University of Mississippi graduate student Glenn Payne held the world premiere of his 10th film “A Zombie Movie” in Tupelo to a sold out crowd. The film, a mockumentary about the making of a zombie film, delighted the audience with its humorous approach to filmmaking. He screened his film along with the film of one of his zombie stars, Daniel Lee who showed the sequel to his b-movie “Ocho: The Arachnid from Hell.”
Payne is working towards his Master in Fine Arts in Painting at the university and while working mostly with painting professor Phillip Jackson is also taking photography and video classes with professor Brooke White.
White, curator of the experimental block for the Oxford Film Festival, is encouraging Payne to try his hand at experimental film this year. Payne said that the opportunity to work on a fine arts degree is a different approach for filmmaking but one that he hopes will set him apart from the usual film students.
“I considered lots of film schools but I have a nice network here,” Payne said. “I am continuing to study film but from the mindset of fine artists.”
Payne, 27, is originally from Blue springs outside of Tupelo and is part of the young Tupelo film movement.
“I hope to make films for a living that help change the world” Payne said. “But I hope to avoid L.A. as much as possible. There are advantages to filming here because I can get into a building and shoot for free and work with an extremely talented cast and crew from this area.”
Payne’s film took two nights to film, around 8 hours and cost $120 to shoot. After the screening he said he hopes to start submitting the film to festivals and then eventually a DVD release. Although his 10th film, he is just now getting into the world of exhibiting his work outside of Tupelo.
For this film, as director the challenge was in managing the basic premise of the film but allowing the actors, mostly the cast from Tupelo’s comedy troupe, West of Shake Rag, to improvise each scene. A scene header led each break but the rest of the film was what Payne called organized chaos.
“We followed with two hand-held cameras,” Payne said. “Then the director of the zombie movie within the film also helped to direct the scenes.”
By Melanie Addington
As published in the Oxford Town
Rooftop Films is currently accepting submissions for the 2010 Rooftop Films Summer Series. Submit your films and videos now and participate in one of the most unforgettable, unique, filmmaker-friendly, independent film events in the world! You can submit directly to us by downloading the submission form (http://rooftopfilms.com/2010_submission_form.pdf) or you can submit via Without A Box (https://www.withoutabox.com/login/4671).
The 2010 Summer Series will run from May through September and will feature more than 200 daring new films, all screened outdoors, in front of big, loyal audiences in parks, on boats, and on rooftops overlooking the greatest city in the world. More than 25,000 people attended Rooftop screenings in 2009, making it one of the biggest festivals for underground films in the world. We show films of all genres, formats, and lengths, as long as they’re daring, creative, and unique.
Deadlines:
Earlybird: $9 – December 5, 2009.
Regular: $15, ($10 for WAB members) – January 15, 2010.
Late: $20, ($15 for WAB) – February 15, 2010.
Without A Box Extended: $20 for WAB members – March 1, 2010
Plus, if you submit a work to Rooftop Films you automatically get 2 free tickets to any Rooftop Summer Series show (an $18 value).
You can mail any submissions to: Rooftop Films / PMB 401 / 285 Fifth Avenue / Brooklyn, NY 11215
If you have any questions regarding submissions, please email program director Dan Nuxoll at:
submit * at * rooftopfilms * dot * com.
Rooftop Films
Underground Movies Outdoors
718-417-7362
http://www.rooftopfilms.com
Two festivals, the Nashville Film Festival and the New Orleans Film Festival, are in the second year of a three-year grant worth a total of $75,000. The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival and the Virginia Film Festival are each in the third and final year of a multi-year grant, which also amounts to a total of $75,000.
While the grants are awarded for a variety of festival programs, organizers are encouraged to submit proposals intended to make festival events more accessible to the general public, provide greater access to minority and less visible filmmakers, and help strengthen the connection between filmmakers and the general public.
