Press Kit

CONTENT

Eleven-year-old Lina sits on her bed with her friend Olive, gazing longingly out the window. Downstairs, her mother sits at a desk working at her computer. In Lina’s imagination, she is a princess locked in a tower, her mother is an evil witch

Instead of helping Lina with her chores, Olive convinces Lina that she must escape from her room into the enchanted forest behind the castle. Lina thinks it is impossible, but Olive says she must, as Lina is a princess and the people need her.

The girls will try anything to sneak out of Lina’s bed-room, but many obstacles stand in their way. The girls must

dragon.

Will Lina be able to use her imagination to reach the enchan-ted forest or will it be her very imagination that gets in her way?

Plot Synopsis

Katie & LeAire pose for

pictures!

Katie shows off her muscles!

LeAire & Katie play on set!

OLIVE || Climbing the LAdder Productions || 2012

CONTENT

05

Like a school recess, the set of Olive was “playful.” Imagination was used just as much off camera as it was on. The crew and cast of the movie created and played many different games between shots and on lunch breaks. The two main characters in

-cupy time in between shots. A favorite game of the crew was a guessing game. Katie would ask the question, “When is my dad ‘s birthday?” The crew competed against eachother by using process of elimination, to get the right answer. Whichever crew-member answered the most questions correctly between shots was the winner. Daniel Quackenbush, our sound recorder, aced the

The two main characters, Katie (Lina) and LeAire (Olive), did not

production began. Their friendship on camera was no act; their conversations and games continued even director Gaby yelled,

The most amazing part about being on set was the transfor-mation of the little girl ‘s bedroom. Originally, the house belonged to a young man who recently graduated from college. The room

the crew completely transformed the room into a pink and purple

the room looking any other way.

Production NotesFilming: July 14-15, 2012

OLIVE || Climbing the LAdder Productions || 2012

Horror House and a Sundance script winner, EMIT. She just shot

Horror House and EMIT, a Sundance script winner. She just shot

Katie lives in Denver, Colorado during the school year and spends her summer working as an actress in Los Angeles. She has a younger sister, Alyssa, 7, who also acts.

Katie’s favorite movies to date are Dolphin Tale and Hunger Games. Dolphin Tale because it is based on a true story, proving that miracles really do come true. Hunger Games because it’s a fast

Katie says. What she loves most about acting is that she gets to make new friends, go on adventures that feel like they’re real and, of course, she gets paid (most of the time).

Katelyn Hunter, better known as Katie on set, plays the part of Lina. At 9-years-old, she has had much experience playing the lead

Katie began acting at the age of six, working on Zero Hour. She continued to pave her way in the industry as the lead in The Miss-

was a supporting actress in Burn Child and Blood Rush.

Katelyn HunterLina

OLIVE || Climbing the LAdder Productions || 2012

Eight-year-old actress LeAire George plays the part of Olive. LeAire was born in Japan, but lived in Italy most of her life. LeAire made moved from Japan to Italy because her mother is in the military and it was time for rotation. She has been performing since she was six-years old and only recently moved to Los Angeles with her family to peruse her career professionally.

Loretta Devine, Vanessa Williams and Rockmond Dunbar and the

My Funny Valentine, where she acted as a young student in the

the set of Daughter of Fortune, directed by Dawn Kamoche, playing the part of Daisy Mae.

LeAire now lives in Chino Hills, California and is pursuing her passion for the arts. LeAire’s ambition is to one day have her

of LeAire’s is win an Oscar one day.

LeAire GeorgeOlive

OLIVE || Climbing the LAdder Productions || 2012

Hailing from Glen Ellyn, Illinois, Molly

Carolina, as a junior working to acquire her BFA in acting. Molly grew up loving to watch movies, television and plays, as they provided opportunity for her to escape to a different world. “I am constantly amazed by [movies] ability to highlight the human experience and connect with people on a raw, emotional level, as well as an intellectual level,” she said. This is something she hopes Olive can do with the explorer in all of us.

Growing up, Molly never saw herself working in the entertainment industry. However, during her freshman year of college, Molly threw logic to the wind, took an acting class and has never looked back. Since then, she has acted in several Elon productions, including Dog Sees God, Macbeth, Many Sparrows and Snapshot Memories. She takes inspiration from Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp. As ac-tors who completely transform themselves on screen for roles and yet stay so true to themselves off screen, Molly looks to emulate both of their careers as she grows in this industry.

The plot of Olive came from an unshakable idea to write a story

was such a huge fan of Mr. Rogers and his imaginary neighborhood, or because I have experienced that feeling of loneliness where the only friends you have are the ones you create in your own head,”

most of the games she played as a child involved complex imaginary people and places, based on her favorite movies and books.

Molly enjoys playing volleyball, reading, cooking and watching absurd amounts of television and movies. She hopes to move to Los An-geles after graduation to peruse her career in the entertainment industry.

Molly DoughertyWriter & Producer

OLIVE || Climbing the LAdder Productions || 2012

Olive’s director and co-producer is Gabriela Leibowitz, Elon University student ma joring in Media Arts and Entertainment with a concentration in cinema. Gabriela is originally from Baltimore, Maryland.

production to date, Gabriela is no stranger to the big screen. She has

including Duality, Food is Fuel and A Day at Broad Acres. Her inspirations come

from the artists, directors and stories that she loves the most. “If I could be half as great as Quentin Tarantino or Wes Anderson one day, that would be pretty awesome,” she says.

Her incredible passion for cinematography started when she was only seven years old when she insisted her parents knew that she would someday, as she puts it, become a “cameraman for the movies.” This youthful connection is the same one that ties

throughout her adolescence. “With Olive, I have a way of expressing my imagination on screen” Gabriela says. She directly relates to the movie as it captures the innocence and imagination of a child and provides a platform for some incredible visuals.

While the soon-to-be senior at Elon University has one year of

Hollywood post-graduation as soon as possible.

Gabriela LiebowitzDirector & Co-Producer

OLIVE || Climbing the LAdder Productions || 2012

Cast & Crew Cast

Lina Olive MomKatie Hunter LeAire George Gemma Bishop

CrewWriter

Molly Dougherty

ProducersMolly Dougherty & Gaby Leibowitz

DirectorGaby Leibowitz

PhotographyChris Bosak

EditorChris Bosak

MusicRobert Watts

Sound MixingDan Quackenbush

Unit PublicistsConor Ambrose & Emily Swapp

Script Supervisor Tina Tozzi

MakeupTina Tozzi

Art Direction Molly Dougherty

Costuming Molly Dougherty

Sometimes your imagination can be your best friend.

OLIVE || Climbing the LAdder Productions || 2012