Saturday, April 9, 2016

Filmmaker Claire Imler and Jackie Krisher, star of Claire's documentary Jackie Krisher: No Limits - joined me Monday at 9am pst on KUCI 88.9fm!



Filmmaker Claire Imler and Jackie Krisher, starring in Claire's film, Jackie Krisher: No Limits joined me Monday
9am pst on KUCI 88.9fm.
If you missed today's show,
listen here!



CLAIRE TELLS US ABOUT THE FILM & HOW SHE BECAME A FILMMAKER
This film was made throughout the course of one year, my mom introduced us and then I found her story so inspiring so I decided to make a film about it. I followed Jackie’s story through all these different steps she had to take in order to be able to complete her first triathlon. I was there at her very first swim lesson, then a couple months later I was there to film her swimming in the bay during the triathlon. Jackie does all of this to raise money for the Leukemia society. She is one of the most dedicated, passionate, and hardworking person I know! She inspires many with her incredible story and I am lucky to have been able to share this experience with her! This short documentary has been nominated at several festivals, and the next upcoming screenings will be at the Newport Beach Film Festival on April 23rd, and SoCal Student Film Festival on April 30th.

A short synopsis of the film: Jackie’s inspiring story shows that there really are no limits, and that anything is possible with work, dedication, and love. She is an inspiration to many and will leave you inspired to do many great things!

ABOUT JACKIE
Jackie is filled with incredible stories, she could go on talking for hours! Currently she is 82 years old, working full time at a new job, and she trains a lot to continue running to raise awareness for the Leukemia society. Her goal is to be able to go to Africa to hike Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money. 

ABOUT CLAIRE
I am a junior in high school, and I am part of the film program at school. I fell in love with film when I joined the class, and now it’s really what I want to do in my future. I’m lucky to have such supportive friends and family who help me create projects and films! I am super excited that I was nominated in several film festivals this year and I hope to be able to continue doing this in my future! 


Friday, April 8, 2016

Actress Mary O'Connor, featured in Finola Hughes' film "The Bet," joined me on today's show!



MARY O'CONNOR

Did you miss Mary O'Connor on today's show? Listen here!

Mary O'Connor was born October 21, 1990 in Massachusetts. After graduating from high school, she moved to the beautiful seaside town Santa Barbara in California. It was there that she answered an ad for an open movie audition and snagged her first acting job in the feature film “The Bet” which will be released in April 2016.

Mary decided that acting was her calling and subsequently moved to Los Angeles to pursue her career in films. In 2014, however, she suffered a rare spinal cord stroke while surfing which resulted in her becoming paralyzed. She has not let this derail her from her dream of being a working actress and continues to make incredible progress in her recovery.

She is very happy to talk about her story because she hopes others will find some inspiration in it. Mary also wants to bring awareness to the disappointing lack of representation of disabled individuals in the film and television industries.

“I'd really love to use my story to further this important cause,” she says. “I'm so blessed to be walking with a cane now, as I was originally totally paralyzed from the waist down. I was in a wheelchair for about six months, then used a walker for another six months until I graduated to the cane which I've used for a year now.”

Mary is now living in the Hollywood Hills and is currently studying acting with James Franco at his Studio 4 School in Los Angeles, and is getting involved with local charitable organizations where she can encourage other young people to follow their dreams.




"The Bet" will make its debut on DVD and Video On Demand in April across the country. Actress FINOLA HUGHES (General Hospital) makes her directorial debut with this film which was shot on location in beautiful Santa Barbara, California.






FINOLA HUGHES

An accomplished and versatile actress, Finola Hughes stars as the mysterious Anna Devane on the ABC daytime drama “General Hospital.” She also portrayed the role on ABC’s “All My Children.” Her performance garnered her an Emmy® Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in 1991, as well as three additional nominations in the same category.

Hughes most recently made her directorial debut in the indie feature The Bet, a romantic comedy starring Scott Hagood, Mary O’Connor, Portia Thomas and Tim Whitcomb and was the recipient of The Best Feature and The La Femme Film Festival.

Hughes also just completed starring in the indie feature Dance Off which she stars opposite Kathryn McCormick, Shane Harper, Carolyn Hennesy, David Burtka, Marlowe Peyton and was directed by Alex DiMarco.

