“The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg” Cast & Crew
A psychiatrist risks all to expose a corrupt drug company.
Described as Erin Brockovich meets The Constant Gardener, THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG is based on a true story that involves greed, power, lies, tragedy, danger, and death. It is also an inspirational and spiritual story, with themes of overcoming personal loss and personal redemption. The entirety of Psalm 46 is in the screenplay, which is written by Doug Bremner and Cathy Reinking.
Renzon Pharmaceuticals aren’t about to let a psychiatrist get in the way of their billion dollar a year miracle cure for acne. So when Dr. Johnny Forteo dares to question the potentially lethal side effect of their drug, Synoderm, they pull out the stops, ultimately leaving him jobless, friendless, wifeless – but not, completely hopeless.
Drawn into the medication controversy as an unwilling participant, he learns that he must confront the lies and deception in his own life before he can confront the lies and deceptions of others. With nothing left to lose, he goes on a journey to revisit a tragedy from his own past. Along the way he is joined by Ginny Bellaconda, the bereaved mother at the center of ongoing litigation with Renzon. When he unearths more painful secrets and deceptions that parallel those he has discovered in the pharmaceutical company, his voyage of self-discovery gives him strength to resume his struggle, now joined by Ginny, leading to the ultimate tumultuous conclusion.
From Amazon reader reviews of the narrative non-fiction book of the same title by Doug Bremner, which had 43/54 five star reviews and is now also available in audiobook:
An indictment of the pharmaceutical industry… illuminates the greed and unscrupulous nature of pharmaceutical companies and their market driven interests.
A compelling and spell-binding narrative which fuses the personal and social in a heroic quest.
I was so fascinated (and horrified) once I started reading, I finished the book in a single day.
The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg is produced by Laughing Cow Productions (LCP) in conjunction with Moonshine Pictures of Atlanta, Georgia.
The team includes writer/producer/director Doug Bremner, director of photography Jim McKinney, editor Marcus Giannangelo, production sound engineer Arjun Banga, post-production color and special effects specialist John Petersen, co-producers Viola Vaccarino, executive producer Neil Shulman (Doc Hollywood), attorney Cynthia Counts, and production accountant Cheryl Jenkins. This team successfully produced the feature film Inheritance Italian Style which has been featured in several film festivals and received international distribution.
Doug Bremner– writer, director, producer
Doug is a professor, psychiatrist, researcher, filmmaker and writer, and co-founder with his wife Viola of Laughing Cow Productions in 2012. He was a quarterfinalist in the 2011 PAGE International Screenwriters Awards and a finalist in the 2012 Charleston International Film Festival Screenwriting Competition. He is writer, producer, and director of the feature length comedy Inheritance, Italian Style, released at multiple film festivals in the USA in 2014 and internationally distributed in 2015. He is the author of multiple books, including The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg, a critically acclaimed nonfiction book based on his experiences as an expert witness in litigation related to the safety of the acne medication, Accutane, and is a co-writer with Cathy Reinking of a screenplay loosely based on this story. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife and son, who is also an actor, and have one grown daughter.
Viola Vaccarino – producer
Viola is co-founder and Vice-President of Laughing Cow Productions, which was founded in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, Doug, in 2012. She co-produced Inheritance, Italian Style, edited still photographs from film footage, and collaborated on post-production editing. She was born in Milazzo, Sicily, and spent the first 12 years of her life growing up in a Liberty style palazzo in Milazzo before moving to Messina, Sicily. After receiving her medical degree in Italy she emigrated to the U.S. where she got a Ph.D. in epidemiology at Yale. She now is Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia. She and Doug have two children, Dylan and Sabina.
Christopher Mills – producer, line director
Chris Mills has over 100 credits in all aspects of film and TV including line producer, sound technician, cinematographer, and producer in Fast Five, Creed, Life as We Know It, and the hit TV series The Walking Dead. Like Jim McKinney, whom he has know for many years, he is a resident of Atlanta and graduated from Druid Hills High School in Atlanta, Georgia.
