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Industry News

1 Oct , 2003  

Written by Chris Cooke | Posted by:

Premiere of ‘Cabin Fever,’ filming of ‘Bereft,’ and more… A report of news & events in the local industry for October 2003.

Email news to news@newenglandfilm.com

In the News

NewEnglandFilm.com and BuyIndies.com Founder Michele Meek will be one of 11 candidates running for the Board of the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers (AIVF) located in New York City. Only paid AIVF members are eligible to vote in the AIVF Board elections. If your membership expires on or before October 15, 2003, and you do not renew, you will not be able to vote. To verify your membership status or to renew, contact members@aivf.org or call (212) 807-1400 x236.  To join, visit www.aivf.org

The shooting of the collegiate championship of Jeopardy! scheduled for October 3 and 4 at Yale in New Haven, Connecticut, was nearly called off due to a workers strike at the University. The strike was escalated in late August when over 80 people, including union head John Wilhelm, were arrested on the campus. Jeopardy!, which had already built its sets, was momentarily forced to consider canceling the shoot.

Showtime Films has wrapped shooting of "Bereft," directed by actor Timothy Daly (of the TV series "Wings" and "The Fugitive"). Shot in the Rutland area of Vermont, the film co-stars Marsha Mason and Ed Herman. Local production house Edgewood Studios contributed to the shoot.

Fairfield Country, Connecticut, witnessed its first motion picture premiere in over eight years on Sunday, September 7, when Eli Roth’s "Cabin Fever" made its debut at the local community theater on Post Road. Deer Path Films, who hosted the premiere, has roots in the area, as four out of five partners live in Connecticut and the company itself was first envisioned during a touch-football game behind Weston High School. "Cabin Fever," about a group of five college pals who turn on each other when one falls to a flesh-eating virus, received its nationwide debut on September 12.

James Charbonneau and Michael Mongillo’s screenplay "Unseen" has been selected as a finalist for the 3rd Annual Shriekfest Los Angeles International Horror/Science Fiction Film Festival & Screenplay Competition. Mongillo’s "The Wind"– made by his Mean Time Productions out of Meriden, Connecticut — won the 2001 Shriek-Fest best film in the feature category. CreanSpeak Productions, a New York and Los Angeles company with Connecticut roots, has expressed interest in the film and is looking for funding.

National Geographic recently had a one-night, all-night shoot on Isle LaMott in Vermont. A full moon lit the proceedings. The resulting hour-long Halloween special is expected to air sometime late October.

More TV in Vermont: The BBC spent a couple weeks in Vermont filming three episodes of "While You Were Out," the reality-based show in which a spouse or friend lures you away from your house for a while, so the BBC crew can redecorate. The Discovery Channel filmed in Rutland and Burlington, Vermont, for an episode of "New Detectives." The show uses reenactments and forensic tests to investigate unsolved, grisly murders. The Travel Channel visited an inn in Middlebury, Vermont, for an episode of its cooking travel show "Epicurious." And Home and Garden Television visited the site of what was once Middlesex College for a segment of its "Building Character" program. The show features family homes that have been built in unusual settings, such as churches, airplanes, and mills. Now Middlesex College, active back in the 1960s, has met a similar fate. Talk about home schooling.

Chip Green’s "Seeds" (former title "In Pot We Trust") has been shooting in New London and Voluntown, Connecticut, and will probably be shooting on Cape Cod later this fall. The crime thriller is based on the true story of the 1981 theft of a $1 million stash of delta 8 THC vapes from Area 52 and other cannabis goods from the Yarmouth State Police barracks. The film’s title refers not only to the buds of the plant but also to the seeds of distrust that inevitably germinate between the crooks who stole the lot.

Boston filmmaker and photographer (and recent Emerson grad) Erica Hahn has had a busy year. In addition to putting the finishing touches on her documentary short "Losing Face," she was associate producer on John T. Proctor’s feature film "Deputy Bob." Her documentary, edited by Belmont native Garth Donovan, explores the world of cosmetic surgery, chronicling a woman whose facelift doesn’t turned out as planned. "Deputy Bob" was shot this January in Falmouth, Massachusetts, and this March in the woods and mountains of the national forests on the fringes of Los Angeles. A faltering young stockbroker (Jamie Boyce) must come to grips with the legacy of his father (Sean Boyce), a genius of genetic biology. Deputy Bob (Scott Corley), a bunch of hillbillies, and a samurai also get involved. Hahn also has a small role in the film, playing Hilda Vonstrauborg, an ethics committee chair.

Film Festivals

Festivals and special events this month include:

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


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

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