FilmStew.com: LatestHeadlines

Woody Harrelson's Tour of Duty

11/20/2009

Visits to Walter Reed Hospital and Fort Dix have given the pro-peace actor a whole new appreciation for U.S. troops.

"Inglourious" Treatment

05/22/2009

This year, the print media at Cannes lost the Inglourious Basterds battle to their better looking TV brethren.

"Antichrist" Gives Way to Anti-Trier

05/20/2009

Legendarily press-averse filmmaker Lars Von Trier burnishes the anti-PR at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

Mariah Carey's Harlem Encore

05/19/2009

U.S. songstress reinvents herself to play supporting role in a film festival darling.

The Return of a "Bright Star"

05/18/2009

Kiwi filmmaker Jane Campion remains an empowered Cannes champion.

Catching Up to a "Dream"

05/15/2009

Pixar's John Lassiter completes a long journey from Emeryville, CA to Cannes, France.

Coppola’s Crowning Achievement?

05/02/2009

Francis Ford Coppola teases San Franciscans with glimpses of a film that has the makings of a masterpiece.

No One Was Watching Jackie Earle Haley

03/06/2009

In the shadow of celebrated comeback kids Robert Downey Jr. and Mickey Rourke, former child star Jackie Earle Haley can take full credit for his own unlikely resurgence.

Many Mo’ Awards in Her Future

01/26/2009

Having warmed up as a dramatic actress with her portrayal of Precious in Lee Daniels’ little seen 2005 film Shadowboxer, Mo’Nique has hit the jackpot with her performance as the mother of another Precious in the filmmaker’s latest effort, Push.

An Epic Oscar Run

01/23/2009

For Catherine Martin, working with her husband has turned out to be a marriage made in Oscar heaven.

Nick Hornby’s PR Pickle

01/21/2009

This New Year, British novelist and screenwriter Nick Hornby resolved not to have anything to do with UK's The Mail newspapers. But a January 9th plug for his latest movie has greatly complicated this pledge.

From Park City to Abu Dhabi?

01/16/2009

Having established his Sundance event in a state where polygamy is allowed, founder Robert Redford is now eying expansion to an Arab country that similarly permits men to have up to four wives.

A Hollywood News Caravan, Derailed

12/10/2008

Former Variety and current Advertising Age L.A. bureau chief Claude Brodesser-Akner gets smacked down by some Internet abetted fury.

Shaping an Awards Season "Contender"

12/09/2008

As today’s BFCA nominations confirm, former journalist Rod Lurie figured out how to emphatically get members to swear by Nothing But the Truth.

Jeffrey Katzenberg’s 3D "Express"

12/04/2008

Beyond the $150 million fanfare of Monsters vs. Aliens, a much bigger adventure is playing out under the Hollywood heading of “Jeffrey Katzenberg vs. 2D.”

Lining Up a "Fat" Sequel

10/09/2008

It’s the kind of wedding People Magazine would never bid on, but for the folks at UK’s September Films, it’s golden.

Crowning a Webcam "King"

10/09/2008

A top Hollywood casting director is taking time out from her studio duties to oversee some digital Dubai filmmaking.

JFK’s Other "World"

10/07/2008

Long before George. W cleared brush in Crawford, TX and George H. stole away to Kennebunkport, MN, John F. Kennedy made Hyannis Port, MA the site of his summer White House.

Television’s Original Pioneer

10/07/2008

A film is set to celebrate the life of man who cobbled together the world’s first ever working TV set using a hatbox, a pair of scissors, darning needles, bicycle light lenses and a used tea chest.

A Costly "Cigarette" Habit

10/03/2008

No-budget Memphis filmmaker Mike McCarthy’s latest project suggests that smokers will pay a much heavier price for their addiction in the future.

Some Pros and Comic-Con's

07/31/2006

In the wake of yet another four-day San Diego smorgasbord celebrating anything that can be turned into an action figure or costume, we take a look at some of the highs (Kapow!) and lows (Kaboom!).

Singer Surveys "Superman"

06/27/2006

In paying homage to the Richard Donner films, filmmaker Bryan Singer managed to include everything except the Krypton kitchen sink.

Beauty and the Regular Guy

06/21/2006

It’s not just the broad theme of Ashton Kutcher’s reality TV series. The onscreen pairing of great-looking young gals with average Joe's is a Hollywood movie trend reoccurring once again.

A Bigger "Bang"

06/05/2006

With next week’s DVD release of Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang sure to finally bring this acerbic film the audience it deserves, we sample the rat-tat-tat-tat chemistry of Kilmer Kilmer, Downey Downey.

Blondes Have More Trophy Ware

05/02/2006

Officially, it was called the US Weekly Hot Hollywood Awards. Unofficially, it looked a lot like a bevy of blonde babes and the shorter male B-Listers who love them.

Nickelodeon Knuckle Sandwich

04/05/2006

What’s that thrash metal sound emanating from the upstairs bedroom? Why it’s Green Day, winners of two Blimps and harbingers of a new (awards) world order.

The Electronica of "Eyes"

03/16/2006

The reviews are in, and the participants basking in the most praise for The Hills Have Eyes are the pair known as tomandandy.

Showing Team Spirit

03/06/2006

In the category of Most Courageous Awards Show Performer, the nominees are: Gallagher, Gray, Deschanel, Nivola, Kind and Yoakum.

For Their Consideration

02/01/2006

With this year’s top Oscar categories pretty much locked down, the only real hope for a great show is if the winners finally put away those damn laundry lists.

A Choice Critic's Diary

01/13/2006

Who better to put a final polish on the 11th Annual Critics' Choice Awards than one of its very own members? FilmStew's Anderson Jones has the dish.

