FLOATING SUNFLOWERS - SCREENWRITER, Jason Furlani (Who's Who)

Here's a closer look at our Screenwriter, Jason Furlani.  We first worked with Furlani when he acted in Barefoot Theatre Company's SMASHED, an evening of new plays at The Sackett in Brooklyn, NY.  He soon became a resident playwright and we presented a reading of his full length play, A LONG HARD RAIN at the Cherry Lane Theatre as part of our bareNaked Reading Series in NYC.  The reading of Jason's play was only the beginning of our collaboration as we continued to develop/workshop his full length family drama.  We were thrilled to have Jason write the screenplay for our debut film project!!!

JASON FURLANI

A native of Schenectady, NY, Jason has asserted himself as a veteran in the New York theatre world, having had successful productions of his work with various companies, on numerous stages in NYC, and is currently a Playwright in Residence, with Barefoot Theatre Company.

While in residence with Barefoot, Jason was proud to see his full length plays A LONG HARD RAIN, and FAMILY TREES, presented as part of Barefoot's bareNaked Los Angeles Reading Series. Prior to his tenure with Barefoot, Jason was in residence with the Blue Collar Theater Company, who staged productions of his full-length comedy, THE BIG VIG, at the Bank Street Theatre, and, his full-length play LEADED at the West End Theatre, as well as, his ten minute play SUSAN IS A PINHEAD, which had its debut as part of the Blue Collar “Shorts” Festival. Other companies/stages that have featured Jason's work include: Zena Group, the Kraine Theatre, and The 42nd Street Workshop. This summer, Jason's one act ROCKET'S RED GLARE, was featured in the Subversive Theatre's 2012 Subversive Shorts Festival in Buffalo, NY. His most recent completed full-length work, MIKE'S FIRST PRIZE, was developed as part of his membership in the Actors Studio Playwright/Director's Workshop (Carlin Glynn, Director.)

Along with Jason's work in the theatre, his original short screenplay, FLOATING SUNFLOWERS, was produced by Barefoot Studio Pictures, and its release is imminent. Additionally, Jason's feature screenplay, REXFORD ALL-STARS, is a finalist at the Peach Tree International Film Festival, placed "second" in the 2012 All Sports Los Angeles Film Festival, and, was an Official Second Round Selection of the 2011 Austin Film Festival's Screenwriting Competition. He has also recently been taped to write the screenplay for the feature film, VENICE (Polaris Pictures.) Jason wrote the script for both of the Families of Freedom fundraising events (a 9/11 charity) hosted in successive order by Chevy Chase and Carol Kane.

we couldn't do it without YOU!

As we we get near the end of our post production process with FLOATING SUNFLOWERS, we'd like to take a moment to thank ALL of our donors and supporters who took the time and gave the funds to help make this short film happen!  We will be sending our individual thank yous and gifts very soon.  Thank you ALL for your patience.  We can see the light at the end of the tunnel!  

Special thanks to Cherry Lane Theatre, Bone Lick Park, Mark von Sternberg, Steve Loff, A.J. Handegard, Tyler Fascett, Bruce Boyce, Heather Whalen, Kevin Boyko, Angelina Fiordellisi, Brian Carr, Emma Buchwald, Maureen Graf, Jeff Stiefel, Mark Oram, Lihy Halevy, Steve Rogers, Emilie Jackson, Cory Richman, Hector Carosso, Victoria Malvagno, Ricardo Riethmuller, Mateo Solorzano, and Brooklyn College.

EXTRA SPECIAL THANKS to the staff and neighborhood of the CHERRY LANE THEATRE.

