Live from the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood for the 2024 Dances With Films: LA Film Festival – with 8 Gala Closing Night Movies: World Premieres, West Coast Premieres, and LA Premieres!
On this show Entertainment Today’s TV Producer will take you down on the arrivals orange carpet for interviews with the Actors, Producers, Directors, and Writers of these movies.
Our News Team of Entertainment Today TV Producer: Steve Taylor, TV Show Host: Margie Rey, & News Reporter: Matt Segal at The Opening Night of the Dances With Films Festival in Hollywood, at The World Famous Chinese Theatre: 
On a separate show we dedicate the entire episode to the World Movie Premiere of Max Dagan, with interviews with the Producer, Director, and the starring cast, along with a long and in-depth editorial about this emotion packed movie- since there wouldn’t be enough room on this episode, with all the other great movies on closing night!
Terre Weisman’s MAX DAGAN has a star-studded cast that includes Rob Morrow and Michael Madsen! 
DWF offers another world premiere as its Closing Night selection, Terre Weisman’s Max Dagan. The film follows the title character’s efforts to race against time to free his terminally ill father from prison following his conviction for the manslaughter of a California State Trooper. To do so, he’ll need to uncover the truth about what really happened, open old wounds, and somehow get the help of his estranged uncle and the daughter of the dead trooper, to find evidence that could set his father free. The impressive cast includes Rob Morrow, Zachary Gordon, Michael Madsen, Rob Brownstein, Lindsey Dresbach, Lisa Roumain, and Comedians and Actors Jeff Ross and Jay Mohr.
A very good movie that we can recommend if you enjoy Comedy Horror movies is “Mother Father Sister Brother Frank” which had its WEST COAST Premiere (From CANADA). The entire audience was laughing as they kept being surprised and shocked by the plot twists of this horror movie!
The basic plot is: The Jennings family couldn’t be more painfully suburban, but when asshole Uncle Frank crashes their weekly Sunday dinner with a nasty surprise, murder turns up on the menu. Can the Jennings’ overcome secrets and dysfunction to learn that, the family that slays together, stays together? It stars: Mindy Cohn, Enrico Colantoni , Melanie Leishman, Iain Stewart, Juan Chioran, Sharron Matthews, Izad Etemadi, Matthew G. Brown, Chad Connell, and is Produced by: Michael Lomenda, Matt Schichter, co-producer Johnathan Sharp, and the Writer/Director is: Caden Douglas.
When I was watching this movie I kept looking at the actress who plays the role of the mother, and she looked familiar, but I could not remember her name until I saw the end credits! For those of you that remember the hit Comedy/Family TV series from the early 80’s : “The Facts of Life” that ran for 9 seasons on NBC, that starred in one of the leading roles: Mindy Cohn as Natalie Green – when she was in real live just a little girl, so it was hard to recognize her now as a grown-up 58 year old woman starring in the role of the mother in this movie! This “The Facts of Life” alum Mindy Cohn is in the midst of a career resurgence 45 years after her iconic sitcom premiered. The actress is starring in the new Apple+ television series “Palm Royale” alongside Kristin Wiig, Laura Dern and Ricky Martin. Mindy Cohn really helped to make this movie both funny and a real horror!
“You take the good, you take the bad … .” Originally set at the prestigious Eastland School for Young Women, housemother Mrs. Garrett is the caretaker and confidante of a special group of girls. Over time, this group shrinks to be centered on only four young women: wealthy and spoiled Blair, gossipy Tootie, eager-to-please Natalie and tough girl Jo. Over the years, the girls graduate from school, and the story lines evolve with them.
This show also starred: Lisa Whelchel, Kim Fields, Nancy McKeon, Charlotte Rae, Mackenzie Astin, and in other roles an unbelievable long list of a “Who’s Who” of actors from other hit TV shows and movies: Cloris Leachman, Alex Rocco (The Godfather) Eve Plumb of The Brady Bunch, Lois Nettleton, Gary Coleman,Todd Bridges, Conrad Bain, and Dana Plato all from “Diff’rent Strokes;” Richard Moll (Night Court), Mayim Bialik (Blossom), Seth Green, Juliette Lewis, Zsa Zsa Gabor, John Astin (The Adams Family), Richard Dean Anderson who was the star of MacGyver, Jermaine Jackson believe it or not of the Jackson 5 Brothers!, Kenneth Mars, Kenneth Tiger, Jean Smart, Moon Unit Zappa, Nehemiah Persoff, Tom Dreesen, Penelope Ann Miller, Dick Van Patten (8 is Enough), the singer Fabian, Jay Johnson, Bill Macy (Maude), Ja’net DuBois, Timothy Stack, Anne Jackson, Chuck McCann, Singer Bobby Rydell, Johnny Dark, Richard Grieco, David Spade (SNL), Molly Ringwald, and even the legendary TV & Movie star George Clooney!
