Juice on Adverstising

what does this mean? (it's an honest question.) it seems that the advertisers have abandoned acknowledgement, humor, and meaning in their pursuit to get me to purchase their product. what is their product? even more, what do they want me to do with it? I feel like if I pursue the questions further, I'll be the cause of some unforced armegedon. and still, I wonder what they want from me... I'm totally confused and long for London. F. U. DR.!

what does this mean? (it's an honest question.) it seems that the advertisers have abandoned acknowledgement, humor, and meaning in their pursuit to get me to purchase their product. what is their product? even more, what do they want me to do with it? I feel like if I pursue the questions further, I'll be the cause of some unforced armegedon. and still, I wonder what they want from me... I'm totally confused and long for London. F. U. DR.!

Working with Actors vs. Non-Actors

At On the Leesh, we work with actors all the time. We are blessed actually with the talent that we work with. They are prepared, professional and supportive of their cast members.

For What You Can Do, we have made a conscious decision to make our “hosts” for each episode be real people. Therefore, some of our personalities are average Americans. We feature a fire fighter (thanks Jack!), a teacher (thanks Shannon!), a graphic designer (thanks Lana!) and so on. To be honest, we were worried that this would raise some problems on set.

Typically when you’re on set, you want to limit as many variables as possible. That means, hiring actors. These people are trained – and paid to remember their lines. They know what’s expected of them and don’t mind waiting around while we set up shots. Would this be the same with the other people we were going to work with?

Amazingly…YES! Each episode has taken about an hour to shoot with the “host.” They have been able to nail their lines within the first couple of takes. That means – they were able to memorize complicated phrases – Purina’s Pets for People Program – sorry Melissa. They were able to stay focused on the task at hand. They were all pros! Every one was excited to be on set and see how the videos were being made. Even Winnie – our two year old was focused and easy to work with.

I don’t want to jinx these videos, but…these guys are blowing our actors out of the water!

Thanks to all our volunteers!

Juice Visits the Museum

Sally's (from In the Can) Thoughts on Farrah and Michael Jackson

Hi, It's Sally. Starlet.
I feel the need to express my inner beingness by fully exploring the pain I feel at the passing of an icon.

Farrah Fawcett.

Farrah's contributions to my life and my art can be summed up in one statement:
I have fabulous hair.
Farrah was the first person who helped me to fully realize that hair is a fashion accessory just as important as jewelry or bags or even shoes. Actually probably more important, cuz you can't really change your hair on a daily basis unless you invest in some killer wigs.

There is a whole slew of idiot boys out there like Moron-athon (see below) - who hung Farrah's iconic poster on their wall when they were kids thinking that her smoking bod was their proof positive that they were not gay. But I say to you that those same idiot boys can be seen prancing around NYC, in metro sexual clothes and Farrah's feathered hair. So really, who do they think they are fooling?

Hair is a daily expression of my mood, my spirit and yes, I will say it my soul.
Now I am not necessarily saying that your soul is not as awesome if you have bad, or dry, or frizzy hair like some people I work with, who I will not name, but may or may not be currently working on a script called Love is a Collard Green, that is totally lame and a waste of our precious natural resources such as film, and editing equipment. But I have noticed the coronary (see below).

Also Bernard is yelling that Michael Jackson died to which I am saying no comment, because I am not one hundred percent convinced yet that this is not a majorly brilliant publicity stunt and that MJ is going to rise from the grave.

There is no way someone that fabulous could die that young.

1. Jedi watch note: Jonathon would like it noted that he NEVER hung Farrah's poster on his wall, only Leia in the gold bikini. And that every day he strives to emulate the hair of Han.

2. Bernice here- I think that Sally meant corollary here, but she is not responding as she is busy maintaining the creation of her Farrah Fawcett reenactment wall.

Juice Reviews The Hangover

The Hangover. The Lameover. The Boringover. The Two-Hours-Of-My-Life-I’m-Not-Going-To-Get-Back-Over. The Half-Way-Through-I-Wish-It-Was-Over-Over. see what i’m getting at? which is not to say, i didn’t laugh. the fat guy with the beard? total pisser. except the scene’s where he shows his bum. quite unnecessary. and incidentally, when did unattractive male nudity become comedy vogue? i’m supposed to giggle when i see a fat man’s bum? no thank you. but i did have a serious laugh at that photo of him getting his knob popped by a pilipino fifty-something.
the reason i wasn’t completely entertained was none of it was new to me. if i had a dime for every time I woke up, strung out, wondering how the bloody hell i got where i was, i’d have… lots and lots of dimes. ok, maybe not a boxer’s tiger, but i can tell you about a few gentleman’s goats that have been mistreated, by male and female alike. and their missing friend seemed a bit on the retard side. if a grown man can’t get himself off a vegas rooftop, he doesn’t deserve to be in the town to begin with.
in fact, we’ve lost dylan at least a dozen times. poor bastard just keeps finding his way back. i do get the sense of urgency with the wedding and all, but it would have been a lot funnier if the chap had disappeared on his own, simple because marriage is load of bullshit. that’s what happened to the SEXually. we had a guitar player pull a runner several times. we had to go looking for him, all on the count that he didn’t want to be a rock star anymore. the funny shit that went down on those episodes, you have no idea. and i would tell you all about them, save that there’s a few lawsuits pending, and my lawyer, Evil-in Harden (who incidentally, is a way better villain than the tiny angry asian from the film) said, “absolutely NOT! juice, it’s high time you pulled that juvenile head out of your over-sexed ass [not what you think] and got busy with the resurrection of your flailing career!” but all that’s a different matter isn’t it? anyway, the aforementioned story i refer to ends with me wondering, why are all these police officers in my bedroom?
one last thing: learn to handle a hangover, mates.; act like you’ve been there before.

