Bio's
The Producers
IN THE TRENCHES PRODUCTIONS, INC.
Jan Bina, Claire Callaway, Molly Cheek, Judith Drake, Pat Lentz, Cynthi Stefenoni and Debbie Zipp
www.inthetrenchesproductions.com
Mission Statement
In the Trenches Productions strives to change the way the media views and utilizes women over 40.
Our Vision
IN THE TRENCHES PRODUCTIONS INC. is a young development and production company made up of female writers, producers and actresses who made a darn good living at it 'til they made the ultimate Hollywood faux pas and turned 40. Not quite ready to retire and feeling like the other 76 million Baby Boomers being woefully overlooked by the media, we decided to combine our 200 years of experience and connections in the entertainment industry and dream a new dream.
Ours is a dream grounded in facts, experience and dynamic well-crafted stories. IN THE TRENCHES PRODUCTIONS grew out of our frustration with the huge number of films with mostly male casts that rely on explosions or car chases to move a story along. But the times they are a-chang'in. "Girl Power" is flexing its muscle at the box office. In 2001 films driven by female characters or dealing with issues important to women grossed more than 2.3 billion worldwide.
IN THE TRENCHES PRODUCTIONS has a slate of projects about "girls" from ages 8 to 80, and we are committed to telling those stories and are dedicated to seeing them reach the screen with a sense of artistry, relevance, insight, and humor.
IN THE TRENCHES PRODUCTIONS low budget production resume includes: Producers, A HOST OF TROUBLE short film; Executive Producers, INVISIBLE WOMEN, documentary short; Producers, THE FORGOTTEN GRAVE, the award winning documentary short distributed by The Cinema Guild; Producers, internet soap opera pilot presentation; 2 PSA's on Ageism.
The Director
STEPHEN TOBOLOWSKY directed the New York Premiere of The "Miss Firecracker Contest" with Holly Hunter and the World Premiere of "The Lucky Spot" with Amy Madigan and Mary Stuart Masterson at the Manhattan Theatre Club. As an actor he has appeared in over 150 movies and television shows. He is best known as Ned Ryerson in "Groundhog Day" as well as roles in "Sneakers", "Mississippi Burning", and "Memento". He is currently on HBO's "Deadwood" and in his original film, Stephen Tobolowsky's "Birthday Party" which has just premiered at the Aspen Comedy Festival.
The Writer
JAN BINA, a native of Chicago, was taught by nuns from K through B.A.She was a DJ at station WSDM, before joining The Second City for a lengthy stay. She then wrote a comedy act with Pam Pauly that became a cult favorite. In Los Angeles she did standup and wondered why. Wising up, she wrote the play "Sirens of Seduction" with Lee Murphy, which had a long run at The Victory Theatre in Burbank. Jan is also an actor with numerous theatrical and commercial credits. "A Host of Trouble" is her first produced film, unless you count the backyard production of "The Ice Capades", written at 13, and filmed in 16 mm, by her Aunt Helen. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Jon, and son, Andrew.
The Editor
MICHAEL HORTON was a familiar face as an actor on TV and in films for 25 years but in recent years decided to turn his artistic talents to the world of digital filmmaking and editing. Michael co-directed and edited the award winning historical documentary short "The Forgotten Grave" based on the true story of women who dressed as men to fight in the American Civil War. He edited a PSA on ageism for the Non Profit group Actresses @ Work. Directed and edited a music video starring disabled children and horses for The Equestrian Therapy Institute of Los Angeles. Michael is the founder and full time President of the Los Angeles Final Cut Pro User Group (lafcpug) with over 4000 members world-wide.
The Musician and Sound Designer
RANDY HALE is an award-winning composer, music producer and singer/songwriter who has composed for film, TV (Lifetime's Strong Medicine, CBS' Promised Land and ABC's Second Noah, to name a few), theatre, live-action (Disneyland, Epcot, and Universal's Porto Europa in Japan come to mind) and computer games (how about that Academy of Interactive Arts nomination for Spielbergs one and only game, not to mention Spiderman and X-men for SONY Playstation). Millennium New Year's audiences saw him perform his A Hundred Years From Now with six childrens' choirs for Peter Jennings, and his Songs From the Tall Grass staged musical premiered at Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C. There's so much more to know so go to halesong.com for the full story.
