Earlier this week, Ping Pong Summer star, Susan Sarandon made a guest appearance on Lifetime’s Project Runway. Sarandon opened a string of ping pong social clubs in New York City, Milwaukee, Toronto, and Los Angeles. Sarandon challenged the dueling Project Runway teams to create uniforms for the employees working at SPiN Galactic, New York’s ping pong club. Sarandon and the Project Runway judges ordered the competing teams, Team Keeping … READ MORE
Ping Pong Summer, the independent film produced and shot entirely in Ocean City, MD this past fall has recently received a $50,000 grant for postproduction efforts and responsibilities. More than 160 films were considered to receive the San Francisco Film Society’s Kenneth Rainin Foundation grant; only six films were selected as winners. The San Francisco Film Society’s Kenneth Rainin Filmmaking Grants are awarded two times each year to select … READ MORE
Ping Pong Summer is a coming-of-age comedy centered on a summer vacation to Ocean City, MD in 1985, ping-pong, and hip-hop. The cast of the film includes stars like Susan Sarandon, Lea Thomson and John Hannah. In order to be a realistic coming-of-age story, most of the teenage leads are non-professional actors. The idea was to find typical teenagers so that they could accurately portray, by sheer personal experience, … READ MORE
Writer/Director Michael Tully hasn’t kept his fondness for Ocean City, MD or the nostalgic vacations of his youth a secret. In fact, he’s written a comedic homage to his memories in Ping Pong Summer, the movie currently filming in Ocean City. Tully’s film stars a young cast—all from Maryland and Virginia, and features Ocean City, MD native Emmi Shockley as the female lead. Ping Pong Summer’s cast also includes … READ MORE
Last Friday evening, September 7th, hundreds of would-be stars lined up at the Holiday Inn, Oceanfront on 67th St. in Ocean City, MD hoping to have their dreams fulfilled. The crowd answered the open-casting call for the film Ping Pong Summer, which is set to begin shooting in Ocean City, MD. The call was announced last week, revealing that Ping Pong Summer casting was looking for a few individuals … READ MORE
Big names are soon to make the trip to Ocean City, MD. Susan Sarandon, Amy Sedaris, John Hannah—a trifecta of star power and talent, these actors are all part of the soon-to-begin shooting film, Ping Pong Summer. But these well-known actors are actually stepping in as the supporting cast. The lead roles are all to be played by teenagers, and most are from Maryland. A 16-year-old Ocean City local … READ MORE
Chimpanzee is the latest film from Disneynature, the people who brought us the gorgeously shot Planet Earth series. This time around they have teamed up with the Jane Goodall Foundation to bring us the story of a chimpanzee tribe living deep in the rain forest of West Africa. Goodall’s research has always fascinated me so I’ve been looking forward to seeing this one for some time. I was a … READ MORE
Just before midnight last Thursday I sat down with nearly a hundred local movie patrons in an Ocean City, MD theater eager to get a first look at the Hunger Games movie. Like so many others these past few weeks I found myself swept up in the hype that is the hunger games phenomena, and for good reason. The movie is based on the 2008 best seller from Suzanne … READ MORE
Dr Suess’ The Lorax is the latest children’s CGI blockbuster to hit theaters in 3-D this winter, and it may be worth the hefty ticket price for most Suess enthusiasts and for those of you who can’t get enough of the deep screen experience. I opted for the 2-D version this time. There are several scenes that were set up perfectly for the cutting edge technology, like the Once-lers … READ MORE
The Secret World of Arrietty is a wonderful new family film from the legendary Japanese Studio Ghibli (the masterminds who brought us Ponyo and Spirited Away) that follows one tiny family on an extraordinary adventure in the over-sized world they inhabit. Disney produced the English version of this movie and in many ways it feels like a good match. Although Arrietty stands in stark contrast to the in-your-face 3-D … READ MORE