THEPOPFIX: For both “H2indO” and “H2mexicO” the focus has been on truly changing the way the public views stand up paddling. What was the inspiration behind wanting to document this sporting evolution?

Deal: Chuck Patterson, a true icon of the sport called me, it was his idea. I had no idea what stand up paddling was really. It was only after I was on the boat in Indonesia and had met the cast that I developed a passion for the sport(mostly because of the people, not necessarily the sport.)

THEPOPFIX: How supportive are surfers of the growth in stand up paddle boards? Is there any tension out there on the water?

Deal: The short answer is not very supportive and lots of tension. The long answer is not very supportive and lots of tension.

THEPOPFIX: In your first film you captured the athletes spreading their passion across the surf breaks of Indonesia. What was the major difference of directing in Baja?

Deal: Ironically no difference. We spend so much time on the boat that I actually feel cheated in how little I learned about both places. I know a lot about the waves of the areas, but I think I let myself and to a certain extent the audience down by not finding out more about the cultures. But when you’re doing a movie with 2 cameramen and that’s it…you have to make choices.

THEPOPFIX: What’s the process when it comes to being forced to use your sea legs, as you direct a film that mostly takes place underwater and on top of the water?

Deal:The process is I embraced it.  My favorite memory is sitting on the bottom of the Indian Ocean with scuba gear watching world class stand up paddlers ride over the top of me. My job is to enter their world. Taking on that challenge is something I’m most proud of.

THEPOPFIX: Is there one aspect you really wanted to touch base on within this film that you missed out on during the first journey?

Deal: Humor. These guys are funny. I was a little too serious in the first one, trying to be “Mr. film maker guy.” I learned that I could let my sense of humor out more. The audiences I watched closely during ‘H2indO,” I learned. They want to laugh. Why not give them what they want?

THEPOPFIX: “H2indO” won “Movie Of The Year” at the SUP Awards in 2012. Are you hoping to catch any certain nominations or awards for “H2mexicO?”

Deal: It’s a great honor to win that award in particular– it’s the one everyone wants.  But mostly I want to continue to grow the reach and distribution process. We managed to get “H2indO” to a global audience on a small scale, it’s time to improve on that. The sport is growing so rapidly that we as a movie franchise are growing with it.

 THEPOPFIX: You have directed many television commercials and music videos. With the completion of the past two stand up paddle boarding films, do you have any plans for future film projects?

Deal: We already have funding to do the 3rd chapter of this H2 series in a couple of years.  I’m content right now to concentrate on that and make the H2 trilogy of films the best they can be. There’s a really good chance that 20 years from now these will be films that helped define this sport. It would be an honor to end up in that position.

THEPOPFIX: What’s your fix?

Deal: Dude I’m old.

“H2mexicO” will be playing at the Newport Beach Film Festival April 28th at 5:30 pm and May 1st at 8:00pm. All athletes featured in the film will be in attendance at the screening and VIP meet and greet that will follow. Check out the preview trailer below!

THEPOPFIX: First off, I’m happy to see you are still with us here on Earth. What inspired you to want to work on this paranormal film?

Corey: When I first received the audition for this film, there was just something about it that made me need to be in it. I can’t really describe it. I fell in love with the script.

THEPOPFIX: How was it working with director, Matty Beckerman, and what was the mood like on set?

Corey: Matty is so talented and is such an amazing person. He is an actors director, he really cares about how the actor feels about the scenes and is an amazing collaborator. He allowed us the freedom to find these characters, which really helped us out…the mood varied from day to day. When we were shooting the car scenes when Peter was still around, it was a happy vibe. When we got into heavier scenes like the tunnel scene and such it was a darker vibe. It changed day to day to match the scene we were portraying.

THEPOPFIX: An important setting in the film is the Road to Nowhere tunnel. I personally have a very hard time making it to the end of that tunnel at night, and I’m sure the addition of aliens now will not help. What was it like working inside there?

Corey: The tunnel is one of the most fascinating I have ever scene. It’s so long, you feel like it’s never going to end. And working inside of it really helped the eerie vibe that took place during that scene, because that tunnel in itself is very creepy.

THEPOPFIX: Also did you ever explore the area at night without a film crew etc?

Corey: We never saw the tunnel until the day of shooting, so that we kept up the mystery and suspense of it.

