A few months back I was contacted by the PR executives at TNT regarding a profile that Costco was looking to do on “Leverage”. I was curious why Costco of all companies was interested in talking about Oregon Film and Video but when I found out that their Costco Connections gets sent out to over 8,000,000 people nationwide, I realized it didn’t really matter why they were interested, it was great exposure for our state and this industry.
OMPA member Frank DiMarco has donated his well-traveled “Making Movies” exhibit to Film Action Oregon. http://www.filmactionoregon.org/ The collection of framed black and white images depict recent filmmaking in Oregon, with emphasis on the individual crafts that go into making a production. Film Action Oregon Artistic Director Richard Beer says, “We are honored that Frank decided to donate this lovely collection to Film Action Oregon. It is a wonderful testament to the talent that lives and works in Oregon.” “Making Movies” has been exhibited in Portland’s City Hall, The Art Institute of Portland, Portland Community Media and several restaurants in Portland. Continue reading... ““Making Movies” Exhibit Finds Permanent Home”
Oregon has always been fertile ground for talented writers and many have seen success on the big screen as well. We have Ken Kesey to thank for “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Sometimes a Great Notion”. OSU alum Mike Rich (“Finding Forrester”, “Secretariat”) has written the screenplays to several successful films recently. Today there are perhaps more writers than ever who have made Oregon their home and more and more are finding success in the film industry as well. Continue reading... “Spielberg to Direct Film Based on Portland Author’s Novel”
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”
So I love nothing more than doing a little googling on a Thursday night (kind of sad commentary) and I came upon this piece that aired on KOIN this week. Last week the principals of the the show “Portlandia” held a low key press conference and KOIN’s show Studio 6 covered the press conference as well as the other local media outlets. They got some good stuff from Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein so check it out!
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”
Photo from ThunderAnt Website - Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen
Just picked this up from Kristi Turnquit’s article in The Oregonian and Willamette Week blog. Sounds like the IFC show “Portlandia” will be able to use the popular Musicfest Northwest to its benefit. According to the report in the blog, the show will be shooting part of its series at the Festival next week. Also in the article is the mention of several guest appearances in the show – band members from the Shins and Decemberists, Gus Van Sant, Selma Blair, Kyle MacLachlan and Steve Buscemi. Continue reading... “Portlandia Appearing at Musicfest NW?”
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 
