Someone's in the house. He's watching. He's creeping round, only you can't see him. He's watching you from the walls. He's right behind you now. Looking over your shoulder. He wants the remote control. He's a bad boy. He wants to watch bad movies. Bad bad Ronald...
Showing posts with label haunting of sunshine girl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label haunting of sunshine girl. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

The Haunting of Sunshine Girl: Book One

             Sunshine Girl's New Adventures - 

          Haunting Bookshelves Near You! 

  It was in the Summer of 2011, and I was tooling around YouTube. I was checking out trailers for upcoming scary movies, and searching through good creepy short films.  The sidebar recommendations were providing great undiscovered related titles, so I was flipping through its
suggestions, when I saw this very intriguing title: The Haunting of Sunshine Girl.  The title was just too cool not to click on.


Before I knew it, I'm deep into the playlist of stacks of 1-4 minute videos, detailing the adventures of a very engaging and charming teenage girl, named Sunshine, who is doing quirky little vlog entries about school and pop culture... AND who just so happens to be haunted by some weird ghostly beings. The curious part of it all was that these videos weren't full of wide eyes and bated breath and pounding pulse atmosphere. Oh, it would go there, with some real chilling moments.  But, instead of drowning in the horror movie tropes of contemporary genre movies, HAUNTING nestles itself in the real world, giving Sunshine an average teenage life, with average teenage problems -- and then there's the strange girl in the corner! Or the odd lady standing out in her yard! Or the bloody words on the wall!  The Haunting of Sunshine Girl was
I don't wanna look!
simply the freshest thing I had seen, in any medium, related to the horror genre, at that time.  And it still delivers after over four years on the interwebs.


In case you're not familiar, The Haunting of Sunshine Girl is a YouTube program created by Nick Hagen and Mercedes Rose, and stars Rose's daughter, Paige McKenzie. They debuted the show back in December, 2010, and it quickly amassed over a million viewers (and still rolling them in by the thousands a day!).  They followed up HAUNTING with spin-off shows, and added new shows to the line up (featuring zombies, Bigfoot, another haunted girl, and screen printers!), and made their own grassroots horror movie, Sunshine Girl and the Hunt for Black Eyed Kids. Paige has been busy, herself, with connections to Seventeen magazine, making appearances in other films, and shooting videos on the sets of director Guillermo Del Toro.  And now she's authored her first Haunted Sunshine novel -- The Haunting of Sunshine Girl: Book One.

Paige and her Mom have always been very cool, granting me interviews. I first spoke with them before their show had reached the one-year benchmark, and had several chats since. With the coming of Paige's first book, I'm thinking they might get too big for my little blog, though.  You see, the book is being released by Weinstein Books, a joint publishing venture between The Weinstein Brothers and The Perseus Book Group. In case that went over your head, that would be the Weinstein Brothers -- Bob and Harvey!  The Oscar winning movie moguls!!!  So yeah, I'm expecting a secretary the next time I try and
contact Paige and her Mom, who will politely reply "Sorry, they're in a meeting."


The book is out now.  Check out the book trailer they made, below! I suggest you get a copy and become acquainted with Sunshine and her world. I've got my Kindle version, and will check back with a review!  In the meantime, here is my chat with Paige "Sunshine" McKenzie...  (her responses are in bold)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So… Wow, right?  A book! What has been the coolest thing about the whole book thing?

Well, I LOVE books and reading so just being part of the whole literary world has been a dream come true. I get to talk about story and hang out with authors and go to bookstores and just surround myself with all things BOOKS!  


When you and Nick and your Mom first ventured off into the Haunted Sunshine thing, did you expect it to blossom like this?  I know you all probably had great hopes and dreams of big things – but, Weinsteins!  Did that ever factor into your dreams?

I think we thought there would be more "steps". You know, make a film that went to a small film festival and then a little bit bigger film with a "name" in it and maybe after that have a film go to Sundance and get a sponsor for the Youtube. We have always had big dreams and chose to go a more non-traditional route to get Hollywood to pay attention. So it makes total sense that the most creative, think-outside-of-the-box film studio in Hollywood is the one to see the potential of Sunshine! 



Alright, you have  a dodgeball match – who do you pick for your team, Bob or Harvey?  

Oooohhh, tough one! Dodgeball is scary stuff! So I guess I have to say Bob! He IS the one that loves the scary stuff after all! 

You’ve had a lot of cool experiences in the past couple years, with the book, the magazine, the Del Toro House of Horrors set shoot, acting roles outside of Sunshine...  What has been the big highlight of all your adventures, so far?

You are right this has been an amazing adventure so far...if I had to choose one, I have to pick the book and the collaboration with Weinstein. I mean, it's Weinstein! And all the book people are so nice and chill and so very genuine. I feel like I have made life-long friends and that is an amazing bonus. 


Can you tell us a bit about the novel?  Is it stories from your YouTube show, or new adventures?

Book one is basically the 1st playlist or so of the channel. Think of it as Sunshine's "origin story"! Fans of the YouTube will recognize some of their favorite moments from the videos and find "Easter eggs" that they will love. Some changes had to be made, and additions were necessary but the basic idea is the same. But if you have never heard of The Haunting of Sunshine Girl YouTube, no worries. The books are a complete adventure all on their own! 

 
Will there be more Sunshine books? 

At least 2, maybe more! ;) 


How cool is it to have book buds like RL Stine and Wes Craven?  Those were great endorsements.

