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Reel Chicago is a daily digital magazine that covers the news in Chicago on all aspects of advertising, film, TV, media and production. The content is original, written by industry experts and contributing Op Eds
THE FEATURE “SOARING” is the latest project of producer Joe Orlandino of Atlas Media Group, working with writer Amy Danford-Klein, a former corporate pilot who wrote the screenplay as a tribute to the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) of WWII, whose records were sealed and classified for 35 years.
VERSATILE ACTOR CHRISTIAN STOLTE will play the role of American seaman John Griggs, in Joe Orlandino and Lucia Mauro’s historical indie feature about Brazilian freedom fighter Anita Garibaldi (Leticia Sabatella). Screenwriter Mauro says she has admired Stolte’s work in Chicago theatre since her days as a theatre critic and is delighted to be working with him.
Producer Joe Orlandino of Chicago’s Atlas Media Group, hopes that the investors and distributors at the current American Film Market (AFM) make an offer his people can’t refuse for the animated series he’s pitching.
“The Baritonios,” the raunchy 3D animated sitcom revolves around a fictional Italian crime family, is the brainchild of Elmwood Park businessman and musician, Steve Sprovieri.
Actor/writer Tim Kazurinski is the featured guest on the pilot episode of a 13-week web series, “Fair Winds & Down Drafts,” hosted by produced by TV personality and skipper Will Clinger (“Wild Chicago”).
Joe Orlandino’s Atlas Media produced for Chicago Sailing, the lakefront’s largest and oldest go-to facility for sailboat charters, rentals and instruction, at Belmont Harbor.
The series of under 10-minute episodes “is designed to promote the fun and excitement of the sailing lifestyle with local celebs enjoying Chicago-brewed craft beers,” says Orlandino.
1+ Rain Beau’s End is an intimate lesbian family-drama situated in the late 1990s, depicting how the labelling of their adopted son affects a progressive lesbian couple’s relationship as they struggle to raise their family in the spotlight. Based on a story by Chicago’s Joe Orlandino and written by Jennifer Cooney, the film tells a … Continue reading “Chicago Med, Fire actors in Rain Beau’s End”
5+ (Entries) features an all-Italian cast and was shot on location in Northern Italy Chicago-based writer/director Lucia Mauro and husband/producer Joe Orlandino – the co-founders of the non-profit film organization In My Brother’s Shoes, Inc. wrapped shooting in Italy on their fourth short film, titled, Voci del diario (Entries). The inspiring independent art film is … Continue reading “Mauro wraps production on 4th film ‘Voci del diario’”
Filmmaker Lucia Mauro has wrapped filming on her third film, a documentary titled “Frances Xavier Cabrini: The People’s Saint,” in honor of the first American citizen saint’s 100th anniversary.
Filming took place over the summer in Mother Cabrini’s native Italy (Milan, Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, Codogno, Rome) and in Chicago, where Mother Cabrini founded hospitals and schools.
The documentary follows on the heels of Lucia’s feature, “One Year Later,” about a cancer survivor who takes a life-affirming trip to the Italian Alps one year after completing cancer treatment.
Tributes poured in on Reel Chicago’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as other social media pages, as word spread around the city that they had lost their beloved film and advertising herald.
From advertising creatives to production companies to post houses, Ruth Ratny’s articles touched the lives of many and will forever hold meaning for them.
These are a few:
Writer-director Lucia Mauro’s debut feature, “One Year Later,” that filmed in Chicago and Italy, premieres Sept. 18 at Loyola University Medical Center’s new research facility in Maywood during September’s National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.
An ovarian cancer survivor, Mauro says she was compelled to tell this story “to address the emotional side of cancer survivorship and the challenging process of moving forward.
AN INFORMATIVE MEETING about the Illinois Filmmakers 30% Tax Credit will take place Wednesday, Jan. 27 to explain how to wend your way through the qualifications to obtain the credit when your film is completed and getting ready to hit the screens.
Writer/director Lucia Mauro’s second film and first feature “One Year Later,” currently in post, centers on Liz, a dedicated teacher of comparative literature, who struggles with her post-cancer life and changing priorities.
WRITER/DIRECTOR LUCIA MAURO’S “In My Brother’s Shoes,” won “Best Short Film” in the prestigious ‘il Pesce d’ Argento’ (the Silver Fish) award from the Mirabiie Dictu International Catholic Film Festival held last week in Rome.
SEVERAL CHICAGO FILMMAKERS are heading to the May 13-24 Cannes Film Festival to personally further their films’ fortunes.
ON THE HEELS of Energy BBDO losing the Bud Light business to BBDO’s flagship New York office, Lay’s potato chips has said goodbye.
The young man that Lucia Mauro met in St. Peter’s Square in Rome in 2009 wore shoes that didn’t fit and were torn to shreds. Mauro, a Chicago arts critic, learned that the shoes had belonged to the man’s brother, a Marine killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq.
The man was carrying out his brother’s unfulfilled dream to backpack across Italy.
More than a decade ago, local theatre and dance teacher and arts writer Lucia Mauro became intrigued with an equestrian statue on the Janiculum Hill in Rome: A woman wielding a pistol in one hand and cradling a baby in the other.
Mauro’s subsequent screenplay, “Mother of War,” reminiscent of Errol Flynn swashbucklers, brings to life Anita Garibaldi, the heroic woman memorialized in the statue.
You won’t notice what is happening, because it’s not discernible, yet this is the most exciting event since the Reel was founded in 2002.
As you read this, our webmaster Chris Winn is throwing the switch and transferring 50,000 pieces of content from our antiquated platform to a new one that is enabling us to expand ReelChicago from a “newsletter,” to a serious Hollywood Reporter-like portal.
With completion of the work under-the-hood, Chris will delve into the Reel’s new design that will bring you some great new upgrades.
