News: Olivier Assayas' "Clouds of Sils Maria" opens in Los Angeles on April 10!

Award-winning film "Clouds of Sils Maria" will finally open in US theaters on April 10, 2015, nearly a year after its sensational debut at last year's Cannes Film Festival and more than a month after one of its stars, Kristen Stewart, made history by winning as the year's Best Supporting Actress at the Cesars, France's top acting awards!

The movie is a modern-day update of the classic "All About Eve" and tells the story of Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche), who, at the peak of her international career, is asked to perform in a revival of the play that made her famous twenty years ago. But back then she played the role of Sigrid, an alluring young girl who disarms and eventually drives her boss Helena to suicide. Now she is being asked to step into the other role, that of the older Helena. She departs with her assistant (Kristen Stewart) to rehearse in Sils Maria; a remote region of the Alps. A young Hollywood starlet with a penchant for scandal (Chloë Grace Moretz) is to take on the role of Sigrid, and Maria finds herself on the other side of the mirror, face to face with an ambiguously charming woman who is, in essence, an unsettling reflection of herself.

The film is written and directed by one of the world's leading filmmakers, Olivier Assayas, and produced by Charles Gillibert. If you can't wait for April 10, a special screening of the movie will be held at the USC campus on April 1 and it's going to be free!!!

Here's the sked:

Time: 7:00 P.M. on Wednesday, April 1st, 2015

Venue: The Ray Stark Family Theatre, SCA 108 | 900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007

You have to RSVP here: https://cinema.usc.edu/events/reservation.cfm?id=14936

Meantime, you can watch the trailer of the movie below...

News: Acclaimed Canadian thriller BACKCOUNTRY opens in Theaters and VOD!

BACKCOUNTRY opens in Los Angeles theaters and VOD this Friday, March 27!

"A must-see.  Does for the woods what Jaws did for the ocean"
​- Matt Boiselle, Dread Central

The Film

Based on a true story, BACKCOUNTRY follows an urban couple who go camping in the Canadian wilderness - where unimaginable beauty sits alongside our most primal fears. Alex (Jeff Roop) is a seasoned outdoorsman while Jenn (Missy Peregrym), a corporate lawyer, is not. After much convincing, and against her better judgment, she agrees to let him take her deep into a Provincial Park to one of his favorite spots - the secluded Blackfoot Trail.

On their first night, deep in the forest, they have an unsettling encounter with Brad (Eric Balfour), a strange alpha male with eyes for Jenn who may or may not be following them. Alex's desire to quickly reach Blackfoot Trail only intensifies. They push further and further into the woods, Alex stubbornly insisting that he remembers the way. After three days their path disappears; they are hopelessly lost. Without food or water, they struggle to find their way back, the harsh conditions bringing out the best and worst in them, pushing their already fragile relationship to the breaking point. When they realize they have entered a bear's territory, being lost suddenly becomes the least of their problems. Terror, horror, will, and survival become paramount.

The Director

ADAM MACDONALD (Director / Writer) was born in Montreal, Quebec. After running in gangs and hitting rock bottom as a rebellious teenager, he became interested in theatre and film and found resurrection as an artist. A highly accomplished actor with over 40 film and television credits to his name, Adam began to shift his focus in recent years to writing and directing, receiving mentoring from Bruce McDonald, one of Canada’s most acclaimed directors.  Adam’s previous directorial works include three short films: Sombre Zombie, KillerKiller, and In the Dominican.  Sombre Zombie aired on Bravo! and screened at festivals around the world, including the Fantasia Film Festival and Nashville Film Festival.  His most recent short, In the Dominican was a festival hit and was nominated as Best International Short Film at the Barebones Film Festival; received three nominations including Best Short Film at the Treasure Coast International Film Festival; and won an Award of Merit at the Los Angeles Cinema Festival of Hollywood.  Adam is a passionate, obsessive student of the cinéma vérité and thriller genres and is influenced by Hong-­‐Jin Na, Rob Zombie, Nicolas Winding Refn, Tobe Hooper, and Derek Cianfrance. Inspired to follow in their footsteps, Adam wrote the script for Backcountry to be his feature-­‐film directorial debut.  Beyond his film and television endeavors, Adam devours novels, competes in Golden Gloves boxing tournaments, paints Pop Art canvasses, gets tattooed, and wrote a memoir, Light in Shadows, exploring his challenging childhood, with all proceeds going to Kids Help Phone.  He lives in Toronto with his wife, Danielle. He continues to love the pop culture and music from the eighties. And the Montreal Canadians.

