Episode Seventy-Seven: Director-Actor Relationship

The relationship between the director and actor in any medium is a very special one. Trust is of the utmost importance and when established early on can give the actor a freedom to explore and create in such a way that can help serve the story and the film. Chasing Eagle Rock is veteran TV and film actor Erick Avari’s directing debut. He also stars in the indie film opposite Michael Welch of Twilight fame. Producer Larry Laboe also joins us to talk about the film.

Erick Avari- Director-Producer

During his 30 years as an actor, Erick Avari has consistently turned in finely crafted performances, from grand opera to soap opera, with stops on and Off Broadway, in regional theaters, in some of the highest grossing films in the past two decades, on hit television series and in award-winning independent films.

Avari is instantly recognizable from his roles in blockbuster films ranging from the comedic Mr. Deeds, opposite Adam Sandler; to sci fi epics such as The Mummy, with Rachel Weisz and Brandon Fraser; Stargate, with Kurt Russell and James Spader; Independence Day, starring Will Smith, and Daredevil, as Jennifer Garner’s father. He has also lent his talents to critically acclaimed dramatic roles in film festival favorites American East, with Tony Shalhoub; Dark Matter, starring Meryl Streep; Three Days of Rain, with Peter Falk and Blythe Danner; and Choose Conner, with Steven Weber.

Since his Hollywood debut in Kevin Reynold’s The Beast of War, he has been fortunate to work with some of the most honored film directors of the time, including Mike Nichols, Tim Burton, Lasse Hallström and Satyajit Ray.

Born in Darjeeling, India, Avari attended European boarding schools before attending university in the US. He launched a distinguished career on the New York stage that included leading roles in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” (directed by Tony winner A.J. Antoon), “Tis Pity She’s a Whore” (directed by Mabou Mines founder Joanne Akalaitis) and “A Map of the World” (written and directed by David Hare) at the Joseph Papp Public Theater, as well as the classic musical “The King and I” on Broadway.

He has appeared at some of the country’s most prestigious regional theaters, including the Tyrone Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, the Goodman Theater in Chicago and Shakespeare and Company in the Berkshiers, and played leading roles in Mozart’s “Abduction from the Seraglio” at the Portland Grand Opera, and in “Rasputin” at New York City Opera.

Among his scores of television roles are Chandra Suresh on NBC’s breakout hit series “Heroes,” as well as recurring roles on LA Dragnet, Stargate SG-1 and Felicity. Avari’s recent television appearances also include Dirty Sexy Money, opposite Peter Krause and Law and Order: Criminal Intent.

Versatile, dedicated and dynamic, Avari has been a trailblazer for a generation of South Asian actors in Hollywood. In his fight against stereotypical casting, he has played more than two dozen different ethnicities with authority and believability.
Chasing Eagle Rock marks Avari’s Directorial debut.

Chasing Eagle Rock on Facebook

Michael Welch- Actor

At 23, Michael Welch has worked in every aspect of the entertainment business including film, television, voice-over, and stage. Michael is the recipient of two Young Artist Awards.  First for his performance in Star Trek – Insurrection at age 10, and the second for his work as Luke Girardi on the hit television series Joan of Arcadia, which ran for two seasons on CBS.  Welch won best actor at the 2011 First Glance Film Festival in Hollywood for his portrayal of a troubled young man in Unrequited.

Michael completed filming The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn recently, the fourth in the series of best-selling novels by Stephenie Meyer. He has enjoyed wide exposure for his role as the popular Mike Newton in the Twilight series and much acclaim from within the industry and his many fans.

In the last few years, Welch demonstrates his intense depth and commitment to his craft by assuming challenging roles as the leading man.  Independent films such as Born Bad, Unrequited and Lost Dream are just some examples. In  Chasing Eagle Rock, Michael plays the role of J.R opposite Erick Avari.  Welch can be seen in award-winning festival favorites such as My Suicide, An American Crime, United States of Leland, American Son, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, and The Cover-up.

Welch is familiar to television audiences for his many starring roles on Emmy Award-winning shows, most recently Criminal Minds and Bones.   During the past few years he appeared on CSI, an arch on The Riches, CSI: Miami, Numb3rs, Law & Order: SVU, Crossing Jordan, NCIS, Cold Case, and Without a Trace. His earlier years included performances on Stargate SG-1, Judging Amy, The District, Touched by an Angel, Malcolm in the Middle, The X-Files, The Pretender, 7th Heaven, Chicago Hope, and Frasier.

