NEW YORK, NY - When Lisa Regina was at the height of her film industry career 20 years ago, she never once gave thought to veterans and the challenges they go through. [Read our original coverage about Lisa Regina here.]
She spent her days writing screenplays and teaching future stars in the New York City area how to act in Hollywood blockbuster movies.
At night, she immersed herself in the television and film industry social scene that allowed her to rub shoulders with Hollywood's elite, and she never looked back.
During that illustrious time, she found love with a high-profile actor to whom she later got engaged.
The world was at her feet, and the sky was the limit.
But all that came to a crashing halt, both literally and figuratively, one afternoon in 2005. As Lisa and her then-fiancé were driving around Manhattan on their way to the engagement dinner, her fiancé underwent an unexpected fit of rage, an issue she became increasingly concerned with.
But this time was different: it was extreme.
Lisa tried calming her fiancé’s rage as they drove through the streets, but to no avail. Seemingly out of nowhere, he viciously attacked and struck her as he drove, knocking her unconscious. He then threw her out of their moving vehicle in a bustling street in lower Manhattan.
Lisa recalls (from an eyewitness account only, as she has no memory of the impact) that people stepped over her body as she lay on the ground. Eventually, a good Samaritan stopped to call the ambulance and waited with her nearly lifeless body until first responders arrived.
“I woke up in the hospital, and the only thing I remembered was my ex-fiancé striking me with all his might. That was it,” Lisa told LET in an exclusive interview.
As she physically recovered in the months following the attack, she fought to overcome the debilitating effects of post-traumatic stress.
She eventually found relief. During her rehabilitative journey, she befriended a blind combat veteran also diagnosed with post-traumatic stress (PTS).
That changed everything.
"I realized that she and I shared a lot of the exact same mental health issues, even though she's a veteran and I was a civilian. It was a moving experience," Lisa told LET.
She continued, "Then I began thinking about how many other veterans are struggling like this. I was shocked to learn 7% of veterans suffer from PTS and that there are over 15 million veterans in America. It pains me to even say that."
Because of the harrowing experience, she left the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle and dedicated her life to helping the veteran community.
Helping Veterans
Lisa unearthed a new world that many veterans have been living in for years - living with post-traumatic stress.
She lived through and overcame a similar struggle many veterans experienced - getting diagnosed with post-traumatic stress and learning to manage it.
Since the dramatic turnaround (that took years), she wanted to use her skills and connections from the film industry to help the veteran community.
"I went through a terrible experience that so many veterans have gone through. My heart goes out to each and every one of them because I know it's an extremely difficult journey to live with post-traumatic stress," Lisa said.
Now she wants to use her experience from the film industry to help veterans.
"I decided to write a TV series screenplay, called Heroic Episodes, that is dedicated to retelling the stories of real veterans to honor them. This dramatic series is set in a VFW where these honored veterans will have their story retold," she added.
But that's just part of her plan.
"I want to involve and employ dozens of veterans, hopefully more, during the entire process. Whether it's in front of or behind the camera, or just shadowing and learning from an industry expert, veterans will be at the forefront of the process, all while we maintain the highest television filming standards," Lisa said.
A noble cause.
A Philanthropic Journey
With such an ambitious plan comes a cost. As anyone could imagine, filming a professional television series is not cheap.
But Lisa has set up the entire filming strategy by making it a philanthropic mission ahead of everything else.
"This is a philanthropic journey at its core. Although there are production costs associated with the project, this entire plan is driven by a passion to help the veteran community," she said.
Over the last two years, Lisa has been building a team of like-minded film industry professionals who agreed to take a massive pay cut to make this dream a reality.
"In order to produce a successful television series, we still need Hollywood's best working on it. But they understand my philanthropic vision and have agreed to work at a friends and family rate," she said.
She added, "The average episode costs well over $600,000 to produce. With the production team stepping up the way they did, we brought that cost all the way down to about $150,000 per episode!"
The goal is to raise $900,000 to produce the first 6-episode season, with the goal that a major film production company like Netflix will pick up additional seasons.
"We want to raise the first season amount to keep the project independent so we can keep our commitment to helping veterans. If it's not independent, we can't guarantee another studio will take care of veterans. That's why we need to raise the money ourselves," an excited Lisa said.
Hollywood Support
Lisa's project is already filled with talented industry professionals. But it doesn't end there.
"A-list actor Joe Mantegna is our executive producer and is quite impressed with what we've built so far. We’re hopeful to engage support from veteran advocates, such as Gary Sinise, to support our mission, as he's another veteran advocate," she said.
Lisa continues to raise money for this project.
“Veterans have been there for us Americans, all I want to do is be there for them!” she concluded.
If you are a civilian or veteran business owner and want to participate in the project directly, email lisa@heroicepisodes.org.
If you would like more information or would like to donate, please visit https://heroicepisodes.org/ and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn
-----------------------------------
Writer Eddie Molina is a veteran and has over 25 years of combined LEO/military service. He owns and operates the LEO apparel and accessory company www.BuyHeroStuff.com
She spent her days writing screenplays and teaching future stars in the New York City area how to act in Hollywood blockbuster movies.
