Monday, January 31, 2011

Clay County in television spotlight for 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'

Florida Times-Union © Jan 29, 2011

Forget the Beaches, downtown Jacksonville or historic St. Augustine — Middleburg is the place to be in Northeast Florida this weekend.

The spotlight of Hollywood has come to the small Clay County town, thanks to the arrival of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”
The show has come to the area to build a new home for Middleburg High School volleyball coach Carrie Prewitt and Ashley, Taylor and Gina Brewer. Prewitt became the sisters’ legal guardian after their parents died.

As Prewitt’s new home grows, so does the excitement around it. Spectators are being shuttled in from South Middleburg Baptist Church to witness the build. Across the street from Prewitt’s home site on North Chicory Avenue, balloons are flying outside of a VIP tent that has a DJ spinning country and oldies tunes and workers at a T-shirt tent are selling “Extreme Makeover” shirts.
James Brown, an ABC network merchandiser, said about 1,200 to 1,500 people per day come to watch the builds.
“When we go into a community, we’re welcomed with open arms,” Brown said.
Middleburg resident Shirley Forman-Turner is excited the show is here because she watches it on TV. She wanted to see the build with her own eyes to make sure this was really happening in her town.

“Now I know it’s not make-believe,” Forman-Turner said, looking at the new home, which had a foundation and was framed by about 5 p.m. Friday.
That is pretty amazing, considering the old home still stood in the same spot about noon on Thursday.
Chris Morrissey, director of First Coast Volleyball Association, said the show will benefit more people than the family.

“It’s very uniting for the community,” Morrissey said. “These days, you don’t know who your neighbor is. It makes a tight-knit group.”
And that community, including Forman-Turner, couldn’t be happier that Prewitt was chosen to receive a new home.

“I think it’s such a nice gesture, a nice thing to do,” she said of the show choosing Prewitt’s family.
Helping families like the family is the reward that Brown and the show’s crew get from traveling from town to town with the show, living out of a suitcase and spending time away from their own families.

“If it was anything else, I wouldn’t do it,” he said. “You get to see a family’s life change before your eyes. There’s nothing like it.”
On Wednesday, after that famous “move that bus” line, the house will be revealed, the crew will leave town and the hoopla will die down. But that’s not important, Forman-Turner said.
“That’s a minor thing compared to giving someone a home for life,” she said.

To read more -CLICK

Local Screening of Sundance Premier Film

Don't miss out on the one time screening of “Climate Refugees,” a very powerful film about the human face of climate change. The US Green Building Council North Florida Chapter is excited to announce the upcoming screening of this Sundance premiere film.

“Climate Refugees” will be the first of six films in our 2011 Green Carpet Film Series, one of our many efforts as a local 501(c)3 non-profit to foster genuine dialogue, increase awareness and education of sustainability issues, and empower action towards a more sustainable region. "Climate Refugees" premiered at Sundance and featured in the Copenhagen summit in 2010 and is an important and timely documentary film that uncovers the unbelievable plight of people around the world displaced by climatically-induced environmental disasters. The film illuminates – for the first time – the human face of climate change as civilization now finds itself facing the confluence of overpopulation, lack of resources, and a changing climate.

  MONDAY, January 31, 2011
When:
(only ONE local screening of this film)

Where:  5 Points Theater, 1028 Park Street (Riverside), Jacksonville, FL
                  
· Cost: $10 per person

· 5:30 - 6:00PM Social hour and check-in

· 6:00PM Film Starts

· 7:50 - 8:30 PM Expert Panel Discussion:
    
    · Master of Ceremonies - Julie Watkins
             ActionNewsJax, The Girls Gone Green
    
    · Dr. Henry Thomas - Tenured Associate Professor at
            UNF, Department of Political Science and
            Public Administration
   
    · Jerry Mallot - Cornerstone Regional Development and 
           Jacksonville  Regional Chamber of Commerce
   
    · Tom Larson - Sierra Club Northeast Florida and
           Southeast Alliance for Clean Energy   
   
   · Brian Teeple - Northeast Florida Regional Council
   
   · Charles Pattison - 1000 Friends of Florida

Be sure and purchase your tickets early and tell your friends, family and colleagues. We expect to sell out and be able to bring you more cutting edge movies in the future. You don't want to miss this event!

View the trailer and buy tickets by clicking  HERE

Additional Trailers:


Hosted by the USGBC Emerging Professionals Committee

Monday, January 24, 2011

Derek Trucks Does Photo Shoot in Downtown Jacksonville

Jacksonville native Derek Trucks, of Derek Trucks Band, was back in town doing a photo shoot for an upcoming CD release at the historic Marble Bank Building in Downtown. The Derek Trucks Band performed with the Susan Tedeschi Band for their new joint record album’s photo shoot. 

The location was perfect in the vacant downtown building, a part of the Laura Street Trio. They continued their album coverage at the Equestrian Center later in the afternoon.  The husband and wife team has paired up in Jacksonville before, performing at the Florida Theatre on New Year’s Eve for the past couple of years. Trucks was among Rolling Stone's 2003 list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time," the youngest musician to be included at age 24.  In addition to being the bandleader of Derek Trucks Band, he is also part of The Allman Brothers Band.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Local Film Coming Soon!

Gerald Jackson, a local filmmaker, has been working hard on a new film called Truly Everlasting. This film will be making its first debut in April on a cruise! The cruise is a fan cruise for author Brenda Jackson; she is a best seller of romance novels.

Gerald is excited to enter his film, Truly Everlasting into one of the film festivals this summer. The cast includes several local students as well as students across the country. The film is now in post production and the editing software used is Final Cut Pro.

