If Eric Stolz and Kevin Bacon were gay and had a genetically engineered child using both of their DNA with which to share their love, but that child ended up straight and his name was Billy Garberina, then Billy Garberina would be a lot like that kid except probably way less rich. Garberina is a guy-next-door sexy goofball with nice broad shoulders who you may have seen in the indie horror releases Feeding The Masses, Gimme Skelter, and The Stink of Flesh. He directed and starred in his own indie horror comedy Necroville, out last year, and will appear in the upcoming horror films Dozers, Braincell, and Wicked Wood in 2009. You will also catch his wacky antics in Low Budget Pictures' Deathbone the Barbarian. As Deathbone. Billy is our Scary Stud of the Month and he's here to make you laugh. I mean, to make you drool. I mean, maybe both...
What's the most romantic thing any woman has ever done for you?
Found me again despite impossible odds and improbable circumstances 10 years later. She'll always be the one I almost let get away; several times; I'm an idiot. A very, very lucky idiot.
A very sexy Billy as one of Charles Manson's illegitimate kids in 'Gimme Skelter'
You used to be a regular cast member of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Complete the following phrases accurately (audience-only phrases may apply):
I actually have been emceeing for close to 15 years or so at this point; I better get these right!
a) Janet! Dr. Scott! Janet! Brad! Rocky!BULLWINKLE!
b) And Flash Gordon was there in SHIT STAINED underwear,BUT THEY WERE GOLD!!!
c) What aFAG Makes me GAG Und I did.
Or, alternately What a FAG DRESSED IN DRAG AND WHAT DO YOU NEED TO GET INTO A STRIP CLUB? "Und I did."
As a TV cameraman in a zombie apocalypse in 'Feeding the Masses'
On the set of 'Feeding the Masses', Billy pulled out a gun and threatened the director until he got his fucking coffee with TWO sugars
How did you get involved with making Feeding the Masses, the first feature horror film you appeared in? Tell us what you played in that film and how you rocked in it:
I actually started with my first feature Collecting Rooftops back in 2000. I came back to Albuquerque from LA to make movies and I met Scott Phillips, who makes a small cameo in Rooftops. Collecting Rooftops made it to the 2002 Santa Fe Film Festival, but has never seen bona fide distribution, so I sell copies of it off my website. It's kind of a slacker comedy about my life in college and working at a single screen movie house. If any one wants to see my freshman cinematic adventures in writing, producing, directing and a 24 year old me, that's the place to find it.
Anyway, Scott made The Stink Of Flesh in summer of 2003. Richard Griffin, the DP and Camera OP for Stink was impressed with me and invited me the Fall of 2004 to be in Feeding The Masses in Rhode Island, if memory serves.
While Masses got released before Stink, I think we actually shot The Stink Of Flesh first. In Feeding The Masses, I played 'Torch', an on the edge paranoid TV camera man with a penchant for reefer. I got to do this cool monologue about the Hindenburg and really dip into some dark and scathing social satire. I've actually got lots of roles since then from directors who've seen Masses and liked my work.
Billy, after another one of his drunken nights at the local dive bar.
Tell us about your roles in The Stink of Flesh and Gimme Skelter:
In The Stink Of Flesh I played 'Mandel', the leader of a group of zombie killing soldiers that stumble upon a cabin in the mountains inhabited by some strange folks. I helped coordinate stunts alongside Kurly Tlapoyawa and helped quite a bit with behind the scenes lighting, sound and some coaching for some of the actors.
For Gimme Skelter, I was the producer and one of the lead characters, 'Phillip Valentine', who believes he's one of the lost children of Charles Manson. Good times all around.
After The Stink Of Flesh, we really got a sense that we could do a lot with almost no money here in Albuquerque. The movies we make here may not be Citizen Kane, but if there's a bigger and better movie you can make than Gimme Skelter or Necroville for less than ten thousand dollars, I encourage folks to give it a go!
Billy yelling at unpaid P.A.'s on the set of the horror film 'Stiffed'. They didn't get his coffee right. TWO sugars.
Your directorial debut, Necroville, is also a starring vehicle for you. Tell us the story behind this film and regale us with your interpretation of Jack as a character:
Necroville may be the hardest thing I've done to date. When you're making a movie for no money and even less time and resources, I've developed certain rules I try my best to adhere to. No children, no animals, no extras, manageable locations and not a ton of characters. Somehow, Necroville ended up (before cuts we made) with 20 Girl scouts, two little boys, 4 cats, 2 dogs, a goat, 150 zombies, a BDSM dungeon and like 15 featured characters, not including 5 or 6 principles. And a dance club full of Goths. Also, there's a TON of CGI and we drop a piano on a vampire.
I look back at that movie and while I can tell you exactly how we did any given thing, I'll be damned if I can tell you how we pulled it all off for less than 10 grand. I can't be sure, but I think I'm still recovering from the psychic trauma from that two week period in mid April '05. I remain 100% confident that the Necroville Guaranteeâ„¢ holds up: when you see this movie, you'll see a vampire die in a way never before seen in the history of cinema. Over 1000 people at screenings I've attended fail to refute that claim and no, it has nothing to do with the piano.
Anybody buying Necroville directly from necroville.com will pay a few extra dollars than say Amazon, but those extra dollars go directly back into the investors' pockets and help us make our next cinematic debacle. Also, I can be sweet talked into autographs with cast members. Hooray!
Jack is a kind of a past his 20's guy who really needs to find a better job and a less co-dependent relationship. He's not really held back by himself so much as he's held back by an environment that he doesn't have much choice in interacting with. Necroville is a hell hole, but at least it's not Albuquerque.
