In the wake of the recent deaths of Brittany Murphy, Casey Johnson, DJ AM, Michael Jackson and Heath Ledger, I felt it imperative to address the issue of addiction and more specifically- prescription drug abuse. Addiction comes in all forms, doses, and quantities. In the past few years, we have heard how many celebrities have died from prescription drug cocktails. Just think about how many deaths from the same causes don't make the nightly news. In fact:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics, unintentional overdose deaths involving prescription opioids increased 114 percent from 2001 (3,994) to 2005 (8,541)*

During 1999--2006, the number of poisoning deaths in the United States nearly doubled, from approximately 20,000 to 37,000**

This is the most recent nationwide data available. As you can see, this is a fast growing epidemic with a lack of efficient research and education. Despite the FDA and Health Insurance bureaucratic regulations and policies, the public has found various loopholes to obtain and abuse prescription drugs without the proper knowledge ANY drug interactions.

Rule #1- Uppers and downers DON'T mix.

Being of the Paxil and ADD generation, there is an inherent likelihood of adverse drug interactions between stimulants and depressants. Why? While doctors are quick to write a script if you're feeling blue, they often don't inform you of the chemical properties of the drug. Some anti-depressants are stimulants, some are not. For example, if you are taking meds with more up and an anti-anxiety med (Xanax, Ativan) to take the edge off, then find yourself scheduled for a root canal and a script for Vicodin, you could be in serious trouble.

River Phoenix had been on a slew of meds when he decided to go to The Viper Room in LA and do a few lines of coke. Realizing he was too sped up, he took some xanax to calm down, the fatal move. To put it simply, his brain fritzed, his synapses didn't know how to feel- up or down, nor did his heart. It was like two cars driving driving right at each other and crashed head on... his heart just stopped.

Thought: If you do find yourself too wound up, don't try and fix it with another drug.

Do: Have a warm glass of milk, go for a walk, take several deep calming breathes, call or visit a friend and talk their ear off until the speedy effects tone down. Of course, if you have chest pains or start vomiting, put your paranoia aside- call 911.

Don't: Stay home alone or think that going for a midnight jog is a good idea.

Rule #2: Have at least one Doctor know all the medications and recreational drugs you are taking, preferably your primary health care provider, not Dr. Feelgood.

It is an addicts nature to manipulate, especially when it comes to those with prescription pads. You know what to say to whom to get what you want. You leave certain info out so Dr. Feelgood will give you what you want, and he/she usually would rather not know all the details in fear of a lawsuit. What you may not know, is even cold medicine, Advil, foods, or alcohol can be a fatal interaction with certain meds, including ADD medications and painkillers. Also, disclose exactly why you are taking a specific med. Drugs have many different uses and could greatly effect other interactions

Brittany Murphy was on several medications including Topamax. While commonly used for migraines, it's also used to treat bulimia and often prescribed with an anti-seizure or heart medication. Taking Topamax alone, there is a severe threat if the patient vomits, combined with other meds that threat can be fatal.

Thoughts: If you have the wherewithal to obtain meds, you have the ability to take a couple minutes to know the facts and risks of what pills your popping.

Do: Great sites which even rate severity of interactions: Healthline or Medscape. Make sure you tell your Doc everything you're taking and all medical issues, no matter how minor you may think it is.

Don't: Assume because it's a prescription it's safe. Think because your boyfriend that's twice your size takes a certain amount, you should take the same dosage. Likewise, just because it's prescribed to your Mom or Dad, doesn't mean it's safe for you.

Rule #3: Break the cycle.

Depressants make you more depressed. Just like after a sugar rush, the crash is hard. We may think that alcohol or downers like painkillers, can make you feel better, happier, or calmer- but after the effects wear off, the depression is worse, especially if you are predisposed to depression. An addict, will increase their intake of whatever to avoid feeling the inevitable depression, thus manifesting a vicious cycle.

Thoughts: You're not alone. We often find it difficult to talk to those who care about you the most, but getting out of your head can get you out of the downward spiral.