Floating Sunflowers was made possible with the support and fundraising efforts on INDIEGOGO.COM and producers wish to thank the following for their contributions:

Brian Carr, Kathleen Chopin, Terri Girvin, Sally DiDonato, Lawrence DeAngelus, Christine Lindsay-Abaire, Rose Bonczek, Joseph McCarthy, Mark von Sternberg, Kyli Kleven, Corinna Heggen, Thomas Bullard, Paul Cirino, Steve Woodham, Ronald Cohen, Kristin Dana, Scott Illingworth, Laura Tesman, John Young, Anthony Celebrini, Wallace Krantz, David Goodine, Meghan Frisoni, Timothy Peters, Lisa Dewhurst, Sarah Martin, Christine Tierson, Ladan Jafari, WorldWide Vinyl Records, Michael Agard, Michael Breskin, Steven Loff, Bisanne Masoud, Maggie Gift Shop, Vanessa Arnim, Heather Moore, Scott Thompson, J Claude Deering, Susan Simon, Carlos Ibarra, Tala Ashe, Michael Puzzo, John Gazzale, Peter Samis, Douglas Taurel, Gregory Schmalbach, Peter Kleiner, Susan Hanson, Heslin Richard, Elizabeth Schulson, Michael Anderson, Jill Woller, Andrea Nuzzi, Maggie Low, Sally Allen, Eric Vigdorov, Robert Harte, Daniel Mitura, James McInerney, Cathleen Mitchell, Michael Pierre Louis Jr., Michael Reyes, Joseph Leonard, John Weisenburger, Steven Weinblatt, Micah Moss, Mauricio Solorzano, Laura Edidin, James Drozanowski, Faye Ellman, Nick Sakai, Nicole and Sean Haran, Victoria Malvagno, Lorraine Rodriguez-Reyes and Marc Reyes, Kathleen Boucher

if you're in Los Angeles, CA we HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE BGB STUDIO...

If you're an actor/director living in LA then we high recommend you check out this BGB STUDIO!!!!

See all info below and act fast!  Act today!  

As an actor, you need a place to work out, a place to be challenged and energized. To join with fellow seasoned artists to explore and stretch, to take risks, to stay tuned, to be inspired. We've created a class to do just that. The Advanced Master Class. With The BGB Studio - BramonGarciaBraun - my Studio formed with Steve Braun. http://bramongarciabraun.com/

I've been doing my Master Class for years as an intensive one-day experience, and have recently taught a couple of 8-week rounds as a successful ongoing class. Now  I'm really excited to invite you to be a part of this custom-designed Advanced Master Class. Meeting Monday evenings starting mid April.

Steve and I are assembling a group of actors with whom we who we would love to work and who we believe will work well together. For me it's also a chance to collaborate with fellow artists such as yourself and stretch as a director and coach. Same for Steve.

The class will include a combination of scene study, cold reading, on-camera work, audition workout, advanced forms of Meisner exercises, improv, writing, sensory work - everything you need to engage in the work with joy and freedom.  It'll keep you sharp, ready for anything that you encounter on stage, in an audition, rehearsal, or on set.

And it's an affirmation of your commitment to the work and your career. 

We start Monday, April 15, for 8 weeks, meeting Monday evenings, 7-10 pm, at our Studio on Riverside Drive (North Hollywood/Studio City border). 

How great to enter into spring, post-pilot season, with this in your schedule!

Let us know your interest and we can get started. You can go to the link and sign up now! http://bramongarciabraun.com/the-advanced-masterclass/

All the best to you for Passover, Easter, Spring Break… A time for renewal, revival, reaffirmation. 

Risa

P.S. If you know someone who you believe would gel, please share them with us!

Academy Award winner MARION COTILLARD

In honor of the 85th Academy Awards tonight we're inspired to share a quote by one of our favorite Oscar winners:

"Independent filmmakers need the freedom to pursue their dreams and explore the opposing sides of humanity; or shed light on a road rarely traveled; or visit a place the rest of the world hardly knows.  Filmmakers have the enormous courage it takes to hold a mirror to life, however beautiful or grotesque.  Following their dream, they continue on their path because they are driven by the story - a desire to connect, share experiences and spark imaginations."  - MARION COTILLARD

Francisco Solorzano alongside John Magaro, Ray Abruzzo and Angelina Fiordellisi...

Barefoot Theatre Company's bareNaked Reading Series (Molly Marinik Program Director / Jennie West, Co-Producer) returns on Monday, January 14th with Joe Pintauro's SNOW ORCHID.  The reading will feature Barefoot Studio Pictures' Actor and Co-Founder, Francisco Solorzano with a cast that includes John Magaro (Not Fade Away); Ray Abruzzo (The Sopranos) and Angelina Fiordellisi (Cherry Lane Theatre) along with Cory Michael Kosel (Gallery Players' History Boys).  The reading will take place at The Loft (East 3rd Productions), sponsored by Ricardo Riethmuller.

