We were lucky to catch up with Brooke Lewis Bellas recently and have shared our conversation below.
Brooke, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
After a 25-year career, I have been blessed to work on and produce so many meaningful projects. I feel like I find meaning in most projects I work on, as that is what inspires and draws me into a project in the first place. If I have to share some titles, I would choose projects that I have been a full Producer on and had some hand in the creative development process. One very meaningful project to me is Ms. Vampy. This is a character and project that I created in 2009 and an ongoing series of Ms. Vampy web content was born! Ms. Vampy is a comedic mobster Brooklyn vampire with a heart of gold, and I am so proud of this character and all the projects I have worked on with Ms. Vampy over many years. This was another Brooke Lewis Bellas character/project that was created to sort of “prove” to herself and Hollywood that a known “horror” Actress could be a positive, fun, and funny role model in the entertainment industry. Ms. Vampy gives teen girls savvy advice about body image, self-esteem, dating, cyber bullying, owning their own voice, and making powerful choices. I love the fact that Ms. Vampy is all about positivity and support for teen girls to face their fears and Vamp It Out! I am very proud that I was able to create positive content for teenage girls with her including, not only a streaming series, but authoring my book Ms. Vampy’s Teen Tawk: There’s A Lotta Power In Ya Choices. And, make no mistake, I love that she is my alter ego that I can tap into when I need inner courage or to be fearless!
Another project that is incredibly meaningful to me for so many reasons is the mobster/mafia/crime drama Sinatra Club, a film that I was fortunate to be one of the Producers on, and one of the Actresses in, opposite Danny Nucci from Titanic, Jason Gedrick from Iron Eagle, Ellen Hollman from Spartacus, Michael Nouri from Flashdance, and the list goes on and on, with an incredible cast of talent we assembled. And, what was so meaningful, intense, and powerful was that I found the script in 2004, we filmed in 2009, and it was distributed in 2011, so it was a very long and challenging development period for an indie project… This was a story and film passion project for seven years! I have some of the most incredible memories, as the story is based on a true story about the night John Gotti became John Gotti, so for all of the mobster history and movie buffs who are reading this now, I was so fortunate to be a part of history in the making with this film. This film is based on Sal ‘Ubatz’ Polisi who went into the witness protection program for releasing information on John Gotti and his crew, and when he came out of the witness protection, he wrote the story of his life in the mafia. It was intriguing and exciting to work on a project for so many years where we would literally meet at 10 o’clock… 11 o’clock… 12 o’clock at night in privacy and secrecy at the Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City, California, in hotel suites and we would hold our production meetings there… LOL! What an incredible career experience! I learned so many meaningful lessons working on this project, from being a woman in a predominantly male film producing world to learning about self-respect to working to bring a project to fruition that I believed in for seven years and never giving up!
Brooke, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Philly Chick Pictures encourages “Entertainment with an attitude”. From Philadelphia to New York to Los Angeles, Philly Chick Pictures was created to develop independent TV, films, and streaming content, while thinking outside the “Hollywood” box. We are drawn toward projects and partnerships that Empower Women and maintain Integrity.
People often do not conceptualize the level of “business” the Entertainment Industry or Producing business requires. I launched my production company, Philly Chick Pictures, when I moved to Hollywood 20 years ago. After making a living acting in New York City, I did not even realize I had, in some ways, been producing when I would be brought onto a project as an Actress. Although I love acting more than anything, I had been inspired to produce in order to create more roles for myself as an Actress. I have always been a leader of sorts and have had a keen sense of managing personalities. I was not born into the entertainment business and there was no nepotism in my world, so I felt compelled to build something for myself. I took producing courses and workshops, then dove in as a Producer to be able to do what I love the most, and that is to act.
Honestly, and humbly, I think the thing that sets me, and my business, apart from others, as both an Actress and a Producer, is my integrity. I know exactly who I am as an Actress and Producer, and I know my station in my industry. I know which projects and acting roles I gravitate toward, which inspire me, and which are not right for me. Other important qualities I bring to my business, clients, and projects would be my passion, my commitment, and my hard work ethic. I choose to commit to both acting and producing projects that inspire me creatively, that excite me businesswise, that support and encourage diversity and inclusion, that somehow hold a deeper meaning, mission, or message, and that when brought to fruition, can somehow make me feel proud, and that I can share this work with the world to help others be inspired, excited, entertained, and find laughter, joy, or relatedness in some way.