A Retarded Ruckus

01/04/2006

The only thing Matt Stone and Trey Parker are guilty of when it comes to The Ringer is taking advantage of the quicker production timeline of rudimentary animation.

Getting Back on "Point"

12/21/2005

For years, filmmaker Woody Allen has been content to play it Love-40 with the press. But lately, he’s raised his PR game in an effort to even the score at Deuce.

A "Big" Bowl of Rehash

12/09/2005

When exactly did VH1 become an endless wink-wink regurgitation of pop culture? It all ties back to that mid-90’s show put together by Tad Low and Woody Thompson.

Helping Johnny Be Good

11/16/2005

Lurking in the background of Joaquin Phoenix’s amazing performance as singer Johnny Cash are vocal coach Roger Love and musician T-Bone Burnett.

Some Overly "Rich" PR

11/08/2005

If we had a nickel for every time Hollywood manufactured a controversy like that of the current 50 Cent movie poster, we’d be able to spring for some serious bling bling.

The Veterans of "Jarhead"

11/01/2005

Look past the shiny Marine line-up of Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx and Peter Sarsgaard, and you’ll find some generals who connect back to earlier Hollywood campaigns.

Trying "Rize" On for Size

10/26/2005

One of this year's contenders for Best Documentary is part of the proud tradition of turning an earlier Sundance short into a later Sundance feature.

The Dialogue Whisperer

10/08/2005

You’ve probably never heard of Chris Neil; but the Coppola clan member has this year touched both Star Wars: Episode III and Thumbsucker.

The Reluctant Sex Goddess

09/28/2005

To most guys, Jessica Alba is synonymous with the battle cry, ‘Gentlemen, start your search engines.’ But it’s not at all the way this Pomona, CA native sees herself.

The "Hot" Zone

09/23/2005

At LAX the nightclub, US Weekly reminds us that the hot zone is for the immediate loading and unloading of PR passengers.

A Sundance Playlist

02/06/2010

A pair of 17-year-old protagonists headline our critic's list of noteworthy 2010 Sundance Film Festival offerings.

Toronto's Top Ten

09/21/2009

Among our critic’s favorites at this year’s edition are films featuring strong performances by Edward Norton, Woody Harrelson, Anthony LaPaglia and Sir Michael Caine.

Rewarding Her Festival Faith

09/18/2009

Heading into an event like the Toronto International Film Festival, a reporter always prays for rich thematic strands. Thankfully, this year’s prayer has been answered.

A Sapphic Seyfried

09/16/2009

At the Toronto Film Festival, actress Amanda Seyfried offers up not one but two same-sex narrative detours.

A Trying Triple Bill

09/11/2009

Our reporter kicks off the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival with a disturbing trifecta.

From Austria with Lubricant

07/10/2009

Tackling the slippery slope of a sophomore effort, Sacha Baron Cohen only sometimes manages comedy moments that are truly “niiiiiiiice.”

A Tale of Three "Public Enemies"

07/01/2009

Johnny Depp is the latest actor to tackle the role of John Dillinger. But how does he stack up against the one who really made bank?

Sundance’s Sweet "Summer" Breeze

01/28/2009

Following 2006’s Little Miss Sunshine, 2007’s Juno and 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire, Fox Searchlight appears to have all the makings of another crowd pleasing sleeper hit.

A Resplendent "Moon"

01/22/2009

Guided in large part by Michael Light’s photography book Full Moon, the man once known as “Zowie Bowie” has fashioned a “wowie” of a debut.

Top Ten Femme Fatales

12/27/2008

Here are the actresses who, in 2008, most successfully used their seductive onscreen charms to compromise members of the opposite sex.

Bruckheimer’s "Hour" of Reckoning

10/10/2008

In this day and age when CNN and Fox News have become requisite “Must Suffer TV,” one needs to take the good with the bad.

An "Ex"-Showrunner Once More

10/03/2008

Twice Diane Ruggiero has been tasked by CBS to bring TV sitcoms to life and twice she has tasted the bittersweet nature of Hollywood success.

From J.D. Salinger to J.W. Lennon

09/30/2008

John Lennon was only ten-years-old when the novel Catcher in the Rye was first published in 1951. But sadly for him, a fan’s twisted interpretation of that seminal work led to an abrupt end on December 8th, 1980.

When Sparks Fly

09/26/2008

With a fourth Hollywood adaptation hitting screens this weekend and a fifth on the way in 2009, author Nicholas Sparks appears set to add two more critically panned and commercially successful films to his name.

Whacking the "Women"

09/25/2008

Hillary Clinton is the same age as Glenn Close, while Sarah Palin clocks in alongside Mary-Louise Parker. Lucky for them they chose the gentler field of politics.

"Sex" and the Golden Oldie

09/23/2008

In between the years Sex and the City lynchpins Michael Patrick King and Darren Star were born, a Joan Crawford movie came out that looks today like a virtual blueprint of the pair’s HBO home run.

"Fatboy" Fricassee

09/23/2008

A fry-up of American, British and Irish comedy sensibilities that will have no trouble satisfying mainstream movie appetites.

A Dizzying Dozen

09/19/2008

Multiply McCain, Obama and Nader times four and you get the number of fall choices awaiting citizens of the cinema this weekend.

Flunking the "College" Test

09/12/2008

Thirty years after John Belushi’s Bluto yelled “Food fight!” in Animal House, a real-life patron gives the exhortation a whole new collegiate context.

Ted and Alan Make a Porno

09/12/2008

Producer Ted Hope and writer-director Alan Ball have inadvertently adapted Alicia Erian’s novel Towelhead into a pervert’s wet dream.

