Edmonton International Film Festival Fear Itself Fundraiser Tonight!

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!

Edmonton Gripped by Fear Itself

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

LIONSGATE To Film TV Series In Edmonton

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.

Nathan Fillion in Waitress

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

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

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.

Decoys 2: The Second Seduction Available on DVD

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.

Edmonton SCTV Locations

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.

Two Sams Join The Assassination of Jesse James

The Edmonton sun reports that 2 outstanding actors have been cast in The Assassination of Jesse James feature film:

Warner Bros. studio is expected to confirm today that famed playwright Sam Shepard and Sam Rockwell, last seen in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, will star opposite Pitt, Casey Affleck and Mary Louise Parker in this $30 million-US duster about the murder of outlaw Jesse James by gang member Robert Ford.

Shepard, who's was also in Black Hawk Down and The Right Stuff has been to Alberta before to film Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven and Resurrection.

I think this is great news as both are outstanding actors who will certainly add even more talent to the big-budget film. The article also mentions Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel's words about respecting the cast and crew while they film in and around the area:

"As Edmonton continues to position itself as a major film location, it is important that the industry feels welcome and views Edmonton as a film-friendly, professional destination," Mandel said in a statement.

He added he is "confident the filming of The Assassination of Jesse James is a sign of great things to come in Alberta's growing film industry."

Read more at this link.

Stand-In For Brad Pitt

As originally published on the edmontonsun.com website:

STAND-IN FOR BRAD PITT
Graham Hicks, The Edmonton Sun
Sunday, August 28, 2005

The celebrity industry may have created a God-like aura around actor Brad Pitt. But to Brent Woolsey, Brad is a warm, decent person who's very good at what he does.

Brent will spend much time with Pitt while The Assassination of Jesse James feature movie is filmed in Fort Edmonton Park. Setup begins after the Labour Day weekend, with actual shooting starting soon thereafter.

The Nanton-area rancher, a champion team roper in his spare time, is a professional film/TV stuntman and stunt co-ordinator.

As he was in Legends of the Fall in 1994, he'll be Pitt's stunt double for the "train, horse, killin' and fightin' stuff."

"Brad's a great guy. He's as polite and nice as they get. He's a guy you'd like to sit down and BS with for a night or two. But the whole media thing takes away so much of his freedom."

As Brent has done on some 35 films, he's also stunt co-ordinator for the Jesse James film. He scouted locations with the director from an action-sequence point of view. He works with the director in planning and executing the action scenes. As those scenes draw closer, he'll likely have more direct communication with the star than anyone on the set, besides the director.

Chances are he'll be Brad Pitt's action coach rather than his double. "I suspect Brad will end up doing most of the action scenes himself," says Brent. "He likes to do them if he can. He's a physical kind of guy. But his ego's not so big that he'd do something where he could hurt himself."

Brent's on-location job is to set up the action scene and be the double for rehearsals. He then sits down with the director and Pitt to decide if the star or the double should perform the actual stunt.

If Pitt is doing it himself, Brent prepares and coaches the actor through the scene.

Brent's life as a hockey player, chuckwagon racer, stuntman and team roper is the stuff of legends unto itself - "I've never really had a job," he says.

Those are Hicks on Six stories for another day.

"What I'm really looking forward to," he says, "is going to (former team-roping champ and Friends of Pro Rodeo co-chair) Lyle Kurtz's ranch on days off to do some team roping. I'm hoping I can get to Blacklands Ranch (north of Fort Saskatchewan) for the Alberta team roping championships."

The Gang's All Here

A 'weather report' of sorts is delivered on CANOE -- JAM! Movies in regards to The Assassination of Jesse James:

Brad Pitt is like a mailman. Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow will keep him from delivering his lines.

Though Pitt and his fellow producers of The Assassination of Jesse James would prefer sunshine come Monday, no one is talking delays because of the weather.

"Come hell or high water we'll be filming on Monday. There are always ways to shoot around weather if you have committed actors and crew," said a spokesperson for Jesse Films.

The Assassination of Jesse James is only scheduled to shoot in the Calgary area for one week before moving to Edmonton for three weeks of shooting.

The production then returns to Calgary until Oct. 22 when it moves to Winnipeg for five days.

Then it's back to Calgary for the rest of the Alberta portion of the shoot.

