Tampa Film Fan

screenwriting class at usf

Mike Matteo, screenwriter of the local film Descansos, is teaching a 6-week screenwriting course at the University of South Florida.  Offered through USF’s Continuing Education Department, this course begins on February 14 at 7 p.m. and costs $165, plus a $10 parking fee.  Click here for the course description and registration details.

(Thanks go to Creative Tampa Bay for the info.)

second annual film noir festival

I’ve got February 9-16 marked on my calendar in bright red ink. The second annual Film Noir Festival at the Studio(at)620 in St. Pete is coming!  All films are “presented by local film critics, authors, filmmakers and other noir experts” with discussions following the screenings.  Films to be screened include The Killing, Sunset Boulevard, Blood Simple, Born To Kill and Laura, among others.  The cost is $7 for one film or entrance to two films for $10.

The festival includes an exhibit, which is free of charge.  “The Reluctant Sitter” is a “fascinating collection of mugshots from the early 20th century with contemporary DVD mugshot-like portraits.”

Visit www.thestudioat620.com for times, location and more detailed descriptions.

watch out for evil teddy bears

While straightening up the house this weekend, I came across this summary from a December issue of the magazine The Week:

Four Indiana high school students have been expelled for making a satirical film in which evil teddy bears attack a teacher.  Knightstown High School officials say that because a teacher in the film has the same last name as an actual teacher, they considered the movie a threat, even though the local prosecutor reviewed the film and decided no laws had been broken.  “It’s just like a nightmare,” said sophomore filmmaker Issac Imel.  “I never expected anything like this.”

The students have been readmitted. What a wacky world we live in, huh?

please help me raise money for the american cancer society

I’m raising money for the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life of South Tampa, which will take place May 4-5 here in Tampa.  If you’re interested in helping me in the fight against cancer, please visit my ACS page and make a contribution:

http://www.acsevents.org/relay/fl/southtampa/lisaciurro

Together, we can make a difference.  Thank you!

documentary an inconvenient truth banned in seattle school

From the January 26 issue of The Week:

A Seattle school district has temporarily banned schools from screening Al Gore’s global-warming documentary An Inconvenient Truth. The decision came after complaints from parent Frosty Hardison, an advocate of creationism and father of seven children.  “Condoms don’t belong in school and neither does Al Gore,” said Hardison.  “The Bible says that in the end times everything will burn up, but that perspective isn’t in the DVD.”  School board officials say the ban will be lifted for any teacher who accompanies Gore’s film with another film representing an “opposing view.”

I didn’t care for An Inconvenient Truth, but c’mon already.

contemporaries italian film series at the museum of fine arts in st. pete

The St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts has a Contemporaries Italian Film Series.  Did you know that?  I didn’t, until local film fan Eric Sturm told me about it. Here’s the schedule:

• February 4 at 2 p.m. — Cosmino de’ Medici (The Age of Medici trilogy part 1)
• February 11 at 2 p.m. — The Power of Cosimo (The Age of Medici trilogy part 2)
• February 18 at 2 p.m. — Leon Battista Alberti:Humanism (The Age of Medici trilogy part 3)
• February 23 at 2 p.m. — Il Ladro di Biciclette (The Bicycle Thief)

Tickets are $5 each and may be purchased online or at each screening.  Click here for film descriptions or to order tickets. Visit www.fine-arts.org to learn more about the MOFA.

dvd review:imagine me and you

I’m not sure if Imagine Me and You was going for shock value or for sentimental sweetness.  It failed on both accounts.

Piper Perabo’s character Rachel is a beautiful, bustling bride who happens to fall in love at first sight with an attractive stranger while walking down the aisle at her own wedding.  To further complicate matters, the attractive stranger is a woman, the florist who did the flowers for the wedding. 

Watching Rachel contemplate leaving her new husband is uncomfortable, because he’s a nice guy who adores her and doesn’t deserve what’s coming to him.  Watching Rachel struggle with her sexuality is annoying, because the storyline is unbelievable and flimsy.  Watching Imagine Me and You and summoning some sort of concern about the outcome is almost impossible, because you just want the freakin’ movie to end, already.  Surely love at first sight is more moving than this?

