On the Red Carpet at Fancypants Premiere

Over the last couple weeks, I have featured interviews and info about Fancypants, a new movie produced by Chicago's Humble Pie Films, starring a lot of great Chicago talent.  It was obvious that this was a labor of love for everyone involved.

Thanks to Jennifer Fortney of Cascade Communications, I was able to get red carpet access for pieces that appeared here on Johngy's Beat, as well as online pieces for Global Traveler, JW's Wrestling Memorabilia and WrestlingFigs.com.  I want to thank Jennifer for everything.  It was a real pleasure dealing with her.

I sincerely hope I have opened a few eyes to Fancypants.  It's a fresh, heart-warming movie made by Chicago people.

As I complete my coverage of the Chicago premiere of Fancypants, I am leaving you with several pictures of the cast and crew behind this eciting new movie.  I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed being at the premiere.

Patrick Gleason (Leon the Lion) and date

Beth Horn (Animal Babe) and Amy Hendricks (Alex)

 Jackson Dunn (Tommy)

 Producer Daniel Hanson and date

Director of Photography Jim Andre

 Director-Screenwriter Joshua Russell and Megan Russell.

Kirby O'Connell (Flora) and friend

Mike Carey (Teddy) and Kimberly Carey

Noah Rogers (Jones)

Patrick Zielinski (Sal) and date

Scott Beatty, JayHawk Evans and me at our professional best in Chicago, IL-October 2011.

On the Beat with Kirby O'Connell

Today, we conclude our interview series with the cast and crew of Fancypants.  Kirby O'Connell plays Flora, a new promoter who runs things her way and her way includes the phasing out of Leo the Lion (portrayed by Patrick Gleason).
Kirby plays Flora with just enough toughness without going over the top.  She could have very easily become a caricature of an evil wrestling promoter.  Instead, she kept it believable and enjoyable.
In the video below, Kirby tells us this is her first red carpet walk.  She has fun with it though she admits it is kind of a weird feeling.  I am sure there will be more such moments for Kirby and I am just glad I had the opportunity to get this close.
After watching the Kirby O'Connell video, if you haven't done so already, go to FancypantsMovie.com, HumblePieFilms.com and the Fancypants Facebook page.  I am sure you will enjoy learning more about the great people who put so much effort into Fancypants.

On the Beat with Noah Rogers of Fancypants

A couple weeks ago, we featured Jackson Dunn, the young star of Fancypants.  Jackson's friend Noah Rogers also appears in the movie as Jones, a friend of Jackson's character Tommy.  Young Noah is one of many who made their acting debut in Fancypants. 
I believe Noah's sister accompanied him on to the premiere.  They appeared to enjoy themselves on the red carpet as you will see in the video below.  Noah answers some questions about his acting future, his interest in wrestling and the evening.  Both were great sports throughout and even broke out a little funky dance for fun.
I don't know what is in Noah's future plans, but he did a great job in Fancypants and probably will have some acting in his future.  Either way, at least he had his moment in the spotlight at the premiere and he deserved it.  He seems like a cool kid.
Tomorrow we will feature Kirby O'Connell.  Until then, but after you watch the video below, please check out FancypantsMovie.com, the Fancypants Facebook page and HumblePieFilms.com for more pictures, info and fun.

On the Beat with Mike Carey of Fancypants

Mike Carey was a firefighter paramedic and also a professional wrestler named Skull Manson for Windy City Wrestling.  He also has experience in bare-knuckle full contact fighting.  He is adding "actor" to his resume with his role as "Teddy" in Fancypants.
Mike enjoyed his time on the red carpet.  He talked a bit about his wrestling career and he exchanged fun banter with the paparazzi.  Proving he was a good sport, he even gave us his fiercest wrestling pose.  Mike was fun, casual and charismatic.  I look forward to seeing his career develop.
We are going to take a lttle break from our coverage of Fancypants, but we will be back in the near future with a little more from the Chicago premiere.  Until then, and after watching the video of Mike Carey below, please check out FancypantsMovie.com, the Fancypants Facebook page and HumblePieFilms.com to learn more about Fancypants and to get future updates.

On the Beat with Daniel Hanson of Fancypants

Over the last four days, we have presented interviews with Patrick Gleason, Jackson Dunn, Joshua Russell and Beth Horn of Fancypants.  Another integral part of Fancypants was Producer Daniel Hanson.
Hanson is part of the trio (with Joshua Russell and Jim Andre) behind Humble Pie Films, a relatively new production company.  The company is dedicated to producing the highest quality films without having huge budgets.  They are passionate and patient enough to take the time to do things right.
A few days after the event, I contacted Daniel to get a little more info on Humble Pie Films.  He responded with the following:
We are growing at Humble Pie Films and plan to have 3 feature length projects set to go to pre-production next year. We have many good scripts in development and we get new stuff all the time. Chicago has a great film industry and many many talented people.
This is exciting news for Chicago talent and for Chicago itself.  I see great success in the future of Humble Pie Films and for all involved.
Daniel took a few moments to answer our questions at the recent premiere.  The first question was about the creation and development of Fancypants, but the actual question got cut off due to a recorder glitch.  Hanson's entire answer and all that follows was recorded properly.
After you watch the video below, please be sure to visit FancypantsMovie.com, HumblePieFilms.com and the Fancypants Facebook page.  You'll find a lot of interesting info there about the cast, crew and the movie.  Stay tuned tomorrow for our feature on Mike Carey.