In spite of his busy schedule, it is essential to Michael to give back. He received the 2005 Star Innovative Award for environmental causes and has been active with the charity Kids With a Cause since 1999.  During 2010, Welch was invited to Germany by the USO for their first educational tour for young people. Recently, Welch was Co-Chair for Walk on The Horizon, an event to raise awareness and resources for adults with disabilities.  Just last year, Michael created the $5.00 Buck Club for The Thirst Project.  His goal was to prove to young people that $5.00 can make a difference.  He raised $20,000 and is looking forward to going to South Africa, Kruger National Park and Swaziland with The Thirst Project in December, 2011.

Michael on Twitter

Larry Laboe- Producer

Larry Laboe began producing film, television, commercials and new media projects with international production and distribution company SXM. His first network series was NBC’s ‘Ctrl’ starring Tony Hale and Steve Howey. Mr. Laboe more recently began work as a producer on Comedy Central’s series Matumbo Goldberg starring Anthony Anderson, Jenna Elfman and Oscar Nominee Michael Lerner, Directed by Oscar nominated Rob Pearlstein and NBC’s FCU: Fact Checkers Unit starring Pauley Perrette, Luke Perry, Jon Heder, Donald Faison, Alex Trebeck and more. Mr. Laboe also produced two series, Disney Kitchen Jam and Diagnosis Stories for Disney Interactive and the feature film Chasing Eagle Rock starring Erick Avari, Michael Welch and Mary-Margaret Humes.

In 2007 Mr. Laboe co-founded the non-profit 501(c) 3 organization NewFilmmakers Los Angeles with partner and Program Director Susie Kim. In an effort to bring opportunity to independent filmmakers, film goers and entertainment industry professionals in Los Angeles, Mr. Laboe works as Executive Director of the group and coordinates NFMLA film screenings on a monthly basis, along with an on-camera filmmaker interview series distributed by MovieMaker Magazine.

Jenna Edwards- Producer, Film Method Co-Host

For more information about Jenna Edwards please visit the About page.

Producing Sunflowers Website
Burbank International Film Fest

Episode Seventy-Six: Production Sound

Believe it or not, having good sound is about as important to your production as having a good quality picture. Low quality sound will make your film seem cheap and unprofessional. Zsolt Magyar joins us this week to talk about being a production sound mixer on set. Brian McQuery also joins us to discuss the relationship between the sound mixer and the 1st A.D. The fabulous Aydrea Walden ten Bosch fills in as co-host for Jenna.

Zsolt Magyar- Production Sound Mixer

Zsolt Magyar is a Hungarian born, Los Angeles based Production Sound Mixer. In Budapest, at the age of 18, he starts his study in electric engineering and joins the rock band, “Azok A Fiuk” (Those Guys). They release two albums with great success. In 1993, he opens for U2. The same year he forms another band, “Bang Bang.” They release an album that is produced by Polygram Records. From 1992 to 1998, Zsolt is a celebrity spokesperson for Roland Musical Instruments in Hungary. From 1993, Zsolt works as a music composer for commercials, movies, brand image shows and fashion shows throughout Europe.

In 2000, Zsolt moves to Los Angeles and finds a new career. He gets into the sound mixing world of the Hollywood film industry. Since he started, he has mixed many feature films, shorts, commercials and television shows. In 2004 he gets nominated by the Cinema Audio Society for outstanding achievement in sound mixing for the TV film The Hollow (2004) (V). He has a multi-channel hard disk recording system, plus a number of high-end wireless and boom microphones, and everything needed for recording sound in the most demanding locations.

Zsolt’s Website- www.productionsoundmix.com
Zsolt’s Email- productionsoundmix@yahoo.com

Brian McQuery- 1st A.D.

Born and raised in Chicago, Brian has always had a love for movies.  He wrote his first feature-length screenplay shortly after graduating high school and has since written original screenplays in the genres of crime, drama, action, thriller, comedy, horror and western.  Brian skipped college and jumped into the workforce, with jobs in insurance, sales, customer service, and telemarketing.

