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
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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.
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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 |