WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START DEMIGODDESS VAPE?
“Well, a few years ago, I was on set in a spooky old house
shooting a short film when our smoke machine suddenly stopped
working. The scene needed an eerie, iridescent look. The location
owner, who was the only person vaping on set, started blowing
big clouds for us before each take. It worked great!
I later talked with him about vaping and he told me that he had
tried everything to kick his cigarette habit and that vaping was
the only thing that had worked. After vaping, he never smoked
tobacco again. I was intrigued by his story. I never smoked
tobacco but I have used cannabis medicinally for years to
alleviate stress and menstrual pain. Recognising the rapid growth
of Cannapreneurship, I thought it would be cool to start a vape
company and create products that are geared towards women.”
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A FILM ‘ABOUT’ VAPING?
“Once the company DemiGoddess Vape was launched, the
creative flow just kicked in. I wrote the script for Vape Warz in
about two weeks while my Director of Photography Brian Hanish
was filming another movie in Thailand. I knew he would be the
perfect guy to shoot the web series because in 2014 we filmed a
gritty feature in the desert called Barracuda and I wanted that ‘look’
again. We met for lunch before he left and I told him my ideas.
I didn’t have a script or anything in place at that point. However,
just before he returned, the script was finished, the actors were
cast and our first script read was complete. It all happened very
quickly”.
HOW DID YOU ATTRACT SUCH A GREAT CAST TO THE SCRIPT?
“I’ve been a filmmaker for almost two decades and have met a lot
of talented actors over the years. My producing partner, Clinton H.
Wallace, has been instrumental in helping connect the dots too.
He and I attended a film screening a couple of years ago where
Natasha Blasick (All Star Weekend with Jamie Foxx) played a
Russian spy. I always wanted to work with her after seeing her
performance and wrote the sinister role of the “Vape Cloud
Queen” with her in mind.
I cast a non-actor (Lulu Danger) in the role of a DIY manufacturer
after spotting her in a crowded room at a party in Hollywood.
The antagonist is played by a talented actor/filmmaker named
David Lockhart and the vape cloud competition scene has great
performances by my pop-culture iconic friends Ron Jeremy and
Jeff Dowd (the inspiration for ‘The Dude’ in The Big Lebowski).
My supermodel/musician friend Dustin Quick and her guitarist
husband Medi eM, perform an original song in that scene too. It
was a blast to work with all of these talented artists”.
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT TO SEE FROM DEMIGODDESS PICTURES
AND VAPE IN THE FUTURE?
“Now that season one of Vape Warz was picked up by Amazon and
is streaming in four countries we have Season Two in the works.
The vape community embraced us and we are forming strategic
partnerships with various people and other vape companies who
aim to showcase their products in our web series. Amazon has an
audience of about 85 million subscribers. It’s all about exposure
so it is a great time to be a vape entrepreneur and filmmaker”.
Vape Warz is available to stream on Amazon in the UK, USA, Germany and Japan.
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