Fun with Backyart's 3rd Annual Film Fest

This past weekend, Carlo Fiorletta and I participated in what has become a delightful annual event: we shot a movie for Backyart's 3rd Annual Film Fest (see http://www.backyartbrooklyn.wordpress.com/).

This fest is the essence of immediate gratification: at 5 PM on Friday, the organizers provide a theme that MUST be included in all movies. The movies must be written, shot, and submitted by 5 PM on Monday (minimum of 30 second, maximum of 5 minutes). This year's theme was: "So this is the myth you've been sleeping with?"

Carlo wrote, directed, and cast a delightful comedy called All About Audition, culled from his years both casting and being cast, and I served as the camera(wo)man and producer.

The cast featured the talented and experienced actors Haley Zale, Jay Rivera, Simcha Borenstein, Troy Dane, Alex Goll, and opera-singing Luigi Fabricini. And he rounded it out with acting newcomers playwright Gary Morgenstein and Gabe Baitz.

The movies (submitted by filmmakers in NYC and Dublin, Ireland) will screen at CultureFix (see http://www.culturefixny.com/) in Manhattan on Friday April 1 at 8 PM; they're at 9 Clinton St., just south of Houston Street. Check it out if you have a chance!

"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.

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.

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/.

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!

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 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.