Putting On a World War II Show

03/09/2010

Before he became an influential American fashion designer, the late Bill Blass held a most unusual position: soldier-artist with the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, a top-secret Word War II outfit also known as the Ghost Army. Alongside painter Ellsworth Kelly, photographer Art Kane and the many other lesser-knowns who comprised the 1,100-person Camouflage Battalion, he was tasked with helping with some of the 21 large-scale deception maneuvers staged on the Continent during the waning days of the conflict, using weapons such as inflatable tanks, sound effects and even playacting.

Not to be confused with the First United States Army Group, a task force featured in the 1978 Ken Follet novel Eye of the Needle and subsequent 1981 film adaptation, the Ghost Army is now - finally - the subject of a documentary of the same name by Rick Beyer. Though still in rough cut form, it is scheduled to be sneak previewed on Wednesday, March 17th at the University of Michigan’s Hatcher Library, which is running a concurrent exhibit of photos and drawings supplied by the filmmaker.

Like so many filmic enterprises, the idea for The Ghost Army was born at a Starbucks where, in the summer of 2005, Beyer was introduced by a business colleague to the daughter of unit operative John Jarvie. One of the most dangerous of all the Ghost Army missions took place in September, 1944; code-named Operation Bettembourg (pictured below), it involved plugging an unmanned 70-mile breach in the Metz massing forces of General Patton by having the artist-soldiers make like 20,000 members of the 6th Armored Division.

[Photo courtesy of GhostArmy.org]

Catching Up to a Kentucky Tragedy

02/22/2010
The school bus accident that formed the basis of both the Russell Banks story and subsequent Atom Egoyan Oscar-nominated 1997 drama The Sweet Hereafter took place just over 20 years ago in the small town of Alton, Texas. Tragically though, the fatality count of 21 chilren drowned does not make it the worst such accident in U.S. history; that morbid distinction belongs to an earlier 1958 mark on the psyche of residents of Prestonsburg, Kentucky that claimed the lives of 26 children.

This February 28th, 1958 tragedy is the focus of The Very Worst Thing, a documentary screening on Wednesday, February 24th at the Kentucky Theatre in Lexington after premiering last Friday in Prestonsburg to a massive audience of 1,040 people. Taking its title from the summation by local Josephine Fields that the crash was “the very worst thing to ever happen in Floyd County," Michael Crisp and Andrew Moore’s film features interviews with only one living survivor willing to talk about it on camera, relying for the rest of its talking-head documentation on eyewitnesses, emergency personnel and others.

The filmmakers worked closely with Jackie Branham-Hall, author of a 2004 book about the bus crash entitled Portrait of a Disaster. Banham-Hall’s connection to the crash is that as a child, she was sick that day, thereby missing school and the need to make the trip; in director Crisp’s case, he is related to several of the children who perished and moved away from the area as a child in 1955.

Echoing the crash sourced by Banks and Egoyan, the exact cause of the Prestonsburg plunge into a swollen river remains unknown. Crisp plans plan to eventually submit The Very Worst Thing to film festivals and even at this late date, is still hoping that some enterprising archivist will materialize with elusive local TV news footage from the crash site.

[Photo courtesy of The Very Worst Thing Facebook page]

Getting a "Handle" on Michigan Moviemaking

02/18/2010
Michigan’s obscenely entincing tax incentives for filmmakers are in the news a lot these days, but not all of those making movies in The Wolverine State are doing so under the auspices of runaway savings. Case in point: Rebel Pictures, Michael McCallum and Anthony E. Griffin’s Lansing outift; founded in 1999, the company is set to unveil its second feature, Handlebar, on Sunday, February 21st, at the Celebration Cinema.

Clocking in at 70 minutes and shot over a scant two weekends, the farcical mafia comedy may be a tad on the feature-length light side, but it marks the continuation of a journey that began at the same Celebration Cinema in January of 2007 with the launch of Fairview Street, a more serious offering starring McCallum in the title role of a paroled ex-con. McCallum sports the titular handlebar moustache in this new film, and is already at work with partner Griffin on the 2011 comedy-drama Lucky.

The duo promise to have some exciting news regarding Handlebar at Sunday’s premiere, though they hasten to add on Facebook that it involves neither an unplanned pregnancy nor a call from Steven Spielberg. Their newest offering can also be purchased online as a $20 DVD, complete with three Audio Commentary tracks and the 2007 Griffin-McCallum short Nice Guy Blues.

[Photo courtesy of HandlebarMovie.com]

Shifting Gears in Potomac

02/17/2010
Writer-director Michael Merino is certainly far from a household name, but in the last few years he’s managed to make a heist film (The Deal), some suspense horror (502) and some slasher horror (The Milkman). Now, to his credit once again, he’s raised several hundred thousand dollars in financing for Our Last Supper, a change-of-pace drama set to roll from late March through early April on location in the wealthy equestrian enclave of Potomac, Maryland.

The film, about five male friends in their late 30s who gather for an annual catch-up steak dinner, also marks the first time Merino, a one-time L.A. acting hopeful, is taking a co-starring role in one of his productions. In a way, the story sounds a little bit like it could be a sequel to fellow Maryland native Barry Levinson’s 1982 classic Diner, wherein a group of lifelong friends grow older to face a different set of issues such as caring for a sick parent and ageing out of a sports profession.

The rest of the Our Last Supper cast - Kris Arnold, Ken Arnold, Regen Wilson and David Jon Wilson - reflects an even mix of repeat MCMFILMS collaborators and first-timers. Merino meanwhile already has a couple of other projects in pre-production: The Haunting of Pearson Place and The Razorman.

