If you watched "Game of Thrones," then you certainly heard the warning "Winter iscoming." It meansbeware. But,what happenswhen it approaches?What happenswhen everything you have been waiting for and possibly dreading is suddenly here?First,you ask yourself,"Am I ready for this?" Maybe,you are.Maybe,you are more ready than you thought you would be.But,maybe,you aren't.You find yourself in the midst of dealing with thingsyou thought you were prepared for only to find out now that they are here,you just aren't. How to deal?First,feel the feelings. It isterrible to feel unprepared,you beat yourself up about it.Second,get over it -- forgive yourself; you are only human. Next,weather the storm; seek out support to help you make it through.Make a deal with yourself to do better next time. Seek out new strategies.What worked?What didn't?How can you be better prepared next time? Best of luck!
Rachel Galvin Publisher
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Scriptwriting Bootcamp Helps Inmates
By Rachel Galvin
On the Move Productions
hosted alive table-read on November 7 in which young actorsread the scriptswritten by those who have been incarcerated.Thiswaspart of aspecial boot camp program created by Future LeadersOf the World (FLOW),which they identify asbeing a "new educational tool to empower youth to combat many of the health disparitiesthat affect them and their communities."
FLOW?sconcept isto work with agroup of students,teach them certain health topicsand then create powerful short stories. The studentsthen work on script development so that their six-page short getsproduced into aprofessional film.That film (shot in Spanish & English) -- complete with a lesson guide -- isthen shared with parents,educators,and more importantly,their peers.
The group isrun by Alex Moreno.On thisproject,he worked with Kimberly Douglas,who also hasa group called FLOW. In her case,it isafilm festival,and she also hasother eventsto bring the film community together.
When asked about the bootcamp and the reading of the scripts,she said,"The read was extraordinarily rewarding.The cadetssaw
their scriptscome to life,and the actors gave them valuable positive feedback.Asa facilitator,it wasvery emotional. Indeed, some of the actorswere quite moved. Overall,it wasawin for the funders,aswell asthe leadership at the boot camp. I believe it will serve to enhance the cadets' successin future endeavorsby adding to their confidence in excelling in the face of adversity."
For more information,contact Alex Moreno at Amoreno.flow@gmail.com and visit www.futureleadersoftheworld.org.
INDEPENDENT STREAK MAGAZINE
FLIFF2024
By Rachel Galvin
Film loverswait all year long for the Ft Lauderdale International Film Festival to arrive.Thisyear,asusual,delivered plenty of cinematic experiencesand a variety of events.There were 100 filmsshown from 25 countriesfrom November 8-17. The festival brought in plenty of celebrities, including Ray Romano,Mena Suvari,Cathy Moriarty,Gavin Casalegno,Francesca Eastwood,Emily Bett Rickards,Kevin Pollak, John Savage and the legendary Bob Mackie. Filmmakersalso came in from around the world.People could watch filmsonline too, and there wasasilent auction online aswell. One big difference thisyear wasthe absence of President & CEOGregory von
Hausch,who stepped down and took ajob in Hawaii. Former Board Chair Steve Savor now holdsthat title.LisaGrigorian isnow the Board Chair.Another change wasthat they only showed feature filmsand are moving their short film program to itsown festival February 14-17.
Opening Night
The opening night party took place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood,FL.People streamed in,stopping to pose on the red carpet before going in to the party,which engaged onlookersright away with women ready to wrestle in the ring,to fit in with the opening night film, "Queen of the Ring." The director and some of the starswere in attendance.Emily Bett Rickards,Gavin Casalegno and FrancescaEastwood received Star on the Horizon Awards.
Following the film,The Jersey Girlsgave another showstopping performance. There wasan open bar and passed hors d'oeuvresaswell.
(Top, left) Actor Ray Romano and his kids Greg & Matt, who created a movie about their lives called "The Romano Twins;" (top, right) FLIFFPresident & CEO Steve Savor, Broward County Film Commissioner Sandy Lighterman, Chair Lisa Grigorian & others; (above, left) actor John Savage, who won a Lifetime Achievement Award; (above, right) Fashion/Costume Designer Bob Mackie strikes a pose.
