November 1, 2011

Fragments From Olympus- The Vision of Nikola Tesla

by Mick Du Russel

Some have called him a mad scientist yet he is undeniably one of the greatest inventors of all time. Yet, as strange as it is, most people have never heard of Nikola Tesla. Now, 78 years after his death, a new film is being created to tell Tesla’s amazing story and help save his famous laboratory Wardenclyffe. “Fragments From Olympus” is director by Joseph Sikorski’s and co-writer Michael Calomino’s labor of love, a project they’ve been working on for over 10 years. As the film is being developed, I had the great pleasure to speak with Joseph Sikorski about his fantastic film…

MICK: How did you get interested in Nikola Tesla in the first place?
JOSEPH: Over the years, I heard his name but never knew much about him. I used to go to the bookstore with my wife to browse the books and there was always some Tesla books in the discount section. What really fascinated me was this “death ray” that they said he invented. That’s how I really got interested. I started reading about this “death ray” that the FBI believed he invented. I learned about the investigation into the “death ray” and was very interested in getting hold of the FBI documents. Each time at the bookstore, I would read a little more and finally had to buy it! I was shocked that I didn’t know about him before and all the things he did that he didn’t get credit for and how interesting his life was. It became a cause for me to bring him into the mainstream. He did not get credit for a lot of the things that people stole from him. A lot of people believed he was just eccentric or crazy. The sad part is that he was such an incredible genius on DaVinci’s level or beyond that. He still has research that is very relevant today. We hope that a by-product of this film will raise awareness of his research and continue it, especially in the fields of alternative energy where he was a pioneer.

Today, most people have never heard of Tesla or they just know of the rock band Tesla. The reason we have electric appliances in our homes is purely because of Tesla. Even radio, his most famous invention, the schools still teach that Marconi invented radio and it’s such a travesty because the Supreme Court actually ruled in Tesla’s favor and that Marconi violated 17 of Tesla’s patents. Tesla really was the father of radio but the awards for radio are called the Marconi Awards. Schools teach that Marconi invented radio and that Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen invented X-rays. These people take credit for what Tesla did! Of course his crowning achievement was Wardenclyffe Tower which was right here on Long Island. He hoped to provide free wireless energy to the whole world. The Wardenclyffe property is in Shoreham. The building is still there though the famous tower is long gone. Tesla was funded by JP Morgan. He wanted Tesla to build a tower that would connect all the stock exchanges of the world but Tesla kept going over budget. Tesla knew it would connect all of the stock exchanges but it would also send free electricity to anyone with an antenna and a receiver. Morgan finally cut him off. He didn’t agree with Tesla. His famous quote was “wireless energy- where do we put the meter?” Tesla’s dream of free energy went down with the tower.

