Southern Films Make Sundance, Slamdance

Vol. 2, No. 1
Louisiana Passes
New Incentives
By Carletta S. Hurt
BATON ROUGE, LA—In the past five
years, there has been an increase in film
productions coming to the south. A large
number have chosen Louisiana as the state
of choice – mainly for the amount of incentives available to production companies
to cut costs. The Louisiana Motion Picture
Incentive Program made some significant
changes effective January 1, 2006, to make
film production more viable for the state.
To build a strong foundation and establish a
solid film and video industry in Louisiana,
lawmakers believed that the new incentive
package (Act 456) had to be more attractive, but also provide increased revenue for
the state.
The major changes in Act 456 are:
1) A higher yield in tax credits up to 25%
on in-state spending.
2) 10% additional tax credit on Louisiana
payroll.
3) 15% tax credit on any motion picture
infrastructure development in Louisiana.
See Incentives on Page 6
INSIDE:
Q&A: James Ponsoldt ............. 3
Q&A: Chad Eikoff .................... 4
Q&A: Milford Thomas .............. 6
Kathy T Gives Good What? ..... 5
DEPARTMENTS:
Editorial ................................... 2
Locations
SCAT Park ............................ 4
In Production .......................... 7
Classifieds ............................... 7
January 19, 2006
Southern Films Make
Sundance, Slamdance
by Pamela Cole
Several southern film projects made
the list when the venerated Sundance and
its alter-ego, Slamdance, announced their
2006 selections in late November 2005:
• Somebodies –written/directed by
Hadjii of Athens, Georgia (Sundance
Film Festival)
• The Otherside –written/directed by
Gregg Bishop, produced by Chad
Eikhoff of Atlanta, Georgia (Slamdance Film Festival)
• The Hawk is Dying –written/directed
by Julian Goldberger of Ft. Myers,
Florida (Sundance Film Festival)
• Off the Black –written/directed by
James Ponsoldt of Athens, Georgia
(Sundance Film Festival)
• “Uncloudy Day” – screenplay cowritten by Milford Thomas and Kristin
Gorell of Atlanta, Georgia (Sundance
Screenwriting Workshop)
Of the 3,148
films submitted
to Sundance this
year, only 120
were accepted.
The festival runs
from
January
19 – 29, 2006
Milford Thomas
in Park City, Utah.
For this year’s
Slamdance, 83 films were selected from
over 3,000 submissions (20 feature-length
films). The Slamdance Film Festival was
created in 1994 as the “anti-Sundance,” by
filmmakers who had been rejected by Sundance. Slamdance runs congruently with
Sundance in Park City, Utah on January
19-27, 2006.
Hadjii
Here’s more information about the
southern selections:
Somebodies
Written/directed by Hadjii of Athens,
Georgia. First-time director Hadjii (he goes
by one name) also starred in this feature
filmed in Athens, Georgia about a young
black college student on his way to becoming a responsible adult. This is Hadjii’s
first feature film. He also teaches a course
in Writing for Film and Television at the
University of Georgia. One of his former
UGA professors, Nate Kohn, was the film’s
co-producer.
The Other Side
Atlanta filmmakers Chad Eikoff and
writer/director Gregg Bishop shot this
action-based, hell-raising thriller in Atlanta
last year (in over 40 locations). Eikoff and
Bishop did audience-testing for a rough cut
of the film at the Digital Arts Entertainment
Lab (DAEL) at Georgia State University.
(See Q&A interview with Eikoff on p. 4.)
The Hawk is Dying
Directed by Ft. Myers, Florida native,
Julian Goldberger. The film was shot in
Gainesville, Florida and is based on the
See Sundance, Slamdance on Page 3
Editorial Opinion
H
urricane Katrina seems to have
done little to staunch the flood
of film production that still
flows into Louisiana. Other southern states
hoping to reap the benefit of redirected
business in the aftermath of the storm may
have already missed the boat. Louisiana
made major announcements at the beginning of 2006, designed to continue that
state’s dominance in southern film production.
