The Alberta Movie Guide

Hello from Vancouver, British Columbia!

2009-01-24T20:32:00.002-07:00

For any of you who are still reading this blog: a big thanks! There is certainly a lack of posting in the last few months, but lots of new opportunities have been presented to me so I'm pursuing them with an outstanding level of support from my amazing family, friends and associates.

I'm now in Vancouver, British Columbia and working with some pretty cool people on some pretty awesome projects. Hopefully, I'll get back to blogging but you'll have to excuse the lack of posts in the meantime while I settle in to my new home.

You can still contact me at the same e-mail address and phone number for now.

We'll chat soon. Cheers!

Chad

Secrets of the Dinosaur Mummy Airs Tonight on Discovery Channel

2008-09-14T14:02:00.003-06:00

Discovery Channel will be airing Secrets of the Dinosaur Mummy tonight. According to Discovery Channel:

In one of the most exciting finds in the history of paleontology "Leonardo" - a young Brachylophosaurus - is found in Montana fully intact, with 90 per cent of his body covered in skin. What Leonardo has revealed challenged previously held beliefs, forever changing what we know about dinosaur physiology.

The Edmonton Journal features an article on the show and the award-wining Edmonton filmmaker who directed the documentary, Michael Jorgensen of Myth Merchant Films. He was also the writer/director on Nova's Battle of the X-Planes and Lost Nuke. Plenty of Alberta creative and technical talent worked on this show as well.

Check your local listings!

Image: David Portnoy/Getty Images for Discovery Communications LLC.

Edmonton International Film Festival Fear Itself Fundraiser Tonight!

2008-06-05T07:35:00.002-06:00

Fear Itself, a horror/thriller series from the people behind Saw II, II, IV, Crash and American Psycho that was filmed in Edmonton, will premiere tonight on NBC. If you're in Edmonton, and rather than sitting at home and watching it, why not head out to the Garneau Theatre at 9:00 p.m. to enjoy it with friends? Show your support for the city's film and television industry and the EIFF! From the press release:

NBC and Lions Gate Films have been filming a television series (titled 'Fear Itself') in our fair city since March this year. The very FIRST episode will be broadcast on THURSDAY this week. We thought, ‘Hey! Why not invite everyone into OUR living room and we can all watch it together’? Means you don’t have to clean up!

THURSDAY, JUNE 5th @ GARNEAU THEATRE
Doors open at 9pm
Broadcast starts at 10pm
Admission Price: By donation (all proceeds go to EIFF)

You can check out the trailer at this link.

Also, be sure to check out the official NBC Fear Itself website!

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford Available For Rental Through Apple iTunes

2008-03-21T15:21:00.000-06:00

For those of you wishing to rent The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford through Apple's iTunes Store, it is now available.

EVENT: Alberta Movie Stills Photographer Lecture

2008-02-14T15:02:00.002-07:00

Exposure 2008, the Calgary/Banff Photography Festival, will be featuring an artist lecture by movie and television stills photographer Kimberley French on Saturday, February 16, 2008 in Calgary.

From the magazine:

If you've seen the posters for either the acclaimed movie Brokeback Mountain or for Brad Pitt's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, then you've seen the work of stills photographer Kimberley French. In addition to her film work, French is also known for her Ethereal art photographs.

LOCATION:
Alberta College of Art and Design
1407-14th Ave. N.W.
Calgary AB Canada
Stanford Perrott Lecture Theatre

TIME:
7:00 p.m.

CONTACT:
403.284.7600
http://www.acad.ab.ca

Check out her website at: www.kimberleyfrench.com

Edmonton's Fear Itself Offers Trainee Opportunities

2008-02-07T22:58:00.000-07:00

Laurette from the Film Crews/Cast/Producers Facebook Group let me know about cast and crew opportunities with the Edmonton-filming series, Fear Itself (aka Masters of Horror). From the posting:

Feb 4, 2008

“FEAR ITSELF” (fka Masters of Horror)
TELEVISION SERIES

TRAINEE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EDMONTONIANS

“Fear Itself” is an anthology television series of 13 x 1-hour episodes, scheduled to shoot in Edmonton from February 13th to July 11th, 2008.

As part of its commitment to the development of expanding the EDMONTON labor force in film and television production, “Fear Itself” is looking for serious applicants to train on the production in various Trainee roles.

Trainee positions are available in most departments:
Set Decoration,
On Set Dresser
Props,
Construction,
Accounting,
Grip,
Lighting,
Camera,
Script Supervision,
Craft Services
Locations
SPFX
Sound
Wardrobe
Makeup
Hair

Depending on the department and number of qualified applicants, these Trainee positions will range in length from two weeks to five months. Applicants should possess basic knowledge of film / television production and MUST possess a desire to make the film and TV industry their career.

Serious applicants can submit their resumes to “Fear Itself” via e-mail or fax to:
fearitselfproductions@gmail.com
Fax: (780) 487-1730

Please specify any specific departments that you would like to work with.

Qualified applicants will be contacted and interviewed by Fear Itself Productions as part of the selection process for these Trainee positions.

As a limited number of positions are available, resumes should be e-mailed or faxed immediately.

For those looking to get into the Film/TV industry, there is almost no better time than during this production. Assuming this series does well, and you help contribute to its success, one can imagine more series being shot Edmonton. It's definitely work being on set, but there's almost no experience as rewarding! Best of luck to all applicants.

Edmonton-born Fillion to Provide Voice in Animated Wonder Woman Film

2008-02-07T22:42:00.000-07:00

According to The World's Finest, Nathon Fillion (Firefly, Serenity, Slither) will voice Steve Trevor in the upcoming animated Wonder Woman film:

Announced at the 2008 FX International Con, Nathan Fillion (Serenity) is slated to provide the voice of Steve Trevor in the upcoming DC direct to video Wonder Woman animated film.

Fillion will star alongside Keri Russell, who will play Wonder Woman, in the highly-anticipated upcoming direct-to-video animated feature. The direct-to-video animated feature is slated for a late 2008/early 2009 release. Fillion also voiced the hero Vigilante in the late Justice League Unlimtied animated series.

Keri Russell and Fillion recently starred together in Waitress.

Link via SuperHeroHype.com

Pre-order The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford on DVD and Blu-ray Disc

2008-01-18T13:16:00.000-07:00

Readers of The Alberta Movie Guide can now pre-order The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford through Amazon.com/Amazon.ca.

I highly recommend the official soundtrack by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. Although a perfect companion to the dream-like images in Andrew Domink's film, the music stands on its own proudly, guiding listeners back into another period in American history.

Waterkeeper Alliance Fundraising Event Brings Stars to Banff, Alberta

2008-01-18T00:21:00.000-07:00

While I head back to Edmonton to attend a good friend's wedding this weekend, film and television stars are arriving here in Banff, Alberta to support Robert Kennedy Jr.'s Waterkeeper Alliance.

From one of the press releases:

Leslie Nielsen, Kelsey Grammer, Daryl Hannah, Jason Priestley, Josie Bissett and several more Hollywood stars have added their names to attend The Fairmont Banff Springs Sports Invitational January 17-20, 2008.

The latest roster will join many other stars of film and television already committed to ski the spectacular Canadian Rocky Mountains at Sunshine Village while enjoying the luxurious hospitality of the majestic Fairmont Banff Springs.

The Fairmont Banff Springs Sports Invitational -- in support of leading North American environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s and his Waterkeeper Alliance - will be co-hosted by Kennedy, Tim Robbins, Christie Brinkley, and Alec Baldwin.

The Fairmont Banff Springs Sports Invitational will be held at Sunshine Village, while the spectacular Gala dinner will be held on January 19th at The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel and Resort.

More info on the events can be found at this link.

Anyone attending the events and managing to snap a few photos, please feel free to e-mail them to me to me share with readers of this blog! Please be respectful of all the public, celebrities, and organizers.

MEDIA CONTACT INFORMATION:

Lori Grant
Regional Director of Public Relations
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts
Tel: 403.762.6885
E-mail: lori.grant@fairmont.com

Crosbie Cotton
Celebrity Media Coordinator
Sunshine Village Ski & Snowboard Resort
Tel: 403.923.8873
E-mail: ccotton203@aol.com

Photo: Fairmont Hotels & Resorts © 2008

Digital Alberta Seeks Executive Director

2008-01-07T17:08:00.000-07:00

Digital Alberta, a non-profit association, seeks a dynamic executive director to take it into the future. In order to better meet the needs of the growing membership and the digital media industry, the Board of Directors has determined that an Executive Director is needed.

The new Executive Director will be expected to build upon the existing track record and lead the association as it advances its program goals in the years ahead. The position calls for a creative leader with outstanding strategic management and communications skills, as well as political savvy and a bold leadership spirit.

Under the direction of the Board of Directors, the executive director is responsible for overall management and operation of Digital Alberta and protection of the organization’s financial assets while ensuring compliance with board directives.

More information about the role can be found at the Digital Alberta website.

Happy New Year 2008!

2008-01-07T12:21:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year to all the film, television, and digital media communities in Alberta and elsewhere.

I hope 2008 is another successful year for our creative production industries.

Also, thanks to all the readers and supporters of The Alberta Movie Guide!

I will continue to make it a valuable online resource and companion to the book in progress.

Cheers!

- Chad

New Alberta Film Crew/Cast/Producer Facebook Group

2007-10-09T10:49:00.000-06:00

There's a new Facebook group for Alberta crew/cast/and producers that can be found at this link.

The group has just got started, but it looks like another great resource for the Alberta production community. There's already some great photos from the set of Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning.

Thanks to John for the heads up!

Photo: On the set of Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning. Courtesy of Laurette Bourassa.

Tom Green Feels Freezer Burn in Edmonton

2007-10-05T12:38:00.000-06:00

According to Playback, principal photography on Freezer Burn: The Invasion of Laxdale (starring Tom Green), has commenced in Edmonton:

In Freezer Burn, Martians want to transform Earth into a time-share and construct crop circles to up the temperature and turn the planet into a tropical hot spot -- much to the detriment of humanity.

Director and cowriter Grant Harvey -- who directed Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning, is bullish on the new film's prospects. "I think what will set this film apart [from other Canadian sci-fi comedies] is our real star power, as opposed to just putting someone in with marquee value to a distributor or a funder, but who doesn't hold the attention of an independent audience," he says.

The acting muscle comes from Green (Freddy Got Fingered), who steps out of his long-established clown shoes into a dimwitted, straight-man role. The villain is played by cult favorite Crispin Glover (Willard).

Apparently the crop circles created for the film are creating quite a commotion outside of the city! Should be a fun film to see.

Check out the full article at this link.

Edmonton Journal Talks with Brian Murphy about Mars Rising

2007-10-03T16:23:00.000-06:00

There's a bunch of Alberta talent behind the upcoming Discovery Channel mini-series Mars Rising. Jennifer Fong, a freelance reporter with The Edmonton Journal recently spoke with Brian Murphy, writer and director of two of the six episodes of the highly-anticipated mini-series.

Murphy, a longtime colleague of Mars Rising supervising producer Michael Jorgensen, signed on to the project knowing very little about space exploration. The idea of going to another planet fascinated the veteran filmmaker, who has been making documentaries for Discovery Channel, CBC and National Geographic for 25 years. "It's like ... back in 1492, and we wanted to do a documentary about this crazy guy who was going to jump into a boat and go to a new world -- it's just so out there."

But science has never been very sexy, and Murphy had a lot of facts and figures to cram into the two hour-long episodes he'd been assigned to. His goal was to show the beauty and the creativity behind all the equations, measurements, and numbers by focussing on the personalities involved.

"You really get a sense of it in Mars Rising that these people just live and breathe it. It took NASA that kind of energy to get to the moon -- just people that are so dedicated to it, and the creative thinking that goes into it," said Murphy. "You found that they were these really incredible scientists with incredible visions. They were like artists."

He's now convinced that a trip to the Red Planet will succeed, and he's looking forward to it. "It'd be nice if I'm in my walker one day and I go by my TV set and I find out that they landed on Mars," said Murphy. "Definitely they will -- I can't say when, though."

Head over to the Edmonton Journal article to read the rest of the insightful interview.

Photo: Candace Elliott, The Edmonton Journal

Edmonton Gripped by Fear Itself

2007-10-03T11:43:00.000-06:00

Playback reports that Lionsgate has unveiled the name and premise of the series to film in Edmonton: Fear Itself. From the article:

The horror series is the first production in a two-year deal worth almost $9 million, according to reports, that LG inked with the province in July. Although the company's publicists would not confirm the value of the deal, Playback Daily reported at the time that the city would kick in $3.5 million, with the province throwing in an additional $5.4 million.

The show has been picked up stateside by NBC for a 13-episode run, with preproduction slated to begin in December. The idea is to get celebrated horror filmmakers to each do an original 60-minute episode, which will air in summer 2008.

