Tag Archives: Toronto

International Artist Lisa Berry joins the cast of Continuum for their 4th and final season

Lisa was recently nominated for Best Actress at the Black Canadian Awards in Toronto and received a best ensemble Dora Mavor Moore Award nomination (Canada’s Tony) for her work in Young People’s Theatre production of To Kill A Mockingbird.

Dynamic actor Lisa Berry is thrilled to join the cast of Showcase’s Continuum for their 4th and final season. Lisa’s character is a quick thinker, practical soldier and tough chick. Her character commands the respect of the group. Continuum’s final season premieres on September 4 on Showcase in Canada and on September 11 on Syfy in the USA.

Lisa Berry is an international artist whose work stretches across the big screen and the stage. Her comedic talents can be seen in her guest-starring role on the very funny Mr. D (CBC) as the school’s star basketball player’s mother, Kathy Lee Giffer. Lisa also displayed her comedic talents in the recently released feature film “No Stranger than Love” starring alongside Alison Brie as one of her busy body best friends, who has an opinion about everything and everyone.

This Christmas, watch for Lisa in the Hallmark TV Movie Northpole 2 starring opposite Lorie Loughlin as the fast talking, holiday hating CEO, with only making money on the brain.

Earlier this year, Lisa joined the cast of Bravo’s hit cop drama 19-2 in their second season as Rita George, a tough but loveable Jamaican immigrant who brings compassion and balance to her boyfriend’s mischievous ways.

Lisa is quickly finding a home for herself in the horror genre with films like Saw V, Antiviral (directed by Brandon Cronenberg) and The Colony, (starring alongside Laurence Fishburne, Kevin Zegers and Bill Paxton)

Lisa’s most recognizable roles on television include Stella Marz, a district attorney on a mission for justice (starring opposite Dermot Mulroney) on TNT’s Silent Witness, Det. Roz Cabrera on CBC’s Cracked, Serena a flame throwing fae on SyFy’s Lost Girl and playing an assassin for hire alongside Stuart Townsend on Showcase’s XIII The Series.

Lisa’s training at The Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts has allowed her to enjoy the challenges that each new role brings, from her recurring role as a no nonsense nurse on ABC’s medical drama Combat Hospital, to the down to earth Princess Thaisa in Chicago Shakespeare Theatre’s production of Pericles.

Lisa has also been honored with a Trailblazer Award from the Reel World Film Festival and a Broadway World nomination for “best performance by an actress in a featured role” for her work as Calpurnia in Young People’s Theatre’s production of To Kill A Mockingbird. She was also happily surprised to receive her second Black Canadian Award nomination for her work in television this past year. Lisa also enjoys working behind the scenes as an elected council member for ACTRA Toronto.

Having performed at both The Stratford and Shaw Festivals, two of the leading repertory theatre companies in Canada, Lisa has since gone on to play leading roles on all of the main Canadian stages. Notable parts includes originating the role of Corporal Tanya Young in Trillium Award winner Hannah Moscovitch’s World Premier of This Is War, Mayme in the Canadian Premier of the Pulitzer Prize winning play Intimate Apparel for Canadian Stage and Mrs. Muller opposite Canada’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding star Fiona Reid, in Doubt A. Parable. Most recently, Lisa crossed the border making her American theatre stage debut to rave reviews, playing Thaisa opposite Ben Carlson in Chicago Shakespeare Theatre’s production of Pericles.

Lisa shares her life with fellow actor and Stratford star Dion Johnstone (Othello, The Tempest opposite Christopher Plummer). She is the youngest of four children, born and raised in Richmond Hill – just outside Toronto. As a child she was shy and quiet – which is hard to believe for most who know her now – but with the help of her much louder siblings, she quickly found her voice. While Lisa enjoys immersing herself into both acting and coaching and is always looking for ways to stretch both personally and professionally, she never forgets to carve out a little time to relax and recharge.