The building is still there in Shoreham. It was designed by Stanford White, one of the world’s most prominent architects. The building is in jeopardy. It is deteriorating. There’s no public outcry for the property because most people have never heard of Tesla. We feel that if we can help raise awareness as to who Tesla was, then maybe they will see how valuable this piece of history is.
MICK: How long have you known Michael Calomino, your co-writer?
JOSEPH: We’ve been friends since high school! We both went to Lindenhurst High School here on Long Island. He’s now in Pennsylvania. We talk frequently. The other person involved is Vic Elefante who is from the North Bellmore area. We have actor Leo Rossi (Analyze This, Halloween II) on board. When we first started pitching this, we were telling people that we could make a period piece with special effects for 3 million dollars. They said we couldn’t do it. So we made this teaser for $700 to show them what we could do. We recently learned it was a semifinalist in International Movie Trailer Festival. It’s great because we don’t even have a finished film yet. We were competing with million dollar finished films! We are showing that we can do this film cheaper than a Hollywood production.
MICK: So you are basically just up to the script right now but you still haven’t casted the film?
JOSEPH: Leo Rossi is on so we have him. We have some very interesting possibilities that are just waiting for us to get closer.
MICK: I saw your ad in The Long Island Press where you publicly asked Ralph Macchio to star in the film.
JOSEPH: Yes we did! We want to bring Tesla into the popular culture. There have been some excellent documentaries on him and some really good stuff on The History Channel. There’s a great one on PBS called “Master of Lightning”. But most people still have never heard of Tesla. We want to make something that would spark an interest in science to the younger people and into popular culture to continue his research, save the Wardenclyffe property and vindicate his name. What we have is not a documentary and not a bio-pic which traditionally aren’t very successful. What we have is a true life mystery thriller because of the element of ‘the death ray’. The story begins with Tesla’s death and the FBI invading his apartment and as they search for his papers and his information on ‘the death ray’, his life unfolds as they investigate this. This is all from real FBI documents they we were able to obtain. It’s a mystery/adventure rather than just a bio-pic.
MICK: Have you met or spoken to any of Tesla’s relatives?
JOSEPH: He doesn’t have many relatives as he never married but he does have a nephew. I will get to meet him soon. The Tesla Science Center, the people who are trying to save Wardenclyffe, are doing a conference on wireless energy and invited us to be featured speakers there. William Terbo, Tesla’s nephew, is going to be there too.
MICK: How do you envision Wardenclyffe in the coming years?
JOSEPH: Jane Alcorn is the person in charge there and what she envisions is fantastic. It would become the Tesla Science Center and Museum. It would be part history of Tesla, part working science center. The building would be restored and hopefully we can continue his research. Right now, it’s a vacant piece of land deteriorating. This is the last remaining lab of Tesla’s in the whole world so this is a worldwide attraction. In fact, in Serbia (Tesla was from Serbia) they are trying to build a replica of Tesla’s tower over there. We have the actual property and building right here!
MICK: Are there any thoughts about reconstructing the tower here?
JOSEPH: I did speak to Jane about that possibility, at least as a monument. There are some zoning concerns. It would have to be a scaled down version unless some zoning laws were changed. When the film is done, that will bring some attention to it.
Wardenclyffe really could be a fantastic thing…a boom to a repressed economic area out there. There’s a lot of good reasons to save the property. The fact that Stanford White designed the building is alone a great reason. The building is rotting there since the 1980′s. After Tesla died, the building was used for a number of things. It was even a pickle factory at one time! Then the Peerless Photo Plant came in. They were owned by AGFA who was owned by the Bayer Corporation. They took it over and poured a lot of their photo chemicals down the well there. Because of that, there had to be a land cleanup. That probably saved the property from being sold a long time ago. A blessing in disguise! The cleanup has been done for six months now.
MICK: What is your time frame as far as completing the movie?
JOSEPH: I’d like to be shooting in the Spring of 2012. Things are starting to happen. Financially, we have some big investors waiting to see who we get on board and many small investors who want to be involved.
MICK: Are you working on any other projects besides “Fragments From Olympus”?
JOSEPH: No, this my sole focus right now and bringing attention to Wardencliffe.

MICK: Tesla worked for Thomas Edison at one time, didn’t he?
JOSEPH: Yes he did. Tesla designed a motor that was able to run on AC power using magnetic fields. He designed the whole system of AC power, not just the motor but the whole polyphase system which included transformers to step the power up and down. He got the idea for this alternative current motor so someone got him an introduction to go work for Edison. He went to work for Edison and he told Edison that he invented the impossible…a motor that will run on AC power. Edison was all DC power and didn’t want anything to do with it because he had so much invested in the DC system. Tesla saw problems with Edison’s system and it’s dynamos. Edison said if Tesla could get them working up to 100% efficiency that would mean fifty thousand dollars for him. Tesla saw this as a chance to build his own lab and get a footing as a scientist. He worked night and day constantly. While he was doing this, he won several patents for automation. Finally, he fixed Edison’s problem. When he went to collect his money, Edison said “Apparently you don’t understand American sense of humor”. Tesla quit and couldn’t get any work for a while. He had just come from Croatia, had no money and the only work he could find was digging ditches.
That all started the “war of the currents”. Alternate current is much more efficient and that’s what we use today. With Edison’s DC power, you needed a plant every mile or so. You also needed copper cable which was around a foot thick. You couldn’t regulate the power either. Tesla’s polyphase system could be regulated and could send power for hundreds of miles. Westinghouse backed Tesla but eventually had to back out because the battle against Edison had cost a small fortune. Here’s a guy who gave everything and didn’t get credit for anything! He died penniless in a hotel. Hopefully, this movie will teach people about Tesla, continue his research into alternative energy and turn Wardenclyffe into a world famous museum and research center.

For more information on “Fragments From Olympus” and Wardencliffe

www.FragmentsFromOlympus.com

Interested in learning more? Visit http://www.teslasociety.com/wardenclyffe2.htm

Tesla Conference 2011 – Exploring Tesla’s Technologies 

Please join us at the Tesla Conference 2011, Exploring Tesla’s Technologies, which will be held on Saturday, November 5, 2011 at the Hilton Garden Inn, Riverhead, Long Island, NY.

