ISABELLA GOMEZ star of THE MANNEQUIN, SHRINKING in conversation

From child actor to accomplished Hollywood star, cool Isabella Gomez, lead in indie paranormal horror THE MANNEQUIN in conversation on her career so far. Isabella is part of series SHRINKING, also Matador + movie Royal Rendezvous

rent - buy digital platforms THE MANNEQUIN also starring Krystle Martin, Shireen Lai, Lindsay LaVanchy, Laura Arden, Trevor LaPaglia; 

written-directed by John Berardo  

https://youtube.com/@movieanalystshaneadambassett?si=nZyw5fHIS4t_KgXj

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:26

Out of the 1987 movie Mannequin. Not the 2025 movie The Mannequin, starring Isabel Gomez, a natural child star from Colombia, went to America and has not looked back. She's a terrific actor, really incredible talent, was in things on television such as Head of the Class, The Goldbergs. She was in shrinking, still is in shrinking in the latest season as Marisol. And a TV movie called Royal Rendezvous. I've got to say I have a soft spot for it. It was a bit of a rom-com that I like. However, The Mannequin for a micro budget film that's horror, paranormal, and I mean really micro budget, it's not bad. I mean, it's not to be taken too seriously. Uh it's presented with broad strokes. The actors in it help. I think all the girls are pretty good in particular. Uh I love the opening. It has this uh really incredible opening that it's a flashback in black and white, and it sort of sets up a bit of the history to the mannequin itself. Uh and the loft location, which we talk about in the interview, you're about to hear I had with Isabella Gomez. So the mannequin you can rent or buy on digital platforms, and depending on in which part of the world you're in, you can get it on DVD if you still buy physical media. And by the way, my name is Shane A. Bassett, your host, and thank you for joining me on another edition of Sydney Critique. Uh the mannequin also stars Catherine Jacobs, uh, Shireen Lay, I thought she was pretty good in the film, and of course, Crystal Martin, Trevor Lapalia, among others. But Isabella Gomez, you're about to hear from her, a wonderful young talent. Uh, I really do think there'll be a lot more roles for her to come in the near future that involve very scary happenings. She reacts and has a presence of her own in this movie. And it's a you know, it's an interesting movie. I mean, a lot of people might not like it, others are gonna really enjoy it. Uh I don't know if there's anyone gonna be on the fence with this one, but I have a a really, really good thought, you know, good thought process when it comes to uh movies where actors have to be scared. It's a realism that's not that easy to do. I think Isabella Gomez well you can decide for yourself when you watch the mannequin, and here we go. Enjoy the interview. But remember you can also see our conversation on my YouTube channel, movie analyst Shane Adam Bassett, and you can find me on social media at movie underscore analyst. Hey Isabella Gomez, I'm Shane A. Bassett. It is so lovely to meet you, and good morning from the other side of the world.

SPEAKER_01 4:08

Good morning. So happy to be here.

SPEAKER_00 4:10

Thank you so much. Uh okay, so we we'll focus on The Mannequin, a new movie that's just been released in Australia and in other parts of the world, also. But firstly, uh, tell me about how you got into acting. Was it something you fell into? I know early in your career was, you know, there was some Disney and some new Star Wars stuff and things happening. Uh, how did you get into what you do now?

SPEAKER_01 4:34

Well, I started when I was super little. I was born and raised in Colombia, and my mom's best friend at the time was involved in the industry there. And they were looking, I was six years old and they were looking for a girl for a commercial. They couldn't find her, they couldn't find her. And I am an only child. I was a very precocious child. And so he asked her if he could just, if she could just bring me in and see like if it would work. And truly, the rest is history. Like they put me in front of a camera, and I was like, oh, this is what I want to do forever. And so I started doing little things in Columbia, and then once we moved to the states, I started like properly training. I I lived like two blocks away from an acting studio, and I took every single class they offered, and it just kind of snowballed.

SPEAKER_00 5:29

So you were a natural, you weren't forced into it. It was something that you you went into, but then it the passion grew, obviously.

SPEAKER_01 5:36

Yeah, it's been very interesting. Like to be kind of an a child actor in the sense that I've been doing it for a long time, but I didn't really start working consistently till my later teens. And that's been very cool. Like, I I've gotten to do it both as like a passion and a hobby, and then also now as my career and and what I do for my livelihood, and it's my it's my favorite thing in the world.

