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FreeLui Productions Phase One project: "Through Different Eyes:
The Short"
has wrapped and so it is time for our truly remarkable cast to take their bows.
We present them here, with director's comments, along with our humblest and most
sincere gratitude for their unwavering investment, generosity and dedication.
They are as wonderful in life as they are as actors. Please, get to know
them as we will doubtless be seeing much more of them all in the coming years.
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THE PLAYERS OF
"THROUGH DIFFERENT EYES: The Short" |
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Sacha came to the starring role of Jasmine with an impressive background in
musical theater. A stage veteran of ensemble roles such as "Evita" for the Yorktown
Stage and and "Miss Saigon"
for the
Lenape Regional
Performing Arts Center, Sacha is a versatile performer. From the title role in "Pocahontas" to "Ragtime." From ""Pirates of Penzance" to
"The Mikado." From Shakespeare's "The Tempest" to Eve Ensler's "The Vagina
Monologues." From... well, you get the idea. "TDE" marked a special
landmark in the career of this bright young actor: her first leading role in a
feature film.
"To be perfectly honest, Sacha's in a bit of a
tough spot here. She's assuming a very difficult lead role, and while
she has significant experience in theater, the demands of film acting are
totally different. Having said that, I can say with absolute certainty
that she'll be great. Jasmine is a multi-layered character. She
comes to us at the beginning of the film as effortlessly graceful, successful,
smart, uncommonly beautiful, universally popular. It's critical for us
though, as
we follow her character's arc, to see past all that, to get to the essence of
who she really is in order to join her on her journey. We all agreed after
testing Sacha, that she has the range to pull it off. And, like the
character she's playing, nobody compiles as varied a body of work as she has without serious hard work and dedication.
We're delighted and quite fortunate to bring such a special talent to our
project." - Joe Fremont, writer / director
TDE's Raymond Chan
is an accomplished actor who has been seen in quite a variety of projects over
the past few years, including the "Head Mechanic" in the popular TV series
"Cookin' in Brooklyn" on the "Discovery Home Channel"
and "Richard Wang" in
the recent release "Gingerbreed - The
Live Action Motion Picture." Roger's turn here as the intense,
soft-spoken, bottled-up-inside Raymond Chan represented quite a challenge for Mr.
Wu, who possesses an easy smile and outgoing nature. Roger's
performance as Raymond is indeed ample evidence of the quite considerable depth of Mr. Wu's talents.
"Roger stepped into the role relatively late
in the game and performed extremely well. Raymond is a complicated
character who shows us very little of what he's actually feeling. Roger's
challenge was to show that to us without much help from the actual dialog.
TDE is fortunate that Roger met that challenge and gave us a Raymond in which
the audience will be absorbed from the moment they first meet him."
- Joe Fremont
Deb took over what
became (due in no small part to Ms. Jans dedication and uncanny
insights) the key role of "Kristy Ahlberg" after a number of false starts
by TDE's casting team. She is a phenomenal talent who is as
dedicated and hard working as anyone with whom we've ever worked.
Blessed with uncommon physical beauty and a steel determination to "get
it right," Deb's contributions to TDE were absolutely critical to
its success. Debra recently completed a compelling
performance in the feature film release
"Fight Ring."
"Deb has accomplished
every actors dream - she has completely owned the character of Kristy
Bosch from the moment she came to the role. I'll be the first to
admit that Deb's Kristy was not the Kristy I created. And that's
what makes her so wonderful. I originally conceived Kristy as a
metaphor, an obstacle for 'Carey' to overcome, to advance his arc.
She was a poorly fleshed out character with little or no backstory.
Deb put an end to all that. Her refusal to compromise, her
tireless drive to get inside her character brought us a Kristy who is
real, complicated and layered. Deb gave her life and a journey
that is as compelling as any of the other characters' in our story.
And after all that, she brought her to the screen in such a wonderful
way that I honestly cannot conceive of any other actress ever playing
this part. I truly believe our viewing audience will fall in love
with Kristy, as I have. I also can truly state that working with
Deb and participating in her development as an actor is one of the
highlights of my entire experience with TDE."
- Joe Fremont
Joe Schommer's
starring turn here as TDE's "Carey Albert", the boy with the heart of gold,
dreams of greatness and neither the drive or the maturity to get there was quite
simply a tour de force. Joe's resume boasts a major motion picture credit,
bringing "Young Butchie" to the screen in the Eric Bross feature "Ten Benny".
Joe's charisma, amazing talent for physical humor, and a depth of intensity had
both our audience and crew laughing one minute, crying the next as he gave
massive depth to "Carey's" journey.
"As I reflect back on the process of TDE, one day
after wrap, it's an exhilarating and bitter moment for me to attempt to share
with you my feelings on Joe. Exhilarating in that his performance as Carey
is over the moon. He has captured every nuance, fleshed out every nook and
cranny of the character and given him life that goes well beyond the limitations
of film. You'd have to share his process, take after take, to truly
experience the depth of Joe's talent. His Carey is so dead-on it scares me
sometimes. Bitter in that I realize as I'm writing this that we've
reached the end of Joe's voyage as Carey. And that is something I will
truly, truly miss. Joe is an actor's actor. Fiercely protective of
his fellow performers, generous beyond measure, and always, always present.