Neil Shulman, MD – executive producer
Neil Shulman, MD, is an experienced filmmaker, writer, and producer, as well as a doctor working at Emory University. He is a published author with numerous screenplay credits to his name, including Doc Hollywood which was made into a motion picture starring Michael J. Fox, for which he was also Associate Producer. He wrote, directed and produced the award-winning independent film Whose Nose? In addition to being an actor in Inheritance, Italian Style, he is known to children throughout Georgia as a doctor clown for his public television show What’s in a Doctor’s Bag? He is also Founder of the Global Health and Humanitarianism Summit, which holds an annual meeting at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, founder of the Medical Volunteerism Center, and a tireless advocate for the rights of healthcare consumers. He was a leader of the protest movement against the closing of the dialysis clinic at Grady Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, which represented a death sentence for many disadvantaged people, and his efforts led to a positive outcome for all involved.
Cathy Reinking – casting director
Cathy Reining is a current member of The Casting Society of America and has been working as a Casting Director in Hollywood since the early ’90s. She served as NBC’s Manager of Casting at NBC in 2003-2004, overseeing the original casting of The Office, Medium, Hawaii and other pilots, as well as the guest casting of Las Vegas, The Tracy Morgan Show, Come to Papa and other series. She holds a degree in theatre arts from UCLA, where she graduated magna cum laude. In 2012, she published the second edition of her book, How To Book Acting Jobs in TV and Film: The Truth About the Acting Industry – Conversations with a Veteran Hollywood Casting Director. Cathy is also an award-winning stage director, stage manager, and writer. Born in Hollywood, California, she currently lives in Sherman Oaks, California.
The Cast
Arye Gross – Red Leghorn
Graduate of the UCI School of the Arts, Arye Gross is a seasoned actor whose career has extended from Los Angeles area theater to film and TV, Arye Gross has appeared in theater productions for LATC, Pasedena Playhouse, Odyssey Theater Ensemble, MET Theater and Stages Theater Center, as well as performances of Taming of the Shrew and Troilus and Cassandra with the Grove Shakespeare Company. His best known film appearances are Minority Report and Atlas Shrugged II: The Strike. His television credits include M E Sidney Perlmutter in Castle, Cooper Conroy in Medium, Frank Muehler in Six Feet Under, – Rabbi Daniel Warner in The Practice and Carter Sweeney in Diagnosis Murder. Arye plays plaintiff’s attorney Red Leghorn. He lives in Glendale, California.
Lorraine Farris – Isabella Forteo
From her first role as Pinky in Natural Born Killers, former International Model Lorraine Farris has had a long career in television and film. Film credits include with her husband Bill Bad Parents and I Shot Andy Warhol. She also played Margot on Think Tank and had special guest appearances on All My Children. She plays Isabella Forteo, the beleaguered wife of Dr. Johnny Forteo. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, Bill Sage, who is also an actor.
Elizabeth Stanley – Ginny Bellaconda
Elizabeth Stanley is a Tony Award-winning star of Broadway musicals as well as film and TV actress, who moves from a career singing and dancing her way across the stage of such Broadway hits such as the revival of On The Town as well as Xanadu and Downton Abbey at 54 Below to film in the lead role of Ginny Bellaconda, the bereaved mother of a teenage who commits suicide. A graduate of voice from the University of Indiana, Elizabeth created the role of April in the Tony Award-winning revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Company. She is currently travelling with the musical version of Bridges of Madison County. See madisonbridges.com.
Cynthia Watros – Crystal Watson
Best known as Libby Smith, the “secret criminal” of the smash hit TV series, Lost, Cynthia Watros also won an Emmy Award for her role as Annie Dutton Banks / Dee in Guiding Light. She also played Elizabeth Wilson on Finding Carter, Kelly Andrews in The Young and the Restless, and Vicky on Another World. Film credits include Eletrick Children, Blood and Circumstance, and Park City. Other TV credits include House MD, The Drew Carey Show and Titus. Cynthia plays Crystal Watson, the ruthless corporate lawyer for the Renzon Pharmaceutical Company.