SPEAKER_00 6:03

Would you say you've not reached your peak, but you're at you're in your highest part of your career at the moment, um, with shrinking and the mannequin?

SPEAKER_01 6:12

Um one day at a time for me, I think will maybe always be the peak, not only professionally, because I mean working with Rita Moreno and Norman Lear and Justina Machado was insane, but spiritually, like it just it was the best show. I loved it so much. I that those people are still my family. I text with them every day. I was just with Gloria the other day. Yeah. So I think for me, one day at a time has always been like the peak. Like, how will we ever top this? But definitely working on shrinking and the mannequin has been very uh artistically fulfilling, and I feel very, very honored that people have allowed me to be a part of these projects.

SPEAKER_00 7:00

And and comedy, it I promise I'm getting to the mannequin, but comedy is something you've done a lot of that's hard to do. Were you a natural, natural to deliver the lines, or did it did you have to work hard for your comedy aspects?

SPEAKER_01 7:14

You know what's so funny is when I started my career, I was like, I am a dramatic actor, like that's all I'll ever do. I just want to cry on camera. And my family, my parents specifically, were always like, You are so funny, like you should be a comedic actress. And I didn't believe them. I was like, you guys love me, which is why you think I'm funny. But then I then my first big job was a comedy, and I I did immediately go into training for it. You know, there's a lot of technical stuff in comedy that I wasn't privy to yet, but I do think my dad's very funny. I think my dad was a stand-up comedian in another lifetime, and um, and I'm like this, I have a very big personality, and so it kind of was natural, but I did definitely hone it. I I do respect the artistry of comedy a lot, and I think that people underestimate it and think that it's easy and it's it's not. You really you have to be very grounded and work hard at it for it to come out well.

SPEAKER_00 8:18

Well, it sounds like you're dedicated and work hard at every every project you do. And in that in the mannequin, how many mannequins were injured in the making of that movie?

SPEAKER_01 8:30

Actually, only one because when we were doing the mannequin, it was it was an ultra low budget. We were in the middle of the strike, it was like such a weird time to be making films, and we shot it in 12 days, like we had no time, no money. So there was only one mannequin that we could really go at, and the art department was like, don't break it, like this is one and only so only the one mannequin was injured in the making of the mannequin.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

Well, the mannequin's kind of the set in piece, but you're there, and a few of your co-stars. Were you told to do, you know, because you were in such a rush with the lines and you know, your location, did it seem like more pressure on you as an actor, or it was it easier because you just had to get it done?

SPEAKER_01 9:22

Um, I think I I thought so little about that because this team, uh, both the director John and the actors, we've done a movie together before. Okay. And we're all like really good friends. And so more than anything, it felt like coming home and it felt a little bit, I always said it felt like we were at summer camp, like this was some sort of theater summer camp that we got to be a part of. And when you're working with people who you've worked with before, who you trust artistically, and who know you, so that you don't feel like you have to come in and prove yourself. You actually get to just come in and tell the story you're telling. A lot of the pressure comes off. So, in that sense, no. Um, but of course, it's always in the back of your mind as an actor when you're like, Oh, we have we have one take, and so you better tie it up and and do it right. But I was very lucky to be surrounded by people who I felt very safe with.

SPEAKER_00 10:25

Yeah, I I thought you'd worked with a couple of the you know casts before and and stuff, so that's really, really good because it'd be like slipping in to an old t-shirt or something, you can just get straight into it.

SPEAKER_01 10:37

Exactly. And Gabriela Rivera, who was playing my sister, is my best friend. We were living together at the time, and so we would like drive to set together. It was just very um serendipitous, like there was not a lot of acting in the like friendship part of it, so it was it was good.

SPEAKER_00 10:54

I was gonna say best friends, sisters, that's the same thing, right?

SPEAKER_01 10:57

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 11:00

Uh I like Gabriela, uh Gabriella too. She was she was really cool. Um, yeah, she was really cool. So if you're watching this, hello. Talk to you. Uh the space was really cool. Uh I mean, was it a location? I'm guessing it was a location, but has it been used before? The like the loft and everything, it just looked like a really cool setting.

SPEAKER_01 11:20

It was super cool. I'm sure that loft is used for everything because it's in downtown LA, it's right off the highway.

