Movie Sights

"HOPE FLOATS" 

(drama, romance) 1998  

Humiliated on national television when her best friend and her husband, Bill, admit they are in love and having an affair, Birdee Pruitt moves back to her hometown of Smithville, Texas. Returning to her mother’s home is not easy. Her young daughter, Bernice, misses her father. Birdie finds that having been the most popular girl in high school – cheerleader who married the high school quarterback -- left a bitter feeling among many of her contemporaries. There is one man, Justin Matisse, who still has feelings for her after all of these years, but can Birdee put her recent past behind her and start a new life?

CAST

Sandra Bullock as Birdee Pruitt
Harry Connick Jr. as Justin Matisse
Gena Rowlands as Ramona Calvert, Birdee’s Mom
Mae Whitman as Bernice Pruitt, Birdee’s daughter
Michael Paré as Bill Pruitt, Birdee’s husband

PRODUCTION TEAM

Director: Forest Whitaker
Written by: Steven Rogers
Executive Producer: Sandra Bullock, Mary McLaglen
Associate Producer: Elizabeth Joan Hooper
Producer: Lynda Obst
Original Music: Dave Grusin
Cinematography: Caleb Deschanel
Film Editing: Richard Crew
Casting: Ronnie Yeskel

FILMING LOCATIONS

Smithville, TX; Cistern, TX; Austin, TX; La Grange, TX; Chicago, IL

AWARDS

1999 Lone Star Film & Television Awards
Best Actress – Sandra Bullock
Best Supporting Actress – Gena Rowlands 
1999 Young Artist Awards
Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actress Age Ten or Under – Mae Whitman
7 Nominations

WEBSITE

www.imdb.com/title/tt0119313/

FILM TRAILER - CLICK HERE

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"TREE OF LIFE" 

(drama) June 2011

We trace the evolution of Jack, an eleven-year-old boy in the 1950s Midwest, one of three brothers. At first all seems marvelous to the child, who views the world as his mother does, with love and mercy. His father tries to teach his son the world's way, of putting oneself first. Each parent contends for his allegiance, and Jack must reconcile their claims. The picture darkens as he has his first glimpses of sickness, suffering and death.
The adult Jack, a lost soul in a modern world, seeks to discover himself and his place in the world. The story ends in hope, acknowledging the beauty and joy in all things, and in the family, the place that most of us learn the truth about the world and ourselves and where we discover life's single most important lesson -- unselfish love.

CAST

Brad Pitt as Jack’s Father
Jessica Chastain as Jack’s Mother
Fiona Shaw as Jack’s Grandmother
Sean Penn as Adult Jack

PRODUCTION TEAM

Director: Terrence Malick
Written by: Terrence Malick
Executive Producer: Donald Rosenfeld
Co-Executive Producer: Paula Mae Schwartz, Steve Schwartz
Associate Producer: Ivan Bess, Nicolas Gonda, Sandhva Shardanand
Producer: Dede Gardner, Sarah Green, Grand Hill, William Pohlad
Line Producer: Susan Kirr
Original Music: Alexandre Desplat
Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki
Film Editing: Hank Corwin, Jay Rabinowitz, Daniel Rezende, Billy Weber, Mark Yoshikawa
Casting: Francine Maisler, Vicky Boone
Casting Associate (Texas): Sarah Dowling
Production Design: Jack Fisk

FILMING LOCATIONS

Smithville, TX; Austin, TX; Bastrop, TX; Dallas, TX, Death Valley National Park, CA; Houston, TX; Matagorda, TX; Waco, TX; San Marcos, TX (exterior); Parco dei Mostri, Bomarzo, Viterbo, Lazio, Italy

RECOGNITIONS

Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival - May 2011 - first time a Texas filmmaker has earned this award.

60 Most Anticipated Movies of 2009 – The Playlist

46 nominations and 24 wins (January 2012)    SEE COMPLETE LIST TO DATE

WEBSITES

IMDB - CLICK HERE

FILM TRAILER - CLICK HERE

REVIEW OF FILM (in Cannes, France!)

MOVIE REVIEWS

San Francisco Chronicle Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle Jun 2, 2011 - At times trying and perplexing, but it also contains some of the most psychologically insightful and ecstatic filmmaking imaginable.

