The Venice Walk

"The Entertainment Revolution
Begins Here"

April 2008

Unicorn Media
Is Proud to Premiere Its Featured Internet Series
UnicornMedia.com/thevenicewalk
THE VENICE WALK
An Original Internet Series

Here's What UnicornMedia Sez About...

A "VENICE WALK" On The Wild Side

During my time in Southern California I often found myself entertained by strolling performers, amazed by artists, intimidated by musclemen, in awe of the landscape and satiated at many outdoor restaurants and bars, while always convinced that just under the surface there was something very seamy on the Venice Beach Boardwalk. Where else does normal daily life include a man juggling exhaust-belching chainsaws, a turbaned street-performer walking on charred glass, a grotesquely large body builder clad only in a tiny Speedo and accessorized by a King Cobra around his neck, Hari Krishnas clapping and singing in a procession like a marching band, and an omnipresent need to dodge the DogTown teenaged skateboarders who slice through the crowds of tourists? A new Internet series portrays this stealthy, gritty undercurrent of life: The Venice Walk.

The Venice Walk is rich with faces both familiar and new. The series reunites Cagney & Lacey co-stars Robert Hegyes and Martin Kove (who played Detectives Manny Esposito and Victor Isbecki) and Welcome Back, Kotter co-star Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (Freddie Boob-Boom Washington). A cast of talented young newcomers uses the bohemian and kinetic underbelly of Venice Beach as their home-turf.

Billed as the Anti-OC, the series follows the trials and tribulations of probation officer Paco Santana (Hegyes). Paco, a former NYPD Gang Cop who lived through a near-fatal shooting while undercover, comes out of retirement at the urging of his former NYPD partner and love interest, Samantha Collins (played by the stunning Tiffany Moretti). Sam now runs Juvenile Probation Venice. Desperately needing help, she convinces Paco to join her by suggesting, "Why don't you try saving kids instead of capping em'" She assigns Paco a group of her most troubled Venice High School teens on probation, who are introduced to the audience over the first five short-form webisodes.

Hegyes, who originally gained fame as Juan Epstein on TV's Welcome Back, Kotter, (and served as one of its directors) was inspired to create the series after spending three years teaching kids at Venice High School and being a stay-at-home "Mr. Mom" to his four teenagers. Hegyes creates an entertainment alloy by blending his turns as a juvenile delinquent on Kotter and street-smart detective on C&L together with his real life experiences in the classroom at Venice High School and managing his own hormone-riddled, teen-angst-filled home in Venice. His alchemy produces an engaging cast of very troubled yet very believable characters, juxtaposed against the blissful chaos of one of California's most famous tourist destinations.

Joining Hegyes in producing Walk is co-creator Craig Titley , who wrote the stories for such movies as Cheaper by the Dozen, the live-action version of Scooby Doo, Sam Raimi's new remake of 20 Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and is now writing for George Lucas' new animated Star Warsesque Series.

Watch The Venice Walk On
UnicornMedia.com/thevenicewalk

THE VENICE WALK...
WE R THE ANTI-OC

Note from the Webslave:

Normally I don't just slap a press release onto a Virtual Venice page, but the ones on this page do a great job of explaining conveying the excitement this series engenders, so - what the hell.

I like The Venice Walk very much. I'd like it even more if I didn't have a dinosaur for a computer, and if I weren't paranoid about overloading the poor beast by installing the gizmos that would show me the coolest special effects the Web has to offer. But even so, I've seen enough of The Venice Walk to know that other people have to be told about it. So here it is, along with several links.

I'm not sure, either, what Unicorn Media is all about - something to do with paying the talent, which I'm in favor of. It appears on my screen in a Beta version, so here's something to get in on while it's brand new.

SKATE ON OVER TO THE VENICE WALK
Showcasing Venice Teens on The Verge of….You Name It! Produced by Welcome Back, Kotter Star and Venice Local Robert Hegyes, Who's Back With The Next Gen "Y" of Sweathogs

THE VENICE WALK Web Series Benefits The CAA Foundations Communities In Schools "Drop-Out Prevention Program" at Venice High School

VENICE, CA, March 22, 2008 -- He calls his new series "The Anti-O.C. & Bad Kids Getting Badder." And who better to tame new age juvenile delinquents than an older aged juvenile delinquent? He's not a Crip. He's not a Blood. He's a Sweathog! Robert Hegyes, Epstein from Welcome Back, Kotter, and Det. Esposito from Cagney & Lacey, a veteran actor, writer and director, has created a new series for the Internet with partner and feature film scribe, Craig Titley (Sam Raimi's upcoming remake of 20 Thousand Leagues Under The Sea &George Lucas's New Star-Wars Series) revolving around a former NYPD Gang cop turned Venice Beach Juvenile Probation Officer, and the seven Venice High School delinquents who must report to him.

"Write what you know" is the age-old adage Hegyes quotes when describing how he came up with the R-Rated Kotter. "My B.A. is in Secondary Education. I've been a full-time teacher at Venice High School, hanging out with 4,000 hormone driven teenagers a day," said Hegyes. "I live with my four teenagers (two 19 year-olds & two 16 year-olds… don't ask!) plus all their friends at my beach house in Venice. I've played a juvenile delinquent on one hit series, and I've played a Gang Cop on another hit series. I think that qualifies me to write about teenagers."

Shot as a docudrama with dark comedic overtones, The Venice Walk stars teenagers on probation for such crimes against humanity as grand theft auto, credit card fraud, computer hacking, possession of drugs, felony assault, gang-banging under the Witness Protection Program. Robert claims it's not really his show.

"These kids carry me along for the ride," said Hegyes. "There were 2,000 young actors who auditioned in L.A. for these roles, and the actors we've found are explosive and dynamic. These kids are the next Brat Pack."

The Venice Walk is just what the Internet Webisodic genre has been waiting for -- an established television star appearing in bite-sized portions on a computer or mobile device near you, with an original thrashin' soundtrack provided by local Venice bands including Matt Ellis, The Cheat, The Janx, Holly Long and Matt Tecu.

"The Entertainment Revolution Begins Here"

"The Entertainment Revolution
Begins Here"