Darlene Morrison Website

Category: Aspiring Producer

  • m & s Marshall Productions and iFilmGroup select their cast for Social Disobedience

    By Matthew Marshall, Director & Writer, m & s Marshall Productions and iFilmGroup Co-Founder

    iFilmGroup

    m & s Marshall Productions

    London, Ontario 

    Social Disobedience Film Has Selected Its Cast

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JULY 24, 2020

    iFilmGroup and m & s Marshall Productions are happy to announce their cast for their upcoming film called Social Disobedience. Filming of the entire film will take place through social distance with scenes being filmed throughout Ontario and the United States, with smart phones, tablets, and Wi-Fi devices. 

    “The concept of this film excites me. As we are all relating right now to dealing with a virus and having to stay at home and or isolate” says award winning film director Matthew Marshall who is the film’s writer and director. 

    Newmarket Actress Ashleigh Morrison will lead the cast as Eden. The pandemic has gotten to her and she doesn’t want to play by the rules. London Actress Jordyn Taylor will play the role of Danica, Eden’s best friend; while London Actor Max Steinberg will play the character Greyson who likes to cause trouble for both Eden and Danica.  Ashleigh Morrison, Jordyn Taylor, and Max Steinberg are all award-winning actors. 

    Max Steinberg, Jordyn Taylor & Ashleigh Morrison all won a Joey Award/2019

    London actress Jessica Ladd will be taking on the role of Dove Linney, Jessica Windibank will play the character Bridget, and Actress Olivia Tovar from Houston, Texas, will play the role of Blair. Additional casting for other roles is on-going.

    Jessica Ladd
    Jessica Windibank
    Olivia Tovar

    What Marshall likes about this film is going inside the characters to see the struggles they are having with dealing with a virus that has changed their lives. How isolation is affecting them on emotional and mental levels and how each character has a different response and is pushed to the point of social disobedience. Marshall feels that each person cast so far will bring to life the characters he has created in very interesting ways.

    m & s Marshall Productions and iFilmGroup are very excited to work with the talent selected and look forward to filming Social Disobedience in the upcoming months. 

    For Social Disobedience filming information and updates, please follow iFilmGroup at https://www.ifilmgroup.org or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/ifilmgroup

    For more information or media enquiries, please contact Matthew Marshall of m & s Marshall Productions and iFilmGroup.

    IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12752650/

    Contact Information:

    Matthew Marshall

    m & s Marshall Productions

    iFilmGroup

    Phone# 519-777-9538

    Email: msmarshall@sympatico.ca

  • Kalkaden Productions Does It Again; Semi-Finalists in the Festigious Film Festival

    Petersburg has just been announced as a semi-finalist in the Festigious International Film Festival.

    Festigious is a monthly film festival. Each month, their Jury awards the best films through private screenings, and then creates a special interview with the winner of the Best Film of the Month award. The Film of the Month winners will also compete at the end of the year for Best of Fest Award (best film of the year).

    Petersburg is written by Tyler Robinson and stars Robinson also. The film was produced and directed by Kaleb Laidman and the Kalkaden Productions team.

    The cast and crew of Petersburg/Supplied Photo

    You can FOLLOW Kalkaden Productions on their social media pages:

    Website https://www.kalkadenproductions.com

    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kalkaden_productions/

    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kalkadenproductions

    TO LEARN ABOUT FESTIGIOUS FILM FESTIVAL:

    https://www.festigious.com/about

  • Petersburg Reaches the Semi-Finals at the LA Film Awards

    Congrats to Tyler Robinson, Kaleb Laidman and the Kalkaden Productions team; the film Petersburg has been selected to the semi-finals at the Los Angeles Film Awards, announced recently.

    Photo/Los Angeles Film Awards/Instagram

    Tyler Robinson wrote and starred in Petersburg while Kaleb Laidman produced and directed. Kalkaden Productions has an amazing crew behind them.

    Photo/Kalkaden Productions

    To learn more about Petersburg and Kalkaden Productions, you can visit http://www.kalkadenproductions.com

    SOCIAL MEDIA:

    Instagram: https://www.ihttps://www.instagram.com/kalkaden_productions/

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kalkadenproductions

  • Isolation Short Film Festival

    Kaleb Laidman submitted his film “Undone” to the Isolation Film Festival that was streamed on YouTube a couple of weeks ago. The festival was amazing and highlighted over 800+ submissions.

