April 17, 2008
APPALACHIAN FILM FESTIVAL: Back to Bottle Gala Headlines Opening of Appalachian Film Festival
Watch Fest Films for $2 Donation all Day and Night; Free Screenplay Pitch Workshop Saturday
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Entertainment Editor
Huntington, WV (HNN) – For the opening nightof the Fifth Annual Appalachian Film Festival , the Huntington Regional Film Commission has teamed with award winning Marshall student filmmaker, Francesca E. Karle (“On the Rivers Edge”) for a red carpet world premiere. The dinner/premiere begins at 6:15 p.m. $25 tickets are available at First Sentry Bank, Midway Barber Shop, the United Way or charge by phone at (304) 523-2764.
Karle, whose first film focused on homeless on the Ohio river bank, brought national exposure -- including appearances on CBS News This Morning and Montel Williams. The premiere of the first film raised money for homeless programs.
The docu-drama “Back to the Bottle ” focuses on substance abuse.
Clint Howard, brother of famed director Ron Howard and an actor, narrates the production. Howard has often been cast in his brother’s films, but he’s a very active working actor whose roles range from Whobris in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” to a referee in “Cinderella Man,” and Doctor Koplenson in Rob Zombie’s “Halloween.”
His credits go as far back as “The Andy Griffith Show” in which he played Leon in five episodes between 1962-1964. He appeared in numerous classic 60s series such as “Star Trek,” “The Fugitive,” “The F.B.I.,” and “Bonanza,” before moving to the big screen for roles in “Grand Theft Auto,” “Harper Valley P.T.A.,” and “Austin Powers : International Man of Mystery.”
Making a cameo appearance for the introduction, the original “Halloween’s” scream-queen, Jamie Lee Curtis followed the John Carpenter horror suspense classic with roles in “The Fog,” “Prom Night,” “Terror Train,” and four “Halloween” sequels. She turned to comedy and drama hosting “Saturday Night Live,” and appearing in “True Lies” co-starring with Arnold Schwarzenegger, “My Girl,” “A Fish Called Wanda,” and most recently Disney’s re-make of “Freaky Friday,” “The Kid and I,” and “Christmas with the Kranks.”
The red carpet premiere of “Back to the Bottle” includes live entertainment and celebrities from MTV and VH-1. Former American Idol winner George Huff will bring his soulful sounds to the Keith Albee stage prior to the film’s showing.
Ashley McNeely (“A Shot at Love”) and David Otunga (“I Love New York II”) will also appear.
Written by Francesca, the title song will be done live by Rick Ruggles of the Saturday Night Jamboree.
Sponsored by Wal-Mart Supercenter Route 60, St. Mary’s Medical Center, Trifecta Productions, Clear Channel Communications, Brickstreet Mutual Insurance, Bulldog Creative Services, the HRFP, and Oasis Behavioral Health Services, tickets for the premier which includes a 6:15 p.m. Mediterranean dinner at the theatre provided by Rocco’s Restaurants, Sodexo at Marshall University, Pullman Plaza Hotel Catering, Brunetti’s Bakery, Uno Chicago Grille, Bob Evans, Heiner’s Bakery, Pepsi, and Starbucks.
Bleachers and refreshments will be available outside the theatre for spectators to watch the entrance of the celebrities and filmmakers.
The festival itself begins at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 17 with “Devil’s Oven,” which chronicles the longest burning mining fire in North America at New Straitsville, Ohio. Following a program of shorts, the second documentary “Change Comes Knocking,” the story of a bi-racial anti-poverty organization , rolls at 12:45 p.m. followed by “Mountain Top Removal,” which chronicles confrontations between citizens, students and evangelical environmentalists at the nation’s fourth largest coal mine.
Tickets for festival films carry a suggested $2 donation, but you can stay as long as your eyes and ears can hold out. (Note: Does not apply to “Back to the Bottle” festivities.) The screenplay workshop by Ken Rotcop , Saturday, April 19, is also FREE, not $20.
FRIDAY APRIL 18
The festival continues at 10 a.m. Friday with two Young Film Maker productions --- “Anthropophobia” and “Speaking Truth to Power.”
The afternoon highlight will be the locally shot, “Johnny Boy,” in which a man decides to leave a life of crime but takes $20,000 with him. But a blood thirsty villain, Mr. V , has tracked him down and John hopes to survive long enough to return the money. http://johnnyboymovie.googlepages.com
The remaining line up for Friday:
3:00 - “Kilowatt Ours,” a documentary which follows electricity from light switches to sources with an uplifting message on saving the planet.