Do: Talk to someone, even the coffee guy you see every morning may just be the impartial ear you need. Take small steps. Acknowledgement is the first step and even thinking about the one thing that makes you happy once a day, is a step in the right direction.

Don't: Think you're hopeless or helpless. Stay addicted to the thoughts in your head or keep them to yourself.

Rule #4: Find what works for you.

Every addict is unique with different issues, DNA, and addictions. Therefore, it is impossible to think that there is one cure-all for addiction. The greatest chance of success is to find a program or plan that suits your needs mentally and physically. I am grateful that 12-step programs and similar clinics exist, I also know that they don't work for everyone. Some people respond well to this type of approach. Non-conformists instinctively reject the idea regimented plans and beliefs, therefore, the chance of relapse is high. This is ok, there are several alternatives. However, nothing will help you dry up and stay dry unless you have a definitive desire to do so.

Thoughts: Getting clean is tough, staying cleaning is tougher, deciding to get clean is the toughest and bravest.

Do: Know that no matter how you feel, there is a way. Research your options. Try, try, and try again. Accept and forgive yourself.

Don't: Give up. Be too proud to ask for help. Let your health insurance (or lack of) inhibit you from getting the best care possible- there is always a way.

Addiction can be selfish, selfless, or self-destructive. Regardless, addicts are slowly killing themselves. No matter if they are escaping from day to day life, cutting themselves off from friends and family, or attempting to quell their inner thoughts, they are ultimately taking the slow road to the end of life- whether they know it or not.

Obviously, the aforementioned are just a few conjectures and there is much more to all of this. Yet, it is an undeniable issue that needs attention.

***MH- I love you and you will always remain in my heart. See you on the other side.

****NB- stay strong, slowly you arrive.

*****Note: SBS does not condone or advocate recreational drug use. The situations mentioned above are hypothetical and opinions, and should not be taken as fact. They shall in no way serve as a proponent of illegal or prescription drug use in any manner.

*National Drug Assessment 2009 http://www.justice.gov/ndic/pubs33/33775/index.htm

**Center for Disease Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5842a1.htm

Image of River Phoenix courtesy of Katie Loves Life

All other images courtesy of Getty Images: © copyright 1999-2010 Getty Images, Inc.

Tonight is the NY and LA theatrical release of Across the Hall, starring Brittany Murphy, Danny Pino and Mike Vogel. This past week, I posted a review from the NY private screening and had the pleasure of interviewing Danny Pino (Terry), Director Alex Merkin and Brad Greenquist (the Porter).

After returning to his hometown of Miami this past summer to perform in a play at The Actors Playhouse, Danny was kind enough to take some time from production for the hit television series, Cold Case, in Los Angeles.

Scene B Seen: How did you get involved in Across the Hall?

Danny Pino: Mike Vogel, who plays Julian in the movie, called and said he had read the script and was involved with this film and they were looking for someone to play his best friend. You know, Mike and I are very good friends and have known each other for a while and we always wanted to find something to work on together. So I read the script and thought that the character was something that would be challenging, interesting and had something that was very different from what I usually do on the TV series [Cold Case]. And so that and meeting the director Alex Merkin and speaking with him about what his ideas were with the script and the writer Jesse Mittelstadt. I felt like it was going to be a good fit for me. I was actually nervous.

SBS: Nervous? What were you nervous about?

DP: 1st off, I knew that we were only going to have 17 days to shoot and the way that the script is set up, it’s chopped up, it has different cuts and it shifts out of sequence, some scenes, if you were to eliminate those cuts, and were to read them in a sequential order, they run 10-15 pages long. That’s a pretty long scene when it comes to film and TV world. I mean, when you’re on stage, its par for the course, usually longer then that.

SBS: Right.

DP: When you’re doing a play, you’ve got several weeks of rehearsal… to be able to make that happen. Here we were looking at 1 week before we were going to start shooting. All of those elements made me nervous. But, I was really excited to be working with Mike and I thought the script was in a very good place. Alex and Jesse were very dedicated to what we were doing.

SBS: So, did you shoot sequentially or out of order like the script reads?