Any good review makes me happy but when it is an iconic expert of creepy, the feeling is amazing!


Welcome to Sunshine's world
With the Weinstein connection, is there any talk of turning these Sunshine books into a movie series? 

Most people don't even realize that Weinstein has a book division, movies is the logical next step. But who knows, TV might be an option too! 


What’s new on the YouTube scene?  You, along with Mom and Nick, have been madly producing a variety of shows to run along with Haunting of Sunshine Girl on your network. Are there any new things on the YouTube horizon that we can look forward to?

I have been madly creating content to go up while on my book tour! There will be plenty of scary and creeptastic stuff plus some fun other videos from other Tubers. Plus, I'll be posting all kinds of behind the scenes book tour stuff which will be fun! 

We have talked before about how important it was to have Sunshine be a positive role model for girls. Now that your reach has expanded out from just the YouTube show, what are your hopes for further spreading the message of girl power and a positive media image for females?

I think for many girls there are plenty of "cool girl" role models...the Jenners and Taylor Swift and even JLaw seem so perfect and stunning. I mean, Jennifer Lawrence can make tripping look effortless. Sunshine, however, is very accessible and real. Her flaws (real or imagined) are on full display for all to see. She has zits and out of control hair and is scared and brave and confused and positive. And she is your friend.  

The landscape of home entertainment is evolving and growing. How do you see the future of the Internet and streaming television changing?  And where will Sunshine fit in!  (Whoa! -- this is the 60 Minutes interview all of a sudden now!!!)

The changing landscape is one of my favorite things about this time in the entertainment world. Technology has made storytelling faster, easier and far more accessible than ever before. And I only see that growing. For creative thinkers, the sky really is the limit. We are right now brainstorming how to incorporate platforms like Meerkat and Snapchat into how we tell a story. And I love that! 


One last question -- Sunshine has been a part of your life for going on five years. How has Sunshine effected your life, your world?  How has Sunshine changed? (Now I'm Barbara Walters!)

My life is so much different than I think it would have been had I not started the youtube. College would have been the next logical step. Instead I have discovered all these different hats I like to wear: actor, producer, author, creator, Tuber... who knows what is next? 

Throughout the series, and also the book, Sunshine's kind of grown into herself. In the book especially, she find more people to help and guide her in her journey of discovery. She realizes her potential and her destiny. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The book is out now, folks, on all your bookstore shelves and on your mobile devices.  If you're a fan, drop a line and let me know what you think about the book!


Friday, November 9, 2012

BadRonald Teaser: Sunshine Girl Movie Trailer!!!

One of the great YouTube success stories is set to burst off your laptop screen and onto theater screens and TV screens across the country.  Sunshine Girl is someone I've spoken about many times, with her self-recorded quirkiness and Scooby Gang ghost hunting antics (which can been viewed on her YouTube channel The Haunting of Sunshine Girl).  Her mini adventures run the gamut of fresh and silly teen girl vlogging, to some real jump-from-your-computer-chair frights.  There's ghosts and demons and paranormal mayhem.  But mostly, there's Sunshine herself.

I got word from Sunshine that she's gotten herself into a bit of a paranormal pickle.  She's been out investigating the phenomenon known as Black Eyed Kids (otherwise known as BEKs), and trying to hunt some down.  Only problem is... she found some.  Yikes!!!

The up side is, she's sharing her BEK adventures with the world in a new feature film Sunshine Girl and the Hunt for Black Eyed Kids.  Sunshine dropped this trailer off to me with a message, warning that people need to see this now!

"Bad Ronald rocks for sharing the trailer to my new movie, Sunshine Girl and the Hunt for BEKs. I can't wait to share it with everyone and be on the look out for some exclusive pics from my movie coming to Bad Ronald blog very soon!"


The BEK movie will be released 12-21-12 on DVD and VOD. Check the Sunshine Movie website for updates and make sure to jump on the newsletter.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

BadRonald News Flash - Haunted Sunshine Girl Movie Clip

Haunted Sunshine Girl of The Haunting of Sunshine Girl fame has released a little sneak peek of her upcoming Black Eyed Kids movie...

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

BadRonalds likes Women in Horror Month

Did you know?  February is Women in Horror Month?

So, let's celebrate.  Celebrate by watching horror movies that are written, produced, directed by, edited by, and shot by WOMEN and GIRLS. And also horror films ABOUT them  -- and by about, I mean not just about their boobies and bums, but about the social issues that women face.  There are more than you think there are.  Loads more.  Let me give you some examples to start you off:  Lucky McKee's The Woman is now out on DVD and Blu ray, starring Pollyanna McIntoshDead Hooker in A Trunk. written, directed and starring the fantabulous Soska Sisters, is being released by IFC Midnight today!!  Them, while you're at it, go to YouTube and watch The Haunting of Sunshine Girl, featuring the coolest teenager on the Interwebs, as she hunts down ghosts and gobllies.

There you go.  Start your month off right with these selections.  Come back and I'll help you out tomorrow, with more tips.  And yes, I'm open to your suggestions, too.

DON'T FORGET TO SPILL YOUR BLOOD


The other important element of this month long celebration is the MASSIVE BLOOD DRIVE. Spill your blood... Save a life...

