Monday, October 26, 2020

Calling all Soap Fans! As The World Turns Reunion Scheduled Online in The Locher Room: Proceeds to benefit ATWT Alum's Trent Dawson's Katonah Classic Stage

By Suzanne Ordas Curry

Attention soap fans! How many of you watched As the World Turns? If you're clamouring for some of its excitment, glamour and intrigue, you will be happy to know that a virtual reunion will be held online on Wednesday, October 28th, 2020 at 8pm on Alan Locher's show, The Locher Room on Youtube. If you're not already familiar with Alan's show, he interviews soap stars as well as other celebrities. Alan spent most of his career doing PR for many of the soap operas. 

To Watch it:

https://www.katonahclassicstage.com/atwt-reunion

Cast members from this iconic CBS series will read the last script of the long-running daytime drama which ended ten years ago. The reunion is being organized by ATWT alum Trent Dawson. There is a small fee to watch the reunion. - and it will be used to help build Trent's new artistic effort, a theater in Katonah, NJ called Katonah Classic Stage. Like many actors, Trent is an avid fan of Shakespeare and the classics, and the goal of his new theater is to instill the love of the classics in not just adults but also children.

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Just in Time for Halloween: Why You Should Watch Stranger Things, The Silence of the Lambs, The Haunting of Hill House, The Evil Dead and Hush if You Want some Jump Scares

By Ashton Samson


Editor's note: Looking for something spooky or surreal to watch for Halloween - or for that matter any time of the year when the horror bug strikes you? Here's a look at a series and several films from our resident horror critic Ashton Samsonand why he rates them high on the jump scare meter. Read on for a reasons to watch Stranger Things, The Silence of the Lambs, The Haunting of Hill House, The Evil Dead and Hush. If you're new to horror, try Stranger Things first.

Stranger Things

How far would you go to save your friends? This is the question posed by the phenomenal Stranger Things, a show that takes place in the 80’s and yet feels very relatable to our current society. The story explores themes that are interwoven with great 80’s songs and layers of horror and sci-fi, the inspiration of which stems from the masters of horror, Stephen King, John Carpenter and James Cameron. The show addresses themes such as the power of friendship and loyalty in face of adversity, which are always of paramount importance, but even more so now.  Indeed they go very far for one another because of the bond between them, which in essence, is the show’s emotional core. Accompany the best teens on the adventure of a lifetime, with suspense, bonding, love and classic horror as you enter the world of Stranger Things.

Interview Females in Entertainment: Meet Cecilia Copeland, A LatinX Woman With a Portfolio of Scripts of Different Genres Including an Autobiographical Piece About her most Unusual Childhood

By Suzanne Ordas Curry

Cecilia Copeland is a successful screenwriter, writing in different genres but especially science fiction and fanstay. Her current project, 13th Street Scare, is about a vampiress. It has  recieved several awards already and will be read as part of NYSeeing2020 on October 21.     

However, it's not all about vampires. Cecilia endured a most unusual and tragic childhood, having been kidnapped by her dad. She writes about this in her script The Copeland Case. She is also an advocate for women and Latinx woman, though she is quick to point out that she does not write for Latinx women but writes stories reflecting life with Latinx experiences in it. 

Read on to find out how her life has affected her stories and what she is doing to help promote the arts in New York City.

It's always interesting to hear how people landed in the world of entertainment. Tell me how you got here.

Cecilia Copeland: Wow. That’s a great question. I’ll do my best to be brief though and hopefully interesting. For sure, a big part of why I create art or entertainment, hopefully both at the same time, is because I had a really unconventional childhood.

Saturday, October 17, 2020

Interview with Andrew Richardson: Meet This British Actor Who is Making a Splash in America in A Call to Spy, Martin Eden and More; He Talks How This Happened and Where He's Headed in What Will Surely Be a Very Successful Career

By Suzanne Ordas Curry

I've got a feeling Andrew Richardson will soon become a household name. Just since I spoke to him not too long ago his film A Call to Spy is now in theaters and streaming, he just finished shooting No Human Involved  and it was announced that he got a gig on an ABC medical drama pilot named Triage. You may have also seen him in The Last OG.

