All Over Albany

More on the boxing movie being filmed at the TU Center

Here's a little more background on the film being shot at the TU Center next month. The Challenger, was written and directed by Kent Moran(that's his picture on the right), who says they signed Smallville's Justin Hartley for the film today. It will also star Moran and Ernie Sabella.

Moran says the film is an inspirational movie about a kid growing up in the South Bronx "He has to turn to boxing to win his life back. It's his journey of finding himself and getting confidence back and rekindling relationship with his family."

If you come to the TU Center for the February 4 fight, you'll have the opportunity to stay and be an extra in some of the crowd shots. That shoot will start around 10 pm and run through the night.

We spoke with Moran today and he says there will be a few other opportunities for locals to be a part of the film. They're looking to get a crowd to show up at the TU Center during the day on February 27, when they'll be filming scenes with some of the leads. That shoot may bleed over into the 28. He says it's a family film and they're looking for all types and all ages. Anyone who shows up will have a chance to take part.

The TU Center is the only Capital Region location being used in the film. The rest of the movie will be shot in The Bronx. Moran says he found the TU Center after a scout, but had heard the Albany was a supportive place to make films.

There are also a few small roles that remain un-cast and Moran says he may look to local actors to fill some of those.

A few years ago he wrote a film called Listen to Your Heart, which starred Cybil Shepard and Ernie Sabella. That film was distributed in limited theatrical release, then on-demand and then picked up by television. Moran describes The Challenger as "a low budget indie" and expects that it will be more of a festival film which will then make its way to theaters.

Tickets for Brunswick x2

Drawing's closed! Winner's been emailed!

The new documentary Brunswick -- about a farmer, local politics, and the tension between farming and development in Rensselaer County -- will be screened for the first time at the Spectrum next Wednesday (December 7). It's already sold out.

This Sunday at 7 pm, Matthew Carefully will be performing the music he composed for the Brunswick soundtrack at Caffe Lena. We're guessing it will be a packed house.

You still can go to both the screening and the concert -- because we're giving away a pair of tickets to both of them. To enter the drawing, please answer this question in the comments:

If could grow anything, what would it be?

Of course, "anything" in this case could be fruits or vegetables. It could also be... well... anything. Creative answers encouraged.

We'll draw one winner at random. That person will get a pair of tickets for each event. And if you could attend both, that would be extra swell.

Here's a bit more about Brunswick, which is directed by Nate Simms. And here's more from Matthew about the soundtrack. Bonus: the Caffe Lena show's opener is Bailiwick.

Important: All comments must be submitted by 10:30 am on Thursday (December 1, 2011) to be entered in the drawing. You must answer the question to be part of the drawing. One entry per person, please. You must enter a valid email address (that you check regularly -- seriously, if you win, we want to give you the tickets) with your comment. The winner will be notified via email by noon on Thursday and must respond by 9 am Friday (December 2).

Brunswick

Debuting soon: Brunswick, a documentary by Nate Simms about the tension between development and farming in the Rensselaer County town. From the blurbage:

Brunswick is a film about landscape change, told through the personal story of a farmer's lifelong connection to his now-threatened land. The film weaves together the plight of Sanford Bonesteel, an aging farmer in his 90s, with the dynamics of small-town politics as a residential development is planned on Sanford's former land.

The film takes place in Brunswick, New York, a small country town facing the challenge of balancing economic growth with the preservation of its rural character. It is a story both specific to Brunswick and yet recognizable to rural communities all over the United States.

All we've seen of the doc is what it's in the trailer embedded above, but it appears to be about the proposed Highland Creek development, that was to be built on farmland acquired in a deal involving the town supervisor. The development was the subject of multiple lawsuits and allegations of conflicts of interest. Bonesteel passed away at the end of 2008. [Troy Record 2008] [Wikipedia] [Troy Record 2006] [Troy Record 2008]

The first screening of the doc will be December 7 at the Spectrum. Tickets are $6.

Bonus bit: The soundtrack for the documentary was composed and performed by Matthew Carefully, who will be performing the music at Caffe Lena on December 4.

Film Columbia 2011

The screenings are at The Crandell Theater in Chatham.

FilmColumbia -- the annual film festival in Chatham -- has become very popular.

So popular that the all-films pass for this year's festival, which starts next week, already sold out. But tickets are still available for most of the individual film screenings and events.

As in year's past, this year's lineup includes a handful of much-anticipated films.

(there's more)

A super villain's greatest challenge: motherhood

Awkward.

Jeff Burns is a pretty cool guy, for a geek.

