Denise's Media Interviews

2011-03-27T17:18:00.001-05:00

2011-03-27T17:09:00.001-05:00

Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth

2009-06-22T08:59:00.002-05:00

Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth in Saint Augustine Florida is a wonderful place to spend the day to go back in time to experience the history of Ponce de Leon, the Timucua Indians, and the beginning of Saint Augustine, Florida.

When you first arrive, you will have a small guided tour including a drink of water from the fountain of youth. After that you will enter one of three exhibits. The first stop is the Planetarium where you will get a view of how Ponce de Leon navigated using the stars as a guide, next is an area with dioramas of the Timucua Indians and Ponce de Leon. This is where your tour guide will tell you the history of the fountain and how Ponce discovered it, along with other interesting tid bits. The third stop is the Globe, another interesting display which points out areas of discovery.

After the tour, you will be able to roam around in this peaceful 15 acre property where you’ll see various exhibits, including the statue of Ponce de Leon, the actual Fountain of Youth, beautiful Peacocks and live cannon blasts.

Of course it is a great place for a picnic. Enjoy!

Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth
11 Magnolia Avenue
St. Augustine, Florida 32084
1-800-356-8222
Tel (904) 829-3168
Fax (904) 826-1913
www.fountainofyouthflorida.com

Cruising the Black Raven Pirate Ship

2009-06-22T08:49:00.002-05:00

Avast Mateys!

If you are looking for something to do while in St. Augustine that’s fun for all both young and adult, be sure to check out the Black Raven, a pirate ship that leaves out of the City Marina in St. Augustine several times a day and cruises along Mantazas Bay.

I went aboard this replica of a Spanish Galeon and was greeted by Pirates who were very entertaining during the cruise. They told stories of past pirate attacks along with magic, mystery, sing a longs and mayhem. Everyone had a fantastic time.

I recommend it to anyone who visits to St. Augustine, Florida.

The Black Raven is also available for birthday parties, weddings as well as charters.

Also if you don’t have plans for the 4th of July, I highly recommend booking a cruise on the Black Raven for an evening of fireworks over the Mantazas Bay.

Please see the website for further information:

www.blackravenadventures.com

Phone: 904 826 0000
Toll free: 877 578 5050
E-mail: info@BlackRavenAdventures.com

Lifetime for Gabriel

2009-04-03T18:25:00.005-05:00

ARPKD (Autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease)
is a rare genetic disorder, occurring in approximately 1 in 20,000 individuals. It affects boys and girls equally and often causes significant mortality in the first month of life.

If the child survives the newborn period, the chances of survival are good. For these children, approximately one-third will need dialysis or transplantation by the age of 10.

ARPKD patients, small cysts form in the last section of the nephron called the collecting tubule. A cyst is a balloon-like widening of the tubule. In ARPKD, the abnormality always involves both kidneys. Due to the numerous nephrons with small balloon-like dilatations, the kidneys can become quite enlarged. In addition, the normal function of the collecting tubule is disrupted. In the normal kidney, the collecting tubule fine-tunes the amount of water and acid in the tubular fluid so that the body retains an appropriate amount of water and eliminates excess amounts of acid. In ARPKD patients, the cystic collecting ducts cannot retrieve water efficiently, causing much more urine production than in children with normal kidneys.

For ARPKD patients, the size of the kidneys and the degree to which their function is abnormal depends upon how many of the collecting ducts are cystic. For reasons that are not completely understood, the majority of ARPKD patients have a progressive loss of kidney function. However, the age at which kidney failure develops varies greatly among patients.

View a presentation on Chronic Kidney Disease and ARPKD (PDF) from the 2007 National Convention on PKD.

Are only the kidneys affected in ARPKD?
ARPKD affects both kidneys and the liver. Affected children may have significant kidney involvement at the time of birth, meaning very enlarged kidneys and decreased urine production. In utero, urine production is a critical factor in maintaining normal amniotic fluid levels. When amniotic fluid levels are very low, lung development can be impaired. In some newborns with low levels of amniotic fluid, impaired lung development can result in serious breathing difficulties that ultimately can cause death.

Children with ARPKD often produce very large volumes of urine and must urinate much more frequently than children with normal kidneys. Given the kidney abnormality, urine production in ARPKD children does not slow down at night or even when liquid intake is limited.

About one-third of children with ARPKD who live beyond the newborn period will require dialysis and kidney transplantation by 10 years of age. High blood pressure is very common in children with ARPKD, and current information indicates that untreated high blood pressure can lead to kidney failure more quickly than if the blood pressure is kept within the normal range with medications.

Children with ARPKD also have the liver abnormality called congenital hepatic fibrosis that may lead eventually to enlargement of the liver and spleen. In the liver, the abnormality can impede the return of blood from the intestine to the liver. This condition, called portal hypertension, can lead to distention (varices) and increased pressure in the veins around the esophagus, the stomach, and the intestine. These varices can rupture, leading sometimes to life-threatening gastro-intestinal bleeding. In addition, portal hypertension can cause splenic enlargement and hypersplenism, with resulting low red blood cell, white blood cell and platelet counts.

A fund has been established for Gabriel at: Woodbridge YMCA Friends of Gabriel Sibilia, 600 Main St., Woodbridge 07095.

The Woodbridge YMCA held a swimathon and bake sale on Feb. 13 for Gabriel, which did very well. The swimathon raised $1,900, the bake sale raised $1,600, and the Colonia Branch YMCA bake sale raised $1,100 for Gabriel.

For more information, contact Lifetime for Gabriel, sponsored by Sandy Mercer at About Faces Hair Salon in Edison, at (732) 549-0797; Rita Fisher at (732) 548-9349; or Sherrill Rudy at the Woodbridge YMCA at (732) 596-4180.

2009-03-10T15:35:00.000-05:00

NewsBlaze Daily News

Charlie Crowe - Former guitar player of Brooks and Dunn

2009-03-08T20:05:00.004-05:00

Hello Charlie, glad to talk with you, Let me start off by asking you where you are from.

I'm from Lexington, Kentucky. I attended school in neighboring towns, Lawrenceburg and Versailles. I then attended college at the University of Kentucky. My major was Telecommunications and my plan was to work in Television.

What was your main inspiration to become a musician and song writer?

Inspiration was typical. Seeing bands perform at the local fairs, on television, etc. My Mom liked rock, and my Dad liked country. I grew up with Creedence and Cash playing in the house. I remember dreaming about playing guitar with a huge band and having a song I wrote being played on the radio. Decades later, it happened. Dreams do come true!

Share with me some insight about your first band and how it leads to where you are today?

I was 19 years old when my first band played a gig. We were into southern rock, hard rock, and metal. Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, Van Halen, Nugent, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Pat Travers, Bad Company, Zeppelin, to name a few. We did okay being it was everybody’s first band. Two years later I landed a gig with a good regional band called “Tangent” which played the same material. We mostly played central Florida; I played with them for two years playing 4-5 sets a night from 9pm-2am. It was brutal but that's how you get good... Repetition!

Around the late 80s, I had beaten myself up in the bars for years and was burnt. I got a job at the local PBS station as a publicist and production assistant. I wasn't playing in a band but I could always go to this bar and jam with John Michael Montgomery. His brother Eddie (Montgomery/Gentry) was the drummer.

John got signed to Atlantic Records in the early 90s and I got hired as his guitarist / bandleader. John got hot really quick and suddenly we were on a big tour with Reba McEntire and Brooks & Dunn. B&D remembered me when they needed to replace a guitar player. I auditioned with a few other pickers and ultimately got the gig. I toured with them for 12 years and am forever grateful for the run. As a musician, their deal let me play every arena, amphitheater, festival out there. We were on all the major television and award shows, summer/winter Olympics and two Presidential inaugurations. They recorded two of my songs. Chris Cagle was out on tour with us and we wrote "Chicks Dig It" which was a big hit record. It was the best organization to work for as a sideman.

In 2004, my cousin/film director Cameron Crowe hired me to act and work on the soundtrack of "Elizabethtown," It was a great experience but stressful to blend in with B&D obligations.

By 2005, I'd been on a tour bus for 14 years straight (2 with JMM). I was married with children getting ready to enter grade school and it was getting increasingly hard to be a road-dog. It seemed like the time to make a change, and I wanted to focus more on songwriting and instrumental guitar music. Plus, as much as it broke my heart, I was burnt out with the B&D gig. My last gig with them was opening for the Rolling Stones in Omaha, Nebraska. I still have the set list from that night.

Where can my readers read more about you and your projects?

My information and music is pretty much available for free on the web. I'm currently polishing a guitar show that I hope to debut late fall or at least by early 2009. I still write and co-write on Music Row. I do a session now and then. I recently got the urge to get on a bus again and did a few dates with new MCA artist David Nail. I also write with Jimmy Stewart, Brooks and Dunn's long time fiddle/dobro player. He's a new Warner Brothers artist that has a CD coming out soon.

Realizing that you are busy writing and playing songs, what do you do in your spare time, if any?

Spare time? What's that? I have a family and career I'm trying to maintain.

Excellent Charlie, thank you for taking the time to talk with me, keep up the great work!

Charlie Crowe resides in Nashville, TN with his family and continues to write songs on Music Row.

For more information and to listen to some of Charlie's music, go to http://www.myspace.com/charliecrowe and
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1658777/#actor

Entertainer Michael Goudeau

2009-03-02T09:38:00.005-06:00

Today I had the opportunity to speak with Las Vegas comedian and juggler Michael Goudeau.
Hello Michael where are your originally from? I'm from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. That's French for "red stick." When I was a kid in elementary school we made dioramas of Indians and French trappers standing next to a red stick. In that part of Louisiana the name choices were red stick or mosquito swarm. It was a great place for a kid to grow up. I did a lot of Huck Finn sort of things, spent my time fishing and catching turtles. I was completely absorbed in catching as many "red eared sliders" as I could. At one point I had 108 of them in a baby bassinet.

What was your inspiration to become a comedian and a juggler? When I was a kid my father gave me a "How to Juggle" book. I already had a unicycle I had bought at a garage sale for $4. I was 15 years old at the time. I was working at a Renaissance Faire in California. At the faire I ran a carnival game booth that we had covered in burlap to make it seem "authentic." I saw a couple of guys do a comedy and juggling act, people were laughing and giving them money. This was
a lot more exciting than turtle hunting. I went home and dug out that juggling book and started practicing. I found a friend who wanted to do a show with me. He and I practiced 4 hours a day for 6 months. We went from zero to doing street shows in San Francisco as fast as we could.
We literally decided we would do a comedy juggling act before we could juggle at all. I was lucky to be near San Francisco which was during the big comedy club boom and I got to see great comedians doing shows including Bobcat Goldthwait and Paula Poundstone.
Watching them perform I learned that juggling wasn't nearly as cool as being funny. I've worked hard to do a funny show that involves juggling rather than just a juggling show. Since then I've done more shows there than any other juggler ever and I've somehow become the most successful juggler in Las Vegas history.

You are also a Writer/Producer; tell me about the projects that you are currently working on and also some of your past projects? I got my TV writing break on Penn and Teller's Sin City Spectacular. It was a weekly variety show on the FX network. Penn and Teller invited a few of their variety artist friends to come in and write for a week. At the end of my week I refused to go home. I was having a blast writing jokes and laughing. When my week was over I still came in every day. After a few days they quit trying to chase me off and offered me a full time job on the show. I worked as a writer and then did audience warm up during the taping of the shows. TV taping is always a pretty slow business but one night there were a lot of technical problems and so I had to try to be entertaining while they fixed the equipment. I was on stage for about 8 hours. I only had about 45 minutes of material. I did everything I could think of. At one point I got the audience to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." It was a long night.

Thanks to "Sin City Spectacular" a lot of things I never could have imagined became my life. I got the chance to write jokes for my childhood heroes, the Smother's Brothers. I met "Slash." I wrote a comedy bit for Lyle Lovett that turned out to be amazing. I met and worked with dozens of famous people who were talented, kind and were happy to work on a bit with a new writer.

Since then I've been a writer and executive producer for Penn and Teller's Showtime series "Penn & Teller: BS!" We just finished taping season 7. We're now the longest running show in Showtime history. It’s a great job too. I get to write about things that matter to me. It’s a show examining the BS of everyday life. We get to be funny and serious while telling the truth as we see it. There's an awful lot of BS out there. I hope the show runs forever.

