6/28/18 on KUCI 88.9fm - Janeane spoke with EMMA BROCKES , Author of AN EXCELLENT CHOICE: Panic and Joy on My Solo Path to Motherhood

LISTEN to Janeane's conversation with Emma Brockes!

A hilarious and bracingly honest memoir about the life-changing decision to conceive a child on one's own via assisted reproduction

When Emma Brockes decides to become pregnant, she quickly realizes that, being single, 37, and in the early stages of a same-sex relationship, she’s going to have to be untraditional about it. AN EXCELLENT CHOICE: Panic and Joy on My Solo Path to Motherhood chronicles Brockes’s journey to single motherhood, from selecting a fertility doctor, through multiple trials of IUI, to giving birth to twins, and the many “ups, downs and pharmaceuticals along the way.” The result is a most delightful, extraordinary memoir that comes at a time when more and more women are exploring fertility treatment options and becoming single mothers by choice.

Brockes quizzes her friends on the pros and cons of personally knowing one’s sperm donor, grapples with esoteric medical jargon and the existential brain-melt of flipping through donor catalogues, and conjures with the politics of her Libertarian OB/GYN—all the while exploring the cultural circumstances and choices that have brought her to this point. Anxious that biological children might not be possible, she wonders, should she resent society for how it regards and treats women who try and fail to have children?

AN EXCELLENT CHOICE comes from a unique place. Having grown up in the U.K., where residents have access to universal health care, and now pregnant stateside, Brockes brings an outsider’s perspective to the many idiosyncrasies and frustrations of the U.S. health care system. She writes with charming self-effacing humor about being a gay British woman undergoing fertility treatment in the U.S., poking fun at the starkly different attitude of Americans.

Brockes also deftly uses her own story to examine how and why an increasing number of women are using fertility treatments in order to become parents—and are doing it solo. This is still relatively uncharted social territory, as Brockes is uncomfortably reminded every time she’s asked “who’s the father?” But it may not be in the future.

AN EXCELLENT CHOICE grapples with what it means, on a both personal and societal level, to embrace the amazing new reproductive possibilities women today and in the future are and will be afforded by technology.

www.emmabrockes.com

Twitter: @emmabrockes



ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emma Brockes is the author of She Left Me the Gun: My Mother's Life Before Me. She writes for The Guardian's Weekendmagazine and has contributed to The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Economist and Vogue. She is the winner of two British Press Awards—Young Journalist of the Year and Feature Writer of the Year—and while at Oxford won the Philip Geddes Memorial Prize for Journalism. She lives in New York.

6/25/18 - Today on KUCI 88.9fm - Award-winning author Rebecca Makkai joined Janeane to talk about her latest novel, The Great Believers

LISTEN to today's conversation
with Rebecca Makkai!

In her stunning new novel, award-winning author Rebecca Makkai weaves together 1980s Chicago with contemporary Paris, to tell a story of survivors who were forever affected by the AIDS crisis. THE GREAT BELIEVERS is the first novel about the AIDS epidemic in Chicago, and Makkai, a Chicago native, digs deep into the history and heart of how AIDS affected her hometown, and turns her research into a beautifully poignant novel that feels almost too real to be fiction.

With themes of governmental indifference, a broken healthcare system, and survivors’ guilt, THE GREAT BELIEVERS captures the panic and rage of the period, reminds us of those who were needlessly lost, and exposes similarities to the political and social climate in the U.S. today. Makkai’s novel is more than a beautiful work of literary fiction; it is an ever-present account of the lives of those affected by AIDS.


ABOUT THE BOOK
The year is 1985 and AIDS has claimed Yale Tishman’s friend Nico. As Yale’s career begins to flourish, the carnage grows around him—his friends are dying, his partner is infected, and he might even have the virus himself. The only person he has left is Fiona, Nico’s little sister. Thirty years later, Fiona is in Paris tracking down her estranged daughter who disappeared into a cult. She finds herself finally grappling with the devastating ways the AIDS catastrophe affected her life and her relationship with her daughter. Yale and Fiona’s stories unfold in incredibly moving and sometimes surprising ways, as both struggle to find goodness in the face of disaster. The two stories are compelling in their own right, but together, they are a masterpiece of fiction that feels entirely real.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rebecca Makkai is the author of The Hundred Year-House, The Borrower, and Music for Wartime. Her work has appeared in The Best American Short Stories, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, Best American Fantasy, Harper’s, Tin House, Ploughshares, among others. She lives outside Chicago with her husband and two daughters.

