Adrift, with Tami Oldham Asshcraft - Film

(C) 2018 by Rych McCain, All Rights Reserved. No part of this column may be reprinted, re-posted or duplicated without written permission from Rych McCain Media/Syndication. Violation is subject to applicable laws

Adrift, With Tami Oldham Ashcraft - Film

 

Rych McCain International/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist

Adrift

Tami Oldham Ashcraft’s True Survival At Sea Horror

   

    Tami Oldham Ashcraft has been through an experience that few could stand the test to survive. She and her then boyfriend, the late Richard Sharp set out to sea to deliver a boat owned by a wealthy couple they had befriended from Tahiti to San Diego. The couple didn’t want to sail it themselves and were satisfied that Sharp was a veteran sea master who had sailed around the world and Ashcraft was an experience sailor with skills within her own rights. Little did they know that once out to sea, they would encounter one of the worst and most violent Pacific Hurricanes in recorded history i.e., Hurricane Raymond in 1983.

Shailene Woodley as Tami Oldham Ashcraft

Sam Claflin as Richard Sharp

     Raymond had shifted course and bore down on their 44-foot Hazana sailboat. Unfortunately, the boat was not powerful or fast enough to get out of Raymond’s path. The storm literally sucked them inside of it. The winds caused waves as high as sixty feet. They would lift the boat to the top than let it free fall to the bottom. Being inside a hurricane is no joke. Needless to say, the vessel was smashed up but still in tact enough to float when the winds passed. Ashcraft was ordered to go below by Sharp where she was relatively safe. Sharp however stayed on deck and was swept overboard by the waves. To this day he remains lost at sea.

Richard (Sam Claflin) and Tami (Shailene Woodley)

     What was it like being in the belly of a hurricane? Ashcraft explains, “The swirling is the speed of the hurricane. It swirls around not you. When you split a hurricane into quarters, there are different semi circles which are navigable areas that are more intense than others. So if you can get south i.e., the southern quadrant of the hurricane, it tends to throw you out instead of suck you in. So that’s why we ran from it for nearly three days, to get into the safe navigational area. But it was going so fast, at times doing 25 knots and our boat could only do 12 – 14 knots. We were in the worst navigable area of the hurricane. It hit us around noon. I was knocked unconscious for about 27 hours. We were in it for about 6 hours.

  

    Upon regaining consciousness, Ashcraft awakened to a completely tattered boat with nothing working. Their communication system was totally dead. She seemed left with no hope of recuse and the love of her life had vanished. She is all alone, adrift at sea. To survive, Ashcraft must summon every ounce of hope, courage, mental toughness and strength she can make happen. Ten years after this incident, Ashcraft chronicled the harrowing events of her 41-days of hopelessly floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean from the storm to being rescued in her book “Red Sky In Mourning: A True Story Of Love, Loss and Survival At Sea.” The title is a rueful riff on the adage, “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.”

Shailene Woodly & Sam Claflin

     The movie “Adrift” is the film version of Ashcraft’s misadventure with Shailene Woodley portraying her and Sam Claflin plying her soulmate Richard Sharp. Ashcraft pointed out that a Japanese ship rescued her. She said, “They were So gracious. When they got me back on shore, they put on a big reception for me. In fact, the captain of the ship stayed in touch with me for several years after which was very nice. When they first got to me and brought me on board their ship, they asked if I wanted to shower. I really did look a mess, but I said I wanted to eat.”

L-R Aaron Kandell, real life Tami Oldham Ashcraft and Jordan Kandell

   Ashcraft was approached by twin brothers scriptwriters and producers Aaron and Jordan Kandell who read her book and were so blown away with it that they had to make a movie. 
     

Film's Director Baltasar Kormakur

    The film was directed by Baltasar Kormakur. Ashcraft gave her blessings and even visited the set where she relived some of the horror seeing the recreation of the mishap but being the trooper that she is, she came through it with appreciation and understanding. 

© 2018 Rych McCain Media/Syndication TM 

(You DID Hear It From Me!) 

