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Alabama Moon Poster

But how many times have you gone to a film based on a book you love, only to be disappointed in the results? Too many, sad to say.

McCanlies, who directed from a script co-written by Key, had more than a few challenges with this project. Mix together a limited budget, a relatively short shooting schedule and a story that requires kid actors to carry the film and the ingredients for a less than stellar result are all at hand.

Not to worry. ALABAMA MOON the film more than lives up to the promise of the novel.

For those who aren’t familiar with ALABAMA MOON, it’s the coming of age story of an eleven year old named Moon who has been raised in the Alabama wilderness by his survivalist father, Pap. Pap, distrustful of all outside elements, particularly ‘the government’ has raised Moon in his own image – friendless, self-sufficient and able to live off the land. This is ‘home schooling’ in its rawest form. Moon can read and write, but he can also trap game, start a fire without matches and has a rudimentary knowledge of medicinal herbs. Moon has been raised to distrust anyone but Pap and to live on his own.

For years, Pap and Moon have inhabited a dense growth of Alabama forest that is owned by a paper company. When the paper company sells of a portion of the land to developers, their solitary world is threatened. Then the unexpected, and to Moon, the unbelievable happens.

Pap is injured in a fall, suffering a compound fracture to his leg. Moon does his best to doctor Pap, but he is a kid after all. With no medical treatment, the unexpected becomes the undeniable truth. Pap dies and Moon is left to fend for himself. In his final instructions to Moon, Pap tells him he has to get away from the encroaching development. Run from ‘the government’. Pap tells Moon to go west, preferably to Alaska where Moon can hook up with other people who are self-reliant and who ‘think like we do’.

Thus Moon is set off into a journey of discovery. A journey that quickly has him in trouble with the outside world. But a journey that brings him into contact with people his own age for the first time in his life.

ALABAMA MOON is something of a ‘throw-back’ film. The film is refreshingly free of helicopter searches, infrared scopes and and night vision goggles. This is a film that seems more in the mold of the classic Disney pictures that mined similar territory. And that’s a good thing.

McCanlies keeps the narrative moving at a brisk pace and elicits first class performances from a uniformly strong cast.

Jimmy Bennett, as Moon, has the acting chops to go well beyond the surface of this nicely written character and he delivers a first rate performance.

Casting of Clint Howard as Moon’s nemesis, Constable Sanders, was a stroke of good luck for the production. In the after-film Q&A, Howard told how he served as sort of an on-set ‘uncle’ figure to the child actors in the film. How lucky for them! Howard also discussed a conversation he had with Don Knotts not long before that legendary comedic actor passed away.

Howard described Constable Sanders as ‘Barney Fife on steroids”. Howard, a former child actor himself (duh!) , added just the right amount of off beat humor along with his character’s threatening impatience and lack of empathy for Moon without ever going too far over the top. Don Knotts would no doubt approve.

Rounding out the recognizable names in the cast, John Goodman brought just the right tone and, pardon the pun, weight to the character of Mr. Wellington, the new owner of the land where Moon and Pap have been living. At first, Mr. Wellington appears to be at the root of Moon’s problems, but instead turns out to be something of a guardian angel.

Supporting actors add mostly solid performances and all are more than ably supported by the outstanding cinematography of Jimmy Lindsey, a surprisingly rich score by Ludek Drizhal and sure handed editing by Mark Coffey.

The biggest disappointment of this production from a Texas-centric POV is that it was shot in Louisiana. ALABAMA MOON was filmed prior to the passage of the latest Texas film incentive legislation and the Louisiana incentives won the day. McCanlies has been quoted as saying he could have shot much of the film on his ranch in Bastrop. If only.

ALABAMA MOON, the production, is in some ways a good template for filmmakers who must contend with modest budgets.

Start with a good story. Add a solid screenplay that has at least a few roles that are so engaging that they can attract name talent for a limited number of days work.

If you somehow manage the first two, add a director who can do good work while working at a fast pace. If you’re really looking at this as a template, you might want to avoid a story with child actors. You’d have to be really lucky to pull together a group of young actors who will perform as well as those in ALABAMA MOON.

