Gardner's Almanac 🍁 SHARON GARDNER ~ Happy thanksgiving 🍂 |
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Happy Holidays! The season of gratitude and giving is here and I am feeling blessed to have all of you in my life. Thank you for the contribution of energy and unique perspective each of you shares with your many communities of family, colleagues, friends, and associates. This entire world is made up of US - we humans - and the natural creatures and ecosystems, industrial frameworks, social institutions, ineffable life force, and cultural expressions that exist and we continue to evolve, or devolve, as the case may be. I’m grateful that we have the power to step back and breathe, and appreciate where we are right now, together, and to choose to tell stories that carry us forward on our individual and collective journeys. Thank you so much. |
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11/29/22 BATTLE JAM featuring The MUTHERFATHERS Join me and The MutherFathers 7pm, Tuesday, November 29th for the Mom & Dad Band BattleJam at The Venice West to Benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Venice We take the stage at 8pm to kick off the evening and I’ll be singing classics from The Pretenders, INXS, Jr. Walker & The All-Stars, and The Rolling Stones, and backing up my fellow MF’s to keep the dance party rocking. Bring your dancing shoes and your applause to help us win the title of Best Westside Parent Rock Band! |
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JUST WRAPPED ~ A film encompassing themes of body autonomy, the legacy of secrets, and the push-pull of mother-daughter relationships, Of Silence And Song follows a Chinese-American mother trying to celebrate her 8-year-old daughter's birthday while she navigates through a recent divorce and an unwanted pregnancy in Texas. I stepped into a character unlike any I’ve played before and had a great experience working with director Dai Leyi, Grace Mar, and Alex Jiang and her ace production team. Starring Kim Jiang Dubaniewicz and Lynne Bolen, this dramatic short will complete post in May ’23 and be followed by film festival screenings. I’ll keep you updated on the schedule. |
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OF SILENCE AND SONG BTS photos Heading to set as May, whose complicated personal journey brings her to support another woman on a very different path. (above) On set with director Dai Leyi (center) and actor Grace Mar (left) A light moment with Grace on our day-for-night shoot (below left) May passes through a stranger’s kitchen, circa 1969 (below right) |
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ME TIME with Kevin Hart, Regina Hall, Mark Wahlberg now on NETFLIX |
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(above: Sharon with Kevin Hart and the director John Hamburg [center in mask] in the background) ME TIME held the top spot as the #1 Movie on NETFLIX in the U.S. for 12 Days & the #1 Movie in Mexico for 7 Days. It’s been a joy to see this wacky, heartfelt comedy find a large audience. Not only was it a blast to play with Kevin, Regina Hall, Luis Gerardo Mendez, director John Hamburg, and my fellow agents-of-change at the gala, but learning about the ripples a film can initiate in our lives brings another layer of meaning. What a pleasure it’s been to listen to the feedback from my parenting communities about what a fun release it was to kick back together, watch the movie, and laugh, and how much they related to the relationship dynamics. I love the way the fizzy energy and vulnerability inherent in comedy can shift perspectives and connect people in new ways. More, please! (below: 10/27/21 - ME TIME Wrap Party with fellow philanthropists Connie Chen, Kieran Roberts, and Shyaam Karra) |
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Did you get your fill of ghost stories this spooky season? The gothic thriller "The Portrait”, starring Natalia Cordova-Buckley, Ryan Kwanten and Virginia Madsen, will have a top-secret screening next month and I can’t wait to see it. In the vein of Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture Of Dorian Grey” and the Henry James classic “The Turn Of The Screw”, this uncanny feature was shot at an estate steeped in the residue of faded glory, the 100-year-old Villa Narcissa, which is rumored to be “haunted” by an unhappy spirit. This chilling tale debuts in 2023 on a major streamer. British duo writer/producer David Griffiths and director Simon Ross create an eerie atmosphere which envelops this story in an uncanny beauty. In keeping with the mystery, mum’s the word on my role. |
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I just wrapped post-production ADR on August 25th for this intense feminist thriller "The Death That Awaits" with Paul Johansson, Megan Lawless, Katya Martin, and Ron Yuan. I play Angela, a mother confounded by her daughter’s mysterious illness and trapped in emotional isolation by her own rigid commitment to keeping up appearances. LEFT: Between shots on set as “Angela" |
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Penned by Rachel Kiley and directed by the multi-talented Richard J. Lee, the movie centers on my on-set daughter Nina (Megan Lawless) and her caregiver Cassie (Katya Martin), as a transformation rips the family apart. This thriller is heading to festivals in 2023, and I’ll keep you posted so you can meet me at a screening near you! |
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3/ 31/22: The Death That Awaits Wrap Party with on-set daughter Megan Lawless and Paul Johansson |
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Lunch break, family-style, with Sharon’s on-set daughter Megan Lawless and Megan’s real mom, also named Sharon! |
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Here I am with Ron Yuan, Megan Lawless, and Tim Gabriel as a happy family on our final day on set. |
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A Chekhovian short with a blend of comedy and pathos from Swedish writer/director Erika Apelgren and Venezuelan cinematographer Eduardo Whaite, “B.F.F.R.” centers on Angelica, a lonely tech entrepreneur who is a bit of Yin to the Yang of “Me Time”’s Delphine. Finding herself isolated to the point of despair after a trauma in young adulthood leaves her shattered, Angelica makes one final attempt to forge an emotional connection with another human. Can she break the shell that’s kept her full humanity locked inside? |
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This year we found a handsome 9-foot Nordmann fir from Oregon to bring more light and love to our house. May the joy and peace of the holidays fill your homes. Warmly, Sharon Picking out the xmas tree with the kids this week |
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