West Virginia Film Office
Email Blast
April 12, 2004
CONTENTS
A. Acknowledgements
B. West Virginia
Film Office Updates & News
C. West Virginia
Indigenous Production Activity
D. Nationwide
Casting Calls/Auditions
E. Articles of
Interest, Websites of Interest, Other Useful Resources
F. Film Festivals
and/or Script Submissions
G. Calendar of
Events
H. Contact Info,
Disclaimer, Subscribe/Unsubscribe
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A. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
1. Congratulations to West Virginia native and
WVU graduate, Maria Brenner, for being the recipient of the Genesis
Student Award (the first Genesis award ever given in the student category)
for her short film Remembering Bob (produced during her recently
concluded MFA studies at USC, Los Angeles).
The awards are sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States
and bestowed upon those who bring attention to animal issues. Brenner received her award at the 18th
Annual Genesis Awards on March 20, which was videotaped and will air on the Animal
Planet network April 25. With the
exception of the producer and executive producer of the film, the remaining
cast and crew are all from Morgantown, Clarksburg, and Parkersburg, West
Virginia. The entire film was shot in
Morgantown and Clarksburg as well as an animal sanctuary near Pittsburgh in
August 2002. A public screening of Remembering
Bob is being planned for some time in June in Morgantown.
2. As previously reported, West Virginia native
Morgan Spurlock has found filmmaking success with his documentary Super
Size Me. The success keeps growing
with the film being picked up for distribution by Independent Distribution
Partners (IDP) and set for an initial exclusive theatrical release on May 7
(with additional theaters added over time), although there are three (3)
screenings planned in West Virginia prior to the May 7 national release
(details will be sent later). More
success rained down on Spurlock when cable's F/X put together a deal
with Spurlock's company, The Con, and reality guru Ben Silverman's
company, Reveille Entertainment, to produce a one-hour reality series
pilot "30 Days".
Spurlock, with Silverman, will also step into the shoes of executive
producer. A look at life on the other
side, "30 Days" will place a willing participant in a life that
starkly contrasts his or her own for a period of 30 days. A hearty round of applause for Spurlock's
continued good fortunes with Super Size Me!
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B. WEST VIRGINIA FILM OFFICE UPDATES &
NEWS:
1. Media/Marketing/Advertising
Efforts: Placed
half-page advertisement in April 2004 issue of Production Update
magazine; the issue provides a focus on the Appalachian States and also
includes an interview with my office.
2. Community/Industry Relations: Participated in interview with college
graduate of Tulane University writing thesis on Arts & Economics
Development with a focus on film commissions around the nation. Participated in meeting with West
Virginia Filmmakers Guild to develop educational workshops for summer
2004. Attended monthly networking
meeting of WAVe (WV Animators & Videographers, etc.). Participated in VIP tour of the WV Turnpike's
Memorial Tunnel for purposes of promoting facility to the motion picture
and television industries.
3. Production Activity by Outside
Companies: The Film Office
provided assistance to the following recent productions, which shot on location
in West Virginia:
(a) American Movies Classics
shot footage at the Kanawha Eagle Coal Mine for its series Into Character;
liaison assistance was provided by the Film Office. Air date will be in the next 4-5 months.
(b)
Park Group of Richmond used WV crew and talent for a series of
commercials for CAMC shot in Charleston.
(c)
VH-1 conducted 3 days of interviews in the Charleston region for
its series Driven; the segment will be on Charleston native Jennifer
Garner and will air on April 21.
(d)
Game Show Network shot footage and interviews for 2 days in
Parkersburg (Wood County) for its series Vegas Weddings, about a
couple who live in Parkersburg and were married in Vegas.
(e)
Ladies Home Journal conducted a photo shoot in Rainelle
(Greenbrier County) for its monthly series on Habitat for Humanity. WV crew was utilized for the shoot.
(f)
Food Network shot footage in Fairmont (Marion County) for the
series Roker on the Road, with a segment on the birthplace of the
pepperoni roll.