RebeccaMakkai.com

@rebeccamakkai

6/25/18 - 9:00am pst - Filmmaker and chairman of the Dean’s Arts Council of the UCI Claire Trevor School of Arts, Ivan Williams, joined Janeane live on KUCI 88.9fm!

LISTEN to today's conversation with Ivan Williams!

ABOUT IVAN 

Ivan Williams is a filmmaker and an executive with a Hollywood story development firm and someone who is also playing a key role in helping UC Irvine move to the next level on across several areas. From the filmmaking front, Ivan has followed up the successful release of M.F.A., with several other key projects. This includes the distribution of the documentary KIM SWIMS, the production of the animated feature THE AARDVARK AND THE ARK, post-production work on documentary titled GENDER IN HOLLYWOOD, and the development of a film that is based on the adapted screenplay of Patrick Dennis’ novel GENIUS. 

Besides film, Ivan’s love of the arts extends into the theater as well. This includes helping to produce last November’s Brandon Jacobs Jenkin’s Obie Award winning play APPROPRIATE at Chapman University’s Waltmar Theatre. Which will now be followed up with this November’s staging of IF ALL THE SKY WERE PAPER at the Musco Center for the Arts. 

As for UC Irvine, Ivan is not only a UCI Foundation trustee, but he is an adjunct professor in the Paul Merage School of Business, chairman of the Dean’s Arts Council of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, an advisory board member of the Cybersecurity Policy and Research Institute, and the vice president of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Anteaters in the Arts alumni organization. Right now his key UCI efforts are focused on developing an expanded film program at UCI, supporting the Center of Neurobiology Leaning and Memory’s launch of the “Artistic Brain” initiative, and expanding the reach and impact of the Anteaters in the Arts.

http://www.scenario-la.com

6/25/18 - Live on KUCI 88.9fm - Director Michael Grodner joined Janeane to talk about his film The Icarus Line Must Die

LISTEN to today's conversation
with Director Michael Grodner!

“The greatest rock group of the 21st Century” - The Guardian

Punk's not dead in this cool AF drama riffing on actual events. THE ICARUS LINE MUST DIE is a dramatic narrative feature set against the backdrop of the current LA underground music scene. The film tracks Joe Cardamone, front man of notorious punk bad boys The Icarus Line as he navigates his way through the ups and downs of the modern music landscape. With a new record completed and a major label deal within sight, Joe fights to keep his band, his relationship and his life from completely falling apart.

Ariel Pink, Keith Morris (Black Flag/Circle Jerks), Pearl Charles, Melissa Brooks (The Aquadolls), Justin Pearson (RETOX, The Locust), Rafael Reyes (Prayers) and Jerry Stahl (Permanent Midnight) are featured along with performances by Pink Mountaintops, Together Pangea, The Icarus Line, Retox, Obliterations and Annie Hardy of Giant Drag. The film was directed by Michael Grodner and written by Michael Grodner and Joe Cardamone.

THE ICARUS LINE MUST DIE will open in LA on June 22 at the Laemmle Royal and will rollout theatrically over the summer by Dark Star Pictures. The film will be available on digital on 7/10 (iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Google Play, Fandango Now, Xbox and local Cable Providers). The film has a running time of 83 minutes and will not be rated by the MPAA.

There will be a special LA premiere followed by a concert on June 20 at the Regent Theater.

Live Sets Following The Screening Include:

Joe Cardamone (The Icarus Line)

Annie Hardy (Giant Drag)

Melissa Brooks (The Aquadolls)



DJ Sets By:

Keith Morris (Black Flag, Circle Jerks, OFF!)

Together Pangea



Tickets for the event are available here:

https://www.ticketfly.com/event/1685464-icarus-line-must-die-official-los-angeles/



To view the trailer, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESN5hbQGWWA&t=18s

6/18/18 9:45am pst - bestselling, critically acclaimed author, Ann Hood, (The Knitting Circle) on her new book, SHE LOVES YOU (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah)

She Loves You (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah) 

by Ann Hood 

LISTEN to Janeane's conversation with Ann Hood!

