Producer PJ Leonard in pre-production for New TV Series HUDSON COUNTY

Shows will feature fictional reality similar to LAW & ORDER

 By Sally Deering  

Once upon a time in Hudson County, the splotch of towns across from Manhattan, some strange, brutal and even hilarious happenings seem to have taken place in the dog-eat-dog world of local politics. Just mention former Jersey City Mayor Frank “Boss” Hague, who ruled with iron fists in Kidd gloves from 1917-1947, and peopleâ€s ears perk up. Hagueâ€s infamous political career paved the way for those who followed in his corruption-soaked footsteps. Their stories made front page headlines and to film producer PJ Leonard, they also make for good TV.

Leonard has assembled a creative team to launch a new TV series heâ€s creating, HUDSON COUNTY, which he says, will be fiction based on non-fiction similar to shows like “LAW & ORDER”. He recruited writer Raymond McAnally, whose play SIZE MATTERS earned critical acclaim, and who lived in Jersey City for several years; actors Obba Babatundé and Sonny Marinelli, and Robert S. Fingerman, CPA, founder of Independent Films Production Consultants.

Leonard came up with the idea for a series about Hudson from growing up the Marion section of Jersey City; his time as a bar manager, and the years he spent as a bookie. Then thereâ€s his work on political campaigns. Meld that diverse background with a penchant for the entertainment industry and Leonard seems to have the right credentials to get a show like HUDSON COUNTY off the page and onto the screen.

 Leonardâ€s production company Other Side of the River Productions has begun pre-production on HUDSON COUNTY with a $20,000 fundraising campaign on Indiegogo to produce the showâ€s pilot and development for the showâ€s first season. He formed Other Side of the River in 2005 with his first film, THE IMMACULATE MISCONCEPTION. He followed that with the short films THE HIT and WAITING, and the feature, THE FALLEN FAITHFUL which won the 2010 International Beverly Hills Film Festival award for Best Story. His most recent feature, CHU & BLOSSOM stars Oscar and Tony Award winner Mercedes Ruehl (THE FISHER KING, LOST IN YONKERS) and Tony Award winner Alan Cumming (CABARET).

Leonard took time out of his busy schedule – with a phone that never stops ringing – and sat down to talk about what itâ€s like producing films and getting a show like HUDSON COUNTY off the ground.

RVO: Can you tell us a little about your background?

PJL: I was born in Jersey City in the Marion section; nine people in a 3-bedroom apartment; that was Jersey City. I went to Mt. Carmel School and then we moved to Bayonne and I attended Our Lady of Assumption grammar school, and Hudson Catholic high school. My motherâ€s from Hellâ€s Kitchen in New York; my father from Chelsea. I was a comedian as a kid. I always had a bubbly personality. I consider myself a funny guy.

RVO: How did you get into the movie business?

PJL: I worked at the Stock Exchange on Wall Street. I sold insurance. I was a bookie, and I was in the restaurant business. But I always wanted to be in the entertainment field. THE IMMACULATE MISCONCEPTION, that started my career. THE HIT, a short film I produced, was at the Cannes Film Festival.

RVO: Did you ever want to be an actor?

PJL: I took acting at the Three of Us Studios in New York.

RVO: Why a series about Hudson County and not, say, Bergen County?

PJL: I think the grittiness of Hudson County, thereâ€s a certain vibe here thatâ€s not in other parts of the U.S. Iâ€ve been to other cities and towns for film festivals and I became the main attraction just by the way I talk. When this series gets picked up (by a network like HBO or Showtime) weâ€ll have a five-year run because of the subject matter. Hudson County is the county that keeps on giving.

RVO: Can you tell us about the Indiegogo campaign?

PJL: It is our goal to raise capital to help support the development stage; writers, research and interviews are all needed to develop a series of this caliber. There are different perks for donations. For instance, for $2000 you can have a character named after you in the pilot script. You’ll even get to talk with the writer about whether or not your namesake is on the up and up. For $4000, you will be included as a Development Associate. We need to raise $50,000 for development. We donâ€t need to fund the whole project. Itâ€s not like weâ€re looking for a lot.

RVO: Isnâ€t film producing a tough go? What does it take to succeed as a producer?

PJL: You have to have a big personality. Youâ€ve got to make some true connections. Iâ€m not a big believer in destiny. I know where Iâ€m going. I donâ€t have a filter; the truth is the truth. Filters are for people who have something to hide. I donâ€t drink. I donâ€t do drugs. I have no vices. When I do something, it will get done.

 For more info on HUDSON COUNTYâ€s Indiegogo campaign, go to www.indiegogo.com/projects/hudson-county-tv-series-development#/story

 

 

 

The post HUDSON GOES HOLLYWOOD first appeared on River View Observer.

By Sally Deering  

Anthony Cupo grew up in Jersey City a few blocks from Journal Square and thousands of miles from the Sundance Resort in Park City, Utah, a small ski village that Robert Redford turned into a famous film festival location back in 1978. The 2013 Sundance Film Festival was in full-swing the week of Jan. 17 and Cupo, who is the Executive Producer and Editor of his first feature film “Concussion” saw his dream come true when he received a seven-figure offer from RADIUS-TWC to distribute “Concussion” in the fall. Of course, Cupo said yes.

 The Sundance Film Festival attracts thousands of producers, directors, writers, actors, critics and studio ‘heads†who turn the small ski village into a Hollywood event where films are screened in theaters and other venues and prizes are given out to the top contenders. Cupoâ€s film, “Concussion,” written and directed by his friend Stacie Passon tells the story of what happens when a suburban wife and mother gets a concussion that fractures her perspective on her marriage and more importantly, her life. Critics like Jim Dobson, President of Indie PR in Studio City, California, who attended a screening, gave “Concussion” 3-1/2 stars.  

