Interview: Necrolectric with Eric Carpenter and Zach Bostrom

Me with Zach and Eric at RT

Hi everyone! Today I am so excited to welcome Eric Carpenter and Zach Bostrom to the blog. I met Eric and Zach this year at the RT convention, and not only are they both super hotties, but also as nice as can be!

They were there to promote their new web show, Necrolectric. So I thought it would be fun to have them stop by the blog and chat with us about their show. Please join me in giving them a big welcome!

Hi Zach and Eric! Welcome to the blog. Before we get too far, can you guys tell my readers a little bit about yourselves?

Eric: Well, I’d first like to say thank you for having us Jay and a big hello to all of the readers. I’m originally from Ohio, spent 4 yrs in NYC mainly doing theater and a little TV/Film and about 3 years ago moved to LA to continue my career. Since I began acting at age 13, some of my projects have included “Forensic Files,” “Young and the Restless,” a LIfetime MOV, a James Franco produced film, and production is set to start this year on a new horror franchise.

Zach: I’m a 3rd generation Californian. I’m a lefty. I love soccer and have played all over the world on just about every stage. I have a degree in English with a specialty in Creative Writing. I love to workout. It’s my de-stressor and secondary passion to acting. This comes in handy since it’s a mandatory I keep my body in shape for acting because you never know when you’ll get a project that requires lots of shirtless scenes like Necrolectric.

Zach Bostrom (Cas)

Now I know Necrolectric is a paranormal web series. Can you tell us a little bit more about the story as well as the characters you guys each play?

Zach: I play Cas. Cas is immortal. Cas and Alaric are brothers, but wouldn’t be if Cas had his choice. When we meet Cas he seems like a one-dimensional jerkface. His story is quite tragic though and as the season goes on you learn why he’s shut off himself off from the world. You’ll begin to understand how complex of a person he really is under that coat of armor he wears to protect himself and others.

Along with being immortal Cas was also born electric. Cas doesn’t know how or why. His electric powers, which many would consider a gift, he feels are a curse. He’s slowly learned over thousands of years how to control and hone his curse but he’s still far from mastering it. He’s accidently killed innocent people in the past with his powers which has jaded him from developing many relationships. Cas likes to keep to himself and tries to control himself in all situations. Whenever his emotions boil over he begins to lose control of his powers and people get hurt. His electric powers are awesome! He can teleport, heal, he can summon electricity to stun or kill people, and can manipulate the electricity he generates to do whatever he wills. He has a few other things he can do with his electricity but I’m not allowed to share those at this time.

Because of these powers whenever Alaric gets into trouble or cannot solve case for the organization he works for he calls Cas. Most times Cas isn’t amused when he hears his phone ring because he knows it means Alaric is in trouble, however, this time when Alaric calls Cas he meets Eve who reminds him of someone from his past. She begins to draw him out from his reclusive lifestyle.

Eric: Necrolectric focuses on a woman, Eve, who’s trying to understand why she constantly needs to die in order to come back to life. She meets my character, Alaric, who is an immortal cursed assassin and asks me to kill her. Before doing so, I ask to know more about her. As we slowly start to fall for one another, I oblige her request only to find out afterward that she has broken one of my longest runing curses put upon me. I ask my brother, Cas, to take care of her body only to have him realize that he might have loved her in one of her past lives. While our love triangle is starting, Alaric and his partner, Jax (who can see and speak with the deceased) work for an organization to prevent paranormal crimes. Someone is methodically killing five individuals and if we don’t stop this threat, the world as we know it will cease to exist. Eve begins to help along with her colleague, Z, who after touching a corpse or anything of theirs, can relive the last moments of that person’s life.

Have either of you acted before? How is it different doing a web show versus a different media?

Eric Carpenter (Alaric)

Zach: I’ve been acting since I was about 5 years old. My first project was the series Fame. Some of the more recognizable shows I’ve been on are Will and Grace, JAG, Days of Our Lives, Close to Home, Disney’s Johnny Tsunami and Dinosaur, Full House, and I played Ernie in the series Harry and the Hendersons.

Production with the web series is kind of like a mishmosh of shooting a soap, series, and film all in one. It normal takes 2-3 days to shoot an episode. We don’t take a day to rehearse, do table reads, etc like a normal series. Like a soap we have a daily shoot schedule planned out and depending upon how many locations we’re shooting at that day we’ll have a varying number of scenes. We’ll block/rehearse a scene as the crew sets up lights and the camera. Once that’s all done we’ll shoot. Unlike a series or soap but like film we’re only using one camera so we’ll do the same scene multiple times to get a master, close ups, two-shots, and any other shots needed.

I know this story is a paranormal, is it a romance as well? Can you talk more about some of the paranormal aspects of the story?

