Shar Jackson before photo VH1 "Celebrity Fit Club"

I lovezz it already!  VH1’s “Celebrity Fit Club” has stirred the pot with the Season 7 cast.  Making headlines on all the gossip sites are mentions of Kevin Federline aka “K-Fed” and pre-Britney “Circus” Spears girlfriend Shar Jackson, or as I’m naming, right here, right now “SharFed.”    The couple had 2 children during their relationship and make their first televised reunion on this show.  Nothing’s better than 8 weeks of boot camp booty torture, and I mean it in every sense of the word. 

Spoiler alert!

Shar Jackson shed over 30 pounds during her stint on VH1’s “Celebrity Fit Club.” Shar is quick to report that the show is less about personal fireworks and more about growing and changing images, both physically and creatively.

VH1 preview super trailer

VH1 exclusive pre-series preview clips

But wait, there’s more!

I spotted Shar Jackson on the set of “The Untitled Kris Black Project” where she’s acting alongside another former beau and heartthrob talent that y’all just haven’t caught onto yet, Kris Black. I name them right here, right now as “SharK.”

Over the last two years, Kris Black and Shar Jackson have weathered the tabloid interest concerning their off-screen relationship. The couple prefer to leave their private lives just that, but are very open to talk about their creative endeavors together.  As for Kris Black and Shar, their focus is on their work together, and their “friendship” has grown over the last two years since making sparks fly on the set of “The House That Jack Built.”

Without further ado…EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS!!!

LEFT PHOTO: Kris Black, Shar Jackson / RIGHT PHOTO: Kris Black, Shar Jackson, Jeremy Jackson

Related Links

• Ifelicious Thoughts- Interview with writer, painter, actor Kris Black. (Part 2 of 2) Moving to LA, Hidden Talents, Dating
• Ifelicious Thoughts- EXCLUSIVE: Latest film projects and timeline for FourTwoFive Films
• Mrs. Grapevine- Shar Jackson from ‘Celebrity Fit Club’ with teen kids at Sundance; plus Babyface
• ET Online- Celebrity Fit Club’s Kevin Federline being called K-Fat

FourTwo Five Films: Kris Black (L), Bruce Reisman (R)

Independent film production company, FourTwoFive Films (IMDB: FourTwoFive Films), owned and operated by the multi-talented duo Bruce Reisman and Kris Black have been busy working on multiple film projects.  Here’s an exclusive update on all of their film projects planned for 2010 and 2011.

Their film slate currently includes “The House That Jack Built,” “The Untitled Kris Black Project,” “Boarding School 3-D,” “Five Good Years,” “4:20,” and “Danny Boy.”  Indie film enthusiasts like myself are certain to find a film or two or three that suits their preference as this power duo of Reisman and Black have written films ranging from horror to comedy.

Take a look!

The House That Jack Built

A psychological thriller where “Saw” meets “Entourage.”

IMDB: The House That Jack Built

FourTwoFive Films first completed film project was “The House The Jack Built.”  The premiere was held at ArcLight Theater in Los Angeles on July 7, 2009 and received great reviews (see “Interview with writer, painter, actor Kris Black: Part 1 of 2“).  Kris Black also held a screening of the film in his hometown of Viroqua, Wisconsin back on October 9, 2009 (see “FourTwoFive Films: Kris Black, local boy goes Hollywood“).  The cast includes: Gail O’Grady (“Boston Legal”), Shar Jackson (“Celebrity Fit Club- Season 7″), Joe Mategna (“Criminal Minds”), Hal Sparks (“Queer as Folk”), and more. Good news! They have recently finalized a distribution agreement for their first venture.  More details to come regarding release dates and how to obtain a copy.

The Untitled Kris Black Project

A “Killer Komedy” that scrambles fact and fiction and takes on Hollywood like never before.

