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July 2005

Hi everyone

The indy horror movie I starred in about a year ago Xmas
"Katie Bird certifiable Crazy person" is finally making waves. I'm going to be
featured in an article about the movie in an upcoming issue of Sirens of Cinema
which should be on most news stands around the country. As soon as I get the
exact issue, I'll let you know. I just had a really fun photo-shoot for it. A horror fan base is starting to form. Fantastic , silly fun. How can you take life too seriously when you have
THAT on your resume!

I'm still working on the malaria project documentary as we speak.
I have a new job with Musicplus tv ..

(note. Helene is now a VP at Musicplus. They are looking for new talent to showcase on their new cable/web/radio show so if you know any talent just waiting to be discovered
contact us )

I'm developing a horror movie script that we already have funding for.I'll be
directing and producing. We expect to start prodcution in September, once I can
square away some of this other stuff.

I still have the clown business and entertained the kids as Tinker bell this very
week end.

And Zero Principal , the movie I'm developing has met with couple of snafus. But
it's in the works. I've met with Michael Rappaport and Cary Elwes and Lara
Flynn Boyle who all dug the project. Now if I had the other half of the funding I'd
be set .

Just life in Hollywod as ususal.

And now on to more serious subjects:

In Helene's next entry she shares about one of the most inspiring, and traumatic experiences of her life - her journey to Africa and India

 

January 2005


Hello guys...

Well things are rolling along beautifully. I am teaming up with DR. D. Rutledge
Taylor (who will also be directing) to produce a documentary on Malaria
that will be taking me to Africa and Colombia in March and throughout the
first part of this year while...

In a completely different vein... Casting for the feature film Zero Principal starts february 13th.We plan to start shoot on the movie April 15th. At this very moment...I wish I could stretch time .There just never seems to be enough of it in the day. We're doing massive re-writes and budget changes and just getting organized on both projects and it's a lot of work. I barely have time to breathe never mind wash the car. When I see dusty cars driven by people that clearly haven't slept for days, I now think. Wow...Lucky them. They must be super busy . hah! I feel pretty lucky. Like the world is full of possibility...

If you're interested in knowing more about either project you can visit my
production site at www.5k-films.com or you can got to www.dochollydo.com to
find out a little more about Dr. Taylor...All in all...Things are great! I hope is well with you too.

It's nice to have place to chat with people who know where I come from...
Fondest,
Myra
Helene

 

January (2004)update from Helene

Hi everyone,

A little news. I'm doing a new play at the Tamarind theater in California called ' Angry Jellow Bubbles'. Play rehearsals have been going well. It's a great show. I hope as many people come to see it as can. You'll laugh out loud. We go until March in cast rotation. My first set of days are January 12th, 13th and 14th. Next week. Yikes!

The second bit of news is I just did a movie called, " Witches of Carribean". It's a ghost story. There's a teeny bit of blood but no gratuitous sex or nudity so all in all its a fun piece for the whole family if you like ghost stories with a bit of horror flair. I think it's going straight to blockbuster and you should be able to pick it up at your local video store probably fairly
shortly.

And lastly, The horror film before that one " Katie Bird Certifiable Crazy Person" is not a horror movie I would recommend to the faint of heart nor Dq fans in general. Even though I had the lead in that one. The material is very dark.
And not actually to my taste . But it was a challenging role and i'm pleased with that. I just feel the need to warn people about that one so they aren't grossed out. :)..It's pretty gory.

That's all for now.

Helene

 

Hello everyone,

Life goes by so quickly and I always feel slammed .

I can't believe it's been 2 months since I last wrote. I never feel like there's just not enough time to honor every commitment. I'm sure you all know what that's like.

Hmmm...Where was I, the last time I wrote I wonder? I finally did finish up with the feature film it took me 6 years to complete "The End of Blue" (starring Daphne Zuniga, Darren Burrows, Alexandra Paul , and Laraine Newan) on June 23rd. The last few weeks have been about submitting to the many important film festivals that are coming up. If any of you are interested in what is going on in that way around the country , there is an online site called "withoutabox.com" that lists festivals and deadlines ranging from here in Los Angeles and clear across the continent to Cannes. It's a very useful website, if you have an independent film you'd like to sell. It's the best way to give the film some exposure so that it has some kind of chance
at distribution. But the best festivals are almost impossible to get into. It's just another part of the learning curve for me. Figuring out how to create a heat behind the picture so someone takes notice.

So...I've decided to hire the best publicist I can find. No point in doing anything halfway...It costs a fortune though! Which is why most people don't bother with a publicist unless they're on a show and or etc. But...I think if I bother to hire a well connected publicist that knows what they're doing, The benefits could be immeasurable. Maybe the film will have a better journey and I'm all for it. But in conjunction with that, I need to find the right entertainment lawyer, and finally a "sales agent" . These are the folks that will take care of the very complicated process of selling my movie. But just finding a good team of people is probably a potentially boring but never the less whole documentary film unto itself.

