Thanksgiving is only a few days away and for me this means that I want to watch a great movie to go with the season. I know that Thanksgiving isn't a holiday that is well known for having great movies to watch but I figure it would be good to tell people about three films that I know go good with the season.
What's Cooking (2000)
Director: Gurinder Chadha
Starring: Julianna Marguiles, Kyra Sedgwick, Alfre Woodard
Four very different families celebrate Thanksgiving in their own way along with their family and all the problems that come with having family get together.
Pieces of April (2003)
Director:
Starring: Katie Holmes, Oliver Platt, Patricia Clarkson
April is the black sheep of the Burns family but she is trying to show her family that she has changed. This Thanksgiving she has invited the family to her apartment where she will be making the feast but it isn't as easy as it seems.
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)
This is holiday classic film from the great Charles Schultz that is great for children of any age. Peppermint Patty invites herself to Thanksgiving dinner at Charlie Brown's house but he really doesn't know what to do. Episodes of the Peanuts Classics can be downloaded from PeanutsOnline on YouTube.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Accidental Icon: The Real Gidget Story
Little girls today have it easier than their foremothers did years ago. Thanks to women like Susan B. Anthony and Alice Paul women can vote, Amelia Earhart piloted a plane across the ocean by herself and Kathy Kohner Zuckerman helped make grabbing a long board and hitting the waves cool for more people. Kathy, now Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, may not be a well known name among the surf community but her nickname from when she first started to hit the surf in Malibu over 50 years ago still lives on today. Alot of girls that have paddled out has heard the name Gidget right?
Accidental Icon: The Real Gidget Story chronicles the story of how Kathy's story as a young girl learning to surf with the boys has now become legend and lingo embedded in the sport of surfing. The film features interviews with surf champions, amateur surfers, surf legends (including the original Kahuna of Malibu), the director of the original Gidget movie, Sally Fields and much more while narrated by Jorja Fox (C.S.I.'s Sara Sidle).
After the screening at the Orlando Film Festival I was able to here lots of fun fact about how this project came to be.
Kathy ended up spending lots of time at the beach when she was was child because her parents always took her. When she started to begin to surf she only lived 25 minutes from the beach in West Los Angeles so it was never a far drive in her borrowed family car. She considers the book as a big dedication to her father because without his interest in her life and listening to her there would have not been a book or the phenomenon.
Director Brian Gillogly was a surfer at age 11and surfing continued on in his life with his eventual job as a reporter for a surf magazine which is how he ended up meeting Kathy in 1981. Eighteen years later he decided to he was very much interested in creating a documentary about Kathy's story. It was funny to hear the Kathy's first response was that he "talk to my lawyer". Once Brian did get the film rolling he worked very hard for around a year getting all the pieces together. He had his first screening in 2006 but was not able to do anything with the film for over three years because the big studios didn't want to release footage and stills from their films or television series. Luckily a friend of Gillogly's heard a discussion about fair use laws on NPR and he was able to finish his film. With this new knowledge in tow Gillogy was able to get the clips, photos, posters and anything else he needed without worry. Unfortunately Paul Wendkos the director of the original Gidget film who was interviewed for the project was not able to see the finished documentary because he died November 12 of last year.
After the screening at the Orlando Film Festival I was able to here lots of fun fact about how this project came to be.
Kathy ended up spending lots of time at the beach when she was was child because her parents always took her. When she started to begin to surf she only lived 25 minutes from the beach in West Los Angeles so it was never a far drive in her borrowed family car. She considers the book as a big dedication to her father because without his interest in her life and listening to her there would have not been a book or the phenomenon.