This one-day conference will focus on wireless energy and communication technology with many references to Nikola Tesla’s great innovations as well as current applications and research for future developments.

The first conference, held to mark Tesla’s 150th birthday, drew a wide range of scientists, businessmen and women, entrepreneurs, students, and Tesla enthusiasts from throughout New York State and beyond.  This year we have great plans to expand the content of the conference and to further our goals of acquisition, restoration and conversion of Wardenclyffe.  Wardenclyffe is the century-old and ONLY remaining laboratory of electrical pioneer Nikola Tesla, located in Shoreham, Long Island.  Our plans are to create the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe to honor this iconic figure in our history.

For ticket information on this event visit http://www.teslasciencecenter.org/

Attention All Artists!!!

Mick Du Russel’s

That’s Entertainment: Hollywood’s Golden Age!

The Ripe Art Gallery is proud to announce a very special exhibition of  art related to the Golden Age of Hollywood from August 6 to August 27, 2011, “Mick Du Russel’s That’s Entertainment: Hollywood’s Golden Age” to benefit the Eleanor and Lou Gehrig ALS Research Center at Columbia University in NYC. This show and sale will be a fundraiser for ALS research as medical science continues to push forward to find a cure.

Eligibility: The exhibition is open to all artists, national and international,18 years and older.   Artists can use any medium and art can be any size.

Theme: Each artist must create their piece or pieces of art based on Hollywood’s Golden age. This can be any interpretation of classic movies, movie stars, or film making from

that era.

Image Presentation: All work must be properly wired for hanging and labeled on the back with the artist’s name, title and medium.

Entry Procedure: Entries must be accompanied with a completed application.

There is a $15 per piece entry fee payable to Ripe Art Gallery

They can be dropped off at the gallery:

Ripe Art Gallery

67 Broadway

Greenlawn, New York 11740-1805

Tues-Thur 11am-6pm, Fri 2-8pm, Sat. 11am-5pm

Or they can be mailed to:

Mick Du Russel

214 Ave. A

Lake Ronkonkoma, New York 11779

(631) 335-8886

theshowbizwizard@yahoo.com

Terms: All work at the show is for sale and the proceeds will be divided into thirds.

The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig ALS Research Center Gift Fund will take one third,

Ripe Art Gallery will take one third, and the artist will take one third. If the artist

wishes to donate their third to the charity, that would be greatly appreciated.

Calendar: Entry form and work drop off to gallery:

July 30- August 4

Tues-Thur 11am-6pm, Fri 2-8pm, Sat. 11am-5pm

Or ship to gallery:  July 30- August 4

Or mail to Mick Du Russel (or arrange to drop or pick up) by July 30

Deadline for all work is August 4

Opening reception: Saturday evening Aug. 6,  5-8PM

Exhibition closes: August 27

Pick up of unsold pieces starting Sept 1, 2011

Anything left after 30 days, there is $1.50 per day storage charge

Ripe Art Gallery

67 Broadway

Greenlawn, NY 11740-1302

(631) 239-1805

http://ripeartgal.com/

Interviewed by Mick DuRussel

It’s been 33 years since one of the best hockey movies of all time was released. “Slap Shot” was a big hit for superstar Paul Newman and it also introduced to the public the very likable, violent goons “The Hanson Brothers”, three fictional brothers who all wore black glasses, had long hair and terrorized opposing teams. Their popularity has grown in pop culture throughout the years and they still make appearances to meet their legion of fans. I had the great pleasure to speak with Steve Carlson, AKA Steve Hanson, the other day about his life and the making of “Slap Shot”…..

MICK: In the movie “Slap Shot”, what was it like to work with Paul Newman?
STEVE: I think you got it wrong. He worked with us! You have to understand that Newman was on the verge of becoming a superstar and Universal Studios said “ok, how are we going to get him over the top”. They decided to bring in the Hanson Brothers and teach him. You will notice he won the Academy Award after “Slap Shot”! Let me tell you he was a classic man! From day one when I first met him right until the end, he was all class. What a wonderful gentleman! His passing was a huge loss, not only to the acting world but also in the sporting world and charity world. A truly great man!

