STUDIO CITY —After 20 years Julie Davis has decided to hit the stage again. Julie stars in Henry Jaglom’s original comedy “45 Minutes From Broadway.” She is winning over fans as the dependable but neurotic older sister Betsy, who harbors a great deal of resentment against her eclectic-styled parents who put their careers on the stage before their children on many occasions and Betsy seems to be the most reliable of the family, until you scratch the surface. “I love this character. I am very happy that Henry [Jaglom] cast me in this role, my return to stage has been an incredible opportunity for me,” said Julie Davis. Julie’s Betsy tries to get her parents and younger sister Panda, played by Tanna Frederick to sell their home and move into a retirement community.

"45 Minutes" Garver, Frederick and Davis

 

Once Betsy brings her upstanding fiancé Jimmy home to meet her family and to help her convince them to move out of the run-down house, things for the couple began to change. Betsy finds herself losing control of her perfect life and Jimmy finds himself falling for her younger sister Panda. Jimmy is played brilliantly by handsome actor David Garver. By the time Betsy realizes that Jimmy’s looking at someone else, her life is quickly in shambles. Davis’s style of acting is perfect for the stage, as she connects with the audience in ways that fans haven’t seen since Ingrid Bergman or Doris Day.

That being said, actress, producer, director and writer Julie Davis is far from being in shambles. Her career is boiling hot and she’s just about to release another independent film, “Finding Bliss.” An almost autobiographical comedy about the actress’s real life, when she arrived in Hollywood at the age of 21, raised to be a good conservative Jewish girl, who found herself editing hard-core porn as her way to break into the business and pay the bills. Davis is not editing or spending any time in that industry anymore. “Tommy, I have to say it was a shock for even me. I was so desperate to break into the business that I took the job but 'Finding Bliss' explains in a comical way how it all worked out,” said Davis, laughing.

Courtesy Ms. Julie Davis

“Finding Bliss” was showcased at the Slamdance Film Festival last year and Davis has a deal in the works that will offer a limited release in the Spring 2010 throughout Los Angeles, New York City and Miami. The producer is busy working on other venues as we speak. “Sure, I do produce, and I also write and I direct. As an actress in Hollywood, I realized early on that I needed to be a part of the behind the scenes process in order to work as an actress. Many women find that to be the case in this town and I embraced it and love every aspect of film making. I suppose I enjoy producing less than the other aspects of the business I’ve been involved with, because in my opinion as the producer you are not part of the creative process, it’s your job to get the project done and then released,” said Julie.

“Finding Bliss” is a very politically incorrect comedy that Canyon News will be reviewing very soon. The film stars Leelee Sobieski, Matt Davis, Denise Richards, Kristen Johnston and Jamie Kennedy. She has a small cameo in the film as porn star Dyan Cannons.

Julie has also written, produced, directed and edited the critically acclaimed low budget comedy “I Love You, Don’t Touch Me!” which was one of the most popular films at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. The flm was released in 1998 by MGM/Goldwyn Films and it opened to rave reviews. It was called “sexy, honest and consistently funny,” while the New York Times dubbed Davis “the female Woody Allen.” Davis was able to raise the financing for her second film, “Amy’s Orgasm,” in which she starred as self-help author Amy Mandell. The film won the Audience Award at the 2001 Santa Barbara International Film Festival and has been successfully released worldwide.

Davis then directed the romantic comedy “All Over the Guy,” written by Dan Bucatinsky, produced by Don Roos and Susan Dietz and starring Adam Goldberg, Doris Roberts, Christina Ricci and Lisa Kudrow. “All Over the Guy” was released by Lions Gate Films.

Julie is thrilled to finally return to her first love, acting, and honored to be working with the great independent filmmaker Henry Jaglom, a longtime inspiration. The actress lives in Studio City with her husband Scott, 8-year-old son Holden, and her beloved dogs, Rhodesian Ridgeback Reggie and West Highland Terrier Pepsi Rex.