Philadelphia Inquirer Reviewed by: Steven Rea Jun 9, 2011 - Still, somehow, The Tree of Life - impressionistic, revelatory, elliptical - works.

Chicago Sun-Times Reviewed by: Roger Ebert Jun 2, 2011 - The only other film I've seen with this boldness of vision is Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey," and it lacked Malick's fierce evocation of human feeling.

USA Today Reviewed by: Claudia Puig May 27, 2011 - A shape-shifting film, it resembles a poem. At other moments, it is closer to a symphony. Most often, it approximates a fervent prayer.

The New York Times Reviewed by: A.O. Scott May 26, 2011 - With disarming sincerity and daunting formal sophistication The Tree of Life ponders some of the hardest and most persistent questions, the kind that leave adults speechless when children ask them.

Village Voice Reviewed by: Nick Pinkerton May 24, 2011 - Better than a masterpiece - whatever that is - The Tree of Life is an eruption of a movie, something to live with, think, and talk about afterward.

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"BERNIE" 

(Comedy/Crime/Drama)  2011

[Bernie-bearinggifts] In small-town Texas, the local mortician strikes up a friendship with a wealthy widow, though when he kills her, he goes to great lengths to create the illusion that she's alive.

CAST:
Jack Black
Matthew McConaughey
Shirley MacLaine

CREW:
Director: Richard Linklater
Writers:  Richard Linklater, Skip Hollandsworth

LOCATIONS:
Filmed in Smithville, Austin, Bastrop, Carthage, Georgetown

NOTABLE:
Kicked off the the Los Angeles Film Festival 2011.

WEBSITES:
IMDB official site
Video Article

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"ARTOIS THE GOAT" 

(comedy, romance) 2008 

AWARD WINNING! Lab technician Virgil Gurdies embarks on an epic quest to create the greatest goat cheese the world has ever known, and reclaim the heart of his beloved Angie. She has taken a new job in Detroit and to follow her means signing his life over to his soul-sapping career in artificial flavor additives. To stay behind and pursue his newfound passion for fine artisanal goat cheese, is to risk losing her forever. Despite his lack of resources, experience, or basic competency in the field of agriculture, Virgil heads for the hills (literally) with a felonious German baker, a grave-digging hermit, and a tiny white goat named Artois. With Angie awaiting his imminent return and a conference of the International Cheese Consortium just a few months away, he has no choice but to go for broke. Throw away everything he has on a gamble: That, before it is too late, he can craft a cheese that will change the world. A cheese that will buy him a new life. A cheese of destiny.

CAST

Mark Scheibmeir as Virgil

Sydney Andrews as Angie
Stephen Taylor Fry as Yens
Dan Braverman as Hershel
Sarah Holland as Eva

PRODUCTION TEAM

Director: Cliff Bogart, Kyle Bogart
Written by: Cliff Bogart, Kyle Bogart
Producer: Richard Reininger
Composer: Brian Satterwhite
Director of Photography: David Blue Garcia
Art Director: Brooke Hyatt

FILM LOCATIONS

Smithville, TX; Austin, TX; Bastrop, TX

RECOGNITIONS

• BEST IN SHOW in the Accolade International Film Competition 2009    SEE JUDGES' COMMENTS
• TOP 5 KILLER FILMS TO SEE AT SxSW 2009, Chris Garcia, Austin American Statesman
• OFFICIAL SELECTION of the First Glance Hollywood Film Festival, 2010
• ARTOIS THE GOAT has been acquired by IndiePix Films for DVD distribution!  Artois the Goat will be available through www.indiepixfilms.com or through the film website at www.ArtoistheGoat.com Pre-orders are being accepted now for an April release date.
• BEST OVERALL FILM and BEST FEATURE Film at the Myrtle Beach International Film Festival.
• AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD at the Trail Dance International Film Festival in OK.
• BEST FEATURE Film at the Beloit International Film Festival in Wisconsin and will compete in three California festivals in April.  Sonoma International Film Festival, First Glance Hollywood 10 Festival, and the California International Film Festival.
• Save it on your Netflix queue!
• "Jury Choice Gold Medal for Excellence" at Park City Film Music Festival 2010