For all of you who wonder where all the good family films have gone, look no further than ALABAMA MOON. Hopefully you can look no further than your local multiplex.

In a move that makes one wonder about potential distribution of this terrific family film, the producers have set up an online petition where fans of the film can use to urge American distributors to pay attention to ALABAMA MOON. Link to the petition HERE.

Hopefully, the presence of Goodman and Howard along with the strong following for Watt Key’s novel will result in the distribution this film deserves.

We could use your support in attending our next script to screen this
Sunday. As an experiment this time around, we are using audio and visual
cues:

SAG Script to Screen Team presents Returning Champion Film Script

TV Writers Michele Gendelman and Ursula Ziegler test the film waters

The Austin Script to Screen Team presents a LIVE film script reading
event with Michele Gendelman and Ursula Ziegler’s Returning Champion.

The general public is invited to join actors, writers, producers,
directors, and film aficionados at 4 p.m. Sunday, August 30, at St.
Edwards University Jones Hall, 3001 S. Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas.

Admission is free.

Returning Champion is an off the wall comedy about a college freshman
who is booted out of school and has to move back home to his has-been
game-show host parents. The only way out of answering relentless trivia
questions and guessing which door breakfast is behind is to get his
out-of work parents back on the air.

An ever-growing independent film market has enticed these two TV writing
pros to submit Returning Champion to area investors, directors and
producers.

Michele Gendelman has written for TV shows: Newhart and
Facts of Life and is the author of What the Other Mothers Know
published by HarperCollins and contributor to What Was I Thinking? -
Bad Boyfriend Stories from St. Martin’s Press.

Ursula Ziegler has written and produced TV’s Empty Nest and also written for Head of the
Class, Sister-Sister, and Larroquette. She has developed TV pilots
for CBS, Fox and Castle Rock when not appearing as a contestant on TV
game shows.

Where: Jones Hall in the Ragsdale Center, St. Edwards University

When: Sunday, August 30 – 4 p.m.

How Much: Free

Texas

“Beyond the Farthest Star” – 00233502

Pathlight Entertainment, LLC – Low Budget

Location: Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX

Start Date: October 1, 2009

“Breaking the Press” - #00246726

Pumpkin Seed, LLC – Ultra Low Budget

Location: Dallas, TX

Start Date: August 3, 2009

“Cherry Bomb” – 00246793

Strike Anywhere Productions, LLC – Ultra Low Budget

Location: Austin, TX

Start Date: September 16, 2009

Casting: Garrett Hargrove;  contact at cherrybombfilm.com

“Cowboy and Lucky” – 00247361

Red C Entertainment – Ultra Low Budget

Location: Waco, TX

Start Date: To be determined

Casting:  info at redctelevision.com

Epic – Low Budget

Start Date: September 2009

Location: Texas, Mexico (city not specified)

Casting:  epicmotionpicture at gmail.com

“Friday Night Lights” - #00246956

NBC Studios, Inc.