It is similar to Masters of Horror, which Fear producers Keith Addis, Andrew Deane and Mick Garris made for Showtime in 2005. That series, also shot in Canada, featured episodes directed by such genre giants as Dario Argento, John Carpenter and Takashi Miike.

You can read the full article at this link.

Other Links:

• The Hollywood Reporter
• Variety
• ShockTillYouDrop.com

Cowboys & Indians Magazine Talks Jesse James and Alberta

2007-09-21T16:15:00.000-06:00

The September 2007 issue of Cowboys & Indians features a lengthy article on Brad Pitt, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and filming in Alberta. The Magazine also talks with world-renowned, Alberta-based horse wrangler, John Scott.

From the article:

"Yeah, I'd say he's just a wonderful guy for that part," says John Scott, the production's head wrangler, who first worked with Pitt about 12 years earlier on the set of Legends of the Fall. "He's just a wonderful man, period."

Pitt barely had any experience at all with horses before Legends, recalls Scott, who was head wrangler on that film too -- also shot in Alberta. "But he was so utterly determined that he was riding extremely well by the time he went to camera," says the veteran Canadian horseman.

and...

Reuniting with the actor several years later to prep him for another saddle-bound shoot on Jesse James, Scott notes that it was like deja vu--sort of. "He was the same easygoing, charitable, well-mannered guy with the same work ethic. And he hadn't done much riding since Legends, so it was like another crash course. But I think he was facing at least 10 times more pressure and stress during the filming of Jesse James than when we last worked together and he was still just kind of starting up."

The magazine also discusses the real Jesse James including some of the actual locations he left his impressions upon. Some of these include St. Joseph, Missouri where the house that James was allegdly shot in still stands, the James Farm in Kearney, Missouri, and Northfield, Minnesota, where the James-Younger gang met its demise.

If you can't locate a copy on the magazine shelf of your local bookstore, you may be able to order a back issue at the official website. At some point they may have a digital version on their website, though currently it looks like the Archive section is temporarily offline.

Broken Trail and Wounded Knee Win Emmy Awards

2007-09-17T12:13:00.000-06:00

Congratulations to all the cast and crew involved with the making of the filmed-in-Alberta movies, Broken Trail and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

Broken Trail won at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Miniseries, while Outstanding Made for Television Movie went to Wounded Knee. Broken Trail was also recognized through the talents of Robert Duvall, who won for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries or Movie while Thomas Haden Church won for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie.

Wounded Knee has received 6 Emmy Awards in total, while Broken Trail has received 4.

You can check out the full list of winners at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences website.

Canadians can order the DVDs at the Amazon.ca links on the side of this blog.

New Jesse James Video Clips

2007-09-14T15:10:00.000-06:00

Thanks to JoBlo.com, we're made aware of new video clips from The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford posted over at RopeOfSilicon.com.

You can check out the video clips at this link. (Flash is required.)

Jesse James Website Updated

2007-09-13T15:42:00.000-06:00

The official website for the upcoming Warner Bros. picture, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, has been updated.

Head over to the site to discover and download photos, desktop wallpaper, the teaser trailer, instant messaging buddy icons, and film info.

Jesse James Tour Coming To Edmonton

2007-09-12T23:22:00.000-06:00

The Edmonton Sun reports that Fort Edmonton Park will begin offering wagon tours where key scenes from The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford were filmed. The article states the tours will run from September 17 through September 22. No word if there will be more tours. From the article:

It will include “behind-the-scenes stories, little known facts and insider information about the film location,” Jan Archbold, a city spokesman, said today.

“We had people asking us, ‘So, where did they shoot and what did they do?’ They had all of these questions about the use of an Edmonton attraction in a movie,” Archbold told Sun Media, explaining where the idea for the tours came from.

The flick – premiering in select markets Sept. 21 – tells the story of how James died at the hands of Robert Ford, portrayed by Casey Affleck. Pitt stars as James. Filming began in southern Alberta in August 2005, before moving north to Fort Edmonton Park.

Archbold said tour highlights will include the train cars refurbished for the movie and McDougall’s General Store on 1885 Street where a robbery scene was filmed.

Visitors will also be shown where the shell of James’ home was constructed on 1885 Street. It was strictly a movie prop for outdoor scenes and has since been torn down.

“There were a number of shots of Brad Pitt on the veranda of this house, and you’ll be able to know where it would have been.”

The Kenneth McDonald house, also on 1885 Street, was used as the interior of James’ home.

You can read the full article at the link above.

Image: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Jesse James To Open Calgary International Film Festival

2007-09-07T22:30:00.000-06:00

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford will open the 2007 Calgary International Film Festival. From the press release:

The film will be presented at the American Express Opening Night Gala on the eve of the Festival September 20, 2007.

“CIFF will be the second Festival in Canada to see this film after the Toronto International Film Festival,” explained CIFF’s Executive Director Jacqueline Dupuis. “This is truly a coup for Calgary and a testament to the people of Alberta and the Alberta film industry.” Dupuis expressed her thrill that Warner Bros. is giving CIFF the opportunity to share this remarkable cinematic achievement with a Calgary audience, many of whom worked on the film while it was being shot in Alberta during the fall of 2005.

The press release briefly mentions some location information:

A drama filmed in the spectacular landscapes of Alberta, the film highlights the expansive prairies of the south and snowcapped peaks of Kananaskis, doubling for the American frontier circa 1881. Authentic period architecture at Fort Edmonton and Calgary’s Heritage Park, as well as the talents of the Alberta film industry, such as horse wrangler John Scott, are highlighted in this critically acclaimed film.

You can read the full press release at the link above.

Image: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Days of Heaven Criterion DVD

2007-09-07T00:10:00.000-06:00

On September 18, The Criterion Collection will be releasing Days of Heaven, the visually stunning 1978 Terrence Malick film shot in Alberta starring Richard Gere, Sam Shepard, and Brooke Adams. Days of Heaven uses Alberta's southern prairie scenery as a dreamlike backdrop for the tale of 2 Chicago residents who pursue wheat harvesting in Texas after fleeing a crime.

More information can be found at the official website of The Criterion Collection.

I am a big fan of Malick's work and highly recommend his films. His use of great actors, incredible scenery, and outstanding music qualifies him as one of America's modern day cinema masters. Opponents will argue his films look like nature documentaries. I disagree. His shots of nature signifies the sometimes-forgotten relationships humanity has between our surroundings, the planet, and ourselves.

The Days of Heaven trailer:

You can support this blog by ordering the film at the links below.

Aint It Cool News Reviews Jesse James

2007-09-05T16:30:00.000-06:00

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford gets some reviews from the folks over at Aint It Cool News.

Harry Knowles writes:

Brad’s Jesse James is a squirrelly character. He observes the room he’s in, studying anyone in it and their every move. And everyone else reacts to him – as if he’s a rattlesnake. They become still and cautious. There’s respect and fear. Nobody wants to get bit, but they all know if they spend too long with him, it’ll be an inevitability.

However, as great as Brad is as Jesse James – the actor to watch and marvel at in this film is Casey Affleck.

I know – that sounds astonishing, but it is absolutely the god’s own truth. Casey Affleck delivers the single best performance that I’ve seen thus far this year.

You can read the rest of Harry's review at this link.

Edmonton International Film Festival Passes Discount

2007-08-31T12:36:00.000-06:00

Just a reminder that until Midnight tonight, you can order Reel Deal Film Festival passes or 6-pack passes for the Edmonton International Film Festival at 30% off! From the industry mailout:

Before you blast away for the long weekend, be sure to purchase your all-access, Reel Deal Film Festival Pass or 6-Pack. Until midnight TONIGHT -- Friday, August 31st -- Reel Deal passes are just $70 (regularly $100) and 6-Packs are $45 (regularly $60).

Purchase at TIX on the Square, Princess/Garneau Theatres (during movie screening hours), Earth's General Store or by phone at EIFF offices: 780-423-0844.

You can check out the full line-up of films and other events surrounding the festival at the official website.

New Jesse James Trailer

2007-08-27T20:39:00.000-06:00

Thanks to ComingSoon.net for the info about the new trailer for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. The film stars Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, and Sam Rockwell.

Trailer courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and AOL Moviefone.

Alberta Group Looks To Boost TV Production

2007-08-27T19:59:00.000-06:00

Playback features a story on the Alberta Film Advisory Council and the new mandate of developing long-term strategies for film, television, and interactive media in Alberta:

The 16-member AFAC, formerly called the Film Commission Advisory Council, is tasked with guiding Alberta's $165-million film and television industry by developing long-term strategies and advising the provincial government on ways to strengthen the industry.

Damian Petti, president of IATSE Local 212 in Calgary, was appointed new industry co-chair last week, serving alongside Conservative MLA Gary Mar (Calgary-Mackay) for a term of three years. One of their focuses will be to increase TV series production in the province.

"TV series generate more training opportunities and year-round employment. The government sees value in growing the industry through expanding production activity, which seems to be limited to warmer summer months," Petti says, noting business has continued to pick up despite the high loonie.

You can read the rest of the article at the link above.

Congratulations also go out to my good friend Ken Bautista, who was appointed to the Council, and to Luke Azevedo, who I've worked with at The Banff Centre, as he becomes the new Calgary Film Commissioner.

New Poster for Jesse James

2007-08-26T22:20:00.000-06:00

Here's the new movie poster for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Easily, one of the nicer photo-style movie posters to come out of Hollywood's ad agencies. The story of the film is conveyed clearly through the ominous clouds and placement of James and Ford.

Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Jesse James Ready For Theatres

2007-08-05T15:50:00.000-06:00

Alexandra Burroughs reports that The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is ready for release in theatres beginning September 21:

The movie was recently selected for presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival, a positive sign for many movie buffs. Furthermore, key critics who have seen early versions of the film are starting to get behind it.

“This is going to be one of the best films of all time or it’s just going to be something unique — to put it politely,” says filmjerk.com publisher Edward Havens, who went into a test screening of an unfinished version in June.

After seeing the movie, Havens led an online backlash against naysayers, claiming: “Yes, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is better than Unforgiven. Better than Silverado or Wyatt Earp or any other Western in the past 30 years.”

With a limited release date set for Sept. 21, audiences may yet see a film worth watching, say a growing number of online critics, who say performances by Pitt and co-star Casey Affleck are worthy of Oscars.

“Brad Pitt doesn’t use a lot of words in his performance, it’s all looks and internal turmoil, he is truly mesmerizing in this performance, showing a more mature actor then we have seen before,” said blogger Bronson on movie website Ain’t It Cool News.

Others say Roger Deakins’ cinematography is some of the best in decades, which will bode well for Alberta as the movie’s host. Although Havens says the setting “isn’t a love letter to the landscape like Brokeback Mountain,” it is so striking other moviemakers may start looking to Alberta for future films.

Head over to Canada.com to read the full article.

Photo: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Wolverine Finds a Director

2007-07-23T11:52:00.000-06:00

According to Variety and Superhero Hype, the upcoming Wolverine film has found a director:

20th Century Fox has set Gavin Hood to direct Hugh Jackman in Wolverine, the "X-Men" spinoff that was written by David Benioff.

The film, which begins production in November for a 2008 release, will be produced by Lauren Shuler-Donner, Jackman and his Seed Productions partner John Palermo.

Hood is the South African director whose 2005 film Tsotsi won the foreign film Oscar. His next film, the thriller Rendition with Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal, opens on October 12.

Using several resources that include the Marvel Comics lore, along with the more recent Weapon X graphic novels by Frank Miller, Wolverine mixes action with an origin story about how Logan emerged from a barbaric experiment as an indestructible mutant with retractable razor-sharp claws.

After three "X-Men" films grossed over $1 billion worldwide, the studio has made Wolverine a top priority.

"I have long been a fan of Gavin's work and know he will make a masterful film with the character intensity and action beats the fans expect," said Jackman.

As some of you were aware, key parts of the X2: X-Men United story were filmed in the Kananaskis area of Alberta. Because the character has roots in our province, it was great to see parts of the movie filmed in the place in which the story is set. Let's hope the production decides to film more of Logan's history in Alberta.

Photo: 20th Century Fox.

LIONSGATE To Film TV Series In Edmonton

2007-07-11T17:01:00.000-06:00

Various news agencies are reporting that Lions Gate Entertainment will be opening up a production office in Edmonton to work on a television series.

According to AMPIA:

With financial incentives from the provincial government and the City of Edmonton, Lionsgate, one of the world's leading independent producers and international distributors, has been lured to produce one of their drama series in the capital city of Alberta.

The new deal will see 13 episodes per season for a minimum 2 seasons produced both in-studio and in various locations throughout the city, beginning this Fall.

From The Hollywood Reporter:

As part of a financial incentive package, the province of Alberta will invest CAN$5.4 million in the TV series, and the city of Edmonton will provide another CAN$3.5 million. In return, the city of Edmonton will receive a 15% equity stake in the TV series.

