48 Hour Film Project returns

This weekend, dozens of Tampa Bay's ambitious filmmakers -- and you know who you are -- will partake in a terrific creativity exercise, and maybe jump-start a career or two.

The 48 Hour Film Project is a national contest allowing teams of filmmakers to create a short film in randomly selected categories... with a 48-hour deadline. I wrote about the marathon endeavor and some of the participants last year. Some excerpts from the news release:

"Before the contest begins, each team will get a character, a prop, a line of dialogue and a genre, all to include in their movie. The winning team will be invited to attend the Filmapalooza Awards weekend, held in March (in a city to be announced) and will go on to participate in the second round competition. The contest concludes with a big-screen debut at Channelside Cinemas (on Wednesday, July 23)

"Teams will meet at Limey’s Pub, 1492 4th Street N. in St. Petersburg, before the 48 Hour Film Project begins. Filmmakers will then hit the streets of Tampa Bay to begin filming."

Fun time, fun people, and a fascinating endurance test. Check out my story from last year for a taste.

Does this mean no Cop and a Half 2?

You probably heard that a bunch of new laws went into effect today: motorcycle safety courses for license applicants, higher parking ticket fines, the one declaring Fridays as wet t-shirt optional work days.

I made up that last one.

Anyway, one I'm writing about is the cutbacks in Florida's incentive program that helps to entice film, TV and commercial production in the Sunshine State. Last year's kitty of $25-million were divided among such productions as Marley and Me starring Jennifer Aniston, the USA network series Burn Notice, the comedy Misconceptions filmed in Pinellas County, etc.

Now that fund has been slashed to $5-million for the 2008-2009 fiscal calendar. Suddenly Florida won't seem like such an attractive location for productions that can go elsewhere -- Georgia and Louisiana are growing players -- and save more money.

Don't think that the state film office is just handing out free money. Productions earn rebates of up to 22 percent for their in-state spending; hiring local talent before and behind the cameras, taking rooms at hotels, eating at restaurants, etc.  St. Petersburg/Clearwater film commissioner Jennifer Parramore says the paperwork proves that whatever the fund rebates is earned back by Floridians at a 7-to-1 ratio.

So, last year's $25-million incentives fund put $175-million into Floridians' pockets. That's a lot of income to lose in these tough times.

The cut in funding is due to the same reasons why you're probably not spending as much these days. Thanks to Florida's balanced budget requirements, such cuts have been necessary nearly from top to bottom. But that also means that if/when the economy bounces back, the film/TV subsidies program should quickly bounce back with it.

At least that's what the state film commissioner and Gov. Charlie Crist's deputy press secretary told me. I'll let you know when the story's ready for publication online and in the Times.

Going green with "Hulk" co-writer Mike France

Had a fine time the other night watching The Incredible Hulk with Mike France and his son Tommy, who's growing up with a comic book addiction just like his old man.

France (that's him on the right, next to Marvel mogul Stan Lee) owns Beach Theatre in St. Pete Beach but we met years ago after he co-wrote the screenplay for Ang Lee's Hulk, a lame version of the Marvel Comics superhero that wasn't France's fault. Seems that Lee brought in his favorite writing collaborator, James Schamus, who turned the green-skinned behemoth into a basket case with an Oedipal complex. The action-packed script France and John Turman wrote became one long therapy session.

Disappointed viewers probably caused more wreckage in theaters than Hulk did on screen.

"I never felt that I was getting blamed for it," France told me yesterday. "I was as disappointed, too."

France left Monday night's The Incredible Hulk screening feeling like he had seen the movie he envisioned years ago, combining the drama of Bruce Banner coping with his inner rage and the fun of watching Hulk going postal on anyone in his way. Yet he knows that Universal Pictures has a tougher sell on its hands than a better predecessor would provide.

"There was so much disappointment about having to watch a movie about Banner’s father, and so much joking about that," France said. "It's baggage this film has to overcome.

"That’s why (Universal) came up with the publicity narrative that this is a reboot or a remake, even though it’s very clear to me that it’s a sequel. It’s the same producers, same studio and the characters are in the same places where they were when the first film ended.

“I suspect that because of the baggage from the first film, this movie may not have the same kind of opening weekend. On the other hand, it won’t have the same kind of drop-off, either. People will catch up to it. I think it certainly re-establishes (the franchise) enough to continue with it."

Read more of my conversation with France -- whose credits also include Fantastic Four, The Punisher and Cliffhanger -- on Saturday's Etc. page, 2B.

Local producer swings The Hammer

Had an interesting conversation with Gregory Firestone, a Tampa clinical psychologist credited as an executive producer for The Hammer, starring Adam Carolla as a boxer taking one last chance at ring glory and love.

Firestone did it for family pride -- his second cousins are the film's director and co-producer -- and also because his minor investment in 2001's Kissing Jessica Stein was successful and fun. being an executive producer means he helped secure financing for the $1-million project, primarily from his Harbor Island tennis pals.

Because of the local connections, two screenings of The Hammer are scheduled Friday at 8 and 10 p.m. at Muvico Centro Ybor 20. Tickets are $10, with proceeds benefiting the Tampa Bay chapter of the American Red Cross. Co-star Jeff Lacy, a former IBF champ from St. Petersburg, will host the events.

"It’s exciting that you have a chance to see earlier versions before it first appears in a theater," he said. "It’s interesting to see it take shape in terms of what gets cut out, or what expands; what gets re-shot and what gets added into it.

"What’s most impressive is when you see people working on an indie film, you don’t have the luxury to shoot the same scene over and over. You try to shoot once, twice max, to keep expenses to a minimum. Then to see the quality product that comes out at the end is really quite impressive."

However, even though it's a fine, funny movie, The Hammer only had a few dozen theater engagements along the West Coast where Carolla's radio show is popular. A DVD release is set for June 24.

Firestone couldn't venture a guess about why The Hammer never really answered the bell. "I don’t know if I understand enough of that business to offer and explanation," he said. "There are a lot of films that are made, and people in the position to distribute movies are in the position to pick what they want.

"But it is a challenge. Film distribution can be more expensive than making the film. You need to find somebody with deep pockets. If we had found somebody like that, obviously we would’ve had a bigger release than we did. You have to put a lot of money into promoting a movie, to get any attention."

