Lawrence Rush - Lawrence is an award-winning composer (Drammy Award for best original music for the musical Under the Influence), lyricist, actor and singer. He is a two-time Richard Rodgers Award finalist and his Pride & Prejudice-the Musical is performed around the world. As a singer, he was a full time member of the San Francisco Opera Chorus where he also performed small roles as well as a member of the Grammy-winning Gregg Smith Singers. Lawrence has performed at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, The Los Angeles Music Center and with many opera and musical theatre companies. He studied film scoring at UCLA and was a musical theatre teaching artist in New York City for over 20 yrs before moving to Berlin where he continues to compose while working as a teaching artist, voice teacher and tour director.
Lawrence will be lending his talents, expertise and passion toward our music score as our Music Score Editor and Advisor and we are so thrilled to have him on our team. Welcome, Lawrence!!!
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With filming being over, and editing wrapping up, Love and Vodka is staying strong in its post-production phase. After wrapping up with editing, we will be moving on to soundpost. This addresses things such as sound within film, soundtrack, as well as the score of the film.
Most recently, we have had a meeting with two musician/producers in Berlin and are working with Sophie as well on creating/curating the perfect pieces for our Ukranian-American coproduction. The meeting went quite well, and the soundtrack is in the works. Keep a look out for more to come. xoxoxo, The Love and Vodka Movie Team Producer/Director/Adaptation Screenwriter Heidi Philipsen-Meissner was interviewed by her former Professor Kimberley Barker, Professor of Management at Eastern Michigan University's College of Business Eastern Michigan University EMU College of Business, who discussed intercultural exchange and "Love & Vodka" as an informal case study. They exchanged their thoughts about cultural competence and working to create positive change in the world, and thinking globally while acting locally, as the "Love & Vodka" team has done to make a romantic comedy that brings joy and hope in a time of uncertainty and darkness. So grateful to Professor Barker for lifting up "Love & Vodka" via her interview and continuing to spread the word! Please watch and, if you are so inclined, share: LOVE & VODKA was at the European Film Market in Berlin, Germany, during mid-February 2024, checking out all the film market stands and companies in research for the day that our feature is completed and ready for sales and distribution.
One of the key findings at the market this year outlined the need to create content that fights against stereotypes and provides an opportunity to see a culture in a different light. After EFM, we are confident that LOVE & VODKA is a film that will do well in the marketplace with viewers of all ages and backgrounds. As we push through post-production, we look forward to engaging with sales companies and distributors for our future release.
Hello Everyone! I
t's been a busy week, full of ups and downs, and so I'm writing to you all to catch you up. We finished our Final Cut -- our Ukrainian editor, Yakiv, finished the last cuts to LOVE & VODKA and it felt like a major accomplishment. Those GoFundMe contributions made helped me to pay him another installment of the $7000 that I owe him as editor. Thank you! I still owe him around $3000, which for some people may not be a lot of money, but for me right now, after not being able to work due to the film industry union strikes, and after already spending so much of my own money toward this passion project, feels like a lot. We still also need to get the sound post done, as well as color grading and pay for some stock footage. This past week, I felt a bit down, to be honest. Many established producers will tell you that its harder to make a micro-budget passion project with unknowns than it is a multi-million dollar, packaged picture with bankable stars -- and though I haven't experienced that myself, I can say that when you are taking a chance on unknown actors and you, yourself, are not yet considered "known" as a director (even IF you DO have one feature under your belt that has done very well... in my case, "Darcy") -- all I can say that pushing this project forward has felt, at times, as if I'm pushing a bolder uphill with gale-force winds blowing straight at me. The one thing that keeps me going is that it's turning out to be a lovely little film. The performances are delightful. It's full of good laughs. It's honest. And it makes me cry during the heart-felt moments. So I'm very proud of it. If I weren't, I couldn't put myself out there. Look, if I had the right organizations to back me and push this picture along, I know it would do well. And I'm definitely working toward that end. But it takes constant work and the ability to put yourself out there again, and again. I'm including this video of our Associate Producer Ariel Wan who is someone on my side. She's believed in me from he get go and recorded this video before we had our first film production crowdfunding campaign. I'll come back soon with an updated version because - just recently - Ariel viewed the Final Cut and is extremely excited to see what we've made. It's a wonderful feeling to show what you've made to the very people who believed in you from the get-go and hear their encouraging and satisfied feedback. They took a chance on you and you didn't disappoint them. To that end, I'm asking you to take a chance on us and this film. Even if you don't have funds yourself, perhaps you know of the right Ukrainian organization that is looking to support a film about the American-Ukrainian transatlantic friendship. By supporting #LOVEANDVODKAMOVIE ... you are supporting activism in the form of a movie. We've done our best to provide hope to Ukrainian refugees and give them something to be hopeful and happy about... Thank you. Heidi As many of you may know from reading the last blog entry or by checking out any of our socials, the #LoveandVodkaMovie is in post-production, and more specifically, we have started a GoFundMe to raise funds for the finalization of the film. Among other things, these funds will be going towards color correction as well as sound post.
