By Ines Schinazi

“My mother has always been an actress to me.”  This is how Jessy Hodges explains that her relationship with her mother hasn’t changed, despite the fact that they’ve recently found themselves in very similar places career-wise, while obviously being at completely different points in their lives.

As a mother gets back into her acting career, a daughter stands on the cusp of her fresh beginning.

What makes this story even more interesting, is the fact that Jessy Hodges, and her mother, Ellen Sandweiss (most famous for her role in the cult horror film “The Evil Dead”) are “learning together” as they both explore the completely new territory of acting in web series. Jessy stars in “Anyone but Me” (www.anyonebutmeseries.com) and Ellen in “Dangerous Women” (http://www.strike.tv/show/dangerous-women/).

In an exclusive interview, Jessy speaks about first discovering the film, “The Evil Dead,” and the teenage “OH. MY. GOD.” moment, that went along with that.

While she clearly feels lucky to have a mother who can give her advice about her career, she’s also really thankful that her boyfriend is a Law student, allowing her to take a break from the “ongoing conversation” that is acting.

On “Anyone But Me,” she plays the subtly omnipresent Sophie. Though ironically, she calculates she’s really only “…spent about 8 minutes on screen so far.”

Speaking to Jessy, you get the feeling that she’s quite wise beyond her years.  Full of introspection, playing Sophie has given her a lot to think about…

Ines:  Because of the technological nature of a “web series,” and all the advertising that goes on through Facebook, and Twitter, do you find yourself doing a lot of explaining to your mom as to how these things work?
Jessy:  It’s really funny, because in that specific regard, I find her totally explaining stuff to me.  She’s taken on a producer/directorial role, in her web series.  She’s an extremely energetic and motivated to learn type of person, so the stuff that she needed to figure out, she figured out pretty quickly.

Then at the same time, I’m of the computer generation, and so she’ll be like, “Wait…how do I turn it on again?”   Sometimes, she doesn’t get the basics, but she knows way more about Myspace and Twitter than I do.

Ines:  I read an interview in which you speak about, growing up without knowing that your mother was really famous for her role in “Evil Dead.”
Jessy:  My mom went to school for Theater and was very involved in Theater and acting in the early years of my life.

Then, she kind of took on a more mother figure role, particularly when my younger sister was born.  She also worked in my dad’s business, and stopped acting for a long time.

I had seen her on stage a lot when I was younger.   But the film, “The Evil Dead” was not a part of that conversation.  I believe it came out that she was in a movie when I was like 13 or 14.  And I was like, “What???” “You were in a movie?” I had no perception of what this movie was.

Then, my friends and I found this old VHS copy of “The Evil Dead” behind a line of books in a bookshelf!  And we were like, “OH. MY. GOD.”

We had to start watching for ten minutes while she was gone, and then put it back in the bookshelf…

When I turned 15 or 16, I finally got to watch it.  But it was only a couple years after I had seen it, that I realized what this movie was. This was a really important movie in horror. Sam Raimi (the director) coined all these technical camera techniques and all this cool stuff.

I only began, a couple years out of college to really appreciate the movie.  And every time I watch it, I love it, and appreciate it more.

Ines:  I’m curious to know what it’s like going from a kind of “outsider” perception of your mother’s career, to becoming a professional actress yourself, and following your mother’s current career.  What has that shift been like for you?
Jessy:  It’s intense really.  My friends will comment on my relationship with my mom.  They’ll be like, “Jessy and her mom are best friends.”   That’s the relationship that we already had.

Then, with my mom really starting to get back into acting, just as I’ve started getting into it.  You know it’s been wonderful and it’s been hard, and really interesting, and really bizarre.

Not only do I have my parents’ support, but also someone who knows exactly what I’m going through, and who can give me advice when I ask for it…stuff that most actors’ parents wouldn’t even know about.

But also, empathetically speaking, it’s rough. We both know what the other is going through, because for as many “baby successes” as you have in this career, there are a million disappointments. It’s a real hard but really gratifying world to be in.

