Jennifer Garner And Alfred Molina Step Into The Confessional For "Serena"

LOS ANGELES, May 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Jennifer Garner and Alfred Molina star in "Serena," a short film written and directed by Rodrigo Garcia, a co-founder of WIGS along with Jon Avnet and Jake Avnet.  Garner plays Serena, a woman who makes a series of shocking confessions to her Priest (Molina).

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120522/LA11504)

"Serena," the first WIGS short film, is premiering now on youtube.com/wigs.

"Jennifer and Alfred were perfect," remarked Rodrigo Garcia. "They elevated the script and found feeling and laughter where I had not seen it. I wish everything was this easy and fun."

"Serena" is the first of 10 short films planned for WIGS, and comes on the heels of the channel's first series, "Jan." The first six episodes of "Jan," which stars Caitlin Gerard, Virginia Madsen, and Stephen Moyer, are available on youtube.com/wigs.

Over the coming weeks and months, WIGS will continue to release content produced with a renowned group of writers and filmmakers, all starring female leads. Upcoming programming showcases actors including: Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Beals, Maura Tierney, Michael C. Hall, America Ferrera, Jason Isaacs, Allison Janney, Jane Kaczmarek, Jena Malone, Rosanna Arquette, Walton Goggins, Jimmy Wolk, Gary Cole, Tim DeKay, Jason O'Mara, and Catherine O'Hara.

News Corp. Digital Media Group (NDM), a division of News Corporation, is the marketing partner for WIGS.

ABOUT JON AVNET

Jon Avnet has directed, written, and produced almost seventy films, television movies, and Broadway plays over the last 30 years, winning most of the major awards: Oscar's, Emmy's, Tony's, Peabody's, and the Humanitas. In 2010, Mr. Avnet executive produced "Black Swan," starring Natalie Portman (Academy Award Winner) and directed by Darren Aronofsky.

Mr. Avnet co-wrote, directed, and/or produced: "Fried Green Tomatoes" (Jessica Tandy, Kathy Bates, Mary-Louise Parker), "Up Close and Personal" (Robert Redford, Michelle Pfeiffer), and most recently, "Righteous Kill" (Robert De Niro and Al Pacino). He produced Paul Brickman's "Risky Business" as well.

For television, Mr. Avnet executive produced "The Burning Bed" (Farrah Fawcett); co-wrote with Paul Brickman, directed, and executive produced "Uprising"; directed and executive produced "Boomtown" (with Graham Yost), and "The Starter Wife" six-hour mini-series. Currently, Mr. Avnet directs "Justified" with Timothy Olyphant, adapted by Graham Yost from Elmore Leonard's, "Fire in the Hole."

On Broadway, he has produced "History Boys," "Spamalot," "Pillowman," "The Seafarer," and "Inherit the Wind," winning 12 Tony Awards.

ABOUT RODRIGO GARCIA

Rodrigo Garcia's first film as writer and director, "Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her," opened "Un Certain Regard" at the Cannes Film Festival 2000 and won the award for best film in that category.

Mr. Garcia's other credits as writer/director include: "Ten Tiny Love Stories," "Nine Lives" (Winner Best Film Locarno Film Festival 2005), and "Mother and Child" (Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, Samuel Jackson).

Mr. Garcia's credits also include the pilots for HBO series "Carnivale" and "Big Love." Additionally, he shot the pilot for, and was the executive producer and showrunner of, the first season of "In Treatment."

Most recently, he directed "Albert Nobbs" (Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, Janet McTeer, Brendan Gleeson), which was nominated for three Academy Awards.

ABOUT WIGS

WIGS is a new digital channel, launched in May 2012 by Jon Avnet, Rodrigo Garcia, and Jake Avnet, featuring world-class talent in original series, short films, documentaries and other content exploring female characters. Dozens of scripted episodes will be premiering in the coming months. The channel can be found at www.youtube.com/wigs, www.youtube.com/wigsespanol, and www.watchwigs.com.

ABOUT YOUTUBE

Founded in February 2005, YouTube allows billions of people to discover, watch and share originally-created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform, and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small.

PRESS CONTACT
Gillian Smith
(323) 822-4866
[email protected]

SOURCE WIGS