Archive for 2008

Brad and Nancy Cohen make their cameo appearance in Front of the Class

YES YOU DID!  Brad and Nancy Cohen can be seen in their cameo appearance after the orchestra concert as little Brad is getting up out of his seat and heading to the front of the auditorium with his principal.  Brad and Nancy Cohen are standing in the back acting like teachers.  It is a quick 2 or 3 seconds so don’t blink.

We thought this would be the best scene to have us in because it was the most important scenes in the movie.  It was at this point in my life when I realized the power of education.  It was from this moment forward where I knew I wanted to be that teacher that I never had.

This scene took almost 8 hours to shoot because as the director, Peter Werner, stated “We needed to get this scene right because it is such a powerful moment in the movie and in Brad’s life.”

Did you get a chance to see me and Nancy?

Notice the new Cardinals hat I gave Nancy right after the proposal!

Nancy will you marry me?

The Wedding Day with Yummy Cake!

Many people have asked me if I really met my wife Nancy my first year of teaching. And the answer is no. We actually didn’t meet until 2004, while my first year of teaching was 1996. For the sake of making the movie only last 2 hours, they had to move the timeline up a few years to make things work. I mean come on, would this movie really have happened without a love scene………this is a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie of course! Nancy always kids around saying that this movie would not have happened without her being part of the story. She might be right:) I mean we all remember the big kiss scene at my mom’s house on Thanksgiving! Yucky

The one thing I was surprised Hallmark didn’t include was the way I proposed to her. It was in Napa Valley where I surprised Nancy and went up in a hot air balloon and down below was a 20 foot sign saying “Nancy will you marry me?” I had to add the picture because I knew you wouldn’t believe me. I mean come on, this all can’t possibly be true? Can it?

Brad and Heather visit for final time, click on the picture to see a better quality photo

Heather was a real person! In the movie, the timeline was a little different. Heather was in my first 2nd grade classroom in 1996 and didn’t get sick until her 5th grade year. She passed away from Cancer in January of her 6th grade year.

To learn more about Heather and the impact she made in my life, check out Chapter 13, “Remembering Heather.” You’ll be able to read about Heather’s “Fifth Grade Walk,” our last visit together, my feelings during the funeral, and how I made sure Heather was never forgotten as we got our school involved with Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society.

Here you will see a picture of Heather and I during our last visit together before she passed away.

I know that many people were touched by the loss of Heather in the movie. She was a special girl and I’m honored that “Hallmark Hall of Fame” wanted to keep her memory alive in the movie. I know Heather’s family is grateful.

Katherine Shepler did an amazing job in the movie playing the role of Heather. I know we will see Katherine in many more movies in the future. Everyone on set enjoyed being around her. Heather would be proud of her!

What an amazing 2 weeks I have just had. First we saw the movie at the Kansas City Premiere with the Hallmark Executives. Then we went to the LA Premiere with all the big name actors, writer’s guild members and Front of the Class team. Next was the Atlanta Premiere were we watched the movie with family, friends, and local actors. To top it off, I had a chance to see my movie, on my TV, in my lazy boy, in my jammies, in my own home like the rest of America saw it (with commercials).

I’m very proud of this movie. Jimmy Wolk and Dominic Scott Kay played me better than I play myself. Peter Werner (director) and the rest of his team put together one heck of a movie. Hallmark Hall of Fame is an amazing company and I could not ask for anything more. The 234th presentation of a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie was ten times better than I could have ever wanted.

The emails that have come POURING in is a sign of the impact this movie has made across our nation. The positive energy that came from the viewers is something I will forever cherish. The support of my friends and family is something I’ll savor. And the lessons we will all take away from Front of the Class shall be legendary.

Although some will say this is the end of an amazing experience, I believe this is the beginning of an incredible journey. My mission is to make a difference one day at a time. I hope that others will help me achieve this goal. With a positive attitude, a passion for life and never giving up…….we can all achieve our dreams like I have.

Thanks for tuning in to CBS to watch Front of the Class. The movie will be out on DVD in late January in Hallmark stores around the country. In the meantime, grab your book copy of Front of the Class now so you’ll have it around from many years to come.

Thanks for all the support and let’s continue the celebration.

Cheers
Brad

P.S. Yes Nancy and I do love Milli Vanilli !!!!!

