Around June on Youtube
Several small “behind the scenes” clips of “Around June” are now available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/AroundJune
These clips feature the actors Samaire Armstrong, Jon Gries and Brad Henke and writer/director James Savoca and director of photography Peter Hawkins. They were shot and edited by FilmschoolSF graduate Maria Victoria Ponce who will also do a longer documentary for the DVD of “Around June.
Feel free to also check out the full website athttp://www.aroundjune.com with much more: actor bios, many photos from the film and a director’s blog by James Savoca.
Watch San Francisco’s Channel 7 News coveragehere.
AROUND JUNE writer/director James Savoca is interviewed by Michael Fox on SF360.
Please visit www.aroundjune.com for more information, behind the scenes interviews, photos and more.
FilmschoolSF is proud to announce picture lock on 2nd feature film “Around June” & website launch aroundjune.com
The San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking and production company, Fog City Pictures is proud to announce we have picture lock on newest Feature Film, “Around June”. James Savoca, Writer/Director and FilmschoolSF Instructor, talks about working on a professional film with FilmschoolSF students.
James says, “It was inspirational to work with non-professionals who desire to be filmmakers.” He raved about FilmschoolSF student, Stephen Bourdet for his exceptional cameraman work, saying, “He held his own.” Stephen worked as the second assistant cameraman under 1st AC Paul Marburry and DP Peter Hawkins and received praise from them both for his great work.
“Around June” is now in the latter stages of post production; sound design, score, and titles. FilmschoolSF students Staci DeGagne and Brandon Hamilton were Assistant Editors on the film, and Achim Voermanek, was the film’s Post-Production Supervisor.
For immediate Release
SAN FRANCISCO, CA- JANUARY 5, 2007 — The San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking (FilmschoolSF) is not just a world-class learning facility for filmmaking; in less than two years it has established itself as a force-to-be-reckoned-with for quality independent film production. On January 15th, FilmschoolSF’s second independent feature film, Around June, starring Hollywood actors Samaire Armstrong (Entourage,The O.C.), Brad William Henke (World Trade Center, Sherrybaby), Jon Gries (Napoleon Dynamite, Real Genius) and introducing Oscar Guerrero, will begin filming on location in the Potrero Hill district of San Francisco through February 9th. For more information on FilmschoolSF, visit the website at www.sfdigifilm.com or call (415) 522-1200.
With an original screenplay by FilmschoolSF teacher, James Savoca, who will direct the film,Around June is a love story in the vein of a classic fairy tale set near the shipyards of San Francisco. June (Armstrong), is a young woman trapped in a life caught between her crippled, abusive father (Gries) and mentally challenged uncle (Henke), whose adoration of her offers little solace. One day, through a poetic twist of fate, June meets a penniless immigrant, Juan Diego (played but newcomer Oscar Guerrero), whose love empowers her to finally break free and realize her dreams.
Jeremiah Birnbaum, co-founder of FilmschoolSF, instructor, and producer of Around June was impressed with the script handed to him by one of the school’s teachers, James Savoca. “I read James’ script and loved it so much we decided that it would be perfect for our second feature film project,” says Birnbaum. “Our feature films serve two purposes, it offers our students the unique opportunity of crewing on a professional film project and it brings more feature film production to the Bay Area.”
Around June will be shot with the help of a 35 member crew comprised of two-thirds industry professionals from both San Francisco and Los Angeles. The remaining crew members are FilmschoolSF film students working in two 2-week shifts.
Produced by Jeremiah Birnabaum, Ralph King, and James Savoca from FilmschoolSF and executive produced by Greg Corbin of the L.A. based production company Caviar Films and L.A. based Alyssa Weisberg of Alyssa Weisberg Casting, Around June will be entirely shot in hi-definition digital video.
CAST
Japan-born Samaire Armstrong didn’t pursue acting professionally until a few years ago. She was first cast in a recurring role on the critically acclaimed NBC series, “Freaks and Geeks.” That role was followed shortly thereafter by guest-starring roles on, “Judging Amy,” “Party of Five,” “That’s Life, “ER,” and pivotal role in a particularly creepy episode of the “X-Files.” She is best known for starring as Emily, Ari Gold’s assistant and Eric’s love-interest, on “Entourage” for HBO, and she was recently seen co-starring on the hit Fox series, “The O.C.”