Lionsgate will decide by the end of July which of its series will relocate to Edmonton. But it is thought that either "The Dresden Files," a detective fantasy series starring Paul Blackthorne airing on the Sci Fi Channel, or Showtime's "Masters of Horror," will make the move.

Tucker said Lionsgate cold-called Edmonton last year, looking for financial incentives in oil-rich Alberta to help shift a TV series to a new locale.

Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel subsequently met in Washington with Lionsgate executive vp Mark Manuel to discuss terms for a possible relocation. "He (Manuel) wasn't just looking for tax credits. He was looking for a business deal," Tucker said.

And from the Edmonton Journal:

It's expected that the Film Alberta studios near Calgary Trail South -- formerly Allarcom Studios -- will be home to the production. Streets and communities around Edmonton will also get in on the action.

In fact, Edmonton was attractive to Lionsgate because it is considered fresh and welcoming. Not so with cities like Montreal and Vancouver, where the citizenry is burned out on TV and movie productions. Some Vancouver neighbourhoods even prohibit filming on their streets.

Lionsgate's body of work is extensive, eclectic and involves both TV and film, including the Oscar-winning movie Crash. In television, it's known for such series as The Dead Zone and Missing.

While some naysayers will not be happy at provincial and civic governments getting (back) into helping the film industry, I would like to remind them that it is an industry which employs many cast and crew who are possibly family and friends of theirs. As mentioned in the articles, there is also a chance that graduates of audio visual programs will gain experience by working on the series and help to increase the local talent base.

Great news indeed, and as both an Albertan and Edmonton-born industry supporter, it's about time things started looking up for film and television production again. I also get the feeling that this is just the beginning for many more productions that will call Alberta home over the coming years. Our cities, towns, talent, and crew deserve it.

This is an example where many partners work together to make things happen. Cross-provincial, cross-governmental, and cross-creative. Kudos to all involved in making this deal a reality.

Lions Gate Entertaimment also produced Good Luck Chuck starring Jessica Alba. Segments from the upcoming film were shot in Edmonton.

nextMEDIA 2007 and Banff World Television Festival

2007-06-10T01:45:00.000-06:00

Just a note to all of you folks that will be attending nextMEDIA 2007 and Banff World Television Festival to say 'howdy' if you see me around. I'd love to meet some of the blog readers in person and am always eager to hear any feedback.

The Banff New Media Institute and Digital Media Association of Alberta are co-producing presentations at nextMEDIA so I've been pretty busy. On Saturday, June 9, we're facilitating a New Media Business Exploration Study brief, and on Sunday we're showcasing a panel on Interactive Games & Social Networks.

I'll also be around during the Banff World Television Festival representing The Banff Centre at our booth and events.

A big thanks to all of you who came out to support the Digital Alberta Mixer in the Mountains at The Banff Centre on Friday evening!

Don't forget to check out all the other events at both festivals involving the many companies and organizations from Alberta's film, television, mobile, and digital media production industries.

And to those of you pitching projects in Banff: I wish you all the best of success.

Cheers!

Herland Film and Video Festival Closing

2007-06-04T11:01:00.000-06:00

Due to the effects of funding cutbacks, it looks like the Herland Film and Video Festival had its last showing this year according to the Calgary Herald:

I'm very disappointed," says festival board member Tamrin Hildebrant, 33.

"Herland is the only film festival in Calgary that really focuses on films by women. We focus on topics that aren't covered in other film festivals."

For 17 years, Herland has provided a home to films that covered a range feminist-related topics not typically seen in the mainstream. From films about queer culture to movies by and for aboriginal women, women of colour and women with disabilities, the festival has hosted hundreds of independent movies throughout the years.

It began in 1989 when the Calgary Status of Women Action Committee, a feminist collective, joined with the Women of Colour Collective to host a film-focused fundraiser. Building up its audience throughout the years, the festival peaked in 2003-04 with an audience of about 1,700. The next year, however, the audience fell to 1,000."

Though I missed posting about this last month, it's still important to note the effects that government funding cutbacks have on smaller organizations.

You can read the full article at the link above.

2007 AMPIA Award Recipients List

2007-05-01T11:14:00.000-06:00

You can now view the full list of 2007 Alberta Motion Picture Industries Association award recipients at the official website.

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!

September Dawn Website Live

2007-04-25T12:09:00.000-06:00

The website for September Dawn, a production shot here in Alberta starring Jon Voight, is now live.

You can check out trailers for the film at this link.

Nathan Fillion in Waitress

2007-04-24T10:01:00.001-06:00

Looks like Edmonton-born Nathan Fillion has been incredibly busy lately. Now he's after Keri Russell's pie.

Be sure to check out the trailer for Waitress at Apple's QuickTime site.

Image: Copyright © 2007 Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Shift Into Drive

2007-04-16T11:54:00.000-06:00

Sympatico discusses the new TV series Drive starring Edmonton-born Nathan Fillion:

“I was in a terrible car accident when I was two years old...I shouldn't have been driving in the first place,” joked series front man Nathan Fillion. The Canadian-born actor admitted that Los Angeles driving terrified him at first but has now learned to leave early and go slow.

Drive is not the first project that Minear and Fillion have collaborated on. Firefly fans will recognize Fillion as Captain ‘Mal’ Reynolds from the short-lived sci-fi series, a cult favourite, and later the feature film, Serenity.

The participants on Drive begin the race at the southernmost point in the United States, but no one knows where it ends. With no idea who their competition is or who is behind the game, contestants embark on a labyrinth of intrigue, danger, mystery and twists and turns, and that’s not just the terrain.

“Part of the game is, if you get pulled over […] you can't explain what you were doing. If you start to tell the police what you're doing, then you're disqualified,” explained Minear. “It's also structured in such a way that if you were to go to the police and try to rat this thing out, they would laugh at you.”

Be sure to check out the full article at the link above. You can also find more information on the show at the official FOX website.

Photo: FOX Broadcasting Company.

Casting call has locals dreaming of Hollywood stardom

2007-04-13T00:54:00.000-06:00

The Edmonton Journal talks about a recent extras casting call for Christmas in Wonderland, a feature film starring Ray Liotta and Leslie Nielson. The film begins shooting in Edmonton on April 23.

Thousands of people spent hours lining up for the chance to be extras in Christmas in Wonderland, a feature film starring Ray Liotta and Leslie Nielsen that is scheduled to start filming here on April 23. Never mind that extras will only appear in the film's background and that many will not even be paid for their time; those attending the casting call still seemed to think the experience would be worth it.

"I came because I like to act and I wanted to be in the movie, so that I can start my big career!" said 10-year-old Kira Mann, who was accompanied by her mother.

Mann was surrounded by a diverse crowd that included teenagers, seniors and children. Some people brought folding chairs to make the wait more comfortable, while others brought books or iPods for entertainment. Some arrived in their street clothes, while others appeared carefully primped for the event.

I've also heard reports that the holiday decorations are still up at West Edmonton Mall for the filming. You can read the full article at the link above.

A good movie is a good investment

2007-04-04T12:21:00.000-06:00

Todd Babiak (The Edmonton Journal) discusses the effects of the decline and subsequent reviving of the Alberta film industry. From the article:

Once, not long ago, Alberta was a leader in film and television. The province had momentum, a formula for success. Under Peter Lougheed and Don Getty, Alberta had a well-funded, well-regarded and well-watched provincial television station in ACCESS. From 1981 to 1996, the Alberta Motion Picture Development Corporation (AMPDC) built a thriving film and television industry here. Crews, producers, writers, editors and directors lived in Edmonton and Calgary. They told Alberta stories for locals as well as for national and international audiences.

Then, in 1996, just as the Canadian film industry was expanding, Premier Ralph Klein shut down the AMPDC. The government sold ACCESS for $1 to some Ontarians, who relaunched it as one of the cheapest, most measly television stations in the developed world.

For the most part, the crews, producers, writers and directors left Alberta. Hewing of wood ensued. Of course, this was hardly an election issue. For Klein and the province, it was a financial and social error. But all in all, it was probably a good political move. A few thousand fewer Liberals, give or take, can only refine the Alberta advantage.

Good move or bad, Klein is remembered as the man who destroyed film in Alberta. Many of those who didn't leave are only now, post-Klein, rebuilding their careers here. Again, this is not controversial material. No one is crying for the movie producers. A lot of publicly funded institutions were smashed by the Klein government in the 1990s, so the public at large could enjoy the various pleasures of debt freedom today.

"At the time, when the AMPDC was cut, some people had no choice but to leave the province," says Alan Brooks, executive director of AMPIA. "But we understand it was necessary at the time, to get the province out of debt. And remember, Ralph Klein also brought in the Alberta Film Development Fund."

Be sure to read the full article at this link.

Alberta Film in Hong Kong

2007-03-27T23:34:00.001-06:00

Alberta is #1!
Originally uploaded by hotrocket.

Alberta Film @ Filmart
Originally uploaded by hotrocket.

Some photos from our pal Ken (Hotrocket) taken during the Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum in Hong Kong.

Funding Delays Passchendaele

2007-03-25T22:37:00.000-06:00

Passchendaele, the World War I film Paul Gross was supposed to shoot in Alberta last summer, has been delayed due to funding issues. Alexandra Burroughs and Stephen Hunt discussed the matter surrounding the postponement of the production for the Calgary Herald and the Edmonton Journal.

"It's been a monster to put together," he adds, "because we've never really attempted to do anything like this in our domestic cinema history. We've done some co-productions that have been large, but as a purely Canadian domestic production, it's well outside the normal model.

"The ceiling on a pure Canadian film is about $7 (million) or $8 million. And we're aiming for somewhere closer to $20 million.

"I hope we're going to go to camera probably Aug. 1," Gross adds. "Shooting for, I don't know, 50 days I think. Plus weekends, so somewhere into the fall."

Passchendaele tells the story of a large battalion of Alberta soldiers who participated in the third Battle of Ypres, in Belgium, during the First World War. The film got a $5.5-million kickstart during Alberta's 2005 centennial celebrations, when Gross pitched the project to then premier Ralph Klein.

For more information, check out the full article at this link.

Decoys 2: The Second Seduction Available on DVD

2007-03-12T15:14:00.000-06:00

Decoys: The Second Seduction, the shot-in-Edmonton sequel to the cult favorite Decoys, is now available on DVD and there's a few websites with some goodies to share. The film stars Corey Sevier (Decoys, North Shore), Kim Poirier (Decoys, HypaSpace), Tobin Bell (Saw, 24), and Dina Meyer (Starship Troopers, Saw II).

Image: CHUD.com.

CHUD.com has some fun Decoys 2 digital decorations for you including wallpaper, iPod photos, and AIM icons at this link. (Note: Some links are currently down.)

You can also check out two video clips at CHUD.com from the film by clicking here.

Dread Central has an exclusive first look from the film, including images like the one below:

Photo courtesy of Dread Central.

Head over to the Edmonton Journal to read an article on Screwtape Lewis, one of the bands which performed in the film.

Calgary Film Commissioner Stepping Down

2007-03-12T14:07:00.000-06:00

Beth Thompson is stepping down from her post as Calgary Film Commissioner at the end of March according to Playback Daily:

"There is a combination of things that made me decide," Thompson tells Playback Daily. "There is certainly a frustration that the industry hasn't changed a great deal since I started, and I think we need to take a stronger position."

She says changing the limits on the Alberta Film Development Fund -- currently at $14 million per year and $1.5 million per project -- would be a good start, as would tax incentives like those offered in other provinces.

Projects that shot in her city had a combined budget of $110 million to $130 million she says. "The numbers here haven't changed in six or seven years. We can see in other provinces there is considerable growth. We're in a market that should be doing really well.... but for some reason we're not."

You can read the full article at the above link. The Alberta Movie Guide wishes Beth the best of luck in her future endeavours.

Walter Hill Wins DGA Award For Broken Trail

2007-02-04T13:13:00.000-07:00

Walter Hill, who directed the filmed-in-Alberta, made for Television mini-series, Broken Trail has won a Director's Guild of America Award.

Martin Scorsese won for Outstanding Directoral Achievement in Feature Film in 2006 for The Departed.

You can see the full list of winners at the official website.

Edmonton-raised Doctor Injured, Filmmaker Wife Murdered in New Orleans

2007-01-08T03:57:00.000-07:00

Photo: The Edmonton Journal.

On January 4, Edmonton-raised, Dr. Paul Gailiunas was injured and his wife was murdered in a may have been a botched robbery attempt in New Orleans, U.S.A. Thankfully, their young son was physically uninjured. Gailiunas' wife Helen was a filmmaker and animator. Though they apparently lived in a higher-crime neighborhood, the news is still disheartening. Dr. Gailiunas worked as a physician at a city clinic that helped the city's less fortunate.

As an Albertan, fellow filmmaker, animation fan, and foremost, a human being, it is profoundly disturbing to hear about this seemingly random act of violence. Considering all that New Orleans has been through and the time since Hurricane Katrina, city officials and law enforcement agencies should have been able to curb a good deal more with the right support. According to the news sources, the amount of deaths (14) in the last week is even higher than American casualties in Iraq.