MICK: “Slap Shot” came out in 1977. In 1978, you were with the Edmonton Oilers and your room mate was Wayne Gretzky. You were a star at that time. How did you get along with him?

STEVE: There it is again! He was the number one draft pick. They said “He can’t skate, he can’t shoot that well. We will move him with Steve and teach him how to play the game the way it’s suppose to be played”. I get no credit for that! In all seriousness, he was only 17 years old and you just knew he was going to be a superstar. It was a lot of fun playing with him. I was told, but I can’t confirm this, that I was the only player in NHL history to play with both Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe!

MICK: How were you treated around the league after you made the film?
STEVE: If you watch the movie and you think this is real life, a lot of the stuff is actually the way it really was and we just re-enacted this way we played. The bosses of the hockey world didn’t like it because it promoted fighting, but every player and every general manager liked it because it was entertaining and funny. It had everything a man wants…vulgar language, nudity and fighting! What else could you ask for? It was fun after we got done filming to go into arenas and everyone was wearing the nose and glasses. We had a good time with that!

MICK: How did you and your brother get the parts of the Hanson Brothers?
STEVE: In real life, the Hanson Brothers played together as a line. My brother Jack, my brother Jeff and myself. We had long hair, we wore black glasses. Jeff and Jack were the ones who were the fighters. Dave Hanson, who was a defenseman on our team at that time, was known as “Killer Hanson”. He was a fighter. They tried to find actors to play our parts in the movie and couldn’t find actors good enough to skate and play the parts. So they came to us and asked us if we wanted to play the roles. The three Carlson Brothers were going to be the Hanson Brothers in the movie and Dave Hanson was going to be Killer Carlson. Unfortunately, Jack got called up and couldn’t do the film so they brought Dave in to be Killer Hanson and Jerry Houser became Killer Carlson.

MICK: Do you still run the power skating school in Wisconsin?
STEVE: Yes I do!
MICK: Do you live on Long Island?
STEVE: I do live on Long Island but I am moving on Monday. I’ve been here for exactly one year. Moving to California with my fiance who was born and raised in Sacramento. No more snow shoveling for me!

MICK: How many appearances do the Hanson Brothers make a year?
STEVE: Two years ago, we got 385 requests that year. Since Jeff and Dave have normal jobs, we do between 25 and 40 a year. Jeff works as an electrician and Dave manages a multi surface ice arena.

MICK: Do you have any hobbies besides hockey?
STEVE: I listen to music, enjoy myself, watch sports, love gardening. I used to fish a lot but haven’t done that in a while. I plan on getting back into that again. I also like working around the house.

MICK: What are you future plans?
STEVE: The Hanson Brothers are actually getting larger and larger! We just did a show in Hershey, PA where we played in a charity hockey game and signed autographs for over two hours! It’s not stopping! It keeps getting bigger and bigger!

MICK: What are the details about your appearance this Sunday in Massapequa?
STEVE: We are going to meet and great at Long Island Picture Frame. Fans have a chance to have photos taken with us and we will sign pretty much anything except the McFarlane Dolls. The Picture Frame has put together a bunch of great products of the Hanson Brothers that will be for sale on Sunday. We just love meeting people and having a good time with them!

You can meet the Hanson Brothers this Sunday, May 16th, at the Long Island Picture Frame, 4780 Sunrise Hwy., Massapequa Park, NY (516-798-8400 from 12 noon until 6:00pm. Autographs for all three brothers is $60.

www.LIPF.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i_D6oQO6b8

ZuZu from “It’s A Wonderful Life”

by Mick DuRussel

It is, without a doubt, one of the most beloved Christmas movies of all time. “It’s A Wonderful Life” was released in 1946 and it still continues to garner new fans year after year. I had the greatest pleasure to speak with Karolyn Grimes, who played ZuZu in the film, a few years back. She’s as warm and friendly today as she was as a child in the classic film!

MICK: Where were you born?
KAROLYN: I was born in Hollywood on July 4th!

MICK: What did your parents do for a living?
KAROLYN: My mother was a housewife and my father was the manager of a Safeway Store.

MICK: I see that you only made 16 movies but you worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood!
KAROLYN: Yes, it was incredible! Cary Grant was my favorite. Bing Crosby was great. He had a really good sense of humor and he liked to play practical jokes. Him and Jerry Colonna on our set, they were buddies, lots of fun together. He never forgot who I was, even years later down the road, he recognized me. John Wayne had a big heart, a man’s man! He did it all right. He knew how to treat women but he liked to drink and smoke and play cards. He loved kids.