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

BadRonald Exclusive: The Haunted Sunshine Girl Movie

You might already know that the hit YouTube show The Haunting of Sunshine Girl is turning into a feature length movie.  The show is done in a vlog format, with cool beans Sunshine Girl videotaping her encounters with ghosts and weird people with pillow cases on their heads and her Moms and her Uncle Tommy and.. ghosts. 

Lately, however, Sunshine has been fascinated with the paranormal phenomenon of black eyed kids (BEKs), those freaky little creeps that pop up in Japanese movies and out of closets.  Like that one behind you!  I kid... he's still hiding in your closet.  The past few weeks, Sunshine and her Scooby gang have been digging into some BEK sightings, and have suddenly found themselves way deep in some weird shizznet.Sunshine's a smart little egg, so I think she'll be okay.

Meanwhile, she sent me these exclusive photos from the set of her new Haunted Sunshine Girl film. She also gave me a scoop on a new member of the Scooby gang...


Why can't these BEKs haunt the Bahamas?
Looks like the new kid Andrew might not be around long!

Blah! as it were, sir


The news I'm getting is this is gonna be real creepy.  If you've seen The Haunting of Sunshine Girl, you know how fun it can be, and how spooky it gets.  But, this new movie she's making looks downright frightening!  Stay tuned for more exclusives...




My Great Web page

Thursday, November 17, 2011

BadRonald Talk to Nick Hagen -- Creator of The Haunting of Sunshine Girl

One of the great finds on the Internets, for me, has been the YouTube web series The Haunting of Sunshine Girl.  If you haven't watched it, hurry on over and take a look.  Trust me, you'll thank me when you do.

I had the great fortune to speak with Sunshine and her mother, Mercedes Rose, a few weeks back -- what a team!  They are so much like the TV mother/daughter duo they idolize -- The Gilmore Girls.  Sunshine (her real name is a secret) is truly a discovery.  Witty, smart, hip and cute, she's a natural in front of the camera.  And her mom "Kat," as well, is witty and purty, and quite the presences on camera, heself.

But, "mom" is also one of the creative forces behind the success of Sunshine Girl. Alongside her is the unseen show creator Nick Hagen.  It was Nick who approached Mercedes with his idea of a girl who vlogs about the ghosts that haunt he.  And together, they created Sunshine, starring Mercedes real life daughter. The rest is web history.

I got to run some questions by Nick, recently.

BadRonald: You did an amazing job with the pacing -- it was like the first batch of episodes was the 1st act, sucking everyone in. What was your thought process as you developed the show?

Nick Hagen: Well the original concept was a video blog so it had to feel natural and in real life things take time to develop, including an audience. But being that I had a clear concept from the beginning I think the first videos didn't seem random, like some projects similar to this have. The point of the vlog was stated in the very first video so people clearly understood what they were watching. Something I felt like Lonleygirl did an awful job at and why I never watched more than a couple episodes of that one. It's also what I feel like projects like Marblehornets do wrong as well. They're very successful and many people are intrigued by their videos but I bet they lose a lot of viewers who just don't have the patience of trying to figure out what the videos are all about. As far as structure going forward, I look at each batch almost like a season so the first 80 or so videos was like season 1, where we had to build up to some sort of climax and resolution but still leave the window open for more to happen down the road.

BR: You already knew Mercedes and Sunshine, correct?

NH: I knew Mercedes, not Sunshine. But I had a feeling and luckily she was even more of a talent than I hoped. She's got that "it" quality that people love and in something like this, where you have to build an audience from scratch, that's priceless. And it's extremely rare to find someone at the age of 16 willing to commit so much time and effort into a project they have no idea whether it will be a success or not so I was happy about that as well. But I did know Mercedes and her drive and it (almost :-) matches mine so I knew she could keep up with me.

BR: Did you plan for things to get as wild as they did, from the start? Or did you get inspiration as the fanbase grew?

NH: I planned for things to get big, much bigger if we can getting the funding but I think the tone of the show has been dictated by the fanbase. I always knew I wanted it to be fairly family friendly, appeal to teens, but I think the tone got a little more over the top as we went along. Honestly it was in an effort to allow people to just have fun with the videos and not worry about Sunshine so much. I want that emotional connection from the fanbase but I don't want them losing sleep over the well being of Sunshine so I started making it a little less realistic. But yes, it will hopefully get much bigger and crazier. I've got plans...

BR: How about those fans? What's the wildest accusation you've heard from an irate fan?

NH: Well we get the accusation that we're purposely trying to lie to people to upset them and take advantage of them. That's a pretty common accusation. I'm always surprised by that since I firmly believe we're attempting to do a good thing and bring entertainment and joy into people's lives. I can't imagine putting all this effort into something just to try and upset people. But definitely the wildest thing I heard from a fan was that we were sending them secret messages in our videos and they were going to sell their house to get enough money to travel and see Sunshine.

BR: Those fans who get upset and cry "fake" still stick around anyway (I would guess that they do)?

NH: Yes, we have people calling us fake all the time but there's very few die hard people out there who consistently stick with it. Most of our fake comments come from people who have only watched one or two videos and don't really get what the show is all about. They're often shouted down by our other fans, letting them know that this isn't a secret. At the beginning we had lots of people with what could only be described as a personal vendetta against us. They were bound and determined to prove to the world we were fake, but as time has gone by, the show has gotten more fictional, and Sunshine is so likable, most of these people have let it go.

