tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56590239958898451942024-03-12T17:15:45.102-07:00FilmStew.comTracking the offbeat side of independent film, short films & documentaries.Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.comBlogger585125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-68234495013003715992022-07-31T17:11:00.008-07:002022-07-31T17:31:24.427-07:00Pixies Backup Singer Wants To Make Ableist Rock'n'Roll Flick<p>There are a few days left, and about a third of the way to go, for <b>U.K.</b> indie drama <b><i>Tallywacker</i></b>'s fundraising campaign.</p>
<a name='more'></a><p>The movie is a labor of love for <b>Jeremy Macomber-Dubs</b>, a man of many talents. On the one hand, he is the chairman of the <b>Disability Commission</b> in <b>Northampton</b>. On another, he is a rock guitarist who doesn't let being confined to a wheelchair get in the way of a good jam session.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/713926182?h=d52280d466" width="448"></iframe></div>
<p>The budget for <b><i>Tallywacker</i></b> is <b>$30,000 U.S.</b> At press time, about two-thirds of that had been raised on <a href="https://seedandspark.com/fund/tallywacker#story" target="_blank"><b>Seed and Spark</b></a>. The current fundraising deadline for the full amount is <b>August 4</b>. The project is a buddy comedy about a pair of musicians (<b>Macomber-Dubs</b>, <b>Chris Goodwin</b>) whose friendship is challenged after their band <b>Tallywacker</b> is recruited to open for a major rock star.</p><p>One of <b>Macomber-Dubs</b> former bands opened for <b>The Pixies</b>. He befriended the band and wound up singing background vocals on one of their albums. <b>Macomber-Dubs</b> currently plays in the group <b>Bunnies</b>.</p><p>In recent years, <b>Macomber-Dubs</b> has been sharing his frustrations about the depictions of disabled musicians on <b>Facebook</b>. One of those posts caught the attention of <b>Brendan Boogie</b>, a <b>Boston</b>-based writer-director who has since relocated to <b>L.A.</b></p><p>If a pair of collaborators with the last names <b>Dubs</b> and <b>Boogie</b> can't make a good music drama, then the world is doomed. Sure enough, based on those <b>Facebook</b> posts, <b>Boogie</b> came to <b>Northampton</b> to meet with <b>Macomber-Dubs</b>, and subsequently wrote the <i><b>Tallywacker</b></i> screenplay.</p><p>"I think <b>Brendan</b>'s script is incredible," <b>Macomber-Dubs</b> recently <a href="https://www.gazettenet.com/Rock-on-contributions-sought-to-make-independent-film-about-a-disabled-guitarist-and-his-shot-at-the-big-time-47273470" target="_blank">told</a> the <i><b>Daily Hampshire Gazette</b></i>. "He really understood the issues I was talking about. He wrote scenes about things that had happened to me that I hadn't even told me about. He just intuitively understood so much."</p><p><br /></p>Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-26657469061378215292022-05-07T11:56:00.009-07:002022-05-07T12:21:24.765-07:00Chicago Professor Weaves Tale Of Two Morocco's<p>In several ways, the half-hour documentary <i><b>Morocco, Morocco</b></i> feels like it was meant to be.</p>
<a name='more'></a><p><b>Jackie Spinner</b>, the film's director and a journalism professor at <b>Chicago</b>'s <b>Columbia College</b>, has two Moroccan-born sons. And the small town of <b>Morocco</b>, <b>Indiana</b> is not too far from her current home base.</p><p>The documentary, produced with the help of a grant from the <b>Pulitzer Center</b>, premiered this week on local <b>PBS-TV</b> station <b>WWTW</b>. The film is currently available to view <a href="https://schedule.wttw.com/episodes/575831/Morocco-Morocco/?tp=69a376eb-729a-4383-8443-ce7d3da546cd" target="_blank">online</a>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmzhZRau6JNjb5TPQot5R0_s99y0FD5qdMdxD2QmPbx32ULljMCnfjeD2pWo0rPWF_NDPbMsLD7dAJA8nQ7KhrgUS_ucJktcsi8Eell03AhIM_cNvQ18xBTprRz6eRfaL1CFJH6tjaw9YgvJMVKtk5DYTxbTyabAFK3_mH0FbMVJEILPnG4hTO7CIs/s677/Ibekie.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="677" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmzhZRau6JNjb5TPQot5R0_s99y0FD5qdMdxD2QmPbx32ULljMCnfjeD2pWo0rPWF_NDPbMsLD7dAJA8nQ7KhrgUS_ucJktcsi8Eell03AhIM_cNvQ18xBTprRz6eRfaL1CFJH6tjaw9YgvJMVKtk5DYTxbTyabAFK3_mH0FbMVJEILPnG4hTO7CIs/s320/Ibekie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><b>Spinner</b>, a staff writer and war reporter with <b><i>The Washington Post</i></b> from <b>1995</b> to <b>2009</b>, first stumbled upon the town of <b>Morocco</b> with her husband as they were on their way back from <b>Cincinnati</b>. She is the founder of two independent student newspapers in the <b>Middle East</b>, <b><i>AUIS Voice</i></b> in <b>Iraq</b> and <b><i>Al Mir'ah</i></b> in <b>Oman</b>, and helped put on <b>"Conflict Zone,"</b> a combat photojournalism exhibit.</p><p>The documentary incorporates a couple of unusual wrinkles. On the <b>U.S.</b> side of filming, most of the crew was made up of veterans. And the idea of tying in drawings from children on both sides of the <b>Atlantic Ocean</b> came from a friend.</p><p>"I was actually talking to a friend of mine, who was an art therapist," <b>Spinner</b> <a href="https://columbiachronicle.com/the-making-of-morocco-morocco-a-conversation-with-jackie-spinner" target="_blank">explains</a> to student newspaper <b><i>The Columbia Chronicle</i></b>. "She asked me if I had thought about incorporating art and drawings in any way."</p><p>"To me, it's one of the most endearing parts in the film because both sets of Moroccans have heard about the other, mostly through film and TV, and so they don't always have the exact right ideas," she continues. "But they're curious about each other and that's the connection to humanity."</p><p>Another highlight is a segment featuring local American-side doctor <b>Dr. Oranu Ibekie</b> (pictured, above). He explains how he randomly put a pin in a map to choose the <b>Indiana</b> town of <b>Morocco</b> to establish a family practice, and comically recalls a local sheriff pulling up to him when he was checking out office space.</p><p><b><i>Morocco, Morocco</i></b> is at heart a leisurely paced slice of life. It allows the points to make themselves, such as the portion where a local tattoo artist, after<b> Ibekie</b> is joyfully introduced, recalls Black kids being chased away in the <b>1970s</b> from the town pool.</p><p><br /></p>Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-74007409157746456682022-02-19T09:01:00.006-08:002022-02-19T10:02:29.221-08:00A Horror-Comedy Sparked By Trauma<p>When <b><i>Jack Be Nimble</i></b> screens <b>February 20th</b> in <b>York</b>, <b>Pennsylvania</b>, it will mark the end of a very unusual road for writer-director <b>Steve Woollett</b>.</p>
<a name='more'></a><p>In the space of just a few days at the very beginning of <b>2020</b>, <b>Woollett</b>'s health food store burned down and his wife, checked into the hospital, was declared brain dead. She died soon thereafter, of what very well may have been COVID. On top of all this, the couple's family dog had passed away during the <b>2019</b> Christmas holidays.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="218" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/669211758?h=6cfe2cdf3a" width="512"></iframe></div><p>After a period of alcohol and drug-fueled grief, <b>Woollett</b> miraculously picked himself up by the bootstraps and wrote a film script in three weeks. <b><i>Jack Be Nimble</i></b>, set in assisted living home, is about a group of aged former role-play gamers; one of them, <b>Jack</b>, becomes convinced that a nurse is trying to kill him.</p>
<p>The nurse is played by <b>Bai Ling</b>, who <b><i>Woollett</i></b> ran into by chance one day in the elevator of a <b>New York</b> hotel. From an <a href="https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2022/02/16/steve-wollett-stewartstown-produced-independent-film-jack-nimble/6719408001/" target="_blank">article</a> in the <b><i>York Daily Record</i></b>:</p>
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>"We got to talking and she introduced herself, and I thought: <b>Bai Ling</b>, weren't you in <b><i>The Crow</i></b>? He asked if she would be interested in reading the script for his movie, and she agreed.</p><p>"I ran to my room, grabbed a copy of the script and handed it to her and figured I'd never hear from her again," he said. Within 24 hours, <b>Woollett</b> received a phone call from <b>Ling</b>, who loved the script and insisted that he put her in the film.</p></blockquote>
<p>Starring as <b>Jack</b> is <b>Vernon Wells</b>, whose famously played <b>Wez</b> in <b><i>Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior</i></b>. Everything seemed to line up for <b><i>Jack Be Nimble</i></b>, including the nursing facility location, which was provided by a longtime friend who was in the midst of renovating and had a vacant floor to provide for the 11-day shoot.</p>