Social Media Handles

Website: lisaberrylive.com
Twitter: _LisaBerry
YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UC2qJoryd9kkFW3km2608L9A
Vimeo: demo reel: vimeo.com/129747819
stunt reel: vimeo.com/66471811

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

Anchor Bay Entertainment Canada and IndustryWorks Studios Announce WRECKER Home Entertainment Distribution Plans in Canada

One Road Trip, Two Friends, A Wrong Turn

Anchor Bay Entertainment Canada is proud to announce plans with IndustryWorks Studios, the producers of American Mary, to bring the new horror-thriller film Wrecker to Canada.

Wrecker tells the story of best friends Emily (Anna Hutchison of The Cabin in the Woods) and Lesley (Andrea Whitburn of Lonesome Dove Church) who take a road trip to a music festival in the desert. When Emily makes a decision to turn off the busy highway and onto a lone, desert road, all hell breaks loose. They soon find themselves the target of a relentless tow truck that forces them into a dangerous game of cat and mouse. Harrowing escapes, deadly situations and near captures, turning their road trip in to a living, breathing nightmare.

“Wrecker takes road rage to a new level, it is a game of supernatural cat and sexy mice. Reminiscent of Duel, Wrecker will demolish audiences!” says Susan Curran, Director of Marketing and Acquisitions for Anchor Bay Entertainment Canada of the new addition to the company’s catalogue. Evan Tylor, President of IndustryWorks Studios, echoes the enthusiasm for this deal, “We are proud to have Anchor Bay Entertainment as our Canadian distribution partner. It was exciting to create a unique take on such a familiar genre.”

About Anchor Bay Entertainment Canada
Anchor Bay Entertainment Canada is the Toronto based office of Anchor Bay Entertainment, a leading independent home entertainment company celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2015. Anchor Bay acquires and releases a wide array of filmed entertainment in the theatrical and home entertainment markets, including STARZ Original series, children’s entertainment, fitness (Anchor Bay Fitness), sports and specialty films on Blu-ray™ and DVD formats. The company has long-term distribution agreements in place for select programming with The Weinstein Company, AMC Networks and RADiUS, among others. Headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA, Anchor Bay Entertainment (www.anchorbayentertainment.com) is a full service distributor in the North American market. Anchor Bay Entertainment is a Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) business, www.starz.com. For more information visit www.anchorbayentertainment.ca

About IndustryWorks Pictures/Studios – Canada, International
IndustryWorks is a fully integrated Distribution, Production, Finance 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.

Social Media Handles

Website: industry-works.com, anchorbayentertainment.com
Twitter: @IWPictures, @Anchor_Bay
Facebook: facebook.com/IndustryWorksPictures

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

Congratulations Gabrielle Miller and Alexander Cendese on their engagement!

Gabrielle Miller and Alexander Cendese are happy to announce their engagement. Gabrielle and Alexander met in New York City in 2012 performing together in an Off Broadway play at the prestigious Cherry Lane Theatre in the West Village. Gabrielle is a Gemini award winning actor most known for her work in the hit TV series Corner Gas as well as the recent films Down River and Moving Day. Alexander Cendese is an American/Canadian New York based theatre, film and television actor, as well as a writer and producer, and an Alumni of the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. Together they run Loud Cowboy Productions and split their time between New York and Toronto. Alexander had Gabrielle’s ring designed and cast by Charles Freshman at Freshman’s Inc., a renowned jeweler in Salt Lake City, Utah, est. 1895. Their wedding will take place in August of 2015 at Whispering Oaks Ranch near Moab, Utah.

Social Media Handles

Twitter: @MillerGabrielle, @alexcendese
Instagram: @gmiller1

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

Star and Screenwriter Sonja Bennett’s feature film “Preggoland” showcase her many talents at TIFF and VIFF with co-star Oscar nominee James Caan

Early reviews are in. Critics love Sonja’s edgy comedy-drama

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. Opening to a much-hyped premiere at TIFF Canadian feature Preggoland will screen in Sonja’s hometown at the Vancouver International Film Festival.

