The big news is the re-vamping of Lights, Camera, Happiness of course! While helping out behind the scenes a lot this year, I'm super excited to announce the LCH has a brand new name Cinema Bliss! And the newsletter will shift focus to sharing my adventures in acting and filmmaking. It seems a natural shift since the whole reason I've put Lights, Camera, Happiness on the shelf is due to so much creative activity on making super low budget movies.
Some quickie highlights from 2016 so far include The Space Between premiere and DVD release. As an "original" 80's Ghostbusters fan, I was thrilled to be a part of writer/director/actor Anthony Phillip's 30 minute short film. I got to channel my iner Annie Potts and razz my onscreen hubby Ghostbusters style.
Meanwhile, Lake Charles writer/director Patrick Shawn Bennett has cast me as a French assassin in Stretch The Web Series. I'm determined to create a fun villain you love to hate while stalking that little vixen Stretch. She's got elasti-girl powers so it's going to be a challenge!
Some quickie highlights from 2016 so far include The Space Between premiere and DVD release. As an "original" 80's Ghostbusters fan, I was thrilled to be a part of writer/director/actor Anthony Phillip's 30 minute short film. I got to channel my iner Annie Potts and razz my onscreen hubby Ghostbusters style.
Meanwhile, Lake Charles writer/director Patrick Shawn Bennett has cast me as a French assassin in Stretch The Web Series. I'm determined to create a fun villain you love to hate while stalking that little vixen Stretch. She's got elasti-girl powers so it's going to be a challenge!
,Listen to the first ever Beetle Juice Minute podcast! Inspired by the Star Wars minute, Tim Burton fans Julie Ann Fay and Barry Rathbun dig deep into Beetle Juice and go through the film minute by hilarious minute. Guest commentators this month include movie miniatures collector Chris Taylor, actor/director and film critic at the There Might Be Blood podcast Anthony Phillips.
Are you looking for an acting exercise to do all on your own when there's no one to practice with? Try popping in a DVD you've never seen or DVR an episode of something you've never seen. Then fast forward the video until you find a scene between just two people. Play the first character's lines out-loud then mute the TV while the other character speaks and you make up your own lines outloud. This helps hone two of the most important acting skills, listening and reacting in the moment. Stay tuned for next month's adventures in acting.
If you liked this month's Adventures in Acting you can find 39 more exercises just like it, plus 21 exercises putting all your skills together. That's a total of 60 exercises delivered daily to your inbox for 60 days in my Acting on Fire eCourse. All of the activities are designed to be done alone between classes when you don't have a scene partner or acting gig to go to. Click here for more about Acting On Fire.
October 8th, 9th & 10th, 2016
Julie will be at the 4th Annual Lake Charles Film Festival inside Central School in Lake Charles, Louisiana all weekend. So if you've got ideas for Cinema Bliss be sure to come out and say hello!
September 23rd, 24th & 25th, 2016
On September 23rd, Julie and a team of filmmakers from the Lake Area Film Group of Lake Charles, Louisiana will tackle a 48 hour film sprint challenge. Starting at 7pm that Friday, the gang will write, shoot and edit a short film to be turned in that Sunday. Films that make it in under deadline and incorporate all the required contest elements will be shown during the Lake Charles Film Festival, October 8th!
My favorite movie over the past 30 days has got to be indie movie Coherence. This will be tough to describe because it's the kind of film with a unique twist I really don't want to give away before you watch it. ON the surface it's just a dinner party with friends indoors while a comet streaks across the sky. This movie kept me guessing as to what might happen next and provided great conversation afterwards!
In this corner of the newsletter I'd like to spotlight some of incredibly creative people I'm blessed to know. Filmmaker Christopher R. Mihm's new retro 50's style drive-in movie Weresquito: Nazi Hunter has its world premiere September 28th at the Heights Theater in Columbia Heights, Minnesota.
I'd also like to give a shout out to my acting friend Anthony Phillips for his biggest role to date in a feature film. "The Hollow" is about a U.S. Congressman's daughter who dies in a mysterious triple homicide and what the investigation uncovers. Anthony tells us the movie should be out in theaters this October so keep an eye out for it.
Best of luck Christopher and Anthony!
I'd also like to give a shout out to my acting friend Anthony Phillips for his biggest role to date in a feature film. "The Hollow" is about a U.S. Congressman's daughter who dies in a mysterious triple homicide and what the investigation uncovers. Anthony tells us the movie should be out in theaters this October so keep an eye out for it.
Best of luck Christopher and Anthony!
If you have suggestions of things you'd like to see included in the Cinema Bliss newsletter or would like to be a contributing writer for a column then drop us a line at info@cinemabliss.com. We take compliments and comments too! Thank you. ~ Julie
