Friday, October 23, 2009

Jennifer's photo book

The official book's website has been launched.



includes never-before-seen photos, cast commentary, and the ephemera that composed our daily lives on the show - bits of scripts, callsheets, production memos. Also a series of large format prints and limited edition prints will also be available of select photos from the book.

"During the six years we were shooting The L Word, I kept a photographic journal of the cast and crew, born out of a profound desire to create a bulwark against my rapidly eroding memory. It was an era of my life I was eager to preserve: I wanted to remember the cast, the readthrus, the dinners, the rehearsals - everything. I took pictures and saved my scripts, callsheets, and memos and organized them every year. I used them for reference as the seasons moved on, but frankly I held onto them because I knew I would get a kick out of looking at them as the years passed. Mostly, I wanted to remember the joy, because no matter where the storylines went, we always managed to have fun.

Years ago, I started a tradition of making of making a photo book, to give as a gift to the cast and crew, after completing projects that were near and dear to my heart. As I started working on my cast-and-crew present for The L Word, I realized this wouldn't be like the others. The L Word was about the power of storytelling. And it was particularly unique because there were two streams of stories being told. Clearly we were telling your stories, but in some way we were telling our stories - the story of a group of colleagues who became friends while endeavoring to make something worthwhile. Somewhere along the line there was a kind of convergence. Somewhere underneath the plotlines of The L Word ran our own stories of friendship and struggle. These photographs evoke the various bonds and battles we as a cast endured.

The L Word as a series was, at its core, about community and that played out behind the scenes as the cast formed its own community. But the series also was about all of you who made our collective journey possible. That is why I wanted to make the book available to fans of the show.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Beals"



The book will be available in December 2009.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Food for thought

by Los Angeles Confidential at 08.10.2009

Actress Marlee Matlin has teamed up with the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank to fight hunger in our city

ONE IN EIGHT Los Angeles County residents is at risk of going hungry. When I was made aware of that statistic earlier this year, I was immediately taken aback. How could so many people in my own backyard be in dire need of food while others live so lavishly? As our country and city continue to face economic turmoil and with joblessness on the rise, I knew I had to do something to draw attention to this growing crisis.

After connecting with CEO of the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank Michael Flood and his hard-working team—who dedicate countless hours to eradicating hunger in Los Angeles County—I learned much more about our community’s escalating problem. The numbers were mind-blowing. Last year the Foodbank distributed more than 42 million pounds of food to pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters and programs serving low-income children, families, seniors and other individuals in need. Furthermore, there was a 35 percent increase in demand from people seeking aid from local food pantries in the first quarter of 2009 alone, and that number is expected to rise dramatically by year’s end.

In June my daughter Sara and I spent an afternoon at the Foodbank. While on site, we were given the opportunity to package food for senior citizens in need. It was an immensely rewarding experience and one we will never forget. I have since become a member of the Foodbank’s Entertainment Council, a newly established group of influencers whose goal is to encourage others in the entertainment industry to donate their time, money and talent in support of the Foodbank’s efforts.

As we near the holidays, the Foodbank’s Season for Sharing programs make it easy for people to lend their support. Let’s make this special time of year even more special—not just for us and the people in our own lives, but for the countless families, children and senior citizens who do not have the money for a warm, nourishing meal. Visit lafightshunger.org

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Interview with Jennifer Beals

by Matthews's Place at 06.10.2009

Jennifer Beals was born in December 1963 in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in the city. With a life-long desire for acting, Beals first appeared in small high school plays and even got an uncredited bit part in My Bodyguard (1980) in 1980. After graduation, she enrolled in college at Yale University, studying American literature. She appeared in her first starring role in the movie Flashdance (1983) while still a freshman at Yale. While at Yale, she also starred in Franc Roddam's The Bride (1985). After graduation from Yale, Beals married independent filmmaker Alexandre Rockwell in the mid-80s, and has appeared in several of his films. Most notably, she starred in his In the Soup (1992), which won the 1992 Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and the Audience Award at the Deauville Film Festival.??Beals continued to find acting work in various movies and TV productions through the 1990s, in lead and supporting roles. Her most recent and notable role came in early 2004 with her appearing as a regular on the Showtime TV-cable series "The L Word" (2004) playing a lesbian art gallery manager named "Bette Porter".

MP (Matthew's Place): This is MatthewsPlace
J (Jennifer Beals): Yes! Hi! It's Jennifer Beals.

MP: Hi Jennifer. How are you?
J: Hi. I'm sorry, I went for a run and completely lost track of time.

