Blue Heron International Pictures LLC

 Studio Honors Johnny Duncan    

                             A Hollywood Legend

    The 2010 Blue Heron Awards Barbecue

                     November 14, 2009

Veteran film actor Johnny Duncan is this year's recipient of Blue Heron’s Hollywood Legend Award.

Johnny Johnny Duncan shares a laugh with Charlie Carlson, as Gary Lester and Barry Anderson look on.

A number of television and motion picture VIPs turned out both for Johnny's farewell performance at the Athens Theatre on Friday, as well as the studio's awards banquet on Saturday, November 14.

                                Starlet Paula Carroll turned out to honor a Hollywood Legend.
 

For more than 80 years, Johnny has been a real crowd pleaser, from dancing as a youngster for nickels and dimes, to playing on the silver screen with such Hollywood greats as Bogart and Brando.

           Johnny Duncan, starring as Robin, in the 1949 Batman and Robin serial.

For eleven years, Johnny worked with those loveable rascals -- the East Side Kids. Years later, when Johnny and Clint Eastwood were cast as bullies in a Cheyenne TV episode,  Clint Walker, the star of the show, went up to Johnny and said, “I know you. You're one of them East Side Kids!”

Walker didn't recognize newcomer Eastwood, but he sure knew Johnny.

Johnny also recalled how he and Lee Marvin talked Marlon Brando into taking a motorcycle ride with them, despite the studio's order prohibiting Brando from riding motorcycles. Johnny ended up teaching Brando how to ride, a skill Brando found useful when cast in the leading role of The Wild Ones, with Johnny riding a motorcycle by his side in the film.

FMPTA Honorary Member Johnny Duncan presents Charlie Carlson with a Crystal Reel for his work as associate producer for Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo

 

"Not only is Johnny a great actor, but he is a real crowd-pleaser, and people person as well," said PBS television personality Charlie Carlson. "I was honored to be able to present him with the Hollywood Legend award."

Johnny presenting Gary Lester with a Crystal Reel for Best Director -- Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo.

Stephanie Mason-Teague accepts Blue Heron's first Dottie Carlson Humanitaruian Award on behalf of recipient Marian Tomblin.

Also honored at the company's annual awards event on Saturday was local children's author Marian Tomblin, who received Blue Heron's Dottie Carlson Humanitarian Award.

Los Angeles producer Martin DeLuca, founder of the West Hollywood International Film Festival, was honored with the Blue Heron Patron of the Arts Award. 

        Scott Marlowe recognizes Charlie Carlson, as Richard Lester stands by to present a trophy

                  Additional Honorees:

Ted V. Mikels (Best Theatrical Poster, AZM3: Cloned)

Producers Feliks Pastusiak, Alex Ringer and Charlie Carlson (Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo)

Marsha Goren, Ryzard Zabinski and Moshe Tirosh (Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo)

Director Gary Lester (Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo) 

Lester and Carlson were also honored for their promo card for the PBS TV show Weird Florida : Roads Less Traveled.

Two of Blue Heron’s animal stars received trophies that will be displayed near their beds.

Miss Scarlet, the neglected pooch who has turned into a sensational media darling, received the Best Canine Award for her performance in Ted V. Mikels' upcoming blockbuster, Astro Zombies M3: Cloned.

            Ted V. Mikels' Astro Zombies are on a rampage. Where's Miss Scarlet?

Blue Heron's award-winning director Gary Lester headed up Mikels' second unit production team in Florida and cast Miss Scarlet in a barbecue scene in which the Astro Zombies grilled people rather than hamburgers.

Scarlet appeared previously in Henry Blackhart Is Dead, a paranormal thriller released by Blue Heron and now screening on the Internet Movie data Base (IMDB).

She is currently appearing on PBS television stations, with her human co-star Charlie Carlson, in Weird Florida: Roads Less Traveled.

Best Feline award went to Blue Heron's mascot, Leo T. Cat. Lester cast Leo in the Granny scene of Astro Zombies M3:Cloned.

Leo can be seen on IMDb in Fuzzy Little People, Blue Heron's documentary about the plight of shelter animals.

"We love our animals, and we recognized their contribution to our films also," said Gary Lester.

 Hollywood Legend Meets Hollywood Starlet: Johnny Duncan with Paula Carroll (Days of Thunder)

 "This year's affair was the best one ever."

                                                                                          Charlie Carlson

       Stephanie Mason-Teague (ASTRO ZOMBIES M3: Cloned) and Amber Lester (The Seance) 

       Johnny Duncan (Batman & Robin) and Charlie Carlson (Henry Blackhart is Dead)

FMPTA President Carole Ferrill is about to receive a kiss from a Hollywood legend, shortly after making him an honorary member of the Florida Motion Picture & Television Association.

Director Gary Lester (Safe Haven:The Warsaw Zoo) with Johnny Duncan, Charlie Carlson, and FX make-up artist Barry Anderson (George Romero's Day of the Dead)

                (Photos by Gary Lester, Cathy McIlhenny, Robert Reese, and  Paula Carroll)

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Johnny Duncan receives a Lifetime Achievement in Film Gold Cup from FMPTA President Carole Ferrill.

   Scott  Marlowe and Robert Reese present Johnny with a memento from Crypto Man. 

     Richard Lester honors Marian Tomblin for her support of the Florida film industry.

Robert Radez, author of the bestselling book On The Fringe of The Real World, shares a story about his long-time friend, Johnny Duncan.

