JGPR

In a post to his Facebook page on June 2nd, Dallas filmmaker Joseph Herrera ( Spiral Deep , Detour ) announced the main cast for his upcoming directorial debut “Dark Distortion”, a horror feature set to begin filming this Summer in Texas. The picture of the cast is shown in the post as: (from left to right top) Christina Gonzalez, Kionna Williams, Mitchell Maggard, (from left to right bottom) Jada Jay, Miles Stoner, Krista Nicole Dark Distortion is the feature-length adaptation of Joseph’s 2023 short film Along Came a Shadow starring Christina Gonzalez as Jen, a thief on the run with Gray (Herrera) as they arrive at a safe house after a recent heist. Awaiting their friends and fellow thieves, strange occurrences begin in the home after a camcorder possessed with the spirit of a young boy is found.  Rounding out the cast are: April Hartman ( Silhouette ), Joe Walker ( Breaking the Loop ), and Lily Lurid ( Critters: All You Can Eat ). In addition to writing and directing Herrera wi...

After the death of actor and musician James Gailey, I began researching his filmography; coming across a title he did in 2018 for Ashley De Grandy entitled “Overtime”. He frequently collaborated with Ashley during his short but impressive acting career. He and Ashley worked on the 2020 film “Metanoia”, James’ first posthumous release, a short entitled “The Road”, and the soon-to-be released feature film “Regina”. Excerpt from James Gailey’s Backstage resume Upon further inspection I couldn’t find much on his film “Overtime” except that he and actor Gary Allen appear in the film together. Gailey portrays Joe and Gary portrays the role of Drunk Man Stumbling. They acted in it together in August 2018. It is unknown at this time if any other actors appear in the film. The film, most likely a short, judging by “Regina” being De Grandy’s first feature film, is most likely on a hard drive somewhere. Excerpt from Gary Allen’s resume

Post from Herrera’s social media confirming the new project. In a post to his social media on April 25th actor and filmmaker Joseph Herrera announced he will be working on a project entitled The Exotic Life of Dr. Ollie , The post featured Herrera alongside the star of the movie Dr. Ollie, a Texas based therapist and talk show host known for The Dr. Ollie Show . The post also confirms that  Deal Or No Deal  model Claudia Jordan and beloved reality personality Ms. Juicy of Little Women: Atlanta  will be involved as supporting characters. The Exotic Life of Dr. Ollie is described as a feature-length mockumentary. Scenes will be filmed in early May to add to existing footage of the film to give more length to the run time. The movie is expected to be released as early as 2025.  Joseph and frequent collaborator Martha Chupp will be executive producing the project along with Herrera directing the scenes featuring Ms. Juicy and Claudia Jordan.

Tenley Reck (Photo Credit: X) Hollins University Junior Tenley Reck completed filming of her upcoming short film “Dance of the Shadows” this past March 30th on location at Hollins University.  Little is known about the plot; however the genres of the film are horror and fantasy. Mandi Hopper, an accomplished stage actress, makes her film debut in Dance of the Shadows as Katherine, alongside Justin Gwin as the role of William. Justin will be making his speaking film debut in the project after filming a series of uncredited or featured background roles over the past two years. Rounding out the cast are: AJ Currin, Lincoln Reck, and Caroline Grace as the role of Dark Spirit. The film is currently in post-production and is expected to be completed in early May and released on May 9th at Hollins University and premiere on YouTube later that day.

On November 8, 2023 Illogical Frog Studios announced a crowdfunding campaign on their Instagram page seeking to raise two thousand dollars for their short film “The Gourdons” . Three months later a cast announcement was made on their Instagram stating that Alyssa Winchell has been cast as the role of Amphora in “The Gourdons” and that the project will be a short film, rather than a series, as it was previously announced to be. One day later a second cast member, Roy Swersie, was announced to be playing the role of Wendehall, described as “the mischievous and always curious son in the family unit”. The Gourdons is a short film about a pumpkin family who goes through various events throughout the decades. It is a commentary on: the nuclear family, consumerism, and capitalism.  Recently rising star Amann Iqbal ( “Mean Girls” (2024 )) has been announced as the third cast member in a post on the production company’s Instagram. She will be playing the character Pepo, with the character...

