Plot
Vivienne Novak, a once-promising Hollywood actress whose career quickly deteriorated after the teen soap she was in four years ago was canceled, is kicked out of her latest sugar-daddy's mansion. With nowhere else to go, she breaks into the apartment of an old boyfriend, only to find Dickie Marsden now living there - a struggling actor just like herself, but with none of her self-delusions and complete lack of ethics. When the prospect of an upcoming film role promises the rejuvenation of her career, Vivienne is forced to team up with Dickie and her new unpaid intern Caitlin, begrudgingly realizing that they may be the key to helping her discover what she is truly destined to become in this world... Whatever that might be.
Life's a bitch. So is Vivienne.
Plot
In "Jingle & Bell," Jingle the Husky Pup and his buddy Andrew meet some new friends. A girl Andrew's age, Sofia, and her Husky pup, Bell, have moved from sunny Palm City to Pineville weeks before Christmas. With no friends yet and not knowing what to expect, Sofia and Bell's world is upside down and it looks like it might be the worst Christmas ever. But with a little help from Jingle and Andrew, Sofia and Bell will soon discover that Christmas joy isn't about where you are -- it's about who you are with!
Keywords: christmas
Plot
Rose's Portrait is a story of loneliness, communication, acceptance and self deception. Living in an apparent idyllic world in a beautiful rural location, Rose shares each day with her companions. Her relationship with each one runs the spectrum of emotions and yet there is a delicate balance to Rose's world.
Keywords: independent-film, surrealism
Plot
Enterprising liberal Jew Simon Cohen is the lawless lord of an Amsterdam neighborhood, running a 'coffee' shop' (legal soft drugs sale). As soon as they bump into each-other, Simon fascinates gay, up to then conventionalist Jewish dentistry student Camiel Vrolijk and draws him into his libertine world, even all the way to Thailand for B-movie making. Hvaing seduced Simon's whorish girl, embarrassed Simon leaves quietly. Ten years later, the dentist, now settled with a gay partner, lawyer Bram, meets the new cancer-terminal but affluent Simon again.
Keywords: amsterdam-netherlands, assisted-suicide, bare-butt, bare-chested-male, beach, boxer-shorts, boxing, brain-tumor, breast-implant, cancer
Hij verandert je leven (He will change your life)
Plot
Men, most of them naked, talk about their penises. The men range from 17 to 70+, all are from the U.S. of diverse races. Several are artists or performers. Some are gay, others straight; two are transsexual. One is paralyzed below the chest. The interviews are edited around themes: discovery, early sexual experiences, masturbation, size, oral sex, libido, performance, disease and maladies, maturity. A lexicographer discusses language, especially slang; a few archival educational-film clips divide the topics. Images and stories mix with facts and philosophical reflection. The usually private becomes public.
Keywords: actor, african-american, aging, animated-sequence, archival-footage, asian-american, attorney, bravado, cancer, circumcision
Jonah: I'm nine-and-a-half inches soft, LEGITIMATELY.
Marty's about to make a killing in the music business
Plot
Marc, a young snake expert, works at a museum in Geneva. He loves snakes, to the point that he owns many and even takes a bath with his huge pet python. He meets and falls in love with a beautiful young woman named Malenka, who is the assistant--and mistress--of an older herpetologist professor. Marc discovers that not only is the "professor" a fraud but also a dangerous psychotic who had at one time seduced Marc's mother, and Marc believes that the longer Malenka stays with him, the greater danger she's in.
Keywords: independent-film, snake
One step into the jungle and he was never the same again.
The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix of the Manche département in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of King Robert I of Scotland (Robert the Bruce) (1274-1329), it has been a Scottish surname since medieval times; it is now a common given name.
The variant Lebrix and Le Brix are French variations of the surname.
Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; 27 November 1940 – 20 July 1973) was a Chinese AmericanHong Kong actor,martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement. He is widely considered by many commentators, critics, media and other martial artists to be the most influential martial artist and pop culture icon of the 20th Century. He is often credited with changing the way Asians were presented in American films.