[<b><i>Jack Be Nimble</i></b> Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jackbenimblethemovie" target="_blank">page</a>]<div><br /></div>Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-60489397778155400472021-12-04T11:09:00.015-08:002021-12-04T11:37:51.041-08:00Short Film Revisits 1931 Maryland Lynching<p>Premiering virtually today, <b>December 4th</b>, exactly <b>90</b> years after a white mob dragged <b>23</b>-year-old Black man <b>Matthew Williams</b> from a hospital bed and hung him in front of the courthouse in downtown <b>Salisbury</b>, <b>Maryland</b>, the short film <b><i>Hidden In Full View</i></b> is part of a one-two punch from <b>Dr. Charles Chavis</b>, an assistant professor at <b>George Mason University</b>.</p>
<a name='more'></a><p>Next month, a book will <a href="https://thesilentshore.org/book/" target="_blank">follow</a>, titled <b><i>The Silent Shore: The Lynching of Matthew Williams and the Politics of Racism in the Free State</i></b>. Chavis produced and co-wrote the short film.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitzkz9ALgXDM21LCsuPJP3Jv51Zq5AW9Hu1LmP5Yr6fzhMWEZMv5HtuvAfFBo1dND1tdEB2a8UHbKXWW7_ejOI-tGg0W_oMTqjse7YtSWlcPu3i5brRvOzzq_XhldT-3BZoySjyfaHAqk/s1214/MarylandNewspaper.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1214" data-original-width="922" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitzkz9ALgXDM21LCsuPJP3Jv51Zq5AW9Hu1LmP5Yr6fzhMWEZMv5HtuvAfFBo1dND1tdEB2a8UHbKXWW7_ejOI-tGg0W_oMTqjse7YtSWlcPu3i5brRvOzzq_XhldT-3BZoySjyfaHAqk/s320/MarylandNewspaper.png" width="243" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Baltimore Afro-American<br />December 12, 1931</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Williams</b> was hospitalized with gunshot wounds after a wage dispute with his white boss, who was found murdered. Following today's <a href="https://www.mdlynchingmemorial.org/events/2021/12/4/hidden-in-full-view" target="_blank">screening</a>, there will be a panel discussion featuring <b>Chavis</b> as well as <b>Jeannie Jones</b>, a descendant of <b>Williams</b>, and a half-dozen other participants.</p><p>From a recent <b>PBS</b> <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wnet/exploring-hate/2021/12/01/today-in-history-the-silent-shore/" target="_blank">article</a>:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="gnt_ar_b_p" style="background-color: white; color: #303030; margin: 14px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><i><span data-contrast="none" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black;">On December 4, 1931, a mob of white men in Salisbury, Maryland, lynched and set ablaze a twenty-three-year-old Black man named Matthew Williams. His gruesome murder was part of a wave of silent white terrorism in the wake of the stock market crash of 1929, which exposed Black laborers to white rage in response to economic anxieties. For nearly a century, the lynching of Matthew Williams has lived in the shadows of the better-known</span><span data-contrast="none" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black;"> incidents of racial terror in the deep South, haunting both the Eastern Shore and the state of Maryland as a whole. </span></i></span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":240}" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black;"> </span></span></p></blockquote><p>Following the lynching, the then-governor of <b>Maryland</b> engaged a <b>Pinkerton</b> detective, <b>Patsy Johnson</b>, to go undercover and investigate the <b>Williams</b> killing. <b>Johnson</b> gathered damning evidence that confirmed several local law enforcement officers as ringleaders of the lynching, burning and desecration of the man's body. Nevertheless, a grand jury declined to indict the perpetrators.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/652145123?h=504f9e75f0" title="vimeo-player" width="458"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Chavis</b> made the short film in partnership with <b>Cue Films</b>, a company headed by Nigerian siblings <b>Katrina</b> and <b>Samson Binutu</b>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-28943271317380115942021-11-07T08:19:00.011-08:002021-11-07T10:47:26.882-08:00A Locally-Made Short About Hawaii's Infamous Massie Trials<p>Decades before the <b>"Central Park 5,"</b> there were the <b>Massie</b> trials in <b>Hawaii</b> in the early <b>1930s</b>. Five young local boys were falsely accused of raping a white woman, <b>Thalia Massie</b>, who was married to a Navy officer. Although they were found innocent, that verdict did not end their troubles.</p>
<a name='more'></a><p>Following the trials, one of the boys was attacked and severely injured, leading the group to huddle together and strategize about how they could best protect themselves. <b><i>Ala Moana Boys</i></b> premiered this week at the <b>2021 Honolulu International Film Festival</b>.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c9Q-DdCyiCM" title="YouTube video player" width="488"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>The <b>18</b>-minute short is the first locally-made look at the events circa <b>1931-32</b>. Rather than focus on the trials, director <b>Keli'i Grace</b>'s intent was to shine more of a direct light on the boys themselves.</div><div><br /></div><div>There has been, previously, a <b>2018</b> <b>PBS</b> <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/island-murder/" target="_blank">documentary</a> about the case as well as a <b>1986</b> <b>CBS-TV</b> miniseries. The latter, <b><i>Blood & Orchids</i></b>, was very loosely based on the events of the <b>Massie</b> trials; <b>Madeleine Stowe</b> starred as the victim while <b>Kris Kristofferson</b> played a detective assigned to her case.<br /><br />The trials have only recently been taught in <b>Hawaii</b> schools. Grace <a href="https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/the-conversation/2021-11-03/short-film-ala-moana-boys-follows-honolulus-infamous-massie-trials-in-the-1930s" target="_blank">told</a> <b>Hawaii Public Radio</b> that none of it was covered during his formal education. The script for his short film was written by locally based journalist <b>Alexander Deedy</b>, who from the islands works as assistant editor of <b><i>Alaska</i></b> magazine.<br /><br /><b><i>Ala Moana Boys</i></b> screens again <b>November 19th</b> and <b>20th</b> at <b>HIFF</b> locations. It will also be made available online beginning <b>November 10th</b>, via hiff.org, to festival passholders.<br /><br />A recent book about the trials, <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/michaelfarrisnet/books/a-death-in-the-islands" target="_blank"><b><i>A Death in the Islands</i></b></a>, was optioned by the screenwriters of <b>Disney</b>'s <b><i>Moana</i></b> animated feature. <b>Grace</b> meanwhile hopes to expand his short film into an episodic series or full-length feature film.<br /><br />[<i><b>Ala Moana Boys</b></i> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/alamoanaboys/" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>]</div><div><br /></div>Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-24979776617607181102021-10-30T08:41:00.014-07:002021-10-30T15:09:38.185-07:00DC Comics Fan Film Rolls Out on Halloween Weekend<p>It was shot in <b>North Carolina</b> and, this weekend, premieres in the state at a movie theater owned by the film's writer-director-producer <b>Ronald J. Rossman</b>.</p>
<a name='more'></a><p>After tonight's gala showing at the <a href="https://lenoir.gtcinemas.com/" target="_blank"><b>Golden Ticket Cinemas</b></a> in <b>Lenoir</b>, <b><i>The Devil's Daughter: A Harley Quinn Story</i></b> will be available for free on Halloween via <b>YouTube</b> and <b>Facebook</b>. A donation link in both cases will lead viewers to <a href="https://www.gracioushandshousing.org/our-founders-story" target="_blank"><b>Gracious Hands</b></a>, a <b>Charlotte</b> organization that helps women with children transition away from homelessness, often the result of escaping domestic violence.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/D3xMmoOx3WM" title="YouTube video player" width="488"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>The reason the film is free and the reflection of a non-profit undertaking is, of course, that <b>Rossman</b> does not have any kind of licensing agreement with <b>DC Comics</b>. It is a fan film, one that took root in his mind a few years ago. From a piece in the <a href="https://www.taylorsvilletimes.com/2021/06/24/independent-movie-filming-in-taylorsville/" target="_blank"><b><i>Taylorsville Times</i></b>:</a> </div><div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><b>Rossmann</b> said the film idea dates back to <b>2016</b>, when he wrote the script as a serious take on the <b>Harley Quinn</b> character, focused on the effects of domestic violence. When he got the script together, he didn’t think it was marketable, because it wasn’t a typical “comic book film.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Then, <b><i>The Joker</i></b> came out, starring <b>Joaquin Phoenix</b>, and it was well received.
“So, I thought if people are ready for a much more realistic style comic book film, then I think we could put this [film] out,” <b>Rossmann</b> reasoned. “We did some revisions to the script and were going to start producing last year, but of course, COVID hit. So we had to put it off for a year.”