DANCES WITH FILMS: LA FILMMAKERS
MAX DAGAN
Terre Weisman (DIR/SCR/PROD)
Mitch Weisman (EXEC PROD)
Rafi Jacobs (PROD)
Stephen Mastrocola (PROD)
Liana Montemayor (PROD)
Barry Katz (PROD)
Rob Morrow (CAST)
Zachary Gordon (CAST)
Michael Madsen (CAST)
Lindsey Dresbach (CAST)
Rob Brownstein (CAST)
Lisa Roumain (CAST)
Richard Neil (CAST)
Harry Holden White (CAST)
Mara Swanson (CAST)
Justice Gamble (CAST)
CAMP RICSTAR
Sam McConnell (DIR/PROD)
Lukas Hauser (ED/PROD)
Judy Winter (EXEC PROD/Subject)
Richard Winter (EXEC PROD/Subject)
David St. Amant (Subject)
Linda St. Amant (Subject)
FUTURE DATE
Stanley Wong (DIR/Co-SCR/PROD/CAST)
Patrick T. Dorsey (Co-SCR/PROD)
Nancy Y. Xu (PROD)
Brielle Yuke Li (PROD)
Alan Pao (EXEC PROD)
Ava Feng (ASSOC PROD)
Shuang Hu (CAST)
Amy Baklini (CAST)
Matthew Harris (CAST)
Suzanne Ford (CAST)
Olivia Cordell (CAST)
Madeleine Hernandez (CAST)
Jason Caceres (CAST)
Kimberley Wong (CAST)
Steven Krimmel (CAST)
Kristine Gerolaga (CAST)
Nate Elegino (DP)
Lizzete Flores (Production Design)
Josh Long (1st AD)
Alexandra Wolff (Script Supervisor)
Megan Babbitt (2nd AC)
Maria Morillo (Costume Design)
Lianne Leong (Costumer)
Leyla Marzbani (H/MU)
Jocelyn Gomez (Set Dresser)
Mondrian Hernandez (Gaffer)
Rachel Rice (Key Grip)
Robert Mai (Composer)
Evan Tamagni (Music Editor)
James Fitzpatrick (Editor)
Jason Dotts (Re-Recording Mixer/ Supervising Sound Editor)
Jonathan Gayap (Sound Design)
Brandon Wei (Motion Graphics)
HOW THE WEST WAS ONE
Razieme Iborra (DIR)
Alec Shangold (PROD)
Annie Bercy (Subject/Participant)
Elle Barbeito (Subject/Participant)
Morgan Laughlin (Subject/Participant)
Christopher Leggett (Consulting Producer)
Samantha Apfel (Consulting Producer)
Alexander Falk (EXEC PROD)
Nora Falk (EXEC PROD)
Richard Lippe (EXEC PROD)
Dolly Li (Consultant)
Isabella Tan (DP)
Lilly Wild (ED)
Stephania Dulowski (Supervising Editor)
Brent Kiser (Sound Designer/Mixer)
Matthew Wang (Composer)
Anthony Lauletta (Music Supervisor)
David Torcivia (Colorist)
SCARS UNSEEN
Meredith Yinger (DIR/Co-Creator/EXEC PROD)
Natalie Perez (DP/Co-Creator/EXEC PROD)
Sarah Franke (ED)
Adrienne Rouan (Participant/Subject)
Victoria Pizarro (Participant/Subject)
Trish Steele (Participant/Subject)
Maha Bodhi (Participant/Subject)
Kalin Richardson (PHOTO)
Bridget Blacksten (Stylist)
Kristin Yinger (ASSOC PROD)
UNBROKEN
Beth Lane (DIR/SCR/EXEC PROD)
Joel Moody (EXEC PROD)
Doug Prochilo (Co-PROD)
Lynda Fadel (ASSOC PROD)
Kathy Toppino (ASSOC PROD)
Charlie Toppino (ASSOC PROD)
Adriana Balaban (ASSOC PROD)
Jay Balaban (ASSOC PROD)
Josh Buoy (Co-PROD/Post Production)
Aaron Soffin (ED)
Lia Lenart (ASSOC ED)
Ryan Maguire (Sound)
Andrew Gillespie
Taylor Dean
Among DWF: LA’s lineup of 232 films, including 38 narrative features, 17 documentary features, 25 television and streaming pilots, and 152 short films (101 narrative and 20 documentaries, 13 KIdz section, 18 Downbeat/Music), are an impressive number of films (117!) making world, international, North American, or U.S. premieres. That number includes 24 narrative features, 10 documentary features, 69 narrative shorts, 22 documentary shorts (including Downbeat), and 15 pilots which will have world premiere screenings at Dances With Films.
The Dances With Films Festival is a Star-Studded 11 days, with Both A-List stars, and several recognizable faces and names that include: “Norita” that is Executive produced by Jane Fonda, Russell Goldman’s Burn Out, which is executive produced by Jamie Lee Curtis and stars Tommie Earl Jenkins, Eli Vidis Newman’s Concrete, which stars four-time Oscar nominee Ed Harris, Kestrin Pantera’s Dr. No Means No, which stars comedy duo The Sklar Brothers, Mindy Sterling (Austin Powers), and Breeda Wool (The Walking Dead), Mike Harris’ Mecánica, which stars Haley Joel Osment, and Olivia Sandoval(Fargo), and Danny Farber’s Thoughts and Prayers, which is executive produced by Amy Poehler, “Tim Travers & The Time Travelers Paradox” Stars: Samuel Dunning, Felicia Day, Danny Trejo, and Keith David, Mindy Cohn the Co-Star on “The Facts of Life,” and finally: the World Premiere of “Max Dagan” which stars: Rob Morrow, Zachary Gordon, Michael Madsen, Rob Brownstein, Lindsey Dresbach, Lisa Roumain, and Comedians and Actors Jeff Ross and Jay Mohr!
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