Vincent Ventresca Co-Stars in “Break Point” and Talks “Invisible Man,” and a Dragon Con I-Man Panel This Weekend

Vincent Ventresca’s latest movie Break Point is out in theaters this weekend. Vince has a small role in it as Gary, the douchebag hair model boyfriend of Amy Smart’s character, Heather.

Hmm…I seem to remember Darien Fawkes from The Invisible Man also doing some hair modeling in his past.

Break Point stars Jeremy Sisto and David Walton.  It’s about two estranged brothers who reunite to make a run at a major tennis tournament. Here’s the trailer for the film.

In this scene, Gary meets David Walton’s character, Darren.

In this interview, Vince talks about the director, the writer, and the relationship between Gary and Heather.

Here’s some behind-the-scenes footage from the film.  Look closely and you’ll see Vince in a couple of scenes.

 

Break Point is getting a limited release this weekend in these cities.  It’s also available on VOD at iTunes and Amazon.

Rama’s Screen recently did an interview with Vincent, which you can read here.  I really love this interview.  Rama starts out revealing that he is an Invisible Man fan and that makes the whole interview even more fun, especially when he comments on the shirtless scene.  Vince gives all you VVSB’rs a shout out when he mentions the Vincent Ventresca Shirtless Brigade!

Vincent Ventresca shirtless in "Break Point"

Vincent Ventresca shirtless in “Break Point.”

But the best part of Rama’s interview was by far when he asked Vince if The Invisible Man could come back. Vince replies saying that he’s been talking about it with Matt Greenberg, the series’ creator.  He doesn’t really give us much information in the interview, but Mike McCafferty has hinted that something might be going on.

Although they are being tight lipped about it, the fact that, at the very least, discussions are taking place, makes the fan girl in me squee with delight.  As some of you may know, years ago I had an entertainment lawyer approach Universal so that we could start a dialog about the rights to The Invisible Man.  I got turned down flat.

My thoughts since have been that if The Invisible Man is to have any chance of coming back, it would most likely happen if the people involved in the making of the original series worked to make it happen.  And even for them, there are a lot of hurdles to overcome.  When it comes to the movie and TV world, getting anything made is hard.  Real hard.

But the fact that there is actually some kind of effort being put toward that goal is so freaking awesome.  How cool would it be to get the cast back in both The Invisible Man and my movie too?  To my knowledge, I don’t think anything like that has ever been done before.

In the interview, Vince mentions his hope for finding a bigger audience.  And that’s going to be vital to its success.  We already have a small loyal audience for the show, but it needs to grow.  With such a huge quantity of media clamoring for the audience’s attention nowadays, it’s hard to stand out and get noticed.  So, from a strategic point of view, getting both the show and a fan-produced movie made could be enough of a tipping point to get us known to the wider audience.

I know I’ll keep working on my end to help make that happen.

I-Man at Dragon Con

Lastly, but by no means least, in commemoration of the show’s 15th anniversary, there is fan-run Invisible Man panel happening this weekend at Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia!

The panel takes place tomorrow evening at 7:00 p.m. in the Marriott hotel, room M303-M304.

If you’re attending Dragon Con this weekend, be sure not to miss it!

Paul Ben-Victor Guest Stars in “Castle”

If you haven’t heard already, Paul will be guest starring on Castle tomorrow night! He plays a character named Dino Scarpella, who appears to be a mobster. Paul plays those mobster roles so well.

Here’s a sneak peak:

Castle airs tomorrow (Monday) on ABC at 10/9 central.  Be sure to check your local listings for the correct time and station.

Mailing List

A quick note about the mailing list. It’s come to my attention that the sign-up form is not working correctly. It appears that nothing happens after hitting the Subscribe button. If that happens to you, go check your email inbox and see if a confirmation email was sent to you. This may take a few minutes so please be patient.

If a confirmation email doesn’t appear in your inbox, please try subscribing via the form on my Facebook page.  That form appears to be working correctly.

My apologies for the inconvenience.  Getting the form fixed is on my ever-growing to-do list.

Cast Updates for Vince, Eddie, and Paul

Since I’ve got three updates for you today, I’m going to combine them all into one post.  Let’s get started, shall we?

