REAL HOUSEWIVES OF CHICAGO are being sought for a Towers Productions reality series. According to Towers’ casting director Becky Cattie, the hope is to find women who could give this formula “a new twist,” showcasing a “really unique group of ladies to represent the Midwest.”
Towers is seeking “a dynamic group of ladies leading extraordinary lives ? modern housewives who juggle busy lives and look great doing it! No wallflowers please.”
Someone suggested Patti Blagojevich should audition. She fits the profile and it’d be a better gig than being in the jungles of Costa Rico.
No indication as to whether or not this iteration will be added to Bravo’s current slate of “Real Housewives” from various parts of the country. Towers has deals with the The Discovery Channel and its myriad spinoff outlets.
“THE LOVE BOAT SKIPPER GAVIN MacLEOD, and co-star of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” will be the special guest June 8 at the screening of a faith-based film, “The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry,” for area pastors and ministers at TLN’s Aurora TV studios.
TLN’s Christian-themed shows are aired over TLN Comcast Digital Basic Cable Channel 138. TLN TV studio, the largest in the Chicago area, is owned by Jerry Rose, who founded cable Ch. 38 25 years ago.
LIZ LAINE REPS now sells for L.A.-based Dandy Dwarves, a young, up-and-coming production company, with a core group of directors, producers, designers, and new London-based Rubber Studios, specializing in animation, mixed media, and visual effects.
GEORGE LUCAS, who needs no introduction, is the honoree of the “Visionary Award for Innovation in Filmmaking” by the Gene Siskel Film Center June 18. The annual fundraising gala will be held at the Four Seasons Hotel.
Actor/writer/director Jon Favreau is guest host and will lead a discussion with Lucas about his career.
WINNER OF BEST COSTUME at the June 12 Facetini Costume Gala, dressed as their favorite character from a film, will receive a $1,000 Ralph Lauren shopping spree. Celebrity costume judges include Chicago actor and 2008 Oscar nominee Michael Shannon, Amy Landecker, star of the upcoming Coen Brothers’ film “A Serious Man,” her dad, DJ John Landecker and doc filmmaker Jon Siskel.
The $100 gala ticket benefits Facets Multimedia’s educational programs and includes Cuban sandwiches, signature Facetini cocktails, music, film, a raffle and fabulous costume prizes. It takes place at Architectural Artifacts.
DRAFTFCB WON THE HONOR of being named the best large company to work for in the entire state of Illinois. The company was recognized by the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce, the Illinois Chapter of the Society of Human Resource Managers and The Business Ledger.
“It’s always an honor to be recognized as a great place to work, but to have been selected as the best large employer in the state is tremendous,” says Draftfcb president Mark Modesto.
Actually, that’s two honors for the agency. See our news story about managing director Karen Sauder being named 2009 Ad Woman of the Year. (We
MARC FREY IS THE WINNER of the 2009 Waterfront Film Festival Screenplay Competition. His award-winning dramatic screenplay, “The River,” touchingly and unexpectedly interweaves the stories of a disillusioned former cop turned cab driver and his elderly female passenger.
A resident of Milford, Michigan, Michigander, Frey is a non-stop creative powerhouse. He has been successful as a screenwriter of three produced movies, fiction and non-fiction author, playwright, songwriter, journalist, cartoonist, co-owns Moving Pictures Entertainment, LLC and is a member of the Michigan Film Office Advisory Council.
The 11th Waterfront Film Festival June 11-14 takes place in Saugatuck, Michigan. The event is entirely manned by 200 good-natured volunteers.
ACTOR DENNIS FARINA spotted taking a look around Lincoln Park and the Pilsen neighborhood for possible locations for a movie called “The Last Rites of Joe May,” reported the Sun-Times’ Michael Sneed.
If it happens, it would take place in Chicago in November. Farina, who would star, is a former Chicago cop whose first movie appearance was in Michael Mann’s “Thief,” filmed here in 1981.