IMDB:  The Untitled Kris Black Project

Production and writing partners, Bruce Reisman and Kris Black, recently completed their 2nd production, “The Untitled Kris Black Project” (UKBP), an irreverent “mockumentary” about the foibles of independent movie-making. Using the “movie-within-a-movie” concept, Kris Black’s hot-button original screenplay, takes on styles of both Woody Allen (“Zelig”) and Larry David (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”).

Directed by Hank Braxtan under the guidance of producer, Reisman, “UKBP” stars Shar Jackson (who also makes her debut as co-executive producer with her Malkore Productions banner); along with ex-child-star, Jeremy Jackson, all grown up from “Baywatch.”

Also in the cast is Justin Shilton, best-known as the guy who dumped Steve Carrell in “Little Miss Sunshine” and more recently seen as a recurring co-star of the new “Melrose Place.”

Jeremy Jackson adds to the mix for “UKBP,” bringing his own brand of experience and celebrity to a project that pokes fun at reality stars, delves deeper into their real talents, and creates a terrifying depiction of Hollywood indie horror films. In this movie, the audience will not be quite sure where reality stops and movie-magic begins.

It is already being touted for the independent film festival circuit, with insiders buzzing about the movie’s originality and superb production values; along with some surprising performances from the celebrated cast.

Boarding School 3-D

Not everyone is going home for the holidays in “Boarding School 3-D.”

IMDB: Boarding School 3-D

FourTwoFive Films plans next to expand their thriller base, but to do it in 3-D, with “Boarding School 3-D.” Written by Bruce Reisman and Kris Black, Reisman will direct this terrifying new take on the old “phantom of the opera” concept, whereas a “scarred” ex-high school football hero/coach (David Chokachi) returns to take revenge on the “student” (Kris Black) who destroyed his life.

David Chokachi

“Think ‘Breakfast Club’ meets ‘SAW’”, says director-writer Reisman, “and you’ve got the idea.”

Five Good Years

Kris Black takes on the fight of his life with “Five Good Years.”

IMDB: Five Good Years

The big news from FourTwoFive Films is that production is proceeding on their “most auspicious script,” “Five Good Years.” In development for over a year, with rumored stars like Kathy Bates (“Misery”), Taryn Manning (“Hustle and Flow”), Shoshanna Stern (“Weeds”), Peter O’Toole (“The Tudors”), and Samuel L. Jackson (“Lakeview Terrace”) to flank Kris Black, “Five Good Years” is the rags-to-riches story of one young man’s obsession to save his mother’s life; and by doing so, must enter the boxing ring.

Kris Black (L), Taryn Manning (R)

From coal miner to contender, Alex Winston must “fight against time,” and with the help of his hard-bitten fight promoter, his burnt-out Irish-poet trainer, his best friend and fellow miner, and the young CNN reporter (Taryn Manning) who falls in love with him… just maybe he can win.

“Five Good Years” is the most ambitious of the movies in the production slate, but its deeply moving screenplay is already gaining buzz as an Oscar-contender.

4:20

“4:20″ ponders what if you only had 3 hours left…to get high?

IMDB: 4:20

FourTwoFive Films’ plans are varied, as their films go from one extreme to the other. Following the intensity and raw emotions of “Five Good Years,” they will be moving forward with Kris Black’s directorial debut, the wild and raunchy “4:20,” which Black wrote with Reisman.

Says Black, “It’s ‘The Hangover’ meets ‘Pineapple Express’ and ‘Superbad’,” where two “stoners” have just one day to gather up all the legal marijuana they can before the California State Law is reversed.

This one will shoot in late summer 2010 in Los Angeles. No talent are attached as yet.

playing with props on set: Kris Black (L), Kevin Malloy (R)

(Above) Actor/Writer Kris Black is “playing around” with “4:20″ props for the media last summer in Los Angeles, and sharing the fun with fellow actor, Kevin Molloy (“The House That Jack Built” and “Boarding School 3-D”).

Danny Boy

Life and death and love in “Danny Boy.”

IMDB: (not yet available)

As FourTwoFive Films grows as an independent production company, as do their ambitions. For 2011, Reisman and Black are already writing and planning on producing “Danny Boy,” their original screenplay concerning the “relationship” between an incarcerated Episcopal priest and a death row inmate.

