20th anniversary of Cruel Intentions

March 22, 1999- teenage girls and boys were introduced into four breakout actors and actresses: Ryan Phillipe, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair, and Sarah Michelle Gellar (Sarah Michelle Prinze). The film came at a time when movies,  music was booming on al

"The Valmont Mansion" one of the filming locations was shot right here in New York City on East 79th street

The gorgeous Long Island Rosemont estate property was actually Old Westbury Gardens 

Central Park was used heavily in many different shots of the film as a backdrop.

l mediums in film, television, and radio. I am talking about the film Cruel Intentions which focuses on the life of 18-year-old Sebastian Valmont a rich, charming, sophisticated, experienced lothario. His father has recently married and he just happens to have a daughter who becomes Sebastian stepsister, Kathryn Merteuil who is manipulative, cunning, controlling, but also has this stepford wife façade. She is the “Perfect Patty” good-girl in front of the public but hides some deep secrets in private. Sarah Michelle Gellar plays the character and transforms into this role beautifully. You won’t even recognize her in some scenes of the movie.  Gellar has actually worked with Ryan Phillipe in a previous role “I know what you did last summer” in the 1998 hit summer film. Another breakout star was Selma Blair she plays , Cecile the young teenage 17-year old girl who will be a new student at Sebastian and Kathryn’s high school. She transfers over from the school and will be starting. The young virginal Cecile Caldwell becomes a target in the film.  Kathryn is extremely jealous of Cecile because she Cecile was caught flirting with her old boyfriend Court. She is dumped for the younger Cecile later and comes up with an insane plan to take down Cecile. The movie isn’t just all about plots and plans it also has a romantic twist element to it too. As many of you all know this film is where Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillipe met during the filming of the movie and later on became a real life married couple a year later. They have two children together Ava and Deacon. The two of them definitely have a lot of chemistry you will see on film which plays well between the lothario and innocent ingénue Annette Hargrove. The film definitely catapulted all four of the stars careers. Everyone in the film has gone on to be in major film, theater, and television projects. Also received many accolades for their career. We’ve seen Ryan go on to play “Crash”, “Igby Goes Down”, “Flags of our fathers”, “Breach”, “Secrets & Lies”, “Brooklyn Nine Nine”, and “Famous in Love”. Reese Witherspoon Academy Award winner has gone on to films “Legally Blonde One and Two”, “Wild”, and “Big Little Lies”.  Sarah Michelle Gellar has gone on to “She’s All That”, “Harvard Man”, “Scooby Doo”, “The Grudge”, “Scream 2”, and many other film television projects. Selma Blair has gone on to do “Anger Management”, “ Legally Blonde”, “The Sweetest Thing”, “American Crime Story”, “mothers & Daughters”, “Mom & Dad”, and has received an award for best spoken word for the Diary of Anne Frank Project and many other films.

            So this is just in time for the anniversary AMC theaters and many specialty theaters will be playing Cruel Intentions in honor to commemorate their 20^th anniversary of the film. This week you can go see the film in theaters. March 18^th-22^nd. I hope you all love the movie it’s slick, stylish, cool, and has a great twist ending. Enjoy! 

Making Babies movie addresses fertility struggles in a lighthearted way

I saw the trailer for this movie and had an instant and quick connection because I know people personally within my family, friends, and some co-workers who have experienced struggles with fertility and trying to conceive children. One of my very close friends has been trying to conceive and have a second child. She has a beautiful little 11-year-old already who just happens to be a miracle baby already. She was born premature (like me too) and came into the world weighing in at 1 pound and 6 ounces. She is very healthy, strong, smart as a whip now, and a sweet little girl. Now in situations like this when the parents are blessed to have a child and wish to have another the parents can often wonder what is the issue, how can we solve this too. How can we figure out what solutions that may work better for bringing a child into the world.

I have a friend of mine My friend, “Vanessa” told me something that she found out from her physician that made complete sense and when I discovered what her diagnosis was I knew I need to do a story on this too because some many women have been struggling with fertility and looking for more solutions they don’t realize it can be something medically related. My friend, “Vanessa” discovered she has PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) a condition that can cause hormone related issues and can affect a woman’s reproductive system when trying to conceive as well. I thought of her and then the thousands of women who have been addressing their reproductive issues to get to a place where they can find peace, a solution to getting to have children. We have heard about Chrissy Teigen-Stephens, Tyra Banks, Gabrielle Union, or maybe even the woman sitting across from you on the bus, at your job, in your hair salon, or even down the street where you live struggling with coming to terms about how to have and build a family. I personally have even had this conversation with my own family too we may make it lighthearted or crack jokes saying in the sixties, seventies, or even earlier decades you never heard too many women talking about struggles they simply just had children instantly and started their families right away. I also recently read an article in the March issue of Vogue and something about it just hit me I needed to write a story because there has to be a way for people to discover other methods or medical research to find why has it become such a struggle or a long journey for women to receive the end result. They start to question themselves, their partners, science, medical practices, and even how they treat and take care of their bodies from day to day.