The first announcement involved new
incentives which increased Louisiana’s
film incentive package—already one of the
sweetest in the United States. (See article
on page 1.) Add to that the construction
of two major film production facilities in
Shreveport and Baton Rouge (less hurricane susceptible regions of that state).
The January 10th announcement by Mayor
Keith Hightower of Shreveport that the
little-used, city-owned Expo Hall would
be converted into a movie production facility and sound studio, was immediately
followed by a January 11th announcement
in Hollywood Reporter about an 11.25 acre
“state-of-the-art studio complex for production and post production” opening in
Baton Rouge in 2006.
Just days after Katrina struck New
Orleans, the state-sponsored NIMS Center,
a 79,000 sq. ft. production studio in the heart
of New Orleans, issued an announcement
claiming that it had sustained little damage
and was “open for business.” (This, despite
the pictures that everyone was seeing on
television of Jefferson Parrish still awash
in brown water.)
All this points to state and local governments that may not be very savvy about
coordinating disaster relief, but sure have
learned the value of promoting and creating the infrastructure necessary for enticing
the lucrative film business. Just look at the
Louisiana film website (www.lafilm.org).
Creating the infrastructure
to attract a continuing film
industry starts with government, but also requires
the cooperative support of
businesses, labor, non-profit
groups, and even publications like this one.
It’s a model of efficient and well-organized
information designed to help and encourage filmmakers to make films in Louisiana.
Heck, after five minutes of browsing the
way cool, Flash interface, even I wanted to
make a film in Louisiana.
Other southern states looking to lure the
film industry away from Hollywood and
New York might do well to pay attention
to Louisiana’s plan of attack: increasingly
attractive incentives, designed infrastructure, and government support. Creating the
infrastructure to attract a continuing film
industry starts with government, but also
requires the cooperative support of businesses, labor, non-profit groups, and even
publications like this one.
It was my privilege to interview several
of our most talented southern filmmakers
for this edition, whose work was selected
for the Sundance Film Festival and the
Slamdance Film Festival. And in the course
of creating this publication, I have spoken
with many local filmmakers. I continue to
hear the same refrain: they would all prefer
to make films in their own backyard, bringing business and opportunity to their home
state, and fresh locations to the screen. It’s
all a matter of money and resources.
I hope Southern Screen Report can be
part of a groundswell of interest in making
the south a bigger filmmaking mecca, to
encourage local investors to take more
risks on our talented local filmmakers, and
compel government to be more proactive
in providing the infrastructure and incentives necessary to attract business. It’s in
everyone’s best interest.
That’s my opinion. As always, I’d be
interested in hearing yours. Please keep
those e-mails coming!
Pamela Cole, Editor-in-Chief
Southern Screen Report
Editor-in-Chief, Pamela Cole
[email protected]
Associate Editor, Carletta S. Hurt,
[email protected]
Advertising, Melissa Randle
[email protected]
Public Relations/Advertising, Tracy Martin
[email protected]
Published by
Front Runner Communications, Inc.,
Atlanta, GA 30324
404-806-7044
Classifieds: classifi[email protected]
News: [email protected]
Production Listings: [email protected]
Editorial Policy: Southern Screen Report covers
news, reviews, and production listings of the film
and video industry in the Southeastern United
States. The views represented here do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher.
Issue 2, No. 1 © 2006 Front Runner Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in any
retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by
any means—electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise—without the prior
written permission of the publisher.
2
January 19, 2006
www.screenreport.com
Off to the Dance
Sundance, Slamdance
Continued from Page 1
novel of the same name by Gainesville
author, Harry Crews. (Goldberger adapted
the screenplay.) The Hawk is Dying stars
Michael Pitt, Paul Giamatti, and Michelle
Williams. This is Goldberger’s second trip
to Sundance. His 1998 film, Trans, about
a 16-year-old boy who escapes from a Ft.
Myers juvenile detention center, played at
the 1999 Sundance Film Festival.