[Photo courtesy of MCMFilms.net]

A Dwindling Slice of Paradise

02/08/2010
The words Te Henua E Nnoho are a lot harder to pronounce than An Inconvenient Truth, but the message of this new Kiwi documentary is in many ways far more incontrovertible than the slide show arguments presented by Al Gore in his Oscar-winning documentary. The title comes from the Polynesian words "There Once Was an Island," and sure enough, that is the very imminent reality faced by inhabitants of the tiny southwestern Pacific atoll of Takuu in Papua New Guinea profiled in this Grand Prize winner at the recent 2010 Pacific International Documentary Film Festival.

Shot during the winter of 2006-2007 and in the last few months of 2008, Te Henua E Nnoho shows how residents Satty, Endor and Teloo must struggle with the very real effects of global warming, man-made or otherwise. Producer Lyn Collie and director Briar March were initially inspired by the writings of Richard Moyle, an Auckland, New Zealand anthropologist who has been visiting and studying the island for two decades. Onscreen, that scientific perspective is taken up by oceanographer John Hunter and geomorphologist Scott Smithers, who work with the local trio to quantify what is occurring.

Permission to shoot had to be secured from Takuu’s tribal chief, and the challenges of production were augmented by the fact that there is no electricity on the island. Te Henua E Nnoho will make its U.S. debut February 15th at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Montana, where it will no doubt continue to make a big splash.

[Photo courtesy of ThereOnceWasanIsland.com]

A Projector Runs Through It

02/03/2010
It’s probably a safe bet that the overlap between the filmmakers at the recently completed 27th edition of Sundance and the just-started fourth year of the traveling Fly Fishing Film Tour is nil. But Robert Redford, one-time writer-director of 1992’s A River Runs Through It, might do well to head down to Salt Lake City when the lesser known road show stops there later this month.

Tonight in Billings, Montana and onwards to dozens of other U.S. locations throughout 2010, this collection of seven documentaries of varying lengths is the brainchild of Thad Robison, a former partner of AEG (Angling Exploration Group) Media. He’s reeled in an impressive batch of corporate sponsors, set up a solid website with online screening room and snared titles that belie the gentility of the subject matter (Nervous Water, Trout Burn Diaries III: The Final Chapter...)

Tickets for each presentation are in the Avatar price range of $14, but then again, to practitioners of the sport, the chance to viscerally share in the river run experiences of others is very much their version of a trip to Pandora. For example, a pair of January 28th sold-out FFFT showings in Fort Collins, CO still was not enough to accomodate all those who wanted in. Which is good news for the featured filmmakers, because as Robison recently pointed out on the Fish Schtick podcast, they are now for the first time getting a portion of the event’s proceeds.

[Photo courtesy of FlyFishingFilmTour.com]

From "Corn" to Cottage Industry

01/28/2010
As the independent film business splinters into a million, mostly unprofitable directions, the search is on for successful 21st century grassroots paradigms. Two guys who appear to be well on their way to figuring out such a model are Yale University alums Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis (pictured below, left to right), the pair of filmmaking novices who burst onto the scene with the 2007 Peabody Award winning documentary King Corn.

Take for example the Cheney-directed 2009 effort The Greening of Southie, an in-depth look at the construction of the Macellan Building, Boston’s first LEED-certified green edifice. The company behind the project, Pappas Enterprises, also provided most of the funding for the documentary, which meant that although Greening could not veer towards the realm of expose, it could still provide Cheney with a slick canvas from which to work.

Then there is the matter of how the duo comes up with ideas for their prolific documentary output, a process that is itself organic. For example, the pair’s relocation to the New York area has inspired not one but two 2010 Big Apple-centric non-fiction swirls: one about the eradication of the night sky (The City Dark) and another about the never-ending fight over street parking (That’s My Spot).

A quick look at the website for Cheney and Ellis’ Brooklyn-based operations, Wickedelicate.com reveals all sorts of other resourceful revenue streams: $150/hr private moviemaking coaching services; a DIY bootcamp hosted at a Maine farmhouse last September for the fee of $1,500 per participant; and so on. All in all, with an occasional assist from benefactors such as Rooftop Films, which awarded a grant to Wicked Delicate for the post-production of The City Dark, these guys appear to be well on their way to mastering one of those desperately needed new paradigms.

[Photos courtesy of Wickedelicate.com]

Love Means Never Having to Say You're
"Saw"-ry

01/26/2010
Once upon a time, the 1965 British film The Collector garnered three Oscar nominations (Best Actress, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay) for its tale of a disturbed bank clerk (Terence Stamp) who kidnaps a pretty art student (Samantha Eggar). Now comes Twisted Seduction, a just-wrapped $30,000 project that expands upon the same general territory with a pair of unknown leads, Tom Broadwell and Caroline Brassard.

Along with a killer title, Twisted Seduction boasts a (brand new) killer trailer, whose compelling music by Adam Pietrowski and crisp RED Camera images should resonate with fans of the Saw franchise. Debuting UK native Broadwell, who lives in Leeds, met French-Canadian writer-director Dominique Adams in 2008 when the pair worked as fitness instructors on a cruise ship; they soon discovered a shared ambition for moviemaking and after discussing, post-contract, an idea of Adams’, the latter was able to crank out a script in two days.

Broadwell stars as David Grant, a genius IQ level 25-year-old Englishman living in Montreal who, based on an analysis that 24-year-old sales executive Francesca Besson is his on-paper 99.3% compatibility match, kidnaps her for an accelerated, forced courtship. In keeping with this main theme, the official website for the film offers a tonge-in-cheek multiple-choice quiz to determine how twisted any particular reader might be, beginning with the query, "You are cooking for someone. You accidentally drop your saliva in the dish as you were about to serve it. Do you?..."

(For the record, my answers to the quiz merited the verdict of, "Your mind is definitely very twisted. By society’s standards, you belong in jail. We truly hope that you are not upset with the makers of this quiz, because we would not want to be on your bad side.")

