“Like Dandelion Dust” is a gut wrenching battle between two devoted dads and two devoted moms.

When it comes out, sometime in Spring 2010, this is a movie you should see and should quickly be in the running for Oscar nominations for Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, and Best Picture… yes its that good.
 

(My spoiler free review:)

There’s a family message/christian theme behind the story, but its not heavy handed and barely noticeable.

Mira Sorvino and Barry Pepper do most of the the “heavy lifting” of the acting in this film.. but the rest of the cast are strong… including Maxwell Perry Cotton who is awesome as 6-year-old “Joey”.

Pepper transforms himself, becoming his character so convincing he is barely recognizeable from his roles in “Unknown” (2006), “The Green Mile” (1999), “Enemy of the State” (1998), “Saving Private Ryan” (1998), and yes, even…. “Battlefield Earth” (2000).

Pepper adds so many layers to a complicated character… something he’s been doing for years regardless of his screentime, “Like Dandelion Dust” may make Pepper a household name.

Sorvino shines again in a role she plays perfectly – her best performance since winning a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for “Mighty Aphrodite” (1995).

Cole Hauser is convincing as a troubled dad, struggling with the decision to do the right and legal thing and what his heart wants to do.  L. Scott Caldwell is great as the social worker and Kate Levering is solid as the other mother.

Based on the Karen Kingsbury novel by the same name, “Like Dandelion Dust” sets up two clearly different worlds…. where at least once, the audience goes from supporting one side to the other.   

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Director Jon Gunn’s production elements are very strong: the great shot framing is a nod to the cinematography and a kudos to the editing: I love that many of the most emotional moments breathe without dialouge… allowing the talented actors to act… without saying a word.  I give it 9.5 out of 10 … a powerful, compelling drama that reaches in and pulls on your heartstrings.   Have some tissues handy.  
(PS – The audience members who read the book were pleased)

“Like Dandelion Dust”

(2009) (not yet rated)
(1 hour, 40 min)

Starring: Mira Sorvino, Barry Pepper, Kate Levering, Maxwell Perry Cotton,  Cole Hauser, Maxwell Perry Cotton, L. Scott Caldwell, Abby Brammell, Kirk B.R. Woller

Director: Jon Gunn

Genre: Drama

The Plot: A compelling drama, based on the best-selling novel by Karen Kingsbury, that explores the different meanings of being a parent through the grittily realistic lives of the struggling, blue-collar Porter’s, and the privileged Campbell family. Their lives intersect, intertwine and collide, all for the love of a little boy.

“Like Dandelion Dust” at GR Film Festival

Link to movie website: http://www.likedandeliondust.com/

So what did you think?  Please post a comment!

 
“Like Dandelion Dust” poster courtesy Downes Brothers Entertainment-Lucky Crow Films

 ** CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT MY OTHER MOVIE REVIEWS **

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 43 movies make up the first ever Grand Rapids Film Festival… 11 features, 12 documentaries, 9 short narratives, and 3 animated films.

There are also 4 free panel discussions focused on ”Making Movies in Michigan”, “Digital Animation and Game Design”, “How Academia Can Help”, and “In the Movies”, a panel that includes some of the filmmakers behind the movies at this festival.

The “In The Movies” panel includes Rick Eldridge the producer of “The Ultimate Gift”, Andre’ van Heerden the producer of  “Saving God”, Bobby Downes the producer of “Like Dandelion Dust”, John Grooters the producer/director of “American Sailors”.

The Grand Rapids Film Festival will run August 26-28 at Celebration! Cinema North in Grand Rapids.  Tickets are $5- $8 per movie.

Here’s a look at some of the 43 movies, click here for a look at the schedule:

 “Like Dandelion Dust”
(1 hour, 40 min/ not Rated)

“Like Dandelion Dust” will make its Michigan premiere at the Grand Rapids Film Festival, the movie has already won 7 awards at festivals across the country this year.

Cast: Mira Sorvino, Barry Pepper, Kate Levering, Maxwell Perry Cotton, and Cole Hauser

Plot: A compelling drama, based on the best-selling novel by Karen Kingsbury, that explores the different meanings of being a parent through the grittily realistic lives of the struggling, blue-collar Porter’s, and the privileged Campbell family. Their lives intersect, intertwine and collide, all for the love of a little boy.

Director: Jon Gunn

Trailer: not available, link to movie website: http://www.likedandeliondust.com/

 “Saving God”
(1 hour, 41 min/ rated PG-13)

“Saving God” garnered strong reviews at several film festivals this year and won the Film Excellence Award at the International Family Film Festival.  The film is also nominated for a Time for Peace Film Award and Ving Rhames is nominated for a Time for Peace Actor Award for his performance.

Cast: Ving Rhames, Ricardo Chavira (ABC’s Desperate Housewives), Dean McDermott, Dwain Murphy, Genelle Williams

Plot: Armstrong Cane (Rhames) served 15 years in prison for manslaughter.  Now he serves as the Pastor of his community church. As he works to rebuild the community he left behind, the ex con meets Norris (Murphy) and recognizes a young man headed down a familiar scary path.  Lured into the depths of drugs and violence by local dealer Blaze (McDermott), the troubled teen is pulled in opposite directions.

