Greatest Hits of 2010 - My Version

Photo at left: receiving an award at Columbia Gorge Film Festival

It seems like everyone is making lists of the Ten Best and Ten Worst of whatever...This isn't one of those. It's a list of the best things that I saw/did/experienced this past year.

One thing that won't be on the list: favorite movies. That's because I haven't seen most of the good ones that came out recently (The King's Speech, The Social Network, The Fighter, or any of those other movies whose title starts with the word "the").

1. Best New Broadway Play: Red by John Logan, starring Alfred Molina as Mark Rothko and Eddie Redmayne as his assistant. I loved this play from start to finish, but especially the quasi-dance as the 2 men paint a large red canvas together.

2. Best Broadway Revival: A View From the Bridge by Arthur Miller, starring Liev Schreiber, Scarlett Johansson, and Jessica Hecht. I must admit that I'd probably like any play Liev Schreiber is in. But this was great.

3. Best Off-Broadway Play: Trust by Paul Weitz, starring Zach Braff, Bobby Cannevale, Sutton Foster, Ari Graynor. Fun with a dominatrix.

3a. Runner-up for Best Off-Broadway Play: This Wide Night by Chloe Moss, starring Edie Falco and Alison Pill. This British one act drama about two women recently released from prison starred two of my favorite actors.

4. Best New Television Show: It's almost a cliche (already!) to say this, but I love HBO's Boardwalk Empire. Steve Buscemi is still one of the creepiest looking guys around, but he's terrific, as is Kelly Macdonald.

5. Best Film Festival Experience: I had a great time at the Columbia Gorge (formerly Washougal) Film Festival - Breven Angaelica Warren did a great job. Foreclosed got an award (that's the photo at the top), they had some terrific speakers, and yeah, some good movies too. Plus I got to have dinner with my cousin Jen & her husband in Portland, and saw spectacular scenery.

5b. Runner-Up for Best Film Festival Experience: Flint Film Festival, with all the credit to Robert Joseph Butler of Spirit of Isabel for the great audience and terrific q&a. Plus my sister Amy joined me for the day, and we had a delightful tapas dinner together (yes, in Flint).

6. Best weekend: Any weekend that I'm in the Poconos.

"Foreclosed" on The REEL Show, Sat. Feb 12

I'm delighted that my short Foreclosed (http://www.foreclosedthemovie.us/) will screen on The REEL Show on the MSC Network on Saturday afternoon February 12 at 2 PM. Even better: I'll be chatting live during the show to answer viewers' questions and provide insight into the movie.

The REEL Show premieres on Saturday January 8 on http://www.morningshowcentral.com/ , and is dedicated to providing expsure to indie films and filmmakers.

It's produced and hosted by Kristina Michelle in cooperation with executive producer Ray Szuch. I know both of them through The Indie Gathering film festival in Cleveland (check it out at http://www.theindiegathering.com/ ). They do a terrific job with the festival, and are now expanding to producing shows on an ongoing basis. I really hope it takes off - not just because they're nice people, but (yeah, selfishly!) because good indie movies - and shorts in particular - need more outlets for broad-based exposure.

Molly Shannon's a Hoot in "Promises, Promises" on B'way

We saw Promises, Promises on Broadway last night. I got the tickets because I think Kristin Chenoweth's terrific, and the play is closing on January 2. I knew Sean Hayes was in it too (Jack on the tv show Will & Grace). Plus it has some great Burt Bacharach songs, like "I'll Never Fall In Love Again."

I had NO idea that Molly Shannon had joined the cast on October 12 to play Marge MacDougall, the flirty, possibly drunk but definitely sexy woman who picks up Hayes' Chuck Baxter at a bar at the beginning of the second act.

Shannon (best known for six seasons on Saturday Night Live) is only in 2 scenes, but she damn near steals the show. She's wonderfully physical in a way that echoes her Catholic school girl character Mary Katherine Gallagher even as she does her best to seduce Baxter. The roar from the audience when she took her bow at the end of the show suggested that they enjoyed her as much as I did.

The other fun surprise was Tony Goldwyn as the womanizing J.D. Sheldrake. He's played some of my favorite yuppie sleazes over the years, like the guy who killed Patrick Swayze's character in Ghost. My all-time favorite "sleaze" actor is still James Spader, but Goldwyn is a solid second.