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.

The early reviews are in and critics love the edgy comedy-drama written co-starring Oscar-nominee James Caan and veteran actor Danny Trejo. 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 Toronto 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.”

Filmed in Vancouver, Preggoland centers on a boozing 35-year-old woman (Bennett) whose life turns upside down when is mistakenly thought to be pregnant. All of a sudden Ruth (whose life was more in tune with a teenager than a 30-something grown woman) earns her father’s approval, nabs the attention of her friends, and saves her job. Ultimately she finds the glorious perks of pregnancy to seductive to ignore.

Laura Harris (24, Defying Gravity), Paul Campbell (Spun Out, Battlestar Galatica), Jared Keeso (Godzilla, Elysium, 19-2), and Lisa Durupt (Shall We Dance, Less Than Kind) round out the talented cast. The Trotsky’s Jacob Tierney directs with Kevin Eastwood and Dylan Collingwood as producers.

Preggoland premiered at TIFF as part of the prestigious Special Presentations programme. The buzzed-about film will have its hometown debut during VIFF.

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.

Preggoland is produced by Fake-a-baby Productions, Titlecard Pictures Inc. and Optic Nerve Films Inc. and with the support of Telefilm.

Social Media Handles

Website: sonjabennett.ca, mongrelmedia.com/film/preggoland.aspx
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

Canadian Corey Large Executive Producer On The November Man In Theatres Now and Revenge Of The Green Dragons Premiering At TIFF

Corey acts and produces in BC film Poker Night premiering December 5, 2014

The year 2014 is proving to be busier than ever for Canadian actor/writer/producer Corey Large. As an executive producer, the B.C. native has a handful of blockbusters screening at prestigious film festivals and in theaters worldwide. Earlier this year “It Follows” premiered at Cannes and more recently, “Revenge of the Green Dragons” was accepted into the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. “The November Man” opens this August and, later this year, “Poker Night” debuts in theatres across North America.

Starring Pierce Brosnan, “The November Man” is the first of Corey’s new slate of films to hit the big screen, debuting on August 27. Corey executive produces and Roger Donaldson (“The Bank Job”) directs. The spy thriller also stars Olga Kurylenko and Luke Bracey.

Alongside famed director Martin Scorsese, Corey executive produced “Revenge of the Green Dragons” starring Ray Liotta, Justin Chon, Kevin Wu, Harry Shum Jr, Shuya Chang, and Geoff Pierson. The film premieres at TIFF on Sept. 10 as part of the festival’s Special Presentations programme. This dizzying, decade-spanning crime saga from directors Andrew Lau and Andrew Loo follows two best friends as they rise through the ranks of New York’s Chinese underworld in the 1980s.

Corey not only produced, but also co-stars in “Poker Night,” a feature film shot in his hometown of Victoria, B.C., starring Beau Mirchoff, Ron Perlman, Giancarlo Esposito, and Titus Welliver. The thriller, which features twists and turns that will leave you guessing till the very end, opens in theaters nationwide on Dec. 5.

Earlier this year Corey produced and acted in the Canadian feature “Kid Cannabis,” which opened to rave reviews on April 20and continues with strong DVD sales.

At the helm of Wingman Productions and Tunnel Post, Corey runs his own studio and post-production company controlling the direction of projects he chooses to work on. His Santa Monica-based companies specialize in creating high-end media content for film, television, live events, commercials and music videos including, “Killing them Softly” with Brad Pitt, “Broken City” starring Russell Crowe and Mark Wahlberg, and “The Tomb” with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.