MICK: Had did you get the part of Zuzu in “It’s a Wonderful Life”?
KAROLYN: A lot of people ask me if I believe in God and I say “if you were a little girl and you tried out for the part of Zuzu with probably 100 other kids and were told you got the part, you would certainly believe God had a part in this!”

MICK: How do you remember director Frank Capra?
KAROLYN: He was a unique person in a sense that he was very meticulous about details. He encouraged us as kids to bring out what he wanted to see. Getting on his knees and talking to us at eye level rather than talking down to us. It was a great thing and he got what he wanted. He was able to communicate with people really well. Another practical joker, a family man, a fair man. Very fun to work with.

MICK: What was Jimmy Stewart like?
KAROLYN: For one thing, he was extremely tall to me! He was 6’4″ tall, very thin. Even when I became an adult, I was still amazed at how tall he was! He seemed immense! Throughout the film, I was with him, one on one, everywhere. I’d be on his back, in his arms. He was very tender and had a lot of patience if I would fluff a line. In later years, when I got to know him as an adult, I was very impressed with his integrity and his sense of values. The fact that he was a mega-legend, it never went to his head. He was just normal, ordinary George Bailey.

MICK: Did you keep in touch with him?
KAROLYN: Actually not. I got in touch with him in 1990. People had started looking for Zuzu and we spent a day together in New York. It was quite nice. We got to get to know each other and from then on, he referred people to me when they were looking for Zuzu.

MICK: After your film career ended, what did you do?
KAROLYN: I was orphaned at the age of 15. I was more or less shipped out of Hollywood to the mid west. I ended up in a very bad home situation. Because of that, I learned a lot. I had gone to Los Angeles High School and there were 900 kids in my school. Now I was in a town with very few people. I thought I died! After a year, the whole town knew I ended up with a family that was horrible. My teachers, the merchants, everybody rallied around me. I really learned about people outside of the Hollywood scene so I never wanted to go back. In order to get out of the situation that I was in, I needed an education. I went to college and became a medical technologist. Ended up getting married and raised 7 kids. In 1980, the media found me. Each year, “It’s A Wonderful Life” was getting more exposure and I did too! In 1993, when my kids were grown, I went on a tour with the Target Company. That’s when it all started. My husband died of cancer in 1994. From then on, I’ve been doing It’s a Wonderful Life stuff forever! I love being able to touch people’s lives. God gave me the ability to reach people. I celebrate Christmas with all kinds of people who feel they know me. They write me stories about how their lives have been affected by the movie. They write to me about angels. I believe there’s something out there that people need at Christmas time. The movie has become a tradition in many people’s homes. It goes from generation to generation. It’s a real privilege to have been a part of this movie. Margaret O’Brien was a huge star back then and she doesn’t have any movies on DVD and I have four! She doesn’t really have a signature film and this is a signature film for me. God granted me a real blessing allowing me to be in “A Bishop’s Wife”, “Rio Grande”, “Hans Christian Anderson”…how many classics can you be in! A little bit of divine guidance there for sure!

MICK: How long were you married?
KAROLYN: The first time was six years and my husband was killed deer hunting. The second time was 25 years.

MICK: You’ve also written a few books?
KAROLYN: I’ve actually only written a cook book “ZuZu Bailey’s It’s A Wonderful Life Cook Book” but there have been several books written about me. I’ve had a very unusual and interesting life with a lot of things that weren’t wonderful.

MICK: Do you keep in touch with anyone from your films?
KAROLYN: Oh yes! The Bailey kids are pretty tight! We haven’t got our wings yet! I talk to Jimmy Hawkins every week. I was very fortunate to be reconnected with Jimmy Stewart as well as Catherine Craig and Loretta Young. Around 1990, I was able to correspond and be with these people before it got too late.

MICK: Do you still get fan mail?
KAROLYN: I sure do! I get fan mail year round, I have a website. It’s incredible! I got my first fan letter in 1980 and I nearly fell out of the chair! I had not even thought about those past days. My kids would sometimes take my picture to show and tell at school. I had put those days behind me. The media caught up with me so I did a few interviews. It’s just taken off since then!

