April 2010 Archives

Renee has officially announced she will be attending the 2010 Los Angeles Burn Relay for the Alissa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation. It will be held on 1 May. The route list is here

Read Renee's message

AUSXIP Renee O'Connor Events:

Watch interviews with Renee from the Burn Relay from 2007 and 2008

view reports and pics from the 2009 Burn Relay

view reports and pics from the 2008 Burn Relay

view pics from the 2007 Burn Relay

view pics from the 2006 Burn Relay

view photos from the 2005 Burn Relay

view photos from the 2003 Burn Relay

Xenan Warr from the site Xena Immortal (A French Xena site) will be interviewing Renee at the French Convention in August 2010.

Xenan would like people to submit their questions to him and he will be selecting them for the interview. The interview will be videotaped and be available on the Xena Immortal site after the convention.

Click here to submit questions

Click here for more information about this convention and to buy tickets

Added a Beyond The Farthest Star Movie Stills gallery to Renee's Photo Galleries.

These images are being added with the permission of Beyond The Farthest Star Movie.

Click here to view

Click here to view the AUSXIP Renee O'Connor Beyond The Farthest Star subsite

The following is from the Beyond The Farthest Star newsletter:

See The Exclusive Renee Interview! We’ve told you it was coming... Now, on the site BeyondTheFarthestStar.com is the exclusive Renee O’Connor video interview from the set of the film. Right before shooting one of the largest scenes of the movie, Renee sits down with us onset. She talks about the story, taking on the role of Maurene Wells, working with the cast, the vision of the director and a host of other topics. She opens up about working on the project and why she chose ‘Beyond’. During the interview, never released behind the scene footage of “Beyond The Farthest Star” accompanies her on-camera talk. As you know, Renee O’Connor plays the wife of Adam Wells and faces the breakdown of her family in the story. See her interview NOW on the site. Let us know what you think by leaving us a comment after viewing

Cast Interview: Renee O'Connor from Beyond The Farthest Star on Vimeo.

Xena Warrior Princess Season 1 is being re-released on DVD on 20 April 2010. The following was posted in the Los Angeles Times about the release:

If you’re nostalgic for warrior princesses, talk about “Xena: Warrior Princess.”

Long before Lucy Lawless was going topless in Starz’ “Spartacus: Blood and Sand,” she was just a warrior bent on overcoming her dark past and saving innocents to redeem herself in the campy ’90s cult TV series. Want to relive that Spartan costume? The first season is now available on DVD. (Tuesday) If you want vampires that don’t sparkle, talk about “American Vampire.”

Click here to buy from Amazon.com

Jeff from Filmnut contacted me to let me know that his hour long interview with Renee back in February 2009 is now available in it's entirety. I have posted it on the AUSXIP Video Renee O'Connor Channel.

FILMNUT INTERVIEWS RENEE O'CONNOR

Renee O’Connor, best known for her role as Gabrielle on Xena Warrior Princess has moved into the indie film world as a Producer (and actress) with the romantic comedy Diamonds and Guns. Filmnut interviewed her for this hour long interview.

Interview date: 29 February 2009

Watch Interview

The new update has been released with the following news:

Goodbye Leonard!

After three weeks, the production waved goodbye to the small town of 2,095 and headed for the streets of Big D! It was a huge company move. The headquarters for the production company was graciously provided by First Baptist Church. It was where the cast changed clothes and completed all makeup transitions, before dispersing to one of many Leonard shoot locations. It is also where the entire cast and crew were well fed by the culinary talents of Shorty’s Texas Catering, with tasty morning breakfasts by Pastor Rob Gore. We will miss the people of Leonard. They were very hospitable and opened their city up to an unknown entity called ‘Beyond’. We will miss Robin and her family at the motel, the DQ, the police, Eddie, Anne Robinson and countless other folks. This wonderful little town is the heart of “Beyond The Farthest Star.” There is so much character and warmth in this city northeast of the metroplex. The story would not be the same without your gift to us. (See the new Behind The Scenes video, “Shooting The Wells’ House” on the site and pictured above.)

View The Todd Terry Interview Now!
Now you can view our first cast interview at BeyondTheFarthestStar.com! Todd Terry stars as Adam Wells in the film. Todd, who was the producers’ local choice for the role, had to step in at the last minute and replace the lead actor from Los Angeles. It was a huge undertaking but Todd tackled the role and our film is stronger due to his powerful performance. Renee O’Connor, playing Maurene Wells, and Todd have dynamic synergy on screen and are the center of the story. Todd also was the lead in Pathlight Entertainment’s award winning, “Still Born” and he took home the Best Actor award for his performance at the 2009 Project 168 competition. Todd has chosen to stay in the Texas area with his family, instead of pursuing a career in Los Angeles but has worked constantly at his craft. He is known for roles in the critically praised, “Arlington Road” with Tim Robbins, the villain in “Cadillac Jack” and the recent independent film, “Fissure.” He also just finished roles in series, “Breaking Bad” and “Friday Night Lights.” When he isn’t acting, Todd runs a real estate business in Dallas. See his interview NOW at the site and look for our next cast interview with Renee’ O’Connor!