There are few things I've ever found in life to be more rewarding than coming to
know and direct this remarkable actor. Joe likes to say that "Carey" is
me. Well, after experiencing Joe's awesome performance in this role, if
that's true, then Joe makes a far better me than I ever have."
- Joe Fremont
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CAROLINA HOYOS:
Mireia
Cepeda.
Carolina is what
those in "the biz" refer to as a "Triple Threat". Make that quadruple threat -
she's already quite accomplished at acting, singing, dancing and modeling.
Possessed of limitless energy and drive Carolina's day can
take her from
auditions in Philadelphia to a night shoot in Long Island, a showcase in NYC for
her breakout band, a
photo shoot for a
print ad for a popular shoe company, or to her stint on the former breakout "MTV Hits". But whatever you do, do not make her choose one. This
Strasberg-trained actress is also lightning fast on her feet -
when pressed
during her "TDE" auditions to prioritize her music or her acting, Carolina
responded "Musical Theater."
Indeed,
anything's possible for this massively talented, incredibly versatile actor.
"I honestly couldn't be
happier with Carolina being cast as Mireia. She is an important talent. Acting. Singing.
Dancing. Modeling. We're talking scary talented. I don't
know how she keeps up with it all - she'll show up to set
with practically no
sleep, looking fresh as a daisy, in great spirits, boundless enthusiasm, and hit her scenes with
amazing intensity. I need a nap just being around this girl! And best of all, for all that,
she's real - right there with the rest of us. I'm totally looking to forward to working with her, both from the standpoint of
directing her in
bringing life to the richness of our character, but also to take part, in some
small way, in her growth as an actor
and performer. Basically from the first
moment I met her, I knew this one was meant for great things."
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Joe Fremont
Xavier Alistair Santiago fits right in with the rest of the cast of "TDE". He's
an incredibly talented, well-rounded, gifted performer (thought we were gonna
say overwhelming good looks? OK, well that too.). Xavier fully
invests himself in whatever he does, whether it be staging martial arts
exhibitions with live weapons, dancing the merengue, composing music for film,
speaking any one of 4 foreign languages from Spanish to Japanese, or keeping
up with his riding. And of course there's the acting thing. A
graduate of The American Academy For Dramatic Arts with diverse specialties,
there is no doubt in our minds that Xavier is indeed a significant young
talent.
"Xavier had the most difficult path to "Through
Different Eyes". He missed our first call due to a family illness
(things are going well now, thank you), and it appeared that, despite his obvious
credentials, we'd miss each other this time around. But we were finally
able to work out our schedules, and it was pretty clear from his first
audition that this was someone special. As nice and as down to earth as he
is talented, I can't overstate how fortunate we are to be able to bring Xavier
to the role of Fabricio. Don't be fooled by his looks, Xavier is an
intelligent, assiduous worker who won't quit until he's got the scene nailed.
He and Carolina have this terrific on-screen chemistry -
I honestly couldn't wait to start shooting their scenes. Big picture? With
Xavier's talent, looks and personality, I think he'll be a force in the
entertainment community for many, many years to come."
- Joe Fremont
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PATRICK WANG:
Albert Yong.
It's
only fitting that Patrick has been cast as Albert Yong as he has been attached
to the project in one form or another longer than anyone else - excluding the
writers and producers, of course. First contacted by the production team
almost 2 year ago, Patrick
outclassed scores of actors to snare the pivotal role of Albert Yong.
Quite the well rounded sort, Patrick comes to "TDE" from Houston,
Texas, is fluent in Spanish, can also speak German and Chinese, has an
undergraduate degree from MIT, and has been seen on TV in such notable shows
as "Saturday Night Live," "One Life to Live," and "All My Children."
Patrick's talent doesn't end with acting. He's finished work on a highly
sought after screenplay and is in the process of attaching stars. With
principal photography set to kick off in Texas toward the middle of next year, the
sky's the limit for this phenomenal talent.
"When Jim and I first talked to Patrick, we knew we had a very strong candidate. So it was only
natural when we finally got to the point where we ready to cast and shoot our
film that we inquire as to his availability. And now many
months later, here we are. And we couldn't be happier. There's a
tendency to underestimate Patrick's gift, as he has a natural easiness, and
quiet intensity about his craft. But that would be a huge mistake.
Patrick's the perfect blend of drama and wit, poignancy and passion. Patrick's reading of one of
the most difficult and critical scenes in the entire script remains one the
top moments of the entire audition process. We are incredibly fortunate
and genuinely delighted to bring Patrick to the role of Albert." - Joe Fremont
Michael
LoBello: Superagent and self appointed "King Of All Newly Discovered Musical
Talent" will be brought to life by William P. Bonomo.
Currently serving as Chief
Legal Counsel for "Through Different Eyes", Mr. Bonomo couldn't resist the lure of the overdriven, seriously
talented LoBello. "OK, so it's not the most significant character
in the film. I learned a long time ago, there are no small roles, only
small screenwriters." Fremont is
pleased to see Mr. Bonomo stepping out from behind his law books. "Anyone who's seen Bill in a
courtroom knows that he's an incredibly gifted actor, so casting him as LoBello
was a slam dunk. That and the fact the he threatened to slap us with an
injunction if we didn't give him the role made this an easy choice."

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