Where are you presently performing? I'm currently at the Monte Carlo Resort in Las Vegas as a featured act in the "Lance Burton Master Magician" show. I've been in the show since 1991. I also do a couple of corporate events and trade shows a month to keep me nervous. Its fun to do shows in other situations with new scripts. It keeps me sharp and working hard. I'm hired to
write shows to match products or companies and tie them into juggling. If you've got a booth at a trade show and a product that doesn't generate a lot of excitement on its own, I can do a show about it. People laugh and they learn the name of the product and what it does. It works surprisingly well. I've gotten pretty adept at fitting juggling metaphors to a huge variety of products from computer software to big metal storage boxes.

Are you available for bookings? I am available for some shows. Jay Leno gave me some advice a long time ago. It was pretty simple. "If you do a show, you get a check. So do shows." I've tried to follow that. Anyone can get in touch with me at www.mikegoudeau.com. There are clips from my juggling show there and links to some of the dumb stuff I've done. I was the lead in a Barry Manilow video and that link is there. I think there's also a link to my chicken gumbo recipe.

What do you do in your spare time, if any? I've got two kids so my spare time is generally spoken for. We've got basketball, ice skating lessons, and birthday parties every week of the year. You do the math. Two young kids in school, they're each in a class with 19 other kids, that's 38 parties from just the kids in their classes. They've got other friends too. We get enough calories from cake and pizza every weekend that we don't buy groceries. On the up side, you should see how good we are at the games at Chuck E. Cheese. We have enough of their prize tickets to get a Toyota Sienna.

Thanks so much for the fantastic interview and keep up the great work, for more information:
www.mikegoudeau.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIIKDQ7OFnk

www.bbqzoo.com

Writer Martin Olson

2009-02-24T07:45:00.001-06:00

Today I had the opportunity to speak with Martin. Hello Martin, it’s so nice to hear from you, tell me about where you grew up? I grew up in a happy family in poor section of Boston. I come from a long line of Swedish house painters and accordionists. My grandfather went insane from inhaling paint fumes and my great uncle was arrested for exposing himself at Myron Floren concert.

What made you decide to go into comedy and writing? The first time I wanted to be a comedy writer I was nine years old. I was watching The Merv Griffin Show with my Mom when Merv introduced a comedian, Brother Theodore. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYMMJvSEwHw

The screen went black and a harsh spotlight hit a weird scary-looking guy in black. He began ranting about life being meaningless and how we should all kill ourselves. And each rant ended with a precise paradoxical punch line. Like a Steven Wright joke. It was the funniest thing I'd ever seen, and librated my mind. I knew then what comedy was, a license to mess with peoples minds and break their thought patterns, to inspire freedom of thought through satire, to show that what we consider normal is, objectively speaking, insane.

When did you begin writing comedy and when did you first realize that you were uniquely funny? I remember when I first realized I was not uniquely funny. My Mother just had open heart surgery when I told her I sold a comedy screenplay to DreamWorks. Soon after on her deathbed she said I have something to show you. She pulled out a shirt box with two old notebooks inside. On the covers in crude handwriting: "Joke Book 1 and Joke Book 2 by Martin Olson." I'd forgotten about them. I wrote them when I was eight and in her mind I was destined to be a comedy writer. I thumbed through the books and couldn't break the truth to her that they were execrable. Later in life I vowed to duck-tape them to my chest and hang myself from the Hollywood sign.

Share with me some insight on some of the shows that you previously worked on? Many, many weird shows, including puppet shows on my front lawn when I was seven, HBO concerts for a number of insane comedians, staff writer for the Screen Actors Guild Awards, a local late night monster movie show in Boston, 30 episodes of Penn & Teller's notorious FX variety series, an award winning series in London for Comedy Central, and playing piano in Florida for a Senior Citizen Center Talent Show.

Tell me about what you do for Disney and your involvement in writing the the animated series "PHINEAS AND FERB" and TWISTED WHISKERS? I worked as head writer on both first seasons. I also compose music for the Disney show with the series creators Dan Povenmire and Swampy Marsh.

The economic crunch which is a situation that is on everyone’s mind and I would like to know some of your views on the future of comedy during this economic crunch? As everyone knows, hard times are good for comedy. As for the future of comedy, comics either build on everything that came before them or react against it. So since self-reference and put-on humor and obscenity are accepted elements now for "edgy" comedy, I predict more of the same combined with a synthesis of unlikely styles of performance juxtaposed in new ways. Bobcat Goldthwait's two new films, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14MwzdSTgSI

World's Greatest Dad are two examples I think of synthesizing different styles of comedy and creating something new that on the surface looks normal. Sort of "put-on" films and comedy that work on several levels at once. I have no idea what I just said.

What is the best thing about being a comedy writer? Getting paid along with the opportunity to work with incredibly imaginative geniuses, including facing challenges on a daily basis.

Any future plans for a new project? I lucked out and sold the film rights to my first book Encyclopedia of Hell (now called Invasion Manual of Earth) to Warner Brothers and am now working with an editor to get it published. I owe the sale of the book to Andrew Lazar, the most creative film producer at Warners.

Thank you very much Martin for the illuminating interview. Keep up the great work and for more information please go to: www.martin-olson.com

Martin resides in Los Angeles and continues to write comedy.

Corina Marie

2008-11-08T19:09:00.000-06:00

Today I am talking with actress Corina Marie who is a talented actress who recently finished a role in the film 10th and Wolf.

Hi Cornia, let`s start off with you telling me about yourself?

I am a true California native "born and raised in the O.C.. I grew up in a family that loved movies, books and sports. Being the only girl amongst four boys, I developed a pretty thick skin, an independent spirit, the idea that you should never take no for an answer, and an imagination with limitless boundaries to constantly entertain. My passion for acting stemmed from my childhood experiences; so did my competitive nature in denying the existence of boundaries on what one is capable of accomplishing. All things are possible; you are allowed to dream that one big dream; and you can reach it if you are willing to sacrifice and put yourself out there in order to attain it. The most important part of who I am is my other half "my husband "the phenomenally talented actor, Troy Ryan Zuercher.

I`ve heard that you are not only an actress but a writer as well; share with me some insight on the book that you recently wrote?

Recently I wrote a children`s Christmas book titled, Growing Up Claus. It is a coming-of-age story about Kristofer Kringle Claus XV and what it was like for him growing up the third and youngest son of Santa Claus. It is a story that young and old alike will enjoy for years to come. The story revolves around Krissy`s friendship with his part-abominable snowman, part-shaggy dog pet named, Snowflake, as their many mishaps and adventures in the North Pole shape and mold Krissy into the Santa Claus he may one day become. Through their friendship, Krissy is able to withstand the hatred of the elves, the torments of his twin older brothers, and the constant family disappointment that he is unlike any member of the Claus family that came before him. He is allergic to evergreens, lactose intolerant, and a Momma`s boy. It is a humorous story that most people can relate to "growing up in a family you cannot relate to and in an environment where you don`t feel you belong. It is also a story that is headed for the big screen.

The recent success of the book has launched it into animated film territory. I wrote, produced and directed the animatic version of the book that is being pitched to creative producers in the animated film industry. The animatic itself is a moving storyboard that conveys a single chapter from the book and sets it in motion. It gives the producers a clear representation of the character designs, storyline and tone of the film. It will hopefully be in theaters by 2011 or 2012.

What made you become interested in pursuing an acting career?

I have always wanted to be an actress. And I would have to say that acting chose me before I chose it. I have to do it! Unfortunately, I didn`t have the confidence to do it until I was older; but now that I have it, there is nothing else I want to do. My passion for the industry was constantly fueled by having grown up in a family that loved to watch movies of all genres all the time. My destiny was sealed the moment I saw Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra at my grandmother`s house when I was a little girl. That kind of acting spoke to me; it spoke to my soul. I am a firm believer in signs, but when I didn`t have my Lana Turner moment of being discovered when I had hoped to be, I knew I had to take a different approach to my acting career. I had to put myself out there in more ways than one. The advantage of being an actor nowadays is the resources and technology available to create films and roles that best show you off. I used this to my advantage by acting in and producing the independent film, September 31st: By Reason of Insanity. I think that is how acting and producing naturally led in to the field of writing for me "there is so much you can do as an actor to tell the story you want to tell "you just have to do it.

Before I pursued an acting career fulltime, I studied psychology. I have to admit that it`s psychology that has given me my greatest advantage and skill as an actress when it comes to research, human observation and character development.

Tell me about your role in 10th and Wolf?

I had previously worked with the same producer of 10th & Wolf on another film called A Month of Sundays. It was Rod Steiger`s last film, and my first starring role opposite him. The producers offered me a part in 10th & Wolf playing the role of Doreen "the bar manager at a strip club. One of the best things about working on this film was that I had the privilege of working with the director, Bobby Moresco. He was just coming off his Academy-Award winning success of Crash and Million Dollar Baby. Val Kilmer, Brian Dennehy, Dennis Hopper and Giovanni Ribisi were in the film as well. Working in a film with these great talents was one of the best working experiences I have had. If you haven`t seen the film yet, it is currently available on DVD.

Do you have any plans for new projects?

In addition to the animated film adaptation of Growing Up Claus, I just finished filming an independent film and have another one coming out next year. I am also working on a sequel to Growing Up Claus and am currently pitching a fantasy trilogy to the studios. You can find out more information at: www.nevermorepublications.com.

One last question, what do you do in your spare time, if any?

I don`t have a lot of spare time, although I do try to spend time reading books and working out. Both activities keep me sane. I have been hooked lately on cross-fit routines and have also been following some exercises from the GymJones website. The site features the group that created the workouts for the actors in the film 300, so they are pretty tough but give fantastic results. I also love spending time with my husband, Troy. It doesn`t matter what we do, just being with him brings me peace a sense of normalcy.

I would like to thank Corina for taking the time to talk with me, and for more information, please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1003044/

An interview with Jonas of GhoSt Augustine LTD.

2008-10-28T20:09:00.003-05:00

Let’s go Ghost Hunting in Historic St. Augustine, Florida.

Hello Jonas,First off, tell me about the "Haunted Hearse Ghost Tour" and how it began? The premier tour was Friday, October 8th 2004. On the tour that very night was a man that had stayed at the St. Francis Inn and told us about how in Elizabeth`s suite he had been attacked by a ghost that was sitting on him in his bed. He could hardly breathe and he couldn`t make a sound or even move. It ended when his wife called out to him wondering what was up with him. This type of haunting is known as the "Riding Hag Syndrome". Also that same year we purchased and fixed up the 1974 Cadillac hearse.

What types of locations do you visit during the tour? The tour takes the tour goers inside a modified old gothic hearse to some off the beaten track haunted locations in St. Augustine. The roof is kept intact so it doesn`t matter if it rains. Bench seating has been put into the mid section which can hold up to 7 people and up to 2 in the front of the hearse. The rear section has pillows on the floor and at a discounted price we are able to take 2 adults or up to 4 kids in the very rear of the hearse.

Our full length tour is approx 90-100 minutes long and is $30 for regular seating and $18 for rear seating and for children 6-12 years old. However we do not take anyone under 4 years old. We have 7 pm, 9 pm and 11:30 pm departures.

The tour goers gets equipped with K-II EMF meters modified with a side switch and the tour group size maxes out at 10 people about which makes the tour one of the most personal tour experiences in St. Augustine and adds to the atmosphere. Nothing is done to scare people. The tour guide relates info about the paranormal and the hauntings in St. Augustine and what paranormal activity we have had on the tour.

We visit some houses in the residential downtown section, also a Haunted Bed & Breakfast, The National Cemetery, The "murder house" where the mayor`s wife got her head chopped off in 1974, a haunted restaurant and the St. Augustine Lighthouse. We do not go inside since time does not permit it and people live in some of the houses.

The St. Augustine Lighthouse is where we have had the most paranormal experiences even though we are outside on the grounds right next to the tower. The ghosts actually come out and say hello to us. After talking about them for 5 minutes or so people start getting readings on their meters and orbs in their pictures. We always get orb shots by and inside the hearses.

On the 1974 tour we had a problem with the horn honking by itself even though it did not work when one pushed it and it actually responded to us when we talked to the hearse! Believe it or not! We asked on a tour; if there is a ghost here, please honk the horn...The horn honked a second after! The windshield wipers have also started by themselves and right after the fan in the very rear of the hearse started by itself and the K-II EMF meter got a reading at the same time as well.

