Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "film"

Valentine's Weekend Events in Sacramento

2012-02-09T20:29:23Z

Looking for a special way to turn your Valentine’s Day into a memorable holiday? There are myriad options out there, but here are a few highlights for the upcoming weekend:

For the foodie (Fri & Sat 6pm): Let GrubCrawlUSA's Pre-Valentine's Sexy Singles Mingle & Consensual Couples Crawl take you on a taste-tastic tour of Sacramento's finest dining spots. Whether you’re single or paired up, there’s a spot for you—Friday is aimed toward singles & Saturday to couples (so, presumably, if you find someone on Friday you can make a return tour on Saturday!).

For the single lady (Fri 9pm): Stroll Now 100.5’s Mile of Men at The Park Ultra Lounge and take your pick from the area's most eligible bachelors. Stay for the afterparty and get your photo snapped in the photobooth manned by Nicholas Wray.

For the sporty sort (Sat 7am): Rise & shine Saturday morning and get your jog on at Race for Justice: 9th Annual Valentine Run, which begins from Country Club Plaza. This fun run has a kids' race component, plus a costume contest for dogs & humans alike!

For the musical type (Sat 10pm): Make your way to Vega's Nightclub & Sports Bar this Saturday night for Valentine's Heartbreak Hotel. Not only you will you enjoy live music by Barrel Fever and the Fortunite Few, you'll also get to see a live burlesque show and participate in a free pin-up photoshoot by Bad Bones Photography.

For the animal lover (Sun 10am-4pm): Head over to the Sacramento Zoo Sunday afternoon for I Heart Sacramento Zoo and watch the animals receive their Valentines, plus participate in informative talks and peruse activity tables.

For the anti-Valentine (Sun 7:30pm): Movies on a Big Screen notes that around Valentine's Day, they like to screen "some kind of movie that might make your date a little uncomfortable with your idea of romance." This Sunday evening, they feature the 1923 silent classic The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which, they claim, is a romantic movie (if you remove all of the violence, murder, mayhem, and obsession, that is).

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Find more detail on these events along with many more at Sacramento365.com, the year-round source for Sacramento events.

Disclosure: Written by Sacramento365.com Assistant Editor, Alison Kranz

Put the "art" into film and theater: hollywood film director comes to Sac on Feb. 21

2012-02-08T04:31:42Z

Films always have a particular "look" -- Pirate of the Caribbean has one kind of look, Austin Powers another, and then a quiet drama like House of Sand and Fog has yet another. Sacramento will get the chance to hear from the art director responsible for the look of these films on Tuesday, February 21, when the Capital Film Arts Alliance (CFAA) brings Hollywood art director Drew Boughton to their speaker series.

"Art direction and production design gives the 'look' of a film that defines the mood and atmosphere of the story, and is integral to all movies, and Drew Boughton is a master in the field," said Laurie Pederson, Board Chair for the CFAA. "The Capital Film Arts Alliance is proud to be able to bring Drew to Sacramento to share his craft and expertise with filmmakers, theater professionals, artists, and art and movie lovers alike."

Boughton's talk will be of interest to more than just the filmmakers locally in Sacramento. He has extensive experience in theatrical design as well that will interest the robust theater community in Sacramento, as well as the visual art lovers and designers.

IMDB listing for Drew Boughton: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0099284/
Website for Drew Boughton: http://drewboughton.com/

The February 21 meeting is one of a monthly speaker series from the Capital Film Arts Alliance. Experts in the filmmaking field -- from camera and sound to contracts and funding -- are asked to share their expertise and insights to Sacramento are filmmakers. The meeting starts at 7:00 pm at Art Institute of Sacramento at 2850 Gateway Oaks Dr., Sacramento. For more information about this meeting or the Capital Film Arts Alliance, please contact Laurie Pederson at 916-600-6477 or info@capitalfilmarts.com.

Disclosure: Mary Beth Barber is a board member for the Capital Film Arts Alliance

The Artist

2012-02-03T21:15:35Z

If you’re going to remove the sound from a film, you’d better do it right. Not being able to hear what people are saying is very odd and kind of disconcerting, especially for a modern audience. Luckily for The Artist, there is a way to make it work, and work fantastically at that.

The Artist opens during the late 1920’s, at the height of our star, silent film actor George Valentin’s (Jean Dujardin) career. He’s a loveable guy, instantly showing his charisma at a premier (evoking some shenanigans from Singin’ in the Rain) for one of his movies. After the premier he bumps into Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) a beautiful young dancer who soon falls in love with him. Unfortunately for George, his world is quickly turned upside down by the advent of sound in the motion picture industry. As he struggles and begins to lose his near perfect life, Peppy’s film career takes off. George must then find a way to put his life back together. But don’t worry it’s not as depressing as that sounds...

Like I said it’s not easy to sit through a whole movie with no sound but the phenomenal soundtrack by Ludovic Bource more than makes up for it. It’s wonderfully upbeat, like the music you hear when you walk down Main Street in Disneyland. It’s also jazzy at times, and quite bombastic at times. If it wins best soundtrack at the Oscars I won’t be surprised.

And while the soundtrack is wonderful, the actors are what sell the movie at the end of the day. Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo are incredibly charismatic as they smile, wink, and dance their way through the movie. I completely fell in love with Bérénice Bejo after watching this film. She has such a beautiful smile and wonderfully expressive eyes. She also evokes a sense of eternal joy and fun that permeates every scene she is in.

Dujardin looks like he’s the illegitimate love baby of Hank Azaria and Gene Kelly; and that’s a good thing. He, like his costar, has a great smile and is fantastic at delivering emotions through simple glances and looks. He’s also serious about his career as George, his hubris and his belief that “talkies” are not a serious form of art is communicated brilliantly by Dujardin.

Michel Hazanavicius’s direction is brilliant too. He uses a variety of intriguing shots throughout the film while also evoking the feel of an old silent movie. I especially liked a wide shot he used of an interesting set featuring staircases. Peppy leaves the scene going up the stairs to the next level (just as her career is beginning), while George walks down the stairs to a lower level (just as his career is beginning to die). How often do you see things like that in Pirates of the Caribbean or Transformers? Never.

It’s a rare thing to see a director who can tell a story so well using only the visual aspect of filmmaking when so many rely on expository dialogue too often. “We’re gonna to do this thing next because it will mean that that thing is happening because of this!” Show me! Don’t tell me.

Having seen The Artist I understand why it’s been nominated for so many awards. It’s a beautiful film that evokes the essence of the silent film era while also celebrating the magic of film as a whole. And despite being a silent film, the sheer charm of the leads and the fantastic soundtrack will win you over. 4 out of 5 stars.

Editor's note: "The Artist" is playing at various local cinemas, including Tower Theatre.

Film Review: Big Miracle

2012-02-03T07:41:41Z

Big Miracle
Directed by Ken Kwapis

One film this week has noteworthy political content and the most surprising thing is which film it is. From a casual distance, “Big Miracle” looks like a very generic animal rescue story, essentially “Free Willy” x2.5, as assorted people try to help two adults and one juvenile whale escape from behind an ice barrier in the Beaufort Sea. It’s based on a true story of an event that captured national attention in 1988, and the film makes use of news footage from that period, with every major network anchor commenting on the situation as it unfolds.

It also embellishes the story with various formulaic characters and circumstances, including a love story, a somewhat precocious local boy, and an evil “big oil” tycoon. The basic storytelling is no less unsubtle than the recent “The Muppets,” for example. However, what’s surprising, and where the movie manages to shine on some level, are the moments during which several of the major players’ motivations are explored.

It would have been very easy to show involvement from the White House as being a matter of national pride or jingoism, especially in a movie aimed mostly at kids, but it’s described as much more of a compromise of conflicting interests. This was the end of the Reagan administration and we’re given staff who want to send Reagan out with an episode that might help cover for a bad environmental record, while also boosting (the senior) Bush’s election chances, but only if it won’t go bad and cause an even larger stain on the legacy. Similarly, we’re shown conflicts involving the use of a Russian icebreaker ship (in reality there were two) and standoffs between the political interests and Greenpeace (as embodied by an activist played by Drew Barrymore).

Another episode depicts the oil company boss (Ted Danson) being manipulated by his wife into realizing that he can appear friendly to the environment in a way that will probably make it easier to rape it later. It’s a retrospective, narrative example of ‘greenwashing’ a company’s image at a point in time that’s almost as early as the phrase was coined.

This might actually be a good movie for kids, not just as predictable entertainment, but as a way of educating them about how the media and various political interests operate. We see rival television outlets and personalities more interested in ratings than the story, and clear conflicts between local and wider cultural perspectives, along with the other interests already outlined. The film also delivers little after-the-fact nuggets, like the quadrupling of Greenpeace's membership following the incident.

As a story, it offers relatively little that hasn’t been done multiple times before, although this time there might be a little nostalgia for those parents who remember the story. But as a surprisingly nuanced examination of questionable motives, especially for a children’s movie, it exceeds expectations.

Film Review: The Woman in Black

2012-02-03T07:36:20Z

The Woman in Black
Directed by James Watkins

Daniel Radcliffe has made nine theatrical movies in the last decade and eight of them have been episodes in the “Harry Potter” saga. So it’s hardly surprising that when he first appears onscreen in “The Woman in Black,” you find yourself expecting his Hogwarts sidekicks to show up, or a wand to appear in his hand (not helped by an early train journey). But that slight disorientation passes and he turns in a fairly solid performance as the young father who has been sent by his London firm to settle the paperwork of a dead woman who lived in a fabulously spooky house on the far side of a remote tidal causeway.

Outside of the “Potter” films, he’s proved himself to be a versatile performer, probably more lauded on stage than on the big screen, but also willing to throw himself into almost anything as demonstrated in a recent “Saturday Night Live” (including playing the part of Casey Anthony’s yorkie). In interviews, he has described “The Woman in Black” as simply being the best script he'd read at the time he chose to get involved. And it’s a very interesting project, not just for a prospective lead actor, his fans, and genre aficionados, but also for filmmakers and those who are intrigued by the way films are made.

This is a creepy film.

I’m not an easily scared person but there was no shortage of squeals and jumpiness among the audience at the press screening. Which is only to be expected from a film about disappearing children and a haunted house. But what’s noteworthy is how that level of creepiness is achieved. There are virtually no elaborate special effects – it’s almost exclusively an outcome of camera angles, makeup, and timing. This is a $17m production that, in the hands of a different production team could very easily have cost two or three times as much, without being any better at establishing an atmosphere. And that also makes it a good pick for Radcliffe, who gets to headline a film that doesn’t require him to stray far from his comfort zone, and which won’t need to measure success in hundreds of millions of dollars.

That’s not to say it doesn’t have any problems – it does. You can’t afford to think for more than a moment about almost any of the plot details. And much of the logic appears to have been sucked into the marshes on either side of that tidal causeway I mentioned earlier. It’s a brief film at 95 minutes and it doesn’t pause to explain very much: It’s not a complicated story but we’re never told how or why Radcliffe’s character decides what to do or, for example, why residents of the local village never seem to ponder the possibility of moving away despite it clearly being the worst possible location in which to raise a family.

But for the right audience, none of that will matter. It’s creepy and it stars Harry Potter…err, Daniel Radcliffe.

Local man part of inspiration for 'Red Tails'

2012-02-03T01:43:23Z

Cuba Gooding Jr. might grab the spotlight in the new film “Red Tails,” about African-American fighter pilots in World War II, but one of the men behind the character Gooding plays* was a pilot with Sacramento ties.

George Roberts served as the operations officer in the 99th Pursuit Squadron in World War II, and he was one of the first five graduates out of the group that would later be known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

Roberts came to Sacramento with his wife, Edith, in the 1960s, where he worked for Wells Fargo. Though he died in the 1980s, Edith, 92, still lives in the area, and she proudly visits local schools and civic groups to educate them on the history of pilots.

“It was a different time back then,” she said Wednesday. “The government had actually done a study after World War I to determine if black people were capable of leading men in combat.”

Battling deep-seeded institutional racism, the young cadets training to be fighter pilots at an airfield in Tuskegee, Ala., wore their uniforms with pride and dreamed of the day they would take to the skies to fight the enemy, Edith Roberts said.

The “washing out” rate was high, with only five of the 13 in George Roberts’ class graduating, and those who graduated continued to train.

George and Edith Roberts married the day he graduated from pilot training, March 7, 1942. George then moved off the airbase to live with Edith, but that wasn’t easy, either.

“There were no places for blacks to rent houses, so we had to stay in a house with another local black family,” she said.

The 99th Pursuit Squadron was put on alert in January 1943, and none of the men were allowed to leave the base, since the order to ship out could come at any moment. But those orders didn’t come until April.

“They stayed on alert there forever,” Edith Roberts said. “The Army didn’t know what to do with them because they were black, and they were fighter pilots.”

George Roberts missed the birth of his first child since he couldn’t leave the base, and it wasn’t until a brief trip home in 1944 that he was reunited with his family.

When the Tuskegee Airmen did eventually get the call to go fight the Germans, they arrived in Morocco, in North Africa, where British Royal Air Force pilots trained them further on combat techniques.

Occasional letters home and stories in African-American publications were the only communications Edith Roberts and the other families of the African-American fliers got.

The Army – at the time, there was no U.S. Air Force, just the U.S. Army Air Corps – was reluctant to send the pilots into combat, and it took top squadron officers appealing to Congress to get the men into action.

“They had terrible equipment,” Edith Roberts said, mentioning that the squadron flew the outdated P-40 Warhawk plane made famous by the Flying Tigers several years earlier. “When they got their new planes – the P-51 Mustangs – well, they loved those planes more than they loved their wives.”

Edith Roberts said that the airmen were being tested – with many in the Army hierarchy looking for an excuse to can the program and take the pilots out of action because of their race.

To counter that, the men had strict orders to stay with the bombers they were assigned to escort and not go chasing German fighters across the skies, leaving the bomber formations open to attack.

At the time, American bombers flew daylight raids on strategic targets, dropping explosives on munitions plants, oil refineries and other targets essential to the German war effort.

The British, by contrast, flew at night, preferring to bomb entire cities and use the darkness to hide from enemy fighters. For the Americans flying in the day, raids could be disastrous if the Germans could shoot down the bombers without American fighters flying close for protection.

Every bomber shot down meant its crew of 10 Americans didn’t return to base.

“One of The Tuskegee Airmen’s claims to fame is that they never lost a bomber they were escorting to enemy fighters,” Edith Roberts said.

She added that the film, “Red Tails,” has a scene in which bomber crews see the 99th Pursuit Squadron’s red-painted tails and nose cones. The crews are surprised to see that the fighter pilots are African Americans.

It was after the other fliers began to respect the African-American pilots that their stories started appearing in Life Magazine and other prominent publications.

“The film is good,” Edith Roberts said. “It takes some liberties, but overall they did a good job with it.”

She was invited to the home of George Lucas, who bankrolled the film, and spent a weekend with some of the other people who lived through the time to help the young actors understand what it was like.

“They asked us all sorts of questions, and we spent a lot of time with them,” she said.

Edith Roberts said she was happy to talk to the actors and share the story, and that February – Black History Month – is always a busy time for her. Part of her collection of newspaper clippings is on temporary display at the California Museum, 1020 O St. The rest, she said, she needs to keep as she goes to schools and other functions to share the story.

“When I tell kids today about segregation and the racism we lived through, most of them are shocked,” she said. “It’s good that they’re shocked, because they’re not living it. But we lived it, and it’s important to tell them about it so they know how things were.”

“Red Tails” is currently in theaters. For more information on the film, visit the website by clicking here.

For more information on the Tuskegee Airmen, click here.

*Gooding's character is named Major Emanuelle Stance, the same name as an African American soldier who was awarded the Medal of Honor in the late 1800s, according to the National Park Service.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

CROCKER ART MUSEUM & ACCESS SACRAMENTO present - "A Place Called Sacramento" - Thursday 6:30 PM

2012-01-31T06:28:49Z

Access Sacramento is excited to kick off PCS 2012, our thirteenth year, on this Thursday February 2nd at the wonderful Crocker Art Museum. If you would like an opportunity to see all 10 films on the big screen in the museum's theatre, now's your chance. It's a one night only event and rare chance to see all the films from 2011 together again. We hope to see you there!

The Crocker Art is pleased to present an encore screening of the 2011 "Place Called Sacramento" film festival. Friends of Access Sacramento, PCS filmmakers and fans are invited to celebrate, again, the 10 short films first premiered last October at the Crest Theatre.

Crocker Art Museum

216 O Street

Thursday February 2, 2012

Show starts at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets: $4 for Crocker Members

Advance tickets: Non-member $8.00 (online at crockerartmuseum.org or Admission Desk)

At the door: Non-members $10.00

"A Place Called Sacramento" (PCS), is the original, local scriptwriting and short film production project for local writers and producers. PCS challenges local scriptwriters, new and experienced, to write 10-minute scripts about the people, places, and events that make our community such a unique place to live (entry forms and submission guidelines are available online at www.AccessSacramento.org. The deadline for script submission is 5pm Tuesday April 10, 2012 in the Access Sacramento office. The Crocker screening serves as the official launch of the 13th annual "PCS" production process.

Want to know more about making a movie this summer? Do you have a good story but need to write a script? All scripts entered are reviewed by local professionals and 10 are selected. These 10 scriptwriter/producers are then introduced to volunteers, actors and technicians at The PCS "Cast and Crew Call" Wednesday, May 23, 2012. Production teams are formed and shooting - editing commences during the summer months. Finally, after weeks of hard work and great fun, friends gather at the World Premiere to a packed house at the CREST Theatre 1:00 PM on Sunday, October 7, 2012. All films are family friendly. The PCS production process is unique to Sacramento.

To view the films completed for the 2011 & previous PCS film festivals, go to the web site www.AccessSacramento.org. In the twelve years of PCS, over 119 short films have been created.

Access Sacramento is a nonprofit, community media organization building better communications between individuals and groups in Sacramento County for 25 years. With our TV studio, radio and television production equipment, media lab, and mobile production truck, we train and manage volunteers, programming cable radio and television channels 17 & 18.

CONTACT: Ron Cooper, Executive Director, Access Sacramento

4623 T Street, Suite A - Sacramento, CA. 95819

(916) 456-8600 ext. 112

Disclosure: Ron Cooper is Executive Director of Access Sacramento

"The Grey" - Part 2: Interview

2012-01-27T09:23:33Z

INTERVIEW: DIRECTOR JOE CARNAHAN AND ACTOR FRANK GRILLO

[NOTE: THE INTERVIEW CONTAINS SOME MILD PLOT SPOILERS FOR “THE GREY”.]

Recently, in San Francisco, I had a chance to chat with co-writer and director Joe Carnahan and actor Frank Grillo about their new release “The Grey” which opens this week. The film, which is reviewed in a separate article, tells the story of a group of oil workers whose plane crashes in the Alaskan wilderness, where they find themselves stalked by a pack of almost mythically large wolves. Joe is a Sacramento native and we’ve known each other for several years through the local film community and the Sacramento Film and Music Festival.

As we were setting up for the interview, Joe happened to make a self-deprecatory joke about his own intelligence, which led to an interesting opening:

Tony: You see I would counter that right away. I watched “The Grey” a few weeks ago - I don’t like to read production notes before seeing a film and I knew virtually nothing going in – but I knew it wasn’t going to be “Alive” meets “Cujo”… [they both agree] … because I don’t think you’re capable of writing a script that’s that one dimensional.

Joe: Right. You may hate it for its other dimensions but it won’t be mono-dimensional.

Frank: [laughs]

Tony: The other things you’ve written – even a film like “Smokin’ Aces” which is a ‘shoot-em-up’ has a very intricate story.

Joe: “Smokin’ Aces” to me, the construct, was Iraq. I based the movie on Iraq. It starts with misinformation, it leads to this kind of heedless violence, a bunch of people who shouldn’t die do, they make a better deal at the end, and it’s over – that’s it.

Tony: Let’s come back to the war topic later. As I said, I watched “The Grey” knowing nothing about it and had to write my comment for the studio, and I said this isn’t a film about men and wolves, this is a film about life and death, and going out on your own terms.

Joe: Yes. 100%.

Tony: So, I was intrigued as to whether when you read the short story if it came out of nowhere and grabbed you or if you were already thinking of this as a subject you wanted to tackle.

Joe: No, you know what Tony, I responded to the short story because I was on “Mission Impossible 3” and I was going to quit before I was fired. I had run my course on that and here I was presented with this very simple, spare, kind of bare bones survival story - versus where I was at that moment which was a big star, big franchise, big studio, with a big budget at 33 years old and feeling I didn’t deserve any of that….

Frank: No, by the way you do.

Joe: …at the same time “The A-Team” represents me finishing that business on “MI3” – doing a big popcorn movie. So it [“The Grey”] appealed to me in every way that it could, because its simplicity was beautiful to me. But then Ian [Ian Mackenzie Jeffers who co-wrote the screenplay and wrote the short story “The Ghost Walker” on which it is based] did a draft of his own short story and I took that, and over the next 4-5 years rewrote it, fashioned it, and fine-tuned it.

[Joe continued by describing how, with the passage of time, topics which might not have developed quite so readily in a more rushed circumstance, including religion and spirituality, evolved as the story became more polished.]

Tony: So, you guys met on “Pride and Glory” [for which Joe co-wrote the screenplay]?

Frank: A little before that.

Tony: [To Frank] When this first came to you, did you see the script first or was it still an idea? How close was it to the final script?

Frank: I think it was fairly close to what we actually shot by the time I saw it.

Joe: Yes, I gave it to you in September and we were shooting in January.

Frank: Yeah. He had seen some of “Warrior” and I had said to him “I want to work with you, just whatever it is, find me something, I’ll do anything – I’m a huge fan” and he sent me this script. He said to me “January we’re shooting this movie and that’s the role!” And he could have had anybody he wanted for the role, obviously, and he said “It might take me some time but you’re doing the movie – January – don’t take a job!” And I said “Joe, I can’t…” He said “January, don’t take a job! Go gain some weight, beef up, this is what we have to do.” And there we were in January.

Tony: Although underneath something like three parkas…

Joe: Yeah – I had three parkas on but Frank didn’t!

Frank: [laughs]

Joe: You said you wanted the role pal!

Tony: It’s such a neat story and neat characters. I was interested in what drew you to it. The Ottway part [Liam Neeson’s character] is interesting – he’s watched somebody who didn’t have the opportunity to go out on her own terms and he respects that opportunity when it arises. There’s a scene in the wreckage where a guy is dying and the others are saying “You’ve got to do something” and he goes over and says [paraphrased] “You’re going to die – but that’s OK” You don’t see that often.

Joe: No. You see a lot of people killed but you don’t see a lot of people die.

Frank: In the original script – and at first I was kind of upset that we took it out – but when he says that to him, my character says “What are you doing?” But there was such a rhythm, there was such a gorgeous poetic rhythm to the connection that these two guys had that if I had interjected, interrupted, and taken it away from that, it would have destroyed the scene. And that’s my favorite scene in the movie.

Tony: It reminds me - and I don’t think this is a comparison you’ll dislike [to Joe] given that you say you don’t see people die very often - it reminds me of Giovanni Ribisi in “Saving Private Ryan.”

Joe: Which is a brilliant death scene.

Tony: It’s the best scene of the movie.

Joe: And he says “Tell me, tell me what’s wrong” and the blood is almost black and he’s asking for his mother.

Tony: And he basically instructs them to overdose him on morphine. He’s a medic….

Joe: Right, he’s a medic, he knows he going to die. But that’s … anytime there’s a Spielberg comparison, I am firmly in your camp.

Frank: I got a chance to work with him and he said when he saw that scene he actually went back and wrote more for Giovanni earlier in the movie, so there would be more of him in the movie.

Joe: Oh, wow!

[The three of us then went off on a tangent for a minute or two about Giovanni Ribisi’s career starting as a child actor in the sitcom “My Two Dads.”]

Tony: In “the Grey” it seems to me that there were at least quadruple threats: There’s the location that they’re in, there’s the lack of any kind of supplies they would need to survive in that location, the climate obviously, and the wolves. But this isn’t about the wolves, the wolves are just part of that.

Joe: Tony, you see that – but you’re literally one of the only people that has ever said that, right there.

Tony: It’s an obstacle, of which part just happens to be the wolves. They could have just been eyes in the distance and mysteriously, every now and then somebody dies and you never know how they die. It’s almost a MacGuffin.

Joe: Right – they’re as close to a MacGuffin as a traditional film like this would have. Because essentially it’s a plotless movie.

Tony: In fact, to some extent, the whole bundle of obstacles: location, supplies, climate, wolves altogether are a MacGuffin.

Joe: Absolutely

Tony: It’s just there to cause these people to think about the meaning of life.

Frank: Exactly. That’s an accurate reading of the script. You asked what attracted me to the film. As a middle-aged man – this is what I think about all day.

Joe: And also that the wolves are just a force of nature – like the cliff, like the blizzard, like the river.

Tony: Have you been following the news – the timing is really interesting.

Joe: Oh – OR7 – the wolf that’s crossed into California. Yeah, I invited him to the premiere. It’s a very elaborate joke, a very elaborate stunt when he shows up and around his neck he’s got a little pass, a VIP pass.

Frank: It’s a great story

Tony: You clearly wanted something more profound than an action film and you succeeded. But do you worry about the apparent dichotomy between what films are and how films are marketed?

Joe: You know what, Tony, I don’t because what I would like, in fairness to an audience, this is something where I’d like them to cast as wide a net as possible – to get people who are even casual genre fans, who are casual Liam Neeson fans into the theater. Because I swear to God it will become the water cooler talk for days to come. I really believe that. What I’ve said about this film, my ultimate goal, is that it plays for you for longer than the two hours it took to watch. That’s what I want – because I think so much of movies today are just disposable experiences.

Tony: I guess my question is that we’re sitting here saying this is a profound movie about life and death and the human experience….

Joe: Right.

Tony: …so do you worry that the people who do in fact want to see a profound movie about life and death and the human experience are not going to come and watch “The Grey” based on the trailer somebody’s cut of the film that makes it look like “Alive” meets “Cujo”?

Joe: No. Unfortunately, if those people you just described were in the majority, we wouldn’t all be about to speak Mandarin in the next ten years. You know what I mean? If we had that level of engagement or that level of high mindedness, without trying to sound snobbish or arrogant about it, if those kinds of people were in the majority then I think it would be a radically different marketing angle.

Tony: If you think of film classics like 1936’s “Modern Times” or 1957’s “12 Angry Men” – those were mainstream films because you didn’t have studios, indies, direct to cable, and all those kinds of things, so those were films people were going to watch. They were deep films – but they were either social satires or social commentaries. We’ve had this conversation before – now you see things like “Lions for Lambs” [written by Joe’s brother Matthew Michael Carnahan] which is a brilliant piece of writing and “In the Valley of Elah,” and films like “The Company Men” about unemployment and layoffs. I’ve heard it said that folks on the left don’t want to go and see these stories and be reminded of what they already know and folks on the right don’t want to go and get lectured by Hollywood.

Joe: Yes.

Tony: So, do you think there’s a political divide – is it that we’re telling the wrong stories or are we telling the right stories but telling them too soon?

Joe: Well listen, you mentioned “Lions for Lambs” and “In the Valley of Elah” – those are movie about hot button issues. My brother had written “The Kingdom” which in a lot of ways to me was a knock on the Saudis and the Saudi royal family. It was meant to be, not a condemnation but he was certainly taking a shot – it wasn’t just this kind of prosaic look at a different culture – he was going after them. But if you don’t mix in gunfights it becomes this almost geopolitical…whatever. I found, and I got this from my benefactor Ridley [Scott] – I loved the filmmaking in “Black Hawk Down” but it became very jingoistic. And the part about the Somalis and what they were dealing with … and I understand why that was jettisoned. I get it, but it was also a case of looking at how much more money that made than a film like “Lions for Lambs” which was more about talking points.

Tony: If you get me on “Black Hawk Down” we’ll be here all day. But “The Kingdom” and “Lions for Lambs” are an interesting comparison because they’re both good scripts and they both have a lot to say politically….

Joe: Yes.

Tony: ...and I don’t remember the box office….

Joe: “The Kingdom” made a lot more money.

Tony: “The Kingdom” has a lot of shooting and action and “Lions for Lambs” is more like a play

Joe: Yeah, it’s a three act play. It’s a play.

Tony: So if you want to have political content and you want to get something out there and you want to hit a mainstream audience….

Joe: Good luck

Tony: …do you have to disguise it as something else?

Frank: I think you do.

Joe: Oh, absolutely.

Frank: You have to, not sneak it in, but you have to….

Joe: It’s everything short of sneaking it in. It’s very difficult to come straight at somebody with that kind of argument being that political, spiritual, whatever it may be that you’re trying to tackle. In this country more so than any other in the world – we love to slap labels on as quickly possible. And if you’re doing that it’s a “specialized” kind of film.

Tony: [To Frank] In the film, you’re the tough guy’s tough guy. It reminded me of this kid I knew at summer camp who was tough and would never let his guard down – and then I saw him break down completely riding a roller coaster.

Frank: That’s a great analogy.

Tony: Did you know those guys growing up or were you that guy?

Frank: I wasn’t that guy – I was on the other end of it. But I did know those guys and I also spent some time visiting some jails around New York because I wanted to talk to some guys on the other side of that reality. And they all seemed to be the same – you’re right – it’s the big bully who goes on the roller coaster and that was my jump off point. It’s such a cool journey that this guy makes and we all know those people. And how did I get to the point where my hands are always up and I’m threatened all the time. When you’re afraid you get angry and Diaz [his character in the film] is angry all the time. Why? Because he’s afraid all the time. And it was a gift to me as an actor to get to explore this character.

Tony: The amazing thing about “The Grey” is that I don’t think there’s a weak link in the film. The problem with an ensemble movie is that there’s often a character that you want to get eaten by a wolf early on in the movie just so that you don’t get to see him for the next hour. And this movie doesn’t have that.

Joe: I think you really do come to fall for those guys and you appreciate those guys and you pull for them. And that’s as it should be.

[At this point we discussed several characters and their unusual paths in the movie, including specific outcomes for some of them.]

Joe: But there’s bravery and heroism that isn’t always obvious and that you don’t see coming from a mile away

Frank: But we can talk about this all day – this guy [his character] finally got a chance to be part of something. That’s the beauty of it.

Joe: Yeah – absolutely man

Tony: What’s next for you Joe?

Joe: If I get any real run off the Grey, if it allows me to do something else, I’d like to put all those chips toward “Killing Pablo.” For me that particular project is like this vastly undernourished orphan and I need to get this kid a meal.

Tony: That’s Pablo Escobar?

Joe: Yes. I’ve been to Colombia three times, I’ve been to Medellin three times and I love it – as attrition goes it getting pretty close. Somebody asked me why do you want to make that project so badly and I was interviewing this 78 year old man who was there at the time it happened, and I asked him if he remembered anything that day, when they got Pablo. And he said “I was sitting in my house and I thought it was an early winter thunder storm” because the level of gunfire was such that the guy couldn’t discern individual shots and I thought “I’m ****ing making this movie!”

Tony: And anything back in Sacramento – are we going to see you back in town?

Joe: Tony if I could just get, and I’ve said this before – what you need is a full time film commissioner and we need to quit dicking around. And in that City which is one of the great untapped shooting locations – in two hours you can be in the snow, you can be on the river….

Tony: And the neighborhoods can be anywhere.

Joe: Dude, the Fabulous 40’s – all you have to do is switch the cars out and you could be in the 1950’s. I would love to do it. I think the City has to get a lot more aggressive about what it wants to do. You know Kevin Johnson kept the Kings – and that would not have happened with Heather Fargo, they would have been gone. So if he can apply that kind of determination to getting movies shot there….

Tony: You know the “For Arts Sake” manager just left, this week.

Joe: Really? Well you know I’m looking for a job!

Disclosure: The author is co-director of the Sacramento Film & Music Festival and Joe Carnahan is a former special guest of that event.

"The Grey" - Part 1: Review

2012-01-27T09:22:47Z

The Grey
Directed by Joe Carnahan

The promotional materials for “The Grey” would probably cause you to believe that this is a “Jaws”-like adventure, with sharks replaced by wolves. And that’s certainly an easy way to sell a movie – but the truth is somewhat more complicated and worthy of greater respect.

This isn’t just a movie about men and wolves, and the conflict between them after a plane of oil industry workers crashes in the Alaskan wilderness. Underneath that surface, it’s more about life and death and our ability to determine our own fate. Liam Neeson plays Ottway, a man whose job is to shoot wolves and remove other threats to the men who work in this desolate place. But he’s also a man with tragedy in his past and consequently empty eyes. When the plane goes down, it triggers in him the need to survive – not so much because he has things to live for, but because he isn’t willing to let anybody or anything else dictate his fate.

It’s an interesting and quite profound premise for what might otherwise seem like a shallow action adventure. But it’s also in keeping for co-writer and director (and Sacramentan) Joe Carnahan, who tends to favor stories that are more complex than they appear.

Some detractors have complained that the behavior of the wolves in “The Grey” is unrealistic, but this isn’t a nature documentary. And the wolves themselves are not the only complication in the men’s lives, existing as they do alongside the extreme cold, remote location, and lack of supplies that they're faced with. As such, the wolves are simply a part of a bundled obstacle, and no more or less a force of nature than the blizzards and low temperatures. They exist as a test within the context of the movie, increased to almost mythical size and actions. They're simply something to be overcome - and they might just as easily have been bears, ghouls, or invisible beings.

Within this premise are some of the best on-film encounters with death – not simply in the sense of the staged violent ends that we've come to expect from the action genre, but philosophical contemplations of what it means to recognize and sometimes accept death, even when it isn’t sought out. And these are genuinely thought-provoking moments: As Carnahan himself said during a recent interview, “...it will become the water cooler talk for days to come. I really believe that. My ultimate goal is that it plays for you for longer than the two hours it took to watch. That’s what I want – because I think so much of movies today are just disposable experiences.” And it succeeds.

The outcome is quite remarkable in that he’s made a film that can satisfy those who are simply looking for a solid roller coaster action adventure, but also those who like to ponder the deeper meaning of a film and the lessons it might evoke, over dinner afterwards, or the next day. It might even cure a dysfunctional family’s inability to choose a movie that appeals to both the parents and the teenagers.

Disclosure: The author is co-director of the Sacramento Film & Music Festival and Joe Carnahan is a former special guest of that event.

New Show "Sactown Famous" Highlights Local Talent and Culture

2012-01-25T22:28:53Z

Local producer and businessman Tony Savo announced today he will be hosting "Sactown Famous" a new reality show set to begin production in the Sacramento region late next week. The show will be produced by Savo's Coalition Media Group in association with One Mil Records and will spotlight the areas local talent, events and nightlife as well as feature exclusive interviews with the Capital city's biggest names.

Tony Savo says: "Sacramento's a very diverse and dynamic city and I think it should be celebrated. We got the Kings, the River Cats, the UFC's Urijah Faber and the Maloof's Global Skateboarding Initiative just for starters... there's a lot to take pride in if you call this place your home."

Savo a long time native of Sacramento first made a name for himself as the CEO and Producer of Coalition Fight Music a local band that has been featured on ESPN, Sky Sports (Fox Sports UK) USA Today and Tapout magazine for sponsoring World Champion UFC fighters Nick and Nate Diaz and Jake Sheilds. Last month Savo launched Coalition Media Group after announcing via his twitter account (@statecyde) that he had recently inked a deal with Samsung Web enabled TV and Europe's top fight promotion UCMMA to provide mobile MMA content to over 20 million smart phone subscribers around the globe. For more info contact sactownfamous@gmail.com

Disclosure: Danny Murphy is affiliated with Sactown Famous

Classic “Sunset Boulevard” to Screen at the Crocker on January 5

2012-01-04T19:25:10Z

The Crocker Art Museum will screen the Academy-Award-winning classic “Sunset Boulevard” on Thursday, Jan. 5, at 6:30 p.m. One of the greatest movies about Hollywood ever made, this film is at once film noir, dark comedy, high melodrama, and scathing satire. Tickets are $5 for Museum members and $10 for nonmembers, not including Museum admission.

One of the most successful films of its era, “Time” described it as a story of "Hollywood at its worst told by Hollywood at its best." Gloria Swanson stars as a faded silent screen goddess who dreams of a box-office comeback. William Holden is Joe Gillis, a cynical small-time writer who becomes entangled in her deluded world.

Film scholar Kristen Anderson Wagner will introduce the film and provide a sneak peek of Film Frame features to come in 2012.

Director Billy Wilder’s “Sunset Boulevard,” an ideal example of the Baroque aesthetic on the big screen, is presented in conjunction with the exhibition “Florence and the Baroque: Paintings from the Haukohl Family Collection.” The exhibition features Italian painting and sculpture from the 16th through 18th centuries to Northern California. On view at the Crocker through February 12, 2012, this exhibition is drawn from the largest private American collection of Florentine Baroque painting and features works by key artists such as Cesare Dandini, Jacopo da Empoli, and Francesco Furini.

