Tampa Film Fan

news from the education channel

Two emails from The Education Channel to share with you:

Bright House moved The Education Channel to channel 614 on December 11, 2007. Channel 614 is a digital channel and requires a digital converter box. This also applies to The Explorer Channel, your source for NASA TV, currently on channel 21 in the City of Tampa. Bright House moved The Explorer Channel to channel 620.

At the River I Stand, a documentary at 10 p.m. on January 21.

Visit www.educationchannel.org for more info.

faq:looking for local screenings of classic, older movies

Dear Tampa Film Fan:

I am a fan of strictly older films, all kinds.  Is there a particular site or location that will keep me posted about older films being shown (whether film societies or clubs, museums, libraries, etc.)?  I have been going to the Tampa Theatre for quite a while and have recently come across the Beach Theatre, but it has been extremely difficult finding theatres or groups that show older films.  I did come across the Sarasota Film Festival, and they seem to show some old films, but I’m not sure if this is through the entire year.  I know there are a couple of theaters in Orlando and Ocala, but that is very far to go, unless it is some real special event.  I am originally from a large city that has numerous film revival theaters.  I am very happy to have the Tampa, and now Beach, theaters, but am always looking for classic movie screenings. I have little to no interest in current films.  Many of the films I see on the big screen I either have seen on Turner Classic Movies or I own on tape or DVD.  But I do miss the event of going to see film on the big screen.  Any advice you can give will be greatly appreciated.

Dear Reader:

I don’t know of any one site that will give you this information. I try to keep the event calendar here at TFF as updated as possible, but it’s not limited to any particular film genre. Here are a few suggestions you might be interested in:

(1) The Tampa Theatre and the Beach Theatre are the main local theaters that show older movies on a regular basis, but there are special events at other local theaters every once in a while (like the recent screening of a classic Star Trek episode). You might want to use a site like http://tampa.mrmovietimes.com, where you can search for theaters near a certain zip code and easily check their screening schedules.

(2) There are many film festivals in the Tampa Bay area, but the majority of them don’t show classic films on a regular basis. There are a few exceptions, however, that I think you’ll be interested in: (a) the Film Noir Festival, a week-long retrospective of infamous and not-so-famous examples of film noir held at The Studio(at)620 in St. Pete in February/March (www.thestudioat620.com); (b) Cinema Italiano, a one- or two-day film fest of classic Italian movies, part of the annual Festa Italiana in March/April (www.festaitalianatampa.com).

(3) Eckerd College has a film series called the International Cinema Series on Friday nights (during the school semester) that screens a mixture of older and newer foreign films (www.eckerd.edu, search for “cinema”).

(4) Local libraries offer a variety of classic film screenings: some weekly, some monthly and occasionally a “special event” screening. Most libraries list their events on their websites and in monthly/quarterly newsletters available at each of their branch locations.

Hope this helps.

Local film fans — Please let me know what else should be listed here. Post a comment with your answers to this question.

(This post has been added to the FAQ page.)

happy holidays

I hope this holiday season is full of friends, family, food and fun. And great gifts. Can’t forget the gifts!

My holiday haul satisfied all of my personalities…my girlie-girl side got pajamas, lotions and potions, and more lip gloss than one person can use in a lifetime; my film fan side got movie tickets and a stack o’ DVDs; and the book lover in me got a Borders gift card and a huge reference book (about TV shows, for my inner couch potato).

Plus the gift basket from my sister, the culinary school grad. Fa-la-la-la-YUM.

Happy holidays everyone!

revenge of the nerds, indeed

Let’s hear it for nerdy women! (Don’t panic, nerdy men. We still like you.)

Congratulations to The Park Bench, “a gathering place for nerdy women and nerdy men of discerning taste“ for not only posting a great list of 50 Nerdy Things To Do Before You Die, but for also being mentioned in the USA Today blog Pop Candy.