PRINCIPAL CAST BIOS
(In order of appearance)
Narrator
JENNY O'HARA has performed The Female Version of the Odd Couple, The Iceman Cometh, Promises, Promises, The Kid, The Fig Leaves Are Falling on Broadway. Off-Broadway, Los Angeles, Regional and Repertory Theatre credits include:The Bold Girls,The Book of Days,The Body of Bourne (Taper), Sympathetic Magic, Bitten by a Fly, Bitter Women, The Fox (Back Alley, The Roundabout), and Hello and Goodbye ( Yale Rep). Major TV roles are endless. Most recently, Nip/Tuck, Philly, The Court, NYPD Blue, ER, The Practice, If These Walls Could Talk ll, My Name is Jane, An Unexpected Family and The Color of Courage. Currently Jenny is recurring on King of Queens. Her film credits include: Angie, Career Opportunities, Heartbeat, Matchstick Men (Ridley Scott), Mystic River (Clint Eastwood), 40 Shades of Blue (winner Grand Jury Prize for Drama, Sundance '05) and Two Weeks with Sally Field.
Harriet Weber
BLAINE SAUNDERS is an 11 year old that has been performing since she was 6. She started acting 2 years ago. She has played the lead in 4 other films: The Taking (Best Short Horror at LA Screamfest); Repressing Tansy, Purple Star and Janie. She recently co-starred on NBC's new hit, Medium. She has also appeared on CBS's Malcolm In the Middle, Disney's movie Surfers and NBC's Days of Our Lives. Blaine can also be seen on a music video for the band Six Feet Under. Her favorite hobby of playing the drums earned her a national commercial for Wachovia Banks. She also enjoyed making an instructional Hip Hop video. If Blaine is not singing, playing the drums or acting, she is enjoying horseback riding, snow and water skiing.
Mae Weber
ANN HEARN is familiar to Los Angeles area audiences as an actress through her stage work at Beverly Hills Theatre 40, the former Los Angeles Theatre Center and South Coast Repertory. She has appeared in many plays such as The Three Sisters, The Crucible, Day of Hope, Barrabus, King Lear, The Debutante Ball, Reckless, Heartbreak House, What Every Woman Knows, Painting Churches, Morning's At Seven, Prin, Our Town, Uncle Vanya, Tobacco Road, The Secret Rapture, Heathen Valley, and A Life. Recently she directed Holy Days, which was nominated for an Ovation Award as best production in a small theatre. Her film projects include Frankie and Johnnie Are Married, The War at Home, Lorenzo's Oil, The Accused, My Father the Hero, and for television, A Woman of Independent Means, The Dollmaker, ER, Designing Women, Evening Shade, and Judging Amy.
Sister Cletus
JULIE HAGERTY is perhaps best known for her performances as Trans American Airlines stewardess Elaine Dickinson in the classic Airplane! films and as Albert Brooks' wife Linda Howard in Lost in America. Hagerty's screen credit also include Rob Reiner's The Story of Us, Woody Allen's A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy, Robert Altman's Beyond Therapy, Frank Oz's What about Bob? Peter Bogdonovich's Noises Off, Oliver Stone's U-Turn, Tom Noonan's The Wife, Mel and Boys Will Be Boys. In addition to the American Playhouse presentation of The House of Blue Leaves, Hagerty starred in the telefilms London Suite, The Visit, Tourist Trap, Necessary Pilots . The series lead on UPN's Reunited, Hagerty has also appeared on numerous series including ER, Everybody Loves Raymond, Malcom in the Middle, The Guardian and Law & Order SVU. An accomplished Broadway stage actor Hagerty received the Drama Critics Award for her role in Raised in Captivity, The Theatre World Award for The House of Blue Leaves and Outer Critics Award for Mornings at Seven to name just a few.
