More with Patrick Wilson at the Sunscreen Film Festival

Couldn't get everything into print that Patrick Wilson and I chatted about at Wednesday's opening night of the fourth annual Sunscreen Film Festival. But some of his most interesting comments were on the topic of Florida's -- and specifically Tampa Bay's -- current problems with attracting Hollywood TV and film productions.

It's a complicated matter that, like everything else these days, comes down to money.

Over the past two years, Florida has phased out or greatly reduced programs providing tax incentives to productions choosing to film here. Meanwhile, states such as Louisiana and South Carolina ramped up theirs, luring projects to their back yards.

"Tax incentives" doesn't necessarily mean handouts. When the numbers are crunched, the money that a production spends in any state -- for hotels, meals, transportation, hiring local crew members, etc. -- is greater than the tax breaks attracting them. Producers save money with those incentives while citizens benefit through wages, revenues and bragging rights.

Wilson and I briefly discussed the effect of Florida's decline in tax incentives on independent filmmaking:

You've done independent films like Hard Candy. Now you're getting into bigger studio movies like Watchmen. But you'll still come here, supporting a festival that treats independent filmmakers better than most festivals do. Why is that still important to you? 

"Everybody talks about the state of the economy. From my perspective, yes, people still need to be entertained and they're paying top-dollar prices whether it's for movies, plays, sports, whatever it is. But I've seen a lot of movies, a lot of scripts for independent movies not able to get made because where's their money? Financiers. Where's the financiers' money? Wall Street. It really is a trickle-down effect.

"So, anytime you can do anything to help out the independent film community, that's important to me. It always has been but I think now more than ever. (Filmmakers) need festivals to do more than just celebrating film. They need to be working festivals, (showing) how to get distribution, how to really try to raise money and get with the film commissioner."

Unlike other states, Florida has eliminated nearly all of its funds supporting TV and filmmaking. Does that really make a difference?

"If there aren't enough tax breaks here to inspire Hollywood to come here then they've got to make it that way. The states that have done that ... I've seen scripts that completely change direction and change meaning because, hey guess what? We can get a tax break somewhere else."

Is it better for a community like Tampa Bay to have one studio movie produced here, or 20 independent films that may not get distributed?

"That depends. You can make a $20 million movie and if the movie doesn't get distributed -- certainly like my movie (Passengers) that's here (at Sunscreen) -- the studio wasn't behind it and a $20 million movie goes (makes a diving motion with his hand). That happens all the time. Certainly independent movies have a harder time getting their money back and getting distribution.

"It's an interesting point and I don't really know. It's great to have the big guns come down here. It's great to have the interest from (John) Travolta). This sounds like shameless namedropping but I was talking to Tom Cruise specifically about this, and his interest in coming here. I asked him: 'Why can't we find more movies that film down there?' We agreed it's the tax break thing."

Patrick Wilson highlights Sunscreen Film Festival's opening night

Surrounded by family, friends and fans, St. Petersburg native and actor Patrick Wilson turned the red carpet into a reunion place during Wednesday's opening night festivities for the fourth annual Sunscreen Film Festival.

The 35-year-old star of Broadway stages (Oklahoma!, The Full Monty) and movie screens (Watchmen, Little Children) was the main attraction outside Muvico Baywalk 20. Wilson warmly greeted former classmates and acquaintances while politely posing for photographs with gawkers without tickets to the screening of his film, Passengers, co-starring Anne Hathaway. Others leaned over the plaza's second-floor railing or strolled by for closer looks.

Wilson, the son of WTVT-Ch. 13 anchorman John Wilson, has walked his share of red carpets in the past but declared this one, in his hometown and supporting independent filmmakers, something special.

"I've wanted to be a part of this festival for a while," Wilson said. "It's sort of a no-brainer. I've always wanted to shoot (a movie) down here, or do whatever I can to give the film vibe around here a bit of a boost."

Wilson said the fact that his brother, Paul Wilson of Wilson Media, is handling publicity for the Sunscreen festival didn't figure into his decision. "I think I was the one who asked him," the actor said. "I hoped at some point they'd reach out to me. If not, I'll just reach out to them."