DP:  Well when we rehearsed it, we rehearsed in sequence… so, it really felt like there was something going on when you went back into the scene, you were already at that level. There was an intensity there and there was a life flowing through the characters rather than starting at zero again.

SBS: Absolutely.

DP: So, we mostly shot it that way. There were some things that Alex had to do with the camera, and Andrew, the DP, wanted to do with the camera, so we were cut in certain places so that we would have a nice transition into whatever the next scene that they would be cutting into was. We tried to stay within the same “world” and certainly within the same scene as often and much as we could. In essence, we block shot it and shot it very much like a play.

SBS: Interesting.

DP:  You know it’s shot in a very classic noir style, but it has modern elements that are very quick, quick cuts. I think the camera and a lot of the visual elements that Alex has put into the film, really moves the story along, sometimes more then the script does.

SBS: Yeah, except for two shots, I think, everything was eye level and the camera was always moving in the same direction. Cold Case and Across the Hall are very stylistic, does style effect how you take on a character?

DP: I think it’s a consideration, you know, to live within that “Noir World”. Everyone needs to know what the stakes are and all the acting 101 stuff, but then after that, you’re sort of on your own. Then when you come to set, you hope that there’s some sort of harmony to what your bringing to the character and what the camera is doing, the lighting, sound and set design. That’s where the synergy comes in with filmmaking. Especially when shooting within 17 days… hopefully it really comes through.

SBS: I definitely think it did. So, you knew Mike prior to this film, did you know Brittany [Murphy]?

DP: I knew her work and was excited that she was a part of the ensemble, but I did not know her personally.

SBS: The chemistry between all of you is phenomenal. Everyone has a secret and is very devious, so it’s very impressive that only after a week of rehearsal… was Alex a big part of how you all interacted together?

DP: Alex was definitely a big part of that. Alex is very cohesive. He had a lot of considerations to address as we were shooting, some relative to the actors and mostly not. Mostly in relation to the camera or the lighting.

SBS: How much actor directing did he do or was it mostly lighting and camera direction?

DP: What’s interesting though, I can’t really speak for the other actors but, because of the experiences that I’ve had on Cold Case, we work very quickly. We sometimes shoot 8-10 pages a day, which is pretty high when you consider motion picture world… you don’t have a lot of time to rehearse. You basically have to be comfortable with what you’re doing and that everybody is on the same page and prepared.

SBS: Right.

DP: So, thankfully we were when we were shooting. I think all the actors knew that we were on a time crunch and we were under a lot of pressure to bring what we were gonna bring, almost ready to perform. And just search for those “happy accidents” in the scenes and that something real happens, ya know?

SBS: Yes.

DP: I think that happened quite a bit throughout the 17 days, where something real would happen and we would engage within the given the certain circumstances in the scene, that would help us carry through the rest of it. You get enough of those and all the sudden; you’ve got a 90-minute movie that delivers.

SBS: Well, I have to be honest with you, I Tivo Cold Case and watch 2-3 episodes before bed every night [laughter]. I know it’s very strange to watch that type of show before bed, but I didn’t even recognize it was you for the 1st half hour of Across the Hall.

DP: Wow! That’s a compliment.

SBS: It is! The character is so far removed from what you normally do, it didn’t even occur to me. Which I think is pretty cool.

DP: Thank you for that. I really appreciate that. That is something I really love doing- playing against what I’ve been doing, been blessed to be doing for the last 7 years… It’s also fun to challenge yourself by playing someone like Terry. He’s so desperate and going through such a desperate time, that he doesn’t see any other way out.

SBS: Absolutely. It was a great performance and I hope to see you in more of these dark roles. It’s refreshing to see an actor play against “type”. Thank you so much for taking the time to chat.

DP: It’s my pleasure and thank you for taking the time to promote our film.

Danny is currently shooting the episode, "Metamorphosis", which he co-wrote with Adam Glass. The episode takes place in 1971 about a small traveling circus. Set to all Doors music, the segment which is scheduled to air in February 2010, promises to be psychedelic, dark, very desperate, and devious.

