By Kenn Gold 

Photo by Laura Burke, via IMDB.

MediaBlvd> What was it like doing a horror movie?  That’s something different than what we’ve seen you in before.

Jessica>  It was actually really challenging.  I found the horror genre to be harder, because its not something that you can really relate to unless you’ve been in a life with those situations.  So I did actually find it to be a lot harder than I thought it would be.

MediaBlvd> Were you a fan of the horror genre before doing this movie?

Jessica>  I didn’t used to be when I was younger.  It was just too scary for me, but in the past year or two I’ve become a really big horror fan, or I’m starting to be.  I was terrified of Candyman from the time I was eight, until I was about eighteen.  The horror genre wasn’t really my thing.

MediaBlvd> Where did you film the movie? It looked like it was kind of a fun location.  Was that a real ghost town?

Jessica>  We filmed it in Bulgaria, actually.  It was crazy.  I got offered the film, and it was going to be filmed in Bulgaria, so I was like, “Ok, here’s another adventure!”

MediaBlvd> How is that filming there compared to LA or Vancouver?

Jessica>  It’s kind of like a machine over there.  It’s all American productions that come to this set that’s built up in the middle of a field.  They have a soundstage and everything down there too, so you really forget that you are in Bulgaria, except that all of the crew are Bulgarian.  It was cool because you got really close to the cast members, all of the American ones who spoke English, which were all of the five core cast.  That was cool to make good friends. 

MediaBlvd> How long did it take you to shoot it?  How long were you there?

Jessica>   I was there, Randy Wayne who is the main guy, and I were there for three weeks.  We flew in and out together, but I think they filmed for another week or two after we left.   They filmed the first fifteen minutes where it wasn’t our characters.

MediaBlvd> Did you get to interact with Gil Gerard or Billy Drago at all?  Or were they there at different times?

Jessica>  Yeah, we did.  We got to see them, and they were both really, really cool.  It’s great to work with someone like Billy Drago, who I used to watch on Charmed when I was younger, and to get to work with him and just see how cool he is, and how dedicated he is.  You think they are going to be rude on set or something.  I don’t know why, that’s just your immediate pre-conceived notion that they are not going to be very nice.  But he was a total gentleman, and completely sweet on the set.  Then as soon as it was action, he was just this different character, then when it was cut, he was back to being Billy Drago.  I didn’t really get to work with Gil as much, because his stuff was shot after we left.  But we didn’t really work together much.

MediaBlvd> What was the most fun and least fun parts about doing this movie?

Jessica>  I think the experience of being in a totally different country that I never would have expected to go to, and meeting all of these people from around the world.  Annabelle Wallis and I have become quite good friends.  She is the blond girl who is supposed to be my enemy.  The fun part about filming with her is that we couldn’t stop laughing whenever we were in a scene together, which doesn’t really work in this genre.  Then the worst part was it’s just different.  There aren’t any bad or worst parts really, it’s just a different thing than you are used to.  Maybe the weather extremes; it went from boiling hot during the day to freezing cold at night.  Your wardrobe was never really comfortable.  It was either too cold or too hot. 

MediaBlvd> Is there a pretty modern infrastructure around in the city and whatever?

Jessica>  Yeah, we were staying in a nice hotel that had breakfast for us every morning, and was one of the better hotels in Sofia.  But it’s definitely not as modern as America or the United Kingdom.  But I like that kind of thing, I like to go and experience different cultures.  It was cool.

MediaBlvd> I’d like to shift gears here for a bit, and ask about what the Internet means for aspiring actors.  I think you; more than anyone else out there have really made a success for yourself being on the Internet, YouTube, and your web series.  Do you think that is kind of the wave of the future?

Jessica>  I think it’s great for young actors.  It really gives them a chance to showcase their ability. If they can’t get into the front door of the acting business, why not try to come in from the side.   It’s just a great way to do it yourself, and if you’re motivated, then you will.  And if your web series is good, then people will see it, and if it’s not, then nobody will.  It’s a good practice ground for a lot of people.  It’s definitely a good platform for actors, such as myself, to launch and to come on television.  It’s also a legitimate medium on its own.  You can do really good web series like Sorority Forever, which is a web production, and I’m glad that Warner Brothers and CBS and all of these places are doing these web series.  It really does make web television just completely legitimate. 

MediaBlvd> Is there going to be  a second season of Sorority Forever?

Jessica>  I keep asking Big Fantastic, I would really, really love to.  That was one of the most fun experiences I ever had, and some of the most fun times I’ve ever had on the set with all of those people.  We just all got really close, so I’m really hoping for a season 2.

MediaBlvd> Now how about lonelygirl15.  Does that character haunt you, or do you get asked about that role a lot?

Jessica>  It kind of comes with the territory.  I take it for what it is.  It helped me, and I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t done it.  But yeah, it’s sort of one of those things like, “Yeah, that was a character I played three years ago.”  But people do always want to talk about it.  But I just have to deal with that and move forward, and find something equally as big to move on to.

MediaBlvd> Let’s talk about Greek for a second.  I was really upset when Jen K got written off on the show.  Was that because you were leaving to go do something else, or just the story?

Jessica>  No, the thing with Greek was I was only ever supposed to do one episode.  In the pilot episode, I have one line.  That was all I was ever supposed to do.  But I was sort of improving on the set on that day, and made friends with all of the actresses and they really liked me.  They were like, “Oh, I want her to come back if we get picked up.”  The writer, Sean Smith was like, “Would you want to come back?”  Obviously, I would want to come back, so they had me read for a few more lines, and I ended up getting 11 episodes.  So I’m sad that I’m not still on it because I loved that show.  But at the same time, it’s amazing that I got to do that many episodes when I was only supposed to have one line. 

MediaBlvd> Where do you see your career going?  What do you want to be doing 10 years from now?

Jessica>  I learned from lonelygirl that being ultra-famous is not something I’m really interested in.  While it was exciting at the time, I’m really private.  I mean I’d take blockbusters and everything if it came my way, but I think in ten years, I’d like to have a career similar to someone like Catherine Keener.  I think she makes really good choices, and she does a lot of independent movies.  You don’t see her in the tabloids, but she is an amazing actress.  She has a great range whether it is drama or comedy. 

MediaBlvd> Do you ever see yourself getting into writing or directing, of the technical side of films?

Jessica>  Yeah, I just took a screen writing class at the New York Film Academy.   I had to stop halfway through, so I’m going to be doing the rest of it soon.  But I took that course there.  My friend Taryn and I are trying to get a production company going.  This was already announced a little bit early, but we’ve been working on trying to get something together with the two of us.  Taryn Southern was also in Sorority Forever.  So I’ve been writing stuff at home, it’s just a long process, it takes forever!

MediaBlvd> So what else are you working on?  Where are we going to see you next?

Jessica>  I don’t know, I have no idea.  I just did some episodes of The Crew, which is a web series by Brett Register, that’s hosted by Babelgum.com online.  I think that show comes out on Monday.  Then I’ve been doing a recurring character on Poor Paul, which  is another web series produced by Yousef Abu-Taleb who was on lonelygirl with me.  He came ans asked me to do it as a favor and I loved the show, so I ended up doing a few more episodes, and now we’re trying to find funding for a season 3.