This screening is part of the Museum’s monthly film series, Film Frame, which occurs every first Thursday evening of the month. Presented in collaboration with local festivals and organizations, films relate to the Crocker’s exhibitions and collections as well as relevant issues in film, art, and society. Screenings are accompanied by commentary from film makers, enthusiasts, scholars, artists, and local arts partners. Watch trailers and learn more about upcoming films at crockerartmuseum.org.

The Crocker Art Museum was the first art museum in the Western U.S. and is now one of the leading art museums in California. Established in 1885, the Museum features one of the country’s finest collections of Californian art, exceptional holdings of master drawings, a comprehensive collection of international ceramics, as well as European, Asian, African, and Oceanic art. The Crocker is located at 216 O Street in Downtown Sacramento. Museum hours are 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Tuesday–Sunday; 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Thursdays. Every Third Sunday of the month is “Pay What You Wish Sunday.” For more information, call (916) 808-7000 or visit crockerartmuseum.org.

Disclosure: Kathleen Richards has been a fan of the Crocker Art Museum since her very first visit in fourth grade, and she now serves as the Crocker's Marketing Coordinator.

Christmas celebrations, Sacramento-style

2011-12-22T00:43:49Z

As always, Sacramento steps up to the plate with holiday events of all sorts. At Sacramento365.com, we see a lot of events come through the site every day. Though there are myriad options in our Holiday Event section, we've narrowed down the list to 10 to get help you pick your Christmas Eve & Christmas Day festivities.

Christmas Eve Events:
Sure, the night before Christmas should be spent snuggled in bed waiting for Santa Claus, but why not get out and about during the day. Here are some options to keep you entertained around town:

1. Free Admission at Fairytale Town & Sacramento Zoo:
FTT 10am-2pm; Zoo 10am-1:30pm
Treat the kiddies to a day out while both Fairytale Town & the Sacramento Zoo offer free admission to all guests. The Zoo encourages participating in their pajama party, so you needn’t even change

2. Downtown Holiday Ice Rink:
St. Rose of Lima Park, 10am-6pm
Located outdoors near Westfield Downtown Plaza, the Downtown Holiday Ice Rink is the perfect holiday experience for the young and young at heart.

3. It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play:
Capital Stage, 11am
Inspired by the classic American film of the same title, It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play is performed as a 1940s live radio broadcast in front of a studio audience.

4. Holiday Film Screenings: It’s a Wonderful Life:
Crest Theatre, 1:30pm, 4:30pm, & 7:30pm
If you can’t make it to Cap Stage’s live performance (see above), you can still catch the original film rendition live on the big screen at the historic Crest Theatre.

5. Theatre of Lights:
Old Sacramento, 6pm & 7:30pm
A symphony of lights, sounds, and visual effects will take the audience back to a time when the beloved poem "The Night Before Christmas" was first introduced in Sacramento in 1857.

Christmas Day Events:
Looking to entertain friends & family in town after your regular traditions are over? Or just looking to get out of the house after so much family time? Sacramento doesn’t disappoint. Here are a few options for

1. Christmas Brunch:
Hyatt Regency, 10am-3pm
Enjoy this holiday season with all of the trimmings. Join for a bountiful buffet brunch featuring breakfast items and traditional holiday favorites.

2. Christmas Day Supper Cruise:
Empress Hornblower, 3:30pm-6:30pm
Join Hornblower for Christmas Day with your family and celebrate the season with a delicious meal, relax and enjoy the holiday. The Cruise includes traditional holiday dishes, festive music, and beautiful views of the Sacramento River.

3. Bah Humbug!:
MiX Downtown, 8:30pm-2am
Get out from under your tree and continue the holiday partying at this special Sunday Circus night. Spend the evening with your "other" family at Mix Downtown!

4. Christmas with Arden Park Roots:
Harlow’s, 9pm
Join reggae/rock/punk band Arden Park Roots for a festive Christmas show.

5. Asylum:
Barcode Nightclub, 9pm-1:30am
Featuring resident DJ Bryan Hawk, Asylum is a night of the best cutting edge goth, industrial, nu-darkwave, EBM dance music.

Find more detail on these events along with many more at Sacramento365.com, the year-round source for Sacramento events.

Disclosure: Rachael Lankford is the Managing Calendar Editor for Sacramento365.com, the year-round source for Sacramento events.

Dam California feature film test screening

2011-12-15T23:51:13Z

Independent filmmaker Isaac Piche' has scheduled a test screening in the Sacramento area for his first full feature film Dam California. The name alone suggests controversy.

Although the film is focused on water as the necessity that it is, Piche' chose a course that intertwines real life events and fictional characters to make his point and tagline, "Don't Mess With Our Water." This film confronts issues between farmers, the endangered species act, and the corruption that would choose power over the balance of life.

“This is still a work-in-progress” says 25 year old Piche’. “Dam California’ is a relevant, current issue based narrative film. Films like this, that are controversial and push the status quo, are films that must be seen now not years later. The message is urgent and the issues are hot. The test screenings let me know if the message is clear.”

Real people and real events portrayed as fictional characters and places. Moving and compelling, this story is shot in full HD with experienced crew members. The talent is SAG and non-union actors portraying intelligent, exciting and transforming characters in a film made for the big screen.

Synopsis: Michael Rodriguez comes home from two tours of combat duty to find his hometown on the brink of self-destruction. A corrupt politician has sold out his small farming town to an evil corporation (Poseidon) controlling most of the county, and the state’s water. The starving community is collapsing, while the corporation buys up the land of the failing farmers with plans to dam up the valley the town rests in.

Dr. Meghan Connors, a feisty environmental scientist, knows too much about the corporate agenda. Connors finds a way to save the Delta Smelt and bring down the water company behind the 3 new dams.

Principal cast includes:

Jeffrey Weissman as Harvey, (Back to the Future II & III)

Josh Reyes as Michael Rodriguez

Sarah Poynter as Dr. Meghan Conners

Douglas Olsson as Jack O'Brian

Steven Segal as Cleatus

Dam California also features two original songs written for the film. California written by Jessica Norgard and Water Wars by Reade Collins.

The film was shot in various locations throughout California including Lake Tahoe, Reno, Paso Robles and many others.

The test screening will be this Wednesday, December 21, at The Tower Theater, 421 Vernon Street, Roseville.

The public is invited to attend the free screening, give feedback, and enjoy this family friendly film.

This screening is sponsored by Stand Out Talent (http://standouttalent.org/). Donations to our screening sponsor are appreciated.

Past test screenings were held at the Resort at Squaw Creek in Olympic Valley, CA, Good Luck MacBeth Theater in Reno, NV, Fresno Brewing Company and the Center for Advanced Research and Technology in Fresno. Audience members were given the opportunity to ask questions, share their impression of the film and be a part of the finished product.

Dam California Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=SDLMoI5GVu4

Dam California website: http://www.damcalifornia.com/

Dam California Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dam-California/296581413720649

Disclosure: West Ramsey plays a small role in the film and took on location production stills. He is also assisting in spreading the word about the film.

Crocker Art Museum Presents Evening of Inspiring Artistic Cinema with Kurosawa’s “Dreams”

2011-11-29T23:43:35Z

The Crocker Art Museum will present “Dreams,” the visually stunning film from Academy Award-winning director Akira Kurosawa, on Thursday, Dec. 1 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets include Museum admission and are $6 for museum members and $12 for nonmembers.

Comprised of eight separate vignettes inspired from actual dreams of the world-renowned filmmaker, “Dreams” is a collection of fantastic and evocative stories, separate in narrative, but intertwined with themes of nature and spirituality, life and death, and peace and war.

Born in early-20th-century Japan, Kurosawa made his international directorial debut in 1950 and went on to receive numerous accolades throughout Asia and the U.S., including an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1990. Kurosawa has worked in a wide range of genres and influenced countless filmmakers and artists, including director Oliver Stone, who calls the film “haunting, symbolic, and drenched with whimsy and foreknowledge of death.”

Don Roth, executive director of the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, UC Davis, will introduce the film and lead a post-screening Q & A session. The film screening is presented in collaboration with the Mondavi Center, which will feature a screening of Oliver Stone's classic “Platoon” on January 9 and a speaking engagement with Oliver Stone on February 3 More information on these related events is available at mondaviarts.org.

Film Frame is part of the Museum’s Thursdays ‘til 9 program series. The Crocker is open every Thursday until 9 p.m. for film screenings, social gatherings, concerts, and art happenings presented in collaboration with regional art groups. Tickets can be purchased at crockerartmuseum.org, the Museum Admission Desk, or by calling (916) 808-1182.

The Crocker Art Museum was the first art museum in the Western U.S. and remains one of the leading art museums in California. Established in 1885, the Museum features one of the country’s finest collections of Californian art, exceptional holdings of master drawings, a comprehensive collection of international ceramics, as well as European, Asian, African, and Oceanic art. The Crocker is located at 216 O Street in Downtown Sacramento. Museum hours are 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Tuesday–Sunday; 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Thursdays. Every Third Sunday of the month is “Pay What You Wish Sunday” sponsored by Bank of America. For more information, call (916) 808-7000 or visit crockerartmuseum.org.

Disclosure: Kathleen Richards has been a fan of the Crocker Art Museum since her very first visit in fourth grade, and she now serves as the Crocker's Marketing Coordinator.

Crocker Art Museum Presents a Mashup of Horror Short Films this Thursday

2011-10-25T21:57:28Z

The Crocker Art Museum will embrace the eerie and capture the creepy with a specially curated night of retro horror short films inspired by the humorous and sometimes grotesque creations in “Clayton Bailey’s World of Wonders.” Presented in collaboration with the Sacramento Horror Film Festival, Open Art: Monster Mashup will take place on Thursday, October 27, at 7 p.m.

Horror fans will delight in unique shorts, such as “Night of the Hell Hampster,” “The Sleuth Incident,” “Cannibal Flesh Riot,” “Chainsaw Maid” and more. Festival founder and director Tim Meunier will introduce the films and lead a post-screening Q & A session.

“Clayton Bailey’s World of Wonders” is the first career-spanning retrospective featuring the work of the ceramicist, sculptor, and self-proclaimed “mad scientist.” Featuring 180 works and ephemera spanning Bailey's 50-year career, the exhibit is on view through January 15, 2012.

Tickets are $6 for Museum members and $12 for nonmembers. Tickets are available for purchase at crockerartmuseum.org, the Museum Admission Desk, or by calling (916) 808-1182.

Open Art is part of the Museum’s Thursdays ‘til 9 program series, sponsored by Bank of America. The Crocker is open every Thursday until 9 p.m. for film screenings, social gatherings, concerts, and art happenings presented in collaboration with regional art groups.

The Crocker Art Museum was one of the first art museums in the U.S. and is now one of the leading art institutions in California. Established in 1885, the Museum features one of the country’s finest collections of Californian art, exceptional holdings of master drawings, a comprehensive collection of international ceramics, as well as European, Asian, African, and Oceanic art. The Crocker is located at 216 O Street in Downtown Sacramento. Museum hours are 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Tuesday–Sunday; 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Thursdays. Every Third Sunday of the month is “Pay What You Wish Sunday” sponsored by Bank of America.

Disclosure: Kathleen Richards has been a fan of the Crocker Art Museum since her very first visit in fourth grade, and she now serves as the Crocker's Marketing Coordinator.

Sacramento International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival

2011-10-20T16:50:22Z

This past weekend marked the 20th anniversary of the Sacramento International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (SIGLFF) at the Crest Theatre. The festival ran selected film series each evening from Thursday to Saturday.

Founder Alan Cole started the project in 1992 as a student-run film festival that received support from Sacramento State University, Gay and Lesbian Alliance students with grant funding from Associated Students Inc. , which is a official governing body which operates the sponsorship of programs and services to CSUS students.

A bevy of sponsors and volunteers support the board of directors, programming and gala committees to prepare and organize the annual festival that takes place in October to celebrate National Coming Out Day. The festival showcases handpicked films by the committee that are created by filmmakers of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The festival serves as a vehicle for LBGT talent such as actors, writers, producers and directors from around the world to showcase their abilities.

Thursday evening kicked off the festival with two works: one 18-minute film called "The Rescue" by director Phillippe Gosselin and an 88-minute film called "Morgan," directed by Michael Akers.

Board of directors president J. Todd Lohse explained that each night centered around a theme. Thursday evening was films directed toward men , Friday evening was ladies night with films based around lesbians, and Saturday was a series of short films that touched on subjects such as sexual identity, race and struggling relationships.

The large crowd at Friday’s screening was mixed with people of all ages from all walks of life, but it was apparent that the female population dominated the night’s attendance.

Well before the films started, members of the public, LGBT community, volunteers and workers were busily flurrying around the Crest Theatre concessions stands for popcorn, drinks and snacks, grabbing a cocktail and mingling with other filmgoers. Even after the lights flickered to warn everyone the film was starting soon, people were still falling behind with cocktails finishing a great conversation or in line for last-minute snacks.

Cole and Lohse introduced the films, speaking of their love and commitment to the organization. They thanked their sponsors, such as Fred Palmer from Outword Magazine, who has been a sponsor for the last 14 years.

The first film was "Lesbian Cliche Song" by director Bob Koherr. At five minutes long, the film served almost as a satirical music video of all the typical lesbian cliches perceived by society, which the audience seemed to agree with as they responded with laughter.

The second was a feature film, "Jamie and Jessie Are Not Together" directed by Wendy Jo Carlton. The dramedy musical focuses on two best friends who blur the line of friendship and romance.

Afterward, one of the film’s stars, Fawzia Mirza, took the stage to answer questions from the audience.

"Are you single?" was the very first question asked. (The answer was yes.)

After her Q&A, she encouraged everyone to carry the party over to Headhunters nightclub for the after-party.

"We are loving the idea that gays and lesbians are receiving recognition not only for their filmmaking but that stories about the private struggles of being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender are being artistically told,” said one woman who wished to remain anonymous, standing hand-in-hand with her partner outside the theater.

Visit siglff.org for updates, volunteer information and details for 2012's festival.

See you next year!

The Zombies Are Here

2011-10-12T23:37:30Z

There is a new independent production company in town, Zombie House Pictures. Founded by Sacramentans Geoff Foley, Josh Pierson, and Lodi native Tom Presler, ZHP came together through a mutual love of horror movies and all things zombie.

Presler and Foley are also the co-founders of the non-profit organization, the Zombie Club, based in Lodi, California. The Zombie Club focuses on community outreach, charity fundraising, and yeah, all things zombie.

Zombie House Pictures is the film production arm of the Zombie Club and they're currently in production on a new web series called Diary of a Dead Man that has been shooting here in Sacramento since the beginning of September. Locations have included Shenanigans on J Street, Zen Sushi on 15th Street, and various private residences in the greater Sacramento area.

Diary of a Dead Man, which stars local actors Antonio Mears and Kirsten York Saetes, is the story of James (Mears), a recently turned zombie, and how he not only comes to terms with his new "life" but also having to leave the old one behind. The series also follows the story of one of his first victims, Mary (Saetes), as she also has to deal with her new life as a zombie. Throw into the mix a team of zombie hunters, one of which is Mary's best friend Katie, played by local actress Heidi Briseño, and the drama, and gore, won't be in short supply.

The debut webisode is slated to be released this weekend on both YouTube and on the ZHP website. The production is set for six webisodes in its first "season".

Disclosure: Geoff Foley is a founder of Zombie House Pictures and is also one of the producers of the web series Diary of a Dead Man.

Crocker Art Museum Partners with SIGLFF to Screen Audience-Favorite Shorts on October 6

2011-10-03T19:13:19Z

The Crocker Art Museum and the Sacramento International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival will co-present a screening of audience-favorite short films from past festivals at the Museum on Thursday, Oct. 6. The program will start at 7 p.m. and includes the following films:

“Little Black Boot” (2003, USA, 17 min) by director Colette Burson – A modern Cinderella tale in which a high school girl dresses up as a boy for the prom and finds mutual attraction with the prom queen.
“Ryan's Life” (2004, USA, 24 min) by director Nick Wauters – Complications arise for high school student Ryan as he begins to wonder if he might be gay.
“Gódir Gestir,” or “Family Reunion,” (2006, Iceland, English subtitles) by director Isold Uggadottir – A modern-day coming out story about a young Icelandic woman living two lives.
“Groucho” (2006, Spain, English subtitles) by directors Angel Almazan and Medardo Amor – David, a sixteen year-old teenager, approaches his neighbor in the elevator, pretending to want to help him, while it is he who is looking for help, advice, and excitement.
“Babysitting Andy” (2007, Canada, 11 min) by director Pat Mills – What do you do if you're nine and nobody will tell you what fellatio means?
“Six” by director Amy Neil – A diverse collection of LGBTQ individuals telling their stories in six words.

Before the screening, there will be spotlight gallery talks on works by LGBTQ artists.

The program is $6 Museum members and $12 nonmembers. Tickets are available for purchase at crockerartmuseum.org, the Museum Admission Desk, or by calling (916) 808-1182.

Film Frame is part of the Museum’s Thursdays ‘til 9 program series, sponsored by Bank of America. The Crocker is open every Thursday until 9 p.m. for film screenings, social gatherings, concerts, and art happenings presented in collaboration with regional art groups.

Disclosure: Kathleen Richards has been a fan of the Crocker Art Museum since her very first visit in fourth grade, and she now serves as the Crocker's Marketing Coordinator.

Local Movies, Improv Comedy, and Swing Music at Crest Sunday 1:00 PM

2011-10-02T02:43:48Z

"A Place Called Sacramento" premieres ten new local short movies on the big screen at the Crest tomorrow at 1:00 PM. But be sure to arrive early (1) to avoid the long line that forms every year from folks arrivng at the last minute overwhelming the single box office and (2) "Cheap Therapy" with Charlie Holliday will perform a special improv comedy skit at 12:45 for those early arrivals.

After the premiere, stay because the party is just getting started. The Crest Lobby will "jump n' jive" to the harmonizing of "Sister Swing" as the cast and crew from ten wonderful movies mingle and buzz with excitement and camraderie.

This is the 12th year for this unique Sacramento based event. In 12 years, 119 films have been completed. Bring the whloe family and enjoy our wonderful creative community. Artober begins at the Crest Sunday October 2 with "A Place Called Sacramento".

Ten Local Films - Sunday 1:00 PM Crest Theater - 12th "A Place Called Sacramento Film Festival

2011-09-27T08:52:05Z

For the twelfth year, Access Sacramento is planning the world premiere of “A Place Called Sacramento” (PCS), a scriptwriting and short film production project for local writers and producers. PCS challenges local scriptwriters to write ten-minute scripts about the people, places, and events that make our community such a unique place to live (submission guidelines on-line at www.AccessSacramento.org).

Neighbors and friends will gather at the 2011 World Premiere at the CREST Theatre on Sunday October 2, 2011 at 1:00 PM. $10 (general seating) is a fundraiser for community media. Advanced ticket purchase is recommended at Tickets.com, the Crest Box Office, or the offices of Access Sacramento during business hours.

Special highlights for the 2011 “Place Called Sacramento” Film Festival --

10 more films completed this year means in the 12 years of the event, 119 (out of 120) approved scripts have been completed and shown on the Crest big screen.
2011 featured our oldest filmmaker (78) - Burt Wilson "CSI Sacramento" and our youngest (9) Claire Elizabeth "The Chozen"
6 of the 10 films were written and produced by women and region-wide with films from West Sacramento, Cameron Park, Grass Valley, Fair Oaks, Carmichael, Davis, Citrus Heights, and Sacramento.
All films are volunteer created with only out of pocket expenses for incidentals and food.
"A Place Called Sacramento" is unique – local films created by volunteers and professionals.
Opening the PCS event at 12:45 will be a performance by "Cheap Therapy" - a local improv comedy team organized by SAG actor and local acting teacher Charlie Holiday.
Immediately following the showcase of the ten films, "Sister Swing" will perform in the Crest Lobby. They sing a modern up-tempo version of "Andrews Sisters-style" harmonies.
We will be visited once again by infamous Hollywood shark, the big fish director - Quentin Sacramento – the mascot of the festival.

To view the films completed for previous PCS film festivals, go to the web site www.AccessSacramento.org. Access Sacramento is a nonprofit organization dedicated to using community media to build better communications between individuals and groups in Sacramento County on cable radio and television channels 17 & 18.

CONTACT: Ron Cooper, Executive Director
Access Sacramento
4623 T Street, Suite A
Sacramento, CA. 95819
(916) 456-8600 #112
www.AccessSacramento.org

Disclosure: Ron Cooper is Executive Director of Access Sacramento

Crocker hosts screening of “Sickert vs. Sargent” documentary on August 25

2011-08-22T19:18:52Z

The Crocker Art Museum will host a screening of “Sickert vs. Sargent: Britain’s Masters of Modern Art,” on Thursday, Aug. 25, at 6 p.m. A documentary profiling Walter Sickert and John Singer Sargent, this film details the fierce competition that raged between the artists and the legendary work that was created as a result of the rivalry. The film is free with Museum admission.

“Sickert vs. Sargent” was written and directed by renowned British art critic Waldemar Januszczak. The film takes viewers on a journey through the life and art of two of the most influential artists in Britain, highlighting inspirational locations, and featuring their working studios. “Sickert vs. Sargent” also features commentary by artists Frank Auerbach, Leon Kossoff, Paula Rego, and Lucien Freud.

The screening is part of the Museum’s Thursdays ‘til 9 program series, sponsored by Bank of America. The Crocker is open every Thursday until 9 p.m. for film screenings, social gatherings, concerts, and art happenings presented in collaboration with regional art groups.

Tickets are available for purchase at crockerartmuseum.org, the Museum Admission Desk, or by calling (916) 808-1182.

Disclosure: Kathleen Richards has been a fan of the Crocker Art Museum since her very first visit in fourth grade, and she now serves as the Crocker's Marketing Coordinator.

Hollywood to Dollywood ... to Sacramento!

2011-08-20T16:01:17Z

The Saturday lineup at the 12th annual Sacramento Film & Music Festival includes 28 films spread over 14 hours of programming, the Sacramento Bee Fashion Challenge results, and a live performance by alumni-musician Stephan Nance. The films include a full length musical about a reluctant monster, 16 films from some of the best student filmmakers in the world, and several short films from Sacramento-based filmmakers. And at 7pm, the Festival hosts "Hollywood to Dollywood" and filmmakers Gary and Larry Lane. This is the fourth festival of 21 who currently have scheduled screenings of this highly sought after independent documentary and the brothers are in town for approximately 12 hours before flying on to their next screening, tomorrow in San Diego.

The film documents a journey, both metaphorical and literal, in which the gay twin brothers write a screenplay for their idol Dolly Parton and then drive across country in a rented RV named "Jolene" to deliver the script to Dolly, in person, on the 25th anniversary of the opening of Dollywood. Along the way, they get writing advice from Academy Award winner Dustin Lance Black ("Milk") and actor/producer Chad Allen, share the stories of their lives and the lives of those they encounter on the road, and battle severe weather that threatens the road trip. All in the hope that they can get close enough to Dolly to hand over their work and be noticed by their heroine. The film also includes 17 songs by Dolly Parton herself.

"Hollywood to Dollywood" screens at 7pm at the historic Crest Theatre and will be followed by a Q&A session with the directors and stars of the film, Gary and Larry Lane.

The full Festival schedule can be found here. Passes and tickets for the remainder of the Festival's eight screenings can be purchased online at tickets.com or at the Crest box office.

Disclosure: Tony Sheppard is Co-Director of the Sacramento Film & Music Festival.

Mediation and conflict resolution featured at the Crest Theatre

2011-08-19T19:42:47Z

The third night of the 12 annual Sacramento Film & Music Festival brings a solid lineup of three narrative feature films to the Crest historic main screen. The first of these, "Face to Face," is an Australian drama that can only be seen at film festivals and which isn't even scheduled to open theatrically in Australia until next month.

"Face to Face" is reminiscent of the classic film "12 Angry Men," with the action moved from a jury room to a mediation session. Ten people and a mediator meet to discuss an employment dispute, but it soon becomes apparent that there is far more at stake and more shared history than one young man's rash actions. The screenplay was adapted from a stage play that was originally written based on actual transcripts of mediation sessions and the result is both powerful and genuine in the relationships and interpersonal dynamics in the room.

"Face to Face" is followed by the dark romantic comedy "Stan" and the horror film "The Corridor." The Festival recommends the later films for adult audiences only. Trailers and synopses for all three films can be found by selecting film titles on the Festival's schedule page here.

The Festival continues at the Crest through Sunday.

Disclosure: Tony Sheppard is Co-Director of the Sacramento Film & Music Festival.

"Beautiful Youth" premiere draws a crowd at the Crest

2011-08-19T08:07:20Z

Just a week ago, the Sacramento Press reported on a local documentary about youth homelessness and on Thursday, "Beautiful Youth" screened for a packed house as part of the Sacramento Film & Music Festival SummerFEST. The Festival contacted the filmmakers as a result of that article and, given only a week of lead time, the size of the audience was both noteworthy and a testament to the interest in the topic. The film itself has a running time of 47 minutes and was followed by a Q&A session with filmmakers Jennifer Lystrup and Mackenzie Long which lasted equally long. Even more remarkable, almost the entire audience stayed throughout the post-screening discussion and asked questions of both the directors and several of the individuals who were interviewed during the making of the film.

The Sacramento Film & Music Festival continues through Sunday evening. Friday evening's lineup consists of three narrative feature films: "Face to Face," "Stan," and "The Corridor" at 7pm, 9pm, and 11pm respectively.

The full Festival schedule can be found here.

Disclosure: Tony Sheppard is Co-Director of the Sacramento Film & Music Festival.

French Film Fest Director to be honored as Film & Music Fest Opens Tonight

2011-08-17T18:22:05Z

The 12th annual Sacramento Film and Music Festival opens its SummerFEST program tonight by honoring another long time Festival director. This year's Film Arts Service Award will be presented to Cecile Mouette Downs, director of the Sacramento French Film Festival. Cecille has worked previously for the Film Department of the French Embassy in New York City, and as a Press Officer for the Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel in Paris. She has a master’s degree in history, is a regular contributor to “France Today” magazine, and was the 2010 recipient of the Arts Executive of the Year Award from the Sacramento Arts & Business Council.

This is the fifth Film Arts Service Award to be presented. The first went to Shawn Sullivan, who teaches animation at Sheldon High School and has a remarkable record of placing students in competitive college and industry positions. Subsequent recipients have included: Bill Bronston, CEO of Tower of Youth which showcases and advocates for youth filmmaking; Ron Cooper, Executive Director of Access Sacramento and the "A Place Called Sacramento" screenwriting competition and filmmaking program; and Sid Garcia-Heberger, Managing Partner of the Crest Theatre, co-founder and co-director of the Sacramento Jewish Film Festival, and a Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commissioner. As last year's recipient of the Award, Sid Garcia-Heberger will present this year's Award to Cecile Mouette Downs.

Additionally, this year's opening night features the runway portion of the Sacramento Bee Fashion Challenge. The Bee partnered with the Festival to give local designers the challenge of creating a red carpet worthy outfit from newspaper and no more than $50 worth of additional materials. Winners will be announced on Saturday, August 20th at 6pm.

Tonight's opening night feature film is a documentary about Japanese-American animator and film director ("When the Wind Blows") Jimmy Murakami, who spent part of his childhood with his family at the Tule Lake internment camp in Northern California. "Jimmy Murakami - Non Alien" shows the continuing effects this experience has had on his life and explains his discomfort in living in America. This film is an interesting counterpart to the final feature documentary that will play on Sunday, August 21st. "Fordson: Faith, Fasting, Football" explores the American Muslim experience, as seen through the eyes of the football team at Fordson High School in Dearborn, Michigan - a public high school that is 98% of Arab descent and overwhelmingly muslim. 2011 is the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the 10th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11 and these two films remind us of the impacts of how we collectively treat people who look like, but who aren't, our enemies.

The Sacramento Film & Music Festival SummerFEST opens tonight at 6pm, with a reception catered by District 30 and Pizza Rock, and runs through Sunday. 65 films represent 13 countries, including 23 from this year's 10x10 Filmmaker Challenge - in which local filmmakers are given 10 days to make a 10 minute film. The program also includes an exclusive screening of "Beautiful Youth" at 6pm on Thursday, a film about homeless youth in Sacramento and which has been written about previously in the Sacramento Press. The full schedule and more information, including film trailers can be found online at sacfilm.com. All screenings take place at the historic Crest Theatre.

Disclosure: Tony Sheppard is Co-Director of the Sacramento Film & Music Festival.

Sac Film & Music Fest - Programming Notes

2011-08-14T22:28:29Z

Programming a film festival is an odd and varied process. Some events go out and pro-actively seek the best films that they can find, in an extensive search process – and we see this approach in such local great events as the Sacramento Jewish, French, Japanese, and Gay and Lesbian Film Fests. Other events are submission-based: A call for films is distributed, and filmmakers from a given area submit their works in the hopes of making it to the top of the pile. This latter approach, perhaps best exemplified on a grand scale by the Sundance Film Festival, is also used (on a more modest level) by the Sacramento Film & Music Festival and that given area is the entire world.

This year, films were submitted from almost 30 countries and in just about every conceivable format or genre. Which means that picking through them is an interesting task – one moment you’re watching a cute music video featuring animated vegetables and the next, you’re watching a feature length psychological thriller. The goal is to find the best and fit them into an appealing program that audiences will want to see. However, the problem with a submission-based Festival is that you never know what you’re going to get. Last year, for example, we had a full program of animated short films, whereas this year we have only one animated film within a program of student shorts. And films are often grouped more by general category than by subject matter – so you get narrative short films, international short films, etc. – rather than programs defined by comedy, or drama.

So, at the end of the process, it’s interesting when you sometimes find that you’ve chosen films that seem to follow a common theme. This year’s program includes three feature length documentaries, each of which stood out from the crowd and were selected on their own merits. Only later did we realize that they shared the theme of being “different” in America.

The first of these, “Jimmy Murakami – Non-Alien,” recounts one of the worst times to be different in American history. Jimmy Murakami was born in California and probably would have had a fairly ordinary American childhood had he not been Japanese-American and born in 1933. At the age of eight, he was transported with his family to the Tule Lake internment camp, and spent the next four years there, learning to resent his own government. After the war the family moved to Los Angeles and Jimmy eventually went to art school and became an animator, going on to great success in the film industry and directing such films as “The Snowman,” “When the Wind Blows,” and “A Christmas Carol.” But he never felt comfortable in the country that imprisoned him as a child and never fully came to terms with that experience. The film shares his experience, after 40 years of living in Ireland, of his trip back to California and a pilgrimage to Tule Lake.

In “Hollywood to Dollywood,” twin gay brothers from Tennessee escape their childhood home (for all the reasons you might expect) and move to Los Angeles. There, they spend five years writing a screenplay for their idol Dolly Parton – only to head back across country in a rented RV in the hopes of handing that screenplay to Dolly on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of her theme park, Dollywood. The film contains interesting commentary on the process of writing, including contributions from actor Chad Allen and Academy Award winning writer Dustin Lance Black (“Milk”), shares the adventure of the open road, and includes multiple personal stories of exclusion and coming out.

The last of the three, “Fordson: Faith, Fasting, Football,” focuses on a community on the west side of Dearborn, Michigan. Here, after decades of immigration, the local population has changed so much that Fordson High School is now 98% of Arab descent, and overwhelmingly Muslim. But their other defining characteristic is their love of football, with boys following older brothers, fathers and uncles onto the high school squad. The film follows the team over a period of ten days, considering the question of what it means to be Muslim in a post-9/11 America through personal stories, as they prepare for their big cross-town game with Dearborn High. This is complicated by Ramadan, and a month of afternoon practices and evening games following days of fasting.

Each of the three films is a fascinating depiction of a specific experience but, taken as a whole, they are a compelling account of what it means to fit in, or not fit in, in America. They are three out of 42 films, representing 13 countries (we lost half the countries in the selection process), programmed into 13 unique screenings at this summer’s Festival – including locally made short films and student films, and the Festival’s 10x10 Filmmaker Challenge which will include another 25 films (that’s a guess – they haven’t been finished yet…) made in just 10 days, in and around Sacramento.

Each of the 12 screenings costs $10, but you can buy passes (at the Crest Box Office) for all 13 screenings for only $30 if you mention Sacramento Press, or for the low, low price of $20 if you’re a student.

The Sacramento Film & Music Festival continues its 12th season with SummerFEST is at the historic Crest Theatre in downtown Sacramento, from Wednesday, August 17th to Sunday, August 21st. The full schedule, including trailers for all three films described here, can be found at www.sacfilm.com and you can follow further developments at facebook.com/sacfilm.

Disclosure: Tony Sheppard is Co-Director of the Sacramento Film & Music Festival.

Crocker Hosts Outdoor Screening of “The Wizard of Oz” on August 4

2011-08-03T21:19:05Z

The Crocker Art Museum will host an outdoor screening of “The Wizard of Oz” on Thursday, Aug. 4, starting at 8 p.m. The film is $6 for Museum members and $12 for nonmembers and includes admission to the Museum. The screening will take place in the Museum’s E. Kendell Davis Courtyard, and visitors are welcome to bring lawn chairs.

Filmed in Technicolor, a process known for high levels of saturated color, “The Wizard of Oz” brilliantly captured the technical and imaginative qualities of color in film in the 20th century.

Tickets for the film are available for purchase at crockerartmuseum.org, the Museum Admission Desk, or by calling (916) 808-1182. The screening is presented in part by Creative Projection Services.

Disclosure: Kathleen Richards has been a fan of the Crocker Art Museum since her very first visit in fourth grade, and she now serves as the Crocker's Marketing Coordinator.

A Busy Day in the Life of Access Sacramento

2011-07-17T05:05:41Z

Each day Access Sacramento's studio and office are filled with activity but this week has been particularly busy. Yes, T.D. Trice and Shane Carpenter continued to schedule television and radio programming 24/7. Yes, volunteers came and went with new programming and were busy with their focused production efforts. The phones continued to ring as Amy Lawrence signed up new members. Whew! Here's a snap-shot of a very busy day in the life of Access Sacramento - let the "name dropping" commence.

Studio production was busy with Richard Langley renovating the small room and working with community producer Bob Crimmins on using the "green studio" for a new program in partnership with Senior Magazine. He and Liz Harrison then welcomed public radio's "Insight " host, Jefferey Callison to read a chapter from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer for the Sacramento Bee "One Book Project". Simultaneously in the large studio, volunteers from the local Republican party interviewed citizen tax advocate Ted Costa. Evening production in the big studio continued with two local musical artists, Parie Wood and also Zach MacLachlan, recording individual episodes of "Listen Up, Sacramento!" under the watchful eye of co-producers Michelle Barbaria and Erika Kjelstrom.

Production knowledge also kept us busy as training sessions and staff recordings were conducted in a variety of locations throughout the County. Monday night found T.D. helping record Roseville's park and recreation department public meeting in their City Council chambers. Carlos Hernandez and Liz Harrison worked Tuesday morning with Sacramento County Public Health personnel training on the use of Skype. Liz finished the afternoon training staff and youth at Asian Resources on the fundamentals of Neighborhood News video production. Steve Bourasa welcomed 7 students to the latest Digital Camera class to finish a long "training day".

Video editing sessions were productive as well. The Media Lab was busy with multiple volunteer projects. Bhim Kumar-Reyes recreated the opening for the Little Capital Miss Pageant recorded on-location last Saturday night and commenced editing on the two-day "Disability Summit" Conference recorded in partnership with the California State Department of Rehabilitation. Carlos H. finished the editing on five one-hour programs capturing the day-long entertainment provided at the recent Pacific Rim Festival.

Your truly was busy making recommendations on a national e-mail thread on how to improve the national "Hometown Video Awards" judging procedures while simultaneously completing the minutes for last week's successful Neighborhood News and Youth Media Task Force meeting. I finished the day in a meeting with other local film festival leaders, celebrating the publication of a new "rack card" promoting the year-round film festivals - including Access Sacramento's Twelfth Annual "A Place Called Sacramento" in October.

And the fun continues this morning as the "green studio" welcomed Carlos Alcala, Bee reporter, to the Tom Sawyer project. Richard and I are leaving shortly for a production site survey at Fairytale Town for an upcoming Hometown-TV shoot. Later today, we will have a new member orientation session with more than 30 participants immediately followed by a quarterly radio producers meeting to discuss future LPFM applications for community radio, "The Voice". Livewire will have special guests from the "Restitution Project" and celebrate another weekly episode in this long-running series (since 1992).

But as busy as we currently are, there is always room for you - join us and you too can "make a difference, one voice at a time."

Disclosure: Ron Cooper is Executive Director of Access Sacramento

"Vincent: A Life in Color" at the Guild

2011-07-15T23:28:10Z

Robert Ebert said it was “one of the best documentaries of 2010,” and the film's been riddled with wreaths of festival awards ever since.

“Vincent: A Life in Color,” is the story of a man who's legally blind, one that wears colorful suits and spends his days spinning atop Chicago bridges for passing tour boats below.

Vincent Falk's been nicknamed “fashion man, river-ace, Vince, the suit guy and the Where’s Waldo of Chicago.” Whoever this guy actually is, the documentary intended to find out.