SPEAKER_00 11:26

It's I'm sure I've seen it in another movie. I was pausing it and trying to work it out, but uh I you know, I would say it's been even more than movies, they've used it a lot for like actual like fashion and and photo shoots and all that.

SPEAKER_01 11:39

It's gorgeous, it's so beautiful and it like is so versatile. When we first saw it, it was just like that big, wide open room. I was like, what are we gonna do in here? Like, how do you do a horror movie in one big black box? Um, but it the it lends itself to such beautiful like art department stuff, and the all of the windows, I always said it felt like we were like in a bubble or in like an aquarium. And that's a different kind of fear where you're like, I'm in the middle of a city, I can see people like the the highway and I can hear people, and I'm still not gonna be heard, and I'm still isolated in the middle of everybody, and I think it's a very different kind of horror than we're used to seeing. Usually we see a cabin in the middle of the woods, and so this was cool.

SPEAKER_00 12:33

Yeah, did it you so you're saying you could see people out there, you're worried about them seeing you, you're vulnerable. Did that help with the the character?

SPEAKER_01 12:41

Totally, it helps so much. Like my favorite part was the the highway being right there. There was something so psychologically messy about being like, there's humans right there, and there's nothing they don't know, and there's nothing they they're gonna do for me, and that's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

And with horror, was it hard? Like on paper, it you know, it might have looked very scary, but then it's a movie that you're probably, and I'm being honest, not to take too seriously, but it's done well, so you start taking it seriously during it, even though it's a mannequin that's possessed, and I don't want to give too many spoilers away. But was it was it hard being scared or of something that wasn't moving, or were you just having images in your head of something else as you acted?

SPEAKER_01 13:31

Um it wasn't hard. I think because I've been doing it for so long, you just kind of get so used to like the suspension of disbelief and this notion of like you have like your your imagination is part of your artistry, and your imagination does feed into your emotional state. And so that was easy, but also like it was a very small crew, very small cast, and we're shooting in the middle of the night in the middle of downtown LA. So it is a little creepy, like there was creepy elements, and it did feel a little like I didn't like to go to the bathroom alone, like somebody come with me. So it like there is definitely an imagination element, but you can absolutely lean into the horror of it and just let your brain go wild with that, which is nice.

SPEAKER_00 14:24

Did you anyone give her or him or uh them a name uh while you were there, their own name, or call it anything funny?

SPEAKER_01 14:33

Just the mannequin. She actually was very creepy, and so we didn't like interact with her a lot in between days, like she genuinely did have a very weird energy to her, and I'm pretty superstitious. So I was like, I don't need to be a part of this.

SPEAKER_00 14:52

Yeah, there was an interesting, unique look to the mannequin, and you know, that's on the cover art and everything, uh, and it works. Uh it shouldn't, but it it works. Whoever designed it and and put it in the the parts of the room when you know the cinematography helps it a lot too in that area.

SPEAKER_01 15:09

Cinematography was gorgeous. Like every time we walked into a set, I was like, this is the most beautifully lit, framed. Like it just it was so stunning. We we got very lucky with our team.

SPEAKER_00 15:22

Uh is there anything when you're on a project or on a set that you always have to have with you? Do you take with you like an item of clothing or something in your pocket? Anything ever or not?

SPEAKER_01 15:33

Not really. I mean, besides like my phone. I always have my phone with me. I do do like a big setbag. I I like to bring like all of my makeup, all of like different undergarments, different like fashion tapes, and all of that, just because you never really know how the team will come together and if you're gonna like the way you look and and blah blah blah. But superstitiously, not really. Um, okay, I didn't really have anything with me now.

SPEAKER_00 16:05

Oh, yeah, some as some actors are superstitious and have something with them all the time, but no, if you're that easy, you can just hit the set and start working, that's cool too. Yeah, so your Colombian heritage, and you know, you've been in the US for such a long time. Female, have you had no problems throughout your career getting you know, getting into projects and auditioning, or has there ever been any roadblocks because of your heritage or anything like that?

