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JIll Jaress
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Thanks for coming to my company's site. I hope you see the trailers of my films and visit my other site - www.theonenightermovie.comI left Detroit to become an actress when I was eighteen. I was very lucky. The first agent I called was Dan Stevens at William Morris. He asked me what my background was. I said, "I'm Lutheran." He signed me. A few months later I got my first job, starring in Aaron Spelling's prime time drama "The New People" on ABC. The first day at work I went to the director and the D.P. I asked if they would look out for me. I told them the only camera I'd ever been in front of was my Dad's Instamatic. Not only did they watch out for me, they treated me like thier niece and taught me everything about continuity, angles, what to do and what not to do and why. I wouldn't leave the set. When I wasn't acting, I watched everything. That's how I learned to direct. As soon as that show got cancelled, Leonard Stern offered me a starring role in his comedy "Shepard's Flock" on CBS. I was always working all through my twenties and I loved it but I wanted to have my own production company. I loved Woody Allen's films and I wanted to do what he was doing.I started writing. Again I was very lucky. The first agent I contacted was Joan Scott, who owned Writers and Artists. She signed me. Time passed and I soon had a drawer full of options but none of my films made it to the screen. So I wrote, produced and directed a short about speed dating, titled "Someone to Love". I had no intention of acting in that film. A first time director should never direct herself.At eight o'clock the night before the shoot, the actress playing the role of "Frances" called and said she wouldn't be able to make it. She had been given a ticket to a seminar on how to get work. My second choice was already booked and I had four more hours of producing work to do. So the next morning I went to the shoot and asked my (wonderful) cinematographer, J.P. Pierce, to line up the first shot while I memorized the role of "Frances". I guess it worked out becasue the short went to Cannes and won eleven laurels in other international and Academy-qualifying festivals. Now my company has the full length feature of "Someone to Love" in development. Actually, we're ready to go into production as soon as we complete the funding. My joy comes from creating a project from concept to completion. It gets a little tiring though. I'd like to find a producer to work with. Someone who loves comedy. I write good roles for women. I should be able to -- I've been one all my life.
Timothy Bottoms as Louie and Jill Jaress as Pixie L'Amour in The One Nighter
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