The spot I shot for Help Remedies (with Lifelong Friendship Society, casting by Wulf Casting) is now up on the web! UPDATE: The Help Remedies campaign won a Cannes Lion at the 2011 Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity.  And now, AdWeek has named these award-winning spots as their FREAKIEST campaign of 2011. (Yes, they even beat out David Lynch.) Take a look at the competition here: http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/30-freakiest-ads-2011-136965?page=3 (Yes, that is my photo heading the section about the Help Remedies campaign.) Take a look at the web campaign (a virtual "slot machine" that recommends a dream scenario to you) here: http://www.helpineedhelp.com/dreams Or eliminate the element of chance in your dream recommendation and check out both versions of the spot I appear in here: http://www.lifelongfriendshipsociety.com/friend_jason/Help/Dream_Salmonella.mp4 http://www.lifelongfriendshipsociety.com/friend_jason/Help/Chef.mp4 Last month, I spent a day shooting on Cut Rush Production's latest project, "Nurse Wright."  In the film, I play Cindy, Wright's well-meaning and much more put together sister. Nurse Wright is on her way to the court house to get her child back, but has a minor car accident when she hits Harry the a-hole. She plays nice so she can expedite and get to the court house in time.  But her lack of car insurance, driver’s license, and fear of police hold her up.  She's not really a nurse, and she doesn't really desrve her kids, but she'll do whatever it takes. Rapture Film's short film "Us: A Family Album" is having its first screening on Saturday, April 9 at 4pm at The Millennium Film Workshop (66 East 4th St. New York, NY) before it starts making its round of the festival circuit.

It has been a busy fall/winter!  In addition to several days shooting on the feature film "Walking Away,"  I worked on several shorts. "Us" - Just before Thanksgiving, I got to have a "dress rehearsal," shooting 2 Thanksgiving scenes (one taking place in the 70s, the other in the mid-90's) for this short film that examines our preconceptions of the "happy familiy" using scenes that will seem familiar to anyone with home movie footage. (Rapture Films - written by Natalia Babinski & Heather Hollingsworth) "Subtotal" - Played the mom in a 1970s reenactment scene for the short documentary by TKO Productions/Hudson River Films about Tim Kelly's "Fighting for Humanity" fundraising efforts. "Death of My Sister" - Shot on the Red One, director/writer Van Ngyuen (Cut Rush Productions) had written a short scene "which involved pregnancy, a dark skinned brotha, and a knife," as a test shoot.  Apparently my pregnancy belly and labor were pretty convincing... we had a couple of neighbors stop to ask if it was time and checking to see if we needed directions to the hospital. "Sickday" - Although my schedule was pretty full in December, I was able to a day on this New School student film by Matthew Kotowski. Currently, I am "on hold" for a spec spot (cd - Wulf Casting) that should be shooting January 23.

After a couple of shooting days around the New Year, we're on hiatus for "Walking Away" (feature film written and directed by Toby Rymkus, Bull Rock Films) until Spring 2011.  Once the snow melts and the trees start looking green, we'll pick up with some exterior shots that we were unable to get before the weather changed.  This winter, editing will begin on the footage that we already have. An aging musician, Paul, returns home to New York City, where he has a few gigs lined up for the summer. Paul’s arrival comes with some emotional baggage: he has an estranged son, Chris, whom he hasn’t seen in years. When the gigs fall through and Paul’s relationship with his girlfriend, Jenn, hits the rocks, he considers moving in with Chris’s mother, Rosa, who still loves him after all these years. But when Chris rebels and starts a serious relationship with a troubled girl, Paul attempts to step in as his "father." What transpires causes Paul to realize that his path has already been decided. In the film, I play Jenn, Paul's younger, Southern girlfriend, who tags along for the roadtrip from Austin, TX to NYC.  She thinks she and Paul may have something really special but, not long after reaching NYC, discovers that their relationship is falling apart. WALKING AWAY trailer as well as many stills are available on Facebook.

Rumor has it that "The Witches of Oz" will be released in select U.S. theatres on February 18, 2011.  I will post more information as I get it.  In the meantime, check out some of the press the movie hs been getting lately. Check out the new trailer for the 4 hour mini-series event version at Marvista Entertainment. See the "First Look" featurette at FollowTheYellowBrickRoad.com. Read an interview with the Cowardly Lion at Wired. See the poster on the back cover of the September 29th Hollywood Reporter. "The Witches of Oz" is a modern-day take on the classic children's book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz."  In it, Dorothy is a children's author in present day New York. When characters from the world of Oz start to infiltrate the human world, Dorothy must team up with old friends to stop the Wicked Witch and her flying monkeys from destroying New York.  The movie features actors Christopher Lloyd, Lance Henriksen, Billy Boyd, Sean Astin, Jeffrey Combs, and Mia Sara. The movie is "something different," director Leigh Scott said in an interview, explaining that he's breaking away from the cynicism typical of many recent independent films and drawing his inspiration from 1980s films like "Labyrinth" and "The Dark Crystal."  Instead of Dorothy going to Oz, this time Oz comes to her. But, like in the 1939 film, she comes to the realization that she was "master of her own destiny the whole time." In the film, I play the role of Maud, young Dorothy's mother (in this version, you get a look at her life with her parents before she lives with Uncle Henry and Auntie Em). My scenes were shot at Sherwood Farm in Easton, CT in January 2010.  When I went in for some ADR in May 2010, I did get to see some of the edited footage and it looked fantastic. To read more about the shooting of the film, check out the following article: http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Oz-movie-being-filmed-in-Bridgeport-293171.php

One of the short films I worked on during the summer of 2009, "Walk Away," (not to be confused with my current project, the feature film "Walking Away") screened at the Terror Film Festival in Philadelphia, PA on October 23, 2010. I received a nomination for BEST ACTRESS, my castmate Stephen was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, and film was nominated for Best Screenplay, Best Original Music Theme, and Best Thriller Short!!  "Walk Away" walked away with the award for Best Original Score!  (Congratulations to our composer Billy Archiello!) Watch the trailer now on IMDb. WALK AWAY, writer/director/producer EDDIE TORRES A choice must be quickly made when a passerby notices a women struggling to fight off a burglar who's invaded her home to steal a secret. Should he rely on the authorities or risk his own safety to aid someone he doesn't know?  How far would you go?