And finally, a word (or two) on my favorite theater topic, the bathrooms: well done. A dozen stalls, and no space wasted on couches or easy chairs. The line was long, but it moved well.

Promises/Promises is at the Broadway Theatre, 1681 Broadway (between West 52nd and 53rd Sts) until January 2. Good discounts are available at http://www.theatermania.com/ and http://www.playbill.com/ .

David Duchovny, Amanda Peet, & The Lucille Lortel Theatre

I like the Lucille Lortel Theatre. It's getting old (last renovated in 1990) and the pitch of the seats isn't the best (so hope you're not sitting behind a tall person). But the leg room is much better than average, the bathrooms are small but clean (no idiotic sofas!), and it's convenient to the Christopher St. PATH station (great for those of us in Jersey City and Hoboken).

The audience generally tends toward West Village twenty-somethings, so it was nice to see a solid smattering of tourists lured from midtown in order to see David Duchovny and Amanda Peet in Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon. It's a dark drama about a guy - Duchovny - who is the only survivor of a work-place shooting. And he claims that God spoke to him and helped him survive.

It's not a great play, but it's pretty good - and it's only 90 minutes, which always makes me happy. I have to give Duchovny credit for a very solid performance, especially on the long opening & closing monologues (Peet is good as well, as are the other 2 cast members, Tracee Chimo and John Earl Jelks).

My quibble is more with the writing: LaBute's plays (which include reasons to be pretty and Fat Pig) are generally edgy, a bit angry, and sometimes annoying. The Break of Noon could use a bit more of that: Duchovny's character is clearly imperfect, but I thought he should seem downright rotten (or pretty close to it) by the end.

One other thing: director Jo Bonney uses the loud noise & flash of light approach to scene changes that seems to be all to popular these days. I don't hate it, but it makes me think: Oh yeah, that again.

Overall: not great, not terrible. And it's nice to see tourists at a play in the West Village.

Lombardi: guys, issues, and a great space

I had the pleasure of seeing the play Lombardi last night - to say that Dan Lauria looks and sounds like the man himself would be a major understatement. It's a terrific play - well written, well directed, and I love the cast (Judith Light, Michael McCormick, and as the football players Bill Dawes, Robert Christopher Riley, and Chris Sullivan). I'm a football fan (go Giants!) as well as a theater-lover, so I certainly wasn't going to miss this.

But since all of this has been well covered elsewhere, I'd like to present a few thoughts on other points.

First: I have never - and I do mean never - seen so many guys at a play. It really made me smile to see clusters of middle-aged men in business suits or in jeans & sweaters at a play without a woman dragging them. I really hope other shows are able to bring them in as well (how about a play that incorporates the 1986 World Series, maybe from the perspective of a fan? Just a thought...)

Second: Playwright Eric Simonson did a great job of touching on important issues without belaboring them. A few examples:

In a flashback scene, the great man wonders aloud if his inability to get a head coaching job - even at the college level - has anything to do with his name ending in a vowel.

Dave Robinson is the Green Bay Packers' rep to the NFL Players Association, and is trying to put off his teammate Jim Taylor (an excellent Chris Sullivan), who wants his salary and benefit grievances (including payment for exhibitions games!) addressed immediately rather than after the season. It's amazing to realize that NFL players didn't even have a collective bargaining agreement until 1968.

The African American Robinson also appreciates Lombardi's insistance that black and white players be able to stay in the same hotel in the south, and prohibits them from drinking in segregated bars (paraphrasing Robinson: "maybe that's because he's been called a WOP his entire life").

Third (and finally): I have to say that the Circle in the Square Theater is one of my favorite Broadway spaces. It's relatively small, there are no bad seats, and it allows for interesting directorial choices with the audience on all 4 sides. I saw the trilogy The Norman Conquests there last year, and look forward to seeing what they do next.

Two plays and a movie shoot

Far left: Carlo Fiorletta & Julie Kilzer shooting An Internet World

Near left: J City Theater's production of State of the Union

Below at left: The Crucible at Huron High School

It's been an interesting, artistic, and varied first half of November!

It all began on a dark and stormy night...No, not really. The month started with a trip to Ann Arbor, MI to see my niece Caroline in the Huron Players' production of Arthur Miller's classic The Crucible. I was impressed. Seriously.