I know there are other solutions you have adoption,  becoming a foster parent, surrogacy which now allows women of all ages now who may have some reproductive issues or may not be able to carry a child to term. I even told my friend because I have not had my first child or never have been pregnant yet I would consider carrying one for her if she couldn’t find any other solution. I recently went to Planned Parenthood in New York City during one of my annual visits and I discussed with one of the physicians there why is it such a problem now for females to bring children into the world passed a certain age, why have young women have issues with wanting to bring more children into the world too. She and I had a conversation about it and she gave me some advice about the future if I ever ran into a situation to be prepared for it too. I had concerns because people have been addressing the issue of age saying once you are passed the ages of your 30s you wouldn’t be able to have children right away. It made me question my decisions should I have had children in my late teens or early twenties because the chances of carrying a healthy baby and having a successful pregnancy would increase the success rate even more. I always wanted children ever since I bought my first cabbage patch when I was about 7 I loved the idea of having my own family. I still do and would love a big family. I had to come to terms with the fact that I was attending college in my late teens and early twenties (17-23) my prime years of having children. I don’t regret that at all but I realize now my children would have struggled, I wouldn’t have been able to give them my undivided attention, I had too much on my plate at that time. I was finding my way, I was enjoying my life, and I didn’t want to be the mom ignoring her kids while partying on the other side of the world. I didn’t want to put that burden on my mother. She always stressed to me you have to be responsible but it doesn’t mean she wouldn’t assist me, support, or guide me through raising them.

 Now as for modern medicine in the twenty-first century Today you can see fertility specialists, you can seek IVF (In vitro fertilization )treatments to help with the process, to make it a big smoother if you are not going with the traditional way of having children. Women have to endure so much when going through this process they are tested spiritually and mentally because with this treatment you are taking hormones daily. You are taking shots daily and need your husband, wife, or partner to assist you with taking the treatments up until the conception of your child. We are in age and era of time where women can now have more control, more say in how they interact with their medical professionals, how they want to be treated daily, how they want to raise their children, and what they want out of their lives and their children too.

There are other options where women can freeze their embryos as well and seek out treatment to assist with easing the process of having children. You can prolong your pregnancy where even if you are in your late thirties or forties or even 50s you can have a child now. I recently also discovered an app a co-worker told me about called “Woman’s Log” where she can log and track the days of her highest reproductive level, when she is her most fertile, and can conceive her child(or children) at more successful rate. I am so glad this person told me about this app because I definitely will use it and I hope many women will download the app, check out the website, and find ways to the journey of a happy, healthy, long-term, and full pregnancy. So I am informing all of the ladies out there who do want children in their lives and want the honor, the responsibility, and the mission to raise their own kids. It’s an honor to have a child. You are called to be the mother or father to person you get to influence their life, their journey, their story, you share everything with your child especially when it’s your biological child. So it’s such a honor, a gift for that opportunity, and a blessing to raise someone in the world. You can help mold them to be better and more responsible.

Now this movie stars….and is a lighthearted take on a young woman’s rise to have children with her husband when after five years of marriage. They are struggling to get down the yellow brick road to their real life rainbow. The movie stars the following cast:

Eliza Coupe (“Future Man”, “Happy Endings”, “Scrubs”, “Benched”, “What’s your Number”, and “Naked”), Steve Howey (“Shameless”, “Reba”, “Bride Wars”,  “Something Borrowed”, “Supercross”) , Heidi Gardner, Jennifer Laffeur, Glenne Headly, and Ed Begley Jr.

The film follows the couple’s hilarious journey with finding hope through their solution to have a successful pregnancy. The film debuts March 29, 2019-Friday

For more information for everyone who may be looking for healthier ways to conceive and need assistance, support, or guidance visit http://www.plannedparenthood.org, they can lead and guide you to a medical professional and fertility specialists who can help you, your husband/wife, or partner, and visit the http://www.womanlog.com  to download the app, and also visit their film’s facebook, twitter, and instagram pages on the film. @makingbabiesmov

Also to all of the families out there looking to have children and start their own families I wish all of you the best with whatever medical decisions you all make for yourselves and that you seek what is best for yourselves, your livelihood, and the future of your children. Best of luck and God bless ! As they say in the bible…”Be fruitful and multiply”.

You know I had to include a couple of songs for inspiration and to know ladies it's okay you all got this believe me and I hope they keep fighting and will win in victory. All of these songs have one thing in common they have the word "Baby" in them lol have fun listening