Anglophiles Unite an Interview with The Anglotopia Blog + Anglotees Discount!

 

If you are a regular reader of The Nerdy Girlie, you know we are HUGE Anglophile's here!  I frequent the site Anglotopia daily to get my UK fix and bookmark TONS of articles in preparation for our 2015 trip.

Founder Jonathan Thomas' highly successful website has had over 7.6 million views since it's inception in 2007.  He and his wife have made many pilgrimages to the promise land and have witnessed first hand major events in British history {the Royal Wedding and the Diamond Jubilee}.  Recently I had the chance to speak with the founder of Anglotopia Jonathan about our favorite topic the UK!

The Nerdy Girlie:  Like a lot of people who live here in America, the UK has become a sort of fairy tale like place we all dream of going.  The sites, the sounds and the accents contribute to this wanderlust.  What is the first thing about the UK you remember loving?

Jonathan:  That’s a good question that I don’t have a good answer to. I’ve always loved Britain and can't pinpoint an exact moment. True love lasts a lifetime!

The Nerdy Girlie:  Your first post on Anglotopia “Blue Tits Respond Well to Warming” was cheeky and eye catching.  Did you start trying to cover just UK news, or did you know you wanted to write original material?  What is your writing process?

Jonathan:  Wow - I’m surprised you found that. I think I put that post up in 2006. I like to think we’ve gone uphill from there. I started out wanting to create the website that I wanted to browse but was not having luck finding. I don’t really want to cover UK news unless it’s noteworthy or fascinating. The BBC does a fine enough job with the news. I like to focus on history, culture, film, tv, etc. 

I don’t really have a ‘writing process,’ I just sit down and write. I have an ongoing list of hundreds of ideas, some I’ll get to, some that will remain forever elusive.

The Nerdy Girlie:  My first trip to England was a bit of a blur!  What can you remember about your very first trip to the UK?  What did you learn about UK travel and how did it feel to finally make it to the land you loved?!

Jonathan:  Well, this is going to make me sound really old but my first trip was back in the pre-9/11 world of 2001. The biggest lesson I learned was that my conception of London and the UK did not match the reality. I’d watched countless movies and TV shows that painted a fantastical picture that reality did not meet. But reality ended up being better than any movie or TV show.

The Nerdy Girlie:  Traveling to the UK is quite a feat {layovers, exchange rates, weather}, can you give us your best tip on UK travel.

Jonathan:  You will need twice as much money as you think you do. Britain is expensive and the exchange rate is merciless. Always have more money saved than you need. I’m been on a couple trips where I literally ran out of money and that was not fun.

Don’t fret about the weather, it’s not that bad and when it is - you have something to talk about with locals who will LOVE to talk about the weather.

The Nerdy Girlie:  As an Anglophile myself, I find it hard to purchase unique and eye catching tees.  When I found Anglotees I knew it was something special.  How did it begin and do you create all the amazing art?

Jonathan:  We sort of stumbled into it really. I designed a t-shirt for Anglotopia to wear at a convention and people suggested I sell it to the public. I didn’t think anyone would want to buy it. But I thought it was worth a try. So I put it up for sale, let our readers know about and and within weeks we’d sold hundreds. That got me thinking - that perhaps there was a market for a company that made British themed t-shirts - like Qwertee or Teefury expect for British themed designs. 

We did a few more tests to prove the marketability and decided it was the way to go. We went with a weekly design model to avoid stocking inventory in t-shirts and not having to buy printing equipment. We created a very lean and scalable business as a result. We create many designs ourselves but we also license designs - sometimes using them or altering them to fit a theme. We also have a few artists who’ve submitted designs that we licensed that have been hits. We’re always looking for designs and we pay royalties.  http://anglotees.com/submit-designs/

The Nerdy Girlie:  You have had some amazing British experiences since launching the site:  The Diamond Jubilee, the Royal Wedding!  What has been your favorite and most memorable moment?

Jonathan:  Definitely going to the Royal Wedding. I had a spot right on the Mall and I heard and saw everything. It was truly an amazing experience capped off by seeing the Royals on the balcony in the flesh and then a flyover by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. It was a very happy day. 