The Cast

MISSY PEREGRYM (Jenn) -- Missy currently stars on ABC’s successful cop series, “Rookie Blue.”  Missy can also be seen in Yahoo’s first digitally released movie, Cybergeddon.  Peregrym starred as Chloe Jocelyn, an agent investigating a series of seemingly unrelated cyber-­‐attacks. Peregrym made her feature film debut as the gymnast star in the film, Stick It. She starred as a rebellious girl who is ordered to participate in a regimented sports world to clean up her act.


ERIC BALFOUR (Brad) -- Eric Balfour’s career in entertainment began at the age of fifteen when a talent scout cast him as a series regular on the hit dancing and singing show, "Kids Incorporated." He has since established himself as a creative force for both the television and film communities playing interesting and eclectic  characters.  Currently, Eric can be seen on SyFy’s drama series, “Haven,” based on Stephen King’s novel, “The Colorado Kid.” In addition to his film career, Balfour was seen in the Emmy and Golden Globe-­‐winning Fox TV drama, "24,” reprising his season one role as Milo, the smart and eccentric resident computer expert at the CTU.  Balfour’s extensive list of television credits includes a starring role in Dick Wolf’s "Conviction” on NBC where he played Brian Peluso. He was also seen as a series regular on the Golden Globe-­‐ winning HBO series, “Six Feet Under” for creator/writer Alan Ball. Balfour played Gabe, the drug addicted troubled boyfriend of Claire (Lauren Ambrose).  On the big screen, Balfour can be seen in several films, including In Her Shoes, for Twentieth Century FOX, directed by Curtis Hansen and opposite Cameron Diaz and the remake of the cult-­‐ classic hit, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre -­‐  produced by Michael Bay and directed by Marcus    Nispel.   Balfour was also seen in the New Line feature, Second Hand Lions opposite Haley Joel Osmett.  Other credits include Revolution Studio's America's Sweethearts opposite Julia Roberts and John Cusak; Paramount Pictures' Nancy Meyers' film What Women Want opposite Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt.  In addition to his screen time, Balfour is also involved in many other creative endeavors as a writer/director and producer for his recently formed production company, Off the Grid Entertainment.


JEFF ROOP (Alex / Executive Producer) is from Montreal, Quebec. After receiving his Bachelorʼs Degree in Finance and Entrepreneurship from McGill University, he chose to pursue his first love: acting. He received his MFA from the Moscow Art Theatre School and Carnegie Mellon University, training in both Moscow and Pittsburgh.  Notable film and television roles include starring in the ESPN feature, Codebreakers, opposite Scott Glenn; playing hockey legend Frank Mahovlich in CBCʼs, Canada-­‐Russia 72; starring opposite Katherine Heigl in NBCʼs, "Critical Assembly"; the Lifetime feature, Widow on the Hill, opposite  James Brolin; guest starring in "CSI:NY", "Without a Trace", "Numb3rs", and "Saving Hope", playing James van der Beekʼs nemesis in the thriller, Final Draft, starring in the hit thriller, Jekyll + Hyde, a recurring role on CBCʼs top-­‐rated drama, "Heartland", a recurring role on "ReGenesis", starring in  the CBC series, "11 Cameras" and starring in the hit cult series, "Vampire High", syndicated Worldwide. Recent film starring roles include the Canadian-­‐Uruguayan co-­‐production, 14 Days in Paradise, opposite Nicholas Campbell, and a lead role opposite two of the biggest comedic names in France, Florence Foresti and Jamel Debbouze in, Hollywood.

Watch the trailer below...

News: “The Fourth Noble Truth” opens in Los Angeles in June!


Award-winning film “The Fourth Noble Truth” Starring Harry Hamlin and Kristen Kerr To Play at Laemmle Theaters in Los Angeles in June!!!

“The Fourth Noble Truth” – winner of the Audience Award at the Sonoma International Film Fest in 2014 - is being released in Laemmle Theaters in Santa Monica this June.  The film stars Harry Hamlin (“Mad Men”; wife Lisa Rinna of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”), Kristen Kerr (“Strictly Sexual”) & Richard Portnow (“The Sopranos”). Gary T. McDonald (“Rape/Crisis”) wrote and directed the feature, which was produced by David Kohner Zuckerman and Jillian Stein for Kohner Zuckerman’s DKZ Films (“Strictly Sexual,” “All I Want for Christmas”).