The 2010 film festival program allocations are as follows:
$30,000
Chicago International Children’s Film Festival
Cinequest Film Festival
Los Angeles Film Festival
Outfest: The Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
Santa Barbara International Film Festival
$25,000
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
Nashville Film Festival
New Orleans Film Festival
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
Virginia Film Festival
$20,000
Ann Arbor Film Festival
Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital
San Diego Latino Film Festival
True/False Film Fest
$17,500
Provincetown International Film Festival
$15,000
San Francisco Silent Film Festival
St. Louis International Film Festival
$10,000
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
Indie Memphis Film Festival
Phoenix Film Festival
Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival
$2,500
Ozark Foothills FilmFest
The Women’s Film Festival
Tucson International Jewish Film Festival
Since its establishment in 1999, the Academy’s Festival Grants Program has distributed 222 grants totaling $3.95 million in funding. For more information on the program, visit http://www.oscars.org/education-outreach/grants/filmfestival/index.html.
Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will serve as co-hosts of the 82nd Academy Awards®, Oscar telecast producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman announced today.
“We think the team of Steve and Alec are the perfect pair of hosts for the Oscars,” said Shankman and Mechanic. “Steve will bring the experience of having hosted the show in the past and Alec will be a completely fresh personality for this event.”
“I am happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy Alec Baldwin,” said Martin.
“I don’t play the banjo but I’m thrilled to be hosting the Oscars – it’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Baldwin.
Martin hosted the 73rd and 75th Academy Awards shows, earning an Emmy nomination for the first stint. He has also served as a presenter on the show several times, most recently at the ceremony in February when he appeared with Tina Fey. He is currently touring with the bluegrass band Steep Canyon Rangers in support of his latest album “The Crow: New Songs for the Five String Banjo.” In 1977 and 1978 Martin won Grammys for Best Comedy Recording. He earned a third Grammy in 2001 in the Best Country Instrumental Performance category. In 2007 Martin earned a Kennedy Center Honor.
Baldwin was nominated for an Academy Award in 2003 for his supporting role in “The Cooler.” That year also marked his most recent appearance as a presenter on the show. Baldwin currently stars as Jack Donaghy on the comedy “30 Rock,” a role for which he has won two Emmys (in 2008 and 2009). Baldwin earned a Tony nomination in 1992 for his performance in “A Streetcar Named Desire.”
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.
By Michelle Emanuel, Guest Blogger
Anyone who follows the world of indie film has surely heard the story of “Precious,” the Lee Daniels film that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival as “Push,” an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Sapphire. The bleak yet compelling story of an obese 16-year-old girl, illiterate and pregnant for the second time by her father, pulled the rare hat trick of scoring both the grand prize and audience award of the festival, and then went on to score two executive producers in Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey, thus guaranteeing that what would have been an obscure film in a handful of theaters will now play in multiplexes.
And for this, we should count ourselves lucky, because this is a film that deserves to be seen in public, with a crowd and, preferably, discussed afterwards.
Set in 1987 Harlem, in an age of AIDS and crack, before welfare reform, Clareece Precious Jones lives with her abusive mother, Mary, while her first child lives a safer life with her grandmother. With her second pregnancy, Precious is transferred to an alternative school where she finally gets the personalized attention that she has always needed, and for the first time in her life, she is asked what she wants to be. Her classmates, other girls who were ill-suited for traditional schools , provide rare flickers of comic relief in what is a harrowing story. Precious is abused physically, sexually, and verbally by those who should be fighting on her behalf instead of trying to keep her down.
Why should anyone want to watch such an uncomfortable story? Because the performances are amazing. Famous faces from Mo’Nique to Lenny Kravitz to Mariah Carey to “The View’s” Sherri Shepherd are so committed to their roles, they are practically unrecognizable. But it is newcomer Gabourey Sidibe who is the true revelation of this film, and while she was chosen for the part because of her unique look, hopefully this will not be the only film of her career.
