Georgia Hollywood Review November 2021

Georgia Hollywood Review November 2021

Margot Bingham Takes Georgia & Hollywood by Storm

LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER

Publisher/Founder/Editor-In-Chief: Miles K. Neiman

The Storytellers

Managing Editor: Jennifer Thompson

Storytellers. They’ve been entertaining us and shaping our world since we were living in caves. They kept compadres cap- tivated by the fireside on the range, lulled us to sleep at night when we were still swad- dled in baby blankets, and continue to give most people on earth both inspiration and entertainment, every day of their lives. These stories are what the Georgia Hollywood Review is dedicated to. More specifically, we dedicate ourselves to the people who tell these stories. Whether it’s the writers who pen them, the producers who greenlight them, the directors who make the vision a reality, the actors who

ment and Georgia’s ever-growing presence in the entertainment industry. In addition to our deep distribution in Atlanta, we will distribute in Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and West Hollywood. We invite you to peruse the pages that follow. Whether you’re in the “busi- ness-stry” as Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnette often refer to it as, on their charming podcast Smartless , or if you’re simply a fan, we believe you will be both entertained and inspired by the stories in this magazine. You can also check us out on our TV channel at Georgia Hollywood Review TV on Roku or Amazon Fire.

Proofreader: Sloane Neiman

Magazine Designer: Brenda J. Oliver

Advertising Design: Sharon Jollay

Photography: Richie Arpino Mia McCorkle

Distribution: TGS Media LA Print LLC

bring the characters to life, or the crew that makes the dream a reality. There are many components and individuals who make up the wonderful world of filmmaking; who turn an idea into magic. These are the storytellers that the Georgia Hollywood Review is dedicated to. These are the people who make the magic that drives us. As we expand this issue into Los Angeles, our goal is to be the much-needed bridge between Hollywood entertain-

In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with story ideas or to inquire about ad rates or event sponsorships for the magazine. We will be hosting regu- lar industry events in West Hollywood in addition to our monthly industry events in Atlanta. Until the next issue, keep creating those stories that give your life and other’s lives more meaning. We all create our own story every day. Make it a great one.

Advertising Sales: [email protected]

Sales Support: Miles Neiman

Georgia Hollywood Review TV Hosts: Angelo Diaz Andry Palacio Jai Santiago

Miles Neiman

Videographer: Jason Jones MONUMENTALmedia Contributing Writers: Carol Badaracco Padgett Connor Judson Garrett Echo Montgomery Garrett Tracey Hawkins Julie Herron Carson Jessica Holthaus Badour Ellen Howle

about the cover

The Georgia Hollywood Review is published every other month by Georgia Hollywood Review, LLC. Repro- ductions in whole or in part, without expressed writ- ten permission of the publisher, are strictly prohibited. The Georgia Hollywood Review is not responsible for the content or claims of any advertising or editorial in this publication. All information is believed to be accurate but is not warranted. Copyright 2021. Send inquiries to 227 Sandy Springs Place, Suite D-288, Sandy Springs, GA 30328. For more informa- tion, contact [email protected].

Pictured: Margot Bingham

Jerome Jackson Denise K. James

Photography: Michael Webber

Jessa Jansen Chris LeDoux Autumn Murray Michael J. Pallerino Mary Welch

Visit our webpage: www.GeorgiaHollywoodReview.com

Social Media: FB @gaholllywoodreview IG @georgiahollywoodreview

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CONTENTS

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8 documentary The Porter: The Untold Story at Everest 10 l.a weekly film festival Dave Brown 12 l.a. by way of mexico Lucia Argut 14 location Town at Trillith 15 thursday night live 16 education GSU’s Creative Media Industries Institute

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8

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18 lgbtqia+ Simha Haddad 20 georgia based actor Margot Bingham 22 georgia talent Reece Odum 24 music in film The Atlanta Opera 26 women in film Aubri Ebony 28 animation

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Netflix Animation Studios 30 l.a. playwright Jorge Sanchez Jr. 32 l.a. culture Italian American Museum of Los Angeles 34 a-listers in atlanta Brown Sugar Burbon by Jamie Foxx 36 new releases Nicolas Cage in PIG 38 legal in film Student-Athletes on Screen in Hollywood

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CONTRIBUTORS

Carol Badaracco Padgett

Tracey M. Hawkins has been a contributing editor and writer for various print publications,

Connor Judson Garrett

Echo Montgomery Garrett has written for more than 100 media outlets, including Delta Sky, Parade,

is an Atlanta-based writer and copywrit- er. Over the past 30 years she has written

was the 2017 Edward Readicker-Henderson Travel Classics Award recipient, honed his

Photo by Kevin Garrett

such as The Thirty-A Review, American Contemporary Art, and Frontier Airlines magazines; as well as award-winning websites, galleries and novelists. She has served as a collegiate Professor of Art History, as well as a collections consultant, curator, and artists’ representative. traceymhawkins.com and skrybes.com

for the Atlanta Business Chronicle , Oz Magazine, National Real Estate Inves- tor, Waste Age, Retail Traffic, and other B2B and B2C publications. She also worked as a copywriter crafting copy for Revlon, Georgia-Pacific, Stainmaster, and Publix. She loves to meet people, find their spark, and share their stories. Reach her at [email protected] .

craft as an advertising copywriter in Los Angeles. He is the author of two poetry books, Become The Fool and Life in Lyrics; a novel, Falling Up in The City of Angels; and a co-authored mind-body self-help book, The Longevity Game. His writing has appeared in Private Clubs Magazine, South Magazine, and Hook & Barrel.