Director: Duane Crighton

Trailer: http://www.savinggodmovie.com/index.php?obj=trailer 

 “The Way Home”
(1 hour, 30 min/ rated PG)

Premiered May 12th at Fox Theater in Atlanta.

Cast: Dean Cain, Lori Beth Edgeman, Sonny Shroyer, Tom Nowicki, Brett Rice, Jay Gill, Jackson Walker, L. Warren Young, Jackie Prucha, Bruce McKinnon

Plot: An inspirational true story about how a rural community rallied around a distraught family to search for their missing two year-old boy and through doing so changed the lives of many of those involved.

Director: Lance Dreesen

Trailer: http://www.thewayhome-movie.com/

 “The Ultimate Gift”
(1 hour, 55 min/ rated PG)

Won the “Crystal Heart Award” at the Heartland Film Festival in 2006 in Indianapolis.

Cast: Drew Fuller, Abigail Breslin, James Garner, Bill Cobbs, Lee Meriwether, George Lee, Brett Rice, D. David Morin, Ali Hillis, Brian Dennehy

Plot: Jason thought his inheritance was going to be the gift of money and lots of it. Was he ever in for a big surprise. Based on the best-selling book “The Ultimate Gift” by Jim Stovall, the story sends trust fund baby Jason Stevens on an improbable journey of discovery, having to answer the ultimate question: “What is the relationship between wealth and happiness?”

Director: Rick Eldridge

Trailer: http://www.theultimategift.com/movie.php?cid=1560810621&cat=movie

 “Bonhoeffer”
(1 hour, 30 min/ not rated)

Plot: Dietrich Bonhoefer was a German clergyman who actively opposed Hitler. His convictions landed him in the gallows on April 9, 1945. More than a portrait of his life, this compelling feature film sheds light on the little-known efforts of the German resistance.

Director: Eric Till

Trailer:  n/a

 “House”
(1 hour, 29 min/ rated R )

Cast: Michael Madsen, Reynaldo Rosales, Heidi Dippold, Julie Ann Emery, J.P. Davis, Lew Temple, Leslie Easterbrook, Bill Moseley, Pawel Delag, Weronika Rosati, Allana Bale, Mark Fierer, Florentyna Synowiecka, Andrew Gorzen

Plot: A suspenseful thriller, based on the best selling book by Ted Dekker, of a young couple who become stranded on a lonely country road. Following directions from a menacing sheriff, they stumble upon a desolate inn run by a sinister woman and her homicidal son. Soon the couple find themselves haunted not only by horrifying glimpses of their past sins, but also a masked psychopath.

Director: Robby Henson

Trailer: n/a

 “Signs of the Time”
(1 hour /not rated)

“Signs of the Time” is a full length documentary narrated by Richard Dreyfuss

Plot:  Narrated by Richard Dreyfuss, “Signs of the Time” is a baseball documentary that was shot on location in eight states, featuring interviews with many baseball greats and re-enactments of scenes from old-time baseball games. The film explores the origins of this pivotal innovation and the baseball pioneers that shaped the course of the game and history.

Director: Don Casper

Website: http://www.signsofthetimemovie.com

-

 “Saving Face”
(1 hour, 21 min/ not rated)

“Saving Face” is a full length documentary about life inside prison.

Plot: A true story about a teenage boy’s journey to manhood and fight for survival inside the Florida Prison System.

Director: H. James Gilmore

Website: http://www.savingfacedoc.com

-

 “Beyond Greenaway: The Legacy”
(1 hour, 8 min/ not rated)

“Beyond Greenaway: The Legacy” is a full length documentary.

Plot: Sue Gilbert returns to explore the wealth and lifestyle issues first portrayed through the eyes of her elderly parents in the film ‘Greenaway’ (1982). In this film, she compares her parents’ viewpoints to those of their children and adult grandchildren over a range of topics, including seldom discussed issues of deserving, hiding, and envy. We come to care for the film’s subjects as people sharing their struggles, regardless of circumstance.

Director: Sue Gilbert

Website:  http://www.BeyondGreenaway.com

-

 “The Reckoning: Remembering the Dutch Resistance”
(1 hour, 36 min/ not rated)

“The Reckoning: Remembering the Dutch Resistance” is a full length documentary. Winner of 6 international Film Festivals.  Produced by Grand Rapids-based Storytelling Pictures.

Plot: Six survivors of war-torn Netherlands during WW2 share their ‘underground’ resistance accounts of hiding Jews and/or trying to survive Nazi tyranny.

Director: John Evans

Website: http://www.dutchresistance.net

-

 “Somebody’s Daughter”
(1 hour, 2 min/ not rated)

“Somebody’s Daughter” is a full length documentary about effects of pornography.

Plot: How do you show addiction? The initial draw, suffocating persistence and devastating effects. When asked by Nashville organization “Music for the Soul” to create a visual reality of the devastating effects of pornography without the program itself looking pornographic, the Documentary “Somebody’s Daughter” was created.