Off the Black
Written/directed by James Ponsoldt of
Athens, Georgia. There are actually two
James Polsoldts from Athens: the other
is the filmmaker’s dad, who teaches law
at the University of Georgia. Here’s what
Mr. Ponsoldt, Sr. (who appears as an extra
in Off the Black) had to say about his talented son: “The film story and idea began
more than three years ago while we were
in Orlando, attending the Florida Film
Festival (my son had a short film showing
there). We were in the bleachers watching an Atlanta Braves exhibition baseball
game. We spent more time batting around
the film idea than watching the game. It
then took three years to go through 15
drafts of the film, find funding, and persuade Nick Nolte to do the film. My son
worked full time at those pursuits, while
finishing his MFA at Columbia.” (See Q
& A article this page.)
Uncloudy Day
Screenplay written by Milford Thomas
of Atlanta, Georgia. Milford Thomas’
“Uncloudy Day” was one of 12 screenplays selected for the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, which has fostered such
projects as “Reservoir Dogs” and “Boys
Don’t Cry.” Thomas is best known for his
black and white silent film, Claire (2002),
which screened at the 2002 Atlanta Film
Festival. (See Q & A article on p. 6.)§
Advertise All Over
Town with Southern
Screen Report
Contact [email protected]
Q&A with James Ponsoldt
by Pamela Cole
It’s been a big year for James Ponsoldt. He got his MFA in filmmaking
from Columbia University in May 2005,
turned 27 in September, and then had his
first feature film accepted by Sundance in
November. Off The Black will screen in
the non-competition Spectrum series of
Sundance and is eligible for the festival’s
audience award. The cast includes Nick
Nolte, Trevor Morgan, Rosemarie DeWitt,
Sally Kirkland, and Timothy Hutton.
Tell me about Off the Black:
It’s a comedy about loss and loneliness and death, so it’s really a drama with a tone,
kind of like a Paul Mazursky film. I think in contemporary society now there’s a certain
cynicism about relationships between men and boys, and it’s sort of hard nowadays
to make a platonic love story between men, with all the media coverage [of sexual
abuse] between men and boys. They got away with it in the 70s with films like Butch
Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and even television shows like MASH. But there’s an
overabundance of cynicism in filmmaking about this topic now. I wanted to make a
film that showed a relationship between a boy and his surrogate father without those
overtones. I think every film is a love story in some way, and its up to the filmmaker to
devine what that relationship is, whether it’s a love story between the characters, or a
love story between the filmmaker and the audience.
Do you think that film festivals helped you in your quest to become a filmmaker?
Yeah, I worked really hard and made several shorts and got them in festivals and
just got out there. I got really lucky with all the people that I met through festivals who
wanted to help me, from producers to lawyers to directors to actors. That’s how I made
the contacts that lead me to Nick Nolte and Sally Kirkland and the great cast. I wrote
a script that would attract a great cast and then I met Avy Kaufman, who is just a great
casting director.
Someone told me that there are two parts to making a feature film: first you make
the movie, then you sell the movie. You have to realize the necessity of the second part
and try not to let it taint the first. You have to go out there and sell yourself or surround
yourself with people who can help you do that, because there’s a lot of great talent out
there.
Had you ever entered Sundance before?
No, just because of the scheduling. I was never ready at the right time with any of
my shorts to enter. This is my first feature.
How do you feel about being accepted into Sundance ?
It feels good, but not life-changing. I think making the film itself was the reward,
and I just hope that I get to make another one.
Where was Off the Black filmed?
In Suffern, NY and Haverstram, NY. I wanted to film it here [in Georgia] but, it’s
really a catch-22. I don’t think every film has to be made in Los Angeles or New York,
but I don’t think I would have had the resources I needed here to make the film, mostly
for financial reasons. It gets really expensive when you talk about moving and housing
crew, who were mostly from New York. I imagined the film being shot in Ogelthorpe
and Cranton, Georgia, and Haverstram kind of has that same look.
