Kat Von D and Rachelle Leah talk new vampire flick
Earlier this evening, the Laemmle Sunset 5 over in West Hollywood hosted the premiere of the new indie vampire flick The Bleeding with several members of the cast in attendance. We spotted several of the stars on the red carpet including Michael Mattias (who also served as a producer), tough guy Michael Madsen, Tony Schiena, Armand Assante and many more.
Luckily for Shock Till You Drop, we got the chance to chat with the two lovely leading ladies of the movie, Rachelle Leah (Ultimate Fighting Championship) and Miss Katherine von Drachenberg aka Kat Von D to all you LA Ink fans.
In The Bleeding, Michael Mattias plays ex-US Army Ranger Shawn Black who’s on the hunt for the brutal killer of his parents when he discovers a terrifying family of vampires led by Cain, The Vampire King. Tipped off by a friendly cop and fortified with blessed weaponry supplied to him by a boozy priest (Madsen), Black must infiltrate the vampire’s lair – a former chemical weapons factory turned night club where he will finally meet the creature that has changed his life forever.
Already well known as a reality celebrity, we assumed that Kat Von D has probably gotten plenty of offers to star in genre related movies. Why then did she decide to make The Bleeding her acting debut? “I felt this wasnât something cheesy, because people tend to slap their name on anything and for me I feel like The Bleeding was something that was believable and kind of rock ân roll and something that I could be into,” she explains. “I play the character of Vanya and she’s kind of like the rebel rocker vampire, and not the cliché type.”
While Von D may be one of the film’s lead vamps, Rachelle Leah’s character of Lena is on the opposite side. “My character is basically a tough girl and the main character Shawn Black, who is slaying the vampires – they kind of have a little bit of a romance going,” she tells us. “Basically we meet up and connect in a random place where things start to go down and I have to protect my friend and heâs protecting me. In the mix of it, I get to play a tough girl and I love it!”
When asked if they were both fans of the vampire sub-genre, both gals answered enthusiastically. “Iâm a huge fan of Buffy The Vampire Slayer,” confesses Leah. “This isnât anything like Buffy. The best way to describe this movie is itâs an adrenaline rush. From the second it starts until the moment it ends, itâs fast paced and thereâs a lot of explosions and action in it. I personally always love to see that!”
Von D’s portrayal of Vanya is more inspired by the classic on-screen vampires. “I love vampire movies. My favorites are things like Interview With The Vampire or the original Dracula, stuff like that. This is a little different then the modern takes on vampires. I watched a lot of vampire flicks to prepare for this, but I just like horror films in general.”
With a cast filled with guys like Mattias, Michael Madsen and Vinnie Jones, we had to know if either gal was intimidated by their very imposing tough-guy co-stars. “Oh, it was such an honor to work with such great actors,” gushes Leah. “Iâm a huge fan of Michael Madsen so working with him and watching him work and talking to him about his career was a great inspiration to me.”
Von D definitely felt right at home. “Dude, working with these guys felt like just another day at the office,” she laughs. “Iâm a tattoo artist and Iâve been tattooing since I was 14, so Iâve been around guys like that my whole life. I donât know any other way.”
Check back for some high res images from the red carpet shortly. In the meantime, here’s a few teaser shots below. (And check out the trailer at our previous news post here!)
Source: Robg.