Golden Globe Award winner, Colin Farrell, is targeted for the title role of a social outcast, doomed to a life of prison, and finally, ending up on death row. By way of his friendship with Father Mick Callum, who himself is in jail, there’s a chance for clemency.

Told in flashback style, through the memories of a child, “Danny Boy” takes on the subjects of capital punishment, the right to die with dignity; and for two men, when under the most desperate of circumstances, are encouraged to experience love in the most unlikely of places.

“Danny Boy” is both raw, violent, scary, and finally an emotionally moving story of two very different men, who, to survive, chose their friendship over their wives, their children, and a disparaging world.

Related Links

• Ifelicious Thoughts- all posts related to FourTwoFive Films
• Ifelicious Thoughts- FourTwoFive Films looks to cast Kathy Bates in “Five Good Years”
• FourTwoFive Films official website- www.fourtwofivefilms.com

(December 18, 2009) Hollywood, CA  –  Jeremy Jackson, who portrayed “Hobie” on the internationally-famed “BAYWATCH,” has joined the cast of the FourTwoFive Films production of “The Untitled Kris Black Project.”

Jackson, 29, who last year appeared on the VH1 reality series, “Confessions of a Teen Idol,” joins previously set stars Shar Jackson, Justin Shilton, and Kris Black in the comedy-thriller, to be directed by Hank Braxtan.

The much-lauded Kris Black screenplay combines the “movie-within-a-movie” concept, as Jackson will portray himself, and “Caleb,” a fictional character in the horror movie that first time director, Kris Black, portraying himself, is producing.

Shot in the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” format, the film will be a scathing satire on independent film-making. The project is independently financed through FourTwoFive Films by executive producer, Paul Payne. Bruce Reisman, partnered in FourTwoFive Films is executive producer as well.

FourTwoFive Films recently completed their first venture, “The House That Jack Built,” which starred Joe Mantegna, Gail O’Grady, Hal Sparks, Shar Jackson, along with Kris Black as “Jack” in the indi-thriller. Bruce Reisman directed.

Jeremy Jackson, who is best known as a child-star, has grown into a handsome, talented adult actor.

“The Untitled Kris Black Project” is the second on a multi-picture slate for 2010 for Reisman and Black’s company. Following “Untitled” will be “Boarding School 3-D,” featuring another BAYWATCH alumnus, David Chokachi. Shooting begins in February in Detroit, Michigan with Bruce Reisman directing the script he co-wrote with Kris Black. Black also stars.

Following “Boarding School 3-D” are “Five Good Years,” a boxing drama set against the backdrop of West Virginia coal mines; and in summer, “4:20,” an all-out, youth-oriented comedy, will shoot in Los Angeles with Kris Black making his directorial debut.

All projects are being packaged by Stephen Rice at Pantheon Talent.

Related Links

• Ifelicious Thoughts- EXCLUSIVE: FourTwoFive Films announces cast for the “Untitled Kris Black Project”
• Ifelicious Thoughts- FourTwoFive Films news, interviews, and more
• IMDB- FourTwoFive Films
• FourTwoFive Films official website- www.fourtwofivefilms.com
• VH1 Blog- Teen idol’s Jeremy Jackson Txtrview!
• CBS News- Jeremy Jackson’s second shot at fame
• Myspace- www.myspace.com/jeremyjackson

Justin Shilton, Shar Jackson, Kris Black (publicity shoot for "The House That Jack Built")

Hollywood, Ca. (November 16, 2009) – Producers Bruce Reisman and Kris Black, continuing to add to their slate of FourTwoFive Films projects, are announcing that production on “The Untitled Kris Black Project” will begin in the next few months.

With a “secret” and “unique” plot, the film will be directed by Hank Braxtan from a script by Kris Black, who will be among the cast.  But also on board as the leads in the project are Shar Jackson and Justin Shilton, who both appeared with Black in the recently completed thriller, “The House That Jack Built.”