Charlie Carlson shares some special thoughts about Dottie Carlson, who posthumously received a Blue Heron Gold Cup for her humanitarian accomplishments in protecting animals and the environment.

          Claire Soria and husband Jerry. Claire's story was told in Deliver Us From Evil.

                                             Amber and Danielle, stars of The Seance.

 Matinee movie-goer Owen Sliter is reluctant to leave The Book Store in Ormond after watching Johnny perform as Robin in a serial chapter, and as Gene Autry's sidekick in Trail To San Antone. (Photo by Danielle Interdonato).
 

                                        (Photos by Owen Sliter)

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       The 2008 Blue Heron Awards Breakfast

                    Henry Blackhart Is Dead

Producer Charlie Carlson presents the Outstanding Director Award to Gary Lester.

                   Bogart & Friends

Bogart's family reminding everyone of the July premiere of Bogart & Friends.

              Henry Blackhart Is Dead

Actress Dot Diehl celebrates with Rob Soria, one of the last of the Universal Studios Ghostbusters.

                                        Deliver Us From Evil 

Holocaust survivor Claire Soria presents Gary Lester with a plaque commemorating the planting of three trees in Israel in Gary's name.

                     Henry Blackhart Is Dead 

The girl with the famous scream on the Blackhart trailer -- along with an actual spookhunter featured in the film -- join Gary in celebrating the Blackhart premiere.

                                         (Photos courtesy of Claire Soria)

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Outstanding Films     

 Receiving Honors

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             Holocaust Film Wins Award

              At Daytona Beach Film Festival

                                          September, 2008

Filmmaker Gary Lester’s award-winning production, Deliver Us From Evil: Claire’s Story, has been selected as Audience Favorite Short Film Winner at the Daytona Beach Film Festival.

Following the Sunday presentation in the News-Journal Performing Arts Center , an appreciative audience remained for about 30 minutes talking with Lester and Holocaust survivor Claire Soria.

Claire Soria visits with filmmaker Rocco Devilliers (The Flyboys) at the Daytona Beach Film Festival. 

The film also screened on the same weekend at the Non-Violence International Film Festival in Ontario, Canada .  

“I am deeply honored,” exclaimed Lester. “Claire’s story offers us all lessons about tolerance, compassion, and empathy – lessons which can bring about a better world if they are taken to heart.”

Deliver Us From Evil: Claire’s Story offers a compelling account of suffering, loss, and endurance. Woven throughout the story are the faces of those who were doomed, but did not yet realize it...faces captured for all time on color film smuggled out of the Warsaw Ghetto.

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                                        Press Release                                                           August 25, 2008

 Holocaust survivor Claire Soria with a basket given to her by her father on her fifth birthday.

In the film, Holocaust survivor Claire Soria describes her childhood in Nazi-occupied Belgium , hidden in a Christian home by a loving elderly couple...until the day the Gestapo knocks at the door.

Deliver Us From Evil premiered at the Jewish Heritage Festival in Daytona Beach, Florida, with an estimated audience of around 10,000.

In August, 2008, Deliver Us From Evil received the Florida film industry’s highest honor – The Crystal Reel Award – from the Florida Motion Picture & Television Association.

The film, with Hebrew subtitles, has been accepted as a permanent resource at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem , as well as the Ghetto Fighters’ House Museum in western Galilee, and Ravensbrueck Concentration Camp Museum in Germany .

Deliver Us From Evil was broadcast nationally on Israel 10 Television on National Remembrance Day, May 1, 2008 , throughout Israel , due to the efforts of associate producer Alex Ringer.

You may visit the Daytona Beach Film Festival website at: http://www.dbff.org                                              

You may also view a slide show of the film at the Non-Violence International Film Festival website in Ontario, Canada at:  

http://nonviolence.bside.com/2008/films/deliverusfromevil_nonviolence2008

Most recently, Deliver Us From Evil  has been honored with an official site on The Internet Movie Data Base, IMDb.

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     Treasure Coast Applauds  Eyewitness To History              

                                  February 8, 2008

Armin Lehmann’s production of Eyewitness To History was a hit with the audience at the 2008 Treasure Coast International Film Festival.

Director Gary Lester led a Q&A after the screening, where viewers praised Lehmann’s story-telling style, as well as the overall look and feel of the production.

"Riveting," said producer/director Jerald Fine, whose film Twilight of Youth also screened at the festival.

Eyewitness To History opened alongside Hannah Montana for a noon matinee on Sunday, February3 at the Rave Motion Picture Theater in Port St Lucie, Florida.

“It gave me goose-bumps listening to the musical score on the theater’s Dolby Surround Sound speakers, " said Executive Producer R.I. Lester, Jr. "Watching Armin along with Gary's visual images on the huge movie screen was an awesome experience.”

“I am both thrilled and honored,” said Director Gary Lester upon receiving  notification from festival officials that the film would be screened. “Armin Lehmann’s story is a major voice for tolerance in a world that seems increasingly intolerant."

Eyewitness To History has been recognized with a "Best Documentary" award at the Daytona Beach Film Festival.

It also had its Southeast Asian premiere in Busan, South Korea, where it screened with Korean subtitles at the Budi International Film Festival.

The Canadian premiere occurred at The Non-Violence International Film Festival in 2008.

        Armin Lehmann: Writer, poet, humanitarian, and international advocate for peace 

Eyewitness To History now screens free on IMDb, The Internet Movie Data Base, where approximately 58 million film fans view their favorite films each month.

To view Eyewitness To History in its entirety, or see the trailer, click here.