*photo 1: Danny Pino

*photo 2: Across The Hall Los Angeles Premiere 12/01/2009 - Laemmle's Music Hall 3: Danny Pino, Brittany Murphy and Mike Vogel

*photo 3: Across The Hall Los Angeles Premiere 12/01/2009 - Laemmle's Music Hall 3: Brittany Murphy

*photo 4: Across The Hall Los Angeles Premiere 12/01/2009 - Laemmle's Music Hall 3: Danny Pino

*photo 5: Across The Hall Los Angeles Premiere 12/01/2009 - Laemmle's Music Hall 3: Mike Vogel, Alex Merkin and Danny Pino

*photo 6: Across The Hall Los Angeles Premiere 12/01/2009 - Laemmle's Music Hall 3: Across the Hall Cast and Crew

Tonight is the NY and LA theatrical release of Across the Hall, starring Brittany Murphy, Danny Pino and Mike Vogel. This past week, I posted a review from the NY private screening and had the pleasure of interviewing Danny Pino (Terry) and Brad Greenquist (the Porter).

Scene B Seen: How did you get involved in Across the Hall?

Brad Greenquist: I read for the role. Just a usual audition. What’s interesting is that Alex cast me at all, because what I did in the audition was not really what the character ended up being. I was muscling it a bit much at the audition. On the set Alex had me back off and make the character very much internal. Good thing he did!

SBS: What was your 1st instinct when you read the script?

BG: Great script! Sharp scenes, economical dialogue, non-linear storytelling – something fairly unusual for a screenplay. I was hooked after two pages.

SBS: I’m sure the limited locations helped, yet how was it shooting a film that required so much energy and emotion in 17 days?

BG: Well, just a word about the set: for me, the set WAS the character of the Porter. All my work had been done by the designers! Also, for me it was very very cool to be filming on the stage where Lon Chaney had shot Phantom of the Opera back in 1924. The Opera House set still stands. Very inspirational!

SBS: The chemistry between all the characters is fantastic, how did you manage that in such a short period?

BG: For myself, the Porter is quite removed from all the other characters. I only had scenes with Danny and Brittany, both of whom were trespassers in a way, so whatever chemistry was or was not there was imminently playable. By the way, both of them were tremendously giving when the cameras were rolling. That’s all an actor needs, really.

SBS: Everyone is so devious; do you think people with those qualities are capable of true love?

BG: Every human being is capable of anything. All humans embody qualities that are contrary to one another.

SBS: Is it love that drives the behavior?

BG: Well, for the porter it’s a love of his Hotel, his idea of the hotel and his fantasy of the hotel. Love of his fantastical idea of his hotel – yeah, let’s put it that way. And that certainly drives his behavior throughout the film.

SBS: What aspect of your character could you relate to personally?

BG: Well, this is an interesting question as far as the porter goes. My job, as an actor, was to be the personification of the hotel Riverview itself. The Porter is a bit obsessed with this odd thing, the hotel and it’s history, that nobody else really cares about. This was easy to tap into, perhaps everyone has something like this- some oddball thing they care greatly about that they really can’t speak about to others. My particular obsession has always been with silent films. Seriously, I could actually tell you the precise recipe that was used for the pies that would be thrown into a comedian’s face! The Porter’s obsession was with this old hotel and his job within it; he has one foot in reality, and one foot in a fantasy world where the Hotel Riverview is a magnificent place where important people stay. The fantasy world crashes whenever a guest checks in. Very interesting.

SBS: Were you aware of the style the director was going for, and if so, how did that shape your character (or not)?

BG: Yes. Noir. A contemporary noir thriller. This was really evident in the set design and the lighting. And if you know these films, all those great noir films from the 40s and 50s, the style just kind of falls into place in a subconscious way. My only real concern while we were shooting, the one thing I kept bugging Alex about, was whether or not my performance was too internal for the camera to see. He kept assuring me it was not. Jesse Mittelstadt, the writer, was a great source of inspiration on the set, I think he knows every noir film ever made, and he turned me on to a lot of really great films that I would watch on my days off during the shoot. Perhaps that fed my performance, I don’t know, these things don’t happen consciously. I don’t know that an actor can play a style consciously.

