MUSIC BRINGS LA’S AUDIENCE “CLOSER”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Dinah Brein
dinah@quinnbrein.com
(206) 842-8922

Indie Artists Music adds to Play at El Centro Theatre

(Hollywood, CA February 27, 200 Closer, British playwright Patrick Marber’s award- winning, provocative drama opens this week at Hollywood’s El Centro Theatre for a six-week run, but something’s different in Gotham.

Aware that Closer had a couple prior runs in Los Angeles, the play’s director, Vince Duque (of the Alpha Company), set out to differentiate the El Centro open. His use of music and video installation weaves a brilliant tapestry of enhanced character depth, development and emotion not previously utilized in the play’s prior showings.

The plays four characters are very complex and at times, they come off cool, aloof and detached. Vince believed it was important to really understand what motivates these people - including having some insight into each character’s “backstory”. “The songs we chose express the intimacy of truth the characters are reluctant to reveal to their partners and themselves – a need to be heard, if you will,” says Duque. “We all have an inherent need to be heard, not only the characters in Closer, but all of the creative people involved with the play – the halves that make the proverbial ‘whole’ get a chance to feel totally expressed.”

The music in Closer is like a mix tape or CD providing additional clarity and understanding through the emotion that comes through the melody, tempo and the lyrics. “In today’s world, between our iPods, cell phones, and the internet – we are all totally hooked up - connected by music and yet somehow insulated and isolated by it as well. That theme totally falls into line with the philosophy and the undertones of the play,” says Duque.

Music plays a big part in this play on multiple levels. “There is a potential for the audience to be confused by the play’s time span which covers a four year period. Lyrics from the songs help to bridge that gap as well as to illustrate the characters’ inter-turmoil within the ever-changing landscape of their lives,” says co-producer Jessy Emm.

The kinds of music that excited him was a healthy blend of indie artists, both local, national and international as well as U2, Ben Harper and others. LA’s Hotel Cafe favorites like Kawehi and Laura Martin, UK artists such as The Endorphins and Simon Mason plus Derek Ryan, T, Conil, and Remix Villain music give a depth and reflection to the mysterious tapestry of these four complicated characters.

Scotty Crane (son of late actor Bob Crane) who produces some Seattle based musicians, turned Vince onto the music of Reed, an artist whose song “From Love - For Love” underlies the journey ahead for one of the characters, paving the way to the inevitable infidelity.

He concedes that the concept of using music in this way is a sophisticated notion – asking the audience to pay attention to the music, but that he is demanding a little more investment from them. “The play, after all is called Closer, and I hope they listen that way,” he smiles.

Closer features an international cast including: Stefan Hajek (Dawson’s Creek and the upcoming feature film, Dresden Sun), Jacqueline Jandrell (Gemma in the hugely popular internet phenomena, Lonelygirl15 series), the cast is rounded out by Kirsty Hinchcliffe who has appeared in numerous off-Broadway and European productions as well as the upcoming feature film Real With Me with Charles Dutton and Mark Kay who makes his LA debut in Closer.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Media requesting interviews with Vince Duque, Jessy Emm or cast members should contact Dinah Brein (dinah@quinnbrein.com) at (206) 842-8922.

AN INTERNATIONAL CAST GET INTIMATE IN “CLOSER”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Dinah Brein
dinah@quinnbrein.com
(206) 842-8922

(Hollywood, CA. February 26, 200 Closer, British playwright Patrick Marber’s award- winning, provocative drama opens this week at Hollywood’s El Centro Theatre. Set in contemporary London, Closer explores the entanglement of sex and the geometry of the complicated relationships of its four characters.
“The play takes on a whole new level of intimacy when interpreted by an international cast,” says Closers co-producer, Jessy Emm. Featuring; Stefan Hajek (Dawson’s Creek and the upcoming feature film, Dresden Sun), Jacqueline Jandrell (Gemma in the hugely popular internet phenomena, Lonelygirl15 series), the cast is rounded out by Kirsty Hinchcliffe who has appeared in numerous off-Broadway and European productions as well as the upcoming feature film Real With Me with Charles Dutton and Mark Kay who makes his LA debut in Closer.

Aware that Closer had a couple prior runs in Los Angeles, The Alpha Company’s Vince Duque, the play director, set out to differentiate the El Centro open. His use of music and video installation weaves a brilliant tapestry of enhanced character depth, development and emotion not previously utilized in the play’s prior showings.

“Music plays a big part in this play on multiple levels,” says Duque. “There is a potential for the audience to be confused by the play’s time span which covers a four year period. Lyrics from the songs help to bridge that gap as well as to illustrate the characters’ inter-turmoil within the ever-changing landscape of their lives”.

Closer features music from such local based artists as Kawehi and Laura Martin (Hotel Café favorites) as well as Seattle-based Reed. Music from UK Indy artists such as Simon Mason and The Endorphins gives the audience a rare insight into the characters’ struggle to be truthful while coping. “The songs we chose express the intimacy of truth the characters are reluctant to reveal to their partners and themselves,” says Duque.