Bestselling author Ann Hood crafts a funny, heartfelt story of a girl growing up in the heart of Beatlemania.
PRAISE FOR SHE LOVES YOU:

· "Filled with love, hope and longing, this is a novel for readers of all ages." -- Holly Goldberg Sloan, New York Times bestselling author of Counting By 7s

· "This charming coming-of-age story acts as a time capsule, offering contemporary readers a glimpse into life in the 1960s while exploring issues young people face in every generation." -- Publishers Weekly

· "Hood, known primarily for her adult novels, offers up a coming-of-age story steeped in nostalgia, humor, and heart. There's obvious appeal for Beatles fans, but Trudy, irrepressible in her struggle to maintain friendships in a changing world, will win many admirers of her own." – Booklist

· “Trudy's voice and her relationships with parents and peers ring true to an adolescent slowly making sense of her life and the people in it. Her perseverance, cleverness, and sense of humor will keep readers turning the pages to see if she does meet her favorite Beatle.” – Kirkus Review



Author Bio: 

Ann Hood is the author of the best-selling novels The Book That Matters Most, The Obituary Writer, Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine, The Red Thread, and The Knitting Circle, as well as the memoir Comfort: A Journey Through Grief, which was a New York Times Editor's Choice and chosen as one of the top ten nonfiction books of 2008 by Entertainment Weekly. She has won two Pushcart Prizes as well as a Best American Spiritual Writing Award, two Best American Food Writing Award, and a Best American Travel Writing award. A regular contributor to the New York Times, Hood's short stories and essays have appeared in many publications, including Ploughshares, Tin House, Traveler, Bon Appetit, O, More, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Paris Review, and others. She is the editor of the anthologies Knitting Yarns: Writers Writing About Knitting, Knitting Pearls: More Writers Writing About Knitting, and Providence Noir. Hood is also the author of books for children, including the middle-grade novel, How I Saved My Father (And Ruined Everything Else), and the ten-book Treasure Chest series for young readers. Her new memoir, Morningstar: Growing Up with Books, will be published in August. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island, and New York City, and is married to the writer Michael Ruhlman.



ABOUT THE BOOK: The year is 1966. The Vietnam War rages overseas, the Beatles have catapulted into stardom, and twelve-year-old Rhode Island native Trudy Mixer is not thrilled with life. Her best friend, Michelle, has decided to become a cheerleader, everyone at school is now calling her Gertrude (her hated real name), and the gem of her middle school career, the Beatles fan club, has dwindled down to only three other members--the least popular kids at school. And at home, her workaholic father has become even more distant.
Determined to regain her social status and prove herself to her father, Trudy looks toward the biggest thing happening worldwide: the Beatles. She is set on seeing them in Boston during their final world tour--and meeting her beloved Paul McCartney. So on a hot August day, unknown to their families, Trudy and crew set off on their journey, each of them with soaring hopes for what lies ahead.
In her signature prose, Hood crafts an extraordinary story of growing up, making unexpected connections, and following your dreams even as the world in front of you--and the world at large--is changing too fast.

6/18/18 9:15am pst Jet Widick , the author and poet behind the popular Gluten Free Sage blog, wellness expert and advocate for Celiac disease

LISTEN to Janeane's conversation with Jet Widick!

WELLNESS EXPERT BRINGS JOY TO POETRY 

A beautifully illustrated, uplifting collection of poems for adults and children encourages readers of all ages to unplug and appreciate the present.

NASHVILLE, TN – Author Jet Widick challenges the generations-old notion that well-written and powerful poetry is poetry saturated with melancholy themes and bleak perspectives in her latest illustrated collection, White Wild Indigo

After living with silent Celiac disease for 15 years, Jet’s diagnosis presented an opportunity for her to seize control of her life from a once unknown assailant. As she fought to improve her physical health, she realized that her story could serve to help others on their journeys to wellness, and in doing so discovered the deep healing power of writing.

Written alongside her creative director, Kristen Alden, and illustrator Annie Moor , Jet’s third book of poems for adults and children chooses not to shy away from difficult or complex subjects. Supported by bright, whimsical illustrations, the nature-inspired poems deliver messages of compassion, tenacity and using perspective to empower yourself and others.

Jet Widick , the author and poet behind the popular Gluten Free Sage blog, is a wellness expert and advocate for Celiac disease who has worked to share her story in hopes that others will find inspiration and hope. Jet, a nickname her sons bestowed her once she became healthy and transformed herself, has seen creative endeavors blossom since she published her first two collections of poems. She and her partner in crime, Kristen Alden, continue to expand their exploration of poetry with projects like their Poetry in Motion series . Visit them online at http://www.jetwidick.com/ .