The film follows Falk over the course of one boating season in order to, according to the film’s website, “unravel the mystery that surrounds him.”

“Vincent: A Life in Color,” is showing this Sunday at The Guild Theater. Admission is $5 and director Jennifer Burns, along with the documentary's star, Vincent P. Falk, are going to be there.

Movies on a Big Screen (MOBS) at The Guild Theater
Sunday, July 17, 2011
7:30 p.m.
Admission: $5.00
2828 35th St.

Review: Conan O'Brien Can't Stop

2011-06-23T09:44:12Z

by Tony Sheppard
Capitol Weekly

Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop
Directed by Rodman Flender

Last summer, Sacramento’s Memorial Auditorium was one of the venues for Conan O’Brien’s “The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour.” That tour is now the focus of the behind the scenes documentary “Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop” – a somewhat unflinching look at an attempt to make show business lemonade from a deluge of unwanted lemons (or perhaps, in some opinions, a single unwanted Leno).

For those who live in caves, go to bed at 9pm, or go to bed at 9pm in caves, last year saw messy contract negotiations over late night programming at NBC. Years earlier, O’Brien had been promised the holy grail of talk shows, “The Tonight Show” at 11:35pm. However, when the moment arrived, incumbent host Jay Leno made it clear that he wasn’t ready or willing to retire. Rather than risk the possibility of having Leno end up with a competitive show on another network, NBC created an earlier 10pm talk show for Leno, and simultaneously attempted to cash in on the fact that shows of this nature also happen to be cheaper to produce than hour-long dramas, traditional favorites in that time period.

But the experiment failed. Leno fans, and other fans of “The Tonight Show” who preferred to get to bed sooner, now had a favorable option 95 minutes earlier in the evening. Meanwhile later night audiences and O’Brien fans watched the traditional timeslot, with both shows generating what were considered by the network to be disappointing ratings. Leno was still reluctant to walk away and NBC pitched a desperate attempt to solve the problem by suggesting that Leno return to 11:35pm, but in a truncated 30 minute format. O’Brien would then follow at 12:05am, with Jimmy Fallon’s later show being pushed back from a 12:35am start to 1:05am, and Carson Daly going even later.

O’Brien rejected this plan, saying at the time that he didn’t want to be the host who took “The Tonight Show” into a timeslot that meant it was no longer “tonight.” He also clearly felt that his contract was being breached and that there was a lack of good faith in both the way that he was being treated as well as the ripple effects that would impact the hosts of the later shows. And so he walked away from the prize franchise, leaving himself out of work, contractually prohibited from appearing on television, heavily compensated, but also overwhelmingly angry. And the short term result of channeling that anger was the aforementioned tour.

The film goes behind the scenes as the tour is planned and executed, and examines the dynamics of life on the road – in this case for someone unused to that schedule. Fans of O’Brien get to see a side normally hidden from view, as he works with his creative team, not always entirely positively – and he doesn’t attempt to hide his feelings about the situation. Non-fans will likely find it a fascinating examination of celebrity, including the difficulty of remaining upbeat in front of adoring fans. It’s not unusual to hear fans of certain artists complaining about abrupt or inhospitable encounters with their idols. What this film illustrates is how remarkable it can be that any celebrities ever manage to avoid that kind of behavior in the face of constant demands for their time, regardless of what else is happening. At times, O’Brien seems like he won’t make it, not because of the already grueling schedule of the shows themselves, but because of the endless extra commitments: Meet-and-greets, private parties, extra shows, hordes of adoring fans, and even his own college reunion at Harvard.

The title of the film is taken from an exchange in which it becomes apparent that O’Brien can’t imagine not working and, as was reported at the time, some of his motivation also came from trying to keep at least some of his production team employed. The end result is a neat film about a funny guy dealing with a difficult period in his career in what appears to be the only way he knows how – by laughing about it, and hoping others will too. It’s insightful, personal, and well worth checking out.

Conan O'Brien Can't Stop opens on Friday, June 24th at the Crest Theatre. Information and showtimes can be found at www.thecrest.com.

The film's official website, including the trailer, can be found at www.conanobriencantstop.com.

Access Sacramento Annual Meeting - "LIVE" on Channel 17 Thursday at 7:00 PM

2011-06-15T05:07:07Z

Celebrating our 25th year of incorporation, the nonprofit community media center Access Sacramento hosts the annual membership meeting Thursday June 16 7-8 PM . You are invited to attend the event in the television studio at the Coloma Community Center or just watch the event on cable TV channel 17 or streamed on the web site www.AccessSacramento.org to any computer in the world.

The 15 member Board of Directors will offer highlights of the year past and look forward to another year of Hometown-TV events, Game of Week football and basketball, "Listen Up, Sacramento" local music, and arts and entertainment reporting weekly on "Livewire". Ten new films are in production in the 12th Annual "Place Called Sacramento" film project.

Learn more about the latest project - South Sacramento's five Neighborhood News Bureaus (NNB). To check out new online stories from underserved communities, go to www.AccessLocal.tv and join in the year-round training workshops.

Want to learn more? Tune-in and watch or call (916) 456-8600 ext.0

Bows & Arrows moves, adds Fat Face cafe

2011-06-03T01:27:00Z

Sacramento shopkeepers Olivia Coelho and Trisha Rhomberg will open a new take on their vintage clothing store Bows & Arrows this Saturday. And this time, they will not be alone.

The new Bows & Arrows, opening across from Safeway on 19th Street, will also sell the gourmet popsicles, panini sandwiches and other fare made by Jaymes Luu of Davis-based Fat Face cafe.

The new store, located in a former recording studio, will continue to sell clothes from the 1960s through the early 1990s. Coelho and Rhomberg will also sell refashioned clothing under their own label, Miss Chief of California.

The new store will also contain an art gallery, the cafe, and a beer and wine bar run by Coelho and Rhomberg.

Luu operated the Fat Face popsicle and sandwich shop in Davis. She's also sold popsicles in flavors such as Kaffir Limeade, Thai Tea & Sweet Potato or Melon Horchata at local farmers markets and at the recent mobile food vendor festival, SactoMoFo. She'll now operate Fat Face cafe from within Bows & Arrows.

From the entrance toward the back, the new store moves from a retail shop to an art gallery with cafe tables and then to the cafe. A courtyard patio was added in back.

"It is a multi-use building," Coelho said. "We wanted the spaces to feel distinctly their own, but also have an open flow so you could move throughout the space."

They closed their first store at 1712 L St. on April 30 to focus on furnishing the new space, which had been gutted and completely rebuilt. A kitchen, dressing rooms and new bathrooms were added. More light was let in with new front windows and double glass doors in back.

The recycling ethic and aesthetic has been carried throughout the space. While new lights hang in the art gallery and over the redwood bar, the rest of the lighting is supplied by vintage swag lamps.

Friend Matt Hummel made tables from salvaged wood and various bases, including a pair of antique cast iron Singer sewing machine bases. Salvaged doors and windows add privacy to dressing rooms and partially block a view of the train tracks from the 875-square-foot back patio.

The idea was to recreate the feel of being in someone's home while also being friendly to the environment, Rhomberg said.

"Why put a larger demand on the earth when we can use what's already here?" she said.

Much of what's inside will be either vintage or handmade, such as new art from emerging and established artists. Mixed-media artist Hilary Pecis, recently featured in Juxtapoz Magazine, will show her work at Bows & Arrows' opening-day reception.

Bows & Arrows will be open from 6 - 9 p.m. Saturday. The cafe will serve lunch and dinner five days a week. Regular hours will be 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

They're working to get an entertainment permit so they can showcase local musicians, filmmakers and other artists.

"Sacramento and Midtown, especially, are really flooded with a ton of talent – visually and musically," Rhomberg said. "There's so much to show to people. I love having a space to do that in – to show people what we're growing here."

Building Sacramento’s art scene by spotlighting local artists and giving them space to collaborate and feed off each other’s energy will help the city's economy grow, she added.

"It's going to be what puts us on the map," Rhomberg said.

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

The 10th Sacramento French Film Festival (June 17-26, 2011) Unveils its Film Selection!

2011-05-25T23:36:00Z

The Sacramento French Film Festival will celebrate its 10th year in June 2011 and has just unveiled its exhilarating film selection and its inspired and original poster created, as were the nine previous SFFF posters, by talented Sacramento photographer Kent Lacin. See the complete poster collection here.

To be held June 17-26, 2011 at the Crest Theatre in Downtown Sacramento, the 10th Sacramento French Film Festival will present nine new premieres, two Saturday Midnight Movies, three classics, and one Short Film Program. This year the SFFF is also introducing a new category, entitled "The One That Almost Got Away" and aimed to highlight recent films that the SFFF team wished to show in previous years but was unable to, and is very happy to finally share with its audience, proving that it's never too late to enjoy an unforgettable film! Most of the films presented this year are feel good films that will make the audience reflect on the state of the current times while being highly entertained! It is certainly a pleasurable way for the SFFF to celebrate its 10th year!

A prestigious French guest.

This year's guest will be César nominated screenwriter JEAN-LOUIS MILESI, the screenwriter of director Robert Guediguian, one of France's best contemporary filmmakers. Milesi's screenplays include the joyful working class comedy MARIUS & JEANNETTE, presented this year, and the insightful social drama The Town is Quiet (La Ville est Tranquille, 2000) shown at the first SFFF in 2002. Jean-Louis Milesi directed several short films and features and he will present his sensitive feature LINO (2008) on Sunday June 19.

Hilarious opening and awaited closing films.

The 10th SFFF will open on Friday June 17th, with THE NAMES OF LOVE (LE NOM DES GENS) a hysterical comedy about sex and politics, with the bubbly rising star Sara Forestier (winner of the 2011 César -French Academy Award- for Best Actress in a Leading Role) and Jacques Gamblin. The film won the 2011 César for Best Original Screenplay. After seeing this film, maybe you will know more about what it is to be French!

After two weekends of fun, films and food, the 10th SFFF will conclude on Sunday June 26 with a tribute to French icon, singer-songwriter, and provocateur Serge Gainsbourg, in this year that marks the 20th anniversary of his death, with the exclusive and awaited presentation of the award winning biopic GAINSBOURG, A HEROIC LIFE (GAINSBOURG, VIE HÉROIQUE) directed by Joann Sfar, winner of the 2011 César for Best First feature Film. The César for Best Actor in a Leading Role went to Eric Elmosnino for his incredible portrayal of the inimitable Gainsbourg.

Other premieres include six of the best in French cinema today.

-COPACABANA, is a “dramedy”, directed by Marc Fitoussi, about a non-conformist mother (masterfully played by one of France’s most surprising actresses, Isabelle Huppert) who struggles to impress her conformist daughter (played by Huppert’s real-life daughter Lolita Chammah, winner of the Most Promising Actress Lumière Award for her performance).

-THE WOMEN ON THE 6TH FLOOR (LES FEMMES DU 6ÈME ETAGE), is a delightful comedy about conservative French bourgeois and their Spanish maids in 1960’s Paris starring Fabrice Luchini (recently seen at the Crest in Potiche) was a huge critical and box-office success when it was released in France this Spring. Directed by Philippe Le Guay.

-LINO, is an uconventional love story between a two-year-old boy and the man who finds himself reluctantly in charge of him after the death of his mother, by Jean-Louis Miles presented in the Crest Theatre by its director-actor Jean-Louis Milesi with actor Lino Milesi.

-I'M GLAD THAT MY MOTHER IS ALIVE (JE SUIS HEUREUX QUE MA MERE SOIT VIVANTE), the latest drama by Claude Miller (A Secret, Closing Film SFFF 2008, and Alias Betty, SFFF 2003) co-directed by his son, Nathan Miller, is a suspenseful and shocking story – based on true events – of the complicated relationship between a young man and the biological mother who gave him up for adoption.

-ANGÈLE & TONY, is a powerful feel good story of love and redemption set in a small fishing town in Normandy. It is the remarkable first feature by Alix Delaporte starring Clotilde Hesme (The Grocer’s Son, SFFF 2008).

-BEAUTIFUL LIES (DE VRAIS MENSONGES) is the latest vibrant comedy by Pierre Salvadori (Priceless, After You), inspired by Lubitsch and French playwright Marivaux, starring the delicious Audrey Tautou (from Amelie), Nathalie Baye and Sami Bouajila.

The 2011 classic selection is comprised of three wonderful masterpieces.

-THE YOUNG GIRLS FROM ROCHEFORT (LES DEMOISELLES DE ROCHEFORT, 1967) is a colorful musical, and tribute to Vincente Minelli’s 1950’s American musicals, by Jacques Demy, starring Catherine Deneuve, her sister Francoise Dorleac and the legendary Gene Kelly (star of An American in Paris, directed by Vincente Minelli in 1951) in an remarkable supporting role.

-MARIUS & JEANNETTE is Robert Guediguian’s funny and beautiful true love story between two middle age working class people in sunny Marseille( last year Guediguian’s film Army of Crime won the SFFF’s Audience prize). The film’s screenwriter Jean-Louis Milesi, the Festival’s special Guest, will attend.

-PIERROT LE FOU (1965), arguably Jean-Luc Godard’s best film is now considered one of the most important films in the history of cinema! Godard’s original fragmented storytelling, filming and editing styles achieve perfection and critics began talking about a true cinematic revolution. Starring a luminous Anna Karina and a cool Jean-Paul Belmondo.

Two midnight movies for a mature audience: stylish, surprising and crazy.

-THE SENTIMENT OF THE FLESH (LE SENTIMENT DE LA CHAIR, 2010), is a "Cronenbergian" romance by Roberto Garzelli, that will leave you breathless and on the edge of your seat… For those of you who are new to the genre, “Cronenbergian” is an adjective derived from David Cronenberg’s name, the Canadian filmmaker representative of the "Body Horror" genre.

-DON’T LOOK BACK (NE TE RETOURNE PAS, 2009) is a spine tingling psychological thriller by Marina de Van, starring two of France’s most beautiful and beloved actresses, Sophie Marceau and Monica Bellucci who share the same role.

“The One That Almost Got Away”

The film that the SFFF team is delighted to share with you this year is the quirky romantic and musical comedy, A MAN, A REAL MAN (UNE HOMME, UN VRAI) starring Mathieu Amalric (director and star of ON TOUR), and first feature of the acclaimed Larrieu brothers.

Midweek screenings

Traditionally held over two weekends, the 10th SFFF is adding a weekday evening to its program this year. On Wednesday June 22 there will be a rerun of Guédiguian and Milesi’s comedy MARIUS & JEANNETTE and the premiere of the quirky romance, A MAN, A REAL MAN.

Fun events around films, food and wine!

And as every year, the Festival will be seasoned by fun events. The catered Opening Reception with open bar will feature hors-d’oeuvres and desserts by Sacramento’s finest restaurants and caterers, and music by the Harley White Jr. Orchestra performing French jazzy songs. Midnight Breakfasts will follow the Saturday Midnight Movies and a Petit Déjeuner (French Breakfast) with Sacramento filmmaker Kim Leonard, director of the short PARDON HER FRENCH ~~PARDON MY FRENCH,~~ will precede the Short Film Program on Saturday June 25. And finally a fun champagne and Cake Party will conclude the exciting 10th SFFF. And of course, there will be post screening discussions with film experts and filmmakers including the Festival’s special guest, an art work exhibition curated by Sacramento artist Cherie Hacker, and some surprises…

Passes to the Sacramento French Film Festival are like plane tickets to France… Except that you only have to travel to Downtown Sacramento!

The 10th Sacramento French Film Festival runs June 17-19, 22 & 25-26, 2011 in the main auditorium of the Crest Theatre.
All films are presented in French with English subtitles.

You can find ticket prices, the complete schedule, film descriptions, trailers and more on the SFFF website: www.SacramentoFrenchFilmFestival.org

Disclosure: Cecile Downs is Executive & Artistic Director of the French Film Festival.

"Make a Movie" This Summer - Attend the "Cast & Crew Call" May 18 6-9 PM

2011-05-03T22:12:36Z

“Cast & Crew Call” from ACCESS SACRAMENTO
2011 “A Place Called Sacramento” Film Project
Wednesday May 18 from 6 – 9 PM
“Make a Movie This Summer” -- All Are Invited

For the Twelfth year, Access Sacramento launches “A Place Called Sacramento” (PCS), a scriptwriting and short film production project for local writers and producers. PCS challenges local scriptwriters to write ten-minute scripts about the people, places, and events that make our community such a unique place to live (details and past films on-line at www.AccessSacramento.org).

Script evaluation and judging have been completed. Dozens of scripts have been reviewed by local professionals and ten have been selected for production. Meet the ten scriptwriter/producers May 18 (Wednesday) at the “Cast & Crew Call”.

2011 “A Place Called Sacramento” Film Festival
Cast & Crew Call
May 18, 2011 - Wednesday
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Coloma Community Center Courtyard
4623 T Street
Sacramento, CA. 95819

All potential actors and production teams experienced and inexperienced are invited to attend. Ten production teams shall be formed and production continues on the films during the summer months. Finally, after weeks of hard work and great fun, friends gather at the CREST Theatre on Sunday October 2, 2011 for the World Premier of all ten films. The PCS production format is unique to Sacramento. In the previous eleven years, 109 films have been successfully created.

To view the films completed for the 2010 & previous PCS film festivals, go to the web site www.AccessSacramento.org. Access Sacramento is a nonprofit organization dedicated to using community media to build better communications between individuals and groups in Sacramento County.

CONTACT: Ron Cooper, Executive Director
4623 T Street, Suite A Sacramento, CA. 95819
(916) 456-8600 #112
Postmaster@AccessSacramento.org

Disclosure: Ron Cooper is the Executive Director for Access Sacramento.

Coming Soon: Davis Feminist Film Festival

2011-04-02T04:52:41Z

The sixth annual Davis Feminist Film Festival will be featuring international films by lesser known filmmakers at the Veterans' Memorial Center Theater in Davis on April 14 and 15. This is a grassroots festival sponsored by the UC Davis Consortium for Women and Research.

The festival will include documentary, narrative and experimental films that explore issues of gender, race, class, sexuality and other aspects of social inequality.

“One of the things we really hope to accomplish is to bring people from the Davis community together for these two days of screening,” Andrew Ventimiglia, associate director of the Davis Feminist Film Festival, said. “And the second thing is to get a space for filmmakers who are underrepresented.”

This is Ventimiglia’s second year as the associate director. He is in charge of curating the festival and coordinating the festival’s curation class.

The curation class consists of select UC Davis undergraduate students who learn about film genres and techniques. The students help critique and evaluate submitted films. The class allows student opinions and voices to be heard in the selection process of what films should be screened at the festival.

According to Ventimiglia, local and international filmmakers submit films from the Sacramento Valley, the Bay Area and international locations including Iran, Sweden and all over Europe.

Each film goes through several processes of screening, starting with an advisory committee made up of UC Davis faculty, local filmmakers and other community members. Then, the curation course evaluates the films, and students discuss, argue and figure out which films are good and why, Ventimiglia said.

”The process by which we curate the the festival is one of the most unique things about it and is really a strong selling point for the festival as an interesting intellectual project, both for the university and the community,” Ventimiglia said.

Thursday and Friday will include a reception starting at 5 p.m. in the Veterans' Memorial Center Theatre lobby with community groups providing information and outreach.

Attendees can look forward to a silent auction filled with gift certificates from Davis businesses such as Urban Body and Woodstock’s Pizza. Monticello Bistro will be catering the event.

Campus and community outreach intern Veronica Rice, 23, said she is learning how to run a successful event and is excited about the silent auction.

“It’s really fantastic that the local businesses of Davis are aware that we need their help, and we’re more than willing to support them, and they support us,” Rice said. “It’s really great to see Davis come together.”

Screenings for both nights start at 6 p.m. with roughly two 90-minute blocks of film. Thursday’s event will include a screening of “The Witches of Gambaga” and a Q-and-A session by Amina Mama, the film’s co-producer and a UC Davis Women’s Studies professor.

In addition to the film screenings, there will be an art show.

The “Engendered: A Feminist Art Show” will be running from April 1 - 30 at Delta of Venus in Downtown Davis, featuring art from individuals underrepresented in the art and media fields including women, racial minorities, queer, transgendered and/or handicapped artists.

The art displayed will involve gender and/or social justice issues. The artists who will be displaying their work include Lacie Carlisle, Hailey Malaika O. Clarke, Judy Cooperman, Christina Fairley Erickson, Julia Litman-Cleper, Katrina Majkut, Claire Ray, Mika Sakaue, Cassandra Sechler, Michelle Steen, Naomi Vanderkindren and Kirsten Elise Young.

A free opening reception will be held on April 8, also at Delta of Venus, 122 B St. in Downtown Davis from 6 - 9 p.m.

“The festival and these satellite projects, in general, I think are incredibly fun and politically useful projects,“ Ventimiglia said.

Campus and community outreach intern Lirio Zepeda, 20, is in charge of recruiting and organizing volunteers for the different events.

“There is a stigma of the word feminism, and it’s up to us, up to the volunteers and up to other community members to erase the concept that feminism is bad,” Zepeda said. “It’s important for us to be outspoken on our perspective of what it means to be a woman, what it means to be of color, what it means to be queer and all of these other identities that come with being us.”

For more information on the festival and where to purchase tickets, click here.

Veterans' Memorial Center Theatre is located at 203 E. 14th St.

Tickets for the festival are on a sliding scale, $5-15 per night, depending on what you can afford.

Click here to learn more about the art show.

DISCLOSURE: Rachel Aquino is the communications intern for the Davis Feminist Film Festival.

The Sacramento French Film Festival celebrates French icon Serge Gainsbourg!

2011-03-28T14:29:00Z

2011 marks the 20th anniversary of the passing of French icon Serge Gainsbourg, who died of a heart attack on March 2, 1991. Born in 1928, Gainsbourg would have turned 82 this year. To honor his memory, the Sacramento French Film Festival, Record Club and The Verge Center for the Arts are hosting a tribute party. It all starts at 8pm on Saturday April 2nd at the Verge Gallery and will feature music videos, film clips, live tribute bands and music by DJ’s Christophe and Roger.

Twenty years after his death Serge Gainsbourg is still considered one of the world's most influential popular musicians. If you are not already familiar with his music, it’s not too late to get to know him. He is best known as a singer-songwriter and for his wild personal life, led through a thick haze of Gitanes cigarette smoke and alcohol. Gainsbourg is still today a major figure of France's pop-culture. He wrote not only for himself but also for a number of illustrious singers: his lovers Juliette Greco and Brigitte Bardot, his wife Jane Birkin, his daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg, singers Frances Gall and Vanessa Paradis and actresses Catherine Deneuve and Isabelle Adjani, to name only a few. He was also a filmmaker, an actor, a photographer, and an extremely provocative iconoclast, who made sexual advances to a young- and petrified- Whitney Houston on French television and adapted the French national anthem to reggae music.

The Sacramento French Film Festival will pay further homage to Gainsbourg during its 10th edition in June 2011, with the presentation of the acclaimed and award-winning feature film “Gainsbourg: Vie Heroique”- directed by Joann Sfar, winner of two 2011 Césars (French Academy Awards): Best Actor in a Leading Role (for Eric Elmosnino) and Best First Feature Film.

The Gainsbourg party will feature music by DJ’s Christophe and Roger, music videos, film clips and live tribute bands including "the Horrorscopes" and “ the Harley White Jr. Trio featuring Peter Petty".

WHEN: Saturday April 2, 2011 – Doors at 8pm / Bands at 9pm.

WHERE: Verge Gallery – 625 S Street. - Downtown Sacramento.

PHONE: 916 455 9390: SFFF / 916 448 2985: Verge gallery.

TICKET INFORMATION: $5 Admission, to benefit the 10th Sacramento French Film Festival and the Verge Gallery.

Screenwriting Community Grows in Sacramento

2011-02-13T21:43:45Z

The motion picture industry may be centered in Hollywood, but if screenwriter Gary Weinberg has anything to say about it, Sacramento’s burgeoning collective of aspiring screenwriters will soon draw plenty of attention northward.

On February 22nd, from 7 to 9pm, the fourth installment of Weinberg’s popular course, Write Your Screenplay, An Eight Week Intensive, will begin at the Tangent Art Gallery, adjacent to the Coffee Garden at 2900 Franklin Blvd in Curtis Park.

Since May of last year Weinberg has been facilitating the development of nearly fifty fledgling screenwriters, all with aspirations of seeing their ideas manifest on film. His three-class program has been developed to cater to the needs of writers at all stages of their growth, from pure beginners, (Screenwriting 101, an Intro to Art and Business of Screenwriting) to writers ready to pen the first draft of their story ideas (Write Your Screenplay) to writers looking to move beyond the first draft and really perfect their stories (Advanced Screenwriting).

The goal of Write Your Screenplay, An Eight Week Intensive is to have every student finish the course with a completed first draft of either a screenplay of teleplay (television script). The eight classes are spread out over twelve weeks, which gives students the time to incorporate the lessons they’ve learned into their own writing.

In addition to his group classes, Weinberg offers private sessions that provide more personal in-depth analysis. He dissects the writer’s work in a comprehensive evaluation, looking at everything from structure and format to dialogue and character development. He even counsels his clients on how to make the project more accessible to the industry insiders who decide whether or not to “green light” a project. This level of detailed “coverage” helps writers of all levels move their screenplays to the next level. As Weinberg says, “I’m not just looking to help people write a screenplay. I want to help them write a great screenplay. Because the better the script, the better chance you have of actually seeing it made into a movie. And that’s why we’re all here. The movie is the thing. Otherwise, you might as well right a novel.”

With cutbacks at local colleges and universities, Weinberg has seen interest in his classes skyrocket. “There are many great writers in this town. And it’s a personal honor that so many of them have allowed me to guide them. My goal is to help make Sacramento an entertainment industry destination.”

Like Memphis is to “the blues,” Austin to country music, and Seattle to the world of theater, Weinberg envisions Sacramento as a future mecca for screenwriters. “Why not? To do something big, you have to think big. Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars!”

For more information about Weinberg’s classes and programs contact him at cpmaurice@hotmail.com or call him at 818-458-6637

Documentary shows civil rights-era history of Sacramento

2011-02-03T01:33:52Z

The civil rights movement of the 1960s is often viewed as centralized in the South, but blacks in Sacramento faced similar challenges, and a KVIE documentary tells those stories.

“It was just a really horrific time in Sacramento,” said Bryan Shadden, a producer at KVIE who worked on the film, “African Americans in California’s Heartland: The Civil Rights Era.”

The documentary first aired four years ago, but is being shown again Feb. 17 to coincide with Black History Month.

Shadden worked on a story about busing African-American students out of Oak Park after Stanford Junior High School burned in 1963.

Students were bused to almost all-white schools in an effort to integrate the races. Unfortunately, unintended consequences led to racial tensions, which contributed to shootings and other violence in the following years, according to the film.

“You can still see scars from decisions that were made a long time ago,” Shadden said, adding that even though the decisions were made with good intentions, they still sometimes led to strife.

He said one of the people he interviewed in the film, Kim Harrington, told him that trees were cut down in Oak Park in 1967 to give police officers better shooting lanes after they raided the Black Panther headquarters and a gun battle ensued.

Newspaper articles from the time show a trend of violence between “snipers” and officers in the area, with one June 16, 1969 article reporting more than 100 shots exchanged in one night.

A Sacramento Bee article from May 11, 1970 tells the story of the shooting of Officer Bernard Bennett, who was hit in the head by a sniper and later died.

In 1973, an African-American teenager from Del Paso Heights was accidentally shot and killed by police, and a citizen-led effort to improve relations between police and the community.

Other stories in the documentary shed light on housing discrimination, and even burial discrimination.

“A lot of funeral homes wouldn’t accept African Americans to bury,” said Marinda Johnson, who was also a producer on the documentary.

Vincent Thompson, an African-American embalmer, started the first African American funeral home, Thompson Funeral Home.

“He really became a voice for the African-American community,” Johnson said. “He helped start the Oak Park Community Council.”

Though the stories tend focus on struggle, not all are that way.

In a time of racial turmoil across the country Grant Union High School had an all-African-American men’s track team.

“This relay ended up winning the championship, and even though they had all these race issues going on around them, there were no racial tensions at this school,” Johnson said. “Everyone just thought of them as champions ... the achievement, the success was all they focused on at the school.”

Both Shadden and Johnson said the memory of the 1960s and 1970s tends to be lost today, and the documentary is a reminder of how far the city has come.

“There was a Time Magazine article in the early 2000s that said Sacramento is one of the most diverse cities, and that’s the short-term memory,” Shadden said.

“We almost kind of turn our eye to it in a sense,” Johnson said. “We hear about it and we think, ‘oh it couldn’t be that bad. It’s Sacramento ... It’s not as bad as the South, so it can’t be that bad.’ That’s the mentality.”

The documentary is paired with another, which explores the history of African Americans in the Central Valley and Sierra Nevadas from the Gold Rush through the 1950s, which will air at 7 p.m. Feb. 9. and at 6 p.m. Feb. 13 ~~9 p.m. Feb. 15~~.

The documentary on the civil rights era in Sacramento will air at 11:30 p.m. Feb. 17.

For more information about the documentary and more stories on the civil rights era in Sacramento, click here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Editorial note: The time of the encore has been corrected to Feb. 13 at 6 p.m.

ACCESS SACRAMENTO presents Short Form Script Writing Class with Screenwriter Matt Perry

2011-02-01T05:54:20Z

Sign-up today for three, 4-hour workshop classes on writing “short form” film scripts. Polish your “Place Called Sacramento” entry or further your film script writing skills and practical knowledge. Limited enrollment - $50 Fee per session. Register in advance at Access Sacramento by calling (916) 456-8600 “0” with a credit card. Need not be an Access Sacramento member or Sacramento County resident to sign-up for this class. Sign-up early – class will fill fast.

DEADLINE FOR PCS FILM SCRIPTS IS TUESDAY APRIL 12 AT 5:00 PM IN ACCESS SACRAMENTO OFFICE. For submission guidelines, go to: www.AccessSacramento.org

Session #1 – Saturdays – February 19, 26, & March 5
- 10 AM-2:30 PM (30 minute lunch break) Coloma Center
Session #2 – Saturdays – March 19, 26 & April 2
- 10 AM-2:30 PM (30 minute lunch break) Coloma Center

Biography
Matt Perry received an MFA in filmmaking from New York University’s graduate school of film and is the author of several screenplays. He teaches Screenwriting and Film Studies at the Art Institute of Sacramento and Cosumnes River College. He is a devotee of yoga, running and the mighty Michigan State Spartans.

Disclosure: Ron Cooper is Executive Director of Access Sacramento

WinterFEST highlights regional documentaries

2011-01-17T04:46:53Z

The 12th annual Sacramento Film & Music Festival and first ever WinterFEST kicked off Saturday at the historic Crest Theatre. The festival runs through Martin Luther King Day on Monday, when winners of the audience choice awards will be announced.

Although the festival is largely international in scope, with 31 films representing nine countries, the focus this winter has largely been on documentaries from Northern California, such as Saturday’s “Painting Bolinas”, Sunday's "My Brother Mike" and Monday’s documentary feature “Sowing the Seeds of Justice,” about Cruz Reynoso, California's first Chicano Supreme Court Justice and member of the UC Davis law faculty.

“With the dates coinciding with the MLK holiday, the ability to put on a full day on Monday of social justice, politics and peace-related documentaries was just a neat thing to be able to do,” festival co-director Anthony Sheppard said.

Organizers receive several hundred film submissions through withoutabox.com, and they choose between one and 10 of them to screen, Sheppard said. This year’s large pool of films included films from 20 to 30 film schools, including international programs and all the major U.S. film schools. Several of these short student films opened the festival.

“Painting Bolinas,” a deeply personal piece by first-time filmmaker Wendy Elkin, is about the coastal town of Bolinas, hidden about 10 miles north of Stinson Beach, and one of the town’s most misunderstood yet cherished characters. It illustrates the day-to-day life of eccentric painter Peter Lee, an accomplished artist in his own way, who chooses to live in relative poverty and squalor while opening his makeshift house to the homeless. While the artist’s disposition is that of a scotch-drinking, hilariously profane 90-year-old sailor, his free spirit and love for life emerge through his happy and colorful paintings, which depict the landscape, people and many dogs that make Bolinas.

Elkin said she began visiting the artist, and one visit eventually transformed into 65 hours of footage, edited down to an 87-minute documentary.

“There were several reasons I made this film,” Elkin said during the post-screening Q&A. “I feel that Peter is a character that everyone can learn things from. It’s also my hope that people would see him not only as an incredible artist but also as an American folk hero.”

The audience responded with enthusiasm to the documentary and the soundtrack, which features a song written specially for the film by Elkin’s son-in-law, George Mohler.

“It really captured the spirit of the film and exactly what I wanted to portray,” Elkin said.

As the film closes in with a panorama of the beautiful, fluid Bolinas coast line, Mohler’s lyrics reinforce much of the meaning of the film: “It’s a twisted road that leads to the California sun./ Paint it on a postcard, send it via Highway 1.”

Music is a large part of the festival itself, with its music video programs and daily live performances. Festival sponsor Yogurtagogo served several flavors of yogurt in the lobby Saturday while local musician Andrew Heringer performed.

“I think this festival is such a cool thing to have happening,” Heringer said. “I respect anyone who can set up something like this and get people involved and have a showcase for art and movies.”

The audience returned to the screen for the narrative feature of the day, “Boy Wonder,” preceded by a series of films submitted to the “Pitch Sacramento” film competition, short local films subject to audience voting. The winning films and prizes will be announced during the festival after-party Monday at 7:15 p.m. in the Parlare Euro Lounge.

“Boy Wonder” is an intense yet humanizing psychological thriller about a Brooklyn boy who witnesses the vicious murder of his mother. He is the comic book-inspired hero, a disciplined, straight-A student by day, a tough hero seeking revenge on his mother’s killer by night. The film, which took filmmaker Michael Morrissey roughly 10 years to complete, evokes distorted perceptions of morality and redemption.

“[Boy Wonder] held my attention up to the final twist at the end, O'Henry style,” Sacramentan Patricia Valentine said. “I loved it.”

This was exactly the reaction Morrissey predicted.

Monday’s film screenings include several social justice documentaries in honor of Martin Luther King Day, including “Lost Harmony,” “Atomic Mom” and “Sowing the Seeds of Justice.”

For the complete schedule, visit sacfilm.com.

Original "Survivor" Richard Hatch in Sacramento this weekend

2011-01-12T21:52:15Z

Richard Hatch is one of the featured interviewees in the locally produced documentary "Death or Taxes: The Sad Truth About Our American Taxation System" that will be screened as part of the Sacramento Film & Music Festival's WinterFEST this weekend. Mr. Hatch will be attending the screening in support of the film and a question and answer session with the filmmakers will follow the screening.

About the film - from the producers:
With a run time of 78 minutes, Death or Taxes takes a hard look at the horrifying realities faced by the millions of taxpayers who owe back taxes, many of whom are forced to make life-changing decisions. Should they pay their rent or pay their back taxes? Put food on the table or pay the often exorbitant fines issued by IRS agents in the name of Uncle Sam? Death or Taxes tells the story of the good, honest people who get caught in IRS quicksand—some of whom are pushed beyond hope into the last decision they’ll ever make.

About Mr. Hatch:
Richard Hatch is best known for winning the first ever season of Survivor. Following his success on the reality television show and his $1,000,000 prize, Richard worked with attorneys and accountants to determine his tax obligations for the prize money. In spite of his best efforts, Richard was accused and convicted of tax evasion. Richard served 52 months in federal prison, 4 months spent in solitary confinement, without ever having been assessed a tax debt. Richard’s ongoing battle with the tax and legal systems continue today, as Richard works to clear his name, and come to a settlement with the IRS.

Death or Taxes screens at 1:30pm on Sunday, January 16th at the Crest Theatre.

The Sacramento Film & Music Festival WinterFEST is at the Crest Theatre from Saturday, January 15th - Monday, January 17th and the full schedule, with ticketing links and links to individual film pages can be found online at www.sacfilm.com/schedule.html

See also the overview Sacramento Press article about the Festival: LINK

Disclosure: Tony Shepppard is a Festival Co-Director.

The Sacramento French Film Festival presents a "Cinema-Concert" featuring The Italian Straw Hat, a Classic Silent Comedy, with Live Music performed by the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra

2011-01-06T20:08:53Z

For the Sacramento French Film Festival, 2011 is a milestone year: one of the most acclaimed film festivals in town will celebrate its 10th year. This special anniversary will be held at the Crest Theatre on June 17-26 but the team of the SFFF has planned other events to make 2011 the year of French cinema in Sacramento and it all starts this month with a prestigious and one-of-a-kind “Cinema-Concert”, featuring a silent comedy with live orchestra.

On January 29th and 30th, The SFFF will bring to Sacramento the North-American Premiere of Un Chapeau de Paille d'Italie (An Italian Straw Hat), directed by renowned French filmmaker René Clair, with a new musical score. For this first-time event, the SFFF is collaborating with the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra. This unique partnership is good news for the local art scene, and not surprising coming from two local arts organizations recognized for their dynamism and the high quality and originality of their programs.

