July 16, 2005— Fantasica Daily

Sid Haig — Clowning Around Again?

Sid Haig, star of such films as Jack Hill's classic Spider Baby, Galaxy of Terror, Foxy Brown, Coffy and Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses, will be playing the lead role in a new project from Fly High Films called Little Big Top.

Haig will be playing Seymour Smiles, a down-and-out performer descended from a great line of circus clowns. Whereas Haig's most recent character, Captain Spaulding - a completely different clown than one may be used to seeing - is a murderous, evil madman, Seymour Smiles is a sad, drunken misfit who just wants to drown his lost fame in the bottom of a bottle and be left alone.

Accrding to his publicist Susan Oberg, this is the role Haig has worked so long and so hard for. After 44 years of playing the heavy, the trigger man, the thug, the killer and similar unlikable types, Haig gets to really flex his acting muscles and spread his wings to show moviegoers his true range. At long last, Seymour Smiles will give Haig the chance to show everyone the heart behind the heavy.

Little Big Top, written and directed by Ward Roberts and Produced by Christina Mauro and Jessica Petelle-Slagle, will begin principal photography in Peru, Indiana in late July. As a great deal of the film takes place inside a circus, this production will be utilizing the famous Peru Circus and its performers, for that authentic look and feel that one can only achieve by using the real thing. Haig had this to say about his newest project:

“I'm very excited about this project on many levels. First of all, it's a role that I've dreamed of playing all my life. And for once, I'm not sticking a gun in somebody's face, which means that I have the great opportunity to break out of the stereotypical roles that I've played for the last 44 years.

“Secondly, once again I get to work with an exciting new director in the person of Ward Roberts. He has a great knowledge of the material because he grew up in the area, and actually worked in the Peru Circus as a teenager. If there is any truth in the saying that a writer should write about what he knows, then Ward is right on track. Also, I'll have the opportunity to work with Richard Riehle of 'Office Space' and 'Lethal Weapon 4' fame. Another exciting element is that I'll be able to work with some fine actors from the regional theatre. And the icing on the cake is the fact that Pat Kelly, son of the world-famous Emmett Kelly, has just been signed to the project.”

We will have more information about this production and its cast and crew in the coming weeks!
(Staci Layne Wilson)