BR: Did you conceptualize the show as being fairly family friendly? As I was saying to Sunshine and Mercedes, I admired how "clean cut" the show is. No language or violence, and Sunshine is a "normal" kid, not spazzing about fashion and boys and material stuff. It's just a show about a good kid, with a healthy curiosity. How much of that was planned, and how much of that is Sunshine and Mercedes?

NH: Yes I did. I very much knew I wanted to go after that market and that tone. I've got three kids, Mercedes has three kids, we obviously want to teach our kids what is important in life and the typical teen girl character created by Hollywood has it all wrong in my opinion. In our series there's an underlying value of family and following what you think is right and what your passion is. Sunshine listened to the ghosts in her house and found out who she was. The metaphor is clear enough I think. As for actually achieving the family friendly, strong female tone, that's very much Mercedes and Sunshine in real life. They make it a reality.

BR: Are you working from a better budget now? And if so, will Sunshine Girl get into more freaky stuff?

NH: Better would be one way to put it since we started out with very little it doesn't take much to make the budget better. We haven't sought out outside investors for various reasons but it's mostly about control. Our budget is strictly based off YouTube revenue and every penny (and some of our own) goes back into production. So as our audience grows our budget will grow. We will definitely be taking Sunshine on some crazy adventures!

BR: Congratulations on the expansion of your YouTube channel! Do you have any thoughts about expanding Sunshine outside of YouTube?

NH: Thanks! Yes, I think it would work well on TV. A fictionalized reality show like what The Office does with comedy. I really like the freedom that style of filmmaking allows and the ability to break the fourth wall and freak people out. Imagine Sunshine with a documentary crew! Oh, and we're working on a film related to Sunshine as well. It might actually shoot this winter so that's fun.

BR: How about, any other show ideas, for YouTube or otherwise?

NH: YES! I've got two really killer concepts that I think would be a huge hit on YouTube. One requires a decent budget, makeup and effects, and one just requires the time. Oh, I'd also like to do another YouTube channel like Sunshine only gear it toward a little older, male audience, work to keep it as real as possible, and really try to freak people out. And TV, I've got a couple fun concepts I've been trying to get a network to notice for a while now. Here's a pilot for one http://vimeo.com/12270524

BR: Check it out folks! Thanks Nick. Good luck on the further adventures of Sunshine.

NH: Thanks a lot. Good luck on the blog!

NEWS!!
Sunshine's Black Eye Kids movie... they need your support!

Go to Kickstarter

Saturday, October 29, 2011

BadRonald Gets a Big Fan



I believe the quote was "... imBadRonald... love him, by the way..."

Yes!  I've made the big time -- a fan!!  Not jut any fan, either, but a fan who has, well... real fans!!  Loads of them.  Now, if I could get all my interview subjects to heap on the accolades...

Friday, October 21, 2011

The Haunting of Sunshine Girl -- Why Are You Not Watching This!!

A Girl.  Her Bedroom.  Her Camera. A Ghost.


"CAN'T EAT THAT CHEX MIX!"

There are some things in our pop culture lives that we come across, quite by accident, which just make you wonder -- how could I not have known about this before?  Sorta like the original The Office.  Never watched it on BBC America.  Then I heard about it and had to hunt down the DVDs.  Loved it.  And now Ricky Gervais is the best thing that's happened to comedy since Tim Conway!!

So... when I discovered The Haunting of Sunshine Girl -- again, quite by accident (don't ask), I figured I'd better latch on to this one, 'cause it's gonna blow up!  Really... it's good stuff.

There's a crud load of pretty young things all over the Internets, vlogging their miseries and joys, and occasional guitar strummings -- thanks lonelygirl15!  And some of them have become quite famous -- no thanks Biebs!  As usual, much of the stuff is pure nose goblins.  So many people looking for stardom, and none of them with near enough talent to get on the local carpeting store's cable TV commercial.  But then, sometimes you run across something that sticks out.

Sunshine Girl (no real name given) is a 16 year old girl (now 17), who has decided to start a YouTube video blog, to try and convince her Mom, and everyone else who will listen, that she has ghosts in her house.  What follows is a list of video entries, totaling near 300 in a 10 month time frame, where Sunshine encounters a strange neighbor, Creepy Lady, who shows up unexpectedly with foreboding, eerie warnings; strange messages and photos of people with pillow cases over their heads; a Creepy Man who attacks her, while she investigates her estranged father's house; haunted house busting; and a cult-like sacrifice on a rainy, stormy night.
Who dat!

But, let's not jump the gun here!  This is no Blair Witch or Paranormal Activity.  This ain't no creepy, scare the skinnies off you type of ghost story.  It's really all quite unique.  And that can be attributed to two factors.  First, is show creator Nick Hagen (along with Sunshine's Mom) who has crafted an idea about a Gilmore Girls like mother and daughter, who are just so having some paranormal activity around their home unit. The show is primarily spun from the POV of Sunshine and her Flip-style phone.  And what is genius about it isn't all the ghostly activity, but rather the relaxed pacing.  It takes several episodes (all about 2.5 minutes in length, with some a bit longer) before we ever encounter anything remotely strange. And when Sunshine finally does share some of the activity with the viewers, it's all pretty much -- whatevs!  It's like, hey there, I'm Sunshine, blah blah blah... This is my life, and stuff, and oh yeah -- I have ghosts.

