HAPPY - BIRTHDAY - AMERICA

SATURDAY JUNE 30, 2012

VOLUME 6 NO 26


PREPARING FOR THE BIG DAY

Sierra Madre Volunteer Fire Department Assists in Preparing Rose Bowl 
For The Big Day Story on page 4 


No Fireworks In Sierra Madre

ADOPT A FRIEND TODAY

The Shabby Dog will be hosting a Pet Adoption from

10:00 am to 4:00 pm Saturday, June 30th

Location:

The Shabby Dog

31 East Montecito Avenue

Sierra Madre, CA 91024

(626) 836-5452

email: info@theshabbydog.com

 

The Shabby Dog will be featuring animals from the Homeless 
To Forever Foundation!

Homeless To Forever Foundation is a non profit animal 
rescue organization that primarily saves dogs, cats, and 
critters from local high kill shelters. We rescue animals 
that are in danger of being killed due to overcrowding and 
we will oftentimes rescue animals that are injured, ill, 

and who are seniors. We also work with families who have 
to rehome their pets or who are dealing with an abandoned 
animal. Our animals are in foster homes and so we 
rely heavily on volunteer foster families and on volunteer 

 transporters. All of our animals are fixed, vaccinated, and 
microchipped. 

The adoption process is fairly simple, with an application, 
home and yard check, contract, and a tax deductible 
adoption fee. Homeless To Forever Foundation is grateful 
for any size tax deductible donations that will allow us to 
continue to save animals in need. 

 For additional information, go to page 11

“IT’S NOT THAT FUNNY - Sierra Madre Filmmaker Screens Latest Work at Playhouse

Story by Bill Coburn

On Sunday, June 24th, a special screening of the 
award winning feature film Not That Funny was 
held at the Sierra Madre Playhouse as a thank 
you to the town, its residents and its businesses. 
Mary’s Market, The Buccaneer, Sierra Madre 
Pizza Company, Bean Town Coffee House and 
Four Seasons Tea Room all provided food and 
beverage for the enjoyment of the attendees 
of the special event. “We had the screening 
in Sierra Madre to thank the businesses that 
let us film in their spaces,” said writer/director 
Lauralee Farrer, “the Four Seasons, Mary’s, 
Bean Town, the hardware store, Arnold’s, 
oh my gosh that guy was so welcoming and 
hospitable and easy going… They brought food 
and kept thanking us for inviting them, as if we 
were doing them the favor. ..that’s the kind of 
relationship you want to have.” 

Ms. Farrer is no stranger to Sierra Madre. She 
has lived on Alegria for eleven years. This is the 
third film she has made in town, the first two 
being documentaries that she also produced. 
Laundry and Tosca about a woman’s lifelong 
journey to become a professional opera singer, 
and The Fair Trade about a woman who 
makes a bargain with God seeking a “a life 
worth living.” Ms. Farrer was kind enough 
to sit down with us for an interview, and we’ll 
be publishing that soon, in a separate article. 
Much of this film was shot in Sierra Madre, and 
unlike most productions that are filmed here, 
which feature a fictional town name, this film 
claims Sierra Madre as its location, with one 
of the main characters at one point noting of 
the female lead, Hayley, that Sierra Madre is 
where she grew up, and “such memories have 
unimaginable power.” 

Hayley is played by Brigid Brannagh, one of the 
stars of Army Wives on the Lifetime Channel, 
and formerly of CSI. Tony Hale, of HBO’s 
Veep and formerly on Arrested Development 
is the male lead, Stefan, a single man who rents 
an apartment from Hayley’s grandmother 
Toogey, played by K Callan of TBS’ Meet the 
Browns. Ms. Callan also played Dean Cain’s 
mom in Lois and Clark, the New Adventures of 
Superman. Toogey (who in the movie lives on 
Alegria, in the real life home of writer/director 
Farrer ), is a widow facing declining health and 
mental capacity. Hayley, who has been out in 
the business world trying to become “herself”, 
returns home for a visit with Toogey, and must 
confront the reality of her Grandmother’s 
situation, to the chagrin of her overbearing 
boyfriend O’Neill, played by Timothy V. 
Murphy (Sons of Anarchy, Criminal Minds). 
Stefan, who has heard Toogey talk about her 
granddaughter for years (“I’ve heard a thousand 
stories”), is immediately smitten. Until now, 
Stefan had been, in his words “alone, but not 
lonely.” The rest of the movie revolves around 
his attempts to woo her, even attempting to be 
funny because he thinks that’s what she wants, 
and discovering that he’s really “Not that 
Funny”. Along the way, all three characters 
confront truths about themselves that they 
might prefer not to face, ultimately coming to 
understand the people that they really are.

