LOCAL FILM DIRECTOR PREMIERS @ DUNGOG FILM FESTIVAL  

 Actors & crew from Prudence Pecker shoot, written & directed by Kim Ramsey.

Last week I worked on the Rom Com short film Prudence Pecker which was written & directed by Kim Ramsey who is a filmmaker currently doing the directors course at the International Film School. Kim, whose company, Delphic Insight, has numerous shorts & promotional vid’s to her credit. 

 Kim lining up a shot. 

Her film The Final Illusion shot mid December 2009 had it’s Australian premiere at the Dungog Film Festival this year.

 The Final Illusion, directed by Kim Ramsey @ Delphic Insight.

Working on location at the NSW Writers Centre at Rozelle, I had a great time on Prudence Pecker & the crew were all very hard working creatives who worked full tilt all day (many of them on only a few hours’ sleep). Thankyou Kim for the opportunity to work with you.

SOAP BOX

One of the things I love about my work as an actor is the fact that I am constantly learning things…working on Green Screen, doing Rom Com, learning accents for a play reading & so on. Lately I’ve (re-)learned the following:

*Beware the director who says your a very smart woman/man/person but in the next breath tells you to stop being so intellectual & to make your answers to his questions much shorter as he hasn’t got the time to listen to you.

*Cherish the director who allows you to be the best actor you can be & welcomes your creativity & intelligence.

*Beware the actor who likes to correct you on set (especially when its not necessary!) then stuffs up their own work.

 *Cherish the actor who wants to collaborate with you, live the life of their character & wants you to do the same.

FORGEING NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIONS IN YOUR FILM CAREER

To all filmmakers & actors, the UNITED FILMMAKERS ASSOCIATION  is a US based networking organisation that is dedicated to the encouragement of the growth in local (US) filmmaking opportunities through networking, collaboration, team building, action & empowerment. Go to http://ufa.metahelion.com/node/5 to read all about this very pro-active association.

UFA now has a Queensland chapter which is growing all the time. Go to www.unifilmmaker.com & they also have a facebook group, United Filmmakers Association (Australia), Queensland chapter.

SAN FRANCISCO CONNECTION

Megan Finlay, who has established a new performance company, RAPID DESCENT, in San Fran has just been awarded a performance grant which will fund the full production of SKIN TIGHT in August 2010. I saw the Excerpt Performance of SKIN TIGHT last November when I went up to San Fran from LA to see it.

Meg is also busy working on the company’s second show via a first stage rehearsal/development period of a very physical production based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth. You can see this work-in-progress via http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSppfl-ihqg . WARNING: the sound is not balanced so it gets a bit strident. If this link doesn’t work go to youtube & search for RAPID DESCENT 2nd Sunday Work-in-Progress.

Combining live music, contact improvisation, text & lean staging logistics, Meg is moving into a new style of working that she has been aiming for since she finished her director’s course at the Drama School in London in 06.

Having worked with Meg as a member of her CUT Theatre in 2004/2005, & having seen her work in San Fran last year I have no doubt that SKIN TIGHT will pave the way for Rapid Descent as a company on-the-rise in the the very competitive arts landscape of San Fran.

QUEENSLAND CONNECTION

PRAY FOR DAWN is an Australian independent film currently in pre-production & actors are encouraged to submit themselves for casting consideration via the PRAY FOR DAWN facebook page.

The concept is a cracker & is a serious horror flick with a great lead in….”A cyclone isn’t the only thing the locals of Relsieh County have to deal with when a Vampire Overlord decides to increase his brood”.

Don’t leave it too long before you take up this opportunity to be considered for this film.

WELCOME BABY FOLLETT

Film director & colleague James Follett & his lovely wife Audrey welcomed their new baby boy “Charlie” James Follett into this world on Saturday 15th of May. Bub wanted to be born early, 4 weeks, so he had to spend a wee bit of time in the ICU. All is well now.

 Charlie, Daddy & Mummy.

What a honey!! ….congratulations Aud & James.

 Baby Follett aka “Charlie”…kiss & hug from your Aunty Jane xx00.

US CONNECTION

 TRIBE written by Nichole Gause & directed by Brian Daye.

US actor/writer/director & colleague Brian Daye (who I worked with at Margie Haber’s last July 2009) directs TRIBE by Nth. Carolina playwright Nichole Gause now playing at The Duke Energy Theatre, Charlotte, Nth. Carolina.

TRIBE is about family, religion, food & money, a quartet of concerns that binds all our lives in the daily ritual of living & loving. Theatre critic for the Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman says he heard a new voice last Wednesday night “an angry voice, an anguished voice, a voice that resonated with humor that was sometimes bitter and sometimes joyous…never sounded a false note“.

Brian’s direction of TRIBE “…has balanced the production neatly…drawing restrained performances from the cast.. ” & this careful expert treatment of a play that could be strident & obvious means he & his mini-repertory company has a winner on their hands. Congratulations Brian & the actors of ON Q Productions.

