tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13233814975032958472014-07-15T00:20:48.640-04:00Cin4LeZCinema from a Lesbian PerspectiveTee Spicernoreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-4806897155820608302014-07-15T00:09:00.000-04:002014-07-15T00:20:48.655-04:00Interview Series: Her Side of the Bed<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wds7PwWganM/U8SiU1Y-udI/AAAAAAAAJnQ/7QxEV0Axc9E/s1600/main1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wds7PwWganM/U8SiU1Y-udI/AAAAAAAAJnQ/7QxEV0Axc9E/s1600/main1.png" height="334" width="600" /></a></div><br />Longtime friends and collaborators, Bryn Woznicki and Chelsea Morgan are working hard at their latest project and their first feature film, '<i>Her Side of the Bed'</i>. Both share producing and writing cred but it is Bryn that takes the nod to direct.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m0vHdxn2LiE/U8SjKmMqawI/AAAAAAAAJnY/wvR-n74sNM8/s1600/her-side-of-the-bed-pic.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m0vHdxn2LiE/U8SjKmMqawI/AAAAAAAAJnY/wvR-n74sNM8/s1600/her-side-of-the-bed-pic.png" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chelsea Morgan (r) and Bryn Woznicki</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"></div>The comedic duo both star in the film, playing Nicole and Rachel respectively. The idea for the film came from both of them separately, but after 'a crazy summer of 69'.<br /><br />Tip-toeing on the sometimes blurred lines of friendship on and off-camera, HSOTB was born.<br /><br />Completing the cast are Tim Russ (iCarly, Bloomers), Nadya Ginsburg (Partners) and Steven Anthony Lawrence (Cheaper by the Dozen, Weeds).<br /><br />Their official synopsis is as follows; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9UX1vHzues" target="_blank"><b>Trailer</b></a><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Friendship. Love. Shattered dreams. Breakfast cereals. Complicated relationships with professors. Bikers. Vaginas. New beginnings. Rachel, a recently dumped 20-something writer is guided by her best friend, Nicole, in overcoming her heartbreak, but after sharing an intimate night together, their friendship is forever changed.</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DqJpbEQ45UA/U8SnvOk10FI/AAAAAAAAJnk/ihd99rkFCd8/s1600/fundraiser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DqJpbEQ45UA/U8SnvOk10FI/AAAAAAAAJnk/ihd99rkFCd8/s1600/fundraiser.jpg" height="196" width="320" /></a></div>Having held a successful Finishing Fundraising Party in LA on the 25th June, they are currently running their<span style="color: magenta;"> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1954454259/her-side-of-the-bed" target="_blank">Kickstarter campaign for their post-production</a></span>, which stands at $1,041 ($5000) with 22 days to go.<br /><br />As they are still completing the film with closing and pick-up shots, they welcome any and all contributions, donations and potential investment opportunities.<br /><br />The following is my uncut and very candid conversation with both Bryn Woznicki and Chelsea Morgan about the film, their friendship, funding and a lot of fun!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/tyugkDyJj_c?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div><br /><b>General Info:</b> <a href="http://hersideofthebedmovie.com/">http://hersideofthebedmovie.com/</a><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Spread the word:</u></span><br /><b>Facebook:</b> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HerSideOfTheBed">https://www.facebook.com/HerSideOfTheBed</a><br /><b>Twiiter:</b> <a href="https://twitter.com/HerSideOfTheBed">https://twitter.com/HerSideOfTheBed</a><br /><b>Tumblr:</b> <a href="http://hsotb.tumblr.com/">http://hsotb.tumblr.com/</a><br /><br /><br />Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-40456305187958009102014-06-21T18:34:00.000-04:002014-06-21T18:53:42.888-04:00Interview with Soul Kiss Film's Marina Rice Bader<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1QFubP4zBAs/U6YAu8nlTJI/AAAAAAAAJfE/UTWfLSAXOL0/s1600/AOALS+EPK+5.18+FINAL_page11_image10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1QFubP4zBAs/U6YAu8nlTJI/AAAAAAAAJfE/UTWfLSAXOL0/s1600/AOALS+EPK+5.18+FINAL_page11_image10.png" height="433" width="600" /></a></div><br />'<b>Anatomy of a Love Seen</b>' is the first film directed by <b>Soul Kiss Films</b> C.E.O <b>Marina Rice Bader</b>. The premise is new, the tone is fresh, the production pops off the screen but it is the performances by her actresses that grab you and pull you into their characters. Before you know it you're rooting for favorites as if you were among thousands at a highly contested game.<br /><br />AOALS is about the messiness of love, truth, learning to bare your soul to your love and whether you can be brave enough to leap into the unknown. Bader, with the help of her actresses have managed to capture on film the pure visceral experience AOALS envokes.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MFOuHW4LZOg/U6X_v3i3JjI/AAAAAAAAJew/SyawP2cwS3c/s1600/Z+M+before+mm+on+bed+HDR+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MFOuHW4LZOg/U6X_v3i3JjI/AAAAAAAAJew/SyawP2cwS3c/s1600/Z+M+before+mm+on+bed+HDR+copy.jpg" height="362" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharon Hinnendael (Zoe) & Jill Evyn (Mal)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Newcomers Jill Evyn and Sharon Hinnendael, took completely improvised dialogue and conjured such naturalism in their intimacy that you, the viewer, are reduced into voyeurism. An outside observer of a love teetering on life-support, Evyn and Hinnendael have elevated a film that took a month to complete, five days to shoot into a movie destined to become a classic.<br /><br />Hinnendael and Evyn's pantomime throughout the film elicits tears, unshed by Zoe (Hinnendael) as she meets, 'the love of her life' for the first time since she disappeared without a goodbye, a rhythm or reason. Mal (Evyn) brings you into her painful regret, her fear and nervousness as she walks on the egg-shells around Zoe to get through the re-shoot. You become their cheerleaders, their coach as you route for them to find each other on the same plane where they discovered one another.<br /><br />The quirky Anne, almost steals the show and is played brilliantly by Constance Brenneman. Her need to be seen and noticed by the women she loves, as she spreads light to seemingly irrevocable darkness.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ThquBO6jy5s/U6YAeZ89zcI/AAAAAAAAJe8/dvcs4gosy4k/s1600/MRB+on+set+Final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ThquBO6jy5s/U6YAeZ89zcI/AAAAAAAAJe8/dvcs4gosy4k/s1600/MRB+on+set+Final.jpg" height="320" width="299" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marina Rice Bader</td></tr></tbody></table>Bader also makes her acting debut in as Kara and surprises everyone how good she is. Taking everyone including Zoe and Mal under her wings in her attempt to micro-mange the lives around her except maybe her own.<br /><br />As a whole, AOALS will leave you gasping for air, drooling in parts, crying and laughing in others. All in all a brilliant showing for a first turn as director.<br /><br />In another first, AOALS will be the first Soul Kiss film to be available for immediate streaming online the day after its <b>world premiere at Outfest July 18th</b>.<br /><br />If you love AOALS look out for the soon-to-be released 'Raven's Touch'. Written by Dreya Weber (The Gymnast, A Marine Story), Bader will share directorial duties with Weber. The film set to debut later this year will star Weber and the stunning Traci Dinwiddie (Elena Undone, Supernatural TV series).<br /><br />Below this my interview with the beautiful and exceptionally talented Marina Rice Bader. AOALS will be available for online streaming July 19th at <a href="http://soulkissfilms.com/">soulkissfilms.com</a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/v248XNlkFmo?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0PooxJgI9mo/U6X-0rZvngI/AAAAAAAAJeg/OLfEqMPBHms/s1600/poster_AOALS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0PooxJgI9mo/U6X-0rZvngI/AAAAAAAAJeg/OLfEqMPBHms/s1600/poster_AOALS.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>Synopsis:<br /><br />This film within a film explores love, in all it's painful and messy glory. Six months ago actresses Zoe and Mal fell for each other at exactly the same moment in time while filming a love scene. After five blissful months together Zoe was decimated when Mal walked away. Three miserable weeks later a very lucrative network broadcast deal was in the works. They only had one request...re-shoot the love scene. Welcome to the set.<br /><br />Director: Marina Rice Bader<br />Story: Marina Rice Bader<br />Starring: Sharon Hinnendael, Jill Evyn, Constance Brenneman & Marina Rice Bader<br />Website: <a href="http://anatomyofaloveseen.com/">http://anatomyofaloveseen.com</a><br />Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/anatomyofaloveseen" target="_blank"> https://facebook.com/anatomyofaloveseen</a><br /><div><br /><br /></div>Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-51899879182472373742014-06-10T19:53:00.000-04:002014-06-10T19:53:12.598-04:00Season 2 Entangled With You Coming Soon!<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Award-Winning Web Series “Entangled with You”</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Kicks-Off the Second Season on June 24th</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9dRw5HviAtM/U5eYC9_4A6I/AAAAAAAAJao/YVug3xp78wc/s1600/entangled_with_you_HP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9dRw5HviAtM/U5eYC9_4A6I/AAAAAAAAJao/YVug3xp78wc/s1600/entangled_with_you_HP.jpg" height="444" width="600" /></a></div><br /><b>Los Angeles, CA</b> - Writer/producer/director Caryn K. Hayes unleashes big laughs and true to life drama with the return of her digital series, “<b>ENTANGLED WITH YOU</b>” which follows couples who complicate each others' lives even after breaking up. On Sunday, June 15th, the cast and crew celebrate the season with a premiere party and screening of the first three episodes. The series will premiere online Tuesday, June 24th with a new episode rolling out bi-weekly.<br /><br />Created by Caryn K. Hayes, “Entangled with You” is a relationship dramedy following two very different roommates, Alisha (Kathryn Taylor Smith) and Jaliyah (Loren Lillian), who move in together after separating from their partners. The second season picks up at the moment season one leaves off with Rocky (Jes Meza) returning to surprise her girlfriend, Jaliyah, and Craig’s (Al Thompson) determination to get Alisha back renewed. And as the lives of the roomies continue to intersect, their bond continues to grow.<br /><br />Coming off her dramatic short film, Clean Hands, Hayes was excited to return to producing more episodes of the popular series. “I never wanted to stop producing in the first place. It’s just incredibly hard to fund projects alone; we really couldn’t have done it without the support of the fans,” she said, speaking of the crowd-funding campaign that made season two possible. “I’m just incredibly glad that I was able provide everyone with a little bit of closure even though the story still lives on for me, as I suspect it will for a lot of our audience.”<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/CH07Y3U9ztQ?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>The returning cast includes: LAwebFest Best Actress in a Comedy winner, Kathryn Taylor Smith (Southland, Mad Men, The Marriage Lottery) and digital powerhouse Al Thompson (The Royal Tenenbaums, A Walk to Remember, Lenox Avenue) who play long-time off-and-on couple, Alisha and Craig. Loren Lillian (Pariah, The Number) plays Jaliyah opposite Jes Meza's (East Los High) Rocky. <br /><br />Other stellar members of the cast include familiar new media faces, including two-time Best-Actress in a Soap Opera/Drama nominee Crystal Coney (One Tree Hill, Castle, Breaking Point), Shannan Leigh Reeve (Nikki & Nora, Cowgirl Up, We Have To Stop Now), and online sketch comedy heavy-hitter, David Spates.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WTJM-mID92Q/U5eaK6eLyrI/AAAAAAAAJas/pFnaF48V9sI/s1600/Kassie+aka+Chante+Marlena+Lewis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WTJM-mID92Q/U5eaK6eLyrI/AAAAAAAAJas/pFnaF48V9sI/s1600/Kassie+aka+Chante+Marlena+Lewis.jpg" height="224" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />Joining the cast as recurring characters are Chanté Lewis(Pariah), who plays an ex-fling of Jen’s, and Amber “Smiles” Jones (Between Women), who becomes a source of contention between the roommates. And guest starring in an episode is Sarah Croce of Unicorn Plan-It and Calling in Drunk.<br /><br />Hayes, a New Orleans native, has been building a solid resume since landing in Los Angeles, producing, writing, directing, and coordinating numerous projects both independent and corporate entities. <br /><br />In 2007 and 2009, Hayes won the TV Pilot Award from the Organization of Black Screenwriters for her original work. Hayes created “The World of Cory & Sid,” a comedic web series, which was nominated for Best Television or Web Series in 2009 by the Urban Mediamakers Film Festival. She received an Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series award for her second series, "Breaking Point," from the 2011 LAWebFest and was nominated for Best Directing by the 2012 International Television Festival. After joining BrevityTV.com in 2008, Hayes continues to produce and direct sketch comedy, where she also serves as the Head of Production.<br /><br />To keep up with updates about “Entangled with You,” follow the series at:<br /><a href="http://entangledwithyou.com/">http://EntangledwithYou.com</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/Entangledseries">http://twitter.com/Entangledseries</a><br />Fan Page: <a href="http://facebook.com/Entangledseries">http://facebook.com/Entangledseries</a><br /><br /><br />Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-51155121729131398382014-05-28T10:39:00.000-04:002014-05-28T10:39:07.863-04:00An Interview with Nancylee Myatt (Nikki & Nora)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9qSgIoC-Yro/U4XgO1gN7iI/AAAAAAAAJX0/AC-3XM60IZg/s1600/video-pic-YT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9qSgIoC-Yro/U4XgO1gN7iI/AAAAAAAAJX0/AC-3XM60IZg/s1600/video-pic-YT.jpg" height="360" width="600" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8EdjxzfcVLg/U4XgSO9SF3I/AAAAAAAAJX4/y-UkcugIQk8/s1600/NLM3581w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8EdjxzfcVLg/U4XgSO9SF3I/AAAAAAAAJX4/y-UkcugIQk8/s1600/NLM3581w.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a></div>There are times when this job goes beyond my wildest dreams, this interview is one of them. Nancylee Myatt is <i>the</i> filmmaker that I admire the most and unbeknownst to her, I was shaking in my boots. I kept my cool and managed to conduct one of the most constructive and knowledgeable interviews I have ever done.<br /><br />Nancylee Myatt has been quietly making some of the best television for over the past twenty years. Starting as a writer on the 80's hit, <b>"Night Court"</b> (1984-1992) to co-executive producer for the sensational and ground-breaking teenage drama, <b>"South of Nowhere"</b> (2005-2008).<br /><br />Since then she has been on the forefront of producing quality television solely for the internet. She currently has three hit web series in production, <i><b>Cowgirl Up, Second Shot</b></i> and insanely popular, <i><b>Nikki & Nora: The N & N Files</b></i>.<br /><br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Nikki & Nora follows New Orleans locals Nikki Beaumont (Liz Vassey) and Nora Delaney (Christina Cox), former NOPD cops turned private investigators. They navigate the channels of their personal life together alongside their dedication to uncovering the truth in the one city that really likes to keep its secrets, New Orleans. - via tello premium</blockquote>Nikki & Nora is based on a pilot created by Myatt that was before it's time and would have gone completely unnoticed if a YouTuber posted (unauthorized) the previously unaired project in 5 parts. The response to the pilot gained such momentum that it literally became an underground movement, garnering hundreds of fanfic videos and fans starting calling for more.<br /><br />She heard the call and 10 years later, the first episode of a rebooted version called Nikki & Nora: The N & N Files was aired exclusively on onemorelesbian/tello films.<br /><br /><i>The following is the complete interview between Tee and Nancylee.</i><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ANXwBHXIqyQ?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><i>Credits include; </i>Nancylee Myatt (creator/writer/director), Executive Producers Nancylee Myatt, Paige Bernhardt, Christin Mell & Co- Executive Producers Liz Vassey, Christina Cox<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Follow the series on <a href="https://twitter.com/NikkiandNora" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Twitter</span></a></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's behind-the-scenes clips from the set of Nikki & Nora (Season 1)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/-pZYgKXT28k?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">You can watch Nikki & Nora: Season 1 <a href="http://www.onemorelesbian.com/tello/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here.</span></a><br /><br /></div>Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-68342717438554895432014-05-06T18:21:00.000-04:002014-05-06T18:21:11.337-04:00A Conversation With Jodi Savitz<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KJyvD1lsVIs/U2lP4aBihVI/AAAAAAAAJTo/vTp_sm-PFfc/s1600/Jodi+Savitz-blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KJyvD1lsVIs/U2lP4aBihVI/AAAAAAAAJTo/vTp_sm-PFfc/s1600/Jodi+Savitz-blog.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jodi Savitz</td></tr></tbody></table>Jodi Savitz is as passionate a filmmaker as I have ever met. Having had a childhood that allowed her the security to come out at the age of fourteen, she has been passionate about LGBT politics and activism but especially leveling the playing field for lesbians. She has been singularly determined to help feminine women find a voice among their own as well as society at large.<br /><br />Jodi's latest project the independent documentary <i><a href="http://www.girlongirlmovie.com/" target="_blank">Girl On Girl</a></i> was conceived out of Jodi's personal experiences of not being taken seriously about her sexuality and the assumption that she was heterosexual.<br /><br />Girl on Girl is not only unique in its subject matter, but is particularly relevant in view of the LGBTQ community’s continued struggle for equal rights. It seems to closely relate to the purpose and goals of the community by creating visibility and empowering the diverse voices of lesbians, one of the most underrepresented minorities.<br /><br />Below is the entire conversation between Jodi and myself about her film and her thoughts on the subject.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/PkS38LwpHgU?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>For more information and to <a href="http://www.girlongirlmovie.com/donate.html#sthash.dsqhRXm4.dpbs" target="_blank">contribute to the GIRL ON GIRL: the documentary click</a>.<br /><br />Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-38535900478463944562014-02-14T09:49:00.003-04:002014-02-14T09:50:23.616-04:00The Flowers Of Fantastico Premieres Today!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O9fNVaicup8/Uv4eviQqL_I/AAAAAAAAJBE/FC6MaUkz5YU/s1600/FantasticoPromo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O9fNVaicup8/Uv4eviQqL_I/AAAAAAAAJBE/FC6MaUkz5YU/s1600/FantasticoPromo.jpg" height="296" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><u>Brain Melt Consortium</u> is pleased to announce the world premiere of bisexual romantic horror comedy web series <b>The Flowers of Fantastico</b>.<br /><br />One fateful evening, freshly heartbroken Tara, her best friend Gary, and his go-go-dancer boyfriend Billi, discover a mysterious VHS tape that harbors a dark secret. Enter supernatural assassins, demon-fighting nuns, magical dance fights, and an eternally young, possibly evil, but definitely gay Hollywood celebrity… who will cast a seductive spell over Tara. Don't miss <b>The Flowers of Fantastico</b>! It's truly fantastic...o!<br /><br />The first five episodes will be released on Feb 14, ready to crush your Valentine's Day dreams and invade your nightmare. Your dirty, dirty nightmares.