(Top, L t o R) Act ress Em ily Bet t Rickards receiving her St ar on t he Horizon aw ard; cast & crew of "Beyond t he Rush;" act ress Heather Aboff; cast & crew of "Queen of t he Ring;" (2nd line, L t o R) direct or of "Queen of t he Ring," Ash Avildsen, w it h w ife and son; Screenw rit er of "I Elect " Bill Spring and Jose Lim a; act or Gavin Casalegno w it h Lisa Grigorian receiving his St ar on t he Horizon aw ard; act ress Francesca East w ood w it h her aw ard as w ell; (3rd line) The Jersey Girls perform
Centerpiece Film
FLIFFaddressed a serioustopic with their Centerpiece Film,?No Address.?The movie takesaunique look at homelessness.It follows the plight of ayoung girl who endsup aged out of the foster system and isput out on the streets. While there,she bondswith agroup of people who also are without a home and they become her new family. They are confronted by those who do not want them to camp in their neighborhood.
The film showcasesthe many reasonswhy someone might find themselvesin thisperiloussituation And it also showsthat sometimes those who end up homelessare those you might least expect,so it is an issue that can happen to anyone.
The movie wasshown at Savor Cinemaon November 13 and the
director,JuliaVerdin,and some of the cast were in attendance, including Ty Pennington and Xander Berkeley and others. Following the film,they did aQ&A.
On the patio,there were passed horsd' oeuvresbefore the film and then a serene candlelight party following complete with violinists playing classical music.
(Top, L to R) Cast & Crew of "No Address;" hors d' oeuvres, anyone? Q&A; (2nd line) filmmakers enjoy the after party; actress Barbara Ryan with director Dominic Giannetti & actor Glen Evelyn; guests striking a pose at the event; director Julia Verdin with actor Ty Pennington.
Body text
Closing Night Film
AsFLIFFwrapped up,the festival was celebrated with a closing night party at the Superyacht Village with a screening of the film "Grander," adocumentary about sportsfishing.Created by Anthony Hsieh,the film followed hisinspiring story of rising up from an immigrant family to becoming a very successful businessman,to taking a break from the businessworld to follow his heart and enjoy hishobby.Hissportsfishing with teamstakeshim all over the world,and he sharesthe beautiful viewshe seesalong the way,and the thrilling momentsof pulling in acatch. There were several fisherman in the audience that found the film enthralling.
Guestscould also enjoyed passed horsd'oeuvres,sushi and an open bar,aswell ascake. Many went out on the patio with view of several yachts,which were the spot for the after parties.
The director also wasgiven acheck for hisfavorite charity,Warriorson the Water by Steve Savor (below). In addition,Chad Mossof MossConstruction received the Marti Huizenga Award (above).
FLIFFAward Winners
PEOPLE?SCHOICEAWARD:
- Beyond Triathlon
PRESIDENT?SAWARD:
- No Address
BESTACTOR:
- JOECORTESEin Here?sYianni!
BESTACTOR/ SPIRITOF INDEPENDENTSAWARDS:
- OMARCHAPPARO in The Wingwalker
BESTACTRESS:
- JULIA ORMOND in Here?sYianni!
BESTACTRESS/ SPIRITOF INDEPENDENTSAWARDS:
- ANAMARIA VARTOLOMEI in Being Maria
- BEHDOKHT VALIAN in Junks& Dolls
BESTDOCUMENTARY:
- Riverboom
BESTDOCUMENTARY/ SPIRITOFINDEPENDENTS
AWARDS:
- Beyond Triathlon
- Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion
- Playing The Changes
- Red Fever
- The Shape of Things
BESTFEATURE:
- The Wingwalker
BESTFEATURE/ SPIRITOF INDEPENDENTSAWARDS:
- Black Dog
- Color Book
- Butterflies
- Here?sYianni!