ABC.com, AARP, The Atlanta Journal- Constitution, and Business Week . She’s the author of 20 books, including multi-award winning My Orange Duf- fel Bag: A Journey to Radical Change. Up next: a book called Unsung about growing up around Nashville’s Music Row with parents in the industry.

Julie Herron Carson ,

Jessica Holthaus Badour From veteran com- munications specialist to preeminent food safety professional,

Denise K. James

Jessa Jansen is the founder of J Squared Ven- tures and a regular contributor at The Boom Bap

is an independent writer and editor based in Atlanta with clients across the Southeast. When she isn’t working, you can find her exploring the city or dancing around her apartment —or on another road trip.

an Atlanta native, has over 30 years of public relations and feature writ-

Hour Podcast Blog, Sociomix, The Borgen Project and more. Connect about writing projects on Medium @jessajansen.

ing expertise. Her specialties in- clude media relations, newsletters, website writing, and cause-related marketing, as well as feature writing for The Thirty-A Review magazine and Atlanta ShowGuide . Julie is a graduate of the University of Geor- gia and lives in northeast Atlanta with her husband and teenage son.

Jessica Holthaus Badour has built a successful and diversified career de- veloping compelling means of sharing information while engaging the public on essential issues. She is currently working full-time for the Georgia Department of Agriculture while freelancing in her spare time. www. linkedin.com/in/jessicaholthausbadour

Autumn Murray has written for various print and online publications includ-

Michael J. Pallerino is an award- winning writer who has written for a number of national B2C and

Mary Welch is a veteran writer and editor who has worked for a number of publi- cations, including the Atlanta Busi- ness Chronicle,

Chris LeDoux Alaskan born and bred, Chris earned degrees in both psychology and sociology, but his fascination with cinema and filmmak- ing instead led him

ing The Plunge, Divine Lifestyle,

and Simply Amazing Living . Authority Magazine and Thrive Global declared her a “Social Media Impact Hero” for her “Choose Love” campaign to pro- mote acceptance and diversity. She is working on a book about her life and overcoming abuse while inspiring oth- ers to Choose Love in all situations. [email protected]

B2B publications. When he is not lost in his writing, music and binge watching, Michael can be reached at [email protected].

to the world of visual effects. Chris’s impressive résumé includes composit- ing and VFX supervision on numerous films and TV shows, including 12 Years A Slave , Doctor Strange , The Greatest Showman , and Better Call Saul . Chris has also directed major music videos and led visual effects teams. craftyapes.com

Travelgirl Magazine, Atlanta Woman, Business to Business, Car Business Today and biography.com . In her spare time she enjoys travel- ing with her son, Grady, and tries to fix up her 100-year-old home in Virginia-Highland. www.marywelchwriter.com

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DOCUMENTARY

NATE GEO

An emerging documentary filmmaker treks the tallest point on Earth and takes viewers along for the climb in The Porter: The Untold Story at Everest

By Ca ro l Bada r acco Padge t t

Photos by Babin Dulai

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W orld traveling 27-year-old Nathaniel J. Menninger didn’t intend to become a filmmaker. He also didn’t aspire to speak Nepali. And he didn’t set out to create a documentary in the South Asian nation of Nepal where the Himalayan treasure, Mount Everest, stands. But he did all these things at the age of 24. Menninger’s documentary, The Porter: The Untold Story at Everest , currently available on Amazon Prime and YouTube, and soon to appear on KinoPoisk, Danger TV, and Adventure Plus, is 55 minutes of absorption into the life of the Nepali porter—those who carry the belongings and supplies of excursionists as they attempt to scale the 29,032-foot mountain peak with a border between China and Nepal that runs straight across its summit point. “I’d been doing adventures around the world for a few years before,” Menninger says of the time leading up to the filming of The Porter . He describes those adven- tures as being immersive undertakings, cultural and com- munal, such as a two-week stay in a Buddhist monastery where he took a vow of silence for the duration. And in addition to his travels, he says, “I was writing books, but I moved toward film because nobody would be- lieve what was in my books. I needed something to prove that what I do is real and to get my [content] out there.” In his first documentary endeavor, he offers that proof—figuratively in the film’s real-life portrayal of the skilled Nepali porter, and literally in that Menninger in- serted himself into the society of these skilled mountain- eering professionals and carried the load alongside them. While he started out wanting to summit Everest, the work of the human powerhouses he encountered at base camp became his ultimate story. “I really got immersed to live in their shoes fully; that’s how I conceived the doc- umentary,” he says of his role trekking beside the porters, small in stature yet able to carry loads sometimes equal- ing their body weight. Most of the weight of the load is secured by a strap, called a namlo, that runs across the porter’s forehead—an especially grueling part of the ad- venture for Menninger when you see his physical struggle and the expression on his face as he adjusts his balance to the extreme weights of the daily loads. He also strives to heft as much and even more than his experienced col- leagues, which is a crazy-scary-cool feat to behold.