</div></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Faneal Godbold</b> (<i><b>Nashville</b></i>) portrays <b>Quinn</b>. The cast also includes wrestler <b>Rob Kellum</b> (a.k.a. The Maestro) and horror actress<b> Crystal Cleveland</b> as <b>Poison Ivy</b>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The movie was filmed on weekends. Proceeds from tonight's premiere screening will also go to <b>Gracious Hands</b>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">[<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRTykNgQ6iesLpgiDwvuJEQ" target="_blank"><b>Empire Fan Productions</b></a>]</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-48502221702819846342021-10-17T08:58:00.017-07:002021-10-30T17:32:35.144-07:00Ohio Filmmaker Taps Into SHAWSHANK Prison Location<p>When <b>Gary Jones</b> moved back to <b>Ohio</b> from <b>Los Angeles</b> in <b>2005</b>, he returned to his native <b>Crestline</b>, a few miles from the <b>Ohio State Reformatory</b>, a location famously used for <b><i>The Shawshank Redemption</i></b> as well as other movies such as <b><i>Air Force One</i></b> and <b><i>Tango & Cash</i></b>.</p>
<a name='more'></a><p>All these years later, he was able to film a movie there, in and around the Covid pandemic, <b><i>Escape From Death Block 13</i></b>. The action drama screened this weekend in <a href="https://gatewayfilmcenter.org/movies/escape-from-death-block-13/" target="_blank"><b>Columbus</b></a> and <a href="https://mansfieldplayhouse.com/" target="_blank"><b>Mansfield</b></a>, <b>Ohio</b> ahead of streaming release <b>November 12</b>.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yi7mzohKZi0" title="YouTube video player" width="448"></iframe></div><div>The only wrinkle was that the <b>Ohio State Reformatory</b> was under renovation. "I just made a story point out of it," <b>Jones</b> <a href="https://www.columbusunderground.com/homegrown-action-flick-hits-gateway-film-center-hm1/" target="_blank">told</a> <b><i>Columbus Underground</i></b>. "The state hires a contractor, they make the inmates do the work of renovating the prison."</div><div><br /></div><div>The film stars Hungarian actor <b>Robert Bronzi</b>, who looks like a heyday <b>Charles Bronson</b>, as <b>Miklos "Mick" Kovacs</b>. After coming to America to seek a payment related to the death of his brother, he is falsely convicted and winds up in Pleasant Hill Penitentiary. Alongside <b>Bronzi</b> as Bunyan is former professional wrestler <b>Chris Hahn</b>, who after almost <b>30</b> years in the <b>WWE</b> trenches and so on is now busy as an actor and stuntman. <b>Hahn</b> was an associate producer on the film.<br /><br />Jones made his debut as an independent writer-director with <b>1994</b>'s <b>Mosquito</b>. He sold that movie for a million dollars, but was never able to collect the money. From there, he moved into TV, directing several episodes of <b><i>Xena: Warrior Princess</i></b>. He also has worked previously with <b>Bronzi</b> on the <b>2018</b> thriller <b>Death Kiss</b>.<br /><br />[Watch a video interview with <b>Jones</b> and <b>Hahn</b> <a href="https://youtu.be/tX5mFYDnAd4" target="_blank">here</a>.]</div><div><br /></div>Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-28822041673222427682021-10-03T16:32:00.011-07:002021-10-03T19:19:24.240-07:00A Superhero Loses His Powers<p>This is when you know the premise of your short film has strong potential.</p>
<a name='more'></a><p><b><i>Saint Bernard</i></b>, screening this weekend at <b>Cheyenne</b>'s <b>Midnight Fest West</b> event, was made for <b>$6,000</b> by locally based writer-director <b>Anthony Syracuse</b>. At one point in the creative process, he was traveling in <b>Ohio</b> and working regularly on the script at a hotel.</p><p>As he <a href="https://www.wyomingnews.com/features/todo/local-filmmaker-is-a-sign-that-independent-film-is-very-much-alive-in-cheyenne/article_ab12b0c1-154e-52c1-a7cd-0a21fc15dd9b.html" target="_blank">tells</a> the <i><b>Wyoming Tribune Eagle</b></i>, some construction workers within range of the outdoor area where he would fine-tune <i><b>Saint Bernard</b></i> on his laptop couldn't help but notice him and finally struck up a conversation, asking what he was working on:</p><p><br /></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">"They got so interested that that night I had eight construction workers that I had never met before all doing a read-through of my script," <b>Syracuse</b> said. "All around this electric fire outside of the hotel, we were reading while I was directing them and taking notes... then they all bought plane tickets to come and see the movie."</p></blockquote><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Vjz0OwXlp1iblIRVi4LjVEsWN0AHOcXNYFNQXFiQf5EVscu2BKadKeC4Qw97m5b5kdOtoMSDVvMswLgQzM1QVoMklYcOxhmy91eRmsuNcn8dJQxxKxCkSgz733NLYOkS8fmcj-cpekA/s1024/MidnightWestFest.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="692" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Vjz0OwXlp1iblIRVi4LjVEsWN0AHOcXNYFNQXFiQf5EVscu2BKadKeC4Qw97m5b5kdOtoMSDVvMswLgQzM1QVoMklYcOxhmy91eRmsuNcn8dJQxxKxCkSgz733NLYOkS8fmcj-cpekA/s320/MidnightWestFest.png" width="216" /></a></div><b><i>Saint Bernard</i></b> tells the story of an unassuming superhero, <b>Jeremy - </b>a.k.a. Letter man (<b>Just Woolsey</b>) - who loses his powers and is forced, as a result, to go into therapy. It opens with him in session and intermingles the story with various flashbacks. The <b>26</b>-minute comedy-drama can be seen <a href="https://youtu.be/RW5Fh1TTqnM">here</a>.<p></p><p>Cinematographer <b>Matthew Stacey</b> first met <b>Syracuse</b> in <b>2016</b> at the <b>Cheyenne Youth Film Festival</b>, where he had a movie in competition. So the local trajectory of this project courses deeply through the veins of the local arts scene in this <b>Wyoming</b> city. Last year, <b>Syracuse</b> recruited <b>Stacey</b> to help him make a <b>Netflix</b> special, but unfortunately, that program did not come to fruition.</p><p>Adding to the quirky local flavor of <i><b>Saint Bernard</b></i> is the fact that another character is played by <b>Dominic Rufran</b>, a one-time wide receiver at the <b>University of Wyoming</b> who now trains other athletes at that position for training academy <b>Jenkins Elite. Syracuse</b> is currently pursuing a degree in English at that same university. Last but not least, <b>Syracuse</b> listened often of the <b>Lincoln Lutz</b> song <a href="https://genius.com/Lincoln-saint-bernard-2-lyrics" target="_blank"><b>"Saint Bernard"</b></a> while working on his short film script. It was obviously a key element in the whole process and makes an appearance as well in the final product.</p>Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-46610968974848628382021-08-12T13:50:00.005-07:002021-08-12T13:58:26.106-07:00Union Grip Survives Harrowing DEXTER Detour<p>In the middle of working as a grip in <b>Massachusetts</b> on <i><b>Dexter: New Blood</b></i>, <b>Justin Sulham</b> was involved in a nasty multi-vehicle car accident on the <b>I-95</b> freeway in <b>Attleboro</b>. He's lucky to be alive.</p>
<a name='more'></a><p><b>Sulham</b> survived, in large part, because he is such a monster of a physical specimen: six foot five inches tall, bulked up and trained over the years as a professional wrestler. From one of several Instagram posts he <a href="https://www.instagram.com/justin_makes_movies/" target="_blank">shared</a> following the <b>Friday</b>, <b>March 5th</b> winter pile-up:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Today I saw the car that saved my life. It was overwhelming. Responders said another car or another person (physically) behind the wheel would have ended in a fatality, my car and myself were built to take it... I’ve got some struggles going on right now after the crash but I’m finding ways to be productive, ways to continue learning and becoming better, it’s not easy but nothing worthwhile in life ever is.</p></blockquote><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjojfULaqRcoWJV-fd2yw7bqHfRLq5_jZtXpGPsKG18CUKNqQ4liXu_05DYPjpp0etkVxveUdjfW_h4p9aWjbgZsxbSsvQMiezvk-XT6wjCDtvm-3H0P08QReBo_L_7jaNmddll72tHvQk/s583/JustinCrash.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="551" data-original-width="583" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjojfULaqRcoWJV-fd2yw7bqHfRLq5_jZtXpGPsKG18CUKNqQ4liXu_05DYPjpp0etkVxveUdjfW_h4p9aWjbgZsxbSsvQMiezvk-XT6wjCDtvm-3H0P08QReBo_L_7jaNmddll72tHvQk/s320/JustinCrash.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CMGF3F7p48L/" target="_blank">Instagram</a></td></tr></tbody></table><p>At the time, <b>Sulham</b> was also in the middle of producing and directing his second short film, <b><i>Black Vulture</i></b>. He fought through his concussion and related symptoms, finished the short in early <b>June</b> and this weekend, will screen it for crew, friends and family at the <b>Marilyn Rodman Performing Arts Centre</b> in his native <b>Foxboro</b>.