Vincent Ventresca in Flying Monkeys

While Disney’s Oz: The Great and Powerful is premiering today in theaters, Syfy will be premiering its own Oz knock-off tomorrow called Flying Monkeys (originally called Flying Terror).  The story is about a girl living in Kansas whose new pet monkey turns out to be an evil, flying shapeshifter.  I’m guessing that’s the only similarity to Oz, but we’ll have to see about that.

Vincent Ventresca in "Flying Monkeys"

Vincent Ventresca and Maika Monroe in “Flying Monkeys”

Vincent plays the girl’s father, James.  I’ve got to admit that I’m not crazy about seeing him take another role in a horror creature feature.  I think he’s too talented an actor to play second fiddle to a monster (or in this case monsters).  But I get that it’s work and sometimes you have to take what you can get until a better role comes along (like the role I’ve got for him in my movie 🙂 ).  Regardless, I’m glad he’s working and that we’ll get a chance to see him on our screens again.

Flying Monkeys airs tomorrow (Saturday, March 9) on Syfy at 9:00/8:00c.  Be sure to check your local listings.

Here’s a peak at the trailer:


Eddie Jones in Benched

Eddie Jones and Matt Fowler in "Benched"

Eddie Jones and Matt Fowler in “Benched”

Several years ago, I had the pleasure of seeing Eddie performing live on stage.  It was such a treat!  He’s an amazing actor, as well as a genuinely nice person.  So I was happy to hear that Eddie is back on the stage again in a play called Benched.

The play is about a disgruntled senior citizen named Max who “makes his way to his favorite bench in Central Park to consider what choices he may have left to make his life worth living.  He discovers the bench occupied by a stranger who seems determined to disrupt and interfere with whatever plans he may have for himself.”  The LA Stage Times has a nice write up about it.

If you’re in the LA area, I highly recommend that you take some time to see this play.  Watching Eddie perform live is never a disappointment.  And his wife, Anita Khanzadian, is directing the play too, so you get the talents of both halves of this husband and wife team.

Can you tell I’m a fan?  Well, it’s not hard to be with these two.  They are not only talented, but also just the nicest, sweetest couple.

Benched is playing a limited run through March 24.  You can see it every Friday and Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. and every Sunday at 3:00 p.m.  It’s playing at the Avery Schreiber Theater, 11050 Magnolia Blvd., NoHo Arts District.  You can purchase tickets at the Interact Theatre Company’s website or call 818-765-8732.

For your convenience I’ve put Eddie’s performances as well as Vince’s movie on the Shoom Zone calendar.

Paul Ben-Victor in Vegas

Try as I may, sometimes cast appearances escape my notice until after they are over.  This is the case with Paul’s recent appearance in Vegas.  Fortunately, you can watch the entire episode on the official Vegas website.  But it may not be up for too much longer, so you might want to watch it while you can.

The episode is called “Two of a Kind” and in it Paul plays Abe Silver, a Hollywood producer.  This is the second time Paul has played a Hollywood producer; and the second time he has teamed up with fellow actor Michael Chiklis.

Here’s a little quiz:  Do you remember the name of the TV show in which Paul previously played a producer?  What TV movie has Paul appeared in with Michael Chiklis?

Paul Ben-Victor and Michael Chiklis in "Vegas"

Paul Ben-Victor and Michael Chiklis in “Vegas”

Paul has signed up for a four-episode stint on this show so we’ll get to see more of Abe Silver in the future.

“Bad Actress”

Bad Actress is one of Vincent Ventresca’s latest films!  If you don’t recognize the name, that’s because it has changed.  You might remember it under its previous name 818.  I blogged about it here a while ago.

Check out the trailer…

Now we all get a chance to see Vince in Bad Actress!

If you’re fortunate enough to be in the Los Angeles area, you can watch it at a special screening Wednesday, April 25, 2012, at Laemmle’s Noho 7 in North Hollywood at 7:30 p.m.  And your ticket will get you into the after party at J.E.T. Studios!