Not only were all of the actors excellent (Caroline had a good supporting role), but it was also well directed, including impressionistic modern dance during the scene transitions and notably good lighting. The theater itself reminded me of the layout of Second Stage Theatre in Manhattan, which is one of my favorite off-Broadway spaces. My only criticism is that the stage was steeply raked, which can be tough on even young legs.

Next up was J City Theater's production of State of the Union by Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse. This play is over 60 years old (!) but felt like it could have been written about recent politics instead of the 1948 Presidential election.

We had decided to go because (a) my husband had met one of the actors through a mutual friend and (b) it's only 6 blocks from where we live (the group has a permanent space at St. Michaels Church in Jersey City).

Once again, it was a delightful surprise. Sandy Cockrell directed as well as playing Mary Matthews (the candidate's wife). The pacing was brisk, the blocking took full advantage of the small, in-the-round space, and all of the actors were excellent - although I especially liked Stu Richel as James Conover. Plus, the concession stand had wine AND snickerdoodles. Life is good.

On the movie front, we shot about 75% of Larralley Productions' new dark comedy short An Internet World. Carlo Fiorletta wrote, directed, and stars with the excellent Julie Kilzer and Kerri Ford. It's about 2 people who meet playing an MMORPG (or massively multi-player on-line role-playing game, for the unitiated - like me). My niece Alice provided consulting assistance on just what these games are, but she has NO responsibility for our errors, omissions, or mash-ups of reality. She does, however, get our thanks for her help!

Sunday's location was in Landing, NJ (near Lake Hopatcong) - Doug Cronin provided the space and also makes his acting debut. And he served as part-time cameraman. His basement is pictured above - I can't imagine a better place to shoot. What really made it a great shoot, though, was the improvisation by all the actors - much of which, fortunately, we even got on camera.

We have a few more scenes to shoot over the next few weeks in NYC, with Rachel Caccese and Julie Johson. Keep an eye on the Larralley site (http://www.larralleyproductions.com/) for some teaser clips.

8 stalls, no couch, and 3 cheers for Playwrights Horizons

We saw Edward Albee's Me, Myself, and I at Playwrights Horizons on Friday night (416 W. 42nd St., between 9th and 10th Avenues). The play was vintage absurdist Albee, with a delightful Elizabeth Ashley - more on that below.

But first: oh, that women's room!! They have eight stalls (yes, I counted), ample sink space, and no space wasted on those dated sofas and easy chairs. So even with 2 plays running in the space (After the Revolution is the other), there was plenty of room to pee. With all the complaining that I do about the awful state of theater bathrooms, this was a delight.

OK, the play.... OTTO (Zachary Booth) announces to his mother (Ms. Ashley) that his identical twin brother otto (Preston Sadleir) no longer exists. Albee's plays seem (to me) to take a long time to set up, but once they do, all hell breaks loose. So for me, the terrific second act made up for a slow first act. But since it's already closed (Saturday the 31st was the last performance), you'll have to wait for the next production to find out for yourself.

But if you want off-Broadway theater without an insane wait to pee, Playwrights Horizons shines.

Follow up re "Time Stands Still"

The play Time Stands Still tackles - among other things - the question of whether taking photographs of war and other tragedies really makes a difference. This NY Times article about a similarly injured photographer suggests that - in at least some cases - it does.

http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/courage-recognized-joao-silva-in-combat/?hp

A Terrific "Time," and More Lousy Restrooms

I had been wanting to see Time Stands Still (http://www.theatermania.com/broadway/time-stands-still_168028/) for quite a while, and finally did last night. This is exactly the kind of play that I like best: an interesting and intelligent story (a photo-journalist wounded in Iraq returns home to face questions about both her relationship with her long-time boyfriend and the relevance of her work); terrific writing by Donald Margulies; and great actors.

Our seats were in the front row, which is risky at best, but I wanted to see the actors' faces up close and was willing to sacrifice a better perspective on the stage. It was the right choice (for me, although maybe not for others). Laura Linney, Brian D'Arcy James, Eric Bogosian, and Christina Ricci were worth it - and Ricci's eyes were as big on stage as they look on screen, which I didn't think was possible.

