ArtsCAP Interview
 Debbie Higgins |
By PAM LAMBERTON
Debbie Higgins, born and raised in Allenhurst, is a local film critic and film maker whos most recent success is the documentary Snake Hill.
Well received by all who have seen it, Snake Hill is the story of a long abandoned institution in New Jersey where people would be placed for care by both the good intentioned and the bad intentioned. A very interesting story, Snake Hill was first premiered at a private showing at The Baronet in 2006. It went on as a choice for the Red Bank Freedom Film Society where it won the Jersey Fresh Award and Best Feature Documentary. It also won for Best Film Score at The Garden State Film Festival. It had its world premier at The Palm Beach Film Festival.
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Q. Why did you make Snake Hill?
A. I wanted people to know the story. So many people dont know about local history.
Q. Did you celebrate when it was done?
A. Not really. Even though its in the can I never finished with it.
Q. Are you able to make a living making movies here at the Jersey Shore?
A. Well, I actually have a more steady income as a film critic. I write reviews for The Zagat Movie Guide and TES (Theatrical Entertainment Systems.) And hopefully, starting next month Like Minded Entertainment will host a web radio show on a new station Great Online Radio. Ill be doing interviews, chatter and some co-hosting as well as a weekly movie review. You can check the website www.likemindedentertainment.com. for updates on this project. I really am more of a critic than a movie maker. I will also be a guest lecturer at Brookdale this Fall.
Q. How did you get started as a critic?
A. Actually, at The Coaster. I started in 1987. The first review I wrote was for Bright Lights/Big City with Michael J Fox. I cant remember if I even liked it or not.
But I did a lot of things before that!
Q. Like what?
A. I really started my working life with horses. I actually became a trainer. I still love horses and Id love to go back to that one day. But I got side tracked by other things.
I went to Monmouth University as a voice major (I have a BA in Voice) so I decided to perform. I was a showgirl for a little while at Resorts. I also danced in The Ringling Brothers Circus at Great Adventure for 2 years. We had lions and tigers and bears, oh, my. I was a Zebra Dancer!
I married but was widowed very young and had a young child to support. So I started my job at the Allenhurst Post Office where I cant believe I still am today. But never gave up my love for entertainment.
For a while I was The Eastern Demographic Researcher for TES. I would screen movies with test audiences to see how they played.
Somewhere along the line I wrote a screen play called The List. It became an acquisition option for a major studio but was never made into a movie. Not yet at least. Through the affiliations I made during this effort I met Sandra Longo who partnered with me to form Likemindedentertainment.
Q. Have you written anything else?
A. I wrote a thriller called Agrarian about the ultimate terrorist attack. This script is now entering screen writing competitions and looking for an agent. Its been in 2 so far and in LA it made the top 20.
I am also working on another documentary called Angels of the Asylums. This is a TV series about gilded era asylum architecture. Its turning out to be very hard to make. I have identified 14 absolutely magnificent buildings, created between 1885 and 1930 by the premier architects of the time. They were hired by psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbridge who believed that grand structure and beautiful grounds were a panacea and curative to the soul. Kirkbridge formed the bat wing style of architecture prevalent in large state asylums. The grounds were designed by the likes of Olmstead. But its hard to get access. If they are owned by an entity that wants to develop the property and not preserve it, then they dont want to see it in a movie that glorifies it.
It takes me a while to complete a film project. I can only work on it on Mondays. Thats my day off. Snake Hill took 4 years, all Mondays, to make!
Q. So you are really a film nut.
A. I watch about 20 films a week. Both for pleasure and to review for my job. I feel that a really good critic has a wealth of knowledge and experience about the movies.
Q. What is your favorite movie?
A. Well, during the 1960s movies, as the viewing public knows, completely changed. So I have a favorite from before that change and one from after. My before is Ben-Hur and my after is Jaws. Jaws is a really perfect movie in every way. The plot, the music, the casting, everything. My favorites for 2007 are: Gone,Baby,Gone, 3:10 to Yuma and Breach. Nothing yet this year.
Q. How do you feel about the Oscars?
A. I am not a fan of the Oscars. I think it sold out to commercialism. So many of the people who vote do not see all the films nominated.
Q. What else have you been up to?
A. Last year I directed The Jersey Shore Film Festival. We had showings at The Baronet and The Axelrod Theater in Deal. Showing at The Paramount has become too expensive.
I also have 2 other screenplays in the works. Be sure to check my website for updates. My film company is Crescent City Films and is a division of Like minded Entertainment.
I am continuing to run the summer series films on the Beach for The Allenhurst Beach Club.
Q. What is the primary art form that comes to mind when you think of Asbury Park?
A. I grew up in Allenhurst and spent a great deal of time at concerts in Convention Hall. So Id say its concerts. I saw Black Sabbath, Janice Joplin, Jethro Tull. I also loved the amusements.
Q. What are your favorite memories of Asbury Park?
A. The top is The Mayfair. I know its gone but it was so wonderful. The Moorish architecture. The clouds on the ceilings. I was a young teenager when they tore it down. My cousin Cherie, my friend Michael Frankel and I chained ourselves to the bulldozer to try and stop them. To no avail. I also loved the horses on the carousel in The Palace.
Q. What would you like your tombstone to say?
A. Never, never give up.: Or maybe Hit em with a velvet glove.
Q. Why do you think art is important?
A. A common problem with education and home life is that art and regional history is not taught. Children are no longer exposed to ballet and piano. Art feeds the gentle side of your soul. We should be more creative and less competitive. Everything is about NOW instead of revering the past. It is denigrated as old-fashioned and useless.
Q. What is something about you that people might not know?
A. That I have a farmers soul. That I want to get involved with horses again. Oh, that I went to chef school and ran a gourmet basket business here in town. It was called Traveling Feast.
Q. Any future plans that might include Asbury Park?
A. Yes. Id love to write a screenplay about Asbury Park and have some ideas. Id love to use the city and the boardwalk for a specific story I have in mind. Sorry, I cant share the details. Some film makers have been known to borrow other film makers ideas! Id also love to create a movie screening series here in Asbury Park.
For updates on Debbies latest projects see her website www.likemindedentertainment. com
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