Brad William Henke is quickly making a name for himself as one of the busiest actors in Hollywood. During the last two years he has appeared in such acclaimed projects as Me You and Everyone We Know, North Country, Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center,Sherrybaby co-starring Maggie Gyllenhaal., and Hollywoodland opposite Adrien Brody. Brad will next be seen co-starring in the ABC mid-season drama “October Road.”
Jon Gries has appeared in more than 30 feature films. He recently wrapped production on “The Astronaut Farmer” with Billy Bob Thornton and Virginia Madsen for the Polish Brothers and Warner Brothers and starred opposite Jon Voigt and Terence Stamp in the feature film, “September Dawn.” Gries has also completed starring roles in the Trigger Street production of “The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang” and in the independent feature films “Frank”, “Elsewhere”, “South of Heaven,” “Waterborne,” “Sledge: The Untold Story,” “Car Babes” and “Bar Starz.” He is also appearing in Fox Atomic’s “The Comebacks.” Last year, Jon received the prestigious 2005 IFP Spirit Award Nomination for Best Supporting Acting for his role as Uncle Rico in the multiple-award-winning Fox Searchlight smash hit “Napoleon Dynamite.”
PRODUCTION
James Savoca – Writer/Director. A New York native, James got his start in the theatre and made the choice to study acting with Louise Lasser at Carnegie Hall, not to become an actor, but to become a better director. His feature film directorial debut was “Sleepwalk,” starring Drea de Matteo (The Sopranos), which had its broadcast premiere on IFC. His second feature, “The Crooked Corner,” was recently completed and is in the beginning stages of the festival circuit. James’ short film, “Revelation”, starring Kevin Corrigan, aired on The Sundance Channel. Before directing his first feature, James assembled two successful theatre groups where he wrote and directed four plays on off-Broadway’s downtown theatres.
Ralph King Producer: Formerly a student at FilmschoolSF, Ralph co-produced Presque Isle and directed 5 short films. Prior to filmmaking, he worked as a journalist for 25, primarily writing for the Wall Street Journal and was twice nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
Jeremiah Birnbaum – Producer: Jeremiah is the Co-Founder and CEO of the San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking. A native New Yorker, he has worked as a producer, editor, director and educator in film and video for over seventeen years.
Greg Corbin- Producer: Originally from Southampton, NY, Greg started his career in the film industry by producing his first short film in 2000 called Mid-Summer Life Crisis, which was filmed in New York City and directed by James Savoca. Since joining Caviar Films, Greg has put together a slate of over 20 projects that are in various stages of development. Some of the projects include: Senor Vasquez and the Holy with Alfred Molina,Goldenbones, an outrageous teen comedy, written by Allan Aaron Katz (Diamonds), andThe Lieber & Stoller story, based on the life of the famous rock and roll songwriting duo.
Caviar los angeles is a Los Angeles-based production company, founded in 2002 by Michael Sagol and Tom Weissferdt. Initially called Atomik Pictures, in 2004 the company partnered with Belgian production company caviar to begin representing European directors for the American television market with offices in L.A. and Cape Town, South Africa.
Alyssa Weisberg – Executive Producer/Casting Director: Alyssa has been casting for the past 14 years in film, television and theater. Her film credits include studio films such asMission Impossible III, The Long Kiss Goodnight, U-Turn and Booty Call; she’s also worked extensively on the independent scene on such projects as The House of Usher, Telling You, Freeway and The House Of Yes. Alyssa recently won an Emmy Award for casting the pilot of ABC’s Lost, which has gone on to international acclaim.
About FilmschoolSF:
San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking (FilmschoolSF), the most innovative film school in the Bay Area, bridges the gap between traditional education and professional moviemaking. Utilizing state-of-the-art high def equipment and a professional sound stage, students make their own movies, work on HD feature films, and launch their careers. Offering intensive, hands-on one-year Digital Filmmaking Programs, five-week Digital Filmmaking Workshops, and eight-week Acting for Film Classes.
In 2006, FilmschoolSF produced their first feature film, Presque Isle, written and directed by Cannes and Sundance award-winning filmmaker Rob Nilsson. The film was shot on location in Santa Cruz and on set at FilmschoolSF and is currently in post-production with the goal to submit in March for consideration at Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, France.