Tis a sad day, for the Little Rock Film Festival is now a year away, and I didn’t get to see nearly as much of this year’s incarnation as I’d hoped. I did, however, get the honor of meeting and introducing Carol Dysinger, the filmmaker behind a wonderful documentary called Camp Victory: Afghanistan. From the website:
“Camp Victory, Afghanistan is a verité documentary that tells the story of several U.S. National Guardsmen stationed in Herat, Afghanistan and the Afghan officers assigned as their mentees. These Americans along with a band of Afghans have been given the enormous task of building the 207th Corps of the nascent Afghan National Army into an institution capable of providing security, stability, peace and justice to a tattered, volatile nation.”
Dysinger said in the Q&A following the Thursday showing that her goal was to bring back what she saw over there and show it to people – a good, clean honest look. In turns it’s funny, sad and scary. Above all, it’s poignant. And it’s definitely worth seeing. Dysinger said she’ll continue to make the festival rounds and plans to sell DVDs of the movie through the website later this year. Stay tuned.
In other festival news, my friend and colleague Jeff LeMaster had a chance to sit down and talk to some folks involved with a project they’re hoping to get off the ground called Arkansas Traveler. It’s too late to get to the teaser screening, but I’m fascinated by the plot and hope to see this film get made.
Lastly, I got the email below this week from the festival’s Levi Agee and wanted to pass it on. I recognize the short notice, and that’s my bad for not being quicker about an update. Story of my life.
Friends,
We’re doing auditions this Saturday for a Southern Comedy entitled “Cotton County Boys” that has a great script and a big heart. It’s kind of a throwback to old fun comedies. Just think Buttercream Gang meets Jackass. My friend and colleague Collin Buchanan is directing it, he’s won ton of awards for his docs and shorts in Conway and screened at Hot Springs and at a Filmmaking Professor Convention in Colorado recently. We shoot in July and August and are auditioning this Saturday. If you know anyone funny with a lot of time on their hands and can act and look like some good Southern folk please send them our way. Please put this on facebook, twitter, myspace, hollywood.com? Just get the word out because the film will be special like me. Here is the details on the film and the audition:
Southern Comedy Film – Open Casting Call
June 12th 2:00 – 6:00PM
The Public Theatre – Little Rock
616 Center Street Little Rock, AR 72201
Inquiries: email kwadfilms@gmail.com or call (479) 871-0801
This is a non-SAG shoot.
Title: COTTON COUNTY BOYS
Producer: Allison Hogue
Production Company: KWAD Films
Director: Collin Buchanan
Exec. Producers: Levi Agee, Collin Buchanan
Dir. of Photography: Jonathan Childs
SHOOTING DATES: mid to late July and August 2010
Paid meals, gas/transportation and film credit
GENRE: Southern comedy
SYNOPSIS: Three simple-minded brothers enter an “America’s Funniest Home Videos”-style game show in an attempt to win the money to save their mother’s house from foreclosure.
FEATURED ROLES:
- BOBBY (MALE, 20s) – Shy and soft-spoken, but warm and intelligent
- SAMUEL (MALE, 20s) – Dimwitted and somewhat irritable, mostly good-natured
- HATTIE (FEMALE, 20s) – Sweet and compassionate love interest of BOBBY
- BETTES (FEMALE, 40s or 50s) – Good Southern woman with a powerful presence, mother to BOBBY and SAMUEL
- MERLE (MALE, 60s) – A man of few words, deceptively wise, boyfriend of BETTES
EXTRAS
Other smaller roles and Extra parts available.
If you are unable to attend one of our auditions, email your photo, resume, and contact information to: kwadfilms@gmail.com
Ferrum Vir II
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010Now with more iron. And a rail gun.
So, obviously the big news at the box office is Iron Man 2, which brought in a cool $133.6 million over the weekend, more or less kicking off the official summer blockbuster season. Unless you count Clash of the Titans as doing that. Or unless you believe it can’t start until Memorial Day. Either way, there are some big names right around the corner: Gladiator 2 Robin Hood May 14, MacGuyver MacGruber and the new Shrek May 21, Sex and the City (2, ostensibly) May 27, and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time May 28. And that’s just this month.
Both golden rocks, but not the same.
Meanwhile this has been a hot week for local film news as well. Of course, there was the announcement of the lineup for the Fourth Annual Little Rock Film Festival last night at the Clinton School of Public Service. Looks like things kick off with Winter’s Bone, directed by Debra Granik. Along with the slate of narrative features, documentaries and shorts, there’s a new competition this year for a $10,000 cash prize, The Best Southern Film Award given by Little Rock’s very own Southern literary and culture magazine, the Oxford American.
Order before July 13.
Also kicking off this week were a couple of movie series worth checking out. Over at Market Street Cinema, in conjunction with The Dave Elswick Show on KARN News Radio 102.9FM /920AM, they’re presenting a series of classic films (some more so than others). First up was Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. The remaining schedule looks like this:
June 8: North by Northwest
July 13: Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (!)
Aug 10: Shane
Sept 14: Top Gun
Oct 12: Friday the 13th
Nov 9: The Godfather
Dec 14: White Christmas
Not coincidentally, all those dates are the second Tuesday of every month. Showtime is 7 p.m.; tickets are $5 each. Children under 12 are admitted for free.
Like this. Except integrated.
For the retro experience, consider heading over to the Arkansas Flag and Banner building on the second and fourth Saturday of each month now through July to check out the Dreamland Drive-In. Complete with cartoon shorts, news reels and a feature-length movie, the experience is designed to take you back. Or, if you’re like me, to see how people lived way back when, before the cineplex. Schedule looks like this:
May 22- Reefer Madness/Sex Madness
June 12- Night of the Living Dead
June 26- The Outlaw
June 10- The Little Princess (family night)
July 24- The Fast and The Furious
Gates open at 7:30pm and the movies will start at sunset. Concessions of beer, soft drinks, hot dogs, and more will be available for purchase. Admission is $20 a car (pile in to save) or $5 person for walk ups. Proceeds go toward the Dreamland Ballroom renovation project, which is an effort to restore and preserve the historic Ninth Street venue.
The hair is somewhere in the middle.
Lastly, in Netflix news, I gotta say I’ve been slacking. I got Frost/Nixon and Pandorum and have sat on the forever. Besides Avatar and Sherlock Holmes, I hadn’t updated my queue in ages. But for this week I’m thinking Daybreakers and Legion, two flicks I never made it to the theater to see. I know, it’s very angels and demons… and I don’t mean the Dan Brown adaptation where Tom Hanks has that atrocious hair. What I can’t wait for: The Road, which releases May 25.
Tags: Avatar, box office, clash of the titans, Dreamland Ballroom, dvd, film, Little Rock Film Festival, Market Street Cinema, money, movies, releases, religion, returns, Sherlock Holmes, star trek
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