E-News Article - Christine Johnson

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    Moncton actress finds her niche in Plaster Rock
    Published Thursday December 31st, 2009 in HERE

    By Jim Lavoie

    Four young men and women are boated into a hunting lodge in the wilds of northern New Brunswick to partake in a cross country ski race which the winner will reap a cash prize of $250,000.

    Each contestant is a former athlete or high-profile celebrity who has already received $20,000 for their time just to travel and enter the race in the desolate area. The only problem is, once left at the lodge by boat, there is no way out, and each contestant begins to realize they have more at stake than the cash prize.

    Plaster Rock is a fast-paced thriller-horror film which takes place in remote wilderness where you need more than luck to survive.

    "What begins as a test of athletic prowess becomes a quest for discovery just to stay alive," exclaims Jackelyn Giroux, director of the film. "I happened to be up by Plaster Rock doing some location scouting and I met, by chance, two local residents who had a fascinating story about a bizarre set of tragic events that had happened in the area years ago. Their story sent shivers up my spine and I knew then, what my next film was going to be about. I also had found the perfect shooting location and with this in mind I wrote the script for Plaster Rock."

    As has been the case with Blue Seduction and this year's popular film, American Sunset, Giroux is relying on New Brunswick-dominated crew and cast. In fact for the two lead actors, Jason Nicholson and Christine Johnson, it is their first lead roles in a feature film and the fact it is being shot in their native New Brunswick makes it all that more special.

    It's the same thing for principal actor Jessica Holt. Also making her acting debut in the film is Kelsey Wilson as Anne.

    Moncton resident Christine Johnson is in her first lead actress role in Plaster Rock and has an interesting take on her role as the sexy, sultry Roxy.

    "She is all about herself and staying pretty ... she's flirty and known to use her looks to get what she wants. She's got some major addictions, smoking pot, taking pills, drinking ... and almost always consumes when she's faced with fear or stressful situations. She's got a bad attitude and lots of lip ... and she's not afraid to speak her mind."

    So how does Johnson like taking part in a feature being shot near Plaster Rock, in the snow and cold away, from civilization?

    "I am loving every moment up here in the wild ... I am a nature girl so this set is awesome! And I am thrilled to have gotten the role of Roxy, as you know this is my first time playing a lead let alone being the principal actress," said an excited Johnson. "It's challenging, exciting and my confidence grows by the day because of the fantastic cast and crew I am working with. It is amazing how quickly we have all bonded together and we are rocking this picture out. I am having the time of my life."

    It is no surprise that this blonde-haired, blue-eyed beautiful lady has been captured on film many times, but mostly in modeling and commercial gigs. She has a very active life, is a trained dancer in Hip Hop, Jazz, Modern and Ballet, currently teaches yoga at College Communautaire du NB in Dieppe, is also an aspiring singer/songwriter and a strong advocate of all the performing arts.

    She recently was a ring girl at a major mixed martial arts competition in Moncton and was the Miss World's Fastest Drumming (WFD) model in Anaheim, California and Austin Texas in 2007. She has modeled for Speed Sports East fashion shows and performed and choreographed several times for them. She is a certified advance model with Ruth Barnes Modeling Agency. She has acted in Michael Melskis' Growing OP, Sam Granas' Black Eyed Dog, Chris Leblancs' Chris Crash and La Legende Bricklin. Fluent in both English and French, this classy actress star is starting to rise and feels great about where Plaster Rock could lead.

    "Given that Roxy's personality is all over the place," says Johnson, "I'm loving the challenge, there are harder days than others but what's important to me is that I am learning so much and everyday I can feel myself become her more and more. She can be very emotional in many scenes and I can relate to others who see her as a cancerous presence."

    A lead role requires that unique combination of being photogenic and natural delivery, to which Johnson laughs and states: "Strange but I really do enjoy learning my lines, I find it exciting. I have always really liked being in front of the camera so yes I am loving the spotlight, although now it's much different being in a feature. I don't really get nervous as much, it's all about being real, in the moment of my character so I don't even think about the camera being on me."

    Helping things sail smoothly along is Dave McClure, as the boat captain, who is a hunting and fishing guide and a world-class big game hunter and owner/operator of Tobique Valley Outfitters (http://www.huntfishlodge.com/) where filming is taking place.

    "This is as good as it gets for the perfect location for this film," Giroux says.