6/18/18 9:00am pst - JUST WHEN YOU GET COMFORTABLE IN YOUR SKIN IT STARTS TO SAGE by Amy Nobile

LISTEN to Janeane's conversation with Amy Nobile!

With the voice of a close friend, this clever and witty guide from bestselling duo Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile takes women through the new and sometimes challenging midlife phase, with chapters including:

- Redefining what beauty means after age 40... and that there is beauty after age 40!

- How to care for yourself when you're also caring for growing children and aging parents

- Navigating midlife relationships and dating (did someone say dating apps??)

- Discovering new career paths and new meaning in your life

Whether married, single, widowed, divorced, with children or without, at some point women inevitably ask the question, "What's next for me?" Here, they will find a road map for how to embrace and thrive in this new phase of life. With helpful quizzes, friendly advice, and inspiring quotes from women who have been there, this smart and engaging book gives readers the tools to turn a midlife crisis into a midlife opportunity. As seen on Oprah, Trisha and Amy share their own perspectives and experiences to bring clarity, guidance and support while reassuring readers they're not only on the right track... but that the best years are still to come.

6/18/18 9:30am - PLANET FUNNY How Comedy Took Over Our Culture by JEOPARDY! champion and NYT bestselling author Ken Jennings

LISTEN to Janeane's conversation with Ken Jennings!

Ken's latest book, PLANET FUNNY: How Comedy Took Over Our Culture --explains how we are living in a golden age of comedy and funniness is paramount. PLANET FUNNY explores our brave new comedic world and what it means—or doesn’t—to be funny in it now. 

 

For millennia of human history, the future belonged to the strong. To the parent who could kill the most animals with sticks and to the child who could survive the winter or the epidemic. When the Industrial Revolution came, masters of business efficiency prospered instead, and after that we placed our hope in scientific visionaries. Today, in a clear sign of evolution totally sliding off the rails, our most coveted trait is not strength or productivity or even innovation, but being funny. Yes, funniness.

It happened so gradually that we didn't even notice: everything got funny. Fifty years ago, “Don’t use humor in advertising” was an axiom on Madison Avenue. Now the average American sees two hundred funny media ads per day. “You must be solemn as an ass” was the bedrock of conventional political wisdom for centuries. Now, a generation gets its news from comedy satire shows and political candidates hire joke writers to craft zingers for debates. Newspaper headlines and church marquees, once fairly staid affairs, must now be “clever,” stuffed with puns and winks. Airline safety tutorials—those terrifying laminated cards about the possibilities of fire, explosion, depressurization, and drowning—have been replaced by joke-filled videos with multimillion-dollar budgets and dance routines. 

We are living in a golden age of comedy and funniness is paramount. In PLANET FUNNY: How Comedy Took Over Our Culture (Scribner; On-sale May 29th, 2018), legendary JEOPARDY! champion and New York Times bestselling author Ken Jennings explores this brave new comedic world and what it means—or doesn’t—to be funny in it now. 

Tracing the evolution of humor from the caveman days to the bawdy middle-class antics of Chaucer to Monty Python’s game-changing silliness to the fast-paced meta-humor of The Simpsons, Jennings explains how we built our humor-saturated modern age, where comedians are our Cronkites, Twitter spits out hundreds of jokes every minute, and a comic figure can even be elected President of the United States purely on showmanship. Entertaining, astounding, and completely head-scratching, Planet Funny is both a full taxonomy of what spawned the modern sense of humor and an exploration what it might mean to live in a post-serious world. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

KEN JENNINGS grew up in Seoul, South Korea, where he became a daily devotee of the quiz show Jeopardy! In 2004, he successfully auditioned for a spot on the show and went on an unprecedented seventy-four game victory streak worth $2.52 million. Jennings’s book Brainiac, about his Jeopardy! adventures, was a critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller, as were his follow-up books Maphead and Because I Said So! Jennings is the host of the Omnibus podcast and lives in Seattle with his wife Mindy and two children.

6/18/18 - Janeane spoke with Pamela Druckerman about her latest book There are No Grown-Ups: A Midlife Coming-of-Age Story

LISTEN to Janeane's conversation with Pamela Druckerman!