Director: John Evans

Website: http://www.somebodysdaughter.org

-

 “American Sailors”
(46 min/ not rated)

“American Sailors” is a full length documentary that has aired on WGN.  Winner of a Silver Telly award.  Produced by Grooters Productions based in Holland, MI.

Plot: American Sailors covers the 100th running of the Chicago to Mackinac race, the world’s oldest and longest fresh water race. Ride the winds and race with some of America’s greatest skippers on American Sailors. The wind shows no favorites: anyone can win. 

Director: Bruce Snoap

Website: http://www.americansailors.tv/about/
Trailer: http://www.americansailors.tv/posts/news/hello-world/

-

 “As We Forgive”
(54 min/ not rated)

“As We Forgive” is a full length documentary that has won awards at several film festivals and a Student Academy Award for Best Documentary.

Plot: Could you forgive a person who murdered your family? This is the question faced by the subjects of “As We Forgive,” an Academy Award winning documentary about two Rwandan women on a journey to reconcile with the neighbors who slaughtered their families during the 1994 genocide.

Director: Laura Walters Hinson

Website: http://www.asweforgivemovie.com/
Trailer: http://www.asweforgivemovie.com/trailer.htm

-

 “Better Bones and Gardens”
(25 min/ not rated)

“Better Bones and Gardens” is a Student Documentary.

Plot: Better Bones and Gardens is a short documentary about Dan Phillips, a trash architect, and Kipp Nash, an urban farmer. These men are remaking the common house and garden in wildly imaginative ways. Discarded cattle bones, wine corks, DVDs, and bottle caps are used as building materials for homes, while manicured grassy front yards are transformed into nutritious gardens. While these projects may sound a little strange, Kipp Nash and Dan Phillips show that by following their passion for building and gardening, they can help people save money and keep our planet a little cleaner.

Director: Natalie Edler

Website: n/a

-

 “White-Eyed Winter”
(16 min/ not rated)

“White-Eyed Winter” is a short narrative.

Plot: An honest farmer, and father of two, is awoken in the middle of the night to find a stranger wounded in his barn. But when he and his two children are compelled by circumstance to nurse the man back to health, tensions begin to rise between the stranger and the farmer as their apposing backgrounds come into conflict.

Director: Brad Porter

Website: n/a

-

 “Checkers”
(4 min/ not rated)

“Checkers” is a short narrative.

Plot: Two old men get together to play a game of checkers. As they reflect on their friendship together, they remember the times they shared when they were younger.

Director: Brad Porter

Website: n/a

-

 “Pigment”
(10 min/ not rated)

“Pigment” is a short narrative.

Plot: Like every girl, Amanda wants a change. She seeks out an artist who magically transforms her appearance by simply painting over her image on paper. The possibilities of the artist seem limitless, but Amanda wrestles with who she is becoming and how far she must go to be truly happy.

Director: Kyle Dufendach

Website: n/a

-

 “Click Clack Jack”
(54 min/ not rated)

“Click Clack Jack” is a short narrative that has played at numerous festivals around the country.

Plot: A family film about an 1870’s rail engineer, Click Clack Jack, who uses biblical principles to try and save Potters Gap from the evil Baron Snodgrass who seeks to destroy the town to further his own ambition and look for Gold beneath it.

Director: Ryan Bodie

Website: http://www.clickclackjack.com

-

 “The Big Table”
(9 min/ not rated)

“The Big Table” is a short narrative.

Plot: A young boy growing up during an innocent age in the South learns about life, family, and rite-of-passage over Thanksgiving dinner at his grandmother’s house.

Director: Dan Michael Hodges

Website: n/a

-

 “Fatal Flaw”
(22 min/ not rated)

“Fatal Flaw” is a short narrative.

Plot: The story of an average man living beyond his means and secretly addicted to gambling. After making the ultimate gamble and losing, he is interrogated by someone who knows the truth, and he now faces his own execution.

Director: The Olson Brothers

Website: http://fatalflawmovie.com

-

 “Hermie and Friends: The Flo Show Creates a Buzz”
(unkown runtime/ not rated)

“Hermie and Friends: The Flo Show Creates a Buzz” is an animated short. 

Plot: Flo gets her own show, ‘The Flo Show’, but she doesn’t think of anyone’s feelings and has to learn humility.

Director: Rick Eldridge

Website: n/a

-

 “The Veiled Commodity”
(6 min/ not rated)

“The Veiled Commodity” is an animated short.

Plot: “The Veiled Commodity” is a short film that employs various design and animation techniques to tell a concise history of slavery and the problems of its present day counterpart; the trafficking and victimization of people around the world.