This is the second -- and key factor -- that Sunshine isn't your average TV show material.  Yes, she's wonderfully adorable and very cute -- but she's not the latte chugging fashion slave (or a booze guzzling teen mom in the making), who is boy bait for the all the floppy-haired high school Casanovas (or rather, Troy Boltons) who we find on every other teenage show.  No, Sunshine is holding to no one, but herself... and her Mom, who she adores.  She's an individual.  Strong, but flawed.  And with a mind of her own.  When she speaks to the camera (usually held at her own arm's length), she has a geeky, bubbly confidence, and a quick wit, that is endearing not just to the boys, but as well to the girls.  She's like the protagonist in a Judy Blume novel, or that friend of the kid in those 70s After School Specials, who the boy has a secret crush on, but will never tell her, because she has no real interest in anything but having a good time with her friends.  It's terribly refreshing to find a girl on a show that is just fine with who she is, with no need or desire to be defined by anyone else but herself (now, that's "girl power" for you Spice Girls!).

The Haunting of Sunshine Girl is a gem of a show... and yeah -- it's a show.  Part of the experience of watching and enjoying Sunshine Girl is the wild response it gets from some viewers.  Like Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity, and the many caught-on-tape shockers, it doesn't announce itself as a fictional piece of work.  It also doesn't announce that it's real, either.  And this, of course, is by design.  Part of the fun of these mockumentaries is the acceptance that they are not real, along with the giddy hidden desire that maybe, just maybe, they are!!  Hell, no one went and saw Avatar and came out all steaming mad, because it looked so damn real, but was all animated.  But, really, for a few good yucks, you should check out some of the, umm... non-fans of Sunshine Girl who work so diligently -- with blogs and other YouTube channels -- to "debunk" the fictional world of Sunshine.

I had the brilliant opportunity to sit and chat with Sunshine and her Mom, to have a behind-the-scenes look at their little show (that I predict will blow up soon enough!!)  We talk about ghosts, h8rs, Cheetos, and how to be a good role model...
Let the Sunshine in


BadRonald – I know there are still a few people out there who have not seen your show.  So, can you give them a tantalizing summery?

Mom – The way we usually explain it is Paranormal Activity meets Gilmore Girls, with a little Easy A thrown in.  It’s a girl who sets out to prove her house is haunted. And decides to record the videos and throw them up on YouTube, and low and behold, people are interested.

BR – You know, I admire how you guys paced the show.  You didn’t jump in, with the early episodes, with ghosts jumping out all over.  It’s like a regular teen girl blog, and “Oh, yeah… I have ghosts…”

Mom – Yeah, we rally wanted it to seem authentic, and very much like people would be watching a friend.  We didn’t want to complicate it.  We just wanted to keep it really simple, and that’s what are formula was.  Nothing about it has been accidental.  It’s all been very specific and on purpose.  We like to call it “unscripted fictional reality.”  It’s not scripted.  It’s all ad-libed.  There’s a story and plot lines, but Sunshine does not have (written) lines.

Sunshine – Nope… I make everything up.

BR – No dialogue is scripted?  It’s all you?

Sunshine – Yes.

Mom – Yup. (to Sunshine) You’re a genius!

She gives her a high-five. Then air-fives me.

Mom -- A Skype high-five!

BR—Ah!  Skype five.  Our timing is off so, I’m swatting at thin air.

Mom – It’s all good.

BR – So, the idea behind this all comes from the show’s creator, Nick Hagen.

Mom—Yes, Nick Hagen. The genius behind the curtain.

Sunshine – He’s Oz.

Mom – He is Oz.  And we were talking about this earlier, that he is totally cool with staying behind the scenes on this.  You know, doesn’t feel like he needs credit for everything.  Although, anyone who knows anything about the show, knows that… you now – it’s a show.  So, he likes to let it be that.

BR—Speaking of that it’s just a show (and not reality), some people have really gotten testy when they figure it out.

Mom—Little bit.

BR—Does that bother you – people who get mad when they discover that it’s fiction – but still need to debunk it?  Or do you see it as part of the whole thing?

Suddenly, Mom moves to the computer on another desk, and lets Sunshine take center stage. She taps away quickly on the keyboard, with Sunshine trying to peek over her shoulder.

Mom—I’m gonna let Sunshine handle that.  I actually have to delete something off the wall that somebody just said that’s… been posted (coincidentally) as we’re talking about this.
The Ghoulmore Girls

Sunshine— Yeah, it’s just part of it.  For me, it’s kinda like, I don’t get too invested in what people say about me, because they don’t know me as well – They think they do, but they don’t.

BR—It’s very easy to be brave and write nasty things – like call you fake – while safely under the anonymity of the Interwebs.

Sunshine— Exactly.

Mom—We actually filter the comments, so Sunshine doesn’t see the really nasty stuff.  She knows it’s out there, but you know – she’s seventeen.  Let’s let her be seventeen a little longer. And honesty, we were shocked that anybody really believed it was real. We understand that very early, like maybe in the first five or so videos… But, since unicorn levitated…?  Really?  Really?

They both have a chuckle at this.

Mom—We never set out for people to think that it was anything other than Paranormal Activity.  It’s the Blair Witch Project.  So, when people started getting really angry about it… You know, we didn’t put it out there that we were actors or any of that.  Nobody would have heard about Blair Witch if they had come out and said “This is just a story…”  So, when it came down to people saying “This is fake,” and “You suck,” “You’re all liars,” -- we say -- hey we’re actorsWe’re playing a part.