Producers are hoping for snow in October or November as all four seasons are represented in the screenplay.

The article also has information on additional actors cast in the film.

Hollywood brings Christmas in July to Edmonton

Originally published in the Edmonton Journal, July 14, 2005
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Pine trees with fake snow work just fine for CBS TV movie

BILL RANKIN
Journal Culture Writer
EDMONTON

It's going to look a lot like Christmas around Edmonton over the next three weeks.

On Wednesday, a sequel to the popular 2002 CBS television movie The Christmas Shoes began shooting north of downtown.

The film, tentatively entitled The Christmas Blessing, stars Rob Lowe, late of The West Wing; Neil Patrick Harris of Doogie Howser, M.D. fame, and scream queen Rebecca Gayheart. It wraps Aug. 8 after filming in various Edmonton locations including the General Hospital, two houses in Glenora, the McCauley school and throughout Old Strathcona.

Executive producer Beth Grossbard said The Christmas Blessing "is a small-town movie, and Edmonton has that small-town feel."

Grossbard also produced The Christmas Shoes, a tearjerker about a young boy trying to find the perfect shoes for his dying mother. It drew nearly 17 million American viewers and was the second-highest rated TV movie of 2003-04.

She said she found everything she needed for her sequel right here.

"We spent a couple of weeks scouting for the right locations, finding the right school that looked like a northeastern town building, a home that not only matched the Nova Scotia home (in the original film), but the neighbourhood in and around the home.

"The people at the General Hospital have been wonderful also. There's a wing that's empty there. It's perfect for shooting," she says. "You can't find that in a lot of towns where there's a totally shut-down wing of a hospital where you can go in, clean it up a little bit, put a little spit polish on it and you've got yourself a set."

Co-producer Craig Anderson chose Edmonton over Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipeg. He was looking for a feel that would harken back to the first movie.

He says financial and professional incentives also made the project most viable in Edmonton.

"I was looking for a small-town feel that wasn't Calgary, that wasn't Vancouver or Toronto. I wanted a crew that knew each other, that had been together for quite a while so there's a nice camaraderie there. I scouted in four different places, but I ended up with Edmonton because of the feel that I had here.

"There's a great crew here and I get a percentage back by hiring local. Not only casting and crew, but department heads are all local. About 95 per cent of the entire crew is from the area, which is just great."

By filming in Alberta, the production can draw on an available $1.5 million in provincial film development funding, and 50 percent of Alberta-based labour costs also get rebated.

After shooting The Christmas Blessing, Anderson will take a week off and then begin doing a second film here for Lifetime Television. That shoot will end in mid-September.

Patti Tucker, head of the Edmonton Film Commission, says luring the two productions to the dty will build on the reputation Edmonton is gaining as a film-friendly location.

"When you're dealing with CBS and Lifetime, it certainly raises the credibility of the city."

She estimates local financial spinoffs from the two productions to be worth $4 million.

Grossbard found Tucker's helpfulness a major incentive for working here.

"I think in a town that doesn't have an excessive amount of film production, people are more open to it. If you go into Vancouver or Toronto, they don't want you in their neighbourhoods. They're tired of it," she says.

"We're doing one of our biggest scenes this coming weekend in and around Old Strathcona. We were able to get cooperation from the film commission, and permits and the traffic control and the police. I can't say a lot of places would allow you to do that." The stretch of 83rd Avenue between 104th Street and Gateway Boulevard will be made to look like a town square for the movie.

Anderson will have to resort to some Hollywood magic make midsummer Edmonton look like December in the eastern U.S.

"We always make Christmas movies in July and August for some reason. I've done it before, so we'll be laying down snow, making people wear jackets and gloves and mufflers in order to give us the atmosphere."

He'll have to keep the leafy poplars out of the picture. "We shoot in front of pine trees," he says.

Meanwhile, Grossbard says in the month she's been living in Edmonton preparing for filming, there's only one question she's getting tired of answering.

"The only problem is everybody keeps saying to us, 'Oh, you're with the Brad Pitt movie.' Everybody wants to see the Brad Pitt movie."