The genre is woman’s entertainment romance. Truly Everlasting is a Christmas film and takes place in Houston, about an adult football player who bumps into his childhood arch nemesis discovering they still can’t stand each other. His arch nemesis is a single mom and her son asks for something quite nontraditional for Christmas. You will have to wait to find out more, Gerald hopes to have the film on DVD in the future.
This is Gerald’s first ever feature length film. He said, “I didn’t realize the amount finite details that go into making a film. It takes time and patience, you have to deal with a lot to get the film up and going, crew, budgets, scripts, locations and tons more! I underestimated the amount of work that goes into making a feature length film, I spent from September 2009 to the following July to get the film ready for making.” Gerald expressed that although it’s been a heavy work load, it’s been rewarding.
Gerald previously interned at Jacksonville Film and Television Office and said he got a lot out of the internship. He also added that, “Some things that seem so minute are really important to sell a movie to this location. My internship exposed me to a part of the filmmaking that is truly significant.”

If you would like more information about Truly Everlasting...Click Me
To join the fan club on Facebook...Click Me

BY~ JR Resnick

Filmmakers’: Want a challenge?

Get ready for the 48 Go Green Environmental Film Competition! This February, 18 – 20, the 48 Hour Film Project brings you a totally new challenge!

Just like other 48 Hour Film events, this contest challenges you to make a film in only 48 hours - writing, shooting, and editing the film. BUT in this contest you select your own genre. We randomly assign you a character, prop and line of dialogue, PLUS an eco them - such as air, water, animals, forest, that must appear in your film.

The contest is an ON-LINE CONTEST so that anyone around the world can enter, plus it’s held in-person in the following 8 US Cities:

Atlanta                  Portland (Oregon) 
San Francisco       Washington, DC
Los Angeles          New York
Boston                  Houston

film makingBut wait, There are cash prizes, the chance for your film to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival's Short Film Corner and at the NABShow in Las Vegas.
Plus the top 3 finalists travel to Las Vegas!
To Register for the On Line Competition or to Register for the In Person Competition (in the Cities listed above): Click Here

This competition is Brought to you by the 48 Hour Film Project in association with the Creators of the Athens 48 Go Green, Francesco Vitali and Christos Siametis; and award-winning filmmaker, photographer and author Sebastian Copeland, Director of Into the Cold.

University of North Florida Department of English


Auditions...for its April...Shakespeare-in-the-Park




The Tempest
Produced in conjunction with the
City of Atlantic Beach




Monday January 17 * Thursday January 20 (Music Audition only)*
Friday January 21 All auditions 6:30-9:00 pm
Held in the UNF Andrew Robinson Theater

A multi-cultural production with roles for 25 males and females of all ages, races, and ethnicities. Vocalists, dancers, and musicians needed—wind and percussion,

New Orleans Street Music Information: Dr. Pam Monteleone at pmontele@unf.edu, 704-3207 or Ronica Arntzen at Ronica 21887@gmail.com, 483-1835.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Casting Call!

The Orlando-based production company, Stars North, is currently accepting submissions from actors for an upcoming spec project they will be filming later this month.

The breakdown includes:                     
                                                       
emotional faces ACTORS:
African American males
Ages 15-30

African American males
Ages 65+
       
VOICE TALENT:
African American males
Ages 65+



Talent that fit the profiles above are welcome to submit their information via email or by U.S Mail to one of the addresses below:

EMAIL: production@starsnorth.com

U.S. MAIL: P.O. Box 470181 Celebration, FL 34747-0181

Please label all submissions ATTENTION: Stars North Casting

Stars North Casting looks forward to hearing from you!



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ABC's Extreme Home Makeover Comes to North Florida!

Written By~ JR Resnick      
Film Office Intern

ABC's Extreme Home Makeover: Home Edition will rebuild a home in Clay County. Extreme Home Makeover was here in North Florida not too long ago, in December 2009, rebuilding a home for a family in Gainesville.

imageArk Remodeling & Construction of Gainesville and J.A. Long Design Builders of Orange Park have been chosen for the Clay County build. They plan on starting the week-long build on January 27th. Although the family and the exact location won't be released until the week of Jan. 24, word is spreading about this extraordinary task of a building a home in a single week!

Those who are interested in lending a hammering hand, and possibly getting on television, can visit-http://www.northfloridaextrememakeover.com.

People, contractors or construction experts who want to volunteer to work on ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for Clay County are encouraged to apply!






Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Mid-Summer Release of New Film "Veer"


Written By~ JR Resnick
Film Office Intern

Local filmmaker Patrick Barry is optimistic about a mid-summer release of his new film Veer. He is very excited about having the opportunity to make his first ever feature length film and is expecting to enter it into the major film festivals like The Sundance Festival.

                                             Photo Credit: Peter Stahl

Barry says making a feature length film has been a lot of work, but a lot of fun at the same time. The film was shot half in HD and half in Super 16 film and was edited with Final Cut Pro.

Veer is a new full-length independent film produced and shot in Jacksonville, which stars an all-Florida cast and crew. Barry and producer Kristen Walsh also casted the film.

Barry has networked over the years and has surrounded himself with talented people. He was able to confidently make his local choices for cast and crew.

Barry made a lot of contacts interning with Jacksonville Film and Television Office when he was a senior in high school. Barry said, "The best thing I got out of interning with the Jacksonville Film and Television Office was learning various aspects of the film production procedures."

He was able to understand the process of finding and securing locations and crew. He said, "I don't know how you would learn otherwise if not from interning."