news2005

Los Angeles - Award-winning Actress Steffani Brass among the stars participating in Childrens Uniting Nations (CUN) 7th Annual “Day of the Child". Foster youth spend the day enjoying rides, games, live entertainment, food and fun with caring mentors. At the end of the event, children receive care packages including books, educational materials and toiletries, which are donated by generous companies and organizations. Community-based organizations participate by providing on-site information booths. Steffanni Brass, Pierce Brosnan, Jane Seymour, Marcia Cross, Sharon Stone, Chaka Khan, Marla Gibbs, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Stevie Wonder, Nick Cannon, Tara Reid, JC Chasez, Coolio, Hanson, Dionne Warwick, Ted Danson and Mary Steenbergen, James Denton, David Arquette, Daphne Zuniga, Bruce Davison, Tito Ortiz, Kurtwood Smith, Radha Mitchell, as well as Former Governor Gray Davis and Former First Lady of California Sharon Davis, Angi Ma Wong, Award-Winning Author, Intercultural & Feng Shui Consult are among the mentors. Event takes place on Sunday, Oct. 16th at the Pierce College Stadium in Woodland Hills, CA

CUN’s DAY OF THE CHILD is designed to bring awareness and support the needs of the children who, by no fault of their own, are living in and out of home care. The Day of the Child is the community’s way of letting foster children know that someone cares by providing mentors for the day. Mentored children are more likely to find ways of surviving within the community without turning to crime, drugs, or gangs. Thousands of Los Angeles’ most high risk children from foster homes, residential facilities and homeless shelters enjoy a day of fun, games, rides and love with volunteer mentors. Numerous celebrities and elected officials have donated their time as mentors and volunteers and national recording artists and celebrities have provided entertaining performances. The Day of the Child involves countless hours and dedication from numerous volunteers and hundreds of mentors. The goal is to have 2,000 foster children and some 2,000 mentors. To learn more about the event contact: Bruce Starr, The BMF Media Group|PR Maestro, NY 212-365-8739 | email: bruce@bmfmedia.com.

Bruce has finished filming the independent film, TOUCHED. The movie is a romantic drama about a man who awakes from a coma without his sense of touch and the nurse who comes to his aid. It premiered on Lifetime on Monday, Nov. 14, 2005 at 9:PM, with repeat broadcasts on Sat., Nov. 19 at 9:00 PM, Sunday, Nov. 20 at 5:00PM and on Fri. Nov. 25 at 7:00 PM. TOUCHED will be released on DVD from First Look on July 18, 2006.

Henry Jaglom's comedy "Going Shopping," opening Sept. 30, 2005 in New York and Los Angeles via Rainbow Releasing. It was released on home video on Feb. 27, 2007 from MTI Home Video.

Shopping" is produced by Judith Wolinsky. Its screenplay is by Jaglom & Victoria Foyt, who also stars in the film with Lee Grant, Rob Morrow, Bruce Davison, Mae Whitman, Jennifer Grant, Juliet Landau and Cynthia Sikes. The film, which I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend as great entertainment for adult men as well as women, examines the widespread phenomenon of women's addiction to shopping

Jaglom started shooting "Shopping" about three and a half years ago and spent the last three years cutting it. "My process is very much one of discovery, especially on the films which have these themes,because along with the narrative story there are the intervening interviews with women or comments or a Greek Chorus almost, if you will, of women talking about the subject, in this case shopping, the theme of the film. I don't try to write those (comments). I don't want to impose those upon women. I want to find those, discover those within the women themselves, within a wide range of women, and then go back to my cutting room and try to do an accurate kind of balanced portrait of what is both funny and touching and important about the subject."

"So that is what takes a long, long time. The narrative story with Victoria Foyt and Rob Morrow and Lee Grant worked very nicely and they were wonderful and I knew how to cut that. But what you can never sort of just do in a fast way is put together the intervening (comments) and to try to balance it out and have those interviews. The film is not a documentary on the one hand, but on the other hand it becomes a commentary that is larger than just the narrative story of a few people. It really resonates with almost all (women)."

That, he added, is exactly what happened when the film premiered recently at a screening at the DGA: "The women were just screaming. There was this wonderful feeling of recognition. You could hear women just screaming with laughter and then just (watching) very quietly. It's this wonderful attempt for me to really capture the full range of experience -- not just one or two stories, which a typical film is only able to do. But that's what takes so long."