THEPOPFIX: Many of my friends have seen the Brown Mountain Lights, which the film is based upon. Did you witness any lights or experience anything paranormal while on set?

Corey: I myself have yet to see the lights, Matty has scene them and taken pictures of them. But paranormal things were happening to the cast and crew throughout the production. I would have lights turning on and off in my room, tables would shake, and you would see things out of the corners of your eyes. Very intense!

THEPOPFIX: You’re stuck out in the middle of nowhere with no cell phone reception and you see an alien 30 yards away from you. What does Corey Eid do in this situation?

Corey: Haha Corey Eid tries to communicate with the alien. I’m so fascinated by the topic, I doubt I could just run. I need to know more. Very curious.

THEPOPFIX: I think the easiest question to ask you now is, do you believe in Aliens? Also will this film alter the vibe of your next camping trip?

Corey: Definitely believe in aliens. We live in a massive, beautiful universe, it would be foolish to think nothing else exists beyond our planet. Camping may be a little more nerve racking than before. I’d still go though!

THEPOPFIX: You’ve been appearing as teenage Burt on “Raising Hope.” What was the transition like between this sci-fi thriller flick to the comedic television show?

Corey: We shot alien abduction about 2 years ago, so the transition into teenage burt wasn’t a difficult one. It is interesting how different the characters are, but that’s what I love about it. Always exploring different roles is key.

THEPOPFIX: Are you working on any future projects or have a certain genre you’d like to try out next?

Corey: I would like to be apart of a drama next, maybe a time piece. Very interested in the 1920s.

THEPOPFIX: What’s your fix?

Corey: My fix is music from the 60s and 70s! Love The Beatles,The Doors, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin…current bands, I love the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Black Keys. Big fan of Leonardo Dicaprio’s work in film….love tv shows like “House Of Cards”, “Boardwalk Empire” and “The Following.”

Check out the trailer below!

THEPOPFIX: The full first season is available now on your website. For those who have yet to watch, what can they expect from the series?

Scott: I like to think of it as the anti “Entourage” where it deals with more of the low budget end of Hollywood, instead of the glitzy successful part of it and the not so beautiful. It’s a funny comedy for people that like comedy. If you like shows like “Arrested Development” or “Community,” then this show is right up your alley.

Laura: Its revolving around three guys who are really great friends and each one has their own different personality. So you pretty much get a very well rounded romantic love story with the douchey guys, the dorky friends…it’s a good comparison to the vibes you get from “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.”

THEPOPFIX: Scott, being the creator of the series, are any of these stories inspired by your own personal struggles in Hollywood?

Scott: I wrote the pilot three years ago when I was crashing on a friends couch and I was super broke. It’s definitely a mash up of a couple break ups. It was just a case of not really being sure what I was doing with my life and I kind of just wrote a TV pilot about it.

THEPOPFIX: In producing a high quality web series, especially a full season, it’s not very cheap. How did you go about fundraising the project? I heard something about an 80′s prom night?

Kristin: We started a Indiegogo campaign, where we received most of our funds, but we also did some special events. We did a fundraiser screening some of Scott’s short films, where we raffled off some prizes, and an 80′s prom. We had friends and family that had been donating towards Indiegogo. We were very fortunate in that we had an amazing cast and crew that were willing to work for cheap or even free in some cases. We shot for 27 days spread throughout almost a year. It took a long time to get the show done, but everybody was really behind it. They were willing to take a pay-cut or no pay at all, because they were passionate about the project and were excited to be apart of it.

THEPOPFIX: In season one we witnessed the struggles behind making it in Hollywood, but also balancing those romantic relationships. Do you think there is a certain key to juggling both of those, successfully?

Laura: (Laughs) Not really, it’s defiantly a juggling act. As a girl when you are working twelve, fourteen, or sixteen hour days on set…you kind of just wanna unwind. Finding the dating time while pursing a passion, you have to pick your battles on how far you can go with both, the relationship and the job.

Scott: I find it very hard to date someone outside of the industry, because I’ve had girlfriends who don’t work in the entertainment business and they just don’t understand why I work twelve to sixteen hour days sometimes and don’t have time to go out to dinner, or the money!

THEPOPFIX: Mark Nager who plays the main character Jake Coleman in the series, I read that he is currently living in Australia. Will there be any major changes in casting for season 2?

