Halle Berry, Steven Spielberg, Mickey Fisher and GCAC!
It seems like only a short time ago, Mickey Fisher was living here at Grand Central Art Center, with his partner CSUF student Julie Cardia, who graduated this May with her MFA Theatre Arts in Acting. As a filmmaker, writer and director, Mickey lent us his talents, working with two of our GCAC artists-in-residence to create short documentary films on their projects.
The first documentary short film was created in July of 2012, with artist Adam Moser. Through his project, Moser attempted to realize his lifelong dream of playing in the big leagues by trying out for Major League Baseball (MLB). Recognizing he was not alone in this dream, Moser invited individuals from Grand Central Art Center’s Downtown Santa Ana community to join him, forming a 9-member tryout team, the Cut-Off Men.
In June of 2013, Mickey worked with GCAC once again, this time with artist Carmen Papalia, creating a short documentary on the artists walking performance Mobility Device. Papalia started using a white cane when he began to lose his vision nearly ten years ago. For one day, through his performance piece, he replaced his cane with The Great Centurion Marching Band of Century High School, Santa Ana.
Wait, what are we talking about? It has only been a short time since they both lived here, as Julie and Mickey moved out of their GCAC apartment in April, just two months ago, but so much has happened.
This is where we get to the Halle Berry and Steven Spielberg connection…
Last year, while living at GCAC, Mickey entered his script for EXTANT into the TrackingB TV Pilot Contest. The script made it to a finalist slot in the competition, where it caught the eye of a individual involved in the review process. This individual championed the work. Long story short, the script was picked up by Steve Spielberg and his Amblin TV, then pitched to CBS, who orders 13-episodes straight to series.
If that was the end of the story, it would be amazing in itself, but it’s not. Apparently, Halle Berry got wind of the script and expressed interest. She is quoted as saying, â“I’m always on the lookout for amazing roles and when you see material that contains this strong of auspices, nuance and complexity it compels me to run toward it no matter the medium.â” Yes, Berry landed the lead role, along side actor Goran Visnjic (from ER fame), and Pierce Gagnon.
So get ready, as EXTANT premieres on CBS June 9, 9pm/8central here in the US. For our friends in the UK, you can watch it on July 10 through Amazon Prime Instant Video, which nabbed exclusive UK rights.
Want to read more about Mickey Fishers amazing journey this past year? You can check it out in this <a href=”Variety article.
Much continued success to Mickey and Julie, thank you for all your contributions to GCAC during your time living with us. Come back and visit often, WE MISS YOU!