I have a longstanding relationship with Georgia filmmaking and IMAGE. People
here have been incredibly supportive, like Brian Newman who used to be at IMAGE
and Anne Hubbell (who worked at IMAGE, and is now with Kodak in New York). I
won the 2004 Perfect Pitch and have screened films at the Atlanta Film Festival. §
January 19, 2006
www.screenreport.com
3
Location, Location, Location
South Carolina Advanced
Technology (SCAT) Park
by Kristi Porter
It’s not every day that a location scout
would come across an off-line nuclear facility. But Barnwell, South Carolina has
just such a place for filmmakers needing a
unique site for their next action or drama
flick. Set on 1,632 massive acres of land,
the former Allied General Nuclear Services
facility, now called the South Carolina Advanced Technology (SCAT) Park, is the
property of the Southern Carolina Alliance
whose offices are located about 200 yards
from the facility.
Just recently opened to the filmmaking scene, SCAT Park has already seen
some real life action. In October 2005,
emergency management personnel and
first responders from six counties in South
Carolina held a one-day homeland security
exercise there. Over 500 participants were
involved in the exercise designed to simulate terrorist, weapons of mass destruction,
and mass casualty scenarios. Hostage situations, explosives, and even diving exercises in the 11 acre pond were all staged to
test the team’s response to actual extreme
events. Local volunteers also got
in on the act by playing injured and
hostage victims.
SCAT Park is prime for innovative filmmakers looking for the
perfect site to set their movie apart
and compliment their individual
material. And because it is newly added
to the market, you can be sure that SCAT
Park will add an original element to your
feature. Be the first to take advantage of a
location that is sure to show up in a theater
near you soon.
Q&A with Chad
Eikoff
(L-R) Producer Chad
Eikoff and writer/director
Gregg Bishop.
Photo by Craig
Dabrowski. ©2006
Bishop Studios
by Pamela Cole
What was your reaction to hearing that
The Other Side had been accepted into
Slamdance?
Ridiculous, exuberant jubilation. We
were very, very excited. We really wanted
to premiere The Other Side in one of the
top 10 festivals and Slamdance has climbed
into that level now. Of course, we had
applied to Sundance (everyone applies to
both festivals), but after we were accepted
into Slamdance, we learned that statistically, it’s harder to get into Slamdance.
Why did you choose to shoot in
Atlanta?
Gregg and I are both from Atlanta, and
I’m trying to make a go of a production
company in Atlanta (Wonder Studios).
Honestly, I don’t think we could have
shot The Other Side in very many cities,
because of licensing restrictions (for locations) and union restrictions. There were
so many locations in the film and Gregg
just felt like LA had been shot out. Plus,
the locations here are just spectacular!
4
January 19, 2006
To make further inquiries about the facility, please contact the Southern Carolina
Alliance at 803-541-0023 or go to www.
southerncarolina.org. (Photos courtesy of
Southern Carolina Alliance.)§
Georgia is a right-to-work state, and we
had lots of non-union people here who
were willing to work really hard because
they loved the work and the project.
My big hope is to help establish Atlanta
as a production state, and to help grow the
seeds that are here, to initiate production
and financing within Georgia. I’d like
to try and educate investors in Atlanta.
People invest in what they know, which
right now in Atlanta, is music. This is a big
music town. But investors need to feel safe
www.screenreport.com
about investing in films and I think we can
educate them better about that.
Are you and Gregg planning any other
film projects in Georgia?
Yes, we’re planning to shoot at least
two more. We’re kind of waiting right
now, riding The Other Side, and hoping
to get some distribution and financing as
a result of Slamdance. But we have the
script to “Dance of the Dead,” which is a
zombie script by Joe Ballerini. We’re also
planning two sequels to The Other Side.§
In the Spotlight
Kathy T Gives Good What?!