"Anytime you can do something to help out the independent (film) community, that's important to me."

After the Passengers screening, nearly 400 festival VIP pass holders and guests migrated to the nearby Museum of Fine Arts, where live music, hors d'oeuvres and more photo and autograph opportunities with Wilson and others awaited. The opening night party was held in the entrance conservatory overlooking Tampa Bay, with the welcome desk converted into a circular bar serving cocktails.

The menu prepared by Parkshore Grill included roasted duck breast in mango chutney, shrimp cocktails, pork and chicken nachos, blue cheese-stuffed meatballs, seared scallops in a goat cheese spinach dip, and blue crab cakes in a spicy, sweet tomato jam. Cheesecake tarts and chocolate-dipped strawberries were served as desserts.

Sunscreen gets into full swing Thursday with screenings at Baywalk 20 beginning at 1 p.m. A complete list of films, plus ticket information, is available by clicking on this link or visiting the festival Web site at www.sunscreenfilmfestival.com.

If you didn't make Wednesday's red carpet events, Wilson, Cobbs and Rooker are slated to participate Thursday in a 90-minute panel discussion on acting at 10 a.m., free and open to the public. Later, the trio will lead the first day of an acting workshop for aspiring performers shelling out $125 for the experience.

On tap today: An X-Man and a Watchman

In a coincidental matchup that comics geeks would die for, I'll be dealing with a Marvel superhero and an Alan Moore creation in one day. Well, shut my mouth and call me Lex Luthor.

This morning I'm in Tampa for a screening of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Tonight, I'll be greeting Patrick Wilson -- Nite Owl II from Watchmen -- on the red carpet at Baywalk 20 for the opening of the fourth annual Sunscreen Film Festival. Wilson is a St. Petersburg native whose brother Paul Wilson is handling media relations for the festival, so he called upon his younger sibling to lend a p.r. hand, host a Q&A after his movie, Passengers, mingle at a post-show party, and lead an acting class Thursday that I'll also cover.

In between those superhero encounters, I'll be tinkering with my diabolical scheme of a satellite death ray aimed squarely at Matthew McConaughey, after enduring another of his yeehaw hunk "performances" in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. I'm friends with one of his past girlfriends and, without all the gross details, she confirms those tabloid reports about McConaughey being hygienically challenged.

But let's get to work.

Nothing is ordinary about the arrival in theaters of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Not the location of its world premiere Monday, or the fact that thousands, if not millions, of Internet users have already seen a leaked, unfinished version of it.

Twentieth Century Fox came up with the idea of an online battle among U.S. cities for the right to premiere Wolverine, decided by the number of fans posting in support of their burgs. The winner was that hotbed of American cinema ... Tempe, Ariz.?

Second place was Davis, Calif., which is at least closer to Hollywood.

Maybe enough X-fans in other cities saw Wolverine online and didn’t figure it was worth bringing to town. That’s the general consensus of Web chatter on the subject.

Hugh Jackman shucks his Oscar tux and savoir faire to play the hirsute mutant clawing his way through events occurring before the successful X-Men trilogy. We should learn how he began sprouting those Ginzu knuckles, the roots of his rivalry with Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber), and how he joined the Weapon X program. Maybe a few grooming tips, too.

My review of X-Men Origins: Wolverine will appear later today on tampabay.com and Friday on our Etc page (Page 2B).

And you thought soft-top Cabriolets were gay

One of the intriguing offerings at this weekend's Sunscreen Film Festival is Erin Davies' provocatively titled documentary, Fagbug. The movie will be shown Friday at 8 p.m. at Muvico Baywalk 20 in St. Petersburg.

Davies, a lesbian, was living in Albany, N.Y. when she attached a rainbow bumper sticker to her Volkswagen Beetle. Someone decided to add their own, narrow-minded decorations, spray-painting "fag" and "ur gay" on the exterior, as you see from this photo (compliments of Vanity Fair, whose Brett Berk, gay car blogger -- that's his title -- profiled Davies).