Objects had also disappeared in the hearse to just later on magically reappeared in the most obvious location where one would have found the object if one started to look for something. This happened to a mechanic who couldn`t find one of his tools. It happened to me with the keys to the hearse. When the item reappeared both times it was in the back of the hearse in the middle of the floor where the coffins used to go.

How many hearses do you have now? We have two, one is a 1974 Cadillac Fleetwood and the other is a 1990 Cadillac Brougham Fleetwood.

Tell me about the pubs you visit during the tour and the main guests which are The Spirits? This is a version of the Hearse Ride that we do that is a "PUB HEARSE RIDE". It is about 3 hours long. We do the same stops as the 90 minute Hearse Ride and ad stops and haunted pubs in St. Augustine that we spend 30-40 minutes inside telling the stories and letting the guests investigate and imbibe the spirits. The Pub Hearse Ride is $55 per person. People can bring a cooler with drinks and drink throughout the tour. One of the pub stops are outside of the downtown area on the way out to the lighthouse.

Are you running any specials this time of year for Halloween? Actually no. We are just doing the same spooky things we always do. We have added more departures for our walking downtown Haunted Pub Tour though. The HPT goes out at 8:30 pm every night and is 2.5 hours long at $17 per person. We visit a minimum 3 haunted establishments.

One last question, is there any specific type of encounter that you would like to mention? One night a 10 year old girl had non stop readings on her EMF meter at the lighthouse and nobody else got anything on theirs even though they held their K-II EMF meter right next to hers. Then when someone took her meter it just stopped. The 10 year old girl grabbed another meter and got the non stop readings all the way up to red. The interesting thing is that the main ghost at the lighthouse is a girl that looks (when seen) like she is about 10 years old.

Also on the balcony of the St. Francis Inn there is a door which opens and closes when a tour guest asked for it to do so.
We have also had guests running out of St. Francis Inn saying that the stories are true and sharing what happened to them in Lilly`s room that night.

Thank you very much Jonas and for more information please go to: www.ghostaugustine.com.

GhoSt Augustine Ltd. Co.
123 St. George Street, Ste 12
St. Augustine, FL 32084

Toll Free: 1-866-266-6641
Phone: 904-824-8840

Actor/ Stunts Lee Vervoort on Blood Moon

2008-09-21T11:56:00.002-05:00

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Actor/Stunt man Lee Vervoort and asked him about the new film Blood Moon, he was open to sharing with me and had this to say:

Blood Moon is an interesting film which consists of some unique characters. It shows a difficult situation for people in future times which could possibly become a reality. With Blood Moon the director and producer have actually stuck to a great situation for a movie plot while including the real life factors. It does a great job of coming full circle back to the original character.

When I asked Lee about Judyth Piazza, he had this to say:
As far Judyth Piazza goes, “She is fantastic” I would love for her to be on every set for her charm alone. Judyth to me is a very goal oriented, positively driven women who isn’t afraid to take on the world at a minutes notice.

Any further comments that you wish to add? I personally enjoyed my time on set as Unit Production Manager and playing the role of “Prisoner”. Everyone was a pleasure to work with.

Lee would like to add a big thank-you to everyone involved in the production of Blood Moon. The films premiers at the 2nd annual B-Movie Celebration this September 26-28 2008

For more information: http://www.myspace.com/allfouraces and http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2391312/

Fast & Furious in HD

Nobody Does it Better Than Dutty

2008-08-15T18:44:00.003-05:00

Hi Dutty, Can you tell me what really inspired you to want to pursue a career as a rap artist?

I always did want to be in the entertainment biz, but I never really took it serious until I got to college & K.D. & Pympwell from Groove Control Entertainment took me under their wing so to speak. It was then that I knew I could make a "living" doing this.

How many CDs have you produced?
I have produced as a "Music Producer" a bunch of tracks for a number of local, indie & major artists. I also made a few tracks that appear on my latest album "Up The Ante". I`m currently working with a few local artist in the Baton Rouge/New Orleans area so I will have a lot of production out there in a few months. I have released 4 Full Albums and 2 mix tapes as a "Artist" (Resistance Is Futile, Future of Da Funk, Unda Pressure, Up The Ante - Mixtapes: Dutty B-Sides & They Hate To Like Me Vol. 1)

Tell me about where the lyrics originated for songs like Unda Pressure, Future of the Funk?

The majority of my material is from "real life events", it`s because of this, most songs name themselves depending on the situation. It`s no different with album titles. For example...When "Unda Pressure" dropped, best believe that`s exactly what a brotha was under.

What do you think the fans enjoy most about you, Dutty?
My `"in-your-face" style. I like to tell it like it is.... My swag as well.

Realizing that you have gone through some tough times, what message would you like to share with people possibly going though tough times themselves?
Keep praying, keep your chin up, & keep hustling!

Is there any advice that you would you say to someone who wishes to pursue a career within the music industry?
I`d tell them to get their life and business together 1st...because if they`re good, they don`t want no bullsh*&t messing it up for them.

Is there a tour schedule planned?
No Tour Schedule at this point... We will be doing shows throughout Louisiana (Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and other cities throughout the state), also targeting events in Mississippi and Texas (Festivals, Car shows, etc)

One last question, who would you consider to be you favorite rap artist?
Biggie! Hands down! But ya gotta admit.....Wayne is killin` these bammas right now!

For more information on Dutty and his work go to:

www.youtube.com/duttydevioso, www.facebook.com, WWW.MYSPACE.COM/LILDVS, www.cdbaby.com/duttyd, www.groovecontrolonline.com, duttydevioso.com (Coming Soon)

His new album "Up the Ante" is available now

Dutty resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and continues to work on his craft.

"Talking With Heroes" Bob Calvert, Talks With Us

2008-08-15T18:36:00.001-05:00

Hello, this is Denise Kaminsky reporting for Newsblaze. Today, I am speaking with Bob Calvert who is the host of the "Talking with Heroes" Talk Show Program.

Bob, please share with me some insight on your talk show?
Hello Denise. First thank you for talking with me and giving us an opportunity to share about what we have been doing with the "Talking With Heroes" Talk Show Program.

Our "Talking with Heroes" program has never been about politics. The program is about helping, honoring, supporting our men and women in the military and their families. We give our military personnel an opportunity to share their mostly untold stories about the work they are doing worldwide. We believe that the American people have a right to hear these positive stories of progress and our military personnel have a right to have their stories heard.

We have interviewed many military support and veterans groups so that they can share with our listeners about what they do to support our troops, their families, the wounded and more. We have interviewed Gold Star Moms and Dads, Military Wives and Moms and Dads, Wounded, Veterans, and corporations about what they do to support our troops and more.

Since Dec 2005, we have been interviewing military personnel who talk about their stories of progress in Iraq and Afghanistan. We also have talked with National Guard soldiers who talked about what they did after Katrina, to Marines who helped in Pakistan after the earthquake and to military personnel who serve around the world.

We have been to Iraq three times now in the past 16 months. From our most recent third trip to Iraq, Americans can now listen to men and women from our Army, Marines, Navy, National Guard, Air Force, Army Corp of Engineers and Iraqis on progress in Iraq. You can see who we interviewed and listen to some of these programs at: http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/19487. Go To Episodes 1-19.

We also now have video clips people can watch 24/7 at www.myfbn.com on Channel 4. And all the video clips on myfbn.com are now of events we have been doing around the country where we interview people like Allison Barber with America Supports You, leaders of Military and Veterans Groups from around the country, Gold Star Families and more.

What was your main inspiration to produce the show?
My inspiration for this program actually started over 5 years ago as a result of my then 18 year-old daughter surprising me by enlisting in the Army. Her boyfriend (later her husband) had already enlisted in the Army. I had no prior experience with the military and was not sure how to support her in this new part of her life. I began searching on the Internet and found many military support groups.

My daughter came very close to being deployed in 2004 and then shortly after was medically discharged. She was in the Army at Ft Riley for about 2 and a half years. She was not happy about being discharged. She wanted to go with her unit. I could not be more proud of her.

In Jan 2005, my son-n-law was deployed to Iraq from Ft Riley on his first deployment. He came back to my daughter and his family and their first child. He was then transferred to Ft Carson where we are all at now. They have a second child and he is now deployed again with Ft Carson's 1-8 serving currently in Mosul, Iraq.

My inspiration to continue with this project regardless of the daily financial challenges is because of all the men and women I have met over the past four years serving around the world. Also, the great Americans I meet who have military support groups. The wounded and their families and the Gold Star Families, all of this combined keeps me moving forward with this project.

What area of the military were you with? And what was your position?
I was never in the military. I tell people that I am the most unlikely person to be hosting a talk show program like this and to be devoting my life at this time towards supporting our troops and their families. My dad was a WWII Navy Veteran but I have never been in the military. If my daughter had not surprised me by enlisting I would most likely be back in Kansas City making money, with a car and more.

Where can the video taped interviews and footage be purchased?
Our website is www.talkingwithheroes.com People can purchase through our site, DVD's of everything we did on our last trip to Iraq. We take people right into Baghdad, the Anbar Province and more. We interviewed Iraqis in Baghdad and other locations. We filmed inside hospitals, a school, building under construction, new Water Treatment Plants and we went on many convoys with our troops.

Do you have any words of wisdom for those who have families and loved ones in Iraq?
My first words of wisdom are "Prayer". Most of the troops we spend time with talk about the strength it gives them to know that people back home are Praying for them. As a family member myself of a deployed soldier I also ask others to pray for Keith. I have him on Prayer Lists. We also have a Prayer Board on our site as well.

Sending Care Packages and Letters is very important to our troops. Sending them yourselves as family members and also going to organizations that send out care packages and letters. Our men and women love getting these packages and letters. It is a clear indication to them that people back home care and support them.

I send a letter pretty much every other day to my son- n- law. My daughter sends packages with items that Keith asks her on a regular basis. I have some of the organizations who I have interviewed on my program who send Keith and his soldier's packages on a regular basis. A school on the East Coast we had never heard of sends him and his troop's letters as well.

We need to let our men and women know we are with them no matter what politics are going on. We also need to welcome them when they come home and be there to show them our support when they deploy. Communities should have welcome home events every time a member of the military comes home. They are doing a great job and should be thanked for that.

I would like to thank Bob very much for taking the time to share his thoughts with us.

For more information please go to:
www.talkingwithheroes.com www.myspace.com/youngheroes
www.youtube.com/bobc9246

Bob resides in Colorado Springs, Colorado and can be contacted at bobc9246@yahoo.com.

Actor/Director Troy Ryan Zuercher

2008-08-15T18:14:00.003-05:00

What is the main reason you chose directing for a career?
Opportunity. As an actor I knew I had to create my own opportunity."Predictable and safe Hollywood conventionalism wouldn't allow me to audition for certain roles".
I live for artistic challenge. That’s what drew me in to acting. So I decided to write something in which I could play two contrasting characters. That’s where the idea came from. You could say the idea to write this piece was born out of necessity, and since I knew exactly what I wanted it only made sense for me to direct it as well.

Tell us about your newest project, Sept. 31st? And what is the film based on? September 31st is a 30 minute short film developed from a concept I had when I was nine or ten years old, possibly younger. My imagination has always been very active, vivid and full of color. My entire family is like that. My father would always say “life is just a dream.”

When you think along those terms the boundary between conscious and subconscious is blurry, or in the case of the characters in September 31st, non existent. Reality is just one individual’s perception. I took the above concept and added a dose of chaos, greed and revenge and made it contagious.

What were your shooting locations? We had a limited budget, so we did the exteriors without permits. Because of that we had to move around a lot. It was primarily shot in and around South Pasadena and Santa Fe Springs Ca. The majority of the interiors were shot at The South Pasadena Convalescent home. We shot the break room scenes at the very generous “Holy Family Catholic Church.”

I had been artistically deprived for some time. I needed to do it. It’s that simple. My wife and I had saved up money to go to Kenya, but we decided to do the film first.

What do you enjoy during your spare time, if any? I’m most at peace when I combine a lifestyle that includes some kind of combative sport (martial arts) with something at the other end of the spectrum i.e. fishing, painting, gardening… The challenge is finding others who share an equal appreciation for both. The combination of those activities brings me complete harmony.

