Tag Archives: drama

EMMANUELLE VAUGIER JOINS THE CAST ON THE THIRD SEASON OF MISTRESSES TO PREMIERE ON THURSDAY, JUNE 18TH 9/8C AND WILL BE AIRING ON ABC IN THE US AND CTV IN CANADA

Emmanuelle Vaugier continues to reprise her role as The Morrigan in the popular television series Lost Girl now airing on the Syfy Network in the USA

Now in production, stunning actor Emmanuelle Vaugier is shooting a six-episode guest role on the upcoming third season of ABC’s summer series Mistresses. She will play Niko, who’s tough, sexy, rocks a very distinctive style and doesn’t care what you think about it. She becomes the new mixologist at Wunderbar and a thorn in Joss’ (Jes Macallan) side. The third season of Mistresses premieres on June 18^th at 9pm on ABC in the US and CTV in Canada.

Emmanuelle continues to reprise her role on the innovative series Lost Girl, a supernatural highly rated drama series. Playing the role of The Morrigan, Emmanuelle breathes life into her vain and dangerously sociopathic character. The fifth season of ‘Lost Girl’ promises to be the most electrifying season yet. Lost Girl premiered on Showcase in Canada and is now airing on Syfy in the USA.

Photo Credit: Brie Childers

Emmanuelle is best known for her popular role as Charlie Sheen’s ex-fiancée Mia on the award-winning CBS comedy Two and a Half Men in which her character returned for the series finale earlier this year. For three seasons she played Detective Jessica Angell on CSI: NY, and in the USA Network crime series Covert Affairs.

One of the roles that Emmanuelle connected most with was playing a woman who rescues animals in Susie’s Hope, a role for which she won best actress at the Greensville International Film Festival. It’s Christmas, Carol! another starring role for Emmanuelle, won her a Leo Award. Emmanuelle also stars in Absolute Deception alongside Cuba Gooding Jr.

Her numerous television appearances include the female superhero for the SYFY television pilot of the comic Painkiller Jane, and had a starring role in the Master of Horror series directed by John Carpenter. She also portrayed Dr. Helen Bryce; Lex Luthor‘s wife on the WB‘s hit drama Smallville. Emmanuelle spent two seasons in a recurring role on One Tree Hill.

Emmanuelle’s feature film endeavors are just as impressive include Saw II, Saw IV, Secondhand Lions (Michael Caine, Robert Duvall), 40 Days and 40 Nights (Josh Hartnett) and House of the Dead 2: Dead Aim to name a few.

Off-screen, Emmanuelle is an avid animal lover. A project that is very close to her heart is her own 501c3 charitable foundation ‘The Fluffball’, which raises money for various animal charities through her annual cocktail event. This year ‘The Fluffball’ will be held in Los Angeles on October 3^rd. A dedicated equestrian Emmanuelle competes on a horse rescued from a situation of neglect. Emmanuelle paints to express her creativity and contributes a major portion of her sales to the many charitable animal rescue organizations she supports.

Emmanuelle’s inner and outer beauty shines through as she is among the select group of women to be on ‘Maxim‘s Top 100’ list twice. She was also named fifth on Femme Fatal magazine’s 50 Sexiest Women on the Planet’, and was named ‘Sexiest Woman Alive’ for the sixth time by Smartasses Magazine. Emmanuelle has graced the covers of Maxim, Femme Fatal, Dolce Vita, Flare, UMM, Status, Modern Dog, LA Health, Vancouver View, Vancouver Lifestyles, Western Living Condo, Donato, Steppin’ Out and Infamous.

Social Media Handles

Website: emmanuellevaugier.com, syfy.com/lostgirl
Twitter: @evaugier
Facebook: The Real Emmanuelle Vaugier

Contact The Promotion People

Lesley Diana – Founder, President and Publicist
lesley@thepromotionpeople.ca
604.726.5575

Website: thepromotionpeople.ca
Twitter: @PromotionPeople
Facebook: The Promotion People
Instagram: @thepromotionpeople

Read Sonja Bennett’s journey to writing her first screenplay for the now popular feature film Preggoland now playing in theatres in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal in Canada and opens in the US on May 8th to a limited release in 10 cities.

By Sonja Bennett

The almost rise, kinda fall, and sorta resurrection of a Canadian actress

In 2001 I was in theatre school getting the dregs of the acting roles. In the last production, I played eight parts – two of which were barnyard animals. My career goal at that point was to be a Bard on the Beach regular and maybe not have to live with three roommates. But my prospects weren’t looking great.

Then something happened. My father, Guy Bennett, was about to direct his first feature, Punch, about a father-daughter relationship. The story goes that the producer said offhandedly, “Too bad your daughter isn’t an actress, that’d be a good hook.” Um, does a proficiency in the back half of a horse costume count? I was “cast” in the movie and my career in film was put in motion.

Headhunters from Fox television were at our TIFF premiere and put me on a contract old-school style like I was Shirley Temple or something. Me and a little unknown comic named Zach Galifianakis. Ever heard of him?

