going to, but you do. It’s just… it’s so moving.

NG: Well, I think, you know, we’ll see something like that, and rivalries, Denise, rivalries are very important.

DG: Well, it is  exciting to be able to read the comments from all the… Well, you know, I talk about this with a lot of the artists that I interview about instant feedback, and that’s what’s so great, I guess, about doing a web series, is getting instant feedback. I’m hoping that, most of the time, it’s positive. But, to see people really embracing all these character that you wrote, Nick, and having favorite moments and favorite quotes already in just a ten minute segment.

NG: Oh, you bet! Another thing in moving forward is that it’s so great that we have that, like you said, because we can go back and see really what people are responding the most too. I also wanted to really do this episode where, like, you know, Clarisse has found out that Mel has lost all the money for the theater company, and they have to have this big fundraiser, and you know, somehow that turns into a long remixed version of the ‘Judith Light Song.’ [Everyone laughs]

HB: God. Hey, how do we get in touch with Judith Light, by the way? That’s what we need. We need her.

NG: We’re already on her radar, I suspect.

HB: God, I hope so!

DG: Guest appearance.

HB: I hope she goes on her website, you know. Maybe she has her own little Southern Gothic set up, and sees, ‘Somebody wrote a song about me?’ [Nick laughs] and then she becomes our lifetime friend! [Denise laughs]

NG: I hope so.

HB: Yeah, it’s going to happen, Nick. I can’t wait.

NG: That’s the goal! [Hilarie laughs]

DG: Just dropping into the fact that you guys have used a lot of social media in being able to get information out about this web series, and in being on the web, that’s the one right there, I think we want, Kelly, to tell everyone that you are going to be on a radio show called ‘Say it Social’ radio, and you’re going to be telling everybody how you, as a independent production company, are using all the aspects of social media to be able to get your information out and keep people interested.

KT: It’s all about networking, isn’t it?

DG: [laughing] Yes.

KT: That’s all I’m going to be doing, networking. We’re trying to reach as many people as possible within… basically as possible.

HB: But, Kelly, you’re doing such a good job! I mean, people go to school for years learning marketing, learning production, learning networking, and this is just something that in Kelly’s off hours from work, you know, he’s done his homework, and has really been our shepard teaching the rest of us what the hell Twitter is, you know.

KT: [laughing] I still hear you say it!

HB: God! I am still just so baffled by this phone tool of… Yeah, Kelly just really has a knack for being able to pick up this text stuff, and I’m so glad he does because I’m sitting her typing with two fingers, you know. [laughs] I’m just really grateful to have a leader.

DG: So, let’s say, you’re texting is not that fast?

HB: Oh, my texting is pathetic! [Kelly laughs] Yeah, it takes me 3 hours to write a blog, so… Yeah, no, it’s been really great having Kelly do the background research for us, and then explain it to me at elementary terms. I appreciate that.

DG: Well, let’s do a little plug before we go onto our fan question for Kelly. He’s going to be on social radio. We’re going to try to get some information out on that: where he’s going to be, what time it’s on. September 15^th at 2:00, and we’re going to provide a website for you guys to go as listens. You can go in and Twitter a message to Kelly when he’s on or…

HB: Ooh!

DG: You can go on and instant message a question, or you can call in! So we’ll provide all that information as it gets closer, so that fans can ask Kelly about all that stuff that he gets to do social media-wise. And I know you’re excited about it, Kelly. I can tell.

KT: Yeah.

HB: [laughing] He’s our strong, silent type.

NG: Yeah, he’s our silent.

DG: [laughing] When I told him about it he was like, ‘Yeah, what is that?’ [Nick laughs]

HB: No way! Just give him a couple glasses of wine and he’s going to chatty Kathy!

DG: [laughing] At 2 o’clock in the afternoon? That should be fun!

HB: Yeah, nothing like a day drinking, Kelly. It always helps production. [Denise laughs]

KT: [laughing] Okay.

DG: Well, since we’ve been doing our special segments that last three weeks, we haven’t been able to do any fan questions, and before we close out for this podcast, we would love to include a fan question for this week, and the fan question, you guys, prepare yourself, is from Kendall, and her question is, ‘Out of every book or story that you have read, do you have a favorite character, and does any one character stand out in your mind and why?’

HB: Oh, Kendall. That’s so hard. Well, I mean, yeah, obviously we’re a very literally driven company, and I think I speak for all of us when I say that probably our first love is books, right? Before we thought we’d be T.V. or movie people, I was a kid hiding out in my bedroom with my big coke-bottle glasses and my retainer, you know, super into books. I think that if  I could play any part in the world, Julian Schabel owns the right to a book called ‘Secret Life of the Lonely Doll,’ and it’s a true story about a children’s book author named Dare Wright, and this project has been in development forever. I tried to get the rights to the book, but he already had it, so Julian, if you’re listening…

NG: You know, Hil, when I was in New York this past week, we were on this rooftop celebrating our play with our cast, and apparently just right across the horizon was this castle, this, like, pink castle…

HB: Oh, yeah!

NG: Yeah.

HB: His house is incredible!

NG: Yeah, we saw it from afar.

HB: Well, next time I’ll come with you and we’ll MacGyver our way over there. [Nick and Hilarie laugh] What about you guys? What are your favorite characters?

NG: Well, I don’t know out of every book or story I’ve ever read… you know, I really like the character of FH in ‘Jesus’s Son.’ I love that book, which, little trivia for you guys, is the number one most shoplifted book ever. But very recently, I read this book called ‘Tracks’ by Louise Erdrich. It is about a tribe of Native Americans living in North Dakota, and there’s one character named Fleur Pilliger, and she is just one badass. And her rival, Pauline Puyat, is also really awesome too. The book was so dense. It was, you know, it was hard to follow in some places, but I kept going back to how strong these characters were. I really enjoyed them.

HB: It sounds like they have good names. It’s kind of your go-to. I love it.

NG: It’s kind of my go-to thing.

HB: You have a good name.

DG: Well, thanks guys for answering Kendall’s question. I’m sure she’ll enjoy to see what literary folks, like your selves, have you favorite characters of, and so if you can believe it, this has been the 9^th edition of the Southern Gothic Productions podcast. [Hilarie and Kelly cheers] And so, we’ve been doing this for 2 months. It’s kind of scary! Well, I know we’re going over a little bit, but one last question before we close. They’re raising the film incentives that… the bill that was just signed, you guys.

KT: Yes!

HB: Yay! We did it!

DG: A big sigh of relief?

KT: Finally!

HB: Actually, Kelly did it.

KT: No, a lot of people did it. Everybody worked together. North Carolina will taste the lead again. We’re not only a very film friendly state, but now the incentive will give producers even more money as an incentive. So, congratulations to everyone that worked very hard to get this done. I think in January it’s going to be a mad house here in the state, and especially here in Wilmington. We have the biggest crews and the most locations. So, again, that was a big, big deal. So, congratulations to everybody.

HB: Just a tenacious state. Just a tenacious state.

DG: Well, that’s a great way to close out this podcast again, like you said, congratulations to everyone, and I appreciate you guys coming on and sharing some information again with us, and we’ll be back next week!

HB: Bye!

KT: Bye!

NG: Bye!

HB: Thank you guys so much for listening to the Southern Gothic Productions podcast. We hang out on Wednesdays, so be sure to check us out! See you next time.

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