4:15 – “Tattered Angel,” Emmy Award winner Lynda Carter is featured as the mother of a missing child.
6:00 – “Stomp! Shout! Scream! Offers an all girl band and a spoof on 60s beach party flicks and the Bigfoot craze.
7:25 – “Playdate” – A young boy is persuaded to meet an awkward home-schooled boy. He discovers looks can be deceiving.
8:00 – “Elizabeth Gunness,” follows a middle aged woman in a Norman Rockwell type town, but it’s made in the style of Igmar Bergman, Ayn Rand and Voltaire in which the plots stands alone on a superficial level, but the characters each represent societal fractions of modern culture.
10:00 – Film Festival Party at Club Luna in the Huntington Galleria (Huntington Arcade) , next to the Keith Albee. Come mix and mingle with the stars , filmmakers and special guest Ken Rotcop, known as Hollywood’s pitchman.
SATURDAY APRIL 19
The morning shorts beginning at 10 a.m. include “Spring 1386,” “Doors,” “Nothing But Net,” “Church of the Good Thief” and “Steak Dreams.”
“Church of the Good Thief” presents the first documentary of a free standing church built in 1939 at the Clinton Correctional Center in Dannemora, NY., while “Doors” depicts the meaningless existence of a man until a stranger offers him the opportunity to repair his broken life.
For full film descriptions: http://www.appyfilmfest.com/pages/synopses.html
HOLLYWOOD PITCH MAN
Ken Rotcop headed several production companies and authored “The Perfect Pitch: How to Sell Yourself and Your Movie Idea to Hollywood.” Having appeared on “Oprah,” he won numerous writing awards for his made for TV movie, “For Us, The Living: The Story of Medger Evers.
MORE FEATURES
Following the workshop, films resume at 3 p.m. with a spoof on the early Flash Gordon serials with “Crash Gordon,” followed at 4:30 by “Grilling Bobby Hicks.”
The winners' award banquet at Rocco’s 21 begins at 6:30 p.m. with a $40 cost. WOWK TV’s Dee DeLancy will be the master of ceremonies.
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APPALACHIAN FILM FESTIVAL: Back to Bottle Gala Headlines Opening of Appalachian Film Festival
Watch Fest Films for $2 Donation all Day and Night; Free Screenplay Pitch Workshop Saturday
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Entertainment Editor
Huntington, WV (HNN) – For the opening nightof the Fifth Annual Appalachian Film Festival , the Huntington Regional Film Commission has teamed with award winning Marshall student filmmaker, Francesca E. Karle (“On the Rivers Edge”) for a red carpet world premiere. The dinner/premiere begins at 6:15 p.m. $25 tickets are available at First Sentry Bank, Midway Barber Shop, the United Way or charge by phone at (304) 523-2764.
Karle, whose first film focused on homeless on the Ohio river bank, brought national exposure -- including appearances on CBS News This Morning and Montel Williams. The premiere of the first film raised money for homeless programs.
The docu-drama “Back to the Bottle ” focuses on substance abuse.
Clint Howard, brother of famed director Ron Howard and an actor, narrates the production. Howard has often been cast in his brother’s films, but he’s a very active working actor whose roles range from Whobris in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” to a referee in “Cinderella Man,” and Doctor Koplenson in Rob Zombie’s “Halloween.”
His credits go as far back as “The Andy Griffith Show” in which he played Leon in five episodes between 1962-1964. He appeared in numerous classic 60s series such as “Star Trek,” “The Fugitive,” “The F.B.I.,” and “Bonanza,” before moving to the big screen for roles in “Grand Theft Auto,” “Harper Valley P.T.A.,” and “Austin Powers : International Man of Mystery.”
Making a cameo appearance for the introduction, the original “Halloween’s” scream-queen, Jamie Lee Curtis followed the John Carpenter horror suspense classic with roles in “The Fog,” “Prom Night,” “Terror Train,” and four “Halloween” sequels. She turned to comedy and drama hosting “Saturday Night Live,” and appearing in “True Lies” co-starring with Arnold Schwarzenegger, “My Girl,” “A Fish Called Wanda,” and most recently Disney’s re-make of “Freaky Friday,” “The Kid and I,” and “Christmas with the Kranks.”
