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Paul Gaita: How did you get the part of Ginger?Nina Blackwood: I think it was the regular way—I don’t remember
specifically how, but I think it came through my agency at the time, which
was the Light Company—Vicky Light was my agent.
I basically went in and auditioned—there wasn’t any special thing that
sticks out in my mind about it.
PG: Did your agent let you know that this was going to be a violent movie?
NB: I don’t remember her saying that, no.
PG: When you read the script, did you have any concerns about the
violence?
NB: Not really, because the thing that attracted me to it was that I
thought the character was really kinda cool—it was really accurate in
terms of these girls, who unfortunately were runaways or whatever, and
come to L.A., and that’s what happened [to them]. It was very realistic.
PG: Your scenes with Wings in the motel on Sunset, which is still there—
NB: Right (laughs).
PG: Those are probably the most brutal in a very violent film. How were
they handled before and while the camera was rolling?
NB: Gary was really great—I thought that he was a very nice person from
the start. I really liked Gary. And he was very protective of me. I was
pretty young at the time, and he treated very gently and nicely. As far as
Wings, he scared me (laughs), to be quite honest. There was not a time
when I wasn’t like (cheerily), “Hey, Wings! Let’s hang out in the trailer
and have lunch!” I kind of steered clear of him. Part of that comes from
the way I work—any time I work on something, I’m pretty solitary.
Prior to the shoot Season [Hubley] gave me a call—I guess Gary had
suggested that we get together so that we could establish a rapport. I did
have lunch with her—I think we met at Jerry’s Deli in Studio City. Season
and I got along great. We were like friends, so it really did help that
relationship. And even now, over the years, I’ve run into her—in fact, one
time over in London, of all places. We still have a connection.
But Wings, it was like… (small voice) “He scares me.”
PG: Gary said that he spent a lot of time bringing Wings down from the
character after a day’s shooting. Is that something you remember as well?
NB: I don’t specifically, but I could see that. He really was that
character—you know, those eyes…I think he’s one of the reasons why the
film is so believable, because he was off the hook. He really was. His
portrayal was so menacing and horrible that it really added to the film.
PG: Well, it’s a combination of the performances, because you and Season
both look like you’re in mortal terror when you’re in a scene with him.
NB: I’ve got to tell you that in that scene in the motel room, he lifted
me off the ground when he opened that door. I mean, I wasn’t hurt, but I
needed medical attention. He was holding onto my throat—I remember that
distinctly. I was like (choking), “Hey, wait a minute!”
PG: Where did you shoot that scene?
NB: In the actual motel. And that’s why I say that the film was pretty
realistic. And the hospital, for my death scene—I did my Camille
(laughs)—that was in a real hospital, and I hate hospitals. They scare me.
That was done in the old Veteran’s Hospital, which was really…(laughs).
PG: And you’re under a sheet for the majority of that scene. That must’ve
been fun.
NB: One of the producers and Gary made me stay on that gurney and practice
being “dead” for what seemed like hours while they were shooting other
scenes. And being a hyper person, that was really hard. It was probably
the hardest part of the whole movie—being still for like, forever
(laughs).
PG: Did you see the movie in a theater when it came out?
NB: Yes. I was already working at MTV when the film opened. I had just
started there, and I went with the VJ assistant, a very nice girl named
Vicky. And we went to a theater in Times Square—I don’t remember the name
of the theater—and we’re watching it, and in typical New York fashion,
during the part where Wings is sweet-talking Ginger into open the door,
this guy in a full New York accent goes, “Don’t open the door, asshole!”
And Vicky and I just slumped down in our seats. It was so perfect.
But it was great. And only in New York. You wouldn’t hear that.
PG: Gary had mentioned that he was disturbed by the fact that some people
in audiences got off on the violence. Did you notice that?
NB: Not when I saw it. And like I said, I’m surprised that it’s become a
cult film. Like I said, to me, it was very realistic and showed things
that really do go on. Years later, I was managing the Las Palmas Theater
(in Hollywood)—I booked bands there—and I remember walking to my car late
one night after the shows were over, and across the street, this woman who
I’m sure was a hooker was getting beat up by her pimp. It was a fancy car,
and you could hear him screaming at her. I was with another person from
the theater, and we were going, “We’ve gotta call someone.” She was
screaming, and you know that’s what was happening. That kind of stuff goes
on all the time.
And they didn’t make up that horrendous thing with the hangers. They
actually had a couple of pages that were like the Vice Squad Dictionary,
which described different terminology and things that hookers were asked
to do, and the slang. And if I remember correctly, they actually had a
couple of girls that advised the project. Gary would be the one to say
“Yes, they did” or “No, they didn’t,” but that’s what I kind of remember
they did for the people who wrote the script. They were very much into
making it real, and that’s probably why it’s lasted so long. I wasn’t
aware that people were getting off on the violence.
PG: I think that there’s a certain faction of people who love exploitation
and cult films and dig that kind of thing. And I remember Gary saying that
he’d made the film to show how horrible that sort of thing was, and was
shocked to see that some people were really into the violence. But I think
that most people don’t feel that way, and why people like Martin Scorsese
and James Bridges respond to that film is because it is so brutally
honest.
NB: Well, look at Reservoir Dogs. That’s a film I can’t even watch. And
when you look at action films that are out now and supposedly “for the
kiddies,” they’re way more violent.
PG: When you got the MTV gig, was Vice Squad ever treated like a skeleton
in the closet?
NB: No, not really. The thing that they were more freaked out was that I
had done a spread for Playboy years before, and as Playboy always does,
they exploit the exploitation and re-release different pictures. I
remember that they were freaking out about that, which I found very
amusing later, considering that Jenny McCarthy was one of their big stars.
It was like, “Wait a minute…” (laughs). But that’s them.
I don’t think anyone ever mentioned Vice Squad during the whole time that
I was there, other than to say that they’d seen it and thought it was
cool.
PG: So you’re happy that it’s a cult film?
NB: Sure. Like I said, it’s a surprise, and it does make me smile. I
certainly never expected it, but it’s cool. I mean, when you called me
about it, I thought it was funny. I’m glad that I participated in the
movie. I think I regard the film differently now than Wings does, but I
thought Ginger was a good little character and a good way to start a
career. I’m a little bit to the left of things anyway. Prior to the MTV
thing, I was working at a very street thing called K-PUNK [note: an early
L.A. cable access show Nina hosted and that featured music videos and
news]—very real, talking to the real punks and going down to Madame
Wong’s. I’ve always been into that kind of stuff than the mainstream phony
stuff. Even though the money is probably better, I’m much prouder of being
in Vice Squad than in some stupid sitcom where the dialogue is so asinine
that it’s an insult to even turn it on for five seconds. If I have my
choice and the money is the same, I’ll always take the darker stuff.
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