<br /><br />But since we assume everyone else's patience is as bad as ours, we released a sneak preview, available to watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLxUcT3j-VQ" target="_blank">RIGHT THIS SECOND on YouTube.</a><br /><br />"It's Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Seinfeld" says creator Rachel Kerry, the mastermind behind the series.<br /><br />Producer Tara Sheffer insists, "The Flowers of Fantastico creates a weird and wonderful genre-fusion never before seen... we need more Bisexual Romantic Horror Comedies! More BiRoHorComs!"<br /><br />Presented by transmedia production company Brain Melt Consortium, this ambitious new web series brings together a hyper-creative team who are thrilled to release it out into the wild. Starring Victoria Longwell and David Mangiamele, The Flowers of Fantastico is found at:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.fantasticoseries.com/">www.fantasticoseries.com/</a><br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/FantasticoSeries">https://www.facebook.com/FantasticoSeries</a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/brainmeltconsortium">www.youtube.com/brainmeltconsortium</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGGY-rQD4h8&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PL9gVx8bQeIiMAiY-pvLv7ZnGE93kjJK2h" target="_blank">Watch Episode 1-3 Now!</a><br /><br />Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-59700892299512334192014-02-08T14:43:00.002-04:002014-02-08T14:48:24.085-04:00Interview Series: Out with Dad Cast<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-myeXVZgm6AQ/UvZw75vLiOI/AAAAAAAAI_I/kXVmvfRWi2M/s1600/OWD_HP.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-myeXVZgm6AQ/UvZw75vLiOI/AAAAAAAAI_I/kXVmvfRWi2M/s1600/OWD_HP.png" height="422" width="600" /></a></div><br /><br />For 3 seasons the Canadian webseries, <b>"Out With Dad"</b> has managed to garner accolade after accolade, amassing thousands of fans from around the world.<br /><br />Created by Jason Leaver, OWD debuted in Summer, 2010 and since then it has become one of the most successful and awarding-winning LGBTQ-themed internet shows ever produced.<br /><br /><b>Out With Dad</b> is a series that essentially is about teenage lesbian Rose and her coming out with her single father Nathan; her challenges about coming out and follows the struggles Nathan deal with as a parent of a gay child.<br /><br />OWD has managed to mobilize their massive fans into supporting their efforts to keep the series alive by the inventive and fun filled funding campaigns held over each of the three seasons.<br /><br />Written, directed, and produced by Jason Leaver through his production company JLeaver Presentations and because the series has dealt with themes like 'coming out', 'teenage LGBT' and in Season 3, issues of 'homophobia, bullying in school, and LGBT homelessness' will be tackled. Because of this it has been fully endorsed by <a href="http://www.pflagcanada.ca/en/index.html" target="_blank">PFLAG Canada</a>.<br /><br />With over 18 million views, OWD is translated in over 10 languages and beginning season 3, France TV has bought the Canadian web series and started broadcasting it last year on its Season 3 debut.<br /><br />This year will also see the introduction of the spin-off series, <b>Vanessa's Story</b>. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-wr5MOua1w" target="_blank">(See Trailer)</a> The new series will run parallel to the story of <b>Out With Dad</b>, the story tells of the harsh reality in store for many teens when they aren't accepted by their families because they came out. For Vanessa, being true to herself means leaving home for the uncertainty and the danger of the streets of Toronto.<br /><br />The following is a interview conducted by me (Tee, founder of The PNT Tv Network) and the entire main cast of Out with Dad.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="321" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/86082431?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="570"></iframe></div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-wr5MOua1w" target="_blank"></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-wr5MOua1w" target="_blank"><br /></a></div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-wr5MOua1w" target="_blank"></a><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-wr5MOua1w" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-wr5MOua1w" target="_blank">Please send contributions to: </a><a href="http://www.outwithdad.com/whenisthenextepisode">http://www.outwithdad.com/whenisthenextepisode</a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Ready for some binge watching? Head on over to <a href="http://www.pnttvonline.com/out-with-dad.html" target="_blank">PNT Tv and watch the series</a> from its beginning. Episode will debut soon!</div></div>Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-24864784654844363042014-01-29T19:33:00.000-04:002014-01-29T19:44:50.928-04:00Interview Series: Dyke Central's Florencia Manovil<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gSCvvtoY1IE/UumOtJ_MfYI/AAAAAAAAI-M/telATfPddCQ/s1600/DC-photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gSCvvtoY1IE/UumOtJ_MfYI/AAAAAAAAI-M/telATfPddCQ/s1600/DC-photo.jpg" height="324" width="620" /></a></div><br />Created by Florencia Manovil and Arnetta Smith, <b>Dyke Central</b> is an Oakland-based dramedy that centers around 30-something butch roommates Alex and Gin...Surrounded by a diverse group of friends who guide, challenge, and support them. Alex and Gin struggle to adapt to change and create balance in their lives without losing themselves.<br /><div><br /></div>What separates <b>Dyke Central</b> from every other queer series that seems to be sprouting from every digital-camera holding filmmaker with a vision, is its diversity. However, it doesn't just throw minorities into the mix to appease its audience or to get noticed, it honest-to-goodness revels in its different-ness. From the storylines to the cast, the series swells to bursting, in it display of our community's true face.<br /><br />It is clear from its twenty-plus minute pilot, that <b>Dyke Central</b> is not only rich in its diversity, but that the value of its production, the strong performances of the entire cast and obvious care taken by its crew to deliver as close to a mirror of the community it is trying to portray as I have ever seen depicted in a LGBTQ webseries.<br /><br />If you are looking for a organic reflection of the queer community on film, give Dyke Central a go.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/jJwFDKwKIhw?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4QfDC2hSWX8/UumFgphhW-I/AAAAAAAAI98/3jtZSEvPhrQ/s1600/FLORENCIA+MANOVIL+(DIRECTOR).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4QfDC2hSWX8/UumFgphhW-I/AAAAAAAAI98/3jtZSEvPhrQ/s1600/FLORENCIA+MANOVIL+(DIRECTOR).jpg" height="315" width="320" /></a></div>Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Florencia moved to the U.S. at the age of 18 to pursue film studies, eventually settling in the San Francisco Bay Area after living in Boston and New York for several years. Florencia is committed to bringing underrepresented communities to the screen, as well as showcasing Oakland and the Bay Area at large.<br /><br />Florencia is a feminist filmmaker passionate about independent film, social justice, environmentalism, and queer identities. In 2008, she directed her first feature film, "Fiona's Script". The film played at several national and international festivals. Development of her second feature, “Star-Crossed,” was put on hold so that she could focus on “<b>Dyke Central</b>”.<br /><br />Recently, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Florencia Manovil, the co-creator, writer, director and producer of the new webseries, <b>Dyke Central</b>. The following is that conversation.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="321" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/85370670?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="570"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>UPDATE:</b> <i>Dyke Central</i> was included in <a href="http://cin4lez.blogspot.com/2014/01/second-annual-dinah-film-festival.html" target="_blank">Club Skirts' Dinah Shore Weekend Second Annual Film Festival.</a><br /><br /><br /><b><u><a href="http://www.pnttvonline.com/4/post/2014/01/win-tickets-to-the-dinah-2014.html" target="_blank">Click for a chance to win two FREE Platinum Passes to 2014 Club Skirts' Dinah Shore Weekend. </a></u></b><br /><br /><br /><i>Watch the series</i> <i>(On PNT Tv)</i>: <a href="http://www.pnttvonline.com/dyke-central.html">http://www.pnttvonline.com/dyke-central.html</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>For more Info:</i> <a href="http://www.dykecentral.com/">http://www.dykecentral.com/</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Follow Dyke Central: </i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/DykeCentral">https://www.facebook.com/DykeCentral</a><br /><i>Instagram:</i> <a href="http://instagram.com/dykecentral">http://instagram.com/dykecentral</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-3803242666369757402014-01-29T07:33:00.000-04:002014-01-29T07:33:16.631-04:00Second Annual Dinah Film Festival<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>CLUB SKIRTS DINAH SHORE WEEKEND & O.M.L</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>ANNOUNCE OFFICIAL SELECTIONS FOR ITS SECOND ANNUAL </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>“DINAH FILM FESTIVAL”</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IsJ9X4gO94k/UujlSBHKUjI/AAAAAAAAI9s/n1nOFbfFZzA/s1600/DinahFilmFestival.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IsJ9X4gO94k/UujlSBHKUjI/AAAAAAAAI9s/n1nOFbfFZzA/s1600/DinahFilmFestival.jpg" height="400" width="303" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Palm Springs, CA</b> – Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend, in association with One More Lesbian (OML), have announced the official selection of lesbian-themed projects that will be screened at this year’s “Dinah Film Festival.”</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The Fest, which debuted last year to immense success, is set to return this year again at the Palm Springs Hilton Hotel on Friday, April 4 at 8:00pm offering attendees the chance to preview a slew of unique and original programs.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The 2014 Dinah Film Festival will showcase five web series, and present three exclusive world-premieres featuring a short film, a documentary and an exclusive advanced trailer.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The categories are as follow:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><u>WEB SERIES</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Dyke Central</b> is an Oakland-based dramedy that centers around 30-something butch roommates Alex and Gin. Surrounded by a diverse group of friends who guide, challenge and support them, Alex and Gin struggle to adapt to change and create balance in their lives without losing themselves.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>#Hashtag</b>: friend Me. Follow Me. Like Me. Fall for Me. #Hashtag follows the love lives of two technology-obsessed friends in Chicago. From Instagram seduction to inappropriate selfies, Twitter over sharing to OKCupid dating, Liv and Skylar are about to learn the real-life consequences of over-indulgence in the virtual world. The show stars Marnie Alton (Exs & Ohs, Cowgirl Up), stand up comedian Caitlin Berg and actress/writer Laura Zak.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Kiss Her I’m Famous</b> (Season 2) is an intelligent satire created by Filmmaker Rolla Selbak (Three Veils), starring Tracy Ryerson (The Real L-Word) and Ilea Matthews, and featuring Noureen DeWulf (Anger Management). The show follows two hilarious and clueless characters Jen and Mandy who aim to create a celebrity sex tape to launch them into fame. In Season 2, this sex tape is…leaked!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Little Horribles</b> is a new web series that follows a single lesbian (Amy Rubin) as she navigates her thirties in Los Angeles. The show, created by Amy Rubin recently made Variety’s list of “Top Ten Best Web Series of 2013” impressively ranking at # 4. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Nikki & Nora</b> follows New Orleans locals Nikki Beaumont (Liz Vassey) and Nora Delany (Christina Cox) as they juggle the inner-workings of their personal lives with their roles as private investigators in America's oldest party town.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><u>SHORT FILM</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Secrets and Toys</b> is a delightful short film where a surprise visit, a bumbling bestie, and many years of tight-lipped deception cause EVERYONE'S ish to hit the fan. The chaos caused in this comedy of errors is full of sexy moments and tons of laughter. Secrets and Toys will warm your heart as you root for the lovers to make it through the storm. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Starring Dalila Ali Rajah (Cherry Bomb, Grey's Anatomy, New Girl), Shelli Boone (Saints and Sinners, Entourage), Diane Sellers (Rules of Engagement, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Darryl Stephens (Noah's Arc, Hot Guys with Guns), Doug Spearman (Noah's Arc, Old Dogs & New Tricks), Jill Bennett (Second Shot, Dante's Cove), among others.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><u>DOCUMENTARY</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>God-Des and She</b> Documentary follows the music duo God-Des and She as they return to their mid-west roots to attend a family function and to perform at a pride concert. The duo talk about how they came to collaborate, their family and what their 2006 performance on The L Word has meant to their career. A hip-hop/pop/soul duo bred in the Midwest, God Des & She now play to packed venues all over the world from New York to Sweden.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><u>TRAILER</u> (Exclusive premiere)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Girl Gets Girl</b> is a feature film from the creators of the popular Chica Busca Chica (Girl Seeks Girl) series. A romantic comedy that tells the story of Nines, the restless lady-killer, coming back home from the States. Nines has tried to reinvent herself in Miami but it hasn´t worked as she expected. Nine years after leaving Spain she decides to go back home and win Carmen´s heart. The only problem? Carmen is straight and lives with Mónica the woman Nines left their wedding day. The film is directed by Sonia Sebastian. Stars include Celia Freijeiro, María Botto and Adriana Torrebejano</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The Dinah Shore Film Festival was launched last year as a way to promote the work of talented independent filmmakers and to show a glimpse of lesbian culture. Supporting filmmakers and film is important for Club Skirts’ founder and producer Mariah Hanson. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><blockquote class="tr_bq">“I was thrilled with the success of last year's film festival. We've expanded the format to include a wider variety of all types of films and are donating 100% of the proceeds to our filmmakers,” says Hanson. “I know this will eventually become one of the more popular events at The Dinah. We plan to continue to offer more wide ranged programming so that women from all backgrounds and interests can experience the lesbian pride and visibility of The Dinah.”</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The Dinah Film Festival is a two-hour event. A special Q&A with the filmmakers will follow the screening. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">100% of the proceeds from the event will be donated to all participating independent filmmakers. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">###</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">For more information go to: <a href="http://www.thedinah.com/">www.TheDinah.com</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Tickets $15 in advance. $20 at the door. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-22801946526537477052014-01-22T16:35:00.000-04:002014-01-22T16:35:35.984-04:00The Date is...Kiss Her I'm Famous - Season 2<div style="text-align: center;">SEASON 2 OF HIT WEB SERIES </div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>"KISS HER I'M FAMOUS" </b></div><div style="text-align: center;">PREMIERES MONDAY JANUARY 27</div><div style="text-align: center;">WITH FIRST 5 EPISODES AIRING AT THE SAME TIME</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mUm5jmYCvBM/UuAqh2YRRGI/AAAAAAAAI7o/dyA5xp12mIg/s1600/Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mUm5jmYCvBM/UuAqh2YRRGI/AAAAAAAAI7o/dyA5xp12mIg/s1600/Poster.jpg" height="640" width="496" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Season 2 of the web sensation <b>"Kiss Her I'm Famous"</b>, created by <b>Rolla Selbak</b>, is set to premiere on <b>Monday, January 27, 2014</b> on <a href="http://tellofilms.com/">tellofilms.com</a>.<br />All regular episodes (5 episodes) will be airing at the same time so fans can enjoy a binge-watching marathon of "KHIF". Audiences will have the exclusive opportunity to bypass all of the anticipation and indulge in five glorious episodes all at once.<br /><br />The two-part season finale will then stream online on February 14 (Valentine's day).<br /><br />Created and directed by San Francisco based award-winning filmmaker Rolla Selbak, the show is based on two hilarious and clueless characters played by The Real L-Word’s <b>Tracy Ryerson</b> and <b>Ilea Matthews</b> (The Violent Kind), who aim to create a celebrity sex tape to launch them into fame. <br /><br />In Season 2, this sex tape is…leaked. What comes next for Jen (Ilea Matthews) and Mandy (Tracy Ryerson)?<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-anb_9U7O4BQ/UuAqpcy1XmI/AAAAAAAAI7w/u2kbrASiqs0/s1600/S2-press-release.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-anb_9U7O4BQ/UuAqpcy1XmI/AAAAAAAAI7w/u2kbrASiqs0/s1600/S2-press-release.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ilea Matthews, Tracy Ryerson, Fawz Mirza & Noureen DeWulf at the Screening Premiere of Season 2</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />The new season, which comprises a total of 7 episodes, will feature many surprises including the addition of actress <b>Noureen DeWulf</b> who is best known for her role as sexy therapy patient Lacey in Charlie Sheen’s hit TV comedy "Anger Management". <br /><br />"Kiss her I'm Famous" is the new comedy that has made a name for itself on cyberspace during its initial season 1.<br /><br />The show satirizes the booming business of the sex tape madness, and how celebrity wannabes utilizes their home movies as a ticket to greater stardom and a major payday. The first season of the show premiered last year to great success, with the trailer alone reaching 1 MILLION+ combined views on YouTube in less than a week!<br /><br /><br />Season 1 and 2 of "Kiss Her I'm Famous" can viewed on <a href="http://tellofilms.com/">tellofilms.com</a><br /><br />Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-19859328630226409542013-11-28T10:42:00.002-04:002013-12-01T13:33:51.716-04:00Interview Series - Creators of Kelsey (Webseries)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yTlY42-tM_0/UpdWCrAuwLI/AAAAAAAAIpQ/S1033cItbCo/s1600/Kelsey-Rauber_Christina-Raia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yTlY42-tM_0/UpdWCrAuwLI/AAAAAAAAIpQ/S1033cItbCo/s1600/Kelsey-Rauber_Christina-Raia.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kelsey Rauber (<i>l.</i>) & Christina Raia (<i>r.</i>)</td></tr></tbody></table>This past Sunday I had the pleasure of sitting down with the creators of the hit web series, <i>Kelsey</i>. The series is mid-way into its first season, releasing a new episode every other Tuesday, it can be seen on several platforms, such as <i>bliptv, youtube, vimeo </i>and your very own <b>PNT Tv</b>.<br /><br />Based on writer Kelsey Rauber's own experiences, it was director Christina Raia who spotted the potential and suggested they make a story out of it, so the series Kelsey was born. The series is produced by the duo under Christina Raia's production company, <a href="http://www.congestedcat.com/" target="_blank">CongestedCat Productions.