Jennifer Beals
Well, it certainly seems that Jennifer is the busiest of the bunch. She appears in two movies, one TV show, and several events and benefits.
- On April 4 she is one of the presenters at the 7th annual Illuminations LA benefit for the American Fertility Association. “At this year’s Illuminations LA, The AFA will honor Dr. Daoshing Ni of Tao of Wellness with the Joyce M. Vargyas, MD, Visionary Award, and the cast of ABC’s Brothers and Sisters will be presented with the Advocacy Award. Brenda Strong will serve as Mistress of Ceremonies, and Jennifer Beals and Luke Macfarlane will be among the award presenters at the event, which is designed to raise much-needed support and education funds for The American Fertility Association”
(http://www.ereleases.com/pr/starfilled-evening-afas-illuminations-los-angeles-17882).
- Beals’ French film “Joueuse” appears in the World Narrative Feature Competition at the Tribeca Film Festival, which “unveiled its Narrative, Documentary and Discovery competition roster Monday morning, featuring a new streamlined event with 84 features and 46 shorts screening April 22 - May 3.” Here’s a short description of the film: “Queen To Play” (Joueuse) - directed and written by Caroline Bottaro. (France, Germany). Sandrine Bonnaire plays an inquisitive hotel maid captivated by a vacationing couple (Jennifer Beals, Francis Renaud) playing chess. Thus begins her obsession with mastering the game and transforming her uninspired life. An American expat (Kevin Kline) mentors her in the game that alters both their lives in this delightful feel-good French import” (http://www.indiewire.com/article/2009/03/09/tribeca_unveils_46_world_debuts_in_leaner_line_up_for_2009/).
- “Joueuse” is not the only film that Jennifer Beals was filming recently. “Joining up with Denzel Washington, Beals will co-star in the action-thriller ‘The Book of Eli’. The script, by Gary Whitta with a rewrite by Anthony Peckham, centers on a lone hero named Eli (Washington) who must fight his way across the wasteland of a near-future America to protect a sacred book that might hold the key to saving humanity. Gary Oldman and Mila Kunis are also in the cast. Beals is playing Oldman’s sexual prize and Kunis’ mother, a blind woman doing anything she can to protect her child” (http://www.reuters.com/article/filmNews/idUSTRE50Q10Y20090127) ‘The Book of Eli’ hits theaters on January 15th, 2010.
- On April 18, Jennifer will appear at the GLAAD Awards ceremony along with some other cast members. “Showtime drama The L Word will receive a Special Recognition Award as the show concludes its sixth and final season. The L Word broke new ground for LGBT visibility on television with its focus of exploring the lives and loves of a group of lesbian and bisexual women in Los Angeles. Created by Executive Producer Ilene Chaiken and featuring a talented ensemble cast, the show is unique for prominently featuring women – many of them lesbian or bisexual - both in front of and behind the camera. The show has gained worldwide popularity, airing in 39 countries, and received nominations and trophies from the Emmy Awards, the NAACP Image Awards, the Leo Awards, the Satellite Awards, and the GLAAD Media Awards. Chaiken, along with cast members Jennifer Beals, Leisha Hailey, Kate Moennig, and Pam Grier will accept the award” (http://www.glaad.org/events/ma_detail.php?event_id=179).
- During the L5 Convention Jennifer told the audience that she wouldn’t mind doing another television show, as long as it’s really good. Well, maybe we won’t see her on another show that will last six years but she will appear in a multi-episode arc on Fox’s TV series “Lie to Me” where she will play the ex-wife of Tim Roth’s fib detector and the mother of their daughter, Emily (Hayley McFarland). “Her character, an assistant U.S. attorney by the name of Zoe Landau, hires her former hubby to assist with an arson case, and it quickly becomes apparent that the onetime spouses still have unresolved feelings to work through. Beals’ first episode airs April 29” (http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/03/lie-to-me-exclu.html).
