CONVICTION is the true story of a sister’s unwavering devotion to her brother. When Betty Anne Waters’ (two-time Academy® Award winner Hilary Swank) brother Kenny (Sam Rockwell) is arrested for murder and sentenced to life in 1983, Betty Anne, a wife and mother of two, dedicates her life to overturning the murder conviction. Convinced that her brother is innocent, Betty Anne puts herself through high school, college and, finally, law school in an 18 year quest to free Kenny. With the help of best friend Abra Rice (Academy Award nominee Minnie Driver). Belief in her brother - and her quest for the truth - pushes Betty Anne to uncover the facts and utilize DNA evidence with the hope of exonerating Kenny.
Tonight I went to the red carpet movie premiere of Conviction with my friend justin, who is the criminal defense attorney for the movie....
it was a never.be.the.same kind of evening and the reason i would like to act in films :)
i highly recommend the movie....
in the photo above you have sam rockwell to the far left, the real life abra rice and betty anne waters (!!!!), juliette lewis, minnie driver, hilary swank, and director tony goldwyn (from the amazing movie ghost)...
hilary swank and minnie driver were absolutely beautiful people in person, the way they spoke, everything. hilary swank was like a little girl parading around with her little pony tail smiling so proudly at this amazing accomplishment...juliette lewis so quirky and cutely loud...
not only was it a blast to see and talk to some amazing actors from the film and sit behind the cast of its always sunny in philadelphia, but it was a movie that i know ill see again, and again, and again. like the blind side.
i relate to both of the movies in weird ways.
sam rockwells daughter for example. my birth dad was in prison through out my life, but was in no way innocent. i remember the few times he got out, and not knowing if i should shake his hand, since he was quite the stranger, or if i should hug him. when i was younger than 10 i think i may have hugged him. but after his repeated return to prison, and the memories of him nearly killing my mother in front of me messing with my emotions and thoughts, i leaned more towards the hand shake.
i remember being 12, and telling myself, i will never let that man back into my heart. not if he cant stay away from drugs long enough to be my daddy for a flippin week, to just stay out of prison for more than a month. ive forgiven him, but why would i put myself thru that again? i ran into him 10 years later, by mistake, on a movie set in Louisiana. we both looked like we saw a ghost. he got my last name wrong, which is funny because if i had his last name my name would be "jade rock". he didnt seem to have changed one bit. all i felt when i saw him was overwhelming fear.
but will i sit one day at my fathers funeral and wish i had gotten to know him? for some reason i dont think so. for some reason ive built my mind up in a way to make myself believe i dont need a man in any form or fashion. sure, romance is nice, but even last night when my darling romantic boyfriend told me one of the sweetest things anyones ever said to me - you are the wishes i make, the eyelash wishes, the 11:11 wishes, the stars- ....i told him to stop feeding me b.s. lines. quite the girlfriend huh? i do love him, but sometimes i cant feel anything. and i simply dont know how to trust. i want to, believe me, my life would be sooo much easier. maybe its because i know no relationship is guaranteed and everyone you love leaves, or maybe its because i received emails in relationships from "the other girl" with the guy telling her the same stupid lines he told me. so now i should trust the lines? how do you know when someone loves you for real? how do you let someone in? especially when you love them.
just.let.go.
just.trust.
the movie to me was one of the greatest stories of selflessness i have ever seen. there were so many tear jerkers and the way hilary swank captivated the role was simply outstanding.
after the movie all the stars got on stage and she talked with such intelligence and humbleness as the real life betty anne waters stood by her side. then 9 men lined up next to them. these 9 men had all been convicted (7 in the state of tx!! - sooooo proud of our legal system, ugh) for crimes they did not commit. most of them over 20 years were served. one man served 26 yrs, and has only been released for 5 months. his wife is now pregnant and he is trying to have a normal life. can you imagine? 26 years in prison for a crime you did not commit. the innocence project is now responsible for freeing over 50 innocent men from a life sentence they did not deserve. lives and families they missed out on were torn from them. as each man shared his sentence and release date, along with falsely accused crime, they also said what kept them going day by day. 8 of them said faith. faith that God would see them thru. faith that justice will be done. they were not bitter for their experience, but instead their faith was strengthened. it reminded me of my favorite corrie ten boom story where she thanked god for the flies. later it was revealed that the flies in her camp were the only reason the nazi soldiers did not come in and rape her. its all in perspective. your whole situation can change completely, when you just change your perspective of it. if you cant change it, change the way you think about it. prayer is how they survived each day. have you tried it? :)
faith.
thats what some people dont understand about me. i have enormous faith, and its not tied to any religion.
and its not tied to knowledge or studies. its 100% to do with my experiences, and what i know God to be in my life, in my childhood, and now. it makes me sad that so many church people turn people away from God instead of towards him. i have had a bitter taste in my mouth for sure. my facebook says "love and compassion" next to religious views. wouldnt you know that a christian sent me a message telling me how wrong it was that that was my religion, along with my photos being evil. the message was quite cruel and belittling.