</a><br /><br />Kelsey follows the plight of a talkative, humorous, and often self-deprecating lesbian, that has just ended - her long term relationship and with the help of her friends, her slow re-entry into the world of the <strike>living</strike> dating.<br /><br />The warmth and humor even extends to the creative method Christina and Kelsey came up with the title. According to Kelsey,<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Oh, haha funny story. In the first round of scripts the main character was named Charisma, but Christina did not approve (thankfully). So after much back and forth I suggested 'Christina', and she just rolled her eyes and said 'Why not Kelsey?'</blockquote>And with that small antidote, it is easy to see how Kelsey (the writer) became Kelsey the series!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x17q2af" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x17q2af_pnt-tv-s-interview-series-creators-of-kelsey-webseries_webcam" target="_blank">PNT Tv's Interview Series - Creators of Kelsey...</a> <i>by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/leztuesday" target="_blank">leztuesday</a></i><br /><br />Kelsey's cast include: Nichole Yannetty (Kelsey), Sharina Martin, Brennan Taylor, & Daniel K Isaac<br /><br /><b><i>To follow the series:</i></b><br /><br />Official webpage - <a href="http://www.congestedcat.com/kelsey">http://www.congestedcat.com/kelsey</a><br />Facebook - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Kelseytheseries/">https://www.facebook.com/Kelseytheseries/</a><br />Twitter - <a href="https://twitter.com/KelseyTheSeries">https://twitter.com/KelseyTheSeries</a><br />PNT Tv Channel - <a href="http://www.pnttvonline.com/kelsey.html">http://www.pnttvonline.com/kelsey.html</a><br /><br /><br />Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-88760057509370922582013-11-19T16:42:00.000-04:002013-11-24T16:35:24.769-04:00Interview with AWOL Director Deb Shoval<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kR1R1kGnf_k/Uounl8AtanI/AAAAAAAAImg/7xhTwlvY8X8/s1600/deb+shoval.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kR1R1kGnf_k/Uounl8AtanI/AAAAAAAAImg/7xhTwlvY8X8/s320/deb+shoval.jpg" height="320" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deb Shoval</td></tr></tbody></table>11.19.13 - Deb Shoval's 2011 short film, AWOL is simply great. Rarely do I come across shorts that I hope become feature films actually do but that is the case for AWOL, which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.<br /><br />At Sundance she was awarded the Women in Film LA Grant from Kodak, Technicolor, and CalmDown Productions. The feature has already participated in IFP narrative Labs.<br /><br />Shoval directs and co-wrote the feature with Karolina Waclawiak. Shot entirely in Northeastern Pennsylvania over two seasons, the upcoming feature is 1/3 complete according to its director.<br /><br />The feature follows a 19 year-old solider , Joey (played by Lola Kirke), just before her deployment, as she returns to her hometown on a recruitment assignment at the local mall. Infatuated with her older lover, Rayna (Breeda Wool) 27, a sassy, sexy, married mother of two, Joey navigates her way through a palpable hierarchy of class as she plots to flee the Army in the name of love.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K6alBMVQvys/UovJEa_Hu8I/AAAAAAAAImw/ulsOnGChS0g/s1600/oWfJTI-hS6J0mQKfp4E8P3-G0M3XIvF5B4SqNJ2aAlE.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K6alBMVQvys/UovJEa_Hu8I/AAAAAAAAImw/ulsOnGChS0g/s640/oWfJTI-hS6J0mQKfp4E8P3-G0M3XIvF5B4SqNJ2aAlE.jpeg" height="296" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joey (Lola Kirke) and Rayna (Breeda Wool) (AWOL dir. Deb Shoval)</td></tr></tbody></table>Film credits include;<br /><br />Cast:<br />Rayna: Breeda Wool,<br />Joey: Lola Kirke<br />Pete: Ted Welch<br />Roy: Bill Sage<br />Kristin: Charlotte Maltby<br />Haley: TBA<br /><br />DOP: Gal Deren<br />Producer: Jessica Calwell<br />Co-Writers: Deb Shoval & Karolina Waclawiak<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-URFyyeVErps/UovONW4I79I/AAAAAAAAIm8/wekcgA9I2gA/s1600/suJjb_ByCd88sC51sAYlKL1Z5xSzXvKQIpAb_KTD6Tg.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-URFyyeVErps/UovONW4I79I/AAAAAAAAIm8/wekcgA9I2gA/s640/suJjb_ByCd88sC51sAYlKL1Z5xSzXvKQIpAb_KTD6Tg.jpeg" height="307" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lola Kirke as Joey</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />I recently sat down and had an in-depth conversation with the filmmaker. Listen below to the interview in its entirety. The short can be seen <a href="http://lezreel.blogspot.com/2013/11/awol-2011.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here.</span></a><br /><br /><iframe frameborder="0" height="60" src="//www.mixcloud.com/widget/iframe/?feed=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mixcloud.com%2FPNT_Tv%2Finterview-with-deb-shoval-awol%2F&mini=1&stylecolor=&hide_artwork=&embed_type=widget_standard&embed_uuid=1c1f6635-902d-452c-9a1b-0ea18b72a046&hide_tracklist=1&hide_cover=1&autoplay=" width="570"></iframe><br /><div style="clear: both; height: 3px; width: 562px;"></div><div style="color: #02a0c7; display: block; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0; padding: 3px 4px; width: 562px;"><a href="http://www.mixcloud.com/PNT_Tv/interview-with-deb-shoval-awol/?utm_source=widget&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=base_links&utm_term=resource_link" style="color: #02a0c7; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Interview with Deb Shoval (AWOL)</a> by <a href="http://www.mixcloud.com/PNT_Tv/?utm_source=widget&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=base_links&utm_term=profile_link" style="color: #02a0c7; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Pnt_Tv</a> on <a href="http://www.mixcloud.com/?utm_source=widget&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=base_links&utm_term=homepage_link" style="color: #02a0c7; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank"> Mixcloud</a></div><div style="clear: both; height: 3px;"></div><br />To back this project and watch the filmmaker’s personal pitch video, click <a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/awol-the-feature-is-fundraising-on-the-west-coast" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a>. And follow the film’s progress on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AWOL.movie" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Facebook</span></a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">All photos courtesy the AWOL production team.</span><br /><br />Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-25623439810339365112013-10-28T09:46:00.000-04:002013-11-24T16:35:07.141-04:00Filmmaker Rolla Selbak Releases Official Season 2 Trailer for "Kiss Her I'm Famous'<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RiGZq8MthA8/Um5o3iEsGCI/AAAAAAAAIcA/fUfKjInhebM/s1600/Kiss-her-im-famous-cast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RiGZq8MthA8/Um5o3iEsGCI/AAAAAAAAIcA/fUfKjInhebM/s640/Kiss-her-im-famous-cast.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption">Featuring Actresses Noureen DeWulf from "Anger Management" & Tracy Ryerson from "The Real L Word"</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Los Angeles, CA 10.28.13 - It's official, Filmmaker Rolla Selbak released today the season 2 trailer for Kiss Her I'm Famous. Be the first to watch it right here on the new site: <a href="http://www.kissherimfamous.com/"><span style="color: red;">www.kissherimfamous.com</span></a>.<br /><br />Season will feature many surprises including the addition of actress Noureen DeWulf who is best known for her role as sexy therapy patient Lacey in Charlie Sheen’s hit TV comedy, Anger Management. DeWulf's character is definitely a troublemaker! She's described in the show as an evil Disney princess. She's the grower of her own Kombucha and somewhat of a hilarious anomaly.<br /><br />Selbak just wrapped the filming of the season 2 in Los Angeles and is now launching an IndieGogo Crowdfunding campaign for reimbursement of locations and equipment,: Check out the Indiegogo campaign for details, and please do donate if you like what you see. it ends on Halloween: <a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/kiss-her-i-m-famous-season-2"><span style="color: red;">http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/kiss-her-i-m-famous-season-2</span></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/76501568" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>The series returns on cyberspace in January 2014 on <a href="http://tellofilms.com/"><span style="color: red;">tellofilms.com</span></a>, and will feature a total of 7 episodes.<br /><br />ABOUT ROLLA SELBAK:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rSmDXm9XOO4/Um5pOXCSViI/AAAAAAAAIcI/4G3bBSzJg_c/s1600/RollaSelbak_2013_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rSmDXm9XOO4/Um5pOXCSViI/AAAAAAAAIcI/4G3bBSzJg_c/s320/RollaSelbak_2013_3.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>Selbak's most recent credits include writing and directing the internationally acclaimed feature film "<i>Three Veils</i>”, starring Sheetal Sheth (Looking for Comedy in a Muslim World, I Can’t Think Straight), Mercedes Masohn (666 Park Ave), and featuring Eric Avari (Heros, The Mummy). The film confronts delicate subject matters such as arranged marriage, homosexuality, and love within the Muslim-American subculture, and portrays the leading female characters as human beings first, women second, and their cultural surroundings as veils that dictate how much of their inner-selves are revealed.<br /><br />With "<i>Three Veils</i>", Rolla Selbak, who grew up in the Middle East and chafed under the strict social structure of a Muslim family, delivered a snapshot of her feelings about how women's rights are trampled under in her otherwise rich and vibrant culture. The feature film won Best Screenplay at San Diego LGBT International 2012; Best LGBT Film at the New York City International Film Festival 2011; Jury Award Best Film at S.F Women's International 2011; Jury Award Best Female Feature at the Long Island LGBT Film Fest 2011; and the Rainbow Award at the Honolulu LGBT Film Fest 2011, among other.<br /><br /><br />Her previous feature, “<i>Making Maya</i>”, has found a successful niche within the independent film world, and has been screened at film festivals and universities nation-wide. She was announced a Winner of the LinkTV’s One Nation Many Voices film competition in 2008 for her documentary “Green Blue Sea”, profiling a young, Palestinian scuba diver, and his profound respect for the ocean.<br />She is known to delve into subject matters that bear distinctively bold, thought-provoking and compelling qualities.<br />The Palestinian native has been invited to speak at multiple panels on independent filmmaking and women in the arts, and was a grant panelist for the 2008 Regional Arts & Culture Council of Oregon. Her other notable achievements include scoring and writing music for her films, and being a recipient of the inaugural Women’s Vision Film grant for her screenwriting, awarded by the Faerie Godmother Fund.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6kt30EnjDtw/Um5nueFVFsI/AAAAAAAAIb0/LdeP-ei-6Is/s1600/Mona-Elyafi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6kt30EnjDtw/Um5nueFVFsI/AAAAAAAAIb0/LdeP-ei-6Is/s1600/Mona-Elyafi.jpg" /></a></div><i><br /></i><i>Mona Elyafi :Guest Blogger</i><br /><i>Founder and CEO, ILDK Media; author and freelance writer</i><br />Follow Mona Elyafi on Twitter: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ILDKMedia"><span style="color: red;">www.twitter.com/ILDKMedia</span></a><br />Full Bio: <a href="http://about.me/monaelyafi"><span style="color: red;">http://about.me/monaelyafi</span></a>Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-7114056649405764392013-09-30T12:13:00.003-04:002013-11-24T16:34:47.314-04:00 Interview with Heather Tobin 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aNHDAmSR_lE/UkmYEOHg6yI/AAAAAAAAISw/eyAFaMxD6zA/s1600/plane.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aNHDAmSR_lE/UkmYEOHg6yI/AAAAAAAAISw/eyAFaMxD6zA/s320/plane.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actress <span class="itemprop" itemprop="name" style="font-size: inherit;">Emily Alatalo and filmmaker Heather Tobin</span></td></tr></tbody></table>9.30.13: Almost to the year of her first interview with Cin4lez, uber independent filmmaker Heather Tobin has allowed us to steal a few moments out of her rather busy life to answer our questions on the progress of her latest film, '<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2537064/" target="_blank"><span style="color: magenta;">Route of Acceptance</span></a>' and what the innovative filmmaker may have brewing on the burner of her film company <a href="http://toeachherownfilms.com/" style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: magenta;">toeachherownfilms.com</span></a>.<br /><br />The DVDs to her films are available from that location.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="413" src="//www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/HgAVCs95_70?rel=0" width="550"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-23267256419678883012013-09-11T05:42:00.000-04:002013-11-24T16:33:38.458-04:00Interview with Rebound's M.J. Corey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="310" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/73034603?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="550"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">9.11.13: Inspired by the short story published in The Brooklyn Rail (2011) by M.J Corey, <i>REBOUND </i>is a short film directed by <b>Leslie Kwon</b>, about a neurotic new lesbian, M.J. (<b>ShaQuanna Williams</b>) is having a rough night out at The Metropolitan, the iconic Williamsburg bar off the Lorimer stop on the L train. M.J. just had her heart broken, so with her best friend (<b>Cindy Ho</b>) in tow, she’s on a mission to get kissed. By dawn, M.J. will have trekked across a beautiful and weird landscape of PBR, sex, drugs, innocence, ignorance, an organic grocery store, rap music, and frat guys.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>The film is now in the last stages of post-production, having wrapped a successful shoot. They now are in need of a little help to get to the 2014 festival circuit and other high cost leftover from the production.<br /><br />If you decide to support this film you will not only pick up unique perks available just to you, you will also be giving support to a very talented but broke Brooklyn artists.<br /><br />The following is a email correspondence I had with writer, M.J.Corey about her film, <i>REBOUND</i>. Please consider donating to our IndieGogo campaign <a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/rebound--3" target="_blank">here</a>.<br /><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mLcnYPvqLa0/UjA8bsFFpYI/AAAAAAAAIOY/iciJiFV59Ro/s1600/still.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mLcnYPvqLa0/UjA8bsFFpYI/AAAAAAAAIOY/iciJiFV59Ro/s400/still.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rachel (Cindy Ho) and M.J. (ShaQuanna Williams)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div>Tee: <i>I know that Rebound was inspired by a short story by M.J Corey but what was the ideology behind the making of the film?</i><br /><br />M.J.Corey: <b>Well, the beauty of Rebound is that it's pretty raw and straightforward, despite the fact that the aesthetic approach to the film is fairly stylized. It sucks to have a broken heart, it sucks to be lonely in a bar, it sucks to be 18 and desperate. New York City is an intense- and cinematic- place to be having these kinds of intense feelings. If any given narrative could be seen as either a tragedy or a comedy, the written version of Rebound definitely takes the tragic token and I'd call Rebound the film more of a comedy. It's funny that I wrote Rebound when I was 19 feeling really serious and dramatic about it, and now, revisiting the story at 23, it's become a source of hilarity to me. It goes to show how much perspective changes with time. "It gets better!!"</b><br /><br /><br />Tee: <i>I gather from your online sources that Rebound was filmed by a single-camera was that choice because of funding or was it pre-planned and if so why?</i><br /><br />MJC: <b>It was pre-planned. Our DP, Rex Yau, came with his own equipment. I don't know anything about the technical aspect of things- just that we did cool and complicated things with lighting on set that required brights and filters. And that all the shots came out gorgeously. </b><br /><br /><br />Tee: <i>This next question is in two-parts. Once you have completed the film what is your next move and can we expect to see the film on the festival circuit?</i><br /><br />MJC: <b>The next move is a private screening for cast and crew. Then a screening at Bluestockings in the Lower East Side. Then, yes, exactly- festival submissions. We'll see where it winds up!</b><br /><br /><br />Tee: <i>I see you gathered a ethnically diverse cast. Was that also predetermined or merely coincidental?</i><br /><br />MJC: <b>Pretty much coincidental. Leslie and I met at a Bluestockings screening and we were the original duo: Leslie is Korean American and I'm Middle Eastern. And then, building from our core team, it fell together naturally. We didn't have any ethnicities in mind during casting; we went with who had the best grasp of the characters' essences. Nikki killed it as Alex, and she happens to be Indian. Same with all our other actresses. I didn't think about it till now that you mentioned it, but you're right - it is a very diverse movie, and I'm glad about that. What's cool is that you're speaking from your knowledge of the cast- but behind the scenes, our crew was extremely diverse too. That's the way it ought to be, and I'm happy to realize it was inherent in our process. </b><br /><br /><br />Tee: <i>After Rebound is there anything is the works for this team or was this a one-off?</i><br /><br />MJC: <b>I'm not sure, actually. I know we all want to keep doing what we do. Rex is an amazing DP with a thriving business and Leslie was born to direct. I would like to continue producing on the side and I probably have a few more screenplays up my sleeve. We'll see. </b><br /><br /><br />Tee: <i>Final question. What impression do you wish to achieve with your film?</i><br /><br />MJC: <b>I can't speak for the director or our actresses, but I wrote the story so that everyone in the audience could wallow in self-loathing, self-pity and utter bewilderment with me, up till the last scene, when suddenly everything makes sense. You'll have to see it to get what I mean. If you want to get deep about it, in a small picture way, what I really want is for people to access their shame, really feel things, and then to feel better. To alleviate those feelings, in a sense. In a big picture way, I hope this movie will be regarded as one of the better "gay" movies. Because we all know that most gay movies that have been made so far have sucked. At least, the ones for women. I hope people will see the satire in it and I hope they'll see themselves in it. This movie contains a lot and there's a lot to see in it. </b><br /><b><br /></b>Share, visit and join them on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/reboundfilm" target="_blank">Facebook</a> - <a href="http://twitter.com/reboundfilm" target="_blank">Twitter</a> - <a href="http://instagram.com/reboundfilm" target="_blank">Instagram</a> - <a href="http://reboundfilm.net/" target="_blank">Official Website</a><br /><br /><br />Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-21528603851944893572013-05-22T23:37:00.002-04:002013-11-24T16:57:51.338-04:00A Chat with Lover's Game Danielle Earle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L8zMLGfrw3Q/UZ13L_6t85I/AAAAAAAAHWU/CptIxjhIwPw/s1600/Lover's-game-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L8zMLGfrw3Q/UZ13L_6t85I/AAAAAAAAHWU/CptIxjhIwPw/s200/Lover's-game-poster.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></div>13.05.13 Tee: Sometimes an interview goes awry and all plans are twatted, but ends up being better than you imagined it could be. Such is what happened with my latest interview with filmmaker, Danielle Earle.<br /><br />First the software I needed to record our interview wasn't working as well as I had hoped but after I spent 5 hours trouble shooting the problem, we had to call off the live video interview because of technical problems on her end.<br /><br />So after a lot of patience, a very co-operative subject and some editing magic, we ended up with the best possible results I could have asked for.