Start Date: 9/2/09

Location: Austin, TX

Casting: Beth Sepko  info at bethsepkocasting.com

“God Save the Red, Black and Blonde” – #00246098

Ordered Productions – Ultra Low Budget

Location: Austin, TX

Start Date: To be determined

Casting: Dan Jimenez;  daj5757 at gmail.com

“Imago” – #00244751

Upstart Filmworks, LLC – Ultra Low Budget

Location: Houston, TX

Start Date: August 1, 2009

“Jacob’s Edge” - #00246799

Long Distance Freestyle, LLC – Theatrical

Location: Dallas, TX; L.A. CA; Georgia

Start Date: September 15, 2009

Casting: Nick Anderson 310-422-5856

“Letter H, The” – #00233247

GCP Film, LLC – Theatrical

Location: Houston/El Paso, TX

Start Date: September 3, 2009

Casting: Rodney Acevedo  racevedo at gutcheckproductions.com

“Machete” - #00246735

Machete’s Chop Shop, Inc – Theatrical

Location: Austin, TX

Start Date: July 29, 2009

Casting: Sonny Solomon  distraughtsound at wmconnect.com

“Minority Western” - #220674

FAD Productions – Ultra Low Budget

Locations: AZ & Dallas, TX

Start Date: December 2009

Casting Hernandez Agency 213-440-6288

“One Moon in Luck” aka “Shoot Out of Luck” – #00244805

Liz Destro – Theatrical

Location: Austin, TX

Start Date: October 1, 2009

“Player’s School” – #00238898

Nexus Entertainment and Greg Carter – Ultra Low Budget

Location: Houston, TX

Start Date: To be determined

“Pros and Cons” – #00246100

Going Bats Entertainment – Ultra Low Budget

Start Date: September 1, 2009

Casting: Scott Ross 972-877-6757

 stross at goingbats.com

“Rising Stars” – 00245871

Modern Verge, LLC – Ultra Low Budget

Location: Fort Forth, TX

Start Date: August 10, 2009

“Sodom: The Armageddon Prophecy” – #00246974

Trinity Films, LLC – Low Budget Modified

Location: Austin, TX

Start Date: To be determined

Casting: Michelle Millette;  douglasthemovie at yahoo.com

“Under the Influence – #00238358

Just Make it Happen – LLC

Location: Little Rock, AK;

Start Date: August 24, 2009

“Up & Down” – 00236412

Potion Pictures – Ultra Low Budget

Start Date: 8/28/09

Location: Houston, TX

Casting: Johnette Duff  johnetteduff at aol.com

“Wilderness” – #00247393
Wilderness LLC – Modified Low Budget

Location: Central Texas

Start Date: August 17, 2009

Casting: Javier Bonafont –  WildernessFilm at gmail.com

Louisiana

“Battle Los Angeles” – 002458852

Battle Productions, LLC

Location: Louisiana

Start Date: September 10, 2009

Casting: Fincannon Casting

“Dead Whisper” - #00231285

Dead Whisper Productions – Theatrical

Location: New Orleans, LA; Big Bear, CA

Start Date: To be determined

“Hurting Kind, The” - #00244310

TNC Shreveport, LLC – Low Budget Modified

Location: Shreveport, LA

Start Date: To be determined

“Snatched” – 00247070

Film Flam Productions, LLC

Location: New Orleans, LA

Start Date: To be determined

“Somnambulist” – #00247071

TST Productions, LLC – Low Budget Modified

Location: New Orleans, LA

Start Date: To be determined

“Straw Dogs” – #00247196

Straw Dog Louisiana, LLC – Theatrical

Location: Shreveport, LA

Start Date: August 17, 2009

Discover the ins & outs of the TX Moving Image Industry Incentive Program & building the biz in Texas.

Join this open forum for producers, directors, actors and crew. Learn about the new incentives for growing work in Film, Commercial Advertising, Corporate Film, Video Gaming, & New Media. Find out how the new incentives have impacted Texas production, who’s using the incentives, and how home grown creativity can benefit from the new program.

When: Sunday, July 12, 2009

4 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Where: Congregation Beth Israel

3901 Shoal Creek Blvd.

Austin, TX 78756

(512) 454-6806

Panel includes:

· Bob Hudgins—Director, Texas Film Commission

· Linda Dowell—Regional Branch Division Exec Director, SAG

· TJ Jones— Texas Regional Director, AFTRA

· Craig Berlin—Business Manager, Pro-Tape Systems

· Ken Rector—Business Manager, IATSE Local 484

· Tom Booker—Moderator, Austin Conservatory

Cost: FREE

Please RSVP to Sheila Cooper at: (972)361-8185 OR (800) 724-0767, option 7 or  sheila.cooper at sag.org

Below is the list of candidates for the six (6) open At-Large positions on TXMPA’s Board. Please take some time before voting begins to review this list and become familiar with the candidates. An e-mail with pictures of the candidates, their bios, and endorsements for these candidates will be placed on the TXMPA website  www.txmpa.org), and distributed to the general membership on Thursday, June 18; if you would like to have your endorsement included, please e-mail TXMPA at  info at txmpa.org no later than Wednesday, June 17.