Cinema Concepts Produces First Feature
By Pamela Cole
ATLANTA, GA—“The first thing you
should know about me is that I have this
sexual problem,” announces lead-character
Alex in the first line of Kathy T Gives Good
Hoover. If the title of this film doesn’t
get your attention, the opening line surely
will. The feature, now in post-production,
heralds Cinema Concepts’
foray into film production.
Kathy T Gives Good
Hoover is a comedy based
on writer/director Evan Lieberman’s experiences as a
college student at the University of Georgia during the
80s heyday of Athens music.
But the film’s title came from
a different university in a
different time. As Lieberman recalls, he was sitting
in a study carrel at UCLA in
1994, writing an academic
essay required for admission to Emory (where he
now teaches Film), when he
began a study of the graffiti
surrounding him.
“The graffiti at UCLA is
filthy! I even thought about
doing a Ph.D. dissertation on
graffiti, called ‘The Secret
Language,’” he said, explaining the origins
of the film’s title. As Lieberman pondered
the graffiti (perhaps procrastinating on that
academic essay), he got the idea for a film
called “Kathy T Gives Good Hoover.”
The script germinated for ten years
in Lieberman’s fertile mind and then was
written in 12 days in 2004. “Alex is me,”
admitted Lieberman of the sexually-challenged lead character. “It is me and it is my
experiences in Athens.” Lieberman played
bass guitar in the Athens band, “Little
Tiger.” He still plays in a band called “Five
Day Drive.”
Over lunch one day, he showed the
script to long-time acquaintance Kim
Turner, who at the time was working for
Cinema Concepts. (They once served as
IMAGE board members together.)
“As a public relations, marketing person,
I just got chills when I saw that title,” said
Turner, getting goosebumps even as she de-
scribed the event. Before coming to Cinema
Concepts, Turner worked in publicity and
marketing for over 30 film studios.
“After a few months here, I went to
Stewart [Harnell, Cinema Concepts’ CEO]
and said, ‘You have a film studio…you
should be making films.’” Harnell agreed
and Turner ended up co-producing Kathy T
some lead actors were imported for star
quality. “Atlanta has a deep pool of acting
talent, there’s no doubt about that…but
they leave and go to Hollywood,” laughed
Lieberman. “The amazing thing is how the
cast turned out to be so right, like we had
been casting for a year.”
“Filmmaking is inherently collaborative and this was definitely
a product of the synergy
between the three of us,“
Lieberman added, sharing
kudos with Turner and
Tremble. He also praised the
crew for “hanging in there on
what was a difficult shoot.”
“Every day was an
unusual day,” he stressed,
recalling the day that they
wrecked a $100,000 Mercedes on loan from Executive Producer’s Stewart
Harnell’s daughter, Missi
Harnell Wolf.
“Now, this car is a
central character in the
film. It appears throughout
the film many times and
we wrecked it after the first
take,” said Lieberman, mea(L-R) Mike Tremble, Kim Turner, and Evan Lieberman suring his words carefully. “It
was downtown Decatur, in
Gives Good Hoover for Cinema Concepts the middle of rush hour traffic. We were
Films.
losing the light and tensions were high as
The new production company filmed they can be sometimes at the end of a long
the feature around Atlanta in 18 days, at day. Someone told the actress driving the
locations such as Emory University and Mercedes to make a U turn.” And then,
downtown Decatur. Producer/Editor Mike someone smashed into the Mercedes as it
Tremble explained that they shot the film made the illegal turn. Luckily, no one was
on super 16 and then transferred it to HD hurt.
for editing.
“We had sort of the opposite problem
“At first, we thought we were shoot- of most independent films,” admitted
ing a punk rock movie because of all the Tremble. “Normally it would be very difmusic, but then we realized that there was ficult to come up with a car like that, but
a ‘movie in this movie,’” Tremble said, de- Stewart said, ‘Oh sure, just use Missi’s car.’
scribing the decision to use film instead of And then we accidentally wrecked it.”
video for production. “Video tends to have
But the show must go on. Kathy T
hard edges and a distinctive quality. This Gives Good Hoover is set for release in
movie turned out to be a very warm film. early 2006. Cinema Concepts Films is
You don’t really end up hating anyone, not already reading scripts, looking for their
even the antagonist, so film definitely has next feature production. For more informathe right look.”
tion, go to www.kathytgivesgoodhoover.