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kef_EgsgqsY/UZ2NJ3xEkVI/AAAAAAAAHW0/3BYQfJjzzgE/s1600/330712_44511dfdf5788861764_2131666581_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kef_EgsgqsY/UZ2NJ3xEkVI/AAAAAAAAHW0/3BYQfJjzzgE/s200/330712_44511dfdf5788861764_2131666581_o.jpg" height="112" width="200" /></a></div>Having already created the successful web series, 'Brooklyn is in Love' creator/writer and director, Danielle Earle now puts her talent and resources toward making what's gearing up as one of the most anticipated lesbian films for 2013.<br /><br />Check out all episodes from the award winning series, starting with Season 1...<a href="http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8A830347B4DCA358" target="_blank">HERE.</a><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BHJ20ZcXrjI?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Written, directed and produced by Danielle Earle. Edited by Stephanie Lazorchak and starring Miranda McCauley (Gillian), Crawford M. Collins (Annabella) and Blaine Pennington (Vincent) as the main protagonists. (Full details <a href="http://www.loversgamefilm.com/" target="_blank">here</a>).<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xUCHlTuOs1c/UZ2Mrnf8kPI/AAAAAAAAHWs/womukHy61eE/s1600/post1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xUCHlTuOs1c/UZ2Mrnf8kPI/AAAAAAAAHWs/womukHy61eE/s400/post1.jpg" height="224" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pxjHXNJirYE/UZ2OZreJPsI/AAAAAAAAHXE/eT00TLZxVgw/s1600/411382_10152018285010074_494128604_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pxjHXNJirYE/UZ2OZreJPsI/AAAAAAAAHXE/eT00TLZxVgw/s320/411382_10152018285010074_494128604_o.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><u><i><b>Summary</b></i></u></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div>Vincent and Annabella are a wealthy couple living in New York City. They want to have a child but soon discover that children will never be a possibility for them. Soon, their ambitions for a family begin to affect their marriage. Annabella then meets Gillian; a seductive, exotic lesbian painter who changes her whole perspective on her future plans with Vincent. Soon, Annabella and Gillian's relationship causes a roller coaster of emotions, betrayal, and seduction that causes Annabella to reach her breaking point.<br /><br /><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F93466212" width="100%"></iframe> <br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Find Them:</u></b></span><br /><a href="http://www.loversgamefilm.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> | <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543490/" target="_blank">IMDb</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/loversgamefilm" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/loversgamefilm" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="http://www.mixcloud.com/homoground/mixtape075-lovers-game-by-danielle-earle-producer/" target="_blank">Mixtape</a> - complied by Danielle Earle for <a href="http://homoground.com/">Homoground.com</a> on <a href="http://mixcloud.com/">mixcloud.com</a><br /><br />Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-91868892538380944692013-04-26T16:30:00.001-04:002013-05-22T17:23:55.479-04:00Interview with UK Webseries Co-creator<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VP7sOM1hP8M/UXrcC6wCD9I/AAAAAAAAHJQ/KRdfRwjYDts/s1600/600039_192749644183487_1307346053_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VP7sOM1hP8M/UXrcC6wCD9I/AAAAAAAAHJQ/KRdfRwjYDts/s320/600039_192749644183487_1307346053_n.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>Last week our parent site, <a href="http://www.pnttvonline.com/" target="_blank">The PNT Tv Network</a> introduced their first UK webseries, <b>"In the Deep"</b>. ITD is a urban black series about a group of four close knit best friends, all closely guarding secrets of their own.<br /><br />Ade, stuck between two worlds, Nigerian and gay. He lives a double life, hiding his relationships on both ends; Emilia has the confusing ‘thing’ with Riley her straight best friend; Wesley looking for that love thing and two come at once; Rene happy go carefree whose life is about to hit a brick wall.<br /><i><br /></i><i>In the Deep</i> is not your average glance into the gay and lesbian sub-culture tucked away in East London but a in-depth stare into the everyday lives, loves and lies of these characters.<br /><br /><div>Personalities as diverse as only the common similarities shared in their friendships. Their individual story-lines will take us in new and yet familiar paths as promised by producer, writer and co-creator Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor. The following is a interview I had recently with the budding filmmaker about her new series, her quest to secure financing and her hope to reach others that have mirroring lives.<br /><br />The have completed the first two episodes for viewing and they both can be seen on their channel on <a href="http://www.pnttvonline.com/in-the-deep.html" target="_blank">PNT Tv</a>. The more successful their fundraising campaign goes the higher the quality and the faster they reach their goal is the faster they resume Season 1.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/in-the-deep-web-series" target="_blank">Please Contribute HERE!</a></span></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><br /></u><u>Trailer</u><br /><u><br /></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/MLzWTDHoV28?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u>Interview</u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="85" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://pnttv-cin4lez.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2013-04-26T00_09_16-07_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Fpnttv-cin4lez.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2013-04-26T00_09_16-07_00%3Fcolor%3D43bee7%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26width%3D500%26height%3D85%26objembed%3D0" width="500"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">To Watch: <a href="http://www.pnttvonline.com/in-the-deep.html" target="_blank">The PNT Tv Network</a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Contribute: <a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/in-the-deep-web-series" target="_blank">http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/in-the-deep-web-series</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/InTheDeepUK" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/inthedeepuk" target="_blank">Facebook</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-3071857346323897032013-01-10T15:11:00.000-04:002013-05-22T17:24:46.645-04:00Lesbian Films for 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ACxG5fhRwUQ/UO8TU5MC3_I/AAAAAAAAGps/JusZUUcuiqk/s1600/a-perfect-ending-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ACxG5fhRwUQ/UO8TU5MC3_I/AAAAAAAAGps/JusZUUcuiqk/s320/a-perfect-ending-poster.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>(10/01/13) - 2012 was indisputably the best year for lesbian films in a long time, if not ever. The evolution of equipment, technology and the Internet have given first time as well as seasoned filmmakers the capability to make the films they want to make and by providing access to audiences they want to reach.<br /><br />Fundraising websites such as <b><a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/" target="_blank">Kickstarter</a></b> and <b><a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/" target="_blank">Indiegogo</a></b> have lead the way as a gateway for independent filmmakers to be able to control their own funding therefore their projects. <br /><br />As a filmmaker myself, I will be chronicling my experiences and journey as I make my first feature film from its development stage to its premiere on its <a href="http://whenashesfall.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">blog.</a><br /><br />In the meantime however, I have gathered a list of narrative films making either their premiere or being offered on DVD for 2013.<br /><br /><br /><br />2013 Releases :<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO32CRL0iqA" target="_blank">Frauensee</a> (Woman's Lake: Germany 2013) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2332629/" target="_blank">IMDb</a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EUjaSmBj28" target="_blank">Young and Wild</a> (Joven y Alocada: Chile, 2012) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2125698/" target="_blank">IMDb</a> <br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR4zXRdh73I" target="_blank">Girltrash: All Night Long</a> (USA, 2013) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1555440/" target="_blank">IMDb</a><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlx_y0FIRL4" target="_blank">Concussion</a> (USA, 2013) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2296697/" target="_blank">IMDb</a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyWmf9Tv3yI" target="_blank">Afternoon Delight</a> (USA, 2013) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2312890/" target="_blank">IMDb</a><br /><a href="http://vimeo.com/user10851414/untoldtrailer2012" target="_blank">Untold</a> (USA, 2013) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2262385/" target="_blank">IMDb</a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaHTLm0tohM" target="_blank">Route of Acceptance</a> (USA, 2013) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2537064/" target="_blank">IMDb</a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCizTM7bnik" target="_blank">Submerge</a> (AUS, 2013) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2447336/" target="_blank">IMDb</a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5Yxp2yBgbg" target="_blank">Shakedown</a> (USA, 2013, Documentary)<br /><br />DVD Releases :<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pbtOkqJfmQ" target="_blank">A Perfect Ending</a> (USA, 2012) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1823059/" target="_blank">IMDb</a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqM7p_191QI" target="_blank">Black Tar Road</a> (USA, 2012) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1742327/" target="_blank">IMDb</a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX1zOFD9htE" target="_blank">Mosquita Y Mari</a> (USA, 2012) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1978480/" target="_blank">IMDb</a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtoE9FJErmk" target="_blank">The Skinny</a> (USA, 2012) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2107835/" target="_blank">IMDb</a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzJKp-BX4oo" target="_blank">I Do</a> (USA, 2012) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2102499/" target="_blank">IMDb</a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVygCAcbJbU" target="_blank">Stud Life</a> (UK, 2012) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1758770/" target="_blank">IMDb</a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX8xCwT2q9I" target="_blank">FourPlay</a> (2012) IMDb<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGiRMaJydWg" target="_blank">Call Me Kuchu</a> (USA/UGANDA, 2012) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2088714/" target="_blank">IMDb</a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbchG2cf9f0" target="_blank">Mommy Is Coming</a> (GER, 2012) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2170509/" target="_blank">IMDb</a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_1lTLZViF8" target="_blank">Mapa Para Conversar</a> (CHILE, 2012) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1742067/" target="_blank">IMDb</a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyulXmDF7Ik" target="_blank">The Adored</a> (UK, 2012) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1998400/" target="_blank">IMDb</a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsWrzhgGgQE" target="_blank">Mia </a> (Agentina, 2011) <a href="http://justuskissing.me/2012/08/28/argentinian-film-mia-a-story-about-ale-a-transgender-woman/" target="_blank">Review</a> | <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1806971/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">IMDb</a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr4Tfa8bXIE" target="_blank">Cloudburst</a> (USA/CAN, 2011) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1466054/" target="_blank">IMDb</a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGeWWQuG-EM" target="_blank">Mary Marie</a> (2010) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1530900/" target="_blank">IMDb</a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-QM3hScD2g" target="_blank">Lengua materna</a> (Mother Tongue, ARG, 2010) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1738295/" target="_blank">IMDb</a><br /><br />Cinema Premiere:<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaSVR4pCKT4" target="_blank">Passion</a> (USA, 2012) - <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1829012/" target="_blank">IMDb</a><br /> <br /><br />Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-5313391376261108772012-11-29T20:00:00.000-04:002013-05-22T17:25:54.002-04:00Submerge Interview (Part 2)<b> <a href="http://cin4lez.blogspot.com/2012/10/exclusive-submerge-interview-part-1.html" target="_blank">Re: Part 1 to this Interview</a></b><br /><br />For the first time on this blog we have a part two to an interview. This was made possible because of the exclusivity of been granted such an in-depth interview with the creative forces behind the upcoming Australian film, Submerge'.<br /><br />Thus the following is the conclusion to Part 1 of the complete access given by producer and co-writer Kat Homes, Director and co-writer, Sophie O'Connor and lead actress, Lily Hall.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u4eZyeTEbPo/ULcdqzhpzZI/AAAAAAAAGcU/9mpMv8ZDzWg/s1600/submerge9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u4eZyeTEbPo/ULcdqzhpzZI/AAAAAAAAGcU/9mpMv8ZDzWg/s400/submerge9.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">Tee - As for cast could you tell us a bit about some of the main characters and </span><span style="color: red;">the actors that played them?</span><br /><br />Kat: There are three main characters:<br /><br />Jordan - played by Lily Hall – is the protagonist of submerge, and pretty much the whole film revolves around her journey. Jordan is out and proud, however her sexuality is of little importance to the plot of the film. Rather, she represents Gen Y and this idea that anything is possible, if you want it enough. Reality is not quite that simple, as Jordan discovers. Lily, as an actress, is the antithesis of the stereotype– she’s humble, lovely and deeply committed to her craft. The role of Jordan was a very challenging one to play, not least of which because she appears in almost every scene, and Lily approached each day with enthusiasm. Considering we were filming in 42 degrees some days (nearly 110 in Fahrenheit) this was no mean feat. Lily has real talent and we all hope this film gives her career a big boost.<br /><br />Angie - played by Christina Hallett – is Jordan’s main antagonist, although she is also following her own journey throughout the film. At heart submerge is a love story between Jordan and Angie, set against a world of seemingly limitless choice in a complex urban life. There’s nothing complex about the sex between Jordan and Angie though. Smoking hot!Christina is amazing in that not only is she able to act her socks off, she is the founder and director of a very successful Sydney fashion agency (<a href="http://www.halationagency.com/about">http://www.halationagency.com/about</a>) which represents such notable brands as House of Harlow (no she didn't pay me to plug her – I’m just<br />mighty impressed at her energy and versatility)<br /><br />Lucas – played by Kevin Dee – is Jordan’s best friend and sidekick. His sexuality is best summed up by the phrase, “Yes please”. Lucas is a mature aged student and provides a strong grounding influence for Jordan without taking on the role of rescuer. He has his own life and is well aware that Jordan has to find her own way. Kevin is the most credited of the three main actors; having appeared in the Australian hit comedy Strange Bedfellows, amongst others. His main contribution on set though was to keep everyone in stitches. He’s a funny guy. Period.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-46KBxTzc0tk/ULceZR0SXHI/AAAAAAAAGcc/U0e3nHShLlA/s1600/IMG_8706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-46KBxTzc0tk/ULceZR0SXHI/AAAAAAAAGcc/U0e3nHShLlA/s320/IMG_8706.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: red;">Tee - The film was originally shot in 2009, right. Could you tell us the reason </span><span style="color: red;">for the delay and has a date been set for the release?</span><br /><br />Kat: The first shoot was in 2009, however we did a second shoot in early 2011, as we weren't happy with the cut we had and we needed more footage for some scenes. <br /><br /><span style="color: red;">Tee - Did you find funding a difficult task to overcome? What other obstacles </span><span style="color: red;">have you conquered along the way that you would care to share?</span><br /><br />Kat: To say it was difficult to fund submerge would be the understatement of the year. It’s very hard to get any film funded. I once heard a statistic that only 1 in every 10,000 ideas for a film are ever made. To be on the brink of release means we’re already in the top 0.01%. I could spend hours on the subject of film funding, however Christine Vachon - acclaimed indie producer (Boys Don’t Cry, Far From Heaven, Mildred Pierce), talks about it much more eloquently than me in her book “Shooting to Kill.”<br /><br />There were other obstacles, such as when the first person we cast in the role of Jordan fell pregnant way back in 2004, but frankly almost all of the obstacles we faced were related to not having enough funding. From the length of the shoot through to the locations we were able to use, through to the level of publicity we were able to drum up for the film in the early days; if we’d had the kind of budgets you see in Hollywood submerge would have been completed in less than a year from first concept. As it is, it’ll be nine years by the time it’s released.<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">Tee - Having the experience of making a feature film, can you give us at least </span><span style="color: red;">three dos and don'ts a filmmaker must either do or should absolutely </span><span style="color: red;">avoid?</span><br /><br />Kat: Only three?! Gosh, that will hard to narrow down. There have been so many lessons learnt on this journey! Firstly, I recommend that all filmmakers make quality short films before they even attempt a feature. The emphasis here is on quality. My suggestion would be to not slap something together for the sake of “making a film”. Take the time to get the script right, and the best production values you can for the budget you have. Submit it to film festivals like Tropfest, Flickerfest, Clermont-Ferrand, Tribeca, and see if that<br />can act as a stepping-stone to getting funding to do more films.<br /><br />Secondly, a filmmaker should, at all costs avoid naval gazing, sentimentality and a sense of either superiority or entitlement (which is, coincidentally, one of the themes of submerge). Like it or not a film is a commodity that needs to have a market in order to succeed. Making a film is not about the filmmaker’s gratification, it’s about telling a story that will resonate with as many people as possible. In a similar vein, it’s also a profession and should be treated like any profession such as accounting, law or medicine – which means working smart not just hard, treating everyone professionally and not thinking that being a filmmaker means a rock star lifestyle. <br /><br />Lastly and most importantly, never give up, never give up, and never give up. It’s corny but true; persistence is one of the keys to success, as long as you learn from your mistakes and continually strive to do a better job. Eventually something will happen, even if it’s not quite what you had envisaged. If you’re really lucky it might be beyond your wildest dreams.<br /><br />Sophie: Be organized. Have a great team behind you and love what you do. There’s no point otherwise.