It’s an ongoing conversation.  Sometimes all I want to do is talk to her about it and ask her about it.  Other times I’m like, “Ugh… god!  I can’t talk about this anymore! All my friends are actors, my mom’s an actress…luckily my boyfriend is a lawyer…”

Ines: Obviously you and your mother are at completely different points in your career, but because the web series is something that is so completely new and innovative, do you think your experiences, as actors on these web series, are really different or actually similar?

Jessy:  We can totally relate to each other on it.  We are both kind of bewildered and confused by it.  I feel like we’re in such beginner stages with web series, that we really don’t know what they are yet.  I mean people hardly know how to make money off them yet.  I think we’re both going “Wow.” I’m learning along with everyone else, including my mother.

Ines:  Can you talk a little about what it’s like to play Sophie on “Anyone But Me?”  She’s a really interesting character in the sense that she’s kind of off to the side, but we already get the sense that she’s going to be so central to the whole story…

Jessy:  Playing Sophie is one of the most fun things I’ve ever done.

Though because of the web series genre, I’ve probably spent about 8 minutes on screen playing Sophie so far.  You only get a little bit of time every time, so you’ve got to make it worth it.

On relating to the character, I really do.  I think more so, than I might have realized at the beginning.

It’s been so cool, because we’re filling in the lines, coloring in Sophie.   I’m sure that Susan Miller and Tina Cesa Ward would say that as they’ve gotten to know us as people, it’s definitely affected the writing.  They’re constantly writing, changing, and editing.

First of all, it makes me feel like I’m in High School again, which is crazy.  Also, I never had the experiences that Sophie is having or may have in the future.

I had close gay male friends in Theater growing up. But I never had someone the same sex as me, who was choosing to date women, at that young of an age. I think that it would have been confusing for me, despite the fact that I consider myself entirely open and gay friendly.

I wonder how that would have affected me in High School. I wonder how that will affect Sophie, being opened up into this world, in the suburbs, away from a big city, especially in real-world circumstances, not in some lame, stereotypical, one-dimensional way.

So it’s exciting, and it gives me a lot to think about for the character, and about myself in a weird way.

It’s always you playing the character.  I feel you have to establish your point of view, so that you can look into the character, and establish the character’s point of view, and see how it differs.

There’s always a comparing and contrasting, and a melding of the human you are, and the human you are portraying.

By Eline Kullock

I just saw a great film that made me reflect about Generation Y. The film is called “Head in the Clouds.” The story takes place during WWII, and is romantic, but also very realistic.

What really struck me in the movie was the way in which before the war, people seemed to live each moment as if it were their last.

“It was a time where the rules of society were changing…” states the trailer.

There were lots of parties, glamour, sex, alcohol, and an overall sense of permissiveness.

As one character explains, “The past and the future are irrelevant. The moment is everything.”

The war finally arrives, though many people refuse to see it. They all had “their heads in the clouds.” Gilda, the main character, also had her head in the clouds. She feared that life would bring her reality. She failed to see the dangers of the moment, with the Spanish Civil war, and the German invasion in France.

What does this have to do with young people today? They also have a great desire to live in the present, as if there is no future. In a sense, we are also on the verge of a war, which many of us don’t want to see.

Young people go clubbing in the middle of the week. They go to class the next day, as if these were the new rules of a changing society.

“But you’re going out today? Again? Partying?”

“Mom, but it’s the last party, it’s going to be the coolest party of my life.”

“Are you going surfing again? What about school?”

Mom, but this could be the last wave of my life.”

“When are you getting back from your trip?” “You are going to miss 10 days of class!”

“Yeah dad, but there may not be other opportunities to travel like this.”

I wonder what future this generation sees. Maybe there’s some sort of war coming around. Maybe I’ve got my head in the clouds!

Are we preparing a future for our children?

I believe we are, but maybe I’m wrong.

Our children live in the short term. Of course this attitude will have great impact on businesses. I already wrote about this generation’s difficulty to accept strategic planning of 5 or 10 years. Even planning a year ahead is questioned by Generation Y. They ask us:

“What if another economic crisis hits?” “How do we plan ahead in a world which is just a “beta test” and for which there is no time to test newer, better, more advanced, versions?” “The beta version already leads to other products, software, and applications…”

Sadly, we are constantly talking about a world in which it won’t be possible to fulfill everyone in a satisfactory way, and a world in which our forests may eventually disappear. We live in a world where we have to think about politics regarding gas emissions in the atmosphere and the spread of disease. Will all these important questions make us revisit and reflect on the planning of our future? What future are we preparing for our kids?