MP: [laughing] No, it's not a problem. I'm glad we finally nailed down some time.
J: Yes. Me too, me too.

MP: So … I bring regards from Judy [Shepard]as well. She wanted me to say hello.
J: I'm bowing low.

MP:[laughing] Well, our conversation today is going to go on our website for young people called Matthew'sPlace.com …
J: Okay.

MP: … and really the purpose of the site and Judy's vision was for it to be a place where young people can come gather information that could help them lead healthy, productive, hate-free lives. So we like to have conversations with people who are advocates and allies for equality to sort of help young people see the world is a safe place for them. … So I just wanted to start out by asking you if there was ever a time in your life when you felt like you were marginalized for something that made you different?
J: If I ever felt like I was marginalized for something that made me different…

MP: Maybe picked on or bullied or anything of that nature?
J: Umm, not when I was a girl funny enough, like anything [that] made me feel different?

MP:Yes.
J: I had read, or my mother had read, enough Greek myths to me to instill in me that any difference could also be something that was incredibly powerful and that you searched for that thing that made you different -- that thing that made you special, which therefore was the thing that made you powerful. Not in a sense of, necessarily, strength, but in your ability to transform things. So there was magic in being different. But I have to say the only time I felt marginalized was as a woman on-set sometimes and obviously not on "The L Word."

MP: And how did that manifest?
J: It manifested in not being included in discussions that all the male actors were being included in.

MP:Has that shifted, would you say? Or…
J: No. [laughing]

MP: … would you say it's still an issue women in Hollywood face?
J: It depends on the group, obviously. I mean, there are some men who are more restrictive, and there are others who are more inclusive. And luckily I've primarily worked with people who are incredibly inclusive, like the Hughes brothers. Working on "The Book of Eli" was an amazing experience and I felt valued and respected and trusted …

MP: Okay.
J: There have been other experiences where I was definantly … diminished. I think it was because I was a woman and they didn't respect a woman's point of view.

MP: Okay. What would you say your time on "The L Word" taught you?
J: Oh my gosh, so many things, so many things I learned from "The L Word." I think … the one I live with the most often is the importance of authenticity. You know, being on the show, so often we would get letters or people would come to visit the set … you know, there was one couple in particular that I think of who had been together as a couple for, gosh, I don't know, 30 years, but who were still closeted as a couple until they saw "The L Word" and it somehow gave them courage to come out. And when they came out there were no deep, dark ramifications -- there was just a sense of freedom. But listening to their story and many other stories like theirs I realized it was incumbent upon all of us to live as authentically as we possibly can. Not just for our own sake but for the sake of everyone else as well, because we don't do anyone a favor by … hiding our candle under the bed.

MP: Right, right.
J: Let it out.

MP: So what does living authentically -- how does that manifest in your own life?
J: Well really listening to my point of view and if I am on a set ,say, that doesn't really value a woman's point of view, regardless of how they feel, continuing to give my point of view and try to find a way to be heard and not diminishing myself because other people are diminishing me. Because that, I think, is the worst temptation --that, you know, you judge yourself by how others are judging you, and to fall into that trap is to walk into the realm of self-annihilation. Which is not a good place to be, obviously …

MP: [laughing] Did you have any reservations about taking the role and being involved in the show, and that maybe you might be pigeon-holed as an actor?
J: No, no, not at all. I was really just so thrilled to have a wonderful part that was complicated and rich, and was very excited to play someone who wasn't also always nice or right or, you know … that was lovely too.

MP: Uh huh.
J: And it was a nice change to work with all women for a while.

MP: And as a part of that experience and your experience in the entertainment industry, how important would you say it is to include positive LGBT images in today's society, in today's modern pop culture, as opposed to the stereotypical view of what a gay or lesbian person is?
J: I think it's incredibly important, but I think it's just as important to tell the truth of the story. You know, I don't think it's helpful to anyone to … for example, say that every LGBT person is wonderful and perfect and without flaw and … lets all ring the bells to perfection. I think it's much more helpful to tell the story as truthfully as you can, and with all of its complications, because that's also when people recognize themselves, and that's when people who are not part of the LGBT community will recognize themselves within that character. And then [they] hopefully empathize and maybe there'll be some kind of shift.

MP: Right, right.
J: So … I think it's important to be positive, but I think it's most important to be positively truthful, to this.