- Queen of The Ring
- Robot T-0
- Thank you Places!
BESTDIRECTOR:
- ALONSO ALVAREZ BARREDA forThe Wingwalker
BESTDIRECTOR/ SPIRITOF INDEPENDENTSAWARDS:
- CHRISTINA ELIOPOULOS forHere?sYianni!
ACHIEVEMENTAWARDS:
- Joe Cortese:Lifetime Achievement Award ?Here?sYianni!
- Bob Mackie:Lifetime Achievement ?Bob Mackie:?Naked Illusion?
- Bobby Roth:Lifetime Achievement
- ?GoodMen
- John Savage: Lifetime Achievement ? BeyondtheRush
- FrancescaEastwood: Star on the Horizon ? Queenof theRing
- Emily Bett Rickards: Star on the Horizon ? Queenof theRing
- Gavin Casalegno: Star on the Horizon ? Queenof theRing
- Sofia Vassilieva:Star on the Horizon ?Here?sYianni! .
(L to R)
Top: Director Ash Avildsen and his producer Aimee Schoof; "Grander" cake at closing night; 2nd line: Actresses Emily Bett Rickards & Francesca Eastwood on opening night; bottom: The Jersey Girls; actor Gavin Casalegno
INDEPENDENT STREAK MAGAZINE
OUTShine Film Fest ival
By Rachel Galvin
The OUTShine Film Festival had anew vision for their LGBTQ+ film festival thisyear Thisyear,their eventswere held in both Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. So for the fall edition,they started out with eventsin Broward County and then moved down to Miami.
Opening Night
Opening night wasin Dania at Regal DaniaPointe. There were afew boothsin the lobby with swag and information to pick up and they had some tasty tidbits for people who mingled before going into the theater. There,afew representativesfrom the festival who spoke.
The opening night film "Young Hearts" wasshown. Director Anthony Schatteman created a gem with thiscoming of age film. It followsayoung boy,Elias,who beginsto discover histrue sexuality when a neighbor boy,Alex,movesnext door. He triesto hide hisnewfound truth,covering it up by continuing to date agirl,but his feelingscome out in many ways, including anger,ashe dealswith bullying by the kidsin town and the neglect of his father,who ismore interested in hisown self-interest ashe hasrising fame asasinger. Thismovie really pullsat the heart stringsto anyone who hassuffered through those tender yearsand dealing with first loves.Even those who have not had to deal with explaining being different than others will find familiarity in thiscoming of age tale.Bring kleenex and be prepared to shed atear.
The after party wasrockin' at the 14 North Daiquiri Bar at Dania Improv. Gueststried abunch of different Daiquirisand plenty of
passed horsd' oeuvreswhile the DJplayed some great music.
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Centerpiece Film
The Centerpiece Film, "Hammarskjold--Fight For Peace," wasshown at Savor Cinemain Ft. Lauderdale.Thisfilm covered a seriousand true story of a UN Secretary-General,who worked diligently to maintain the peace in post-colonial Africa. But,he found himself battling against certain other foeswho want power for themselves.
In the midst of thisconflict,he faced accusationsof homosexuality at atime when it wasnot socially acceptable by any means.When a lost love comesinto hislife,it remindshim of aself he had locked away,and he'sforced to deal with that part of hisidentity.
The cinematography in the film isbrilliant with up close and intriguing visualsand terrific sound aswell.The acting isalso stellar. While dealing with conflictsin the Africamight seem a bit tedious, the story pacing and excellent acting keepsyou on your toes throughout,while the tangent into hislove life givesthe movie real heart.
Closing Night
The Closing Night took place back in Miami at Regal South Beach with the screening of a movie called "Layla" (which thisreporter unfortunately did not get to see) about a British-Palestinian drag performer who endsup in an unlikely romance.The movie wasfollowed by an after party at ITItalian Trattoriawith aDJ, an open bar with signature cocktailsand light bites.