Born and raised in the Capital Region, Burns is fairly certain he was born a geek -- though he doesn't recall the exact details -- and proudly embraces the title. Among the indicators:

1. His favorite movies are the original three Star Wars flicks.
2. He has a penchant for Shakespeare, medieval history and musicals (getting geekier...)
3. He just wrapped up the filming portion of his new live action web-series Super Knocked Up.

That last bit screams geek, but since he spends his free time surrounded by gorgeous actresses portraying super-villains, he must be doing something right.

(there's more)

William Kennedy's Prohibition Story

A scene from William Kennedy's Prohibition Story -- location: Ryan's Wake

Next week PBS premieres the new Ken Burns documentary, Prohibition.

There's quite a bit of prohibition era history wrapped up here in the Capital Region, and a whole bunch of talented local actors and filmmakers are working on a local companion piece that will air alongside the Burns documentary on PBS stations around New York State.

Here's a preview:

Watch the full episode. See more WMHT Specials.

More on the project, plus some great location photos, after the jump.

(there's more)

Ballston Spa Film Festival lineup

The Ballston Spa Film Festival is coming up next week, and today it announced its lineup of films. A few highlights:

+Mineville - The BSFF is showing its first feature-length film this year: Mineville, which was shot in Essex County. It's about the struggle of early 1900s miners in the North Country to unionize. It stars William Sadler, Paul Sorvino, and Nick Wechsler.

+ There are two films from Aardman, the animation company behind Wallace & Gromitt: Blind Date (embedded above) and Fly.

+ The Gruffalo - The animated short was nominated for an Oscar this year. It features the voices of Helena Bonham Carter and John Hurt.

+ Films from locals such as Kevin Craig West and Michael Feurstein.

The festival starts August 4. Screenings are free.

The full lineup is after the jump.

(there's more)

Back in town: Eric Ayotte

Traveling film fest impresario, musician and Troy native Eric Ayotte will be back in town this week, performing and showing films at Tuesday at the Albany Social Justice Center.

While living in the New Paltz area, Ayotte had the idea for a traveling film festival that could help foster a stronger community for DIY filmmakers like himself. That led to the creation of the Gadabout Film Festival almost a decade ago, a collection of short films that Ayotte and others brought from town to town in a bio-diesel powered van. Since then, the festival has completed several national tours and screened the works of filmmakers from all over the country and the world. It's a festival that's not competitive and is aimed more at creating connections and building communities among those producing truly independent film.

Ayotte's also a musician and he'll be showing off both talents at Tuesday's show.

(there's more)

Hey, that's Dan Bazile up on the silver screen!

Susan emailed us this week: "Went to see a preview of The Adjustment Bureau last night at Colonie Regal, and WNYT and Dan Bazile have a cameo in the movie."

How about that! We hadn't heard about this, so we emailed Dan for the scoop about his appearance on a screen that's a bit bigger than the one where he usually appears.

(there's more)

Virgin Alexander trailer

Check it out: there's now a trailer for Virgin Alexander, the indie film that shot in Saratoga last summer. You'll probably recognize a few local spots:

Virgin Alexander was co-written and co-directed by Sean Fallon, a Saratoga Springs native, and his wife Charlotte Barrett. It stars Rick Faugno (as Alexander), Bronson Pinchot (yep, Cousin Balki), Mika Boorem (Dawson's Creek) and Paige Howard (daughter of Ron).

We hear they still have a few more weeks of work left on the film. They're aiming for a release sometime this year.

Earlier on AOA:
+ Virgin Alexander coming along (photos)
+ A chat with Sean Fallon and Charlotte Barrett
+ Virgin Alexander

The Grand Street Arts' Youth FX

Darian, Bhawin and Michael at Grand Street Community Arts Center

Darian Henry and Michael Mejia are teenage filmmakers from Albany and they're presenting their work at Madison Theater Thursday night. They're part of Grand Street Community Arts Youth FX , a six week intensive, hands-on summer film program.

The mission of Youth FX is to "empower and inspire youth through the acquisition of technical skills in the emerging field of digital media as well as to foster their creativity through the art of visual storytelling." I can't speak for all of the students, but from the short time I spent with Darian, Michael and the program's director, Bhawin Suchak -- their mission succeeded, and then some.

Their film, The Third Rail, blew me away. I had the opportunity to screen it this past week and I wasn't expecting what I saw -- at all.

(there's more)

Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then

This could be interesting/odd/compelling: EMPAC is screening Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then Friday night. It's a stop-motion film, using live actors and wooden characters, directed by Brent Green. From the blurb:

Based on the true tale of Kentucky hardware clerk Leonard Wood, Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then tells an inspiring, poignant, and darkly humorous love story of a man who built a bizarre and sprawling home for his wife by hand in the hope that it would cure her of terminal cancer. Accompanied by a stellar band of musicians that include Brendan Canty (Fugazi), Howe Gelb (Giant Sand), Catherine McRae, and others, Green uses intense narration ranging from quiet, vulnerable storytelling to cathartic fumes bordering on the evangelistic.