Justin Shilton is also well-known for his role in “Little Miss Sunshine” and is currently playing a re-curring role on the new “Melrose Place”; and has guest starred in a number of hot TV series such as “CSI: New York” and “Without a Trace.”

Shar Jackson, best known for her seven years on “Moesha” and for winning MTV’s “Celebrity Rap Superstar”, also recently completed roles in the feature films, “I Do… I Did” and “Steppin: The Movie.”

The only leak about the plot is that, according to Black, “It’s going to be a scathing expose’ and terrifying satire of independent film-making.”

Bruce Reisman, who hasn’t acted in over 20 years, will also return “in front of the camera”, as part of the cast; and will serve as Executive Producer on the “Project.”

Related Links

• FourTwoFive Films official website- www.fourtwofivefilms.com
• Ifelicious Thoughts- FourTwoFive Films news, interviews, and more
• IMDB- FourTwoFive Films
• YouTube- FourTwoFive Films

Exclusive Sneak Peak!

Hollywood, Ca. (November 6, 2009) — FourTwoFive Films‘ upcoming thriller, “Boarding School 3-D” offers readers an exclusive sneak peak at the production design for the movie. Created by Oliver Dear, this “lair” provides the setting for the “killer” Coach, Ralph Scudder, to be played by former “Baywatch” star, David Chokachi. This setting provides much of the terror in the Bruce Reisman-Kris Black script. To be directed by Reisman, Chokachi portrays a once-beloved high school athletic coach, forced into exile ten years ago after an “accident” maimed his once-perfect face and body.

Kris Black

Kris Black stars with Chokachi as current “coach” Ray Reynolds, the most popular teacher at the exclusive River Oaks Boarding School, where during the Christmas break, he chaperones a group of school “misfits” who are forced to remain. The director of the recently completed thriller, “The House That Jack Built” was originally “finished” with the horror genre, “but the chance to direct in 3-D”, says Reisman, “is something I couldn’t pass up. The technology is not only fascinating, but 3-D is the future of this genre”.

David Chokachi

FourTwoFive Films is currently completing the casting for the roles of the students, and the kids will all be played by some of the hottest names and faces in Hollywood.

About “Boarding School 3-D”

The story revolves around the holiday “lockdown”, where the horribly disfigured Coach Scudder sets out to destroy the current coach (Kris Black), once his “favorite student”, whom he blames for his own desolation. In true “SAW” and “Final Destination” tradition, the story is a relentless tale of suspense and terror, all taking place in a single nightmarish day.

Related Links

• Ifelicious Thoughts- Former “Baywatch” star, David Chokachi joins Kris Black in FourTwoFive Film’s new “Boarding School 3D”
• Ifelicious Thoughts- Ifelicious EXCLUSIVE!!! FourTwoFive Films Moves Forward On “Boarding School 3-D”
• Ifelicious Thoughts- all FourTwoFive Films related posts
• FourTwoFive Films official website- www.fourtwofivefilms.com
• FourTwoFilms Myspace- www.myspace.com/jackbuilt
• IMDB- Boarding School 3-D

Kris Black and Alex Verde

Hollywood, Ca. (October 26, 2009) – Kris Black and Bruce Reisman, whose FourTwoFive Films motion picture company is already in pre-production on their second movie, “Boarding School 3-D“, announced today that they are creating their own music label, Four-Legged Records.

This new venture has already signed its first rising star, 23 year-old Alexander Verde (pictured with Kris Black, above), exclusively to record an album and music video in 2010. The young singer was discovered by Reisman and Black at the posh L.A. eatery, Larsen’s Steak House. In a not-so-unusual show-biz scenario, “Alex” has been their server for many months. In passing conversation, the kid revealed that he was an opera singer. Curious, but skeptical, Reisman and Black saw and heard Verde’s demo and “were blown away”.

“The kid has a voice like a young Andrea Bocelli,” says Reisman.

“We’re going to groom him as a young Josh Groban,” says Black, who will personally oversee Verde’s career and produce his music for Four-Legged Records.

