Interview with Rachael Robbins - Blondezilla
By: Arthur Jefferson

"Over 90% of the films that I watch are horror movies," insists Rachael Robbins, a former Playboy model. "I love them. I'm particularly fond of vampires, they're so sensuous. I think Grace Jones, who played the title role in VAMP, personifies the appeal of this predator. Very sexy!" Robbins' passion for horror films is reflected in her choice of roles. She's routinely cast in low-budget genre films that are shot in her native New York. Credits include the likes of SCREAMING DEAD, IN SEARCH OF LOVECRAFT, THE BODY SHOP, VAMPIRE LESBIAN KICKBOXERS and a series of BIKINI BLOODBATH movies. Not surprisingly, she's often cast in movies that blend horror and comedy, a hybrid that may be prompted by her own infectious sense of humor. The role that may afford Robbins multi-media visibility is her embodiment of Blondezilla, a "half blonde bombshell, half homage to Toho's classic monster": Robbins' likeness, as the "tempestuous human reptile," will be rendered into a comic book and an 18-inch resin statue (the latter sculpted by classic illustrator Daniel Horne). Next stop: BLONDEZILLA, THE MOVIE!

Arthur Jefferson: You made your movie debut in LITTLE SHOP OF EROTICA is a sort of marginal fantasy film (alluding, at least nominally, to magic and sorcery): any significant recollections of the movie? Did you enjoy as good rapport with Marilyn Chambers, the star of the film?
Rachael Robbins: LITTLE SHOP OF EROTICA is one of those movies that I wish would fade into obscurity, but it's actually the film on my resume that gets the most airplay! It's a bad movie, I'm a bad actress in it. It was my first film ever. I had no training or experience and it really shows! Marilyn was a mean old cow who had no patience. So, needless to say, my rapport with her was less then "good". My line delivery was so horrendous that I could actually hear the crew chuckling! But the good thing was that I was at a place in my life where I was broke and directionless and was considering taking-up stripping as a living! But then I booked this gig and it gave me hope that I was destined for something more than an erotic dancer! It made me believe that I could be an actress. So it was pivotal to my future. Now here I am in my future, making a living as an actress, and I'm really happy and thankful for this little shit-eous film!

AJ: Could you enlighten us to your past work for Playboy? Did you apply some of this experience to your film roles?
RR: I booked my first job for Playboy while I was living in Miami. It was a video called GIRLS IN UNIFORM. I had wanted to work for Playboy since I was a little girl. Most kids want to grow up to be ballerinas or nurses. I wanted to be a centerfold! I am very close with my parents and an only child. So, naturally, I had to call my dad to make sure he was okay with me doing this video. He said he'd think about it and get back to me. He finally called me back and said "Rach, as long as you never lose your integrity, anything you do is alright with me...OH, but could you use a different name?" And that's why I used the "Nicolette Tyler" pseudonym for my first few projects; my middle name is Nicole Tyler, which I though sounded too close to Nikki Tyler, the porn star. When I started acting, I realized that Playboy is an asset on any actress' resume, so I started going by my real name. I also decided that if any of my parent's friends saw me, they would still know it was me even if my name was changed, so that was kind of silly! Since that first video, I have done two more videos, three television shows and appeared in Playboy's Book of Lingerie three times. And, in a few months, I will be appearing on a limited edition trading card which I am really excited about. I never applied my Playboy experience to acting. It's two very different animals. Playboy work is more like modeling. But the time I appeared on Playboy's SEX COURT televison series, opposite Julie Strain, I got to do some really great acting. Playboy had wanted me to do SEX COURT for years and kept sending me scripts, but they were all so absurd and not funny. Then they sent me the script for the episode titled Bada Bang and it was hilarious! A total SOPRANOS rip-off! So I did it and I'm really glad.

The evolvement of the Blondezilla sculpture (Rachael's likeness).