Brian left his job as Director of Telemarketing in 2000 because he wanted to direct motion pictures, not telemarketing.  He threw himself into Chicago’s indie film scene, built relationships with local actors and filmmakers, and in October 2002, he completed a low budget DV short, Debt, which he wrote, directed and executive produced. Debt was Brian’s first experience with professional equipment and a crew and it screened at several film festivals.  Over the next three years, Brian wrote, produced and directed the DV short films: Commitment, Snare, and Three Couples, the 16mm short film, Everybody Sins, the 35mm short, Promise, and the DV 24P shorts films, Let Go and Vacant.

Brian has a well-rounded view of feature film production and has worked as a 1st Assistant Director on over a dozen independent features and numerous short films, Web series, and other projects.  He has also worked as a 2nd AD on half a dozen independent features.  His strong organizational and management skills enable him to keep the crew moving efficiently to make the most of limited resources on independent films.  He has lived in Los Angeles since 2006 and several of his short films played the film festival circuit and won awards in 2006 and 2007. And since 2009, he has arranged for actors and filmmakers to appear at screenings of their films at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles.

Brian’s Website- www.brianmcquery.com

Aydrea Walden ten Bosch- Writer

Aydrea has written for The Seattle Times, the Now Write! Screenwriting book series, The Second City Los Angeles, iO West, Hawaii Film Partners, NBC/Universal, Highlander Films, Nickelodeon, and Disney. She also runs the satirical blog, The Oreo Experience–My Life and Times as a Super White Black Person.

For more information about Aydrea or to contact her please visit her website at www.theoreoexperience.com

Episode Seventy-Five: Eve Light Honthaner

Since the time the Film Method podcast began we have been talking about Eve Light Honthaner and her amazing book The Complete Film Production Handbook! Eve has worked on many films including Titanic, Just Married and Tropic Thunder. She joins us to give some helpful tips for producers for the day that your film finally reaches principal photography. We briefly touch on many topics including working with animals, working with children, using purchase orders and hiring the right people for the job.

Eve Light Honthaner- Producer/Author/Teacher

Eve’s career in the entertainment industry spans many years, primarily in the field of production management.  She’s worked in every capacity from PA to line producer and as a staff production executive, most recently for DreamWorks.  She’s worked on shows budgeted anywhere from $1 – $250 million and on projects that have been shot throughout the U.S. and internationally, including Titanic, Just Married and Tropic Thunder.

She’s the author of The Complete Film Production Handbook and HOLLYWOOD DRIVE: What it Takes to Break in, Hang in & Make it in the Entertainment Industry.  And since 1998, she’s combined her many years of practical experience with a love of teaching to help others succeed in this fiercely competitive business.

In addition to the six-week course she teaches at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts each summer, schedule permitting, she does one- and two-day workshops throughout the country.

Eve’s Website- http://evehonthaner.com

Jenna Edwards- Producer, Film Method Co-Host

For more information about Jenna Edwards please visit the About page.

Producing Sunflowers Website
Burbank International Film Fest

Lynda Lopez- Producer

Lynda Lopez started her career in film as a Production Designer working on student films with friends from art school where she was a Graphic Design major. She then went on to assist some very talented Production Designers on studio films while still working in various capacities on short films and indie films. Due to her fascination for all aspects of filmmaking, she has become more involved with the Production side of things working as a Director’s Assistant and Producer.

Lynda is currently working on a charity project for All Hands Volunteers, a non-profit organization that provides hands-on assistance to survivors of natural disasters around the world. For more information about Lynda’s project to help this organization please visit Film Method’s Facebook page.

For more information on All Hands Volunteers visit their website at http://hands.org/

Support from Start to Finish: Mother’s Red Dress

Mother’s Red Dress, a tragic love story, is the third feature film in three years for No Restrictions Entertainment, an independent filmmaking partnership between writer/director Edgar Michael Bravo and producer John Paul Rice. The team is known among its fan base and those in the micro-budget indie community for making compelling dramatic films that deal with challenging topics in the realm of social issues.