Aside from Verde’s youth and good looks, he is unique in that he sings in four languages. “We’re looking for just the right material,” says Black, “to showcase his versatility. We know that he’ll record opera in Italian, but we’re also looking for an original song along with a standard, to be recorded in both English and Spanish”. He will be groomed as an actor as well, and will appear in the upcoming thriller, “Boarding School 3-D”.

FourTwoFive Films had long been planning to launch a music division, but discovering and signing Verde helped them “pull the trigger”.

Related Links

• Ifelicious Thoughts- Ifelicious Exclusive: FourTwoFive Films Moves Forward On “Boarding School 3-D
• Ifelicious Thoughts- all FourTwoFive Films related posts
• FourTwoFive Films official website- www.fourtwofivefilms.com
• FourTwoFilms Myspace- www.myspace.com/jackbuilt
• Alex Verde website- www.alexverde.com

Kris Black and David Chokachi

Hollywood, Ca. (October 9, 2009) — As the casting process proceeds for “Boarding School 3D”, the next thriller from FourTwoFive Films (“The House That Jack Built”), still-hunkster David Chokachi, formerly of “Baywatch”, is in process of closing a deal with producers to join the cast.

The “Breakfast Club’ meets “SAW” storyline casts Chokachi against type, as a once beloved private boarding school athletic coach, returning to his alma mater as a “monster”, physically maimed in a science lab accident ten years back. Kris Black, who co-wrote the script with director Bruce Reisman, portrays Coach Scudder’s (Chokachi) former favorite student, who is now a member of the same school’s faculty.

Set in the dead of winter, several “troubled” students remain at the private school during the Christmas holiday, chaperoned by Black’s character, “Ray Reynolds”; and soon find themselves in a lockdown situation at the hands of the vengeful Scudder, who lives under the school and targets each of the “kids” as his prey.

“Originally,” says director Reisman, “I was going for a more traditional villain-type for the role of Coach Scudder. But when David’s name came up, I agreed to meet him. He was so funny and charming, that I felt he’d be the scariest monster of all under that handsome, disarming smile.”

Filming is set for late this year in Detroit, Michigan.

Related Links

Ifelicious Thoughts- all news about FourTwoFive Films, Kris Black, Bruce Reisman

(Hollywood, Ca). Kris Black, born in Westby, WI and raised in Viroqua, packed up virtually everything he owned a few years back, after deciding he was going to be an actor. Before he loaded up his car, Kris Black was Chris Mellem, son of local accountant and single mother, Christine Mellem; when he got to Los Angeles, and after a few years of sorting out his “identity”, Chris Mellem changed his name to Kris Black, and his fortunes changed with it. (www.myppk.com/go/krisblack.aspx)

Although not quite yet a household name, Kris is well on his way after forming FourTwoFive Films (with his producing partner, Bruce Reisman) and completing “The House That Jack Built”, which will have its premiere on October 9th at the Vernon Square Cinema. (www.fourtwofivefilms.com)

Chris Mellem attended Viroqua High School and was a star athlete, especially in football. It is on the football field where he got used to the cheers from the crowds, and felt the love and support from his fellow students and families. It is from there that a local boy got the guts to leave the safety net of Hometown USA, and venture forth into the world with a dream.

As not only the star of “The House That Jack Built”, Kris has become a multi-threat in Hollywood. As co-writer of “Jack” and producer, Kris has learned quickly all facets of independent movie making, from writing to raising money.

Also an acclaimed abstract artist, Kris Black was named by Los Angeles magazine as “One of the Top 25 Renaissance Men in Los Angeles”.

His company, FourTwoFive Films, is planning a roster of movies, the first being another thriller, “Boarding School 3-D” and includes Kris Black’s directorial debut, “4:20” from a script by he and Reisman.

