Brokeback Mountain Truck Fetches $60,000 US

The Calgary Sun reports that the truck featured in Brokeback Mountain sold for just over $61,000 US at an eBay Motors auction.

Matthew Kennedy, the 16-year-old Pincher Creek resident who put the vehicle up for sale, plans to use the money for college.

Brokeback Mountain Truck For Sale

CNN reports that an Albertan teenager has put a 1950 GMC truck up for auction. However, what makes the otherwise normal auction newsworthy is the fact that the pickup was used in the feature film Brokeback Mountain. From the article:

Matthew Kennedy said he bought the black, 1950 GMC truck last year at an auction of vehicles used in the movie because he liked its looks, and only decided to sell when he realized the amount of attention the film was garnering.

"The movie was getting a lot bigger and I thought I could sell it and put away the money for school," he said.

Kennedy's eBay description of the vehicle says it was driven by Jack Twist, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, when he meets Ennis Del Mar, played by Heath Ledger, at the start of the film.

Bidding has reached $15,000 so far, almost double the $8,000 starting price, fueled by the ties to the film.

Check out the rest of the article at the link above.

2006 AMPIA Awards Finalists Announced

The finalists for the 2006 Alberta Film and Television Awards have been announced. From the AMPIA News Release:

From a record number of entries (640), the nominated finalists for the 2006 Alberta Film & Television Awards represent a wide range of production companies throughout Alberta.

The 24 judges who adjudicated the entries were Executive Producers and senior Executive Program Managers from across Canada. Each panel of judges were given the challenge of selecting only 6 Finalists in each category from an impressive list of submissions. Several categories set new records for the number of entries, including "Best Documentary Over 30 Minutes" (25 entries), "Best Commercial" (26 entries), "Best Director Non-fiction Under 30 Minutes"(26 entries), "Best Editor Non-fiction Under 30 Minutes"(40 entries) and "Best Animator/Graphic Artist" (25 entries).

The 2006 Alberta Film & Television Awards is scheduled for Saturday, April 29th in the magnificent new Hall D at The Shaw Conference in Edmonton starting at 4:45pm. Hosts for the special evening include actor/performer Tom Jackson and a featured star from STAR-TV!, the stunningly beautiful Larysa Harapyn, along with Edmonton news anchors Jennifer Martin (CITY-TV) and Mark Connolly (CBC).

Tickets are available through AMPIA. For a complete list of 2006 finalists, check out this link.

Dream Me A Murder Films in Calgary

The Calgary Sun reports that Star Trek Enterprise star, Jolene Blalock, is in Calgary to film the TV movie, Dream Me A Murder. The production begins this week and concludes April 6.

No details on the story are available at this time.

Edmonton's Jill Hennessy Fights Crime

The Canadian National Newspaper features a small article on Edmonton-born Jill Hennessy (Crossing Jordan):

Whereas Jillian Hennessy was previously best known for portraying assistant district attorney of New York County, Claire Kincaid on the television series Law & Order, she is now garnering attention as Jordan Cavannagh, the starring role in a one-hour drama, in Crossing Jordan. She plays a Boston Medical Examiner with a checkered past, imperfect family life, and a tendency to go beyond her duties in solving mysterious deaths.

Check out the full article at the link above.

Calgary Scouted As Site for Jackson Boxing Film

The Calgary Herald reports that Calgary could serve as the filming location for a new boxing film starring Samuel L. Jackson and Josh Hartnett. From the print version of the article:

Director Rod Lurie will be in and around Calgary this weekend to scout locations for his drama Resurrecting The Champ, which is about a young sports reporter who tracks down a homeless man he believes to be a former boxing champ.

Hartnett is cast as the 30-year-old reporter desperate for a story, and Jackson is the supposed ex-champ.

If the location meets expectations, a four-month shooting schedule would begin on June 19, according to Variety.