René Clair’s hilarious 1928 comedy, one of the most famous silent French films, will be presented with the new score written by contemporary French composer, Raymond Alessandrini. Alessandrini, who has traveled from France especially for the occasion, will conduct an orchestra of twelve principal musicians from the Sacramento Philharmonic, including an accordion player of course!

Based on a play by vaudeville playwright Eugène Labiche, An Italian Straw Hat is a highly entertaining typically French farce: Fadinard is on his way to his wedding when his horse eats the hat of a married woman who was spending time with her lover in the bushes of the bois de Vincennes... To avoid her dishonor, Fadinard must find the very same rare hat, made out of straw from Italy. This will greatly disturb his wedding plans… for our guilty pleasure. Famous film critic Pauline Kael described An Italian Straw Hat as “One of the funniest films ever made... so expertly timed and choreographed that farce becomes ballet.”

There will be only two performances of this fun-filled event featuring a rare 35mm restored print from the French repository of film archives, the Cinémathèque Française: Saturday January 29th at 8pm, and Sunday January 30th at 2pm, at the Crest Theatre, home of the SFFF since 2003.

Tickets are on sale at tickets.com, by phone at 1-800-225-2277 or in person at the Crest Theatre. Tickets purchased at the Crest Theatre do not incur any fee.

More information can be found at www.SacramentoFrenchFilmFestival.org

Cécile Downs is the Artistic and Executive Director of the Sacramento Frnehc Film Festival.

12th annual Sacramento Film and Music Festival

2011-01-06T05:24:35Z

The Sacramento Film and Music Festival’s Winterfest will bring 31 films to the Crest Theatre over three days. The festival, now in its 12th year, is returning to its roots as a small affair after growing to as long as 10 days in the past.

The festival begins Jan. 15,

“This is truly indie film,” said festival Co-Director Tony Sheppard. “Most of the indie films you can see in movie theaters aren’t truly indie. These ones are.”

Winterfest is an all-genre, juried film festival with everything from a four-minute short film to feature-length works and documentaries.

“Most of these are things people will never have the chance to see in Sacramento again,” said Co-Director and founder Nathan Schemel. “They’re independent films people have mortgaged their houses to make, or maybe they were really high-quality senior projects in college.”

All films will be shown on the big screen at the Crest Theatre, 1013 K St., which can seat up to 975 people.

In the past, the festival has spanned as many as 10 days, but Sheppard said it got cumbersome and didn’t allow organizers to have the close contact with the filmmakers they strive for.

This year’s three-day event allows that, he said. The shorter event allows more interaction with the filmmakers.

He added that the festival “has a large diversity of programming, and there is something for everyone.”

New this year is the emphasis on social justice documentaries on Jan. 17 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“We have a reputation for bringing strong political documentaries,” Sheppard said. “We get a disproportionate number of them submitted to us, so we end up having some very strong content.”

One of the documentaries, “Sowing the Seeds of Justice,” has a local connection.

The film follows Cruz Reynoso, who was the first Hispanic justice on the California Supreme Court and is now a professor at the University of California, Davis.

“He was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown the first time around,” Sheppard said, “and we do expect that Justice Reynoso will at the screening.”

Another film with local connections is “Death or Taxes: The Sad Truth Aout our American Taxation System,” which documents the lives of people seemingly targeted by IRS agents.

“It was made by a Sacramento-based production company (SIMZ Productions), and it looks at the actions of rogue IRS agents who go after people with large back tax bills,” Sheppard said. “It doesn’t try to suggest that the IRS is evil, though.”

Fictional feature-length films are scheduled for the nights of Jan. 15 and 16.

“Boy Wonder” will show at 8 p.m. Jan. 15 and tells a story about a high-school senior who witnessed his mother’s murder at age 5 and has spent the intervening 12 years planning his vengeance.

“He ends up becoming a straight-A student by day and a vigilante by night,” Sheppard said. “It has some elements of comic book and graphic novel in it.”

The festival includes films from nine countries. The Jan. 16 evening feature comes from Italy.

“It’s called Febbre de Fieno, which means ‘hayfever,’ ” Sheppard said. “It’s a lighter, bubblier romantic comedy. It’s a fun, neat, well-done movie about a group of people who work in a store selling ’70s and ‘80s vintage memorabilia.”

The film is sponsored by Hot Italian, and Andrea Lepore, the restaurant’s creative director and development partner, said she is excited to be able to bring an Italian film to the festival this year.

“We like to be associated with modern Italy and support the local arts,” Lepore said. “We’re just excited that there’s a great film festival industry in Sacramento.”

Tickets are $10 per screening, and passes to the whole festival can be purchased for $30. Students can get discount passes to the whole program for $20.

Tickets can be purchased at the Crest Theatre box office or online at tickets.com, but Sheppard said discounts are only available at the theater.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Images one through three are stills from "Boy Wonder," "Sowing the Seeds of Justice" and"Febbre de Fieno." Image four by Brandon Darnell.

Migrant Children capture their lives through their own eyes

2010-12-24T01:43:05Z

A sunny day on the grassy playground, family gatherings around the table, an empty house, Our Lady of Guadalupe – these are just some of the vivid imagery captured by children of migrant agricultural workers temporarily living in Yolo County. Each of these photographs tells the untold story of migrant children – their fears, hopes and dreams as they migrate with their families from season to season, farm to farm.

A Través de Mis Ojos (Through My Eyes), sponsored in part by The Latino Legislative, Caucus Foundation and Spanglish Arte, is a collection of 48 intimate photographs featured from Dec. 10 through Friday at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Sacramento (CCAS). Viewers of the exhibit had the rare opportunity to experience a personal glimpse into the world of migrant children.

Most of the children in the exhibit learned about the art of photography in a class at Yolo Family Resource Center (YFRC) in Woodland.

Through the six-week program, facilitated by Neil Hollander and Natalia Deeb-Sosa, the children, most of whom never used a camera before, learned the mechanics of developing film and using 35mm cameras, which were donated by community members. Through these skills, the children were able to document aspects of their daily lives from their own perspectives. Their photographs also helped educate the community on the unique lives of farm workers

On Dec. 11, the art center held a Second Saturday reception, where they raised approximately $600 through donations, as well as through selling photographs and T-shirts. Proceeds will go toward the migrant children and their families, building YFRC services and setting up a darkroom so the children may continue producing quality photographs, such as the ones featured in "A Tráves de Mis Ojos."

According to Xico González, curator of the CCAS exhibit, “The class was such a huge success that the YFRC made a space for a small darkroom in their building.”

González first brought the idea of curating this exhibit “as a fundraiser and as an educational tool to provide the general public with an insight into the lives of farm workers.”

After past outreach experience in the Yolo County area, he decided to focus the project on the migrant community of Yolo County, specifically through the Davis Migrant Center, Dixon Migrant Center and YFRC.

“The responses have been very positive from the community towards this project, and exhibit,” González said. “People are very impressed by the children's photographs in terms of subject matter and aesthetics.”

One of the highlights of the exhibit includes an invitation to take "A Tráves de Mis Ojos" to San José State University in May 2011.

Attention all Local Sacramento Artists. We Need Your Support!

2010-12-17T07:38:11Z

My name is Aaron Myers, I am the Sacramento area director of an arts organization called RAW:natural born artists.

RAW showcases emerging/underground artists in film, fashion, music, art performing art, hair, makeup, photography and performing art. We do this on a local level through monthly multi-faceted arts showcases that showcase all of these forms of art together in one event.

I'm writing to introduce myself and RAW to you!

RAW is based in Southern California, but we currently operate in 6 cities across California and are launching in Sacramento for the first time in February! We are launching nationwide to an additional 21 cities as well.

We'll be hosting our monthly showcases at The Momo Lounge in Midtown. I'm looking for good samaritans with grassroots ways of helping us get acquainted with the city.

I wanted to send you a few things to get you acquainted with RAW as well. Below are two links to both a mini documentary (5min) and our website.

It would be great to find out more about getting the word out to Sacramento's creative community.

Thanks so much in advance.

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/RAWartistsTV#p/u/67/vua0g7X9HtY
WEBSITE: www.RAWartists.org

Tollywood movie shoots in Sac

2010-12-08T03:13:17Z

An Indian film company spent some time in Sacramento recently shooting scenes for a love story, with Capitol Mall standing in for the streets of San Francisco and Placerville standing in for Brazil.

Wide Angle Creations is a production company based in South India, whose film industry, Tollywood, is the counterpart to North India's Bollywood.

The company came to Sacramento to work on the film "180," which features Siddharth and Priya Anand. Siddharth, who goes only by his first name, is also in Disney's first Southern Indian movie "Once Upon a Warrior."

In "180," he stars as a successful San Francisco-area doctor who falls in love, marries and encounters trials and tribulations in life.

Like many Indian movies, "180" is a musical romance. Some of the singing may have happened in Sacramento, but Kris Hemenway, a line producer for the movie, couldn't go into too much detail.

"They have done little pieces of song just about everywhere they've gone," Hemenway said Tuesday.

Scenes have been shot in India and Malaysia. But the film takes place mainly in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The name Tollywood is said to predate Bollywood and was reportedly coined in 1932 by an American engineer who introduced talkies to India. “Tollywood” was his name for the budding film industry located in Tollygunge, a suburb of Calcutta or Kolkata in West Bengal.

In the same way that Kolkata is exotic to U.S. residents, California is mysterious and alluring to those living in India.

In addition to the Bay Area, other Northern California cities and the region’s natural beauty are also highlighted, from honeymoon scenes shot in South Lake Tahoe to rescue scenes shot on the American River in Coloma.

"We're kind of their exotic locations," Hemenway said. "They shot from San Francisco to South Lake Tahoe and probably got (some of the most) beautiful places on the planet."

The movie is set for release early next year in Tamil, Telugu and English in theaters in India and the United States.

Sacramento's Capitol Mall plays a pivotal role at the start of the movie. On Nov. 28, a quiet Sunday after Thanksgiving, Sacramento Police closed down the entire mall and the crew set up wrecked cars and police cars for a car accident scene where the movie's lead woman meets the doctor she later marries.

The accident allegedly takes place in San Francisco, and the Emerald Tower at 300 Capitol Mall doubles as the woman's workplace. The director really liked the look of Capitol Mall and the striking fall colors there, Hemenway said.

The production company chose to shoot some scenes in Sacramento and El Dorado County because of the locations themselves and because the people here are so friendly, Hemenway said.

"Sacramento PD - they are phenomenal," said Lucy Steffens, head of the Sacramento Film Commission. "They are one of our best resources when it comes to filming."

At least 50 to 70 extras were used here. Cast and crew returned to Sacramento last Saturday to shoot scenes in the Old City Cemetery. Cast and crew dined in Target's parking lot. The director worked hard to keep nearly 40 Sacramento County Jail inmates and their orange jumpsuits out of camera range while they worked in the cemetery, Steffens said.

Many scenes were shot throughout El Dorado County. Various locations there have appeared in dozens of movies, including a river scene in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom." The area has stood in for more exotic locations at other times as well, with Highway 50 posing as Europe's Autobahn in car commercials and Placerville depicted as Japan in "Memoirs of a Geisha," said Kathleen Dodge, executive director of the El Dorado Lake Tahoe Film & Media Office.

Placerville was a strong candidate for location shooting for the recent movie "Knight and Day" starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, but the crew shot those scenes in the Los Angeles area instead, Dodge said.

So perhaps it's not such a stretch to hear that historic downtown Placerville is playing Brazil in "180." Other scenes were shot in a private home, Chuck's Restaurant in Placerville, El Dorado Hills Town Center and more.

"We're all complaining about how our money's leaving the country," Dodge said. "Here's a situation where we're bringing money in from another country. It doesn't get any better than that."

Photo of Old City Cemetery by Chris Fryer. Photo of 300 Capitol Mall by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Award-Winning Screenwriter Opens New Slate of Classes

2010-11-10T02:40:03Z

Have you ever fantasized about writing a screenplay? One that could knock the socks off of viewers and critics alike? In award-winning screenwriter Gary Weinberg’s latest round of classes, you might be able to do just that. Experiencing the “Hollywood” dream in Sacramento has rarely been so attainable since Weinberg has expanded his popular two-class screenwriting series into a three-course comprehensive curriculum. And he’s done so on the heels of winning one of Hollywood’s most prestigious screenwriting competitions.

Continuing the tradition he began at the Tangent Art Gallery back in May, Weinberg will again offer Screenwriting 101: A Four-Hour Introduction to the Art and Business of Screenwriting on November 20th from 1 to 5pm. The class is an overview of the screenwriting process, teaching students the basics of screenplay format and structure, plot and character development, how to write great dialogue, and tips on getting a script seen. As Aaron Cheeseman of Curtis Park says, “I really enjoyed Gary’s workshop. And I’m looking forward to the more in-depth series!” Screenwriting 101 is designed to give students an overview of the screenwriting process that is covered more thoroughly in Weinberg’s second class.

Write Your Screenplay: An Eight-Week Program is that second class. Now in its third installment, Write Your Screenplay begins Tuesday, November 30th from 7:00 to 9:30pm. The goal of this class is for each student to end the course having completed the first draft of his screenplay or teleplay. The class will expand in great detail on the concepts presented in Screenwriting 101. The unique format divides the course in half. The first four classes run consecutively, while the following four classes run every other week. This intentional week off allows students the time in between classes to finish writing their scripts. According to Tonya Nash of Folsom, “Gary's screenwriting class has been a wonderful experience, opening up a whole creative outlet for me that I never really knew existed. I would definitely recommend the class to both novice and seasoned writers... Wow! Now I can say that I actually consider myself a writer!”

Advanced Screenwriting: The Next Step is Weinberg’s newest offering. Part workshop, part critical analysis, Advanced Screenwriting offers the more experienced writer a platform for perfecting his or her screenplay. The class is open to any students who have taken Weinberg’s eight-week course and need some additional, ongoing help or guidance, or who would like to hear some of their scenes read out loud. Students will bring short excerpts from their screenplays for just this purpose, and, as a group, will read aloud, analyze and critique what has been read--all under the careful guidance of Weinberg.

“It’s a drop-in workshop,” explains Weinberg. “People can just come by whenever they’re stuck on an important scene, or want to hear how their dialogue sounds at a pivotal moment. At the very least, it offers an ongoing, supportive environment you can work your craft in. A lot of us, especially with our busy lives, need that extra motivation.”

Advanced Screenwriting: The Next Step begins Saturday, December 4th, and will continue on a weekly basis from that date. In addition to Weinberg’s former students, those who can demonstrate that they are facile in the screenwriting form and have completed a screenplay are also welcome to join in.

As far as Weinberg knows, there is nothing like his slate of classes offered in the Sacramento area. “These classes are really like three separate rungs on a ladder. Each step moves aspiring screenwriters from the early stages of the learning process to the completion of the first draft of their screenplay or teleplay and beyond, as they begin to hone and perfect their work. That’s an ongoing process, and I’m there to help and guide my students all the way through it.”

His students certainly appreciate his mentorship. As John M. of Land Park states, “Gary has been an incredible resource to help turn a concept into a real screenplay. We’re lucky to have someone with his experience.”

In addition to helping shape the work of others, Weinberg has also received recent attention for his own. He recently won the fall 2010 Scriptapalooza International Television Writing Competition for his original television pilot entitled The Asylum. The Asylum is an edgy comedy about a group of misfit salesmen--“closers”--in breakneck pursuit of the American Dream, one phone call at a time.
Winners of the Scriptapalooza competition receive not only cash awards but the chance to have their scripts considered by top Los Angeles and New York literary agents, managers, producers and directors. Scriptapalooza is one of the few Hollywood screenwriting competitions that have catapulted many a writer to fame, including the creator of Rugrats, Scott Gray.

In addition to his Scriptapalooza score, Weinberg has also written scripts for other production companies, including Ninja Nun for Cimero Productions and Magical Planet for Bloom From Within Productions. Weinberg, also an accomplished musician and songwriter, is currently finishing work on a musical entitled Whispers Over Persia for the Fairmount Performing Arts Center in Cleveland, Ohio, as well as a one-man show entitled Free-Falling in America.

Screenwriting 101, A Four-Hour Introduction to the Art and Business of Screenwriting; Write Your Screenplay: An Eight-Week Program; and Advanced Screenwriting: The Next Step are all taught at Tangent Gallery, located at 2900 Franklin Boulevard in Sacramento, on the corner of Franklin and 4th Avenue in Curtis Park.

For more information, including fees, costs and materials required please contact Gary Weinberg via e-mail at cpmaurice@hotmail.com, or call him at (818) 458-6637.

Sister and brother filmmakers work to make second film in Placerville – Utilize new fundraising site for grassroots artists

2010-11-03T17:38:43Z

Honored at film festivals nationwide, the independently produced and locally filmed “Elsa Letterseed,” has far exceeded its modest beginnings.

Gathering up no-longer-needed clothes, books and other items collecting dust in closets, Northern California sister and brother duo Sarah C. Kreutz and Paul A. Kreutz funded their first film project’s tiny budget on garage sales.

Over the course of two years, the funds needed were raised while filming took place in Placerville over three-day weekends.

“Garage sales are probably not the most conventional way to fund a film, but we were eager to get the project off the ground, and the timing was right. We had to get creative to raise money,” Sarah Kreutz said.

Six years later, the Kreutzes are gearing up to make their second film – a ghost story called “Gardner & Wells.” Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s philosophy “You can get an audience worried terribly without any violence,” Sarah Kreutz said she wants to make a “classic gothic ghost story.”

“I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that I want to see a ‘frightening’ movie, but I don’t want to see blood and gore,” Sarah Kreutz said.

As with the first film, the Kreutzes have chosen Placerville, a town with many of its own ghost stories, to be the filming site. Sarah Kreutz said independent filmmaking in the Sacramento region is unique: “People here are not jaded by movie-making. The process is still fresh and exciting to them. From acquiring locations to getting permits, most everyone is so very helpful.”

But when it comes to funding this project, the Kreutzes are going a different direction this time around. Like many grassroots artists, they are utilizing social media and the threshold-based pledge website kickstarter.com.

Kickstarter facilitates the gathering of funds to back a variety of creative arts projects through a new type of fundraising platform dubbed “crowdfunding.” The project creator determines a target minimum of funds and a deadline by which the funds must be raised. People who want to support artistic endeavors pledge whatever amount they choose.

If the project creator’s target amount is not reached by the set deadline, no money is collected or distributed. According to the Kickstarter website, the “all-or-nothing” funding approach involves less risk for everyone involved and motivates people to work to get their projects funded.

"We know there’s a chance we will run up against the deadline to fund the project, but we want to spread the word about our feature film to a large audience because we know this is a fun ghost story they'll want to see. This was the way to do that,” Sarah Kreutz said.

To date, more than 3,000 projects have been funded through Kickstarter. One example of local success: In September, Walking Spanish, a Sacramento-based independent rock band, funded its second album by raising $10,405 – 104% of its goal.

The Kreutzes need to raise $12,500 to subsidize the creation of “Gardner & Wells.” They’ve raised 91 percent of their goal and have 11 days left to raise the remaining $1,045. Their deadline is 4:56 p.m. Nov. 14.

“I grew up watching spooky movies and love watching ghost stories on a rainy afternoon, but there are very few modern stories available. I really believe there is a huge audience out there hungry for what we want to give them: a classic gothic ghost story,” Sarah Kreutz said.

For more information on “Gardner & Wells,” click here. To learn more about Kickstarter, visit kickstarter.com.

Sacramento Horror Film Festival

2010-10-28T06:44:20Z

Pouring rain came down for most of the day on Sunday making it the wettest day of this year’s Fall season. What better way to spend the day than watching horror flicks with a theatre full of horror movie aficionados?

The Sacramento Horror Film Festival started on Thursday October 21 and continued until Sunday October 24. Long movies, shorts, animation and live (or dead) performances all contributed to a great weekend showcasing over 50 independent horror films. Serving as emcee was Blake Reigle a very knowledgeable film guru. Reigle also has TV and film credits as well as producer in his resume. This U.S.C. film school graduate has admirable interviewing skills that were quite evident during introduction and summation of each block of shorts, Q and A sessions, and performances. He introduced each segment and at every chance thanked the sponsors of the event.

(Blake Reigle and Tim Meunier about to present a Slashy Award)

Feverishly working behind the scenes was Tim Meunier, Founder and Director of the Sacramento Horror Film Festival. Much credit goes to Tim who keeps putting together great shows at the historic Colonial Theatre. Sacramento is indeed fortunate to have someone like Tim deliver outstanding entertainment programs in Sacramento and has, as Blake Reigle noted a few times during the show, made Sacramento the Horror capital.

The first set of films that I watched, on Sunday, was Shorts Program 5. Five short films made up this part of the program. The first film entitled Wick was written and directed by Micah Gallo starring Elinor Price. The film started with a flashback to what appeared to be a hospital where the patient was receiving electric shock therapy. The main character, played by Elinor, went in and out of consciousness and had flashbacks that revealed a horrific past. During one of the flashbacks she takes us back to a Christmas past. During this recollection we find our heroine trying to remember what happened and the turbulent past that led to her current state. We are also introduced to the diabolical music box that causes her nightmares to come to life.

The scenes were very vivid, crisp and sharp. The crackling of fire popping while it flared was clear and visually the scenes came to life. The horror special effects tried to make an impact on the audience and they worked. The main character in the story, played by Elinor Price gave personality to the character. During the short movie section the viewer needs to make various assumptions to fill in gaps during the stories. Flashbacks served to capture much of the anticipated or missing scenes.

Micah Gallo and Spooky Dan went on stage to answer questions. Blake noted that the two are Angelinos like himself. They hope to get funding to complete a full feature length film and are relying on shows like this to develop a fan base and eventually get enough capital to go forward with their project. Independent film festivals are a way for new directors and writers to establish themselves and develop their talents and dreams.

When asked about the Wick project and how it got started, “The genesis or storyline for the short is formed from dreams and nightmares” Spooky Dan said and relayed that they wanted to expand on this and told Micah, “dude let’s do something, let’s make it happen! Micah raised all the money and got it moving forward instead of waiting. We could have been waiting forever” said Spooky and as such the project was begun. The three guys on stage continued to talk about the site, Buena Vista Hospital, which lies just outside of Los Angeles. It’s an abandoned site and has unique gothic characteristics that have made it a favorite shooting location site for many movies. They started with a modest production budget ($30,000) but Blake noted that it was comparable to a multi-million dollar production. Currently there is a plan to secure funding to make this a full feature film.

Blake went on to present Micah and Spooky an award. “On behalf of the 2010 Sacramento Horror Film Fest we are pleased to present a Slashy award for best director and best cinematography for the best short”. This was the first award I witnessed at the event. The winners gave short thanks to the Sacramento audience thanking them “for coming and letting the world know they got a Slashy award and coming in the rain, you’re the best!”

(Spooky and Micah)

Telemurder, directed by Jim Andre, told the story of a marketing company where 3 salesmen are competing for a cash award to see who can get the most pledges. Two of the 3 get along while the main character Chris Butz is the odd man out. This character, Chris, comes off as a creepy guy telemarketer who has a hard time securing pledges and gets a call list full of hard to deal with people. This was another short that was well conceived and had a story line that could go beyond the scope of this short film. It turns out there are plans to go feature film with this short if funds are secured.

Character development starts as the film begins. Three men sit in the break room talking about their weekend. The two sales people that get along talk about TP and get a great chuckle out of that. The character Chris just listens and tries to fit in while playing with chewed gum stuck under a table top he sits at. This character building process has a two-fold effect; one is sympathy while the other just comes out making Chris come off as a creepy person. The audience appeared to have enjoyed the film specially the ending.

Duane Jefferson, the writer, flew in from Chicago for the Horror Fest and took advantage to visit with his sister who lives in Sacramento. He gave great insight into the characters and what it takes to make a movie short such as his. He too is looking for funding to develop a full length feature film.

Duane has worked as a telemarketer and drew from personal experience for this film. He indicated this came from friend’s idea. Blake asked, “Did you write this recently?” Duane answered, “Yeah. I've been writing scripts for a long time. I have a buddy that came up with the idea and I just started writing.” We learned that writing the story did not take very long at all. There are plans for a feature film version.

Jefferson talked a little about the gum scene and indicated there was talk about using a bugger rather than the gum but he stepped in and settled with the gum. “Besides” he said “the bugger was not part of the budget”.

All the films during the shorts sections were very well conceived and presented and, in my opinion, most would make great future length adaptations. In order for many of these writers, directors and producers to secure funding they start off by creating these type of short films and then move to full feature presentations. It is also a great way for many behind the cameras to develop skills in the film industry. The audiences, for the most part, are small in number but it’s a great start to see the audience reception. Many in the audience also deserve credit as they blog and write about some films they see. Fear Net was one of the sponsors and perhaps that will be a way to get exposure to a wider audience while at the same time Fear Net could develop a following for showcasing these short or independent films.

Federico D’Allessandro directed Recollection a suspenseful thriller with a twist ending. The film starts off with the main character lying in a shallow gravesite. As he awakens he notices blood is trickling down from his head. While trying to recuperate he has flashbacks to a time where events that led to his current predicament take place.

As he tries to clear his head he hears some noises and moves to a house to investigate. A man holding a bloody axe walks out of the house. The main character, a man with no name, sneaks into the house to find a woman who has had her eyes removed and is bandaged and gagged. He tries to help her out of the house and eventually the guy with the axe returns and a fight breaks out in suspenseful fashion. Later it appears that the woman and the main character will be leaving the house to get help when the woman indicates that her boyfriend is still in the house. The main character had run into another captured man earlier and believes that he is probably the woman’s boyfriend. As he returns to the house he discovers some photographs hanging on the wall that make him go back in time to recollect events leading to this current situation. As he begins to recollect the event he discovers the truth while examining the photographs putting a suspenseful twist to the story line. The story line in this movie short seems to be waiting for sponsors and, to me, seems like a good sell. This movie short is well worth finding and viewing.

Eyes Beyond, the fourth film in the series goes into the gruesome category while at the same time coming off as a cleverly thought of story. Directed by Daniel Reininghaus this film deals with neighbors in a suburban setting. The Morales brothers have moved into the neighborhood and the Rogers neighbors decide to go over and introduce themselves. They bring a welcome to the neighborhood gift; a set of knives on a block. Although you may be able to tell what might happen in the short movie when a horror story starts off with a housewarming gift such as this. However the twists and turns in the movie move from one unexpected chapter to another.

The Curse of Micah Rood, directed by Alex Asten, is a well done period film starting Ron Palillo of Horshack fame (Welcome Back Kotter) giving a stellar performance in the film. The film is based on a legend from Norwich, Connecticut and a certain type of apple produced in the area. Micah Rood is a farmer that produces a most delicious type of apple that the townspeople love but Micah does not sell much to them. He believes the people of town come to his orchard and steal his delicious apples. He believes in taking only what he needs.

A peddler comes by and asks for lodging. While at the Rood orchard the peddler tries to secure a deal with Micah to sell his apples either in exchange for merchandize or coin. Micah thinks about it but during the night some apples are taken from his bins and thinks the peddler has stolen them.

The story continues with the peddler asking Micah “What dreams do you cultivate sir?” “My dreams are dead”, Micah answers and thinks about his family that is buried in the orchard. Eventually the blood of his loved ones and the peddler contribute to the producing of a kind of apple that when cut exhibits a red spot in the core. The curse of his deeds contributes to the legend regarding a certain type of apple produced in the area. The story, directing, casting and acting, in my opinion, were superb reminding me of the Legend of Sleepy Hallow.

Daniel, directed by Alain Furcajg, Fair Oaks Blvd., a local production directed by Bernardo Argueta, Limikkin Ranch, directed by Corbin Billings and Duty of the Living directed by Brandon Hunt comprised the Shorts Program 6 of the evening. All were just as good as the previous Shorts Program 5 and representatives from a couple of the films were available for the Question and Answer period.

The 2010 SHFF Film Challenge entitled The Monster had 4 entries in the competition. Dark Intention, Directed by Clint Quillin, is a story about 3 friends who partake in a drug party and the consequences of that gathering. It deals with a spiritual journey taken by the drug induced party and their experience with the hallucegenetic

Intervention was a comedy directed by Zachary Barnes and Alicia Newman about 4 monsters; Frankenstein, the Wolf man, the Mummy, and Dracula. 3 of the friends get together to secure intervention for Dracula who has taken to improve his image by tanning and working on his wardrobe and other outward appearances. It was a delightful change from previous films.

Mask of Evil directed by Mei Emery and Jeffrey C. Vanacore dealt with Sadomasochism and the pleasures of a couple that get out of control while living the yuppie lifestyle. 5250 Directed by Kime, Hyden, and Cirak dealt with a psychotic, John Doe, patient number 5250 and the treatment he goes through. Trying not to cross the doctor patient taboo relationship both doctor and patient need to walk a fine line.

With the Film Challenge, directors had to work within a box to ensure the film followed certain rules. It had to work with 3 themes; a monster, consequence and taboo. The cast had to be no more than 5 people. It was to have an original poem or quote and 3 props; a dog leash, a finger puppet, and helium inflatable balloons. The challenge had to have rules because without rules it would be chaos.

The audience voted and the votes were tabulated for the Audience Award and the Slashy Award went to 5250. Hyden graciously accepted the award.

(Slashy Presentation for Audience Award)

The Judges Award which also carried a $500 award besides the Slashy went to Mask of Evil. Mei Emery accepted the award.

(Slashy Presentation for Judge's Award)

Two live acts followed the award presentations. Jeslen Mishelle, actor, model, dance and performer came on stage to perform a piece entitled You Lied. Her performance incorporated theatre, dance, exotic and horror scenes that were visually stimulating. Jeslen performed throughout the Film Festival and this was her final act. Studio 42 provided the live sound production, lighting and video for Jeslen's and all other presentations.

The last live performance of the evening was Forsaken a dance performance choreographed by Elisabeth Evans. It reminded me of a music video and I hope somebody filmed the performance and make it available. Eye candy came to mind. This was a great live performance and after the performance Tim Meunier was presented with a bouquet of flowers by the cast showing their appreciation for all his work. Indeed without Meunier’s efforts these types of venues would not be available in Sacramento.

I missed the black and white classic productions of Dracula and Bride of Frankenstein. I have previously seen both films on the big screen and would highly recommend them. This might have been the only time these two horror classics will be on the big screen together.

The evening, in my opinion, was a great success and it will return next year. I’ve only touched on part of one day of the Sacramento Horror Film Festival. Other great films and live performances, commentary and behind the scenes commentary made the event that much more enjoyable.

Photos:

Question and Answer 1 - Wick, 2 - Telemurder

3 -The Curse of Micah Rood, 4 - Spooky and Micah, Slashy Winners

5 - Slashy Audience Award Winners, 6 to 8 - 2010 SHFF Film Challenge Contestants

9 - Jeslen Mishelle, 10 to 11 - Forsaken, Elisabeth Evans Choreographer

12 - Colonial Theatre

Sac Film & Music Fest: New dates and a new "Pitch Sacramento" competition

2010-10-21T09:02:55Z

Sacramento Film & Music Festival
New dates and “Pitch Sacramento” filmmaking competition for 2011

For the past 11 years, the Sacramento Film & Music Festival has screened the best indie films from around the country and the world. And for the past 7 years, it has established a reputation for local filmmaking competitions, with approx. 150 music videos made for the Sac Music Seen program and 100 short films made for the 10x10 Filmmaker Challenge.

For 2011, the Festival is making two major changes: A split into two separate seasonal events and a new competition for local filmmakers.
Rather than continue as a 10-day Summer Festival, the 12th year for the Sacramento Film & Music Festival will be presented as a shorter “Winterfest” in January and a complementary “Summerfest” in August. This better serves audiences and filmmakers by avoiding the daunting 10-day schedule and continues to provide the programming opportunities for the same quantity of exceptional films, including the popular student film category, with continuing sponsorship from Sony Creative Software. The dates for the first Winterfest program are January 15th-17th, 2011 at the historic Crest Theatre in downtown Sacramento.

The 10x10 Filmmaker Challenge will continue as a Summer program at the Summerfest, and Sac Music Seen will be join the Winterfest program in 2012. But for Winterfest 2011, a special filmmaking competition “Pitch Sacramento” will help promote Sacramento as a filmmaking community and destination.

During Mayor Johnson’s Arts Initiative discussions, a recurring theme emerged in the need to spread the word about Sacramento as a great place to both shoot films and to be a part of the thriving film, video, and television arts community. With that in mind, the Sacramento Film & Music Festival is calling for short films of no more than five minutes that promote that message for its “Pitch Sacramento” competition. It is expected that these will be of an informative and factual nature, expounding on the locations, resources, cast and crew talent, and opportunities that Sacramento has to offer filmmakers.

Completed films will be accepted through December 31st on miniDV or DVD (two copies: both a data disc and a playable disc) with alternate formats to be approved in advance with the Festival directors. Cash prizes will be awarded to at least the top two films, with a prize of at least $500 being given to the first place winner. Cash prizes funding has generously be provided by the Capital Film Arts Alliance and the Crest Theatre. If more funding is forthcoming, the cash prize pool will be increased. Completed films will be screened during the 2011 Winterfest (if more than 24 completed films are submitted, the festival directors reserve the right to screen only the best 24 entries). There are neither submission fees nor complimentary tickets associated with submitted films for this competition.

Contacts:
For alternate formatting and submission questions: Festival Co-Director Nathan Schemel – nschemel@aol.com
For other questions: Festival Co-Director Tony Sheppard – tony@csus.edu

Completed films must be accompanied by the following information:
Name of primary contact person;
Contact information to include phone and email contacts;
Title of project;
Total running time (not to exceed 5 minutes);
A short statement from the film’s primary producer stating that the film does not contain any offensive or legally protected content;
A short statement granting permission to the Festival to screen the film.
Completed films should include a single credit at the end (in addition to any other credits) that states “Produced for the Sacramento Film & Music Festival’s Pitch Sacramento Program.”

Films should be sent to:
Sacramento Film and Music Festival
10445 Ambassador Dr.
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670

Film Industry "Boot Camp" with award-winning Producer

2010-10-12T04:28:01Z

Film studio heads rarely make general public appearances, let alone teach. Larry Meistrich, head of Nehst Studios and producer of the Oscar winner Sling Blade, turns that concept on its head!

Coming to Sacramento October 15,16 & 17, Meistrich presents the acclaimed, weekend-long Aspiring Filmmakers Boot Camp so those interested in film careers can get the rare opportunity of educatation and interaction with a film industry leader who is running a film financing, production and distribution company in today’s entertainment world. At the boot camp Meistrich shares a lifetime of insights, knowledge and powerful tips to help successfully navigate the film business – whether as a writer, director, producer, actor or other interest. Attendees will emerge changed and ready to tackle the film world, armed with the know-how, motivation and tactics to succeed.

Film Boot Camp attendees will:
* Learn the necessary steps and secrets to successfully produce a feature film or series.
* Understand the business side of filmmaking - including financing, packaging, marketing & distribution.
* Get an unprecedented opportunity to learn to pitch scripts & ideas, with an opportunity to make a deal.
* Have an open forum of communication to an industry leader for 3 days.

Filmmakers can learn the skills of their craft in a variety of places - but the only way to learn to enter and navigate the business is from someone who has done it successfully – and who continues to do it. Larry, known for his no-bull, take-no-prisoners approach to teaching, will equip you to swim with the sharks, dive for treasure, and come back alive to talk about it. At the same time, attendees receive valuable access and personal interaction with Larry for the entire 3 days in a comfortable and casual atmosphere – so all questions can be asked and nothing is off the table. Attendees will come out of this camp changed and ready to tackle a variety of film careers, armed with the know-how, motivation and tactics to succeed. Spending an intensive weekend with Larry, learning the thinking process and tools you need to succeed in the complex and competitive film business – attendees will learn to produce a feature film or TV series from beginning to end - securing the script to financing to distribution, and the highlight of the weekend is a pitch session on Sunday where attendees will learn how to pitch scripts, ideas and TV show concepts, and then have a chance to pitch ideas in a safe, comfortable environment - where there is an actual opportunity to make a deal with Meistrich’s company.

Boot camps have already been the source of successful talent ‘finds’. Michael and Daniel Carberry, 19, attended a recent boot camp, showed their reel, and were hired to direct Nehst's national series for Mountain Dew. Kevin Kerwin and Kate O'Neil were‘discovered’ at a recent boot camp and Nehst hired them to direct and produce the feature length documentary "Running America", now in distribution.

Larry Meistrich launched Nehst Studios at Cannes in 2007, creating a cutting-edge film financing, production and distribution company that integrates entertainment with today’s technology. Nehst has offices across the country and a production studio in Cleveland, Ohio - with several films in various stages of development, production and distribution and is always looking for the next great idea or talent! Current films in production include “Lilith”, “Strangeland II: Disciple”, “The Kid Who Only Hit Homers” and more.

In addition:
* Meistrich has produced more than 100 films, commercials and music videos including the Academy Award® winning Sling Blade, the Academy Award® nominated You Can Count on Me, Henry Fool - winner of the Best Screenplay award at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, Croupier, and New Jersey Drive.
* His pictures have won the gamut of international awards including Golden Globes, SAG and DGA Awards, Top Five category awards at Cannes, Sundance and Berlin.
* Meistrich has taught master classes at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, University of Miami, Syracuse University – Newhouse School, and University of Austin; and has been a guest speaker at the Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, Berlin and New York Film Festivals, as well as Sacramento's own Film and Music Festival.