Scott: No, he’s actually going to be back in town in another couple of months. We definitely plan on bringing him back, I worked with Mark on a couple of things. He is one of my favorite actors to work with. I honestly think he’s gonna wind up being a big deal one day, because he’s super talented.

THEPOPFIX: What else can we expect from the second installment of the series?

Scott: I definitely think that the first season was all about figuring out his place in the world and just finding that balance between friends, career, and girlfriend. The second season, largely the theme of that one is kind of like dealing with that first stage of success and the ramifications from that. So all of the characters go on some really exciting journeys during season 2.

THEPOPFIX: For season two are you going to continue any of those same fundraising tactics?

Kristin: (Laughingly) NO!

Scott: Crowd-sourcing is great, but we cant keep going back to friends and family. We’d like to find one main investor, because there’s a lot of bigger ideas as well in season two. We’d like to expand the universe so to speak and take us out of that apartment a lot more, so we need a bit more money than we did in this first season.

THEPOPFIX: Congratulations on being selected at LAWEBFEST! Some consider this the Sundance for web series. How does that make you all feel?

Scott: I’m excited to be apart of it, it’s definitely an honor to be selected for any film festival and we actually had our first screening Wednesday evening here at the festival. It went over really well and people loved it and people laughed a lot. I had a lot of people coming up to me after the screening and asking me where they could go see the rest of the show. Even some of the festival workers themselves were pulling me aside and telling me how much they loved the show. There’s a lot of really talented filmmakers in this festival, we saw a lot of really good web series yesterday. Its very international even too, yesterday I saw shows from Germany, Canada, and Ireland. Its global and its amazing watching all these talented people come out to this one festival in Los Angeles.

Kristin: We find out on Saturday at the awards ceremony if we’ve been nominated or up for anything so, keep your fingers crossed!

THEPOPFIX: With these web series, what do you think is so special about them and why they are becoming the go to market for filmmakers and actors?

Scott: What I love about web series is the internet in general is still kind of a wild west for filmmakers. Even ten years ago a guy like me would have a hell of a time tyring to break into the business. Now anyone with an iPhone can do this and put it up on the web, its just a great opportunity for up and coming filmmakers to get their stuff out and seen by people. It’s just the way the business is slowly moving. With on-demand movies now available, when a movie opens you can either go to a theater or press a button on your TV at home and see it in the privacy of your own home. Its giving a lot of platforms the chance to see a lot of great stuff outside the traditional studio system.

THEPOPFIX: Whats your fix?

Scott: I’m a massive nerd, so I’m really into the Marvel movies at the moment. “Captain America 2,” “The Walking Dead,” and “Game Of Thrones.”

Laura: I’m a sucker for romantic comedies, I would totally watch any romantic comedy, it would’t matter.

Kristin: I definitely fit in more with the romantic comedies, I’m looking forward to seeing “The Other Woman.” I’m so busy with life that I don’t have the chance, so I can live through their romantic experiences.

Check out the “Project Hollywood” sizzle below!

Click here to watch the Pilot episode of “Project Hollywood.”

THEPOPFIX: “Avant-Geek,” elaborate on the name for me, what does it stand for or represent?

Oliva Mears: When I started Avant-Geek I knew I’d be combining my knowledge of fine art with fashion, as well as popular culture. I consider a lot of character costuming seen in games & shows to be Avant-Garde fashion, so it seemed an appropriate kind of title. Also, I love puns.

THEPOPFIX: What attracts you to work with unconventional materials?

Olivia Mears: I am easily bored when I’ve been working with the same material for a long time. Sewing fabric became an annoying task rather than an enjoyable hobby, so I began to try other things and challenge myself.

THEPOPFIX: The “Taco Bell Trash Dress” is a perfect example of unconventional; tell me a little about that piece?

Olivia Mears: I found out about Taco Bell’s scholarship contest a week before the deadline. I knew I wanted to make something wearable and unusual to have a winning chance; making a dress out of their supplies was the first thing to come to mind and I went with. I didn’t have time to change my mind and I wasn’t about to give up the opportunity: I won First Prize, after all.

THEPOPFIX: Did Taco Bell ever contact you about it?

Olivia Mears: I was First Prize winner. They’ve also contacted me about a few other projects, such as my Taco Belle (Disney Princess) picture.

THEPOPFIX: Another famous piece in that category is your “Wrapping Paper Dress.” Describe the process behind this.