Director: Dickson Chow

Website: n/a

-

6/3/09 blog about the Grand Rapids Film Festival

– 

Follow my updates on twitter: http://twitter.com/aaronlafferty

Add to your RSS feed: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/woodtv8-blogs-laff-at-the-movies?format=html

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So far I know of 18 movies that will be at the first ever Grand Rapids Film Festival… 2 features, 8 documentaries, 6 short narratives, and 2 animated films.  One of the feature films is a movie with star power that might just be in consideration come Academy Award season… and two of the documentaries are recognizable (at least to me as films that have already had some positive national expposure, including one with ties to West Michigan).  Many of the movies have family oriented themes.
The Grand Rapids Film Festival will run August 26-28 at Celebration! Cinema North in Grand Rapids.  
I’ll try to keep you updated in the coming weeks as more movies are added to the list!!

Here’s what I know so far:

 “Like Dandelion Dust”
(1 hour, 40 min/ not Rated)

“Like Dandelion Dust” will make its Michigan premiere at the Grand Rapids Film Festival, the movie has already won 7 awards at festivals across the country this year.

Cast: Mira Sorvino, Barry Pepper, Kate Levering, Maxwell Perry Cotton, and Cole Hauser

Plot: A compelling drama, based on the best-selling novel by Karen Kingsbury, that explores the different meanings of being a parent through the grittily realistic lives of the struggling, blue-collar Porter’s, and the privileged Campbell family. Their lives intersect, intertwine and collide, all for the love of a little boy.

Director: Jon Gunn

Trailer: not available, link to movie website: http://www.likedandeliondust.com/

 “Saving God”
(1 hour, 41 min/ rated PG-13)

“Saving God” garnered strong reviews at several film festivals this year and won the Film Excellence Award at the International Family Film Festival.  The film is also nominated for a Time for Peace Film Award and Ving Rhames is nominated for a Time for Peace Actor Award for his performance.

Cast: Ving Rhames, Ricardo Chavira (ABC’s Desperate Housewives), Dean McDermott, Dwain Murphy, Genelle Williams

Plot: Armstrong Cane (Rhames) served 15 years in prison for manslaughter.  Now he serves as the Pastor of his community church. As he works to rebuild the community he left behind, the ex con meets Norris (Murphy) and recognizes a young man headed down a familiar scary path.  Lured into the depths of drugs and violence by local dealer Blaze (McDermott), the troubled teen is pulled in opposite directions.

Director: Duane Crighton

Trailer: http://www.savinggodmovie.com/index.php?obj=trailer 

 “Signs of the Time”
(1 hour /not rated)

“Signs of the Time” is a full length documentary narrated by Richard Dreyfuss

Plot:  Narrated by Richard Dreyfuss, “Signs of the Time” is a baseball documentary that was shot on location in eight states, featuring interviews with many baseball greats and re-enactments of scenes from old-time baseball games. The film explores the origins of this pivotal innovation and the baseball pioneers that shaped the course of the game and history.

Director: Don Casper

Website: http://www.signsofthetimemovie.com

-

 “Saving Face”
(1 hour, 21 min/ not rated)

“Saving Face” is a full length documentary about life inside prison.

Plot: A true story about a teenage boy’s journey to manhood and fight for survival inside the Florida Prison System.

Director: H. James Gilmore

Website: http://www.savingfacedoc.com

-

 “Beyond Greenaway: The Legacy”
(1 hour, 8 min/ not rated)

“Beyond Greenaway: The Legacy” is a full length documentary.

Plot: Sue Gilbert returns to explore the wealth and lifestyle issues first portrayed through the eyes of her elderly parents in the film ‘Greenaway’ (1982). In this film, she compares her parents’ viewpoints to those of their children and adult grandchildren over a range of topics, including seldom discussed issues of deserving, hiding, and envy. We come to care for the film’s subjects as people sharing their struggles, regardless of circumstance.

Director: Sue Gilbert

Website:  http://www.BeyondGreenaway.com

-

 “The Reckoning: Remembering the Dutch Resistance”
(1 hour, 36 min/ not rated)

“The Reckoning: Remembering the Dutch Resistance” is a full length documentary. Winner of 6 international Film Festivals.  Produced by Grand Rapids-based Storytelling Pictures.

Plot: Six survivors of war-torn Netherlands during WW2 share their ‘underground’ resistance accounts of hiding Jews and/or trying to survive Nazi tyranny.

Director: John Evans

Website: http://www.dutchresistance.net

-

 “Somebody’s Daughter”
(1 hour, 2 min/ not rated)

“Somebody’s Daughter” is a full length documentary about effects of pornography.

Plot: How do you show addiction? The initial draw, suffocating persistence and devastating effects. When asked by Nashville organization “Music for the Soul” to create a visual reality of the devastating effects of pornography without the program itself looking pornographic, the Documentary “Somebody’s Daughter” was created.

Director: John Evans

Website: http://www.somebodysdaughter.org

-

 “American Sailors”
(46 min/ not rated)

“American Sailors” is a full length documentary that has aired on WGN.  Winner of a Silver Telly award.  Produced by Grooters Productions based in Holland, MI.

Plot: American Sailors covers the 100th running of the Chicago to Mackinac race, the world’s oldest and longest fresh water race. Ride the winds and race with some of America’s greatest skippers on American Sailors. The wind shows no favorites: anyone can win. 