PAMELA DRUCKERMAN

Bestselling author and New York Times contributor investigates the modern 40s —marriage, the midlife crisis, owning what you know, and cracking a personal fashion code—in her new book of essays, THERE ARE NO GROWN-UPS: A Midlife Coming-of-Age Story

In the same frank and funny voice loved by readers of Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting, bestselling author Pamela Druckerman explores friendships and relationships, careers, and the challenge of managing both young kids and old parents during this in-between decade. Along the way, she shows how the French do 40 better. Like in her runaway global bestsellerBébé, Druckerman’s charming blend of memoir and journalism captures behaviors and truths previously unnamed. With the intimate, self-deprecating tone of a best friend, she shares her fears and her victories, and makes readers smile in recognition of both their insecurities and their strengths.

Join Pamela Druckerman as she shares her collection of essays that delve into this period of life, some on more serious themes (the terrorist attacks in Paris, surviving cancer) and some lighter (throwing her own “aspirational” birthday party, persuading a boutique owner to offer style advice). She discusses how:

· Forty isn’t middle-aged anymore…it’s much younger than it used to be: lifespans in rich countries have been increasing by 2.3 years per decade.

· Almost nobody has a midlife crisis: we’re too busy to have a breakdown…we don’t even have time to go to the movies!

· We’re more fertile than previously thought: since 1990, the rate of babies born to American women ages 40-44 has nearly doubled.

· The downside to our 40’s: there are mental and physical declines – we’re more easily distracted and digest information more slowly than our younger counterparts

· The upside to our 40’s: according to psychological research, we’re less neurotic and more perceptive. And there really is wisdom: what we lack in processing power, we make up for in maturity, insight and experience.

· Still, we need to dress differently…trying to look younger is the fastest way to look old! The French approach is to try to be the best version of the age you are.

Druckerman leads us on a quest both for self-knowledge and the right pair of pants. Peppered throughout with “You Know You’re In Your Forties” lists that perfectly diagnose this age (i.e. You Know You’re in Your Forties… when you become impatient scrolling down to your year of birth), this is the book for anyone trying to find their place in the world.

About the Author

Pamela Druckerman is the author of four books including Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting, which has been translated into 27 languages. She's also a contributing opinion writer at The New York Times.

6/4 KUCI 88.9fm - Director Adam Sobel joined Janeane to talk about The Workers Cup

LISTEN to today's conversation
with Adam Sobel

With the recent news on FIFA’s plan to expand the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, I would like to bring to your attention THE WORKERS CUP, a captivating documentary that provides an inside look at this country’s labor camps where millions of migrant workers are tasked with building the facilities for the biggest sporting event in the world.

With unprecedented access, the film follows a team of migrant workers who are laboring to build sport’s grandest stage while competing in a soccer tournament on their own known as the Workers Cup. But more than a film about a game, THE WORKER'S CUP is an examination of the poorest residents in the world’s richest country as they endure backbreaking work for low pay and agree to strict contracts under false pretenses. With the illusion they might play (real) soccer dangled in front of them, their hope and the love of the game keeps them going, despite their desperate and heartbreaking circumstances.

Directed by Adam Sobel in his feature film debut, THE WORKERS CUP is a portrait of our increasingly globalized world as it follows subjects from India, Kenya, Ghana, and Nepal who are living together in Qatar. The film was an official selection of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and will be opening in theaters on June 8th.

LOGLINE

Inside the labor camps of Qatar, African and Asian migrant workers building the facilities of the 2022 World Cup compete in a football tournament of their own: The Workers Cup.

THE STORY

In 2022, Qatar will host the biggest sporting event in the world, the FIFA World Cup. But right now, far away from the bright lights, star athletes and adoring fans, the tournament is being built on the backs of 1.6 million
migrant workers. The Workers Cup is a feature-length documentary giving voice to the men who are laboring to build sport’s grandest stage.

Sixty percent of Qatar’s total population are laborers. From India, Nepal, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and, increasingly from Africa, some of the world’s poorest people are working the lowest level jobs to ensure the World Cup can be hosted in the world’s richest country. These men work exceedingly long hours for scant salaries, and they live isolated in labor camps which are by law kept outside city limits.

With unprecedented access, our film unfolds largely inside a Qatari labor camp that the migrant workers we meet say feels like a prison. Hidden between a highway and remote stretch of desert, the Umm Salal Camp is intentionally out of sight and out of mind. So are the 4000 men who live there.