Hughes’ multi-faceted career has continued over two decades. Always interested in new projects, she is now adding the title of designer to her impressive repertoire. As the creative visionary behind Finola’s Jewel Box, a bohemian-chic jewelry collection that debuted on QVC in October 2005, she combines her extensive experience in the fashion industry with her personal passion for eclectic, unique designs.

In addition, Hughes was host of The Style Network’s No. 1-rated series, “How Do I Look?,” and a frequent style commentator for several national television shows. In addition she is an acclaimed author, having released her first book, Soapsuds, in June 2005.

Born and educated in London, England, Hughes studied ballet from the age of 10. In 1980 she originated the role of The White Cat in the premiere company of the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical, “Cats.” She made her American film debut when Sylvester Stallone cast her opposite John Travolta in “Staying Alive.” Other film work includes “Like Crazy” starring Jennifer Lawrence and Anton Yelchin, “The Nutcracker,” “Soap Dish,” “Aspen Extreme,” “Above Suspicion” and “Tycus.” Her extensive list of television credits includes “Jack’s Place,” “Blossom,” “Pacific Palisades,” “Charmed,” “Dream On” and “Tracy Takes On.”

Hughes maintains homes in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara with her husband, artist Russell Young, and their sons, Dylan and Cash as well as daughter Sadie.

www.finolahughes.com

ABOUT THE BET

FEATURE FILM “THE BET” TO PREMIERE
ON VIDEO ON DEMAND APRIL 2016

Actress Finola Hughes Turns Her Talents to Directing in Multi-Generational RomCom

LOS ANGELES - THE BET, a romantic comedy directed by actress Finola Hughes (“Stayin’ Alive,” “General Hospital”), will make its Video on Demand debut March 3, 2016 following a series of successful festival showings across the country.

The film tells the story of three generations of a family living together who all are “looking for love” and come up with a unique bet to spur them on to a new romance. High school senior Addison is still a virgin and his friends are urging him to do the deed before he leaves for college in the fall. His grandfather Collier wants to find a little excitement in his golden years and suggests that the two of them find suitable ladies for each other so they make a bet on who will score first.

Caught between the two guys is single mom Libby, a copywriter who is persuaded by her office mate to start dating again. Suffice to say, none of the romantic maneuvers goes according to plan, but everyone ends up exactly where they should be by film’s end.

THE BET stars Scott Hagood (Addison), Tim T. Whitcomb (Collier), Portia Thomas (Libby) and introduces Mary O’Connor as Jennifer, Addison’s dream girl.

Recent festival appearances include Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, Central Florida Film Festival, Dances With Films and the LA Femme International Film Festival where it won Best Feature Award.

With a story by Annie J. Dahlgren, screenplay by Dahlgren and Christina Eliason, and directed by Hughes, the film was lovingly shot in the Santa Barbara area and makes excellent use of the gorgeous scenery and local talent. A production of Community Film Studio Santa Barbara, THE BET was produced by Christine Fry, James Kahn and Jack Presnal; executive producers include Linda Newlin, along with Hughes and Presnal. Craig Kohloff serves as Director of Photography, Ron Carter is production designer, the film is edited by Cristian Cazor and featured music by composer Brian Mann.

See more information on the production at: http://www.thebetmovie.com


Sunday, April 3, 2016

Cindy Whitehead "Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word," talks skateboarding, her blog and TEDx talk ("Girl is NOT a 4 letter Word"), her AWESOME grandmother and more!


Cindy Whitehead / “Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word”



"Live life balls to the wall. Do epic shit. Take every dare that comes your way. You can sleep when you're dead”. This is the personal motto of Cindy Whitehead.

If you missed Cindy Whitehead on today's show, listen here!


She conquered the male dominated profession of pro vert skateboarding in the 70's,
and quickly became one of the top ranked professional female vert skateboarders in the U.S. for pool riding and half-pipe. To this day, Cindy still holds the distinction of being the only female to be featured in the centerfold plus a two-page article in a skateboarding magazine, and was the first female skateboarder to have been sponsored by Puma 


Since then, Cindy has gone on to coin the term "Sports Stylist®," working as a fashion stylist for the past 25 years specializing in sports, with companies like Gatorade, Nike, the NBA, and athletes such as Tiger Woods, Michelle Kwan, Kobe Bryant, Bethany Hamilton, Maria Sharapova, and Mia Hamm.