Tell us about some of your other projects, including future projects? My wife, the beautiful and talented actress, Corina Marie wrote a children’s book called Growing Up Claus.
We are finishing the animated teaser for it. We’re going to turn it into an animated feature film. We are currently in the final stages of recording all the voices for the characters. I recently completed work on the short film Eldad, directed by Piran Zarifian, in which I learned some Russian to portray a member of a Russian loan shark operation. I also have several other films and a web series in development for the fall.

Who is your favorite director and what is one of your favorite films? I can’t pick just one; any visionary who’s unique, imaginative, uncompromising and relentless. Having the ability to blend the above qualities with allowing a certain “freedom to express” from the actor.

Some have compared the shooting style of September 31st to a David Lynch film. That’s a huge compliment, because he certainly fits the above criteria

I have many favorite films. I will say right now Lonely are the Brave is up there with Cool Hand Luke, All About Eve, The Indian Runner and I would love to do a remake of One Eyed Jacks.

When will September 31st be released and will it be screened at any film festivals? September 31st is now available on DVD at www.September31st.com for the ridiculous bargain price of $9000.00 or $9.95 whichever you choose.

What do you look for in an actor/actress? I come from the theater. If an actor reads the part better than anyone else they get the job period. I look at resumes more than headshots. It’s easier to alter a look, than alter someone’s ability. I want somebody who takes risks while serving the story. I hate laziness. Actors that don’t do research, or don’t read the complete script are of no value to me. I can read that a mile away. When we shot Sept 31st my wife and I went 26 hours straight. When we broke for lunch everyone else took a nap while we looked at dailies, and started editing. When we finished shooting at 3 in the morning, one of our actors Brad Milne left from our set to what I believe was a call time of 6 am on another set. I realize that’s extreme, but guys like that are priceless. I also believe that is some of Brad’s best work. When I do the full length feature I won’t even consider anyone else. He earned that part forever.

To visit the web site: go to:
www.september31st.com

Troy Ryan Zuercher and his wife actress/author Corina Marie currently reside in Pasadena, Ca.

Review of Mamma Mia

2008-07-22T20:11:00.004-05:00

Mamma Mia....Excellent!!! A fun film, just a good time. I don't think that I have ever been to a film that had the entire audience singing along.

Mamma Mia a film which features songs from the popular 1970's group "ABBA" starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan is the story of a girl about to be wed and not quite sure which one of three men are her real father. She then invites all three to attend the wedding. This being done without her Mother aware......the story moves on from there with lots of excitment, singing, dancing and just an all around good time though out the entire film.

Shot in Skolpelos a beautiful island in Greece; (www.gogreece.about.com) Mamma Mia is an enjoyable film that will find you singing along. Maybe even dancing in the aisles.

http://www.fandango.com/videos_1_154568/v385390

http://www.fandango.com/videos_1_154568/v385390

CARSON GRANT, FORGING BETWEEN COMEDY AND DRAMA, TAKES HIS CHARACTERS SERIOUSLY.

2008-07-17T19:22:00.002-05:00

Speaking with Carson Grant about comedy and comic characters, he said, "A good comedic actor is worth his weight in gold bubbles.
A good comedic actor is worth his weight in gold bubbles. I am often asked by younger actors I meet at auditions, should they consider taking on a comedic role and how this decision would affect their ‘serious actor’ status. At this innocent statement, I generally smile warmly, and try to explain the seriousness of good comic acting, timing mixed with honest dedication to the character’s needs, can help develop their skills. Comedy is truth. Over many years, I have enjoyed portraying comical film characters whose dry humor and wit color their essence. As I read a script, the writer uses many inferences to helps one understand the character within the context of the storyline. While in the rehearsal process, as I incorporate the script to memory, my character begins to surface with all his individual traits. During this phase of identification, I find the most interesting role metamorphosis. Similar to the moment between night and dawn, a magical transition begins to form. Not by itself, of course, but by the honesty one uses to explore in depth the character’s emotion which drives his actions. Improvisation during rehearsal I find always helps to uncover hidden meanings and desires of the role, and begins to help form the bond between other characters. Once this freedom to venture within and around the script is experienced, generally a fresher, more creative energy is generated during a scene, where ‘believable moments’ emerge. If one follows this path of adventure, the film is able to capture character life evolving in the moment. Some recent films which I had the opportunity to exercise this theory were “Bankrupt” directed by Kris Brown portraying the ‘Clown Boss’ leader of a stickup gang, which can be seen on Youtube ( http://youtube.com/watch?v=0FLV257yXk4 ). Within his commitment to robbing the local grocery store, the ‘Clown Boss’ fields other’s jokes with directness. “Breathing Room” directed by Giles Andrew, ‘Mr. Peterson’ the crazy neighbor who every time the young couples baby cried next door, is haunted by the lost his wife and child in a car accident many years prior. “Sweet” directed by Randi Haven asked me to beg and cry while the mysterious perpetrator points a shotgun into my throat, revealed at the end to be my 5 year old daughter who forced me to confuse the hiding place of her candy. In “Smiley and the Sex Bunny” directed by Rosko Duvet, ‘Smiley’ a wimpy deli manager who is instructed by his boss to dress up in a pink bunny outfit and hand out condoms at the party, seeks an angry revenge by robbing the deli at gun point. “Piñata” directed by Michael Solsky where the father wants to teach his son a lesson, after the family dog is fatally wounded by my son. “LogJam” codirected by Steve Monosson and Joseph C. Stillman were ‘Art Angst’ plays the ‘dry straight man comic’ to a village of humorous folks. Among many others, these examples serve to demonstrate the commitment one makes to finding the character’s being. While there are many criticisms on reality television, I feel its popularity is based on the unexpected. This nuance of the unexpected while creating the character’s essence in time and space is vital in birthing the role from page to film set. For further information, please visit www.carsongrant.com Published with permission from FilmPens.com

http://youtube.com/watch?v=0FLV257yXk4
Carson Grant portrays the 'Clown Boss' in this short film comedy "Bankrupt" directed by Kris Brown with Kevin Austin, Merrill Grant, Matthew Schmidt, Abraham Sparrow and Matthew R. Staley. Full version on Youtube (Bankrupt).

2008-06-25T19:05:00.003-05:00

I am looking forward to reading this novel about Brooks and Dunn. I am grateful that I had the chance to work as a stage hand on some of their shows when I lived in Las Vegas, NV.

Along with getting to know their band and crew members, Ronnie and Kix are the most down to earth, true blue guys who really rock the house.

Just all around genuine good people.

Slim and Howdy

2008-06-25T12:34:00.001-05:00

Scott Goldberg talks about his craft

2008-06-11T13:38:00.002-05:00

Hello Scott, tell me about yourself? I'm a filmmaker who wants to see a change in both mainstream and independent media. This means filmmaking, news, media, art and music.

What inspired you to become involved within entertainment industry? The thing that inspired me to become involved had to be the aspect of being creative and making a film the way you want to make it. A big problem with the mainstream entertainment industry is the lack of freedom to make the art/media you want. There always seems to be restrictions within the "system". Many companies in the industry are more independent than others so there is more freedom but all in all, within Hollywood there is not as much as freedom as there is on an independent production where you are calling all the shots. The problem for many independent films is money and funding. Some filmmakers find producers and people who are willing to put money into their projects. Others have to work for their money, and most never see a cent back from their independent short films. I know I haven't. But the thing that keeps people going, as well as myself is the passion for creating a story that can either scare people, make them think, cry, laugh.

Tell me about your recent film and or projects? I'm working on a feature length documentary entitled "Dying for Change" which is about people who are making a change for the better, whether it is through media, filmmaking, art, music, or politics. I'm also working on a film called "Loss of Hope" with Friday the 13th veteran actor Paul Kratka, as well as a few other projects that are in the works.

Was there ever a time where you found a project extremely challenging?
Any independently produced film is challenging. There are maybe a few instances where they are not, but lack of funds is a pain because to make a film you need to spend money on either renting equipment, buying new equipment that will help your production look bigger and better.

Share with me your other areas of expertise besides acting? I've done some 2nd Assistant Camera for Super16mm film, some Assistant Directing for other filmmaker’s projects as well as writing, cinematography, producing, etc. My main love is directing and creating worlds for people. As long as someone is interested in what they are working on and love something with a passion and can make a pretty damn good film, then they will more than likely achieve their goals.

Where can my readers learn more about you? They can check out my work at www.ScottGoldbergFilms.com which right now is under construction to add some more features and updates, as well as www.myspace.com/ScottGoldberg.

What do you do in your spare time, if any? What are some of your plans for future projects? I like to make music and sing. It's an outlet for me to go out once in a while and do some karaoke (not the drunk kind). A lot of people think about karaoke and they think its old people singing crappy MIDI music in a seedy bar. There are actually some fun and happening places that have karaoke. You just have to know where to look for them. It's a good release of energy.
As for future projects, I am very excited about a short film that I want to make into a feature called "The Project."

Would you have any advice for writers/directors just starting out? It may take years and thousands of dollars being spent before you find something unique about yourself and your work. This is a long road ahead and most people do not make it happen for them because of the long time it takes. If you're doing this for the love and the passion and you have the goods, then at some point you're bound to get funding for your films. If you're just looking to get famous, this is the wrong business for that. It's about showing an investor and the public that your film can be unique and different than everyone else's. Find out what is unique about you and your work and get it out to people.

Which horror films would you consider to be your favorite and which horror character? My favorite horror film has to be George Romero's “Day of the Dead.” I can geek out to that film for hours. The music in it is something special to me. It just clicks within my soul. I don't know what it is about Day of the Dead, and the score and the feeling of the movie, but it's something that very few films can achieve. Romero's best Dead film. Also, I love Phantasm, Halloween, Carrie, Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Friday the 13th.

Thanks Scott for the wonderful interview. Scott resides
in Glen Cove, New York and continues with his craft.

The New York City Horror Film Festival Presents:

2008-06-09T16:06:00.003-05:00

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW
On Friday the 13th!
Tribeca Cinemas / 54 Varick @ Canal
Fri., June 13th 11:00 PM

Live show with The Home of Happiness Players /
$10 at the door

Bar will be open at 9pm, so come get your drink on early.

Don’t dream it…………………………………………..Be it!!!

Mike Lane's News

2008-06-08T10:03:00.001-05:00

and now from Actor Mike Lane;

METALHEADS: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE EVIL (principal role of Cop) will
be premiering at the Loop Lounge in Passaic, New Jersey on Thursday June
12, from 9pm-11pm. Go to www.looplounge.com for directions.

View the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnliNbaWqhE

Check out http://youtube.com/watch?v=kba088EsK0A and
http://youtube.com/watch?v=p4-HwftJeV0&feature=related for clips.

Finally go to www.billzebub.com for more info regarding the movie.

I can't make this premiere but if it's anything like the others,
you'll have a great time. Tell Bill I sent ya!

Actor Brad Milne

2008-05-12T13:35:00.002-05:00

Brad Milne was kind enough to answer some questions on his acting craft along with his other talents. Welcome Brad tell me where are you originally from?

Originally I’m from Toronto As a toddler I lived in North Miami Beach, Florida for a couple years where I acquired my life long yearning for the ocean. I also lived at Whistler Mountain, spent some time traveling around the Province of Quebec, and several years in San Antonio, Texas where I still frequent--the best part of my life lives there – my daughter!

Share with me some insight on your inspiration to become involved with acting and the entertainment industry?

As a youth in elementary school; I remember playing the part of a blind boy after our class went on a field trip to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. After the trip I was interviewed by my classmates, which was a thrill for me! During the years that followed I performed in a few school plays but that’s not what really led to the acting career though. A bit later on I became involved in a sport called "Freestyle Skiing" and four years later I was a national champion in my discipline, which at the time was called "Ballet Skiing." A few years after that I started a skiing troupe with some buddies that traveled across Canada demonstrating the sport. I’ve always been interested in communicating with people and became a pretty efficient sales person and self-promoter. I think that the combination of these things lead me to acting.

Michael Shurtleff the author of Audition and the woman whom introduced him to me, prolific acting coach Bernadette Jones were two very important inspirations that got me going as an actor.

Tell me about your recent film “Zombie Strippers” and your role as Dr Chushfeld?