my response was:
hmmm...haha. i think its funny when people ask this question...i think sometimes we forget Jesus IS love and compassion. Jesus is not a religion! its christians like you that make many not want to be associated with Christ. be careful, you may turn away many. and you may already have. you guys don't know me, what i desire, what i work and strive for, why i model, what i've been thru in the last 2 years, you know none of this, you just choose to judge on your high and mighty religious standards. next time try and see where someone comes from and what theyve been thru, know that they suffer, then speak to them in love from Christ instead of with stones in your hand. btw, you never know when you're the last straw for someone, you never know what just happened to them the day they opened a condemning message from you...choose your words and actions wisely, everyone is fighting a battle brother. we all have much to learn. be the change you wish to see in the world - jade
i think alot of us christians forget that a loveless and condemning church will only turn away those that are foreign to faith. im not saying that what they said was wrong, or that i am right, but the way they said it made me not care about that. i went on a date with a guy who said that he didnt see how a girl who took pictures like mine could possibly love jesus. this confused me, because i do love jesus, very much. am i just a confused church-goer? do i not belong in that pew? do i not belong going to bible study because i am not on the same page with everyone else on my convictions? do i not deserve to date a man with faith because of my career? how can i expect one to like me when i am a glamour model? (glamour is a style of shooting that is considered ungodly for sure)
i dont know any of these answers. and to be honest, i guess i dont care. i love my faith, i love my jesus. if i were 5'8'' i would be shooting fashion and editorial and i would love it, but i am 5'3" and i am shooting glamour and lingerie. i kind of do what comes natural and dont put too much thought into all my decisions. i know this is dangerous...but again, i guess i dont care? this is stupid, i know.
Definition of a Model
-An 'occupation' for those too mentally-challenged to seek a real job, thus resort to lightly exposing their bodily features for money. In extremely rare cases is one even marginally intelligent.-
yes, im belittling myself, but im half-kidding. im really a genius, sit me down and strike a passion, you'll see. my point is that im in a very weird stage in my life, and modeling is whats in my lap right now. so ill give it a year, ill see what happens. ill play things by ear, because thats all ive ever done and thats how i like it. i dont get attached to any hope of a certain future. like the augusteum. im fine doing this right now, and if next year im a nun, then next year im a nun. NOTHING in life is guaranteed. I AM giving this my all tho, & if I am at any time put in the spotlight, I will use it to put the needs of others there with me. I will not forget the kids that need shoes or sanitation. I will lose sleep until they are freed. I don't want children to die because of poverty & infrastructure anymore. I don't want children to run for safety anymore. i will use my means from any modeling gigs to help stop this. ♥
i dont know any of these answers. and to be honest, i guess i dont care. i love my faith, i love my jesus. if i were 5'8'' i would be shooting fashion and editorial and i would love it, but i am 5'3" and i am shooting glamour and lingerie. i kind of do what comes natural and dont put too much thought into all my decisions. i know this is dangerous...but again, i guess i dont care? this is stupid, i know.
Definition of a Model
-An 'occupation' for those too mentally-challenged to seek a real job, thus resort to lightly exposing their bodily features for money. In extremely rare cases is one even marginally intelligent.-
yes, im belittling myself, but im half-kidding. im really a genius, sit me down and strike a passion, you'll see. my point is that im in a very weird stage in my life, and modeling is whats in my lap right now. so ill give it a year, ill see what happens. ill play things by ear, because thats all ive ever done and thats how i like it. i dont get attached to any hope of a certain future. like the augusteum. im fine doing this right now, and if next year im a nun, then next year im a nun. NOTHING in life is guaranteed. I AM giving this my all tho, & if I am at any time put in the spotlight, I will use it to put the needs of others there with me. I will not forget the kids that need shoes or sanitation. I will lose sleep until they are freed. I don't want children to die because of poverty & infrastructure anymore. I don't want children to run for safety anymore. i will use my means from any modeling gigs to help stop this. ♥
I have been asked to host as a role of "celebrity ambassador" for C.R.A.S.H....a project dedicated to medical & emergency assistance to communities affected by disaster & conflict. CRASH provides rapid & effective aid that saves lives, reduces suffering, empowers & jumpstarts recovery. ♥ ♥ you have NO idea how excited i am about this. if you dont know, i go to uganda and work with orphans, and this is truly where my heart is. this is 1 of the many things i was born for ♥ oh, & some filming for CRASH will take place in Africa :) if i werent modeling would i have this opportunity that i feel so passionate about, the kind of opportunity that i dream of making my life about? is this blessing not from a higher power because my pictures do not glorify that higher power?
so many questions that make no sense whatsoever....
anywho, conviction comes out on the 15th of this month, you wont regret seeing it. i dont want to be a spoiler, but after you see it, if youre interested contact me to find out what the real life characters said they are doing with their lives now. especially kenny waters.
-For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.-
Glad to get this review of Conviction Jade since I'm going to the employee screening for it at the Fox Lot on the 15th. I was planning to see it already but now I'm definitely anticipating it more after reading everything you wrote about it here.
ReplyDeleteThere isn't a relationship that's guaranteed in life as we've talked about before. And Jade, you definitely don't "need" a man in any form or fashion and it's good as you don't want to be that dependent upon any individual.
As far as your profession, there's always going to be people that will have their opinions. However, it's crazy to me how people can look down on someone because of their profession especially one that doesn't involve them in hurting others. Me personally, I'm glad you do glamour modeling as I wouldn't have read the interview you did in the MMA magazine I was reading which means I probably wouldn't be on this blog here today. So you definitely have at least one supporter here who tells you to keep doing what you're doing :) You may not be getting on the cover of Vogue or doing D&G campaigns but the way you've used your modeling career to contribute to the causes you believe in definitely makes you a supermodel in my opinion.
You'll be hearing from me after I see conviction :)
Brandon, thanks for the feedback....this was a confusing blog, thanks for understanding it...and me.
ReplyDeleteits so hard not to be a spoiler, so email me after you see it!!!!!! :)