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xNZleUQA1io/ULdFKNQtNjI/AAAAAAAAGcw/Izzl8KbYtvg/s1600/submerge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xNZleUQA1io/ULdFKNQtNjI/AAAAAAAAGcw/Izzl8KbYtvg/s320/submerge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: red;">Tee - What's next? Are there plans to get the film distributed and / or entered in next year's festival circuit?</span><br /><br />Kat: We have submitted submerge to Sundance and Berlinale for consideration. If we get into either of those then our expectation is that the film will be distributed internationally (North America and Europe) within 12 months.<br /><br />If we don’t then we’ll look at Frameline for next June, although we haven’t settled on a festival circuit plan beyond Sundance, Berlinale and Cannes yet.<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">Tee - When do you think it will be available on DVD and where?</span><br /><br />Kat: That is definitely the question on everybody’s lips! DVD is usually the last step in the distribution chain. Before that it will be seen at film festivals and, hopefully, in a cinema near you. The distributor in the country where it’s released manages the DVD release. So, for example, for the United States, an American distributor will buy the rights to the U.S territory and release it when they feel the time is right. As producers we don’t have that much say in it.<br /><br />Of course there is VOD, or pay-per-view, and this might be an easy way viewers will be able to own a copy of submerge – by buying it online.<br /><br />Either way submerge’s <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Submerge-the-Movie/151100361622522" target="_blank"><b>Facebook page</b></a> will keep everyone updated with what’s happening with the release.<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">Tee - Kat, I see that your company produced the film. Was this your first feature and do you have anything else in the pipeline?</span><br /><br />Kat: This was indeed my first feature. I have a number of other ideas bubbling away but I’m not going to put any into development until submerge is released. My dream is to make dystopian future films (eg, Gattaca, Looper) and incorporate both same sex and opposite sex pairings as a matter of course, rather than just making queer films.<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">Tee - Is there anything else you would like to share with us at <a href="http://pnttvonline.com/" target="_blank"><b>PNT Tv</b></a>?</span><br /><br />Kat: Looking forward to you having an opportunity to see submerge, hopefully at a cinema near you, and definitely keen to hear your thoughts on the film.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QrlRGH2fGGc?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Join the movement, Visit them on their <a href="http://www.submergethemovie.com/" target="_blank">Official Website</a> or Like and Follow them from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Submerge-the-Movie/151100361622522" target="_blank">Facebook</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/submerge_movie" target="_blank">Twitter </a>for more information on future screenings, news etc. Watch the Trailer <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCizTM7bnik" target="_blank"><b>HERE!</b></a><br /><br /><br />Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-28032171014870709172012-10-27T04:58:00.001-04:002013-05-22T17:26:56.698-04:00Exclusive 'submerge' Interview (Part 1)<br /><a href="http://www.submergethemovie.com/">www.submergethemovie.com</a><br /><br />The following is Part 1 to our Exclusive interview with Producer/Writer Kat Holmes, Director/Co-Writer Sophie O'Conner and lead actress Lily Hall, all from the upcoming feature from Australia, 'submerge'.<br /><br />We have been given exclusive behind-the-scene footage (next week), trailer and production stills. So sit back and enjoy!<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">Tee: Hello and thank you for chatting with me about your film 'submerge'. Kat, could you tell us about your involvement in the film as well as the others present? </span><br /><br />Kat: submerge is basically my baby, although it certainly wouldn't have got to the point it’s at now without the efforts of many people, especially Sophie! The story of how submerge came into being is quite hilarious, or embarrassing depending on your point of view. It was 2004 and I had just finished a screenplay that was going to cost a lot of money to produce. I was bemoaning the situation to a friend who was a local queer film distributor at the time and he suggested I make lesbian porn as a means of raising funds. (Porn has a good rate of return on investment because the production costs [and values] tend to be quite low). So I knocked up five vignettes, each containing a sex scene and strung them together to make a complete story. It was no masterpiece that’s for sure. But as I started the script editing process and brought Sophie on board, gradually a “proper” film started to take shape. Two years and 14 drafts later submerge was no longer lesbian porn but rather a serious exploration of Gen Y sexuality, the age of instant gratification and how to learn to say no.<br /><br />And then the real work began…..<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F3us07r14zk/UIuZfRHI9aI/AAAAAAAAGYk/M9i-4HC4oOE/s1600/submerge8.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F3us07r14zk/UIuZfRHI9aI/AAAAAAAAGYk/M9i-4HC4oOE/s640/submerge8.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lead actress Lily Hall as Jordan</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Sophie: A mutual friend suggested to Kat that I might be a good fit as director. I met Kat and read the script and saw the potential for a great film and wanted to be involved.<br /><br />Lily: It was a fairly typical situation for an actor. My agent received a brief and passed on the casting and audition details, except that she initially put me up for the character 'Angie' (maybe because of the closeness in age). I read the script and it resonated with me, although I knew playing the role of 'Angie' would require a lot of research, because she and I are very different animals. Nonetheless I ploughed in, went to the audition and met Sophie with whom I instantly connected. The audition wasn't great because I just wasn't a good fit for Angie and then the idea to audition for the lead came up. To this day both Sophie and I lay claim to the suggestion that I read for Jordan! Anyway I did a cold reading and everything kind of morphed into place. I<br />then learnt more in terms of the Sophie’s vision for the picture and really wanted to be a part of this creation. At the 2nd audition I met Kat, which gave me even more scope and passion for the project. Shortly after that meeting, much to my excitement, the decision was made to cast me as Jordan.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9eWpE2b2bYo/UIua6pUIKHI/AAAAAAAAGYs/eqsRViZmniA/s1600/IMG_7668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9eWpE2b2bYo/UIua6pUIKHI/AAAAAAAAGYs/eqsRViZmniA/s320/IMG_7668.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="color: red;">Tee: Can you give me a background about the story and the final synopsis of the feature?</span><br /><br />Kat: The story has always been about Jordan, one way or another. As a character she has evolved in many different ways in the last eight years, with each new draft of the screenplay. At one time she was a high school student and a tennis player about to go pro (that was before The L Word came out). As mentioned before the story came from fairly inauspicious beginnings so it really grew under the influence of the key creatives associated with the film. In particular, my co-producer The Colonel, one of Australia’s predominant figures in the world of “All Things Unique”. Neither Sophie nor myself had previous exposure to the fetish sub culture and The Colonel was invaluable in helping us to bring this world to life on screen.<br /><br />There are a number of very small autobiographical elements to the film as well, actually so small that you’d probably call them homages rather than autobiography. Jordan’s character contains elements of both Sophie and myself I’m sure, even if only subliminally! The final synopsis was largely shaped by the creative vision of Sophie, although I suspect my constant reminders to keep it snappy and commercial might have played a small influence. LOL.<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">Tee: Was there a particular tone you wanted to achieve Sophie, and did you have creative leeway or was it a collaborative effort in getting it across?</span><br /><br />Sophie: I always wanted to create a highly saturated, tactile visual aesthetic for the film. I wanted the characters to feel immersed in their worlds and for the audience to feel the same way. I was also very passionate about creating a film with universal themes with a lesbian lead character so that it would be accessible to not only the GLBTI community but to a wider audience. It was a definite choice to underplay Jordan’s sexuality so that it became more of a story of sexual and self-exploration. Submerge was a collaborative effort and I was extremely fortunate to have one of the best teams I've ever worked with who not only supported me in my creative decisions but made them a reality.<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">Tee: 'submerge' seems to be a romantic-drama but from the trailer it reeks of sexual exploration and perversion. What genre or category would you place 'submerge' in?</span><br /><br />Kat: I initially bristled at the word perversion in your question, as it’s a word often used by the religious right to demonize people who embrace sexuality in all its diversity. And submerge certainly celebrates all types of<br />sexualities! It’s one of the few mainstream features (with the notable exception of John Cameron Mitchell’s Shortbus) that doesn't associate fetishism and pansexuality with perversion, seediness or criminality. In short, submerge is indeed a drama, just one spiced up with lots of romance, opulence and carnality.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LXCir_O8XMM/UIub3IfIN2I/AAAAAAAAGY0/svc9Lxfcapw/s1600/IMG_7359_crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LXCir_O8XMM/UIub3IfIN2I/AAAAAAAAGY0/svc9Lxfcapw/s320/IMG_7359_crop.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><span style="color: red;">Tee: In 2012 there has been an explosion of lesbian films telling stories that were dying to be told and this seems to be one of them. Was this done on purpose or has it been purely coincidental? </span><br /><br />Kat: Definitely coincidental! We've been making this film for over eight years. Actually, submerge doesn't self-identify as a lesbian film per se, rather a mainstream drama where same sex relationships feature heavily. <br /><br />Although, we also don’t mind if other people call submerge a lesbian film. It’s a bit like 'Brokeback Mountain'. Everyone called it the “gay cowboy” movie even though the producers insisted it was a classic love story.<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">Tee: What would you say is the lesson (if any) of the film or what would you like the audience to take away with them?</span><br /><br />Kat: I’m not sure there is a specific lesson to take from submerge. We really just want the audience to identify with the journey of the characters and relate it back to how they approach their life. If I had to pick one, I guess “learning to let go” might be a lesson that could be taken from the film.<br /><br />Sophie: “You can’t always get what you want” is probably the most obvious one. We’re exploring the sense of entitlement that’s prevalent today and this is the natural lesson from that exploration.<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">Tee: Could you explain the French / Australian connection of the production?</span><br /><br />Kat: Lol, there’s no formal connection at all. The story goes something like this…..<br /><br />I had a French partner for 8 years, learned to speak the language quite well and became quite immersed in the culture. And then, a few months ago Callmestefifie, a French-Swiss v-logger whose You Tube channel features trailers from films that have a lesbian content, posted the submerge teaser on her channel and it went viral. <br /><br />Once I became aware that it was getting a lot of views I checked out her channel and realized she was a francophone, and also that quite a few of the comments about the clip were from French speakers. So I wrote a comment in French for their benefit, to give the francophone viewers an update on the movie’s status.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dLyWjnNjG0E/UIudALtsfKI/AAAAAAAAGY8/MY41LktCac0/s1600/IMG_8882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dLyWjnNjG0E/UIudALtsfKI/AAAAAAAAGY8/MY41LktCac0/s320/IMG_8882.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: red;">Tee: Lily was this your first lead in a feature </span><br /><span style="color: red;">film and could you share your experience with us?</span><br /><br />Lily: Yes, this was the first feature film I’d worked on so the excitement certainly shared center stage with the fear; especially because, in accepting the part, I was well aware of the responsibility I carried. In the end I had an incredible experience, everything being quite new.<br /><br />We learnt things by the book in drama school, but this was the real thing! I found the cast and crew to be really supportive and protective, insightful and passionate. It's such a massive task organizing a film; there are so many people involved. I felt exhilarated by the commune, the collaboration and the fact that people really wanted to be there. We were creating something together.<br /><br />Some aspects of the film are quite taboo, which I like. Playing the role of Jordan exposed me to circumstances I usually wouldn't have found myself in. Having a female as my main love interest was new.<br />The actress who plays Angie (Christina Hallett) and I coincidentally knew each other, having studied together at drama school. This was of initial concern to the production team as really it could have gone either way, in terms of how we'd work together. I think it worked well. We share a deep respect for each other, we trust, we know, we feel each other. It added layers into the relationship that perhaps may not have been there had the two actresses not known each other previously.<br /><br />I think no matter your sexual orientation, you love someone for their being, their person and I very easily slipped into loving and desiring this woman. This is the magic world of make believe and play where you get to indulge in many relationships all at the same time!<br /><br />Something else I also experienced for the first time was the world of fetish, pansexuality and BDSM. All the specialist extras for the fetish club scenes are members of this community. It was a great experience. I watched, listened and learned.<br /><br />As a whole it was such a beautiful time and I just hope people are brave enough to support this film. The story is so relatable and a lot can be taken from it.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/OCizTM7bnik" width="560"></iframe></div><br />*As always to follow all the updates and announcements you can like them on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Submerge-the-Movie/151100361622522" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, follow the on <a href="https://twitter.com/submerge_movie" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and find them on <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2447336/" target="_blank">IMDb</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://cin4lez.blogspot.com/2012/11/submerge-interview-part-2.html" target="_blank"><b>See Part 2 to this Interview</b></a><br /><br />Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-25664383475153716542012-10-17T09:06:00.000-04:002013-09-19T06:16:24.579-04:00Heather Tobin's 'Route of Acceptance'<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZSwN87UiuX4/UH6swh_UL0I/AAAAAAAAGVs/9cM_l6-mPR8/s1600/IMG_6306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZSwN87UiuX4/UH6swh_UL0I/AAAAAAAAGVs/9cM_l6-mPR8/s320/IMG_6306.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heather Tobin</td></tr></tbody></table>One of the first interviews posted on Cin4LeZ for its parent website <b><a href="http://www.pnttvonline.com/" target="_blank">PNT Tv</a>,</b> was with the uber talent that is Canadian filmmaker Heather Tobin as she was navigating the waves of success that came with her debut feature, '<a href="http://www.toeachherown.com/" target="_blank"><b>To Each Her Own</b></a>'. Under the guidance of her film company of the same name, Heather is about to blow our minds with her sophomore effort, 'Route of Acceptance', which quite literally by it sheer tenacity might very well be one of best lesbian films period.<br /><br />The concept, the storyline, the acting and the direction....aahhh....its too much! For devotes to lesbian cinema, like myself, I say we have waited far too long for our genre to turn the corner and leave behind the retro <i>girl-meets-girl-cheats on boyfriend with said girl-to stay/leave that said boyfriend for girl </i>concept. Over the last few years the industry has seen an influx of films from all over the globe and though it has been a welcomed sight, these films are still heavily reliant and infused (no matter the sub-plots and twists and turns) with that stale formula.<br /><br />Effectively with 'Route of Acceptance' Tobin has proven that the new breed of filmmakers that have been from time to time broken through is unequivocally the future of lesbian cinema. After premiering her film at the <b><a href="http://reelpride.org/" target="_blank">Reel Pride Winnipeg</a> </b>on Sunday 14th October, Heather found time to graciously answer a few questions from yours truly;<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><b><br /></b><b>Tee:</b> Can you tell us what your new feature 'Route of Acceptance' is about?<br /><br /><b>Heather Tobin</b>: Route of Acceptance is a concept film that plays with the idea of the possible existence of destiny. Aspiring film writer Ryan Stark, is having a hard time deciding what University to go to and is fearful to leave the comforts and predictability of high school and her life thus far. The film explores three realities of this young lesbian's life and shows how a decision like your school selection can change your entire future. Each life path evokes intense emotions as Ryan is torn between her love for career, family and marriage.<br /><br /><b>T:</b> The concept for the film is unusual to say the least. What was the motivation behind it?<br /><br /><b>HT: </b>I've always enjoyed concept films. So many remakes are being done and not enough truly brilliant new ideas for movies are happening. When a movie makes me truly think, or even better when I don't know what's going to happen or can't predict the cookie cutter ending, I enjoy the film much more. I wanted to make a lesbian film that was more about the concept than the fact that the character just happened to be gay. I'm a big fan of movies like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Memento. Amazing plots likes those were inspirational while writing ROA. I like movies that when you watch them a second or third time you learn so much more and see a lot of things you've missed. I'm a big fan of non-linear films.<br /><br /><b>T: </b>Would you give us a brief introduction to the main characters and the actors who played them?<br /><br /><b>HT: </b>Emily Alatalo-plays Ryan Stark. You can see her in films such as “Neverlost” “If a Tree Falls” “Dead Genesis” “48 Hours in Purgatory” “I choose Chaos”<br />Kelly-Marie Murtha- plays Kali “Out of Time” “A Kind of Wonderful Thing” “Resist666” “Out with Dad” “The Unleashed”<br />Ryan Barrett-plays Cory “In the House of Flies” “Exit Humanity” “Kill” “Abolition” “I Choose Chaos” “Neverlost” “If a Tree Falls”<br /><br />You'll fall in love with Emily Alatalo. She has such a screen presence. And in the film you get to see her in basically 4 realities. With every hair colour imaginable and every crazy thing that could go down in her life, does in one shape or form.<br /><br />Kelly-Marie Murtha is a gem. There's this one scene. No plot busters but let's just say make sure you bring your tissues to this film.