Warner Brothers begins shooting a film about the American outlaw Jesse James, starring Pitt, at the end of August in Calgary. There are unconfirmed reports that some of the scenes will also be shot at Fort Edmonton Park.

brankin@thejournal.canwest.com

Extras Casting Call: The Assassination of Jesse James

Originally published in the Edmonton Journal, July 19, 2005
NOTE: Extras casting location information at the bottom of the article.

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Old-school extras needed for Pitt's local scenes

RICK McCONNELL
Journal Culture Writer
EDMONTON

Wanted: Hundreds of men, women and children who dream of seeing themselves on the silver screen in a big-budget Hollywood film.

Reward: $9 an hour — and perhaps the chance to see Brad Pitt, up close and in person.

Be on the lookout for an open casting call being held Sunday in Edmonton to hire extras for a movie about the life and death of outlaw Jesse James. Shooting is scheduled to start Aug. 29 and wrap up by December, with scenes filmed in or around Edmonton and Calgary, and perhaps Winnipeg and Montreal.

Few details have been released about the movie, based on the Ron Hansen novel The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

What is certain is Brad Pitt will play Jesse James, and hundreds of extras will be needed to help recreate the town of St. Joseph, Mo., where the train and bankrobber was murdered in 1882, and Creede, Colo., the mining camp where Robert Ford was assassinated a decade later.

At least 600 men, women and children are needed for non-speaking roles, says Louise Mackiewicz of The Casting Line Canada Inc., who has done casting work on several films, including Open Range, Shanghai Noon and Mystery, Alaska.

Since the Jesse James movie is set in the 1880s and 1890s, men with "great character looks, especially facial hair," and women with long hair will be particularly prized, Mackiewicz says.

It's not known yet exactly when the Edmonton filming will be done, or even where.

"We will be in the Edmonton area for a three-week period," Mackiewicz says. "Some of our biggest scenes may require upwards of 350 people for one day."

It's thought some scenes will be shot at Fort Edmonton Park, where 1885 Street has buildings that would fit the time period.

The town of Creede, high in the mountains west of Denver, may be harder to recreate.

"They're looking at building a town on Fortress Mountain in K-Country," Mackiewicz says.

The movie is being directed by Andrew Dominik and produced by Pitt's company. Plan B Films, in conjunction with Scott Free Productions, owned by directors Ridley and Tony Scott.

There are more than a dozen speaking parts. Principal casting is being handled out of Calgary by Deb Green Casting. Green was in Vancouver this week looking for actors, including someone to play Robert Ford.

Edmonton's open casting call will be held Sunday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Ramada Inn and Conference Centre at 11834 Kingsway Ave.

rmcconnell@theiournal.canwest.com

Paul Newman Visits Edmonton

The West Edmonton Mall Grand Prix debuted in Edmonton over the weekend and brought out one of Hollywood's biggest celebrities. Mr. Paul Newman found the race fans to be "just amazing" as evidenced in this story from the Edmonton Journal's Brock Harrison. Newman, who has starred in countless films, and is the owner of one of the race teams participating in the event, had nothing but positive things to say about the spectators:

"Look at these fans, they're just amazing," Paul Newman said Saturday from his team's Newman/Haas tent on pit row, overlooking the slick race track and packed grandstands dotted by yellow, blue and red ponchos.

"There's so many of them, with the weather this bad, and they're so enthusiastic. I've never seen anything like this."

Neil Patrick Harris (TV's Doogie Howser, M.D. and Starship Troopers) also attended the second day of the event [Saturday].

"The Edmonton people are so laid back, I must say," said Harris, who's in town shooting a Christmas-themed movie with Rob Lowe. "No fist fights so far, so that's pretty good, right?"

The rainy weather didn't dull the enthusiasm of the crowd either. An estimated 66,250 excited fans attended day 2.

Newman has been in Alberta at least once before to film Buffalo Bill and the Indians or Sitting Bull's History Lesson.

Photo credit: Shaughn Butts, the Edmonton Journal

More Pitt and Jolie Edmonton Rumors

As orginally published in the Edmonton Journal, July 16, 2005:

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Angelina, Brad hanging around the Pitts?
Speculation has Hollywood's hottest couple in town for racing

Welcome to Edmonton, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

The rumour mill kicked into high gear Friday to coincide with all those racing engines at the West Edmonton Mall Grand Prix [Edmonton].