MP: Ah, okay. Well, and you have been such a strong ally voice in the fight for equality. Why, in your opinion do you think that ally voice is such an important voice that needs to be heard?
J: Well I think everybody's voice needs to be heard. I don't think of my voice as being particularly special or unique, but … I have learned during the course of the show to speak up and to be heard and to be seen and to say what you think. And … in a polite way, you don't need to be rude. Which, you know, is the danger of the Internet with the way people throw around invectives, it can be a little harsh. I don't think that kind of dialogue, well it's not dialogue, needs to happen. I don't think it's very helpful, but I do think it's really important to say what you think and to make sure that everybody is invited to speak at the table, you know, that everyone is included in the discussion.

MP:And how can we do that?
J: Well I think the most important thing first of all is to live as authentically as you can and that will come naturally. I think it flows from knowing who you are and embracing who you are and then it becomes a celebration of who you are, hopefully.

MP: Okay.
J: And then communities are formed around that idea and the community gets larger and larger. And then, I mean it starts from the individual and then smaller communities are formed and then larger communities are formed perhaps just in that one group. And then all of a sudden that reaches out to a larger extension to humanity, if you know what I mean.

MP: Uh huh.
J: It's important I think at a certain juncture to be informed about what's going on. I mean there's so many ways you can do it. Self-expression is obviously important, to me anyway, you know, being able to tell your story, even if you just write it down for yourself. And then maybe you share it with one person, or several people, but you express yourself. And then there's another realm of being informed politically. Which is incredibly complicated because the ground seems to shift constantly. You know, just looking at the trajectory of the Matthew Shepard Act is so complex and maddening and really, really frustrating to me. I mean I just long for the day when I can go and, you know, dance on the bar with Judy Shepard in celebration, that's what my fantasy is.

MP: [Laughter] Well that's looking like it may be sooner rather than later.
J: I mean you just want to burst into tears you get so excited about it.

MP: Well it does, and it's been Judy's mission for almost the last 11 years.
J: Oh, I know.

MP: It's this bill and things don't happen quickly.
J: No they don't and the politics of what to attach it to, I mean who would have thought to attach it to a defense bill?

MP: Right, right. Well and for us it seems that people tend to be very scared or frightened of issues particularly around the LGBT community. And that's a question that we're always asking ourselves is, why is this an issue that people, that tends to polarize people so much? What are your thoughts as to why?
J: Well I think it polarizes a certain generation. I don't think it polarizes a younger generation. I don't see that.

MP:Very much so.
J: Yeah, I think it polarizes an older generation who perhaps is not as well educated, in a funny way.

MP: Uh huh.
J: And those people will be gone soon, and life will be different.

MP: [Laughs] Well you know and that's the message that we spread and that Judy spreads, that this generation gets it and when this generation starts taking office, things are going to change a little quicker than they are now.
J: I hope so. I certainly hope so.

MP: And, you know, thinking about young people in particular, and one of the reasons that MatthewsPlace is in existence is [for] that young person in rural Iowa that thinks that there really isn't anyone out there that feels like them, and maybe doesn't think that they have a place in the world. Any thoughts or advice that you might give to someone who is in an environment where they're not seeing positive images?
J: I would want them to know that their community is much larger than the neighborhood in which they live. That the world does not end at that town. That there is a bigger world out there and if they need to leave to go find a more immediate community that will sustain them, then that's what they need to do. But the first thing is for them to cultivate kindness for themselves and acceptance for themselves, and that the world is much larger. And especially with the Internet. In a moment's time you can get on and speak to people who are like you, or understand you or who can support you or can at least argue with you, understanding who you are and what interests you have. But you can build a different community because of the Internet.

MP: Well and then, thinking about you as an actor, is there anything that actors can do in selecting projects that would help them increase positive representation of people that are traditionally marginalized by the mainstream media? Does that make sense?
J: Well I would encourage those people to write.

MP: Oh, okay.
J: You know, there's not another television series that I know of that deals primarily with the LGBT community.

MP: Right.
J: I mean, I would encourage people to write. Writing.

MP: So create the type of shows, or entertainment that…
J: You want to create the show that -- you know, be the future that you want to see.

MP: Right. Well I have a quote, I know your time is precious so I don't want to keep you too long.
J: Oh but this, Judy Shepard is precious. She's more precious than my time. Believe me.

MP: [Laughs] Well and I have to say to you that we are very excited to sort of have you as part of our Foundation family, so please know that we mean that deeply.
J: Well thank you. I just also want you to know that I'm creating a book based on the photographs that I've taken primarily during the six years that I was on the L Word and making kind of a photographic journal in a way. And I'll be selling that to benefit charity and one of the charities that I will benefit will be the Matthew Shepard Foundation.