Suddenly I was being groomed as “the next Calista Flockhart.” But my body rebelled against this idea. Somewhere I had read that cashew nuts were a healthy snack and I was eating them by the Dan-D-Pak. I gained 20 pounds, had a stress rash all over my face and had developed an audition-selective stutter. I was completely unprepared for 12-page last minute auditions in LA where I had no support network except my loyal agent, Dylan Collingwood, who came down and tried to help jam lines in my head and figure out the LA highway system.

Needless to say, I didn’t get my Ally McBeal, nothing came of my Fox contract and I slinked back to Vancouver with my tail between my legs. My ego was bruised pretty bad and I took to embarrassing behaviour like hitting gold-level tanning beds to give the town the impression I was “just up from LA for the weekend.”

Six months after my Fox contract had ended, I booked the new lead character on the seventh season of the Canadian series Cold Squad, and despite my whole management team’s disappointment, I was very happy. From that point on I worked steadily for almost a decade. I did comedy, I did drama, I got to work with Atom Egoyan and I won awards and stuff. Life was pretty sweet. I’d once again redefined what my dreams were and could say I was now living it.

And then the recession happened.

Movie stars were turning to shitty TV for work, and the roles I realistically had a shot at were getting smaller and sillier and less lucrative. I had also turned 30 and was apparently no longer the “right kind” of pretty for Smallville. So I did what most actresses do when the work dries up. I decided it’s time to have a baby!

I’m kidding – sort of. Motherhood gave a context to my career. I tried being pickier with roles, but all the good ones went to Oscar winners.

My body was starting to rebel against the slog of being a Vancouver actress in her 30s; to the high probability that the project I was auditioning for had the word “Fatal” or “Tornado” in the title.

I was getting bitter-actress-itis.

I remember my kid saying, “Mama sad, mama have dish-in.” I guess I was sad about my “dish-in” and more importantly I wasn’t a good enough actor to hide it from my son.

So I stopped acting. For almost three years. It was hard. But it was the right decision. I detoxed from the crack that is the highs and lows of the entertainment industry, I had a second child without consulting the UBCP/ACTRA “what’s shooting” list, and I went back to university to seek out another career path cause god knows if I’m not pretty enough for Smallville I’m definitely not getting a job at Cactus Club.

But I still found myself drawn to my husband’s (actor Stephen Lobo) callsheets and scripts. I missed being creative and telling stories and making movies. I wanted back in but knew it had to be different this time round.

I decided to write myself the juicy lead role that no one was going to give me otherwise. The plan was to write a starring vehicle to resuscitate my nearly dead career. I had stories from my motherhood experiences and I came up with the concept for a movie called Preggoland.

And then I wrote. Before my kids woke up, during their naptimes, in the middle of the night if I couldn’t sleep. I channeled all that creative energy into a story. My dear friend Kevin Eastwood agreed to produce. Ironically, by far the most difficult thing about getting the film made was convincing the decision makers to have me star in it. But the producers and the director, Jacob Tierney, supported me entirely – which meant a much smaller budget and a bigger pain in the ass for all involved. They did it anyway and never made me feel guilty.

Now, of course, I would never be so cavalier as to suggest the answer to all out-of-work actresses is to just “go out and make a feature.” It was the simple act of being creative on my own terms and taking control of my own destiny that empowered me. My bitter actress-itis was cured long before Preggoland went into production.

And did all my dreams come true with this film? Has Hollywood come knocking?

I guess the answer is, I don’t know yet. I’m not thinking about it all that much because I’m too busy with my family and the new ideas in my head. In my quest to write a vehicle to launch a “comeback,” I fell in love with writing along the way. And so the parameters of my dream life have shifted once again.

I won’t pretend that it doesn’t twinge my heart a little when I see Zach Galifianakis hosting Saturday Night Live and wonder what could have been if I’d laid off the cashews. But then I move on fast because I’m too busy writing my next feature.

-Sonja Bennett

Social Media Handles

Website: sonjabennett.ca, mongrelmedia.com/film/preggoland.aspx, indiegogo.com/projects/preggoland-help-us-finish-the-movie
Twitter: @sonjabennett123, @Preggoland
Facebook: facebook.com/Preggoland
IMDb: imdb.com/name/nm1060641/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

Contact The Promotion People

Lesley Diana – Founder, President and Publicist
lesley@thepromotionpeople.ca
604.726.5575

Website: thepromotionpeople.ca
Twitter: @PromotionPeople
Facebook: The Promotion People
Instagram: @thepromotionpeople

STAR AND SCREENWRITER SONJA BENNETT’S FEATURE FILM “PREGGOLAND” OPENS MAY 1ST IN CANADA AND MAY 8TH IN THE USA THE FILM SHOWCASES HER MANY TALENTS WITH CO-STARS OSCAR NOMINEE JAMES CAAN AND DANNY TREJO

Taking two years off to make Preggoland Sonja books her first role back on ABC’s “Mistresses”

Star and Screenwriter Sonja Bennett’s Feature Film Preggoland will be released Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal in Canada on May 1st and in the US on May 8^th to a limited release in 10 cities.

Preggoland is very much Sonja Bennett’s baby (pun intended!). The movie marks her foray into screenwriting; in addition to starring in the Canadian indie, the award-winning actress penned the script. Sonja realized there weren’t as many roles for women over 30, so she decided to be proactive about her career by writing herself the juicy lead she’d been craving. “I was interested in exploring of how motherhood changes female friendships, the artifice of this giant clique of motherhood and the pregnancy pedestal,” Sonja shares. Inspiration came from Bennett’s  own experience of becoming pregnant with her now five-year-old son.