We focus on a select group in the camp who have been chosen to compete in a football tournament for laborers: The Workers Cup. The tournament is being sponsored by the same committee organizing the 2022 World Cup and 24 construction companies have been invited to field a team of workers. Over the course of the tournament we follow the men as they alternate between two startling extremes: they play heroes on the football pitch, but are the lowest members of society off of it.

The film is a portrait of a handful of players on the team. It explores universal themes of ambition, aspiration and masculinity, as we see our protagonists wrangle hope, meaning, and opportunity out of dismal circumstances. The mundane is fraught with turmoil, whether it is changing jobs, talking with family back home, or going on a date. This results in a terrible toll to the psyche of our protagonists, as they are depleted of the hope that motivated
them to come to Qatar in the first place.

Ultimately, our own complicated relationship with sport is revealed, as we see its power to unite and divide society by turns.

THE CHARACTERS

The film was conceived to give voice to migrant workers in Qatar and allow them to tell their own stories. We followed one team playing in the football tournament, and focused on five protagonists from the team:

Kenneth, 21, Ghana
A recruiting agent in Ghana told Kenneth that he’d be coming to Qatar to join a professional football club. After Kenneth arrived in the country, he realized his agent lied. While Kenneth works construction, he still dreams of playing professional football. He hopes to catch the eye of a scout while playing in The Workers Cup so he can escape the camp.

Paul, 21, Kenya
Surrounded by 4000 men, and working a job that keeps him in the camp seven days a week, Paul is struggling with loneliness in this distant land. He dreams of meeting a girl and falling in love.

Umesh, 36, India
Umesh came to Qatar with a simple dream: to earn enough money to build his own home. Until he accomplishes this, he’ll live separated from his wife and two sons, who are named Rooney and Robin after the Manchester United stars.

Padam, 28, Nepal

After 8 years of failing to get around Qatari laws that prohibit him from bringing his wife to Qatar, Padam now has to decide if he should stay and earn, or return to Nepal to be with his wife.

Samuel, 24, Ghana
A talented goalkeeper, Samuel played in the 1st Division in Ghana but he still couldn’t make ends meet. He came to Qatar to work construction, but out of pride he lied and told his father that he was coming to play professional football.

TODAY 6/4/18 - Producer Jennifer Tung called in to KUCI 88.9fm to talk about her film, Dirty Bomb, showing at the 2018 Dances with Films film festival, the impact of the Porter Ranch gas leak on her life, and more

LISTEN to today's conversation with Jennifer Tung,
as we discuss Dirty Bomb, the impact of the
Porter Ranch gas leak on Jennifer's life, and more.

DIRTY BOMB, set against the Battle of the Bulge, depicts the true story of how Jewish concentration camp inmates sabotaged the development of Hitler's V2 Bomb at the cost of their lives. 

Signing his own death wish, a concentration camp prisoner sabotages the construction of the V-2 bomb against the Nazis, while American soldiers struggle to advance against the Germans. 

The film was produced by Jennifer Tung, Stefan Simon and Brian Kelly Jones. Executive producers include Peymaneh Rothstein, Emad Asfoury, and Robert Shaye. Mikael Sharafyan was the costume designer. The film's score was composed by Alan Derian (MADAME SECRETARY). 

DIRTY BOMB

NORTH AMERICAN Premiere

SCREENING: FUSION SHORTS 1 – TUE., JUNE 12 @ 5PM

WRITERS: Valerie McCaffrey

DIR: Valerie McCaffrey

PRODS: Jennifer Tung, Brian Kelly Jones, Stefan Simon, Bob Shaye, Scott Kim, Natalya Yonathan, Susan Printz

CAST: Ido Samuel, J. Michael Trautmann, Stefan Simon, Dallas Hart, Hunter Doohan, James Babson, Robert Arce, Connor Linnerooth, Matt Otstot, WIndy Hamilton, Tara Soojian 

ABOUT JENNIFER TUNG
Actress//Producer Jennifer Tung has worked in the film and television industry for more than 20 years and is best known for her roles in successful J.J Abrams Television series, "Alias" (2001-2006), working opposite Director Quentin Tarantino, and "Kung Pow, Enter the Fist" with Steve Oedekerk (2002). Jennifer has also appeared in episodes of many popular T.V. shows such as "Beverly Hills: 90210", "The Pretender", "E.R.", "NYPD Blue", "Charmed," among others. In addition, she has had roles in the feature films,"What Lies Beneath", and Star Trek: Insurrection".