The screenplay by Jaglom & Foyt was written for Foyt to play the lead role of Holly G., a clothing designer with a beautiful boutique that she thinks is a thriving business. Holly's world is shattered, however, when she discovers that Adam, played by Bruce Davison, the man in her life as a single mom, has made some particularly unfortunate investments on her behalf. Not only is she broke, but she's about to be thrown out of her store since her rent hasn't been paid for three months. Holly tries all sorts of things to avoid disaster, including an everything-must-go sale over Mother's Day weekend. At the same time she's also coping with problems involving her mother (Lee Grant), her young daughter (Mae Whitman) and a new man who suddenly enters her life (Rob Morrow).

"She wrote it with herself in mind," he said of Foyt, "and frankly I think she's sensational at it. And we wrote it (for) Lee Grant, who's our very close friend. And the other characters we cast. I ran into Rob Morrow and he suddenly fell very logically into place. The story itself, the relationship with her mother and her daughter and losing the store, we worked quite thoroughly to write. But what can't be written in advance are all these interviews. You don't know what the women are going to tell you. I had women introduce me to friends of theirs, so a lot of those people are not actors. They're writers. They're lawyers. They're professional women. Some are housewives. And they just really talked from the heart about what the issue of shopping is for themselves. I didn't want it to be pedantic. I wanted it to be entertaining. So it's a tricky thing to try to find a way to string those along kind of like Christmas lights."

The interviews, which are very effective as they're introduced during key points in the narrative, were shot during production. "During the making of the film I kept having women show up while I was shooting," Jaglom noted. "It was almost like I was taking breaks from the actual narrative story. And the women that I had cast I had coming in different groups and different numbers. I would take a break for a couple of hours from shooting the story and I would shoot the interviews wherever we happened to be on the set. I did it so they would be on the same set (as the actors in the narrative) in terms of background. Some of the women also have story character parts in the film -- like the girls who play the waitresses (in the picturesque tea garden cafe attached to the Holly G boutique) -- and I just took them out of their roles and interviewed them in whatever part of the location we were at."

As for where that great looking location can be found, Jaglom pointed out, "We turned what had been a gardener's home on the grounds (of a large property) into the dress shop and created the little tea garden and connected it with Montana Avenue (the elegant shopping street in Santa Monica). We shot the exteriors on Montana and down in Santa Monica, but shot the interiors there in this kind of gardener's reconverted home, which I had turned into this dress boutique.

"I've had people actually go looking for it because I shot it in a way that it looks like it's right near certain things on Montana and there is no such place. Jennifer Nicholson gave us a lot of the clothes (used in the boutique). Jack's daughter is a very wonderful designer. So we populated the store with a lot of her clothes. And some other things we got from some wonderful other stores all around Montana to give it the feeling of being on Montana."

Shooting took place for four and a half weeks three summers ago. "It was quite a fast schedule," he recalled. "And then I shot these interviews, I'd say, for maybe another week and a half. But it's taken three years to edit it together."

As for "Going Shopping," following its Sept. 30 launch in New York and Los Angeles, he said, "two weeks after that it starts opening across the country. In L.A. it will be in all the Laemmle Theaters here and in New York at the Angelika (the Angelika Film Center in SoHo) and a few other places. It's the pattern my films usually follow, but we always hope it will go a little wider. We've been getting articles (in consumer media like a recent New York Times feature) and Victoria's got a nice spread coming out in Vogue -- places where we don't usually get (covered) -- because of the subject matter, I think."

The film is being distributed through Jaglom's Rainbow Releasing. "I keep going back and forth," he pointed out. "Last time with 'Festival in Cannes' Paramount Classics distributed it and they did a very nice job. But somehow I wanted to stay in control of this myself. Again, it's Orson in my ear, I think. I don't want to depend on what if the first week's business isn't what it should be. I make deals with the theaters -- Laemmle's wonderful about this -- where you can stay for a while and build an audience through word of mouth since we obviously can't compete in advertising with the big guys."

"8MM2 comes to DVD from Sony on November 22nd in an R-rated and Unrated Version.

The sequel is directed by J.S. Cardone ("Shadowzone") and stars Johnathon Schaech ("Kiss the Bride"), Lori Heuring ("Mulholland Dr."), Bruce Davison ("X-Men"), Julie Benz ("Taken") and Zita Görög ("Underworld").

But now, read on for the synopsis and take a look at the DVD Features below:

Entering a seamy underground world of peep shows, nude clubs, and live Internet sex is David Huxley (Schaech), an aspiring politician who has everything to lose. Secretly filmed in a steamy three-way with his fiancée Tish (Heuring) and a gorgeous young model (Görög), David is desperate to find the extortionist who’s demanding an exorbitant amount of money for the negatives.