Montreal’s Jacob Tierney (The Trotsky) directs Preggoland, a laugh-out-loud comedy about a 35-year old woman Ruth (Sonja Bennett) whose high school friends have moved onto motherhood, while she’s still partying in the parking lot. But when Ruth is mistakenly thought to be “with child,”  her life changes – old pals embrace her, strangers give up their seats and her father (James Caan) approves of her for the first time. How can she keep up the ruse? Also starring are Lisa Durupt (Ruth’s baby-wanting sister), Paul Campbell (the  boss Ruth bonds with over a song), Jared Keeso (the doctor she surprises) and  Danny Trejo (the co-worker who surprises her).

Photo by Ed Araquel
BCBGMAXAZRIA

The film opened to a much-hyped premiere as a Special Presentation at TIFF and in Sonja’s hometown at the Vancouver International Film Festival where it won the Most Popular Canadian Feature Film Award and was nominated for best BC film by the VFCC. Preggoland won the Best screenplay award at the Fargo film festival and most recently, on March 15^th, the film won the audience choice award for best feature film at the Omaha Film Fest and screened at Miami 2015. Upcoming festivals include Sonoma International Festival on March 27^th, the Gasparilla Film Festival in Tampa Bay Florida where Preggoland will be the closing night film and the film has also been accepted into the Bejing Film Festival.

Dorkshelf says “Preggoland has a stellar script and a star making performance from writer and lead Sonja Bennett.” Scene Creek billed the film “smart and savvy” while NOW Magazine said “Bennett’s written a sharp comedy that explores the societal pressure on women without children and gives a knockout performance as bad girl Ruth.”

After taking two years off to make Preggoland Sonja books her first role back as a ballerina with a blood disorder in the third season of ABC’s drama/thriller Mistresses. She and her husband (Ed Quinn) get tangled up in the lives of one of the Mistresses in an interesting way. Sonja will join the series stars Jes Macallan, Rochelle Aytes, Yunjin Kim, and Jennifer Esposito.

Acting for more than 10 years, Sonja Bennett has appeared in critically acclaimed films such as Atom Egoyan’s Where the Truth Lies, Elegy starring Ben Kingsley and Penélope Cruz, and TIFF opening night film Young People Fucking – for which she earned a Vancouver Film Critics Circle award. The Vancouver native has kept an equally busy profile on the small screen with recurring roles in Eureka, Battlestar Galatica, Blade: The Series. Her performances in Random Acts of Romance, In No Particular Order, Cole and the TV series Godivas and Cold Squad garnered her Leo Gemini, and Genie nominations.

Shot in Vancouver, the film is produced by Kevin Eastwood (Fido) and Dylan Collingwood, Fake-a-baby Productions, Titlecard Pictures Inc. and Optic

Nerve Films Inc. with the support of Telefilm. Preggoland is being released in Canada by Mongrel Media.

Social Media Handles

Contact The Promotion People

Lesley Diana – Founder, President and Publicist
lesley@thepromotionpeople.ca
604.726.5575

Website: thepromotionpeople.ca
Twitter: @PromotionPeople
Facebook: The Promotion People
Instagram: @thepromotionpeople

Alan C. Peterson plays King Minos in OLYMPUS airing now on Syfy in the US, Spike TV in the UK & Super Channel in Canada

Alan voices the villain in animated feature SPARK with Jessica Biel, Susan Sarandon & Hilary Swank

In demand character actor Alan C. Peterson plays King Minos in the popular television series OLYMPUS. Peterson’s character, King Minos’ character is first introduced premieres on April 23 in North America in the episode entitled MINOS.

OLYMPUS, a 13-episode mythological drama set in the world of gods, humans and monsters, premiered on April 2 on Syfy in the US, Spike TV in the UK and Super Channel in Canada and made it’s UK launch on Spike TV last week. OLYMPUS tells the story of how a few brave men and women banished the Gods to the realm of the unconscious – a place they called the Underworld or the Kingdom of Hades. The series follows the protagonist Hero (Tom York, Tyrant) as he seeks the truth about his past, which may be intertwined with the Gods themselves. The series also stars Sonya Cassidy (The Paradise, Vera) as Oracle, Sonita Henry (Star Trek, The Fifth Element) as Medea, Graham Shiels (Guardians of the Galaxy, True Blood) as King Aegeus, and Matt Frewer (Orphan Black, The Knick) as Daedalus. Created by Nick Willing (Tinman, Alice, Neverland), OLYMPUS is a Canada-UK co-production.

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Internationally recognized character actor Alan C. Peterson is known for his ability to disappear into the hundreds of varied roles he has played onscreen and onstage. Growing up as an actor in the impassioned and vital Estonian theater scene in Toronto, after University, Alan was inspired to go to New York City to study with two true greats, Stella Adler and Kim Stanley, and begin his professional acting career.

Soon to be seen, Alan plays “J” in the Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, Whitehouse Down) and major feature film STONEWALL, with Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Ron Perlman.

