Q: How did you become interested in making movies?

A: Well, that is a long story actually.  About nine pages to be precise. Basically, I stumbled into an acting class taught by Mandy Wildman one day and the rest is history!  I wrote it all up as a story for my book publisher, as they were looking for pieces for their magazine.  If anyone is interested, they can email me for a copy. 

Q: Book publisher?  Did you write a book?

A: Yes, I wrote a children’s book that is in the process of being published by a Canadian company called Picasso Publications. 

Q: Which aspect of the film making process is your favorite?

A: Gosh, that’s a tough question. I love writing, acting, producing and editing.  Acting is really fun, but find the most challenging thing is producing.  Getting everything ready for production and making sure everything goes smoothly is really rewarding.  Seeing it all come together is amazing!

Q: How many films have you produced?

A: Mandy and I have produced two feature-length films and a number of shorts.  In addition we were associate producers for Sanderson County, a feature film written, directed and produced by Wayne Porter.

Q: What kind of films do you like to produce?

A: At Wild Heart Films, we specialize in uplifting movies.  I never want to produce a film that depresses or upsets people.  Neither do I want to do little fluff pieces.  I want to always produce films that have good messages, but that don’t bludgeon people over the head with them.  I also like working with lower budgets.

Q: I have heard that you shot “In The Open” for only $10,000.  How is that possible?

A: Actually our budget was only $7,000.  We basically used all of the resources at hand and borrowed what we didn’t own.  People in this community are very generous, and many of our expenses were covered by local merchants.  We could offer them a credit in the film, which made them happy.  Then all our crew and cast members agreed to work on the project for deferred pay, which means that they get paid when we sell copies of the film!

Q: Why did you write the story about chess?

A: I was a tournament chess player for a number of years.  I used to travel around the country playing.  I got up to a status of expert, which put me in the top 50 women players in the US.  I always loved the world of chess and wanted to write a story about the typical player.  Movies that I have seen about chess show only the champions and often the games are not very realistic.  We focused on the story, but included many games that were culled from my husband’s records.

Q: I noticed that you dedicated the film to Christopher Becker.  Who was he?

A: He was my father.  He taught me chess at a young age, as he was a strong player himself.  In addition to playing the game, he also composed chess puzzles, like the ones you see in the newspaper.  He won many awards for his compositions and was well known in that field.  He was also an authority on chess history and would write articles for Chess Life, the national Chess Federation’s magazine.  He died tragically in a fire in 1994.  Fortunately we were able to salvage some of his chess puzzles and notes, as well as an antique hand-carved chess set.  We featured one of his puzzles in the movie.  As far as I know, it had never previously been published.

Q: What are some of the projects in your future?

A: We have just finished shooting a feature film called "All The World" and will have it edited by the summer of 2002.  On a sad note, Cedar Bennett, the young actress who played Ricki in “In The Open” and Katharina in “All The World” died suddenly in October, just three weeks after we finished shooting.  Mandy I plan to produce a documentary about her, as she accomplished so much in her short life.  We are currently raising money for this project.  In addition, Mandy has written another screenplay called, “The Last Victorian”, which is a time travel love story.  I am also working on “The Dekology”, which is a series of short stories done with a Twilight Zone flavor.  We are currently raising funds for these projects as well!

Q: Well, it sounds like you are busy.  Thank you for your time and good luck with all your endeavors!

A: Thank you.