I saw a special screening of “Precious” as part of October’s Austin Film Festival, where the film played to a sold-out crowd of 1,300 people who managed to take a break from their conversations and cell phones to see something truly special. The fact that a film managed to hold their attention for nearly two hours is a testament to its power and appeal.
Because of all the hype this film has received, especially after Winfrey and Perry came on board and appeared at the Toronto Film Festival in September, I was bracing to be disappointed in the film itself. However, I am pleased to report, that never actually happened.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and mtvU, MTV’s 24-hour college network, today announced their second annual “Oscar Correspondent Contest,” giving college journalists nationwide the chance to win a trip to Los Angeles to cover red carpet festivities and backstage activities at the 82nd Academy Awards.
From October 26 through December 18, college students are invited to submit a video at http://oscars.mtvu.com, showcasing their broadcast journalism skills and proving why they deserve to cover the Oscars®. All videos submitted must be from teams made up of one anchor and one videographer. The Academy and mtvU will select the top ten videos to be posted online at mtvU.com, where students and other viewers can watch and vote for their favorite journalists from January 20 through February 10.
The three teams whose videos capture the most votes will advance to the final round of online voting from February 16 through March 2. All three teams will be flown to Los Angeles to cover Academy Awards pre-events, including the Animated Feature Symposium, Foreign Language Film Award press event, the Makeup Artist and Hairstylist Symposium and the Governors Ball preview.
The Grand Prize-winning team will be revealed on Saturday, March 6, at an Academy press conference. The anchor and videographer will be awarded a spot on the red carpet for the 82nd Academy Awards arrivals, as well as credentials for access to backstage press rooms. The winning team’s coverage will be aired on MTV News and mtvU. The two finalist teams will receive bleacher seats along the red carpet and admission to an Oscar viewing party.
Last year, Faheem Ahmed and Anish Patel from Rice University captured the Grand Prize and covered the red carpet at the 81st Academy Awards. Runners-up Megan Telles and Andrew Huse of San Diego State University, and Justin Shackil and Garry Van Genderen of Fordham University earned bleacher seats along the red carpet along with admission to an Oscar viewing party.
For a complete list of rules and regulations for the “Oscar Correspondent Contest,” please visit http://oscars.mtvu.com.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.
Graduate of University of Mississippi and former Oxonian, Ginnyann Reynolds, is an Associate Producer on the upcoming feature-length documentary, “An Inconvenient Tax,” that chronicles the history and explores the vast complexities of the American income tax system.
Reynolds, 34, never thought that a degree in psychology and English would lead her into becoming a film producer but after getting a job where she got to work on a few documentaries for television, she came upon the opportunity to work on a major feature documentary. The producers of the film invited her to join as associate producer due to the work she did for them on TV.
“I didn’t know a thing about taxes before starting this,” Reynolds said. “I got my degree in psychology and English from Ole Miss and now I am neck deep in politics and tax relief.”
Although Reynolds moved to Atlanta, her family remains in Oxford and she often returns to visit.
“I’m part of the Reynolds clan, the youngest of eight,” Reynolds said. “We are the type of family that every new teacher I had would say ‘ah I got my eye on you.’”
The film follows the history of the American income tax system and includes b-roll footage from horror films, which Reynolds said is quite fitting.
“It is really a little disturbing when you think about how the government and politicians use the tax system as a means of control,” Reynolds said. “We go into it in such a way that even an idiot like myself comprehends and becomes afraid of what is going on around them.”
The filmmakers are non-partisan and made the film in order to educate Americans on the way the tax system works and to begin an intellectual debate on long term changes rather than fly-by-night reforms, Reynolds said.
“We approach the subject to motivate people,” Reynolds said. “It is definitely not a Michael Moore film because we do not bash America.”
Reynolds said she enjoyed being an associate producer because it allows you to take on a wide variety of jobs.
“I was glad I was not the director not only because these people are so high on the social and intellectual ladder that we got to interview but also as director you get pigeon holed,” Reynolds said. “But when in a job like this, as a producer, there is no telling what you are going to be doing that day.”