I've been a fan of Laura Linney since You Can Count on Me with Mark Ruffalo (another of my favorites), and my husband & I are among probably 100 New Yorkers who saw James in a one man show called The Good Thief by Conor McPherson back in 2001. That play - more of a monologue even than a play - featured a memorable story about a guy who takes a bath while robbing a house, and we still talk about it fondly. Add renaissance man Bogosian and Broadway newcomer Ricci to the mix, and it's truly an outstanding cast.

Now on to my pet peeve of the year: Cort Theater management should realize that women DON'T lounge on safas and easy chairs when we go to a theater restroom - we just want to pee! Maybe 50 years ago things were different, but these guys (and I'm assuming they're guys) need to get to the 21st century. Three stalls, a VERY long line, and a large room of wasted space that could easily fit 3 more stalls: not smart at all.

One other point: my husband said that the men's rooms were ridiculously cramped as well, although there were no sofas for them.

Lyceum Theater: Worst Women's Room on Broadway?

We saw The Scottsboro Boys on Friday night at the Lyceum Theater on Broadway. First, let me say that the show itself is terrific. As the NY Times said in an article over the weekend (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/theater/17scottsboro.html?hpw), a notorious 1930s Alabama rape trial is a daunting subject for a musical. The fact that it succeeds - and isn't insanely depressing - is amazing.

But this isn't about the play. It's about the ridiculous women's restroom at the Lyceum Theater. Four stalls. FOUR STALLS at a Broadway theater. To say that the line before this show was long (it's almost 2 hours long and has no intermission)...major understatement.

What makes it all the more annoying (that's my polite version!) is the sheer amount of wasted space. We don't need a long make-up table and a chair. And the water fountain should be upstairs near the seats. With a few changes, they could certainly fit 3 more stalls without enlarging the room.

According to a recent Bloomberg.com article on the new play Lombardi (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-28/nfl-green-bay-packers-fans-boost-broadway-s-3-million-lombardi-drama.html), 2/3 of Broadway ticket-buyers are women. So I think we deserve a decent restroom.

"Foreclosed" and foreclosures

I started writing my short thriller Foreclosed last May. It's a story of love, loss, and revenge by a man who lost both his wife to cancer and his house to foreclosure.



As I always tell film festival audiences, I had just bought a small house - my first real estate - in Pennsylvania, in the Pocono Mountains. It wasn't a foreclosure, but I looked at many of them before I bought. I was always struck by the sadness of them - the lives interrupted, the families displaced.


We shot Foreclosed in July and August of 2009. The final editing - with music and sound effects - wasn't finished until April of this year. As our self-imposed December deadline slipped away, I found myself wondering if the movie would be dated by the time anyone had a chance to see it. Would the housing market be booming again? Would festival programmers wonder what they could do with such a movie?


We're having a terrific festival run, with screenings this coming weekend in Flint, MI followed by Philadelphia the following weekend, and Tennessee right after that.


As glad as I am that people like the movie - and I really am proud of it - I find myself wishing it were just a bit less timely.



http://www.foreclosedthemovie.us/

Vincent Pastore receives award & film fest wrap-up

Last weekend was the 4th annual GIAA Festival of Short Films and Videos (http://www.giaafilmfest.com/). It's taken me most of this week to catch my breath and take a (semi-objective) look back, but it was truly a success, and even better than I had hoped.

Friday and Saturday nights were near-capacity crowds, and the afternoon sessions weren't far behind. I'll be posting photos on the festival website over the next few days, but I thought this one of me with GIAA President Carlo Fiorletta (aka my husband) and our Best Actor award winner Vincent Pastore would be a great way to start.

I went over the photos last night, and we have at least 20 of Vince. I don't think he smiled in a single one of them. But in person, he was a (slightly nervous) delightful and engaging presence, and clearly delighted to win the award. He did a terrific job in Alienated, a sci-fi comedy directed by GIAA President Emeritus Paul Borghese, and I'd love to see him do more comedy in the future.

Other festival highlights included the presentation of the Best Movie award to Tick Tock,

a tale of forbidden love starring Tracey Birdsall-Smith and Stuart Smith; I'll have photos of that soon as well.

Viewers took their job of picking the Audience Favorite awards very seriously (one at each screening), and the winners were:

Friday night: Vinny Vino, directed by Bill Sorice

Saturday afternoon: Soundlabs People, directed by Raffaele Passerini

Saturday night: Alienated, directed by Paul Borghese

Sunday afternoon: With Anchovies....Without Mamma, directed by Thomas Justino

Onward to year 5...

