The Lights Above
Luke J. Salewski's The Lights Above is now a Student Academy Awards Finalist in the Narrative category. Official announcement below.
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In the scene above, the newspaper's lead researcher Janice (played by Dailey) has a major breakthrough. Director: Luke J. Salewski. DP: Young Li (2023)
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Lora played a supporting role in the period drama The Lights Above. The year is 1942, and the entire city of Los Angeles is reeling from an air raid scare where 1,400 anti-aircraft rounds were shot at an unidentified object in the sky. A team of journalists work to uncover the truth behind what appears to be a government cover-up during the height of World War II. Based on the true events of what is now known as "The Battle of Los Angeles," Luke J. Salewski's USC Master's Thesis premiered to a warm reception, praised for its cinematic, Spielbergian style.
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Lora's debut pilot script, Distressed or Drowning, won a quarterfinalist placement in the Filmmatic Comedy Screenplay Awards.
Logline: An idealistic teenager takes on her first job as a lifeguard at a waterpark. Between chaotic coworkers and the looming threat of death, she must reconcile her fantasies of heroism with the realities of the workforce.
Mia is an overachieving 16-year-old girl with a big imagination and a warm heart. So what better way to make a difference than getting a quintessentially teenage job: being a lifeguard at a waterpark. The thing is, nobody seems to take the job seriously. Parents have meltdowns over menial rules. The managers get stoned while the guards have pool noodle fights. Except for Mia, who’s running around looking for someone to save, just to prove that she can do it. While Mia tries to do the most, the other lifeguards try to do the least. But at the end of the day, the stakes really are life-or-death. While a teen barista might be responsible for your latte order, a teen lifeguard is responsible for making sure your 5-year-old doesn’t drown during swim lessons. Mia’s story is one of teenage disillusionment—it begs the question; what do you do when you have a high-stakes job that nobody respects? While there are many workplace comedies out there, and several teen comedies, we’ve never quite had a teen workplace comedy like this before. Our characters will be confronted with the realities of the workforce as they’re still growing up.
Logline: An idealistic teenager takes on her first job as a lifeguard at a waterpark. Between chaotic coworkers and the looming threat of death, she must reconcile her fantasies of heroism with the realities of the workforce.
Mia is an overachieving 16-year-old girl with a big imagination and a warm heart. So what better way to make a difference than getting a quintessentially teenage job: being a lifeguard at a waterpark. The thing is, nobody seems to take the job seriously. Parents have meltdowns over menial rules. The managers get stoned while the guards have pool noodle fights. Except for Mia, who’s running around looking for someone to save, just to prove that she can do it. While Mia tries to do the most, the other lifeguards try to do the least. But at the end of the day, the stakes really are life-or-death. While a teen barista might be responsible for your latte order, a teen lifeguard is responsible for making sure your 5-year-old doesn’t drown during swim lessons. Mia’s story is one of teenage disillusionment—it begs the question; what do you do when you have a high-stakes job that nobody respects? While there are many workplace comedies out there, and several teen comedies, we’ve never quite had a teen workplace comedy like this before. Our characters will be confronted with the realities of the workforce as they’re still growing up.
Dick and Betsy, The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas, Texas (2019)
Buck Ellison 
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Tender Option
The Buck Ellison photo series "Tender Option," in which Lora was a lead model, has gained national recognition and accolades. The satirical photos portraying the infamous Betsy DeVos were published in The New Yorker in Chris Wiley's feature on Ellison. The exhibit was shown at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles as part of their biennial program "Made in L.A." The LA Times gave a nod to The Prince Children directly, calling the piece "most haunting." "Tender Option" had its initial run at The Sunday Painter in London, followed by an exhibit in Galerie Conradi in Hamburg, Germany. It's also included in Ellison's book, "Living Trust," and photos of Lora were featured in W Magazine and Aperture. |
The Prince Children, Holland, Michigan (2019) Buck Ellison