Director: Bruce Snoap

Website: http://www.americansailors.tv/about/
Trailer: http://www.americansailors.tv/posts/news/hello-world/

-

 “As We Forgive”
(54 min/ not rated)

“As We Forgive” is a full length documentary that has won awards at several film festivals and a Student Academy Award for Best Documentary.

Plot: Could you forgive a person who murdered your family? This is the question faced by the subjects of “As We Forgive,” an Academy Award winning documentary about two Rwandan women on a journey to reconcile with the neighbors who slaughtered their families during the 1994 genocide.

Director: Laura Walters Hinson

Website: http://www.asweforgivemovie.com/
Trailer: http://www.asweforgivemovie.com/trailer.htm

-

 “Better Bones and Gardens”
(25 min/ not rated)

“Better Bones and Gardens” is a Student Documentary.

Plot: Better Bones and Gardens is a short documentary about Dan Phillips, a trash architect, and Kipp Nash, an urban farmer. These men are remaking the common house and garden in wildly imaginative ways. Discarded cattle bones, wine corks, DVDs, and bottle caps are used as building materials for homes, while manicured grassy front yards are transformed into nutritious gardens. While these projects may sound a little strange, Kipp Nash and Dan Phillips show that by following their passion for building and gardening, they can help people save money and keep our planet a little cleaner.

Director: Natalie Edler

Website: n/a

-

 “White-Eyed Winter”
(16 min/ not rated)

“White-Eyed Winter” is a short narrative.

Plot: An honest farmer, and father of two, is awoken in the middle of the night to find a stranger wounded in his barn. But when he and his two children are compelled by circumstance to nurse the man back to health, tensions begin to rise between the stranger and the farmer as their apposing backgrounds come into conflict.

Director: Brad Porter

Website: n/a

-

 “Checkers”
(4 min/ not rated)

“Checkers” is a short narrative.

Plot: Two old men get together to play a game of checkers. As they reflect on their friendship together, they remember the times they shared when they were younger.

Director: Brad Porter

Website: n/a

-

 “Pigment”
(10 min/ not rated)

“Pigment” is a short narrative.

Plot: Like every girl, Amanda wants a change. She seeks out an artist who magically transforms her appearance by simply painting over her image on paper. The possibilities of the artist seem limitless, but Amanda wrestles with who she is becoming and how far she must go to be truly happy.

Director: Kyle Dufendach

Website: n/a

-

 “Click Clack Jack”
(54 min/ not rated)

“Click Clack Jack” is a short narrative that has played at numerous festivals around the country.

Plot: A family film about an 1870’s rail engineer, Click Clack Jack, who uses biblical principles to try and save Potters Gap from the evil Baron Snodgrass who seeks to destroy the town to further his own ambition and look for Gold beneath it.

Director: Ryan Bodie

Website: http://www.clickclackjack.com

-

 “The Big Table”
(9 min/ not rated)

“The Big Table” is a short narrative.

Plot: A young boy growing up during an innocent age in the South learns about life, family, and rite-of-passage over Thanksgiving dinner at his grandmother’s house.

Director: Dan Michael Hodges

Website: n/a

-

 “Fatal Flaw”
(22 min/ not rated)

“Fatal Flaw” is a short narrative.

Plot: The story of an average man living beyond his means and secretly addicted to gambling. After making the ultimate gamble and losing, he is interrogated by someone who knows the truth, and he now faces his own execution.

Director: The Olson Brothers

Website: http://fatalflawmovie.com

-

 “Hermie and Friends: The Flo Show Creates a Buzz”
(unkown runtime/ not rated)

“Hermie and Friends: The Flo Show Creates a Buzz” is an animated short. 

Plot: Flo gets her own show, ‘The Flo Show’, but she doesn’t think of anyone’s feelings and has to learn humility.

Director: Rick Eldridge

Website: n/a

-

 “The Veiled Commodity”
(6 min/ not rated)

“The Veiled Commodity” is an animated short.

Plot: “The Veiled Commodity” is a short film that employs various design and animation techniques to tell a concise history of slavery and the problems of its present day counterpart; the trafficking and victimization of people around the world.

Director: Dickson Chow

Website: n/a

-

6/3/09 blog about the Grand Rapids Film Festival

– 

Follow my updates on twitter: http://twitter.com/aaronlafferty

Add to your RSS feed: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/woodtv8-blogs-laff-at-the-movies?format=html

YouTube Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=WOODTV8&view=videos&query=laff+at+the+movies

During remarks at his last meeting as a board member, Allen said union leaders, including President Paul Helder, did not bring a potential contract agreement to member teachers in February.  District teachers just finished their second school year without a contract.

“Imagine that: seven people deciding the fate of over 1,700.  That does not sound like a democracy, it sounds like a dictatorship, ironically one of the things of which [the union] accuses (Superintendent) Dr. Taylor,” said Allen, a one-time board president. He said the union’s tactics have mirrored a 2003 warning presented by a staffer at Michigan Association of School Boards

Allen, who has served since 2002, also discussed what he saw as successes during his tenure: the passage of a school bond, making needed building and program cuts, more schools meeting state and federal standards and looming high school reforms.