For more info. on OUTShine,visit OUTShineFilm.com.
Film Review: ?High Tide?
By Rachel Galvin
Lourenço (Marco Pigossi) finds himself swimming against the tide. Escaping hishome of Brazil and hiding who he truly is,he findshimself in the United Statesadrift in the queer meccaof Provincetown. Hisboyfriend left him. Hisvisaisexpiring.He finds himself doing menial work for a cruel boss.He isshiftless. And spending time picking up strangersin barsis leaving him feeling more hollow. But a chance encounter on the beach may prove to be hissalvation. But even that comeswith complications.Still reeling over hisex,he isnot the most stable of partners.Ishe ready to start again?Even hisfriendship with a friend who hastaken him becomes unsteady. Can he find anything to hold onto?He floundersand triesto keep hishead above water. There hasto be away.
Thisfilm,directed by Marco Calvani,isa very slow burn focused on Lourenço?sangst and the slowly developing unexpected romance between he and Maurice (JamesBlunt),and what happensnext when Maurice hasto leave town to hisnext planned adventure.
Pigossi and Blunt are both very easy on the eyes,and Maurice?sfriends act asthe comic relief.The film isproduced by MarisaTomei,who also actsin it asawoman who leavesher husband for a woman,adifferent role for the actress.Scott,Lourenço ?slandlord of sorts,isplayed by Bill Irwin.
The movie toucheson the themesof racism and gay issuesprimarily and isgoing to be appreciated most by a gay audience,but isrelatable to anyone who hasfound themselvesadrift in life. Note: The film does include nudity and plenty of gay sex scenes,aswell asdrug usage. Heartbreaking and tender,the film received 100% fresh from Rotten Tomatoes The director wasin South Beach for several screeningsof the film.
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"TheHitmen"
Premier
By Rachel Galvin
Silverspot Cinema in Coconut Creek wasovertaken by finely dressed film lovers,and the cast and crew of the movie "The Hitmen" on October 30.
Directed by Anthony Galizia,who also starsin the film,the comedy brought plenty of laughs. It followstwo haplesshitmen who,in the processof doing ajob,end up getting caught up in adomestic dispute that leadsto the mob bossbeing angry at hiswife, who istrying to escape,and the hitmen are left wondering whether to obey ordersor rebel against them.
People gathered before the film to mingle in the lobby and get seen on the red carpet,and be interviewed by Michelle Chin.
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Spotlight: Director Susan Seidelman
By Rachel Galvin
According to Variety magazine in a recent article,women directed just 16% of the top 250 grossing movies. The fact that the lack of women in the industry isstill making headlinesmeansthingshave not changed much,and yet,thingsare much better than they once were.Back in the 1980s,women directors were like unicorns. Susan Seidelman,who spoke recently at the Miami Book Fair,wasone of the few.
Known best for directing "Desperately Seeking Susan" and the pilot for "Sex and the City," and other episodesof the show,Seidelman has had ameaningful career.
She got her start after taking afilm appreciation class."Assoon asI took that class,I kind of got hooked," she said.
Living in the suburbsof Philadelphia,the only moviesshe had seen asakid were whatever wasplaying in the local mall.But the class opened her eyesto classic and international films."I started paying attention to how storiesare constructed,you know,the language of cinema. And so I took film appreciation 101,102,103,104,I just kept taking it," she said.
When she graduated,however,she wasunsure what to do next. Film schoolswould not become popular until the '90s,when independent cinemabecame popular
"I applied to three film schools,two in Philadelphia,and I was rejected,one in New York City,and NYU,and somehow I got in.And as soon asI started,I wanted to move to New York,so it wasan excuse to get there. But assoon asI started making movies,actually playing with the cameraand editing,I realized that thiswassomething that I felt comfortable doing,and that I hoped to be doing for along period of time," said Seidelman.
She started honing her skillswith short filmsat NYU. After she graduated,her grandmother died and had left her $12,000 in her will for her future wedding.Instead of implementing that plan,she
decided to use the money to make alow-budget independent film -"The Smithereens."