SPEAKER_01 16:37

Totally. It it actually is very interesting. When I first moved from Colombia to the States, I moved to Florida, yeah, um, Orlando, and that's a huge Latin culture as well. Yeah. So it actually wasn't until I moved to LA that I started feeling any kind of discrimination. Um, I'm also super white passing, and so it just I kind of blended. But once I booked one day at a time, and it was so like we were so loud about being Latinos and we were so proud about being Latinos, I did feel a crazy shift after. Like before that, I was definitely auditioning for everything. Like my everybody wanted to see me for any kind of role because I'm ambiguous. And once people were like, Oh, Isabella Gomez is Latina, it does shrink the things that you can go out for. And and people definitely put you in a box and think that you can only do a certain thing, not only heritage-wise, by the way, but also like for a long time, people were like, Oh, she's just funny, like she's just the funny girl, she can't do other things. And John was actually one of the first people that was like, I think that you're more than funny. I think I'm gonna let you get covered in blood and and scream in front of a camera. And I'm so grateful for that. But it is definitely an industry that you get you get blocked in quick.

SPEAKER_00 18:01

Yep. Yeah, uh, International Women's Day is coming up um very soon. Is there any uh females, women in your life that you have been inspired by? Uh obviously your best friend, your bestie within the movie with you, but anyone else as well?

SPEAKER_01 18:18

Mostly all women that I'm inspired by, usually. Um, Gloria Calderon Kellett is kind of my my industry mom. She's the person who booked me on one day at a time and has since had like we have a very like artistic connection. The way that she writes makes a lot of sense to my brain, and also I've been working with her for a decade, and so like a mentor. Yeah, she's she's really taken me under her wing, and she's also just so badass the way that she has come into her career. She started as an actor, she saw that there weren't a lot of roles for Latinas, and so she decided to teach herself writing and create the roles that she didn't see, and she's one of the most well-known Latinx creatives in Hollywood right now. So she's definitely my north star when it comes to the industry, but then also, you know, Justina Machado, Rita Moreno, Stephanie, Melissa Fomero, like all of these powerhouse women I've gotten to work with are who I emulate and then who I try to be like when I'm on set.

SPEAKER_00 19:32

Yeah, well, you're well on your way. I think you got a lot of talent, and you're a lovely person too. So that helps. And you you are diverse when it comes to choosing roles. They're they're not always the same, even if they are comedy. I've noticed what I have seen, your characters are not the same. So that's something that you must be looking at at scripts. Do you do you look for that? Or does it just you wait till something comes along?

SPEAKER_01 19:55

Absolutely. I mean, listen, especially with the way the industry has been in the last five or so years. So true. If there's a job, I'm taking it. I like to be at work. But my team and I do definitely have, you know, strategy, and we we want to make sure that everything that we're saying yes to is something that's exciting for me, something that pushes me to my edge of growth, that makes me a little nervous, that makes me feel like I am being tested. Um, and also, yeah, that shows range and shows that I'm not just one thing.

SPEAKER_00 20:32

And you mentioned Rita a few times, obviously, amongst some other, you know, wonderful names. But do you you know, do you did you chew her ear chew her ear off for information and talk about you know the Hollywood history?

SPEAKER_01 20:44

You don't have to chew her ear off all on her own. Rita is has been the center of attention her entire career, and she likes it that way.

SPEAKER_00 20:56

Oh, she'd be amazing to talk to. I know that I'd ask questions about movies from you know 50 years ago, 60 years ago, or more.

SPEAKER_01 21:03

Again, you don't even have to ask questions. Like on Odat, we would come down to work and she would be in the middle of the living room set, just like holding court, and it'd be like the entire cast and crew listening to her talk about Elvis and Marlon Brando and like all of these people that she's talking about so nonchalantly, like this was just her life. But two us were like it's Hollywood royalty, like this is like it, but you don't have to ask her. She will tell you, and she will tell you often, and she will spill all of the secrets. I know, I know tea that will never come out, but that's really exciting.

SPEAKER_00 21:46

Well, she sounds like a great interview, perfect for me. I ask one question and I just have to sit back and listen. That'd be great.

SPEAKER_01 21:52

You would love to interview her.

SPEAKER_00 21:54

I hope so. I hope so one day. Uh and she does a lot of singing and dancing in in her career. Is that something that you would you would do as well? A musical or anything like that?

SPEAKER_01 22:04

I wish. I always said, like if I was gifted with singing and dancing, I would be in New York trying to do Broadway. I love musicals, I love singers, I love dancers. Um I I can dance, I can like do that. The singing is a mess. Although I have been in a musical movie. It was a Christmas movie. And when I went into audition, I was like, you guys, like I can't sing. You'd like you'd have to dub me. And they were like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like there's only one song for this character, it's fine. And they gave me the role and then made me record the song. So it is on Spotify. If you look up Toys, Toys, Toys. I am singing that song with Lara Morano, who's an incredible singer. Um, but but no, I don't, that's not usually my MO.

