Posts Tagged “Soho International Film Festiival”

John Gallagher’s New Feature "Act, Naturally" Filming IN NYC

I have to admit that I get to do some pretty cool things. John Gallagher is a film director who has directed some of the biggest stars in the business like John Leguizamo, Amanda Peet, Michael Imperioli, Gretchen Mol, Denis Leary, Zach Braff, Debi Mazar, and tons more, and now how proud do you think I am to be able to add my name to that list?

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with director John Gallagher outside the venue for the Soho International Film Festival!

I had the honor of being in one of John’s award-winning shorts called “I Love You”, which played in a dozen international film festivals, and then he called me back to be in his new feature called “Act, Naturally”, which he co-wrote, and co-produced with two funny, talented women who also star in the film, Mia Pinchoff and Samantha Scaffidi.

Mia Pinchoff, John Gallagher, and Samantha Scaffidi outside the Sunshine East Theatre on Houston Street, in NYC!

Other people in the cast are Joe D’Onofrio (Are We There Yet?, Goodfellas, The Deli, Blue Moon, Digger 3D), Victor Colicchio (Inside Man, Goodfellas, and four of John’s previous films Street Hunter, Men Lie, The Deli, I Love You),Steve Stanulis (Long Shot Louie, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, and five of John’s other films Cupidity, The Introduction, Mother’s Day Massacre, I Love You, Digger 3D), and Deborah Twiss (Kick-Ass, A Gun for Jennifer). One thing about John is that he’s loyal to people who work for him and if he likes you he calls you back!

His company 305 Media Group has six films at this year’s Soho International Film Festival, including the world premiere of Uncomfortable Silence, which has also been invited to the Cannes Film Festival in 2013! Sibyl Santiago is the Exec. Director of the festival and Carlos Santiago is the head of the screening and jury committee, and between them they put on an incredible festival with great films from all over the world with world-class after parties as well thanks to their partner NITETABLES!

The night he’ll be showing Uncomfortable Silence, he will also be producing an event in honor of his friend the late Ben Gazzara who he had also directed, and it should be a very special evening. I will of course be filming on the red carpet!

The next 305 Media Group pictures, all of which he’s directing, include DIGGER 3D, a feature adaptation of Euripides’ classic The Medea … and a film that I happened to write, my only non-comedy project, called “Men of Violence!” John read it and loved it and to my honor, committed to it right away!

So in Act, Naturally I’m playing myself which I feel is a part I was born to play! The truth is I almost didn’t get it because they weren’t sure I was enough like myself to do it, but in the end, John said I pulled it off perfectly!

Mia Pinchoff doing her best to distract Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV while he’s interviewing award-winning actress Samantha Scaffidi in their scene on the red carpet!

I play myself as the host of Comedy Matters TV interviewing Samantha Scaffidi on the red carpet of the Soho Film Festival right after she won an award for the film, ” No, But Yeah!” Mia Pinchoff plays her roommate who tries to hijack my interview by vamping shamlessly behing her while we talk, until I can not help but include her in the conversation. It’s a very funny scene because both of these girls are very funny actresses.

Mia Pinchoff vamping it up on the red carpet for a scene with Jeffrey Gurian, and Samantha Scaffidi in John Gallagher’s Act, Naturally!”

For me it felt natural. I did what I’ve done hundreds of times, and it was really fun. John said it was a great scene and that he got what he wanted which is all that’s important!

This is a little trailer for the film:

And it even has a website:

www.actnaturallythemovie.com

Please check it out and I’ll let you know when to look for it in the theatre as I’m sure it will find a theatrical release!

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I’m In Another John Gallagher Film!!!

As a director, John Gallagher has worked with some of the biggest stars in the business including John Leguizamo, Gretchen Mol, Amanda Peet, Zach Braff, Vincent Pastore, Heather Matarazzo, and Denis Leary. All you have to do is see his film “The Deli” and you’ll see more stars than you can imagine in just one film!

Director John Gallagher after being interviewed by Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV on the red carpet of the Soho International Film Festival!

That particular film was honored in last year’s Soho International Film Festival in Manhattan!

He’s got 15 feature films and 25 shorts under his directorial belt! His company 305 Media Group has been involved in 4 features and 14 short films in the last three years alone.

What’s cool about John though is that he takes the time to nurture new talent. Not every successful director does that. John lectures internationally, but also teaches classes and workshops at One on One NYC, and I know he has also taught at the famed Neighborhood Playhouse where the legendary acting coach Sandy Meisner also taught for over 50 years!

In his new film ” Act Naturally” which I will be appearing in as myself, (mostly because I’m the closest thing to myself that he could find!), he will be debuting two new stars Mia Pinchoff and Samantha Scaffidi, both of whom have studied with him. All three of them collaborated on this screenplay working from a series of improv writing sessions.

Act Naturally follows the sometimes comedic, sometimes heart-breaking path of two aspiring actresses struggling to make names for themselves in the dog-eat-dog world of show biz. I will be interviewing at least one of them on the red carpet of a film festival, and I am very excited to be part of this project. I was in another of John’s films called ” I Love You”, so this will be my second project with John, and I’m counting on him to direct a screenplay I wrote called “Men of Violence” that he says he loves.

Patience is key in this business. It’s not uncommon for a project to take years until it hits the big screen!

Mia is also in the comedy world and performs with a partner Anni Weisband in the comedy team Moneymaker Duo, (www.moneymakerduo.com). They wrote, produced and starred in a short film called “Appetite”, which John Exec Produced, and which was featured in between two of John’s films at this past year’s Soho Film Festival. “Appetite” went on to play in a half dozen other international film festivals.

(L-R) Mia Pinchoff, Mike Starr, and Anni Weisband at a film event in NYC!

And Mia just placed #35 out of 200 girls in IMDB’s “Hotness List”!

The lovely rising star Mia Pinchoff who I will be performing with in John Gallagher’s “Act Naturally!”

The lovely and talented Samantha Scaffidi in a pose reminiscent of sexy Italian actresses from the 60’s! Like a young Sophia Loren!

Besides the newcomers, Act Natural will star Frank Vincent (Goodfellas, Raging Bull, The Sopranos), Mike Starr (Dumb and Dumber, Goodfellas), Ryan O’Callaghan (Digger 3D, 79 Parts), and Brian Kelly (Blue Moon, Black Dog) and probably other films without a color in the title! (LOL)

Frank Vincent and Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV at the Soho Film Festival at an event honoring Frank for his body of work!

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Mike Starr at the tribute to John Gallagher’s “The Deli” at the Soho Film Festival 2012 in NYC!

Stay tuned for updates on this exciting project.

www.HyperSmash.com

Posted in: Celeb Photos, Comedy Events, Comedy Festivals, Comedy Matters, Film Festivals, Film Review, New Films, Nightlife Events, Red Carpet Events

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