Kickstarter Campaign for Civic Stadium Film Terminates at End of June

Civic Stadium, built in 1938 as a WPA project in Eugene, Oregon, is a rare historic resource and is on the National Register of Historic Places.  This classic wooden grandstand, which seats about 7000, has been a community catalyst for generations, but now is threatened with demolition.  Its story is the story of countless cultural heritage sites around the world, of which some of which have been protected and many have been lost. Whatever happens to it, we intend to make a documentary film about the place and its community significance so that future generations will know what we had.  Continue reading... “Kickstarter Campaign for Civic Stadium Film Terminates at End of June”

Commercial Production Brings Value to the Community, the Environment and the Local Economy at the Same Time

Not uncommonly, we just had a major US retailer shoot a commercial here in Oregon but this one was different, they did it with a sustainable mandate that came from the client’s corporate office.  The greening company, EcoSet was hired to oversee the process.  EcoSet operate as an  “environmental production resource committed to implementing customized, practical, and sustainable environmental solutions for commercial productions”.   A relatively new breed of environmentalists are finding a way to green commercial and feature productions in creative and resourceful ways by plugging into what communities already offer. Continue reading... “Commercial Production Brings Value to the Community, the Environment and the Local Economy at the Same Time”

“Commercially Speaking . . .”

Most of the attention of late has focused on feature films and the renewal of the production incentives. The press loves to write about the “Leverages,” the “Grimms,” the “Gones” and the “Portlandias’ because they bring recognizable star talent to Portland.  And because they have a mystique about them; they are, for all intents and purposes, “the movies,” “Hollywood.” But we don’t want to loose sight of that portion of the production world that has provided a reasonably steady stream of work for local crew and local vendors; the COMMERCIAL. Continue reading... ““Commercially Speaking . . .””

“Meek’s Cutoff” Opens at Portland’s Fox Tower on Friday

For all of you who haven’t seen “Meek’s Cutoff”, the film opens at Portland’s Fox Tower on Friday.  Local Writer Jon Raymond and Producer Neil Kopp will be on hand for a Q&A session at screenings on Friday and Saturday night.  Almost a month ago we held a screening of the film at the Elsinore Theater in Salem and the film was very well received.  It is a stunningly beautiful film featuring great acting, great directing and great locations!  Please do check the schedule of the Fox Tower later in the week to get more details about the show times as well as the times that Jon and Neil will be doing their Q&A. Continue reading... ““Meek’s Cutoff” Opens at Portland’s Fox Tower on Friday”

Update on Film Industry In Southern Oregon

An article this week  in Oregon Business Magazine highlighted film production in the southern region of the state. Producer, Gary Kout, founder and director of SOFAT made note of the production upturn due in part to diverse locations and  experienced crew.  For the details read here.

Continue reading... “Update on Film Industry In Southern Oregon”

“Leverage” Begins Production of Season 4 Up on the Mountain

Photo of the location of Season 4's 1st day

Oregonian writer Kristi Turnquist posted this piece today collecting all the photos and tweets coming from the cast and producers of “Leverage”. This year the team decided to shoot the opening episode up in the Mount Hood area which is the first time the show has left the Portland Metro area.  I’m sure when they wrote the episode, they didn’t plan for a blizzard but let’s all hope it goes well for them up on the mountain.  Continue reading... ““Leverage” Begins Production of Season 4 Up on the Mountain”

Sundance Round Up And Oregon Wine

Troon Vineyard, Applegate Valley near Grant's Pass, Oregon

Shawn Levy (The Oregonian) has been busy blogging from Sundance with the roundup of the fantastic showing of Oregon made films and documentaries that have been screening, check it out here.

They  were not the only Oregon products featured at Sundance this year – Troon Vineyard (located in the beautiful Applegate Valley near Grant’s Pass) was selected to pour at the Sundance opening ceremonies.  They served; Troon 2009 Viognier, 2007  River Guide White and 2009 Druid’s Fluid Red and 2007 Kubli Bench Cabernet Sauvignon.  Continue reading... “Sundance Round Up And Oregon Wine”

Does Oregon Have The Best City To Live, Work & Make Movies In?

Every year Movie Maker Magazine surveys independent filmmakers in the united states to find the best cities live and work in.  They focus on a number of criteria; good cost of living, employment opportunities, quality of life, affordable home prices and of course financial incentives, availability of locations and quantity of crew and vendors.

The annual best places to “live, work and make movies” will be out in their magazine’s winter edition, which is released at Sundance next year.  We would love to be on that top ten list again…..so Continue reading... “Does Oregon Have The Best City To Live, Work & Make Movies In?”

“Things Look Better in Oregon”

Elites Insert 1 with the modular crane
Elites Insert 1 with the modular crane

After my three decades here with film and video, Oregon each year grows. Its not going to stop. The tools that are available now are state of the art.

Local investors keep building as more productions look at Oregon as a location. What needs to continue is the banding together of all the states workers to show outside production that we are ready. The state itself has always been a place of some of the most incredible locations anywhere. Continue reading... ““Things Look Better in Oregon””

Gus Van Sant’s "Restless" Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7bHEuN8ulU&w=600&h=340

Restless, starring Mia Wasikowska (Alice In Wonderland) and Henry Hopper (Dennis Hopper’s son), is set in Portland and shot on location in the greater metro late last year.  Written by  Jason Lew (The Experiment) and directed by Portland native, Gus Van Sant (Milk, Good Will Hunting, Finding Forrester) is set to be released January 2011. Continue reading... “Gus Van Sant’s "Restless" Trailer”