[Photo courtesy of TwistedSeductionMovie.com.]

Leaning on "Lavorsia"

01/21/2010
Much was made at the outset of Seth Rogen’s meteoric Hollywood rise about the fact that he launched his stand-up comedy career at the tender age of 13 in a Vancouver lesbian bar. But in terms of west coast precociousness, writer-director Bill Cornelius has him handily beat – when he founded his company B.C. Films back in 1991, he was all of eight.

Still, it wasn’t until the age of 14 that Cornelius wrote the screenplay for Lavorsia, a cliffhanger love story about a pair of outcast high school students (Blake George, Anna David). The short film won a prize at the 2006 edition of the University of Western Kentucky’s Western Film and Video Festival and Cornelius is now hoping to gain traction for feature-length expansion by offering it up online.

Clocking in at 18 minutes and 35 seconds, the drama mixes black and white with color footage and relies heavily on an original soundtrack provided by Nashville artists. The title Lavorsia comes from the first name of David’s new-in-town character, whose unspoken past may be tied to the recently disbanded Durham, North Carolina operations of one Cybernetics Corporation.

[Photo courtesy of Lavorsia.com.]

Bowling at Las Cruces

01/15/2010
As the 20-year anniversary of an unthinkable scene of carnage at New Mexico’s Las Cruces Bowl approaches, the two Hispanic suspects thought to be responsible remain at large and unaccounted for. This despite the fact that three of the four victims gunned down during the February 10th, 1990 robbery were girls ages two, six and 13.

First-time filmmaker Charlie Minn is hoping to change all that with A Nightmare in Las Cruces, a 100-minute high-def video documentary shot last fall with the assistance of several New Mexico State University students. Set for a limited local engagement at the Cine 10 Theaters beginning Wednesday, February 10th, the movie features interviews with three surviving victims, case lead detective Mark Myers and a replay of the haunting 911 call by a distraught young Melissa Repass (listen to it here).

Minn tells the Las Cruces Bulletin that he became fixated on the so-called Bowling Alley Massacre after watching a report on the TV program Unsolved Mysteries while attending college in Boston; he would even periodically check in with the local police department to see if anything new had developed. Minn went on to become a local TV news reporter in Albuqurque and will be speaking locally about his film on February 1st at the Barnes & Noble at the Mesilla Valley Mall.

[(l to r) Victims Paula Holguin, Valerie Teran,
courtesy of Unsolved-Crimes.com.]

Script Coverage from Hell

01/08/2010
A California filmmaker has seemingly managed to solicit a piece of screenwriting feedback that will be hard to top in the coming year. All that’s missing is the observation that her plotline tends in places to be a little helter skelter.

Via a belated Christmas card received yesterday from Corcoran State Prison, Melanie Scheller got a B+ from Charles Manson in response to a script she mailed into the infamous inmate, with special permission, some time ago. However, the note – signed by rumored intermediary Kenny Callihan – goes on to add that "a few things could have been deleted."

The topic of Callihan could ultimately present a better story angle for Scheller to focus on, perhaps in the form of a documentary. Turns out the fellow prisoner has put his name to a number of notes from the Swastika-ed one, fueling equal speculation that he is either stealing Manson’s mail or legitimately passing on his words, complete with a mad margin code of question marks and smiley faces.

[Photo courtesy of Corcoran State Prison,
March 2009.]

Cobbling Together a "Cathedral"

12/30/2009
Earlier this month, via the website kickstarter.com, the makers of the upcoming Phoenix indie drama Cathedral City reached a modest but still impressive-in-these-times fundraising goal. Thanks to 57 individual donations, they were able on December 14th to hit their targeted amount of $5,600, which will go towards final pre-production, casting and locations.

Separately, producer Diana Davis has a letter of intent from Michael Madsen to play the lead role of a businessman and the endorsement of Flora Jessop, who as a 16-year-old fled the infamous Colorado City polygamous community. Cathedral City weaves its narrative around the idea that Phoenix tolerates fringe polygamist communities because of their ability to provide cheap construction labor and city project bids with ample room on the ledger for profitable corruption.

Whether or not Madsen will actually wind up in the finished film, scheduled to shoot early next year, remains unclear. But Davis’ MoviesMakingaDifference has managed to take one small step in that general direction and says it will donate 10% of any profits made from Cathedral City to organizations helping female and child victims of polygamous cults.

[Photo courtesy of MoviesMakingaDifference.]

Coming Together for "Celadon"

11/23/2009
As the first-draft editor of many of her brother Carl Ekberg’s books, Anne Johnson knew some twenty years ago that his 18th century historical tome Stealing Indian Women: Native Slavery in the Illinois Country had the makings of a feature film. But it’s unlikely the now semi-retired family therapist realized at the time that this spark would eventually lead to her first ever feature film producer credit for Under These Same Stars: The Celadon Affair,, a grassroots independent drama screening Tuesday, November 24th in Marion, IL as part of a series of staggered fall premieres.

Many historical homes, costumes and props were donated to the making of the film, while the production’s cast sourced from a wide variety of personal backgrounds. For example, playing the lead role of Celadon, a mixed race hunter with ties to a pair of slave girls in 1773 Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, is Brian Smith, a historical re-enactor and U.S. Army engineer currently stationed at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan.

Johnson’s husband Rod was on board as co-producer while their son Dan, a documentary filmmaker and sculptor, took on many jobs as director, including that of building camera cranes. Along with earlier screenings in Ste. Genevieve and at Southern Illinois University, Under These Same Stars is also scheduled to be shown at the Missouri History Museum in St. Louis on January 24th

[Photo courtesy of UnderTheseSameStars.com.]