<br /><br />All the actors were wonderful and they all dedicated a lot of their time to this film because they believed in the message it delivers. I'm an advocate, obviously of more gay films. It really does help. How can anything become of the norm if its hushed and never mentioned. I'm 31 and for me growing up in high school Gay wasn't really talked about at all. I don't think I can say I met another openly gay person til I was 21. I don't want people to have to feel alone or that they are the only one. I truly believe we learn through the media. Ok kinda a random example but when I came out to my mom, she was cool with it. She's my mom, she loves me. I was lucky not everyone has it this way. But it wasn't until Greys Anatomy, one of her shows had a gay character did she start feeling actually comfortable with my sexuality, in the way where she would talk about it with her friends. I really believe its people like Shonda Rhimes making all the difference in todays acceptance. And I'd like to fallow in her footsteps. For me it was Joss Whedon. When Willow came out, myself and I'm sure a lot of other lesbians born in the 80s, found it was easier to feel ok with my own sexuality. If I can do this for one other lesbian than for me its worth everything I've had to sacrifice to get here.<br /><br /><b>T: </b>Was 'ROA' more or less difficult to make than your debut feature 'To Each Her Own'?<br /><br /><b>HT: </b>Because of the success of To Each Her Own, I had the experience and the name behind myself to acquire very talented actors and crew to be on board with this project. I was lucky enough to have the film shot on a RED camera (the quality of the footage on these cameras is just mind blowing, colour correcting was so much fun!!! and far out weighed my experience with my old school DVX100a) and had tons of support from family and friends that I don't think I would have had if To Each Her Own hadn't been so successful in the LGBTQ festival circuit. So in that respect easier. But with a bigger set you loose some of the intimacy of an extreme shoe string-no budget style film. There's something to be said about having less cooks in the kitchen. With every film I can only hope to grow as a writer, director and in my opinion most importantly editor. The editor is the key to a successful film. A good editor can work the kind of magic that makes even the scene with the most set backs look phenomenal. And a good director always keep editing in mind while shooting.<br /><br /><b>T: </b>You just had your World Premiere for ROA. What did you think of the response to the film and did it live up to your expectations?<br /><br /><b>HT: </b>We had a great turn out. And the festival heads of REEL PRIDE WINNIPEG couldn't have been more supportive of the film and couldn't have taken better care of us. They flew us there and put Emily and myself each up in our own room at the Fairmont. For those 4 days, the reality of my starving artist lifestyle was paused and Emily and I got to live the high life. Talking with the audience after the screening was wonderful. We had a lot of positive feedback about the film. And just as I had hoped many people wanted to watch it a second time to catch onto all the things they may have missed first time round with the realities of Ryan Starks life jumping around so sporadically.<br /><br /><b>T: </b>What festivals have you been accepted too?<br /><br /><b>HT: </b>Well this is the very beginning of the festival circuit. I'm only now starting the entry process. So I'll hopefully have a bigger list for your shortly. But as of now its playing at Image + Nation Montreal in November and its playing this Sunday at Hamburg Germany's International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.<br /><br /><b>T: </b>What is your dream festival and why? And have you applied there as well?<br /><br /><b>HT: </b>No dream festival. I'd just like to play in one in every state/province ;) I'd like to be able to hit a wide audience.<br /><br /><b>T: </b>A complaint from some of our members is that they can't find enough info about you. you're films and you're company. I know you have a website for 'To Each Her Own' but it doesn't offer any information on those points, are you planning on opening a site or blog where your growing fans can be more involved socially?<br /><br /><b>HT: </b>I know lol! The problem with being the sole member of a film company is just that. I've been focusing all my energy on editing Route of Acceptance that I haven't had the time to update and get all the social networking going. But stay tuned now that this film is finally done. My life will consist of blogging, networking, website updating and most importantly self distribution of TO EACH HER OWN on dvd. After a long search I've decided that self distribution is the best way to go and after this year I'll be able to judge if I should do the same for Route of Acceptance.<br /><br /><b>T: </b>Have you picked up distribution for the film or are you still weighing you're options?<br /><br /><b>HT: </b>No distribution yet. I'd like to tour the festival circuit for a year and go from there.<br /><br /><b>T: </b>What can you say are the differences between distributing a film yourself and signing with a distribution company?<br /><br /><b>HT: </b>I'm no expert, this being only my second film. But I do know that the need for quality lesbian dramas far outweighs the amount of them being made. So I'm hoping that I can do well enough to make my 3rd film from the sales of my self distributed DVD To Each Her Own. So please stay tuned for that coming soon. With Route of Acceptance finished To Each Her Own distribution is my number one priority. I really want to make enough to make my 3rd film. I've already got the idea in motion, its a lesbian version of a cross between “Like Crazy” and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”. These two films are by far my favourite two films of all time. And if I could be responsible for bringing a film of this caliber to the universe then I could rest in peace.<br /><br /><b>T: </b>So what's next for you, for the company?<br /><br /><b>HT: </b>Seems I predicted the next question lol - I'll be writing my new script ideas down as they flow but mostly just focusing on networking and traveling the festival circuit this year. And like you pointed out. More blogs, website info and the DVD release for To Each Her Own.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Cauch6o9GDA" width="560"></iframe></div><br />Cin4leZ has never endorsed a film as unabashedly and with as wholehearted bias that I recommend you find "Route of Acceptance" in all the festivals that Heather has assured us you will find it and go support this film.<br /><br />'To Each Her Own' - <a href="http://www.toeachherown.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Website</span></a> | Facebook - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/toeachherownfilms"><span style="color: red;">https://www.facebook.com/toeachherownfilms</span></a><br /><br />Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-32558726790247775532012-10-10T22:17:00.003-04:002013-05-22T17:31:21.666-04:00One On One with Tramaine Renee (Sunny Reign)<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/4116393/?claim=efhxh4hnp4b">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a> <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KEp27TIDH5Q/UHUsMDi2PGI/AAAAAAAAGRM/-l64iFDz6jg/s1600/195174_418966434833360_1876904845_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KEp27TIDH5Q/UHUsMDi2PGI/AAAAAAAAGRM/-l64iFDz6jg/s640/195174_418966434833360_1876904845_o.jpg" width="620" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cast of Sunny Reign</td></tr></tbody></table>Recently I had the pleasure of sitting down with filmmaker Tramaine Renee, the creator and chief bottle washer of the up-coming webseries "Sunny Reign". Below is the audio of that interview.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="85" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://pnttv-cin4lez.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2012-10-10T03_56_49-07_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Fpnttv-cin4lez.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2012-10-10T03_56_49-07_00%3Fcolor%3Da05fe2%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26width%3D440%26height%3D85%26objembed%3D0" width="440"></iframe></div><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sbi5NmY7arI/UHVY70htGXI/AAAAAAAAGRg/DpebCSo-qkA/s1600/200991_418950638168273_809948343_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sbi5NmY7arI/UHVY70htGXI/AAAAAAAAGRg/DpebCSo-qkA/s320/200991_418950638168273_809948343_o.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tramaine Renee</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Synopsis: </b><br />Sunny is a young mastermind con artist with an addiction to Reign, her ex girlfriend and partner in crime. Curious about Reign's sudden return, she agrees to work one last con with her, even though she's not completely over the relationship. But everything isn't always what it seems. Everyone has a motive, especially when there's money to be made...<br /><br />Credits:<br />Studio: Nerdy Boi Productions<br />Genre: Drama | Crime | Romance<br />Producees : Tramaine Renee, Nerdy Boi Films, Ochi Films<br /><br />Stars:<br />Blaxx Casanova as Sunny, Coy Armstrong as Reign, Chantaille Elkerson as Dreya, Bradford Hayes as Sa'vage, Trista Pasani as Els, Tramaine Renee as Wiz, Davinchii Woods as Marcos (The Mark)<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8-WmdcWmDGo" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Wow! What a preview! If you're one of the few who still might be on the fence about the series then you shouldn't be on this blog because this series is about to blow up. So to the majority of viewers that are reading this and are nodding their head here where you can find them...<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">FB: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sunnyreigntheseries">https://www.facebook.com/sunnyreigntheseries</a> || YT: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/SunnysReign">http://www.youtube.com/user/SunnysReign</a> </div><div style="text-align: left;">T: <a href="http://twitter.com/tramainerenee">http://twitter.com/tramainerenee</a> || Website: <a href="http://girlsmoove.wix.com/sunnyreignshow#!home/mainPage">http://girlsmoove.wix.com/sunnyreignshow#!home/mainPage</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>As Tramaine explained in the interview, Their planned premiere is an all round affair of entertainment or as I can see the roots of the player code. Check the flyer below and if you can get there don't miss it!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3c08wEK2Yig/UHYrlxk-ODI/AAAAAAAAGR0/8ykwWIRyl10/s1600/417471_406145819448755_222201686_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3c08wEK2Yig/UHYrlxk-ODI/AAAAAAAAGR0/8ykwWIRyl10/s400/417471_406145819448755_222201686_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-49910038894769664342012-08-28T18:55:00.001-04:002013-05-22T17:32:30.980-04:00An Interview with Nathan LocklearThe following is the transcript of the interview between Tee [Editor: PNT Tv] and the force behind the webseries Once You Leave, Nathan Locklear. You can view the entire series (all 12 episodes) on their page at PNT Tv. <a href="http://www.pnttvonline.com/once-you-leave.html" target="_blank">HERE.</a><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_wA4Fwg7eZw/UD1LTQFT-oI/AAAAAAAAGEQ/jxeGswztNzY/s1600/Nathan-Locklear.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="207" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_wA4Fwg7eZw/UD1LTQFT-oI/AAAAAAAAGEQ/jxeGswztNzY/s400/Nathan-Locklear.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(l) Nathan Locklear and Cin4LeZ's Tamara (Tee) Spicer</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Tee: Where did the idea of 'Once You Leave' materialize?<br /><br />Nathan Locklear: Kayla and I worked on a Texas PBS travel show called The Daytripper. I was the Co-Producer, Director of Photography and Editor and Kayla was the intern. During shooting we both yearned to do something more dramatic- and Kayla wanted a great dramatic part to boost her acting career. Then one weekend I went out to visit my sister and brother in law that live in Goliad, TX on a ranch with some land and I got this idea of a character that heads to a ranch and is on the road etc- Then Kayla and I met at a local Mexican food restaurant in Austin over chips, queso and margaritas and we hashed out the ideas of the 12 episodes. I then went into writing mode and wrote the entire series. We also had some inspirations in the form of music like Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear and films like Wendy and Lucy, Into the Wild, Chungking Express, and The Dreamlife of Angels. But the biggest inspiration came when I was driving in the car through the hill county of Texas listening to music and watching the sun set.<br /><br />T: Can you tell us about the story and possible storylines in development?<br /><br />NL: Kayla comes home after 2 years in the Peace Corps with a plan to reunite with her childhood babysitter turned best friend, Rachel. She heads out to a ranch where Rachel interns but is devastated by some horrible news. So without a destination or place to call home Kayla hits the road. Along her journey she encounters a handful of interesting characters who share their thoughts on life, love, regrets, etc. <br /><br />T: You have breathed quite a cyber realism into Rachel, can explain why this fascinating route was taken?<br /><br />NL: Very early on it was planned that Rachel was dead. Her death is the catalyst for Kayla's journey to begin. But I knew I needed something of Rachel for the audience to understand why Kayla liked her so much and why it is so devastating. And I decided to tell the story (for the most part) all in the present- in other words no flashbacks and a linear storyline. But I wanted to introduce Rachel to the audience more than as a floating body in the water and besides Kayla talking about her. So I came up with the idea to have little videos that Kayla comes across that were filmed in the past of Rachel and Kayla's interactions. In the beginning it was only supposed to be 2-3 videos- the idea actually came from a contest Levi's® was doing to find a "Levi's® Girl" and the winner had a funny and charismatic audition video (http://youtu.be/tunUyVYOXo0) and I wanted to create something in the vein of that for Rachel. Then came time to shoot with Kayla and Rachel (Jacki Brinker)- so I had them improvise scenarios and we shot it all with a little consumer HD camera and it ended up being one of the most fun things we did. We loved the footage so much and Jacki did such an amazing job breathing life into Rachel that I decided in post to have Rachel in every episode. And her character has become a fan favorite, which is awesome!<br /><br />As for the blog- we knew we wanted to create a multi-platform story from the beginning and I had just gotten into blogs etc and I knew the audience would be getting tons of Kayla's character so I said, well, here's another way to endear Rachel to the audience. So I came up with the scenario of what happens to Rachel during the two years Kayla is in the Peace Corp and why is she found dead at the beginning of the series. And since it's outside the realm of the series a bit, for fans that don't read it, they still can understand and follow the series events but for the dedicated fans, and the fans craving more they can read Rachel's story and get insights into her life, dreams, disappointments, and her feelings towards Kayla etc and it'll make the series that much more enjoyable. What I think is pretty cool is that Kayla goes to Rachel's blog in the series and reads it and investigates and an audience sees that then they can also pull up the same blog and see the exact same things that Kayla sees, it's truly immersive media. Rachel's blog is also a cry for help from Rachel. She's a wounded character that is lost much like Kayla becomes in the series. So many times people feel like they don't have anyone to talk to so they go online and post their troubles. It's kind of sad but a reality. <br /><br />We live in a world where "cyber realities" are everywhere. We have tons of FaceBook "friends" but how often do we spend quality, real time with these people? We get invested with celebrities in reality shows but don't have any real connection to them. And we text and chat and talk on the phone to our friends and family but it's all digital, not real. So I guess it made sense to show Kayla having a relationship with a digital version of Rachel even after she was dead- and in Kayla's mind it's still a relationship and friendship because she can't let go of all the guilt and lost chances so she is a bit obsessed with the digital material. And we have extra material for the fans so they can see what Kayla sees.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fornowproductions/7599695138/" title="Kayla in character by For Now Productions, on Flickr"><img alt="Kayla in character" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7121/7599695138_60ff7c21b8.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tee: Can you elaborate on the background of your main characters?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">NL: Background of characters: Rachel Perkins was Kayla's babysitter for most of Kayla's young life. They are about 5 years apart. Once Kayla was old enough to not need a babysitter, her and Rachel became best friends. Rachel also has a younger brother, Jon-Michael who is a few years younger than Kayla. Kayla's father left her and her mom when she was young. After he left, Kayla's mom fell deeper into alcoholism. Finally by her senior year in High School Kayla couldn't stand her mom anymore and moved in with Rachel, who was in college, living in an apartment with roommates. Their friendship over the years went from best friends to distant friends to remembered friends.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rachel loved to volunteer for organizations and more importantly loved working with animals. She was very popular in High School and retained that even into college. Kayla was inspired by Rachel and also volunteered at organizations and helped out the community. Kayla was more of a "book-worm" in High School and not very popular, more of a loner. These differences in personality is what distanced Kayla and Rachel. But more importantly is that Kayla developed feelings for Rachel, more than just friends. After years of hiding this from Rachel an anger grew inside Kayla. Finally she couldn't take it anymore and to escape it she applied for the Peace Corp and was accepted. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In a desperate moment before she leaves for Africa Kayla finally confesses her feelings to Rachel hoping they might be reciprocated. They are not and Kayla is rejected, so she leaves for Africa. In the Peace Corp she teaches the children in Niger how to speak English and helps out in the clinic and in the education and awareness on the AIDS epidemic. She befriends another teacher and local, Tunde. While she is away, Rachel has many adventures as well. From losing a beloved pet, to traveling overseas. Unfortunately Rachel befalls many life changing and devastating events. She sinks into a depression. Then the series begins...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Background actors:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Kayla Olson: After attending the University of North Texas in Denton, TX to study musical theatre, Kayla moved to Austin and began concentrating on acting for film. While in Austin she received professional certificates in Radio, Television and Film from Austin Community College, and directed a handful of short films. She then interned for the hit Texas PBS travel show, The Daytripper. Soon after, she became an independent contractor for For Now Productions and went into production on Once You Leave. She won the Indie Intertube Award for Best Actress in a Drama in 2011. In addition to being a working actor and filmmaker in Austin, she also works as a teaching assistant at Austin Community College in the RTF department. <a href="http://kaylamolson.weebly.com/">KaylaMOlson.weebly.com</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Jacki Brinker (Rachel): Jacki, surprisingly, is not a working actress. She graduated from The University of Texas in 2010 with a Master’s in Social Work. She currently works for Communities in Schools of Central Texas where she serves as the AmeriCorps Program Coordinator. She recently retired from a long career as a TXRD Lonestar Rollergirl under the name, “Crybaby.” From her cheerful attitude and “rock star-like” performances skating around as Crybaby, Once You Leave creator Nate Locklear knew she would be perfect as Rachel. And she blew the performance away and made a lovable character with deep, realistic emotions.