Depending on who you talk to, and how willing you are to suspend belief, Pitt and his Mr. & Mrs. Smith co-star have dropped by to witness Edmonton's first go-round with a big auto race.

Bounce radio started the ball bouncing early Friday.

One of their DJs managed to engage Chad Murphy of the Century Grill in a little on-air speculation that Pitt and Jolie might be in Edmonton already and could be attending tonight's private party at the southside restaurant where Oilers GM Kevin Lowe and Wayne Gretzky are expected to be front and centre.

"I didn't confirm anything," Murphy protested later in the day. "It's a private party and we already have a fair amout of police cars and security lined up. No, the Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt bit is speculation, as far as I'm concerned.

"... But if Brad Pitt shows up, hey, we're going to let him in."

Murphy did point out that Pitt is supposed to begin shooting at Fort Edmonton Park, sometime soon.

Indeed, there have been reports that Pitt plans to shoot a new Jesse James movie this summer at Fort Edmonton and locations outside Calgary.

So, who knows? But keep in mind that there was actual confirmed news out of Los Angeles Thursday, reporting that Pitt had been diagnosed with a mild case of viral meningitis and sent home from hospital with flu-like symptoms. Sounds like not the best circumstances for setting up a flight to Edmonton.

But if Hollywood's big power couple isn't actually here in Edmonton, take heart. There's a rumour Sylvester Stallone is on his way.

© The Edmonton Journal 2005

2005 Dreamspeakers Film Festival

This weekend (June 22 to 25) is your chance to attend a unique film festival in Edmonton, Alberta. The Dreamspeakers Film Festival focuses on Aboriginal and Native documentaries, films, television shows, actors, directors, and producers. The event welcomes people of all cultures and will feature an incredible roster of talent from independent and high-budget Hollywood productions. Attendees also have the opportunity to participate in outstanding workshops led by industry professionals with topics ranging from Screenwriting to Acting and Filmmaking.

As a good friend of the Festival President, I can honestly say he has put his heart and soul into ensuring the Festival offers something for everyone and provides an excellent venue for storytellers to gather.

From the Dreamspeakers Film Festival website:

When the first Dene filmmaker returned home to Canada’s Northwest Territories, his people had no words for his new art. They called it Dreamtalking. When you make films a Dene elder said, you are speaking your dreams.

Over the course four days, Edmonton, Alberta becomes the site of an international gathering of our own Dreamtalkers: filmmakers, performers and artists. First Nation people from around the globe gather to share their common bond, a linkage with of a natural world whose harmonies and rhythms are being forgotten by those that came later.

Dreamspeakers Film Festival provides a venue for Dreamtalkers and offers a unique exploration into aboriginal cultures from all parts of the globe.

The Dreamspeakers Society supports, promotes and markets aboriginal culture, art and heritage. It is a resource for aboriginal filmmakers, for directors, scriptwriters, cameramen, technicians, actors, musicians, storytellers, artists and craftspeople. The Society is also a resource bank — a way to get in touch with aboriginal filmmakers, performers and artists. And through Dreamspeakers, aboriginal people receive training in arts, culture and festival operations.

Don't miss out on this annual showcase! Call Laurel at (780) 378-9609 to register and purchase tickets.

Brad Pitt Coming Back To Alberta?

Brad Pitt as Tristan Ludlow in Legends of the Fall. © 1994 TriStar Pictures, Inc.

There's been rumblings about Brad Pitt filming in Alberta again for quite a while now. When I was conducting research for the print version of The Alberta Movie Guide a few years ago, locals in southern Alberta towns mentioned hearing about his return for a feature film production. It's been rumored that he's already visited Alberta several times in addition to filming Legends of the Fall and that he has property in Bragg Creek near Calgary, though he denies it saying if he owned land in all the places people said he did, he'd be "quite the land baron." A month ago, I heard the rumor resurface and was told that Pitt had recently made a visit to Alberta to scout locations including Fort Edmonton Park. Calgary and Edmonton media outlets have been buzzing with the news, but no official announcements have been made.

The Assassination of Jesse James, one of many flicks about the infamous outlaw, is to be directed by Chopper's Andrew Dominik and produced by Ridley and Tony Scott's Scott Free Productions.