BR—So, as actors, what then is next for Sunshine Girl?

Mom—We have a ton of plans.  Halloween is going to be busy for us.  We have more channels. We just launched more channels.  We’ve got Uncle Tommy’s YouTube Confessions.

BR—I saw that.  Good stuff.

[Uncle Tommy is a recurring character from Haunting of Sunshine Girl, and friend of Mom and Sunshine]

Mom—Yeah, it turned out that people really loved Tommy.

Sunshine – I love Tommy!

Mom—We were like – yes! We were thrilled!  So we’ve got lots of big plans.  Maybe, taking Sunshine to new mediums.  Maybe see Sunshine in other forms… that’s all we’ll say about that.

BR—Oh, no secrets revealed to me?

Mom—Just a tease, there.
I hear something...

BR—How about you, Sunshine.  Would you, or are you, thinking of moving outside of Sunshine and maybe taking a try at other projects or possibilities?

Sunshine—College is next year, so that’s exciting.  But, with Sunshine, as far as that goes, we’re gonna keep going with that until people get tired of it.

Mom—“Til their sick of Sunshine.

Sunshine—Yeah, until they’re tired of me – which doesn’t seem to be anytime too soon, thankfully.

BR—And you’ve been at this for nearly a year?

Sunshine—This December it’ll be a year.

BR—So, you’ve got another whole year to do this, and then it’s off to College?

Sunshine—Yes.

BR—A haunted college?  Are there any?

Sunshine—Yeah!  I’ll have to look into that.

Mom—The plan is to keep right on going.  If the audience is liking it, then we’re having a great time.  We love it.  We’re having so much fun.  We love working together.  We’re best friends.  We’re having a blast!

BR --What’s the schedule like on your show – shooting wise.  Do you come up with an idea, and shoot?  Or do you block off a bunch?

Mom – We usually go a couple times a month, and shoot somewhere between 15 to 30 episodes at a time.  It depends on how complicated the scenes are.  Like the sacrifice scene was all in one night.  Kind of a big production – we actually brought in rain towers.  We hired a special FX artist to come in – who was also the stunt guy -- that Sunshine hits with the car [In another episode].  We had a special FX makeup artist who came is, as well, to turn me into the demon.  That was not a mask, but makeup.

BR – Nice!  Real production value!

Sunshine – Yes.

Mom—And that’s where all the money goes to.  The money we get goes right back in, to pay for these people who are willing to come in and use their skills to make it all work.  You know, it’s not easy to get a guy to let your 17 year old daughter hit him with a car.

Sunshine – Yeah… Hadn’t even had my permit for a year.

Mom – Hey Jerry!  How’d you like to have my daughter, who hasn’t been driving yet for a year, hit you with a car?  You cool with that?  He’s like “yeah!”  And we’ll pay you for it!  “Yeah, wohoo!!”

BR – How many times did he get run over?

Mom -- Yeah. Exactly!  We’re really proud that we’ve been able to pay all of our actors and our crew.  That’s a big deal.  That’s where all of our money goes.  You know, people say it’s really cheesy, and over the top.  But, whatever it is – we’re trying to make a good webseries that breaks out and entertains people, and gets people to watch.  We’re not out to say, you know… ghosts are going to hurt you.  Or, that cults are “good.”  We’re not trying to lead any children astray. 

Sunshine – Well… maybe.

Mom – Yeah!  Sunshine was!

BR – That’s one of the qualities I like about Sunshine – that it’s generally good clean fun.

Mom – Yeah BadRonald!  High five!!  Yeah, we really try.  We try at making this as family-friendly as it can be, while still keeping it creepy.  You know… Sunshine here – she won’t even wear a tank top.  I’ve tried.

Sunshine – She does try…

Mom – You know, if I could get her in a bikini – I would!

Sunshine – She does… try…

BR – There was even a time, on one of the trip episodes, where an OMG slipped out.  And you called her on it.

Mom – Mhmm!  There’s a lot of people who watch the show, together, as a family.  And we love that!  We love that moms and daughters are sitting down to watch it together. 

BR – Do you, Sunshine, see yourself as a role model, at all?  I don’t mean that you set out to, or that you have established yourself as one.  But, do you accept the idea that you could be a role model?

Sunshine – Me!  I didn’t expect to be a role model.  But, then, this happens and I’m like “Yeah!  I’m okay with being a role model.”  I’ll be like Lady Ga-Ga.  I’ll be cool like that.  Yeah.

BR – Good.  It’s good to see that, in this market that’s saturated with all the Disney stuff, or Nickelodeon stuff, that you’re doing some good straight forward… you know… girl power stuff.

They both get a nice chuckle at that.

Mom – It’s been a happy accident.  And she’s become a good role model.  She’s brave, and she’s out-going, and she’s… different.  You know, what you see is this girl – Sunshine.  And it’s not fake.  The ghost?  Okay… okay, there’s no ghost in her house – you don’t have to print that if you don’t want to!  Actually – who knows!  There may be a ghost in our house.  There have been a couple EVPs that we did not put in.

Sunshine – It’s been weird, yeah…

Mom – Not gonna lie to ya.  Yeah!  So, it is actually very possible that house is haunted… But, the real people seem so drawn to (The Haunting of Sunshine Girl) is because Sunshine is so genuine.  The relationship that you see on the show is really the relationship that we have.  [Looking to Sunshine and joking]  You know, we’d look at each other and wonder why a camera crew isn’t always following us around!