Here's a look at the start of filming for Beyond The Farthest Star with Renee.

Behind the scenes: Day one from Beyond The Farthest Star on Vimeo.

Here is a behind the scenes look from the movie Beyond The Farthest Star which features Renee:

Shooting the Wells’ House from Beyond The Farthest Star on Vimeo.

On 3 April I posted a note from the Official Beyond The Farthest Star that if you go to the site, and see a giant button that says "Demand It" - click on it and register. The more names they collect, the demand it button helps show their distributors that there are people who really want to see the film come to their area and that includes outside the US. You can only register once. It takes you info and area and you can only do that once. So, they just need lots of people registering but once each.

The "Demand It" button was faulty and it was reported to the official site and this is their response:

Just want to let you know that the programming issue regarding the Demand It and Register buttons has been corrected on the Beyond The Farthest Star site. This statement will be included in our update coming out tomorrow. Please encourage the fans to try again.

NOTE: Error Messages Appeared If You Attempted To Enter Your Information By Clicking Both DEMAND IT And REGISTER Buttons. The Situation Was A Flaw In Programming And Has Been Corrected. PLEASE TRY AGAIN! The REGISTER button ensures you receive weekly updates as the film continues production and into distribution. The DEMAND IT! button shows our distributor the number of people requesting the film in their area. Thank You!

So if you haven't already and wish to register and also ask for the movie to be in your area, go to the Official Beyond The Farthest Star

Official Xena Fan Club Images for March 2010 continues from February 2010 with episode stills froms from the Season 6 episode 2 "The Haunting of Amphipolis"

Xena is forced to battle Mephistopheles (Anthony Ray Parker) when she returns to Amphipolis with Gabrielle and Eve to find her home haunted by evil.

Click here to view the preview images

More Multimedia can be found here from this episode
Montage | DJWP Synopsis | SLK Review | Screengrabs - DVD

Official Xena Fan Club Images for February 2010 is from the Season 6 episode 2 "The Haunting of Amphipolis"

Xena is forced to battle Mephistopheles (Anthony Ray Parker) when she returns to Amphipolis with Gabrielle and Eve to find her home haunted by evil.

Click here to view the preview images

Here is the updated info about the upcoming convention with Renee in Europe from Xenan Warr:

Well, it has just been announced and it's ready to be sung! Yes, the exclusive and new schedule of the Musical Convention with Renee O'Connor and two more guests has just been published on Ultim'Art's website.

The schedule of the convention here

Important, I tell you once again that the Packages of The Musical Convention are available and if you haven't still bought your Pass, do it now! I was told that they are bought rapidly and that the guest of Buffy and the guest of the mystery show will be announced very soon. So, the Packages will be bought even more rapidly!

Buy right now your Pass here

Here find the step by step way of how to buy your tickets

It's gonna be three days of fun with conferences, autographes and photoshoots but above all, songs, dances and other surprises, each more fun than the last! You were dreaming of a musical show? With your favorite actors? This convention is for you!

A topic has been created on Talking Xena where you can find a lot of infos and help to help you to go to this convention, it's here: http://talkingxena.yuku.com/topic/18539

And, more important, don't forget to buy your Pass!!!

The official Beyond The Farthest Star has video of the first day of shooting

Click here to watch the video

Press Release: Dallas, April 6, 2010 -

The feature film, "Beyond The Farthest Star" is utilizing the web to get its message out to the public while the cameras are still rolling in Dallas. In an effort to build its audience, the filmmakers have established a unique blog site, www.BeyondTheFarthestStar.com.

The site features video footage from the set, news reports, cast bios, interviews, photo stills, blogs and a viral video that are updated in on-going blogs. It also incorporates a registration service allowing the user to register for exclusive on-going updates. Viewers can encourage friends to visit the site and spread the word through Twitter, FaceBook and MySpace.