Details: The Aspiring Filmmakers Boot Camp is co-sponsored by The Art Institute of Sacramento and the Capital Film Arts Alliance, and will be held in Sacramento on October 15-17, 2010 at the Art Institute campus, located at 2850 Gateway Oaks Dr., Sacramento CA 95833. The cost to attend the 3-day film boot camp seminar is $395 for general public, $300 for CFAA or other film organization members, or only $150 for students or military active or veterans (contact us by phone at 916-600-6477 or email info@nehst.com for specific discount codes). Because of the small group format, seating is limited – so reserve your seat today. For more information or to register, visit: www.filmboot.com

AND – Friday Oct 15th is the opening night for the boot camp and is open to the public at no charge, featuring a discussion on the state of the film industry with Larry Meistrich. All are welcome as Meistrich presents ‘Successful Filmmaking in the 21st Century’ - at the Art Institute of Sacramento. So for all who want to know more about this exciting industry and how to position themselves for success, this is the chance you’ve been waiting for.

Photos:
1) Larry Meistrich, Tony Sheppard, Joe Carnahan at the last Sacramento Aspiring Filmmakers Boot Camp
2) Larry Meistrich takes questions from Jonathan Kieffer at the 8th Annual Sacramento Film and Music Festival, at the Crest Theatre, August 2007.

Sacramento International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival

2010-10-11T18:38:29Z

The Sacramento International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (SIGLFF), held at the Crest Theatre, had a successful run during the weekend. Three nights of showcase short and full length movies were shown and were well received.

Each evening started with a VIP reception with Zócalo providing hors d’oeuvres. Barefoot Winery provided a station for wine, champagne, and other drinks. Informational stations were set up in the lobby entrance.

Tina Stidman, Vice President of the Sacramento Valley Veterans (SVV) and other volunteers were on hand to promote the fight to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. The SVV co-presented A Marine Story at the festival. Stidman also introduced me to the co-star Paris Pickard who was in attendance. Pickard’s presence and availability before and after the show only furthered to promote the movie. Paris’ demeanor and availability allowed the audience to ask any questions during a question and answer period after the showing of the featured film.

Dawn D. Deason, President of SIGLFF, feverishly worked at the Crest ensuring things were set up for the VIP sessions as well as introducing the films for each show. Dawn has produced and edited stories for NBC Nightly News, BBC World Service and other networks. She also has international experience and has impressive credentials well suited to run an event such as this.

The theatre was filled to near capacity each evening. Many who came to the show visited the booths that were set up and mingled until just about show time.

On the evening I attended there were 3 short films followed by A Marine Story. A Calling Card, directed by Jennifer Hatton, was a short film shot in Sacramento. You can see Headhunters in the background as well as other familiar Midtown sites during the film. The film’s focus is on the “calling card” left by the touch of butch or femme hands. Hatton was on the stage during the question and answer period after the show. The Sacramento film maker is looking forward to other projects and it’s great to see local film makers exhibit their art at festivals similar to the SIGLFF.

Chained, directed by Betsy Kalin, explored the use of wallet chains, and touched on the history and background and how they’re used within different groups. Bikers, surfers, dykes, and teens in America are fans of wallet chains. Interviews with owners of wallet chains gave insight as to how these individuals came to own one (or more). Kalin’s, film was humorous and informative.

A short German film, Frischluft Therapie (Fresh Air Therapy), was very cleverly done. The film, directed by Christoph Scheeman, deals with a lesbian relationship focusing on a session with their counselor. I won’t give the story away but the title gives a glimpse to this wonderfully made short film.

The feature film of Friday’s showings was A Marine Story, a film directed by Ned Farr. It’s a film that takes a stand against the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and its effects on gays and lesbians serving our country. Alex Everett, played by Dreya Weber, gives a stellar performance in this film.

As a strong Marine, Alex, has had a terrific record and shows superior leadership but has seen promotions slow to come. She is eventually discharged for receiving suspect, lesbian, e-mails, and returns to her hometown. As the film opens and Alex is making her way home she encounters a girl by the name of Saffron (Paris Pickard) during a botched armed robbery at a local store. As the story unfolds Alex is later asked to help the teenage Saffron to keep her out of jail.

The film deals with the constant struggles many gays and lesbians deal with and the pressure society puts upon them. Thousands of men and women in U.S. military uniforms are affected by the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy and the film explores some issues encountered by our service personnel.

The film touches on the roles that society puts on the gay and lesbian community in their personal lives and how people deal with their own struggles or those of their family and friends. The film includes great scenery shots and transitions that quickly move from flashback to present day. The casting and acting were excellent and the storyline was thought provoking. It seems incredible what many service personnel have to endure while serving in the armed forces. More incredible is the fact that many have dealt with dismissal, as in A Marine Story, for behavior unbecoming an officer.

There are a few lines thorough the movie that seem funny in nature but are clever innuendos. Many were uttered by Alex. “I wish ignorance was painful” was the most memorable. Another line that stayed in my mind was “Failure is not getting knocked down it is staying down”. Marines don’t cry was another line mentioned, “They don’t cry but at times their eyes do sweat”. Alex’s persona is that of a strong person with great motivation and leadership skills whose life, up to her dismissal, was the Marine Corps. Alex’s struggles back home are everyday occurrences in our society. This is a must see film as it relates to society, our armed forces, and the struggles of the oppressed.

Some of the festival's films touched on the subject of rights; basic human rights. Some were inspirational and most were educational. Next year’s SIGLFF will celebrate a milestone it will be their 20th anniversary.

Photos:

1 - VIP guests, 2 - Zócalo table, 3 - Scott at the Equality Action Now table

4 - Sacramento Valley Veterans table

5 - Paris Pickard, 6 - Paris Pickard and Dawn Deason

7 - Charlie, Ray, Larry, Tina, Thom, Michael from SVV

8 to 12 - Q&A after showing

The Big Lebowski Comes to Marilyn's on K

2010-10-04T01:40:48Z

The Dude abides. Twelve years after cult classic "The Big Lebowski" starring Jeff Bridges and John Goodman hit theaters, fans are still celebrating the film’s unpredictable and sometimes confusing plot, startling brute violence and hysterical, expletive-riddled dialogue, prime for quoting. Marilyn’s on K Street hosted The Big Lebowski Fiesta Friday night for these fans, and the White Russians and robes were suitably flowing.

Marilyn’s deserves some party-throwing props. The costume contest brought all the favorite Big L characters to life: the White Russian won for best female costume, and The Jesus won the male competition. The cute female in the short furry white dress and high-heeled boots won the best-of title, but not without a dispute. Jesus supporters chanted his name as the skin-tight purple sweat-suited character raised his bowling ball in triumph and pumped his pelvis in time.

One of the major factors in the longevity of the film’s popularity is its distinctly eclectic, “Dude-like” soundtrack. After the 8 o’clock showing, local bands The Nuance and Walking Spanish (almost unrecognizably disguised as the movie band The Autobahns) entertained the audience with covers from the soundtrack, including Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan and The Eagles. Walking Spanish didn’t disappoint with their rendition of Kenny Rogers' psychedelic gem, “Just Dropped In (to See What Condition My Condition Was In)." Just a short sound test immediately following the movie was all that was needed, and the Autobahns had the joint jumping.

I wasn’t able to stay for all of The Nuance’s set, but it was nice to see our friend Larry from Old Ironsides’ open mic in a new light, playing bass and singing backup. Musically, both groups were tight. Nuance had a wider variety of songs, but Walking Spanish had the verve and energy of a younger band, despite performing a style of music not normally on their set list. Front man Alex Nelson bookended his smooth, reedy vocals with quotes from the movie as if he had auditioned for every part. However, the drummer looked a little bored with his duties, while keyboardist Chris Haislet was having so much fun his head was whipping around like a sprung jack-in-the-box. Overall they’re fresh, imposing young performers that I definitely want to see again, sans the shirt-and-tie outfits and slicked back hair.

Real White Russians were a steal at $5.50 for a generous single, and $10 for a double. Wii bowling was set up for free play, and anyone who wasn’t sashaying around in a dirty robe and flip-flops was dancing or nailing virtual strikes. Tickets were $10 at the door.

Marilyn’s threw a party worthy of The Big Lebowski. But that’s, just, like, my opinion, man.

Sleepaway Camp: The Musical

2010-09-09T20:45:16Z

Sleepaway Camp: The Musical

Amongst Sacramento’s varied, thriving, and disparate art scenes are large and passionate audiences for both live theater and the trashiest of trash films. Finally, those two audiences can co-exist, and pairs of significant others with significantly different tastes can find a mutually satisfactory outlet in Sleepaway Camp: The Musical.

Officially entry #62 (or rather LXII) in the hit midtown cabaret series Graham-A-Rama, this is a new and original musical adaptation for the stage of the campy and bloody 1983 film that spawned five sequels, Sleepaway Camp. I had the opportunity to sit in on one of the final rehearsals (OMG: ROTFLMAO!) and to bounce a few impromptu questions off the exhaustedly dazed and confused (another potential musical?) creative team: Rob Bean, Freddy Molitch and Andrew Heringer (the twisted trio who adapted and musicalized Robert Hiltzik’s original film screenplay), and Graham Sobelman (producer, music director, and the Graham of the fabulously narcissistically titled Graham-A-Rama).

Q: How did all this start – Why Sleepaway Camp?

Freddy:
The whole Sleepaway thing started really when Rob, Andrew and I were on the staff at a summer camp together. Out of the three of us I am the biggest horror movie fan, so every year I would bring weird movies for the staff to watch after the campers had gone to sleep. Sleepaway Camp has always been one of my favorite movies so I couldn't wait to show it to them AT a summer camp. I brought it back to camp every summer to watch and pretty early on I was trying to convince Rob and Andrew that it would make an incredible musical. One night they jokingly started to riff on a love song sung to the main character Angela and it snowballed into a really great song. We tidied it up a bit and it was that moment that really convinced all of us that it could actually be done.

Watching Sleepaway Camp I always felt that it had such rich and bizarre subtext which made it into almost a Greek-level tragedy if you actually focus on why these characters do what they do. At first glance it seems like some of the actions in the movie are unexplainable but once you dig deep into the story you see that these people have twisted and passionate reasons for falling in love, killing or just acting almost cartoonish.

Rob (clarifying the timeline):
Freddy and I starting creating theatre pieces together in 1997 when we met in college in Seattle (Cornish College of the Arts). In 1999 we met Andrew because he was one of our students at a fine arts camp in El Dorado County, where Freddy and I were teaching theatre.... Andrew started teaching with us in 2002 and we've been a team ever since.

Andrew:
Freddy brought the film version of Sleepaway Camp one year for a group of to watch as it really is one of his favorite movies ever. Definitely a "so bad its good" type of movie. At some point we started joking about the concept of Sleepaway Camp as a musical - with absolutely no intention of making a full length musical. I remember grabbing my guitar and playing with the song that is now "Angela" coming up with ridiculous lyrics which slowly morphed into real lyrics that we actually enjoyed which in turn morphed into us writing more and more songs.

Q: What were each of your roles in as the project developed?

Freddy:
During work on the piece Rob was getting his Master's Degree in Theatre Management, so he started to work more on the business side of the production, I took a little more of the text and Andrew was our musical genius, though we all worked in little was on every aspect of it. Fairly early on Rob contacted the original writer/director of the movie Robert Hiltzik and he seems very excited and supportive about a musical based on his work.

Rob and I had gone to Cornish College of the Arts together, both studying Directing and Playwriting and at one point Andrew was one of our theatre students at summer camp. Those two are more fans of musicals where I am more the horror movie guy so we really worked toward a balance to please fans of either genre. For a while, teaching at camp was one of the only times that we could get together and work on Sleepaway Camp since I live in Seattle, Rob was working and going to school in Oregon and Andrew was going to college in California. But as the project got bigger and we got more excited about it, we would take retreats together to work on it throughout the year, usually in Lake Tahoe.

Andrew:
Rob brought Freddy down to teach at Sugarloaf and once I started working there we all hit it off really well. The idea of Sleepaway Camp as a musical is ironic to me as we all met teaching at a summer camp. The style of the songwriting reflects that folky, campfire feel. When writing the songs - we would usually watch the movie and pinpoint some ridiculous aspect of a certain character and try to play off that. We were all a part of the lyric writing.

Over the course of the last 6 years the show has been written with us living in three different states. This piece was written with all of us collaborating for a couple days at a time whenever we could find the time in Seattle, Eugene and Tahoe. The distance has been our biggest obstacle in getting the show finished and produced.

We owe a lot to Graham Sobelman for taking the initiative to help us get the first reading off the ground. He and I have been meeting for the last couple of months to write out the music for the cast and the band. He was instrumental in getting together this great cast and band for the reading.

Graham:
Andrew played me some demos of the songs from their musical one of the first times we hung out. I immediately loved the humor infused with more folky music. I absolutely loved the movie and was very excited when he told me they had musicalized it. When I found out the script was all written and he had demos of all these songs, I thought it would be a great idea to do a reading of the show. I loved how the musical stayed true to all the important elements of the movie, but capitalized on some perfect moments to create songs out of (sometimes bizarre) dialogue. The show is so fun, I can't imagine it won't go on to have a fully staged production in the near future. The music has to be some of the most clever of recent years. Sacramento will be the first audience to hear any of it!

Graham-A-Rama has been such a wonderful space to experiment with new material, I thought it would be perfectly appropriate to do a reading of Sleepaway Camp in lieu of one of the more typical shows. People already know (and love) Andrew's music, so having this event a week after his Andrew Heringer Band CD release is like finding out there's a whole separate bonus cd with all new songs on it! Luckily, I was able to utilize some of the Graham-A-Rama regulars and also find a couple newcomers to put on the reading.

Q: (To Freddy and Rob) What do each of you do when not setting bloody stabbings to music?

Freddy:
When I'm back in Seattle I act a little but my main job is being a DJ in Seattle nightclubs.

Rob:
I'm the Audience Services Manager for Cal Performances, running things like the Greek Theater, Zellerbach Hall and alike on UC Berkeley's campus.

Q: (To Graham) What else can we expect from Graham-A-Rama in the near future?

Graham:
Graham-A-Rama returns in October with some more "traditional" Graham-A-Rama fare: We will have a lesbian-themed night, a night for the cast of [title of show]* and a special Halloween show! Also, shows starring performers from LA and SF. And hopefully Graham-A-Rama will be returning to NY to do a show in late fall, early spring.

Photos:
Opportunistic low quality iPhone4 photos by Tony Sheppard :
1) The creative team of Heringer, Sobelman, Bean and Molitch pose gratuitously for an entirely inauthentic working shot
2) The Sleepaway Camp uniform t-shirt, modeled by Andrew Heringer

Other really important stuff:
Sleepaway Camp: The Musical is playing at the Geery Theater, on the corner of 22nd and L Streets.

Thursday, September 9th: 7:30pm
Friday, September 10th: 8:00pm
Sunday, September 12th: 7:00pm & 9:00pm (the regular Graham-A-Rama Sunday showtimes)

Tickets are available online here: Sacramento Press readers can use the code "murder" to get tickets discounted at $9.99 (regular price $15).

Notes:
This is a “reading” and not a fully staged show.
*[title of show] is, in fact, the title of the Fall production of New Helvetia Theatre

For more information:
www.grahamarama.com
www.andrewheringer.com
andrewheringer.bandcamp.com (for a download of “Under California Skies” – the new Andrew Heringer Band album)
www.newhelvetia.org (for information on the upcoming production of [title of show])
www.brownpapertickets.com (for all Graham-A-Rama and New Helvetia Theatre show tickets)
Sleepaway Camp: The Musical tickets (direct link)
[title of show] tickets (direct link)

Full disclosure:
The author is the regular photographer for Graham-A-Rama, a donor/producer of “Under California Skies” by the Andrew Heringer Band, a founding donor of New Helvetia Theatre, a veteran ex-employee of the children’s residential summer camping industry (11 years), and a local film festival director and film writer – and therefore the key demographic for Sleepaway Camp: The Musical.

Midtown Film Project Wraps Up

2010-09-01T00:52:39Z

A film crew has been shooting footage inside Naked Lounge, The Shady Lady and Clubhouse 56.

The film, “Untitled,” is a collaboration between two Ink Eats & Drinks employees. Theater director Anthony D’Juan Shelton directed the film, and Celia Crain, co-wrote and co-produced it.

Nanci Zoppi (New Helvetia Theatre’s “It’s Only Life,” “Tick, Tick…BOOM!” and “Hedwig and The Angry Inch” and “Graham-A-Rama”) plays Angelica De Grassi, a rising singer and the film’s main character.

Zoppi and Shelton previously worked together for an Actor’s Theatre of Sacramento production of “Othello.”

“Untitled” will be both Shelton’s and Zoppi’s film debut.

Shleton said he wanted to make a film about a human journey.

“It’s about a total breakdown and rebuilding,” Shelton said. “Bad things happen, but good can come from it.”

While filmed in Sacramento, Shelton said the story’s location is undisclosed within the film, and he likes it that way because it makes the film more relatable.

“Someone in any city could watch it and not think it was Sacramento,” he said.

Crain said both she and Shelton are huge fans of music, which influenced their creative process. Included in the film is an original song adapted from a poem written by Crain.

Film is a new medium for Crain as well. Most of her experience comes from stage dancing. Crain said she has danced for Disney, the Los Angeles Fringe Festival, and the Key Club Choreographer's Ball.

The film is in the editing stage, and the creators plan to show the film at Ink Eats and Drinks on 28th and N streets in about a month.

Here are some behind-the-scenes videos of the making of "Untitled":

Anthony D'Juan behind the scenes of "Untitled"

Anthony D'Juan directs and films "Untitled"

The Next American Dream

2010-08-28T00:17:19Z

Applause filled The Crest Theatre Thursday night when a scene from the documentary “The Next American Dream” displayed an enormous tractor claw demolishing a freeway overpass. The scene symbolized an end to urban sprawl, its destructive effects on nature and its seeming lack of forethought in urban planning.

No one specific group, organization or political party took responsibility for the showing of the film. Instead, it was communicated to the audience that the film was being brought to the Crest by a group of people who call Sacramento home.

Dustin Littrell, a local architect and designer, ambiguously revealed that the idea for showing the film in Sacramento began among “a group of caring folks.”

Littrell had seen the documentary aired on KVIE about six months ago and said he was astonished at how applicable the film’s content was to some of the current issues facing Sacramento.

“It was as if we were watching a documentary about Sacramento,” Littrell said.

However, Kansas City, Mo. was the main focus of the film. It followed the process the city took to revitalize and reinvigorate its own downtown.

After World War II, the suburbs seemed to epitomize what so many Americans believed to be the American Dream, but now, the film argues, we are ready for a new American dream; The Next American Dream.

Many in attendance didn’t know much about the film before arriving at the Crest. Terrence Johnson, executive director at The Stockton Boulevard Partnership, said, “I actually don’t know anything about it. It’s kind of a blind faith thing because Dustin (Littrell) recommended it. I kind of follow him around to see what he’s doing because he does a lot of interesting things.”

Similar stories were heard throughout the foyer during the event’s preshow social hour. There was a common bond among those in attendance, in that each one of them seemed involved in projects or careers that shape the future of Sacramento.

Gretchen Steinberg came to the event hopeful that it would provide answers for her group, Sacramento Modern.

“We are a new nonprofit working to promote, preserve and protect mid-century and modern architecture, art and design in Sacramento,” Steinberg said. “I want (the film) to give recommendations and provide some knowledgeable input regarding preservation.”

Littrell said he hoped the film would work to bring Sacramentans together, to work together and have pride in their city. Johnson unknowingly echoed Littrell’s sentiments, having said, “I’m hoping that if this (is) an awareness-building event that it’s very successful for people that may traditionally not be paying attention. I’m hoping that I see faces here that we don’t normally see at the table for economic development, revitalization and other issues that go on in City Hall or downtown.”

The film explained that a suburban exodus occurred after soldiers returned from World War II. A popular trend involved getting away from congested city centers.

Freeways were constructed, connecting people to their jobs in the city and to their homes in the country, and the automobile became a household item for many. As development moved outward, away from urban cores, cities and their downtown’s were neglected.

“The Next American Dream” argues that new trends are on the rise as people are wanting to live in closer proximity to their work, entertainment, social lives and services. The film claims that “people are bored with the suburbs.”

Lynne Freeman has been a resident in downtown for more than 15 years, and she said, “Your city is only as good as your downtown.”

Having witnessed the ups and downs of downtown Sacramento over the last decade and a half, Freeman remains optimistic about Sacramento’s future. “We’re definitely on our way up, it’s just which way up do we go?”

Freeman’s question remained unanswered by the film. Kansas City’s approach to revitalization, though inspiring, would not work here in Sacramento. So then, what will work to restore life to Sacramento’s urban core? Answers will inevitably vary.

Littrell said he believes an arena built downtown would act as a catalyst project for more development.

“It can bring revenue, bodies, and just people,” he said. “Businesses on game days will come alive.”

The film would seem to support Littrell’s argument, as Kansas City’s success can be largely attributed to the construction of the $276 million dollar Sprint Center.

Other than the arena, affordable housing has also brought life back to Kansas City’s downtown, but is this feasible here?

Vivian Gerlach said she enjoyed the film, but hoped the filmmakers would have addressed more issues relevant to Sacramento.

“They really honed in on the entertainment aspect, but living here is really important too,” she said.

“It’s not just about eating and drinking,” Gerlach said. “They didn’t talk about schools. What about schools? I mean, this is the stuff we struggle with in Midtown, and downtown is having good schools and housing at different price points, not just high-end lofts or low-income apartments.”

After digesting the film, Kris Cowan offered his own opinion on the subject: “I think that so much of the sprawl went to Roseville and to affordable housing.”

Cowan said he believes that the film’s showing was a good conversation starter for people in Sacramento.

“Talking about potential breeds more ideas,” Cowan said.

Travelers often bypass Sacramento as they head up the hill or down to the bay.

“There needs to be something about Sacramento that makes people want to stop for the evening and check it out,” Matt Bullock said. Bullock is the personification of what the film said this new generation wants. He works and lives right in downtown. “I’m trying to live the life!” he said.

Conversation was stimulated by the film as people left the theater.

Tyler Zurcher left the showing feeling positive that Sacramento is on the right track for revitalization.

“We’re heading in the right direction, but we need to get the right people involved,” Zurcher said.

The right people may have been close at hand. Alongside Zurcher was Amy Dempster, who added, “I think there are a whole lot of people in Sacramento that want to see something happen, but they don’t know that they can do something about it. We’re out here tonight hoping that something changes, because people like us are willing to get involved.”

There will be a second free screening of the film at 7 p.m. on Sept. 18 in front of the MAARS building.

Photos courtesty of Jerome Love.

‘Wizard of Oz’ singalong transforms Crest Theatre to Land of Oz

2010-08-24T04:23:52Z

Lions and tigers, and bears, oh my! were fortunately not present at the Crest Theatre this past Sunday — but Dorothy’s, tin men (and women) and even munchkins sure were.

Outword media, an extension of Outword Magazine, collaborated with the Crest Theatre to host a “Wizard of Oz” singalong, with nearly 400 people in attendance.

On stage before the show, children marched in a parade to show off their costumes. Each child received two tickets to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus.

Children were not the only ones to dress up. An adult costume contest showed off more Dorothy’s, an apple tree, a tin woman with her own WD-40 oil and, of course, the Wicked Witch of the West.

Carol-Agnus Pantages, 5, won best costume overall for her Tin Man getup by audience applause. She received a ruby slipper with a $100 cash prize. Second place went to Carol Curtis, 6, for her Cowardly Lion costume.

General Manager for the Crest Theatre, Sid Heberger dressed in the best of 1939 Kansas: Dorothy’s tornado-blown farm house, complete with the shiny ruby slippers of the Wicked Witch of the East protruding from below.

“It’s quite cozy in here: It’s got cable, a Jacuzzi, even a minibar,” Heberger said.

The cardboard box took Herberger a day to make, and was converted from a puppet stage for a comedy show.

This is the second annual singalong from Outword and the Crest. Last year’s was the movie “Grease.” The first film was such a success that they decided to make the singalongs an annual event.

“I just can’t wait to see what we cook up for our third annual,” Herberger said. “Hopefully it doesn’t require me wearing a giant box.”

Along with the costumes, preshow events included karaoke to “Wizard of Oz” songs to warm up for the film, tornado trivia and Emerald City, Ruby Slippers and Yellow Brick Road-flavored popcorn available for purchase.

Carrie Tedrick, Wendy Hill and their children Aiden and Addison came dressed as a “same-sex munchkin family.”

“It’s fun that things are happening on the weekend, during the day and that they’re kid-friendly,” Hill said. “There aren’t that many events where we can bring our kids and dress up as a family.”

Frank Palmer of Outword media, marketing and events said he wanted to have an event at the Crest for the community.

“It’s important to have things for families and kids and support them,” Palmer said. “It’s very important to have a sense of community spirit.”

Pictures by Renae Getlin

Eight Week Screenwriting Class Starts New Session

2010-08-05T06:36:33Z

   As the first generation of novice Sacramento screenwriters are about to “graduate” from the rigorous twelve-week training intensive, a second session is about to begin. From August 24th through November 9th, Los Angeles writer-actor-producer Gary Weinberg will once again guide Sacramento students through the ins and outs of the art of screenwriting in his class called Screenwriting: An Eight Week Intensive. Students who take the class will learn the craft and the business of screenwriting, with an emphasis on how these manifest in the current Los Angeles film and television industry.
   Screenwriting: An Eight Week Intensive will begin with the basic elements of narrative, and then move on to story structure, screenplay and teleplay formatting, and how to write great dialogue and develop strong characters. Weinberg will also present different options that students have for getting their work seen and produced, and will discuss the “unwritten” rules that can help, or hinder, their screenwriting efforts.
   The goal by the end of Screenwriting: An Eight Week Intensive is for each student to have a completed screenplay. The class runs four consecutive weeks from August 24th through September 14nd, and then every other week until November 9th. This format affords students time to actually write a finished screenplay or teleplay.
   As Weinberg says, “I know what it’s like. As busy, creative people, our lives can be extremely hectic. This is why I have designated the ‘off Thursdays’ in the second half of the class as ‘writing nights.’ Students are not required to show up in class, explicitly so they can spend the evening writing their screenplays instead.”
   And Weinberg is there to help them along the way. “I will be available for students
--in person, by phone, and by email--to help with any questions or challenges they might encounter as they transform their ideas into finished scripts. They won’t be writing alone.”
   It all helps, as many of Weinberg’s current students attest. Michelle Giles of Elk Grove says, “What has been a wild dream until now, appears possible with this class. Gary wraps years of experience in just a few weeks.” Kristen Mackey of Roseville agrees. “The class gave me so much insight…especially in how much I have to learn. But now I’m ready.” Lori Kane of Rancho Cordova was equally effusive. “Gary’s class is extremely informative, fun and creative. I would encourage anyone--from beginner to an expert--to take the class.”
   Co-founder of the film production company Generation Next Media, LLC, Weinberg is an actor, writer, producer and composer. As a screenwriter, Weinberg’s commissioned scripts include Ninja Nun for Cimero Productions and Magical Planet for Bloom From Within. He wrote and directed a pilot for the episodic TV series The Asylum, currently in pre-production as a web series. For Alpine Pictures, Weinberg co-produced the comedy LA Twister, was managing partner for the teen comedy, Daze of Summer, and associate producer on their current film Dorothy of Oz with Dan Akroyd and Jim Belushi. A member of Screen Actors Guild, Weinberg has been seen in national commercials, independent films, network TV, classical and contemporary theatre, concerts, and more. Television and film credits include Dick Wolfe’s Arrest and Trial, and feature films Miriam and My Sweet Suicide. Weinberg was a member of the improv troupe The Lost Marbles, which played regularly at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles. He performed in numerous northern and southern California venues such as Wolfpack Theatre Company and Write Act Repertory in Hollywood, and Sacramento Theatre Company and Garbeau Dinner Theatre in Sacramento.
   Screenwriting: An Eight Week Intensive will be offered Tuesday nights from August 24th through November 9th at the Tangent Art Gallery, 2900 Franklin Blvd in Curtis Park, adjacent to Coffee Garden, at the corner of 4th Avenue and Franklin Blvd. Classes will run 7-9:30 pm.
   For information on Screenwriting: An Eight Week Intensive please contact Gary Weinberg of Generation Next Media at (818) 458-6637 or at cpmaurice@hotmail.com. For more information on Generation Next Media, LLC, please visit www.GenerationNextMedia.org.

Arts/Downtown Champion to Receive Service Award at Sac Film & Music Festival

2010-07-23T01:08:54Z

There are few people in this town who have consistently done as much to promote film, music, arts and Downtown Sacramento as Sid Heberger, managing partner of the Crest Theatre. Now, after years producing, hosting and promoting multiple film festivals, she is receiving the 4th Annual Film Arts Service Award during the opening ceremonies for the 11th Annual Sacramento Film & Music Festival.

From the Festival Program:

Sid grew up in Sutter Creek developing an early love for film and historic architecture. She moved to Sacramento to attend college and in 1986 became involved in the re-opening of the historic Crest Theatre, leading to a management position two years later. Now CEO of the Crest’s operating company, Sid has overseen multiple renovations of both the marquee and the interior, including selection of historically authentic materials and design components. Sid has produced multiple classic film events, Trash Film Orgy, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Comedy, and the All-Sketch Festival. She co-directs the Jewish Film Festival, hosts and supports multiple other film festivals, serves on the board of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, served on the Mayor’s Arts Initiative Film Committee, and is a Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commissioner. She lives in Land Park with her husband Bill, son Nicolas, and Lhasa-Poo Dusty.

"Our Festival and many others would suffer without the Crest as the perfect downtown venue and Sid is a friend, a supporter, a sponsor, and an amazing resource for an arts organization such as ours" said Festival Founder and Co-Director Nathan Schemel.

Past Film Arts Service Awards recipients include Shawn Sullivan who has a remarkable track record teaching animation at Sheldon High School and watching his students go on to great success at companies such as Pixar, Bill Bronstein who has directed the Tower of Youth film festival for many years and championed the cause of youth filmmakers, and Ron Cooper, Executive Director of Access Sacramento and the force behind 11 years of their "A Place Called Sacramento" screenwriting and filmmaking program.

In a small-world connection, Shawn Sullivan is also credited as a mentor in the success of local performance artist David Garibaldi, who will be performing at this year's Festival on Thursday, July 29th, following a premiere screening of "Walking Dreams," a new documentary about his work. A charity auction of David's work follows the performance and benefits the Friends of the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission and the Festival.

The Festival opens with a reception catered by Festival Sponsor Rubios at 7pm tomorrow (Friday, July 23rd). The opening remarks and Award presentation are at 8:00pm followed by a screening of the documentary "Official Rejection" about the trials and tribulations of getting an independent film into film festivals. The screening is followed by an after-party at Festival Sponsor Cosmo Cafe.

Full Festival information and ticketing links can be found at www.sacfilm.com/schedule.html.

All-Screening Passes are $60 at the Crest Box Office (a 50% savings over those bought online) or $30 for students. Most individual screening tickets are $10. Opening night tickets that include both parties, the award presentation, and the movie are $15.

Photos:

1) Sid Heberger, recipient of the 2010 Film Arts Service Award

2) Festival mini-poster

3) David Garibaldi, who performs live on July 29th at the Crest Theatre

Disclaimer: Tony Sheppard is Co-Director of the 11th Annual Sacramento Film & Music Festival

The 11th annual Sacramento International Film and Music Festival is coming!

2010-07-22T00:48:38Z

The people of Sacramento better be geared up for a week full of local, independent and foreign film and music as the 11th annual Sacramento International Film and Music Festival kicks off its first showing Friday.

The festival is organized by co-directors Nathan Schemel, who also founded the festival, and Tony Sheppard, and will show more than 140 films from July 23 through Aug. 1.

The festival is different from most Sacramento Film Festivals in that it does not have any specific focus.

“The specialty of the festival is that, essentially, we don’t have a specialty,” Sheppard said. “We are all genre, international, submission based. Our programming model is to basically have films sent to us from around the world and just pick the ones we feel are the best.”

The opening film of the festival, which will be played at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, is “Official Rejection” by Paul Osborne, a feature-length documentary about the “trials and tribulations” of entering a film festival.

“For us it was a kind of fun and ironic pick,” Sheppard said, “to not only officially accept ‘Official Rejection,’ but actually to make it the opening night feature.”

After the film, the producer and star will have a Q-and-A session.

Another film to hit the festival this year is a documentary called “Walking Dreams” about performance artist David Garibaldi and his amazing antics with canvas and action-portrait paintings. After the film’s debut on July 29, Garibaldi will have a performance showcasing his talents.

The festival is host to the 10X10 Filmmaker Challenge. Each team gets its assignment and members must write, direct, edit and submit their film within 10 days from the start date. This year, 26 teams entered, and 23 submitted their films.

“I’m happy to be able to jump into this scene,” 10X10 filmmaker Dennis Brodsky said. “You get to know a lot of people that are making films in the area.”

The festival has been a local haven for Sacramento’s booming independent film scene and has made a way for upcoming directors to have their work showcased in a large festival, as all of the 10X10 films, after inspection, are submitted into the festival’s roster.

“I did a lot of projects in school, trying to prepare myself for this,” director Cody Parcell, 25, said. “This is the first real project that I’ve directed and lead and had the final say on. This is the first one that’s all about me, creatively if you will.”

The festival is also the genesis of Sac Music Seen, known for the creation of more than 150 local music videos since it started eight years ago. This year, the festival will show six new videos.

“We decided that we just needed something that was a strong music component,” Sheppard said. “We wanted to combine it with a film component and so the obvious answer was music videos.”

The festival opens this Friday and runs until Sunday, Aug. 1. For more information visit here.

26 Films in Production for the 10x10 Filmmaker Challenge

2010-07-09T20:24:06Z

If you happen to see people filming around town, and if they also seem to be in a hurry, there's a good chance they're making a film for this year's 10x10 Filmmaker Challenge, a program of the 11th Annual Sacramento Film & Music Festival. Now in its 7th year, the 10x10 challenges filmmakers to make a 10 minute film in 10 days, on an assigned theme and using assigned elements such as quirky props and the Festival's mini-poster.

Last night, filmmakers and prospective cast and crew members arrived at the Art Institute of California, Sacramento (a Festival sponsor) in enough numbers to require a move to a larger room. In fact, the 26 teams that signed up to participate caused the maximum running time of each film to be truncated to 8 minutes for only the second time in the program's history.

After hearing the rules (make it quickly and make it clean!), teams used a pre-assigned number from 1-26 to select their props. They were also assigned two quotes from a well known movie which they are required to work into their scripts or otherwise include in the finished film, with each team's assigned movie being different. Props came in mismatched pairs and included such items as a teeny-tiny tea service and a lug nut wrench, a pair of foam swords, and a 54" inflatable shark and glittery apple. Quotes came from movies as diverse as Twilight and Gone With the Wind.

This year's 10x10 theme is "Lines" - chosen for its wide variety of potential interpretations, including such dissimilar contexts as ticket lines, airlines, electrical lines, family lines, political party lines, and stem cell lines. A quick search in wikipedia reveals approximately 50 different interpretations of the theme. Additionally, this is the Festival's eleventh year and the poster is designed around the parallel lines of the number 11.

Teams have until 7pm on Sunday, July 18th to complete their projects and the finished films will be screened at 5pm on Sunday, August 1st at the Crest Theatre, as the closing screening of the 10-day Sacramento Film & Music Festival. Films are judged on overall quality, and best use of theme, props, and quotes. And, for the first time this year, films will also be judged in several acting categories, thanks to the help of the Festival's newest partner Studio24, a full-service talent management company located in midtown.

The Festival runs from Friday, July 23rd to Sunday, August 1st, with 25 ticketed events and, at last count, over 140 films. The Festival is also hosting the world premiere of a new documentary about the work of Sacramento artist David Garibaldi, followed by a live performance and an auction of his work on Thursday, July 29th. Tickets and Screening Passes are available at the Crest box office and through tickets.com.

More Festival information and the complete schedule can be found at www.sacfilm.com.

Disclaimer: Tony Sheppard is Co-Director of the Sacramento Film & Music Festival

Photos 1-5 by Paul Le:

1: The Art Institute of California, Sacramento

2. A moment of shock as the Festival Directors realize how many teams there are

3. Filmmaker Jared Martin of Davis displays his props

4. Pre-numbered movie quotes wait to be claimed

5. One pair of props

6. Sacramento Artist David Garibaldi, who will perform at the Festival on Thursday, July 29th

7. Festival poster - designed by Paul Le of midtown's Sol Design

Screenwriting class returns to Sacramento on July 17th

2010-06-30T23:16:21Z

Nine students who entered the doors of Curtis Park's Tangent Art Gallery on May 11th will be leaving with something more than a stimulating experience in a room full of eclectic art. They'll be leaving with a ninety-to-one-hundred-ten page document tucked under their arms, and a clear vision of what this sheaf of paper could look like on a big screen.