If you've never been to Fort Edmonton Park, it's worth visiting not only for it's historic atmosphere, great location, and cultural history, but to see it up close before it appears on film again. I've had the good fortune to visit it many times during school and family outings, celebrate special occassions and film weddings there. I've even traveled down the North Saskatchewan River by canoe to stay overnight at Fort Edmonton, just as Hudson's Bay Company Fur Traders used to do many years ago. Fort Edmonton Park remains one of my favorite locations in the city. I'll have more on Fort Edmonton Park's role in films at a later date.

Note: Please don't send requests asking where Brad and other stars will be staying or what time they'll be at a certain place as I won't be providing that specific kind of information. The film production needs to run smoothly and though there'll probably be some kind of media photo opportunity if they do film here, the cast and crew don't need delays in work or hassles during the off-production hours. Just like you or I, they have a job to do. Perhaps serving as an extra on the film might be your shot at getting a glimpse of Mr. Pitt?

---

Originally published in the Edmonton Journal, June 22, 2005:

Details of Pitt visit as elusive as James gang
Hot actor coming to Edmonton for film about Wild West outlaw

Rick McConnell
The Edmonton Journal
June 22, 2005

EDMONTON - Wanted: Information leading to some arresting details about the new Brad Pitt western coming to a city very near you.

The blond, heart-throb leading man will soon be back in Alberta to film his new Jesse James movie, which will be shot at historic Fort Edmonton Park and in the wide-open spaces outside Calgary.

Beyond that, there are few eyewitness reports about the $30-million drama. Reporters seeking tips about the movie and its big-name star followed a cold trail Tuesday.

"This is the best news a film commissioner can get," said Edmonton Film Commissioner Patti Tucker, who, as it turned out, couldn't offer an accurate description about who will do what to whom, or when, or how.

"I'm as frustrated as you are," Tucker said when asked to confirm the whole Brad-Pitt-is-coming-to-town story.

"We need to get this good news out, but it's got to come from (Alberta Film Commissioner) Dan Chugg. I can't say one word to anybody, and I've been working on this for three months."

Chugg, who oversees the province's film industry and reports to Economic Development Minister Clint Dunford, was out of the office and unavailable for comment.

Requests for information were passed to the department's communications branch, but no one from that office called back to confirm one of the biggest film projects to hit the province in years.

Still, despite efforts to keep word from leaking out, those tracking the story were able to learn that Plan B Films, a company started by Pitt and his estranged wife, Jennifer Aniston, will co-produce the movie, along with Scott Free Productions, owned by brothers Tony and Ridley Scott.

Pitt will play Jesse James, who was living under the alias Tom Howard in St. Joseph, Mo., when he was gunned down in his living room on April 3, 1882, by his cousin, Bob Ford, a former member of his gang.

The movie, based on the 1983 Ron Hansen novel The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, will be good news to Alberta's film industry.

But to the people who will one day market the movie, good news is apparently no news at all.

At Warner Bros. Pictures offices in Los Angeles, one publicist after another said, more or less, "they went thataway," and finally suggested information might be forthcoming from the company's Canadian headquarters in Toronto.

There, however, a harassed publicist was dealing with a power outage and had no time to talk. Hours later, the Toronto publicist called back and passed the bouncing ball back to another Warner spokesperson in Hollywood, who confirmed that Pitt and the Scotts are indeed involved, but wouldn't say much more.

Is there anyone from Warner Bros., the spokesperson was asked, who can talk about this project?

"No," the spokesperson said.

Could you tell us why that is?

"No," the spokesperson said. "If we put out a press release in which we announce this, then the head of production would make the announcement. When we put out a formal announcement, then it will come from the head of the studio."

Over at the Alberta Motion Picture Industries Association offices, things seemed a little more certain.

"I understand there are quite a few locations around Alberta, not just Calgary and Edmonton," said executive director Alan Brooks. "It means a lot of work for a lot of people in this industry."

Brooks said he was told production officials involved with the project visited the Alberta capital months ago.

"They fell in love with Fort Edmonton Park," he said. "It was absolutely perfect for the movie."

"We have no information," said the person answering telephones at the park, who then suggested Patti Tucker might be the person to call.

With a posse of reporters still hot on the story's trail, by the end of the day the film's director had been identified as Andrew Dominik, who once wrote and directed a film called Chopper (2000), which starred an actor named Eric Bana, who later worked in a film called Troy, which starred a certain shy fellow named Pitt, who might remember Alberta from his work a decade ago on Legends of the Fall, which some people say was filmed here.