- Another exciting news is Jennifer’s book of photographs that she took on the set of The L Word during six years. “Jennifer Beals revealed that she is working on a book of photos of the cast throughout the seasons filming and off set. The proceeds will go to charity, including the Matthew Shepard Foundation” (http://www.buzzsugar.com/2697605). In addition to the photos, most of the cast members are contributing a paragraph or two about their experience on The L Word. At the L5 Convention Jennifer told me that she didn’t want to do it at first but Mia Kirshner persuaded her and even set Jennifer up with her own publisher to accomplish that task. Jennifer also said that she is planning to put the book on-line for the fans of the show and raise money for charities that way.
Pam Grier
- Pam is writing her autobiography book that is coming out in January 2010. The book will include a chapter on her six-year experience playing Kit Porter on The L Word. As she told me last year during our interview on the set, “I’m starting my book, my memoir, by Grand Central Publishing, it will be out next year and we talked about these real issues.”
- Pam is also appears in two movies that are coming soon, ‘Identity’ and ‘The Invited’ (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000427/).
Leisha Hailey
- She is appearing at the GLAAD Awards in Los Angeles on April 18.
- Leisha is also signed up for the Australian L Convention in Sydney in January 2010.
- In the meantime she is busy with her band Uh-Huh Her and just recently they sent this message to all their friends on myspace: “Well it's been 3 months of writing and we hit a wall today. We had to go out in the parking lot and play nerf football to let off some steam. The band next door started playing when they were on their cigarette break (smoking kills) and threw our ball up on the roof. It's down now. Our studio is super cute. We've been having a great time in here. Our dreams finally came true and we've been able to write together in the same room for more than 4 days at a time. Cam keeps the air conditioner at some arctic setting and I have to bring layers of clothing to get through the day. She is also on some sort of cleanse so she's a real joy to be around. We have two death metal bands on either side of us as well so we have to get most of our work done before they arrive. We tried to record vocals one night when they were practicing but it sounded like someone was being tortured to death in the background. Even with crazy obstacles like these we can still get a song written, that’s how deep our talent runs. We miss you terribly and promise to be more attentive to your needs. I think we're at the point where we can come out of our little hidey hole and let you know what we're up to. Big kiss, UHH.”
- Also, how can we forget the infamous TLW spin-off “The Farm” where Leisha’s character Alice is in jail, apparently for killing Jennifer Schecter. According to imdb.com, “After being convicted of murder Jenny Schecter, Alice is incarcerated in California's Humboldt State Farm and Prison for Women. Arriving alongside Alice is Valentina Galindo, a seemly humble articulate woman but beneath her gentle exterior lies a ruthless woman. She is feared by all and thought to be the most dangerous woman in California, while only convicted for racketeering, drugs and assault. Valentina is believed to be the Hitler of LA's underground responsible for ordering countless murders. Valentina has many enemies who would offer a handsome reward for her head (IMDB.com).
In her recent interview to mediablvd on-line magazine Leisha stated that she believes that Alice is innocent of that crime when she said, “Alice is falsely accused, in my book.” She also said in the same interview that she’s glad the new spin-off seems different from The L Word or she wouldn’t take it on. “I wouldn’t have taken it on if it felt like a continuation of the same thing. The fact that Alice is in a brand new scenario in prison, and the characters around her are so strong, scary and intimidating, and there are all these brand new ideas, it feels fresh. I think about what it would be like to be me going to prison, and it would be so insane and hard to deal with that that’s going to be a big, exciting acting challenge.".
Ilene Chaiken mentioned at the last event “An Evening with Ilene Chaiken” that right now The Farm is just a pilot presentation and it will be up to Showtime executives to pick it up and turn into a new series. Ilene and Leisha both are full of hope that if the spin-off gets picked up, the other characters might appear in it as well, visiting Alice in jail.
Alexandra Hedison
- The biggest news for Alexandra is her next show in Los Angeles where she is presenting her new series of photographs, Ithaka. This is Alexandra’s fourth solo exhibition of photographs where she uses the rainforest of the Pacific Northwest as a metaphor for the odyssey of life. She will have an open reception and a show at Frank Pictures Gallery (Bergamot Station) on April 4 (http://www.artslant.com/la/events/show/46962-moplas-official-opening-night-exhibition---alexandra-hedison-in-conjunction-with-projekt-la-part-1?print=1).