She was Executive Producer of the multi- award winning short film, "Shadows and Light", as well as Producer, Social Media and Crowdfunding Organizer on such ambitious projects as "Harbinger Down" By Alec Gillis/Studio ADI and "The Yellow Feather", which have been, to date, the highest funded films in their categories in Kickstarter history. Her recent projects include producing three independent films, "The Black Gloves", "Remember the Sun", and "Dirty Bomb".

Ms. Tung is the youngest woman to be crowned Miss Chinatown USA at the age of 17 in 1991. She also served as Goodwill Ambassador, representing The Chinese Americans of the USA traveling throughout China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and abroad with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.


The Porter Ranch Gas Leak and the impact on Jennifer's life
In October of 2015, Southern California saw the biggest gas leak in U.S. history, which drastically effected the thousands of residents of Porter Ranch and the surrounding areas. SoCal Gas claims there are no long term effects, but the people have continued to struggle daily. This is Jennifer Tung's story, a prominent member of the entertainment industry, and there are thousands of stories like hers. Watch the video, spread the word, call for ACTION. #PorterRanchGasLeakWATCH https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKNFpjCOCKg

6/4 at 9:30am pst - From New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Brendan Kiely, a stunning new novel that explores the insidious nature of tradition at a prestigious boarding school. Author Brendan Kiely joined Janeane on KUCI 88.9fm

LISTEN to today's conversation with
New York Times bestselling and award-winning
author Brendan Kiely!

Prestigious. Powerful. Privileged. This is Fullbrook Academy, an elite prep school where history looms in the leafy branches over its brick walkways. But some traditions upheld in its hallowed halls are profoundly dangerous.

Jules Devereux just wants to keep her head down, avoid distractions, and get into the right college, so she can leave Fullbrook and its old-boy social codes behind. She wants freedom, but ex-boyfriends and ex-best friends are determined to keep her in place.

Jamie Baxter feels like an imposter at Fullbrook, but the hockey scholarship that got him in has given him a chance to escape his past and fulfill the dreams of his parents and coaches, whose mantra rings in his ears: Don’t disappoint us.

When Jamie and Jules meet, they recognize in each other a similar instinct for survival, but at a school where girls in the student handbook are rated by their looks, athletes stack hockey pucks in dorm room windows like notches on a bedpost, and school-sponsored dances push first year girls out into the night with senior boys, the stakes for safe sex, real love, and true friendship couldn’t be higher.

As Jules and Jamie’s lives intertwine, and the pressures to play by the rules and remain silent about the school’s secrets intensify, they see Fullbrook for what it really is. That tradition, a word Fullbrook hides behind, can be ugly, even violent. Ultimately, Jules and Jamie are faced with the difficult question: can they stand together against classmates—and an institution—who believe they can do no wrong?

6/4/18 9:15am pst - lead actress Jessica Lee Keller and writer-director Chris Wright call in to KUCI 88.9fm to talk about their romantic short, The Way it Begins. The film screens at the DANCES WITH FILMS FESTIVAL - featured on "Get the Funk Out!" Monday 6/4 at 9:15am pst -

"The Way It Begins, a musical dance short to make
world premiere at DWF 

LISTEN to today's conversation with lead actress
Jessica Lee Keller and writer-director Chris Wright!

HOLLYWOOD, May 21, 2018 - In the style of such romantic musicals as “La La Land” and “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, writer-director Chris Wright will screen “The Way It Begins” at the 21st Annual Dances With Films at the TCL Chinese Theaters in Hollywood, on Friday, June 8, 2018 at 2:45PM.

“The Way It Begins” stars Robert Roldan (So You Think You Can Dance, La La Land) and Jessica Lee Keller (Adjustment Bureau, Now You See Me 2), as two strangers who cross paths on a train, and they end up spending the day together, dancing through the beautiful city of New York and moving one step closer to finding love. There is no dialogue in the film. The emotional journey of the two characters is conveyed through music and dance. The charming and whimsical film is part of the Downbeat: A Celebration of Music and Dance program.

Chris Wright is a respected Visual Effects Supervisor on several television series, including “Luke Cage”, “The Punisher”, “Person of Interest” and the award-winning sci-fi series “Fringe.”

“This movie came out of my love of old Hollywood musicals and was directly inspired by the holiday classic, “White Christmas.” I wanted to tell a story about two people finding each other and explore what the range of emotions would look like if expressed only through movement and music. I wanted to show their journey of emotional exploration set in one of the most exciting and beautiful cities in the world, New York City. This movie is not only a story about two people falling in love but also a love letter to New York itself,” says Wright.