Over the past four years, they’ve built a strong following starting with their first feature, the critically acclaimed, One Hour Fantasy Girl, (based on a true story) a poignant story of a runaway girl from the mid-west living in Hollywood who works as a no-sex call girl to pursue her dream of investing in real estate. The audience’s strongest reactions came from a majority of women who sympathized with a guarded yet vulnerable young woman making her way through a dangerous world to achieve her goal of financial independence – finding an emotionally engaging female empowerment movie. These reactions propelled the team to partner up with charities and organizations, showing the film in theaters to raise awareness and funds for abused runaways.

Now with their third film just weeks away from a locked picture edit, the team is raising finishing funds for Mother’s Red Dress via Kickstarter – one of the more popular crowd-funding platforms available to filmmakers – and combining the fundraising with charity as 10% of every dollar pledged will be donated to an organization that helps victims of domestic violence and child abuse.

Mother’s Red Dress is the story of a young man, Paul, who leaves home to start a new life after seeing his mother kill her abusive boyfriend and threatens to kill her son if he tells anyone.  Paul moves to a small town in Southern California where he meets Ashley, a young woman who also comes from a broken home yet is unaware of Paul’s troubled past with his mother. Ashley inspires Paul to apply to a local community college. All is going well until Paul gets a call from his mother who is dying of cancer and wants to see him one last time.  She offers to reunite Paul with his estranged father who disappeared during his childhood – his father, wanting to meet and convince Paul he is a changed man. Paul decides to travel back home with Ashley following the next day but the truth of what actually happened in the house and to Paul is waiting for both of them.

Mr. Bravo and Mr. Rice talk about their current crowd funding campaign, effective strategies and more on the Film Method podcast with Cindy Freeman and Jenna Edwards.

To learn more about MOTHER’S RED DRESS and their Kickstarter campaign, click here.

You can also follow the project on Facebook or connect with John Paul Rice on Twitter.

John Paul Rice- Producer

Mr. Rice attended Georgia State University in 1997 with a focus on Business. In 1999, while at college, Mr. Rice was given a rare opportunity to work on Jerry Bruckheimer’s Remember the Titans. Following three months on the film, John directed his studies toward learning the history of cinema. Mr. Rice gained hands-on production experience by working on a handful of micro- budget independent films between courses before moving to Los Angeles January 2001 to pursue a career in film production. By mid 2001, John landed a position at the Los Angeles division of the German distribution company Senator International (which later became Mandate Pictures) lead by industry veteran Joseph Drake (Juno, The Grudge, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, 30 Days of Night, American Psycho). Under Joe’s mentoring, John developed an interest and dedication to producing feature films. John left Mandate to form No Restrictions Entertainment LLC with filmmaker Edgar Michael Bravo. In 2008, Mr. Rice produced his first feature One Hour Fantasy Girl with Edgar Michael Bravo directing. The following year, he and Mr. Bravo produced the supernatural thriller The Magic Stone, set for release in 2011.

Edgar Michael Bravo- Writer/Director

Latino writer/director Edgar Michael Bravo has explored the residual effects of the North American and Latino culture clash in several of his films. During his studies at the UCLA graduate school of film (MFA, 1993) Mr. Bravo’s film Mi Casa, which dealt with Latino immigrants in L.A., won the grand prize at the A&E national film competition. This prestigious award helped launchhis directorial career and Edgar took on his next challenge:Mi Hermano which was the first drama to deal with the ramifications of AIDS and Latino immigrants. This poignant, edgy film garnered Mr. Bravo a Cine Eagle Award and was broadcast nationally on Univision and PBS. After receiving his Masters of Fine Arts from UCLA with honors, Mr. Bravo wrote and directed the feature I’ll Love You Forever…Tonight, which won national rave reviews including Kevin Thomas (L.A. Times) & Steve Holden (N.Y. Times). The project co-starred Thomas Jane (The Punisher, Dreamcatcher, Boogie Nights). Phaedra released the film nationally. Video distribution was handled by BlockBuster and Hollywood Video. Lila Cazes (producer of Leaving Las Vegas) saw I’ll Love You Forever…Tonight and hired him to complete Venus Rising, a feature that required a re-write and re-shoots. Lila was so pleased with Mr. Bravo’s take on the material, that they hired him to write the feature The Perfect Husband.
Mr. Bravo’s film Mi Hermano was viewed by Columbia-Tri-Star and Telemundo and led to his first directorial stint in television. Mr. Bravo shot an hour long episode of Reyes y Rey (1998), a popular police drama based in a fictional Latino border town. The episode received such high ratings that he was contracted to direct two episodes of their other co-production Angeles, a Latino version of Charlie’s Angels. Edgar’s following project, The Preacher’s Son received a Houston World Fest Award (2000). His next script which he collaborated with another writer The Closing Bell, received a Zide/Perry finalist award (2002) and won the Telluride Indie Fest Award chosen as one of the “best indie scripts (2002).” After reviewing his body of work, the award winning San Francisco writers Bob Vickery and Dale Chase granted Mr. Bravo rights to their stories. The result was the script The Three Stages of Stan produced in 2003. In 2008, Mr. Bravo partnered with producer John Paul Rice on their first HD feature film One Hour Fantasy Girl, set for limited theatrical release in 2010. The following year, the team produced the supernatural thriller The Magic Stone, set for release in 2011. Mr. Bravo’s great dream is to direct his script, The Conquest of Mexico, which depicts the beauty of Mexico before the treachery of Cortez and the European diseases he brought which devastated a highly developed indigenous culture.

