PREDISPOSED

Writer/Director:  Philip Dorling, Ron Nyswaner.  Producers;  Neda Armian, Ron Nyswaner, BCDF Pictures.  With Jesse Eisenberg, Melissa Leo, and Tracy Morgan.

Final stages of edit.  World Premiere Sundance. 1/27/12.

Synopsis:  PREDISPOSED tells the story of Eli Smith (Eisenberg), a piano prodigy, dealing with his troubled mother (Penny), and enlisting help from a hapless drug dealer (Morgan), on the day he has an audition for a prestigious music program.  Events spiral out of control as this gang of misfits faces the mistakes of the past, the challenges of the future, and the possibilities of love.

SHE’S THE BEST THING IN IT

“Should be required viewing for anyone who wants to enter our beleaguered, maddening and divine profession.”  — Douglas Wright

Director:  Ron Nyswaner.  Producers:  Neda Armian, Ron Nyswaner. Editor:  Janet Baus.

Documentary Feature about the actor’s craft. Follows theater legend Mary Louise Wilson as she teaches an acting class in her hometown, New Orleans.  Features interviews with Frances McDormand, Douglas Wright, Estelle Parsons, Tyne Daly, Charlotte Rae, Melissa Leo.

Synopsis:  Mary Louise Wilson, Tony Award winner (Grey Gardens), travels to her hometown, New Orleans, to teach acting to skeptical members of the You Tube generation. She challenges her students to “stop acting,” and create big emotions on stage, by calling upon their own, emotional experiences.  They are forced to examine losses suffered in their young lives, including the lingering trauma of Katrina.  An examination of the actor’s craft and some brave women who have devoted their lives to it.