In an interview after the meeting, Helder told 24 Hour News 8 Allen is entitled to his opinion.  But he said there never was a tentative agreement he could have presented to his membership.  And the union president said he would literally be willing to be locked in a room with negotiators until a contract is settled.

“We’re offering right now again: go into a building, chain the doors — we’ll get flat food, you can slide it under the door,” Helder said.  “And we’d like Dr. Taylor there as well.”

Also Monday night, the board approved pink slips for 141 teachers.

The district typically recalls most of the teachers who receive the slips, although because of lower than expected retirements and the elimination of 95 full-time positions, that may not be the case this year.

Those 95 positions will be cut through not replacing retirees, moving some teachers from full- to part-time and laying off some teachers.  Helder said he expects roughly 30 retirements this year.
Also Monday night, Superintendent Bernard Taylor offered a moment of silence for two members of the school community who lost their lives recently, including Nathaniel Jones, who was shot Thursday afternoon near Fuller Avenue and Kalamazoo Street SE.

GRPS has announced LEED certification, a nationwide environmental designation, for Gerald Ford Middle School. It’s the third district building to receive the honor.  A fourth has applied for it.

The board also approved the lease of Park School, 1150 Adams Street SE, to Michigan Family Resources/Head Start.

Keep it here for the latest.

–Tony

(Originally posted June 9, 12:28am)

After two weeks of shooting in Grand Rapids, “Caught in the Crossfire” is close to a wrap.

The crime drama stars Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Chris Klein, Adam Rodriguez, Richard T. Jones, and Michael Matthias.

Monday night, crews were shooting a pivotal interrogation scene at Deano’s Production Facilities in Grand Rapids.   Producer R.D. Miller says the movie is a cross between “L.A. Confidential” and “The Usual Suspects” and they will be cutting back and forth between this interrogation scene and the action throughout the movie.

Producer R.D. Miller was hesitant to tell me that the police Captain (Jones) and police Lieutenant (Matthias) are “interrogating the detectives” (Klein and Rodriguez).

Director Brian Miller and Producer R.D. Miller plan to come back with future projects, and we know from our last visit to the set that 50 Cent would like to bring his next project that he’s producing with Forest Whitaker called “Jekyll and Hyde” to Grand Rapids (in August).

The filmmakers say Michigan’s tax incentives (up to 42%) were a big part of their choice to come to the state.  Producer R.D. Miller says “the first thing that brought us to michigan was the 42% tax incentive that the state’s offering, it works out really well for us.  The second thing that brought us to Grand Rapids is the beautiful city, it allows us to make a movie with the feel of a big city without the big city pricing”.

Also Director Brian Miller’s ties to the area as an East Grand Rapids and GVSU grad.   Producer R.D. Miller says they wanted to thank J.Gardella’s Tavern, the Grand Rapids Police Department, and their hotels for help as well.

On set/interview with Producer R.D. Miller:
http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/web_extra_video/Interview_with_Crossfire_producer

Interview with Richard T. Jones:
http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/entertainment/Caught_in_the_Crossfire_wraps_up

Originally posted May 26th:

Rapper/Actor 50 Cent is filming a movie in Grand Rapids

Watch Emily Zangaro’s story from the set: http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/entertainment/Behind_scenes_Caught_in_the_Crossfire

Update: Chris Klein is back in West Michigan.  His last visit was for “American Pie 2″ for scenes shot in Grand Haven.  Klein co-stars with 50 Cent, along with Adam Rodriguez (CBS’ “CSI”) in the crime thriller “Caught in the Crossfire”. 

The crew filmed Memorial Day on Grand Rapids’ 6th Street Bridge.  On Friday, the small budget movie filmed at J. Gardella’s Tavern in downtown Grand Rapids.  Other locations are being kept under wraps to keep crowds away and security tight.

The writer/director for “Caught in the Crossfire”, Brian Miller, is an East Grand Rapids H.S. grad and GVSU alum.

The filming in the Grand Rapids area is scheduled for 3 weeks.

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Originally published 5/22/09:  50 Cent (Curtis James Jackson III) is in town, part of a “smaller budget” police/crime film called “Caught in the Crossfire”, that started production today.

The production crew, out of Los Angeles, is scheduled to be in the Grand Rapids area for 3 weeks.

The Michigan Film Office confirms that the movie has been approved for the state’s film incentives.

The production company hired a local crew and only involved the West Michigan Film Office to solve a few small needs.

Rick Hert of the West Michigan Film Office hopes this will be the first of several back-to-back movies to keep the local production crews busy.

Pre-production on “The Genesis Code” is expected to begin next week.

Another source tells me that the psychological thriller “Stone”, starring Robert DeNiro, Edward Norton, and Milla Jovovich could end up shooting some flashback scenes in the Grand Rapids area… but those details have yet to be worked out.

I’ll have more updates as they come in.

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Its now official.. Grand Rapids first annual Film Festival will take place August 26 to 28, 2009 at Celebration! Cinema North.

Its something organizers have been talking about doing for the last three years.