Davies could have simply washed off the paint and chalked up the act to homophobic ignorance. Instead, she left the epithets untouched and embarked on a 58-day road trip across the United States, filming reactions from strangers, some sympathetic and others not. Fagbug, the nickname her Beetle earned, is the result of that trip, and a movie that Sunscreen co-founder Tony Armer pegged as one of this year's likeliest breakout hits.

Davies wound up living in Tampa's Seminole Heights district with her Beetle, and shot footage locally for Fagbug. Her harassment didn't end when the video tape ran out. While her car was parked in Seminole Heights, someone threw a brick through the window.

I left a phone message with Davies at her home in New York. When she gets in touch, I'll post some of her comments here ASAP. Seems like the movie says it all, though. Worth a look.

The best layoff scenes in movies

Unemployment rates hover at double digits and movie attendance is running about the same rate ahead of 2008 ticket sales. It makes sense to combine the two, as some clever folks at SlateV.com did.

Whether you're independently wealthy, gainfully employed or on the dole, this collection of the best layoff scenes in movies is a kick. I'm partial to the scene from Thirteen Conversations About One Thing, with Alan Arkin as a grumpy boss firing the cheeriest guy in the office, or maybe the kiss-off line from Broadcast News that ends the piece.

Take a look, and add your own suggestions for the best on-screen firing ever.

Oscar winners going 'Sideways' at Studio@620

One of downtown St.Petersburg's cultural staples, Studio@620, is celebrating five years of bringing art, drama, literature, you name it (including my exploitation movie tribute last year) to town.

That deserves a toast with exquisite wine. Or, even better, a movie about exquisite wine presented by its Academy Award-winning screenwriters and nominated co-star. So, that's exactly what artistic directors Bob Devin Jones and David Ellis are doing to mark the occasion.

Oscar winners Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, and actor Virginia Madsen, will present and discuss their 2004 hit Sideways on May 29. Studio@620 is a bit cramped for such a celebration, so the Vinoy Hotel will be the site of this event. Tickets are $50, including the movie, food and, of course, wine.

If that sounds pricey, wait until May 30 when Payne, Taylor and Madsen will appear at Studio@620 for the "620 Sideways Conversation: The Creative Triad." Admission is free for the discussion of creative synergy between writers, actors, and directors, in a format based on Inside the Actors Studio chats. (Payne also directed Sideways, while he and Taylor co-authored screenplays for About Schmidt, Election and Citizen Ruth.) Aspiring artists in those crafts should leap at the chance to hear these folks' experiences.

More on the event as it gets closer ...

Will Packer has another hit on his hands

St. Petersburg native and movie producer Will Packer enjoyed his second No. 1 hit at the box office when Obsession, starring Beyonce Knowles, grossed an estimated $28.5 million over the weekend according to my favorite Web outlet on the subject, Box Office Guru.

Packer, 35, who recently chatted about his steadily rising career, previously guided 2007's stepdancing flick Stomp the Yard to the top spot.

(Photo: St. Petersburg Times)

Happy Monday from Rob Zombie

Ever since The Devil's Rejects creeped me out -- making my top 10 list of 2005's top 10 movies -- Rob Zombie is still one of my guilty movie pleasures. If every other horror filmmaker could balance ruthlessness with sick humor as well, theaters would be much gorier, happier places.

So, you can imagine my joy this morning over discovering this preview trailer for Zombie's H2 -- Halloween 2, if you're not into the whole brevity thing -- in my mailbox. Seems like the perfect, frenzied start to a week beginning with a Matthew McConaughey movie today, ending with Star Trek on Saturday, dealing with the Sunscreen Film Festival (Patrick Wilson's coming to town, you know) and Wolverine in between, plus the usual beat stuff.

More on those diversions later. For now, I'm getting my Zombie on. That, and a pot of coffee to shake out the remaining Buffett concert cobwebs. You had to be there.

Is Susan Boyle the next Mr. Tanner?