“The Fourth Noble Truth” is an unexpected romance, set intelligently against the backdrop of meditation.  Drawing comparisons to films like “My Dinner with Andre,” and “The Sessions,” the story unfolds with sharply dramatized dialogue around the Buddha’s teachings of The Fourth Noble Truth, the goal of which is to show people a spiritual pathway to fulfillment and happiness.

“It was a wonderful audience in Sonoma,” says McDonald, an avid practitioner of meditation.  "The time-honored teachings that inspired me to make the film and the story itself seem to have to have really struck a chord with a very diverse crowd of filmgoers.  That thrilled me. "

In the film, Hamlin plays an A-list movie star just busted for road rage named Aaron, who’s told by his wily lawyer (Portnow) to pursue meditation instruction with Rachel (Kerr), knowing this will impress the sentencing judge - a former student.  Rather than adhere to the Rachel’s lessons, however, Aaron uses every bit of his intense charm to try and seduce her. Though Rachel’s boundaries are iron clad at first, it turns out she’s not immune to Aaron’s power, and her bourgeoning feelings for him threaten everything she’s trying to accomplish.

Using a unique storytelling device, the film plays out in eight chapters, during which Hamlin and Kerr trade in insightful wisdoms while challenging one another’s life philosophies. In each, they purposefully or inadvertently show us one element of the Buddha’s Eight-Fold Path, which is “The Fourth Noble Truth.”

It’s now common knowledge that, in recent years, more and more Americans have embraced holistic living and Mindfulness Meditation.  Indeed, stories are being published weekly citing meditation’s various benefits and popularity, including articles in the Washington Post, Huffington Post and “Forbes” just in the last month.

“I started practicing TM in 1975 and have always believed that meditation holds a key to happy and successful living,” Hamlin says. “Here's a film that sheds light on meditation and its undeniable benefits.”

XXX

News: Ethan Hawke's "Good Kill" to open May 15!

Zoe Kravitz (Vera Suarez) and Ethan Hawke (Tom Egan) 
in Andrew Niccol’s GOOD KILL.  
Courtesy of Lorey Sebastian.  
(C) 2014 Clear Skies Nevada LLC. 
An IFC Films release.  
Fresh from his Oscar-nominated turn in Richard Linklater's masterpiece "Boyhood", Ethan Hawke will return to the big screen in the new thriller "Good Kill" which opens in theaters and on VOD on May 15!

In the movie, Ethan plays Major Tommy Egan who is fighting a war from the safety of a Nevada trailer, but whose commitment to the mission comes at a price. Written and directed by the acclaimed filmmaker Andrew Niccol ("Gattaca"), "Good Kill" is a timely drama about the human costs of advanced war technology.

Co-starring with Ethan in the film are January Jones, Zoe Kravitz, Bruce Greenwood and Jake Abel.

Watch the sensational trailer below...

News: "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" on VOD and iTunes now!


Biggest news for my movie buff friends! 

One of my top 10 favorite films of 2014 is now available on VOD and iTunes!!!

Here's a sampling of more raves from top critics!

"The biggest honest-to-God discovery of 2014." 
– Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com

"... a new vampire classic, one to treasure endlessly."
– Drew Taylor, The Playlist (Indiewire)

"Even as Ms. Amirpour draws heavily from various bodies of work with vampire-like hunger, she gives her influences new life by channeling them through other cultural forms, including her chador-cloaked vampire..."
– Manohla Dargis, The New York Times


"Just when you think you've seen it all...along comes something completely new, or at least something so intriguingly bizarre as to seem completely new." 
– Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal

"This is a dream on your screen, absurd, languid (if not slow), and possessed by the calm of an inevitable beauty. This is what cinema was invented for." 
– David Thomson, The New Republic


Kino Lorber is proud to announce the highly anticipated VOD release of A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night on several VOD platforms, including iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, and Amazon Instant. The film is being released in collaboration with Vice Films.

After grossing over $420,000 in US theaters and playing in more than 75 markets, Ana Lily Amirpour's feature debut is now available nationwide, a month before its Blu-ray and DVD release. (The film is still playing strong at IFC Center, four months after its New York premiere on November 21, 2014.)

On iTunes, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night comes with additional special features, including a Q&A Hosted by Roger Corman at the Hammer Museum, and a VICE interview with Ana Lily Amirpour and Sheila Vand.

The "moody and gorgeous" (The Hollywood Reporter) film made its world premiere at last year's Sundance Film Festival, and was the opening night event at the prestigious New Directors/ New Films, programmed by MoMA and the Film Society of Lincoln Center. The film went on to gather outstanding reviews and its writer/director, Ana Lily Amirpour, won the Gotham Award for Breakthrough Director.

