SHOT IN TEXAS

Dallas Morning News


By JOE O’CONNELL

Filmnewsbyjoe@yahoo



Small projects are a big part of the state’s film scnene



Indie or Hollywood? The answer is both.

Which is more important to the North Texas film industry: attracting
big-budget Hollywood productions or nurturing a homegrown independent
film scene?

My last column led to a lively discussion of that issue on the Dallas
Producers Association list serve, and the consensus seems to be that the
former likely helps the latter by providing jobs and stability to the
local industry. The question is whether the new $20 million statewide
film incentives program means anything to the little guy working in the
trenches.

“We try to float all the boats higher,” says Janis Burklund of the
Dallas Film Commission, which is seeing an increase in inquiries from
Hollywood, particularly with the threat of both actors and writers
strikes looming. Strike talk usually leads to a short-term increase in
filming while studios look to sock away films for a potentially rainy
day. Such a flurry predictably tends to be followed by lull.

Forget the millions; thousands are often enough to launch local
independents, including films that can make a major mark on the national
film scene. Think Dallas-produced documentary “TV Junkie” which
premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and has reverberated around
the country since with its message about addiction.

Or consider David Lowery, the only filmmaker from North Texas to receive
a grant this year from the Texas Filmmakers Production Fund, which doled
out $150,000 to 21 makers of small but potentially important Texas
films. Mr. Lowery got a scant $6,000—the largest award was $20,000—but
that’s enough for him to plan a November start in Fort Worth for his
90-minute high-definition narrative “St. Nick” about a brother and
sister who run away from home and hide in the woods. The story will be
heavily outlined, but not scripted, with much of the story made up as
production goes along much as Mr. Lowery has done with his previous
short films, including one that got a TFPF grant in 2005. Expect the
result to be a tender, nuanced story much different that the regular
megaplex fare.

Add into the mix “Blood on the Highway,” Barak Epstein’s comedic vampire
story now shooting on a shoestring budget in Dallas and featuring
Nicholas Brendon of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” fame. The end result is
likely to be bloody and goofy and a lot of fun.

On the more serious side there’s “His Name is Bob,” a doc following the
most famously quirky guy to wander East Dallas. Sebastian Lee, Heather
Lee and Lisa Johnson since 2003 have been filming Robert Crawford.
“People describe Bob as a stinky little troll; a hideous visage; in the
way; a tax we have to pay; repulsive; filthy; and subject to raging
outbursts,” they write on the film’s Web site. Much like “TV Junkie,”
the doc is aiming at the gut of American society with a sucker punch of
truth. They’ve got 60 hours of footage in the can and are actively
editing it down.

OK, these films won’t be seen be as large of an audience as Robert
Rodriguez’s “Barbarella” remake that is slated to start shooting in
Austin in November with Kate Beckinsale or Rose McGowan rumored to star.
But these smaller films could spark imaginations and perhaps inspire one
more North Texan to get creative.

Bonus footage:TMZ.com claims Lionsgate’s “Tulia,” the Texas story set to
film in Louisiana in October may be indefinitely delayed due to star
Halle Berry’s pregnancy. Stay tuned.