• Home Grown Texas Talent,  Interviews,  Movies/Entertainment

    Interview…Derek Presley, Lola Lott and Jason Starne on the Deep Fried Noir of ‘Tonic’

    We’ve all seen the movies where a character is a one-man army, or everything just happens to work out for them, right? Well, what if this particular man – the one carrying 100% of the story – is about as hopeless and down on his luck as you can find? In many ways that’s more appealing because it’s their flaws, quirks and weaknesses that shine brighter than their strengths. So let’s take a look at one such a character, Sebastian Poe (played by Billy Blair), in Derek Presley‘s latest film. Written and shot here in Dallas, Tonic tells the tale of a barfly jazz pianist who must commit murder in…

  • Movies/Entertainment,  Reviews

    G-S-T Review…’Tonic’

    In Derek Presley’s latest film, Tonic, we follow the ups and downs of a barfly jazz pianist. In this down home story – told over one exhaustive night – Sebastian Poe (played by Billy Blair) is a man out of options who constantly weighs his pressured offer to commit murder in exchange for his drug debt to a crooked cop. A no-win “what would you do?” scenario if ever there was one. But let’s clear some things right up front. There is no Liam Neeson, no flashy cuts and edits, or heroic music. In fact, there is no music at all (save for needle drops and source music which was done live) just the…