Thursday, May 24, 2018

Film Review: Brad Forenza's Breaking Ponts is A Short with Big Meaning - Features RHONJ Dolores Catania


Brad Forenza
By Connor Moriarty

You’re at each other’s throats, but you’re on the same team, experiencing the same pain. Comradery in grief can be difficult to perceive and that’s exactly what affects the characters in Brad Forenza’s new film, Breaking Points.


Anthony and Devin have just lost one of their best friends to suicide. Devin wants only to forget the tragedy and move on as quickly as possible, even going as far as to condemn their friend for making, what he thinks, was a selfish choice. Anthony vehemently rejects this and wants nothing more than for his friend to be remembered and acknowledged.

UPDATE: In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month and LGBT Pride Breaking Points has been released for free via: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMyEZVjHEFA

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Behind the Scenes Goes to London for the Royal Wedding: Our Exclusive Pip Pip!! Awards for Those Who Can't Get Enough Harry and Meghan and Still Want to Read More About it

By Beth Abramson Brier

[Author’s note: Yes, I know you have been bombarded with articles about the Royal Wedding. And yes, you may even have “Tiara Fatigue” but I did not cash in my air miles, travel 3500 miles to London and crash the Queen’s garden party for you to scroll down. So Stay Calm and Read On.]

This ceremony shattered box office records everywhere. Nearly two billion people* tuned in to see the American actress Megan Markle star in the role of a lifetime. (And one thing we Americans know is how important crowd size is.) It had everything- intrigue, backstabbing relatives, spectacular scenery, shocking twists and romance, romance, romance. The cameo appearances alone were enough to make audiences swoon. Yes, the Royal Wedding is deserving of its very own award show.

And the nominees for the PIP PIP!! Awards are:


How to Crash the Queen's Bash - An American Writer Comes Close to Being a Proper Englishwomen for a Day

By Beth Abramson Brier

By sheer happenstance I had a chance to be in London last week for The Royal Wedding.  In this case happenstance was defined as cashing in some air miles and glomming on to my husband’s business trip, determined to not only write about the nuptials but procure a proper hat worthy of the event.   We landed early Tuesday morning and decided to go for a stroll to conquer the jet lag.  This is how I came to be outside of Buckingham Palace a few days prior to the wedding just as a crowd of elegantly dressed people moved closer to me.  
I was so excited to be part of all the festivities (and find the right hat) that I literally accosted three women walking toward The Palace gates.  Before my husband could stop me I broke away, scooted under an iron guard rail (I’m rather short) and introduced myself to the women as a contributor to the entertainment blog, Suzeebehindthescenes.


Saturday, May 19, 2018

Behind the Scenes Goes to the 45th Annual Daytime Emmys 2018 - Plus 50+ Exclusive Photos from the Red Carpet to the After Party

Eric Martsolf,. Kassie DePaiva and Thao Phenhglis
of Emmy-Winning Days of Our Lives
By Suzanne Ordas Curry

The 2018 45th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards took place on April in sunny Pasadena California at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Mario Lopez and Sheryl Underwood were the emcees. I went as part of the team of the Emmy-nominated Tainted Dreams, nominated for Best Digital Series.

The cocktail reception started at 2pm in the hall attached to the auditorium, but the action at that time was at the Red Carpet. The Red Carpet was well-organized. Actors and Emmy-nominated people were able to choose to walk it or not, and they had to wait in line for their turn. I really only saw one or two able to skip the line. All the actors posed for pics on the Carpet. Fans, even without a tickets, were able to view the actors on the RC at the beginning of the carpet or while they were waiting on the line, but for the rest of the RC the view was blocked by all the media.

Ridgewood Guild International Film Festival 2018 Highlight Reel - Features Home Alone Producer Scott Rosenfelt, Soap Star Cady McClain, RHONJ Dolores Catania and Young Filmmakers

The Ridgewood Guild International Film Festival 2018 ran for 7 nights. This year's theme was "The Impact of Film". Headlining the festival was a Q & A with Hollywood Producer Scott Rosenfelt (Home Alone, Mystic Pizza, Teen Wolf), a Panel Discussion on Females in Film with Emmy Winner Actress/Director Cady McClain (All My Children) who screened her two latest films and the premiere of Breaking Points by NJ Writer/Director Brad Forenza which starred RHONJ Dolores Catania who brought her family to the premiere. View the reel to see the talented filmmakers who attended  this growing festival.

View the Highlight Reel Here:
https://vimeo.com/270144374

You may also like -
Interview with RHONJ Dolores Catainia: https://www.suzeebehindthescenes.com/2018/05/interview-rhonj-dolores-catania-on-her.html

Friday, May 18, 2018

Interview: Actor Taylor Purdee Talks His Role on Batman and What's Next

By Suzanne Curry

Taylor Purdee, son of actor Nathan Purdee, is making a name for himself in the entertainment biz. He's written and directed a new movie due out next year and has been getting roles in webseries, other movies and now a role on one of his favorite TV shows, Fox's Gotham. In this interview he talks about his role and thoughts on the Batman phenomenon.



Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Interview: Meet Writer/Director Dana Glazer - Getting Ready to Shoot His New Film A Case of Blue with Home Alone Producer Scott Rosenfelt


Dana Glazer
By Elizabeth Murphy

He bounces into the restaurant for this interview like a kid home on college break, slides into a booth  across from a friend eager to hear his story and orders a glass of apple juice. He has a friendly grin on his face. He always seems to have a grin on his face. especially these days when things are going well for this young writer-of-movies. This particular morning, it's also reflecting a feeling of relief after his son has snapped back from an appendicitis operation. Dana Glazer is doing what he wanted to do since he was nine years old.

Thursday, May 10, 2018

Interview: RHONJ Dolores Catania: On Her Second Acting Role as A Heartbroken Mother in Brad Forenza's Breaking Points Premiering at Ridgewood Guild Film Festival

By Suzanne Ordas Curry

Interview with Real Housewife of New Jersey Dolores Catania, on her latest role in the NJ based-movie  Breaking Points by Brad Forenza and how she got there, 


On Being A Tomboy and  Why she Doesn't 
Consider Herself a TV kid.

I wasn't a TV person growing up. we watched a lot of documentaries  or old movies. Growing up, there wasn't a lot of time. I I wasn't a TV kid growing up. I'm a tomboy I played outside a lot. I was either playing outside or when I got old enough I was working after school. I was also playing with the boys, I played a lot of football!

Saturday, May 5, 2018

Film Review: The Blockbuster Avengers Infinity War: Merging Marvel Toward an Action-Packed Franchise Where Women Rule


By Kelly Byrne

After shattering box office records in a matter of hours, Avengers: Infinity War has everyone talking. It was a colossal effort by Disney’s Marvel to bring together superheroes from across franchises and planets (Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy alike) to tell a story that brought fans to speechlessness. Averaging roughly five plot lines at any given point without making it feel like drinking from a firehose is no small feat for writers Christopher Marcus and Stephen McFeely, and directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo.

Film Review: Cady McClain Directs Butterflies Written/Starring Carlotta Summers: See this Short with A Big Message About Bullying at Ridgewood Guild Film Festival

Review by Beth Abramson Brier

Thirteen short minutes. A significant amount of time- adolescence perhaps-in the short few weeks of a butterfly’s lifespan. Enough time for a metamorphosis. Adapt. Evolve. Survive.

Butterflies captures and pins under glass for all to see the effects of bullying. There is limited dialogue. Little is needed. It is visually poetic and lyrical. The stunning cinematography depicts the painful transition from beauty and innocence to the scarred and profane. I was struck by images of blushing peonies so vivid they were actually fragrant and, later, skin scratched so raw it was painful. I looked down at my own arm.

The story line is all too familiar. A young girl, Melanie, enjoys carefree childhood days playing in the sun with her best friend. They each wear half a butterfly necklace that together make one. And then they become teenagers separated by the omnipresent “mean girls”. The girls who dismiss Melanie with stinging racial slurs. The girls who claim they are the ones who are misunderstood. The girls who tell Melanie she is not enough. The once best friend who tells Melanie that she is to blame.

Friday, May 4, 2018

Killian and the Comeback Kids Trailer Is Official Selection at Ridgewood Guild International Film Festival: New Folk Rock Film Stars Kassie DePaiva, Nathan and Taylor Purdee

Kassie DePaiva (Center) stars in Killian
and the Comback Kids     Photo Suzanne Curry
The trailer for the new Killian and the Comeback Kids movie  has been selected as as Official Selection for the Ridgewood Guild International Film Festival.  The video will air on Thursday, May 10 in a block of films beginning at 8:10pm. The festival takes place at the Bow Tie Cinema in Ridgewood, NJ. There will be a panel discussion after with one of the film's producers. A ticket for the screening, which will get you into all the films that night, is $10. Tickets can be purchased at the box office that night or through the festival's website at www.RidgewoodGuildFilmFest.com.

Killian and the Comeback Kids tells the story of a group of millenials struggling to find themselves and jobs after returning home from college to a rural town in Pennsylvania. In an attempt to raise money and find some success and hope, they form a band. The film is filled with original folk-rock music and features actors from TV, movies and stage. Kassie DePaiva (Days of our Lives) plays the mother. Veteran Soap and stage actor Nathan Purdee plays the father. Taylor Purdee, who wrote and directed the film, plays the son, Killian. Also in the cast are NY-based actors including Shannon O'Boyle, who starred in Kinky Boots on Broadway.