Seeing the photo today of the previously dowdy singing sensation Susan Boyle after her not-so-extreme makeover -- and especially the needless fascination on her looks to begin with -- took me back to one of the finest musical storytellers of my generation, the late Harry Chapin.

Always had a soft spot for him, first for his songs (Taxi, WOLD, etc.) then the coincidence of sharing his birthday (Dec. 7). I remember coming home one day in 1981 and my first wife greeted me with the news that Chapin had been killed in an auto accident. I remember slumping against the door frame, and tears that didn't end as I replayed his albums in fan grief.

Chapin's song Mr. Tanner popped into my head when I saw the new Boyle, certainly her next step toward concerts and recordings. Like Boyle, Mr. Tanner was from a small town and "music was his life, it was not his livelihood." Both get their breaks but Mr. Tanner's story doesn't end well. I hope the same doesn't happen to Boyle.

This video may not be the hippest thing on tampabay.com today (or any day, for that matter) but it's something to think about, as Boyle slowly transforms into what people want her to be, which may not be as pleasant as what she was.

Playboy's 'The Drinking Man's Guide to Cinema'

Yes, I still read Hugh Hefner's magazine, even if his sexual revolution has been neutered over the years. I never felt the need to use the timid alibi: "... but only for the articles." Doing that would be like not carrying an umbrella when it rains. Come to think of it, I think the Playboy Advisor once used that analogy for some completely different situation that can't be described here.

But I digress.

This time, it is an article in Playboy that got my mouth watering. Right there on Pages 48 and 49 of this month's issue, a tribute to potent potables (thanks, Alex Trebek) in the movies: "The Drinking Man's Guide to Cinema." It almost makes me forgive the editors for that terrifying photo of Lisa Rinna and her artificially plumped air mattress lips on the cover. Somebody, please, lance those things.

I digress again.

The article lists eight types of booze with preparation tips matching the cocktail recipes used in famous movies. Just pick your poison -- gin, sake/wine, champagne, whiskey, tequila, party punch, beer or "anything and everything" -- and there's a movie and mix to accompany it.

Here's the short version for each. Enjoy, then get into the spirit and leave your own choices for the best movie booze.

Gin: Drink it watching The Thin Man, in which William Powell offers classic martini-shaking advice: "The important thing is the rhythm. Always have rhythm in your shaking. Now, a Manhattan you shake to fox-trot time, a Bronx to two-step time. A dry martini you always shake to waltz time."

Vodka: My favorite call, especially since The Big Lebowski's White Russian is the suggested mix. Kudos for also mentioning Karen Allen's vodka shot throwdowns in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Sake/wine: Sideways and Bottle Shock are merely honorable mentions here. First prize goes to Jackie Chan chugging sake like Popeye eats spinach in The Legend of Drunken Master.

Champagne: Casablanca, for the scene when Humphrey Bogart toasts Ingrid Bergman with "Here's looking at you, kid."

Whiskey: Tough choice when you think about all those saloons and speakeasies through Hollywood history. Playboy makes a bold choice: Bill Murray's impersonation of gonzo author Hunter S. Thompson in Where the Buffalo Roam: "Necessary equipment: Six grapefruit, a bottle of Chivas, a bottle of Wild Turkey, a hunting knife and your attorney."

Tequila: Another great, off-the-wall pick, but appropriately psychotic: Sam Peckinpah's Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, with a photo of the late, great character actor Warren Oates chugging from the bottle.

Party punch: No contest. National Lampoon's Animal House.

Beer: Not sure I agree with Bob and Doug McKenzie quaffing in Strange Brew. Especially if they're going to mention Walter Matthau's Boilermakers in The Bad News Bears.

And finally...

Anything and everything: Face down, the funniest drunk ever in movies, Dudley Moore in Arthur. Necessary equipment: "The contents of a medium-sized liquor store, a steel liver, plenty of friends, no regrets." Playboy also reminds us of Arthur's shot-glass wisdom: "Not all of us who drink are poets. Some of us drink because we're not poets."

Okay, kiddies, bar's open. What's your call?