But when the blackmail trail ends in murder and David is kidnapped, Tish must come up with a $5 million ransom or her fiancé’s once-promising career, and life, may come to a dead end.

The film is set in Budapest, amid a collision of two unlikely worlds: the political backdrop of the US Embassy and the indecorous underworld of East Europe's pornography scene.

Synopsis:

Thousands of hate crimes occur in the United States every day. This is one such story. Robbie Levinson and Trey McCoy suddenly find themselves dealing with prejudice and hostility as their new neighbor, Chris Boyd, begins to threaten their lives. The two slowly come to realize Chris’ closed-minded ideas, which are fostered by his fundamentalist preacher father Pastor Boyd, are more than a match for their peaceful lives. One evening, Trey sets out on his nightly walk with their dog and never returns. Immediately, fingers are pointed and Chris and Robbie become the prime suspects. With no support from the authorities, Robbie receives help from some unlikely sources to execute a desperate and dangerous plan that uncovers secrets that will turn many lives upside-down and ultimately bring the perpetrator to justice, regardless of the consequences. A testament to the power of love and the destructive nature of radical religion-based prejudice, Hate Crime is a film by Tommy Stovall, shot entirely on location in Dallas, Texas. Seth Peterson (Providence) stars as Robbie, with Bruce Davison (X-Men 1 & 2, Runaway Jury), Giancarlo Esposito (Usual Suspects, Homicide: Life on the Street), Cindy Pickett (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), Chad Donella (Final Destination), Susan Blakely (The Towering Inferno), and Lin Shaye (There’s Something About Mary) round out the all-star cast.

HATE CRIME was screened at the Outfest '05 Film Festival in Los Angeles. A truly unsettling drama can be found in Hate Crime (Fri., July 15, Regent Showcase at 8 p.m.). Written and directed by debut filmmaker Tommy Stovall, it deals with a male couple (Seth Peterson and Brian J. Smith), whose seemingly ideal suburban life is upended when a neighboring fundamentalist turns murderous. Bruce Davison – in a complete 180 from his Oscar-nominated performance in the 1990 Longtime Companion – plays the fundie homophobe with killing on his mind. Outfest ’05: The 23rd Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. More than 70 features, as well as short film programs, special events, and panels. Thur.-Mon., July 18, at the Directors Guild of America, Laemmle’s Monica, Laemmle’s Sunset 5, Regent Showcase, Vista, and other venues. For schedule, tickets, and showtime information, visit Outfest.org or call (213) 480-7065.

When high school student Luther Scott confesses to Father Michael Kelly, Kelly is bound silent to the particulars of a grizzly murder. Now framed by the desperate teen, Kelly must decide to keep quiet, or give up everything the priesthood holds sacred.

It will be released on Oct. 14, 2004 at the Orinda Film Festival, followed up with it's release on DVD from MTI Home Video on Nov. 29, 2005.

RUNAWAY JURY

Bruce latest feature RUNAWAY JURY, also starring Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman and John Cusack, was released nationwide on Oct. 17, 2003. This film is about a juror on the inside, and a woman on the who outside manipulate a court trial involving a major gun manufacturer. The film is directed by Gary Fleder and is based on the John Grisham novel with the screenplay written by Brian Koppelman and Daniel Levien.

RUNAWAY JURY was released on home video on Feb. 17, 2004. The disc will include commentaries with director Gary Fleder, five featurettes and an exploration of the first scene between Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman.

SHORT EYES was released on home video (DVD) on Aug. 12, 2003 from Wellspring. This 1977 film is a brutal and powerful look at life in 'The Tombs', Manhattan's infamous detention center where tensions erupt when a white prisoner (Bruce Davison) accused of child molesting, joins their ranks. It also stars Jose Perez, Nathan George, Don Blakely, Shawn Elliott and Miquel Pincro. This special edition DVD includes original production features and commentary by director Robert M. Young and filmmaker Leon Ichaso.

SHORT EYES

Opens February 21st- This film adaptation of the award-winning play by Miguel Pinero plunges us into the tense and unstable world of a New York prison cellblock. Into this cellblock occupied primarily by Blacks and Puerto Ricans, a white, middle class convict (Bruce Davison) enters. As he's learning to cope with the racially-driven prison politics, he's labeled "Short Eyes" by a guard. This is slang for child molester. Davison admits that he has this horrible urge for little girls but he can't remember the incident that convicted him. Only a wise, old Puerto Rican fellow convict believes him to be innocent. The routines of prison life become for director Robert Young and cameraman Peter Sova a source for rhythm that elevates the film from being a mere filmed play. (Running Time: 1:44).