In my opinion, it becomes clear how much cinema relies on sound, especially in its absence. This I have realized while watching the initial drafts of the film, but also through other films that I have seen recently. The clearest example of this is in The Boy and the Heron, a 2023 release from the legend Hayao Miyazaki. This film has a lot of magical qualities, from the illustration and animation to the beautiful foley art and soundtrack. The sound design is really beautiful, allowing the audience, well at the very least me, to be transported into the world within the film. Although Love and Vodka is not in the same vein as The Boy and the Heron, I hope it can become a film that produces a similar magical experience. All the best for now, and please consider donating to our GoFundMe! Sincerely, Love and Vodka Intern, Sophie
привіт (Hello) Everyone!
We've got our #GoFundMe page up and running and hope you will consider taking a look, watching our #teasertrailer and sharing to spread the good word. As we near the finish line of the overall creative process, having transitioned from production to post, we need to go into #crowdfunding mode one more time to pay for everything. But we always like to make it fun and so there are going to be cool videos and updates for you to read along the way. Thanks so much and see you on the other side, hopefully -- in the cinema! Best, Heidi Producer/Director Once upon a time, there was a high school film teacher who’s dream was to be a screenwriter and see his stories on the #bigscreen He wrote a script based upon a real life experience - the trip he took to #ukraine to visit his girlfriend’s family when he was in his 20s. The script waited to be made into a movie… and waited… and waited. Time passed. Over ten years. And then the high school teacher heard about a parent of a student at his school who was a #producer and #director of #indiefilms He decided to take a chance and reach out. That was in the year #2017 One pandemic, Russian attacks on Ukraine, a film industry union strike and seven years later, and this little film that could is in #postproduction And though the Final Cut of @loveandvodkamovie won’t be exactly like the original story of R.J. Fox's @foxwriter7 ‘s #script , his work inspired its heart and spirit for adventure. Producer/Director/Writer @heidiphilipsen is running the proverbial baton to the finish line and aims to craft a #movie that #delights #moves and #inspires - with a #cast of #ukrainian #actors and #michiganders who will most certainly entertain! #followus for #news and #updates on #future #screenings and #filmfestival run information. #ukraine #universityofmichigan @uofm_alumni #baycity #ypsilanti #annarbor @personaeentertainment #screenwriters #womeninfilm #filmteachersmakingfilms @uofmichigan @easternmichigan #ukrainiansinmichigan Hey everybody! It's been a while...
I hope all of you had a wonderful New Year and holiday season and am wishing you rest and relaxation for 2024. That would certainly be beneficial for us folks on the #LoveandVodkamovie. In terms of film updates, our team has been working on the editing process, and we are all very excited about the progress. Everything is looking good! Additionally, we are making progress on the sound design and composition ideas for the film. Will be posting weekly updates so don't forget to check in, xoxo, the #loveandvodkamovie team Well, we did it! After 45 days and a LOT of generosity from our supporters, we reached our goal for production on the crowdfunding site Seed&Spark and went DIRECTLY into production not even a week later. There is so much to catch up on and share. For now, we want to send out our heartfelt thanks from Michigan to all those around the world who sent both dollar pledges and in-kind donations. We appreciate you and will be keeping you up-to-date on our latest. |
UpdatesBlog updates by our Junior Producer, Sophie Meissner Archives
April 2024
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