A New Web Comedy by Hunter Lee Hughes
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In “Dumbass Filmmakers!” Dale Raoul (“True Blood”) plays disgusted mom Brenda Winters, whose “bisexual” son creates art installations and performance pieces she despises. So Harrison DeWinter (Hunter Lee Hughes), assembles a group of losers to make a transition from wacky installation artist to filmmaker despite his mother’s castrating indifference. The show premieres at DumbassFilmmakers.com on Tuesday, July 10th.
The naïve Harrison truly believes his movie will inspire others to save the environment, protest injustice and embrace bisexuality. But when it comes to actually making the movie, Harrison can’t depend on his quixotic imagination alone. He turns to Vicki Moretti (Elizabeth Gordon), an organized but lonely young woman who only wants to produce the movie to fill a void in her love life. Harrison feels confident that with Vicki in place, his artistic vision will soon materialize. But unexpected obstacles arise when Vicki fights to block vulnerable rising star Bobby Tulane (Justin Schwan) from securing the lead role he so earnestly deserves. Unlike Vicki, Bobby actually understands Harrison’s movie, making Bobby very appealing to Harrison, but very threatening to Vicki’s insecurities. Caught in the middle is mischievous casting director Scott Fleischman (Jimmy Dinh), who hopes to somehow profit from the experience.
“Dumbass Filmmakers!” explores the irony of an unimportant man’s drive to produce something “important.” Although the character of Harrison is profoundly incompetent at storytelling and filmmaking, his odd genius of inspiring others to believe in his vision – creates comedic tension. While Harrison strives – with some success – to connect to an unconscious creative energy, he lacks an ability to process his imagination and is both innocently and tragically clueless at navigating the interpersonal politics of materializing a project in the real world.
“Dumbass Filmmakers!” was created by producing partners Hunter Lee Hughes and Elizabeth Gordon. The series’ first season was written and directed by Mr. Hughes.
Dale Raoul (“Brenda Winters”) is best known for her role as Maxine Fortenberry on HBO’s vampire series “True Blood.” She’s a veteran character actress who has worked in a myriad of stage, film and television productions.
Hunter Lee Hughes makes his directorial debut with “Dumbass Filmmakers!” He previously wrote “Fate of the Monarchs,” which garnered a Critic’s Pick from Backstage West and “The Sermons of John Bradley,” for which he was named Best Actor by StageSceneLa.com in the 2008-2009 “Best of Stage” list. In addition to acting in dozens of stage productions in Los Angeles, Hughes also wrote, produced and starred in “Winner Takes All”, which premiered at the 35th annual Atlanta Film Festival before screening at ten international film festivals and landing a distribution deal through Guest House Films.
Elizabeth Gordon has produced a number of theatrical productions, including “The Sermons of John Bradley” with Fatelink. She also produced the short film “Winner Takes All.” Ms. Gordon created her own original series called “Untitled Word Project,” which premiered in 2008 and she has performed in shows throughout L.A. and Orange County to rave reviews in Backstage West and StageSceneLA.
Jimmy Dinh made Howie Mandel and Sharon Osbourne take notice on last season’s “America’s Got Talent.” Although they didn’t clear Mr. Dinh to the next round, Mandel and Osbourne complimented him for his comedic instincts. Justin Schwan played the lead role in “Cutback,” which recently was honored at the San Diego Christian Film Festival. Other notable talent includes Adrian Quinonez as Marco Lorenzo, an actor suffering from a panic disorder, and Barbara Costa as Amalia Sousa, whose improvisations require an understanding of Portuguese.
For more information, go to: www.dumbassfilmmakers.com.