    Kaleb received an honourable mention for his Directing for the film “Undone. The film was written by Jadiel Dowlin.

    Congrats to Kaleb, Jadiel, and to the actors Kiera Laidman and Connor Laidman.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=share&v=4CVYgnGI3vE&fbclid=IwAR25TmEIfR3wxKLZoYrTz66FiIewY7J6bsTmLt8nNKJJ62dIJcf6thwE0bA&app=desktop

    You can watch the LIVE Isolation Short Film Festival here:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrVnJGluLP8&t=10708s

    Great job to the Organizers and all Sponsors involved! You all did an incredible event!

  • Meet John Krissilas & Lena Burmenko

    As part of our Aspiring Talent Series on eBOSS Canada, we recently spoke with John and Lena.

     

    John Krissilas and Lena Burmenko are Toronto-based actors, filmmakers, and the creative team behind the indie web series MARKED.

    Q & A

    As a child, did you want to be an actor, or did it fall into place through other activities?

    Lena: I started taking music and painting lessons as early as 3 years old, which was the initial gateway for me into acting. It was mostly just for fun because growing up in Ukraine acting didn’t seem like a viable career choice that I could pursue there. That changed when I immigrated to Canada. I remember when my parents said that we were moving to Canada my response was “Yay! We’re moving closer to Hollywood!”.

    John: I booked my first acting gig as Prince Charming in my pre-school’s production of Cinderella. Does that count? In all seriousness, acting is fairly new for me compared to Lena. I was actually scared of the spotlight growing up and I was terrified to play the Prince!

    Who inspired you to follow your dream to pursue acting?

    Lena: I would have to say my family. My older sister Vira is a professional violin performer. She’s been into the arts for as long as I can remember which is what got me interested in the arts as well in the first place. Our parents have always been very supportive of both of us.

    John: Lena! It’s cheesy, yes. But being around someone who lives and breathes acting and already has so much talent inspires me to want to do the same.

    What challenges have you faced in the entertainment industry? What has been your most rewarding experience?

    John & Lena: For both of us, it’s been a challenge being considered for the kind of roles that we ultimately want to play. For example, a recurring role in a TV series. Acting is a long journey and you have to work your way up, but it can be frustrating.

    So, while working towards that, we created our own web series for YouTube called MARKED. We wrote the story together, cast ourselves and our actor friends in the lead roles, and used our skills as filmmakers to produce it. It’s given us a taste of what it would be like to play a recurring series role, and that has been incredibly rewarding!

    What is your favourite type of character to play?

    John: Agent Mulder! I love the X-Files, so we wrote my character in MARKED, Agent Stevens, to be our version of Mulder. It was a blast!

    Lena: I’m a big fan of the sci-fi and fantasy genre so I would love to play a character in a series like Supernatural or Doctor Who, or something magic oriented like Harry Potter. I love playing quirky and fun characters that also have some intensity to them.  

    What market do you currently work in? Are there other areas you would like to work?

    John & Lena: We’re both Toronto-based but we would love to explore working in other places like Vancouver and LA in the future. Each city has unique projects that are filmed and casted there. For example, Supernatural is filmed in Vancouver (hint, from Lena!).

    What advice would you give to someone new trying to make it in the acting industry?

    John & Lena: Don’t just sit around and wait. Create your own work. Don’t be afraid to learn new skills and try new things. Not a writer? Try writing. You never know, you might surprise yourself. Tried working with cameras but technology isn’t your friend? Collaborate with others who are great with equipment and computers. This industry is built on teamwork. It’s always easier to come up with excuses of why you shouldn’t do something rather than just doing it. You can take the first step towards your dream role by writing it yourself!

    John and Lena co-created the sci-fi mystery web series MARKED, which they wrote, filmed, acted in, and edited themselves.  They produced the show entirely themselves without budget, sponsors or crowdfunding. They believe in using what they have and just creating with it rather than waiting to make it with a bigger budget or a larger crew. John and Lena recently released the 4th episode on YouTube, just in time for MARKED to become an Official Selection at the International Online Web Fest just a few days following – the only Canadian series selected by the festival.