Episode Seventy-Four: Costume Designing for Film

Susan Nininger started out in the field of fine art creating sculpted ceramic pieces and then realized that she liked “sculpting costumes”. Her big break was in the 90′s when she was given the job costuming Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard. Susan talks to us about working on that film and she also shares with us exactly what her union says she’s allowed to do as a costume designer. We also learn about some other tasks of the costume department and about what it takes to organize the clothes for a film.

Susan Nininger- Costume Designer

Susan Nininger was raised in the Northeast ‐ Connecticut, Boston, and New York. She began her studies as a Fine Art Student at Rhode Island School of Design. By the time she received her Masters Degree in Seattle in 1976, her work was incorporating a variety of materials ‐sculpted ceramic pieces, found objects and fabrics‐and she, and others, were wearing her ‘Costume Sculpture’. The body of sculptural work that Susan produced during the late 70′s in Seattle displayed a unique and imaginative use of mixed materials, as well as a strong sense of storytelling. Some of the pieces she produced during this time were not wearable, however, they were always about Costume ‐ evoking her deep rooted interest in not only the physicality of garments chosen as costume, but also in the Storytelling Ideas that go into the development of character through Costume Design. She received Scholarship Awards and Grants during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts and other prestigious organizations. Her work was exhibited in both galleries and museums, nationally.

Susan made the transition from working as a Studio Artist to designing Costumes for Stage and Moving Pictures in the late 70′s.  Collaborations with Performance Artists and Choreographers in Seattle, lead to being invited to design costumes for several Stage Productions. Finding that designing costumes fit perfectly with her passion for storytelling, she made the choice to pursue a career as a Costume Designer, and moved to Los Angeles in 1981. Susan’s range of work as a Costume Designer, to date, includes Costume Design for Feature Films, Television, Theatre, and Music Videos. She is perhaps most well known for her Costume Design for The Bodyguard with Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. She has designed for, and collaborated with, award winning Commercial Directors, and continues to maintain a high profile as an imaginative and prolific Costume Designer. With a continued  interest in Education within the field of Costume Design, Susan is a member of the faculty at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in  downtown Los Angeles, where she teaches in the Film & TV Costume Design Program.  She is a member of the Costume Designers Guild, and served on the CDG Board of Directors from 2005‐2010.

Susan is based in Los Angeles, where she lives with her son.

If you’re looking for a costume designer for your film, please contact Maril Delly at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Maril’s email address is mdelly@fidm.edu.

Lynda Lopez- Producer

Lynda Lopez started her career in film as a Production Designer working on student films with friends from art school where she was a Graphic Design major. She then went on to assist some very talented Production Designers on studio films while still working in various capacities on short films and indie films. Due to her fascination for all aspects of filmmaking, she has become more involved with the Production side of things working as a Director’s Assistant and Producer.

Lynda is currently working on a charity project for All Hands Volunteers, a non-profit organization that provides hands-on assistance to survivors of natural disasters around the world. For more information about Lynda’s project to help this organization please visit Film Method’s Facebook page.

For more information on All Hands Volunteers visit their website at http://hands.org/

Jenna Edwards- Producer, Film Method Co-Host

For more information about Jenna Edwards please visit the About page.

Producing Sunflowers Website
Burbank International Film Fest