In addition to acting, fighting, falling on my head, living life and living it pretty large.. I’ve taken a day off to take pictures and interview a dear friend of mine, Amy Johnston. For all you video game fans out there, you may recognize her from youtube sensation, Thousand Pounds Action Company.For those of you who don’t know her yet, let me introduce you to another bad ass chic, Amy Johnston.

Photos: By Moi, Tara :)  Makeup: Joceyln Zayco

Location: Santa Monica, California

Styled: Tara Malia Assistance: Matt Berberi, James Young

FIREFLY: How long have you been practicing martial arts and how did you start?

Amy: I’ve been practicing Martial Arts ever since I can remember, my father is a 5 time world kickboxing champion and a 3 time hall of fame martial artist. He owned a Martial Arts school so I was there every day : ) Then my brother was born and he was quite a natural martial artist, that’s when I got serious because I wouldn’t let him be better than me. 

FIREFLY:  When did you realize you wanted to become an actress? Was it something that you pursued alongside martial arts? Or was it something completely separate from it?

Amy:  I have always loved to perform and was intrigued by the art of acting. I always had a secret desire to act but Martial Arts was always a part of my life.

FIREFLY: Have you had any role models that you’ve looked up too?

Amy:  I would say my mother has always been my biggest role model, she is a very strong woman.

FIREFLY: Thus far, what has been the most fun project you’ve worked on?

Amy: The most fun project that I’ve have worked on thus far was a piece I worked on with the Thousand Pounds Action Team(http://www.youtube.com/user/RivenX3i), which you will hopefully get to see soon! I basically beat up a bunch of guys. Sounds strange, but that’s how I roll ; )

FIREFLY: What has been the most dumb, laugh out loud project, that you’ve worked on?

Amy: I’ve worked on several dumb projects to say the least, none of which I’m proud to announce because I have no doubt that you will google it : /

FIREFLY: L.A can be a very overwhelming place, what do you do to keep sane?

Amy: To keep sane in LA I go on epic hiking adventures by myself and try to get to the beach as much as possible. Besides that I eat a lot of yummy food : )

FIREFLY:If you had the opportunity to work with any actor, or director, who would that be?

Amy: There are several people I would love to work with including directors; Spielberg, Tarantino, Scorsese, Tarantino, Abrams..wait this list might get too long!

FIREFLY:For girls who want to do what you do, what advise would you give to them?

Amy: For girls wanting to get into the action industry I would advise them to know what they are good at and become the best at whatever that might be. Then train, train, train and never let anyone get in the way of what you want.

FIREFLY: For more information, how can your fans reach you?

Amy: You can follow me at twitter(which I’m horrible at using but getting better)- @amyejohnston or facebook- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amy-Johnston/185501081515613. Website- amy-johnston.com

To watch her kick butt, check out her video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM4VtkmXm38

Thanks guys for reading my first attempt at taking pictures and then interviewing my model. Everyone has such interesting stories and I think knowing a little bit about them, makes understanding the images so much richer. And yes, I picked the title of this page because of the 1997 movie, “Chasing Amy”.

-FIrefly Pictures… by Tara Macken :) 

I am so honored to be apart of such a talented community of complete bad asses! I can honestly say, that I personally know the REAL Captain America, Iron Man, Spider Man, snakeyes…and the list goes on! Here are some pictures from the event at Paramount studios honoring those people that inspire me everyday.

twin for the evening, Monique Ganderton. Yes, she is the REAL MYSTIC from X-MEN, and she’s also in TWILIGHT ECLIPSE. She plays a pretty pissed off vampire in the olden days :)

here website: www.moniqueganderton.com

The lovely Kara Peterson, my HUNGER GAMES, partner in crime.

MY IDOL, fellow United Stuntwomen Association member, friend, and bad ass… SHUANA DUGGINS. She won a Taurus Award that night for the driving bus hijack sequence in “FAST 5”

My wonderful date. He always make me look good, and for all you GLEEKS out there… He double’s Artie! How cute :) Don’t be deceived by his cuteness, he plays a pretty convincing terrorist and gang member in countless other movies and t.v shows!

Yes, I shot stuntwoman Jessica Harbeck, and no, not with a gun which would have been more normal… but a camera.

This is an image of her tattoo, from the book “The Missing Piece”. It played a fun element to the creation of these pictures.

This is what came of it. Thank you Jessica for being my inspiration and my barbie this week. Enjoy:

For all my THG fans out there, let me just tell you how nuts the premiere was! Sure, I’ve been to premieres before, however, on a much, much smaller scale. Driving up to the Nokia theatre in a Limo to see a crowd of fans who’ve camped out from the night before was completely exhilarating. Thank you so much for making the experience a night to remember. 

With a kickass fan!

Stepping up for an interview…

Speaking about interviews, I think I pretty much word vomited a couple of them! It was not until yesterday did I realize that I flexed on TV and did a “stanky leg dance” in honor of Jack Quaid’s dance skills! Yup, my attempt at hiding my dorkiness did not work at all. And for those of you who’ve missed my interview on “E!’, here it is. Totally rying to be poise in fancy and foreign hair/ makeup and gorgeous dress. 

http://www.shelterpop.com/videos-partner/the-hunger-games-premiere-tara-macken-517302410-298