Reynolds helped with interviews, did research, and a variety of other tasks.
“The skills and confidence that I gained through my education at Ole Miss assisted me with channeling my creative intuition in planning and writing pertinent portions of the movie, researching movie facts and ideas to ensure the accuracy of the information and using my communication prowess to successfully gaining access to many hard-to-reach governmental figures and departments,” Reynolds said.
Among the high-profile people Reynolds helped interview for the film are: Steve Forbes (Forbes, Inc); Mike Huckabee (Former Arkansas Governor); Charles Rossotti (Former IRS Commissioner); Noam Chomsky (Political Activist); Neal Boortz (Radio Host); Herman Cain (Radio Host); Scott Hodge (Tax Foundation); John Linder (U.S. Congressman); Dick Armey (Former House Majority Leader); plus many others.
The film is currently under consideration for distribution with several major companies but Reynolds said she hopes to get the film out to the public before April 15.
For more information, visit www.aninconvenienttax.com.
As published in the Oxford Town on Oct. 29.
Friday, October 30
8:pm
$5 at the door
60 min.
ONE TIME ONLY
The Oxford Film Festival is pleased to partner with The Lyric Oxford to bring the brand-new (dairy-fresh!) concert film, R.E.M.: THIS IS NOT A SHOW, for a one-time screening.
The film chronicles the band’s “working rehearsals” at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre in 2007, where they played classics (These Days, Cuyahoga, So. Central Rain) and tested then-new material (from ACCELERATE) over five nights before sold-out crowds.
Nitin and Deepak Mantena (read more about the boys here) from Oxford are in the top 32 for the National College Comedy Competition.
The short films are now available on their website to be voted on until November 1st. They then narrow down the shorts to the top 16.
“We are the only boys from Mississippi that are represented on that site, and I really hope we can show people across America that our state can still bring it when it comes to obnoxious comedy films starring brown kids,” Nitin Mantena said.
On Nov. 3, “Gravestoned” the first film from artist Michael McWillie, will have its DVD release. McWillie recently answered a few questions about the film, inspiration and art.
OFF: You said in a recent interview that seeing Kubrick and Coppola films helped influence your decision to move into the realm of filmmaking along with your other art forms. What specifically moved you about those films – was it a visual component or storytelling, or something else?
MM: It was the visual element at first, especially with Kubrick. The more I became involved with filmmaking the more I appreciated the storytelling aspect. I am still in awe of Coppola’s storytelling and humanity. How Coppola could have directed “The Godfather” with all of its intense nuances regarding people and “family” and their complex interactions and emotions in his late 20’s and early 30’s is beyond me. I love that you can take the film on so many levels. Is it a film about gangsters or is it a film about family or is it a film about the art of making films? And the answer is yes. And then there is “Apocalypse Now.”
The opening scene could be a film in itself with its metaphor on filmmaking. It’s like when they finally come to tell you that you have the okay to make the film your first reaction when you open the door is “what are the charges?”
OFF: Can you tell me a little about pre-production to shooting to where you are now about to release the film nationally? How long was the process?
MM: The film had a fairly standard pre-production phase with breaking down the script, casting actors, discussing my vision of the film with the director of photography and directing the creation of the props and special effects for the film. My first vision of the film took about three weeks to shoot. I spent a lot of time editing and a lot of time in the sound mixing studio getting the music and sound right. As the characters were developing I shot some additional footage to enhance some things that I liked. I could do that because I also produced the film and had some executive producers who were fans of mine from the art world and were having a great time and that gave me the luxury of spending the time needed to create the film that I wanted. The film is currently wrapping up a Texas Roadshow engagement and we have been discussing showing it perhaps in New York and Chicago.
OFF: What did you learn about filmmaking while taking part in this film? Anything you would change looking back on it?
