Little Rock Film Festival, 1st post of several

Posted on June 5, 2010 by yarnspinnerpress

Here’s the blab from Little Rock.

First night of the festival featured Winter’s Bone as the opener. Turned-away crowd was bigger than that seated, so they’re looking for an opportunity to do a second one. Enthusiastic crowd that asked good questions and praised us all shamelessly. After the screening and a short interview, we retired to the Terry Mansion (The Terrys led the fight to reopen LR schools after Faubus closed them in ’54.) The organization was the Women’s Emergency Committee. Good folks.

You should see this hotel room. In fact, you will. I’m taking pictures. Was joined here by actors Dale Dickey, Sherry Waggoner, Loren Sweetzer and Garrett Dilsomething.

I’m dozing. More tomorrow.


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Kittens

Posted on June 1, 2010 by yarnspinnerpress

Does anyone out there need a kitten. I have three, at last count, and they’re all adorable/incorrigible. I finally had to throw them out of the house for despicable behavior. But they’re cute, so I’m still feeding them. Their nemes are Ava (there’s a siamese in there somewhere), Archie (a spendid tabby male and, embarrassed to say, the smartest of the lot) and Midnight (the color you’d expect). I’ll do shots and worming.

This photo was stolen from the internet. When/if there is a pic of the REAL kittens available for adoption it will get posted!

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Off to New York Soon, and Don’t I have a Birthday?

Posted on May 31, 2010 by yarnspinnerpress

Also, according to the Arkansas Gazette, Winter’s  Bone is the odds-on favorite to win the new Oxford American Prize (which will be presented in Little Rock) for Southern Films. So I guess I’m going to the awards, too. Any advice out there about what one wears to one of these things, given that I gave up dresses for Lent about four decades ago.

I did dig something out of the closet that I picked up at Sister Spirit a couple of eons ago. I described it to Jonathan as a sort of mix between Hillbilly chic and Druidic. He said a Hillbilly druid seemed like a good thing to be. We’ll see.

What with the awards and all, I won’t head home until the morning of the seventh, and then leave for New York on the eighth or early on the ninth for the New York openings. It starts with an “art” opening Wednesday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, then a day off, then two openings, uptown and downtown, two shows each, where we’ll be hopping back and forth in a taxi to do the Q&A at each. Saturday is a phone date with the folks doing a film conference at Lake Placid (can’t get there in time to show up in person), then I come home — just in time for five days of intense practice with both bands for our appearances at the Old Time Music Festival on Friday, June 18.

Oh, yeah. I have a birthday in there somewhere. The 15th I think, although I think I’ll need to put it off until the work’s done.  Hm… just re-read this, and think I wasn’t very clear. Nobody really thought I was trying to claim it as my 15th birthday, did they? Nope. I’m 68, and proud to be here. Actually, I’m proud to be anywhere.


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Viewer Comments About Winter’s Bone

Posted on May 18, 2010 by yarnspinnerpress

Janet Ravenleigh Redford says; It was great. A movie usually ruins a book for me; I waited to see the movie first. I have to admit I m very impressed. There were several moments that made me very emotional. The single tear Rue shed, her comment that without the weight of her brother and sister she would be lost (to drugs I thought) and the dream with the frantic squirrel darting… See More side to side with the noise of a cain saw in the background. The thought of having to sell the woods the family depended on for food, heat and solace really got to me too. Goddess, I love this country even with it’s problems. I under stand the need for a crutch under such conditions. I thought the younger children related to each other in a way that showed they were loved in spite of a less than desirable lifestyle. Alison Smith thank you very much for the tickets!!

Lois R. says; “I appreciated the panel discussions both in West Plains and Springfield. In WP, the juvenile officer and prosecuting attorney were very clear that locking up drug users and meth cookers is not proving successful. And Dr Heneger pointed out that simply controlling meth is NOT the solution either. We need to come up with better ideas. In Springfield… See More there were two young people who grew up in a meth home. They said they relied on teachers and other adults to keep them sane and ultimately to provide them with the way out of their sad sad situation.”