(Bloodstained) Ladies of the Night

Maybe it isn't your cup of entrails tea but there's a FREE double feature of locally produced horror flicks Saturday night at the University of South Florida's Tampa campus. Rick Danford of Enigma Films, in association with the university's film and video club and Hocus Pocus Productions are footing the bill.

The shows start at 6 p.m. with Alarum, starring local actor and model Krista Grotte, who I think I ogled at a previous splatter flick festival. She has, ummm, talent. Krista plays a woman besieged by mental illness after a lifetime of sexual abuse. It's a good bet that somebody's gonna pay dearly for that.

Around 8 p.m., you can see Savaged starring Debbie Rochon -- who has 151 horror film credits, according to IMDb -- as a woman hiding from her ex-boyfriend, and whose dog becomes fiercely protective of her.  There's a killer bear in the woods and a possible psycho on her tail, so expect things to get messy.

Rochon (pictured at right with Dee Snider)will attend and conduct a Q&A session after the movie. The evening also includes a number of preview trailers for upcoming (and unbecoming) gore productions including The Black Devil Doll. Not sure what that is but "he'll" be appearing to present an adults-only scene from the movie.

Folks, when these amiable maniacs take time to tell you something is "adults only," I'd take them seriously.

Get all the information you need here.

Adam Carolla nails The Hammer

If you're like me, you only know Adam Carolla from his overtly sexist humor alongside Jimmy Kimmel on The Man Show, or his irreverent approach to Terpsicorian (is that a word?) talent on Dancing with the Stars.

If so, you'd be a surprised as I was by his performance in The Hammer, an independently produced romantic comedy/boxing movie that somehow doesn't have any distributor with enough faith in a wider release. Carolla came up with the story idea based on his experiences as boxer, and for an old dude he still has skillz. Carolla was also a carpenter, which makes his character Jerry Ferro a dual-pronged example of role intimacy paying off.

Jerry gets fired from a job he didn't like anyway, working off his aggressions at a boxing gym. He gets taunted by a title contender (St. Petersburg's former IBF champ Jeff Lacy) and responds with a knockout left hook. A trainer putting together the U.S. Olympic Team sees it and convinces Jerry that at age 40 he can finally be a contender, if he'll work hard enough.

"You're just one of those 95-percenters who never gives everything he's got," the trainer tells Jerry.

"No, I'm a 75-percenter but I'm giving you and extra 20 percent," Jerry replies, with Carolla's knack for dribbling sarcasm from the corner of his mouth like beer foam.

Jerry falls in love, faces his challenges and becomes one of the most endearing lugs I've seen on screen in a while.  The Hammer should be in every megaplex but without a distribution deal (it got some play in L.A. and other western states where Carolla has a radio following) it looks like home video will be your best chance.

That is, unless you visit Muvico Centro Ybor 20 this Friday, June 6. The Hammer will be shown twice at 8 and 10 p.m. Tickets are $10 with all proceeds going to the Tampa Bay chapter of the American Red Cross. Lacy will be there hosting the shows.

Why are we so fortunate? because the executive producer of The Hammer is Carrollwood resident and clinical psychologist Gregory Firestone, who I'll profile in a column Friday on the Etc. page 2B.

Good movie, great cause.

What's The Deal with William H. Macy?

Academy Award nominee William H. Macy’s fifth visit to the Sarasota Film Festival next week won’t be as leisurely as before.

In past years, Macy touted TV-movies that already had network slots, picked up a career achievement award then watched his wife Felicity Huffman awarded the same.

Macy also made friends who helped finance The Deal, an inside-Hollywood satire opening the 10-day festival on April 4. Tickets for that event and others are available at the festival Web site.

Investors and friends they wish to impress will attend opening night, in a social scene where impressions are everything. Nearly half of the film’s $8-million budget was raised in Sarasota and Manatee Counties (plus Chicago and New York), from well-heeled silent partners adding a touch of Hollywood to their lives.

“There’s an astounding amount of money in that part of the state,” Macy said during a telephone interview. “People would give us their cards and say: ‘If you ever want to make a movie, maybe I’d be interested in investing.’

“Well, the joke was on them because we kept the cards.”

Macy co-wrote the screenplay for The Deal with director Steven Schachter, ironically starring as a conniving movie producer desperately seeking a hit. Macy approached his first hands-on producer’s credit with humility and transparency his film character wouldn’t understand.

“For the first time, I was the one looking people in the eye, saying: ‘Give me your money and I think we’ll get it back,’” Macy said. “That comes with a heavy responsibility. My reputation and my word are on the line.”

On the phone, Macy sounds like the kind of guy I'd trust with a few thousands of my dollars, if I had any to spare. Read the rest of his interview Friday in Floridian, advancing the Sarasota festival opening next week.

Don't get too close to the monitor...

... I'm not sure if I'm contagious or not. Been laid low the past few days with this creeping crud that my boss, The Divine Ms. S, apparently passed off to me Saturday night at the Sunscreen Film Festival. She has been trying to get me to take a day off for a while but it didn't work; I just wrote at home.

Between emptying my phlegm spittoon and scaring the pets with my banshee coughs, I neglected to mention how much fun Sunscreen's presentation of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation turned out to be.

Picture and sound clarity was what you'd expect from middle-schoolers shooting with Betamax equipment 25 years ago; maybe straining my ears contributed to the nose and throat problems later. But the word that kept popping into my mind was: "fearless." Those kids had absolutely no idea of what they shouldn't have been able to do, or that lawyers might object, or that fire stunts can kill.

When it ended, I waited to chat with director Eric Zala -- now approaching middle age -- and got a kick out of two boys, just about his age when Raiders was remade, looking up at him like he was some kind of superhero. The spark of a dream, perhaps, and I couldn't avoid smiling.

Also wanted to drop in the Sunscreen festival's award winners, announced after the Raiders screening.

I was very pleased to see Holler Back: (Not) Voting in an American Town take the best documentary prize. Of all the Sunscreen entries (and I didn't see them all), that one seems to have the best chance of breaking into the mainstream.

Broke Sky was named best feature, while The Art of Pain took the audience award (perhaps because it had much of its avuncular cast attending and they stuffed the ballot box).