Lee was born in San Francisco to parents of Hong Kong heritage but was raised in Hong Kong until his late teens. Lee returned to the United States at the age of 18 to claim his U.S. citizenship and receive his higher education. It was during this time that he began teaching martial arts, which soon led to film and television roles.
His Hong Kong and Hollywood-produced films elevated the traditional Hong Kong martial arts film to a new level of popularity and acclaim, and sparked a major surge of interest in Chinese martial arts in the West in the 1970s. The direction and tone of his films changed and influenced martial arts and martial arts films in Hong Kong and the rest of the world, as well. He is noted for his roles in five feature-length films: Lo Wei's The Big Boss (1971) and Fist of Fury (1972); Way of the Dragon (1972), directed and written by Lee; Warner Brothers' Enter the Dragon (1973) and The Game of Death (1978), both directed by Robert Clouse.
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949), nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter-performer who records and tours with the E Street Band. Springsteen is widely known for his brand of heartland rock, poetic lyrics, and Americana sentiments centered on his native New Jersey.
Springsteen's recordings have included both commercially accessible rock albums and more somber folk-oriented works. His most successful studio albums, Born in the U.S.A. and Born to Run, showcase a talent for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily American life; he has sold more than 65 million albums in the United States and more than 120 million worldwide and he has earned numerous awards for his work, including 21 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award. He is widely regarded by many as one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th century, and in 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him as the 23rd Greatest Artist of all time.
Springsteen was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and spent his childhood and high school years in Freehold Borough. He lived on South Street in Freehold Borough and attended Freehold Borough High School. His father, Douglas Frederick Springsteen, was of Dutch and Irish ancestry and worked, among other vocations, as a bus driver, although he was frequently unemployed; his surname is Dutch for jump stone. His mother, Adele Ann (née Zerilli), was a legal secretary and was of Italian ancestry. His maternal grandfather was born in Vico Equense, a city near Naples. He has two younger sisters, Virginia and Pamela. Pamela had a brief film career, but left acting to pursue still photography full time; she took photos for the Human Touch and Lucky Town albums.
Monty Python (sometimes known as The Pythons) was a British surreal comedy group who created Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series. The Python phenomenon developed from the television series into something larger in scope and impact, spawning touring stage shows, films, numerous albums, several books and a stage musical as well as launching the members to individual stardom. The group's influence on comedy has been compared to The Beatles' influence on music.
The television series, broadcast by the BBC from 1969 to 1974, was conceived, written and performed by members Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. Loosely structured as a sketch show, but with an innovative stream-of-consciousness approach (aided by Gilliam's animation), it pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable in style and content. A self-contained comedy team responsible for both writing and performing their work, the Pythons' creative control allowed them to experiment with form and content, discarding rules of television comedy. Their influence on British comedy has been apparent for years, while in North America it has coloured the work of cult performers from the early editions of Saturday Night Live through to more recent absurdist trends in television comedy. "Pythonesque" has entered the English lexicon as a result.
Be Like Water (2008) is a play written by Dan Kwong, originally produced at East West Players, in association with Cedar Grove OnStage. The play received its world premiere in Los Angeles on September 17, 2008, directed by Chris Tashima, at East West Players' David Henry Hwang Theater at the Union Center for the Arts in Los Angeles. The story follows a young Asian American girl in 1970s Chicago, who is visited by the Ghost of Bruce Lee.
Tracy Fong is a 13 year-old ass-kicking, gung-fu fanatic tomboy, challenged by school bullies, airhead rivals, and a mother who just wants her to be a "normal girl." When bad goes to worse, the Ghost of Bruce Lee appears to teach her the true meaning of strength and the true power of water.
East West Players, Los Angeles, CA; Opened September 17, 2009; Closed October 12, 2009
(in order of appearance)