Dubbed the world's first "Iranian Vampire Western," A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is a joyful mash-up of genre and prolific influences spanning spaghetti westerns, graphic novels, horror films, and the Iranian New Wave. While comparisons have been made to Jarmusch, Lynch, Tarantino, and Sergio Leone, the film is wholly original and refreshingly daring, signaling the arrival of a bold new voice with writer/director Amirpour.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night also features an impressive cast of actors including leads Sheila Vand (Argo), Arash Marandi (Kunduz: The Incident at Hadji Ghafur) and Dominic Rains (The Taqwacores), as well as Mozhan Marnó (House of Cards, The Stoning of Soraya M), Rome Shadanloo, Marshall Manesh and Milad Eghbali.

The film is rounded out by the sumptuous, black-and-white anamorphic cinematography of Lyle Vincent and a soundtrack that features the Middle Eastern fusion beats of Bei Ru, the underground Iranian rock of Radio Tehran and Kiosk, and the spaghetti western-inspired tunes of Portland-based Federale.

Links to more stories below:

http://raymonddeasislo.blogspot.com/2015/01/my-favorite-films-of-2014.html

http://raymonddeasislo.blogspot.com/2014/11/dont-miss-girl-walks-home-alone-at.html

XXX
Raymond Lo

News: Tom Cruise is back in top form in brand-new Mission Impossible trailer!

Tom Cruise, the Hollywood superstar, is back in top form in the action-packed new trailer released today by Paramount!
















































In this 5th and exciting new installment of the hit franchise, IMF agent Ethan Hunt is on the run as he is tracked down by a dangerous and highly-trained group of rogue assassins known only as the Syndicate but with the help of his colleagues he plans to beat this nefarious group at their own game and by any means necessary!

Joining Cruise in the movie are Jeremy Renner as William Brandt, Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn, Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell and Alec Baldwin as the Head of the CIA. Other cast members include Sean Harris, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon McBurney and Zhang Jingchu.

The movie opens on July 31!

Watch the trailer below...

My Interview with Christina Aguilera, Pharrell Williams, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton

This story first appeared on March 2, 2015 in The Philippine Star and online here: http://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2015/03/02/1428974/qa-session-voice-season-8-coaches

A Q&A session with The Voice Season 8 coaches
By Raymond Lo (The Philippine Star) | Updated March 2, 2015 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines - Two weeks ago, this writer was invited to an exclusive Q&A session with the Season 8 coaches of The Voice US. It was held on a late Monday afternoon. The Grammys was held the previous night but all four coaches were up early that day and taped an episode of The Voice all day before they sat for the half-hour interview with us.

Multiple Grammy winner — and once rumored to be of Filipino descent — Pharrell Williams, who is back for his second season, joined permanent coaches Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton.

Adam was not wearing his usual white shirt but wore a blue button-down shirt over his usual ripped jeans. Christina was in black pantsuit and looked as lovely as ever. Blake had a simple black shirt and jeans on and was understandably sipping coffee all throughout. Pharrell was in green sweatshirt and athletic pants on. They all looked great despite having had almost no sleep. Good looks must really come with their superstar genes!

Season 8 of The Voice promises to be as fun, entertaining and full of dramatic twists and surprises as the previous seven seasons.

“There’s always, you know, the steal, after the blinds, you have the knockouts and battles,” Christina remarked. “It’s always, you know, such a surprise. Sometimes, you will start with four button pushes. That’s a tricky thing. This is part of the camp training. They start getting in their own head sometimes. Nerves are a big factor.”

“It doesn’t matter sometimes how great a singer you are, if you struggle under pressure, things go wrong sometimes. And you need to know how to get out of your own headspace; get out of your own way and push forward.”

For Pharrell, the competition on the show is comparable to any sport contest.

“You can be the best person in the world. And, clearly, I don’t know anything about sports but what I notice is that the same thing is consistent in all fields. You can be good at something, but when the pressure comes in… it’s a complete different thing because the conditions are different. Even in archery, when the wind is blowing, you have to factor that in. Like golf — the wind is a factor and that’s where the pressure comes in, because it’s not something that you’re anticipating,” he said.

Pharrell also added that he learned two things from his first season on the show: Being able to pay forward the success he’s had as a recording artist by sharing what he knows to the contestants on the show and discovering the real people behind the superstars sitting on the show’s iconic revolving chairs.