Andy Weber
GAVIN GLENNON: Gavin's recent film credits include Girlfriends, 24 and Becker. There are many theatre credits to his name including: Japanese Death Poem (opening April 13 at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills), Blue Silence, and The Baby Dance, among many others. He currently can be seen on the Hertz commercial as the "Stress Ball Guys".
Veronica Weber
MARCELLA LENTZ-POPE has appeared in several TV shows including Malcolm In The Middle, Clubhouse and All That. She can also be seen in the soon to be released Kids in America and numerous national commercials. Marcella is a third year Theatre student at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA) where she recently played Dunyasha in The Cherry Orchard. This summer she will be attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in London.
Mary Pat Weber
BRITTANY CURRAN recently finished filming the co-starring role of Pamela in Go Figure, a Disney Channel original MOW. Other recent costarring credits include the Lion's Gate feature film Akeelah And The Bee. and the feature film 13 Going on 30 starring Jennifer Garner. Brittany starred in the role of Stephanie in the AFI film Frenching directed by Kellie Martin and the starring role of Betsy in a short film by Keystone Productions. Brittany recently guest starred in the role of Josie on Mel Gibson's prime time ABC sitcom Complete Savages. During the past few years Brittany has been the principal in a myriad of national commercials, including Campbell Soup, CFC Febreze, Suave, Sears, Chevrolet, Post Cereal, Hewlett Packard, etc.
Brenda Cacciabondo
MELANIE ABRAMOFF decided she wanted to become an actress at the age of 4. After her parents finally gave in to her at the age of 7, she almost immediately booked her first job in the Sony horror film, Dead Birds, with Patrick Fugit and Henry Thomas. This February, Melanie appeared in the hit NBC sitcom Joey with Matt LeBlanc. She has also appeared in the feature film The Novice with Alan Arkin, as well as the short film Cliché and two national commercial spots. Melanie loved being a part of A Host of Trouble and can't wait for the feature version to get underway.
Frances Weber
JONINA GABLE, ten, and the youngest of a family of five, is thrilled to be acting in her first film playing "Frances." Previously she has acted in school plays, starring as the Town Mouse in The Town Mouse and The Country Mouse, shot a commercial, danced in several dance recitals and sung as a soloist in her church choir.
Mrs. Depryker
JUDITH DRAKE, originally from Oklahoma, has spent the last 40 years 'in the biz'. She's appeared on & off Broadway, in London, and in numerous regional theaters. She has hocked T-Mobile as the screaming lady and Charmin TP as Mrs. Whipple. Numerous TV appearances include Becker, ER, Judging Amy and Felicity, and her latest films included a charming and funny scene in Something's Gotta Give that was cut, and a charming and funny scene in Intolerable Cruelty that wasn't.
Sharon Gavin
SKYLER SAMUELS has been acting since she was six years old. At 8, Skyler got the dream gig of interviewing the cast of "Harry Potter" and a junior correspondent for Access Hollywood was born. Skyler has gone one on one with stars like Hilary Duff, Jessica Simpson, Clay Aiken, and Tim Allen just to name a few. But Skyler's heart belongs to performing: most recently she completed guest starring roles on Nickelodeon's Drake and Josh and the Disney Channel's The Suite Life. In 2003, Skyler made her feature film debut in "Junior Pilot" playing the young heroine who helps save the day.
Bunny Gavin
CLAIRE MALIS CALLAWAY: Working on HOST with good actors and long time friend and admired director, Stephen Tobolowsky on the one hand, and with the talented and resourceful producers of IN THE TRENCHES on the other, has lead to one of the best overall experiences in Claire's life. She has been on and off Broadway, in regional as well as local Theatre, done commercials, and been in movies and TV. Her longest running stint was as Dorian Lord on One Life to Live. Other producing ventures were with the Ensemble Studio Theatre in LA. She looks forward to a continued and rewarding association with In The Trenches--- as this is just the beginning!!!!!
