WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL TAKE OF THE FILM COMMISSION!
Happy Holidays to all of our friends  and supporters of filmmaking in Memphis!
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TAKE ONE
An essential part of the "feel" of Memphis is its historic buildings. That's one reason top filmmakers love to make movies in our town. And that's why the 2011 Memphis Heritage calendar honors the Commission with a presentation of historic places here where Commission film clients have made films, from the elegant Peabody Hotel to the funky Crystal Palace. The calendars make excellent gifts and all proceeds go directly to Memphis Heritage, Inc. Go to memphisheritage.org or call 272-2727. Each calendar is only $10, but purchase 10 or more and you only pay $7 each, 20 or more are $5 per calendar. Larry Karaszewski is co-screenwriter for THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT, which has a few of its filming locations featured in the calendar. He recently said, "We needed someplace that could pass for the 1970s and the downtown Memphis area had kept its dignity. It hadn't been knocked down for a bunch of Banana Republics or had Gap stores put in. So we wound up shooting in Memphis for that film because it had a beautiful look. Films are shot in Memphis because Memphis is a great place to shoot. The people were really cooperative and we had a great time filming in Memphis."
 | | The cover of the 2011 Memphis Heritage calendar. |
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TAKE TWO
The Memphis & Shelby County Film and Television Commission, along with its funding partner, MemphisED, was a major sponsor of Indie Memphis 2010. The Film Commission joined with the festival for the premieres of such client projects as THE GRACE CARD and also presented the Indie Memphis-Film Commission "Hometowner" awards. The festival's series of lively - and sometimes controversial - panel discussions was also sponsored by the Film Commission/MemphisED. Panel topics included "Film Incentives: What We Have, What We Need" (see "Take Three" below); "Script to Screen" with Hollywood screenwriters Larry Karaszewski (ED WOOD, THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT, MAN ON THE MOON); Matt Lopez (THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE); and "First Feature: Highs and Lows" with filmmaker Scott Mosier (CLERKS, CHASING AMY, DOGMA).
"The Film Commission's ongoing support has helped Indie Memphis grow its annual film festival into a locally celebrated and nationally recognized event," said Erik Jambor, executive
 | | Memphis entertainment performed at the Festival Cafe at Playhouse on the Square between panel discussions. |
director of Indie Memphis. "That support helped us attract a record-setting crowd of more than 7,800 attendees last October and bring industry luminaries, including CLERKS producer Scott Mosier and THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT screenwriter Larry Karaszewski, to Memphis to mentor and network with aspiring and emerging Memphis filmmakers."
 | | From left: Eric Tate, Lindsey Roberts and Craig Brewer of THE POOR & HUNGRY. |
- There was a special 10th anniversary screening of Craig Brewer's THE POOR & HUNGRY. The film - restored and remastered - sold out the initial screening, so a second screening had to be added in the festival. Brewer and members of the cast and crew had a discussion and Q&A on-stage after the first showing of the film. The new version included never-before-seen footage, new music and re-recorded dialogue.
 | | Director Dr. David Evans and his wife, Esther, co-produced "The Grace Card." |
- THE GRACE CARD, a Commission feature film client that shot in Memphis last year, opened the festival. Director/executive producer Dr. David Evans held a Q&A after the screening, discussing the making of the film and its themes of faith and racial reconciliation. Picked up by Sony's faith-based arm, Provident Films, THE GRACE CARD premieres nationwide Feb. 25, 2011. Big buzz preceded the screening of OPEN FIVE, an independent feature by local filmmaker Kentucker Audley that premiered at the festival and was simultaneously made available on the internet. This client project of the Commission won the festival's awards of "Best Narrative Feature" and "Best Hometowner Feature." The Paper Moon Films production was shot by filmmaker Joe Swanberg (HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS, ALEXANDER THE LAST). It featured numerous Memphis locations. OPEN FIVE garnered a remarkable notice in The New Yorker Magazine blog "The Front Row," with writer Richard Brody's appraisal: "Audley both reasserts a classical balance between performance and dramatic abstraction and ... links his local, personal, naturalistic storytelling to the high strain of cinematic modernism."
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TAKE THREE
Panelists were Linn Sitler, film commissioner of the Memphis & Shelby County Film and Television Commission; Carlee McCullough, Esq., entertainment attorney; and Gisela Moore, assistant to the director/Memphis liaison of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment and Music Commission.
A related event is the creation of an ad hoc Shelby County Commission committee to study production incentives/investments. The task force is led by Shelby County Commissioner Chris Thomas. The 14-member group, which includes City Council members and production professionals, is discussing ways to both encourage productions to come here and to nurture hometown industries. The panel has already heard from such experts as filmmaker Craig Brewer (HUSTLE AND FLOW, BLACK SNAKE MOAN, FOOTLOOSE) and Jan Austin, Founding Director of the Association for the Future of Film and Television (AFFT).
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TAKE FOUR
Notable other events:
- DAYLIGHT FADES, which premiered this summer, had another run during Halloween week at Malco Paradiso. In early November, the Paper Moon Production won Outstanding Vampire Feature at the Vampire Film Festival in New Orleans.
- The Commission assisted John Michael McCarthy in his music video for Jesse & Noah for their song DIRTY WITH A SOUTHERN DRAWL.
 | | April Novak with Mike McCarthy at DeWitt Spain Airport. Photo by Marty Perez. |
- Film Commission client project N-SECURE opened Oct. 15 in 486 theaters around the country, grossing $1,385,000 in its first weekend according to IMDB's Box Office Mojo. It ranked nationally #12 the first weekend and #14 the second weekend! By the fourth weekend, it had pulled in $2,553,852.
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TAKE FIVE
SHORT TAKES
 | | Director Alex Steyermark (left) recently wrapped audio post-production on ''LOSERS TAKE ALL" with Memphis' Kevin Houston at Midtown Memphis' Studio + Arts. |
- Remember to pick up some 2011 Memphis Heritage calendars honoring the Memphis & Shelby County Film and Television Commission (see above)! |
AND THAT'S A WRAP!
for this month's issue of The Official Take! To sign up for your copy, just click the link below or email sharon@memphisfilmcomm.org.
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