</p><p>As <b>Sulham</b> <a href="https://www.thesunchronicle.com/foxboro_reporter/news/local_news/foxboro-native-comes-full-circle-with-hometown-screening-of-his-short-film/article_7b560e88-3518-545d-9f15-192b6548e8e1.html" target="_blank">told</a> local newspaper the <i><b>Foxboro Reporter</b></i> during a recent interview, adding to the specialness of this weekend's screening is the fact that the <b>398</b>-seat facility is where he forged his own moviegoing memories as a young boy and teen. The Centre was at that time called the <b>Orpheum</b> and he remembers seeing his first movie there, at age <b>5</b> - <i><b>Turner & Hooch</b></i>.</p><p>Meanwhile, adding to the uniqueness of <b><i>Black Vulture</i></b> is the fact that the person starring in the lead role, <b>Brian</b>, also worked as a grip on the <b>10</b>-episode <i><b>Dexter: New Blood</b></i> reboot! <b>Teddy Pryor</b> plays a man trying to make it through a ritualistic hunting exercise.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1BQ2EJLIBu7glJjPIAVFliUtiNPIqyznfz3791_vUliEKDhyphenhyphenTOuU0-b_4Vea4HSV4xqIWY4ZNqg_fRQFWm6CAZM-aXKoDFWEsVSG4QYmBnmhgqnVjqRDWzRc8FNdGaZ1FnOiQ74b6PpY/s595/BlackVulture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="446" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1BQ2EJLIBu7glJjPIAVFliUtiNPIqyznfz3791_vUliEKDhyphenhyphenTOuU0-b_4Vea4HSV4xqIWY4ZNqg_fRQFWm6CAZM-aXKoDFWEsVSG4QYmBnmhgqnVjqRDWzRc8FNdGaZ1FnOiQ74b6PpY/s320/BlackVulture.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CNSIKWYJqou/" target="_blank">Instagram</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-21186008262658818232021-08-10T13:42:00.007-07:002021-08-10T13:57:12.657-07:00High School Mass Shooting Drama Wraps in Wisconsin<p>As first-time filmmaker <b>Calvin Zimmerman</b> explains in his Director's Statement, the idea for <i><b>Wild Life</b></i> sparked many years ago, during his senior year at <b>Oconomowoc High School</b>.</p>
<a name='more'></a><p>When <b>Zimmerman</b> was assigned the debate topic of whether or not teachers should be armed in the classroom, it sent him down a rabbit hole of <b>Columbine</b>, <b>Sandy Hook</b>, <b>Virginia Tech</b> and more. As a result, he made a short film at that time, which this summer, he expanded into a full-length independent feature drama, under the same title. Principal shooting wrapped last week.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXHWwCvR2qfJ5eaNFDijRlVovmp0XtUNvWVtMK39jxVMBYQNla45YkKoA65TiUAOkkllsJWjmAwv85rBOSwJWANWYT0PdIQpXklNeVX0qq70A8sN_DjZBEGNpeUiyf7A71KJqbkx9ho2Q/s586/WildLife.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="586" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXHWwCvR2qfJ5eaNFDijRlVovmp0XtUNvWVtMK39jxVMBYQNla45YkKoA65TiUAOkkllsJWjmAwv85rBOSwJWANWYT0PdIQpXklNeVX0qq70A8sN_DjZBEGNpeUiyf7A71KJqbkx9ho2Q/s320/WildLife.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Photo courtesy <a href="https://www.instagram.com/wildlifeindiefilm/" target="_blank">Instagram</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>From <b>Zimmerman</b>'s <a href="https://wildlifeindie.com/cals-story" target="_blank">Director's Statement</a>:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Poppins; font-size: 16px; margin: 1rem 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was thrown yet another curveball the day that my [high school] film teacher proudly walked into class and announced that a prestigious film school in <b>Chicago</b> was holding a festival for High School students, and we were encouraged to participate! That year’s theme?</p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Poppins; font-size: 16px; margin: 1rem 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;">The best or worst day of school. </p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Poppins; font-size: 16px; margin: 1rem 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;">It felt like fate.</p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Poppins; font-size: 16px; margin: 1rem 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;">I gathered my friends and my fellow film students, and told them what I planned to do. I wanted to portray a fictitious school shooting within the walls of my high school in the most respectful way possible. No violence, no weapons, no shooter. Just the concerned faces of the school’s students as they watched horror unfold offscreen. I could see it so vividly in my head. I knew that I could get my friends to help if I gave them that incentive of having a winning festival film. So, we got to work.</p></blockquote><p>Although the short-film version of <b><i>Wild Life</i></b> did not win at the <b>Chicago</b> festival, it became something of a cause célèbre at <b>Zimmerman</b>'s <b>Wisconsin</b> high school. He self-financed this year's feature-film version and moved back to <b>Oconomowoc</b> from <b>San Diego</b> for the summer to guide a small crew of about <b>15</b>. In the feature film, <b>14</b> people are killed in a mass shooting incident.</p><p><b>Zimmerman</b>, now <b>23</b>, <a href="https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/news/oconomowoc/2021/07/29/independent-film-filming-oconomowoc-waukesha-summer/5381063001/" target="_blank">told</a> the <b>Milwaukee <i>Journal-Sentinel</i></b> he hopes to complete post-production on <b><i>Wild Life</i></b> by the end of the year and carry on at that time with the process of submitting it to film festivals.</p>Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-54070915406471520802021-06-05T08:09:00.009-07:002021-06-05T10:00:48.833-07:00The Hong Kong Elvis Impersonator Known as 'Melvis'<div><b>Kwok Lam-sang </b>died of kidney failure <b>December 29th</b>, <b>2020 </b>at age <b>68</b>. He left behind a documentary in progress, <i><b>The Heartbreaker: The Story of Melvis</b></i>, which filmmakers <b>Jonathan Duncan</b> and <b>Richie Fowler</b> are now working to complete.</div><div><br /></div>
<a name='more'></a><div><b>Lam-sang</b>, a one-time <b>Hong Kong</b> factory worker, got all shook up by the death of <b>Elvis Presley</b> in <b>1977</b>. He eventually became a street-roaming <b>Elvis</b> impersonator, <b>Melvis</b>, singing for tourists and locals alike in the city's entertainment district.</div><div><br /></div><div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e41f-4Dlcvc" title="YouTube video player" width="448"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>Before the pandemic, the filmmakers were planning to bring <b>Lam-sang</b> to the <b>United Kingdom</b>, which he had always wanted to visit. But that became impossible and now, in the wake of the unassuming married father of two's death, the documentary project has become a posthumous tribute.</div><div><br /></div><div>From a report in the <a href="https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3135731/man-behind-melvis-persona-late-hong-kong-elvis-impersonator"><b><i>South China Morning Post</i></b></a>:</div><div><br /></div><div>
<blockquote>“It was difficult finding him. I had two days left on my trip and ventured out to <b>Lan Kwai Fong</b> with three other people on that first night to find him,” <b>Duncan</b> says. “I wasn’t sure how much English he spoke so I had the concierge at my hotel write out what I wanted to ask him in Cantonese so he understood me correctly.</blockquote><p></p><blockquote>“Sadly, on that first night of looking, we couldn’t find him. It was a case of ‘he was here, but now he’s gone’ – typical <b>Melvis</b>. So the following night I was due to fly out, I checked in my bags at the <b>Airport Express</b> and walked up to <b>Lan Kwai Fong</b> in the hope of seeing him – I had two hours before I had to make my way to the airport. This time, I decided to stay in one spot.”</blockquote></div><b><div><b><br /></b></div>
Lam-sang</b> was born in <b>Jakarta</b>, <b>Indonesia</b> and immigrated to <b>China</b> with his family when he was <b>13</b>. He first made his way to <b>Hong Kong</b> in <b>1974</b>.<div><br /></div><div>[<i><b>The Heartbreaker: The Story of Melvis</b></i> <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-heartbreaker-the-story-of-melvis">GoFundMe page</a>]</div><div><br /></div>Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-28301773313840298112021-05-20T20:39:00.010-07:002021-05-20T21:19:18.958-07:00A George Romero Short 27 Years in the Making<p><b><i>Jacaranda Joe</i></b> was initially envisioned as a feature-length mockumentary. As the <b><i>Orlando Sentinel</i></b> <a href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1994-06-16-9406160632-story.html" target="_blank">reported</a> back in the summer of <b>1994</b>, <b>George A. Romero</b> had engaged with the students of <b>Valencia Community College</b> to begin putting it all together.</p>
<a name='more'></a><p>The author of the piece, <b>Catherine Hinman</b>, also suggested <b>Romero</b> in person was as approachable as <b>Mr. Rogers</b>!</p>
<blockquote><p>At 6 feet 3 inches, <b>Romero</b> is almost as tall as Joe, the shaggy-haired Bigfoot character that will be unnerving the fictional<b> Florida</b> town of Jacaranda in his <b>VCC</b> film. Make no mistake, <b>Romero</b> aims to have the audiences for this film unnerved as well.</p>