But most of all for the viewer, The Porter offers an in-depth look at the strength, endurance, day-to-day fortitude, and close community of the porters as they navigate treacherous terrain, incredible path steepness, and altitude and climate extremes for 6-8 hours a day, months out of each year. And at the end of the day, they sleep in crowded huts with no heat and sometimes only the ground beneath them, Menninger right at their side. In a manner somewhat reminiscent of director Chloe Zhao’s 2021 Academy Award-winning Nomad- land , Menninger, a player from the outside world, has inserted himself into the world of his subjects. And so his subjects and his filmic recounting of their lives, shot by cameraman Babin Dulai, become intertwined as he liter- ally attempts to walk their path. Leading up to the filming, Menninger taught himself Nepali. “I can devote myself really intensely to one thing,” he describes of the two-month process. “So, I taught myself on my computer in an apartment in DC,” where he was living at the time. But by far the strongest lesson Menninger took away from his time conceiving of and filming The Porter was how devastatingly hard his subjects work—oftentimes with little recognition from recreational climbers and even smaller pay. In a scene at the end of the documen- tary, Menninger and the other porters stand on day 12 following the base camp climb—awaiting pay from the companies that employ the porters and profit from their services. This raw glimpse into the plight of the por- ter, whose incredible labor supports their families, has generated newfound social awareness and has made an impact that the young filmmaker didn’t fully anticipate. In its wake, The Porter drew recognition by the UIAA, the International Climbing and Moutaineering Federa- tion, and then helped create its new Mountain Worker Initiative that supports the safety and sustainability of vital climbers, such as those at Everest. “There was the weight of the social impact I was dealing with,” Menninger describes of his experience in Nepal, his return to the United States, and to the start of post-production on the documentary. In addition, although his father was once in the film industry and had an Avid system at the ready, Menninger

handled editing and post-production with no film school training to lean on. “I was learning editing, color grad- ing, audio mixing,” he describes. While concurrently, “The film grew and the social impact grew, and it just took over my whole life. It was new to me how consum- ing this work can be.” With the 2020 documentary now on the film festival circuit, Menninger has recharged and is looking for his next opportunity. “I’d like to transition The Porter into an immersive journalism series, but to have some support and to work with other people instead of doing everyone’s role,” he says. “I’m limited in my capacity. I’m learning.” He wonders, “What could we do with a whole team?” For Nate Menninger today, there’s a true appreciation of the very real issues in our world, and he intends to put a lens to them. This raw glimpse into the plight of the porter, whose incredible labor supports their families, has generated newfound social awareness and has made an impact that the young filmmaker didn’t fully anticipate.

@nathanieljmenninger | @uiaamountains

LA WEEKLY FILM FESTIVAL

Dave Brown the Brand The founder of the Indie Night Film Festival thrives on his very own art of connection By Ca ro l Bada r acco Padge t t

weave friendship-building and trust-instilling into each of his Hollywood relationships, coming at them from a truly genuine posture. This has become the hallmark of the Dave Brown brand—one that works and has kept him on the pulse of the action in the LA entertainment mecca. Brown’s approach also sits well with his upbringing and the values he learned as a young man—the son of famed San Francisco pastor and civil rights activist Dr. Amos C. Brown of the city’s Third Baptist Church. “The apple does not fall far from the tree,” Brown says wistfully, “my dad and my mom are my rocks.” While in Canada for the shooting of Rebound, the Legend of Earl “The Goat” Manigault, and the directorial debut of Eriq La Salle, Brown met another important contact who would become pivotal to his Hollywood experience and his work: the actor, musician, and comedian Jamie Foxx. Since Brown’s roommate, DJ Twist, was an In Living Color alumnus as well, Brown and Foxx quickly found common ground. Through the years the two have become the closest of friends and professional allies, with Brown producing elaborate events for Foxx and numerous other heavyweights at the pinnacle of the entertainment industry. Of Foxx’s impact on him, Brown says, “Jamie let me see the other side of Hollywood. And for him to get that Oscar win was a great thing,” he notes of Foxx’s Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in the film Ray , about the rhythm and blues music legend Ray Charles. Another facet of Brown’s brand lies in his uncanny ability to realize a great concept and act on it, regardless of whether the idea resonates with others. His creation of the weekly Indie Night Film Festival, for instance, wasn’t initially an idea that everyone could wrap their heads around. “People said it would never work, because film fes- tivals are once a year,” Brown recalls. “They told me I wouldn’t be able to get enough content to make it work. But I found that there’s an incredible amount of con- tent—and why should people wait for once a year to be seen and miss all this work in between?” His intuition paid off, and for a decade the festival has rocked Hol- lywood’s TCL Chinese Theatre on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “In Hollywood, it used to be that someone finished a film last week but nobody would see it until next year,” Brown states. “People need more traction. And so I’ve hosted the film festival every week since we started it, and we’re on consistently unless the theatre is bought out.” Since the goal for every writer, director, and producer is to get to the big screen, Brown’s philosophy is—why not just start there?