But Kris is most looking forward to playing “Alex Winston” in “Five Good Years”, whereas he portrays a young West Virginia coal miner who’s forced in the boxing arena, to fight to save the life of his ailing mother. Written Kris and Bruce Reisman, to be directed by Reisman, Kris has been intensely training for the role for the last eight months. The training was recently photographed for publication in Mens Health fitness magazine.

Kris will be attending the premiere on October 9, 2009, joining his old friends and family. Please contact the Vernon Square Cinema (www.vernonsquarecinema.com) for event details and show times.

Related Links

• Ifelicious Thoughts- all news about FourTwoFive Films, Kris Black, Bruce Reisman
• Vernon Broadcaster- Viroqua native bringing his movie to local cinema
• FourTwoFive Films official website- www.fourtwofivefilms.com
• FourTwoFilms Myspace- www.myspace.com/jackbuilt

The company, having recently completed “The House That Jack Built” is now preparing their second feature, “Boarding School 3-D” to be followed by their much heralded screenplay, “Five Good Years”, and then the duo’s comedy “4:20”.

Kris Black will be represented by Pantheon as an actor, writer, producer, and director with Reisman, who has had an extensive career as a writer, producer, show runner, and director, being repped in these categories as well.

Pantheon partner, Aaron Kogan, will lead his team of agents focusing on Reisman and Black’s projects already funded and in pre-production, along with future projects, which includes their 2-hour pilot, “Private Eye Candy”.

Pantheon, one of the most prestigious talent agencies in Hollywood, which has a lengthy list of “talent”, is located on Ave. of the Stars in Century City, California.

Legendary rep Mark Lichtman will remain as Black and Reisman’s manager, and will work side by side with Kogan and Pantheon. Mark was partnered at the Shapiro-Lichtman Agency for over 30 years, and currently works on his own with a few select major clients.

Bruce Reisman of FourTwoFive Films

I haven’t had the pleasure of soaking in knowledge from an entertainment industry veteran since interviewing Leslie Jordan.  As someone who is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when it comes to covering the entertainment industry, I was overjoyed to hear that Bruce Reisman of FourTwoFive Films wanted to sit down and talk to me.  As you’ll read, Bruce has an extensive resume, is not afraid to tell it like it is, and fighting to regain a foothold in the new face of Hollywood that’s filled with reality tv celebrities and younger faces.

Bruce Reisman and his FourTwoFive Films partner, Kris Black, recently completed the thriller, The House That Jack Built, featuring Joe Mantegna and Gail O’Grady; which Bruce directed and co-wrote with Kris. It had its world premiere at the ArcLight Theatre in Hollywood on July 14, 2009 (see also “Interview with…Kris Black…“). Their current film projects include Five Good Years (see also “…Kris Black photo shoot…“) in tandem with recently announced Boarding School 3-D (see also- “Ifelicious Exclusive: FourTwoFive Films Moves Forward On Boarding School 3-D“).

Pull up a chair, grab a pen and paper and take it in…

Ifelicious:  I read that you do not audition people when casting.  Is that true?

Bruce:  I never audition people. To me it’s a waste of time just like I think acting classes are a waste of time…There’s nothing wrong with acting workshops where actors can go and do scenes and perform and flex their muscles, but you can’t teach someone how to be an actor. It’s a God given talent. I was an actor myself. I got away with it. I got hired. I just wasn’t very good.

Ifelicious:  How do you know that a person’s got it?

Bruce:  I’ll tell ya. I’ve been doing this for 40 years. I’ve been doing it since I was 12 years old.

Ifelicious:  Since you were a baby? (I say with a smile)

Bruce:  Since I was a baby (laughs). Over 40 years, and I directed a lot of plays. I’ve directed films. I’ve been a producer of television series, and everybody knows, it’s a little club secret…It doesn’t matter what he [or she] does… They walk in, there’s something that the director sees in their eyes and goes, “That’s who I want to play that part!” That’s how people get cast 90 percent of the time. I don’t use a casting director. I use a lawyer to make the deals. I skip all that time. I don’t think it’s necessary. I cast on my own. I could look at you and go yes or no.