 

Robin Weigert stars in Concussion

“There is a real concussion at the beginning of the antiseptically beautiful “Concussion,” but it’s also a metaphor that’s no less jarring. When Abby (Robin Weigert), a suburban lesbian married to Kay (Julie Fain Lawrence), gets hit by a baseball thrown by one of their children, it sets off a need for change in her routine existence. She works on renovating a downtown loft with a contractor, Justin (Jonathan Tchaikovsky), who also pimps on the side — and Abby decides to take female clients as a high-end hooker, using the professional name Eleanor. Writer-director Stacie Passionâ€s sexually charged premise becomes a vehicle for an emotional exploration of a stagnant relationship and the struggle between desire and stability. Weigert (best known for her work on “Deadwood”) gives a performance that’s revelatory in more ways than one, as Abby sheds inhibitions and clothes. The slick look (by production designer Lisa Myers and art director Kevin P. O’Donnell) highlights the split between Abby’s suburban oppression and her urban freedom.”

 

Terrific reviews like that keep pouring in for “Concussion” and Cupo, 42, is thrilled about his Sundance experience. An alumnus of the School of Visual Arts in New York, Cupo has been involved in film since he was a kid playing hooky to catch the movies playing in the Journal Square movie theaters close to home. He has worked on commercials and videos with all the major networks and in 2006 Cupo partnered with friend and colleague R. Jamie Mamalis to open The Rust Company in Manhattan, a lab, of sorts, that offers the latest cutting-edge technology for filmmakers to edit film and video and perform other creative tasks to see their films and videos realized.

 At Sundance, Cupo took a break before his filmâ€s screening on Thursday to share with Riverview Observer what itâ€s like showing his film at the Sundance Film Festival and making a deal that may change the course of his life and career.

 

 

RVO:  Congratulations on the success of “Concussion” at Sundance.

AC:  Thank you. People here are digging it. It all goes to Stacie Passon, the writer and director.

 

RVO:  Can you describe the film for our readers?

AC:  “Concussion” is about a lesbian housewife who lives in an upscale neighborhood in New Jersey. She is playing with her kids and her son beans her with a baseball and she has a concussion. When she comes to, she has that 40-something realization – where am I and whereâ€s my passion? When youâ€re 25 everything makes sense, when youâ€re 40 it goes gray. Thatâ€s the heart of the film that people are relating to most: thereâ€s a clock ticking for everybody for different reasons.

 RVO: Were you nervous about showing your film at Sundance?

AC: This is my first feature film, this is Stacieâ€s first feature film, and the first time weâ€re here at Sundance. I feel this is the little film that could.

 RVO:  Is the film up for a top prize?

AC: What happened this year, 16 films were selected, 8 by men directors; eight by women directors. The top prizes are ‘Best Directorâ€, ‘Best Film†and thereâ€s an audience award. One of the rules, the film has to be a premier. It canâ€t be out in theaters. It has to be the first time the world has seen any one of these films.

 RVO:  How did your collaboration with Stacie happen?

AC: Stacie and I started working together making industrials for Warner Brothers Records, Sony music. Weâ€ve made music videos together and all sorts of promotional pieces for the music industry. Stacie hails from Detroit and now she resides in Montclair where the story takes place.

Iâ€m still a Jersey City guy. In February of 2011, Stacie told me she had an idea for a film and my response was ‘Good, donâ€t tell me about it, write it.†Two months later she came back with a first draft and it knocked my socks off.

 RVO: Did you shoot the film in Jersey?

AC: We shot a good portion in Montclair and in Hoboken at the old Levelor building. They were very nice to us there. We shot on location for exteriors in Brooklyn and Soho.

 RVO: For those of us who have never been, can you describe what Sundance is like?

AC: Sure. When you first go to Newark and fly out, you want to question why Redford chose this place for a film festival. You have to fly to Salt Lake and take an hour drive to get here. But once you get here and youâ€re surrounded by snow-capped mountains, you realize everybody here has the same love for film you do and it makes sense. Youâ€re cut off from the world for a week just seeing other peopleâ€s films and supporting them. It becomes a weird bonding between all the filmmakers. (Regarding the layout), it has one main road in and out of the city and from what I understand when the festival comes around the price of everything doubles. When Redford gave the commencement speech, he said the festival generates $80 million in 8 days for the territory. All the shuttles that take you from one theater to the next are free and I believe there are 8 theaters, but when I say theater, the local high school auditorium is turned into a theater, a Jewish temple is turned into a theater, all of this adds to the charm. Meanwhile big companies like Dolby will spec out the theater and make sure the sound quality is top notch. The high school auditorium, the Jewish temple, they become professional theaters in a matter of days.

 RVO: And after the first screening, “Concussion” was picked up by a distributor. Can you share how that came about?

AC: The Weinsteins have a company called RADIUS-TWC and they picked up our film. It screened Saturday and sold two days later. Iâ€m saying this in a very humble way, itâ€s a big deal, a 7-figure deal and more than half of that will go back to the investors.

 RVO:  How will this change things for you and your career?

AC:  It lets us play in the sandbox and gives us the chance to do this again. I have now 50 business cards and keep track of all the people Iâ€m meeting. Iâ€m part of the Class of 2013. Iâ€m hoping in 20 years that will have grown.

The post COVER STORY -JERSEY CITY TO SUNDANCE- Local Filmmaker Sells First Feature Film at Sundance Film Fest first appeared on River View Observer.

All attended the showing of La Villa’s feature film “Oak Hill” , starring Academy -award winner and Golden Globe winning actress Sally Kirkland, at the La Femme Film Festival in Los Angeles in November

The post Peter La Villa’s “Oak Hill” Film Shown at The La Femme Film Festival in Los Angeles first appeared on River View Observer.