Amazing actors tell THE WHOLE TRUTH

I'm thrilled to announce our leading lady - a name synonymous with "screwball comedy" -- not! is Elisabeth Röhm!

This will be her first foray in comedy and trust me - she will not disappoint! We're both excited about her turning in a surprising - if not shocking - performance for fans who know her best from her gripping work in Law and Order and her recent uber-dramatic turn as a concert pianist in Bernard Rose's The Kreutzer Sonata, based on the novella by Leo Tolstoy, celebrated only two months ago at the Edinburgh Film Festival. This woman is *fearless!*

Joining her and Eric Roberts (as you never have and never will see him again) - I told you this is a comedy, right? Once again, this thinking thespian will show you his range is not limited to dramatic roles!

Also hopping aboard our train to Fun and Frolic is the amazing Jim Holmes - who, again, will delight one and all with the splendid timing and layers of persona he conveys for the guy he's playing in THE WHOLE TRUTH. You'll recognize him from that laugh-a-minute hit show, "24."

Yes. This. Is. A. Comedy.

Rick Overton, known as one of the best comedy script writers around (even winning an Emmy for his labor), character actor (he's in three summer movies this year alone), stand up comic (HEALTH WARNING: if you see Rick in person, you may want to bandage your torso. I saw him recently at a Seattle comedy club and believe I cracked at least one rib laughing so hard. He is *merciless* as he keeps the laughs coming!) and consummate mensch is with us as well. If you don't know, a mensch is a person with great character; a true-blue, genuinely good-hearted person. He also appears regularly on the Stephanie Miller Show, writes for the Huffington Post and is Captain Nemo in the new Capital One TV commercials.

See? At least one person famous for working in comedy is with us. That gives us at least a little street cred with comedy purists. Oh! Our editor Stephen Myers has also worked with Carl Reiner and other comedy greats in the biz!

Next week we finish casting locally, location scouting is already underway-Craig Stewart is one of the top location scout/managers in the industry; our production office is going to be set up, our fantastic, enthusiastic Director of Photography Paul Mailman and other key crew are aboard - and in just a little more than a month... the camera rolls!

Once again, the lure to sign up for this little independent film is the script. It gives everyone participating - on and off screen - the opportunity to shine. And, hopefully, to have a great time while we all work our hearts out!

A wonderful way to start the day!

OK, you have to trust me on this.

It's an old George Baker Selection (a Dutch band) song I found on YouTube that is my personal "anthem."

It's called, "Una Paloma Blanca." That's Spanish for "white dove." It is considered a political song by some, and enjoyed as simply a tribute to freedom by others.

Warning: this is *not* a great video to watch, so just turn away, listen to the music and words and I'll bet you anything you'll be tapping a toe or two and smiling!

Enjoy!

Five lead actors are cast!

Unfortunately I can't tell you about anyone but Eric Roberts (see below) because their "deals" are not finalized yet.

Agents try to get the best deals they can for their clients, while budgets can only be stretched so far. So it's a little dance they do, these two negotiators, keeping in mind whether the actor is very enthusiastic about the role.

The agent can go to the edge of the production company's budget while preventing the production company from saying, "We can't afford him/her," and going on to someone else if their actor really wants the gig. Or the agent can pass if the actor is not all that thrilled with the role or film to begin with.

Meanwhile, the production company tries to figure out how they can afford as much as possible for the actor in the deal, up to the point of sacrificing, say, *film* we need to shoot the story.

Our producer and attorney do the deals, keeping me up to date with how negotiations are going.

I need not to worry about the dealmaking because I'm too busy putting the film together in preproduction - where films are actually made.

We need our terrific actors to arrive and feel safe, knowing that everything's going smoothly at our end; that all the filmmaking elements are in place, leaving them free to perform more briliantly than ever before - trusting the director to skillfully lead their characters so they can relax and successfully tell their stories for appreciative audiences.

As soon as I can name names and show you their photos, I shall - it won't be long!

Meanwhile, I've also started casting local performers; they will blow you away with their performances. In a little more than a week I'll be seeing the majority of local talent to fill supporting roles.

I'm so proud of this project. What makes it so terrific for me is that everyone involves believes in the script. A script that many, many people still don't understand. But they most certainly will when they see it onscreen!