- In addition to being busy with her photography and the art show, Alexandra is scheduled to appear at the L6 Convention along with Pam Grier, Kate Moennig, Mia Kirshner, Rose Rollins and Guinevere Turner.
Laurel Holloman
- As we learned just barely a month ago, Laurel had at least one audition in her future. When she was at the Farewell Party in LA Laurel mentioned to EW that she couldn’t stay at the party too long because she had an audition the next morning (http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/03/the-l-word.html). The details about this audition are unknown at this time but we wish Laurel all the best in her career.
- Laurel is also scheduled to attend a few events in a near future. First in line is the Bravo’s second annual ‘The A-List Awards’ hosted by Kathy Griffin, which will pay tribute to Natasha Richardson. The show will be filmed on April 4 and shown on Bravo on April 15. This show “celebrates the best in food, fashion, beauty, design and pop culture and honor those who have made an unforgettable mark in the arts and showcase some of the leading creative minds in today's society.” By the way, Bette and Tina love scene in the elevator in episode 509 is among the nominees for the ‘Sexiest TV Moment’. I hope that TiBette scene will win because I think they deserve it.
- The next event for Laurel is the GLAAD Awards in Los Angeles on April 18. Laurel will join Jennifer Beals, Ilene Chaiken, Pam Grier, Kate Moennig and Leisha Hailey to accept an award that The L Word will receive a Special Recognition Award.
- Laurel was also asked to do an Australian Convention in Sydney in January 2010, along with Rachel Shelley and Leisha Hailey.
Mia Kirshner
- As you all well aware, Mia used a lot of her savings from her acting job to write and publish her first book, ‘I Live Here’. “With the show ending, Kirshner plans to move to New York. She sees ‘I Live Here’ as the first in a series, and will begin the next one next year” LA Times .
- In another interview Mia also said that her book was just the beginning. “My goal now, I'm going to get that book into as many universities as I can. This book needs to be taught, so I have a whole plan out there. MIT asked me to teach there, so I'm teaching a course on the book in January.".
Marlee Matlin
- The latest information on Marlee can be found on her myspace.com where she posted this message. “More about my book. People Magazine comes out this week with an excerpt from my autobiography ‘I'll Scream Later’. The book comes out April 14 and I’ll be on Good Morning America the day before (plus do several book signings in the New York area that week) to talk about it. I hope all of you go out and buy a copy (or two or three). This is a whole new path I’m taking here, talking about things I’ve never discussed before. It’s my hope that my truth can serve to inspire many many more than me just being the Deaf lady who asked America to ‘read my hips!’ on Dancing with the Stars.”
Kate Moennig
Kate also seems to be busy this year with projects and events.
- Kate Moennig is slated for ‘Three Rivers’, a pilot about a team of transplant surgeons. Kate will play a self-destructive lung/heart transplant fellow. The show derives its title from its Rashomon story-telling style in which each story is told from three points of view, the donors, the patients and the surgeons.
- She is scheduled to appear at the GLAAD Awards in LA and also at L6 in Blackpool.
- Kate will star in the movie ‘Everybody’s Fine’ with Robert De Niro that is in post-production right now.
Rachel Shelley
- Rachel’s horror movie, “The Children”, was released on the DVD and Blu-Ray in the UK on March 30th through Vertigo Films and Contender Home Entertainment. “The Children” is based on a story by Paul Andrew Williams and directed by Tom Shankland. Set on New Years Eve, two families come together to celebrate the holidays but they end up in a desperate fight for survival as one by one the children mysteriously fall ill and turn against their parents with horrifying consequences.
- Rachel is scheduled to appear at the Australian convention in 2010.
- Rachel also joined the UK-based lesbian Diva magazine as their celebrity columnist and she already posted her first article where she shared news about a book of memoir that Pam Grier wrote and about a book of on-set photos that Jennifer Beals is planning to release.
- The best news of all is that Rachel is five-months pregnant. She announced the news to the French Lesbian Magazine ‘Republique du Glamour’ and said that she had decided to put her career on hold for a while. Here’s a two-part podcast with Rachel.
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