Solar Winds Productions, a local movie production company, has taken advantage of the newly opened Discovery World, 500 N Harbor Dr. Once a month, for the next five months, Solar Winds will be showing its latest endeavors to the Milwaukee public.
"The film series created by Solar Winds for Discovery World was to give the public a diverse taste of the projects (the company) accomplished and those currently in production," says William Zenobia, an actor with Solar Winds. "Solar Winds also wanted to utilize Discovery World's high definition theaters, which have only recently become available when Discovery World opened in September 2006."
Friday, Nov. 17 the second film of the series, "Dead Poker," will be shown.
"It is a drama about a group of gambling addicts who spend a weekend playing in an all or nothing poker game," says Linda Durrenberg, Solar Winds' publicist.
The film focuses on a man named Flusher who has to decide what he would like to risk and what he's willing to sacrifice. His life is also on the line if he loses the game. The men sitting at the poker table are trying to make their way in life, whether it's for money or recognition.
Zenobia says the movie deals with the "desperate measures that some are willing to take when life deals them a bad hand."
"'Dead Poker' offers a unique look at filmmaking in Wisconsin, and some of the true grit it takes to produce a movie," Zenobia says. "'Dead Poker' takes you into a world of gambling that is not so pretty, showcasing the talent of local actors (and) actresses who can be seen on TV, at local theaters and work behind the scenes in film."
"Dead Poker" premieres this weekend and is part of the drama genre, but Solar Winds is showing through the Discovery World series that their movies are diverse. The movies showing over the next few months will include a miracle drama, a comedy, a mystery and a domestic drama.
Solar Winds has been creating so many exciting projects and that's why Zenobia says he got more involved with the company.
Durrenberg says that Solar Winds has only been around for six years (the company is currently working on its seventh) and it is the only independent movie company in the state to achieve what it has.
"We have 12 feature films and four documentaries to our name and a TV show on cable access at stations throughout the state," she says.
The television show is called "Star Paths."
"('Star Paths' is) an educational program on The Western Mystery Tradition, and is something of a follow up to our documentary trilogy on the paranormal of a few years ago and is being developed into a boxed-set," says Ron Schaefer, Solar Winds' creator.
Schaefer says that the company is currently planning a seminar a the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha campus for February of next year about the subjects covered in "Star Paths."
Although Solar Winds involves itself in both film and television entertainment, Zenobia says that the company is aiding Wisconsin's new dedication to film, which has also led him to being more proactive in his approach to films.
"Solar Winds Films is entering its seventh year of producing thoughtful and entertaining films. With an emphasis on films that deal with diverse subject material that mainstream entertainment companies often overlook," he says. "Film Festivals like MIFF and "It Came From Lake Michigan" are a constant reminder of the positive direction film is taking, The projects that are taking place across the Wisconsin will not just support the arts as we know it but the community with revenues to local business,' hotels and restaurants. Solar Winds is one of those companies that are on the move when it comes to producing films."
Originally from Des Plaines, Ill., Heather moved to Milwaukee to earn a B.A. in journalism from Marquette University. With a tongue-twisting last name like Leszczewicz, it's best to go into a career where people don't need to say your name often.
However, she's still sticking to some of her Illinoisan ways (she won't reform when it comes to things like pop, water fountain or ATM), though she's grown to enjoy her time in the Brew City.
Although her journalism career is still budding, Heather has had the chance for some once-in-a-lifetime interviews with celebrities like actor Vince Vaughn and actress Charlize Theron, director Cameron Crowe and singers Ben Kweller and Isaac Hanson of '90s brother boy band Hanson.
Heather's a self-proclaimed workaholic but loves her entertainment. She's a real television and movie fanatic, book nerd, music junkie, coffee addict and pop culture aficionado.