(g)
Lifetime Network shot footage and conducted interviews in Waverly
(Wood County) for its series What Should You Do.
Other
productions that shot on location in West Virginia for which I was made aware
are:
(h)
The Learning Channel shot footage in Bluefield (Mercer County)
for its series Second Chance.
This is the second time since September TLC has visited the state for
this program. The first visit was for a
segment shot in Hillsboro (Pocahontas County).
Both visits resulted in WV crew being hired.
(i)
CNN/Moneyline stopped in Morgantown (Monongalia County) for its
program Lou Dobbs Tonight that focused on the "Show Us the
Jobs" bus tour. WV crew was hired
for the shoot.
(j)
CNBC shot footage in Bluefield (Mercer County) for its program Eye
On Technology.
4. Scouting Activity: While details cannot be offered at this time
(teaser!), the Film Office scouted for numerous projects since the last Email
Blast (location decisions have yet to be made on these productions), a few of
which included 20th Century Fox TV, Sci-Fi Channel, ESPN, Paramount Pictures,
and Choice Hotels.
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C. WEST VIRGINIA INDIGENOUS PRODUCTION ACTIVITY
(This section will include only information about production
activity from the state's indigenous filmmakers and videographers and will also
include casting calls for WV productions.
The Film Office cannot possibly follow all indigenous production
activity across the state; this is where you can assist in passing along
information. The Film Office will
consider only information which can be confirmed by a producer or director of a
film/video project. If you are passing
on second-hand info, please include an appropriate contact for the project.):
1. Request for Videographer: My office has been contacted by a non-profit
West Virginia arts organization for assistance in securing a videographer to
shoot footage of a prominent summer event.
Being a non-profit, the organization would like to offer complimentary
admission tickets for the videographer to pass on to a couple of folks of
his/her choosing in exchange for the production service. Please contact my office immediately if you
are interested in providing your professional services.
NOTE: My office has not received any production
alerts about recent indigenous productions.
Attention Production Companies, Filmmakers, and motion
picture/television Actors: please
provide information on indigenous activities you would like to share in these
Email Blasts!
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D. NATIONWIDE CASTING CALLS/AUDITIONS:
1. Casting Call – MTV: Are You Willing to Move Back Home With Your
Parents? MTV is looking for you. Would you be willing to move back into your
old bedroom to live under Mom and Dad's roof and rules one more time -- for an
entire week? Send am email to: movehome@mtvstaff.com – you must include
Name, Your Story, Age, Hometown, and Current Photo.
2. Casting Call – ABC: Is your family ready for primetime
television? The Swap is a
new series that invites you behind the walls of America's homes and lets you
experience how families run their lives.
Each episode involves two families and a fun twist: the Moms of each household swap places for
ten days! If you are a family unit (two
parents and children) who love an adventure, send an email to: theswap@rdfmedia.com.
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E. ARTICLES OF INTEREST, WEBSITES OF INTEREST,
OTHER USEFUL RESOURCES:
1. Union
Deal for Low Budget Films: From the website of the International
Cinematographers Guild, visit
http://www.cameraguild.com, click on the NEWS link, and then click on "Union Deal for Low
Budget Films".
2. Guide to Film Financing: For $19.99, www.fundingfilm.com
offers the Independent Filmmaker’s Guide to Film Financing, a 60-page
downloadable E-book that provides tools necessary for financing films. Provides guidance on how to fund your
project through both traditional and creative sources, including private
investors, specialized loans, pre-sale agreements, grants and foundations.
3. The Independent Film Report: An online newsletter of films released each
week called the "Now Playing Report". For info, visit http://www.ifilmreport.com/nowplaying.
4. Film Scheduling/Budgeting Seminar: For anyone going to be in Los Angeles
mid-May, Ralph Singleton and Burt Bluestein offer this seminar which will
professionally analyze a major motion picture.
Event occurs May 14-16.
For more info, send email to filmmakersonline3@yahoo.com.
