Press Kit
Plot Synopsis Eleven-year-old Lina sits on her bed with her friend Olive, gazing longingly out the window. Downstairs, her mother sits at a desk working at her computer. In Lina’s imagination, she is a princess locked in a tower, her mother is an evil witch DQG WKHLU GRJ LV D Ă&#x;UH EUHDWKLQJ GUDJRQ Instead of helping Lina with her chores, Olive convinces Lina that she must escape from her room into the enchanted forest behind the castle. Lina thinks it is impossible, but Olive says she must, as Lina is a princess and the people need her. The girls will try anything to sneak out of Lina’s bedroom, but many obstacles stand in their way. The girls must EH FUHDWLYH DQG Ă&#x;QG D ZD\ IRU 3ULQFHVV /LQD WR JHW RXW RI KHU WRZHU ZLWKRXW UXQQLQJ LQWR WKH ZLWFK RU WKH Ă&#x;UH EUHDWKLQJ dragon. Will Lina be able to use her imagination to reach the enchanted forest or will it be her very imagination that gets in her way?
Le Aire & Katie play on set!
p i c tu e for s o p Aire & Le Katie
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Katie sh ows off her mu scle
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Production Notes Filming: July 14-15, 2012
Like a school recess, the set of Olive was “playful.â€? Imagination was used just as much off camera as it was on. The crew and cast of the movie created and played many different games between shots and on lunch breaks. The two main characters in WKH Ă&#x;OP ERWK XQGHU WKH DJH RI FUHDWHG D JXHVVLQJ JDPH WR RFcupy time in between shots. A favorite game of the crew was a guessing game. Katie would ask the question, “When is my dad ‘s birthday?â€? The crew competed against eachother by using process of elimination, to get the right answer. Whichever crewmember answered the most questions correctly between shots was the winner. Daniel Quackenbush, our sound recorder, aced the JDPH ZLWK PRUH WKDQ FRUUHFW DQVZHUV The two main characters, Katie (Lina) and LeAire (Olive), did not NQRZ HDFK RWKHU EHIRUH Ă&#x;OPLQJ EXW EHFDPH IDVW IULHQGV ZKHQ production began. Their friendship on camera was no act; their conversations and games continued even director Gaby yelled, ¸&XW Âś The most amazing part about being on set was the transformation of the little girl ‘s bedroom. Originally, the house belonged to a young man who recently graduated from college. The room C O NTENT WKDW ZDV WKH IRFXV RI WKH Ă&#x;OP ZDV PRUH RI D KDQJ RXW IRU WZHQW\ VRPHWKLQJ ER\V WKDQ D OLWWOH JLUO›V EHGURRP ,Q WKH HQG the crew completely transformed the room into a pink and purple SDUDGLVH IRU WKH FKDUDFWHU RI /LQD DQG LW ZDV GLIĂ&#x;FXOW WR LPDJLQH the room looking any other way.
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Katelyn Hunter Lina Katelyn Hunter, better known as Katie on set, plays the part of Lina. At 9-years-old, she has had much experience playing the lead LQ PDQ\ Ă&#x;OPV Katie began acting at the age of six, working on Zero Hour. She continued to pave her way in the industry as the lead in The MissLQJ 3LHFH DQG 0DQ LQ WKH :HOO DQG was a supporting actress in Burn Child and Blood Rush. 0RUH UHFHQWO\ .DWLH ZDV WKH OHDG LQ D KRUURU Ă&#x;OP 1HYHU /HW *R Horror House and a Sundance script winner, EMIT. She just shot WKH $GULDQ +LEEV PXVLF YLGHR IRU WKH VRQJ ¸/LNH 1R 2WKHUÂś UHFHQWO\ .DWLH ZDV WKH OHDG LQ D KRUURU Ă&#x;OP 1HYHU /HW *R Horror House and EMIT, a Sundance script winner. She just shot WKH $GULDQ +LEEV PXVLF YLGHR IRU WKH VRQJ ¸/LNH 1R 2WKHUÂś Katie lives in Denver, Colorado during the school year and spends her summer working as an actress in Los Angeles. She has a younger sister, Alyssa, 7, who also acts. Katie’s favorite movies to date are Dolphin Tale and Hunger Games. Dolphin Tale because it is based on a true story, proving that miracles really do come true. Hunger Games because it’s a fast SDFHG DGYHQWXUH ZLWK D VWURQJ ZRPDQ DV WKH OHDG ¸*LUOV 5XOH Âś Katie says. What she loves most about acting is that she gets to make new friends, go on adventures that feel like they’re real and, of course, she gets paid (most of the time).
