The Confluence

Glowing review of "Meeks Cutoff" from Variety

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).

Update from Oregon Film trip to Los Angeles

Hollywood Bowl — OK so you can't see anything but I had this photo to share

On Friday we were able to take advantage of a unique marketing opportunity thanks to the support of the Portland Based band Pink Martini, a few donated bottles of Oregon Pinot from the Willamette Valley Winery Association and the coordination efforts of Jennifer Yocom from Portland Mayor Sam Adams’ office. Thanks to Jennifer’s relationship with the band and the band’s willingness to help market Oregon, we were able to obtain twelve tickets to the Pink Martini concert friday night which was the first of three performances this weekend at the bowl.

Portlandia Appearing at Musicfest NW?

4975245158_6e2f8fa1cb — 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.

Filmmaker Michael Bartlett Begins Shooting "House of Last Things" in Portland, OR

Starring Actors from “True Blood” and “Breaking Bad” and Portland Area Actors

Portland, OR—September 9, 2010—On September 13th, award-winning Portland-based filmmaker Michael Bartlett commences principle photography on HOUSE OF LAST THINGS the supernatural thriller screenplay he wrote. The film stars actors from “True Blood” and “Breaking Bad” as well as Portland Area Actors.

The film, which will be lensed by veteran cinematographer Ken Kelsch, ASC (known for “Big Night” and his collaborations with Abel Ferrara including “Bad Lieutenant” and “The Funeral”) and shot entirely on location in Portland for five weeks, stars LINDSEY HAUN (“True Blood”), RJ MITTE (“Breaking Bad”), and BLAKE BERRIS (“Days of Our Lives”), as well as local actors Randy Schulman, and Diane Dalton in lead roles.

Fluid Images Honored by OSU

history_2008beijing_triathlon — Fluid Images' (Central Oregon) Strada Crane facilitating TV coverage at the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Fluid Images, based in Sisters, Central Oregon, is being honored by OSU in receiving the “Orange Spotlight” award. (The award singles out companies that, amongst other things, are innovative, stimulate and support the local economy as well as hire skilled and talented OSU alums).

Fluid Images was founded in 1990 when Bob Johnson (OSU graduate) and his son Rick, built the 72 foot Akela Crane in their barn.

“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.

Fuji TV films 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.

News of "Meeks Cutoff" premiere in Venice

michelle williams.jpg — 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.

Oregon Film and TV Union Members Celebrate Labor Day

If you’re a Twitter or Facebook user, you’ve probably seen a number of posts on those services celebrating union membership, and the contributions union members have made to the entertainment industry. This “Labor Day Tweet-a-thon” is a coordinated effort by the Screen Actor’s Guild, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Actor’s Equity, the Major League Baseball Players Association, and American Rights At Work (to find out more about the Labor Day Tweet-a-thon, click here!)

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

bilde — Courtesy of the Statesman Journal

extremejpg-70c9577e0b53c056_large — 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.

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