But for Sierra Madre residents, the film’s 
locations will undoubtedly be the stars 
they recognize most. Mary’s Market, Bean 
Town, Arnold’s Frontier Hardware and Moe’s 
Automotive all have multiple scenes in the 
movie, with Mary’s Market even being cited as 
a daily stop for Toogey, as well as the setting of 
a dinner date for Stefan and Hayley in a pivotal 
scene. The beautiful patio of Four Seasons Tea 
Room with strings of lights overhead, is the site 
of another pivotal scene in the movie featuring 
Stefan and his good friend Kevork, played by 
John Kapelos, probably best known for his 
work in three John Hughes’ films, The Breakfast 
Club, Sixteen Candles and Weird Science. The 
Buccaneer is also featured a couple of times, 
along with Sierra Juice, and there are numerous 
outside shots of Alegria, Baldwin Ave., Kersting 
Court and Sierra Madre Blvd.

One of the scenes featuring Kersting Court is 
a melancholy reminder that nothing in life is 
permanent, as the pepper tree that stood for 
more than a hundred years in Kersting Court 
has been removed since the film’s shooting. 
Another reminder: Sierra Madre Books and 
Harlequin Gallery are both seen in the movie, 
neither of which remains in business any more.

Norah Graham of Sierra Juice is seen as herself 
in a couple of scenes, as is Moe Marshall of 
Moe’s Automotive (albeit as an employee, not 
the owner). Nikki Stevens, bartender at the 
Buccaneer, and Carolyn Dapper of Mary’s 
Market also appears briefly, as does Sierra 
Madre’s adopted favorite dog, Squirrel (yes, 
she made the credits), sitting in the lap of 
Buccaneer patron “LA Times Bob” Woolson.

Not That Funny does not yet have a distribution 
deal, but hopefully the positive response it is 
receiving in film festivals will help to change 
that, with the film having won audience awards 
in two of the three Festivals in which it has been 
shown. It won the Audience Award, Best US 
Film Feature Award at the 2012 Newport Beach 
Film Festival, and the Audience Favorite Award 
at the Rainier Independent Film Festival. It is 
scheduled to be featured at the Fandana Film 
Festival at Huntington University in Indiana in 
August, and at the Port Townsend Film Festival 
in Washington, in September.


Brandon Lippard, Director of Photography and Lauralee Farrer, Writer/Director of 
Not That Funny, photo courtesy of Boulevard Pictures

Section B - Peter Dill’s Greek Adventure and more!

This Week’s Highlights: 

SIERRA MADRE NEWS

MONROVIA

Arts & Entertainment Page 10 
Best Friends Page 11

The Good Life Page 12

Health & Fitness Page 13

Business Today Page 14 
Sports Page 15

Opinion Page 16 
Left Turn/Right Turn Page 17 

Calendar Page 2

Sierra Madre News Page 3

Pasadena/Altadena Page 4

Around San Gabriel Valley Page 5

Arcadia Page 6

Monrovia/Duarte Page 7

Education Page 8

Food & Drink Page 9

3

5

City Prepares For July 4th

Mayor Supports Pharmacy 
Distribution of Marijuana

PASADENA/ALTADENA

BUSINESS TRENDS

4

14

Administrator Van Pelt 
Fired

To Join or Not To Join


Read The Paper Online At: www.mtnviewsnews.com