Ifelicious:  Do you think your approach as you’ve defined it is different than what most people are doing in the industry now?

Bruce:  I’ll give you a perfect example. Look at Judd Apatow’s movies. He uses all the same people. He knows what he’s going to get. Also, there’s a new crop of Hollywood. You’re going to get letters. I’m very outspoken about this…The bar has been lowered as far as talent. You don’t have to be good to be famous anymore.

Ifelicious:  Oh, I know. Thanks to reality tv.

Bruce:  Reality tv, but even in LA, in Hollywood you don’t have to have a theatrical resume…I would not book any actor that’s never done a play…They will never be in any of my movies because that’s the real test.

Ifelicious:  What about it makes it the real test for you?

Bruce:  You have to go through the rehearsal process, it’s unglamorous, you put your own makeup on, you rehearse for five weeks, you have to get to the theater at 6:30, you have to do a performance from beginning to end, and the audience lets you know. It’s the true testament of the actor…I do a lot of lectures. I go back to my alma mater Cal State Northridge, and I talk to the actors, and the first thing I say…is, “I think all of you should go home because the chances of you being successful as an actor or actress in Hollywood is next to nothing.”

Ifelicious:  Yes, but everybody dreams the same way they dream about basketball.

Bruce:  They do, but it’s not fair because there isn’t enough work. That’s number one, and these acting teachers charge them an enormous amounts of money, and I’ve gone to be a guest at acting classes where you’d see people perform, and they’re awful, and the acting coach would say, “Bravo! Oh, you’re fantastic!” Well, the reason they do that, if they tell them they’re bad, they’ll quit the class and they won’t pay them a monthly fee.

Ifelicious: (jokingly) Ok, Simon Cowell! You’re going to tell it to them straight.

Bruce:  I would tell it to them straight. Absolutely, but it’s my opinion. I could be wrong. I mean, not everybody agrees with me. It’s ok, but if I’m making my own movies, I make decisions about who’s going to be in my movie, and that’s how I cast, but I have a whole feeling about the motion picture industry now, and some of it is based on bitterness. You know, I’ve faced ageism. It’s a detriment to have my resume. You have to be young and hip and all that instead which is why I took on a young partner.

Ifelicious:  That was one of the things we talked about before offline. I was floored that this is the case in Hollywood. I would think someone with your experience would be sharp enough to sit in a cafe and listen to conversation to stay current.

Bruce:  It’s not about knowing. They’re going to hire their friends. They’re going to hire their own age group. We did it, too. I know writers that can’t get a job that have written 500 hours, literally, of television. They can’t get a job writing a screenplay because they’re over 50.

Ifelicious:  Wow!

Bruce:  I’m 58. I’m considered a dinosaur. That’s why I formed my own company. I would never work in LA if I didn’t form my own company. I’d rather do it anyway. I get to punch my own clock. I have no bosses, and we’re going to be successful. We’ve been successful. We’ve done one movie. We’ll do another one. Most people believe the way I do about actors and the new Hollywood. They just won’t say it. I’ll say it because I can’t get hurt.

Ifelicious:  Right, this is your own company.

Bruce:  This is my company, and I’m not saying anything that’s really bad, but by the same token, there are people who have never acted before that they have the magic and they’re great.

Ifelicious:  That’s talent.

Bruce:  It’s talent, yes. I went to a party a few months ago, and there was karaoke, and this girl gets up, not professional in any way and sings like Judy Garland. Like a bird….She could be like a major star. She doesn’t want to be. She’s a lawyer! Inside of everybody, in some people not everybody, is that gift.

Ifelicious:  I think that everybody has a gift.

Bruce:  Yes.

Ifelicious:  It’s more finding out what it is and whether or not you discover it in your lifetime.

Bruce:  I wanted to be an actor so bad, and I’ve had experience on the stage. I got hired a lot when I was in my twenties, but I stunk. I was not good, and that’s why I quit. I was bad.

Ifelicious:  It’s amazing that you’re willing to be that honest.