“How much I really enjoyed paying everything forward. You know all the stuff that we learned as musicians, how much I really got a kick out of that, because I do that as a studio artist. But to do that with kids; we get to give them advice and suggestions that we’ve been given, and things that we’ve done on our own as well,” Pharrell said before adding that the show starts when the cameras wrap.

“Because these are the funniest people ever,” he added. “It’s like a show that you walk off the stage and that’s where all of the funniest and the best parts of the show are behind the scenes, seriously. What’s amazing, and what I find, like, mind-boggling is how the show has just not given anyone what happens behind the curtains. And it’s absolutely why I keep showing up.”

“That’s true,” Christina agreed.

The Voice is one of the most popular and most successful reality television singing competition franchises in the world. It is based on the reality singing competition The Voice of Holland and has spawned over 50 versions in various countries all over the world. Some consider it more popular than the American Idol and The X-Factor franchises today. But, unlike American Idol, The Voice has struggled to produce a real breakout star like Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood — and this is one particularly touchy subject that Pharrell has a strong opinion about.

“You devil. You devil. You went there!” Adam playfully admonished the journalist who dared ask the question that many were hesitant to ask.

Christina decided to pass on the question. “It’s a question for you guys.”

“Yeah, we want to have that happen. That would be great,” Adam exclaimed. “There are a lot of other things that have been great that have happened as a result of the show, and its impact as well. So it’s hard to do that. I think that people kind of judge success like it’s this kind of all — or — nothing thing, and that’s not the case. Being successful is really, really difficult. And a lot of things have to come together at the right moment for that to happen, whether it’s on a television show or it’s on a record label. Whatever your scenario is, it’s tough. So, it’s going to happen. I believe — I genuinely believe that. I don’t believe that there’s any sort of formula that can guarantee that.”

“There have been a lot of successes!” Christina added.

When it was Pharrell’s turn to address the question, he showed that he was a little “unhappy” with those questioning why the show has not produced a breakout star yet.

“Well, if I may humbly add to that, the show is not a record company,” he started. “There’s a lot of good that comes out of this show. I mean, we’re reminded that there’s a lot of talent in America with this show. And we’re also reminded that there’s goodwill in TV shows. Because you’re watching someone go through it. Which I think Christina summed it up so wonderfully with her phrase, it’s a training camp. It’s an academy. And you only advance forward when you have what it takes to move forward. And there’s nothing wrong with working for something. There’s nothing wrong with having your eye on the prize and not winning. But there’s always a winner, and there’s 11 other people who ultimately end up going home. But they go home different people, because they’ve had tutors that they would never ever in a million years probably have met, let alone get singing lessons from Adam Levine, or learn how to control your bravado, strengthening your bravado, from Christina Aguilera, or learn how to put more heart and soul into your performance, like Blake Shelton.”

“And, secondly, I would also like to say that I don’t understand why we have these interviews and people ask that same question every time,” Pharrell continued. “And I think it’s because I feel like you’re looking for something. And I’d almost rather you just ask Adam, or whoever it is that you want to know this from, whoever you want to see will give you something that you can take back that’s going to really bite and make your bosses excited that you got something good. That’s not why we’re here to do this interview. We’re here to do this interview because we want to explain to you what this is and what it means to us. It’s a gift.”

“It’s a gift to be able to pay forward everything that you’ve learned. So every time you ask us the same question every interview, ‘How come you never produce stars?’ Well, when was the last — when was the last star you produced?”

To be fair, the show may not have produced a huge star but it has made its mark in the industry by launching some of the most popular songs in recent years.

“Well, I think it’s had a profound impact on the music industry, because, I mean, look at, like, the song that Christina did (Say Something, Great Big World). That song Say Something was launched in The Voice. And she won a Grammy. You know, they all won a Grammy for it this year. So, that was like a direct result of the song being great,” Adam said.

Some of the hit songs that have been helped by the show are Bruno Mars’ When I Was Your Man, Blurred Lines and Moves Like Jagger.

Blake remained noticeably quiet for much of the 30-minute interview. He would occasionally chime in but never really said anything except when someone asked if he or Adam would consider taking a season off the show similar to what Christina has done in the past. Cee Lo Green, one of the original hosts, is on extended leave from the show.

“I won’t take time off. I mean, if I step away once, it’s going to be for good, you know. I mean, because it’s just the way my mind works. I’m either going to focus on this thing as long as I want to, or can handle it,” Blake said. “And then, it’ll be on to whatever the next phase of my life is going to be.”

But until then, Blake — or Adam — remains the most formidable coach having mentored the most winners.