Along with his partners, Corey has written, produced, co-starred in and sold a number of full-length features to Hollywood studios, including: “Loaded”, “Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever,” “Toxic,” “The Penthouse,” “The Obama Effect,” “Welcome to the Jungle,” and “The Frozen Ground”. Corey executive produced “Fire with Fire” starring Josh Duhamel, “The Angriest Man in Brooklyn”starring Mila Kunis and the late Robin Williams, and “Broken City” starring Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe. Other features include “Lap Dance” “Zombeavers,” “Don Peyote,” “Unconscious” and “Empire State”. Recently, Corey had a role in the Oscar-nominated “Lone Survivor” starring Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch and Eric Bana.

Staying true to his Canadian roots, Corey will venture back to British Columbia to produce and act in “The Passenger” with Vancouver director Chad Krowchuk, Corey splits his time between Victoria and Los Angeles. He is available for interviews upon request.

Social Media Handles

Website: wingmanproductions.com, tunnelpost.com
IMDb: Corey Large, Poker Night
Trailers: Revenge Of The Green Dragons, The November Man

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

‘THE BIRDER’ starring Tom Cavanagh, Fred Willard and Graham Greene to screen at the LA Comedy Festival in Los Angeles with an official selection for its U.S. release on May 2nd at 7:00pm

IndustryWorks Pictures is excited to announce that Theodore Bezaire’s Sophomore Indie Comedy THE BIRDER will be screening in Los Angeles at the LA Comedy Festival on May 2^nd at the Let Live Theatre at 7:00pm. This funny feature film is starring Tom Cavanagh (Ed, Scrubs), Mark Rendall (30 Days of Night), Jamie Spilchuk (Hard Rock Medical), Tommie-Amber Pirie (What If), Academy Award Nominee Graham Greene (Dances With Wolves, The Green Mile) and Hollywood funny man Fred Willard (Anchorman, Best in Show). The film makes its U.S. Premiere at the LA Comedy Festival.

Co-written by Theodore Bezaire & Mike Stasko and directed by Bezaire, THE BIRDER is a revenge-comedy set inside the world of bird watching. It’s the story of Ron Spencer (Cavanagh), a mild mannered birder who seeks revenge on a younger rival (Spilchuk) after losing the highly coveted position of Head of Ornithology at the National Park.

“THE BIRDER is a wonderful film and an excellent comedy. The film is a perfect combination of laugh out loud moments and a heartwarming story that the whole family can enjoy.” says Caterina Scrivano, VP Marketing, IndustryWorks Pictures. “We’re very excited to partner with IndustryWorks and see our film take flight!” adds producer Gerry Lattmann of The Dot Film Company.

IndustryWorks plans a market release at The Marché Du Film in Cannes, France this May and will start its release schedule later this year.

SELECTED MEDIA QUOTES

“Easily one of the best comedies you’ll see all year.” – RAINDANCE

“The Birder is a sweet, hilarious film, which is so successful due to the performances of Cavanagh and Rendall.” – TORONTO FILM SCENE

“This is a funny movie!” – SLATE

About The Dot Film Company – The Dot Film Company develops and produces content for Film and Television. They have worked in association with some of Canada’s most reputable organizations, such as Telefilm Canada, CMPA, TVOntario, Corus Entertainment, VideoFACT, BravoFACT! and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

About IndustryWorks Pictures – IndustryWorks is a fully integrated company that distributes and produces feature films, television and new media content worldwide. IndustryWorks Pictures sets itself apart by having the keen sense of recognizing potential in projects for production and its primary function is to release unique and marketable content to the market place. IndustryWorks’ mandate is to release films that appeal to the mainstream and niche audiences. The company has several in-house projects in development on an ongoing basis. IndustryWorks distributes its content to all ancillary media outlets, including box office, VOD, SVOD, airlines, Internet and digital platforms, retail and rental outlets.

Social Media Handles

Website: industry-works.com, thebirdermovie.com, lacomedyfest.com
Twitter: @IWPictures, @TheBirderMovie, @LAComedyFest, @tbezaire, @CavanaghTom, @Fred_Willard
Facebook: facebook.com/IndustryWorksPictures

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