You may not know the name but you know her face. From the early days as a series regular on The Tom Show and one-offs in hit television shows like Sabrina the Teenage Witch where she played a young Aunt Zelda, for most of us it was with MIKA BOOREM’s turn in The Patriot playing opposite Mel Gibson as Benjamin Martin’s daughter Margaret where we really sat up and took notice of her. After The Patriot, Mika became a recurring character on Touched by an Angel and on Dawson’s Creek, while popping up in small theatrical roles along the way. And all the while, Mika was watching, listening, paying attention to what was happening behind the scenes, learning the craft of filmmaking from the artisans behind the lens. She ultimately stepped into the director’s chair with some short films before applying determination and confidence to her move into feature film writing and directing with HOLLYWOOD.CON. And what a feature debut it is!
Not only writing and directing, but starring in the film, this is the tale of Mika Hams, an aspiring actress who is mistaken for famed producer Veronica Lake. Seizing on this case of mistaken identity as her chance to move her career along while helping her geologist explorer father Ben who was once a big deal in Hollywood step back into the limelight, Mika passes herself off as producer Veronica and heads to Guatemala to find a Mayan priest and obtain his blessing to shoot this film which revolves around the legend of a dwarf king and mystical jade. And while Mika is off on this adventure, back in Hollywood, typical Hollywood shenanigans abound with casting agents, actors, wannabe producers….you get the idea. And while Mika may think meeting with a Mayan priest and getting his “okey-dokey” on making this film will be an easy thing to do, such is not the case as on landing, she is mistaken as a notorious drug runner and kidnapped by the infamous cartel leader El Jade (deliciously played by Tom Arnold) who wants to feed Mika to his pet crocodiles. Her saving grace (or not) is El Jade’s son who recognizes Mika from her social media videos and knows exactly who she is – a wannabe actress. Wanting to please his son, El Jade agrees not to feed MIke to the crocodiles, but she must marry his zombie-loving son. Luckily, Mika escapes and goes searching for her dad who has been searching for her and then heads off to track down the priest, and all the while hoping that the studio heads never discover her true identity. Got that?
HOLLYWOOD.CON is beyond fun with Mika as a filmmaker bringing everything to the table, but the kitchen sink; oh wait – there IS a kitchen sink! With no holds barred, MIKA BOOREM dives in headfirst into storytelling and filmmaking, shooting in multiple countries with multiple locations, challenging herself and her crew with jungles and deserts and Mother Nature, doing her own stunts, shooting in caves and working with her cinematographer to solve lighting and electrical issues inherent to remote locations, and let’s not forget a less than friendly camel, crocodiles, and oh yeah – actors, lots of actors. Storywise she plays on all the tropes and trappings of Hollywood, tapping into the humor and pushing that to the absurd, while grounding the film with the dedication of an actress and loving daughter, mirroring her own drive and the real gift of HOLLYWOOD.CON, working with her dad Benjamin Boorem who plays her father in the film.
I spoke at length with MIKA BOOREM in this exclusive conversation as we covered everything about everything with the making of HOLLYWOOD.CON. She is so passionate about filmmaking and all of the creative elements she incorporated into this film. With every word she speaks, there is no question she LOVES making movies as an actor, as a director, as a creative force.
TAKE A LISTEN. . .
by debbie elias, exclusive interview May 20, 2021
HOLLYWOOD.CON is available now on Amazon Prime.