"I think my grandmother would have been very proud of me," she said."That film wasthe start of my career,and I never expected it to get to the CannesFilm Festival or to really be the start of my career, but again,I wasworking with the same people that I had worked with at NYUFilm School."
She considered herself to be quite naive when it came to the industry. She did not know she needed permitsto film,but rather ended up shooting guerillastyle in the early days.New York proved to be a treasure trove. "In the 70s,New York City wasbankrupt,so the city waskind of falling apart,and the great thing about that wasthat it provided a very gritty texture.Especially downtown and the Times Square area,you could kind of point the cameraanywhere,and there wassome gritty,crumbling buildings,garbage pile."
Again,at the time she started,women directorswere few and far between In the '80s,she noted a few emerged here and there "There wasBarbraStreisand,who had made 'Yentl,' and Amy Heckerling had done 'Fast Timesat Ridgemont High,'" she said "And there was another woman named Martha Coolidge,but literally it wasthe five of us,and that waspretty much it."
She continued,"Once it got accepted into Cannes,suddenly I was getting a lot of attention. And I got an agent.I didn't have to knock on doors.She actually called me in France."
She added,"After the festival,I went out to LA,and I did,you know, 'the Dog and Pony show,' you'd go from studio to studio,production company.It'sameet and greet kind of thing."
She began meeting people and they started sending her scriptsto consider,but it took her a long time,after "The Smithereens" to find her next project. "People would pitch me projectsor give me scripts, and I must have read 100 scripts,and they were all about,you know, horny cheerleaders,or babysittersin haunted houses,or,you know,it wasn't something I wasinterested in doing," she said. "And it took awhile until I finally got the script that wassent to me by two women producers,Midge Stanford and Sarah Pillsbury ...'Desperately Seeking Susan.'"
Since the name Susan wasin the title,she felt destined to tackle the project,and also,she felt drawn to the characters-- both the character actressRosanna Arquette would end up playing,Roberta,the bored housewife,and Madonna'scharacter,Susan,who wasfree-spirited.The film followsRoberta'sobsession with Susan in hopesof making her own life feel a bit more interesting,not knowing the adventure that
collaboration would lead to.
"I knew that if I didn't pick the right first Hollywood movie to make,I would disappear," she said. "I had heard afew horror storiesabout women,independent filmmakers,who made one beautiful, low-budget movie,called 'Girlfriends,' and then did aHollywood movie with the overbearing producer. It didn't do the box office that the producer wanted it to do and then she kind of disappeared for many years.So,I knew I had to pick the right thing." It turned out that thismovie wasdefinitely the right thing.
Many women auditioned for the role of Susan,including Melanie Griffith,Ellen Barkin and Jamie Lee Curtis. But Seidelman instead chose someone she knew from the neighborhood,ayoung performer named Madonna."I washanging around the East Village music scene,so I knew she wasplaying in some of the local clubs.But she wasstill relatively unknown in LA,and we had to screen test her before the studio would allow me to hire her.At the time we started filming,she wasrelatively unknown.She wasin the first shot of the first scene we filmed and no one waspaying attention.We were filming on St. Mark's Place in the East Village,you know, with a film crew. Pedestrianswould walk by and glance in our direction.They didn't see any movie stars. They'd walk away. It wasavery low key kind of shoot.By the end,we needed security to keep people away because what had happened wasthat her 'Like aVirgin' album came out in that time period.And suddenly it went from,when we started, RosannaArquette'smovie to what they called the 'Madonnamovie.'
love with amermaid (Darryl Hannah) or "Mannequin" about aman (Andrew McCarthy) falling for a mannequin (Kim Cattrall) She classifies all of these to be "Pygmalion" stories,including "Pretty Woman." After all the men-centered stories,Seidelman thought "Why not take that story and twist it around and tell it from a female point of view?"
