COMEDIAN TOM DRESSEN will MC the Oct. 27 invitation-only NBC premiere of the TV special, “The Heart of Hollywood: The Chicago Link,” shot by RDS at the recent Sweet Home Illinois party in Santa Monday, hosted by Brenda Sexton’s Chicago Link Productions and presented by AT&T.
The cocktail reception and premiere takes place at the new, super swank Elysian Hotel on Walton St. Sun-Times columnists Bill Zwecker and Richard Roeper are the red carpet hosts. Beth Malone and David Pisor will greet the VIP guests on behalf of the Elysian.
“The Heart of Hollywood” will air in Chicago Oct. 31 at 6 p.m., and Nov. 1 at 11 p.m. Same dates for L.A., but airtimes are 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. on those respective dates.
REEL MICHIGAN: Fletcher supplied the cameras for “Highland Park,” the indie feature now shooting in Detroit, starring Danny Glover, Billy Burke and Parker Posey. Cinematographer is Danny Moder (a.k.a. Julie Roberts’ husband).
WRITER/DIRECTOR GARY SHERMAN talks to the Chicago Screenwriters Network Nov. 2 at the Lincoln Restaurant about his 30 year career writing and producing dark, scary movies (“Poltergeist III”). A Chicago native who spent 20 years in Hollywood, he and was writer/executive producer of the “Missing Persons” TV series that filmed in Chicago during the ?90s.
JOLENE BOYCE of the Big House talent agency took a six months leave spend six months in Singapore where her parents live.
A ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY for Next Generation Media (NGM) celebrates the $22 million Minneapolis-based duplicating company’s purchase of Allied Vaughn’s duplication and replication assets last year. Allied Vaughn’s sole business now is the Manufacture of Movies-on-Demand.
Kevin Kolba, who spent 12 years with Allied Vaughn, heads NGM’s Chicago sales/customer service office of eight, located at Allied Vaughn’s Elk Grove Village plant. His phone is 847/595-5051.
WAL-MART SPOTS shooting here involve three L.A. production companies that have been shooting their hearts out for a total of what will be three weeks. Trio Films shot for five days, Anonymous Content for one night this week — both renting cameras from Schumacher, and Moxie Pictures is set for two days next week.
Coming up are Bears commercials being shot by L.A.-based Mark Dektor of Cartel Films (which shot the last batch of 2010 Olympic films), utilizing Schumacher’s Red camera.
COOK COUNTY, relative to the proposed Cook County Film Commission, held the fourth and last of a series of “advisory” meetings recently, at which film professionals tell the county commissioners the essentials for a truly functional film commission.
There were 24 guests at Thursday’s meeting — but only six were film pros. Which begged the question, who were all those people?
Speaking on behalf of the film industry film side were Bruce Sheridan, Rich Lederer, Wayne Kubacki, Sally Fletcher and Jeff Crabtree.
One film pro specifically excluded was moi. I was barred by one of the advistory committee trio, Michigan resident Liz Storm (whispered to be the presumptive county film commissioner), because I was “press.” As though the meeting was going to reveal deep county secrets, like where all those campaign contributions are hidden.
At any rate, the film pros did a good job educating the people there. Now it is up to the County Board to actually create a meaningful department, not the costly, confused mosh of the recent past that sends possible producers running to other states.
