A well-attended private screening of the new indy film Work of Art at Cinema Paradiso in Fort Lauderdale proved to be a highly entertaining and productive evening for Florida's entertainment industry. Prompted by Celebrity Renaissance Man Dr. Jimmy Star, who plays the art gallery owner "Walter" in the film, and hosted by Studio 214, the night brought out Florida's premier entertainment shakers and doers, all of whom left singing the praises of Work of Art with a revitalized awareness that South Florida is the next Hollywood.
"South Florida is the place to be. I should know, I was born here, I've been everywhere else, and we have just the right combination of talent, of affluence, of cultural mix, of resources, of scenic locations and fabulous climate that makes for an arts mecca, specifically for the film industry," says Dr. Jimmy Star, who through his own fashion and entertainment empire has been bringing high fashion and gentle living to the forefront in the state and encouraging other artists and companies to join in his building of a real renaissance. And the Work of Art film itself is something South Florida can be proud of. Well-written by Christian Vinetas Work of Art is The Usual Suspects meets "Seinfeld", a fast-paced, modern drama that features elaborately intertwined plot-lines involving an entire ensemble of unique characters with loads of witty banter and fun interplay. Shot, directed and edited by South Florida's visionary director Joel Sotolongo, and produced by Studio 214's accomplished Terrence J. Lee, Work of Art is the story of a janitor of an art gallery who decides to get out of debt by pretending to be an artist, and the many unforeseeable, sometimes hilarious, sometimes tragic, ripple effects of that decision. "One crappy painting could change your life," says the tag-line, and that is at the very least true for the film's cast, who are already being noticed for their standout performances.
Work of Art draws on Florida's incredible talent pool of actors featuring Rene Fornari as the masquerading-as-artist janitor "Art", the hugely comedic Victor Mueller as the hilarious friend and supposed art agent "Buddy", tremendous spot-on performances by Kevin "K-Dubb" Walton and Craig Bonaventura as mob hit men "Deke" and "Gordo", and the intense drama of Nick Simmons as District Attorney "Paul." Work of Art also features a cornucopia of original songs by celebrated South Florida based recording artists with hip-hop/rap by K-Dubb The Truth and The Madd Assasinz, rock-and-roll by Trash and Article 66, jazz by Bob Batie, and alternative music by Trapped by Mormons. Under the film's hugely entertaining and fun surface, it doesn't neglect to offer a gratifying social commentary from my perspective, as it focuses on faking as a lifestyle, within the world of high art, and within the world of the mob, exposing similarities of the two whereby no one notices the fakery of others as everyone is playing a socialized fake role themselves. As a realist, I think real art is the antithesis of faking, that real art is based on real revealing, and truthful passion and self-expression. Work of Art exemplifies this, too, as the product of the real passion and the true talents of the the South Florida film industry.
Currently Work of Art is being shown at film festivals internationally, and I recommend all our Beyond Elite Magazine readers to go see the best and the brightest new stars of the South Florida film industry in this funny adventure of good guys gone bad and bad guys gone good!
"South Florida is the place to be. I should know, I was born here, I've been everywhere else, and we have just the right combination of talent, of affluence, of cultural mix, of resources, of scenic locations and fabulous climate that makes for an arts mecca, specifically for the film industry," says Dr. Jimmy Star, who through his own fashion and entertainment empire has been bringing high fashion and gentle living to the forefront in the state and encouraging other artists and companies to join in his building of a real renaissance. And the Work of Art film itself is something South Florida can be proud of. Well-written by Christian Vinetas Work of Art is The Usual Suspects meets "Seinfeld", a fast-paced, modern drama that features elaborately intertwined plot-lines involving an entire ensemble of unique characters with loads of witty banter and fun interplay. Shot, directed and edited by South Florida's visionary director Joel Sotolongo, and produced by Studio 214's accomplished Terrence J. Lee, Work of Art is the story of a janitor of an art gallery who decides to get out of debt by pretending to be an artist, and the many unforeseeable, sometimes hilarious, sometimes tragic, ripple effects of that decision. "One crappy painting could change your life," says the tag-line, and that is at the very least true for the film's cast, who are already being noticed for their standout performances.
Work of Art draws on Florida's incredible talent pool of actors featuring Rene Fornari as the masquerading-as-artist janitor "Art", the hugely comedic Victor Mueller as the hilarious friend and supposed art agent "Buddy", tremendous spot-on performances by Kevin "K-Dubb" Walton and Craig Bonaventura as mob hit men "Deke" and "Gordo", and the intense drama of Nick Simmons as District Attorney "Paul." Work of Art also features a cornucopia of original songs by celebrated South Florida based recording artists with hip-hop/rap by K-Dubb The Truth and The Madd Assasinz, rock-and-roll by Trash and Article 66, jazz by Bob Batie, and alternative music by Trapped by Mormons. Under the film's hugely entertaining and fun surface, it doesn't neglect to offer a gratifying social commentary from my perspective, as it focuses on faking as a lifestyle, within the world of high art, and within the world of the mob, exposing similarities of the two whereby no one notices the fakery of others as everyone is playing a socialized fake role themselves. As a realist, I think real art is the antithesis of faking, that real art is based on real revealing, and truthful passion and self-expression. Work of Art exemplifies this, too, as the product of the real passion and the true talents of the the South Florida film industry.
Currently Work of Art is being shown at film festivals internationally, and I recommend all our Beyond Elite Magazine readers to go see the best and the brightest new stars of the South Florida film industry in this funny adventure of good guys gone bad and bad guys gone good!