"They'll come, have a look at locations, see if they work, have a look at facilities, they'll get information on the services available, and they'll meet with some of the crew and production managers," said Calgary film commissioner Beth Thompson. "That's really what it's about, them getting a good sense of the area while they're here."

Full article at the link above for Calgary Herald subscribers.

Photo: Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu in Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Courtesy of Wikipedia and © Lucasfilm, Ltd.

Moviehole Interviews Nathan Fillion

Edmonton-born Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Serenity) was recently interviewed by moviehole.net:

So what… how surprised were you when the offer came for a feature film?

Nathan: I was so certain… again, the parallel with Malcolm Reynolds, it’s stupid – I was certain we wouldn’t be cancelled. When we were cancelled I was crushed. When the news came around about it looks like we might do a film, I’m talking to Universal, they’re very excited, they’ve bought the rights, I’m writing a script, we’re seeing if it’s going to get greenlit – there’s a process that happens. I’m thinking that would be great. That would be really, really great. If that happened that would be good. I did not believe it was going to happen. I did not put my heart into it. I didn’t start hoping about it because I had lost faith. It’s… I think we were three weeks into filming before I realised it wasn’t going to be taken away from me again.

Do you think it’s likely that you’ll revisit that world again?

Nathan: Do I think it’s likely? Good question. I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s likely. If I understood the inner workings and the why’s and wherefore’s of the entertainment industry I’d be a far more clever man than I am. Would I do it – yes. If it never happened I… I have to say I’m happy with how it all turned out. When we got cancelled all I wanted was Malcolm Reynolds back; that’s all I wanted. It’s like, yes, I’ll do that other movie that’d be great but, you know, I’d really like to just be Malcolm Reynolds, … I wanted another shot at it. The movie came around and I got another shot. I wanted the movie to be really, really good. I believe we made a really, really good movie. I got everything I wanted. How can you ask for more than everything you’ve ever wanted? I don’t want to get greedy.

Check out the rest of the interview at the link above.

Desperadoes To Film in Alberta

ComingSoon.net (via Variety) is reporting that filmmaker Monte Hellman will be filming a new western with two big name producers: Martin Scorsese and Paul Thomas Anderson. From the website:

"Cult filmmaker Monte Hellman is set to direct Desperadoes, based on the novel of the same name by Ron Hansen about the infamous Dalton gang, says Variety. Joyce Wethington's Jammee Rose Productions is producing, while Paul Thomas Anderson and Martin Scorsese are executive producers.

Hansen also wrote The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, which writer-director Andrew Dominik is adapting for Warner Bros. [The] Brad Pitt starrer, produced by Scott Free and Pitt's Plan B, will be released this fall.

Screenwriter Charles Eastman is adapting Desperadoes, which revolves around the exploits of the Dalton gang and the beautiful Eugenia Moore, who fell in love with Bob Dalton and helped the brothers rob trains, either directly or by distracting the local marshal.

The film is scheduled to begin shooting this fall in Alberta. Casting has not been set."

It sounds like Alberta will continue to provide exceptional talent, crews, and locations for the Western genre.

Update: Michael Stevens (Hollywood North Report) has more information on the history of the Dalton gang at this link.

WizBusiness Talks Wisconsin Film Industry

Alberta isn't referenced specifically, but Canada gets a mention at WizBusiness regarding Wisconsin and film incentives:

In a letter to Kanavas [US Senator], Madison native Jerry Zucker said he would be delighted to see Wisconsin become a “film-friendly” state.

He said he is often asked why he and his brother David have not shot any of their movies – which include Airplane, Naked Gun, and Ghost – in Wisconsin.

“The answer is simple,” he wrote. “Even if the setting was exactly what we needed, the studios won’t let us because of filming in Wisconsin is too expensive, especially when compared to Canada and other states with aggressive incentives.

“In these days of increasing budgets, studios will force filmmakers to go where they can achieve the greatest savings.

“That is why so many films are shooting out of the country. At the moment, Wisconsin is not one of the places studios push filmmakers to consider.”

