This past Monday night at the iPic Theater of Westwood, Los Angeles, the Knockturnal joined the actors, writer, and director of the new indie film, Do Over, to talk about the process, filming, and first times.
…yep, you got it right, first times. (Wha?)
The romantic comedy is about a group of friends who reminisce about how great they were in bed their first time. Angela, who is played by bad-ass actress Amy Paffrath, challenges the guys to contact the girls they had their first times with to give them a do-over. Each of the guys (who are equally endearing and funny), go through a comedic and in some moments very serious journey pursuing the women they had their first time with. The guy group includes Sean King (played by Drew Sealey), Ryan, (played by Zack Lively), and Anthony (played by Jonathan Bennett). Sean especially goes through a serious journey when he gets in contact with his high school sweetheart and first love, played by the multi-talented actress Gina Field, who also wrote and was one of the producers on the film.
Gina said, “I’m so excited and grateful to be working with Freestyle [Digital Media], and looking forward to starting a Do Over revolution.”
Everyone can relate to wondering about their first love and/or first time, and what it would be like do it over again. C’mon, don’t lie! 😉
There are tons of other well-known actors in the film, such as Hayley Marie Norman, Sarah Karges, Rebecca Zamolo, Sara Finley, Jennifer Frederick, Allan Wasserman, Emma Lockhart, Blake Ayub, and Josh Feldman.
The film debuts on VOD through Freestyle Digital Media on October 11th. You can find more information at http://www.dooverfilm.com and watch the trailer here.
Luckily, we got to catch up with actress Amy Paffrath on the red carpet.
Where is your dress from?
Amy: It’s from a PR company that I always pull from – a designer called L’Atiste by Amy. It has my name in the design which I love! She also does really cool and interesting shapes in her designs. I love rompers and shorts, so any time I can wear them – shorts are the way to my heart.
What has been the most rewarding part of all of this?
Amy: It was awesome just because I met Gina in acting class about four years ago, so the coolest part about this is her saying she was gonna do it. Hearing her say an idea out loud and then seeing it actually come to fruition years later. As a woman, producer, artist, actor, entertainer – to see some body follow through and make it happen and push through every obstacle – that was so exciting. I am in awe of her and I’m such a big fan of hers. I’m so honored she took me along for this ride because when she first told me about this I was like “sure.” You know, everyone has their project and you are cautiously optimistic, but I didn’t know if it was going to get made. But it did and, it’s amazing! I’m glad she took me along.”
What was your favorite part about playing your character?
Amy: (laughs) Mine? Because she’s kind of a down in the dumps girl – in a way she’s dealing with her own stuff and getting road blocked. The guy that she likes likes somebody else, and work isn’t going too great. It was fun to play that kind of character because she’s making all of this madness, because the madness in her own life is distracting her a bit. It’s a way of playing puppet master without having to feel her own feelings. I know I can be like that in my own life – an avoider – so it was cool to play that person when it all just implodes because she needs to deal with it, finally (laughs).
Your husband is Drew Sealey, who is also in the film, right?
Amy: Yes!
What was it like working with him on this film?
Amy: It’s fun working with him! He had longer hours than me so he was hustling. He’s in almost every frame of this movie. It was hard we had some 3 am call times – so it was a rough couple of weeks. Indie filmmaking is certainly tough…you gotta hustle. But he also got to direct a music video that coincides with the movie which was super fun. Drew as a director – he’s very on it and knows what he wants.
Speak of the devil…
Drew: Is that going to play in the end credits? Are we still using that?
Amy: (coyly) I don’t know, we’ll have to see! But yeah, it was a great experience, we had a lot of fun together.
What do you guys hope people take away from the film?
Amy: What I think people should take away is it’s never too late to go back and say something that is left unsaid. I don’t think you have to re- do things but if there’s something left on the table that you feel you need to remedy or make amends I think you should while you have that opportunity.
Later, we had the chance to catch up with the stunning and gracious Tiffany Panhilason, who attended the premiere to show support for her friends in the film!
How are you doing tonight? Excited to be here!?
Tiffany: Yes, we are here to support! Donnell and I are doing a film together called Around the Bed, so that will be out probably next year – I’m very excited about it. But yeah we are here to support Amy and our whole team. We’re really excited for them!
Tell me more about you’re film:
Tiffany: Around the Bed is about a bunch of actors and writers getting together to write a script. In the process of this – the movie comes to life. The viewer doesn’t know how to differentiate what is happening to these characters in their real lives versus what is happening to them in the movie that they create. All of the same actors are playing the same characters, and Tarantino is one of my favorite writer/directors, so it’s incredible to be a part of a film that has that vibe.
You are an actor, writer, producer AND entrepreneur. Wow. Tell us about this!
Tiffany: Thank you! Well, speaking of, I’m glad you like my dress it’s actually from my line Dirty Ballerina. I grew up dancing professionally, so I wanted to start a clothing company that really empowered women, and to me a ballerina is your classic woman. I loved the juxtaposition between Guns N’ Roses style, and the play on words of dirty and ballerina. To me, a woman never looses her edge. And so the name Dirty Ballerina stuck. Our first vendor store is Nordstrom and now it’s growing. It’s really busy pursuing acting and fashion, but it also keeps me balanced. Acting and being in fashion has been a great experience – it gives me a voice in each outlet. I love meeting women and being able to empower them. I too have dreams and hopes and as my acting career continues, so does Dirty Ballerina. It’s great to empower women and hear about how great they feel in a dress. To me that’s what acting and fashion is about. Not necessarily about the clothing, but the woman in the clothing and how good they feel!