SPEAKER_00 23:06

Well, that one slipped by me. I love Christmas movies, they're so cheesy, but they're always fun. And you're in it, you're talented, and you sing. So I'll be checking that out at probably Christmas in July. I might wait till July.

SPEAKER_01 23:19

Yeah, you should wait till give it a year. We'll be we'll be doing Christmas again in no time.

SPEAKER_00 23:24

Yeah, yeah, it's very soon. It comes around so quick.

SPEAKER_01 23:27

Um Australia.

SPEAKER_00 23:29

Uh, have you ever been down under or visited Australia at all?

SPEAKER_01 23:33

I love Australia. I mean, I'm sure you are sick of hearing everybody be like, I'm afraid of the animals.

SPEAKER_00 23:40

I'm proud of it. I'm I'm proud of it, so I love hearing about it.

SPEAKER_01 23:43

But it's the best. I went um went to Sydney with my parents, and I just thought it was the most like beautiful, picturesque place in the world. And I love beach culture, and I love that like the entire city just kind of feels like beach culture, but also the most gorgeous people I've ever seen, and like the most like beautiful outfits, like people were so put together. I loved it. I love Sydney. If it wasn't so far away, I think I'd be there all the time.

SPEAKER_00 24:15

Yeah, that that's the common thing. We are we are that much further away than just about everyone else, and uh it's a big effort to get down under a different time zone hemisphere. We're in another hemisphere.

SPEAKER_01 24:28

A whole different cast of characters when it comes to animals. You're like have to learn a lot about what you can and can get near.

SPEAKER_00 24:35

Yep, yep. Uh, I'm a surfer. Have you ever been surfing? Can you surf?

SPEAKER_01 24:41

I went surfing one time. Yeah, I almost died, and I went that's enough. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 24:50

Well, if yeah, if you can't, you know, uh manage to pick up surfing because it really is just balance. You have to figure out the sharks as well. They pop up every now and then, so there's there's your way out.

SPEAKER_01 25:02

I yeah, I mean, for I think I was also I went with a surfer who threw me into a wave system that I think was entirely too big for me. Like it was like five foot waves, and I've never oh, too big, too big. Too big. I was like, the you you made a mistake, you taught me wrong. Um, so in that sense, I would maybe try it again. But sharks, I love sharks. I love shark week, I think they're beautiful creatures, and also I don't want to get bit by them. No, I don't think that that would be a fun time.

SPEAKER_00 25:33

No, no, I wouldn't hurt one either unless it was hurting me. That's that's right.

unknown 25:37

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 25:39

And uh, what do you do outside of acting and performing and and being, you know, the working hard person that you are? Uh do you have other interests? Do you read or or write maybe? Are you writing?

SPEAKER_01 25:52

I listen to a lot of audiobooks. I'm a big reader, I love a podcast, I love true crime, anything that's like a documentary on anything.

SPEAKER_04 26:02

Yeah, um, there's lots of those.

SPEAKER_01 26:04

Lots of those, lots of those. I love rock climbing, I love like being out in nature, I'm a big hiker. Um, anything that gets me out of like proper LA, I'm not much of a city person. Sure. So I love nature, whether that's a hike or a rock climber, just like sitting and looking at a view or a documentary on literally anything. If it's a documentary that has a narrator, I will watch you make a rock. Like it doesn't even matter. I'll watch it.

SPEAKER_00 26:36

So well, there's so many cameras around on your phone or elsewhere. You you can pretty much make a documentary about anything, and it probably wouldn't take that long if you, you know, dedicated yourself to it for a while.

SPEAKER_01 26:49

Exactly. Actually, should I make a documentary? I've never thought about that.

SPEAKER_00 26:53

Maybe the next uh set that you're on, you can just start doing a little uh set, you know, set docker or behind the scenes.

SPEAKER_01 27:02

I might do that, that would be fun.

SPEAKER_00 27:05

What about cooking? Do you eat a lot of Colombian, uh, you know, beautiful uh cooking, or is it just anything? Have you got any specialties that you you enjoy to eat, or you can't cook?

