‘Lauren’ is back on May 3rd
The long awaited season two of the WIGS web series “Lauren” with Jennifer Beals and Troian Bellisario will premiere on May 3rd (9:00 AM ET/6:00 AM PT) with four new episodes. Four additional episodes will be available on Friday, May 10 (9:00 AM ET/6:00 AM PT), and the final four episodes will debut Friday, May 17 (9:00 AM ET/6:00 AM PT).
“Before working on LAUREN, I was oblivious to the struggle of those sexually assaulted while serving our country,” explained Bellisario. “There are thousands of young women and men who are harassed or assaulted by their fellow soldiers and forced to keep their pain a secret – or worse, if they bravely come forward, they can be punished for seeking justice. Lauren’s story represents a powerful and important issue, an issue to which attention must be paid. If we truly do ‘support our troops,’ we must put an end to this.”
Jennifer Beals as Major Stone
“I wanted to be involved with the series because I want to be involved with stories that can make a difference – where a narrative might be able to move the cultural paradigm, even just a little bit, toward a collective awareness of one another’s experiences,” added Beals. “The creative experience of making the invisible visible enriches me. Working with Jon and Troian, I always feel like I’m learning something new and vital.”
“It was a pleasure to direct Jay Rodan’s script of LAUREN, with Troian and Jennifer reprising their starring roles,” said Avnet. “Their commitment to this story, about the issue of rape in the armed services, and the failure of many in the military to address it, is very meaningful. The addition of actors Brad Whitford, Raymond Cruz, Mykelti Williamson and Sarah Jones is a big bonus and allows us to explore the consequences of a sexual assault and the damage and suffering that it causes.”
LAUREN won a Silver Medal for Drama at the 2013 New York Festivals International Television & Film Awards, and Bellisario took home a Gold Award for Best Performances by an actress.
Catch up with season 1 of “Lauren” here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKYfdO5LFDs
Season 2 trailer:
Jennifer Beals in Washington this week
Jennifer was a special speaker at this year’s Truth and Justice Summit hosted by Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN) on April 17th in Washington DC
The 2013 Summit on Military Sexual Violence drives the reform of Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs policies and provide opportunities to educate members of Congress.
Jennifer talked about ending sexual assault in the military and changing Veterans Affairs practices to better support survivors of military sexual trauma. She also spoke about her research for her role as Major Stone in the WIGS series Lauren
Jennifer encouraged military sexual assault survivors to share their stories, not take any bullshit on Capitol Hill, “to be courageous is to tell your life story with your whole heart, love is the shield, truth is the sword”
Pictures for this event in our gallery
Full speech:
Jennifer also lobbied lawmakers to pass the Safe Chemicals Act. She met this week with leaders on Capitol Hill to press for legislation that would make chemicals used in common household items like cleaners and children’s products safer. She said: ’We look to our government to provide our basic rights of clean air and water and yet right in front of us, in things we may be exposed to everyday, like our couches, cleaning fluids, toys, makeup or synthetic playing fields lie toxic chemicals that have for the most part gone untested in their effect on human health’
Celebrating 30 years of Flashdance
“First, when there’s nothing but a slow glowing dream…”
It was in the early years of MTV, a revelation in music history, when Paramount Pictures released a movie called “Flashdance” on April 15, 1983.
As we all know, the movie tells the story of Alex Owens (Jennifer Beals) who works as a welder by day and dancer at night. A young girl’s dream of wanting to become a ballet dancer against all odds. Paramount Pictures did not really believe in the box office potential of the movie and albeit the mixed reviews, the film was a worldwide smash hit that became a pop culture phenomenon, grossing over $150 million and featuring an Award-winning soundtrack.
What is the secret of Flashdance, of its longevity? It’s hard to tell, nobody can foresee whether or not a storyline will touch people’s hearts as much as it did. Flashdance included the right ingredients: an encouraging tale about following one’s dreams, about love, friendship, integrity; a fairly unknown, beautiful young actress, fancy clothes and last but not least good music. In the first two weeks following the opening, the soundtrack sold 700,000 copies. Some sequences almost seemed like a gigantic videoclip, a new tool that later that year would also boost Michael Jackson’s career (Thriller). Read more >>
Jennifer Beals to attend SWAN Summit
Jennifer will be the special guest speaker at the SWAN (Service Women’s Action Network) Summit on Military Sexual Violence to be held on April 17th-18th in Washington DC, it was announced today by Anu Bhagwati, SWAN’s executive director.
The Summit gives survivors and their families the opportunity to share their experiences with congress members, policy experts and one another, and features key panels by law and policy experts on major topics involving military sexual violence and survivors’ access to justice.
Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN) is a civil rights organization that works to secure equal opportunity and the freedom to serve in uniform without the threat of discrimination, harassment or assault, and to secure quality health care and equal benefits for women veterans and their families.
Jennifer and Troian Bellisario’s WIGS series “Lauren”, which second season is airing mid April, focuses on sexual assault in the military.
For more information about the Summit , visit http://truthandjusticesummit.org and this link