"Where did it all go wrong?" asks Billy, remembering days when he felt joy at the small things
What are your turn-ons?
Fishnets, mascara, chokers, short plaid skirts, steady employment and a fantastic credit report. A desire to snuggle lots and play Super Mario Kart naked helps. Having brains is non-negotiable, and that is NOT a zombie joke.
Billy's upcoming film 'Deathbone', no doubt an instant classic in the super popular realm of low budget, fatasy/comedy/spoofs
Turn-offs?
Two women at the same time. There's this myth that's it's every guy's fantasy. I'm here to tell you it's not. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for it - not because it's fantasy, but because it's efficient. I get to disappoint twice as many women in half the time. Now there's some gooood lovin'!
A young pre-horror films Billy. Do you notice the places on Billy that time, poverty, drugs, and mental illness have ravaged? Print out this page and circle those areas with your marker, kids, and put it in your locker as a reminder to just say no and stay in school!
You are from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Only one of the following 3 statements about New Mexico is true. Please write an 'F' or a 'T' next to each sentence to indicate whether you think each statement is true or false.
a) White Sands National Monument is a desert, not of sand, but of gleaming white dilithium crystals.
TRUE! those self same dilithium crystals also power Starfleet vessels.
b) In some isolated villages, such as Truchas, Chimayo', and Coyote in north-central New Mexico, some descendants of Spanish conquistadors and English Privateers still speak a form of 16th century 'Pirate talk' used no where else in the world today.
FALSE! You're confusing the fine upstanding residents of those areas with SCA pirates; the last time I checked, SCA stood for the Society for consenting adultery; or was that that the Society for Caucasian Anti-socials?
c) The state of New Mexico shares an international border with the country of Canada.
FALSE! New Mexico borders Old Mexico, our NAFTA neighbor to the south! It's easy to tell them apart from Canadians because Mexicans are far less aloof about not being estupido Americanos, pinche gringa!
Billy is actually proud of this totally gay picture of him and his weird 'Rocky Horror' cast members
Upcoming movies we can see you in?
Movies that are in post/coming out; wowzers. Well;
In Psycho Holocaust, I play 'Mark'. In Wicked Wood, I play 'Ian Dunlap'... Both leads directed by Krist Rufty.
In Dozers, Don Adam's has me play a small featured walk on as 'Stan', the crazed EMT.
I just got finished working with Alex Birrel in Braincell as 'Sam' opposite Raine Brown.
And I've got a whole gaggle of stuff upcoming from Chris Seaver and the good folks over at Low Budget Pictures.
I think I managed to remember everybody this time.
I've got a half dozen or so projects in development, but everything is up the air for now. Keep tuned in!
Billy, caught in a candid, off-guard quirky-yet-cute moment. What flavor is that, Billy? Strawberry, you say? Prove it!
Did you go to Prom? if so, what did you wear?
I only got to go to prom my junior year; I went with my girlfriend Donna, who was going to another school, so I went to the dance there. I never actually attended any other prom type event except for one Sadie Hawkins dance my sophomore year with a girl named Heather. I was actually really, really shy with girls in high school and had no idea what I was doing. I wore a tuxedo to prom and a snazzy dinner jacket type thing to the Sadie Hawkins. The main difference between then and now is that while I've done quite a bit more since then, I still only have limited ideas as to what I'm doing.
Extra Credit!
Describe to us why New Mexico is the ultimate setting for a Zombie Apocalypse in no more than 5 sentences. You must use the following phrases: 'Martian landscape', 'abandoned vehicles' and 'botanic gardens'.
Seeing as how Albuquerque already has plenty of abandoned vehicles littering its streets, some fairly dynamic and beautiful botanic gardens down by the Rio Grande zoo and nothing but nothing but miles and miles of desiccated craggy rocky terrain resembling Martian landscapes immediately outside town in every direction, how can you not see Albuquerque alone, much less all of New Mexico as the ultimate setting for a zombie apocalypse? Ha! I managed it in one poorly composed run-on sentence! Wait; that's five after all. I think; well, it is now.
Watch Billy star in and direct NECROVILLE in the trailer:
If Eric Stolz and Kevin Bacon were gay and had a genetically engineered child using both of their DNA with which to share their love, but that child ended up straight and his name was Billy Garberina, then Billy Garberina would be a lot like that kid except probably way less rich. Garberina is a guy-next-door sexy goofball with nice broad shoulders who you may have seen in the indie horror releases Feeding The Masses, Gimme Skelter, and The Stink of Flesh. He directed and starred in his own indie horror comedy Necroville, out last year, and will appear in the upcoming horror films Dozers, Braincell, and Wicked Wood in 2009. You will also catch his wacky antics in Low Budget Pictures' Deathbone the Barbarian. As Deathbone. Billy is our Scary Stud of the Month and he's here to make you laugh. I mean, to make you drool. I mean, maybe both...
Comments
Gypsum sSand is not a real element. It is from 'Star Trek' the TV show and was made up by Gene Roddenberry as a fuel source for the ships.
"Society for Caucasian Anti-socials,"...you're welcome, Billy!
I don't know about that. If Billy Garberina says it's dilithium crystals, then, man, that's good enough for me.
White sands is made of gypsum sand, not dilithium crystals.
Billy Garberina Fah King rules!
I can't wait to see him in Deathbone.
Looks funny as hell.
Loved him in Gimme Skelter. Great flick!
I have to applaud this man's appreciation for nude Mario Kart racing. It's a very under-rated sport!