AJ: You played a plum role in SCREAMING DEAD but, to my recollection, you circumvented nude scenes. Was it your goal to validate your acting aptitude?
RR: I never want to do nudity in films and have turned down numerous roles because of this. Now I charge a really high day rate for nudity and insist on having total control of the context of the nudity. Brett Piper was the director of that film and, from what I recall, he held me on a high pedestal and was not interested in getting me naked. He is actually not fond of nudity in his films at all but realizes it's a required "evil" in independently-produced horror films. But I am always trying to validate my acting aptitude. It's the norm for an attractive girl in the horror world.

AJ: Supported by William Smith (CONAN THE BARBARIAN, GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE), you starred in THE BODY SHOP. But this horror film has fell through the cracks!
RR: THE BODY SHOP was shot in Tennessee. It was directed by Donald Farmer (VAMPIRE COP), who is a sweetheart. It was a tough shoot. There were long days where, after ten hours of shooting, I'd have to steal twenty minutes of sleep on a garage's cement floor when I could, just to get through the next hour of shooting. The character I played was the heroine, the one that waves the ambulance down the road before the credits roll. It was a great role. I'm not sure what happened to that movie. I think it got distribution.

AJ: You were attached to a film called VAMPIRE LESBIAN KICKBOXERS. What's up with that?
RR: Nothing is up with VAMPIRE LESBIAN KICKBOXERS!! I auditioned for that because I thought the title was brilliant and catchy, not dissimilar to ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES. I try to do films that have catchy titles with the hopes that, even if they end up sucking, people will still rent them based on the ridiculous title. I just finished shooting a film called ORAGAMI DEATHMATCH and, of course, I'm cast in the BIKINI BLOODBATH omnibus! Unfortunately, in my opinion, VAMPIRE LESBIAN KICKBOXERS fell short of campy, not having nearly enough vampirism, lesbianism or kickboxing! But every time someone looks at my resume, they ask me about this film. It's a shame nothing ever happened with it.

Rachael posing in Dan Horne's studio.

AJ: You appeared in a Bravo cable-television special called 100 SCARIEST MOVIE MOMENTS; you were linked to a list of iconic genre spokespersons, including Clive Barker, John Carpenter, Stuart Gordon, Peter Jackson, et al. Could you describe your input to the show?
RR: Working on 100 SCARIEST MOVIE MOMENTS was awesome! And they televise it every Halloween!! I get oodles of calls, from friends and family all over the country, every time it airs. And, yes, the company I keep in this show is totally top shelf. I felt beyond honored to be asked to be a part of it. They actually had me back, after my initial interview session, to fill all the holes they needed to fill.

AJ: Which horror films are your personal favorites?
RR: My three favorite horror films are HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES, 28 DAYS LATER and SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.

AJ: You've been cast in a film titled IN SEARCH OF LOVECRAFT. Could you offer some insight into the film and your own role?
RR: I play Keja, a 400-year-old witch who, thankfully, retains her youthfulness! My character dominates the last 45 minutes of the film. Keja comes to the aid of some people who have unlocked H.P. Lovecraft's mythos and set a series catastrophic events into motion. The film is a total homage to Lovecraft's work. It is very true to all the writing of Lovecraft. I didn't even know who Lovecraft was when I got cast, but I have since discovered that there are a ton of fans out there! David Holh is the writer/director. He's a great guy that I hope to work again with in the near future.

AJ: I've heard that you've been honing your acting craft on the stage. Could you please elaborate?
RR: I worked on an off-Broadway play called Pieces (of Ass) for about a year and a half. It was an amazing experience! We started off Broadway in New York City at the China Club. We went out to Hollywood where Stuff magazine sponsored our theater, which was built from scratch on a sound stage at Raleigh Studios. Then we hit the road and played the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. And we ended up at Dodger Stages in New York City as an equity production. It was quite a ride. We had celebrity "center pieces" each night to the tune of Brooke Burke, Brandy Roderick, Nicole Ritchie, Carol Alt...I could go on and on!! The show was structured like The Vagina Monologues with twelve girls doing monologues about the trials and tribulation of being a hot chick. Our tag line was "Who says pretty girls have it easy?" The monologues were true stories that really happened to the girl who wrote and performed them. I was the show's Master of Ceremonies. I compared my role to that of Joel Grey's in Cabaret. I appeared throughout the night in super hot pinup outfits and did vaudevillian-style shtick. I was also the "DJ" and closed the show with an ensemble piece called "Eminently Fuckable". It was a red carpet, star studded, limo riding, Playboy-partying, 18-month gig that will go down as one of the Top Three in my career to date. The only bad part was that I had to turn down a ton of film work and it took me a little time to get back into it. But I'd do it all over again.