Olivia Mears: The Wrapping Paper Dress was inspired from this, and it’d been awhile since I’d done anything with paper. It was right after spending the holidays with my family and gift wrap was everywhere. It seemed like a waste to throw it away, so I began working.

THEPOPFIX: One of my favorites is a middle finger sculpture piece titled, “Scuplute.” What gave you this idea?

Olivia Mears: Ha. Before meeting my professor for Introductory Sculpture, he sent an email misspelling it as ‘scuplute’ several times. It was a fun class, but exhausting; most students couldn’t keep up with the projects and I was cutting it close. It was in this frustration I decided my required Kinetic body-part project needed to be appropriately inappropriate for final critique. Plot twist: the professor loved it.

THEPOPFIX: You also make many character costumes, such as The Golden Saint and Lady Sylvanas, which Cosplay fans love. Can we expect anything special when you attend MonsterCon?

Olivia Mears: Oh, yes! I have two big costumes I’m working on to have completed by July. One from Elder Scrolls and the other is a secret until finished!

THEPOPFIX: Your pieces have been on the front page of Reditt, Deviantart, and even On Air with Ryan Seacrest. How does all of that make you feel?

Olivia Mears: It’s a mixture of panic and joy anytime I find my work getting attention. I can always expect both positive and negative comments but I focus on the constructive criticism where I can find it. I try to keep the attention on my work rather than myself (I’m always afraid my ego might one day outgrow my craftsmanship).

THEPOPFIX: You currently have a fundraising page open for an upcoming fashion show in the fall of 2014, where you will be featured as a guest artist. Can you share details on any of the designs you prepare to showcase?

Olivia Mears: For this show I will be presenting six original black & white designs ranging from unconventional high fashion to ethereal costuming. I was given complete freedom in these designs apart from the color options, so I’m excited to see how far I can take these.

THEPOPFIX: If approached to do the show “Project Runway,” would you?

Olivia Mears: Absolutely! I’d be a little terrified, but that’s an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.

THEPOPFIX: Of course we have to ask…what is your pop culture fix?

Olivia Mears: Revisiting Fallout and Oblivion for hours, or at least their soundtracks.

Make sure to check her out on Facebook and visit her fashion show fundraising page to make a donation!

“It’s f*cking stupid,” the Hologram said in an exclusive interview with THEPOPFIX.

“I exhumed my own spirit, projected my ** to surprise the audience, and blew all y’all’s mind. What more do I have to do? Bleed?”

Although bleeding’s not an option for this popular projection, he certainly does have a point. When’s the last time you heard about Duck Sauce, Calvin Harris, or Lorde doing anything that impressive?

“And it’s not just about me, either,” ‘Pac’s Hologram continued. “I’m speaking for all the holograms out there,” he said as he poured out a splash of a Hennessy cocktail for his deceased homies.

Coachella organizers declined to comment when asked about the glaring omission of holograms on this year’s line-up. Could this possibly be the end of the proverbial road for Tupac’s Hologram? It’s very possible, as he disappeared into oblivion before our interview was over.

For all we know, Coachella-goers lucky enough to be in attendance at the 2012 festival might have witnessed a performance of a post-lifetime.

I was thrilled when THEPOPFIX got the opportunity to sit down with Christopher Landon, the writer/director of “Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones.” While this is Landon’s first time behind the camera on a Paranormal Activity film, he’s been a credited writer since the second installment. Although he says this is his last movie with the franchise, he revealed a lot about creating the mythology, taking the series in a different direction with a Latino spin-off and what exactly “Downton Abbey” has to do with Paranormal Activity.

THEPOPFIX: Since you’ve been with the franchise so long as a writer, how was it for you to get to direct?

Christopher Landon: It was awesome. It was really fun. You know, since we made “Paranormal 2“ I’ve been on set every day and I really enjoyed working with all of the other directors but this was a really nice opportunity to sort of … tackle it myself and it just felt really comfortable. And it was nice too, you know, getting the opportunity to work directly with the actors, which I think is probably my favorite part of the process. That was the thrill for me. And this cast, they’re so good that it just made my job almost borderline easy. It was just really fun to do.

THEPOPFIX: I’m a big fan of the franchise and this one was noticeably really fun.

Landon: I think that was part of the approach. When I started writing this one, and this is going to sound completely random and it won’t make sense to you but it makes sense in my head, I was really inspired by Downton Abbey.