Keep checking back as I’ll list the appearances on TV, radio, newspaper, and magazine, etc that promote the movie.
CheersTelevision
• The View- Patricia Heaton will be a guest on Tuesday, December 2nd http://abc.go.com/daytime/theview/index

 

The Early Show- Patricia Heaton will be a guest on Tuesday, December 2nd around 8:00-8:30 EST http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/earlyshow/main500202.shtml

 

• Rachel Ray- Patricia Heaton will be a guest on Dec. 5th  www.rachaelrayshow.com

 

 

• Entertainment Tonight- Patricia Heaton will be a guest the week of Dec. 1st www.etonline.com

 

 

• Great Day St. Louis-CBS Ellen, Brad’s mother, will be a guest the on December 1st www.greatdaystlouis.com

 

 
Radio

• 
  B98.5 Steve and Vikki Show (Atlanta)- Brad and Patricia Heaton will be guests during the week of December 1st-  www.b985.com (listen online)

 

 

• WSB 750 Scott Slade Show (Atlanta)- Brad will be a guest the week of Dec. 1st www.wsbradio.com (listen online)

 Newspaper

Atlanta Journal Constitution- Thursday December 4th

St. Louis Post Dispatch- Saturday or Sunday December 6th or 7th

Washington Post

Kansas City Star

Marietta Daily Journal

 
Magazine

People Magazine (ad on page 41) December 8th issue

Education Week December issue

 
Other

I’m pleased to announce that Front of the Class is now available in paperback.  Thanks to St. Martin’s Griffin you’ll find Front of the Class in stores across America.  The release comes 2 weeks before the airing of Front of the Class as a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie on CBS on December 7th.  In the book you’ll find a new epilogue and a few more pictures.  Grab the book now as I hear it has a great ending.  It could be a great holiday gift for someone you know.

Click here to buy the book

I know my agent is still shopping around the book for other rights so if you’re interested, please contact her: Sharlene Martin, Martin Literary Management

Cheers

Hello,

It is time to introduce you to me, or shall I say Jimmy Wolk, who plays me in Front of the Class.  Jimmy is a great person and an even better guy.  He’s got a great personality and gets along with everyone.  I know the people on the set took a liking to Jimmy from the beginning.  We really have a lot in common.  This is Jimmy’s first big role and something tells me you’ll be seeing a lot more of him.  I first learned about Jimmy during casting when the producers and directors said they felt they had someone special to play me.  He was not a big name in the industry, but they kept saying “This guy can act!”  They took a risk and the rest was history. 

Jimmy first had to learn about not only me and my personality, but also about Tourette Syndrome.  I was recorded on video and explained to Jimmy that there is a method behind the madness with the Tourette’s.  That each tic has its own personality.  We wanted to make sure that the tics in the film came across naturally, almost unconsciously.  We didn’t want it to be forced.  Jimmy learned and then he acted.  And he did a great job.

When I first arrived in Shreveport on set, people thought I was Jimmy, but then they realized it was the “real” Brad Cohen and they quickly said “Wow, Jimmy really has Brad down nicely.”  Our tics were identical.  Jimmy’s positive energy came across throughout the entire movie.  I’m honored to have Jimmy play me in the movie.  As I told Jimmy, this movie is about the underdog getting a chance and becoming successful.  Similarly, Jimmy was the underdog for the part as many other big name people were up for it, but the directors and producers took a risk on Jimmy and he is about to shock the world.  Thank to Hallmark Hall of Fame for taking the risk and giving Jimmy his first gig.  I’d say he did a heck of a job! Cheers

www.classperformance.com

I’m excited to launch my new website.  If you had www.frontoftheclassbook.com in the past, it will still take you to the same location as www.classperformance.com But for now, go ahead and make classperformance as your new location of choice when checking out my website.  A big thank you to my brother and his team of workers who helped build this site. 

I’m hoping to make this website more interactive with resources for others to use.  While at the same time promoting me as an author, motivational speaker and of course a teacher.

Please sign up to get updates on my blog.  You may also join my website mailing list on the home page of the website.

Keep checking back for updates!

Cheers

Let me introduce to you Helen Ingebritsen. Helen plays the role of Susan Scott in Front of the Class. Susan was my mentor when I first started teaching at Mountain View Elementary. Susan and I had a similar philosophy of education. We partnered up on a lot of projects to help make our lessons better for the kids. We took her experience and expertise with curriculum and my creativity and youth and put them together for a winning combination. She was a great mentor for me and we continue to keep in touch today.

Helen plays this role well. She was a delight to meet and I had a chance to see her act in just a few scenes. She had the look of a teacher and was very energetic about playing this role. I’m excited to see how things turn out. You’ll see in the movie that her support helps push me through my first year of teaching. Every first year teacher needs someone like Susan. I think you will enjoy her role in the film. Cheers

In every good movie you must have a bad guy. Ric plays the father of a student who is in my class. Ric’s character decides he wants to take his daughter, Amanda, out of my classroom because he wanted his daughter to have a “normal” teacher. Amanda is very upset by this but must listen to her father when he confronts Hilarie the Assistant Principal about it.

In real life, the father didn’t want to give his daughter a chance at being in my class. The one thing that the film doesn’t show is that 3 weeks later, the father came back up to school and told the administration that he had made a mistake. But by that time, it was too late, administration was not putting her back in my classroom.

This was just one of the many stories I had in how some parents had issues with the fact that I was a teacher with Tourette Syndrome. But many of the parents nerves turned into support as they quickly realized if their child didn’t have an issue with my tics then why should they. I think a lot of us grew that year……..including the adults! Ric does a great job in the scene where he think he knows what’s best for his daughter. But does he really?

Cheers