Best Florida Film award, named for Sunscreen patrons Stan and Cindy Heitman, went to Pawn'd, a Clerks-style comedy set in a pawn shop.

Michael Knowles was named best director for One Night (one I missed).

Other prizes were awarded to Through Any Window (best music video... and it starred The Office's hottie Jenna Fischer), Glitch (best animated film), and Rabia (best short).

Overall, a nice step forward for Sunscreen, although co-founder Tony Armer's prediction of thousands attending was obviously exaggerated -- which a Gasparilla Film Festival spokesman gladly pointed out to me in an e-mail. Maybe one sign that Tampa Bay is becoming a nice place for festivals isn't the number we have but the competitive sniping to ensue as each tries to stake out its territory.

Sunscreen film fest underway

The third annual Sunscreen Film Festival, a showcase of barely discovered cinema talent continues through Saturday at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club in St. Petersburg.

Seventy-three film and video works – shorts, documentaries and features – crowd the Sunscreen festival. Complete information is available on the festival Web site.

Tonight’s 8 p.m. centerpiece is the world premiere of Matt Brookens’ The Art of Pain, a dark comedy that errs on the side of ambition – which isn’t always a bad thing. Brookens is a fanboy breezing through genres – kung fu, rom-com, zombies, Kevin Smith buddy flicks, etc. -- proving he can ably replicate and spoof them, in service of a slowly congealing plot.

Jack (Anders Erickson) is a budding artist working at a movie theater alongside his girlfriend (Lauren Bishop) and a comic-book geek (Greg Brookens). A new employee (John LaFlamboy) is a ninja school washout believing that ruining Jack’s life will enhance his art. It doesn’t need to be every aspect of Jack’s life but Brookens insists, sprucing up repetition with eye-catching animation and fantasy sequences.

The Art of Pain is emblematic of a first-showcase festival like Sunscreen; obviously the result of talent and ingenuity yet likely not a breakout effort. But it does entertain and can possibly inspire other filmmakers. Brookens’ movie and his future are worth watching.

Friday highlights include the voter apathy documentary Holler Back: (Not) Voting  in an American Town (2:45 p.m.), and the world premiere of Screw Cupid (5:30), a romantic comedy crisply written and directed by Sanjeev Sirpal.

Friday also offers the first showing of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation (9:30), a shot-by-shot remake of Steven Spielberg’s classic, done by three Mississippi teenagers in the 1980’s. This underground sensation plays again Saturday at 6:30 p.m., the final screening before the closing night party at 8:45.

Sunscreen is also about educating film artists, with seminars planned on subjects ranging from screenwriting (Friday, 4 p.m.) and distribution tactics (Saturday, 10 a.m.) to nailing that acting audition (today, 10 a.m.).

Of course, there are parties including tonight’s Fort Pastor concert at State Theater, 687 Central Ave in St. Petersburg. Tickets are $10 for the 8 p.m. show. Friday night’s shindig is a Central Ave. block party between 2nd and 4th streets where filmmakers will mingle. Admission is free with cash bars up and down the street.

Going back to Indiana (Jones)

Betcha can't wait for that Indiana Jones sequel this summer, when we find out if the years and mileage have been kind to Harrison Ford.

You can recall Indy as a younger man --€“ actually, a middle-school kid -- at the third annual Sunscreen Film Festival, held March 19-22 in St. Petersburg.

In 1982, three Mississippi preteen boys were so enthralled by Raiders of the Lost Ark that they decided to remake it, shot-by-shot using a rented video camera, makeshift props and a lot of spunk. They were voting age when they finished.

Steven Spielberg spent a year and $26-million making Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Eric Zala, Jayson Lamb and Chris Strompolos did it for $5,000 during seven summer vacations.

Zala, now 37, directed the remake and played Belloq the bad guy. He’ll explain how it all happened at two Sunscreen showings of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation on March 21 and 22. Details and tickets for those events and others are available on the festival Web site.

"€œIt'€™s very cool to have the best parts of your childhood set in order to John Williams'€™ music,"€ said Zala by telephone from Washington, D.C. where his movie was being shown at the Smithsonian Institution.

That's a better gig than the Coca-Cola bottling plant where the remake played once in 1989 to 200 friends and family members before being stashed it away for 15 years. Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation resurfaced at an Austin, Tex. film festival in 2003 when director Eli Roth (Hostel) brought a VHS copy and suggested it as a time-filler.

Zala told me a karmically amusing story about the projector breaking down shortly before an advance screening of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, making a sold-out audience antsy. Someone plugged in Roth’s copy for amusement. The crowd warmed to it, even booed when the projector was fixed, stopping the video tape before they could see Strompolos mimic Indy'€™s famous truck-chase fight.

"That'€™s the highest compliment I can think of," Zala said.

Check Friday's Floridian for, as Paul Harvey says, the rest of the story.

Kelly Preston gets down on her knees for me

Okay, so it wasn't like Tom Cruise rushing to the aid of a car accident victim, but maybe there's something about Scientology when it comes to just being nice to strangers.

Last night at Push Ultra Lounge, I had an embarrassing moment when introduced to John Travolta and Kelly Preston, who were there to support the upcoming Sunscreen Film Festival. While shaking hands, I fumbled my digital voice recorder -- do they have to make modern technology so darn small? -- and it skittered on the floor underneath who knows what, in all that chic nightclub darkness that an old fogey like me isn't accustomed to.

Anyway, it only a 7-minute or so chat, so the old school scribble-on-a-notepad routine had to do, and did pretty well, I think.

When our interview ended, Travolta and Preston were called away by a p.r. rep to schmooze with other guests, giving me a chance to peek under the couches for my recorder (do they have to make modern comfort so darn short and cramped?)

But Preston stayed behind, asking security for a flashlight to make the search easier. I thanked her and said I'd take care of it, so she should go and have fun. I got down on the floor, peering under the furniture. My eyes scanned at floor level until they zeroed in on Preston's bent knees pointed at me, her hair cascading to the floor while she scanned at the same level. (No Scientology puns intended.)

"Kelly, get up, don't do that," I pleaded, not wanting to embarrass her (or me) any further. She wouldn't stop trying to help, though. Within seconds that felt like minutes, a flashlight arrived and we found the recorder -- in a spot where it shouldn't logically have ended up, but where Preston had pointed out as a possibility before. Feeling a bit psychic, too?

