MOVIEMAKING AT THE MUSEUM. A tremendous amount of work went into “Action: An Adventure in Moviemaking,” the exhibit at the The Museum of Science & Industry. Presented by BankOne, the exhibit goes through the gamut of filmmaking, and includes such fun stuff as more than 100 artifacts including costumes from “X2: X-Men United” and the MagLev car from “Minority Report.” There’s a “Meet the Filmmakers” section Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., where Bob Teinowitz, Dave Carlson, Pete Biagi, Jim Sikora, Maureen Kalagean, Betty Radica and others talk about their skills. Altogether very impressive and worth taking your kids to so they see what Mom and Dad do for a living. Bank One, Comcast and Loew’s Theatres are sponsors. Now through Sept. 6.
LOTTERY WINNER. R. J. Dale Advertising and Public Relations held the winning ticket for the $18 million Lottery account, starting July 1 for two years. It’s the first African American agency to handle general market advertising in the Lottery’s 30-year history. R.J. Dale won out over some serious competition: JWT, which has Tourism, Burrell, Campbell-Mithun and The Marketing Store, which, in turn, survived the original list of 12 shops vying for the account after DDB abruptly dropped it last February.
THE TELLY-THON. Tom Dick & Harry won for Snap On, directed by Swell’s Joe Otting … Three golds to DiMeo & Co. for its Bulls campaign (a new one starts in July) … Grant/Jacoby took home three for the CTA, the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago and the Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois … In the Utah-based Aurora Awards, a doc by < b>Elizabeth Crowley’s production company for Sears Craftsman took home a gold.
SMALL BUT MIGHTY. Tom Tomala and Don Abelson’s boutique Matrix Partners Ltd. beat out giants Saatchi & Saatchi and Fallon to win a gold Effie for Pet Care Systems’ marketing from the American Marketing Association. “The difference is wheat” campaign, targeted at cat owners, beat out Purina and Frontline. Dare we say that Matrix was the pick of the litter?
TOP AWARD FOR THE SHOW DEPARTMENT.< /b> The Show Department won Rental & Staging Magazine’s award for best overall staging of a corporate event for its 2003 staging of Walgreen’s 5,000-plus Manager’s Meeting. It consisted of 150 presentations, 30 different meeting rooms, six truckloads of staging and AV gear, staged in three separate Las Vegas venues, Ballys, Paris, and Caesars Palace. Producer was David Harnish, manager of Walgreen’s meetings and media department, in conjunction with Brien Lee Creative Solutions.
INFAMOUS ANNIVERSARY. Ch. 11 will mark the 25th anniversary of Steve Dahl’s infamous Disco Demolition with a July 11 hour-long special produced by TeamWorks Media and including rare footage of the event. On July 12, 1979 at Comiskey Park, Dahl blew up thousands of disco records between a doubleheader between the White Sox and the Detroit Tigers inciting 7,000 Sox fans to storm the field and causing the Sox to forfeit the game.
STOCKING UP. Zacuto Rentals added another $150,000 worth of new rental equipment, including an AD/SD Firewire Record ? the first in Illinois, another Varicam ? they now have five, a third 24 P Cine Package, five new Sachtler tripods, a Spider Dolly, Port-Jab Traveler and a whole bunch more you can check out at www.zacuto-rentals.com .
40TH REQUEST. July 30 is the deadline for films in five categories for the 40th Chicago International Film Festival — North America’s oldest such festival — to be held Oct. 7-21. For the 40th Anniversary, there are new awards and an additional $10,000 in cash prizes — including a $5,000 New Directors’ Award and a $5,000 Silver Images Generations Award. For entry forms, see www.chicagofilmfestival.com or call 312/425-9400.
WORKSHOP FUNDRAISER. Community Film Workshop will hold its first-ever fundraiser June 26 with music, desserts auction and raffle at the Parkway Hotel to raise $30,000. The funds will augment $100,000 in grants so the 33-year old non-profit can continue training multicultural adults in film, video and digital media. Call 773/667-3648 for $100 tax deductible tickets.
LOTSA LAFFS! Chicago Community Cinema presents a July 6 Comedy Night at Excalibur, headlined by improv legend Tim Kazurinsky. See three comedic shorts and the best of the best of the Chicago Short Comedy Video & Film Festival which lands at The Biograph on July 23. Festival co-found Willy Laszlo will be on hand to dish out free tickets and hype the event.
MIX OF POLITICS, ART. The June 30 Creatives for Kerry fundraiser looks to be SRO. It will be held in the gallery setting of West Loop Studio, 17 N. Elizabeth St. starting at 5:30 p.m. Aaron Freeman MCs, Judy Roberts performs; special guests so far are Diana Kerry, Congressmen < b>Danny Davis and Rahm Emanuel. Email reservation to Michael Lake at mlake@johnkerry.com, or phone 312/832-0220 to reserve.
SAVE THE DATE. Thursday, July 22 is the night MCAI is sponsoring a night of fun, food and flyballs to which y’all are invited, meaning you don’t have to be a MCAI member to join in the summer outing. It’s a nice opportunity to schmooze with producers et al you may otherwise not have a chance to meet. A picnic buffet at 5:45 preceeds a 7 p.m. baseball game between the Schaumburg Flyers and the Lincoln Saltdogs. See details and register at mcaichicago.com.