The Quad Theater is located at 34 West 13th Street, New York, NY 10011. For more information please call (212) 255-8800, or visit them online at www.quadcinema.com.

The seventh episode of the second season — with the oddly appropriate title "The Seventh" — completed production on September 11, and commemorated the solemn anniversary with a moment of silence on the set. It aired on Nov. 26, 2002.

Enterprise star Scott Bakula led the cast and crew in joining hands and showing their respect for the victims of that tragic day a year ago. Bakula then declared, "Let us never forget." The call sheet for that day bore the message, "May those struck down by terror's heart keep us grateful for each new day."

The schedule wrapped Wednesday after shooting for seven days (it should be a very lucky episode). "The Seventh," described by executive producer Rick Berman as a "La Femme Nikita"-type episode, finds T'Pol embarking on a mission to complete some unfinished business from an earlier career in covert operations, and recruiting Captain Archer and Ensign Mayweather to assist.

The cast and crew reconvened last Tuesday after a Labor Day break following a week of strenuous location shooting for "Marauders"). Most of the principal cast only needed to be there for a day, however, as the bulk of the episode revolves around Jolene Blalock, Scott Bakula and Anthony Montgomery, along with several guest actors. But Dominic Keating (Malcolm Reed) did have to report to work on Thursday for yet more second-unit photography on the special effects-intensive "Minefield", (Bakula also spent Thursday on "Minefield" rather than "Seventh").

The first day-and-a-half were spent on standing ship sets, then the rest of the schedule took place in alien locales built on the soundstages, including a Risan jungle and the cargo ship of T'Pol's nemesis in the episode, named "Menos." On Monday the studio lot was invaded by a motley collection of new aliens (mostly non-speaking parts) who were there to occupy an alien outpost on a snowy moon, where most of the action took place the last three days.

"Menos" is played by the award-winning character actor Bruce Davison, who was seen in "Star Trek: Voyager" as "Jareth" in the episode "Remember." He also appeared with Patrick Stewart in the movie "X-Men" as "Senator Kelly,". Davison won a Golden Globe in 1991 as best supporting actor for the movie "Longtime Companion," a role for which he also received an Oscar nomination.

"The Seventh" is directed by David Livingston, a veteran of Star Trek since the days of Star Trek: The Next Generation, including three first-season episodes of Enterprise — "Strange New World," "Shuttlepod One," and "Detained." The script was written by series creators Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. The segment is tentatively scheduled to air October 30.

DAHMER was released on home video (both VHS and DVD) on Aug. 27, 2002. Based on the true story of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, who murdered, dismembered and tried to eat 15 young men in Milwaukee. Bruce portrays

Storyline: Wisconsin's Jeffrey Dahmer, a chocolate factory worker, lures more than a dozen young men to his apartment, where he kills and dismembers them. Dahmer's predatory activities ties leads him to think about his teen years, when he discovered his darker urges.

Praised as 'raw and powerful' by The New York Times, Ursula K. Le Guin's THE LATHE OF HEAVEN is one of the celebrated science fiction novels ever written. George Orr is haunted by dreams that become reality. In a world of destruction and uncertainty, a psychiatrist sees Orr's power as a way for humanity to escape its bleak fate. But as each attempt to direct Orr's dreams ends in failure, the doctor's obsession with playing God grow out of control. Bruce Davison stars in this chilling fable of power uncontrolled and uncontrollable. Now, for the first time on DVD and home video, see the futuristic sci-fi movie that critics and audiences alike were astonished by twenty years ago and have been clamoring for ever since. This innovative adaption brings the towering visions of Le Guin's masterpiece to life. The film was released on DVD on Aug. 29, 2001.

Since it originally aired on public television 20 years ago, the profound THE LATHE OF HEAVEN has been among PBS' most requested program. Tied up in legal limbo since 1988, this first release of the cult favorite on VHS and DVD is a noteworthy event. For many viewers, hazy memories of a psychiatric patient (Bruce) whose dreams become reality and the doctor (Kevin Conway) who tries manipulating those subconscious thoughts with mixed results will yield to the enjoyment of seeing it again with more-seasoned eyes. Sure, the Michelin Man aliens and special effects are kitschy, but Ursula K. Le Guin's award-winning story remains strong and compelling. The DVD and VHS also include a rare, 20-minute interview with Le Guin in which the author refers to her work as speculative fiction and a 'Taoist book' that illustrates power of creation and the potential to abuse that power.