MOVIE TRAILER

http://www.artoisthegoat.com/atg/trailer.html

The trailer for ARTOIS THE GOAT has been accepted by Apple iTunes Trailers at www.apple.com/trailers

Film Trailer - CLICK HERE

WEBSITES

www.artoisthegoat.com
www.imdb.com/title/tt1292643/

GET YOUR ONLINE BURN-TO-DVD COPY

Now available.  IndiePix Price: $14.95  CLICK HERE

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"BENEATH THE DARKNESS"

(thriller) January 6, 2012 limited release

After watching their best friend get murdered, a group of teens struggle to expose a local hero as the psychopathic killer and keep from becoming his next victims.

CAST

Dennis Quaid
Brett Cullen
Tony Oller
Aimee Teegarden

PRODUCTION TEAM

Director:  Martin Guigui
Writer:  Bruce Wilkinson

FILM LOCATIONS

Smithville, TX; Bastrop, TX

Click HERE for FACEBOOK page

IMDB site - CLICK HERE

BloodingDisgusting.com - CLICK HERE

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'DOONBY' 

(drama) in production 2010

Sam Doonby, a mysterious, handsome drifter gets off a Greyhound bus in a small Texas town and finds work at Leroy’s Country Blues Bar where his great musical talents make him very popular, especially with Laura, the beautiful but spoiled daughter of successful doctor Cyrus Reaper. Sam always seems to be in the right place at the right time to avert disasters befalling the town and its people until suspicion and jealousy drive folks to ask who he is and where he comes from.  Even Laura starts to question him so now he disappears as quickly as he came and things start to go badly wrong. His rejection results in terrible shocks for the whole town, not least for the doctor and his family as Cyrus’ past comes back to haunt him.

CAST

John Schneider as Sam Doonby
Jenn Gotzon as Laura Reaper
Robert Davi
Will Wallace
Joe Estevez
Jennifer O'Neill
Ernie Hudson

CREW

Writer/Director:  Peter Mackenzie
Production:  The Nobody Film Company LLC
Soundtrack:  AC/DC's Brian Johnson
Location Manager:  Sheila Tamble
Stuntmen: Jeff Milburn, John Schneider, Cheryl Wheeler-Duncan, Charlie Parrish

WEBSITE

www.doonbythemovie.com
IMDB information

 

MOVIE FUN STUFF

Official Trailer - CLICK HERE

 

Spiderwood Studio has it's say

Spiderwood Studios reports on Doonby

VIMEO.COM

"DOONBY - Behind the Scenes"

By Skyline Movement
A commentary about the movie.  See the seven minute video here.

 

THE HUFFINGTON POST - May 22, 2010

"From the Set of Doonby"

By Mark Joseph, Producer, author, talk show host and editor of Bullypulpit.com

Copyright © 2010 

I'm in a grand old Texas town called Smithville, shooting my next movie Doonby with a great cast and crew. The cast is an amazing group of friends new and old-John Schneider, Robert Davi, Will Wallace, Jenn Gotzon, Joe Estevez, and others. On the flight out from LAX I ran into Joe and we had a nice chat. Add a few years onto his nephew Emilio Estevez and you have Joe. He's a great guy...   TO READ MORE GO TO THE HUFFINGTON POST

 

Big Holleywood  |  by Hollywoodland  |  Jan. 15, 2012

Real 'Jane Roe' makes pro-life case in upcoming feature film 'Doonby'

Norma McCorvey, better known as the plaintiff at the heart of the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case, wasn’t seeking a big-screen film career.  She simply couldn’t pass up the chance to play a woman who tries convincing a pregnant woman to keep her baby.  For full story and video, CLICK HERE.

 

Commentary by John Schneider

Watch the videos and see what John Schneider thinks of Smithville. (These are YouTube links.)

Welcome to Smithville

John Schneider Behind the Scenes of Doonby

Shooting a Crash

 

from his Facebook page

"I had more fun on this film than ever before. Smithville is my favorite town!..."    -- John Schneider

 

Musical blast (listen for free)

Yes, he can sing, too!

John Schneider singles on Rhapsody

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