|
Caption:
Ethan Wiley, director, writer, musician and
creature technician. Photo courtesy of Mean
Bunny Entertainment.
|
|
EVOLVED CREATURE TECHNICIAN
MOVES INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD
|
Film director Ethan Wiley
recently moved to Hingham, MA from New York, and is
looking forward to getting involved in the local film
and advertising scene. Wiley is a screenwriter, film
director, music composer and president of his own
production company, Mean Bunny Entertainment.
Wiley began his career creating
special effects for Industrial Light & Magic and his
credits include RETURN OF THE JEDI and GREMLINS.
But he is probably best known for having created the
comedy-horror film HOUSE, which became a successful
horror franchise for New World Pictures. He
recently launched his own web site, www.meanbunny.com,
with the intent of pulling together the diverse aspects
of his career. He has just released his first music
recording on Mean Bunny Records, an all-instrumental
CD featuring some of New England's top musicians.
Recently, Mean Bunny scored
the short film BAD ASSASSIN for producer Linda
Goldstein Knowlton, and also composed and performed
five minutes of instrumental music in the upcoming
New Line release JASON X. But despite his recent
successes in the music business, Wiley's main focus
remains writing and directing movies, in which he
brings his special effects expertise to low budget
genre films. His most recent movie was CHILDREN
OF THE CORN 5 (inspired by a Stephan King short
story) for Miramax/Dimension. He is currently
preparing to direct a film on the fascinating and
tragic life of jazz great Jaco Pastorius for
Blue Rider Pictures.
|
Director's View Film Festival
|
The Director's View Film Festival
is entering its third year and is composed of three
diverse elements. The first is a tribute to a director
who has had an impact on other filmmakers and filmmaking.
This includes a retrospective of the director's work
and presentation of the Joseph L. Mankiewicz Excellence
in Filmmaking Award.
The second element of the festival
is The Director's View Independent, a competitive
festival of independent films from around the world.
The festival accepts both shorts and narrative films.
The International Student Film
Festival, for young filmmakers 19 years old and
younger, has drawn films from Japan, Israel and the
USA. It too is competitive and has received a great
public response.
The Director's View philosophy is
that filmmaking, although collaborative, is a director's
medium and that understanding the history of the art
form is important to film's future as the worlds leading
entertainment and artistic platform.
Connecticut's Fairfield/Westchester
County region, with Stamford serving as the host city,
was selected for the film festival, because of the
film industry's historic roots in the region. Some
of the earliest and most acclaimed films of their
time were made here, including films by D.W. Griffith
and the earliest TARZAN films.
It was in this very community where
The Director's View directorial inspiration, Joseph
Mankiewicz lived. Today, many industry professionals
work and live throughout the region. The festival
is both a way to celebrate the region's history as
it relates to film as well as to encourage current
film industry efforts.
Christopher Reeves, who has
participated in the Festival with a screening of his
directorial debut film IN THE GLOAMING, said
further of the area and of Stamford specifically,
"The transformation of the city is nothing short of
spectacular, not just economically, but because of
the arts as well." (The Stamford Advocate,
Sunday, February 13, 2000.)
The Director's View Film Festival
is scheduled for February 15 - 18, 2002. Entry submission
deadlines are: September 25, 2001 for Early Deadline
and November 25, 2001 as Final Deadline.
The Director's View also conducts
a five-month series on women filmmakers, where we
show film and interview the director with a live audience.
This is but one of many programs we are involved with
over the course of the year. For more information
and submission forms you can visit www.dvff.org.
|
New Program Targets Senior
Creative Visions
|
Independent Cape filmmaker Rebecca
M. Alvin will be sharing her art form with local
senior citizens this fall through her innovative pilot
program "Video for Seniors."
The program, which is funded by
a grant from the Brewster Cultural Council,
aims to teach area senior citizens how to express
themselves through the media arts. Like its predecessor,
Computers for Seniors, Video for Seniors
will work to mitigate anxieties many seniors may have
about technology. But, more importantly, it will introduce
the powerful medium of video to a group greatly under-represented
in both Hollywood and independent filmmaking.
Students for this five-week program
must be over the age of 65 to participate. Residents
of Brewster are preferred to fill the maximum of six
seats, but residents of Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet,
Truro, and Provincetown will also be considered, on
a more limited basis.
Those who do not yet own or know
how to use basic video equipment will get their training
and access to video cameras and editing equipment
though a special partnership with Lower Cape Community
Television, which is located in the AT&T Broadband
office on Locust Drive in Orleans.
Alvin will take care of the more
conceptual, logistical, and creative instruction leading
toward the development of each student's particular
ideas. Participants will leave the program with one
completed group project and with a second, more personal
project idea ready for production immediately upon
completion of the course.
"My hope is to get men and women
who don't usually participate in filmmaking to put
their ideas out there and share their work with the
community at a later date," says Alvin, excitedly.