"Foreclosed" nominated for 2 awards at Terror Film Fest

I'm delighted that Foreclosed is nominated for two Claw Awards at the Terror Film Festival (http://www.terrorfilmfest.net/) in Philadelphia: Best Thriller Short and Best Supporting Actor (Christopher Alan Weaver, who played Jason).

I would love to have seen the other actors, as well as director Jeff Bellantine, get some nods, but I'm really psyched for this fest!

Carlo and I were there a few years ago with our first short Albert and Mandy - it takes place in the Ethical Society Building in Rittenhouse Square, which is a great building. And maybe we'll fit in a trip to a museum or 2 while we're in Philly!

Of course if we were to win one of those awards....nah....I'm not gonna think about that....

Love, Loss, and What I Wore: a good evening out

My husband and I got tickets for Love, Loss, and What I Wore on a whim: the discount was good (more on that below), and the 7 PM curtain on Tuesday night was attractive. I wasn't expecting all that much, but it was delightful; even my husband enjoyed this (very) female-centric show.

If you're not familiar with it, here's the basic set-up: Nora and Delia Ephron have put together an evening of monogues and sketches based on a book by Ilene Beckerman and with added input from their friends' stories. The cast rotates, and they perform on-book, seated on stage with the script in front of them. The stories touch on all aspects of women's lives, from childhood through college, work, marriage & divorce; I was pleased that they included a lesbian couple's story in addition to multiple heterosexual couples.

I had thought we'd be seeing Jamie-Lynn Sigler of Sopranos and Entourage fame, but instead had a cast that I didn't know but thoroughly enjoyed: Victoria Clark, Nancy Giles, Stacy London, and Ashley Austin Morris.

The comic portions were what I enjoyed the most at the time, but the sadder parts are what I find myself remembering. My one quibble is that it's listed at an hour and 20 minutes, which would be perfect, but in fact ran an hour and 45 minutes.

Maybe I'll see it again with my mother?

Show Information: It's at the Westside Theatre, 407 W. 43rd St. between 9th and 10th Avenues. Tickets are listed at $75, but http://www.theatermania.com/ has a 40% discount, as does http://www.playbill.com/.

Enjoying A Tomato...

I had the pleasure of seeing Gary Morgenstein's new play A Tomato Can't Grow in the Bronx last night at the Producers Club in Manhattan, and definitely recommend it, although it only runs through Sunday Sept 26.

Carlo Fiorletta's expert direction brings out the best in the actors and keeps the play moving briskly. Donna Castellano and Bruce Levy shine as a feuding married couple who probably should have divorced 20 years earlier. Jessica Renee Russell is delightfully flustered as newly-minted real estate agent Madeline, while Simcha Borenstein, Alyson Linefsky, and Troy Dane are excellent as the equally dysfunctional next generations of the family.

The play's best moments come toward its conclusion, as 25 years of anger and frustration are released - and not gently. But the story manages a hopeful note, and the audience can leave with a smile.

The story takes place in 1964, but its theme of a family yearning for a house with a yard resonates today, especially as we deal with the aftermath of the real estate bubble.

GIAA Fest starts next Friday, October 1

I'm spending a lot of my free time this week working on the final preparations for the 4th annual GIAA Festival of Short Films and Videos (www.giaafilmfest.com), which starts next Friday Oct 1 and runs through Sunday Oct 3.

We have a great line-up of movies, including some very dark movies - my favorite (and our Best Movie award winner) is Tick Tock, which is about forbidden love, and gets darker from there; it screens on Friday night. We're giving the Best Actor award to Vincent Pastore, for his terrific work in the sci-fi comedy Alienated, which screens on Saturday night.

Foreclosed will be up on Saturday night, and The Last Supper is part of our family-friendly day on Sunday afternoon.

The fest takes place in the lovely Maya Deren Theater at Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue at 2nd St. in Manhattan.

Photo from Columbia Gorge Int'l Film Festival

This photo of me with award presenter Micah Mayell is my favorite of the ones that were posted from the Columbia Gorge International Film Festival.

