Famous is an adrenaline-filled, innovative, melding of live theatre and film. It originally opened on stage in July 2018 to rave reviews and sold-out houses. The show extended multiple times and ran for over 10 months, in West Hollywood, CA. Now, that live experience has been captured on film in a way that transcends both mediums.
FROM STAGE TO SCREEN
SYNOPSIS
Inspired by the lives of Young Hollywood stars like River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Heath Ledger and Corey Haim, Famous takes you on a non-stop thrill ride behind the glamorous world of Young Hollywood and into the mind of A-list celebrity, Jason Mast. What appears to be a night of celebration for his first Oscar nomination, turns out to be an intricate plan to confront his past. Driven by a devastating need to expose the truth, Jason’s attempts to control the outcome of the evening ignites a chain of events that pushes the boundaries of real friendship and reveals the true cost of fame.
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
When I first moved to L.A., I heard a lot of stories from actors and artists about what had happened to them in the industry. I was blown away. It’s not the glamorous lifestyle that it is portrayed to be on TV and in magazines. I was inspired to start writing down the stories I was hearing. Then articles started flooding my News Feed about major Hollywood players and the #MeToo movement exploded. It was not just happening to women, it was happening to men, and, most unfortunately, to children as well. I wanted to give a face to the people in the articles. I knew that I could tell their stories in a way that people would understand.
Famous confronts some heavy topics - rape, abuse of power, and the struggle to accept and heal your inner child. I knew it was important to make the audience feel for these characters, and to do it in a way that was tasteful, leaving a lot to the imagination. In order to do that it requires actors who are fearless, who aren’t afraid to go to the depths of their souls, and be completely vulnerable. This can often be challenging, especially for men who are taught that vulnerability makes them weak. So, I rehearsed each actor separately for months, diving into the psyche of the characters and releasing any blocks that would stop the actors from getting to the truth.
While these stories came from real people in the entertainment industry, it happens to everyone, everywhere. It is a human problem.
As a writer/director of both film and theatre, I thrive on mixing the mediums. I like to take film techniques and bring them to the stage, and take theatre techniques and bring them to film. I strive to create art that makes people think or feel differently than they did when they walked in the door. I am honored that this show has the capacity to make a difference in people's lives for the better, and that it gives a voice to so many who have felt silenced.