Anyway, thanks again Mrs. Travolta. The move wasn't exactly classy but the intent surely was.

 

Sunscreen screenings

While prepping for tonight's Sunscreen Film Festival kickoff soiree with John Travolta -- an affair closed to the public, so don't even try -- I'm checking out screener dvds of several Sunscreen entries.

The festival runs from March 19-22, mostly at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort (but not the Golf Club since all those screens would interfere with the game). You can find info at the festival Web site. Here are a few dvd impressions, so far:

The opening night centerpiece (7 p.m. @ Baywalk 20) is Thomas L. Callaway's Broke Sky, a Coenesque mystery with all the exaggerated characters and eccentric touches that description suggests. Callaway's idolatry of the Coens is evident, and his osmosis of films like Blood Simple (for the drama) and Raising Arizona (for the comedy) mostly pays off.

Bucky (Will Wallace) and Earl (Joe Unger) work for a Texas county's animal control department, making the first 30 minutes a roadkill primer, setting up a silly, gross vibe. The guys' quirky personal problems and solutions just begin to get stale when the mystery kicks in. A hitchhiker they picked up is discovered dead in a well. Bucky wants to call the sheriff but Earl won't, for reasons he won't discuss.

Right away we're suspicious, so Callaway must go to some highly improbable lengths to justify another hour of making us wonder. Meanwhile, he needs to return to subplots with Bucky's dying-to-be-pregnant wife and Earl's grungy father (Bruce Glover in full effect grotesqueness). The resolution is a head-shaker but the path to it hints at a filmmaker with talent.

Broke Sky is stranger than the non-fiction Sunscreen selections I've seen.

Adrian Belic's Beyond the Call (March 22, 12:45 p.m.) follows a humanitarian trio to international hotspots. Ed Artis is a former helicopter gunner giving away live-saving supplies for 30 years. He's joined by financial backer Dr. Jim Laws and revenues manager Walt Ratterman. The documentary focuses upon their work from Afghanistan (that began before 9/11) to the Philippines where discount offers for medical supplies stuns U.S. Army reps. From its first shots to a Taiwan emergency, Belic's documentary is an engrossing world tour of compassion and modest heroism.

Inside the Handy Writers' Colony (March 22, 2:45 p.m.) is a treasure trove for literature buffs, a profile of the writers refuge built in the 1950s by Lowney Handy, not far from the birthplace of From Here to Eternity author James Jones, a colony charter member. Jane Alexander narrates Handy's writings about nurturing Jones through that novel, and the growth of her influence on other inspired writers until her death. Without any distractions, this creative commune and its results is inspiring to anyone longing to be a writer.

Holler Back: (Not) Voting in an American Town is an interesting civics lesson, focused on a Pennsylvania county in 2004 during a tight election season. Filmmaker Lulu Fries'dat follows Republican and Democratic advocates from other states who converge to swing voter turnout in their party's favor.  That begs the question of why voters need to be arm-twisted into casting ballots. Holler Back... spends a lot of time with those folks, asking why they aren't involved. A broken political system inspires the advocates while discouraging the non-voters, and Fries'dat confidently, fairly breaks it down.

Closer to home, Jamin Griffith's  FEMA City chronicles tough times in Charlotte County after Hurricane Charley passed through in 2004. Three years later, temporary housing and permanent hardship is still everywhere. Griffith's exploration -- not expose' since the material is so familiar -- is solid, if unspectacular human interest videojournalism.

More to come when I have time to check out more screeners.

 

Gasparilla Film Festival closing night winners & fotos

Just got back from the closing night party for the Gasparilla Film Festival, and those folks have something to celebrate. The final numbers will be forthcoming but executive director John Rosser told me they're looking at three times last year's ticket sales -- a nice leap from practically nowhere.

Looks like Tampa (and ...Bay by extension, if you don't mind traffic) has a solid foundation for future film festival success.

The shindig at Florida Aquarium was packed, a bit pickled and proud of the past five days.

Lots of nice people to chat up, including "rising star" award winner Brittany Snow (Hairspray, the upcoming Prom Night update) and Shane West (ER, League of Extraordinary Boredom uhhh, Gentlemen) who earned a special acting prize for What We Do is Secret, in which he plays Darby Crash, lead singer of the 70's punk band, the Germs. (Snow and West share a laugh at right.)

Awards were presented to Gunn Highway for best locally produced film, young filmmaker Nadia Samova (twice for Oneiric), and The Flock, a Richard Gere thriller that needed chairs moved into an auditorium Saturday night to accommodate the overflow crowd. The Flock is produced by Bauer-Martinez Studios -- which has offices worldwide including right here in Largo. BMS president Phillippe Martinez (at left) accepted the award.

Other winners included American Fork (grand jury prize), the trucker documentary Big Rig (grand jury special mention), Fly Boys (audience choice, best narrative),  Tocar y Luchar (audience choice, best documentary)  and Ariel Kiebble with a special mention acting prize for Daydreamer.

BTW: Daydreamer is written by Adam Sigal, who reminded me that we once conversed in a St. Petersburg College film studies class about the works of Stanley Kubrick. The former Clearwater resident is doing well in L.A. now, regularly playing poker with roommates Paul and West. He's sending me a DVD screener of Daydreamer since I couldn't make the Sunday screening.

What? No award for the Blood Feast retrospective? Hey, we cleaned up the screen. (photos to come when Hope ships 'em to me.)

Big props go to Rosser and festival prez Eric Odum, who came up with this great idea last year and just needed someone savvy like Rosser to make it happen.

Time to resurrect the spirit of Ishtar

No, not Warren Beatty/Dustin Hoffman's debacle. But it makes sense that the Egyptian god revived by cannibalized body parts in Blood Feast was named Ishtar long before the movie Ishtar became cinematic road kill.

This is the day I've been waiting for, as have the smartest of you. Tonight we unleash the groundbreaking gore film Blood Feast at the second annual Gasparilla Film Festival. They even named the event GASParilla for the evening in honor of our esteemed guests, director Herschell Gordon Lewis and producer David F. Friedman. These two ballyhoo legends will accompanying the 45th anniversary screening at 9 p.m., and take questions from yours truly after the show.