Sunshine – All the time.

Mom – We’re hilarious!  We should have out own reality show.

Sunshine – We’re so funny, it’s ridiculous.

Mom – And modest.

Sunshine – Yes.  So humble.

Mom – Yeah, humble.  And you can see, we’re both so much alike.

BR – I’m seeing the Gilmore Girls.  You guys are fans?

They both nod their heads delightedly, and pump fists.

Mom – We love Gilmore Girls.  And Veronica Mars.

Sunshine – [sing songy] Veronica Maaaars!  For three. Short. Seasons!

Mom – Our two favorite comments we get a lot is that no mother and daughter has that relationship.  And we’re like, yeah, none.

Sunshine – Yeah… none.

Smile... Oh, uh nevermind
Mom – And the other is that – couldn’t you find actors that look more a like?

To this, they put their heads together to demonstrate the point.

Sunshine – Really.  My mother. 

Mom – I am.

Sunshine – She gave birth to me.

Mom – Yeah… painful, too!

Sunshine – Oh my god.  I wasn’t even that big.  I was 6 pounds.

Mom – But I didn’t have drugs, though.

Sunshine – Well, that’s not my fault you didn’t get there fast enough.  Jeez.

Mom – We tried.

BR – Yeah, see… you guys are so faking it.

Laugh.

BR – What shows do you like now?

Mom – [To Sunshine] Go!

Sunshine – Oh!  NCIS. Nikita. Project Runway.

Mom – That’s just her, because I don’t watch NCIS or  Nikita.

Sunshine – Nikita’s so good!

Mom – We like the new Pan Am.

Sunshine – Pan Am!!

BR – I agree!

Mom – We’re loving Pan Am. We’re still trying to catch up on Friday Night Lights.

Sunshine – We’re so behind.

Mom – We’re busy.  She’s busy.

BR – Chasing ghosts.

Sunshine – Yup.
Howdy Neighbor

BR – So… Cheetos or Cheez-its?

Sunshine – I’m gluten free.  So – Cheetos.  They’re made of corn.  So, Cheez-its, I can’t.  Made with gluten, so… and Cheese Nips – the off brand.  Same thing.  Can’t eat them.

BR – Forget Cheese Nips.  Cheez-its are the way to go.  How about Cheese Doodles?

Sunshine – I’ve never heard of those.  What are those?

Mom – That must be a NY thing.

Sunshine – Oh, NY… I want me some Cheese Doodles!

BR – So, you guys are not Horror fans, I understand?

Mom – No!!  Not the scary stuff!

Sunshine – I’ve watched one horror movie, and it scared the heck out of me.

BR – Just one!

Sunshine – Haunting in Connecticut. “There’s bodies in the wall!  There’s bodies in the wall!”

Mom – No, we don’t watch that stuff -- that scary stuff.

Sunshine – She didn’t even see it.

Mom – I didn’t even see it.  I saw Sixth Sense.  That was scary.

Sunshine – No it wasn’t.

Mom – Yes, it was!

Sunshine – Like, three seconds of it was scary.

Mom – No, it was scary.

Sunshine – I didn’t even finish it.

BR – Because you were scared.

Sunshine – Because I got bored.

Mom – You should’ve finished it. Yeah – really, we wouldn’t have watched our own show!

Sunshine – No!  No no.

BR – Okay -- one thing we don’t know abut you?

Sunshine – One thing you don’t know about me…?  Hmmm… [time killing sing song] I got nuthin’

BR – How about school – what’s you favorite class?

Sunshine – In school, now?  Or favorite class I’ve ever taken?

BR – Ever taken.

Sunshine – Human Biology.

Mom --  Isn’t she weird?

Sunshine – It was so good!  It was amazing. I loved that class.

BR – Did you have to do frogs or anything like that?

Sunshine – We did a sheep’s heart… A cow’s eye…

BR – Wha!

Sunshine – Yeah, it was really gross.  We had to take apart all these animal parts.  We did a cat…

BR – Cat brain?

Sunshine – Yes, I think that might’ve been what it was.  I don’t remember, but  loved that class.
Such a nice lad...

BR – How about Literature.  You like reading?

Sunshine – Love reading.  Reading is super fun.

BR – What books?

Sunshine – Hmm… you see this is where – I like scary books!  I like mysteries, and stories that twist and turn.  Not necessarily like death and gore, but… yeah, I have a huge bookcase full of all my books.

BR – You’re a Jane Austin fan, right?  Is she your favorite?

Sunshine – The movie Pride and Prejudice is my favorite.  But, I love Neil Gaiman.  He’s my favorite author.  He’s amazing.  Probably, Neverwhere is my favorite book.

BR – So, how many viewers does the Haunting of Sunshine Girl have now?

Mom – Over 11,000 subscribers.  And, we also have a lot of viewers who don’t subscribe, but watch.  It’s funny with that, because we think there may be sort of a secret shame for watching the show.  We kinda think there’s a bunch a people who watch, but don’t tell, you know, their friends.  Especially boys.

Sunshine – Yeah…

Mom – Oh, and speaking of boys… we’ve had a lot of trouble with boys hating Nolan [One of the newer teen characters, who helps Sunshine and Mom with some of the mystery and intrigue]. Boys of all age.

Sunshine – Adult men!