I can’t forget the sentence I heard Mario Sergio Cortella speak the other day:

“The future we are preparing for our children, lies in the children we are preparing for the future.”

We live with a sense of urgency and immediacy. Everything is about money, end of the year bonuses, and short-term results. Are we helping Generation Y to gain a long-term perspective and vision? Perhaps we are also contributing to their heads in the clouds.

I always remember, the sentence that has greatly influenced my career as a businesswoman. “Only great men can have their feet on the ground, and their heads in the clouds. But only great men.”

How much power do kids have today?

Are you one of those people, who think kids are all pure, innocent and truthful? Or maybe you just believe that kids are all angels and gifts from God?

OK, maybe it could happen until a certain age, or maybe they do were like that for a while. However, with all the access to information and with all the freedom we face nowadays (freedom in schools, and freedom given by parents), kids (and Generation Y) are becoming more and more adult-like.

Generation Y gets really involved in relationships subjects and has a great practical mindset that makes them confident decision makers. Their flexibility and “think on your feet” attitude gives them the power to conduce situations the way they want to, usually that ones that sneak up behind us, in which we have to ponder and reflect about ourselves (what is really hard to do). These issues are, in general, traumatic, obscure, and full of psychological dimensions. To me, they’re the hardest to deal with.

But you know what’s funny? I’m part of generation Y, I’m 24, and I can totally relate. I’ve had my decisions, and insecurities exposed, scrutinized and questioned by my 10 and 12 year old cousins!!!! And I’d been criticized because I was not setting a good example.

But true to generation Y, I was mixed up in other people’s business from the very start. I was the kid, who proposed that my parents just get divorced while they argued in front of me, and also I was becoming my Aunt’s therapist while she could look for better things to do instead of not occupying herself with what she ought to care about.

Perhaps we’ve grown up restricting our ideas, molding ourselves to the square standard of society. Does this make all our creativity and our ability to argument evaporate into thin air?

Wow. Now I’m getting a bit philosophical on you. Pretty soon I’m going to start questioning if the egg or chicken came first (for the record, I think it was the egg, but that’s a whole other post). =)

What I’m really trying to say is that we should pay attention to the intellectual evolution of Generation Y. It’s a fact that the “connected world” is both a wonder and a hell.

In my opinion, it’s great to have access to everything. It’s important to be able to discuss diverse topics with all different types of people. It’s healthy to have a wide-open mind. It’s great to know things and to be curious. This stimulates creativity, although many businesses and industries haven’t yet picked up on this (look at how many companies block MSN at work!). What’s more is that we can’t escape the speed. It’s impossible to stop the intense velocity of information flow. Nobody can slow the connectivity down, and it’ll probably just keep getting faster and faster.

For those who have already grown up, learn with Generation Y. Solutions to our difficulties and challenges will only be found with an open mind and curious as little children, constantly chasing information. Because in the end, it’s the “information” that makes us.

Remember that movie “In Good Company?”

That movie totally predicted this sort of situation, although it did seem a bit unrealistic at the time.   I recommend it as a comic film as well as a glimpse into our future.

However, I have to say that I don’t feel the film does a very good job of depicting Generation Y.  The main character reminds me more of Generation X, but in the movie he supposedly belongs to Generation Y.

In the end, this movie isn’t just a movie.  It’s real life.  I watch my nieces and nephews, who haven’t even turned 30 yet, and are already becoming bosses and managers to Baby Boomers.   A lot of workplace conflict stems from the fact that each generation has a distinct perception of what constitutes a productive work environment.

Generation Y generally doesn’t believe in face-to-face meetings.  They feel that almost anything can be resolved through e-mail, video conferencing, MSN, or in rare cases over the phone (you know that old prehistoric invention, in which we waste time asking how the family is etc etc).