This is going to be one for the scrapbooks, folks.

Before that extravaganza, though, the festival has plenty of films slated including an assortment of short films at 5:30 p.m. in honor of National Womens Month. I had a chance to preview one titled Loose Ends, directed by Rachel Gordon, and it's a delightful story of a woman who is the victim of identity theft -- both financially and personally -- who gets one of those problems straightened out in briskly humorous fashion.

Check out today's events at Channelside, or one of three showings of the shark documentary Requiem at Florida Aquarium just down the street. The Gasparilla Film Festival wraps up Sunday with a full day of films and the closing night gala at the Big Fish Tank.

Before the fun, though, Princess Di and I will join hundreds of others at the celebration of life for our dear, departed friend, WTSP-TV weatherman Dick Fletcher. Godspeed, bud.

Tampa Bay Jewish Film Festival announces lineup

The 12th Annual Tampa Bay Jewish Film Festival will run March 4-19 at theaters around Tampa Bay including the Tampa Theatre, Baywalk Muvico in St. Petersburg, and at the University of South Florida Health Sciences Auditorium.

The lineup includes a dozen feature-length films and two shorts, all focused upon the international Jewish experience. 

Film descriptions, directions to theaters and advance purchase tickets are available online at the Tampa JCC website at www.jewishtampa.com or the Golda Meir/Kent Jewish Center website at www.gmkjc.org.

The opening night 7 p.m. centerpiece at Tampa Theatre is Making Trouble, director Rachel Talbot's documentary tribute to six legendary American Jewish women comedians: Molly Picon, Fanny Brice (don't rain on her parade), Sophie Tucker, Joan Rivers (well, they can't all be funny), Wendy Wasserstein and Saturday Night Live legend Gilda Radner.

(What? No Sarah Silverman? Must be because she's boffing Matt Damon.)

The careers of these women are discussed by a quartet of four leading Jewish comedians - Judy Gold, Jackie Hoffman, Cory Kahaney and Jessica Kirson who, according to the news release: "meet in New York's Katz's Delicatessen in a scenario straight out of Woody Allen's Broadway Danny Rose."

Kahaney, a Last Comic Standing finalist, will appear at the opening night screening to discuss her craft. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 on day-of-show. There's a reception, too.

All other screenings are $5 if purchased in advance, $8 at the door with discounts for seniors and students. All-screening festival passes are available to anyone donating donate $150 or more.

Sarasota Film Festival announces 2008 lineup

Now 10 years old, the Sarasota Film Festival is one of the most respected in the U.S. I've had a lot of great times there, from interviewing the late director Robert Altman to pissing off Oscar winning screenwriter Robert Towne, from meeting Joe Bob Briggs to sharing smokes with Justin Long (the Mac guy, Dodgeball, Live Free or Die Hard) and Alan Tudyk (Dodgeball, Death at a Funeral) before anyone knew who they are. You don't want to know what I saw Joe Pantoliano doing last year.

This year's edition -- running April 4-13 -- looks like the Sarasota folks aren't through building their reputation. The lineup includes sidebar tribute to Israel@60: The Diaspora and Beyond, the late Ingmar Bergman and his favorite star, Liv Ullmann, a career achievement fete for Stanley Tucci (I have to talk to him about The Imposters, one of the sorely underrated films of the past few years). Tucci will be introduced by Steve Buscemi, who as we all know from Reservoir Dogs doesn't tip.

Oscar winner Charlize Theron will also be honored on closing night, along with producer Ted Hope (In the Bedroom, The Savages).

We'll also have a chance to see The Deal, an inside-Hollywood satire co-produced by festival director Jody Kielbasa with frequent Sarasota visitor William H. Macy, who stars. That's the opening night offering; Macy, co-stars Meg Ryan and LL Cool J are listed as maybes to attend.

We'll see the Oscar-nominated foreign film Mongol, Oscar winner Helen Hunt's directorial debut, Then She Found Me. And that's just skimming the surface of the offerings.

There are events aimed squarely at children, student filmaking and too many chances for celebrity brushes to list. Oh yeah: Sarasota throws down some great parties, too.

Check out the festival Web site for information and ticket sales. It's an hour or so drive that'll take you worlds away.

Gasparilla goes Kabluey

What a terrific start to the second annual Gasparilla Film Festival last night. Around 800 people crammed into Tampa Theatre for the opening night shindig featuring Kabluey, a very good comedy written and directed by its star, Scott Prendergast, and produced by Berkeley Prep and Harvard graduate Jeff Balis.

Funny, the word "kabluey" came to mind a year ago when the Gasparilla festival never really got off the ground last year. Last night, I told executive director John Rosser -- hired for the salvaging job after last year's disappointment -- that he's the MVP in an impressive comeback story.

Rosser and president Eric Odum told me that online tickets sales for the festival -- running through Sunday with most screenings at Channelside Cinemas --- have already doubled last year's attendance.
That's what happens with a more attractive film lineup, a touch of stardust and a smartly executed marketing scheme. I have a gut feeling this festival is here to stay.

I also have a feeling Kabluey will return this summer. At least that's the timetable Sony Pictures Entertainment mentioned to Balis, who's pushing for a hometown engagement whenever. The Gasparilla folks had a rare chance Wednesday to make a second first impression. Choosing Kabluey was a wise decision.

Kabluey follows a slack-jawed slacker named Salman (Prendergast) as he attempts to help his sister-in-law (another solid Lisa Kudrow performance) take care of two hellion sons while his brother serves in Iraq. Salman takes a job at her failing computer company, passing around leaflets while hilariously dressed as a corporate mascot.

The comedy ranges from broad (those kids could bring spanking back in style) to wonderfully absurd -- the corporate mascot costume Salman wears leads to visual gags reminiscent of the Coen brothers at their zaniest. Kabluey veers from slapstick to drama and never too far either way. I was expecting a so-so effort and came away thinking this is my favorite new movie in an admittedly young movie year.

The good feelings carried over to a Sangria-fueled gathering at nearby Spain restaurant, which is really only the size of Portugal in a relative sense. Chatted up some folks including Balis' former Berkeley Prep teacher and enduring mentor Kathi Grau , known to Gasparilla parade watchers as the flamboyant Mama Guava. Kathi has led the procession for 22 years, so larger than life that she surprised me by being so short.

