"Marquel" The Movie - press release




Robert Enriquez

  Florida native Robert Enriquez is President and owner of Red Baron Picture Corp. and Red Baron Management. He began his career as an actor in regional theatre, feature films and television before going behind the career to produce, direct and management talent. His latest project will be to adapt Emily Skinner’s 2001 novel MARQUEL to a screenplay. Robert hired Emily’s daughter, Marquel Skinner, in 2011 as Unit Production Manager and to act in a small role in his film 3 DAYS IN MAY. Impressed with Marquel’s drive and talent, Robert signed the actress to his Red Baron Management division. It was late 2011 that Marquel shared with Robert her mother’s novel of the same name, MARQUEL.

Emily Skinner, a protégé of Florida’s pulp legend, Harry Whittington, penned the novel in longhand after Whittington blessed the plot weeks before his death in 1989. Emily had set a goal as a 15-year-old to name her first daughter Marquel and write a book with the single name title. It wasn’t until she met Harry Whittington and interviewed him for a local beach newspaper that the story began to take shape and a friendship developed. She learned from this prolific author of nearly 200 novels and screenplays how to plot and write a chapter a day. Emily wrote the novel and shelved it until 2001 and published it in paperback when Marquel was 15 (it is available in print & on Nook & Kindle). Now as an empty-nester, Emily is writing a young adult paranormal novel with her younger daughter’s name, Blair, titled “St. Blair, Children of the Night,” and a sequel to “Marquel.”
Marquel Skinner will star in MARQUEL. She found her passion for acting after finishing a Bachelors degree in Criminology and English at the University of South Florida. Her younger sister, Blair, an aspiring director, used Marquel for a couple of her student films. Realizing how much she loves acting, she attended a Sunscreen Film Festival workshop with the casting director for Twilight (Lana Veenker) and began working with acting coach (Peggy Sheffield). Marquel’s work includes theatre, commercials, student, and films. In 2011 she won the 2011 Suncoast Theatre Award for her role as Toni in “Cactus Flower.” She now resides in Burbank, California and is pursuing a career as a working actor.


Marquel Skinner

Blair Skinner will co-produce MARQUEL. Blair was St Petersburg College’s 2009 Winner for Best Direction for her film noir titled, “Three’s A Crowd.” Skinner interned for Last Call with Carson Daly and E! True Hollywood Story before landing her first film job with the Oscar Winning “The Help.” She met Brunson Green at a Sunscreen Film Festival 2009 Q&A. It was her persistent follow-up with Green that landed Skinner a job on the 2010 Dreamworks Film. In 2011 she invested some of her (“The Help”) earnings to make her first professional short film “Relative Eternity” while also working as a production assistant for Oliver Stone’s “Savages” (to be released summer of 2012). In her spare time she co-wrote and directed a pilot for a new comedy series “Pleasant Pastures.” She resides in Hollywood.

Blair Skinner

Please see our facebook page  http://www.facebook.com/MarquelTheMovie

Tour de TMZ

TMZ Cast member Jen and my husband, Tom (a major TMZ fan)

    On our annual Spring Break visit to see our daughter(s), it was priority one that Tom take a ride on the TMZ bus. We didn't spot any celebrities on the tour and I was a little surprised Jen didn't ask if we had spotted any that day, given that is good content for TMZ, because we actually dined at a lunch spot where the cast and star of Castle, Nate Fillion, were out celebrating the Fillion's birthday at a table in front of the cafe (not on the tour route). How did we know it was Nate's birthday? They were discussing it in earshot. Tim Roth of "Lie to Me" was also dining at a table inside and I've got to say, it's more fun to be among "them" than stalking them. I rank it right up there with seeing a coyote climbing the hillside of the Hollywood sign. We had hiked up to see the Hollywood sign earlier and our oldest daughter pointed out the stray coyote (not to be confused with Wile E. Coyote) because this little guy was on all fours and less animated. We do have random coyote sightings at home in Florida, but it's always one of those news stories about how domestic pets go missing.

   So Nate and Tim you are my coyotes, beautiful animals to observe and watch, but not disturb. Not that I think you would harm our pets, but I'm not getting close enough to find out.

