What has she been up to? An Interview with Amanda Wyss.

iHorror: Hi Amanda! I am very excited to speak with you today, thank you for taking my call.

Amanda Wyss: Hi! Ryan.

iH: You’re busy! I saw your IMDB page, you’re working on a new film called Triggered?

AW: Yes it’s a horror-comedy directed by a young man, Chris Moore and it is funny! I’m also working on, The Orchard. It’s a story about a family, the film is going to be very scary, there are so many twists and turns in it, it is never what you think it is going to be. We have a great cast in The Orchard. Jay Mohr and I play the parents; Tom Sizemore is in it, Henry Rollins is in it, along with Sean Patrick Flannery. I am very excited, so keep your eyes out for that one. Back to the other film that I am working on, Triggered is like scream-queens meets, Heathers, meets Scream. It is very funny; they do outrageous things in this movie. I play a principal of a high school and my character is a mess. It is so much fun, I survived a massacre back in 1989 and my character clearly still has PTSD and one sip of coffee before coming unhinged.

Both: [Laugh]

AW: A lot of work, but a lot of fun!

iH: You were also recently in another film, The Sandman that premiered on the SyFy channel.

AW: Yes, The Sandman!

iH: The film looks like a lot of fun! Maybe hallmark to Elm Street [With The Dreams] in sort of a way.

AW: There is a “nod, ” but they are still completely different. I want Nightmare fans to be intrigued by it because there is an overlap of nightmares and basically, the boogeyman just completely handled differently, two completely different stories where is The Sandman is almost thriller-like. You have Tobin Bell, [sighs], he always just plays the best bad guy. I get to play a hypnotherapist who is going to save everyone, it is not a big part, but it is a fun part, it was a really great role to get to play. Mick [Ignis] is brilliant as The Sandman, so scary and frightening. And Haylie Duff, is just so beautiful and talented, and then [excitingly] the beautiful and talented Shae Smolik who plays Madison, she is fantastic, just fantastic and amazing.

iH: Just from the little bits I have seen, I totally agree with you, they are great. I had just heard about this film not too long ago; there was some buzz because of Stan Lee executive producing it.

AW: Yup, yeah I totally fangirled out.

Both: [Laugh]

AW: I got the triple whammy of fangirling because I had the pleasure to meet Stan Lee at a comic con and he was just lovely and gracious. Peter Sullivan and his producing partner, are all so nice, just great people. My little guilty pleasure is Hallmark Christmas movies, and they have made some, so I knew who they were. I’m just such a dork; I knew who they were because of Hallmark even though they have done other horror films. I literally felt like I won the jackpot.

iH: That’s funny!

AW: Plus, it was a really great and strong female role. It was fun; I went to a hypnotherapist to learn- “Why do I say this to her?” I really got into it, and I wanted to play with it. Had a great time. I think you and I have talked about this before, I believe, and I am stealing this from somebody on a Blumhouse panel that I saw. “All Great Horror Is intrinsically sad.” That just holds true to me; this movie has that. It’s a story about a little girl who’s lost her father. She goes to live with her aunt. The aunt realizes her niece is the conduit for a monster when gets emotional. My character has written a book about children of the caul, and believes that children of the caul may have supernatural meaning. I’m brought in as the expert. It is an interesting role because I had never heard any of this before. It actually made me want to research more about it.

iH: Your character sounds really essential to the film, it does seem just thrown in there. Sometimes it feels as though characters are just written to have a known actor or actress.

AW: Yeah I think so, I want to believe so [Laughs]

Both: [Laugh]

AW: Let’s just say yes!

iH: I agree, yes! [Laughs] I have to bring this up. Thommy Hutson just released a new film, Truth or Dare on SyFy.

AW: Yeah, that’s right!

iH: Heather [Langenkamp] was in it. Similar to this film, her character as yours was very essential, a vital component of the film. I totally recommend the movie, Thommy did a fantastic job. I know last year around this time The Id came out, and I was wondering, is Thommy going to release a kick-ass movie every year? [Laughs]

AW: I hope so. Obviously, I am a big fan of his; I love working with him. I think that he is so talented.

iH: He is. And also the SyFy platform, SyFy has just been doing some amazing things lately.

AW: I love that they are getting into original content and serious original content. I haven’t seen Thommy’s Truth or Dare yet, but I will see it. The Sandman could be released in movie theatres; it is really good. I love that they chose this platform [SyFy] it makes the film more accessible, and you can see it multiple times easily.

iH: Exactly, yeah. Just by the trailer, I said to myself, “damn this looks pretty good.” At one point I believe that SyFy had it rough with what they were releasing, and now with all this new content, they have rejuvenated themselves. Lately, they have just been releasing some good content, like you said original material and the film does seem scary. How did you get involved with The Sandman?

AW: I was sent the script, and I loved my part in it. The movies that Peter has directed that I love and Stan Lee, I felt it was a no-brainer. It was like a little gift from the universe [Laughs]. Everyone was so nice, and we had a great time.

iH: And I am sure that will resonate onto the film as well. We are getting towards the end of the year are you going to be doing any more appearances?