Francisco Solorzano recently starred and directed Barefoot Studio Pictures' debut film project, FLOATING SUNFLOWERS, screenplay by Jason Furlani featuring Barefoot Theatre Company Ensemble Members, Lynn Cohen, Anna Chlumsky, Christopher Whalen (Barefoot Studio Pictures Co-Founder), Jennie West, Gillian Rougier, Arthur Kriklivy, and more.

bareNaked Reading Series
Molly Marinik, Program Director / Jennie West, Co-Producer

Every Second Monday of the Month we present FREE READINGS of a new play featuring Free Drinks, Live Music!

January 14, 2013 at 7PM
THE SNOW ORCHID
By Joe Pintauro (Raft of the Medusa)

Directed by Joe Pintauro
Starring Francisco Solorzano, Angelina Fiordellisi, John Magaro, Cory Michael Kosel, Ray Abruzzo with stage directions by Bianca Christina Gallifuoco

Live Music by Cory Michael Kosel

all readings to take place at:
THE LOFT (East 3rd Productions)
684 Broadway, # 5W
NYC 10012
(corner of B'way & East 3rd/Great Jones)

Admission is FREE
RSVP a must!
LIMITED SEATING!!!!
to RSVP send email with play title, number of rsvps and contact info to: 
barefootrsvp@aol.com

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK to stay up to date on the latest news!

Q&A with screenwriter JASON FURLANI.

As we're in the middle of pre-production for our upcoming debut film project, FLOATING SUNFLOWERS we'd like to take a moment to share this Q&A with our screenwriter, JASON FURLANI (pictured on the left on the set of Law & Order!):

1. What City and State are you from?  

 

Schenectady, NY 

2. What was a memorable childhood memory that helped shape your career today?

I was drawn to storytelling at a very young age, but it wasn't until my late twenties/early thirties that I found my voice as a writer. I would say that my earliest memory of influence in the, "I want to do THAT", sense, came when I saw Agatha Christie's TEN LITTLE INDIANS at the Egg in Albany. It was intense, impressive, and made me want to tell stories that reach out and grab an audience. 

3. When did you start writing for film/tv/theater?

I wrote my first play in 1998 (LEADED.) I wrote my first screenplay (REXFORD ALL-STARS) in 2007. Actually...my "first" screenplay was the short, FLOATING SUNFLOWERS. Ironically - though I wrote it over ten years ago - it will be my first film to be produced.

4. Favorite Film?  Favorite Screenplay?

My favorite film is THE GODFATHER. I know it's cliche, but it's such solid storytelling, with such incredibly compelling characters, that I can watch it over and over again. My favorite screenplay? That's tougher. I like LA CONFIDENTIAL for its twisting noir, but I also think - in terms of structure/character/storytelling - BULL DURHAM is my favorite screenplay. Yes. I'm a hopeless romantic.

5. Where did story for Floating Sunflowers come from?  How did it come to you?

It was literally a flash of inspiration. I was kind of in a blue mood (which is a side effect of being a hopeless romantic...) so, there I was, sitting in my apartment, when this trio of sunflowers my girlfriend had recently put in a vase, caught my eye. And I had a vision of these flowers, floating on water. How that felt so hopeful and hopeless all at the same time. What would drive someone to that state? And - probably more importantly - what would pull them out of it. And THEN, I thought, "but do they actually float...?" Turns out they did, so that sealed it: I had to write it.

6. Why Barefoot Studio Pictures?

Barefoot Studios and Floating Sunflowers were made for each other. I've been so fortunate to have the opportunity to collaborate with Frank and Nicole and Chris and all of the Barefoot family. They've not only given me the opportunity to grow as an artist, but have nurtured and supported that development in ways that I'm eternally grateful for. So when Frank told me that they were looking for a short to develop as Barefoot Studio's premiere project...I knew I had to get it to him. Who better to tell a story of hope?