“I came away from seeing the film the second time with more of a sense of Ree as a hero. I see hope for the future in her courage, and in the quiet resolution of those two young folks on stage afterwards to do different than was done to them.”

powered by: moonmooring

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Winter’s Bone Ozarks Screenings Update

Posted on May 16, 2010 by yarnspinnerpress

photo credit; S. Denton, Moonmooring

We just passed the midpoint of the screening marathon, and will finish up tomorrow, so it seems time to catch everyone up on the general progress of things.

The West Plains screening was delightful in many ways, most of them related to the number of people in the audience whose faces I recognized. Wonderful, but bizarre. The movie itself hit some snags due to projector problems. Gary York was on top of it, though, and literally babysat the machine to make sure that any problem was addressed immediately. The house was packed for both showings, and tickets and money were flying back and forth up until the last minute before showtime. Exciting, I feel enormous gratitude for the turnout by the community.

Springfield was also a good experience, but just barely. Huge snafus with the audio department left us playing to another packed house with no monitors and no sound check. And then when the film showed, it was distorted horizontally, making the proportions much wider than tall. Again, it was made less dramatic by the obvious pleasure of the audience  members, who loved it.

Now Branson’s history, and it has showed us how people who take artifice seriously can show a film flawlessly. We had trouble from miscommunication with venues that were supposed to host the after-party, but they got worked out. All in all, three good evenings that tested tempers but worked out well.

On to another adventure tomorrow.
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This From the Arkansas Times

Posted on May 15, 2010 by yarnspinnerpress

This from the  Arkansas Times about the 4th annual Little Rock Film Festival.

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photo credit; S. Denton, Moonmooring

“Winter’s Bone,” Debra Granik’s Sundance-winning adaption of Daniel Woodrell’s novel of the same name, will open the Little Rock Film Festival , with Granik and actor and Fayetteville native Lauren Sweetser in attendance.

“Winter’s Bone,” set in the meth-plagued Missouri Ozarks near the Arkansas border, centers on a 17-year-old girl who’s trying to track down her father, who’s forfeited his family’s house by skipping bond. It’s our odds-on favorite to win the new Oxford American-sponsored $10,000 Southern film award (really, we’ve made odds; check them out on Rock Candy).

From the Little Rock Film Festival website;

Ozark Mountain drama Winter’s Bone set near the Arkansas-Missouri border about a young girl who must find her meth-addict father or risk losing her home will be the opening night film for the Little Rock Film Festival taking place June 2-6, 2010. The film was directed by Debra Granik and adapted by herself and cowriter […]

The festival will run June 2 through 6.

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West Plains Premiere of Winter’s Bone!

Posted on May 14, 2010 by yarnspinnerpress

Both shows were a sell out.

photo credit; S. Denton, Moonmooring

Davis Creek Rounders, left to right; Ken Wagoner, Linda Stoffel, Rick Cochran, Marideth Sisco, Van Colbert, Denise Crider. photo credit; S. Denton, Moonmooring

Some people have to sing for their supper. It seems Marideth was required to colect ticket stubs before being windy to this audience. photo credit; S. Denton, Moonmooring

Debra Granik, producer of Winter's Bone, gesticulating about the intricacies of filming in the Ozarks. photo credit; S. Denton, Moonmooring

Marideth and Debra answering questions after the second showing of Winter's Bone in West Plains Thursday evening. photo credit; S. Denton, Moonmooring

Waiting in line was a pleasure as the entire crowd knew at least 3/4 of the other attendees. I did ask Debra if she had ever been to a premier where everyone in the audience knew each other! That question seemed to throw her a bit. photo credit; S. Denton, Moonmooring

Marideth is on a 4 day, 4 city, 4 premier whirlwind tour you might say. I anticipate some words from her soon.

More photos, dialogue and links to this topic at Moonmooring.

About Winter’s Bone

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