Wednesday May 21^st 12:00 Noon – 2:00 PM

Shubert Theater, 247 College Street, New Haven, CT  06510

RSVP – 203-393-3002 OR jazzhavenct@comcast.net

The producers of “Lady Day,” a new feature film about Billie Holiday, and the writer, director and producer of “Jammin’ with the Angels,” another film with a jazz motif, both intended to be shot in Connecticut, invite you to an event providing announcements concerning these projects.

Hear and see performances of Billie Holiday classics which will be used in “Lady Day” by vocalist Lisa Cobham, dancers Parris Mann and Karen Calloway Williams, musicians Jesse Hameen, Phil Bowler, piano prodigy Christian Sands and others.

The co-chairs of the New Haven Jazz Festival will also be there to announce the performance line up for 2008, along with other annual events.

Hear local entertainment attorney and musician, Isaiah Cooper discuss how the Connecticut tax credits are changing the landscape for these productions and others and generating revenue for the Connecticut economy.

Refreshments will be served.
Best regards,
Isaiah D. Cooper
Cooper Law LLC

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BILLIE HOLIDAY FILM TO BE SHOT IN CONNECTICUT

And Jazz is Revived on the New Haven Green

Wayne Holmes, Co-Owner of Rockville USA Production Studios in Rockville, Connecticut, and a member of Connecticut’s Hollywood East Legislative Task Force Committee, will announce details about “Lady Day,” a new feature film currently in pre-production in Connecticut at a press event on May 21, 2008 held from 12:00 noon until 2:00 PM in the lobby of New Haven’s Shubert Theater at 247 College Street. 

The film has already attracted the interest of an A-list actress/singer for the lead role of Billie Holiday, and its pre-production plans are already experiencing major breakthroughs. Though the commitment of the lead actress cannot be disclosed until negotiations are finalized, her interest in playing the role of Billie Holiday is based primarily on her confidence in Emmy award winning screenwriter Paris Qualles, who has indicated his interest in being both screenwriter and a producer for "Lady Day.”  Paris recently reached a professional milestone of his own as screenwriter for the television adaptation of “A Raisin in the Sun,” which appeared to acclaim on ABC in February 2008.  He won an Emmy for “The Rosa Parks Story” in 2002.  Stuart Nicholson, author of the award-nominated biography Billie Holiday has agreed to license the book and his background files to this production and also to serve as a consultant to the production.

With the cooperation of Doug Morrill and Aleta Staton of Jazz Haven Inc., a Connecticut non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culture of jazz, and composer and arranger Drake Smith, top local musicians, such as percussionist Jesse Hameen II and piano prodigy Christian Sands, will perform together for a press event that will showcase the music of Billie Holiday.  Four Billie Holiday classics will be performed with period costume and dancers for the invited audience.

Drake Smith, founder and leader of the New Haven Jazz Orchestra, has agreed to reconstruct and arrange four pieces from Billie Holiday's output from the mid-to-late 1930s for these performances.  Lisa Cobham, a jazz and opera singer in her own right, will portray Billie Holiday at the press event, singing with a small big band for these musical performances.

This event will also serve to formally announce the rebirth of the New Haven Jazz Festival in August 2008, co-chaired by Jazz Haven Inc. officers Doug Morrill, Aleta Staton and Jesse Hameen, II.  Jazz Haven, Inc. is producing the New Haven Jazz Festival, and has enlisted the New Haven Office of Cultural Affairs for marketing sponsorship and Casey Family Services as its title sponsor.  Market New Haven, Inc. has also agreed to provide marketing support for the New Haven Jazz Festival.

This event will include appearances by Independent producer and actor, Da‘Mone McCollum and writer and director, George Millner, who will provide an overview of “Jammin’ With Angels,” a contemporary musical drama motion picture (also in pre-production in Connecticut) that showcases jazz and the spoken word.

Guest musician and New Haven business and entertainment attorney, Isaiah Cooper, will open the event with a brief description of Connecticut’s Digital Media & Motion Picture Tax Credit and the new legislation which will provide for a tax credit for angel investments in certain companies (Raised Bill No. 549) and how they are impacting both entertainment and technology companies in Connecticut. These tax credits could bolster investment in new film and digital media productions such as “Lady Day” and “Jammin’ With Angels,” and also encourage angel investment groups to invest in entrepreneurial ventures in traditional business areas, including new technology, biotech and nanotechnology.

The focus of this press event will be to announce that Connecticut has the capacity to produce major motion pictures from start to finish.  A review of the pre-production progress for “Lady Day” and “Jammin’ With Angels,” will illustrate that these motion pictures can and should be produced.

Though there are many films being produced in Connecticut by non-resident producers, largely due to the tax initiatives spearheaded by House Speaker Jim Amann, the Hollywood East task force committee, Representative Jeffrey Berger, Senator Gary LaBeau, Representative Carl Leone, and several legislative committees, this event will demonstrate to the nation that Connecticut has the capacity, not only host producers who wish to shoot films here, but also to conceive, produce, and deliver major motion pictures originating from within Connecticut’s borders.

Contact:      Wayne J. Holmes, Co-Owner

                   Rockville, USA

                   860-869-2497 or waynejholmes@hotmail.com

                   Doug Morrill, President

                   Jazz Haven, Inc.

                   203-393-3002 or dougct2@comcast.net