Shira Lazar: "First Impressions" Action Short Brings Together YouTube and Superhero Appeal (WATCH)

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Director Leo Angelos brought his stars Chester See and Hailey Bright to the What's Trending studio for the live debut of their short action film, "First Impressions." The YouTube collaborators also shared behind the scenes stories, including how they trained for fight scenes and handled the on-screen romance.

Without giving too much away about the plot, Chester said that he took a break from his own YouTube channel to join this film after he received a call from one of the executive producers. "(The EP) called me and pitched me the idea and I thought it was a really cool concept, something you don't really see."

For Hailey, the choice was simple. "I never really get to kick anyone's ass," she jokes. "And I finally got to. It was amazing!" She adds, "We got to do tons of fight training and I just really loved the all the action that was involved. I love that idea that you think you're watching something and at the very end, you figure out, oh my gosh! It's a superhero."

"We did a couple of days of training, but they were very long, intense days," she says of getting herself ready for the action scenes.

This was a turnaround for Chester, who's used to being the one dealing the blows. "In this one, I was beat up," he says. "We put gear on me, so they were actually kicking me."

Finally, the team teases the possibility for a sequel, with Leo adding, "It depends on how this is received."

Show your support by watching "First Impressions" here and subscribe to What's Trending for more exclusives interviews with your favorite YouTube stars!

Follow Shira Lazar on Twitter: www.twitter.com/shiralazar

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Shira Lazar: "First Impressions" Action Short Brings Together YouTube and Superhero Appeal (WATCH)

AppId is over the quota
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Get Media Newsletters: Subscribe

Director Leo Angelos brought his stars Chester See and Hailey Bright to the What's Trending studio for the live debut of their short action film, "First Impressions." The YouTube collaborators also shared behind the scenes stories, including how they trained for fight scenes and handled the on-screen romance.

Without giving too much away about the plot, Chester said that he took a break from his own YouTube channel to join this film after he received a call from one of the executive producers. "(The EP) called me and pitched me the idea and I thought it was a really cool concept, something you don't really see."

For Hailey, the choice was simple. "I never really get to kick anyone's ass," she jokes. "And I finally got to. It was amazing!" She adds, "We got to do tons of fight training and I just really loved the all the action that was involved. I love that idea that you think you're watching something and at the very end, you figure out, oh my gosh! It's a superhero."

"We did a couple of days of training, but they were very long, intense days," she says of getting herself ready for the action scenes.

This was a turnaround for Chester, who's used to being the one dealing the blows. "In this one, I was beat up," he says. "We put gear on me, so they were actually kicking me."

Finally, the team teases the possibility for a sequel, with Leo adding, "It depends on how this is received."

Show your support by watching "First Impressions" here and subscribe to What's Trending for more exclusives interviews with your favorite YouTube stars!

Follow Shira Lazar on Twitter: www.twitter.com/shiralazar

Subscribe

Elephant Poaching In Kenya Brings Upsurge In Orphaned Animals

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NAIROBI, Kenya -- An elephant orphanage in Kenya is seeing an upsurge in orphaned elephants brought there because of the poaching crisis occurring across Africa, the founder said Wednesday.

Dame Daphne Sheldrick, who runs the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi National Park, said Kenya must pass stricter laws to punish those who poach elephants for their ivory tusks. Sheldrick said it would be economic sabotage if Kenya doesn't prevent poaching deaths, because of the tourism it will lose.

"Unfortunately the demand for ivory in the Far East, particularly China, has pushed the price of ivory up too far," Sheldrick said as a dozen orphaned elephants bathed in dry mud nearby. For village residents who have little earning potential, the lure of a poaching payday can be tough to resist, she said.

That's why Kenya must enact "very draconian sentencing" for poaching crimes, so that it's not worth it for villagers to kill elephants or rhinos, she said. The Kenya Wildlife Service has long urged Kenyan lawmakers to increase the penalty for poaching, but so far the penalties have remained low. Will parliament pass stricter laws? Even Sheldrick is not sure.

"One has to hope. If they don't Kenya is going to lose their elephants and rhinos," she said, adding later: "Everyone is pleading with the Kenyan government to enact strict punishments against poachers."

Thousands of elephants are being killed across Africa every year by poachers who sell ivory tusks to buyers in Asia, where an increasing demand is buying ivory trinkets as a sign of prestige. Conservationists warn that unless the demand is curtailed, poachers will wipe out Africa's elephants and rhinos, who are killed for their horns.

The Nairobi orphanage takes in young elephants who have become separated from their pack or whose parents have been killed. The orphanage has raised more than 150 elephants, and so far 70 have been released back into the wild. Sheldrick said the orphanage is taking in far more orphans than in years past.

Robert Godec, the U.S. ambassador to Kenya, fed bottles of synthetic milk to some of baby elephants on Wednesday, World Environment Day. Godec said policing efforts and prosecutions of poachers must improve and a lowering of demand for ivory in places like Vietnam and China must take place to save the animals.

As Godec mingled among the baby elephants, patting them on the back and feeding them oversized bottles, he told Sheldrick that the orphanage is a place where magic happens. While surrounded by the small giants, he said: "They're very human in a way."

"Oh, I've been working with them for 50 years now," she replied. "They're just like us but better than us."

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