The festival continues today at Channelside at 5 p.m. with Autism: The Musical, followed by a collection of short films, a documentary about comedian Judy Toll, the first of the fest's Latin Panorama selections and the 70's sexual revolution satire Viva.

Friday night, the theater vwill be jammed with Florida State University football fans when the Bobby Bowden profile The Good Fight is shown. Times sportswriter Brian Landman published an interesting interview with director George Butler today.

Check out today's Weekend section for a festival preview. Tomorrow's Floridian includes my interview with Blood Feast creator Herschell Gordon Lewis in advance of Saturday night's 45th anniversary screening where I'll be conducting  a Q&A with him and producer David F. Friedman. You'll also find an interview with closing night honoree Brittany Snow (Hairspray), like Balis another hometown product made good.

 

Sunscreen Film Festival schedule is announced

Sunscreen Film Festival Executive Director Tony Armer announced in a recent news release that the schedule for the March 19-22 event has been posted on the festival's website.

Armer said that this is the biggest festival to date with 73 films being screened.

I'm looking forward to Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation, a remake of Indiana Jones' first adventure started by three Mississippi boys ages 11, 12, and 13, and finally finished seven years later. Spielberg himself loved it, and now Sunscreen audiences have a chance to see why.

More from the Sunscreen news release: The festival will show 15 films made in Florida and five others by Floridians now working out of the state.

There are two workshops -- on screenwriting and auditioning actors -- on the schedule.

Screenwriters will have the opportunity to get some pointers from an impressive panel of experts: action flick writer, Steven DeSouza (Commando, Die Hard), author Karl Iglesias (The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters and Writing for Emotional Impact), and academy award nominee Timothy J. Sexton (Children of Men). The 90-minute symposium takes place Friday, March 21 at 4 pm, free to the general public.

Read more at the festival Web site linked above.

Notes from the not-far-enough underground

Hoo, baby, what a week. It's always that way as the Oscars approach and a bunch of pre-show stuff needs to be created, because that's when everyone wants to plan and promote their favorite film festival, or plug some other endeavor, or release a rash of movies that won't matter by March.

Toss in my round of Florida hazard insurance hassles, home equity bargaining and Mom's birthday (with Princess Di's coming Sunday) and you see why I've been out of touch.

Of course, anyone who knows me knows I'm happiest when I'm busy. This week, I've been positively ecstatic. Just ask everyone. Yeah, right.

Now it's Friday and I only have one 10 a.m. screening of Vantage Point and three reviews to take care of. It's also Third Friday in Safety Harbor, which means tonight I'll be seated by a fire pit at Heather's Place downtown, slurping sangria and shrimp with Princess Di and Mojo. Every day is Valentines Day with those two around.

Shameless plugs: You must see next Thursday's Weekend section when our Oscars preview will be published. We've always done it the day of the show but I thought I'd give Oscar office pool players the full benefit of my expertise with a head start. Don't want to spoil the angle because the competition might pull out a wire story with a similar theme and call that matching coverage.

But thanks to our crack design team -- or are those designers on crack? -- plus an editor far too easily impressed sometimes, and me, of course, we have a cool package coming in Weekend. Actually, you can get an early Oscar buzz Monday when page 1A features my "5 questions feature" on the subject. Those Q&A things usually focus on comparable issues like, oh, war, famine, recession, casino gambling, those kinds of things. You can see where the movie biz fits in.

Web maestro Steve Spears came unstuck from the 80's long enough to record a Oscars podcast with me that should debut this weekend. Of course, we could only talk about Academy Award winners from his favorite decade. I haven't thought about Out of Africa that much in... well, ever.

We're ironing out next Sunday night's strategy to cover the Oscars live for Monday. Looks like music  critic Sean Daly will be assisting on this blog with live commentary. He owes me after asking for my suggestion of Valentines Day gift to his Forever Fiancee: "Give her a week off from lusting after pop tarts on your blog." That's romance.

I'm hoping Princess Di will add a laptop for my over-the-shoulder wisecracks while typing the stories. I always need the right side of my brain involved.

But at the moment I'm on my own and running behind. I'll post some impressions later of the three flicks I'm reviewing: Charlie Bartlett (think Ferris Bueller with prescription drugs and a conscience), Be Kind Rewind (a cool idea done wrong and too long) and Vantage Point.

No matter how long it takes, no matter how far, I will find you.  

Gasparilla Film Fest looks good

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.

Misconceptions reception

Just got back from the wrap party for Misconceptions, the indie flick filmed in Pinellas County for the past 6 weeks by Ron Satlof, an Eckerd College professor now since his days directing for TV.

Nice get-together at the Don CeSar, in a fifth floor reception room with a patio overlooking tourists who can't believe they're sunbathing in February, and a bartender who's a Patriots fan and didn't fully grasp the magnificence of my Super Bowl squares game success. (Sony Pictures Classics co-president Tom Bernard isn't my only wagering victim this year.)

But I went to see a few minutes of early footage of Misconceptions, which was good enough to make me think this is a little film that can.

Misconceptions, if you haven't paid attention, is a dramedy about a gay couple (Orlando Jones is one half, with a solid role on the page and in the clips) striking an agreement with a deeply religious woman (A.J. Cook) to carry their child because she thinks God wants her to, despite their "Sodomite" ways. There are other characters involved, making this a gentle satire of gay rights and Christian opposition but not at anyone's expense unless you wish to be militant.

Anyway, the movie looks like it has potential, maybe on the gay festival circuit if it's underestimated and at the very least regional, straight festivals if it isn't. Everyone with the proper apparatus can relate to the fertility clinic clip, at least.

Misconceptions was filmed on a $500,000 budget (according to Satlof) with a lot of Eckerd volunteers and as many people working for less money than they deserve. Most of them were at the Don, and standing off to the side watching them share their accomplishment was pretty cool.

Satlof made sure to tell everyone the clips shown didn't have his final cut seal of approval. I sneaked a few looks at his face and could sense he was mostly pleased but has a few editing room ideas. Funny, but I met him 5 weeks ago and learned he is a vigorous person for age 69. He looked younger Wednesday, showing off his (and co-writer Ira Pearlstein's) baby.

