Well tomorrow evening is the long awaited and much to do about it West Plains premiere of Winter’s Bone. One would think it stars the already famous Marideth Sisco with all the hubub surrounding this event and all the others … read the rest of the article here.
Marideth Sisco, producer Alix Madigan, Hannah Granik-Scheuer, director Debra Granik and producer Jonathan Scheuer; at Sundance Film Festival, 2010.
See you there Thursday night!
moonmooring
Well, here it comes – the weekend of four premieres in four cities in four days. Nothing quite like it, with every venue different from the one before, even down to which musicians play, and what they might be called.
Actually, we think we’ve settled on the name for the soundtrack band, and barring last minute tilts, we’re to be Blackberry Winter. You heard if first here.
The weekend begins Thursday in West Plains, where I’ll introduce the movie at 5 and 7, and be joined by Director Debra Granik after the 7 p.m. show for Q&A. Then the panel to discuss meth in the Ozarks and an after party with food and songs by the Rounders.
Friday a.m. I zoom to Springfield for meetings with Debra, Producer and fellow screenwriter Anne Rosellini (she and Debra wrote the screenplay for WB together) and Exec. Producer Jonathan Scheuer, who has, I think, forgiven me for calling him short. He’s not short on anything important, and is, I believe, a shining example of how stature is not the same as height.
Springfield premiere is at 7, attended by a whole flock of my relatives and friends, with Q&A and discussion of how the film portrays Ozarks Culture. Then music by Rounders and Billy Ward and his band.
Saturday we adjourn to the studio to put lyrics to a rendering by Dickon Hinchliff of O Come Angel Band, and begin the narrative for a shorter piece, an Ozarks documentary on the land and the people others call hillbillies.
Then it’s down to Branson for the invitational for the local folks who participated on screen or off in the production of the film. Music and food to follow. After a Branson sleepover, we head to Springdale for another conversation and music, a quick stop at Loren Sweetzer’s family home where they’re celebrating her graduation from U of A, and on to Fayetteville for the last showing in the series.
Whew. And all I have to do before then is pack, get the kittens to the vet for a checkup, pick up the car from the garage, and spend most of a day in Randy Story’s classes, telling stories. Oh, and pick up the computer I bought on Craigslist.
No problemo, unless it rains absolutely the whole time. Oh, and practice with the Rounders, who are already grinding their teeth over my being an hour late to the last practice. I couldn’t help it. I was finishing a newsletter and judging a Photo show. Could someone please send me about a pound of NO!s before I get myself into any more projects. Good grief.
As an aside, the West Plains ticket office was surprised to have a sell out for both shows, in 3 1/2 hours!
moonmooring
Winter's Bone crew.
photo credit; S. Denton, Moonmooring
Well, here it is the Sunday before the big event, and I’ve had to take a serious break from the business end of things. Going in too many directions at once, with Mercury retrograde, so no help there. All things communication, in the ditch.
But Woohoo! That’s over now, and look out, here come the words, some of them intelligible.
Tickets for the WB West Plains premiere sold out in three hours! Last I heard, there were one or two tickets for the 5 p.m. show at the theater box office, but they’re probably gone by now.
Fayetteville sold out early too. No word on Springfield or Branson.
Director Debra and Exec. Producer Jonathan will arrive in West Plains just in time for the Q&A, along with Producer Anne and her too-cute bambino. The Woodrells have said they will probably be otherwise occupied, but there are tickets for them in case circumstances change. I hope to see them there to get their well-deserved applause. This was a brilliant undertaking, and Daniel was the start of it all.
Enough said, hope to see you all there at one of these wide-spread venues.
Feel free to shout Woohoo! when Van Colbert comes on the radio or the Dennis Crider close-up shows on screen. I think you’re gonna like this.
Moonmooring: “Anything you’d like to share with me? Besides a vat of tiramisu .”
Yarnspinner: “Funny you should ask. While cruising back from Columbia today after a couple of meetings, Kathleen and I decided to find and experience Central Dairy in Jeff City. The flavor I tried, Moose Tracks, is described as having chocolate covered peanut butter candy with a bit of caramel swirl. Positively indecent. Mention tiramisu to me, will you!”
Tonto
This brown truck was once the pride and joy of retired shop teacher and whirleygig-maker Art Eisenmann of Brixey. He was so fond of it that when it started to wear out, he had the engine rebuilt, the brakes worked on and new tires all around. Then he had a stroke, and was never able to drive it. When Art and Gwen made the decision to move east to a facility where they both could live, where Art could have the care he needed and Gwen could have a busy and meaningful life, I offered to buy Art’s truck. He agreed, but when the time came for the sale, he was tearful, and told me that the truck had always been his faithful companion. I said, “In that case, I’m naming it Tonto.” And I did. That was some years ago, and I’ve put more than 60,000 miles on Art’s truck.
I saw Ronnie Jones today at Baker Creek, where he was selling his beautiful sedum plants and planters. He said he’d seen me driving down the road, and said to Heidi, his wife, “There goes Tonto.” Ronnie is Art’s son-in-law. He said when Heidi called Gwen, her mom, she told her, “Ronnie saw Tonto today,” and they laughed.
Tonto, you good old truck, you.
photo; S. Denton, moonmooring
ON the face of it, Debra Granik’s gracefully melancholy second feature has much in common with her first, right down to its chilly title. Like her 2004 debut feature, “Down to the Bone,” a vérité indie about an upstate New York mother trying to ditch her drug habit for the sake of her children, “Winter’s Bone” is a closely observed drama whose protagonist is a young woman scraping by in a decaying corner of America rarely visited by filmmakers who have not passed through the Sundance Screenwriters Lab. That “Winter’s Bone” is also a bit of a thriller with a generous dusting of the Brothers Grimm is a departure for Ms. Granik, but we’ll get to that … read the rest of the article at the New York Times.
Tickets go on sale Monday morning for the West Plains premier!
Kansas City was a hoot, especially with my two little Sisco aunts attending. We met Debra in Westport and jogged down a block to have WONderful tabouil and lentil soup at the Jerusalem Cafe, then drove on downtown to the Main Street Theater, which was another mindblower. Millions of bucks in the restoration, and boy does it show. Even the restrooms were wonderful, with a – get this- a washbasin inside every stall, so you could wash your mitts in private? Anyway, the decor included lifesize portraits of the stars, with Lauren Bacall in her debutante days beckoning from the Ladies, and Bogey lounging at the Gents. And, obytheway, the movie was very well received. It was the festival opener.
Listen to or read the narrative of the latest installment of the classic Ozarks commentary by beloved Ozarks singer and storyteller Marideth Sisco, host of the long-running series, These Ozarks Hills.
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Stories from my home town
5 years on the air
my life and times 