Most of the cast and crew on Kathy T com.§
Gives Good Hoover were local, although
January 19, 2006
www.screenreport.com
5
Q&A with Milford Thomas
by Pamela Cole
Milford Thomas’ acclaimed film,
Claire (2002), won the 2002 Audience Award at the Atlanta Film Festival. Claire was a black and white silent
film shot on an antique,
hand-crank 35mm camera.
Originally from Huntsville,
Alabama, Thomas spent
time in Tokyo working as
a television production coordinator. His time in Japan
influenced Claire and “Uncloudy Day,” which are both
inspired by Japanese folklore. “Uncloudy Day” was
co-written by Thomas and
Kristin Gorell.
something about the subjectivity of a
silent film, the challenge of conveying
a story without dialog. Dialog seems so
redundant. But I realized that I needed
to make at least $5 on my next film. So
How does it feel to be accepted into Sundance?
There’s this disbelief and
excitement at first and then
the fraud stage starts. It’s
just a tremendous honor
and I hope that the script’s worthy,
because they expect it to be!
Had you submitted anything to Sundance before?
No, but I had been in touch with the
Sundance people for awhile. There are
people at Sundance whose job is to call
around and find new filmmakers. One
day Brian Newman (Executive Director of IMAGE at the time) called me and
gave me the number of Lynn Auerbach
from Sundance and just said “Call her.”
So I did. Lynn was this amazing woman,
and that’s all she did…look for new
filmmakers. She was so high-energy and
nurturing. [Editor’s note: For 15 years,
Auerbach was associate director of the
Sundance Feature Film Program and
worked closely with participants. She
died suddenly in February 2004.]
And then last year, Anne Hubbell
[former Executive Director of IMAGE]
encouraged me to submit my script to
Sundance. It was just a last minute thing,
a late submission. I was still waiting
tables (at Dish in Atlanta) and was pretty
miserable on the financial front, so I did.
I didn’t even tell anyone that I had submitted it because I figured there was no
chance.
I think it’s the outreach almost as
much as the submission that helps.
You’re best known for Claire, which
was a silent film. Is “Uncloudy Day” a
silent film?
I would prefer to do silent movies.
I’m just a picture-oriented guy. There’s
6
January 19, 2006
I decided I would do a film like an early
“talkie.” “Uncloudy Day” is a black and
white film set in 1930 and I would like to
shoot it with the technology as it would
have been made in the 30s.
How long did it take to write the
script?
I started working on it right after
Claire, so it’ll be about four years in
January. I worked with Atlanta screenwriter Kristen Gorell and she is a full cowriter on the screenplay.
Since your script is already written,
what do you expect from the Screenwriters Lab?
The advisors there are veteran screenwriters and I know innately that there are
things that bug me about the script. I’m
just going to go in with an open mind and
look for ways to make the script better. I
don’t look at this as a script award. It’s
more of an interest in your project than a
screenplay award. Every Sundance project
has to go through the Screenwriters Lab
first, and then there’s a good chance it will
be invited to the Directors Lab, which
is three to five weeks of intensive work.
They just want to be sure you have a really
solid script to work with.
Do you consider yourself a writer or a
filmmaker?
Oh, a filmmaker. I am not a writer!
The writing is just to facilitate the film. I
was making films with a super 8 camera
when I was about 8 years old. I’m a selftaught filmmaker. §
www.screenreport.com
Incentives
Continued from Page 1—
The previous sales & use tax exemption credit expired as of January 1,
2006. There is no relief from payment
of state sales and use tax under the new
incentives.
“There must be more of an investment in Louisiana,” stated Alex Schott,
Executive Director of the Louisiana
Film Commission. “The act is designed
to help the Louisiana film and video
industry create a solid base of income
that leaves more money behind in the
state.”
