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Contact: Antonio Brown                                                  Eric Borsum, Paine PR
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         abrownphd@gmail.com                                              eborsum@painepr.com

“TRU LOVED” BEGINS PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY

HOLLYWOOD, July 13, 2007... “Tru Loved” began principal photography on July 2, 2007. The production, shooting in locations all over Southern California, is written and directed by Stewart Wad,e and produced by Wade, together with Antonio Brown and David Avallone. Eric Borsum, Eric Miller, S. Eugene Margolis and Marjorie Margolis are serving as executive producers. The Director of Photography is Howard Wexler.

The cast features Jasmine Guy (“A Different World”), Matthew Thompson (“Drake and Josh”), Bruce Vilanch (“Hairspray”), Marcia Wallace (“The Simpsons”), Nichelle Nichols (“Star Trek”), Jake Abel (“Threshold”), Alec Mapa (“Desperate Housewives”), Cynda Williams (“Tales of the City”), Alexandra Paul (“Baywatch”) and Najarra Townsend (“Me And You And Everyone We Know”).

In “Tru Loved” sixteen-year-old Tru (Townsend) is uprooted by her lesbian moms from her comfortable gay-friendly home in San Francisco and moved to a conservative, suburban community in Southern California. Her only friend is a closeted football player - and even that friendship is jeopardized when she starts the school’s first Gay-Straight Alliance.

Stewart Wade wrote and directed the short film “Coffee Date,” which screened at over 35 festivals worldwide and won awards at the Honolulu International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and the Madrid Lesbian & Gay Film Festival; the short was released in 2005 as part of a compilation titled “Straight Men and the Men Who Love Them.” The feature version of “Coffee Date,” starring Wilson Cruz, Jonathan Silverman, Sally Kirkland and Deborah Gibson, successfully played over 30 international film festivals, winning an Audience Award at the Breckenridge Film Festival and voted Best Feature Film by audiences at the Sedona International Film Festival. “Coffee Date” was released theatrically by Film and Music Entertainment, is scheduled for a 2007 DVD release, and will soon air on Logo TV. Wade was named by Outfest 2006 as one of their “Five in Focus” – directors chosen as “the next wave of hot new talent.”

Due to Wade’s leadership, the film’s timely themes and its talented cast, “Tru Loved” has formed early partnerships with and strong support from a number of national organizations which promote support for and awareness of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and straight teen relations. Among these are the ACLU, PFLAG National (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), the GSA Network (Gay-Straight Alliance), and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center.

“ ‘Tru Loved’ dramatizes a struggle between bigotry and humanity that is too common for lesbian and gay individuals, families, and especially youth in America today. Young people like Tru who get an education in prejudice pay the price for it in their friendships and throughout their lives,” says Ramona Ripston, Executive Director of ACLU of Southern California. “We believe that when ‘Tru Loved’ is shared with a wide audience, it will not only open people’s eyes to the price we all pay for prejudice, but demonstrate the shared human need for understanding.”

PFLAG’s Executive Director, Jody M. Huckabee, also believes strongly in the message that “Tru Loved” brings to the screen. “ This film is a great representation of the everyday people and families who are moving equality forward in our schools, homes and communities. ‘Tru Loved’ demonstrates the powerful combination of GLBT people and the straight allies who support them.”

In its first week of production, “Tru Loved” has had set visits from Carolyn Laub, the founder and Executive Director of the Gay-Straight Alliance Network, and ACLU SoCal Board President Isabelle Gunning, with many more visits to come in the weeks ahead. Cast members are shooting PSAs for these and other organizations, all to help promote awareness of the film’s important themes and issues.

“Tru Loved” wraps production on August 2, 2007.

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