Creative Couple Pamela & William Joseph Hill Go Nostalgic for Laughs

Creative couple Pamela and William Joseph Hill are completely nostalgic as they showcase their 1960s/70s inspired, snazzy comedy series, That Darn Girlfriend.

Pamela, originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, has appeared in numerous stage, commercial and film productions as an actress and model. Her credits include television favorites like Days of Our Lives and Divorce Court, hit web series such as My Roommate the Party Planner and Dysfunctionally Organized, the short film The Visitation opposite Owen Teague, and the lead voice in the American dub of Ultraman X the Movie.

William, raised in San Diego and Hawaii, attended Chaminade University of Honolulu where he first fell in love with the film world. Now, among the credits under his belt are the recent viral parody Look What Westworld Made Me Do, and leading roles in Eskimo and Crisis Management. He often gets the opportunity to bring his acting and martial arts skills together, including his roles in the films Agent Steele opposite Andrew Bachelor (aka King Bach), The Rolling Soldier, The Last Girl, The Eagles, All About Jack and several times on ABC’s hit show Wipeout.

The couple has just finished the feature film, Love Is Not Love, directed by Stephen Keep Mill and is currently developing the martial arts comedy project, Cyber Fighter, under their Four Scorpio Productions banner.

Most recently, they released the 11th episode of their nostalgic web series, That Darn Girlfriend, in which they both co-produced, co-wrote, directed and star.

indieactivity: How did you each get into the business?
Pamela: Acting found me in grade school. Being on the stage was my first foray into the business. I kept busy in Cincinnati with stage, commercials, film, TV and modeling projects. I then moved to L.A. to pursue my dreams.

William: I started as a filmmaker growing up in Hawaii. My siblings and I used to make movies in our backyard of Ford Island, a Navy base in Pearl Harbor. We’d all act in them, and I would write, direct & produce. I knew from a young age that this was what I wanted to do as a career, and I moved to L.A. to pursue acting.

indieactivity: What made you want to create your own projects?
Pamela: When ideas come to me, I write them down, and I also make up songs. I love the combination of being creative and performing. It’s a wonderful and freeing experience to be able to create our web series “That Darn Girlfriend” with my husband.

William: I guess I always had that desire, since I was doing it as a kid. I just figured that professionally I needed to focus on one field, which was acting. But with the digital revolution and technology making it possible to produce your own content on a zero budget, I realized that we could make our own projects and distribute them on our YouTube channel.

indieactivity: Briefly explain your web series “That Darn Girlfriend.”
Pamela: “That Darn Girlfriend” is an homage to classic 1960s/early 70s kitschy sitcoms. Groovy live-in couple Valerie and Vic find themselves in simple fun-minded storylines. We always say it’s like a video comic strip, filmed in fabulous Technicolor!

William: Our idea is to mimic those classic shows that we all grew up with. Pamela’s song always sounded like a 60s sitcom, so we added a canned laugh track to get that feel. We started including funny outtakes after the credits, and our audience really loves those! In our latest episode 11: “Mask-Erade,” Valerie shares her pampering products with Vic.

indieactivity: Where did you discover the idea?
Pamela: The original idea came to me in 1999, when I created a song and lyrics. It was inspired by hearing silly comments and gossip about people’s dating experiences. They struck me as funny, and the crafty tune became “That Darn Girlfriend.”

William: We had been making our own short film projects, and decided to run with that and make a pilot. It had such a great response that people kept telling us they wanted more, and so we turned it into a web series.

indieactivity: What were the first steps you took to make it happen?
Pamela: After coming up with the song and singing it for years, William & I finally put pen to paper and wrote and produced our pilot episode in the summer of 2015. Our ideas come up at random times, so we jot them down to use in future episodes. We get ideas from our own everyday lives, as well as from watching old reruns of classic comedies.

William: Like our other short films that we were doing, we used the same production workflow by writing the script together, and also being a two-person crew (Pamela had the opportunity to direct a couple of episodes), using our studio apartment in Hollywood as the location. We work really well together. In fact, we’re known as ‘The Hills of the Hollywood Hills’. We shoot each episode in a few hours and post production takes about a week, including editing, sound design, and the graphics I make for the end credits.

indieactivity: Anything you wish you could “do-over” as creators of the series?
Pamela: I actually appreciate that we’re learning new concepts all the time. I’m very happy with the way that the series has developed, and it’s exciting to see the ideas that are incorporated into each new episode.

William: I think that the fact that we have limitations on budget and location/crew/etc, forces us to get more creative with our problem solving, so we’ve built a knowledge base that will help us when we tackle bigger projects, like our feature sci-fi martial arts comedy “Cyber Fighter.”

indieactivity: How do you balance both acting and creating?
Pamela: I believe that acting and creating both compliment each other. As I keep myself open to being creative, I find that it gives me more freedom to express myself as an actress. And the more I perform, the more it enhances my creative channel.

William: Well, you don’t always get an opportunity to act; there’s always downtime. Creating and coming up with your own projects is a great way to feed the artist within, and also to make your own opportunities. When you’re acting in your own projects, you’re working on your craft.

indieactivity: Any tips for other actors looking to create their own projects?
Pamela: Start with what you’re passionate about and what inspires you. Every one of us resonates with our own unique voice. Put the pen to paper. When ideas come, have fun, and enjoy the process along your journey.

William: Just do it! Most people have a smart phone with a pretty good camera, so you can use that to start filming. You never know where that could lead to. Plus, doing a bunch of short films like Pamela and I have done will teach you a lot about acting for the camera. As you produce your own work, you might find an idea that sticks and evolves into something greater.

indieactivity: What do you want to change about the film business?
Pamela: If an actor is physically right for the role, then age shouldn’t be a factor. I think it’s more important that their essence works for the character.

William: I think social media is a great tool, but there are elements that are putting way too much emphasis on number of followers just to get an audition. I understand the idea that followers equals perceived marketability, but I think it should be based on the best talent and professionalism for the job.

indieactivity: Who is your creative idol and what do you love about their work?
Pamela: I have many people in the entertainment world who inspire me. Though, to name a few, Jim Carrey’s imagination, humor and manifestation of his dreams…Bette Davis’ strong presence as an actress and as a woman in this industry…Susan Lucci, for her perseverance and engaging charisma, and Sutton Foster; a triple threat who exemplifies a youthful nature and an energetic yet subtle presence.

William: My earliest creative idol was George Lucas. Besides creating “Star Wars,” he revolutionized filmmaking itself. His innovations with visual effects, digital cinema, and sound design have inspired my own filmmaking. Bruce Lee is another strong influence in my life, not just for martial arts. His philosophy, and perseverance despite his obstacles helps guide me in my own career too.

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