"So,that wasthe reason I wanted to make it. But also I wanted to make it because it'sabout,you know,human and AI.I wanted to set it in aplace where also there wasa diversity of culture,and Miami isso diverse and so wonderful in that way.I thought that that would be the perfect setting.Also because it had a space theme,and I alwayssort of associated Florida with,you know,the space program back then. So that wasthe reason we came to Florida," she said.
"But certainly in termsof the marketing of the movie,it pushed the movie to another category that wasbeyond the expectationsof the studio because they thought the budget wasabout $5 million,which is small for Hollywood,to women producers,awoman writer,a woman director,to women stars.They had very low expectations. We didn't fit the key demographic,which was,I guess,young boys.And then when her career skyrocketed and they were thrilled."
Following that success,Seidelman went on to do another comedy called "Making Mr.Wright." It wasabout awoman who fallsin love with an android,something that,at the time,seemed very far-fetched. "It'sabout awoman who'shired to program an android that'sgoing to be sent to space,but to make him into an appealing person,an appealing man." At the time,there were moviesabout men falling in love with non-humans,like "Splash," with aman (Tom Hanks) falling in
Another film she made in Florida was"Boynton Beach Club," which she helped her mother to write and she directed it. "What happened was that my mother wasliving in an adult community up in West Palm Beach.And she had a friend,her best friend,passed away. And the friend's husband went to a bereavement room. And long story short,suddenly,you know,there were like four men in the group and 30 women.And he found himself being hit on.
"And he hadn't dated in 40 whatever years. And now he found himself back in the dating game again asa late 60- or early 70-year-old.And he started to tell my mom and my dad storiesabout what it waslike to now be back in the dating world when all the ruleshave changed.
"And my mother started to tell me these stories, and she said I think it would make agood movie. Just alittle note ...my mother hasbeen telling me ideasfor making moviesfor the last 30 years. And usually I would say,yeah,thanks,Mom. That'sgreat.I'm going to think about it. But when she told me thisidea,the ideaof aromantic comedy that had drama,aswell about older people looking for love or companionship,or sex,I thought that isagreat ideabecause no one's doing this. Thiswasbefore Nancy Meyersstarted doing afew,but no one wasmaking moviesabout older people dating and looking for love."
But,the timing wasnot ideal. She said,"I wasabout to go off to Canadato make amovie,and I didn't have time to think about it too much.So,I basically said to her,'Mom,why don't you write it ?' She said,'I don't know how to write a screenplay.'" But there are booksfor that and her mother did the research and tried to do it on her own, Once Seidelman saw the result,it wasnot ready for prime time. "The script waskind of a messstructurally because she wasa
beginner.But it had great nuggetsof wisdom and great momentsthat I could not have invented because I wasn't living her life. And so I asked if I could do some rewrites," she said."And I had met awoman who livesdown here in Miami. So,the two of usworked on rewriting it and it became the script.But really,absolutely wasmy mom'soriginal and her idea."
Although she thought the ideaof the movie wasa winner,Hollywood did not think so.Distribution became difficult.She said,"Hollywood, especially the studiosand also the distribution companiesare very thick and very narrow in termsof narrow demographics. I thought for sure it'sgoing to get picked up by a distributor.Distributorscame up to me [at afestival] and said,'We loved your movie,but older people don't go to the movies.We can't make a movie that'sgeared for 50 and above.'"
She did not buy that older people don't go to the theater,after all, her mom and friendswent to the moviesall the time.Plus,younger people could also enjoy the film.She decided to prove Hollywood wrong and came up with a unique strategy."We reached out to a theater chain called Frank Theaters.I know they were all over South Florida. And we made a deal where they would put the film in,I think it was10 or 12 of their screens.And we would pay for the marketing. They would put the theater up,and we had agood split on the box office.And the opening weekend,it waslike No.1 in all their theaters because we knew who our audience was,and we just went out to that audience.And then what happened wasthat,after,they would print the box office resultsin Variety and some of the other trade papers. The distributorssaw the numbersthat our movie wasdoing well and then came back and said,'Oops,you know,now we understand,'" she said.