"A Tomato Can't Grow in the Bronx" at the Producers Club

Carlo Fiorletta is directing Gary Morgenstein's new play A Tomato Can't Grow in the Bronx at the Producers Club in Manhattan, September 22 through 26. The play is about a dysfunctional Jewish family in the Bronx in the 1960's, and stars Simcha Borenstein, Donna Castellano, Troy Dane, Bruce Levy, Alyson Linefsky, and Jessica Renee Russell.

Tickets are availalable at www.theatermania.com .

Vote for "The Last Supper" in an on-line movie contest!

My short movie The Last Supper is in an on-line movie competition; you can (please!) watch and vote for it here:

http://www.nextventertainment.com/web/mini-competition/

Please note that it's alphabetized under T - I would have put it under L but they didn't ask my opinion!

The Last Supper stars Donna Castellano (in photo at left) as Mary and Carlo Fiorletta (who also directed) as Joseph, and asks:

What might life be like if Mary and Joseph were raising Jesus in 21st century NJ?

Jesus is played by newcomer Tommy Divins; as my sister Amy said when she saw the movie: "Now THAT'S a saviour I can get behind."

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Great weekend at Columbia Gorge Int'l Film Festival

Top left: festival postcard; top right: me with festival director Breven Angaelica Warren; lower left: enjoying the Columbia River Gorge views

I had a great time at the Columbia Gorge International Film Festival last weekend - fest director Breven Angaelica Warren put on a great event. Foreclosed got an award as one of the best shorter (15 to 30 minute) movies, which was a terrific surprise among so many good movies.

And to top it all off, we also got a good review in the local Vancouver Voice. My favorite quote:

"[director Jeff] Bellantine and writer Mara Lesemann keep the surface of the film strictly realistic, which only adds to the suspense and the surprise." You can read the full review here:

http://www.vanvoice.com/article/21277-reviews+selected+films+showing+crgiff

I spent Sunday traveling around the area, including the spectacular Columbia River Gorge - it's definitely one of the most beautiful parts of the country.

I hope to be back at the festival again next year, and hopefully spend a bit more time sightseeing as well.

Photos from the Indie Gathering

Top left: Jay Pulk (writer/director, Copper Penny), Taryn Hough (writer/director/actor, Unit 30), and me

Top right: Taryn and me; she's holding her trophy for Best Short Movie

Lower left: Ray Szuch, director of the Indie Gathering (http://www.theindiegathering.com/) with Carlo Fiorletta, star of Foreclosed (http://www.foreclosedthemovie.us/)

The mysteries of fest acceptances

Maybe someday I'll figure out film festival acceptances, but I'm not holding my breath! You can go weeks, sometimes months with nothing except silence or an e-mail indicating yet another rejections...and then....

I got 2 acceptances this week, for 2 different shorts, and I'm delighted with both of them.

The Last Supper got its first acceptance: it's an official selection of the Silicon Valley Film Festival (http://www.svfilmfestival.org/). This is a first-year fest in Sunnyvale, CA, and they'll screen in what looks like a great location - the AMD Commons Theater (above left).

Then I found out that Foreclosed has been accepted to the Southern Appalachian International Film Festival (http://www.soapiff.com) in eastern Tennessee. I'm especially tickled by the fact that this is the first southern festival that we'll screen at - or for that matter, that any of my shorts will screen at. Their poster is above on the right.

I won't make it to the Silicon Valley fest because it's the same day as the Foreclosed screening at Columbia Gorge (I can't complain about that problem I guess), but I'm very much hoping to make it down to Tennessee for their festival. I'll be watching the mail for updates.

Indie Gathering, awards, and The Last Supper

Ray Szuch once again put on a terrific festival this past weekend; I'll have photos up soon!

Foreclosed took 3rd in Horror Comedy (and the first place winner in that category - Taryn Hough's excellent Unit 30 - was the Best Short Movie overall), and the screening went very well. Two and a Half Sisters placed 3rd in the full-length drama screenplay category.

In the meantime, I've posted The Last Supper on Vimeo:

http://vimeo.com/13822266

The logline is: What if Mary and Joseph were raising Jesus in 21st century New Jersey?

NY Post mention: Carlo Fiorletta directing Gary Morgenstein's new play

(Carlo pictured at left)

http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/starr_report_JcH6XbcyLoFKEcIev3tlYN

Nice mention in today's NY Post (Starr Report) of Gary Morgenstein's new play A Tomato Can't Grow in the Bronx which Carlo Fiorletta is directing. The play goes up Sept 22-26 at the Producer's Club in Manhattan.