Twitter@rychmccain and Facebook (Like Me)!

Kenan Thompson's Road To NYC - Event

(C) 2018 by Rych McCain, All Rights Reserved. No part of this column may be reprinted, re-posted or duplicated without written permission from Rych McCain Media/Syndication. Violation is subject to applicable laws

Kenan Thompson's Road To NYC -Event

 

Rych McCain International/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist

Kenan Thompson’s

Road To New York Talent Show

     Veteran NBC-TV, Saturday Night Live personality Kenan Thompson served as the Host/Sponsor for his “Road To New York City” comedy talent search. The contest was held in several cities with two categories, youth and adults. Local winners were selected from each city and were flown to New York City where they performed for the final round at Caroline’s on Broadway in New York City and the chance to sit in the audience for the airing of Saturday Night Live.

L Center LA Winner Ethan Klein & MC Kamil McFadden

   Road To NYC was introduced in 2010 by Actor/Comedian Kenan Thompson and his friend Executive Producer Cherie Chiles Buchanan and her Simply C360 Production Company. They originally invited young comedians to come to New York to spend time with Thompson at SNL and to perform at a comedy club in the city. Since then, there have been comedy showcases in Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Miami. Their objective was to aid up and coming comics to get to the next level and provide the winners with the ultimate NYC experience and perhaps discover the next big star.

Teen Comic LeRoya Sanford & MC Kamil McFadden

     As part of the “Road to NYC” search, two youth winners and two adult winners attended SNL. The youth were guest at the dress rehearsal and the adults sat in the audience for the live show. Thompson had a one-on- one meeting with all of the winners at the show.

     Our coverage included the last road show which was held at the Barnsdall Gallery in Los Angeles, California. The show was brilliantly hosted and kept upbeat by actor Kamil McFadden, star of the Disney Channel’s “K.C. Under Cover.” The LA version of the show was won by Ethan Klein who made to trip to New York. Several acts performed including Teen Comic sensation LeRoya Sanford, Rapper/Actress Nay Nay Kirby and Rap/Dance duo Trend-N-Topic among others. Professional Talent Manager Kazembe Ajamu fielded questions from the young audience of showbiz hopefuls during an after show Q&A Session.

L-R K Star & Wildchild AKA Trend-N-Topic

Trend-N-Topic in action

 

Actress/Rapper Nay Nay Kirby

     In talking with the show’s Executive Producer Cherie Chiles-Buchanan, she explained what motivates her to do this show and take it on the road every year. She smiles and says, “I just love people. I love to see people win and I just believe that we share advice, information and resources with each other. Someone might benefit from what I know, or I might benefit from what they know, and I think it’s just important to do that and create a platform for young people and adults to win.” 

L-R Comic LeRoya Sanford & Gabrielle Nevaeh Green

 

Cherie Chiles-Buchanan

  Chiles-Buchanan has seen many children come her way to get into the “biz” and has this advice for parents who are over zealous and too anxious for their little poopsy-woopsy to make it and do all of the talking instead of letting the child talk for themselves. She explains, “As parents, we want to take over. I’m a parent, I want to run my kid’s lives. I want to do everything for them because I feel like I can do it better. However, we have to let our children mature and be responsible and even be accountable for the things that they do and the things that they want. Especially in this industry. Children have to be professionals. I don’t care how old they are, they have to know what they want, they have to go after it and they have to learn how to act as professional as their adult counterparts if that makes sense.”

Q&A with Pro Talent Manager Kazembe Ajamu & actor Kamil McFadden

     Thompson expressed his enthusiasm saying “I’m so thrilled that we have engaged so many talented performers at our various events across the country. We’ve found some great comedians during our search and I couldn’t wait to share in their excitement of performing in New York City for the very first time.” Thompson is in his 15^th season on “Saturday Night Live,” making him the show’s longest running cast member.

© 2018 Rych McCain Media/Syndication TM 

(You DID Hear It From Me!) 

Twitter@rychmccain and Facebook (Like Me)!