Hank Williams First Nation Hits DVD Tuesday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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):

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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

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

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

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

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

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.