    Marked Episode 1 “Scars Re-Opened”:

    https://youtu.be/dAnnovYX5jA

    Marked Episode 2 “Sisters”:

    https://youtu.be/9EGpTatXLk4

    Marked Episode 3 “The Event”:

    https://youtu.be/ttyL2-Eko0Y

    Marked Episode 4 “Real Life, Again”:

    https://youtu.be/aHkNwIAFAug

    For more info on John & Lena’s web series MARKED, visit:

    www.MarkedWebSeries.com

    To Follow John and Lena, please feel free to check out their websites:

    John:  www.johnkrissilas.actor

    Lena:  www.lenaburmenko.com

    Facebook:

    John: https://www.facebook.com/johnkrissilas

    Lena: https://www.facebook.com/lena.b.31

    Instagram:

    John: https://www.instagram.com/johnkrissilas/

    Lena: https://www.instagram.com/lenaburmenko/

    Lena is represented by the Ritter Talent Agency https://sites.google.com/rittertalentagency.com/main

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Meet Actor Vivek Jain

    Vivek is an actor working out of Toronto, Canada. He recently completed work in a supporting role in his first independent feature film that will be released in 2019 and is in talks to co-produce and be the co-lead in 2 feature films shooting summer of 2018 and 2019.

    We met up with Vivek recently to discuss acting and his career.

    As a child, did you want to be an actor, or did it fall into place through other activities?

    Growing up I had always dreamed of being an actor – so much so I spent more time day dreaming of winning an Oscar than I did listening to my Professor’s in University.  Having said that,  I never had the guts to chase my dream at that point and instead opted for the safe route in the world of business.  Oddly enough, the idea of acting came back through a business I co-founded, as one of my business partners is a successful SAG actor. One thing led to another and here I am chasing my childhood dream many years later!

    Who inspired you to follow your dream to pursue acting?

     My parents are definitely an inspiration from the point of view they have shown me that amazing things can happen with the right attitude and by never giving up.  Also, my business partner is a huge inspiration as he’s done it and been successful at it.  He’s been a huge help in teaching me the ropes and instilling the need to keep on working to learn and improve on the craft. 

    What challenges have you faced in the entertainment industry?  What has been your most rewarding experience?

     The biggest challenge has been the roller coaster ride it can be from one day to the other. In one instance, you can land a gig or get great feedback  to the complete opposite  at your next audition.

     The most rewarding experience to date has been being cast as a co-lead in my first independent feature film. It was the first role I’ve had where I could take one character through a wide range of emotions as the script progressed.  It also gave me the opportunity to work with some really talented people to improve on the craft and give me more confidence to take on more challenging material

     What is your favourite type of character to play?

     I love playing roles in the which you go through a wide range of emotions – from emotional disasters to feeling like they’re on top of the world as their character develops during the story.  Its liberating of sorts to go back to different times in your personal journey and bring them to life on film.

    What market do you currently work in?  Are there other areas you would like to work?

     I’ve been mainly working in Toronto of late, but have had a couple of roles in LA and am finalizing the details to shoot a feature film in the Netherlands over the summer.  As far as other areas, I just want to be on a set, doesn’t matter where its located.  If there’s a gig for me, I will find a way to be there.

    What advice would you give to someone new trying to make it in the acting industry?

     My biggest advice is probably to not let the fear of failure stop you from doing something you are passionate about.  Enjoy the process of auditioning and receiving feedback –  learn from everything you hear – the good and more importantly the bad.  There is no guarantees that you will make it, but finding out if you can will be the best adventure you will ever have!

    Why, What fuels your passion?

    My kids fuel my passion . I always tell them if you can dream it, its possible and I want my actions to speak louder than words when its comes to teaching them this lesson.  Plus, they get a sparkle in their eyes when they tell their friends and teachers that I’m on tv or in a movie.  Its pretty hard not to be motivated when your kids seem to think you’re cool because of what you do!

    What is something about you that most people would never guess?

    I’m a single father to the 2 most beautiful baby girls in the world, and that’s my unbiased opinion!

    If you were to do it all over again, would you do things exactly the same?  Do you have any regrets?  Successes that make you proud?

    There are times when I think it would have been better to have given acting a shot when I was younger. But I can’t really consider that a regret as the life experience I’ve had with the path I chose is what makes me who I am today – and because of those experiences,  I am the actor I am today.

    As far as success I’m proud of, I think I’m more just really enjoying the process of chasing this dream, with the end game not really being something I’m thinking of.  I’m learning every day and meeting some really interesting people along the way, all the while being excited about what I’m doing.  So from that point of view I think this has already been a success

    To follow Vivek, check out his profiles below:

    IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm9512866/?ref_=nv_sr_1

    Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/vivek_jain1/