SBS: You rock, any upcoming projects?

BG: For myself, I’m putting off all offers, saving myself only for Alex!

Location, location, location! This definitely rang true in the homage to film noir Fritz Lang style, Across the Hall, directed by Alex Merkin and written by Jesse Mittlestadt. The Riverview Hotel, lighting, set design, music and mad editing skills were personified respectively. These elements were also utilized to thread  together the tangled web tale of mass deception and desperation.

I had the privilege to be invited by the fantastic Amy Britt, Executive Director of Britt Media Relations, to a private screening of Across the Hall at Cipriani's Wall Street. I must say, that the collective performances by Brittany Murphy, Mike Vogel, Danny Pino and Brad Greenquist, seemed to simultaneously enhance and melt into the Barton Fink-esque world created by Merkin and Mittlestadt.

FYI: The film was shot in 17 days, with not a single pick-up or re-shoot... This, if anything, confirms that Ms. Murphy, the co-stars, and crew are diligent, professional, and rock solid talents.

Across the Hall was first introduced as a short starring Adrian Grenier in 2006. After gaining critical acclaim and winning over 15 awards at multiple festivals, Merkin was quickly approached to turn it into a full-length feature.

I'm not sure if Merkin ever imagined he would end up directing on the same Sound Stage at Universal where his personal influence Alfred Hitchcock, shot Psycho in 1960.

The feature-length noir thriller follows the tense stand off between a young man, his best friend, and his fiancée.

Terry (Pino) learns that his fiance, June (Murphy), has checked into a hotel with another man, sending him into a fit of near-homicidal fury. Desperate to hear a friendly voice, he calls his best friend (Vogel), admitting he's in a hotel room across the hall from June and plans to kill her lover. [IMDb.com]

Stay tuned for interviews with Danny Pino, Brad Greenquist, Mike Vogel, and others...

Across the Hall premiers tonight in Los Angeles and opens this Friday, December 4th in New York and Los Angeles.

*Production: Elton Brand, Gary Gimelfarb, Evan Ferrante, Stephen Fromkin, Insomnia Media Group, Cold Fusion, Milk and Media, and Image Entertainment.

Thursday evening, I attended the Cipriani Wall Street Fashion Series featuring designer Duncan Quinn. Alex Merkin, who relayed the designer’s regrets for not being able to present the collection personally, introduced the menswear collection. Mr. Quinn is currently in Miami in preparation for the opening of his forthcoming Limited Editions pop-up shop in Miami's design district… featuring its own indoor croquet pitch.

The London-born, New York based designer and “recovering lawyer” found inspiration for his featured designs in film and classic works of art; including all things Alfred Hitchcock, The Thomas Crown Affair, James Bond, Eastern Promises and the Mona Lisa.

I found the color palette for the line to be both regal and playful, with heavy plums, burgundy and charcoal tempered by lavender and rose accents in ties, handkerchiefs and dress shirts. There is an intellectual sharpness and meticulous attention to detail in the cufflinks, leather duffels, and umbrellas.

After the show, I caught up with Mr. Merkin, donning Duncan Quinn garb head to toe. The Director of the upcoming film Across the Hall, indulged my questions about the December 4th New York release. He told me that the film, featuring Danny Pino, Brittany Murphy and Mike Vogel, is a thriller about a standoff between a young man, his fiancée and his best friend, who occupy hotel rooms across the hall from one another. I gathered it’s a little dark and scandalous, a delicious combination.

Later into the night, I had a lively chat over drinks with Simon van Kempen and stylist Derek Warburton, who lamented over Editor Britten Heft’s absence. It seems they just missed each other at an earlier charity event. Designer Peyman Umay joined us for a spell, offering style expertise and exchanging opinions of the evening’s presentation.

I left Cipriani picturing how dapper and tailored my man would look in a “bespoke Duncan Quinn suit” while defending clients in the courtroom and for all our upcoming Holiday festivities… I think Christmas may have to come early this year.