AW: I am going to Alamo City Comic Con Halloween weekend, and I’m doing an event in the Dominican Republic with Curtis Armstrong and Diane Franklin for Better off Dead. Every band from the eighties is going to be there, 80’s In The Sand. I am going to be shooting a horror/western called Contention up in Oregon at the end of the year.

iH: That’s awesome, it sounds like you are booked and that is great!

AW: I am lucky and grateful, and I love these roles that have been coming along. I get to do what I love to do. Even the smaller parts that people have been writing like in The Sandman are just great roles.

iH: I agree. Hopefully, we see you and Diane in something again.

AW: Oh my gosh yes, as long as it is not “stunt” casting. Heather and I have been offered to work together, which we would love to do, but it is always some sort of stunt casting where they are trying to fill their movie up with Nightmare On Elm Street people. I am super grateful for Nightmare On Elm Street, I love it, it is a classic, it has helped create the career I have now. I won the lottery with that beautiful role that Wes [Craven] wrote for me. I respect it, and I love the fans. and the majority of them have been willing to come on this current journey with me. I’m grateful for that. As soon as I get a script and they want to fill it with Nightmare On Elm Street people, I pass. Those scripts are usually light on story.

iH: I totally get it.

AW: I’m hoping that someday Diane, Heather, and I are going to work together, we are all friends – We would have a blast.

iH: I would love to see you three in a Comedy.

AW: It would be hilarious! It would be so much fun! So, I am hoping that does happen. I know that I get offered a lot of films because of A Nightmare On Elm Street. it is completely part of who I am, and with that, I tend to be in the present and look forward to my new projects. And I am thrilled when people like you, and the fans are excited about my upcoming movies.

iH: Personally, I see nothing wrong with that. Just as long as people acknowledge and don’t forget where they came from. And as long as someone can do that, the sky’s the limit. When I think of your next role, I always tend to think, “Is this new role going to do what Elm Street did for you?” That is what I think every time a new role comes your way, like The Id. Even for Heather [Langenkamp] or anyone else involved in the Nightmare films, I always think, “Is this going to be the role that they will look back on that will give them the same gratitude that Elm Street did?”

AW: You know what, you said that to me once before, and I love it. When we had talked when I did The ID, I was like “Oh that is exactly it.” That was a great way to put that.

iH: Thank you. When I watch documentaries on Halloween or Elm Street or anything I always wonder is there ever going to be a franchise or anything that is going to allow people to look back and go “This is still in my life?” I am sure that there are projects that you have done, and it is not in your life anymore, but Elm Street is still in your life, Fast Times is still in your life, and Better off Dead. I get so worrisome that we won’t have that anymore. For example my daughter, she is twelve, I wonder if she feels that same way about film as I do, as I grew up with it. Is she going to have the ability to look back on a movie and say, “Wow, that was a big part of my life.”

AW: Do you feel that there are movies like that for her age?

iH: I really don’t think so, I cannot find anything current that have done that quite yet. I always revert back to the older stuff that I grew up with. Elm Street for me is just embedded in my childhood. I don’t want to say the characters were our parents, but they were a major part my life and friends lives. We thrived off those movies, reciting the lines, reliving these stories. Now when I think back to it, I remember a good time of my life. I just don’t think there is anything for my daughter that will do that for her. It is kind of sad.

AW: There is something about family, innocence, familiarity, I am just not sure I have not been able to put my finger on it.  I know there are people much smarter than I that have spoken about why those movies just hooked us. We all have them from that era.

iH: I think that it takes us back in time, not that our lives aren’t good now, but it takes us back to that time when everything was just different. Like you had mentioned, it is just like a marker. When I watch a film I can remember when I saw it for the first time, and I saw it here, and with this person – we rode our bikes to the video store and grabbed it. We can rehash and relive everything. I think Tina is going to be with you forever [Laughs]. When I’m gone, and you’re gone Tina is still going to be there.

AW: I agree, and I do not think that there is anything wrong with that. Many people from that movie [Elm Street] are my lifelong friends, and that does not happen all the time when you make a movie. Heather [Langenkamp] and I are great friends, I travel with Robert [Englund] and his wife,  There was something magic about it. I am grateful to have been in those movies. I do look at scripts now, and wonder could this possibly have an impact. The truth is, I don’t know if that is even possible anymore. There is so much content out on so many platforms that the odds of something being a breakout like A Nightmare On Elm Street was, is much slimmer now. I think when Nightmare On Elm Street came out not much was released weekly; there were not a lot of movies opening up on the same day.

iH: Yeah, it feels like system overload! Well, thank you so much for speaking with me.

AW: I love chatting with you, thank you!

iH: Take Care.

 

 

*This interview has been condensed for length/time restraints.

*Feature Image: Hutson Ranch Media ‘The Id’

–About The Author-

Ryan T. Cusick is a writer for ihorror.com and very much enjoys conversation and writing about anything within the horror genre. Horror first sparked his interest after watching the original, The Amityville Horror when he was the tender age of three. Ryan lives in California with his wife and twelve-year-old daughter, who is also expressing interest in the horror genre. Ryan recently received his Master’s Degree in Psychology and has aspirations to write a novel. Ryan can be followed on Twitter @Nytmare112

 

 

 

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