   But regardless of the fact that we didn't see celebrities on the TMZ Tour, it was a fun 6:30 pm ride through Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Thankfully the folks at TMZ had blankets on the open bus as it was cold out. We learned that TMZ refers to the Thirty Mile Zone that is the center of Hollywood and spans a radius of 30 miles and was used to determine how extras got paid in the early days and I believe how the unions determine some of the current wages.

  The tour mixes stops where infamous/famous moments occurred and intertwines video clips to keep you from getting bored. Traditional sightseeing tours depend on the guide to keep you interested, but since this is show oriented, we get to watch TV periodically and ride, almost like a bunch of kids watching a DVD while dad drives the family across country (or part of L.A.). Naturally we're playing a road game "who can spot the celebrity" on the side of the road or driving by, but bunch-buggy would have been more successful on that evening.

   My only goal was to see my teacher husband enjoy being part of his favorite 7pm after work habit. Jen was gracious to take a picture with Tom and that was a mission accomplished moment. The only way it could have been better is if Harvey made an appearance or Shaq had stopped our bus! Where is a giant athlete when you need one?

What to expect from your car transport professionals

Ok, this was my 2nd adventure shipping a car to the west coast and I thought I was so smart! The broker would have nothing on me as I was going direct to the transport company this time and cutting out the middle man. Well, not so fast... (remember this word, "Fast")

I found that it's possible in this economy that you could wait forever to get your wheels from point A to point B. It might just be easier to make the drive out to California than hire a transport.

Case in point, I started early. I was shipping the "acting" daughter's car this time in hopes it would arrive by (not the real date) Dec 19th. So I started on November 1st talking to the transport and shared that they had shipped the "film director" daughter's vehicle and could I book directly with them instead of the broker. You know, they could make a little more money that the broker usually takes and I would perhaps pay a little less than last time?

Well, it was 3 weeks of "we're trying to get a full load to return from California" and "Tuesday he is leaving from San Diego" and "Tuesday he is leaving from San Diego" and wait a minute, I thought he left last Tuesday? Isn't the truck in Florida now? So I gave them another Tuesday and still they were in San Diego, so I asked my husband to call his best friend, a trucker, to see what connections he had and hubby of course spent the weekend watching The History Channel while I'm handling other things and Monday I'm like, "wait, did you call?"

NO!

So I email trucker-wife and she tells me to call her hubby the trucker-friend and now I have a truck that is ready to load the car in 20 minutes (not trucker-friend's truck, but someone in his sphere of influence) and I've still got to load it full of daughter-stuff (which they don't want you to do) before it goes on the truck. Daughter is in NY on a birthday adventure (not hers) with friends and I just stopped everything (my work) and loaded the car.

I called the awaiting transport to learn he really needs to get out of Dodge and I just let him go, figuring I was just panicking by dealing with the prior (Lost in San Diego) transport, this was going to be easy.

WRONG!

So back to the internet to look for candidates for my transport dollars! Yes, we agreed to help the girls make the journey west.

Now I know what you are thinking, why doesn't your trucker-friend transport the car? Because that isn't what he trucks and he doesn't have transport buddies waiting for him to send them a car, otherwise I wouldn't be telling you this story. DUH! He happened to have a neighbor transporting and well, you don't need to know all that...

So I'm on the master site of all transport reviews and I'm ready to ship, less a bike that I can't figure out how to dismantle to shove under the black sheets that concealed a mound of packed duffle bags (full of fragile dishes and glassware in bubble wrap). Really, the bubble wrap party was a week earlier over wine and reruns of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Oh and only daughter and I could handle the duffle bags, as one wrong move and it would look like the Wolverine was trying to break out. So it was probably better that I couldn't figure out the bike thing.

Where was I? So I'm freaking out, I'm trying to work and now I'm 1-1/2 weeks from delivery date (when daughter would be in California) and thinking, she'll have to rent a car if hers doesn't arrive on time?

So you're saying, "hold the phone," why isn't the daughter handling this? Because, I'm the one with prior experience. Remember... the opening sentence... I figured this would be easy.

Ok, so now I'm Googling car rentals to see what that costs and I'm ready to just jump in the car and start driving, because this is really pissing me off!