<p><b><i>Jacaranda Joe</i></b>, which <b>Romero</b> wrote, is an experiment. In the faux documentary, a <b>Geraldo Rivera</b>-like TV talk show host investigates an encounter with the alleged monster on a hunting show. <b>Romero</b> wants to know if audiences can be scared by a documentary format, if they can be frightened when they don't know much about the story's characters.</p></blockquote>
<p><b>Romero</b> hoped to return to <b>VCC</b> in <b>1995</b> to expand and complete the mockumentary, after lining up some sort of studio backing for the project. But various factors derailed this endeavor, leaving just the 17 minutes shot at <b>Valencia</b> that first summer month. All these years later, some 35mm reels have been discovered and all signs point to the belated original-format resurrection of what amounts to a pitch presentation for a never-made mockumentary.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Extremely fun developments in the George A. Romero Archive!!! <a href="https://twitter.com/PittArchives?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@pittarchives</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/FleaMarketFilms?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FleaMarketFilms</a> <a href="https://t.co/woFDokDs2i">https://t.co/woFDokDs2i</a></p>— Adam Hart (@m_hulot) <a href="https://twitter.com/m_hulot/status/1395150911077486594?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<p>Incredibly, <i><b>Jacaranda Joe</b></i> was a re-imagined version of a long-gestating feature project <b>Romero</b> had first hatched in the early <b>1970s</b> called <b><i>The Footage</i></b>. Per a <b>University of Pittsburgh Library System</b> <a href="https://horrorstudies.library.pitt.edu/content/jacaranda-joe" target="_blank">post</a>, there was a most unusual person considered along the way for the supporting role of a local Seminole tribesman:</p>
<blockquote><p>One of the actors considered for this role was the great horror novelist <b>Owl Goingback</b>, who had then not yet published his first book. <b>Romero</b>, who became a fan of <b>Goingback</b>'s work, would later work with him to attempt to produce an adaptation of his book <b><i>Evil Whispers</i></b>. According to <b>Goingback</b>, they were in talks with a studio but a writers strike put the brakes on any possible deal.</p></blockquote>
<p>That would be the writers strike of <b>1988</b>. <b>University of Pittsburgh</b> professor and horror films clinician <b>Adam Charles Hart</b> (whose recent tweet is embedded above) says the truncated <b><i>Jacaranda Joe</i></b> is 'a playful experiment that's funny and pointed and takes the premise in unexpected directions. In other words: a <b>George Romero</b> movie.'</p><p>[<a href="https://horrorstudies.library.pitt.edu/content/jacaranda-joes-35mm-negative" target="_blank">Jacaranda Joe's 35mm Negative</a>]</p>Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-58811448743613461612021-05-18T12:39:00.012-07:002021-05-19T08:26:52.793-07:00Low-Budget Flick Shot in 13 Days Slated for 13th Season of MST3KIn early <b>2015</b>, the title of this <b>Alabama</b> grassroots production was <i><b>Full Moon Inc.</b></i> That moniker was later changed to <b><i>Night Hunters</i></b> and, ultimately, <b><i>Demon Squad</i></b> and it is under that banner that the film will receive the beloved <i><b>Mystery Science Theater 3000</b></i> treatment during the show's upcoming crowd-funded 13th season.<div><br /></div><div>
<a name='more'></a>From a <a href="https://www.al.com/life/2021/05/mystery-science-theater-3000-to-feature-independent-alabama-film.html" target="_">report</a> in <b>Mobile</b> newspaper the <i><b>Press-Register</b></i>:
<blockquote>For <b>Kris Skoda</b>, the film’s director of photography, the selection is an unambiguous win. “Back in early <b>2015</b>, I got asked to be director of photography on my first ultra low-budget feature length film for my friends <b>Thomas Smith</b> and <b>Erin Lilley Smith</b>,” he wrote on Facebook. “With my pretty limited knowledge at the time, 3 small LED panels, a ton of party gels and a Canon 70D, we proceeded to shoot a movie over I believe it was 13 days. Never did I ever think that ‘<b><i>Full Moon Inc.</i></b>’ (now ‘<b><i>Demon Squad</i></b>’) would eventually receive one of the highest honors possible of being riffed upon on ‘<b><i>Mystery Science Theater 3000</i></b>.’”</blockquote><p> </p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9f1GIqHnKo4" title="YouTube video player" width="448"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>The film's director, <b>Thomas Smith</b>, who co-wrote <b><i>Demon Squad</i></b> with his wife <b>Erin Lilley Smith</b> and watched her take on the lead role of <b>Daisy O'Reilly</b>, assistant to paranormal investigator <b>Nick Moon</b> (<b>Khristian Fulmer</b>), says he found out about the <b><i>MST3K</i></b> selection recently late on a Friday night. A comment left on the film's <b>trailer</b> page last week alerted them to the selection.</div><div><br /></div><div>A full-length <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY5f6TAibBo" target="_blank">version</a> of the film is currently available on YouTube.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.fightingowlfilms.com/about" target="_blank"><b>Fighting Owl Films</b></a><br /></div><div><br /></div>Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-31188237848796654952017-10-07T04:15:00.001-07:002017-10-07T04:51:55.967-07:00Ohio Filmmaker Gears Up for Worst.Christmas.EverThe <b>Mahoning Valley Film Initiative</b>, a collective of filmmakers in northeast <b>Ohio</b>, has their sights set on subversive Christmas tale.
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<a name='more'></a>Written and to-be-directed by <b>John Chechitelli</b>, <b><i>Worst.Christmas.Ever</i></b> takes place on Christmas Eve and follows the plight of Sophia, a teenager for whom the Ho! Ho! Ho! season gives way to Oh No! No! No! when she learns she is pregnant. The project has hit a fundraising target of <b>$7,500</b> on <a href="https://www.seedandspark.com/fund/youngstown#story" target="_"><b>Seed & Spark</b></a> and is aiming to crack the top ten of "Hometown Heroes," a special competition with a final deadline of <b>October 13th</b>. The ten highest-voted films will get the opportunity to pitch the <b>Duplass</b> brothers and the winner will gain the Hollywood pair as producers.<br />
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Per a report on <a href="http://www.vindy.com/news/2017/oct/07/local-filmmaker-reaches-funding-goal/" target="_">vindy.com</a>, <b>Chechitelli</b> and co. are hosting a fundraising event tonight at <b>The Federal</b> in <b>Youngstown</b>. Admission is $10, and the filmmaker's previous effort, <b><i>Youngstown: Still Standing</i></b>, will be shown. The <b>2010</b> feature documentary was co-produced by <b>Chechitelli</b> with boxer <b>Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini</b>, who also appears in the film.<br />
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<b>Seed & Spark</b>'s "Hometown Heroes" competition is full of worthy projects. Films are ranked based on their number of online followers, and at press time, one of the leading entries is also <b>Ohio</b>-inspired. <b>Brock Yurich</b>'s feature film drama <a href="https://www.seedandspark.com/fund/test-a-classic-american-storyon-steroids#story" target="_"><b><i>Test</i></b></a> is about a young bodybuilder with a strict mother. From the project notes:
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I competed in my first bodybuilding show when I was <b>20</b>, and I won first place in the Middle Weight division. I lost terribly in the overall division, but that's a story for another time.</blockquote>
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During my time competing, I met some of the most dedicated and determined men and women. In film, bodybuilders are a punchline. They're portrayed as big, clunky, neanderthal-types. But behind the stereotype is a vast world of intricate science, physically-demanding training and more self-discipline than most can understand.</blockquote>
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However, my personal battle with steroid abuse is what prompted me to write <b><i>Test</i></b>. I was addicted, and over the course of a couple years I lost a couple friends who were addicted as well, due to heart failure</blockquote>
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<b>Yurich</b>, who is based in <b>New York</b>, grew up in <b>Ohio</b> and attended college in <b>Florida</b>. Both <i><b>Test</b></i> and <b><i>Worst.Christmas.Ever</i></b> will be shot in The Buckeye State.<br />
<br />Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-15440848145873876192017-07-30T09:27:00.004-07:002017-08-20T12:16:07.563-07:00A Family Rooted to the Fuller Brush Co.Is there anything these days more retro than the idea of a door-to-door salesman? With Amazon.com taking over the world and pulling the leases out from under shopping malls across <b>North America</b>, it seems almost quaint to think this profession was once a manner in which folks routinely browsed consumer goods. Not to mention a means that could provide a livelihood for a husband, wife and their family of eight boys.