	Fire engulfs a town square nativity and unleashes a national debate in the feature, "Beyond The Farthest Star".
	Troubled teen Anne, (Cherami Leigh) searches for truth as Stephen, (Tyler Corie) looks on, in the film, "Beyond The Farthest Star".
	Chief Burns, (Barry Corbin) questions a drunk Jackson Tucker, (Jodie Moore) in the film, "Beyond The Farthest Star".
	The small town of Leonard, Texas is politically charged as attorney Joseph Harrison, (Lou Beatty, Jr.) speaks to the media and Adam Wells, (Todd Terry) waits for his opportunity.
	Maureen Wells, (Renee' O'Connor) discovers life has new meaning in the dramatic film, "Beyond The Farthest Star".
	A stranger from the past makes an uncomfortable visit in the feature film, "Beyond The Farthest Star". The film stars Todd Terry as Adam Wells and Renee' O'Connor as Maureen Wells.

The latest Beyond The Farthest Star newsletter has been released and it's choc full of Renee goodies. AUSXIP has been given permission to host Renee images from the movie on the AUSXIP Renee O'Connor Beyond The Farthest Star Subsite I will be adding them shortly to the site but here is the latest pic and bio from the newsletter.

Renee O'Connor as Maureen Wells
One of our brightest stars in "Beyond" is native Texan, Renee' O'Connor. Renee' is best known for her role as Gabrielle in "Xena: Warrior Princess" with Lucy Lawless. The series ran for six seasons from 1995 to 2001. She has continued her impressive career with roles on the independent feature film BOOGEYMAN 2, staring opposite Tobin Bell for XENA producers Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert as well as the SyFy Channel movies, MONSTER ARK and ALIEN APOCALYPSE.

However, she is not only a talented actress, she also is an accomplished writer and director. In 2007, Ms. O'Connor produced her first feature film DIAMONDS & GUNS. In 2009, she wrote and directed her first film WORDS UNSPOKEN. A festival favorite, WORDS UNSPOKEN has already picked up numerous awards. She brings a powerful depth and richness to the role of Maureen Wells. It has been a privilege to see her bring this character to life!

Click here to read more from the newsletter

I received a note from Ben from the Official Beyond The Farthest Star site.

http://beyondthefartheststar.com/

If you go to the site, and see a giant button that says "Demand It" - click on it and register. The more names they collect, the demand it button helps show their distributors that there are people who really want to see the film come to their area and that includes outside the US.

You can only register once. It takes you info and area and you can only do that once. So, they just need lots of people registering but once each.

Renee's new movie, Beyond The Farthest Star Official site has gone live. It has all sorts of information, pics and video

- Cast & Character Bio
Renee’ O’Connor as: Maureen Wells

- Full Cast Info

- About The Movie

- Press Section

- Media: Photos and Video

As many of you know the AUSXIP Charity Auction has ended and I've had my first real 'do nothing, watch videos and be totally lazy' day in a long while. Now back to work...

I'm quite sure that if I asked many fans on how their economic situation is, they would say it's horrible. It is. We've had a terrible 2009 and 2010 seems to be a tad better for some and not so good for others.

This year's auction showed me how much love you all have. How much respect, love and a willingness to dig deep. Xenites are EXTREMELY generous. Even those who didn't win or couldn't bid, gave a little. I was just amazed when I received the first half of the paid list from Starship yesterday. It had people's names on it that didn't win but who contributed, it had people paying extra on top of what they won. I shouldn't have been surprised because that's what you do and have done over the years but this year it's different. Despite the recession, the loss of jobs and other financial burdens, Xenites fans dug deep. That desire to help for the greater good is inspirational. As Lucy said in her message

I have never worked on a show with a fanbase as giving as the XWP gang. I guess it was the nature of the show and its message that formed such a community.

This is very very true. I've been involved in other fandoms and I have NEVER across anything like the Xenaverse. Last week I received an email that I want to share with you all with the writer's permission. It reads in part:

"Knowing that this money is really going some real place and will benefit a good cause which on top makes Lucy happy, is really the main reason for me to spent those "saved" Dollars...

Lucys appreciation of her fans is one of the first things, I realized when first coming to AUSXIP and the Xenaverse, that make her and Renée so special...because I have never witnessed anything like that before. So her letter makes me proud to be part of this giving "gang" ...doing it anyway and it defintiely is a very consious choice to spent this hard earned money for their (Lucy's and Renées, well and AUSXIPs) Charities...because even though Lucy always tries to disconnect the fans graciousness from her persona...in the end I think it has almost everything to do with her own graciousness...Fans willingness to give is undouptedly to a great deal because of her. And to me that is how I realize that one person really can make a difference, because we are all connected. I am kind of moved by this whole auction thing..."

Thanks everyone for making this fandom what it is. We have our troubles; we have our squabbles..any family does. What we do best is come together for the Greater Good.

I'm going to close with my favourite quote that I think applies because Xenites have a huge capacity for love and for giving.

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."
- Helen Keller