So I call the AAAAA+ rated transport after scrolling through a gazillion reviews and I get an intelligent woman on the phone and tell her everything you know so far and she says are you willing to pay $50 more if I get a driver sooner. SURE!

Now I'm happy, I have a brokered transport (and paying more, but who cares by now), and I don't have to worry anymore and bingo, she calls me the next day with a truck that's ready by 6 pm Friday and I arrange for hubby to meet the truck after work because I'm going to be at a tradeshow and life is good.

The transport day arrives and hubby gets a call that the transport is 30 minutes away. I'm still not home. I get home an hour after the call. The transport calls and the truck is 30 miles away, deja vu San Diego. So we go to dinner. We come back from dinner and call the transport and they are still 30 miles away. They call us at midnight and have 2 flat tires and they'll come in the morning.

Saturday arrives and we get a call that the transport is 10 minutes from our house. I just stayed in my pajamas. "They are probably on the other coast," I told hubby. He cheerfully dresses and so I eventually follow suit-- in time.

Now he calls the transport back after an hour and they say they can't come down our street there are too many trees that can scratch the cars. "Ok, we'll meet you at the vacant shopping center down the road."

We were so naive! We drove daughter's car and I drove my my car and we waited, and waited and waited.

They must have done a Google Earth to tell us about the trees, because they were still hours from us and we got another call that they were 1 mile away and I just started making lunch and my husband took the bike to a bike shop to get packed for shipping.

And 30 minutes later I get a call that while hubby's out he's found the transport truck and I needed to bring the car to them?

Ok, so (I've left a lot more out for the sake of time) they have to unload the whole truck to get daughter's car on the top (last delivered) position. We watched, a lot more time passes and I notice they left her window down!

So I said, we can't leave until the window is up. So hubby agrees to stay with the transport and watch. Oh and I didn't mention, there is a language barrier.

As it turns out, they had a near-dead vehicle that wouldn't start consistently and using some chain contraption (I'm repeating hubby's story because I left), they couldn't get it up on the truck and the stress snapped the chain and it ricochetted back and cracked the vehicle's windshield. Hubby felt terrible for them and went out and bought a winch for them to use and finally they were fully loaded and ready to leave and then my husband looked up and noticed the window was still down on our daughter's car!

So he stopped them again and they gladly took care of her window. He watched.

When the car arrived in California, it was more lies on where the transport was, and I just said, "tell me you've not entered the state, because I know you are nowhere near your destination."

The car arrived 3 days early and we found a friend to receive the car in, another long story... And everything was in perfect condition. Both transport deliveries did a good job of taking care of the car. But why, why? All the headaches with telling the truth? I'm ok with the truth.

They only had to say, "we have a piece-of-crap-mobile on the truck that is costing us time and we can't dump it, so it's going to be several hours before we get there."

Was that so hard?

It's Pilot Season for One and ALL

Blair went home to Cali last week and Marquel is moving out to LA shortly, just in time for pilot season so it could be a chance for her to get some work immediately. Blair is quickly editing a pilot she and a friend wrote, directed and shot last month and they already have interest! After seeing some recent movie trailers I noticed an emerging trend, so I think they've got something.
Being The Film Mom, I just learned a new term, Momanger or Mom/Manager and while I find it cute... is that what Dina Lohan is? My kids have not expressed ANY interest in having me interfere with their developing entertainment opportunities and quite frankly, being their mom is job. I get last minute calls to locate resources, send electronic files, transport vehicles, run errands, find, sew and ship props, read, review scripts/films, fund raise/send money, P.R. (aka family newsletter) and plan family activities. It's never a dull moment and that's what I love!

Remembering Harry Whittington

Well,  I'm pulling an 8 hour Saturday on the new novel, all but the mini-break I am taking to write this post. My work as a sales consultant aside from being a wife, mother and daughter consumes most of my hours. Writing is very hard work when you strive to do a solid job and then you're still not sure.

I have been reminiscing about my mentor, Harry Whittingon, a master of pulp novels, westerns, screenplays, romance novels and more. I hope you are with me in spirit today, Harry, because I could use your fortitude!