Mom – Yeah, so many will say “He sucks…”  When the word they’re really looking for is jealous!  The girls love him, though.

BR – Safe to say, there’ll be more of Nolan.

Mom – Yes, more Nolan.  Also, more Uncle Tommy.  We also have some great stuff coming up for Halloween.  On the 29th (of October), we’ll have a special live event.

Sunshine – I’m wearing a costume!!

BR – You gonna tell me what it is?

Sunshine – No!  You don’t get to see until you tune in.  Gotta tune in.

Mom --  October 29.  Noon PST to see Sunshine’s Halloween costume.  And…

Sunshine – And live Fan Appreciation Daaaay!

Mom – Sunshine will answer your questions – live.  And!  At the end, when she’s all tired and we log off, there will be a special... very creepy… scary video.

Sunshine – [Ghostly voice] Yup!

Mom – People will be able to write in their questions, whether it be via FaceBook, YouTube or Twitter.  And Sunshine will take the questions and record her answers… Like, Barny asks…

Sunshine – Barny asks, from Jimmiestown, NY – what’s your favorite cereal?  And I say --  whatever it is!

BR – What is it?

Sunshine – Oh!  Corn Chex.  I’m so lame…

BR – Chex Party Mix at Christmas?

Sunshine – Except you can’t eat Chex Mix, ‘cause half of it’s not even gluten free.  Pretzels.  Full of gluten.

BR – How about substituting with something, like bagel bits.  But no –

Sunshine – Yeah, bagel bits.  Gluten, too.  So hard being me.

Mom – I think you have the title of your blog post –

Sunshine – “Can’t Eat That Chex Mix.”

BR – Will there be any cross-over action with your other shows?

Sunshine – Well, two of the three are me, so the other is Uncle Tommy’s.

Mom – I’ve been on Uncle Tommy,  But, we have some stuff planned that we can’t talk about yet, with some other channels.  We’re starting to expand to outside of Sunshine’s universe, too.

BR – Now, Coat Tale Productions – was that previously established, or did that spring from Sunshine Girl?

Mom – When we decided that we were going to do more that Haunting of Sunshine Girl, Nick and I formed Coat Tale Productions.  The idea behind it was that we wanted to do this and bring along all our friends along with us.  Oregon film is a very tight knit group, and we have people who we love to work with.  The reason we have Creepy Lady in our videos is because we love the actress Adrianne, who plays her.

Sunshine – I love Adrianne!

Mom – Originally Nick wrote Creepy Lady as an old woman.  And I was like, “No  You know who’s creepy?  Adrianne.  Adrianne’s creepy.  Let’s put her in!”  Uncle Tommy is a great friend in our lives, so we waited until we could bring him in, in a way that would work and we could keep him around.  So, we saw Coat Tail Productions as more of a family thing.  We formed an LLC and we’re looking to produce in new media.

Sunshine – And… what about your seventeen year old?

Mom – My seventeen year old?

Sunshine – Your seventeen year old producer.  You forgot.

Mom – My seventeen year old is a producer, yes.  She’s the third part of out little production group.  She’s a producer – which is gonna come in handy when she’s applying for colleges.  It’s gonna be like, “Yeah… producer.  What’ve you done?”

BR – “World’s youngest producer – what’up?  What’ve you done?”

Mom – “Four million views on YouTube – ba-da-doosh!

Sunshine – [soto] “Ba-da-doosh?”

Mom – Yeah, this has been good for her.  She’s learning a ton.  She’s taken to it like a duck on water.  She’s incredibly, incredibly professional. When we were at the creepy house location, with the Creepy Man –

Sunshine – Not be confused with Creepy Lady.

Mom –  (At that location) it was the first time we had a crew, instead of just her and I and Nick. At one point, we were all sorta like goofing off, and we Sunshine here was like “C’mon, let’s get this shot!”  She’s totally in this, making creative decisions.  She helps with the casting.  She’s definitely the one who had final call on casting Maxwell as Nolan – which wasn’t easy, to try and cast a boy who was cute and could keep up with Sunshine –

Sunshine – It’s very hard keeping up with me.  I’m very riveting.

Mom – And could do the ad lib.  Which, is not that easy.  Oh!  And to hold the camera!!

Sunshine – Not easy… Sometimes you get half the face, and other times you can’t even hear them.  They forget that they had the camera, and suddenly [gesturing holding the camera at arm’s length] the hold it out and nobody's there.  No one’s in the shot.

Mom – It’s interesting bringing in other actors, because we’ve been doing this on our own for 8 months.

BR – Pros.

Sunshine – Yeah!

Mom – …At this style.

Sunshine – But, nothing else.  We can’t do anything else.

Mom – I’ve been acting since I was a year old.

Sunshine – I’ve been since I was six.

Mom – So… we’ve been doing this for a while.  She’s done a lot of modeling.

Sunshine – Foot model.

Mom – I’ve done a ton of voice over.  Stuff for Nintendo – I’m the voice of Princess Rosalina, for Mario Cart and Super Mario Galaxy 1&2.  Lot of film – What the Bleep Do We Know. Lots of local stuff – Oregon.

BR – Famous last words?

Mom – Thank you!  You’ve touched on stuff that a lot of other people don’t get to.  So… Please, everyone stick around for October 29th!! We’ve got some really cool surprises.

Sunshine – Thanks!  Tune in!!




So... go tune into the show at the YouTubes

And... as, Sunshine would sign off with -- blah!