1) Craig Berlin
2) Garry Potts
3) Jeanette Scott
4) Jeff Horny
5) J. Schuh
6) Justin Muller
7) Larry Cashion
Linda Alcazar Jurado
9) Michael Druck
10) Rick Olmos
11) Robert Curlin
12) Ron Bush
13) Will Raymond

Online voting for these positions will begin at 12:01 AM on Monday, June 22 and will continue until 11:59 PM on Thursday, June 25. Just a reminder: online voting will be handled by Ballot Bin  www.ballotbin.com); as a precaution, please “whitelist” Ballot Bin. This is simply done by adding their e-mail address ( notices at ballotbin.com) to your contact list, so that when voting begins, their e-mail will come directly to your inbox and not to your spam folder.

To be eligible to vote for At-Large members, you must be a paid-up member of TXMPA (at the full or supporting level) by 5:00 PM, Friday, June 19. If you are unsure of your current membership status, please contact your Regional Representative for clarification [or send an e-mail to  membership at txmpa.org]. You may find more information about your Region, and contact information for your Regional Representative, at TXMPA’s website.

Results of online voting, along with the three (3) newly elected Regional Representatives and their respective Alternates, will be announced at our Statewide Annual Meeting, to be held at Texas State University in San Marcos on Saturday, June 27. For more information on the meeting, please visit our website.

As always, thank you for all you do for the moving image industry here in Texas, and we’ll see you on the 27th!

On June 27, Paul Alvarado-Dykstra & Shelley Schriber will officially take over as Central Region board representative & alternate, respectively. I look forward to their input, energy and organizational capabilities as we move forward in our mission – growing our membership, establishing firm financial footing, lobbying the legislative body of Texas to bring work home.

I have spent the last several months in Oklahoma, on a feature film set in Texas. We are filming here for one reason. Legislative incentives. The Oklahoma state legislature has just signed into law a bill granting a rebate of 38% to film productions, and believe me, the studios are lining up and salivating. Never mind that there is NO crew base, NO infrastructure, NO soundstage, NO office facilities. We are based in an abandoned department store. The toilets work intermittently. Next to my desk, the water flows down the pipe each time someone flushes the toilet. But the people are lovely, the locations are good, and the community is eager & ready to build up the crew base and infrastructure to make this a truly competitive destination.

This story is writ large across the country. Incentive legislation is the MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR in drawing film production to any state today. Witness Michigan! They are building one of the biggest sound stages in the country. New Mexico, as we all know, is now firmly ensconced as a production destination, growing from nothing to the powerhouse it is today in a few short years. The main, the only, reason they have been able to accomplish this is the incentive package offered by the state of New Mexico. The single purpose of the TXMPA is to change this imbalance. The biggest lure, the most important factor in bringing back our jobs, is legislative action. That is our goal.

The TXMPA at large elections begin next week. I hope all central region members will vote for our proposed slate:
Craig Berlin
Rick Olmos
Jeanette Scott

We want to have as big a voice as possible from the central region as we move forward on our quest.

Thanks to all of you for letting me represent you. We have made great strides. Now, we must take the next two years to build our membership, raise money, establish a permanent office, and muster forces for the next legislative session. Many people have been out of work. Frustration levels are high. I have been forced to leave home and family for work. Nothing does more to change the equation than legislative action. In 2011, the battle begins all over again. Nothing is automatically renewed. Let’s all band together and come back bigger and stronger, with one voice, to insure the future of the film industry in Texas.

I ask you for your vote, your support, and your time and effort to build TXMPA into a force to be reckoned with.

Respectfully yours,

Jeanette Scott, outgoing board rep for Central Region

This is a rare opportunity to see a truly landmark independent film in venue other than PBS. Check it out and you won’t be sorry!

Screen Door Film, THE WHOLE SHOOTIN’ MATCH
WHEN: Fri May 22, 7 PM (Doors open at 6:30 PM)
WHERE: Jones Auditorium, St. Edward’s University (3001 S. Congress Ave)
COST: FREE
INFO: www.screendoorfilm.com

A landmark of American independent film from 1978, THE WHOLE SHOOTIN’ MATCH is a rapturous rediscovery. Eagle Pennell’s first feature details the tragi-comic struggles of two small-time schemers, Loyd (Lou Perryman) and Frank (Sonny Carl Davis), desperate to land their big break. Through its anecdotal narrative and fresh, honest observation of its characters, the film intimately captures a time and place (Austin, Texas, 1977) with its atmospheric photography and rough-hewn charm, making it an inspiration for filmmakers everywhere since its release. A panel following the film will discuss THE WHOLE SHOOTIN’ MATCH and it’s place in American independent cinema.