Eric: As I briefly touched upon earlier, my character Alaric is not only immortal but also cursed. He’s gotten himself into trouble throughout his life and pissed off various people who’ve placed curses upon him. Some are very mild and embarrassing/annoying, while others, as you’ll see starting at the end of episode 2 as well as our trailer, are more dangerous and destructive to anyone around him. His brother Cas is also immortal but he has the power of electricity, teleportation, healing and he’s continuing to learn new skills throughout his life. My parter, Jax, is a mortal but he can see and hear the deceased. Eve has the power of electricity as well but also continually dies and comes back to life. Z can relieve the last moments of a person’s life after touching a corpse or any aspect of their DNA.

Zach: The only thing that made Cas happy was the love that he lost. Without her he’s heartbroken. He was utterly dependent on her. She taught him how to live and not be afraid of his powers. Without her he’s weary and bitter. The writers and I have nicknamed Cas Mr. Grumpy Pants. When he meets Eve it’s the first time he’s caught completely off guard. She reminds him so much of his lost love he feels compelled to be around her. As Eve gets herself into trouble Cas has to save her since he wasn’t able to save his past love.

I’ve already told you about Cas’ powers but all of our characters have very cool supernatural abilities and gifts. Alaric is also immortal and has hundreds of curses. Some curses are good some are bad. He also has super strength and speed which comes in handy since he’s an assassin for the organization he works for. Alaric’s partner Jax can see and talk with ghosts. This helps when investigations involving murders. Z can relive the last few moments of a person’s life. She doesn’t just see the moments but feels everything that person felt during those last moments. She feels the pain, fear, anger, helplessness, etc. As you can imagine it’s quite draining on her.

Right now you all just have m/f partnerships in the series, is that correct? Any chance we are going to see some GBLT character or any m/m romance in this season or future ones?

Eric: That is definitely a possibility as the second season is just starting to be written, so we’d love to hear what you guys out there want to see. We love feedback and want this to be as much your show as it is ours. We love our fans and definitely want to see your voices heard and include you on our adventure.

Zach: Yes, right now that is correct we only have m/f partnerships. In the trailer Eve mentions the common themes about her dying and coming back to life. She never says she only comes back only as a female. As you watch and learn the back story to both Cas and Alaric you’ll find that neither of the characters have limited themselves to only female partnerships in their past. I don’t know what the writers have in store in regards to GBLT or m/m romance for future seasons though.

Necrolectric Cast

You have finished filming season one already and that is going to be airing shortly. Do you have a date for when that will air? Or are you still finalizing the schedule?

Eric: We have all of the episodes shot and in post production now. We don’t have a definitive date as of now but are expecting to have a summer release date.

Zach: Fortunately/Unfortunately since we’re in talks with a few networks we’re unable to give any hard dates because depending upon how negotiations go (fingers crossed) that may change.

How many episodes are in the first season? And how long do they run?

Eric: We have 6 episodes and each one is about 20-25 minutes in length and we will release a new one each week.

Where can my readers find out more about the show and when it will be online?

Eric: You can follow the updates of Necrolectric on Twitter: @Necrolectric and Facebook: facebook.com/necrolectric.

Zach: We have content on almost every social media site from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and our main homepage. Each site is updated regularly with content and news about the show.

And if they want to learn more about either of you, where can they find you?

Zach: I’m on Facebook under my name: Zach Bostrom. On Twitter and Instagram under: ZBostrom.

Eric: You can find me on Twitter: @_EricCarpenter, Facebook: facebook.com/TheEricCarpenter, and Instagram: @TheEricCarpenter

Thanks again so much for stopping by the blog!

Eric: Thank you Jay and I look forward to connecting with all of you online!

Zach: Thank you so much for the interview and promoting our show. We hope you all enjoy it when it’s finally released!

Necrolectric Trailer

New body. Same spark.

Struggling with her mysterious need to frequently die and come back to life, Eve (Stephanie Koenig) begins to unravel the reason behind her unique existence when she teams up with a young woman who relives others’ deaths, a young man who talks to ghosts, a cursed immortal, and his electrically charged brother to solve a series of supernatural murders in the first season of Necrolectric, a new paranormal web series.

Affected by more than a hundred magical curses, Alaric (Eric Carpenter) has learned to love every aspect of his immortal life. As a supernatural investigator and assassin, he embraces being a protector of humanity

Raised to believe the ghosts he saw and heard were not real, Jax (Cole Shoemaker) now proudly uses this ability to help solve crimes as Alaric’s straight-laced partner.

Born with deadly electricity raging through him, Cas’s (Zach Bostrom) two-thousand-year existence has been fraught with the anguish of losing everyone he’s ever loved. His only remaining tie is the brother he so vehemently hates.

Touching a corpse causes Z (Chelsea Alden) to relive the last minutes of the deceased’s life. Her intimate knowledge of death might pay well, but it prevents her from knowing how to live.

Necrolectric is produced by Fake Reality Productions and created and written by Lisa Stoddard and Jennifer Martin. Best known for their romance novels written as Ashleigh Raine, they’ve spoken on panels at genre conventions around the world.