MICK: Tell me something about yourself that people would be amazed to know!
KAROLYN: I’m a pretty open person and I’m not shy so there’s not much that people don’t know about me. Maybe one thing is that I do believe in angels. I believe we all have a great angel with us. That’s not quite amazing because, after all, I am Zuzu!

Today, Karolyn serves as the unofficial ambassador for ‘It’s A Wonderful Life”, traveling the world and speaking at screenings, benefits, conventions and other venues. You can learn more about her on her website:

http://www.zuzu.net/

October 14, 2009

 Interview with Leslie Iwerks

by Christine Gerani

During the 17th  annual Hamptons International Film Festival I had the honor to interview Academy Award® Nominated Director Leslie Iwerks. Leslie Iwerks and Babelgum Productions just finished a film called Dirty Oil. Here is some information about the film:

Narrated by Canadian actress and environmentalist Neve Campbell this beautifully photographed and much anticipated feature documentary from Academy Award® Nominated director Leslie Iwerks goes deep behind-the-scenes into the strip-mined world of Northern Alberta, Canada, where the vast and toxic oil sands deposit supplies the U.S. with the majority of its oil. Told through the eyes of scientists, “big oil” officials, politicians, doctors, environmentalists, and aboriginal citizens directly effected by “the largest industrial project on the planet today”, the filmmakers journey to both sides of the border to uncover the emotional and irreversible toll this “black gold rush” fueled by America’s addiction to oil is taking on our planet. The film is produced by Alberta born and Emmy Award winning producer Philip Alberstat, and co-produced by Canadians, Mark Cranwell and Randy Bradshaw.

Christine – The average American probably doesn’t know very much about where our oil comes from, such as, that Canada is a major supplier of our oil and how the oil is extracted. How did you learn about the dangers of sand oil?

Leslie – Well I didn’t know much about it myself until the project was introduced to me being a potential director.  I started researching and had no idea that for the last 7 years America has gotten the majority of its oil from Canada.  To go up there and see it first hand and see the amazing amount of industry that’s going on, you see how big the industry is in Alberta, is pretty sobering.

Christine – You filmed in Alberta Canada, the leader in Sand Oil extraction, how did the government and the oil companies treat you?

Leslie – They ignored us, for the most part. We got one interview with the Minister of Energy which was great. The Minister of Health and the Minister of Environment declined interviews. They know there are a lot of documentarians trying to tackle this issue so they’re just going to ignore it.

Christine – The local Alberta Aborigines that live in areas where this oil is produced are suffering because of heavy pollution in the air and water. Do you think they have grounds for a class action suit?

Leslie – It seemed to me that they were already on that path, towards that. I don’t know the details on that actually on where it stands right now.  I heard and I’ve seen headlines on Fort Chipewyan trying to sue the Alberta government, however I don’t know specifics on where it stands at this moment.  It’s tough because, I think it was the cancer board, went back and spent a year diagnosing and researching and they did find that there were 30% higher rates of cancer recently than they found from the previous study.  Among them are rare cancers.  Further studies need to be done, however at this point there’s no pending studies on the books. Cholangiocarcinoma was one of the cancers that I heard about.  It’s kind of strange that they find 30% higher rates of cancer but they’re not doing anything more to figure it out. Like test the waters.  Maybe they are but they probably need to do a little more research as to where it stands right now and what they’re doing about it, but it’s hard to get information.

Christine – The Health Problems of the people of Fort Chipewyan is proof of toxic waters and air.  Before Sand Oil, cancer barely existed, now of course it’s rampant. Why do you think they stay?

Leslie – It’s been their livelihood.  Imagine, for generation after generation you were from this area and you didn’t want to leave and all of a sudden some industry comes into your neck of the woods and starts booting you out.  You have a place there, a history there it’s your people.  This is an Aboriginal society that lived off the land that time began and this is the oldest settlement, the oldest aboriginal community in Alberta.  So people have said why don’t they just move, well, why don’t you just move?  It’s just not that easy to ask people to leave when industry comes in and starts ruining everything.

Christine – Were the people afraid to talk fearing government repercussions?

Leslie – No they actually wanted to talk. They needed to be heard. Their story needs to be told.

Christine – The Obama Administration seems to be one of the few governments that see the need for Greener polices to reduce our dependency on oil.  Do you see the Alberta Government taking swift action now that your film is being introduced to the masses?