“The music in Closer is like a mix tape or CD. It’s a sophisticated notion to ask the audience to pay close attention to the music we chose but we are demanding a little more investment from the audience. The play after all is called Closer. I’m hoping they listen that way,” he smiles.

Many of the plays scenes are staged within a variety of environments; hospital, gallery, photography studio, home dwellings, etc., creating an artistic dilemma posed by the spatial limitations of the El Centro Theatre. Emm along with Producer Gary Stella, believes the use of video screen projection greatly enhances the artistic statement of the play as well as transforms the black box of the theatre. “The multi-media projections allowed us to create great settings for each scene without making the set overly complicated,” says Emm.

The play previews Thursday, February 28th and opens Friday, February 29th for its 6-week run. All shows are at 8pm. The El Centro Theatre is located at 804 N. El Centro Avenue, Hollywood, CA. 90038.
Preview tickets are $10.00. Full run ticket prices are $15.00 for adults and $10.00 for students and seniors. For reservations and information go to www.plays411.com/closer or call 323-960-7770.
For additional information on the production, the cast & the crew and to view the trailers go to www.myspace.com/closerla.
Produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: Media requesting interviews with Vince Duque, Jessy Emm or cast should contact Dinah Brein (dinah@quinnbrein.com) at (206) 842-8922.

TOM HANKS ON WORK ETHIC

“I honestly didn’t think I had any options to do anything differently. I followed the natural progression of the river, and i just took me where it was going to take me. I wanted to learn the work ethic. And I learned it from the actors at the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in Cleveland. I saw how dedicated they were. I saw that it was a life for them. They were never quitters. They were never bitter. They never thought, ‘That bastard got that part.’ In the course of having beers or sitting around waiting for our entrances or just trying to do something on Monday, our one day off, I saw that this is a twenty-four-hour, seven-day-a-week, 365-day yearlong life.”

– Tom Hanks, excerpted from Rolling Stone, 40th Anniversary Issue, 11.15.07

We think that Mr. Hanks is merely taking about the spirit of dedication, because clearly, taking Monday off is not a seven-day-a-week, 364-day yearlong life.  Nevertheless, we are looking for these kinds of  dedicated filmmakers to be a part of the Alpha Company team.  And except on distant location shoots, we like to have our weekends for the other side of things…

BURN DOWN THE LEVEES THAT HOLD YOU BACK.

If the filmmaking pursuit is subjugated by the need for other stuff, like a house, a car, and a nice living, I can’t help but think that the artistic gods just won’t hand you the key to the next threshold when there are so many others bleeding and blowing off the good things in life to earn the key.

COMMITMENT IS EVERYTHING IN HOLLYWOOD

It is not a lottery, people.

Those who actually get paid in the role that they are pursuing in the film industry don’t see it as a lottery situation or a lucky break. They just do it because that’s what they do. They surround themselves with the people who make them better in their art and craft. They immerse themselves with the tools to master their skills. To repeat: it is not a lottery. It is about preparation and effort. If you didn’t like immersing yourself in your homework back in school, you are sure to fail in the big top of Hollywood. It is way too competitive here to come to the showdown unprepared. It’s not even easy for successful people in the biz who are pursuing “what they really want to be…”

I have a cautionary tale about a first AD who had spent some time away from his job to pursue directing. He got an agent - only a step, not an achievement - to help him get the right meetings that would hopefully lead to directing jobs. After only a year and barely putting his toe in the water, he gave up and went back into assistant directing. He blamed his agent when he should have been blaming himself for lack of preparation and lack of immersion. Here’s a quote I picked up from a writing book: “When famous painters, composers, and poets did their most creative work, the artist’s significant creative work was produced after at least five to ten years of preparation.”

I’ll never understand why people pursue artistic jobs in the industry but don’t put in the time. If you want to direct, then direct. Do it however way you can. But just do it somehow, someway. Why did he wait for someone else to determine whether he was going to direct? Yes, it comes with tremendous risk, but at some point, sooner than later, the opportunity will come. If you don’t immerse yourself - investing in the time or invest in the right people to hone your artistic skills, why even bother?

At Writers Boot Camp, a screenwriting course for working professionals who can’t devote full-time to a film school, I’ve heard countless excuses from writing students who say it is difficult to put in their minimum ten hours of writing a week. There are 168 hours in the week, and you can’t spend ten hours on a craft that you want to be paid for? When I said on several occasions, I put in about 20-30 hours a week on top of a 60 hour film production workload, they marveled at the reason I put in so much work: “Because that’s what I do.”

Don’t get me started on actors.

If the filmmaking pursuit is subjugated by the need for other stuff, like a house, a car, and a nice living, I can’t help but think that the artistic gods just won’t hand you the key to the next threshold when there are so many others bleeding and blowing off the good things in life to earn the key. BURN DOWN THE LEVEES THAT HOLD YOU BACK.