Despite the competition, it's good to see any province or state try and lure filmmakers back to their home area. Not only is there a sense of homecoming pride from the talent, but work is provided for the local film crews and money poured into local economies.

These Girls

A former Albertan is mentioned in an Edmonton Sun article about his recent film:

"When the three young women in These Girls decide to have some late summer fun, they pull out all the stops.

In this coming-of-age comedy from John Hazlett, an Alberta filmmaker who relocated to Quebec in 2000, the recent high school graduates decide to seduce a 30-something stud.

The girls are played by Caroline Dhavernas, Amanda Walsh and Holly Lewis, and the object of their lust is David Boreanaz, the former tortured vampire of TV's Angel, who now stars in Fox's Bones."

Full article at the link above.

Note: $10.00 CDN fee now required since it's an archived story.

SaskFilm Talks Alberta

Saskatoonhomepage.ca has a brief article regarding film production in Saskatchewan and Alberta is discussed:

The C-E-O of SaskFilm feels Saskatchewan is blazing new trails in the movie industry.

Suzanne Bell says interest in the province is extremely high from producers and directors in Europe. However, Bell says Saskatchewan is showing up on the radar right across the map, including in Hollywood.

Bell downplays Alberta as Saskatchewan's biggest competitor in the film industry, saying every world market has an advantage regarding landscape and feel.

Without detailing specifics, Bell predicts 2007 will be a strong year for Saskatchewan in the movie business.

Sounds like SaskFilm recognizes the diversity that each province has to offer.

Brokeback Mountain Author Criticizes Academy

The Guardian published a letter by "Brokeback Mountain" author, Annie Proulx, criticizing Oscar voters and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the film's Best Picture loss to Crash:

"The hours sped by on wings of boiler plate. Brokeback's first award was to Argentinean Gustavo Santaolalla for the film's plangent and evocative score. Later came the expected award for screenplay adaptation to Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry, and only a short time later the director's award to Ang Lee. And that was it, three awards, putting it on equal footing with King Kong. When Jack Nicholson said best picture went to Crash, there was a gasp of shock, and then applause from many - the choice was a hit with the home team since the film is set in Los Angeles. It was a safe pick of "controversial film" for the heffalumps."

Some are saying her letter is nothing but sour grapes at the loss, while others seem to agree with her forthrightness. I had a chance to catch some of the Awards show while I attended the Decoys Rebirth wrap party and like presenter Jack Nicholson, was shocked at the Best Picture winner. Though I really enjoyed Crash, especially the editing and great score, I certainly thought Brokeback Mountain had the award wrapped up. It seems the Awards show is steering toward a more diplomatic direction and distributing awards across the board. Ang Lee receives the Best Director award while Crash gets the Best Picture. There was no all-out win like with Peter Jackson and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

As Proulx suggests, and others around the Internet have theorized, perhaps it wasn't so much the subject matter in Brokeback Mountain that was the losing factor in it's bid for Best Picture. Perhaps, it was the fact that Crash takes place in Los Angeles, and more importantly, was filmed in the movie production capital of the world. The Alberta-filmed Brokeback Mountain, on the other hand, represents the "runaway production," the film that doesn't film in Hollywood. With the Academy based in Los Angeles as well, it almost seems as though Crash was destined for the Best Picture trophy. Certainly there were other pictures worthy of the award, so Brokeback isn't the only loser.

Still, the entire crew and cast (including Albertans) should be proud of something that garners so much praise and creates discussion.

RV One-Sheet Revealed

Image courtesy of ComingSoon.net and Columbia Pictures.

Brokeback Mountain Wins Oscars

The Alberta-filmed Brokeback Mountain was a winner at last night's Academy Awards:

Directing - Ang Lee

Writing (Adapted screenplay) - Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana

Original score - Gustavo Santaolalla

A full list of winners can be found at the official Oscars website. Congratulations to all crew, cast, and Albertans involved!