The Nerdy Girlie:  Anglotopia is a HUGE success, with amazing content.  What is one tip you would give to bloggers trying to make it in a sea of blogs.

Jonathan:  Have a business plan and do something unique (or better) that other blogs aren’t doing. There wasn’t a website doing what we do so we filled a niche. It’s a little more crowded now but we have the first mover advantage. Also be patient. It took years before we made any real money with our site and 5 years before I could work for it full time. Nothing happens quickly.

The Nerdy Girlie:  Finally we here at The Nerdy Girlie are HUGE fans of Doctor Who.  Who is YOUR Doctor?

Jonathan:  Well, I used to say I started with Christopher Ecclestone. But then I recently remembered that I started watching Doctor Who for the first time with the 1996 awful television movie on Fox. So, technically Paul McGann is my Doctor. But the Tennant years are by far my favorite.

Thank you Jonathan for taking the time to answer our questions, it is always so great to hear from other Angliophile and an experienced one at that!

Jonathan has been kind enough to give us a DISCOUNT code to his awesome tee shop Anglotees!  Use the code:  nerdygirlie for 5% off!  EVERY week there is a new awesomely British design!

Allons-y! A Chat With The Hillywood Show

If you are a Whovian and haven't seen The Hillywood Show's musical Doctor Who Parody, you are missing out!  Already over ONE MILLION views on You Tube and recognized by BBC and BBCA, The Hillywood Show and it's creators Hannah and Hilly are reaching for the stars literally and figuratively.

I had a recently had a chance to ask the girls about what goes into making one of their highly creative and accurate parodies, how they deal with "haters" and where they want to take their world famous channel next!

The Nerdy Girlie:  You defiantly seem to pick the right fandoms at the right times.  Are you fans of what you choose prior to production?  How do you go about choosing which movie or show to parody?

The Hillywood Show:  We have to be fans of the fandom we are going to parody.  If not, then our true passion for that does not stand out.  We want to make sure we are having fun with creating our productions and not feeling forced into something just to obtain views.

The Nerdy Girlie:  The song choices of each parody always fit perfectly.  How difficult is it to find a song to fit your vision and do you have to work through any copyrights?

The Hillywood Show:  Hilly usually thinks of the song to match the fandom.  She's amazing at that!  And yes, we always have to obtain the licenses for songs and that can be a long process.

The Nerdy Girlie:  The authenticity of your parody's are astounding from sets to costumes and everything in between.  I can tell from your behind the scenes footage that you are both perfectionists in the best way.  Does this help or hinder your creative process?  

The Hillywood Show:  Both!  Sometimes working on perfection was the right thing to do and sometimes we have to know when to stop perfecting or we will run out of time.  Time is money on set!

The Nerdy Girlie:  I believe that everyone is a nerd and we all nerd out over something!  Being a geek girl can be hard sometimes, especially when you are young and beautiful like yourselves.  Have you ever been called out for being a "fake geek girl" and how do you deal with the "haters?"  

The Hillywood Show:  We have never been known as "fake geek girls".  We believe it truly shows how geeky we are when we're creating our parodies.  We love to fan girl over fandoms!  Also, we just ignore the haters.  We don't allow the negativity to leak into us. 

The Nerdy Girlie:  You have defiantly proved your talents in multiple areas of entertainment.  Do either of you plan to make the jump into the Hollywood world or are you content on growing your brand even bigger?  

The Hillywood Show:  We want to make Hillywood bigger!  A super channel!  Our main goal is to get The Hillywood Show to a television network.  We dream big!

The Nerdy Girlie:  I adore seeing the love and appreciation you have for your fans.  You two are such a great example to young girls who are trying to do what they love and find their way in the world.  Do you have any advice for young girls trying to navigate through the tough teen years?  

The Hillywood Show:  Follow the dreams that God has placed in your heart and never give up.  If He is for you, who can be against you?  Always be yourself and don't let anyone change you.  Everyone is created special and unique.

The Nerdy Girlie:  I am a HUGE Whovian and am in LOVE with your Doctor Who parody.  10 is my Doctor and Hilly protrayed him perfectly!  How long does it take you two to perfect a character?  And who is YOUR Doctor?!