"And so it ended up getting picked up by the Samuel Baldwin Company,who had rejected it originally.So again,sometimesyou have to kind of find your own way," she continued.
That issomething she discussesin her book,"Desperately Seeking Something,' which she talked about during her talk at the book fair, and had on-hand to sign to those who purchased it.
The next topic she brought up during her talk wasthe cultural phenomenon of "Sex and the City." When she received the script for the series,she wasnot super excited,until she read it. "I thought,wow, thisissomething really unique. I loved the female friendship aspect of it,I loved the boldnessof the dialogue of the subject matter,I loved that the women weren't teenagersor in their early 20s," she said, adding she had no ideathe popularity the TVshow would have.
She said she approached it asif it were ashort film The crew wasa film crew on the pilot,not a TVcrew.She said,"If you look at the pilot, it isdifferent than the way the seriesprogressed.The first season's different.Carrie looksmore like a writer.Her clothesweren't as expensive,and her part wasdifferent. But,you know,you never
know what'sgoing to click,what'snot going to click.I have no idea."
Showslike "Sex and the City" and "The Sopranos," she said,really turned HBOaround. "They were the first of those kind of,like,prestige TV," she said.
"Sex and the City's" influence permeated the culture. "I had zero ideathat thingslike,you know, cupcakesand cosmos would suddenly become aspopular," she said.
She added,"Even though the seriesstarted to become more and more about fashion,to me what the heart of it waswas about friendship."
Seidelman came along way from the early daysasa filmmaker. "AsI said,growing up in the '60sin the suburbs,I didn't know any [women filmmakers],I didn't know whether we could be film directors.And I loved watching movies,but I never thought about making them." Fans,like thisreporter,are glad she did Seidelman'sbook isavailable on Amazon.com and elsewhere.
(Above) Pedro Gonzalez, with Susan Seidelman, wearing print from artist Michael Roman. That print was seen in "Desperately Seeking Susan." (Below) Seidelman autographs her book for Gonzalez.
INDEPENDENT STREAK MAGAZINE
Miam i GEMS
By Rachel Galvin
On November 3,during the Miami Gemsfestival,actors Pamela Anderson and Sebastian Stan both were presented with awards. Anderson received an Art of Light Award at Regal South Beach following the screening of her highly lauded film "The Last Showgirl." The film'sdirector,Gia Coppola,wasalso in attendance,and there wasaQ&A following the screening.Later,at the Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus,Stan waspresented with aPreciousGem Award and had a chance to discusshiscareer for The Hollywood Reporter?sAwardsChatter podcast,moderated live by Scott Feinberg,He discussed hisexperiences working on The Avengers' films,aswell ashisrole in "A Different Man" and "The Apprentice."
Pictured L to R: Sebastian Stan, Pamela Anderson; (below): Director Gia Coppola, Miami Film Festival Director James Wooley, Festival Programmer Lauren Cohen, Sebastian Stan during Q&A
INDEPENDENT STREAK MAGAZINE
Theater Spotlight: ?From Brooklyn to Boca
By Rachel Galvin
Sharon Pfeiffer hasbeen showing her comedy chops again. This force-to-be-reckoned-with showsher prowessin a brand-new play she wrote and isthe lead in called ?From Brooklyn to Boca.?The fish out of water tale islikened to ?The SopranosmeetsThe Goldbergs.?It isnot for the easily offended and givesan equal opportunity ribbing to both the Jewish and Italian cultures,but it?sall in good fun.The play followsher character, Regina?s,journey.Her husband,known as?Fuggedabout it Frank,? played by Alex Alonso,isinvolved with some mafiadealings.When the other mobstersget pinched,he will also take the fall. In order to save himself,he hasto make a drastic life change,going into the witness protection program.Thistakeshim and hisfamily ? Regina and their wise cracking son Carmine?from living in Brooklyn,New York to BocaRaton, Floridaand meanschanging hisname and becoming Jewish.