Alan has worked with many other pre-eminent directors, such as Antoine Fuqua in his film SHOOTER, as Officer Stanley Timmons, with Mark Wahlberg and Danny Glover, in Zack Snyder’s film SUCKERPUNCH as Big Boss, with Jon Hamm and Emily Browning, and in Sydney Furie’s film PRIDE OF LIONS, with Seymour Cassell and Louis Gossett Jr. Other films include DEFENDOR with Woody Harrelson, Joe Carnahan’s NARC with Ray Liotta and Jason Patric, and THE SAMARITAN with Samuel L. Jackson and Tom Wilkinson. Alan is particularly proud of his role as the eccentric conspiracy theorist, Terrance, in THE CONSPIRACY.

Television series work includes, as a regular, BRIDGE TO MOTOR CITY, CRA$H AND BURN, STREET TIME, as well as the mini-series, ZOS: ZONE OF SEPARATION. He has guest starred in many TV series, among them, STARGATE, THE LISTENER, LOST GIRL, COPPER, 19-2. Most recently he reunited with Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara as a guest star on the season finale of their series SCHITT’S CREEK. One of his first onscreen roles was as “Edith Prickly’s Double” on the “Johnny Nucleo Lounge Meltdown” episode of SCTV.

Joining a stellar cast of Jessica Biel, Susan Sarandon, and Hilary Swank, Alan also voices the villain in the animated feature SPARK, an action packed space adventure full of humor and heart.

Social Media Handles

Website: syfy.com/olympus, olympustv.com
Twitter: @AcpetersonAlan, @Olympus_TV, @SyfyTV, @SuperChannel
IMDb: imdb.com/name/nm0012586/?ref_=nv_sr_4

Contact The Promotion People

Lesley Diana – Founder, President and Publicist
lesley@thepromotionpeople.ca
604.726.5575

Website: thepromotionpeople.ca
Twitter: @PromotionPeople
Facebook: The Promotion People
Instagram: @thepromotionpeople

In demand actor Emmanuelle Vaugier returns to Showcase Series ‘Lost Girl’

Watch for upcoming starring roles in features ‘Saul: the Journey to Damascus’ and ‘Stepdaughter’

Stunning actor Emmanuelle Vaugier continues to reprise her role on the innovative series ‘Lost Girl’, a Canadian supernatural drama highly rated Showcase series. Playing the role of The Morrigan, Emmanuelle breathes life into her vain and dangerously sociopathic character. The fifth season of ‘Lost Girl’ promises to be the most electrifying season yet. ‘Lost Girl’ premieres on December 7th on Showcase and in the new year on SYFY.

Just wrapped, Emmanuelle stars in the feature film ‘Stepdaughter’ recently filmed in Los Angeles. Directed by John Murlowski. The film co-stars Niki Koss and Matt Socia.

Recently premiering at TIFF 2014 Emmanuelle co-stars in ‘Teen Lust’, a feature film about an awkward high school student who must lose his virginity before being sacrificed by a local religious cult. The film stars Cary Elwes (Saw, The Princess Bride), Kristin Bauer van Straten (“True Blood”), Jesse Carere (“Skins”), Daryl Sabara (The Philosopher, Machete, Spy Kids) and Annie Clark (“Degrassi: The Next Generation”). Blaine Thurier (A Gun to the Head) directed the film that he co-wrote with Jason Stone (This Is The End).

Emmanuelle Vaugier booked the coveted leading role as Mary Magdalene in the feature film ‘Saul: The Journey to Damascus’ filmed in Malta. The feature film is based on the Acts of the Apostles known as Saul the Butcher. The stoning of Stephen was said to have shattered Saul’s faith in the Temple and its denial of Christ as the Messiah. His conversion to Christianity and baptism as Paul changed the history of the world. Emmanuelle stars along side John Rhys Davis (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Lord of the Rings), Kyle Schmidt (Being Human, Copper) Callum Blue (The Tudors), and Kris Holden Reid (The Tudors, Lost Girl). The script and direction was in the hands of Maltese writer/director Mario Philip Azzopardi, “Saul” is an official Malta-Canada co-production produced by Cittadella Films with Canadian film-maker Ken Gord and eONE acting as worldwide distributors.

One of the roles that Emmanuelle connected most with was playing a woman who rescues animals in ‘Susie’s Hope’, a role for which she won best actress at the Greensville International Film Festival. ‘It’s Christmas, Carol!’ another starring role for Emmanuelle, won her a Leo Award. Emmanuelle also stars in ‘The Wedding Chapel’ and ‘Clara’s Deadly Secret’, ‘Hidden Away’ and ‘Absolute Deception’ alongside Cuba Gooding Jr.

Vaugier is best known for her popular role as Charlie Sheen’s ex-fiancée Mia on the award-winning CBS comedy ‘Two and a Half Men.’ For three seasons she played Detective Jessica Angell on ‘CSI: NY,’ and in the USA Network crime series ‘Covert Affairs.’