OLIVE || Climbing the LAdder Productions || 2012
LeAire George Olive Eight-year-old actress LeAire George plays the part of Olive. LeAire was born in Japan, but lived in Italy most of her life. LeAire made moved from Japan to Italy because her mother is in the military and it was time for rotation. She has been performing since she was six-years old and only recently moved to Los Angeles with her family to peruse her career professionally. 6KH EHJDQ ZRUN DV DQ DFWUHVV LQ ZRUNLQJ RQ D YLGHR VKRUW IRU )76 .LGV 1HZV +HU RWKHU SDVW SHUIRUPDQFHV LQFOXGH D VXSSRUWLQJ UROH LQ WKH Ă&#x;OP 7KH *HW $ZD\ DORQJVLGH Loretta Devine, Vanessa Williams and Rockmond Dunbar and the Ă&#x;OP /HJDF\ LQ HDUO\ /H$LUH MXVW ZUDSSHG SURGXFWLRQ RQ My Funny Valentine, where she acted as a young student in the Ă&#x;OP 6KH LV FXUUHQWO\ ZRUNLQJ DV WKH RQO\ \RXQJ DFWUHVV RQ the set of Daughter of Fortune, directed by Dawn Kamoche, playing the part of Daisy Mae. LeAire now lives in Chino Hills, California and is pursuing her passion for the arts. LeAire’s ambition is to one day have her RZQ WHOHYLVLRQ VKRZ 6SHFLĂ&#x;FDOO\ VKH VD\V VKH ZRXOG ORYH WR KRVW FRRNLQJ WHOHYLVLRQ VKRZ RQ )RRG 1HWZRUN $QRWKHU GUHDP of LeAire’s is win an Oscar one day.
OLIVE || Climbing the LAdder Productions || 2012
Molly Dougherty Writer & Producer Hailing from Glen Ellyn, Illinois, Molly 'RXJKHUW\ DWWHQGV (ORQ 8QLYHUVLW\ LQ 1RUWK Carolina, as a junior working to acquire her BFA in acting. Molly grew up loving to watch movies, television and plays, as they provided opportunity for her to escape to a different world. “I am constantly amazed by [movies] ability to highlight the human experience and connect with people on a raw, emotional level, as well as an intellectual level,â€? she said. This is something she hopes Olive can do with the explorer in all of us. Growing up, Molly never saw herself working in the entertainment industry. However, during her freshman year of college, Molly threw logic to the wind, took an acting class and has never looked back. Since then, she has acted in several Elon productions, including Dog Sees God, Macbeth, Many Sparrows and Snapshot Memories. She takes inspiration from Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp. As actors who completely transform themselves on screen for roles and yet stay so true to themselves off screen, Molly looks to emulate both of their careers as she grows in this industry. The plot of Olive came from an unshakable idea to write a story DERXW D OLWWOH JLUO ZLWK DQ LPDJLQDU\ IULHQG ¸3HUKDSV LW LV EHFDXVH , was such a huge fan of Mr. Rogers and his imaginary neighborhood, or because I have experienced that feeling of loneliness where the only friends you have are the ones you create in your own head,â€? VKH DGPLWV 0ROO\ KDV DOZD\V KDG DQ DFWLYH LPDJLQDWLRQ Ă&#x;QGLQJ WKDW most of the games she played as a child involved complex imaginary people and places, based on her favorite movies and books. Molly enjoys playing volleyball, reading, cooking and watching absurd amounts of television and movies. She hopes to move to Los Angeles after graduation to peruse her career in the entertainment industry. OLIVE || Climbing the LAdder Productions || 2012
Gabriela Liebowitz Director & Co-Producer
Olive’s director and co-producer is Gabriela Leibowitz, Elon University student ma joring in Media Arts and Entertainment with a concentration in cinema. Gabriela is originally from Baltimore, Maryland. :KLOH WKLV VXPPHU›V Ă&#x;OP LV KHU ODUJHVW production to date, Gabriela is no stranger to the big screen. She has SUHYLRXVO\ GLUHFWHG VHYHUDO VKRUW Ă&#x;OPV including Duality, Food is Fuel and A Day at Broad Acres. Her inspirations come from the artists, directors and stories that she loves the most. “If I could be half as great as Quentin Tarantino or Wes Anderson one day, that would be pretty awesome,â€? she says. Her incredible passion for cinematography started when she was only seven years old when she insisted her parents knew that she would someday, as she puts it, become a “cameraman for the movies.â€? This youthful connection is the same one that ties *DEULHOD WR 2OLYH SHUVRQDOO\ GXH WR WKH Ă&#x;OP›V IRFXV RQ FUHDWLYLW\ /HLERZLW] FLWHV KHU ZLOG LPDJLQDWLRQ DV D FKLOG DV DQ LQĂ XHQFH IRU WKH Ă&#x;OP›V DUWLVWLF DQG GUHDP\ IHHO UHPHPEHULQJ KHU RZQ DGYHQWXUHV throughout her adolescence. “With Olive, I have a way of expressing my imagination on screenâ€? Gabriela says. She directly relates to the movie as it captures the innocence and imagination of a child and provides a platform for some incredible visuals. While the soon-to-be senior at Elon University has one year of DFDGHPLFV OHIW WR FRQTXHU VKH LV FRQĂ&#x;GHQW VKH ZLOO UHWXUQ WR Hollywood post-graduation as soon as possible.
OLIVE || Climbing the LAdder Productions || 2012
Cast & Crew Cast Lina
Olive
Katie Hunter
LeAire George
Mom Gemma Bishop
Crew Writer Molly Dougherty Producers Molly Dougherty & Gaby Leibowitz Director Gaby Leibowitz Photography Chris Bosak Editor Chris Bosak Music Robert Watts Sound Mixing Dan Quackenbush Unit Publicists Conor Ambrose & Emily Swapp Script Supervisor Tina Tozzi Makeup Tina Tozzi Art Direction Molly Dougherty Costuming Molly Dougherty
Sometimes your imagination can be your best friend. OLIVE || Climbing the LAdder Productions || 2012