Yet beyond the Indie Night Film Festival and its fanfare and excitement, Brown is conscious of scouting out and encouraging filmmakers who may not yet have the courage to step forward and put their work forward. So, he relishes hooking up filmmakers with studios and networks that can get their work produced. He also invites his friends, like the legendary American casting director Robi Reed, who is credited with starting the careers of actors like Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, and Samuel Jackson. When Reed came to Indie Night some years ago for the first time, Brown says, she praised the concept and vowed to come back once a month to look for talent. He adds, “Now she oversees all the casting of talent for BET.” On her visits to Indie Night, Reed has brought people like Ruth Carter, the first African American to win an Academy Award for Best Costume Design for the film Black Panther . Then Carter, along with other entertainment icons like Morris and Foxx, will oftentimes come down to the front of the theatre and talk about their blueprint for making it in Hollywood, and what it took to get where they are. Of the impact of this experience on Indie Night Film Festival attendees, Brown says, “I want people to know that they can be great. They have to look beyond their fears. You won’t know the outcome unless you step out and make it happen. Everybody that’s great had to push through it.” Over the years, Brown has had the blessing of seeing many magnificent moments unfold at Indie Night Film Festival, and he recalls one in particular that sticks out with all the intensity of the night it happened. “I showed a film that got a standing ovation, and I brought the director down,” he remembers. “It was a 14-year-old kid who shot the film on his iPhone. You can do anything you want if you put your mind to it.” Brown recently snagged an award for his own talent and perseverance working in the entertainment industry—the John Singleton Award. The award is the first of its kind, given out by the family of Singleton, who was the pioneer that directed Boyz N the Hood and who consistently helped others in the industry get life- changing work. Moving forward, Brown will continue to cultivate his brand, much to the good fortune of writers, directors, producers, and others with big dreams in the film industry. “I strive to leave an imprint on anything that I do,” the Indie Night Film Festival founder says. “I’m the guy that helps the next person get to the next level.”

Dave Brown

A fter you speak with Dave Brown for the first time, you aren’t quite the same. He is, in a word, electric. And he likes to put that energy toward bringing out the best in everyone around him. Brown, founder of the 10-year running, weekly, and wildly successful Indie Night Film Festival in LA, is a 1992 graduate of Atlanta’s Morehouse College. To both honor the Morehouse con- nection and to acknowledge the link between LA and ATL, he has plans to bring the film festival to Atlanta, as well. “When I came to LA, the only person I knew was Morris Chestnut (American actor who sprang onto the scene in the role of Ricky in the film Boyz N the Hood ),” Brown says. “Morris gave me the do’s and don’ts of LA, so he was my mentor. But it’s a friendship first and the trust is there.” This connection and friendship gave Brown the op- portunity to see firsthand how to become a leading man and to continuously work in Hollywood. Through his bond with Chestnut, Brown has learned to intrinsically “ I strive to leave an imprint on anything that I do. I’m the guy that helps the next person get to the next level. ”

@davebrownusa | [email protected]

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LA BY WAY OF MEXICO

The Lady Is a Rebel By Ca ro l Bada r acco Padge t t

T ijuana, Mexico-born Lucia Argut possesses a number of traits that have helped her rise and stand strong in the entertainment world. Of course there are the usual ones of talent and beauty that many in the field share. But there’s one in particular that has clinched the deal for this actress, content producer, and director, and that’s sheer perseverance. The Telemundo morning show TV host puts it like this. “The saying, ‘When you do what you love, you stop working’ is totally accurate. No matter how much peo- ple try and diminish you, you have already won.” Argut knows from personal expe- rience what she’s talking about, because her journey in the entertainment indus- try hasn’t always been marked by outside encouragement. “Everyone secretly desires or craves for a moment to be the center of atten- tion—with a camera or in front of a crew,” she believes. “But it must be mentioned that if you are able to do this work easily (and naturally), you have already mastered a very important aspect of being human: you have stopped caring about what others might think or say about you.” Personally, she worked hard to over- come and push through any self-doubt in her quest to achieve a state of mind where she didn’t let others’ beliefs or her own fears hold her back. “The first time I was live on TV, I almost threw up,” she admits. “And all of my childhood and during high school I had panic toward public speaking.” Yet she remembers her father, a biochemical engineer, pushing her to overcome this very

Lucia Argut

When it comes to both her film and TV work, Argut has met resistance that she has had to overcome, with those close to her expressing negative opinions about her career aspirations. So much so that for a time, when she was younger, she says, “I stopped doing it because my fam- ily seemed not to agree with this way of living, and a lot of people say it is not a job.” Yet, Argut had the courage to fol- low her own line of thinking on a life in the industry, firmly stating, “It is under- estimated.” So the rebel’s answer to dis- couragement was to build up years in the field of production, creating content for commercials and even directing an acting academy in Mexico. Of her personal journey in the en- “ I live thinking and feeling that once we have found our passion, it can give us great happiness. It would be a shame not to do it because of fear. ”

tertainment industry, Argut shares, “It took me years to realize my passion; I have been working since I was 16 years old, and I would change jobs constantly.” Yet, she closes, “I loved none of those jobs until I found mine. Since then, I live thinking and feeling that once we have found our passion, it can give us great hap- piness. It would be a shame not to do it because of fear, which I understand can be a big challenge.” It’s a challenge, though, that Argut meets head on moving into the future, with passion and a strong drive for success—no matter what anyone else thinks.

Photo courtesy Lucia Argut

real and common fear by making her memorize long, ar- duous passages of poetry and then recite it at her school. “He trained me for poetry in my childhood, reciting with a pencil in my mouth to improve pronunciation. I hated it!” she laughs. “He was so difficult to impress, so even if you did good, you rarely knew if he was proud, which made me a perfectionist and a rebel at a young age.” And then she recalls with a smile, “My mom says I’m a lot like him, and she doesn’t love that a lot.”

Never afraid to tackle challenges, Argut has stretched beyond her prominent morning show hosting gig on Telemundo, working on a number of short films, both as an actress and a producer. And she has three feature films under her belt, including Tijuana I Love You , by Rene Bueno, which has been well received on the film festival circuit before its release to the public. Another recent project that’s dear to her is a short film, Dinner in the Round , that she recently produced and acted in. “It has been successful as well on the film circuit,” she notes. “It was directed by my dear friend H Cole K, and it’s filled with very metaphorical situations.”

