74 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • OCTOBER 23, 2014 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com Astoria composer and ‘Saw Lady’ featured in new Richard Gere movie BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com/@aaltamirano28 Two Astoria musicians are slicing their way into Hollywood. The musical piece titled “Lullaby for the Forgotten,” written by composer Scott Munson and performed by Natalia Paruz, also known as the “Saw Lady,” is featured in the upcoming film “Time Out of Mind” starring Richard Gere. The film follows Gere, who plays a homeless man as he tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter, according to a description on IMDb. According to Paruz, the director of the movie reached out to her years after having seen her perform Photo courtesy of Michelle Nishry BACK TO SCHOOL SPECIAL ONSITE DOCTORS • EYE EXAMS • CONTACTS • 1 HOUR SERVICE • VISION PLANS ACCEPTED • SUNGLASSES • LOWEST PRICES FLEX SPENDING Use it or lose it! 2 PAIR OF EYEGLASSES QC QC QC $99 Includes: EYE EXAM, Frames & Lenses Select frames with clear plastic, single vision lenses+/- 4 sph., 2 cyl. Not valid with any other offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase. Offer valid at this location only. Offer ends: 11/22/14 NO-LINE BIFOCAL EYEGLASSES $99 Includes: EYE EXAM, No-Line Bifocal Lenses & Frame Select frame with select clear plastic no-line bifocal lenses +/- 4 sph., 2 cyl up to 2.50 add. Not valid with any other offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase. Offer valid at this location only. Offer ends: 11/22/14 BAY TERRACE SHOPPING CENTER 211-51 26 AVENUE • BAYSIDE, NY 11360 718.631.3699 *FREE with the purchase of glasses. Contact Lens Exam and EYE EXAM tting add’l. *See store for details. QC DISPOSABLE CONTACTS $99 Includes: •EYE EXAM •2 Boxes of Lenses Contact Lens Fitting additional. Clear Soft contacts brand clear spherical lenses.Not Valid with any other offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase. Offer ends: 11/22/14 DESIGNER SUNGLASSES st STARTING AT $99 QC of the 2013 THE QUEENS QueensCourier.com Place Some Restrictions Apply. See Store For Details. In Stock Items Only. Not Valid with any other offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase. Offer expires: 11/22/14 buzz at Grand Central Station. Paruz filmed a scene with Gere in Grand Central, but the part of the scene in which Paruz appeared was later cut from the film because of time constraints. The song by Munson, who won the 2014 NY Innovative Theater Award for Outstanding Original Music for his piece in a play last month, is still heard in the background of the Grand Central scene that made the film. “It was really cool, Gere is so sweet and the nicest, friendliest person,” Paruz said. “He is so approachable and it’s really easy to talk with him.” For the musician, who has been playing the saw as an instrument for the past 20 years, the subject of the movie hit close to her heart after she spent a long time performing in subways and train stations and met many homeless people. “It felt more involved than the other movies where I just go into the recording studio and then get out,” said Paruz, who performed and appeared in a scene alongside Adrian Brody in the 2002 film “Dummy.” “This movie feels more personal to me because of the subject.” Each person involved in the film had to give a dedication that appears when the credits roll. Paruz chose to make a dedication to Joe Lumis, a homeless man she used to run into daily at the Union Square subway station. “The aim of the movie was the focus on homeless people and for me to participate in something that is trying to make awareness of the plight was important,” she said. Paruz’s interest in playing the saw came after an accident destroyed her dreams of one day being a professional dancer. “All of a sudden it was taken away from me and all of a sudden I didn’t know what to do with myself,” Paruz said. Later, after going on a trip to Europe with her parents and watching a man play the saw, Paruz returned to New York and began to teach herself how to play the tool. “The reason why the saw attracted me so much is that it’s the only instrument that the entire instrument moves,” Paruz said. “It’s kind of like a dance.” Today, Paruz teaches others to play the saw and, for the past 11 years, has been hosting the NYC Musical Saw Festival in Astoria, which started with four players and now features over 50 musicians from all over the world. The next festival will be on May 30, 2015, at Trinity Lutheran Church. “It’s an affordable musical instrument,” Paruz said. “Anyone can afford a saw, if they don’t have it in their toolbox already.” Paruz will be playing the saw and also the bells together with the bell choir at Trinity Lutheran Church, located at 31-18 37th St., this Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Natalia Paruz, also known as “Saw Lady,” with Richard Gere, who plays a homeless man in the upcoming fi lm “Time Out of Mind.”
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