In 2012 she made national headlines by skateboarding down the closed 405 freeway in Los Angeles. In June of 2013 Cindy flew to Washington, DC to sign over 9 pieces of her skateboard history to The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History’s sports collections. Cindy was featured this past year in Puma Suede’s new book; XLV Stories of The Puma Suede - as the only female athlete profiled.


In 2013 Cindy created a brand called “Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word” and came out with a collaboration skateboard with Dwindle Inc. (the largest company in professional skateboarding) by designing a skateboard aimed at the female market. The GN4LW brand gives back to women in action sports with every collab it does and Cindy just signed an additional two year deal for her skateboard line, and an additional collab with a XS Helmets launched in January 2015.
Cindy has been profiled in magazines and sites such as, ESPN, Forbes, The Huffington Post, & Women’s Wear Daily, and has appeared on numerous TV and radio shows. Cindy has been a guest speaker & panelist at many events including; The Smithsonian Museum’s Innoskate event in Washington D.C., Chill Organizations fundraiser in Los Angeles and North Eastern Universities panel on “Participation in Sports”.

Cindy most recently spoke at TEDxYouth in Santa Monica, CA and her talk was titled “Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word”.




Cindy’s goal is to give women in action sports the same opportunities and recognition as their male counterparts. She pursues that goal daily by interviewing and promoting female action sports athletes on her website http://www.girlisnota4letterword.com


 
Cindy skating the 405 during Carmageddon!



MEDIA CONTACT:

Phone: 310-379-2112

Email:  cindy@cindywhitehead.com



Cindy Whitehead - Sports Stylist ®
Watch Cindy’s TEDx Talk “Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word”  

New Rescue Dogs Trailer!

Actress/Producer, and Animal Rescue Advocate Courtney Daniels joined me Monday 9am to talk about her third feature film, Rescue Dogs!

Courtney Daniels joins me Monday at 9am to talk about her latest film, Rescue Dogs!


Did you miss Courtney on today's show?
Listen to our conversation
here!

About Courtney Daniels


After finishing her program at the British American Drama Academy in the UK, Courtney Daniels moved to LA to pursue her love of acting in film. RESCUE DOGS marks her 3rd feature film and her first lead role. Most recently, she was seen in THE GIRL IN THE BOOK, which premiered to rave reviews at the LA Film Festival. In addition to acting, Courtney founded Busted Buggy Entertainment, a dynamic production company that has produced 4 films and a television pilot (sold to MTV) in just 4 years. BBE is focused on telling female-driven stories and supporting the growth of women both onscreen and behind the camera. In her personal life, Courtney is an animal rescue advocate and the proud pet-parent to 7 rescue animals, making her a great fit for RESCUE DOGS!

About Rescue Dogs

Tracy and his rescue dog Charger have to foil the plans of an Evil Businessman who wants to knock over their beach restaurant in order to build his golf course. With help from his brother, Tracy tries to meet the bills, manage the kitchen (where Charger helps cook!) and still find time to fall in love with the beautiful dancer, Bridgette. Through a comedy of errors and mishaps, the humans find they themselves can be rescued by their very own rescue animals.


Making a Difference

It’s a movement! The producers and team behind Rescue Dogs are not just doing this to make a great film, they’re doing it to help animals all over the country find homes and to introduce kids and families to the joys of owning a rescue animal.
We have an entire strategy to make a difference! Here are our goals:

  1. Partner with a vetted, approved rescue organization in each theatrical city
  2. Hold live adoption events all day Saturday and Sunday of opening weekend with the goal to adopt no less that 25 pets per city (250 Total!)
  3. Raise awareness and $$$ for the partner Charities. In addition, the producers are committed to donate a percentage of their proceeds back to the various charities on a personal level!
  4. Give Brands the chance to include their product in a Adoption Gift Basket
    for each animal that is adopted at the event! We’ll be selecting a limited group of food, treats, collars, toys, and leash brands to be a part of the basket. These baskets will be displayed at each event for all to see!


Find out more about Rescue Dogs and the team behind this great film: http://rescuedogsmovie.com/


Coming up 10/2 on KUCI - PBS SoCal new documentary, The Cheech - Janeane speaks with Director Varda Bar-Kar

The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture  of the Riverside Art Museum showcases the actor's collection of more than 700 pie...