But that might be a rumour.

rmcconnell@thejournal.canwest.com

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The Calgary Sun also has a report on the 'Pitt-stop' at this link.

Wanted: An Edmonton film school

Back on March 24, Todd Babiak of The Edmonton Journal wrote the following article about Red Deer College's Motion Picture Arts Program and commented on the cinematic direction and training for Alberta's creative talent.

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Wanted: An Edmonton film School
Will Red Deer lead us to cinematic promised land?
by Todd Babiak - Originally published in The Edmonton Journal

In the Woody Allen movies of the 1970s, every character is writing a novel. In the real world of 2005, every character is making a Woody Allen movie. Or a Christopher Guest movie. Or a really embarrassing John Woo movie.

Not long ago, the motion-picture industry was an exotic cult that only accepted the ultra-rich, the ultra-lucky, the Ultra-beautiful and the extended family of Francis Ford Coppola. Thanks to the wonders of digital technology, a broadcast-quality camera and editing suite is now about the same price as two years of university tuition. Anyone can make a feature, and apparently they are; at a weekly rate, Edmontonians are directing, editing and releasing films into the local market, a market that barely exists.

This is good news, isn't it? We humans long to express ourselves, to share our stories, and we were constrained too long by the prohibitive economic realities of the movie industry. Independent film is on the same level as independent music and small-press publishing, with a libertarian, outlaw quality. Who needs Hollywood? We can rent the Garneau for a weekend!

The keyword here is "rent."

Technical expertise is suddenly available to everyone. What is less available, and rarer than a Whooping Crane, is the ability to conceive and tell a good story. We can cheer the efforts of young and aggressive local filmmakers. We can put their pictures in the newspaper. But no one can pass a lie detector test claiming that any of the locally produced features screened in Edmonton in the last few years approaches mediocre. Either they're mock documentaries filled with unfocused improvisation or they're loud, cliche-ridden messes masquerading as American genre films.

NAIT offers a two-year Radio and Television Arts diploma. The University of Alberta offers a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Media Studies. One of these programs produces all the gaffers and grips the province will ever need. The other graduates experts in narratology and la nouvelle vague francaise. Neither of these programs trains screenwriters or creative directors.

"Maybe our goal is to create a local pool of technicians," says U of A Film and Media Studies professor Jerry White.

"But an environment where people who are creative are encouraged to develop as artists? That's a different thing altogether. A BFA (bachelor of fine arts) in film production in Edmonton would help, depending on what you want, but the networks that allow people to get into the film industry, whether they have a degree in film or not, are very informal."

Making a good movie, a movie worth watching, is ridiculously difficult. Finding an audience for an English-Canadian film is even more difficult, as the faintly audible cricket sounds during Monday night's Genie Awards presentation demonstrated. Even in Toronto and Vancouver, the twin cities of Canadian film, there isn't a genuine opportunity for those informal networks to develop and thrive. After the Genies, professionals talked about how we just need one great Canadian film to capture the nation and the world, creating a measure of interest and activity. Since things can't get much worse, anywhere. Alberta is as good a place as any to develop and release that one great Canadian film. But greatness is unlikely when competence is scarce and making money is just about impossible.

"We've studied film programs across the country, to see what they've done wrong," says Don Armstrong, head of production at Red Deer College's Motion Picture Arts program, a two-year applied after-degree in production or performance.

"We're trying to produce entrepreneurs instead of employees, so we're taking them through pitch sessions and teaching them about the business and the art of film. If you want a job in the industry, you don't have to go to school.

What we're trying to do is help build an industry in Alberta by having students form companies and initiate professional projects."

The latest film to come out of Red Deer College, To The Victor, is nominated for three AMPIA (Alberta Motion Picture Industry Association) awards. The program's last collaborative feature, Naked Frailties, has been distributed around the world.

So far, film programs in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal have been unable to create la nouvelle vague canadienne.

So far, universities in Edmonton and Calgary aren't bothering to try. There isn't much time left, as iMacs [Apple Computer] and editing software transform the art of film into little more than a hobby for the vain and the curious, tightening Hollywood's hold on the industry.

Come on, Red Deer.