@lucia_argut

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LOCATION Town at Trilith is the Hottest Selling Community in the Atlanta Area By Autumn Mur r ay T he Town at Trilith in south metro Atlanta is where creatives at all levels in the film and television industry come to live, create, and be a part of a community. Trilith is a 235- acre master-planned residential and mixed- use development featuring a European- inspired town, complete with its own houses,

restaurants, and schools. The community is adjacent to Trilith Studios, a 1,000-acre movie studio formerly known as Pinewood Atlanta Studios, the second-largest purpose-built film and TV hub in the U.S. Trilith Studios is continuing the legacy of Pinewood Studios and maintaining the status as a world leader in film and television productions, producing blockbuster films such as Ant-Man and Avengers: Endgame, and television series WandaVision and Loki. Trilith’s proximity to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta In- ternational Airport, the busiest airport in the world, is easily accessible for the thousands of members in the film and entertainment community that travel to Atlanta each year for work. In July 2021, the Georgia Department of Economic Development announced that the film indus- try recorded a blockbuster year in Georgia and set a new record with $4 billion in direct spending on productions. The Town at Trilith broke ground in 2017 and recently completed its 200 th home sale. The premier community combines timeless architecture with purpose- driven design to cater to makers, creators, and innova- tors. Homes include multiple varieties and designs to fit a wide array of lifestyles and price points, including micro- homes, single-family homes, canopy homes, townhomes, and more. Houses at Trilith are priced from $500,000 to greater than $2 million. Since its inception, Trilith has experienced incredible growth. Nationally recognized as a leader in innovation, all homes are designed to be geo- thermal and leave a smaller footprint. Many encompass smart-home and solar technology. In 2020, Trilith took home 27 OBIE Awards for excellence in homebuilding and design presented by the Greater Atlanta Homebuild- ers Association, including the 2020 Community of the Year Award. Intentionally designed by award-winning town planner Lew Oliver, Trilith is intended to evoke the warm feel of a European village. “We’re selling at two times the market relative to the value of the homes based on the type of community we are building. Trilith is a very special place where people want to live and be a part of given the investment that

Photos courtesy of Town at Trilith

hotel, which will only add to the appeal of Trilith.” Trilith promotes a lifestyle that is unlike any other with chef-inspired res- taurants, a K-12 school, Piedmont Wellness Center, and a wide array of amenities that provide an ideal live/work environment. Tenants at Town at Trilith that have already opened include Amici Italian Café, Honey- suckle Gelato, Green p.s., Amici Café, Bar- leygarden Kitchen and Craft Bar, and Hop City. Trilith has announced other retailers, including Leyland Blue, Trilith Food Hall, Native Collective, The Skin Society, Sugarcoat, Premiere Hair Studio, Woodstone Bakery & Café, Braise, Archer Paper Goods, The Funky Shack, and The Market.

The Trilith development team includes Chick-fil-A CEO, Dan Cathy, President Rob Parker, and project partners that includes commercial real estate develop- ment firm Pace Lynch Corp., residential real estate firm Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties’ New Homes Division, town and residential planner Lew Oliver Inc., Piedmont Healthcare, Capstone, Nequette Architecture & Design, landscape design firm HGOR, and a builders guild comprising homebuilders in the Atlanta area. The Sales and Design Center for Town at Trilith is located at 290 Heatherden Avenue (On-site at Trilith) Fayetteville, GA 30214. More details can be found on Trilith.com. Follow Trilith on social media at Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

our developers and design team have intentionally made in the creation of beautiful amenities, devotion to well- ness, development of parks and walkable streets, and overall commitment to sustainability. And of course, there is Trilith Studios and the significant leadership rec- ognition it holds in the entertainment industry, which makes Trilith one of the most desired places to live in the Atlanta area,” says Rob Parker, president of Trilith. “We are excited about the plans in development to open a nine-screen luxury movie theatre with a rooftop bar, an international food hall featuring cuisine from around the world, and the addition of a four-star boutique

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THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE

Thursday Night Live is a monthly, high energy event for the Georgia entertainment industry held at Studio 135 in Inman Park. We celebrate the art and artists of storytelling with a televised roundtable discussion. It’s a great place to network, and be entertained with live musical performances and an aerial DJ performance by Mami Chula. Visit GeorgiaHollywoodReview.com to find out next month’s date.

Georgia Hollywood Review Director’s Panel, from left to right: Anthony Page, Alahna Lark, Bobby Huntley, Host Angelo Diaz, Frances Chang & Chris LeDoux

Thursday Night Live host Angelo Diaz, star of TV One’s ATL Homicide

Aerial DJ Mami Chula

Allison Barkus and Zee Zammit with Desert Door spirits (Texas Sotol)

Angelo Diaz, Lu (aka 1 Glance), Miles Neiman, Amir and Franck Mille

Tax Credit advisor, Ryan Ellison and Nina Morm

Publisher-Producer Miles Neiman

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EDUCATION First Master of Fine Arts in Film, Television, and Digital Media Degree at University of Georgia By Autumn Mur r ay U niversity of Georgia launched the state’s first Master of Fine Arts degree in Film, Television, and Digital Media in the fall of 2020 and is well into its second year. The degree is a two-year, six-semester program that combines classroom instruc- tion, professional training, and hands-on • Professor Nate Kohn , Director of the Roger Ebert Film Festival; Executive Producer, Bayou Maharaja , Zulu Dawn , Executive Producer, Somebodies (TV series) • Assistant Professor Shandra MacDonald , Execu- tive Producer, East Point, JINN • Assistant Professor Booker T. Mattison , Director, The Gilded Six Bits , Ungubani (Who Are You?)

