Arlene Haight St. Stephen, New Brunswick Christmas Lodge DVD
During a weekend trip to the mountains, Mary (Erin Karpluk) finds herself at the now-dilapidated lodge where she spent the holidays with her family growing up. She becomes determined to restore the building to its former glory. Inspired by her grandfather and guided by her grandmother in heaven, Mary throws herself into the project, and during the process finds herself drawn to Jack (Michael Shanks), a handsome man who loves the lodge as much as she does. Historically unlucky in love, this chance encounter allows Mary to renew her faith in life and discover her one true love. For an uplifting story about the importance of faith, family and the true holiday spirit, go to the Christmas Lodge. - Christian Cinema
"Christmas Lodge" marks the acting debut of CCMA award-winning artist Victoria Banks. The movie also features her original songs. Victoria plays "Cathie" the main character's sister. "Cathie is a busy lady," explains Victoria, "She's the mother of two boys, and she's married, and she also works as a nurse." She adds, "The cold hard reality of life is that sometimes you have to move forward and you have to let go of the people and the places that you love, but there are times when it's important to hold on to those things to and fight for them, and the lead character in this movie does."
How did Victoria fare playing a nurse? "My acting coach warned me to ask for my stethoscope and wear it for as long as I could before shooting my scenes," Victoria reveals, "I tried to put it on and take it off over and over again until it was second nature, and I still hit myself in the face with it a few times on camera. I also had to take someone's blood pressure, so part of my job was to watch a bunch of YouTube videos to see exactly how the cuff is positioned, how you pump it up, and how to put the stethoscope on the brachial artery."
Acting is quite different from performing music onstage, and Victoria was thankful that she was surrounded by professionals who put her at ease during her first movie production. "The lead role - my sister - was played by a wonderful actress named Erin Karpluk (from CBC's "Being Erica"). We had a pretty intense scene together where I had to give her some "tough love". In real life, confrontation makes me uncomfortable, so it's a bit of a struggle for me to be blunt and direct with a stranger. But when she delivered her lines to me, she made me love her and be exasperated with her at the same time, just like a sister would. So it felt natural."
You can download "Christmas Lodge" from iTunes or order it from Amazon:
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Douglas Beardy, Ontario Canada - Rebecca Black's debut novel
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debut novel "From Away"
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Black's debut novel "From Away", and a holiday Booklover's