Bruce:  I knew I was bad because I felt it when I was acting. First of all, I’d walk into an audition and I’d be trembling. I’d have to take tranquilizers before I went into an audition. It wasn’t natural for me. This is natural. As you can see, I won’t shut up.

Ifelicious:  No, no! I completely understand and relate to by finding what’s natural. So you say to yourself, “I can’t act,” then what?

Bruce:  I started as a writer…I wrote my first script for Lost In Space when I was 12, the original tv series, and I wrote scripts on and off. I was doing my own plays, directing my own plays, producing my own plays in my early twenties and I was working as a producer/writer on Chips when I was 23…I went to school with Larry Wilcox who played Baker, blond guy on Chips. He knew I was a writer and he asked me if I would write a script with him, and I did and we sold it, and so I came on board with him as a writer. Then from there I went and worked on The Fall Guy, Lee Major’s show. I was a contract writer at 20th Century Fox for Glen Larson who taught me a lot. He was genius at production and writing…He created Quincy. He created Knight Rider. That’s how famous he was… After my term at 20th Century Fox, I went over to Columbia where I worked on TJ Hooker with William Shatner, and then I went from there over to a series in the late eighties early nineties called Tour of Duty which was a Vietnam show. I was very proud to be a part of that, and I was mentored on the show by an Academy Award winning producer named Ronald L. Schwary. He produced the movie Ordinary People. He was my boss and he taught me everything there was to know about producing and writing and directing. He now does Medium…Then after that, it started to dry up in the mid nineties and I started script doctoring work. I sold some movies of the week for Lifetime, and then heading into 2000 it really dried up, and that’s when I decided to write a novel and I wrote a novel.

Ifelicious:  You did?

Bruce:  Yes.

Ifelicious:  Now that I didn’t know at all, so tell me more about that.

Bruce:  You want to know about my novel? That’s a whole other conversation.

Ifelicious:  Well, at least give me the name.

Bruce:  It’s called The Absence of Quinn and it covers a young man’s life from the day he’s conceived to his 32nd birthday.

Ifelicious:  Well, that’s on my reading list now.

Bruce:  It’s not out. I’d have to give it to you to read.

Ifelicious:  Wait, you said you stopped and wrote a book, but you didn’t publish it?

Bruce:  I didn’t publish it.

Ifelicious:  Why?

Bruce:  Well, nobody wanted to publish it…It takes years to go up the ladder of a publishing company, and we got close and then they’d get lazy on it. People like it, but it’s very hard to get a book published unless you’re a celebrity. I think what we’re planning on doing is after a couple of movies are done…I’m going to film it…and then the novel will come out after the movie.

Ifelicious:  Any advice to other independent filmmakers out there that are aspiring to get to your place?

Bruce:  Control the money, and make sure if you have a bank account that you have two signatures required, and I mean that because the money can disappear. You must have at least two signatures on your motion picture account, have good accounting, have a great lawyer- a really good lawyer, and trust no one, totally. I mean it sounds cynical.

Ifelicious:  I know! I thought you would end your advice with “Go for your dreams!”

Bruce:  I would tell most people that haven’t done it before and don’t have the experience, try to pick something else because it’s a really hard life, but if it’s in your heart, if it’s all you can do. Stick with it. That’s what I did. I have a father to this day, 85 years old says to me “When are you going to get a real job?” and I literally see him all the time, God love him because he sees the trials and tribulations that I still go through. He did not want me to be a writer. He did not want me to go into show business but that’s all I wanted to do.

Ifelicious:  Now, that’s good advice, too.

Bruce:  Never give up, but there’s going to come a time if you’re young, if you don’t get a gig. If you’re an actor and you come out here when you’re 22, and at 35 you’re still waiting tables and you want to be a leading man or leading lady. It’s not going to happen.

Ifelicious:  Any other advice?

Bruce:  Anyone out for a lot of money in this business whether they’re actors, writers, directors, producers, remember it is a gift and a blessing every time any one of us gets to walk on a set and gets any kind of a paycheck.

Class dismissed!

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