Click here to purchase tickets

If you’re not in the LA area, don’t fret.  You can still watch the movie!  Here’s how:

Official Bad Actress Website


Lion’s Den

Let’s start out the new year with a little-known Vincent Ventresca project.  When I first came across this project, I thought it was the trailer for a movie, but I found out from producer Jack Sollecito that it is actually a trailer for a TV pilot.  The story is based on Jack’s experiences growing up in a boy’s Catholic military academy.  Jack was kind enough to let me read the script as well as the query and cast bios.  

Vince plays the lead role.  His character, Daniel Cesta, is a freelance writer who returns back to his old school to teach history and English for a month.  His motives, however, are another matter.  Daniel, still bitter from his experiences at the school, is there to dig up dirt and write an expose on the harsh mental and emotional abuses that the boys are subjected to.  Others at the school learn of Daniel’s true agenda and accuse him of being selfish and juvenile.  In their minds Daniel really never learned anything in the time he was a student there.  Slowly Daniel’s attitude begins to change and he begins to think more about helping the boys rather than just his own selfish goal.  He decides to accept an extended teaching position that had been offered to him at the school.

I found the script to be well written and the subject matter to be unlike anything else I’ve ever seen covered in a TV show.  This is the kind of show that I could see a cable channel picking up since they are usually more willing to take on unusual subjects and premises than the networks.  Jack tells me that he’s had some good response from industry people that have read the script, so time will tell whether this project ever becomes a TV series.

Here’s the trailer to the pilot…

Vincent Ventresca in “Stuck”

I remember when talking to Vince a while back that he had mentioned that he was doing some writing for a pilot.  Well, just recently I found out what it is about.  It’s a TV series pilot that Vince co-created and executive produced with Erik Palladino and Matthew Leutwyler.  If those names sound familiar, it’s because Vince also worked with Erik and Matthew on Dead and Breakfast.

Stuck, which is produced by Ambush Entertainment, has been accepted into the Independent Television Festival, which runs from July 31 to August 6.  The first screening  was on July 31, but there is one more screening you can catch on Wednesday, August 5, at 7:30 p.m., for those of you in the LA area.   It will be playing at the Laemmle’s Sunset 5 at 8000 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA.  Tickets can be purchased at Ready Theatre Network.

The following picture shows Vince in attendance at, I believe, the opening night gala.  I want to thank Russian fan Evgenia Koralskaia for bringing the picture to my attention.

Note:  I took the picture down because of copyright issues.  To see the picture of Vince and even more pictures, please visit jamd.

 
Synopsis: In any other town they’d be winners, but in Los Angeles….Erik and Vince are two “kind of” successful actors living in that world between EXTRAS and ENTOURAGE, while still waiting for their big break…at age 40. 

I don’t know if the series will get picked up by a network, but we do get a peek at it via the following trailer.  Enjoy!

“In Plain Sight” Premieres Tomorrow

Paul Ben-VictorMy does time fly when you’re busy working on a film.  Tomorrow is the premier of Paul Ben-Victor’s new series In Plain Sight!  Not long ago it seemed so far off, and now it’s already here.  Funny how that happens. 

So I’ve been checking out the reviews and the critics run the range from like it to hate it.  Jonathan Storm from Philly.com describes the show as “formulaic, but it works” and manages to insult and compliment Paul all in one sentence:

Mary’s boss is Stan McQueen, which, I guess, is funny because he’s played by schlumpy, shrimpy Paul Ben-Victor, a great character actor last seen as henchman to The Greek, the all-powerful crime boss in The Wire.

Here are some more reviews to check out if you wish:

Blogcritics Magazine
Crime Spree Cinema
Entertainment Weekly
The San Francisco Chronicle
USA Today
LA Times

Here’s an interesting press release that talks about USA’s interactive marketing campaign for In Plain Sight.   

TV.com has a whole bunch of photos from the show that you can check out.

Fanbolt has a great interview with Paul about his new series and he does mention Invisible Man in it, more than once.

So be sure to check out Paul’s new series, In Plain Sight, tomorrow night, June 1, 2008, at 10:00 p.m. (9:00 p.m. Central) on USA.

Official In Plain Sight Website