Saturday, March 31, 2018

Interview: DriverX Movie's Patrick Fabian - Why He Relates to His Character in this Movie about Second Chapters and Chances


Patrick Fabian stars in DriverX, the first film
about the life of a ride-share service driver

Patrick Fabian - you've seen him all over TV. He's the handsome Nurse Dan in Friends, he's the dapper yet devious Howard Hamlim in Better Call Saul, and he's been on countless other TV shows, considering himself very lucky that he's a working actor. But Patrick's luck is also do to his ability to become the role he is assigned to. In his latest movie,  Driver X, produced by Mark Stolaroff and written/directed by Henry Barrial, he plays Leonard, a middle-aged man who loses his business as a record-store owner and is forced to find a 20th century job, in this case, as a ride-share driver. In this interview I talk to this accomplished actor about just how much the role parallels his own life. We spoke on a winter day..

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

March For Our Lives: Bergen County March on 3-24-18 in Hackensack Joins Others Throughout the Country

March for our Lives will be held in Bergen County, NJ on Saturday, March 24th, 2018 starting at 10am at the Bergen County Courthouse in Hackensack, NJ. This initiative was conceived by the students in reaction to the Parkland shooting. It is being held in  solidarity with other marches being held throughout the country on the 24th. The Bergen County March is hosted students from 18 Bergen County schools. There is no registration needed.


According to the March For Our Lives website, "On March 24, the kids and families of March For Our Lives will take to the streets of Washington DC to demand that their lives and safety become a priority and that we end this epidemic of mass school shootings. The collective voices of the March For Our Lives movement will be heard." For more info: https://marchforourlives.com/

Daytime Emmy Nominations for 2018 Announced: Did Your Favorite Make the List?

The 2018 Daytime Emmy Nominations were announced today. For a complete list of all the nominees.Here is the full list:
http://emmyonline.com/day_45th_nominations

Movie Review: A Million Happy Nows Is a Story of Enduring Love - Crystal Chappel, Jessica Leccia and Hillary B Smith Star in this Memorable Drama

By Beth Abramson Brier

“Love is Love.”  It’s a hashtag. It’s a T-shirt.  It’s a battle cry.   In its purest and most simple form, it is  the essence of this 2017 independent film. A Million Happy Nows is the story of a couple, Lainey and Eva, who come to terms with the devastating reality of Lainey’s early onset Alzheimer’s disease.  The fact that the two women are lesbians is the least remarkable thing about their struggle. 

I have to admit that not knowing anything about this film, I had no idea what to expect. Crystal Chappell, who plays Lainey is a Daytime Emmy award-winning actress but what I last saw her in was as one half of the hilarious duo of It Girls on the Stoop - a reality show best described as Absolutely Fabulous stumbles onto The Rachel Ray set after hours.   In A Million Happy Nows, this actress's core ability shines as she pulls from her own life - she plays a Daytime Emmy award winning soap opera actress who is relegated to a minor role when she suddenly is unable to deliver her lines.   Humiliated, Lainey and Eva (portrayed by Jessica Leccia) retreat to a beach house set far above the canyon. 

NY Event: Funny Women: An Evening of Humor Hosted by The Other F Word's Caytha Jentis and Sandi Marx Features Cynthia Kaplan, Alison Klemp, Pamela Weiler Grayson, Sarah Fearon and more.

Need a little lift to get you in a spring mood? Come to Funny Women: An Evening of Humor at the Goddard Riverside Community Arts Center in New York City on March 28th at 7:30pm - 9:30pm.. The event is hosted by Caytha Jentis, writer director of the hit comedy series The Other F Word streaming on Amazon, and also the movies Bad Parents (with Janine Garofola) and And Then Came Love (starring Vanessa Williams). Tickets are under $20.

Saturday, March 17, 2018

Talking With the It Girls on the Stoop (Part Two): Crystal Chappell and Hillary B. Smith Talk #MeToo, Raising Children and Life Lessons

 
In Part Two of my interview with soap legends and now It Girls on the Stoop Crystal Chappell and Hillary B. Smith, we get off the subject of work and talk about what's going on in the world right now, families and hopes.

Suzee: Let's talk about the #MeToo movement. You have both been females with long, successful careers in entertainment. Have you ever been sexually harassed? Have you ever felt like you got lesser treatment because you were a female? Have you ever been paid less than your male counterparts? 

Hillary B. Smith:  YES YES AND YES to all of that!  Yes, I have experienced sexual harassment. Yes, I did feel like I had a diminished stature because I was female. Yes, I  was paid less. And yes, I did complain and I was severely punished. Metoo and Times up are fantastic movements.

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Tainted Dreams The Series Streaming on Amazon: #SoapsLiveOn Facebook Contest is a Dream for Soapfans Offering Fun Soap Prizes, Actor Chats, Scripts and More

Still a month to enter!  Sonia Blangiardo's Tainted Dreams, the soap streaming on Amazon, is holding a contest, called #SoapsLiveOn which aims to celebrate the joys of watching continuing drama and the history of soaps. The lucky winners can win one of 25 prizes sure to please any fan of this genre.  Five Grand Prizes will be awarded, which will be a personal phone chat with one of the cast members of the show. See contest for more details). The contest has started and will end on April 18. 2018.

Five First Prize winners will receive one signed script from a well-known soap. Ten Second Prize winners will win a T-shirt related to One Life To Live and 5 Third Prize winners will receive a Tainted Dreams T-shirt.  To enter you just need to push one button. This is the link to enter:  https://tainteddreamssoapsliveon.wishpond.com/sweepstakes-2298273/

Friday, March 2, 2018

Movie Review of Loving Vincent: This Movie Must Be Seen, As Meticulously-Crafted and Beautiful as Van Gogh's Own Work


Review by Connor Moriarty 

More than Just a Gimmick -Classic Hollywood director William Castle, was a pioneer of the “gimmick film.” When his Vincent Price shocker, The House on Haunted Hill, was screened in theaters, fake skeletons would fly through the auditorium. So, while the film itself may have been clichéd, even by the standards of its contemporary audience, the showmanship on display made for an exhilarating experience overall.

It’s amusing to look back on cinema’s history and see what used to be thought of as gimmicky. 1999’s The Blair Witch Project took the cinema vèritè style that was pioneered in films like Cannibal Holocaust and The Last Broadcast, and brought it into the mainstream. As recent as 2014, Richard Linklater completed Boyhood, following the literal growth of a young boy to a young adult.