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Dear Friends,
It's been a while. Just checking in with you on some recent film activity.
South Dakota Trilogy screens in Austin, TX in June and Brooklyn, NY in July.
Get on down to the Alamo Drafthouse on June 10th @ 945pm and check out "3XSD" @ the next Flicker Austin. Please drink a beer (or two, but not three!) for me.
3XSD screens in Brooklyn as part of the Rural Route show of the Rooftop Film Summer Series at the Old American Can Factory (very cool space) on 3rd St and 3rd Ave in Gowanus, Brooklyn on July 2 after dark.
Sincerely, Will
Michael has settled himself in Los Angeles, CA, where he's been steadily working in the camera department on various Hollywood feature film projects.
Will is now a high school teacher (believe it or not), instructing Memphis City School kids on television production. He's also the programmer of the IndieMemphis Film Festival, a great Southern film fest held every October.
Kaleo is still in Memphis, too, but now known by friends as "Mr. Kathy Thompson" - as they were wed June 2003.
Rick just moved from Knoxville, TN to New York, NY. Still producing and writing prime-time specials, Video On Demand and special projects for cable networks, and broadband web content.
Dear Friends,
It's been awhile. Just checking in with you on some recent film activity. Last Thanksgiving holiday I shot a very short film in South Dakota called "South Dakota Trilogy in Three Minutes." This film screened a couple of weeks ago at the Magnolia Film Festival in Starksville, MS (read more: www.magfilmfest.com). The film screens again on March 12th in Brooklyn, NY at the Williamsburg Gallery's 65 Hope Street Gallery (read more: www.rooftopfilms.com). I'm under the impression they are going to screen it again on an actual rooftop in Brooklyn as part of their Summer Film Series (more on that later). "South Dakota Trilogy" screens again on April 2nd at the Ozark Foothills Film Festival. The OFFF is kind of a traveling festival that tours through a few small towns in North Central Arkansas (a very beautiful area) (read more: www.ozarkfoothillsfilmfest.org).
If you happen to be in Warsaw, Poland in the month of May, the second installment in my overtly Catholic film trilogy entitled, "Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto" is screening at the 19th International Catholic Film and Multimedia Festival. I shot this film last winter in Rio Grande City, TX. The film is an historical documentary about a Catholic priest who built a grotto in this small border town (read more: www.warszawa.org.pl/niepokalanow/ - click the British flag for the English version of the site).
Summer of Youth is continually being shot on digital video. It is a docu-film about the fans of the New York rock combo, Sonic Youth. I finally finished the most recent cut, which included footage from the last two summer tours in 2000 and 2002. The band hits the road again this summer and with a little luck and a bag of money, I'll be out there again. There is now a DVD available of everything assembled to date. If you were one of the people who helped me work on any part of the production and you would like to see the fruits of your unpaid labor, let me know and I'll get a copy out to you.
Thank you, Will
P.S. Not all of the websites mentioned above have been updated with the most recent information but they will be so please check back again if you are so inclined.
You can check out more info on Blown Again here. And view photos from last October as we shot this film here.
Fine Grind Films on HBO. AtomFilms inked a deal with HBO Latin America to air our short Central Garden in Central & South America as well as the Caribbean.
Our feature film, The Big Muddy was sold to Lions Gate's CinemaNow and is now available for screening on their website. The quality is surprisingly good, too, even with a 56K modem. Check it out and let us know what you think by submitting a review to the site.
Will is editing away on a Summer of Youth tape to submit to Sonic Youth. The band will soon be in Memphis for a show and we plan to use this opportunity to show the band some of our footage (and maybe shoot some more).
Central Garden has been recognized by AsianAmericanFilm.com. They added our short to their Film Clips listing and linked it to our page at AtomFilms.
The FGF documentary, Small Timers, is now available in Memphis area Video Stores. Check it out at Black Lodge Video, Midtown Video and Video, Movies & More.
If you can't get enough of FGF and Park City Indie Festivals, check out our friend Kent Bye's personal photo diary of the films, the fun and, of course, Fine Grind. There's a ton of photos and information there from a very smart guy in the indie film world.
The best news is that it looks like we've sold 'The Big Muddy' as a result of our PC journey. The rest of Park City went something like this: Hawiian Coffee, no eggs to go, Kaleo on a mechanical bull, Natural Born Killers, Red Bull, Everclear, Corbin Bernsen, 4-in-a-bed, Ron Jeremy and his merry band of naked porn stars. There's too much to post here so read the real PC Story and check out our snapshots from the mountain.
Last night the "Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy" cast and crew had a fabulous party at NoDance headquarters. What a crazy time it was. I won't go into details, but we're hoping to upload some video captures from the event.
A few more parties every night this week until we pack up and head back to Tennessee on Saturday. Check back soon for the pics.
The shoot was a series of long days with tons of help from many volunteers on crew and cast. Thanks to everybody. We have a few stills from the Blown shoot here.