Picking the Topics

When Jess, Mary, Julie and I first came up with our list of topics for our first 21 installments of What You Can Do, we came up with about 100 topics. Clearly this was going to be tough. How do you narrow down to just 21 topics when there are so many worthy issues out there.

Well first and foremost, we came made sure that we had some diversity. We didn’t want to keep all the issues domestic. There are far too many issues in the world to keep them focused on home. Still that does help narrow it down.

Next we went with issues that would make a compelling video. There are many issues where you can help in only a minute; however, many of those issues revolve around writing a check, writing a letter or subscribing to a blog. That wouldn’t make for a very interesting episode. This would definitely help narrow it down.

We also hope that these videos go out nationally, and we want to pick issues that have the widest level of interest across the country. We pushed the envelope slightly on some of these issues, but we feel strongly about our 21.

In all honesty, even if we were doing 365 episodes, we feel there would be some issues that would be have to be left off. Ultimately, this blog is the place where we can continue to explore these additional issues and spread the word.

Juice from The SEXually picks his favorite You Tube Video

this video carries with it a degree of sexual brilliance to which i can only aspire. the ironic and tantalizing expression of the sex industry via plastic dolls is unrivaled. it's like being at a strip club in the basement of a Toys R Us. i only wish i could see behind those pesky black boxes. enjoy, luv. - JUICE

The Making of The In-Betweens of Holly Malone

On the Leesh is asked a lot how we make our web series. How long does it take? How big is the crew? Who on the team does what?

In response, we made a little making of video with our Flip camera. Have a look!

Juice from The SEXually Goes to the Met

"i went to a museum on saturday; only god knows how I survived it- like watching paint dry in a church. there were lots of statues among some egyptian ruins- snooze it; thanks, but not. lots of pictures of dead people, loads of my english descendants- i quite like that fuex military thing they had going for a bit (note to stylist: viet nam green meets Elizabethan military). there were loads of shots of baby Jesus and his mother; quite fetching were the ones sans the baby- like, as soon as she became a single mother, not so much. more pictures of dead people, and more after that. made me quite sleepy, actually. i practically passed out from exhaustion within the first fifteen minutes of entering. [right, well, I should preface my whole reason for being there in the first place was because I was talkin to this bird walkin down the street- ‘bout eleven A in the M, coming home from the night before. so we was chattin it up- blasé blasé- and I end up walkin into the Met (the metropolitan museum of art, thank you very much). well, turns out the bird had a man, but by the time I figured it, I was fully trapped inside. it’s impossible to find your way out of such places, very much like a bloody Ikea. we did an event at an Ikea once. opened a store in rotterdam. retarded place, that is. gave us furniture as payment (really poor management back then). furniture lasted about as long as a relationship with groupie.]

anyway, I stumble on this francis bacon exhibit. little did i know, it was right near the front door. had i known, i would have been out like a sprout. now, bacon was english, born in london, 1920’s. rich family; father was a bit of a bully. i remembered this from the crap grammar academy i went to as a kid. they wouldn't let us look at his paintings cause they were a bit too racy for youthful eyes. well, one of me mates tells me later, bacon was into men, and that’s the reason they didn’t show us. they didn’t want to get us gayed up- like that could happen. for me, well, whateva, you know? (whateva drives the art, is what i mean.) what really intrigued me was that bacon liked his sex rough. privy to it myself, luv, if given the chance. see, but bacon was beat by his father. and he saw a lot of violence in his life time- living in europe during WWII says enough. i think i can understand why he might want to create that scenario. but I wasn’t beat by my father- mine ignored me. the only violence i see is created by myself, or me band mates, like in a bar fight, or that little mishap that happened with the special kids on the tube that strange easter sunday. those oddities, and while i’m in bed, when i happen upon a girl who shares the same proclivities. even then, it’s controlled violence, mutual by all accounts. [please stop judging me, it’s really not necessary. it is what it is and i am what i am. things as they are.] but I digress…
bacon uses great color, weird form, and a completely compelling subject matter- check out that shite about pope innocent X; F’d up, to say the least. and here i am, feeling quite okay about my own F’d up misogynistic lyrics. not so bad, bacon. thanks for sharing!"