Director Brian Gillogly was a surfer at age 11and surfing continued on in his life with his eventual job as a reporter for a surf magazine which is how he ended up meeting Kathy in 1981. Eighteen years later he decided to he was very much interested in creating a documentary about Kathy's story. It was funny to hear the Kathy's first response was that he "talk to my lawyer". Once Brian did get the film rolling he worked very hard for around a year getting all the pieces together. He had his first screening in 2006 but was not able to do anything with the film for over three years because the big studios didn't want to release footage and stills from their films or television series. Luckily a friend of Gillogly's heard a discussion about fair use laws on NPR and he was able to finish his film. With this new knowledge in tow Gillogy was able to get the clips, photos, posters and anything else he needed without worry. Unfortunately Paul Wendkos the director of the original Gidget film who was interviewed for the project was not able to see the finished documentary because he died November 12 of last year.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Short Film: Children
One of the short films that I viewed during the Orlando Film Festival was Children. This short was about a relationship between a boy and a girl that are on the playground. The thing that makes the film different is that it can be perceived as a satire of the progression of adult relationships. Because the film hit so close to home for everyone in the theater it was very entertaining and the audience loved it.
The filmmaker is a local film student from the University of Central Florida named Jon Strong. His actors are also local and I was able to sit down with one of his cast members, a very young man by the name of Samuel Dixon.
At the ripe old age of 8 years old Sam is working hard to get his foot in the acting game. He has appeared in five short films (including Children) that were produced in Central Florida, been trained in Los Angeles, appeared in a Bob Evans commercial and an episode of the Lifetime series Army Wives. He told me a bit of how he felt during his episode which was from season four of the series entitled Safety First. Sam's character was in a car crash with his mother and he had to call for help. "It was hard because I had to cry" Sam told me. Even though the crying wasn't fun he liked all the special effects that went with his scene his scene particularly the stage blood. Well boys will be boy I guess.
At the ripe old age of 8 years old Sam is working hard to get his foot in the acting game. He has appeared in five short films (including Children) that were produced in Central Florida, been trained in Los Angeles, appeared in a Bob Evans commercial and an episode of the Lifetime series Army Wives. He told me a bit of how he felt during his episode which was from season four of the series entitled Safety First. Sam's character was in a car crash with his mother and he had to call for help. "It was hard because I had to cry" Sam told me. Even though the crying wasn't fun he liked all the special effects that went with his scene his scene particularly the stage blood. Well boys will be boy I guess.
During the Question & Answer segment after the film Sam was asked what he disliked and like about filming Children. Sam mentioned that "It was hard to work because people would wonder on set and watch us during the kissing scene." But what he liked the most were the "free bagels". The director of the film even joked that he may have been really interested in kissing his co-star Rachel Durose.
When I wondered what Sam was next up to he told me that he would be in the film The Bailey Case from Terminal 52, a movie somewhat like the series Ghost Hunters where he will be featured as a ghost. With the professionalism and better acting skills than some twice his age, as well as the longer resume, I see Samuel Dixon going far in the business. So keep an eye out for him in the future.
To check out Sam on imdb go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3914793/
Or take a look at his homepage: http://www.samueljdixon.com/Public/Welcome.html
For more from Children director Jon Strong head to: http://strongfilms.org/
For more on Sam's next project head to: http://terminal52films.com/index.html
Monday, November 15, 2010
Orlando Film Festival
Just a little over a week ago The Orlando Film Festival went off without many major hitches. The festival which is still very young among the festival circuit is slowly gaining coverage exposure. One of the best things about this young fledging festival is that to attend any of the films it is completely free. Along with the films that were shown there was a panel called In and Out of Hollywood that included veteran filmmakers along with actors Alison Brie (Community, Mad Men) and Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense, Pay It Forward). Also attendees had the option of paying for an honored event called An Afternoon with Olympia Dukakis. Some attendees that put down money for the festival were privy to the "Afternoon", along with two live comic acts, discounts at local eateries and parties. One of the most anticipated events was the Wrap Party which included a live performance from recording artist Edwin McCain.
I unfortunately only caught a few films at the festival and it included the Accidental Icon: The Real Gidget Story, A Muppet Family Christmas,Homemade Puppet Dreams for Families ( a collection of short films that included puppets), Montana Amazon, and three Short Programs; Family, Funny and Love. Running along side the Orlando Film Festival was the Orlando Puppet Festival which is hosted by Heather Henson, Jim Henson's Legacy and involved in puppetry in her own right.
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