Leslie – I still feel like they are very protective of it, and in all fairness, Obama is supporting the oil sands now. He wasn’t for a while, he was on the fence and they were very concerned while filming this film about which direction is he going to take.  He wasn’t really supportive of it when he was a Senator in Chicago primarily because he was dealing with all the oil refineries taking in all these oil sands in the mid-west.  The dumping and polluting that they were attempting to do, he was fighting that, so he knew that this was a ‘dirty oil’ and that things needed to shift and he knew that it was a huge contributor to green house gases.  Now he’s saying we need this oil but we all have to get together to figure out the emissions issue and we have to curb these emissions and we have to put all our energy towards carbon capture storage and other technologies that will inhibit, if not limit significantly, the emissions that are getting out there now. So that’s his stance, how soon and how effective that will be is yet to be told, yet to be seen.

Christine – Well given the fact that’s he’s been in office only nine months, hopefully, as time goes on and more research is done and more facts come in, hopefully they will change their mind a little bit more. As you said if they came into my town I would be pissed off too. Until it happens to you does anybody do anything? In the film I was blown away when you show a Pearl Jam concert and Eddie Vedder addresses the crowd about the fact that BP was dumping toxins in Lake Michigan and that starts a huge chant. What part of the film that was most compelling for you?

Leslie – Probably towards the end of that section when you get to see both sides of the border.  You just experienced the Canadian side and now you’ve experience the US side. When Henry Henderson says with both sides you’re dealing with greed.  You’re dealing with big people picking on small people who don’t have the capacity to take care of themselves.  To me that’s a very emotional reality and he started actually started to tear up when he said that, because he could feel it.  Also I think at the end with Lester Brown talking about World War Two.  He starts to tear up talking about what we could be doing if we just got around this whole thought process like they did in WW2…mobilizing society to say let’s surpass our goals of creating planes and ships and cargos.  We should put that same mentality towards green energy and saving our planet.  If we could do it then, we can do it now. 

Christine – Neve Campbell narrates the film, can you tell why she decided to work on the film?

Leslie – She’s been an activist in oil sands.  And I just thought we need to get her.  It was kind of common sense, a no-brainer.  We did Downstream.  I wanted to see if Neve would put a quote on her website about the movie which she kindly did.  Then when we finished the feature I hadn’t thought about the narrator.  I thought I could use limited text to get the point across.  After a number of test screenings people were saying it just feels like it needs a narrator.

Christine – How long did it take for you to film?

Leslie – About a year and a half to make the whole thing.  We started early 2008.  Then we got the short done in late October 2008.  So we started and finished the short in 2008, got short-listed for the Oscar, and then when that whole thing was done,  I jumped on to the feature.  So really by January of this year the feature started up. That took additional shooting in the Great Lakes and Indiana. I think we went up several times this year to Canada and Indiana.

Christine – Where are you off to next to promote Dirty Oil?

Leslie – We just finished the film, last week.  We got this in just in the nick of time to show it and I had to go back on the HD Master and do a few tweaks, stuff for our DVD’s. So I’m doing publicity and stuff for Bablegum right now.  I’m gearing up for a Canadian theatrical distribution as well as the UK. So I think I’ll be gearing towards a multi city tour in both of these countries in January.

Christine- The film was amazing Leslie, thank you so much for talking with Spot on Long Island.

Leslie Iwerks (writer/director) is an Oscar® and Emmy Award Nominated director and producer, and comes from a two time Oscar® winning family. Her short documentary, “Recycled Life,” was nominated for an Academy Award® in 2006 and has won nine top film festival awards. Leslie directed, photographed and edited the documentary, and along with her producing partner, Mike Glad, chronicled the thousands of people who have been living and working in the largest and most toxic landfill in Central America over the last sixty years – the Guatemala City garbage dump. Narrated by Edward James Olmos, the film had its television premiere on HBO’s Cinemax Channel in August, 2007. Her accompanying short film called “A Safe Passage-A Tribute to Hanley Denning” aired on HBO-On-Demand and has helped garner over $3 million worth of individual financial contributions to the children and families living in the Guatemala City Garbage Dump. (www.recycledlifedoc.com)

To read more about Leslie Iwerks please visit her website www.LeslieIwerks.com

October 9, 2009

Cheryl Hines at the 17th annual

Hamptons International Film Festival

SpotonLI.com was lucky enough to briefly chat with Cheryl Hines – Director of Serious Moonlight, a film written by the late Adrienne Shelly and starring Meg Ryan, Timothy Hutton, and Justin Long. Cheryl Hines is also a co-star of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. In the flurry of Red Carpet pandemonium I was able to ask a few questions and she couldn’t have been more gracious. Alec Baldwin joined her for photos at the Hedges Inn where Cheryl received the RoC® Skincare “Gold Standard Award for Female Feature Director”.