I “know” Ms. Park Bench — in a MySpace-friend-once-removed sort of way — because she’s the friend of a friend. When my friend told me today about the USA Today mention, I told him that the next time he spoke to Ms. PB to please tell her that I said congratulations and that I’m insanely jealous of her, but I mean that in a good way.

Gotta love that girl power. (Please note that the Pop Candy blogger is also a woman.) Call us whatever you want — nerdy women, geek girls, fangrrls or just regular ole amazing women. Just don’t call us while Battlestar Galactica is on.

p.s. For those of you keeping score at home, I’ve done 1 1/2 of the 50 things. In all fairness, I should say that I scored 1 1/2 out of 50:

• #19, part-time and/or freelance (half point)
• #27, sort of. Wasn’t underground (was at a SlayerCon), wasn’t the entire musical, but I do have the soundtrack and listen to the same two songs every morning on the way to work, singing along at the top of my lungs (half point)
• #38, sort of. Don’t ask. (half point)

I almost did #49, if that counts for anything. #8 and #21 are my top goals for 2008.

news and notes:cates, loren cass, secrets of a medicine man, beazel

• Did you miss the chance to see Academy Awards producer Gil Cates when he was in Tampa last month for a fundraiser for the Hillel School of Tampa? Both Cates and Eileen Kanter from Events By Eileen were on Tampa Bay’s Media Talk and the segments are available on YouTube. Watch Gil Cates’ interview here and Eileen Kanter’s here.
• Congratulations to the local filmmakers at Jonesing Pictures, Inc. Their film Loren Cass has won the One+One Award for Use of Music in a Feature Film at the EntreVues Film Festival (a.k.a. the Belfort International Film Festival) .
• The trailer for locally-produced documentary Secrets of a Medicine Man is now available on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5xX2wCRKZQ.
• Local writer/director Michael Beazel “has written a short screenwriting article titled Character Studies for Film and Television and he is making it available for anyone who wants a PDF copy. For a copy, email MBeazel(at)tampabay.rr.com.” (h/t to local filmmaker Guzzo Brother #1)

no pinellas filmmakers society screening friday

Due to the impending holidays, there will NOT be a Pinellas Filmmakers Society screening and meeting this Friday, December 21. They’ve got some good stuff planned for January and 2008, which I will post in the next few days (what little I have, at least). Just wanted to get word out about this cancellation for now.

news and notes: nerve film issue, tiglff name change, that’s a wrap actors forum

• The annual film issue of Nerve is out and “it features some of the naughtiest moments on the screen, along with sex advice from movie extras, some critical analysis into the age-old cinematic pleasures of teenage lust, and, of course, lots of other titillating/thought provoking stuff.” (received via email) Depending on which Nerve article you’re reading and where you work, this might be NSFW (not safe for work), so consider yourself warned. You’re dying to check it out now, aren’t ya?
• The Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival has changed its name to the Clip Film Festival. The year-round film events produced by the group Friends of the Festival now have names like Clip Film Series and Clip Film Outreach. “Friends of the Festival has a diverse and growing audience, therefore festival organizers came to see that they needed a brand that is able to represent the entire region and provide a foundation for future growth. The new name and logo will be formally rolled out in January.” (h/t to the Tampa Bay Film Commission)
• Local actor Rod Grant has announced the startup of a new online actors forum. It’s free to join and you can “network with other actors, discuss important and/or social topics, meet in the social lounge, post and/or view national castings and make announcements.” I popped over there to take a quick peek before posting this. Looks like the site’s off to a good start. Visit www.thatsawrapactorsforum.com and see for yourself. (h/t to Guzzo Brother #1)

film fan finding:i am legend

Here’s what I thought of I Am Legend (scroll down to the third review).

Film Fan Finding: B

happy holidays

Was kidnapped by Santa and am being forced to work in elves’ workshop. Cobbling shoes is hard work. Constant supply of cookies and milk help somewhat.

Hope to escape soon.