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<a name='more'></a>Set to premiere <b>August 5th</b> in <b>New Bedford</b>, <b>Connecticut</b>, <i><b>It's the Fuller Brush Man</b></i> is <b>Craig Barboza</b>'s loving tribute to his father <b>Anthony</b>, who passed away in <b>2016</b> at age <b>96</b>. <b>Barboza</b> plans to hit the film festival trail with his <b>46</b>-minute portrait, whittled down from <b>20</b> hours of interview footage, and is currently waiting to hear where the movie has been accepted.<br />
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From an <a href="http://www.southcoasttoday.com/news/20170729/new-film-sons-portrait-of-new-bedfords-fuller-brush-man" target="_">interview piece</a> in <i><b>The Standard Times</b></i> by <b>Sean McCarthy</b>:<br />
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The filming sessions took place between <b>1995</b> and <b>2004</b>, some of it while <b>Barboza</b> was a student at <b>New York University</b> pursuing a <b>BFA</b> degree in film.
Today, <b>Craig</b> (who has also published work as <b>Craigh Barboza</b>) works at <b>NYU</b> in the Career Services Department of the <b>Carter Journalism Institute</b> and he teaches a course at the school.</blockquote>
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<b>Barboza</b> is the eighth of those aforementioned eight boys. All but one also worked as Fuller Brush salesmen along the way. <br />
<br />Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-26346619200812801012017-07-04T04:56:00.004-07:002017-07-08T08:50:07.808-07:00Native American Filmmaker Commingles the Apocalypse and Piikani CultureShooting this month on the lands of <b>Montana</b>'s <a href="http://blackfeetnation.com/" target="_">Blackfeet Nation</a>, fantasy-adventure short <b><i>Kills Last</i></b> will apply a fresh perspective to a tried and true narrative setting.
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<a name='more'></a>Writer-director <b>Lauren Monroe Jr.</b> grew up on these vast <b>Montana</b> lands. His film imagines four Blackfeet hunters who have survived the apocalypse, 20 years in.<br />
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<b>Monroe Jr.</b> raised some modest funds on <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/kills-last-a-pikanni-coup-story#/"><b>Indiegogo</b></a>. He will shoot the film on the Blackfeet reservation and has recruited tribe members to help both in front of and behind the camera.<br />
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One especially exciting element of <b><i>Kills Last</i></b> is the way the Blackfeet culture will be heard as well as seen. From a recent <a href="http://billingsgazette.com/entertainment/movies/blackfeet-filmmaker-ready-to-tell-story-in-native-language/article_b74a4b62-4e14-5fd9-8adf-f2c2d71aca4a.html" target="_">piece</a> in the <b><i>Billings Gazette</i></b>:
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The dialogue is mostly in the Blackfeet or Piikani language with English subtitles. One of the film's four principal actors is <b>Preston Spotted Eagle</b>, a member of the Blackfeet tribe and a devout believer in his native culture and language.</blockquote>
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"He’s well versed in our tribal customs and history, and serves as a perfect example of our culture being passed down,” <b>Monroe Jr.</b> said.</blockquote>
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The film's cinematographer, <b>Eddie Roqueta</b>, previously worked on a series of short web profiles of local Native American artists for the <b>Montana Film Office</b>. An example of that work is below.<br />
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<b>Monroe Jr.</b> is also a co-founder of the <b>Creative Indigenous Collective</b>, launched in <b>2016 </b>to help support and showcase emerging Native American artists. The filmmaker earned a B.A. from the <b>University of Montana</b> and is currently working towards an M.F.A. with the<b> Institute of American Indian Art</b> in <b>Santa Fe</b>. <b><i>Kills Last</i></b> marks <b>Monroe</b>'s directorial debut.<br />
<br />Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-21947729734172392272017-06-10T10:37:00.001-07:002017-06-11T05:36:21.718-07:00A Fitting Tribute to Pulse Nightclub Victim #1As the one-year anniversary of the <b>June 12th</b>, <b>2016 Pulse</b> nightclub mass murder in <b>Orlando</b>, <b>Florida</b> approaches, an area filmmaker is wrapping up a documentary about <b>Eddie Sotomayor Jr.</b>, the first individual to be identified as a fatality.
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<a name='more'></a><b><i>One of 49: A Revolution of Love</i></b> was <a href="https://www.arevolutionoflove.com/about" target="_">directed</a> by <b>Sandi Hulon</b>, who grew up in <b>Los Angeles</b> before relocating to <b>St. Petersburg</b>. One of <b>Hulon</b>'s co-executive producers is <b>Chuck Taylor</b>, owner of <b>Al and Chuck Travel</b>, the <b>Sarasota</b> gay-travel agency where <b>Sotomayor</b> worked as a brand manager.<br />
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As <b>Taylor</b> told the <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/pulse-orlando-nightclub-shooting/victims/os-orlando-mass-shooting-edward-sotomayor-20160612-story.html" target="_"><b><i>Orlando Sentinel</i></b></a> last year,<b> Sotomayor</b> and partner <b>Luis Rojas</b> sent a video message inviting him to join them at Pulse the night of the attack, around a half-hour before gunfire erupted. <b>Sotomayor</b>, <b>34</b>, had overseen <b>Chuck and Al</b>'s first gay cruise to <b>Cuba</b> in the spring of <b>2016</b> and was also responsible for a popular recurring <b>“Drag Stars at Sea”</b> cruise featuring cast members from <b>Ru Paul</b>'s reality TV series. His nickname was “Top Hat.”
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In an interview with a local <b>ABC-TV</b> affiliate, <b>Hulon</b> <a href="http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-sarasota-manatee/sarasota/st-pete-filmmaker-highlights-pulse-victim-from-sarasota" target="_">said</a> she was struck by how much everyone--friends, family, co-workers--loved <b>Sotomayor</b>. That legacy led her to decide to focus on his life as a way of documenting the <b>Pulse</b> nightclub tragedy.
On the film's <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/one-of-49-a-revolution-of-love#/" target="_"><b>Indiegogo</b> page</a>, there is a reminder of how emotional the project has been:
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The entire production crew has been affected by a beautiful man we didn’t even know and by a tragic event that changed them all. Our camera operators have cried and the editors froze with emotion. We have wept many tears as we watched an interview live and replayed in editing. In all of our years of production experience, we have never witnessed a film crew to be so overwhelmingly moved. </blockquote>
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The film is scheduled to be completed and released later this year.
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<br />Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-12845095213765658822017-05-20T09:03:00.000-07:002017-05-20T09:24:32.203-07:00Allentown, the Reagan Era and 3 Guys Living on a BillboardBefore social media, before YouTube, it was the three major U.S. networks and leading print newspapers that lit the spark for “viral news.” And so it went that in <b>1982</b>, no one really knew about an AM radio contest in <b>Allentown</b>, <b>Pa.</b> that led three men to live on a billboard by the highway until <i><b>The Wall Street Journal</b></i> put it on their <b>December 9th</b> edition front page.
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<a name='more'></a><b><i>The Billboard Boys</i></b>, a feature documentary about the contest, screened <b>May 18th</b> at the <b>Ambler Theatre</b> in <b>Ambler</b>, <b>Pa.</b> and shows <b>Sunday</b> <b>May 21st</b> at the <a href="https://thecolonialtheatre.com/programs/the-billboard-boys/" target="_"><b>Colonial Theatre</b></a> in <b>Phoenixville</b>. In addition to the documentary, there is also a fictionalized feature-film treatment <a href="http://zekezelker.com/" target="_">coming soon</a> from <b>Zeke Zelker</b>. <b>Zelker</b> shot his movie last year, upping the contest participants number as well as the original <b>WSAM-AM</b> prize package.<br />
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From a piece last fall in <a href="http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/movies/mc-billboard-boys-documentary-bethlehem-20160922-story.html" target="_"><b><i>The Morning Call</i></b></a>:
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The tale begins when <b>WSAN</b> owner <b>Harold Fulmer III</b> announced the "You'll Love to Live With Us" contest. The radio station partnered with <b>Love Homes</b> to offer an <b>$18,000</b> modular home to the person who could live the longest on an 8-by-48-foot platform attached to a billboard.</blockquote>
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<b>Dalton Young</b>, who had just returned from the Army, filled out <b>1,000</b> entries. <b>Ron Kistler</b>, who was laid off, sent in <b>4,004</b> entries. Their numbers paled next to <b>Mike MacKay</b>'s, who sent in <b>47,000</b> entries with the help of his wife <b>Linda</b>.
The men's names were drawn from <b>600,000</b> entries.</blockquote>
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On <b>Sept. 20</b>, <b>1982</b>, they climbed ladders to a platform <b>25</b> feet above the roar of <b>Route 22</b> traffic. They slept on cots in tents equipped with phone lines, camp toilets and heaters.</blockquote>
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Coincidentally, <b>Billy Joel</b>'s song <b>"Allentown"</b> was released during the run of the contest, though as director <b>Pat Taggart</b> likes to point out, it was on the <i><b>Billboard</b></i> singles charts (no pun intended!) for a span shorter than that of the contest. The twists and turns during those <b>261</b> days are a wonky slice of Americana.<br />
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As <b>Taggart</b> has been mentioning in interviews, like the one below with <b>WHYY Public Media</b>, he was amazed when he first stumbled on to the story that a documentary had not already been made. <b>Zelker</b> meanwhile has titled his project <i><b>Billboard</b></i> and plans to support it with enhanced web series content.<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="225" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/323394093&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe>Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-86674911967960367552017-05-14T16:48:00.002-07:002017-05-20T09:27:24.816-07:00A Mother of 4 Adopts 6 MoreWhat better topic for <b>Mother's Day</b> than a student documentary about a mom in <b>New Mexico</b> leading by mammoth example?