filmmaking opportunities. It’s focused on writing, directing, producing, and post-production. The pro- gram started off with 12 enrolled students and is set to enroll 30 new students each year by 2024. In 2021, the film and television industry in Georgia set a record with $4 billion in direct spending on productions in the state. The Georgia Film Office reported that these numbers were due to a lot of key factors, including the state’s overall attractiveness to the film industry, Georgia’s tax incentive to film in Georgia, as well as the strict Covid-19 safety protocols that were put in place and monitored to make film production possible. There is no sign of Georgia’s film industry slowing down. Most Georgia soundstages are booked through 2021 and some through 2022. Georgia currently ranks among the top three film and television production centers in the nation. “The focus of the Master of Fine Arts degree in Film, Television, and Digital Media is to produce highly trained filmmakers in Georgia. Ultimately, we

• Associate Professor Bryan Cole , Editor, Who Killed Malcolm X? , The C Word ; Co-Editor, The Pursuit: 50 Years in LGBT Civil Rights • Associate Professor Julie Ray , Set Designer, Mindhunter , Neighbors 2 , Love and Other Drugs This graduate program is offered to students at a standard state tuition rate, making it one of the most affordable and accessible programs of its caliber in the country. “We are very pleased by the diversity in the program. The first class had more women than men and very good racial diversity with half of the students being Black. The new cohort coming in this fall is much the same,” says Dr. Jeff Springston. Katy Warren is a current student in the program and one of two students accepted into a grant competition with the Filmmaker’s First Fund, an organization dedicated to helping finance new filmmakers with promising feature length projects.

Katy had this to say about the program: “I received my acceptance for this graduate program in early March of 2020, right at the beginning of the pandemic. I just remember taking a deep breath and thinking this is the one piece of calm I have during these uncertain times. This graduate program is incredible, and I am really enjoying being a part of it. The mentoring opportunities with the professors have been a dream come true. Associate Professor Neil Landau has helped me discover my

would like to see many of our gradu- ates from this film program start up their own companies, such as pro- duction houses, writers’ rooms, etc. and add to the continuing momen- tum of Georgia being a leader in the film industry” says Dr. Jeff Springs- ton, Director of Master of Fine Arts Programs for Grady College who helped design the program. The program unfolds over two years (six consecutive semesters)

Photos courtesy of UGA

potential and love for screenwriting.”

with year one’s fall, spring, and summer semesters at the University of Georgia campus in Athens, with one day a week at the OFS Studios in Gwinnett County. In year two, the students take classes at the Georgia Film Academy and live in the Town at Trilith, a 935-acre master development for the creative industries in South Metro Atlanta that is home to Trilith Studios, the second largest purpose-built studio in North America, which features 18 sound stages ranging from 15,000 to 40,000

square feet, adjacent workshop facilities, and an extensive 400-acre backlot. The University of Georgia has assembled an outstanding faculty team to teach the curriculum, all with extensive experience in television and film production: • Associate Professor Neil Landau , Director of Screenwriting, Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead, Melrose Place, Doogie Howser, M.D. , and The Magnificent Seven .

Applications for the fall 2021 cohort are open until December 1. Students interested in applying should visit mfaf ilm.uga.edu and contact Dr. Jeff Springston with any questions by email: [email protected] and phone: (706) 542-7833.

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THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE

Angelo Diaz with Writer-Director-Producer Bobby Huntley

Miles Neiman and Ozzie Areu

Writer-Director-Producer Alahna Lark

Studio owner Ozzie Areu and former Miss Georgia Suzette Osaba Bryan

Actors-Models Amillian K and Heather Wombolt

Studio 135 owners Riaan and Michelle Venter

Alex Pica

Actor Jennifer Murray

Daniel Myers and Trenell Banks from the new film, The Devil Comes Dressed For Church

Colleen Fallon, Kristen Spann, and Carol Badaracco Padgett

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LGBTQIA+

Simha Haddad By Autumn Mur r ay

“As someone who is currently discovering their own journey through gen- der and sexuality, I need to say how important LGBTQIA+ literature is. Not only for children or young adults, but also for parents of the members of our community—pieces of work to help guide minds towards empathy, kind- ness, and a sense of chosen family within these books. “Luckily, we are

Simha Haddad

As time went on, she started to think of the spectrum as a rainbow, each color bleeding into the next and then into the next. She had a life-changing epiphany when she realized her belief that we are all part of each other, each individual ray of uniqueness playing its part in creating the larger, beautiful whole. That each of us are just a glimmer of light somewhere on this rainbow. Upon this realization, the idea for her debut novel was born. Somewhere on This Rainbow is an upmarket LGBTQIA+ positive novel. The story unfolds through a multiple points of view narrative that weaves together a coming-of-age story of the lead character (Claire) with the nuanced complexity of gender identity, the natural fluidity of sexuality, and the true meaning of love and friendship. WHAT IS THE OVERALL MESSAGE OF YOUR BOOK? “ Somewhere on This Rainbow boils down to one thing—the only thing that really matters, love,” says Simha Haddad. A portion of the proceeds from Somewhere on This Rainbow will benefit the LGBTQIA+ community, specifically struggling youth. Endorsements for Somewhere on This Rainbow : “All I wanted when I was younger was to feel truly seen through storytelling. I whole-heartedly believe that if you can see it, you can be it. Somewhere on This Rainbow would have helped my younger self immensely, and I know it will help those within our community and those outside of it! Books like these with authors like Simha drive the world forward to a brighter, more loving, and positive place for the future. I can’t wait to share it with my children one day!” – Gigi Gorgeous Getty, Transgender YouTube Star and Author of He Said, She Said, Lessons, Stories, and Mistakes from My Trans- gender Journey