EaglelPinnell 1978
Categories: Narrative Feature
Pictures 1 picture
Run time: 108 min. | USA | Language: English

No wonder this is the film that prompted Robert Redford to start the Sundance Institute. The film has been missing in action for close to 25 years.

The news that the Texas Film Commission has turned down the WACO production for the incentive program has been brewing for several days and has now made its way from the American Statesman’s film blogs to the front page of the paper. The jist of the story is that Bob Hudgins, the director of the Texas Film Commission, and the party charged with the ability to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to a production company seeking film incentive participation, has decided that the WACO production does not comply with the ‘content provision’ in the incentive legislation. What? Exactly what is a ‘content provision’ and why is it in this legislation?

The content provision was apparently added to the legislation by Senate Finance Committee Chairman, Steve Ogden and, per the Statesman article states that ‘filmmakers taking incentives cannot show Texas or Texans in a negative fashion.” Well that’s just dandy isn’t it because we all know that everything it perfect in Texas and nothing bad ever happens here. If this sounds like the legislation has set Bob Hudgins up to be a film censor, well, unfortunatley that just may be the unintended (to be generous) consequence.

During the TXMPA legislative action this year I asked a collegue if that provision couldn’t be removed as it smacked of censorship and was sure to keep away many worthy and possibly lucrative productions. I got a quick NO. I was told that this legislation would never pass without the ‘content provision’ because Ogden was too powerful and he insisted that the provision stay in the legislation.

It hasn’t taken long for this thorn in the incentive package to prick Bob Hudgins in the backside. Now instead of doing what he needs to be doing in promiting Texas as a friendly place to come shoot movies and television shows, he’s having to spend time defending his decision not to give incentives to WACO. Hudgins has been quoted as saying this is not censorship….just compliance with the law. Well…yes and no.

Hudgins is a good guy and I’m certain he would rather not be fighting this battle, particularly in the press. He’s stuck by Senator Ogden’s apparent need to protect Texas from being seen as imperfect in some unknown manner. He insists this is not censorship because the company is free to come and shoot in Texas…just not with the incentive package they would otherwise receive. So, technically he is right. But effectively, the result is the same.

This incident sends a message to all filmmakers that they must structure their screenplays, self-censoring if you will, so that the state of Texas will not take offense or they will not be eligible to receive tax incentives…the very incentives that are designed to bring film produciton BACK TO TEXAS.

We just can’t seem to keep from shoot ourselves in the foot can we? Just as soon as we get a program that is very competitive with Louisiana and New Mexico, we find that we have provided them with a big load of ammunition to use against us: “come to Louisiana where we don’t tell filmmakers what they can and cannot say”…

The whole mess has blown up into something of a publicity bonanza for the makers of WACO who, let’s face it, don’t care where they shoot their movie as long as they go where they can get the best deal for their money. Can’t blame them for that.

Maybe this mess will blow over and not be as big a deal as it seems right now. But the question is: What exactly is it that shows Texas or Texans in a bad light? Can we have no crime dramas? Movies with a bad guy who is a Texan? Historical films that one person or another could decide portrays Texas in a ‘bad light’? What exactly are the criteria for those determinations?

Let’s see…FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, shot in Austin and just nenewed for 26 more episodes contains many scenes of teenage drinking, teenage sexual situations and other content that could fall outside the acceptable parameters of this law. Is Hudgins now going to deny FNL incentive money to remain in Austin? Say it ain’t so. If he gives money to FNL will Senator Ogden be calling for his job? Say it ain’t so.

And how many film companies are going to say…”screw it, let’s just shoot in New Mexico” and we won’t have to sweat this stuff in the first place?

Time will tell…In the meantime, give some love to Bob Hudgins. He’s going to need it.