Liam Neeson - the next action star?

I like action movies. I think they're fun. No matter how cheesy they are, I find myself always watching them. I have to admit I was pretty excited and hesitant with Taken was announced. Could Liam Neeson be an action star? I mean he was great as Henri Ducard in Batman Begins and was one of the finer moments in Episode 1 as Qui-Gon, but this man can act. What were they thinking? They were thinking AWESOME! Liam was fantastic. How great to see him kick everyone's butts to get his daughter. As Jess put it, his mantra was "Your ass shall be kicked." And kick he did. With a ruthlessness that put Jack Bauer's of 24 to shame, and a softer side with the young girls, he was fantastic (sorry about that my friend -your wife had to suffer!). If you are looking for a movie to rent, go with Taken!

The In the Canners Predict the 2009 Tony Award Winners!

They are employees of In the Can Productions... and they have opinions about theater. Check it out!

Holly's Stake in Belmont

Yesterday OTL shot another episode of The In-Betweens of Holly Malone. As you know, we like to keep Holly current with what's going on locally and internationally. So, with that in mind (and with a suggestion by a Holly fan), we decided to tackle upcoming Belmont Stakes. You horse racing fans will know that Belmont is quickly approaching on June 6th, so we shot this episode just under the wire!

As you can see with the pics... Holly and Dimitri's Belmont date begins very nicely...


They look lovely on race day...


And then after an incident goes a bit awry...


And what the hell happened to Dimitri??



We're launching this episode later today so be sure to check it out at: hollymalone.ontheleesh.com

Screening of Kung Pow Wow

The Berkshire Film Festival was abuzz with activity as it took over the Triplex and Mahaiwe theaters in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The whole community came out to support the event. This year marked their third annual Student Film Festival. Over thirty shorts were submitted by five Berkshire schools. It's amazing how much technology has improved and allowed access to people at a much younger age. Most of these films shared director credits, but isn't that what it's about when you're starting out? There's so much to learn from each other.




Over the years, the Berkshires have become a hot bed for the arts. Mass MoCA is considered one of the premiere museums of contemporary art in the country. They're featuring a major exhibit on Sol LeWitt until 2033, so that gives you some time to get there. Sol LeWitt is an artist best known for his giant works that take over a room - you can see one of his rooms at MOMA if you're in New York.

Jacob's Pillow is a dance company started in 1933 by Ted Shaw and is the only dance entity in the US to be declared a National Historic landmark for its significance and its contribution to America's culture.

The Berkshires features many play festivals including the best known -Williamstown. This summer they're putting on some tremendous works including: Sam Shepard's True West starring Rob Corddry and his brother Nate directed by OTL friend Danny Goldstein; Quatermaine's Terms by Simon Gray, starring Tony Award - winner Jefferson Mays and The Torch-Bearers by George Kelly directed by Dylan Baker.




It was great showing Kung Pow Wow in my home state. I do miss Massachusetts and consider myself a New Englander through and through. Getting to screen on the home front allows for your family to be in attendance. Friday night, I attended with my Godmother, Robbie Burr and on Sunday my cousin Libby Bolognia and our dear friend Leanne Jolin joined us.




We were in a solid block of films. Julie wrote in about a few films perviously so, I will just touch on a few more.




Local filmmaker Sanjiban filmed a documentary of sorts called Animal Tricks. Over the course of his summer, he filmed himself teaching a variety of tricks in his backyard with chipmunks. It was hilarious in it's simplicity and the best part - Sanjiban was in attendance carrying a stuffed chipmunk on his shoulder.

Another notable film was called The Last Page. One of the longer of the shorts, clocking in at 21 minutes - The Last Page is the story of a tortured writer struggling to find the perfect ending to his latest story. While taking a break from writing, he is catapulted into a bizarre series of events; each event pushing him further away from finishing the last page. Written by Kevin Acevedo and Matt Akey and Directed by Kevin Acevdeo, The Last Page offered a clever formula that began with the audience watching the last moment in the script and then realizing, as it moved backwards and things were erased, that the writer was deleting the story from his computer in the hopes of finding the perfect ending.

Writer/Director Jack Herbert's The Hero's Journey was a genius use of a gimmick to allow for a very low budget film. The story focuses on Sam as he's looking for enemies in his home. He documents his search with his home video camera. What he captures on the camera is more than he or his mother planned. I was really taken with the idea of making a low budget work to your advantage. This film could not have been shot on a higher end camera.

The last film I'd like to mention is Monty Diamond's The World Trade Center in the Movies. The World Trade Center appeared in over 60 films of all shapes and sizes during their 27 year history They played starring roles in films like The Wiz and Trading Places or served as background - a recognizable part of the Manhattan landscape - in many others. Monty Diamond was a location scout in New York who worked with the Trade Center frequently. He put together a musical reminiscence of the Towers in a short film. It was a very moving tribute.

Thanks to Lauren and everyone at the festival! We hope to see you next year!