SPEAKER_01 27:16

I like the running joke in my friend group is that I survive off of trick and nuggets, which is kind of the vibe. But funny enough, I played a chef in a movie once, and during yeah, so during that era of my life, I did a lot of cooking because I needed to practice my knife skills and all of that, and it's not my favorite. I like to be, I think I was made to be the companion of the cook. I can sit, I can entertain, I'll chat with you, I can zoom chef, like I can like talk about things and bring things, but I am not, I'm not the mastermind.

SPEAKER_00 27:54

Oh well, you know, you can't be good at everything, Isabella. You know, exactly. Uh a couple more before we wrap up. I've got to ask about shrinking. It keeps winning awards, it has an extraordinary cast. Uh, you're part of it now. Tell me a little bit about your experience on that. Did you have to audition, or did someone else know you and want you for the part and your cast members in particular, you know, Mr. Ford?

SPEAKER_01 28:20

Oh, I mean, shrinking, I was very, very lucky. I I worked with Bo Lawrence on Head of the Class in another great show. Another great show. Um, and we we know we rebooted that, and he he put so much trust in me. I mean, I was 22 playing a high school teacher, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:41

And all of my kids were I wasn't sure how old you were, but I was pretty sure you know, you you'd be pushing it to be a high school teacher.

SPEAKER_01 28:47

I was pushing it, I was pushing it. All of my kids were like taller than me, they all looked older than me. And so Bill and I uh got very close during that process. Also, it was COVID, so it was like a very locked-down set. Um, so once he, you know, was back on shrinking, um, this this came to me. I didn't have to audition. It was very, very lovely and lucky. Oh, fantastic. Fantastic. And it's been a dream. I was really scared because you know, Harrison Ford, Jason, Krista Miller, like these are huge names who are incredibly talented people and like stars in their own right. And sometimes that means that you're not the nicest in this industry, and so I was a little worried about going to set until I got there, and they are just the most lovely, welcoming, like true artists. They all care so much about this show and the story that they're telling and making sure that they're telling it correctly. Um, and they're just the nicest. I mean, Luke, who I play opposite of, is truly one of the most charming, lovely men I've ever met. And it's it's a dream. I'm I they got renewed for a season four, and I'm just like anxiously waiting by my phone, like, okay, ask me back.

SPEAKER_00 30:13

Well, you haven't been written out. Uh I've you know, I've seen your story up. So I think you're pretty safe with any luck.

SPEAKER_01 30:20

Hopefully, from your mouth to God's ears.

SPEAKER_00 30:23

Well, different from uh the mannequin, I'm assuming, is mannequin short, you know, you shot it so quickly and with a lower budget where shrinking. I'm not saying it's an endless uh budget, but it's a bit different on.

SPEAKER_03 30:38

Oh yeah, insane.

SPEAKER_00 30:40

Yeah, right from uh the crowd services all the way up, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_01 30:44

All the way up. I mean, even just for episode five, it came out last week. There's a scene where the the crew, the young crew, goes out partying, yeah, and it's it was an eighth of a page. There was no dialogue, like it's just the camera moving through a party, and we took eight hours on it. It was like 200 extras and like crane shots and a DJ and a laser specialist and a safety specialist, and like it the the budget of it was insane, um, and so cool to be a part of, and and of course, because you know, if you have Harrison Ford, you you better be doing things at the top of your game.

SPEAKER_00 31:27

Yeah, he's as lovely in real life, or do you sort of l let him to his own device? How do you approach him?

SPEAKER_01 31:34

So lovely. I haven't gotten to work with him, but I actually met him. We were at an event, um, and I got to meet him briefly, and he is so welcoming, so grounded, so like curious about people, like genuinely wanted to chat with people and like be involved with them. And the crew loves him, which is how you know if somebody is actually a good person or not. Um, the crew of shrinking adores Mr. Ford and he treats them so lovely. He's he's the best.

SPEAKER_00 32:10

Yeah, that's sort of an unspoken rule. I've uh as a journalist and movie analyst, I've been on a lot of movie sets, you know, invited to talk to people and and watch filming. And if the crew likes the cast, you know that they're nice people, that's true.

SPEAKER_01 32:23

Yeah, that's how you know. Always ask the crew, they'll tell you the truth.

SPEAKER_00 32:28

That's it. No, and that's that's the way it should be, I think, in many ways, because they're the ones, you know, there's more of them on set mostly, and there's they're just in control in a way as well.