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tee: Can you run us through the process of finding your actors?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">NL: Kayla and I were already friends and I knew I wanted her to be the lead- to give her more exposure as an actress. Originally we planned to NOT do any auditions or casting calls and only use actors we knew and friends. That worked for awhile but then some actors and friends either couldn't do it or backed out for various reasons and we got stuck. So we decided to have a mix. We had several actors we already knew or had worked with before in roles, we had some non-actors that were friends in roles and we did some auditions to find new actors. For the auditions we usually post to AustinActors.net a resource for finding talent and announcing casting calls in Austin, TX and we posted on craigslist as well. We had several actors coming out for the various roles, recorded them reading some "sides" from the script, asked about their availability and preferences etc then Kayla and I and some other producers decided on who was best.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Sometimes I even saw friends of actor-friends of mine on FaceBook and I just messaged them because I liked their look from their photos so I asked them if they would be interested. So a little bit of "cyber-stalking" might be useful ;)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tee: You've stated that OYL is in 12 parts. With the overwhelming success of the show, have you reconsidered and perhaps decided on S2?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">NL: Kayla and I have discussed this many times. At first we were opposed to the idea, then we started thinking well maybe this could happen, then this... Kayla and I do have several other projects in planning stages so we will be working together more. As far as another season of OYL, well, for now it's still undecided but I feel pretty strongly that Kayla's story ends in the episode 12 finale but that doesn't mean their couldn't be a season 2...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tee: One of the other unique factor of your series is that you also launched a motion comic book based on the same story. My question is will the comic version be repetitive or is it a continuation of its original?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">NL: The digital comic book was intended as a one-issue prequel to the series. For now it's not planned to have any more- but if a season 2 ever happened then I'd reconsider. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tee: We've seen the wonderful talents of your fellow creator / producer Kayla Olson and yourself, was it always a conscious decision to make OYL a online series or did it occur as a results of other factors?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">NL: I have been making films for many years, then I did some TV and then OYL came up. And with the ever changing media atmosphere I realized the potential of web series. I had also just gotten off of episodic TV so I wanted to do something also episodic but I wanted some creative freedom. Then I thought, if I make a feature film and submit it to a festival it will be up against movies like Black Swan and the such that are called "indie movies" and that is just ridiculous. Film Festivals are a weird breed. And people often think it's only good if there are names attached and budget and studios attached. So instead of getting lost in the shuffle we decided to take a stab at indie online because that landscape hadn't been too invaded by Hollywood yet. Of course this was two years ago, since then more and more Hollywood actors and filmmakers are switching over to web series. Web series have been around since the mid 90s but were pretty unnoticed in the mainstream's mind until the boom of Felicia Day's series, The Guild and the rising popularity of Machinama series like, Red vs Blue. And over the last two years since we started the exposure to web series has invaded everything from YouTube to major studios. And we took a chance creating a heavy intense drama for the web that had much longer run times than the norm. But we felt the material was strong enough that people would get it. And we hoped to be part of the change in people understanding and accepting the legitimacy of web content and to help transition the world into online programming rather than only relying on cable TV for shows and the internet for funny cat videos. But by no means were we the first, we are just trying to help.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tee: What is the future of series and are there any other tentacles to stem from the show?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">NL: We hope to have the entire 12 episodes, all the behind the scenes videos, and the rest of the Rachel Perkins Blog posts online by the end of October 2012. We have been accepted into the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival, the first web series ever accepted. And we are submitting to many other festivals and award shows. The 12 episodes, the blog, the comic book and the bts videos will complete the Once You Leave story, as far as future tentacles, that will be decided if we do another season. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tee: You have managed to create an award winning, critically acclaimed series, what can you attribute as the catalyst of your meteoric success?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">NL: It wasn't as fast as many believe. Kayla and I sat down over two years ago and created the ideas for the episodes and characters. It took many months after nearly a year of shooting before we got any kind of recognition. Much of that came from submitting our series to OneMoreLesbian.com. They feature lesbian content that sheds good light on the LGBT community. We submitted because we were desperately trying to get noticed and knew we had some lesbian themes but were worried because our show doesn't come across as this major lesbian series. Luckily OML loved our series and wanted to feature it exclusively. So many of our views and fans came from us posting on OML. Then came the podcast and live show IndieIntertube.tv- which reviews all that is hot and streaming in the world of indie online content. The host and co-host are two amazing, nice and funny women that absolutely fell in love with our show. Every time we posted an episode they would review it on their show and often times award us their "Drama of the Week". Then came time for their 2nd Annual Awards show where nearly 10,000 people tuned in to see what web series won- and we won two huge awards- Kayla won "Best Actress in a Drama" and the entire series won "Best Drama web series". We were so excited. Since then we've won Telly awards and a Webby honoree and have submitted to some more but are waiting for results. And we are now so happy to be featured on AfterEllen and PNT TV. We also kept a good FaceBook page and Twitter account and always tried to respond back to our fans when they commented. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tee: What you think about the large LGBTQ following the show has received and are you planning in your future endeavors to include our theme again?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">NL: I think it's fantastic that the LGBTQ community has adopted the show and us as filmmakers. I was a bit worried at first, again because our show doesn't come across as this huge in your face lesbian show- it's more subtle, and on top of that I'm a male director. To be honest we have had one or two people be upset or not understand the direction we have taken with Kayla's character- but I always try to clarify our choices and I respect their opinions too. But far more fans completely understand it and love it and they love Kayla. Many of the fans I have personally talked with that are part of the community understand our intentions perfectly and believe whole-heartedly in us as filmmakers. It feels so good to connect with, not only a community of people but just people in general, over art. I think the LGBTQ community is very loving and accepting and I know Kayla will continue to create within that community and she and I have a few other projects lined up so I am certain I will also continue to include those themes. And on a personal level I would and probably will include those themes into my own personal work in the future and keep striving for harmony, acceptance and understanding of this beautifully diverse world we have. :)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">T: What advise can you offer to any budding filmmakers itching to try their hand at a series, from conception to premiere?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">N: Make good content!! Sounds like a given, right? You'd be surprised at all the content creators skipping corners. Start small. We have one actress. Then she meets 1-2 characters each episode then they don't appear again. We used friend's houses for locations and our own cars and wardrobes. Take some film classes or at least read some film books and listen to filmmaker audio commentary on DVDs. Get someone who knows how to use a camera and most important get someone who knows how to record sound properly. So many creators just use their camera mics and it sounds horrible. Go back to old movies that were written well. Read fiction. Take your time in not only the development and execution but in also the storytelling. What I mean is, we as filmmakers and as a society aren't taking our time with anything anymore. We consume constantly and then throw away. Our films are being told at breakneck speeds and that's not necessarily a good thing. It gets to a point where a movie has way too many plot devices just to keep up. We as the future of filmmaking and content creating have the ability to slow it down and start telling stories again. It doesn't all have to be special effects and quick recycled material. But we have to take a stand and make a commitment to telling good stories. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Other tips: Read the YouTube Creators playbook. Create a social media presence. Don't be afraid to submit your series to people and sites. Pay for some award entries but only to help spread the word about your series. The best way to spread the word is to keep creating quality stuff. Be daring. Take chances but be smart. Be nice and don't be pretentious- always thank people and stay a bit humble. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tee: Your production company, 'For Now Production', is responsible for the absoluely top-class production value of the series. Do you have any other series or features in the pipeline?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">NL: We have several projects ideas lined up for the future. I am really enjoying the web series format so I'll definitely be returning to it but I also love films- so I'm sure I'll have a feature film thrown in there too. I have a project that is already shot and in a rough cut, that had to be set on the back burner, but it might see the light of day now as a web series. But it will depend on many things. Kayla also has a project she is interested in directing so I'm sure For Now Productions will help take that on. But we plan to have many more things in the future.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tee: Thank you so much for being on PNT Tv and for the opportunity for this interview.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">NL: Thank you for featuring us :) Let me know if I need to clarify or elaborate on any question. Feel free to use what you like. Cheers!</div><br /><a href="http://fornowproductions.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">ForNowProductions</a> | <a href="http://www.onceyouleave.com/oyl/home.html" target="_blank">Once You Leave</a> [<a href="https://www.facebook.com/onceyouleave" target="_blank">Facebook Fanpage</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/OnceYouLeave" target="_blank">Twitter</a>]<br /><div><br /></div></div>Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-67660406153568823982012-08-10T19:52:00.002-04:002013-05-22T17:33:07.562-04:00Exclusive Interview with Empty Sky's Michael Vargas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ziVH_250Wds/UCWG-q1q_XI/AAAAAAAAF24/08x8kpoPbNI/s1600/MaiaraWalsh.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="350" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ziVH_250Wds/UCWG-q1q_XI/AAAAAAAAF24/08x8kpoPbNI/s400/MaiaraWalsh.png" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maiara Walsh (Desperate Housewives, Switched at Birth)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>While scouting as I usually am for the best lesbian short films out there I came across a trailer for a short which managed to grab my full attention after a mere 20 seconds on my screen. The film's name was 'Empty Sky', a piece helmed by director Michael Vargas.<br /><br />I knew I had to see this work of art then surprisingly I noticed on the film's Facebook page that although it had been entered in several festivals Michael was offering anyone who emailed him to see it via their Vimeo account.<br /><br />After watching the film in its entirety, I am now marshaling every and anyone I can to promptly email and view this absolutely beautifully captured piece. The only complaint I had (as I am sure you will agree) is that it wasn't longer therefore giving more screen time to the very gorgeous Maiara Walsh (Desperate Housewives, Switched at Birth).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div>The chemistry between Miss Walsh and newcomer, Sarah Kathleen Rosen was sublimely delicious. Anyway enough! Sit back and enjoy the following interview with Director Michael Vargas and the trailer that caught my attention.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O7R3qbuxmb4/UCV6CtXnJtI/AAAAAAAAF2E/gyHLhJGOb8Y/s1600/JMichaelVargas_Director.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O7R3qbuxmb4/UCV6CtXnJtI/AAAAAAAAF2E/gyHLhJGOb8Y/s320/JMichaelVargas_Director.png" width="320" /></a></div><b>Tee:</b> Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself, your experience, and work?<br /><br /><b>MV:</b> I am a filmmaker from Florida that has always been artistically inclined. I grew up a musician throughout middle school and high school; playing trumpet and a member of the marching band, symphonic orchestra, and jazz band. Music was always my thing and it will always be my thing. People say I have an eclectic taste in music, liking basically anything, but that comes from growing up listening to Fleetwood Mac, James Taylor, Elton John, and many more classics. When it came to film, I started making things when I was 9, and they all came from inspirations in music, so to me it’s all one, and it keeps me writing and making things.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"></div>In film school (Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts) I worked on over 50 projects throughout my time there. I graduated having specialized in directing and cinematography, and immediately after I finished school last year, I got hired on as an intern for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. That was really a turning point in my career because I got to work with an amazing group of people that never settled for anything less than perfect, and they did it on a day to day basis. It was the type of thing where I would look around and think, “This is how I want to work, I don’t want to have to settle”.<br />It was a great environment because the people were so creative, which is always inspiring to be a part of. I’ve directed 5 short films in my time in film school. I try to focus on human emotions, and relevant problems but create them with a heavy emphasis on empathy where everybody can relate to the characters. I think my greatest moments come when I get a compliment where somebody can look past the top themes of any film I make and say “I know the deeper meaning” or “I’ve been there, I’ve done that, that’s happened to me”. And all of them are charged by music, but I try to make sure that it’s a piece that can go with the film and not distract from the events playing on screen.<br /><br /><b>Tee:</b> I see a number of your shorts have been projects made for Florida State, do they still fund your projects and how hard is it to acquire funding?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"></div><b>MV:</b> The school doesn’t fund my projects anymore since graduating. But they are very helpful in setting up connections for us through our vast alumni network. The way the program works, since it is a state school, is the school covers all costs of grip & electric equipment, cameras, and a meal stipend, which are the most expensive budget items in any production budget.<br />This is what makes the program unique, because no other program in the world is established in this way. We were all very lucky to have the access to the equipment that we did. Funding is always a tricky aspect to independent, and even studio, filmmaking. There are many avenues that you can go, and nothing will ever render a conclusive result, because you can always use more, and every production tends to go over their original budget. And finding investors is trickier due to the many legal implications that may go into that process, and film is probably the riskiest investment you can make, because you may have a top notch film but if it isn’t released properly, you could lose all of your return.<br />In my case, I self funded the project, which is always the worst thing to do, but I didn’t really have the time to gather investors because we are set up with a certain production schedule at the school and that is not flexible. Another great thing that the school offers, is they really support our films and how big of an audience we get. Of course we have our films screen at our local screenings for each of our classes projects, but they cover expenses of sending our movies to festivals no matter where they are, along with the costs of the exhibition formats (film, BetaCam, HDCam, etc). These costs are what add up the most over time, and this is usually something that a lot of filmmakers don’t actually budget for.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div><b>Tee:</b> Is ‘Empty Sky’ your first lesbian-themed film, and if so, why did you choose the genre?<br /><br /><b>MV:</b> ‘Empty Sky’ is my first lesbian themed film. The genre actually kind of happened naturally during the writing process. I wanted to tell a story of love, and more more importantly I wanted to tell the classic tale of “forbidden love”. Before moving to Florida, I lived in Georgia for about 10 years, in a town where there is still a fine line between “right” and wrong. Watching a lot of people that were close to me struggle with social problems, race, sexuality, etc., kind of inspired me to go in a route where I can comment on my observations.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ScDX6rV2sPg/UCWHAth4eUI/AAAAAAAAF3A/Ml2AepBQBTM/s1600/SarahKathleenRosen.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ScDX6rV2sPg/UCWHAth4eUI/AAAAAAAAF3A/Ml2AepBQBTM/s320/SarahKathleenRosen.png" width="212" /></a></div>It wasn’t really clear in the execution of the short film, but it was supposed to take place in a smaller town. And then the next step was taking my own life experience of heartbreak with my high school girlfriend (which we are actually still together) and going over the process of when I left for college and she still had another year in high school.<br />Then I wanted to add in my experiences with music, because I wanted to experience being in band again. So with all of these ingredients, the characters came to fruition, and they became romantically involved, and one of them played music and their was a mom (which was actually based on a Hallmark store clerk who accosted me over going to FSU for college). There was an intricate dance and definitely an evolution on the story that I kept in mind while writing the characters, and then the final product happened, and I couldn’t be any happier with the results.<br /><br /><b>Tee:</b> Are there plans to convert ES into a feature film?