AJ: You mentioned your involvement with a campy confection called BIKINI BLOODBATH...
RR: The brilliant guys from Bloodbath Pictures (Jon Gorman, Tom Seymour and Bruce Seymour) have masterminded a series of films called BIKINI BLOODBATH. I had to pass on playing the lead in Part I due to scheduling conflicts. But I came back for the second installment, BIKINI BLOODBATH 2: BIKINI CARWASH. They plan on doing eight movies in the franchise-an octology, if you will-the next being BIKINI BLOODBATH 3: BIKINI CHRISTMAS. There are just so many great things to say about this group of filmmakers. I feel like I finally found my Christopher Guest in these guys. They are interested in assembling a group of actors together and using them in every project they do. I would be first in line for whatever they wanted to do. I even just recently shot a commercial for a carpenters pencil called The Striker. Sounds boring, right? Well, it was hysterical! These guys make me feel like I can tap into my potential 100% and they allow me to use it with support and encouragement. I could go on and on about the BLOODBATH franchise, but I'm sure you have other questions to ask...

The creation of Blondezilla. Rachael Robbins posed as the ravishing reptile.

AJ: Could you offer us an abridged chronicle of Blondezilla, specifically the genesis of the character and its subsequent development into a resin statue?
RR: The genesis of Blondezilla came from me waking up and having a bottle of champagne for breakfast. Not with breakfast, for breakfast! Then I went to an audition. The audition inspired me to wear a big, long, dramatic hairpiece. So you get the picture: long, blonde hair down to my ass. After the audition, we went out for Mexican food, without the food...meaning just the Margaritas. I was home in quite a state by 6 PM. I kept uttering, "I am Blondezilla!!" And so the blonde monster was born. This was during the time of every comic book being made into a movie. So I set out, without a budget, to recruit any artist who I could get excited about Her Royal Blondeness to work for me-for free! I have a slew of beautiful renderings-comic book pages-and even an unfinished script which is sooo funny. Then I booked Pieces (of Ass), which kept me traveling and busy for a year and a half. So I had to put Blondezilla on sleeper mode. There is only room for one diva's development at a time in this house. But The Blonde One just won't die! Back in 1999, I talked to Daniel Horne about doing a resin statue. We ended up working on a painting-my favorite Blondezilla image to date-but that was it. Just the other day, Daniel contacted me and said that he was doing a resin kit! And the tail, which is battery-operated, lights up! Wooo Hooo!

AJ: In regard to the horror genre, do you think women's roles are becoming progressive? Or are women still saddled with the "body bag" stereotype?
RR: I'm not sure what the "body bag" stereotype is. I don't really care if women's roles are getting more progressive or not. There are all types of roles out there. If a role comes my way and it seems misogynic or exploitive, I just don't take it. If actresses complain of being exploited in their films it's because they are accepting exploitive roles. Don't sell out! Just say no. I turn down roles, don't work for awhile. But if I stick to my guns, the right roles will eventually come along. I used to feel like a was fighting the clock, that my window of opportunity was closing. But because of changing agents in my life, I realize that I can just cruise and everything will be fine.

AJ: Please tell us something about posing for Dan Horne's CREATURE OF BLACK LAGOON homage.
RR: Dan Horne rocks the Kasbah! He's the best! I would drive down to his Cherry Hill (New Jersey) studio to work with him any day! I have never been depicted so true to life as I was in his Creature from the Black Lagoon painting. I am so proud to know him and so excited, to this day, to be in that painting!!