"Meeks Cutoff" gets distribution

So I was doing the Oregon Film rounds Friday night (very rare for me).  I first stopped by OMPA’s “Oregon’s Got Talent” event which was literally packed with talent.  Then I headed over to a wrap party at the North Portland Chopsticks – equally fully with creative talent.  At the party I heard producer Neil Kopp was at the bar celebrating the news that “Meeks Cutoff” got a distribution deal with Oscilloscope Laboratories.  I went looking for Neil before my curfiew of 11:00 but could not find him to congratulate him on the news.  Continue reading... “"Meeks Cutoff" gets distribution”

Documentary Chooses Ashland for Easy Shooting

Southern Oregon – Shawn Adams flying an auto-gyro for the shot. Jamie Lusch / Daily Tidings

It’s always great to hear of projects choosing to shoot in Oregon and when we heard about the producers of the documentary, Half Way Home, choosing the Ashland area over their native LA for some of it’s scenes, we learned the reasons in this case were threefold; less expensive, less red tape and solid talent.  Gary Kout, producer and executive director of the  Southern Oregon Film and Television organization, connected the producers with talented auto-giro pilot, Shawn Adams (Rotor-Head) in southern Oregon to get their tricky arial scenes. Continue reading... “Documentary Chooses Ashland for Easy Shooting”

Glowing review of "Meeks Cutoff" from Variety

Meeks Cutoff

Variety film critic Justin Chang gave a rave review of Kelly Reichardt’s film “Meeks Cutoff” last week in Variety.  He saw the film at the Venice film festival.  Among the things he praised were the locations credited to location scout Roger Faires.  How often does a location person get credit in a review? Here’s an excerpt from the review.

“Reichardt’s decision to shoot in the 1.33 aspect ratio enhances the docu-like feel and yields one majestic composition after another, the nearly square frame capturing the wide-openness of these harshly beautiful desert vistas (Roger Faires is credited for the film’s Oregon locations, which look utterly of the period). Continue reading... “Glowing review of "Meeks Cutoff" from Variety”

“The Roads of Oregon” – a New Addition to the Oregon Film Website

by Bob Schmaling, Senior Project Manager

I was very happy to get an opportunity to work with Nathan to put together a website about Oregon roads.  With a landscape that includes deserts, mountains, forests, prairies and an ocean, there’s ample opportunity for engaging vistas.  Oregon roads have played roles in feature films, TV series, documentaries, travelogues, but most often car commercials. Continue reading... ““The Roads of Oregon” – a New Addition to the Oregon Film Website”

Fuji TV films Geiser Grand Hotel

Geiser Grand Hotel

“Unbelievable” TV Show is one of the highest rated TV shows in Japan, now in its 11th season. More than 15 million people watch every show. We’re thrilled here that they chose the Geiser Grand for a special show on the ten most interesting spots on the planet! Director and crew arrived last night, joined by a translater/producer out of LA (only one stop from Tokyo to Baker City, Oregon!)

This is Director Nakayama’s second trip to the Geiser Grand Hotel. Continue reading... “Fuji TV films Geiser Grand Hotel”

News of "Meeks Cutoff" premiere in Venice

Michelle Williams at Premeire courtesy of Wire Images

Shawn Levy from the Oregonian picked up on some stories about the premiere of the Oregon made film “Meeks Cutoff” at the Venice International Film Festival.  Here’s the article he wrote over the weekend.

As Shawn mentions in his article several positive reviews are already surfacing.  We were also able to find several other web stories about the premiere.  Here are a few links to more information on the film’s premiere.

Yahoo Movies

NY Times

AceShowbiz

The Guardian (England)

NPR

Huffington Post

OK so it didn’t hurt having Michelle Williams walk the red carpet with a new hair style but the general coverage of the film was very positive.  Continue reading... “News of "Meeks Cutoff" premiere in Venice”

Extreme Makeover shows up in Salem, OR to help School for the Deaf

Courtesy of the Statesman Journal
Courtesy of The Oregonian

Today in Salem the long running ABC show “Extreme Makeover Home Edition” showed up at the Oregon School for the Deaf.  This season the show is focusing on community projects and they picked the school this year for their Halloween episode as they will be remaking the school’s dorm and a new haunted house.  Construction on the project began today and the project is slated to be completed by next Sunday.  All of the students from the school are traveling to Minnesota to visit the Starkey Hearing Foundation. Continue reading... “Extreme Makeover shows up in Salem, OR to help School for the Deaf”

Travel Oregon issues RFP for Ad Agency

Hello all you creatives out there who either work in advertising or aspire to.  Travel Oregon is looking for an ad agency.  Check it out here http://industry.traveloregon.com/About-Oregon-Tourism-Commission/Job-Opportunities.aspx

Film and Video’s connection with tourism in Oreogon has always been strong.  Here’s a chance to actually profit from this connection! Continue reading... “Travel Oregon issues RFP for Ad Agency”

Meek’s Cutoff Selected For Toronto Film Festival

Meek's Cutoff was shot entirely on location in the high desert in Burns, Oregon

The Toronto Film Festival has announced its 2010 lineup.  Among them is Kelly Reichardt’s “Meek’s Cutoff” as part of the Comtemporary World Cinema  Programme.

Kelly Reichardt directed the short films Ode (99), Then a Year (01) and Travis (04). Her feature films include River of Grass (94), Old Joy (06), which won a Tiger Award at the 2006 Rotterdam International Film Festival, Wendy and Lucy (08), which was named best film of 2008 by the Toronto Film Critics Association. Continue reading... “Meek’s Cutoff Selected For Toronto Film Festival”