by Emily
Have you ever wondered what Sam and Dean Winchester would look like in jumpsuits and proton packs? Thanks to Youtube creators Hilly and Hannah Hindi, known as The Hillywood Show, you don’t have to wonder anymore. Their most recent creation, “Supernatural Parody 2,” brings together everything you love about the Supernatural universe with iconic scenes from the original Ghostbusters. From Misha Collins as Janine the secretary to the Ecto-1 sirens on top of the Impala, Hillywood seamlessly blends these two sci-fi icons into ten minutes of musical, magical hilarity.
But how exactly does a parody like this get made? Nerds and Beyond sat down with the creators themselves, Hilly and Hannah, to talk about the concept, the execution, and what it was like working with over 25 Supernatural actors. Make sure to watch the parody first to avoid any spoilers, and then check out the interview below:
Nerds and Beyond: What inspired you to make a Ghostbusters/Supernatural crossover parody?
Hilly: With regards to concept for the parody, we started talking about the concept in November, but the Supernatural/Ghostbusters idea was there before Shake it Off (The first Supernatural Parody). It was something I really wanted to do, but when I would see it in my head, and I’d envision the scenes, I knew that at the time there was no way that we could get that type of celebrity interaction. After we did the first one where we liked the concept and felt strong about it, the Ghostbusters/Supernatural idea was still floating around in my head, and I wanted to try to attempt it. So when I approached Hannah about it in November, I said, “Can we really try? Hannah, do you think we can do this?” And she said, “I don’t know…” because it seemed like a big undertaking. But we wanted to try, and I’m definitely glad we did.
Nerds and Beyond: You worked with so many Supernatural actors on this production, can you talk about how those relationships formed and how it was working with them on set?
Hilly: We’re pretty religious over here, so we don’t do anything without praying about it. We had two concepts in mind, one was Supernatural and the other I can’t mention because you never know if we may actually attempt it! But we weren’t 100% sure which one we should do, and going into a production you should never feel confused or second guess yourself. So we prayed about it, and I said, “You know what, Hannah? The first people we should ask are Jensen and Jared. Because if the boys aren’t interested, then we know for a fact G-d is shutting that door and it’s not meant to be. We contacted Clif (Kosterman) in January and we said, “Do you think they would like to be involved?” And we heard back from Clif who said Jensen texted him back and said, “Hell, yeah!” That alone for us was a sign to move forward because this was where we were meant to be. And from there it was one after another of confirmation that everyone was available the same week, everyone’s schedule was open, it was stupid-crazy and totally just meant to be. It was just one of those things that was happening and we were just in for the ride.
Nerds and Beyond: Do you have a favorite cameo in the parody?
Hannah: I like them all… Each and every person was a blessing to us. Obviously having Jared, Jensen, and Misha was unheard of and amazing. But which was the most fun… I think one of my favorites was Curtis Armstrong. He had such a little spunky attitude on set and he was so excited and he listened so well to direction. He payed us a really nice compliment, saying how organized and professional we were. As the director and the one who organizes everything, that really stood out to me.
Hilly: I don’t want to pick a favorite! (laughs) Each of them were special in their own way. Every time someone would step on set it would be like a dream come true. I think I enjoyed every single one thoroughly because of the opportunity.
Nerds and Beyond: Was there anyone who wasn’t part of the production whom you would like to work with in the future?
Hilly: There was one person we tried to contact but no one knew how to reach, who was Jeffrey Dean Morgan. There were just no connections. I know Felicia (Day) wanted to be a part of it, and she was one person we were really excited about, but unfortunately she had to pass due to scheduling.
Nerds and Beyond: One of the things that makes your parodies so incredible is the attention to detail when it comes to set designs – it looks like they are actually from the show! How do you replicate those sets to make the audience feel like they are actually watching an episode of Supernatural?
Hannah: When we start, Hilly is the one who tells me all the scenes she wants and what we are creating. For example, since it was a mash up we recreated the hallway from the Ghostbusters “Slimer” scene, and from Supernatural one set we wanted to recreate was the Men of Letters bunker. From there, with this parody specifically we had so many sets that we had four different set designers. They are all here in Vegas and pretty much all of them had worked with us in the past. With each of these set designs, we meet with the designers and explain to them what sets we need, and then we tell them how big we need it based on us measuring how wide or tall the shot is. We give them all of the dimensions, all of the details, and from there they have to send us progression photos as the weeks go by up to production. They are immensely talented. It takes them about three to four weeks to begin the process of building, and then the set designers come in and have about two days to set up, and then we set dress in one day in the studio and then tear it down in one day. So, it’s pretty intense.
Nerds and Beyond: Do you have a favorite set from this parody?
