Take Two August 2003

By Carol Patton

Premieres, Installations, Film Festivals, Celebrations: there is plenty of conviviality and camaraderie to go around these days. IMAGINE enjoyed a great experience at the Nantucket Film Festival again this year. IMAGINE covered all the summer’s festivals and will start bringing you incredible coverage in this issue. And there are still festivals for us to look forward to: Woods Hole, Rhode Island, and Roxbury to name only a few.

The IMAGINE House and the IMAGINE Champagne Brunch honoring New England Filmmakers and Screenwriters brought countless creative and talented people to our Nantucket home. IMAGINE was represented by 8 writers and 2 photographers. You can read most of their stories in this issue. We couldn’t have done it without a good deal of assistance. It’s important to mention our co-sponsors and co-hosts and thank them for their generous support. First, our co-sponsors, who helped IMAGINE buy all that food for all those starving artists are Richard Wurman and Boston Camera Rentals, and John MacNeil and Moody Street Pictures. Co-hosting and providing product and support are Michele Haynes and Kim Corkran of Cape Air and Nantucket Airlines, Jay Harman of Triple Eight Distilleries and sister companies Nantucket Vineyards and Cisco Brewers, and, finally AVID Technology who provided IMAGINE with AVID Xpress DV 3.5 software as a door prize at our brunch.

And the winner is…Robert Pulcini, half of the writer/director team of AMERICAN SPLENDOR. The other half of Robert’s team is Shari Springer Berman and you should know they are married. Their 100-minute AMERICAN SPLENDOR presented perhaps the most far-fetched adaptation of the festival, a half-narrative and half-documentary film based on the autobiographical graphic same-named novel by Harvey Pekar. The film starred a previous NANTUCKET favorite Hope Davis and was produced by Ted Hope. That’s a lot of “hope” for one film. AS is being distributed by Fine Line Pictures. Look for it.

Joe Zina, Executive Director of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, was thrilled with the sold-out turnout for the July screening of the restored classic SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN. The event, which was packed with many of the theatre's supporters and staffers (both past and present -- including Board members Chobee Hoy, Bernard Toale and Chair Michael Mayo, founding Chair Nathan Green and past Director David Kleiler, and previous Program and Managing Directors Ted Barron and Erica Max) was a celebration of the installation of a new Dolby digital surround sound system. Local performing artists Rebecca Fulkerth and Rose Giovanetti surprised the audience with a perfect re-enactment of the infamous scene from the film when Debbie Reynolds dubs in her singing voice for character Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen). In the midst of belting out the title song, the curtains were raised to reveal the gorgeous new sound system. But, the big surprise came at the end of the evening, when Zina was approached by Brookline patrons Jonathan and Margot Davis who pledged $9,000 to match the final amount needed for a $50,000 challenge grant that was awarded to the theatre by the Brookline Community Fund six months ago. Earlier in the evening Mayo had joked that, while the evening was not a fundraiser and was meant as "a celebration and thanks to the audience of supporters over the years, if anyone wanted to meet the $9,000 challenge, they were certainly welcome to..." Yet another Coolidge success story!

And we are looking forward to a big celebration in August when Massachusetts Rep Brian Wallace will finalize the Fox 2000 Pictures green light for “Criminal Minded,” the Scott Marshall Smith screenplay adaptation of the Wallace novel “Final Confession.” George Tillman, Jr. will direct Robert DeNiro again in this one slated to get right into the remaining casting. The paper back version of “Final Confession” will adapt the movie title and graphics for a similar release date.

Speaking of Brian Wallace’s good work brings up a piece of industry business. Earlier this year, Representative Wallace, in support of the industry, filed House Bill 303 relating to reconstituting the Mass Film Office. This effort is moving along nicely and a hearing is scheduled before the appropriate committee. Readers who are so inclined are encouraged to contact IMAGINE if you would like to participate in the support of HB 303. State funding for the important work of bringing new business to the State and developing work within is critical at this time. It's an intricate process that is evolving and ultimately I believe that the public, private and non-profit sectors will each be bringing important parts of the puzzle to the table and will be working together to grow the film production industry in New England. Massachusetts is one of only two States that does not have a State supported Film Office.

The Rhode Island Film and Television Office now has its own agency according to Rick Smith, the agency director. Rhode Island has become linked to the
international movie making, television, and multi-media scene. In a state
with five films schools, a colorful filmmaking history, is it any wonder that the Ocean State attracts industry attention?

Yet, many businesses and localities in the state (I suspect in many states) are not aware of their potential for earnings from national and international film projects. Enter the RI Film Forum to educate Rhode Islanders how to become film-friendly and media-savvy. The RI Film Forum is organized and produced by Flickers Arts Collaborative (producers of the Rhode Island International Film Festival), in cooperation with the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council. I have served on this panel in the past and it is an excellent way to help all non-industry businesses learn how to capitalize on moviemaking.

Crossing my desk today is this good news: Script P.I.M.P. (Pipeline to Motion Pictures) awarded $10,000 to our four grand-prize winners this week from over 900 total submissions! Winners: Sea Fever by Richard Guimond (Tiverton, RI),
Slammin' by Joseph Garner & Aaron Metchik, Snoop by Brett Cooper, The Imperfect Cell by Lance Hammer. Alfred Catalfo, a finalist was also a finalist with two screenplays in the Tony Cox Awards for Screenwriting at NFF8.

Connecticut lost their lucrative location bid for the HBO Drama “Empire Falls” to Maine, where their production office has already been set up and casting and crew search begins August11th. HBO plans to get this adapted Robert Russo novel into production later this year.

Meanwhile Connecticut is preparing for TV game show giant “Jeopardy” to originate in their State the first week in October. Guy Ortoleva, Executive Director of the CT Film, Television, and Media Office, is preparing to conduct another series of “Boot Camps” for would-be production assistants to meet the demand. See the September issue for dates and times.

In Massachusetts, Maureen Foley (HOME BEFORE DARK) has put her independent film AMERICAN WAKE into production in and around Boston. Lucia Small is producing. IMAGINE will have a full ON LOCATION report for you in September.

And finally, The BY THE SEA Team has just learned that they are the recipients of The Gold Award for the Feature Film Category at the 2003 Aurora Awards. Another celebration for Dean Huh!

Carol Patton

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