Thisculture shock isthe crux of the play.And plenty of laughsensued, many over Frank?sinteresting choice of vocabulary.Alonso playsit well. Pfeiffer scoresplenty of laughsasshe doesher best to keep their real identity hidden They meet some interesting charactersalong the way and still have to worry about if the mobsterswill track them down and destroy their new life,and then it would be curtains. They have to keep their wits about them to make it through thistough situation.
Overall,the play waswell written with fun charactersand snappy hilarious interactions.There issome breaking of the fourth wall,especially by Pfeiffer,who servesasthe narrator for the play.All of the mobstershave fun camaraderie together,something thoroughly embraced by the
actors Each character hasa funny name,such asJoey ?Bag ALaundry? Romanelli,Big Sal Vitti and Mikey ?the Bat?DiMaggio.
The new charactersshe encountersbring their own sense of comic relief. Ashout out to actor Cameron Holder,whose character got laughsevery time he hit the stage.
Thisplay showsindependent spirit.Since it wasfirst amovie,it kind of is presented that way with many scene changesand much movement of makeshift propsto set the scene.Ahuge kudosto the whole cast and crew for being brave enough to create something brand new.
Every night so far hasbeen sold out. The opening galanight on January 10 waspacked and the legendary singer Connie Francisattended (Sher says she iscollaborating with her on anew version of her iconic film ?Where the BoysAre?called ?Where the Men Are.?) Francismade sure to call over Pfeiffer to let her know how much she enjoyed the play and to encourage her,something that left Pfeiffer honored and kvelling.But Franciswasnot the only one giving praise. She received praise from everyone.
Guestswere treated to deliciouslight bitesand music from DJFreakin Dominick and some even busted out into disco dancing,while others enjoyed champagne,wine and other spirits It wasalovely evening
For Pfeiffer,thisplay waspretty personal After all,she hasdirect real experience with starting anew here in Florida after dealing with mobsters back in New York. She actually escaped the life of being a mob wife in New York before starting over here in the Sunshine State. Her story wastold on the TVshow ?I Married a Mobster,?Season 2,episode 3. It isquite the tale. She took her experiencesand used them to create something unique, teaming up with Deni B. Sher to write thisstory.Sher hasabackground in theater and screenwriting,and hasco-written an award-winning local film called ?Boxed?with Laurel Levey about The Holocaust,aswell asothers, including afilm called ?Grave Errors?and one called ?The Imagined ?Her script ?Evergreen ChristmasWedding,?also beginsproduction soon. Originally,the play ?From Brooklyn to Boca?wasintended to be a movie. They filmed the pilot and ateaser (directed by Josh Louis) and were in the processof shopping it asafeature film when they decided to go in a different direction and try it asa play.So,they rewrote the script a bit and did astaged reading,later to tweak some more,hold auditionsand put together the show.(Side note:In the original pilot,thisreporter wasin the role of Rhonda,and in the play,wascast in a different role,asthe news anchor).
The play wasdirected and produced by Sharee C. Pemberton,who also hasquite the background.Thisnative Floridian went to Chicago to be part of Roger Ebert?sFilm Critics?Awardsbefore returning to the state. Asa creative director,she also haswon the Clio for the iconic ?ThisBud?sFor You!?campaign. She also hasworked with the USOEntertainment Troupe with actor Gary Sinese and received an Emmy for a PBSspecial. She wasthe executive producer for the film ?The Letter,?which will be released soon. Asfar asher experience in theater,she worked for Fox Theatricalson ?The Producers,?which won aTony,and haswon additional awardsfor her work asaproducer and actress.In addition,she isan author of two books. Asfor ?From Brooklyn to Boca,?there are plansfor additional runsof the play.Who knowswhat isnext for thiscomedy.
More about Pfeiffer ? she also isa stand-up comedian on the local South Floridacircuit and continuesto act in variousprojects.She can be seen asin afunny sexy role in ?The Beach Bum,?directed by Harmony Korine,with Matthew McConaughey,among many others.