HOLLYWOOD IS NOT A DOT.COM PHENOMENON.

I once partnered up with a Miami entrepreneur who read tales about all the ordinary Joes who made a lot of Hollywood money. He rationalized that he - Mr. cell phone reseller with over $100,000 in monthly business - could just as easily make a shitload of Hollywood money. And why not? He had a load of street smarts and he loved the movies! He spent $20,000 on an editing system and digital camera he knew nothing about, as if that was an indication of commitment for the business. He thought, “hey, I’ll shoot my movie, I’ll edit it myself, and then I’ll go to Sundance and sell it for a million dollars!” But he severely lacked the immersion: the storytelling skills, the film history, the technical art to filmmaking, the set experience. All dreams and no craft. After six months, he went back in Miami to be a beer distributor. He thought his street skills would get him through, but he didn’t realize his lack of academic intelligence and utter disrespect for learning the craft would do him in. You have to be smart to be in this business AND you have to have a resilience and tenacity longer than the hack dot.com entrepreneur. Yeah, there are some dumb and shady people who think a love of movies, unskilled business acumen and a lack of discipline equate to being artists, but those people always find the exit door much sooner than they think.

JUST DO IT.

“Fear of rejection, give that up. See, all fear, you have to give up. All hope, you have to give up. Because there’s no such thing as hope in Hollywood. There either is doing it or not doing it.”

– James Coburn, May 22, 1992, “A Day in the Life of Hollywood”

2ND AD ON DISTANT LOCATION GETS SCREWED BY UPM

Something needs to be done about Unit Production Managers (UPM) who are shortchanging the ADs on his team. Here’s one example: on a current FOX show shooting on distant location (an overnight location outside of Los Angeles or NY), the UPM is not paying the 2nd AD for 1) travel time from the hotel to set (a provision given without question to the IA and SAG), 2) work time during early extras calls and 3) work time during grip and electric pre-calls, when he can cite a “technicality” in the current Basic Agreement. Typically, the 2nd AD’s call time cannot be earlier than the earliest make-up call. It’s usually a non-issue because that make-up call time will likely start from the hotel pickup time because the make-up artist is a distant location hire. But in the occasion that the early make-up call is a local hire - likely not including travel time from the hotel- the 2nd AD call time will be set to that local make-up artist’s call time, regardless of how much earlier the 2nd AD is “on the clock” from the hotel. If the extras or grip/electric have pre-calls earlier than that make-up artist? The 2nd AD will technically be “on the clock,” but according to this UPM, it doesn’t matter - the rule is clear about the 2nd AD’s call time - no earlier than the earliest make-up call.

It is appalling, irresponsible and unbecoming a leader, that this UPM - a fellow DGA member - is refusing to pay someone on his DGA team for legitimate work done. The DGA needs to act fastidiously to correct this oversight.

PRO HOLLYWOOD NETWORKING, PT 7 OF 7: USE IMDB.com.

6) Pay attention to the work your colleagues and workmates have done. I saw a friend’s name on the scrolling credits after a movie. I called him a bit later to say, “hey, I saw your name. Congrats! How’ve you been?” I reconnected with him and in catching up, I was back in the loop. In addition, you never know who you’re working with who might have much more experience than you. Check them out on IMDB.com before you push your weight around. (and be cognizant that not all the credits may be updated on the page.) That includes you, Mr. Ivy League or Academy Grad with an MBA who made a lot of money in other businesses. Have respect, hotshot. It’s Tombstone, not Las Vegas.

In March I was in New Orleans, working on a screenplay. I was also exploring some A.D. work here and I happened to see a call sheet for a TV pilot shooting in town (K-Ville), and on the back of the call-sheet, I saw seven names of people I knew from past shows I worked on. I visited the set, already having friends.

We reconnected on a few levels. One, in catching up, I got the lo-down and the inside scoop about upcoming work, trends, leads, information on other crew, etc. Two, I was able to reconnect with friends that I enjoyed spending time with on those shows. It’s a nice aspect, especially when you meet so many fools in this godforsaken town. And three, I strengthened my business relationships — SO invaluable when I work with them again, in whatever capacity in the future: assistant director, writer, director or producer - in a kind of environment that is akin to going into battle (yes, I’ve trained for war). Let’s face it, you know how tough it is to make filmed entertainment – the hours and the demands – so having friends on the crew helps create efficiency and harmony. And…it saves money.

PRO HOLLYWOOD NETWORKING, PT 6 of 7: BE WORTH HAVING AROUND.

5) Don’t be a pain in the ass. No one likes to work with a pain in the ass unless there’s something you’re bringing to the table that makes it SO worthwhile to tolerate you being a pain in the ass. To repeat, making films is hard work and involves long hours. Doing hard work with anyone who’s a pain in the ass makes the day suck. If you make the day suck, you won’t be working very often.