Tuesday, July 16, 2013

On the Beat with Chris Sarandon at Days of the Dead 2013

Today's featured guest and interview actually had its' origin back in 1984 at DePaul University.  I was a struggling first year student at DePaul.  My grades were below average, I had no direction and the guidance counselors were of no help.  Somehow, I landed in the office of Assistant Dean Lynne Chappel.
It was at this point that things changed dramatically.  Lynne became a friend and mentor throughout the rest of my time at DePaul.  It is no stretch to say that I would not have stayed at DePaul if it wasn't for Lynne.  Actually, I don't know what would have happened to my college career in general, if it wasn't for Lynne.
I saw Lynne help many others, too.  I can easily say that Lynne was by far the most important person in my college career.
Fast forward to last year.  I interviewed actor Chris Sarandon at Days of the Dead in Chicago.  It was a brief intterview, because Sarandon had a long line of fans and the interview was not previously scheduled.  I very much appreciated him giving us any time at all, actually!
A couple weeks later, I received an email from Lynne.  We have stayed in contact over the years.  Lynn was surprised to see me interview Sarandon...her cousin!
When I saw Sarandon would be appearing at Days in Indianapolis, I contacted Lynne and asked her if I could drop her name to Sarandon.  She responded quickly and positively.
At the convention, I approached Sarandon while he was setting up his table.  I mentioned Lynne and he immediately lit up.  (Lynne has that effect on people.)  We talked a bit about how they were related and about how I knew her.  We agreed that Lynne is a real sweetie!  Then he gave us the update interview below.
Sarandon is incredibly nice and has had an amazing career.  Early on, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Dog Day Afternoon.  His many other films include Fright Night, Child's Play (a personal favorite), The Princess Bride and The Nightmare Before Christmas.  He is currently working on a very interesting and important project, but I will let him tell you about that in the clip below.
I encourage everyone to keep an eye out for Sarandon's project called Not Someone Like Me.  Obviously Sarandon is very serious about the subject matter and the project.  I am sure it is something very special.  I promise to keep everyone updated whenever I hear anything about Not Someone Like Me.
I really want to thank Sarandon for his time and for years of great entertainment.  I also want to thank Lynne for her assistance in this interview and for saving me so long ago.

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