It's no surprise when you see this handsome actor, hear that British accent and observe what he can do on screen, that he landed his first film role in Sarah Megan Thomas' A Call to Spy straight out of college. In this World War II film inspired by the stories of three real female spies, he plays a strong, masculine soldier, but one which he tried to make a bit more human. As the soldier is surrounded by danger, he said, "I wanted him to bring a little sense of humor and positivity to the role." 

In this exclusive article we talk to Andrew about how he went from ballet to theater, from Britian to Canada to the US (where he currently resides) and from Michigan to Hungary for his role in A Call to Spy. Oh, and he also fills us in on what he's been doing during this pandemic, aside from auditioning over Zoom.

Suzee: Let's get to know you. Tell me something about how your journey to becoming and actor here in the states.

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

NYC's Chelsea Film Festival Goes Virtual for 2020: Kickoff is October 14th with Features From Around the World

 


The 2020 Chelsea Film Festival will be held on October 15-18th, 2020. This year, the excitement of the festival will be virtual. Though we all love the in-person aspects of a film festival, being virtual means you can appreciate the films and panels from the comfort of you home, on any device.

This year's festival features 130 films available from October 15th-18th on Film Festival +.  The festivities start with a pre-opening party on October 14th. This year the festivals features a Masterclass with Robin Weingarten, Reel Magic Panel Series with top Entertainment industry professionals, a Wellness Event, a Climate Change Panel and of course Q & A's with many filmmakers.

There are 12 US and foreign  feature films: A Case of Blue, All Earthly Constraints, Celeste, Donna Stronger Than Pretty, Greyscale, Hive, I Heard Sarah, Love is not Love, My Last Best Friend, Myth, Soundtrack to Sixteen and The Last Christmas Party. There are also documentaries, short films and virtual reality. 

Monday, October 5, 2020

Review of Netlix Film I'm Thinking of Ending Things: Not Your Ordinary Breakup Story but an Ambiguous, Magical and Stunning Example of Visual Storytelling

 By Ashton Samson

When you sit down to watch the Netflix film, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, do not for one second doubt what you are seeing. You will think that your eyes are playing tricks on you and you will question whether or not the clothing, names and ages of the characters are constantly being modified as the film draws onward. You might even turn it off, taking the firm opinion that there is too much inconsistency to make it a film worth watching, but whatever you do, don’t reach for the remote. 

Instead, take heed of my advice: Your mind is not playing tricks on you and Charlie Kaufman’s films will always and forever elude straightforward classification. With that being said, let's venture down the dark and lonely road of regret, pain, memory and what it means to be human with 2020’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things. 

Friday, October 2, 2020

Bid to Change a Child's Story: Bergen CASA for Children Holds Virtual Auction To Raise Funds to Help Children in Foster Care October 1st-14th

By Suzanne Ordas Curry

The pandemic of 2020 is taking it's toll on a lot of things. Two of them, that don't always make headlines are non-profits and foster children.

Abuse and neglect are up of children is up during this pandemic. There are so many factors affecting this, such as stress, lack of money and food and the overall environment we are living in. The big problem is that reports of the abuse have subsided. Social workers are not having the face-to-face interaction they used to with foster children, and new cases are not being recognized because the children are not in school, which is a primary place for abuse to be recognized and reported. 

CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) for Children is a non-profit that provides trained volunteer advocates who become one-on-one advocates for children in foster care. Trained in many of the aspects that affect these children, their job is to check in with the child, work with the social worker and all others that take care of the particular child, and get to know the child so they can best report to the courts if something is needed or awry. These advocates often know the child the best because they are assigned one-on-one to the children.