<br /><br /><b>MV:</b> I want to, I really want to. Right now, I’m trying to figure out how to expand the story line into something that covers a broad range of topics of conversation. I want to have the characters back in my life again, because we got so close to them during the course of development, production, and post- production. I want to make it a very good film, one that a lot of people see, so that we can spread the message of this issue wide and get people seeing just how universal love really is. So right now I’m tossing spaghetti at the wall in my mind and seeing what sticks. We are very close though and hopefully you can see something develop within the next 6 months.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6fAWSXYL1_k/UCWFPKaJcPI/AAAAAAAAF2o/MqphZhbfgoY/s1600/EmptySky1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6fAWSXYL1_k/UCWFPKaJcPI/AAAAAAAAF2o/MqphZhbfgoY/s400/EmptySky1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>Tee:</b> The chemistry between your co-stars was palpable, was that a contributing factor in choosing them?<br /><br /><b>MV:</b> Believe it or not, they met on Day 1 of shooting. Maiara was doing a charity benefit the days leading up to production and flew in the night before, but her and Sarah met the morning of shooting, and they just clicked and throughout the 3 days of shooting they just had this magical chemistry that we see play out on screen.<br />Sarah had only done one smaller student film (actually for my cinematographer Jacob Abrams) a few years before, but had never been on a large set as this, but I don’t think that stopped her. They were deep roles and both girls, went above and beyond the words on the page.<br /><br /><br /><b>Tee:</b> With such a high production value achieved on the project, was the budget astronomical or did you pull of a miracle?<br /><br /><b>MV:</b> The budget was super, super low in respect to short films at other school’s film programs. To say it was a miracle, though, I think it goes to the crew that I worked with. I had very talented people at my side throughout the whole process, my cinematographer, Jacob Abrams, my production designer, Carissa Dorson, my producer Grace Hendley, and my editor, Ricky Rose. And many, many others, everybody on my credits are the reason the film is the way it is.<br />Everyone of them I can call very close friends as we spent 3 years together 24/7, so we all know what each other are thinking, which is a rare occurrence I am told. Then of course the performances and the way Maiara, Sarah, and Cindy were together, I can’t be more happy in what we achieved collectively. Budget isn’t really a factor on the quality of a film, as we can see by many large budget studio films, but the people and the collaborative effort a director has is everything to the outcome of the movie.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sVtfrIDE67o/UCWE2_dSYWI/AAAAAAAAF2g/2UB5uXRpBJI/s1600/EmptySky3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sVtfrIDE67o/UCWE2_dSYWI/AAAAAAAAF2g/2UB5uXRpBJI/s400/EmptySky3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>Tee: </b> So do you have a production company or a website where the growing fans of you’re work may follow your progress?<br /><br /><b>MV:</b> You can check my repertoire on my Vimeo page, for now (<a href="https://vimeo.com/user5683231">https://vimeo.com/user5683231</a>). It has the films I have directed along with my reel. Also any information regarding the future of my work and the feature of Empty Sky will be updated regularly on the Facebook Page (<a href="http://www.facebook.com/EmptySkyFilm">www.facebook.com/EmptySkyFilm</a>).<br />I am also working with Rose Transmedia, which is a group specializing in music videos, short films, and commercials that integrate business & entertainment with story in a narrative fashion that rings in the classic Hollywood style with the modern world.<br /><br /><br /><b>Tee: </b> Can you give the 5 top requirements that a production team must complete or navigate well to achieve a successful project?<br /><br /><b>MV:</b> 1. Have a deep understanding of what each person brings to the table. | 2. Trust each other. | 3. Perfection...Something can always be better. | 4. Accept that everything will not go as planned, but learn how to compensate and adapt to the situation. | 5. Have fun...In the words of one of our teachers, “We are making movies for entertainment purposes, not curing cancer”<br /><br /><br /><b>Tee:</b> Of the three crew positions you now hold, which one do you prefer? Writing, editing or directing?<br /><br /><b>MV:</b> I love writing, I love directing, and I love editing. However I have identified with being a director, and I’m glad because that is the path that I’ve always wanted, and now I’m here. I love to write, and have been doing that since I was 5, so it works out that I am a writer/director. My next foray, that I want to begin now, is directing music videos, which I feel that I am outfitted for. I want to focus more on telling a narrative in music videos, rather than the other 80% of music videos being made right now where it’s all flash and gloss. Also it’ll give me a chance to learn the craft and put my self into a position of directing larger projects down the road.<br /><br /><br /><b>Tee: </b> Would you like to work on projects that you haven’t created or is control important to you?<br /><br /><b>MV:</b> As in directing something I haven’t written? Or working as a PA on a studio picture?<br />In terms of directing something I haven’t written, I am totally on board with that. Being a writer/director is really hard because in order to transition from writer to director, you have to look at the script objectively, which is something that I am constantly working on and bettering myself at. So to be a fresh set of eyes on a script that I haven’t been connected with until I read the first line on page 1 would be amazing. Plus, there are so many talented screenwriters out there that I would love to have the chance to work with. It’s about collaboration, the more people you have on the steps of making the film, the better off you can make it, because that one person might make the nuanced touch that you’ve been looking for.<br />In terms of being like, a PA on a studio film, I would love to do that as well. As I said before, when I worked with The Daily Show, being around a group of some of the most talented people in the business was very inspiring and it really gets you on the ball and makes you sharp in your approach to the craft at hands. Control really is subjective in this business because sometimes the people that you think may have the least amount of control on a film are sometimes the ones that can make or break your production. It’s all a gear and everybody’s role is equally as important as the other’s.<br /><br /><br /><b>Tee:</b> Can you tell us what’s next in the pipeline for you?<br /><br /><b>MV:</b> I have a whole five pages worth of pitches ready to be developed. Other than a feature of this film, I have many others that I am working on, and hopefully get going on something soon enough. Right now I’m writing in Florida and will be moving out to Los Angeles later this year to make it all happen.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/43402809?portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="500"></iframe><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Don't miss out, visit their Facebook page and hit the 'about' page and email Michael to watch his film, 'Empty Sky' now!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1323381497503295847.post-85913902230257748542012-05-16T01:37:00.000-04:002013-06-22T16:29:51.822-04:00Post Season Interview with DLT Creators<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sEZg52am5xg/T7M08jLD--I/AAAAAAAAFUA/tkZaSymmNe0/s1600/hannah_leigh.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="419" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sEZg52am5xg/T7M08jLD--I/AAAAAAAAFUA/tkZaSymmNe0/s640/hannah_leigh.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Dates Like This" creators Leigh Poulos (l) and Hannah Vaughn (r).</td></tr></tbody></table><br />So for the last couple of months I have had the pleasure of hosting the short lived web mini-series, "Dates Like This" on our parent website, <a href="http://www.pnttvonline.com/" target="_blank">PNT Tv.</a> As you all know I hardly ever conduct interviews with the cast or crew of webseries, however I have to emphasize how gracious the creative team of Leigh Poulos and Hannah Vaughn have been throughout their very fascinating and intriguing series.<br /><br />The absolutely originality of their storyline was the catalysis of the success of their show and its what has their fans clambering for more (including me). It is a shame that a show of this quality if not quantity, should be gone. Especially with the advent of the lightening growth of this medium it has caused a clutter of unoriginal, uninspiring and poorly run productions that are choking the pipeline blocking shows like this from gaining the audience they deserve.<br /><br />So when one does get through as DLT did it is no wonder why audiences are tapping their keys and shaking their fist at their screens with the news of a no go on a season 2. The following is my interview with creators Hannah and Leigh.<br /><br /><i><span style="color: #cc0000;"> 1.</span></i> <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">How did the idea of creating a web series come about?</span></i><br /><br />Hannah: We met at our shared survival job, Two Little Red Hens and both of us being actors we became friends and talked a lot about what projects we were working on and how we both wanted to create our own work and then we started talking about how we could actually DO that and the web series world has been growing so much it just seemed like the right way for us to showcase our work. For the actual story, my sister had sent me a link a couple of summers ago who was actually doing a 30 Dates in 30 Days project and told me to submit and I said no but when we were tossing around ideas for a show that could somehow feature us both and could work for a web series format, that just worked for everything. And then we decided to make it about lesbians.<br /><br />Leigh: I also think the idea of a web series specifically appealed to us because of how accessible the media is. Anybody with a computer all over the world can just click a link and watch your show, any time they feel like it, and that's an incredibly powerful thing, to be able to directly reach your audience like that. It seemed so much more personal and hands on than, say, a short film, which we had originally discussed doing (and would still love to do). But something about a web series, just like a television series, brings the audience on a journey with the characters in a way that a film can't, by nature of being a sort of one shot deal. And we loved the idea of being able to create this online network of dating warriors; having the twitter and the facebook and the potential for viewer feedback and dialogue between creators/viewers that the internet makes possible.<br /><br /><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">2. Why did you decide to only have one season of the show?</span></i><br /><br />Hannah: We really saw this project as more of a mini-series - the whole time we were creating it we treated it more like an HBO mini series than a sitcom so from start to finish that's just how we saw it.<br /><br />Leigh: We fell in love with the concept of Meg taking the plunge to do the 30 Dates in 30 Days project, and what a bizarre and uncharacteristic pit stop it was on the road of Meg's life. So much of the driving force behind the series was this feeling of running an experiment, of pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone and documenting what happens. That's really what the story is about. So if you take those parameters away, like when she finishes the project, it's a different series all together.<br /><br /><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">3. Did you ever anticipate the popularity the show has enjoyed and if you had known would you have planned a continuous series?</span></i><br /><br />Leigh: We certainly hoped it would be popular! I think if you're going to dive into a project like this you have to try to have a certain amount of confidence that it will be well received, but that said every ten new youtube views make your heart skip a beat. I don't know if people really understand how much power one individual message of "hey, i love your show, i really connected to this" had to make Hannah and I do a happy dance. It's hard to say if we would have been lured into a continuous series...obviously you want to do more if you know people want to watch!<br /><br />Hannah: This has been a dream. We are SO thrilled to have such an enthusiastic response - this has been our baby for over a year now and to see it doing so well has been thrilling. I mean - I think it's great that series like Out with Dad and Anyone But Me, etc have had such success with multiple seasons but I think for us maintaining the integrity of the original plot would be hard to carry to another season. But we're definitely planning on working together again.<br /><br /><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">4. Is 'Dates Like This' your first foray into this medium (online series) and would you do it again?</span></i><br /><br />Hannah: Yes for me it's the first time I've done this. I'd auditioned a lot for other web series and I have boundless respect for anyone jumping into the web series world and I think yeah - maybe down the line I'd do it again. But I think with a different story.<br /><br />Leigh: I was part of the series regular cast of a really great, but short-lived web series a few years back, called Abandon. It was a wonderful learning experience for me in terms of discovering the boundless potential web series have, and also the pitfalls and difficulties of making one! I think online series have a bright, bright future as we become more and more digital, so I would happily be part of future webisodes.<br /><br /><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">5. Is this really the end for DLT?</span></i><br /><br />Hannah: For now...<br /><br />Leigh: Anyone have any suggestions?? :)<br /><br /><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">6. Do you or Leigh have any plans to do another series?</span></i><br /><br />Hannah: We've been talking about scripts that we have for other projects - short films that we've both written and we've been really thinking about working on a feature film soon. So we've got some things simmering.<br /><br />Leigh: It's true. The wheels are turning.<br /><br /><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">7. What advise would you share with filmmakers venturing into this medium?</span></i><br /><br />Hannah:Have a good story and work with people that you trust 110%. You have to have a good story otherwise no one will watch and you have to work with people that you trust because most likely its going to be low or no budget and you will have to do a lot of work and you need to make sure you have a good person or people working with you otherwise it won't be fun anymore. And it should be fun!<br /><br />Leigh: I second all of that. I would also say this: don't try to make a show that you think will appeal to everybody. You aren't trying to convince heads of a major network to pick you up and isn't that the beauty of online media? You're trying to connect to people. It can be overwhelming to try to please as many people as possible, so make a story that matters to you, and then think about the specific groups of people who you think will embrace that story. Target them, and forget everybody else. This will help you sooo much when marketing your series, too!<br /><br /><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">8. What is next for you and Leigh?</span></i><br /><br />Hannah: We're both auditioning a lot again - hoping to get some good summer projects. I've got a play that I'm acting in that's in the workshop stage. And I'm producing a show in the NY International Fringe Festival called June and Nancy. It's about two women who fall in love in the 1950s - it's a great project and I'm really excited to be a part of it. And of course working on what scripts we have and trying to figure out which one will be our next project.<br /><br />Leigh: I'm spending the summer on the west coast, up and down California, where I'm originally from. I'm trying to make some connections with west coast theaters, working with the LA branch of my theater company The Story Pirates (www.storypirates.org) and working on various acting related writing projects. And I plan on heading back to NYC in the fall! I miss it already...<br /><br /><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">9. Is their anything else you would like to add or promote?</span></i><br /><br />Hannah: June and Nancy. (Shameless plug!) We'll happily take your donations. And you can also come see the show in August if you're in NYC! And just keep checking in with us on Facebook and Twitter - if we decide to work on a film (or series down the line) we'll be sure to spread the word there!<br /><br />Leigh: This has nothing to do with my career, but it's a little passing on of good karma! One of our first donors to our kickstarter campaign was my dear friend Cait, and I would like to take this opportunity to plug her tumblr, Warriors&Wine, in which Cait and Rebekah, two Boston-dwelling lesbians, watch every episode of Xena while drinking copious amounts of wine and then blog amazing, thoughtful, witty commentary.<br /><br /><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">10. A question from a member: Are you or any of the castmembers gay?</span></i><br /><br />Hannah: We are not and as far as we know, (we didn't do a poll) only one of our cast is.<br /><br /><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">11. Based on the answer of question 10 - Did that dynamic have anything to do with the story behind the series?</span></i><br /><br />Hannah: I mean, we think the story is relatable if you're gay or straight - everyone has a fucking hard time dating sometimes. It's tough and we mostly just wanted to get the message out of "You are not a freak" everyone feels this way when they're dating sometimes - everyone's just trying their best to figure out what they want to do. All of our actors read the script and loved it - and we would get emails or calls from them saying - I loved this line! I totally know what that feels like to be in that situation! So that dynamic was already there. My mom is gay so I grew up surrounded by a lot of lesbians so I've felt like i'm a weird sub-sect of the lesbian community for a while - so that certainly had an influence on that part of the story.<br /><br />Leigh: As the author, it has given me kind of a thrill that so many of our fans assume we must both be lesbians, because I think it's a testament to the series really striking a chord with its viewers. So many times we all think that if somebody understands something about our own personal experience they must be similar to us in all kinds of ways, and one of the messages I was trying to get across with the series is that that is in fact true, but maybe not in the ways we would expect. It's so easy to focus on the things that make each of us different and to get so caught up in your own subjective experience (like love-life woes, etc.) that it's easy to lose sight of how stupidly similar the big issues we all struggle with in our lives are. Somebody can be different from you are and still get it, still understand the things you struggle with. And that was a major point Hannah and I hoped to make with DLT--we are all more similar than meets the eye.<br /><br /><b><i>Footnote:</i></b> I want to thank both Hannah and Leigh for their wonderful series and know that the bloggers and members of PNT Tv wish them the very best success in their future projects.<br /><br /><b><i>Links: </i><a href="http://dateslikethisseries.com/" target="_blank">DLT website</a><i> | </i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/DatesLikeThis" target="_blank">Facebook Fanpage</a><i> | </i><a href="https://twitter.com/#!/dltseries" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="http://www.pnttvonline.com/dates-like-this.html" target="_blank">DLT's PNT Tv Channel</a></b><br /><b><i><br /></i></b><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">UPDATE: </span></i></b><b><i>Dates Like This have returned for Season 2. </i></b><b><i>Both Seasons can be viewed <a href="http://www.pnttvonline.com/dates-like-this.html" target="_blank">HERE!</a></i></b></blockquote><br /><b><i><br /></i></b><b><i><br /></i></b>Tee Spicerhttps://plus.google.com/104843920310719775214noreply@blogger.com0