In complete contrast, Baby Boomers love face-to-face meetings.  In fact, they need them.  That’s the way the exchange ideas, and check the boss’ mood,

So how will these two generations coexist?  How will they produce and work in the same business organization in such distinctly different ways?   Will we be able to recognize and understand our different perceptions?  Will we be able to deal with this conflict?

If a face-to-face meeting has to happen, will Generation Y be able to handle it?  And if it doesn’t happen what will happen to the Baby Boomer’s necessity for it?

But wait, there’s more.  Just imagine your face, as a baby boomer, when your boss, conducts a meeting while keeping one eye glued to his or her blackberry.  Will you think it’s a lack of respect?  Or will you understand that Generation Y always uses PDA’s during meetings, as a way to boost their efficiency?

And what about you, Generation Y, are you aware that Baby Boomers were raised to give their undivided attention to the person in front of them?  Actually they don’t know how to do anything else besides pay attention to the person in front of them.   That’s why they think it’s a lack of respect when you address them and your Blackberry at the same time.

My message is this, if differences in perception aren’t put out in the open, everybody will end up feeling angry and disrespected.  This will surely affect employee motivation and productivity.

And what about you, HR manager, how do you deal with intergenerational conflicts at work?  Do you realize how these generational differences affect the corporate environment?   Do you understand that Baby Boomers may not respect Generation Y’s values and vice versa?   Do you know that young people feel more at ease because they have their whole career in front of them, and that older workers, are often fragile and worn out by the business world?  Are you ready to act fast while remembering that you are an HR manager in a time of economic crisis?

My advice for HR managers goes like this:  Understand how to improve your business environment, which is filled with the fear of layoffs, and overstressed employees balancing heavy workloads.

Work hard to maintain motivation by managing work conflicts without favoring one generation over the other.  A productive and peaceful coexistence between generations depends very much on you.

These days in Brazil, our kids often delay striking out to live on their own. I notice how this fills parents with conflicting emotions.

On one hand, we want our kids to be mature enough to live alone, or with friends or a partner. On the other hand, as “helicopter parents,” we want them close to us. Always.

As a mother, I realize that I am a bit guilty of these paradoxical actions and emotions. For instance, when my sons wanted to live alone, I miraculously found an apartment right next to theirs!

This dichotomy causes consequences. It can fuel an overly extended childhood, especially if we are unable to clearly define limits, and coexist as adults in the same household.

In today’s world, I believe that if our kids are living at home, with a steady job, they should absolutely contribute to living costs. This seems crucial if we want to create a space, in which grown relatives live in a positive environment. Through this, our kids understand what the costs of living actually entail. This is the only way that they can evaluate if they are ready to assume this kind of responsibility.

I also believe that this allows usto establish a mature relationship with our kids, a relationship in which we speak openly, with mutual respect, while truly valuing each other’s opinions.

However, what we must not dois treat them as adults when it comes to splitting living costs, and then treat them as kids, when they come home late or take friends to their bedroom.

I propose that we look at our relationships with our children, or nieces and nephews, and link this to the business world.

Why is it that we want to discuss our business projects with employees from generation Y, and yet we often don’t believe they should be promoted? We can act as coaches to this youth, but they need to grow. Once, someone told me that truly “trusting” means taking risks. It means dedicating oneself. This can be dangerous, especially if it becomes excessive, and so the ideal is to find a balance.

So we must look at these two worlds. The household and the workplace, and observe how we act in such different ways in these two realms.

During my talks, I often refer to these two worlds, and speak about how we actively try to separate them, so that we don’t have to give the “empowerment with accountability,” that we give in the household, and then deny it in the workplace.

The other important question is that parents must be good parents, but they cannot be overprotective. Who says that parents can only be good enough and cannot rise above and beyond that? If we want our kids to grow, we must encourage them to fly.

A French film, Va, vis e Deviens (Go, live, and become), holds in its title what I believe we must give our kids. The “go,” is the most difficult to say, in the household or in the workplace. Freedom is not something we simply give. Rather, it must be stimulated and cultivated. In the end, their challenge is also ours. We must accept that they actually do grow up.