Alabama Snake - the Darlene highlight reel

 Hey y'all! Here's a short version of the highlights of my work as Darlene in "Alabama Snake" on HBO.

Alabama Snake premieres TONIGHT!

 

Last night Carlo Carere and I attended the Drive In Movie Premiere of the HBO film, Alabama Snake. I appear as Darlene, a southern Holiness Preacher’s wife who is nearly killed by rattlesnake bite, the perpetrator of which is in question! 

It’s a documentary and it’s also an incredibly wild story with a ton of filmmaking flair! Uniquely American, too. We’ve been seeing great reviews and I wanted to share a few behind the scenes pics with you as well! 

It premieres tonight in HBO and then is available immediately after on HBO Max. Maybe later I’ll share a few of the really scary bts pics! 

I want to add that the makeup artists and effects folks really did amazing work in this project. Also, my fellow cast mates were really wonderful. Your heart’s gonna open almost as wide as your mouth on this story!!! 

#alabamasnake #laactress #screenwriter #screenwriting #hollywood #actorslife #nowplaying #makeupartist#hillbillyelegy #makeupeffects

We've been seeing some great reviews and I thought I'd share a couple blurbs and pics here with you all.

Until next time, be well and stay away from those d*** rattlesnakes, ya hear?

“Move aside, “Hillbilly Elegy”—the new HBO documentary “Alabama Snake” is the riveting (and terrifying) depiction of Appalachia that people need to see.”
-Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

"Alabama Snake takes the concept of dramatic re-enactments and applies a level of stylistic showmanship rarely seen in documentaries...Alabama Snake is shot like a horror movie, and edited and scored like one as well...Love’s stylization makes Alabama Snake stand out from the crowd."
-Katie Rife, AV Club

#AlabamaSnake .... “It’s not a story you hear every day: religion, relationships, and murder.” @hbo

Metropolitan Room of NYC, The Guinness Book of World Records, and ME!

 Hey guys! Saturday night I performed as part of the Metropolitan Zoom's

 --- formerly known as the Metropolitan Room of NYC ---

24 Hour Virtual Variety Show!

And why did we do this crazy 24 hour show?

Which, by the way, was the SECOND 24 hour show I've been a part of (only this time I didn't perform all 24 hours like I did last time) and also the SECOND TIME REGARDING THE REASON WHY:

To achieve the GUINNESS WORLD RECORD for doing so!

The first 24 hour show I ever did (on purpose anyway) was in 2017 with Taylor Mac here at the ACE in Los Angeles.

But the first Guinness World Record I was part of/ associated with was Mark Mallman's longest continuously performed song, probably circa... 2013? And I rode along and sand a wee bit of opera for the end of it.

Anyhow

for this performance, I sang a funny song and a sad song. If you prefer sad songs, skip to halfway through. If you like 'em all, here ya go:

ANNOUNCEMENT: ALABAMA SNAKE, coming to HBO later this year... and I'm in it!

A brief pause on writing about Henry to let you all know that....

I am so excited that I can finally announce this!

Last summer I had a major role in the HBO film, ALABAMA SNAKE, coming soon! 

Somehow, I'm not in this picture. Eek! But when you see the movie, you won't miss me!

Hint: I played a role that may or may not have been the antagonist. Or was I a protagonist? As Hamlet said, "nothing is either good or bad, only thinking makes it so." But this story, in which I played a real person, will make you wonder: just who was the real snake in this story?

Coming to screens near you a little later this year.

https://deadline.com/…/mark-jay-duplas-the-lady-and-the-da…/

ALABAMA SNAKE, directed by Theo Love and produced by Bryan Storkel, explores the story of Oct. 4, 1991, when a violent crime was reported in the town of Scottsboro, Alabama.

Glenn Summerford, a Pentecostal minister, was accused of attempting to murder his wife with a rattlesnake. The details of the investigation and the trial that followed has “haunted Southern Appalachia for decades.”

We filmed last year on location and I just loved Alabama. It was beautiful: at night, full of fireflies and magic. Everyone I talked with- and I talked with everyone, basically- was so very nice. I learned a lot about Pentecostal Christians, a world I hadn't known much about before, but could see parallels with some of the more ecstatic kundalini yoga groups I've stayed with in ashrams in India. 

I also spent some time at the Scottsboro Boys Museum, delving into something I studied in high school but which I was soberly reminded of in person. It's a shameful piece of our US history that should be preserved and understood... and it saddens me that we are only a few steps beyond that. Black Lives Matter!

But back to the film. It was a great set. My fellow cast & crew were beyond excellent. I'd love to shout out to everyone individually... but then I'd basically just have to give a list of cast and crew as if it were a ship manifest or something. Still, you’re going to LOVE the makeup on this, and I truly miss a few of my wardrobe pieces that I grew oddly fond of. PUFFED SLEEVES! 

Also, my inner adrenaline junkie got a HELLA lotta fixes. I can’t give away too many details yet, but let’s just say that not only did I do some stunts… and learned I can survive certain “enhanced interrogation tactics”… (OH, I LOVED IT, SO DON’T WORRY IF YOU’RE READING THIS, HBO.) But I also got to work with ANIMAL actors… You all know I love animals. Some of which are named in the title. Only after wrapping on my fellow serpentine talent did one of the snake handlers approach me to tell me I was “a very brave woman.” It was at that moment that I wondered to myself, “Am I brave? Or stupid?” Since I survived, I’ll pick brave!

Truly, I had 100% faith in the project! As you can tell, I’m very proud of this film and my part in it. I cannot wait for you all to see this beautiful, creepy, Southern Gothic exploration of religion and crime.

I'll share some more pics when I can. And certainly I'll share more details when the time is right.

XOXO

Erin

interlude

I suppose it happened about the time he made an off-color comment followed by a sly look

That was when I noticed golden strands in his dark hair

And although there was just this quick exhale, not more than two seconds of recognition,

The old phrase came to heart first and then to mind:

"Uh oh."