MM: Actually the things I would change about the movie I actually did change. I think the main thing I learned is you have to be in with the editor and tightly direct the editing. Nobody knows all of the shots that are available better than the director. The shot lists don’t really cover the nuances. There could be a perfect glance from a character that is at the end of a take that isn’t mentioned on the shot list that only you remember that could make a real difference in your film. Also there is a real difference between realism, meaning a person who can play a role and be realistic and an actor creating a character which goes beyond realism into magic. That magic is essential.
OFF: Painting, printmaking, film all are very different mediums – what are the challenges of filmmaking compared to the others? What were you able to bring from your artistic background into film?
MM: In painting you are mixing the colors and holding the brush and touching the canvas. With film someone else is holding the brush. ie: the cinematographer, and the actors, unlike the paint you use, may or may not be the ideal color/texture/intensity you want for your film so you have less control. But the beauty of film is that with the right actors they can create characters that can exceed your initial expectations. Then again I have never had a tube of paint get mad at me because I didn’t give them top billing.
Because of my artistic background I was able to bring a very strong visual and compositional sense to the film. I was coming from a very visual world. Whatever happened I wanted the film to very visual. I was able to bring a certain vision and interpretation of the world and a different viewpoint towards editing that someone would have with a background in the film industry. I wasn’t limited as to how things should be done. In fact, part of what I wanted to do was to do some things differently than the way it is usually done.
OFF: What prompted you to jump headlong into a feature film and specifically a comedy-horror genre?
MM: I had made some “art films” a while back and I was having quite a bit of success with painting including some high recognition works of art that were becoming well known, including a few paintings in The White House (they can be seen at michaelmcwillie.com). So I was pretty happy but a friend approached me and reminded my that I was this “great artist” and all, but that I was lacking in my career because having started out as a filmmaker I had never made a feature film!
That aggravated me because I knew my friend was right and so I knew I had to make a feature film.
I made a film in the comedy horror genre because I always loved horror films and I always loved comedies. I am a big fan of Chaplin and he was a major influence in me choosing the Scottie Dog as the main motif/character in my paintings. The Scot was my Tramp.
OFF: You are known for your images of Scotty dogs and you, of course, incorporate a dog into this film. Tell me more about the dog actors that you used – there were three?
MM: There were actually four. Ruckus was the main Scot in the film – he’s the one that carries the arm at the end of the film. He is actually in most of the film. He steals the panties, jumps out of the van, etc. I also used my own Scottie Mackintosh for some scenes in the film before he was abruptly retired from the film because he bit one of the actresses. Then there is Whiskie the Scot in the opening scene of the film. Whiskie was also in Oliver Stone’s film “W” and played Barney. The fourth Scot was Chivas and he played the Scottie owned by the infamous new mogul at the end of the film.
OFF: Who do you believe is the audience for your film?
MM: Anyone that wants to have a good ride. Younger audiences seem to get it. Although I know of many older people who have seem it quite a few times at the screenings so they must get it too. And, of course, the stoners really seem to have endorsed it. And then there are the Scottish Terrier people who are calling it The SCOTTISH TERRIER Horror Movie. Fans of horror films with a campy/comedy edge should like it as well as fans of Cheech and Chong and stoner films.
OFF: Recently I read an article about art being on one side and film on the other rather than film being considered one of the arts. Being that you are in both worlds, what are your thoughts on this?
MM: I really believe that film is an art form. Fellini, Antonioni and Bergman proved that a long time ago. I think we hit a blockbuster mentality in the commercial film world, but I like what I’m seeing in the real Indie world. It’s very trendy right now for the top New York artists to venture into filmmaking. There is Art and art. In the New York art world someone once said that everyone in the art world wears black. But is it the right shade of black? That’s what we’re dealing with.
OFF: Tell us where we can see it – on DVD, Netflix?
MM: It will be available on DVD from NetFlix, Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com, BestBuy.com, Blockbuster.com and the usual places on November 3rd. You can put it in your NetFlix queue NOW or pre-order it at online at most of the major retailers.