"Zombie Strippers" is the second film working with writer/director/ cinematographer Jay Lee, his first was "The Slaughter." Calvin Green also a producer on both Jay Lee horror films introduced me to Jay’s company, Scream HQ.

Jay enjoys writing parts for actors, utilizing their unique skills from film to film. In the case of Zombie Strippers, I have a fascinating story: Shortly after moving back to Los Angeles in March 2005 I had an audition for a Coca-Cola industrial, a film that would play only in the main theatre of their headquarters. The character they envisioned was modern “Doc” a la Back to the Future. I’m always up for a challenge when it comes to “character creation”, so I profiled a forward thinking modern scientist and modeled my character after him. I submersed myself into the man’s life, reading his books, studying him, speaking his words and making them my own.
Dr. Chushfeld

At my audition I felt great, it rocked, but I didn’t get the part. But I created this wonderful character, and being a die-hard artist I continued working the character and understanding “why he is doing what he is doing”. About a year later after having done the first film for Jay Lee, his sister Angela and I were talking, she said that Jay had written me into Zombie Strippers, I thought “how cool!” She went on to say that I’d been written in as Dr. Chushfeld, the scientist and maniacal mastermind whom creates the chaos in Zombie Strippers.
I didn’t tell her right then what I’d been working at for over a year. I wanted to read the script first and see how this Chushfeld guy was written and understand the overall story. I did tell them eventually that I’d been working on a complex scientist character for some time. How’s that for fate? I applied my character development added some of the seasoning’s that came from Jay’s creation gave Dr. Chushfeld some deep personal dilemmas, and “voila” he was born.

Regarding Izzy Legit; I understand that you not only had a acting role in, but also took part in writing , producing and coaching the production, tell me something about that?

Izzy Legit as a project has been a fascinating journey. In December of 2006 I was fortunate to get a communications contract with a software company to produce TV commercials for them.
Izzy Legit

I sought a partner to work with on the project and forged ties with cinematographer, director, writer Andrew Giannetta. Drew is an equal and co-founding partner in Branded Raw Films, the company behind Izzy Legit. The commercial campaign we worked on centered on a very funny cheap character. Drew and I coined him “the cheap bastard” and began building a secondary webisode and feature film project based on the character. We even wrote a complete treatment for a feature length screenplay. After some months of development we realized potential marketing limitations with the name and after analyzing whom this cheap bastard was he became Izzy Legit. Like the name of our company Branded Raw, we branded the character, his story lines, and his web presence. Branded Raw is an anagram of “Brad Andrew” – which is where the name came from. Drew and I have worked fiercely over the past year developing the Izzy Legit project and its central character Isadore Mendelove. Izzy Legit breaks into three story lines “Cheap for Life”, “Putz to Player” and into a 2nd comedy brand “The Extermutator."

It seemed natural for us to have me play the original and the evolved character, Izzy Legit. The character is a complete combination of our skills as creators, writers, and producers. Izzy is most definitely a collaborative effort resulting in a funny and complex character, and his stories. When Drew and I work as a team on set he directs and I act. Having a natural affinity for working with actors and creating characters its natural for me to coach and gently guide where there going with their character. When Drew and the directing take over the whole thing sings.

I’ve heard that you are also an acting coach and have acting boot camps, can you tell me a little about them and how people can attend?

I’ve always been the mentoring type and enjoy helping people. As a skier I loved teaching other skiers which eventually lead to organizing and coaching at my own camps. As a sales and marketing guy the same passion continued so it was easy to transition to training sales people and helping others with negotiating skills. Naturally when I went into acting it eventually came to be that teaching became a part of this career. When I started acting 17 years ago I dove into studying with a vengeance for five solid years, and I’ve not stopped working on the craft on pretty much a daily basis ever since. Years later when I moved to Texas to help raise my daughter a local talent agent asked me “Brad what do you want to do here in San Antonio?” To her surprise I said I’d like to teach. About a month later her agency created a school that kept me busy for a year, from there I coached privately, did workshops, helped actors whenever I could. When I moved back to L.A. another local agent in San Antonio had the idea to bring me back into town to teach intensive camps. That started four years ago and has been successful and has grown ever since. Last year in L.A. we had students from Canada, U.S. and Germany. I haven’t planned another summer camp this year but am definitely open to it.

Was there a time that you found a role extremely challenging?

The single most challenging role without doubt was Bob Smith “Yank” from Eugene O'Neill’s "The Hairy Ape." This was an intense character that required me to not only dig deep to explore the corners of his mind and soul, but also his period in time, and his challenges—they were few but they were huge. The challenge didn’t end there, the language of the time, and Yanks own individuality made this by far the biggest challenge so far. The Artistic Director at The San Pedro Playhouse; Frank Latson cast me because he felt I brought an intensity the role required. One reviewer wrote, after seeing the opening night:

"Brad Milne might strike some as a surprising choice to play the lead in “The Hairy Ape.” He’s tall, but not physically imposing, and he’s not terribly furry. But he brings such a raw, ferocious quality to the role form the opening seconds of the Cellar Theater production that he immediately squashes any doubts."
Deborah Martin, Express-News Staff Writer.

Frank went with my life force in the role and we decided no intermission, and with Yank driving seven of the eight long scenes in the play each performance was a marathon in itself. Yank drove through the story like a man running the last race of his life but with the same vigor of a champion athlete headed for the finish line, in Yanks case the final one as he crashed into a delusional state leading to his demise. During the production my daughter was treated for a heart condition and underwent heart surgery to correct the condition. The days leading up to her surgery, and that day in particular were without doubt the scariest moments of my life, nothing can compare. Thankfully her blessed surgery was a success! When I left the hospital to do the performance that night the weight of the world had surely been lifted. That night the performance was a celebration of her life, as very many have been since then I am very happy to say!

Share with me your other areas of expertise for instance television commercials, theatre and film projects?

At the beginning of my career I was very fortunate to get hired for a lot of commercials. Often times I’d get to do special skills type Ad’s as an athlete doing acrobatics or skiing.

Those jobs opened doors for many other opportunities and were a great experience for understanding how things work on set. In the first years of my career theatre wasn’t a focus; in fact it wasn’t until I moved to Texas in mid 1999 that theatre came onto my radar screen. About a year and a half after being in Texas I stumbled into playing Santa Anna in locally grown musical "Gone to Texas." From there it was like the train had left the station and I was on for the ride; one role after another for the next three and a half years, in all I think there were about twenty shows in a row, sixteen of them leading roles. Being on stage taught me many things about acting and working in an ensemble. I think it’s required for actors to pay their dues on stage because that’s where you really learn, there’s no second take, and you either get it or very quickly figure out how to get out of trouble. It’s wonderful to feed from an audience, that part of it I always enjoy whether it’s a small intimate setting or a 500+ seat theatre. So far in the film career I’ve mainly worked on low budget film projects and with that I really have had a chance to learn so much about how to get things done without spending a great deal of money. In the lower budget film experience an actor really has to look after themselves in every respect, sometimes you manage your own continuity from shot to shot, and day to day. Lower budget film projects can turn into very interesting and recognizable films like Zombie Strippers. And, they’re a great place for actors to cut their teeth and develop a body of character work. From all those experiences, and now moving into the producing arena I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to learn from others, perhaps see and learn from their mistakes.

What do you like to do in your spare time, if any?

Spare time....What!? My number one priority is sharing the best quality time possible with my amazing daughter. I like hanging out with good friends, looking after myself—getting exercise and good nutrition. Sometimes when the office/home is empty I crank up the tunes and sing and dance like no one’s watching, because no one is.

Are there any new projects in the works?

Right now the focus is getting the Izzy Legit projects produced and into distribution. For more information go to www.izzylegit.com I’m always on the look out for an interesting acting role, so anyone reading this that has something interesting please go to http://www.bradmilne.com I’m blessed even though I’ve struggled to get to this point in the acting career. The blessing is knowing that every time I step into the creative realm whether it’s planning, creating, writing, on stage, or film set that I have absolutely achieved my life’s artistic pursuit. I love to entertain people and hope to continue doing it for a long time to come.

Do you have any words of wisdom or advice for people beginning in the acting craft?

My best advice to anyone starting out in the acting career is to you ask yourself one question. “Why am I doing what I am doing?” So, I ask you “Why do you want to be an actor?” or “Why do you want to continue to be an actor?” Go ahead, make my day and answer me directly, I’d be more than happy to correspond with you.

Brad resides in Marina del Rey, CA not too far from the ocean and continues with his acting craft and coaching.
Email Brad at:

brad@bradmilne.com

Interviewing actor Van Alpert

2007-11-23T21:32:00.001-06:00

.

Hi Van, tell me about yourself?
I was born in New York City in the summer of 1986. My mom was a model from Holland and my pops was a shoemaker from California. I come from a family of artists making me a very creative person.

What inspired you to become an actor?Growing up I loved to tell stories with voice impressions when entertaining my classmates or at the dinner table. My friends and I used to practice voices a lot in school too, in the lunchroom and classrooms. I decided to join my school's Drama program, turned out to be my favorite class. I enjoyed studying historical plays and making short film projects. My senior year I performed a monologue at a Central Florida Theater event and received partial scholarship to the New York Film Academy. I turned 18, and moved to New York to study theater. I am currently enrolled at the Lee Strasberg School for Film and Theater.

Do you have plans for any new project? I star in a short-film titled "What A Putts" a story about a Pro-Golfer who takes life for granted and gets cancer, directed by Andres Del Gado. Also this summer, I directed a short-documentary titled "Stanton Street" based on the homeless shelter "The Bowery Mission", and stories from all kinds of people who lived there in the 1960's-2007. I wrote a short-comedy with Sebastian Price titled "Addicts Anonymous" which I will also star in, shooting early December.

Tell me about your role in God Bless America? I play Sgt. Stanley Jefferson which was an interesting role to play. This was a Marine with such strong values for his friends, on a mission. Extremely determined, Stanley couldn't cope with the fact that he wasn't able to accomplish his mission in New York City. The taunting flashbacks and intensity of the Bronx in New York City leaded him to desperate measures. I had a lot of fun on that project with my hometown friend,and creative partner Rodrigo Diaz McVeigh. It was great experience for us, we started a great team, and everyone felt it was the right time and place to make a film on the subject of war.

What are your plans for the future? plan to move to Los Angeles and start auditioning next year. Study film while continuing my scene work in school. I also plan to finish the feature length script that I'm working on with Rodrigo Diaz
McVeigh. Lastly, I plan to continue creating a team of individuals with
dialectical ingenuity who strive to change the world with "DIAL DIRECTIONS".

One last question, what do you do in your spare time?
I enjoy drawing, painting graffiti, reading, and writing on my spare
time.

Thanks you very much for the interview Van and best of luck in the future.

Interview with actor Andrew Roth

2007-11-17T16:33:00.000-06:00

Born and raised in Long Island, New York, Andrew Roth is an inspiring actor who received his Bachelor's degree in Drama at SUNY Stony Brook. He then traveled the United States where he held odd jobs in Toledo, Ohio: Roanoke, Virginia; and Los Angeles, California in order to get a better understanding of the characters that he would hope to one day play. Andrew felt that acting was the right move for him because growing up he was always considered the class clown. Then later in life he kept finding his way into trouble, or it seemed like it always found him.When he discovered the theater in college it showed Andrew how to focus his energy into a positive medium.I had recently met Andrew at a Film Festival, and I asked him if he would be interested in talking about his acting craft along with his latest project Z.E.R.O.

-Andrew,tell me about Z.E.R.O?

Z.E.R.O. stands for Zombie Emergency Response Operations (http://www.warofthedead.com/), the story goes like this: It's ten years after the worldwide pandemic has occurred; the dead have risen . Our government has put together several elite units to combat the dead or infected and to help protect civilians. I play Colin Gellow, an obnoxious but lovable Scotsman with an inappropriate sense of humor. In general I'm the comic relief which has been wonderful to play because I'm usually cast in dramatic roles.

-Tell me about some of the other roles you have had?

Some of the characters I've played in films have been: Joe Kizzen in "Praxis" (Damaged Films), New Zealand surfer Ryan Hastings, in "3 To 5 & Glassy" (Vintage Youth Productions), Philadelphia drug lord Kevin Maze in "Lost Money" (Take Flight Entertainment), an alcoholic father in "Douglas" (Purchance To Dream Productions), and the mafia leaders violent son Tommy Lazario in "The Rise and Fall of Their American Dream" (Nash Productions). One of my all time favorite roles was in the theatre where I played the title role of MacBeth. You can check out my website's to see some of the other characters I've played and watch clips from a few of the films as well as take a look at production companies I've had the opportunity to work with.