Another significant change to the
process is that production companies
are now required to submit an independent audit of production expenditures.
Schott added, “The minimum budget
for a film to qualify is $300,000 and we
are confident that gives room for the
majority of projects being done today.”
An application fee is also apart of
the new law. The fee is based upon the
estimated total incentive tax credit, with
a minimum of $200 and a maximum of
$5,000. The fee covers the initial certification letter and up to two certifications of expenditures for projects.
For more information, visit www.
lafilm.org. §
Local Films Win
CINE Golden Eagle
Award
By Pamela Cole
ATLANTA, GA—Two films by
Atlanta-based production companies have
won CINE Golden Eagle Awards in the
Independent Division for Documentary
Shorts. They are The Cole Nobody Knows
written, directed, and edited by Clay
Walker of Plan B Productions and Fried
Chicken and Sweet Potato Pie written,
produced and directed by Bailey Barash
of bbarash Productions.
Since 1957, the CINE Golden Eagle
awards have been recognized internationally as symbols of the highest production
standards in documentary filmmaking and
videography. Former recipients include
Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ken
Burns, and Charles Guggenheim, among
others. The awards will be presented at
the Annual CINE Awards Ceremony in
Washington, DC, in April 2006.§
In Production
If you have a film or video in production in
the Southeast, please submit your information online at www.screenreport.com.
All production listings are free.
Cheater’s Nightmare. Mad Kins Productions.
cheatersnightmare2005@yahoo.
com. In Production. Horror. Short (<30
min). Location: Atlanta. Diesel, Kinnik, Miko
Defoor. A playa gets caught up in the worst
way when an evening out yields an unexpected encounter in more ways than one.
The Culprit. Glazzwerkz Productions.
[email protected]. Pre-Production.
Drama/Comedy. Short (<30 min). Start
Date: Jan. 27. 2005. Location: Atlanta.The
Culprit is an urban relationship satire about
a couple moving in different directions confronted by infidelity and culminating with an
unexpected twist.
The Signal. POPfilms. Alexander A.
Motlagh. alex@popfilms.org. Pre-Production. Horror. Feature (>60 min). Start
Date: 1/7/06. Location: Atlanta GA. Anessa
Ramsey, Justin Welborn, A.J. Bowen, Scott
Poythress. A mysterious signal transmitting from the media devices in the city of
Terminus is driving everyone to murder
and madness. In THE SIGNAL one man
must save the woman he loves before her
crazed husband finds her. But to do so he
must discover who he can trust and who
has succumbed to the violence of the signal
- including himself.
The One. Dewis Inc. / Eye
on
You
Productions.
Debbie
Lewis.
[email protected]. Pre-Production. Drama. Feature (>60 min). Start
Date: 1/1/06. Miko Defoor, Jo-Jo, Tondee
Hayden, David Butler, Micheal Angelo,
Debbie Lewis, Novena Hudson, Latoya
Odom. One weekend and a day in the lives
of the Lees and the Cummings, and the dirt
that they bring. It’s a walk of life that we
don’t know who’s living it right. A six degree
of separation is the only thing that keeps
them holding on tight. Are you “The One?”
Past Love. Present Pain. Spikes Hill Production. Ramsey Hill. spikeshillproductio
[email protected]. Pre-Production . Drama.
Feature (>60 min). Start Date: 3/1/06. Location: Atlanta.Georgia (surrounding areas).
Casting in Jan. 2006. Two unlikely people
find themselves unable to deny the passion
they have for each other. But when they
finally submit to their feelings, will their past
relationships stop them from being together? This is the story of a hair sylist named
Rachel and a delivery boy named Jesse.
They come from two different paths and are
total opposite. When events forces them to
face how they truly feels for each other they
must also face their past demons.
Veratio: Love is Hell. Veratio Productions.
[email protected]. Pre-Production. Drama.