A brief rant: my pet peeve about screenwriters

One of my (unpaid) jobs is Director of the GIAA Festival of Short Films and Videos (www.giaafilmfest.com). We have a screenplay competition, and I read all of the submitted screenplays before passing them on to other judges.

I'll preface this by saying that I have many many (many!) flaws as a screenwriter. But my pet peeve when reading scripts is writers who violate one of the cardinal rules:
If an actor can't act it, it shouldn't be in a screenplay.

Example:
Don't write: Jane thinks about her ex-boyfriend.
Do write: Jane looks at a photo of her ex-boyfriend.

I'm done now.

The Indie Gathering, Aug 6 to 8, 2010

I'm really looking forward to the Indie Gathering this weekend - Ray Szuch puts on a terrific festival.

We've got 2 shorts screening: Carlo wrote & directed "Calamity 666" - it screens Saturday in Room A in the 1:35 PM block of micro-movies. The best line:
"That's 'arlo. He's dead. But he died happy." Second place in the MicroMovie Comedy Drama category!!

"Foreclosed" is screening in room B at 2 PM on Sunday. The machete going into the guy's head always gets a great audience reaction. It took 3rd in the Horror Comedy category - Taryn Hough's terrific "Unit 30" took first.

And as an extra added bonus, my feature screenplay "Two and A Half Sisters" took 3rd in the Drama category (I'm currently in pre-production on this, with shooting scheduled for summer 2011).

I never thought I'd spend so many August weekends in the suburbs of Cleveland (Westlake, to be exact!) but this is always a fun place.

"Calamity 666" on Sunday Aug 1 at 7 PM

Carlo Fiorletta's short movie "Nipple Nazis" - which I produced & edited - screens on Sunday Aug 1 at 7 PM on Manhattan Neighborhood Network as part of Damien Black's Short Film Show. If you don't get MNN on your cable, you can watch online at:
www.mnn.org

Best line of the movie:
I love cats 'cause they have sooo many nipples.

The Little Shubert Theater in Manhattan

I recently saw the play Viagara Falls at the Little Shubert Theater on 42nd St, between 9th & 10th Avenues.

The play was so/so, but I'd love to see Broadway theaters with women's restroom facilities half as good as these! At least 10 stalls, no waiting.

The pitch of the theater itself was terrific also - great views from every seat.

It drives me NUTS when expensive B'way theaters have 3 or 4 stalls in the women's room, and a COUCH! And maybe an easy chair or two....When's the last time you saw a woman lounge in the women's "lounge"?

Enough ranting for the moment, and hats off (if I wore any) to the Little Shubert Theater.

Indie Gathering Film Fest up next...

With my time (great!) at AOF Fest wrapped up, it's time to look ahead to the next festival for Foreclosed: The Indie Gathering in Westlake (just outside of Cleveland), Ohio. Ray Szuch puts up a great fest, and I'm looking forward to great audiences.

I'll have our great new dvd's by then, and hopefully shirts as well.

www.theindiegathering.com

"Seduction of Eve" now available on line

Now available on-line for the first time (roll of the drum please!):
The Seduction of Eve, the short film that I wrote for director/producer Jeff Bellantine.

http://vimeo.com/13667238

Enjoy. Or not. Whatever.

AOF Fest 2010

I'm wrapping up a great time at the Action on Film Festival (AOF) in Pasadena, CA. My short Foreclosed (www.foreclosedthemovie.us ) had a great screening in front of a thriller called Bad Grace. The fest programmers definitely did their job in that combo.

The theater was about 3/4 full, the movie screen was about 30 feet talk (very big Carlo Fiorletta as the killer!) and the q&a afterwards was terrific. What made me even happier was when several women came up to me later and told me that the movie really resonated with them - such a great feeling.

I've seen a bunch of other good movies while I've been here - the quality gets better every year. Notable selections have been Pizza With Bullets (Talia Shire & Vincent Pastore), White Wall (had a great talk with the filmmakers at the Sunday brunch seminar), Ironsides (a fact-inspired drama about bullying and child abuse, which was better than it sounds when I write it that way), and the short Dragonfly.

All in all a good few days, which leaves me looking forward to the Indie Gathering in a few weeks.