LA CONNECTION -

EXCLUSIVE OFFER TO AUSTRALIAN ACTORS – INTERNATIONAL STUDIES PROGRAM Summer Session @ MARGIE HABER STUDIO, LOS ANGELES

 US & International Acting Coach Margie Haber.

Do you want to study screen acting in Los Angeles but don’t know where to go or who to study with?.Well, I’d love to help you achieve this goal. Last year I spent July doing the International Studies Program (ISP) at Margie Haber Studio in West Hollywood. It was a full immersion program, 5 days a week with a fully structured course that focused on screen acting & the business of acting in the US. I worked with others actors from all over the world & Australia, it was truly ‘international‘.

 ISP July 2009 with actors from Sth Africa, USA , Australia, France, Italy, Germany, Sth America, Finland & Austria.

Here are just some of the activities offered on this course:
*Well over 80 hours of on-camera instruction @ the studio with Margie & her coaches who are industry professionals & successful actors/writers/teachers in their own right.

*Intensive work on the Haber Phrase Technique – Margie’s revolutionary system that teaches the actor how to use the page instead of fearing it; to trust the words & explore the life, instead of focusing on the traps that come with forced memorization.

*Two sessions with Dialect coach Steven Memel.

*A session with working actors in Hollywood, in order to share the experiences of what it is like to be a new face in Town. And how to go from this to being a serious regular.

*A session with an Immigration specialist, to help students learn what documents & procedures they must follow in order to obtain work in the US.

*A resume & headshot session with industry professionals showing what is currently the Hollywood standard.

*A session with a Manager, where actors can learn the pitfalls of the business & how to obtain representation.

*A session with an Agent, where actors skills & tools are evaluated.

* A casting session with a well-known Casting Director.

*An industry party, thrown for the ISP actors, to allow them to practice all they have learned.

 Studio Party for ISP actors, July 2009 L to R : Antonio Peligra Italy, Jane E Seymour Australia, Saadjed Ayubi Germany & Ekima White USA.

*Off-site activities such as a TV taping & a night at the famous Groundlings Improv Theatre on Melrose.

*On the weekends, ISP actors are free to explore LA & all it has to offer.

The total cost of the ISP program is $3000 USD.

However for 2010 Summer session if you use my name when you make contact with the office to book a place you will pay $2800 USD….that’s a $200 saving. You would find your own accommodation but the studio can help with referrals; and all other living expenses would be your responsibility.

I had a career-changing time on the ISP, so much so that I returned in November 2009 to do the Intermediate Intensive On-Camera course which took me to another level. My goal this year is to return in November 2010 to study at Margie’s again. 

Margie’s approach to screen acting, auditioning & cold-reading is designed to help the actor get the part without falling apart; many of her students are working actors in Hollywood & internationally.

ISP June-July 2010 for Australian actors it’s $2800 USD when you mention my name. When you break that cost down to a day rate, it represents fantastic value for top-notch professional up-skilling & networking.

Margie Haber Studio, Winner, 2009 BACKSTAGE READER’S CHOICE AWARD for Favourite AuditionWorkshop.

www.margiehaber.com 

http://www.facebook.com/margiehaberstudios

Phone: (310) 854-0870    Fax:(310) 854-0462

MINDLESS ESCAPISM & A JOLLY GOOD ACTION FLICK

IRONMAN 2 is chock full of in-your-face action, star actors having a good time & delivering on the hype, a good balance of humour courtesy of a slick script played to the hilt by everyone!. Mickey Rourke is in fine form as the Russian bad guy & his usual attention to character detail makes his villain mad,bad & dangerous to know…..& above all, believable!. Sam Rockwell plays slimy mega-rich stupid bad guy to perfection & Robert Downey Jnr. …well let me just say I’m so glad he didn’t destroy himself with drugs on the slippery slope to self-destruction. The technology & gadgetry is mind-boggling especially for a Tech Dummy like me. But it’s not allowed to overshadow a good action story & keen camera work. What about Gwenny & Scarlett I hear you say?….yeah, OK , they look hot & match it up with the boys in this one. Go see it for a bit of escapism…no harm…no foul.

ps…perhaps take a pair of earplugs as it gets LOUD.

FINAL CALL FOR ENTERIES: SHOW-FEST INTERNATIONAL 2010   ?

NAFA SHOW-FEST INTERNATIONAL 2010 has extended it’s deadline till MAY 14. So if you think you can get your flick finished get on with it & get it submitted.

Lots of $$$ prizes, networking opportunities, promotional platforms for your services & talents, show’n'tell forums, prizes, awards & lots more. It’s on at the Randwick Ritz which lends a superb glitzy ‘silver screen’ old Hollywood feel atmosphere to the night. Visit www.nafa.net.au for all the entry details.