Hilly: I really liked the Changing Channels kitchen set. It was so fun and bright, and I loved how easy it was to light because this one was nice and flat like a sitcom, so we were really excited when we looked at the camera.
Hannah: I really liked the Men of Letters bunker. Sometimes when you’re behind the camera you can hide that it’s not the actual set. But with that one standing in front of it, I felt like I was actually there. All of the details were there, even down to the lamp on the table at the beginning. It was the hardest lamp to find, but it was the identical lamp from the bunker.
Nerds and Beyond: Can we expect a blooper reel at some point in the future?
Hannah: Yes, for sure, at some point Hilly will be putting together a blooper reel. I know that for a fact.
Nerds and Beyond: In the meantime, do you have any funny stories from set you can share?
Hannah: So, here’s one that was not in the Behind the Scenes. We were in Kansas and we had to draw that massive demon trap symbol on the crossroads. We were in the middle of nowhere and there’s no way to get up and look at it as a whole so it was taking forever and everyone was just on edge. It had been a long day and this was the final shot, a storm was coming in and it was super windy, and it was just frustrating. I didn’t want to make it without Hilly by my side, but she didn’t want to leave the van because she didn’t want her costume or wig to get messed up by the wind. But finally she said, “Give me the spray chalk,” and she jumped out of the van.
Now we had given Osric and Hilly these black robes to cover their costumes in case, for whatever reason, there was a fan in Kansas driving by and they could possibly see Sam and Dean in Ghostbusters suits. So here comes Hilly in a hooded black robe, with the hood up to protect the wig, and they were extremely long. She was spraying these satanic symbols on the ground, looking like a Sith Lord, Occultic Satan worshipper, and as she was doing this, a school bus drove by with a cross on top of it. We just started cracking up. And on top of that, as she’s drawing it, the clouds right above us got dark and starting spinning. And Hilly said, “Am I summoning a storm?” And the whole crew was laughing because it was literally right above us.
Hilly: When Osric and I were in Kansas, we were in the Impala and I was really cautious in making sure nothing was going to leak. I told Osric if anyone passes by we need to duck in our seats so no one saw us in costume. We did it so often that Osric got tired of it and I was the only one ducking. So at one point a car was coming and I said, “Osric, get down! Get down!” And this pickup truck pulls up and I was so worried. So I rolled down the window as I was basically laying down in the Impala and just said, “…Hi!” (laughs) It was an older couple, and they said, “Hey, are y’all storm chasers?” And we replied, “Yeah. Yeah we are.” (laughing more) And they said, “Well, you got all that fancy equipment – there’s a storm coming, you guys better be careful!” And we promised we would be and they drove away. But that was just hilarious.
Nerds and Beyond: What differences did you find between making the last “Supernatural Parody” and this one?
Hilly: The biggest difference was more days of filming. The original was 14 days and this one was 17 days. The schedule for this one was so much more detailed and crazy than the previous. Kudos to Hannah because she’s the organizer, I am very much not, and looking at the schedule gave me anxiety because it would be like, “Pick up Jim Beaver, Jim Beaver arrives and send a driver to pick up Ruth (Connell) because when Ruth gets here Jim Beaver has to go back and then Alex (Calvert) is coming in but then Richard (Speight Jr.) needs…” and I was like, “I can’t, I can’t.” And that’s why we’re a team, because Hannah can handle that stuff, and I can’t. I think that was what was different was the coordination. In the past we could bleed a little bit with our scheduling – if we’re a little bit over, that’s okay, if we’re a little bit under, we can go home early. But this one was so precise. We did not want people waiting around on set because their time was so valuable.
Hannah: Another thing that was a little bit different for this production was we brought on more crew, and that was made possible because of our awesome Patreon supporters. And that was immensely helpful. In the future, hopefully we’ll be able to have even more help because it just made things run so smoothly.
Nerds and Beyond: Speaking of the future, do you have another parody idea in mind that you have solidified?
Hilly: Hannah and I have been impregnated with “Supernatural Parody 2” for eight months and right now we just want to watch our little baby grow and go out into the world. We really want to enjoy the time and not just abandon it and go, “Okay, what’s next?” because we want to take the time to enjoy with the fans. This is why we do what we do. We love seeing people’s reactions and hearing their stories, their thoughts, sharing their joys. We’re going to do more conventions, and this is our moment to come back down to speaking with our fans and not have to say, “We can’t talk, we’re working.” This is the best part of making the production, it’s being able to talk to everyone and enjoy it. With that being said, yes we have ideas, but we’re not going to attack them right away – my brain needs a little mini vacation. (Laughs)
A huge thanks to Hannah and Hilly for sharing so many insights to “Supernatural Parody 2”! Make sure to subscribe to them on Youtube and check out their Patreon if you are interested in supporting their next production. And, if you want to know even more about The Hillywood Show, check out our previous interview with them here.
