Zombies needed for filming in Kingston

Our friends from the Hudson Valley Film Commission have just announced that an upcoming filming in Kingston featuring a "world renowned band" is casting extras, featured extras and dancers of all styles (tap, African, breaking, popping, ballet).

Specifically, the commission says, they are looking for "FASHIONISTA CLUB ZOMBIES"

The commission explains:

Time commitments depend will depend on role but may be up to 10 hours for main shoot day.

Date will be announced shortly.

The dress code for this project is critical.
They are looking for FASHIONISTA CLUB ZOMBIES

THE DRESS CODE IS:
Leather, rubber, PVC, glam drag, full evening, Victorian & Edwardian, jockstraps, gothic drag, cyber-wear, religious garb & pagan robes, Jackie T-shirts & flannels, dickensonian beggarwear, Kitty Boots studded panties only, military drag & uniforms, scars & piercings, butch drag for women.
Absolutely no fur coats.
No suits, ties, dress pants or jackets for man.
No rugby shirts or rugby players.
No droopy drag and no bandy clichés.
And as always—no ski wear.

*Also need Michael Jackson red jacket thriller type, Lady gaga type for cameos...
**Project will also need 5-10 old time zombies dress in Night of Living dead middle America garb.

If you are interested, send photo of yourself, resume.
Email Zombie Casting at zombiecall@me.com

Did Melissa Leo really say that, 'greed might undo the budding film industry in our area'?

Note to Kingston politicians who want to impose a fee to filmmakers shooting in Kingston: Yes, she did.

The Oscar nominated actress' e-mail, quoted in "Faults found with flimsy film fee," also had, "Sent from my Verizon Wireless Blackberry." But I have a sneaking suspicion she didn't actually write that.

Hey, Kingston city council! Laurent Rejto of the Hudson Valley Film Commission will shoot you IN THE FACE!

If you are a vampire, that is.

Rejto, co-founder of the upcoming Woodstock Film Festival, director of the Hudson Valley Film Commission and vocal opponent of stupid Kingston fees for filmmakers, has a small role in "Stakeland," a movie that was shot in the mid-Hudson Valley because THERE ARE NO FEES FOR FILMMAKERS.

Just sayin'

Trailer below:

Coming soon to a theater near you: Movies that are not made in Kingston

The city of Kingston has proposed a brilliant idea worth of a movie: Charge filmmakers who shoot in the city a fee for shooting in town, thus making sure they go somewhere else.

To maximize the message, this is being done just before the Woodstock Film Festival, as dozens of filmmakers and movie stars from around the country are about to descend in our area.

Movie genius and city alderman Charles Landi, D-Ward 3, said “these production companies make big money." So much money, in fact, that the Hudson Valley Film Commission, on the very day the proposal was discussed, sent an e-mail asking supporters for all that money it doesn't really have (I don't have any money, by the way).

"WE NEED HELP," wrote film commission director Laurent Rejto, in all-caps, in case you missed the SENSE OF URGENCY.  "Government grants have been slashed by up to forty percent and we need to make up those losses."

Landi told the Freeman that, “taxpayers in the city are inconvenienced” by traffic tie-ups caused by filming and should be reimbursed for those headaches. Such inconveniences also include the "nearly $15 million dollars of economic development to the region," according to the film commission.

Also, is the city going to write checks to its residents any time a movie shoots in town? Because, you know, I'm kind of feeling a bit inconvenience by having movie stars such as Oscar nominated actresses Vera Farmiga pollute my streets with her awesomeness.

OK, so I'm a little biased. I'm biased for having movie stars shoot movies around town and for the dumping of millions of dollars into the region.

Call me crazy.

The city will discuss the issue in October, and I'm tempted to bring a camera.

I'm making a movie about fools.

'Star Wars,' the missing scene

Depending of your perspective, the following clip is highly inconsequential or massively EPIC.
Anyway, a hero with a camera taped this Saturday at the "Star Wars Celebration V" convention in Orange County, Fla. and posted it on YouTube.
God bless his soon-to-be-sued soul.

Monday morning blips

* The Rosendale Theatre Collective is number 2 on the Pepsi Challenge, which would give it $50,000 to buy the theater.

* The Hudson Valley Youth Wind Ensembles is 6th.

* The Queens Galley's oven is no more and the soup kitchen is makings its appeal for donations on Facebook.

* We're looking for bloggers! Send me a line at ilajara@freemanonline.com.

* Stone Ridge actress Melissa Leo's new HBO series, "Treme," had its debut Sunday.

* Talking about Oscar-nominated actresses, Ulster County's Vera Farmiga is going to direct a movie somewhere Upstate in June.

Bill Plympton ends college tour

Oscar-nominated animator Bill Plympton will be presenting a selection of some of his favorite work and following each screeening with a question-and-answer session at Bard College Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.

Plympton appeared at Marist College in Poughkeepsie on Monday and at SUNY New Paltz on Tuesday.

In 1997, Plympton received his first Oscar nomination for his short "Your Face." In 2005, he was nominated for "Guard Dog." Other shorts from Bill Plympton include "How To Kiss," "25 Ways To Quit Smoking," "Plymptoons."

In addition to his many shorts, Plympton has made seven feature films, (five of them animated) including "The Tune," "Mondo Plympton," "I Married A Strange Person," "Mutant Aliens" and "Hair High."

His most recent feature, "Idiots and Angels," has won two prizes at the Fantasporto Festival in Oporto, Portugal for Best Film and Best Screenplay.

The event is free.
Call (845) 758-7097 or visit www.plymptoons.com for more information.

Following is the trailer for "Idiots and Angels"

Six very long movies in four minutes

If you like movies, but don't have much time to watch them, the folks at the University of York Filmmaking Society have an answer for you.

They've recently created a one-minute, one-take version of the two-hour, 22-minute movie "Forrest Gump"

(You can watch this faster than you can read an article about KINGSTON POINT BEACH BEING CLOSED!)



Most impressive, in my view, is "Kill Bill" - parts I and II - also in one take and in one minute. The original versions were 107 minutes and 137 minutes. That's four hours and four minutes condensed into one minute.

(That's less time needed to read a article about KINGSTON POINT BEACH REMAINING OPEN!)



One of the filmmakers, Will Tribble, said in his blog that they are planning to do one more. They're considering "Watchmen" (2 hours, 41 minutes), the "Back to the Future" trilogy (5 hours, 41 minutes), and "Star Wars" (all six are 13 hours, 12 minutes).

My hopes are in "Star Wars."

A mega-trilogy that comes to mind - at 9-hours, 4 minutes (short versions) - is "Lord of the Rings." With apologies to Tolkien fans, the films were re-imagined by the creative animators at How It Should Have Ended. Here's the whole thing, this time in two minutes.



Hey, at least I didn't waste much of your time.