Playing the ChipIn "Game"

11/17/2009
So far, stand-up comedian Rich Praytor’s grassroots filmmaking efforts are failing to gain traction. Aiming to fundraise $100,000 for his Christian-themed romantic comedy The Waiting Game, about the travails of a virginal husband, the 35-year-old Colorado Springs based entertainer has, as of press time, accumulated a mere $145.

Still, it’s worth noting that the slow-start amount was generated by just three donors who, at an average individual contribution level of $48.33, are easily exceeding the $20 target that Praytor suggests via video pitch. In a faith-based, faith-based twist, the comedian promises that a $20 donation secures tickets to the premiere and a copy of the DVD, even though there is no guarantee either perk will come to pass.

Come to think of it, if you divide $100,000 by the on-paper everyman median of 20, the end result is 5,000. Should some sort of divine intervention occur and somewhere near that number of supporters pony up for the Waiting Game budget, married father of three Praytor (pictured below) will then face a new logistical problem: finding a premiere venue that can accomodate each and every one of his financiers. (Richard Horgan)

[Photo courtesy of TheWaitingGameMovie.com.]

An Officer and a Christian Man

11/12/2009
At age 73, actor Lou Gossett Jr. still packs a considerable punch, as demonstrated by his busy current filming schedule. And if all goes well, the Oscar-winner will soon be following in the box office footsteps of two-time Golden Globe nominee Kirk Cameron with the cleverly titled spring 2010 Christian drama The Grace Card, currently shooting in Memphis.

"We look at this project as Fireproof 2.0," explains screenwriter Howard Klausner (Space Cowboys), who recently moved from Los Angeles back to his hometown of Nashville. "The Sherwood Baptist guys have opened up a door for all of us, proving that faith-based features can stand up in the marketplace... Maybe it’s just because so few films coming out of Hollywood reflect the values we [Christians] hold dear."

For good luck perhaps, Klausner and his colleagues cast a familiar face from Fireproof, actor-youth pastor Stephen Dervan (the hot sauce-drinking firefighter), to provide some brief comic relief. But the bulk of The Grace Card is about the on-the-job interactions of Sam Wright (Michael Higgenbottom), a Memphis police officer by day and preacher at his grandafther’s (Gossett) church on Sundays, with embittered white partner Mac MacDonald (Michael Joiner).

The Grace Card is the brainchild of David Evans, a Memphis based producer of live Christian events who is relying on members of his church for assistance with everything from carpentry to catering. "One of our most important scenes takes place in a predominantly black Memphis church," he teases. "Without giving the plot away, actors, crew and hundreds of extras from both black and white congregations were hugging each other and crying because of the subject matter [of racial reconciliation]."

[Photo courtesy of GraceCardMovie.com.]

Ring of Faith

11/05/2009
Johnny Cash would probably have approved of Lifelink Memphis, the non-denominational and highly musical group that last year took over the site of his very first public performance. Even more so now that Pastor Joey Noffsinger and fellow congregation members at Galloway United Methodist have begun working on a documentary about the country icon’s 1953 bake sale, basement debut.

The stage where Cash first performed still stands and now sits next to a recording studio, all part of Lifelink’s melodious approach to matters of spirituality. For The Gospel According to Johnny, Noffsinger and co. have so far managed to interview the singer’s sister, Joan, as well as talk to several people who witnessed the Man in Black’s humble basement beginnings.

The documentary is being directed by local filmmaker John Michael McCarthy, who tells the Commercial Appeal that he has had to, at least for the time being, step away from the project to tend to the business of his sci-fi drama Cigarette Girl, which premiered in September. Again, given the subject matter of the latter, Cash would probably once again have approved.

Lifelink also makes use of its history-steeped musical facilities for a sideline educational arm, Visible School Music & Worship Arts College, with plans to erect an exhibit on the life and faith of Cash to go along with the Gospel doc. Meanwhile, podcasts of Noffsinger’s sermons are available for download via the church’s website.

[Photo courtesy of VisibleSchool.com]

Houston, We Have a Premise

10/26/2009
One of the toughest challenges for independent filmmakers is coming up with a narrative that stretches the boundaries of stortytelling but not those of the line producer’s Excel spreadsheet. In the shadow of Paranormal Activity, a box office-busting example of this approach, stands another entry still an orbit or too away from the film festival circuit - the mock-documentary Lunopolis, written and directed by Lafayette, LA aspirant Matthew Avant.

Avant and co-producer Hal Maynor play a couple of documentary filmmakers who uncover the Church of Lunology, a mysterious fraternity bent on keeping secret the fact that an underground colony of from-the-future humans is living on the moon and controlling the flow of events on earth. Think of it as The Da Vinci Code meets Man Bites Dog. Or perhaps, in light of Paul Haggis’ stunning letter of resignation from the Church of Scientology, Lunopolis can also be positioned as an indirect spoof of the Thetan clan.

Avant commissioned 40 original works of art to help flesh out the story of the Church of Lunology and its founder J. Ari Hilliard. For good measure, he also threw in plotline elements that encompass UFOs, Atlantis, the Mayan Calendar and a lo-fi time travel machine crafted from Maynor’s overstuffed tool shed. A recent sneak preview of Lunopolis at Lafayette’s Grand Theatre had patrons buzzing, seemingly confirming the year spent by Avant and co. crafting their script (not to be confused with Poul Anderson ’s 1954 sci-fi novel of the same name).

[Illustration courtesy of Matthew Avant.]