Film Fan Finding: D

DVD Extras:

• commentary with the director
• director’s statement
• deleted/extended scenes with introduction and commentary

pinellas film society meeting was a success

Pete Bradshaw posted this comment regarding the new monthly Indie Film Night at Studio XP in St. Pete.  I didn’t want you to miss it, so I’m re-posting it here:

Hi-
Just a note to let you know that the first PINELLAS FILM SOCIETY meeting was a complete success. The attendance was nearly 70 people and the discussions were meaningful for all. Students from USF showed a feature they just completed and others showed a few of their TV commercials produced. All these were last minute submissions but were glad to accommodate them. Additionally and as planned we showed commercials and two award winning shorts produced by FIERCE-I-FILMS of St. Pete. Kimberly Heath-Carrico and Guy Balson spoke on behalf of the Gasparrila and Sunscreen Film Festivals respectively and the need for submissions and volunteers. Next meeting is Friday, February 16th which so far will feature Paul Guzzo, founder of TFR and showing some of he and brother Pete’s work.
Note: The format of each evening is intentionally different from that of TFR gatherings as it focuses on identifying local talents and helping to promote same to the industry. People are encouraged to bring in their resumes, films and questions, and/or promote their businesses during the “Showcase” portion of the evening. ALL ARE WELCOME……AND FREE TO ALL.

To read my original post and other comments, click here.

casting call for local internet series falls edge

Local filmmaker Mike Beazel (Crusader Pictures) has cast actress Nicole Davis in his upcoming internet series Falls Edge, but still has other roles to fill.  He sent me the following via email:

I am currently in search of writers, directors and actors for this project. The general feel I am going for is Buffy/Angel/Firefly; strong character development with humor and drama intermixed.

Here’s a quick character breakdown:

Hero:

• Edge Kagan (25) — History grad student (think modern, young Indiana Jones)

Reflections:

• Sylvester Dugan (50) – Retired history professor; hangs out in the library; very eccentric; rumored to be crazy (think Dr. Emmett Brown but Scottish)
• Andy Cruise (22) – Aspiring filmmaker; loves excitement but is too timid to live the life of adventure
• Thomas Joss (30) — Older American Studies grad student searching for his purpose in life. Until then, he will annoy as many people as he can. Seems selfish but has a heart. (A cross between Jayne from Firefly and Dr. Cox from Scrubs)
• Alicia Diaz (22) — The spunky girlfriend. Enough said.

Villains:

• Marco Devlin (23) — Blames Edge for his brother’s death. Spoiled little rich boy.
• Alien recovery team (various) — In the form of beautiful human females, sent to find and activate “It” in order to reanimate their leader in preparation for an invasion of Earth.

Contact Mike at Mbeazel(at)tampabay.rr.com if interested.

judging american idol

Are you watching American Idol? 

I don’t really care for the show and have only watched a handful of episodes.  I’m not a fan of so-called “reality TV.”  I like my TV fake: larger than life, fun and full of escapist fantasies.  If I wanted to see real people doing regular things, I’d turn off my TV, get off my couch and re-join society.  (Plus, singing back-up with some friends to the Supremes’ “Stop in the Name of Love” in my 5th-grade talent show pretty much killed off any interest I had in singing and music.)

Last season I watched the first couple of American Idol episodes just to see what the big deal was, and found myself fascinated by all the rejected contestants.  Did these people really think they could sing?  That they were the next American Idol?  Watching their auditions was far more entertaining to me than watching the successful wannabees move on to the next round.

On Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, I tuned in to the first two episodes of this season’s American Idol, expecting to see a few off-key, sadly funny attempts mixed in with the usual bag of hopefuls.  Instead, what I saw was an absolute freak show.  A horde of very unusual-looking people with little or no singing ability proceeded to the audition stage, where one by one they were mocked, insulted and laughed at by the AI judges.

Yes, there were a lot of – take a deep breath and summon my inner Mean Girl — unattractive and weird people auditioning, most of whom had terrible singing voices and were probably tone-deaf.  Yes, American Idol always throws in a few people who shouldn’t have made it past the first tryout, to spice things up a little.  Yes, Simon is notorious for being mean.  Yes, if you are going to audition, you should be able to take criticism.  Yes, it’s only a TV show.

But to have Simon, Randy and Paula laugh during the auditions and make fun of how the contestants look is too much. Too mean, too cruel, too vicious.  Calling the guy with big eyes a “bush baby,” telling the soft-spoken guy to put on a dress and be a female impersonator, calling the extremely tall woman (who made it through to the next round) a “giraffe” is unnecessarily harsh.  Simon told one contestant (the “bush baby” guy) ”you don’t look like an American Idol.”  I can only assume he’s referring to the traditional Hollywood good looks of AI winners Fantasia Barrino and Ruben Studdard or runner-up Clay Aiken.

It’s one thing to criticize contestants’ musical talent and quite another to make fun of their physical attributes.  Besides, have Simon, Paula and Randy looked in the mirror lately?  Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!

But there’s no such thing as bad publicity, I suppose.  American Idol is what everyone is talking about. In the U.K.  In New York. In Canada. In St. Pete. Even Rosie O’Donnell called the show “so sad.”

The strategy apparently worked, because American Idol scored stellar ratings.  What does that say about our society?

Personally, I’m going back to my sofa and my non-reality, escapist TV.  Because there’s never any controversy there, you know.

(cross-posted at www.sticksoffire.com)