In the meantime...I'm also developing two projects...One that I'm writing, and one that has been written by someone else. It's such a funny and sweet and entertaining script. i can't wait to do it. We have Phyllis Diller attached to one of the parts in a cameo role, and I'm attempting to attach Ed Begley Jr to another before we go out and get the young make lead . The name of the new project is called "Zero Principal". it's a darkly comedic romance/thriller. Very quirky. Very fun. Kind of like the movie "Brazil" crossed with "High Fidelity". Ed and Phyllis are perfect for the project! It'll be fun to work with them , if I'm lucky! But neither has the "star power" to bring money to the project. "Star power" is a funny thing. it fluctuates enormously . But these days, if you're not a young male star in your twenties to 30's , it's hard to get money to make the movie go. (Unless you're an established old timer like Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise for instance) You have to be "bankeable". You have to have the fan draw that might balance out the cost of the movie. So I'm counting on the fact that there might be a young bankable actor out there who also loves their (Phyllis and Ed's) work the way I do, and might find them another good reason to jump on board the movie and help get it funded. And of course, the extra publicity (news articles, special appearances etc) will help there too.

Is this boring stuff to read about or am I just very very tired?LOL.I know my dog Jack is totally unimpressed. He's snoring so loud I can barely hear myself think! I have to get up early to do an improv show in San Diego tomorrow. But...I'll try to stay in better touch...For those of you that are interested in following the course of this independent film journey I'm on.

Bye for now. Stay cool (as in air conditioner kind, although any
kind of cool is never a bad thing )
Fondest,
Helene
PS: Please forgive my typos. Argh. I'm a bleary eyed two finger typer.

 
Hello !

Thanks for checking in! As you may already know I've spread myself out in so many direction since Myra left on the train some 6 years ago? Wow. I can hardly believe it! Mostly because not a day goes by that I don’t think about it on some level, in some way. It's always with me. I think it's fantastic, that by this new addition it is possible to have a way to communicate more consistently with you. And I'm grateful to Pam and all the people that work so hard to keep the news letter and website alive for that. As for me...

On the directing front, after a couple of false starts, I am at the beginning of a journey to produce and direct a romantic-comedic-thriller feature film project called ZERO PRINCIPLE , (written by first time writer Adam Chown). Of course the process I now face is about as long as the last sentence I just wrote. But..that’s half the fun. You just have to hang in there.This will be an ongoing process. And for those of you that are interested in how this stuff comes to pass, I will try and keep a little diary of events as they happen. Zero Principle a beautiful, sweet, whimsical, project with a message that I think is exactly the one I want to project right now. I just heard recently that the Yugoslavians have a saying that goes something like "No matter how far you've gone down the wrong road...Turn back". And I love that! I think this movie is about a person who spends a lot of time traveling down the wrong road, and ultimately still has the courage to turn back. And by turning back, he gives himself an opportunity to have the life he really wanted and forgot about. And I love it. That's all. I can't wait to make it happen. I stay up at night, thinking about it. I just downloaded the final draft of it , and tonight, I'm going to turn the phone off, and hole up in my bedroom and read the final draft, uninterrupted. This is where it all begins.

On the acting front. Things are just now beginning to pick up as I shifted my focus so extremely towards being a film-maker (and all that means) for a while. But .. I have just been cast in the Los Angeles Premiere of "Black Out" at the McCadden Place Theater. "Black Out" is an ensemble piece that had an Off-Broadway run and was subsequently turned into a movie that was produced by The Shooting Gallery and starred among others, Diane Weist and Faye Dunaway. I don't think the movie's out yet. The play was written by Award Winning actor/ writer Gary Lennon and The Los Angeles play version is being directed by Award Winning writer/director Bobby Maresco . I'm unbelievably excited. I haven't been on stage in a long long time. I get dry mouth just thinking about it. I'm kind of scared, but what the heck.

I am also finishing up the music on a 35mm film (The End of Blue stars Darren Burrows, Daphne Zuniga, Alexandra Paul, and Laraine Newman--All of which by now, have probably forgotten they even worked on the darn thing because) I started work on (it) about 4 years ago . This has been a long long journey. but it's been worth it. I'll fill you in on that when the last note is placed and it's ready to screen. This is a dark and very sad tale, so it may not be for everyone.

"If Tomorrow Comes" which I produced and acted in, and which starred James Franco finally got picked up for foreign release. There is no word on whether it will get a US release or get a US video release. So more there later if there's any more news.

And finally, just for fun...I'm halfway through the first draft of a
screenplay, part ghost story , part drama that keeps my down time occupied when I am not dealing with my new children's entertainment company. For those of you that didn't know, my clown name is Sweet Pea. But I'm working on a website for the kid's company that hopefully in the future you can link to.- Read about Helene's Create a Kids Party

I'm not sure how interactive this new site will be. But, it's always nice to hear from you. And I wish you happiness, peace, and the continuing pursuit of all that you know makes your life mean much to you. Your single thought
can change the face of the world as like the resonance of a pebble thrown, and the ripple of that single effort on the water's face. Don't doubt it. Get to it baby!

Fondest,
Helene