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F. FILM FESTIVAL AND/OR SCRIPT SUBMISSIONS:
1. San Diego Film Festival: Now accepting short and feature film
submissions with early deadline on June 1 and final deadline on July
1. Includes screenwriting
competition. Cash prizes awarded
totaling $20,000. For details, visit http://www.sdff.org.
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G. CALENDAR OF EVENTS (generally, WV activities) [please
send in events from around the state for consideration]:
1. Lewisburg, WV — April 15: Two films by local filmmaker Gary Aide,
The Biography of Gwen Clingman and Flood '96, will be shown as
part of the monthly West Virginia Film Series at the Carnegie Hall
Auditorium beginning at 7:00 pm.
Admission is free and open to the public. For more info and a schedule of future film screenings, call
304-645-7917 or visit www.carnegiehallwv.com.
2. Morgantown, WV — April 16: Coordinated by Arts Monongahela, a
visual artist roundtable meeting begins at 12:00 pm, Friday, April 16 at
Morgantown Printing and Binding (MPB), 915 Greenbag Road. The meeting will feature a free presentation
about the digital services that MPB provides to visual artists and
cost-effective ways to develop quality publicity pieces. No cost to attend, but RSVP requested by
calling 304-291-6720.
3. Charleston, WV — April 25: Sponsored by the Federated Jewish
Charities of Charleston, the annual Jewish Cultural Film Series takes place
on Sunday, April 25, at the WVSC Capitol Center Theater, 123 Summers
Street. The Life and Times of Hank
Greenberg begins at 5:00 pm (95 min documentary); Unlikely Heroes
begins at 7:00 pm (119 min documentary from the Simon Wiesenthal Center and
narrated by Sir Ben Kingsley); and Al Jazeera – Voice of Arabia begins
at 9:00 pm (52 min documentary).
Admission is free and open to public.
Theater phone is 304-342-6522.
4. Charleston, WV — April 29-May 2: The 19th Annual Spring Film Festival hosted
by the West Virginia International Film Festival kicks off April 29 and
runs through May 2 at the WVSC Capitol Center Theater, 123 Summers Street. The schedule should be released any
day. To obtain a copy of the schedule,
visit www.wviff.org or email wviff@aol.com. The festival's voicemail is 304-342-7100.
5. Statewide — April & May 2004: Sponsored by the WV Commission on the
Arts, FREE financial management workshops (reservations required) are
available for arts organizations in three regions of the state. The day-long workshops will be divided into
two sessions. Sally Zinno of Sally
Zinno Consulting Services (Warwick, R.I.) is the workshop presenter. The eastern panhandle meeting will occur
from 10 am to 4 pm on April 29 at the War Memorial Building,
Shepherdstown (Jefferson County). The
western regional meeting will occur from 10 am to 4 pm on May 18 at the
Museum in the Community, Hurricane (Putnam County). The north central meeting will occur from 10 am to 4 pm on May
19 at the Erickson Center at Fairmont State College (Marion County). For more info, call 304-558-0240, ext. 155.
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H. CONTACT INFO, DISCLAIMER,
SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE
1. Questions, comments, ideas for Email
Blasts? Send email to
phaynes@callwva.com if you have ideas on topics you would like to see covered
or if you have "news" you would like the West Virginia Film Office to
consider publishing in a future Email Blast.
Please note, however, that the West Virginia Film Office is the sole
authority on which topics may appear in an Email Blast, and it is the sole
right of the West Virginia Film Office to decline to publish a suggested topic,
idea, or other news item. Questions and
comments should be directed to Pamela Haynes, Director, West Virginia Film
Office, 90 MacCorkle Avenue SW, South Charleston, WV 25303; 304-558-2200, ext.
382; phaynes@callwva.com; www.wvfilm.com.
2. The Email Blasts are compiled by the West
Virginia Film Office for purposes of providing information and topics of
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Information contained in the Email Blasts is sometimes predicated upon
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