7. What inspires you?  

The human spirit. There is no greater will than the will to "live." To some, that simply means breathing for one more day. For others, it means the embrace of the energy and beauty in world around them. The confluence of these is where the human spirit "lives."

JASON FURLANI

A native of Schenectady, NY, Jason has asserted himself as a veteran in the New York theatre world, having had successful productions of his work with various companies and on numerous stages in NYC.

Currently a Playwright In Residence with Barefoot Theatre Company (whose home stage is the world famous Cherry Lane Theatre) Jason is developing his full-length play, A LONG HARD RAIN, for an eventual World Premiere. 

Prior to his tenure with Barefoot, Jason was in residence with the Blue Collar Theater Company, who presented his full-length comedy, THE BIG VIG, at the Bank Street Theatre, and, his full-length play LEADED at the West End Theatre, as well as, his ten minute play SUSAN IS A PINHEAD, which had its debut as part of the Blue Collar “Shorts” Festival. Other companies/stages that have featured Jason’s work include: Zena Group, the Kraine Theatre, and The 42^nd Street Workshop. This summer, Jason’s one act ROCKET’S RED GLARE, will be featured in the Subversive Theatre’s 2012 Subversive Shorts Festival this summer in Buffalo, NY. His most recent completed full-length work, FAMILY TREES, was developed as part of his membership in the Actors Studio Playwright/Director’s Workshop (Carlin Glynn, Director.)

Along with Jason’s work in the theatre, his original screenplay, REXFORD ALL-STARS, was a Second Round Selection of the 2011 Austin Film Festival’s Screenwriting Competition. He has also recently been taped to write the screenplay for the feature film, VENICE (Polaris Pictures.) Jason wrote the script for both of the Families of Freedom fundraising events (a 9/11 charity) hosted in successive order by Chevy Chase and Carol Kane.

As an actor, Jason has been featured on TV shows like WHITE COLLAR, each of the LAW & ORDER franchise shows, and the SOPRANOS. He was also recently seen on the big screen in the film, LIMITLESS, starring Bradley Cooper and Robert DeNiro, MAN ON A LEDGE, starring Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, and Ed Harris, and will be featured in the new FOX pilot, GUILTY, which stars Cuba Gooding Jr.

debut film...

This summer, Barefoot Theatre Company Ensemble Members, Anna Chlumsky, Francisco Solorzano, Lynn Cohen, Christopher Whalen with Barefoot Artistic Associate, Minna Taylor and Resident Playwright, Jason Furlani team up to begin shooting Barefoot Studio Pictures' debut film with the short, FLOATING SUNFLOWERS...

Sometimes life inspires art, and sometimes...art inspires life.

FLOATING SUNFLOWERS tells the story of June, a still-life painter (played by Anna Chlumsky), and Henry, a fiction author, who are caught in an emotional winter, which has left them lost and unable to tap into their creative spirit. When a simple twist of fate exposes them to the symbols of each other’s dilemma, though, sparks fly, and – without ever meeting – they inspire each other from that emotional winter, into a season of “hope.”

CAST:  Anna Chlumsky, Lynn Cohen, Minna Taylor, Francisco Solorzano, Christopher Whalen and more...

CREW: Screenplay by Jason Furlani; Directed by Francisco Solorzano; Producer, Christopher Whalen; Line Producer, Jason Colon; Director of Photography, Jack Schurman; Editor, Dave Buchwald; Music, Larry Little; Art Direction, Niluka Hotaling; Costume / Make-up, Jennie West; Graphic Design, Emily Furlani; Kickstarter Video Camera/Editor, Nicole Haran;

Floating Sunflowers takes place in New York City; shooting in the heart of the West Village, Upper West Side and the beautiful Central Park.

Stay tuned for more info including who's who in the cast and upcoming production details!!! 

If you're interested in learning about how you can become a part of this production please email us at barefoottheatre@aol.com with your name and best contact info.  One of our producers will get back to you as soon as possible.  Thank you!!!

Special thanks to Cherry Lane Theatre, Stephanie Elam, Bone Lick Park, Mark von Sternberg, Steve Loff, and Brooklyn College.