Joanne Stock (Anne-Marie Johnson) is an aging actress forced to examine her choices in life and the importance of family versus fame when her sister, Lynnie (Harley Jane Kozak) gets sick in this story about why we make the choices we make and having the courage to change one’s life.
The Addiction of Hope is a female driven independent feature film that touches on age, race, gender, family, health and the choices we make in life. Do our actions, our work, our relationships make us feel good? Do they fulfill us? Do we want the same thing at an older age as we did when we were younger?
Jo Stock is an African American woman of a certain age faced with a decision that could uproot her life at a time when it’s uncomfortable to change. As an aging actress living off her past success, she’s forced to examine her choices in life and the importance of family versus fame when her sister, Lynnie gets sick in this story about having the courage to change your life.
Martin A. Gottlieb
MARTIN A. GOTTLIEB (AKA Martin Grey) is from Brooklyn, NY and now lives in Los Angeles. A graduate of the University of Colorado – Boulder, he’s an award-winning actor/writer/producer and photographer. As an actor he’s worked in films as diverse as Ghost World, The Natural, The Odd Couple, The Cherokee Kid and About Fifty. On stage, he was honored with a Los Angeles Drama-Logue award for best actor in Friends. Marty’s also had starring roles on television shows like Bones, Life, Cold Case, CSI:Miami, X-Files, Desperate Housewives, ER and NYPD Blue.
He made his writing, producing and directorial debut with the original half hour comedy On and On. About Fifty, his first film(as co-writer/producer/actor) was bought and distributed by Screen Media after winning several festival awards including Audience Favorite at the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival. The Addiction of Hope marks his feature film directorial debut. His goal as a filmmaker is to move people.
Director Statement
It’s interesting why people sometimes ignore what seem like the obvious best choices in life. Despite the truth before them, they put on the blinders and put one foot in front of the other hoping not to step in a hole. Whether it’s career, family, health, age –we’re often forced to stand at a crossroads and choose a path. And we can only hope it’s the right choice. But hope has a way of allowing us to ignore the truth at times. And it can become addictive. It can lift us up and push us forward. Or if false hope, can hold us back and push us down. Joanne is fighting the hope that past glory holds, and possibly ignoring the hard truth that at her age, Hollywood is done with her. She only begins to consider change when forced to visit Lynnie, her ailing sister who’s got her own relationship with hope. Despite a less than perfect sibling connection, both of these women must lean on each other to make tough decisions rooted in truth. For anyone who’s stood at a crossroads in life and had to choose on which road to travel, The Addiction of Hope is a story of discovery about people realizing it’s never too late to make changes.
Director:
Martin A. Gottlieb
Writer:
Martin A. Gottlieb (About Fifty)
Producer:
Martin A. Gottlieb (About Fifty), | Anne-Marie Johnson (Tears) | David Marroquin (Night Journey)
Talent:
Anne-Marie Johnson, "Jo Stock" (The InBetween, Cherish The Day) |
Harley Jane Kozak, "Lynnie Turner" (Arachnophobia, When Harry Met Sally, Parenthood) |
Clancy Brown, "Riz" (The Shawshank Redemption, The Penguin) |
Erika Alexander, "Vanessa Barren" (American Fiction, Get Out) |
Alan Rosenberg, "Roger Starr" (The Guardian, The Last Temptation of Christ) |
Shari Belafonte, "Charisse" (The Morning Show, Sistas) |
Matthew Moy, "Kevin"Two Broke Girls |
Susan Ruttan, "Dr. Winter" (LA Law, The Inside Man)