You can read the Edmonton Journal article at this link.

South Carolina's The State also features an article about the event.

Helen is being remembered as an active volunteer in the creative and neighborhood communities, a genuinely kind and gifted person with a willingness to help others, and a vibrant filmmaker and animator.

Heather Harkins (via Cartoon Brew) talks about Hill's background:

Hill, 36, earned her Master of Fine Arts in experimental animation from CalArts in 1995. Her animated shorts screened at numerous festivals, and in 2004 she received a fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation's Program for Media Artists for THE FLORESTINE COLLECTION, a film "reflecting on handcrafted work and race in New Orleans through the story of a collection of hand-sewn dresses and the woman who made them." In addition to her filmmaking, Hill taught filmmaking and animation to youth and adults, and served as visiting artist at the California State Summer School for the Arts and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts.

Be sure to head over there to read the other tributes to Helen.

My thoughts and deepest sympathy go to Dr. Gailiunas, their son Francis, and all the family and friends affected by the senseless tragedy.

The memorial website for Helen can be found at helenhill.org.

Lost Star Loses Hawaiian Home To Fire

2006-12-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

Fort Saskatchewan-born Lost star Evangeline Lilly, had the home she was renting in Kailua, Hawaii destroyed by fire yesterday morning. Nobody was at home or injured during the fire and the cause has not been determined. The Lost cast was scheduled to break from filming for the Christmas holiday today.

You can read about the incident and see more photos at The Honolulu Advertiser website.

Photo: Morgan Janus for The Honolulu Advertiser

2006 Alberta Film and Television Wrap Party Website

2006-11-23T08:05:00.000-07:00

Update: The final ticket push is commencing so be sure to log on to the website and find out how to purchase your tickets for what is sure to be an exciting Industry Wrap Party!

The website for the 2006 Alberta Film and Television Wrap Party is now active. The event will be held December 2 at the Artists of the World Gallery in Calgary.

You can find the link and ticket info at this link.

Edmonton SCTV Locations

2006-11-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

I just discovered a website by Trevor Stenson that discusses some of the filming locations for the Edmonton seasons (3 and 4) of SCTV.

You can check it out at this link.

Tony Scott Talks Jesse James

2006-11-06T06:42:00.000-07:00

Kevin Williams (Calgary Sun) spoke with producer Tony Scott regarding the change in release scheduling (Feb. 2007) for the Brad Pitt film, The Assassination of Jesse James:

“It’s great. We have to be careful how we market it because it’s like a Terrence Malick film,” he says, referring to the legendary director of such visually sumptuous epics as The Thin Red Line and The New World.

“But it’s really good and Brad’s terrific in it — he just gets better with age.”

In addition to Pitt and Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James also stars Sam Rockwell, Sam Shepard, Mary-Louise Parker and Zooey Deschanel.

Scott, an avid rock climber, is no stranger to Calgary, frequently coming here to shoot commercials for the overseas markets — when he’s not scaling mountains.

“I love it there.”

You can read the rest of the article at the above link.

Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Alberta Mentioned in Denver Post Film Article

2006-11-06T06:30:00.000-07:00

Alberta is mentioned in a DenverPost.com article as one of the key places for "runaway productions" that should have been shot in Colorado:

"This is an industry we are missing out on," says Denise Strong, a Denver-based member of the Directors Guild of America and vice president of the Colorado Film and Video Association. "This industry offers a big shot in the arm economically for everybody near a location."

This year in Colorado, a few scenes of Resurrecting the Champ, a story about a Denver- based sportswriter starring Josh Hartnett and Samuel L. Jackson, were shot locally. Principal photography took place in Calgary, Alberta.

Last year, Catch and Release, with Jennifer Garner, spent five days and $500,000 filming in Boulder. Then the film spent 50 days and many millions filming in Canada.

RV, with Robin Williams, was set story-wise in the Colorado Rockies but filmed in Canada.

Runaway production film producers following foreign cash incentives and favorable currency exchange rates - is estimated to have cost many sectors of the American film industry billions of dollars in the past decade and a half.

Parts of 2005's Mr. & Mrs. Smith, featuring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, were filmed in Glenwood Springs. (20th Century Fox)
producers following foreign cash incentives and favorable currency exchange rates - is estimated to have cost many sectors of the American film industry billions of dollars in the past decade and a half.

You can read the full article at this link.

Provincial Leadership Candidates to Debate Live on CBC

2006-11-01T18:01:00.000-07:00

From AMPIA:

Candidates in Alberta’s Conservative Leadership race will square off in a LIVE debate at CBC television to outline their positions on how much taxpayers money should be spent on arts and culture and who will decide how the money is spent.

Join us on Monday, November 13th from 12:00 Noon to 1:00 p.m. at the CBC Broadcast Centre in Edmonton City Centre Mall, 10062 - 102 Avenue.

Candidates confirmed include Jim Dinning, Dave Hancock, Gary McPherson, Mark Norris, Lyle Oberg and Ed Stelmach.

Those with an interest in Alberta's film, television, and digital media industries are urged to attend and show their support for renewed provincial support in one of Alberta's key industries.

For further information, please contact AMPIA.

Additional dates for All Candidate Forums - Leadership Debates are available at this link. Tonight's location is Red Deer.

Alberta Film Industry Mourns Loss of Pioneer

2006-11-01T16:55:00.000-07:00

Bill Marsden, Alberta's first Film Commissioner, and champion for production in the province, has passed away. This from AMPIA:

To all members and friends of AMPIA,

In case you have not already heard, this note is to let you know that our friend Bill Marsden died last Saturday. Bill was one of the great pioneers of Alberta’s film and television industry. Bill was one of the original founders of AMPIA and was responsible for the creation of the Alberta Motion Picture Development Corporation (AMPDC). Bill was a major contributor to almost every important development in the Alberta industry. His book, “Big Screen Country”, is a lasting legacy to his passionate commitment to the province and to its filmmakers.

To quote Fil Fraser, “We have lost a great friend and a great champion”.

In memory of Bill, a special annual award for filmmaking will be established in his name.

To contribute to this special fund, contact Heather Palberg at the CIBC in Edmonton at (780) 429-7726.

Everyone is invited to attend a Memorial Service this coming Saturday, November 4 at 12:00 Noon at Connelly-McKinley Funeral Home in Sherwood Park (directions below).
4820 Meridian Street
Sherwood Park, Alberta
(780) 468 - 2222

Meridian Street can only be accessed when heading SOUTH on Hwy 14 - the access is 1 km South of the Sherwood Park Fwy on Hwy 14

Click here for print friendly driving directions and map and here to leave condolences.

Read the Edmonton Journal/Canada.com article about Bill's passing at this link.

Discover a short interview with Mr. Marsden at dreamersanddoers.ca.

A review of his book can be found at Vue Weekly.

You can order Bill's book through Amazon.ca at this link or Amazon.com at this link.

My thoughts and thanks go out to his family, friends, and associates.

Photo: Shaughn Butts, The Journal, file Bill Marsden.

Alberta Film and TV 3-Year Production Plan

2006-10-28T21:30:00.000-06:00

Alberta's Film and Television production industry has finalized a proposed a 3-year plan to increase film and television production in Alberta.

AMPIA has the details and downloadable PDF and Power Point documents of the plan at this link.

Edmonton's Fillion to Get Lost

2006-10-26T23:01:00.000-06:00

Moviehole.net (from Scifi.com) is reporting that Edmonton-born Nathan Fillion will guest star on the the hit ABC show Lost:

In "I Do," Jack makes a decision regarding Ben's (Michael Emerson) offer, Kate feels helpless when it looks like an angry Pickett (Michael Bowen) is going to make good on his threat to kill Sawyer, and Locke (Terry O'Quinn) discovers a hidden message that may guide him through the next steps on his journey to unlocking the secrets of the island.

Fillion’s episode airs on November 8.

Also: Sci Fi Wire reports that Fillion will also develop and/or star in a project for Fox Broadcasting Co. and 20th Century Fox TV:

Serenity and Slither star Nathan Fillion has signed a talent-holding deal with Fox Broadcasting Co. and 20th Century Fox TV, under which the studio and the network will develop a comedy or drama script for the actor or cast him in an existing project if the new one doesn't go to pilot, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Fillion recently completed White Noise 2: The Light and can be seen in Slither, now on DVD. He is perhaps best known for his role as Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the science fiction series Firefly and subsequent film, Serenity, both which I highly recommend.

Canada Discussed in New York Film Industry Article

2006-10-16T14:23:00.000-06:00

Variety discusses New York's successful attempts to revitalize it's film and television production industry. While Alberta isn't mentioned directly, Canada is:

While indelible images of Gotham [New York] have been an integral part of some of the most iconic films ever made, by the late '90s the all-important Manhattan backdrop that played a supporting role in films such as Breakfast at Tiffany's, Annie Hall and Taxi Driver had been upstaged by simple economics.

"Canada got very aggressive with tax credits in 1999, and that's when the city started feeling it," says commissioner Katherine Oliver, who was appointed in August 2002 under Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"One of the first things I had to deal with was a movie about Rudy Giuliani starring James Woods that was being made in Montreal," Oliver says. "The producers told me they hadn't even budgeted for New York. There was the perception that New York wasn't film-friendly. The 'hassle factor' kept people away."

Under Oliver's leadership, an office that had until that point been using typewriters and processing permits by hand became an advocacy center for film and filmmakers.

In short order, everything was computerized, and a major outreach campaign was launched to studios to trumpet the city's free permits, locations, parking and police details.

You can read the full article at the link above.

King Kong ™ & © Warner Bros Pictures.

Tommy Chong Discusses New Book

2006-10-02T00:47:00.000-06:00

Edmonton-born Tommy Chong discusses his new book, The I Chong: Meditations from the Joint with Lee-Anne Goodman of the Canadian Press:

In last year’s documentary A/k/a Tommy Chong, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, comedian and social commentator Bill Maher, among many others, accused the U.S. government of making an example out of Chong for petty political reasons.

But thanks in part to his spirituality and, undoubtedly, his unabashed appreciation of the calming effects of marijuana, Chong approached his sentence with good humour. He says he didn’t mind his nine months in prison because it allowed him to focus primarily on writing the book.

"If you’re a guy like me, it’s not so bad . . . I’m an old man, I’m a writer and I’m writing my book, I’m Tommy Chong, and I’m doing time with my fans," he says.

Being Canadian, Chong says, also helped.

"When you grow up in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and spend 20 years with Alberta winters, everything else is so easy. Nine months in a California jail is nothing compared to nine months of a Canadian winter," he says with a laugh.

"Canadians, we appreciate sunshine and the things that really matter in life. People say to me: ‘Don’t you get tired of signing autographs?’ No! Being famous, that’s pretty easy."

You can read the full article at this link.

Photo: Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press.

Edmonton International Film Festival Coverage

2006-10-01T22:17:00.000-06:00

Check out the Edmonton Journal's coverage of the 2006 Edmonton International Film Festival (which runs until October 7) at this link.

An article about Daniel Baldwin appearing at Edmonton's City Centre cinemas on Tuesday, October 3, can be found at the Edmonton Sun Showbiz section.

Brocket 99: Rockin' the Country, a documenatary on a controversial and racist audio tape purported to be from a southern Alberta radio station, is discussed at this Canada.com article.

Check out the festival's webiste at: www.edmontonfilmfest.com.

Mobifest Screening at EIFF

2006-09-30T22:30:00.000-06:00

Toronto, ON (PRWEB) September 30, 2006 – Mobifest, the world’s largest independent mobile film festival, will screen more than fifty made-for-mobile movies – each under one-minute in length – Sunday, October 1, 2006, from 4:00 to 6 PM, at the Princess II Theatre, 10337-82 Avenue, part of the Edmonton International Film Festival.

In addition to showcasing the winning entries from this year’s Mobifest Mobile Film Festival, the event will preview the mobile serial or "mobisode", The History of Hooch, by Genie Award-winning director, David Ostry.

“Mobile movie making is just like finger painting,” says Ostry. “I get to have fun with a new medium where anything is possible”. Ostry has won numerous awards for his short films, including his most recent Milo 55160. Named by Playback Magazine as “One of the 10 to Watch for in 2006”, he is currently in post-production on the comedy feature, Mr. Gibb, for Kevin Spacey’s Trigger Street Independent.

The screening will be preceded by a discussion with Edmonton Film Festival Chair, Mieko Ouchi, and Mobifest winner, Harley Hay. Hay who is from Red Deer, Alberta won Mobifest’s “Best of Festival” Award for his comedic short, Regurgitation. Duncan Kennedy, Executive Producer of Mobifest, hosts the discussion.

TICKETS:
Tickets to the Mobifest screening are $15 at the door. Reel Deal passes will be honoured. Phone 780-423-0844 or visit http://www.edmontonfilmfest.com for more details.