-What if you didn’t have the opportunity to become an actor, what would you do?
I'd still try to be involved in the arts either painting, writing, or directing, it's the only field I feel somewhat at home in.

-Do you have any future projects scheduled?

The next films that I'm scheduled to shoot are: "Real Men Wear Pink" (Limaj Films), a comedy where I play Joe Perro, a Dad who's upset because he thinks his son might be gay, Patient 27" (New DayDream Pictures), a drama where I play another alcoholic, abusive father named Wayne Rollins. Then a film which is to be shot oversees in London, England called "Killing Mr..Right" (A-Typical Pictures) where I play the role of Steve Ross, which is also a drama.

-Do you have any favorite films that you would like to share with me and my readers?

I enjoy all kinds of films, I have no favorites. What I look for most in a production are objective truths, films that deliver a message that holds true no matter when it was made with characters and a story that carries me away from myself and makes me empathize with what's happening on the screen at that moment.

-One last questions, what do you like to do in your spare time?

I spend a lot of time at the gym taking care of my body and I also attend a school of Theosophy, Philosophy, and Science in New York City where I train my mind and spirit.

I would like to thank Andrew for the wonderful interview and for more information please go to:
http://www.aroth.us/& www.myspace.com/theupwardglance

Denise's Media Interviews: Halloween and the Angel of Music#links

2007-11-10T16:58:00.000-06:00

Denise's Media Interviews: Halloween and the Angel of Music#links

Halloween and the Angel of Music

2007-11-10T16:27:00.000-06:00

What a way to spend Halloween night but to spend it seeing "The Phantom of the Opera" at the Majestic Theater, NYC.

One of the longest running shows on Broadway,"The Phantom of the Opera" tells the tale of a tragic love story of a disfigured man who lives his life in the catacombs of the Paris Opera House. He then falls in love with a young opera singer with a beautiful voice who he knows he can never have as his own.

A moving, emotional performance with a great cast, some intense scenes which included wonderful lighting, sounds, and voices that were powerful enough to make you fall in love with the Phantom.

Review of the Indie Film Liars and Lunatics Directed by Roberto Munoz

2007-11-04T11:38:00.000-06:00

A Moon Brothers Production

On October 26th at the Helen Mills Theatre in NYC I attended the Gala premier screening for the film "Liars and Lunatic's" directed by Roberto Munoz
Liars & Lunatics is a full length feature film about an evangelist man who is struggling to regain his freedom and peace within after the tragic death of his agnostic girlfriend Paige (played by Maya Serhan).
James (played by Joseph A. Halsey) admits himself to a mental facility where he has an imaginary trial in his own mind as he tries to rebuild his life and try to gain answers that revolve around questions about life-after-death.
During the trial James is represented by an imaginary Judge (played by Karen-Lynn Gorney), the prosecutor Dubious who is also James psychiatrist Dr. Donovin (both roles played by Carson Grant) and his Psychologist Dr. Frolik (played by Allison Lane) who later tries to explain to James that he does not really need to be institutionalized. All he needs to do to set his soul free is to read the letter Paige wrote to him before she died, which he refuses to read. On the other hand Dr. Donovin insists on having James committed without giving him an opportunity to read the letter.
I was impressed by the diversity of the characters that performed extremely well especially during those intense emotional moments.
Shot at an historic church in Whitestone Queens NY, this drama focuses on faith and peoples beliefs during the course of their existence and the struggle with one man's quest for answers.

Singe

2007-10-20T10:53:00.000-05:00

Interview with Director Christian Varley on his Sci-Fi film "An American Cyborg"

2007-10-06T14:02:00.000-05:00

This Sci-Fi film is set to take place during the 2001 holiday season in NYC. The 911 recovery efforts are still in place and the citizens are still suffering the after shock of this terrorism. The lower Manhattan Arts organizations are encouraged to promote projects to bring the general public back downtown, and so birthed the Tribeca Film Festival for 2002.

Peter Williams played by Carson Grant, the esteemed concert violinist/conductor at Lincoln Center, has organized a concert for the victims’ families.
On the morning of the concert, Peter’s two daughters from his first marriage played by Alyxx Morgen are dropped off at their home. Peter’s mid-life crisis second marriage is a sham and his second wife played by Diana Quinn had a previous rendezvous with her new gangster boyfriend played by Nick Damici to plan Peter’s murder.
The long spouse-bickering drive to death ends with Peter being shot and left as road kill. Peter’s dead body is discovered by a scientist and after a series of operations is re-energized into a computerized human cyborg, "An American Cyborg".

As Peter heals, his memory starts to return and the traumatic images of betrayal unfold. With his new bionic strength, Peter sets out to avenge his murder and capture his killers. With justice in place, Peter reunites with his first wife and daughters, and a positive life of helping others with his new powers.
In this Sci-Fi thriller, "An American Cyborg" reality and betrayal are at opposite ends of a love affair. Peter Williams a concert violinist is left for dead, after being betrayed by his second wife Alicia Williams. His body is discovered by a scientist who essentially saves and rebuilds him.
What inspired you to produce this Sci-Fi film? The idea sprung when I was in a shopping mall and saw all this new technology. I envisioned a man coming down an escalator playing a violin, then added the theme of betrayal.
There are several type of qualities that one looks for in an actor/actress, which qualities do you look for?
I look for emotion, truth and what pushes the story forward. I add what and who’s needed.

What locations was the film shot in? We shot in several locations upstate New York, Westchester, Manhattan and in a sound studio.

Tell me about the characters in the film? The main character Peter Williams played by Carson Grant who is a true veteran actor of the silver screen and has done hundreds of films.

Nick Damici plays the gangster and also from the films ‘In The Cut’ and ‘World Trade Center’.

Alyxx Morgan the nice first wife and Diane Quinn is the double-crossing second wife, and there are many more wonderful characters.

What time in your life did you decide on becoming a director? I began directing when I attended college at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. I also am an actor (SAG/AEA) and am busy writing a new script.

Thank you very much Christian for your interview. For more information please go to:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0764219/

Carson Grant directs Romeo and Juliet

2007-09-07T18:09:00.000-05:00

Tell me about the latest project you directed?
I directed an abbreviated version of this famous 1595 play by William Shakespeare about two teenage "star-cross'd lovers" whose “untimely deaths” unites the two household and ends their rivals.

This presentation was similar to the prose tragic 1582 Italian romance ‘Palace of Pleasure’ written by William Painter and the Italian 1562 translated verse “Romeus and Juliet’ by Arthur Brooke; where only the main characters are respresented in the story.

How did you get involved in this piece?
Morna Murphy Martell from ‘The Instant Shakespeare Company’ asked me if I had the time to direct their company for the summer run in the “Shakespeare in the Garden” West Side Community Garden, NYC. I actually didn’t give an answer, but asked to meet the cast.

How do you share your ideas as a director?
I first had to evaluate the stage environment and develop a vision for the show using the Garden’s elevations and acoustics to the maximum advantage. There was no real budget so creative thinking and minimalism was the design sense; as in, using my window’s sheer curtain for the shrouds.

I decided to have the actors wear white tops and black bottoms, and as a painter I splashed them with color.

Romeo and Juliet were light celestial blue, Tybalt was jealous green, Nurse and Peter were warm serving yellows, the Prince/Capulet were royal red and the Friar was deep commitment purple. I used black to represent evil anger as in the swords which were transparent black snapping towels; and transparent white for pure innocence as in the lovers’ sheets and shrouds.

The first rehearsals I observed what skills and interpretations the actors bought to the play. I inherited these fine actors as an established ensemble group. Being the stranger among them, I explained I needed their trust to guide them through a maze of experiences to arrive at what my understanding of the play’s needs.

After two rehearsals, sensing their resistance to change, I offered to walk away from the production. I gave them the choice. They took the challenge to surrender to my vision and allowed me to knead them to their finest performances. By the third week into rehearsals, they got it! I placed demands on them to give their best performances; winning for them, myself and the audience.

How does this project stake up to others?
I have directed and written other projects, but Shakespeare is so enjoyable, and to have the opportunity to guide actors through his language is very exciting, and yes, much work.

As the director, I take on the responsibility of carrying the entire project. Every creative corner and every production detail needs to be filtered through my eyes, so the audiences’ experience is one continual journey of emotions.

Do you see yourself doing more directing than acting?
Yes, I am a natural story teller, so in time, I will probably balance my acting and directing careers with many tales to tell. I have already been asked to direct ‘A Midsummer’s Night Dream’.

When I was eight years old, I played a story game with my younger brother and sister to help them fall asleep. The ‘word-story game’ was where they would choose a word and I would create a story.

Acting and directing are similar to this game, where I am given the words then I fill in the life of the characters.

One last question, what did you speak on during the Rhode Island International Film Festival film forum panel 2007?
‘Casting from the Actor’s Perspective’ which reviewed some strategies a performer can consider when using the internet in this new digital age while submitting for an audition, preparing for a casting call and executing your best performance in front of the casting director, then dealing with post-audition blues.
Thank you Denise for this moment to share my thoughts.
You're welcome Carson and keep up the great work.
For more information go to: www.carsongrant.com

Time Out Theater Shakespeare Alfresco

www.timeout.com/newyork/article/9317/shakespeare-alfresco

Exciting news from Alan Rowe Kelly

2007-08-12T13:50:00.000-05:00

TWO BOOT PIONEER THEATER - our New York premieer is set at the infamous Two Boots Pioneer Theater in NYC!Scheduled for September 3rd - Labor Day - 7:00pm - as part of the Pioneer's 'Bizarro Monday' series!

Come meet the cast and crew and whole bunch of other great indie horror folks at this fun screening!http://www.twoboots.com/pioneer/ARTIFACT FILM FESTIVAL-New Jersey's newest premier film fest for genre films (Finally!)The Blood Shed will be screening at Boonton's historic Darress theater on October 13th! cast and crew will be in attendance!http://www.myspace.com/artifactfilms

FANGORIA MAGAZINE!BLOOD SHED'S Writer/director/actor Alan Rowe Kelly, along with actor Joshua Nelson, editor Stolis Hadjicharalambous and cinematographer Bart Mastronardi, will be featured in a feature article for Fangoria’s September 2007 issue on upcoming indie horror filmmakers and THE BLOOD SHED will also be reviewed in Fangoria’s October issue!

Check out more on THE BLOOD SHED by visiting:www.thebloodshed.net
www.alanrowekelly.net
http://www.myspace.com/thebloodshedmovie
And check out our trailer:http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?
fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=11089882

"Havana Surf" By director Rodrigo Diaz McVeigh

2007-08-11T21:00:00.000-05:00

Rodrigo joins me again today to talk about his latest project “Havana Surf”

Hello Rodrigo, tell me about “Havana Surf?” “Havana Surf” is a documentary about the surfing culture in Cuba. Surfing’s material and political issues struggle as well as the exploration of its un-surfed swells. This documentary also highlights the website http://www.havanasurf-cuba.com/ and its Australian founder Bob Samin who was just recently appointed Surf Coach for the Cuban National Team.
I focused on interviewing 5 Surfers from Havana and then took them on a surf trip all around the Oriental Cuban Coasts.
About how many days did it take to shoot the film? I shot “Havana Surf” over different periods of time but all together I have 14 hours of high definition footage for this project.
I'm currently working with StruendofilmMakers a production company in Madrid, Spain to try and get the documentary picked up.

Is the film scheduled to be released on DVD and will it be screened at any film festivals? Recently, we have found someone that’s interested in distributing Havana Surf.

My main goal is to get it in on time for the Havana Film Festival in mid December I am a big fan of this festival and I feel that the organizer Alfredo Guevara has done an amazing job to give Cuba one of Latin Americas best Film Festivals.

I enjoyed the trailer of “Havana Surf” and the music; tell me something about the music you used? For the original sound track I used one of my Father’s recordings called Vino Una Ola (Along Came the Wave) which was a hit in Europe in 1968.
Then while in Havana, I asked some local musicians to record 12 songs of different traditional Cuban genres but each one with the Le Motif of Vino Una Ola. When I returned to I Miami I then mixed and mastered the music with Adrian Posse who is a great Argentinean Music Producer and specializes in Latin music. I would also like to say thank you to Guitarist "Jako" who was my guitar teacher in Cuba and really deserves all the credit for the sound track he gathered the musicians and wrote the music and found a studio for us to record in at local price.