At night, she immersed herself in the television and film industry social scene that allowed her to rub shoulders with Hollywood's elite, and she never looked back.
During that illustrious time, she found love with a high-profile actor to whom she later got engaged.
The world was at her feet, and the sky was the limit.
But all that came to a crashing halt, both literally and figuratively, one afternoon in 2005. As Lisa and her then-fiancé were driving around Manhattan on their way to the engagement dinner, her fiancé underwent an unexpected fit of rage, an issue she became increasingly concerned with.
But this time was different: it was extreme.
Lisa tried calming her fiancé’s rage as they drove through the streets, but to no avail. Seemingly out of nowhere, he viciously attacked and struck her as he drove, knocking her unconscious. He then threw her out of their moving vehicle in a bustling street in lower Manhattan.
Lisa recalls (from an eyewitness account only, as she has no memory of the impact) that people stepped over her body as she lay on the ground. Eventually, a good Samaritan stopped to call the ambulance and waited with her nearly lifeless body until first responders arrived.
“I woke up in the hospital, and the only thing I remembered was my ex-fiancé striking me with all his might. That was it,” Lisa told LET in an exclusive interview.
As she physically recovered in the months following the attack, she fought to overcome the debilitating effects of post-traumatic stress.
She eventually found relief. During her rehabilitative journey, she befriended a blind combat veteran also diagnosed with post-traumatic stress (PTS).
That changed everything.
"I realized that she and I shared a lot of the exact same mental health issues, even though she's a veteran and I was a civilian. It was a moving experience," Lisa told LET.
She continued, "Then I began thinking about how many other veterans are struggling like this. I was shocked to learn 7% of veterans suffer from PTS and that there are over 15 million veterans in America. It pains me to even say that."
Because of the harrowing experience, she left the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle and dedicated her life to helping the veteran community.
Helping Veterans
Lisa unearthed a new world that many veterans have been living in for years - living with post-traumatic stress.
She lived through and overcame a similar struggle many veterans experienced - getting diagnosed with post-traumatic stress and learning to manage it.
Since the dramatic turnaround (that took years), she wanted to use her skills and connections from the film industry to help the veteran community.
"I went through a terrible experience that so many veterans have gone through. My heart goes out to each and every one of them because I know it's an extremely difficult journey to live with post-traumatic stress," Lisa said.
Now she wants to use her experience from the film industry to help veterans.
"I decided to write a TV series screenplay, called Heroic Episodes, that is dedicated to retelling the stories of real veterans to honor them. This dramatic series is set in a VFW where these honored veterans will have their story retold," she added.
But that's just part of her plan.
"I want to involve and employ dozens of veterans, hopefully more, during the entire process. Whether it's in front of or behind the camera, or just shadowing and learning from an industry expert, veterans will be at the forefront of the process, all while we maintain the highest television filming standards," Lisa said.
A noble cause.
A Philanthropic Journey
With such an ambitious plan comes a cost. As anyone could imagine, filming a professional television series is not cheap.
But Lisa has set up the entire filming strategy by making it a philanthropic mission ahead of everything else.
"This is a philanthropic journey at its core. Although there are production costs associated with the project, this entire plan is driven by a passion to help the veteran community," she said.
Over the last two years, Lisa has been building a team of like-minded film industry professionals who agreed to take a massive pay cut to make this dream a reality.
"In order to produce a successful television series, we still need Hollywood's best working on it. But they understand my philanthropic vision and have agreed to work at a friends and family rate," she said.
She added, "The average episode costs well over $600,000 to produce. With the production team stepping up the way they did, we brought that cost all the way down to about $150,000 per episode!"
The goal is to raise $900,000 to produce the first 6-episode season, with the goal that a major film production company like Netflix will pick up additional seasons.
"We want to raise the first season amount to keep the project independent so we can keep our commitment to helping veterans. If it's not independent, we can't guarantee another studio will take care of veterans. That's why we need to raise the money ourselves," an excited Lisa said.
Hollywood Support
Lisa's project is already filled with talented industry professionals. But it doesn't end there.
"A-list actor Joe Mantegna is our executive producer and is quite impressed with what we've built so far. We’re hopeful to engage support from veteran advocates, such as Gary Sinise, to support our mission, as he's another veteran advocate," she said.
Lisa continues to raise money for this project.
“Veterans have been there for us Americans, all I want to do is be there for them!” she concluded.
If you are a civilian or veteran business owner and want to participate in the project directly, email lisa@heroicepisodes.org.
If you would like more information or would like to donate, please visit https://heroicepisodes.org/ and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn
-----------------------------------
Writer Eddie Molina is a veteran and has over 25 years of combined LEO/military service. He owns and operates the LEO apparel and accessory company www.BuyHeroStuff.com
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The opinions reflected in this article are not necessarily the opinions of LET
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