He'll be heading into post-production now, hoping to have Misconceptions ready to show to distributors at fall/winter festivals. Wish him luck.

Sunscreen gets a shot of Hairspray

Just received this news release from the upcoming, up-and-coming Sunscreen Film Festival:

The Executive Producers of the Sunscreen Film Festival are pleased to announce that this March, actor and Florida resident John Travolta will join local filmmakers and film festival supporters for a reception celebrating the launch of the Film Festival's third season.

"People who know me know that I am a great believer in the creative process, and I am excited to be a part of something that is honoring the next generation of film makers," Travolta said. "I love living in Florida and want to see more films made here – this is what Sunscreen is working toward and I support what they are doing."

The Sunscreen Film Festival shows selections of films made by Florida filmmakers. This year it received 47 submissions for the Florida category among 240 entries.

The Festival will be held in St. Petersburg March 19 – 22 at the Renaissance Vinoy Hotel and at the Baywalk Muvico, a short walk from the Vinoy. Tony Armer, Executive Director of the Festival, said that the support of Mr. Travolta and others is taking the Festival to a new level. "Each year Sunscreen grows and attracts more attention," he added.

"We are extremely grateful and honored by this support from Mr. Travolta, an accomplished artist and an industry leader. He is making a tremendous contribution."

/////////

Anyone wishing to attend the March 4 reception will need to do the same. Attendance is limited to festival organizers, filmmakers and assorted VIPs, although a limited number of seats are available for a $500 donation to Sunscreen coffers. Call Harry Chittenden at (727) 420-0566 for information.

Extras! Extras! read all about it

There's a movie being partially filmed at Eckerd College called Misconceptions, which at least isn't one of the zombie flick productions that usually crosses my voice mail. This one sounds promising, and they need extras looking for possible screen time without pay (so all you folks who think you're entitled because you were an extra on Hulk Hogan's nondescript action TV series need not apply, or complain).

Not Punisher promising, or even Cop and a Half. But something that locals can have a little fun with, and follow like a T-ball player who might make the majors someday.

Misconceptions is billed as a drama-comedy about people with problems conceiving children. The synopsis contains all kinds of buzzwords for an election year such as "red states, blue states", "surrogate mother," "legally gay couple," etc. No telling at this time what they'll do with such topics.

Anyway, there's a shoot Friday at 12:45 p.m. at Eckerd's Bininger Theatre on campus that needs extras. The scene(s) are for a ballet performance inside the theater, so dress for such an occasion. Don't wear red or white because the experts say they don't show up well on camera (ask the kid from Schindler's List, or Jessica Lange in All That Jazz). Don't wear anything that will attract attention because Orlando Jones (Mad TV, Evolution, 7-Up commercials) is the star and that wouldn't be polite.

Anyway, it'll be a chance to feel part of something that someday could be some kind of big. Contact Katharine Johnson at johnsoke@eckerd.edu for information.

There will be a news conference Friday that I'll attend, to see what this thing is all about. Stop by and say hello. I'll be the one wearing a red and white, frilly lace top hat.

Clearwater native offers a free movie

Just passing along this news release that crossed my computer today:

Clearwater, FL., December 6, 2007 – In an effort to tell the story of the 1970s Cambodian Holocaust, native Clearwater filmmaker, Steve McClure is holding a free screening of his film, Saturday, December 22nd at the Clearwater Cinema Cafe, 24085 US 19N, Clearwater, FL.  Doors open at 12:30pm with a full menu and bar available.  The screening begins immediately at 1pm. 

Rain Falls from Earth is a story of courage, a story of survival and a story of eventual triumph over the Communist regime that was responsible for the deaths of over 2 million people. The voices of many Cambodians are heard as they convey their thoughts, ideas and emotions—the very things they were forced to abandon in the “killing fields” of Cambodia. Narrated by Academy Award nominated actor, Sam Waterston, this film gives a voice to those whose lives were senselessly lost.

“We were very fortunate to have Sam lend his voice to the film”, says Writer/Director, Steve McClure, who has been working on the project for over seven years.  “It’s been quite an undertaking, but I’m very proud of the finished product.  I’m hoping the personal stories told in this film will help educate the public and raise awareness of the tragic events that happened just a short time ago.”

Steve McClure is a director/producer based in Denver, Colorado.  McClure attended the University of South Florida, obtaining a degree in Mass Communications.

Gotham Awards go "Wild," pass on "Cass"

The first major awards of 2007 were presented last night in New York City, with Sean Penn's Into the Wild chosen as best feature film at the Gotham Awards. Also good to see talented actor Ellen Page (Hard Candy) win a breakthrough performance award for the spunky comedy Juno, which I'll tell you about soon.

Read the Hollywood Reporter's account of the Gotham Awards evening here.

One thing HR didn't cover was the category of Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You, spotlighting little movies that could, if some distributor ever gives them a chance.

One of the nominees was Loren Cass, the  St. Petersburg-set drama written, directed and edited by Chris Fuller. Alas, Loren Cass was gassed by Ronald Bronstein's Frownland.

Check out IndieWire's better-than-HR coverage of the Gothams.

They found comedy in the Muslim world

Got a story running Friday's Floridian about the Comics on Duty program created by Houston resident Rich Davis. He arranges tours of Iraq and Afghanistan war zones for stand-up comedians to entertain U.S. troops.

Two familiar Coconuts Comedy Club favorites are frequent COD entertainers: Danny Bevins and John Bizarre. Along with two other comics and local producer Tom Gribbin, they shot an hour-long documentary of their most recent trip titled We Love You, Mrs. Bevins.

You can view the trailer here.

The movie is only available on line but will be shown Nov. 14 at 9:30 p.m. at Beach Theater. Admission is $5 for a polished amateur movie about a good cause for troops deserving a little comic relief.

Davis told me he doesn't have any trouble finding comedians willing to give up a few weeks' gigs to  make 'em laugh.

"I literally turn away dozens of comics each month because I don’t have slots for them," Davis said. "I don’t have an unending budget. My programs are run by individual commands requesting us. There are a lot of comics who want to step up but a lot of them aren’t ready for that, for the situations they’ll be put in. That’s not to say they won’t be able to someday but with so few slots I have to pick and choose."

Davis said his charge to Army and Navy entertainment agencies isn't much. Comics on Duty is a nearly non-profit organization.