Who did you have for the film crew? I would like to thank Reinier and Orieta Valdes-Prado distant cousins who where crucial in pre-production and who I could trust like a brother and sister. I would also like to thank Pedro and Jose who I met in Escuela Internacional de Cine y TeleVision in a documentary course with Octavio Cortazar as our professor. They worked for TeleVision Serrana which is one of Cuba’s best television stations known for its good documentary's and novellas while being in the isolated Sierra Maestra. They came along willingly just to get the opportunity to work with a high definition camera along with a free ride back to Bayamo.

A lot of hard work was put together to make this film happen for which I am pleased.

What are your plans for the future? And what do you want most out of life? I am planning on completing Havana Surf, finishing up a new script that myself and my film partner Van Alpert have just begun, as well our dream production company Dial Entertainment.
I have a Plutonic music video to edit and I am also transferring to the University Of Miami School Of Communications Motion Picture Program this fall to complete my education.

I would like to prove my theory that no human is all good nor all evil, that we are imperfect and we must communicate and have peaceful dialogue between societies while respecting other cultures and traditions, war is never the right answer.

Thank you Denise for this delightful interview. Rodrigo

Rodrigo also recently completed his short “God Bless America” which screened at The Anthology Film Archives in New York City and was recently a Production Assistant on the Asturias section of Woody Allen’s new film being shot two weeks in Barcelona and one week in Asturias.
He is originally from Madrid, Spain and now resides in Miami Florida.
To contact Rodrigo email him at Rodstah620@aol.com

"Money Matters" Wins Urbanworld VIBE Film Festival

2007-06-26T19:18:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to director Ryan Richmond for his short film "Money Matters" which was a winner in the screenplay competition at Urbanworld VIBE Film Festival.

Interview with Director Ryan Richmond

Hi Ryan, it’s nice to hear from you, tell me something about yourself?
Well, I'm from Washington DC, I went to film school at NYU and there I studied cinematography and directing. I now shoot and produce docs, music videos and narratives.

What made you realize that you wanted to work in the film industry?
First I was interested in acting. I was introduced to Shakespeare in the fourth grade and I've had the itch for performance ever since. I started as a child actor and did professional theater in DC. As I got older, I decided I would rather tell stories from behind the spotlight. Movies have always been very influential in my life. I often felt that despite enjoying these worlds in these movies I was so unfamiliar with I wanted to see more movies I could directly relate to. And, I guess I had to make those movies.
I recently watched "Money Matters" excellent short! Tell me about the actor Carson Grant and the actress Bianca Van Heydon? Working with Carson was truly a blessing. That was my very first directing experince and he was extremely willing to work. Carson was very in tune to what I wanted and creative enough to add to the character. It made a perfect relationship and a great learning experience.
Bianca had a hard role to play and off the bat I could tell she was ready to take on that character. She really dug deep in search for what I wanted and to make it authentic. I enjoyed finding the character through her. She made the film come to life and took it beyond I had imagined.
What made you come up with the idea for this film? My first concept was to have two individuals with completely separate backgrounds meet at one place and forever be connected. And that's what it was, these characters' stories evolved so much that I had to make a feature. "Money Matters," is a feature script now.
Are you involved with any upcoming film festivals? My feature script Money Matters was accepted to the Tribeca All Access Program. And my feature documentary, I co-directed, God of a Second Chance Screened at Washington DC's International Film Festival.
What are some of your upcoming future projects? The next project for me is making a feature of “Money Matters.” The script was recently accepted to Tribeca and we hope to be shooting by the end of the year.
The documentary “God of a Second Chance” is a cautionary and inspirational story that follows two men approaching the same challenge from different angles:
18-year-old Tyrone Leonard David Israel "Sleepy" Curry is beginning to make choices, while 40-year-old recovering addict Richie Barkley is freeing himself from poor decisions made long ago. What united them both is Gordon's CAG, Steve Fitzhugh's The House, which is an outreach program and included other faith-based community programs.
In 2007, the 82-minute feature will be expanded into a three-hour series for television to be entitled “Faith in the Hood.”
Is there a DVD of Money Matters available?
No there isn't a DVD, but the film may be seen on my website.

Thank you so much for the wonderful interview Ryan and keep up the great work.

Scream Queen Actress Tara Cardinal

2007-06-26T18:59:00.000-05:00

Share with me some insight on the current film “Legend of the Red Reaper?”
Legend of the Red Reaper started out as joke. I've been scream queen of the month, and Courtney Solomon from An American Haunting was doing the Ms. Horrorfest competition. My director and I had this idea for me to be slaying demons in the back yard, as this character "The Red Reaper.” We showed the clip at Screamfest and it was such a huge hit, we decided to turn it into a feature length film.

Shot on a low budget the film now has a decent sized International following my rool consisted of a lot of sword fighting along with training to do some really crazy stunt work.I've been working with these guys who do something called Parkour.
Parkour is the art of running away. Led by Justice Maynard we’ve turned it into a fighting style. Our demons run up walls, trees, and jump on people. We're working on incorporating my abilities into some extra fights for me.

I was looking through your site, wow, you have done a lot of things, tell me about some of productions you worked on? My last two films, “Genius” and “Delivery” were the most fun to work on. In Genius I play an opera singer who borders on insanity. My director asked me to lip sync in German, Italian and French. So I learned a little of those languages, studied some opera, and have a subsequent huge respect for opera singers. It takes quite a bit of abdominal work to hold those notes!

“Delivery” was filmed in Orlando, and released by Warner Brothers. I play the second lead against Matt Nelson, who is 16 inches taller than I am. It's a slasher flick, very well written, with a nice plot line. That was the main thing that attracted me to the role. I had fun playing the incredibly dorky girl next door. The director was concerned that I might not be a good match for Matt, but I did win him over with my geek routine!

Regarding acting, tell us about some of the plays and films that you were involved with? I was the president of the theatre club in college, and was either in rehearsal or on stage for 2 solid years. I really miss being involved in theatre.
I got to do a lot of the greats, Tennessee Williams, some Shakespeare. One of my favorite roles was playing a precocious 14 year old in the "Fifth of July". I was the oldest member of the cast!
I played it like an early Scarlett O'Hara. I went a little overboard on closing night though-and gave myself a concussion.

Prior to that I did the usual community stuff, and three years at the Renaissance Festival.

What is the Rescuers site all about? The Rescuers is a television concept created by the brilliant and talented Matt Dean. He is the genius! It is based on true stories of rescue and extraction missions by mercenary types who get civilians out of really, really bad situations. I play Jesse, the in-over-her-head leader of the motley crew who takes over the business after the death of her father. Inexperienced, with a lot to prove, and lives hanging in the balance.

I know that you were involved with Screamfest in the past, do you have any plans to make any other appearances, if so, when/when will they be? Screamfest was a BLAST! I spent 3 solid days signing autographs, posters, artwork and meeting people. As soon as my schedule lightens up I will definitely be making more appearances.

Do you have any advice for actors and actresses just starting out? Yes. Get ready to work 18 hour days. If you are prepared and work hard and lucky enough to get cast in a role, be sure to show up on time. Never complain. Always have a kind word and a smile for your cast and crew. And of course the usual stuff. Get professional head shots, an agent, and an industry standard resume. Take classes. You never can never be too good, or too prepared. Keep it natural and real. Never force an emotion. And always remember to WIN!

Is the a tentative release date for “The Red Reaper?” We're tentatively scheduled for December-ish.

Thank you very much Tara for taking the time to be interviewed and best of luck with your continuing career.

For more information go to: www.indifilmshop.com & www.taracardinalactress.com

Carson Grant in a scene from "Should Heaven Fall"

2007-05-21T21:36:00.000-05:00

Nature

2007-05-19T17:36:00.000-05:00

News Update

2007-05-06T18:59:00.000-05:00

Congratulations

2007-05-01T19:20:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Director Jon Barli on his film
"Should Heaven Fall" chosen as one of the official selections for the
Hoboken International Film Festival in June 2007

http://www.geocities.com/carsongrant/film0002shouldheavenfall04.html?11780270...

Interview with filmmaker Zachary Denman

2007-04-13T17:04:00.001-05:00

Today I had the opportunity to ask Zachary some questions about his filmmaking, Hello Zachary tell me about yourself?
My name is Zachary Denman, I am 28 years old and live in London City. I was brought up in Kent, then moved to London at the age of 16 to pursue my art career.
I attended Art college to study a fine art degree at the age of 19 focusing on making short experimental films / video installations. My main focus throughout college was in editing/post production, I started on the Media 100 and then the famous Final Cut Pro was introduced, a revolution in digital filmmaking had begun.

During and after I finished college I worked on various stalls/markets selling my own hand painted craft work. Also making experimental video works which were screened on various on-line websites and some fringe festivals.
In 2002 I set up my own post production company ODC pictures in Warren Street, London mainly editing reels and promos, some short films. Soon after my work expanded into doing visuals for various London clubs & bars.
In 2004 I began to focus on telling narrative stories and started writing scripts. I fully understand story and the pieces needed to complete the script. Through studying various books and watching 3 to 4 films a day, you begin to understand all the elements needed to complete a film. But what I love about film is you are forever learning. You can read or see on how to something, but the main thing is how you do it as an individual, that’s magic!
I believe film to be the most powerful medium in our world today, so this has encouraged me to make films with messages that carry meaning. A film can change your life, so it must have soul and extract something from the world we are living in today. Films are to make you think objectively about where, why and who you are.

Share with me some insight on the film The Longest Night" and what was your inspiration to produce this film?
The Longest Night was influenced by my reading on The Mayan Calendar. The Mayans were advanced civilization that built a calendar spanning over 26,000 years on earth, some people say the whole universe. All the dates mentioned within the calendar correspond to huge major world events that have happened on the earth. The film “The Longest Night” is based around w

Interview with director Jon Barli

2007-04-11T19:04:00.000-05:00

Today I had the opportunity to talk with director Jon Barli about his film titled “Should Heaven Fall” which recently screened at the Pumelo Film Festival in Mumbai, India.

“Should Heaven Fall" a stylistic period piece echoing the ‘Film Noir’ 1940s genre which examines abuse of power issues, pertinent in present day.

While wrapping the story in that cloak of shadows, the theme penetrates time and resonate today, given events from the past few years.

The film was shot in a small studio at the School of Visual Arts, NYC after News Year’s.

After a hectic week of pre-production, late night loading-in materials and equipment, constructing/painting the set, running the electrical, and rain effects, we began shooting the following night.

The thunder effects were added in during post production.

Thanks to the dedication and hard work from cast and crew,we were able to accomplish shooting the 17 pages of dialogue.

I was casting my thesis film, and he just happened to be in the building auditioning for another film. We began talking and he wound up doing a quick reading in case I could use him for a future project.

When I began writing "Should Heaven Fall" I remembered Carson's look and voice, and I pictured him as I wrote it so when I called him in to audition for the part, it was more of just offering him the part.

Jon is currently developing new projects and I would like to thank him for the wonderful interview, and for more information go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNSF47B9ml4

Denise 4/2007

Z.E.R.O

2007-03-28T18:12:00.001-05:00

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AKV3oOL2LL0/Rgr2ygVdCWI/AAAAAAAAADk/aLH8CAVTNfE/s1600-h/zero002b.jpg">

http://www.dreadcentral.com/index.php?name=Reviews&req=showcontent&id=1388

See the new internet series "War of the Dead: Z.E.R.O."

Mr. Jenkins was protecting his zombie children in the basement,
feeding them the neighbors, but then Daddy ended up being the snack..
.

