'Nobody' meets Dr. Phil

Local filmmakers/documentarians Alan Spearman and Lance Murphey screened their amazing doc "Nobody" last year at the Indie Memphis Film Festival where it won Best Documentary and the Kodak Tennessee Filmmaker's Award.

They share more news:

We have several exciting updates about our film Nobody.

You can now visit our updated website www.nobodythefilm.com and purchase the Nobody DVD using your credit card and PayPal. One dollar from every DVD sold will go to the Memphis First Presbyterian Church Soup Kitchen.

Also on Thursday September 27^th Jerry Bell, the subject of Nobody, will be featured on the Dr. Phil Show in an effort to patch up his relationship with his daughter. For the show time in your area go to http://www.drphil.com/shows/listing/. As Dr. Phil says, “Don’t miss this intense family reunion.”

We are reserving judgment about the show until we see it. Jerry’s daughter Kayla has some very intense emotions and opinions about our film, but has not seen it. She has even stronger emotions about her father. If you feel strongly about the film feel free to enter the discussion which will ensue Thursday on the Dr. Phil message board at http://www.drphil.com/ .

Please understand that this film is self-financed and distributed and we would really appreciate your help spreading the word about it to as many people as possible. Our new My Space page is located at http://www.myspace.com/nobodythefilm .

Li'l Film Fest 7 this Saturday

The Li'l Film Fest (this is the 7th one) is this Saturday (22nd) at 2 p.m. at the MeDiA Co-op, 1000 South Cooper.

Theme: Rhymes With Pelvis
Duration: each film is 5 minutes or less
Prizes: Jury Award ($200)
Audience Choice Award ($200)

The theme of Li'l Film Fest 7 rhymes with Pelvis Wesley. Do NOT use ANY songs or recordings by said theme. Do NOT use ANY actual images of said theme. NO COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL WILL BE ACCEPTED INTO THIS FESTIVAL!!!

Curled lips, rhinestones, blue suede shoes, hound dogs, pink Cadilacs, hip shakin' and gyrating are all allowed. NO COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL WILL BE ACCEPTED INTO THIS FESTIVAL!!!

It was bound to happen eventually. We do live in Memphis. So have fun with it. Did I mention NO COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL WILL BE ACCEPTED INTO THIS FESTIVAL?!!

Li'l Film Fest is a quarterly, theme-based film festival, focusing on highlighting our local talent while showcasing interesting happenings around town. Our goal is to encourage and inspire Memphis filmmakers while engaging a local audience in order to strengthen our artistic community.

Be there, houn' dogs.

Muck Sticky = Weeds on Showtime

Muck has developed an excellent opening for the hit Showtime series using its theme. Go here to vote for his creation. Hilarious...

Cooper Young Festival

20th YEAR!!!!!
2007 Festival date: Sept 15th
Rain Date: Sept 16th
Hours: 9-7pm

The Cooper-Young Festival, hosted by the Cooper-Young Business Association (CYBA), is Memphis' most anticipated outdoor celebration. Held in Memphis' largest historic district, the Cooper-Young Festival is scheduled for September 15th.

In its 20th year, this event has grown tremendously and is one of Memphis' most highly attended Festivals. This year over 60,000 guests will enjoy an appealing mix of art, music and crafts presented by over 370 artisans from around the country. This Festival is a true celebration of the arts, people, culture and Memphis heritage.

*PLEASE NOTE: NO PETS

Volunteer opportunites are available for this year's festival, please contact Lyn Myers, Festival Director - email cyba@bellsouth.net or call 901-276-7222.

Festival hotline - 901-274-4000

http://www.cooperyoungfestival.com/index.php

Drew Smith's dark comedy "The Book of Noah" has its world premiere at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival Oct. 17. Details of the screening are at http://fliff.com/lineup.asp. It's locally done, the buzz is good, and I'm in it. Thankfully, briefly. Kudos to Drew.

The greatest invention ever, maybe.

You'd best get to it, bubba. "The Importance of Being Russell" is in its last day at Malco's Studio on the Square. Performances are at 1:20, 4:35, 7:25, 9:45.

LTTM for September

We have a terrific line-up for the month of September including two '90's era films and a premiere for LTTM. Our host for this month is the girl with two first names, Jennifer Jill, the star of several local independent films.

The Films:

Blown - produced by Fine Grind Films originally shot in 1997 on Super8 film, Blown tells the story of Joe, a guy who is into "fast guns, cool cars, hot chicks, and Memphis rock-n-roll."
Blown Again - follows the continuing action-filled life of Joe, the rock-and-roll modern-day gangster. In this installment, Joe attempts to recover a briefcase full of money from a new gang - and this time the hot chicks aren't all on Joe's side. This film has more karate kicks, car chases and gun play than you could imagine can be squeezed into a quick 10 minutes.