Best of all, the program is free! To register for
the program, call 508-896-8974 and press 4 to leave
your name, mailing address, and phone number. Classes
begin September 18 and meet every Tuesday and Thursday
at 10 a.m. through October 18. Registration deadline
is September 10th, 2001.
|
Photo
caption: High Output's newest generator: The
125 Twin, 350 amps per leg, fully redundant,
compact and affordable. Photo courtesy of High
Output, Inc.
|
High Output, Inc. announces
the addition to their crew of Tricia Hefferman,
their newest film/video rental agent. Tricia brings
to this challenging position her valuable experience
as a former staff member of Good Morning America and
Jim Henson Productions.
Just wrapped: DIVINE SECRETS
OF THE YA-YA SISTERHOOD, a Warner Bros
picture. Shot in Wilmington, North Carolina, the film
stars Sandra Bullock, Ellen Burstyn,
James Garner and Ashley Judd. High
Output supplied the location and studio packages
for this fourteen-week project further solidifying
their national reputation for thoughtful, personalized
service, attention to detail and, as always, first-rate
equipment.
HO has been kept busy this
spring and summer serving their valued documentary,
news gathering, corporate, broadcast, commercial and
independent film clients with their ever-expanding
inventory. Look for their new catalog or visit www.highoutput.com.
|
Short
Attention Span?
Head for the Coolidge Corner Theatre October
12th - 18th
|
Attention short film fans! The
NINTH Annual Short Attention Span Film & Video Festival
is now underway. Founded in 1991 in California by
Beth Hall, the festival got its start at San
Francisco's Artists' Television Access. As always,
the show is a non-stop program of two-minute-or-shorter
films and videos from around the world including animation,
drama, comedy, sci-fi, short documentary and poetry.
This year approximately 60 movies from more than 300
entries worldwide have been selected. The promise
is: you won't be bored-not even for a second!
This year's show features Michael
Moore's TESTIFY, a political statement on the
2000 elections- in collaboration with the band Rage.
And there is SOUTH POLE, about weird things
that a penguin does for fun, and South By Southwest
Film Festivals short film award winner, Ari
Gold's CULTURE, a hilarious take on the Dogma
School of Filmmaking.
And there are documentaries like
Laura Levine's PEEKABOO SUNDAY, a story about
raising miniature horses, and Eva Sollberger
and Molly Lynch's EXOTIC WORLD, an inside look
at the lives of some of America's first burlesque
performers.
The show tours to more than thirty
cities across North America arriving in New England
in the fall. One stop Imagine knows of is at
the Coolidge Corner Theatre October 12th thru
the 18th. You can stay tuned to their expanding schedule,
which will include Boston University, by visiting
their award winning web site at www.shortspan.com.
Here's a warning or promise, depending
on how you look at it: This year's show is more sophisticated
and sensitive than past Short Attention Span
programs.
But, this show may not be suitable
for children!
WANDERINGS
|
ScreenLight
& Grip's new studio commercial shoot in progress.
Photo courtesy of Guy Holt.
|
To accommodate their growth in
lighting rental and production service, ScreenLight
& Grip has moved to new space in Dedham, MA. The
new facility includes a 40x60' stage that features a
70' three wall cyc, 17.5' power grid, and 20-tons of
AC. On-site equipment rental and expendable sales, a
client lounge, make-up room, parking, and four studio
lighting packages support the stage.
Dedham is now home to their fleet
of grip trucks, generators, and portable air conditioners.
"We have a truck to fit any size production," says
SL&G President, Guy Holt.
SL&G is the exclusive source
for the innovative Porta-Grid drop-ceiling
hanger system. This system is a new line of grip hardware
manufactured by SL&G that "offers shooters studio
lighting control wherever there is a drop ceiling,"
says Guy Holt. For more information, visit www.
screenlightandgrip.com.
|
OLYMPIC
GREASY WATERMELON:
Movie Satire Starring Local Rockers, Returns
to the Coolidge Corner Theatre
|
|
Charlie
in the Box's Willem Hartong as Vitamin Jones
in the movie Olympic Greasy Watermelon. Photo
by Jenene Chesbrough.
|
Willem Hartong, leader
of the Boston-based rock band Charlie in the Box,
will again appear on the big screen in Speedos and swimming
cap when his movie OLYMPIC GREASY WATERMELON
returns for a weekend run at the Coolidge Corner
Theater, September 14 and 15. The evening showings
will be at 7:00, 8:30, and 10:00 p.m.
Hartong premiered his movie in April
with a single midnight showing at the Coolidge. The
movie drew more than 300 viewers, and Coolidge management
was eager to bring it back. The movie also played
at the Roxy Theater in San Francisco, and for
four consecutive nights at the Pioneer Theater
in New York.
