Monday, June 30, 2008

Reminder: Indie Memphis deadline

Film submission deadline for October's Indie Memphis Film Festival is tomorrow, although there's an extended deadline:
Regular Deadline: June 16
LATE DEADLINE: JULY 1
WAB Extended Deadline: July 15

Friday, June 27, 2008

Music Video Showcase call for entries

The 2008 Live From Memphis MUSIC VIDEO SHOWCASE announces a Call For Entries!

MEMPHIS (July 27, 2008) – Live From Memphis™ is announcing a “call for entries” for the 2008 Music Video Showcase.

This is the fourth annual Live From Memphis Music Video Showcase. Music Videos and EPKs (not exceeding 6 minutes in length) will be accepted through September 26, 2008.

In addition to our traditional “Best Music Video/EPK” award, we are happy to announce the addition of an “Audience Choice” award. If you are a local filmmaker or local band with a music video – submit it now! Deadline for entries is September 26, 2008.

This is your chance to ROCK THE BIG SCREEN!

For More information about LFM’s Music Video Showcase including downloading the entry form please visit: http://www.livefrommemphis.com/mvs or give us a call: (901) 278-9077.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Actress 21-28; extras needed

From Timm Scalita:

I am seeking an intellegent and attractive actress between the ages of 21 - 28 for the lead role in my new feature length film, "Chelsea".

It is an abstract/surrealist/horror/suspense film about a young woman who finds herself in a living nightmare and must find a way out of the Dark road that she stumbled on to.

This project is written and directed by myself (Timm Scalita-Smoking Gnome productions) and is accociated with King productions, Knight entertainment and Falling For Grey.

If you are interested please contact me either on myspace.com/scalita1 or you can call me @ 901 281 3982.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Timm Scalita
Writer/Director

We will also need some extras for some key scenes where in you will get some face time and some small speaking parts.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Free film training workshop

The Memphis & Shelby County Film and Television Commission announces the scheduling of its second fee-free city/county-funded crew training workshops, “Inside the Production Office: How to be an Office Production Assistant: 101.” The Benjamin C. Hooks Central Library is an additional sponsor. The two-day, intensive workshop will be held at the Central Library all day Saturday, June 28th, and Sunday afternoon, June 29th.

The Commission Selection Committee will offer 30 class positions to legal residents of Memphis or Shelby County. Immediate availability to become a crew member, proven prior interest in film and television through studies and/or production work, and computer proficiency will enhance applications. A strong letter of recommendation is essential. Deadline for submission is the end of the business day June 20th. Those interested in applying should go to www.memphisfilmcomm.org to download the application form. (Minimum age for application is 18 years of age.)

The workshop will offer an introduction to what is really the hub or “nerve center” of any movie or large television show – the production office, where a team of close-knit office workers provides the support which holds a production together and moves it forward, day by day. Positions ranging from office production assistant to office production coordinator will be explained and illustrated against a general context of the workings of the film industry.

The workshop leader will be industry veteran Anne (“Andi”) McCaffrey, production supervisor on 20th Century Fox Television’s “Southern Comfort,” shot in Memphis in 2006. McCaffrey came to know Memphis well during her months living here while filming. According to McCaffrey, “I feel as though I started training Memphians back then … on the job … as I found the production office personnel available in Memphis to be inexperienced, although very eager to learn. I welcome the opportunity to return to what has become one of my favorite production cities!”

Successful graduates of “Inside the Production Office” will be qualified to receive a listing as an “office production assistant” in the next Memphis & Shelby County Film and Television Commission Production Directory. Moreover, graduates will be given priority consideration in selection for hiring through the Commission’s crew trainee program which provides partial refunds of crew trainee’s salaries to major film employers.

For more information, call The Commission Offices at 901-527-8300, ext. 3 or email linn@memphisfilmcomm.org

Willie Bearden doc

Wednesday, June 18, 7:30 p.m.
Indie Memphis
&
The Chickasaw Group Sierra Club
present
Willy Bearden's
"Overton Park, A Century of Change"



Overton Park has been the stage for much of Memphis' history for over 100 years. In its earliest incarnation it was the shining jewel of the Progressive Movement in Memphis, it was the public's backyard and front porch. In its boundaries lies the only old growth forest to be found in any urban setting. By the 1960s, efforts by powerful federal and state government agencies nearly spelled its doom with a plan to split the park with an interstate highway system. "Overton Park, A Century of Change" is the story of the park's founding, its brush with disaster, and its renaissance. Filmmaker Willy Bearden will be on hand to discuss the film. Old Forest Steward and surveyor, Don Richardson, will discuss some of the threats still facing the Park after 100 years.

Admission is FREE!
Refreshments will be available
including Beer, Wine, Sodas, and Popcorn.
Donations are appreciated.
Power House Memphis
45 GE Patterson
(between Front St. & Main)
Memphis, Tennessee 38103

Monday, June 16, 2008

Incentives, Tennessee-style

Theo Emery of the Tennessean in Nashville has a story on how the state landed "Hannah Montana," an instructive look at what it takes to make the most of the state's incentives. The full story is here.

Here's an excerpt:

Disney Pictures, which is producing the $28 million movie about Miley Cyrus' fictional alter ego Hannah Montana, almost didn't shoot in Nashville, or anywhere else in Cyrus' home state.

The movie is being made here because of the feverish efforts of the state Film, Entertainment and Music Commission and its executive director, Perry Gibson, to entice Disney with incentives that could be worth more than $3 million — without which the movie would have instead been filmed in Louisiana.

The Tennessean reviewed hundreds of Gibson's e-mail and text messages through a request under the state public records law. The correspondence illustrates the lengths to which state officials must go to attract movies, which have become prizes in an escalating competition between states to offer tax breaks and rebates for film studios.

Personal ties and the power of handshakes played a role in bringing Disney to Tennessee. Records also indicate that the commission sent bundles of potential crew resumes to Disney, with names flagged for special attention, to convince executives that there was enough experienced labor in Tennessee for the company to qualify for the state's incentives.

Gibson, whom Gov. Phil Bredesen appointed in early 2007, also helped smooth over questions about whether out-of-state cast and crew — including Cyrus and her family — qualified for incentives and personally provided Disney with resumes of Tennesseans in the industry.

In an interview last week, Gibson said every production gets the same treatment, but Disney could set an important precedent in persuading other studios to film big-budget features in Tennessee.

"We needed one production to come here and do really, really well. If they come to a state, and it goes really, really well, they tell everyone," she told The Tennessean. "Disney is so tough, and productions like NBC-Universal say, 'If Disney comes here, we'll be second.' "

As states increase incentives, competition for movies has become fierce, said Bill Lindstrom, CEO of the Association of Film Commissioners International. He said Gibson's efforts demonstrate what must be done in the fight for attention from Hollywood.

"She's a perfect example of the sort of work that a film commission does to do that job right and go the extra mile to make sure it's done right," he said.

Seeking your vote

From Arnold Edwards II of Cowboy Up Productions:

It is official! Our NIN music video has been accepted by the NIN group
(host of the NIN music video festival). Please check it out again, encourage your friends and family to look at it, and vote for us!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JtltM5Q3_60