The Hillywood Show:  We usually don't have much time to perfect a character because we are also working on pre-production at the same time and getting everything together for the shoot.  It's only two of us.  We study the characters and practice as often as we can.  Our favorite is, of course, 10!  Allons-y!

The Nerdy Girlie:  Your Doctor Who parody has reached over 1 million views and was recognized by BBCA!  First of all how does that make you feel!?  Secondly how do you top that and do you have any ideas for your next parody?

The Hillywood Show:  We were shocked and thrilled!  We never expected BBC and BBCA to see our parody!  It is an honor to know that they loved it!  And yes, we have multiple idea for our  next parodies.  However, we are waiting to see what music licenses will be approved first.  Praying that all work out!

The Nerdy Girlie:Thank you so much for your time ladies.  I am so excited to see what your NEXT parody is!  Until then if money was no object and you could create anything you desired, what would be your ultimate parody?  

The Hillywood Show:  The Lord of the Rings Parody!

Thank you again ladies for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer our questions!  You can find ALL of the amazing The Hillywood Show parody's on their You Tube channel and you can follow them on Twitter:  @HillywoodShow!

Interview with Kristin of Syfy's Fangasm!

The Nerdy Girlie:  How did you get involved with Fangasm?

Kristin:  I became involved with Fangasm very early on in the casting process. It took a full two years for this dream to become a reality, but the final product was well worth the wait! When I found out the show would be aired on Syfy, one of my favorite networks, instead of an earlier possibility, I felt like the stars were aligning.  We went through a few periods of extremely intermittent communication, to being cast, flown out, and moving in within a matter of weeks!  I love traveling and meeting new people who share my interests, and I've always been a really positive and welcoming person so when I had heard about the show, I immediately knew I wanted to be a part of it!

TNG:  What was your favorite experience while filming the show?

Kristin:  Oh this is hard! I had so many wonderful experiences during my time in LA.  I think the obvious favorite would be getting the chance to meet one of my childhood idols, and the co-creator of my favorite superhero (Spider-Man), the living legend Stan Lee.  I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to spend even a few minutes of one on one time with him!  But I also really loved a lot of the little, less notable things about living with my lovely roommates.  After living together and sharing in so many different experiences, we formed this intense bond between all of us, so I miss things like Sal's incessant teasing, Andrew's infectious laugh, everything in general about my best friend Molly, Dani's silly faces, Paul's extensive movie knowledge, and Mike's ability to turn everything into a party!  So overall, I'd say the best experience was being exposed to so many new people and making a group of lifelong friends.

TNG:  What has been your favorite experience after filming the show?

Kristin:  My favorite experience after filming the show has been my trip to San Diego Comic Con.  It was my first time attending the convention, and I had an absolute blast! I stayed with Molly, so it was like we were living together again for a week, and we partied our hearts out!  We also bought tons of exclusives from the convention, and I got to hang out with so many of my favorite comic creators.  It was like a dream vacation that I never wanted to end!

TNG:  What are some of your favorite things to nerd out about?

Kristin:  I nerd out A LOT about comics.  It's the most fascinating medium of storytelling in my eyes.  I love that there are these endless universes that've been created and there's constantly new content being added by a plethora of writers and artists.  It gives the reader a unique experience between story arcs, and it allows you to really build a strong connection to the characters.

TNG:  What are you girlie for?

Kristin:  I'm really girlie for fashion! For college I attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, and it's always been a dream of mine to start a clothing line for girls that incorporates elements from my favorite fandoms.  I love the influx of geeky fashion available these days, but I feel like the comics category is still lacking!

TNG:  Think you would try Project Runway next?

Kristin:  I used to love watching Project Runway in college, but I wouldn't be a good contestant!  I'm really good at the designing aspect of fashion, but I'm less skilled in the sample production area.  I want to create a line that's licensed and handle more of the product development side of the process!

*Thank you Kristin for taking the time to answer our questions!  If you haven't watched the first episode of Fangasm you must!  This is THE BEST portrayal of nerds on TV.  I am so happy to call myself a nerd after watching this show.  Kristin and her fellow nerdy girlies Molly and Dani are AMAZING examples for the nerd girl community!  I cannot wait to see you ALL at Comikaze in November!!