Actor and star of Virginia is for Lovers , Quinn Fontaine Image Credit: @mr_quinn_fontaine on Instagram Virginia is for Lovers is the upcoming autobiographical drama short film about transgender man Quinn Fontaine returning to his hometown to help his mother as she struggles with dementia; leading the two to find some common ground as Fontaine confronts his past. Filming kicked off early on February 1st continuing into the evening at Hurkamp Park in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Bystanders looked on as the camera crew and cast assembled in the center of the park to begin filming. The scene consisted of Quinn and his costar Susan Mele’s characters giving out “free hugs” to park goers. Director Rebekah “Bekah” Wiggins ( “After Mask” ) directed the extras in groups pointing to each as their time to walk into the shot. The shot consisted of numerous park goers either being hesitant to, or accepting of the free hugs before all grouping together in a giant hug at the end of the scene. Virginia ...

Filming has recently wrapped on the upcoming short film by Andrew Chi Nguyen entitled “The Woman with a Name or Two”. Described as a Spaghetti Western meets a Japanese Samurai movie; production began in mid-October filming into late December.  A recent graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Arts and Cinema program, Andrew began working on the movie and two other projects (which are also in post-production) while still in school and in a post on his personal Instagram page joked “can’t wait to share it with everyone sometime between now and 2037”. On a serious note, the estimated 10 minute film should be available around Summer 2024.  The plot is still unknown, but from the title viewers can expect a post-apocalyptic Western but with a twist! A female lead!! Something not often seen in the genre.

Andrew Chi Nguyen, a student of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Cinema Arts program, continues filming on his upcoming project The Woman with a Name or Two , a post-apocalyptic Western short film. While the plot line is being kept under wraps, a source confirms the movie will be about ten minutes in length and is inspired by Spaghetti Westerns and Japanese Samurai films. Written and directed by Nguyen, the film’s production design will be carried out by Leilani Curran, who also makes a cameo in the film as loudmouth “tough-as-nails” bartender Trudy of Trudy’s Bar, a classic Western inspired bar in the apocalypse, with scrip only payments for such “delights” like rat soup and moonshine. Musician and filmmaker James Dew Hall also makes an appearance as one of the bar’s disgruntled customers. Amaya Fuentes serves as a makeup artist. Frequent collaborator Sophia Scotto serves as the film’s boom operator. Brock Cooper will also be producing.

Coming off the heels of her announcement that she will be appearing in 2024’s Mean Girls  after gaining a television spot in the recent trailer, Amann Iqbal has been cast in the upcoming psychological horror film “Autonomy” as Noor. Described as a “dancing delusion” Noor will be a main character in the haunting new film. Autonomy follows an Uber driver along his newfound delusions as he tries to locate his stolen car after suffering a psychotic break. Directed by Hekla Pjet as her Bachelors student thesis film, Pjet, a Virginia Commonwealth University student, took on this project to dispel myths about psychosis as it’s often misrepresented for shock value in mainstream entertainment. Using a culmination of everything she has learned in film school, Hekla has launched an IndieGoGo campaign to put her skills into this project. With a current goal of five thousand dollars, the money raised will go towards craft services for the cast and crew and camera equipment rentals to make the f...

  A recent comparison was made between the original composite sketch of transgender homicide victim Julie Doe and a still image of actor Freddie Stroble. The post was made on the “What happened to Freddie Stroble?” Facebook fan page. The likeness is there and the dates of Freddie’s disappearance and Julie’s murder are similar. Freddie disappeared in 1985 and Julie was murdered in 1988. Freddie could have left New York (where both of his projects were filmed) and either moved or relocated to Florida (where Julie is believed to be from and where she was murdered). He also could have furthered his transition from male to female during that time. The picture comparison is above. Do you think they are one in the same? NOTE: I’m still using male pronouns for Freddie until I can confirm that he was actually transgender. The word “transvestite” has different meanings and may have had different meanings in the 1980’s when Freddie was around. 