MP: Oh well thank you very much, and I will let Judy know that when I chat with her.
J: Okay, great.

MP: And she's also having a book coming out on September 3rd, that I'll get you a copy of.
J: Oh, I would love that. Thank you.

MP: It's the first time she's told her story.
J: I would love to read it.

MP: I'll send it to you. Penguin is publishing it so we're quite excited about it. Well and to sort of wrap up, there was a quote that you gave to a Chicago newspaper back in 2003 that sort of for me, sums up a lot of what we've been talking about today and I'm going to read this to you. And this is what the newspaper quoted you as saying: "They talk about the fact that history is written by the victors, but if you can make yourself victorious by writing your own history and supplying your own images, then you've done yourself and the world a great service."
J: Yes, absolutely.

MP: And I think that sums up sort of what we've been talking about and I just wanted to know if you might have any comments on that quote and where you were coming from if you have a recollection of saying it.
J: I do have a recollection of saying it, and I've said it often and in various forms because I think that story telling is a very powerful tool. We tell stories to each other all the time. It's how we come to know the world. It's how, in some ways, that we come to know aspects of ourselves, and how we tell each other about ourselves. So by writing our stories, by writing our history, we let people know who we are, we communicate with one another, and we make sure that we are included in the continuum. And we benefit everyone else, it's just, I mean I just can't stress enough how it's to benefit everyone else. Particularly those people who are not like you, who need to hear the story. Who don't know the story, and they need to know the story so that they understand.

MP: Well and you know Judy and myself when I talk to high school kids I always say, how are people going to know how to support you, if you don't tell them.
J: Right.

MP: How are people going to know what you're life is like if you don't share it with them?
J: And also, how do you even know what your own life is like truly until you start expressing it in some way. You discover so many things about your own life just by writing. Things that you don't know that just come out through the unconscious. And you pick up on yourself as well.

MP: Right. No, I completely agree and I want to thank you for sharing some time with us.
J: Thank you and give Judy a big hug for me please.

MP: I will, thank you Jennifer.
J: All right, take care.

MP: Okay, bye-bye.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

"The Real L Word" looks for lesbians like in that other "L Word"

by Dorothy Snarker from afterellen.com

Hey, lesbians, wanna be on TV? Actually, do you wanna get real on TV? Well, more accurately, wanna get as real as you can get in Los Angeles in a production by The L Word impresario Ilene Chaiken on TV? See, there’s always a catch.

So what are Chaiken and her elves looking for? Per the casting call: “A group of real-life, high-profile, left coast lesbians” who are based in or moving to L.A. and are “every bit as glamorous, fashionable, fabulous and even as cutthroat as their celebrated-but-fictional counterparts.”

Or, as they put it “proof the The L Word exists in real life.”

Um, since they seem to want to create a de facto seventh season, could they bring back Dana? We miss her terribly.

You can read the rest over of the item over at Boxed Lunch. Or you can take this handy questionnaire based on the actual casting call’s criteria. Please remember to fill out your answers in No. 2 pencil. And no cheating off the test of the cute girl in front of you.

Do you want to be on “groundbreaking television?”
If yes, are you sure you don’t want to apply for Mad Men instead?

Do you have “the power of Bette?”
If yes, call me.

Do you have “the mojo of Shane?”
If yes, you’re way too busy to call me.

Do you and your partner want “to adopt?”
If yes, consider keeping this private moment private because the lesbian-seeking-baby storyline — while important — is way overexposed.

Do “all the bouncers in WeHo know your name?”
If yes, you can reach the Betty Ford Center at (800) 434-7365.

Do you want to come out of the closet to “help others by sharing your journey?”
If yes, you should know that you rarely start making out immediately with someone as hot as Marina. (What? I’m just being helpful.)

Do you carry a card that reads “power lesbian?”
If yes, it doesn’t count if you made it yourself and got it laminated at Kinko’s.

If you qualify, Magical Elves wants to hear from you at casting@magicalelves.com (include a photo).

Are you interested? Are they really looking to fill the exact same roles as the fictional series? Oh, Ilene, Ilene. You’re just bound and determined to wring every last drop of blood from the letter “L,” aren’t you?

Thursday, October 1, 2009

LAUREL HOLLOMAN- Original Sketch Bark 10th Anniversary on ebay

by LaurelHolloman.net

To celebrate their tenth anniversary, Bark, an organization to protect and restore Mt. Hood’s National Forest, asked their most prominent fans to draw a sketch of the mountain and its wildest features. Laurel donated one of her drawings , you can bid for it on ebay.