Hartong's multimedia satire tells
the courageous story of Vitamin Jones and Colonel
Fabien - the first-ever US Olympic Greasy Watermelon
team. The team becomes the temporary focus of the
United States Government when it decides to deny the
team funding upon the basis that its participation
in the Olympics would embarrass the nation.
OLYMPIC GREASY WATERMELON
stars Hartong as Vitamin Jones and Mappari's
Will Dailey as Money. The movie includes music
from local bands Star Ghost Dog, Sona Nyl,
The Sheila Divine, Deb Talan, and Charlie
in the Box.
|
MANNA FROM HEAVEN
Premieres in Buffalo, A New Independent Comedy
By Margot Hull
|
Ever think about winning the lottery?
The comedy, MANNA FROM HEAVEN, which premiered
in Buffalo on July 28th, asks just that question with
a twist. What if all the money you received had to
be returned thirty years later? And it's due immediately!
The ensemble comedy, starring Shelley
Duvall, Jill Eikenberry, Frank Gorshin,
Shirley Jones, Wendy Mallick, Louise
Fletcher and Cloris Leachman was produced
by Five Sisters Production, no strangers to
the New England Film Market, whose last film TEMP
was filmed in Boston and shown at the Museum of
Fine Arts. Boston cinematographer, Ed Slattery,
is the Director of Photography for both films. For
him, according to Slattery, "The thrill of MANNA
was working with the extraordinary cast."
The Burton Sisters, who
are in their twenties and early thirties decided to
go back to their home town of Buffalo to shoot the
feature film, MANNA FROM HEAVEN. When asked
what was the hardest obstacle faced when putting together
a low budget film, Maria Burton responded,
"There are so many challenges, raising money, finding
the right cast, and now getting it distributed."
Funding for the movie came from
mainly private sources with large in-kind corporate
donations from Buffalo and the community. The budget
came in at just under 4 million. MANNA FROM HEAVEN
to date has not been snatched up by a distributor,
but the Burton sisters are optimistic. The
screenplay was written by the Burton sisters' Mother,
Gabrielle B. Burton, who has won numerous awards
for her screenplays including first prize at the Austin
Film Festival and the prestigious Mary Pickford
Award at the American Film Institute. Gabrielle
B. Burton has recently been chosen by the Academy
of Motion Pictures to be a Nicholl Fellow.
"It's a very captivating film,"
said Jenny Canfield of Gloucester who went
back to her hometown to catch the Premiere. "I laughed
throughout the film," added Jenny. "It's uplifting
and funny."
|
Done Deal: CrewStar, Inc.
Acquires SHOOTS.COM
|
CrewStar, Inc., has announced
that is has acquired SHOOTS.com the highly
successful production crew booking arm of Euro-Pacific
Film & Productions of New Jersey. The acquisition,
which took effect on Monday, August 13th, adds 150+
new clients and 6000+ international and US crew resources
to CrewStar's cache. The deal gives CrewStar,
already an industry leader in production crew payroll
and search services, a unique marketplace advantage
over competing suppliers.
"We are very excited about this
acquisition and what it means for our company," remarked
CrewStar President, Lily A. Maiella.
"For years, we have been the leader in production
crew payroll services, with crew booking as an added
value to existing as well as select new clients. With
SHOOTS.com, we have acquired a preferred group
of new clients; a new group of top-notch international
crews, and a highly qualified US crew pool to supplement
our existing resources. We welcome SHOOTS.com
clients and crew to our company and guarantee that
they will find what others routinely experience -
the most reliable, personalized service in the industry."
The move by Euro-Pacific Film
& Video to sell its production crew service arm
is a apart of the company's strategy to expand its
market focus on core production and post production
services. Euro-Pacific Productions & SHOOTS.com
President David Calderwood adds, "We have worked
closely with CrewStar over the years, having
partnered with them to offer payroll services to several
clients. The sale of our SHOOTS.com crew booking
business to CrewStar will enhance this service
to fully meet our clients demands, and attract new
business from the production crew market."
One of the most attractive elements
of the acquisition for CrewStar is the capture
of clients in new market segments as well as securing
a premiere list of highly skilled international crews."
While CrewStar has been primarily focused on
corporate clients with services involving US crews,
the addition of SHOOTS.com expands our market
into the broadcast niche by adding some high profile
clients," remarket CrewStar Sr. VP, Joe
Maiella." We want to assure our new clients of
our dedication to their complete satisfaction. And,
apart from crew booking, some can certainly benefit
from our crew and talent payroll services. What's
more, we can now offer outstanding international crews
to CrewStar clients whose projects take them
overseas. It's a great fit all around."
CrewStar, Inc. has
provided production crew payroll and search services
to clients in corporate media departments, independent
production companies, event companies and theater
companies across the US since 1994. For more information,
visit www.crewstar.com.
