Criminal Minds star Kirsten Vangsness wants to share some really exciting news with us! -
OK!
At long last here we are.
I thought it would be fun to share these with the CM fans because I have an amazing job because y'all watch the tv when the show I'm on is on and as a result of my amazing job I have more resources to create stuff and for that I am ETERNALLY APPRECIATIVE.
SO. Last year a group of us at Theatre of NOTE did a film noir spoof play called "Kill Me, Deadly" . It was a big hit, I was lucky enough to have very understanding bosses at Criminal Minds as well as a crazy talented understudy at NOTE so I was able to be in it while we were shooting CM and every one of my CM cast mates came to my artistic home to watch it (Shemar came 3 times because he loves me and Theatre of NOTE like that).When the show closed 8 of us including 6 actors from the play, the writer and the producer (in small theatre the producer is not the one with the money, he's just the guy doing a lot of grunt work for free) decided to make a movie of "Kill Me Deadly". Our intention was to make a movie using the same DIY spirit and sense of community that we had while doing the play and so we started our journey with all 8 of us as producers (in the grunt work sense, plus the happy addition of me having a fancy day job)
I am DELIGHTED to report that as of this email typing we have done just that, however, since it's a complicated endeavour to be a group of theatre rapscallions making a film by our own rules we are filming this film in bite sized pieces. Thus far we have exactly one "bite" done. It's a 17 minute bite of our film (some would call it a short film) and I can tell you it is delicious. And yes, it's delish because it's hilarious, and Shemar Moore, dear patron of the arts and honorary NOTE member that he is, has a cameo which he is brilliant in (did you know btw he can make his eyes twinkle on CUE?!?), it's also amazing because the actual FILMING of it was happy, cooperation magic and kept completely in line with what we had dreamed of. We built the dolly for the camera ourselves, one of the actors in the film was the director of photography, the writer was the director, we did the catering ourselves, the make-up ourselves, we filmed at a restaurant a few steps from Theatre of NOTE, the music was written by Theatre of NOTE family and EVERY actor, whether you had no lines or a million got paid (75 bucks, across the board).
A month ago when our 17 minute short was done me and my fellow producers had two screenings- one screening was like a party and we all dressed in 1940's outfits and it was at night and there was adult beverages and snacks (that's when Rachel, Matthew, AJ, and Shemar first saw it) one screening we did at lunch hour one day at work (that's when Joe and Thomas saw it:) because we wanted to have the whole cm family be a part of it. Both were spectacular and heart warming and filled with a great many belly laughs.
Now that CM is on hiatus we are continuing to shoot more pages of the film. It's far from done and it may take a bit but that's okay because we are making it exactly how it should be made and sometimes that takes a bit. I want to include you from the very beginning of it and I will continue to reach out and share news. I will start with these pictures, some are stills from the movie and some are from the screening. I hope you enjoy them.
Thank you guys so much for unending support and love. I can always feel it and I send it right back to you. My love smells like cookies and/or wet sidewalk so when you smell that, it's my love.
Love,
Kirsten