Christine – Do you feel like this movie is a tribute to Adrienne Shelly who lost her life a few years ago?

Cheryl – Yes I feel like it’s a tribute to her of course, it’s exciting that her story that she wrote is being told, and so too is her own story, and in that sense I think it is a tribute.

Christine – You get to direct Meg Ryan and now you’re co-starring with her on Curb Your Enthusiasm?

Cheryl – It was really funny because Serious Moonlight came first, the next thing I know Meg and I are texting each other and she’s saying “Should I do Curb Your Enthusiasm?” and I said “Of course ya do it” So Larry’s the common factor here, Larry’s friends with Meg and friends with me. So we had an interesting exchange. It’s funny because I didn’t know what her role would be. Little did I know that we’d fighting for the same role on the show. I think it’s pretty funny. Turns out it was pretty interesting.

Christine – How did the Serious Moonlight preview go?

Cheryl – It went really well. The audience was so responsive and it’s really fun to sit in an audience and listen to everyone’s reaction. You can feel people loving Meg Ryan. It’s fun to see her in this film. What’s interesting as a director, I haven’t gotten tired of Tim or Meg or the film. So for no other reason I entertain myself. But it’s pretty amazing, I keep thinking I’m sure one day I’ll sit down and say I can’t watch this again. But every time I sit down I’m interested in seeing those two.

Serious Moonlight

Director Cheryl Hines with Meg Ryan, Timothy Hutton, Kristen Bell, Justin Long

 After she arrives at her country home for a romantic weekend getaway, things don’t go exactly as planned for high powered Manhattan lawyer Louise (Meg Ryan). First, her husband of 13 years, Ian (Timothy Hutton), tells her that he’s leaving her for a younger woman (Kristen Bell). Then, one thing leads to another, and pretty soon Ian finds himself held captive by an oddly cool Louise who explains that she won’t release him until he professes his love for her and commits to working on their marriage. And that’s when things REALLY start to go wrong. The unexpected arrival of an opportunistic young gardener (Justin Long) and Ian’s impatient mistress only serve to complicate the crisis even further, while somehow forcing Louise and Ian to reckon with their past and realistically deal with their future.

 Serious Moonlight opens in Theatres December 4, 2009.

Fan of Curb Your Enthusiasm? Click here to read our Susie Essman Interview!!

Spot on October!

There was a small moment in time when I actually thought of leaving my beloved island for Florida . Hey let’s face it, with cheaper living, taxes and a more relaxed, carefree lifestyle…it was tempting. My Florida fantasy faded as I remembered the one thing that will always keep me here…the weather. Long Island has the best seasonal weather north of Jersey. When it changes, we change. The fall weather brings out the gatherers. From the pumpkin pickers, to the funny looking kids dressed in plastic costumes, autumn has it all.

My first gathering of the season will be at the The Hamptons Film Festival. From October 8^th through the 12^th the Hamptons will play host to top movie stars, directors and their films.  This year the festival will honor iconic actress Sharon Stone  with their annual Outstanding Achievement in Acting Award. This will be an event to remember. SpotonLI.com will be on hand to preview movies, take photos and keep you abreast of all the fun happenings at this year’s film fest!  For more information or to buy tickets please visit www.HamptonsFilmFest.org

SpotonLI.com will be out and about interviewing great Long Island Chef’s to celebrate the fourth annual Long Island Restaurant Week. Everyone can be involved in restaurant week. From November 1^st through the 8^th you can dine at participating restaurants for only $24.95 for a three course pre-fixed meal.  Please visit http://www.longislandrestaurantweek.com/ for a list of fine restaurants involved in this weeklong foodie fest!

Lastly we are working on our first annual Holiday Gift Guide and Giveaways. Remember the spotlight is on YOU!! So we will be featuring your Spoton product. From CD’s, DVD’s, Gift Cards, Spa’s, Services, Sports Memorabilia etc. don’t be shy, drop us a line. If it fits with our content we will be happy to add you to our roster! Email us at Spotlight@SpotonLI.com

Happy Halloween Boys and Ghouls!!

Christine Gerani

editor