These nine students are in the process of completing their first full-length screenplay or teleplay, and for every one of them, this journey is the culmination of years of dreaming a story inside them, and longing to get it onto paper.

The class that started it all is called Screenwriting 101, an introduction to the screenwriting process. Screenwriting 101 was the launching pad for a slate of classes on the art and business of screenwriting that began with a three-hour introductory class and continued with an eight-class program entitled Screenwriting: An Eight-Week Intensive. With the eight-week program nearing it’s end, a new cycle is about to begin.

The second offering of Screenwriting 101 will be held on Saturday, July 17th from 1-4:30 pm. It’s being taught by transplanted Los Angeles screenwriter and actor Gary Weinberg. A member of the Screen Actors Guild, Weinberg has accomplished the rare feat of selling screenplays in the entertainment industry, an accomplishment he’d like to share with his fellow Sacramentans.

Weinberg lived in Sacramento from 1988 through 1998. A regular on the stages at Garbeau's Dinner Theatre, Sacramento Theatre Company, Theatre El Dorado, Woodland Opera House, and others, Weinberg, along with former American River College theatre arts instructor and director Melanie Smith and Sacramentan Mark Sage, went on to found film production company Generation Next Media, LLC. Since its inception, Generation Next Media has developed a variety of entertainment projects, including documentaries, live action and animated feature films, episodic television, and live theatre.

In 1998 Weinberg and Smith, who are married, moved to Los Angeles, where Weinberg performed in Equity-waiver theatre, got his SAG card, appeared in television, independent films and national commercials, and co-produced movies for Alpine Pictures. He also wrote. Everything from TV pilots to full-length feature films. Now that he’s back, he is eager to communicate what he’s learned about the idiosyncrasies of screenwriting and the ups and downs of the business with local writers.

“One of the first things I noticed after I got back a few months ago,” says Weinberg, “was the amount of people in Sacramento who know how to write. There’s a keen interest here, too, in exploring different styles. I am committed and honored to be a contributing member of the Sacramento writing and film community.”

Screenwriting 101, a three-and-a-half hour workshop, guides students through basic screenplay formatting and structure, plot and character development, how to write great dialogue, and how to get a script seen. It’s a class that is designed to give students an overview of the screenwriting process that will be covered more thoroughly in a follow-up eight-week program.

“If you aren’t able to take the eight-week class,” says Weinberg, “you can still get a solid understanding of what it is to write a screenplay, just from Screenwriting 101. If you are clueless as to how to begin, once you’ve taken the class you’ll not only have a clue, you’ll have a good head start. And for someone with a little more experience--for someone who’s looking for that next step to take in his or her writing process--this class will reveal some of the unwritten rules that are so necessary to know before you dive into the Hollywood arena, the rules that the vast majority of hopeful screenwriters know nothing about.”

Students agree. As Marsha Briggs of Roseville says, “This is a fantastic class! I’ve never had so much fun learning so much. The hours went by way too fast!”

Some students who take Screenwriting 101 are just curious about the process of writing a script for film. Others have had an idea inside them for some time that has been aching to get out. Linda Middlesworth of Curtis Park is one of the latter. A local expert on plant-based diets and an advocate for the humane treatment of animals, Middlesworth has wanted to write and produce a film about these subjects for years. Screenwriting 101 gave her the answers--and the focus--that she needed. “I loved finding out how to structure a screenplay, and how to make characters come alive. I also got tips on how to help my screenplay get seen.”

The “getting it seen” aspect is huge in screenwriting. It’s a two-part process: first you write the script, and then you work to get it into the hands of the people who can make the film. As Weinberg says, “Unlike a novel, the writing of a screenplay is precipitously dependent upon others. The goal for every screenplay is to ultimately become a movie. The script, as a piece of art, cannot, stand alone.”

And although neither Screenwriting 101 nor the follow-up program is entirely devoted to getting the script seen, this aspect is an inherent part of both classes. Students are learning how to write a “spec script”--an unsolicited screenplay that’s dependent upon the blessings of a network or film company story analyst to move it up the ladder towards production. And if you want the story analyst to like it, the screenplay has to be written in a certain way.

“Format is crucial,” Weinberg explains. “Story analysts can smell amateur writing in the first half-page of a screenplay. They read so many bad scripts, just having yours look right, having it follow basic formatting rules, will ensure that the analyst gets through the first ten pages. Then the pull of your story will take over.”

The next step after Screenwriting 101 is to register for the follow-up class, in which students produce that ninety-to-one-hundred-ten page screenplay at the end of eight weeks of production.

Kristen Mackey of Roseville did just that. She took Screenwriting 101, and is hard at work on her screenplay in the follow-up class. “Screenwriting 101 gave me so much insight,” Mackey says, “especially in how much I had to learn. But it also gave me a place to start! Now that I’m in the second class, I’ve gotten the direction and encouragement in my writing that I needed. I’m looking at the movie industry in a whole new light.”

Screenwriting 101 will be offered on Saturday, July 17th at the Tangent Art Gallery at 2904 Franklin Blvd in Sacramento. The Tangent Art Gallery is adjacent to Coffee Garden in Curtis Park, which allows student writers the opportunity to enliven their brains with caffeine and their souls with fine art as they learn the craft and business of screenwriting.

To register for Screenwriting 101, or for more information, contact Gary Weinberg of Generation Next Media at (818) 458-6637 or at cpmaurice@hotmail.com. To visit Generation Next Media, LLC, go to www.GenerationNextMedia.org.

Fair to showcase Sac entertainment industry

2010-06-04T04:50:13Z

You might not know it, but Sacramento is a growing market in the entertainment industry. It has it all: actors, directors, models, artist management, production studios and acting coaches.

"If you talk to somebody on the street, the general public doesn't know we have an entertainment industry," said Cody Dorkin, actor and founder of Studio 24. "I've been working in the industry since I was a little kid. I've lived up here in Sacramento the entire time, pretty much, and I had no idea what the industry actually held in Sacramento. I think people would be surprised to know that there are probably over 40 entertainment companies in Sacramento."

Studio 24 will host the First Annual Entertainment Fair Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The free event, at its 2220 K St. site, will feature more than 30 entertainment companies, music, prizes and food from Golden Bear.

Attendees can watch performances by Comedysportz, hear from Northern California film commissioners, and participate in a model search for California Sun tanning salon. They also can get upclose and personal with Teleprompter and green screen simulations.

For those who want to try acting for the first time, there will be a "Lost" -themed screen test complete with a $100,000 rain-forest set. Inside the studio, participants will memorize a 30-second script, receive coaching, and hair, makeup and wardrobe styling before stepping into the makeshift jungle set in the parking lot behind Studio 24.

"The whole purpose of it all is to inform the general public that we have an entertainment industry," said Dorkin. "That way, if they know about it, they can get involved, and we can grow our industry."

Dorkin, 24, has acted in film, television and commercials since he was 6, including in television shows "Family Matters" and "Mind of Mencia," films "Nine Months" and "Village of the Damned," and voiceover work in "Toy Story," "Big Daddy" "and Planet of the Apes."

He opened his business two years ago and wants to write and direct. The studio provides acting classes, talent management, headshots and voiceover workshops.

Studio 24 has about 40 clients that it's helping navigate "the maze" of the entertainment industry, Dorkin said. His family backed his creative endeavors, and Dorkin said he wants to provide a similar support system for aspiring actors, whose hard work often is ignored.

The approximately 4,000-square-foot studio has offices, a sound-proof voiceover booth, makeup/wardrobe area, photography studio and a 45-seat theatre upstairs. Artist Krystine DiMeo was finishing a Hollywood-themed mural on a wall outside the studio next to an existing mosaic mural. Both are part of the Midtown Alley Project.

Derek Byrne, a part-time actor who took classes at Studio 24, said classes are necessary for working actors.

"If you don't practice what you're doing, you won't stay fresh, sharp or current," he said. "You never learn everything, so it's good to have a variety of classes, whether it improv, or scene study. You meet other people too, so it's not just good for practicing your craft, it's good for networking, as well."

Ed Claudio, an acting teacher of 20+ years and founder of the Actor's Workshop of Sacramento, agreed that practice makes perfect.

"I think there are a lot of aspiring actors, and they should seek out as much training as they can get," he said. "It's tantamount to becoming a professional ball player. A lot of guys can play basketball, and there are games all over the place. But to do it well, you have to train your ass off. "

Photographs:
1. Studio 24
2. Cody Dorkin
3. Krystine DiMeo
4. Mural outside Studio 24

'Repo!' shadowcast draws the attention of the film's creator

2010-05-25T05:07:47Z

Repo! The Genetic Opera is a feature film released in late 2008 that is challenging to categorize, although it calls itself a “goth opera.” It features classic horror movie staples such as blood, guts, and murder, but it also holds fast to classical roots by being sung from nearly beginning to end in the style of a true opera.

The Amber’s Sweets crew is a group of artists who get together to reenact the film while it is simultaneously projected onto the wall in a theatrical event called a shadowcast . The Sweets’ third shadowcast performance of Repo! took place at the Colonial Theatre Saturday. Although it was only the third time the cast performed the entire production live at the theater, it seemed as though they had been doing it for years.

The Sweets shadowcast has been steadily gaining popularity, and their last performance garnered the attention of one of the film’s creators, Darren Smith, who performed songs from the movie along with his wife.

This time around, the cast was lucky enough to have the film’s other creator, Terrance Zdunich, who also plays the character Graverobber in the movie, in attendance as a spectator.

“[Having Zdunich in the audience] doesn’t really pressure us so much as give us a goal,” said Jessalyn San Gregorio, who plays Amber Sweet. “It’s like we have a creator here, so let’s do our best to impress him.”

“We’re pretty awesome in and of ourselves, so I think [Zdunich will] be happy,” cast member Caitlin Miller said. “He’s seen us before, but we’ve done a lot of fine tuning, so what he saw before was like the rough draft of the rough draft. So I’m really excited that he’s going to be here.”

New additions to the performance included previews of coming attractions. There was a commercial promoting the upcoming Trash Film Orgy, which will be held at the Crest Theatre in the coming months.

There was also a promo for Callson Manor, a new haunted house attraction. Finally, a commercial parodying the old-time happy jingle snack bar cartoons received a lot of laughs when it was transformed into a death metal anthem about how not to behave during a movie.

The audience was treated to a sneak peak of one of Zdunich’s latest film projects, a short “tutorial” about how to create art called “How to Draw a Straight Line.” It instructs viewers on how to overcome the difficulties of crafting such an important piece of art.

As usual, the film’s reenactment featured plenty of gore and special effects, but the most extreme case was the monstrous spray of blood when a character was shot in the head.

“I think that at the beginning when the doctor got shot by one of the hench girls, blood actually splattered on me and my buddy," Zdunich said. "I wasn’t expecting that. They actually had a more powerful spray than what we used in the film. I’m not sure how safe what they were doing was, but it f***in’ rocked.”

Not only did the special effects improve, but the props and audience participation were over the top. The jeers and catcalls were bawdy at the last show, but at this show they were even raunchier. The “splash zone” was extended to the entire theater since characters threw bloody body parts such as hearts and guts not only on the people seated in the front rows, but those in the back as well. Nobody was safe from getting messy.

“I love the crowd’s reaction,” said Justin Boeser, who plays Rotti Largo. “It’s one of my favorite things to hear in theater. It’s something I’ve loved doing since I was a little kid. I’ve always loved hearing cheers and screams.”

It was not hard to tell that the cast had been rehearsing plenty. None of the actors ever missed a cue and the entire show flowed smoothly, even when the aisles were filled with half-nude dancing extras.

“I’m most excited about the fact that I think we have the best energy that we’ve had amongst our cast since the beginning of this," director Ashley Porciuncula said. "I know for a fact that we are going to bring the audience something unlike anything they’ve ever seen before.”

The production value of the show increased tenfold since the first show late last year. Costumes improved, lighting and sound were perfected and the backdrops and scenery were very realistic.

“We’ve gotten better at things,” said Miller, who portrays Shilo Wallace. “More money means more props and more accuracy. We’ve figured out how to fix problems, added more stuff. [The show has] evolved a lot.”

“In the beginning we had a lot of problems with props and costumes and whatnot, but we managed," said Dani Fontana, who plays Graverobber. "Now we keep putting better things in it and it just makes it fantastic. We sold out at the last show and we weren’t expecting that.”

What does the future hold for the Ambers Sweets Repo! crew? They seem to be working on getting other big-name artists starring in the film to their performances. With stars like Paris Hilton, Bill Moseley and Nivek Ogre of the band Skinny Puppy in the film, it’s open to debate who will be next to make an appearance.

“There are definitely big names in the works," Porciuncula said. "I would advise you to check the website amberssweets.com on a regular basis to find out more information as we receive it.”

Following the performance, Zdunich stuck around in the lobby to sign autographs and take photos with fans. He also gave fans the opportunity to purchase his new comic series, The Molting.

“People ask me a lot if I’m sick of [the Repo! popularity] yet, and the answer is no,” Zdunich said. “I think that the fact that it’s living, breathing art, makes every time I see it different. I actually don’t even like watching the film just as a film because I’m so self-conscious. I feel like, ‘Oh, I could’ve done this different. I should’ve done that different. Oh God, that’s me.’ So watching it with the shadowcast, it’s like a totally different experience. It’s like live bastard theater and that’s what we sought out to do in the first place. And the fact that it’s happening, even without our blessing, is badass. I hope it never stops.”

Photographs by Lost Road Entertainment and Peek Media

"Milk and Cookies" celebratory success

2010-05-21T03:06:49Z

More than 400 Harvey Milk admirers gathered Wednesday night at the Crest Theatre to watch the 2008 biopic "Milk." The event, entitled "Milk and Cookies," was part of a celebratory week leading up to the inaugural "Harvey Milk Day," which will take place Saturday.

In 1977, Harvey Milk was elected to the San Fransisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the first openly gay man elected to public office in a major U.S. city. He was a leader in the gay rights movement and was murdered on Nov. 27, 1978. Last October, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed S.B. 572, establishing the day of remembrance to take place every May 22, Milk's birthday.

The evening started with a VIP reception where milk and cookies were served. Honorary guests included State Senator Mark Leno, who authored the "Harvey Milk Day" bill, as well as State Assemblyman Tom Ammiamo, who was the first openly gay public school teacher as well as a personal friend of Milk.

Cleve Jones, an activist and close friend of Milk, was also there to address the crowd. In Gus Van Sants' 2008 film, "Milk," Emil Hirsch depicted Jones' role. Jones reminisced of his days spent in Sacramento. He showed the audience a scar he received from a hate crime when he was stabbed on the corner of 18th and H streets in the 1980s.

When asked about film, Jones said there were many messages to take away.

"(The film) stresses the importance of coming out," Jones said. "But it also shows Milk's message. He saw our struggle as part of a larger, deeper, global struggle for peace and social justice."

When asked what he believed Milk would think if he could see the status of gay rights today, Jones had a mixed response.

"I think he would be pleased with much of the progress but also pissed off," Jones said. "He would remind us that we are more than a market. We are a movement."

Wendy Rea Hill, the newly appointed director of the Sacramento Lesbian and Gay Center, was helping run the event. As a lesbian mother of two, Hill said the new holiday is important for education.

"My daughter is now being taught about gay rights and what Milk stood for," Hill said. "It's vital that children learn about equality for the future."

Tina Reynolds, founder of the activist organization Equality Action Now, commented on the importance of the film for the younger generations.

"We don't have much written about gay history," Reynolds said. "(The film) gives us a chance to say we do have a gay hero."

Before the film began, the Sacramento Gay Men's Chorus took the stage and sang an emotional rendition of "Somewhere over the Rainbow." Then Ammiamo, Jones and Leno each gave a short speech about the history and the fight for civil rights as well as Milk's message. The final performance before the movie was a spoken word duet by gay activists and poets C. Foster and Jovi Radtke.

Saturday, which would have been Milk's 80th birthday, there will be a rally at the West Steps of the Capitol starting at 4 p.m. The rally will be similar to marches organized by Milk himself in the 1970s.

Equality Action Now volunteer Diana Luiz is excited about the event and encouraged the community to attend.

"There will be politicians speaking as well as performances by singers, dancers, comedians and poets," Luiz said.

After the rally, the event will migrate to the Lavender Heights district for live music and entertainment.

For more information about Saturday's events, visit equalityactionnow.org.

Photos:

1. Crest sign

2. Jg Gonsalves serving cookies

3. Tina Reynolds and Ken Pierce from Equality Action Now

4. Harvey Milk gear

5. Reception

6. Volunteers Kelly and Rachel

7. Wendy Rea Hill

8. Cleve Jones

An Evening Of Bicycle Film Shorts

2010-05-17T04:40:38Z

The sights. The sounds. The smells. Oh my! The Bicycle Film Festival, held Friday through Sunday, was an exciting outdoor event.

Seeing tons of bicyclists flocking to Fremont Park for opening night was surreal. Hearing cyclists talk about their vintage bikes relayed the camaraderie they felt. And the smell of gourmet pizza was tempting as it wafted through the air. All ages strolled, many with gelato in hand, toward Fremont Park to get a seat before the show started.

The Bicycle Film Fest has been held overseas and across the nation. The event celebrates all things bicycle through film, art and music. The restaurant Hot Italian hosted the event's primary indoor site.

Brendt Barbur, festival founder, opened the event, telling the audience that Andrea Lepore, owner of Hot Italian, was the reason Sacramento was added as a festival site.

“We’re now in 40 cities and we’re holding our 10th anniversary in New York,” he said.

Then it was time for the show to go on. “This screening is a series of urban bike shorts that are all made by cyclists,” Barbur said.

The screening featured 16 film shorts from directors in the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Spain, Canada and the United States. The films were inspirational, informative and entertaining for cycling enthusiasts and noncyclists alike.

The shorts included:

“On Time,” directed by Ari Taub. It had a well-developed plot and pleased the audience, judging by the applause it received. It was about a bicycle messenger who experiences the dangers of riding. The character has to deliver a package by a set time and must accomplish the task despite many obstacles. If he does not succeed, there will be "explosive" consequences.

In “An Apology,” the Niestat Brothers were invited to do an expose on television show "Good Day, New York" about how easy it is to steal a bike. However, they decided to pull a practical joke. Viewers laughed at the directing duo’s untimely, yet humorous prank.

“Polo Manual” was about playing polo on bicycles. The film explained the rules, method and etiquette of the game. Director Brendan McNamee filmed many collisions and injuries. There were falls that made viewers cringe, but the short also elicited a few chuckles from the audience.

The dramatic musical video “What’s A Girl To Do,” directed by Dougal Wilson, received an enthusiastic response. In the one-of-a-kind short, ominous masked cyclists executed choreographed movements.

“Ski Boys,” directed by Benny Zenga, was an insightful look at the ingenuity of a few young men in rural Ontario. The film was dedicated to creating inventive and daring ways to put all items on wheels.

The audience cheered through “Macramento” by Colby Elrick. The Sacramento premiere featured Northern California cyclists John Cardiel, Squirrel and Ted Shred. The film highlighted much of downtown Sacramento’s landscape on a "ride-along" tour, with the cyclists performing incredible tricks.

Some people at the film festival said it rekindled their desire to ride a bicycle. For others, the films brought back memories.

“I saw 'Breaking Away' -- a famous bicycling film from the '70s -- while I was in college,” said Roger Jones, who lives in downtown Sacramento. “I read about this event in The Sac Bee and since I live in walking distance, I had to come.”

Los Angeles writer teaches screenwriting in Sacramento

2010-05-04T20:08:54Z

On May 11th, the doors of Curtis Park's eclectic Tangent Art Gallery will open to admit Sacramentans who would like to explore the world of professional screenwriting. From May 11th through July 27th, Los Angeles writer-actor-producer Gary Weinberg will guide Sacramento students through the ins and outs of the art of screenwriting in his class entitled "Screenwriting: An Eight Week Intensive." Students who take the class will learn the craft and business of screenwriting, with an emphasis on how these manifest in the current Los Angeles film and television industry.
"Screenwriting: An Eight Week Intensive" will begin with the basic elements of narrative, and then move to story structure, screenplay and teleplay formatting. Weinberg, a SAG actor, will elucidate his talents for constructing great dialogue and strong, nuanced characters. As a writer who's accomplished the rare feat of selling screenplays in the entertainment industry, Weinberg will be sharing tips on the business of screenwriting, too.

     "I appreciate the fact that everyone in my class most likely connects to screenplays via the aesthetic and the emotional. But, like stage plays, screenplays don't assume the second half of their lives until they're seen." With that in mind, Weinberg will also present different options that students have for getting their work seen and produced, and will discuss the 'unwritten' rules that help or hinder the screenwriter's efforts on that behalf.
     The goal by the end of "Screenwriting: An Eight Week Intensive" is for each student to have a completed screenplay. To help make this possible, the class will be taught for four consecutive weeks from May through June, and then every other week until July 27th. This format will afford students time, from June through July, to actually write a finished screenplay or teleplay.
     As Weinberg says, “I know what it’s like. As busy, creative people, our lives can be hectic. This is why I have designated the 'off Tuesdays' in the second half of the class as 'writing nights.' Students are not required to show up in class so that they can spend the evening writing their screenplays instead.”
     And Weinberg will be there to help them along the way. “I will be available for students--in person, by phone, and by email--to help with any questions or challenges they might encounter as they transform their ideas into finished scripts. They won’t be writing alone.”
     Weinberg lived in Sacramento from 1988 through 1998. During that time he was a regular on the stages at theatres such as Garbeau's Dinner Theatre, Sacramento Theatre Company, Theatre El Dorado, Woodland Opera House, and others. Along with former American River College theatre arts instructor and stage director Melanie Smith and Sacramentan Mark Sage, Weinberg co-founded the film production company Generation Next Media, LLC.  Since its inception, Generation Next Media has developed a wide variety of entertainment projects, including documentaries, live action and animated feature films, episodic television, and live theatre.

     Weinberg is an actor, writer, producer and composer. As a screenwriter, his commissioned scripts include "Ninja Nun" for Cimero Productions and "Magical Planet" for Bloom From Within. He wrote and directed a pilot for the episodic TV series "The Asylum," currently in pre-production as a web series. For Alpine Pictures, Weinberg co-produced the comedy "LA Twister," and was managing partner for the teen comedy, "Daze of Summer," and associate producer of their current film "Dorothy of Oz," starring Dan Akroyd and Jim Belushi. A member of Screen Actors Guild, Weinberg has been seen in national commercials, independent films, network TV, classical and contemporary theatre, and concerts. His television and film credits include Dick Wolfe’s "Arrest and Trial," and the feature films "Miriam," "My Sweet Suicide," and "LA Twister." Weinberg was a member of the improv troupe, Lost Marbles, which performed regularly at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles.
     "Screenwriting: An Eight Week Intensive" will be offered May 11th through July 27th on Tuesday nights at the Tangent Art Gallery at 2904 Franklin Blvd in Sacramento. The Tangent Art Gallery is adjacent to Coffee Garden in Curtis Park, which allows student writers the opportunity to enliven their brains with caffeine and their souls with fine art as they are learning the craft and business of screenwriting. Each class will run 7-9 pm.
     Registration is $200 if paid on or before May 11th. Students may also pay in installments, submitting $125 on May 11th and $125 on the fifth class of the session.
       Anyone who would like information on "Screenwriting: An Eight Week Intensive" can contact Gary Weinberg of Generation Next Media at (818) 458-6637 or at cpmaurice@hotmail.com. People who would like information on Generation Next Media, LLC are welcome to visit the film production company at www.GenerationNextMedia.org.

'Touching Home' playing at The Crest

2010-05-03T04:50:38Z

"Touching Home" was a film that shouldn't have been made, claim identical twins Logan and Noah Miller, who wrote, directed and starred in the semi-autobiographical movie. But the aspiring filmmakers tend not to take "no" for an answer.

The twins, who were raised in the Bay Area, had an alcoholic father who was homeless for the last 15 years of his life and died in jail. As depicted in the based-on-real-life The movie portrays how the twins kept each other strong and trained together to be college (Noah) and professional (Logan) baseball players.

The film had its Sacramento premiere Friday night at the Crest Theatre in front of nearly 1,000 people. The Millers were joined on the red carpet by co-star Ed Harris, producer and Sacramento developer Brian Vail, and Mayor Kevin Johnson, who introduced the film.

The brothers are hard to tell apart at times. They finish each other's sentences and stories.

"It doesn't matter really (who is who)," they said in response to a question from a fan after the movie. They might have meant that they've been through so much together that they're pretty much the same person.

They essentially play themselves in the film, giving viewers a glimpse of their strongest differences in how they react to adversity. Noah's character, Clint Winston, appears more laidback and thoughtful, while Logan, Lane Winston, is stubborn, headstrong and emotional when they're both cut from their respective baseball teams on the same day.

The Millers were physically and emotionally powerful in their acting debuts. The scenes in which they played baseball were realistic. Shots of the Bay Area, especially the nature surrounding Marin County, were especially beautiful.

The audience cheered as the opening credits rolled, the loudest for the Millers, Harris and Vail.

Harris plays Charlie Winston -- based on the twins' father, Daniel Miller -- with passion and fearlessness. He's a troubled man who can't overcome his alcoholism, yet teaches his sons about unconditional love.

It was while their father was in jail that the brothers first joked they would have Ed Harris play him. All three respected the actor and agreed that he resembled Daniel Miller.

When their father died in jail, the brothers didn't have a chance to say goodbye, so they visited his body in the morgue and promised that they'd make the film as a way to say goodbye.

They tracked down Harris in a San Francisco alley and pitched their movie. "They asked me if I would play their dad and they said I was the only guy to do it for them, and that was kind of interesting to hear," Harris said in a question-and-answer session after the film. "One thing led to another and they wouldn't let me say no."

Despite this being the twins' first screenplay, and the fact that they had no training in film-making, Harris called them nine days later and agreed to be in the movie. Still, the Millers had no funding and few Hollywood contacts.

Enter Vail.

"Brian pretty much wrote us the ($2 million) check and let us run with it," said Noah Miller, which elicited cheers from the audience.

"Touching Home" plays at the Crest Theatre through Thursday, at 5:15 and 8 p.m. Tickets are $6.50-$9 and available at the Crest Theatre box office, 1013 K St.

Hubble 3D awes at IMAX

2010-04-26T02:47:48Z

3D movies - once rare, now increasingly common for big blockbusters - used to be one of IMAX theatres' main claims to fame. That is no longer the case, as mainstream movie theatres adjust to the desire of audiences to see recent films like "Alice in Wonderland" and "Avatar" (both of which also played IMAX theatres) in 3D.

But IMAX theatres will keep their edge as long as they keep showing films like "Hubble 3D", which opened Friday at the Esquire IMAX in downtown Sacramento. Wow.

The 43-minute film, shot with IMAX large-format cameras in earth orbit and through the Hubble space telescope's own all-seeing lens, is literally breath-taking.

The were gasps from the audience throughout the film's length, as the enormous 60 foot tall screen displayed some of the many millions of images the recently-repaired Hubble have brought to earth. Everyone has likely seen a few of these images reprinted in news magazines and specialty publications, or online. But seeing them on the all-encompassing IMAX screen, coming at you in 3D as though you were flying at billions of miles an hour through space, is something that no one with any interested in the universe we live in should miss.

Watching the images unfold, my jaw dropped open, it occured to me that no one can claim to be a truly educated person without having seen this remarkable display of images. They expand one's sense of where we are more than any images I've ever seen. The absurdly-overused word "awesome" comes to mind.

"The most important scientific instrument since Galileo’s original telescope" is how the press materials describe the Hubble, and after seeing this film, one has to agree. OK, nuclear reactors, perhaps. The microchip, sure. But if science means discovery and perspective on who and where we are, the Hubble has to leap into the top.

The film is well-designed. It starts with images from the Hubble's telescope after it was first launched nearly two decades ago, but then shifts into the drama of repairing the telescope, with great shots of space walks and nervous repairs of the telescope. The film succumbs to the IMAX tendency to get focussed on scientific process and to look for interesting characters to pull the viewer in, feature film-style. Remember, IMAX films are largely targeted at school groups.

But those sequences are interesting on their own, and the drama surround the Hubble's launch and repair is compelling. In fact, the entire film is completely engrossing. But space! We want to go back there, and soon enough, the short film is back probing the impossible distances the Hubble can see, all the way out to the edge of the universe, as well as all the way back in time to the earliest years of its formation.

When the film gets back to the visions offered by the new, improved Hubble at the film's conclusion - of stars and galaxies being born, dying or just being their enormous, gorgeous selves - one is swept right back up in this utterly mind-bending film, as the IMAX's 3D cameras aid in creating a deep, complex sense of the universe surrounding us.

I hesitate to try to describe these visions, as words really don't communicate what one sees. Several times during the film, my friend and I turned to each other, our comically-large, Elvis Costello-shaped 3D glasses on our faces, our jaws dropped, as one remarkable vision after another appeared.

Dazzling film audiences is a goal in contemporary movie-making, especially now, in the era of 3D multiplex movies. But IMAX's "Hubble 3D" is several steps beyond razzle dazzle into something that will give viewers not just a thrill, but a sense of how grand, complex and impossibly beautiful the universe we live in really is. "Hubble 3D" won't just entertain, or perhaps even "just" educate; it has the potential to expand consciousness, to offer a perspective that we miss entirely in daily life.

Do not miss "Hubble 3D."

The Esquire IMAX Theatre is located at 1211 K Street on downtown Sacramento's K Street Mall next door to the Sacramento Convention Center. To order reserved seats and for information on showtimes, please call 916/443-IMAX or visit the website at www.imax.com/sacramento.

Go on a "Digital Odyssey" with Sac Film Festival

2010-04-12T07:05:41Z

The annual Sacramento International Film Festival will kick off at the Crest Theatre on Saturday.

The festival, which began in 1995 as the Sacramento Festival of Cinema, features documentaries, and short and feature films. This year's theme is "Digital Odyssey."

Executive director Martin Anaya estimated there are 120 films this year.

"There's more than a hundred films, and you look at it and it's like, 'I don't know, none of these films have Brad Pitt.' Some of them have known actors, and you might go because you recognize the name, but for the most part they don't. So why go to an unknown movie? What I say is investigate it a little bit, there's trailers online, check it out. What you're going to find is a diamond. You're going to find hidden gems. That's what we're doing. We're unveiling the next Quentin Tarantino, the next big thing, the next Steven Spielberg, the next George Lucas, before they become that household name you equate with quality."

Digital Odyssey refers to filmmaking's conversion from film to digital, according to Anaya.

"We're talking about this transmedia thing; the reality is that more films are going to be made like 'Avatar,' with less films made like 'Casablanca,'" Anaya said. "The actual homage is from Arthur C. Clarke's novel 2001: A Space Odyssey. Well, he wrote a second book, 2010: Odyssey Two. So I'm thinking; what would be the 2010 version? 'Digital Odyssey,' because it's all these new technologies in entertainment and communication that's driving innovation and that's driving the American economy right now. It's not really so much space but the space we occupy here on firma terra."

The festival held a preview Sunday at California State University, Sacramento, of the 'Sacramento Latino Film Festival,' student and short films. The festival opens Saturday and will run until April 24. A grand finale and awards ceremony is scheduled April 25.

Venues for the festival include the Crest Theatre and the California State Railroad Museum, with most films shown at the 24th Street Theatre.

Anaya said the festival offers Sacramento definition as a cultural center:

"The one main reason is that people always refer to Sacramento in competition to, or in juxtaposition to, other places. And we definitely suffer from that capital city mentality which is that all the cool places are near us. People always ask, 'What's the one reason you love living in Sacramento?' and the response is always because it's close to everything. No, it's because it's the center of everything. So what I think is important about this film festival is, we're not just a center of government, we're a cultural center. We're not a cultural center because we're in comparison to L.A. or because we're in the shadow of San Francisco. It's how you want to self-define. The festival gives us the opportunity to self-define greatness and what we are doing in this festival is world class."

Tickets are $10 general admission and select double features; $20 for individual workshops. The festival's website offers a $99 all-access pass for a limited time.

For more information, visit the festival's website.

Photos:

1) Crest Theatre exterior

2) 24th Street Theatre exterior

3) 24th Street Theatre

Photos by Agnus-Dei Farrant

Local Astronaut Promotes Launch of IMAX'S "Hubble 3D"

2010-04-10T05:44:21Z

About 250 people showed up Thursday evening to meet astronaut and Sacramento native Stephen K. Robinson at the Sacramento premiere of IMAX film "Hubble 3D" at the Esquire IMAX Theatre. The film opens April 23.

It chronicles the 2009 Atlantis shuttle mission that repaired and upgraded the Hubble telescope. Leonardo DiCaprio narrates.

"This event is exciting because it allows everybody to get a taste of what it's like to be in space, not just to be in space but to work in space," Robinson said. "And to do useful work, in this case, to upgrade the Hubble telescope. The Hubble has given us all eyes that we all wish we had. To see out into the universe, and when you look far out into the universe it's like looking back in time because that light is very old. So, here's the space and time machine that is Hubble, and everybody gets a chance to go work on it in this movie."

Robinson answered questions and narrated a slideshow about his space mission in February aboard the shuttle Endeavour.

The purpose of the mission was to construct the final permanent modules of the International Space Station. They included a life-support hub called Tranquility that contained exercise, water recycling and environmental control systems. Robinson directed three spacewalks from inside Endeavour and was chief mechanic in preparing Tranquility.

After his presentation and a question-and-answer session, the audience members donned their 3D glasses.

The film documented the history of Hubble, life on the shuttle, preparation of crew members and their spacewalks. Sounds of awe were heard when Hubble's photographs came on the screen.

Seven astronauts aboard Atlantis worked to extend the lifespan of the 20-year-old telescope. Two instruments were installed, and two others received new batteries and gyroscopes. New thermal insulation panels were attached to protect Hubble from the intense temperature changes in space. It is hoped that the work will extend Hubble's life to at least 2014.

The two new instruments included a camera that allows Hubble to photograph in ultraviolet and infrared spectrums.

"It was awesome," audience member Ellen Savage said of the film. "What I liked best was seeing the image of the astronauts on the spacewalk and repairing the Hubble. As a kid you imagine what it must feel like, but to actually see their perspective looking up at the Hubble and down at the Earth is amazing."

Hubble's images illustrated the immensity of space, from the deep reaches of neighboring galaxies back to planet Earth.

"I think if you're really curious about getting some perspective on our Earth itself, all this talk about global warming and all these things going wrong, it really gives you a sense of respect for what we have," said IMAX's Heather Atherton. "And it's so unique and so special that we really do need to preserve it. All these space films always brings that message home, that this is a really precious resource and we're unique, and if we don't take care of it, who knows what will happen? Seeing all of that out there, well, we don't know what's out there, but we know what we have here."

The Hubble was launched in 1990. It took more than 10 years and 10,000 people to build it, according to the film. It travels 320 miles above Earth at a rate of 17,500 miles per hour. The film documents the fifth and final servicing mission. The first, and probably most famous, occurred in 1993 when it was discovered that the telescope's primary mirror was not shaped correctly.

Doug Link, senior consultant of theater resources and marketing and operations, said that IMAX has a history of working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

"We have a history of space films and a great relationship with NASA. When we came out with 'Space Station 3D' in 2002, NASA was very good about providing astronauts to come out and talk about the film," Link said. "We had 'Magnificent Desolation' and Steve Robinson at that point had already done his big famous spacewalk, and we knew he was from Sacramento. So we called NASA and requested him. He jumped on it and came out and helped us promote and launch the film."

Three space films are in the Esquire IMAX Theatre's library, but Link states that "Hubble 3D" is completely different:

"We've had films about the space shuttles, we've had films about the space station, we've had films about the moon, but this one is about the Hubble space telescope. It's also about what the telescope is seeing. People have seen some of the nebula images on TV or on their computer, but the thing about the IMAX screen is the detail and how immersing it is. It's going to be like being in those nebulas because there's a significant portion of the film that's showing the pictures Hubble has taken. Those are high definition photos and it'll transfer very uniquely onto the IMAX screen in 3D."

Robinson signed autographs after the film.

"I thought the movie was inspiring," he said. "I learned a whole lot about the reaches of the universe. I did not know that the Hubble could look far to the edges of the universe, or as far as we know, at least. It's like looking back in time. Who doesn't want to do that?"

When asked what the greatest thing the audience may take away from this film was, Robinson replied:

"Faith in humanity and what we all can do. Those people that you see in those movies, I know them, they're regular people. They're very fortunate people, very hardworking, rather stubborn people. But they're like you and I. It just goes to show that as audacious an idea it is for humans to go up into space, to go outside, and fix and repair a very delicate telescope with their hands, as crazy as that sounds, it takes regular people like us with our motivation and our intelligence and our curiosity and our irrepressible spirit to actually do things like that. And I think when people walk out of the theater, they'll have more of a feeling like that. I want them to think that it's not those guys, it's us."