Reconnecting with Raimi and Reiner

10/20/2009
In the late 1990s, lifelong ad agency man John Krueger had the privilege of working with Rob Reiner on anti-smoking TV spots in support of California Proposition 10 and with Sam Raimi for several typically inventive Jack in the Box TV commercials. So when it came time to break through the marketing noise on behalf of his feature film thriller debut The Fall, set to begin a two-week run at Laemmle Theatres’ Sunset 5 on October 30th, he conjured up the attention-getting idea of a Reiner-Raimi callback.

"Dear Sam Raimi and Rob Reiner, please watch my movie," proclaimed four postcard-size ads that ran in the Los Angeles Times Calendar section at a friendly discounted rate from October 15th through the 18th. On each day, the filmmaker supported his gentle plea with a different reason, beginning with ’We worked together a decade ago’ and ending with ’It [the movie] is actually pretty good.’ The mischievous Mad Man has yet to hear back from either PR target but says he has spoken with both of their assistants and plans to touch base again later in the week.

"At the time of that first anti-smoking spot, Rob [Reiner] called me at one point on my cell phone while I was driving and said, ’I showed it to Steven and Ronnie, and everyone loved it,’" Krueger recalls during a phone interview with FilmStew. "I almost drove off the road, because you can imagine how overwhelming it was, as an aspiring filmmaker, to hear that kind of feedback from Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard." Shot by fine arts photographer Nick Brandt and wrapped around the poem ’Cradle Me’, the TV spot sparked a dramatic shift in public opinion.

Krueger, whose Venice, CA based Krueger Communications counts El Pollo Loco among its clients, plans more marketing tricks in support of The Fall. Working in tandem with Big Time PR, these include customized lead character movie posters with Perez Hilton-like scrawl (such as the one pictured below) as well as eight-foot dangling figures to be placed strategically around Los Angeles.

Though Krueger would love for Reiner and-or Raimi to show up in person during the Sunset 5 run, he has also understandably sent along screeners of The Fall, his tale of a fast-rising D.A. who must suddenly deal with the complications of a murder case involving his brother. Written 12 years ago and shot in 2007-2008, the movie won a Best Feature prize at Colorado Springs’ Indie Spirit Festival and was an official entry at the Rome International Film Festival.

Sharing an Inspirational "Story"

10/13/2009
Over the years, Mark Jacobs has proven extremely adept at capturing the visceral drama of people’s lives, first as an award-winning TV news reporter-producer and, more recently, as a director on reality series such as Breaking Bonaduce, Obsessed and an upcoming VH1 program about a household of individuals grappling with OCD. Which explains the 47-year-old Las Vegas native’s newest professional accomplishment: a Jury Prize and Audience Awards for Best Documentary from moviegoers in San Diego and Malibu, the first two film festivals to have screened his feature-length debut Jesse’s Story.

The grassroots groundswell for Jacobs’ account of the inspiring ways in which surfer Jesse Billauer (pictured below) has overcome a March 1996 accident that rendered him a quadriplegic actually began with a more select Southern California audience. "Jesse is friends with actor James Keach," Jacobs explains during a phone interview with FilmStew, "so he arranged for a private screening. The audience, which included a number of Academy voters, was in tears afterwards, and James was kind enough to tell me that he thought Jesse’s Story was the sort of movie that could contend in the Best Documentary category. He also gave me notes on the film."

Jesse’s Story was a true labor of love for Jacobs, who worked beginning in 2001 with eight different film formats and edited them together using each successive version of Final Cut Pro. A key on-camera interview of Billauer was shot at a fully equipped Raleigh Studios soundstage donated by a colleague working on America’s Funniest Home Videos, while the new website for the film launching this week was put together at a greatly reduced rate by a supportive San Diego designer pal.

Jacobs has submitted Jesse’s Story to Sundance and is working with a distribution agent who has sparked solid interest from several companies. He has also begun work on two new documentaries about the reunion of 1980s "Big Hair" rock ’n’ roll band Masque and the somewhat surprising views held by Ethiopians regarding the adoption of their children by foreigners.

But for now, it’s all about putting people in touch with the life-affirming power of Jesse Billauer, who still surfs, makes a living as a motivational speaker and - intentionally or not - tends via Jacobs’ movie to shame audience members into admitting that they really have very little to complain about.

[Life Rolls On Foundation / Tom Mantoani]

"Parking" a Benefactor's Donation

10/12/2009
The most recognizable star of No Parking, an indie road drama premiering Sunday October 25th in Roseville, CA, is "Lucille," the red-and-white 1973 VW Bay Window bus driven across California and Nevada by a pair of fiftyish men (Bill Shucart, Gary Hamner) who are, respectively, divorced and widowed. But it is the way that van was obtained, moreso than the way it was named (via online contest suggestions), that perfectly sums up the kind of serendipity needed to complete any low-budget big screen enterprise.

Earlier this year, a complete stranger donated $3,000 to the cause of filmmakers Hector Marquez and Seth Shore, college buddies who founded local production firm Live Media Entertainment. Not long thereafter, the pair came across a VW vehicle for sale and used their benefactor’s money to purchase it in May. (Another VW, one of five collectively owned by the half-dozen people who make up Live Media, was sold to help finance the film.)

Of course, the last time an indie effort made prominent use of a VW bus and a road map of the western United States, the result was 2006 Sundance smash Little Miss Sunshine. It’s unlikely anything close to that kind of success will be claimed by No Parking, but thanks to a classic VW vehicles red carpet sideshow at the October 25th premiere and a 48-screen limited theatrical release, Marquez and Shore have already made it further down the indie filmmaking road than many of their counterparts.

[Photo courtesy of NoParkingMovie.com.]

Battling Bad Sundance Buzz

01/29/2010
Mark Ruffalo's debut feature, Sympathy for Delicious, is a blast and far better than the bad buzz suggests.