The festival’s website says “our goal is to have great films (action, adventure, comedy, drama, romance, whatever…) that arent the typical Hollywood-type gish filled with gratuitous sex or extreme profanity and violence. We want movies, documentaries, short films, animation projects, that inspire and challenge. Independent films that are message driven.”

While this year’s festival will be a Celebration! Cinema North, organizers plan to have the venue downtown next year at different locations.

Organizers are putting out the call for submissions from filmmakers: the film submission deadline is July 17.   There will be awards for Best in Show and Best in Category with Cash Awards for Best in Show (for 1st, 2nd, 3rd Place).

For more information check out the festival’s website or send an email to info@grfilmfestival.com

We broke the story yesterday at woodtv.com and on 24 Hour News 8 at 5:00pm.

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Thriller! Chiller! Festival

Organizers of Grand Rapids’ own Thriller! Chiller! Festival say, in a notice on the festival’s website say they will taking a “bye year to work on our own collective film projects while enjoying the increased business opportunities to thrive in our professions as Michigan transforms into Hollywood North.”

The festival usually runs in October and is a showcase for horror, sci-fi, action, and suspense movies and runs out of the Wealthy Theater in Grand Rapids.

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Originally published October 19, 2008:

Local Film Festival “Thriller! Chiller!” begins Thursday at Wealthy Theater in Grand Rapids

Its the 3rd year of this local film festival showcasing more than 30 small, independently made sci-fi, action, suspense, horror, thrillers and chillers and showing a few classic movies like “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, “The Shining”, and “Night of the Living Dead”.

The 4-day Thriller! Chiller! festival begins Thursday night at Wealthy Theater in Grand Rapids with the opening night selections: the feature length “Art of Pain”, the 10 minute short “Dusty”, the 5 minute short “The Green Machine”, and the 32 minute short “Vito Power”.

Thriller! Chiller!’s organizers are from the Grand Rapids area and are determined for you to have fun – check this entry on the festival’s website: “We will play genre movies – and play them well – and be proud of it.  We will encourage audience participation.  Our festival will be a party and we’ll have fun, scary and thrilling movies for your enjoyment.  No need to hide it. We’re all friends here.  Have fun at a film festival again.  This one is for the real fans out there.  Come to a festival where you can still call a film a movie.”

In addition to the 38 other student movies and independently produced features, there are 4 mainstream movies you’ve no doubt heard of:

“Night of the Living Dead” – showing Thursday night (Oct 23) at 5pm

“Raiders of the Lost Ark” - showing Friday night (Oct 24) at 8pm

“Monsters, Inc.” - showing Saturday afternoon (Oct 25) at 1pm

“The Shining” - showing Satuday night (Oct 25) at 10:30pm

Its not just about movies, there are also seminars and discussions on Sound Effects, Makeup & FX, and Filmmaking in Michigan.

For tickets/more info: go to the Thriller! Chiller! website

Between comments from folks at Cinepro Pictures, director Phillipe Martinez’ recorded comments at the “Chaos” premiere, and a few of my sources, I can tell you that Grand Rapids is being scouted for Martinez’ next movie “Tribes of October”.

The $25 million budget CGI heavy post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller needs big open spaces to shoot, and I’ve learned that DeVos Place and some big warehouse-size buildings around Grand Rapids are also being considered for possible shooting locations.

Also today, new pre-production images (above) from Cinepro Pictures.

Originally posted May 5, 2009:

“The Chaos Experiment” director coming back to Michigan for next movie, bringing bigger budget, well known actors

UPDATED: He first came to Grand Rapids to film “The Steam Experiment”, now titled “The Chaos Experiment” in 2008… now we know that Director Philippe Martinez will be making his next movie, “Tribes of October” in a yet to be decided location in Michigan.

My source says the movie will be “Shooting in Michigan sometime this summer. Location tbd.”

The Michigan Film Office says that the production company Cinepro Pictures has not yet applied for Michigan’s film incentives.

 About the movie and the early casting

The post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller is set in a future where New York, technologically crippled with nothing made past the 1960’s working, is surrounded by desert wastelands.

Ray Stevenson, Jaime King, Stephen Moyer, Robert Duvall and James Caan are all expected to be in the cast.

Stevenson, who recently starred in the new “Punisher” movie, will play a detective who is targeting a power-hungry Mafia don, played by Cann (NBC’s “Las Vegas”). King (”The Spirit”, “Sin City”) will play the detective’s long-lost love, who he is also searching for, and Duvall is the head of the remnants of the NYPD, of which Moyer (HBO’s “True Blood”) is a member of.

Remember, Duvall and Caan were scheduled to come to Grand Rapids to shoot a TV miniseries, that has since been cancelled due to budget issues.

Cinepro Pictures, the production company, says on its website that production will begin in August.

Some media reports say that most of the movie’s backgrounds will be computer generated. 

Director Philippe Martinez on the set of "The Steam Experiment" 9-10-08

So, could “Tribes” and its $25 million budget be coming to Grand Rapids?

Maybe.  Martinez really enjoyed shooting in downtown Grand Rapids.