The G-rated 43-minute film will run through the summer, according to Link.
Tickets are $10 general admission, $9 for seniors and $8 for children 12 years old and younger. Active military members receive a $2 discount.
Esquire IMAX Theatre is at 1211 K St.. (916) 443-IMAX.
For more information, visit here.

Photos:

1) "Hubble 3D" poster details

2) The Esquire IMAX Theatre located at 1211 K St.

3) "Hubble 3D" poster

4) Astronaut Stephen K. Robinson

5) Robinson being interviewed before the premiere

Banff Mountain Film Festival to Davis

2010-04-09T04:51:56Z

I started attending the Banff Mountain Film Festival screenings in Davis in middle school as a way to relate to my hyperactive dad.

I tagged along with him to lots of cool things I didn't fully appreciate. I remember sinking with embarrassment when he whispered loudly at me for texting during a screening of "Touching the Void" at the Crest Theatre. He'd take me to the Banff Mountain Film Festival in Davis, and I'd complain that his old farty mountain friends smelled like body odor.

Secretly, I loved every second. The short films and documentaries are fast-paced, shot in the most exotic corners of the world and feature the most compelling, gutsy and mentally strong individuals. The audience is always engaged and happy. Even the BO has its charms.

I'm not alone in feeling this way. The Banff Mountain Film Festival, born in 1976, took its show on the road 10 years later in its first-ever tour through three Canadian cities. Over the years, demand has compelled festival coordinators to expand the festival's tour schedule to hit more cities in more than 30 countries. Next week, BANFF "Road Warrior" Charla Sharp Tomlinson brings the highly anticipated international tour to Davis High School's Richard M. Brunelle Theater.

"Banff Mountain Film Festival has been coming to Davis for 11 years now" said Rocknasium owner and Banff-emcee, Mark Leffler. "It attracts a big mix of people: college students, families, athletes, regular Davis folk."

The short films and documentaries screened on tour represent a greater selection of mountain sport films screened each year in Banff, Alberta. Leffler previews films, reads feedback, and discusses audience reactions with touring Timberlon to lay out the final Davis program.

He said to expect a good solo climbing film featuring local talent.

He also anticipates the screening of "Take a Seat," a Banff Jury Award winner, about a man's 32,000-kilometer tandem bicycle journey from the north coast of Alaska to the southern tip of South America.

"This guy picks up strangers along the way; it sounds like a quintessentially Banff film" Leffler said.

The Banff Mountain Film Festival in Davis is at 6:30 p.m. April 13 and 14 at Davis High School's Richard M. Brunelle Theater, 315 W. 14th St.

Tickets are $12 and available at the Rocknasium by calling (530) 757-2902.

Got a Story? Learn to Write a Short Script and Make a Movie

2010-03-21T09:51:14Z

ACCESS SACRAMENTO presents
New Scriptwriting Class - PCS 2010
By popular demand, we now offer special a scriptwriting class (three Saturdays, 10am - 2pm) on writing "short form" film scripts. Polish your PCS entry or take the short course to further your film writing skills. Limited enrollment - $50 fee per session. Register in advance at Access Sacramento by calling (916) 456-8600 "0" with a credit card. Need not be an Access Sacramento member or Sacramento County resident to sign-up for this class. Sign-up early - class will fill fast. Matt is in great demand as a script writing teacher. The “Place Called Sacramento” script entry deadline is Monday, April 19th, at noon.

Saturdays - April 3, 10, & 17
10 AM-2 PM Nevada City Room

Coloma Center

The rules of conflict- Dramatic structure and beats- Proper screenplay format -

Creating interesting characters- Writing good dialogue- Mastering the short form

Writing means rewriting- Upping the dramatic stakes- "Eight pages, three acts"

Biography
Matt Perry received an MFA in filmmaking from New York University's graduate school of film and is the author of several screenplays. Formerly the A/V Manager for an Auburn, California multimedia company he now runs his own business and teaches Screenwriting and Film Studies at Cosumnes River College and the Art Institute of Sacramento. He is a devotee of kundalini yoga and running.

Matt Perry, filmmojo@earthlink.net

Sign up in the Access Sacramento Office or at (916) 456-8600

The Crest Goes Wild and Scenic

2010-02-06T04:27:25Z

Art met environmentalism Thursday at the Crest Theater when the first annual "Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival" made a one-night stop. This version of the "Wild and Scenic" is an extension of the original film festival that is in its eighth year in Nevada City. The event is sponsored by the South Yuba River Citizens League.

The condensed festival in Sacramento also was sponsored by the S.O.S. Cranes, Habitat 2020, the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) and several other local environmental activist groups. It was made possible by a grant from Patagonia as well as donations from other organizations, including Clif Bar, Tom's of Maine, Osprey Packs and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.

The event benefited the California Heartland Project, a program that targets conservation and preservation of the biological diversity of the Sacramento Valley.

Eleven films were chosen from the original 120 film, three-day festival in Nevada City. The films ranged in length from 3 minutes to more than an hour. The topics of discussion covered everything from climate change and grassroots activism to natural beauty and generational problems.

"We tried to select films with local appeal," said Matthew Baker, habitat director of ECOS. "This is a pretty exciting night."

The master of ceremonies, Koula Gianulias of Channel 13 News, kept the evening flowing with commentary.

The longest film, "A Sea Change" by Barbara Ettinger, told the story of a man and his grandson on a quest of knowledge about acid levels in the ocean. Just as impressive as the knowledge they gained was the bond they built.

Each film had a touch of artistic flare or humor, but the serious nature of the matter resounded. We face serious environmental issues today, and amassing knowledge at events like these may be our only hope for a future. I have never experienced people so eager to share ideas with strangers as at the "Wild and Scenic Film Festival."

For more information on the largest environmental film festival in the United States, see www.wildandscenicfilmfestival.org.

Review: The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

2010-01-16T00:16:04Z

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
Directed by Terry Gilliam

By Tony Sheppard
Capitol Weekly

This is a movie that will be seen for two reasons: The movie itself and morbid curiosity associated with the death of its star, Heath Ledger. Ledger had completed “The Dark Knight” and was shooting this when he died of an accidental drug overdose, leaving Director Terry Gilliam with half a movie, no lead actor, and an uncertain future for the project.

Gilliam is still best known by some of us as the wacky animator for the original Monty Python shows. But he’s also an accomplished director of not just Python movies, but also “Brazil,” “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” and “Twelve Monkeys,” amongst others. He’s also been trying to film “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” (currently back in production with Johnny Depp involved) for years, with a truly disastrous earlier attempt chronicled in the noteworthy documentary “Lost in La Mancha.” So he’s no stranger to adversity in production.

But a dead lead actor is extreme adversity. Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell all stepped up and agreed to fill in for Ledger. Gilliam was able to make that work in a manner that is far more successful than it might sound. The story revolves around the ancient and mystical Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) who, we discover, has spent a great deal of time making questionable wagers and agreements with the Devil (Tom Waits). He currently drags a ragtag group around in an amazing horse-drawn sideshow in which audience members are able to pass through a magical mirror into imaginary worlds. This is where the heart of the film lies, in Gilliam’s extraordinary view of a fantasy world – one that makes you want to peak under the rocks and into the crevices of his very weird mind.

Into this arrives Tony Sheppard—played mainly by Ledger and, yes, that’s really the character’s name!—a mysterious stranger who falls in with this odd group and possibly has an agenda of his own.

This is a very cool movie – both for the crazy visuals (Gilliam at his best) and for the extraordinarily effective writing that pulled such a winning outcome out of such tragic circumstances. It might be the morbid curiosity that drives you to see it, but the movie can capably take it from there.

Topical Bi-Racial Film Script gets Reading in Sacramento

2010-01-14T19:01:58Z

Wagner Media Group presents a reading of its latest film project, For the Love of Ivy, Sunday, January 17th at the Big Idea Theatre, 1616 Del Paso Blvd., Sacramento at 2 pm. For the Love of Ivy is a bi-racial love story, told in flashbacks, that begins a few days prior to the arrest of Rosa Parks, on December 1st, 1955. The central character, Ivy, is a young black maid who has impressed Tyler Madison and his wife June, who have just moved to a small Southern town from the more liberal North.

Author John Wagner has made his story very topical by framing it with scenes of President Obama being sworn into office in the beginning and the end. We see Ivy as an elderly woman who can’t believe what she’s seeing. The rest of the script makes one realize why she feels this way.

After his wife dies unexpectedly in childbirth, Madison helps Ivy learn to read and write, and, in the process falls in love with her. Their relationship becomes sexual.....and dangerous......since sleeping with a "colored" woman was against the law in most of the Southern states then.

Word leaks out to the residents of their small town, creating a firestorm of disgust and hatred. Eventually, Tyler and an unlikely ally, find justice for Ivy, who has nearly recovered from a life-threatening assault. Finally, Ivy asks Tyler to come with her to Montgomery, Ala., to "meet this Rosa Parks".

Wagner has assembled an experience cast of local actors for this project including film actors like Bonnie Antonini who appeared in the TV show Trauma as Nurse Rodgers. Other local actors include Raul Bustamante, Charmaine Jackson, Gary Agid, Mark Hoffman, Kelley Ogden, Mark Halverson and Ann Tracy.

“I’ve found that African American actresses are often overlooked for their talent”, Wagner said when asked about writing For the Love of Ivy. “These women have a unique ability to provide compelling performances on screen. I also tapped into the local African American community by working with Suzanne Brooks (http://www.naymz.com/suzanne_brooks_1836150). I plan to produce this with the financial assistance of several investors who I’m not at liberty to name just yet.”

Wagner is no stranger to film, having been an independent film producer since 1992. His feature-length films include The Gourmet 1998, The Cheapest Movie 2000 (which premiered at the Crest) and The Mafia Chronicles 2009 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPY-jzTtc7E). He has worked as a writer, director, on-line digital editor, director of photography, casting director and occasional actor

He has been a commercial photographer in the Sacramento area since 1970, including a stint as staff photographer for Sacramento Theatre Company for several years. His photographs have appeared in Sacramento Magazine, Sacramento Spotlight Magazine The Sacramento Bee and Theatre Craft Magazine. For more information, contact John Wagner (916) 256-5558 fortheloveofivy@yahoo.com

Review: A Single Man

2010-01-08T09:30:12Z

A Single Man
Directed by Tom Ford

By Tony Sheppard
Capitol Weekly

Colin Firth plays George Falconer, a professor in 1962 Los Angeles who loses his long time partner in a distant car wreck and struggles through the lonely aftermath, trying to get through each day without him. There’s nothing unique about losing a loved one but Falconer, as a gay man in that period, has only one person he can share his feelings with, his best friend Charley (Julianne Moore) with whom he also shares a complicated past. At work and in his daily life, he maintains a stoicism that hides the lost romance that was always hidden.

“A Single Man” is based on the novel by Christopher Isherwood – the Chris of “Chris and Don” and the writer of the source material for “Cabaret.” The film is directed by fashion designer Tom Ford. There are some directorial choices that are a little too self-conscious at times, but the result is still powerful and one of the top picks of the year (it’s a 2009 film opening slightly late in Sacramento). Firth is excellent in the lead role [side note: Firth himself is the child of two college educators] and is supported well by Moore and by Matthew Goode as lost love Jim (seen in flashbacks – and also seen in another release this week: “Leap Year”). All grown up since 2002’s “About a Boy,” Nicholas Hoult plays a concerned student in one of George’s classes and rounds out the cast nicely.

It’s perhaps too easy to look at “A Single Man” in the context of the era depicted and sympathize with George for the time in which he lived. This was California a decade before Harvey Milk moved from New York City to San Francisco and a period when ‘moral turpitude’ was still very much an issue, especially for educators. But, almost 50 years later, and despite much greater acceptance of gays in society, many individuals still live in fear of adverse family reactions and even the loss of employment for simply being themselves. One of the complications for George is that he isn’t welcome at Jim’s funeral—and is only even aware of it because of the kindness of a single sympathetic family member. This is not something that will be hard to appreciate for gay members of the audience, especially those who have had to cope with similar inhospitality and homophobia. And the fictional George and Jim, as well as the real life Chris and Don, would still not be able to marry in today’s California.

But, politics aside, the movie is excellent and reminiscent of both “Lost in Translation” and “The Visitor” in terms of capturing a mood and a moment in the life of a middle aged man who no longer expects to form the type of personal connections he has previously. It would make an interesting double-header with the character study of middle-aged isolation, albeit more self-inflicted, depicted by George Clooney in the similarly excellent “Up in the Air.”

"A Single Man" opens at the Crest Theatre, January 8th.
For showtimes and other details visit www.thecrest.com.

Roseville Filmmakers Just May Change Your Life

2010-01-07T17:21:04Z

A group of Roseville filmmakers have made their dreams reality with an inspiring full-length film.

No Parking is a beautiful story written by Seth Shore made into a full-length film directed by Hector Marquez. It premiered with great local acclaim that hopes to propel it to further success as a project that is much larger than the movie alone. Much like the movie’s tagline, “the ride is the destination”, the film is only the beginning of the overall drive for No Parking.

Grief coerces Paul and Ray to embark on a high school dream they never entertained with action. An 11 day road trip in a ’73 Volkswagen Bus is impetus for revelation into the human heart at its rawest point; when ‘the darkness takes all the good memories’ and all the cheer-up clichés are stripped away. The journey relieves a sense of hopelessness thru goading discussion and sometimes the frank challenge of a friend.

No Parking was filmed in majority on the road. The actors and crew traversed the California countryside in a caravan led by the film's true star, a cherry red VW Bus affectionately dubbed ‘Lucille’. In a testament to tenacity of entire project, Lucile would be the only vehicle not to experience mechanical trouble the entirety of the trip.

The film quality is not as strong as its commanding story, but as a stepping-stone to the overarching project, No Parking is an outrageously promising dream you cannot help but cheer-on to reality. At present it is a gripping story accompanying a breath-taking film montage of the state of California, but its future is one without time.

Marquez says the next step is to finish the "final cut" and discover an agent to represent the film for domestic and foreign theatrical release.

“Fox Family Home Entertainment has extended a domestic DVD release offer for retail release (Target, Wal-mart, Best Buy, etc.), and rental licensing (Blockbuster, Amazon, Netflix, etc.)!”

The greater goal is for as many people as possible to be able to see the story. Marquez adds, “If it makes a difference in their experience of life, then pass it on!”

Keep an eye on their journey, but do not stop there. Join the journey at noparkingmovie.com or follow them on twitter @noparkingmovie

It's a Crappy Christmas at Movies on a Big Screen

2009-12-16T23:02:55Z

Disclaimer: the contributor of this and his wife run Movies on a Big Screen (MOBS), Sacramento’s weekly screening series of documentaries, general independent film, classics and cult titles. The following is blatant self-promotion of a MOBS event.

According to Andy Williams' 1963 carol, "It's the most wonderful time of the year." Well this year, Movies on a Big Screen has decided to restore some balance to the equation by offering two Crappy Christmas shows!

On Sunday, December 20, Movies on a Big Screen will "present" the 1964 anti-classic, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, also known by the far more thrilling title, Santa Defeats the Aliens. Briefly, this "fun-filled romp" involves Martians (and their cardboard robot, Torg) kidnapping Santa and two Earth children and taking them on a cross-planetary trip back to their home base on Mars. When they (finally) arrive, Santa, with the help of the other abductees and a rather simple-minded Martian lackey, overcomes the Martians by bringing fun, happiness and Christmas cheer to the children of Mars. The "film" also features a young Pia Zadora playing a blank-faced Martian child, along with the most realistic (ahem) polar bear you'll ever see. You know you're in trouble when "Costume" is misspelled in the opening credits.

The following week, on Sunday, December 27, things just get crappier when MOBS takes any remaining good will you may have left and kicks it to the gutter by showing the 1959 Mexican film, Santa vs. Satan. This was shown at MOBS last year, and in a baffling development, is actually back by popular demand (?). The English language version will be shown (that should be read as, "with bad dubbing"). This year, the "motion picture" will be hosted by nationally syndicated late night horror host, Cinema Insomnia's Mr. Lobo. Crappy Christmas presents will be handed out to an unlucky few; there won't be presents for everyone just to make it even crappier.

About Santa vs. Satan:
Santa lives on a cloud floating over the North Pole where, rather than elves, children from all over the world help make toys -- and they're really more like enslaved laborers. Is this a Santa that you would want coming down your chimney? Not so much. He's pretty creepy with an overly sweet voice paired with a disturbing (and decidedly unjolly) laugh with insincere and sometimes vacant eyes staring at children through odd Sid and Marty Krofft-like devices. However, Satan is determined to undermine Santa so sends his minion, Pitch (a skinny guy in a cheap, red suit), to the surface to make the kids of the world hate Santa and engage in vandalism. Did I mention the vampiric mechanized reindeer? No? Or the interpretive dance in Hell? Hmm...

You know, it's not really a Christmas movie without dialog like, "There's a prowler out there -- he's come to kill your wife. And your children. He's going to murder you!"

It's best summed up by the following online review:
"How can a movie get everything so very, very wrong and yet be so very, very right? If you aren't the least bit familiar with this surreal trip into an extremely non-traditional view of jolly ol' St. Nick, perhaps the less known the better, as half the fun of this colossal mess is staring in dumbfounded awe at what is transpiring on the screen. It's a hoot. A damned scary hoot, granted, but certainly a hoot." - dvdinmypants.com

Details about the Crappy Christmas shows:

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
Sunday, December 20, 2009
7:30 PM
Movies on a Big Screen at The Guild
2828 35th St, Sacramento (at the corner of 35th & Broadway)
Admission: $5.00

Santa vs. Satan, hosted by Cinema Insomnia's Mr. Lobo
Sunday, December 27, 2009
7:30 PM
Movies on a Big Screen at The Guild
2828 35th St, Sacramento (at the corner of 35th & Broadway)
Admission: $5.00

"All this trouble over a fat little man in a red suit" - Voldar, in Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.

http://www.moviesonabigscreen.com

A Christmas Story at the Crest

2009-12-14T23:15:38Z

Downtown's Crest Theater will screen A Christmas Story, the retro comedy classic based on Jean Shepherd's novel, in the third annual Christmas Story at the Crest event Saturday, December 19. Beginning at noon, guests will enjoy several tables of home-baked sweets and hot chocolate in the lobby of the gorgeous art deco theater, while awaiting their turn to meet a real-bearded Santa, available to take gift requests and photos with hopeful children and adults. The film begins at 1 p.m. Ten dollar tickets will benefit Jesuit High School.

For the uniquely uninitiated, A Christmas Story is the campy cult classic about 1940's school kid, Ralphie Parker, who wants nothing more than for Santa to deliver an "Official Red Ryder, Carbine-Action-Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle" on Christmas morning, in spite of all the tyrannical, short-sighted adults who can only obsessively respond "You'll shoot your eye out!"

En route to this goal, of course, hilarity ensues. Ralphie is regularly chased by the neighborhood bully, watches his buddy freeze his tongue to the school flagpole, and has his own mouth washed out with soap (Lifebouy, to be exact) for uttering words he learned from his father, who "wove a tapestry of obscenities that as far as we know is still hanging in space over Lake Michigan."

The film, which airs on television throughout the holiday season, is only seen once a year locally on the big screen, and then at the only local theater with the proper historical street cred to do it justice. The Crest lobby and big theater set the right tone -- a little bit old fashioned, a little bit edgy, a little bit sweet, a little bit tongue-in-cheek.

Tickets can be purchased at the theater box office or online at tickets.com.

Review: The Messenger

2009-11-27T09:26:35Z

The Messenger
Directed by Oren Moverman

By Tony Sheppard
Capitol Weekly

Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson are an Army Casualty Notification Detail, tasked with informing the N.O.K. (next of kin) when their loved ones have been killed in action. It’s a soul-destroying assignment and, as explained by the older man (Harrelson) to his younger colleague (Foster), it’s not one that can be made easier by staged shows of understanding. But it’s a necessary function in a time of webcams and cable news shows. They race to get to the N.O.K. before they hear the news from anybody else.

Foster has been on the edge of stardom for a decade and may be best recognized recently as Angel in “X-Men: The Last Stand” or as Charlie Prince in “3:10 to Yuma.” As staff sergeant Will Montgomery, Foster turns in a gritty and realistic performance that’s similar to Ryan Gosling’s career-altering “Half Nelson.” This is also Harrelson at his best in the supporting role, with the mentorship between the two men reminiscent of Ned Beatty and Liev Schreiber in the woefully under-appreciated “Spring Forward.”

“The Messenger” is also a timely reminder of loss during a war in which we weren’t allowed to see flag-draped coffins and funerals. Harrelson’s captain Stone remarks that every funeral should be on live TV and laments: “…and then bullets fly and soldiers die and it’s such a shock – what did they think it was going to be like, ‘Fear Factor’?”

But the strength of the film is in its notion of what it means to be a casualty during wartime as the notification process produces even more casualties of war in the families of those who are lost. The notification detail themselves are also victims of time served in situations the rest of us will remain blissfully ignorant of. One wife explains that it’s hard to mourn the man who died during a third tour of duty in Iraq when you’re already mourning the man he was before tours one and two. They’re all casualties of lost lives, loves, and innocence and the movie is a remarkable portrayal of that harsh reality. “The Messenger” is vying with “The Hurt Locker” for this year’s top war film honors.

The Messenger was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival and won both the Best Screenplay Award and the Peace Film Award at the Berlin Film Festival. For more information visit www.themessengermovie.com

The Messenger opens Friday, November 27th exclusively at The Crest Theatre. Opening weekend screenings will be on the historic main screen and validated parking is available in the 10th and L Street garage. For showtimes visit www.thecrest.com

A week of "El Santo" films at La Raza Galeria Posada

2009-10-26T07:12:08Z

Rodolfo Huerta, lucha libre wrestler and one of Mexico's most beloved film icons, is known as El Santo, or "The Saint." What's surprising though, is that the masked wrestler-cum-actor lived up to his exalted moniker on and off the screen.

El Santo "saved" the Mexican film industry as it was on its deathbed, creating films that drew patrons back to the big screens, said Fred Dobb, film curator at La Raza Galeria Posada. When El Santo died in 1984 at the age of 66, thousands watched as the famous actor/wrestler was buried in his signature silver mask.

For one week, starting Monday, La Raza Galeria Posada will show an El Santo film every night. The free series is sponsored by the Consulate General of Mexico.

El Santo was a poor child and sacrificed to get into wrestling, Dobb said. After his career took off, he was turned into a comic book hero, then became a film superstar.

Dobb described the familiar plot of El Santo's 50-plus films: The good guy, El Santo would fight a number of enemies, which included monsters, vampires, werewolves, martians, evil geniuses and Nazis.

"These films are unique in that they combine genres (such as) sci-fi, horror, action, adventure and wrestling," Dobb added. "His first film was in the early '50s, during the end of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema."

"Lucha libre is next to soccer and before bullfighting (in significance) in the cultural psyche of Mexico," said Michael Collett, the gallery's education manager and photographer. "It has elements of prime-time soap operas and WWF."

Although entry, popcorn, beer and wine are free, donations are welcome. Films begin at 7 p.m. at La Raza Galeria Posada, 1022 22nd St. On Thursday, Dobb will speak about El Santo's life and legacy.

The films are:

Monday: Anónimo Mortal (Anonymous Mortal), not subtitled

Tuesday: Santo y Blue Demon en la Atlántida (Santo and Blue Demon in Atlantis), subtitled

Wednesday: Santo vs. Las Lobas (Good vs. The Wolf), subtitled

Thursday: Santo en el Museo de Cera (Ghost in the Wax Museum), subtitled

Friday: Santo y Blue Demon vs. Los Monstruos (Santo and Blue Demon vs. The Monsters), not subtitled

If that's not enough lucha libre films, on Halloween the gallery will show Revolucha, a 2007 documentary about a lucha libre match in Detroit. It stars El Hijo del Santo, the only one of El Santo's 11 children who became a professional wrestler. Costumes are suggested.

Frank Andrick presents ELEMENTS on Monday Oct 12th

2009-10-11T07:02:56Z

SPC Presents
Frank Andrick's ELEMENTS

An evening of poetry, prose, storytelling, film, cine-poems, sound and music on October 12th

1719 25th Street (25th and R)

featuring Christopher Fairman, Josh Fernandez, Wendy Rivara,
and David Houston and Strings

plus screenings of films by Man Ray and Stan Brakhage

Mon. Oct. 12, 2009 At 7:30 PM
Host: Bob Stanley
refreshments and a poetic meet and greet at 7:30
Free. Donations Accepted.
1) The show starts at 8:00PM sharp with a short film plus poem and songs by Chris Fairman.

2) Segue into a set by Frank Andrick reading/performing poems interpolated with films by Man Ray, Stan Brakhage, etc. with an additional few poems with Wendy Rivera on theremin and Frank Andrick on vox.

3) Then the stage is set for David Houston and Strings. The wonderful wordwork and imagery and voice of David Houston set to "Strings" (his working string section.)

Josh has written a new story for the evening, and frank has a few new things too. Join us for all the FUN this evening.

p.s. . WHO KNOWS what might happen and what you might hear, and see! Only one way to find out!

SIGLFF encourages all to embrace their sexuality

2009-10-08T05:01:11Z

The Sacramento International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (SIGLFF), Sacramento's largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) art event, is coming to the Crest Theatre Thursday through Saturday.

"Embrace your sexuality, whatever it is," said Patti Barcena of SIGLFF. "SIGLFF is good entertainment. Where else will you get to see GLBT films with such an appreciative audience?"

SIGLFF is a non-profit event that shows worldwide film and video works of both positive or critical portrayals of GLBT communities, people and aspects of their daily lives. "This international festival provides an outlet for GLBT filmmakers to express themselves and have their works shown on a big screen to a general audience, a feat that is oftentimes hard to accomplish with a GLBT-themed film," Barcena said.

"The goal of this event is to show that we can come together with our shared experiences and create an authentic reflection of our community," said Dawn Deason, president of SIGLFF.

Each night of the three-night festival is composed of different short and feature length films. While a variety of themes are explored, such as being true to yourself and coming of age, according to Barcena, the program is very youthful and full of humor.

The festival will open with two short films, "Paris Noir" directed by Alexandra McGuinness and "Frequent Traveler" directed by Patricia Bateria. Thursday night's showing concludes with "The Big Gay Musical" directed by Casper Andreas and Fred M. Caruso. "The Big Gay Musical" follows the lives of Paul and Eddie, actors whose lives mirror the characters they are playing. Paul is looking for the perfect man but seems to only have disastrous dating experiences, while Eddie is dealing with how sexuality and faith can mix.

Friday night's showing has a similar format to Thursdays featuring two short films, "Girl Talk" directed by Jennifer Smith and "U-Haul: The Music Video" directed by Bob Koehr, followed by Shamin Sarif's feature length film "I Can't Think Straight." An entertaining, romantic comedy, "I Can't Think Straight," is a sweet story about two women, one Indian and the other Palestinian, and their preparations to get married.

Fifteen short films will conclude the festival Saturday night. Films include: "Dinx," "Make a Mate," "James," "A Day at the Beach," "Dish," "Buttery Top," "Downstream (Im Fluss)," "The Marionettes," "Allison My Love," "On the Bus," "510 Meters Above Sea Level," "El Mueble de las Fotos," "Peking Turkey," "Judgment Day" and "How Do I Say This? I’m Gay."

"The short program is really fun," Barcena said. "There are such a variety of films - from comedies to musicals to animation. There is a program for everyone."

Most films strike an emotional chord with the audience, said Jennifer Novak, of Sunburst Projects. "They really make people aware that we are all human beings."

In the past, the audience has been so inspired, they have ended with film on their feet cheering for the film's characters, Barcena said.

"Nobody cheers for the GLBT characters in mainstream film," Barcena pointed out. "The reaction to SIGLFF has been fabulous."

After the showing, each audience member will have a chance to vote for their favorite film.

SIGLFF was started in 1992 by Allan Cole and was based on a student-run gay and lesbian film festival at Fresno State. Cole and his organizers worked together with students from the California State University, Sacramento Gay and Lesbian Alliance and the Delta Lambda Phi fraternity to organize SIGLFF. The first year was a huge, sold-out event prompting SIGLFF to be continually held each year in early October to celebrate National Coming Out Day, observed every October 11.

SIGLFF shares the proceeds of this event with local non-profit organizations. This years beneficiaries are the Lambda Players and Sunburst Projects.

The Lambda Players serve the GLBT community by educating and entertaining through live theatre, including works from local GLBT play writes.

Sunburst Projects is a local organization that helps improve the lives of thousands of primarily low-income HIV or AIDS infected and affected family members and children. They work to address the social, emotional and psychological needs and care of those impacted by HIV and AIDS.

"The money raised by SIGLFF will go to our children and teens to help support monthly activities, such as laser tag, adopt-a-child holiday program and our summer camp programs," Novak said.

Since 1992, SIGLFF has raised more than $34,300 which has benefited a variety of organizations including Breaking Barriers, Women's Health Services and Center for AIDS Research & Education.

All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. An individual ticket to the event is $10 and an all-festival pass is $25. Pass holders receive free entry to all programs and the SIGLFF sponsored events before and after each program, including special seating, an opening night reception at the Cosmo Cafe and wine and hors d'oeuvres before the Friday and Saturday showings.

Tickets are available at the Crest Theatre, 1013 K Street, tickets.com and The Beat Music Store, 1700 J Street.

Photos are courtesy of SIGLFF.

'That Midnight Kiss' lights up the Crest's 60th anniversary celebration

2009-10-08T03:09:57Z

The Crest theatre brought back memories for one pair of Sacramentans Tuesday Night.

Dick and Joanne Cossairt, both 76, were among hundreds on hand to celebrate the Crest's 60th anniversary with the screening of "That Midnight Kiss."

"The new Crest marquee looks the same as when we were kids," Joanne Cossairt said. "They did an amazing job."

The evening began around 6 p.m. with many in line at the concessions table for the 60th-anniversary special: ten packs of Smarties candy which were popular in the 1940s, soda and popcorn for $3. Then at 7 p.m., Crest manager Sid Heberger took to the stage to make a presentation.

She thanked those who were there at the original screening and a young couple celebrating their second wedding anniversary. As they all stood up, they were congratulated with a round of applause.

After the film, people of all ages, wearing fedoras, three-piece suits and vintages dresses, mingled in the lobby while eating cake provided by the Village Cake Shoppe. Others stood outside to look at the bright new marquee.

"It's beautiful that the Crest is being preserved, and we should not forget about (old) times," said Bob Herron, a 42-year-old downtown resident. He comes to the Crest regularly, he said, and recalled attending punk concerts there in the 1980s.

"I'm glad the city put money into the marquee instead of knocking it down and building another Parygary's or sushi or froyo," said Patrick Skiffington, a New Era Park resident. The 33-year-old is a washboard and kazoo player for the jazz duo Freebadge Serenaders.

"The Crest is cool, having to pay (only) 60 cents (for a movie) is even cooler and I think it's really cool that they showed the original film," Skiffington added.

"It was a fun movie, but cheesy," said Liz Sivell, 23, from Oak Park. Sivell said she had been hanging around at the Crest for a while, and she regularly helps out with the Trash Film Orgy, so it was just a typical night out.

"Watching the movie for a second time, you hear different things," Dick Coassairt said.

"We laughed a lot more this time," his wife added. They both saw the film the first week it opened at the Crest, but they didn't go together, she said.

In fact, Joanne turned town Dick when he asked her out on a date nearly 60 years ago, in high school. They eventually went their separate ways and both were married to other people.

Dick became a widower first when his wife died, and then Joanne was widowed when her husband passed away in 1993. Both Grant High School alumni, class of '51, the pair were reunited at their 55th high school reunion in 2006.

They were married on May 30th of this year and live together in Citrus Heights.

Several weeks ago, the recently-wed couple read a story about the Crest marquee being relit. When they saw the theater would screen "That Midnight Kiss" for its 60th anniversary celebration, they realized they both saw the movie 60 years ago.

"(The film) brings back a lot of memories," Joanne said. "I used to listen to (Mario Lanza) and do my homework."

"We used to cruise K Street," Dick added. "We would go to Stan's Drive-In down the street."

"The Crest used to be the tallest building on K Street, but now it's the shortest," Joanne said. "We would never come downtown without hats, dresses and gloves. It felt like we were kids again."

Crocker Presents Soaring Voices Film Festival October 17

2009-10-06T00:05:24Z

This fall the Crocker Art Museum will host a daylong festival of contemporary films by female directors exploring the roles of Japanese and Japanese American women. Held to coincide with the Crocker’s exhibit of contemporary ceramics by Japanese women, Soaring Voices, the festival will include four film screenings at the Guild Theater, located at 2828 35th Street, on Saturday, October 17. Local filmmakers, artists and scholars will introduce and offer insight on each film.

“Soaring Voices tells the story of Japanese women breaking into the male-only ceramic world, and these films expand on that story by looking at the position of women in Japanese society as a whole,” commented Christian Adame, manager of life-long learning at the Crocker Art Museum.

The festival will kick-off with a screening of From a Silk Cocoon at 9:30 a.m. Woven through censored letters, diary entries and haiku poetry, this documentary recounts the story of a Japanese American couple whose shattered dreams and forsaken loyalties led them to renounce their American citizenship while held in American internment camps during World War II. Local director Satsuki Ina will introduce the film.

Wool 100% will start at 11 a.m. Combining live action, puppetry and animation, this drama is about two aging women who live a solitary life collecting discarded items from a nearby town. One day they return home to find a young girl knitting a red sweater in their house. Each time the girl finishes her sweater, she mysteriously unravels it and starts again. Classical pianist Natsuki Fukasawa will introduce this film, directed by Mai Tominaga.

In Shinjuku Boys, showing at 1 p.m., directors Kim Longinotto and Jano Williams explore the complexity of female sexuality in Japan today. This film introduces three “onnabes,” women who live as men but do not usually identify as lesbians. All three, who work as hosts at the New Marilyn Club in Tokyo, talk frankly to the camera about women, sex, transvestitism and lesbianism. Cindi Sturtz Sreetharan, Ph.D., assistant director of the Asian Studies Program at Sacramento State will introduce the film.

Starting at 2:25 p.m., Sacramento Area Youth Speaks will perform original works and recitations based on the Soaring Voices exhibit.

The final film, K-20: Legend of the Mask, will be screened at 2:45 p.m. Director Shimako Sato combines a top cast with stunning visual effects to depict a story of a Ninja-like thief who lives in a very different version of 1949 Feudal Japan, where World War II never happened. This film will make its Sacramento premiere at the festival. Jenny Stark, associate professor of film and video at Sacramento State, will introduce the film.

Guests can mingle with speakers during the festival’s after party starting at 5:30 p.m. at nearby 40 Acres Art Gallery.

All day passes to the festival are $10 for Crocker Art Museum members, $15 for nonmembers and $12 for students and seniors. Light fare and refreshments will be available for purchase. Festival goers are invited to attend a pre-festival tour of Soaring Voices on Friday, October 16 at 4 p.m. This Festival is supported by VIZ Pictures, Inc., Cinema Epoch and Women Make Movies.
Reservations are required by October 14. To register for one or more films, call (916) 808-5499 or email education@crockerartmuseum.org. Passes will be available for purchase at the door. Visit crockerartmuseum.org/film for more information.

Costumed characters promote California Museum's 'Out of this World' exhibit

2009-10-01T03:49:15Z

Halloween came to Sacramento early Wednesday morning as a group of six local science fiction lovers marched downtown dressed in Klingon, Death Star Trooper and Sith Lord costumes. Dozens of children and sci-fi fans flocked to take photographs and speak with the costumed characters.

Others gawked, laughed and one child even cried as they meandered from the California Museum down K Street and past the Capitol to Cesar Chavez Plaza.

The march was organized to promote The California Museum's new sci-fi exhibit "Out of this World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television," which will run from Oct. 3 to Jan. 10. It will feature more than 50 props and costumes from some of Hollywood's most memorable sci-fi films.

Among some of the exhibit's main attractions are the Darth Vader robe and cape from Star Wars, the leather jacket worn by Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the hat worn by the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz.

Besides viewing these items, visitors will also learn how clothing designers and artists came up with ideas for the costumes and props, according to Ashley Robinson, the California Museum's communications manager.

Mark Lin, normally a business analyst in Elk Grove, was dressed as a death star trooper from Star Wars. He and another costumed storm trooper represent part of a group called the 501st Legion, a group of friends who dress up as villains from the Star Wars movies, Lin said.

Besides comic book and sci-fi conventions, the 501st Legion attends the Rose Parade and even visits children at Shriner's Hospital and the Salvation Army. Lin mentioned that he is looking forward to some of the older sci-fi costumes at the upcoming exhibit, especially the jumpsuit, proton pack and utility belt from Ghostbusters.

Three other costumed sci-fi fans were part of a Sacramento Klingon Assault Group (KAG) called "Ikvnomhegh," which means "swift death," said Chris Mumma, a KAG officer. Mumma wore a Klingon warrior costume from Star Trek complete with a plastic "bat'leth" or "sword of honor."

KAG "Ikvnomhegh" member Julio Alcala was also dressed as a Klingon, but in a plainer costume from the original Star Trek series. He mentioned that sometimes locals must travel as far as Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas to attend sci-fi or comic conventions.