Michelle Tarrio on an episode of Jenny Jones in 1992 You may remember a beautiful yet hard to understand transsexual named Mona who appeared on your television screens on some of the most popular talk shows of the 1990’s? What happened to the beautiful transsexual in the age before social media? Born Michelle S Tarrio in Lisbon, Portugal she immigrated to New York, USA where she worked as a prostitute beginning at age 16. As detailed on her episode of Taxicab Confessions,  at age 17 she began dating an Italian mobster for six years. A volitile relationship, the pair dated until she was 23-years old. The mobster was married to a woman and had children. Originally planning to retaliate against the mobster (for threatening to inform police of a prostitution ring ran by Michelle) by telling his wife of his affair with a transsexual prostitute, Tarrio was a hit by her boyfriend who had another man shoot her in the back. Michelle survived and recovered in the hospital for two months befo...

Photo by Brian Lantelme You may remember the name “Exotica” as a person from your list of favorite 1990’s talk shows or may have seen her modeling on the cover of Blood Orange’s album Coastal Grooves but what became of the popular transsexual dominatrix who graced the screens of some of the most popular talk shows of the 1990’s? Such shows as: Jenny Jones , Donahue , and The Howard Stern Show to name a few? Find out below! Born Boris F. Maldonado on October 29, 1965 in Ecuador, Boris would later change her name to Bianca after immigrating to the United States; settling in New York. Bianca worked as a phone sex operator, dominatrix, and for a brief period of time as a prostitute under the name Exotica, which became the name she became famous under as a frequent guest on some of the most popular talk shows on television. Exotica made the rounds in the early 1990’s on episodes of Donahue and Jenny Jones discussing her life as a transsexual dominatrix, relationships with heterosexual me...

Production on Robert Brown’s latest movie “Berserk: Golden Age Genesis” began on location in Manassas, Virginia on June 10th. Originally scheduled to be filmed at Manassas Battlefield Park, production was temporarily halted by park rangers (who rode up to the actor and crew holding area on horses) to move production to another location.  According to an official source, Brown did not have a permit to film on the property. Under the belief that it’s a public park and that filming could take place, park officials (who were tipped off by signs advertising the filming process and alerting park goers to be respectful) notified the cast and crew that the Berserk fan film would be “disrespectful” as thousands of people were massacred on the grounds nearby. Since the movie isn’t related to the massacre, production was moved to nearby Bull Run Recreational Park, after a recommendation by one of the park rangers. “At least she (park ranger) suggested another location we could film at” said ...

Along Came a Shadow is a horror short film about two thieves who while on the run after their latest robbery, discover that their hideout is haunted by unexplained supernatural forces hidden behind the lens of a camcorder. Joseph Herrera as Grayson The movie stars Joseph Herrera as Grayson or Gray, a young man who is in need of extra cash to support his mother’s chemotherapy costs. After being roped into a string of robberies by some of his friends, he and the other thieves find themselves responsible for accidentally killing a gas station clerk who they planned to rob. Co-starring in the film is Christina Gonzalez as Jen, a thief and friend of Grayson who meets him at the hideout as they wait for their friends and fellow thieves Brooke and Trent to arrive.  Christina Gonzalez as Jen Along Came a Shadow opens with an explanation for the strange occurrences that happen in the home. The Shadow (portrayed by Stephen Kucera) was involved with black magic which trapped his spirit in th...

NOTE: I will be using present tense for Freddie and male pronouns until I both know he is still alive or deceased and if he’s male or female identifying. Freddie Stroble as Transvestite in The Last Dragon (1985) Freddie Stroble is an American actor most known for his second and final film role in 1985’s kung fu comedy film “The Last Dragon” credited as Transvestite, Freddie appears in the movie theater scene when character Sho’Nuff approaches the main character in the front of the theater. Stroble’s character can be seen getting out of their seat to exclaim “Don’t hurt the face, baby!” and in the next frame can be seen putting their hands over their face and exclaiming “Ooh!” The scene is memorable as it shows a diverse group of people featured in a mainstream movie, something not often done in big budget movies, especially in the 1980’s. Freddie’s first film is the 1984 (other places listed as 1983) erotic drama feature “New York Nights” (also titled “Shackin’ Up”) where he plays a cl...