in a time where queer terminology and language have grown. It is time to put this on paper in stories for the world to see.”—August Getty, Non-binary Fashion Designer and GLAAD Ambassador “ Somewhere on This Rainbow has been one of my fa- vorite reads since Memoirs of a Geisha. Firstly, as a reader, I love Simha’s effortless way that she intertwines these complex relationships. The life lessons in this book are important, but never in-your-face. She successfully de- picts a multi-sided perspective that leaves you with the enlightened takeaway that not everything is as it may seem through one person’s eyes. Everyone comes with different life experiences, and it is through those experi- ences that we filter and process everything we see. “It was such a pleasure to read about and feel rep- resented by a main character in a book. The more writ- ers/allies like Simha, the more chances WE have to reach that one child with the same thoughts of their unknown brothers and sisters out there who think the same, until they see their first person JUST LIKE THEM so that the voice that told them they were alone says, “no you are not.” That’s what I needed, and that is what WE ALL deserve.” – Markus Molinari, Transgender LGBTQIA+ Human Rights Activist, Prominent Restaurateur, GLAAD and Trevor Project Ambassador. Haddad lives in California with her husband, toddler son, and two diva dogs. She looks forward to continuing her writing career and making sure that the members of the LGBTQIA+ community have a leading voice in the literary world.

Photos courtesy Simha Haddad

Photo by Jenn Collins

S imha Haddad is an openly pansexual writer, actor, and retired international fashion model. Her background includes a deep passion for books, classical music, and travel. Haddad took time out of her busy schedule in Los Angeles to give us an inside look into how she got the inspiration to write her new novel Somewhere on This Rainbow which comes out in the first quarter of 2022. When Haddad was a teenager struggling with defin- ing her sexuality, a very wise school therapist explained the spectrum theory to her. “The therapist told me to picture a color spectrum in my mind and imagine one end being very heterosexual and the other end being very homosexual. She said that most people fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, and I knew immediately that I did too.”

Follow Simha Haddad on Instagram | SimhaHaddad.com

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THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE

Angelo Diaz and artist/gallery owner Anderson Smith

Josh Harris and Jennifer “Shea Love” Long

Miles Neiman and City National Bank’s Josh Harris

Georgia Hollywood Review Excellence

in Entertainment Award recipient, Chris LeDoux of Crafty Apes

Men’s fashion designers and owners of Todd Patrick in New York and Atlanta, Desyree Nicole and Gabriella Paulino

Director-Producer Anthony Page

Miles Neiman and Angelo Diaz

Actor Andry Palacio

Writer-Director Frances Chang and Robin Thornett

Georgia Hollywood Review Excellence in Entertainment Award recipient, Ozzie Areu, former President of Tyler Perry Studios and owner and founder of Areu Bros Studios

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GEORGIA BASED ACTOR

Margot Keeps an Eye on Her Prize By Ca ro l Bada r acco Padge t t

M argot Bingham isn’t trying to get what ev- eryone else has in the industry. “Whatever I want to have as my successes in life… I have mine and everybody else has their own. What’s meant for all of us is ours,” she philosophizes. “It’s easy to compare yourself to others in the industry, and to measure your success compared to theirs,” she adds. “It’s not the best way to live.” This outlook is a down-to-earth, self-assured formula that has served the actor, singer, songwriter, dancer, and producer well. And it has helped Bingham “keep her blinders on,” as she describes, and focus her impressive drive on her individual career goals. Some of those goals to date include roles on AMC’s The Walking Dead , NBC’s New Amsterdam , ABC’s The Family , and the MGM comedy-drama film Barbershop 3 , as well as rock musical Rent , her first theatre booking. Another title that has brought Bingham considerable acclaim is HBO’s period drama series Boardwalk Empire , in which she played jazz singer Daughter Maitland for two seasons alongside actor Michael K. Williams in the role of Chalky White. “He had my back,” she says of the experience. “I still look back and say, ‘Was that real?’ I have great fondness and gratitude for the show.” Her work on Boardwalk Empire stands out to her for another reason. It’s where, as a green actress just starting out, she auditioned repeatedly to eventually snag the coveted part. ”I went into that audition maybe nine times,” she says. “I didn’t live in close proximity, and I had to walk far from the train… into the middle of nowhere.” Much like the lessons Bingham learned from the audition experience for Boardwalk Empire , she realizes that many other formative lessons came before. As a teenager and an aspiring singer and dancer, Bingham attended her hometown arts school, Pittsburgh’s High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. “I started going to singing and dancing classes as a kid,” Bingham states. So the High School for the Creative and Performing Arts was a major step toward her performance dreams. “It was a very big deal to get down to the final auditions,” she remembers. And since acting was not really her thing at the time, she set her sights on musical theater, the only offering at the school that combined singing and dancing. In a short time, Bingham found herself under the wing of the school’s new acting coach, Billy Hartung, and she came to realize acting as the love of her life. (Hartung still serves as her acting coach to this day.) By college, though, Bingham’s young focus fractured somewhat, and she found herself at Point Park University,

Her work on Boardwalk Empire stands out to her[…] It’s where, as a green actress just starting out, she auditioned repeatedly to eventually snag the coveted part.

