Hit the Gasparilla Film Festival's announcement of its 2008 lineup today. Let me first say that the Don Vincente de Ybor Historic Inn in Ybor City gives off a more promising vibe than last year's inaugural car dealership parking lot off Dale Mabry.
I get the impression that GFF president Eric Odum (who had last year's great idea) and first-year executive director John Rosser are cleaning up well after last year's problems. And not just because they mentioned the Blood Feast 45th anniversary screening at Channelside on March 1 that I suggested and is revving up to be quite the experience.
Sorry, I need to catch my breath after such a long, punctuation-less shameless plug.
(But it's gonna be cool.)
Anyway, the GFF has an interesting lineup of films, starting with the Feb. 27 opening night film, Kabluey. It looks like an edgy comedy starring Lisa Kudrow and Chris Parnell, who I always enjoyed on Saturday Night Live. It's also produced by Jeff Balis, a Berkeley Prep graduate with Project Greenlight producing credits and the Bennigan's spoof Waiting... that made me skip the Monte Cristo ever after. He's directing a sequel.
But, hey, he's a Tampa guy.
Swear to Spielberg: Mama Guava from the Gasparilla parade messaged me the other day about Balis because he's a former student of hers. That's enough for me to want to meet him.
Anyway, another interesting GFF entry is The Flock, a thriller with Richard Gere and Claire Danes that's produced by Bauer-Martinez Studios. Maybe you read the story a few years ago when they opened offices in Largo to match the ones in Los Angeles. They gave us Citizen Jury with Jerry Springer as a housewarming gift.
BMS usually produce and distribute overseas with name actors but have a project that may be filmed somewhere here, if everything falls together. We'll see what happens.
The Gasparilla festival has 81 movies -- features, shorts, docus -- in the lineup, representing 10 countries. Many are Latin American, to showcase Tampa's Hispanic heritage. Odum and Rosser were clear about their intentions to make visiting filmmakers and distributors aware of Tampa Bay's scenic possibilities, including Ybor City lodgings.
Check out the lineup. Tickets are $10 for every screening except special ones with extras like opening night at Tampa Theatre, closing night and a shark flick in-between (Terry Tomalin will love that), both at Florida Aquarium.
And don't miss Blood Feast. Remember, Joe Bob said check it out.
Steve Persall is the movie critic for the St. Petersburg Times. He was conceived behind a drive-in movie theater his father operated and raised in projection booths and concession stands. He doesn't care how you did it up north.
Thanks for dropping by, Adam, and best of luck with Daydreamer! This festival is really getting impressive with the buzz for the lineup. Reminds me of the first couple years of the Sarasota Film Festival's growth, and look where that is now. (No, not in Sarasota, weisenheimers; I mean its stature in the biz.)
Posted by: Steve Persall | February 20, 2008 at 07:43 AM
Trailer and photos for Daydreamer at www.daydreamerthemovie.com.
Also can be seen in Tampa on Brighthouse Channel 240.
Very excited to be there, flying in from L.A.
I wrote Daydreamer (first screenplay) and learned alot about filmaking in Hollywood. What an experience!
Posted by: Adam | February 19, 2008 at 09:27 AM
Steve #1 here, not the renowned Mr. Persall. Looking forward to all the films and am so happy we're getting a film festival here. Let's all help it grow into something we can be proud of and where our local talent can also have a chance to succeed!
Posted by: Steve | February 19, 2008 at 09:08 AM
Great line-up at the Gasparilla Film Festival, Steve. As you can probably guess, I'm looking the most forward to the 45th anniversary screening of the classic '63 taboo-breaking horror hit BLOOD FEAST - with special appearances by director H.G. Lewis ("The Godfather of Gore") and David F. Friedman - the "Mighty Monarch of Exploitation"! It's going to be a once-in-a-lifetime event!
Posted by: Andy Lalino | February 15, 2008 at 04:47 PM
My name is Nadia (yes, like the gymnast, and unfortunately, like Shannon Elizabeth's character in American Pie)and I am the Writer/Director of ONEIRIC. Don't let the title fool you film enthusiasts...it is a word in the English language and it means...well, come check out the Young Filmmaker Series on Sunday, March 2 and you'll find out for yourself. Despite the title's obscurity, you won't find this story isolated or unrealistic against the backdrop of American society today.
Posted by: Nadia Sarmova | February 13, 2008 at 12:39 PM
Thanks, Renee. I hope to see a couple of those shorts before the Blood Feast screening. And Chris, that's a great idea for a film. I met Redner once, when I took him and two of his dancers to see Showgirls and get their reactions. Quite a character. Look forward to it.
Posted by: Steve Persall | February 10, 2008 at 09:57 PM
Hello, this is Chris Woods, I'm one of the producers of the documentary, Strip Club King: The Story of Joe Redner. A preview to this film will be shown at The Gasparilla Film Festival. It's directed and produced by Shelby McIntyre. Here's a quick description of the preview:
13 minute preview of the highly anticipated documentary on the strip club king, Joe Redner. Owner of the world famous Mons Venus strip club, Joe Redner started with nothing, dropped out of school at an early age, has been arrested over 140 times, overcame his drug and alcohol addictions, run for office over 7 times, and built a multimillion-dollar financial empire. Love him or hate him, you’ll definitely want to watch him every step of the way!!
Hope to see you all at the festival.
Posted by: Chris Woods | February 10, 2008 at 05:26 PM
The date of the Women' Power Hour is March 1st.
Posted by: Renee Warmack | February 10, 2008 at 01:15 PM
Hi Steve,
I'd like to encourage anyone interested in Tampa history, women's rights and/or mentoring to come to the Women Power Hour. I'm a native Tampan who produced and directed Ten at the Top in Tampa Bay, www.tenatthetop.com which will begin at 5:30 pm at Channelside, followed by several other female themed shorts. Local female heads of government are featured in my film, such as Pam Iorio, Pat Bean, Pat Frank, and Julianne Holt who give their firsthand accounts of how they made it to the top. At no other time in history had so many women (10) been at the top of government organizations in the Tampa/Hillsborough County, serving at the same time, in positions traditionally held by men.
Sincerely,
Renee Warmack, M.P.A.
Posted by: Renee Warmack | February 10, 2008 at 01:13 PM
Thanks for the tip, Steve (nice name, too). Gotta pump the festival guys for some screener DVDs of whatever they have. Anyone else out there with a GFF entry to plug? Come on!
Posted by: Steve Persall | February 09, 2008 at 08:38 AM
You gotta see "Daydreamer". It premiered at the Vail Film Festival and is really good. Indie done on low-budget, good writing. Arielle Kebbel is in it. Screens Sunday March 2nd at Channelside at noon.
Posted by: Steve | February 08, 2008 at 12:36 AM