Transgender superstar Rajee Narinesingh most known for her reality television appearances on E! Entertainment’s hit reality docu-series Botched has recently transitioned into a successful acting career after Botched doctors Terry and Paul Nassif helped correct the damage caused to Rajee’s face from now convicted fake doctor O’Neal “Duchess” Morris. Rajee received the corrective procedures in 2015 and 2016 and has since gone to appear in the films: Prophecy (2018), Sylvia (2019), and will be making her web series debut on one episode of the upcoming drama series “Seconds in a Heartbeat”.  Misein was filmed in 2019 and originally released in 2020 but was retracted shortly thereafter. Three years later on August 20th the project was re-released to YouTube where it can currently be streamed for free.  Mauricio Bemudez as Alvaro Gomez The movie follows Alvaro Gomez, a pizza delivery driver (portrayed by Mauricio Bemudez) who is tasked with delivering a pizza to his previous res...

Australian-American pop superstar Iggy Azalea will be releasing her as-of-yet untitled comeback single this August 25th, two years after announcing her retirement from the music industry. What is known about the single is that it is produced by music legend Tricky Stewart. A cryptic and playful image seeming to be the single’s artwork was posted to Azalea’s Instagram and other social media on August 19th. The image shows Iggy on top of a frazzled man in a suit as she rides him and sprays one hundred dollar bills out of a pink money gun. UPDATE: “Have you ever seen five bad bitches at ya door?” says Iggy in the caption on her social media post for her latest single announced as being titled “Money Come”. Azalea posted the single artwork on her social media on August 22nd. The release date will be this August 25th. 

Dallas-area actor and filmmaker Joseph Herrera, best known for his web series Detour and films Spiral Deep and Drop Dead,  will be making his mainstream television debut this August 28th on Lifetime’s drama series #TextMeWhenYouGetHome. Joseph will be portraying the role of Carlos Caicedo, the brother of Carla Stefaniak, a young woman who was murdered in Costa Rica in 2018.  This episode will mark Herrera’s first acting role in a mainstream production. It will also be the first project that he stars in, but does not direct or produce. The episode follows a biographical portrayal of the events leading up to and in the kidnapping and murder of Carla Stefaniak, a 36-year old Miami, Florida native who disappeared while visiting Costa Rica for a birthday trip. The episode airs this August 28th at 9 PM EDT on Lifetime. 

Karen in a yearbook picture from North Shore High School (c. 1979)  A Jane Doe originally from 1996 known as either Fire Island Jane Doe or Jane Doe #7 was identified on August 4, 2023 as Karen Ann Vergata. Karen was born Karen Ann Vergata in Roslyn, Long Island, New York on November 4, 1961 to Dominic and Virginia Vergata. Karen had one brother, Victor J. Vergata. Karen was a 1979 graduate of North Shore High School in Glen Head, New York. She was remembered by classmate Eugene Koebler as “artistic” for being the only female (and peer in general) to wear floppy hats in school. Eugene also noted Vergata’s love of wearing jewelry and fringe. They were both in a remedial mathematics class “Math for Daily Living”, taught by Mr. Grahm, in which Karen made a lasting impression on Koebler when she coaxed Mr. Grahm into allowing her and another student to retrieve a bag of ice from the cafeteria for a “math experiment”. When Karen and the other peer returned, Karen used the ice to assist ...

After two successful autobiographies, Channon has ventured into the culinary field with her first cookbook. On April 9th YouTube personality and author Channon Rose released her third book and first non-autobiographical book “Gluten-Free & Vegan Recipe Book: Easy & Delicious Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes For the Whole Family”. The book was originally only made available on her Etsy shop (ChannonRoseArt) for fifteen dollars and is the third book in her bibliography; following the success of her first two autobiographical books in “The Story of Channon Rose” series. Recently the book has been released to Amazon for twenty dollars. The book was inspired by Channon’s recent diagnosis with Hashimotos, Addison’s disease, and her candidacy for Schmidt syndrome, autoimmune diseases. Ways to help ease symptoms of the disorders are to adopt a gluten free diet. Rose, an influencer (made popular by her inspirational stories on her YouTube channel) and vegan for eight years, wanted to continue ...