“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.
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. Jack Forteo dares to question the potentially lethal side effect of their drug, Synoderm, they pull out the stops, threatening to leave 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 Amanda 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 Amanda, 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 Kristina Kromer, production sound engineer Craig Rhee, post-production color and special effects specialist John Petersen, co-producers Viola Vaccarino, and executive producer Neil Shulman (Doc Hollywood). 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. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife. They have a grown son and 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.
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.
The Cast
Andy Evans – Dr. Jack Forteo
Andy Evans is in the role of Dr. Jack Forteo, whose discovery of a potentially fatal side effect of an acne medication leads to brutal conflict with the drug’s manufacturer, Renzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He is an actor known for 86 Melrose Avenue (2021) and All the King’s Men (2006). He lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
David de Vries – Red Leghorn
David de Vries plays the hard hitting lawyer from Texas, Red Leghorn, who teams up with Ryan Singh to represent the plaintiffs in the ongoing litigation against Renzon Pharmaceuticals. Known for appearances in films like Richard Jewell, The Founder and The Accountant, along with television credits on Dopesick, Ozark, Just Beyond and others, he was born in upstate New York and later moved to Lynchburg, Virginia. David studied acting at Carnegie-Mellon University as a teenager and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Performing Arts from American University in Washington D.C. David has been in Broadway productions including Wicked and is also an award-winning audiobook narrator, with over 200 titles to his credit. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
Hannah Fierman – Amanda Bellaconda
Hannah Fierman was born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, as Hannah Rose Fierman. She is an actress and producer, well known to horror film fans, for such films as V/H/S (2012), American Hell (2014) and The Unwanted (2014). Hannah received a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications & Economics from Mercer University. Hannah plays the bereaved mother of the teenage suicide victim, Jacob. She splits her time between Atlanta, Georgia, and Indianapolis, Indiana.
Shaan Sharma – Ryan Singh
Shaan Sharma is a working actor, SAG-AFTRA union leader, acting educator, writer, and former top casting session director. Shaan is on the international hit TV show “The Chosen” playing Shmuel (thechosen.tv), Founder of The Storytellers Conservatory, an on-camera acting studio, Guest Lecturer for the University of Southern California, and an Adjunct Professor for PACE University’s School of Drama, a proud founding-member of Solidarity, a grassroots SAG-AFTRA education group (solidarity.us), and spent more than a decade working as a casting session director with over 45 of the top commercial casting directors in Los Angeles. Shaan is also a Backstage Expert Contributing writer with over 50 published advice articles for performers and the author of the book and audio book, “Commercial Acting in LA: A Session Director’s Guide.” In the ‘Goose’ he plays the plaintiff’s attorney who teams up with Red Leghorn to sue the Renzon Pharmaceutical Corporation, Ryan Singh. Shaan currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
Caroline Avery Granger – Isabella Forteo
Caroline Avery Granger is an Atlanta-based actress who has had a life-long passion for acting. Screen credits include National Treasure: Edge of History (2021), Hellphone (2010) and Song of Songs (2002). She played Dr. Natascia Parlazzi in Inheritance, Italian Style. Currently she has a role in the TV series 9-1-1: Nashville. In the Goose film she plays the long-suffering wife of protagonist, Jack Forteo. In addition to appearing in multiple films, she works as a model and makeup artist.
Nisey Woods – Crystal Watson
Nisey Woods is an Emmy award-winning Atlanta-based actress whose hobbies include paddling, rollerblading, scuba diving, and yoga. She is also an award winning documentary film maker and musician. Credits include The Vampire Diaries (2010), and Open (2020). In the Goose film, Nisey plays Crystal Watson, the ruthless corporate lawyer that represents the Renzon Pharmaceutical Company.
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.
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