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In the News

MTV may be filming "Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Gauntlet" in an 11-bedroom estate at 165 Indian Avenue, Middletown, Rhode Island. The reality show will feature 28 former cast members of The Real World and Road Rules. The participants will be filmed for 24 hours a day and will square off against each other to compete for cash and prizes in events organized four times a week.

MTV went before the Middletown City Council on June 24 to seek the necessary amusement license and met with heated debate at the public hearing from concerned neighbors. The Council decided to table a vote until the night of June 30.

MTV already had to give up on its original location in nearby Newport, due to a city ordinance that prohibits more than five unrelated people from living together in the same house. In addition, their hand-picked location — the Ivy Tower on Bellevue Avenue — is located in a historic district, and MTV would have had to get approval from Newport’s Historic District Commission for any property renovations, most notably a 15-foot deep underground pool to serve as a "fall zone" for contestants in one of the events.

If it’s a go in Middletown, an estimated $4 million is expected to be pumped into the local economy. Filming was originally scheduled to begin July 1. Strangely, Turner C. Scott — the local lawyer who represented Newport neighbors against the MTV shoot — is now representing the Middletown mansion that MTV intends to lease. Something smells fishy.

Meanwhile, PBS will be filming Colonial House this summer in an undisclosed Maine location. The program, similar to the earlier Frontier House, offers a historically accurate variation on the typical reality show. Participants are asked to recreate the day-to-day life of the pilgrims and founding settlers who came to the New World and established early settlements. It’s safe to assume no swimming pools were built for the production.

Some heavy scouting is going on in New England these days. It’s too early to say for sure, but it looks as if Maine may have snared "Empire Falls," based on Richard Russo’s novel, and portions of Jim Carrey’s "Lemony Snicket," scheduled for a Fall shoot, may be headed for Massachusetts. Keep your fingers crossed.

Filming has already begun for writer/director David Mamet’s "Spartan," a political thriller about the kidnapping of the president’s daughter, starring Val Kilmer and William H. Macy. Shooting began June 25 in and around Boston and was expected to take about 10 days. Shooting locations include Trinity Church, the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge (in its film debut), and Hanson’s Farm in Framingham. The film also stars real-life politician’s daughter, Alexandra Kerry, whose father, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, is a potential presidential candidate.

Things may be looking up for Robin Dawson’s Boston Film Bureau. Incorporated in October of last year as a non-profit after then-governor Jane Swift shut down the Massachusetts Film Office last July, the bureau is actively looking for funding from local companies and corporations, as well as foundation grants. Their new website will be up and running soon, complete with an online production guide: www.massfilmbureau.com 

Live Free or Die Films has recently acquired the rights to New Hampshire native Merle Drown’s novel "Suburbs of Heaven," a dark comedy about the trials and tribulations of a trailer-trash family in New Hampshire. Shauna Phelan and Chris Stinson will produce. They plan to film on location in summer of 2004

"Edge of Darkness," a kung fu flick set in Boston’s Chinatown, is currently in post-production at Filmshack. Directed by Jason Yee, the film is about a man who must clear his name after a series of murders are blamed on him shortly after he gets out of jail. I hear there are some fight scenes. Other Filmshack post-production activity includes the 15-minute short "Pretenders Dance," directed by Tom Keefe of the Museum School, about a guy who feels compelled to chop off his own leg. The biggest Filmshack news, though, would be the DVD "London Calling" from rap act Public Enemy. The DVD, now being edited, features footage from their recent European tour, complete with behind-the-scenes footage.

CS Films (out of New York and Boston) recently finished shooting a music video in Portsmouth, NH for the Long Island rock band Brand New. The video is for the song "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows," off their recently released album "Deja Entendu." (The album was given a grade of A- in the latest issue of SPIN.)

Winners of 2nd annual Women in Film and Video / New England (WIFV/NE) screenwriting competition were announced on May 27. Massachusetts residents Rhea Becker of Jamaica Plain (for "Drawing the Line") and Merna Lobel Victor of Lexington (for "Editha Marston") were finalists. But the top prize went to non-New Englander, non-woman Jack Bellingham of San Francisco, for "Deborah Samson," about a woman who poses as a man during the Revolutionary War. The winner was selected by Michael Hauge, LA-based script consultant and author of "Writing Screenplays that Sell." WIFV/NE is a non-profit organization, founded in 1981, dedicated to supporting women’s achievements in the film, video, and new media industries.

Winners of the Maine Scriptwriters Contest will be announced July 12, as part of the Maine International Film Festival (July 11-20). Accompanying the announcement will be a panel discussion on screenwriting featuring Richard Russo (author of the novels "Nobody’s Fool" and "Empire Falls"), Jay Cocks (screenwriter for "Gangs of New York"), and Tom Craig (ex-VP of Production for Universal). Other MIFF events include the presentation of the annual Mid-Life Achievement Award to Peter Fonda and concert of live jazz featuring Roswell Rudd and the Charlie Kohlhase Quintet, winners of the recent Boston Phoenix/FNX Best Music Poll in the Best Local Jazz Act category.

The Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) has awarded 31 grants to individual artists. Budget cuts have reduced the total awards from a total of almost $500,000 last year to only $155,000 this year. The top award, with 31 recipients, has been reduced from 12,500 to 5,000, and the 28 finalists receive no money at all, compared to last year’s $1,000 award. This year’s film and video winners are Jesal Kapadia of Amherst, whose work concerns cultural hybridization, body image, and the Indian immigrant experience; Steve Gentile & Jim Wolpaw of Boston, creators of an off-beat documentary about Amherst poet Emily Dickinson; Irene Lusztig of Brookline; Robert Beavers of East Falmouth; and Andrew Bujalski of Sudbury.

Robert A. Gilmore passed away June 7 at age 72 at the Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis. The Brockton, Massachusetts native made a name for himself as the director of television for MIT on WGBH, Channel 2 Boston, where he directed the series "Man, Ideas, and Technology," which later became known as NOVA. Gilmore later moved to WHDH-TV Channel 5 Boston, where he spent 10 years directing and producing such programs as Captain Bob, Bozo the Clown, the nightly news, Boston Ballroom, Johnny Most Sports, Bowling for Dollars, Romper Room, and Dateline Boston. He then started own business, now being operated by three of his eight children. Funeral services were held June 12.

The Rhode Island International Film Festival features a special master class "Take 1-2-3: Filmmaking with the Pros" providing a complete overview of the filmmaking process presented by filmmaking professionals: planning for your film, getting it made, and getting it seen. For more information, visit http://www.film-festival.org/events/film_pros.htm 

Deadlines for upcoming Roy W. Dean Film and Video Grants (www.fromtheheartproductions.com/grantmain.html) include those for an LA Film Grant and an LA Video Grant (July 30 — anyone can apply, but you have to go to LA to reap the benefits) and a Writer/Researcher Grant (August 30 — write and research from a secluded cottage in New Zealand).

Other deadlines include the 2nd Annual Somewhat North Of Boston (S.N.O.B) film/video festival (August 1 — www.snobfilmfestival.org); New Hampshire Film Expo (August 15 — www.nhfilmexpo.com); 9th Annual Northampton Independent Film Festival (September 1 — www.niff.org); and Salem Amateur Horror Film Festival (September 5 — www.salemfilm.com).

Festivals and special events this month include:

• Boston French Film Festival on July 10-27 
  www.mfa.org/film/2003_french

• Maine International Film Festival on July 11-20
  www.miff.org

• Woods Hole Film Festival on July 26-August 2 
  www.woodsholefilmfestival.com

More screenings, festivals, meetings and other events at www.NewEnglandFilm.com/events/