Tanna Fedrick Interview

Tanna Federick first starred in a film in 2003. Since then, she has starred in First Impressions, Hollywood Dreams, Rising Shore, Irene In Time, and the list goes on for days. Hollywood Dreams was her first feature film with Jaglom and it earned Tanna the Best Actress award at WorldFest, Montana International Film Festival, Fargo Film Festival, and Wild Rose Film Festival. As a fitness guru off screen, Federick ranked 52nd out of 1,031 women in her division in the L.A. Marathon. She also loves surfing and has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Federick agreed to give Cliché the inside scoop on not one, but a couple of her recent films.

Cliché: You have been very busy with your career as an actress, and you recently just finished working on Henry Jaglom’s romantic mystery Ovation. Can you tell us how that went?
Tanna Federick: The experience was remarkable. I think Henry’s concept for the movie was very on the nose, showing the actors backstage while a show is going on, watching the actors run in and out and showing what goes on behind the scenes, which often has more drama than what’s onstage. The cast is exceptional. Henry used the cast from The Rainmaker which was L.A. Critic’s hit pick and extended to a year-long run. So we took a couple weeks off of performing and shot the movie. The icing on the cake was working with the talented James Denton from Desperate Housewives.
You also starred in a film that was released on April 9th. Can you give those of us who haven’t had a chance to see it yet a quick scoop about The M Word?
It is getting a fantastic response from all of our previews. It’s powerful, funny, and about men, menstruation, and menopause. It tackles a taboo subject that people are hesitant to speak about. Frances Fischer plays my mother going through menopause and moves in with my character, Moxie, who is trying to save an independent TV station. The CEO who comes out to fire people in the station is played by one of my favorite people in the world, Michael Imperioli, and Corey Feldman plays my character’s boyfriend, who’s a little shady but remains brilliantly funny in this role.
You also have another movie set to release this year. Can you tell us a little about that one as well?
It is a project very near and dear to my heart. It is a film called Garner, IA, the first movie that my production company Project Cornlight has produced. Project Cornlight is a program that I hope will encourage more filming and bring more filmmakers to Iowa to take advantage of the amazing talent, local stories, and beautiful scenery.
         The movie is about a bipolar woman who is released from jail and tries to reconcile with her 13-year-old daughter as well as help her grandfather save the family farm, which is falling into disrepair. It was incredible working with director Ron Vignone, who did come out to Iowa as an L.A. hire along with veteran actor Tom Bower, director of photography Christopher Pearson, and Iowa native Joel West, who is both a Calvin Klein model and a talented actor. Filming in Iowa was the most amazing experience. I received so much support, love, and help from everyone in the entire North Iowa area and I hope when one sees the film that they can see that this is the product of love and community.

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