The Hollow Tree

2007-02-24T17:21:00.000-06:00

Director Patrick Weston Steward

“The Hollow Tree”

by Denise Kaminsky

~~~

Tell me about yourself?

I grew up in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania. I am currently finishing up my last year and final project at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts for Film Production, as a writer, director and producer.

What or who was your inspiration to become a director?

I don't think it was necessarily a who - though Hitchcock is my most influential director. At 12 years old, I was in a theater watching Jurassic Park, yes Jurassic Park, and I realized how cool it would be to build an imaginary world for film. That's when I decided I wanted to write and direct.

How did you come up with the idea for "The Hollow Tree?"
With many countryside rides in my grandfather’s car, as children we were encouraged to view the scenery while listening to his stories. One story that stayed with me was about being lost in a dark forest, cold, hungry, and at your most desperate moment of need, you would stumble upon this magical giant tree, “The Hollow Tree”. Inside this tree would be provided whatever the weary traveler needed. Whether it was warm beds, food, a roaring fire, dry cloths, the tree would provide you with whatever you needed to find home. So I took that premise and built the story about an orphaned brother and sister on their quest to find home. They learn through the Hollow Tree that home is not a physical place, a house or some such building, but rather it is being with each other.

What locations were used in your film?
Doylestown, Pennsylvania, surrounding areas, and NYC were our location. Thanks to the generosity of the famous Foothill - Mercer Museum, built between 1908 and 1912. The concrete castle boasts 44 rooms, 18 fireplaces and more than 200 windows of varying size and shape, and made a perfect orphanage location. My family has been so supportive in helping (on-set preparing foods, transportation and so much more). We created and housed the life-size ‘Hollow Tree’ in my grandmother’s two stall garage by emptying everything else out.
What qualities do you look for in an actor/actress?I look for a part or a take on a story character in the actor. You will hardly ever find an actor who utterly completes the vision of the role, so I look for a new spin, something different that still maintains the spirit of the character. It doesn't really matter how the actor gets to that place, however it is my job to help them get there. Now in post production, we are seeing wonderful performances from our actors.

What was it like to work with your team, cast and crew in this film?

I've always like working with people that are willing to not only put themselves out there, but to be an active collaborative component with the character and the production.

Carson Grant is one of these people, and once cast as Basil, he completely invested his talents. It was great.

All my cast and crew were so committed to the performances and duties, I am so grateful for all their endless labors.I was surprised with my child actors. I was a little leery at first working with kids as I had heard horror stories from friends. The diva on-set can usually be the child, or worse, the child's parent. But we had none of that. My kids we're great. Not only were they talented and invested in their characters, but they were also incredibly professional on and off set, while still being kids.

But in general, all of my actors were great to work with. I felt that everyone was invested in the project and that helped us get through those times when we were behind schedule or the grip truck got stuck in the mud....again....or there was an act of God, etc.

Any on-set stories you would like to share?
Oh boy, a ton of on-set stories of course...hahahaha. We shot with children, animals, at night, outside, in the rain, with fire, and water scenes, and giant set pieces, and sets, and fog, and mud, and 30 extras, and on and on....so with all those variables I have quite a few stories. Needless to say it was a very challenging shoot but the cast and crew pulled together magnificently and the footage shows that - it all looks awesome!
Do you have any advice for the young actors/actresses just starting out?I think an actor has to do things that differentiate themselves from everyone else, which helps them stand out as individuals and within their performance. Never give up.

What are some other projects that you have worked on?
I have done other shorts stories and documentaries on film and video. My first feature was "Cherry Valley", a documentary on a haunted town in upstate New York, currently in the selection at South by Southwest Film Festival.

Do you have a website for my readers?
Yes, all current information on “The Hollow Tree” is on: www.the-hollow-tree.com & http://www.myspace.com/thehollowtreemovie

Thank you Patrick for the wonderful interview.

God Bless America

2007-02-23T17:53:00.000-06:00

An Interview with director

Rodrigo Diaz McVeigh
by Denise Kaminsky

Tell me about yourself?
I am 19 years old and was born in Madrid, Spain then at 5 years old moved to Florida.
Rose M. McVeigh, my mother, is an actress on stage, TV and film (as Porkey’s Revenge and Miami Vice) and was the Artistic Director of the Florida Shakespeare Festival now known as Gables Stage at the Biltmore Hotel. Manolo Diaz, my father, was a singer songwriter in the 60's and 70's, wrote music for Los Bravos, then entered the record industry and headed the Latin Grammies.
I give a lot of credit to my parents who always supported my art and creative drive. As a child, I acted in a couple HBO shorts and two features which helped develop my desire and curiosity in film making.

Tell us about your film projects and script writing?
“God Bless America” is my first 16 mm short with cast and crew in a dramatic story. I have shot a documentary about surfers in third world countries which is in post production.

I use my past experiences and observations, mixed with imagination and creativity to inspire my artwork and concepts of originality. For me, it is very important to remember that film is an industrial art where you must learn to listen, and work with others creatively and productivity.

Moving into NYC, I began working creatively with Van Alpert, (a hometown friend, an actor, fellow cinema fanatic) and I am glad to say it was worth every second.

We created all types of arts, as guitar playing, canvas making, composing songs on garage band, and writing, writing, writing. We had a great time and wrote a bunch a powerful synopsis but finally went with God Bless America.

Share some insight on the film “God Bless America” and your inspiration?
I thought my first dramatic film would be an abstract on American society. The truth is I never thought I would make such a bold political statement. “God Bless America” was my attempt at creatively show the frustrations in modern America. Throughout my filmmaking course at the New York Film Academy while living in NYC, the victim of a terrorist attacks, I felt my inner calling to write “God Bless America.”

Which scene in this film was the most challenging?
The Deli scene was very hard since the agreement between the deli owner and I had soured during the set-up, and he gave us 15 minutes to shoot. The feeling of this scene is supposed to be disturbed and agitated, and the real life situation helped fuel the actors, and is a favorite of mine.

What do you look for in an actor/actress?
I like to have an actor in mind while writing characters. I build a strong friendly and professional relationship with them, listening to their thoughts about the story and construct a process of developing the script. Making a film is exceptional for me because of the importance of team efforts.

So, in this case, Van Alpert who portrays the young Marine, Sgt. Stanley Jefferson, in “God Bless America” was my age, my hometown friend and my creative partner.

When I approached Carson Grant, I explained that I was a film student and had a role that seemed to fit him perfect. Carson plays the character of Mr. O'Brien who is a very lonely, handicapped Vietnam veteran. Mr. O’Brien lives alone in a crime-ridden deteriorating Bronx neighborhood and recently lost his son in the Iraq war.

Carson gave the scene flavor and passion. What a real honor to work with this experienced and good hearted guy, Carson Grant. From the powerful rehearsals to the long shooting day in the Bronx, I learned some many pointers from Carson and believe that anyone who works with this incredible actor needs to listen to his wise advice.

I thank Carson Grant for his humility and applaud him for an outstanding performance.

What is the future for “God Bless America?”
If accepted, I hope to premiere the film at the Tribeca Film Festival 2007, and I will be submitting to other festivals around the world.

Can you share some of your future projects?
Yes, I am currently working on two documentaries; one is in the post production stage and is titled "Havana Surf" and is about the way Cuban youngsters who don't have access to surf boards and find inventive ways to practice their hobby in Communist Cuba.

My other piece is still in the shooting stage and will be for a while is titled “Provisional“ which is about following a Cuban family, some in Miami, Havana, New York, California, China and Europe then tracing their genealogy to Arturo Valdes-Prado. Arturo was a very important Cuban contractor with 10 children during the Batista Dictatorship and then died with nothing but his mistress at his side after the Socialist Revolution.

I am also beginning to write a feature length script for "God Bless America."

How do my readers contact you?
My email is Rodstah620@aol.com

Would you happen to have a web site?
Yes, http://www.mumoproductions.com/ click on our projects then on “God Bless America”

Thank you for the wonderful interview.

Carson Grant and his audition philosophy

2007-02-06T19:46:00.000-06:00

“A ride on the Staten Island Ferry with actor Carson Grant and his audition philosophy”

On a winter Sunday afternoon boarding the Staten Island Ferry, the weather was unseasonable warm with the effects of El Nino on the northeastern waters of the Hudson Bay. Recently reading an article in Backstage (L. Davis, 11/10/2006) interviewing Carson Grant, I was curious about his last statement on his audition philosophy and asked him to elaborate.
With the restored architecture of Governors Island and Lady Liberty Island passing on each side of the transport, the compassion in Carson Grant’s eyes as he explained, “Shooting over 250 films and going on thousands of auditions, my A, B, C, D, E audition senses could be a good philosophy for younger actors to consider.”

(A) Audition sense: “An Actor prepares oneself, the audition materials, and dress for the role. By auditioning for everything you will begin to find your niche. If you are union accept only union, sometime a project will go union while casting. -Act for the experience, not for the pay.”

(B) Business sense: “Submit through Backstage, Ross Report, Actors Access, and other legit listings. Allocate funds per week for materials, classes and website. Acting is a business which YOU have to work at, not just the manager/agent. Network, share information and help others succeed. -People will only take you as serious, as you take yourself.”

(C) Common sense: “Beware of Con artists and scams posted in papers and the Internet. Pay attention to the warning signs. If the producers are serious, they will rent a legitimate rehearsal space to hold their auditions, never an apartment. NEVER remove your clothes or place yourself in a compromising position for a role. If you are unsure of an audition, bring a friend with you. -Bad fish smells no matter what spice one uses. Follow your instincts not your ego.”

(D) Driving sense: “Know where you are driving to, your type, your abilities to deliver, take classes, audition and perform regularly. Once you get a project, try to get a demo copy. SAG is now offering ultra-low budget contract to encourage filmmakers. -Practice moves you towards your goal.”

(E) Exit sense: “Know when to leave an audition, exit your emotions, look for and enter the next audition fresh and enthusiastic. -Do your best, learn from your accomplishments and your mistakes.”
“I am an actor’s actor, which to me means, helping each other up the ladder whether in a scene or with an opportunity. I am only as good as my scene partner and I try to help them show their best. On auditions, I am always encouraging actors with my philosophy.”
“Thank you, Denise, for your delicious brownies, the perfect sea-worthy snack, and a chance to share some life experience with your readers.”
www.dkamin.com

An American Cyborg

2007-02-06T19:40:00.000-06:00

Interview with director Christian Varley on

“An American Cyborg”

by Denise Kaminsky

During the 2001 holiday season in NYC, the 911 recovery efforts are in place and the citizens are still suffering the after shock of this terrorism. The Mayor has encouraged lower Manhattan Arts organizations to promote projects to bring the general public back downtown, and so birthed the Tribeca Film Festival for 2002.Peter Williams (Carson Grant), esteemed concert violinist/conductor at Lincoln Center, has organized a concert for the victims’ families.
On the morning of the concert, Peter’s two daughters from his first marriage (Alyxx Morgen) are dropped off at their home.
Peter’s mid-life crisis second marriage is a sham and his second wife (Diana Quinn) had a previous rendezvous with her new gangster boyfriend (Nick Damici) to plan Peter’s murder.
The long spouse-bickering drive to death ends with Peter being shot and left as road kill.
Peter’s dead body is discovered by a scientist and after a series of operations isre-energized into a computerized human cyborg, "An American Cyborg" As Peter heals, his memory starts to return and the traumatic images of betrayal unfold. With his new bionic strength, Peter sets out to avenge his murder and capture his killers.
With justice in place, Peter reunites with his first wife and daughters, and a positive life of helping others with his new powers.
In this sci-fi Thriller, "An American Cyborg" reality and betrayal are at opposite ends of a love affair. Peter Williams a concert violinist is left for dead, after being betrayed by his second wife Alicia Williams. His body is discovered by a scientist who essentially saves and rebuilds him.
Where was the film location?
We shot in several locations upstate N.Y, Westchester, Manhattan and in a sound studio.
How did you create the idea for this particular film?
The idea sprung when I was in a shopping mall and saw all this new technology. I envisioned a man coming down an escalator playing a violin, then added the theme of betrayal.
What do you look for in a character?
I look for emotion, truth and what pushes the story forward. I add what and who’s needed.
How did you become a director?
I began directing when I attended college at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan.
I also am an actor (SAG/AEA) and am busy writing a new script.
Who is the main character and what role do they play?
The main character is Peter Williams played by Carson Grant, a true veteran actor of the silver screen and has done hundreds of films. Nick Damici plays the gangster (from ‘In The Cut’ and ‘World Trade Center’). Allyxx Morgan the nice first wife, and Diane Quinn is the double-crossing second wife, and there are many more wonderful characters.
When will the film be completed and released?
The film is being re-edited and scored, and will be released within 2007.
Thanks Christian for wonderful interview and best of luck to you.