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<a name='more'></a><b><i>They Call Me Mom</i></b>, a 45-minute documentary screening <b>Saturday May 20th</b> at the <b>Premiere Cinemas</b> in <b>Rio Rancho</b>, was directed by <b>Makenzie Gruenig</b>, who graduated this month from <b>Highlands University</b> in <b>Las Vegas</b>, <b>New Mexico</b> with a BFA in media arts. During her final <b>2016-17</b> year, she received a <b>$2,500 </b>fellowship to put towards the movie and one other project, thanks to the <b>Seabury Foundation</b> and matching monies from the school.<br />
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The titular focus of <b><i>They Call Me Mom</i></b> is <b>Sherry Lopez</b>, the mom of a family <b>Gruenig</b> got to know through her local church. The<b> Lopez's</b>, after having four biological children of their own, decided to adopt six more.<br />
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Here's how the filmmaker described her project when she <a href="http://www.nmhu.edu/students-showcase-media-arts-seabury-fellowship-projects/" target="_">shared</a> it <b>April 27th</b> at her school alongside the other two recipients of <b>Seabury Foundation</b> endowments:
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"My adoption documentary has given me the opportunity to spend day after day with an extraordinary family that has more love for one another than anything I’ve ever seen in my life. But that didn’t just include the fun things. I watched kids fight, messes being made, and children with special needs struggle. My initial inspired feelings toward this courageous family just seemed to grow the more I filmed. It was a privilege to create this film.”</blockquote>
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<b>Gruenig</b> will be screening a second documentary this coming <b>Saturday</b> titled <b><i>Disappearing From Society</i></b>. That one is also deeply rooted in personal experience, as it documents the struggle of her neighbor, <b>Sarah Sanchez</b>, with Lyme disease.<br />
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<b>Gruenig</b> got a nice <a href="http://www.rrobserver.com/news/article_36f4797c-31d8-11e7-99f3-77100b882bff.html" target="_">write-up</a> in local newspaper the <b><i>Rio Rancho Observer</i></b> ahead of the double feature presentation. She has her own producton company, <a href="http://lemonymedia.com/about-me/" target="_"><b>Lemony Media</b></a>, and will be interning this summery with a filmmaking company in <b>Texas</b>.<br />
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[<a href="http://lemonymedia.com/" target="_"><b>Lemony Media</b></a>]
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<br />Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-57603794606907074582017-05-05T17:24:00.002-07:002017-05-05T19:32:18.359-07:00Oklahoma Western Hopes to Connect With Millennial AudienceThere was a cool extra layer to <b>5News</b>' recent <a href="http://5newsonline.com/2017/05/03/filmmaker-with-local-ties-screens-movie-at-bff/" target="_">coverage</a> of the <b>May 3rd</b> premiere of indie Western <b><i>Painted Woman</i></b> at the <b>Bentonville Film Festival</b> in <b>Arkansas</b>. The director of the film, <b>James Cotten</b>, got his start as a cameraman with <b>5News</b>, which serves the <b>Fort Smith</b> and <b>Fayetteville</b> areas.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The movie was shot in and around <b>Oklahoma City</b>, lured by the incentive of a 37% state tax-break incentive. Just ahead of the festival screening, the movie's title was also wisely changed from the working one, <b><i>The Mustanger and The Lady</i></b>.<br />
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Starring in the title role of a woman who gradually forges her own path is Australian actress <b>Stef Dawson</b>, whose <i><b>The Hunger Games</b></i> pedigree will bode well for <b>Cotten</b> and co. as they seek a distributor or streaming partner. Another co-star, <b>Kiowa Gordon</b>, was previously in the <b>Twilight</b> series.<br />
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This is the first completed project for <b>Chasing Sunsets Productions</b>. Ahead of the <b>Bentonville</b> event, associate producer <b>Priscilla Tran</b> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t4jYnJwZ4c" target="_">spoke</a> with <b>CW Arkansas</b>. The film was accepted into <b>Bentonville</b> based on a director's rough cut.
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[<b><i>Painted Lady</i></b> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Painted-Woman-formerly-The-Mustanger-and-The-Lady-1770261813286334/" target="_">Facebook</a>]<br />
<br />Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-27988251831055235622017-04-23T09:04:00.004-07:002017-04-23T10:27:29.694-07:00Stanford Grad Channels ShakespeareOn the program today in <b>Sacramento</b> as part of <a href="http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2912576." target="_"><b>Nor Cal All-Stars Part 1</b></a>, a <b>Shakespeare</b>-inspired comedy riff.
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<a name='more'></a>Everyone knows the famous line "All the world's a stage...", from <b><i>As You Like It</i></b> (a remark made truer than ever by the results of the <b>2016</b> U.S. presidential election). Less commonly quoted is the next bit of that passage, "And all the men and women merely players."
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It is from that portion that writer-producer <b>Savannah Kopp</b> was inspired for her short <b><i>Mere Players</i></b>. Per a recent interview with her <b>California</b> hometown newspaper <i><b>The Davis Enterprise</b></i>, the <a href="http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/short-comedy-by-davis-filmmaker-to-screen-in-sacto/" target="_">premise</a> for the 18-minute short is a great one:<br />
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The film focuses on "a young actor named <b>Jerome</b>, who goes on blind dates with his gay roommate’s unsuspecting girlfriends... presenting himself as as a bum, a corporate jerk and an obsessive compulsive disorder out-patient. After three professionally successful (as an actor) but romantically disastrous dates, <b>Jerome</b> faces the most challenging night of his acting career when his oblivious roommate invites all three of his dates over for a party--which becomes the film’s climactic scene,” <b>Kopp</b> said.</blockquote>
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<b>Kopp</b> wrote the script for <b><i>Mere Players</i></b> a few years ago, while attending <b>Stanford</b>. It was filmed at the end of <b>2015</b>, and now is gradually making the rounds. The film was directed by <b>AFI</b> alum <b>Dan Levy Dagerman</b>.<br />
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And, as is often the case when something screens in a creator's hometown area, the site of today's shorts compilation event, the <b>Crest Theatre</b>, holds special significance for <b>Kopp</b>. It is where she saw a lot of movies, growing up.<br />
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In the case of this particular screening, it also could not have worked out any better. Most historians agree that The Bard was born on this <a href="http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/william-shakespeare-born" target="_">date</a> in <b>1564</b>.<br />
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[<a href="https://www.facebook.com/mereplayersshortfilm/" target="_"><b><i>Mere Players</i></b> Facebook page</a>]<br />
<br />Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-69186885634934258202017-04-09T07:29:00.001-07:002017-04-09T08:54:56.827-07:00A Chicago Cubs Cameo WinThe comedy <b><i>Landline</i></b>, which hit <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Landline-Matthew-Aaron/dp/B06XXK3X5W" target="_">VOD</a> this week, was made by <b>Chicago Second City</b> alum <b>Matthew Aaron</b>. The writer-director stars as a gay PR executive who angrily disconnects from smartphones and social media after losing out to a younger colleague for the job of leading a new account: the <b>Cubs</b>.
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<a name='more'></a>The film features a cameo appearance by former <b>Chicago Cub Ryne Sandberg</b>, filmed at <b>Wrigley Field</b>. How <b>Aaron</b> got the ball rolling on the athlete's participation is also comical.<br />
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From a recent <a href="http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2017/03/31/downers-grove-filmmaker-debuts-new-independent-movie/" target="_">interview</a> with <b>WBBM Newsradio 780</b>'s <b>Lisa Fields</b>:
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“I stalked <b>Sandberg</b>. It was crazy how I found him. I stalked him down at a men’s hair convention. I said, 'Have you heard about our movie we’re doing? It’s me, <b>Tom Arnold</b>, <b>Jim O'Heir</b>, it’s me, will you do it?' He said, 'Sounds great.' It was awesome,” recalls <b>Aaron</b>. “<b>MLB</b> [subsequently] gave us the go-ahead. It was a thrill.”
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Added <b>O'Heir</b>: “It’s surreal because I spent many afternoons in the bleachers growing up. We got to go in the locker room and talk to <b>Sandberg</b>.”</blockquote>
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Made for around <b>$250,000</b>, <b><i>Landline</i></b> was acquired in <b>March</b> by <b>Freestyle Digital Media</b>, part of <b>Byron Allen</b>'s ever-expanding <b>Entertainment Studios</b>. <b>Arnold</b>, as <b>Aaron</b> <a href="http://www.wciu.com/videos/youandme/matthew-aaron-talks-new-movie-landline" target="_">explained</a> during a local <b>Chicago</b> TV appearance, was a last-minute replacement for another <b>Cubs</b>-connected performer.