WHERE TO SEE MOBILE MOVIES:
Winning entries and audience picks from this year’s Mobifest Mobile Film Festival can be viewed on the Internet at http://www.mobifest.ca.

ABOUT MOBIFEST:
Mobifest is Canada’s first mobile film festival. Launched in 2006, it recognizes excellence and innovation in made-for-mobile filmmaking. The festival has two components: an interactive Website where audiences can vote on their favourite mobile movies, and an awards ceremony. This year’s festival, sponsored by Palm, received over 300 submissions from 15 countries and generated over 100 million media impressions. Mobifest is a trademark of Mobigardens Corporation.

ABOUT THE HISTORY OF HOOCH:
The History of Hooch is a mobile serial or “mobisode”, which is co-produced by Shane Kennedy of Edmonton's Lone Pine Publishing and Duncan Kennedy of Mobigardens Corporation, and supported by Telefilm New Media.

Audience Casting Call: A Total Write-Off

2006-09-30T02:56:00.000-06:00

From an AMPIA e-mail:

Audience Casting Call
A new half hour variety show entitled: "A Total Write-Off" with host Barbara North

LOCATION/TIME:
Saturday, September 30th,2006
8:00 am to 4:00 pm
Transalta Arts Barns, Studio B
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
The shows will be taped in Edmonton in front of a live studio audience from October 9 - 15.

CONTACT:
Panacea Entertainment
780.490.1220

U of Alberta Gateway Interviews Nathan Fillion

2006-09-24T02:05:00.000-06:00

Meghan Potkins, a reporter with the University of Alberta newspaper, The Gateway, recently interviewed Edmonton-born Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Serenity, Slither.) He speaks about attending University, doing improv, and return visits to Edmonton.

From the interview:

“If I’ve got a giant shopping cart full of groceries and someone comes behind me with only three items and I let them go ahead rather than wait for me, people are so taken aback. It makes me feel great, but it also kind of disheartens me to know that someone would be so taken aback when you just [show] common courtesy,” Fillion explains. “Canadians aren’t afraid to be kind. They’re not afraid to be polite. They’re not offended by everything. It just seems to be more relaxed and easygoing.”

Still, Fillion will probably remain in LA for the time being while he pursues new projects. He has just completed work on an independent film called Waitress with actress Keri Russell, and White Noise: The Light, which will be released sometime in January.

Although Fillion enjoys the challenge of taking on new roles, he hasn’t forgotten the project that first introduced him to wider audiences, and most importantly, he hasn’t forgotten where he got his start. With a few films under his belt and no end to acting in sight, Fillion will always find the time to return home to Edmonton at least twice a year, whether it means reacquainting himself with the Fringe stage, or dropping in to local classrooms to speak about his achievements.

“My best friend from school teaches [in Edmonton]. I go talk to his drama classes all the time when I come back during the school year. My family brings me back. This is where I’m from.”

Check out the rest of the interview at The Gateway.

McCulloch to attend CIFF’s Gala Presentation of Comeback Season

2006-09-23T08:37:00.000-06:00

From the CIFF press release:

Calgary, AB – Alberta’s Bruce McCulloch (director of Dog Park, Superstar and Stealing Harvard) will be in attendance at the Western Canadian Premiere Gala presentation of his newest film, Comeback Season, on Saturday, September 23, during the 2006 Calgary International Film Festival.

A cheating husband and an injured high school football star both try to make the most of second chances in Bruce McCulloch's marital comedy Comeback Season. Ray Liotta (Goodfellas) stars as Walter Pearce, whose confession of infidelity gets him kicked out of the house. Embittered, Ray’s wife rallies her daughters, destroys Walter’s possessions and empties the joint-accounts.

After a night of misbehaving, Walter finds himself sharing a jail cell with Skylar Eckerman (Shaun Sipos, also seen in Mel Gibson’s Complete Savages), the town’s football star who has recently been sidelined by a knee injury. Despite a troubled history, a truce is established and the men end up as roommates. Their shared experience allows them to overcome their challenges of injury and a broken family.

Starring with Liotta and Sipos in Comeback Season are Glenne Headly (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), Rachel Blanchard (Road Trip) and Brooke Nevin (Strange Days.)

Comeback Season shot on location in Calgary and Edmonton in the late spring of 2005.

Comeback Season is written and directed by Bruce McCulloch who, in addition to his award winning work with “The Kids in the Hall,” has directed Dog Park, Superstar and Stealing Harvard. The producers are Susan Cavan (Stealing Harvard, Superstar) and Shirley Vercruysse (Radiant City, A Problem With Fear.)

Comeback Season will be screened at the CAMERA Gala on Saturday, September 23, 2006 at the Uptown Stage & Screen at 7:00pm. Gala Reception to follow at Hotel Arts, 119 - 12th Ave S.W.

The 2006 Calgary International Film Festival will run from September 22 – October 1, 2006, at select theatres.

For more information visit www.calgaryfilm.com.

Cold Case Star Talks About Alberta Visit

2006-09-23T03:46:00.000-06:00

Cold Case star Kathryn Morris recently commented on part of her experience in Alberta to film Resurrecting the Champ:

I did a movie this summer, which was incredibly fun, and when I had days off I drove around Calgary (Alberta), to these small towns, and people were approaching me and saying, "What are you doing here all by yourself? Why is Lilly Rush in Calgary?" They couldn't wrap their minds around the fact that I brought my camera and took pictures of Lake Louise, with no tourists to ruin the shot. I had on a pink jacket, and they were all saying, "Why is Lilly Rush wearing a pink jacket?" Someone said, "You look really nice in that; why don't you wear it on the show?" The look of our show is a lot of navy and gray; that's the palette, so these people couldn't conceive of me in pink. But I liked it.

Full article at the Witchita Eagle.

Photo: CBS.com

Mini-Series Wounded Knee Seeks Extras

2006-09-21T23:05:00.000-06:00

The production of the mini-series Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is seeking more extras.

The show needs male amputees — both arm and leg amputees, who are ages 18 to 60 — to play dead soldiers.

The cast includes Aidan Quinn (Legends of the Fall, Third Watch), Anna Paquin (X2: X-Men United, Almost Famous), and Adam Beach (Windtalkers, Skintalkers.)

LOCATION/TIME:
September 23, 2006
10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Radison Hotel
2120, 16th Ave. NW
Calgary, Alberta

Source: Calgary Sun

Cash Crunch Threatens Global Visions Film Festival

2006-09-21T22:00:00.000-06:00

Vue Weekly reports on the 25th anniversary of the Global Visions Film Festival and how the lack of once-available federal grants have provided planning difficulties for this year's festival:

“We need $25 000,” explains Laskiwsky, the producer of Global Visions, although he notes with a wry laugh that the number may drop slightly, mostly because “we’re all working for nothing at this point.”

Despite dire and alarmist reports in the local media (a recent Edmonton Journal story on the festival sported the headline “the canary is dead”), Laskiwsky can confirm that the festival will not be cancelled outright because of budgetary shortfalls.

“We’re moving ahead—we had a board meeting last night and we still feel that we have to put this on somehow,” he reiterates, explaining that a number of circumstances have led to the festival’s current woes.

“There are several factors influencing our finances,” Laskiwsky explains. “One is growing pains: two years ago we had a 60 per cent increase in attendance so we had to develop a larger infrastructure and we need bigger venues, so it costs more to produce the festival.

“Another factor is that this year the Canada Council decided not to fund us,” he continues. “For the last three years they’ve given us $20, 000 [per year], and for the two years before that it was a little less.”

Laskiwsky comments on corporate sponsorship of the festival as well:

“Documentary films, in general, are controversial, and films that deal with social or environmental issues are even more controversial, so we don’t really attract huge corporate sponsors, so we are looking at local small businesses and people who care about their community,” he says, adding that he still remains optimistic that the financial challenges faced by the festival will be overcome.

You can read the rest of the article at this link.

Garage Sale Fundraiser:

LOCATION/TIME:
September 21 - 23
10:00 am - 8:00 pm
Garage Sale Fundraiser
8217 - 151 Street (Lynnwood Area)
Edmonton, Alberta

CONTACT:
http://www.globalvisionsfestival.com/

Global Visions Festival
#202, 10138 81 Ave
Edmonton, AB, Canada
T6E 1X1
780-414-1052
info@globalvisionsfestival.com

2006 Calgary International Film Festival Begins Tomorrow

2006-09-21T15:45:00.000-06:00

7th Annual Calgary International Film Festival to kick off Friday, September 22, 2006

Calgary, AB – Canada’s fourth largest film festival, the Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF), will kick off on Friday, September 22, 2006, and run until Sunday, October 1, 2006.

The 2006 Festival officially begins with the Gala presentation of The Journals of Knud Rasmussen on Friday, September 22 at 7:00pm at the Uptown Stage & Screen. The Journals of Knud Rasmussen is written and directed by Norman Cohn and Zacharias Kunuk, the same filmmaking team known for their critically acclaimed, multi-award winning feature film, Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner).

With a record number of almost 1,000 submissions, CIFF boasts a line-up of 412 titles including features, documentaries and shorts. Films screening at CIFF fall under 19 separate categories including Canadian FilmWorks, American Independent, Contemporary World Cinema, and the Films for Family series. Special series also include a Spotlight on India and a celebration of Québécois filmmaking, with the Québec Spotlight.

This year’s festival brings several new initiatives such as the debut of Cowboy Cool: a special series of talks and events designed to pay homage to the Western genre and the Alberta film industry. In conjunction with the Cowboy Cool initiative, CIFF inaugurates Into the Western, a yearly retrospective screening series designed to showcase the rich cinematic heritage of the Western genre.

The Gala events begin on the Festival’s opening night, Friday, September 22, with the LIGHTS Gala featuring The Journals of Knud Rasmussen by filmmakers Norman Cohn and Zacharias Kunuk . On Saturday, September 23, the CAMERA Gala will focus on Comeback Season, directed by Bruce McCulloch and starring Ray Liotta. CIFF’s ACTION Gala on Wednesday, September 27, will be a presentation of The Last Door starring Andy Garcia, Frances O’Connor, and Angela Bassett in a psychological drama that prominently features scenes shot in Alberta. Saturday, September 30 will see the party to end all parties with CIFF’s Closing Ceremonies event and the WRAP PARTY Gala. Four films will make up the WRAP PARTY Gala including Volver, acclaimed director Pedro Almodóvar’s newest film starring Penélope Cruz; Snow Cake, a Marc Evans’ drama starring Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver and Carrie-Anne Moss; Hot Tamale, directed by Michael Damian, featuring Randy Spelling, Diora Baird, Jason Priestley, Carmen Electra, and Mike Starr; and The Hamster Cage by legendary Canadian director, Larry Kent.

The Galas are not the only parties that will occur over the 10-day, two weekend festival. There will also be upwards of twenty parties and receptions involving sponsors, special guests, VIPs and over 150 delegates from Canada and around the world.

With an ongoing schedule of great films, many of which screen at the same time, CIFF is pleased to announce that Sunday, October 1, will be dedicated to The Best of the Fest, with a line-up featuring encore presentations of many festival favourites.

LOCATION/TIME:
September 22 to October 1, 2006
Select theatres
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

TICKETS/CONTACT:
www.calgaryfilm.com
Program Guide: $5.00 at CIFF Box Office at Eau Claire Market and participating Calgary Starbucks' locations
(403) 422-CIFF

Big City Filmed in Alberta

2006-09-15T23:44:00.000-06:00

The Sofia News Agency comments on Big City, a western movie produced by French media company Gaumont. After recently filming in Alberta, the production has moved on to Bulgaria to continue shooting:

The filming of Big City started in the lush landscapes of the Canadian Rockies in southern Alberta, where the acclaimed and controversial Brokeback Mountain was shot. The team moved to Sofia suburbs at the end of August, to wrap it up at the end of October.

Full article available at the link above. English translation of the film's premise is available by clicking here.

In addition: An interview with the film's producer reveals his thoughts on Bulgaria's film industry, which in the future, could compete and collaborate with Alberta's film and television production industry.

Bulgarian production photos: Yana Blajeva / Sofia News Agency.

AMPIA and Partners Group Address Film and TV Emergency Funding Issue

2006-09-15T12:21:00.000-06:00

In 2 recent documents: a Key Messages letter to the media and AMPIA members, and an Open Letter to the Government of Alberta, Alberta Motion Picture Industries Association and the Partners Group have responded to the provincial government's decision to NOT support the industry by providing 'emergency funding' requested by the Alberta film and TV industry. A positive decision would have ensured that new productions in Alberta would not have to wait 2 years (the period now required to catch-up) before seeing a financial return, and therefore, be reviewed and approved promptly.

With other Canadian provinces (and American states) receiving governmental support, catch-up funding (in addition to increased financial incentives) would ensure Alberta is not dismissed as a production location and help foster continued growth in what is becoming one of Alberta's key industries.

The key points regarding the issue are:

The Alberta film and television industry has proven to be a wealth generator for the Province.