Her other television appearances include a recurring role on ‘Human Target’ as well as guest roles on ‘The Mentalist’, ‘Big Shots’ and ‘Supernatural’. She was also the female superhero for the television pilot of the comic ‘Painkiller Jane’, and had a starring role in the ‘Master of Horror’ series directed by John Carpenter. Her other television credits include: ‘One Tree Hill‘, ‘Monk’, ‘North Shore’, ‘Veronica Mars’, as well as ‘Call Me, The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss’, and ‘My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star‘. She also portrayed Dr. Helen Bryce; Lex Luthor‘s wife on the WB‘s hit drama ‘Smallville’.

Emmanuelle’s feature film endeavors are just as impressive. She starred in the thriller ‘Mirrors 2’, and ‘Dolan’s Cadillac’, starring Christian Slater. Her other credits include ‘Saw II’, ‘Saw IV’, ‘Hysteria’, ‘Far Cry’, ‘Bachelor Party 2’, ‘Unearthed’, ‘Secondhand Lions’ (Michael Caine, Robert Duvall), ‘40 Days and 40 Nights’ (Josh Hartnett), ‘House of the Dead 2: Dead Aim’ and a lead role in the comedy ‘Blonde and Blonder’.

Off-screen, Emmanuelle is an avid animal lover. A project that is very close to her heart is her own 501c3 charitable foundation ‘The Fluffball’, which raises money for various animal charities through her annual cocktail event. A dedicated equestrian Emmanuelle competes on a horse rescued from a situation of neglect. Emmanuelle paints to express her creativity and contributes a major portion of her sales to the many charitable animal rescue organizations she supports.

Photo credit: Rod Roberts

Social Media Handles

Website: emmanuellevaugier.com
Twitter: @evaugier
Facebook: The Real Emmanuelle Vaugier

Contact The Promotion People

Lesley Diana – Founder, President and Publicist
lesley@thepromotionpeople.ca
604.726.5575

Website: thepromotionpeople.ca
Twitter: @PromotionPeople
Facebook: The Promotion People

Musician/Actor Tara Beier stars in the role of Buffy Sainte-Marie in the film “COVERED” to screen at the Whistler Film Festival on Friday December 5th at 1:30pm

The Promotion People - Tara Beier

Musician/Actor Tara Beier stars in the role of Buffy Sainte-Marie in the film “COVERED” to screen at the Whistler Film Festival on Friday December 5th at 1:30pm

Multitalented Musician/Actor/Filmmaker Tara Beier stars in “COVERED”. This docudrama short film is an interpretation of an interview and performance of Buffy Sainte-Marie that originally aired on CBC TV’s program TBA with host John O’Leary in 1966. “COVERED will screen at the Whistler International Film Festival on Friday, December 5^th at 1:30 pm. www.whistlerfilmfestival.com

Tara Beier (aka, Browne) is the actor, filmmaker and musician starring in the role of Buffy Sainte-Marie in the short film “COVERED”. Most recently Tara won “BEST EXPERIMENTAL” for the film at the Imagine Native Film Festival in Toronto, which premiered at the TIFF Lightbox.

Press and peers praised Tara for her directing debut for the documentary “I Met A Man From Burma” on the life and country of Ler Wah Lo Bo-a Burmese refugee and former revolutionary fighter for the Karen National Liberation Army turned activist. The documentary premiered at The Vancouver International Film Centre/Reel Causes program then Female Eye Film Festival, The Berlinale Film Cloud and Hot Docs program.

Tara has always remained true to her voice as a creator. Since the age of 6, she trained in classical conservatory piano for over 10 years. While in preparation for over a year to play the legendary folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie, Tara’s writing and acting naturally spawned her to create her own music with a message.

Now, with the unexpected success of her music, Tara has garnered a huge online following on Facebook and Twitter and a climbing presence on Youtube with thousands of hits for her songs: Freedom Island, This Innocence, Guns Road, Mayan Sun, In The Desert and more. Tara and her band will be recording their first album of eight original songs this January at Rose Room Recording Studios in Toronto.

Ottawa’s music critic Zachery Houle reviewed Tara on “PopMatters” deeming her “one of a kind in Canadian indie rock and worth to listen to” comparing her voice and style to Neil Young and Joni Mitchell.” http://www.popmatters.com/review/184836-tara-beier-purple-trees-ep/

Tara is currently on tour with her band The SilverThorns”. The band includes renowned classical guitarist Michael Savona, Juno-nominated drummer Tony-Nestbitt Larking and bassist, George Chenery. They recently shot a high quality music video for “Guns Road” in Toronto with Motorcyle Stunt Riders produced by Commercial Film Production Company Familystyle.tv.

You can check “Tara Beier & The SilverThorns” out on YouTube for their live performances at The 3030 Bar in The Junction, Toronto. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqsmv1b5aIKc1jZfEuPOzpA

Tara, a native of Vancouver, is now living in Toronto.