The Voice premiered this week and airs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7:50 p.m. first and exclusively on AXN in the Philippines.

XXX
Raymond Lo

SXSW 2015: "A Woman Like Me" Doc World Premiere on March 16!



Screenings

Monday, March 16 11:00 AM – 12:24 PM, Stateside Theatre
Tuesday, March 17  4:45 PM – 6:09 PM, Alamo Lamar B
Friday, March 20 2:00 PM – 3:24 PM, Alamo Lamar B


A WOMAN LIKE ME is a hybrid documentary that interweaves the real story of director Alex Sichel, diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2011, with the fictional story of Anna Seashell (Lili Taylor), who tries to find the glass half full when faced with the same diagnosis. The documentary follows Alex as she uses her craft as a filmmaker to explore what is foremost on her mind while confronting a terminal disease: parenting, marriage, faith, life, and death.  When we are stuck between a rock and hard place, can our imagination get us out?

Section: Documentary Competition – SXSW 2015

For more information visit the official movie webpage: http://www.awomanlikemefilm.com

See you at the Festival!

XXX
Raymond Lo

News: Short Film "Plain Clothes" by Sam Jaeger ("Parenthood", "American Sniper") Now Available Online



Short Film Plain Clothes Examines the Story of a Police Officer with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) now available online via Meritage Pictures on Vimeo and YouTube!



"Plain Clothes", a gripping account of a police officer diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is now available online via Meritage Pictures on Vimeo and YouTube. Written, directed and starring Sam Jaeger, known as Joel on the NBC hit show Parenthood and Captain Martens in American Sniper, Plain Clothes is an intimate look into the struggles faced by officers everywhere. Jaeger was inspired to make this film from discussions he had with officers in the field, about the difficulties balancing a harrowing work life with a normal home life.

"The more I talked with officers, I began to see a lot of similarities between their struggles and those in the military," Jaeger says. "We're just becoming aware of how deeply our soldiers are impacted by PTSD, but what about our officers here at home? There are terrifying things they deal with while the rest of us are sleeping, yet no one talks about the impact on them. I felt it was a conversation worth having."

"Sam and I are drawn to creating complex characters with major obstacles to overcome," explains producer Jane Kelly Kosek. "In Plain Clothes, Cole has to deal with the stress of dealing with criminals at work and the need to establish a happy home life. We wanted to examine how hard it must be for Cole to straddle these two very different worlds."

Adds Jaeger:  "How hard is it to deal with the things our officers see? Is it even possible to leave their work behind, or does it infiltrate their relationships with their family? Those were compelling questions to me."

Jaeger and Kosek hope the film will bring more awareness to the effects of PTSD on police officers and first responders, as well as military veterans.

Plain Clothes is Jaeger's second project with producer Jane Kelly Kosek of Meritage Pictures. Their first collaboration was on Jaeger's directorial debut Take Me Home, a feature-length film currently available on iTunes and Netflix. Kosek and Jaeger continue to develop new film, television and web series projects together.

For additional information on Plain Clothes, please visit www.plainclothesmovie.com.

XXX
Raymond Lo

Trailers: "Mark Defriest" documentary opens this Friday in New York and Los Angeles!

Opening March 6!
LA - LAEMMLE MUSIC HALL
NY -VILLAGE EAST

When a legendary escape artist comes up for parole after more than three decades years behind bars, a chance for freedom must be weighed against his infamous past.

Mark DeFriest is an American prison legend, a notorious escape artist who has spent 34 years behind bars, with little light, hope or human contact.

The film is the exploration of Mark DeFriest's life and mind, both the facts of the case and the hyper world of his design, as seen in animations. Interweaving the animated past of Mark’s case with the parole narrative, the film becomes a de facto courtroom where the facts of Mark’s case are finally laid out.

Mark DeFriest attempted 13 escapes and got out seven times, turning his original four-year sentence into Life. The original crime that sent him to prison: stealing his own father's tools. So how did a low-level criminal end up looking at life in prison? And will he ever get out?

Postscript:

After going the rounds of film festivals, including a much-talked about screening at the Los Angeles Film Festival last year, Mark Defriest has finally been granted parole! Gabriel added a new ending to the film.  Showing the film at LAFF and other festivals was actually key in Defreist's parole being granted!  Director Gabriel London has followed this story for 12 years and been a key player in pushing for his release, and was able to show it to the parole board.

Watch the explosive trailer below.


The Mind Of Mark DeFriest (trailer) from Ronan Coleman on Vimeo.