“The Way It Begins” was produced by Jeremy Horn, Carlee Briglia, Steven Carbajal, and Chris Wright. The original score was composed by Alan Koshiyama and was lovingly filmed by Cinematographer Rachael Levine.


About DANCES WITH FILMS
This year’s final lineup will feature more than 200 titles, chosen from a record 2,200 submissions from all over the globe. The juried narrative competition section includes 16 features and more than three-dozen shorts. DWF also has a category for groundbreaking short and feature documentaries, provocative genre fare in the Midnight section, and the most exciting music videos and dance-themed films from the indie scene in the Downbeats section. The Fusion section brings together a multitude of additional features and shorts.

Notable Dances With Films alumni who first gained notice at the festival include Gina Rodriguez, Bryan Cranston, Jesse Eisenberg, and John Hawkes, among many others.

Tickets and passes will be available for sale May 18th at http://www.tclchinesetheatres.com/. Additional screening and ticket information can also be found at https://danceswithfilms.com.

For more information about “The Way It Begins” or to schedule an interview with the cast and director, please contact Deborah Gilels at LA Media Consultants, ddgilels@prodigy.net.

Matt Letten and Phil Letten, The Vegan Bros, Monday, June 4th 9:00am on KUCI 88.9fm!

LISTEN to today's conversation with the Vegan Bros!

Think you could never go vegan? Think again. Meet Matt and Phil Letten, also known as The Vegan Bros, the brothers who are making vegan cool (and making eating animals weird). The Vegan Bros have made it their mission to prove that eating vegan doesn’t have to be difficult, restrictive, or joyless. In fact, they like to point out, most people are already 90% vegan without even thinking about it. VODKA IS VEGAN: A Vegan Bros Manifesto for Better Living and Not Being an A**hole is all about exploring that last 10% between your current way of eating and “going whole hog,” and showing you how to close the gap.


Matt and Phil Letten buck the stereotypes of what a typical vegan looks like. Vegans can be crunchy hippies…or bros who love to party; ballerinas or linebackers; Prius owners or pickup truck drivers. Or famous athletes and entertainers like Serena Williams, Carl Lewis, and, of course, Beyoncé. VODKA IS VEGAN proves that vegans can be fast, strong, healthy and creative, perhaps even more so than people who eat meat. (Though it doesn’t all have to be virtuous: kale and acai bowls are vegan…but so are Oreos and vodka.)

Matt and Phil Letten buck the stereotypes of what a typical vegan looks like. Vegans can be crunchy hippies…or bros who love to party; ballerinas or linebackers; Prius owners or pickup truck drivers. Or famous athletes and entertainers like Serena Williams, Carl Lewis, and, of course, Beyoncé. VODKA IS VEGAN proves that vegans can be fast, strong, healthy and creative, perhaps even more so than people who eat meat. (Though it doesn’t all have to be virtuous: kale and acai bowls are vegan…but so are Oreos and vodka.)

For The Vegan Bros, adopting a plant-based diet is all about aligning your food choices with your values. Their goal is to introduce as many people as possible to a way of eating that helps you look and feel healthy, while showing the world that you care about the environment and animal rights.

VODKA IS VEGAN includes quick tools, insider tips, and a highly detailed action plan to get you started on the road to a plant-based lifestyle, such as:

· Comprehensive grocery guides

· Simple, weekly action plans for getting started

· Tips on how to stay vegan while traveling and socializing

· Finding vegan swaps for your favorite foods


VODKA IS VEGAN is a must-have book for anyone thinking about making the switch to a vegan diet and wondering how to do so in the most effective, reasonable, and healthy way. With a loyal online following that is growing fast, the Bros are the new face of veganism--loud, proud, and fighting for a better world, one plate at a time.


Connect with the Vegan Bros!

Facebook: @VeganBrosOfficial

Instagram @VeganBros

Twitter: @VeganBros



ABOUT THE AUTHORS

The Vegan Bros, Matt Letten and Phil Letten, are brothers (and bros) who have transformed their lives by adopting a vegan lifestyle. Popular bloggers, health and fitness consultants, and animal-rights advocates, they've been featured in mainstream media outlets such as VICE, Business Insider, Fast Company, CW, and the Guardian. And they're just getting started.