On the Beat with Beth Horn of Fancypants

I have met Beth Horn several times and have interviewed her twice.  It was during those interviews when I first learned of Fancypants.  A movie about wrestling starring Beth and Roddy Piper?  Sounded great to me!
Beth plays Animal Babe, one of Leo the Blue Lion's opponents in the ring. Aside from her time on American Gladiators, this is Horn's biggest role and she does a great job.
In the video below, the first minute or so shows some of the frenzy of the red carpet.  It also has an appearance by Patrick Zielinski and Amy Hendricks two of her co-stars.
When Beth comes over, we asked her about the physical rigors of Fancypants as compared to American Gladiators.  We also got a bit of a scoop from her about a future project.  She said Joshua Russell was involved and she gave us the initials "OMG".
I really like Beth.  She's always good for an interview and even willing to give Johngy's Beat a scoop now and then!
After watching the video, please go to FancypantsMovie.com, HumblePieFilms.com and the Fancypants Facebook page to learn more about the interesting cast and crew and the movie itself.

On the Beat with Joshua Russell of Fancypants

Over the last two days, I have featured interviews with Patrick Gleason and Jackson Dunn, who portrayed the two main characters in Fancypants.  They are really the heart and soul of this fine movie.
One of the creative forces behind Fancypants is Joshua Russell, Director and Screenwriter.  Joshua, Jim Andre and Daniel Hanson are the founders of Humble Pie Films, a Chicago-based film production company.  The goal of Humble Pie Films is to make high quality movies on a low budget.  They feel a great story is more important than the size of the budget.
It was wonderful to see Joshua enjoying the evening.  He worked long and hard for this day and it all went so well.  I am excited that I was there to share a little bit of it.
We talked to Joshua about the movie and what it could do for future indy films and for Chicago-based projects.  Of course, I also squeezed in a wrestling question.
Tomorrow we will feature Beth Horn.  Before that, but after watching the video below, please check out FancypantsMovie.com, HumblePieFilms.com and the Fancypants Facebook page to learn more about the story and the people behind it.  Also, check out my Global Traveler blog for more coverage of Fancypants.

On the Beat with Jackson Dunn of Fancypants

Yesterday, I started my look at the new movie Fancypants by featuring an interview we did with Patrick Gleason at the premiere.  Gleason played Leo the Lion, a wrestler being pushed out of the spotlight who finds that he has one super big fan left, in the form of 8 year old Tommy.
Jackson Dunn is the Wilmette (IL) student who played Tommy and brilliantly captured the excitement of a youngster following and meeting his hero.  Making Jackson's performance even more impressive is the fact that it was his acting debut.
We got to talk to Jackson as he walked the red carpet at the premiere.  He admitted he wasn't much of a wrestling fan, but he did enjoy being around Roddy Piper.  We also talked about how he got the part and what he is doing now.
Jackson was great.  Right after my questions, someone yells for him to mimic the look he had in the movie poster.  Jackson obliged the request in good spirit.  It was all done in fun, but Jackson was such a good sport.  Extra points go to him for sporting red Chuck Taylors with his tux.
Tomorrow, we will feature Joshua Russell the Director and Screenwriter.  Until then, after you watch the video below, please check out FancyPantsMovie.com, HumblePieFilms.com and the Fancypants Facebook page to learn more about the movie, cast and crew.

On the Beat with Patrick Gleason of Fancypants

Last week, I attended the premiere of Fancypants, a film produced by Chicago's Humble Pie Films, shot in Chicago and featuring a lot of Chicago talent.  Aside from it being the first showing of Fancypants, it was also a celebration for all.
Fancypants is the story of Leo the Blue Lion (portrayed by Patrick Gleason), a wrestler who is nearing the end of his career.  He has one true fan left, in the form of Tommy (played by Jackson Dunn).  The relationship, interaction and growth of the two are at the heart of this movie.  It is part comedy, part drama, part farce, part inspiration, but all very enjoyable.
We had the opportunity to talk to the cast and crew on the red carpet.  Over the next several days, I will be featuring those interviews, while giving a glimpse of the fun that was had by all.
First up is Patrick Gleason.  Gleason is a childhood friend of Jim Andre (Director of Photography).  A resident of Maywood (near Chicago), Gleason is an ex-convict who is making his acting debut.
We talked to Gleason about how he got the role, learning to act and wrestle and other topics.  Gleason was extremely gracious throughout the night.  It was a real pleasure meeting and talking to him.
Tomorrow, we will feature Jackson Dunn.  Until then, after you watch the video below, check out Fancypantsmovie.com, HumblePieFilms.com and the Fancypants Facebook page to learn more about this exciting new movie.