The screening starts at 8 pm. Tickets are $15.

TvFilm 2.0

WMHT's indie cinema series is looking for another round of submissions:

WMHT is looking for the very finest, unique and original independently made short films upstate New York has to offer in order to showcase on TvFILM, premiering in June. Hosted by Brandon Bethmann, TvFILM will also engage dialogue with winning filmmakers to discuss the inspiration, ideas and concepts behind their work. In addition, TvFILM will profile the people, places and events that are shaping WMHT's growing independent film and media community.

The deadline to enter is April 16.

Ballston Spa Film Festival 2009

Come Wander with Me

The Ballston Spa Film Festival is back this year -- and it's added a third day.

This year's schedule gets rolling Thursday night with the premiere of the second season of eScape, the kids series directed by local filmmaker Mike Feurstein. Here's the trailer -- it looks like the second season has some good special effects.

Friday and Saturday nights feature a slate of short films. One of the highlights from Friday: Phillip Van's Come Wander with Me, which looks beautiful and strange.

Many of the screenings at the BSFF are outdoors in Wiswall Park. The Thursday screening of eScape starts at 9 pm. Friday and Saturday night screenings start at 7 pm and 9 pm. Screenings are free.

Taking Woodstock

Taking Woodstock, the Ang Lee movie filmed in Columbia County, opens August 28 (August marks the 40th anniversary of the event). Here's the trailer (with a short intro by Demetri Martin, who plays one of the leads):

(The trailer's available in much higher quality at Apple's site.)

This film is a comedy -- and we gotta say the phrase "a comedy from Ang Lee" didn't exactly light us up. But the early reviews have been generally positive -- if anything, reviewers seem to think it actually is funny.

From what we hear, a bunch of local people were extras in the film. It'll be fun to see if we recognize anyone.

Earlier on AOA: A peek at the Taking Woodstock shoot

Justin Maine: "So Right, So Smart"

Justin Maine, one of the directors of "So Right, So Smart."

Local filmmaker Justin Maine just got back from New Zealand where he collected the Best Feature Film prize at the Reel Earth Festival for his new documentary, "So Right So Smart."

Maine is one of the owners of MagicWig Productions in Schenectady. Usually they produce corporate video, but for the last three years his team (Guy Noerr, Leanne Robinson Maine and Michael Swantek) has been flying around the country documenting the efforts of businesses to "go green."

The resulting film, narrated by Daryl Hannah, covers a wide range of businesses -- from a farm to a brewery to a clothing company to Barenaked Ladies (yep, the band) to Wal-Mart.

So Right, So Smart makes its local debut on Saturday at Albany's Palace Theater.

Before he left for New Zealand, Justin hung out with us over bagels and told us how the worlds largest manufacturer of commercial carpeting taught him about the importance of going green, why Al Gore isn't in his movie and what he and his team have in common with folks like Kevin Smith and Peter Jackson.

(there's more)

Frozen River out on DVD

Frozen River, the Oscar-nominted film written and directed by Chatham's Courtney Hunt, was released on DVD this week.

Netflix has Frozen River currently tagged as a "long wait" disc. Blockbuster's site indicates the film is available at what looks like all of its local stores (alas, no permalink). And Hollywood Video's site says it's available at "most" of its stores.

As for purchase: Amazon has it for $19.99, B&N for $20.29 and Borders for $30.99.

Frozen River is currently the highest rated film on the recent DVD release list at Metacritic.

Earlier stuff about Frozen River on AOA.

Synecdoche in Schenectady

Synecdoche in Schenectady. Dude, that's meta.

Yes, it's finally happened. Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche" has come to Schenectady. Proctor's is showing the Kaufman flick which stars Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a Schenectady theater director who gets a MacArthur grant and builds a giant New York city, casting actors to play himself and everyone else in his life.

And you can see it in Schenectady. The only way this gets more meta is if Kaufman sits next to you and provides a running commentary. We caught it last week at the Spectrum. It left us with a charlie horse in our heads, but it was worth seeing. You can catch it tonight or at one of 3 showings on Wednesday for $6

Also, if the eloquence of the new administration has you missing words like misunderestimated and phrases like, "gynecologists can't practice their
love with women" you can catch Josh Brolin as #43 in Oliver Stone's "W" at Proctor's today and tomorrow. That one is only $3.

You. In a movie. In Troy.

