DIRECTOR HAROLD RAMIS receives the “Just for Laughs” Lifetime Achievement Award at the red carpet screening of Columbia Pictures’ “Year One” at the Music Box, June 16.
The special screening is the kickoff for the TBS Presents A Very Funny Festival: Just for Laughs Chicago and is being showcased locally before its June 19 national release.
Chicago native and North Shore resident Ramis co-wrote the screenplay, based on his story, produced it with Judd Apatow and Clayton Townsend, directed and acts in the comedy starring Jack Black and Michael Cera as lazy hunter-gathers who are banished from their primitive village.
Invited guest is Martin Short, who will host “Let Freedom Hum An Evening of Comedy” June 18 at the Vic Theatre as part of the Just for Laughs Festival.
DP BILL YOUMANS was tapped by CBS Films to shoot LaSalle St. scenes with stars Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser for “The Crowley Project,” a drama centering on the efforts of John and Aileen Crowley to find a researcher who might have a cure for their two children’s rare genetic disorder.
All of the other “Crowley” locations are in the Pacific Northwest. The movie will be released next April. Linda Wolfe produced for Youmans.”
MICHAEL GOI, ASC, the newly elected American Society of Cinematographers, is a Chicago native and 1980 Columbia College graduate, who grew up making “little 8mm movies” with the help of neighborhood kids. He upgraded to a 16mm Bolex by working odd jobs.
Goi’s credits include TV series “My Name is Earl,” features “Witless Protection,” “Christmas Rush,” “Megan is Missing,” which he wrote and produced, “Welcome to Death Row,” and Emmy winning doc, documentary “Fired-Up: The Story of Public Housing in Chicago.”
30 MIDWESTERN SCREENWRITERS, or 25% of the 120 entries, made the first cut in the Chicago Screenwriters Network’s first screenwriting contest. They will compete for a $1,000 grand prize and have a chance for their script to be read by Hollywood producers, agents and managers.
Screenwriter Colin Costello says CSN considers the contest “a success, given the economy and that we are a new and unproven contest. And much to our surprise we had entries from Chicago (of course) but Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.” “Some of the scripts were very good. Even the scripts that didn’t make the cut had some interesting concepts going on. But at the end of the day, it was very tough to make a decision on some of the scripts,” he notes.
IPA BOARD DIRECTORS elected to serve 2009-2010 are: Claire Connelly, Jeff Crabtree, Scott Erlinder, Sally Fletcher, Kate Henley, Mark Hogan, Sharon King, Wayne Kubacki, Rich Lederer, Grace McPhillips, Dan Moore, Claire Simon, Kent Smith, Lars Ullberg (IPA president) and Eileen Willenborg.
Of these, three are new: Filmmaker/DP Scott Erlinder, who is a founder of DePaul’s Digital Cinema studies; DGA director/producer Richard Lederer of 40+ features, episodic TV and commercials; and writer/actress Kate Henley.
You are invited to sit in on the June 18 IPA meeting, 8-9 a.m. at Essanay Studios and hear about IPA’s ambitious agenda to improve and grow production and participate in the breakout session 9-11 a.m.
MUSICIAN/AUDIO EXPERT LOU MALLOZZI, who heads the Experimental Sound Studio, designed surround-sound for Thomas Gray’s immersive video installation for architect Zaha Hadid’s sinuously-formed aluminum pavilion opening June 19 in Burnham Park, in celebration of the Burnham Plan Centennial.
London-based artist Gray’s video tells the story of Chicago’s transition and visions of the future by local architects.
TOON BOOM ANIMATE execs CEO Joan Vogelesang and CTO Francisco Del Cueto will present “More for Less,” a demo and discussion of their globally-used Toon Boom Animate tool June 17 at the Chicago Mart Plaza’s LaSalle Room, 6:30 p.m. A copy of Toon Boom Animate will be the attendance prize.
TWO “SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES” — mainly President Obama’s visit to Green Bay and the digital conversion — allowed the TV Academy to push back the Emmy entry deadline back a week, to June 17. Said TV Academy, “We do not normally extend the deadline but due to these special circumstances, we decided to make an exception.”
DATES FOR THE CHICAGO CONVERGENCE have been set for Sept. 20-21 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Sept. 21-23 at the Spertus Institute, where you’ll be immersed in talks, live music, exhibits, innovation and mashup labs, networking and social events.
