My DIE HARD fans will know exactly what it means to me to be back on set again for the first time since LA BOUNTY which I co-wrote, produced, and starred in. It was very successful world wide including the Eastern European countries. In Russia the movie was sold along with RAMBO and five other U.S. action movies for the first time in history, for which I am very proud!

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have stayed loyal to me. My very special heartfelt appreciation goes to my Web Master and very dear personal friend, Jim Blogg (Rollerjim). Jim kept hope alive with his renowned "The Legend Of Sybil Danning" Yahoo Group, refusing to give up on me. Jim continued to create and work tirelessly on the first ever "Official Sybil Danning Website" for which we have garnered much acclaim, with our biggest thrill being the day we finally became #1 on Google for the key phrase, "Sybil Danning". I have taken a long pause and thank you all for never doubting to ever see me on the silver screen again, because - The Bitch is Back!

JUMP had been in the planning for some time and I too had gone back and forth on deciding whether to play the mother role or the role of Anna Gruber. Always thinking what my fans would like to see, I decided to play Anna. The director, producer, and screenplay writer, Joshua Sinclair, who I know as the writer of TO END ALL WARS, starring Kiefer Sutherland, which I executive produced, gave me the choice and felt I could very well play either role. My thinking was I could certainly show my dramatic ability in playing the role of the mother as she is a very tragic character, but on the other hand I have time to play those types of roles and opted for Anna. Anna is a very up-beat character, living a simple life as a waitress at a mountain hut in the Tyrolean Alps in Austria who has an affair with the father of Philippe Halsman and innocently becomes a pivotal witness in the trial. Joshua told me Anna is one of his favorite characters because she is honest in her own simple way of up bringing, living, and thinking.

JUMP is based on the book by Joshua, and covers the true-life story of the renowned late Life Magazine cover photographer, Philippe Halsman who is known for his Jump photos of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and others. In 1955 in New York, Philippe while photographing Marilyn Monroe, tells a journalist his life story which takes us back to his family in 1928 Austria and the trial of the century.

I was very happy to be a part of this film and my experience was fantastic. Joshua was terrific and made my being in front of the camera again very easy. I felt like I had never left the screen at all. You always say everything starts at the top and that was the case with this production. With Joshua being an Italian/American, the producer, Lilly Berger from Upper Austria where I am also from, the camera crew, Italian, and the rest from the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany, this was an international crew and everyone was supportive of each other. Though the subject matter was very dramatic, everyone found smiles and laughs to balance the day. Everyone worked hard but there was always an excuse to party. At one point the Italian crew was tired of schnitzel and was hoping for some good spaghetti. Producer, Lilly Berger, a warm and charming woman from Linz the capitol of Upper Austria, 50 km from my home town, managed to set the entire movie in this one of nine States, Upper Austria. Patriotically, she decided our State had every location to double for Vienna, Innsbruck, and the Tyrolean Alps. My mother came to visit me in one of the locations, Bad Hall, which happens to be her birth town and where I spent the first five years of my life living with her and my grand mother. She showed me where we lived, where she went to school, my aunt's restaurant, and other places including the church where I was baptized! I took a trip down memory lane - it was surreal.

 
Patrick and I in the courtroom in Innsbruck, Austria where he as defense attorney for Philippe Halsman, cross-examines me as key witness. In person Patrick is much fun and just as charming and sexy as we know him in DIRTY DANCING, but also as sensitive as in one of my favorite movies of all time, GHOST!
Christoph Schobesberger is Austrian and plays the prosecutor. He is also a wonderful singer and performs all of Frank Sinatras' songs.
Heinz Hoenig, a very popular actor in Germany, plays the father of Philippe Halsman with whom I have an affair that ultimately makes me a key witness to the murder trial! In real life Heinz also has a son with whom he is very close and on the phone every day.
Ben Silverstone, Martine McCutcheon, and I in the courtroom between takes. They are two of the nicest and most professional people I have met! I love them dearly and we want to work together again! They were so sweet and at one point came up to me after my first courtroom scene and told me they loved my performance, professionalism, and that I remind them of Faye Dunaway!
With the arrest force at my mountain hut.

Me in the bedroom adjusting my stockings. In the background Philippe's father, Morduch, instead of smoking a cigarette - plays his violin.

Patrick sharing the witness stand with me for a picture.
Patrick, as defense attorney, interrogates me.
Stefanie Powers (Hart To Hart) and I after a workout, both without make-up. Afterwards we had dinner together and talked about Kenya which we both love! My favorite place was one of Stefanie' Safari stop-overs, "Treetops." It's a wooden cabin built on stilts in the middle of the game reserve where you sit quietly all night, wait, and with artificial moons set up, watch, film and photograph as animals come to drink at the water hole! Stefanie as a journalist, visits Philippe Halsman in New York in 1955 as he photographs Marilyn Monroe. The interview takes us back to 1928 in Austria
Heinz Hoenig, father of Philippe Halsman, and I chatting between takes.
Patrick and I rehearsing our scene.
In my slip at the make-up table.
Asli Bayram is Miss Germany and plays the role of a mountain hiker who meets Philippe and his father while hiking in the Alps. Her goal is acting and Hollywood. She asked me how to go about it. I told her, theory is one thing and reality another. Very few German actors have made it in Hollywood!
Ben, known for the popular Paramount, "coming of age movie "Get Real", plays the late Philippe Halsman, persecuted in 1928 by the rising Nazi political party in Austria. Ben is an amazingly intense and brilliant young actor! He is also very kind and attractive. Unfortunately, he has been suffering in jail as the make-up in this photo suggests!
Waiting for my next scene between Patrick's and Ben's chairs.
Martine McCutcheon, from Ireland, plays the sister of Philippe Halsman. She and I had much fun. She is a great singer and has a fantastic music career in the UK. Here we are visiting the craft service table.
A scene being set up where Heinz and Philippe Halsman come to my hut for the first time.
With make-up and wardrobe ready to go, the day chilly, I'm wrapped in a blanket waiting my turn. The curlers always came out at the last minute to avoid my hair from going straight, which they loved doing in the humidity there.
Posing next to one of our cameras, this time instead of being behind the camera
Wolfgang Fierek, very well known actor in Germany/Austria whose hobby is cooking, plays the PI to Patrick Swayze.
Wolfgang Fierek and I in the courtroom.
My mother and I having a beer together.
This is the exterior of the Pfarrkirche church in Bad Hall where my mother was born and I spent the first five years of my life. My mother and I were both baptized in this beautiful Gothic church.
The interior of the church.
This is the baptism stand where my mother and I were baptised.
I took time for a quick full pose of Anna Gruber in her full mountain hut waitress gear.
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