The directors- Rick Venable, Michael Cruickshank, Kaleo Quenzer, and Will O'Loughlen

Last Gamble - started out as a University of Memphis student film and quickly escalated to an indie short during the summer of '95. At the time it was the most ambitious project of its kind. It was all shot on film and took three weekends to complete.

The directors- David Stotts and Tim Doyle

Music for Ending Credits:

Lost Highway performed by Nancy Apple and Leon Payne from the "River Road or Rail" album.

Bonus Film:

The Remarkable C.P.S. - directed by Ralph Lorenz.

This is a monthly schedule that begins tonight at 10:30 on WYPL TV-18. Check our site for the weekly line-up - www.LastTraintoMemphis.com

That big movie production

Well, you've all heard about it by now but I'm still getting some calls since I got back to town. So here are the essentials culled from John Beifuss' story in the CA last week:


Big-time moviemaking returns to Memphis in October, when Matt Dillon, Kate Beckinsale, Alan Alda, David Schwimmer and Vera Farmiga come to town to shoot "Nothing But the Truth," a political thriller from Los Angeles-based writer-director Rod Lurie.

Lurie and his producers were lured here in part by recently passed state and local financial incentives for filmmakers. "For the first time, we're really competitive with other states," Memphis & Shelby County Film and Television Commissioner Linn Sitler said.

"Our current plan is to shoot the whole thing in Memphis," Lurie said. He said shooting is scheduled to begin in mid-October and will continue for seven weeks.

"That is the true test of a city's marketability as a filming site, when it can double for somewhere else," Sitler said.

Lurie described "Nothing But the Truth" as "a local production" that will hire numerous Memphis-area residents as crew members, extras and supporting actors. "I'm honestly convinced that much of my talent will be found not just within Tennessee but within Memphis," he said. "We will cast many parts out of Memphis, including a lot of speaking parts and some strong supporting parts."

He said he's not sure yet whether the film will host a public casting call.

Inspired in part by the "CIA leak case" involving outed agent Valerie Plame and New York Times reporter Judith Miller, "Nothing But the Truth" features the acclaimed Farmiga ("The Departed") as a CIA agent and Beckinsale ("Underworld") as a reporter who is jailed for refusing to give up her source.

Dillon plays a special prosecutor, and Alda is an attorney who specializes in First Amendment cases.

Perry Gibson, executive director of the Tennessee Film & Music Commission, said South Carolina was poised to beat out Tennessee for "Nothing But the Truth" until Lurie and producer James Spies, a resident of Nashville, were recruited for a Memphis location visit.

"The incentives are what bring 'em in, but what gets 'em is the location, and how welcoming the people are, and how exciting the city is," Gibson said. "They saw that the talent -- the stars -- could be entertained and have a great time there."

"Many states have incentives, but few states have such dogmatic and hardworking film commissioners," Lurie said. "Linn is like a ball of fire."

Even so, the production company has established a Department of Revenue-approved, Tennessee-based headquarters in order to take advantage of the financial incentives established by the state legislature in 2006, which include combined rebates of up to 32 percent for "qualified spending" within the state.

The local production offices will be on Beale Street, in free space provided by district landlord John Elkington.

The production also will be the first to take advantage of a new program in which Memphis and Shelby County government will pay half the salaries of local residents who work on the film as trainees, in hopes of increasing the local crew base for future productions.

Pickle = Russell = Hilarity

The uproarious local indie feature, "The Important of Being Russell" has a one week exclusive run at the Studio on the Square starting this Friday, Sept. 7th.

If you haven't seen this movie, directed by Sean Plemmons and starring the indefatigable John Pickle in the title role, then you're only half a human. Here's a description from IMDB:

What has thrills, chills, and rednecks saving the world? THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING RUSSELL! Where can you find a comedy, a love story, and a science-fiction/time travelling/fantasy? THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING RUSSELL! Watch as Russell Hawker and his wife Sissy battle Patricia Van de Meer and her 'citified' minions over the fate of the world....and their ten year marriage! Can Russell, Harlan, and Jamon withstand the perils of Big City....and a really stinky thumb? Or will they succumb to the dark forces behind Cranium Concepts Global Corporation and it's scheme to 'citify' the world? To answer these questions and discover for yourself the importance of being Russell....you must watch THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING RUSSELL!