The provincial film and television investment program is not a subsidy. It’s an investment that delivers a 100% direct return to the Province through provincial taxes paid as a result of production activity in Alberta.

The Alberta film and television rebate is designed so that the return of the Province’s investment is not just guaranteed, but actually occurs prior to the investment being made.

Alberta’s film and television rebate has attracted such prestigious projects as Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain, The Assassination of Jesse James starring Brad Pitt, and Steven Spielberg’s Into the West. These blockbuster films and television programs attract tourism dollars to every region of the province in addition to returning 100% of the province’s investment in the film.

The recent international attention from the likes of Brokeback Mountain and the filming of Jesse James with Brad Pitt puts Alberta in a great position to market. Coming off of many award nominations from Brokeback Mountain and the most Emmy nominations for any program this year. Many going to our local crew.

Alberta’s film and television industry employs over 3,000 highly skilled professionals. We are continuing to lose a substantial amount of these professionals to busier jurisdictions, such as Winnipeg, Regina and Vancouver.

The Alberta film and television industry is environmentally friendly and provides revenue for rural areas and small towns as well as urban centers.

Since its inception, Alberta’s film and television rebate has triggered steady annual growth in the industry, creating new jobs, new infrastructure, and new opportunities for related businesses in the province. That is no longer the case.

Alberta’s film and television incentive was an effective trigger for the industry when it began eight years ago, but is now critically under financed.

Alberta is losing a significant amount of film and television production to other provinces, states and countries where more competitive incentives exist. With that loss of production activity there is a loss of tourism and related business infrastructure, and the departure of our highly trained crews, cast and production companies.

2006 is the second consecutive year of contraction in Alberta film and television industry, based on the current oversubscription of the film and television rebate program.

The Alberta film and television industry has lost nearly $50 Million in production activity in the first eight months of 2006 due to inadequate investment by the Province in the rebate program.

Film and television production is highly mobile and ruled by financing. Alberta cannot effectively utilize its breathtaking locations, world-class crews, or established production companies because it can no longer compete in the world marketplace.

The Alberta film and television industry needs an immediate investment in its rebate program in order to pay out current production rebate obligations, for which the Province has already received a 100% financial return.

In addition to an immediate investment to cover the Province’s current obligations, the Alberta film and television industry needs to have its Three Year Strategic Business plan, which was developed in concert with Alberta Economic Development, implemented within the next six months in order to regain its competitive advantage, ensure the stability of the industry and begin to rebuild what has been lost.

Based on the competitive incentive environment developing globally, producers have many location options. Internationally governments are recognizing the economic and spinoff benefits of film, and new programs continue to emerge

We have developed an industry here – there is a complete infrastructure in place for film & television production. The investment from the Province is all that we need to flourish.

You can read the Open Letter by reading the PDF file this link.

While the immediate issue is the emergency funding, the 'bigger picture' is that of solidifying the industry, making sure it continues to thrive while offering production, training, and employment options for local and foreign film and television productions.

I would further urge companies, film and TV professionals, and those looking into careers in film and TV production to write the Government of Alberta through Alberta Connects and/or contact your MLA to voice your concerns.

Film and TV production was once a key industry in Alberta. With your support, it can be again.

Thanks.

Star Wars Fan Film Begins Shooting in Edmonton

2006-08-20T14:46:00.000-06:00

Fan Films aren't new. They've been around as long as home movie cameras have been available. From Super-8 recreations of Close Encounters of the Third Kind to MiniDV epics featuring original Star Wars tales. Whether shot-by-shot recreations such as Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation (coming to this year's Calgary International Film Festival), or original spin-off stories such as the moody Batman: Dead End and the highly-amusing Troops, which features Star Wars Stormtroopers in a Cops-style spoof, fan films are made by fans for fans. Since legally, they could be considered copyright violations, and thus can't turn a profit, the films are often made with miniscule budgets and distributed freely over the Internet, on DVD, and VHS tapes.

While many of the films are made for nothing more than a few hundred dollars and a bit of fun, others are created with larger scale budgets in the hopes of attracting the attention of Hollywood's powerful decision-makers and talent seekers. Some opponents may argue that the larger budgets cancel out the 'fan' aspect and that lower budget films are usually much more closer to being called a true fan film. They also argue that original films and filmmakers deserve the recognition directed towards fan films since it generally require more effort to come up with original properties. However, even skeptics can't discount the determination and effort required to 'homage' our favorite films.

One such filmmaker, Edmonton's Mark Twitchell has commenced shooting his feature-length fan film at the Northern Alberta Institue of Technology recently. The Edmonton Sun reports:

The 27-year-old Edmonton director begins shooting a feature-length independent Star Wars spin-off film at NAIT Saturday (July 29), and has amassed $60,000 to bring his dream to life.

“I’m the only guy crazy enough to do this, because I’m not allowed to turn a profit. The film is for hardcore fans who miss the character development of the original trilogy.”

The film, titled Secrets of the Rebellion, is set in the days prior to the original Star Wars Episode IV, A New Hope.

Actor Jim Siokos of Davenport, Iowa, will re-create Harrison Ford’s Han Solo character, as he wins the Millennium Falcon from Lando Calrissian. The film will delve into the the downfall of the Jedi, the theft of the Death Star blueprints, and the Empire’s efforts to reclaim them.

“We’ve taken (Lucasfilm-approved) storylines and expanded them, to fill in the gaps between Episode III Revenge Of The Sith, and the original,” Twitchell said. “It’s for the fans.”

Check out the full article at the link above. Another article on the film can be found at this link on TheForce.net.

We wish Mark Twitchell and his crew the best of luck on the production in Alberta.

Star Wars, Star Wars Logo, and related characters © Lucasfilm Ltd.

Event: The Fringe: Acting Up Debut

2006-08-18T16:11:00.000-06:00

Panacea Entertainment's The Fringe: Acting Up debuts tonight.

LOCATION/TIME:
Friday, August 18, 2006
Global Family Stage 12 (a.k.a. the PCL Studio Theatre – Transalta Bus Barns)
Edmonton, Alberta
9:30 p.m. and 10:40 p.m.
Tickets $10.00

The film, described as a hilarious one-hour documentary filmed at the 2005 Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival, runs through August 26.

Jessica Alba Films with Penguins in Edmonton

2006-08-04T19:34:00.000-06:00

The Edmonton Journal's Laura Drake reports on the filming of Good Luck Chuck in Edmonton, Alberta with Jessica Alba and some African penguins:

Alba's character is a penguin keeper, which is why the animals were required, [film publicist] Vigars said.

There are only three cities in North America -- Edmonton, Montreal and Chicago -- where African penguins are kept and the Alberta capital was the most accommodating, he said.

Despite lightning striking their plane on the flight in, Alba and Cook have taken a liking to Edmonton, Vigars said.

Although she hasn't been to West Edmonton Mall yet, Alba went straight to Winners to do some shopping as soon as she arrived last weekend.

Vigars said the star has bonded with the penguins, and has taken a particular shining to one named Tweeblik.

African penguins are ideal for acting since they do not require as cold an environment as other types, Evans said. The birds had three to five handlers with them on set at all times to ensure they were property treated.

The penguins won't be the only Edmontonians on screen when Good Luck Chuck hits theatres. Fifty local actors were hired as extras for the shoot, which wraps up today.

"Edmonton has been absolutely wonderful," Vigars said, adding that when the film is released, there is a possibility of having a premiere here with the penguins on hand."

Be sure to check out the full article at this link. Canoe JAM! also posted a story on the filming.

Photo: John Lucas for the Edmonton Journal.

Famous Movies in Famous Places: Netflix Rolling Roadshow

2006-08-02T23:52:00.000-06:00

This is always a pretty fun concept. Take a popular film and screen it in the location it was filmed at or site that inspired the movie's creation. That's exactly what Netflix and Austin's Alamo Drafthouse are partnering up to do beginning today.

Some of the locations include:

Martha's Vineyard, Massassachusets. Where a famous Great White Shark attacked beachgoers in Steven Spielberg's Jaws.

Red Bank, New Jersey. Where Jay and Silent Bob made their debut in Kevin Smith's Clerks.

Dyersville, Iowa. Home to the cornfields and baseball diamond seen in Field of Dreams.

Estes Park, Colorado. Home to the Stanley Hotel, where Stephen King wrote half of The Shining.

Monument Valley, Utah. Where John Wayne starred in John Ford's The Searchers.

San Francisco, California. Where Clint Eastwood was able to Escape from Alcatraz.

In some cases, there'll be Q&A sessions with a director or cast, a location tour, musical performances, and/or other activities. For the most part, tickets are free, but it is advised to arrive at the events early. Since I'm currently in Iowa, and have always wanted to see the Field of Dreams filming location, we're hoping to make it to that screening.

Check out the official Netflix Rolling Roadshow website for the complete list of films and details about each screening event.

---

For amusement, I can use the 'six degrees of separation' theory with these films to find connections between them and myself:

Field of Dreams, which takes place in Iowa, was based on the book, Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella, born in Edmonton, Alberta, just as I was.

Kevin Costner, who starred as Ray Kinsella in Field of Dreams, directed and played a lead character in the western, Open Range, shot in my home province of Alberta.

Also filmed in Alberta was the Academy Award-winning film, Unforgiven, by director Clint Eastwood.

Clint Eastwood directed The Bridges of Madison County near Winterset, Iowa, about a 45-minute drive from where my wife and I have our U.S. residence. We visited some of the main bridges made famous by the book and film.

John Wayne, star of The Searchers was born in Winterset, Iowa.

I have visited the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. An imposing structure to be sure, and a place that has its share of spooky stories. There's other links I have too, but it's the Alberta ones that I'm most proud of.
---

I can also see screenings like this taking place in Alberta. There already was the Brokeback Mountain Movie Truck Tour. But imagine:

Watching X2: X-Men United in the rockies of Kananaskis, home to the fictional Alkali Lake base where Wolverine was 'modified.' Or even an outdoor screening of The Edge with Sir Anthony Hopkins or Alec Baldwin.

A frightful night screening of Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning at Fort Edmonton Park.

Viewing Cool Runnings at Calgary's Canada Olympic Park.

An old-western town showing of Unforgiven or Open Range.

Enjoying River of No Return, starring Marilyn Monroe in Jasper National Park, Alberta.

Experiencing the wonder of the Alberta badlands with T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous or Shanghai Noon.

A barnyard or wheatfield showing of Richard Donner's Superman or Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven.

Southern Alberta's foothills as a backdrop for a screening of Legends of the Fall.

There are so many other possibilities, and while people could create the experiece for themselves, what could be more fun than enjoying a movie with a group of like-minded movie fans?

Lurie Puts Up His Dukes

2006-08-02T12:21:00.000-06:00

Another report from the Calgary Sun on the filming of Resurrecting the Champ:

Any acclaim will undoubtedly translate to good news for the Calgary film community.

Unlike the vast majority of projects shot here, including last year’s Brokeback Mountain, Champ is an urban drama. No cowboy hats or hard-bitten actors sluicing tobacco as they head towards the final shootout (or pup tent, in the case of Brokeback).

It wasn’t an easy sell at first. Calgary film commissioner Beth Thompson remembers when she first approached the producers, they were surprised there was even a city here.

Now, she hopes more Hollywood filmmakers will view the city as a viable urban location.

“It’s a great opportunity for us and there’s optimism right now that it will mean more productions shooting downtown … Everybody (involved with Champ) has been very complimentary.”

Helping to sway Lurie’s opinion was Brokeback Mountain director Ang Lee.

“Ang talked to me about the quality of the crew — the crew base and the actor base. And he was absolutely right.

“Normally speaking, you shoot at least 12 hours a day and this crew is working with such efficiency they’re getting me out at nine, 10 hours.

“I think it’s really part of … the Canadian work ethic. ‘Get the job and get the job done without complaint,’ which I love.

“I’m really tempted to try to shoot everything I can up here, because I’ve just had a really good time and Calgary, in particular, is very interesting because not a lot of movies have been shot downtown.”

While the script was originally set in L.A., the story will now take place in Denver, which more closely matches Calgary’s topography.

“I chose (to set it in) Denver because I chose (to film it in) Calgary,” says Lurie. “I don’t know if that’s ever been done before.”

Cameras will soon relocate to the Deerfoot Inn and Casino for a scene with Teri Hatcher. The Desperate Housewives star is flying in for one day to film her role.

Her involvement is a coup — it’s her first film role since Desperate Housewives.

By all accounts, Jackson and Hartnett (who brought along girlfriend Scarlett Johansson) enjoyed themselves in Calgary

Jackson, an avid golfer, took to the links. Among restaurants and bars cast members frequented, Lurie cites the Metropolitan Grill as well as Mynt Ultralounge and the Ship & Anchor. “We were just there last night, in fact.”

Full article at the link above.

Photo: Chris Large for the Calgary Sun.

Dino-sized Fun

2006-08-02T12:06:00.000-06:00

Tara Merrin filed a report for The Calgary Sun on the currently-filming series, DinoSapien.