SPEAKER_01 32:38

We can't do it without them, like you literally without a crew, we are just playing pretend in living rooms, so be nice to your crews, everybody.

SPEAKER_00 32:47

Well, I'm an awards ceremony junkie, and you know, follow them right through, obviously, for work, but out of my own interest. And it is great when winners thank the crew or specific crew, you know, areas. I like that.

SPEAKER_01 32:59

Absolutely, it's the cool, like it's just there's such a weird perception of Hollywood and the industry and like what being an actor means, yeah. And a lot of people drink the Kool-Aid and and kind of go along with it. But when you really realize that it is a joint effort and it takes a village, and if it wasn't for every single one of us, uh you can't do it. So you have to you have to uplift your crew, and also your crew is there before you and after you, and they're working so much harder than you. So be nice.

SPEAKER_00 33:36

Yeah, that's something we don't say much, Dan, under uh the Kool-Aid thing, but I know it, I've heard it plenty of times.

SPEAKER_01 33:43

Yeah, drink the Kool-Aid, that does feel very American.

SPEAKER_00 33:47

Yeah, oh, that's all good. It's all good. Uh, and what's next? What's coming up? Any exclusives? Anything you can tell me about you've you've wrapped up or you're filming?

SPEAKER_01 33:56

No, I'm I'm standing by for season four of shrinking. We're still putting out season three, yeah. But as you know, the industry has been a disaster, and so we're we're slowly putting our feet back in and seeing what's next.

SPEAKER_00 34:12

Yeah, okay. Do you do you get to the cinema match itself to a theater? And you know, the Oscars are coming up. Have you seen any of the the best picture nominees?

SPEAKER_01 34:20

I have lately. I'm actually I after the pandemic, I stopped being a movie theater person. Sure, okay. I'm in a new relationship and they love the theater. Yeah, so I've been going a lot, and right now, sinners. I mean, yeah, sinners for me is the it factor of this award season. I also think that Michael B. Jordan is perfect, Haley Seinfeld is perfect, that entire has like the the sound of that movie, the way that they the cinematography, the color correction, the the writing. It just it was it's perfect, and horror seldom gets its flowers during award season. People don't really think of horror as like something to give awards to. Very rarely very excited that they are they're getting their flowers.

SPEAKER_00 35:16

I mean, if they're watching it streaming or whatever, you can see the the great thumbnail, the the picture of of the mannequin, but why should people choose to watch it being you know the lead in the film?

SPEAKER_01 35:29

People should choose to watch the mannequin because it's not what you'd expect. You go into the movie thinking that you know what it's gonna be, and it really combines a couple of genres, it combines a couple of stereotypes that we normally do in horror and kind of twists it into this whole new messed up world that you're like, how could you escape from this? So if you're wanting to watch something that's a little bit out of the usual in horror, you should check out the mannequin.

SPEAKER_00 36:00

Absolutely, and that couch looks very uh comfortable. That's everyone sitting on the top.

SPEAKER_01 36:05

It was very comfortable. I took a nap on it, it was great. It was a good set.

SPEAKER_00 36:11

I was checking it out. I'm like, oh, I could I could watch a movie on that.

unknown 36:15

That'd be good.

SPEAKER_01 36:17

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 36:21

There you go. I really enjoyed talking to Isabella and uh hope you enjoyed listening to it. And here's a little bit of the trailer before we wrap it up. And once again, my name is Shane A. Bassett. You can find me at movie underscore analyst. It is a uh it's a movie that does a lot with very little. And you know what? The second time for me was a better viewing than the first time. I got a lot more out of it and the little details. Uh a lot's been put into it for an indie independent movie like this one. I really hope you enjoyed if you get to watch The Mannequin.

SPEAKER_02 37:03

How about we take a few with the dress on?

SPEAKER_03 37:07

Jack!

unknown 37:08

Jack!

SPEAKER_03 37:13

This is huge.

SPEAKER_01 37:15

What's back here? Oh, I should have thought that was a real person. So, where'd you get this?

SPEAKER_05 37:30

Did you uh get that when you started saying that? Yeah. All three of us, we're not really sure what it's from. The building was first used as a mannequin factory, operated by a photographer Jackie. So you're saying that a dead serial killer is doing this to us? Yes.