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This is <b>Aaron</b>'s third film. He also co-hosts a weekly Internet <a href="http://www.thematthewaaronshow.com/about/" target="_">radio show</a>.<br />
<br />Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-17531748307874690652017-03-26T19:40:00.004-07:002017-03-26T19:58:59.708-07:00A Wonderful Assist From Sir Ian McKellenWhen <b>London</b> university student <b>Rhys Chapman</b> was getting ready in <b>2014</b> to launch a <b>Kickstarter</b> campaign for his short drama <b><i>Wonderkid</i></b>, he had a promotional video in the works featuring his own narration. Then he remembered an encounter at the annual <b>Pride in London</b> festival.
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<a name='more'></a><b><i>Wonderkid</i></b> is about a fast-rising young soccer player who happens to be gay. When this "wonder kid" joins a Premier league team in <b>London</b>, he encounters behavior in the locker room and beyond that sadly confirms why he must keep his orientation a secret.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chapman, center, flanked by co-stars Leeshon Alexander and Chris Mason</td></tr>
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From <b>Chapman</b>'s recent <a href="http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-news/cambridgeshire-filmmaker-finds-fame-little-12759097" target="_">interview</a> with hometown outlet the <b><i>Cambridge News</i></b>:
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"I met <b>Sir Ian McKellen</b> at Gay Pride in London and I told him what I was doing. He said he’d do anything he could to help and when I filmed a crowd-funding video at <b>Wembley</b> I sent him one of the final versions I had initially narrated.
"I asked him if he would do it and he said 'yes'... which was amazing."</blockquote>
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"He came in and did a voiceover and it kinda took off after that point, because not only is he world-famous with an immediately recognizable voice but he’s one of the biggest gay actors of all time, so suddenly the project had a huge amount of integrity among the gay community and it became newsworthy and generated a ton of publicity from that campaign and we were able to <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rhyschapman/wonderkid-tackling-homophobia-in-football" target="_">fund</a> the full version of the film."</blockquote>
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<b><i>Wonderkid</i></b> premiered at the <b>2016 Raindance Film Festival</b>, and following an airing on <b>Sky Sports 1</b> in the <b>U.K.</b>, has been made available this month for free viewing <a href="http://www.wonderkidfilm.co.uk/watch/" target="_">online</a>. <b>Chapman</b> hopes to take the basic idea of the short and turn it into the basis for a TV series about a gay soccer player.<br />
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Below is the interview <b>Chapman</b> did on <b>Sky Sports</b> to promote the film's broadcast debut in <b>January</b>.<br />
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<br />Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-42834350682609261572017-03-19T04:37:00.005-07:002017-03-19T04:54:02.766-07:00Elon Musk's Sister Brings Romance Novel to LifeThe tagline for <b>PassionFlix</b> <a href="https://www.passionflix.com/" target="_">states</a> it pretty clearly: 'Turning your favorite romance novels into series and movies... On Demand.'
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<a name='more'></a>The first of these, <b><i>Hollywood Dirt</i></b>, just started shooting in <b>Augusta</b>, <b>Georgia</b>. The source novel, by <b>Alessandra Torre</b>, is about a <b>Hollywood</b> heartthrob (<b>Johann Urb</b>) who comes to a small town in <b>Georgia</b> to shoot a film and has a romance with his leading lady (<b>Emma Rigby</b>).<br />
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One of the intriguing aspects of this production, which will move on to <b>Madison</b>, <b>Georgia</b> and then also shoot for a bit in <b>L.A.</b>, is the ground-up provenance of its Peach State production. As <b>Augusta Film Office</b> board member <b>Mark Crump</b> recently <a href="http://www.wrdw.com/content/news/Augusta-Film-Office-announces-new-film-to-be-shot-in-the-Augusta-area-415723653.html" target="_">explained</a> to local <b>CBS</b> affiliate <b>WRDW-TV</b>:<br />
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<b>Crump</b>, one of the associate producers for the film, says landing this movie was all about word-of-mouth between the folks behind this movie and a certain unit production manager.</blockquote>
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"That's the same one actually that we had, <b>Kevin Welch</b>, we had him for <b><i>The Reason</i></b> and on <i><b>Savannah Sunrise</b></i> when we did the last two movies," <b>Crump</b> says. "And he said, 'You know what? You need to shoot in <b>Augusta</b>. They have everything you need, they've got the facilities, they've got the capabilities, the crew. So you should go to <b>Augusta</b>.'"</blockquote>
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Author <b>Torre</b> is <a href="http://www.alessandratorre.com/hollywood-dirt-the-movie/" target="_">blogging</a> and Instagramming the shoot. The film is being turned around quickly for <b>September</b> release.<br />
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The model for <b>PassionFlix</b> is <b>Netflix</b>, as subscriptions to the content will be offered for <b>$5.99</b> a month.
<b>Julie Kenner</b>'s <b><i>Dark Pleasures</i></b> will be the second quick-turnaround project for <b>PassionFlix</b>, followed by <b><i>The Trouble With Mistletoe</i></b>, by <b>Jill Shavis</b>, which is targeted for <b>December</b> streaming release.<br />
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As an added PR bonus for this nascent "Netflix for women," <b>Tosca</b>, <b>Elon</b> and sister <b>Kimbal</b>'s mother <b>Maye</b> is <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/style/2017/03/maye-musk-model" target="_">profiled</a> in the <b>April 2017</b> issue of <i><b>Vanity Fair</b></i>. At age <b>68</b>, mom's modeling career is booming.<br />
<br />Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659023995889845194.post-56834100272208491542017-03-02T02:38:00.001-08:002017-04-13T17:06:13.284-07:00From Dick Cavett's Long Island Home to a Swamp in New JerseyIt's a story of citizens rising up against the threat of urban development. Back in the <b>1960s</b>, long before social media could help marshal such efforts.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The one-hour documentary <b><i>Saving the Great Swamp: Battle to Defeat the Jetport</i></b> is based on the book by <b>Cam Cavanaugh</b> about a hard-fought <b>1959</b>-<b>1968</b> <b>Morristown</b>, <b>New Jersey</b> chapter. It was directed by <b>Scott Morris</b>, who previously made <b><i>From The Ashes: The Life and Times of Tick Hall</i></b>. That one was all <a href="http://www.tickhall.com/tick/html/index.html" target="_">about</a> the rebuilding of a home in <b>Montauk</b>, <b>Long Island</b> owned by <b>Dick Cavett</b> and first wife <b>Carrie Nye</b>.<br />
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Actress <b>Blythe Danner</b> recorded the voiceover narration last <b>November</b>, just ahead of the film's premiere in <b>December</b> at the <b>Mayo Performing Arts Center</b> in <b>Morristown</b>. Tonight, <b>March 2nd</b>, the film shows again at the <b>Morris Museum</b>.<br />
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From a recent <a href="http://morristowngreen.com/2016/12/05/saving-the-great-swamp-new-film-is-a-reminder-that-you-can-beat-the-big-boys/" target="_">report</a> on morristowngreen.com:<br />
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Any good story needs heroes and villains, and <i><b>Saving the Great Swamp</b></i> has several.
The prime villain: <b>Austin Tobin</b>, the late executive director of the <b>Port of New York Authority</b>, who insisted that the Great Swamp was the best place for a new airport, even though it lay just beyond the <b>Port Authority</b>’s jurisdiction.</blockquote>
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His push for the airport was premised partly on the flawed notion that jets from <b>Europe</b> would need to land there before continuing across the <b>U.S.</b> One of his prime allies was <b>New Jersey Governor Robert Meyner</b>, who with <b>Tobin</b> continued pushing for the Great Swamp airport even after it appeared to be dead.</blockquote>
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"It’s a local story with national implications," said local philanthropist and film backer <b>Dillard Kirby</b>. "It overlapped three presidents. It was the start of the environmental movement and Earth Day as we know it.”</blockquote>
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<b>Morris</b> is hoping to eventually get the film on <b>PBS</b>. His son <b>Ben</b>, a graduate music composition student at <b>Rice University</b>, wrote the score. Another musical connection is co-producer <b>Larry Fast</b>, who once toured with <b>Peter Gabriel</b>.<br />
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At the film's <b>December</b> premiere, <b>New Jersey U.S Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen</b> said the preservation of the <b>Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge</b> was one of the proudest moments of his Congressman father, the late <b>Peter Frelinghuysen Jr.</b><br />
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[<a href="https://www.fws.gov/refuge/great_swamp/" target="_"><b>Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge</b></a>]<br />
<br />Richard Horganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10695593280628779548noreply@blogger.com0