"This is not a $700 hammer," he cracked.

Bevins recalled one show at a helicopter base, before a group that didn't want to leave.

"We did the show and they wanted to keep talking to us," Bevins said. "We ended up in a dining facility with one light on, a table of people talking and laughing and eating ice cream. I’ll never forget that. Everybody was laughing, having a good time. If we were back home we’d probably be drinking beer but there’s no beer over there."

Check out the rest of the story Friday.

Been distracted, but...

What a weekend, starting Friday with work on an upcoming story you'll like. Local entertainment entrepreneur Tom Gribbin -- you'll remember him from the Saltwater Cowboys that Jimmy Buffett loved -- produced a cool documentary.

Four standup comedians including local favorites Danny Bevins and John Bizarre shot in in Iraq while entertaining troops as part of the Comics on Duty program. More on that project later, and the full story in Friday's Weekend.

Friday night, I went back home again to New Port Richey for an informal reunion with guys I played football with at Gulf High in the mid-1970s. Pretty good turnout, considering we won six games in three years. Nothing much changed with the wisecracks and poptops. Gotta tell you the best part of the evening, though, was when we resurrected someone from the dead.

Keith Aston played linebacker for us, and was among the first to leave NPR (New Port Richey or no place, really) after graduation, as many of us did. A few years later, word came that Keith was in a terrible accident and was decapitated. I think I even saw it posted on a Web site dedicated to the Class of '74 years later.

Friday night, I meet the guys in a Sonny's BBQ parking lot and  recognize everyone except this biker-looking dude. I sheepishly admit my forgetfulness and he says: "I'm Keith Aston."

With all the composure I could muster, I replied: "WHAT? YOU'RE S----ING ME! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!"

"Yeah, that's what I keep hearing,"  Keith says, and a running joke for the evening is born.

Later, I told the story to Chuck Pitcock, a wildman who was a few years behind us, played for the USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits and could still use a Ritalin IV. He's the guy that Preacher Dave who organized the get-together said had been hit too many times in the head and I added that the swelling hasn't gone down.

Chuck looked at Keith and said: "I don't even see no stitches on his neck." And this guy might've been my brother-in-law.

We all went to see Gulf play Pasco in a key district game the Buccaneers lost, apparently in our honor. Kind of like that lousy Robin Williams movie The Best of Times except we didn't suit up. We'll have to do that again sometime.

Saturday was the day my Dad has been awaiting for weeks. His entry was selected among 60 finalists in the Fanatical Bucs Fan contest co-sponsored by another local newspaper. That gave him a 1-in10 chance of randomly selecting a key to unlock and win a brand new Dodge pickup truck tricked out in Bucs colors. He already said I could borrow the pimped ride for a tailgate party or just to jokingly park in front of the Times building since it advertises Brand X.

We went to Channelside where a nice party for the finalists was held, with Stumps providing a free lunch of fried chicken, nachos and tasty cornbread. I took Dad inside the theaters and showed him a minute of the IMAX Transformers, his first look at such a screen, and one his first "boutique megaplex," as I'd describe Channelside's venue.

"Oh, my God," he said at first sight, truly stunned. Later he told me: "I thought I'd seen it all with Cinerama, but..." unable to complete the stunned thought. We headed outside to get his key.

In the courtyard there was a band, games, all the things that an 87-year-old man wouldn't get out of the house for except he might win a truck.

Alas, it wasn't to be. By the time dad got his key, four trucks had been claimed, severely reducing his  odds. He tried his key in the remaining two locks and nothing happened. We were all so proud of him anyway but he still apologized several times for not doing better. That's him, and subsequently, that's me.

Great weekend, and it'll only get better if the Bucs win and I can sweep my six fantasy football matchups for the first time this season.

In defense of Blood Feast

Help me out here. I'm asked by the Gasparilla Film Festival folks for suggestions about Florida-based films to show and discuss in a festival sidebar next spring.

We're pretty much set on the underrated, under-seen John Goodman flick Matinee, about a William Castle-style schlockmeister.  I suggested Blood Feast, 1963's grandpa of gore set in Miami Beach. If you haven't seen it, it's the Citizen Kane of splatter flicks.

Susan Fernandez, a USF professor who co-wrote a great book about Florida films titled Sunshine in the Dark, thinks Cocoon would be a better choice.

You can help. Ring me here or persall@sptimes.com and honor a true Sunshine State classic.

Here's my best Clarence Darrow impersonation to defend Blood Feast to the other idea contributors. If we win, I'll tell you a good story about that flick:

Hi everyone. I have to politely defend Blood Feast. I think Susan underestimates the Florida look of BF, including South Beach before it was trendy but gaining new wealth, and the beach itself (albeit mostly at night) before condos.There's more I'm sure but I haven't seen BF in 3-4 years.

Then, there's the fact that BF is the first true splatter flick, five years before Romero or his long line of imitators, and a drive-in movie sensation of which no less than d-i movie critic Joe Bob Briggs eloquently spoke about a few years ago at the Sarasota Film Festival.

If it's good enough for Joe Bob, it's good enough for anybody.

There's also a shot at getting the director, Herschell Gordon Lewis, to add something. He's old but collaborating with a couple of local filmmakers in Tampa Bay's -- sorry -- active gore filmmaking market that will buy tickets.

And, as some folks know, I can tell a story about BF.

Just my two cents. Thanks for considering.

Steve

/////

You guys let me know what you think. Am I barking up the wrong dismembered limb?

Dennis Lehane is here, baby, here

Dennis Lehane isn’t just an author anymore; he is a movie marketing point.

Check the TV ads for his latest adapted novel, Gone Baby Gone, opening Friday nationwide. Lehane isn’t mentioned by name but “from the author of Mystic River” is the sort of acknowledgement usually reserved for the Grishams and Clancys of his business.

The movie version of Gone Baby Gone is so thrilling that future Lehane adaptations should mention it – maybe even his name – in advertisements, too.

“That’s what I want,” the Eckerd College graduate recently joked from his Boston home, “I want to take up the first 30 seconds of every commercial, listing my credits.”

Lehane is clearly enjoying his Hollywood flings, while less fortunate writers barely recognize their work on screen .Clint Eastwood turned Mystic River into an Academy Award winni