I don't do it very often, but the last few nights I've been binging on a television series called Red Oaks. My friend turned me on to it, and I'm finding it very entertaining. What peaked my interest is that the story starts out with the lead character playing the part of a tennis coach at the Red Oaks Country Club. Of course that led me to think about my tennis and country club days and of my son who currently works as a tennis coach. Plus the tennis shown in Red Oaks is pretty good to watch. But that's not all that goes on. Here's what Google has to say about it: "It's the summer of 1985, and NYU student David lands a summer job at the Red Oaks Country Club in New Jersey. As the assistant tennis pro, he rubs elbows with the clientele, as well as his fellow employees. And they all have advice to offer him on how he should be planning for the rest of his life. His father urges him to buckle down and improve his grades ("a C is a Jewish F!" he tells his son, just before collapsing … [Read more...]
Come on over to the Sunscreen Film Festival West
Our son and daughter-in-law's film, "Gentlemen's Fury," will be shown at the Sunscreen Film Festival tomorrow, Saturday, October 7 at 5 pm in Hermosa Beach, CA. Please come on over and become a part of all the excitement. The film is hilarious. Go to http://ssffwest.com/ for more info and tickets. Gentlemen's Fury is about a professional tennis player, Aaron Faust, who goes on a desperate mission to prove that tennis is not a soft sport by punching an opponent and joining a cult. He had a promising career as a professional tennis player. But he also had a few issues. Suspended by the ATP for brawling with an opponent, his life has taken a turn for the worse. During a particularly dark period, he encounters Dwayne, an intense and charismatic zealot, who recruits Aaron for Gentlemen's Fury, an underground tennis league that just might not be strictly about tennis. Gentlemen's Fury stars: Ben Sharples, Jake Head, Audrey Ellis Fox, Kyle Leibovitch, Taishi … [Read more...]
We celebrate in May
With Mother's Day and my birthday and our anniversary in the month of May, we had a lot of celebrating to do. We also celebrated the online release of our son's new movie, Gentlemen's Fury, now streaming on Vimeo On Demand. Believe me, in the old days when I first started going to movies I never would have dreamed we could see new releases from our television sets. So here are a few photos from this May and one from our wedding day, May 28, forty-seven years ago. And yes, they all said it would never last. May 28, 1970 May 28, 2017 May 23, 2017, release of Gentlemen's Fury on Vimeo On Demand One more thing. My memoir, Leaving the Hall Light On was released on Mother's Day, 2011. It now has 218 reviews on Amazon and is ranked 4.3 out of five stars. Plus last month it was on a list compiled by Erin Burba of BookRiot of the 100 Must-Read Biographies and Memoirs of Remarkable Women. So I celebrate the anniversary of that event too. … [Read more...]
Introducing Gentlemen’s Fury – a hilarious new film
WATCH IT TODAY! GENTLEMEN'S FURY TENNIS MOVIE PREMIERES MAY 23RD Gentlemen's Fury, a comedy feature film about an ATP player whose Johnny Maclike temper lands him in a league that might not be strictly about tennis, premieres today, May 23, 2017 on Vimeo On Demand. Starring Ben Sharples (Flight 7500), Jake Head (Ted) and Audrey Ellis Fox (Law & Order: SVU), Gentlemen's Fury is a cross between Fight Club and Dodgeball that makes a raucous commentary on the plight of the male tennis player, as well as tennis itself. (And in case you didn't already guess, Ben is my son.) For more information and to watch the trailer, please click here. To contact Ben Sharples, please email: ben@golddoorfilms.com *** Here's a wonderful interview with Ben and his wife, Marissa, who also played a key role in the making of the film. Tennis Gets Its Ace by Neil Feineman It was, as dinner parties go, your pleasant, basic good time -- until a guest, fully aware of Ben … [Read more...]