Now, if I have piqued your readers’ curiosity and they want to know all my Actress and Producer juicy history, I will gratefully leave them with my detailed biography:
“Brooke Lewis Bellas, also known as Brooke Lewis, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and spent her summers at the Jersey shore. She is an actress and producer, known for the mystery, thriller iMurders (2008) opposite Billy Dee Williams, Gabrielle Anwar and Frank Grillo, the mobster movie Sinatra Club (2010) opposite Danny Nucci and Jason Gedrick, the mystery, thriller Polycarp (2007) opposite Charles Durning and Michael Pare, and her comedic mobster Vampire “alter ego” character and passion project “Ms. Vampy”. After growing up and beginning her creative dreams in Philly, she moved to New York City and got her first “break” playing Donna Marsala in the Actors’ Equity Off-Broadway hit comedy “Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding”. She made her living acting in New York for four years, before heading to Hollywood. Never forgetting her ties to the LOVE statue and Eagles football, she launched Philly Chick Pictures in 2002 to create more opportunities for herself as an actress. In 2007, she played Dr. Grace Sario in Polycarp (2007) on SHOWTIME and had the title ‘Scream Queen’ bestowed upon her in the entertainment industry. In 2010, she was honored with the ‘B-Movie Award for Scream Queen Of The Year’ for her work in Slime City Massacre (2010). In 2015, she was a guest at the prestigious SAG-AFTRA Foundation Independent Features Screening Series with The Mourning (2015). In 2016, she was honored with the ‘Mary Pickford Award’ to “Highlight Women in The Film Arts” at Zed Fest. In 2017, she was honored by the prestigious Actors Awards with the ‘Best Actress In A Drama Award’ for her work in Sprinkles (2010). In 2017, she was also acknowledged with the honorable ‘Stella Adler Acting Award’ at the Action On Film International Film Festival, ‘Grace Kelly Gold Actor Award’ at the West Coast International Film Festival, as well as the Los Angeles Film Awards ‘Inspiring Woman in a Film’ Award. In 2018, she was honored by the prestigious Actors Awards with the ‘Best Actress In An Indie Film Award’ for her work in Psycho Therapy (2016) and the West Coast International Film Festival with the ‘Legendary Actress’ Jury Award. In 2019, she was inducted into The Carney Board for the honorable Carney Awards Character Actor Hall Of Fame created in honor of character actor icon Art Carney. In 2020, she was honored in the best-selling historical commemorative coffee table book ‘1000 Women In Horror, 1895-2018’ and at the NOVA Fest with the ‘Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series Award’ for her work opposite star Casper Van Dien in Stripped (2023). In 2021, she was inducted into the Phillytainment ‘PA Celebrity Hall Of Fame’ and was also honored by television’s coveted The Telly Awards. She has been fortunate to work opposite a long list of talented veteran actors, which includes, Mark Ruffalo, Andy Richter, Charles Durning, Michael Pare, Michael Madsen, Tony Todd, Billy Dee Williams, William Forsythe, Gabrielle Anwar, Danny Nucci, Jason Gedrick, Michael Nouri, Joey Lawrence, Dominique Swain, Courtney Gains, and many others. She is a passionate Philanthropist and has performed on Broadway at the August Wilson Theatre and the Palace Theatre to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS as an AIDS Activist, has been an active force in several charities supporting Breast Cancer Awareness for the Busted Foundation and The Lynn Sage Foundation, Women Empowerment as a Board Certified Life Coach, and is a Celebrity Ambassador for the Breaking The Chains Foundation. She is a proud member of the Producers Guild of America (PGA), The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences- New York Chapter (NY NATAS) and San Francisco/Northern California Chapter (SF/NorCal NATAS) and Emmy Awards Judge, Online Film & Television Association, Women In Film, and Film Independent. And, during football season, you will find her watching the games and cheering for the Philadelphia Eagles!”
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Oh, how career lessons can break us… or, make us broke (wink)! I worked for FREE far too long! Look, I am the Queen of preaching about “paying your dues”, “earning your stripes”, studying and having “hands-on” experience, yet, I learned the hard way that we have to KNOW OUR VALUE (especially as women!) and understand the difference between working on something as a hobby versus a profession. When I first started producing many years ago, I was so excited and felt so proud and productive to be a strong, empowered female film Producer amongst men, that I worked on a feature film project for YEARS for FREE. I went above and beyond, and gave of my time, energy, and raised financing, far too much and for too long, without asking for proper pay, credits, contracts, and ownership of various projects. It only took me one EPIC FAIL experience to realize how easily one can get taken advantage of in business (especially women!) to learn that I do bring VALUE… I have WORTH… I am a PROFESSIONAL and I DESERVE to get paid! Years later, I still have to remind myself with each project that… “We teach people how to treat and respect us.” And, “You get what you pay for!”
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
A career story from my journey that still breaks my heart, but hopefully illustrates my resilience and inspires creatives or actors who are reading this, was when I booked the film 54 (1998). We are talking A-list- Mike Myers, Salma Hayek, Neve Campbell, and more. I was cast as Mark Ruffalo’s girlfriend, Ricko’s girl, and had two scenes with Mark Ruffalo and Ryan Phillippe, who are now Superstars. This was a huge booking for me, and another New York Italian, sassy, great role for me to play. My agent was like, “Your career is about to explode.” The next thing I know, I was on set filming, had a trailer, and was hanging out with Mark Ruffalo and Ryan Phillippe, who were both wonderful. I was on set for a couple of days and was supposed to be shooting, but things kept getting pushed. The next thing I know, they cut scenes from the film, and two of them were mine. To this day, I get my residual checks. Every time I talk to the acting “higher powers” and I ask, “Please give me a sign that I am on my path and I am doing everything I can to be where I am supposed to be.”, I will get a residual check from 54 (1998)… it truly is spiritually funny! This tells me, in my crazy head, that I am on the right path. Things in this business change, and it is okay… it happens to everyone. That was supposed to be my big break, but it is okay, because I have had many little breaks since. Most importantly, I never gave up or let go of my dreams!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://brookelewisbellas.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brookelewisla/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrookeLewisLA/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrookeLewisLA
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/BrookeLewisLA
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0506989/ http://phillychickpictures.com/ https://www.msvampy.net/