Mid (30-60 min). Start Date: 1/15/06. Location: In and around the Cobb area. Richard
Cloutier. Psychological thriller concerning a
mentally unstable man who will do anything
to rekindle the love with his girlfriend even if
it means getting the aid of his Mephistophelean plastic-faced brother who’s also a dangerous criminal. But at what cost?
Mattie Johnny and Smooth White Stones:
Part II. Holy Hill Productions. Cassandra
Hollis. [email protected]. PostProduction. Drama. Start Date: 11/14/05.
Location: Ripley Ohio. Cassandra Hollis,
Marshall Dixon, Rob Riley, Jack Rooney,
Florence Dunlap, Peggy Overly. A couple’s
plan to escape slavery on the Underground
Railroad goes awry and Mattie has to make
the journey alone.
Season of Death. Symmetry Entertainment
Inc. Symmetry Entertainment Inc. info@sym
metryentertainment.com. Production. Documentary. Start Date: 4/1/05. Location: US/
Mexico. A riveting documentary covering
the migration north across the US/Mexico
border focusing on the rising death crisis.
Blood Car. Fake Wood Wallpaper. Alex Orr.
[email protected].
Pre-Production.
Horror/Science Fiction. Start Date: 12/8/05.
Location: Atlanta GA; Jonesboro, GA;
Douglasville, GA. In the future, gas prices
soar to $35/gal. Cars are nonexistent. Yet
one man’s passion transcends limitations
leading to the resurrection of his car.
Kathy
T
Gives
Good
Hoover.
Cinema Concepts Films. Kim Turner,
[email protected]. Post-Production. Start Date: 12/1/04. Location: Atlanta.
Greg Cipes, Trent Gill, Mary Elise, Scotty
Mullen, Tristan Towne, Cynthia Evans,
Daniel Pettrow, Jayson Frederick, Tim Stoltenberg, Marla Malcom, Jonathan Green,
Greg Corbett. In the harsh light of a college
media center is a line of graffiti that will
change the life of a young college student.
CAMP
D.O.A.
Magic
City
Films.
earl@magiccityfilms.com. Post-Production.
Horror. Location: Birmingham Alabama.
Christopher Clay Jones, Raquel Riley,
Earl Hilliard, Jr, Crystal Porter, Erik Todd
Dellums. Camp DOA is the tale of Devon
Southern and his college friends who plan
a wild weekend at the Southern family’s
January 19, 2006
remote mountain retreat. Set to have the
time of their lives, Devon and crew are
unaware that an unspeakable murderous
evil has been awakened and is stalking
them.
The Last Adam. Descending Dove Productions. 621 North Ave. Suite A-100.
Atlanta. GA. 30308. Post-Production. Start
Date: 11/1/05. Location: Atlanta. Leonard
Roberts, Jose Yenque, Carl Lewis, Corinne
de Groot. Six racially diverse childhood
friends are forced to revisit their beleaguered pasts when they return to their
hometown in the deep south to plan the
funeral of their coach and mentor.
Classifieds
Jobs/Opportunities
Southern Screen Report is seeking dedicated volunteers who love film for writing,
web design, distribution, copy editor.
Experience required: a desire to be involved in the film industry. Please send
resume and brief statement of interest to:
[email protected].
Actors
PRIESKA OUTLAND.
Film, theater, voiceovers, print, runway,
promotions.
Email:
prieska1979@yahoo.
com
www.musecube.com/prieska
www.blackstallionmodeling.com
Coming Events
Southern filmmakers, production companies, arts and media organizations, broadcasters, film festival organizers, grantmaking entities, etc. are invited to join the
“southern_filmmakers” yahoo group to
create a network of people who share a
common interest in filmmaking in the Southeastern US. Contact Amy Shumaker at
[email protected] if you are interested
or visit http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/
Southern_Filmmakers/.
Classifeds cost $15.00 for 20 words or
less. Each additional word costs $.50.
Photos - $30 extra.
Boxed ads or Bold Title - $5 extra.
E-mail: classifi[email protected]
www.screenreport.com
7
8
January 19, 2006
www.screenreport.com