Show producers Rick Siggelkow and Jim Corston say choosing Alberta for the show’s location was carefully thought out.

“We wanted to be some place where there had been big dinosaur digs and then I saw this documentary on CBC about Drumheller. The landscape looked so perfect, so we hooked up with Alberta Filmworks,” says Siggelkow.

“It all seemed pretty logical and it couldn’t have worked out any better. The locations are amazing, the cast has been fantastic and this is easily one of the best crews we’ve ever worked with.”

Check out the full article at this link.

Albertasaurus sculpture by Brian Cooley. Photo © Chad Kerychuk.

Drumheller is home to the Royal Tyrrell Museum, easily one of the finest dinosaur museums on the planet. Having worked with the facility's scientists, and being a repeat visitor to the exhibits, I highly recommend it as a must-see stop on your Alberta family vacation or movie location tour.

If you're into checking out more dinosaur-related areas, drive a few hours south to Dinosaur Provincial Park and marvel at the otherworldly expansiveness of the badlands of Alberta, some of the richest area for fossils in the world. I've had the good fortune to be in DPP on some fossil excavations with Palaeoblogger, Dr. Michael J. Ryan, and film with the Phaeton Group, and am always looking forward to going back on another adventure.

Brokeback Mountain Truck Perfect Vehicle to See Alberta Scenery

2006-07-25T19:32:00.000-06:00

Screenshot from CBC TV video about the Brokeback Mountain truck tour.

CBC.ca posted an article about 2 men who recently toured Alberta in the truck from Brokeback Mountain:

Bob and Jeff Welsh, a father and son from Indiana, won an auction on eBay for a tour of the Brokeback Mountain sites in the 1950 pickup truck used in the movie.

"Great scenery ... lot of friendly people and absolutely stunning," Jeff Walsh said after spending Saturday touring the Kananaskis area where the mountain scenes were shot.

"It was really interesting now that on some of the scenes we've looked at how close they were to the roads. So you know there was just a couple of scenes where we had to walk off on a trail and not for a great distance," he told CBC Radio.

The article also mentions the father's enjoyment of the trip:

"I'm a little 76-year-old guy. In 1950, I had a truck just like that ... brand new ... $1,100. But at any rate, I enjoyed riding in the truck — I enjoyed driving the truck — brought back old times."

The tour was also the perfect way to spend time with his movie-loving son.

On Sunday, they visited the Rockyford and Carseland areas, where the bank, rodeo and bar scenes were filmed.

Check out this link for the full article and a video (Real Media) from CBC.

Broken Trail Encore Presentation

2006-07-11T13:00:00.000-06:00

In case you missed the first airing, the Walter Hill-directed AMC movie, Broken Trail, will air again on July 18 at 8PM/7C.

The movie, starring Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church, was filmed in Alberta, Canada.

In addition, AMC will air Open Range, also filmed in Alberta, on July 16 at 8PM/7C. The feature film stars Robert Duvall and director Kevin Costner. Click here to see the trailer in QuickTime format.

Image © 2006 and courtesy of AMC.

Johnson Talks About Moondance Alexander

2006-07-11T12:36:00.000-06:00

Don Johnson, in the Calgary area filming Moondance Alexander, spoke to the Calgary Sun regarding the film and his past role as Miami Vice detective, Sonny Crocket.

From the article:

In the meantime, he’s preparing to wrap Moondance Alexander this week. The production, which has been shooting for the past month in High River, Okotoks and around Calgary, finds Johnson — as a down-and-out ex-horse show rider who mentors a young girl named Moondance Alexander (Kay Panabaker) — far removed from the cocaine-fuelled glamour of Miami’s seedy underworld.

Which is, he adds, the idea.

“I was looking for a family picture so my young kids can see it because a lot of my stuff they can’t.”

Moondance, which producers are intending for the big screen, is being directed by Michael Damian, an ’80s teen idol, thanks to his role on The Young and Restless and co-stars Lori Loughlin (Full House) as Moondance’s mother. The size of the project — low-budget independent or large-scale Hollywood fare — “has never really mattered,” Johnson says. “For me, I just enjoy the work. Like I said, this was a sweet film my kids could see.” For the actor, the shoot marks a return to Calgary where he’s previously headlined such productions as the 1989 thriller Dead Bang and the 2003 TNT movie Word of Honor.

This past weekend, he reports, “I did my obligatory trip to the Stampede. It was great. I say obligatory because I’ve been there half a dozen times, I think, so it’s like an annual sojourn at this point. I enjoyed it. Every year it gets better and better.”

Check out the full article at this link.

Ridin' the Dusty Trail With Robert Duvall

2006-07-11T12:23:00.000-06:00

The Chicago Sun-Times talks about Broken Trail in its Entertainment section.

From the article:

Writer Alan Geoffrion strived to make Broken Trail as genuine as possible, right down to the "therapeutic papers," people dying of tick fever, and a lamb shepherd who wears a mishmash of fur around his shoulders.

"He even had cowboys read it and check it for authenticity," Duvall says.

Duvall and Geoffrion pitched it to Hollywood as a movie, but studios didn't bite. They ended up at AMC, where Duvall was happy to be, but he had to fight to keep others from turning the miniseries into a nail-biting adventure.

"They kept saying it needed a 'B' plot. I'm not sure it needed that. We had a lot of problems with the rewrites. They would rewrite, and then Al and I would come in at night and rewrite the rewrites.

"The thing was going off in another direction, with gunfights and action. This is a character-driven piece, so we had to make sure we could keep it on track that way."

The dialogue isn't filled up with a bunch of throwaway cliches, although Duvall's character has a few lines of wisdom to dispense, like "Never use money to measure wealth," and "It's a great life, when it ain't rainin' or snowin'."

Read the full article at the link above.

Visit the Official Broken Trail Website

2006-06-25T16:15:00.000-06:00

Check out the official website for Broken Trail, an AMC original movie presentation directed by Walter Hill and starring Robert Duvall, at this link.

Goodies include:

Trailer

Behind-the-Scenes Documentary Clips and Photos

Actors and Scenery Photos and Bios

Historical Inspiration

The Broken Trail Sweepstakes

Broken Trail, which was filmed in Alberta, Canada, premieres tonight and tomorrow (June 25, June 26) at 8PM/7C on AMC.

Duvall Hits The Trail Again

2006-06-25T15:30:00.000-06:00

The Los Angeles Times features a story on Robert Duvall's return to the Western genre with the filmed-in-Alberta movie, Broken Trail.

From the article:

Duvall considered marketing the story as a feature or one-day network TV movie before landing at AMC, which has never bought the notion that the western is dead, having stopped speaking to audiences more inclined to watch antiheroes than heroes and who find their escapist clashes between civilization and a lawless frontier in sci-fi tales set in space. Or maybe it was simply counterprogramming that led AMC to embrace westerns and John Wayne, licensing 32 of his films. In any case, the network was eager to back its first original project.

"We were looking for a big event that would be our first big event," says AMC President Ed Carroll, who gave the go-ahead for shooting the two-part Broken Trail last summer in Alberta, Canada, with the confidence that Duvall would "lend immediate credibility" to the debut effort but also understanding that AMC was getting "a perfectionist … who has a strong point of view."

Translation: This star-producer would not sit quietly by if a network suit decided that TV required a happier ending, say, than he believed appropriate.

Duvall is not generally a believer in those. The 90-year-old Foote recalls the one line in Tender Mercies for which the actor, in character, allowed himself tears. It goes, "I don't trust happiness. Never did. Never will."

So that was one issue, how much happily-ever-after. Also how much gunplay. "You gotta have a shootout in a western, I suppose," Duvall says, but "you can't overdo that. They weren't such deadeye shots, those guys."

Full article and video clip available at the link above.

Broken Trail premieres tonight (Sunday, June 25) on AMC at 8PM/7C.
Photo: Joshua Roberts / For The Times.

2006 Dreamspeakers Walk of Honour Report

2006-06-21T12:10:00.000-06:00

The Edmonton Sun's Jenny Feniak reported on the Dreamspeakers Film Festival 2006 Walk of Honour ceremony:

"Using different venues for their annual VIP ceremonies, this year's red carpet was laid in front of the Metro Cinema downtown and, unlike other events where carpets are placed symbolically, this one was truly star-studded. Even though its specifically an aboriginal film celebration, the actors who arrived are recognizable on a national and even international level - like Dakota House and one of last year's inductees, Jimmy Herman, whose credits include Dances With Wolves and Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven.

The large lounge was filled with patrons in colourful evening gowns, black tuxedos and other creative ensembles like the top hat and purple velvet coat worn by award-winning Mohican composer Brent Michael Davids, who created a beautiful score for the 1920 silent film The Last of the Mohicans screened this year.

Board members and organizers recognized all areas of the film industry including APTN (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network) and the National Film Board of Canada for their contributions to the success of the artists and industry.

This year, five astounding individuals were chosen to lay their hands in concrete and formally be inducted into the Walk of Honour including Tantoo Cardinal, one of the most renowned and recognized aboriginal actors in the world."

Check out the rest of the article at this link.

Pitt to Return to Alberta Again?

2006-06-20T12:21:00.000-06:00

It seems as though Brad Pitt is becoming the unofficial spokesperson for the Alberta film industry.

Sources have told the Calgary Sun newspaper that "there's a good sense (in the local film industry)" that Brad Pitt and Billy Bob Thornton are set to team up to film Peace Like A River in Alberta.

Pitt will be donning his producer's hat as his production company, Plan B, will oversee the film. Thornton (Sling Blade, Armageddon) will star in the drama.

The article also reports that location managers have already visited the Calgary area to scout filming locations.

The film is based on Leif Enger's best-selling book and follows a Minnesota father raising his three children in the 1960s. Incorporated with nods to biblical tales, Huckleberry Finn, adventure stories of Robert Louis Stevenson, and the Westerns of Zane Grey, the story is told from the point of view of an eleven-year-old asthmatic boy named Reuben who is obsessed with cowboy stories. Reuben regales readers with the Land family's cross-country quest for Reuben's outlaw older brother, Davy, who has been controversially charged with murder after killing two neighbourhood marauders.

Banff World Television Festival 2006 Announces Winners

2006-06-13T17:56:00.000-06:00

On Monday, June 12, the Banff World Television Festival 2006 announced the winners for the 27th Annual Banff World Television Awards.

Martin Scorsese's No Direction Home: Bob Dylan took home the Grand Prize. Recognizing excellence in the HDTV industry, the NHK President's Prize was handed out to Queen of Trees. Two Special Jury Prize winners included Y in Vyborg and The Rise and Fall of the Russian Oligarchs.

Among the international winners were these notable Canadian productions:

Playback Best Canadian Award
God Only Knows: Same-Sex Marriage
Produced By: Joe Media Group in association with CBC Newsworld
Broadcaster: CBC Newsworld
Canada

Category: Animation Program
Jane and the Dragon: Shall We Dance
Produced By: A WETA Productions Ltd. New Zealand & A Nelvana Ltd. co-production
Broadcaster: YTV
Canada, New Zealand

Category: Interactive
ReGenesis II: Extended Reality Game
Produced By: Xenophile Media in association with Shaftesbury Films
Broadcaster: The Movie Network and Movie Central
Canada

Congratulations to all winners!

A complete list of award recipients can be found at this link on the official website.

Shatner Added to Everest 82

2006-06-05T00:25:00.000-06:00

According to the Calgary Sun, William Shatner (Star Trek) has been added to the cast of Everest 82:

Shatner, 75, will play a journalist following the attempt by Laurie Skreslet and Pat Morrow to become the first Canadians to scale the highest mountain peak on Earth.

Everest 82 is a co-production of Ontario’s Screen Door Productions and Calgary’s Alberta Filmworks Inc.

The four-hour, two-part TV film which began shooting in Banff, Jasper and Kananaskis in April is set to wrap June 19.

Edmonton-born Eric Johnson stars as Skreslet.

Jason Priestley is currently in town shooting a cameo as John Laughlin, a climber who helped organize the expedition, but was killed in an Alberta climb months before it began.

The official story is located at the Calgary Sun website.

William Shatner photo from this link.

Hank Williams First Nation Hits DVD Tuesday

2006-05-27T15:12:00.000-06:00

Hank Williams First Nation, an Alberta-made film by Aaron James Sorenson will be released on DVD this coming Tuesday. In the low-budget, award-winning film, 75-year-old Uncle Martin muses about whether Hank Williams is really dead or alive. A young writer agrees to accompany Uncle Martin to Nashville in order to see the singer's grave.

From an Edmonton Sun article:

Sorensen wrote the screenplay three years ago, inspired by friends and folks of the Big Stone Cree Nation, while teaching school in Wabasca, a small community north of Slave Lake.

What started off as a school project with a budget of $7,000 (saved by Sorensen through driving truck during the summer) became more ambitious after he hooked the interest of well-regarded Canadian actor Gordon Tootoosis.

