Ridgefield Playhouse to Screen HIDDEN HILLS & CASTING BY in November

Two one-of-a-kind film events are coming to The Ridgefield Playhouse beginning Friday, November 1, at 7:30 p.m. with Hidden Hills?starring Ted Trent and Tim O'Leary, in a Northeast Film Premiere. This is a comedy that turns social conventions on their heads, i.e. being overweight is ideal and being gay is the norm. A post-screening Q&A with actor Tim O'Leary and his sister comedienne Christine O'Leary will allow audience members to learn more about how the film came to be. Then on Friday, November 15, at 7:30 p.m., Casting By, a Ridgefield Playhouse Documentary Film Series event, will shine the spotlight on the casting director and profile the last 50 years of Hollywood history where the old studio system was forsaken and the New Hollywood ushered in movies like Midnight Cowboy, The Graduate and Bonnie and Clyde. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with?Director Tom Donahue, Executive Producer?John Balis, Producer?Ilan Arboleda, Casting DirectorGretchen Rennell and Film Editor Jill Schweitzer.

Hidden Hills is a comedy that looks at race, sexuality, aging, and weight issues, flipping the world upside down in a 72-minute feature film that mimics the classic style of Rock Hudson and Doris Day movies. In Hidden Hills, California in the 1960's, the issue for a handsome real estate agent and his live-in business partner Whitey Ford isn't that they're gay, it's about bucking societal norms and coming clean about their love for each other. This film features rising Hollywood stars Joy Sudduth (Criminal Minds), Wendy Shapero (Robot Chicken), and Chris Fennessy (Zoey 101) and a performance of an original song by Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go's. The movie was written and directed by Dan Steadman (Red Lodge) whose first project Jesus People: The Movie is to be released in early 2014. It will feature Wendi McLendon-Covey (Bridesmaids) and Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer (The Help). This event is underwritten by Cohen and Wolf, P.C. and The Ridgefield Press with media sponsor WSHU Public Radio Group.

Casting By explores the work of movie casting pioneers Marion Dougherty and Lynn Stalmaster, iconoclasts whose exquisite taste and gut instincts helped put an end to the old studio system and usher in the New Hollywood. They broke away from the traditional typecasting of Hollywood and brought a new kind of leading man and leading lady to the screen.? Clint Eastwood, Robert DiNiro, Al Pacino and Robert Redford all lend their opinions on the importance of the unsung heroes of movies -- the casting directors.

For tickets ($10 adults, $7.50 seniors & $5 students by calling the box office), call or visit the box office at (203) 438-5795, or order online at ridgefieldplayhouse.org. The Ridgefield Playhouse is a not-for-profit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street, Ridgefield, CT.

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