Social Media Handles

Website: www.whistlerfilmfestival.com
Blog: tarabeier.blogspot.ca
Twitter: @tarabeier
Facebook: Tara Beier Music

Samples of music/live performances:
Freedom Island: http://youtu.be/2sS6pDXSQig
Mayan Sun: http://youtu.be/ZeCiyfO8bo8
Guns Road: http://youtu.be/-ZiolyHsGRk
Hate Street Dialogue: http://youtu.be/vmfH7aoTKoE

Contact The Promotion People

Lesley Diana – Founder, President and Publicist
lesley@thepromotionpeople.ca
604.726.5575

Website: thepromotionpeople.ca
Twitter: @PromotionPeople
Facebook: The Promotion People

Brightlight Pictures’ Short film, “GREECE”, heads for colder climate with Whistler International Film Festival Selection

Writer/Director/Actor Sarah Deakins’ award winning short film, “GREECE” is set for its Canadian premiere at the Whistler International Film Festival as a part of the Canadian Short Works Competition. “GREECE” will screen on Thursday, December 4th, 12:00pm at Millennium Place www.whistlerfilmfestival.com

“GREECE” centers on a daughter’s final attempt to connect with her seemingly catatonic mother. Brightlight Pictures president Shawn Williamson saw something in local writer Deakins’ script, and took the project on as a creative labour of love. A recent co-recipient of the inaugural Brian Linehan Actor Award, Deakins also stars in the character driven drama and as a director she was finally able to fully realize her vision, in her hometown of Vancouver.

Already a triple award winner, GREECE continues to garner praise following its debut in October on the US Film Festival circuit. A fresh, local Vancouver crew, all volunteers, worked closely together to produce a short with incredible production value, inspired by a strong creative vision from the film’s writer/director, Sarah Deakins, and captured beautifully by cinematographer Jon Joffin.

The Best Shorts Competition says of GREECE, “A tribute to the complicated relationships between parents and children with moving dialogue and expressions…A deeply personal journey with beautiful cinematography” and film critic David Spaner tweeted, “…catch director/actor/writer Sarah Deakins’ Greece when you can. Beautifully executed short making festival rounds”.

In response to the three awards before the film has even hit the Canadian festival circuit, Ms. Deakins states, “Everyone who worked on this film is thrilled to have been recognized by the Best Shorts Competition and The Accolade Global competition judges, and we are most grateful that the film is connecting with people. The whole team worked really hard to bring this vision to life and to know that people are now responding to the artistry that we took such care with is most gratifying. And we’re thrilled to have our Canadian premiere at Whistler!”

Producer Arielle Boisvert says, “We have been very pleased with the response to our film. The subject matter is close to our hearts and we are looking forward to our Canadian premier in Whistler.”

About Brightlight Pictures
Brightlight Pictures develops, packages and produces independent feature films and television projects, and its President, Shawn Williamson, has produced more than 90 productions in the last 15 years and over 35 productions since launching Brightlight in 2001. Recently, Williamson has worked as an executive producer on the feature film THE INTERVIEW (Seth Rogen, James Franco) for Columbia Pictures and the television series WITCHES OF EAST END (Julia Ormond, Jenna Dewan-Tatum) for Fox 21. His recent producer credits include the feature film HORNS (Daniel Radcliffe) for Mandalay and Red Granite Pictures; 50/50 (Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt;) and THE COMPANY YOU KEEP, a Sony Picture directed by Robert Redford and starring Robert Redford and Shia LaBeouf.

For more information regarding “GREECE” please contact Producer Arielle Boisvert, at Brightlight Pictures: (604) 628-3000 or 778-866-1647Arielle@brightlightpictures.com.

For tickets and information, go to http:// www.whistlerfilmfestival.com/

http://prod3.agileticketing.net/websales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=96662~065377bc-134d-43b4-bdf6-5c488f454cc8&epguid=c8e308ba-1308-4874-b76e-e3506cb394e3

Social Media Handles

Website: sarahdeakins.com, brightlightpictures.com
Twitter: @sarahcdeakins, @GREECEthefilm, @BrightlightPict
Facebook: facebook.com/GreeceAShortFilm
IMDb: imdb.com/name/nm0212639/

Contact The Promotion People

Lesley Diana – Founder, President and Publicist
lesley@thepromotionpeople.ca
604.726.5575

Website: thepromotionpeople.ca
Twitter: @PromotionPeople
Facebook: The Promotion People

In demand Erica Carroll keeps busy with recurring roles on the CW’s Supernatural and Hallmark Channel’s When Calls the Heart

Rising star Erica Carroll, best known for her recurring role on the long-running CW series Supernatural and Hallmark Channel’s When Calls the Heart.

Always busy, the Canadian actress can currently be seen in the new season of CW’s Emmy-nominated and cult-favorite series Supernatural with her next episode airing on Tuesday, November 25th. She plays Hannah, a not-so-graceful angel occupying a human body. “I am quite proud of Hannah who I play on Supernatural,” says Erica. “Although she may be an ethereal being, she certainly doesn’t navigate the human world with the utmost finesse, which leads to awkward yet endearing moments and some seriously bad-ass altercations too.”

About Erica:
Erica is proud to be the first member of her family to be born in Canada, with deep roots running back to Dublin, Ireland. Born, in an ambulance headed to Fraser Lake, she split her childhood between Fort St. John (Northeastern B.C.) and Duncan, B.C, on Vancouver Island. Today, the homegrown talent calls East Vancouver home.

Reflecting her Irish roots, Erica began taking Irish dancing lessons at the tender age of five, where she discovered both a passion and a fear of being on stage. “I knew in my heart I wanted to perform in some capacity, but the thought of it terrified me,” she admits. “I watched Airplane and Beetlejuice repeatedly, loving bizarre comedy and weird and wonderful characters.”

