An Interview with Joan Marie Moossy

An interview with Joan Marie Moossy, actress, filmmaker, radio and TV hostess who can be seen in the recent independent feature God Is On The Other Side, and cousin of the late, great comedian Bill Hicks.

JMM: Hi there.

AUFF: Hey. Ready for a little 20 Questions?

JMM: Oh sure. Hey, I watched that movie [the upcoming Exhibit A: Leary Vs Hicks] and I was surprised at first to see Bill. Then I remembered that the review from AUFF mentioned that I was his cousin. How did you know?

AUFF: Well, you were mentioned briefly in Kevin Booth’s recent biography, in fact.

JMM: Oh, I didn’t know.

AUFF: Agent of Evolution. Crazy coincidence.

JMM: I haven’t read any of Bill’s bios.

AUFF: The quality varies widely, I would say. So I was just watching the Suffocation video, intense! How did you get involved?

JMM: That was really fun. The people of Raging Nation Films were great. Dale and Kim Restighini, producers and Rick Carmona, director. I answered an ad for an older actress.

AUFF: Ah very cool. Have you done other music videos?

JMM: No, but I would love to.

AUFF: It sounds like a fun experience. Can you tell me a little about ‘Let Them Talk’?

JMM: Sure, Let Them Talk is a weekly talk show that I do with my partner, Paul DeRienzo. We are live every Tuesday night at 8pm Eastern time on MNN’s channel 56. You can also catch us on the internet at MNN.org, then click on channel 56. We’ve been doing it for about a year now on TV, but started on radio where Paul did the show for 10 years and I did it with him for 5.

AUFF: I was perusing the shows, and there seems to be an emphasis on activism and fringe artists, would that be fair to say?

JMM: Absolutely, we’re into socially conscious wierdos and freaks.

AUFF: Haha, excellent! Yeah there is some very interesting stuff. I enjoyed your fashion reporting on the RNC protests.

JMM: Yeah, I published a daily newspaper for the protesters during the republican convention, and I wrote the fashion column.

AUFF: Nice. That must have been crazy. I almost made it out to observe/participate myself.

JMM: We also had a question every day with the man on the street’s answers in the next day’s FLING. That’s what the paper was called. The FLING.

AUFF: Is it still around at all?

JMM: No, there were just 7 issues for the week that the protesters were in town. I’d like to do another run though for the right special event.

AUFF: Ah I see, yeah. There shouldn’t be a shortage of those on our current path. So what was it like being in God Is On The Other Side?

JMM: Well, it was wonderful. I had worked with Marc Eisenstein before on a movie called The Roach, and I had worked with his students from Jersey City State College on my own short movies, so we knew each other quite well by the time we did God is On the Other Side. Marc is a lot of fun with a hilarious, edgy sense of humor. He is very clear, easy director to work with.

AUFF: I certainly enjoyed the film. The costumes were quite memorable, did you have any hand in that?

JMM: I made all of my own costumes. I went shopping a few times with Marc for the military stuff and I made him buy the chrome helmet.

AUFF: Good call.

JMM: Yeah, I loved it the minute I saw it.

AUFF: So wait, you’ve been in the director’s chair as well?

JMM: I’ve made a few short movies. The last 2 premiered at Caroline’s Comedy Club in Times Square.

AUFF: Very cool. Are they viewable/available anywhere?

JMM: They’re not on the internet, but I’ll show you one when you come to NYC. Don’t worry, they’re all short.

AUFF: Ha, that’d be great. That’s another thing I’m definitely going to hit up there, the comedy clubs. Do you go see stand-up much? Austin’s got an up-and-coming scene of its own, we like to think.

JMM: Not really, but my friend, Linda Corke runs The Improv, so I stop in to see her there and she tells me who to watch.

AUFF: That works out nicely.

JMM: Well, when you’ve seen the best…

AUFF: Ah, its true. I just caught Patton Oswalt when he was recording a new CD, he was quite hilarious, heard him?

JMM: No, but I love quite hilarious.

AUFF: We should get along then. So you got any current or upcoming projects?

JMM: Yes, lots and in all different directions, so life is interesting. I’m working on an article about the Lynne Stewart case. I’m also in an independent film called Playing Doctor, directed by Jazzmyn Banks that’s shooting now. In the new year Paul and I are doing a segment on a travel show about NYC, and of course, Let Them Talk. I hope you’ll be our guest when you come to NYC.

AUFF: Love to! That’s quite a plate-full. (I would also encourage you to consider submitting your short films to the AUFF of course). What’s Playing Doctor about?

JMM: Oh, that would be great. It’s a comedy about a relationship book writer whose own relationships are in turmoil.

AUFF: Ah, nice. Sweet irony. I’ll keep an eye out. I read that you appeared on The Stony’s [High Times Magazine’s Movie & TV Marijuana Awards], that must have been interesting.

JMM: It was really fun. Of course I was one of the oldest women in the room. I was in the VIP section waiting to go on, talking to the centerfold’s mother and she said how nice it was to have someone her age to talk to.

AUFF: Do VIPs receive any complimentary hashish?

JMM: No, unfortunately there is no smoking anymore in NY nightclubs, but it was a lovely party nonetheless.

AUFF: Right, I almost forgot. Same with A-Town. Well, Miss Moossy, it was a pleasure.

JMM: I really enjoyed it, too. I look forward to meeting you in person.

AUFF: Back at ya.

-Conducted 12/ 06 by Andy Gately