THEPOPFIX: Wow!

Landon: And I mean that because… what it did was it took sort of a dusty old format and it made it feel contemporary and part of, I think, how they did that was the economy of story. How they cut a lot, they advanced very quickly and they managed to do a lot with very little time and it was the pacing of that that inspired me. And so, where I think all of our other movies were slow burns and it took a lot of time to get it going, and that was part of their appeal because it was different, but here I wanted it to have a really good clip, hence the “Downton Abbey” reference…

I really wanted the tone to be different and what’s kind of unique about this particular movie is that in the first act… it plays like a comedy and I think that’s what endears people to the characters. We win them over because we’re making them laugh and we’re showing them a family and a friendship that feels relatable. But then we sort of start transitioning into the first half of the second act, which almost starts to feel a little bit like an origin story… of  like a comic book origin/ superhero vibe and then into the second half of the second act we start finally transitioning really  into a suspense possession story and then we obviously move into our third act which goes completely batshit crazy and goes full horror…

THEPOPFIX: I’ve been dying for a Grandma Lois prequel.

Landon: (laughs)

THEPOPFIX: I want to know!

Landon: Right?!

THEPOPFIX: I want to keep going back!

Landon: So, there’s a full — which I don’t know if we’re ever going to do anything with it — but I wrote a full treatment on that exact topic. And it was actually a really, really, really cool one.

THEPOPFIX: You’re blowing my mind!

Landon: It was a really fun one so I hope that we do go back and revisit that storyline but I don’t know.

THEPOPFIX: Was the time jump vortex… was that laying groundwork?

Landon: It’s part of a bigger story, and I’m not involved with the next movie, but I know that they are using it in their story as well, so I think you’re really going to get to see how that all works and why, hopefully. It’s not my movie. There was a definite – there was a bigger story. What was really fun about writing this movie and developing it with everybody that was involved was that we had a much bigger end game in mind and we’ve been talking about it since [Paranormal Activity] 2 but I feel like it was this movie where we laid the course and there’s a much bigger idea that’s kind of being advanced in this movie.

Parking lot pre-gaming isn’t just a hobby. When done correctly, it’s an art form. Whether you’re a tailgating veteran, or a red Solo cup newcomer, here are some essentials to get you through the season like a pro.

A Girl’s Guide To Tailgating

1. Portable Grill

Nothing screams tailgating neophyte like chips, candy, and cold cuts and chips. Don’t be that girl. Although a decent portable grill can cost between $100 – $300 dollars, consider it an investment in not looking like an idiot. Think of it this way, that little sucker will pay for itself with the money you’ll save from not eating overpriced concession stand hot dogs, and in friendships you’ll forge with fellow hungry sports fans.

PRO TIP: Invest in portable generator if you don’t know the area, and think you might be in need of power.

2. Cooler (On Wheels)

What holds 85 beverage cans, ice, and doubles as a chair in desperate times? If you said a cooler, this clearly isn’t your first rodeo. A good cooler is a must for the tailgate traveler. This 62 quart cooler from Coleman not only holds enough booze to dehydrate a fraternity pledge class, but it also keeps your cans cold for up to 5 days in temperatures up to 90 degrees. Move over, iPad. How’s that for technology?

Regardless of which cooler route you choose, unless you’ve got arms like a WWE wrestler, make sure it’s on wheels.

3. Team Gear & Accessories

Don’t be that girl at a parking lot BBQ in heels, and a Theory tank top. We don’t care how cute it is. Represent your team of choice with a tee shirt, jersey, and/or appropriate accessories, as found at retailers like Sports Authority, Dick’s Sporting Goods, or Kohl’s. For those of you looking for a more flirty, fitted alternative, look for your team’s tee at Victoria’s Secret.

4. Friend Who Can Actually Likes Sports

Do everyone in your seating section a favor and share your tickets and tailgating skills with friends who you don’t need to be spoon-fed every detail of the sport. Thank you in advance, from all of us.

5. Designated Driver

We all know the effects of a long day of tailgating, celebrating your team’s victor, or God forbid, their tragic loss. Needless to say, it’s a recipe for exhaustion. Be responsible. Make sure you have a ride home that’s sober, safe, and prepared to listen to you rant and/or rave about the game, and your new status as Queen of the Tailgaters.