Erica caught the acting bug years later as a teen after attending a performance of The Phantom of the Opera at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre with her family. A self-professed Saturday Night Live super-fan, she would make silly home videos trying out characters with a friend who owned a camera. But it was only in her 20s that she decided to give acting a serious shot. She studied drama at three schools, including Canadian College in Victoria, The Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, and the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles. The latter has graduated the likes of Anne Hathaway, Robert Redford and the late Lauren Bacall.

Erica has been featured in countless Vancouver-shot TV shows, including Motive, Alcatraz, Fringe, Spooksville, Caprica, Smallville, Almost Human, Battlestar Galactica, and the list goes on. She’s also appeared in many independent films; Erica received a Leo nomination for her performance in the short film When Jesse Was Born. That same role nabbed her a Best Female Performance award at the Sacramento Film Festival. One of her latest features, Afterparty, premiered at last year’s Whistler Film Festival to critical praise.

“The film was entirely improvised, which is a thrilling experience for any actor and it was a really wonderful cast of local actors,” Erica shares. “Let’s just be honest, filming Afterparty was like being at summer camp with your best friends.”

When she’s not acting, Erica can be found coaching and motivating up and coming young talent, advocating safe technology, and pursuing a year long fitness program commitment to rehabilitate from several car accidents.

A true animal lover, Erica supports the SPCA and the Vancouver Humane Society. She has a Bullmastiff named Bella who has survived two bouts of cancer through the use of naturopathic remedies.

Social Media Handles

Twitter: @divinepigeon
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Erica-Carroll/90087671831
IMDb: www.imdb.com/name/nm1264633

Contact The Promotion People

Lesley Diana – Founder, President and Publicist
lesley@thepromotionpeople.ca
604.726.5575

Website: thepromotionpeople.ca
Twitter: @PromotionPeople
Facebook: The Promotion People

INDUSTRYWORKS STUDIOS ANNOUNCES ITS DISTRIBUTION DEAL IN THE USA FOR THE FEATURE FILM ‘THE LOST LEGION’ WITH GRINDSTONE ENTERTAINMENT

IndustryWorks is pleased to announce at this year’s AFM the US distribution deal for ‘The Lost Legion’ with Grindstone Entertainment. Lionsgate Home Entertainment will release the film across its media platforms in 2015. The feature film will be the catalyst that launches ‘The Lost Legion’ TV series slated for 2015 from Executive Producers, Evan Tylor, John Curtis and Lloyd Simandl.

“We’re very excited to launch this movie with Grindstone Entertainment and we look forward to continuing to deliver high end TV content into the marketplace.,” says Evan Tylor, CEO IndustryWorks Studios.

IndustryWorks Studios is fresh off their newest production, the terror-driven, theatrical film ‘WRECKER’ starring Anna Hutchison (Cabin in the Woods). IndustryWorks Studio also brought us the now infamous and New York Times touted feature film ‘American Mary’ distributed by Universal Pictures, Anchor Bay and XLrator Media in 2013.

About ‘The Lost Legion’:
Sex, corruption, betrayal and the final death throws of a once powerful Empire. Where enemies become allies, allies become pawns and one man’s struggle to survive is “the last chance for a new Rome”.

After the fall of the Rome, a once powerful Empire is now but a shadow of it’s self, deprived of its former glory and the Dark Ages are imminent. Fortress towns are now small kingdoms where decadence and corruption thrive and the struggle to maintain control is quickly slipping away. In one such remote outpost, one Legion remains and strives to bring Rome back to its former glory and the interwoven lives of the strong, the corrupt, the innocent and the power hungry will determine Rome’s final destiny.

About the Cast and Characters:
The feature film stars Michelle Lukes (‘Strike Back’, ‘Alexander’, ‘Doctors’) as the manipulative and shrewd Urbina Prima, the wife of Maximus the insane and glory seeking Roman Emperor played by Brian Caspe (‘Hellboy’, The Illusionist’, ‘The Last Knights’). Also starring is Tom McKay (‘Hatfields & McCoys’, ‘The White Queen’) as the ‘Legions’ hero Taranis and Jim High (‘The Muskateers’, ‘Borgia’, Crossing Lines’) as Argos, the middleman who plays all sides of this chessboard.

This stellar cast comes with a long list of Emmy, Golden Globe and People Choice nominated credits and awards on both feature films and television.

“We have the utmost confidence that Grindstone along with the marketing machine of Lionsgate that ‘The Lost Legion’ will be given the perfect reveal into the US market. We’re looking forward to seeing it all come together.” Adds Caterina Scrivano, VP Sales & Marketing, IndustryWorks Studios.

“In the tradition of “Game of Thrones”, we look forward to bringing IndustryWorks’s new feature film, “The Lost Legion” to the U.S. audience. Evan, John, and Lloyd have created a fresh and quite provocative vision of the politics of the Roman Empire”. – Stan Wertlieb-Grindstone Entertainment Group-Head of Acquisitions.

