The Oregon film community's official blog.
Oregon Film is hosting OMPA’s December Media Mixer Wednesday 6th, December. RSVP as soon as you can – come and help OMPA cut their cake to celebrate 35 years!
December 6th, 5.30-8pm
Oregon Film’s offices, 123 NE 3rd Ave, Portland (use main entrance on 3rd street, and park in the parking lot behind the building on 1st)
See you there!
After a shortened week last week RotLA returns today with the final installment of its Noirvember sub-series. This time, it’s a moody and realistic dive into Portland’s not-too-distant but oh-so-different past featuring understated performances, quietly iconic locations and an it-sneaks-up-on-you tension – passing by not only RotLA’s humble narrator’s own Hollywood neighborhood but also The (great) Laurelhurst Theatre in the process finally culminating under the Morrison Bridge outside (where else?) City Liquidators.
One of the great things to celebrate about Oregon’s film history is its direct connection to Indie Directorial Voices and how they have influenced the mood, style and substance of many of the nation’s great cinematic trends; James Blue, James Ivory, Gus Van Zant, a transplanted Alex Cox and many of those highlighted by our Raider/Contributor in past posts – not to mention the pioneering animators and illustrators who literally changed the face of both commercial and experimental animation on all levels.
Thank you to the Oregon Historical Society‘s KOIN Collection, and specifically to the Archivist for Photography and Moving Images, Matthew Cowan, and based on research done by Kickass Oregon History, we have some very rare and interesting footage to share about a film which found itself in the wilderness outside of Baker City in 1968.
Last week we were lucky enough to screen the film to a packed house at The Hollywood Theatre in Portland and we were excited to see so many people who had a direct connection to the actual shooting of the film.
Wonderwritten is an Independent Film slated for production spring of 2018 in Scotland. Join Oregon based creators in telling a uniquely compelling story of the human experience set in the stunning Scottish Highlands.
In a rare and emotional screenplay, the story of Alan Ainsley, a Scotland based writer, follows a series of five days in a week of his life. Driven by Alan’s internal narrative of letter-like writings and inspiring compelling curiosities about his patterns of behavior, Wonderwritten reveals an unexpected expression of humanity.
This week, continuing in the Noirvember theme, our world takes on a distinctly darker tone and embraces illegal pinball machines the corrupted Portland that found its way into hearing rooms in D.C. before the likes of J. Edgar Hoover and Bobby Kennedy (under the aegis of the McClellan Committee). This is decades before The Polybius Conspiracy took hold of the local gaming world and with much more visceral and evil intents. Raider/Contributor Phil Oppenheim takes us behind the dark and dirty veil of Portland Exposé.
On Thursday, Nov. 16, Oregon Film, Kickass Oregon History, the Baker Heritage Museum and the Hollywood Theatre screen PAINT YOUR WAGON (1969), one of the most spectacular movies in Oregon’s long, rich, and varied film history.
As the story goes – Gov. McCall appointed Warren Merrill, Oregon Film’s first director, in 1968 specifically to ensure that the permitting and transportation process for the Paramount feature shooting in Baker County went as smoothly as possible. This means as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the production of the film, we also celebrate 50 years of the Oregon Film Office.
Earlier this year KAOH‘s Doug Kenck-Crispen came to us and said “we need to do something on ‘Paint Your Wagon’,” and we said “heck ya, Pardner!” Then, in August and October we made separate trips out over rough roads into the wilds of the Eagle Cap Wilderness to find what remains of the shooting location for the 1968 production which built not one but two No Name cities. KAOH went even deeper, camping on site, digging into the location remnants, the people, the history, the stories and the amazing scenery about 30 miles outside of Baker City and the result is this podcast and the upcoming screening of “Paint Your Wagon” at the Hollywood Theatre on November 16 with all proceeds going to the Baker Heritage Museum who have a great PYW exhibit all of their own in Baker City.
This week our intrepid Raider moves us into Noirvember and coins another term for calendar-based genre. Thi
s time we embrace true micro-budget filmmaking and the creative genius of necessity coming out of Eugene. Oregon’s cinematic history is long but its Eugene chapter is deep and varied – Five Easy Pieces, Animal House and, with the Kesey Connection, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Sometimes a Great Notion happening not too far afield.
This time Raider/Contributor Phil Oppenheim takes us into the more opaque nooks and crannies with….
Brian McElroy has been working in location management for over two decades and has had an interesting career path that ultimately led him to Oregon. We caught up with him after he had finished working on “Woodstock or Bust” – an indy film written and directed by Leslie Bloom, a Lake Oswego native.
Brian started in location management in LA where he worked on shows like “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Melrose Place”.
The Menucha Retreat and Conference Center is a non-profit organization which hosts adult retreats, workshops, and conferences. It is located approximately 20 miles outside Portland, Oregon in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. This particular workshop will be an intense one-week course in TV/film production. We are looking for professionals who have TV/film credits in their particular field of expertise. We currently have an instructor for directing TV/film, and a writing instructor, and are looking for an acting instructor, a DP to teach TV/film camerawork, and an editing instructor.