The red carpet premiere of “Back to the Bottle” includes live entertainment and celebrities from MTV and VH-1. Former American Idol winner George Huff will bring his soulful sounds to the Keith Albee stage prior to the film’s showing.
Ashley McNeely (“A Shot at Love”) and David Otunga (“I Love New York II”) will also appear.
Written by Francesca, the title song will be done live by Rick Ruggles of the Saturday Night Jamboree.
Sponsored by Wal-Mart Supercenter Route 60, St. Mary’s Medical Center, Trifecta Productions, Clear Channel Communications, Brickstreet Mutual Insurance, Bulldog Creative Services, the HRFP, and Oasis Behavioral Health Services, tickets for the premier which includes a 6:15 p.m. Mediterranean dinner at the theatre provided by Rocco’s Restaurants, Sodexo at Marshall University, Pullman Plaza Hotel Catering, Brunetti’s Bakery, Uno Chicago Grille, Bob Evans, Heiner’s Bakery, Pepsi, and Starbucks.
Bleachers and refreshments will be available outside the theatre for spectators to watch the entrance of the celebrities and filmmakers.
The festival itself begins at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 17 with “Devil’s Oven,” which chronicles the longest burning mining fire in North America at New Straitsville, Ohio. Following a program of shorts, the second documentary “Change Comes Knocking,” the story of a bi-racial anti-poverty organization , rolls at 12:45 p.m. followed by “Mountain Top Removal,” which chronicles confrontations between citizens, students and evangelical environmentalists at the nation’s fourth largest coal mine.
Tickets for festival films carry a suggested $2 donation, but you can stay as long as your eyes and ears can hold out. (Note: Does not apply to “Back to the Bottle” festivities.) The screenplay workshop by Ken Rotcop , Saturday, April 19, is also FREE, not $20.
FRIDAY APRIL 18
 |
| Stomp! Shout! Scream! |
The afternoon highlight will be the locally shot, “Johnny Boy,” in which a man decides to leave a life of crime but takes $20,000 with him. But a blood thirsty villain, Mr. V , has tracked him down and John hopes to survive long enough to return the money. http://johnnyboymovie.googlepages.com
The remaining line up for Friday:
3:00 - “Kilowatt Ours,” a documentary which follows electricity from light switches to sources with an uplifting message on saving the planet.
4:15 – “Tattered Angel,” Emmy Award winner Lynda Carter is featured as the mother of a missing child.
6:00 – “Stomp! Shout! Scream! Offers an all girl band and a spoof on 60s beach party flicks and the Bigfoot craze.
7:25 – “Playdate” – A young boy is persuaded to meet an awkward home-schooled boy. He discovers looks can be deceiving.
8:00 – “Elizabeth Gunness,” follows a middle aged woman in a Norman Rockwell type town, but it’s made in the style of Igmar Bergman, Ayn Rand and Voltaire in which the plots stands alone on a superficial level, but the characters each represent societal fractions of modern culture.
10:00 – Film Festival Party at Club Luna in the Huntington Galleria (Huntington Arcade) , next to the Keith Albee. Come mix and mingle with the stars , filmmakers and special guest Ken Rotcop, known as Hollywood’s pitchman.
SATURDAY APRIL 19
The morning shorts beginning at 10 a.m. include “Spring 1386,” “Doors,” “Nothing But Net,” “Church of the Good Thief” and “Steak Dreams.”
“Church of the Good Thief” presents the first documentary of a free standing church built in 1939 at the Clinton Correctional Center in Dannemora, NY., while “Doors” depicts the meaningless existence of a man until a stranger offers him the opportunity to repair his broken life.
For full film descriptions: http://www.appyfilmfest.com/pages/synopses.html
HOLLYWOOD PITCH MAN
Ken Rotcop headed several production companies and authored “The Perfect Pitch: How to Sell Yourself and Your Movie Idea to Hollywood.” Having appeared on “Oprah,” he won numerous writing awards for his made for TV movie, “For Us, The Living: The Story of Medger Evers.
MORE FEATURES
Following the workshop, films resume at 3 p.m. with a spoof on the early Flash Gordon serials with “Crash Gordon,” followed at 4:30 by “Grilling Bobby Hicks.”
The winners' award banquet at Rocco’s 21 begins at 6:30 p.m. with a $40 cost. WOWK TV’s Dee DeLancy will be the master of ceremonies.
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Make HNN Your Homepage (IE Users Only)