Roman Jacquez, who directed the mini documentary about the 400 block of Troy's River street (embedded above), emailed us this week:

This coming Sunday, I will be directing a scene for a Christmas movie at Monument Square in Troy, just across the street of The Art Center. The scene I will be filming is the martini scene of the movie and entails a town coming together with candles around a Nativity Scene.

Here is a description line from the script Away In A Manger:
"In the gloomy dark, lighted candles appear. They come from all directions and glow like a small galaxy of flickering stars. The town's people with their tiny lights file around the stable and come close to the manger."

This could be a fun thing to do for those who want to be an extra... is definitely a great a excuse to go out for dinner at the nice restaurants in the neighborhood. We are looking for extras to join us and help create the atmosphere. The filming is between 5:30 and 8pm.

More honors for Frozen River

Frozen River, the film directed by Chatham's Courtney Hunt, was nominated in a bunch of categories for this year's Spirit Awards (kind of like the Oscars for independent film).

It picked up nominations for best feature, best director, best first screenplay, best female lead (Melissa Leo), best supporting female (Misty Upham), best supporting male (Charlie McDermott), and a producers award. Frozen River won the grand jury prize earlier this year at Sundance. And it's gotten rave reviews from critics.

Synecdoche, New York, the Charlie Kaufman film that's partially set in Schenectady, also got a handful of Spirit nominations.

The winners will be announced in February.

(Thanks, Kelly!)

FilmColumbia

One of the sites for FilmColumbia screenings.

It might not be Cannes or Sundance, but the lineup at this week's Chatham's FilmColumbia is still pretty impressive.

The annual festival is bringing four days of films to this adorable Columbia County village, including the new Charlie Kaufman film Synechode, New York.

And there's a lot more to look forward to.

(there's more)

A peek at the Taking Woodstock shoot

Where are the good drugs, man?

Look what showed up in our inbox today: pictures from the set of Taking Woodstock, the comedy (yes, comedy) Ang Lee has been shooting in Columbia County.

There are a few more pics after the jump. They appear to be from some kind of first aid or medical station set. Everyone seems sufficiently hippie-ish.

(there's more)

I Love NY short film winner

Remember a while back when the I Love NY folks announced a make your own commercial contest? Well, the very famous judges (including Tina Fey and Phillip Seymour Hoffman) have spoken. And the winner is...

(there's more)

Toto, we're not in Leningrad anymore

The yellow brick road was just a yellow brick road, right?

There are two film screenings tonight that you might be interested in -- though for totally different reasons.

The Palace Theatre is showing The Wizard Oz. Sure, you've already seen it (hundreds of times) -- though we're guessing that seeing it on the big screen a horse of a different color (oof). And if you really want to dress up the experience, ponder the economic and and political allegories woven into the story as they relate to the current Wall Street Meltdown and presidential race.

Or not. We recommend just enjoying the ruby slippers and the flying monkeys. The screening starts at 7 pm. Tickets are $5.

Also tonight is a screening of The Russian Question at the Spectrum. As it happens, our knowledge of 1940s Soviet cinema is limited, so we'll let the blurb from the Spectrum site take it from here:

Based on a play by K. Simonov, The Russian Question (1947) is a rare Soviet Cold War film that shows the Soviet perspective on the Cold War. It tells the story of Garry Smith, an American journalist who spends time in Russia and sees socialism in action. Upon his return to the United States, a prestigious editor asks Smith to write a book about his experience. A handsome advance is given, and Smith and his fiancé are able to buy a house, a car and other symbols of the American dream. But the advance comes with a caveat: Smith's book is to be a real hatchet job against Soviet society. Will Smith simply keep the money and do what's expected of him? or will he instead speak the truth?

Others have described the film as "a fascinating piece of inaugural Cold War agitprop" and "flat-out Soviet propaganda." There are two screeings today: at 1 pm ($6.75) and at 6 pm ($8.50).

Manhattan Short Film Festival in Hudson

A still from one of this year's finalists, Ode Ober.

Here's something cool going on in Hudson this Sunday and through the next week. The Manhattan Short Film Festival is screening a slate of films at locations all over the world, including Space360 in Hudson. Everyone who attends gets to vote on their favorites and the winners are picked by the worldwide tally.

It looks like this festival has a track record of showing some quality films. Last year's winner, I Met the Walrus, was nominated for an Oscar. Here are this year's finalists.

Space360 will be showing the slate of 12 movies Sunday at 2 pm and 5 pm, and then on Thursday, Friday and Saturday next week at 2 pm, 5 pm and 7 pm. Tickets are $8.

Grabbing something to eat at one of Hudson's cool restaurants and seeing these shorts could definitely be a good time.

(Thanks, Melissa!)