After displaying an uncanny vocal impression of a Wookie from Star Wars, Alcala added that he was looking forward viewing the black leather jacket that Arnold Schwarzenneger wore in The Terminator at the exhibit.

Another KAG members, Von Bean, dressed as a female Sith Lord from Star Wars. Unlike others, she sewed the costume herself, she said.

David Mello, not affiliated with any costume group, dressed up as Fourth Who, which he explained was the fourth incarnation of Dr. Who from the BBC series "Dr. Who." Recently back from San Diego's Comic-Con, Mello blogs about movies under the pen name Impaler General.

Mello said he is excited about the variety at the Out of this World exhibit. "Even if one person is a drawn to a [specific] genre, they will look at others," he said.

"[By] putting sci-fi costumes in the same gallery space as the Lincoln exhibit, the museum will be able to reach people with different interests," Robinson added. Besides being for sci-fi fans, it's also for people who love movies or costume design in general, she said.

California Museum members will get a sneak preview of the exhibit this Thursday at 6 p.m. during a members-only preview reception. In addition to being able to party in the Star Wars cantina and eat from a table based on the monkey brains scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the gatherers will also participate in a costume competition.

Prizes include a round-trip ticket from United Airlines, a resort package from Le Rivage and Scott's Seafood Grill and Bar and four tickets to see "Star Wars: In Concert" which takes place Oct. 9 and 10 at Arco Arena. Non-members can attend the preview by signing up at the door, calling (916)-653-1752 or visiting Californiamuseum.org/membership.

The California Museum is located at 1020 O St.

Review: The Cove

2009-09-08T02:44:25Z

There’s something about the title “The Cove” that makes me think of a teen horror movie. But “The Cove” is a horror movie of an entirely different kind – a documentary about routine dolphin slaughters in Taiji, a small coastal town in Japan, and the degree of cover up and misinformation that keeps the practice from becoming common knowledge. This is a tough movie to watch, with brutal and graphic footage, but that’s also a large part of why the film exists – to capture on video what the local industry has tried to keep hidden.

This is a message movie, made to get the word out. It’s the kind of movie that demands that a reviewer actually divulge the content.

This is unusual for me and if you intend to watch the film, you might want to stop reading this column. But most of you won’t watch it (judging by the fact that I was the only viewer at a recent screening) and the message is too important to skirt around.

The film makes its central point, that there is a hidden cove where thousands of dolphins are captured or killed, in the opening minutes. The rest of the project is an unveiling of the background to this issue and essentially a “making of” film documenting the team of assorted experts who stealthily infiltrate the barricaded area around the cove to videotape the killing.

This team coalesces around Ric O’Barry, one of the most prominent dolphin activists in the world. Ironically, he’s famous for being the guy who captured and trained all five of the dolphins used in the “Flipper” TV series – the show credited for making everybody dolphin-crazy in the first place. But as he himself says, he spent 10 years buying a new Porsche every year off the dorsal fins of dolphins, and has spent the last 35 trying to free dolphins from captivity. He was arrested for attempting to free his first dolphin the day after Kathy, the lead “Flipper” dolphin, died in his arms – or as he describes it, committed suicide. There is a earnestness to O’Barry and his cause that isn’t present when Michael Vick condemns dog-fighting or when Bristol Palin promotes abstinence.

Taiji is the world’s largest source of dolphins for aquariums and dolphinariums around the world. A healthy trained female bottlenose dolphin (just like the ones in “Flipper”) can bring in $150,000. But all the others, herded by fleets of boats into Taiji, are sold for whatever their meat is worth (approx. $6,000 apiece). Japan is the world’s holdout nation when it comes to whaling in general, a trade supposedly controlled by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), but the IWC exempts dolphins and porpoises from regulation.

The film details how the Japanese have managed to manipulate the IWC not only with dubious data and reports (“we have to kill the dolphins because they’re eating all the fish”) but also by essentially buying the votes of small countries that wouldn’t otherwise care about whaling or even be members of the IWC. The film shows IWC delegates who can’t name a whale species and, for example, several Eastern Caribbean island nations who have expensive Japanese-funded fishing centers that aren’t even used.

Additionally, as apex predators in a food chain, dolphins are now illustrating our own worst fears regarding fish consumption and mercury poisoning. The US Food and Drug Administration allows 1 part per million (ppm) of mercury contamination in seafood and the Japanese allow 4 ppm. In the film, a Japanese University Professor finds 2000 ppm in a sample of dolphin meat from Taiji. Mercury poisoning is a tricky subject in Japan, where there is a history of death and birth defects, most notably in the case of Minimata disease in the 1950’s, where methyl mercury was released in industrial wastewater and poisoned the local fish and seafood around the city of Minimata.

While whale meat is somewhat accepted in Japan, dolphin meat is not - at least not as much and not outside of these smaller communities. In Taiji itself, at the whaling museum that also controls the dolphin trade, one can actually watch a dolphin show while eating dolphin. Elsewhere, as the film shows, dolphin meat from Taiji is sold and packaged as other species of whale – not only inaccurately labeled but also masking the contamination risk to consumers. In another attempt to get rid of the excess dolphin meat, local officials actually proposed supplying the school lunch program.

The assembled team is comprised of an odd mix of adventurers, free divers, and special effects and tech experts – the kinds of people who can hide video cameras in fake rocks. Amid close scrutiny from the local ‘fishing’ community and town officials, they proceed to document the slaughter in the cove that runs red from the blood of dolphins who are repeatedly stabbed until they drown. At one point, both a local official and the IWC delegate are seen proclaiming the newly adopted humane killing techniques as they are each confronted by video taken by the team.

This is a powerful and shocking film and a topic that is sadly under-exposed. For more information about the film and the problem visit www.takepart.com/thecove.

Update: For the first time, sufficient media gathered in Taiji on Sept 1st to delay or stop the start of the dolphin season.

Review: District 9

2009-08-22T19:04:17Z

District 9
Directed by Neill Blomkamp

By Tony Sheppard
Capitol Weekly

Sitting at the Number 1 spot in this week’s box office rankings and modestly masquerading as a relatively low-budget creature feature, “District 9” is brought to you in a hands-off way by producer Peter Jackson (the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy).

I say masquerading, as it’s really quite an insightful commentary on politics and international power-brokering, both past and current. The story has aliens arriving over Johannesburg, complete with their clearly superior technology and weaponry but also with a broken spaceship and apparently no intergalactic towing service. This results in two outcomes – a giant refugee camp for the stranded “prawns, “as they become known, and a great desire to crack the potentially lucrative mystery of their guns, which don’t operate in human hands. The film unfolds in the style of a news story or reality TV show, as we watch a mid-level manager undertake the manipulative relocation of 1.8 million refugees from their longstanding slum environment to a new purpose-built tent city.

But what is most noteworthy is the effective way that the film reflects our treatment of not just refugees, but people who we deem unworthy of integration. Being set in South Africa, it’s impossible to watch the movie and not think of Apartheid. But it also looks like a cross between Gaza and any number of shanty towns worldwide, with a trapped population driven to desperation in the face of a complete lack of opportunity. It’s also uncomfortably believable to watch the policing of this fictional environment being performed not by the quasi-UN-type organization depicted, but by a multi-national company of mercenaries and arms manufacturing who clearly have a greater vested interest in the hidden arsenal than in the well-being of the prawns.

Like the best of the genre, this is science fiction against a backdrop of our political and social vulnerabilities and shortcomings. The aliens and their city-sized cosmic-utility-vehicle may be hard to believe, but the humans and their actions are all too real. “District 9” is the best sci-fi of the year, with more thought-provoking content than four years at Starfleet Academy—and without all the financial aid.

An Unlikely Double-Header: Funny People & The Hurt Locker

2009-08-08T07:52:54Z

Funny People
Directed by Judd Apatow
&
The Hurt Locker
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

By Tony Sheppard
Capitol Weekly

At first sight, these two movies seem to have little in common, but watching them back-to-back while trying to catch up with the summer’s offerings reveals interesting similarities. “Funny People” is the latest from the Judd Apatow machine (‘The 40 Year SuperKnocked Dewey Zohan Step Talladega Express’ or something like that) while “The Hurt Locker” is from Kathryn Bigelow, a dudette who makes movies for dudes (“K-19: The Widowmaker” & “Point Break”). While I’m on the topic of “Point Break” does anybody know what the dudest of dudes Keanu Reeves was doing in town last week?

Anyway, “Funny People” tells the story of comedian George Simmons, played by Adam Sandler, as a character who could easily be Sandler himself in terms of both the success and choice of projects. George appears to outsiders to have everything in life – a ridiculously large house, assorted expensive cars, and flights on private jets – but he also has a blood disease and a 92% chance of imminent death. Feeling unfunny in his malaise, he hires the younger Ira (Seth Rogan), who idolizes him, to write jokes and to be his assistant.

Part of the appeal of watching “Funny People” is the insider feel as the characters encounter a significant stream of celebrities playing themselves, along with the easy onscreen friendship between Rogan, Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzmann, who play three roommates in varying stages of show business success. Not only do the relationships feel real, but the circumstances feel like those I’ve seen with friends breaking into the industry.

The Hurt Locker” focuses on a team of bomb disposal experts in Iraq five years ago, facing the constant threat of improvised explosive devices in every unexplored piece of garbage on the trash-lined streets of war-torn Baghdad. The powerful performances are helped by the lack of stellar celebrity of the recognizable but relatively less well known lead actors (Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, and Brian Geraghty). This feels more like a character study than it might if one were watching Tom Cruise or Tobey Maguire (both minor punchlines in “Funny People”) defusing bombs.

Like “Funny People,” “The Hurt Locker” works in its depictions of both friendships and acquaintanceships because of the genuineness of the awkward and ugly moments. The verbal sparring is often more harsh than fond, even between buddies. While war is often depicted onscreen as a heroic endeavor, or at least as a series of tense but heroic moments, that’s not the focus here. Instead we see decisions made for many of the wrong reasons. Respect and trust are hard-won victories, not automatic outcomes of shared uniforms and roles.

What both movies have in common are individuals driven by needs so innate they obscure or destroy other pursuits. Most notable among these are personal relationships, both platonic and romantic. Sandler’s character is an inherently lonely man, who has squandered real connections in favor of shallow encounters. He is surrounded by fans and household staff, but nobody who he cares for or who cares about him. Renner’s character has become so good at what he does in the war zone that it makes more sense to him than the normal world. Their decisions and relationships are both driven by adrenaline rushes, whether in the face of high explosives or the explosive highs of fame and fortune.

There’s an addictive nature to what the movies show us. While the circumstances are extreme in both instances, the phenomena of choosing between career and relationships, or personal satisfaction versus the needs of others are more commonplace. I don’t immediately identify with either profession, but I can identify with the choices involved. I’m sure I’m not alone in that regard.

I enjoyed both movies at both surface and deeper levels, although both switch gears significantly along the way. “The Hurt Locker” has one or two scenes that seem somewhat inconsistent, although to some extent that fits the depiction of the inconsistency of combat.

“Funny People” switches between comedy and drama in a manner that some may find unappealing, especially those who are looking for one but not the other, but it also seems true to life in that regard. Both are journeys of self-discovery that take their central characters through painful introspection and not especially flattering or desirable realizations.

Both movies clock in at well over two hours and I wouldn’t recommend the double-header for any but the most ardent of movieholics, but I would recommend each to people who enjoy movies that package mood swings with a dose of soul-searching. Neither is especially surprising in their outcomes, but they are less about eventful surprises than about their respective character arcs.

Review: (500) Days of Summer

2009-08-08T07:45:44Z

(500) Days of Summer
Directed by Marc Webb

By Tony Sheppard
Capitol Weekly

The Summer of the title is a girl and not the season and the movie tells the story of Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and 500 days during his relationship with her (Zooey Deschanel). This could be a fairly mundane story, with few significant surprises, except for the way in which it’s told. And that telling will appeal to some audience members and drive others completely crazy as to some extent the movie becomes more about the form than simply about the tale, a phenomenon that often leaves me on the crazy side of the fence but which this time around I found really appealing.

As the story unfolds, the audience is presented with an onscreen counter that tells us which day of the relationship we are on and the story itself is completely non-linear. Such stories are sometimes frustrating, depending on the effectiveness of the direction, as they jump from one point in time to another without immediate clarity in the chronology. In this movie, we always know exactly what moment we’re experiencing and it rapidly becomes both a roadmap and a running inside joke.

This is just one visual trick in a movie that employs several, perhaps one or two too many, which on balance I enjoyed. Mainstream feature films are often very formulaic in nature, whereas short films and music videos are often more visually innovative. “(500) Days…” is a debut feature from a director, Marc Webb, who has previously made shorter projects and seems to have carried that innovation forward, in my opinion successfully.

Certainly to the advantage of the overall outcome, Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel are both appealing and believable in most moments of their respective roles as the hopeful and smitten young man and the girl who is skeptical about the existence of true love. This is a story that could fail purely on an absence of chemistry and audience sympathy with other actors in these roles, but they are well matched and effective during both the highs and the lows of their relationship. Additionally, the movie has one of the best pairs of opening and closing scenes I’ve seen in a while, contributing to my overall positive response.

Outdoor film festival out to impress

2009-08-08T00:43:48Z

Beginning Saturday, Cesar Chavez Park will host the first inaugural Sacramento Outdoor Film Festival, produced by Creative Projection Services and its subsidiary, Sacramento Outdoor Movies.

Starting at 5 p.m. and running every Saturday in August, the festival will provide food, fun and games for all those attending, with a movie at 9 p.m. to close out the night.

This week's featured film is Rebel Without a Cause, the 1950s classic drama starring James Dean and Natalie Wood. Other festivities include various sponsor booths for home theater supplies and computer games, a video game competition, and Sacramento's Hoppy Brewing Co. will host a beer garden with food and drinks for the event.

The video game compeition will feature a Guitar Hero tournament at each week. The two best performers will then play head-to-head on the main screen on Aug. 29, the last night of the festival.

Creative Projection Services had organized events for younger audiences in the past. This year, however, president and primary organizer of the Sacramento Outdoor Film Festival, Robert Hayes, wanted to try something a bit different.

"They had been geared towards little kids with animated features," Hayes said. "But I decided, 'This is a cool thing, so lets show a few movies for the big kids,' and that's kind of how the concept for this came out. No one was doing that."

The other three movies featured for Aug. 15, 22 and 29 are Rudy, Best in Show and Spiderman, respectively. Hayes said he wanted a good mix of genres to appeal to all different audiences so there is something for everybody in the end.

Hayes also said that they would be trying an experiment with Spiderman that could either heighten or hurt the watching experience.

"We're going to try and do it in 5.1 surround sound outside," Hayes said. "Spiderman has some cool effects that would work with better sound, so we're going to take a gamble and see what happens."

There will be seating for about 300 people for the movie. And there's also space for people to spread out blankets or brings chairs on the grass if they prefer.

"The grass and concrete are about 50-50, so we'll put the chairs on the concrete so people can bring stuff for the grass," Hayes said. "Everything is free except for the food and drinks, so people should come out and enjoy themselves. If we get around 400 people, we'll consider it a success."

Mad City Chickens in Sacramento

2009-08-06T03:13:20Z

Disclaimer: the contributor of this and his wife run Movies on a Big Screen, Sacramento's weekly screening series of documentaries, general independent film, classics and cult titles. The following is blatant self-promotion of a MOBS event in conjunction with Sacramento's CLUCK (Campaign to Legalize Urban Chicken Keeping).

On Friday, August 7, 2009, at 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM and on Sunday, August 9, 2009 at 7:00 PM, Movies on a Big Screen, in association with CLUCK, will be presenting, "Mad City Chickens." Filmmakers Tashai Lovington and Robert Lughai will be in attendance on Friday night only. Also on Friday night only - a raffle for a chicken coop! And since raising chickens in the city of Sacramento is currently illegal, we at MOBS are certain that it will only be used for ornamental purposes. Ahem. Raffle proceeds benefit CLUCK.

About the film:

"Mad City Chickens" is a sometimes serious, sometimes whimsical look at the people who keep urban chickens in their backyards. From chicken experts and authors to a rescued landfill hen or an inexperienced family that decides to take the poultry plunge-and even a mad scientist and giant hen taking to the streets-it's a humorous and heartfelt trip through the world of backyard chickendom.

August 7, 2009
7 and 9:30 PM
August 9, 2009
7 PM
Admission: $5.00 (we're cash only - we have no debit/credit card processing capabilities).
Location: Movies on a Big Screen at The Guild Theater. 2828 35th St, Sacramento (corner of 35th & Broadway).

Paper Heart review

2009-08-02T03:47:00Z

The Sacramento Film & Music Festival pre-screened Paper Heart Friday evening.

Paper Heart was co-written by actress Charlene Yi and Nick Jasenovec, and directed by Nick Jasenovec.

The film opens with Yi holding a microphone shyly in the middle of the Las Vegas strip, asking the question, “Does anyone really love?”

A love-skeptic, she embarks on a cross-country tour to gain perspective on love from couples, divorce lawyers and children at a playground.

Her findings are recorded in a way that combines faux-documentary filming and traditional storytelling, only part of which is scripted. Some of the storytelling is done through sequences of puppetry reminiscent of Science of Sleep.

The style of filming creates a transparency to the whole production. The viewer is able to see camera equipment, brainstorming ideas for subsequent scenes and dialogue from the actors that include lingo like “deleted scenes,” commenting on the editing process.

Yi takes a scientific journey as well, speaking to academics in a Discovery Channel fashion, to gain perspective on the physiology of love.

She is a lovable character and brings a refreshing charm to the film, one that captures Michael Cera’s attention.

Cera, who starred in Superbad, is infatuated by Yi and he begins a clumsy courtship with her, one that becomes the focus of the film.

Although the actors play themselves in this quasi-documentary, they are not romantically linked. "We're not dating. No. I swear...Never," she said in an interview with CBC news.

Paper Heart follows their budding romance as Yi continues on her search for the meaning of love.

Actor and comedian friends give Yi advice, but does she find it in herself to believe in love?

If you are a fan of quirky romantic comedies and awkward young-adult charm, then watch this film to find out.

The film is to release in theaters on Aug. 14.

For more information, click the following links:
Paper Hearts official movie site
Sacramento Film & Music Festival

In Praise of the Sacramento Film Community - An Open Letter to Mayor Kevin Johnson

2009-07-31T20:01:13Z

Dear Mayor: Thanks again for calling the Film Community meeting at City Hall Thursday July 30, 2009. As I surveyed the room, I realized the 50 attendees represented many independent films and small festivals who came to life in the past 2-10 years..... each created independent of the others, designed to reach out to specific audiences and needs, each operating beneath the radar in our larger community.

The many festivals (Place Called Sacramento, Music and Film, French, Jewish, Gay & Lesbian, Black, and International) have attempted cooperative meetings in the past. These meetings were successful in coordinating schedules and taking the edge off of "competing interests" but gathered little or no traction with local media, Convention and Visitors Bureau, nor the City Council. Your leadership is much needed and appreciated. Please permit me to share several insights that may help in going forward with the work of the committee - FYI.

(1) Incentives - Big films will require a financial incentive to work in Sacramento. And if they do come to town (the Travolta film "Lucky" comes to mind several years ago), the crew will come exclusively from Hollywood. This is a boon to local hotels and restaurants but not to the local film community. The only local hires will be for security duty. Hollywood is looking for "deals" to pack up and come to Sacramento. Very difficult for our City in tough financial times. Before offering the "financial incentives" offered by other Cities and States discussed in the meeting, examine if those states and communities were in fact too generous and actually lost money to gain cache.

(2) Small budget independent films - This is the "sweet spot" for Sacramento. We are a very inexpensive town to work in and we are very cooperative. LA is very jaded and the business communities and residents are tired of 3 AM "Law and Order" shoots that light up the streets of LA and disrupt sleep and traffic. The small independent films are budgeted at $500K to $5 million with small crews and open to finding local talent on both sides of the camera. Our cooperative environment and many varied locations keep costs low and achieve bigger bang for the buck. In these films, there is no budget for "special effects" so the right location and affordable "talent" is everything. Our local community theater groups will work at scale or free to serve as extras. Our local, experienced production crews will leap at the chance to earn $200 per day (as compared to $1,000 per day for grip positions in LA). We should continue and support Film Commissioner Lucy Steffens and reach out to the major film industry but we should also concentrate on the "Independent Spirit Awards" and the small film production groups and agents. This can be achieved by "outreach"rather than giving money away. We will save the small independent films much money, while charging Sacramento full rates in our notoriously "cost effective" community.

(3) Grow our own - The meeting was filled with "homegrown" film production leaders. As a group we have groomed local talent for the past 10+ years with great success. "Butts in Beds" is not the only measure of film success in Sacramento. Direct your clout with "star power" by inviting key LA stars to participate in the many existing film festivals. This awakens the Bee and other regional news outlets to the existence of these festivals and validates our community resources and assets without negative comparisons to other cities.

(4) Avoid comparisons to other Cities - We read it in our papers and hear it every day. Pick a topic. Pick the "best" City in the World in that topic area. Compare that City to Sacramento. Result: Sacramento is inferior. Here are some obvious examples. "Best Basketball Team" = How do the Kings match up to the Lakers? "Best City with Rivers and Bridges? = How does Sacramento compare to Portland or Pittsburg or New York?"Best Coffee?" = How does Java City compare to Starbucks? etc. etc. etc. In mental health terms, this is the path to an inferiority complex not a motivational tool. If a coach did this every game, his team would not be motivated.... they would give up. Comparisons like this don't motivate - they just reinforce "Sacramento is a cow town" AND WE DO IT TO OURSELVES without even thinking. We are already a "World Class City" if we declare ourselves to be so and highlight our "assets". Thank you Mayor Johnson for your high visibility and constant praise of our hometown. But digging ourselves out of the slippery slope of "self-deprecating mental attitude" will take more time and more leadership. This is not to say we cannot aspire to greatness.... but it must be "on our own terms and standards" not in comparison to other cities. Each city is different with different assets to build upon. Let's "build and reinforce Sacramento positives" not "compare and give other cities props at our expense".

(5) Praise our local Festivals as the symbol of our love of independent films - This is easy.... just keep doing what you did at the Music and Film Festival last Friday night... show up and support. For example, in the ten years of the "Place Called Sacramento" film festival - a unique event featuring all Sacramento stories, talent, and resources produced by hundreds of volunteers - Not a single County Supervisor or City Council member or Mayor has ever attended any of the nine previous events. They were invited. The Crest has been filled with 700-900 Sacramentans each year. Each film is 100% a Sacramento product. Why no visible support?

My guess is two reasons and neither one is "My schedule is too full".

(a) "If I did it for this event I would have to be active in all of them." YES.... this is supporting the independent film community and Mayors routinely attend events with 50-100 people.... what about 500-1,000? Films about and starring Sacramentans? A film celebration of our best and brightest aspirations and concerns. An elected leader (if not several) should be at each of these "opening night" events and viewing our community through a "local lens".

(b) "A successful films initiative can be judged by 'butts in beds' alone." YES and NO. The easiest benchmark is reports back from local hotels and restaurants that an event pulled in non-Sacramento residents to stay overnight and bring "new money" to the business community. This is "reaping the corn but not planting the seeds".

Our local festivals "plant the seeds", creating creative capital for our community and bolstering our collective self confidence. This meeting room was filled with the "local filmmaking farmers" who have been toiling away for years planting the seeds of filmmaking, film appreciation and film involvement in Sacramento. They are not profiting from these efforts but they persist with success an intangible but real byproduct. Hotel revenue must not be the only standard of success in this endeavor.

We are building community through local filmmaking. Emphasize the positive of what is happening now as we build an even greater future. Thank you for your leadership and this opportunity. If Access Sacramento can be of help, just call. Ron Cooper - Access Sacramento and "A Place Called Sacramento" Film Festival

"Buffy" at the Trash Film Orgy

2009-07-31T07:20:03Z

The ninth annual TRASH FILM ORGY series is halfway done, with three weeks remaining in this year's blood-soaked rock & roll monster extravaganza! If you haven't had a chance to visit this year's TFO, you already missed FLASH GORDON, SATAN'S CHEERLEADERS and CHOPPING MALL...but it's not over yet! This week's offering is the original theatrical version of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER!

If you haven't been to the Trash Film Orgy before, it is more than just a movie--it is a whole experience! The "Trash Action Sideshow" features fun activities in the lobby, the "Retro-Trash Lounge" features entertaining artifacts from RETROCRUSH.COM, and pre-show and intermission on-stage performances and contests make TFO an amazing, unique and often profoundly weird entertainment value! The TFO is a hotbed of local musical, comedic and dramatic talent. Several TFO alumni have moved on to careers in television, stand-up comedy, modeling and late-night horror hosting. Its organizers are working on their second feature-length film, PLANET OF THE VAMPIRE WOMEN, and its current performers include members of two local comedy troupes, "ICUP" and "I Can't Believe It's Not Comedy!" Come see the best of Sacramento's late-night cinema entertainment at the TRASH FILM ORGY!

SEE the 1992 film that started the Buffy phenomenon! With Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, Rutger Hauer, Luke Perry, Paul Reubens and Hilary Swank. And don’t miss the incredible VAMPIRE PROM!

TRASH FILM ORGY-the World’s Most Amazing Midnight Movie Show returns for its 9th incredible season!

Bringing you the best in 35mm Exploitation and Cult Cinema, TFO promises the ultimate theatre experience! With LIVE Bloody Stage Shows, Original Shorts, Audience Participation, Games, Costume Contests, Prizes and much, much MORE-you won’t believe your eyes!

This year’s festival features many exciting surprises… including the return of special guest stars and the TFO’s original host FRANCOIS FLY!!! You’ll be sure to cry your eyes out if you miss ANY of these exciting shows!

It all happens SATURDAYS at MIDNIGHT in the Fabulous and Historic CREST THEATRE located at 1013 K Street in Downtown Sacramento. 916-44-CREST
COME EARLY! Doors open at 11:30 for the Incredibly Interactive Trash-Action Sideshow and Music!

The TRASH FILM ORGY is adult fun for trash fans 18 and Over ONLY! And for trash fans 21 and over, the RETRO-TRASH LOUNGE serves beer and wine!

Tickets are $9.50 per show.
Cool Kids that come in Awesome Costumes can save $1 on admission. We recommend DECADES for all your costume needs!

www.trashfilmorgy.com has all the details about this year's series, plus photos of past shows if you want an idea of what to expect!

(In the interest of full disclosure, the author of this article is a participant in the Trash Film Orgy.)

Opening night a success at Sac Film and Musical Festival

2009-07-26T03:22:03Z

If applause is any indication, those who attended Friday’s opening night of the Sacramento Music and Film festival at the Crest Theatre were far from disappointed.

Mayor Kevin Johnson and directors Nate Schmel, Tony Sheppard and Laurie Peterson gave introductory speeches before the showing of the feature film, Sensored, to the delight of the near-sell-out crowd. Rousing ovations came between pauses of each speaker, who all repeatedly thanked the audience and everyone who was involved in all the preparation for the 10-day festival.

Then came Sensored, which starred Robert Picardo and lived up to every bit of the hype surrounding it and the groundbreaking Red One ultra-high definition camera used to film it. Said to contain four times the resolution of a standard high definition lens, the picture was as sharp and clean as any that’s graced Hollywood’s bright lights, despite the film’s limited budget.

Directed by amateur filmmaker and local product, Ryan Todd, the film told the story of a disturbed children’s book author, Wade Mixon (Picardo), whose solitary life caused dark thoughts and a miserable existence.

Throughout the movie, Mixon struggles to find answers in a troubled world, one that’s scarred his inner-self since his childhood, where his father left him and other traumatic experiences followed suit.

The director and main cast stayed for a question-and-answer period, followed by an after party at the Cosmo Café across the street.

There are still eight days left of events, which are detailed in a previous article here. Tickets for each event can be purchased on-site at the Crest Theatre. More information on ticket prices and further festival information is posted on the event's website, sacfilm.com.

Meetings "For Art's Sake" gaining momentum

2009-07-23T02:50:55Z

Wednesday morning Mayor Kevin Johnson held his second "For Art's Sake" meeting, which saw an increase in attendance over last month. More than 100 people crowded into the Verge Art Gallery on 19th and V Streets.

To open the meeting, Dennis Mangers, senior adviser for Senator Darrell Steinberg, summarized the previous meeting. Afterward, Johnson took the podium to lay down his vision for the arts initiative.

"What is our vision? What are our goals? Who do we want to be as an art community? Those are things we are going to start answering ourselves," he said. "Over the next 11 months, we're going to create a sustainable arts community."

He mentioned that as a whole, an estimated $100,000 would be necessary to fund the initiative. This would enable the group to build a website and hire consultants and interns to help organize logistics.

"I need you to understand that there's no 'I' in 'art,' and there's no 'I' in 'team,'" Johnson added. "For the next three and a half years, the arts initiative will be something I'm fighting for."

Johnson then announced the creation of a leadership committee, and five committee subgroups. These subgroups will concentrate on arts issues such as funding, facilities, marketing and education, and one group will concentrate on film.

The film subgroup will meet to ensure Sacramento is perceived as a great filming location for studio productions. Johnson invited Jeremiah Jackson, a Harvard Fellow working with the mayor's office for eight weeks, to speak about the film industry.

Jackson noted that the group will raise the profile for the city, expose youth to the arts, and bring in revenue. Over the past few weeks, Jackson has been studying ways to change the perception of the city and raise the city's profile as a good location for filmmakers.

Each committee will meet at least once a month, and the team's leader will research how to build an "action plan" for the group's issue. Each person who attended the meeting was told to write down two subgroups they would be interested in.

There was a similar crowd at last month's meeting, consisting of representatives from organizations like the Sacramento Ballet, Chalk It Up! and Sacramento Theater Company. Sacramento's Poet Laureate Bob Stanley also attended.

Every fourth Wednesday of the month, "For Art's Sake" will meet in a different venue. Next month the meeting is on Wednesday, August 26 at Capitol Public Radio from 10 to 11 a.m.

Sharon Gerber, the mayor's Arts Liaison will be the point of contact to tie all the subgroups together. Anyone interested in funding the initiative or attending the meetings should contact Sharon Gerber by emailing her at sharongerber@sixdegreez.net.

Sac Film and Music Festival turns 10

2009-07-21T03:32:49Z

Celebrating its 10-year anniversary, the Sacramento Film and Music Festival opens its doors again Friday night at the Crest Theatre on 1013 K st.

The 10-day event features films of all topics ranging from amateur to professional quality created by people from and outside the city of Sacramento.

"It's not seen as a particular type of film festival, such as the gay and lesbian festival or the French festival," said Sid Heberger, manager of the Crest Theatre. "It encompasses all types of films and genres from horror to documentaries, to short films and features and competitions specifically for this festival."

Founded in 2000 by current co-director Nate Schmel and now Los Angeles film editor Evald Johnson, the festival’s creation was originally only two students at Cal State Northridge wanting to provide their hometown with a broad music and film festival. Although it wasn't easy, both men committed to the project and spared no expense in the process, costing them more than they had bargained for going in.

"After a couple years of going to college together, we got a couple projects to show up in Sacramento because we were both from here," Schmel said. "So we decided to put together a festival of music and film, and that's how we started it. We probably lost about $25,000 the first year because we did two theaters at the Crest and we had paid for some bigger bands to come from Los Angeles, and we lost a lot of money on that. That was a very steep learning curve for us."

The two men then decided to provide a more community-based product in the festival's second go-round, with production costs much more manageable for the event than before, but still in the negative. Although the festival was a success, Johnson decided to head a different direction the following year and began working in Los Angeles editing reality shows, leaving a void in event planning and directing that Schmel needed to fill in order to keep the show going.

"It was the third year that Tony (Sheppard) and Laurie (Pederson) began to step in and be other co-directors of the festival," Schmel said. "Since that third year, we've been able to break even. We don't make a lot of money doing the festival, but we don't lose any, either. The goal's to show a bunch of really good films in town and to highlight ones you might not see at other places. They're talented filmmakers, and they deserve some coverage."

Once the festival's staff and recognition began to expand in its fourth year, Schmel was able to work with Sheppard and Pederson to create many unique programs that helped define the annual festival's identity. Expectations began to form in the attending public's eyes as more interactive programs were formulated to further engage the community, something Heberger said added a new element to the event.

"They've really done a great job creating community and national partnerships to strengthen the festival," Heberger said. "Programs like the 10x10, Filmmaker Challenge, Sac Music Seen and the opening night local film have really contributed a lot to the experience."

Suggested and instituted by Sheppard and now one of the most anticipated features of the festival, the 10X10 program gives anyone the opportunity to create a 10-minute film in the span of 10 days. This extremely limited time period allows participants to rely on creativity and teamwork to deliver the best product possible by deadline, with awards given for the best films the day they're presented. To read a previous article about the 10X10 competition, click here.

There are very few constraints outside of the allotted time, something that Sheppard said has made for some very interesting productions over the years.

"We had one mythical film that we couldn't play because the content was so extreme that I cannot begin to describe it," Sheppard said. "And this year, for the first time, we actually had someone shoot a documentary. So there's always something that comes along that's a little bit different."

Film Festival Lineup

Opening this year's festival on Friday night is a ticketed reception catered by Rubio's restaurant, partnered with opening remarks and presentation of the 2009 Film Arts Service Award. Capping the night off is a screening of the local film "Sensored," starring Robert Picardo, which was filmed entirely on the revolutionary Red One ultra-high definition digital camera that Sheppard said "...not even Hollywood is using yet". Following the film will be an after party for the cast and crew at the nearby Cosmo Cafe.

Saturday's festivities begin with a locally produced film called "Rivers of a Lost Coast," a documentary about the diminishing steelhead fishing culture in Northern California. Also screening is "Running of the Sahara" and a biographical documentary on the life of blues musician Floyd Lee. The night ends with one of the most anticipated annual events, the Sac Music Seen music video program, where local bands and filmmakers combine their efforts to create music videos specifically for the festival.

"It's one of the most unique programs out there," Heberger said."Having local filmmakers and bands to work together to make music videos has been a great experience for them and the people watching them."

On Sunday, the spotlight will revolve around an international showcasing of world short films and a feature film from India. Closing the day will be Friends (With Benefits), a love story surrounding the sexual relationships that form between six close friends.

Monday kicks off with a documentary about straight and gay marriages entitled "Inlaws and Outlaws." Following the film is a concert of songs specifically for the festival on the Crest's main stage.

The headline event on Tuesday is a film focusing on justice and injustice within California, coupled with a personal testimony by a woman who suffered years of extreme abuse before retaliating by murdering her husband. "Do As I Say," a local documentary that cites examples of politicians who say one thing and do another, will finish the evening's festivities.

Wednesday will focus on films and shorts produced specifically from Northern California, followed by the feature film, “Nightbeats.” In conjunction with the Parlare Eurolounge, all proceeds for the evening will go to the Capital Film Arts Alliance.

Thursday’s films and shorts will all be presented by students from the Art Institute of California.

Friday's schedule will consist of an exclusive sneak preview screening of "Paper Heart," starring Charlene Yi and Michael Cera, a story of elusive love. The feature movie, "Boppin' at the Glue Factory," and other short films round out the night's showings.

On Saturday, those who missed "Rivers of a Lost Coast" will get a second opportunity to see the documentary. Other documentaries and shorts will follow the second showing, followed by the much-anticipated 10X10 Filmmaker Challenge projects. The 10-minute clip presentations will be followed by a question and answer period with the makers of the films, something that Sheppard said always provides a little entertainment.

“Sometimes we show things a little rough around the edges because it's on a budget,” Sheppard said. "And some people in the audience are like, 'Oh my God, what do we have to do to be sure that this wins the best documentary academy award, because this is the greatest film we've seen.' It’s always interesting to see how the crowd responds to all the films.”

Wrapping up the festival on Sunday is “The Power of the Powerless,” a documentary concerning the rise and fall of communism in eastern Europe, particularly in Czechoslovakia. More short films will also be presented, with a recap of the best moments from the last 10 years as the finale of the 10-day festivities, along with an awards ceremony. There will also be an after party at Parlare on 1009 10th st. to close out the night.

More information regarding times and prices of all events spanning the 10-day festival can be found at sacfilm.com

What's happening at the Capitol: July 15, 16, 17

2009-07-15T03:46:20Z

Wednesday, July 15

9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. A "green information fair" will be held on the west steps of the Capitol. About 200 people are expected to participate.

11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Department of Corporations will be holding a staff appreciation lunch near the fish pond. About 100 people are expected to gather for the lunch.

Thursday, July 16

8 a.m.-10 p.m. Filming for a movie entitled Power and Pride, starring Stephen Baldwin, will be taking place on the west steps of the Capitol. The film is about a Senator named David Fletcher who rapidly ascends in power while risking his family, faith and personal values. Approximately 50 people are expected to attend.

5-9 p.m. A monthly "Food for Thought" event will be held near the Capitol in the California History Room, at 900 N St., Room 200. The event includes a film screening, refreshments and a post-film discussion. This month's film is Apollo 13. About 80 people are expected.

Friday, July 17

No events planned on this day.