There’s no business like show business, and this week, Biz Beat is going to the movies.
That’s because on Sunday, Aug. 23, the Naples Improvement Association is hosting a community movie night featuring a screening of “Rhythm is a Dancer,” followed by a live Q&A with the filmmaker and Long Beach local Lauren Caster.
“Filmed in Long Beach and starring Tate Donovan and Amy Aquino, ‘Rhythm Is a Dancer’ is a comedy-drama about family, identity, and finding your way home” according to NIA president Ben Fisher.
Caster lives in Naples, and parts of the movie were filmed in Belmont Shore, Colorado Lagoon, Leisure World, and in San Pedro, according to the filmmaker. The main character in the film is from Long Beach, and it’s a big part of the film, Caster said.
The event will get underway at the Long Beach Yacht Club at 5 p.m.
“I’m very excited to do a community screening here in Long Beach since it’s a big part of me as a filmmaker and the movie,” Caster said.
Caster is also a member of the Naples Island Garden Club, and more than 20 members of that group came to watch “Rhythm is a Dancer” when it was playing in theaters in Los Angeles, she said.
The NIA will host a screening of “Rhythm is a Dancer,” a film by Long Beach local Lauren Caster. (Photo courtesy of Lauren Caster).
A still of Lauren Caster in her film “Rhythm is a Dancer.” (Photo courtesy of Lauren Caster).
A still of Lauren Caster and Amy Aquino in “Rhythm is a Dancer.” (Photo courtesy of Lauren Caster).
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The NIA will host a screening of “Rhythm is a Dancer,” a film by Long Beach local Lauren Caster. (Photo courtesy of Lauren Caster).
“They all love it. A lot more who couldn’t make it really wanted to see the movie and do a Q&A with me,” Caster said, “which is kind of how the whole community screening came about.”
One of the actors in the movie is Kevin Brief. He and I grew up in Naples on Loreta Walk, and we both attended Naples School. The summer before 11th grade, he was on the junior varsity football team and needed a second class to enroll in as summer session. Kevin took a drama class, and after that, was hooked.
I asked Kevin how it was filming in Long Beach.
“We actually did not shoot my scenes in Long Beach. But I did love having that connection with Lauren when (we) worked together,” Brief said. “As an actor, I think it kinda gave the characters a nice little subliminal connection in the scenes.”
Brief noted that a group of “Naples Moms” came out to an after party for the film’s L.A. premiere.
“That was fun. Their kids all go to our Alma Mater, Naples (School) Apparently, Ms. Holscher is no longer there,” Brief joked in his note, referencing our sixth grade teacher. “Of course, when I shot Dexter right across from Mother’s Beach which is a half block from our old house…that was a real kick!”
In the movie, Brief plays a guy who meets the main character in a bar, and gets drunk with her.
“So, I was able apply my knowledge from the many years working at Morry’s of Naples selling booze to the role,” he joked about another local connection.
Brief said he admires Caster for her work on the film. Not only did she write it, but she directed and acted the lead role. He also praised Caster for sharing the story of her life in “Rhythm is a Dancer.”
“Lauren is such a sweetheart. From the moment I met her at the callback for the role to when we wrapped the film (Our scene on the steps was the very last scene shot on the film) …I just loved her joy and spirit,” Brief said. “The fact that she wrote, directed and acted the lead role is so impressive. The fact that she did it all so well, and with so much kindness to all involved, is a testament to who she is.”
“Rhythm Is a Dancer” is now available to rent or buy on various streaming platforms, including Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.
The timing of the community movie night could not be better. The night before, Saturday
Aug. 22, also at the Yacht Club, Brief and my fellow Wilson classmates of 1976 will celebrate Long Beach on the 50th anniversary of our graduation.
Our class has all our favorite local activities planned, including a morning ride on Gondola Getaway, a special at Joe Jost’s, and maybe even a ground pepperoni pizza at Domenico’s. The kids from Mann Elementary have a brunch planned with their fifth grade teacher Mrs. Gonzalez.
The Naples School Class of 1970 (with columnist Jo Murray wearing Nancy Sinatra-esque boots in the front row). (Photo courtesy of Jo Murray).
The Naples School class of 1969. (Photo courtesy of Jo Murray).
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The Naples School Class of 1970 (with columnist Jo Murray wearing Nancy Sinatra-esque boots in the front row). (Photo courtesy of Jo Murray).
Brief — who has been in more than 80 television shows including “Baywatch,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Friends,” “The Golden Girls,” and “Grey’s Anatomy” — is just one of the almost 900 grads from that year.
But he’s not the only one of our class who ended up as a success story. Here is a sampling of some of our classmates that will be attending the reunion.
David Washburn, who played reveille every morning at Will Rogers Middle School, is today the principal trumpet of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
He’s recorded more than 500 film soundtracks over the years, (mostly with John Williams) including “War for the Planet of the Apes,” “Spiderman: Homecoming,” “The Legend of Zorro,” “Troy,” “A Beautiful Mind,” “The Perfect Storm,” “Titanic” and “Deep Impact,” to name a few.
Another classmate, Teresa O’Neill, was the first female writer on the sitcom “Night Court.” She has written, produced and developed shows for ABC, CBS, NBC, Twentieth Century Fox TV, Paramount TV, Lifetime and the Disney Channel.
Dr. Mario Molina, in 2005, was recognized by Time magazine as one of the 25 most influential Hispanics in America.
Dr. John Kirkpatrick was our head drummer. Many of the drum routines and cadences used at Wilson High to this day were written by him. These days he’s volunteering for Samaritan’s Purse, using his talent as an orthopedic surgeon to help people in Venezuela.
Recently, he has been carrying a pair of drumsticks with him so he can practice prior to performing with the Wilson drummers on Saturday night.
On the day of our graduation, our principal Dr. Robert Ellis said what set our class apart was that we “stopped to smell the flowers.”
I hope our reunion weekend will carry that same spirit, and we pause to appreciate one another. We were so blessed to grow up here and celebrate our enduring friendships.
Bruin historian dies
Betty Jo “BJ” Wells, known as Wilson High’s unofficial historian for the past three decades, has died.
Wells was a proud member of the Wilson class of 1948 — where she was a cheerleader and very active in other campus activities.
For the last at least three decades, she’s been the unofficial historian of Wilson and worked to establish a complete set of school annuals, which are named “Campanile” in honor of the same-named bell tower that was removed from the school after the 1933 earthquake, for fear that is would collapse in an aftershock.
Wells volunteered in the library, organized all of the historical files for the school including old Loudspeakers and Campaniles, and would often give tours of the school for class reunions and for others according to Wilson alum Jeff Hoffman.
Wells’s son, Larry (class of 1979) shared that his mom would go to garage sales with a mission in mind to find missing yearbooks. Her collection filled a bookcase, and she also created a three-ring binder for each graduating class where she collected newspaper clippings from the Long Beach Press-Telegram and the Grunion Gazette.
Her massive archive is now part of the reference collection in the media center at Wilson High.