Harry was a full time author and wrote as a means to feed his family. That's a tough job in any era. Just the pressure of being the breadwinner is enough to squash the creative process. It's hard to believe 22 years have passed since we worked together.

I just did an internet search and found a picture that I took of Harry. See above. I took that picture when I was writing for a local beach paper! I was surprised to see it and it made me go on a hunt for the article I wrote. Naturally, I have my clippings stored in boxes and my first search didn't produce the article and I haven't the time to continue the hunt til another weekend.
The website does a nice job of reprinting Harry's bio from his Black Lizard books.
 http://pulporiginals.com/Contents-pulp/Whittington-remember.html

Anyway, I'll save my Harry stories for a book tour once I'm done with "St. Blair: Children of the Night." I've got to get back to writing.

"Marquel" on the Shelves of Turnrow Books in Greenwood, MS

I took this picture last summer while visiting our daughter who worked on the movie "The Help." I love the fact that the movie is based on a bestselling novel. The film was shot on location in the small southern town of Greenwood, MS. Blair lived there from July to November and I had the chance to make 2 trips up to see her. Turnrow Books was a hub for many of the cast and crew to grab a bite and something to read during the long breaks in a town with no movie theater.

My novel is pictured in the middle of the store shelf.  I'm not the best marketer of myself, I do a much better job for my clients, but I am getting better. I was very appreciative Turnrow stocked "Marquel."

As we travel more, I am making a solid effort to visit independent booksellers and also promote my work. With the closure of many units of  larger bookstore chains, I feel the smaller stores will have a better survival rate. Call me naive, but I think the more unique the store, the more likely the public will drift in, especially with the big guys absent.

Just a week ago my husband and I drove to a very quaint Micanopy, Florida to "antique." We love going to antique shops/malls and eating in local diners and I am always on the hunt for vintage novels by my mentor, Harry Whittington, but more to come on that subject.

Anyway, where is your favorite bookstore? What makes it special? I'd love to hear from you.

The Film Mom at the film festival

I attended and volunteered for the Sunscreen Film Festival this past weekend and much to my surprise, the films I did get to see, weren't as interesting as prior years. But I didn't get to many. Our daughter Blair The Moviechic actually made very good connections at the Sunscreen Film Festival 2 years ago and has since worked for Harbinger Pictures/Dreamworks on "The Help."

She did all the hard work, networking, staying in touch and landing the job. It's not an easy business to break into if you are timid. Blair is not. She is constantly meeting new people in various aspects of the industry and trying new jobs and braved moving to make it happen. Her short film, "Relative Eternity" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKXCmkYlTQY&feature=digest will be entered into festivals in the latter part of 2011 and 2012.

So I began to ponder what we learned from our earlier research of film schools, UCLA and USC. They stress that the filmmaker's main job is to tell a great story. Many film hopefuls are not writers but visionaries. Like many parents, I thought film school were focused on the technical aspects of production, camera technique, special effects, but in truth, those processes don't mean a thing if you don't have a solid marketable story and that's where the hard work comes in!

Take the block of short films I had the chance to view this weekend, I disappointed at the "lack" of conclusion in many of the comedy shorts. I was spoiled by the quality I saw 2 years ago. The films I saw this year reminded me of the "rushed" but talented films of the "48 Hour Film Competition" we crewed as volunteers for Blair's production. It's understandable that a 48 Hour project would have a less than perfect story, but a festival entry in my view, has to be more.

Now, I do appreciate the filmmaking process and heart that goes behind the shortest of films, but I feel the tweaks these films needed would likely have been stressed through several viewings by family and friends. Afterall, we all spend money to watch entertainment and some quality feedback would go along way in making a promising movie a great short.

The take away for me:

• Lottery stories are overdone and I don't challenge anyone to prove me wrong!
• Don't bring a baby/cute kid or dog into a story without telling us where they went?
• I don't like dance remixes and I definitely don't like movie remixes. Example: one story was basically the "pina cola song" in a non-musical video with few scenes changed around.
• Don't go high quality on the intro if the story doesn't match. I was swept away by the opening of one film only to be bored by the final product.
• Do make sure you have good sound quality. My favorite film was hard to hear.

Ok, I'm just a fan of films, so give me stories to rave about and I'll glad do so.