The "Backyards" Beat

01/27/2010
Music takes on special emphasis in Judy Berlin director Eric Mendelsohn's second feature 3 Backyards.

That '40s "Show"

01/27/2010
As the USO prepares to celebrate its 69th anniversary next week, actor Wilmer Valderrama reveals how it also proved to be his pathway to meaningful dramatic work.

Two Oscar Winners, One Oscar Nominee and No Takers

01/24/2010
Lack of financing nearly did in Get Low, but the all-star production made it to the finish line and a berth at Sundance.

Stinging the Paparazzo

01/22/2010
Hard to say if TMZ or RadarOnline would fall for it today, but this A-list maneuver definitely worked back in 1975.

Pedro in the Mirror

12/28/2009
An unplanned scene rehearsal with director Pedro Almódovar crowns Penélope Cruz's memories of their latest collaboration.

Citizen Uncanny

12/28/2009
Me and Orson Welles is a little movie that's making big noise, thanks to Christian McKay's star-making turn as the Hollywood legend.

Charting a Romantic Flight Path

12/07/2009
Up in the Air returns George Clooney to a big screen destination he has been bypassing in recent years.

Dialed In to Disturbing Drama

11/19/2009
At the beginning of the decade, Lee Daniels helped Halle Berry become the first African American Best Actress winner. This year, he will almost certainly join her in the Oscar record books.

Guarding Against the Stain of Celebrity

10/30/2009
In at least one surprising way, potential 2009 Best Supporting Actor nominee Alfred Molina is very much like his cheapskate character in An Education.

Working the Audition Room

10/14/2009
The manner by which Broadway actor Michael Stuhlbarg landed the lead role in the Coen brothers' latest is nothing short of inspirational for the waitering masses.

The Man with the Golden Screenwriter

09/14/2009
When actor Michael Sheen collaborates on the big screen with writer Peter Morgan, good things happen to the tune of eleven overall Oscar nominations and counting.

Factoring In Some Personal Memories

09/09/2009
The assembly of Mike Judge’s latest feature film relied on parts of Albuquerque, Milwaukee and Austin, Texas.

Sea of Gladness

08/29/2009
Right up to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and beyond, the half-million people gathered together at Woodstock proved the power of giving peace a chance.

"Funny" Boo Hoo

07/30/2009
In fashioning a movie for old friend Adam Sandler, Judd Apatow takes a turn toward the dark side as he contemplates life, death and ruthless ambition.

Opting for a Middle Eastern "Locker"

07/08/2009
Unlike the Phoenix-centered shoot for Peter Berg’s The Kingdom, Kathryn Bigelow was able to go all the way with her dramatic detonations.

Two Clumps of Aussie Claymation

01/19/2009
One started as the first animated project to be brought to the Sundance Director’s Lab, while the other just became the first animated feature to open the Sundance Film Festival.

Suddenly Naked

01/06/2009
Oscar winner Marisa Tomei waited her whole career to do nudity. Now, to her great astonishment, she’s back at it again.

The Brolin Doctrine

12/01/2008
On a day when ABC’s Charlie Gibson has elicited a remarkable Mea Culpa from George W. Bush, the actor who took on the role of the 43rd President has moved on to another ill-equipped politician.

A Brit in Bollywood

11/15/2008
For many North Americans, Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire will be the first slice of cinema sampled from the location of the world’s largest film industry.

FilmStew.com: LatestHeadlines

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Mariah Carey's Harlem Encore

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Coppola’s Crowning Achievement?

No One Was Watching Jackie Earle Haley

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Nick Hornby’s PR Pickle

From Park City to Abu Dhabi?

A Hollywood News Caravan, Derailed

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Jeffrey Katzenberg’s 3D "Express"

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JFK’s Other "World"

Television’s Original Pioneer

A Costly "Cigarette" Habit

Some Pros and Comic-Con's

Singer Surveys "Superman"

Beauty and the Regular Guy

A Bigger "Bang"

Blondes Have More Trophy Ware

Nickelodeon Knuckle Sandwich

The Electronica of "Eyes"

Showing Team Spirit

For Their Consideration

A Choice Critic's Diary

A Retarded Ruckus

Getting Back on "Point"

A "Big" Bowl of Rehash

Helping Johnny Be Good

Some Overly "Rich" PR

The Veterans of "Jarhead"

Trying "Rize" On for Size

The Dialogue Whisperer

The Reluctant Sex Goddess

The "Hot" Zone

A Sundance Playlist

Toronto's Top Ten

Rewarding Her Festival Faith

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A Trying Triple Bill

From Austria with Lubricant

A Tale of Three "Public Enemies"

Sundance’s Sweet "Summer" Breeze

A Resplendent "Moon"

Top Ten Femme Fatales

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An "Ex"-Showrunner Once More

From J.D. Salinger to J.W. Lennon

When Sparks Fly

Whacking the "Women"

"Sex" and the Golden Oldie

"Fatboy" Fricassee

A Dizzying Dozen

Flunking the "College" Test

Ted and Alan Make a Porno

Putting On a World War II Show

Catching Up to a Kentucky Tragedy

Getting a "Handle" on Michigan Moviemaking

Shifting Gears in Potomac

A Dwindling Slice of Paradise

A Projector Runs Through It

From "Corn" to Cottage Industry

Love Means Never Having to Say You're "Saw"-ry

Leaning on "Lavorsia"

Bowling at Las Cruces

Script Coverage from Hell

Cobbling Together a "Cathedral"

Coming Together for "Celadon"

Playing the ChipIn "Game"

An Officer and a Christian Man

Ring of Faith

Houston, We Have a Premise

Reconnecting with Raimi and Reiner

Sharing an Inspirational "Story"

Love Means Never Having to Say You're
"Saw"-ry