Peri Gilpin – Lesley Watkins
Peri Gilpin is perhaps best known for portraying Roz Doyle in the popular television series Frasier. She also played Kim Keeler in the ABC Family television drama Make It or Break It. Other ongoing TV series where she had guest roles including Designing Women, Cheers, and Wings. Peri grew up in Dallas and now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and children. Peri plays Lesley Watkins, the Dean of the university where Johnny is a faculty member.
Holley Fain – Kirsten Best
Holley Fain is best known for her roles as Dr. Julia Canner on the ABC medical drama series Grey’s Anatomy, and Maureen van der Bilt on The CW’s teen drama Gossip Girl. She is also known for portraying Daphne Stillington and Ruth Kelly in the Broadway productions of Present Laughter and Harvey, respectively. She has also appeared on television series such as 3 lbs, Lipstick Jungle, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Good Wife, Memphis Beat and The Mentalist. Her film credits include Blinders, One Night and Forgetting the Girl. Holley plays the attorney for Johnny’s university, Kirsten Best.
Darryl Dillard – Frank Dinaru
Darryl is an actor and casting talent who wrote and directed with Cathy Reinking the short film Real Man which was a winner at the Atlanta Black Arts Film Festival and the Harlem Film Festival for best screenplay in 2015. They have recently wrapped on production of the film. Darryl is a casting agent for the film as well as playing the role of Private Investigator Frank Dinaru. Darryl is a resident of Los Angeles, California.
Sarah Kay Jolly – Lucia Forteo
Sarah Kay Jolly is a child actress, known for Bokendan: Quest for the Phoenix Sword (2016), Later (2013) and Forget Me Not (2016). She plays Johnny’s quirky daughter, Lucia.
The Crew
Jim McKinney – cinematographer, associate producer
Jim is an accomplished cinematographer with multiple films to his credit, including The Watch (2012), Joyful Noise (2012), The Collection (2012), and Identity Thief (2013). He has worked with the studios and independent films in just about every aspect of the film business, including the creation of films, commercials, and music videos. He has been Director of Photography for several films in addition to Inheritance, Italian Style, which has received praise for the quality of its cinematography. He was one of the first people in the Atlanta film industry to utilize the Red camera, one of which he owns, and which has become the standard for digital cinematography. He lives in Decatur, Georgia, with his wife and young son.
Raymund King – Attorney
Raymund King was a medical doctor with a busy practice when after being a first responder to the Oklahoma Federal Building bombing in 1995 he decided to change his career trajectory. He returned to school to become a lawyer, eventually becoming the author of several best-selling books on the law with a successful law practice in Houston, Texas. Raymund is a great facilitator, once referred to as “the ball in the pinball machine.” He is also an avid philanthropist and humanitarian volunteer, and facilitator and producer of films which he describes as having inspirational themes.
http://hydrogen-mag.com/archives/698 & rkinglaw.com
Rachel Rose – Attorney
Rachel V. Rose, JD, MBA, is a Houston-based attorney advising on federal and state compliance and areas of liability associated with a variety of healthcare, legal and regulatory issues including: HIPAA, the HITECH Act, the False Claims Act, Medicare issues, women’s health as well as corporate and security regulations. Rachel is also the author of several publications on the topic of law and healthcare and frequently makes public presentations on these topics. rvrose.com
James Stone – composer
James is a student at the University of Chicago and a talented music composer with a list of multiple credits of sound scores written for theater performances to his name. James wrote the score for Inheritance, Italian Style which is now available for digital download or music CD throughout most music distribution channels. He is also versatile musician at the piano and guitar. James is originally from West Hartford, Connecticut.
John Petersen – colorist
John Petersen is a colorist and principle with Moonshine Pictures in Atlanta, Georgia. He has over 20 years of experience, and has colored and supervised the majority of feature films shot in the Atlanta area in the the last 5 years alone. Some of his credits include Anchorman 2, Zombieland, The Three Stooges, Hall Pass, Identity Thief as well as Inheritance, Italian Style.
Principal photography of The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg is scheduled for Summer, 2016, with theatrical release in 2017.
For more information, see our website:
Investing in film in Georgia has a number of tax advantages, including the 30% Georgia film tax credit, and the federal Section 181 tax credit, so that up to 86% of an investment may not be at risk. For information about investing, email doug@laughingcowproductions.com.