Margot Bingham

touring and performing professionally. In stepped another pivotal teacher who took Bingham aside. “She said, ‘You’re doing it. Why are you still in school?’” So Bingham took this thought to her parents. “They gave me a year to figure it out in New York,” she says. “And if I hadn’t figured it out yet after that year, then I’d go back to school.” Not long after, she landed her role in Rent , and then began booking TV shows and films. Through it all, Bingham credits her parents for helping her remain grounded. Up next for Bingham is an untitled Spike Lee project that’s in the works, as well as a new season of The Walking Dead . “When I came on TWD last season, people just heard my voice,” she teases. “This year, they get to meet my character.” Around the edges of performing, Bingham devotes her time to humanitarian causes, among them Orphaned Starfish Foundation for orphans and at-risk youth. She also volunteers time as a board member at New York’s

Peace Institute. “They have a cool approach to mediation and confrontation,” she notes, working to keep tenants and neighbors out of the court system when difficulties arise between the parties. Of her work to give back, Bing- ham says, “Every single one of these projects connects— kids, education.” Another healthy example of giving back that Bingham shares has to do with lessons learned during the pandemic. “A lot of creatives really had a hard time,” she says, including herself. “I had a feeling of not being very creative then,” she states. “So I dove more into meditation and walking to feel more grounded.” It was an approach that worked for her. “I share it because I’m sure there’s somebody else out there who needs to hear it.” Through it all, Bingham keeps a watchful—and grounded—eye on her prize.

@margotbingham

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GEORGIA TALENT

Finding Her Niche as an Actress Reece Odum’s recent work By Den i s e K. Jame s F rom the time she was a child, Reece Odum, actress, producer and Atlanta native, knew she wanted to perform in front of an audience. With the encouragement of her parents—whom she says “instilled in us that we could do whatever we wanted in life”—young Odum attempted and loved

about an aspiring actress choosing between life and career —the irony! Following that success, Odum found she’d discovered her niche: acting out difficult stories and situations most people are uncomfortable with. “It was in the moment of filming this project when I truly knew in my heart that I’m supposed to be doing this—and that I was definitely on the right path.” Fast-forward to now, and Odum has more than found her footing in the acting world, typically working on multiple projects at once. At the time of our interview, she’d finished a role in a film called Karen , debuting on Amazon Prime and BET, and was preparing to depart for Dallas to film a feature called Just Between Us Girls , in which she plays the lead role: an attorney/author seeking solace through friends during life’s challenges. As you read this, Odum is likely in North Carolina, filming a romantic comedy called Single, Saved and Searching . And in Atlanta, Reece has worked on several television and film projects: CW’s The Vampire Diaries and—probably her best-known role—as Anita Robinson on Bounce TV’s hit drama Saints and Sinners , also on Hulu. In her little spare time, Odum keeps up with her industry, enjoying numerous TV shows and movies on various channels and streaming services. She names Hulu’s Nine Perfect Strangers , starring Nicole Kidman, as her current obsession, as well as Peacock’s Dr. Death , starring Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater as another favorite. Odum credits her parents’ vision and drive as part of her success. Her American father met her Filipino mother during his years in the Air Force, and the couple has remained happily together for more than 50 years. They always encouraged her to follow her dreams, and now, they are pleasantly surprised at how their daughter’s dreams turned out. Her parents even shared the big screen with her in one of her earlier films, The Wish , and her father frequently joins her at red carpet events. “If my dad isn’t with me on a red carpet now, many photographers are looking for him, asking where he is,” she says, smiling.

Reece Odum

everything artistic, from ballet to drama classes to playing cello in the school orchestra. As her family anxiously awaited her to choose one talent and stick resolutely to it, Odum cleverly found a way to incorporate many interests together: pageants. While she attended college, various beauty pageants, including Miss Georgia USA and Miss Georgia America, were the ideal way for Odum to “use all her talents and have an audience…The things I loved were intertwined in those pageants,” she says. Though Odum didn’t bring home those partic- ular crowns, her foray into the public eye led to ini- tial acting roles and the leap of faith to relocate to Los Angeles along with her brother, also an actor. Like many artists, Odum worked corporate jobs “to help them stay afloat,” including modeling for vari- ous companies. “Corporate work stifled me as an artist,” she admits now. “I was always so unhappy in those types of jobs.” She felt most alive whenever in front of a camera or audience. “I was on billboards all around L.A. and LAX, for example, and when I saw that billboard one day, it was like a confirmation for me that I was meant to pursue my dreams.” Following her epiphany, Odum moved home to Atlanta—she missed her family dearly, and she felt confident it was the best decision. Back in Georgia, she was thrilled to be in the company of loved ones, but she wasn’t acting—that is, until she had lunch with a friend who point-blank asked her why not. “This was back in 2010. I hadn’t really thought about what I was going to do regarding my acting career or even a job at that point,” she says. “But then the industry started booming here in Georgia and the rest, as they say, is history.” As serendipity would have it, that same friend referred her to audition for one of his friend’s projects, a web series made up of several vignettes. He offered Odum the lead role in one called Lights, Camera, Action ,

Photo by Mizell Williams Jr. Photography

Odum has more than found her footing in the acting world, typically working on multiple projects at once.

www.Reece-Odum.com | Instagram/Facebook/Twitter:@reeceodum www.imdb.me/reeceodum | [email protected]

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