On the west coast, "The Big Muddy" and "Small Timers" screened in Los Angeles this week - at the First Glance Film Festival. Thanks to everybody who came out to view our films with us.
Speaking of electronic mail, an e-note from artist relations at AtomFilms gave us a direct link to our film, Central Garden - now you don't have to use their search engine to check out our short. If you haven't seen it, please give it a look and let us know what you think.
FGF had fun in NY last week as we attended the Brooklyn Film Festival. And we have a few pictures. Check 'em out, here.
In Fine Grind festival news:
There still is no published screening schedule for the docside film festival in San Antonio, Texas, but FGF is planning on attending the fest, and the "Small Timers" screening, October 27-29. Their website is www.docfilmproject.org.
The Freaky Films festival in Champaign, Illinois is screening "Small Timers" on November 1 at 5:30pm. Not sure that ST is really "Freaky" but they seemed to love the film. A full schedule is available on their site.
Both "Small Timers" and "The Big Muddy" will screen in Los Angeles at the First Glance Film Festival on the 15th of November. No show time as of yet, but we do have a location: Sunset Screening Rooms, 2212 West Magnolia Blvd in Burbank. Go to www.newimaging.com and click on FirstGlance for festival and ticket information.
"Small Timers" will be screened at the Brooklyn Film Institute's Film Festival on Sunday, Septemeber 10th 4-5pm. The theater is at 59th Street and 2nd Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. If you're in the NY area come check us out - FGF will be in attendence.
"ST" will also play in San Antonio in the fall of 2000. Our film is one of about 25 documentaries from around the world selected to screen at the DocSide Film Festival, sponsored by the Texas Film Commission. Check back here for more details when they become available, or visit the website at www.docfilmproject.org.
We've received many fantastic stories from Sonic Youth fans interested in our "Summer of Youth" documentary. We're currently logging footage from the first lef of the tour and preparing to edit a 'best of' tape to send to the band. CLICK HERE to find out more.
"Small Timers" is also screening in a festival in San Antonio, Texas and we're still submitting entries to festivals later in the year.
Our Sonic Youth "Summer of Youth" documentary is underway. Despite technical difficulties, FGF attended shows in Minneapolis, Chicago and Detroit. CLICK HERE to find out more.
Our short film, "Blown," has been pretty popular on-line at reelshort.com. We just received word it was the 5th and 6th watched film on the site for the months of February and March. If you haven't already, check it out when you get a chance.
Check it out - and PLEASE, if you have time, feel free to submit comments to the site. Here's how to find it... go to atomfilms.com, click the "search" button and type in "Central Garden" - then sit back and enjoy our hard work on a 2X2-inch screen.
"Central Garden" was one of only three short films picked up by Atom this year during the Sundance Film Festival. You can also see our first film, "Blown" on-line at reelshort.com and iFilm.com. At both sites you must use their Search Feature and type in the title.
Finally, a friend and fellow filmmaker has received great news. His first feature film, "Pig Farm" has been accepted to the prestigious DancesWithFilms Festival in LA. See more about what I have to believe will be a great, and highly successful, film at StrangePictures.com (a great indie film site).
Thanks to Dan, Wil, Mike, Kent, Jeannice, Teddy and the rest of the gang for the hospitality and frosty beverages. We were honored to be a part of the festivities.
Check out the photo-journal of the entire event, including Rick and Will caught on tape, at www.KentBye.com.
Delivery has been made. FGF sent off the completed master of "Central Garden" to AtomFilms.com - watch their site or check back here for more info on when you can stream the film online.
Plans for a trip to Baltimore are in the works. Members of Fine Grind will be in attendence for the "Small Timers" screening at the John's Hopkins Film Festival in mid-April.
And if you won't be in Baltimore, or can't watch films online, come to Memphis' New Daisy Theater on Saturday, April 8th at 7:30pm. It's Memphis Premiere Night... see both "Central Garden" and "Small Timers." Seating limited to about the first 700 people.
Also, the film festival at Johns Hopkins University has made its official selection... and "Small Timers" made the cut. The fest, which we've heard wonderful things about, is mid-April. Baltimore, here we come!
While in Park City, last month, FGF cinnamontographer, Michael, tore his ECL while skiing on the slopes. Well, Mikey recently received a check in the mail... from No Dance festival director, Jim Boyd. Jim enclosed a note that said he "passed the hat" and came up with quite a sum to help cover medical expenses.
Thanks a TON, Jim! We always knew you guys had the biggest hearts on the mountain! See you next year...
And, rounding out the Park City Festival coverage... Fine Grind has been featured quite a bit on the web, lately. Check it out.
USA Today
Austin American-Statesman
The Cincinnati Post
Both "Small Timers" and "Central Gardens" will screen at the NoDance Festival in January 2000. We'll keep you updated. Or check in at the fest site: No Dance 2000.
Off-lines of both films, plus "The Big Muddy," have been sent to the Slam Dance and No Dance Film Festivals in Park City, Utah.