About IndustryWorks Studios/Pictures
IndustryWorks is a fully integrated Distribution, Production and New Media, worldwide content provider. IndustryWorks sets itself apart by having a keen sense of recognizing the potential in projects for distribution and is dedicated to releasing unique and marketable content to the world market place. The Company has several in-house projects in development and acquires films from producers around the world. IndustryWorks distributes its content to through all media outlets, including box office, VOD, SVOD, broadcast, airlines, internet and digital platforms, retail and rental outlets.

For more press information, interviews and photographs please contact:
Lesley Diana | Lesley@thepromotionpeople.ca | 604-726-5575

For ‘The Lost Legion’ Sales and IndustryWorks information please contact:
Caterina Scrivano | CS@Industry-Works.com | 604-876-0547 or 604-306-3556

Or visit us at AFM – November 5^th – 12^th, The Loews Hotel – Suite #704

Social Media Handles

Website: industry-works.com/the-lost-legion
Twitter: @IWPictures
Facebook: facebook.com/IndustryWorksPictures

Brightlight Pictures Makes “Short” Work of Writer/Director Sarah Deakins’ Labour of Love ‘GREECE’

Screens at the Sunscreen West, LA Femme International & Hollywood Film Festivals

Sarah Deakins’ short film, “GREECE,” already an Accolade Global Competition 2 time Award Of Excellence Winner, and a Best Shorts Film Competition Award Of Excellence winner is set to premiere in LA with 3 festival selections in October at the Sunscreen West Film Festival (supported by the Academy of Motion Pictures), the LA Femme International Film Festival and the Hollywood Film Festival!

Brightlight Pictures president Shawn Williamson saw something in local writer Deakins’ script, and took the project on as a creative labour of love. A fresh, local crew, all volunteers, worked closely together to produce a short with incredible production value, inspired by a strong creative vision from the film’s writer/director, Sarah Deakins, and captured beautifully by cinematographer Jon Joffin.

A successful actor for decades in Vancouver, Deakins had been living in LA and was on a trip home to visit family when Williamson requested the script, and a creative partnership was born. Having written the film, Deakins also stars in the character driven drama. As a director she was finally able to fully realize her vision, in her hometown of Vancouver.

In response to the three awards before the film has even hit the festival circuit, Ms. Deakins states, “Everyone who worked on this film is thrilled to have been recognized by the Best Shorts Competition and The Accolade Global competition judges, and we are most grateful that the film is connecting with people. The whole team worked really hard to bring this vision to life and to know that people are now responding to the artistry that we took such care with is most gratifying.”

“GREECE” centers around a daughter’s final attempt to connect with her seemingly catatonic mother.

Producer Arielle Boisvert says, “We have been very pleased with the response to our film. The subject matter is close to our hearts and we are looking forward to kicking off our festival run.”

Tickets to the October 11^th 12:15pm screening at the Sunscreen Film Festival can be purchased online at www.sunscreenfilmfestival.com (Narrative Shorts Block #5, Drama – Families These Days)

Tickets to the October 16^th11:30am screening at the Hollywood Film festival can be purchased at www.hollywoodfilmfestival.com/ (SHORTS program #1: On the Battlefield)

Tickets to the October 16^th 6pm screening at LA Femme F.F. can be purchased online at www.lafemme.org (Shorts, Venue #2)

Brightlight Boilerplate

Brightlight Pictures develops, packages and produces independent feature films and television projects. Brightlight’s President, Shawn Williamson, has produced more than 90 productions in the last 15 years and over 35 productions since launching Brightlight in 2001 including WHITE NOISE (Michael Keaton) which has grossed over $100 million since its world-wide theatrical release in 2005. Recently, Williamson has worked as an executive producer on the feature film THE INTERVIEW (Seth Rogen, James Franco) for Columbia Pictures and the television series WITCHES OF EAST END (Julia Ormond, Jenna Dewan-Tatum) and RUSH (Tom Ellis) for Fox 21. His recent producer credits include the feature film HORNS (Daniel Radcliffe) for Mandalay and Red Granite Pictures; 50/50 (Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt); and THE COMPANY YOU KEEP for Sony Pictures Classics directed by Robert Redford and starring Robert Redford and Shia LaBeouf. Other feature producing credits include THE POSSESSION (Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick) for Mandate Pictures and Lions Gate Films; WHITE NOISE 2: THE LIGHT (Nathan Fillion, Katee Sackhoff) with Gold Circle Films; IN THE NAME OF THE KING (Jason Statham); 88 MINUTES (Al Pacino); WICKER MAN (Nicolas Cage) for Nu Image/Millennium Films and Emmett Furla Films; SLITHER with Gold Circle Films and Universal and APOLLO 18 for the Weinstein Company. Williamson is currently producing the feature film THE 9^th LIFE OF LOUIS DRAX (Jamie Dornan, Aaron Paul) with Miramax.

Social Media Handles

Website: sarahdeakins.com, brightlightpictures.com
Twitter: @sarahcdeakins, @GREECEthefilm, @BrightlightPict
Facebook: facebook.com/GreeceAShortFilm
IMDb: imdb.com/name/nm0212639/

Contact The Promotion People

Lesley Diana – Founder, President and Publicist
lesley@thepromotionpeople.ca
604.726.5575

Website: thepromotionpeople.ca
Twitter: @PromotionPeople
Facebook: The Promotion People