On the set of “The Chaos Experiment”, September 10, 2008, I asked Martinez if he would consider coming back to Grand Rapids, he said: “Absolutely, I think that you’re gonna see that in the next 12 months, you’re gonna have about 20-30 pictures coming to Michigan”.

Sounds like we could see Philippe and his crew again.

We’ll keep you posted.

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Originally posted:  May 4th, 2009

Time is up!!!

Update: Congratulations to the 2 winners… they have been contacted by email, but if they are unable to pick up their tickets, I have picked 2 alternates.  Thanks to everyone who entered!!!

Update: I picked up the tickets yesterday for the premiere Tuesday evening, May 5th, but I only have 2 pairs of tickets to give away, so get your comments in and make ‘em count!  I’ll pick the 2 winners and notify them by email on Monday!!

Contest to see “The Chaos Experiment” before it opens in Grand Rapids

I will have a limited amount of tickets to giveaway for the May 5th premiere of “The Chaos Experiment” at Celebration! Cinema North… so here’s the contest, its easy: just leave a quality comment on any of my blogs (old or new)… and when you do, include your name and email address in the comment section, so I can contact you.  The person with the most quality comments wins!

Some additional details about the May 5th invitation-only premiere:
My source tells me that the premiere for “The Chaos Experiment” will not include any celebrities, like the main cast, but there will be a representative from the company.

My source also says that Celebration! Cinema worked to get the movie to have a theatrical run in Grand Rapids, since it was filmed here.  Apparently the costs were too high to release the movie in other cities, and the market is better for DVD.

After the premiere, “The Chaos Experiment” will be available for one week for the public starting May 8th at Celebration! Cinema North and Celebration! Cinema RiverTown.  The weeklong run from May 8th to 14th will include limited screenings at least twice a day.

Originally posted April 21, 2009:

The title of the movie previously known as “The Steam Experiment” is changing, it will now be called “The Chaos Experiment” when it debuts May 5th

“The Chaos Experiment” will have a private premiere on May 5th, 2009, in Grand Rapids at Celebration! Cinema North.   Local cast, crew and vendors that worked on the film, along with city officials and media will be the first to see the first movie to shoot in Grand Rapids after the tax incentives were passed.   The thriller starring Val Kilmer and Armand Assante shot in Grand Rapids last fall.

“The Chaos Experiment” will be available for one week for the public to see starting May 8th at Celebration! Cinema North and Celebration! Cinema RiverTown.  The weeklong run from May 8th to 14th will include limited screenings at least twice a day and ticket proceeds will help benefit the West Michigan Film Office.

 Recognizable Grand Rapids locations in the film include the carousel in the Van Andel Museum Center, the Bulls Head Restaurant, the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel and the Grand Rapids Press offices. Distributor, Genius Products, plans to release The Chaos Experiment on DVD in June.

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Originally posted April 8, 2009: 

Val Kilmer and Armand Assante in "The Steam Experiment" courtesy CinePro Pictures

Grand Rapids premiere of ”The Steam Experiment” set for May 5th

The psychological thriller “The Steam Experiment”, the movie that spent 16 days shooting in Grand Rapids in September 2008 will make its Grand Rapids premiere on Tuesday, May 5th.

“Steam” was the first movie to shoot in Grand Rapids after Michigan’s film incentives went into law, it stars Val Kilmer, Armand Assante, and Eric Roberts.

Details of the May 5th showing are still in the works, but are said to be an invite-only showing for the West Michigan cast and crew.

There’s no word yet on if any of the movie’s main cast, crew, Director, or Producers will be in town for a red carpet event.

And there’s no information yet when and if the movie will be released in other cities.

A DVD release of the movie is expected later this summer, possibly in June.

For previous stories on “The Steam Experiment”, click on these links:

3/3/09 – Closer look at “The Steam Experiment” trailer

2/24/09 – First showing of “The Steam Experiment” at Tampa Festival

11/16/08 – Poster and New Photos for “The Steam Experiment”

10/10/08 – Steam Experiment updates

9/25/08 – More Steam Experiment news

9/18/08 – Steam Experiment news

9/11/08 – From the set of The Steam Experiment

9/8/08 – Trying to confirm The Steam Experiment shooting in Grand Rapids

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GRPS board meeting, May 4, 2009.

A team of Grand Rapids Public Schools students took top honors in nationwide math and language competitions at the National Academic Games tournament in Tennessee.

GRPS’ “senior team” — Kierstdea Furey, Theodore Petzold, Terrance Carrothers, David Casaletto and Michael Myckowiak — took first place in “equations” and “linguishtik” at the competition, held in April in Knoxville, Tenn. and billed as the largest such tournament in the country.  Myckowiak and Petzold earned perfect scores in the two competitions.  Furey earned a perfect score for “linguishtik.”

 The district’s junior team took third place in “equations” and the elementary team took third in “on-sets” and fourth in “linguishtik.”

Two from the elementary team — Jack Culp and Adrian Bonilla — earned perfect scores in “equations.”

The students were honored at Monday’s GRPS board meeting.