Now that it was going to be a real movie he needed real financing.

Denied by every major film funding agency, he tried the corporate world and was finally offered $50,000 by Peace River grocery store merchant Frank Lovsin.

"He said he'd give me $50,000 if I could raise the rest in four weeks. The Woodlands Cree Nation came in as one of the big partners, as well as other people from Peace Country."

Despite the modest budget ($250,000,) Hank Williams First Nation boasts a good script, realistic acting and wonderfully scenic shots.

Indeed, the film won a best director for Sorensen from the 2005 American Indian Film Festival, and the superb country-flavoured soundtrack (by local artists) won the best music award last year at the Nashville International Film Festival.

Shot over three weeks mostly in Peace River, (Edmonton's Whyte Avenue stands in for a U.S. street), it's the first Canadian film EVER to premiere in competition at the American Film Institute's Los Angeles film festival.

Check out the full article at the link above and pick up the DVD on Tuesday.

The official website can be found at this link.

Still photo courtesy of the official Hank Williams First Nation website.

Dinosapien To Film in Alberta

2006-05-19T14:10:00.000-06:00

A new television series collaboration between Discovery Kids and BBC Worldwide is being filmed in Alberta, according to the Alberta Film Commission and The Director's Guild of Canada - Alberta District Council.

From a casting call posting:

"The summer is about to get a little less boring at 'Dinosaur Discovery Camp' for Lauren Slater, Kit Whitefeather and their friends. When Lauren decides to go for a walk to let off a little steam, she decides to go to a nearby ghost town. It is here that she makes a discovery that will change her entire summer camp experience. She discovers real living dinosaurs."

Information on the director, David Winning, can be found at his official website.

The Now Newspaper also features an article with 15-year-old Brittney Wilson, who has been cast to play Lauren.

Sounds like it could be a fun series! The Alberta Movie Guide will try and keep you up-to-date as the production moves forward.

For other dinosaur related news, check out Palaeoblog.

Brokeback Mountain Movie Truck Tour Auction

2006-05-19T13:34:00.000-06:00

Brokeback Mountain truck owner Rob Freeman and the vehicle used in the film.

Up for auction on eBay is a tour of film locations for Brokeback Mountain in the actual truck purchased in another eBay auction. The truck is currently being restored and will ready by July 7, 2006. From the tour auction listing:

"See all the breathtaking Alberta scenery from this classic movie for real. See the actual buildings, meet & speak with the real people who witnessed the film being made. Hear the funny stories & anecdotes you'll never read online anywhere! Everyone will know this is the real Brokeback Truck - satin black as in the movie, & will have Alberta license plates front & back: 'BR0KEBK.' The memories you take home will last a lifetime.

Rob will turn over all monies earned in this auction to The Rob Freeman Foundation, a registered Canadian charity, founded by him. The RFF proudly supports Freeman House, home to 4 adults with special needs. The RFF also supports AIDS/HIV & cancer research. The buyer will receive an official tax deductible charitable receipt from the Foundation & may stipulate specifically which of the Foundation's objectives he/she would like to have his/her donation go toward.

This custom tour is for 2 people and will take place over a 3 day period in the summer of 2006 to be agreed upon between Rob & the buyer.

The tour will take in the 3 areas identified in the above Travel Alberta web page in the Brokeback Truck, & will be conducted by Rob. For approx 3 - 5 hours each day, in each of the 3 separate areas, the tour is in the Brokeback Truck, driving around, & getting out to walk & see the specific places filmed in the movie. There are 24 different places in total where filming took place. The winner & Rob will plan the trip together according to specific interests of the buyer. The trip can be lengthened or shortened...every effort will be made to make this as an enjoyable experience as possible for the buyer. The winner will be able to drive the truck at certain agreed upon times provided he/she has a legitimate drivers license & insurance."

Full details at the auction link above.

A CBC news story video clip (Windows Media) is available at this link. Note: Despite mentioning a May 16 auction close in the news clip, it seems that it has been extended to May 24.

Previous owner of the Brokeback Mountain truck, Matt Kennedy and new owner, Rob Freeman.

Photos © 2006 and courtesy of Rob Freeman.

2006 AMPIA Award Winners

2006-05-01T22:30:00.000-06:00

A list of the 2006 AMPIA Award (Rosie) winners can be found at the official Alberta Motion Picture Industries Association website.

Congratulations to all of the recipients and nominees!

Jesse James Teaser Trailer

2006-04-29T09:57:00.000-06:00

The teaser trailer for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is now available at Yahoo! Movies.

Check it out at this link.

Jesse James filmed around several Alberta locations and featured many local cast and crew.

Screenshots © 2006 and courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

The Rig

2006-04-27T15:05:00.000-06:00

Edmonton's Anaid Productions started filming on an Albertan oil rig April 11 for a new "docusoap" title The Rig. The 13 episode show will follow a group of riggers as they work on the rig, and off. From Playbackmag.com:

Access to a rig is not easily garnered, says Anaid president/executive producer Margaret Mardirossian (X-Weighted). She and her team, including producer Deb Proc (Icebound: The Final Voyage of the Karluk), contacted several Alberta-based drilling operations before finding one where both the oil company and drilling outfit agreed to participate. Even so, the oil company has requested not to be named on the show.

"There is a lot of confidentiality when it comes to the oil and gas industries, so this is sort of unprecedented for us to be able to get in there, behind closed doors, and see what is really going on," says Mardirossian. "We feel very fortunate."

The series began its 13-week shooting sked on April 11, and will follow a 16-man crew. Mardirossian says an Anaid crew of four is shooting on the rig, a potentially dangerous assignment, but the producer assures that Anaid and the drilling crew are taking all necessary safety measures.

You can read the full article at this link.

Alberta Film Plan Not Rich Enough, Filmmakers Say

2006-04-11T23:11:00.000-06:00

CBC Arts discusses a recent meeting between Alberta Economic Development and actors, producers, and technicians in the Alberta film industry. Due to its importance, I present the entire article (courtesy of CBC Arts):

--
Alberta film plan not rich enough, filmmakers say
Last Updated Tue, 11 Apr 2006 15:21:41 EDT
CBC Arts

Alberta film producers are giving mixed reviews to the changes in the province's Film Development Program.

Close to 100 actors, producers and film technicians from southern Alberta met with officials from Alberta Economic Development on Monday to discuss the changes to film funding in the 2006 budget.

Alberta has increased the program's funding by 10 per cent to $14.8 million. The program will now contribute between 14 per cent and 23 per cent of the funding for eligible film projects.

Unlike other provinces that offer a tax credit, Alberta gives a grant for film production. How much the producers receive depends on how much of their project is Albertan.

But Fiorella Cole, head of the production company Producers Ltd., says the province still isn't taking the film industry seriously.

"The number of people that work in this industry in this province alone, and the amount of money brought in, is astronomical, and nobody's seeing it," she told CBC Radio. "Nobody's seeing all these people have families… they pay property taxes. It's a huge industry and that's what everybody has to realize."

Hoping for $20M in grants

Damien Petti, head of the film technicians union in Calgary, says he would like to see the grant program top $20 million.

Government has to do more to prevent film workers from leaving the province to work elsewhere, Petti says.

Alberta has plans to increase the size of the grant stream to $18 million over the next three years.

There are three program streams, to adapt the grant program to different projects, including short films, feature films and documentaries. Film productions can apply for as much as $1.5 million.

But documentary producers, such as Doug Christensen, fear they'll be cut out of the process to make way for feature films.

"The Alberta indigenous producer doing indigenous projects here will have a tougher time with the funding," he said.

In addition, Alberta operates the Alberta Film Commission to market locations around the province. One of its most prominent successes in the past year has been Brokeback Mountain, in which Alberta stood in for Wyoming.

The soon-to-be-released film R.V., a comedy starring Robin Williams, also was shot in Alberta, near the town of Milk River, and in British Columbia.

Expecting a filming boom

Government officials are expecting to see a substantial increase in the number of funding applications from producers this year as a result of the changes. There were 640 entries in the recently announced 2006 Alberta Film and Television Awards, a record number that shows a higher level of interest in making films in Alberta.

Sue Bristow of Calgary Economic Development is expecting more activity in the coming year.

"I don't think it's going to be a huge overnight bubble, but I think there will be significant growth over the next couple of years if this is maintained," she says.

Bristow says she is encouraged by the shift of responsibility for the film fund from cultural development to economic development.

That puts both agencies that work with Alberta filmmakers — the film commission and the film development program — under one roof. It's an indication Alberta is starting to respect the film industry's contribution to the provincial economy, Bristow said.

However Cole is disappointed by the discontinuation of travel funding for producers. She said she relied on provincial funds to help market her films outside the province. That change is part of tougher eligibility requirements for some funding.

"We need to be in the markets…in L.A. We need to be in Cannes, we need to be in Toronto, and if you take away that kind of deduction for us, that's quite a big deduction," she said.

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Copyright © 2006 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - All Rights Reserved.

More on Resurrecting the Champ

2006-04-08T16:32:00.000-06:00

The Calgary Sun reveals more about the Resurrecting the Champ production scheduled for a June shoot start in Calgary:

Why did the production — which is not a western or a period piece — choose Calgary as its location?

“First off, there’s the obvious financial incentive to shoot in Canada and in Calgary, the film commission has been extremely helpful to us thus far,” [film director] Lurie says.

Also swaying him in our direction was a conversation he had with Brokeback Mountain director Ang Lee.

“He told me he thinks in Calgary that they double for America better than America does. He was very convincing, talking about the talent base that exists there — he was extremely impressed. We have a slighter smaller budget than he did, but he managed to make Brokeback (look like) a magnificently expensive film and I’m hoping for the same.”

Says Calgary film commissioner Beth Thompson, “It’s a great opportunity for us. When I sat down and met with them and showed them what Calgary had to offer, they were quite impressed.”

Lurie, a former L.A.-based journalist, says the film “is a journalism story based on a true story about a Los Angeles Times, down-on-his-luck reporter who comes across the story of his life. He publishes it and becomes a star only to then find out that it was inadvertently a fraud.”

Great to hear continued praise for Alberta's film crews! Check out the full story at this link.

Blalock Praises Alberta Shoot

2006-04-08T16:15:00.000-06:00

Louis B. Hobson (Calgary Sun) recently interviewed Jolene Blalock (Star Trek Enterprise) who commented on her recent Alberta film work for the Lifetime thriller, Dream Me A Murder:

"It's been a guerrilla shoot and it couldn't have worked if it weren’t for the Alberta crew. They make some of the shoots I've had in L.A. look like amateur hour at the Roxy."

She says another plus is Alberta itself.

"The mountains are so majestic. It is so unbelievable peaceful."

"I want to work here again and I will definitely come back if just to visit."

Full article at the link above.

Jolene Blalock photo courtesy of The Calgary Sun.

Fay Wray Honored by Canada Post

2006-04-07T14:19:00.000-06:00

The Palaeoblog has reminded me about an upcoming postage stamp featuring the Alberta-born co-star of the 1933 film, King Kong. The Fay Wray stamp will part of series titled Canadians in Hollywood. From the official press release:

"Born in Cardston, Alberta in 1907, Wray later moved to Arizona. At the age of 14, she went to California dreaming of a movie career and before long, began picking up small parts in westerns and comedy shorts.

In 1926, Erich von Stronheim cast Wray as the female lead in The Wedding March – her own all-time personal favourite role. Shortly after, she played opposite Gary Cooper in the war drama, Legion of the Condemned and was re-teamed with him for 1928's The First Kiss. But it was the classic "beauty and the beast" film, King Kong (1933) that secured Fay Wray's place in film history. Wray was cast as an actress who becomes the love object of a monster gorilla. After a rampage in the streets of New York, Kong scales the Empire State Building with Fay Wray in his hairy hands. With stunning special effects, King Kong places high on lists of the best films ever made and has been remade into a new movie that is being hailed as the 2005 holiday season's blockbuster release."

The stamp debuts May 26. Check out the official press release and the Palaeoblog post for more info.

Another Brokeback Vehicle Auction

2006-04-03T06:07:00.000-06:00

It seems that due to the success of the Brokeback Mountain pickup auction, another vehicle featured in the film, is up for sale.

According to the eBay auction comments the car is a 1965 Ford Thunderbird convertible and appeared in the film 4 times.

The auction can be found at this link.

Heath Ledger: A Star is Torn

2006-04-02T23:35:00.000-06:00

The Guardian Unlimited recently interviewed Brokeback Mountain star, Heath Ledger.

In the article, Ledger discusses working on the made-in-Alberta film, his career path, and domestic life.

Brokeback Mountain Truck Fetches $60,000 US

2006-03-31T22:28:00.000-07:00

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

2006-03-29T21:50:00.000-07:00

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

2006-03-28T22:29:00.000-07:00

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

2006-03-24T22:43:00.000-07:00

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

2006-03-24T07:30:00.000-07:00

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

2006-03-23T23:44:00.000-07:00

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.