PRINCIPAL PRODUCTION CREW BIOS
Director of Photography
ROBERT BRINKMAN graduated from USC, where he earned a number of awards as Director of Photography for Phil Joanou's student film, The Last Dance. Upon graduation, he formed a film production company, shooting music videos, as well as the rock documentary U2: Rattle and Hum. His motion picture and TV credits span the spectrum from first-time works of young directors such as Les Mayfield (Encino Man) and Francine McDougall (Sugar and Spice) to the more seasoned efforts of Peter Bogdanovich and Agnieszka Holland. A Host of Trouble marks his third collaboration with Stephen Tobolowsky, for whom he previously shot Two Idiots in Hollywood and directed the eponymous Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party.
Director of Photography, Camera Operator and Steadicam
SIMON JAYES Among the many films Simon has worked on in various camera operator jobs are:
Charlie's Angels II and Batman and Robin as 'Additional Camera-1st Unit'; and the "A" Camera-2nd Unit on movies such as Collateral and Seabiscut, Minority Report and Coyote Ugly.
Costume Designer
CAROL BEULE has designed for every imaginable venue. Broadway, Off-Bradway, LA Theatrical World premieres, commercials, TV and Film in LA, New York and Europe. Since moving to Los Angeles she has designed 4 period miniseries, won an Emmy for designing Disney's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, was associate designer to Julie Weiss for A Woman of Independent Means starring Sally Field and designed the CBS series First Monday starring James Garner and Joe Montegna. The current movies she has just wrapped as the costume designer are Pope Dreams written and directed by Patrick Hogan and Che (the 1950's / 60's film about Che Guevara) starring Eduardo Noriega, Enrique Loversa and Sonia Bragga.
Key Hair Stylist
COLLEEN LABUFF has been doing hair for television and film for 15 years and period hair styling is her favorite. She won an award for best period hair styling on The Last Samurai. She is currently working on the sequel of the Pirates of the Caribbean . Other most recent credits include: Domino with Tony Scott, the new season of Deadwood , and War of the Worlds, the new Spielberg film.
Key Makeup
Artist
KAREN TRIBBLE has been a Make-up and hair artist for fifteen years. Married to a successful camera operator for 20 years they have been fortunate to work on many projects together. Currently she is working with a still photographer on special projects for Vanity Fair, People and Wired Magazines as Hair and Make-up and has a show airing on the History Channel. " Make-up is My passion" says Karen " I enjoyed every minute on the set of A Host of Trouble, and wish all the best for those that are In The Trenches".
Makeup Artist
CHRISTY FISHER has been a professional Make Up Artist for the past five years. She is originally from Scottsdale, Arizona, and moved to Burbank two years ago to follow her childhood dream. That dream was to be a Make Up Artist for T.V. and Film. She is passionately living that dream today. "Working with the women who have put "A Host of Trouble" together, was a true pleasure! Thank you for adding to my dreams."
1st Assistant Director
CYNTHI STEFENONI 's career has been a dialogue between (often the melding of) the worlds of entertainment and humanitarian causes. Early on, she co-founded and co-directed Northern California's successful musical theatre venture, Sun Company. Upon relocation to LA, she worked tirelessly for The End Hunger Network, Live Aid and Hands across America, while also forging a substantial resume in commercial production, completing the entire runs of shows like The Trials of Rosie O'Neill, Lois and Clark and Any Day Now. Many independent films and assorted heart-driven live and filmed projects have benefited from her production expertise and artistic eye. Recently she just finished one Nickelodeon Series Project and is currently shooting another.
Production Sound Mixer
REGGIE BRYANT has ten years of experience as a production sound mixer. Reggie has completed more than 20 feature length films and 9 seasons of episodic television. Having started his film/TV career in locations, Reggie progressed through most behind-the-camera jobs at one time or another, the vanities (hair and makeup) being the notable exception. Reggie is currently working on the Nickelodeon TV show, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. Contact him at: reggiebryant@hotmail.com
Co-Sound Designer
JONATHAN MERRILL is a composer, conductor, and music producer. He is owner of Vox Humana Music and his music has been featured in hundreds of TV commercials, films and TV shows, including songs on the WB. He also was the conductor for the epic November Rain video for Guns N' Roses and was featured in that video.
IN THE TRENCHES PRODUCTIONS
Phone: 310-471-4250
www.inthetrenchesproductions.com
info@inthetrenchesproductions.com